“Count me in” RUMC 1/1/17

“Count me in”

RUMC 1/1/17

One of our family jokes is about the time we took an aerial tour of the Grand Canyon in a little 6-seater plane. Amber was fine as long as we were over the trees on the rim. As soon as we dropped over the rim of the canyon, she became violently airsick. Robyn had to deal with the details (which I prefer not to think about) because Richie and I were sitting in the rear seats oo-ing and ah-ing over the beauty around us. The thing I remember is Amber crying, “Make it stop, daddy. Make it stop. “

In spite of Amber’s protest, stopping the plane stop in mid air, of course, was not an option. If you aren’t flying, you’re crashing.

Some things you cannot do half way.

You can test out some things. You can go half say into the swimming pool (up to your knees) to check the temperature, or to taste half a bite of a new food. Those are OK.

Nevertheless, there are other things that are either all or nothing.

•           They say you cannot be sort of pregnant.

•           Once you jump out of the airplane, it is pretty hard to go back.

•           You can’t quit half way through a haircut.

•           I don’t know about you, but I can’t mow half my yard.

There are things you just can’t do half way.

Faith is one of those things.

People have tried to have half way faith.

•           The rich young ruler wanted to have eternal life, but didn’t want to give up his stuff.

•           Peter wanted to walk on the water, but didn’t want to keep his eyes on Jesus.

•           Paul tells us that the Corinthians wanted to be Christian, but they didn’t want to give up their pagan worship.

They wanted to go half way in the faith. However, going half way in faith is not an option.

•           Today, many people say, “I love Jesus, but I don’t like the church.” That’s half way faith.” It doesn’t work.

•           Some say, I want to be a member of the church, but I just want to come on Sunday morning. That’s half way faith. There is more to the church than what happens on Sunday.

Half way faith does not work for us or for God. God gives us an all or nothing choice, and calls us to an ALL IN faith.

Abram’s story is the perfect example.

Abram is 99 years old in when God speaks to him in today’s scripture.

•           It has been 5 chapters since God told Abram to “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

There were three parts to that covenant.

         God said, “Abram move,” and Abram moved.

         God said, “I’ll give you land.” and God gave him land.

         God said Abram I’ll make you a father of many… but this one promise of a male heir was left hanging.

In today’s reading from chapter 17, God asks Abram to renew the covenant they made many years before.

God starts out identifying himself. I am THE LORD. The Hebrew is El Shaddai, I am God all-sufficient. I am everything you need. God continues, “I will make my covenant between me and you.” Actually, the covenant was made 5 chapters ago, so God is asking Abram to renew it.

Let’s stop there because we have a hard time understanding covenants today. They are not the same thing as a contract. There are two fundamental differences between a covenant and a contract.

 1. The covenant is initiated unilaterally. It does not require the signature of two parties. It is imitated by the more powerful party on behalf of the less powerful one. In this case, God renews a covenant with Abram. He never asks Abram If he is OK with it.

 2. A covenant cannot be broken. A contract is broken when one party fails to live up to their end of the bargain. If someone breaks a contract with the bank by missing a few car payments, the contract is void. The bank is not obligated to let them keep the car. They simply come pick it up and take it away. A covenant however remains binding even if one side fails to uphold their side of the bargain. The marriage covenant is supposed to be like that. “Till death do us part,” no matter what kind of bone headed things I might do, Robyn is stuck with me “until death do us part.”

So back to our passage, God comes to have Abram renew the covenant. God says, “Walk before me.” In the typical covenant making ceremony, pigeons or goats or other animals were cut in half and laid half on one side of the path and half on the other. The parties would walk through the middle of the carcasses, in essence saying, “If I don’t live up to my end of the covenant, let me be cut in half like these animals.” So God says, “Walk before me to renew this covenant.”

Then God laid out the three points of the covenant. God says you are my people and I will

1.         Renew the covenant to make your descendants exceedingly numerous…

2.         I will change your name from Abram to Abraham, which means father of many.

3.         And I will give you a place to live.

Remember, these are solid 'till death do us part promises to Abram and all of this descendants.

           

Now God did not give Abram smorgasbord of options. It wasn’t a pick and chose proposition.

o          Abraham was not allowed to say, “I like the kids and the home, but really you want to call me ‘Abraham?’ … how about great name like Cedric.”

o          Abram was not allowed to say, “The name and the home are great… but I’m NOT becoming a father again at the age of 99.”

No. It was all or nothing. There was no going half way.

Abram said yes, count me in!

•           He followed where God lead,

•           He took the name Abraham,

•           And was eventually he and Sarah blessed with Isaac from whom all the people of Israel descended.

Well, here we are at the beginning of a new year. 2017 lies before us brand spanking new and with great new potential.

•           Potential for joy and sadness.

•           Potential for great prosperity and unexpected job loss, or financial problems.

•           Potential to forgive and renew broken relationships.

•           Potential to try new things and go new places.

2017 also comes to us full of brand spanking new mew potential for renewed faithfulness. God is bound by covenant to be our loving and forgiving God forever and ever no matter what.

•           We, however, could some reminding.

•           We are the ones who need renewal.

•           We are the ones who need a fresh start.

So how about it? Will 2017 be the year you go all in for God?

•           Will 2017 be the year that you look at your life and discover that you have been in ministry all this time, but you just didn’t think of it that way?

•           Or will it be the year that you try a different way of serving.

•           Or will it be the year that you follow a dream or a passion and lead the way to a ministry of which we have not yet dreamt.

•           Will 2017 be the year you take responsibility for growing closer to Jesus? You will have an opportunity to practice some ways of doing that as we begin the Believe next week.

•           Will 2017 be the year that you finally get up the courage to invite that neighbor, or your spouse, or your child to return to church?

•           Will 2017 be the year that you say, If Abraham can say, “Count me in” at 99 years of age, maybe I’m not too old.

•           Will 2017 be your year, or will it be the year that you completely hand your life over to God.

Remember ½ way doesn’t work. Either you are all in or you are not.

I’m not asking you to have a child at the age of 99, or pick up and move, or change you name as God asked Abraham.

•           But I am asking you what it would mean for you to invest your whole self in God this year?

•           What would it mean to trust your whole life to God this year?

•           What would it mean to go the whole way for God this year? Are you in?

Let me suggest a prayer for this year. It was first prayed by Bobby Richardson, former New York Yankee second baseman. At a fellowship of Christian athletes event he prayed, "Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen."

 Listen again "Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen." Let that be our prayer for 2017, as a church and as individual disciples. "Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen.” Can I count you in?