Following are my teaching notes from a biblical teaching that I did on a LIVE broadcast.
What is a covenant?
A covenant is a promise between 2 or more parties
- Conditional covenants – Something must be done or kept by both parties to keep the agreement going
- Unconditional covenants – One party is responsible to keep the covenant going
Genesis 11:29 (KJV)
29 “And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.”
So here’s the family tree:
Abram – main character
Sarai – Abram’s wife
Nahor – Abram’s brother
Haran – Abram’s brother
Milcah – Haran’s daughter/ wife of Nahor
Iscah – Haran’s daughter
Terah – had three sons; Abram, Nahor and Haran
Lot – Haran’s son
Genesis 11:30 (KJV)
“But Sarai was barren; she had no child.”
Let’s stop here and talk about this. We all know what happened later to Sarah (SPOILER ALERT: She ended up getting pregnant after all), but God worked through her weakness. God could have picked a woman that was fertile and could have had 10 kids. I mean, when you have a nation to build, come on, lets get this thing going with 10 kids, sounds about right. But God didn’t do that.
God, throughout most of history, worked through our weaknesses. God worked through murderers (Moses), liars (Jacob), and cheats (Jacob) to name a few. But what I’m showing you here is that God likes to work through our weaknesses so that He can take the credit — so you can have a “But God” moment. A lot of us shy away from our weakness, but today, I’m telling you to embrace your weakness because that’s where God will start! It’s in our weakness that we turn to God and let him show His Might.
Note: The secret to power is in your weakness!
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (KJV)
9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Infirmities- a physical weakness or ailment
Reproach- a shame or disgrace; to receive rebuke, criticism
Necessities- the needful or necessary things that you can’t go without
Persecutions- to exterminate, to drive away due to religious or racial background
Distresses- to cause worry or be troubled; under harassment or oppress
Therefore, weakness is a secret power when you trust in God.
I’ll never forget this one story of a famous evangelist/healer/preacher. I’m paraphrasing a lot so here goes … There was a time when God set this man on fire. God took him out of addiction, and this dude was just on fire! But guess what? At that point, the guy was on fire, but his wife wasn’t. Something happened, and they needed money for something. I think it was rent, and I think they needed it by noon or something like that. His wife turned to him and said, “We don’t have any money, and it’s almost noon. What are we to do?” The husband responded with, “Hallelujah!” She was like, “Why are you so positive about this? This is serious!” The husband’s response to her was, “Because I have put my trust in the Lord, and if He doesn’t come through, I know we are screwed. I know He’s not going to let that happen.” And sure enough, like at 11:55 they got a call from someone that would pay their rent! Come on, God!
I’m sure the husband tried to get enough money the right way, an honest way, a clean way but still wound up short. I’m sure the husband thought, “Hey, I can go sell a few drugs and make enough money for rent.” But the husband didn’t do that. He did the best he could out of faith and trusted God for the rest.
I’ll be honest with you, faith doesn’t always feel good because naturally we want to see all the steps — ABCD. We want to see all the plans first. Gods like, “No, just have faith.”
Okay, back to Genesis …
Genesis 11:31-32 (KJV)
31 “And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. (32) And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.”
Abraham is a unique person in that he is held in honor in three different religions: Christianity, Jewish, and Muslim.
Muslims see Abraham as the founder of the Arab people through his son Ishmael.
Jews see Abraham as the founder of the Hebrew people through his son Isaac.
Christians see Abraham as the father of many nations but also as the father of faith.
But Abram’s family worshiped idols and lived in, what we call today, Iraq, but back then, it was called Ur of the Chaldees. They worshiped a moon god called “Nanna.” The moon was considered to have power over the life cycle on earth as well as having control over the heavens.
I’m laying this backstory because, as you can see, Abraham was not perfect at all, and it wasn’t until after his father died that God called upon Abram. In Genesis Chapter 12, we see that, suddenly, God called out to Abram.
Genesis 12:1-3 (KJV) – (The Abrahamic Covenant)
1 “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: (2) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:”
Note: When it comes to blessings, we are meant to be filled so we can spill.
3 “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
Then, at 75 years old, God tells Abram he will have a son …
Genesis 15:4 (KJV)
“And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.”
Time passed from when Abram was 75 years old to when he was 86 years old, so Sarai felt the need to “help” God in this situation. She gave permission for Abram to marry the handmaiden, Hagar who then conceived. The child’s name was Ishmael. That was not God’s way nor was it His promise. This was a mistake of Abram and Sarai acting out of their flesh, but God still blessed this baby, Ishmael, even though it was not part of the covenant.
From the time Abram was 86 years old to when he was 99 years old (Sarai was 90 years old), 13 years that had passed with no events. It was almost as if God was waiting and saying, “Are you guys done now? Are you done playing matchmaker with Hagar? Are you done with your flesh?”
Then, God changed his name from Abram, which means “exalted father,” to Abraham, which means “father of many.” Sarai, which means “my princess,” became Sarah, which means “princess.”
In Genesis 21, Sarah finally conceived and gave birth to Isaac. God can truly do anything.
At that time, there was starting to be contention between Sarah and Hagar. Sarah was thinking two steps ahead and began wondering if Isaac would have to share his inheritance with Ishmael, so Sarah sent Hagar and Ismael off into the desert.
Ishmael is the Arabian bloodline while Isaac is the Jewish bloodline. Even now, so many years later, we STILL see this contention TODAY. Israel is but a small piece of land compared to what the vast land the Arabs have today, and yet it seems they all want to occupy Israel.
God states clearly several times that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is establishing a clear bloodline that will lead to Kings and ultimately to Jesus Christ, and God reaffirms the Abrahamic Covenant not only to Abraham but to Isaac and Jacob as well.
God makes this clear in Exodus 3:15 (KJV)
“And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”
Note: This Abrahamic Covenant marks the beginning of male circumcision, which later Moses failed to do with his children and almost paid for this disobedience with his life if it wasn’t for his wife! Exodus 4:24-26, if you would like to read further.
So in conclusion, what does this have to do with us today? Today, we are the seed of Abraham! Therefore, the blessings of Abraham fall on us!
These blessings are:
The promised land (Canaan, which is now called Israel)
The promise of descendants (God will increase your numbers very much so)
The promise of blessing and redemption (The 12 tribes and Jesus Christ came through the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).
Don’t you see? The blessings of Abraham are upon us through Jesus Christ! Now, let’s call it forth!
The blessings of Abraham as called forth by God are upon me and my family! I receive them now in the name of Jesus! Believe and receive!
I love you all truly,
Pastor/Coach Jeno
