SUNNY THOUGHTS FROM SUNSET by Rev. Vance Drum 2-23
The Sunset pastor continued our series, “Covenant Life, Covenant Duties, Covenant Blessings,” with a message, “The Covenant with Abraham.” The text was from Genesis 15:18: “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land….”
For our Creator God ton make covenant with us means that God is personal, relational, and enjoys fellowship with his human creation.
God desires to be your friend. Are you a friend of God? His door is open to you.
God’s covenants were necessary because of our fall into sin, when our first parents Adam and Eve thought they could live their lives better apart from our Creator’s guidance and wisdom. So they threw out the owner’s manual—God’s word to them—and they began to do what they wanted to do, apart from God’s direction and will. We’ve been doing the same ever since.
God desires to bring us up, to have fellowship with Him and peaceful relationships with our fellowman. That’s what the covenant with Abraham is about.
The pastor made three points: (1) All People Blessed; (2) Abraham’s Gospel; (3) God’s Friends.
(1) All People Blessed. Genesis 12:3: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” The covenant with Abram was that God would make Abram into a great nation, he would give him the land of Canaan (modern-day Israel), and that through Abram’s descendants all peoples on earth would be blessed.
Through Abraham’s descendants — Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, his 11 brothers and the kings of Israel, Israel’s Jewish heritage came down to the First Century, when the Jewish woman Mary became the mother of Jesus, the Savior of the world.
(2) Abraham’s Gospel. Paul wrote (Galatians 3:8): “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.’”
The gospel is the Good News that God loves all peoples on the earth — all races, nationalities and languages, no matter where they are from, what they look like, or what violations of God’s holy law they’ve done. God loves everybody.
The gospel was announced beforehand to Abraham when God talked about this great blessing coming to all nations through Jesus.
The Bible says that at the end of his life, Jesus died for all of our sins, and that on the third day — on Easter Sunday morning — God raised him up to eternal life, and he is alive today, seated at the right hand of God.
Why did God do all of this? Because he is a loving, caring and compassionate God, full of grace and mercy for his fallen creation.
It was Good News that God so loved the world, and sent Jesus down here to be with us.
It was Good News that Christ died for our sins, and offers us real life — not only in this life but also in the life to come.
(3) God’s Friends. James (2:23): “The Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God…’ and he was called God’s friend.” Abraham is called Father Abraham because he is the father of all who come to God by faith in God’s Son Jesus.
Abraham is the man — because he believed God — whom God selected to be the starting point of a great nation which would produce Jesus the Savior.
As Abraham was accounted as righteous because he believed God, so when we believe God, trusting in his Son Jesus, we also are made right with God, and received by Him. Our loving Creator made us, knows what’s best for us, and wants to be your friend.
Are you a friend of God? You can be today, by trusting in Jesus.
We heard a beautiful special song today, “Amazing Grace—My Chains Are Gone,” sung by Jerry Hinson, Sherry Whatley and Donna Drum.
Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.” [Psalm 96:1-2]
May you be singing to your Maker today. May He give you a song to sing—our prayer for you from your friends at Sunset Christian Church.
