THE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM Penge Baptist Church 27 th November 2011

What is a covenant? Agreement between two parties With a “ cut ” Old Testament covenants Our church agreement as a covenant

A covenant of protection and promise …. After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “ Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. ” 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 be. ” 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. ”

And for us? Our God is a God of gracious gifts Abraham ’ s descendents became the church as well as the Jewish race “ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham ’ s seed, and heirs according to the promise. ” (Galatians 3:28-29) An encouragement to seek prophetic vision

Received with faith amid doubt But Abram said, “ Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus? ” And Abram said, “ You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir. ” Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. (Romans 4:4-5)

And us? That faith is a miracle from God! For us too, faith is credited as righteousness Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “ All nations will be blessed through you. ” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:7-9) And God intended us to be righteous – new creations Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ….God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:19, 21)

I am a new creation No more in condemnation Here in the grace of God I stand My heart is overflowing My love just keeps on growing Here in the grace of God I stand And I will praise You Lord Yes, I will praise You Lord And I will sing of all that You have done A joy that knows no limit A lightness in my spirit Here in the grace of God I stand

A covenant sealed in blood Renewed doubt But Abram said, “ Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it? ” The sacrifice So the Lord said to him, “ Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon. ” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

The prophecy As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, “ Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there ….. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. ” The oath When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “ To your descendants I give this land …. ”

And us? God has already fulfilled his oath … “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life ” (John 3:16) For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse ….. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “ Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole. ” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:10-14)

We are Abraham ’ s descendents … … and we receive the same promises: Kingdom growth Saved by faith and not works Through the blood of Jesus, shed to fulfil the covenant to Abraham! We can trust God ’ s promises even when all around seems barren …. ….so let us live them out in this fallen world!

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:19-21)