Second Sunday in Lent - The Destiny Changer

Welcome Statement

Good morning everyone. If you recall from our study last week, we were revealing one of the first major covenants in the story. In this season of Lent, we reconcile with God through those covenants we find our self making with God through the practices of devotion we adhere to. Today we are going to reflect on the Mosaic Covenant, and what it means for this season of Change in Christ’s life.

Old Testament Reading - Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Genesis 17:1–7 ESV

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

Genesis 17:15–16 ESV

And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

Abram Accepts the Impossible

If you recall, Abraham wanted really badly children, but they had not been able to have kids for a long time. Just the chapter before we witness one of the first fallings out despite Abram’s great faith in God, where Sarai insists on Abraham to sleep with his slave to have a child. Despite this God develops the Mosaic Covenant, renames Abram to Abraham, and Sarai to Sarah, and promises as he had multiple times previously, they will bring forth many descendents. God even in his infinite mercy, at Abraham’s intercession, blesses Ishmael, who was born out of less than stellar circumstances.

We see that even though Abraham fails due to his testing of the flesh, his faith in God ultimately prevails in the end, he accepts this covenant, and follows through. We witness our churches as a testament to the continuation of this long line of the history of the faithfulness of all people towards God.

A man who was once childless, accepts the impossible, and finds himself following a completely new destiny.

Old Testament Point #2

words

Old Testament Point #3

words

New Testament Reading - Mark 8:31-38

Mark 8:31–38 (ESV)

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

An Immediate Reversal

What a slap in the face this passage is for Peter, and even for us. We reflected on this passage I believe last year. Theres two ways to interpret the taking up of the cross passage. Both which i Believe are valid, because they both apply. There is the literal carrying of the cross, that Jesus Christ and his apostles, and all martyrs find themselves carrying as they are crucified for their beliefs, standing against injustices and wrongs that the world has decided to turn down. Jesus Christ was here to transform the world, and set the stage through embers and flame and unlikely heroes one might say to set the stage for a transformative and powerful message. But they aren’t the heroes, we look up to the apostles, but they say, “Don’t look at me, look at Christ, I’m just the paradoxical, unlikely messenger who was picked up from the dirt due to his mercy”. Last week we heard Virgil talk about how we can’t serve both Mammon and God, and it is absolutely true, Christ is saying the same thing here when he asks “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” It doesn’t matter I have a nice and comfortable house, if I can’t feel the presence of God, or if I can’t find meaning in the cool breeze I feel across my skin, if I can’t find meaning to all of it, then it just deconstructs to a bunch of chemical constructs, and we find ourselves in despair. This is why we need Christ. He wraps up this passage with a harsh rebuke, saying those who are ashamed of him, he too will be ashamed of them. He makes it clear, he is the only way, he will only know those, who know him. Again, he isn’t saying he lacks love for those who don’t return the love and kindness back, but it’s like a parent feeling shame for a child who refuses to acknowledge them, feeling pain for a situation. Christ is saying he is going to lament, he’s going to have to regretfully turn away, because the person made their own bed. It is a painful thing to acknowledge, He is telling Peter, this is a different way here everyone must know.

How can someone advocate for us in the presence of the Father, when we say we don’t even know him? God can grasp this, and we can too, we can’t lie to him. Christ is our destiny changer. He changed the destiny of Abraham. He changed the destiny of the Apostles, he is the reason we have our Bible, he is the reason we have a second chance, multiple second chances at that. He is the reason the United Methodist Church has a second chance through all of the pains it has experienced over the years. Remember how many covenants I listed, in the old testament, I mentioned there are 5 major ones we care about for the major movements in the story of God’s people. There are many more covenants than 5, so far I’ve managed to find 8 different ones described in the bible, based on how you divide up some of the different ones, it get’s debated based on the theologian you talk to.

#Adamic Noahic

Israelite Covenants: Abrahmic

#Land Covenant

Mosaic

Davidic New Covenant

So based on that, thats 8 times God has continued on with us. Each of these covenants weren’t always necessarily “trying again” but just continuing on relationships, like in the case of the Land covenant which was him giving the Israelites the promised land, which was distinct to the Abrahamic covenant, but that intentionality of these agreements, partnerships if you will, makes it quite clear, that God is a destiny changer. The israelites could have stayed to be at the mercy of the people around them, they could have been forever, a failed community, but God kept moving forward, gradually building new covenants with them, as they grew to be a more mature people, setting themselves a part to show the world what it meant, to be a righteous people. That is what it means to be Christian, especially this lent season. It is to represent that image of Christ, and let him be our destiny changer, like he was for Peter, and Abraham. Let him in this Lent season, let him heal your heart, repent of anything you are holding onto, today if you feel moved to, come forward to the altar and let go of any misgivings you have towards others, this is not my altar, but Christ’s altar. At these churches we believe this altar is not only an altar for profession of faith, but an altar for continual reconciliation and justification in Christ, because it’s a journey, not a sprint. Christ wants that relationship with you today. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, adfs asdfa

Amen.

Doxology / Benediction / Closing

May you Have a Blessed Sunday, and rest of your Week! Amen!