Why God Never Gave Up On Abraham And Won't Give Up On You (Genesis Part 14)

00:00:00 - Welcome to Crowd Church with Matt Edmundson Anna Kettle 00:03:45 - Talk begins: Faith Over a Lifetime with Sue Uddin 00:12:36 - Abraham's faith journey: The ups and downs of following God 00:20:00 - The reality of faith: When we forget God's promises 00:26:19 - Why God calls Abraham "my friend" despite his failures 00:31:33 - Conversation Street: Is it luck or God answering prayer? 00:50:52 - When life turns against you: How to strengthen your faith We live in a world of perfect Instagram feeds and carefully curated public personas. Even in Christian circles, there's often pressure to present our spiritual journey as a spotless testimony of unwavering faith and obedience. But that's not how real faith works—and Sue Uddin's message reminds us that God never expected it to. Looking at Abraham's story in Genesis, Sue revealed how this "hero of faith" was far from the flawless spiritual giant we might imagine. Yes, he listened when God spoke, obeyed divine instructions at 75 years old, and trusted seemingly impossible promises. He worshipped God, promoted peace, received divine favour, and even passed extreme tests of faith. But Abraham's CV also included moments of panic, fear, dishonesty, and questionable decision-making. "This is where I get great comfort," Sue explained. "Faith over a lifetime is not sanitised, it's not some linear journey. We're not robots that just go 'believe, obey, trust, believe, obey, trust.' It's not like that. It's a relationship with God." When famine struck the promised land, Abraham forgot God's promises and fled to Egypt in fear. Instead of trusting God with his safety, he lied about his wife Sarah being his sister, putting her in a compromising position to save himself. Years later, when God's promise of descendants seemed delayed, Abraham and Sarah decided to "help God out" with their own plan—a decision with consequences that echo throughout history. Yet despite these failures, God never abandoned Abraham. In Isaiah, we find God still referring to Abraham as "my friend" and promising, "I will not throw you away." This offers profound hope for all of us navigating our own messy faith journeys. What makes Abraham's story so powerful isn't his perfection—it's his humanity. "It's the realness of Abraham, that he wasn't some perfect robot," Sue shared. "You know, just trusting all of the time, that he did have different responses. But God didn't say to him, 'That's it. You've had your chance.' That's not what happens." This reality challenges our tendency to believe we must present only our best selves to God. The pressure to perform spiritually—to always trust, always obey, always have the right response—melts away when we see how God continually restored relationship with Abraham despite his stumbles. Like Abraham, our faith journeys often involve doubling back, taking detours, and sometimes completely losing our way. Life throws challenges at us—grief, financial pressures, relationship breakdowns—and our responses aren't always spiritually exemplary. But the covenant God made with Abraham—and extends to us through Christ—isn't based on our perfect performance. It's grounded in His perfect faithfulness. During Conversation Street, Sue shared beautiful examples of God's provision in seemingly small moments—finding bargains in MS when money was tight, a stranger offering to pay for her groceries, and a neighbour's daughter appearing just when she needed a lift. "I just felt like, God, you, God of the universe, creator of heaven and earth. I cannot believe that you provided that little detail for me here in Liverpool," Sue recalled. These stories sparked discussion about whether such moments are "just good luck" or divine provision. The consensus? When you've walked with God long enough, you begin to recognise patterns of His faithfulness that go far beyond coincidence. As Matt shared: "I walked out of my house, and there on the wall outside my house was a pack of Duracell batteries...I remember picking the batteries up and went 'Awesome.' You could say that was good luck, but actually I think it's just more fun to give glory on things like that." (Full story in the livestream). Perhaps the most powerful moment came when discussing how to maintain faith when life seems to be falling apart. Anna emphasised the importance of lament—being honest with God about our pain, disappointment, and frustration before choosing to trust Him anyway. "David didn't hold back in the Bible. He was like, 'Oh Lord, all my enemies are against me.' It's proper full-on. Like, 'Why are you doing this to me?' It's quite melodramatic... I like that. I like the honesty with God." Sue added her own experience: "When everything literally is falling around you... I just had this moment where I just went, 'Okay, at the end of the day, God, it's me and you, and I've got a choice. I can either choose to pursue you somehow in this, even if it's in a very messy way, or I can just turn away.'" As Matt pointed out in closing, we often interpret our spiritual journey by what happened today or yesterday. But faith is meant to be viewed through a lifetime lens—not the short-term metrics our society values. Abraham didn't live to see all God's promises fulfilled. Hebrews tells us that "not one of these people received all that God had promised them"—yet they continued believing, understanding they were part of a story much bigger than themselves. This is the invitation for all of us—to see our faith not as a performance to be perfected, but as a relationship to be nurtured through all of life's seasons. To remember that God is working on a timeline that extends far beyond our limited perspective. And to trust that the God who never gave up on Abraham won't give up on us either. Whether you're in a season of confident faith or struggling to trust God's promises, you're invited to bring your whole, honest self to Him. Not one of us is disqualified. Not one of us is thrown away. Join us next week for Palm Sunday as we continue exploring what it means to follow Jesus with authenticity and trust. If you're new to faith or have questions, don't forget our Alpha course starts this Wednesday at 7:30pm both online and in-person—visit crowd.church/alpha to sign up. Ever feel your spiritual journey doesn't match the Instagram-perfect Christian life? Sue Uddin's message brings liberating hope through Abraham's story – a faith hero whose CV included panic, dishonesty and questionable decisions alongside his legendary obedience. Yet God still called him "my friend." This powerful reminder shows that authentic faith isn't about flawless performance but honest relationship through life's ups and downs. Whether you're confidently trusting God's promises or struggling to hold on during difficult seasons, Abraham's messy journey proves you're never disqualified. God didn't give up on him – and He won't give up on you either. In this exploration of faith and provision, Jack Mariner unpacks how Abraham's journey from self-reliance to radical trust transformed his relationship with possessions. When faced with famine, Abraham initially schemed his way through Egypt rather than trusting God's promise. Yet his encounter with the mysterious Melchizedek marks a turning point—giving away a tenth of everything as an act of worship. Through personal stories of miraculous provision and candid conversations about money's grip on our hearts, this message challenges us to discover the paradoxical freedom that comes when we open our hands and trust our abundantly generous God. Is the God of the Bible cruel? Sharon Edmundson tackles one of Scripture's most challenging stories – Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac – revealing how this passage actually demonstrates God's radical difference from ancient pagan deities. While other gods demanded child sacrifice, the true God provided an alternative, foreshadowing Jesus' ultimate sacrifice. During Conversation Street, the discussion explores surrender, testing, and living counter-culturally. Rather than a troubling tale of divine cruelty, this story reveals a God who makes a way when there seems to be none – the God who gives rather than takes. This week, Matt Edmundson explores the radical nature of covenant through Abraham's story. Unlike modern contracts that can be broken with minimal consequences, ancient covenants were sealed in blood with one shocking rule: only death could break them. When God made His covenant with Abraham, He did something unprecedented—walking alone between the sacrificed animals, taking all responsibility upon Himself. This foreshadows Christ's sacrifice, establishing a new covenant through His blood. Discover how this ancient concept transforms our marriages, relationships with God, and very identities as believers today. A ‘mind-bending’ revelation that changes everything. Dan Orange peels back the familiar children's story to reveal the profound theological depths of Noah's Ark. Far from just animals marching two-by-two, this ancient narrative chronicles God's grief over creation, His divine "de-creation" and the extraordinary faith of one man who built an ark on dry land. Most powerfully, Dan reveals how Noah's story whispers Jesus' name - while Noah saved a few, Jesus became the ultimate ark, sacrificing Himself so all could be saved. A thought-provoking exploration that challenges us: when the world rushes toward a cliff, will we have faith to walk the other way? Ever felt that sting when someone else gets the recognition you wanted? Pete Butland unpacks the story of Cain and Abel to reveal it's not just about murder – it's about our fundamental view of God. Using emergency Christmas presents and unwanted toffee pennies as illustrations, Pete exposes how we often give God our leftovers while keeping the best for ourselves. The real question: do we truly believe God is enough? When we don't, we become like Cain – resentful, bitter, and unable to celebrate others' success. But when we know God's abundance, we can give our best without fear and rejoice when others receive His favour. We can tend to either dismiss evil as superstition or distance it as something that happens to "other people". This week, Will Sopwith challenges both perspectives, revealing how evil operates closer to home than we might think. Drawing from Genesis, he unpacks three key components of evil - the pursuit of power, the perversion of good, and the perpetration of pain - while showing how God both judges and limits its impact. But here's the hope - while evil is real, we're not powerless against it. Through Christ, we have practical ways to resist its influence and participate in God's restoration plan. Ever wondered why the things we want most aren't always what's best for us? This week, Jenny Mariner continues unpacking Genesis' wisdom on desire and decision-making, revealing how growing up spiritually isn't about having all the answers – it's about learning to want the right things. Through everyday objects and surprising insights from The Karate Kid, Jenny shows us why God's 'no' might actually be the path to our best 'yes'. From dealing with daily choices to life-changing decisions, discover how ancient wisdom speaks directly into our modern struggle between following our hearts and trusting God's guidance. At Crowd Church, we are committed to creating a space for you to explore the Christian faith, regardless of where you are on your faith journey. Every week we livestream our online church service and release a new story on What’s The Story Podcast. We have weekly online community groups that meet up and all of that good stuff. You can find out more about everything that goes on at Crowd by browsing through this site, and you can reach out to us via our contact page. Are you interested in joining in with what is happening here at Crowd? We would love to meet you! Come and join our in-person service in Liverpool. Join in with the Church Livestream Subscribe to Crowd Church Podcast What’s the Story Podcast Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to the YouTube Channel New to church? If so - check out the New Here link. Any questions? Please connect with us via our Contact Page, or via WhatsApp: +44 7984 530 429