The Call of Abraham
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Intro:
AG:
TS: We have reached a pivotal passage in Genesis.
The promise given by God here has a fulfillment which extends through all of Scripture.
God introduces the Abrahamic Covenant in 12:1-3, and He will make it in ch 15.
God will renew the covenant
with Abram in ch 17
with Isaac in 26
with Jacob in 28.
This covenant is an everlasting covenant.
He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”
When they were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it,
Psalm
RS: The covenant initiated by God with Abram is still in effect today. We have experienced the blessings mentioned in the covenant and are children of Abraham by faith. While Israel and the church are two distinct entities, we share in some of the same blessings. Primarily, we are discussing the promise of eternal life. Israel is God’s nation and the church is the bride of Christ.
RS:
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
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.
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.”
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.
And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.
Gen 12:1-9
God Called Abram v.1-3
God Called Abram v.1-3
This covenant involves 4 things:
AG:
TS: Jesus is the middle of preaching a sermon. It started with the Beattitudes. As His congregation listened, Jesus tells them what people who are in His family look like. His sermon continued as He contrasted real righteousness with religious ritual as He called His disciples to a higher level of living.
Today, Jesus addresses a part of human nature that needs desperate reformation! is one of the best known and most frequently misused verses in the NT. Here Jesus says, “Do not judge.” If you lift that phrase out of its context, you wrongfully conclude that we literally have no business preaching that anything is right or wrong. “Who am I to judge?” is the often WRONG conclusion. To interpret this in that fashion makes Jesus contradict even Himself in other passages. In fact, a couple of sentences later He speaks of us helping remove sin and error in our brothers and sisters.
RS: Common sense tells us that there will be no real society if no one judged others. In an evil and sinful world, no community can exist for long where nobody is ever held responsible:
no citizen would sit on a jury or call a failed leader to account;
no teacher would grade a student's performance.
And, when you come to think of it, nobody would ever forgive anyone for wrongs he had done; we only forgive people for what we accuse them, and we blame them only after we have judged them.
Today, we want to gain a proper understanding of judgment and why we shouldn’t play Judge and Jury?
Judgement
Judge = means to pass judgment, to make a judgment.
Implied in this context ‘to condemn’ ‘to pronounce opinion on right or wrong’.
Judge, condemn, forgive
This scripture may be one of the most misinterpreted verses in the NT. When people through this verse at us, what is typically meant is –
“Don’t talk to me about my questionable behavior.”
Sometimes, we are simply making a statement about our uniqueness...to which we would all agree!
We are each unique. God created us this way, and we should celebrate our differences, and our diversity.
But that’s not exactly what Jesus is talking about here.
Jesus is not lowering the moral standard. Jesus is not saying everyone can just do what they want.
Remember, He spent the first part of his sermon raising the moral bar for everyone.
(You’ve heard it’s ok to divorce your wife - it’s not ok, you hear people pray fancy prayers for others to hear...that’s the wrong motive, etc)
Jesus often raised the moral bar, so as to say even to religious people...you are STILL in need of God.
What is Jesus saying?
As the context reveals, this does not prohibit all types of judging (v. 16).
There is a righteous kind of judgment we are supposed to exercise with careful discernment ().
Censorious, hypocritical, self-righteous, or other kinds of unfair judgments are forbidden; but in order to fulfill the commandments that follow, it is necessary to discern dogs and swine (v. 6) from one’s own brethren (vv. 3–5).
At issue here is the standard used to judge.
That puts it all in a new light.
He saying - be aware of the standard you use for others, because you shouldn’t use a different standard for yourself
We are held to the same standard to which we hold others.
Thus, we need to ensure we are using the right measuring tool when exercising discernment.
God’s word is truth
His word sanctifies us- It makes us holy.
Knowing His word
Living His word
Judging by His word is the only appropriate standard
Specks and logs
My 7:3-5
Think about the picture Jesus painted with His words.
Imagine going to the ER for a bit of sawdust in your eye, and the doctor who comes in to help you has a 2 x 4 sticking out of his own eye!.
Too often, we are quick to point out the sin in others and are blind to our own sins.
His advice:
Take Care of YOUR problem first
Remember that none of us is without sin
Seed
We must examine ourselves regularly and adjust accordingly.
This should be where we spend the bulk of time in discernment
Spend much more time analyzing ourselves than we do others.
Look for pride, lust, lies, etc.
Examine both actions and attitudes.
Thoughts and motives
Look in the mirror of God’s word often.
Compare yourself to Jesus and correct all in you which doesn’t measure up.
Hint, for all of us, it will be a long list!
It is noble to care for others and want to call them to repentance, but focus on fixing yourself primarily.
Notice the caution given in Galatians
Watch yourself. Don’t fall into the temptation
The temptation to pride and condemning the fallen is great
Then help those around you.
that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.”
Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,
“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
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.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
After we have removed our logs, then we can go on to call others to grow in Christ.
God promised to give Abram many descendants
Ultimately, to make a nation for Himself.
Implied in this is that we will aide our brothers and sisters remove specks.
Israel is that nation.
The seed also encompassed Jesus
Our aim is never to condemn then, but we do call each other to holiness.
We must guard against heresy
Wolves!
And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
We must push each other in godliness
Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.
Jesus was the ultimate point of the call of Abraham
God was setting in motion His plan of redemption.
God created a people from which He would take on flesh.
Land
Paul often addressed issues in the churches to which he wrote.
He even named names and specific sins they were publically committing
One last note:
We are to inspect the fruit of brothers and sisters.
This doesn’t apply to the lost.
They are lost, we expect them to live as reprobates!
They have no light of God’s grace, how could they do otherwise?
They need to hear the gospel of repentance.
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,
the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
All have sinned and are guilty before God the just judge
Including us
And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
God in His grace and mercy sent Jesus to take our punishment.
Israel has never occupied the full extent of the promised land.
He died, so we don’t have to die!
This is why people who take the Bible literally see that God isn’t finished with His people. They need to be here and will inherit the promised land.
Nation
He calls all men to repentance and faith.
If we come across as judgmental and condemning to our lost friends and neighbors, we are hindering the gospel
Love them!
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.
Tell them the good news!
“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
Puppies and Pigs
God created not just a people, but a specific nation.
It is to that nation, Israel, that God promised a King
Jesus is that Messiah and King
He is a descendant of David and is heir to David’s throne.
Blessing and protection
(MSBNASB): his principle is why Jesus Himself did not do miracles for unbelievers (13:58).
The Lord selected Abram
This is to be done in respect for what is holy, not merely out of contempt for the dogs and swine.
Nothing here contradicts the principle of 5:44.
That verse governs personal dealings with one’s enemies; this principle governs how one handles the gospel in the face of those who hate the truth.
The Lord selected Abram
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.”
This covenant was and remains unconditional in the sense of its ultimate fulfilment, salvation.
God obligated Himself, but didn’t require Abram to live up to anything.
God would send the Savior.
He would save people from throughout the world
However, it is conditional at phases along the way.
“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
The nation of Israel had to obey in each generation to experience blessings.
Gn 17:4
But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.
Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance.”
When you were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it,
wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people,
he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,
saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”
1 Ch 16:15-
G
The Lord directed Abram
They obeyed and God blessed.
leave his home
They disobeyed and God sent judgment
The Lord sel
Yet His ultimate plan was and is still fulfilled.
Salvation through Jesus Christ.
Abram Obeyed v.4-9
Abram Obeyed v.4-9
Abram Obeyed v.4-9
Abram Obeyed v.4-9
Abram Obeyed v.4-9
Abram did what the Lord said.
He believed the Lord, and acted.
His obedience is an example to us all
Trust God
take Him at His word
Believe what He has revealed in Scripture
Obey God
Do what He says
Put Scripture into action.
Lesson:
Lesson:
God keeps His word.
He isn’t finished with Israel, that is why in 1948 they once again became an independent nation.
God will keep His promises to us
All He has declared will take place
He will keep His Word!
Conclusion:
Conclusion: