Alpha and Omega, Part 19
Our Redemption in God’s Promises
Genesis 15:1-21
Introduction
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! BE THANKFUL FOR GOD’S GIFT!
- 2023 has been led with “one purpose”: To know there is a God!
-- Continuing our series, “Alpha and Omega”; examining the beginning to the end
- Last week we saw an example of what drifting away from God can cause
-- RE: God has called us to is a life of obedience, yet even in Abram we saw:
-- The plotting to sin, the self-justification, the judgment of God, and repentance
- Abram gives us great insight into human nature and how sin causes us to stray
-- What we must take note of, especially today, is that we all miss the mark
-- We all stray away from God’s calling, but we don’t have to stay there
- FACT: We can return to Him, because there are no sins He cannot forgive
-- However, the first step is one of choice – choosing to repent of our sins
- This morning we see a visual covenant of God’s promise to Abram
-- It’s critical that we spend a little time on this to see how encouraging God is
-- Encouragement in the struggles of life is something we all need … see that today
- Let’s dive in … Read Genesis 15:1-21 / Pray
- TR: Alternate title for this message: How to overcome fear and disappointment
Point 1 – God’s constant encouragement is: Do Not Fear!
- I want us to see that God is the believer’s protection and giver of rewards
-- God knew Abram’s heart, knew his challenges, and knew his disappointments
-- Look at how tenderly God encourages His servant (v1)
• He speaks to Him and gives him a vision (this brings clarity)
• He promises protection and a reward (this gives hope/purpose)
• He calls His servant by name (shows intimacy, He’s personally invested)
-- Israel received this also, Isaiah 43:1, “But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.”
- Interesting: This is the first time we see God telling His creation, “To not fear”
-- Hebrew: “al” meaning not; “yare” meaning to fear
- In promising to be his protector, God promises Abram to not feel alone
-- It’s also an encouragement to not give up; to not rely on our own strength!
- Then, Abram gets the best news ever: God is the giver of great rewards!
-- FACT: His provision, His supply, His abundance is what we need more of
-- TJ Para: “Rest your heart Abram, don’t worry about things, I am with you!”
- Abram was to be rewarded by God alone & only from God’s provisions
-- Know this: Jesus spoke this also in Matthew 6:33, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
- Consider, the great Abram needed strengthening … how about you?
-- Do you not also need to hold firm to God’s promise? To lean into Him?
- APP: Abram is rewarded with God Himself, rewarded with all that God is
-- How? Abram would be conformed to God’s image – incredible comfort
- TR: So, how does this help us overcome fear and life’s challenges?
Point 2 – We must hear and believe God’s Word
- We get some real insight into Abram’s mindset (v2-3) (spoiler: he’s regular guy)
-- He is extremely disappointed because he has no children, thus has no heirs
-- Consider: If Abram died with no children, no one would inherit (re: covenant)
-- So, he declares that a servant of his house will inherit everything … but …
- Bigger: With no heirs, how can God’s promise be true (refer to Gen 12:2)?
-- How can his descendants become a great nation without any children?
-- He’s been in Canaan for about 10 years now with nothing to show for it!
- Truly, I feel that he has reached a state of utter despair … and God knew it!
-- This conversation really shows the intimacy of God and His children
- Thankfully, God speaks to confirm His promises (v4)
-- APP: God’s correction is loving here, it is gentle and tender, but it is firm
-- He says, “Your servant will not be your heir; you will have a son …”
-- Then God takes him outside to challenge him to count the stars (ref Gen 1)
-- Why? There are so many they are without measure! Even we can only guess!
-- What a privileged moment this must have been … to hear God’s assurance
- APP: We have the same assurance – a promise of peace if we follow Jesus
-- God’s promise then & today is that He will do what He said He would do
-- Listen to Jesus’ same promise to us: John 14:1, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.”
- Now, don’t miss this: Abram believed God and was counted righteous (v6)
-- This is where we get the great doctrine by justification … faith = acceptance
-- It reveals that mankind has a need, and that only God can truly deliver it
-- Romans 3:10, “As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous - not even one.”
- All we need to do is believe, and see that God is who He says He is!
-- IMP: With sin in the way, the only way to get right is to come to Him (Jesus)
- Our belief leads to justification by faith, because we believe what God has done
-- What has God provided? A clear path: John 14:6, “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
- APP: When a person believes in Christ, we receive what we could not do
-- We receive what we could not do for ourselves: we cannot undo sin’s penalty
-- No amount of money, things, works, thoughts can provide this relief (re: death)
-- It is acceptance only given by God, and it begins right here in Genesis!
- Abram was counted (or credited) as accepted because he believed
-- Hebrew: way·ya?·š?·?e·ha; reckoned or accredited to
-- EX: When you put money in the bank, they credit you that amount
- BIG: This same promise began with Abram and extends to you and me today!
-- We see same promise later in Acts 13:39, “Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight - something the law of Moses could never do.”
-- It is not about being “good enough” but being faithful to follow God!
-- TR: What do we need to do to begin believing in this promise?
Point 3 – Understand that God’s covenant is eternal and unbreakable
- God reminds Abram that He is the one who brought him to this place
-- It is His mission he is on, and it is God’s redemption that is being offered
-- To seal this, God gives Abram a visible sign of this covenant (v9-11)
-- Thought: Sometimes we need proof, don’t we? Here is God’s version of proof!
- Tells him to bring together specific animals for a sacrificial offering
-- The animals are slain, and laid apart from each other with a space between them
-- God causes a deep sleep to come upon Abram (to draw him closer) (v12-16)
-- In a dream God shows Abram the full promise of what is to happen
• God him shows 400 years (v13) of slavery (by the Egyptians; Gen 46-50)
• But the promised seed will STILL be delivered, even despite this suffering
• And for Abram, he will not go through this but die at an old age (comfort)
• And after four generations (400 yrs., Exodus 1) they will be rescued (Moses)
- But something even better happens: Abram is brought into a Holy Spirit moment
-- He is allowed to see God’s presence, manifested by the smoke & flaming torch
-- Note: Fire is used to represent God’s presence (ex: burning bush, pillar of fire)
-- And here, Abram is about to visually see what God has said He will do
- God’s fire passes (Heb: lappid; torch) between them, completing His covenant
-- Pay attention: Abram had no part in this, nor does anyone else, it is all God!
-- God completes the ceremony by passing through the offering made to Him
-- TJ: God does the same when His Spirit enters you by faith, YOU are sealed!
- God’s clear message to Abram was that despite prospects of death and suffering
-- He and his descendants would receive His promises, because God swore an oath
-- Hebrews 6:13-14, “For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying: “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”
Big Idea
- What we receive from this is the comfort of God, the promise of eternity
-- As our mothers bore us and gave us life, God’s promises seal our life eternally
-- Even in the face of despair and frustration (which many face today) there’s hope
-- God is still the God who authors our faith, and completes it by His righteousness
-- If Abram could receive such a promise and believe, can’t we? Will we?
-- Come back next week and let’s see how Abram handles fatherhood … Pray
