The Bible is a miracle. (II Peter 1:21)
theo = God        pneustos = breath


The Bible as literature
1. Plot or story line
a. beginning – God created us.
b. development – God reveals Himself to us
c. climax – Jesus came to live with us and die for us.
d. Ending – judgment or reward


2. Characters
What does this person's life tell you about what God loves and values? About what God hates and rejects?
What does God do in the life of this person as a result of His actions.


3. Setting
Why Palestine?
a. best possible land for a nation to be established and Abraham's descendants multiplied
b. ideal location to influence all the different world powers c. ideal center for the spread of the gospel


4. Mood
By reading the Bible, we are moved by what moves God.
It is essential that we comprehend the hopeless despair of sinfulness so we can appreciate the wonderful, hopeful optimism of a God of salvation.


5. Theme
The message of the Bible calls us into action.
The Bible is more than literature. It is life itself!

James 4:2- “You have not because you ask not.”

1. Ask Immediately. (47)
Too often, prayer is not our first option.
We only ask when we get desperate and don't know where else to turn.

Matthew 7:7 This is not a one-time request; it's a continual prayer.


2. Ask Defiantly. (48)
You sometimes have to defy those around you and ask anyway.

We must make sure that in our defiant prayer that our defiance is not against God.


3. Ask Specifically. (51)

a. Bartimaeus knew exactly what he wanted
b. Bartimaeus asked for it all.

The act of asking demonstrates your faith.

The real benefit Bartimaeus received that day was that he got to follow Jesus.

1. A Word of Warning (13)
Our ignorance of these matters would do nothing but breed hopelessness.


2. A Word of Instruction (14-17)
a. Reality of the gospel (14)
All this only makes sense if you believe Jesus died for our sins.

b. Return of Jesus with the saints (14)
He is going to be accompanied by all those people who died believing in Him.

c. Resurrection of the bodies of departed saints (16) (I Corinthians 15:12-23)

d. Rapture of living believers (17)
(Matthew 24:40; Romans 14:8; Psalms 116:15; I Cor. 15:53)

e. Reunion of believers (17)
We will get to see our departed loved ones again.


3. A Word of Comfort (18)
“These words” change our attitudes about the difficulties of life.

Christian hope has immediate, practical benefit.

1. The sheep got lost by getting by getting disoriented and separated from the shepherd. (4-7)

When we lose track of our source of our guidance system, we start nibbling on different things that interest us.

How does a sheep get found? The shepherd has to leave the flock, go find the sheep, and carry it back to the fold.
When we are spiritually lost, God provides with the resources to find our way back to Him.


2. The coin got lost because of carelessness. (8-10)
Spiritually, we get lost because of wrong turns we make.
How was the lost coin found? The woman had to realize her coin was lost.
Before we can be saved, we must first admit that we have sinned.


3. The son became lost because of rebellion. (11-32)
We often think we know a better way than what God has instructed and prepared and provided for us to take.
How was the lost son found? He realized his father's way was the best way and the right way after all.
We must discover there is only one way to where we want to be, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ.


There is great rejoicing whenever what is lost has been found.
God wants to find you.  

You cannot be a good father until you are a good man.

God is looking for
1. Men Who Have Learned to Lean. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
a. for Salvation (Eph. 2:8-9)
Salvation depends totally on what God has done for you.
b. for Strength (Is.40:30; Ps. 147:10-11)
You can keep on standing, no matter how much the world knocks you down.
c. for Supply (Phil. 4:19)
Being “breadwinner" is not an excuse to neglect your wife and kids.
d. for Soundness (James 1:5)
in wisdom and reasoning


2. Men Who Have Learned to Lead
a. their Families (Eph. 5:23; 6:4)
Being head of the household is about loving leadership.
b. the Fallen to Jesus (I Peter 3:15)
our most basic and urgent obligation
c. the Fellowship
There has been an epidemic of absentee laymen leaders in the church.

Areas in which we can give to the Lord
1. Time
2. Ability - one ability we can all give to the Lord is availability
3. Self

Principle #1 – You Get Out According to What You Put In. (vs. 6)

God deserves some quantity time, just like your loved ones do.
He can use you as much as you are willing to be used.


Principle #2 – True Giving Overflows. (vs. 7)
It's good to give even if it hurts.
True giving goes beyond making a sacrifice and being a martyr. It flows from the heart.


Principle #3 - Give and You Get More to Give. (8-11)
Some have taken this principle only half-way.
God gives to you so that you can keep giving.


Principle #4 – We Give Only Because of the Gift Given to Us.
a. Every moment we have to breathe is a miracle.
b. God enabled us with different things that each of us can do particularly well.
​c. We love only because He first loved us.( I John 4:10, 19)

If we are serious about following Jesus, it may come to sacrificing everything just for the sake of having Him in our lives.

Old Testament prophets- “to obey is better than sacrifice.”

Revealed in this account
1. God's sacrifice for us is a replica of  Abraham's sacrifice.
vs. 2, 12, 16 “your son, your only son, whom you love.”


2. the principle of substitutionary atonement
God Himself will provide the lamb.”
Jehovah Jireh- “the Lord will provide.


3. absolute belief in the resurrection
It was this kind of faith in the resurrecting power of God
that was credited to Abraham as righteousness.

comparisons between Isaac and Jesus
a. both were born under supernatural circumstances
b. both were described as the chosen seed of their race
c. both became servants to be sacrificed for sin

Romans 12:1- We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God.

What are you withholding from God?

Most problems come down to the same issue: “Do I let God take control of my life, or do I try to take matters into my own hands?”

1. Abraham and Sarah chose expedience over faith. (1-2)

Just because something is socially acceptable does not mean that God approves of it.

God's way is usually not the more convenient way.


2. Since God's way is the best way, any other way is false.

Hagar had a false superiority.
Sarah had a false interest.
Abraham had a false neutrality.


3. The conflict between Sarah and Hagar is symbolic of the spiritual conflict going on for all of us.

We have been cast away from His presence and become nomads without a home.


4. God appeared to the outcast one.
This story is about Jesus and His offer of salvation to sinners. (Galatians 4:22-31)

Ishmael represents man's religion through self-effort.
​“born of the flesh”
Isaac- “born of a promise”

The Bible tells us about many people whom we would do well to emulate. Only one of those people
was perfect.

Abraham's transition from faith to fear
1. a famine in the land.
A severe situation creates hard decisions for a person to make.

God's tests are a positive thing in our lives.


2. In the process of the crisis, there is no hint of Abraham turning to the Lord for help.



3. Abraham compromised his integrity, his wife's honor, and his testimony for the Lord.

When people in leadership fail, there are greater ramifications. (Luke 12:48)

The reason we compromise God's principles is because we think we might benefit from doing so.

Whenever you make compromises with your faith, it will always lead to heartache.


4. The worst thing about what Abraham had done was the effect it had on the Pharaoh.

The results of our sins affect other people.

When we behave hypocritically, the consequences are severe, especially if if causes somebody else to stumble.
None of us will ever reach the point where we have arrived.

1. Faith is a response to a promise.

Faith is living in obedience to Him because you believe His promises.

The measure of faith is not determined by how much you believe, but how much you know about the promises of God.


2. Faith is a very simple thing.

Faith is when you just do it. (Colossians 2:6)


3. Faith opens up new frontiers.

Uniqueness of Abraham's situation
a. Sarah was barren.
b. He was told to leave his home and family.
c. He was 75 years old.

For anyone who has faith, God is not through surprising you.

Everything Abraham risked losing, he already had
in the Lord.

Whatever your new frontier is, it is a matter of diving
in and discovering it.

God will provide you with all the friendship, security and
certainty you need.