Abraham Went

Intro

Good afternoon mga kaibigan

Its great to be back up here. I get to see all of you beautiful people. How many have been blessed the past couple Sundays. We’ve had some great messages. Two weeks ago Joel spoke on the Travel Lifestyle and the significance of traveling lightly, journeying through life without much baggage, and also being proactive in our pursuit of Christ. And then last week, who was blessed by Ps Ben and Victor. Ps Ben spoke on God wanting to invade our mundane and ordinary aspects of life, which positions our lives for the extraordinary.

I think that was a significant message especially for people in our generation because many of us want to do something significant for God. We all want to change the world. Do something big, be on TV and be able to say something super Christian like “Its all for God’s Glory!” Diba?! Or am I the only that struggled with that? Much of our aspirations are ego-driven, pursing the extraordinary while neglecting the ordinary aspects of life. God wants us to offer up the mundane and the ordinary, the day to day, our devotions, the small things, simply for the sake of allowing God to invade every aspect of our lives. And maybe, just maybe, God can do something with those small things, your mundane.

If you guys missed it, check out the podcast, which will be uploaded tomorrow! Haha. Unless if we have a volunteer who’d like to take responsibility of editing and publishing our Podcast.

Also, who was there for our All-In Connect! It was awesome! Great view, great food, and great people. If you guys missed it, we’ll have another one in just a couple weeks for our Christmas Eucharist. If you aren’t part of a connect group, why not? I encourage you to join one now. We meet every week. We as human beings are designed for community, so this is the primary focus of Connect Groups is to cultivate community and connection, and genuine relationships. We are essentially doing life together, journeying side by side as we deepen our faith together.

So to begin our topic for today, I’d like to build off of last week’s message. I’d like to speak on the risk taking, being courageous in our faith journeys.

We’ve had some great speakers the past couple Sundays. Joel spoke 2 weeks ago on

Why don’t we get into the Old Testament or more appropriately known as the Hebrew Scriptures. Just little about OT, Unlike the the New Testament, which is a compilation of writings within a hundred years, the Hebrew Scriptures span almost 2 millennia. Its a ancient library of stories, poems, wisdom literature, letters that speak to the human experience. There’s also a lot of ugliness and God being depicted in horrific ways, but we lets save that for another conversation, maybe after service. But even these reveal something about humanity.

Let’s get into the Old Testament or more appropriately known as the Hebrew Scriptures. Unlike the the New Testament, which includes writings less than a century, the Hebrew Scriptures span almost 2 millennia, or 2 thousand years.

Whenever we read any part of Scripture, this ancient Library that’s been preserved for thousands of years, we have to ask ourselves why was this written down? And why did it endure. Why did it endure for thousands of years. What does it speak to the human experience. As you guys know, there’s nothing new under the sun. Every human being that’s ever existed has experienced pain and joy, struggle and triumph, birth and life.

The Hebrew Scriptures portray the human experiences on one particular tribe and their relation to God.

Let’s look at a passage that can easily be overlooked because of how short it is, but its written record that changed the course of human history as we know it. Some of you may have heard me reference this verse already, but lets take a look at it from another angle.

Let’s turn to a passage that would change the course of human

Let’s

Whenever we read through Scripture, this ancient Library that’s been preserved for thousands of years, we have to ask ourselves why was this written down? And why did it endure. Why did it endure for thousands of years. What does it speak of the human experience.

Passage

Turn or swipe with me to

The New Revised Standard Version The Call of Abram

4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him

In the Hebrew its Yelek Abram. Wait what that’s it? Thats only 2 words. Bernard, I thought you were going to share a compelling and inspiring story of a Biblical character overcoming an obstacle and coming out victorious. So what that Abram Went??? Who cares

But wait.

The Bible reveals truth in a variety of ways. Sometimes we can read a passage and extract truth based on what its saying at face value. (e.g. God is love, For God so loved the world) Sometimes, we have to fly high and see narratives from a birds eye view in order to see what the Spirit of God wants to reveal . For example in the book of Judges we see non stop war and violence, revenge and retaliation, one tribe inflicts pain on another and then vice verse. And its never ending, which is exactly the point. The book is meant to reveal the myth of redemptive violence. That violence doesn’t resolve anything.

Other times, in order to grasp the truth of a passage we have to go in, deep and use a microscope, look into the cultural context in order to fully understand what’s really happening.

So Abram went. So what. Lets take a look at the passage right before it.

The New Revised Standard Version The Call of Abram

(Acts 7:2–5)

12 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 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 the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”a

The New Revised Standard Version The First Sin and Its Punishment

You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,a knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make

It’s often been assumed that Abram was always a desert nomad. But if he was quite a wealthy man from a region we know as Mesopotamia, which through all of our data, ancient texts and archeology, we know to be a very cosmopolitan, progressive, and sophisticated civilization, which had a common heritage of law and government, a common language. Writing was also prevalent through law, administration, business, literary and scientific endeavors. According to the Anchor Yale commentary on Genesis:

Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes Genesis of the Biblical Process

outstanding advances had been achieved in such disciplines as linguistics, mathematics, and the study of history. Architecture and the arts flourished, agriculture and animal husbandry were highly developed, and far-flung commercial enterprises added to the material prosperity. Indeed, on most of these counts, the classical lands of a thousand years later appear as yet primitive by comparison. In short, the Mesopotamia of Hammurabi and his neighbors was the most advanced land in the world—a vigorous force at home and a magnet to other countries near and far.

Hammurabi was the king of Mesopotamia in the 18th century B.C.E., around the time of Abram.

Why did Abraham leave. This place seemed like the best place to in the world during this time.

Scholars believe that there was a depravity in spirituality that caused Abraham to leave. Similar to many near eastern beliefs, the predominant religious thought throughout Mesopotamia was the belief in a Pantheon of Gods who would constantly argue and battle each other. And your fate was dependent on their temperament, so people left living in constant insecurity and fear spending a significant portion of their time offering up sacrifices.

Additionally, according to The Gift of the Jews “all evidence points to there having been, in the earliest religious thought, a vision of the cosmos that was profoundly cyclical. The assumptions that early man made about the world were, in all their essentials, little different from the assumptions that later and more sophisticated societies, like Greece and India, would make in a more elaborate manner: No event is unique, every event has been enacted, is enacted, and will be enacted perpetually; the same individuals have appeared, appear, and will appear at every turn of the circle.”

Time was cyclical. And there was no getting out of it. Despite their societal advancement up until this point, this way of thinking would hinder further innovation and progress as evident in the collapse of Mesopotamia several centuries later.

Some of you here may be experiencing the same cyclical pattern in your life and you can’t get out of it because it’s become your Mesopotamia. It’s become your place of comfort that takes you round and round and round. You already know what’s about to happen because its already happened before. You long for something more but you end up settling and continuing to reach out toward’s things or people that are destructive, that lead hinder us from progressing in life.

Some of you here may be experiencing the same cyclical pattern in your life and you can’t get out of it because it’s become your Mesopotamia. It’s become your place of comfort. You already know what’s about to happen because its already happened before. You long for something more but you end up settling and continuing to reach out toward’s things or people that are destructive, that lead hinder us from progressing in life.

You may be stuck in this cycle of toxicity and mediocrity. You may be stuck struggling with the same sin and not being able to break free because at least it provides momentary experiences of satisfaction. Stuck at the same dead end job that you hate because at least it pays for your habits. Stuck living life simply managing your image and not really doing something of significance. Stuck in that same toxic relationship because at least there’s someone there. Hmm. C’mon somebody. I know some of us in here are experiencing that now.

And we end up suppressing our entire being. And we wonder why we feel dead inside with no sense of purpose and direction and hope to finally collapsing like Mesopotamia. Its all good when were at the party or hangin with our friends, but when we get to the place where were all alone, thats when it hits, that’s when were struck with the reality of ourselves. In all our emptiness our brokenness our death.

When are going to say that enough is enough. When are we going to finally abide by the Spirit of God who’s urging us to be courageous in taking that step of faith that’ll radically change the trajectory of our life.

And it takes us in this cycle of toxicity and mediocrity

When in our life narrative will it be written down and so and so went, as the Lord told her, Gillian went, as the Lord told her. So Joel went as the Lord told him, Kevin went, Mae went, Gello went.

When are we are going to have enough. When are we going to have written in our life narrative Gillian went, Bogs, went, Joel went, one simple action that would describe a courageous act, risk,

Keep in mind leaving a place of comfort doesn’t necessarily mean geographical, it could mean an emotional state. Because I don’t want all of you to all of a sudden fly out of hear. I mean if the Lord calls you , but Metro Manila needs you. ch

Effect of Abrahams decision

Personal Narrative

Prior to moving to the Philippines

Our world needs courageous people

Dominion to Choose

Just as a side note, God has given us a d

Commitment to your Decision

Driven by Obedience, Not Promises

Driven by Convictions, Not Feelings

Some of us here may be struggling with being courageous,