Sermon Notes
Making All Things New:
The Book of Genesis
Faith Obeys God
Scripture: Genesis 12:1-9
Rev. Reuben Foncardas
Abram’s example of obedience is a model for all believers to forsake all else to obtain the promised blessings of God and to serve Him by becoming a blessing to others.
—Thomas Constable
We learn three principles on oeying God from the example of Abram.
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1. Obey God’s call because of his character, not his plan.
• “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” (v. 1)
• What and who to leave behind is clearly spelled out. Where to go and the details as to what to do is to be revealed gradually as Abram obeys.
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2. Obey God’s call by fulfilling his intention, not our ambition.
• “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (vv. 2-3)
• God’s command to Abram was to go and be a blessing (vv. 1-3). God’s command to us believers is the same (Matt. 28:18-20).
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3. Obey God’s call relying on his power, not on our strength.
• “So he (Abram) built an altar there to the LORD, who appeared to him…There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.” (vv. 7b, 8b)
• Abram’s altars were more permanent structures than his tents. It served both as a reminder for Abram to depend on God by worshiping him, and as a witness to the Canaanites who were living in the land.
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The missionary mandate of the church does not begin with John 3:16 or Matthew 28:18–20.
It begins with God’s covenant with Abraham. We are blessed that we might be a blessing.
—Warren Wiersbe
