Bible Text: Old Testament Lesson: Genesis 12:1-4a; Responsive Reading: Psalm 121; New Testament Lesson: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; | Preacher: Rev. Monika Bereczki-Farkas | Series: Lent – Easter

Promises. Do you like promises? Do you remember a time when somebody promised something important to you then forgot about it, and didn’t keep their word?

I don’t really like promising because I feel terrible when I cannot keep those promises. I will never forget that old man from the Hungarian Church who asked us to stay in Windsor for as long as they were alive because he and his wife wanted a Hungarian funeral, and they loved us. Two years ago his wife died but this man was still alive when I got the email from Rev. Fred Shaffer about Kirkwall. And my first thought was about this old gentleman and my promise that we wouldn’t leave Windsor while he lived. And I preached for the call on the 26th of June last year and you cannot believe this, but the old man’s funeral service was on the 20th of June. It was the perfect timing from God because I kept my promise, then I was free to come and enjoy the weekend.

But many times we cannot keep our promises, we promise without thinking, not even realizing that we can hurt others. Especially little ones can remember our promises and over the years they can learn not to trust in promises.

Today the promises come from God: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

What a great promise from God, I need this too. And actually when I prepared this sermon and looked in my Hungarian Bible I found a note beside this text: Aug. 7th 2009. This was my fourth day in Canada and I also got this message from God. I was here in a foreign land, I couldn’t imagine my future here, I left behind everything and whenever I felt I couldn’t do it anymore I read this promise again, I wanted to hear more about God’s blessings and I wanted to keep in my mind that my future is in his hands.

Do you know how the Israelites taught their children not to forget about God’s words? They wrote the words on small papers and wore them on their foreheads or on their wrists. I remember I attended a youth group when I was 13 and when I went to high school they prepared me a booklet to wear on my wrists about the most important promises from the Bible. And for me this promise, which was for Abraham, was my promise as well.

So today we also get this message. Let’s hear this again: I will make the people at Kirkwall Presbyterian Church into a great nation, and I will bless the people of Kirkwall Presbyterian Church; I will make their name great, and they will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, my people, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all people on earth will be blessed through the people of Kirkwall Presbyterian Church.

Wow, it sounds a bit strange, and we are not sure how this would be possible, but let’s trust in God and ask Him to prepare the road for us and follow him. We don’t have to worry about planning and finances. From the story of Abraham, we know that he left his land and relatives behind and followed God.

Today when we continue our Lenten journey, we have the opportunity to see how we should follow God. From the story of Abraham, we can learn what we have to do to have those wonderful promises became true in both our personal and church lives.

But first of all, do you want to be blessed by God? Do you want our church to be great? Do you want others to be blessed by you?

If your answers are yes, let’s hear what we have to do: “Go to the land, I will show you.”- says our God.

It’s as simple as it could possibly be, if we want all the blessings, all the promises from God we only need to go to the land he shows us.

But where is that land and what kind of land God is talking about? The land is our future, where the promises will become true. The land can be 2017. 2017 can be our blessed year if we have enough courage to follow God toward an unknown future. From the story of Abraham, we know that Abraham didn’t know the new land. He didn’t make any calculations, didn’t see photos of the land, never asked anybody who lived there what the possibilities would be, he didn’t even have a plan-b (how many of us have one). He only followed God by faith and because of his faith “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” Rm:4:3 And because of his faith and righteousness he and his offspring received promises.

What should we do to receive promises? We should follow God by faith. That’s it. But it also means to forget about all of our worries, not count what we have but count on God.

Let’s be honest and think about what we have if we look at ourselves…and now try to forget about it and focus on God who calls us to follow him on a way we don’t know, toward a future which is promising but still unknown.

If Abraham had heard the calling from God but instead stayed home in the well known land, where everything was so good, he wouldn’t be in the Bible as a great example before us. When he stepped out of his comfort zone and followed God he started his faith journey and later his son, grandson and his offspring followed his way. When we look at Jesus’ genealogy in the gospel of Luke we can read Abraham’s name in it. He was blessed by God and through him all the earth was blessed because of Jesus Christ.

Today I invite you to follow God and be blessed. The decision is yours. I cannot decide for you. If we the people of Kirkwall decide today to follow God and go to the land we don’t know, He will bless us and our children. If not, these promises are not for us. Our church’s future depends on this decision whether we want to follow God and be part of a prosperous future or follow our own calculation for how we should survive the upcoming years. And please don’t forget that this decision is not only about our church’s future, but it is also about your own personal life. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15.