You may be seated.
Good morning.
My name's Matthew Capone, and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.
! And it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.
A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us.
We're glad that you're here.
And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,
but because we're following Jesus together as one community.
And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good,
they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it.
Which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word.
This morning we're continuing our series in the book of Genesis.
The book of Genesis first tells the origin of the world in chapters 1 through 11.
And then it tells the origin of God's people, the story of Israel, in chapters 11 through 50.
We are focusing only on chapters 11 through 25 because we are in the Abraham story.
And we're looking at Abraham for two reasons.
First, because we are preparing to go back into our series in the book of Romans.
Romans chapter 4 is about Abraham.
Second, it allows us to ask the question, what does it look like to follow God in faith?
Last week we were in Genesis chapter 16, which I told you was one of the most painful and tender passages in Scripture.
Painful because of human failing and tender because of God's great mercy and grace.
This week we're in chapter 17.
There have been 13 years of silence since the end of the previous chapter.
So we have a large gap between 16 and 17.
17 is a follow-up in many ways to chapter 15.
Because both 15 and 17 cover God's covenant.
When we talk about covenants, we are always talking about the nature of our relationship with God.
That's the realm that we're in when we have covenant talk.
Chapter 15, we ask this question, what is the foundation of our relationship with God?
You remember the foundation is that we are His children.
That will never change.
Chapter 17 is a different question, not what is the foundation of our relationship,
but what does it mean to be in a relationship with God?
How does that relationship change and form us?
And so with that, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 17.
You can turn on your phone.
You can turn in your worship guide.
You can open your Bible.
And no matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word.
Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5 tells us,
Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
And so that's why we read now chapter 17, starting at verse 1.
When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
I am God Almighty.
Walk before me and be blameless,
that I may make my covenant between me and you,
and may multiply you greatly.
Then Abram fell on his face,
and God said to him,
Behold, my covenant is with you,
and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
No longer shall your name be called Abram,
but your name shall be Abraham,
for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful,
and I will make you into nations,
and kings shall come from you.
And I will establish my covenant between me and you,
and your offspring after you throughout their generations,
for an everlasting covenant,
to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
And I will give to you and to your offspring after you
the land of your sojournings,
all the land of Canaan,
for an everlasting possession,
and I will be their God.
Verse 9.
And God said to Abraham,
As for you, you shall keep my covenant,
you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.
This is my covenant,
which you shall keep between me and you
and your offspring after you.
Every male among you shall be circumcised.
You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins,
and it shall be a sign of a covenant between me and you.
He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised.
Every male throughout your generations,
whether born in your house or bought with your money,
from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,
both he who is born in your house
and he who is bought with your money,
shall surely be circumcised.
So shall my covenant be in your flesh,
an everlasting covenant.
Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised
in the flesh of his foreskin
shall be cut off from his people.
He has broken my covenant.
Verse 15.
And God said to Abraham,
As for Sarah, your wife,
you shall not call her name Sarah,
but Sarah shall be her name.
I will bless her,
and moreover I will give you a son by her.
I will bless her,
and she shall become nations.
Kings of peoples shall come from her.
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed
and said to himself,
Shall a child be born to a man
who is a hundred years old?
Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old,
bear a child?
Verse 18.
And Abraham said to God,
Oh, that Ishmael might live before you.
God said, No,
but Sarah, your wife,
shall bear you a son,
and you shall call his name Isaac.
I will establish my covenant with him
as an everlasting covenant
for his offspring after him.
As for Ishmael, I have heard you.
Behold, I have blessed him
and will make him fruitful
and multiply him greatly.
He shall father twelve princes,
and I will make him into a great nation.
But I will establish my covenant with Isaac,
whom Sarah shall bear to you
at this time next year.
Verse 22.
When he had finished talking with him,
God went up from Abraham.
Then Abraham took Ishmael his son
and all those born in his house
or bought with his money,
every male among the men of Abraham's house,
and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins
that very day,
as God had said to him.
Abraham was ninety-nine years old
when he was circumcised
in the flesh of his foreskin.
And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old
when he was circumcised
in the flesh of his foreskin.
That very day,
Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised.
And all the men of his house,
those born in the house,
and those bought with money from a foreigner,
were circumcised with him.
I invite you to pray with me
as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven,
we do thank you again for your word,
that you do speak to us
in words that we can understand.
We ask that you would do that this morning,
that you would open our eyes
to what you have for us,
that you would speak to us,
you'd teach us,
you would grow our love for you
and our obedience as well.
We thank you that we don't worry this morning
about whether we've earned
or deserved these things.
We know that we haven't,
and so we simply ask for them
in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
In April of 2016,
there was a news article that came out
that threatened to break the internet,
as they say,
because the British government
had commissioned a research vessel
for polar research.
So this vessel was supposed to study
global warming and climate change,
polar science, rising sea levels,
and they decided they had a great idea
that they would find the name,
they'd pick the name of this ship
through an online poll.
And so there were a variety of names
that rose to the surface in this.
One of them was Ice Ice Baby.
Another one was I Like Big Boats
and I Cannot Lie.
Science with three exclamation points.
Clifford the Big Red Boat.
None of those I've told you about
won the poll, though.
The winner was this,
Bodie McBoatface.
And so the question that came up was this,
are they going to honor the poll?
Will they do what they said
they were going to do?
Will the British government
have an RRS,
Bodie McBoatface?
And the answer was this,
no.
British government went back on their word.
They didn't do what they said
they would do.
They didn't honor the process.
No, instead they decided
they're going to name the ship
after a natural scientist.
And so it was named after
David Attenborough.
It makes sense, right?
It's fitting.
It makes sense that a ship
devoted to natural science
would be named after
a natural scientist.
Principle is this,
names really matter.
You actually can't name
a research vessel
by the British government,
Bodie McBoatface.
Because the name of the ship,
right, it needs to reflect
the ship's purpose
and mission.
Names shape
and show
our identity.
Parents, you know this.
When you named
your child,
there's a good chance
that name reflected
your hopes for them, right?
Especially if you choose
a name from the Bible.
Man, I like this character
and what they show
and I want my son
or daughter to show that.
Wives, when you got married,
maybe you took
a new last name, right?
Because there's a change there
in identity.
That's what's happening here
in chapter 17.
Verses 4 and 5,
we go from Abram,
which means father,
to Abraham,
which means father
of many nations.
There's a change.
Yes, Abram's a father.
He hasn't been
for most of his life.
He has one son,
Ishmael.
That's the present.
The future is going
to be something much greater.
The father not of nations,
of a nation,
many nations.
Same thing happens
with Sarai to Sarah,
verse 15.
Now, there's a vowel change
that happens.
That's the difference here.
And what's hard about this
is that Sarai and Sarah
actually mean the same thing.
So they both mean princess.
Our best guess, then,
is that the first name
reflects the past,
that Sarah came
from this royal family.
The new name
reflects the future,
that she will be
the mother of kings.
Note that in verse 16,
it's said in the context
of the name change,
she shall become nations,
kings of peoples
shall come from her.
By the way,
this is the first,
but not the only mention
of kings in Genesis.
The first time we're told
that the kings
are going to come
from Abraham and Sarah.
And so we see also,
not just this identity marker,
but there's a decisive break
from the past here.
We knew Abram and Sarah,
they were a couple
with no kids
wandering around
in the desert.
Now we're introduced
to Abraham and Sarah.
And we might say
in a certain sense
they're new characters
because the new names matter.
What does it mean
to be in a relationship
with God?
How does that relationship
change us?
First answer is this.
It means that God
gives us a new identity.
It means that God
gives us a new identity.
Now it doesn't mean
that your name will change,
although we do call
ourselves Christians.
It does mean we get
a new purpose,
a new mission,
a new life.
I had a job interview
many, many years ago
and I think
it was a large interview.
It was me
and a bunch of people
around this big table
and I think
one of the individuals
that interviewed
had gone on the internet
and searched questions
to ask in a job interview
and got in probably
one of the worst lists possible.
And so she looked at me
and she said,
how would you describe yourself
in one word?
Which is extremely relevant
to getting a job.
And I'm terrible
at questions like that
and really the only answer
I could think of
was the one I gave.
I said, well,
redeemed.
That's the Christian
in one word.
What is one word
that describes you
as a Christian?
Redeemed.
You've been bought by God.
You've a new identity.
So if you're a Christian,
what is most true about you?
What is most true about you
is not that you are a man
or a woman
or a boy or a girl.
It is not that you are wealthy
or poor.
It is not your choices
or your parents' choices.
It is not your education
or your lack of education.
I'm not saying those things
don't matter.
I'm not saying they're insignificant.
They are not
what is most true
about you.
They are not
what is most important.
What is most important
about you
is this,
that you belong
body and soul
to your faithful Savior,
Jesus Christ.
He is fully paid
for all your sins
with his precious blood
and he has set you free
from the tyranny
of the devil.
He also watches over you
in such a way
that not a hair
can fall from your head
without the will
of your Father in heaven.
In fact,
all things must work together
for your salvation.
Christian,
that is what is most true
about you.
That is what is first.
Of course,
that brings to us
both great humility
and great hope.
Humility,
if we look to all
those other things,
if we think,
I'm fine
because I'm smart
or wealthy
or powerful,
brings great hope
if you don't have
any of those things.
What does the world say
if you don't have
any of those things?
Either hustle
or give up.
The Bible says
something quite different.
If you don't have
those things,
you still belong,
body and soul,
to Jesus Christ.
Brothers and sisters,
we do not make
our own identity.
That is the great lie
of our current age.
The great lie
of our current age
is that it is all
up to you
to figure out
exactly who you are
and what that means.
That's actually
too great of a weight
for you to carry
as a human.
That's actually more
than you were meant
to figure out.
It's like that quote
that I told you
from a few years ago
by Taylor Swift.
I have some good news.
It's totally up to you.
I have some terrifying news.
It's totally up to you.
Christian,
I have some good news.
It is not at all
up to you.
We don't make
our identity.
We receive it.
What do you believe
is most true
about you?
If it is something
other than
the fact that
you have been redeemed,
you have lost
the plot.
That is what
is most important.
I also don't want you
to miss that there
is a decisive break
from the past here.
There's, of course,
many things that have
happened to Abraham
and Sarah,
and there's now
a new future.
You,
if you're a Christian,
have a decisive break
from the past
as well.
I do not mean
that the past
does not affect you.
Remember,
I had a professor
in seminary.
He said,
there are things
that have happened
to me in this life
that I will
never get over.
Meaning,
the impact of that
is going to travel
with me until I die.
And so,
I'm not saying
the past doesn't
affect you.
What I am saying
is this.
It cannot
define you.
It cannot
define you.
2 Corinthians
chapter 5
tells us,
therefore,
if anyone
is in Christ,
he is a new
creation.
The old
has passed away,
the new
has come.
If you belong
to God,
there is
nothing else
that gets
the final
word on you.
If you belong
to God,
there is
nothing else
that gets
the final
word
on you.
What did we sing?
Verse 3,
this is on page 4.
And if
he has
redeemed me,
I am not
my own.
The measure
of my worth
is his love
alone.
He declares
my standing
and he declares
my state.
So,
I will know
myself
by the
what?
By the name
he
gave.
If you are
cynical,
you might
be thinking,
man,
that sounds
really great,
Matthew,
except you
totally skipped
verses 1
and 2.
What does
God say to
Abraham in
verses 1
and 2?
He says,
walk before
me and
be
blameless.
Man,
that kind of
sounds like a
bait and switch,
right?
Sounds like
you have to
earn something
from God.
Yes,
get those
new names
and there's
a new
weight that
comes along
with it.
Kind of
sounds,
right?
You have
to earn
something
from God.
Then in
verses 9
through 13,
there's all
these instructions
about circumcision.
Verse 14,
the threat
of punishment.
If you
do not
circumcise,
you'll be
cut off.
So,
how is
this new
identity,
how is
that a
good thing
if it
also comes
with this
requirement,
this demand
to be
blameless?
To understand
that,
we've got
to grasp
a couple
of things.
First,
we have
to understand
what is
meant by
a covenant.
The word
covenant
appears 13
times in
this passage,
and there's
many different
ways of
defining it.
The definition
I like
best shows
up on the
back of
your worship
guide.
It's from
a pastor
who says
this,
a covenant
is a
stunning
blend
of both
law
and love.
It is
more intimate
and loving
than a mere
contract,
more binding
and accountable
than a mere
relationship.
God's calling
Abraham into
this relationship.
It's a relationship
that has intimacy
in it.
It's also a
relationship that
has things that
are binding
and accountable.
The second
thing then
is God
is not,
Abraham is not
earning God's
blessing here.
What's being
presented to us
is the logic
of relationships.
That blessing
requires certain
activities.
Okay,
blessing
requires
certain
activities.
You'll see
this on page
seven of your
worship guide.
Obedience
then is the
means of
living within
the sphere
of blessing
and enjoying
it.
Obedience
is never
the means
of earning
or deserving
the blessing.
In other words,
you never earn
God's blessings.
You do have
to be in the
right place
to receive
them.
Okay,
you don't earn
God's blessings.
You do have
to be in the
right place
to receive
them.
So think
about it
this way.
Today is
July 6th.
Two days
ago was
July 4th.
If you
were invited
to a
cookout
and you
went,
you received
a blessing.
Right?
Probably
you got a
hamburger
or a hot
dog.
did you
earn
the
burger?
No.
Would
you have
received
the
burger
had you
not
shown
up
to
the
cookout?
No.
You had
to be
within
the sphere
of blessing.
Right?
You had
to be
within
the
proximity
of the
grill.
Your
invitation
was not
based on
merit.
The host
did not
say,
come over
to my
house
because
you
have
performed
so
well.
Come
over to
my
house.
You
showed
up.
You
didn't
earn
anything.
But
you
had
to
be
there
to
receive
it.
Kids,
you
know the
same
thing.
If
you
want
to
receive
your
parents'
wisdom
and
blessing
and
guidance,
what
do
you
have
to
do?
You
don't
have
to
earn
it.
It's
given
to
you
freely,
right?
You're
their
child.
You
do
have
to
show
up
for
it.
You
do
have
to
be
within
the
same
thing
here
with
Abraham
and
Sarah.
Do
they
earn
anything
that
God
has
promised
to
them
to
become
a
great
nation?
Of
course
not.
Do
they
have
to
do
something?
Yes.
It
actually
turns
out
there
are
certain
things
you
have
to
do
if
you
want
to
have
a
child.
Abraham
and
Sarah
are
going
to
have
to
do
those
things.
They
don't
earn
the
blessing.
They
show
up
to
know
what's
also
included.
The
Lord
appeared
to
Abraham
and
said
to
him,
I
am
God
Almighty.
The
Hebrew
word
here
is
El
Shaddai.
El
Shaddai
talks
about
God's
great
power
over
creation.
In
other
words,
God
is
saying
these
great
things
are
going
to
happen
to
you
because
I
will
do
it.
Verse
two,
I
will
make
the
covenant.
Verses
five
through
seven,
I
will,
I
will.
Of
course,
that's
going to
have to
happen,
right?
God
was not
in the
ancient
Near
East
looking
for
the
most
powerful
or
fertile
couple,
and
if
he
were,
he
would
not
have
chosen
Abraham
and
Sarah.
God
loves
to
use
the
foolish
and
the
weak.
Christian,
God
loves
to
use
you.
Gives
him
great
honor
and
glory.
And so
what does
it mean
to be
in a
relationship
with
God?
How
does
it
change
us?
We've
seen
that it
gives
us
a
new
identity.
We
also
see
it
gives
us
new
responsibilities.
Yes,
Abraham
has a
new
name
and
he's
called
to
new
things.
We
have
two
commands
to
obedience
here.
There's
a
general
and
a
specific.
We're
going
to
look
at
both.
The
general,
verse
one,
walk
before
me
and
be
blameless.
The
specific,
verse
two,
is that
Abraham
would
perform
this
circumcision.
You
might
be
wondering,
why
in the
world
is
circumcision
the
sign
that's
presented
here?
This
passage
does
not
answer
that
question
for
us.
There's
all
kinds
of
theories
and
conjectures.
What I
want to
point
out
is
simply
what
we
see
here
in
these
verses.
We
find
out
two
things.
Verse
13,
circumcision
is the
sign
because
it's
a
permanent
sign
of a
permanent
covenant.
So
shall
my
covenant
be in
your
flesh
an
everlasting
covenant.
Permanent
sign
of a
permanent
covenant.
We
find out
also in
verse
14
the
punishment
and
the
punishment
gets at
the
purpose.
The
meaning
here.
If
the
punishment
is being
cut off
from the
community,
what
must be
part of
the
meaning
of
circumcision
if not
membership
in the
community?
It's the
same thing
we see
in
baptism.
The
emphasis
in this
passage
though is
not on
the
meaning
of
circumcision.
The
emphasis
is on
obedience.
Is
Abraham
going to
do
what God
has
called
him
to
do?
Especially
something
so
painful.
When I
was a
teacher
many years
ago at a
Christian
school,
I was
teaching
ninth
graders
and we
went
through the
book of
Genesis
together
and this
sweet
ninth grade
boy,
when we
got to
Genesis
17,
raised his
hand and
he said,
what is
circumcision?
And I
said,
you know
what?
That's a
great question
for you to
ask your
parents at
home.
Came back
to the next
class and
every time
circumcision
came up
after that,
he would
just put
his head
in his
hands and
go like
this.
The
ninth grade
girls would
laugh at
him.
Why?
This is not
an easy
command.
God is
demanding
something very
serious from
Abraham.
The narrator
of Genesis
is very
skilled and
so the
question in
the mind of
the ancient
Near Eastern
reader is,
is Abraham
actually going
to do it?
There's this
suspense that
the narrator
is building.
Verse 14
is when the
punishment is
laid out
and then we
have to wait.
Right?
We have to
wait throughout
the rest of
the reading and
so as we're
waiting through
the narrative,
we're wondering,
wow, is
Abraham actually
going to do
this?
Is he for
real right
now?
Is he going
to follow
through?
And then to
make it even
better,
verse 22,
when he had
finished talking
with him,
God went
up from
Abraham.
Scholars will
tell us that
when God
finishes speaking,
we almost
always move
on to the
next scene.
There is no
note of God
getting up and
leaving.
And so this is
especially important
that we're told
of God's exit.
It is, in a
sense, God's
kind of his
mic drop,
right?
Okay, you
need to
obey.
I'm out.
And so we
have that
moment where
the question
is, is
Abraham going
to obey?
That explains
for us
verses 22
through 27.
Does
Abraham
obey?
Yes.
And not
only does he
obey, he
really obeys.
We are
told, not
once, not
twice, but
three times
that Abraham
circumcised
Ishmael.
Why do we
need to hear
about that
three times?
So there's
no mistake
in our
mind.
Abraham did
what God
told him
to do.
of course, our
New Testament
reading, Romans
chapter 4,
verse 11,
points out,
Abraham's
righteousness
came before
circumcision.
Genesis 15
comes before
Genesis 17.
This obedience
does not earn
his new
identity.
It does not
earn God's
favor.
It is the
right response
to his new
identity, to
God's favor.
What does
it mean to
be in a
relationship
with God?
How does
it change
us?
Being in a
relationship
with God
means that
he gives
us a
new identity.
Being in a
relationship
with God
means he
gives us
new
responsibilities.
I told
you that
Abraham had
a general
and a
specific
command.
There is
a general
and a
specific
command for
us as
well.
general
command,
walk
before me
and be
blameless.
As I
told you a
couple weeks
ago,
God's
laws,
his rules
are not
arbitrary.
God's
rules,
his laws
are set
up to
cooperate
with the
grain of
the
universe.
If you
want to
experience
blessing
and
flourishing,
do
what
God
says.
God
gives us
his
commands
not
because
he
is
a
harsh
task
master,
but because
he wants
you to
have
what is
good.
He wants
you to
have
what is
good.
There's a
specific
command as
well.
Abraham
has this
call to
circumcision.
Now,
circumcision
has been
replaced
by baptism
in the
New Testament.
Baptism
means many
things.
One of the
things it
means is
the same
that we
saw this
morning in
circumcision,
which is
membership
in God's
people.
We know
that,
right,
because of
the punishment.
The punishment
in the Old
Testament often
fits the
crime.
Verse 14,
if you
don't get
circumcised,
you'll be
cut off
from the
people.
What's
the opposite
of that?
The
opposite is
embracing
God's
people.
Embracing
the church,
being a
part of
where God
has said,
this is the
place where
my blessing
happens.
You cut
yourself off
from God's
people.
You've
actually chosen
what God
says is a
curse.
Can you
imagine an
Israelite saying,
well, I've
been circumcised
and I'm still
going to
leave?
No,
that's where
God's
blessing
resides.
Don't
choose
the
curse.
Commit
to God's
church.
Commit
to his
people.
You
will be
blessed.
That's the
place.
That's the
place where
we're
equipped and
empowered to
do everything
God's called
us to
do.
The article
about Bodie
McBoatface
came out in
2016,
and at the
time, they
said it was
going to set
sail in
2019, did
not have
its maiden
voyage until
2021.
Why?
The boat
had to be
equipped for
the mission
ahead of it,
right?
It is not
easy to
navigate the
icy waters
of the
Arctic.
Christian,
the Lord
never sends
us out
before he
equips us.
Notice what
happens here.
the identity
comes before
the mission.
The same
thing with
our Lord
Jesus.
Remember,
Jesus is
baptized before
he goes into
the desert
for 40 days
and 40 nights.
And what
happens when
he's baptized?
God the
Father says,
this is my
beloved son.
Even
Jesus needed
to be reminded
of his
identity
before his
mission.
Of course,
it doesn't
come free.
Remember what
we saw in
Genesis 15.
God is
the one
who pays
the price
of the
covenant.
He's the
one who
pays for
our failure.
The
punishment,
verse 14,
is that you
will be
cut off.
What
happened to
Jesus?
Jesus was
cut off.
Jesus came,
lived the
perfect life
that we
should have
lived,
died the
death that
we deserve,
cut off
instead of
us.
We don't
earn the
blessings
because Jesus
earned them
for us.
Because God
has given
us a
new
identity,
we can
live
lives
of obedience.
Because we
have a new
identity,
we can
embrace
new
responsibilities.
let's
pray.
Our
Father in
heaven,
we do
again praise
you and
thank you
for your
word.
We thank
you that
you come
to us,
you seek
us out
like Hagar,
even when
we're not
seeking you.
That you
free us
from the
burden
of justifying
ourselves and
instead
you're the
one who
gives us
a name.
We ask
that you
would drive
that deep
into our
hearts,
that it
would lead
us to love
and serve
you more
and more.
We ask
these things
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.