Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

Galatians 3:15-18

To give a human example, brethren: no one annuls even a man's will, or adds to it, once it has been ratified. ¹⁶ Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many; but, referring to one, "And to your offspring," which is Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: the law, which came four hundred and thirty years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance is by the law, it is no longer by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

Genesis 12:1-7

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves." ⁴ So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, ⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷ Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 22:18

… by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice."

Summary and Function

Summary: God knew, right from the beginning that we would not be able to live up to His Law of love. God always knew that that our relationship with Him would have to be restored through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is demonstrated in God’s promise to Abram (Genesis 12:1-7 and 22:18). In that promise, God tells Abram that the whole world will be blessed through his ‘seed’. This ‘seed’ is Jesus Christ. Abram (along with everyone else in the Old Testament) was saved by the promise to come and we are saved by the promise fulfilled. In light of the promise fulfilled, let’s unite as followers of Jesus Christ and spread his saving and transforming grace throughout the world. We need to let the world know that Jesus is the ‘POMISE FULFILLED’!!!

Function: To teach the congregation what it means for the promise to be fulfilled. To encourage the members of the congregation to live their lives in light of the fact that the promise has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: Promises

A. What is a promise? It's a guarantee that you will do whatever you said you would do. When you say, "I promise" you are declaring that no matter what happens, you will accomplish what you said you would accomplish. It will get done.

B. Although we know what it means to make a promise, we often break them. When something happens that makes it inconvenient to keep a promise, we often break it. Sometimes things happen that force us to break our promises.

C. Anytime a promise is broken, it seriously degrades our trust and damages relationships

· Whenever my parents made a promise, they usually made good on it. I learned to trust them.

· Some parents, however, are quick to make promises but never follow through. The children learn not to trust them and this usually leads to anti-social behavior on the part of the children.

D. The relationship we have with God is like a parent child relationship. God makes promises to us. As long as God keeps his promises, we know we can trust Him. The good news is that God keeps His promises!!!! Let's take a look at one of these promises.

II. God’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-7 and 22:18)

1. Genesis 12:1-3: Abraham is told that he be blessed to be a blessing. All the earth will be blessed through him.
2. Genesis 12:7: God promises Abraham that his seed will inherit the land

· Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

2. • Note the word ‘descendants’. The Hebrew word that is translated as ‘descendants’ can also be translated as “seed’ or ‘offspring’

- The NIV translates it as: The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land."

- The KJV translates it as: And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

- The Hebrew word being translated is [r;z<. It is written in the singular.

3. The same is true for Genesis 22:18

· by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice."

· It’s the same Hebrew word being translated as descendants.

- NIV translates it as: and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

- KJV translates it as: And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

- Again, the original Hebrew word, [r;z, is written as a singular.

4. So, in Genesis 12:7 and Genesis 22:18 God promises that all people will be blessed through his seed (singular)

III. Paul recognized this promise as being fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:15-18)

A. Galatians 3:16: Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many; but, referring to one, "And to your offspring," which is Christ.

· This refers back to Genesis 12:7 and 22:18. God is promising Abraham that through one of his descendants, the world will be saved. This one descendant is Jesus Christ.

· God promised this to Abraham 430 years before He gave the Law to Moses (Galatians 3:17). Jesus has always been the plan for our salvation. The purpose of the Law was not to save us but to show us that we are sinners in need of salvation. Salvation comes only through Jesus Christ.

· Abraham and the rest of the Old Testament saints were saved by the promise to come. We are saved by the promise fulfilled.

B. How did Jesus fulfill the promise?

· As fully God and fully human he lived the perfect, sinless life

· Went to the cross to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. He paid the penalty for our sins.

· On the third day He rose from the dead, conquering sin, death and evil all on our behalf

· Because He paid the penalty for our sins, we are able to receive God’s forgiveness and have a re-stored love relationship with God. We become children of God.

· As children of God, we receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit changes us and enables us to live up to God’s Law of love.

C. So, now that the promise has been fulfilled, what does that mean for us?

IV. The implications of the ‘promise fulfilled’

A. We now know that we are saved by God’s grace. Our salvation has never been dependant upon our own ability to live up to the Law.

B. We are now empowered by the Holy Spirit.

C. As a result of being empowered by the Holy Spirit, we don’t remain the same. We become more Christ like.

D. Also as a result of being empowered by the Holy Spirit, we have a peace that transcends all understanding.

V. Conclusion: Let’s take full advantage of the promise fulfilled through the use of Holy

Communion.

A. As we partake of the bread and juice, we remember what Christ did for us.

B. This reminds us that we are saved by grace, not by works

C. As we remember what Christ did for us, the Holy Spirit empowers and changes us. We become more loving towards God and neighbor. We become more like Christ.

D. We leave Holy Communion with peace.

COME JOIN US AT THE LORD’S TABLE. HE INVITES YOU ALL.