The Promises Notes from Message on March 4th 2018 Audio can be found at https://agapechristian.sermon.net/main/main/21122315
How Genesis is typically read 1. Stories of great faith 2. Practical moral advice.
How should Genesis be read? God’s rescue plan to fix the problem of a divided Heaven and Earth. The fix will come in a series of promises through a family The Promises will be dependent on God’s faithfulness.
Verses about Promises to Abraham and his descendants Genesis 12:1-3 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “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.” Promises ” I will make you into a great nation ” I will make your name great ” I will bless those who bless you
Genesis 12:7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring[a] I will give this land.”So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. Promises ” To your offspring I will give this land
Genesis 13:14-17 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring[a] forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” Promises ” All the land you see I will give to you and your offspring forever ” I will make your offspring numerous
Genesis 15:5-7 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars-if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[a] be.” 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” Promises ” Offspring as numerous as the stars ” Possession of the land
Genesis 22:15-18 15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,18 and through your offspring[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,[b] because you have obeyed me.” Promises ” Descendants as numerous as the stars ” Your descendants will take possessions of the cities of their enemies ” Because of your offspring all nations will be blessed because he obeyed
Genesis 26:24 Isaac That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” Promises ” Increase the number of descendants
Genesis 27:29 Jacob receives blessing from Isaac May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.” Promises ” Nations will serve you ” Those who curse you will be cursed and those who bless you will be blessed
Genesis 28:3-4 May God Almighty[a] bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.” Promises ” Increase in numbers to become community ” Take Possession of the land
Genesis 35:10-13 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. ” So he named him Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God went up from him at the place where he had talked with him. Promises ” Be fruitful and increase in Number ” Nations and Kings will come from you ” Inherit the land
Genesis 48:3-4 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me 4 and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’ Promises ” I will make you a community of peoples ” I will give you this land as an everlasting possession.
What do we learn? 1 God is going to build a Great Nation through the descendants of Abraham 1. Galatians 3:7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 2. Galatians 3:29. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. ii. What does this all mean? iii. Those who accept the Jewish Messiah are this great nation. 2 God’s People will inherit the Land for eternity Matthew 5:5- Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Romans 8:18-21. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
Does redemption and inheritance of the land look like A New Heaven and New Earth?
3 God is going to Give his People a great name Ephesians 1:3-14 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[b]predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment-to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession-to the praise of his glory. 4 All nations will be blessed through this family
Conclusion: I want to look at one last passage. Romans 4:19-21 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Paul says that Abraham never got to see the promises God had made. But in his faith, he gave glory to God. The word faith can have different meanings. It can mean an intellectual consent of things known or believed. It can mean trust. “Yes, I trust you”. But in this case, I believe the correct word is allegiance. Faith equals Allegiance. Abraham’s life was about obedience to the promises. Abraham was in essence saying Lord I believe your story and it is now my Story? This is the question Jesus ask us today.
What is our Story? Does it have allegiance to God’s story?