SUNDAY, August 31st, 2008

Hey Everyone! I hope you were in church this morning! Pastor Chip preached a great message on how we should show our testimony for God at our workplace. Tonight we are going to have a missionary! That will be great! Make sure that you are able to attend. I know that because it is a holiday weekend that many of you are out of town, but if you are in town you should make sure that you are in church tonight!

Genesis 17

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.
2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
9 And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.
13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”
22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him.
24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael;
27 and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.


Ouch! God was serious about proving their belief. God wanted them to do something difficult to prove that they trusted God. They did it! Babies are generally circumcised a few days after they are born, NOT when they are 13 years old. Babies dont remember how painful that process is... if you are not sure about the details and you really want to know... then ask your parents.

Well, I think the two part about this passage that really speak to me are when God tells Abram to "Walk before me and be blameless" and then when God changes the Name of Abram and Sarai.

Let's talk about each one:

God told Abram to walk before him and be blameless... Are you blameless? Do you live a life with a testimony that is so righteous, that people cannot even find anything bad to say about you.

The people who see you could NEVER blame you for something wrong because you have integrity and character. That is a description of someone who is blameless!! Be Blameless!!

Second, I think it is wonderful how God changes Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah!! Think about this... They trusted in God and He gave them a new identity. That is what we talked about in Sunday School this morning! We have a new identity in Christ when we accept Him!

The Bible says that we become a "new creature" and "all things are become new"

Has your life changed since you accepted Christ? Have all things become new in your life? That is evidence of a genuine faith in God!

The last and final thing that jumped out at me was the fact that Abram mocked God when God said that He would give them a child. Abraham literally LAUGHED in Gods face!!!! Wow! The Audacity!! I cannot believe it! Again! After God has been so faithful... Abraham just laughs with unbelief! Well... Abraham is about to find out, that God was not joking around when He told Abraham that He was going to have a son!

Trust God! No matter how crazy it may sound! Trust Him and He will do more in your life than you ever dreamed!!!!!!!!