The Godfathers
Pt. 1 - God of Abraham
I. Introduction
The movie, directed and written by Francis Ford Coppola and released in 1972, is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. The film paints a chilling portrait of the Corleone family's rise and near fall from power in America and focuses on this powerful Italian-American crime family. One of the quotes that has endured the years is this statement . . .
“Italians have a little joke, that the world is so hard a man must have two fathers to look after him, and that’s why they have godfathers.” – The Godfather
I am thankful for our Father. However, it struck me a while back as we sang a song that states "I call on the God of Jacob" that we too have godfathers. In over a dozen passages a statement is made in Scripture that continues to be quoted today. God is referred to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These three men (Father, son and grandson) are singled out as godfathers. This phrase is used because God makes and repeats a covenant with these three men. Scripture declares in Galatians 3:6-7 - Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham.
We even sing "Father Abraham had many sons and I am one of them" (complete with silly motions that have nothing to do with the song!). However, I question whether we really have any understanding of the powerful nature of the promises made to them and ultimately to us since these men are our godfathers! I want us to go back and examine the God of Abraham. The God of Isaac. The God of Jacob. Let's see if what our godfathers experienced may have some lessons for us.
Text: Genesis 12:1-4, 15:5, 18:10-14, 21:1-3 (NLT)
God had told Abram, “Leave your own country behind you, and your own people, and go to the land I will guide you to. If you do, I will cause you to become the father of a great nation; I will bless you and make your name famous, and you will be a blessing to many others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and the entire world will be blessed because of you.” So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed him, and Lot went too; Abram was seventy-five years old at that time.
15:5 - Then God brought Abram outside beneath the nighttime sky and told him, “Look up into the heavens and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that—too many to count!”
18:10-14 - Then the Lord said, “Next year I will give you and Sarah a son!” (Sarah was listening from the tent door behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long since past the time when she could have a baby. So Sarah laughed silently. “A woman my age have a baby?” she scoffed to herself. “And with a husband as old as mine?” Then God said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for God? Next year, just as I told you, I will certainly see to it that Sarah has a son.”
21:1-3 - Then God did as he had promised, and Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a baby son in his old age, at the time God had said; and Abraham named him Isaac (meaning “Laughter!”).
I have read to you the covenant moment that started all of this. God speaks to Abraham when he is 75 and declares that he will become the father of a great nation. Eleven years later, in Genesis 16, the promise still hasn't been fulfilled so Sarai sends Hagar, her handmaid, to Abram and she gets pregnant with Ishmael. Finally, God repeats His promise to Abram when Abram is 99 years old then when he is 100 years old, Sarah gives birth to Isaac!
When you review the story of Abraham, who has been called the father of our faith, you can summarize his life by saying that he teaches us that God is not only a promise maker, but He is also a promise keeper.
It is important for us to know this about the God of Abraham . . . a promise made is a promise kept.
He is not a man that He should lie. Let years pass. Let my situation change. Let my heart be filled with laughter and doubt. Scoff. Shake my head. Think there is no way. Think I am not enough. Or let me try to take things into my own hands, like Abram, to help God and end up messing everything up and perhaps even making major mistakes. But at the end of the day, I need you to know that if it was decreed by God, then it will come to pass.
I need to know like Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:12 - The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled." He is literally watching over and guarding His Word. He is sleepless over His Word. If Words come out of His mouth, then they will be fulfilled by His hands!
“The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.” - Psalm 145:13b (NLT)
“So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
Our challenge is the same challenge that our godfather faced. We begin to make assumptions about God's promises! We make assumptions about the when, the where, the how and with whom the promise will be fulfilled. The enemy works in the arena of assumptions. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that we are to demolish every vain imagination. A vain imagination is an assumption. Something I am imagining that is influenced by someone other than God. These assumptions lead to ungodly and unrealistic expectations. So, we end up treating our assumption as if it was part of the promise!
God is obligated to His word. What He said. Not what we thought He said or thought He meant. This why you can't just read His Word read regularly, you must also interpret it rightly. You need trusted counselors and guides that make sure you aren't adding your assumptions to the text. If you don't have these safeguards in your life, then you will add assumptions to the promise. This is why too many of us have called it and hauled it, named it claimed it, blabbed it and grabbed it and then get frustrated or angry when we still don’t see change. We must cling to His Word. Exactly what He said!
Like Abram, we attach our assumptions to what God said and we get ourselves in trouble. We need to learn from our godfather! Take Him at HIS Word!
Promises have pace.
The promise is made at 75 and is fulfilled when Abram is 100. 25 years of waiting, wondering, worrying. The promise was fulfilled but not on Abram’s timetable or schedule. Instead, the promise had a pace. We get ourselves in trouble when we get ahead of God. Perhaps we need to be reminded that "Those that wait on the Lord shall be renewed!" You can't force God to do today what He plans on doing tomorrow! Don’t let the pace of your promise paralyze you. You must simply learn to wait on Him. In our instant oatmeal, convenience store, express lane world we must learn from our godfather that promises have a pace. The wait helps us handle the promise properly when it comes!
“Learn well how to wait so you will be strong and complete and in need of nothing.” James 1:4
Too many of us don't know how to wait well! James makes it clear if we don't learn how to do that, then we will be weak and lacking!
What promise was made to you? Have you grown weary in waiting? Are you inviting Hagar into your life in an attempt to hurry God? Settle into the pace of the promise. His promise is worth waiting on!
Promises have problems.
We will experience things in promises that seem to be problems. Because we make assumptions about how God will work and when He will work, we assume that challenges can't be can’t be part of promise. This myth will cause you to question the promise. You could have given me a child at 75 but now I am 100 and I assume that this makes the promise not only improbable but impossible. Listen . . . you can’t handle promise unless you can handle problems. Until we’re ready to embrace the opposition that comes with obedience we can’t be used by God. You need to know that dreams are usually accompanied by seasons that feel like nightmares. You won’t manage the miracle correctly if you don’t learn to manage the mess that shows up prior to the miracle. The only way to survive those problem seasons and make it to the promise is to keep your eyes on the Promise Keeper rather than focusing on the promise. Keep your eye on Jesus!
Even in a season of fellowship with Christ in suffering is worth it because momentary suffering gives birth to the promise that lies on the other side of the problem. I want you to get promise but you will stop short if you don’t know there are problems that you must live through to get to the promise. Like Abraham you will have to go places you have never been to before! To get to the promise you will have to walk through uncharted and often uncomfortable seasons. Just because you are facing challenges, inconveniences, nerve wracking moments don't miss the promise. Keep following His Word! If you stop now, then you will miss what He said. If you quit now, then you will never see the fulfillment of what you know He said. Don't let problems stop you! Instead, let the problems prompt you that you are on the right path!
When you hear that we believe in the God of Abraham we are declaring that God is a promise maker and a promise keeper!
Pray for folks who need a promise. Promised but tired of waiting. Feel like the promise is delayed. Promised but living in a season of problems.
