Chosen
Notes
Transcript
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I’m going to read just two verses from Genesis chapter 15
and then you can be seated
but we are going to look at chapters 15-17
So, feel free to keep your Bibles open.
18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
We’re going to talk about covenant relationship today.
Recap/Intro
Recap/Intro
Last week we started a series on Abraham called “Father of the Faithful”.
The first episode in the series was called “Called”.
And we looked at Genesis chapter 12
When God first Called Abram out of his country
out of his father’s house
and out from his kindred
We saw that being called of God is not always comfortable
It is not about going with the flow
It is not about following your heart or your feeling
It is not about being free spirited
Or finding the answer within yourself
Or about sitting idly by and waiting for something to happen
But being called means stepping out your comfort zone
We saw that being called also has conditions
We can’t just get called and remain the same
if we want to answer that calling
Abram had to make some changes
Abram had to leave things behind
He had to leave people behind
He even left his culture behind
To go to a land where God would establish a new culture
One that worshipped God and God alone
Tonight we are going to look at the next stage of Abram’s walk with God
He went from being called
to being Chosen in a covenant relationship with God
And there is a difference.
Between Being Called
and Being in Covenant
Many are called, Jesus said,
but few are Chosen.
Abram’s Father Terah was called
but Terah never entered into a Covenant relationship with God.
The truth is, God is calling all of us
Each one of us has a purpose
We have a place in this world
One that God planned before you were born
He is working to mold you and shape you
and equip you for that calling
but this world wants us to resist that molding
Paul said it this way:
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
God has a will for your life
But you won’t find that purpose
Pretending to be like this world
You won’t find that Calling
Confirming to the culture around you.
That’s Why God said… leave your county, kindred, and father’s house.
He needed Abram to step out into a desert place
Where he could start changing him
By the renewing of his mind
But Satan wants us to resist that changing and renewing process
And instead, be conformed to this world.
God wants to transform you
Satan wants you to conform
God wants you to stand out as a New Creature in Christ
Satan wants you to blend into this sinful world.
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
God formed each of us in the womb
And God had a plan for each of us…
and that “forming” process
“Shaped us”
David said this:
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Those words “I was Brought Forth” in English
Is one Hebrew word
That means to be brought forth through labor pains.
He is talking about being born
And in that process of birth
we leave the womb where God formed us
and enter this world of sin and iniquity
and all of a sudden there is this tension
between what God called us to be
and what this world wants us to be
And we have to decide
Will I be conformed to this world
or will I be Transformed by God’s Spirit
The transformation does not take place at your calling
The transformation takes place at your covenant initiation.
When your mind is renewed
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
When does this renewing of the mind take place?
It takes place when you repent, are baptized, and filled with God’s Spirit
and Then, the Mind of Christ can be in you.
And you are no longer the creature you once were
The old man of sin dies
And you may have been born into sin during your Mother’s Labor pains
But after being baptized in water
and filled with God’s SPirit
You are born again!
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
God’s desire for everyone is to be born again
into a new covenant relationship
That makes you not just a child of your earthly parents
but a child of God
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
When does this happen?
Believing in him gives you the right
but when do you actually become a child of God?
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
There is a process that God takes each of us through
To get us from being Called, to Being Chosen
And the enemy will offer you all kinds of routes
that lead you into some other direction
than the one God is taking you down
But if you learn to trust God
The end of the road God is leading you down
Will be a place called Heaven
and You will look back at a life that was blessed
by being in a Covenant relationship with the Creator of the World.
So, let’s look at when Abram was truly Chosen to be a man in Covenant with God.
We’ve been talking about Covenant a lot in our Mideweek Bible Study
On Tuesday nights as we walk through the book of Hebrews
and of course the writer of Hebrews is comparing and contrasting
The Covenant God made with Moses
and the Covenant God made with the NT Church
Your Bible is divided into two Testaments
Which is really another word for Covenant
And the Old Testament is about the Covenant with Moses
and the New Testament is about the Covenant with the Church.
However, this is a bit misleading.
Because the Old Testament doesn’t actually begin until the covenant with Moses
And the NT doesn’t actually begin until the day of Pentecost.
Prior to the OT Covenant with Moses
God made a Covenant with Adam and Eve
He made a Covenant with Noah
And we are looking at a Covenant God made with Abram
Who would later be called Abraham
And later there is a Covenant that God makes with David
So, there are many Covenants between God and man
all throughout the Bible
and Each covenant may have different stipulations
but the purpose is the same for them all
That God wants to be in a Covenant Relationship with HIS People.
And this Covenant that God is making with Abram
Is actually to establish who those people are
The people who will be God’s people.
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”
So God reminds Abram that he is Called
And that there is a promise for him regarding fatherhood
There is a promise attached to a calling
If the conditions of the calling are met
You can go from being called to being chosen
And then there is a even greater promise attached to a Covenant
The Promise attached to his calling was Land for his children
And that his children would be like the dust of the Earth.
But as we shall see,
that Promise is about to be extended to not just the dust of the Earth
But to the stars in the heavens.
But Abram is confused because God is promising him children — Plural
And Abram doesn’t even have ONE child — Singular.
Abram can’t see the promise because he is looking with his natural eyes.
Instead of simply Trusting that God’s Promises are forever settled
If God says it, take it to the bank.
It shall be done!
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
So, God expands the promise to include the stars in the Heavens
And I believe this is prophetically talking about the church.
Because the Jews are the biological children of Abraham
and to me, they represent the first promise
The dust of the Earth — Earthly children
But the stars are not of the earth
They are of the heavens
and So, they represent Spritual children
and God had plan from the start
to use Abraham to bless who??
Just the Jews?
No.
Go back and read it in chapter 12:
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
Thats the Jews… A — Singular — Great Nation
That comes from Abraham’s biological child Issac
and biological Grandchild Jacob.
But Look at vs 3:
We read this last week:
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Somehow, all the families of the earth will be blessed
Not just Abraham’s biological family
but all of us will be blessed through Abraham
This is talking about what Jesus did.
A son of Abraham
Who blessed all the families on the earth
But opening up a way for us to all be called
for us all to be chosen
for us all to be in a covenant relationship with God
Now, Of course Abram had some doubts
We all do
When God tells you about your calling and purpose
You don’t get the details
He doesn’t give you a map from point A to point B.
He just tells Abram to start walking by faith
And as time goes by
Abram is like… Well God
I’m still a nomad in this land you said would be mine
I’m still fatherless
My wife is still barren
What’s the deal?
I trust you.. but for how long?
How will I know you are going to do what you said?
8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
And the answer to this question is …
A covenant relationship with God.
God makes a covenant with Abram
And that is the proof that God will do what he said he would do.
right when Abram says, how will I know your promise is coming true…
God says…
9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Then Abram brings those things before God
And then he protects the sacrifice
and we could preach on that
but I need to hasten to the main point here.
Then verses 13-15
God lays out some details that will occur hundreds of years after Abram is dead
And then, God initiates the Covenant in verse 17
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
When Abram met the conditions of his calling
God took him further into a covenant relationship
And this should be the desire for all of us
Many are called, but few are chosen
Many want to make Jesus their savior
But they don’t want to step into a covenant relationship
and make Jesus their Lord.
But for those interested in a real relationship with God
You’ve got to step beyond the initial calling that God gave you
and seek a true covenant relationship with Him
For Abram, God performed a covenant initiation
that was common during Abram’s day
When one person was giving land to another person
The only difference is that typically
Both men had to walk through the middle of the dead animals
but When God entered a Covenant with Abram
He went through it twice Himself
Once as the smoking fire pot
and once as a flaming torch
God fulfilled both sides of the Covenant
And this is what Jesus did for us on the Cross
He was both the High Priest
and He was the lamb slain
And Jesus paid the price for all of our sins on the cross
and opened up the ability for anyone to enter into a covenant relationship with him
That is called Grace
A free gift from God
but this doesn’t mean that everyone is saved
Remember, many are called, but few are chosen
God may have fulfilled both ends of the Covenant with Abram
But watch what happens next
In chapter 16, we have the situation with Haggar
Where Sarai and Abram try to take matters into their own hands.
They tried to “figure it out” on their own
They tried to “help God” fulfill his promises
and I could preach a while about that.
But we need to move on to chapter 17
The situation with Hagar was a clear mistake
But what happens after the mistake?
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,
This is right after Abram had a child with Hagar
Right after his mistake
and You would think that the covenant is over
That God is out of the contract due to a breach
But instead God says… walk before me and be blameless
Wait a minute… I just messed up
and you’re telling me that I can be blameless?
Yes.
but on one condition
Walk before God
There is a big difference between walking before God
and stumbling
and not walking before God
and living in your sin.
Here’s the difference.
3 Then Abram fell on his face…
When God shows up after his mistake with Hagar
Abram’s response was to fall on his face.
This is the reponse of a person of repentance
When you come before a holy God
You should feel compelled to fall on your face before him
Because you know that you don’t deserve the Grace he is giving you
You know you didn’t earn, and could not earn his mercy
That’s repentance.
That’s Godly sorrow
That is how you stay in a covenant relationship with God.
That’s how you go from being called to being chosen
Watch what God says after Abram falls on his face
Remember, this is after his mistake
4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
What?
You just saw me mess up
You just saw me fall
And instead of punishing me
Instead of ending the covenant
You tell me that I’m not only going to be a father
but I’m going to be the father of many nations?
Nations here, is the Hebrew word “goyim”
And is the the term the Jews used for the Gentiles
Meaning… the people that are not Jews
The people of all the other races and ethnic groups
So, God says, I’m not just making you the father of the Jews
I’m going to make you the Father of all people
The Father of the Faithful
So, God takes a man that has failed
but then falls on his face before him
and expands his promise to all nations
And it is at this very point that God changes his name.
5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
At this point in the story,
We have a man who answered a calling from God
He met the conditions of that calling
And then he entered into a Covenant relationship with God
And then he failed God
And then He fell on his face before God
And then God extends his covenant to all people
And then God changes his name from Abram which means father
to Abraham which means Father of many nations
Closing
Closing
So, how does this apply to us today?
For you, God hasn’t promised you land and children
He has promised you eternal life
and if you ever begin to wonder
Like Abram did…
Lord, How will I know that you will give me Eternal life.
This is how you know…
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
You want to know how to be confident that God is going to give you eternal life?
If you have been filled with the Holy Spirit
You have received a guarantee of your inheritance
the Greek word for guarantee literally means deposit or downpayment.
When God fills you with his Spirit
He is literally giving you a downpayment on Eternal Life with him forever in Heaven.
And people today will argue that you don’t need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
But How else will you have Eternal Life
If the downpayment for it is not paid by God?
Do we think we can somehow Get to heaven without the downpayment being paid?
Are we to pay it ourselves?
Are we to expect God would give us a Mansion over yonder
If we haven’t let him make the downpayment on that house?
Abraham wanted to know for sure that God would come through
And God said… here’s how you’ll know.
And he made a Covenant with Him.
If you want to know for sure that God is going to give you what He promised
Let him make a covenant with you
Let him make the downpayment for you
Let him fill you with his Spirit.
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, …”
If you want to be in a covenant relationship with God
Let him put his Spirit in you
and Let him put his words in your mouth
That is the New Covenant
Peter told us what we needed to do in Acts 2…
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This is the New Covenant…
Repent, like Abram did with his covenant
He fell on his face before God after his sin with Hagar
That’s repentance
Then God changed Abrams Name
And when you are baptized in Jesus name
You are changing your name too
In fact, it is through baptism that we take on the name of Jesus
And if you do those things
God said.. I’ll put my Holy Spirit in you
I’ll write my laws on your heart
Even though you couldn’t be perfect before
Even though you made mistakes before
You can now walk blamless before me
Because we will be in a Covenant relationship
God truly desires that Covenant relationship with all people
No matter where you come from
No matter what you’ve done
God wants to put his Spirit in you
and He wants you to walk in his Spirit
and He wants you accept his downpayment on Heaven
Would you do that today?
Would anyone let God put his Spirit in you?
Let’s all repent together…
