Genesis 14: ‘I am Lot: I need a relative to rescue me’

A few weeks ago, I prayed that I might experience the truth that those in Christ are closer to us than even family members.  That evening my prayer was answered as I spent some real quality time with a couple of people from our church.  I told Caroline about this and she replied, ‘there are loads of people in the church that are as close as family to me.’  I feel the same way too!

My mother always told me that it really made her happy when myself, my brother and my sister got on well together.  I have no doubt that our Heavenly Father has an even greater desire that His children love one another.  In fact, Jesus said that by our love for each other the world would know that we are His disciples.

I think that the key word in this chapter is ‘relative’ (NIV) or ‘kinsman’ (ESV).  Abram comes to Lot’s rescue because they are family.  We will see that we have too have a close relative who comes to our rescue.

Lot ends up in captivity

Lot had settled on the plains of the Jordan.  He made the very foolish decision to move in to the city of Sodom.  That choice would cost him the respect of his daughters and the life of his wife.  It also caused him problems when the kings of the Jordan valley, including the king of Sodom, decided to go to war against their overlords of Mesopotamia (the region around modern Iraq).  This rebellion was crushed and Lot was taken captive along with his possessions.

‘I am Lot’.  ‘You are Lot’.  We were captives who needed someone to set us free!

We could talk about the captivity of sin—we can change our behaviour to some extent, but without Christ we can’t deal with the twist of our hearts. 

We could talk about the captivity of conscience—how can we make up for all the selfish and hateful things that we have done?

We could talk about the captivity of doom—we can make our lives look successful, but without Christ we are heading for an eternity separated from God and all his goodness.

Who will set us free? 

Abram is the relative who rescues

‘When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.  And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.  Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people’ (14-16).

Some sceptical theologians in the last century doubted the reality of this account asking, ‘how could such a small army win a battle against the combined forces of Mesopotamia?’  I think that is the whole point!  The battle belongs to the Lord!  What looked small and insignificant brought about a great victory. 

This battle points ahead to that moment where a small army of one man, a carpenter from a backwater of the Roman empire, stood with incalculable courage, before the haters among his own people and the soldiers of the land that occupied them, was sent to a cross of shame and in the darkness won a victory that would set many captives free.

Do we live in freedom or are we still acting like a captive?

The gospel tells us that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, but do you fear that He stops loving you every time we fall into sin?  The gospel tells you that God’s grace is made perfect in weakness, but are you too proud to let your Christian brothers and sisters see that you need help?  The gospel tells you that you are saved by grace apart from works, but do you secretly think you are more deserving of Christ’s rescuing kindness that some other people you know?

Christ has set the captives free!  Don’t let your fear or pride rob you of enjoying that freedom!

Melchizedek is the king who gives God the credit

When Abram returns Melchizedek comes and brings him bread and wine.  Melchizedek is the king of Salem—which means ‘peace’ and is later called Jerusalem—meaning ‘city of peace’.

Melchizedek is not only a king, he is a priest of God Most High.  The book of Hebrews explains that Jesus, who was not from the priestly tribe of Levi, is a priest in the order of Melchizedek.  Melchizedek blesses Abram and acknowledges that it was God who gave Abram victory.  Abram declares his allegiance to Melchizedek through giving him a tithe.

But there is another king in this story.  The king of Sodom.  The king of Sodom says, ‘give me the persons, and take the possessions for yourself’ (21).  ‘The king of Sodom is trying to direct matters, trying to bring Abram and under his authority and sway’ (Davis).  Every day we have choices to make between choosing the city of Salem or the city of Sodom.

Abram would not accept any situation where the king of Sodom could say, ‘I made Abram rich.’  God had promised to bless him and give him a kingdom.  God does not need the help of anyone.  Jesus said ‘I will build my church’.  He might use us in building His kingdom, but if we remain silent, He can raise up someone else.  While it is good to be thankful for those who bring His truth and mercy into our lives, we must not forget that it is His truth and His mercy. 

Conclusion

This passage is the first picture in the Old Testament of the idea of the ‘kinsman-redeemer’.  The kinsman-redeemer is a close relative who comes to rescue you from debt, slavery or captivity.  The laws concerning the kinsman-redeemer will be spelled out in the book of Leviticus and the principle will be beautifully portrayed for us in the little book of Ruth.  

Christ is the kinsman-redeemer who has set the captives free.

I know some of your stories.  I know that for some of you it’s relatives or kinsmen who have caused the most hurt in your lives.  There have been absent fathers, critical mothers and brothers and sisters who don’t like you.  Jesus comes to heal that pain.  He is the father who sees you on the horizon and comes running to embrace you.  He is the mother who will never forget her young.  He is the shepherd who holds His lambs close to His heart.  He has your name engraved on the palm of His hand.  He died for us while you were still His enemies, and now He is not ashamed to call you brother or sister. 

Now let us delight our Father’s heart as we love each other well.  Like Abram may we come to the rescue of our family—especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Let us be the look on His face, the touch of His hand, the sound of His voice, the picture of His presence, and the visible demonstration of His faithfulness as we care for each other (adapted from Tripp, Suffering).  Let us pray for the grace to do it in love, for without love we gain nothing.

‘I am Lot’.  ‘You are Lot’.  Our kinsman-redeemer, has rescued us from a life marked by guilt, shame and with no real direction.  He now calls us His to be a rescuing presence as we care for our brothers and sisters in need.  May we know the ministry of the Holy Spirit and may we minister in the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

We need to learn to choose wisely (Genesis 13)

He was very good at his job.  He felt validated every time he was offered a promotion.  But he failed to see what his devotion to work was costing his wife.  He spent little time at home.  He was distracted when he was with her.  They slowly grew apart.

She had wanted to wait until marriage.  But her boyfriend said, ‘if you love me you will sleep with me.’  She was only in her teens.  In truth they never had that much in common.  When the relationship ended she simply felt used.

He knew he shouldn’t pick up his phone while driving, then he swerved into the oncoming car.  It started with some ‘harmless’ flirting, it ended her marriage.  He never controlled his appetite, until he had a heart attack.

The New Testament warns us that we reap what we sow.  We often have to live with the consequences of foolish decisions.  As we look at this morning’s reading we will learn how to choose wisely.

1.      Choosing wisely might mean letting go of your rights (1-9)

Some people are messy.  I don’t mean untidy.  I mean uncomfortable.  Wherever they go they bring a little chaos.  Their bad decisions impact those around them.  They cause their families a lot of worry.  I think Lot was one of those people.

It’s not clear whether Abram should have brought Lot to Canaan.  After all God had told Abram to leave his family and go.  But we also read that Lot’s father had died, so Abram may have felt a responsibility to look after his nephew.

Like many family problems it began with money matters.  Their flocks and herds had expanded.  Their possessions had grown so much that they could not dwell together.  Their herdsmen were arguing with each other.  Something had to be done.

So, Abram takes the initiative and addresses the situation.  In order that there would be no strife between them, he suggests they separate.  Notice that Abram does not assert his seniority.  He gives Lot the choice of which land to take.

Wisdom doesn’t demand its rights.  My mum taught me try to leave the biggest piece of cake for someone else, a lesson my family will tell you I often ignore.  It might be best not to fight for your share of the inheritance.  It might be best to overlook their lack of thankfulness.  It might be best to let someone else take the credit.  If you do refuse to assert your rights, make sure you are are depending on God for the strength to do so graciously.

I was living in Northern Ireland thirty years ago when the Drumcree dispute was at its height.  I knew Orangemen who said that they had the right to walk down that road.  Some of these were Christians who knew the Sermon on the Mount, but somehow didn’t feel that turning the other cheek and going the extra mile applied in their situation.  I also saw that the Garvaghy Road is a wide road, with very few houses facing on to it.  Both sides demanded their rights.  Neither side would give way to the other.  The resulting violence left six people dead, including three children.

2.       Choosing wisely involves seeing spiritually (10-13)

‘And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the land of Egypt … (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah)’ (10).  ‘… Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.  Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the ’LORD' (13).

Lot saw the advantages of that place, but not the dangers.  He saw the opportunities of the fertile land but not the menace of the people who lived there.  Bad company corrupts good character.  In a few chapters we will see Lot thoroughly integrated in the community of Sodom, as he sits among the leaders at the city gate.  Sodom would cost Lot the respect of his daughters and the life of his wife. 

Why was Lot so careless in his choice of where to live?  He was careless because he didn’t see things spiritually.  ‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.   In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight’ (Prov. 3:5-6).   Don’t simply choose the career that will give you the most money or status.  Don’t simply seek to live in the place that offers the easiest way of life.  Don’t let your hobbies take you away from the fellowship you need with other believers.   Trust God to supply your needs.  Seek the applause of heaven rather than the approval of society.

However, God’s paths won’t always lead you away from pain or difficulty.  Don’t assume that you are on the wrong path when you face troubles of many kinds.  Rejoice in the fact that your Heavenly Father delights when you put Him first.  Rejoice in in the fact that he will bring you through many trials to refine your faith. 

3.      Choosing wisely keeps eternity in view (14-18)

‘The LORD said to Abram … “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring for ever’ (14-15).  All the Promised Land will be his. 

Lot had lifted up his eyes and saw what he could take.  God lifted up Abram’s eyes and showed him what He would give.  Then God reaffirms His promise of offspring to Abram: ‘I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring can also be counted’ (16).

But Abram doesn’t inherit the Promised Land during his life.  So how can God say, ‘I will give it to you’ (17)?  The writer to the Hebrews explains that Abram looked forward to a better country, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:16).  Abram can give away part of the land to Lot because he has something better to look forward to.  Abram can trust God, no matter where Lot chooses, because he knows that God will deliver on His promise.

We don’t have to demand our rights, and we don’t have to strive to grasp everything that world has on offer, because we have something better.  We have every spiritual blessing in Christ, and we are focused on an eternal home.  The applause of people will fade, the approval of heaven remains.  The riches of the world depreciate, the treasures of heaven give an eternal return.  Our worldly achievements won’t follow us beyond the grave, but Jesus will reward us for all that we have done for His name.  Choosing wisely remembers eternity!

Conclusion

Some people are messy.  I don’t mean untidy.  I mean uncomfortable.  Wherever they go they bring a little chaos.  But do you know who was really good with messy people?  Jesus was really good with messy people!

Becoming a tax-collector in the Roman world, where tax-collecting was tied to extortion and corruption, was not a good choice.  Being a prostitute, in any culture, is not a good choice.  Sexual sins have all sorts of consequences.  But Jesus was a friend of tax-collectors and sexual sinners! 

The truth is that all of us make countless poor decisions, because we all choose to do things that dishonour and disappoint God.  Before we become too impatient with messy people remember the infinite grace that God has shown to us in our mess.  Ask Him for the strength to be patient with messy people. 

We do reap what we sow.  There can be painful consequences to our foolish choices.  But the Old Testament also tells us of a God who replaces the years that the locusts ate, and who makes beauty out of ashes.  So, bring Jesus your mess.  He is the creator who makes order out of chaos.  He brings people to their senses in the pigsty.  He can enable you to grow in godliness as you to trust Him in the midst of the mess of your own making.  As we bring him our failed parents, and our failed parenting, He can still work it for good.  We bring him your past and let Him rewrite your future.  

Genesis 12:10-20 ‘What not to do when you are afraid of people’

It was an embarrassing moment of failure.  I had just started college.  I had decided that I was going to take my faith seriously.  I had joined the Christian Union.  I was now walking across the front square with two of my new Christian friends going to the CU when a guy from my geography class bounded up to us.  ‘Where are you going?’  I froze!  He did not know I was a Christian.  I was scared to be seen as a religious freak.  So, I let God down.  I pointed to some buildings and said, ‘that way’.

Why do we let God down?  Why do we keep our mouths shut when we should be telling the world we belong to Him?  Why do we avoid conversations about those issues where the Bible offends the world?  Often, it’s because we’re scared of people.  Not because they are going to cut our heads off—like happens our courageous brothers and sisters in some parts of the world.  It’s just that we are like the pharisees, who loved the approval of people more than the praise of God (John 12:43).

This morning Abram sets us an example of what not to do when we are afraid of people.

Being afraid of people makes us self-centred

There a was a famine in the land.  So, Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while (10a).  Was Abram right to go to Egypt?  We are not told.  However, there is no sign that he enquired of God before making his decision.  It’s not always easy to know where God is directing us, but we make too many decisions with little prayer or the advice of wise Christian friends.

As they enter Egypt Abram explains to Sarai that her beauty puts him at risk.  ‘If the Egyptians see how beautiful you are and realise that you are my wife they will kill me, but they will let you live’ (12b).  ‘Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake’ (13).

Being afraid of people makes Abram self-centred.  He doesn’t say, ‘that it might go well with us’ but ‘that it might go well with me.’  We are often afraid of what people think of us because we are concerned about our image or our comfort.  Fear of people isn’t centred around the reputation of Jesus.  It is centred around our reputation.  It doesn’t show concern for others—like when we give the impression that something was someone else’s fault not ours. 

Being afraid of people comes from not trusting God’s promises

God had said that He was going to give Abram descendants.  At this stage Abram has no children.  So, if God is going to be true to His word then Abram is not going to be killed during this stay in Egypt.  The promise of God also implied protection for Abram: ‘I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse’ (3a).  Abram is simply not trusting the promises of God.

Sometimes we keep our mouths shut about Jesus because we are not taking His promises seriously.  We are afraid of making a fool of ourselves.  Didn’t Jesus promise His disciples that He would give them the words to say?  Doesn’t that promise apply to us?  I don’t fully know how it works in my life because I often feel that I have not explained myself clearly, but Jesus can take our words and make them clear in the minds of those we talk to.

I don’t know if John Piper still jogs.  He has recently turned eighty.  But when he was jogging he would carry booklets or copies of John’s Gospel in his pockets.  He would pray for guidance for someone to talk to about Jesus and for the help of the Holy Spirit to know what to say.  If he saw a man standing on his own he would approach them and say, ‘Good morning!  My name is John.  I run through the neighbourhood and pray for people.  Is there something I can pray for you?’  Sometimes these conversations would give John the opportunity to speak about the hope he has in Jesus.  He often came away from those encounters frustrated that he had not said things better.  But he knew that the Holy Spirit had awakened compassion in him for the lost, that he had been given courage to overcome his anxiety and that Jesus had fulfilled His promise to teach Him what to say.

Being afraid of people causes us to keep secrets

Abram instructs Sarai to say that she is his sister.  There is some truth in that, as they share the same father.  But while it may be true, it is not the whole truth.  He hides the important detail that she is his wife.  Being afraid of people causes us to keep secrets.

Maybe you are protecting your image.  Maybe you fear what people would think if they knew what you are really like.  You are happy to talk about your successes but you never admit your failures.  You have never told anyone about those sins that so regularly get the better of you.  It leaves you feeling empty.  There is a part of us that needs to be known.

One of the blessings of gospel community is that we get to confess our sins to each other.  Confessing our sins gives us the opportunity to have someone remind us that we are forgiven people.  Confessing our sins is a great way to tackle our pride.  Confessing our sins keeps us accountable and allows people tell us that Christ really can change us.

Being afraid of people damages our witness

In that culture a woman without her father was under the protection of her brother.  If anyone was interested in marrying Sarai they would have to seek Abram’s permission first.  He can turn them away.  Although Abram had not counted on the pharaoh’s interest in her.  Pharaoh needs no one’s permission to take any woman!

Abram can’t protect Sarai, but Yahweh can.  He afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife (17).  Abram had been called to be a blessing to all the families of the earth.  He only brought misery to these Egyptians.  Abram’s deceit damaged his witness.  He leaves Egypt in disgrace.  We won’t be able to bless people with the good news about Jesus if we are crippled by the fear of what they might think of us.

But God was not finished with Abram.  At the beginning of the next chapter, Abram builds an alter and calls on the name of Yahweh (13:4).  Yahweh won’t give up on his fearful servants.  

Conclusion:  What does Jesus feel about me when I am afraid of people?

One of the greatest examples of someone caving in to the fear of people is when the apostle Peter denies knowing Jesus.  Luke’s gospel records that at that moment Jesus turned and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61).  How we understand that look will determine what we believe Jesus thinks of us when we are too afraid to speak up for Jesus.

Spurgeon says, ‘I think that it was a heart-piercing look and a heart-healing look all in one—a look which revealed to Peter the blackness of his sin, and also the tenderness of his Master’s heart towards him.’  ‘Despite Peter’s sin, Christ would not abandon him.  In Peter’s darkest hour, the eyes of mercy peered out Caiaphas’s window and looked on him.  For Peter, and every other Christian, all God’s acts are mediated through him in love.  His love was meant to pierce and heal the apostle’ (Erik Raymond).   

It’s appropriate to be sad when we find ourselves letting Jesus down.  But we must not stop at this godly sorrow.  Indeed, we must make sure we’re not just nursing wounded pride.  The look in Jesus’ eyes says, ‘I still love you.  You have denied me, but I still look at you as mine.  I love you with an everlasting love, and even though you have deserted me, I am looking for you, and I am expecting to receive you back.  I have not turned my back of you’ (adapted from Surgeon).  

Remember that there is always more mercy in Jesus than sin in us!

Early church extra notes

Montanists

The Montanists emerged in what is now Turkey in the mid second-century.  Their founder, Montatas, believed he was was directly inspired by the Holy Spirit.  Priscilla and Maximillia, were two of his prominent followers.  They believed that the Lord's return was imminent.  They pursued rigorist lifestyles

Other.        

The early church was countercultural in accepting women and slaves into its membership.  It attracted many people from the poorer elements of society.  In 217 A.D., Callixtus, a former slave became the bishop pf Rome.  The second century Greek philosopher, Celsus, criticised the church for simply attracting uneducated and poor people.  He also criticised Jesus for coming for a poor and humble background.  There were some influential people who became Christians, as can be seen in the greeting that the apostle Paul shares from those of the household of Caesar (Phil. 4:22).   

Some have said that martyrdom provided the early church with its first opportunity for mass evangelism.  There are stories of people watching the early Christians being fed to lions in the Roman arenas and being converted from watching their courage.  The love that was shared among the early Christians was also a powerful apologetic.

There are a lot of legends about what happened to the twelve apostles.  The Scots claim that Andrew got as far as Scotland.  It is hard to know what to make of these legends.  However, it seems possible to probable that Thomas got to India.

The Greek word for 'witness' gives us the word 'martyr'.

The early Christians thought of the dates of the martyrs as 'birthdays' as it marked the beginning of their lives in heaven.

In the first and second century persecution was localized and sporadic.  From the third century there were times of state sponsored persecution along with periods of peace.

Christians were accused of cannibalism (because they ate the body and blood), incest (because they referred to each other as brother and sister and had 'love feasts'), illegal assembly and atheism.  They refused to bow to images of the emperor or offer incense to statues of him. 

They were accused of hating humanity for withdrawing from public and civic life (Tacitus).  They could not go along with all elements of society because of certain immoral practices.     

Christians were sown or wrapped inside the hides skins of wild beasts (which then shrunk in the heat), fed to wild dogs and crucified.

Christians were viewed with suspicion and often blamed when natural disasters etc. befell and an area.

Worship of the emperor was fairly easy.  You just had to give a sight bow before a portrait or seal or the emperor, or add a pinch of incense to a flame in his honour.  The Jews were exempt from emperor worship, but not the Christians.  

Perpetua and Felicity

Perpetua was a twenty-two year old noblewoman who was martyred in 203 A.D.. Her diary is one of the earliest texts written by a Christian woman.  

During this time there was an edict forbidding conversion to Christianity.  She was a catechumen (a believer awaiting baptism).  She was a nursing mother and she was arrested with her friend Felicity, who was heavily pregnant.  Her father visited her in the dark hot dungeon where she was detained trying to get her to recant.  She pointed at a pitcher of water and she could no more call herself anything other than a Christian than she could call a pitcher anything else, because Christian is what she was.  She was granted permission to have her infant with her.  Felicity gave birth to a healthy baby.  

On March 7th the martyrs entered the arena singing hymns,  She was to be gored to death by a mad heifer.  The heifer failed to finish her off.  A young terrified gladiator was to finish her off, when she took his shaking hand in hers and guided the blade through er own throat.    

Post baptismal sin

From an early time baptism began to be associated with conversion and that it was the rite that brought about our forgiveness.  The problem then was, what do you do about sins that occurred after baptism.  One second century writing, 'The Shepherd of Hermes', suggested that you could have one serious sin after baptism forgiven.  Tertullian thought this was too lenient and nick named the writing 'The Shepherd' of adultery.

Lapsed 

One of the special issues regarding forgiveness was what to do with the lapsed.  The  lapsi was the term for those who had denied their faith during the Decian persecution of A.D. 250.  The church debated whether people how had denied their faith under pressure should be allowed back into the church.

One interesting tradition was that Confessors could forgive the lapsed.  The confessors were people who had been tortured or mutilated for their faith, but who had not denied their faith.  they were honoured in the church.  

After this persecution, Cyprian the Bishop of Carthage, held a council, where the lapsi were classified into five categories.  The sacrificati, were those who had sacrificed to idols, and were only to be offered absolution on their deathbeds.  The thunificati were those who had burned incense before statutes of the gods.  Libellatici were those who had bribed officials to get the certificate to say they had offered a sacrifice to the emperor--they were given a two-year sanction.  Acta facienties were those who had made false statements to save their lives.  Traditors (from Latin, 'handover')were those who had handed over Scriptures to be burned by the authorities from which we get our word traitor.

The general view was that the lapsed should not be treated as if nothing happened, yet pardon should not be denied to the repentant.   

Novitians  

Novatian (c.200-258), was a Roman presbyter, who opposed the election of a bishop due to his lenient attitude to those who had lapsed under persecution.  He believed that God could forgive sinners but that the church should not readmit the lapsed.  He led a strict group that separated from the church.  They were known as the Novatianists.  The re-baptised people who converted from the Catholic church.

Donatism

Donatism emerged in the forth century, in response to clergy who had renounced or betrayed their faith.  They believed that the purity of the church on a pure clergy who administered by worthy clergy.  They believed that sacraments offered by unworthy clergy were invalid.  They separated from the main church.  A radical group of Donatists attacked the church (they did not use swords because Jesus had forbidden this, but they murdered and attached with clubs).

Augustine inherited the problem of the Donatists.  He resorted to force ('compel them to come in') to bring them into the Catholic church.  Some Donatists remained in north Africa, until the arrival of Islam.  Some think that the church was vulnerable to being overrun by Islam because of the centuries of division between the Catholics and Donatists.  

Let's finish with a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, a prayer that goes back to the fifth-century. 

Almighty and everlasting God,

you are always more ready to hear than we to pray

and to give more than either we desire or deserve:

pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,

forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid

and giving us those good things

which we are not worthy to ask

but through the merits and mediation

of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

Here's another prayer from the early church, from Ambrose:

'O Lord, you who are all merciful, take away my sins from me, and enkindle within me the fire of the your Holy Spirit, take away this heart of stone from me, and give me a heart of flesh and blood, a heart to love and adore you, a heart to delight in you, to follow you and enjoy you, for Christ's sake.  Amen.'   

A prayer going back to the third century

Leader: The Lord be with you.
Response: And also, with you.

Leader: Lift up your hearts.
Response: We lift them up to the Lord.

Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
Response: It is right to give him thanks and prise.

The Gloria Patri back to the second century:  What is the ‘it’ in line three?  It is the Trinity.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son:

and to the Holy Ghost;

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be:

world without end. Amen.

      

Promises rooted in grace (Genesis 12:1-6)

 

In 1678 the Baptist preacher, John Bunyan, wrote the allegory ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’.  He wrote it while he was in prison, for preaching without a licence.  The Pilgrim’s Progress is in the form of a dream, in which the main character ‘Christian’ travels from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City.

At one stage in the story, ‘Christian’ and his companion, ‘Hopeful’, are captured by a giant named ‘Despair’.  The giant puts them into a dark dungeon inside ‘Doubting Castle’.  Christian becomes overwhelmed by dark thoughts.  Then on the Sunday morning, just as day is breaking, Christians remembers that he has a key called Promise on a chain around his neck.  The key unlocks the doors in Doubting Castle from Despair.

The story of Abram is about our promise-giving God. 

God gives promises to an undeserving world

What has happened so far in the book of Genesis?  We have seen creation followed by humankind’s fall into sin.  We have seen human evil and violence become so bad that our brokenhearted God sends the flood in judgement.  We have seen arrogant humanity tying to make a name for themselves as they built the tower of Babel, and God responding by scattering them over the face of the earth.  Humankind has proved helplessly corrupt and rebellious.

Yet God insists on blessing sinful humanity.  The Lord is good to all, He shows compassion on all He has made (Psalm 145:9).  God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45).  But there is something more.  Through Abram God has a plan to bless all the families of the earth (12:3).

God gives promises to undeserving people

Abram means ‘exalted father’, which is a bit ironic given that he is seventy-five years old and has no children.  Abram comes from Ur of the Chaldeans, which is a city located in modern day Iraq.  Ur was known as a center of moon worship and the book of Joshua tells us that his people worshipped idols (Joshua 24:2).  While Abram is in Ur, God speaks to him (Acts 7:2).  While humankind tried to make a name for themselves at Babel, God is going to make a name for Abram.

Why Abram?  Why this man from an idol-worshipping people?  We are not given any explanation for God’s choice!  But then we are also given no explanation why God should set His favor on us.  Bible commentator, Dale Ralph Davis, explains that, if ‘you think you know why God has shown grace to you, then you don’t know yourself and you haven’t the foggiest idea what grace is.’  We have done nothing to earn God’s blessing.  We have done plenty to forfeit His favor.  God’s grace is rooted in his sovereign goodness, not in any goodness in us.

God’s promises bring a challenge

God’s favor comes to us freely, but it will cost us everything.  The only appropriate response to God’s kindness is wholehearted obedience.  The Lord said to Abram, ‘go!’  ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the place I will show you’ (12:1).  It was a journey that of over two thousand kilometers.  The book of Hebrews explains that, ‘by faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going’ (Heb. 11:8).  But there is something else about Abram’s journey.  His ultimate destination is the same as ours.  He was longing for a better country than Canaan—a heavenly one (Heb. 11:13).

Abram is the Bible’s first pilgrim.  The apostle Peter writes: ‘Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.  Live such good lives among the pagans, that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us (1 Peter 2:11-12). 

Deep in the land of Canaan, Abram builds an alter at the great tree of Moreh.  That could be translated ‘the great tree of the teacher’.  This was a pagan sacred site.  There Abram plants his flag and declares ‘my God reigns.’  He then travels to the hills east of Bethel.  He pitches his tent and builds another alter—Abram knows that his salvation depends on the death of a substitute, these sacrifices look ahead to the greater sacrifice on the cross.  There he calls on the name of the Lord. 

God’s promises point to Christ

The promises that God makes to Abram are the backbone of the whole Old Testament.  As we read through the unfolding narrative we will see God gathering a people to Himself, placing them in the Promised Land, and seeking to bless them (P, P, B).  Indeed, God’s people are to be a blessing to all the peoples of the world as they point to Yahweh.

Yet, ‘no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ.  And so, through him the “Amen” is spoken to God’ (2 Cor. 1:20).  In Jesus we are the seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:29).  Jesus is the place where we find rest (Matt. 11:28).  In Him we inherit every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3).  We are to be a blessing to all the families of the earth as we seek to shine like stars in the sky as we hold fast to the word of life (Phil. 2:14-15). 

Conclusion

The Monday before the one just past, I sat down to begin writing this sermon.  I felt very weary.  As you might know, Granny Jean has had a difficult summer and is not as strong as she was.  It is a tiring time in our family.

I am sure that many of you also feel weary.  You may be having troubles with housing and finances.  You might work with people who are not easy.  You might have issues in your marriage or with your children.  You might feel the strain of being a long way from home.  

As we work through the life of Abram we are going to think about how we learn to trust the promise-keeping God.  We too are pilgrims in this land.  We too are to be sustained by the promises of Yahweh.  Every command in the Bible implies the promise of strength to do as He directs.    So here are three promises to hold on to when life threatens to overwhelm you:

-          ‘Fear not, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you.  I will uphold you in my righteous right hand’ (Is. 41:10).

-          ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up’ (Gal. 6:9).

-          ‘Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need’ (Heb. 4:16).

God’s promises are the key to enable us escape from the clutches giant Despair and free us from Doubting Castle. So now as we begin this journey with our father Abraham, may God enable us to follow His various callings on our lives so that we can live well for the glory of Jesus.  Amen.

How does Jesus feel about me when I sin?

 

How does God feel about me when I sin?

What does Jesus feel about me, when I sin?

That’s a really important question.  It will determine whether you run towards God or away from him with your feelings of guilt.

For me gluttony is a sin I struggle with.  It’s serious because I know that it displeases God.  So, when I have lost control, pigged-out and stuffed my face, knowing full well that what I am doing is wrong, how does Jesus feel with me at that moment?

How does Jesus feel about you when you have just looked at that screen and satisfied your lust?   How does Jesus feel about you when you have just lost your temper and the state of your heart was reflected in the language you’ve used?  How does Jesus feel about you when you have just assassinated the character of another person, a person made in the image of God?  The Puritan Thomas Goodwin says that ‘your sins move him to pity more than anger.’

Let me tell you a little more about Thomas Goodwin.

Goodwin was born in 1600, into a Christian family.  He went to Cambridge University to train to be an Anglican minister.  However, his faith was superficial and he was vain.  He wanted to become a famous preacher who impressed people with his wisdom and wit.  Then he was moved by a sermon he heard at a funeral.  This caused him to look inward to see if he could see evidenced that he really was born again.  During these years of introspection, he was preaching, but he was a preacher who berated his people and portrayed God in a hard light.  Then he had a meltdown!  He recovered as he began to see the kindness and grace of Jesus.  His preaching changed, as he sought to melt people’s hearts with the love of Christ.

Goodwin’s most famous book is called, ‘The Heart of Christ in Heaven towards Sinners on Earth’, or more simply, ‘The Heart of Christ.’  It’s about how Jesus feels about us now that he is in heaven.

Jesus is the same approachable person in heaven as he was on earth

Goodwin suggests that some people think that now that Jesus is in heaven, now that he is seen in all his holiness, now that he resides in glory and is worshipped by angels, he ‘is therefore of a severe and sour disposition against sinners, and not able to bear them.  No, says he; “I am meek”, gentleness is my nature and temper.’

Goodwin says, ‘Christ is love covered over with flesh, yea, our flesh’.  He points out that while some people seem naturally inclined to compassion than others, Jesus ‘is of a softer mould and temper than the kindness of all men’s hearts put into one.’  Think of the kindness person you have ever met, multiply that by infinity, and you have Christ.  But he is like that now that he is in heaven.

We know that Jesus was approachable when he was on earth.  Children felt safe with him.  The sick found compassion in him.  He was known as a friend of sinners and tax-collectors.  But is he as approachable now that he is in heaven, now that he is enthroned at the right hand of the Father and now that he is worshipped by angels and robed in majesty?  Goodwin says that, ‘the heart of Jesus Christ, now he is in heaven, is as graciously inclined to sinners as ever it was on earth.’

 

Jesus hates our sin as we hate sickness in our children

Goodwin points out that we go to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace in our time of need (Heb. 4:15).  We look to him for strength when we are tempted, but we also look to him for mercy when we fall.  Jesus is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and wayward (Heb. 5:2).  Wayward people are sinning people.  He is drawn to us even as we rebel against him.  He is gentle towards us even when we let him down.

You might have heard someone say, ‘God hates the sin and loves the sinner.’  That’s too much of a simplification.  Apart from Christ we were enemies of God.  But if you are born again then God’s anger has been turned away from you.  Sin is no longer your identity, you are a beloved child of God.  Indeed, your accuser, the devil, will point to your sin and say that this is who you are.  But sin is no longer the real you.  The real you is the you that you are in Jesus.  You are a child that is embraced in the father’s love.  You are a sinner who had your guilt washed away.  You are one who falls, but Jesus keeps on picking up.  Your sin is not the real you because ‘you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God’ (Col. 3:3). 

To the Christian Goodwin can say that in your sin, ‘his pity is increased to you, even as the heart of a father is to the child that has some loathsome disease …’  It’s of the Christian that we see that God hates our sin but loves us.   When our children are sick, we hate that illness, but we do not hate them.  Our sin actually stirs up compassion in him towards us.  Goodwin states that ‘your very sins move him to pity more than anger’.  ‘If the holy God who has no sin reacts with pity to us, then how much more should we react with pity to others’ (Williams).

One good objection

Goodwin suggests that their remains one reasonable objection that arises to the idea that Jesus sympathises with us in our weaknesses: what about the fact that he never sinned?  He has not experienced the self-loathing and regret that we feel when we fall in the face of temptation.  Indeed, Hebrews links the sympathy of the high priest towards the ignorant and the wayward to the fact that he too was a man who had to offer sacrifices for his own sins (5:3).

I wonder if being tempted in every way left Jesus contemplating what it must feel like to fall into sin.  Surely, he can not have failed to imagine what we experience when we allow ourselves be overcome by temptation!  But there is something more: Jesus became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).  He took upon himself our moral filth.  He identified with our evil on the cross.  He experienced God’s holy anger for what we have done to displease God.  Indeed, when we feel guilt for what we have done, we are actually feeling the guilt for sins that have been forgiven.  On the cross Jesus felt the full weight of God’s displeasure so that these sins could be forgiven.

Conclusion:  The different deaths of two great men

Goodwin points out that Christ’s love is not a ‘forced love’ as if he only loves us because he must.  His disposition of love comes freely and naturally to him.  He is after all the son of the ‘father of mercies.’  He is not reluctant to love you, he delights to love you. 

The heart of Christ melted the heart of Thomas Goodwin.  His dying words were, ‘Christ cannot love me better than he doth.  I think I cannot love Christ better than I do; I am swallowed up in God … Now I shall be ever with the Lord.’

How you understand God’s heart to you when you fail Him will determine whether you run to Him or away from Him when you let Him down.

One of the greatest examples of falling to the fear of people was when the apostle Peter denied knowing Jesus.  Luke’s gospel records the moment highlighting that the Lord turned and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61).  One Christian writer points out that how you understand that look of Jesus is foundational to your perception of how He looks at you when you sin (Erik Raymond). 

We know that Jesus pursued Peter in mercy after the resurrection and restored him.  So, I think we can be safe to conclude that this was a look of love.  Spurgeon says, ‘I think that it was a heart-piercing look and a heart-healing look all in one—a look which revealed to Peter the blackness of his sin, and also the tenderness of his Master’s heart towards him.’  ‘Despite Peter’s sin, Christ would not abandon him.  In Peter’s darkest hour, the eyes of mercy peered out Caiaphas’s window and looked on him.  For Peter, and every other Christian, all God’s acts are mediated through him love.  His love was meant to pierce and heal the apostle (Erik Raymond).  

It is appropriate to be sad when we find ourselves letting God down.  But we must not stop at that godly sorrow.  Indeed, we must make sure we are not just nursing wounded pride.  The look in Jesus’ eyes said, ‘I still love you.  You have denied me, but I still look at you as mine.  I love you with an everlasting love, and even though you have deserted me, I am looking for you, and I am expecting to receive you back.  I have not turned my back of you’ (adapted from Surgeon).  

Don’t minimize your sin when you approach the throne of grace.  Don’t make excuses.  See it for all its horror.  But then remember that there is always more mercy in Jesus than there is sin in us (The Bruised Reed).  If you truly belong to Him you cannot sin yourself out of His love.  And if you are not sure you are not sure that you belong to Him, then listen to His promise, ‘I will never turn away anyone who comes to me’ (John 6:37).  Come sincerely and take Him at His word!