The Promise of Blessing
Genesis 15
St. John’s United Church of Christ
Greeley, Colorado
February 2, 2025
Rev. Juvenal Cervantes
What would you do if you inherited one million dollars? What if you were bequeathed one billion dollars, what would you do with that money?
Someone astutely said, “I know that money does not make you happy, but I would like to prove that for myself.”
Mukesh Ambani is the richest man in India. He inherited 106 billion from Reliance Industries.
Closer to home there is Alice, Jim and Rob Walton who were bequeathed 70 billion each.
These are large sums of money that most of us cannot comprehend the amount of such wealth.
Consider this fact: God has given us an inheritance much greater than this world can give to us.
We’re learning or being reminded of God’s great covenants with his people. A covenant is a promise that God makes to us and it is not contingent on us keeping our part of the deal; it is not a transactional agreement, it is one-hundred percent of God’s grace, love, and compassion for those who believe.
The Adamic Covenant is one of redemption, the Noahic Covenant focused on Provision, and today, the Abrahamic Covenant is a promise of blessing.
I. God blesses us with security,
Genesis 15:1-4
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.”
The story of Abraham is intriguing. His name was Abram which means “exalted father.” Then in Genesis 17 God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, “Father of nations.”
Abraham is known as a man of faith. God told him to leave his dwelling. He said, “Where am I going?” God reassured, “I will show you.” Then God told him, “You will be a father of many nations.” Again, Abraham was confused and responded, “I don’t have any children.” God said, “And?”
Abraham was planning to leave his inheritance to his servant Eliezer of Damascus. God told Abraham that he was going to have offspring. His response, “My wife is 75 years old.” God again said, “And?” God assured Abraham that He would bless him with security.
Abrahams challenges were real. His nephew Lot was taken captive by the enemies and he feared for his life.
I’m curious, what fears are you experiencing today, financial, relational, family, health, or other?
May I suggest that your fears are in direct correlation to your faith. It is your faith in God is most important in life.
In fact when we die, what is most important is our relationship to Christ and our family or friends. Nothing else.
Genesis 17 tells us that Abraham received a new name. My friends, when we come to Christ, He gives us a new name, we become members of a new family. We receive a gift that we did not achieve, but that we have received.
God promises security for our lives. God told Abraham, “I’m outside of time so live as if it has already happened.
We’re reminded in Ephesians 1:3-4,
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
We are secured in Christ. How do we know if we are saved? We know that we are saved because we persevered, because we are growing. If we could lose our salvation, we would have already lost it. Our salvation in Christ is secured and eternal, a gift from God.
II. God blesses us with prosperity,
Genesis 15:5-16
He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
This passage is a promise of prosperity. We’re not talking about material things that we can lose, but prosperity that is incorruptible. Spiritual blessing.
When we come to Christ we cannot believe that everything will be perfect in life and we will have everything we can ever want in life, principally material things. No. When we come to Christ, it means that no matter what comes our way, Christ is enough.
James 4:10 tell us,
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
God promises spiritual prosperity for us.
2 Corinthians 1:20 assures us,
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
True success in life is having the presence of God in our lives.
III. God blesses us with authority,
Genesis 15:17-21
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
God made a promise to Abraham: You will be blessed with authority.
Christ has gives us authority. We can proclaim the gospel with God’s authority and assurance. We can have authority over sin, the flesh and the devil. God has given us authority.
Hebrews 6:17-20 remind us:
Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
God blesses us with security, prosperity and authority. This is the word of the Lord for us, my friends.