I need a refill, so just one minute.
I need a refill, so I need a refill, so I need a refill, so I need a refill.
There we go, we've all got tickly throats today.
Let's read Genesis 17.
We're going to read the first 14 verses today.
Let's hear God's word.
When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him and said,
I am God Almighty.
Walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.
Abram fell face down and God said to him,
As for me, this is my covenant with you.
You will be the father of many nations.
No longer will you be called Abram.
Your name will be called Abraham.
For I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you very fruitful.
I will make nations of you and kings will come from you.
I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.
To be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
The whole land of Canaan where you now reside as a foreigner.
I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you.
And I will be their God.
Then God said to Abraham,
As for you, you must keep my covenant.
You and your descendants after you for the generations to come.
This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you.
The covenant you are to keep.
Every male among you shall be circumcised.
You are to undergo circumcision.
And it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.
For the generations to come,
every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,
including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner.
Those who are not of your household,
not of your offspring.
Whether born in your household or bought with your money,
they must be circumcised.
My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.
Any uncircumcised male who has not been circumcised in the flesh
will be cut off from his people.
He has broken my covenant.
Well, let's pray.
Amen.
We come to you, God Almighty,
creator of our life
and giver of life.
Would you, by your spirit,
speak words to us afresh today?
Words that lead to a transformation of our hearts,
changing our minds and our thinking,
reorientating us
to love you
and worship you.
Help us
in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Thanks.
No.
So, how do you respond to failure?
If someone lets you down
or they break a promise to you,
how do you respond inside?
What do you feel?
Well, we might let the first one go,
mightn't we?
But the second time,
well, that's it.
It's over.
It's finished.
We're not very patient
with each other's failures,
are we?
Well, how does God deal
with our failures?
How do you think God responds
to our daily,
hourly,
minute-by-minute failures?
Well, look at verse 1.
When Abraham,
we're going to use the name Abraham
through this,
I'm not going to try and
say Abraham and Abraham,
I'll get mixed up,
so we'll just call him Abraham
through this chapter.
When Abraham was 99 years old.
Now, that's not a reminder
to get the invites out
for Abraham's big, big birthday.
No, it's a reminder
that 13 years have passed
since Abraham's big, big failure.
Just look back one verse
to the end of chapter 16.
Abraham was 86 years old
when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Remember, God had promised
Abraham a son,
but since his wife Sarah
had borne him no children,
he took matters into his own hands
and had a son with Hagar
who was not his wife.
And the son of that relationship,
Ishmael,
was now 13 years old.
So every passing year,
every birthday of Ishmael
was only a reminder to Abraham
of how he had disobeyed God.
How does God respond to failures
like Abraham?
Failures like us?
Well, he responds in one word.
Covenant.
Look at verse 2.
He says,
Then I will make my covenant
between me and you.
Now, we've come across covenant before,
back in chapter 15.
So this is not a new covenant.
It's a continuation of the first one,
but with new detail.
Now, a covenant is like a promise
or a pledge.
It's a formal relationship
between two people
who agree to a set of promises.
It's a bit like a marriage.
A husband and wife make promises.
They vow to be loyal
and faithful and committed.
And when God makes a covenant,
it's to be long term.
God doesn't do short term relationships.
He's in it for the long haul.
Now, to get that long termness
into our heads
and allow it to sink in,
get your yellow highlighter out
and mark the word covenant
all the way through chapter 17.
Well, 13 ticks later,
you will get the point.
God responds to failures
with covenant faithfulness.
Better still, read aloud verse 7.
I will establish my covenant
as an everlasting covenant
between me and you.
Or verse 13,
the end of verse 13.
My covenant in your flesh
is to be an everlasting covenant.
And this would go on
down through the family,
the middle of verse 19.
I will establish my covenant with him
as an everlasting covenant.
God responds to failures like us
with everlasting faithfulness.
So let's see what this everlasting covenant is
in more detail.
First,
covenant reminds us
of an everlasting relationship with God.
There's a lot of repetition
through chapter 17.
We get continual reminders
of God's promise to Abraham
that he's going to be a great nation.
But here in chapter 17,
we get to see the purpose
of why God is going to make him
into a great nation.
Look how God introduced himself to us.
Verse 1.
When Abraham was 99 years old,
the Lord appeared to him and said,
I am God Almighty.
Once more,
God takes the initiative
and intervenes into Abraham's
helpless life.
God Almighty,
the creator of the universe,
the one that spoke everything
into existence,
the one who owns all things,
rules over all things,
has power over all things,
who sees all things,
comes and speaks.
I am God Almighty.
Walk before me faithfully
and be blameless.
Then I will make my covenant
between me and you
and you will greatly increase
in numbers.
You see,
God doesn't give up
on failures.
He moves towards failures.
God Almighty
is concerned
for insignificant,
weak,
nobodies like us.
Now this intervention
by God Almighty
is filled
with purpose.
Look at verse 7.
God speaks
and he says,
I will establish
my covenant
as an everlasting covenant
between me
and you
and your descendants
after you
for the generations
to come.
And here's the addition
to the covenant.
To be
your God
and the God
of your descendants
after you.
It's an
I will be
your God
and you will be
my people
kind of promise.
You see,
the purpose
of making Abraham
into a great nation
is that God
is going to be
God
to this nation.
God is making
an everlasting promise
that is going
to reach out
into all the world
down through this history
in the centuries
of time
and reaching forward
into all history.
I will be
God
to you
forever.
This is the kind
of relationship
God calls us into.
You see,
we tend to look
at our relationships
with God
through different eyes.
we imagine
that it's us
who moves out
towards God.
It's almost
that God
is there
as an invitation
if we like it
or whatever.
If you're interested
in a relationship,
well,
here I am
for you.
When you're ready
in your time,
just let me know.
Well,
Abraham isn't
given that choice,
is he?
God intervenes
and says,
verse 7,
I will establish
my covenant
as an everlasting
covenant
between me
and you.
This is what's
happening,
Abraham.
This is how
it's going to be.
I am
going to be
your God.
Now,
I know that
begins to grate
with our pride
because we love
to be able
to sing,
I decided
to follow
Jesus.
Well,
that's not
how it works.
If you follow
Jesus today,
it's because
God Almighty
intervened
in your life,
not at your
invitation,
but because
God said,
I will be
your God.
God,
now that might
cause a bit
of upset
for you.
It might even
keep you awake
at night.
But doesn't
that help us
see what a
gracious and
good God
we have?
God Almighty
is interested
in you.
He desires
to be
your
God.
When
Kirsty and I
stood at the
front of a
church
25 years
ago,
I made
a promise.
I will
be husband
to you.
That means
I am for
you.
I am in
this marriage
for your
good.
I will be
everything you
need and
desire.
Now when
God comes
to us and
takes us
by the
hand and
says,
I will be
God to
you,
God is
saying,
I am
for you.
I am
in this
for your
good.
I will
be everything
you need
every single
day.
All that
you desire,
I will
be for
you.
Shamefully,
unlike me,
God is
loyal,
committed,
steadfast,
faithful.
As one
writer put
it,
this is a
relationship
no time
can
exhaust,
no circumstance
can change,
no disaster
can destroy,
no catastrophe
can crush,
no human
failure can
alter,
and that
no death
can break.
In fact,
to drive the
point home,
God gives
Abraham a new
name.
Look at
verse 5.
No longer
will you be
called Abram,
your name
will be
Abraham.
Every time
Sarah would
call him,
or his
buddies would
call him
Abraham,
there would
be an
echo within
his heart
and within
his life,
God saying
to him
again,
I am
God Almighty
and I
will be
your God.
So first,
God's
covenant
is all
about an
everlasting
relationship
with God.
But also,
come on,
covenant
is all
about an
everlasting
commitment
to God.
You see,
God's
relationships,
just like
a marriage,
is not
just one
way traffic,
it works
both ways.
Something
God made
sure Abraham
understood.
Look at the
middle of
verse 1.
God says,
I am God
Almighty,
walk before
me faithfully
and be
blameless.
There's a
way for you
to live in
relationship
with me,
Abraham,
and it's
to be
faithful
and
blameless.
Now,
how do you
show such
commitment
to God
Almighty?
Well,
God gave
Abraham
a sign.
He gave
him a sign.
Look at
verse 10.
This is
my covenant
with you
and your
descendants
after you,
the covenant
you are to
keep.
Every male
among you
shall be
circumcised.
Now,
this painful
action
was a sign
of a
promised
action.
The cutting
off with a
knife of
the foreskin
from the
penis
was an
everlasting
mark of
commitment.
In two
ways it
demonstrated
commitment.
First,
it was a
reminder to
Abraham that
God was
committed to
him.
God
Almighty
will be
his God.
God is
for him.
But second,
it was a
reminder to
Abraham that
he was
committed to
God.
He belongs
to God
Almighty.
He is
for God,
devoted to
God,
loyal to
God.
My life
is now
cut off
for
God.
God
is now
to
God.
You see,
it was all
very practical,
wasn't it?
Every time
Abraham got
up in the
morning,
went to
bed at
night,
every time
he went
to the
loo or
put on
his
pajamas,
it would
be a
reminder,
Abraham,
you belong
to God.
Abraham,
you're
for God.
That's
why it
says in
the end
of verse
13,
my
covenant
in your
flesh
is to
be an
everlasting
covenant.
It was
an everlasting
sign that
he was
committed
to the
God who
was committed
to him.
So,
question,
why do
we now
go and
make
disciples of
all nations,
circumcising
them in
the name
of the
Father
and the
Son and
the Holy
Spirit?
Good
question,
isn't it?
Well,
we're going
to come
back to
that in
a minute,
but let's
not lose
our focus.
You see,
a relationship
with God
is always
two ways.
God has
promised
himself to
us,
and we
promise
ourselves to
him.
It's not
an optional
extra.
Obedience
isn't just
for the
very keen,
it's for
every
follower
of Christ.
So,
look at
verse 2.
God
says,
I will
make my
covenant
between me
and you.
This is
what I'm
going to
do,
I'm going
to establish
this covenant.
Verse 9,
then God
said to
Abraham,
as for
you,
you must
keep
my
covenant.
I'll
make it,
you've
got to
keep it.
Verse 23,
on that
very day
Abraham
took his
son Ishmael
and all
those born
in his
household,
or bought
with his
money every
male in
his household,
and circumcised
them as
God told
him.
You see,
when God
Almighty
speaks,
God's
people
always
obey.
In
fact,
failure to
commit to
God would
have
everlasting
consequences.
Verse 14,
any
uncircumcised
male who
has not
been
circumcised
in the
flesh will
be cut
off from
his people.
He has
broken my
covenant.
God is
saying,
if you
are not
cut off
for me,
you will
be cut
off from
me.
You see,
we can't
mess about
with God.
When God
speaks,
we listen,
we do.
It's not
an invitation
to raise
objections.
Of course,
this implies
that we are
intentionally
listening to
God's voice.
We want to
know what
pleases God.
We want to
know what
is good
for us.
So we
read his
word,
we listen
to his
voice,
we obey.
I have
a wedding
ring and
it provides
a similar
purpose.
Every time
I look at
my ring,
every time
I fiddle
with it
and turn
it around
in my
finger,
it reminds
me of
promises
Kirsty
made to
me.
But it's
much more
than just
one-way
traffic.
It reminds
me of my
commitment
to Kirsty.
this ring
tells me
I am no
longer my
own.
I live
for another.
Well,
if God
is my
God,
I am
his.
I belong
to him.
I'm no
longer my
own.
I now
live in
the service
of God
Almighty
and there
is nothing
that God
cannot ask
of me
to which
I can
turn around
and say
no.
My life
doesn't
belong to
me anymore.
So second,
covenant
is all
about an
everlasting
commitment
to God.
Third,
an
everlasting
need
for God.
Covenant
means an
everlasting
need for
God.
Every year,
I'm sure
you've seen
this on the
television,
the state
holds a
citizenship
day.
To become
an Irish
citizen,
you must
make a
promise.
And here's
how the
promise goes.
I solemnly
declare my
fidelity to
the Irish
nation and
my loyalty
to the
state.
I undertake
to faithfully
observe the
laws of the
state and
to respect
its democratic
values.
God's
promise.
For Abraham
and his
family,
circumcision
day was
like
citizenship
day.
It was a
declaration to
say we
belong to
God.
It was a
promise to
say we're
committed to
God.
I undertake
to faithfully
observe all
the laws of
God
Almighty.
honesty.
However,
instead of
it being a
mark of
being devoted
to God,
it actually
became a
reminder of
their failure
to obey
all that
God had
said.
You see,
circumcision
marked you
out as
belonging to
God.
It was an
external sign
of your
commitment to
keep the
covenant.
But just
because you
had the
mark,
just because
you had
had that
little cup
with a
knife,
didn't mean
that you
were an
obedient
person.
Circumcision
didn't make
you keep
the promise.
Just the
same as
those who
attend
citizenship
day.
Just because
you promised
to faithfully
observe all
the laws of
the state
and to
respect its
democratic
values,
just because
you might
sign a
piece of
paper,
doesn't
mean that
you will
obey all
the laws
of the
land.
Well,
Abraham and
his family
soon realised
that the
act of
circumcision,
painful as
it was,
was actually
a whole lot
easier than
the act of
obedience.
And we're
no different
because we
can stand
before God
and make
our promises.
others.
I will
love the
Lord my
God with
all my
heart,
with all
my soul
and with
all my
strength.
Oh,
and just
one other
thing.
I will
love my
neighbour as
myself.
It seems
we too
fail to
obey.
We need
a change
of heart.
You see,
the physical
act of
circumcision
pointed to
the need
for a
spiritual
act of
transformation.
External
signs were
good,
but what
was actually
needed was
an internal
change of
people's
hearts.
Follow
with me as
we go
forward.
Go to
Deuteronomy
chapter 10.
Deuteronomy
chapter 10.
The context
here is
Abraham's
small family
have now
become a
great big
nation.
They've all
made the
commitment to
be devoted
to God,
but,
as Deuteronomy
chapter 9
tells us,
they are a
nation that
have failed
terribly.
They've just
set up the
golden calf
and they've
pledged
allegiance to
it.
And now
this is what
God says in
response.
this, he
says, is
what must
happen.
Deuteronomy
10, verse
14.
To the
Lord your
God
belong the
heavens,
even the
highest heavens,
the earth
and everything
in it.
This is God
Almighty who
we're dealing
with.
Yet the
Lord set
his affection
on your
ancestors and
loved them.
and he
chose you,
their
descendants,
above all
the nations
as it is
today.
Circumcise
your hearts,
therefore,
and do not
be stiff-necked
any longer.
Stop your
stubborn
behaviour.
Circumcise
your hearts.
God's
love.
You see,
the heart
represents
where our
true
loves are,
what our
true desires
actually are.
So you
need to
cut off
the
disordered
loves and
the unhealthy
desires.
You need to
change your
heart.
Well,
how's that
going to
happen?
Make more
promises to
God?
Ratchet up
the commitment
levels?
Go to
rededication
services?
Please,
Lord,
would you
come into
my life
again?
I mean,
I didn't
do it
quite right
the first
time,
but this
time I
really mean
it,
come into
my life.
No,
we need
something much
bigger and
greater than
our own
failed
attempts.
Listen to
what God
would say
to his
people.
Go to
Deuteronomy
chapter 30.
Deuteronomy
chapter 30
verse 6.
God says,
circumcise
your hearts.
Well,
how's that
going to
happen?
Well,
God steps
in.
Deuteronomy
30 verse 6.
The Lord,
your God,
will circumcise
your hearts
and the
hearts of
your
descendants.
Why?
So that
you may
love him
with all
your heart
and with
all your
soul
and live.
You see,
you and I
can't make
ourselves
love God
more.
Our hearts
are desperately
broken and
sinful.
We can't
help but
love other
things and
other people
instead of
God.
So,
how is this
going to
happen?
how are
our hearts
going to
be changed?
Well,
God does
what he
said he
is going
to do.
God
will
promise
or has
promised
to
circumcise
our hearts
and he
does that
by establishing
a new
covenant
through
Christ.
God
circumcised
our hearts
through
or by
Christ.
Christ
must be
the one
who performs
internal
spiritual
surgery on
us.
Now,
this is all
helpfully
explained for
us if you
go to the
New Testament
to Colossians
chapter 2.
So,
you've got
Galatians,
Ephesians,
Philippians,
Colossians.
Maybe if you've
got a page
number,
someone you
can shout
it out for
us.
Colossians
chapter 2.
1183.
So,
Christ must
be the one
who performs
internal
spiritual
surgery
on us.
And here
we see it
explained.
Colossians
chapter 2
verse 11.
In him,
in Christ,
or because
of your
faith or
your being
united to
Christ,
in him
you are
also
circumcised
with a
circumcision
not performed
by human
hands.
No
outward
external
act is
ever going
to change
your heart.
You can't
perform your
own heart
surgery.
So,
how are we
going to be
changed?
Well,
read on.
Your
whole
self
ruled
by the
flesh,
that is,
your
whole
self
ruled
by your
sinful
desires
of your
heart,
was put
off or
cut off
when you
were
circumcised
God
by Christ.
You say,
well,
how does
that
happen?
How does
he cut
off our
sinful
desires of
our
heart?
How does
he deal
with us?
Well,
look at
verse 13.
When you
were dead
in your
sins and
in the
uncircumcision
of your
flesh,
God made
you alive
with Christ.
He forgave
us all
our sins.
You see,
two things
are happening
here.
First,
our sinful
hearts are
dealt with.
As Christ
went to
the cross,
he took
on himself
our
disobedience,
our
failures,
so when
the knife
of judgment
fell,
Christ was
being cut
off from
God for
us.
The only
true
obedient
son who
walked
faithfully
and blamelessly
before God
was punished
for you
and for
I.
And not
only were
our sins
dealt with,
but second,
we were
given a
new heart.
Look what
it says
in verse
13.
You were
dead
in your
sins,
but now
God has
made you
alive
with Christ.
Your heart
was so
broken,
you were
dead.
There was
no spiritual
life to
you,
but now
you've been
made alive,
you've been
given a
new heart
so that
you can
now live
a new
life.
A life
filled with
the Holy
Spirit who
gives us
God desires
and God
loves.
You see,
Christ has
been cut
off for
us so
that we
can be
committed
to him.
Now
all of
this
has been
demonstrated
in the
new
covenant
sign.
You see,
the old
covenant
failed,
not because
of God,
he was
faithful,
but because
of our
failure.
We needed
a new
covenant,
one that
doesn't
depend on
us,
but one
that depends
solely
on God.
and we
enter that
new
covenant
everlasting
relationship
by faith,
which is
demonstrated
in baptism.
Again,
let's read
verse 11.
in him
you were
also
circumcised
with a
circumcision
not
performed
by human
hands.
Your
whole
self
was
ruled
by
the
flesh,
was
put
off
when
you
were
circumcised
by
Christ,
having
been
buried
with
him
in
baptism,
in
which
you
were
also
raised
with
him
through
your
faith
in
the
working
of
God
who
raised
him
from
the
dead.
You
see,
the
act
of
baptism,
the
going
down
into
the
water
and
the
coming
up
out
of
the
water
is
a
sign
of
your
faith
in
Christ.
When
you're
getting
baptized
you're
saying
Christ
died
for
all
of
my
failures,
every
one
of
them,
future
ones,
past
ones,
and
Christ
was
raised
so
that
I
might
have
a
new
life
to
live
a
new
way.
Through
our
baptism
we
are
expressing
our
absolute
need
for
God.
Now if
this is
the kind
of God
who can
deal
with
all of
your
failure
forever,
if this
is the
kind
of God
who is
committed
to an
everlasting
relationship
with you,
if this
is the
kind
of God
who is
for you
and never
gives up
on you,
who dies
for you,
who gives
his life
for you,
who is
committed
to you,
how can
we not
be devoted
to him
and love
him with
all our
hearts?
You see,
baptism is
important to
us.
God
commands it.
God
Almighty
says,
my
disciples,
my
followers
should be
baptized.
You see,
every time
I sin
and every
time I
fail,
I can
look back
at my
baptism
and it
reminds me
of God's
covenant
faithfulness
to me,
that he
has dealt
with all
of my
failure.
It will
never be
held against
me.
It will
never break
my relationship
with God
ever.
But when I
look back
at my
baptism,
it reminds
me of my
covenant
commitment
to him.
Johnny,
you're no
longer your
own.
You belong
to God.
You're
devoted to
God.
So how
does God
deal with
failures like
Abraham?
How does
God deal
with failures
like you
and me?
One word,
covenant.
let's pray.
Let's pray.