“God is Faithful. All the Time.”

Genesis 15:1-6, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Rev. Deborah Beloved Church 🙂

August 7, 2022

White Rock Presbyterian Church

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… By faith [Abraham] received power of procreation, even though he was too old–and Sarah herself was barren–because he considered him faithful who had promised.” (Hebrews 11:1, 11, NRSV)

We got into some bad habits last week. Slipped right back into our old ways of doing things without even–maybe–a thought… Does anyone know, or want to hazard a guess, what I’m talking about?… [Right (??) – No audience participation!!] 

Today we are going to slide back into our newer, becoming-established pattern, which means, yes, I’m going to invite you to engage the scriptures with me a little more actively. [What’s that I hear? Cheers? No? If we were in Navajoland, I might say, “Amen??” “Are you with me, church??” 🙂 No cheers? No amens? What about groans? Any groans? 🙂 ] 

We get to do this again today because I finally started feeling mostly alive and alert again on Friday, after spending way too much time earlier in the week feeling brain-dead and recovering from the craziness of our move, having done the official walk-through of our former apartment last Sunday at 7:00 pm. 

And in all honestly, we barely made it in time!! The fact that we did was thanks ONLY to all of all of you who helped us carry and move boxes, disassemble and move furniture, carry and move MORE boxes, and finally sweep and mop and scrub and dust and otherwise try to restore some order of cleanliness. It may not have quite been “move-in ready,” as my landlord had requested, but it was certainly as good, if not better, than when we had arrived over three years ago. And I would say that’s not bad, given the reality of occupancy in that time by myself, three teenagers, two cats, and a dog! 

For the next few weeks, we are staying at Jennifer and Ken’s beautiful home near the middle school. And Jennifer and Ken, if you’re joining us this morning,: thank you again! 🙂 

Anyway, here I am, and here we are, and Abraham is beckoning. 🙂 

Or actually, ABRAM. In our passage this morning, this great man of faith is still called Abram. He won’t be given the name of Abraham for a couple more chapters, which represent several more years in his life. 

So first, a little review of Abram’s timeline. I think it will give us a little more appreciation for the situation we find him in in this morning’s passage. 

Does anyone know how old Abram was when God first called him, saying: 

“Go from your country, your people and your father’s household, to the land I will show you.

“I will make you into a great nation,

    and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

    and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,

    and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

    will be blessed through you.” (Gen. 12:1-3)

Any guesses? 

He was 75. 

75 years old when God said, Pack up your stuff, and get your family together. You’re going on an adventure! I want you to go to a strange, faraway place, and settle down there. Start a new life. Oh, and by the way, old man, after you’ve done that, I will bless you. I promise. I will bless you so much. I will give you so many offspring they’ll be able to populate a small country! In fact, they’ll become their own nation! People will know your name, and it will be great, and you will be a blessing. You will be a blessing to so many. In fact–and you probably won’t believe this but it’s true–you will be a blessing to everyone on the earth. Forever! All peoples. On the whole earth. They’ll all be blessed through you. !! But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, you have to pack up all your stuff, get your family all together, and head out.” 

Abram was 75 when God laid this on him! And I’ve been thinking that I’ve had it rough with this move I’ve just gone through! 🙂 

So, Abram was 75, when he loaded everything and everyone up, and headed for a totally unknown land. 

Fast-forward about 10 years, so Abram is now 85, maybe 86, and living in this new land. He had remained faithful to God, and had done very well for himself. We read, in fact, that “[he] had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.” (Gen. 13:2) Additionally, he and the men of his household were skilled in battle, and they had defeated the armies of several other kings. In other words, even as an octogenarian, Abram was crushing it. Successful in all things. God had promised to bless him, and bless him, indeed, God had. 

And this is where we jump in with today’s passage. 

Abram was crushing it. Livestock. Silver. Gold. Victory in battle. And God shows up for a talk. 

I would imagine some congratulations are in order… Maybe some high-fives? Fist bumps? Rainbows across the sky?? 

But that’s not what happens. Does anyone remember how God starts the conversation?… 

“Do not be afraid, Abram.” Right!! Don’t be afraid! 

What’s Abram got to be afraid of?? Why would he possibly be feeling fearful?? 

Any thoughts? [No baby.] 

[Right.] There had been no baby.

God had promised him offspring, hadn’t he? God had promised to make Abram into a great nation! And Abram was pushing 90! And Sarai, his wife, pushing 80, was no spring chicken!! And she was apparently barren! Unable to have babies. If there hadn’t been any children by this time in her life, it was not likely there would be any children forthcoming…

But God had made a promise to Abram…right?? And Abram had done everything God had asked him to do…right?? I suspect God could not only see the concern and confusion and even fear on Abram’s face, and in the way he carried his body, but that God could also see it in Abram’s heart…

And so God began the conversation, “Don’t be afraid, Abram…” Followed by a reminder: “I am your shield.” Or as the Common English Bible puts it, “I am your protector.” And part of what I hear in that is, I am with you, Abram! I got you! You’re not out here alone, you’re not doing this by yourself! And then God followed that with some reassurance: “Your reward shall be very great!” In other words, Just wait and see what I’m going to do for you! You can’t even imagine it now, but just wait and see…

And God was right–Abram couldn’t imagine it. I wonder if he didn’t even want to imagine anything else, any other “reward”…except for that baby God had already promised him. The baby that God had said would lead to enough offspring to populate a small country! As far as Abram was concerned, nothing else mattered. No other “reward” had any import… 

And he replied to God, saying with all of the honesty and courage he could muster, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless…You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” I can almost hear the discouragement, the disappointment, the hopelessness in his voice… God, you promised…

And what did God say? Did God say, “Yeah, well, I changed my mind…”? Did God say, “I’m sorry, Abram, but the plan is different now.”? Did God say, “Since you doubted, I’m not going to give you a child after all!”? 

No! God didn’t say any of those things! God said, I think with great tenderness and compassion, “This man [this slave born in your house] shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” I made a promise to you, Abram. God seemed to be saying. And I will keep it. I made you a promise, and I am a God of my word. 

And then God took Abram outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them….So shall your descendants be.” (Gen. 15:5)

I made a promise to you, Abram. And I will keep it. I made you a promise, and I am a God of my word. 

And then what happened? 

“And he believed the Lord, and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness…” (Gen. 15:6)

Abram believed God. Abram trusted in God’s word. Abram put his faith in God’s faithfulness, and held on to the promise God had made him. 

Did he never doubt again? Nope, he doubted. And Sarai, his wife, doubted, too! In fact, after ten more years had gone by with still no baby, they doubted so much that they decided to take matters into their own hands, and Abram had a baby with Hagar, Sarai’s mistress. And this baby, as some of you know, was Ishmael, who is believed to be the ancestor of Mohammed, the prophet of Islam. 

Did God fulfill God’s promise overnight? Nope. It took thirteen more years. Thirteen more years!!

Abram–whom God had given the name Abraham when he was 99–was 100 years old when God finally gave him a son!! Twenty-five years after God had made God’s promise. 

Abraham was 100. His wife, whose name God had changed from Sarai to Sarah, was 90. 

No wonder Abram, in our passage for today, felt discouraged. Disappointed. Even hopeless. 

And yet…God was faithful. God kept God’s promise. God honored God’s word. God was faithful. 

Despite the fact that all the outward signs pointed legitimately to discouragement. 

Despite the fact that all the outward signs pointed legitimately to disappointment.

Despite the fact that all the outward signs pointed legitimately to hopelessness. 

Despite all the outward signs…God kept God’s promise. 

And Abraham took God at God’s word, and believed. 

And Abraham, at the age of 100, through his wife Sarah, at the age of 90, became the father of Isaac, and Abraham’s offspring became, indeed, a great nation, numbering as many as the stars!

So, finally, for all of you who have been waiting and wondering with baited breath when you would get another chance for active engagement(!), here it is! 🙂 

I invite you to find a sticky note, and write down a word or a phrase or a couple of sentences or draw a picture–whatever you want to put on paper to indicate some situation in your life or in the world about which you feel discouraged. A situation about which you feel, in this moment, disappointed. A situation about which you might even feel, if you are really honest, hopeless…

Some of us might need to use more than one sticky note.

And once you’ve done that, I invite you to bring that sticky note, or notes, up and stick them on the cross. We are going to acknowledge those situations, and our feelings about them, as honestly as we can…admitting within ourselves our fears, our doubts, our despair…

…and offer them to God.

[PAUSE FOR PEOPLE TO DO THAT…]

And now we are going to listen for God’s voice, telling us something similar to what I imagine he told Abram: 

Beloved children, I made a promise to you. And I will keep it. I made a promise of healing where there is hurt. I made a promise of wholeness where there is brokenness. I made a promise of hope where there is despair. I made a promise of new life where there is death. 

I made these promises to you, and I am a God of my word. These promises may not be fulfilled overnight; in fact, they won’t be. And you may have doubt me again; in fact, you will. But beloved children of mine, I have made you these promises, and I will keep them. I am a God of my word. 

And now I invite you to join me in channeling Abram, and believe. 

Despite all the outward signs with regard to the situations we wrote down, pointing legitimately to discouragement. 

Despite all the outward signs pointing legitimately to disappointment.

Despite all the outward signs pointing legitimately to hopelessness. 

Despite all of that, I invite you to join me, and much more importantly, Abram, in holding on to the promises God has made us. I invite you to join me, and much more importantly, Abram, in putting your faith in God’s faithfulness. I invite you to join me, and much more importantly, Abram, in trusting in God’s word. I invite you to join me, and much more importantly, Abram, in believing God.

God is faithful. All the time.

Amen.