07/27/2008 HONEST TO GOD – HONEST WITH GOD
HONEST TO GOD – HONEST WITH GOD
Sermon # 7 in the “First Families. Families First.” Series
Abraham has a promise from God that he & his family would become a great nation, a blessing to all the nations of the earth. So, when God sees the mess which the citizens of
If anyone can get through to God on this matter, it’s old Abie. Abraham is God’s trusted confidant, His right hand man, his Chosen One. Long before God had his Son, Jesus, walking the earth, God had a series of faithful, trusted servant-leaders on the ground: Noah, the Judges, Moses, & a host of other great prophets, priests, & kings. For many reasons, the greatest one is Abraham.
God has no secrets, values humanity, & apprises Father Abraham of his plans. Having promised to never destroy his earthly creation by a flood, again, God details how He’s pulling out the other most fearsome weapon in his arsenal, namely, hellfire & brimstone.
The utter annihilation of
Today & next week, I will focus on two elements of this lesson: 1) Abra-ham’s integrity & authencity in confronting God on behalf of humanity; & 2) God’s merciful response in recognizing the righteousness of a few souls worth saving.
So, this week, let’s start with Abraham.
When I teach persons to pray, the one thing which I impress upon them as the most important element of prayer is total honesty. Don’t hide the truth by putting on airs (Matthew 6:5). Don’t engage in flowery speech (Mt. 6:7). Don’t mince words. Instead, be frank. Be candid. Tell God exactly what’s on your heart (Mt.6:8).
I provide that counsel because so often we tell God, or ask God, what we think God wants to hear, what we think we should say to God. We fulfill some image of God or mistaken idea of what prayer is, rather than simply & genuinely & boldly praying from the heart.
Certainly, our humility & respect are important when praying. This age of chummy informality with one another, allows us to forget how to treat the Creator of the Entire Universe. Honest reverence & awe are in order here, as long as we don’t lose sight of the fact that God actually wants to hear from you & me. That’s “totally awesome,” as the valley girls used to say in the 1990’s.
Even more important than how we approach & address God is our plain honesty. Combine respect with honesty, & we not only get a prayer that accurately expresses what we feel, think, want, & need, but also acknowledges that God’s will is the ultimate arbiter (deciding factor). It should go without saying, but we don’t & can’t control God. The typical prayer, then, would go something like, “God, here’s what I humbly need, but I realize that it’s Your will, not mine, that will prevail. So, hear my honest plea.”
Honesty means being truthful with ourselves, too. Our intercessions for others are often motivated by sympathy. Compassion is good. Our Christian prayer, however, must be more than sympathy & emotion. It must be grounded in the hope of the resurrection, our bona fide belief that God does redeem & bring miraculous change. Praying for others is not bleeding heart pity, but the conviction that prayer changes things through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Now, without a doubt, the outstanding relationship which Abraham has with God allows him to be so confident in pressing God the way he does. (Hint, hint.) His prayer is an act of worship. He’s not dictating to God, but entering the mind of God in prayer (Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest, 3/30 entry). That’s really the purpose of prayer, anyway. It’s not to get anything tangible from God, but to put us in touch with God, learn who God is, & develop a deeper understan-ding & more profound relationship with Him. When persons reject God because we don’t selfishly get what we want from Him, we not only don’t get what we want, but miss out on a great relationship. We give up too easily.
Why must relationships be solely based on what we get from someone? We’ll be their friend as long as they can do something for us. When their giving ends, the friendship is over, too. That’s using a person. It’s rude & selfish. As that kind of situation is wrong when applied to human relationships, it’s equally wrong when we do that with God.
Abraham is 100% authentic in his encounter with God. He’s being himself – the one God created & knows. He’s not just acting with pity or sympathy for others, but sincerely believes that God can transform evil. He pleads his case on behalf of others, & even to a degree, for himself, then lets the chips fall where they may. He says what’s on his mind, yet doesn’t react negatively when he doesn’t get his way. He’s as persuasive as he can be, realizing that whether his prayers are answered the way he prefers or not, he’s enjoyed quality time with God, learned something about God’s eternal character, & is all the richer for the encounter.
Think for a minute about how hard a thing this is to do. It’s difficult for many of us to act with integrity by expressing ourselves to one another most days of the week, let alone to God. Being completely honest on major issues is not easy, yet authenticity in all of our relationships is key. Abraham’s example assures us that we can safely practice that authenticity with God.
Personally, prayer time with God helps me say things that I don’t want to say, but sincerely need to say. It’s a big help in personal relationships, but also when preaching. When God called me to preach & I responded, I surrendered my right to only preach the easy stuff, the stuff folks want to hear. I’m called to preach & teach all of the Bible, not just the lectionary & not just my pet topics, but the full variety of God’s Word.
This week we learn that authenticity is what Abraham is about. In this most noteworthy of prayers, he provides us with an outstanding example.
Next week, a communion week, we’ll leave the human realm & learn about God’s mercy & grace in response to Abraham’s prayer.