February 5, 2009

• Hebrews 11:8-10 Abraham – by Pastor Don

  Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
  

  Pastor Don took us back to Genesis to look back at Abraham so that we could understand this passage in Hebrews better. Part one is here.

  Bolded verses will be covered later in this post.

  Genesis 12:4-20  So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
     (10)     Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. (12) Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. (13) Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”  (14) So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. (15) The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. (17) But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. (18) And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” (20) So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.

  Notice that they acted in faith.  Abram did not get into trouble until he gets presumptuous.  When there was a famine in the land Abraham decided that he was going to go to Egypt.  It does not say that he sought the Lord, or that He was told to go to Egypt.  This was Abram’s decision.

  Until the Mosaic covenant women were considered property, and a strong, mighty person could come and take away another’s wife .  It was mob rule, might makes right.  So at times the husband would not fight for his wife both for her sake and his sake. 

  Notice in verse 10 that the circumstances were that there was a famine in the land and Abram had to make a decision, but there was no information from God about this situation. We will find that there will always be problems when we enter a land that God does not send us into.  In today’s time it could be making decisions, investments, moves without the leading of the Lord.

  Pastor Don told us that once as a teenager he went to a party in the south side of the Bronx, and he had a check in his spirit telling him not to go there. He ignored that, went to the dance and danced with the wrong girl and was assaulted.  He learned to listen to the check in his spirit.

  Verse 12 (see above) Abram was speaking it into existence, setting up the problem

  Verse 14 (see above) The trouble that he prophesied came to him. 

  Verse 17 (see above) God plagued Pharaoh’s house. 

  A lot of problems in our lives are because our vision is outside of our role in life.  Whether or not we understand God and His purpose, the truth is that man is over women and women is help meet of man.  This does not mean that a woman has no input or is a doormat for her husband, but the covering of the man is over the woman. 

  The man speaks his vision to the wife and child.  Sometimes a man marries a woman who is not yet what she will become, and He speaks the vision from the Lord over her, about who she really is and what she will be – a blessing, a queen, to be loved, to hold and respect.  If he speaks negative over his wife, she will become that.  (This works the other direction too, the wife must speak God’s truth over her husband and children).

  In the authority that God gives man, he is to mold his wife by speaking God’s truths over her, and the man comes into agreement with God. 

  Pastor Don told us that it is hard to stop a man and wife who are following God’s design.

  God -> man -> woman in a straight line.

  Joel 2:28-30   And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;  your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:  Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.

  Both women and men prophesy. 

  Someone asked Pastor Don, what if your man is not Godly? – The wife keeps speaking God’s vision for her husband and over time he will begin to see what he should be speaking and saying differently.  The Bible tells us to not be unequally yoked to an unbeliever, but if we are, God honors that relationship and can bring it into line with His picture of what the Godly marriage should be.

  When Abram speaks the vision, seeing his wife given over to the heathen king’s harem, he was not speaking God’s truth.  Abram needed to trust God.

  Remember the three men in Daniel who chose not to bow to the image of the king?  They said that they would trust God and if they lived, they lived.  If they died, they died, but they would not disobey God.  They had faith and God delivered them.

  Even if we step out in faith, there is a choice to leave faith and enter circumstances or to stay in faith.  We need to trust God for our covering and protection. If we are not following God’s vision or not cooperating we are out of trust.

  Verse 17 (see above) There were great plagues, and God was able to speak even to Pharaoh.  So if a wife is with a negative husband, he will see changes in her after she accepts the Lord, and a smart wife makes her husband believe He is responsible for the change in her life. Let Him know that you love the him because of the Lord.  Make your husband part of your positive outcome. If you do that your husband will kill dragons for you.  If the wife tries to take all the credit it will interfere with the husband’s lining up with the vision.

  Verse 20 So pharaoh acted honorably.

  Pastor Don continued on with Chapter 13.  I will do that tomorrow so that the post is not too long. 

  Heather

  • 6:49 pm
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