In the scripture reading for today, the name “Abraham” appears. This is a name that several of the world’s religions share in common. They all claim Abraham as the father of their faith. Which religions? Judaism claims Abraham as the father of their faith. Islam claims Abraham as the father of their faith. Christianity claims Abraham as the father of their faith. And Catholicism also claims Abraham as the father of their faith. Isn’t that remarkable? The name of Abraham is spoken across countless peoples and nations. And everywhere it is spoken, he is held in deep respect.

He is regarded as a tremendously important figure—and the very words we just read have been fulfilled exactly as spoken.

“Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house. I will make you the blessing, so that all peoples will be blessed through you. And I will make your name great. I will make you a great nation!”

This word has come to pass exactly as promised.

Through the Bible, and through Jesus Christ whom God has sent, we have come to know the secrets of God. We now have the close relationship with God; We have received the grace through Jesus Christ—the covenant God made with Abraham is fulfilled in us as well. This is not something we can take lightly. We need to take a closer look at this man Abraham. What kind of person was he, that so many people across the world regard him so highly?

But what I want to share with you today is this: it is not the man himself who matters most. Our focus should be on “the god” who made those promises to him—“the god” who made a covenant with him.

There are many gods in this world. Even those who do not believe in Jesus know this. Some people are already quite close with gods. But the question is—which god are you close with? That is what matters.

Isn’t it important to choose your friends well? The friends you are with shape the course of your life. Take someone who immigrates to the United States, for example. When they first arrive, they know very little about the country. But there is a friend waiting at the airport to pick them up. And in many cases, whatever that friend does for a living ends up determining what the immigrant does as well—because that is what they see and learn from the moment they arrive. If the friend who picks them up runs a dry-cleaning business, there is a good chance they will end up running one too. You learn what you see. That is how it is with us. Which god you draw close to will determine your destiny.

If you draw close to a miserable god and live in fellowship with him, you yourself will become miserable. If you draw close to a sick god, you will become sick. If you draw close to a god with cancer, you may end up with cancer yourself. If you stay close to a god who has failed, you will become a failure. So it only makes sense to draw close to a god who is successful, truly powerful, good, and full of happiness.

The very god who made a covenant with Abraham—is the very god we want to introduce to you. In this church—the Christian church as you know it—the god we fellowship with is that very God—who appeared to Abraham and introduced Himself.

This god who appeared to Abraham is different from all other gods. As you have just heard, the promise He made to Abraham four thousand years ago is being fulfilled in us today. And we can see with our own eyes that Abraham’s name has indeed been made great. This god has the power to keep his promise faithfully across four thousand years. Think about whether any other god can do that. Have you ever heard of anyone drawing close to a god who said, “I will bless you and your descendants for a thousand years, two thousand years, three thousand years, generation after generation”? And yet this god who appeared to Abraham made a covenant four thousand years ago—and that covenant is still being fulfilled in us today. He is full of power.

And this god, as we have come to know, holds authority over life. The one you have come to church to believe in is Jesus. But Jesus—He died. He was put to death by people. He shed His blood and died on the cross. And yet God raised Him from the dead. This is what we believe. In this very way, our God holds authority over life.

And there is something else about this God. He can use what does not exist as though it does. Let me share an experience Pastor Ki-Dong Kim had. He prayed for a dying patient with a severe lung disease—and that patient was completely healed. Fully restored. He was even able to run like a perfectly healthy person. Everyone believed his lungs had made a full recovery. Some time later, the man went to get an X-ray. Had his lungs recovered? On the X-ray, they looked exactly as they had before—damaged and diseased. There was simply nothing there. And yet this man breathed. He lived in good health for several years. That is what God does—He uses what does not exist as though it does. Tragically, however, the man eventually saw his own X-ray. “Wait—my lungs have no function. How can I possibly breathe?” And from that moment, his condition took a turn for the worse.

So our faith is not about looking at what can be seen. It is about looking closely at who God is, and receiving what this God—the one we are in fellowship with—has done for us. This God is truly unlike anything this world has to offer. Four thousand years ago, He appeared to Abraham and said, “I will make you a blessing.” And four thousand years later, we are seeing it with our own eyes. That very god is now coming to us and saying, “Let us make a covenant.”

When it comes down to it, our faith life is entering into a covenant with this God. So we need to take a close look at who this god is. When we take out an insurance policy, don’t we read the terms carefully? If we don’t, we might think, “This looks beneficial,” only to find out later that buried in the fine print are conditions that work against us. By then, even if we say, “I want to cancel,” it is too late—we have already lost the money we paid. That is why we must read the terms carefully, and only when we are convinced it is to our benefit should we sign on the dotted line. Coming to church is no different. It is not something we can keep doing with the attitude of “I’ll just try it out.” You may have come for the first time following a friend—and that is fine. But you need to take a close look at this God you are drawing near to, this God you are about to make a covenant with. Because you are making a covenant with that God, you will enjoy what He gives—and at the same time, you have your own duty before Him. This is why you must examine everything very carefully.

When God first made a covenant with Abraham, there were requirements for both sides. What God—this god—required of Abraham was this: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you!” That was what was required of Abraham. But what exactly does “your country, your family, and your father’s house” mean? “Your country” is the land where he had lived—the familiar place where he had farmed and built his life. “Your family” refers to the people he had known well—those who protected him, who would lend him money when he had none, who would share their food when his ran out. And “Your father’s house” is where his bloodline, his family name, and his culture all came from—where the decisions he made were shaped by what his father taught him. He said to Abraham, “Leave all of that behind—every tradition, everything familiar, everything that makes him feel safe—and from now on, go where I direct you.” That is, follow the leading of this God.

And the same applies to us. Once we begin our life of faith and enter into this covenant, it is no longer about living life on our own terms. It is about following wherever this God directs us. So when we come to church and say, “I now believe in God,” it does not mean, “I will keep living as I please and simply receive His help.” It means, “From now on, I will follow wherever God leads.” And when we do, this God will make us happy, He will make us blessed—and not only that, but many people will be blessed because of us. That is what He has promised. And so there are duties on both sides.

This God will make us blessed, He will make our name great, and through us, all peoples will be blessed. And on our end, we follow wherever this God directs us—no longer relying on what we once knew or what we once depended on, but relying on His leading and following Him. This is why Christians live differently from the world. There are many differences—and in the end, they bring us peace.

For example, imagine someone in the family is struggling to find a job. Those who do not believe worry a great deal. “What if he never finds work? What if he can’t get married? What about his future? “Driven by that worry, they scramble to find solutions on their own—turning to friends, turning to relatives, trying every familiar method—and in doing so, they often make things worse, ruin businesses, and end up with bigger problems than before. But when Christians face a problem, they do not exhaust every method to solve it on their own. Instead, they follow God’s leading. They seek to do what God tells them to do. They pray according to God’s ways, they discover through the Bible what God desires, and they obey. And when they do, they experience remarkable miracles and wonders—things that cannot be explained. You will hear many such testimonies through the Word in the days ahead. From small things to great things, there are truly astonishing stories. So if you draw close to this God and follow Him, that is how He will deal with you as well.

Since you are to make a covenant with God, you need to take a close look at who this god is. If you have been coming for several weeks now and still do not really know who this god is—if you are simply coming because you enjoy the atmosphere—that is not enough. You need to get to know this god, little by little. You cannot know everything all at once. But you must keep learning—read the Bible, and when there is something you do not understand, ask. The important thing is that you begin to know who this god is, and that you do so without delay.

And when that happens, remarkable and wonderful things will begin to unfold in you. A world that once seemed dull and purposeless will come alive. No matter what difficulties you face, the joy in your heart will not disappear. Things will happen to us that the people of this world simply cannot experience. And it is all because of this god.

This god is the God I have been introducing to you.

“God, I will make a covenant with You! And I will keep it. So please, be my God! I will follow You. Please keep Your promises to me!”

I bless you in the name of Jesus to have this heart.

God our Father, though we do not yet know You well, we now want to accept Your invitation and live a life together with You. You have called every soul gathered here—so from this moment on, please help them to know You more deeply, more fully, and more truly. May these precious ones come to truly know You, make a covenant with You, and become Your people—those who walk with You, their God, forever. Help them to become Your children, who share in all of Your glory. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.