God is Faithful

How many of you know who this is? (picture of Noah Lyles)

This is Noah Lyles, he is an American professional track athlete and he recently competed in the Olympics. Leading up to the Olympics Noah had some great performances. He won most of his races and even won the 100 Meter and 200 meter dash world championship titles while also tieing the american record in the 200 meter dash.

Before going to the Olympics Noah said that he would win the 100 and 200 meter dash at the Olympics.

He did win the 100 dash but then before the finals of the 200 meters he got sick with COVID. Even though he was sick he decided to run......he did not win, he ended up placing 3rd in the Olympic final.

Did Noah Lyle s do what he said that he would do?

He did not. Now historically Noah is better at the 200 then the 100, so alot of us watching thought he was going to win, but we didn't know he would get sick and run. We placed our confidence in the performance of someone who could not control everything to ensure that he was able to do exactly what he said he would do.

How many of you have trusted someone, or put your faith in them and they let you down?

Today we are going to talk about the only one who we can put our full confidence and faith in knowing that He will not let us down.

Big Idea- We are to place our full faith and confidence in God.

Take Aways

God is faithful.

God is the only one we can put our full confidence and faith in.

Jesus is the promised seed from Abraham who blesses all nations.

Before we go into the text we will review what happened in Genesis 1-3.

Genesis Chapter one lets us know that God created everything, and He created everything out of nothing. God also made man to be image bearers who made other God following image bearers, and mankind was to rule over the earth and take care of it as they followed God.

Genesis 2 tells us that God made a garden called the garden of Eden that had everything that Adam and Eve needed to live. He told them they could eat of every tree except for one tree.

Does anyone know what that tree was called?

The tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil.

Then in Chapter three the Bible says that Satan came in the form of a serpent and tricked Eve into eating the forbidden fruit and Adam ate after Eve did. This was sin because they did what God told them not to do. They disobeyed God. So because Adam sinned Mankind has a broken relationship with God. What this meant is that mankind now were born into sin and were condemned to suffer the wrath of God.

But because God loves us he already had a plan to save us from his wrath. This plan is shown in Genesis 3:15 Where God let Adam and Eve know that there would be a Child Born of a Virgin who would defeat Satan. This was describing Jesus.

Now we will move to Genesis 15, what we are talking about today takes place with a man named Abram who’s name was later changed to Abraham.

Just before this God called Abram to leave his homeland and to go to a land that God would give to him and his descendents. God also told Abram that he would be the father of many nations and that all nations would be blessed through his Seed. This Seed that God was talking about is Jesus.

To the text

Genesis 15:1–3 NKJV

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

So here we see that Abram saw that he didn't have any children, but he knew that God said that he would be a father of many nations and that his seed would be a blessing to all nations.

But instead of waiting for God to give Abram and his wife a child, he seemed to assume that he would not have any of his own. He even went as far as to say that someone else’s child born in his house would be his heir to fulfill Gods Promise.

When God initially made the promise to Abram earlier in the story

in Genesis 12 he also said that Abrams seed, or descendents would be given the land.

Genesis 12:7 (NKJV)

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Who can tell me what a descendant is?

A descendant is someone who came from someone else. For example you are your mother and fathers descendant, and they are your grandparents descendant.

So based on what God said to Abram, is this blessing going to be from someone who is born from Abram or from someone that Abram adopts as his heir that is not his child?

This promise was coming through Abram’s seed, or someone who was born from him.

So what was wrong with Abram saying that he would use someone else’s child as his heir since he had no other children?

Abram doubted that God would give him a child so he tried to find another way to make Gods promise come to pass.

Is this what Abram should have done?

No, he should have waited on the Lord to give him the seed that he promised instead of trying to make this promise happen in his own way.

Proverbs 3:5–6 (NKJV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

So what this is saying is that we are to trust in what God says and respond as if we have faith in Him. We are not to go off of our own natural thinking.

In this case Abram was doubting that God would give him an offspring and he started thinking of another way.

Back to the text

Genesis 15:4–5 NKJV

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

So here God reinforced his original promise to Abraham, and He told Abraham that he would have a child and this child would be the first of many descendants.

Who can tell me what this promise was that God had made to Abraham that he reinforced?

God promised that Abraham would have a child and that he would have many descendants.

Back to the text.

Genesis 15:6–7 NKJV

And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”

Abram battled some doubt in the beginning of this passage, however he placed his faith in God. In verse 7 God reminds Abram of His track record. God has done everything that he said he would do for Abraham.

What does this say about Gods Character?

This lets us know that God is faithful and true, everything that God says is going to happen will happen. God is unlike anyone else, He is perfectly faithful and perfectly true. He will never fail.

Here is a passage that describes Gods Character

Deuteronomy 32:4 (NKJV)

He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.

Today we see Gods faithfulness both in our lives but also throughout the Bible. Where we see that God is faithful the most is in Him keeping his promise.

This seed of Abram is also how God accomplishes the promised seed to Adam and Eve. The one who would make everything right and who would defeat Satan. The reason why we talk about Abram and Adam and Eve and all of those who carried the promised seed between Abram and Mary is because of Jesus. He is the Promised seed and the reason why we can have a relationship with God.

Why is the Story of Abram and his promised seed important?

Abrams story is important because it leads up to Jesus.

Genesis 15:8–11 NKJV

And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” So He said to 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.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

Here in verse 8 Abram did not ask how he shall know in doubt, here he was asking for more information. Then God instructed Him to prepare some animals to His specifications.

Back to the text.

Genesis 15:12–16 NKJV

Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

Here God gives Abram a glimpse of the future. He lets Him know what will happen to his descendants.

Who can tell me what part of Israels history that God is telling Abram about here?

This is referring to the Israels captivity in Egypt and the exodus.

Back to the text.

Genesis 15:17–21 NKJV

And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

So here God expands on the promises that he has given Abram. He lets Abram know where the land is that he said he would take him to and that his descendants would be given that land, this is the promised land.

Take Aways

God is faithful.

God is the only one we can put our full confidence and faith in.

Jesus is the promised seed from Abraham who blesses all nations.