Who Is the Holy Spirit, and Why Does It Matter? Selected Text, Preached by Michael Gunn @ Harambee Church on May 4th, 2008

“The Old Testament may be likened to a chamber richly furnished but dimly lighted; the introduction of light brings into it nothing which was not there before; but it brings out into clearer view much of what is in it but was only dimly or not at all perceived before. The mystery of the Trinity is not revealed in the Old Testament; but the mystery of the Trinity underlies the Old Testament revelation, and here and there almost comes into view. Thus the Old Testament revelation of God is not corrected by the fuller revelation which follows it, but is only perfected, extended and enlarged.”
B.B. Warfield

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8

“…but I say walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the deeds of the flesh…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control, against such there is no law.”
Galatians 5:16, 22-23

Intro
The Holy Spirit may be the most misunderstood in all of scripture! Is He an energy force? Is He a manifestation of power much like Kali is a manifestation of Shiva in Hinduism? Is the Holy Spirit God, and what does He do? God’s mysteries are amazing, and I think a reminder of His infinite being and our finite minds. The concept of God as three yet one is mind rattling. It is important to understand what theologians mean by the Trinity. The Trinitarian teaching does not say that God is both one and three since that would be contradictory. The doctrine teaches that as a being (Essence) God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4), yet he is also three in person. While this is hard to understand, it is not a contradiction, since he is one of one thing (Essence), but three in another (Person). These are some of the things we will explore in today’s study on the Holy Spirit.

From the Head…

Who Is the Spirit?
1. The Spirit is Power
Hebrew = Ruach – Breath, Wind
Greek = Pneuma – Breath, Wind
“Breath of life” (Genesis 2:7)
The usage of these terms are not implying an impersonal wind, not an immaterial being, but that of “Power,” especially as the power of God behind much of what God is said to have accomplished in the world (Creation, redemption, etc.). We see this emphasis in Isaiah 31:3 is power and not immateriality. The point here is God’s power is far above anything that man can muster. Sometime that power is witnessed through physical things like a storm, or the amazing regenerating power bringing forth spiritual life in a spiritually dead person (See Titus 3:5).

2. The Spirit is a Person
He can be “Grieved” (Psalm 78:40; Isaiah 63:10; Ephesians 4:30), which is an interpersonal activity. You can’t grieve a door, or a rock, or an energy force.

3. The Spirit is God (Third person of the godhead)
Trinitarian language in the Old and New Testaments (Genesis 1:26; 11:7; Psalm 45:6-7; 110:1; Isaiah 6:8; 48:16; 61:1; Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:1-2). What we see in these verses is the three persons mentioned as God. Acts 5:3-4 more specifically refers to the Holy Spirit as God. Psalm 139:7-8 attributes a divine attribute (Omnipresence) with the Holy Spirit. Also 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 does similarly (Omniscience). We also see works attributed to God (Creation – Genesis 1:1-2) and redemption (John 3:5-7; Titus 3:5) attributed to the Spirit.

What Does the Spirit Do?
The basic purpose of the Holy Spirit is to manifest the active presence of God in the world, through and in the church (Genesis 41:38; Psalm 104:29-30; 139:7; Ezekiel 39:29)
1. The Holy Spirit Creates
a. He Creates Physical Life (Genesis1:2, 2:7; Palm 104:30; Job 33:4; 34:14-15)
b. He Creates Order and Beauty (Genesis 1:2; Exodus 31:1-11; 35:30-35)
c. He Creates Community (Joel 2:28-32 cf. Acts 2:16-18, 44-47; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 13; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

2. The Holy Spirit Redeems
a. He Convicts the World of Sin, Righteousness and Judgment (John 16:8-11)
b. He helps us confess Christ (1 John 4:2)
c. He Baptizes Believers Into The Body (1 Corinthians 12:13)
d. He Regenerates (Ezekiel 36:26-27; Titus 3:5; John 3:3-8; 6:63; Acts 10:44-47; Romans 1:4, 8:11; 2 Corinthians 3:6)
e. He Sanctifies (Galatians 5:16-24; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2 cf. Romans 8:4, 13)
f. He Seals (Ephesians 1:12-14; 2 Corinthians 1:22)

3. The Holy Spirit Reveals
a. He Reveals to the Biblical Authors (Jeremiah 1:2, 8, 9, 15, 19; 2 Samuel 23:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Peter 1:20-21)
b. He Reveals Evidence of God’s Presence (Ezekiel 39:29; Psalm 104:29-30)
c. He Reveals a Godlike Atmosphere
- He Pours Out Love in Our hearts (Romans 5:5; Colossians 1:
- He Brings Forth Peace (1 Corinthians 14:33; Romans 14:17)
- He Brings Joy (Romans 14:17; Acts 13:52; 1 Thess. 1:6)
- He Brings Truth (John 14:17; 15:26)
- He Brings Comfort (Acts 9:31)
- He Brings Freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17)
- He Brings Righteousness (Romans 14:17)
- He Brings Hope (Romans 15:13; Galatians 5:5)
d. He Reveals Assurance (Romans 8:16; 1 John 3:24; 1 John 4:13)
e. He Teaches, Guides and Illumines (John 14:26; John 16:13; Luke 12:12)

4. The Holy Spirit Empowers
a. He Empowers For Service (Numbers 27:18; Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 1 Samuel 11:6; 16:13; Acts 1:8; 4:8, 31; 6:5-8, 10; 1 Thessalonians 1:5).
b. He Empowers the Church to Be a Witness To the World (Acts 1:8).
c. He Empowers People For Ministry (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)

5. The Holy Spirit Restrains Evil (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7)

6. The Holy Spirit Intercedes In Our Prayers (Romans 8: 26-27)

7. The Holy Spirit Is Our “Helper”/Counselor (John 14:16, 26)

What is Baptism in the Spirit?
The Pentecostal tradition maintains that there is a second blessing, subsequent to salvation /regeneration.
There are 7 times it’s mentioned in the bible:
• Matthew 3:11
• Mark 1:8
• Luke 3:16
• John 1:33
• Acts 1:5
• Acts 11:16
• 1 Corinthians 12:13
Even though all 7 verses have similar construction, our English translations translate the 1 Corinthian verse ”by one Spirit we were all baptized,” instead of “In” the Spirit like the other verses. To be baptized “By” someone in the New Testament, the word “hupo” is used in the Greek and not “En,” which is most often translated “in” as it is in the other 6 incidents. Subsequently being baptized in the Holy Spirit is done as an act at the beginning of our faith in Christ, and not subsequent to our conversion.

Then what about Acts 1:5 and 11:16, which definitely seem to be post conversion? Both of these relate to Pentecost, which was promised in the Old Testament (Joel 2; Ezekiel 36). It appears apparent that the Spirit’s role in the Old Testament was different than it is in the new covenant (Numbers 11:29; Jeremiah 31:31-33). In the OT the Holy Spirit empowered men and women for service (Exodus 31:3; 35:31; Deuteronomy 34:9; 1 Samuel 16:13), but He also took it away as it was in the case of Saul (1 Samuel 16:14).

The fact is Ephesians 1:3 says we have been blessed with “…every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” We can’t get “More” of an infinite being, like He is withholding His blessing from us. Ephesians’ command to “Be filled” (Ephesians 5:1 is not a command for more, but a contrast with being “drunk” (Controlled). This is similar to Romans 8:13; Galatians 5:16, where we are called to “Walk” in the Spirit, not get more of Him.

…to the Heart
The Holy Spirit enables us to be transformed from the inside out, so that we can live in the holiness that we are called to (See Ephesians 4:1). The Holy Spirit is the power that created this universe and raised Jesus from the dead, and it is that power in us, which is greater than any power in the world (1 John 4:4).

Books for further study: Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem; The Holy Spirit, Sinclair Ferguson; The Baptism and Fullness of the Holy Spirit, John Stott; The Work of the Spirit in Our Salvation, Thomas Goodwin

Next Weeks Verses: Selected Text (Mother’s Day)

Genesis 25, The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham, Preached by Michael Gunn @ Harambee Church on April 27th, 2008

“Do you feel more loved because God makes much of you, or because at the cost of His Son, He enables you to enjoy making much of him forever? Does you happiness hang on seeing the cross of Christ as a witness to your worth, or as a way to enjoy God’s worth forever? Is God’s glory in Christ the foundation of your gladness?”
John Piper

Intro:
We come to the end of our study in the life of Abraham. We have seen God journey with Abraham and build his faith along the way, and in our passage today we see Abraham dying, and the covenant being continued through Isaac and Rebekah., and then through Jacob and Esau.

From the Head…
In verse one we see Abraham taking another wife, and birthing at least six more children to his new wife Keturah. The word “Took is actually “Had took” which suggests that this happened before and is only being mentioned now. It does seem that Keturah is a concubine (1 Chronicles 1:32 and Genesis 25:6), and she probably had these children when Sarah was alive. We aren’t told much about her or the other children, because the line to Christ, the Messiah, is through Isaac. What we do know is that many of these sons became some of the fringe tribes that Israel deals with throughout the OT (The Midianites, etc.). Also Abraham gave most of his inheritance to Isaac, but gave each of his other children (Including any children he had with concubines) gifts in order to sustain them, and then he moved them East (Which is toward Iran/Iraq, Jordan (Ammonites) and Saudi Arabia. Abraham’s final work included making sure that Isaac was the clear heir that the promise was working through.

The passage goes on to talk about Abraham’s death, and notes only a few things. First, that he lived a “Full” life, expressing both the number of his years as well as, the quality of it. Secondly, that he was buried by Isaac and Ishmael in the same cave (Machpela) that Sarah was buried in , and lastly that “God blessed Isaac.” The question is why? In this passage we see three incidents where God seems to choose one group/person over another. First, as we just saw, God blessed Isaac over Ishmael. Secondly, in verses 12-18 we see God graciously fulfilling His promise to Abraham and Hagar in regards to Ishmael (Genesis 16). We are told the names of Ishmael’s sons, but their story seems to end in relative anonymity . However the rest of the story and many subsequent chapters after this one deal with two specific sons of Isaac and Rebekah; Jacob and Esau, which leads to the third time God appears to choose one over the other, when verse 23 says, “The one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.” Romans 9 gives us some very specific commentary on this. In spite of us having incredibly hard times believing some of these passages, we can’t ignore that they exist. What is interesting here is that like Sarah, Rebekah was barren for 20 years before she conceived Isaac. Once again, this story is saturated with God’s sovereign hand in our creation and our salvation.

God continually appears as the sovereign one here, which leads us back to the question why again? Again Romans 9 attempts to answer this question, but I would also say that the story we have unfolded in these past 12 chapters also helps us understand. The answer may be as simple as the gospel is more about God and His glory than it is for our own glory. God blessed Isaac, because He had chose this line of Abraham to be the line that would one day produce the Messiah, who would be the ultimate blessing because of His work on the cross for our sins. God is sovereignly ensuring the completion of His story for His glory and the ultimate blessing of all the nations! God is not enslaved to our choices. It is important to note that the moral difference between Jacob and Esau is not a factor. It is Jacob who is the swindler who ends up swindling his older brother of his birthright, yet God uses Jacob to carry on the line to the Messiah. Ironically we see Jacob using his conniving nature (Along with the conniving of his mother Rebekah; Genesis 37) to assure this ascent.

…to the Heart
We have just finished our study of Abraham, and hopefully have seen that God uses ordinary people for extraordinary tasks. Abraham was a pagan moon god worshipper when God pulled him out of his environment, and placed him in a different land to begin a new nation that would consummate with the coming Messiah to take on our sins on the cross so that we could passionately worship God, which is why we are created. Our story ends with Isaac and his dysfunctional family carrying on the line of Jesus. God graciously calls and redeems sinful people to transform them as sinners saved by grace, so that we’d see our birthright (Significance, worth, identity) in Him alone.

Books for further study: Genesis, Walter Brueggemann, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis, Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis, Bruce Waltke, The Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis, Gordon J. Wenham, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis, John H. Walton, Creation and Blessing, Allen P. Ross

Next Weeks Verses: Selected verses

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Genesis 24, The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham, Preached by Michael Gunn @ Harambee Church on April 20th, 2008

Intro
Last week we took a look at the death of Sarah, and this week we see how God remains faithful to his covenant in spite of the fact that the matriarch of the covenant is dead. We will see how God operates in the midst of human efforts to faithfully sustain the covenant, and how God’s will stamped all over human affairs.

From the Head…
We Should Know that God is Present in Our Everyday Decisions (Genesis 24:1-9)
In the beginning God created Adam and Eve and told them to be “Fruitful and Multiply” (Genesis 1: 28). Moses told Israel “Love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” and then to “Teach them diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:4, 7). Paul reminds us to bring our children up in the “Discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Kingdom movements are facilitated by one generation making sure that the next generation carries on the mission. It is clear throughout scripture that the burden of this task is on the back of the parents, especially the fathers. That same verse in Ephesians 6:4 reminds fathers not to “provoke” their children, which is done by not bringing them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Caring about the future of our children is basic to kingdom life here on earth.

Abraham understood his part in this, and took a large role in finding a proper wife for his son Isaac. This kind of role is frowned upon by a culture that has become fragmented, foundationless, and narcissistic. The thought of someone else beside yourself choosing your spouse is crazy. After all you know what’s best for yourself. Well maybe a 50% divorce rate says otherwise. This takes trust on the part of Isaac as well as Abraham and his servant. The larger question is; are we trusting God for key issues in our life? Do we consult God when it comes to decisions such as whom we are going to spend our lives with?

You can imagine the servant’s consternation (While taking this oath), and the responsibility he felt after taking such an oath. What if no one would come with him (Genesis 24:5)? We so often get bent out of shape when we are trying to make a decision that can affect us for a long time. Abraham’s trust was related to 2 things. The covenant promises God had made, and his trust in God’s character that was built throughout the years walking with Him. It is interesting to note that he still had to take precautions while trusting God for this since God had made the covenant promise to make him a great nation. Abraham had to trust that his servant would make good decisions, and that he would not take his son back to settle in the land that God called him out of (Genesis 24:6-8). Abraham was now old (v.1), and he finally began to rest on this promise. He knew God would sovereignly work through his servant (Genesis 24:7). This is Abraham’s story that he now understands, and will retell for generations.

What we do see in this passage is a divinely sovereign God acting providentially in concert with men of faith who are trusting God with key issues in their lives. This passage is about trust and covenant faithfulness. God providentially acting through the faithful, trusting acts of His people.

We Can Be Confident That God Will Lead In Our Faithful Choices (Genesis 24:10-27)
This section gives us an incredible look at the workings of God’s providence in the lives of His people. There is an interesting word play at the beginning of this section, which connects it with the first section. In verse eleven the author gives us a weird detail regarding the servant’s command for his camel’s to kneel down. The word used for “kneel down” (Barak) is homonym of “Berak,” which used for the word “To bless” in verse one. This is a linguistic device connecting the two sections, and reminding the reader that the arrival at that well was part of the divine blessing. There really are no coincidences in this world. God is connected to the world He created. In verses 10-14 he prays to God for help showing that his faith is in the proper place, but he defaults to a pagan methodology to find God’s will in this situation. He (The servant) uses what I call the “Magic Eight Ball” methodology. There are at least two other places in scripture that we see this type of ruse (Judges 6:36-40; 1 Samuel 6:7-12). Information like this should not be taken as a “How to discover God’s will passage.” This passage, like every other passage in scripture needs to be seen in God’s larger redemptive story and how it ultimately connects us to Christ, His Messiah. This passage is about God’s faithful, providential care of His people acting in concert with the covenant that God has made with us. This passage is missional in that it gives us insight into the passing on of the covenant promises to our own children, so that they too would pursue God’s kingdom in a godly fashion. We need to take caution here not to see this as a methodology to find God’s will. God reveals much of what he wants of us within the pages of His word, and when we are struck with hard decisions regarding choices in life, we need to take caution on how to proceed. In practically every incident we see men who have little or no theological knowledge/maturity, and who have very limited revelation from God. Is it wrong to use this type of methodology to discern God’s will? The problem lays with the fact that mechanisms like this put us in control, and God has to take a back seat to the mechanism. Once it’s set up, the mechanism takes control, and God is forced into its answer. We do not “Control” God in any way. This is true in healing, miracles, etc. These are done for God’s will, in His timing.

In spite of this, God blesses the faithful heart of His servant, and answers his prayer; leading him to Rebekah. And then what we see in verse 27 is the servant bowing in worship and prayer for God’s living and providential leading in this matter. How thankful are you for the every day provisions God blesses you with? Are you caught up in a materialism that demands more than what you have? Or do you make regular use of gratitude towards God for His providential care in your circumstances.

We Must Be Diligent to Complete the Work That the Lord Has Given Us to Do (Genesis 24:28-60)
It was the servant’s responsibility to secure the “Betrothal” of Rebekah for Isaac before he could enjoy any of the hospitality of Laban and his family. In verses 33-49 gives us a detailed account of this reality, and the purpose of his journey. This servant was a small part of a big picture; much how many of us are now scripted into God’s story. He didn’t have all the answers, nor did he know exactly what to do; he was just faithful to the task that he had before God. Similar to the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), we are responsible for the tasks and mission that God has set before us.

In verses 34-48 he reiterates his story, and emphasizes the blessing on Abraham (v. 35), Isaac’s inheritance (v. 36), the oath to find a wife not from the Canaanites (v. 37), the provision of the angel (v. 40), his prayer at the well (vv. 42-44), and the identification of Rebekah and his subsequent praise of Yahweh (v. 48). When the servant finished he implored them to let Rebekah go with him (v. 49), and after they relented (vv. 50-51), he once again bowed to the Lord to give thanks (v. 52).

However even though they were compelled to let her go by his testimony a new tension arose as they put a condition of remaining there with them for a while, but when they asked Rebekah what she wanted to do, she decided to go with the servant. They blessed Rebekah, and sent her off with her nurse.

We Can Be Assured That What God Begins, He Will Complete (Genesis 24:61-67)
In these final few verses we see that God has faithfully delivered a wife to Isaac. This was no doubt through the faithfulness and effort of Abraham’s servant, but it was God that guided so much of the circumstances. And it is God who makes sure that His covenant with His people continues through Isaac the new master (v.65) and the new matriarch (v. 67).

What is interesting is how Rebekah veiled herself when she was going to meet her new husband. This was probably a custom, and one that still is seen in many parts of the Middle East today. But as we know from 1 Peter 3, godly women of old were more interested in attracting men with their godliness rather than with the promise of sensual pleasure, which is quite fleeting with time and age.

…to the Heart
What are you struggling with in regards to God’s will, ad your life? Do you believe Him for your spouse, your job, and your sustenance? Do you believe that God is providentially working in the midst of your circumstances? Men are you properly pursuing your sisters in Christ? Women are you making yourself attractive in order to attract godly men? Are we all relying on a close encounter with God’s Spirit through His word and prayer, or are we relying on our feelings, emption and manipulations of God for our own use? Are we trusting that God loves us, and is acting on our behalf on a regular basis? Are we giving God gratitude for what He does regularly in your lives?

Books for further study: Genesis, Walter Brueggemann, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis, Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis, Bruce Waltke, The Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis, Gordon J. Wenham, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis, John H. Walton, Creation and Blessing, Allen P. Ross

Next Weeks Verses: Genesis 25

Genesis 23, The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham, Preached by Michael Gunn @ Harambee Church on April 13th, 2008

Intro
As we’re coming to an end of our study of Abraham’s life, we have seen God take him on a journey preparing him for the mission and calling that God has called him to. Abraham was chosen by God to be the “Seed” of His blessing to the world. Abraham was called out of pagan roots, and spent much time maturing in his faith. God has sovereignly acted in Abraham’s life, and protected him, Sarah and Isaac in order to stay faithful to His covenant promises. Abraham has had many sublime moments, and some obvious “fleshly” moments to say the least; but what we have seen is God is faithful to His covenant promises.

Today’s passage seems a bit strange in that there is a whole passage dedicated to the burial of Abraham’s wife Sarah. What purpose does this story play in the narrative? In the first few verses we see the death of Sarah, and the subsequent mourning of Abraham. It’s interesting that there is so little spent on her death, and much is made in regards to her burial. I believe that two important points are made with the writing of this narrative:

From the Head…
Death is Inevitable Within the Covenant (Genesis 23:1-13)
Although the author of genesis (Moses) has already acquainted us with death as a result of the fall (Genesis 2:17) we have another vivid reminder that even godly women such as Sarah (See 1 Peter 3:1-6) die. Mourning is an unnatural part of life. It is here as a result of our rebellion before God. It reminds us of our mortality, and brings us into a sobering reality that our life, as we are living it, will cease someday. It is however not natural, and is the very thing that Christ conquers in His death and subsequent resurrection from the dead (See 1 Corinthians 15:50-58). This passage also reminds us that God uses mortal people who will die, and God’s plan will continue as planned. The power of God’s plan is in His own gospel, and not in the subjects that proclaim the gospel, but we are graciously used for His purpose and His glory. Death is inevitable, but it is not final!

Land Acquisition is Part of the Covenant (Genesis 23:4-20)
It is clear that land purchase is important o this narrative as is its importance to the covenant God has made with His people. Abraham has been quite content in not acquiring the land apart from God’s leading. He didn’t take the land by conquest when he could have (Genesis 14). Other than acquiring water rights (Genesis 21), he has waited on the Lord. In our passage today he takes great pains to pay a handsome wage for a burial cave that Ephron the Hittite wanted to give him for free. It is most likely Abraham demanded to pay full price for the cave so that Ephron’s relatives couldn’t come back to Abraham’s relatives after their deaths, and take back the land. This purchase sets a precedent for future returns (Genesis 49:29-50; 50:14-25), and the preliminary acquisition to the land that would later be occupied by Abraham’s descendents through their first savior (Moses), and subsequently by their ultimate savior (Jesus; see Revelation 21+22).

Land was quite important to these people, and was as sign of wealth (As it is today). Land is equally important to the covenant, and to God’s plan to save His people. Since death is unnatural, Christ saved us from that death, so that we could be “Bodily” raised (Like Jesus), and serve Him in a real place for eternity (See Revelation 22:3).

…to the Heart
The reason we cannot put our hope in temporal healings and desire to keep ourselves alive, is the fact that death is ultimate and inevitable. While we ought to attempt to remain healthy, it is way more important to desire that “Our inner man is being renewed day by day” (1 Corinthians 4:16).

Books for further study: Genesis, Walter Brueggemann, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis, Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis, Bruce Waltke, The Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis, Gordon J. Wenham, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis, John H. Walton, Creation and Blessing, Allen P. Ross

Next Weeks Verses: Genesis 24

Genesis 20, The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham, Preached by Michael Gunn @ Harambee Church on March 30th, 2008

Intro
Today we are in a flashback since we flashed forward last week, and saw what Abraham’s life would look like some 12-15 years later. We saw his faith tested and expanded by Yahweh, as he demonstrated that he had grown in his love for God, and his desire to please Him above all (Or everyone) else. We find Abraham years before struggling much like we do with the desires of our heart that often derails our intimacy with Christ. We continue to hold on to desires and “Loves” and idols that we don’t want to repent of, then we are discouraged by “Feeling” distant from God. God wants to remove these cancerous cells that can often grow into huge maladies that either requite radical surgery or our ultimate death. It is these moments of “Heat” that reveal our condition, and require us to repent and turn to the only real hope we have in a meaningless world; Jesus Christ, and His cross.

In our story today, we see a repeat performance of Abraham’s sin in Egypt (See Genesis 12:9-20). Some see this as the same story (Folklore) repeated again for effect, but I don’t think so. The circumstances are similar, but not the same. They both take place in the “Negev” (South Region), but the chapter 12 story is dealing with Pharaoh and God’s control over him and his gods, this story is in “Gerar” (The area of the Philistines; Gaza Strip). The Negev often refers to an area that is not the “Promised Land.” It is a real place, but it is representative of a cross-cultural experience that we can often be trapped by if we are not shrewd in our approach. We are not sure why Abraham journeyed down there after the ordeal with Sodom and Gomorrah, but there are parallels to both stories. In both stories women are not protected, and they are exploited for the man’s safety, and in each story, and in each story we see a questioning of God’s justice. Both stories reflect something of God’s heart, when it comes to sexual and bullying exploitation. In God’s economy, the strong may survive, but they won’t get away with it!

Let’s take a look at our passage, and it’s meaning for us in the 21st century:

From the Head…
Right away we have a very interesting revelation of God to Ambimelech (The Pagan Philistine) in a dream. This helps us understand the mission of God in this world a bit. Does God need His “herald” to proclaim His word? I would answer no to that. God can and does reveal Himself to non-believers in methods outside of the normative. Abraham is his herald (Genesis 20:7), and not doing a very good job of it. God can and does act sovereignly in spite of us. The fact is, God is trying to spare Ambimelech from judgment, and does so in a dream. Scripture reminds us that God is restraining evil, and His judgment from what it could be (See 2 Thessalonians 2: 6-7), and He is blessing those that are his and those that are His enemies (See Matthew 5:45; Acts 14:16-17). God is good, and He is gracious, merciful and fair, and holds His judgment until the time is ready for the person(s) to be judged (See Genesis 15:16).

This whole situation is strange. Ambimelech, along with his military commander would have made for an intimidating encounter, and kings of this nature would have had a Harem that they were always looking to increase, as a sign of their power and virility. It is interesting that Ambimelech sees himself as a man of integrity. It goes to show that morality is often culturally constructed, and leads most often to a proud heart. How many people use sexually sin, steal from their employer by no =t working hard, take God’s name in vain, etc. and feel that they are “Good people?” We all judge ourselves like Ambimelech. We’re not that bad!

God reminds him quickly in verse six that it wasn’t the integrity of his heart that saved him, but God saved him, and he needs to acknowledge that. When we create a self –righteousness in our minds, we really don’t need God to fulfill it. We begin to believe that we are righteous because we fulfill some cultural mores, but have no idea how wicked our heart can be.

Ambimelech awakes and lets his people in on what happened and they feared what could happen to them. What’s interesting is Ambimelech apologizes for “Sinning” against Abraham, without realizing that his real sin is against God (See verse 6). He is worried about what Abraham might do to him, but not aware of whom his god is. Ambimelech reminds Abraham of what he did though to bring this on. Abraham is God’s prophet, but he has clearly sinned before God, Sarah, Ambimelech and his people.

Abraham’s reasons are weak. First he thought that” “There was no fear of God in this place.” While his recent experience in Sodom didn’t help, this is often the case for many believers who don’t know what to do with culture, and assume that it is somehow more evil that they are. We are often surprised to find out that the “Heathens” are more gracious and moral than we are. It is a false understanding of the gospel to think that those people “Out there” are any worse or different than us. This is the result of the moralistic gospel often proclaimed from our pulpits, but it has nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ, which saves us in spite of our self.

Secondly, he justifies his sin by referring to a half-truth, which s a justification we all do. We tell ourselves it’s ok because we are able to justify our actions with deception. His third justification is a subtle blaming of God, who “caused” him to wander from his father’s house. Doesn’t this all sound familiar? We blame the world, our spouses (Other people) and God, but hardly take the blame on ourselves, and our own hard heart. We get frustrated at god and others when we are hurt in a relationship, but we don’t want to do what’s right in those relationships. We want to live the way we want, but get frustrated at the consequences.

Ambimelech, in order to clear his name and guilt, pays off Abraham, and gives Sarah an “Expiation” offering. This is literally a “Covering” to show her innocence before her people. If she went into Ambimelech, she would have brought shame on herself, and her people, but this offering covers any guilt in the eyes of others.

…to the Heart
Abraham was protecting himself or the promise. Either way he was trying to save himself on his own terms, and failed to trust God, and allowed his fear of man dominate his relationship with God and his wife. He often stumbled because of this fear, whether or not it was a fear of man, or a fear of his wife, he wasn’t able to be bold when he needed to be, because he was trying to protect some very dear things in his mind, and he feared giving them over to God. Abraham trusted his flesh instead of trusting his God. Walking with God is impossible except for the sovereignty of God in our life, and the work of the cross of Jesus Christ, who is the covering (Expiation) and propitiation for our sins. Below are some key truths that we can learn from our text today, and remember that nothing is possible apart from God’s work in our life through the cross of Jesus!

1. Sometime sin that we thought we defeated still resides at the recesses of our heart.
2. That God does and can talk to non-believers without the aid of His “Prophets”
3. God’s mercy does extend to all people
4. God uses us in spite of our sins
5. Our sin comes as a result of us fearing man more than we fear God.

Books for further study: Genesis, Walter Brueggemann, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis, Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis, Bruce Waltke, The Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis, Gordon J. Wenham, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis, John H. Walton, Creation and Blessing, Allen P. Ross

Next Weeks Verses: Genesis 21

Genesis 22, The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham, Preached by Michael Gunn @ Harambee Church on Easter Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

“The essence of sin is we human beings substituting ourselves for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for us. We…put ourselves where only God deserves to be; God…puts himself where we deserve to be.”
John Stott

Intro
Happy Lord’s Resurrection Day! Welcome to Harambee, and thank you for spending such an important day in the church calendar with us! I pray that every day would become uniquely resurrection day in our lives, as we feed off the incredible reality of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, and how that continues to transform lives through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have been going through the life of Abraham, and in the past few weeks, we have seen Abraham’s faith growing as he is changing from a man who once desired the gift more than the giver (Genesis 15:1-3) and who once trusted his wife more than His God (Genesis 16:2).

Easter is all about faith changing in the power of the resurrection. We see Peter’s faith and Thomas’ faith transform within the story, and many others transformed by the historical resurrection of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

In today’s epic, we will see not only an incredible transformation of Abraham’s heart, but an incredible picture of God’s grace in our own lives. In this story, Abraham displays a great faith, but the hero of this story remains God, who gave him that great faith (See Ephesians 2:8). We have watched God develop Abraham’s faith, much like He develops yours and mine. It’s a process. By this time in Abraham’s life, he has been walking with God for 35-40 years old (Depending on Isaac’s age). Faith is so often mischaracterized as the change agent in believers. The more faith you have the more change you will see. It’s purely quantitative in much of the teaching I hear. However Jesus said that all it takes is the faith of a mustard seed (Very small seed) to move mountains, because the size of your faith is not the issue, but the one whom which you place it. Philippians 1:6 promises us that, “…He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” What a promise! This is a process, and it takes time. Fruit is not grown over night, but its lasting impact will nourish you forever!

In spite of Abraham’s faith in God, there were still some things that God wanted to work out in his life. It is easy to be walking with God for many years, and have another lover creep in and begin to rob you of your joy in Christ. God wants to have an incredible, personal relationship with His people, and He is a jealous God who does not want to share us with anyone else (Exodus 20:5). God created us for worshipping Him, and we will never find peace and joy until we do. So “God’s demand for supreme praise is his demand for our supreme happiness,” because, God’s summons for our praise is the summons for our highest joy. No matter how long we are walking with God, there is room for improving our soul before Him, and God is the changing agent that keeps using circumstances to manifest our idols and insecurities. Ultimately however there would be no change, no faith, and no grace without the cross of Jesus. In today’s narrative we see God doing more than “testing” Abraham, He is giving him a glimpse of His grace, through Abraham’s promised seed.

From the Head…
God Uses Tests to Refine Our Character (Genesis 22:1)
Right away we see God “Testing” Abraham. The word for “Test” (Nasa) means to prove or test, and has nothing to do with “Tempting” which is often found in some of our English translation (See James 1:13). The idea is similar to someone who has worked at practicing something for so long, and now has to go out and “Prove” themselves in a test, much like a boxer would do after months of training. Whereas this might be needed for the trainer to evaluate his talent, it is very much needed for the psyche and confidence of the boxer. Likewise God “tests” His children to show their character and build confidence in Him that they might walk closely with Him (see Exodus 16:4; Psalm 26:1-3). He places us in circumstances that will demonstrate our faith before Him. The idea in verse twelve is anthropomorphic, and should read; “Now I have experienced intimately the worship of your heart.” God’s testing has a refining, redemptive quality to it (See 1 Peter 1:7).

God’s Testing Zeroes In On the Issues of the Heart (Genesis 22:2, 12, 16)
God had promised that the covenant promise would come through Isaac (Genesis 18), and it is clear in our passage that the testing would also come through Isaac, Abraham’s “Only Son,” the son whom he loved (Genesis 22:2, 12, 16). The first commandment is clear that God has no intention of sharing the stage with anyone else. Abraham has shown a tendency to desire the gift more than the giver (Genesis 15:1-3; 16), now he has the promised physical “Seed” and the text highlights his “Love” for the boy. God is gracious to keep on purging us of the strongholds in our heart. It was imperative that God purged Abraham’s heart desires of any competition that would rob Abraham of his joy in his relationship with God. The word for “Know” in verse 12 is the word “Yada,” which in this context has the connotation to know intimately, and experientially. God knew where Abraham was, but it is here that they both experience the deep relationship that had grown throughout the years walking with God. Simply, God wants your heart!

God Provides in the Midst of Testing (Genesis 22:8, 14)
Many of us want a god that provides, but does not bother us. We serve a God who both provides while He tests us, so that we can be made complete in Him. The call to Abraham is a call to walk in the presence of a God who both moves toward us and away (See Jeremiah 23:23). God may call us as we are, so that he can make us what he wants us to be. For this reason God dwells on high, and with the lowly at the same time (Isaiah 57:15). He is with us, yet He is capable of being in control, since he is also removed from us.

I think Abraham understood this a bit, since Hebrews 11:17-19 (See Genesis 22:8, 14) indicates that he believed that God was capable of both death (Crucifixion) and redemption (Resurrection). What began in testing (vv. 1-2), ended in God providing (vv. 13-15) and reiterating His covenant promise to Abraham (vv. 17-18).

God Provides Abraham with a Glimpse of Easter Weekend (Genesis 22:1-18 cf. Galatians 3:8, 14)
The promise to Abraham has always been that through his “Seed” the nations would be blessed. The problem however is that this promise resulted in a national pride that relied on the physical promise, and not the God who made the promise. National Israel began to believe that they were the chosen ones, who were circumcised, and trusted their circumcision and lineage for their covenant relationship with God, and not the God of the covenant relationship. This is the issue in much of Romans and Galatians, where we are told that it is not children of the “Flesh” (Physical lineage) that are related to God, but the children of the “Promise” (Romans 9:8), and the “Seed” that would result in blessings is Christ, and not the physical descendents of Abraham (Galatians 3:16).

So what is really going on here? Well you have the promised son; an only Son, one whom was loved, and who was born miraculously, and who carried the wood of his sacrifice up to Mt. Moriah (Which is mysteriously the place of the temple of Solomon, and the subsequent crucifixion area of the Romans), and is laid on the altar to be slain, but is rescued by a ram mysteriously provided by God, as a substitute for his death. Hmm? Sound familiar?

…to the Heart
Why did God do it? Did He need to find out the answer? NO, He simply wanted to gain an intimacy with Abraham that was previously not existent. What’s amazing is the change of heart evident in the newfound intimacy obvious in the name change used for God. Many scholars believe that the author’s use of the generic term Elohim for God prior to verse 13 is the work of another author (The Elohist), while after verse thirteen another author (The Yahwehist) is writing. I find the idea ridiculous, and view the whole thing in terms of relationship. The different name use is much the same way we do it. We can refer to the supreme being as “God” which is quite generic, much like the Genesis author using the term Elohim. When we want to get personal with God we use speak about Jesus or Yahweh. When we want to show an intimacy we use terms like Father. When we want to express His authority and sovereignty we use the term Lord. All of these terms are appropriate terms, but only when we use terms like Yahweh or father do they show our relationship to God. This is what is happening in our text. Verse eight (“God (Elohim) will provide)”shows that Abraham sees God as just that; God. He believes, but his intimacy with Yahweh isn’t present. In verse fourteen we see a change, which I think is significant, to the “LORD (Yahweh) will provide.” God has purged him of a potential idol, made His provision obvious in both physical (The situation with Isaac), and spiritual (The type of blessing that He is giving). God wants your heart, and He has sent his Son to die on the cross in order for our hearts to be changed and redirected back to Him in order to gain an intimacy that would change our lives.

This is what the gospel does, and this is what Easter is about, Christ dying and rising again from the dead in order to pay the penalty for our sins on our behalf, and then give us the hope of life beyond this world. The Lord does provide; He is the author and perfector of our salvation, and He is the source of our life, both here, and for eternity!

Books for further study: Genesis, Walter Brueggemann, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis, Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis, Bruce Waltke, The Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis, Gordon J. Wenham, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis, John H. Walton, Creation and Blessing, Allen P. Ross

Next Weeks Verses: Genesis 20

Note: I will be posting video highlights from this sermon in the coming weeks over on The Line. Stay tuned.Full audio has been posted here.

Introduction: A Different Understanding

The story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as recorded in Genesis 19 is the object of ridicule and skepticism from many critics. Indeed, Genesis 19 is a difficult passage even for Christians, as it exposes us to one of the more terrifying aspects of God’s character, His justice.

Today we will be taking a different approach to this story in an effort to show that if we understand it in way it traditionally has been interpreted (i.e., God exacting vengeance on a city that has become savagely orgiastic and therefore uncontrollable), we will have understood it in exactly the wrong way.

Tragedy In Sodom

Our story opens with a revelation of the heart of the city of Sodom, as its inhabitants gather around Lot’s house to gang-rape his guests. If we were to interpret this terrible intention traditionally, we might see it as the result of a somehow simultaneous ungratified sexual impulse of all of the men in the town, a kind of savagery. This however doesn’t fit:

• the profile of the inhabitants of Sodom as described by scripture (Ezekiel 16:48-50; Luke 17:28);
• the profile of gang rapes as they are observed today (e.g., prison gang-rapes; the Muslim gang-rape epidemics in Europe and Africa; gang-rapes of young black females by the Klu Klux Klan)

It is far more likely that rather than the result of an absence of moral or social standards, this gang-rape is the result of an excess of them, as gang-rapes are often the result of a social system in which the victim is felt to be of lesser value than the victimizers.

We also find an additional tragedy in Lot’s daughters, and perhaps all of the women in Sodom. It is likely that, as in many historical and current societies including our own, women in Sodom were oppressed, and were valued for their sexual and reproductive capabilities only. We might infer this from a number of clues, including

• what we know sociologically about the tendency toward oppression in societies in which women are outnumbered by men
• reference to the infidelity of Sodom in scripture (Jude 7, 2 Peter 2:7)
• the mention of Sodom in Ezekiel 16, a passage in which female infanticide is the primary metaphor
• the inability of Lot’s daughters to see themselves as having any other value (Genesis 18:31-32)

Four Views Of God’s Justice

As the story progresses, the reaction of each person who hears about God’s coming justice in Sodom is illustrative of the reaction of humanity to the Bible’s claim that God must and will be its judge. As humans, we can see God’s justice in four ways:

1. God’s Justice As Myth

When Lot’s future sons-in-law are told of the coming justice for Sodom, they think that Lot is making a joke. One possibility for this response is an underlying disbelief in the reality of evil. Disdain for the reality of the need for justice is often the result of disdain for the reality of evil. One only need consult the international mood following any number of atrocities in the last century to find that where evil is understood as real, the need for justice is assumed. It is only where the reality of evil is doubted that the need for justice is despised.

As missionaries in the 21st century, we must be constantly vigilant in our understanding of the reality of evil. In our cultural setting the intellectual pressure of secular materialism is severe. The psychological overhaul of ethics is pervasive. The siren song of recreational diversion distracts whole segments of the populace away from the tragedies and atrocities that are an ever-present global reality. We must fight to understand evil and the need for justice Biblically – as a reality.

2. God’s Justice As Trivial

After being mocked by his future sons-in-law, Lot’s response to the news of God’s justice is apathetic. We find Lot, then, oversleeping on the day of Judgment, forcibly removed from the city by the angels, and finally pleading with the angels to let him escape to a small nearby town so that he won’t meet what he feels to be a disaster in living in the mountains (15-22).

Here again, we see that one’s understanding of justice is usually informed by one’s understanding of evil. Lot’s apparent lack of conviction in the severity of God’s justice underlines his doubt in the severity of Sodom’s evil. A belief that evil isn’t really all that bad will generally result in a belief that justice isn’t really all that scary.

3. God’s Justice As Injustice

Finally we can identify a third reaction to God’s justice for Sodom and Gomorrah by observing our own response to this story. There are two ways to respond to this story that will end in viewing God’s justice as injustice. Both stem from a core belief that evil is not something that I (the observer) do.

First, if we don’t believe that the everyday actions of ordinary humans could be considered evil, we will have a hard time understanding how an entire city could deserve the destruction depicted in Genesis 19. Here, the presence and severity of evil is acknowledged, but evil cannot be something that ordinary humans do because it’s not something that I do.

Another way to see this story – one that will equally lead to viewing God’s justice as injustice – is with a kind of pleasure. The destruction of this city should inspire fear in all of us, because the evil that led God to destroy Sodom is an evil that is entirely within our capabilities (Ezekiel 16:46-50; Isaiah 1:10-17).

If we believe that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of its unique excesses, and that we ourselves are not capable of its evil, we too will see God’s justice as injustice when He refuses us eternal life in His kingdom (see Matthew 25:41-46).

4. God’s Justice As Reality

The destruction of Sodom is a foretaste of God’s final judgment of the world (Mark 9:48; Matthew 25; Revelation 14:9-11). If we see God’s wrath as real, necessary, non-trivial, and just, even if it is aimed at us, then we are not far from Salvation. If we understand how God’s justice correlates to His view of evil, we might love Him (Deuteronomy 15:11; 24:14; 1 Samuel 2:5-8; Psalm 72:11-14). Finally, if we see God’s justice as the means by which we are saved, we might worship Him forever (Romans 3:25; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.

Isaiah 1:18

Genesis 18, The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham, Preached by Caleb Mayberry @ Harambee Church on March 9th, 2008

Introduction:
In this chapter we have an amazing interaction between Abraham and God that reveals important things about both Abraham’s and God’s character. What you’ll see is Abraham maturing significantly in his faith and God revealing to Abraham and to us his justice and grace. From this passage we’ll extract five characteristics and discuss their application for us today.

Five Characteristics:
1. Hospitality
Abraham looks up and sees three men outside his tent door. (verse 2) There is no indication that Abraham knows he is meeting with God at this point. Abraham likely understands them to be just mere men. And so Abraham is demonstrating a great deal of love to these “strangers” out of a character that is being shaped by God. Abraham likely sees that the men are visitors who looked tired and need refreshing and so offers to wash their feet, give them food and drink, and provide them shade. And it is not just Abraham who is hospitable; this is done with cooperation with his whole household. That Abraham did not know these were Jesus and two angels is an important point as God could very likely have been testing the character of Abraham to see what kind of love he had for fellow man. Hebrews 13:2 states “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”. In fact some commentators hold that Hebrews 13:2 refers specifically to Abraham and Lot entertaining angels unawares.

Questions: Are we hospitable to strangers? How often do we demonstrate in real quantifiable terms our love for people we don’t know? How does Christ’s example model our love for others?

Other verses: Matthew 25:31-46

2. Confidentiality
God has already told Abraham several times of the covenant that He is making with him. But God chooses to do so again in Genesis 18, this take making sure that Sarah hears (verse 9). We see throughout scripture that God, out of love for us, chooses to reveal himself and his plans to us. We also see that clearly in verse 17 where one of the reasons God lists to inform Abraham of his plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah is that He has chosen Abraham. God’s special love for his elect entails certain privileges of confidentiality that the whole world is not privy to. Though his Word be available for all to see, we are blind to it, except by the power of the Holy Spirit to see. (1 Cor 2:13-14) This does not mean that God regularly speaks to us audibly or comes to us in the flesh. Even with Abraham we are not given any indication that God spoke to him audibly on a daily, monthly, or even yearly basis. In fact, before chapter 17, there was a 13 year gap between any recorded conversations between himself and God. It seems that God has chosen certain points in Abraham’s life where he chooses to speak to him in a very plain way that often span many years apart. It’s also worth noting that Abraham did not have scripture to reference, so in real way, God speaks to us more frequently than he did Abraham. God’s audible words and written words are no different in power and authority.

Questions: Do you feel like God has confided in you? How has God spoken to you personally?

Other verses: 2 Tim 3:16-17, 1 Cor 2:13-14

3. Unbelief
Unfortunately, in the midst of some very positive characteristics, there remains the reality of our sinful unbelieving nature. In verse 12, after Sarah hears the promise, she laughs at God’s Word in unbelief. Scripture points out the context behind her unbelief, namely that she is past the age for bearing children. Certainly this is not possible outside of supernatural intervention. However, since Sarah laughs, it seems that she doesn’t fully believe that God is able to overcome that obstacle. She doesn’t trust in God because she doesn’t know him well enough. She appears to be blinded by her circumstances. Just like Sarah, we all too suffer from periods of unbelief. The root of this problem is our heart. It seems that God purposely puts obstacles in our life to test our faith. For if Sarah and Abraham were 23 years old then it would not be far-fetched to believe that they would have a child. But God in desiring to show them their dependence upon him chose to do this in a way where it was clear that God had brought this about and not them. Therefore an easy comfortable life that makes sense is not necessarily the best thing for our hearts, since this will tend to lure us into thinking that we depend only on ourselves.

Questions: Why do we desire easy, comfortable lives that make sense? Do obstacles and challenges in life draw you closer to God or drive you further from him?

Other Verses: 1 Cor 1:26-31

4. Justice
In verse 17, God reasons with himself as to whether he should tell Abraham that he is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. What’s interesting is that one of the reasons that God gives for doing so is that Abraham has chosen him to do righteousness and justice. And so here we are in Chapter 18 on the brink of seeing God execute judgment for injustice and wickedness. And God has commanded and expects Abraham to do right. And so this begs the question, does Abraham understand the justice of God? I believe that God through this interaction intended to test Abraham’s understanding of justice and at the same time reveal to Abraham more fully God’s heart concerning justice. Notice as Abraham questions God, he does so reverently. He also assumes that it is right to judge the wicked. He affirms, by implication of his questioning, that sin does deserve judgment. Otherwise his line of questioning would look entirely different, for he could not appeal to the justice of God. Abraham understands that there is a clear right and wrong and believes that God is the judge. This is interesting given that Abraham is surely aware of his own sinfulness. That means that Abraham likely could not have held to any moralistic gospel, because he would be condemned under such a law. But before the law and before the incarnation of Jesus, he must have somehow understood righteousness to be from God and that only those who are followers of God can be considered righteous, though their deeds, like his be not perfectly blameless.

Excursus – Open Theism Refuted
As an excursus, this passage is also a favorite among open theists who deny that God knows everything and hold that he can literally change his mind about things. However, God clearly demonstrates even in this Chapter his absolute sovereignty and his ability to know all. In verse 10 God tells Abraham when exactly he would have a son. And later in verse 17, he indicates that he had already determined what he was going to do with Sodom and Gomorrah. In light of that, I believe that what we are seeing in verse 21 and following is a series of anthropomorphisms (language that uses human terms to relate a non-human thing or being, esp deity) to display the heart of God, namely that God executes justice thoroughly and has the capacity for mercy.

Questions: How do you view your sin in light of God’s justice? Do you see God’s justice as loving?

Other verses: 2 Peter 2:4-10

5. Grace/Love
In the midst of God’s impending judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah, I hope you don’t miss mercy and grace evident in Chapter 18. Firstly, when Sarah laughed and she lied about it, God offered a relatively tame rebuke, only calling out her laughter and pointing out that he was God. We’ve seen stronger rebukes in other places throughout scripture. (See Luke 1:18-20 for Zechariah for circumstance) Moreover, in Abraham’s pleading and interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah, God displays in his character a willingness to spare the whole on behalf of the few. This is certainly a theme that has an important place in Scripture as this parallels the work of Jesus, that through one man’s obedience, many are saved. (Romans 5:18-19). I do not however, take the view that some take that Abraham’s countdown (50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10) implies a continuation down to 1, so that if one righteous man were found, he would spare the whole city. In light of 2 Peter 2:7, which refer to Lot as righteous, I believe we can conclude that Lot did fit the definition of righteousness upon which Abraham was interceding for the city. Perhaps if Abraham would have continued the countdown in his prayer/intercession, then God would spared the whole city because of Abraham’s intercession. If this is so, then this serves to highlight the importance of prayer, that in God’s mysterious ways, our prayer has real impact on the events of this world, such that if we don’t pray for certain things they will not happen. (i.e the sparing of the entire cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of Lot’s righteousness)

Questions: What motivated Abraham to intercede for Sodom and Gomorrah? Should Abraham have continued his countdown to 1? Who are you boldly praying for right now?

Genesis 17, The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham, Preached by Michael Gunn @ Harambee Church on March 2nd, 2008

“ I resonate with Abraham, and I identify with his frailty and his humanity. I love the fact that from this story I know that an eternal god will be in conversation with the most broken, mischievous, pragmatic, and self centered individual”
Eugene Rivers

Intro
Last week we saw that it is easy to take God’s will into our own hands, without thinking/praying through God’s timing for His own reasons. It is easy to get off track trying to do the right thing, if we are doers, and not meditators. Sometime that can allow us to justify our means because of the sincerity of our ends. In today’s passage we take a look at a good God enlarging His previous covenant, and including two significant acts by God. The first is the changing of Abram’s and Sarai’s names emphasizing His Lordship, and their new identity, and secondly, the command to circumcise, reminding them of their covenant with god who will “Give” them posterity, and their need to be obedient to Him as their God.

From the Head…
A. The Covenant Expanded (Genesis 17:1-
This piece starts with a delay of 13 years. When we left Abram (Genesis 16:16) he was 86 years old. Verse one of this chapter begins with Abram at 99 years old. There has been a delay in the plans of at least 13 years. As we saw last week, waiting on God’s timing is often as important as doing His will. We can jump the gun on a good thing, and realize that the timing isn’t right. For whatever reason, God has not spoken with Abram for a while, and it seems obvious that Abram assumed that Ishmael was the promised child. But God is faithful to His promise, and to the covenant He made with Abram, and has not forsaken him. In these first eight verses we see God re-establish the covenant and expand it to include nations. In the original call (Genesis 12:1-3) we are told that the nations would be blessed, but in no way could a barren couple believe that they would be the parents of a multitude of nations and a royal line. This assumes Ishmael’s birth, and in spite of Abram and Sarai’s questionable action to make it happen, God was sovereignly in control. Isaac and Ishmael would beam his story throughout the world. Within the DNA of this gospel is the inclusion of all nations, not just Israel. This fact is expounded by the apostle Paul in Romans 9: 4-9, when he reminds us that this promise is not an earthly, fleshly one, but a promise of blessings to all who are in Abraham spiritually. The connective point to this covenant is covenant obedience (Genesis 17:1). We are called to walk before Him, and “Be blameless.” This is the first condition of any kind that God has placed on Abram. Before, the choosing of Abram was unconditional. There was nothing special about Abram at all. He was a pagan worshipper of false gods, when God pursued him. Yet, as he has walked with God, he begins to realize that God calls him to separate from his idols.

The very idea of “Walk before me,” is taken from the way sheep walk before their shepherd, and takes directions from him in order to remain safe and well taken cared of. When we are called, then regenerated by God, there is the assumption that we’d submit to His Lordship. This is a marriage we are speaking about, not a date. We saw a couple of weeks ago that God is the one taking the risk, as He is the one that passed through the dead carcasses as a symbol of His accepting the “Curse” of the terms of the covenant. God secure the terms of this covenant by His action on the cross of Jesus Christ. All of God’s wrath and judgment are placed on Christ in order for us to be made blameless (See 1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 2:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:23). In no way does the covenant assume obedience as a means to enter the covenant. This covenant was instituted and ratified by God alone, but in our passage, we come to realize that obedience and holiness is a result of this covenant God makes with His people. When we begin to understand the love and the grace by which this covenant is ratified, we will be motivated to keep its terms out of a love and devotion to the God that made the covenant with us. In a show of authority, God changes Abram’s name (Meaning “Exalted father”) to Abraham (“Father of a multitude”). As usual, God begins to work on our identity, before He can really do anything through us. Until our identity changes from sinner, to one who is righteous in Christ, we can’t get beyond the fact that we are a sinner. In Christ we are children of the most high, most powerful God (El Shaddai). In spite of our propensity to keep on sinning, we are made blameless in Christ Jesus. We are not able to be blameless, without a “Most powerful God!” We are blameless because He walked between the carcasses and became our curse on the tree of pain; the pain of God’s wrath, and the curse for the broken covenants, and for our heinous sin.

In this set of verse God expands the covenant from making him a great nation (Genesis 12:2) to making him the father of many nations, and granting him the land of Canaan, and a royal line (Genesis 1:1-8). In spite of the fact that Genesis 17:8 calls this an “Everlasting covenant,” Nehemiah reminds us that the land and royalty has been fulfilled by a faithful God (Nehemiah 9:7-8). The everlasting nature of this covenant is seen through Paul’s pen (Romans 4 and Romans 9).

B. The Covenant Expressed (Genesis 17:9-14)
A ritual called circumcision expressed the sign of the covenant. The ritual, like many other rituals in the bible are not necessarily unique to the bible, and demonstrates that God is truly a missional God, who uses many customs in the culture he is speaking into in order to contextualize His message, and often complete the story with His own. God is the initiator of the covenant, but man must respond (See John 1:12-13; Romans 10:9, 10). Why circumcision? That question has been asked forever, but I think there are at least a few things that can be added to the conversation. First, it is a sexual sign, executed on a man’s sexual organ. This is a reminder that it is not man’s sexual/physical ability that fulfilled the promise, but God. God is in control of every aspect of human endeavor, including our reproductive ability. Man didn’t generate the promised seed, God did! The promises are fulfilled by Him, and not us (See too John 1:12-13). Secondly, that organ must be used in fidelity, as a sign of one’s fidelity to the covenant (See Job 31:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5). A godly line is most often produced by preserving purity in your marriages (Malachi 2:10-17). Thirdly, I find this quite interesting that God made this covenant with the man, and not the woman. This highlights once again the fact that God elects heads of every major movement, and for whatever reason He uses men to be responsible for that role. It is not that He doesn’t love Sarai, or that she is incompetent, and Abram is more competent. It is no different than the fact that God chose Abram out of paganism, and not Immanuel. He just does what He wants in His free, unconditional and sovereign manner. For whatever reason He makes man responsible for the spiritual growth of his home, and with responsibility comes greater sacrifice.

Now is circumcision like baptism? Do we then baptize our infants as a sign of the new covenant? While I understand this reasoning from scripture, I don’t believe we ought to for the following reasons. First, this does not correspond directly to baptism. It is only performed on male babies, and done on the eight day. Secondly, circumcision is a physical act, where baptism is a physical act done in a private ritual, whereas baptism is a spiritual act done in a public ritual (Colossians 2:11-13 cf. Acts 2; 1 Corinthians 12). Thirdly, baptisms done in the New Testament under the new covenant appear to be done to adults as a sign of their understanding of the regeneration done to them by the power of the Holy Spirit, while circumcision was performed on every male in Israel. Lastly, if baptism does correspond to circumcision in the Old Testament, then why doesn’t communion correspond to the Passover, since it is also instituted by Christ as a symbol, and is a sign of the fulfillment of the type of Passover? I also believe that Acts 16:33-34 is not a clear case of baptizing infants, especially when the context appears to narrow the parameters of who might be saved, and subsequently baptized.

Subsequently circumcision was a symbol of the covenant that it would be God who would bring forth the seed through Abraham, and that seed would culminate in the Christ, who would save Israel (Physical and Spiritual) from their sins (See Galatians 3:15-18).

C. The Covenant Explained (Genesis 17:15-22)
A couple of weeks ago we saw a bit of Abram’s doubt (Genesis 15:2-3, 8), which reflects the reality of his faith. Faith without doubt is not faith; it is certainty. Those that go their Christian life without asking the hard questions about their faith, will find themselves at odds with their “Faith” when they are confronted by tragedy or a smart enquiry or attack. A healthy doubt (Questioning) is important to the sharpening of our own understanding of the real truth. The sign of a healthy organization is the opportunity to ask questions and raise doubts and gain clarity. God is a healthy entity, which allows His people to wrestle with huge questions about God, faith, life, etc. Once again we see Abraham laughing in doubt. Does this make any sense? Does changing Sarai’s (Strive/persist) name to Sarah (Rule/Princess) matter? They are old, and old people don’t have babies in their world either. It’s not a hyper mythological world, where animals talk, dragons rule, and old people get pregnant. Doubt is part of their world, because miracles don’t happen, and life goes on. How is this possible? How can a barren, old woman get pregnant? Hmm? By a miracle? And once again, in Abraham’s mind, Ishmael must be the promised child. It must be done through physical means? Ishmael is now 13 years old, and Sarah is still not pregnant. Sarah’s scheme of having Abraham sleep with Hagar worked, and the promise was safe, except that’s not what God planned, or at least not how He planned it, when He planned it. God once again, shows amazing grace by blessing this union, and promising a great posterity for Ishmael, but He clearly states for the first time that the promise to Abraham would come through Sarah having a son. God doesn’t destroy us when we make a mistake, especially when that mistake is a sincere effort to do His will. We will see however that all of our choices do have real consequences, and God most often chooses not to quell the results.

D. The Covenant Executed (Genesis 17:23-27)
In spite of the fact that the covenant would be ultimately fulfilled in God’s promise that would culminate in His Son Jesus Christ dying on the cross for the sake of this covenant, man is called into obedience in relationship to the covenant promises. There is hope in the future because of the promises of God, and the sovereignty they witness in the course of their lives, but may never see the fulfillment of the promise. Hebrews chapter eleven reminds us of this very reality, many have lived faithfully in anticipation of the promise (Hebrews 11:13, 39, 40), as we are called to live in faith and hope that we would one day be fully redeemed and in the presence of our God and savior (Philippians 1:20; Colossians 1:5). It is because of our hope in the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that we can execute obedience through the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

What’s interesting is that both the elect (Isaac; once he is born) and the non-elect (Ishmael) receive the sign of the covenant, which reminds us that God is a missional God, and those that we think are “Elect” may not be, and those we think are not may well be (see Romans 9).
…to the Heart
God is faithful, and as we continue to walk with Him, He continues to reveal His will and Himself to us. Even when we doubt, He is faithful and His grace abounds. With that we are reminded throughout scripture that it is not a physical circumcision that sets us a part, but a circumcision of the heart (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Romans 2:28-29; 2 Corinthians 3:2-6; Galatians 6:15). Baptism, like circumcision isn’t the outward physical act that matters. But the inward act of the Spirit of God that cleanses us from our sin, and changes our attitude toward God, people and life, (Colossians 2:11) and that our life is characterized by living supernaturally by faith as we are buried with him in baptism, and raised to new life in the resurrection (Colossians 2:12; Romans 6:1-6). God changes lives. It is by His grace that people are moved, and transformed. We are not called to clean up our act to come to Christ; our hearts are first changed, and then our hearts begin to transform our behavior, as our attitudes and motivation is radically shifted to follow Christ, and to love God and others more radically than we ever have. It is then, when we can turn to the mission that God has called us to and minister to others out of abundant joy, with our identities firmly in Christ!

Books for further study: Genesis, Walter Brueggemann, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis, Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis, Bruce Waltke, The Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis, Gordon J. Wenham, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis, John H. Walton, Creation and Blessing, Allen P. Ross

Next Weeks Verses: Genesis 18

Genesis 16, The Beginning of Hope in the Promises of God: A Life of Abraham, Preached by Michael Gunn @ Harambee Church on February 24th, 2008

“Sexuality is designed by God as a way to know God in Christ more fully…and that knowing God more fully is designed as a way of guarding and guiding our sexuality.”
John Piper

Intro
In the past few weeks we have seen the sublime nature of Abram as he has been walking with God, and listening to Him, and growing in his faith. He humbly allowed Lot to choose where he wanted to live, he courageously fought to get Lot back from warlords, and he paid homage to Melchizedek, the king of Salem (Peace), who no doubt is at least a type of Christ. Just like any one of us, we can be walking in faith, and still have the real ability to fail God miserably. As we saw last week, we can have faith that saves us, properly placing our identity in Christ, and really desire to follow Him, but we still struggle with the power of sin in our lives (See Romans 6-7). Since we are still in this world, we will still struggle with sins lure, which presents a conflict of interest as to what ultimately brings joy in our lives. This is where we are this week in Abram’s walk of faith with his Lord.

From the Head…
Last week Abram’s main concern was the barrenness of his wife, which as we stated would have been a horrendous shame to their family in their culture. Fertility rites, and the need to produce many children in order to protect and work the fields dominated their culture. Not having children was akin to being poor with no hope to be protected against killers and marauders. Women were seen as a means to guaranteeing posterity and protection. There is no doubt that this reflected some broken values in their culture, but no less than our own culture that tells women they have to be skinny to be loved, accepted and significant.

Last week we saw that Isaiah 54 reminded us that in God’s timing the barren women would sing (Verse 1), because their maker would be their husband (Verse 5). This is significant, because no longer would their worth need to be placed in being fertile; it could be placed in being married to their maker. Unfortunately though, we often struggle with our identity, and place our worth and significance into the hands of people and things. Most of our sins are subtle sins of the heart that desires to be loved and accepted so much we will make decisions that will affect that change, rather than make godly decisions that feed off the love and acceptance we have in Christ.

This is where Abram is. He and Sarai so badly want a family, so that their dishonor could dissipate. They are struggling with the promise of grace. God has promised them children, and maybe in their mind the promise relied on their pragmatic ability to make it work on their own terms? Maybe God needs me to accomplish His will? This is the problem with pragmatics. It makes sense at the time, and it usually works great! The problem is we aren’t often asking if it is God’s will and the right thing to do. After all, the Lord is “Preventing” Sarai from having children, so “He must want me to exercise a cultural custom to make it work?” Or maybe, “This marriage is horrible, and God wants me to be happy, maybe He’s telling me it is time to leave?” How about, “God hasn’t really provided the job I need, so I’m just not going to give anything right now!” It is easy to justify our actions based on desires that aren’t met. When our desires for things outweigh our desire for God, we will act in ways that are ungodly in order to achieve the level of desire we are aiming at.

In our story, Abram listens “To the voice of Sarai.” She hasn’t been a major player in this story so far, but she enters with a vengeance now. Her desire has become intolerable, and her frustration level is high. It is possible that she made this offer thinking Abram wouldn’t take her up on it, or that she made it to prove that she isn’t the barren one. Whatever her reasons are she made the request in a vehement way. “Go in to my maid” is in the imperative. This is not a suggestion; it’s a command. I don’t want to read into their marriage relationship, but it appears that Abram’s leadership falls apart completely. The trust he has built up over the past few years seems to be thrown away at the request of his wife, who is misleading the agenda. Her desires have seemingly eradicated logic and prayerful reasoning in this situation.

As usual with pragmatic theology, which looks to the moment to solve the problem versus looking at principles that are true in all situations, the problems only multiply. What appears to be the right thing to do becomes the disastrous thing to do (Proverbs 14:12). While our passage isn’t just about a sexual sin (This sin is the result of a desire that isn’t placed properly in the will of God), there is a reason why God wants Abram to have this child with Sarai, his covenanted wife. I would like to take a moment to look at the sexuality in this instance, since our desires gone wild, often result in sexual sins.

It seems clear throughout scripture that one man and one woman make up a married relationship, which is reflective of two things about God. First, He is a covenant God who makes covenants with His people, and that covenant is always seen between Him and His bride (Singular). As a matter of fact anything more than that is seen as spiritual adultery. Secondly, God Himself lives in a triune community that reflects both unity and diversity. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit live in perfect love and harmony, and unity, yet they are distinct persons from one another. Subsequently marriage is a reflection of this unity and diversity. Men and women are distinct, yet one in marriage, reflective of the God that created them. Therefore pastor John Piper writes, “Sexuality is designed by God as a way to know God in Christ more fully…and that knowing God more fully is designed as a way of guarding and guiding our sexuality.” Let’s unpack this a bit.

First, that our sexuality is designed as a way to know God more fully. God has given us strong sexual desires, and that sexual desire, when carried out in a committed marriage covenant, gives us a picture of the intense intimacy of knowing Christ supremely. Sexual intimacy is the quintessential of “Knowing” someone intimately. It is reserved for one person, as our knowledge of Christ is reserved for knowledge of one God (See Ezekiel 16; Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:9).

Secondly, that knowing God guides and guards our sexuality. There is a huge difference in knowing about God, and knowing God intimately as discussed previously. Any sexual sin (Whether it is performed by those with full knowledge of God or nor) is a result of not having intimacy with our loved one (Hosea 2:14-16, 19-20; Romans 1:23-28; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5; 2 Peter 1:3-4). When we do not have an intimate relationship with God, we remain at the mercy of our passions, which will consume us, because they do not ultimately assuage our desire for love (1 Peter 1:14-15; Ephesians 4:22). We become enslaved to our passions and then call this enslavement love.

Any sexual act outside of this union is wrong because it deconstructs the sexual function from being pro-creative, emotionally satisfying and God glorifying to being only emotionally satisfying without the commitment of the other two. When we try and destroy the oneness (Heterosexual sin) or distinction (Homosexual sin), we destroy the glory and supremacy of Christ in the sexual act. This too results from an over desire to have intimacy with someone else more than we do with God. Once the nature of God is rejected, anything goes in our actions including our sexuality.

This is a lot on sexuality, when in reality the passage is reminding us that we can fall away from God easily be pragmatically trying to induce God’s blessing through our own means rather than trusting in the promises of God. But it is important to look at such a sin, that enslaves most of us, and take a long look at the sin behind the sin, which is idolatry, and the desire to fulfill all of our desires outside of what we were created for, which is to give thanks and praise to God. This is what Abram and Sarai did. They so badly wanted the blessing they failed to see God as that blessing, and pragmatically (And culturally acceptable) made a decision to fulfill the promise outside of God’s will.

Immediately we see that this sin produced conflict (Which sin usually does), and once again we see the grace of God working in the lives of humanity, and God’s concern for all people. Although Ishmael was conceived illegitimately, and that he is not the child of promise, God blesses him, and makes him a great nation too, but the consequences of this union would haunt Israel until this day. The offspring of Ishmael would become the seed for the Arabic people who still live in the area around Sinai, and who still hate the Jews. It is interesting that Islam, the religion in the Middle East that represents this hate for the Jews differentiates in this one area; who is the chosen child? Isaac or Ishmael? The Jews of course say Isaac (As do the Christians), and Islam says it is Ishmael. What a tangled web our sin weaves! What we must realize though is that God is concerned for Ishmael, and ultimately the great people that Ishmael represents. God’s grace is poured out on all nations, and we are not to see them as the enemy, but as those that also need to hear the gospel of Christ.

…to the Heart
It is so easy to think that we have “Accepted Jesus into our hearts,” and somehow, magically we become the finished product, and all of God’s promises are fulfilled in our lives. But we, like Abram and Sarai, are a work in progress, and there will be many times in our lives that our doubts, and our desires will get the best of us, even when we are trying to please God with our desires. There will be times when we will give in to the desire to try and please God through your own works, instead of allowing God’s promise to be fulfilled in you. This of course never negates our need to be obedient to Christ, but that obedience should be a result of our identity and not in our desire for God to accept us any more than He does in Christ.

Books for further study: Genesis, Walter Brueggemann, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis, Victor P. Hamilton, Genesis, Bruce Waltke, The Word Biblical Commentary: Genesis, Gordon J. Wenham, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis, John H. Walton, Creation and Blessing, Allen P. Ross

Next Weeks Verses: Genesis 17