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Abram and God's Plan to Bring Us Home

July 22, 2018 Speaker: Mitchel Kirchmeyer Series: Genesis: Beginning the Journey Home

Passage: Genesis 11:27– 12:20

What is God's rescue plan to bring us home?

The NFL draft was several weeks ago. Coaches and teams agonized over who their draft picks would be. Where are they weak and need to add someone? Should they draft a defensive or offensive player? Who would be a great addition to make them a winning team? They analyzed skill, speed, strength, and career highlights to find the right person to fill a position for their team.

Series Introduction
As we continue our Beginning the Journey Home series in the book of Genesis, we are stepping into a the second part of the book which has a different landscape from the eleven chapters we have just finished. While we were introduced to specific characters like Adam, Eve, Cain, and Noah along the way in those chapters, they were mainly concerned with giving us the backstory for the rest of the book. They were telling us about the ancient history of everything that exists; how it’s supposed to be and how it all got messed up.

Sermon Introduction
Starting in Genesis 12, our focus narrows to one man, Abram, and his family. Abram’s name later gets changed to Abraham so if I accidentally flip between the two, they are the same person. With this one man, God is going to initiate his rescue plan for the world. So we may wonder: what does God look for when he drafts for his team? What sort of people does he pick to execute a winning game plan? Abram is God’s first pick in the draft. He is the first teammate. So what does he look for? Abram, throughout the Bible, is most known for his faith. In Galatians 3, our first Scripture reader, Abraham is described as a man of faith. In the hall of fame in Hebrews 11, Abraham has the biggest placard on the wall with the most acts of faith. In Romans 4, we are told Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. In James 3, Abraham proved his faith by his works. These are just a handful of passages to talk about Abraham’s faith. Besides Jesus, Abram is the most famous person in the Bible and one thing he is famous for is his faith.

But what is faith? It’s a word we use a lot but it is often misunderstood and misused. So let’s take some time to think about it. A synonym for faith is trust. Let’s answer this question: In what situations does someone need faith or trust?

whiteboard-when-we-need-trust.JPG

The big question this passage answers is: What is God’s rescue plan to bring us home? What is God’s rescue plan to bring us home?

We will cover this passage in four parts to answer this question.

Abram’s Family History (11:27-32)

Verse 27 starts us with a new title for this section: these are the generations of Terah. Meaning, this is the story of Terah’s family. From here all the way to chapter 25, the focus is on Terah’s son, Abram. We are told two key pieces of information about Abram right up front.

First, we learn that his brother, Haran, died which left his son, Lot, fatherless. As we will find out, Abram kind of adopts Lot and he is the closest thing to a son Abram has.

Second, Abram’s wife, Sarai, is barren and unable to have children. She is a woman who bears the pain and shame of not being able to get pregnant after decades and decades of trying. Abram bears the disappointment and heartache of not having a son to teach and pass down his possessions to as an inheritance. Sarai feels the guilt and shame of thinking that it’s her fault.

With this background information, we hear God’s plan for Abram and for the whole world in chapter 12 verses 1 through 3.

God’s Plan (12:1-3)

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

This is one of the most important moments in the whole Bible. If you want to understand the storyline of the Bible, you should know Genesis 1, 2, and 3 and then these three verses in Genesis 12. Here God sets in motion his specific plan to undo the effects of Adam and Eve’s rebellion in Genesis 3 and bring blessing back to the world like in Genesis 1 and 2. And he is going to do it through one man and his family. There is a coming together of God’s universal plan for everyone and his particular and personal plan for one man, Abram. Later we learn that Abram is 75 years old when this happens and we don’t know what he was doing for the first 75 years of his life. But here in this moment, the Lord tells Abram about his plan to bless the whole world through him. God’s blessing to Abram consists of three promises: land, nation, name.

First, God promises to give Abram a land. Here God tells him to go to the land that he will show him. Later when he arrives, God promises to give that land to him. Currently, Abram doesn’t have a land. He is a nomad sheep herder. His father moved the family from Ur to Haran. That’s where they have settled but they don’t own it. Abram is landless but God will give him a land.

Second, God promises to make Abram into a great nation. Though Abram is 75 years old, childless, and his wife can’t have kids, God promises to give him a family and to grow that family into a great nation. Later in Genesis, we learn that this is the nation of Israel. Abram is childless but God will make him into a great nation.

Third, God promises to make Abram’s name great. In chapter 11, the people building the Tower of Babel wanted to make a name for themselves and God opposed their efforts and scattered them. No one remembers their names. Abram, however, is seen as the forefather of three major religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. He’s famous! There is nothing wrong with having a great name, but it must come from God and not from opposing God, which is what the tower builders were doing. Abram is a no name but God will give him a great name.

While these are the blessings God lists, it’s also assumed that Abram will enjoy a relationship with God - the greatest blessing of all. Out of all the people of the earth, God has chosen Abram to use for his divine purposes.

But the final goal here doesn’t end with Abram. God has his sights set on blessing all the families of the earth and Abram is the channel through which he is going to pour that blessing. Abram is blessed to be a blessing. God wants to bring blessing back to a world filled with curse, death, and sin. God wants to bring humanity back home to experience life as it should be with him and he is going to use Abram’s family to do it. God promises to totally reverse Abram’s situation. He’s landless, childless, and a no name but God will give him a land, a great nation, and a great name. And through Abram, God wants to reverse the situation of the whole world! Where in your life do you need a reversal? Abram was childless, landless, and nameless. Are you hopeless? Loveless? Faithless Peace-less? Joyless? Restless?

The ultimate blessing God gives to the world is his Son, Jesus. As we read in Galatians 3, Paul says that the gospel was preached to Abram when God said “in you all nations will be blessed.” Abram’s family would become the nation of Israel who were called to be bless the nations by being a light - by shining the truth of who God is into the world so that others can know him. But time and time again, Israel failed to trust and love God. Instead, they often looked just like all the other nations. But their prophets foretold of a day when God would come by sending a King to show Israel the way. Finally that day came when Jesus was born. He was born to be a King but he was also God in the flesh! He called people to turn from their sin and their false views of God to believe the good news that God was doing a reversal - his kingdom was coming! Then Jesus paid the penalty for our sin through his death so that we could be free of its penalty. He was raised to new life and sent his Spirit to dwell inside us to free us from sin’s power. One day he will return to free us from sin’s presence and bring in a whole new creation. All those who believe in Jesus become citizens of his kingdom - his great nation. All those who believe in Jesus are given a great name - they are baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with a new identity. All those who believe in him are promised a land - a new creation where there will be no more mourning, crying, or pain anymore. Jesus is the one who does the ultimate reversal and he is a descendant of Abram. Jesus is the ultimate blessing to all the families of the earth that God gave through Abram!

But Abram must respond. God is the doer and Abram is the receiver, but Abram must respond in order to receive. God tells him: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.” The call God places on him gets more and more personal in what he has to give up. First, his country - the place he is living. He has to leave it. Second, his kindred - his clan or tribe - his relatives. Lastly, his father’s house - his immediate family. With each one, the cost is greater. Giving this up isn’t to earn God’s blessing but to receive it. He cannot stay where he is if he wants to receive what God wants to give him. He cannot hold onto life as he knows it if he wants the life God has promised. He cannot remain where he is if he wants to receive the promise.

So too we must respond. All those who bless Abram will be blessed and all those who reject him will be cursed. So it is with Jesus. We must respond to Jesus if we want the life he offers free from sin’s penalty, power, and presence. We cannot hold onto life as it is if we want what Jesus offers. We must surrender to him as our King - that’s how you become part of his kingdom and enjoy its benefits.

And it isn’t meant to stop with us. Jesus blesses us with every spiritual blessing, as Ephesians 1 says, so that we can be a blessing. Jesus calls us to repent and believing the good news and then he sends us out to tell others. God told Abram to go and in the Great Commission in Matthew 28 Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of all nations.

Next, we see how Abram responded in verse 4 through 9.

Abram’s Response (12:4-9)

In verse 4 we are simply told: “4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…” (Genesis 12:4a) Just think about how crazy this is. Abram is 75 years old with no kids and a wife who can’t have kids. He owns no land. He is the most unlikely person to become a great nation! He doesn’t even have one kid as a starter. And God wants him to leave the people and place he knows for a land God hasn’t even specified. For Abram to go as the Lord had told him required a great deal of faith in God - it required a deep trust. It would seem God made a good first pick in drafting for his team. Which of the 4Gs did Abram need to believe to respond in this way?

Abram leaves his country, his kindred and his father’s house in Haran with Lot, his nephew he’s taking care of, his wife, Sarai, and their possessions and people who work for him. They go to the land of Canaan, which is already occupied. It isn’t land for the taking. But when they get to the heart of it at Shechem, God appears to Abram and tells him that this is the land he will give him. Abram commemorates the experience by building an altar to worship God. Then he moved a bit more southward and built another altar and called upon the name of the Lord as an act of praise, thanksgiving, and surrender to him. Then Abram journeyed south to the Negeb. Coming from Haran and ending in the Negeb, Abram traveled the length of the land God had promised to him and would later give to his ancestors. And at the heart of it, he built two altars that stand as symbolic flags planted in the ground saying, “I do not own this land, but God has promised it to me and I trust him.”

In verse 4 through 9, Abram seems to be on a spiritual high. God spoke to him directly and made some mighty promises. Abram responds with obedience and faith. He packs up for a far off land, leaving behind all he knows. But as he travels, God appears to him and he seems to be aware of God’s presence with him. His mind is on God and his heart is full. He is worshiping his way through the Promised Land. How do you respond to the promises of God? How do you respond when God calls you to something?

But then Abram’s faith is tested in verse 10 through 20.

Abram’s Faith Tested (12:10-20)

Crisis hits in verse 10. There was a famine in the land. God asked him to leave the comfort and security of his home and family for a land God will show him and when he arrives, there is a famine? People are struggling to eat and are concerned about their next meal. Is this really the land?

Abram’s solution is to go farther south, down to Egypt. Because Egypt is on the Nile River, it isn’t as susceptible to the ups and downs of the wet and dry seasons. It’s a safe place to go during a drought and famine. No sooner than he arrives, Abram decides to leave. What might he be wondering about God’s promises? “Gee, thanks God. You’re going to give me a waterless, foodless land?” Have you ever doubted God because things aren’t as you expected? God didn’t do what you expected?

In Egypt, Abram is hit with another crisis: he is afraid Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, will kill him to take his wife. So before they enter Egypt, he sits Sarai down for a cup of coffee and lays out his plan. “You a beautiful so that means the Egyptians will want to take you. If I say you are my wife, they will kill me so they can have you. So tell them you are my sister so things will go well for me and my life will be spared.” This should strike us as a horrible idea. Abram wants to save his own skin by letting his wife be taken into the harem of Egyptian Pharaoh. He is jeopardizing God’s promise! How will Abram become a great nation if he no longer has a wife? He can’t have any kids.

Abram was right. The Egyptians thought Sarai was beautiful and she was taken into Pharaoh’s house with his other wives and things did go well for Abram. But God was protecting Sarai. He sent great plagues on Pharaoh and his house so that he realized something was wrong. He confronts Abram about his lie, rebukes him, and sends him away.

Abram is supposed to be blessed to be a blessing to all nations. But his first interaction with another nation starts with a lie which causes plagues upon them and ends with him being kicked out with a sharp rebuke. All because Abram was afraid for his life. Which 4Gs did Abram need to believe in this situation and how would they have helped?

Perhaps God didn’t make a good first choice in the draft after all. Is this really the guy who is going to bring blessing to all nations? Not long after receiving a direct word from God filled with promises he is in Egypt lying and causing plagues. He encounters two crises and forgets to consult God about what to do. He just takes matters into his own hands and tries to solve it himself. Is this really a man of faith?

Is this often how our lives look too? We have the amazing promises of God and we have moments of grand faith, but then we have times when we take matters into our own hands and we act totally contrary to those promises. We go from spiritual highs to spiritual lows. We totally trust God in one moment then when we are faced with a crises we forget about him and come up with our own solutions without consulting him at all.

This returns us to our big question. The big question this passage answers is: What is God’s rescue plan to bring us home? Here’s the answer: Imperfect, undeserving people are blessed to be a blessing. Imperfect, undeserving people are blessed to be a blessing.

Abram is far from perfect, as we will continue to see. And he is far from deserving of the immense privilege God gives him. But God blesses him. That is God’s grace in action. God is gracious so he gives us what we don’t deserve. Yes we are imperfect. Yes we are unworthy and undeserving. But God blesses us anyway. And he chooses to use us for his purpose. He wants to rescue people and bring them home and he uses imperfect, undeserving people to do it.

Know this: God wants to bless you to be a blessing. God is gracious, which means by nature he is a giver and a blesser to those who don’t deserve it. You don’t have to prove yourself, you just need to receive it as the free gift he offers you. The ultimate blessing is Jesus who deals with all our sin and makes us into new creations. In Jesus, we receive salvation from our sins past, present, and future. In Jesus, we are blessed beyond measure. Through Jesus, God brings us home by forgiving us of our sin, giving us power to love him, and promising us a new home in the future to dwell with him. And God wants to use you to blessing others - to tell others the good news about Jesus so they can receive these blessings.

But we must respond. We cannot receive these blessing without faith. We cannot be used by God to bring blessing to others without faith. If Abram had remained where he was, he would not have received what God had promised. We cannot remain where we are if we are to receive what God has promised. We must say “yes” to God. Jesus invited people to follow him all the time.

Responding to God engages our Head, Heart, and Hands. Faith requires all three. Head means faith is not blind. We seek to know God and that gives us reason to trust him. Heart means faith is not only factual. We believe God and trust him. Let God in the driver’s seat. Hands means faith is not idle. We obey God. Go where God wants to take us.

Our vision as a church is to show and tell the good news. Today a bunch of us volunteered at Summer in the Park as a way to blessing our city. It shows our city, “God cares about this city. God loves you. God is near.” Our Back to School Bash blesses others by showing them that God cares about the kids of this city. These events show our city: God cares. God loves you. God is here for you. They give God a good reputation. They show the good news to people and build a relationship of trust and credibility for telling the good news.

We are showing people the good news as we tell them. We want to be good representatives of God’s love and grace with our lives. Here is often where we struggle, where many Christians struggle, and where many churches struggle. If we fully believed these 4Gs, how would that help us in telling others about Jesus?

Conclusion
Abram was the most unlikely of people to be chosen for God’s promises and God’s purposes. He couldn’t accomplish any of the promises in his own power. He had to trust God would do it. But he had to leave when he knew and head into the unknown. That’s when faith is required.

So too, we are the most unlikely of people to be chosen for God’s promises and God’s purposes. But God chooses the imperfect and undeserving. As one of my professors said, “God makes straight lines using crooked sticks.” We are not deserving of God’s blessings. We are not deserving to be used by God. But God does it anyway, because he is gracious and his grace is sufficient for us because his power is made perfect in weakness.

More in Genesis: Beginning the Journey Home

December 9, 2018

Jacob and the God More Powerful Than Him

December 2, 2018

Jacob and His Sons Fail to Walk with God

November 18, 2018

Jacob's Search for Acceptance