Sermon Title: Devotion in the face of defiance; the biblical meaning of faithfulness.
“Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4)
“The Lord had said to Abram, “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.”4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him;” (Genesis 12:1-4)
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
God called Abram into a Covenantal Relationship of devotion and service unto Himself.
On condition of his faithfulness and obedience, God promised that he was destined to be a great nation and a great blessing to the world.
By faithfully obeying God and following His Call, Abram consecrated himself - setting himself sharply apart from his defiant relatives who attempted to build the Tower of Babel (Ref: Genesis 11:1-9) – by cutting all ties with them and leaving the land of his defiant, extended family.
The comparison between Abram and his relatives from Babel provides the biblical understanding of devotion and faithfulness unto God.
1. Abram trusted God’s Providence and Protection; rather than on human abilities or agency.
In contrast, the tower builders believed in their own abilities and agency; that they could build themselves “a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens” (Genesis 11:4) and in so doing, guarantee economic success, significance and security that is apart from God.
2. Abram trusted God’s Promise to make his name truly great (Genesis 12:2); rather than on human enterprise that seeks worldly fame.
In every human heart is found the desire to achieve greatness in some form – to be set apart and recognized as someone who is a unique, productive and significant member of community.
In each our own ways, every person desires greatness in the sense of being known for our contributions that is integral to our fellowship; and be known as someone who can be counted on to do our part.
The builders of Babel chose to pursue fame on their own terms without regard for the true cost of fame, or consideration of how this pursuit would affect the future generations, and certainly without regard for the Presence and Will of God.
God made Abram famous - not for his own sake, but in order that “all the peoples of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
The builders of Babel sought fame for their own sakes, and till this day, no one knows who they were.
Ironically, their fear of obscurity doomed them to obscurity.
3. Abram trusted God’s Guidance, and was willing to obey and go wherever God led him, while the builders of Babel attempted to chart their own course and defiantly remained together.
They defiantly build Babel because they rejected God’s command for them to “fill the earth.” (Genesis 1:28).
Instead of fearing God, they feared that His commands would rob them of their desires for greatness; and further used this fear to reject God.
Instead of getting to know the Shepherd, the world chooses only to know His Rod and Staff.
Out of this fear for His character and command, their lives are now centered on, and around fear; the result of which is a life filled with fear and suspicion - such that anyone who does not agree or approve of what they are, or how they live is quickly deemed as a threat to them; and assumed to be ‘fearful’ of their condition.
Does this not sound familiar?
It is evident that the people of Babel are industrious and innovative (Ref: Genesis 11:3), but they were unwilling to fully embrace God’s love and divine purpose for humanity.
Their fear of engaging God caused them to stray from Him; and left them with no choice but to believe and depend on their human abilities.
When we cease to desire for God’s Will in our lives – which is, infinitely more than what we can attain on our own - our lives become insignificant; doomed for obscurity and oblivion.
By contrast, God deeply blessed Abram because he was willing to trust in God’s Will and Guidance for his life; constantly hearing from Him, and constantly moving on to new endeavours in new places.
God called him away from the land of his forefathers onward to the land of Canaan where Abram, known as a“wandering Aramean” (Deut. 26:5), would never live in a fixed location; nor in a permanent building – an anomaly even in those days.
Abram’s lifestyle was fundamentally God-centered; and his dependence on God’s word and leadership was vital in order to establish his own identity, and find his significance, security, and success.
Hebrews 11:8-10 elucidates Abram’s devotion and faith in God:
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
In our daily lives, true believers must understand that the expression of faith in God lies fundamentally in absolute trust and obedience in God’s guidance.
Ungodly living is rooted in the desire to depend on no one but ourselves, and it restricts itself narrowly to benefit only ourselves and the few who may be close to us.
Godly living begins with the willingness to utterly depend on God’s authority and guidance, and desires to grow widely to be a divine blessing to all the world.
Which is why: when you unreservedly grow with the Church, you will grow unreservedly in Christ.
Keep your lives, family and work close to the Church; and be assured that through God’s work amongst us, we will endeavour together to grow in Christ, and be a great blessing to “all the peoples of the earth.”
4. Abram trusted God to lead him into new relationships.
While the people of Babel sought to insulate themselves from God in earthly prosperity within a guarded fortress, Abram trusted God’s heavenly promise that his family would grow into a great nation. (Ref: Gen. 12:2; 15:5)
Though they lived constantly as foreigners among strangers in the land of Canaan (Ref: Gen. 17:8), they had good and productive relationships – by God’s grace - with those they came in contact with. (Ref: Gen. 21:22-34; 23:1-12)
This is the gift of fellowship between God and His People – a fellowship that richly blesses the community in which we live amongst as we share and spread His Gospel far and wide.
5. Abram trusted God to ultimately fulfill His Promise to him – even in the realisation that God’s Promises would not be fulfilled in his lifetime.
Hebrews 11:12 speaks precisely to this:
“And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.”
Abram was blessed with utter faith in God’s Promises; and the patience to wait upon the Lord.
Though he had eight sons, God’s Promise of Greatness came through the one son, Isaac.
The lesson from Abram’s life in this regard is to take hold firmly of God’s Promises in our lives; and recognize that in His infinite greatness and wisdom, these promises may be fulfilled in the lives of the generations that follow.
Today, cast visions for your children and for their children; pray that God will raise within your family faithful and obedient Christians – who would arise and live out God’s Promises of being great blessings to the world.
God’s promise to Abram that day to make him a great nation and blessing to the world would only truly commence some two thousand years from his future with the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. (Ref: Galatians 3:19)
In fact, God’s promise to Abram – which is also, God’s Promise to us, His Church - will only fulfilled completely with the return of Christ (Ref: Matt. 24:30-31).
Regardless of when the Promise of Genesis 12 would be fulfilled, Abram lived in that Promise and trusted God to ultimately fulfill that Promise.
The tower builders, in comparison, desired that every benefit of their enterprise be reaped within their lifetimes; and completely disregarded how their present actions would affect future generations; and God rebuked them for this wickedness. (Ref: Genesis 11:6).
God promised Abram fame, fruitfulness, and fellowship – through which, he and his family would bless the whole world. However, even in his lifetime, God blessed Abram and his family beyond imagining.
And it all begins with obedience.
“I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:17-18)
Unlike everyone else, Abram realized that an attempt to grasp the things of life by his own ability would be completely futile and frivolous.
He knew that he had absolutely no control; for only God is in absolute and total control over every situation.
All he had to do was commit being obedient, devoted and faithful to God.
Abram trusted God to ultimately fulfill His Promise, and thus, found resolve to depend every day on God’s guidance and provision (Ref: Gen. 22:8-14).
Although these promises were not fully realized by the end of his life; or even by the end of Genesis, God initiated the covenant through an obedient, devoted and faithful Abram -through which, and whom, the redemption of the world will come to completion in the day of Christ’s Glorious Return.
Today, as His Church, let us live in the example of Abram’s unreserved faithfulness and obedience unto God; and be utterly devoted to God in the face of a defiant world.
Together, let us:
- Trust God’s Providence and Protection;
- Trust God to make His Church Great;
- Trust God’s Guidance;
- Trust God to lead us into new relationships;
- Trust God to ultimately fulfill all of His Promises.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Thank You for calling us – Your People, Your Church – into a Covenantal Relationship of devotion and faithful service unto You; that through Christ, our Lord and Saviour, we already are a great Nation and a great blessing to the world.
Holy Spirit, grant me courage, strength, resolve and wisdom to set myself completely apart from the world – by being willing to cut ties with the defiance and wickedness of even my own family. (Ref: Luke 14:26)
In the face of a defiant world, give me power to live each day in biblical faith and devotion unto my Lord Jesus Christ – that I would utterly trust in:
God’s Providence and Protection;
His Promise to make His Church great;
His Guidance in every matter of my life;
God to lead me into new relationships for the sake of His Gospel; and
God to ultimately fulfill His every Promise – especially His Promise of Restoration that I may find myself in His Eternal Kingdom when Christ returns.
In the words of the Psalmist David in Psalm 51:10-17, I pray:
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
Yes, Lord, increase my faith in You; that on the day of Your glorious Return, I may be found utterly devoted in faithful service unto You.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
“Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4)
“The Lord had said to Abram, “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.”4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him;” (Genesis 12:1-4)
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
God called Abram into a Covenantal Relationship of devotion and service unto Himself.
On condition of his faithfulness and obedience, God promised that he was destined to be a great nation and a great blessing to the world.
By faithfully obeying God and following His Call, Abram consecrated himself - setting himself sharply apart from his defiant relatives who attempted to build the Tower of Babel (Ref: Genesis 11:1-9) – by cutting all ties with them and leaving the land of his defiant, extended family.
The comparison between Abram and his relatives from Babel provides the biblical understanding of devotion and faithfulness unto God.
1. Abram trusted God’s Providence and Protection; rather than on human abilities or agency.
In contrast, the tower builders believed in their own abilities and agency; that they could build themselves “a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens” (Genesis 11:4) and in so doing, guarantee economic success, significance and security that is apart from God.
2. Abram trusted God’s Promise to make his name truly great (Genesis 12:2); rather than on human enterprise that seeks worldly fame.
In every human heart is found the desire to achieve greatness in some form – to be set apart and recognized as someone who is a unique, productive and significant member of community.
In each our own ways, every person desires greatness in the sense of being known for our contributions that is integral to our fellowship; and be known as someone who can be counted on to do our part.
The builders of Babel chose to pursue fame on their own terms without regard for the true cost of fame, or consideration of how this pursuit would affect the future generations, and certainly without regard for the Presence and Will of God.
God made Abram famous - not for his own sake, but in order that “all the peoples of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
The builders of Babel sought fame for their own sakes, and till this day, no one knows who they were.
Ironically, their fear of obscurity doomed them to obscurity.
3. Abram trusted God’s Guidance, and was willing to obey and go wherever God led him, while the builders of Babel attempted to chart their own course and defiantly remained together.
They defiantly build Babel because they rejected God’s command for them to “fill the earth.” (Genesis 1:28).
Instead of fearing God, they feared that His commands would rob them of their desires for greatness; and further used this fear to reject God.
Instead of getting to know the Shepherd, the world chooses only to know His Rod and Staff.
Out of this fear for His character and command, their lives are now centered on, and around fear; the result of which is a life filled with fear and suspicion - such that anyone who does not agree or approve of what they are, or how they live is quickly deemed as a threat to them; and assumed to be ‘fearful’ of their condition.
Does this not sound familiar?
It is evident that the people of Babel are industrious and innovative (Ref: Genesis 11:3), but they were unwilling to fully embrace God’s love and divine purpose for humanity.
Their fear of engaging God caused them to stray from Him; and left them with no choice but to believe and depend on their human abilities.
When we cease to desire for God’s Will in our lives – which is, infinitely more than what we can attain on our own - our lives become insignificant; doomed for obscurity and oblivion.
By contrast, God deeply blessed Abram because he was willing to trust in God’s Will and Guidance for his life; constantly hearing from Him, and constantly moving on to new endeavours in new places.
God called him away from the land of his forefathers onward to the land of Canaan where Abram, known as a“wandering Aramean” (Deut. 26:5), would never live in a fixed location; nor in a permanent building – an anomaly even in those days.
Abram’s lifestyle was fundamentally God-centered; and his dependence on God’s word and leadership was vital in order to establish his own identity, and find his significance, security, and success.
Hebrews 11:8-10 elucidates Abram’s devotion and faith in God:
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
In our daily lives, true believers must understand that the expression of faith in God lies fundamentally in absolute trust and obedience in God’s guidance.
Ungodly living is rooted in the desire to depend on no one but ourselves, and it restricts itself narrowly to benefit only ourselves and the few who may be close to us.
Godly living begins with the willingness to utterly depend on God’s authority and guidance, and desires to grow widely to be a divine blessing to all the world.
Which is why: when you unreservedly grow with the Church, you will grow unreservedly in Christ.
Keep your lives, family and work close to the Church; and be assured that through God’s work amongst us, we will endeavour together to grow in Christ, and be a great blessing to “all the peoples of the earth.”
4. Abram trusted God to lead him into new relationships.
While the people of Babel sought to insulate themselves from God in earthly prosperity within a guarded fortress, Abram trusted God’s heavenly promise that his family would grow into a great nation. (Ref: Gen. 12:2; 15:5)
Though they lived constantly as foreigners among strangers in the land of Canaan (Ref: Gen. 17:8), they had good and productive relationships – by God’s grace - with those they came in contact with. (Ref: Gen. 21:22-34; 23:1-12)
This is the gift of fellowship between God and His People – a fellowship that richly blesses the community in which we live amongst as we share and spread His Gospel far and wide.
5. Abram trusted God to ultimately fulfill His Promise to him – even in the realisation that God’s Promises would not be fulfilled in his lifetime.
Hebrews 11:12 speaks precisely to this:
“And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.”
Abram was blessed with utter faith in God’s Promises; and the patience to wait upon the Lord.
Though he had eight sons, God’s Promise of Greatness came through the one son, Isaac.
The lesson from Abram’s life in this regard is to take hold firmly of God’s Promises in our lives; and recognize that in His infinite greatness and wisdom, these promises may be fulfilled in the lives of the generations that follow.
Today, cast visions for your children and for their children; pray that God will raise within your family faithful and obedient Christians – who would arise and live out God’s Promises of being great blessings to the world.
God’s promise to Abram that day to make him a great nation and blessing to the world would only truly commence some two thousand years from his future with the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. (Ref: Galatians 3:19)
In fact, God’s promise to Abram – which is also, God’s Promise to us, His Church - will only fulfilled completely with the return of Christ (Ref: Matt. 24:30-31).
Regardless of when the Promise of Genesis 12 would be fulfilled, Abram lived in that Promise and trusted God to ultimately fulfill that Promise.
The tower builders, in comparison, desired that every benefit of their enterprise be reaped within their lifetimes; and completely disregarded how their present actions would affect future generations; and God rebuked them for this wickedness. (Ref: Genesis 11:6).
God promised Abram fame, fruitfulness, and fellowship – through which, he and his family would bless the whole world. However, even in his lifetime, God blessed Abram and his family beyond imagining.
And it all begins with obedience.
“I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:17-18)
Unlike everyone else, Abram realized that an attempt to grasp the things of life by his own ability would be completely futile and frivolous.
He knew that he had absolutely no control; for only God is in absolute and total control over every situation.
All he had to do was commit being obedient, devoted and faithful to God.
Abram trusted God to ultimately fulfill His Promise, and thus, found resolve to depend every day on God’s guidance and provision (Ref: Gen. 22:8-14).
Although these promises were not fully realized by the end of his life; or even by the end of Genesis, God initiated the covenant through an obedient, devoted and faithful Abram -through which, and whom, the redemption of the world will come to completion in the day of Christ’s Glorious Return.
Today, as His Church, let us live in the example of Abram’s unreserved faithfulness and obedience unto God; and be utterly devoted to God in the face of a defiant world.
Together, let us:
- Trust God’s Providence and Protection;
- Trust God to make His Church Great;
- Trust God’s Guidance;
- Trust God to lead us into new relationships;
- Trust God to ultimately fulfill all of His Promises.
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Thank You for calling us – Your People, Your Church – into a Covenantal Relationship of devotion and faithful service unto You; that through Christ, our Lord and Saviour, we already are a great Nation and a great blessing to the world.
Holy Spirit, grant me courage, strength, resolve and wisdom to set myself completely apart from the world – by being willing to cut ties with the defiance and wickedness of even my own family. (Ref: Luke 14:26)
In the face of a defiant world, give me power to live each day in biblical faith and devotion unto my Lord Jesus Christ – that I would utterly trust in:
God’s Providence and Protection;
His Promise to make His Church great;
His Guidance in every matter of my life;
God to lead me into new relationships for the sake of His Gospel; and
God to ultimately fulfill His every Promise – especially His Promise of Restoration that I may find myself in His Eternal Kingdom when Christ returns.
In the words of the Psalmist David in Psalm 51:10-17, I pray:
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
Yes, Lord, increase my faith in You; that on the day of Your glorious Return, I may be found utterly devoted in faithful service unto You.
I thank You and pray all these in the Name of our King, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.