Genesis Session 23

God never makes a promise He won’t keep. This is a truth you can take to the bank. If God says it will be so… you can believe that it will be so.

How many promises of God are we aware of tonight? I want us to list off as many as we can think of.

The promise given to Adam and Eve

The promise of healing

The promise of forgiveness

The promise of a Savior/Messiah

The promise of eternal life

The promised consequence of sin

The promise of Jesus’ return

The promise of God’s never ending love

The promise of the efficiency of God’s grace

We can list many promises tonight that is for sure! And the cool part of this is… we have experienced His promises at work in our lives!

In our study of Genesis, we are going to see Abram focused on one promise… and rightfully so. For it was a promise that God spoke directly to Abram, and it was a promise that seemed… impossible. Everything Abram knew about the promise given was impossible given the physical circumstances.

And that is where we often get ourselves into trouble regarding the promises of God. We know His promises and read about them in the Word. We know that His promises are yes and amen… but we struggle in understanding how those promises will come to be because we cannot see beyond our physical circumstances.

Abram had successfully rescued Lot from the kings who had taken him captive. Abram remained faithful to God throughout the entire situation.

Remember: Abram rescued lot from an army made up of an alliance of four kings. Abram routed them with 318 trained men!

Now, I’m not sure what kind of “training” these guys had but numerically, the odds were in favor of the four kings. THAT’S WHAT THE PHYSICAL CIRCUMSTANCE TOLD THEM.

But spiritually, Abram knew God was with them. Abram knew this was in God’s hands. The 318 trained men were but a faith response to what Abram knew God could do.

God can do ALL things! But all things won’t happen unless action is placed to our faith!

In the next chapter, we see God make a covenant with Abram. And once again, Abram will have to overlook the physical circumstances and trust in the spiritual realities.

Tonight we are going to study two promises, and one response. Tonight we are going to see God speak to Abram and make a covenant with him…

Abram will have the opportunity to do one of two things in response to the covenant.

Will he believe God and continue to act according to faith?

Will he “believe” God but act according to his physical circumstances?

God’s Promise of Offspring

Genesis 15:1–5 NIV

1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

God speaks to Abram in a vision and offers incredible words of reassurance.

Do not fear.

Fear is a very powerful and controlling emotion. Fear is something we learn through experience and situations. Fear is something that can keep us from moving in faith.

Fear is a natural response. God is calling us to respond in a different way. God calls us to respond by faith.

Faith is the ONLY way by which we can move beyond the physical limitations of our world. Fear keeps us bound by what we “know.” Faith unlocks us to experience what we believe.

We know God is able. How many have missed out on experiencing this truth because fear kept them in a place of physical inability?

Next, God tells Abram that He is his shield and reward.

God will protect him. God is Abram’s reward. God has amazing things in store for Abram!

Now, why do you suppose God spoke to Abram this way in this vision?

I would suggest it was because Abram was feeling afraid, he was feeling vulnerable, and he was questioning the future ahead.

God had given Abram the promises before… but Abram was feeling the weight of the physical limitations around him.

GOD KNEW ABRAM’S HEART so He opened a dialog with Him to reassure Abram of the promise. With the conversation now started, Abram reveals what he was feeling on the inside.

I HAVE NO KIDS. I CAN’T HAVE MORE KIDS.

And… according to the world, Abram’s statement was absolutely true. How could this reality possibly change with the circumstances Abram faced?

Abram’s feelings were in line with what the world was telling him.

God moved and reminded Abram that God’s promises… are NOT based on or controlled by the circumstances of the world.

He moves Abram from a position of fear, vulnerability, and hopelessness, back to a position of promise and purpose.

God’s Promise of Land

Genesis 15:7–21 NIV

7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” 8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

God promises Abram the land. But this promise looks a bit different. Abram himself will not inherit the land, but his people will… in roughly 400 years.

But before they get the land, they will suffer.

YIKES! 400 years of suffering as slaves in a land that does not belong to them! What kind of promise is that???

This one might be kind of tough to swallow. Abram is encouraged that he will in fact have a child. Abram has to be encouraged when he hears that his descendants will inherit the land.

But Abram might be taken back when he hears that his descendants will be slaves, first. Yet God does not hold back the truth from Abram.

I do not believe anyone one of us would want to hear that our children are going to experience days of hardship that will last for generations! 400 years is a long time!

But what is interesting here is that God is giving Abram a glimpse of both the short-term and long-term promises ahead.

What might be an example of such a promise that has been extended to us? The return of Jesus Christ. He could come at any moment. Yet we know in all tings God has a plan.

We know that Jesus WILL return when all that needs to be done is done. Not sooner, not later. God’s timing is perfect.

The same goes for Abram.

Yes they will get the land… but they will experience a season of pain… as they draw closer to the promise. And what was the purpose of the pain? Verse 16 gives the details. The sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.

God would use the Israelites to drive out the Amorites after the season of enslavement.

This culture was known for a lot of terrible things… and God would judge that sin accordingly. The Israelites would receive from God what He promised them… according to His plan and will for their lives.

We see only but a small portion… God sees the picture in its entirety.

Similar to an airline control tower. They see everything that is going on and give out instructions as needed. If a pilot ignores those instructions, he/she might fly into danger. They have to trust the control who sees all that is going on to guide them.

The Holy Spirit works in the same way. We see only in part, but God sees the whole. It might be difficult for us to understand the full picture, so we must trust in God as He leads us.

Ever found yourself in a situation on wonder why God allowed you to experience the roughness of a season? Ever get fixated on a moment… and forget the big picture?

When we say God has a plan… it’s not just a plan for today or tomorrow. His plan encompasses the rest of time as we know it… and beyond even that!!!!

God shares with Abram His plan. God even gives him details of what will happen.

Abram will not see all of it come to pass… BUT NONE OF IT WOULD HAPPEN if Abram said no to God’s plan and yes to his own agenda.

So what would Abram do?

Abram’s Response to God’s Promise

Genesis 15:6 NIV

6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Abram believes God. And God credits Abram’s belief or faith to him as righteousness.

This is the first time in Scripture we read anything like this. In the Old Testament, faith implied two things.

It implied trust in God and loyalty or faithfulness. The word translated “believe” means to demonstrate trust by continually acting in obedient faith. Thus, true faith will prove itself through practical action.

This was the kind of faith Abram had. he was devoted to God AND proved his devotion by obeying God and submitting to His plan.

Secondly, God saw in Abram’s heart an attitude of faith and credited or accepted it as righteousness.

The term “righteousness” means being in right relationship with the Lord and His will. Abram’s faith was firmly found in God and His plan.

Third, in the NT, receiving God’s blessing and having a right relationship with Him also requires faith. Faith is the key to being made righteous through justification.

All-in-all, Abram chooses to believe and his belief is credited to him as righteousness. Abram trusts the Lord.

God will ALWAYS make good on His promises. But… will we always make the choice to believe Him?

Our faith must override any emotion our circumstance tries to stir up within us. Our faith must triumph over feelings like fear, doubt, worry, hopelessness, giving up, etc. GOD WILL COME THROUGH.

The key is trusting in the Lord as He sees and orchestrates the WHOLE picture. Will we listen to His guidance through His Word and Spirit? Or will our eyes become fixated on our circumstance… and our vision be limited to what the world has to offer?

Have faith and believe… for the Lord’s promises are yes and amen!