Step by Step.  Romans 4.9-15

God leads his children step by step.  See, God does not lead us by sending us a prospectus that outlines each of his directives, what will happen when we obey him, and then what will be the results of our cooperation with him. [although that is the over-arching message of the Bible, is it not??]

For instance, last year at this time, I learned about the Long Beach inner city ministry, and felt drawn to it.  [When the Holy Spirit is in it, there is an undeniable “pull” that cannot be fully understood or explained; it is meant to be obeyed.]  So, I drove up there to find out what was going on.  Needy, dirty, mostly homeless people were being fed, clothed and taught the Gospel.  I felt drawn to it.  I could collect clothing, so I did, and I went back … again … and again.  Within three months, I was leading a prayer meeting, attracting between one and two hundred a week … I began to forge relationships with first one and then the other.  Never before had I worked with the disenfranchised, never before had I felt my love was as vital.

One year later, I make the one-hour drive to this dark Los Angeles city at least twice a week.  We have a growing, tight community that is seeking God, and learning to BE a community.  That community includes alcoholics, the mentally disabled, several who have done hard time for murder, pedophilia, and other violent crimes.  We have several who are coming out of the Crips, the infamous street gang that controls much of the drug trafficking and prostitution in Long Beach.  God is drawing them to himself.    Without Christ, my devotion for these folks would be unexplainable; even with Christ, to most, it is still ludicrous.  I am committed to their maturity in Christ—desperately committed!  O.K., so, listen … one year ago, when I felt drawn to check out the ministry, could I have possibly imagined that this is the direction God would have me go?  HECK NO!  Who would have pictured ME, totally suburbanized feminine ME, driving up there in my Escalade, absolutely fearless, convinced I am called, ready to hug, scold, teach, and love?  Only God.

Since then, God has given me a faithful bodyguard in the Duke of Earl, Vietnam vet who I helped get off the street, and into an apartment in the last month and a half.  At 57 years of age, he is learning to be responsible in matters of life and faith.  And then, God lovingly brought me Barb to partner in the ministry.  Together, Barb, Duke and I are somewhat reminiscent of the 70s Mod Squad, so we think of ourselves as the God Squad.  Weekly, Barb and I bring bread to break with our needy friends; I bring a message from the Scriptures to mature my friends, and we supply groceries for them to take home. Truly, it is the closest thing to the ‘Acts Two’ church that I have ever experienced.  (Just in case you think you are too old or set in your ways to get involved, Barb is 68 years young, and has fully embraced the Long Beach adventure with as much gusto as Lance on the Tour de France.)

There is so much going on with these beloved people, but I will save those stories for a bit, because I am trying to make the point: God led me step by step--into service to the Long Beach street people.                                                    Step-by-step is how he leads us to live a life of obedience.                    We respond in obedience to that which he shows, step by step, and then he leads us still further.  If you want to hear the voice of God in your life, obey what he has already led you to do, and he will continue to speak to you.

Such was the case with Abraham.  Long before the Law was given to Moses, there was Abraham; so Paul makes the point to the Jews (and us), that it wasn’t the Law that made Abraham righteous.  Before God introduced circumcision, as a sign of the covenant he made with Abraham, he was a righteous man.  Paul had to point this out—it wasn’t either of these that made Abraham right with God—no, it was his faith, which he held and practiced before the Law or the covenant/circumcision.  Paul writes:

9 Now, is this blessing [of being declared righteous by God] only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles?  [Remember, circumcision is what set the Jewish people apart from all others—outward sign, recognized by traditional ceremony.  It was well known who was circumcised and who wasn’t.  There really is nothing in the Gentile world that quite compares to the Jewish tradition of circumcision.]  Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. 10 But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!

 11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. 12 And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.

 13 Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. 14 If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. 15 For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)  Romans 4.9-15, NLT

God led Abraham step-by-step just like he leads you and me.  So, become a friend of God—obey him step-by-step.