Rev. Roland J. Wells, Jr. - Pastor

The Second Sunday In Lent - February 24, 2002

Lessons: Genesis 12:1-4; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17

"God's Promises Shape History"

Introduction:

Today's sporting news revolves around Salt Lake City.

The world's politics revolve around Washington, Moscow, Beijing and Brussels.

The world's finances revolve around London, New York and Tokyo.

But the World's history revolves around two Bible verses, our OT lesson today.

I) The History of the World Revolves Around These Verses

For my entire lifetime, the tension point of the whole world has been a strip of land about 150 miles by 40 miles. This little piece of land, called by some 'Israel' and others 'Palestine.'

It all happens on a tiny piece of real estate, unlike any other in the world. It's the one land bridge that binds together Africa, Asia and Europe, the continents where all the world's people come from, even the our Native Americans. It's the one piece of land the binds together all of humanity. That, of course is the one place God has chosen to focus history.

After WWII, after the Nazis killed six million Jews, Jews from all over the world started moving to a land called Palestine. The Jews fought a war against the English and Arabs, to create a country. In 1948 they declared independence. For the first time in almost 3,000 years, Israel was reunited into one country. They fought again in 1956, 1967 and 1973. In 1967 Israel regained Jerusalem. During these wars, the superpowers came to the brink of nuclear war a couple times. The entire world waited and watched. The oil supply to Europe and Asia was cut off in 1973.

But the history of the world has been focused on Israel for about 3,800 years, going back to the day God made this promise to Abram. The rise and fall of the great empires of the ancient world, in part, was to fulfill their role in making this promise come true. Once Abraham's descendants had become a nation, under King David, they served God faithfully for only a little while. The kingdom split, and the Northern Kingdom of Israel became perverse and turned away from God. To cleanse the nation, Isaiah says God took them away by using the Assyrians as his tool of destruction. Then, God sent the Babylonians to destroy the Assyrians, and as the Southern Kingdom of Judah fell astray, the Babylonians took them away to Babylon. God next judged Babylon by sending the Persians; God even calls the Persian emperor, Cyrus, 'my messiah, Cyrus'! The Persians sent the Jews back to rebuild Jerusalem, to keep his promise. Next we see the rise of Alexander the Great, whose conquering gave the whole area one language; and then came the Romans, who gave the area peace. All of this made the spread of the message of Jesus possible throughout the whole world. A few years after the time of Jesus, the Jews tried to rebel against Rome, and they were sent out all around the world, so that Jewish people would be spread all over the globe. And now we're seeing God re-gather Israel for the first time since 70 AD.

Later, around 600 AD, a descendant of Abram's son Ishmael came to Israel looking for truth about the God of his father. He found nominal Christians and Jews who knew little about the God they claimed to serve. He went on to found a new religion of obedience. His name was Mohammed. Too bad he didn't find Christians who knew the Gospel. How different the world would be! Instead, this son of Ishmael created a religion which has warred for 1,400 years against the other sons of Abraham. But God's blessing still is promised to the Arabs, as sons of Abraham. And by the way, DNA sampling recently proved that the Jews and Arabs share one ancestor.

And it's all because of the promise. God's hand enters history through this one, seven-part promise to Abram:

II) The Promise

1) [2] "I will make you into a great nation Actually, several nations. The two sons of Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, are the physical and spiritual parents of all Jews, Christians and Muslims. Through the Jews and Arabs, about half the population of the world today consider themselves Abraham's heirs!

2) and I will bless you; need more proof? We see prominence in so many important areas by sons of Abraham. We see leadership in the banking industry, musical, film, and television worlds as well as many other business networks. Many of the most gifted researchers, musicians, leaders, entrepreneurs, philosophers and creative minds around the world are Jewish. Jews and Arabs controlled shipping from east to west for a couple thousand years, and today the Arabs quite unexpectedly control the world's greatest confirmed oil resources. No other group of people control the scope and depth of assets of the sons of Abraham.

3) I will make your name great, that means he'll be famous. That's a promise to Abraham; OK, outside of his family, quick, name any other non-biblical person who lived at 1,800 BC. How about 500 years either way? Today more people can identify Abraham than the Beatles, Clinton or Lenin. Sounds like his name is pretty great!

4) and you will be a blessing. We heard how his children were blessed; because of their gifts we have the fruit of their work, from a cure for polio, to Alan Greenspan's work on the economy, to the politics of Disraeli, Kissinger to the skating of Sasha Cohen! No other people have been such a blessing to all of humanity as the Jews!

5) [3] I will bless those who bless you,

If we look at the history of nations, those who treat the children of Abraham well fare well; those who treat the children of Abraham poorly fare poorly. Those countries that have blessed Israel have been blessed. The gifts of the people of Israel have been a tremendous blessing to those who have received them.

6) and whoever curses you I will curse; For example, both the Soviet Union and Germany persecuted the Jews; the two countries destroyed each others' sons for two generations following. Those who curse the children of Abraham stand against the promise of the Living God. Not a smart thing to do!

7) and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." We've seen so many ways in which this is true, but the central blessing of Abraham is his descendent, Jesus. Jesus died for the sins of the entire world. In Abraham's descendant, Jesus, the fullness of God's will and promise have come to their completion.

III) So What?

Two verses, seven promises, it shaped the history of the world. In these few words, God's action was guaranteed.

God promised blessings on Abram's children, and the whole world was blessed. The history of the whole world was put into motion; action and reaction as Israel obeyed and sinned; repented and followed; nations fell and rose- because of God's promise.

Our world today listens hourly for news about the strife in Israel. World peace is jeopardized. Islamic militants crash airplanes into our buildings. The children of Ishmael war with the children of Abraham, and together they still share the blessing.

What should you take home today?

-Look at the power and faithfulness of God's Word. Two verses have shaped the history of the world!

-If God has kept his Word through all of that, he will keep his promises to you.

-God cares about what is happening in this world today, he is not uninvolved.

-The fact that all this revolves around Israel and the children of Abraham should not surprise us.

-We are called to love the other children of Abraham into the Jesus' Kingdom.

-You need not fear. God is faithful. Invitation, Amen

Second Sunday in Lent - February 24, 2002

Genesis 12:1-4

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

[2] "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.

[3] 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 left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.

Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? [2] If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God. [3] What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

[4] Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. [5] However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. [14] For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, [15] because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

[16] Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. [17] As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

John 3:1-17

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. [2] He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

[3] In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

[4] "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

[5] Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. [6] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. [7] You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' [8] The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

[9] "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

[10] "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? [11] I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. [12] I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? [13] No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. [14] Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, [15] that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

[16] "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.