Well, good morning, church.
Our sermon text this morning is Genesis chapter 11.
Starting in verse 10, we're going to go through chapter 12, verse 4.
That is page 8 in the Pew Bible, if you want to follow along there.
If you're new to the Bible, the big numbers are the chapter numbers.
The small numbers are the verse numbers.
We're going to pick up our reading about halfway through our total sermon text this morning.
In chapter 11, verse 27.
Let me pray as we come to God's word.
Speak, O Lord.
Build your church.
And fill the earth with your glory.
God, what a powerful prayer that is.
Make it our own this morning.
And make it a reality in our midst.
Through the grace of Jesus and the power of your Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Genesis 11.
Picking up in verse 27 through chapter 12, verse 4.
Let me read this for us.
Now, these are the generations of Terah.
Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
And Haran fathered Lot.
Haran died in the presence of his father, Terah, and the land of his kindred, and Ur of the Chaldeans.
And Abram and Nahor took wives.
The name of Abram's wife was Sarah.
And the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah.
The daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah.
Now Sarah was barren.
She had no child.
Terah took Abram, his son, and Lot, the son of Haran, his grandson.
And Sarah, his daughter-in-law, his son, Abram's wife.
And they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan.
But when they came to Haran, they settled there.
The days of Terah were 205 years.
And Terah died in Haran.
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.
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.
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.
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.
And Lot went with him.
Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.
Well, this morning, we've pretty much come to the end of our sermon series in Genesis 1 through 11.
But, obviously, we haven't come to the end of the book of Genesis.
Actually, we've come to the critical turning point.
And it's not just the critical turning point of the book of Genesis, but really of the whole Old Testament.
This is the turning point that will set the course of the rest of redemptive history.
This is it.
This is where the story turns to something special and particular and saving and exciting.
This is where God's story takes its turn.
And because of that, this passage is meant to serve as a turning point for our lives, too.
Here is a passage that, if you will hear it, if we will hear it, will turn your whole life around.
Set you on a new trajectory and never leave you the same.
What happens in Genesis, what happens in the life of Abram, later to be called Abraham, in the history of redemption, it can happen in your life, too.
So, what is it?
What is actually going on here?
Well, there are three pieces to this turning point that I want us to look at today.
And they're all found in verses 1 through 3 of chapter 12.
And the first thing that we see is the blessing that we all need.
The blessing we all need.
God calls Abram at the beginning of chapter 12 and says,
I will bless you.
And then in verse 3, we see that this blessing is meant to reach all the families of the earth.
What is this universal blessing that begins with Abraham and spreads to the ends of the earth?
Now, in order to understand this blessing, we have to see it in the context of the book of Genesis so far.
Because at first glance, it looks like it means nothing more than Abraham having a lot of descendants.
I'll make you a great nation.
And getting a great reputation.
I'll make your name great.
Now, for Abraham, this blessing certainly does mean that.
But the heart of this blessing, this universal blessing for all families of the earth,
it's much deeper than that.
After all, material blessing isn't really what we ultimately need.
Is it?
Of course, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't seek to sacrificially help others physically,
financially, socially, educationally.
All those things are entailed in loving our neighbor as ourself.
They're good things.
They are important things.
They're worthy things.
But what do we really need ultimately, eternally?
How many millionaires, though they have no material needs, humanly speaking, aren't really satisfied?
How many movie stars, though everyone recognizes their name and face, aren't really at peace?
I was just, I've been reading a journal lately of a famous 20th century spiritual writer who spent some missionary time in Latin America.
And he reflects on the fact that, though here he is in the middle of one of the poorest suburbs of Lima, Peru, ministering among the poor,
still his heart aches for something more.
Why is it that even our best efforts at philanthropy can still leave our hearts longing?
What makes us think that more money and more approval will cure the deep ache that we feel?
So what is this blessing, then, here in Genesis 12?
Well, consider with me, then, the context of Genesis.
Back in chapter 11, verse 10, we're given another genealogy.
How many genealogies are we going to see in Genesis 1 through 11?
Not another one.
Yes, another genealogy, starting in verse 10.
This time, from Shem, the son of Noah, down to Abraham, the son of Terah.
And from Shem to Abraham is 10 generations.
Now, if you've been coming to Trinity this fall, that might remind you of another earlier genealogy in Genesis 1 through 11.
In chapter 5, Genesis gives us the genealogy from Adam to Noah.
And from Adam to Noah, you guessed it, there are 10 generations.
So you start to see that there's a literary shape going on in this early part of Genesis.
Think about it.
In Genesis 1 through 5, what do we have?
Creation, fall, and then this sort of stretch of 10 generations.
In Genesis 6 through 11, what do we have?
The flood and its new creation, the fall of Babel, and then 10 generations.
You see, these 10 generations are a signal that God's redemptive plan is moving forward.
We're taking a big leap ahead into the next significant event.
Now, what happened after the fall of Genesis 3 and 4 and those 10 generations?
The flood.
Worldwide judgment.
So what would we expect to happen after the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 in these 10 generations?
Humanity rebelling against God.
Again, seeking their own way and our own ambitions and their own kingdom.
If a flood fell the first time, what's going to come this time?
But this time, it's different.
A flood doesn't fall.
Instead, God makes a promise.
A binding promise.
A covenant with Abraham.
I will bless you.
Wonder of wonders.
When humanity deserves judgment,
God speaks a word of blessing.
And as he speaks that word of blessing,
don't you hear an echo of Genesis 1?
The story of God's creation in Genesis 1 resounds with blessing, does it not?
God delighting over his creation.
Declaring it all good.
Declaring it even very good.
From the highest star to the most obscure atom, the whole thing.
Very good.
And at the climax of that story of creation in Genesis 1 28,
after God creates humanity in his own image,
the text says,
God blessed them.
Now, we don't use this language of blessing much in our day and age, in our culture.
Do we?
Sounds kind of weird, doesn't it?
I bless you, my son.
I bless you, my daughter.
That's a strange language for us.
I get it.
But you know, we know the feeling when we get it, don't we?
Like a father or a mother who takes their child up in their arms and says,
you, I love you.
And I know you'll do great things and I will be with you every step of the way.
It's you.
Deep down in our bones, we know what it means to be blessed,
to be accepted, to be approved, to find favor in someone's eyes.
Yes, we know it, even if we don't use this language for it.
But perhaps we know it most, tragically, by its absence.
Those deep wounds of rejection, of abandonment,
we know at our gut level what blessing means because so often we don't have it.
But deeper under those human rejections and abandonments,
even deeper still, the heart knows that divine blessing,
that peace with God intended in creation,
that creational, divine blessing.
Deep down we know it's been lost.
That we're actually out of joint with our creator,
that we're alienated from our true home.
And again, is this not the story that we've been reading in Genesis?
Is this not the history of everyone and everything?
Creation begins in blessing,
but humans rebel against God,
reject God as God,
and the result is curse.
Genesis 3 tells the whole story.
Genesis 4 describes the fallout.
And the rest of human history,
and the rest of human history, friends,
is the sad tale of creatures seeking some sort of remedy
for that lost blessing in created things rather than their creator.
Why doesn't the money satisfy?
Why doesn't the fame bring peace?
Because the real blessing you're longing for
isn't from a creature or a created thing.
You were made to have the blessing of your maker.
When God says to Abram,
I'll bless those who bless you,
and those who dishonor you,
I will curse.
He's not just saying that the status of the nations
will be determined by their relationship to Abram.
But more than that,
God is promising in those words
to be Abram's defender and shield.
To be closer than a brother,
to be jealous over Abram like a lover.
That's what these words are talking about.
The quality of the Lord's relationship with Abram now.
And that's the blessing we need.
To be right with God.
To have God no longer as our judge,
but as our friend.
But how in the world can God bless sinners
who deserve his curse?
This is the great problem,
the great question
that hangs pregnant over the entire Old Testament.
In Genesis 6, after 10 generations,
it was a flood that fell,
and only a few were saved.
In Genesis 12,
after the 10 generations,
we expect some sort of judgment,
but the flood doesn't fall.
On what basis does this blessing to Abram
for all families of the earth come to us?
And the answer to that question wouldn't come
for almost 1,500 years after Abram.
The curse humanity deserved,
that you and I deserved,
would actually fall like a flood,
but it would fall on another.
It would fall on the true offspring of Abraham,
on the child born into Abram's family
who would take up our humanity
and live a life in perfect acceptance
with his heavenly father.
He would be utterly blessed.
God would say over him,
this is my beloved son
in whom I'm well pleased.
And then at 30 years of age,
after walking in perfect,
blessed fellowship with his father,
Jesus would go willingly to a cross
and become a curse for us.
And all the wretchedness of sin
and all the dark intentions
and malicious thoughts of our hearts,
Jesus Christ would bear all of it.
The Old Testament law said,
cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.
And in the first century,
there was no greater expression of that
than a Roman cross.
As the victims hung naked
and shamed and bleeding and mocked,
the pain of crucifixion was only matched
by the public humiliation and shame of it.
You see, the Romans saved crucifixion
for the social nobodies.
This was the way the empire disposed of its trash.
And there, God incarnate hung.
The flood of human depravity
and the curse of sin poured upon him.
Why?
So that the blessing you and I were created to have
could be ours once more.
In love, Christ became a curse
so that a blessing might come to all nations,
to you and me.
That's what Paul was getting on about
in that passage we read earlier.
The perfect blessed one
stands in our place of the curse
so that we, the cursed ones,
could receive a blessing.
What wonderful good news.
Consider then, friends,
that you cannot earn this blessing of God.
That's also part of what Paul's talking about
in Galatians 2 that we read earlier.
All who rely on works of the law,
that is your performance,
your pedigree,
all who rely on those things
remain under a curse.
Could that be why
the harder we try to get peace
through achievement
and through approval
and through human relationships,
the harder we try,
the more peace seems so elusive.
Abram did nothing
to deserve God's blessing.
He was just following his dad
on what seemed to be a fool's errand.
You can do nothing
to deserve God's blessing.
It's not a reward for hard work done.
It's a gift given through the promise
purchased by Christ.
This blessing that we all need
is a great equalizer then,
is it not?
All of us,
rich or poor,
black or white,
male or female,
high or low,
all of us stand as equals
when it comes to what really matters.
All of us receive God's blessing
sheerly by grace as a gift.
None can say,
I deserved it.
As one great old hymn puts it,
nothing in my hands I bring,
simply to the cross I cling.
And that means we are all alike
in dignity as well.
God took the curse
and promised the blessing
for all who believe.
Maybe you don't enjoy
many material blessing in this life,
but the Christian has a blessing
that makes every other blessing
seem like fool's gold in comparison.
The acceptance of God,
an inheritance in his kingdom,
the dignity of a child of God.
Each and every one of you
in Christ.
So this turning point,
first, is about the blessing
we all need.
Second, it's about the departure
we must take.
God's blessing comes to Abram
through sheer grace,
but in response,
the Lord tells Abram
to go.
Notice how verse one
moves from the general
to the specific.
Go from your country,
your kindred,
and even your father's house
to the land that I will show you.
And the great question here is,
will Abram believe God's promise
and go?
Now, don't think
that this was an easy decision
for Abram.
Look at the text.
He's getting old.
His wife is barren.
His familial duties
to his father
have moved him
halfway across the known world
from Ur to Haran.
And now,
his father has just died.
Grieving his father,
Abram is a stranger
in a strange land,
now solely responsible
for his dead brother's son,
Lot,
but with no children
of his own.
Now,
what's a person to do
in that situation?
The natural thing to do
is to go back to Ur.
Go back to your homeland.
Go back to your extended family
where you know people
and where you and Sarah
can settle down
and hopefully find
some extended relative
to take care of you
in your old age.
Isn't this what reason
and common sense
would demand?
Isn't this what reason
and common sense would demand?
But then comes
the promise of God,
the promise of blessing,
if Abram will trust
God's word
and go.
Now, unlike Abram,
God isn't necessarily
telling us
to leave our physical
countries and homes.
Abram did have
a unique role
in redemptive history.
So, who are we
most like
in this story?
Well, I think you and I
must first
put ourselves
in the shoes
of those families,
the nations.
That is,
all the families
of the earth
in verse 3.
That's us
in this story.
But we have
a departure
to make
as well.
because where
is blessing
to be found
for us?
Not in a piece
of land,
but in a person.
What does the text
say?
In you,
Abram,
all the families
of the earth
shall be blessed.
That is,
to receive
the blessing
of God,
we must find
it in him.
only by identifying
with Abraham's
family
is there any
hope
of anyone,
of any family
getting God's
blessing.
And as the
biblical story
unfolds
into the New
Testament,
we see in the
opening chapter
of Matthew 1,
as the New
Testament opens
up,
that the
offspring of
Abraham,
the fulfillment
of this promise
in whom the
nations will find
their blessing,
the fulfillment
is Jesus.
How do we get
into the
spiritual family
of Abraham?
It's not by
circumcision,
but by uniting
ourselves in
faith to Jesus
Christ,
the promised
one of Abraham,
the one in whom
all these promises
of blessing find
their yes in
God.
But identifying
with Jesus
certainly means
a departure.
A departure
no less
than that of
Abraham in
Genesis 12.
Our identity,
the thing that we
base our life
on,
the thing that you
maybe could point
to and say,
that's who I am.
That center
of our life
has to shift.
the primary
identity of our
life can no
longer be our
family background,
our moral
uprightness,
our work
success.
The primary
identity must
be the
person of
Jesus,
who he is
and what he's
done.
And make no
mistake about
it,
God's blessing
is found
nowhere else.
God doesn't
bless Abraham
and say,
you will be
one of many
spiritual roads
back to my
favor.
It's not
what he says.
No,
only in you,
Abraham,
only in the
thing that I'm
starting with you
will all the
families of the
earth be
blessed.
Why?
Because only
through Jesus
does God deal
with the real
problem.
Only in Jesus
does God deal
with the curse,
with sin.
I mean,
think about it.
If there was
any other way
for us to get
back to God,
why would God
send his only
son to die
for us?
If his blessing
could come
through some
other means
or some
other path,
why would
the father
allow his
only son
to bear
the curse
and the
shame
of crucifixion?
It's the
only way.
And so
we must
make the
departure
from an
identity built
on whatever
we might
be trusting
in to an
identity built
ultimately on
Christ alone.
and that's
a radical
departure.
More radical
than leaving
country and
kindred and
father's house.
In fact,
it's a departure
so radical that
according to the
New Testament,
you actually
can't make it
on your own.
we cling
too tightly
to our
old identities.
They're,
after all,
our security
and our
comfort
and our
hope.
We don't
want to let
that go
and make
Jesus the
center of
our life.
There's too
much at stake.
There's friends
that I'll lose
and there's
pleasures that
I'll forgo
and there's
ridicule that
I'll receive.
you can't
make this
departure
on your
own.
But
thankfully,
Jesus
didn't leave
us on our
own.
After three
days in the
grave,
Jesus rose
again in
power and
he spent
40 days with
his disciples
and then
ascended to
the Father
in heaven
completing
his redemptive
work and
sitting at
the Father's
right hand
telling his
disciples to
wait for the
promise of
the Holy
Spirit.
And at
Pentecost,
the Spirit
came and
it changed
him from
the inside
out.
And the
Holy Spirit
continues the
same work
today.
The Spirit,
you see,
liberates us
to let go
of our old
identities and
to find the
beauty of
Christ and
take hold of
him and be
found in
him.
This
departure of
faith is the
ongoing work of
the Holy Spirit
and he's doing
it today.
all across
the world
as people
release this
and take
hold of
their Savior.
Perhaps
he's doing
it in you
right now.
Compelling
you,
calling you
to rest
in this
Savior who
loves you
with an
infinite love
and to hear
the word of
divine blessing
your heart so
longs to hear
you are my
son,
you are my
daughter,
in you I'm
well pleased.
And as we
set out on
this departure,
the promise is
that the Spirit
never leaves us.
You see,
the departure
of conversion
is just the
start of a
lifelong pilgrimage
of faith.
In Hebrews
chapter 11,
the author
talks again
about this
moment in
Abram's life
just like Paul
did in
Galatians
chapter 3.
Here in
Hebrews chapter
11,
Hebrews comes
back to this
moment in
Abram's life
talking about
how Abram
had to go.
Not knowing
what lie
ahead,
trusting God's
word.
This
lifelong
journey
wasn't
easy for
Abram.
And the
reality is,
friends,
it won't be
easy for
us.
There will
be years
of
discouragement
and trial.
Abram will
often find
himself in
trouble and
conflict.
At one point
in his life,
he has to
muster up an
army and
go lead a
liberation band
to free
Lot from
some kings
who had
kidnapped
him.
There will
be years of
doubt and
uncertainty for
us.
Abram and
Sarah have
remained
childless for
decades after
this moment,
wondering when
God would
ever do what
he was going
to do and
kind of doubting
it was going
to happen and
at one point
even laughing
because it
seems so
absurd.
There will
be moments
of confusion
and pain.
Abram was
called to
offer over
his only son
to the
Lord.
But through
it all,
God never
left Abraham.
Hebrews 11
says,
we're looking
forward to
a city that
has foundations,
whose designer
and builder
is God.
The journey
of faith
may have
many twists
and turns.
The road
may seem to
crumble beneath
us, but God
will bring us
safely home.
So, Christian,
if you're in a
season of trial,
of doubt,
if you cannot
hear or feel
the blessing
of God at
this moment,
hold on.
God has
not abandoned
you.
You remain
his beloved
child.
Though all
the world
may shake
and crumble,
the crucified
and risen
Christ stands
up for you
and the Holy
Spirit abides
within.
So keep
pressing on
God's
promise
remains
and nothing
can shake
it.
But as we
take this
departure of
faith,
trusting in
God's promise
of blessing,
there's a third
element to this
turning point.
We've seen the
blessing that we
all need and
the departure
that we must
take.
But third,
the mission
that we now
have.
God tells
Abram in
verse 2,
I will bless
you and
make your
name great
so that
you will
be a
blessing.
Abraham
was blessed
to be
a blessing.
Some of
my friends
in ministry
would probably
say,
now that'll
preach.
Abram was
blessed to
be a
blessing.
What he
received was
meant to
overflow to
others.
Now imagine
the nation
of Israel
hearing Moses
recite this
story on the
verge of
crossing into
the promised
land.
What they
heard wasn't
just the
promise of
God's blessing
for them,
but that
through them
that blessing
would come to
all nations.
They were
hearing that
they had a
mission to
bring blessing
to all the
families of
the earth.
And it's the
same with the
people of God
today, with the
church today.
In Christ, we
have received
every spiritual
blessing in the
heavenly places,
and that blessing
is meant to
overflow.
Jesus says to
us, you're the
light of the
world.
You are the
salt of the
earth.
Your life isn't
meant to be
lived for
yourself, but
for the great
purposes of
God in the
world.
There are
people groups
on earth
today who
have never
heard the
good news
of Jesus
Christ.
How will
we as a
church play
a part in
bringing God's
news of
blessing to
them?
Perhaps God
is calling
your life to
be a part of
that story and
to go.
There are
people right
here in our
city who are
struggling to
find warm
places to
stay, to put
food on their
tables, to get
through school
and graduate.
How are we
as a church
bringing God's
blessing to
them?
You see,
something happens
when you receive
the good news
of Jesus, when
the Holy Spirit
unites you to
Christ through
faith.
And you
become a
recipient of
grace, of
God's favor
and blessing.
What happens
is you start
to sit loose
to a lot of
other stuff in
your life.
Because the
reality is, at
a deep
spiritual level,
you don't need
it anymore.
You don't need
to hoard
possessions and
money.
In Christ, you
have an internal
inheritance that
will never fade.
You have a
dignity and a
worth that money
literally cannot
buy.
money.
So you can be
sacrificially
generous now.
Money has lost
its power over
your life and
you can give it
away.
And you don't
need to cling
tightly to your
time.
In Christ, you
literally have all
the time in the
world and in the
world to come.
time.
So you can take
time to spend
with others.
And you can
make your
schedule revolve
around things
other than your
own entertainment
and your own
pursuits.
God doesn't want
the blessing to
stop with you.
He wants it to
keep going.
Question, how are
you blessing others
right here in your
church family?
How are you
actively serving and
loving others right
here?
You know, if we
should learn anything
from our modern
culture, it is that
mere consumption
makes us bored.
Man, how, okay,
true confessions,
how many of you
really wished that
the Mandalorian that
just got released on
Disney Plus was
something you could
just stream all eight
episodes of?
If you have no
idea what I'm
talking about, you
come up to me
afterwards and we'll
pray about it.
Right?
You want to just
binge it, but we
got to wait every
week.
But how many of us
after binging that
Netflix show we've
been waiting so long
to see?
Gosh, we just feel
so bored.
It's just kind of
icky.
Don't just be a
consumer in the
spiritual family of
the church.
Be a participant.
Take up your part
to play.
Get about the
mission.
Produce the show
that's unfolding
right before your
eyes.
You are blessed to
be a blessing and
there in that
mission, you will
find what you were
created for.
A deeper communion
with God.
friends, you were
created to know
God.
Jesus says, eternal
life is knowing
me.
Has it ever struck
you that you need
to find God's
face in the
mission?
Because that's
where God meets
us.
Because after all,
God is a
missionary God.
When he wants to
bless Abraham, he
sends him halfway
across the known
world.
God's a
missionary God.
You will meet
him in the
mission.
God's a
missionary God.
The father sent
the son.
And the son sent
the spirit.
And the spirit
sends the church.
And there in the
sending, in the
going, God meets
us.
So friends, as we
conclude, is there a
turning point for you
in this passage?
Perhaps the
turning point is to
see that God really
does love you.
And that in Jesus,
he's done everything
to bring you home
and accept you.
Perhaps the
turning point is to
stop trusting in
your own self and
your own accomplishments
and to take the
departure of faith in
Christ and to make
him the center of
your life and strike
out on the
pilgrimage that he's
calling you to.
you.
Perhaps the
turning point is for
you to hold on in
the midst of trial, to
keep putting one foot
in front of the
other.
Perhaps the
turning point is to
join the mission, to
find out how the
blessing of God is
meant to flow through
you to others.
But let us be
encouraged by the
last verse of our
passage.
The turning point for
Abraham, the
point of his
spiritual departure
came when he was
75 years old.
You see, it is never
too late to begin.
No matter how long
you've spent searching,
no matter how many
detours or mistakes
your life has made,
today can be the
turning point.
The Lord called
Abraham and promised
him blessing.
And in Christ,
through his spirit, he
calls us today as
well.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we ask
that you would meet
us as we come to
your table and help
us by your Holy
Spirit to make the
departures that we
need to make so that
we might live in line
with the truth of this
great blessing that
you've given to us.
Amen.