By Caleb Iboroma
(Sunday, September 13th, 2009)
[For a printable version click here.]
Quotable quotes:
There is good news brethren, and it is in the word of the Lord to us this morning.
Gen. 21:12 And God said unto Abraham, let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called..
“That by two immutable things, (the promise and the Oath), in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us” Heb 6:18.
The land has been given to Abraham. All the “ites” (Canaanites, Hittites Gergarsites etc) and their descendants are all tenants. PRAISE GOD. They have no choice but to stop troubling Israel. Amen.
Today’s message is on a contemporary but touchy topic: “The fear and spread of the Anti-Christ spirit” which is rising from the middle and far East around the region of the great River Euphrates. It is a violent spirit that seeks to terrorize the world. It an anti-human right’s spirit. Nigeria has had her fair share of religious violence from this self same spirit. In July, 2009, it manifested itself through the Bokoharam (a Nigerian militant Islamist group) which propagated sectarian violence in some states in the northern part of the country.
Therefore, let the true heirs of Abraham to whom the faith-covenant (the promise) was made rise up in fasting and prayers to contend with this oppressive spirit.
THE DISPENSATION OF PROMISE: ABRAHAMIC COVENANT.
We will examine this covenant under different highlights. The first is:
THE CALL
The covenant originated with a direct call from God. Incidentally there is no where else in the Bible where God called a man and uttered such prophetic utterances directly, entering into direct covenant with him. And the good news is that this covenant is subsisting today. And there is nothing that the spirit of Islam can do about it for we serve a God that honours His word above His name. Hallelujah!!!!.
Ge 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: v 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: v 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Ge 12:7 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.
COVENANT CONFIRMED
Ge 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: v19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, v20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, v21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
COVENANT ABOUT ABRAHAM’S HEIR & LAND: Gen 15:1-4, 18-21
Seeing that God honours His word above His name, He went ahead to confirm every word He spoke to Abraham in the following passages.
Gen. 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: v 15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. v16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. v17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. v18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
Not only did the Lord confirm the covenant but He promised him an heir. Abraham at this time was childless, he was a very wealthy man and the word of the Lord had come to him so as to reassure him about having descendants from his own lineage. Despite this double assurance, Sarah as a result of lack of patience encouraged Abraham to go into her maid Hagar. What a pity that Abraham did not rebuke his wife Sarah, but went along with her fleshly suggestion and Ishmael was born. We men are responsible to God for our families, so we ought to be careful and discern the voice of the Lord whenever our wives give us counsel. It is our God given responsibility to stand in the place where we can bring correction or counsel to our wives. There are other examples of the disaster caused by impatience in the bible. The case of King Saul and the prophet Samuel, is an excellent example. Saul took upon himself to perform the duty which was only to be performed by a priest, because of his impatience in waiting for Samuel to arrive. This attracted God’s wrath on him. Elimelech and his wife Naomi is another example. During a certain period of farming they did not have the patience to wait for God to send deliverance, they went out of God to heathen lands and as she (Naomi) confessed later in life, she went out full and returned empty. IMPATIENCE IS DANGEROUS. May we learn to be patient, so that we be not like Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Ge 16:1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
v2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
v3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
ABRAHAM’S FAMILY FUSS.
Here we begin to see the resultant effects of impatience, such as in subordination of the bondwoman (Hagar) to her mistress, (Sarah), and some misunderstanding between Abraham and Sarah. Gen. 16:4-6. “he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived : and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes”.
COVENANT ASSURED WITH A CHANGE OF NAME
Ge 17:1 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. v2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. v3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, v4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. v5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. v6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. v7 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. v8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
COVENANT ENLARGED
God was so pleased with Abraham that He went further to enlarge His covenant with him. Note the use of the word ONLY SON. As far as the Lord was concerned, Abraham had only one son Isaac. At this point in time, Ishmael was 18 years old. Agreed he was the seed of Abraham, but the covenant of blessing was with Isaac. It was the generation that would rise through Isaac that the Lord promised to bless. Ge 22:15 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, v16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: Gen 22: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; v18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.Also note the promise of possessing the gate of his enemies; this ought to encourage us.
ABRAHAMIC COVENANT CONFIRMED IN ISAAC
God appeared unto Isaac and reconfirmed the covenant He had made with his father Abraham. Praise God.
Ge 26:1 And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. v2 And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:v3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
v4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; v5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
ABRAHAMIC COVENANT FURTHER CONFIRMED IN JACOB
This Abrahamic covenant was also reconfirmed to Jacob. Hallelujah! There was no room left for any one to doubt that the promise was to Abraham and his seed. And this promise filtered down through the generations to David and finally to Jesus the Prince of Peace. Praise God.
Gen. 28:1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. v 2 Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother. v 3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; v 4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
Ge 28:10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
v11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. v 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
v 13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; v14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
THE HAGARIC COVENANT
God also made a covenant with Hagar. Hagar was the hand maid of Sarah who ran away from the stern dealings of Sarah after she got pregnant with Ishmael. God had compassion on her because of Abraham’s seed and made this covenant with her.
Ge 16:7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.v 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. v 9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.v 10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. v 11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. v 12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
COVENANT ENLARGED TO OTHER GENERATIONS
Ge 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. v21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
COVENANT CONFIRMED TO HAGAR
Ge 21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. v18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. v19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. v 20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. Ge 25:12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham: v 13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, v 14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,v15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: v 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
SARAHIC COVENENANT
Ge 17:15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. v 16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. v 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? v18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
v19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. v 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. v 21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. v 22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. Ge 18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. v 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?v v 13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? v 14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
COVENANT CONFIRMED
Ge 21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.v 2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him v 3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. v 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
ABRAHAM’S WILL TO HIS SON: Here the wise Abraham settled the issue of his successor once and for all.
Ge 25:5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. 6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
THE IMMUTABILITY OF THE PROMISE
The covenant of GOD is immutable; that is to say it is not subject to change.
Heb 6:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, v 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.v 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. v16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. v17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: v18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: v 19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Note verse 18b… that we might have a strong consolation …
Brethren, indeed we should be greatly encouraged and comforted like righteous Simeon, who waited in faith for the Messiac Kingdom of Christ, that would have total victory over the Anti-christ spirit; whose hand is against every man and every man’s hand against him (wild man of the Bondwoman). Hear ye the word of the Lord. “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she had received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sin’s (Isaiah 40: 1-2.).
PRAISE GOD. AMEN.
QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION
Question: Who does the word bondwoman refer to. Does it refer to all other religions outside the Christian religion or does it refer to the anti-Christ?
Answer one: You and I who are believers (Christians) are of the free woman. Any thing outside, is of the bondwoman irrespective of the name it is called. However amongst these many religions, Islam appears to be more vocal and violent than the rest.
Answer two: The bible says even Jerusalem on earth is part of the bondwoman. The free woman is referred to as Jerusalem on high. In order words, God wants our minds to go higher than the physical level of talking about physical Ishmael and physical Isaac, to talking about the sons of God in the Spirit whose lineage is after Jesus Christ. Those are the sons and their Mother is Jerusalem on high that is the true church of the living God. That is the real free woman. All that are not part of the church (the Jerusalem on high) are of the bondwoman. Even when we gather as a people in fellowship and we are called the church physically speaking but spiritually speaking we are referred to as Jerusalem.
Ga 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. v23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. v24 Which things are an allegory: (An allegory is a play that is acted to teach a lesson, so the concept of the free and bond woman being described was to teach us a lesson which is the real thing,the spiritual thing ) for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. v25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. v26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
So, true Christians when we are gathered like this we call it church, or fellowship. We have both the bondwoman and the free woman. We have both the sons of the free women and the sons of the bondwoman gathered. The bible says the Lord knoweth those that are His. Those that the Lord knows are His, are the sons of God, they are the sons of the free woman. Whereas, all the others are the sons of the bondwoman.