067 Abraham: The Legacy

Well, we’ve reached the end of Abraham’s journey of trust. At the “good old age” of 175, Abraham breathed his last and was buried by his sons. 

He had his flaws and failures, but all things considered, he lived a truly triumphant life. 

I want to leave you with a few parting principles.  They’re very simple to understand but quite challenging to apply.  In fact, they’ll take a lifetime to master.  Yet, if followed, they can steer you well toward your goal of leaving a lasting legacy.

Here’s the first:  Wherever God leads, follow.

When God called Abraham to leave his home and go to some unknown land, he was 75 years old. But he didn’t let age hold him back from obedience. The time never comes when you’re too old to move forward into a new spiritual frontier.  

There’s a second principle that you would do well to grasp: Whatever God promises, believe.

Abraham took God at His word.  Do you?  

If He challenges you through His Word to trust and obey, do you look for ways to dodge around the issue, or do you dare to believe that it’s ultimately for your good?  

If a command doesn’t appear to make a lot of sense – to extend grace, offer forgiveness, serve sacrificially, share generously – do you rationalize your obedience or do you see it as an opportunity to live by faith?    

My friends, don’t let the difficulty of obedience keep you from doing what He asks.  And don’t let the odds of success keep you from trusting.  

One last principle: Whenever God tests, trust. 

Sooner or later, every one of us here will have to travel to Moriah.  The walk of faith will mean a trip to that painful mountain where you will be asked to place that which is very precious to you on the altar.   

There you’ll have to decide if God can be trusted or not.  There you will have to grapple with whether He is enough – even though your heart is breaking. 

You may have heard it said that “God never gives us more than we can handle.”  

The fact is… that’s totally untrue.

Many of God’s tests challenge us to trust Him at a whole new level by giving us far more than we can handle on our own.  

He wants us to be stretched in our faith through these Moriah moments. Moreover, having passed that test, we will discover that it opens the door to a whole new level of blessing.  

Abraham’s story is our story.  In a very real way, each of us is a nomad.  Like him, we are all invited to embark on a great spiritual journey.  Abraham’s epitaph can be ours if, like him, we choose to believe in God’s promise of provision through the Son.  And, like him, we can also be declared righteous because of it.

Text: Genesis 25:7-11

Originally recorded December 14, 2014, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.