Standing On The Promises
Genesis 15:7-16 (NLT)
( for an audio and visual of this sermon go to www.thecreekmonroe.com)
Intro: A small boy riding a bus home from Sunday school was very proud of the card he had received, which had a picture and a caption that read: “Have Faith in God.” Then to his
dismay the card slipped from his hand and fluttered out the window. “Stop the bus!” he cried. “I’ve lost my ‘faith in God!’”
The driver pulled the bus to a stop, and as the boy climbed out and went to retrieve his card, one of the adult riders smiled and made a comment about the innocence of youth. A more perceptive adult observed, “All of us would be better off if we were that concerned about our faith.”
. We are back in Genesis this morning. It seems that we have a lot of sermons here in Genesis about faith.
. That’s because Genesis is the bedrock of the Judeo Christian belief system.
. Genesis is where we learn about God and how He created mankind.
. Genesis is where we learn about the fall of man and why we need a savior.
. Genesis is where we learn about the people who God chose to make himself and Jesus known to mankind.
. Genesis is where we first learn that our faith in God is what makes us righteous in his eyes.
. Abram, later known as Abraham is the patriarch of the Judeo Christian faith.
. More than anything else, Genesis is a faith chapter. How we interact with God through faith in him.
. In Genesis, Abram is given certain promises from God.
. In our scripture this morning, we see an interaction between God and Abram that reminds Abram that his faith is built upon the promises of God and that Abram can depend upon them.
. We see Abram standing on the promises of God.
.As we look at Abram, God is also showing us how to stand on his promises.
.Let’s look at our scripture: Gen. 15: 7-16
7Then the LORD told him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.”
8But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”
9The LORD told him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half.
11Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
12As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him.
13Then the LORD said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.
14But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.
15(As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.)
16After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”
. The first thing we see here is that God says:
. Remember What I Did For You
. Look at verse 7 Again:
. 7Then the LORD told him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.”
. God says remember who you were before I called you.
. We do not know much about Abram before God calls him but we do know that God chose Abram, Out of all the people in the world to father the nation that God would use to save mankind from their sin.
. Through the peoples that Abram was the patriarch, Jesus Christ came into the world.
. God is telling Abram, remember where you came from Abram.
. When you were called, you had nothing but I have been with you through it all.
. I was with you when you lied to the king of Egypt and got yourself in trouble.
. I was with you when you defeated the people who had taken your nephew lot.
. Look at yourself now Abram, you have this land and all theses possessions because I have been with you. I have blessed you Abram. I have walked with you.
. Remember who you were before you met me Abram and it will help you to believe and stand on these promises.
.Today, this day folks, we can stand on the promises of God.
. The old hymn we sang, standing on the promises is so true.
. I especially like the second verse.
. Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.
. When doubt and fear come into our lives, we can be confident in the promises of God. God’s word tells us this.
. What will help us is to Remember what God has done for us.
. God loved us so much that He came to us as the Human Jesus Christ and paid the penalty that is due each and every one of us for our sin.
. Paul writes that the wages of sin is death. We should be paid for our sin by death but through Jesus, we do not have to pay for our sin. Jesus has done that for us.
. We came from an eternal separation from our creator God to an eternity with Him through Jesus Christ.
. Remember what god did for you and you can stand on his promises.
. Next God tells Abram that he can:
.Rely On His Promises
. Look at verses 8, 12-14
. 8But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?”
12As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him.
13Then the LORD said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.
14But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.
. God says to Abram that even though some tough times are ahead, He will be with Abram and his family.
. You can rely on that Abram. I don’t promise you and your family a bed of roses Abram but I do promise you that I will be with you and them through all of it.
. Hard times are coming but there is deliverance and on that you can rely, I promise you.
. Folks, our walk with God does not guarantee that everything will be perfect in our lives.
. Look at what happened to Abrams family. They were enslaved for 400 years but God was always there. The people were constantly looking for their savior, the one who would lead them out of bondage in Egypt. Through it all, God was there and He kept his promise.
. Our lives have an ebb and flow to them. We can move from mountain top to valley in an instant.
. I was talking to someone this week and we talked about how it was amazing that a life or lives of a whole family could be changed in an instant. In the blink of an eye.
. The only guarantees, the only constants that we all have is God.
. We all have the promises of God that we can stand on.
. It is said that nothing is certain in this world but death and taxes.
. I tell you this morning that the only thing that is certain in this world is the promises of God.
. Next God tells Abram that he should:
. Rest In His Deliverance
. Look at verse 15&16a again:
15(As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.)
16After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, …
. As for you Abram, I am with you. You will grow old peacefully and in will walk with you your entire life.
. I will deliver you from your enemies and guess what, I will deliver your descendants from their enslavement.
. God promises us, just as He did Abram that He will deliver us.
. First and foremost we have been delivered from the penalty of sin that comes with our humanity. God delivers us through the blood of Jesus Christ.
. God told Abram that he would live peacefully his entire life.
. How could that be, that was a dangerous place that Abram lived. Every time you turned around there were people fighting and going to war.
. The peace that God was talking about was the peace that Abram had through knowing and trusting in God.
. We have that same peace this morning through our trusting and knowing God through Jesus Christ.
. In writing to the church in Philippi Paul wrote this in 4:6,7:
6Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
7Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
. That’s the peace that God was talking about with Abram.
. The peace that comes with knowing that God was his deliverer.
. Abram could rest in that deliverance.
. Christian, this morning you can rest in the deliverance of God.
. You will experience the peace that God promises when we place our faith and trust in him.
. Rest in the deliverance of God this morning.
. Finally we can stand on God’s promises when we:
. Remember That God Has a Plan
. Look at the last part of verse 16 again.
…for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”
. At first read, that really doesn’t sound like much does it?
. Most would read right over it as a side note.
. What God is telling Abram here is that I have a plan Abram.
. This plan has been in existence since the foundation of the world.
. I am the omnipotent and omniscient creator God and I have a plan.
. The Amorites have not done enough to warrant their destruction but they will. In 400 years I will have had enough and my judgment will fall upon them.
. I will use your descendants to punish them for their sin and then I will fulfill the promise that I gave to you.
. You see folks, Gods doesn’t play small ball.
. Our God, the Creator of the universe has a plan and when we remember who he is, the all powerful, all knowing God of the universe, we can stand on the promises that He has given us.
. Why, because he is God and he has a plan.
. He had a plan to bring the Hebrew Nation out of bondage and into the Promised Land. He had a plan to use this nation to bring about the salvation of all mankind.
. He has a plan for you this morning.
. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of your life. If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that He is lord.
. If you believe that He died for your sin and was buried and raised from the dead as the example of our eternal life, the plan is for you to spend an eternity in the presence of the almighty God through Jesus Christ.
. If you believe that, you can stand on the promises of God this morning.
. Remember that God has a plan for you.
. If you are here this morning and have not experienced that peace that comes through Jesus Christ, you can this morning.
Invitation.
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
Sources: The Holy Bible, NLT
Illustration from sermon central
