Man Of God Bible Study Series Part 3-Abraham and his Obedient Faith

We trace Abraham’s journey from the first call to go to the test on Moriah, showing how trust grows before details arrive and why righteousness comes by faith, not performance. We share our own wrestle with surrender, then leave four questions to prompt real change.

• Abraham’s call to leave country, people, and household
• God’s “I will” promises rooted in grace
• Obedience without clarity and immediate action
• Righteousness credited by faith before the law
• Faith that matures through setbacks and trust
• The test with Isaac and God’s provision
• Practical reflection questions for next steps
• Walking by faith, not by sight

Check the website out, www.forchhristministry.com
My new book just hit Kindle: Discernment: A wake-up call for a generationally cursed society
Give me a text or call 706-691-1043
We can go live and do Bible trivia if y’all like

Transcript

Welcome, Weather, And Opening Prayer

Abraham’s Story And God’s Promise

Obedience Without Clarity

Personal Surrender And Calling

Faith Over Details In Genesis 12

Grace First: God’s “I Will” Promises

Righteousness By Faith, Not Performance

God’s Friend: Trust That Matures

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey guys, it's B Rob. It's the Food for Thought Faithcast, and I want to welcome you back. FaithCast fam, it's hunt day, it's Wednesday, February the 4th. And it's still dark outside, so I don't know what it's gonna be like, but I heard it was gonna rain. And it was gonna be like almost in the lower 60s, like upper 50s with the rain. So that's pretty good. I mean, I'm good with that. Because, you know, sometimes God got to wash it away, you know. Some of those leftovers from January, God got to wash it away. All right, let me get back. Guys, we're gonna be uh talking, we're gonna be doing uh chapter three in our man of God uh series today. We're gonna be talking about Abraham and his obedient faith. Before we do that, let's uh give thanks to the Father. Dear Father, we come to you this morning, Lord. We come to you humbly. We come to you just asking for your mercy, Lord, for things around us, sin, uh things that are bombarded on us every single day. We ask you for grace and the armor of God and help us keep that shield up, Lord. Lord, we ask you um just be with us this week as we walk through this world. We want to um have a closer relationship with you and walk closer with you, Lord, and we pray that our minds and our hearts stay focused on that task, Lord. Lord, we want to pray for our nation. We want to pray for everyone in it, including those who are having doubt, who are having fear, who are having anxiety. Lord, I want to pray for our seniors and our veterans, Lord. Just be with them as we go through this transition of wherever you are taking us as a country, Lord. Lord, just be with us all. Lord, we love you. We thank you for your blessings, Lord. We thank you for your lessons from the past. Lord, what you're gonna do in our life today and what you have in store for us in the future, Lord. Lord, we just help us keep focused on today because, Lord, we know that is your present to us. Lord, it's in Jesus' holy, heavenly name we pray these things. Amen and hallelujah. Well, guys, um, let's get back. Um, we're looking at Abraham today and his obedient faith to God. You see, Abraham's story is about calling one man to trust. It's about God calling one man to trust him and become the father of a new people through whom God has blessed the world. Or would bless the world in the future. Let's say that. Um a little quick run through about Abraham. His name was Abram, later called Abraham. Um God called him to leave his homeland and go to Canaan, uh, promising to give him that land and make his offspring into great nations. There was one little stumbling block. Him and his wife were old and they didn't have any kids. So how was that gonna happen? See, you know, the normal person today would be like they would laugh at that. They would laugh at God and God's not to be mocked. Because let me tell you what happens after years of waiting, after years of struggling, he had a child through his slave girl Hager. The child's name was Ishmael. But God told him to send Ishmael and Hagar to send them away. Okay, and God would take care of them. In fact, Hagar was Sarah's servant, and Ishmael was the son of Hagar and Abram, and God ended up making Ishmael the father of Arabs and Ishmaelites. So that's a cool little history thing there, but God miraculously gave Abraham and Sarah a son. His name was Isaac. And that was a promise and a covenant that God made and he kept. You see, you see, God's faithful, he keeps his promise. He's amazing. Um I can't speak for most fathers out there, but hey, you know, that's on them. That's between them and God. But I'm sure all the fathers listening right now, strong. You see, Abraham is a man of faith. He still had weaknesses, but he trusted God enough to go on a dime wherever God sent him. Later, he did lie to Egypt to protect himself about Sarah. But in the end, God kept his promise that Abraham's offspring would be numerous and all the nations will be blessed through his name. So we look at that and we think, you see, God often calls men before he explains himself. This story will teach us obedience without clarity. You see, it all starts with trusting God. It all starts with having a relationship with God, it all starts with walking with God. You see, this guy left certainty behind. Abraham just did exactly what God told him to do. And he discovered that God keeps his promises. And God matters more than you knowing your destination because you're gonna have to trust God. Because if you don't, you've seen what happens. So, guys, I want you to think about something in your own life. Do you ever you ever felt God stirring to move you, change you? Wanting you to let go of something? Man, I tell you right now, I me retiring from the car business in 21, and that's the only thing I've ever known. You know, before that I did jewelry, but the jewelry business is not the same anymore. Heck, the car business ain't the same anymore. I've interviewed at quite a few places, and these guys are picking people that used to sell cars for me. And I'm not bragging, but I was considered the best of the best. I was probably top three highest paid finance managers in the whole CSRA, if I had to guess. But that was the past, and God uh, you know, I'm at a standpoint where I think God's telling me to move. And I'm having problems with things that I've become attached to, like my house, this office, my guitars, my equipment that I record this stuff on. I don't think God wants me to sell that because I think He He's called me to do this. Uh if you listen to my podcast this time last year, you would see that it's not the same. God hijacked it. I had a girl named Lindsay Gents come on and uh give her testimony, and God changed my life right then and there. You know, God had already been working on me, but he hijacked my podcast at that point and said, you don't need to talk about nothing but this stuff. But I did politics and this last year, and this year I haven't done any politics. So I'm probably gonna do a whole nother podcast about politics. So we'll we'll keep that in mind. But let's let's get back to the Bible study. I'm sorry I got off track. Um, Abraham's story does not begin with a miracle of victory or any kind of great act of courage like a lot of the guys in the Bible. Um, it just begins with the voice of God. God interrupts his ordinary, basic life with an extraordinary call, a task, something God says to do. You see, if you look at Genesis, if you've got your Bibles, you can turn your book to Genesis chapter 12, and we'll start with verse 1. Um The Lord has said to Abram, Go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land I will show you. Think about that. God does not give Abraham a map. He doesn't, they don't have GPS. You know, if God told me to go to the grocery store today, it'd be easy. God told me to go three hours away, that'd be easy. I've got a car, I don't have to walk, I don't have to ride a donkey, I don't have to do any of that stuff. It'd be a lot easier. But think about back in those days. We know how evil everybody was. And God just said, go. He doesn't even tell them where. Doesn't even tell them how long. Doesn't even tell them how much it's gonna cost to move. Think about that today, in today's world. He simply says, go. You see, God's amazing and he often works that way with men. A lot of times he calls before he gives the reason why or clarifies. You see, the call is an invitation into a deeper relationship with him. It's not a business transaction, it is not nothing that you're gonna get instructions, an email, or anything like that. He's just gonna tell you. And I swear, I don't swear, but I promise you that God's been calling me, and that's why I'm doing this. I don't make money doing this, I could be doing something else, I can be out chasing money. There's a testimony in that. I promise you. I promise you. I ain't lazy. I can I can assure you that I uh barter to pay my bills, and it's tough. I barter to eat, it's tough. But I collected a bunch of stuff over the years to where I could do that. But I think God's saying, yo, you can't store up none of this stuff. You gotta move. So I'm just praying for clarity, even though Abraham didn't need clarity, right? You know, Abraham was asked to leave three things behind that identify with security, identity, he was asked to leave his country, he was asked to leave his people, and he was asked to leave his father's household. You see, God stripping away that stability, but that stability is external. You follow what I'm saying? He had to trust in the internal. You see, Abraham had to learn internal dependence, not dependence on this world, not external dependence. You see, that right there in itself is obedience with no instructions, no information, no nothing. Just God says, go, picks it up, starts, starts walking. Picks the stuff up, starts walking. Um, if you look at Genesis of verse 12, no, chapter 12, verse 4, so Abram went as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he set out from Haran, when he left and set out from his country. You see, real faith, strong faith, which is what Abram had, amazing faith for God. It doesn't wait for comfort, it doesn't wait for certainty, it doesn't wait for answers, it waits for what God says to do. If God says to move, it moves. You follow what I'm saying? Abraham obeys immediately, no debate, no demand for reassurance. You see, if God told somebody to do that today, they would be like, Okay, but what about all these bills I got? Okay, but what about these dogs I got? Okay, but my wife can't go because she got a good job, and that's where we get our benefits from. You see what I'm saying? You see the trap? I don't think we're obeying God the way we should. I mean hopefully I've been. Because I have given up a lot. I gave my career up by faith. By faith. Left by faith. Haven't worked W-2 for a company since twenty one. And it's twenty-six. Thank you, Lord. You see, he steps out at 75 years old. An age when most people are retired, settled down. They ain't starting over. Follow what I'm saying? 75 years old. A lot of people would say, man, that's crazy. That's reckless. What you doing? What's that old man, old man crazy? His no his nickname, old man crazy now. You follow what I'm saying? But it wasn't reckless obedience. It was a relationship with God. Obedience to God. Abraham trusted the Lord who was speaking to him more than what was being actually said. He trusted him that he would guide him. Didn't need details. If you look at Hebrews chapter 11, verse 8, it says, by faith, when Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, he obeyed and went, even though he did not even know where he's going. The New Testament, it even says that. Couple places, actually. You see, faith often means moving forward while the future is still blinded, unaware of. We have no clue. Because we are living in God's present and waiting for God's call. See, God's not going to reveal step ten when you can't even take step one. You follow what I'm saying? Does that make sense? Who would do that? There's no cheat code to God. Who would do that? Who would allow that? I'm gonna say that again. God's not gonna reveal step ten if you can't take step one. If you cannot take the little task, how are you gonna get the big task? But see, God promises. He makes promises that he's gonna keep. If he says it, it's gonna happen. It may happen in a hundred years, but it's gonna happen. I promise you. You see, before Abraham builds anything, before Abraham conquers anything, or before he even proves anything. You see, God makes promises. In Genesis chapter 12, verse 2 and 3, I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses, I will curse. Whoever curses you, I will curse, sorry. And all peoples on the earth will be blessed through you. You see, that verse is an amazing teaching point. You see, God promises, God's promises, and he promises, but his promises are rooted in grace, obedience, not achievement. You see what I'm saying? Notice how many times in that verse God says two words. I will. Two sentences. He says, I will six. Times. And Abraham hasn't even done anything yet. That's the first calling. He promises. And that's the point. God initiates the covenant before he asks for performance. You see, the blessing flows from God's heart. And that's the character of God. As we learn, and as we learn going through the Bible, I'm 51 years old. I don't remember how many times I've read the Bible. I was talking to my wife before the podcast this morning as I'm drinking coffee because man, I have crazy energy when I wake up. A lot of people don't understand that. I got made fun of as a kid. But as the day progresses, and then it's hard for me to go to sleep because my mind is always going. But anyway, I was sitting there and I was like, man, I need to do this podcast. I need to do it now. But the enemy's in my head, and he's telling me, man, I don't know the Old Testament the way I used to know it, and that sort of thing. And she was like, Well, you need to read the story of Abraham before you do the podcast. And I'm like, I know the whole story. And I started sitting there going through like the lineage and the uh offspring and this, that, and the other and the timelines. And she was like, Okay, okay, okay, go do your podcast. But yeah, I mean, even I forget. I mean, I'm human. I I've I read so much, I I look at things so much, I watch so many video clips and shorts, and you know, I didn't have attention medicine when I was a kid, so you know, I just got my butt beat and um thrown outside, and of course I played with everything I could possibly imagine, even though it wasn't a toy. But anyway, let's get back, you know. Um, God says I will six times in those two verses, and that's to me that's strong. You know, he's he's nailing the hammer home. He's nailing the promise home. You know, and if you look at it, it it doesn't, it's like I said, it's God's heart, God's character, it's not a Abraham's resume because he was a normal, ordinary person. So basically it's it's not achievement. God's promises are rooted in grace, like I talked before. But if you look, the promise ultimately points to Jesus, to Christ. Through the lineage of Abraham, all nations would be blessed, not by law, but by faith. You follow what I'm saying? It's a promise of God. You see, Abraham walked by faith. He didn't walk by perfection, he didn't walk by you know that sort of thing. He had an intimate relationship with God, he had faith of God's promises. Abraham's life was not a straight line. By no means. He experienced fear, delay, doubt, even failure, but God remains faithful. In Genesis 15, verse 6, it says, Abram believed the Lord, and he credited to him as righteousness. So God knew he was right with him. You see, because righteousness comes through belief. It doesn't come through behavior, it doesn't come through performance. I've been trying to nail that point over. God does not care about the cool clothes you wear, he doesn't care about how fast you can run, he doesn't care about how good you can play basketball, he doesn't care about any of those things. You see, Abraham was declared righteous long before the law existed. He was standing next to God through trust in God. You see, this is the starting point to the gospels. That's why I said it leads to Jesus. You see, salvation has always been through faith and trust in God. There's no other way around it. Turn your Bibles to Romans chapter 4, verses 20 and 21. It says, Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he promised. The strong. That's like strong is a garlic milkshake. You know what I'm saying? Strong and doo-doo breath. Yeah. You see, faith matures over time. I'm a living example of that. A living example of that. I could I could have stayed and worked 20 more years making a lot of money. Just ripping folks off. God don't want me there, and I've tried to go back, and God's like pulled the noose out, threw it around my neck, and pulled me right on back. The rain, not the noose. There I go being racist again. Whatever. Anyway, you see, Abraham grew in his confidence as he walked with God. His relationship grew. And that is a great teaching point. Faith matures over time. Abraham grew into confidence as he walked with God. Your faith does not have to be flawless. It does not have to be perfect, it just has to be faithful. You follow what I'm saying? God wants to call you his friend like he did Abraham. You see, God desires more than just servants. He desires friends. Friends. Not with an I. F-R-E-N-S. You want to know why? Because friends. Friends has no ends. See? Take the D out and the I out. F-R E N S. Yeah. Anyway, anyway. If you look, like I said, he he wants friends. He wants relationships. Let's turn to the New Testament in James chapter 2, verse 23. And the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him that him, to him as righteousness, and he was called God's friend. I'm gonna read that one more time because my reading was terrible there. And the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. And he was called God's friend. You see, I can read a lot better than I did the first time. You see, the teaching point here is obedience produces an intimate relationship with God. Let's put it in an earthly. If you defy your earthly father on the daily basis, you're either going to drive him to an early grave, he's gonna kill you, or the relationship's gonna suck. It's not gonna be a good relationship. You're not gonna be walking beside him, you're not gonna be obedient to him. Right? Because your negative reaction or your negative action is gonna have a negative reaction. You see, God promises. God promises. Fathers out there, you ever promised your kid, hey, if you get all A's, I'll give you a hundred bucks. Or I'll take you to the store and you can buy your favorite toy. Or I'll take you and get you your favorite pair of shoes. You've done that, right? You see, that's what God does. But God promises a lot more than materialistic things. You follow? God promises eternal life with Him. You see, friendship with God grows where trust and obedience meet. I'm gonna say that again. Friendship with God grows where trust and obedience meet. They get married. You see what I'm saying? They have a family. It's called relationship with God. You see, Abraham didn't just hear God, he obeyed God, he walked with God, he trusted God. You see, later in Abraham's life, God put Abraham to the ultimate test. And he wanted to make sure. If he was going to create nations, generations, with this, and Abraham, he wanted to make sure Abraham trusted him. If you look at Genesis 22, verses 1 and 2. Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, Abraham, here I am, he replied. Then God said, Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice there as a burnt, sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain, and I will show you. Abraham answered. You see, his son, Isaac, was like, we've got all the stuff. Where's the where's the ram? Where's the lamb? And Abraham answered him and said, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. What do you think is going through Abraham's mind right now? You just had to lie to your son? Well, you didn't lie. You told him the absolute truth. But the son's uh getting curious, you know. You see, faith in God shows trust in God even when obedience breaks your heart. Even when obedience hurts. You see, if I was to sell this house, I don't know where to go. I haven't worked since twenty-one, so on paper, it looks like I'm dead. I've done everything with gold and silver and cash. You see, Abraham. I don't know why I keep talking about myself. That's a habit I need to get out of. We should do a whole nother podcast if I want to do a testimony. Sorry about that, guys. Um, let me get back on track. That coffee, you know, that that that that that be kicking. Um, Abraham trusted God's promise more than his own understanding. He believed that if God required Isaac, that God also could restore Isaac. You see? That's trust. That's trust. That's like crazy trust. That even sounds crazy in today's world. But the Bible shows you that God promises and he provides what he promises. You see, God proves himself faithful once again. It's been written and recorded about all throughout the word. There's endless examples. Look at verse 12 in Genesis 22. You see, he had strapped Isaac down, you know? And apparently Isaac wasn't a toddler or anything. I mean, he was probably 10. I don't know. Maybe in his teens. Isaac had faith. Because he let him. I mean, he's about to kill his own son, and his son was gonna let him do it. That's how much faith they had in God. You look at that today, and that's crazy talk. People would lie, kill, and steal for their child today. I do, I know people who would. You know. They go to church, they say they have faith in God, but um, if this came up, I don't think it happened the way it is happened. But that's just me, you know. So he had him, he was ready. He was actually gonna do it. And then God spoke and said, Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God. He's saying, now I know you fear me because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. You did exactly what I told you to do. He knew most men would not do that. He knew that 99% of men would not do that, especially in that time period. You follow what I'm saying? Even in the future, King Saul. Yeah, the world is an evil place. It's very trying. You have to have your uh heart and mind set on things above, not on earthly things, like my buddy Dr. Coleman would say in his book. And you need to read his book. The Eternity Lens. It's a great book. Dr. Bill Coleman, look it up, Amazon. So, skipping to chapter uh, no, excuse me, verse 14. Genesis 22, verse 14. So Abraham called that place the Lord will provide. And to this day it is said, on the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided. That's pretty cool. You see, Abraham was a man after God. Abraham's story is not just history. It's a lesson, it's instruction from God. That's what we, that's what the Old Testament is. Apply it to today's life. You see, in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 7, it says, For we live by faith, not by sight. Your eyes deceive you. Your eyes deceive you. Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways, submit to him, and he will make your path straight. That right there, those two get me through my days. Because you got to understand, when you're 30 years used to working 10 hours a day, used to being a slave. That's a lot of programming that you have to get over. And 26, I'm still not over it because I didn't just not work in those five years. I busted my butt. I worked at night, I drank while I worked, but I busted my butt. You know? I busted my butt so much that it physically got to me. And God was like, no more. Stand down. I'm gonna take care of you, stand down. Well, God, I'm late on my mortgage. God, I'm too much behind on this. God said, I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna take care of you. And you just gotta have faith. You gotta step out on that water. If God says to do something, you gotta do it. You follow what I'm saying? Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding, but God's understanding. You follow what I'm saying? That's the key word, not on your understanding. You see, a man after God, trust him. Even when the path is unclear, even when there are no answers. If God says move, you got to move. You see? Abraham didn't know where he was going. But see, he knew who he's walking with. Follow what I'm saying. He knew who the coach was, right? He knew who the author of the story was. With no questions, no debates. He knew. You see, that's what made the difference. That's why God was faithful. That's why God made promises. And that's why Abraham's your great, great, great, great, great, great, great granddaddy. Yeah, is what I'm talking about. All right, guys. It's been a great, great Bible study this morning. We got four study questions. Um let's do that right now. Number one, where is God calling you to trust him in your life without clarity? Where is God calling you to trust him in your life with no instructions, no clarity? Do you feel it? Give you a second for that. So you can jot that down. I write fast, I type fast, I do everything fast except for talk. So I know some people don't write as fast. I would have already written off five questions. Not bragging. That's just me. It's a gift and it's a curse. Uh, question number two What are you tempted to hold back from God? That's a great question, right? What are you tempted to hold back from God? Number three. Question number three. Do you obey God quickly? Or only when it makes sense to you? Do you obey God immediately? Or only when it makes sense to you? Come on, come on, write it down. Come on, come on, write it down. Yeah. These are things that are gonna help you. I'm only doing this to help you. I done my homework. I spent a couple hours doing this outline last night, so there it is. You know, that's what I'd do. Instead of drinking, instead of playing, you know, I'd spend time in my word and help to spread it. All right, last question. Would your faith still stand if the promise took years? Would your faith still stand? Would you be solid as a rock if God said, hey man, 50 years from now I'm gonna give you this? Would you be solid as a rock standing still waiting on God? Would your faith stand still if the promise took years? Well guys, let's go to the word the Lord in um prayer real quick. Uh dear Heavenly Father, we thank you today. We thank you for everybody that has tuned in, Lord. We hope you bless them, Lord. We hope this gave them a message straight from your heart to theirs. Lord, we thank you for the platform. Lord, we just pray that you're with us all week. We pray that we are obedient to you, Lord. We thank you for your grace and mercy. It's in Jesus' holy, heavenly name we pray these things. Amen and hallelujah. Well, guys, it's been a great one. Thank you for tuning in. Um I got a new Bible trivia book. Yeah, so we might be doing some Bible trivia if y'all like. We can do it. We can go live and do it. You know, I there's a lot of things we can do. But anyway, guys, uh, thank you for tuning in. God bless you. I love you. Make sure you check the website out, www.forchhristministry.com. You can find the music there. You can find the lot links to the podcast. You can find news, and my new book just hit Kindle. I got the thing this morning. So it's on Amazon and Kindle. It's called Discernment. A wake-up call for a generationally cursed society. Sometimes I get my word. You can't say that three times real quick. Generationally cursed society, generate a wake-up call for a generationally cursed society. Yeah, I can, but sometimes I can't. But anyway, guys, I love you. Um give me a text or call 706-691-1043. Love to hear from you. Love for you to be on the podcast. Love to pray with you. Love to pray for you. God bless you. I love you. And guys, if you do not have a relationship with Jesus, uh you better get right.