Marked by the covenant
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Text: Genesis 17:1-14
Big Idea:
God's covenant not only gives us promises—it calls us to a transformed life
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Silence can be unsettling. Perhaps you've experienced it. You pray… But heaven seems quiet. You search the Scriptures… Yet you don't sense a fresh word from the Lord. You continue serving… But nothing seems to change.
Those seasons can cause us to wonder:
"Has God forgotten me?"
"Has God changed His mind?"
"Did I misunderstand His promise?"
That is exactly where Abraham finds himself.
Genesis 16 closes with the birth of Ishmael. Abraham is eighty-six years old. Then the curtain falls.
No recorded words from God.
No visions.
No angels.
No promises.
Nothing.
Year after year passes.
Ishmael grows from an infant into a teenager.
Sarah grows older.
Abraham grows older.
And God's promise still seems impossible.
Thirteen years… of silence.
Then Genesis 17 opens with one of the most encouraging statements in the life of Abraham:
"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram..."
Church, never mistake God's silence for God's absence. God had not forgotten His promise. He had not abandoned His servant. He had not lost control.
He was working according to His perfect timetable.
Isaiah reminds us:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 55:8–9)
How often in our lives do we feel that we do not see God working in a demonstrable way?
What looked like silence was actually preparation.
What Abraham could not see was that God was preparing the perfect moment to reaffirm His covenant.
And when God finally speaks, He does far more than repeat an old promise.
He reveals Himself in a new way.
He changes Abraham's identity.
He establishes a covenant sign.
He calls His servant to a deeper walk.
This morning, I want us to discover four truths about what it means to be marked by God's covenant.
I) The Covenant Begins with God's Sufficiency - (vv. 1–2)
I) The Covenant Begins with God's Sufficiency - (vv. 1–2)
(Vs. 1b) I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect."
The very first words God speaks are significant.
Before He mentions Isaac...
Before He mentions circumcision...
Before He mentions nations...
He reveals Himself.
"I am the Almighty God."
This is the first appearance of one of Scripture's great names for God:
El Shaddai.
God’s first words to Abram made an introduction and a declaration of His being. By this name El Shaddai (God Almighty), God revealed His Person and character to Abram. However, there is some debate as to what exactly the name El Shaddai means.
“A traditional analysis of the name is ‘God (el) who (sa) is sufficient (day).’” - Derek Kidner
“El shaddai, I am God all-sufficient; from shadah, to shed, to pour out. I am that God who pours out blessings, who gives them richly, abundantly, continually.” - Adam Clarke
It is the name by which the patriarchs came to know God. As God later explained to Moses,(Exodus 6:3
3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
It is the name that is used some thirty-one times in Job to encourage that man amidst his trials. Here in Genesis the name regularly occurs with the divine promise of descendants (cf. 17:1, 2; 28:3; 35:11; 48:3, 4). Its final occurrence in Genesis speaks eloquently of…
25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lieth under, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
He is the God who is enough. The God who lacks nothing. The God who never encounters an impossible situation.
Why introduce Himself this way?
Because Abraham is ninety-nine years old. Sarah is nearly ninety.
Humanly speaking… The promise is impossible.
God is saying:
"Abraham, stop looking at your body. Stop looking at Sarah's barrenness. Look at Me."
How often do we evaluate God's promises by our limitations? God never intended His promises to be measured by our ability.
They are measured by His ability.
Jeremiah would later proclaim… Jeremiah 32:17
17 Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
When Sarah laughs in the next chapter, God asks:
14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
Gabriel tells Mary:
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
The God who called Abraham is still El Shaddai.
He has not changed.
Imagine standing at the base of the Rocky Mountains with a teaspoon.
You could spend your entire lifetime trying to empty those mountains one spoonful at a time.
Impossible.
But what is impossible for man is effortless for God.
Many of our greatest worries come because we compare God's promises to our strength instead of comparing them to His.
"The Divine commands are always accompanied by Divine sufficiency." - A.W. Pink
God never commands what His grace cannot enable.
Then God says:
"Walk before me."
Literally:
"Live every day conscious that you are in My presence."
This is more than Sunday worship. It is a lifestyle.
The same command echoes throughout Scripture.
Enoch walked with God.
Noah walked with God.
Paul writes:
31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
"Be thou perfect."
Not sinless…
The Hebrew word carries the idea of being whole, complete, undivided.
God isn't calling Abraham to perfection.
He is calling him to wholehearted devotion.
Before God ever enlarges our ministry… He deepens our walk. Before He expands our influence… He strengthens our character.
God is always more interested in who we are becoming than what we are accomplishing.
God has reminded Abraham who He is. Now He reminds Abraham who he will become.
II) The Covenant Gives Us a New Identity - (vv. 3–8)
II) The Covenant Gives Us a New Identity - (vv. 3–8)
(Vs. 3) As this seems to be a direct, personal appearance of God, Abram did the proper and reverent thing; he fell on his face, showing submission and giving honor to God…
This is now the fourteenth time in Genesis that God has spoken directly to Abraham.
Yet he never becomes casual with the presence of God.
Reverence never goes out of style.
Then God says:
(Vs. 5) Names mattered in Scripture.
"Abram" means "exalted father."
"Abraham" means "father of a multitude."
Think about the irony.
God changes his name before the promise is fulfilled.
Every time someone called his name they were repeating God's promise.
"Father of a multitude."
Yet he had only one son—and that son was not the promised heir.
God often names us according to what His grace will accomplish, not merely according to what we presently are.
Simon became Peter.
Jacob became Israel.
Saul became Paul.
The new name reflected God's transforming work.
The same is true for every believer.
Paul writes:
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Our identity is no longer rooted in our past.
It is rooted in God's promise.
Charles Spurgeon beautifully said:
"God sees His people not merely as they are, but as His grace intends them to be." - C.H. Spurgeon
That is encouraging.
God sees beyond our failures.
Beyond our fears.
Beyond our weakness.
(Vs. 6-8) This is a re-issuing of the covenant originally given by God… Once again what a comfort to aging Abraham…
He sees the finished work His grace will accomplish…
The Covenant Calls for Complete Consecration - (Vs. 9–14)
The Covenant Calls for Complete Consecration - (Vs. 9–14)
If the first two truths have focused on who God is and who Abraham is becoming, these verses answer the question:
"How should God's covenant people live?"
Notice the progression.
God has revealed Himself.
God has renewed His covenant.
God has changed Abraham's name.
Now God says: (Vs. 9)
In other words...
Grace always comes before obedience.
God never says, “Obey Me so I will make a covenant."
He says, “I have made a covenant with you, therefore walk in obedience."
That principle echoes throughout Scripture.
Israel was redeemed from Egypt… Then God gave the Law. We are saved by grace… Then called to holiness.
Obedience never earns God's favor. Obedience flows from God's favor.
Then God institutes circumcision. (Vs. 10-13)
This is the first covenant sign given to Abraham's descendants.
Notice carefully— Circumcision was never the covenant.
It was the sign of the covenant. There is a tremendous difference. A wedding ring does not make someone married. It simply identifies a covenant already made.
A military uniform does not make someone a soldier. It identifies whose army they belong to.
Likewise...
Circumcision did not save Abraham. Faith had already done that.
Genesis 15:6 came before Genesis 17.
Paul makes this exact argument.
11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
That verse is critically important.
Abraham was declared righteous before he was circumcised.
Why?
Because salvation has always been by grace through faith.
Circumcision simply became the outward evidence that Abraham belonged to God.
But why circumcision?
Because God was marking the very line through which the promised Seed would come. Every generation would bear the reminder:
"We belong to God.
Our future belongs to God. The promised Messiah will come through God's covenant."
It was both deeply personal… and profoundly theological.
But even in the Old Testament… God made it clear He wanted more than an outward mark.
16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
The outward sign meant nothing without inward surrender. That is still true today.
It is possible to possess all the outward marks of religion… without possessing a transformed heart. Jesus confronted this repeatedly. The Pharisees looked righteous. But inwardly… Their hearts were far from God.
Paul writes:
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Today we are not marked by physical circumcision. We are marked by spiritual transformation. Christ has cut away the old life. We belong to Him.
God's people should live in such a way that the world recognizes whose they are.
"Holiness is the visible side of salvation." - C.H. Spurgeon
What a statement. The world cannot see your faith. But it can see your obedience.
The question isn't...
"Have I gone through a religious ceremony?"
The question is...
"Does my life bear the marks of belonging to Christ?"
God has revealed Himself. God has changed Abraham's identity. God has called for consecration.
How does Abraham respond?
That brings us to our final truth.
IV) The Covenant Calls for Immediate Obedience - (Vs. 14)
IV) The Covenant Calls for Immediate Obedience - (Vs. 14)
(Vs. 14)
Although we will study Abraham's full obedience next week, verse 14 introduces an important principle.
God takes His covenant seriously. Belonging to God was never intended to be casual. The covenant demanded a response.
And Abraham's response was immediate.
(Vs. 23)
Notice those words.
"In the selfsame day."
No delay.
No negotiation.
No excuses.
No partial obedience.
Immediate obedience.
One of the great marks of mature faith is prompt obedience. Delayed obedience is often disguised disobedience.
James tells us:
"Be ye doers of the word..."
Jesus said:
"If ye love me, keep my commandments."
Abraham's life demonstrates that genuine faith always produces obedience.
Not perfect obedience. But willing obedience.
A child who tells his father,
"I'll clean my room next month."
Hasn't obeyed.
He has postponed obedience.
How often do we do the same with God?
"I'll forgive later."
"I'll witness later."
"I'll surrender later."
Faith obeys while God is speaking.
Quote
Quote
Hudson Taylor once said:
"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply." - Hudson Taylor
Abraham trusted that if God commanded it… God would honor it.
CONCLUSION
Genesis 17 reminds us that God's covenant changes everything. It changes...
How we see God.
How we see ourselves.
How we live.
How we obey.
The covenant wasn't merely information. It demanded transformation. The same is true today. The New Covenant does not simply give us forgiveness.
It gives us a new heart.
A new identity.
A new way of living.
Paul says:
"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature."
Not improved.
New.
GOSPEL CONNECTION
GOSPEL CONNECTION
Circumcision pointed beyond itself.
It anticipated the greater work Christ would accomplish.
Jesus came to do what no outward ceremony could ever do.
He changes the heart.
He removes our guilt.
He gives us a new identity.
He marks us as His own.
INVITATION
INVITATION
Earlier I said that God doesn't merely make promises to His people.
He marks His people by His promises.
So let me leave you with three questions.
Am I walking before God—or merely believing in Him?
Has my identity been shaped more by my past—or by God's promises?
Does my life bear the marks of belonging to Christ?
Because the evidence of belonging to God has never been found primarily in an outward sign.
It has always been found in a heart that has been transformed by His grace.
"God doesn't merely make promises to His people—He marks His people by His promises."
