The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
Many people love to sing an old gospel song:
Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let his praises ring;
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior,
Standing, I'm standing on the promises of God.
Today's Bible readings are all about God's promises, and the faith it takes for people to really, truly believe those promises and truly depend on them. It's very easy to say we believe in God and Jesus. But it is not so easy to accept their promises and be certain that those promises will be kept! Yet, this is actually the test of living out our faith.
Abram, as we all remember, had been told by God to leave his family and homeland and set out on a journey. God would tell him where to go, and God would tell him when he got to the place he was supposed to stop. And, if you remember, Abram was ninety years old and his wife, Sarai, was also pretty far along in years. But Abram obeyed and packed up his tent and his possessions, and rounded up his goats and cattle and camels and set out.
After months, maybe even a year of traveling, they came to Canaan, the land that we now call Israel. God promised that this land would belong to Abram and his descendents forever. But Abram and Sarai had no children, and were much too old to have any. Abram went to help local tribe leaders defeat some kings who were trying to take over the land, and on the way back from the battle, he met a priest named Melchizedek, who blessed him. Abram gave the priest an offering, and he had a vision of God who said, Don't be afraid, Abram. I will protect you from danger and I will give you a great reward.
Abram was a sensible man, so he asked God what good a reward would be to him? He knew that he was an old man, and probably would die soon, and no matter how wonderful the reward from God might be, he had no children to leave it to when he died.
But God made a great promise: Abram and his wife would have a son, and that son would father many, many more. Abram would have as many descendents as there are stars in the sky, or grains of sand on the seashore. Abram's property would go to his family when he died.
And Abram believed God, and acted on his belief. Yes, from time to time his trust in God weakened, but it always became strong again. And this trust in God pleased God and made God's promises to Abram become true.
Paul, in his letter to the Jewish Christians, wrote: To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain about the things we cannot see. It was through this kind of faith that people of old won God's approval. Paul goes on to use Abraham's faith in God's promises as an example of how important it is to keep trusting God, even when it seems foolish or impossible that the promise will come true. With God, all things are possible, because God has all the power in earth and heaven in his hands. But we need to stand on the promises and go on trusting.
Jesus gave similar instructions to his disciples. They were not to put their trust in things of this life or earth, things that would wear out or fail. Instead, they were to put their trust in God, and hold to that trust no matter what happened. Their true treasure would not be money, power, fame, or all the other things that are considered valuable in this world. You remember, last week we read from the Wisdom of Solomon who said that whatever he had in this life, he could not take with him when he died. Someone else would get it all. Instead, Jesus wants his followers (and that means you and me) to trust 100% in God and never stop trusting, no matter what the circumstances are. God ALWAYS keeps his promises, and if we only trust him with all our heart, strength and mind, we will have great treasures in heaven.
So there it is ... are you standing on God's promises ? Do you truly believe that God will keep his promises to you? Do you hold onto your faith in God's promises when you lose your job, when serious illness strikes your family, or when a natural disaster destroys all you have? If you do ... then your faith will most certainly be approved by God. Amen.
