READ | SERMON NOTES
SUMMARY | Will we leave the comfort of security, prestige, and familiarity to become a blessed people and a blessing to others?
As we seek deep rest that renews and encourages us in our discipleship journey this Sabbath year, we can learn from the Book of Genesis to go and do as God calls. Chapters 12 – 50 reveal how the patriarch fathers of faith, despite their failings and setbacks, kept faith and were sustained by the sovereign grace of God. Genesis was written by Moses to remind sinful, wilderness-wandering Israel having been freed from Egypt that the God of their forefathers – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, is the One who calls His people and is faithful to provide for their journey to Canaan, His promised land for them.
Onward From Harran to Canaan
Uncharacteristic of nomads on the move, Abram’s father Terah (descendant of Shem) had settled his family in the thriving city of Harran (11:31) instead of going on to Canaan. Hearing God’s call at age 75, Abram chose to obey.
1. OBEY the One who calls: A Decisive Journey of Faith – “Go”, God called, “from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” It was costly but Abram obeyed. He went forth, not worrying about others. It was a month-long, 500-mile caravan journey undertaken decisively where he had to leave his
- security (country and land)
- identity (people and kin)
- loyalty (ancestry and past gods)
- certainty (for an unknown land)
Disciples of Christ decisively go as God directs. We are called to leave our Harran attachments of security, significance, identity and certainty, much like the early fishermen-turned-disciples who left their nets to follow Jesus. Abram truly worshipped God by obediently forsaking what God called him away from. For us today, attachments we are called to leave behind may be an idol we have been worshipping, a job that poisons the soul, our pride and arrogance, our indifference for the lost and marginalised, or our unforgiveness. Without surrender and separation there can be no new revelation.
2. TRUST the One who calls: A Continued Surrender – God who called, promised Abram (v1-3)
- security (land)
- identity (make him a great nation with family and descendants)
- significance (make his name great)
- purpose (make him to be a blessing)
Abram, as the new “Adam”, would bring blessing and renewal to mankind, reversing the curses of Eden. The obedience of one man led to God’s fulfilment of salvation in Jesus Christ. Not knowing the outcome, yet trusting, was how God used Abram’s obedience to bless future generations both Jew and Gentile. The very seed of faith that Abraham had is in us as Christ’s disciples. Abram’s faith-led journey of altars and tents demonstrated a life of continual surrender. He built altars at Shechem and Bethel to worship in surrender to the Lord. He was also continually on the go, for after pitching a tent at Bethel he moved to the Negev. (v6-9)
We too are called to build spiritual altars that gather us and our families in church and at home, to remember God’s call and goodness, to bow our hearts before Him. It could be an event we attend (e.g. Strangely Warmed Retreat), a service we render (e.g. a mission trip), or our giving (e.g. to build and support the church’s purpose). Tents prioritise the mobility to go where God leads, having impermanent regard for earthly things. They represent a lifestyle choice (e.g. being debt-free), having a faithful mindset, and readiness to offer. As we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness in our discipleship journey of continual surrender and obedience, God will provide all that we need. (Matthew 6:33) God alone will be our eternal reward. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” (Jim Elliot) How are we guarding against rootedness to material comfort that breeds complacency? What tents and altars are we building so that our lives and ministries rest in God’s hand, and we respond readily to His call?
3. SUSTAINED by the One who calls: A Redeeming Grace – During a famine in the land, Abram “deserted his faith for logic”. (OT scholar J.A Motyer) He detoured to abundant Egypt (v10) which depended not on rainfall but annual flooding of the Nile. Then plagued by fear at its border (v11-16), he schemed a deception to save his life. It back-fired when Pharaoh took his beautiful wife Sarai believing she was his sister. In exchange he received gifts of sheep, cattle and servants at the expense of Sarai’s predicament. But God’s sovereign promises were not to be derailed. He stepped in to rescue the situation by inflicting Pharaoh and his household with serious diseases so that Abram was ordered to leave Egypt with his wife and everything he had, which was more than when he entered the land. Although Abram compromised and failed to choose faith over fear and truth over deception, God sustained His willing servant with His redeeming grace.
Dr Tim Mackie, co-founder of BibleProject, mirrors the human condition of sin by comparing Abram’s deception (Gen 12) with the Serpent’s (Gen 3). “Abram’s Eden failure” as he calls it, is our failure as well. a) Temptation – forbidden vs lack of food b) See and take mentality – Eve and the fruit vs Pharaoh and Sarai c) Held accountable – by God (Adam and Eve) vs by Pharaoh (Abram) d) Exiled – by God vs by Pharaoh. God’s grace, however, prevailed and He did not let go of Abram. How did Abram get away scot-free and richer than before? Undeservingly and only by God’s will as he pondered his messed-up state – stuck in Egypt without his wife. For the sake of His promise, God will surely do the same for us today when we sincerely confess to Him our failures, stupidity, and costly errors. God is not done with us or His promises. His grace comes to us as it did Abram in surprising ways.
How is God calling you today on a sanctifying journey in His presence? Is it to leave behind our Harrans and go where He calls; build altars and tents in continued surrender to Him; lean into and receive His redeeming grace over our failures? We can because the One who calls is forever faithful.
(Sermon notes by Marjorie Tan)
PONDER | REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- Study Scripture
a. Read Genesis 12. What stands out for you? - Recall Sermon
a. What was the cost of Abram’s obedience? Why is it spiritually important for us to leave our “Harans” in obedience to God’s call?
b. How does the call of Abram reveal the faithfulness of God to provide? How do the altars and tents that Abram built reveal surrender?
c. What is your response to Abram’s fear and deception in Gen 12:10-20? How has God’s redeeming grace shown up in your own times of fear and failure? - Relate Personally
a. What about the message that really spoke to you? - Commit to Action
a. In what ways is God calling you to act in response to the message?
