Notes from a sermon heard on Sunday 27 October 2013
Genesis 12 verses 1 – 5, Isaiah 51 verses 1 and 2, Acts 7 verses 1 – 4
The nation of Israel is a unique
nation in many ways. Israel holds the
place of supreme importance in the future of world events. God gave this nation the word of God first
and foremost. Bethlehem was where God’s
own son was born, he grew up in that land of Israel, he lived and died
there. We need to remember that it was
from that place he arose from the dead.
It is to that place where Jesus will come again, where the nations will
be drawn. One day in the valley of
Megiddo the greatest battle will ever take place. Every child of God is gone home to heaven by
this stage but now he will come again to reign on the earth. His feet will touch down on the Mount of
Olives outside Jerusalem. In these days
in which we are living in we are very near to the very days when Christ will
return again. The Lord Jesus could come
at any moment in time. He will take
every child of God to be home with him.
If that were to happen today if God were to call every child home today
will you be there? Would you rise to
meet the Lord? Is your name written in
the Lamb’s book of life? Maybe you say ‘I
have been brought up in a good home, sat in Sunday School, sat at the communion
table, is that not enough?’ God asks for
you to turn from your sin, repent, to know the blood of Christ applied to your
life.
Abraham was the founder of the
nation Israel. It is the only nation
that can point to this and Israel is unique in this sense. He was summoned
by a call. He lived in Ur of the
Chaldees, lived in a secular society not unlike the one we live in today. It was a rich and fertile part of the
world. It was into such a place that the
call of God penetrated the heart of one man.
God by his call comes and he calls you to himself today. How many times has God called you, spoken to
you, invited you to come to him? Joshua
taking the children of Israel into the land of Canaan told them ‘you have a
choice to make, you can choose the gods you served before the flood or you can
choose the God of Israel.’ There’s many
a call from this old world today to take up your heart and mind. We need to be listening to the call of God and
not take any other call. Paul challenged
the people of Athens. They were a superstitious
nation and had many altars, but they had never taken the Lord as Saviour. They even had an altar to the unknown
God. Like society today we worship the
gods of pleasure and luxury. God’s call
was to summon this man Abraham. He had a task for him to do which no-one else
could do. Abraham was living amongst a materialistic
society. God still calls today in the
same form and fashion. In Acts chapter 7
we read that before Abraham “dwelled in Charran (Haran)” the word of the Lord
came to this man. The call was “get thee
out of thy country.” God was clear with
his call. This is the second time he was
coming to this young man. He was told to
get out from his family, country and kindred.
Abraham came half way to the land of Haran. It would seem that whenever this man received
the call he maybe went to his father Terah and told him of the call of
God. Terah said to Abraham “let’s be
wise about this, you cannot just up sticks and go all that distance, we will go
half way to Haran, set up our living there, wait and see what happens.” He was influenced by his father Terah. We need to be sure we are not influenced by
anyone else. In chapter 15 of Genesis
God promised Abraham a son. He was long
in coming verses 2 – 4. “This shall not
be your heir” God said to him. He went
on to tell him he was going to be the father of a son not by adoption. In Genesis 16 Abraham explains to Sarah they
will have a son but nothing happens. In
verses 1 and 2 Abraham had this vulnerability in listening to others. He listened to his father who stopped short of
going to where he ought to be. Now he is told he will have a son. His wife told him to use Hagar for this
purpose. Abraham listened again. He got off course, again influenced by what
she said. There was a son born into that
relationship with Hagar. Verse 12 “he
will be a wild man, his hand will be against every man and every man’s hand
against him.” A son born out of a wrong
decision. Abraham fathered that child who
was called Ishmael. He was the father of
the Arab nation. Every Arab nation is
coming against Israel today. They want
them driven out into the Mediterranean Sea.
The problems stem from disobedience.
We need to be careful not influenced by a wrong decision. Peter called by the Lord was influenced by
John. The Lord said to Peter ‘Follow
thou me.’ Peter turned around and said
“and what shall this man do.” Jesus told
him not to worry about him but rather follow him. We need to get away from listening to others.
Abraham was the foundation stone of the
nation Israel. Don’t look over your
shoulder for someone else to summon you today.
Notice Abraham was now surrendered to the call of God to
him. He showed him what way he was
going. God found this man whose heart
was in touch with him. God is looking
for someone today whose heart is in touch with him. He wants to do a mighty work through us. Maybe God wants to bring revival today. And
he will maybe do it through you today. Abraham’s
heart was opened to God’s call and he was surrendered the whole way. His trust and dependence was on the one who
called him. God didn’t tell him ‘here’s
the land I want you to dwell in it.’ No
he showed him piece by piece. Abraham
responded to it, he knew it was from God.
It was special, it lingered in his heart. The call of God doesn’t fade away. The call of God rests in your heart. God doesn’t give up on you. He didn’t give up on Jonah. He didn’t give up on Moses. It took him 40 years to bring him back to that
place he would have him to go. He recognised
the voice of God. Do I recognise the
call of God? Do I know where God is
leading and guiding me into something?
Jeremiah was the most unsuccessful man of God. He saw a nation taken from under his feet,
taken into Babylon. Despite it all he never
gave up. He kept going on. Didn’t care when the people turned against
him. One time when in prison God told
him about a field. Your uncle is going
to come and see you, I have a field want you to buy it. What would this teach? It set an example of faith in the living God.
God told Jeremiah that the children of
Israel would be taken into Babylon for 70 years and they would return by God’s
leading. God wanted Jeremiah to prove him
in this situation. “Buy that field off
your uncle then you are really saying I believe what God says.” In 70 years God would bring him back and he
would have a field to work and build in.
His uncle came with the offer of a field and Jeremiah knew this was the
word of God. Chapter 32 verse 8. Do we recognise God when he speaks to
us? He still speaks to us today. The Holy Spirit takes his word and brings it
to our hearts. The responsibility is on
us to recognise that word. Remember Naomi
in the book of Ruth. Her husband came to
her and told her they would have to move to Moab as there was no food in the
land they were living in. That family
lived in Bethlehem Judah. The name means
the house of bread. Here was this
husband saying we are going to move from the house of bread for there is a
famine. He moved down to live in Moab. It was a costly decision because her husband
and 2 sons died. Word came to where
Naomi was that God had visited the land in which she used to dwell with
food. She packed her bags and went
home. She recognised this was the voice
and word of God. Do you recognise his
word in this busy age in which we live? Do we set aside time or rush out into a
day? Do we spend time before the God of
heaven? Jonathan Edwards said he got up
in the morning to spend time with God.
Has God spoken to you about something?
Does he want to come to our lives and show us something?
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