<TITLE>07. Par 20-23</TITLE>L-20 Now, God called Abraham, not because he was Abraham; God called Abraham by election. Abraham was no good man, no better than anybody else. He probable come out of the group of idolaters down from the tower of Babel where they worship roots and--of the ground, and they had a woman up there, and she had all kinds of curious arts she practiced, if you've ever read the history. And there's where the first organized church ever begin was in Babylon, by Nimrod: organized all the cities and they paid tribute and so forth to that one place.
Now, Abraham's father brought him down from Babylon, and they dwelt in the city of Ur in the land of Chaldea. And Abraham was just an ordinary man like you and I, just an ordinary man, but God... Oh, I want you to get it! God, by fore knowledge called and elected Abraham. He knew his heart. He knew him before the foundation of the world. And Abraham only fit into God's program. And Abraham's wife was named Sarai which was his half sister.

L-21 Now, when Abraham was walking in the fields one day, or wherever he was, God called Abraham. He was seventy-five years old, and Sarai was ten years younger, making her sixty-five years old.
Now, anyone knows that the woman at sixty-five was past the menopause at least fifteen years. He married her when she was just a little lassie. And now, they lived together as husband and wife. And Abraham being seventy-five years old, and God called him and give him His covenant unconditionally.

L-22 Man always breaks his covenant with God. When God made a covenant with Adam in the garden of Eden, he broke it. Every time man breaks his covenant. Give him the law he broke it. But God was determined to save man, so He made the covenant with Abraham unconditionally. Not, "If you will," He said, "I have." I like that. Not, "If you'll do this, if you'll do that..." I know that has a little Calvinistic swing to it, and I am a Calvinist as long as Calvin stays in the Bible. But when he goes off on eternal security and them black sides over there, I'm an Arminian from then on. I'm with any church as long as you stay in the Bible. When you get outside, that lets me out. But they both got a picture, but they both got Scripture, and they both went out on limbs and hung themselves. That's right, the holiness and the Calvinists...

L-23 But God called Abraham, not because he was a good man; He never had any "ifs" into it at all. He said, "I saved you, and I saved your seed beside you. I've given you this land, and you'll come to me in an old age." Brother, that settles it. God said so. Abraham didn't have to do a thing but abide right in the covenant. That's all, just stay right there. And if God saved you, the only thing you have to do is abide in His grace. That's all. Stay right there. Don't have to worry about whether the river's going to raise, or the wagon's going to rock, just stay in the grace. Stay in Christ.
Now, He gave it to him unconditionally. And I want you to notice He said, "Through you, I'm going to make you a father of nations," and he had no children, and perhaps he was sterile and his--his wife was also sterile. Now notice, year after year they had lived together as a young couple and no children, and here he is seventy-five and her sixty-five; and He said, "Abraham, you're going to have a baby by Sarai."
I can see Abraham go down and say, "Sarai, go buy a big bunch of birdeye and get the pins ready. we're going to have a baby." Why, could you imagine a man seventy-five years old going down here in the city and saying, "Hey, doc, I want to make arrangements now. Wife only sixty-five and I'm seventy-five, we're going to have a baby."
Why, the doctor'd say, "The old fellow has slipped in his mind."


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