Who is God?

And if you will turn with me to Genesis chapter 12 on page number 13.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

! We've been singing about God making a promise to Abraham.

! A promise that we'd be renewed through the generations.

A promise that will be fulfilled in Jesus.

But as we come to Genesis 12, we're going to look at the first nine verses,

and we're going to ask ourselves from this text,

who is God?

So let's hear God speak.

The Lord had said to Abraham,

Go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land I will show you.

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

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

I will bless those who bless you.

And whoever curses you, I will curse.

And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

So Abraham went as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him.

Abraham was 75 years old when he set out from Haran.

He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they'd accumulated,

and the people they'd acquired in Haran.

And they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

Abraham traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem.

At that time, the Canaanites were in the land.

The Lord appeared to Abraham and said,

To your offspring I will give this land.

So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.

From there he went on towards the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent,

with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.

There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

Then Abraham set out and continued towards the Negev.

Amen.

We'll leave our reading there.

So we're asking the question, who is God?

But let's begin thinking about friendship and also loneliness.

I wonder if you can remember a time when it felt like making friends was easy.

For me, I go back to my little primary school.

Maybe the first new friend I met, we supported the same football team.

So of course we became friends for life.

In primary three, my little class of two grew to three.

And boy number three, he used the same inhaler as I did.

And so of course we were friends forever.

Friendship is something that can be so easy at times.

And it's a wonderful gift.

It's been well said that friendship is the gift that halves our sorrows and doubles our joys.

And that's one of the things that we hope a local church like ours is for people.

A place where real friendship can be established.

Because we know, don't we, friendship can be hard to come by.

Even the government has recognized that.

We have a task force.

We are now in what's still known as a loneliness epidemic.

Rising numbers of people who feel left out.

Who have no meaningful social connections.

Who would indicate they have a sense of intense loneliness much of the time.

And that's so important because the impacts are huge.

Studies are now showing the impact on our cardiovascular system.

Things like the rise in diabetes.

The impact on mental health.

Productivity at work.

All shaped by friendship or its absence and loneliness.

So who is God?

God is the one who speaks.

And God is the one who invites us into relationship.

Where we get to call God Father.

Where we can have the Lord Jesus as a friend.

Where we can know, because the Spirit is in us, that we are never alone.

The Bible says we are made for relationships.

And wonderfully, as we see throughout the Bible story,

God comes to give, to establish, to restore relationship.

Last week, if you were here, we were at the Tower of Babel.

And here is this moment where the world had walked away from God.

And they were literally building a life apart from God.

And the outcome was confusion and scattering.

And that could have been the end of the story.

But what we just read is that this week, God comes calling.

God comes seeking.

Abraham.

An old man.

An idol worshipper.

And he changes Abraham's life by establishing relationship.

That got me thinking this week.

About prayer.

If you're a Christian, you'll have had a relationship with prayer through the years.

But this week, I was thinking, what an amazing privilege.

You know, you're facing real challenges.

And we get to pray.

When something good comes into our life,

and we can say thank you to God, knowing that kindness came from Him.

I found myself asking God for wisdom.

I found myself taking the needs of other people to God this week.

I enjoyed going for a walk in the sunshine,

and talking with Him at the same time.

And I think one of the goals I have for today is basic and fundamental.

If we are Christians,

to remind ourselves that God wants us to enjoy our life with Him.

To enjoy a living relationship with God.

And if you're not a Christian,

I want to show you what God offers to you.

The connection, the relationship, the life,

actually that we were all made for.

So God is the Lord who speaks,

so that we might enjoy life with Him.

That's where we're going this morning.

So let's think, first of all, about the reality that God speaks.

And recognize with me that this God is the personal God.

Four times in our text, you will see the name of God,

the Lord.

Verse 1, all in capital letters,

also there in verse 4, 7, and 8.

This is not a title.

This is God's own name.

This reminds us, fundamentally, God is personal.

He is not a force.

He is not a concept or a construct.

He is alive, active, and personal.

In our text, we see this personal God.

He makes promises.

He connects with people in covenant.

We will hear Him say,

I will be your God,

and you will be my people.

And this personal God is one that we can know

in His actions.

The Bible is full of the actions of God.

The world is full of the actions of God.

God has created everything that we see,

and He controls it all.

He reveals Himself personally,

and He personally acts to rescue people.

He shows steadfast love.

He shows His glory.

He is full of goodness and grace,

because He is personal.

And this is so helpful.

You and I, we don't need to guess what God is like.

And we should never imagine God is distant,

some kind of faraway concept.

Rather, we're reminded He is the personal God

who comes near so that you and I,

we might know Him.

And that's one of the wonderful things

about the Abraham story.

We see the personal God is acting everywhere.

He calls Abraham.

He makes promises.

He intervenes when Abraham gets things wrong.

He directs Abraham's journeys.

He reveals His actions in advance to Abraham.

He commits to a covenant relationship,

and He even gives him a son.

He is personal.

And now,

this same God that we're reading about here,

He has personally revealed Himself

in an even more striking way

in His Son,

the Lord Jesus.

John's Gospel tells us,

He is the Word who became flesh

and made His dwelling among us,

and we have seen His glory.

To see Jesus in the Gospel

is to see God.

And this Jesus,

He comes personally to us.

Remember how we started our service?

He opens the door,

inviting us to welcome Him

so that we might have the joy of life with Him.

He's the one who personally says,

come to me and rest.

and find salvation

and enjoy life with God.

Now, why start here?

Well, again,

it's because I think it's something

we can forget

or we can fail to enjoy.

And maybe if we're not Christians,

we can have a misconception

about what Christianity is.

Christianity is not

about dull duty.

And it is not about

religious routine.

rather,

it is personal,

living relationship

with God

through Jesus,

His Son.

The one who comes

to walk with us

through life.

And so we're all invited

to come

and to taste and see

that this personal God

is good.

So God is personal.

Now,

I also want to notice

when God speaks,

there is a pattern.

verse 1,

the Lord had said to Abraham,

go from your country,

your people,

and your father's household

to the land I will show you.

Now,

if I was to ask

any one of you,

why are you here?

Why are you here in Edinburgh?

There would be a range

of answers.

For some of us,

it would be,

well,

education took me here.

For others,

work took me here.

Or,

this is where my family are.

Or,

this is the place

where I've always lived.

If I say,

why are you here in church?

Again,

we probably get a range

of answers.

Perhaps you're here today

because someone

invited you here.

You came with a friend.

Or,

your family comes

and so you come.

What prompts

the journey of Abraham

that we read about

in Genesis 12?

It was God's direct call,

wasn't it?

It was God's word

to him.

And,

it's so interesting

to see that the story

of Abraham's life

in Genesis,

as it's told by the author,

it begins and ends

in a very similar way.

In Genesis 12,

we hear God say to Abraham,

leave and go.

And then,

in a couple of weeks,

we'll get to Genesis 22

and we hear God say,

take and go.

And so,

this says to us

that the whole of Abraham's life,

and more than that,

the whole of the life

of faith,

is to find direction

from God's word.

For us,

the Bible,

the word of God.

But let's think about

God's call to Abraham.

Let's think about

what did it mean to him?

And what does it say

about how God speaks

and calls today?

So,

let me just identify

one or two patterns.

First,

to recognize that

when God calls Abraham,

we should hear this

as a new beginning.

This is like new creation.

Now,

if you were to turn

to Genesis 1,

you would find this pattern.

God said something

and it was so.

God said,

let there be light

and there was light.

Now,

look at Genesis 12,

1.

The Lord said,

go.

Verse 4,

so Abraham went.

It's new beginning.

And in this new beginning,

we need to understand

the patience

and the mercy of God.

He is the one

who created everything

and everyone,

perfect relationships,

gave them every good gift.

And what people have done

since the beginning

is they've treated God shamefully.

In the story of Genesis,

eating the forbidden fruit,

choosing a way of life

that was entirely evil

all of the time

in Noah's day.

And then Tower of Babel

wanting to replace

and erase God

from the picture.

And what's God's response?

God speaks.

God seeks.

God starts again.

And so there's wonderful hope

for any and for all of us

when we mess up,

when we ignore God,

when we're aware of our sin.

Maybe no story shows it better

than the story Jesus told

of the prodigal son

in Luke 15.

There was the son who said,

Father, I can't wait

till you're dead.

Give me my share

of the inheritance.

And he went to a far country.

And he wasted all his money.

And he found himself living

a desperate

and a shameful existence.

But what happened to that boy

when he made the journey

back home?

Beyond the shame

and the rejection

and the disgrace

that that son had brought

on his family,

there was a father

with open arms

running,

with tears running down

his face.

You're home.

I'm so glad

to have you back.

Let's have a feast.

Our God is a God of grace

and new beginnings.

So that's the second thing

to notice about the pattern.

So it's a new beginning.

It's also gracious.

There is in this call

to Abraham

a reversing

of God's curse

and God's judgment.

So we're going to do

some maths together.

Look at verses 2 and 3

and count how many times

you read the word

bless or blessing.

I will make you

into a great nation

and I will bless you.

I will make your name great

and you will be

a blessing.

I will bless

those who bless you

and whoever curses you

I will curse

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed

through you.

So that's five times,

yes?

Five times blessing.

In Genesis 1 to 11,

guess how many times

we are told

that sin

brings curse

and judgment.

The answer?

Five.

What point is God making?

He is making the point

that God's grace

is always the answer

to our human sin

and rebellion.

That while we deserve

curse

and judgment

and separation,

the God of grace

offers

his blessing.

Abraham is part of that

people who have been

rejecting God's word,

turning to do evil,

creating a life

without God.

The ruin,

the separation,

the shame,

the misery.

Abraham was part of that

but God's response

was grace.

Abraham wasn't looking

for God

but God took the initiative

to come near

and wonderfully

this gracious God

will do it again

in his son,

the Lord Jesus.

As he comes near,

so near as to become

one of us,

to save us

and to restore us

and to remove our shame.

So the call

is both new creation

and it's grace

but recognize too

that it's costly.

We heard that in verse 1,

didn't we?

Go from your country,

your people

and your father's household.

There's three levels of cost.

Everything is going to be

given up by Abraham,

his sense of identity

and security,

his place,

his people.

He's going to leave it all

because the Lord God,

the personal God,

has called him to do that

and he has promised blessing

if he will do that.

I read this week

of a pastor in Laos,

Southeast Asia.

When he first heard

about Jesus

and he trusted in Jesus,

he was rejected

by his family

and as he began

to tell people

in his community

about Jesus,

he found himself

rejected

rejected

and abused

within the community

and then in the fullness

of time

when he set up a church

to worship Jesus,

he was multiple times

attacked

and imprisoned.

The costly call

but he still obeyed.

Now we read in Matthew chapter 4

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

about the disciples.

Their call from Jesus

came at a cost,

didn't it?

To follow Jesus

means he must come first

and remember the response

of the disciples.

They leave their jobs,

they leave their families,

they leave their own plans behind

because they've come

to recognize

well Jesus is God's king

and he is calling us

to loyalty and love

and because they had experienced

God's love in Jesus,

they gladly followed.

But it was costly

for you and for me.

If you're a Christian,

you will know this,

to say that God is in charge

and not me,

that comes with cost.

Sometimes the cost

is our own personal comfort.

Sometimes the cost is

we have to start struggling

and battling against sin

which we were previously

really comfy in.

Maybe the cost for us

is feeling somewhat despised

by our family

or by our friends.

So we've seen the person

who calls.

We've seen the pattern

of God's call.

Let's just think for a few moments

about the promise itself

because this is an amazing section

of the Bible.

This is key in God's big story.

So look with me again

at verses 2 and 3

and think about the promise

and think about what this means

for Abraham.

God says to him,

I will make you into a great nation

and I will bless you.

Abraham,

he's 75.

His wife

cannot have children.

But now he's been told

by this God

that he's only just met

that a nation

will be formed

from his family.

God doesn't stop there.

Verse 2,

I will make your name great

and you will be a blessing.

Again,

this is a contrast

to what was happening

in Babel.

In Babel,

they were building

that great tower saying,

hey,

let's make a name

for ourselves.

But here is God

coming to honor

Abraham

to build a name

for him.

And then think about

this idea of blessing.

Here is God's goodness.

Here is God's life

flowing to Abraham.

And notice the progress.

So it begins

with a promise

that Abraham himself

will be blessed.

And then as it goes on,

Abraham's name

will become a blessing.

And then in verse 3,

there's blessing

for those who will

treat Abraham well.

And then it climaxes

with this,

that there will be blessing

for the world

through Abraham

and through his family.

That's a remarkable

set of statements

of blessings

coming from God

and then flowing

from God,

flowing from Abraham

to the world.

We can think about Abraham

functioning as

a spiritual

satellite dish.

You know how

satellite dishes work

where they receive

messages

and then they convey

and transmit

those messages.

Well,

here is Abraham

and his family

and they are receiving

God's blessing.

But they're not to keep

it to themselves.

This blessing,

this goodness,

this life from God,

it's going to be transmitted

all around the world.

It's a wonderful principle

and priority

that God actually

still sets for the church.

We receive

God's grace

and God's salvation

and God's life

so that we would then

share it,

transmit it

to the people

around us.

God speaks.

So here's what we've seen

about God.

He is personal.

He has a name

and he calls to people

and he makes

great promises.

Now this is a pattern

that we will see

repeating

many years later

when another

would leave

and go.

This time

the eternal

son of God

leaving the worship

and glory of heaven

to go,

to come

into this world

to become one of us.

And Jesus' journey

was one of obedience

to his father's call

and to the father's

great plan of salvation.

The life of Jesus

was a journey

of faith

which would take him

all the way

to the cross.

And think about

God's grace

to people

on the cross.

Here is Jesus,

the perfect one

father loves him

but he dies

under God's

curse.

Feeling the full

weight

of God's wrath

against sin

for our sin,

for our shame

and for our salvation

to give us

his blessing.

And like those

first disciples,

Jesus now

comes to us

revealing God

to us,

revealing the message

of good news

to us

and he makes

great promises

to us,

the promise of

forgiveness,

the promise of

new life,

the promise of

eternal life

and he calls

us to respond

to know this

life for ourselves.

So Jesus

is how you

and I

can know

God

personally

and we can

hear God

speak.

So God

speaks

but we also

need to think

about Abraham's

response

and we can do

that much

much more

briefly.

So I

imagine all

of us

are familiar

with the

principle

that when

things sound

too good

to be true

they usually

are.

This summer

we narrowly

avoided

a vintage

scam.

I imagine

we are not

alone in that.

There was a

great item

on sale

at a really

great price

and there was

a really

convincing

sob story

because AI

knows what

it's doing

and there

was a really

convincing

but entirely

fake set

of delivery

notifications

and fake

tracking

numbers.

Well eventually

we figured

something's not

adding up here.

We got a bit

suspicious.

Did a wee bit

of googling

and discovered

yep we'd

been caught

in a

classic scam

and the

internet gave

me the sage

advice.

On Vinted

if something

seems too

good to be

true

it is.

So there's

my life

lesson for

today.

But far

more important

for our

purpose

picture

Abraham.

He's in

his tent

in this

place

called

Haran.

He is

surrounded

by his

family.

He is

pretty

wealthy

as a

man.

He is

elderly.

Perhaps

he's feeling

a sense

of sadness

because he

doesn't have

a son

to carry

on his

family line

and then

one day

he hears

the Lord

speak to

him.

This man

who has

spent all

his days

worshipping

statues

maybe carving

one himself

he hears

the living

God speak

and not

just speak

he hears

these remarkable

promises

invited to

follow God

and to

receive God's

blessing

and to know

life with God.

So what's

Abraham going to

do?

Is he going

to think

well this

sounds too

good to

be true?

We read

didn't we

Abraham's

response

I love

the story

of Abraham

this picture

of a man

who is

elderly

for sure

but his

spiritual

reflexes

they're

sharp.

So he

believes

God

he hears

God speak

tell him

to do

something

and his

reflex

gets up

he packs

up

and he's

ready to

go.

And it's

wonderful to

think about

that man

Abraham

as he

responds to

God

the personal

God

the God

who speaks

his life

has changed

his destiny

has changed

his eternity

has changed

the day that

God spoke

and he

answered.

So two things

about Abraham's

response

first we see

that faith

obeys

God.

So we saw

this already

verse 1

the Lord

said to

Abraham

go from

your country

and go

to the land

I will

show you

verse 4

so Abraham

went as

the Lord

had told

him.

There is

no question

about where

Abraham's

first loyalty

lies.

When God

calls

when the

Lord God

calls

he comes

first

and it's

remarkable

too that

when God

promises

even when

these promises

seem out

of this

world

Abraham

lives by

faith

and he

trusts

that

nothing

is

impossible

with

God

and

even

his

journey

has no

clear

destination

he's just

to go

where

God

tells him

to go

he doesn't

do what

we do

you know

plot our

journey

in Google

Maps

rather

this is

faith

that

trusts

God

that

takes

God

at

his

word

and

ultimately

that

takes

God's

hand

on a

wonderful

journey

of

faith

that's

what

we're

invited

into

to

live

by

faith

to

live

with

God

through

this

life

so

faith

obeys

God

and

the

other

thing

that

we

see

about

Abraham's

response

is

that

faith

worships

God

verse

7

verse

8

the

Lord

appeared

to

Abraham

and

said

to

your

offspring

I

will

give

this

land

so

he

built

an

altar

to

it

appeared

to

him

from

there

he

went

on

towards

the

hills

east

of

Bethel

and

pitched

his

tent

with

Bethel

in the

west

and

Ai

on

the

east

there

he

built

an

altar

to

the

Lord

and

called

on

the

name

of

the

Lord

and

my

my

my

folks

they

live

up

in

the

highlands

in

the

black

isle

and

they

live

really

near

a

campsite

and

the

campsite

has

a

wonderful

piece

of

philosophy

to

encourage

us

to

not

litter

it

says

leave

nothing

behind

but

footprints

and

waste

nothing

but

time

there's

more

good

wisdom

for

us

Abraham

Abraham

Abraham

would

say

I'm

not

listening

to

that

wisdom

because

Abraham

absolutely

does

leave

something

behind

what

does

Abraham

leave

behind

he

leaves

behind

these

altars

he

leaves

behind

evidence

wherever

he

goes

that

he

is

now

worshipping

the

one

true

and

living

God

so

other

people

would

see

these

altars

and

they'd

see

Abraham

worshipping

and

future

generations

see

these

altars

and

they

are

taught

this

is

where

Abraham

worshipped

the

one

true

and

living

God

it's

like

a

monument

to

his

faith

the

true

God

is

worshipped

here

what

prompts

him

verse

7

is

that

the

Lord

appeared

to

him

now

the

Lord

is

not

just

speaking

now

the

Lord

is

showing

his

glory

and

again

remember

God

is

personal

and

he

is

active

and

he

is

living

and

he

is

a

close

relationship

with

Abraham

and

and

when

he

sees

God's

glory

his

instinct

is

to

worship

his

family

probably

the

only

one

surrounded

by

pagan

nations

but

he

will

stand

and

he

will

bow

and

he

will

worship

this

God

who

has

made

himself

known

he

functions

like a

light

in the

darkness

he

functions

like a

small

church

on a

mission

to

share

God's

glory

in

the

world

faith

obeys

and

faith

worships

who

is

God

he

is

the

personal

God

who

speaks

who

calls

he

promises

what's

our

response

Genesis

12

is

the

story

of

God

in

his

grace

and

goodness

invading

history

coming

to a

world

in

rebellion

and

under

the

curse

to

reveal

himself

to

make

things

new

and

to

bring

blessing

and

Abraham

shows

us

the

right

response

to

that

kind

of

act

of

God

is

faith

and

worship

this

morning

do we

see how

this

connects

with

our

own

stories

do we

recognize

that

God

will

once

again

invade

history

when

Jesus

his

own

son

comes

and

ultimately

Jesus

will

stand

toe

to

toe

against

darkness

and

rebellion

against

Satan

and

sin

and

death

and he

will win

a great

victory

for himself

and for

his people

by way

of the

cross

and then

his

resurrection

so that

the power

of sin

is broken

so that

forgiveness

and life

are made

available to

us

and he

calls us

calls us

into life

with the

living God

and so it's

remarkable

that again

in Jesus

God

answers

and speaks

into the

silence

and the

loneliness

and the

confusion

revealing to

us

God

is real

God

offers

relationship

and that

to do

that

God

will

pay

the

ultimate

price

in

Jesus

to

rescue

and

to

reconcile

so we

join

Abraham

to live

this life

of faith

and

worship

when we

take up

our

privilege

of going

through

life

day

by

day

enjoying

life

with

God

knowing

God

is

working

in

us

and

for

us

hearing

him

speak

to

us

in

his

words

speaking

to

him

in

prayer

will

we

make

the

most

of

that

to

be

so

thankful

that

he's

given

us

this

new

identity

and

this

new

destiny

at

a time

when

so

many

people

are

searching

for

something

more

but

don't

know

where

to

go

as

we

find

ourselves

surrounded

by

confusion

do

we

understand

that

Jesus

is

God's

answer

and

we

can

shine

a

light

drawing

others

to

know

Jesus

as

saviour

and

his

friend

are you

trusting

this

God

today

even

today

we've

heard

him

speak

to

us

in

his

word

calling

us

out

of

our

old

life

to

place

our

trust

in

Jesus

calling

us

to

believe

his

promise

that

he

will

save

us

that

he

will

forgive

us

he

will

be

with

us

he

will

grant

us

eternal

life

if

we

place

our

faith

in

Jesus

do

we

see

that

God

speaks

so

that

we

can

enjoy

life

with

him

both

now

and

forever

let's

pray

and give

thanks

our

God

and

our

Father

we

thank

you

that

you

did

not

leave

the

world

to

itself

but

rather

in

your

grace

and

your

goodness

you

entered

in

we

thank

you

for

demonstrating

your

love

in

calling

Abraham

and

making

these

wonderful

promises

and

ultimately

as we

see

those

promises

fulfilled

in the

sending

of your

son

the

Lord

Jesus

we

thank

you

that

if

anyone

is

in

Christ

Jesus

he

is

a

new

creation

now

we

thank

you

that

Jesus

has

taken

the

curse

for

us

so

that

we

might

enjoy

the

blessing

of

God

and

so

we

pray

that

we

would

enjoy

the

blessing

of

life

with

God

even

today

enable

us

to

worship

with

a

sense

of

joy

because

of

who

you

are

because

you

are

personal

because

you

are

good

thank

you

for

speaking

to

us

and

we

pray

in

Jesus

name

!

Amen