Coffee With The Lord

CHARACTER MATTERS!  Just the other day I was leading a DISCOVERY Bible Study about David being “anointed” for kingship in 1 Samuel 16.  The question arose, “What do you consider to be key qualities you would look for in a leader of an organization if you were examining a resume, following up on references, or conducting an interview of a candidate?  Almost immediately someone suggested “QUALITY OF CHARACTER!”

CHARACTER IS IMPORTANT – even essential for God’s favor and blessing! 

In a passage I read this morning during my time of “coffee with the Lord” (Genesis 13-14) Abram exhibited character on several accounts… 

First he exhibited it in his generous and accommodating attitude to his nephew, Lot, avoiding ongoing conflict and allowing Lot to choose where he would go with his flocks, herds and possessions. 

Secondly, he expressed it by immediately marshalling his men and resources to go to Lot’s rescue when he was captured by enemy armies. 

Finally, and perhaps most telling, Abram displayed character by refusing to take any spoil from a pagan king with the explanation, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich!’” 

Listen, I am convinced that the covenant blessings assured to Abram in this passage and others were the result of God honoring the character of Abraham  (cp. 13:14-18 and chapter 15)!  These were blessings not earned, but freely given to a person who exhibited “faith-obedience” toward God and overall godly character.

I WANT TO BE A PERSON OF GODLY CHARACTER – A PERSON GOD CAN BLESS – DON’T YOU?

We tend to look at the people listed Hebrews 11 – the great “Faith Chapter” – as those who lived above failure. They did great things “by faith” and could not have ever sinned. But that will NOT stand up to scrutiny – the record of their lives proves otherwise!

Abraham (also called Abram) – the “father of faith” is a case in point. I read a chapter today during “coffee with the Lord” that includes both the positive outcome of faith and a faith-failure (Genesis 12)…

First the positive: the spiritual outcome of faith in

Abram/Abraham’s life and experience! It has been an example for all believers through the centuries! AUTHENTIC FAITH LEADS TO/RESULTS IN OBEDIENCE! When God spoke to Abraham and challenged him to “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to a land that I will show you… Abraham went as the Lord told him.” And his “faith-obedience was “counted to him as righteousness” by God! (Genesis 15:6) That is why, I believe, that Apostle Paul spoke of “the obedience of faith” in Romans 1:5 and 16:26 (at the very beginning and the very end of Romans). Authentic faith leads to and results in obedience!!

However, the tragedy is, Abram’s faith-obedience was short-lived! In the same chapter (Genesis 12:10-20), rather than trusting God to protect him, Abraham arranged for Sarai to tell a half-truth and thus jeopardized her sexual purity. As a consequence, a pagan king ended up rebuking Abram, the same guy had a reputation of reverencing and trusting God!

So what’s the deal? … Faith leads to obedience and results in God counting us righteous (i.e. it results in something called “justification”), but those who have demonstrated “faith-obedience” and experienced “justification by faith” sometimes have “faith struggles” and fail! What should they do? They should acknowledge their failure (it’s called “confession of sin”) and ask God to forgive them (check out 1 John 1:8-9)… AND HE WILL!

Our culture honors and awards entrepreneurs! Probably you’ve heard someone say, “I tell you what I’m going to do…!” and then identify a “glorious plan” they intend to fulfill in the future.

The tragedy is, often the element of God’s will and direction are missing from many of those conversations! It’s often only about “my will” – “my dreams” – “my effort and initiative!”

This morning during my time of “coffee with the Lord” I read an account in Scripture that highlights an early attempt at “doing something big” without taking God into account… It’s the story in Genesis of “the Tower of Babel” (Genesis 11:1-9)

These verses reveal the independent human response to God’s command in Genesis 9: 7 following the flood when God said, “Be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it!”

The human inclination was to “build” and “make a name for ourselves!” The entrepreneurial impulse – the expression of human initiative – can run counter to God’s direction and often issues from pride. At Babel It was motivated by mere human reasoning… “lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

We must beware when human initiative and aspiration are self-focused rather than an obedient response to God’s will!

In James 4:13-15 the sad results of this attitude are directly addressed!

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. INSTEAD YOU OUGHT TO SAY, “IF THE LORD WILLS, WE WILL LIVE AND DO THIS OR THAT.”

Initiative and an entrepreneurial spirit are to be valued! But to use the imagery of my ranch background, the “wild horse” of an entrepreneurial impulse must learn to “take the bridle” of God’s will or its is dangerous! I’ve got to remember God can mess up my best laid plans if they ignore His will and purposes! I’ve got to remember what happened at Babel!