Genesis Ch17v1-14 - Everlasting Faithfulness

I need a refill, so just one minute.

I need a refill, so I need a refill, so I need a refill, so I need a refill.

There we go, we've all got tickly throats today.

Let's read Genesis 17.

We're going to read the first 14 verses today.

Let's hear God's word.

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said,

I am God Almighty.

Walk before me faithfully and be blameless.

Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.

Abram fell face down and God said to him,

As for me, this is my covenant with you.

You will be the father of many nations.

No longer will you be called Abram.

Your name will be called Abraham.

For I have made you a father of many nations.

I will make you very fruitful.

I will make nations of you and kings will come from you.

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.

To be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

The whole land of Canaan where you now reside as a foreigner.

I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you.

And I will be their God.

Then God said to Abraham,

As for you, you must keep my covenant.

You and your descendants after you for the generations to come.

This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you.

The covenant you are to keep.

Every male among you shall be circumcised.

You are to undergo circumcision.

And it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.

For the generations to come,

every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,

including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner.

Those who are not of your household,

not of your offspring.

Whether born in your household or bought with your money,

they must be circumcised.

My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.

Any uncircumcised male who has not been circumcised in the flesh

will be cut off from his people.

He has broken my covenant.

Well, let's pray.

Amen.

We come to you, God Almighty,

creator of our life

and giver of life.

Would you, by your spirit,

speak words to us afresh today?

Words that lead to a transformation of our hearts,

changing our minds and our thinking,

reorientating us

to love you

and worship you.

Help us

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thanks.

No.

No.

So, how do you respond to failure?

If someone lets you down

or they break a promise to you,

how do you respond inside?

What do you feel?

Well, we might let the first one go,

mightn't we?

But the second time,

well, that's it.

It's over.

It's finished.

We're not very patient

with each other's failures,

are we?

Well, how does God deal

with our failures?

How do you think God responds

to our daily,

hourly,

minute-by-minute failures?

Well, look at verse 1.

When Abraham,

we're going to use the name Abraham

through this,

I'm not going to try and

say Abraham and Abraham,

I'll get mixed up,

so we'll just call him Abraham

through this chapter.

When Abraham was 99 years old.

Now, that's not a reminder

to get the invites out

for Abraham's big, big birthday.

No, it's a reminder

that 13 years have passed

since Abraham's big, big failure.

Just look back one verse

to the end of chapter 16.

Abraham was 86 years old

when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Remember, God had promised

Abraham a son,

but since his wife Sarah

had borne him no children,

he took matters into his own hands

and had a son with Hagar

who was not his wife.

And the son of that relationship,

Ishmael,

was now 13 years old.

So every passing year,

every birthday of Ishmael

was only a reminder to Abraham

of how he had disobeyed God.

How does God respond to failures

like Abraham?

Failures like us?

Well, he responds in one word.

Covenant.

Covenant.

Look at verse 2.

He says,

Then I will make my covenant

between me and you.

Now, we've come across covenant before,

back in chapter 15.

So this is not a new covenant.

It's a continuation of the first one,

but with new detail.

Now, a covenant is like a promise

or a pledge.

It's a formal relationship

between two people

who agree to a set of promises.

It's a bit like a marriage.

A husband and wife make promises.

They vow to be loyal

and faithful and committed.

And when God makes a covenant,

it's to be long term.

God doesn't do short term relationships.

He's in it for the long haul.

Now, to get that long termness

into our heads

and allow it to sink in,

get your yellow highlighter out

and mark the word covenant

all the way through chapter 17.

Well, 13 ticks later,

you will get the point.

God responds to failures

with covenant faithfulness.

Better still, read aloud verse 7.

I will establish my covenant

as an everlasting covenant

between me and you.

Or verse 13,

the end of verse 13.

My covenant in your flesh

is to be an everlasting covenant.

And this would go on

down through the family,

the middle of verse 19.

I will establish my covenant with him

as an everlasting covenant.

God responds to failures like us

with everlasting faithfulness.

So let's see what this everlasting covenant is

in more detail.

First,

covenant reminds us

of an everlasting relationship with God.

There's a lot of repetition

through chapter 17.

We get continual reminders

of God's promise to Abraham

that he's going to be a great nation.

But here in chapter 17,

we get to see the purpose

of why God is going to make him

into a great nation.

Look how God introduced himself to us.

Verse 1.

When Abraham was 99 years old,

the Lord appeared to him and said,

I am God Almighty.

Once more,

God takes the initiative

and intervenes into Abraham's

helpless life.

God Almighty,

the creator of the universe,

the one that spoke everything

into existence,

the one who owns all things,

rules over all things,

has power over all things,

who sees all things,

comes and speaks.

I am God Almighty.

Walk before me faithfully

and be blameless.

Then I will make my covenant

between me and you

and you will greatly increase

in numbers.

You see,

God doesn't give up

on failures.

He moves towards failures.

God Almighty

is concerned

for insignificant,

weak,

nobodies like us.

Now this intervention

by God Almighty

is filled

with purpose.

Look at verse 7.

God speaks

and he says,

I will establish

my covenant

as an everlasting covenant

between me

and you

and your descendants

after you

for the generations

to come.

And here's the addition

to the covenant.

To be

your God

and the God

of your descendants

after you.

It's an

I will be

your God

and you will be

my people

kind of promise.

You see,

the purpose

of making Abraham

into a great nation

is that God

is going to be

God

to this nation.

God is making

an everlasting promise

that is going

to reach out

into all the world

down through this history

in the centuries

of time

and reaching forward

into all history.

I will be

God

to you

forever.

This is the kind

of relationship

God calls us into.

You see,

we tend to look

at our relationships

with God

through different eyes.

we imagine

that it's us

who moves out

towards God.

It's almost

that God

is there

as an invitation

if we like it

or whatever.

If you're interested

in a relationship,

well,

here I am

for you.

When you're ready

in your time,

just let me know.

Well,

Abraham isn't

given that choice,

is he?

God intervenes

and says,

verse 7,

I will establish

my covenant

as an everlasting

covenant

between me

and you.

This is what's

happening,

Abraham.

This is how

it's going to be.

I am

going to be

your God.

Now,

I know that

begins to grate

with our pride

because we love

to be able

to sing,

I decided

to follow

Jesus.

Well,

that's not

how it works.

If you follow

Jesus today,

it's because

God Almighty

intervened

in your life,

not at your

invitation,

but because

God said,

I will be

your God.

God,

now that might

cause a bit

of upset

for you.

It might even

keep you awake

at night.

But doesn't

that help us

see what a

gracious and

good God

we have?

God Almighty

is interested

in you.

He desires

to be

your

God.

When

Kirsty and I

stood at the

front of a

church

25 years

ago,

I made

a promise.

I will

be husband

to you.

That means

I am for

you.

I am in

this marriage

for your

good.

I will be

everything you

need and

desire.

Now when

God comes

to us and

takes us

by the

hand and

says,

I will be

God to

you,

God is

saying,

I am

for you.

I am

in this

for your

good.

I will

be everything

you need

every single

day.

All that

you desire,

I will

be for

you.

Shamefully,

unlike me,

God is

loyal,

committed,

steadfast,

faithful.

As one

writer put

it,

this is a

relationship

no time

can

exhaust,

no circumstance

can change,

no disaster

can destroy,

no catastrophe

can crush,

no human

failure can

alter,

and that

no death

can break.

In fact,

to drive the

point home,

God gives

Abraham a new

name.

Look at

verse 5.

No longer

will you be

called Abram,

your name

will be

Abraham.

Every time

Sarah would

call him,

or his

buddies would

call him

Abraham,

there would

be an

echo within

his heart

and within

his life,

God saying

to him

again,

I am

God Almighty

and I

will be

your God.

So first,

God's

covenant

is all

about an

everlasting

relationship

with God.

But also,

come on,

covenant

is all

about an

everlasting

commitment

to God.

You see,

God's

relationships,

just like

a marriage,

is not

just one

way traffic,

it works

both ways.

Something

God made

sure Abraham

understood.

Look at the

middle of

verse 1.

God says,

I am God

Almighty,

walk before

me faithfully

and be

blameless.

There's a

way for you

to live in

relationship

with me,

Abraham,

and it's

to be

faithful

and

blameless.

Now,

how do you

show such

commitment

to God

Almighty?

Well,

God gave

Abraham

a sign.

He gave

him a sign.

Look at

verse 10.

This is

my covenant

with you

and your

descendants

after you,

the covenant

you are to

keep.

Every male

among you

shall be

circumcised.

Now,

this painful

action

was a sign

of a

promised

action.

The cutting

off with a

knife of

the foreskin

from the

penis

was an

everlasting

mark of

commitment.

In two

ways it

demonstrated

commitment.

First,

it was a

reminder to

Abraham that

God was

committed to

him.

God

Almighty

will be

his God.

God is

for him.

But second,

it was a

reminder to

Abraham that

he was

committed to

God.

He belongs

to God

Almighty.

He is

for God,

devoted to

God,

loyal to

God.

My life

is now

cut off

for

God.

God

is now

to

God.

You see,

it was all

very practical,

wasn't it?

Every time

Abraham got

up in the

morning,

went to

bed at

night,

every time

he went

to the

loo or

put on

his

pajamas,

it would

be a

reminder,

Abraham,

you belong

to God.

Abraham,

you're

for God.

That's

why it

says in

the end

of verse

13,

my

covenant

in your

flesh

is to

be an

everlasting

covenant.

It was

an everlasting

sign that

he was

committed

to the

God who

was committed

to him.

So,

question,

why do

we now

go and

make

disciples of

all nations,

circumcising

them in

the name

of the

Father

and the

Son and

the Holy

Spirit?

Good

question,

isn't it?

Well,

we're going

to come

back to

that in

a minute,

but let's

not lose

our focus.

You see,

a relationship

with God

is always

two ways.

God has

promised

himself to

us,

and we

promise

ourselves to

him.

It's not

an optional

extra.

Obedience

isn't just

for the

very keen,

it's for

every

follower

of Christ.

So,

look at

verse 2.

God

says,

I will

make my

covenant

between me

and you.

This is

what I'm

going to

do,

I'm going

to establish

this covenant.

Verse 9,

then God

said to

Abraham,

as for

you,

you must

keep

my

covenant.

I'll

make it,

you've

got to

keep it.

Verse 23,

on that

very day

Abraham

took his

son Ishmael

and all

those born

in his

household,

or bought

with his

money every

male in

his household,

and circumcised

them as

God told

him.

You see,

when God

Almighty

speaks,

God's

people

always

obey.

In

fact,

failure to

commit to

God would

have

everlasting

consequences.

Verse 14,

any

uncircumcised

male who

has not

been

circumcised

in the

flesh will

be cut

off from

his people.

He has

broken my

covenant.

God is

saying,

if you

are not

cut off

for me,

you will

be cut

off from

me.

You see,

we can't

mess about

with God.

When God

speaks,

we listen,

we do.

It's not

an invitation

to raise

objections.

Of course,

this implies

that we are

intentionally

listening to

God's voice.

We want to

know what

pleases God.

We want to

know what

is good

for us.

So we

read his

word,

we listen

to his

voice,

we obey.

I have

a wedding

ring and

it provides

a similar

purpose.

Every time

I look at

my ring,

every time

I fiddle

with it

and turn

it around

in my

finger,

it reminds

me of

promises

Kirsty

made to

me.

But it's

much more

than just

one-way

traffic.

It reminds

me of my

commitment

to Kirsty.

this ring

tells me

I am no

longer my

own.

I live

for another.

Well,

if God

is my

God,

I am

his.

I belong

to him.

I'm no

longer my

own.

I now

live in

the service

of God

Almighty

and there

is nothing

that God

cannot ask

of me

to which

I can

turn around

and say

no.

My life

doesn't

belong to

me anymore.

So second,

covenant

is all

about an

everlasting

commitment

to God.

Third,

an

everlasting

need

for God.

Covenant

means an

everlasting

need for

God.

Every year,

I'm sure

you've seen

this on the

television,

the state

holds a

citizenship

day.

To become

an Irish

citizen,

you must

make a

promise.

And here's

how the

promise goes.

I solemnly

declare my

fidelity to

the Irish

nation and

my loyalty

to the

state.

I undertake

to faithfully

observe the

laws of the

state and

to respect

its democratic

values.

God's

promise.

For Abraham

and his

family,

circumcision

day was

like

citizenship

day.

It was a

declaration to

say we

belong to

God.

It was a

promise to

say we're

committed to

God.

I undertake

to faithfully

observe all

the laws of

God

Almighty.

honesty.

However,

instead of

it being a

mark of

being devoted

to God,

it actually

became a

reminder of

their failure

to obey

all that

God had

said.

You see,

circumcision

marked you

out as

belonging to

God.

It was an

external sign

of your

commitment to

keep the

covenant.

But just

because you

had the

mark,

just because

you had

had that

little cup

with a

knife,

didn't mean

that you

were an

obedient

person.

Circumcision

didn't make

you keep

the promise.

Just the

same as

those who

attend

citizenship

day.

Just because

you promised

to faithfully

observe all

the laws of

the state

and to

respect its

democratic

values,

just because

you might

sign a

piece of

paper,

doesn't

mean that

you will

obey all

the laws

of the

land.

Well,

Abraham and

his family

soon realised

that the

act of

circumcision,

painful as

it was,

was actually

a whole lot

easier than

the act of

obedience.

And we're

no different

because we

can stand

before God

and make

our promises.

others.

I will

love the

Lord my

God with

all my

heart,

with all

my soul

and with

all my

strength.

Oh,

and just

one other

thing.

I will

love my

neighbour as

myself.

It seems

we too

fail to

obey.

We need

a change

of heart.

You see,

the physical

act of

circumcision

circumcision

pointed to

the need

for a

spiritual

act of

transformation.

External

signs were

good,

but what

was actually

needed was

an internal

change of

people's

hearts.

Follow

with me as

we go

forward.

Go to

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10.

The context

here is

Abraham's

small family

have now

become a

great big

nation.

They've all

made the

commitment to

be devoted

to God,

but,

as Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9

tells us,

they are a

nation that

have failed

terribly.

They've just

set up the

golden calf

and they've

pledged

allegiance to

it.

And now

this is what

God says in

response.

this, he

says, is

what must

happen.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 10:14

10, verse

14.

To the

Lord your

God

belong the

heavens,

even the

highest heavens,

the earth

and everything

in it.

This is God

Almighty who

we're dealing

with.

Yet the

Lord set

his affection

on your

ancestors and

loved them.

and he

chose you,

their

descendants,

above all

the nations

as it is

today.

Circumcise

your hearts,

therefore,

and do not

be stiff-necked

any longer.

Stop your

stubborn

behaviour.

Circumcise

your hearts.

God's

love.

You see,

the heart

represents

where our

true

loves are,

what our

true desires

actually are.

So you

need to

cut off

the

disordered

loves and

the unhealthy

desires.

You need to

change your

heart.

Well,

how's that

going to

happen?

Make more

promises to

God?

Ratchet up

the commitment

levels?

Go to

rededication

services?

Please,

Lord,

would you

come into

my life

again?

I mean,

I didn't

do it

quite right

the first

time,

but this

time I

really mean

it,

come into

my life.

No,

we need

something much

bigger and

greater than

our own

failed

attempts.

Listen to

what God

would say

to his

people.

Go to

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 30 · chapter mention

chapter 30.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 30:6

chapter 30

verse 6.

God says,

circumcise

your hearts.

Well,

how's that

going to

happen?

Well,

God steps

in.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 30:6

30 verse 6.

The Lord,

your God,

will circumcise

your hearts

and the

hearts of

your

descendants.

Why?

So that

you may

love him

with all

your heart

and with

all your

soul

and live.

You see,

you and I

can't make

ourselves

love God

more.

Our hearts

are desperately

broken and

sinful.

We can't

help but

love other

things and

other people

instead of

God.

So,

how is this

going to

happen?

how are

our hearts

going to

be changed?

Well,

God does

what he

said he

is going

to do.

God

will

promise

or has

promised

to

circumcise

our hearts

and he

does that

by establishing

a new

covenant

through

Christ.

God

circumcised

our hearts

through

or by

Christ.

Christ

must be

the one

who performs

internal

spiritual

surgery on

us.

Now,

this is all

helpfully

explained for

us if you

go to the

New Testament

to Colossians

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

So,

you've got

Galatians,

Ephesians,

Philippians,

Colossians.

Maybe if you've

got a page

number,

someone you

can shout

it out for

us.

Colossians

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

1183.

So,

Christ must

be the one

who performs

internal

spiritual

surgery

on us.

And here

we see it

explained.

Colossians

Colossians 2:11

chapter 2

verse 11.

In him,

in Christ,

or because

of your

faith or

your being

united to

Christ,

in him

you are

also

circumcised

with a

circumcision

not performed

by human

hands.

No

outward

external

act is

ever going

to change

your heart.

You can't

perform your

own heart

surgery.

So,

how are we

going to be

changed?

Well,

read on.

Your

whole

self

ruled

by the

flesh,

that is,

your

whole

self

ruled

by your

sinful

desires

of your

heart,

was put

off or

cut off

when you

were

circumcised

God

by Christ.

You say,

well,

how does

that

happen?

How does

he cut

off our

sinful

desires of

our

heart?

How does

he deal

with us?

Well,

look at

verse 13.

When you

were dead

in your

sins and

in the

uncircumcision

of your

flesh,

God made

you alive

with Christ.

He forgave

us all

our sins.

You see,

two things

are happening

here.

First,

our sinful

hearts are

dealt with.

As Christ

went to

the cross,

he took

on himself

our

disobedience,

our

failures,

so when

the knife

of judgment

fell,

Christ was

being cut

off from

God for

us.

The only

true

obedient

son who

walked

faithfully

and blamelessly

before God

was punished

for you

and for

I.

And not

only were

our sins

dealt with,

but second,

we were

given a

new heart.

Look what

it says

in verse

13.

You were

dead

in your

sins,

but now

God has

made you

alive

with Christ.

Your heart

was so

broken,

you were

dead.

There was

no spiritual

life to

you,

but now

you've been

made alive,

you've been

given a

new heart

so that

you can

now live

a new

life.

A life

filled with

the Holy

Spirit who

gives us

God desires

and God

loves.

You see,

Christ has

been cut

off for

us so

that we

can be

committed

to him.

Now

all of

this

has been

demonstrated

in the

new

covenant

sign.

You see,

the old

covenant

failed,

not because

of God,

he was

faithful,

but because

of our

failure.

We needed

a new

covenant,

one that

doesn't

depend on

us,

but one

that depends

solely

on God.

and we

enter that

new

covenant

everlasting

relationship

by faith,

which is

demonstrated

in baptism.

Again,

let's read

verse 11.

in him

you were

also

circumcised

with a

circumcision

not

performed

by human

hands.

Your

whole

self

was

ruled

by

the

flesh,

was

put

off

when

you

were

circumcised

by

Christ,

having

been

buried

with

him

in

baptism,

in

which

you

were

also

raised

with

him

through

your

faith

in

the

working

of

God

who

raised

him

from

the

dead.

You

see,

the

act

of

baptism,

the

going

down

into

the

water

and

the

coming

up

out

of

the

water

is

a

sign

of

your

faith

in

Christ.

When

you're

getting

baptized

you're

saying

Christ

died

for

all

of

my

failures,

every

one

of

them,

future

ones,

past

ones,

and

Christ

was

raised

so

that

I

might

have

a

new

life

to

live

a

new

way.

Through

our

baptism

we

are

expressing

our

absolute

need

for

God.

Now if

this is

the kind

of God

who can

deal

with

all of

your

failure

forever,

if this

is the

kind

of God

who is

committed

to an

everlasting

relationship

with you,

if this

is the

kind

of God

who is

for you

and never

gives up

on you,

who dies

for you,

who gives

his life

for you,

who is

committed

to you,

how can

we not

be devoted

to him

and love

him with

all our

hearts?

You see,

baptism is

important to

us.

God

commands it.

God

Almighty

says,

my

disciples,

my

followers

should be

baptized.

You see,

every time

I sin

and every

time I

fail,

I can

look back

at my

baptism

and it

reminds me

of God's

covenant

faithfulness

to me,

that he

has dealt

with all

of my

failure.

It will

never be

held against

me.

It will

never break

my relationship

with God

ever.

But when I

look back

at my

baptism,

it reminds

me of my

covenant

commitment

to him.

Johnny,

you're no

longer your

own.

You belong

to God.

You're

devoted to

God.

So how

does God

deal with

failures like

Abraham?

How does

God deal

with failures

like you

and me?

One word,

covenant.

let's pray.

Let's pray.