The Day Abraham Believed, Part 1

There are three things we're going to cover in Genesis chapter 15. There are three things. First of all is the vision of God's protection.

Number two, a revelation of God's provision. And number three, a confirmation of God's promise. We're only going to cover point number one this morning, and we're only going to cover one verse this morning.

That's how much is in Genesis 15 verse number one. Let me read it for you. It says, After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram, in the vision saying, Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you, your reward shall be very great. This is a great verse. I mean all the verses in the Bible are great, but because we're in Genesis 15, this has extreme importance to us today. If I was a betting man, I'm not, but if I was, I would bet the fact that you would lead today greatly encouraged, greatly enlightened as to what you see and hear in the word of God.

This one verse is going to change your life. This one verse. Four things I want you to see in just one verse. Number one is Abraham's restlessness.

From Abraham's restlessness, we're going to look at God's rebuke, God's remedy, and God's reward. First of all, Abraham's restlessness.

It says, After these things. What things? After these things. Very important to note that, right? So, you've got to go back to Genesis chapter 14. And if you're with us in that study, we realize that that was the first recorded war in the Bible.

A war that really focused on one man. That was Lot. And we'll pick that up again in Genesis chapter 19 when we discuss his family and his destiny. But it was a war. And the only reason it was recorded was because of Lot and how Abraham intervened and rescued Lot and a city from destruction. So, after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision. Do not fear. Notice with me Abraham's restlessness.

Why was he restless? What was on his mind? I think there are two things prominent. One is the fact of retaliation. I mean, 318 men had outmaneuvered four kings and their trained armies to rescue Lot and Sodom from destruction. Tremendous, tremendous strategy on Abraham's part. But I think it even goes beyond that. As you recall, when he was 75 years old, he left Haran. And God told him that through his seed, the nations of the world will be blessed. And maybe Abraham's restlessness is centered around the fact that he is still childless.

In fact, verse 2 might lead to that conclusion of Genesis 15. He is still childless. Maybe it's six years. Maybe it's seven years. God is promising something and it has not yet taken place. The point is this, my friend, that we become very restless when fear overwhelms us. When we think that someone is going to retaliate against us. When we fear for our own lives, we become very restless. When we look toward a promise from God that has not yet been accomplished, we become very restless, don't we?

I recall Acts 16, verse number 30, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, you and your household. Maybe you have prayed for the salvation of your spouse for 5, 10, 15, 20 years, and they are still not saved. And yet you're claiming the promise of Acts 16 that says, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you shall be saved, you and your household. And you're thinking, come on, Lord, you promised that if we pray according to your word and according to your will, and don't you want people to be saved?

You're not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And my spouse needs to be saved. My son needs to be saved. My family needs to be saved. And that promise has not yet been fulfilled. We can become very restless about the promises of God. Maybe there's a financial stress upon your life. You say, God, your word says, my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. And Lord, I'm struggling financially, and yet you promised this. And yet, Lord, what do I do here?

I'm lost. And you become very restless. What do I do next? Do I get another job? Do I have my wife go out and get a job? What do I do? Do I change jobs? And we become very restless, very restless. Maybe that's you today. Maybe you're here today and there's great fear in your life. When I was preparing this text, a number of months ago, I received a phone call from a member of our church. Great fear in their lives. Great fear because of what was happening in their marriage. Great fear of retaliation on the part of their spouse.

And I happened to be studying Genesis 15, verse number one that day. So, I took them to that passage and read to them God's rebuke of one man's restlessness, God's remedy for that restlessness, and God's reward for that restlessness. Today, if you're fearing man, if you're fearing some kind of retaliation, if you're fearing some kind of vengeance from someone else, if you're fearing the fact that, God, where is the answer to the promise that you have given to me? And you become very restless, very uneasy.

God has a rebuke for you. God has a remedy to that restlessness. And God has a reward for you today. That's a great, great passage of Scripture. But I want you to notice, before we get to the rebuke, I want you to notice something.

It says, after these things, the Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. The Word of the Lord, you need to take your pen and just circle it, because that's the first time the phrase, the Word of the Lord, is mentioned in the Bible.

Remember, Genesis is the book of beginnings. And so, this is the first time that phrase is used. Very significant. Why? Because in order for you to understand you, to overcome your fear, you must understand the Word of the Lord. The Word of the Lord is so important. Everything I say, from here on out, hinges on the Word of the Lord. In fact, every time you come together to worship here, everything hinges on what the Word of the Lord has to say. That's where the remedy begins. But the Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.

Very significant for you to understand that today. Turn with me, if you would, to Psalm 119 for a moment.

Look at verse number 50. Psalm 119, verse number 50. This is my comfort in my affliction. Stop right there. Don't read any further. Look up here. This is my comfort in my affliction. Are you afflicted today? Are you restless today? Is there fear? You need comfort? Here it is. Are you ready? This is what it says. That thy Word has revived me. In my affliction, the psalmist says, I received comfort and that comfort came from what? The Word of God. The Word of God. Comfort comes through the Word of God.

The Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. My friends, the Word of the Lord is here for you today to give you comfort amidst your restlessness, amidst whatever fear you have. No matter how big you think it is, no matter how little you think it is, God wants to have those fears squelched. So, I want you to notice with me, after Abraham's restlessness, God's rebuke.

He says, do not fear. Do not fear, Abram. That's his rebuke. It's not a strong rebuke. It's a gentle rebuke, but a rebuke nonetheless. Do not fear. Now, the last thing you want someone to tell you when you're going through difficulty is not to have that emotion, right? You're angry? Don't be angry. You're sad? Don't be sad. You're crying? Don't cry. You're fearful? Don't be fearful. So, what does God say? He does exactly what we don't want Him to do. Don't be afraid. Why are you afraid, Abram? You don't need to be afraid.

How come you're afraid? Why are you afraid of what man's going to do to you? Why are you afraid of retaliation? Why are you afraid of vengeance? Why would you even begin to fear that, Abraham? I am your God. I am your protector. I am your provider. I am everything you need, Abraham. Why would you fear what man can do to you? But is it not true that we do fear what man would do to us? We do fear what might come our way. We do fear tomorrow because we don't know tomorrow. We do fear that which we cannot see, and God says, don't do that.

Don't you be afraid. Don't be afraid. Now, note. You just circle the phrase, do not be afraid. Because this also is the first time it's used in the Bible, and it's associated with the Word of the Lord.

When you know the Word of the Lord, my friend, guess what? You know the God of the Word, and when you know the God of the Word, you will not be afraid. That's God's rebuke. Now, listen to God's remedy. This is so good, man. I just can't. I couldn't wait to get up this morning and give this to you today. Listen to the way he says, do not fear, Abraham. I am a shield to you. I'm your protector. I'm your provision. I am your shield. Now, listen.

When my wife married me, I promised to be her protector. I promised to be her provider. I will protect her. I will protect my children, because I am the father and the husband of my family and wife, and that's what God has assigned me to be. But I can't protect my wife like God can protect my wife. I can't do it. I can't protect my family like God can't protect my family, because he is their shield. Now, this is so good. If you missed this, folks, remember Job chapter 1? There was a day when the sons of God came to visit.

They went to heaven. Satan was there, and Satan had come after having roamed the earth to and fro, looking for some prey that he could devour, and God says, hey, Satan, have you considered my servant Job?

And know what Job said? I'm, excuse me, not Job. Yeah, Job said, please don't give Satan any advice, God. But listen to what Job, Satan said. Verse number 10. Oh, sorry, verse number 9. Then Satan answered the Lord, does Job fear God for nothing? Hast thou not made a hedge about him and his house, and all that he has on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. Listen, Satan acknowledged that God was Job's protector. He said, well, you have put a hedge of thorns around him.

You have protected him from me. He is trusting you because you have protected him. Satan knows of God's protection of you more than you know of God's protection of you. Did you know that? Now, this is where it really gets good. Listen to this. Do you know that if you have affliction or adversity in your life, it means that God has allowed Satan to attack you? That God is still your protector as he did with Job? Remember? God said, okay, let me take down a little bit of that protection.

You can touch everything in Job's life, but you can't touch Job. So, Satan went after everything in Job's life. And yet, that man still feared God and still blessed God. And listen, if you're going through affliction today, if your life's amidst restlessness as Abraham's was, guess what? God is still your protector. But God has allowed Satan to do what's happening in your life for a specific purpose. And that purpose is about to be announced, so you stay with me. God's remedy amidst your affliction, amidst your restlessness is what?

His shield. I am your protector. The reason you don't have to be afraid is because I am your shield, Abraham. Nothing can penetrate me. Nothing gets through me. I am the almighty one, as the book of Revelation says, the Pantakrator, the one that's impenetrable, the one that accomplishes all things. Nobody can do to you what they want to do to you unless I allow them to do that to you. Oh, that's so good, because God is promising His protection of your life. He says, I am your shield, Abraham. Abraham was restless.

He would fear retaliation from the kings that he himself attacked and was able to take Lot and Sodom and bring them back home. He would fear the fact that God had made him a promise and it had not happened yet. And he became very restless as to what God was going to do and how He was going to do it and when God was going to do it. And God said, Abraham, don't be afraid. Here's my rebuke and here's my remedy. I am your shield. I am your protector. You need not fear what man can do to you. Now, here is the greatest part of the verse.

It's the reward, God's reward. The text says, your reward shall be very great. But listen very carefully. Here's how the text literally reads. I am your shield, Abraham. I am your shield. I am your shield, Abraham. I am your very great reward. Did you get that? God says, I am your reward.

Folks, this is where we miss the boat. God says, Abraham, I'm it. I'm your shield. I'm everything, Abraham. I'm everything you've ever dreamed of. I'm everything you could ever long for. I'm everything you could ever want. I am your great reward, Abraham. I'm going to rebuke you for fearing me. But I'm going to show you my remedy that I am your protector. But I want to give you myself because I am your great reward. Folks, listen.

We need to understand that God is our prized possession. He's everything. Listen very carefully. This is what it means to believe in God. You believe that He is everything. And He says, Abraham, listen, I'm it. I'm everything you could dream of. I am your reward. Listen to Psalm 84, verse 11. For the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will the Lord withhold from them that walk uprightly. Psalm 84, verse 11. That was the opening to my vows to my wife when we got married 14 years ago this week.

I said, Laura, the psalmist has said, no good thing will the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. Now, follow this through with me. Turn with me to Psalm 73.

Psalm 73, verse number 25. Listen to the psalmist. He says, whom have I in heaven but thee? And besides thee I desire nothing on earth. My faith and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold those who are far from thee will perish. Thou hast destroyed all those who are unfaithful to thee. But as for me, the nearness of God is my what? Good. Psalm 84, verse 11 says, no good thing will the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. The psalmist says in Psalm 73 that the nearness of my God is my good.

The goodness of God is him. That's what God does not withhold from those who walk uprightly. Himself. He is the reward. He is everything. If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times from this pulpit. Jesus is all you need, but Jesus is never all you need till Jesus is all you got. But in reality, Jesus is all you need. It's all. God says to Abram in Genesis 15, I'm all you need.

I'm your reward, Abraham. I am your great reward. Listen to what Augustine said. He loves thee too little. Who loves anything together with thee will be lost. He loves not for thy sake. Let me read that to you again.

He loves thee too little. Who loves anything together with thee? Which he loves not for thy sake. You see, we want to love God, but we want to love God with something else. With another individual. With a certain event. With the world. And God says, can't serve two masters.

You only love one. You can only serve one. Which one will you serve? And Augustine said it well. We love thee too little when we love anything together with thee. Anything together with God that you love with him shows you love God too little. Because it shows God, you have devalued God. You brought him down to your level. Instead of honoring him for who he is. The almighty God of the universe. We sang this song earlier. Jesus is all the world to me. Do you believe that? You sang it. I hope you believe it.

I like what it says in verse number four. Jesus is all the world to me. I want no better friend. I trust him now.

I'll trust him when life's fleeting days shall end. Beautiful life with such a friend. Beautiful life that has no end. Eternal life. Eternal joy. He's my friend. Same thing Augustine said. There's no better friend than Jesus Christ. He is my friend. He is the one I adore. He is all the world to me. Is Jesus all the world to you? Friends that's what it means to believe in God. He is everything to you. He means more to you than anything else or anyone else. That's why God came to Abraham and said do not be afraid Abraham.

I am your shield. I am your reward. I am everything you've longed for Abraham. I am it. I am all you need. Trust me. Believe in me. Give your life to me and I will show you the greatness of that reward. Listen to Genesis 25. Genesis 25 verse number 8 is the death of Abraham. It says and Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age. An old man and, what's the next word? And satisfied. Boy that's so good. He died satisfied. Not because, listen very carefully, not because he obtained the land, but because he knew his Lord.

That's why he died satisfied. If you die today, would you die satisfied? Would you die fulfilled or unfulfilled? I am your great reward. Is God your reward today? Is he your prize? Is he the utmost of all your desires? Do you want him more than anything else? Do you live for him more than anyone else? Is he what you desire on earth, as the psalmist said, more than anything else? Is the nearness of God your only good? I trust that it is today. Because if so, your fears will subside. Your restlessness will be squelched and you'll live as the father of our faith lived, believing in God.

Let's pray.