Relying on the Mercies of God

Introduction

Abraham believed God,his actions are an indicator to us of his belief. The word tells us that you shall know a tree by its fruit so we can all examine freely what the story of Abraham produced both in the natural and in the spiritual, whether good or bad . That being said , in my natural self, i am very uncomfortable with Abraham and his decisions. Our key scripture for today is taken from Rom 4:4-5 and it makes me reevaluate myself, my claims to faith and my own spiritual experience of who i am, introspective, testing to see as Paul says if i can think differently, and if i can discern what is good and acceptable to God, by testing?

Romans 4:1–8 ESV

1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Blessed are the forgiven

Psalm 32:10–11 ESV

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

The Lord may not give gold, but he will give grace; he may not give gain, but he will give grace.

Charles Spurgeon

David in this psalm reminds us of the grace we live under through our faith in Jesus Christ, that none of us are even close to righteous in our own strength, by our own works, but by the cross, Isaiah says by His stripes we are healed. David is telling us what Paul is telling us using what Abraham did

This grace of Christ without which neither infants nor adults can be saved, is not rendered for any merits, but is given gratis/free/without charge, on account of which it is also called grace.

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Not by my strength

Romans 4:4 ESV

4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.

He has earned it so he is able to do with it what he chooses, wages are yours by right. The question Paul asks in verse 1 is What did Abraham gain or earn? I mentioned early on that i was uncomfortable with the thought of such absurd faith, but thats why i can admit that i am still learning to be faithful.

John Stott, an english preacher said ‘If pride and madness go together, so do humility and sanity’. The idea that Abraham was sane will make a lot of smart people in the world very uncomfortable, but Paul tells us

1 Corinthians 3:19–20 ESV

19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”

… Because when God catches us in our natural state, our thoughts become futile.  So many times God has caught me slippin on faith. Caught me saying things like i can even go for that i cant lie, im not qualified. They need someone better than me so im just not gonna….. But here with Abram we are faced with the most absurb of absurdities

An unreasonable faith

Genesis 12:1–3 ESV

1 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. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 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.”

What is the most profound part of this passage? - God is doing everything

Have you ever had a situation where God comes and says something so ridiculous you refuse to pay attention?

A moment so ludacrous that you reject what you are hearing because it just seems impossible to you?

A proposition so outrageous that you even rebuke the messenger?

1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Sanity - The state of having a healthy mind and not being mentally ill. It also implies soundness of judgment and understanding. In essence, it's a person's ability to think and behave in a normal and reasonable way. 

Lets psychoanalyse Abraham then.

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

This world has taught us, look for fulfilment and be comfortable, do not stay where you are offended, do not get caught up in places you are unequipped, leave anything that is awkward, be happy all the time, be sure about everything, be safe, call 999 or 111 if you need advice!

But God says to Abram…..

’Go from your country/current natural habitat/comfortable abode (when is the last time you hung out in places you despise) and your kindred/family/friends/support system (are you someone who just loiters around people you know) and your father’s house/protected/provided for/have rest(do you struggle to explore new things and ideas or commit to things that frighten you) to the land /new place/santuary/job/environment (do we have anyone who will never move houses or stays put no matter what) that I will show you/ have prepared/ have sorted/laid out (do people have to prove themselves before you let them close)’ - Sounds reasonable, right?

Remember Sanity is- a person's ability to think/evaluate/conclude/operate and behave/act in a normal/typical and reasonable/sober/fair/appropriate way. 

So when i start to evaluate this man, do i found him reasonable, ;eaving his family and friends, do i find him sober, leaving his comforts and amenities, can i find him to have behaved appropriately like a typical man. No , can i conclude that he was in the normal frame of sane mind. No. I dont find him reasonable, i dont find him sober, i dont find him typical or normal, because i am a natural man, i am evaluating from the place of my sensory perceptions which tell me that there something else. How can sister Paula who was typical one day , start acting somehow the next, moving mad, changing her responses, accessing language she never had, she starts praying in a way she never prayed before. I need to dig deeper and test better

So what is reasonable?

Abraham had no children, he had a barren wife, he had family friends and riches in the place he was being told to desert, he had all except an heir. Genesis 15:2–6 “2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

What is reasonable?

Romans 12:1 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship/ reasonable service.

Paul might be talking to the Roman church but again he is digging into an example set by Abraham , who himself had to wait for a promise to be fulfilled for 25years, and while he waited, he stumbled, he fell, he struggled , but he obeyed, he sacrificed, he worshipped and he persevered. So what could have been gained then by this extremely old man who was told to leave what he had worked for and built, what he could touch and taste and knew, what was comfortable and familiar and available? Was it the offer of a legacy which had seemed impossible naturally , or something deeper and more spiritual than even we could imagine. What makes the unreasonable reasonable?

English Standard Version Romans 4:18–22

In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”

Faith gives you hope to stay the course. Faith pleases God, and he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him, those who know he is there and those who believe beyond any reasonable measure that he cares enough to answer them

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Grace

Where grace exists it reigns; it is the dominant factor in the situation.

J. I. Packer

Radical faith - Speak life into those situations were death has been circling

Abraham knew he was dead, his old bones were knackered yet he believed he could be a father of nations, he obeyed , over and over and over, thats why the just shall live by faith

Habakkuk 2:4 ESV

4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Nothing that Abraham did gave him a reason to boast. God waited until 25years after the journey starts before giving him the child who was promised. He made it so that he could not say this was my doing, salvation for Abraham was a gift. Sarah was 90, that means she could have gone through menapause twice at that point. He could not boast because he knew God had done everything , took him from a place of death and barrenness, a place of unfulfilment and frustration, to a place of continuance and legacy. We hardly speak at all about Abraham’s riches, the material things which came as well, which we know from scripture were a multitude, he was dined by kings and princes , he needed more room for him flocks at a time and had to seperate from Lot whom he thought could be his heir. We do speak of the son who was given, because through him the whole world was saved. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can change the landscape of nations and peoples, if you just say yes to God.

Conclusion