And if you will turn with me to Genesis chapter 12 on page number 13.
! We've been singing about God making a promise to Abraham.
! A promise that we'd be renewed through the generations.
A promise that will be fulfilled in Jesus.
But as we come to Genesis 12, we're going to look at the first nine verses,
and we're going to ask ourselves from this text,
who is God?
So let's hear God speak.
The Lord had said to Abraham,
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.
So Abraham went as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him.
Abraham was 75 years old when he set out from Haran.
He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they'd accumulated,
and the people they'd acquired in Haran.
And they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
Abraham traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem.
At that time, the Canaanites were in the land.
The Lord appeared to Abraham and said,
To your offspring I will give this land.
So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
From there he went on towards the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent,
with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.
There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
Then Abraham set out and continued towards the Negev.
Amen.
We'll leave our reading there.
So we're asking the question, who is God?
But let's begin thinking about friendship and also loneliness.
I wonder if you can remember a time when it felt like making friends was easy.
For me, I go back to my little primary school.
Maybe the first new friend I met, we supported the same football team.
So of course we became friends for life.
In primary three, my little class of two grew to three.
And boy number three, he used the same inhaler as I did.
And so of course we were friends forever.
Friendship is something that can be so easy at times.
And it's a wonderful gift.
It's been well said that friendship is the gift that halves our sorrows and doubles our joys.
And that's one of the things that we hope a local church like ours is for people.
A place where real friendship can be established.
Because we know, don't we, friendship can be hard to come by.
Even the government has recognized that.
We have a task force.
We are now in what's still known as a loneliness epidemic.
Rising numbers of people who feel left out.
Who have no meaningful social connections.
Who would indicate they have a sense of intense loneliness much of the time.
And that's so important because the impacts are huge.
Studies are now showing the impact on our cardiovascular system.
Things like the rise in diabetes.
The impact on mental health.
Productivity at work.
All shaped by friendship or its absence and loneliness.
So who is God?
God is the one who speaks.
And God is the one who invites us into relationship.
Where we get to call God Father.
Where we can have the Lord Jesus as a friend.
Where we can know, because the Spirit is in us, that we are never alone.
The Bible says we are made for relationships.
And wonderfully, as we see throughout the Bible story,
God comes to give, to establish, to restore relationship.
Last week, if you were here, we were at the Tower of Babel.
And here is this moment where the world had walked away from God.
And they were literally building a life apart from God.
And the outcome was confusion and scattering.
And that could have been the end of the story.
But what we just read is that this week, God comes calling.
God comes seeking.
Abraham.
An old man.
An idol worshipper.
And he changes Abraham's life by establishing relationship.
That got me thinking this week.
About prayer.
If you're a Christian, you'll have had a relationship with prayer through the years.
But this week, I was thinking, what an amazing privilege.
You know, you're facing real challenges.
And we get to pray.
When something good comes into our life,
and we can say thank you to God, knowing that kindness came from Him.
I found myself asking God for wisdom.
I found myself taking the needs of other people to God this week.
I enjoyed going for a walk in the sunshine,
and talking with Him at the same time.
And I think one of the goals I have for today is basic and fundamental.
If we are Christians,
to remind ourselves that God wants us to enjoy our life with Him.
To enjoy a living relationship with God.
And if you're not a Christian,
I want to show you what God offers to you.
The connection, the relationship, the life,
actually that we were all made for.
So God is the Lord who speaks,
so that we might enjoy life with Him.
That's where we're going this morning.
So let's think, first of all, about the reality that God speaks.
And recognize with me that this God is the personal God.
Four times in our text, you will see the name of God,
the Lord.
Verse 1, all in capital letters,
also there in verse 4, 7, and 8.
This is not a title.
This is God's own name.
This reminds us, fundamentally, God is personal.
He is not a force.
He is not a concept or a construct.
He is alive, active, and personal.
In our text, we see this personal God.
He makes promises.
He connects with people in covenant.
We will hear Him say,
I will be your God,
and you will be my people.
And this personal God is one that we can know
in His actions.
The Bible is full of the actions of God.
The world is full of the actions of God.
God has created everything that we see,
and He controls it all.
He reveals Himself personally,
and He personally acts to rescue people.
He shows steadfast love.
He shows His glory.
He is full of goodness and grace,
because He is personal.
And this is so helpful.
You and I, we don't need to guess what God is like.
And we should never imagine God is distant,
some kind of faraway concept.
Rather, we're reminded He is the personal God
who comes near so that you and I,
we might know Him.
And that's one of the wonderful things
about the Abraham story.
We see the personal God is acting everywhere.
He calls Abraham.
He makes promises.
He intervenes when Abraham gets things wrong.
He directs Abraham's journeys.
He reveals His actions in advance to Abraham.
He commits to a covenant relationship,
and He even gives him a son.
He is personal.
And now,
this same God that we're reading about here,
He has personally revealed Himself
in an even more striking way
in His Son,
the Lord Jesus.
John's Gospel tells us,
He is the Word who became flesh
and made His dwelling among us,
and we have seen His glory.
To see Jesus in the Gospel
is to see God.
And this Jesus,
He comes personally to us.
Remember how we started our service?
He opens the door,
inviting us to welcome Him
so that we might have the joy of life with Him.
He's the one who personally says,
come to me and rest.
and find salvation
and enjoy life with God.
Now, why start here?
Well, again,
it's because I think it's something
we can forget
or we can fail to enjoy.
And maybe if we're not Christians,
we can have a misconception
about what Christianity is.
Christianity is not
about dull duty.
And it is not about
religious routine.
rather,
it is personal,
living relationship
with God
through Jesus,
His Son.
The one who comes
to walk with us
through life.
And so we're all invited
to come
and to taste and see
that this personal God
is good.
So God is personal.
Now,
I also want to notice
when God speaks,
there is a pattern.
verse 1,
the Lord had said to Abraham,
go from your country,
your people,
and your father's household
to the land I will show you.
Now,
if I was to ask
any one of you,
why are you here?
Why are you here in Edinburgh?
There would be a range
of answers.
For some of us,
it would be,
well,
education took me here.
For others,
work took me here.
Or,
this is where my family are.
Or,
this is the place
where I've always lived.
If I say,
why are you here in church?
Again,
we probably get a range
of answers.
Perhaps you're here today
because someone
invited you here.
You came with a friend.
Or,
your family comes
and so you come.
What prompts
the journey of Abraham
that we read about
in Genesis 12?
It was God's direct call,
wasn't it?
It was God's word
to him.
And,
it's so interesting
to see that the story
of Abraham's life
in Genesis,
as it's told by the author,
it begins and ends
in a very similar way.
In Genesis 12,
we hear God say to Abraham,
leave and go.
And then,
in a couple of weeks,
we'll get to Genesis 22
and we hear God say,
take and go.
And so,
this says to us
that the whole of Abraham's life,
and more than that,
the whole of the life
of faith,
is to find direction
from God's word.
For us,
the Bible,
the word of God.
But let's think about
God's call to Abraham.
Let's think about
what did it mean to him?
And what does it say
about how God speaks
and calls today?
So,
let me just identify
one or two patterns.
First,
to recognize that
when God calls Abraham,
we should hear this
as a new beginning.
This is like new creation.
Now,
if you were to turn
to Genesis 1,
you would find this pattern.
God said something
and it was so.
God said,
let there be light
and there was light.
Now,
look at Genesis 12,
1.
The Lord said,
go.
Verse 4,
so Abraham went.
It's new beginning.
And in this new beginning,
we need to understand
the patience
and the mercy of God.
He is the one
who created everything
and everyone,
perfect relationships,
gave them every good gift.
And what people have done
since the beginning
is they've treated God shamefully.
In the story of Genesis,
eating the forbidden fruit,
choosing a way of life
that was entirely evil
all of the time
in Noah's day.
And then Tower of Babel
wanting to replace
and erase God
from the picture.
And what's God's response?
God speaks.
God seeks.
God starts again.
And so there's wonderful hope
for any and for all of us
when we mess up,
when we ignore God,
when we're aware of our sin.
Maybe no story shows it better
than the story Jesus told
of the prodigal son
in Luke 15.
There was the son who said,
Father, I can't wait
till you're dead.
Give me my share
of the inheritance.
And he went to a far country.
And he wasted all his money.
And he found himself living
a desperate
and a shameful existence.
But what happened to that boy
when he made the journey
back home?
Beyond the shame
and the rejection
and the disgrace
that that son had brought
on his family,
there was a father
with open arms
running,
with tears running down
his face.
You're home.
I'm so glad
to have you back.
Let's have a feast.
Our God is a God of grace
and new beginnings.
So that's the second thing
to notice about the pattern.
So it's a new beginning.
It's also gracious.
There is in this call
to Abraham
a reversing
of God's curse
and God's judgment.
So we're going to do
some maths together.
Look at verses 2 and 3
and count how many times
you read the word
bless or blessing.
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.
So that's five times,
yes?
Five times blessing.
In Genesis 1 to 11,
guess how many times
we are told
that sin
brings curse
and judgment.
The answer?
Five.
What point is God making?
He is making the point
that God's grace
is always the answer
to our human sin
and rebellion.
That while we deserve
curse
and judgment
and separation,
the God of grace
offers
his blessing.
Abraham is part of that
people who have been
rejecting God's word,
turning to do evil,
creating a life
without God.
The ruin,
the separation,
the shame,
the misery.
Abraham was part of that
but God's response
was grace.
Abraham wasn't looking
for God
but God took the initiative
to come near
and wonderfully
this gracious God
will do it again
in his son,
the Lord Jesus.
As he comes near,
so near as to become
one of us,
to save us
and to restore us
and to remove our shame.
So the call
is both new creation
and it's grace
but recognize too
that it's costly.
We heard that in verse 1,
didn't we?
Go from your country,
your people
and your father's household.
There's three levels of cost.
Everything is going to be
given up by Abraham,
his sense of identity
and security,
his place,
his people.
He's going to leave it all
because the Lord God,
the personal God,
has called him to do that
and he has promised blessing
if he will do that.
I read this week
of a pastor in Laos,
Southeast Asia.
When he first heard
about Jesus
and he trusted in Jesus,
he was rejected
by his family
and as he began
to tell people
in his community
about Jesus,
he found himself
rejected
and abused
within the community
and then in the fullness
of time
when he set up a church
to worship Jesus,
he was multiple times
attacked
and imprisoned.
The costly call
but he still obeyed.
Now we read in Matthew chapter 4
about the disciples.
Their call from Jesus
came at a cost,
didn't it?
To follow Jesus
means he must come first
and remember the response
of the disciples.
They leave their jobs,
they leave their families,
they leave their own plans behind
because they've come
to recognize
well Jesus is God's king
and he is calling us
to loyalty and love
and because they had experienced
God's love in Jesus,
they gladly followed.
But it was costly
for you and for me.
If you're a Christian,
you will know this,
to say that God is in charge
and not me,
that comes with cost.
Sometimes the cost
is our own personal comfort.
Sometimes the cost is
we have to start struggling
and battling against sin
which we were previously
really comfy in.
Maybe the cost for us
is feeling somewhat despised
by our family
or by our friends.
So we've seen the person
who calls.
We've seen the pattern
of God's call.
Let's just think for a few moments
about the promise itself
because this is an amazing section
of the Bible.
This is key in God's big story.
So look with me again
at verses 2 and 3
and think about the promise
and think about what this means
for Abraham.
God says to him,
I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you.
Abraham,
he's 75.
His wife
cannot have children.
But now he's been told
by this God
that he's only just met
that a nation
will be formed
from his family.
God doesn't stop there.
Verse 2,
I will make your name great
and you will be a blessing.
Again,
this is a contrast
to what was happening
in Babel.
In Babel,
they were building
that great tower saying,
hey,
let's make a name
for ourselves.
But here is God
coming to honor
Abraham
to build a name
for him.
And then think about
this idea of blessing.
Here is God's goodness.
Here is God's life
flowing to Abraham.
And notice the progress.
So it begins
with a promise
that Abraham himself
will be blessed.
And then as it goes on,
Abraham's name
will become a blessing.
And then in verse 3,
there's blessing
for those who will
treat Abraham well.
And then it climaxes
with this,
that there will be blessing
for the world
through Abraham
and through his family.
That's a remarkable
set of statements
of blessings
coming from God
and then flowing
from God,
flowing from Abraham
to the world.
We can think about Abraham
functioning as
a spiritual
satellite dish.
You know how
satellite dishes work
where they receive
messages
and then they convey
and transmit
those messages.
Well,
here is Abraham
and his family
and they are receiving
God's blessing.
But they're not to keep
it to themselves.
This blessing,
this goodness,
this life from God,
it's going to be transmitted
all around the world.
It's a wonderful principle
and priority
that God actually
still sets for the church.
We receive
God's grace
and God's salvation
and God's life
so that we would then
share it,
transmit it
to the people
around us.
God speaks.
So here's what we've seen
about God.
He is personal.
He has a name
and he calls to people
and he makes
great promises.
Now this is a pattern
that we will see
repeating
many years later
when another
would leave
and go.
This time
the eternal
son of God
leaving the worship
and glory of heaven
to go,
to come
into this world
to become one of us.
And Jesus' journey
was one of obedience
to his father's call
and to the father's
great plan of salvation.
The life of Jesus
was a journey
of faith
which would take him
all the way
to the cross.
And think about
God's grace
to people
on the cross.
Here is Jesus,
the perfect one
father loves him
but he dies
under God's
curse.
Feeling the full
weight
of God's wrath
against sin
for our sin,
for our shame
and for our salvation
to give us
his blessing.
And like those
first disciples,
Jesus now
comes to us
revealing God
to us,
revealing the message
of good news
to us
and he makes
great promises
to us,
the promise of
forgiveness,
the promise of
new life,
the promise of
eternal life
and he calls
us to respond
to know this
life for ourselves.
So Jesus
is how you
and I
can know
God
personally
and we can
hear God
speak.
So God
speaks
but we also
need to think
about Abraham's
response
and we can do
that much
much more
briefly.
So I
imagine all
of us
are familiar
with the
principle
that when
things sound
too good
to be true
they usually
are.
This summer
we narrowly
avoided
a vintage
scam.
I imagine
we are not
alone in that.
There was a
great item
on sale
at a really
great price
and there was
a really
convincing
sob story
because AI
knows what
it's doing
and there
was a really
convincing
but entirely
fake set
of delivery
notifications
and fake
tracking
numbers.
Well eventually
we figured
something's not
adding up here.
We got a bit
suspicious.
Did a wee bit
of googling
and discovered
yep we'd
been caught
in a
classic scam
and the
internet gave
me the sage
advice.
On Vinted
if something
seems too
good to be
true
it is.
So there's
my life
lesson for
today.
But far
more important
for our
purpose
picture
Abraham.
He's in
his tent
in this
place
called
Haran.
He is
surrounded
by his
family.
He is
pretty
wealthy
as a
man.
He is
elderly.
Perhaps
he's feeling
a sense
of sadness
because he
doesn't have
a son
to carry
on his
family line
and then
one day
he hears
the Lord
speak to
him.
This man
who has
spent all
his days
worshipping
statues
maybe carving
one himself
he hears
the living
God speak
and not
just speak
he hears
these remarkable
promises
invited to
follow God
and to
receive God's
blessing
and to know
life with God.
So what's
Abraham going to
do?
Is he going
to think
well this
sounds too
good to
be true?
We read
didn't we
Abraham's
response
I love
the story
of Abraham
this picture
of a man
who is
elderly
for sure
but his
spiritual
reflexes
they're
sharp.
So he
believes
God
he hears
God speak
tell him
to do
something
and his
reflex
gets up
he packs
up
and he's
ready to
go.
And it's
wonderful to
think about
that man
Abraham
as he
responds to
God
the personal
God
the God
who speaks
his life
has changed
his destiny
has changed
his eternity
has changed
the day that
God spoke
and he
answered.
So two things
about Abraham's
response
first we see
that faith
obeys
God.
So we saw
this already
verse 1
the Lord
said to
Abraham
go from
your country
and go
to the land
I will
show you
verse 4
so Abraham
went as
the Lord
had told
him.
There is
no question
about where
Abraham's
first loyalty
lies.
When God
calls
when the
Lord God
calls
he comes
first
and it's
remarkable
too that
when God
promises
even when
these promises
seem out
of this
world
Abraham
lives by
faith
and he
trusts
that
nothing
is
impossible
with
God
and
even
his
journey
has no
clear
destination
he's just
to go
where
God
tells him
to go
he doesn't
do what
we do
you know
plot our
journey
in Google
Maps
rather
this is
faith
that
trusts
God
that
takes
God
at
his
word
and
ultimately
that
takes
God's
hand
on a
wonderful
journey
of
faith
that's
what
we're
invited
into
to
live
by
faith
to
live
with
God
through
this
life
so
faith
obeys
God
and
the
other
thing
that
we
see
about
Abraham's
response
is
that
faith
worships
God
verse
7
verse
8
the
Lord
appeared
to
Abraham
and
said
to
your
offspring
I
will
give
this
land
so
he
built
an
altar
to
it
appeared
to
him
from
there
he
went
on
towards
the
hills
east
of
Bethel
and
pitched
his
tent
with
Bethel
in the
west
and
Ai
on
the
east
there
he
built
an
altar
to
the
Lord
and
called
on
the
name
of
the
Lord
and
my
folks
they
live
up
in
the
highlands
in
the
black
isle
and
they
live
really
near
a
campsite
and
the
campsite
has
a
wonderful
piece
of
philosophy
to
encourage
us
to
not
litter
it
says
leave
nothing
behind
but
footprints
and
waste
nothing
but
time
there's
more
good
wisdom
for
us
Abraham
would
say
I'm
not
listening
to
that
wisdom
because
Abraham
absolutely
does
leave
something
behind
what
does
Abraham
leave
behind
he
leaves
behind
these
altars
he
leaves
behind
evidence
wherever
he
goes
that
he
is
now
worshipping
the
one
true
and
living
God
so
other
people
would
see
these
altars
and
they'd
see
Abraham
worshipping
and
future
generations
see
these
altars
and
they
are
taught
this
is
where
Abraham
worshipped
the
one
true
and
living
God
it's
like
a
monument
to
his
faith
the
true
God
is
worshipped
here
what
prompts
him
verse
7
is
that
the
Lord
appeared
to
him
now
the
Lord
is
not
just
speaking
now
the
Lord
is
showing
his
glory
and
again
remember
God
is
personal
and
he
is
active
and
he
is
living
and
he
is
a
close
relationship
with
Abraham
and
when
he
sees
God's
glory
his
instinct
is
to
worship
his
family
probably
the
only
one
surrounded
by
pagan
nations
but
he
will
stand
and
he
will
bow
and
he
will
worship
this
God
who
has
made
himself
known
he
functions
like a
light
in the
darkness
he
functions
like a
small
church
on a
mission
to
share
God's
glory
in
the
world
faith
obeys
and
faith
worships
who
is
God
he
is
the
personal
God
who
speaks
who
calls
he
promises
what's
our
response
Genesis
12
is
the
story
of
God
in
his
grace
and
goodness
invading
history
coming
to a
world
in
rebellion
and
under
the
curse
to
reveal
himself
to
make
things
new
and
to
bring
blessing
and
Abraham
shows
us
the
right
response
to
that
kind
of
act
of
God
is
faith
and
worship
this
morning
do we
see how
this
connects
with
our
own
stories
do we
recognize
that
God
will
once
again
invade
history
when
Jesus
his
own
son
comes
and
ultimately
Jesus
will
stand
toe
to
toe
against
darkness
and
rebellion
against
Satan
and
sin
and
death
and he
will win
a great
victory
for himself
and for
his people
by way
of the
cross
and then
his
resurrection
so that
the power
of sin
is broken
so that
forgiveness
and life
are made
available to
us
and he
calls us
into life
with the
living God
and so it's
remarkable
that again
in Jesus
God
answers
and speaks
into the
silence
and the
loneliness
and the
confusion
revealing to
us
God
is real
God
offers
relationship
and that
to do
that
God
will
pay
the
ultimate
price
in
Jesus
to
rescue
and
to
reconcile
so we
join
Abraham
to live
this life
of faith
and
worship
when we
take up
our
privilege
of going
through
life
day
by
day
enjoying
life
with
God
knowing
God
is
working
in
us
and
for
us
hearing
him
speak
to
us
in
his
words
speaking
to
him
in
prayer
will
we
make
the
most
of
that
to
be
so
thankful
that
he's
given
us
this
new
identity
and
this
new
destiny
at
a time
when
so
many
people
are
searching
for
something
more
but
don't
know
where
to
go
as
we
find
ourselves
surrounded
by
confusion
do
we
understand
that
Jesus
is
God's
answer
and
we
can
shine
a
light
drawing
others
to
know
Jesus
as
saviour
and
his
friend
are you
trusting
this
God
today
even
today
we've
heard
him
speak
to
us
in
his
word
calling
us
out
of
our
old
life
to
place
our
trust
in
Jesus
calling
us
to
believe
his
promise
that
he
will
save
us
that
he
will
forgive
us
he
will
be
with
us
he
will
grant
us
eternal
life
if
we
place
our
faith
in
Jesus
do
we
see
that
God
speaks
so
that
we
can
enjoy
life
with
him
both
now
and
forever
let's
pray
and give
thanks
our
God
and
our
Father
we
thank
you
that
you
did
not
leave
the
world
to
itself
but
rather
in
your
grace
and
your
goodness
you
entered
in
we
thank
you
for
demonstrating
your
love
in
calling
Abraham
and
making
these
wonderful
promises
and
ultimately
as we
see
those
promises
fulfilled
in the
sending
of your
son
the
Lord
Jesus
we
thank
you
that
if
anyone
is
in
Christ
Jesus
he
is
a
new
creation
now
we
thank
you
that
Jesus
has
taken
the
curse
for
us
so
that
we
might
enjoy
the
blessing
of
God
and
so
we
pray
that
we
would
enjoy
the
blessing
of
life
with
God
even
today
enable
us
to
worship
with
a
sense
of
joy
because
of
who
you
are
because
you
are
personal
because
you
are
good
thank
you
for
speaking
to
us
and
we
pray
in
Jesus
name
!
Amen