Intro:
1. I had the priviledge of hearing my friend Sam Moore preach the other day. I remember having to preach a sermon on Circumsion and having a hard time finding an introduction.
He said, "Ah, just ask all those who have been circumcised to raise their hands!"
2. Well maybe we could get skip the introduction and get right into the message.
3. Abraham's Testimony.
Trans:Gen. 17
I. FIRST, WE HAVE THE SILENCE. 17:1
The last time God had spoken to Abraham was 13 years ago! Abram was learning the value on waiting of God. He had promised him a child, but then backed off!
F.B. Meyer, "God has set times. It is not for us to know them; indeed, we cannot know them; we must wait for them. If God had told Abraham in Haran that he must wait for 30 years until he possessed the promised child, his heart would have failed him.
So in gracious love, the length of weary years was hidden and only as they were nearly spent, a few months to wait, that God told him that "according to the time of life, Sarah will have a son."
Hank Williams had a song called "Just waitin"
The old maid's waitin' for leap year to come
The crooner's just waitin' to sing
The old cow's standin' by the bull durham sign
Just a-waitin' for the grass to turn green.
Worm must be waitin' for the early bird
I guess the early bird's waitin' for the worm.
Ev'rybody's waitin' for som'thin'
Nothing seems to turn out right
'cause the night shift's waitin' for mornin'
And the burglar just waitin' for night.
Sunflow'rs waitin' for the sunshine
Violets just waitin' for dew
Bees just waitin' for honey
And, honey, -- i'm -- just -- waitin' -- for -- you.
II. NEXT, THE APPEARANCE. 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless
A. His Age.
We are never too old to do business with God! He is 99 years old and still going strong.
"Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come." Psalm 71:18
"Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you." Isaiah 46:4
A lot of things change as we get older, but not our desire to walk with God!
Reminds me of an old man who was taking his evening walk. He enjoyed the solitude, but he heard a voice calling, "Help me! help Me!" The man looked down and saw a small frog.
He picked it up and the frog said, "I'm really a beautiful princess. If you kiss me, I will return to a princess and will love you forever."
The man put the frog in his pocket and proceeded with his daily walk. The frog spoke from his pocket, "Why don't you kiss me?"
The man said, "Frankly, at this stage of my life, I would rather have a talking frog!"
Things change, desires change - but not our desire for intimacy with God.
B. The Appearance of the Lord.
The Lord appeared to Abram, "I am Almighty God" - the word "appeared" means "to see." This is in the Niphal stem meaning "to become visible, to appear." Same word used in Gen. 12:7
It was a theophany and the One he saw was Almighty God!
El Shaddai—The God of Strength! When your 99 years old and your wife is barren you need strength...
It is interesting that the root word is "shad" and shad means the female breast. It is suggesting that God was the one whom Abram could draw nourishment from! Rom.4:20-21
Our strength is not in our youth or our physical abilities but in God. Think of Moses!
"Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished." Deuteronomy 34:7 Phil. 4:13
Vance Havner, "We say, "What power Elijah had!" but he had no power in himself, he was simply "THERE," in the place of power. We might say, "What power that radio has!" "What power that electric light has!"
But they are very frail contraptions, they are simply in the place of power, connected with the source. When the traffic officer stops you as you drive down the street, it is not his strength that does it; you could drive over him. It is his authority that makes you halt; he represents something greater than himself.
So we are nothing in ourselves, but when we are in the place of God's purpose we have His power, and greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.
C. The Admonition from the Lord.
walk before Me and be blameless - The Hebrew verb translated "walk" is in the Hitpael stem. It speaks of how we live out our lives. There are two imperatives - "walk" and be "blameless" the idea is that if we walk before the the Lord we will be blameless.
Blameless is not sinlessness!
One noted, "Perfection" is often supposed to denote sinlessness of moral character, [but it is] absurd for any mortal to assert moral perfection of himself.
Surely the language of the Apostle Paul better becomes our lips, as he cries, "Not as though I had already attained, or were already perfect; but I follow after."
What, then, is the true force and significance of these words "Walk before Me, and be perfect"? A comparison of the various passages where it occurs establishes its meaning beyond a doubt, and compels us to think into it the conception of "whole-heartedness."
It denotes the entire surrender of the being:
"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars." 2 Chronicles 16:9
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24
We must seek to realize constantly the presence of God, becoming instantly aware when the fleeciest cloud draws its veil for a moment over His face, and asking whether the cause may not lie in some scarcely-noticed sin.
We must cultivate the habit of feeling Him near, as the Friend from whom we would never be separated. Would you walk before God? Then let there be nothing in heart or life which you would not open to the inspection of His holy and merciful eye."
III. THIRDLY, THE REASSURANCE. 17:2-9
The covenant is reaffirmed...
A. The Abrahamic Cov. is Uncondition. vv.2,6-8,16,19-21
"2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." Genesis 17:1-2
I will - Some 14 times in this chapter God says, "I will" making it an unconditional Cov.
B. The covenant is National. 3-7a
1. Abram Prostration.
Abram fell on his face - King Jehoshaphat and the people bowed before God when faced with an invading army:
"And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD." 2 Chronicles 20:18
Joshua fell on his face before the Angel of the Lord:
"14 So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?" Joshua 5:14
Ezekiel prostrated himself before the glory of the Lord:
"Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; so I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD; and I fell on my face." Ezekiel 44:4
It was a position of humble submission to God!
Tony Evans, "A MEEK person bows low before God so that they can stand tall among men. It is a willingness to bow. The biggest players on a football team are the offensive linemen. They are the biggest, they are the strongest, but they're also the ones who go the lowest when it's time to run a play.
The biggest and strongest get down and go the lowest because that's where they get their leverage to perform. The bigger you are, the more meek you should be, because the bigger you are or the bigger you think you are, the more out of control you might tend to be.
2. God's Promise. 17:3-7
...and God talked with him, saying: 4 "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. - not just to Abram but to his physical descendants.
His name is changed from "exalted father" to "father of a multitude."
C. The Cov. is also Eternal. 8
Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." - this is why there must always be a Jewish Nation.
This is why there must be a Millennial Kingdom - a land; seed; and a blessing. This promise is still unfulfilled!
"1 What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. 3 For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? 4 Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar..." Romans 3:1-4
Through the years, especially with Hitler, it looked like the Jews were going to be exterminated, but they are going to make it to the promised Land one day.
In April 1941, the Hungarian Army invaded Yugoslavia. Dr. Bella Lampel had a small law firm, soon he was prohibited from practicing his profession.
Lampel was a leader of the Jewish Community. In March 1944, Gestapo officers arrested him and deported him to Auschwitz along with 400,000 Hungarian Jews.
He was later transferred to another concentration camp in Hungary where he died.
Lampel's son, Yosef was only 12 years old when his father was arrested. Yosef and his mother smuggled their way into the slums of Budapest and the two spent the rest of the war scrambling for survival in the city's ghetto.
In 1948, Yosef immigrated to Israel, as it was, becoming a Jewish state for the first time in almost 2,000 years. He became a journalist. He changed his last name to Lapid and soon was involved in politics.
Lapid's life was literally transformed, from the Holocaust to a citizen of the Promised Land.
One day the Nation will be transformed from the holocaust of this world to the Promises Land.
Trans:I'm sure Abraham needed and appreciated this reasurrance - remember Sarah is still barren. God's Presence and promises are a great source of encouragment.
Paul experience such reasurrance on several occassions.
"10 Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks. 11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome." Acts 23:10-11
I once went fishing with a friend of mine once, he said he knew of a good spot to fish. We got there and - nothing! We were there for about an hour without one single bite! I was ready to go home, his promise of a great fishing hole wasnt panning out.
Then something hit my line - hard! I was reeling him in, it got close enough that I could see the fish. It had to be at least a ten pound bass!
He got away - but it was reasurrance of my friends promise was true.
God often does something to encourage us, to keep believing that His promises are all true and they will one day be fulfilled.
IV. FOURTHLY, AN OBSERVANCE. 9-14
A. The Expectation. 9-10
9 And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; - while the cov. is unconditional, they were expected to observe the sign of the Covenant.
Like water baptism, it does not save anyone, but God expects every believer to give a public testimony.
B. The Explanation. 11-14
11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."
1. The Procedure. 11a
2. The Purpose.
the sign of the covenant - Jews became known as the "circumcison" (Ac.10:45), Gentiles were called the "uncircumcised" (Eph.2:11).
As we saw a few Sundays ago, Rom. 4, it was not related to Abraham being justified, that happened some 14 years before this.
Abraham first believed then he was circumcised as an outward sign of his previous, inward faith...
That previous inward faith, is referred to as the circumcision of the heart. If one did not have previous faith, then they had an uncircumcised heart, regardless of being circumcised in the flesh.
"Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer." Deuteronomy 10:16
"And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live." Deuteronomy 30:6
""You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you." Acts 7:51
When one believed they were at that time "circumcised" in their heart.
"In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ," Colossians 2:11
Parellel - When we trust Christ as our Savior, at that moment we are Spirit baptized; therefore we are later water baptized, as a public testimony to what had previously happened.
But we we are not Spirit baptized, but only are water baptized, that water baptizm is meaningless.
3. It was to be a Priority. 13-14
13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant." - if one refused to be cirucmcised it may indicate an uncircumcised heart.
It was a Sign - a sign pointed to something that is more valuable then itself. If you enter into the City of Bentonville, before you get into the city itself, there is a sign: CITY OF BENTONVILLE. That sign is not Bentonville; it is not as valuable as the city itself; it is simple pointing to Bentonville.
Circumcision is not justification; it is merely an outward sign that pointed to the fact that justification already took place - and if, there was prior faith it is worthless.
It's the heart that matters - real salvation is inward, not a mere outward thing. You can take a breath mints, but it does deal with the real problem.
There is a product called "Breath Assure" and it is different from a breath mint. You don't suck on it in your mouth - you swallow it! It can enter the stomach and release oils that address the movement of the food and the effect of decay in the stomach that works its way up into the mouth. Religion doesnt deal with the real problem - a change of heart.
V. FIFTHLY, THE INSISTENCE. 15-22
15 Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her." 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" 18 And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!" 19 Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year." 22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham - again God is insisting that Abraham and Sarah are going to have the promises child.
This reveals that God is the object of our faith, not our abilities - they could not have children. But God could enable them to have a child.
Spurgeon, "Never make a Christ out of your faith, nor think of it, as if, it were the independent source. Our life is found in "looking to Jesus" not in looking to our own faith. The power is not in faith but in God, upon which faith relies. See then, that the weakness of your faith will not destroy you. A trembling hand may receive a golden gift.
VI. FINALLY, THE ADHERANCE. 23-27
23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael; 27 and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him - Abraham, after laughing about the possibility of him and Sarah having a child, then demonstrated his faith by submitting to circumstances!
Truth is we are all a mixture of faith and doubt!
Emily Dickinson, "We both believe and disbelieve, a hundred times an hour, which keeps believing nimble."
Yancy, "Examining my own periods of faithlessness, I see in them all manner of unbelief. Sometimes, I shy away for lack of evidence; sometimes, I slink away in hurt or disillusionment; and sometimes, I turn aside in willful disobedience.
But something keeps drawing me back to God...Doubt is the skeleton in the closet of faith. Books such as Job, Ecclesiates, Psalms, and Lamentation show beyond question, that God understands...human doubt.
I need only mention a few Christian - Martin Luther battled constantly against doubt and depression. He wrote, "For more than a week Christ was wholly lost. I was shaken by depression and blasphemy against God."
Frederick Buechner, "A relationship between an invisible God and visible humans will always involve an element of doubt. Without somehow destroying me in the process, how could God reveal himself in a way, that would leave no room for doubt? If there was no room for doubt, there would be no room for me."
Con:
1. Abraham's Testimony - like ours is one about God's goodness not our greatness!
2. Unless your blind, Abraham has proven to be anything but a doubting skeptic in God and His promises!
3. One wrote, "I mention these failures not to dampen anyone's faith, but to add a dose of realism to the spiritual propaganda, that promises more than it can deliver.
Grace, like water, flows to the lowest part. We in the church have humility and contrition to offer the world, not a formula for success. Almost alone, in our success-oriented soceity, we admit that we have failed [many many times]."
Johnny Palmer Jr
StrugglingThruScriptures.ning.com
