Abraham’s Goodness
Bible passage: Galatians 3:6-9
“6. Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." 7. Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9. So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. ”
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today’s sermon continues on from the seminar, focusing on Abraham’s faith and deeds. If we look at Abraham’s obedience and deeds, it’s easy to understand why Abraham was called the forefather of faith and a friend of God. At the seminar, we focused on Abraham’s complete obedience to God’s will and in leaving his home country despite having no clear, tangible sign.
This was only possible because Abraham had complete faith in God, whom he’d heard about from his ancestors. God promised great blessings through Abraham’s descendants. After a long time, at the age of 100, he received the blessing of the birth of Isaac. However, God commanded Isaac, who was given as a covenant blessing, to be offered as a burnt offering. Abraham obeyed without any hesitation and had complete faith in the Almighty God who raises the dead.
Once Isaac was bound and the knife raised, a voice from heaven sounded. Genesis 22:11-12 says, “11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you [a]fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” God saw Abraham’s deeds of complete faith and prepared a ram in place of Isaac as the burnt offering. Then a voice from heaven called a second time.
Genesis 22:16-18 tells us, “16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your [a]seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your [b]seed shall possess the gate of [c]their enemies. 18 In your [d]seed all the nations of the earth shall [e]be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” God was so pleased with Abraham’s deed of faith and confirmed the covenant blessings with a vow upon God’s name. Brothers and sisters, God is pleased with us when we fully believe in Him and have complete obedience. Obedience doesn’t just mean doing what you can and abiding by the commandments to an extent, but completely following and abiding the Word. God desires and searches for these kinds of children.
Dear brothers and sisters, God did not give a covenant blessing only to Abraham. We have also been given one as God’s children. We can receive blessings when we believe in the promise and abide within God’s good will. What is the good will? It means to believe and obey God’s words from the heart. For example, what does God say to those who desire material blessings? Malachi 3:10 tells us, “10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be [a]food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until [b]it overflows.” And Luke 11:9 says, “So I say to you, [a]ask, and it will be given to you; [b]seek, and you will find; [c]knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Those who believe in the scripture keep the word with joy and believe in God’s promise just like Abraham offered his son Isaac as a burnt offering, not looking at reality nor calculating. (Testimony of Pastor Sebastian from Congo) What does God say to those desiring works of healing? God said, “Let it be done just as you believed.” If you believe in these words, follow through with deeds. Pray fervently before God, get rid of any walls of sin, and abide by God’s words. Offer worship in spirit and in truth, pray continuously with the fire, and joyfully keep the word even if it doesn’t seem of any benefit. Through these deeds, the words “Let it be done just as you believed,” can be granted.
All we have to do is be like Abraham. Just as Abraham believed and obeyed, we can experience blessings from God when we obey and pray according to the word. It’s important to make sure our own thoughts and theories don’t block God’s works. When you try to have faith despite it going against your own thoughts and ideologies, God’s works can be done. Did Moses part the Red Sea with knowledge and common sense?
Moses only believed and obeyed God's words. He stretched out his staff over the sea, and God blew an easterly wind all night to divide the sea. If we get rid of fleshly thoughts and obey the word, God recognises it as faith and solves problem His way. Is it easy to understand that the widow of Zarephath obeyed prophet Elijah’s words and served bread with the little flour and oil she had left? When the widow believed and obeyed, God made sure the flour in the jar and the oil in the jug never ran out during the drought. She lived without any worries.
This is God’s works. God searches for faith and responds when we demonstrate faith. God’s good will evidenced through Abraham’s words is the faith to believed God’s words as it comes. When that faith manifests through obedience and deeds, it becomes God’s pleasing will. What was Abraham’s indication of God’s perfect will? It was in the unchanging faith, trust, and love for God. Genesis 24 records a scene where Abraham, in his old age, asked the oldest servant in charge of his household to go to Abraham’s hometown and relatives to find a wife for his son Isaac.
The servant asked Abraham if he was to take Isaac back to Haran, the woman’s hometown, if she did not follow him to the land of Canaan. Abraham firmly cautioned the servant not to do so. Gen 24:7 tells us, “The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘To your [a]descendants I will give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.” Gen 17:8 records that God told Abraham, “I will give to you and to your [a]descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
There were no exceptions in choosing a daughter-in-law as Abraham faithfully believed in God’s covenant. Abraham said so to the servant as he believed that it would definitely come true no matter how long or if God only spoke the one time. Abraham was a person who kept God’s words in his heart and believed any wavering, no matter the situation. He had the faith, obedience, and deeds to carry out all of God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. Abraham believed, obeyed, and acted according to his faith. His belief and deeds in the word remained unchanged even at his passing. As all came together as one, James 2:23 says that Abraham was called “the friend of God.”. Dear brothers and sisters, Do you have God’s good will like Abraham? Do you show deeds pleasing before God?
Then act according to the perfect will. It means to believe in God and act accordingly until the end. Having heard countless words of blessing from God, you would’ve listened and put it into practice to receive blessings accordingly. To further fulfill God’s perfect will, There is nothing that cannot be answered. All of God’s covenant words can be fulfilled without constraint. Abraham not only acted according to God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will with God, but also with other people. This is evident in Abraham’s actions toward his nephew Lot. Dear brothers and sisters, there are many types of people in the world. If we were to divide them into two groups, there are those who seek their own benefit first and live only for themselves. These people can never reach God’s goodness.
The other group are the one who can sacrifice themselves, understand others, and seek others’ benefits first. These people seem like they suffer, get ignored, and become lowered. But this is definitely not true in God. God delights and loves goodness. God does not leave His good children to suffer and have difficulties. It was the same with Abraham. In Genesis 13, Abraham lived with his nephew Lot. As their possessions increased, there was a fight between Abraham's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen. This meant that they could no longer live together.
Abraham gave his nephew Lot the right to choose the land first, despite his superiority. He said, "If you go to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” Lot chose the better land and left. However, the truly good land is the land that God blesses and where God's people reside. Genesis 13:14-17 records, " The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15 for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” Abraham's kindness to his nephew Lot does not stop here. Lot’s chosen land thanks to Abraham's concession was the land of Sodom and Gomorrah.
At a glance, the land looked good. However, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding nations fought which led to their defeat. The nation lost all their wealth and food supply. In that time, Lot was captured and his possessions plundered. When Abraham heard the news, he led 318 trained men born in his house to rescue his nephew, and saw victory. Abraham did not take anything from the victory. Genesis 14:22 says, “Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have [x]sworn to the Lord [y]God Most High, [z]possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’” Abraham clearly did not seek any benefit for himself when rescuing his nephew Lot and recovering the taken possessions. He simply wanted to rescue his nephew out of a good heart. Abraham's goodness does not stop here. God said in Gen 18:17, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?" and announced in advance that He would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the city of Abraham's nephew’s residence, due to their wickedness.
So Abraham asked God to have mercy on the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Through his prayer, Abraham obtained God's promise that the city would not be destroyed if ten righteous people were found. However, there were not ten righteous people and so, the city was destroyed. God saved Lot as written in Gen. 19:29, “God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow.”
Dear brothers and sisters, how many people in the world would risk their lives to help family or relatives in trouble? Abraham showed his unchanging goodness toward his nephew Lot till the end. Putting his own life on the line. How could God not say that Abraham was good? Abraham's goodness constantly appeared through his actions with both God and people. This is the kind of heart and appearance that God desires from us. The goodness that does not seek one's own benefit but sacrifices and devotes for others. The pure and beautiful heart that does not desire recognition or praise for doing good.
When goodness and sacrifice remain consistent, we can receive God's love and praise. May we learn and resemble Abraham's goodness to receive God’s recognition who is complete goodness. Dear brothers and sisters, Did you notice any shortcoming when listening to the sermon on Abraham’s goodness? Perhaps not completely believing and obeying the scripture despite receiving many covenant blessings. How many times have you disobeyed God out of convenience and self-interest, despite receiving grace, enlightenment, and the hope of New Jerusalem? May we move forward like Abraham with trust and faith in God, and obey accordingly.
God blessed Abraham as the forefather of faith. Genesis 12:3 says, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.” This is the blessing that unites God and Abraham as one. A blessing Abraham could receive as he followed God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. It’s important to also resemble Abraham’s heart.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will all have the same heart as Abraham and receive all the blessings that God gave to Abraham.
