Sermon Notes 2-07-10     

Abraham:  Leave It Behind
Genesis 12
 

God will form a covenant with Abraham.  

·            Unilateral- between a more powerful and a less
    powerful partner  

·            Bilateral - between both parties as equals  

“Long ago (Joshua says to the people of Israel) your
forefathers including Terah the father of Abraham lived
beyond the Euphrates River and worshipped other gods.”
                                                        Joshua 24:2  

The principle of separation  

“I will bless you and I will make you a blessing.”  

“The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the
Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance 
to Abraham:  ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’”
                                                         Galatians 3:8  

Faith Lessons:  

1.  Leave it behind and trust Him  

“throw off your old sinful nature and your former 
way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 
Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and
attitudes.  Put on your new nature, created to be like
God – truly righteous and holy.”     Ephesians 4:22

      God prefers to work in incremental steps in our lives.

“I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;
but one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and
reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on 
toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of 
God in Christ Jesus.”                     Philippians 3:13-14
 

Is God asking you to leave anything?
 

2.  God blesses you so that you can be a blessing to 
     others.
 

“and now that you belong to Christ, you are the true
children of Abraham.  You are his heirs, and God’s
promise to Abraham belongs to you.” 
                                                     Galatians 3:29

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will
give you everything you need.”      Luke 12:31

“And then he told them, ‘Go into all the world and
preach the Good News to everyone.’” 
                                                     Mark 16:15

Sermon Notes for February 7, 2010
Pastor Tom VandeBerg