Genesis: Part 8
Genesis 12:1-3, 22:15-18
SERMON TRANSCRIPT
It's good to be with you. So glad that you're with us this morning. So excited about what God is doing here at Spring Valley Church and that it includes all of you. I also have to just continue to say that I'm very excited about Operation Christmas Child. Particularly for my daughter, Kinsley, to partake in packing a box. I remember when I did it when I was a kid and getting to write a note and just understanding that I'm sending this box across oceans and across to some other country to a kid I will never meet but to be able to connect in this special way. And so I'm excited for her to be able to do that and to help share that that person is going to open up that box, that kid is going to open up a box and get things which are also really, really fun. But to also hear the Word of God. They're going to get a gospel message when they receive that box and that is just as equally important if not more important. So it's amazing how something so simple can be a part of God's plan to reach the nations. We're just packing shoe boxes, which we all have a lot of shoe boxes. We just pack it full of stuff and we send it and something so simple God can use for His glory. And that's what God's all about, using ordinary people in ordinary moments. We have that on our wall in the everyday stuff of life. And from the very beginning of Scripture, I think that is the plan, that God wants to use ordinary people, nothing special necessarily about them, to partner with Him for His kingdom purposes.
Today I want us to look at just that, that God's plan for the nations, how from Genesis to Revelation His heart has always been for all people everywhere to know Him and experience His salvation. We're wrapping up our series in Genesis, which is focused on exploring patterns and introduced in Genesis that echo throughout the rest of the Bible. We've seen how humanity consistently chooses sin, chooses to compromise, chooses to corrupt what is good for their own selfish gain, thinking that they can live without God, and how these patterns reveal God's character in His work to redeem, restore and rescue His people. Just want to quickly recap, this has been eight weeks of Genesis, which is like the shortest series of Genesis you'll ever have because there's so much, there's 50 chapters. But week one we talked about God as Creator making order out of chaos, and we see Him do that over and over and over again in Scripture. We talked about Imago Dei being made in God's image with the purpose of reflecting that image to the rest of the world. We talked about humanity's rebellion, this pattern that humanity shows over and over again of rebelling against God, but God's constant response of grace. We've talked about God's promise of future redemption that He keeps over and over through Scripture. We'll see that He keeps pointing at future redemption, something great is to come. We've talked about God's call to people to live in covenant faithfulness, that throughout Scripture starting here in Genesis there is a call to live faithfully to God. We also talked about wrestling with God and the opportunity for inner transformation. We see it start here in Genesis, we see other characters in the Bible wrestle with God and how they're transformed to be more like Him afterwards. And then last week we talked about God's sovereignty in the midst of human suffering. We learned about God's ability and tendency to redeem difficult seasons for His purpose. We pray that you guys have been encouraged and blessed through this series, and really we're praying that your interaction with Scripture has new depth as you guys get to, when you dive in and you read, that you have new tools to see what God has put in here for us, that you have, you can see the threads in Scripture that run through the entire tapestry of God's truth. While there are so many more themes that we have not covered, we won't get to cover, we want to end our series with God's plan for the nations.
The idea here is this pattern that lifts our focus and eyes to heaven, a future reality that has already begun, which is to see people from all over the world worship God. I want to remind us that if you've read Genesis from beginning to end, and if you haven't yet I'll give you this spoiler, chapters 1 through 11 focus on God's interaction with all of humanity, the entire world, and then chapters 12 through 50, the story focuses in on one family. And a plan, it's the theme of God's plan woven throughout all of that, Genesis 1 through 11, 12 through 50, we talked about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, and following this family that would become a nation. And woven through all of that is God's plan for the nations, a plan that reveals his love and compassion and desire for them to know and worship him. And even though it's just a story of a family, we still hear and we still see God working and having his heart for the nations. This family that turns into a nation is chosen to be a part of his work to reach the world. It's not that God's blessing is confined to one people, but rather he blesses his people to then go forward and bring other people to him so that they can be blessed too. And so we see this heart of God for the nations develop in Genesis, it continues in Exodus and Deuteronomy when he's giving instructions of how Israel is supposed to be a nation. We see it in a time of kings where God desires that people come to his temple to worship him as foreigners and not Israelites. We see it in the prophets as they mourn Israel's failure to be a light to the world, but how they're pointing forward to the light coming into the world. And we definitely see it most clearly from Jesus as his words, which we all know, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son." And that pattern in the Bible ends with a vision. We go all the way to the end in Revelation and we see a plan come to fruition where people from every tribe, nation, and tongue are praising God. So God's plan for the nations is a clear value of his kingdom. We know his heart is for all people and we see that pattern develop right here in Genesis at the very beginning of Scripture.
So if you guys have your Bibles, you can turn with me to Genesis 12. It'll be up on the screen as well. We have two passages this morning. First is Genesis 12, 1 through 3, which we've covered before in this series. This is when God is calling Abraham. This is that shift from Genesis 1 to 11 in all of humanity. Now chapter 12, it focuses in on one family and God is calling Abraham. So if you guys want to read along, it says, "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, and I will make your name great and you will be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse.'" And here's the important part for today, "And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." He promises Abraham three things, right? God will make Abraham into a great nation. God will make Abraham's name great, promises of renown and reputation, but also of material blessing. He's going to be a wealthy guy. And number three, God will bless all people through Abraham. It's in verse three that we see this, God's heart for the nations. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Abraham's blessing will be a blessing to all families. It speaks to the hope that God's kingdom will be universal one day, that one day the corruption that sin brings will cease to exist. All brought about through the nation and people of Israel throughout the Old Testament and then ultimately through Jesus in the New Testament. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you. So our theme has begun. This is the start of that thread and you can trace this thread all throughout the Bible.
Let's flip over to Genesis 22, verses 15. This is after Abraham has been tested. He's been found faithful and obedient in the eyes of God, being willing to obey God even to the point of sacrificing his son. Obviously as we know he didn't have to sacrifice his son. God intervenes and provides a ram. But because Abraham showed that he was faithful, God reiterates his blessing. So in verse 15 it says, "The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, 'I swear by myself,' declares the Lord, 'that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 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," here we go, "all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me." Again, we see those three promises. God will make Abraham a father of many. God will give Abraham a land. These people will have a land. And God will bless all nations through Abraham's descendants. If you were to keep reading in Genesis after this, check out what God does. He promises these things in Genesis 22 and chapter 23, Abraham rightfully comes to own a part of the promised land. So you get some of that land. Chapter 24, Isaac, his son, finds a wife so the next generation is promised and secured. And then chapter 25 is Abraham's death. And while Isaac, his son, receives the full inheritance, Abraham is shown giving gifts to his other sons, which will become other nations in the world. And so it's a way of foreshadowing the greater blessing that will eventually come from Abraham's line blessing the entire world. So we see God's promise begin to take shape. Some of it is happening, but much more of it is to come. But it's that verse 18 that again we see God's heart, "through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me." So from these two passages, let's just name what we see.
First we see that God's plan for the nations is that they will be blessed by God's people. Israel is meant to be a vessel of God's covenant blessing to all the nations. And even through God's chooses to work through a specific people for a time in the Old Testament, his heart is that people from all nations would come to worship him. So God's plan for the nations is that they will be blessed by God's people. It's not that the rest of the world couldn't be blessed by God's, that they were meant to be experienced that through blessing through Israel's testimony. Secondly, we see that God's plan for the nations points us to Jesus. Ultimately we know that Israel struggles with this role that they are supposed to carry out. There's supposed to be a witness, there's supposed to be a testimony to God, but more often than not they're seduced by other nations and false gods, and they keep falling away from God, they rebel against God. And so it points us to Jesus, who is God and shares even more explicitly and lives out this plan to reach the nations. Jesus invites and commissions the 12 disciples and all those who follow him, including you and I today, to partner with him in spreading the gospel to all ends of the earth. We are invited to be a part of God's plan for reaching the nations.
Now today we hear, if I were to say we were reaching the nations for God, you probably think of modern day missions, which is good, that's what's happening, that's what missions is all about. And it also makes sense that our minds will be drawn to the words of Jesus in Matthew 28 in the Great Commission, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." But today I want us, just to connect some dots, I don't want us to believe that missions and God's heart for missions started at the Great Commission. God's heart for the world started all the way back in Genesis. And so I just want to take a moment, this is going to be rapid fire Bible nerd trivia right here, we're just going to go through all of scripture and name moments where we see God's heart for the nations. You guys okay with that, if I do that really quick? All right, good. I heard no yeses, but I'm going to do it anyways. God repeats this blessing through, so right in Genesis we see Abraham, we see the start of this thread, we'll write after to his son Isaac, God repeats that blessing and says again, "Through you I'm going to bless the entire world." He says it's to Jacob, Isaac's son, so we're getting it generation after generation, God is reinforcing, "Through you, through your people, I'm going to bless the entire world." Well then we get to Exodus and Deuteronomy and in those books of the Bible, God is really forming the nation of Israel. They've become a huge people and he's giving them governance, he's giving them structure, and in that structure of how to be a people, he tells them, "I have a heart for the world and you are going to be my mediator of my love to the rest of the world." He calls them a holy priesthood and the role of priests is to represent God to people. In Deuteronomy, it emphasizes Israel's obedience to God is meant to be a testimony to other nations as other people, as other nations see Israel living righteously according to God's way, that'll be a testimony to that God that they worship. In Deuteronomy 10, we also see that God commands Israel as a nation to take care of foreigners. It's a very practical way of saying, "Hey, I love the people that are outside of Israel." Later in the established kingdom in 1 Kings, we have a moment where this is when Israel is on the top of the world. They're wealthy, they have a solid king, and they're just powerful and fruitful, and it's the wisdom of the rulers and their status as a nation that drew people in. They say, "What is going on with that nation over there? They are succeeding. They are just doing so good, and they worship this God who's clearly blessing them. We got to know more about that." It draws people in. They come to Israel. They travel from across the world to see Israel and say, "How is this happening? How are you guys so amazing? Tell us about the God that you serve." Again, we see God's heart for the nations coming forward in that moment. We also know that Israel falls away. That time of being a kingdom that is on top of the world is so short, and then the kingdom splits, and it just goes downhill from there, and Israel goes into captivity. We come to the time of the prophets, and the prophets talk a lot about Israel's role of being a light to the rest of the world and God's heart for the nations. In Jeremiah, it describes restoration of the covenant blessing through Abraham, that the nations will come to know God, and that nations outside of Israel can be a part of God's family if they live and submit to Yahweh. There's open invitation of Israel. Other nations can come to know God. You were supposed to help them do that, but that's still going to happen. God still has a plan for them. In Ezekiel, it shows how God interacts with Israel. It helps other nations better learn who Yahweh is. Isaiah has a lot to say. 56, 42, 49, all these chapters talk about how foreigners who come to faith have a place in God's family. And again, Israel is meant to be a light to the world, not just a light that shines in the darkness for the sake of shining light into the darkness, but to bring people in the darkness into the light.
There is a purpose behind it. God wants his salvation to reach the ends of the earth. Micah 4 talks about a future vision where people from all over are coming to God to say, "How do we live like you? How do we live in this way of righteousness that you talk about?" Let me also have the wisdom literature, the wisdom portion of Scripture. In Psalm, it also talks about God's heart for the nations. Psalm 67 says, "May God bless us still so that all the ends of the earth will fear him." God blesses his people so that all nations on earth will recognize his power. And Psalm 72 talks about all nations will be blessed through God, and they will call him blessed. Clearly we see that throughout the Old Testament, God is putting before the people the priority that he has for the nations. It's a value to him, and he wanted them to embody it and live it out. But like we said, they struggle with it, and it points us to Jesus, who in the New Testament continues to communicate the heart of God. I already mentioned John 3.16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." Jesus talks about it in his teachings. Matthew 5 talks about being salt and light to the world. John 4, verses 7 through 42 talk about salvation being offered beyond Israel. We see Jesus live that out when he talks to the Samaritan woman, when he mentions these other nations that are going to be a part of his kingdom. Acts 1 talks about being a witness to the ends of the earth empowered by the Holy Spirit. Then like I mentioned, Revelation 7, 9 through 10 is the culmination of God's plan in heaven. This is the vision that John has about the future. And he says, "And there before me was a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. And they cried out in a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.’"
God's plan for the nations shows us that God intends to rescue and restore and redeem the lost all around the world. He's a loving, generous, gracious God, and his heart and plan for the nations started all the way at the beginning here in Genesis. Seen throughout the Old Testament, it's expounded upon in the New Testament, and it's a plan that is still in place today. God's plan for the nations is a plan that we have been invited, you and I in this room, have been invited to partake in. There's an invitation to you saying, "Hey, will you help me out with my plan to reach the world?" As Christians, as the big C church all over the world, we are called to reach people. For a few, that means picking up everything we have and going across the world and living there and spreading the gospel in a different place. I say for a few because that is a very specific calling that not many of us have. For most, that means right where you are in the everyday stuff of life to share Jesus with those that he has placed in your life. Pastor Chris framed this in our yearly celebrations just over a month ago when he shared his vision for our church as the 167. It's kind of our theme for this next year. There are 168 hours in the week. You spend about one hour of that week here at Spring Valley Church. So what are you going to do with the rest of your hours for Jesus? How are you going to worship him, partner with him in the 167 hours outside the church?
So my question today is with your 167 hours outside the church, how will you participate in God's mission to bring his blessing of salvation to the nations? How will you participate in God's mission to bring his blessing of salvation to the nations? Some of you may feel the Spirit's prompting to get involved with what he's doing around the world. A small way of doing that is Operation Christmas Child. That's a global thing that's happening. And if you're like, "Hey, I want to partner," that's a great way to do it. We have desires to grow our missions and our outreach here at Spring Valley, but this year, Operation Christmas Child. For others, your participation in God's mission to bring his salvation to the nations starts right where you are. We see it as our responsibility as partners with God to reach people here in Rockland, Roseville, Placer County, wherever you are. And you may be asking yourself, "But Andre, that's not the nations. That's not the nations. That's not the world." Well, let me say this. In the context of the world and world religions, I know that America is considered a Christian nation, but that doesn't mean that we check it off the box and say, "Complete, this nation does not need to be reached. We're good. Let's focus on other nations." No, we need to spread the gospel right here in America. They need to hear God's truth. They need to see it lived out. We have a responsibility to bring the gospel to the people around us. That's our job. So when you're asked, "How will you participate in God's mission to bring his salvation to the nations?" We can think of our neighbors. We can think of the families that we interact with at schools, our co-workers, our own family members, all those people, what God is talking about. God's plans for the nation is clearly a priority in scripture, and it should be a priority for us. I want to give a warning.
Let's not make the same mistake that Israel did, being consumed in our own desires and passions, getting distracted by all the things that are around us in this world, getting distracted or seduced by the world around us, and ultimately we turn away from God. We shirk our responsibilities. We say, "God, I've got a lot going on. I don't have time to do this thing that I know I want to partner with. I know I wanted to, but I just don't have any time." Israel failed in this. They had the invitation. They did it for a while. They did it for some time, but they always failed, and we don't want to be like that. We want to keep this at the forefront of our minds. My job, my utmost priority, is to partner with God, and how do I bring the gospel to the people around me? We want to be a conduit to show people Jesus through the way we live, both in our actions and in our inactions. Sometimes when we don't do anything, that speaks to the God that we serve. Same with our words. Sometimes it's what we say, and sometimes it's when we don't say anything. Through our love and compassion, kindness, when we have peace in the midst of chaos, when we trust God, when the rest of the world is living anxiously, all of that is a testimony to the God that we serve. May we point people to Jesus that we can be a witness for Him. So just one more time, how in this week can you be intentional going forward to partner with God and His plan to reach the world with His good news of salvation? Is there someone in your life that God's putting on your heart to share to have a conversation with? Is there someone at work that you know that when they talk and they get all angry and they get all frustrated, maybe you're supposed to respond not in kind, but in another way that shows God's love? Are you supposed to have an act of service, give a neighbor or someone a meal or do something out of kindness that can show that they are loved by God? We're going to be praying this week together as a church that we would feel the urgency, the priority that it needs to have in our lives to share the love of God with the people around us.
Let's go ahead and pray for that right now, if you guys could bow your heads. God thank you for your word and for this pattern that we see in scripture that you have a heart for everyone in this world, that you love them and that you want them to come into a relationship with you. And God I pray that we would feel as believers and followers of you, we would feel the responsibility that we have to partner with you and to do the work of your kingdom. So God I pray that as we live our lives day to day in the week that we would feel encouraged, we feel empowered, that you would give us the words to say or sometimes God that you would give us the restraints to not say anything, but in all that we do God may we be a conduit to show people the love of God. Help us God, give us what we need, meet us where we're at, may we depend on you for everything and I pray that you would use us greatly for your kingdom. We pray this in your name, Amen.