THE CHILDREN OF PROMISE

Where did it start and who are the Children of The Promise?

It started with a promise!

Genesis 15: 1-5

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “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 descendants be.”

Note his name was still Abram, but was to become Abraham - meaning father of many!

Genesis 17: 1-5

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.

To make the promise eternal, a covenant was made!

Genesis 15: 8-18

And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall [d]go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land,

Thinks to note and meditate on: This was a blood covenant that was made. Abraham prepared the sacrifice as God instructed him. However, when the covenant was to be physically carried out; Abraham felt into a deep sleep! So the covenant was carried out between God the Father (the smoking oven) and "Abraham's representative"; and a burning torch!?

Who will this burning torch be?! Note the Hebrew word for torch can also be translated into lamp,

Psalm 118: 105

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

John 1: 1,14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

JESUS IS THE LAMP - THE TORCH! Why did The Word (Jesus) stand in in for Abraham? In order for the covenant to be eternal it had to be carried out by parties that would never break the covenant (it needed sinless parties).

Note: Ismael was not the Promised child but Isaac

Genesis 17: 15-19

God said to Abraham, “I will change the name of Sarai, your wife, to Sarah. I will bless her and give her a son, and you will be the father. She will be the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will come from her.” Abraham bowed facedown on the ground and laughed. He said to himself, “Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth to a child when she is ninety?” Then Abraham said to God, “Please let Ishmael be the son you promised.” God said, “No, Sarah your wife will have a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will make my agreement with him to be an agreement that continues forever with all his descendants.

WHY WAS JESUS ABLE TO STAND IN ON BEHALF OF ABRAHAM

The Covenant was made with Abraham and his seed!

Genesis 22: 18

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.

WHO IS THIS SEED?!

Galatians 3: 16

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as one would in referring to many, but rather as in referring to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.

Who are the beneficiaries?

Galatians 3: 5-9

Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Therefore, recognise that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

THUS, A BELIEVER IN JESUS CHRIST YOU AND I HAVE BECOME BENEFICIARIES OF THE PROMISE THAT GOD MADE TO ABRAHAM! AS BELIEVERS WE ARE CHILDREN OF THE PROMISE!

What is the Promise?

Genesis 22: 18

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.

What does this promise brings to us?!

1. Salvation (John 3: 16)

2. Healing (1 Peter 2: 24

3. Deliverance

4. Multiple blessings (Deuteronomy 28)

Deuteronomy 28: 1-8

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

“Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

“The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.