Genesis 15

Bible Passage:  Genesis 15

Child of God,
as you read this,
bring your Bible,
open it,
turn to Genesis 15,
quieten down,
listen to His story.

God’s Covenant with Abram

One night God spoke to Abram in a vision.
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
But Abram said,
“Lord God, what will you give me…
look, You have given me no offspring;
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 him,
“So shall your descendents be.”
And he believed in the Lord,
and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Now,

think about these questions.

1.    Whom did God tell Abram would inherit his possessions?

2.    God told Abram that his descendants would be numerous as what?

3.    What did God account him for?

I am a son of Abram and know you are too,
because only those of faith are sons of Abram.
By faith we obtain salvation not by our works.
You may hear this sermon or this verse about keeping your faith,
but are you actually a hearer of faith?

The hearing of faith means to walk with God;
it means believing, repenting, accepting baptism,
praying for the infilling of the Holy Spirit and to obey and walk in the Spirit.
Determined, we must walk closer daily with Him.

Remember that we are as the stars in the sky,
descendents of Abraham blessed with a heavenly inheritance.
In the end, God will account us for righteousness through faith.
It means working, serving God, doing something to draw closer to Him everyday.
So, have you really heard of faith?

Prophecy on the Descendants of Abram

Then He said to him,
“I am the Lord, who brought you out…
to give to you this land to inherit it.”
And he said,
“Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”
So God told him to do sacrifice an offering.
When the sacrifices were laid,
the birds of prey came down upon them
and Abram drove them away.
Then when Abram was in a deep sleep,
God told Abram:
his descendents would sojourn in a foreign land
and they would be oppressed by the foreigners for 400 years.
After which God would punish the foreigners
and his descendents would be free from bondage with great possessions.
At sunset there was a smoking oven
and a flaming torch that passed through the carcasses,
and this was God’s evidence.
On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,
to give his descendents the land of Canaan
from the river of Egypt to the River Euphrates.

And,

some more questions to think about.

1.    Why did God ask Abram to offer?

2.    Why did Abram’s descendents have to sojourn in a land where they will be oppressed 400 years?

3.    What was the covenant the Lord made with Abram?

Like Abram, we always need this reassurance from God.
And God reminds us time and time again of His promise,
as we offer ourselves to God,
He shows us His plan and how He will fulfil His promise.

Like Abram’s descendents, we are sojourners in this world.
While we journey along in this world we will be oppressed,
oppressed because of sin.
Desire stirs in us which leads to sin. Sin enslaves us.

However, God knows everything-He knows we are weak.
And God has freed us from the bondage of sin.
He has kept His promise; He has showed us His plan,
a beautiful plan of salvation, of a hope in returning home,
a perfect home of love and life.

Just remember, He keeps His promise.