05/16/2014 - THE ABRAMIC COVENANT AND YOU

Approximately 4,000 years ago a man rose up to fight against the deviation of mankind which, without any concern about their wrongdoings, aimed solely at their personal interests. When he saw them indulging into idolatry and witchcraft, he set out to seek and find the true God. And, as it happens with all who are sincere, he succeeded: the Lord revealed Himself to him, giving him a ministry – a call – which always means a challenge.

Understanding Abraham’s call and the blessings of the covenant God made with him has a great importance to us because the Covenant was not only made with him but also with his descendants. Although we are not Jews (natural descendants of Abraham), Galatians 3:13-14 says that the Lord’s suffering on the tree had the primary mission to cause the blessing acquired by the patriarch of the Hebrews to get to us, the Gentiles.

The commandment – 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” (Genesis 12:1). The order was clear: Abraham had to leave his relatives and his father’s house and go to a land that was yet to be shown to him. This land represents the one that we will inherit in eternity. Thus, we must turn away from the world and live as if we were in a strange land as sojourners and pilgrims (I Peter 2:11) until we reach the heavenly Canaan where there will be no weeping, pain, tears or any other suffering (Revelation 21:4). We will be eternally with Him who created us and loved us: In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:2-3).
I’m sure the inheritance we will receive shall be greater than planet Earth, given by God to Adam. If Adam had not sinned, the world would still be like the Garden of Eden, as virgin as if no one had ever touched it. Even with man acting irrationally over many millennia, the Earth still has enormous resources for man to explore.

The promises – In the text we are studying there are seven promises made by the Lord to our father in faith, which, if fully understood, will help us a lot: 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. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 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” (Genesis 12:1-3).

1st - I will show you. Abraham had to trust God and go and only then it would be shown what God had in store for him. In our case, the same happens. He will show us what awaits us in eternity, the extension of our inheritance in Christ. The Holy Spirit gives us the following tip: But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (I Corinthians 2:9).

2nd – I will make you a great nation. The Lord does not come into someone’s life to slow it down or weaken it but to turn it into a great blessing. God wants our development; He wants us to able to enjoy all the things He created. He wants to make us a great nation spiritually speaking; a strong, fearless, holy and obedient people: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

3rd – I will bless you. God wants each one of you to be blessed. It´s His plan for the blessing to be in our hands. Our lives should be marked by achievements not by failures. Abraham was called to be an agent of transformations. He was invested with such great power that he would be recognized as being the bearer of blessings. In the baptism with the Holy Spirit we are clothed with the power to act in the name of Jesus as His witnesses: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

4th – And you shall be a blessing. After making all these promises to the same patriarch, God revealed to him that he should be a blessing both for the Lord and for all nations. Today, the same thing happens to us. He has not given us this beautiful understanding of who we are in His Kingdom and what we can do, nor has He prospered us only for us to live with freedom and abundance. The Lord revealed to the Apostle Paul the major reason for his salvation: But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me (Acts 26:16-18).

5th – I will bless those who bless you. The Lord reveals Himself as a rewarding God. He shows that He is aware of everything that happens to us. He sees the smallest gesture of  those who bless us and reciprocates: For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward (Mark 9:41).

6th – And I will curse him who curses you. Woe to him who rises against a son or daughter of God for he becomes a cursed person instantly. This explains why Jesus told us to pray for those who persecute us and to love our enemies: But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44). Goliath’s biggest mistake was to curse David: So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods (I Samuel 17:43). Needless to comment on the outcome!

7th – And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. This blessing was totally fulfilled in the seed of Abraham: the Lord Jesus. This is the ultimate purpose of our call: to extend to others the blessing that He has given us. There will be an eternal reward awaiting us on the other side: Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:3).

All one has to do is to accept the Lord Jesus as Savior and Lord for him/her to be saved, thus becoming part of the Lord’s covenant with Abraham and heirs to all the other promises recorded in the Scriptures. Why not accept Him now?