Lesson 35

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Bible Study 1 - Genesis 15

Series # 4: FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF FAITH

Lesson 35: Genesis 15.1 GOD HAS POWER TO DO WHAT HE PROMISES

Genesis 15:1 (KJV) “After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”

INTRODUCTION:

In the Gulf of Mexico there are some great oil-drilling platforms that rise up out of the water so large that they look like man-made islands. They are large enough to house all the men and machinery that is necessary to drill for oil under the most adverse conditions. Very often these drilling rigs are hit by severe storms and they are pressed hard by very strong tides. Yet, these drilling rigs are secure because they are built upon three great pilings that reach down through hundreds of feet of water deep into the bedrock of the ocean.

I believe the Christian life can be compared to a platform like this. As Christians we are buffeted by life's storms from all sides and the forces of Satan very often strain against us. Yet, we can stand secure upon three great pilings: GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. The thing that anchors us there in the midst of all storms is GOD'S POWER! God's power stands behind His call upon our lives and God's power stands behind His promises for our lives BECAUSE HE IS ALL-POWERFUL! We must not and we cannot trust in our own ability to weather the storms and tides of this life, but we can always trust in our strong foundation that is built upon the bed-rock of Jesus Christ. In the words from the Lord in Genesis 15:1, "After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward" Abram was learning that GOD HAS POWER TO DO WHAT HE PROMISES.

LOOKING AT ABRAM WE SEE THAT GOD'S POWER SHIELDS US.

"Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield"

In order to understand what God was saying to Abram, we need to look back to the preceding chapter. First, there is the story of Abram's rescue of his nephew Lot, from the kings who had defeated Sodom and the cities allied with it. Sometime before the battle, Abram and Lot had separated themselves from one another and Lot had gone to live in Sodom. Sodom was not the place of God's blessing, therefore, Lot and his family had some great and grave problems there. Sodom's king and his allies were overtaken, Sodom was overrun, and Lot, his family and his possessions were captured. News of the battle came to Abram, and so Abram set out to rescue the family. Gen 14:14-16 "And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people." At this point, Abram was in great danger. Here were 4 powerful kings who had turned large areas of land into waste and had carried off the spoils from many cities. Evidently they had spared Abram in the past because he seemed so insignificant and so far away. But now all of a sudden, this "nobody" so far as they were concerned, had attacked them with a small force, but won and recovered the spoil.

These 4 powerful kings must have been furious, and Abram must have been wondering about the results of his heroic rescue of his backslidden nephew Lot. But down in his heart and soul Abram believed God when God came to him with the promise of protection that he needed in this very uncertain time in his life. God had said to Abram, "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." With that kind of SHIELD, Abram was safer than he would have been if he could have possessed all the power in Canaan.

ABRAM WAS SHIELDED BY GOD'S POWER!

You know there are many people who trust in government. There are many people who trust in their investments. There are many people who trust in their families, friends, wealth, education, or popularity. But ultimately trusting in any of these things will lead to disappointment and disillusion. The only thing we can ever really trust in that will never disappoint us or disillusion us is GOD'S SHIELD! WE CAN TRUST IN GOD'S POWER! Let’s think a few moments about some of the things against which GOD'S POWER SHIELDS US when we trust Him.

GOD'S POWER SHIELDS US FROM OUR ENEMIES.

David knew this truth in his life because he made a lot of enemies during his lifetime. David was threatened by the hostile nations that surrounded Israel. David was threatened by the old friends of the former king. David was threatened by the many factions within his own government. David was even threatened by rebels within his immediate family. Yet, David knew the protective power of God because he is record saying in II Sam. 22:2-3 "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence."

God will be our shield against our enemies also. You may say, "So far as I know, I don't have any enemies!" Well maybe you don't, but if not, I suspect that you may not be expressing a very dynamic witness for the Lord Jesus Christ! I have found, the more I try and do what the Lord Jesus wants me to do, and the more I stand for Jesus, the more enemies I seem to have - some that claim to be Christian and some who don't. The Gospel always hardens some hearts at the same time it melts others. Even the Lord Jesus had enemies, and we're no better than Jesus! But if you do have enemies, or if you encounter them for the Gospel's sake in the days to come, you can be sure that GOD'S POWER WILL BE YOUR SHIELD against them.

GOD'S POWER SHIELDS US FROM THE DEVIL.

In 1 Peter 5:8 the Bible tells us that "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" But, the Bible also speaks of our deliverance in James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." The truth of these verses is illustrated by the story of Job. Job was a righteous man who was severely attacked by Satan. Job lost his flocks, camels, asses, sons, and daughters and yet Job never yielded to Satan. The main point of the story of Job is that God had placed a hedge around Job and there was nothing Satan could do to Job until God permitted the hedge to be lowered a little. All of this was to demonstrate Job's Spiritual character. By the way, God did this only with the full knowledge that Job would triumph and with the intention of restoring all that Job would loose. God will do that with us also!

God's power will be our shield, not only against our enemies, but also against Satan - the greatest enemy of all. There is nothing that Satan will ever be able to do to us that will not first of all come through the will of God who allows it in order to bring about a Spiritual victory for us!

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." This verse says 2 very important things to us about GOD'S SHIELD OF POWER.

God's promises that you will only experience temptations that you are able to overcome, IF YOU WILL REST UPON HIM AND HIS POWERFUL SHIELD. Maybe there is someone who is tempted by sex. Maybe there is someone who is tempted by a chance to be dishonest in some way and escape detection. Maybe there is someone who is tempted by some cut-throat way to achieve a promotion at work. Maybe there is someone who is tempted to gossip or hurt someone's credibility. Maybe it is none of these, but there is something you know in your heart is in your life that is a temptation you need to overcome. If so, God knows all about it, and He also knows that you can bear that temptation because the Bible says, "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." So you must be willing to say, "Lord, I claim Your promise that no temptation that come to me is beyond my overcoming it. Lord, help me to overcome it through Your Power and show me the way of deliverance." When you are tempted in any way, if you will pray a prayer like that with a sincere heart, God will help you overcome that temptation by His SHIELD OF POWER! When temptation comes, God always makes a way of escape, that we may be able to bear it. The trouble with most people is that they don't look for that way of escape! Instead, they become fascinated by the temptation, like the bird is fascinated by the snake that is about to devour it - thus that person fails to see God's deliverance. If you ever find yourself in that condition, you need to realize what is happening to you and get out of that habit. You need to learn to look for God's deliverance and then you will see your life going from strength to strength.

GOD'S POWER SHIELDS US FROM ANY BITTERNESS.

In Phil 1:12 Paul said "But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;" In other words Paul was saying that the sufferings that he endured actually served to advance the Gospel and Paul was able to rejoice - even in his sufferings!

A man and woman had been missionaries to Pakistan, but they had been sent home suddenly in the midst of one term of service. They settled in Portsmouth, Va. and hadn't been there very long until a gang of youths led by a 14 year-old and a 17 year-old boy attacked their young son. He was struck in the face and neck with a nail-studded rope and was left 90% blind in his left eye and about half-normal vision was later restored to his right eye. In time, the boys that were involved in this attack were caught, tried and sentenced by the courts. Throughout the course of the trial, the parents of the injured boy refused to give themselves to any bitterness or to indulge their feelings of disappointment. Instead, the parents gave a Christian witness to the offenders and showed them kindness. That mother told the newspapers, "If necessary, we can live with a physical handicapped son. But we cannot live with bitterness in our heart toward anyone." This Christian lady spoke of her many opportunities to speak of Christ's love and power during this ordeal and she said that she trusted the Lord to spread the Gospel through their sufferings. In the same way, GOD'S POWER CAN SHIELD US FROM OUR BITTERNESS!

LOOKING AT ABRAM WE SEE THAT GOD'S POWER REWARDS US.

You see, Divine Protection was only half of the story of God's promise to Abram. Genesis 15:1 says "the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." Again, in order to get the meaning of what God said to Abram, we need to look at the second half of Chapter 14. When Abram returned from the battle against the 4 kings, he met Melchizedek, the king of Salem, which was probably the ancient city of Jerusalem. Melchizedek was a king and a priest of the most high God, and we know that Abram had the highest respect for him because he gave Melchizedek tithes of the spoils from the battle. Abram returned the rest of the spoils to the king of Sodom.

Now this is very significant, because in ancient times the spoils of the battle were the warrior's reward. Abram had every right to keep the spoils that he brought back from that battle, but instead, he forfeited them. But as Abram was standing again in Hebron with his servants, just as he was before that battle, God came to Abram and said "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." Folks, that is a GREAT, GREAT PROMISE! GOD HIMSELF WAS ABRAM'S REWARD!

God's power is our reward also! If you seek after things, and if you think that your reward consists of the things you can earn, do or know, then you are going to find yourself disappointed because all of these things shall pass away. GOD'S POWER REWARDS US IN A WAY THAT WILL NEVER PASS AWAY.

But what does this really mean to us?

TO HAVE GOD'S POWER AS A REWARD MEANS THAT WE SHARE IN ALL GOD HAS.

Abram received many revelations from God during his lifetime, and many of these revelations had a name of God connected with them. Abram had come to know God as Jehovah, whose name means "I am that I am." Later Abram came to know God as Jehovah-jireh, which means "The God who provides." In this story Abram came to know God as El Elyon, which means "The most high God, possessor of heaven and earth." It was this God who promised to be a reward to Abram. God possesses heaven and earth, and all that God has He will share with those who trust Him.

If you are a Christian, God will share all He has with you. The Bible says in Romans 8:17 that we are children of God "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;" If you are a Christian, then you are God's heir and a joint heir with Christ. There is a great difference between an heir and a joint-heir. If you are a single heir, then you alone inherit everything. If you are one of four heirs, then you receive only ¼ of the inheritance. However, if you are one of four join-heirs, you inherit all, because joint-heirs possess the inheritance together. In the same way, all Christians are joint-heirs with Christ. All that God has is ours - we possess it jointly - and we will enter into it one of these days as we receive our inheritance with Jesus Christ.

TO HAVE GOD'S POWER AS A REWARD MEANS THAT WE SHARE IN ALL GOD IS.

There is hardly an attribute of God that is mentioned in the Bible that is not said in some verse to be ours in Christ Jesus now. God is wise - we share that wisdom in Christ Jesus. God is holy - we share that holiness in Christ Jesus. God is powerful - we share that power in Christ Jesus. In Phil. 4:13 Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." In 1 Cor. 1:30 Paul speaks of Jesus and says "who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:" God Himself is our reward and having Him means that we have God's power as a reward.

As Christians, we can live our lives in one of two ways. Because you are anchored in God's character and because you have a great inheritance, you are already secure in God. But you can either rest in that, or, you can live in fear. You can sit on the platform of God and watch the storms come and say, "Oh my, what if this platform falls over? What will become of me then? What if I prove to be unfaithful during the storms that come?” Or, you can be like Old Abram and grow strong in faith during the storms of life, and rest in God who is able to keep you from falling and will present you faultless before His presence with exceeding joy. Do you have a strong faith during the storms of life? If not, why don't you hold on to the promise that Abram held on to. If you are willing to trust in God's power, GOD'S POWER WILL SHIELD YOU and GOD'S POWER WILL REWARD YOU by helping you grow strong in faith, giving Him the glory.

If you will accept God's power in your life you will learn that GOD HAS POWER TO DO WHAT HE PROMISES.

DO YOU NEED SOME HELP?

To find more help in receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior please go to the Bible Study Title Page “ETERNAL LIFE.” Please send me an email and let me know about any decision for Christ you make so that I may pray for you. Feel free to send me any questions, comments, or responses you may have as well. For those who are already Christians I invite you to also please let me know of any decisions you make in your Christian life for Jesus. Please send me your questions, comments, or responses and let me know if the Bible Studies are helping you.

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ALWAYS REMEMBER!

The support of your local Church ministry and the ministry of your Pastor should be the first priority of your Christian life and your service to the Lord. Be faithful to prayerfully prepare and attend Sunday School and Worship Service this Sunday and participate in worship as your Pastor preaches the Word. Do not forget to give the Lord at least your TITHE through your local church from your gross income – that is your first fruits. Any other giving is an offering to a ministry unto the Lord. Honor the Lord in all you do and with all that you have. Always remember that everything you have and all you are belongs to the Lord. It is on loan to you – so manage it well! There will be an audit one day! Make sure the Books Balance!

All Bible Studies Are Prepared by Pastor Frank Denning And May Be Be Used By Permission.