2nd Sunday in Lent – Sermon 173

Bible References :

 

Prayer to start

May the words of my lips and the thoughts of our hearts be graciously received for the Glory and Honour of our Lord Jesus Christ

AMEN

Introduction

Faith – We can’t get through a single day without it

We trust that the car will start when we turn the ignition key – that the light will come on when we flick the light switch – that the key will unlock the front door when we turn it –

traveling too requires a lot of faith – faith in the skills of the driver – the airline pilot – the car or the plane – that there will be a place to stay – when we reach our destination –

But – we have done many of these things before – we will say – so why should they fail us this time?

So when comes to faith in God – why do we find it so difficult? – After all its not as if we haven’t trusted God before.

 

First Point     Abraham

 

When we think of faith – in the Bible – we think of Abraham

Abram grew up in the highly civilized city of Ur on the Euphrates river in Southern Babylonia. Archaeologists have discovered that it had running water, two story houses and a banking system.

But – in our OT reading – we are told that God – asked him to leave the security of this comfortable life in Haran – to go to a destination – that was unclear – and – to a new life – with details that he would – find out – only when he got there –

For the rest of his life Abraham would be living in tents.

hardly the stuff of – ‘wanted down under’

if we were asked to make that same journey – We’d probably think of a hundred excuses – why it wouldn’t be for us – our houses – our families – relatives – climate – new language –

So why did He do it? – why did Abram uproot himself – and his family – to become a stranger in a strange land?

Well – because he knew God was calling him to do it – and that – was the only question he had to settle – that was the only preparation He needed –

Once he had accepted – that it was God’s wish for Him to travel – then it was a case of obey – and go

Few of us today – will be asked to make – such a bold decision – yet there will be times when we will be asked to let go of our tried and tested ways

to – embrace new ideas – explore new horizons – do something we have not done before – and if God speaks, – like Abraham we too will need to be ready to respond – and follow in faith – to trust God – and His purpose and promises – in whatever the future holds –

Trusting – is most testing when – things seem to go against what – we expect

The writer of Hebrews – describes Abraham as – ‘as good as dead’ – as far as being able to father a future – heir – was concerned –
Yet God chose Abraham – as the Father of His a nation – and of His church –

When we go – through hard times – when things don’t go – as we think they should – its – not because of lack of faith – it just means – we have to trust Him even more – the muscles of faith grow strong – through training and testing –

Everyday – God calls us on a journey – of new discoveries – and new experiences of His love –

We may not know what the future holds – but we do know who holds it –

Point 2    What does it mean for us this Lent?

 

So what should our journey of faith – involve us in this lent? – what new horizons – has God prepared us for – in our Church?

Well of course there are plenty of opportunities for us to use our time and talents to help the worship and mission of the Church – with the AGM coming up and vacancies for a warden and on the PCC – and we certainly need a boost for the choir- especially in the evenings – but before we can make any choices – we need to do one thing that is vital to our success – we need to listen for some input from God –

Notice that – in our reading from Genesis – that there’s no mention of prayer – protest – or dialogue with God at all –

Abraham doesn’t ask or question anything – he just listens – listens for what God has to tell him –

listening to God is something many of us have forgotten how to do –

We need to – give ourselves – time and space – from our everyday activities – to hear what God is telling us –

Lent is a perfect time to do this – Jesus Himself went into the wilderness to do just that – He was tempted to go in the wrong direction – but put God’s wishes first – and came out with a new purpose –

Like Jesus – we must be willing to put God’s will ahead of our own –

but to begin something new – we must first end something old – endings can be forced – or welcomed –

we are not told how Abraham’s family and Lot dealt with their ending – but for Abraham – its clear that his mind was on what was ahead –

On God’s future promise of blessings – that will give him greatness and the family he so longed for

This – meant so much more to him – than his comfortable way of life –

We reach many crossroads in our lives – some are minor – some are major – for Abraham and His family it was a major crossroad – and they took the direction that God pointed them in – when asked about responding to Stewardship Sunday – will we do the same?

Ending

 

As Christians – and citizens of heaven – we are continually traveling towards God –

Each day – our faith gets – stronger –

sustained by the memory – of all God has done for us – and in anticipation of all God promises for us in the future –

Nothing deflected Abraham from his course –

and nothing should deflect us from committing our faith to Him too
Prayer to Finish

In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit

AMEN