What Happens When God Calls?

How God Relates to His People: He Calls Us

This morning we’re going to be starting a new sermon series. And we’re going to spend time in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, looking at the life of a man that God calls named Abram – who was later renamed Abraham. So along the way, I might use these names interchangeably – Abram and Abraham. Don’t be thrown off, they refer to the same person.

But the point of this sermon series isn’t really to fixate on Abraham himself. Instead, throughout this sermon series, we’ll see how God related to an imperfect, sinful man like this man, Abraham. And we’ll see how this sets a precedent and gives a picture of how God deals with all his people – how he calls us, makes promises to us, and brings about his redemptive purposes in us, even though we’re imperfect and infected with sin, just like Abraham was.

So if you have a Bible nearby, please turn with me to Genesis, Chapter 11. If you’re using one of our church Bibles, you can find the text on page 8. Our focus will be on the opening verses of Chapter 12, but for context I’ll start reading at Genesis 11, starting at verse 27. But before I read our text, please pray with me:

[Pray and Read Text]

Before we go about trying to make sense of what this part of the Bible means for us, it’s important to understand why all this was written in the first place. When God first handed down these words 3,500 years ago, through his prophet Moses, these words were given to a specific nation of people, who at that time were called the Israelites.

Just a few years earlier, the whole nation of the Israelites had been slaves under the Egyptian empire – arguably the strongest empire in the world at that time. But God performed a number of miraculous signs and wonders through his prophet, Moses, and he saved the people out of their slavery. He led them the people out of Egypt, in order to bring them into the land of Canaan.

And now here, in Genesis, Moses is helping the people to understand why God is doing this. Moses is making sure the people know their history: they are descended from Abraham, and God’s special dealings with Abraham explain his special care for them, now. And he wants the Israelites to know that this God who performed a great work of salvation can be trusted to lead them into a new country. Because at the time that Moses wrote this book, the people of Israel were still waiting to settle down into that new land. They were wanderers and sojourners in the wilderness, waiting for God to bring his promises to completion.

During that season of wandering and waiting, Moses knew that there were a number of encouragements and warnings that the people needed to see from Abraham’s life. And for people in the Church, today, we should recognize that we’re in a similar situation as the people of Israel. God is dealing with us in a special way, in accordance with the promises he made to our forefather in the faith, Abraham. And God has done a mighty work to save us from sin and death, through someone even greater than Moses – through Jesus Christ. But we’re still waiting – waiting to receive the fullness of his promises. We’re sojourners who are on our way to a better land.

And so the encouragements and warnings that come from Abraham’s life – we need to hear them, too. Because the Bible, here, explains how God really, actually has worked in human history, and how he continues to work.

As a brief rabbit trail, here, I recognize that some of you might find it hard to believe that Genesis is historically accurate, because it says that Terah, Abraham’s dad, lived to be 205 years old. By today’s standards, living for 205 years probably sounds impossible. But the Bible is simply indicating here that at some point in the past, the genetics of the human race were more rigorous, and the effects of aging came on more slowly. And for people who are familiar with how genetics and mutations work, that shouldn’t be surprising. This part of the Bible isn’t written like a parable, but very much like a historical record. It lists out real, traceable genealogies. It uses specific numbers. It describes a real person who lived and died in a real, geographical place.

But I want to leave that bunny trail and come back to the main path here. By dealing with Abraham in history, in a certain way, God is showing us how he works. He gives a precedent for how he sets apart a people for himself, and how he relates to them. And in this morning’s text, specifically, He was giving a reminder for those Israelites – and there’s a reminder for us – that God’s saving grace and kindness comes to us by his initiative, not ours. This section of history vividly demonstrates how God saves his people: He graciously calls his people out of sin, into his blessing, into faith, and into worship.

I’ll have two main points as we work through the text here. First, God calls sinners. And second, God’s people respond to his call.

God Calls Sinners

So first, God calls sinners. This may seem like a simplistic statement. After all, it’s just three words long. It’s the sort of thing that you’d probably expect to hear at a church. Maybe it’s the sort of thing you’ve heard many, many times before – so many times that it doesn’t really register any more as being unusual or surprising.

But the text is intended to get our attention – to surprise us. Because ever since the first man and woman rebelled against God, humanity has defiled the earth with violence, profanity, deceit, greed, and the worship of self. You would think that God wouldn’t want to get his hands dirty with creatures like that. It would make sense for God to wipe people like that off the face of the earth and start over.

Yet God calls a corrupt sinner from that gnarled family tree, to form a special relationship with Him. If it wasn’t obvious before, it becomes obvious now, God calls sinners. And when we talk about God calling people, what we mean is that God communicates literally, verbally. Hebrews 1 indicates that there was once a time when God primarily spoke to his people through prophets, like Abraham and Moses. But in these last days, God has spoken to us through His Son. And God has preserved His sacred words, and the fullness of what we need to know – he has preserved His Word for us, here, in the Holy Scriptures of the Bible. And through these Words – the Words of Scripture, God continues to call sinners to himself by His Spirit. God has called sinners, like Abraham. And he continues to call sinners, by His timeless, sufficient Word.

And he doesn’t just speak to give a few tidbits of wise advice, or shake his pompons and to cheer us on with a couple inspiring words. But when he calls, there’s a weight and a substantiveness to his call. He makes promises. And he calls us into action – into commitment. God calls sinners into something significant. So as we consider this main point – that God calls sinners – the text draws our attention to three aspects of the call that should get our attention.

The Sinner of God’s Call

The first aspect of the Lord’s activity here that should get our attention is the Sinner of God’s Call. Namely, Abram.

If you glance back at the end of Genesis, Chapter 11, we get a tiny bit of biographical information related to Abram and his family. Perhaps the most relevant thing, for us, in verse 28, is that Abram had lived with his father and extended family in a city called Ur in the land of the Chaldeans. And at that time, it was common for people of the same tribe, living in the same place, to worship the same gods. (In this case, the same false gods). And archaeology has indicated that the inhabitants of that region had an established form of idol worship. They worshiped the moon – possibly other idols, too. And this would have been the family religion that Abraham would have grown up with.

And Abram’s idolatry, which is just implied here in our text – it’s clearly stated later on in the Bible, in Joshua 24, verse 2. Abraham’s descendants, the people of Israel – they’re reminded that “Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.” And in Genesis 31, we see evidence that Abram’s brother, Nahor, and Nahor’s descendants like Laban continued on in this practice of worshiping idols.

So you have to understand – this was Abram’s backstory, too. That’s all he would have ever known. And the text gives us no indication whatsoever that Abram was more noble than his brother – that he was philosophically inclined toward monotheism, or that he was searching for something else. As far as the Biblical record is concerned, Abram was simply an average worshiper of false gods from Ur of the Chaldeans. Yet God called him, specifically, to move with his family to a new country.

The timeline of events here can be a little confusing, based off this text, so I’ll explain it all briefly. First, it’s important to note that God’s call initially came to Abram while he was still living in Ur of the Chaldeans. This is suggested in passages like Genesis 15:7, and Nehemiah 9, verse 7. And it’s explicitly stated by the Martyr Stephen in Acts 7, verse 2, “The God of glory appeared to our Father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, “Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.”

And at the time Abram received this call, he was living with his elderly father Terah. Abram’s older brother named Haran (like the city Haran) – he had died. So Abram was likely next in line to care for his dad. But his dad was the head of the clan, and the chief decision-maker. So Abram likely appealed to his father, that they should set out for Canaan in keeping with the vision. And we see the result in verse 31 of Chapter 11: “Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran they settled there.”

The text doesn’t tell us why they didn’t press on to Canaan. There might have been a good excuse – maybe Terah, as an old man – maybe his health was rapidly declining. But it’s just as possible that Abram stopped for less noble reasons – out of convenience, or because he was drawn to Haran’s climate or scenery. In whatever case, Abram didn’t do what God called him to do all the way, until after Terah died sometime later.

And it’s worth pointing this out, because it guards us from having a one-dimensional concept of Abram. We can mistakenly imagine that Abram’s faith was always perfect – that whatever God told him to do, he was onboard, right away, 100% of the time, whatever the cost. But here, in God’s call to him, we’re given reason to think that Abram is much more similar to us than we might realize. Early on in Abram’s journey, his follow-through was delayed. It was incomplete. His consistency in following God wasn’t perfect from day one – but it was something that developed over the course of his life.

Many of you can probably relate to Abram. You’ve probably had times when you’ve heard what God’s Word says, but you’ve been half-hearted in your response. When you heard his commands to put away those indecent, explicit pictures, or to put away those drugs you were hooked on – you had good intentions. When you heard his call to commit yourself to the Bible, to prayer, to a local church in Mount Pleasant, and to serving others – you had a good start, but you didn’t keep at it. Like Abram, you moved part of the way, but you decided to stop in Haran. Something else came up – you got distracted, you procrastinated – and you didn’t press on in faith to the new life God was calling you into.

Abram is much like us. Which is to say, he’s a sinner. But there’s hope for us here – God calls him anyway. God sets his love on Abram in a special, decisive way.

The Sovereignty of God’s Call

And this is the second attention-grabbing feature about how God calls sinners. We should notice the Sovereignty of God’s Call. When I say here that God sovereignly called Abram, what I mean is that God made the decision, by his own authority – his own choice – without being forced into it.

In Chapter 12, verse 1, when God tells Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you” – there’s no indication whatsoever that Abram did something that compelled God to call him like this. Abraham didn’t ask for God’s call. He didn’t earn it. And frankly, God didn’t have to give it.

A lot of people have a mistaken understanding of God. They imagine that God has some sort of duty to forgive people and get sinners into heaven – that God is obligated to do kind things for people who have broken his law. But it doesn’t make sense that God would be required to show special kindness, like this, to evildoers.

Just imagine if the federal government passed a law to saying that you’re obligated to open your home and show hospitality to pedophiles and bank robbers. You’d find a law like that to be insane. People like that should be receiving a sentence in court – not eating a sandwich in our kitchens. And along those same lines – that as violators of God’s law, we have no reason to expect that God would owe anything to us. What we deserve isn’t privileged treatment. What we deserve is punishment. God is good. He’s committed to justice. What else should we expect?

And yet, God called Abram. There were many sinners living in the days of Abram. Hundreds of thousands of them – probably more. And all of them including Abram, deserved God’s punishment. And yet God decided, out of his own goodness – out of his special mysterious kindness – God decided to call Abram to himself, not because he had to, but because God wanted to.

And this is the case throughout the biblical record. God specially chooses to call certain sinners like this without reference to anything in them, but simply because of his sovereign choice. A number of theologians call this God’s unconditional election. And it means that if you’ve heard the voice of God, calling to you from the Scriptures, through your pastor, your parents, or someone else – if God has called you into a life of faith in Jesus Christ – it wasn’t because you, your family, or your country were inherently better than others. It wasn’t because of anything you had done, or because of anything God saw you would do in the future. But God called you by his own sovereign initiative, to enrich you, specifically, with his charity and goodness.

Here, in Abram’s life, we see that God sets apart a people for himself in a way that highlights his divine authority and sovereignty. And in Ephesians 2, it’s clear that this is still how God operates. Even when we were dead in our sins and trespasses, caught up in following Satan, sin and society’s demands – God called us and saved us, through the good news of His Holy Word. It’s a gift! It’s reason for us to be humble and thankful, that our God would do this for us.

The Substance of God’s Call

But there’s one more thing that should catch our attention about God calling sinners. And that’s the substance of God’s call. As God calls Abram, he says, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house” – those are the things Abram needs to leave behind. And God goes on to tell him to go “to the land that I will show you.” And notice what God promises to Abram in verse 2: “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

So there are two parts of God’s call here. There are certain things that God calls Abram out of, and certain things that God calls Abram into.

God calls Abram out of his old country and away from the ties and traditions of his family. He makes it clear that Abram can’t go on living in his previous way of life. Did Abram use to worship the moon along with his family? He needs to leave that behind now. Did he feel some sort of superstitious dread, or feel a sense of guilt, that he needed to continue the customs of his dad in order to have a happy future? Well, he needs to throw off those things, too. Does Abram simply want to stay in his father’s house on the homestead because it’s comfortable, and safe, and familiar? God insists – Abram, go out from those things.

And God calls him into great future blessings: into a new land, as the father of a new nation, as the recipient of new blessings. It’s even promised that the people around Abram will be impacted by his special relationship with God. The Lord says, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse.” And the final promise mentioned in verse 3 is that through Abram, God will bring blessing to all the tribal and family groups of the earth.

But I don’t want you to miss this – the blessings that God promised to Abram here – he didn’t see them brought about in his lifetime. Abram saw glimpses, here and there. But God’s promises had a long-term future orientation. The promises made here don’t have their ultimate fulfillment in Abraham himself. They don’t even have their grand fulfillment in the ancient nation of Israel, under King David. But instead, these promises have their ultimate fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Through Abraham, through his family line, with the coming of Jesus Christ – all nations of the earth will receive blessing.

This is confirmed in another part of the Bible, in Galatians 3[:13-14]. We’re told that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…” he went to the cross for us. And why did he do this? “… so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles [to the nations], so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”

So as God calls sinners today, he does it just as he called Abram. He calls us out of our old life – for those of us who had unbelieving parents, he calls us out of that unbelief and emptiness. And he calls us into the same blessings that were promised to Abraham, and that are granted to us in Jesus Christ. Nothing has disrupted the unfolding of God’s plan in human history – and nothing ever can. The God who called Abram is continuing, today, by His Word, to effectually call people from our community, our families – and from all over the world. He’s still calling sinners, to save them. Doesn’t that encourage you to open the Bible with people, and to talk to people about Jesus? You might just see God do something incredible.

God’s People Respond to His Call

But the next thing we see here, in Abram’s life, is what it looks like to rightly respond to God’s call. This brings us to my second point, God’s people respond to his call.

They Respond with Faith that Obeys

The first way that Abram responds to God’s call, is he responds with Faith that Obeys. After God issues his call, verse 4 says, “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.” It’s not clear if God’s call in verse 1 was a renewed call that Abram received in Haran, after Terah died, or if he was acting according to the initial call he had received in Ur of the Chaldeans. But in any case, Abram ultimately trusted that this God who was calling him would follow through on his promises.

And Abram’s faith in God – it was more than just a bare knowledge of what God had said. It was more than a shallow affirmation that God could, theoretically, bless people. But Abram’s faith was a personal realization – a real confidence – that he could trust God to bless him.

And this conviction, Abram’s faith, produced a willingness and a readiness to obey God’s commands. As we see in Hebrews 11, verse 8, “By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance…” This is what faith does. It obeys. Obedience is a necessary result of faith. Because if you believe that God has spoken truth, that his commands lead to good things, that he’s perfectly wise, and that he’s committed to blessing you – it naturally follows that you’ll want to honor him, and to do what he says.

Just like if I believe that there’s a restaurant in town that’s giving away a free Extra-Large Pizza on people’s birthdays – you better believe it, I’m going to be there on my birthday to claim my free pizza. This is how we’re wired. If we believe that someone trustworthy is offering something good, then we do something about it. Faith produces obedience.

When Abram hears, he believes. And so Abram goes. And you and I should be ready to do the same thing. In John 10:27, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Have you heard Jesus’s voice calling from the Scriptures? Are you following?

This morning, there might be something in your life that’s holding you back from following Christ all the way. It could be some sort of relationship. You’re afraid that if you take God seriously, you might lose friends, or it might change the dynamics of your relationship with family. It might mean that there are certain patterns of life you need to give up – certain habits or hobbies that are more about self-indulgence that serving the Lord. It might cost you in some other way.

But don’t forget who’s calling. It’s God. You can trust him to bless you. By leaving things to follow Jesus, you won’t be missing out. Because God is calling you into the better way – the best way. The journey might feel lonely at times. You may be deprived of a few earthly comforts and securities. But everyone who takes God at His Word, and lives by faith – they’ll receive the promised blessings, which have been poured out to us in Jesus.

They Respond with Worship

But in addition to Abram packing up his bags, and responding with the obedience of faith, Abram also responds to God’s call with worship. After Abraham brings his whole household to the land of Canaan, the Lord appears to him again, and reiterates his promise, to give him the land of Canaan. And we see how Abram responds in verse 8: “From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.”

By building an altar, Abram is setting up a place for worship. At that time, offering sacrifices to God on altars – it was universally understood to be an expression of human worship to God. So as Abram considers God’s call and God’s closeness to him – he responds by worshiping the Lord, as His God.

And at this point, it seems pretty clear that Abram has broken with the idol worship he had practiced in the past. Abram isn’t making his altar to an idol. He’s not offering up sacrifices to the moon. But his prayers, his personal vows, his praise – he’s bringing all that to God. He’s calling to God out of reverence and gratitude for the LORD who first called to him.

And as we consider what God has done, to call us out of our sin, to call us into his blessings – it should produce the same response. As human creatures, made of carbon, oxygen, phosphorus – and the kinds of things that dirt is made out of – it should floor us that God wants an actual relationship with creatures like us. Even more surprising – even as sinners, who were functionally God’s enemies, who once had no prospect whatsoever of being acceptable in His sight – God has done a great work to call us out, and to make us clean.

He deserves our worship, because any good that we have – every blessing – it comes to us as a gift. When we hear God’s voice calling us, it’s a gift. More than that, if we find a new heart inside of us, that trusts God, and that desires God, that’s able to respond to God’s voice with obedience – that’s a gift. Having a desire to love him, to live for him – it’s a gift. Every blessing we see in our lives is evidence that God has kept his promises, to bless the nations. Through Abraham’s offspring, Jesus Christ, all families of the earth are being blessed. As you consider how God has called you, and blessed you, humbly kneel before the Master of heaven and give him thanks.

God calls sinners – even today. And he calls us to trust him – to obey his voice, and to worship him for his promised blessings. So as we go out in faith, let’s continue to bear witness and bring worship to the LORD who has called us. Please pray with me: