Old Testament: 2 Chronicles 36:11-23
New Testament: John 8:31-59
God Has Spoken
“The Progress of Redemption – Pt 2”
Genesis 12:1-9
Two purposes for this sermon series:
- To prove that God has spoken in time and in history, revealing Himself and His purpose for life, and therefore His purpose for our individual lives.
- To prove to God’s people, that regardless how the evidence may appear to the contrary, God’s purposes are being carried out according to His divine plan. God’s will was established in eternity past and it is forever settled in eternity future! It cannot be changed.
God’s purpose is raise up a people whose only desire is to give Him the glory and honor due His holy name and to fill this earth with His glory! Numbers 14:21
We have covered the events of the Age of Man/Sin:
- God created man in His image and communed with him, face to face, because man was holy/without sin.
- Adam and Eve fell for Satan’s lie and God removed them from His presence, His protection and His provision, to provide for themselves through labor.
- God also promised a Savior through the “seed” of Eve who would eventually crush the head of Satan. (3:15)
- That “seed” was Jesus Christ, born through the womb of Mary, but sent from God to be our Savior. (Gal. 4:4)
We have covered the events of the Antediluvian Age:
- When God saw there was no end to the wickedness of man, He determined to remove him from earth. (6:13)
- God spared the human race through “Noah”, the only man on earth who found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
- God established His first covenant with Noah and He confirmed it with the rainbow: (9:1-17)
- They were to multiply and replenish the earth.
- He would never destroy the earth again as He had through the flood.
Two applications from this section of scripture/history:
- The gate into heaven is “narrow” – only a few find it! After 2000 years, and 120 years of preaching, only eight people were saved – Noah and his own family.
- The progress of redemption may appear to be slow, but God will never fail to keep His promises.
The period between Genesis 11:32 and 12:1 is the most important break in the history of mankind:
- In the events of Genesis 1-11, God established man’s need for redemption – apart from God’s grace mankind will never be able to glorify God!
- In Genesis 12:1-3, God revealed His plan to “call out from the world”, a people who will believe in Him; a people He would redeem by His grace, who then would be able to glorify His name forever.
- That next step in the progress of redemption is revealed in the Abrahamic Covenant – Genesis 12-22
God initiated the Covenant through His Call to Abraham – Genesis 12:1-3
- Vs 1 – When God first called Abram, he left his father’s house, his father’s fortune and his father’s faith, but he took his father with him. This “emotional decision” delayed God’s blessing upon Abram. (Acts 7:2-4)
- Vs 1-3 – God’s “second call” to Abram. This time, he evidenced his inward faith by his outward obedience.
God gave Abram a seven-fold promise:
- “I will make of thee a great nation” –
- Not only those children of Abraham by race, but also those who would accept Jesus Christ by faith – a family, a nation, a kingdom!
- “I will bless thee” –
- God’s promise to Abraham was according to His divine sovereignty, but the fulfillment of those promises was contingent upon his faith, as evidenced by his obedience.
- “And will make thy name great” –
- In choosing Abraham, we can see God’s divine election, but not without divine knowledge, as God saw in Abraham, that which was necessary to keep the knowledge of God alive on the earth through the generations of his own family.
- “And be thou a blessing” –
- Abraham was blessed to be a blessing!
- We are saved to save others – healed to heal others – blessed with wealth, not to hoard it, but to be a channel of God’s blessings to others.
- Salvation cannot be achieved through our “good works”, but the “good works” give evidence of our true faith in Jesus Christ, and our desire to follow Him.
- “And I will bless them that bless thee, and I will curse them that curse thee” –
- The Old Testament confirms God’s hand of protection and provision upon the Israelites.
- The World History books confirm God’s curse upon those who dared to come against God’s anointed.
- “And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
- This refers to the coming of Jesus Christ as the “promised Seed” to crush Satan’s head and save God’s people from His judgment of their sin.
Conclusions and Applications:
- God has shown us that man cannot overcome evil through his own efforts, nor achieve perfection by his own accomplishments. Redemption is God’s process through which God purifies the world and prepares it to be filled with His glory. (Romans 8:21-23)
- God made a promise to Abraham that one day the whole earth would be filled with His glory, and while that day is yet to come, progress is being made, and we are where we need to be on God’s timetable.
- God revealed that day to the Apostle John, when all those God “redeemed” – people of every tongue, tribe and nation, shall reign upon the earth, and give Him the glory, honor and blessing He deserves. (Rev. 5)
