And then we're going to jump back in just a second to Genesis chapter 12. Romans four one through five. This should sound familiar to you. We read it last week. What shall we say then that that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh hath found.

For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now, to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt but to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. What is Paul saying here?

Well, he is telling us that if you go all the way back to Abraham, you discover something. Abraham was not justified or declared guiltless before God based upon his what? His works but based upon his faith. The Bible makes that very clear in Genesis 15 and Paul quotes it here in Romans four three. It says, for what saith the scripture, Abraham believed God and was counted unto him for righteousness.

Paul also in verses four and five are telling the people he's writing and to those who would read this later on. That if you're trying to get to heaven on good works, then you have a mountain of debt. In order to pay off. A mountain so high that you will never want. You will never succeed.

You will never pay the debt that you owe by your sin. But if you will abandon your attempt to earn heaven by your good works and trust instead in the good work of Jesus Christ who died on the cross to redeem you from your sin and received by grace through faith, the gift of eternal life. Then, you can be justified and you will be justified in his name. It is sad how many people are trying still to earn their way to heaven, to pay off a debt that they can never want. They can never pay.

But a debt that has already been paid by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary who gave his righteous self there that we might be made the righteousness of God through faith in him. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you Lord. For Jesus Christ, our savior and for the debt that you paid, that we can never pay. We pray Lord for those that we know in particular who have been deceived into thinking that they can earn a place in heaven by their good works.

We pray Lord that they would that you would open their eyes, that they would see, that what Christ did on the cross was sufficient to pay that debt in full for all of us and that they would choose to embrace Christ by faith and receive salvation as it is the gift of God and not by works. Lest any man should boast. In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen. Now, let's look back at Abraham once again.

Genesis chapter 12. Genesis chapter 12. Yes, God declared Abraham justified on the basis of his what? Faith, not his works, which we shall see, his works that is, as we shall see, we're not always demonstrative of a strong and perfect faith, but an imperfect and growing faith just like you and me. Praise the Lord.

He is a god of patience. A god who works with the little faith we have to build it stronger and stronger day by day. Lord, I believe, help thou mine what? Mine unbelief. Praise the Lord.

He is patient as he was here with Abraham or Abraham in the passage. Praise the Lord. He is a merciful God who forgives our failures and is understanding of our weaknesses. He knows our frame that we are but what? We are but dust and until we reach the shores of heaven and give a get a new body, that no longer is affected by the lust of the flesh.

We struggle and sometimes we want. We fail. Praise God. He is a merciful God towards us and that he forgives our failures and he is understanding of our weaknesses. Praise the Lord.

He does not require our faith to be everything it will be right now. He gives us time to grow and at times falter. Taking two steps forward and sometimes one step back and sometimes one step forward and sometimes two steps back. Praise God. He is a patient God.

He is a merciful God. He is an understanding God. He is a god of love. Who is patient? With his children.

As we stumble along and as we learn to trust him and to obey him more and more each day. We even see that in the life of Abraham. We think of Abraham, this great man of faith and indeed he was. But he was a work in progress. Just like we are.

Abraham, though a man of faith in the Lord, who trusted in God so much as to leave his homeland to follow God to a place he did not know, stumbled often in his faith along the path toward a more perfect and mature man of God. We're told in Ephesians four thirteen, it says, till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Now, we read, you read the word perfect there in the King James version. It means complete, mature. We are growing.

The Bible says, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may what? Grow thereby. You don't get saved and instantaneously, you're a great person of maturity and faith in the Lord. No, you have to what? You have to grow.

You have to grow. Sometimes, that growth is easier. Sometimes, it's harder. Sometimes you grow as things are going well and you're feasting on the word of God and sometimes you grow through things that are not well. Through trials.

James therefore says, count all joy when you fall into diverse temptations or trials knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience. God is molding you. He's conforming you to the image of son. He is strengthening your faith. The only way for us to get stronger is to go through the valleys and the mountain tops and the valleys and the mountain tops.

Sometimes, we pass the test and sometimes we fail. Praise God. We have a savior who's never failed and will always keep his promises to us. Let us take a quick look this morning at one of the failings of Abraham as we read about him in the passage but a couple of warnings as we do. Number one, warning number one, do not be too quick to judge Abraham and ignore your own failings and need for growth and repentance.

It's awful easy for us to see the failings of who? Others. Lot harder for us to see our own failings and come to the Lord and confess those before him. It's awful easy to look in scripture and condemn Abraham. Well, that was stupid.

That was dumb. He should have known better but how many times have we done dumb, stupid, ignorant, faithless things ourselves? And you look back later on, you go, boy, that was dumb. Oh, I should. Why in the world did I do that?

I should've what? I should've known better. Just like Abraham. So, don't be quick, too quick, quick to judge Abraham and overlook your own faults. Number two, don't brush off his failings or yours as insignificant.

If not for the grace of God, our failures like Abraham's would be catastrophic for us. And maybe also for others. Sin is not to be what? It's not to be toyed with. Sin is a terrible thing and when we sin, sin has what?

Consequences and you say, but pastor, I'm forgiven. I'm redeemed under the blood of Jesus Christ. I have a home in heaven. He says, he will remember my sins no more. Yes, in light of heaven and eternity, our sins have been what?

Washed away by the blood of Christ but there are still consequences for sin where? Here. In our lives, in the lives of others. Sin has consequences. Don't take it lightly.

God will rescue Abraham as we'll see from his own foolishness in the passage today. But this was not something to be taken lightly nor is our sin to be taken lightly either. Take it seriously. Let's look at the failing of Abraham. We see this great mountain top.

God came to him said, trust me, I will take you a land. I will give you an inheritance. I will give you seed, offspring. I will make of them a great nation. I will bless those who bless thee and curse those who curse thee and in you, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed and Abraham left his homeland and he followed who?

And he followed God and he did it by what? He did it by faith and his faith was accounted to him for what? For the righteousness which he did not have on his own. We see the mountain top and now we get to verse 10 and we start down the backside into the valley. As is often the case.

Verse 10 and there was a famine in the land and Abraham went down to Egypt to sojourn there for the famine was grievous in the land. So, he's in the promised land. There's a great famine. There's no food to eat. He has a large family, servants to take care of.

He has flocks and herds to take care of. There's very little grass for them to eat. So, goes where there is food to eat and where there's grass for the cattle and that is in the direction of what? That is in the direction of Egypt. Now, I wrote here after Abraham had been in the land a little while, great famine hit, scarcity of food drove Abraham to Egypt to provide for his family.

God does not condemn Abraham for this move as he would later not condemn Jacob for making the same move with him, his family. We don't read here where God said, you were wrong or God actually condemned him for going to Egypt. Now, maybe it was a wise decision, maybe it wasn't but God doesn't condemn him simply for going to Egypt to provide for his family. Later, God would provide for Jacob and his family through Joseph where in Egypt, okay? So, I don't necessarily believe that Abraham was wrong for going to Egypt.

At least Abraham did not choose to go back where? He didn't chose to go back to Heron. He didn't choose to go back to Er. He didn't abandon the promised land. He actually went just a little bit south of it.

Assuming he would one day come back to it. He did not go back where he came from. He trusted in the Lord. He went where there was food nearby. I don't believe going to Egypt was the big sin on Abraham's part or lack of faith but it's what comes next.

That's the problem. Look, if you would in verse 11, it came to pass when he was come near to enter into Egypt, he said unto Sarai, his wife, behold now, I know that there are a fair woman to look upon. She's 60 years old, she lives to be 120 years old, she's essentially middle aged, evidently, she is a very pretty woman or at least Abraham thought so and as we read on, we'll see that others thought so too. So, he is he's concerned here concerning that issue. Let's continue reading.

He says, verse 12, therefore, it shall come to pass when the Egyptians shall see thee that they shall say this, this is his wife and they will kill me but they will save thee alive. So, he said to Sarah, when we get to Egypt, they're going to see you and they're going to want you and they're going to covet my wife and they're going to kill me in order to what? In order to have you. So, this is his fear and now, we look at his solution. Verse 13, say I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake and my soul shall live because of thee.

So, Abraham's got a concern about who? Himself is who's he's concerned about. He is concerned that somebody's going to see his wife and see how beautiful she is and they're going to take her and and kill him in order to have her. So, we see Abraham's sin. On his way to Egypt, he makes this request of Sarai.

When we get to Egypt, tell him you're my sister, not my wife. Was this a half truth? Yeah, she was his half sister. Yes. But she was also his wife, a half truth is nothing but a what?

A lie, okay? Almost every false teaching out there has a grain of what? Truth. Does that make it the truth? No.

It is still a what? It is still a lie. What Abraham told his wife to do was to lie about being his wife. In Proverbs six, we are told seven things which God detests. One of them is a lying tongue and another of them is a false witness.

One of them is a lying tongue and the other is a false witness. Deception is not something that God admires. It is something that God what? Detests. It is not representative of the honesty and integrity of the God we serve but of his enemy, Satan.

Deception is man's way of dealing with problems and it's Satan's way of dealing with man and let's see here. John eight forty four, Jesus said, you are of your father, the devil, and the lust of your father, you will do. He was a murderer from beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, speaketh of himself for he is a liar and the father of it. Satan is a liar.

God is a truth speaker. Satan is a liar. How is it that Satan got Eve to disobey God? He did what? He lied to her.

He says, that's not right. You won't surely die when you eat this. A matter of fact, God is holding back on you. You can be as God's yourself if you'll eat of that fruit. What did he do?

He told them a lie and he deceived Eve and she ate and he has been lying ever since. Satan's way out of his fix and out of his trouble is to continue to lie and deceive. Thinking somehow erroneously that one day, he's going to deceive God. Which he cannot. But he does deceive men and he does teach us to deal with our problems the same way as he does.

Do not fall prey to the deception. That deception is the only way out. Don't fall prey to the deception of Satan. That it's just a little white lie. Instead, trust in the Lord with all thine heart.

Lean not unto thine own understanding. All thy ways acknowledge him and he shall what? Direct thy path. The way out is not through deception. The way out is through trust in who?

Through trust in the Lord. Don't listen to the devil. Listen to the Lord. Don't listen to yourself. There's a way that seems right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death, destruction, ruin.

Listen to God. Put your trust in him. Tell the truth. Don't tell lies in order to escape the consequences. Egypt, Abraham going to Egypt in itself may not have been a sin but Egypt is often the a type of the world in scripture and as we live and move in the world, we have an enemy, Satan, who roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may what?

Devour and if we let down our guard, if we are weak in our faith, we are easier pickings for who? For Satan and the lies of the devil. And here, Abraham was easy pickings for Satan. Not because he went to Egypt but because he told his wife to lie because he thought the way to escape destruction and trouble was to deceive that never works out well in the end. Especially with who?

Especially with God. The reason he told her was not for his safety. The reason he told her was for whose safety? His safety. It was a very selfish act unbecoming of a Christian and God believing husband who should have known who should have known better and who should have shown more care for who?

His wife. He wasn't concerned for her. He told her to lie out of concern for him. What does the Bible say? Ephesians five twenty five, husbands love your wives even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it.

What did Jesus do? No greater love hath hath this than a man lay down his what? Life for his friends. That's what Jesus did for us. That's what Jesus did for the church.

He laid down his life for us. Essentially, Abraham is almost telling his wife to lay down her life for him. How selfish? Self centered, inconsiderate, and unloving of Abraham. When we ask others to cover for us by line, tell them I'm not home or tell them I'm not available when we are.

Then, we put them in a bad spot. We're asking them to sin before God. This is not becoming of a child of God. It is a what? It's a sin.

It is not fitting for a child of God. It is a a sin. We should not be enticing others to do wrong. We should be encouraging them to do what? To do right and to trust in who?

And to trust in God. A child of God strong in the faith is going to encourage others to trust the Lord and to be a good example of that trust. Instead, trying to weasel out of something. It's also a sin when we choose to put anybody else in harm's way. Bible says, love your neighbor as yourself.

Esteem others better than your selves. Abraham was esteeming himself better than I believe his wife. That in itself is a sin. Third point under Abraham's sin is this, what is the reason for Abraham's plea And his subsequent deception? What was the reason?

The reason was fear. Fear. It it's pretty clear here in the passage why he did it. He was afraid that they would kill him to take her. So, he did it out of fear.

When we lie out of fear to try to escape consequences which we deserve, we demonstrate a lack of trust in God's judgment, mercy, and strength to deal with the result and we almost always dig our hole what? Deeper and again, I go back. I was a kid. I was six or seven years old. I went to school.

I had lunch money. I didn't eat that day because I had made a bet with somebody on a baseball game. I didn't even know the teams who were playing. It's just some older kid dared me and you know, as a stupid, ignorant kid, you know, I didn't want to look like a coward and so I took the dare and I bet my lunch money. Well, I got there the next day and guess what?

My team lost the game. So, who got my lunch money? The older kid who took advantage, a little pipsqueak who didn't know what he was doing and so, I went home and my mom asked me how lunch was. Well, I told her, well, I I I didn't eat lunch. Well, why didn't you eat lunch?

Why lost my money? Well, I had I I had the thing that my money was in and it had two snaps over it that held change and it was nearly impossible to have what? To have lost the money and without losing the billfold that the money was in. So, my mom thought, I don't think he's telling the truth. So, she asked me again.

I said, I lost it and then she began to dig deeper and for some odd reason to this day, I don't know why. She asked me, did you bet it? I don't know why she got, where she got that from. I don't know why she thought that that might be but I said, no. Digging my hole deeper, digging it deeper and then, I guess for some reason, she could hear in my voice that I wasn't telling the truth.

So, she started getting a little more detailed. She said, did you bet it on a football game? No. I thought I'm okay. Did you bet it on a basketball game?

No. I'm okay. Did you bet it on a baseball game? Ugh. About this time, I knew that I had dug my hole so deep that if I didn't tell the truth, my life was over.

So, finally, I came clean, and I told her. And I couldn't watch the Redskins play on television for the next two weeks, which was nearly the end of my life. Because it was football season. But it wouldn't have been so bad if I would have just done what? Told the truth.

Instead, I gave in to fear and I lied in order to try to escape the what? The consequences rather than trusting in the justice and mercy of God and my mother. And that's what lying gets us. When we lie and attempt to avoid a situation out of fear like Abraham did here, out of foreseen troubles which may not have even have been, we do also or even more so show a lack of faith in God's goodness and power to protect us. The Abraham had left his homeland to go to a land amongst people.

He didn't know. He could've got there and they could've been cannibals and yet he didn't know where he was going and what he was going to find. Yet, he had this faith to do it and when he got there and he had to go down to Egypt for food, what did he do? He caved into fear because of a lack of what? Faith.

And he lied to save his skin. And not his wife's. Reminds me of the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel chapter three. They did the opposite. They showed great faith in the face of great fear.

They had been threatened with being thrown in the fiery furnace if they didn't bow. Somebody had turned them in and said, they didn't bow. They probably could've lied and said, well, that person isn't telling the truth. We bowed. And that probably would have been it.

Maybe not. But they could've done that. Sounds like something that some of us might do. Well, yeah, it's just a little lie. But they didn't do that.

They told Nebuchadnezzar the truth. They told him they didn't bow and when he gave him a second chance, they told him, we're not going to bow now. They said this, if it so be our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand, oh king, but if not, be it known unto thee, oh king, that we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. We're not going to do it. We're just not going to do it.

We're going to trust who? We're going to trust God. Now, we're going to face fearful situations in life. Sometimes of our own doing. Sometimes of other people's doing.

Sometimes, fear of the future and things that we think we are going to find ourselves in the middle of not knowing what will happen. You got a choice. You can trust God, tell the truth, or you can cave to fear try to tell a lie. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart do what is right in your own eyes. One leads to blessing, the other one always to heartache.

What was the difference between Abraham and these three young men? They acted not in fear but in faith. We need to do the same. God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. That's what Paul told to Timothy.

Timothy had a a lot on his shoulders. Lot of responsibility staring at him in the face. Persecution staring him in the face. Paul said, God hasn't given us a spirit of fear. Not fear of situations, not fear of man.

No. God has given us the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind. In other words, trust in the Lord. Don't let fear take control. If you love and trust God enough, then fear will not overpower your faith.

And you will do what is right. But when our faith is small and weak, we sometimes fail. As did Abraham here. The Bible says, perfect love casts out what? Casts out fear.

If he would have loved his wife the way he should have loved his wife, would he have come up with this solution? The answer is no. If he would have loved his God the way he should have loved and trusted his God, would he would have come up with this solution? The answer is no. Perfect love casts out fear but if the person we're loving is ourself and the person we're trusting is ourself.

Then we're in trouble. What was the result of his failure? Look in verse 14. Verse 14, came to pass that when Abraham was coming to Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. He was right.

They thought she was pretty. The princess also Pharaoh saw her and commended her before Pharaoh and the woman was taken in the Pharaoh's house. Well, she wasn't anybody's wife so she was what? Pregame. Verse 16, and he entreated Abraham well for her sake and he had sheep and oxen and and he asked us and men's servants and maid servants and she asked us in camels.

Because Abraham was her what? Brother in this deceptive scenario and not her husband, Abraham tree Pharaoh treated Abraham well. For his sister's sake. What a mess. What a mess.

What happened? Well, Pharaoh took Sarah for himself. Abraham set up the situation by which some of his fear came to fruition. Oftentimes, by lying deceit, we often calls the very thing we are trying to avoid to happen. That is all so often the case when we try to finagle our way out of it and to deceive.

The very thing we fear is what we cause. So many times. Sometimes in the ministry, there are things that I ought to confront, people I ought to confront, and sometimes, in some cases out of fear, I don't do it, I put it off, I don't deal with it, I don't confront it, and it almost always comes back to bite me. Trust in the Lord. Do what is right.

Do the right thing, the right way, trusting that God has things under control. And he will take care of you and others. But trust in yourself out of fear, don't do what is right, be sure your sin will what? Find you out and you will always reap what you sow. Don't be deceived.

God is not mocked that which man soweth that shall he also reap. And so Abraham is reaping the consequences of his deception. He made it easy for Pharaoh to take his wife. Number two, Pharaoh treated Abraham well. Pharaoh was very good to Abraham for Sarah's sake.

Abraham became wealthier and more well respected but at what cost? Can you imagine? In in Romans 12, it says, not to do evil to those who do evil to you but to do good unto them, heaping coals of fire on their what? On their head. When somebody is mean to you and bad to you and mean to you and you're good to them and good to them and good to them, you heap coals of fire on their head because the more you good good to them, treat them well when they treat you evil, the guiltier it makes them what?

The guiltier it makes them feel. Because you're not responding in kind. You're not responding the way you're supposed to. Here's Abraham. He lied.

He did wrong. He did not take care of his wife and now, Pharaoh was treating him well and how do you think God's making him feel? Heaping coals of fire on his head. Can only imagine the turmoil he was dealing with in his heart. What would happen to them both if he told Pharaoh now?

What would happen if he didn't? He was into what? Too deep. Didn't know which way to turn. He was between a rock and a hard place and it was all his doing because he gave in to fear rather than what?

Faith. Ever been there? I've been there. You probably been there. Uh-oh.

I made a mess of things. Now, how do I get out of this? Praise God if you know the Lord Jesus Christ and God is your father. He's a merciful God. He's a patient God.

And if you'll turn to him, he'll do what? He'll help you out. He'll help you out. Number three, Pharaoh almost defiled Sarah and sinned with her bringing God's wrath upon him and Abraham. But God stepped in.

Verse 17, look at verse 17. The Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abraham's wife and Pharaoh called Abraham and said, what is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why since thou she is my sister? So, I might have taken her to me to wife.

Now, therefore, behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way and Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him and they sent him away and his wife and all that he had. Praise God. God did what? God stepped in. God stepped in after Abraham had made a total mess of things because of the weakness of his faith.

And because of giving in to his fear and his selfishness. Isn't God great? He could have left Abraham and Sarah to their own devices but he didn't and so he rescued them from their own foolishness. Now, God doesn't always rescue us from our stupidity but who knows how many times God has? And we may never know.

Often, he delivers us to give us another chance and sadly, we do not get it and blow it again and again and again before we learn our lesson. You say, well, certainly, after this big mess, Abraham learned his lesson and he never did it again. Look a few chapters later, he did it again. Twice. He went to another place and he did the same thing with the same result and praised the Lord for his mercy and grace that God stepped in again to save him from himself and to save his wife from her foolish husband.

In Abraham's case, he did it again. What a hard hit. Be careful, you may be one too. A matter of fact, I'm pretty sure that off times we have been. But praise God for his mercy and grace and for stepping in.

To stop what it could have been a test catastrophic situation and turned it instead into a learning experience and a needed humiliation. God did step in before things went too far but there was a price to pay. Abraham blew his testimony in Egypt. He probably never get it back. And that's sad.

He blew his opportunity to be the representative of God that he should have because he let fear take over. And and lied. He humiliated himself and he lost the respect of pharaoh. He lost the welcome of pharaoh and was sent packing. And it certainly did not strengthen his marriage relationship.

You think? There were consequences to his sin. Praise God that he delivered him. Praise the Lord that he did not cast him aside and say, I'm through with them. I'm done with you because you blew it.

It's a good thing because we blow it too and it's a good thing God doesn't cast us aside. But he said in his word that he will not cast us out if we are in who? If we are in Jesus. If we are his child, he will never leave us nor forsake us but that doesn't mean that sin does not have consequences and that doesn't mean that we have arrived. Our faith is in the process of what?

Growing. Do not pretend that our sin even as Christians does not cause us and others troubles. Sometimes, severe ones. Loss of testimony before the lost is particularly destructive consequence that we may never gain back. As we see here in Abraham likely before the people of Egypt But look if you would over to chapter 13 in verses 14 through 16 and in closing, I want to show you something.

Despite Abraham's sin and sins consequences despite his imperfect faith and giving into fear and lying, God forgave him and God restored his blessing to him. Look if you would Genesis 13 verse 14 and the Lord said to Abraham after that lot was separated from him, lift now thine eyes and look under the place where thou art northward and southward and eastward and westward. For all the land which thou seest to thee will I give it and to thy seed forever and I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Abram came back to the land. He separated from Lot.

He chose to put his trust in the Lord and God repeated the promise that he had made before. God did not desert him because he stumbled. Praise God. He does not desert us because of our stumbles. Abraham was a work in process, progress.

Thanks be to God. He is watching over us as he was him. With mercy and love and will not leave us who are his children by grace through faith. Would it not be wonderful if we would never again fail our Lord? Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we never again did disobey his word? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we never did ever again gave in to fear and acted on fear and not faith? Wouldn't it be wonderful if never ever again we spoke a lie? That we're reminded in first John two that that is likely not to be the case until we get where? Until we get to heaven.

That's why John says this, my little children, these things write I unto you that you sin not. What is God's desire? God does not want you to what? He does not want you to sin. He freed you from the bondage and slavery of sin.

You don't have to sin. If you're walking in the spirit, you will get what? Victory over the lust of the flesh but sometimes sadly, we don't walk in the spirit and therefore, we give in to the what? The lust of the flesh but don't be deceived. God does not want you to sin.

It is a big deal, okay? So, he says, my little children, I write unto you that you sin not but he does continue and if any man want, sin. If we do fail, know this, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the world. God doesn't want you to sin but if you fail, know this, your savior is still sitting at the right hand of what? Of the father in heaven and he is there to advocate for you.

So, when you sin, Jesus can look at the father and said, that's under the what? That's under the blood. I paid for that sin. I paid for it. It's covered.

He is there as our advocate if and when we do. And God knows that as long as we're here, we're growing but we still sometimes take two steps forward and one step back. We should be growing in our faith and our love for God and others and in godly wisdom and courage but none of us have derived at perfection yet. But thanks be to God who accepts us where we are in our way to maturity through our faith. Though our faith be small and weak, it is enough if we have come to Christ for forgiveness and eternal life.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. If you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, to save you from your sin and hell based upon who he is and what he did for you on the cross and that he is your resurrected Lord today. If you put your faith in him to save you from sin, you are what? You are his child. It is what?

It is enough. However, it should be what? Your faith should be growing. It needs to be growing. We should be maturing.

In Jesus Christ. Couple questions in closing. Have you placed your faith and trust in Jesus to save you from sin and hell? If you haven't, you can. If you will, he will receive you.

Make you his child, and will not cast you out. You can do that this morning. Second question or couple questions. Are you a child of God, Christian struggling with your faith? Maybe you too have given in to fear.

Destroying your courage to do right, to follow Christ wherever he may lead. What is that? That is a sin. What are we supposed to do with sins? Confess them to the Lord and he will help us to overcome our fear and to grow in our faith but don't deny it, confess it.

Maybe you're lying to someone and you need to tell them the what? Truth. Don't be afraid to tell the truth. Might have been better if you'd told the truth before but you better tell the truth why? Now, don't dig your hole deeper.

Confess it to God and go make it right with the person that you lied to. Tell them the truth but you say, I'm afraid. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. Come clean. Tell the truth.

And number three, finally, maybe you've caused others pain by your lack of faith as Abraham did Sarah. Maybe you put them in a bad spot. Go to them and confess your failure. Ask for their forgiveness and determine by God's grace not to make the same mistake again. If you're here today and you say, I have no sin.

Well, the truth is not in you. But if you will what? Confess your sin. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and us from all unrighteousness. Let's pray.

Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord for the example of Abraham and his faith in leaving in obedience to you, his homeland to follow you wherever you would lead. Thank you Lord for the window into his life seeing Lord that like us, he also struggled in his faith and Lord, you were there for him even though he made a mess. Lord, he returned to you. He got his feet back on the right path by your grace and you repeated your blessings as you do to us. You forgive our sins.

You stay with us. You're patient. You're merciful. You're kind. Lord, I pray that our confidence and faith in you would only grow stronger.

In your ability to keep us, in the promises you've made to us, and Lord, I pray that we would also recognize the seriousness of sin and its consequences and learn to put greater trust in you and not cave to fear. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.