“Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them and so are you. So, let’s just praise the Lord. Right arm…” 

I’m not sure about you, but how I am a son of Abraham is such an elusive concept for me. Comprehending it is difficult enough, let alone praising God for it. In an attempt to make sense of it, we look at the story of Abraham (Genesis 12-21) and the teaching of Paul (Galatians 3-4).

Two Bloodlines

Abraham did indeed have many descendants. We know all about Isaac and Jacob and Jacob’s sons (12 tribes of Israel). The Old Testament gives account of these people and their history. We see God’s patience and his faithfulness to sustain Israel — even through some bleak circumstances. We know of Moses, the exodus and the law. We know about the judges, kings and prophets. We read about the exile, temple and Jerusalem. What is often overlooked, however, is Abraham’s first line of descendants. Father Abraham’s firstborn son, Ishmael preceded Isaac by 13 years! Reading Genesis, it is evident that Abraham loved and cared deeply for Ishmael. So did God! He graciously provided for Hagar and Ishmael when they were put out and He even made a promise for this slave woman’s son to one day be a great nation, just like Isaac.

Covenant Promise

What makes the line of Sarah and Isaac uniquely special is God’s covenant promise with Abraham — that through this second line of descendants, “all nations will be blessed.” Its fulfillment begins with the fabulous birth of Isaac, grows into a nomadic people delivered from slavery, then eventually into a nation possessing the promised land of Canaan. The Jewish people are very special and unique indeed. There is no other nation like Israel. (Including America btw!) Yet, if we center God’s promise to Abraham around his sons acquiring land… we are left with an incomplete fulfillment of the covenant promise. Surely God promises and faithfully provides blessing to this line of descendants. However, we must not forget that God’s promise culminates with blessing all nations through them. If we only go so far as to see God’s blessing his chosen people Israel, we are left with this logical conclusion: Since God’s covenant is with Isaac’s line of descendants, to be an heir and claim Abraham’s inheritance, one must be (or become) Hebrew.

This incomplete understanding of God’s promise is what Paul addresses in his New Testament letter to the Galatians. Some people apparently started teaching and convincing the young Christians of Galatia, (all Christians were young at this point in time), of their need to become Jews. Namely, they needed to obey the law of Moses and practice circumcision which was the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. Paul, confronts this misnomer head on by pointing directly to the covenant promise.

Promise Fulfillment

Paul shows how scripture foreshadows the gospel when God tells Abraham, “ALLnations will be blessed through you.” (This is spoken three times to Abraham! Gen.12:3; 18:18 and 22:18). The question is, how are all nations blessed? (Not even Ishmael can get in on the inheritance)!Do all non-jews (Gentiles) need to become Hebrew? Paul says, “of course not!” So what needs to happen? The answer is not what you need to do, but your faith in what has been done already. Paul explains God’s promise to Abraham is not fulfilled in the “many” sons of Isaac, but in one particular son, Jesus. (Paul cites Genesis 21:12 to make his case.)  Through the one son’s death on the cross, a way is made for all people of all nations! Paul validates the earthy perspective that you are Abraham’s son or daughter by blood. He just explains that it is by the very real, and Jewish blood of Jesus! His blood makes a way for all who have faith. (Faith is the defining characteristic between Abraham and his Children!) This is why Jesus told his disciples there is a “new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:20) The covenant with Abraham and then later Moses and David, is old. Old, not because it was bad or unimportant, but because it is done…complete…fulfilled in Jesus. This “new covenant” brings freedom from the old and Paul wants the Galatians to understand their freedom in Christ.

Two Mothers

To make his point, Paul uses allegory about Sarah (the free woman and mother of Isaac), and Hagar (the slave woman and mother of Ishmael). (Galatians 4:21-31). The compelling part of this figurative language is that Paul does not differentiate the two women by bloodline, but rather by birth story. Hagar’s son was born according to the flesh. Sarah’s son was the result of God’s promise. Regardless of ancestry, those wanting to live by the old covenant are actually “slaves” to law and religion and therefore children of Hagar — the mother of slaves! The law was given on Mt. Sinai but that is the mountain of Hagar! Paul even says that Hagar is the mother of present Jerusalem, (the holy city of the Jewish people was under Roman rule at this time). This would be quite offensive to any Hebrew person, and Paul would certainly know this! His point is stark! Sarah is the mother of the free. Hagar is mother to the slave. He’s telling his hearers that those spreading this false gospel of needing to become Hebrew, are slaves to the old covenant and law. Their slavery shows they are actually descendants of Hagar. Conversely, those who are supernaturally born of faith according to the promise are Sarah’s children. The true children of Sarah are the ones who are free in Jesus — the ultimate fulfillment of that promise! The freedom found in Christ is rooted in our heavenly adoption, not our ancestral tree.

Adoption

All of this is how Paul can write, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”(Galatians 3:26-29) The promise to Abraham found its fulfillment in Jesus. If you are in Christ its fulfillment extends to you and me — the blessed ones. The adopted ones.

It is a lot to process. It is a lot to preach. It is a lot to read and write and listen to, but it is a remarkable thing to meditate on… Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them and so are you. So, let’s just praise the Lord…”

One More Thing

(As a final remark, In my sermon I made a comment that even Hagar and Ishmael could share in the promise of Abraham. I obviously (and thankfully) am not the one to make that call. In Genesis 21:10 Sarah says, “that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” I take this as Sarah speaking for herself, not for the Lord. I also assume that she was speaking with an earthly perspective — thinking about land, lineage and wealth. If we understand that Abraham’s faith and our faith is what makes us God’s children, can it not also be true of Hagar? Genesis 16:11-15; 21:19).

Thanks for reading… hopefully this brings more answers than questions!

The mad king saw David as a threat to the king’s kingdom. Saul did not understand, it seems, that God should be left to decide what kingdoms survive which threats. Not knowing this, Saul did what all mad kings do. He threw spears at David. He could. He was king. Kings can do things like that. They almost always do. Kings claim the right to throw spears. Everyone knows that kings have that right. Everyone knows very, very well. How do they know? Because the king has told them so—many, many times. If your king is truly the Lord’s anointed, and if he also throws spears, then there are some things you can know, and know for sure: Your king is quite mad. And he is a king after the order of King Saul.

David had a question: What do you do when someone throws a spear at you? Does it seem odd to you that David did not know the answer to this question? After all, everyone else in the world knows what to do when a spear is thrown at you. Why, you pick up the spear and throw it right back! “When someone throws a spear at you, David, just wrench it out of the wall and throw it back. Everyone else does, you can be sure.” And in performing this small feat of returning thrown spears, you will prove many things: You are courageous. You stand for the right. You boldly stand against the wrong. You are tough and can’t be pushed around. You will not stand for injustice or unfair treatment. You are the defender of the faith, keeper of the flame, detector of all heresy. You will not be wronged. All of these attributes then combine to prove that you are also a candidate for kingship. Yes, perhaps you are the Lord’s anointed. After the order of King Saul. There is also a possibility that some twenty years after your coronation, you will be the most incredibly skilled spear thrower in all the realm. And also by then . . . Quite mad.

What can a man, especially a young man, do when the king decides to use him for target practice? What if the young man decides not to return the compliment? First of all, he must pretend he cannot see spears. Even when they are coming straight at him. Second, he must learn to duck very quickly. Last, he must pretend nothing happened. You can easily tell when someone has been hit by a spear. He turns a deep shade of bitter. David never got hit. Gradually, he learned a very well-kept secret. He discovered three things that prevented him from ever being hit. One, never learn anything about the fashionable, easily mastered art of spear throwing. Two, stay out of the company of all spear throwers. And three, keep your mouth tightly closed. In this way, spears will never touch you, even when they pierce your heart.

There you have it.  Spears come in all shapes and sizes and from every direction and they always leave behind that “deep shade of bitter.”  They come from those in authority of us as was David’s dilemma.  From those we are in authority over (you will hear about that more this Sunday).  And as we are all well aware spear throwing among peers can become a contagious destructive hobby (both in the live and virtual worlds).  But the spears I want to have us keep in mind the most this week are the ones we sadly become quite skilled at delivering and receiving around family tables of celebration – for we often save the most accurate and painful sort of spear throwing for those we love the most.  So when Uncle Stu slings a spear across the table on Thursday, berating you for your taste in politics, parenting style, or faith in Christ … just remember to duck and think twice about before you launch it back at him.

I would also like to make known that I am unschooled in 90’s & 00’s pop/r&b and totally joked about a song that Mary J. Blige in fact does not sing… apologies to Blu Cantrell. Now that I got those two disclaimers out of the way… onward.

Kings throughout history are notorious for the power they wield. It’s not that every monarch has been awful, but there is a stigma that you never want to cross one, as Sir Thomas More would attest. When we think about God as king, and even declare Him King of kings, it is only natural to want to tip toe around Him. I better be nice, or else. I better obey, or else. I better live in fear of God’s judgement and wrath, or else I just might be on the wrong end of it. However, part of understanding that God is King of kings goes beyond the reality that He is eternally omnipotent and sovereign. He is also unique to all others.

What we see in 1 Samuel 8-10 is not this eternal King ready to relinquish his throne, but rather a gracious and humble King willing to serve. Even though Israel asks for a king and gets one, it is important to understand that it is God who provides. Saul is not the product of happenstance and Israel’s vanity. He is the product of God’s providential hand orchestrating events behind the scenes for his ultimate purposes. Israel rejected God as her king but let’s not get it twisted! God didn’t just succumb to the people and lay down his power at their request. He gave them what they wished for — a man to lead HIS people.

When Israel made a selfish choice, God made a humble one. How often does he do that for us? Thank you, Jesus!

1. That God would use us to bring 20 new Christ followers into His
   family in 2017 (influence).
2. That God would raise up 100 intentional and brave 1:1 relationships within our body to support and sharpen each other (invest).
3. That God would have each of us understand and experience use of their spiritual gifts at least one time this year (seek & learn).
4. That God would provide $30k each month for current Kingdom work and future dreams of LifeChurch (all).
5. That God would guide us to the 7 Day-a-Week Space,  clearly open doors for that dream, and provide for that vision (direction).

As we continue to pray these five, we’ve spent the last few weeks looking into the prayers that Paul prayed.  I’ve been convicted during this study that the topic of my prayer is often of a physical nature … healing, finance, relationships, etc.  Paul’s prayers seem to center around the kingdom’s advancement in people’s lives, rather than the physical/tangible needs they had.  Here’s the list of categories of the prayers he wrote to his fellow believers:

-for Godly Living

-for Ministry Opportunity/Success

-for Strength

-for Increased Knowledge

-for More Love

-for Grace and Peace

On Sunday we took time to pray for people using Paul’s kingdom centered prayers (CLICK Paul’s Prayers for the PDF).  Take some time this week and in the weeks ahead to pray through these prayers.  Pray for whoever the Spirit drops into your heart as you read through them.  I’m confident that we will have “more than we can imagine” as God answers.

Finally a rule I can follow … why?  Why did the 4millionth time I’ve read the Golden Rule finally grab my attention? Because it’s not a rule prohibiting some behavior – it’s a rule promoting one.  Because it’s not a rule telling me what I can’t do – it tells me what I can.  Because it’s not a rule that pushes my flesh toward rebelling against something, it compels my heart toward participating with the Creator in the one thing He does perfectly: loving the people He created.

In usual Christlike revolutionary fashion, He spins the usual edition of this rule “don’t do bad things to people, because you wouldn’t want bad things done to you” into “love people so much (ALL PEOPLE) that you are driven to do good things for them like you would like good things done for you.”  Now there’s a rule I’m more eager to fall in line with.

I guess one other reason the Golden Rule jumped out at me this time around came from the previous three days of pouring over who we are as a church with the staff.  Together we returned to our mission of “loving, praying, and serving our communities into a life-long journey with Christ.”  We returned to the foundational purpose we have of “loving God and loving people.”  We returned to our core value of “life together: laughing, crying, unafraid to be ourselves.” We returned to the truth that “small things done with great love will change the world.”

As we return this week to Kamp Kerma, let’s let the rule stay golden in our lives by loving each other, loving God, and the world He died for.  His rule (and reign) are worth following!

If you’re like me, “enemy” seems like a pretty harsh word for just about anyone in my life. Would I call someone with a differing opinion an enemy? Of course not. Would I call someone who has a difficult personality an enemy? Don’t think so. Would I call a New England Patriots fan an enemy? Now we’re getting somewhere…

In all seriousness though, there is probably some relativity to the term. Yet, the frivolousness of people or institution that I personally might consider my opposition is no excuse to disregard this high calling that Jesus gives in Matthew 5. In fact , if I were to compile a short list of my enemies and compare it to that of Dr. Martin Luther King (or many like him), what excuse am I left with? This causes me to look first at Christ, and then deep within and ask the Spirit, who do I fail to love? Who do I lack compassion for? From whom do I withhold mercy, patience, kindness or even encouragement? It takes but a minute to notice that this list much lengthier than my other one. 

Love my enemies? Let me first start with my family.

The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces despair in the natural man – the very thing Jesus means it to do. As long as we have a self-righteous, conceited notion that we can carry out Our Lord’s teaching, God will allow us to go on until we break our ignorance over some obstacle, then we are willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. “Blessed are the paupers in spirit,” that is the first principle in the Kingdom of God. The bedrock in Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possession; not decisions for Jesus Christ, but a sense of absolute futility – I cannot begin to do it. Then Jesus says – Blessed are you. That is the entrance, and it does take us a long while to believe we are poor! The knowledge of our own poverty brings us to the moral frontier where Jesus Christ works.

So here’s the challenge, next time you are on some form of social media and feel like you don’t measure up, remember this:  YOU DON’T!  YOU CAN’T!  YOU NEVER WILL!  And then remember this: it’s this place of despair and “absolute futility” that allows us, the spiritually impoverished human beings that we are, to become Citizens of His Kingdom in the first place.  We belong when we realize that we don’t!

This verse in Matthew blends both “treasure” and “discipleship” in a fascinating way. Part of it’s allure is the element which causes us to wonder — “What in the world is Jesus talking about?” There are, in fact,  many parables littered throughout the Gospels that have this same effect. It begs the question, why does Jesus use such confusing rhetoric? The answer may lie in the parables themselves. One of the simple observations in many of them, is that the kingdom of heaven is small, like a seed. If given ample opportunity, that seed will grow.

I wonder if Jesus wants us to… wonder. What if our confusion is supposed to pique our curiosity? What if a small taste of the kingdom was a catalyst to us wanting to feast? What if, instead of us being spoon fed and pampered, Jesus expects us to struggle and to seek the kingdom — like the merchant searching for fine jewels? This is where discipleship (following and becoming more like Jesus) comes into play. We as individuals and communities need to grow. We need to learn. We need to seek. We need to mature in our faith and be TRAINED in the kingdom of heaven. (The twelve disciples exemplify this). When our pursuit is realized, we will find treasure — treasure in the kingdom, but also in the journey itself.

So, to use my son’s favorite phrase… Let’s do this! You and I have much treasure to receive and much to give.

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