New Life United Methodist Church, Grant, Alabama
Rev. Kim Scites
June 27, 2009
Changes in Attitudes
Genesis 12:1-5
1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from
your country, your people and your father's household 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 went, as the LORD had told him; and
Lot
went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from
Harran
. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the
possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in
Harran, and they set out for the
land
of
Canaan
, and they arrived there.
I don’t like change.My family will tell you that
even if the change doesn’t matter, I still don’t like it.If we say we’re leaving at 9
o’clock, leaving at 9:15 ruins my morning.When I travel, I take my own
three little pillows with me, bc I already know how I like my pillows
and I don’t want to change them, even for one night.If we’ve always kept the soap
on the left side of the sink, put it back there after you clean the
sink.Why would you change
that?!Just last week,
after nearly 23 years of marriage, I again tried to sign my name
Kimberly J. Zimmerman instead of my married name Scites.Change is hard for me.
And it seems that change is hard for the church,
too.You can’t be with a
group of church people for too long until one of them says, “Well we’ve never done it that
way before.”That’s
the second phrase most of us learn in church speak 101.First we learn, “Jesus saves!”And
then, “We’ve never done it
that way before.”
It only took the Roman church about 400 years and
Vatican II before some of the changes that Luther and the other
reformers wanted to see finally happened.400 years to get just part of
it done.I think we can
safely say the church does not like change either!
One preacher told me that the only people who do
like change are wet babies, but my life as a mother tells me that even
they don’t like it too much.
So what must it have been like for Abram to
hear these words:"Go from your country, your people and your father's
household to the land I will show you.”?
God says, “Go and it’ll be good for
you.”But all I would
have heard was change.
You want what?!You want me to leave what I know and what I like?You want me to leave my three
pillows and my soap on the left?You
want me to move away from daddy? No
way.You gotta be kidding!
And can you imagine Abram explaining all this
to the beautiful Sarai?The
Bible doesn’t say one word about God telling Sarai about this little
move.I think even God’s
afraid to tell her.So God
makes Abe do that!
Baby, would you save those boxes?We’re gonna need to start
packing a few things.God
told me we’re moving.Again.
I can just hear her now… What are you
talking about?! Where
exactly are we going?Why
would we leave this place?We’ve
already moved once.And if
you think I’m going on another desert camel ride with your 75-yr-old
self, well… you’ve been out in the sun too long!
I think Abram and Sarai were just like us.They were settled and
comfortable.They had
their little routines – their gym memberships – their favorite
coffee shops – Sonic on Tuesday night when the burgers are cheap.They knew all their neighbors
and all their neighbors knew them.True, Abe and Sarai weren’t tied down with kids, but they
were still settled.Dug
in.
I don’t think this move – this change –
was any easier for them than it would be for us.
But that’s sort of hidden in this story
that’s written so simply there is no detail or struggle or doubt.In the first 3 verses God just
says, go to a land I will show you.It’ll be good for you and good for others.And v 4 says simply, So Abram
went as the Lord had told him.
What happened between v 3 and v 4?Anything, you think?How much time elapsed?How many arguments filled that
gap?How many more times
did God say go before Abram actually went?V 1 says the Lord had said to
Abram. So it was a while
before Abram went.
But the story doesn’t tell give us those
details, I guess because none of that really matters.All that matters is that Abram
finally mustered up enough courage – enough faith – enough trust
– to go.
Not knowing quite where he was going.Taking only his wife, a nephew
who maybe was sort of like a son to them, their stuff and their
servants.It was a long,
long time before Abram and Sarai realized that God went with them,
too.
No, I don’t like changes, but I also know
that God specializes in them.
God took Abram, this childless idol worshipper
(Joshua 24:2), and made him into a pillar of faith and the father of
God’s people.God took
Moses, who stuttered, and made him ‘powerful in speech and action’
(Acts 7:22 tells us).God
changed David the shepherd boy into a king.Peter the weak into Peter the
rock.John the Son of
Thunder into the Apostle of Love.Paul, the persecutor, into a missionary and martyr.And God took the crucified
Christ and raised him from the dead.
In every case – God called.In every case, God offered a
choice – a change – a different path to take.And when these faithful stepped
forward with God, God changed them.Blessed them.Made
it good for them, and good for others.
In each case, they took God’s new path.
If we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll
always be just what we are.But
with God, things can be different.I don’t like change, but neither do I want to stay like I am
today.I want to grow –
to change – to become all that God created me to be.And the liberating message of
this story – and of so many stories of our faith – is that
You don’t have to be like
you’ve always been.
You don’t have to live
like you’ve always lived.
You don’t have to stay
where you are!
With God, nothing remains
quite the same.
God gives us a choice.Instead of just being
dissatisfied or anxious or unsettled about our lives, what if we
listened for God, and dared to do what God says.Dared to go when God says go.Dared to speak when God says
speak.Dared to move and
change and try something different or new.
In this story, it’s clear that God will do the
work.God will make the
nation.God will make the
name.God will bless.God will protect.And God will turn that blessing
into blessing for others.God
does the work.
All that depends on us is the going.So, verse 4 says, Abram went as
the Lord had told him.And
oh, the blessings that came from that!That even we should be called children of God.Amazing.We here today are proof of
God’s promise to Abram.Blessed
to be a blessing.
God is calling some of you today.Some from comfortable places
into new ministries and mission.Some
God is calling from painful places into a new and fruitful land.
Whatever
God’s call to you, we always have our excuses.Our doubts.Our own schedules.Our own resistance to change.
We worry about our marriages, our children, our
finances, our friends, our health.We’re afraid of the future and yet we keep doing the same
stuff we’ve been doing?The
same way we’ve been doing it?That
is one definition of insanity:to
keep doing things the same way, yet expecting a different outcome.
But what if God is asking you to…
Work on your marriage
Make a new start
Spend more time with your
kids
Serve on the mission field?
What if God is asking you this time to
Followed thru
Kick a habit
Get the treatment
Confess your sin
Face a fear
Be honest with yourself
Or gave it one more chance
Is God asking you to dare to believe that God
really is calling you
and that now really is
finally the time to answer?
What if God is asking you to
Believe in yourself
And believe in Him.
What if God is asking you to
Take the next step
Let go
Love – in spite of past
hurts
What if God is asking you to
Say you’re sorry
Not look back
Give more
Reach out
and reach up
What if you lived the life God has for you?All of it.Finally.Oh!It’d be so good for you.And so good for others.Because that’s always how God
works it.Blessed to be a
blessing.Changed – for
the better.
What are you holding on to that God wants to
change?
Every one of us has things we’ve left behind, and
places where God has changed our lives.Every one of us.Here
are some of the ways God has brought newness and healing and hope to
some people you may know:
