Genesis 12

A.     Don’t take things into your own hands

Genesis 16:1-6

“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, ‘Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived.”

B.     Be Thankful that God remembers the promise. Even despite their sin.

“And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, ‘May the wrong done to me be on you!’”

C.     Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right

“And Sarai said to Abram, ‘May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!’ 6 But Abram said to Sarai, ‘Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please. Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.”

D.     Some of us struggle with waiting...

Vs. 1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.”

Vs. 11, “You shall be circumcised...”

E.     God Hasn’t Forgotten His Promise

F.     God Backs His promise with his name

He Was Never Created | Micah 5:2

Micah 5:2 (NIV)

2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

He is The Creator of Everything | Col 1:16

Colossians 1:16 (NIV)

16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

He is God | John 1:1 He is God Incarnate, Fully Human & Fully Divine

John 1:1 (NIV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

His Essence Never Changes | Heb 13:8

Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

He is All-Powerful | Matt 28:18

Matthew 28:18 (NIV)

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

He is All-Knowing | Col 2:3

Colossians 2:3 (NIV)

3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

He is All-Loving | 1 John 4:8

1 John 4:8 (NIV)

8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

He is Ever-Present | Matt 18:20

Matthew 18:20 (NIV)

20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

He is Holy | Luke 1:35

Luke 1:35 (NIV)

35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

He is Righteous | Isa 53:11

Isaiah 53:11 (NIV)

11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

He is Just | Zech 9:9

Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)

9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

He is Sinless | 2 Cor 5:21

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

He is Gentle | Matt 11:29

Matthew 11:29 (NIV)

29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

He is Merciful | Heb 2:17

Hebrews 2:17 (NIV)

17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

He is Forgiving | Luke 23:34

Luke 23:34 (NIV)

34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

He is Humble | Phil 2:8

Philippians 2:8 (NIV)

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!

He is The Way, The Truth, & The Life | John 14:6

John 14:6 (NIV)

6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

He is The Great Physician | Matt 4:24

Matthew 4:24 (NIV)

24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.

He Healed a Man From Leprosy | Matthew 8

He Healed a Paralyzed Man | Luke 2

He Healed a Blind Man | John 9

He Healed a Man With a Withered Hand | Mark 3

He Healed a Woman Who Was Hemorrhaging | Matthew 9

He Healed Many Other Sick People | Luke 7:21

He Walked on Water | John 6

He Calmed a Storm | Luke 8

He Fed 5,000 Hungry People | Mark 6

He Raised Lazarus From the Dead | John 11

He Came To Save Sinners | Luke 19:10

Luke 19:10 (NIV)

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

His Death On The Cross Reconciles Us With God | Eph 2:13-16

Ephesians 2:13-16 (NIV)

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,

16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

He Justifies Us | Rom 5:9

Romans 5:9 (NIV)

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

He Sanctifies Us | Heb 10:29

Hebrews 10:29 (NIV)

29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

He Redeems Us | Rom 3:24-25

Romans 3:24-25 (NIV)

24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--

He Gives Us Victory | Rev 12:11

Revelation 12:11 (NIV)

11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

He Gives Us Eternal Life | John 6:53-56

John 6:53-56 (NIV)

53 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.

56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

He Gives Us Everlasting Righteousness | Dan 9:24

Daniel 9:24 (NIV)

24 "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

And He Rose From The Dead proving it all to be true | Luke 24

He’s Alive & Well | Mark 16:11

Mark 16:11 (NIV)

11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

He’s Taking Us To Heaven | John 14:3

John 14:3 (NIV)

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

And He’s Coming Back In Power & Glory | Matt 24:30

Matthew 24:30 (NIV)

30 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.

He Will Wipe Away Every Tear | Rev 21:4

 Revelation 21:4 (NIV)

4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old o