- There’s a fresh start for humanity with Abraham and Sarah, a new Adam and Eve but with a very different requirement.
- Instead of law, they are under faith, with the requirement of simply trusting that he will be with them.
Sermon Outline - “I will be with you!” – The Era from Abraham to Joseph
Goal:
To see the huge difference between Adam & Eve’s test and Abraham & Sarah’s.
and be massively encouraged for the coming year.
Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament
I will be With You!
- A New Beginning
- The story continues through the O.T.
- We inherit the very best promises
1. A New Beginning
- Era of the
Patriarchs and Matriarchs
- Abraham & Sarah
- Isaac & Rebecca
- Jacob, Rachel & Leah
- + Joseph
A New Beginning
- New Adam and Eve
- A re-run of the choice in the garden of Eden
- But a very different kind of choice
Abraham & Sarah
Take the risk of trusting me,
and I promise to be with you |
| Unbelief |
Trust
=faith |
Abraham & Sarah
— “leave, and believe”
Now the LORD said to Abram,
“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. Gen 12:1
By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Heb 11:11
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield… Gen 15:1
A New Beginning
- Take a risk:
- live using my wisdom not your own,
- and I will be with you
- Even when you mess up in your weakness
I will not abandon you, but am still with you
2. The story continues through the O.T.
The story continues:
Isaac & Rebekah
And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you Gen 26:24
Jacob
- On the run from his brother:
Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you Gen 28:15
- 20 years later:
I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, Gen 32:10
- Near the end of his life:
…let us go to Bethel, so that I may make an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” Gen 35:3
You have a choice in 2021
- Give in to fear (or go your own way)
- Put your trust in the God who says “I am with you”
- Undo the lie of the serpent, and trust God!
Moses & Joshua
It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deut 31:8
No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Josh 1:5
3. We inherit the very best promises
Isaiah 41
- you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
- fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.…
- For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”
Isaiah 43
- But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
- When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.…
- Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you…
- Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.
God Knows
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness
and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light
and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God,
trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills
and the breaking of day in the lone East.
by Minnie Louise Haskins (1875–1957)
You have a choice in 2021
- Give in to fear (or go your own way)
- Put your trust in the God who says “I am with you”
- Undo the lie of the serpent, and trust God!
New Testament Promises
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?
And not one of them is forgotten before God.
Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Luke 12:6–7
”I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18
Keep your life free from love of money,
and be content with what you have, for he has said,
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can humans do to me?” Heb 13:5–6
Updated on 2020-12-28 by Andrew Fountain
