Gen 11: 27 – 12:9. The PLEDGE ‘the journey of faith’
Recap: The Big picture of the last two weeks: we have looked at the God of Creation and what went wrong, humanity lost a perfect relationship with GOD and a perfect world to rule under God as sin came into the world. And from that moment in time people have really set themselves up against God. They have refused to love God and rule creation under God’s leadership and so we see that things just go from bad to worse:
Gen.4. Cain and Abel. Gen.6. Noah’s day God had to flood the entire earth. Gen.11. Even after the global flood and the dispersal of Noah’s family and the repopulation of the earth, people wanted to make a name for themselves they build a tower, to reach to God in their pride – so God confused the languages @ Babel .
2000 BC The pledge is given: Yet even though humanity is bent on usurping God’s authority, God begins to rebuild his Kingdom, the early shoots of Gods promise from a seed of woman is developing . God calls out a man Abram (exalted father) with a pledge (covenant - promise – promise I will 5 times ) Whose name changed to Abraham (father of a multitude) Abraham by faith would be obedient to God’s call upon his life.
God’s part: The pledge 7 ‘I will’s’ involved: These are certainties......
V1 I will make you into a great nation. V1 And be blessed by God
V2 Abram will be a great name.
V3 to be blessing to others,
V3 others will blessed through him.
V3 Divine protection
V3 All peoples to be blessed through him on the face of the earth.
Abram’s part: But for these blessing to come to fruition the exercise of faith (obedience)
1. He had to leave his own country firstly Ur then Haran going into the unknown.
2. He had to leave his own people, family and enter into the unknown at the age of 75.
3. He had to trust God would provide descendants through his wife Sari when she was barren.
Grace towards undeserving people: Abram was a human being like you and I with weaknesses and failings. Abram was an unlikely character to have been called from Ur, his family worshipped idols Jos.24:2.Moon God the first Jew was a Gentile. Yet it was God who chose him totally unworthy he responded in obedience.
Yet here we have the father of Faith Heb 11: 8 - 19. The Bible says Abraham was a man of faith - Abraham was sure of what God had promised to him and he was certain of what he did not see. It was God who lay behind all his exploits,it was God who motivated this man at the age of 75 to go forward in faith to be a blessing and to be blessed.
For us here @ CBC those of us in Christ God has chosen us also ordinary people (sinners saved by grace) ‘God doesn’t call us upon who we are – but what he will make us to be.’ In Christ we too are part of that pledge of God in Christ (Abram’s spiritual descendants) we are totally undeserving and will fail God on our journey of faith but yet God’s grace has been poured out upon us still.
God calls us to continue stepping out in faith, to go forward.
1. He calls us to go into the unknown land that he has prepared for us
2. He calls us to leave behind the familiar and comfortable v1.
3. Involves us responding in faith where we will we be blessed by God and be a blessing to others.
4. As a result the Lord will bless others will be included into this family of faith when we are obedient to God.
Today we shall look into the divine calling of God to Abram and the response that Abram makes and pointing out the calling that Abram faced all Christians face in some shape or form today . God calls us also to take the journey of faith how will we respond to the journey of faith walking it in obedience
1. The journey of faith involves a divine call of God v1.
The journey of faith with God can only take place when an individual has received the divine gift of faith in God without faith it is impossible to please God a Christian is somebody who has been called by God and received the gift of faith, as a result the call of God will be evident in our lives a call to fulfil our God given purpose and destiny.
God is behind our lives: These days most people have the wonderful blessing of a Sat Nav in their car to direct them in their trtavels. The Sat nav direct’s them to their given destination. Abram had a far superior Sat Nav, God Himself and so do all Christians today. He will lead us on our journey of faith and take us to our God given destination. So most of you men trust the Sat Nav are we prepared to trust God to do the same on the greatest journey of faith?
The calling : Here we begin to see the family of Terah doing just that responding to the call of God as they left Ur (Mesopotamia ) to go to Canaan they begin to fulfil their God given destiny and purpose yet when they arrive in Haran (approx halfway between Ur and Canaan in present day Turkey on the Syrian border) they stop and go no further- here although their goal was Canaan v31. It was in Haran that they settled and lived for a good number of years, it was here his father lost sight of God’s promises and died outside the land of promise.
GODS CALL: Why didn’t they go into Canaan as planned? You might be saying well Abram wasn’t called until they were in Haran, this was not the case ( 12:1 - 4) Abram received the call earlier from God at Ur to go into Canaan (Acts 7:2)we see that was their their intentions 11:31.
The Sat Nav has to be followed, if we are to get where we are supposed to go, it looks like they’ve switched it off?
The call of good intentions: Haran was familiar territory to Terah, it would have been much like Ur familiar culture religions and land it was a very affluent place to be: Ur to Haran was familiar but to Canaan was unfamiliar surroundings – it would be going against everything he is familiar and comfortable with and so as the head he decided not to take the family any further, he died in Haran v32 outside the land of promise that God had pledged.
I think it’s true for many of us we start the Christian life with good intentions we want to be obedient to God’s call in our lives , we want to see his Kingdom come people be transformed but overtime we can get distracted we can begin to drift in our Christian life, we get sidetracked by the things around us we get comfortable we are no longer prepared to sacrifice what we have for the unknown - and so we lose our purpose and the vision.
SACRIFICE: Right now there are men and women serving our country overseas especially in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are making many sacrifices. Some people would argue that they volunteered to do it. They chose to serve. Praise God they did. Never the less,they are making sacrifices in answer to the commander in chief’s call. One reason so many people today don’t hear clearly God’s call or are not fulfilling the call of God on their life is because they are not willing to make sacrifices. And answer God’s call….
Personally: Do you remember when God saved you? Everything became so fresh, vibrant, you read your Bible , you prayed, God spoke, you talked about Jesus, you were listening to God ready to sacrifice and do his will, but now you have come to a full stop. A plateau- a spiritual limbo. Your Christian life has become comfortable going through the motions of Church its familiar, to experience change means letting go of what your comfortable with - be different – awkward decisions – going against the tide. Maybe you have lost all track of Gods call and purpose in your life?
Ask yourself the question where will you end your life? Will you be like Terah who never fulfilled his calling? Do you have good intentions, but now you’re not following through with what God has called you to be? We need a fresh revelation like Abram, once again to move forward in faith being prepared to sacrifice all to answer the call of God.
Mrk.4:16-17 Jesus told a parable of a farmer who sowed seed which was the word of God he said some people received it with joy but over time because they had no root they didn’t last they withered and died, they had good intentions but it didn’t last.
The whole family (Terah – Abram – Lot- Sari) C.B.C. has been in Haran for some time ....and God is calling us to move on up to Canaan, God is calling us to set out on our journey of faith once more – He is calling us to leave behind what we have known v1 and to enter into the future blessings that he has in store for us – I believe we have started that journey of faith once more that we are responding to the divine call of God for CBC once again. We cannot afford to remain in Haran we will die outside of the promises of God. He has so much more in store for us
V1 Fresh Revelation: Abram receives a fresh revelation of that first call (had said) back at Ur that they were to go to Canaan the initial purpose returns to the mind and heart of Abram the opportunity has arrived to fulfil his God given purposes. His Father has died, He had the good intentions but it was never fulfilled now Abram would respond and fulfil his God given purpose.
Like the broken down car that receives a jump start and the engine is running once more to continue its journey or the patient whose heart has stopped beating in the city centre then the paramedic’s are quickly on the scene and the patient has received the defibrillator and the heart is beating again.
And so it is with CBC the heart of God is being jump started with fresh revelation will it leave Haran. Like Abram we need to respond to the fresh call of God once more and fulfil our divine calling.
2.The journey of faith involves responding to the divine call of God v 4.
a) Responding with Obedient faith: Abram believed all that God had said and he responded to the call, the evidence of his faith was his obedience v4 to the divine call of God. This is faith not a leap in the dark but trusting God and His word to take you into the future.
Are we prepared to be obedient to God’s Word? God wants us all to go further forward, God wants us to let go of those things in Haran, the things which are distracting us, holding us back, Terah died in Haran he couldn’t go further he had good intentions but they were never fulfilled – they were to go to Canaan – are we going to be obedient to God in our responses?
b) Responding with mature faith: Maybe your saying were too old to believe Gods word and certainly to old to act upon it and face further change..... Age is no barrier to real faith v4. Abram was 75 years old when he responded to the call of God. Many of you are old and the question are you like Abram prepared to enter into a new territory uncharted waters, to trust God once again.
c) Responding with others v5 : Lot and the people could have stayed with the rest of Terahs family in the fertile land of Haran which was familiar and comfortable but instead they went with Abram, his faith had so influenced others they too desired to respond and follow on the journey of faith.
Our faith ought to be an influence to people where ever we are in the work place in the home at leisure as Jesus said we are to be the salt and light in this world, but if the salt loses its saltiness what use is it? If the light is hidden people will remain in darkness. Can I ask you an honest question? Are you at all influenced week by week as I preach from this pulpit? Do you believe what I’m saying is from God? Are you encouraged? Do you encourage others? Is it your desire to respond in faith to this call this morning to take this journey of faith as we move forward as a Church together.
We need each other.....Abram needed others with him and we need each other friends on this journey we need to spur one another on, we need to encourage one another, to pray for one another, to serve one another, to bless one another. Together we can do great things, united we will stand but divided we will fall. Heb 10: 25.
3. The journey of faith involves a certain pledge which brings assurance v2 - 3.
This pledge is given by God so these are not like the pledges put forward at the beginning of elections which they so often never fulfil - it’s not possibilities but certainties. ‘I will’. What God decrees will take place.
These blessing are given in the context of Abram responding in faith, but God has not entered into an agreement with Abram, the blessings far outweigh the demands of God. Like the call of Jesus has for people today to forsake all and follow him may seem hard pill to swallow for the world but to follow him and enter into the blessings of God, in reality there is no comparison. The incoming far outweighs the outgoing’s.
But look what God gives V2. I will make you into a great nation, V2 and I will bless you.V2. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. V3. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse V3. And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
This pledge applied in Christ to us is a cause of great assurance to our faith 1. We belong to a great nation (every tribe and nation) our citizen ship is ultimately in heaven. 2. We are blessed by God in knowing Him whom to know is eternal life. 3. The name of Jesus we proclaim is the greatest name that every knee will bow 4. On our journey we can proclaim and minister in his name and will be a blessing to others 5. The assurance of the divine protection of God in whatever we do nothing can separate us from the love of God. 6. This last blessing found its fulfilment in Jesus Christ all peoples of the earth will be blessed through Him.
God is calling us to travel on a journey of faith, he calls us to respond in appropriate manner with obedience with willingness and encouragement towards one another when we do God has pledged to us that he will be on the journey with us – just as Jesus said to his disciples when they started their journey of faith ‘I will be with you always to the very end of an age.’
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