Average people are called into the purpose of God. Abraham lied about his wife, but he grew into a man who could offer up his son, Isaac, because God asked him to. We are forgiven much and because of this we can trust was God is doing. (Genesis 12:10-12)

Speaker(s): Pastor Thomas Schaller, Pastor Ken Feyers
Sermon 11968
7:00 PM on 10/7/2020

P. Schaller –

I’m very excited tonight because we have guests here from different places. We have a pastor’s retreat starting
tomorrow night and I’m excited about it and what the Holy Spirit wants to say to us the next
couple weeks as pastors. I appreciate all the prayers being prayed for the next couple days that
the pastors will be encouraged, refreshed, edified, instructed and we be guided in our future in
the ministry. I’m excited in my heart. Also, this is a day of prayer and fasting for GG churches
around the world. I fasted until about 5 this afternoon. I’m so proud of myself! I say that to be
transparent about it. You may fast. You may not. You may do a lot of it. You may do little. You
before God praying as we had in the beginning of the service, 10 minutes of prayer from around
the world. Maybe you missed it but maybe we can get it online.

To take this day, the first Wednesday of every month, and really seek God. How many feels that God has answered
prayer for you in the last weeks, days, years? How many prayers have been answered? What
God has done is amazing. Before we do the first part of the message, I want to ask and see – I
see Keith McFarland is here with Andrew. Keith is back from the days. Do you remember the
time of Noah?!! He built a ship like Noah did and you sailed La Gracia. We had a mission trip
and Keith was the captain. We had a team and other teams and so on. Then P. Chuck Brookey is
here from Florida, Tampa Bay area. P. Ken Fryers from Miami is here. Did I miss anybody? Do
you want to stand and we can recognize you if I missed anybody? Turn to one short piece and
then a longer piece. I want you to see something to put the seed thought in your mind, Revelation 5.

There was a scene in heaven with John was in heaven and he saw on the throne, vs. 1. A book
written in his right hand and the writing was on the front side and the back side of the book, or
the scroll that was in his hand and there is writing on both sides which is unusual for a scroll.
What is the meaning of that? Why is it written on both sides? That is one seed thought. In ten
years maybe we will give an answer. I don’t have and don’t want to talk about that part right
now. If you read Bible commentaries, they say this is the title deed to the earth, that this scroll
has to do with the ownership of the earth. It has to do with the unfolding plan on the earth. It
has to do with what God wants done here on the earth. I want you to have that thought in your
mind as I say the next part. When John saw there wasn’t anybody that could take the scroll, he
wept. He wept when he saw there was no man who could take the scroll.

He wept. Vs. 2-3. This was an angel that said, who can take it? Who can open it? Who can take the scroll from the one sitting on the throne? Vs. 3. We couldn’t even look on it. It was in another realm. It’s there but
nobody has the right, nobody has the authority but it’s there. Then when John realized this, he
wept much in vs. 4. I wept much. When I read that this afternoon, I thought about it this way.
When we have the phenomena in earth and it’s going like the plan of God on the earth is
happening and then I can’t see where it’s going. I don’t have any authority over it. I don’t see
what is happening. I think that happens at the grave. When a human being loses a loved one
and they are buried. I don’t know where it is going. Who has the authority? Who can answer
the question? Where is it going? What’s the meaning? What is going to happen?

But this is not in heaven about a single grave or relative where you are weeping and not knowing the answer
to death. This is to the whole cosmos who is in control and in charge of the whole universe and
who has the right, who can answer the question, who can bring it to a consummation, who can take us to where we are supposed to be. When there isn’t any, I weep much. There wasn’t any.
I wept much. There wasn’t any answer. There wasn’t any authority. There wasn’t any solution.
There wasn’t any savior. There wasn’t any purpose in it. It didn’t go anywhere. So, he wept
much. Vs. 4. That’s what we want to hear too. Weep not. Weep not. Vs. 5. I want to use that
thought to bring it to our lives and the second part of my introduction tonight I want you to
think with me about the same principle. I want you to see something with Abraham. Genesis 12, I
want to also talk to the pastors as a fellow pastor and as a man who is blessed to be in a church
like this one. Blessed to be here. Blessed to be with believers like you.

Blessed to be with people who are hungry and thirsty. Blessed to be in the anointing of God in the normal plan of
the New Testament. This is the New Testament. This is extraordinary. It’s awesome. It’s healthy.
It feeds us. It guides us. It helps us in many ways. I want to say here is a similar diagram of a
different magnitude but a similar principle. Here is Abraham. At this point, I’ll draw a man here.
Here is Abraham and I want you to see a story with me. Genesis 12:10, are you following it with me?
I think you are. Okay. Here we go. Ready? Vs. 11. Abram said I know you are a beautiful woman.
I wouldn’t have married you if that wasn’t the case! I want you to see something simple about
this man. He’s an easy-going guy. He’s not a hero. He’s an average person just a normal guy like
many pastors that we are going to meet these next couple days.

We are guys, simple guys, nothing special about us. We are something like this man. We also want to know where is it going. What is going on in life? Where does God want to bring you? Really? Does he bring you
somewhere? Really? Does he work in you? Does he share his attributes? Really? Does he
change us? That’s an awesome question. It doesn’t have to do just with a young man who is an
easy-going guy. I wrote down a couple words. He’s the average, normal, polite good guy. He’s
easy going and unheroic. There is nothing about this guy that he has moral courage. Vs. 12.
What is he thinking about? Something very normal. We got to give the guy some credit for
thinking up something in his imagination. I’m thinking hey, I’m going to get in trouble. You’re a
beautiful woman. We are living in an age where there is not law and order. There is power,
swords and bandits and kings and everything.

They’ll kill me. What are we going to do about it? They’ll kill me. This story is written for everyone of us to tell us the nice, easy going guy that is polite and easy to live with and be with and everything about this guy is simple like us. God chose him because he wants to tell us something that your life is going somewhere. That he has
a plan for you. You are actually changing. You are actually growing. In the story we see in the
history of Abraham, there is a long line of events and through his life you see something
happening in him. You see the changes. You see through his life and this is a long period of
time. You see this man is getting the guts. He’s got the stuff. He’s got some courage. He’s
making some decisions. It’s happening in his heart. How can that happen just to the normal Joe,
the normal guy. Because that’s the message of our faith. This is why Christ came. He didn’t
come for heroes.

There aren’t any. Everybody is like this. Okay there are exceptional people that have a lot of courage and there are people that are heroes. Okay in some measure, but most of us are not. We’re not. We are like this situation. Listen Sarai. Listen. You’re beautiful. They take a look at you. They look at me. I’m toast. Why don’t I just say you are my sister? What do you think? It’s either you live in the guy’s harem or you live with another guy or you help me save my life. What do you think? We’ll make a deal. Makes sense. Let’s do it. In a way, I
excuse Abram for this. In a way, I can see that and understand that. In another way, I want to
be different from that. I want to have something going on in my heart that is on another
dimension. Listen, Sarai. You are a beautiful woman. Let’s pray for God to protect you. You’re a
beautiful woman and God promised me in this chapter earlier that he is going to make me a
head of many nations, the head of a mighty nation and you are the woman.

Together we can walk thorough this by faith. Many believers today are not at that place in their faith and then by
God’s grace many are and further down the road. If this doesn’t happen, if this is not what we
are talking about as Christians, then I weep much. There is no point. What’s going on? Where is
it going? Who has the title deed? Where is the whole universe going? What is the answer for
death and sin? Nothing. There is no answer. We’re all cowards the rest of our lives or we live
foolishly or we are in adultery or shameful living or lying or deceit or moral collapse. That’s
what our society is based on. Abram being a good guy and telling a little bit of a lie so he can
survive. Well, Jesus came to teach us something deeper. Jesus said I don’t want you to just try
and survive in life. I want you to live. I want you to live in me, through me. I want you to know
me. I want you to glorify me and I want you to have something going on in your heart. You
could say, halleluiah!

It’s a Wednesday night and I can meet God. Halleluiah! Tomorrow morning is another day and Jesus is doing something. Isn’t that good? Okay, so let’s finish the story. Vs. 13. That it will be well with me and I will live and that will be for your sake. You’ll have a husband. But if you don’t do this, they’ll kill me. I thought God appeared to you and spoke to you? I thought you built an altar for God and Abram said I did but I’m only three months old in
the Lord. What do you expect me to be? A holy saint of God? Yeah, he did but I don’t have a
handle on this. Watch this and I’ll finish it up. Abram is getting a little bigger and Lot says, I think
I should leave. I’m in your family. I’m your nephew. Lot says I think I should leave. Abram is
bigger now. He says you go that way, it’s okay. I’ll go that way if you go that way. Because God
has given me the whole land. I got something going on in my heart. God appeared to Abram
and said, “I am your shield.” That means I am your protector. Walk before me. That’s the
message again and again. Walk before me.

Let us make a habit of saying this to each other in love and in life and say trust God in your trial. Say to a teenager, seek him and you will find him. There will be an increase that is happening in your life. When you go through a trial, you will find the way. He let Lot go. By the way, in the Middle East you don’t let relatives go. You keep
them. You kind of strangle them even. You control them. You are in my family. You are in my
blood line and you are staying with me. You’re not going. But Abram said go it’s okay. God is
with us. When Lot gets in trouble, Abram has a little army of 300 men. I want to say it this way.
He’s a little bit bigger and has 300 men. How many kings does he destroy? He destroys five
kings. One says you can have the spoil. What does Abraham say? No, I don’t want the money. I
don’t want the spoil. I don’t want anyone to think I am doing this for spoil or plunder. I’m doing
this because God is with me. God? Yeah, I’m getting to know God. God? Yeah God.

God is with me in the Spirit. God is with me in the morning, at night, in the trial, in the prison, in the
difficulty, in covid19, and anything else that comes down the road. And our political situation in
the future in the United States of America. On one hand, I’m in the fight as a voting citizen but I’m not. I’m in it and I’m going to do anything I can in terms of our country and righteousness
and what needs to be done. I am not the answer. The answer of this trajectory, the point of
where we are going is not politics. The point of it is deeper. It’s when you and I know Jesus
Christ, we become salt and light. We become good counselors. We can go out after five kings
with a little army of 300 men and come back and say God did that. He had his backsliding with
Hagar. He sins with Hagar and that produces a problem, but Abram is getting bigger than the
problems. He’s getting bigger than his failure.

He’s getting bigger. He’s trusting God. This is in chapter 16 and this is in chapter 14 and this is in chapter 12 and in 16 he takes Hagar but in 18, he’s before God in prayer and guess what? He prays for Sodom and Gomorrah. He’s saying God don’t destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if there is 40, if there is 30, if there is 20, if there is 10. Who
is he now? Who is Abraham? Abraham who is he? He’s a man of God. God said you’ll have a
son. Twenty-five years later, he has the son in Genesis 21. Then he says to Abraham, give me your
son. Abraham says I can give you my son. I know who you are in Genesis 22. I can give you my son.
Do you think that when in heaven when they are seeing the life of this man, this is the first man
in our Bible with such a long history. But it’s repeated in principle with Jacob. It’s repeated with
Joseph in Egypt. It’s repeated in your life. That’s what I want to say tonight. I want to say it with
the pastors. We might fail and this cheap kind of exchange regarding Abram and his wife is so
low for God.

Abraham, you couldn’t believe me I would take care of your wife? She’s going to
have a baby one day. She’s going to be 99 years old and you’re going to be 100 delivering a
baby. Do you believe that? No, I don’t believe that. I got to protect myself. The Lord goes that’s
okay. That fine. I’m working with you. This is going to happen. I’m going to work with you. It’s
okay. It’s fine. It’s very encouraging to me. I’ve seen so many people cave, morally cave. I’ve
seen it in my own heart, morally cave. No moral courage. Cannot stand. No moral courage.
When something is right, it’s right. When it’s wrong, it’s wrong. Maybe if we do this and that. I
don’t want to hear any of that in this situation. I don’t have one at the moment. You know what
I’m saying. We can discuss it. We can talk about it. No, if it’s right, it’s right. If it’s wrong, it’s
wrong. Where do you stand? Get in the ark or out of the ark.

Like a chimpanzee in the ark or another guy on the outside. It is what it is and by the way, when this day comes, there was much weeping because he couldn’t see who was really winning. Then the lion of the tribe of
Judah came. Wow! Same in your life. If you can sense in your life that there is some change, if
you can sense there is some conviction; if you can sense in your life – nothing is for sale here. I
got it. This is not, I’m not fooling around. I got it. No, I got conviction about this. No, you can call
me names all day long. I got something in my heart and I’m connected with Jesus Christ and
that makes us salt and light in a dark world. That’s amazing. Okay. I could say the whole thing
over again but you’ve already heard it twice. Pray with me. Let me say this one thing. Here is a
dimension that is the world that I’m in front of the TV and I have my chips and my job and my
go cart and whatever I got.

I got my life but when you grow in following Jesus, he’s going to bring you into a bigger world. He’s going to bring you into something. You’ll say, oh wow! Oh my. I like it but I got to get adjusted to it. Woe! There is a lot going on in the pot. There’s a lot happening in this whole thing. We’re going to meet God one day. There’s a lot happening.
There is heaven and hell. There’s the Gospel and there’s missions. There’s serving and giving. Woe! I wouldn’t be living like this. God has led us and he leads us in this. When you get bigger,
your world gets bigger. But when you and I save in our small saving my life and working it with
my wife so we can lie a little to work it out, I’m missing the whole big picture of the Almighty
God that will protect us and he did in the story. He did in that story. Read the rest of it tonight.
Okay. Amen.

P. Ken Fryers –

Hey, you guys doing good? Was that a great word? Hang on one minute. I’m
making sure no snakes in here! They live in these things. Don’t kid yourself. Give me a minute!
It is so wonderful to be here. We thank you for praying for Miami. Amazing things are
happening. Miami is still really shut down. We’re not. We’re not shut down. Everyone else is
but we are not going there. In times like this is when they need the Word of God. What are they
going to have it they withdraw to their home, isolate to their home, be separated to their
home? There is no communication. There is no fellowship. There is no contact. Nothing. And
God is moving. What we are doing, we are sitting out on the streets. We got signs. Everybody is
using signs today. We got our signs out there, too. God is hearing you. God is with you. God has
not left you. You can see people frowning and driving by and starting to smile and beep the
horns. We have probably 7 or 8 new people come in through that method.

I just want to tell one more story about that. There was a lady that pulled in and she’s coming for the first time
tonight. Jesse will be speaking. She’ll hear him. He misses you guys already. But she had her
house – I don’t know what is going on or the circumstances but a lot of the neighbors are trying
to evict her. They are throwing things at her as she brings in groceries and stuff. One night it
was late and they were beating on her door. She didn’t feel good at all. She got in her car and
started driving around the city. She said it was around 12 or 12:30 at night. She pulled into our
parking lot and she said she felt peace there. She didn’t know it was a church yet. That Saturday
comes and we are holding out signs and she drives by and pulls in and says, what is this place?
This is Greater Grace Church Miami. She knew right away; she knew immediately this is where
she needs to be. God is doing wonderful things.

I love this message tonight. I love this message. A lot of times people can’t see what God is doing. They can’t see. God can do that through them but he’ll never do that through me. You’ll think about that. What chapter are you in? I’m still in chapter 1. Abraham is in 28 and I’m in chapter 1 still. But God is growing me, right? God
is doing something in my life. I got to believe that. I trust God. I’m trusting him of the small
things. I see the guy out on the street. God, can you save that person? I’m talking to God that
way. Can you use me? Can I be the vessel that talks to him? Can you save him? God is doing
amazing things. I love that story in Revelation 5, pastor, where John who is weeping and many
scholars believe he wrote all of Revelation weeping. That book was written in tears. It’s amazing
to think about that. The seals are going to be open and that’s going to cause more. John heard
about the lion of the tribe of Judah from David. He heard about this lion can do it. When he
turned and looked, he saw a lamb. Heard about the lion but still seen a lamb. We see the lamb.
We see the lamb. Luke 7, God is doing something. I’m only going to do two verses. Let me tell
the story first.

This is a Pharisee named Simon. He invites Jesus to come and eat with him.
While they are eating, a woman came in with an alabaster box. The Pharisees got a name but the woman according to Luke’s account is just a woman. She would wash Jesus’ feet with her
tears. She would wipe his feet with her hair and she would anoint his feet with this ointment.
How precious are the feet. How precious are the feet of Christ. Simon said, thinking to himself,
if you were a prophet, you would know what kind of woman was touching you. Jesus perceives
this because he was a prophet. He said, hey, I got a question for you. I got a question for you. I
like the way the King James says it. Simon answered, say on. Go ahead. Listen to this. This
parable is a two-verse parable. You guys with me tonight? Two verse parables starting in vs. 41.
One owed 500 and the other owned 50. Vs. 42. Which one will love him more? They are seeing
this debt as relative.

If one owes 50 and the other 500, obviously the one that owes 500 is going
to love him more. This is exactly what Simon says. I suppose the one who forgave the most.
Jesus says you answer as a right judge. Really, it’s your answering the way the world would
answer. You would think the one that owes 500 would love him so much more than the one
that owed just 50. Simon is comparing himself with her. Simon is saying I’m better than this. I’m
not as bad as she is. She owes much more than Simon. He knew her reputation. He knew who
she was. He knew her background. He knew her life. If you think of this, the consequences of
the debt though have to be the same. There’s no difference between the one that owes 50 and
the one that owes 500.

When it comes to debt and the wages of sin is death. The debt requires
the same shedding of blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. It
doesn’t determine that the one that has 50 and one has 500. It’s the same consequence. It’s
the same resource. It’s the same method and only that method. The one that owes 500 and the
one that owes 50 both go through the same method. I don’t know what that cost was for me
and for you for your sins and for my sins but I do know that Christ accepted it. Accepted the
payment of the Savior. It was enough. I don’t know how much that was but it satisfied my debt.
It satisfied your debt. This woman understood it. She loved much. Jesus says listen Simon. I
came to your home but you never in vs. 44 washed me but this woman did. You never kissed
me but she hasn’t ceased to kiss me.

This woman did. You never anointed my head with oil but this woman did. As we learn forgiveness in our life which is so important, we will serve with what God has given us and what he has forgiven us. He told her today you’re forgiven. Your sins are forgiven and you are saved. Amazing. Amazing to think about this. What are the
consequences of our sins? Can we understand what Christ did on the cross forgave you all your
sins. Does that bring you to the point where you want to serve Christ because you have been
forgiven much? Why wouldn’t we forgive? Why would we hold forgiveness from people who
look for it and need it? It’s hard to serve with knowing that you are not forgiven. It didn’t
change Simon at all but what a remarkable thing it did for this woman.

Please enjoy these sermon notes from the messages preached at Greater Grace Church in Baltimore. These notes are provided to aid in your study and understanding of the Word. Note that these notes do not represent complete, word-for-word transcriptions. Also, they may contain omissions as well as some errors in spelling and structure, etc., as we attempt to provide them as soon as possible. Our hope is that these notes serve as a way to help you search and connect with messages on related subjects and passages. Thank you for your interest in the ministry of Greater Grace.