A Powerful God for Powerless People

0 Amens

Amen

Intro:  Work at home offers contain great promises.  You have to work hard to fulfill them.

Big Idea: God, not us, works to fulfill His promises.

Context: God singled out Abram for plan of redemption.  He promised Abram a great nation, a great name and a great blessing.  And Abram left home on this promise, and waited … generally making a mess of things.

I. God reveals how powerless we are (vs. 1-3).

-         Consider Abram’s state of mind.  Disappointed, disillusioned, abandoned, afraid?

-         God initially showed up 23 years earlier with those great promises.  He hadn’t delivered!

-         After 13 years (of silence?) God once again appears to Abram.

-         He reveals Himself as El Shaddai- the God who thunders, the all-mighty one.

-         First, “walk with me”.  Basically, follow me, closely.  Ill. Contrast me & Daddy D.

-         Abram sometimes failed to walk w/God.  At times he went his own way (Egypt).

-         Second, “be upright” or whole-hearted.  Abram was justified (15:6); this is sanctification.

-         Failure: taking matters in his own hands (Hagar).  Ill. .

-         23 years proved Abram powerless to change his circumstances or his heart.

-          “I will confirm”- God renews the covenant with Abram after his failures- GRACE!

-         Abram falls facedown before God in humble worship.  He surrenders control.

“Essentially, a covenant is a relationship based on the surrender of control.”  Iain Duguid

“The long wait was necessary to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that the God of the covenant was El Shaddai, God Almighty, who was well able to perform what he had promised, even against all odds.”  Joyce Baldwin

 

 

 

Transition: We don’t realize how powerless we are, until God shows up & shows us.  Is all lost?

II. Only God has the power to keep His promises (vs. 4-8).

-         As Lord, God is present w/Abram, has authority over him, & controls his circumstances.

-         God enhances the promises.  They are new & improved promises!  Ill. Vista & new Coke

-         Great nation => many nations, many kings, very fruitful.  He’s 99, but El Shaddai is able.

-         Great name => a new name (authority).  Abraham sounds like “father of many”.

-         God to you & your children.  God: controls you and your actions.  Give yourself over.

-         The land of Canaan will be his and his children’s.

-         “Establish”- see that the covenant is accomplish.  El Shaddai can & will do these things!

-         God kept all the promises.  Apostasy => new covenant w/improved promises (2 Cor. 1).

-         All who believe are Abraham’s children (Galatians 3) & inherit the promises.

-         We will receive the whole earth, not just a sliver of it.

“Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward.”  Genesis 15 (NIV)

20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.  2 Cor. 1 (NIV)

 “God’s commitment to Abram was certainly far in excess of anything he in his wildest dreams would every have imagined.”  Joyce Baldwin

 

 

 

Transition: All is not lost, for God has pledged to use His power for our good.

III. Follow wholeheartedly while He fulfills His promises.

-         1st, Sometimes life doesn’t make sense.  We are powerless to figure it out on our own.

-         We are to trust Him (Prov. 3:5-6), not ourselves, to see us through.  Ill. 1998

-         His powerful Spirit works so we follow Jesus.

-         Will we make our own way or wait for Him?  Exert control or surrender it?  Choices!

-         2nd, God will reveal our weakness, stretching us so we learn to trust more completely.

-         Receive all-sufficient grace by faith.  This is how He reveals His power in us.

-         3rd, our kids are watching.  We model whole-heartedness in the midst of hardship.

-         We are powerless to make them believe. Trust the all-powerful God to convert them.

-         4th, we’ll fail in ministry but God doesn’t cast us out.  Justified by faith, not success.

-         Rely on God’s power for effective ministry.  He has more invested than you do.

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3 (NIV)

 

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  2 Cor. 12 (NIV)

 “Our faith can only stand firmly, while we are certainly persuaded that the defense of God is alone sufficient for us.”  John Calvin

 

Conclusion:  All too often we come face to face with our powerlessness.  We are powerless to undo the curse of sin and stop the power of sin in our lives.  But God has revealed himself to us as an all-powerful God who makes incredible promises to us who are in Christ by faith.  He grants us power thru the Spirit to follow Jesus whole-heartedly.  God is glorified as we rely on Him, not ourselves, to keep His great promises.

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