God Calls Abram

We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise. We're singing in Psalm 16,

in the Sing Psalms version, Psalm 16 on page 16. We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 7.

Protect me, O my God, you are my refuge through. I said, you are my Lord, I have no good apart

from you. The godly in the land for holiness renowned, they are the glorious ones in whom

all my delight is found. We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 7, and the tune is Selma.

Amen.

My Lord, I have no good apart from you. The godly in the land for holiness renowned, they are the glorious ones in whom

all I delight is found. Their sorrows will increase, who on force God's divine.

I will not sacrifice to them, their worship I define.

O Lord, you are to me, my cup and portion sure. The shame that is assigned to me, you God and he,

the Lord, I have no good apart from you. The Lord, I have no good apart from you. The Lord, I have no good apart from you.

The Lord, I have no good apart from you. The Lord, I have no good apart from you. The Lord, I have no good apart from you.

the appointed

To me is God divine.

I'll praise the Lord my God, whose counsel guides my choice.

And be there in the land of my heart, bring all the expressions of joy.

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. Let us pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

our people to yourself. And so we thank you that as your call is here this evening, it is also all

around us, that you are a God who is calling our people near and far to come and follow you. For we

see that your voice is heard, not just through your word as we have it before it, although we

acknowledge that that is your special revelation to us. But we thank you too that you reveal

yourself to us through your very creation, through the heavens and the earth and all that we see of

your glory around us. For it reminds us that you are our maker, that you are our keeper, that you are

the one who has made all things, that you are the one who will call all things to an end, that you are

the one who has given our days to number them and to be wise with them. And so we pray this night,

O Lord, that as we see and hear your call to us, that you will give us the heart to be obedient to

that call, to hear it and to follow you. To follow you, Lord, through whatever paths you have in store,

to follow you in whatever work you have for us, to call you above all to look to Jesus and to put

our trust in him. And to know in him the one who is our security and our salvation,

now and for eternity. And so we praise you for your call. We praise you for your word. And we ask

your blessing anew on it this evening, that you will speak to each of us, not just collectively as a

congregation, but individually, whether we are sitting here in the building, whether we are listening

online, whenever we might hear your voice, that you would give us an ear to hear and a heart to respond.

And so we pray, Lord, that you would bless us and watch over us as a people. We do pray, O Lord,

that as we go forward from here, that you will be a God who leads us and guides us. We thank you for,

as we come to your word this evening, the reminder of Abraham, who was one who you called,

but also one who you led, one who you showed the way he was to go, the one who was able to look,

not to the cities of this world, but to a city whose maker and builder was God. And we ask, O Lord,

that you will give us the eyes of faith that Abraham had, and so many like him as well, that we would

continue to fix our eyes on you, that you would be the one that would guide our every step and lead us

in every way. And especially as we enter into a period of change as a congregation, as we think of a time

of vacancy and the need to be led by you, we pray that you will give us a spirit of prayer,

that you will fill our hearts, O Lord, with that longing to know you, to worship you, first and foremost,

and then to seek you and to know your guidance, to know your help, to know you speaking to us as a

people, as a congregation, as a community, that you would guide us, O Lord, that the vacancy would be

filled in your time and by your person. So we ask, O Lord, that in all things we will look to you,

and we thank you for all that we have around us to help and to encourage, that you give us that

spirit of prayer, that spirit of unity, that bondness of encouragement to one another and

loving one another. And we pray that you will increase these things in our midst, so that we

will be a congregation that would be said of, that see how they love him, see how they love Christ,

and how they love one another. And so we pray, Lord, for you to lead us in these ways. And we pray

for the Reverend Colin McLeod as he will become into the moderator. We ask, O Lord, for help and

strength to him in his own congregation and back, and also as he assists here as well. May he know your

help and your strength throughout these days and months ahead. We pray too, Lord, for our leadership as

a Kirk session and as a deacon's court. We pray, Lord, for you to give us wisdom and guidance

and help in all our discussions going forward as well. We pray that you will unite us together.

We pray for a vacancy committee as it's formed. We ask, O Lord, for your wisdom in that

and for guidance among all of us as a congregation to consider prayerfully who will come and preach,

who we would long to have among us, who would be a shepherd over us. So, Lord, we pray for your

blessing and your help in that. We thank you, Lord, that your promise is that you will be with us, and we

pray that we will keep hold of your promises at all times. And we ask above all, Lord, for your ministry,

for your gospel work to flourish in our midst. As was once said, there is no such thing as a vacant

congregation when God is in their midst. And we thank you for that, that your work goes on,

that we are a people serving you in the gospel. And we pray that that good news, that glorious news

of Jesus will be proclaimed by us all far and wide, that throughout our homes and our communities, that we

will share that word with one another and those who come around us as well, whether it's in our homes,

in our workplaces, in our communities at large, even those who pass us by at times, who we maybe only

see for a glimpse in a moment. Give us that boldness to speak. As we think of the gospel needs that are

around us, Lord, we thank you for all who serve in our midst, and we pray that you will strengthen

and encourage men and women, boys and girls who help in so many different ways. We thank you for

that willing spirit in our midst, and we pray that that will increase all the more, that we will be

united together for your cause here. We pray for your wider churches as well. We thank you for

your kingdom as it is being built. We pray for congregations throughout our own presbytery,

each one, O Lord, that they may know your blessing and your presence in their midst. We particularly

remember other congregations coming into vacancy at this time as well. We remember the congregation

in Grava. We ask your blessing on them, that they will again know your leading and guiding in these

days ahead. We pray for Reverend David McLeod, who is to be intermoderated over them. May you bless

them and uphold him. May you guide them and bless them too. And we remember Iamacritchie and his

induction on Friday evening, last Friday evening, to Greyfriars and Inverness. We thank you for that

occasion as we enjoyed our time here, that they enjoyed that time as well. And we pray for him

as he takes up the ministry there, and that the congregation and preacher would be blessed by you.

May you encourage them and be with them throughout these days ahead as well. We pray for our

denomination as a whole, O Lord. We pray for the ministry of your word throughout our land and far and

wide, that you would bless it to all ends of the earth, that the promises of your word would be

fulfilled to all ends, to the north, the south, the east and west, that you would call a people to

yourself. Remember all who minister in so many different ways. We think of Muriel in Cambodia.

We again commit her to your care and keeping. Thankful for the opportunities to meet with her over the

soon. We pray for that meeting on Tuesday, God willing, that you will bless it, that you will

bless her and hear our prayers for her and answer according to your will. Remember all our people,

and especially our schools and children at this time, as a time of holiday is upon us. May you watch

over people as they travel to and fro, our own as they go away, and visitors who come into our midst.

We pray for safety and blessing. We pray for refreshing and encouragement in these weeks of

holiday. We thank you for our schools, and we thank you for all the teachers. We pray for each one of

them, Lord, to know your spirit upon them, to know your goodness with them. We pray for our schools to be

a place of refuge, a place of your spirit abiding and the beauty of the Lord being seen. We know we hear

so often different stories, but Lord, we pray that you'd be pleased to visit us in our communities in

a special way, to watch over our young people, to draw them to yourself. We ask, O Lord, that you would

bless us now as we continue in our worship, remember us in all our needs, in our homes and families,

those who are unwell, those who grieve and mourn, those who are heavy in heart or cast down in spirit

at this time, those who feel discouraged or even dismayed. We pray, O Lord, for your spirit to be

with them, for your love and your grace to surround them, and your peace to be upon them. And Lord,

we ask you'll continue with us now in our time of worship as we open up your word, as we sing your

praise. May we do all to your glory and help us to hear you speaking to us as we ask all confessing

our sins anew, seeking your goodness and mercy to be upon us as we ask everything in Jesus' precious

name and for his glory. Amen.

We'll again sing to God's praise this time in Psalm 89 in the Scottish Psalter, page 344.

Psalm 89 on page 344. We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 5. The tune is New London.

Psalm 89 at verse 1. God's mercies I will ever sing, and with my mouth I shall. Thy faithfulness

make to be known to generations all. For mercy shall be built, said I, forever to endure. Thy

faithfulness even in the heavens thou wilt establish sure. We'll sing from verse 1 to 5 to God's praise.

God's mercies I will ever sing, and with my mouth I shall. Thy faithfulness came to the Lord, to be warm, to be

my God's merciful. The Lord's mercies I will ever sing, and with my mouth I shall. Thy faithfulness came to be born, to be

to generations on.

For mercy shall be blessed

and I forever to endure.

Thy faithfulness yield in the hands

thou wilt be sadly sure.

I with my chosen one have made

a covenant gracious thee.

And to my servant

whom I love

to thee is for my.

But I thy seed is salvation

forever to remain.

And will to generations of life

both build and maintain.

The gracious hope I want

for the heavens shall express.

And in the congregation

all sakes my faithfulness.

Can we turn together to read God's word

now in the book of Genesis?

The first book of the Bible, Genesis.

And we'll take up our reading in chapter 11

and at verse 27.

Genesis chapter 11, taking up our reading

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

at verse 27, we read down into chapter 12

and verse 9.

Now these are the generations of Terah.

Terah fathered Abram, Nahor and Haran.

And Haran fathered Lot.

Haran died in the presence of his father Terah

in the land of his kindred

in Ur of the Chaldeans.

And Abram and Nahor took wives.

The name of Abram's wife was Sarai.

And the name of Nahor's wife Milcah,

the daughter of Haran,

the father of Milcah and Iscah.

Now Sarai was barren.

She had no child.

Terah took Abram his son

and Lot the son of Haran,

his grandson,

and Sarai his daughter-in-law,

his son Abram's wife.

And they went forth together

from Ur of the Chaldeans

to go into the land of Canaan.

But when they came to Haran,

they settled there.

The days of Terah were 205 years,

and Terah died in Haran.

Now the Lord said to Abram,

Go from your country

and your kindred

and your father's house

to the land that I will show you.

And I will make you a great nation.

And I will bless you

and make your name great

so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you.

And him who dishonors you

I will curse.

And in you all the families

of the earth

shall be blessed.

So Abram went

as the Lord had told him.

And Lot went with him.

Abram was 75 years old

when he departed from Haran.

And Abram took Sarai,

his wife,

and Lot,

his brother's son,

and all their possessions

that they had gathered,

and the people

that they had acquired in Haran.

And they set out

to go to the land of Canaan.

When they came

to the land of Canaan,

Abram passed through the land

to the place at Shechem,

to the oak of Moreh.

At that time,

the Canaanites were in the land.

Then the Lord appeared

to Abram and said,

To your offspring

I will give this land.

So he built there

an altar to the Lord

who had appeared to him.

From there he moved

to the hill country

on the east of Bethel

and pitched his tent

with Bethel on the west

and I on the east.

And there he built

an altar to the Lord

and called upon

the name of the Lord.

And Abram journeyed on,

still going towards the Negev.

And so on.

May God bless that reading

from his word.

Before we turn back

to this passage,

we're going to sing again

to God's praise.

This time Psalm 105

in the Scottish Psalter version.

Psalm 105, page 375.

We'll sing from verse 6

to verse 10.

And the tune is Glasgow.

O ye that are of Abraham's race,

his servant well approved,

and ye that Jacob's children are,

whom he chose for his own,

because he and he only is

the mighty Lord our God,

and his most righteous judgments

are in all the earth abroad.

We'll sing from verse 6

down to verse 10

to God's praise.

Amen.

O ye that are of Abraham's race,

his servant well approved,

and he that Jacob's children are,

and he chose for his own.

Because he and he only is,

the mighty Lord our God,

and his bosque's wife with his own.

And his bosque's life with her dr hár,

and his use of water.

And his bosque'sesis are,

God bless you.

The word he did, O my.

Which covenant he firmly laid

With faithful Abraham.

And unto Isaac by his soul

He did renew the same.

And unto Jacob for a law

He made it firm and true

A covenant to Israel

Which ever should endure

We can turn back to our reading in Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

And the beginning of that chapter, we'll look at verse 1 to 4 together this evening.

Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

And here we have God's call to Abraham.

We can just read at the beginning there.

Now the Lord said to Abraham,

Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.

And I will make you a great nation.

And I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

So Abraham went, as the Lord had told him.

There's a question we're often asked when we meet somebody, especially for the first time.

And that question is, where are you from?

It's one of the most natural questions to ask.

But the response you give will depend where you are when you're being asked,

or maybe who you are speaking to.

If you just meet someone locally around the town,

the question might be focused just on Stornoway itself or another village in the island.

It might be, you know, what street are you from?

Where's your house?

What house do you belong to?

Maybe you're speaking to someone who's just from another part of the island.

It'd be, what village are you from?

Or if you're in Scotland, maybe you're away from the island.

They'd be asking, where are you from?

They might just say the Isle of Lewis or the Western Isles.

Or if you're abroad and someone hears your accent

and ask, where are you from?

You might just respond, Scotland.

There's all kinds of answers that we can give to the question,

depending on our circumstances.

That question, where are you from?

Tonight we're looking at this passage where God calls Abram.

And as we're looking at this passage,

we're considering Abram and God's call to him.

And just thinking of Abram, we could ask that question of him.

Who is he?

And where is he from?

You often hear Abraham mentioned.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

These names keep appearing throughout the scriptures.

Abram is seen as the father of the faith.

As we sang in Psalm 105 there in verse 6,

it speaks of Abram.

O ye that are of Abram's race,

his servant well approved.

He's faithful Abram.

He's described as there in that psalm as well.

He's such an important figure in the scriptures.

The covenant that was made with him,

that God made with him,

the promise that God gave to him,

as you see in Genesis 12 through to Genesis 17.

Abram is a father figure,

an important figure in the scriptures,

referred to again and again in the Old

and into the New Testament.

But who is he?

And where is he from?

He would be one who would be blessed by God

and through whom blessings would come.

But if you were to meet Abram in his time

and ask him,

where are you from?

I wonder what kind of answer he would have given.

Because as you read of him,

you often find that he is someone

who is constantly on the move.

He's a wanderer in so many ways.

And the question to Abram is not so much,

where are you from?

But ultimately,

where are you going?

And that is perhaps the way Abram would answer.

That where he is going.

We think of our own culture

and how many songs have been written

about our homeland,

our town,

our villages,

our islands.

Through generations of people

having to leave our island,

whether it's for work

or moving to another country,

so many songs were written

looking back to the place

they would call home.

The Durukin on Friday night

is always full of requests

from people who have moved away

or who are living away now,

requesting songs about where they have come from,

remembering home.

A longing for home

is something that is instilled

in so many people.

But what about where we are going?

For ourselves and for Abraham,

that's a question that we have to ask ourselves as well.

Not just where are we from,

but ultimately,

where are we going?

And as we read of Abraham here,

we see that through faith,

he went forward.

He left, as it were,

his home place behind

because God called him

to go to another place.

And it's amazing how it is described

as you go through the Scriptures

that it becomes not just a place

looking to this world,

but a place beyond.

For he longed for a place

that one day he would see

in all its fullness

and all its glory.

A place that many others

since then have longed for

and to this day long for as well.

And you read of this,

especially in the book of Hebrews.

And in that amazing chapter,

chapter 11 of Hebrews,

where it speaks about the people of faith.

And just hear what it says about Abraham.

In chapter 11 of Hebrews,

verse 8,

By faith, Abraham obeyed

when he was called to go out

to a place that he was to receive

as an inheritance.

And he went out,

not knowing where he was going.

By faith, he went to live

in the land of promise,

as in a foreign land,

living in tents

with Isaac and Jacob,

heirs with him

of the same promise.

But then it says this,

For he was looking forward

to the city

that has foundations,

whose designer

and builder

is God.

That was not just a city

here,

but an eternal city.

A city whose designer,

whose maker

and builder

is God.

So it wasn't just about

where he was from.

You see there,

he was a wanderer.

He lived in tents.

But he was looking forward.

He was looking forward

to a city

whose maker

and builder

is God.

And what about

for ourselves?

When we consider

where we're from,

when we think to ourselves,

well,

where are we going?

And what does that mean

to us

this evening?

Where are we going?

Where are our lives

taking us?

Not just in the sense

of here in this world,

but eternally.

And how do we find

our way?

Well,

how would Abraham

find this city?

How would Abraham

find this home

for himself

and for all of God's people?

Well,

we see it here.

How he would come

to enjoy it.

How he would come

to find it.

It's through God's

gracious call.

God calling him

and the promise

of his covenant

of grace

to him

that we see

beginning here

in chapter 12

of Genesis

and it really goes through

to chapter 17

of Genesis

as well.

But ultimately

we see it

running through

scripture.

The seed is here

but it bears

its fullness

in Jesus Christ.

And it is through

faith

in him

and listening

to his call

to us

that we experience

and know

the blessings

promised

to Abraham

here.

And as we read,

he would make it

a blessing

to all the nations,

to all the families

of the earth

shall be blessed

through him.

It's an amazing promise.

It's an amazing call.

It's an amazing experience

that God would call

his people

to himself.

And we just want

to look at this call

to Abraham

and see

how the blessing

flows to ourselves.

We want to see it

in four ways.

First of all,

just to see

Abraham's background

and then the call

to Abraham

and then the blessing

to Abraham

and then the blessing

through Abraham.

I want to go through

these four things.

And first of all,

the background

of Abraham.

We read at the end

there of chapter 11

which kind of

sets the scene

for us

when we read

the generations

of who his father was

and brothers

and family.

And we read

a number of names

there.

And there we find

the background

of Abraham,

where he lived

and how he moved.

But more importantly

maybe,

the kind of people

that they were.

And the immediate

context of chapter 11

is the Tower

of Babel.

If you read

in verse 4

of chapter 11,

there it says,

Then they said,

Come,

let us build

ourselves

a city

and a tower

with its top

in the heavens

and let us

make a name

for ourselves.

This is where

the people were at

and this is not long

after the flood.

You see,

the people's heart

were still inclined

to make a name

for themselves

and not praise

the name

of God.

But in the midst

of this,

God came.

Came into the midst

and scattered them.

Scattered them

to all ends

of the earth.

It was not about

making their name

great.

But that God's name

would be made great.

And so this was

a time when

the people

had been scattered

to all ends

of the earth.

And Abraham

finds himself

along with his family

in Ur of the Chaldeans.

Now you maybe

think of Abraham.

You hear this name,

Mighty Abraham,

Faithful Abraham,

Abraham,

the servant of God,

a godly man,

you say to yourself.

And he was.

But where was he from?

Well, you think

he must have had

a godly family.

He must have come

from a godly line.

And yet what you find

as you look into it,

as you see

his father

who was Terah,

what you find is

that Terah lived

among a people

who had no word

of God.

in chapter 24

of Joshua,

just a wee bit

further on

in the scriptures,

it says that

Terah,

the father of Abraham

and Nahor,

just as we have here,

it says that they lived

in this place

out of the Chaldeans.

But what does it say?

It says,

they served

other gods.

They didn't live

in a place

where God

was worshipped.

They lived in a place

that worshipped

other gods.

And Ur of the Chaldeans

was a place

known for this.

It was known

for moon worshipping.

It was known

for idols

and a place

of many gods.

And yet that is

where Abraham

was from.

That is his background.

And he was in the midst

of all of that.

But doesn't that

remind us

of how remarkable

God's grace is?

Of how remarkable

God is

in the abundance

of grace

he shows to people.

That no one

is too far

from God

to be saved.

Here is Abraham

caught up

in all of this.

Gods of all kinds

all around.

And yet God

calls him.

It's an amazing

thing to think

that when we think

of our own

place today,

our own nation today,

how God

can be calling

people,

not just who sit

under his word,

but even people

who are out there

with no thought

of God

at this time.

When you think

of even ministers

and preachers,

of the gospel,

future ministers

may be tonight

sitting in a pub

watching the football.

They may have

no thought

for God

and in our eyes

they are far

from God

and yet God

may be calling

them.

That is the wonder

of God's grace.

That is the abundance

of God's grace.

Here we see it

with Abraham.

We think Abraham

must have been

from a godly

background,

a godly family,

and yet they

were so far

from God

and yet God

calls them.

And that is the

beauty of the

scriptures.

It's not about

our ability

to make things

great,

but it's about

God's ability

to make a people

great,

to make a people

believe.

That is the grace

that is seen

through Abraham.

His background

is maybe not

what we expect.

And when we look

at our own

background,

did we expect

God to call us?

So often

not.

But yet God

is a God

of promise.

He is a God

who remembers

his people,

who calls

his people,

and who promises

to be with

them.

And so this

Abraham,

who lived

in our

of the

Chaldeans,

he became

the father

of the faith.

One who

God's covenant

came through,

God's promise

came through.

It's a

remarkable thing

and a

remarkable

reminder

of the

God

of all

grace.

It doesn't

matter

our

background.

when God

calls,

we are

to listen.

And that's

the second

thing we want

to see here

as well,

is the

call

to Abraham.

So here

he was,

the background

is basically

in the midst

of idolatry

and worshipping

false gods.

But into

this comes

the call

of Abraham.

And to be

part of

his covenant

of grace,

there was

to be

obedience

from

Abraham.

God's

covenant

as it

was made,

God keeps

his side

at all

times.

It's not

like a

contract

that we

might make

where if

one side

of the

party

fails in

payments

or repayments,

the contract

is broken.

God's

covenant

is different.

God

will always

keep

his side.

but it

does

call

for

obedience

on

Abraham's

side

here

and

our

side

tonight

as well.

God

calls

Abraham

and you

might

expect

that call

would maybe

come once

Abraham

has sorted

his life

out,

once he

has maybe

moved away

from out

of the

Chaldeans

and moved

into a

better place,

moved away

from idols

and false

gods

and false

worship.

But no,

it comes

right into

the midst

of where

he is.

In verse

1 of

chapter 12,

Now the

Lord said

to Abraham,

Go from

your country

and your

kindred

and your

father's

house

to the

land

that I

will show

you.

His

God

comes

in the

midst

of all

that was

happening

in his

life.

And that's

so often

the case.

We think

to ourselves

we have

to sort

ourselves

out before

God will

speak to

me.

We have

to sort

our lives

out before

God can

use me

or call

me to

something

else.

But God

says here

to Abraham

in the

midst of

everything,

Go from

your country

and your

kindred and

your father's

house to

the land

that I

will show

you.

And later

on in

scripture in

the book

of Acts

Acts 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

we see a

little more

of this.

It says

in verse

2 of

Acts 7,

The God

of glory

appeared

to our

father

Abraham

when he

was in

Mesopotamia

before he

lived in

Haran and

said to

him,

Go out

of your

land and

from your

kindred and

go into

the land

that I

will show

you.

Then he

went out

from the

land of

the

Chaldeans

and lived

in Haran.

The God

of glory

appeared.

He appeared

to him

here in

the hour

of the

Chaldeans,

this place

of idolatry.

He appeared

to him

there.

And there's

a wonderful

reminder to

ourselves,

even here

this evening

or wherever

we might

hear this

message,

that God

speaks to

us in

our very

circumstances

here and

now.

Whatever our

lives are

like,

whatever is

going on

around us,

whatever is

going on in

our hearts,

God is

calling.

God is

calling us

to come

and follow

him.

He doesn't

wait for us

to sort

our lives

out.

He doesn't

wait for us

to make

ourselves

better,

because his

grace is

realizing we

are dead in

our trespasses

and sins,

like we were

thinking of

this morning

in Habakkuk.

Our sins,

they are

many,

but his

mercy is

more.

And he

has come

to give us

life.

And so here

we see

Abraham is

called to

leave his

home,

his people,

his father's

house,

and there's

a great

challenge in

this,

a challenge

to Abraham

here.

He is to

leave everything

behind and

trust God,

to listen to

God and

think,

well,

can this

God provide?

Can this

God keep

me?

Can this

God really

fulfill all

these promises

that he's

telling me

about through

me and

my wife

Sarah?

Sarah,

who it

says is

barren,

and yet

God is

saying,

I will

bless you

and make

you a

great nation.

His

trust is

put to

the test

straight

away.

And that's

a challenge

to ourselves

as well.

Do we

trust God?

Do you

trust God

this evening

with your

whole heart,

with your

whole life,

to say,

Lord,

I cannot

do this

by myself.

If I

cannot go

forward in

this way,

I have

my doubts,

I have

my fears,

I have

my questions.

But when

God calls,

it's decision

time.

It's

something we

face in

this world

again and

again when

God calls

us.

And we

so often

weigh things

up and

we think

of,

well,

what will I

lose out

and what

will I

miss,

what will I

gain?

We weigh

things in

the balance.

And tonight,

if you're not

heeding this

call,

what is

keeping you

back?

What is

keeping you

back from

being a

part of

the same

promise to

Abraham,

the promise

that he

says,

and you

all families

of the

earth will

be blessed,

the same

promise that

was given

to him,

that by

faith he

would see

these promises

fulfilled.

What is

keeping you

back tonight?

Do you

not trust

God to

be able to

fulfill all

these promises?

In the

New Testament

Jesus met

with a man

who was

called the

rich young

ruler and

Jesus challenged

him, you

know, go

and sell all

that you have

and then come

and follow

me.

And he

weighed it

up and he

says I've

got too

much to

lose.

He was

just looking

at it in

the temporal

things of

this world

and not

the eternal

things of

this world.

And he

decided no,

my wealth

is too

great,

the cost

is too

dear to

leave all

that behind

and follow

Jesus.

And it's

something we

have maybe

done or

maybe something

we are doing

right now,

we are saying

no, I

have too

much to

lose in

this world.

Well, you

have more

to lose

in

eternity.

What

shall it

profit a

man to

gain the

whole world

and yet

lose his

soul?

Abraham is

challenged

here.

The Lord

said to

Abraham,

go from

your country,

trust me

and go

forward with

me.

The burden

on Abraham

was,

will you

go?

And what

was his

response?

Well, you

see it in

verse 4,

so Abraham

went as

the Lord

had told

him.

Abraham

went.

How do

we respond

to God's

call?

Will you

go?

Abraham

went.

When you

think of the

disciples and

Jesus called

them and

said, lay

down your

nets, leave

them behind

and come

and follow

me and I

will make

you fishers

of men.

They dropped

them there

and then.

They left

them behind

and they

followed

Jesus.

Has

anybody ever

lost out

in doing

that?

No.

And if you

have any

doubts this

evening as

to the cost

of losing

out on

anything and

following

Jesus,

you will

only lose

out if you

don't.

the call

is to

come and

follow.

The question

is, will

you go?

Will you

go with

him?

Well, Abraham

went.

And what we

see then is

the blessing

to Abraham.

Blessing

follows

obedience.

We hear

that phrase.

But too,

often we think

of blessings

as everything

is going to

be well

in life.

But blessing

is knowing

that God

is with

you through

all things.

Honor me

and I

will honor

you, God

says.

And Abraham

went in

obedience.

And as he

went in

obedience, he

found every

promise of

God to be

true.

How God

would provide.

It wasn't

always easy.

There were

challenges along

the way.

But God

provided for

him.

In verse

two,

here it

says,

I will

make you

a great

nation.

And I

will bless

you and

make your

name great

so that

you will

be a

blessing.

This is

the very

thing that

they were

looking for

in Babel

in chapter

11,

verse 4.

They said,

come, let

us build

ourselves a

city, a

tower with

its tops

in the

heaven, and

let us

make a

name for

ourselves.

themselves.

They wanted

to make a

name for

themselves.

But here

in verse

2, we

see Abraham

here.

His name

is going

to be

made

great.

I will

bless you

and make

your name

great.

God will

do it.

This time,

both here in

the UK and

also in

America,

politics is

all to the

fore.

all these

slogans

come out

just now

of how

Britain is

going to

be great

once again,

or how

America is

going to

be great.

Put your

trust in

these people

and they

will make

the nation

great again.

That is the

promises that

are being

put out

there.

But all

it is,

it's like

the Tower

of Babel

back in

these days.

They want

their name

to be

great.

But the

answer to

greatness for

a nation

and for

a people,

it's not

about making

our name

great,

but making

God's

name

great.

Because only

God can

make a

nation

great and

a people

great.

And God

will humble

the proud

and he'll

exalt the

humble.

And so we

need to

humble

ourselves

before God.

And in

many ways

what Abraham

is doing

here is

humbling

himself

before God.

Being

obedient to

God.

Go from

your country,

your kindred,

your father's

house to

the land

that I

will show

you.

And I

will make

you a

great nation

and I

will bless

you and

make your

name great

so that

you will

be a

blessing.

And so

Abraham

went.

But when

you look at

Abraham as

he goes

on,

as he's a

blessing to

many,

you still

see him

traveling

around,

moving from

one place

to another,

living in

tents.

And yet

he knew

the blessing

of God

as he

worshipped

him.

He knew

the presence

of God

and God

blessed him

and a

people

through him.

He was

a man of

faith and

God

rewards that

faith as

we see in

Hebrews 11.

And what

was his

greatest

reward?

His

greatest

reward was

to be

looking forward

and to see

that city

that has

foundations,

whose

designer and

builder is

God.

That is

what faith

rewards,

to bring us

into the

presence of

God.

I was

going round

the castle

grounds this

week,

walking down

by the

Creed.

And as I

was walking

down,

there was a

group of

four tourists

who had

obviously come

off one of

the cruise

ships that

were in.

And they'd

come round

the new

pathway there

across the

bridge on

the Creed

and they

were

standing at

a sign

with a

map on

it.

And as

you come

over the

bridge,

there's three

ways to

go.

You can

go left,

you can

go right,

and you

can go

straight ahead.

And they're

looking at

this map and

they're seeing

me coming

towards them

and they

stop me and

they ask

me,

excuse me

sir,

could you

tell us

the way to

the city?

I say,

well I'm

not sure

where you

think you're

going,

but Stornow

is not

much of a

city compared

to some of

the cities

that you've

seen.

But I

said,

I can

point them

in different

directions here.

They're looking

at the map

and probably

thinking,

the shortest

way is

straight ahead,

but it's

just going

into the

woods.

And I'm

thinking,

if they go

in there and

they find

more ways

to go,

they're just

going to

end up

lost.

So I

said,

well your

best way

is to

follow the

river down

to the

mouth and

then follow

around the

path along

by the

sea.

At least

you'll have

something to

keep you

right.

But as I

left them

behind,

I thought to

myself,

what a

question that

is.

Can you

tell me the

way to

the city?

And that's

the question

that's behind

Abraham here

as well.

And the

question that's

behind our

own thinking

tonight,

what is the

way to

the city?

And what is

the city

that we are

looking for?

We think of

where we're

from,

but what

about where

we're going?

they may

have been

disappointed,

I hope not,

when they

came into

the town

of Stornoway.

But there's

one thing

for sure,

that if we

find this

city whose

maker and

builder is

God,

there will

be no

disappointment.

There will

be no

regret of

leaving anything

behind,

because we

will truly

see that

faith in

God and

in Christ

has a

great reward.

No matter

our journey

through this

life,

no matter

the ups

and downs

along the

way,

we are to

look to

a city

whose

maker and

builder

is God.

That is

the blessing

that Abraham

knew.

And just

as we

conclude,

just briefly,

I want to

think of the

blessing through

Abraham.

I will

bless those

who bless

you,

and in

you all

families of

the earth

shall be

blessed.

There is

an ongoing

promise

here,

that through

his covenant

with Abraham,

God would

bless all

families of

the earth,

all who

put their

trust in

him.

Go back

to the

question,

where are

you from,

and who

do you

belong to?

I

mentioned

how often

we hear

songs sung

in our

own culture.