GOD SELECTS HIS PEOPLE
Genesis 17:1-14
NEVER TO OLD TO BE USED BY GOD
V:1. " When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord
appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be
blameless. "
A. You don't get to old to be used by God.
1. At 99 years
old, God had a message for Abraham.
2. This was a
reminder of the message that God gave Abraham at 75 years of age.
B. The requirements to be blessed by God are:
1. Acknowledge
that He is God all by himself.
2. Walk before
God. Walk according to His commandments.
3. Live according
to His righteousness.
GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES
V:2. " I will confirm my covenant between me and you
and will greatly increase your
numbers."
A. God made an
agreement with Abraham that did not require his approval.
1. At the time of
this covenant with Abraham, Sarah had
not conceived a child.
2. Abraham had a son by Sarah's maiden.
3. Abraham had nieces and nephews, but no
biological child between he and Sarah.
B. God promise a miracle conception between Sarah and
Abraham.
1. God also
promised generations of off springs .
2.Even though it
was 25 years since God first made the promise of a child,
Abraham still
trusted God. Gen 12:4
3. God does not work
on our time.
4. God works on
His divine time.
V:3-4. "Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
"As for
me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. "
A. The covenant God made with Abraham is the prophecy of the
nation of Israel .
1. The covenant
that God made with Abraham is also the prophecy of the Church.
2. The prophecy
that God made with Abraham is the prophecy of
salvation by
faith in the Word.
3. Abraham was
considered righteous because he believed God.
B. Abraham shows us how to approach God: face down.
1. When we go to
God, we must first humble ourselves.
2. Abraham had a
long history with God.
a. From his
first call, Abraham followed God's directions.
b. He trusted God
to lead him from his family into another place.
c. He knew the
voice of God and did not hesitate to respond to
Him
willingly.
3. In order to
respond to God like Abraham, we need to know
His voice.
4. When the voice
we hear lines up with God's Word. we will know it
is Him.
GOD WILL ELEVATED THE FAITHFUL
V:5-6. " No longer will you be called Abram; your name
will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make
you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. "
A. The name change from Abram to Abraham is the indication
of God's
elevation of
Abraham.
1. The name Abram
means exalted father.
2. The name
Abraham means father of a multitude.
B. Along with the
elevation of Abraham came the promise of his personal
success and the
success of his descendants.
1. In Genesis
12:7, God promised a son to Abraham.
2. At that time
Abraham was 75 years old.
3. The first 25
years of Abraham's relationship with God may have been
his time of
testing.
a. It may be
that God was molding and shaping Abraham into the kind
leader he
would need to be to start his family on the road of being
a nation.
C. Notice God is laying the ground work for Abrahams
descendants to
produce the king
of Kings; Jesus Christ.
1. In God's promise
was King David, King Solomon, and King Jesus.
2. God called King
David a man after His own Heart.
3. God made King
Solomon the wisest man to ever live.
4. God elected King
Jesus to be our salvation.
D. In God's covenant with Abraham is the promise of the
Nation of
1. God's covenant
with Abraham is called the Abrahamic Covenant.
2. In God's
covenant with Abraham is salvation by faith.
Gal 3:6
THE FAMILY OF THE FAITHFUL WILL BE BLESSED
V:7. "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting
covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations
to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. "
A. God says "I Will", meaning that this covenant
with Abraham is non conditional.
1. This covenant
depends only on the divine will of God.
2. This Abrahamic covenant is an everlasting
covenant.
3. God says, heaven and earth will pass away but
my Word will never pass away.
Matt 24:25
B. This covenant was not just with Abraham but with all
believers.
1. God establish
Himself as our God forever.
2. God said I
change not. Mal 3:6
3. God promised
to be our God for all times.
4. The Hebrew
word for God used here is Elohiym which means
the supreme
God.
WHAT GOD HAS FOR YOU IS FOR YOU
V:8. " The whole land
of Canaan
A. God's covenant with Abraham includes the promise land.
1. Abraham's
grand son Jacob and his family will go into Egypt
for 400 years and develop into a nation of
millions before
returning to
this promise land.
2. What God has
for you is for you.
a. This
promised land was occupied by the Canaanites until, God
got ready
for Israel to
inhabit the land.
b. Some of
the promises that God makes to us are reserved for a
later
time.
c. Abraham
and Sarah had a son, the start of the Nation of Israel,
but did
not see his descendants inhabit the promise land.
d. It is a
comfort to know that if you serve God faithfully, your
descendants will do well.
B. Our trust in God is a role model for our children and
grandchildren.
1. As parents and
grandparents, we set the standards for our
children to
follow.
2. Our children
need to see that we trust God in all circumstances.
GOD'S COVENANT IS FOREVER, OUR BLESSING ARE
CONDITIONAL
V:9. " Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you
must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations
to come.
10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after
you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. "
A. This is the conditional part of the Abrahamic covenant.
1. God promise is
non conditional.
2. Our individual
blessings are conditional, based on our obedience to
God's
commands.
B. God adds circumcision of each male as a personal
condition of
this covenant.
1. This
circumcision represents the personal commitment to God's
commands.
2. Each believer
must make a personal commitment to God.
AN OUTWARD SIGN OF A SPIRITUAL CHANGE
V:11-12. " You are to undergo circumcision, and it will
be the sign of the covenant between me and you.
12 For the generations to come every male among you who is
eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or
bought with money from a foreigner — those who are not your offspring. "
A. Israel was required to make this personal commitment to
God.
1. Fathers set the
standards for their children to follow.
2. We should
dedicate our children to God from the time they are born.
3. Everything we
do can affect those we love.
B. Every child born to us and those we take responsibility
for should
follow God's
commands.
1. God makes
parents responsible for the welfare of their children.
2. Train up a child
in the way they should go and when they get old
they will not
depart. Prob 22:6
C. The circumcision of the males set the nation of Israel
as apart
from nation who
worshipped Idol god.
1. Circumcision was an outward sign of an
inward change.
2. Our baptism is
an outward sign of an inward change to God.
ALL THAT YOU ACQUIRE IS BLESSED BY GOD
V:13-15. " Whether born in your household or bought
with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be
an everlasting covenant.
14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in
the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."
A. Notice the last sentence in verse 14. It is God's
covenant with
His chosen
people.
1. Circumcision was
included in the Abrahamic covenant as a sign
to all nations,
that Israel was
God's people.
2. God will not break
His covenant, it is permanent.
3. Man can choose
not to be under God's protection and provisions.
B. This requirement was for Abrahams descendants and any
male
who they took in
ownership .
1. Circumcision became part of the Law God gave Moses
400 years later.
2. Circumcision was
required until Jesus death on the cross which
fulfilled all
the requirements of the Law.
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Tollway North
For more lessons follow me on facebook or visit my blogs
www.revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
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