Sunday, September 28, 2014

WEEK 1 THE MISSIONS MANDATE: BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING

Genesis 12: 1-3  Abraham's call to 'Go'


‘I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.  I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’ 

There is a big division in the bible into two parts. One part is  Genesis 1-11 and the other part is Genesis 12- Revelation 21. Genesis 1-11 is an explanation of man’s problem. God is creator but man has sinned.  Genesis 12- Revelation 21 is God’s response….. and what is God’s response at the  beginning of Genesis 12…. ‘I will’….Our God is a…. ‘willing God’.

This is the creator God of Genesis 1 , who despite man’s sin and wickedness that we read about in Genesis 1-11 is a God who will find a way to redeem the situation. He will keep his promise that he made in Genesis 3:15 ‘he will crush your  head. God will find a way to redeem.  God’s call to Abraham to ‘Go’ is proof that God is faithful even if we are faithless. God will find a way to redeem this situation. God will not abandon us. God has not abandoned us. The blessing in Genesis 11 deals with the curse in Genesis 3 and the result is in Revelation 22:3. No longer will there be any curse . The promise of Genesis 11:1-3, is a promise of blessing. 5 times God says I will bless you. That blessing will spill out and bless the whole earth. God says to Abraham ‘ Go …..(and) ….All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’  We read later in Habbakuk.‘The earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. 

Our God is a God of covenant and a God of history. He has promised and He will do it . The first words of New Testament are a genealogy. Everyone in the genealogy is a  fulfillment of the  2000 year promise to Abraham. Our faith in the Messiah is deeply rooted in this long list of people. Jesus is the key figure and we are invited to participate in his spiritual lineage. In Hebrews 11we read. ‘It is by faith that we inherit the promise’. Abraham did not see it with his eyes. As he responded to the call to ‘Go,’ he inherited the promise by faith and so do we. Our God is a God of mission. As Abraham’s seed by faith we can step into the promise. God has said  ‘Go.’ God says to you and me ‘Go' Will we respond? 

In Romans 10 we read , ‘How will they hear if someone doesn’t ‘Go’ We need to understand that there is a greater plan in the heart of God . God’s plan for the human race is a for a big family that will fill the earth. Do you and I understand that we are part of that plan?  Going back is not an option. He commands us to ‘Go’. Let’s step into God’s plan. He will accomplish his purposes, There is no going back. What is your response? Will you be part of God’s big plan to bless the whole earth, that’s God’s mission. He has promised and he will do it.  You have a destiny and a purpose and it is all part of this missions mandate: God’s plan is to bless the whole earth. Let’s respond to God’s call and Go! 

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