Faith in the Promise Keeper (JICC)

Key Passage: Romans 4:13-25
Galatians 3:18
Psalm 8:3-5

The gospel is:
A promise rooted in grace
that produces trust based on evidence
and a love that is secure because of righteousness.

Unbelief is the root of all sin

• If I am getting angry when life feels interrupted or out of control,
   the unbelief is: “God is not wise enough to be trusted with this moment, so I must take control.”
• If I am worried about the future, money, provision
   the unbelief is: “God will not really provide what I need.”
• If I am unforgiving toward someone else,
   the unbelief is: “God’s grace toward me is not enough to free me to forgive.”
• If I am crushed by criticism or controlled by people’s opinions,
   the unbelief is: “God’s acceptance of me is not enough.”

"As Abraham contemplated his age and Sarah's barrenness, he neither turned a blind eye to these problems nor underestimated them. But he reminded himself of God’s power and faithfulness. Faith always looks at the problems in the light of the promises." -John Stott

BETTY THE BOTANIST ILLUSTRATION
-- Glen Scrivener
And so, one story I tell about science is, “Well, imagine the scene. You're in the laboratory. You're watching Betty the botanist. And she goes over to Gareth, the lab assistant, and she says, ‘Gareth, thank you so much yesterday for giving me that botanical specimen. I've run all sorts of tests on it. I've discovered those pharmacological properties that are going to help us in the fight against Alzheimer's. I've mapped the genome of this botanical specimen, which is a first for this particular species, and I just can't thank you enough for giving me the botanical specimen.’
And Gareth says, ‘Betty, yesterday was February 14. It was a long-stemmed rose, Betty. Do you understand what I gave to you?’”
And the question is, does Betty understand the rose? And on one level, does she understand the rose? She understands the rose better than anyone else on planet Earth. On the other hand, does she understand the rose? No. Betty is a moron. Betty just doesn't get it. And she is even more of a moron if she tells Gareth it can't be a romantic gesture because it's a botanical specimen. That doesn't work, Betty. That doesn't work. It can both be a botanical specimen and a romantic gesture. But to understand that romantic side of things will require more from you than just running a spectral analysis. It will require you to understand the rose more fully, more richly. And then you say, “What if this world is like that rose? What if it's been given to us as a love gift?” Sure, go into the laboratory, study all you can, but do not think that by studying the world scientifically, you have exhausted the meaning of the rose. Unless you want to be like Betty. You don't want to be like Betty, do you? Immerse them in the story and then say, “Who are you in the story?”

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Monday: Luke 8
Tuesday: Luke 9
Wednesday: Exodus 13:17-22, Exodus 14-15
Thursday: Deuteronomy 15:19-23, Deuteronomy 16:1-17
Friday: Luke 10
Saturday: Psalm 42-44, Proverbs 10
Sunday: 1 Kings 20-22, 2 Kings 1-5

3DQ - 3 discipleship questions to ask each other: What is God saying to you? What are you going to do about it? How can I help?

1. Unbelief is the root of all sin (all the way back to the Genesis 3 and the Garden of Eden).  Where do we see that in ordinary life—in anger, worry, control, bitterness, or people-pleasing? What lie about God are we tempted to believe in those moments? Take turns responding to each other by replacing the lie with the truth.

2. Abraham looked honestly at what seemed “dead,” yet he still trusted God’s promise. What feels impossible, barren, or beyond repair in your life right now? How can we face reality truthfully without giving up hope in the God who gives life to the dead?  What words from this passage can you meditate on to strengthen you?

3. If we are truly secure in Christ, then boldness should follow. As a home group or family, where might God be calling us to step out in faith this week—to forgive, serve, speak about Christ, endure suffering, or love someone sacrificially? What would it look like to act like people who are already fully loved?

Extended Study (Taken From N.T. Wright’s “Romans For Everyone”)

Read back through Romans 1.  Then consider the parallels between how sin affected the world and Abrahms’ faith.

This is how it works. Humans ignored God, the creator (1.20, 25); 
Abraham believed in God as creator and life-giver (4.17). 

Humans knew about God’s power, but didn’t worship him as God (1.20); 
Abraham recognized God’s power, and trusted him to use it (4.21). 

Human beings did not give God the glory he was due (1.21); 
Abraham gave God the glory (4.20). 

Human beings dishonoured their own bodies by worshipping beings that were not divine (1.24); 
Abraham, through worshipping the God who gives new life, found that his own body regained its power even though he was long past the age for fathering children. The result in each case is telling. 

Humans dishonour their bodies by females and males turning away from one another into same-sex relationships (1.26–27); 
Abraham and Sarah, through their trust in God’s promises, are given power to conceive a child (4.19). Deep within the heart of God’s covenant promise lies the fulfilment of the basic command back in Genesis 1, the command which goes with the creation of male and female in God’s image: Be fruitful and multiply.