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We are Christ’ Letters


17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make 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 descendants after you. 8 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.”

 The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ge 17:1–8.

3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known, and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The Greater Glory of the New Covenant

7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, eight will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

When we encounter the Lord, we are never left the same. Our lives change for the better, and we see clearly for the first time perhaps what the Lord is up to. There are times when I don't want to encounter the Lord. It's not that I don't want to experience God, but deep down inside I am not ready to be changed. I want to hold on to everything that is important but isn't. You've heard me say before that we must let go of all we fear to lose if we want to be blessed.

Blessing always comes with responsibility. Responsibility to Oneself, community, and God. With this great responsibility and humility, we put others before our own needs.

Closed hands cannot receive blessings, and they cannot give them away.


Charlie Chaplin was among the most incredible actors and comedians ever to walk the earth. His short films without the use of computer-generated images made millions laugh. His short films lasted 2 to 3 minutes and always had a message. The clip I am about to show you is entitled “The Kid and the Pancakes.”  Let us look at this most tender film.



I showed you that clip this morning because I want to reorientate your mind. I was hoping you could start thinking in black and white about the everyday things that can go wrong or wrong. Our moments with our children and family are so important that sometimes we miss them when our heads are down and buried in our phones. We miss the moments that matter the most and often highlight those that matter the least.


This chapter of Genesis tells us how God changed Sarah and Abraham's names to Sarah and Abraham. Sometimes, we need a name change. Sometimes, we must experience God in a way we have never experienced. Sometimes, the wilderness takes us to a place where we are ready to hear God.


With the changing of names comes the reaffirmation of blessing for Abraham and Sarah. This blessing, originally in Genesis 12 it is continually reaffirmed throughout Abraham and Sarah's story. God constantly reaffirms this blessing because sometimes when we are in the wilderness, we can forget what Gd promised.


Wilderness times are times of growth, grace, blessing, and letting go of all we fear to lose. Wilderness times are God's time when we see God at work. Think about all the times that you have grown spiritually. Have they been in tough times or easy times?


One of my favorite comedies is a film called Just Married. Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy play Tom and Sarah. They are newlyweds on their honeymoon in Europe. It is a train wreck of disasters, one right after the other. And when they arrive home, they are so hateful of one another. It looks like the marriage is over.  Tom heads to his fathers home and this is the conversation that takes place:





 

In our photo albums, we never see pictures of hospital visits to a family members who are dying of cancer. We do not take photos at funerals or divorces. We do not take pictures when individuals in our families have a substance use disorder. It is because we do not want to remember the tough times, but it is in those tough times we grow and change, and not because we want to, but because of what God does in us through us because of us or despite us.


So, what do we do when the blessing comes? Do we hold on to the blessing or do we give it away? Blessings are not always for us to keep but for us to give to others. Think about the giving your tithes and offerings every week.


Do you know who you are blessing with those gifts? They have been used for church administration, conference missions, global missions, and to help those in need. Groceries, rent, electric bills, and other needs. Those gifts are the tangible expression of God's grace. They are a part of God's blessing through the work of your hands. I believe that when we get to heaven, we will meet people who have been blessed by our gifts and graces that we never conceived or imagined.


Faith grows in our giving, while it is a tangible expression of God's grace. Faith that does not leave us where we are but moves us forward with faith in God that our lives are not our own.

If your life were written as a letter, what would it say about you? Would it tell the story of you in pursuit of God or God in the pursuit of you? It is both and or? Our stories are not written in stone. But our stories are fluid stories changed daily with the movement of the waters period. This act of faith is the purest sense of the work of God; we come to the calm waters, kneel, and put water on our faces. It is water that cleanses and-refreshes us and gives us a new vision.


When we pick up our heads, we look at the risen Lord standing in the water. We can be refreshed in the world because Jesus is standing in the water. Yes, in the wilderness. I hope that you have a happy conclusion like Tom and Sarah.



 The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 2 Co 3:1-18

 

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