1. FROM FAILURE TO
DIRECTION
GENESIS 15-17
OCTOBER 14, 2012
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
USA

2. Wednesday Nights for
Young Marrieds in the
Christian Life Center at
6:00 p.m.
Parenting Series
by Chip Ingram

3. BABY BOOMERS for FUN
commences
Saturday October 20th
Brandon Opry House
1000 Municipal Drive
off Hwy 80 across
from Sonny’s BBQ

4. 5:00 pm - Meal begins
6:30 pm- 8:30 p.m. Opry
Sonny’s BBQ is laying the
spread.
Cost: $15.00 per person
(Includes chow and Opry
ticket)

5. If you are not eating,
tickets may be purchased
at the door at the Opry for
$5.00.
Tickets will be on sale at
the 2nd floor kiosk.
Duds: plaid and denim

6. If you have any questions,
please contact Patricia
Jenkins at (601) 949-1941
or pjenkins@fbcj.org.
Deadline to purchase
tickets:
Monday, October 15th!

8. Next Generation Leaders
Luncheon with
Oscar Miskelly
Thursday, October 25th
CLC—11:45 a.m.
Sharing nuggets from
being a successful leader.

9. Make A Difference Day
Saturday, October 27
We Will Go Ministries
799 N. Congress Street
8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
2 shifts: 8-12 and 12-4
601-949-1978

10. There will be light to heavy
manual labor, yard and
garden work, and visiting
neighbors.
Come join the Women’s
Ministry - bring your work
gloves and a smile.

11. CHILI COOK OFF
Sunday, November 4
5:00-5:50 p.m.
Fellowship Hall East
More details coming.

12. Last week in John 4 we
studied how Jesus moved
the Samaritan woman at
the well from failure to
her salvation and then
how that resulted in many
others being saved!

14. The next three lessons also
deal with the question:
Is there life after failure?
*Today we will see
Abraham getting
impatient with God and
failing to wait on Him.

16. The October 21st lesson
deals with Miriam being
critical of her brother,
Moses, and after being
disciplined by the Lord,
she was restored to a
leadership position.

18. On October 28th, we will
study that tender passage
of how Jesus restored
Peter after he had failed
Christ so miserably by
denying Him three times.

22. All four of these people
had life after their failures
because God worked in
their lives to move them
beyond those failures.

23. Focal Passages Today:
*Trust God (Gen. 15:4-6)
*Don’t Take Matters into
Your Own Hands
(Gen. 16:1-5)
*Refocus on God’s Plan
(Gen. 17:3-6,15-19)

24. What This Lesson Is
About:
God has a plan for our
lives, but we need to trust
Him to work in us and
through us to accomplish
that plan in His time.

26. *We do not need to take
shortcuts and take matters
into our own hands.
*Like Abraham, we can
learn to trust God’s
timing.

27. How This Lesson Can
Impact Our Lives:
This lesson can help us
reaffirm our trust in God
when we’ve missed His
direction and lost our
focus on God’s plan.

28. *This is the story of
Abram’s failure to follow
the Lord’s plan.
*It teaches us the
importance of turning to
the Lord when we’ve
missed His direction.

29. Trust God HCSB
Genesis 15:4-6
4 “Now the word of the
Lord came to him:
“This one will not be
your heir; instead, one
who comes from your

30. own body will be your
heir.”
5 He took him outside
and said, “Look at the
sky and count the stars, if
you are able to count
them.”

31. Then He said to him,
“Your offspring will be
that numerous.”
6 Abram believed the
Lord, and He credited it
to him as righteousness.”
Genesis 15:4-6

33. The first mention
of Abram in the Bible is in
Genesis 11:26 -
26 “Terah lived 70 years
and fathered Abram,
Nahor, and Haran.”

34. *Abram (later changed to
“Abraham”) is mentioned
312 times in 272 verses in
the Bible.
*He is arguably the most
famous man of the Old
Testament, and certainly

35. one of the most influential
men of history.
*Joshua 24:2 describes
Abram before the
Lord called him.

36. Joshua 24:3b-4
3“‘Long ago your
ancestors, including
Terah, the father of
Abraham and Nahor,
lived beyond the
Euphrates River and

37. worshiped other gods.
3 But I took your father
Abraham from the region
beyond the Euphrates
River, led him throughout
the land of Canaan, and
multiplied his

38. descendants. I gave him
Isaac,”
Joshua 24:3b-4

40. Abram was from a family
of idol worshipers (moon
worshipers) and was
probably an idol
worshiper himself.

41. Later, when Abram’s
grandson Jacob went back
to Abram’s relatives, they
were still worshipping
idols.

42. Genesis 11:31
31“Terah took his son
Abram, his grandson Lot
(Haran’s son), and his
daughter-in-law Sarai
(“contentious”), his son
Abram’s wife, and they set

43. out together from Ur of
the Chaldeans to go to the
land of Canaan.”
Genesis 11:31
*Abram’s story begins in
Ur of the Chaldeans
(Babylon/Iraq).

44. *It appeared as if Abram
left home in order to go to
a foreign land when in
reality he left a foreign
land in order to go home.

45. *When a Christian dies, it
looks to the world as if the
deceased is leaving home
to go to a foreign place
when in reality they are
leaving a foreign place in
order to go home!

46. *The book of Genesis
covers more than 2,000
years of history and more
than 20 generations.
*Yet, it spends almost a
third of its text on the life
of one man - Abram.

47. Abram is unique in the
way he is called the friend
of God (James 2:23);
*Abraham, Your friend
forever(2 Chronicles 20:7);
*Abraham, My friend
(Isaiah 41:8).

48. *We all know the value of
having friends in high
places.
*Abram had a Friend in
the highest place!

49. *Men and women in the
Bible are famous for many
different things, but
*Abraham is great for
his faith.
*Moses was the great
lawgiver;

50. *Joshua a great general;
*David a great king, and
*Elijah a great prophet.
*Most of us know we can
never be great in those
things, but we can be
great people of faith.

51. *We can be friends of
God.
*If you despair in
knowing you do not have
Abraham’s faith, take
comfort in knowing you
have Abraham’s God.

52. *God can build in you the
faith of Abraham, because
He built it in Abraham
Himself.

53. Because the name
“Abram” means “Father,”
it must have constantly
amazed those meeting
Abram to discover he had
no children.

54. But his present lack of
children will play an
important role in God’s
plan of redemption.

55. The Lord had promised to
give Abram an heir,
someone who would
provide him with
descendants for
generations to come.

56. *At this time, there was no
sign that Abraham would
be able to produce an heir.
*No one can overestimate
the importance of children
to ancient people.
*The contemporaries of

57. Abraham and Sarah had
no well-defined concept
of an afterlife.
*So, the best they hoped
for was that after death, a
person’s memory would
live on in one’s children.

59. *The worth of a wife was
judged by whether she
had borne a male child
into the marriage.

61. *Abram was concerned
about his lack of an heir.
*The most eligible person
to be Abram’s heir was
a slave named Eliezer.

62. *God had promised
Abram that his own son
would be heir, not Eliezer,
so God took him outside
and said, “Look at the sky
and count the stars, if you
are able to count them.”

63. In ancient times, signs
were used as a witness of
a special covenant either
between God and
mankind or between
different peoples on the
earth.

64. In Genesis 9:13, God put a
special sign in the sky:
13 I have placed My bow
in the clouds, and it will be
a sign of the covenant
between Me and the earth.

65. The constellations are also
referred to as signs:
Genesis 1:14
14 “Then God said, “Let
there be lights in the
expanse of the sky to
separate the day from the

66. night. They will serve as
signs for festivals and for
days and years.”
Genesis 1:14

67. Psalm 8:3-4
3 “When I observe Your
heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You set in place,

68. 4 what is man that You
remember him,
the son of man that You
look after him?”
Psalm 8:3-4

69. Psalm 19:1-6
A Davidic psalm.
1 “The heavens declare
the glory of God,
and the sky proclaims the
work of His hands.

70. 2 Day after day they pour
out speech;
night after night they
communicate knowledge.
3 There is no speech; there
are no words;
their voice is not heard.

71. 4 Their message has gone
out to all the earth,
and their words to the
ends of the world.
In the heavens He has
pitched a tent for the sun.

72. 5 It is like a groom coming
from the bridal chamber;
it rejoices like an athlete
running a course.
6 It rises from one end of
the heavens and circles to
their other end;” Psalm 19

73. *If you could see the sky
from only one location on
earth, that location would
be the most popular spot
on the planet.
*People would clamor to
get there!

77. Psalm 147:4
4 “He counts the number
of the stars;
He gives names to all of
them.”

78. *The Bible teaches that
God arranged the stars
into recognizable groups
that we call constellations.
*The Bible mentions three
of these: Orion,
the Bear (Ursa Major), and

79. “the crooked serpent”
(most likely Draco) in
Job 9:9; 26:13; 38:31-32;
and Amos 5:8.
*The same passages also
reference the star group
Pleiades (the Seven Stars).

80. Orion the Hunter

81. There are also asterisms,
smaller apparent star
patterns within a
constellation, like the Big
Dipper (in Ursa Major),
the Little Dipper (in Ursa
Minor), and the Pleiades.

82. The Great Bear
Ursa Major

84. God is the One Who
“fastens the bands” of
these constellations;
He is the One Who brings
them forth, “each in its
season.”

85. In Job 38:32, God also
points to the “Mazzaroth,”
usually translated
“constellations.”
*This is thought by many
to be a reference to the
twelve constellations.

86. *God used the stars as an
illustration of His promise
to give Abraham an
innumerable seed
(Genesis 15:5).
*Every time Abraham
looked up at the night

87. sky, he had a reminder of
God’s faithfulness and
goodness.
*The final judgment of the
earth will be accompanied
by astronomical events
relating to the stars:

88. Isaiah 13:9-10
9 “Look, the day of
the Lord is coming—
cruel, with rage and
burning anger—
to make the earth a
desolation and to destroy

89. the sinners on it.
10 Indeed, the stars of the
sky and its constellations
will not give their light.
The sun will be dark
when it rises, and the
moon will not shine.”

90. Joel 3:14-15
14 “Multitudes,
multitudes
in the valley of decision!
For the Day of the Lord is
near in the valley of
decision.

91. 15 The sun and moon will
grow dark, and the stars
will cease their shining.”
Joel 3:14-15

92. *Astrology is the
“interpretation” of an
assumed influence the
stars (and planets) exert
on human destiny.
*It is a false belief
condemned by the Bible.

93. *God specifies astrologers
as among those who will
be burned as stubble in
God’s judgment (Isaiah
47:13-14).
*Astrology as a form of
divination is expressly

94. forbidden in Scripture
(Deuteronomy 18:10-14).
*God forbade the children
of Israel to worship or
serve the “host of
heaven” (Deuteronomy
4:19).

95. *Several times in their
history, however, Israel
fell into that very sin
(2 Kings 17:16).
*Their worship of the
stars brought God’s
judgment each time.

96. *To believe that stars can
predict the future is to
claim they have the power
of gods!
*It puts the stars in place
of God and gives the
glory of God to others.

97. *Intentionally or not, that
is a form of idolatry,
which God forbids.

98. *Astrology attempts to
advise people how to act,
based on the position of
the stars, etc.
*So people "trust their
lucky stars" and "thank
their lucky stars."

99. *Some people will read
their horoscope everyday,
but will go days without
opening the Bible!
*They seek guidance from
some Occult source other
than God.

100. *The stars should awaken
wonder at God’s power,
wisdom, and infinitude.
*We should use the stars
to keep track of time and
place and to remind us of
God’s faithful, covenant-

101. keeping nature.
*All the while, we
acknowledge the Creator
of the heavens.
*Our wisdom comes from
God, not the stars
(James 1:5).

102. The Word of God, the
Bible, is our guide
through life as stated in
Psalm 119:105 -
105 “Your word is a lamp
for my feet and a light on
my path.”

103. After God took Abram
outside and showed him
the stars, then Abram
believed and it was
counted unto him as
righteousness.

104. The Gospel in the Stars
*Virgo = the Virgin
*Aires = the Ram, the
sacrifice
*Gemini = the dual nature
of Christ

106. Genesis 15:6
6 “Abram believed
the Lord, and He credited
it to him as
righteousness.”

107. 1 Peter 4:19
19 “So those who suffer
according to God’s will
should, while doing what
is good, entrust
themselves to a faithful
Creator.”

108. Abram believed God even
though he did not have all
the facts both when He
told him to leave his
“home” to go to a foreign
land and now when He
promised him a son.

109. What if God revealed to
you as a five year old,
everything that was going
to happen to you in your
life time?

110. We all have trusted God
with our eternal salvation
but do we trust Him with
our everyday lives?

111. A little faith will bring
your soul to Heaven but
great faith brings Heaven
to your soul!

112. Focal Passages Today:
*Trust God (Gen. 15:4-6)
*Don’t Take Matters into
Your Own Hands
(Gen. 16:1-5)
*Refocus on God’s Plan
(Gen. 17:3-6,15-19)

113. Don’t Take Matters into
Your Own Hands
Genesis 16:1-5
1 “Abram’s wife Sarai
had not borne any
children for him, but she
owned an Egyptian slave

114. named Hagar.
2 Sarai said to Abram,
“Since the Lord has
prevented me from
bearing children, go to
my slave; perhaps
through her I can build a

115. family.” And Abram
agreed to what Sarai said.
3 So Abram’s wife Sarai
took Hagar, her Egyptian
slave, and gave her to her
husband Abram as a wife
for him. This happened

116. after Abram had lived in
the land of Canaan 10
years.
4 He slept with Hagar,
and she became
pregnant. When she
realized that she was

117. pregnant, she treated her
mistress with contempt.
5 Then Sarai said to
Abram, “You are
responsible for my
suffering! I put my slave
in your arms, and ever

118. since she saw that she
was pregnant, she has
treated me with
contempt. May the Lord
judge between me and
you.”
Genesis 16:1-5

119. *Three life lessons emerge
from this portion of the
story.
*These life lessons help us
avoid temptations to take
matters into our own
hands.

120. *First, getting ahead of the
Lord can become a bad
habit.
*Abram had a history of
taking matters into his
own hands (12:10-20; 20:1-
18).

121. *In each case, he got into
trouble because he acted
on his own instead of
turning to the Lord.
*The same outcome
awaits us if we develop a
pattern of launching

122. ahead with our plans, not
waiting on the Lord to
work out His plan.
*Second, waiting on the
Lord can put tremendous
pressure on us.

123. *Like Abram, we often
grow more fretful about
our unmet need as time
passes.
*If we’re not disciplined,
we’ll give in to the stress
and begin to wonder if we

124. need to take action on our
own.
*Before long, we’ll find
ourselves pushing hard in
order to make things
happen according to our
own plans.

125. *At the same time, we’ll
ignore the reality that God
can be trusted to keep His
promises.
*Third, getting wise
counsel can keep us on
track.

126. *It can help us to keep on
trusting God when
circumstances seem to be
pushing us to do
something on our own.
*A variety of Biblical
proverbs affirm the value

127. of getting the Lord’s
guidance by seeking the
counsel of believers who
have grown in godly
wisdom (Prov. 11:14;
12:15; 15:22).

128. Proverbs 11:14
14 “Without guidance,
people fall,
but with many counselors
there is deliverance.”

129. Abram and Sarai’s
decision teaches us the
value of sharing our ideas
about how to solve our
problems with mature
Christians who can give
us insightful advice.

130. Resentment, desperation,
and terror filled the home
of a couple who stopped
trusting God and took
matters into their own
hands.

132. The sad outcome of
Abram and Sarai’s plan
demonstrates three key
realities to keep in mind
as we face the challenge of
waiting on the Lord to
keep His promises.

133. *First, we cannot rely on
our own ideas alone when
it comes to doing the
Lord’s work.
*Left to our own
judgments, we certainly
will make mistakes as we

134. try to solve our problems
without the Lord’s
involvement.
*Second, we must resist
the temptation to blame
each other when we carry
out our own plans only to

135. see them fail.
*By contrast, we reflect
wisdom when we turn to
the Lord in repentance
and obedience.
*Once we turn to Him, we
can express our renewed

136. willingness to follow His
leadership.
*Third, we should not
devise our own plans then
expect the Lord to make
them work.

137. *When we live out God’s
plan, we can expect Him
to bless it.
*However, when we
depend on the Lord to
bless plans we’ve devised
without His input, we

138. make a grave mistake.
*After Sarai’s plan failed,
she wanted the Lord to
get involved and judge
Abram for the role he
played in its failure.

140. When we see our plans
falling apart, we also often
find ourselves asking the
Lord to make things better
for us.

141. *Oh boy, what a mess—
and all because Sarai and
Abram took matters into
their own hands!
*Recount a time when
you took matters into
your own hands.

142. *What did you learn?

143. Focal Passages Today:
*Trust God (Gen. 15:4-6)
*Don’t Take Matters into
Your Own Hands
(Gen. 16:1-5)
*Refocus on God’s Plan
(Gen. 17:3-6,15-19)

144. Refocus on God’s Plan
Genesis 17:3-6,15-19
3 “Then Abram fell
facedown and God spoke
with him:
4 “As for Me, My
covenant is with you:

145. you will become the
father of many nations.
5 Your name will no
longer be Abram, but
your name will be
Abraham, for I will make
you the father of many

146. nations.
6 I will make you
extremely fruitful and
will make nations and
kings come from you.
15 God said to Abraham,
“As for your wife Sarai,

147. do not call her Sarai, for
Sarah will be her name.
16 I will bless her;
indeed, I will give you a
son by her. I will bless
her, and she will produce
nations; kings of peoples

148. will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell
facedown. Then he
laughed and said to
himself, “Can a child be
born to a hundred-year-
old man? Can Sarah, a

149. ninety-year-old woman,
give birth?”
18 So Abraham said to
God, “If only Ishmael
were acceptable to You!”
19 But God said, “No.
Your wife Sarah will bear

150. you a son, and you will
name him Isaac. I will
confirm My covenant
with him as an
everlasting covenant for
his future offspring.”
Genesis 17:3-6,15-19

152. In Hebrew, Abram means:
“exalted father” (of a son).
*Abraham means:
“father of a multitude”
(of many sons).
*Sarai means contentious.
*Sarah means princess.

153. Abraham and Sarah
named their son “Isaac”,
which means “laughter”,
to remind them of the joy
he brought them.

154. The name also reminded
them that they each had
laughed when God told
them they would have a
son (Genesis 17:17; 18:12).

158. Despite having taken
matters into their own
hands and having
brought intense pain
upon themselves and
others, God brought their
attention back to His

159. plan for Abram and
Sarai.
*What causes us to
refocus on God’s plan?

160. Biblical Truths of This
Lesson in Focus
• When we trust the Lord,
we can be certain we have
done what He requires in
order for us to be made
right with Him.

161. • When we grow
impatient with the Lord
as He carries out His plan,
we can get ahead of Him
and try to take matters
into our own hands.

162. “It is as dark a mile ahead
of God as it is a mile
behind Him.”
Jeff Wheeler

163. • When we turn to the
Lord in humility and
sincerity, we can count on
Him to help us renew our
relationship with Him.

164. • When we realize we
have failed to live out
God’s plan, we can rest
assured we can turn to
Him for a fresh start.

165. Perhaps you are in the
midst of a period of time
when you have taken
matters into your own
hands or become
distracted or in some
other way lost focus on

166. God’s plan.
*If so, go to Him now,
reaffirming your trust in
Him and committing to
refocus on His plan.

167. NEXT WEEK
HOW TO AVOID A
CRITICAL SPIRIT