Promise, Reward and Responsibility

Don't know about you, but these words hit a very, very raw nerve with me, and they do so

on two counts, and I want to tell you why. The first reason why this passage hits a really raw

nerve is because God says to Abraham, I want you to step out, to leave behind the things that you

know that you're familiar with, and I want you to step out and leave those things behind.

I want you to step out into a future that I know all about, but you don't. He's called to trust

in something that he can't see, and that hits a raw nerve with me because I know that as I read this,

even though it was written a long time ago to somebody in a different place, in a different

culture, that that story was recorded for a reason, because it is a story that I know that God wants us

to hear today, that whatever our situation, whatever our background, whatever our story,

God would place the same challenge to us. He calls us to trust in him in a future that he knows,

but we don't. That's what covenant means. That's our theme. We're starting this series over the next

few weeks. We start it today. Covenant means just that. God calls us to trust in something that he's

set up, that he can see, that he knows all about, but we don't. And one of the things I love about when

when a young child is baptised, this morning, Eden has no idea of God and God's love, but God does.

And there's such a powerful symbol there, that deeper meaning of covenant,

because it says that God knows all about it, even when we don't.

God looks into the future. Ultimately, God is in eternity, and God sees eternity, which we cannot see.

And he calls us to trust.

As though everything is sorted.

To live as though everything is in hand.

And that hits a raw nerve with me, because I take one look at life, and I know that the daily experience

makes that very difficult, because life is full of unresolvedness, and life is full of lists.

To-do lists.

I don't know what your experience is like, but I find that I'm terrible at living from one list to another.

I've tried all sorts of ways to try to organise my lists.

Every time I open up my emails, no matter how many I answer, there's more that appear.

The same is true of my voicemails.

The same is true of my just general jobs.

I write down lists. I write down sub-lists.

I've tried organising it with post-it notes, with bits of paper.

I've tried organising it on my iPad, in my diary, in my iPad notes.

All sorts of things.

You can get apps to organise your lists with.

I've tried and failed at every single one of them.

No matter how big a hole I feel I've whacked into the middle of that list of lists,

there's more lists that appear to fill that hole, and then some.

I even get to the point where, including in writing out my to-do lists,

I write lists of things I've already done,

so that I can have the satisfaction and sense of fulfilment of crossing something off the list.

It seems like it never is.

Everyone heard the comedian James Acaster.

He's sometimes on Live at the Apollo.

I think he's hilarious.

He was saying that life goes a bit like this.

You wake up one morning, and then just you come around,

and you think, jobs, jobs, jobs.

And so you go out and you do those jobs.

And then you're lying in the same place on the same pillow that night,

and you're thinking, no more jobs, at least for the next few hours.

You wake up the next day, and again, jobs.

A few hours later, same pillow.

No more jobs.

Next day, jobs.

A few hours later, no more jobs.

This goes on throughout your whole life.

Then one day, for the last time, you close your eyes.

No more jobs.

Somebody once said, it's a very well-known sort of analogy, isn't it?

It's like painting the fourth bridge, you know,

that takes so long to paint that by the time you've finished it,

where you started off needs redoing again,

except that the analogy is now dead.

Because in 2011, a new type of paint was formulated

that is set to last for 25 years.

So now they actually can say that they have finished painting the whole bridge.

Now, I guess we'll need doing it at some point,

but you get the analogy.

That life is just a continual list of things to do,

just to keep things going.

Little wonder that John Lennon wrote in that song many years ago,

that life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

Now, Abraham was not trying to paint a massive great big metal bridge.

Neither was he trying to clear out his emails.

But he was 75 years old,

and he was called to leave behind his country and his people

and the things that made him feel safe and secure and comfortable

and to trust that God could see something that he couldn't.

Covenant is when God says to us,

and it's a recurring theme throughout Scripture,

I know that it's all sorted, ultimately.

That's why Jesus said on the cross as he died,

his final words,

it is finished.

It's what the writer David Murray refers to as the gospel of done.

Every time we take one look at that sense of unresolvedness,

remember,

remember,

it's done,

as far as God's concerned.

Every time you wake up and you see just all the stuff that needs to get done

and the stuff you know will not get done by the end of that day,

it will still be there,

left unfinished.

Remember the gospel that says,

it is done.

Every time you take a look at your future

and that sense of unresolvedness,

the sense of worry,

the sense of panic over,

I just don't know how this is all going to be,

I've got so many questions,

just remember,

that though we can't see it,

God can.

And that though we may not feel that we can say it ourselves,

God can and does say,

it's done.

But it's not easy.

It's a challenge.

And that's why this story hits a raw nerve with me.

But there's a second reason that I mentioned to you there were two,

why this particular story hits a raw nerve with me,

and it's this.

That in this really important story,

in the whole narrative of the Judeo-Christian faith,

we see God at work,

and he chooses one man.

Just one guy.

Abraham.

He singles out one man and blesses him.

Lord said to Abraham,

leave your country.

And he says,

I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you,

and 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.

One person.

That hits a raw nerve with me.

It hits a raw nerve with me,

because I feel very uncomfortable

when I have this sense

that somewhere in Scripture,

there seems to be this selectivity at work,

this exclusivity.

This exclusivity.

I hate the notion of favoritism,

and of in some way being exclusive.

And yet,

here it is that God chooses,

singles out one individual to bless.

I feel deeply uncomfortable about that,

and the reason why I feel deeply uncomfortable

is we all know exactly what happens

as soon as one individual,

or group of individuals,

get it into their heads

that they're the chosen one,

or ones.

Because it's not very long,

and we don't have to look very far in history,

before we see that the moment that mentality exists

within a human being,

or group of human beings,

that they begin to say certain things

to themselves and to others.

We are the chosen ones.

We are special.

We are more important

than those of you that are not part of us.

You can become part of us,

but in order to do so,

you have to subscribe

to the things that we think.

But until that time comes,

we exist as the special few.

We occupy that moral zone.

We have more claim on truth,

more claim on land,

more claim on property,

because we are somehow

more important.

And we see how that exclusive claim

on truth and on the higher ground

actually breeds a sense

of hatred,

exclusivity,

violence,

war,

poverty,

death.

It happens.

And the story,

that story,

has been repeated

over and over again

throughout the history

of humanity,

and still prevails today.

So as I read this story,

I can't help but ask myself,

why did God choose

to deal early on in history

in this particular way

with a person?

By singling out one person

and saying,

I'm going to make you

and your people

blessed.

Why?

And I think to myself,

logically,

it has to mean

one of two things.

Either,

one,

God is really

into exclusivism

and intends

all of those

horrible things

that I've just described

to happen,

or two,

that there is

some kind of necessity

for God

to choose

one person

in this particular way.

So which of those

options can it be?

Well,

the first one

can't be possible

if it is also true,

and I believe it is,

that Jesus Christ

is God's

supreme revelation

to us

of himself.

If it is true,

and I repeat,

I believe it is,

that God has shown himself

more clearly

and more fully

than in any other time

in history

through the life

and the death

and the teachings

of Jesus,

Jesus,

then it cannot be

that God

intends

exclusivity.

Why?

Because we look

at Jesus

and we see

the man

who teaches us

to love,

the man who teaches us

to think of others

as better than ourselves,

the man who teaches us

and sends us out

to reach out

across those very

boundaries

of exclusivity.

So clearly,

it cannot be the case

that God

intends

to be exclusive.

Which means

that logically,

there has,

therefore,

to be a reason

why God

singles out

Abraham.

Let's do an experiment.

I'm going to stand

in front of you now

and make a very bold promise.

I want to promise

that I want

the very best for you.

I want to bless you.

And I want to bless you

with God's promises

and I want to tell you

that God loves you,

that God has your future

in mind

and that it's going

to be okay.

And I want to promise you

that I'm here for you

to pray for you

and to keep on blessing you

in my prayers.

Now,

as I say those words

to you,

you may

or may not

believe

in the truth

of what I'm saying.

Other than

simply

reinforcing

your conviction

that Russ

is a bit strange,

the chances are

you're probably

going to forget

very quickly.

So let me try

a different tack.

I've got a stone

here.

I want you to imagine

I've not only got a stone

but a whole bag

of stones.

Equal to the number

of people

that are within

this room right now.

I'm going to

randomly come to

Julian.

Julian,

I've got a stone here.

Can you stand up?

Sorry,

I wasn't going to

slightly embarrass you

for one moment

but this stone

I give to you

and I'm going to

give you this stone

because I want you

to know

that I'm on your side,

that I want to bless you,

that I want to pray for you

because I believe

that God

has your future

in mind,

that he loves you

more than you can

possibly imagine

and that even though

you look into your future

and you don't know

what lies there,

God does.

And every time

you look at that stone,

I want you to remember

of those words

that I say to you

this day.

Bless you, Julian.

And I want you to imagine

that not only that

but I give Julian

at this point

the big bag of stones

that's equal to the number

of people in this room

and I say to Julian,

what I've just said to you,

Julian,

I want you to go

to two other people,

I want you to split

that bag in half

and I want you to take

half the stones

and give them to one person

and the other half

to the other

and I want you

to go through

the same thing

that I've just gone

through with you

and tell them in turn

to go on with the stones.

Thanks, Julian.

Now,

that's all,

let's be honest,

a little bit weird,

isn't it?

But my guess is

is that if we were,

and I would love

to have done the experiment

with a bag of stones

and done it with everyone

but we haven't got time

this morning to do that

but imagine that we had.

So after a few minutes

or however long it takes,

every single one of us

in this room

is sat there clutching a stone

thinking of somebody

that has come up to us

as an individual

and spoken those words

of promise

and blessing

to us.

Chances are

we'd still think

that's a little bit

weird

but we'd still be left

with a stone

and some words of promise.

Is the stone

God?

No.

Is the stone

me

or Julian

or whoever

gave it to you

who spoke the words

of promise?

No.

Is the stone

the promise?

No.

The stone

is just a

stone.

But my guess

is

is that

of those

two different

presentations

of a set

of promises

if you were

to remember

one of them

it's going to be

the second one.

The reason being

is that stone

will give weight

and substance

to the words

that have been said

and why is that?

Because you've been

singled out.

And because

you've been

singled out

does that make

the words

of promise

in some way

exclusive?

Of course not.

Through being

singled out

all that happens

is that

that which is

for everyone

suddenly gets

close up

and personal.

And that's

why God

had to

single out

Abraham.

That's why

God is in

the habit

of singling

people out.

That is

why God

calls us

to baptise

not groups

of people

but individual

persons.

That is

why we

share bread

and wine

at communion

not just

as groups

but as

individuals.

You see

God's covenant

it's an

old fashioned

word isn't

it but

call it

promise

call it

whatever you

want

but you

know

those words

that God

says that

he calls you

to trust

and to know

that he

knows the

future for

you even

though you

don't

those words

that are so

challenging

and hit that

raw nerve

because they

seem to be

such a radical

contradiction

from daily

experience

but God

has got it

in hand

it's done

it's finished

he's got it

sorted

we just have

to trust

in him.

Know

that those

words

are intended

for you

as an

individual

as much

as they

are for

everyone

collectively.

The question

is

knowing

that these

words of

promise

are for

you as

an

individual

what are

you going

to do

with it?

are

you

are

the

word