God Is Not ...
Good morning, everyone.
Welcome ideas to do Sunday morning in service and released a little serving portion. I'm so hope everybody's doing well. Yeah just another weekend. So if you didn't know where hadn't heard we started those last two Sundays doing it at the drive-up worship of swords. And so we just have folks park in the parking lot and worship from their cars are not allowed to get out of the cars, but that were able to at least see each other through windshield and stuff. And so that's gone pretty well. I'm recording this after we've done our parking lot service said this morning and so so this morning was pretty well had a few more people and we're blessed with some great weather as well. So many how much I will get right to it though for worshiping in online with us here this morning. I was open with prayer. Gotta poop. We come to you in the midst of a world fraught with troubles. Although the darkness is powerful open our eyes Lord the light of your presence give us Faith to stand against the voices of division and violence. Do your spirit will make us into hopefield disciples discovering lives a tune to your wonder and sparking and others a desire to know you more in the name of the one who comes to us. We pray I'll men. All right last week. We started a new sermon series getting to know you taking a look at how some of the folks in the Bible interact with God and and learning about some of the characteristics of God through that time. And so today we move on and continue actually with a story of Abraham and learning something a little bit different and so are scripture comes to Genesis comes to us from Genesis chapter 15 The First 5 verses as a story of Abraham that continues on and so so yeah, so looking forward to this one. So many how I want to start with the story of this morning of a daughter kind of having a tough time and going to her father. And sometimes teenagers not just daughter's son's to but sometimes you're not exactly all that patient in an understanding. And so this is what we have going on here. Once upon a time of daughter complain to her father that life was miserable in that. She didn't know how she was going to make it. How on Earth was she going to get to the next day let alone the next week. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved soon. Another one would follow your father. He was a chef so he took his daughter into the kitchen. He started boiling three pots of water now, and the first part he placed a
Potato flakes every girl he plays potatoes and he started boiling potatoes in the second spot. He plays some eggs and he started boiling some eggs and the third pot you put coffee. And he put coffee beans into the boiling water even let them sit and boil without saying a word to his daughter the daughter bones and impatiently waited wondering what he was doing after 20 minutes. He turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot place them in a bolt pulled the eggs out and place them in a bowl. Then he ladled copy out and place it in a cup. Turning to his daughter the dad asks daughter. What do you see? Wealthy potatoes eggs and copy that what you think I see what what clothes are you setting types of potatoes? She did it noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it after pulling off the shell. She observe the hard boiled egg. Finally the answer to set the coffee. It's Rich Aroma brought a smile to her face.
Give me Father what does this mean? He didn't explain that the potato the eggs in the coffee bean side each space the same adversity. They each went into boiling water. However, each one reacted a bit differently a potato in tin strong and hard and unrelenting but in boiling water it became soft and weak the egg was Fragile with a thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground coffee it was unique you see after they were exposed to the boiling water the coffee beans change the water and created something brand-new, which are you the father asked the daughter in adversity knocks on your door. How do you respond? Are you a potato and egg or Call BB.
In life things happen around us things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us and we started talking about that a little bit last week with the story of Abraham and placing our faith in God and will continue with that here this week. This is really not about that bad of an outlook on life. I suppose we could find a positive and just about everything if we really tried
The bottom line is that since usually does not happen, especially during those stretches in our lives where one thing after another goes against us somehow. Maybe we have a fight with a friend or family member and then on top of that our work week doesn't go like it's supposed to and then an unexpected Bill comes along. It's hard to just simply say this is good during these days. It's at these times instead of saying this is good that we may I ask. Where is God when talking about who God is and and what God is all about. I think it's good to also look into who God is not in one day. We won't be able to cover all of these different areas, but I thought we'd looked at the one which may be a majority of folks might struggle with and I can be easy to Rattle off all the things that we believe God to be God is holy God is powerful God is just that we've learned the phrases that describe God to he has the whole world in his hands. God is always in control card to do anything. I got a loan in Sovereign may even be able to come up with a list of those things that God is not God is not angry God is Not distant. God is Not unfair for many many phrases many many times. The question isn't can we recite them. The question is do we believe in them? How about the phrase? God is Not incapable. Do we believe us or is it just easy to stay? Does it sound good and makes us feel good to say. What about God is Not incapable. This is another God is Not statement. It's good to say and maybe here but do we believe the statement do we believe that God indeed is capable. Or do we let our worries in our fears get the best of us we learned a bit about Abraham last week and we're going to hear a bit more of his story this morning last week. We learned from Abraham that were called to put our whole trusting God in that were to be transformed by God like most of us Abraham was an able to do this. All right away. There was a bit of a learning curve and so we come to this part of our story this morning Genesis chapter 15 after this the word of the Lord came to Abraham and division do not be afraid of him. I am your Shield you are very great reward. Rayburn said Sovereign Lord. What can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Alicia of Damascus. And Abram said you have given me no children. So a servant in my household will be my Heir and the word of the Lord came to him. This man will not be your air. But a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your Heir. He took them outside and said look up at the sky and count the Stars if indeed you can count them then he said to him. So shall your offspring?
Even Abraham had a little back and forth with God even Abraham was worried about some of his niece being unmet. Both are unmet needs are no match for God Abraham's back and forth with God may sound familiar to us. We made been there last week. We heard God promised Abraham that brought his family would come a great nation. That would be many nations has a problem because Abraham and his wife Sarah are getting on in years. And Abraham isn't too sure about the chill childbearing possibilities. We pick up the story later down the road and Abraham's now wondering about the promise that God had given him that's where read this morning with her scripture. So God dealing Abraham's anxiety tries to reassure him. But again, we heard this after this the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision do not be afraid. I remember I am your Shield. I am your very great reward. Do we have God backing up what he'd already promised Abraham play Merced Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless in the one who will inherit my estate is the leader of Damascus. And Abram said you have given me no children. No sew a servant in my household will be my Heir and Abraham today if there was no mail are the head servant received inheritance and continued on the family line. Not the the best of options at least something could continue on budgets wasn't looked Holly Pond pretty nice deal for laser. But God told Abraham that this nation to bless all nations would come from his own flesh and blood. So what's the deal? What's going on? Got you said one thing but I don't really see that happening right now. Have you ever been in a situation where you feel you deserve something or that God to do something for you, but you wonder where God is at maybe even begin to wonder if God is capable Abraham. He was worried about a promise that had given hit that. God had given him. Sometimes we worry about the direction that God is leading us in Sometimes you worry over those things that we don't have control over those things that we don't need Abraham like us seems to believe that he can explain to God what's really going on. Then things will get better Abraham got this idea, you knows what to do and maybe even saying he knows a little bit more than God, but it's like he doesn't even believe that God doesn't know what's really going on. I don't know about you. I've tried this tactic before I try to tell God what's going on and what's going to happen and like Abraham if it didn't work out it didn't work when I try to explain either. Can we go back and forth with God we're asking what can God who made us do for us. This question is an accusation that God is incapable of that. God is untrustworthy. I'll admit I'll probably be there. I hope not too often, but I'll probably have back and forth with God as I continued on in my life.
But we may not be fully we may not be full of worry and eggs for the same reasons as Abraham was we still have those feelings about different areas and our lives, maybe our worries that we come up that will head back and forth with God's heart. Will I pay the bills on time will I get the promotion this time around we worry about hoping that it doesn't rain on her perfectly planned vacation. We worry about our children and how they are doing it and what can I do to help out we worry if we're able to get out of the cycle that we're currently in where nothing just seems to be going right. Oh god, promise Abraham something seemingly impossible. And most of what we worry about isn't up to this level when we pray and we pray with a faith that God is in control that God is capable or do we pray? Just hoping it might work out somehow someway the story told about a man who experienced unexpected hardships throughout his life. And when he asked how he dealt with them a difficult situations that he faced he responded with the stories as this when I was young child, maybe seven or eight my family and I went to Beech Bend amusement park in Bowling Green Kentucky. Not too far from our home. I love amusement parks, especially when Mom and Dad were paying for everything the day turned out to be a day that would change my life for the next eight years or so. My sister talked me into getting on a roller coaster with her now. I listen to her encouragement. I looked the roller coaster over it was not a large when they were small cars and this particular one the cars that only two people I looked at the name the name was the wild mouse. Nope, I do mice weren't very ferocious. The ones I had were the ones that Dad removed from under the hot water heater in traps. So it wouldn't be so scary or so. I thought well later on in life. I found out if I don't use that the wild mouse is a style of roller coaster developed by a German bronze Mac in the early 1960s and what separates the miles from other roller coasters. Is it small car size 2 to 4 people the one that I happened right on head to people but that wasn't it also what distinguish itself another roller coasters was its style of turns most of the turns on the mouse are 90 to 180 degrees with no can't can't is the difference in elevation of the two tracks the left and the right track when you drop the elevation of one track, it results in a bank turn. Are regular roller coaster with bank turns you see the track in front of you in the turn on a wild mouse with no content. You see the rest of the theme park in front of you giving you the feeling you're going off the track. Now I said it's shaped my life for the next eight years because it was that long before I ever got on another roller coaster the wild mouse scared me to death this crazy life can seem like we are going off track that we are being tossed to and fro we don't see when the next term is coming but both God has us at every turn. Let's God does have us at every turn. Abraham wasn't too sure about all that. God was up to and I can say with certainty we feel the same way, but is it possible that we believe that God is capable but not just with everything. Is it possible that God is only capable with the spiritual stuff in our lives. God is a part of our whole life and only reason why when we let him be in verse 6 Abraham puts his trust in God, that's great. Right right after we finish first fine. We just read the first five horses for 6. We see him putting his trust in God well in the next chapter in Genesis chapter 16, we find Sarah. Melting Abraham that they better do something about this baby thing because God doesn't seem to be moving all that quickly and this area of their life. So Sarah + Abraham sleep with her servant and this is how they'll have a child and then God's promise will be fulfilled. We'll figure this out on her own. Damn. Well God's good at the spiritual stuff, but not the everyday stuff. And this is what Abraham and Sarah were thinking the song that resulted from this relationship caused nothing but trouble for the family. Whatever, you might try to help God out or whatever is a part of our lives that we don't think that God can handle we only invite disaster and Chaos into our lives, but we must remember is that there's no area of Our Lives that God cannot handle God is Not incapable. God is capable 1st Peter chapter 5 verse 7. We're reminded cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you by Daniel chapter 3 verse 17 the God we serve is able to save us or Isaiah chapter 59 first one. The arm of the Lord is not too short to save nor his ear too dull to hear us. When we align our view of God with the way you do when he's described in the Bible. We realized that there's nothing that God cannot do we may not always have this this is good attitude like that like like some people have We must remember that God is Not incapable in all areas, especially in all areas of our life. Think back to the opening story. All three things potato the egg the coffee faced adversity that boiling water and all three things came out differently was only that coffee. It was only the coffee. That that changed everything around it and created something brand-new the god in our lives that is what is possible. That is what folks that's what can happen. When we trust God. We trust it with our whole lives. Would you pray with me or we thank you for this day. We thank you for the opportunity to hear from the story of Abraham be reminded that even spoke in the Bible struggled with their faith. And and what exactly to do in size we find ourselves and Times of struggle Lord. I pray pray that we remain close to you. That we may not always understand what you were up to. But Lord that we would trust in you for for what you are doing in our lives. Are we thank you so much for this. Thank you so much for this day and this chance to learn and to grow to know more about you and our relationship with you. It's in your holy name we pray.
Goodbye, everybody.