**not a word for word transcript, but the sermon manuscript**
NEVER AGAIN
PART TWO: CHUCKLE AT THE ABSURDITY
There have been some great evangelists in the history of the Church. Evangelists. One of those was a man by the name George Campbell Morgan, who preached his first sermon at 13 years old. But at the age of 19, Morgan became troubled by the writings of Charles Darwin, other scientists, and agnostics of his time. Their writings bothered him so much that Morgan cancelled all his speaking events and put away all his books.
Morgan bought a new Bible and said to himself, “I am no longer sure that this is what my father claims it to be—the Word of God. But of this I am sure. If it be the Word of God, and if I come to it with an unprejudiced and open mind, it will bring assurance to my soul of itself.” God spoke to Morgan, giving him new assurance and sent him back out preaching. (Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, Moody, 1984, p. 211)
There are many things that we read, see, and think that may raise doubts in our minds. But why? God has proved Himself repeatedly. As we continue in our Lent series, “Never Again” we will look at a forefather of the faith faced with a moment of doubt. And what does this man do? He chuckles at the absurdity.
Genesis 17:1-7, 15-17:
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” 3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 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 destruction after you.” … 15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and you 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.” 17 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?” (NIV)
This is the Word of God, for the people of God, thanks be to God.
As we look at this passage, we will be trying to answer the question, “Why do we doubt?” There are many reasons we could give, but all of them mask the real culprit. And in our passage today, Abraham, a hero of faith, reveals our answer.
VERSES 1-7 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” Abram fell facedown, 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. 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 your descendants after you.
This promise is not a new one. In chapter 15, God tells Abraham this same promise. Abraham heard and sacrificed to show his acknowledgement to this promise. But then time went by, and the promise did not happen immediately. That is why in chapter 16, Abraham and Sarah take matters into their own hands by having Abraham sleep with Sarah’s maidservant Hagar. Hagar gets pregnant, but that opens all kinds of problems. Trying to get God’s blessing without God will always lead to such disasters.
Thirteen years later, after Abraham and Sarah’s failed attempt to go it alone, God comes to him again. God begins in verse 1 by saying, “I am God Almighty.” In the English, this does not say much to us. But in the Hebrew, God uses a unique name for himself. God says to Abraham, “I am God all-sufficient.” The Lord is telling Abraham that He is the God who pours out blessings on people.
Continuing in verse 1, God says, “walk before me and be blameless.” God is telling Abraham do it my way. Abraham is to have faith in God and then live his life through that faith. He already had an example of what happens when he did not.
In verse 5, God gives Abraham a new name. Up to this point, Abraham’s name was “Abram” that means “exalted father.” God’s promise and call for Abraham to walk blamelessly was entering a new period in his life. One that was not his own but belonged to God.
VERSES 15-17 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.” 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?”
Despite Abraham and Sarah trying to gain the promise without God, God reaffirms his covenant with Abraham and Sarah again. How does Abraham respond to God? He laughs at the absurdity. Abraham laughs at the idea that God will do what is impossible.
Why does Abraham laugh? It could be that the idea of a one-hundred-year-old man and his ninety-year-old wife giving birth was an impossible task, and yet God was promising to do it. The thought was so ridiculous all Abraham could do was joyfully laugh. Or Abraham laughed because he believed the promise of descendants but doubted how it would be accomplished.
Either way brings us to the same issue. Doubt. Whether it is blatant in Abraham’s laugh or not, it reveals an attitude of doubt that is a pattern in his mind, rooted in his heart. The broken humanity in him, even though it heard God spoke a promise and had experienced His goodness, still was faced with doubt.
Why do we doubt? Because sin has caused us to fear God, believing in our hearts that He wants to punish us in our sin. Our hearts do not trust that God is good, or that He wants to do something good. And to complicate matters, sin has taught us to not trust anyone or anything good.
Remember the name God gave to Abraham? “God all-sufficient.’ God is enough. John Wesley wrote, “We have all in him, and we have enough in him… We have enough to satisfy our most enlarged desires; enough to supply the defect of everything else and to secure happiness for our immortal souls.” The idea that God could fall short of His promises or even fail to provide for our needs is what is ridiculous. Doubt is a lie fabricated in the depths of humanity’s brokenness.
How could Abraham be considered a forefather of faith if he laughed because of doubt? Paul writes in Romans 4:20 “Abraham did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.” Abraham is considered a forefather of faith because while there may have been doubt in how the plan would be accomplished, he believed that God was greater than his unbelief. Abraham did not try to make God compete with his unbelief. He surrendered to God, knowing that God was bigger, more powerful, and greater than his unbelief.
You and I can have faith like Abraham. Never again to we have chuckle at the absurdity of the impossible. Why? Because God has already worked the most impossible of all impossibilities. He made a way for lost sinners to come home. Jesus died and rose again to prove to us that God loves us, even though Jesus came to earth and was rejected by the people He came to save. Even beyond that, God uses His grace to drop breadcrumbs in our lives to point our way to Him.
The faith of Abraham is trusting God more than your own heart and understanding. It is to stop trying to control everything, lining up your ducks and those of everyone around you. And believing that you never again have to chuckle at the absurdity of the impossible, because there is nothing that your God cannot do.