Title: Last week's message
Contents Abraham made another mistake (Genesis 20:1-8)
Today's text records the incident where Abraham left Hebron, went down to Gerar, and deceived his wife as a sister. Twenty-four years ago, he had deceived her as his sister in order not to take his wife from Egypt. We see Abraham making the same mistake again and again. This morning, I would like to share grace with you under the title of “Abraham who made another mistake” while looking at the text of the text.
I. Human Weakness
In today's text, we see Abraham's weakness. Who is Abraham? Abraham is a man of great faith. After receiving God's call, he immediately obeyed and left his beloved hometown of Ur of the Chaldeans and came to the land of Canaan. Wherever they went, they built altars and called on the name of the Lord. When there was a territorial dispute with his nephew Lot, he gave up all his vested interests and gave up good land to Lot. Also, when his nephew Lot was taken captive, he was a brave man who immediately led the 318 men in pursuit and rescued Lot.
This Abraham! what a great person How religious and personal are you? But Abraham was also human. He also had human weakness. So when Abraham went down to Gerar, he made another mistake by deceiving his wife as his sister. A man of such great faith and courage is doing such a disbelief and cowardly thing. Where did all of Abraham's faith and courage go?
First, we must clearly understand why Abraham became so weak and fell into this temptation. The reason is that Abraham left Hebron and went down to the land of Gerar. Hebron is God's promised land. Abraham, who had been called by God for 24 years, had undergone many trials, so his faith matured to the extent he would have matured. Now is the time when it seems that there will be no problem wherever you put it. But no. When Abraham left Hebron, the promised land, we inevitably see his faith weaken and crumble. Dear all! It is that when a believer leaves the church, which is the body of the Lord, his faith weakens and he falls into temptation. Even those who have lived a long life of faith and have good faith leave the church, neglect their worship life, and take a break from service, their faith will weaken and they will inevitably be put to the test. I pray that you will stay close to the church so that your faith does not weaken so that you do not face trials, and that you do not miss the worship time and serve diligently.
Second, we must keep in mind that Abraham fell again into the sin he had fallen into before. I made the mistake of deceiving my wife as my sister before, and I will do it again. This is Abraham's weakness. But the devil attacked Abraham's weakness again. Dear all! All humans have weaknesses. Some people have blood, pride, and others have reason, negative views, and stingy with money… … . We all have weaknesses. Please keep in mind that the devil attacks this weakness.
Therefore, we should always be careful not to fall into temptation by knowing our weaknesses. Dear all! We are all fragile beings. If the Lord does not hold on to you with His grace, you will soon fall. We must humbly pray for the Lord to hold us. I pray that the grace of the Lord will always be with you.
Ⅱ. God's Great Love
God's great love for Abraham is well expressed in the text.
First, God protected Abraham's family. When Abimelech king of Gerar took Sarah, Abraham could not resist and simply took his wife. But God protected Abraham, who was so weak and weak, who was in danger. Dear all! The God who protected Abraham is our God today. We pray that God is confident that he will protect our lives, our homes, our workplaces, and our industries from danger.
Second, God did not forsake Abraham. If Sarah was taken away by Abimelech, God's promise to Abraham would be broken. This promise of God, which said, 'I will give birth to a son through Sarah, and my descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and like the stars in the sky, through your offspring all the peoples of the world will be blessed' (Genesis 22:16-18) is broken. So God protected Sarah. Even today, God does not forsake his chosen one, and he always keeps what he promised. The reason is that the price the Lord paid for our salvation is too great. Jesus died on the cross and paid the price to save us. God did not forsake Abraham! We bless you that you are confident that you will not forsake us today.
Third, God continued to regard Abraham as a prophet even though he made a mistake. This is God's grace and love. Even though we are weak, we have many mistakes, many mistakes, and many trials and errors, we should be thankful that God is patient and continues to entrust us with that ministry. I pray that you will be more faithful to the God who does not immediately take away your position even if you make a mistake.
Fourth, God made Abraham a person of prayer. Genesis 20:17 says, "Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his maidservant, and brought them to life." Although Abraham was in weakness, he was able to pray. And he answered that prayer. This is the privilege God gave to Abraham and the greatest grace and privilege that God gave to His children. We are all fragile. There are many mistakes, many mistakes, and many times I fail the exam. But God has given us the privilege of prayer.
Dear all!
We must pray. I must pray for myself, for my family, for my children, and for the church. We should especially pray for our country and people. We need to pray more in times of national hardship. God, who has given us the privilege of prayer, will surely answer our prayers.