The Story of God: Raising The Bar

I believe if I were to sit down with you, you could tell me of an encounter where God raised the bar for you: where He opened your eyes to see a need, or where He stretched your faith and called you to move forward in some way with Him. Maybe it was when you realized you needed to be baptized. Perhaps it was when you came to understand that God had gifted you to serve others. Or maybe it was a particular message of God’s Word that brought you to your knees and changed the course of your life. Whatever it was, I am convinced that God does this all the time: that God is continually raising the bar on our journey of faith with Him. This is precisely what we are going to see as we return to the story of God and Abram’s journey of faith – Where God not only raises the bar for Abram, but does so in a way that changes life for everyone connected to him.

God Raises the Bar for Abram    It has been nearly 25 years since God first called Abram to leave country, family and father behind and go to the promised land. And Abram believed God and moved to this land. Along the way, Abram occasionally wavered in his faith. Once in fleeing to Egypt and lying about Sarai. His latest waver was when he took Sarai’s maidservant as a wife so as to produce the promised offspring a through her. This last wavering of faith resulted in a mess. But somehow God intervened and saved the day.  Now for the past 13 years God had been silent. Abram had just lived in the land and watched his son grow. But once again God appears to Abram and is about move Abram to the next level in his journey of faith.   He does this in two ways. The first way God raises the bar for Abram is this:

1. He changes his relationship: He says to Abram, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.” 

In other words, God calls Abram to change how he relates to God. He is now to “walk before God” To walk in regards to his relationship with God on a daily basis. To walk in regards to God means that from this point forward he is to walk in partnership with God. God is no longer to be some distant deity who Abram worships on occasion. Abram is now to orient all of His life around God’s life.

Sound somewhat familiar? If it does, God’s command is similar to Jesus’ command to His disciples when He said, “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus raised the relationship bar with his followers by inviting them to be with him. “Walk before me” runs parallel to “Come, follow me” and “be blameless” runs parallel with “and I will make you fishers of men.” In both cases God changes our relationship in order to change us. That’s how God raised the bar for Abram. He was calling Him to walk with Him daily: to enjoy His presence, learn His ways and become the man God was calling him to be – a man who was blameless; a man of integrity inside and out.

Upon hearing this, Abram fell facedown – God’s call literally floored him. He fell facedown in worship. It was Abram’s way of acknowledging God’s greatness and it was Abram’s way surrendering his life to God’s call. In humility, Abram accepts this change of relationship, but God’s not quite through raising the bar with him.

At this point God changes his name, and in so doing: 2. He changes his identity: and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” At long last, Abram trusted in the Lord’s promise and rested in His sovereign will. To memorialize this moment, God gave Abram a new name. His birth name, “exalted father,” honored the moon god Abram’s father worshiped. His new name, Abraham, means “father of a multitude.” It is the name of God’s blessing. And by giving it to Abram at this point it becomes Abram’s new identity. His new name reflects his new destiny as the one through whom God will bring blessing to the world: He is now “the father of many nations.” By naming him Abraham, God is making the promised blessings a reality.

Something similar happens to us when we put our trust in Christ. We are not necessarily given a new name… but we are given a name that reflects all the blessings we receive in Christ. When anyone puts their trust in Christ, they are immediately baptized into Christ. And so we take on a new identity as “one who is in Christ” a “Christian.” This is our new name. And like Abram our name reflects our new destiny to live as those who are in Christ. To live as those who have been blessed by God.

But God doesn’t stop there. Once He’s raised the bar for Abram, the next thing we see is that

God Raises the Bar on His Commitments to Abram: “I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

These five commitments come from “El Shaddai” to Abraham. God Almighty – the all-powerful God who is able to do what He says He will do. You can count on Him; these blessings to you are like money in the bank.

What I love about what God does here is this. He reveals to us how the gospel works: He gives Abraham what Abraham cannot give himself: an offspring and the multitudes to follow. He does for Abraham what Abraham cannot do for himself: He establishes an eternal covenant.   And He becomes for Abraham what Abraham never thought possible: He becomes Abraham’s God… Every promise is a picture of God’s grace: He gives to us what we cannot give ourselves. He does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He becomes for us what we never thought possible. He gives us salvation. He provides the sacrifice. He becomes our God. God initiates it, God provides it, God gives it all to us. And like Abraham, we simply receive by faith what God has provided.

And what is God providing for Abraham? Out of His mighty power and His infinite wisdom, God will provide through Abraham a new people of God. God is restoring His Kingdom through the faith of one man. And God raises the bar by promising to establish this covenant relationship between Himself and Abraham that will last forever.

But in a covenant relationship with God there are two sides to the agreement. We have just heard God’s side. But what obligation is required of Abraham and his descendants? That’s what we see next in verses 19-14, as God Raises the Bar for His People:  Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. Genesis 17:9-10

 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” Genesis 17:11-14

God has done everything to establish this covenant. Now, Abraham and his offspring must fulfill their side of the agreement. And all God asks of them is to be circumcised. All God asks of them is to do one act of obedience in response to what God has done for them.  This is how they are to keep the covenant. Let me break this down for us what God is asking of Abraham in Keeping God’s Covenant:

Receiving circumcision is an act of obedience that (1) shows you are trusting in God’s promises, (you are believing He will do what He says He will do) (2) declares you are identifying as His people (you are believing that He is your God) (3) says you choosing to live set-apart for His purposes to bless the world. (you are willing to live out your belief as God’s people by living in such a way that shows you serve the one true God)

Circumcision then is the sign of the Abrahamic covenant. Abraham and everyone connected to his household must bear this mark. If not, they will not be considered the people of God. They will be cut off from His people. What we see happening here is that God is forming His new community – a community built on faith in the promises of God, with circumcision being the mark that sets them apart as a people of faith in God. But before Abraham is to enact this new sign of the covenant, there’s some loose ends God wants to tie up for Abraham. God address these in verses 15-22, as

God Raises the Bar for Sarah and Ishmael  God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Genesis 17:15-16

Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Genesis 17:17-18

Abraham now laughs at the thought of he and Sarah giving birth to a son at such an old age. Some say he laughs because the thought of giving birth at this advanced age is impossible. Others say he laughs because the reality of this happening through Sarah after he had had a son through Hagar, surprises him with great joy. But it does make him think immediately of Ishmael. What will happen to Ishmael? “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing.”

Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. Genesis 17:19-22

Both Sarah and Ishmael will be blessed. The son of promise will come through her own body. She will no longer be barren. What a relief that she will no longer live under a cloud of doubt, that she is under a curse from God. This is good news for Sarai. And God changes her name to Sarah, which means princess. Kings will come from this princess. God has certainly raised the bar for Sarah this day.

And Ishmael is no after thought. God will bless him too. Twelve rulers will come through Him. A great nation will come through him. All of Abrahams worries are put to sleep – everyone connected to Abraham will be blessed by God! And to top it all off, the son of promise will arrive by this time next year! God has raised the bar. The blessings have begun.

So with no more questions, no more doubts, and blessings beyond what he could ever ask or imagine…  Abraham Rises to the Occasion: On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.  Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen; Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.

Abraham rose to the occasion. He responded immediately. On that very day Abraham obeyed God. He took his son and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God had told him.

Here now is why Abraham serves as a model of faith for us: Abraham responded to God’s grace by believing God and acting on that faith by obeying God’s command.  God still works the same way today. Like Abraham we don’t see the promises of God; we take them by faith:

We believe God appeared to us in the person of Jesus.

We believe Jesus calls us to walk with him so we might learn to live and love like Him.

We believe God has united in Christ and now has given us a new identity in Christ.

And we believe God has given us every spiritual blessing in Christ! – that now in Christ, God has given us everything we need for life and godliness.

And Jesus himself gave us the mark of the New Covenant: one command to obey – to be baptized.  Baptism is the mark of the New Covenant in the New Testament.

Where is God raising the bar for you today?

For some of you, maybe God is calling you to put your faith in Him. To believe in Jesus. For some of you, maybe God is calling you to walk with Him, to learn how to orient your everyday life around His life. For some of you, perhaps God is calling you to declare your faith publically by being baptized.