Summary: 

characteristics of one who is growing in their faith.

Growing Faith

Genesis 12:6-10

6 
And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of
Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 
And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and
there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

8 
And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his
tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto
the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

9 
And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

10 
And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn
there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

Last week we began our study of Abram, the man God chose to begin the great nation of
Israel. We examined the call of God in the sense that God’s call on our life is not about us,
God’s call requires us to make sacrifices, God’s call comes with promises, and it requires us
to step out on blind faith.

Let’s refresh ourselves on the biblical definition of faith: “Now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1.

When Abram “went forth as the Lord had spoken to him…” he did so on faith. He did not
know where he was going, he went because God said so. This began his journey with God.
This began the process of Abram becoming a great man of God, known through the ages
as a man of great faith. How did this come to pass?

We all, like Abram, begin our walk with God by faith. “ For by grace are ye saved through
faith;” What I want us to see, through the life of Abram, are the various stages of faith. We
go through stages in our faith. Today we are going to examine a growing faith.

Having a growing faith means:

I. We Go Deeper.
A. Deeper in what?

B. Abram moved deeper into the land God wanted to show him. Deeper into what God had
called him to.

1. Abram did not just go to the border, cross over it and say “I’ve made it.” Pour the slab,
get the bricks, build the house, we are here. No, he went deeper.

2. Vs. 6 “And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of
Moreh.”

C. I don’t believe we are meant to stay on the fringe of faith. I don’t think God desires us to
stay on the outskirts of the abundant life. We need to be willing to go deeper into our walk
with Christ. Deeper into what He has called us.

1. Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto
perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward
God,”

2. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 3:1-2 “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as
unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

2 
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it,
neither yet now are ye able.”

D. We don’t want to go deeper in our walk, deeper into the Word, because it is going to
make us aware of how unpopular it can make us. Try it. You’ll see.

1. The more we know, the more we are accountable for.

2. The deeper we dig into God’s word, the more we see His desire for holiness, we must
pursue holiness more.

3. The deeper we go in our relationship with the Lord, the more we realize we are
surrounded by the devil’s attacks.

4. The deeper we get with Christ, the more waves we are likely to cause.

E. Abram went as far down into Canaan as Shechem. This was about ¾ of the way down.

F. What did he begin to realize? The Canaanites were still in the land. He was in the thick of
em.
G. WE find comfort in the name of Shechem. It means shoulder.

H. I got an email saying this is the most important part of the body. It is the shoulder where
people lay their head when they need compassion. It is the shoulder that is cried on when
people are hurting.

It is in those times of frustration, anxiety, unpopularity, when we have gone deeper in our
calling, deeper into the fullness of knowing Christ, that we come to the shoulder of God for
encouragement and compassion. It is when we come to the shoulder that we realize God’s
presence.

II. Realize God’s Presence With Us. Vs. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram.

A. The fact that the Canaanite was in the land may be a problem for Abram. The comfort
lies in the fact that God was also very present in Canaan.

B. Don’t forget for one minute that when God calls you somewhere, He is already there. He
goes on before you preparing your way to arrive. He is walking with you along the way.

C. Jesus said in the great commission “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am
with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. ”

1. If we are going to make disciples, we gotta go deeper.

2. It means we have to be able to be surrounded by the things of this world, but not in fear
of them.

3. When we go deeper and experience the things around us that make us uncomfortable,
we can truly feel the presence of God with us.

D. When God is present with us, it is for a reason. He is doing a work around us. Even in the
midst of wicked Canaanites, God was working, making promises to Abram.

1. “Unto thy seed will I give this land.”

2. How, Abram is not told how, but he has gone deeper into the calling of God, he is in the
presence of God, so how is not important to Abram.

E. How is God going to bring the promises for your life to pass? I don’t know. You don’t
either. We are not supposed to know all of the how’s with God. We are to continue growing
in our faith, going deeper with God, realizing His presence in our life and then do what
Abram did.

III. Worshipped God

A. “and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.”

B. Part of growing in our faith means that we have genuine worship.

C. Abraham provides a good example of what worship is.

1. Praising God for who He is: God called Abram out of idolatry.

2. Praising God for what He has done: brought him safe thus far, showing him the land He
said He would, His faithfulness.

3. Praising God for what He is going to do: “Unto thy seed will I give this land.”

D. How many of us truly worshipped the Lord today?

E. Too many times we try and alter the worship, instead of building altars and worshipping.

F. The altar is a memorial to God for His faithfulness. Your life should be the altar you build,
a living memorial to God for His faithfulness.

1. Our attitudes

2. Our actions

3. Our songs

4. Our prayers

5. Our testimonies

6. Our meditation upon the Word

G. All of these should be reflective of God’s faithfulness, reflective of Who He is and what
He has done and will do in our lives.

H. It is when we take time to worship God that we are able to continue to go deeper into
His calling. We’ve been in His presence, reassured He is fulfilling His promises to us, and
reassured of His faithfulness to continue fulfilling those promise.
I. Abram does this: vs. 8-9. Moved on, worshipped, moved on.

J. When we are growing in our faith, we find ourselves going deeper with God. Following His
lead into depths we used to only imagine. Then we begin to realize how God’s presence is
abiding with us, He reveals Himself to us in new and fresh ways, and as a result of all that,
we begin to genuinely worship the Lord. This should be a continuous cycle in the life of the
believer who is growing in their faith.

K. Is this evident in our lives today? A growing faith?