Deo Gloria
March 1, 2026
Sermon
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Genesis 12:1-8
Theme: You Too Can Have a Faith Like Abram!
- A faith that trusts God’s promises
- A faith that responds to God’s promises
Do you ever find yourself looking at certain people in the Bible and wishing you could be like them? People like David, for example, or Daniel? People like Peter or the apostle Paul? People like Esther or Ruth, like Noah, or maybe even Abram? If only I could be more like them! If only my faith was as strong as theirs! Imagine what a difference it would make in my life! Imagine some of the great things I could accomplish for the Lord. If only I had a faith like theirs!
I’m here to tell you this morning that you can. It’s not impossible. Abram was not Superman or Iron Man in disguise. He was an ordinary human being, a sinful human being like you and me. There is no reason you cannot have great faith too, a faith like that of Abram, a faith that trusts in God’s promises, a faith that responds to God’s promises.
Back at the beginning of ch. 12 the Lord appeared to Abram and said: “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you”(v. 1). Wow! That’s enough to make your head spin, isn’t it? I mean, consider for a moment what God was asking Abram to do: “Leave behind the land you are living in. Leave behind your friends. Leave behind your father and mother, your brothers and sisters, and move to a foreign country.” That’s a lot to ask, don’t you think?
And for Abram there was plenty of reason to doubt God’s Word and not to go. For starters, Abram was already 75 years old. Moving is never much fun. And the older you get, the harder it gets. You accumulate all that stuff. You become comfortable in your home and in your neighborhood. You develop friendships and get to know more people. You establish roots, which are hard to tear up. How many of you senior citizens would like to drop everything, relocate to a foreign country like Mexico or Japan, and start all over?
Besides that, this wasn’t the first time Abram had to move. A number of years before this, at God’s command, Abram along with his family and relatives had moved from their homeland of Ur to their present location in Haran. And God didn’t tell Abram where he was going either. He simply said, “Go to the land I will show you.” Would you be willing to pick up everything and move to a foreign country if you didn’t even know where you were going?
Obviously, Abram had plenty of reason not to go, not to do what God asked him to. So why did he then? Why did he obey God’s command and go?
Because of the promises that God had given him, seven wonderful promises. First, God promised that he would make Abram into a great nation. Six centuries later, when the descendants of Abram entered the promised land, they numbered more than 2 million people.
Secondly, God said, “…and I will bless you”(v. 2). Wouldn’t that be wonderful: to have God’s assurance that his hand of blessing would rest on you and your family and your business? You wouldn’t have to worry about any future recession, whether or not your business was going to make it, whether or not your job might be eliminated. You would have God’s guarantee: “I will bless you.” It’s one thing for someone else to wish you well. It’s quite another when God says that he will bless you. God can actually make it happen.
Thirdly, God said, “I will make your name great.” How many of us wouldn’t like to be famous like George and Martha Washington, like Barack and Michelle Obama, like Michael Jordan or Lindsey Vonn, to be remembered for generations to come? Abram had God’s Word on it. And 4,000 years later his name is still remembered and revered today.
Fourth, “…and you will be a blessing”(v. 2) Both physically and spiritually Abram would be a blessing to those around him. When the kings of the north came and captured the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and carried off their inhabitants, including his nephew Lot, Abram and his men came to their rescue and brought them safely home. Whenever new servants or new herdsmen were brought into Abram’s household, he would have them circumcised and would teach them about the Lord and his promises. Abram would be a blessing.
The next two promises go together. “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse”(v. 3). Imagine you and your family spending the rest of your life living in a tent in a park here in Belle Plaine or maybe a park in the city of Minneapolis. Would you feel safe? Would you feel secure? God wanted Abram to know that even though he would be living in a tent in a foreign land he and his family would be safe. They would enjoy his constant protection.
And last, but certainly not least, God promised that the Savior would one day come from Abram’s family: “…and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you”(v. 3). Certainly Abram would be a blessing to many people during his lifetime, but it was through the Savior that Abram would be a blessing to all people. “Just think, Sarai, the Savior, the one who will crush the serpent’s head, the one who will rescue us from sin and death, the one who will restore our relationship with God so that we might live with him in heaven—one day the Savior is going to come from our family!”
So now what should Abram do? On the one hand there were all those reasons to doubt and not do what God had said. On the other hand there were those seven wonderful promises, promises that sounded almost too good to be true. What did Abram do? He put his trust in God’s promises, and he went. “So Abram left, as the Lord had told him”(v. 4).
How about you? Even though Abram lived some 4,000 years ago, you and I can relate to Abram. The decision he faced, we still face today. Just as God had given Abram certain commands to follow, so God has given us certain commands to follow. And just like Abram, we too have plenty of reason to doubt God’s Word and not do what he says. For starters, the Bible is nearly 2,000 years old. Some parts are over 3,000 years old. What does a 2,000-year-old book have to say to us today? The world is much different now.
Besides, when we look around at our world today, what do we see? The vast majority of people following God and his Word? Quite the opposite. More and more Christians are in the minority, especially once you get outside the United States. It seems many people today could care less about God and his Word and they don’t seem to suffer any for it. And what about those who do believe in God and his Word? Do they enjoy God’s special favor and blessing? In some cases, yes; but in many, no. Most Christians I know have to struggle with the same problems and troubles other people have to deal with. In fact, sometimes it seems like Christians struggle even more. So why be a Christian? Why obey God’s Word?
And yet, just as he had given to Abram, God has given us some wonderful promises too. He has promised that he will bless us. That doesn’t necessarily mean financially. He may choose to bless us in other ways: with good health and long life, with good friends and a loving spouse. After all, a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Likewise, God has promised that he will protect us, that he will even send his angels to watch over us and keep us safe from harm. Besides that, God has promised to hear and answer our prayers. He has promised that he will forgive all our sins. And when this life is over, he has promised that he will take us to live with him in heaven.
Now we have a choice. On the one hand we have all of those reasons to doubt God and his Word. On the other hand we have all of God’s promises. So what should we do? We can do the same thing Abram did. We can cast our doubts aside and put our trust in God’s promises. God’s promises will not fail. Every single promise that God made to Abram came true—every one. Every promise that God has made to you and me will also come true—every one. Believe it. You too can have a faith like Abram, a faith that trusts in God’s promises, and a faith that responds to God’s promises.
One way Abram’s faith responded is with obedience. Earlier I mentioned how, after the Lord had given him those seven, precious promises, Abram obeyed the Lord’s command and set out for Canaan. He didn’t take a few weeks to think it over. He didn’t take a trip to Canaan first to check it out and see if it was a decent place to live. He simply packed everything up, said goodbye to his family and friends, and set out for Canaan. He obeyed the Lord’s command.
One way you and I can respond to the precious promises God has given us is with obedience. In fact, that is how we show our love for God, is it not? “This is love for God,” the Bible says: “to obey his commands”(1 John 5:3). God has commanded us not to misuse his name. So be careful, then, not to misuse God’s name. God has commanded us to obey our parents and others in authority. So be careful to obey your parents and those in authority. God has commanded us not steal from others or to covet what other people have. So be careful not to take what belongs to others and to be content with what you have.
Maybe that’s one of the problems. Maybe your faith isn’t as strong as it could be because you haven’t been obedient to the Lord and his commands. You’ve been doing things you know are wrong, things that God forbids. You’ve been using foul language and misusing God’s name, especially around your friends. You’ve been disobedient to your parents and lying to them about your homework. You’ve been getting into arguments and fights with your brothers and sisters at home or your classmates at school. Confess your sins to the Lord and ask his forgiveness. And ask for his help as well to resist those sinful desires.
A second way Abram expressed his faith is with worship. Moses tells us that when Abram arrived in the land of Canaan, the LORD appeared to him and said, “’To your offspring I will give this land.’ So [Abram] built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him”(v. 7). In gratitude to the Lord for the promises he had given him and now this added assurance that the land of Canaan would indeed be given to his descendants, Abram paused to worship the Lord. He gathered up some stones and built an altar. Then he took a sheep or goat from his own flocks and offered it on that altar. And there he worshipped the Lord.
Why do we worship the Lord? Why do we take time out from our busy schedules to come to God’s house and worship him? Is it not for the same reason: because we want to thank him, because we want to worship him and give him praise for all that he has done for us and the precious promises he has given us—that he kept his promise and sent his Son to be our Savior so that we might enjoy the blessings of forgiveness, life and salvation; that he has defeated our enemy, the devil, and helps us in our daily battle against him; that he has provided for us and our families so faithfully; that one day he will take us out of this world of sin and sorrow to live with him in heaven? That’s why we gather in God’s house on Sunday mornings: We want to worship our Lord.
Again, maybe that’s one of the problems, one of the reasons your faith isn’t as strong as it could be. You haven’t been coming to worship the Lord very often, because you’ve been too busy with other things. You’ve made time for work and shopping and dance recitals and basketball games, but you haven’t made much time for worshipping your Lord. And your faith is suffering as a result. If so, confess your sin to the Lord and ask for his forgiveness. And then come. Make time each week to come to God’s house and worship him for all that he has done for you. Make time to hear God’s Word and receive his sacrament so your faith can be renewed and strengthened, so you too might have a faith like Abram.
It’s not impossible. In fact, you’re already a long way there. Like Abram, you believe in a Savior you have never seen. Like Abram, you believe that this is not your home, but that you are a stranger here and heaven is your home. Like Abram, you have taken time this morning to come to God’s house and worship your Lord. You see, you do have a faith like Abram. Is there still room to grow in your faith? I’m sure there is. So continue to trust in God’s promises the way Abram did. Continue to respond to God’s promises the way Abram did. And you too will have a faith like Abram. Amen.