David [00:00:01]:
So the last few weeks we’ve been talking about the blessing of the Lord and how the Lord desires for his children to be blessed. And we’ve been looking at all the different kinds of blessings and the way God blesses. Last week we talked about what God introduced was covenant blessings. So he introduced covenant with Noah and then with Abraham, then with the children of Israel in what we know it’s the old covenant.
David [00:00:49]:
And then through Jesus Christ in the New Testament, what we know is the new covenant and that word covenant. We’ll look at this again in a moment. But it meant a friendly alliance or an alliance of friendship and connection. Everything God has done throughout history since the beginning of the world, and even we saw in Ephesians last week before the foundation of the world, was so that we could be in relationship with him. We are his children, and his heart’s desire is to be in relationship with us. And so today we’re going to drill down into the Abrahamic covenant, the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant, and see why that’s important for us as believers today. And so let’s start. We’re going to look at several verses here today in Genesis where God begins talking with Abraham about being in covenant with him and what this means.
David [00:01:53]:
So the first verse we’re going to look at are verses are Genesis, chapter twelve, verses one through three. Genesis, twelve, one, three, says, now, the Lord said to Abram, get out of your country from your family and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. And so the blessing here in these verses, Genesis, twelve, one, three, the blessing of the covenant with the Lord. And we’re going to look at those what those are.
David [00:02:55]:
And so first the Lord said to him, I will make you a great nation. And so that word make there in the Hebrew means to fashion, I will fashion you as a great nation. I will accomplish in you a great nation. Or through you will come a great nation. I will work in you to produce a great nation. I will produce through you a great nation. It also means to act with effect, my actions in you and through you will take an effect, cause a great nation to come from you. I will bring about, put in order.
David [00:03:43]:
I will appoint and ordain a great nation in you and through you and that word. So that’s what God’s doing when he says, I will make, he’s doing all those things. The definition there for making the Hebrews, to fashion, to accomplish, to work, to produce, to act with effect, to bring about, to put in order to appoint and ordain the word great. There in the Hebrew, I will make you a great nation. That word great means large in multitude, number, large in number, large in importance. God is going to create a great, massive nation, a nation that is important to the world around them. Then God goes on to tell him, he goes, I will bless you. This is the same word that God used over Adam and Eve when it said, and God blessed them and said to them, and we saw that that word bless their means cause to be prospered by God.
David [00:04:56]:
Which means prospered means empowered to advance, to make progress, to succeed, to profit. God says to Abraham the same thing he said to Adam, to Eve and to Noah, I will bless you. I empower you to advance, make progress, succeed and to profit. Then he goes on to tell him, I will make your name great. And so great here means to grow, means to become powerful, to magnify, because your name will grow in influence, and power means your name will become powerful, your name will be magnified, you will be known Abraham and have a name of influence, of power, of authority. I will make your name great. Then he goes on to say, and you shall be a blessing. Wow.
David [00:06:03]:
And so the word blessing there in this sense means that Abraham becomes a source of blessing, a source of prosperity, a source of peace, a gift. He becomes a praise to God. A praise to God. His blessing brings praise to God. So Abraham is a blessing to those around him. And because he has the power to advance, to make progress, to be successful, to profit, he blesses those around him by doing the same thing with them. Amen. And so he becomes a source of blessing.
David [00:06:52]:
And then the Lord goes on to say this here in Genesis twelve, I will bless those who bless you. And again, there’s that word blessing again that says you’re empowered to advance, make progress and succeed, to profit. So God said, all of those who blessed you, I’m going to bless them. I’m going to give them the same ability I’ve given you. I’m going to give them the ability to advance, make progress, succeed and profit. And then he goes on to say, I will curse those who curse you. And to curse meant to utter a wish of evil against one, to imprecate evil upon someone, to call for mischief or injury, to fall upon someone. Now, while I believe God will speak, it says there in the, in the king James, it says against him, I will curse him who curses you.
David [00:07:53]:
And so I believe, not only does this mean the person who curses you, but also the enemy, Satan. Hallelujah. God will stand in our behalf against the enemy, our soul. And he will bring upon him what he tries to put on us. And he says that several places in scripture. And so one place there in Malachi, I remember, he says, I will rebuke the devourer for your sake. And so God is standing in our behalf, ready to go to battle for us. No weapon formed against you will prosper.
David [00:08:35]:
Every tongue that rises into you in judgment shall be shown to be in the wrong. For this is heritage of the saints of the Lord. Hallelujah. The children of God. So God curses those who curse him. And then he ends here in genesis, chapter twelve by saying, and you, abraham or Abram, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. All the families of the earth shall be blessed. And again, that word blessed there means empowered to prosper, empowered to advance, make progress, succeed and profit.
David [00:09:17]:
So the whole earth, all the families of the earth are going to be impacted by you, Abraham. Hallelujah. Wow. We’re just in the beginning of all. God is saying about this covenant with Abraham and already Mandev. That’s a lot. Praise God for that. Then God goes on in chapter 13, verses 14 through 17.
David [00:09:41]:
Let me read this to you. Genesis 13 1417 and the Lord said to Abram, after lot has separated from him, lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are, northward, southward, eastward and westward. For all the land which you see, I will give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to, to you. And so the declaration of blessing over Abraham here in chapter, Genesis, chapter 13 is this, I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth. And that word make there in the Hebrew means to put to place, to set them, to appoint them. God has a place set apart for them, appointed for them, a place for them, a place where he wants to put them.
David [00:11:02]:
And so what we’re going to see as we move on, God wants the same thing for you. He has a place for you, a place set apart for you, a place appointed for you. And he wants to bring you to that place. Hallelujah. Now, God goes on to Genesis 15 one six to bring even more clarity to this. In Genesis, chapter 15, verses one through six, it says this and these things. The word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision, saying, do not be afraid, abraham, I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. But Abram said, look, God, what will you give me, seeing I go childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? Then Abram said, look, you have given me no offspring.
David [00:11:58]:
Indeed, one born in my house is my heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, this one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir. Then he brought him outside and said, look now toward heaven and count the stars if you are able to number them. And he said to them, so shall your descendants be. And he believed in the Lord. Abram believed in the Lord, and he accounted it to him for righteousness. Wow. And so the blessing here, God says to Abraham, I am your shield.
David [00:12:44]:
And that word shield there means defender. Protector. I am here for you, Abram. I am by your side. I will protect you. I will wrap myself around you as like a shield. Then he said to him, I am your exceedingly great reward. Exceedingly here in the Hebrew means abundance to a great degree, muchness.
David [00:13:15]:
God says, I am your abundance to a greater degree, your muchness. And then the word great there means to multiply, to increase greatly, to make much. So I’m exceedingly great. I’m exceedingly multiplying you, exceedingly increasing you. I am making you much. And the word reward there I’m. Your exceeding great reward means wages. It means payment, means a fee that’s given to you, whatever it might be.
David [00:13:52]:
God says, I’m coming to you with exceeding greatness, to reward you, to bless you. And this is going to be as if somebody were paying you wages. I’m going to bless you and your household, your field, your cattle, everything in your life. And so we see this. And then he says to him, now, look toward heaven and count the stars. And if you are able to number them, so shall your descendants be. And we looked at that word be there in Genesis 128 when we were talking about Adam and Eve. And the Lord said to them, be.
David [00:14:36]:
And we saw that that word be meant to exist, to abide, to remain, to continue. And so, so shall your descendants be. They’re going to be like the stars innumerable. If you could count them, they could be numbered, but you can’t count them. Those stars are innumerable, and so shall your descendants be. They’re going to be innumerable. They’re going to exhaust exists. It’s a great nation, as many they’re going to abide here in this land and remain and continue.
David [00:15:14]:
And then it goes on to say that Abraham believed in the Lord. Abraham believed in the Lord. That word believe there means to stand firm, to trust, to be certain. Abraham knew what God said is true. And I’m standing firm in this. I’m trusting God. I am certain that God is going to do what he’s said he was going to do. And the verse goes on to say, and the Lord accounted it to him for righteousness, because Abraham believed in him, had faith in him, God accounted it to him for righteousness.
David [00:15:57]:
And righteousness means vindication, justification, salvation and prosperity, that empowerment to advance and be more. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Because of Abraham’s belief and faith in the Lord and what he said, God saw him as righteous. Amen.
David [00:16:27]:
Just like when we stayed our faith and believe in the Lord and in the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior and our redeemer, God says, you are righteous. You are in right standing with me. Amen. God goes on in Genesis 17, verses one through seven to again elaborate on this covenant with Abram. When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said, I am almighty God, walk before me and be blameless, and I will make my covenant between me and you and will multiply you exceedingly. Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, as for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham. Because I have made you a father of many nations, I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you.
David [00:17:41]:
And kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you and their generations, for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and your descendants after you. Wow. He said, here I am, almighty God. Almighty God means all powerful, all power, all authority, all influences of mind. Says, Lord, that is who I am to you. I am the all powerful God, and I will multiply you exceedingly, multiply again to become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous, to increase. This is starting to sound like Genesis 128, where he said, be fruitful and multiply.
David [00:18:42]:
Because he goes on to say, here, I will make you exceedingly fruitful. Not only will I multiply you, I will make you fruitful, and fruitful means to increase, to bear fruit, to grow, to become much, to branch out. Hallelujah. God’s heart from the beginning was for mankind to be fruitful and multiply is still his heart for us today, his children. He wants us to be fruitful and multiply. We need to believe that we can be fruitful and multiply. We need to believe and know that that is God’s heart for us, and we embrace it, and we can walk in that in every dimension and area of our life. Amen.
David [00:19:27]:
Then he goes on to tell Abraham again here in these sources, I will establish my covenant between me and all your generations for an everlasting covenant. Establish means, fulfill means, to ratify means to confirm it, means to make binding. I will be bound to this covenant with you, Abraham. I’m going to confirm it. I’m going to ratify it, and I’m going to fulfill it. I will establish my covenant, covenant with you. Secondly, as we’ve said before, covenant means alliance of friendship. It’s a pledge of God to be in relationship with us, to be with us, for us, in us, to work through us.
David [00:20:14]:
Hallelujah. And he goes, not only will I establish this covenant, this alliance of friendship with you, it’s going to be everlasting. There are no limits on this covenant. It is forever. It is always, it is continuous. It is perpetual. It is a never ending future. Never ending future.
David [00:20:43]:
It is eternal. That’s what that word everlasting means. Forever, always continuous, perpetual, never ending future. Eternal. God is saying, this covenant is for you and every generation that’s coming. For those who are my people and follow after me, this is my word to them. I will bless them and make them exceedingly great, multiply them and make them fruitful. The Lord goes on to say in Genesis 17, here in verse 1516, then God said to Abraham, as for Sarah, your wife, you shall not call her Sarah, but Sarah shall be her name, and I will bless her and also give you a son by her.
David [00:21:41]:
And then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations, kings of peoples shall be from her. And then in verse 19 here, Genesis 17, verse 19, the Lord goes on to say, then God said, no, Sarah, your wife, no, Sarah, your wife, shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And the Lord had to say that to Abraham because Sarah had gotten the idea, well, I’m too old. I’m going to give you my handmaiden. And Abraham, you can bear a son through her, which Abraham did. That’s how Ishmael came in to be. But God came back and said, no.
David [00:22:29]:
I said, I’m going to do it through your wife Sarah. Then Genesis 18, this is verses nine through 14. The Lord comes and says this to Abraham. Then they said to him, where is Sarah, your wife? And so three men have come, and the lord has come, and he’s visited Abraham, him and a couple of angels. And they say, where is your wife Sarah? So he said, here in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return to you according to the time of life. Behold, Sarah, your wife shall have a son. Sarah was listening in the tent door, which was behind him.
David [00:23:11]:
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age, and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore, Sarah laughed with thin herself, saying, after I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh, saying, shall I surely bear a child since I am old? Is anything too hard for the lord? And at the appointed time I will return to you according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Now a couple key things here about this. Number one, is anything to hard for the Lord Jesus said, all things are possible to him who believes nothing is impossible with God. What might be impossible with man is not impossible with God. Is anything too hard for the Lord? No. And God wants us to know that. God wants us to know that.
David [00:24:21]:
And he said this. After that, he followed that with this, at the appointed time I will return to you, and Sarah shall have a son. And here’s what we know. God is faithful to his word. Hallelujah. God is faithful to his word. Genesis 21 one three gives us insight into this. And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said.
David [00:24:51]:
And the Lord did for Sarah as he had spoken for Sarah, conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of the son who was born to him, who Sarah bore to him, Isaac. And then Genesis 22 918. Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order. Now so before I go on to read all of this, let me say this. God was faithful to his word, and he did what he said he would do. Sarah bore Isaac to Abraham.
David [00:25:41]:
Now, as Isaac is older, he’s somewhere between around twelve to 1415 years old here. And the Lord says to Abraham, I want you to go to a certain mountain and I want you to worship me there and present a sacrifice. And then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order. And he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, abraham. So he said, here am I.
David [00:26:28]:
And he said, do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked. And there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place. The Lord will provide one translation. It says, Jehovah Jireh.
David [00:27:03]:
As it is said to this day in the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided or it shall be seen. Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven and said, by myself, I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, blessing. I will bless you and multiplying. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. And in your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. And so we see the blessing here in this verse, number one, the Lord will provide. And as I said, that word there in the Hebrew was Jehovah Jireh, the all sufficient one, the one who is omnipotent, who has all power, all provision, all provision is within him.
David [00:28:09]:
God will make a way. Where there seems to be no, the Lord will provide. This is not only true for Abraham, it’s true for all of us today. God has a way for you. God has made a way for you. He has made provision for you in every area of your life, in every scenario. God has a way for you. And then he goes on to say blessing, I will bless you.
David [00:28:42]:
So again, that word bless there means to be prospered by God empowered to advance, make progress, succeed and profit. I will bless you as I am blessing. God is a God of blessing, and so he’s looking for every opportunity to bless you. You just need to believe it and receive it. Amen. Believe it and receive it. God says, in blessing, I will bless you. Then he goes on to say, in multiplying, I will multiply your descendants, to become great, to become many, to be much, become much, to be numerous, to increase.
David [00:29:27]:
God wants to increase his children. Hallelujah. Seest. Grow and become many, become much. And he goes on to say, your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies. They’re going to be overcomers, victors. And in you and your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. And again in you.
David [00:29:51]:
All the nations of the earth shall be prospered by God, empowered to advance, make progress, succeed, and to profit. Why? You have obeyed my voice. And that word obey there means to listen, it means to agree, it means to consent, to yield to. It’s like the writer in proverbs three, five and six says, don’t lean on your own insight and understanding and wisdom, but lean on the Lord, his insight, his understanding and wisdom. And in so doing, and listening to him, he will make your path plain and straight. One translation says, removing all obstacles, God is there as we obey him, as we listen to him, as we follow after him, he is there to make the way for us. Amen. Galatians now we’re going to move into the New Testament and see how everything I’ve talked about, all these blessings that are a part of the abrahamic covenant, how do they impact us today as believers? Let’s look at this.
David [00:31:07]:
Galatians three, five, nine says this. Therefore, he who supplies the spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Just as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Therefore, know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. Or you could say those who believe God, what he says are sons of Abraham. And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, so we’re justified by our faith in God, our belief in God. He preached the gospel to Abraham, the good news to Abraham beforehand, saying, in you all the nations shall be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. And so when we believe, just like Abraham believed, and we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, we walk in agreement with the covenant that God made with Abraham, and we are blessed with believing Abraham as we believe all these blessings come on us.
David [00:32:30]:
Galatians 313 and 14. Paul goes on to say this, Christ has redeemed us. He has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us. For it is a written curse, that is, everyone who hangs on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith. So through faith in Christ Jesus, our believing in him, the Holy Spirit is able to work in us and through us and bring upon us the blessing of Abraham. That eternal covenant that God made with Abraham, it’s still good for us today, for our generation, for whoever we are and wherever we are, that blessing, that covenant is for us also. It’s included as a part of what we call the new covenant, which is a covenant we have with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior. Paul goes on to end Galatians chapter three, verse 28 29.
David [00:33:49]:
Galatians 328 29 by saying this, there is neither jew nor greek, there is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ. And if you are Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. I am Christ. I’m a believer. I am saved, sanctified, filled with the Holy Spirit. I am one with the Lord.
David [00:34:22]:
And because of that, I am the seed of Abraham also, and I am an heir of his according to the promise. So all these blessings we talked about today, and I’m going to read them off to you here in a moment, they’re ours. They’re yours. They’re mine. We can get up every day declaring, thank you, Lord, for your blessing. Thank you. And God said to this, here’s all the things the Lord said to Abraham. I will make you a great nation.
David [00:34:54]:
And as we come into Christ, we’re a part of that great nation. He says, I will bless you, blessing you. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse those who curse you. And you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
David [00:35:17]:
And let me stop right there for a moment. That includes you. God is going to bless those around you. Through you, I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth. We’re a part of that. We’re a part of that as believers today. He says, I am your shield. The Lord Jesus is your shield.
David [00:35:37]:
And he sounds you, surround you with his grace and his favor as with a shield. I am your exceedingly great reward. Hallelujah hallelujah. Hebrews eleven six. Have faith in God and believe in him, and that he exists and that he is a rewarder of all those who diligently seek him. Look now toward heaven and count the stars. If you are able to number them, so shall your descendants be. We’re still increasing today.
David [00:36:11]:
We’re still growing today. Abraham believed in the Lord and the Lord accounted it to him for righteousness. When we believe in the Lord and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior is accounted to us for righteousness, we are known as serve. Righteous. I am almighty God. He says, I multiply you exceedingly. I make you exceedingly fruitful. I establish my covenant between you, me, and all your generations for an everlasting covenant.
David [00:36:45]:
Is anything too hard for the Lord? Hallelujah. The Lord will provide. And we know that. We saw that because at the appointed time he returned and Sarah bore Abraham. Isaac. God provided a ram in the thicket. God is a provider for all of us today. Hallelujah.
David [00:37:09]:
Hallelujah. The all powerful God, el shaddai Jehovah Jireh. Our provider. Glory to God. We are blessed with faithful Abraham. We are blessed with faithful Abraham. And it goes on to say, multiplying. I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens and the sand of the seashore.
David [00:37:34]:
Your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies. And in your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. You have obeyed my voice. Hallelujah. All of that is true for us today. All of that is true for us today. We are blessed beyond. Hallelujah.
David [00:37:55]:
Glory to God. Let’s bow our heads in prayer. Father, we thank you this day for your blessing. Thank you for all that you’ve done to come into relationship with us. Thank you for this alliance of friendship and connection you have with us. Lord, thank you for your promise, your pledge to us that forever and always, everlasting into all eternity, Father, you will be here with us, for us, in us, working through us, blessing us beyond measure, and we will walk in your blessing forever and ever and ever. And God, we thank you for it. We rejoice and celebrate today in your blessing.
David [00:38:41]:
Hallelujah. Pastor Kanye is coming with a closing word and a prayer. God bless you and be with you this week. And I pray that you walk in abundant blessing in everything you do and say and everyone you interact with this week in Jesus name. So be it. Amen.
