[This sermon is part of a 4 sermon series on the Promise of God leading up to Christmas. One of my earlier sermons, it is not a full manuscript. It is hoped that the introductory notes on the Promise in Genesis, and the sermon out line that follows, will aid in developing your own sermon series and adding some good meat to the bones. It was one of my favorite sermon series, and was received well, because it taught something that People don’t often hear from the pulpit: promise theology.]
Father Abraham
TEXTs of PROMISE in Genesis
Gen 12—after dispersion at Babel
God calls
• Great nation/bless you
• Name great/be blessing
• Bless those who bless you/curse
• All nations/peoples on earth blessed through you.
Gen 15—after defeat of Sodom King (and blessing of Melchizedek) and profession of trust in God
• God is shield/reward
• Affirm that a son from Abram will be heir
• Stars of sky
• God “brought u out of Ur”
• Covenant
Gen 17—after intercourse with Hagar
• Walk before me, and be blameless
• Father of many nations
• Abraham
• Fruitful, many nations and kings
• Everlasting covenant
• Canaan everlasting possession
• Circumcision
• Covenant in flesh and “everlasting covenant.”
• Sarah now, and is blessed
• Isaac prophesied/named
• Ishmael is blessed but not have the covenant
Gen 21—hagar aftermath
• Promise reckoned thru Isaac, not Ishmael
Gen 22—after taking Isaac to be sacrificed
• God provides ram
• I will surely bless you (you did not withhold your only son)
• Descendants as numerous as the stars and sand because you obeyed me.
• Through your SEED/OFFSPRING all nations will be blessed.
Gen 24—getting a wife for Isaac
• Abraham tells his servant of the promise
• Servant sees God continue his blessing by providing a wife
Gen 26—Esau has just despised his birth right
• Promise/Blessing repeated/confirmed to Isaac
• Stay in land during famine: I will bless you
• Give these lands and
• Confirm the oath made to Abraham
• Numerous descendants (stars)
• Through your offspring/seed all nations on earth will be blessed
• Because Abraham obeyed me
Gen 28—Jacob going to get a wife in Haran
• I am the Lord, the God of A and I.
• Give you the land on which you are lying
• Dust
• Spread out from west to east, north/south
• All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring
• I will watch over you wherever
• Bring you back
• I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
• Bethel: makes a vow to serve (Lord will be my God) God and he will give a tenth of what he acquires, if God follows through on his promise (duh!)
Prior: with Noah, God showed he is “refusing to allow human rebellion to divert him from his purpose to create a people to be his people in a perfect universe.” (G. Goldsworthy, According to Plan, p. 115)
• The song done on stage?
• Missionary heart of God
ABRAHAM’S CALL
With Abraham’s call shortly after the scattering of the people’s after the Tower of Babel, we again see (like in Genesis 3 and 6), God’s promise of Hope and Salvation being offered in the midst of judgment.
“God is refusing to allow human rebellion to divert him from his purpose to create a people to be his people in a perfect universe.” (Goldsworthy, According . . . , p. 115)
** “The promise is repeatedly made against a background of events that seem to threaten it and make its fulfillment impossible. By this means Abraham learns that he must live by faith in the promises of God even when it seems that the promises have been destroyed by circumstances.” (ibid, p. 121)
“The importance of the threats to fulfillment lies in the fact that the promises point to an ultimate fulfillment that can be achieved only by the supernatural work of God. (ibid, 121)
Opposition:
• Promised land is possessed by Canaanites
• Age of Abraham and Sarah
• Sarah almost taken as wife by king
• Lot chooses the fertile ground
• For 25 years Abraham and Sarah have to wait.
And yet “at critical times during that period, God reminds Abraham of this promises to sustain him in the face of the seemingly impossible odds against their coming true. (Gen 15:4-6, 13-21, 17:1-21, 18:16-19) (ibid, 122)
There appears to be nothing special about Abraham, other than two things: He answers the call of the Lord, and he is in the line of Shem (promise).
THE SUPERNATURAL SUSTENANCE OF THE PROMISE
Constantly God fulfills his promise in circumstances that appear to threaten its survival: (see above, and:)
• The sacrifice of Isaac
• The age of Isaac and the barreness of Rebekah till is Jacob born (and of Rachel)
• The deception of Jacob—bad dude, deceitful, but God blesses him and after a while, Jacob, after the wrestling, seems a changed and godly man.
• Taking to Egypt, but God “meant it for good for the salvation of many.”
WRAP UP and TRANSITIONAL theology:
Blessing on Judah at the end of Genesis highlights the kingly line and throne, fulfilled in Jesus.
To a World Alienated: A Promise of Hope
Big Idea: To A World Alienated from God and Each Other, God gives His Promise of Hope
Aim: To draw the congregation into a greater relationship and life of faith toward our God who demonstrates His deep love for us by carrying out His Promise despite our continued rebellion
Last week we looked back to the garden of Eden, and that God was prepared for mankind’s sin. In the midst of facing death, hardship, and relational breakdown—all consequences imposed against man by God, He also gave them a promise of hope, that one day, a special descendant of Eve would “crush the head of the serpent,” who is Satan. Though quite a mysterious promise at the time, we have come to know that as the first glimpse of the Savior, that we know as Jesus—God’s plan to rescue us from our own undoing, by giving us a way to be reconnected to Him, for eternity.
Against a backdrop of chaos and scattering, God reaffirms his promise of hope
To A World Alienated from God and Each Other, God gives His Promise of Hope
HOPE Backed up by Commitment
Big Idea: We See the Depth of Love God has for the World when He Reaffirms His Promise of Hope to Abraham and his Descendants.
God’s Promise
Genesis 12:1-3
Promise Unpacked: Nation, Land, Blessing
His Depth of Love for Us Is Shown:
1. When His Promise of Hope Comes on the Heels of Major Human Rebellion (again!)
Babel, chapter 11
Scattered, alienated, confused
We remain so today.
Yet, God really loves us. And has a vision for us despite our failings. He doesn’t “let them slide” but they are a big deal. And yet, he gives hope as when:
2. When His Promise of Hope is Given to a Man who has not Earned it.
Abraham, as far as we know, was a polytheistic worshipper.
Until God grabbed ahold of him.
Note, he is in the line of Shem. The promise kept alive.
None of us earn his promise of hope: “while we were yet sinners.”
3. When His Promise of Hope is Kept Alive when Human Circumstances Indicate its Failure (or Doom)
THE SUPERNATURAL SUSTENANCE OF THE PROMISE
Opposition:
• Promised land is possessed by Canaanites
• Age of Abraham and Sarah
• Sarah almost taken as wife by king
• Lot chooses the fertile ground
• For 25 years Abraham and Sarah have to wait.
And yet “at critical times during that period, God reminds Abraham of this promises to sustain him in the face of the seemingly impossible odds against their coming true. (Gen 15:4-6, 13-21, 17:1-21, 18:16-19) (Graeme Goldsworthy, According to Promise, 122)
Constantly God fulfills his promise in circumstances that appear to threaten its survival: (see above, and:)
• The sacrifice of Isaac
** “The promise is repeatedly made against a background of events that seem to threaten it and make its fulfillment impossible. By this means Abraham learns that he must live by faith in the promises of God even when it seems that the promises have been destroyed by circumstances.” (ibid, p. 121)
• The age of Isaac and the barreness of Rebekah till is Jacob born (and of Rachel)
• The deception of Jacob—bad dude, deceitful, but God blesses him and after a while, Jacob, after the wrestling, seems a changed and godly man.
• Taking to Egypt, but God “meant it for good for the salvation of many.”
“The importance of the threats to fulfillment lies in the fact that the promises point to an ultimate fulfillment that can be achieved only by the supernatural work of God. (ibid, 121)
God shows his love, but also increases our faith!
4. When His Promise of Hope is Given in the Context of Relationship
It is not just about God giving a prediction, but that he acts on our behalf. He really has interest in us
5. Repeated to Descendants
Both Isaac (Gen 26) and Jacob (ch 28) have it repeated to them. God keeps putting his promise out there to be heard and to be expected and to see if and how he carries through. He can be trusted. He is loving.
6. When His Promise of Hope is Intended for the Whole World
It was not just a promise for the Jews, but was for ALL nations and peoples. This shows the “missionary heart” of God.
Our church is not just a small collection of people. We are part of His plan. We are gathered because of being recipients of bridgebuilders: God to the world, Paul to the Gentiles, etc. We are privileged.
All children, men and women can call God “Father,” or “Daddy.”
CONCLUSION: WRAP UP and TRANSITIONAL theology:
Blessing on Judah at the end of Genesis highlights the kingly line and throne, fulfilled in Jesus. Gen 49:10
