The Story Series – Chapter 2

Genesis 12:1-4 (NKJV) The Story pg. 13

Now the Lord had 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. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great, And you shall be a blessing. 3 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.” 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

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Hebrews 11:8 (NKJV) The Story pg. 14

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

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Review:

God’s vision is to come down and be with us in a beautiful garden. The first two people reject God’s vision and are escorted from Paradise. Their decision introduces sin into the human race and keeps us from community with God. At this moment God gave us a promise and launches a plan to get us back. The rest of the Bible is God’s story of keeping that promise and making it possible for us to enter a loving relationship with him. God builds a brand-new nation called Israel. Through this nation, he will reveal His presence, power, and plan to get us back. Every story of Israel will point to the first coming of Jesus, the one who will bring us back to God.

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I. A Promise Made

Genesis 12:1-4 (NKJV) The Story pg. 13

Now the Lord had 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. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless youAnd make your name great, And you shall be a blessing. 3 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.”

God promised him land
Make him a great nation (many descendants)
Great Name (His name would be honored, Christians, Jews, and Muslims honor Abram
Make him a blessing to all the nations of earth
Curse those who curse and bless those who bless you
God rehearses the promise to Abram again </aside>

Genesis 13:14-17 NKJV The Story pg. 14

And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 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. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”

The Promise of God forged the man we know as the father of faith. </aside>

God wants us to walk by faith.

The Bible tells us repeatedly to live, walk, and grow in faith
Bishop tells us everything we’re going to get from God is going to be by faith.
The nation that God was building was built on the faith of one man.
Faith comes with constant ingesting of the word of God and having your faith tried. </aside>

II. Barriers to receiving the promise of God.

Natural Barriers

Genesis 15:2-5 The Story pg. 15

But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”4 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.” 5 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 descendants be.”

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Genesis 18:11-14 (NKJV)

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” 13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Natural barriers are things completely out of our control and hinder us from moving into the promise God promised.

Abraham had no children
Abraham and Sarah were both advanced in years.
And Sarah had some issues in the reproductive area.
The Bible refers to the deadness of her womb, which meant she could not carry life.
God is not a God that is limited by natural barriers.

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

The hard in Hebrew Pala (pronounced “pah-lah”)
Hebrew Definition: to be beyond one's power, be difficult to do to be difficult to understand to be wonderful, be extraordinary </aside>

Psalm 86:8-10 (NKJV)

Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord, Nor are there any works like Your works. 9 All nations whom You have made Shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name.10 For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God.

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While you’re trying to figure it out, He’s already worked it.

No more disqualifying yourself and GOD. </aside>

Self-Imposed Barriers to Receiving the Promise

Genesis 16:1-6 (NKJV) The Story pg. 16

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.” 6 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.

What happens when we attempt to aid God?

This part of the story signifies when we try to help God.
We insert our ideas or plans and then ask God to bless us. </aside>

Proverbs 10:22 (NKJV)

The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.

When it's the Lord's doing there is no sorrow. </aside>

Genesis 17:17-18 (NKJV)

17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”

We also ask God to bless the mess we’ve created. </aside>

Barrier of Time

Genesis 21:5 (NKJV)

5 ****Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

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