St John's Anglican Church

Lent 1  -   THE PROMISE OF GOD 21 February 2010

INTRODUCTION  TO  LENT  COURSE:

For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthinians 1 : 18

May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Galatians 6 : 14

The Lent Course which we are following ‘The Way of the Cross’, is based on the Bible Study for those who attended GAFCON – The Global Anglican Futures Conference.  As Archbishop Peter  Akinola wrote in his foreword to the study  that the Way of the Cross is at the heart of our discipleship and also of our engagement with the world.  He saw that there is an urgent need for repentance not only for those who have floundered in their faith, but also on the part of those whose faith has not fired them sufficiently to stand up and be counted for Christ!

Canon Vinay Samuel, the introducer of the course, describes the Way of the Cross of Christ, as dealing in relationships with God and the person of Jesus and the living out of that relationship in the world.  In the Way of the Cross is the truth of God and the Holy Spirit power to live according to that truth.

When most of us do our spiritual inventory to check whether we are living according to the Way of the Cross, we often think of the surface things – have we been gossiping or have we not been reading our Bibles.  We tend to concentrate on outward works forgetting that they are the fruit of a deeper spiritual factor.

It’s what is in our hearts that comes out in the way we speak and act – whether our lives exhibit faith and trust in God.  All our departures from right living  – our times of being spiritually cold – stem from our faith that has weakened or even broken down.

One of the great leaders in Biblical history is someone who was called ‘the father of all who believe…. The father of those who walk in the footsteps of faith … the father of many nations.’

His name is Abraham, and he is held up as the great example when it comes to faith.  How did he develop such trust in God? Was his walk plain sailing?  Definitely not, but he did develop great trust and faith in God.  What can we do to develop the same kind of faith, because man has been created to live by faith in God alone.?

Abram lived by God’s promises.  On the day when God first spoke to him,

Genesis 12 : 1 God said ‘leave your country, leave your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’

Then followed the promises – when you go

Vs 2 & 3

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.

I will make your name great and you will be a blessing

I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse.

And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

There was only one thing that God asked Abram to do, and that was ‘leave’ and in return, God promised He would do these wonderful things.  It did require that Abram leave all the things he knew and loved best – he had to leave his comfort zone.  In a practical sense, it is really saying, put God first above all things.

So Abram and his family left with just the promises of God.  God was their source for everything.

I think it is important for us to realize that Abram followed God’s command to leave  because he trusted God. Obedience and trust go hand in hand.

In order to carry out God’s will for his life, Abram had to allow the grace of God to flow through the channel of what He had promised.

The majority of us are command-oriented.  We wake up each day, conscious of God’s moral law and we try to live righteous lives.  At times it can be a great struggle.

We would do far better to wake up each morning thinking of God’s wonderful promises – what He will do for us – never leave us or forsake us – equip us to cope – never more than we can handle – give us wisdom when we ask – put the right words in our mouths – forgiveness of sin through His Son, Jesus – and eternal life if we believe in Him.  If we stand on the many promises of God throughout Scripture, then His power working in us will direct us in the way of obedience and right living …..  Obedience and trust together walking in the Way of the Cross.

The New Testament Book of Hebrews refers to all the things that God will do for those who have faith and trust and hope in Him.

Hebrews 8 : 10 I will make a covenant with the house of Israel, I will put my law in their minds and write them on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.  They will all know me…….I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

The book of Hebrews then goes on in Chapter 11 to remind us of wonderful acts of faith :

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command

By faith, Noah built an ark

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he didn’t know where he was going ……….

Abraham lived by faith ….. he didn’t know where he and his entire family was going!  No map, GPS or Garmin to direct him – his caravan with his family & belongings simply headed west and that was that.  God had said he would  show him where to stop sometime in the future when he got to wherever he was going!!

Truly moving in faith – makes me wonder how many things we really do by pure faith and trust in God.

Can you imagine the conversation if Abraham met up with other travelers ……. Hi Mr Abram  – where are you going?…..

Well, I don’t know.

How will you know when you get there?   ……

I don’t know – God said He would show me.

What about food when you get there – you’ve got quite a few people travelling with you ……

I don’t know …. God said he would take care of us.

Abram knew that as long as his hand was in God’s strong hand, everything was going to work out just right – just right according to God ….. not necessarily Abram!

My human nature likes to know everything in advance –  and plan things to cover all the possible pitfalls.  But faith is content just knowing that God knows the master plan – His promises can’t fail!

That’s the excitement of walking with God – we see it time and again in the Scriptures.  In the book of Acts you never know quite what is going to happen – the early Christians waited on the Lord.  The Spirit was in control and that was enough!  Paul didn’t have a plan or a programme to follow for his evangelistic journeys, he simply went by faith and God unveiled the route or the plan as he went along.

Jesus’ promise at the beginning of the book of Acts is

Acts 1 : 8 You will receive power when the Holy spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

No wonder Jesus told the disciples

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised…..”

Wait, just as Abram and Sarai had to wait with expectation for what God had promised them.

And Abram battled with patience in just the same way we do – He took matters into his own hands more than once  BUT -

Having faith in the promise – and the perfect working out of God’s plan – is the key – as Abraham finally realized – it is our sure and only hope!

God has a wonderful plan for all his people – for each one of us. We need to get to a place of understanding that God doesn’t have to tell us much about it if He chooses not to.  All He asks is that we take His hand and walk along in faith and in absolute trust.

I believe that that is our first real challenge as we  walk the Way of the Cross – so much relies on our absolute trust in the wisdom, the goodness, the love and the all perfect nature of God.

Then in Genesis 12 : 10 – 12, we move to a part of Abram’s story which is one of the painful chapters in His life.

Now there was a famine in the Land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.  As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are.  When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’ Then they will kill me but let you live.

Although Abram had started out so wonderfully, he actually failed God by heading down to Egypt just because they were experiencing famine where God had sent them.   No scripture shows him receiving any direction from God about this – he just felt the economic pinch –  He stopped trusting in God for His provision – pulled up the tent stakes and headed for Egypt.

This then is our next challenge – to continue to walk in faith. Whenever we stop trusting God and living by faith, we start doing what WE think is best – or whatever the circumstances dictate.  We take control of our lives, even sinning to get out of a tricky situation.  When we take over from God, we get into trouble pretty quickly!

Abram had faith to step into the land, but at that time, he didn’t have the faith to walk in it.

Rather like Peter, I suppose, …. He had faith to step out of the boat but not faith to walk on the water.

When Abram and his family experienced the famine in the land, he responded with his feelings rather than his faith.   In faith he would have believed God for who He is and trusted in His promises.  His feelings led him to respond with his own plan.

Proverbs 3 : 5 – 6

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.

As Abram and Sarai neared the Egyptian border, he looked at his wife and knew there would be problems. Because she was so beautiful, if it were known that Sarai was his wife, Pharaoh would desire her for himself and would have Abram killed. So Abram decided that it would be best to tell a lie – say that Sarai was not his wife, but his sister.

Abram’s scheme only half-worked – he avoided losing his own life, but poor Sarai was led away to join the royal harem.

Wasn’t that an outrageous thing for Abram to do!!  He saved his own skin, but at the cost of Sarai’s virtue and future.  Surely that would never have been part of God’s plan!

But God had made promises & His promises never fail – It was as if he was watching the whole mess develop and knew that He had to intervene and judge.  If anyone deserved to be judged and to be punished, it was Abram – he had certainly not behaved like a man of God or even a man who trusted God.  But, interestingly enough, we read that God sent the judgment on Pharaoh and not Abram!  This is the wisdom of God!  If He had plagued Abram rather than Pharaoh, then this would not have resulted in Sarai being freed from Pharaoh’s harem & returned to Abram.

According to God’s plan:

Vs 17 But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife, Sarai.

It was these diseases that led Pharaoh to summon Abram – he had discovered Sarai was Abram’s wife and not his sister & he was furious – and told Abram to take his wife and go.

Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men and they sent him on his way with his wife and everything he had.

It is a real lesson for all of us …. It is so easy to wander from God’s promises & purposes for us and fail miserably.   The important thing is not to stay there, but to get back on track.

Of course, it’s better not to sin in the first place because our sin has consequences:

Genesis 12 : 18 – 20

And Pharaoh called Abram and said, ‘what is this you have done to me?  Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say ‘she is my sister?’ I might have taken her as my wife.

Imagine what takes place in Pharaoh’s mind when he finds out that Abram – a servant of the Lord, had purposefully lied and tried to deceive him to save his own skin.  Abram had to leave Egypt, but, sadly,  he left with a damaged testimony as a man of God!

He & the family quickly returned to the land where he belonged – to the place where he had built an altar to the Lord and then he called on the name of the Lord.

Abram felt the need to go back to the place where he had stood so faithfully on the promises that God had made to him.

Whenever we fail God, it is vital to return quickly to that ‘altar of consecration and faith’.  That is one of the purposes of Lent – at the Ash Wednesday service – when ashes of repentance are marked on our foreheads , it is with the words:

Turn away from sin and believe the good news.

The good news is the saving grace of the Cross of Christ

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1 : 20

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.  And so through him the AMEN is spoken to us to the glory of God.

God does not allow His plan to miscarry – He rescues it and preserves it even beyond human failure.

Faith deals with the invisible things of God.  It doesn’t comply with what we think is possible in our understanding.   Faith is able to say:

“It doesn’t matter what ‘the world’ does to me – or the way the world interprets things – even if it seems impossible.  God will make a way!  In worldly thinking there was no way that the Cross of Christ  could lead to victory.  God ‘s wisdom is not our wisdom.

Even when Satan stands against us – the God of Abraham remains true to His promises.  Jesus Christ can do anything – in the deepest sense – he will not fail those who trust in Him.

So where does all this bring us on our relationship journey to the very heart of God this Lent:

• Our first challenge & need, is to grow our trust by searching  the Scriptures, asking  the Holy Spirit to make God’s promises come alive –  to reveal to us the Nature of God who is unchanging – He is our Creator and Lord, He is the only one who is wise,He is the one who provides and heals  – He is the one who is always with us – our shepherd – in Him we have victory over death and hell. ….. Holy Spirit bring us to the place where we can acknowledge that our God  is utterly trustworthy
  • Then our challenge is to walk in that truth – in obedience to God’s perfect will and trusting in his plans and not to seeing or judging their working out according to worldly thinking or our own understanding.
• And if we have taken our lives into our own hands – now is the time to get back on track,  back to our own ‘altar of consecration’ – and put ourselves firmly in the safe hands of God our Father – who, through the Cross of Jesus, forgives and remembers our sins no more.

I don’t know how the Holy Spirit will convict you today or during this period of Lent.  I only know how he has convicted me during my time of preparation.

My desire for myself,  is that God’s promises – His faithfulness, His love  -  will be so alive to me  that I can live by faith alone, and so be totally faithful to His will for my life. – I can only do it though, by holding God’s hand & walking in the Spirit of absolute trust .

Over the next 40 days, as we grow in obedience, faith and trust, I pray that God would, by His grace, enable each one of us to appropriate God’s promise to Abram, when He said that the people on earth will be blessed through you.   I pray that we would indeed be a blessing to others – and by our lives share our faith in a trustworthy, steadfast God – and so draw others to Him for His eternal glory.

AMEN