Genesis 17: The Covenant

By the time we get to Genesis 17, Abraham has endured a long, hard road. He's 99 years old and still hasn't received the son God promised. There has been a lot of silence in the 13 years between Genesis 16 (the Hagar debacle) and Chapter 17. Abraham is aging, and time is taking its toll.

But in this chapter, God speaks to Abraham, and reminds him of the covenant. God also encouraged Abraham, and spells out the conditions of the covenant. God also promised quick action on the covenant.

Genesis 17 reminds us how God doesn't give up on us, that He has a covenant with us, and that we want our friends to be in that covenant.

God does not give up on us. Whenever a believer strays, God calls him back. Verse 1 says "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect." To "walk" means to live a certain way, or to adopt a certain lifestyle. God was calling Abraham to live for Him. Abraham had already lived a life of faith, but God was calling him to get back on track. Often, we become distracted in our day to day lives and lose sight of the big picture. When that happens, God calls us to get back on track.

"Perfect" means complete, the real deal. God called Abraham to be perfect, complete, the real deal. God calls us to be perfect, complete, the real deal. To be "perfect" means that you are a Christian who is the same on the inside as you present to others on the outside. You don't have a Jekyll and Hyde mentality, you are the same person no matter where you are. You are complete, you are a true Christian. You achieve this by reading the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

God also reminds us that He has a covenant with us. Verse 2 says "And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and, will multiply thee exceedingly." God had already made that covenant with Abraham. Here, He's reminding Abraham of the covenant. God was also encouraging Abraham to continue to live by faith.

God keeps his promises. When God saves you, He keeps you, and no one can pluck you from His hand, or separate you from His love (John 10:28-29). He never gives up on you, He sticks with you through the good times and the bad (Hebrews 13:5), but, He calls you to repentance. He also encourages us to Godly living.

God had a covenant with Abraham, and He has a covenant with us. Verse 7 says "And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee."

God established a covenant with Abraham, to give him a son, a seed, to make him a father of many nations, and to raise up a Godly nation from his descendants. Those who know Jesus as their savior will receive the blessings promised to Abraham's seed. God will be our God, and He'll establish His kingdom for us. (Verse 8).

Have you accepted God's covenant? Have you repented of your sin and trusted Jesus Christ as your savior? Do you live by your faith in the Lord? Do you look forward to His kingdom? If so, don't you want your friends and family to be a part of that covenant, and to be in God's kingdom?

In verses 24-27, Abraham circumcised Ishmael, and the men of his household, and his male servants, thus bringing them into the covenant. Today, I am glad that all we have to do is share the Gospel with our friends and family. If you share the Gospel with those around you, and live as an example to them, you will impact their lives. Are you willing to disciple and teach them?

The bottom line is that God made a covenant with Abraham, and God kept that covenant, despite Abraham's shortcomings of saying Sarah's his sister and fathering a child with Hagar. God has a covenant with you, if you know Christ as your savior, and He will keep that covenant with you despite your shortcomings. Trust the Lord, and spread the word of salvation.

The Journey: Genesis 5:21-24 (Walking with God)

The Bible says in Genesis 5:21-24 that Enoch walked with God for 300 years.

And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: 24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

The word for "walk" in Genesis 5 literally means "to walk," but figuratively, it means to converse with, to commune with, to get to know. Think of two people who exercise together by walking together in a city park on a daily basis. No doubt, they spend a lot of time talking to each other, sharing each other's concerns, and getting to know each other. That's the type of relationship Enoch had with God.

Enoch walked with God for 300 years, which resulted in him becoming a spiritual giant. The book of Jude referenced Enoch's writings some 2,000 years after he was gone, and Hebrews 11:5 referenced Enoch's faith and testimony that he pleased God. Thousands of years after he was gone, people were still talking about his faith, his testimony, and the fact he was a super-Godly man.

If we walk with God, we will also see significant spiritual growth. So, the question becomes, "How do you walk with God?"

Walking with God involves conversation with God. It involves speaking with God in prayer. Philippians 4:6 says Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. We shouldn't stress out, or worry about things beyond our control. We should trust God to handle those things, all the while we tell Him about our concerns and request that He resolve those issues for us. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says Pray without ceasing. We should spend significant amounts of time each day in prayer.

Conversations, however, are two way streets. If we expect to be able to converse with God, we need to also be willing to listen to Him. We listen to God by studying His word. That is, we read and meditate on the Bible, His scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The Bible is scripture, breathed by God. God uses his word to teach us (profitable for doctrine), to point out that which is wrong in our lives (for reproof), to teach us how to correct our sin and errors (for correction) and how to live a life that pleases Him (instruction in righteousness.)

Why does God do that? So we'll be perfect... which means we'll be complete, the real deal, a Christian that is the same on the inside as the outside. God will teach us to be the people He wants us to be, if we'll listen... and we listen by studying His word.

My personal approach to this is to literally walk with God. I walk a mile a day, spending that time in prayer. This usually lasts for 20-25 minutes. I spend that entire time in prayer, then I read a scripture and meditate on its meaning and application. It has made a difference in my life.

Which brings us to the benefits of walking with God...

The first benefit of walking with God is a stronger faith. Hebrews 11:5-6 says:

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Enoch had faith, which led to his pleasing God, so God translated Him. Faith is necessary to please God. So, in order to grow our faith, we have to walk with God. That larger faith will result in God being more pleased with us, which always leads to a blessing.

The second benefit to walking with God is that He hears our prayers.

Finally, we need people to walk with God. Enoch walked with God for 300 years, and had a testimony that lasted thousands of years. We need people to walk with God, leaving a testimony that inspires and encourages others. We need spiritual leaders, and those spiritual leaders must be the type that walk with God.

So, walk with God today. Spend time in prayer with Him, and spend time in His word, the Bible. May God bless you.

The Journey: Genesis 2:7 - God Made Man Different

Genesis 2:7 says "The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

Genesis 2:4-6 recount various aspects of the creation and how things functioned before man was created. Verse 7 then explains how man was created differently from the rest of creation. Instead of speaking man into existence, God formed man from the dust of the ground... meaning He actually molded man... hand-crafted him to be what God wanted him to be.

Ephesians 2:10 speaks to this when it says "For we are His workmanship...." Workmanship means craftsmanship. If you want to see the craftsmanship of God, look in the mirror. There are parts of the human body that science cannot replicate. Despite the advances in computer technology, man cannot create a brain like God gave him.

To put it another way, God made us specially.

Not only did God handcraft us, He gave us a living soul. When Genesis 2:7 says that God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life... it is not saying that God gave man mouth to mouth, it is saying that God gave man a living soul.

The Bible teaches that man is both flesh and spirit. The flesh is temporary, but the spirit (or the soul) lives forever. When it comes to salvation, we are not trying to save the life of the soul as much as we are trying to secure the eternal destination of the soul.

If a sinner dies without knowing Jesus Christ as his personal savior, his soul doesn't die. His soul spends eternity in Hell suffering the wrath of God.

However, if a sinner repents and trusts Jesus Christ as His savior, He looks forward to spending an eternity in Heaven with the Lord.

God handcrafted man, gave him life, and also gave him purpose. Genesis 2:15 says "God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."

God gave Adam a purpose... to keep and dress the garden. God always intended for man to work... He didn't design work to be so hard and debilitating in the beginning. That came as part of the sin curse which we will discuss in Genesis 3.

God gave Adam a purpose, and He gave us a purpose.

Ephesians 2:10 says "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

God handcrafted us for a purpose, and He wants us to fulfill that purpose. He wants us to follow His plan for our life. But before you can do that, you must know Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Do you know Him? Do you know God's will for your life? Are you doing what God has called you to do? May God bless you and keep you.

I Preach Christ Crucified... Got a Problem with That?

Following another wonderful Sunday morning service at Grace Pointe MBC in Brownwood, I was approached by a church member who said, "These people in this congregation are all saved. We don't need salvation messages, we need messages about Christian living."

I'm not going to lie, when someone criticizes my preaching (especially the sermon topic), my flesh gets all riled up. So that particular morning, I chose not to engage the conversation. I simply said, "okay," and moved on.

You see, at Grace Pointe, we study through books of the Bible during our Sunday morning, evening and Wednesday night sermons. On Sunday mornings, we study Luke. On Sunday evenings, we study 1 John. On Wednesday evenings, we study Revelation. What I preach about is determined by the text that comes up next in the book we are studying. So, it should come as no surprise that an overwhelming majority of the sermons preached at Grace Pointe Missionary Baptist Church are centered around the Gospel, for the Gospel is the central message of the Bible. Furthermore, we need to be more committed to preaching the Word of God (the Gospel, as recorded and taught in scripture) because the general public has no concept of the Gospel and God's plan of salvation. (If you don't believe me, go out and knock 10 doors of complete strangers in your neighborhood, ask how to be saved, and record the answers.)

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Paul said, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"

Typically, we use these verses to define the Gospel. That Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures. The Gospel had already been foretold by the Old Testament scriptures, and those Old Testament scriptures are what Paul referred to when he preached the Gospel.

Acts 17:2-3 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

Not only did Paul preach the Gospel when he was evangelizing, it was his central message. 1 Corinthians 1:23 says "We preach Christ crucified."

While the Bible does address issues like being a good husband, father, or a wife and mother, or being a good child, or a good employer/employee, the overwhelming majority of the Bible conveys the message of the Gospel and how God uses the obedience of His people for His honor and glory. Furthermore, the Bible also conveys how God rewards those who are faithful. To abandon the message of the Gospel for a series of "how to be the best ______ you can be" sermons is to turn away from the message of God's word and relegate the Holy Scriptures to a bargain bin self help book like thousands of man-made philosophies lining the shelves of bookstores everywhere.

"But what about the meat of the Word, shouldn't we get beyond salvation to the meat?" You ask.

First of all, scripture does not get any deeper than Jesus Christ (Thank you Roger Copeland for pointing that out.) Secondly, a deeper study of the Bible will always lead to a deeper understanding of the Gospel. The book of Hebrews admonished Hebrew believers for being stuck on the milk of the word... not that they didn't know a lot of scripture, but that they didn't have a thorough understanding of God's grace to the point that they would leave their old religion of sacrifices and rituals behind. Perhaps the reason we have generations of baby Christians who never mature is that we (a) never move beyond the "Here's how to be saved, Admit, Believe and Confess" sermons, and (b) if we do, we preach on some obscure theological point that will not help a person walk with God. The deeper the believer understands the Gospel, the more mature the believer will be in his faith, the more meat the believer can handle, and the stronger that believer's faith will be.

Therefore, as long as God blesses me with a preaching ministry, I plan to continue to preach through books of the Bible, thus preaching the whole counsel of God, and also placing emphasis on what God placed emphasis in His word.

My people are destroyed...

Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge...." This morning I was visited by a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses (so-called) who said they were looking for people who were "seeking the truth." Anyone who has ever interacted with Jehovah's Witnesses can attest to the fact that opening the scriptures to them is a difficult task because their "Bible" is vastly different from the KJV.

The lady told me that she used to read the KJV before its errors were pointed out to her. I asked how the New World Translation came about, and she told me that scholars went to the museums where the old texts were held and translated them. Her arguments against the KJV mirrored the arguments made against it by proponents of modern translations, but that is not the point of my post.

She had been taught that God has tossed aside the nation of Israel, and that the Old Testament is now obselete. This view flies in the face of Daniel 9, Romans 9, and the Biblical concept of God's plan with man.
She had also been taught that salvation begins with Christ. Salvation begins and ends with Christ (Hebrews 12:2.)

Brethren, it is destructive to stay in the milk of the word and never move on to the meat. To fail to study God's word with the intent of learning more about God is to leave yourself vulnerable to deception. The propigators of false religion are tenacious, well educated and very persuasive. We need to be armed with the whole armor of God, including the sword of the word, and we must know how to properly use it. Otherwise, we will present ourselves to be foolish and dishonor the cause of Christ.

Get in the word today. Open your Bible. Study to show thyself approved. God bless you all.

Read the Book!

If you study the history of military aviation in the United States, and don't learn about a man named Chuck Yeager, then you didn't really study the history of military aviation.

Yeager had a flight career spanning 60 years, was an accomplished fighter pilot in World War II, earned the title of "ace" in just one day (to earn the ace title, you have to score five air-to-air combat victories), scored the first victory over a figher jet, was the first man to break the sound barrier, then broke another speed record at Mach 2.44 (2.44 times the speed of sound), and commanded a figher wing to success in the Vietnam War.

Yeager's success in aerial combat and his survival through World War II (where he was shot down once) and Vietnam were the results of his committment to knowing his aircraft. Whenever he was assigned to a new aircraft, he got the instruction manual for that aircraft and learned it. He would learn its capabilities, its systems, its emergency backup systems, and emergency procedures should something go wrong. He knew his aircraft's abilities and shortcomings.

Lack of understanding of their aircraft cost many figher-pilots their lives or freedom during Vietnam. Airforce training showed the pilots how to fly and safety procedures, but many pilots didn't know their aircraft's capabilities in combat, an ignorance that cost aerial combat victories, F-4's and pilots alike. Furthermore, those pilots weren't trained in aerial combat maneuvering (a.k.a. dogfighting). Then men like Yeager, Robin Olds, and Steve Ritchie arrived in Vietnam, and taught the younger pilots those skills. A lack of knowledge killed Air Force pilots, but proper training, reading the books on the jets, and applying that knowledge saved many pilots and gave the U.S. the victory in the air.

Yeager's success was based on the fact that he took the time to read the book and learn his aircraft, then apply what he learned in combat situations. He read the book! It works the same in ministry and the Christian life.

All too often, ministers wreck their ministries, and many times their churches, because of a lack of knowledge. This lack of knowledge comes from a lack of reading, not commentaries, but the Word of God.

God gave us the Bible to thoroughly equip us for whatever forms and points of service for which he has called us. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) If a minister knows the scriptures, he will know how to counsel and work with a couple that is facing the prospect of divorce, he will be able to encourage a woman who is married to an unGodly husband, he will know that he is responsible to intervene when he knows child abuse is taking place, and he will know how important the roles of him and the church are, more importantly, he will know what those roles are. To quote the preachers from years ago, "It's in the book!"

The book is only as good as it is read, however. Those instruction books for those planes would have been little use had Yeager not read them. In order for that information to help Yeager, he would have had to read it and learn it before taking off. Imagine what would happen had Yeager taken his flight wing into the air, detected enemy aircraft at 11 o'clock, then decided, "Hey, I think I'll consult the book for this!" With most aerial combat situations (dogfights) lasting less than 60 seconds, he'd be dead before he got the book open.

It is important to make sure you are studied up on scripture BEFORE you find yourself in a Spiritual battle, position of service, or counseling session. If you wait until then, then your only hope is to consult Strong's Concordance, and at that point, scripture is likely to be taken out of context and misapplied, leading to further devastation. Or, you can just shoot from the hip, give your own advice, and disregard God's instruction.

The Bible says to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)."

Study your Bible, learn God's will, apply His truths to your Christian walk and ministry. You might just find that you have a successful 60-year ministry ahead of you.

Market Place Apartments Outreach

Every 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday evening at 4 p.m., I meet with residents of the Market Place apartment complex for an hour-long Bible study. Usually, between 12 and 15 residents will attend this study. Four are members at Grace Pointe, while the rest just attend the Market Place studies.

This ministry at this complex is a blessing, not only for me, but I can see God working in the lives of the residents as well. The faithful support of our sister churches and the MBA of Texas allow me the time to perform ministries like this, and for that, I truly thank you.