YOU ARE RECEIVING THE FULFILMENT OF GOD’S PROMISES AS YOU CONTINUE TO STUDY THE BIBLE ABOUT UNDERSTANDING HIS PROMISES TO YOU:

1. Malachi 3:8-11; 4:2;  Revelation 22
“Can a person cheat Elohim? Yet, you are cheating me! “But you ask, ‘How are we cheating you?’

“When you don’t bring a tenth of your income and other contributions. So a curse is on you because the whole nation is cheating me! “Bring one-tenth of your income into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says Yahweh Tsebaoth. “See if I won’t open the windows of heaven for you and flood you with blessings. Then, for your sake, I will stop insects from eating your crops. They will not destroy the produce of your land. The vines in your fields will not lose their unripened grapes,” says Yahweh Tsebaoth.

“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in its wings”.

“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

“Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

2. Genesis 3:15-17; Matthew 1
“I will make you and the woman hostile toward each other. I will make your descendants and her descendant hostile toward each other. He will crush your head, and you will bruise his heel.” He said to the woman,  “I will increase your pain and your labor when you give birth to children. Yet, you will long for your husband, and he will rule you.” Then he said to the man, “You listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree, although I commanded you, ‘You must never eat its fruit.’ The ground is cursed because of you. Through hard work you will eat food that comes from it every day of your life.

“This is the list of ancestors of Yeshua Christ, descendant of David and Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah and Tamar were the father and mother of Perez and Zerah. Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon. Salmon and Rahab were the father and mother of Boaz. Boaz and Ruth were the father and mother of Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of King David. David and Uriah’s wife Bathsheba were the father and mother of Solomon.

“Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah. Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers. They lived at the time when the people were exiled to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph, who was the husband of Mary.

“Mary was the mother of Yeshua, who is called Christ. So there were generations from Abraham to David, generations from David until the exile to Babylon, generations from the exile until the Messiah.

“The birth of Yeshua Christ took place in this way. His mother Mary had been promised to Joseph in marriage. But before they were married, Mary realized that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly.

“Joseph had this in mind when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said to him, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Yeshua [He Saves], because he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true:  “The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him to do. He took Mary to be his wife. He did not have marital relations with her before she gave birth to a son. Joseph named the child Yeshua.

3. Genesis 4:6; 5:4-20; 6:18-21; Matthew 2:19-23
“Then Yahweh asked Cain, “Why are you angry, and why do you look disappointed?”

“After Adam became the father of Seth, he lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Adam lived a total of 930 years; then he died. When Seth was 105 years old, he became the father of Enosh. After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Seth lived a total of 912 years; then he died. When Enosh was 90 years old, he became the father of Kenan. After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.

“Enosh lived a total of 905 years; then he died. When Kenan was 70 years old, he became the father of Mahalalel. After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. Kenan lived a total of 910 years; then he died. When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he became the father of Jared. After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years; to  then he died. When Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch. After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Jared lived a total of 962 years; then he died.

“But I will make my promise to you. You, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives will go into the ship. Bring two of every living creature into the ship in order to keep them alive with you. They must be male and female. Two of every type of bird, every type of domestic animal, and every type of creature that crawls on the ground will come to you to be kept alive. Take every kind of food that can be eaten and store it. It will be food for you and the animals.”

“After Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. The angel said to him, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to Israel. Those who tried to kill the child are dead.” Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, Joseph was afraid to go there. Warned in a dream, he left for Galilee and made his home in a city called Nazareth. So what the prophets had said came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

4. Genesis 8:21-22; 9:8-17; Matthew 3:7–10
“Yahweh smelled the soothing aroma. Yahweh said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of humans, even though from birth their hearts are set on nothing but evil. I will never again kill every living creature as I have just done. As long as the earth exists, planting and harvesting, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never stop.”

“Elohim also said to Noah and his sons, “I am going to make my promise to you, your descendants, and every living being that is with you—birds, domestic animals, and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ship—every living thing on earth. I am making my promise to you. Never again will all life be killed by floodwaters. Never again will there be a flood that destroys the earth.”

“Elohim said, “This is the sign of the promise I am giving to you and every living being that is with you for generations to come. I will put my rainbow in the clouds to be a sign of my promise to the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth, a rainbow will appear in the clouds. Then I will remember my promise to you and every living animal. Never again will water become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember my everlasting promise to every living animal on earth.” So Elohim said to Noah, “This is the sign of the promise I am making to all life on earth.”

“But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized, he said to them, “You poisonous snakes! Who showed you how to flee from God’s coming anger? Do those things that prove you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. Don’t think you can say, ‘Abraham is our ancestor.’ I can guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”

5. Genesis 11:26-12:9; Matthew 4:1-4,19-20
“Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. This is the account of Terah and his descendants. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, his native land. Both Abram and Nahor married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran. (Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah.)  Sarai was not able to have children. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, wife of his son Abram. They set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came as far as Haran, they stayed there. Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.

“Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your land, your relatives, and your father’s home. Go to the land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, 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. Through you every family on earth will be blessed.” So Abram left, as Yahweh had told him, and Lot went with him.

“Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. Abram set out for Canaan. He took along his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the servants they had acquired in Haran. They arrived in Canaan, and Abram traveled through the land to the oak tree belonging to Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I’m going to give this land to your descendants.” So he built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. He moved on to the hills east of Bethel, and he put up his tent—with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He also built an altar to Yahweh there and worshiped Yahweh. Abram kept moving toward the Negev.

“Then the Spirit led Yeshua into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Yeshua did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of that time, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” Yeshua answered, “Scripture says, ‘A person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that God speaks…Yeshua said to them, “Come, follow me! I will teach you how to catch people instead of fish.” They immediately left their nets and followed him.”

6. Genesis 3:15; 13:14-18; 14:1-16, 22-23; Matthew 5:1-12
“I will make you and the woman hostile toward each other. I will make your descendants and her descendant hostile toward each other. He will crush your head, and you will bruise his heel.

“The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring[a] forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.

“At that time four kings—King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim— went to war against five kings—King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). The five kings joined forces and met in the valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea). For 12 years they had been subject to Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and his allies came and defeated the Rephaim at Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim at Ham, the Emim at Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, going as far as El Paran on the edge of the desert. On their way back, they came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who were living at Hazazon Tamar.

“Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and prepared for battle in the valley of Siddim. They fought against King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar—four kings against five. The valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. As the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell because of the tar pits, but the other kings fled to the hills. So the four kings took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as all their food, and left. They also took Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions since he was living in Sodom.

“Then a soldier who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew what had happened. He was living next to the oak trees belonging to Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner. (These men were Abram’s allies.)  When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he armed his 318 trained men, born in his own household, and pursued the four kings all the way to Dan. He split up his men to attack them at night. He defeated them, pursuing them all the way to Hobah, which is north of Damascus. He brought back everything they had, including women and soldiers. He also brought back his relative Lot and his possessions.

“But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I now raise my hand and solemnly swear to Yahweh El Elyon, maker of heaven and earth, that I won’t take a thread or a sandal strap. I won’t take anything that is yours so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’

“When Yeshua saw the crowds, he went up a mountain and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them: “Blessed are those who recognize they are spiritually helpless. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Blessed are those who mourn. They will be comforted. Blessed are those who are gentle. They will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God’s approval. They will be satisfied. Blessed are those who show mercy. They will be treated mercifully. Blessed are those whose thoughts are pure. They will see God.

“Blessed are those who make peace. They will be called God’s children. Blessed are those who are persecuted for doing what God approves of. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, lie, and say all kinds of evil things about you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because you have a great reward in heaven! The prophets who lived before you were persecuted in these ways.

7. Genesis 15:4-6; 16:11-12; 17:15, 21-22; Matthew 5:27-48
“Suddenly, Yahweh spoke his word to Abram again. He said, “This man will not be your heir. Your own son will be your heir.” He took Abram outside and said, “Now look up at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He also said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” Then Abram believed Yahweh, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abram’s approval by Yahweh.”

“Then the Messenger of Yahweh said to her, “You are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You will name him Ishmael [God Hears], because Yahweh has heard your cry of distress. He will be as free and wild as an untamed donkey. He will fight with everyone, and everyone will fight with him. He will have conflicts with all his relatives.”

“Elohim said to Abraham, “Don’t call your wife by the name Sarai anymore. Instead, her name is Sarah [Princess]…But I will make my promise to Isaac. Sarah will give birth to him at this time next year.” When Elohim finished speaking with Abraham, he left him.”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Never commit adultery.’ But I can guarantee that whoever looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery in his heart.

“So if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have all of it thrown into hell. And if your right hand leads you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have all of it go into hell.

“It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice.’ But I can guarantee that any man who divorces his wife for any reason other than unfaithfulness makes her look as though she has committed adultery. Whoever marries a woman divorced in this way makes himself look as though he has committed adultery.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Never break your oath, but give to the Lord what you swore in an oath to give him.’ But I tell you don’t swear an oath at all. Don’t swear an oath by heaven, which is God’s throne, or by the earth, which is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, which is the city of the great King. And don’t swear an oath by your head. After all, you cannot make one hair black or white. Simply say yes or no. Anything more than that comes from the evil one.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to oppose an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn your other cheek to him as well. If someone wants to sue you in order to take your shirt, let him have your coat too. If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to everyone who asks you for something. Don’t turn anyone away who wants to borrow something from you.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you this: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. In this way you show that you are children of your Father in heaven. He makes his sun rise on people whether they are good or evil. He lets rain fall on them whether they are just or unjust. If you love those who love you, do you deserve a reward? Even the tax collectors do that! Are you doing anything remarkable if you welcome only your friends? Everyone does that! That is why you must be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.

We now claim the promises in Understanding of God’s Word:

PN 1). God promises to bless and provide for the faithful giver. God makes a dramatic promise if we obey His command to give in Malachi 3:8–11. This passage contains several key points: If we fail to bring our tithes and offerings to God, we are robbing Him (Malachi 3:8).

a). Heavenly Father, please forgive our lukewarm offering. We ask that the light of Christ will break into the darkness of our world with mercy to awaken people bound in darkness and to revive those who are compromised. Amen.

b).  We receive the promised blessings of:
i). Pour out a blessing.
ii). Rebuke the devourer.
iii).  The fruits of our ground shall not be destroyed.
iv). Our vine shall not cast their fruit before time. Amen.

c).  Heavenly Father, we thank You for your healing waters that flow within us, straight from the throne of the Lamb! Thank You for Your Holy Spirit. Soothe us, we pray, quench our thirst, and then let Your river flow out of us to heal Your hurting world. Amen.

d).  Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You that You are the A (Alpha) and the Omega (Z), the beginning and the end. Teach us to rest in this wider perspective. Let this great truth become the foundation of our soul. Amen.

e). Heavenly Father, help us to acknowledge that Your desire to reveal Your will and plan to us is greater than our desire to know it.
As we study Your Word, grant us a growing capacity to trust and obey You in all things. For, You promise to reward those who worship, trust, serve, and obey You!
As we come again to You, unveil Your beauty and greatness to us so that we truly and fervently worship and adore You. Amen.

PN 2). God was revealing His plan to defeat Satan and offer salvation to the world through Jesus, Himself. Therefore, we have in Genesis 3:15 the first promise of a Redeemer. It is the beginning of a long line of prophecies concerning the coming Messiah — the one who would make things right between God and man.

Matthew begins the Good News of Jesus by reminding us that not only is Jesus Jewish but that he also has a family line that can be traced back to King David and to Father Abraham. Matthew wants to show his readers that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Messiah who will bless all nations.

f). Our great and glorious God, creator of the heavens and the earth: We come before You this morning, for You are the Beginner of all good things. All creation shall sing Your praises. There shall be light! Oh yes, Amen. Your light shall lead us! We shall walk daily in Your light and Your light shall make us beautiful every day for Your glory. Amen.

g). O Lord, throughout history and myth You have humbled Yourself to live among the people. Humble us also in our pursuit of understanding, and lead us from this time with open eyes and ears for Your divine image as revealed in the diverse people and communities that surround us. Amen.

h).  We pray for the spread of God’s Word across all Nations. God, we pray for this year to be a year of unprecedented spread of Your word among all the nations. Among more and more unreached people. God, we pray for Your word to be translated into more and more languages. Amen.

i). Heaven Father after creation, You saw that all that You created was beautiful and good, which every man and other living creatures enjoy till today. We are Yours, You are our Father, and just as You did not labour in vain, let us not labour in vain; let our work reflect Your glory every day of our life. Amen.

j). God, we pray for divine help,  help us to work hard. Lord, help us to work in a way that brings glory to Your Name. Amen.

k).  Heavenly Father, as we read Your Word and consider the truths that it contains, we see that Your ways are so much greater than man can imagine. You gave Your Son to be born as Son of Man – just as the prophets of old foretold. Thank You that Your plans and purposes, which were made in eternity past, can never be changed and that one day Jesus is returning as King of kings, to sit on the throne of David, where He will reign in righteousness, and rule in justice. Thank You in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

l). Lord Jesus, we pray that You don’t let our names be removed from the list of Your kingdom. Give all the married people the grace to be faithful to their spouse.
Holy Spirit take over every family which satan is about breaking. Lord Jesus stretch forth Your hand of salvation to as many that are still in bondage of sins and satan. Holy Spirit do the miracle of this year in our lives and homes. Amen.

PN 3).  God made a wonderful promise to Adam and Eve after they had sinned. He promised a seed—descendants, children—through whom a godly line of people was to be born, and He promised that a Savior would come through that line (Genesis 3:15). Genesis 4-5 shows us the beginning of God’s promise being fulfilled.

God forces Cain to leave his family and wander the earth, but God also marks Cain with a promise of great vengeance on anyone who would kill him. The consequences of sin become apparent in chapter 4: envy, arrogance, rebellion, murder, punishment, separation from family, and separation from God.

It would be through Seth that God would send His promised Deliverer. As long as the line of Seth continues, the hope of God’s promise continues. That is why each life listed in Genesis 5 has three important statements: (1) he lived for several years; (2) he fathered a son; (3) he lived more years and then he died.

God’s promise of a new covenant through Noah. God promised to establish a new covenant through Noah and his descendants: “18 But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

God’s Word is true, whether heard in its entirety by the original hearer or as a single fact of prophecy addressed to a reader hundreds or even thousands of years later. This is an unavoidable truth of our timeless God: Originally fulfilled prophesy still has application in the life of a believer, no matter the timeline.

Another dream.Two dreams. One that it is safe to return from Egypt; another that it is not safe to go back to Bethlehem.

And with the dreams, two more acts of obedience. And with the obedience, more fulfilled prophecy. Oh, not quite in the sense that we think of prophecy as magical predictions coming true. Rather, fulfilled prophecy in the sense of God’s promises being kept, even when those who first uttered God’s promise – the ones we call prophets – and those involved in fulfilling it are unaware. Yet God is there, working always for the good of the world. And when we are caught up in that good, live into the future of grace the prophets announced, then the prophecy is fulfilled.

Catching God’s dream, following it to the best of our ability, living into God’s promised future. Can the Christian life and gospel be so simple?

We don’t know for sure. But faith says that curiously what would happen if we believed it to be…and lived it so?

m). Lord God,  we pray that You open our eyes and hearts to hear Your truth when You speak through Your Word. We thank You for Your grace and mercy as You deal with my sin. Amen.

n). Oh God, we pray that You lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil today. God help us to realize, to see, to recognize, that sin is crouching at our door. We pray that we shall be Vigilant And Obedient. Amen.

o). Heavenly Father, please inspire us through Your Word of how You desire the world to be and work in us and through us to make it so. Amen.

PN 4).  In Genesis 7-9, we see the Great Flood and God’s promise to Noah sealed with a rainbow. We learn about Noah’s family and see changes in the way the world post-flood.

God promised to never again destroy the earth with a flood. Although God knew that evil would once again consume the world not too long after the flood, He made a promise that no matter how bad things got, He would not destroy the earth again with a flood.

God commits to never again curse the earth in the way He did with the flood, and never to strike down all life on earth. As long as the earth remains, the cycles of nature will continue as God had designed them.

In Genesis 9, God sealed His promise with a rainbow in the sky. Amid the devastation from the flood of judgment, there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky symbolizing God’s gracious promise! God did not promise we will never experience storms, but He has promised He will be with us during them.

The opportunity for Noah and his family to start over in a world cleansed of wickedness is symbolic of the opportunity we receive when we are baptized—we get a chance to start over again and be more diligent in following Heavenly Father’s plan.

God binds Himself to a covenant with Noah and his descendants, promising never to destroy the earth by flood (Gen. 9:8-17). God gives the rainbow as a sign of His promise.

The rainbow is a sign of God’s redeeming grace and mercy. The Hebrew word, translated as “rainbow” is properly translated as “war bow.” God set the bow in the sky to serve as the sign of the Noahic covenant—signifying His promise of redemption (Gen. 9:8–17).

One difference of the post-flood era, beginning with chapter 9, is that God is speaking directly to Noah’s sons, as well as to Noah. God is especially incorporating the next generation in His promises, commands, and blessings.

God’s promises to Israel would not keep Him from pruning the fruitless branches. God can raise up more children for Abraham even from the stones if He chooses to, John said (Matthew 3:7–10). Finally, John spells out what his baptism is for. He baptizes the willing with water as a sign of repentance.

p). Thank You, Heavenly Father,  that Your grace embraces all who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thank You that by grace we are covered in His righteousness by faith. Hallelujah!

q). Lord give us hearing ears and seeing eyes to hear from You clearly. Strengthen our faith in Christ Jesus. We declare our family and self are secure and protected in Jesus’ Ark, sealed with Jesus’ Blood. Amen.

r). Please oh God, cause Your Name, Your grace, Your love, Your salvation in Jesus to spread and multiply and fill the whole earth so that men and women from every people group on the planet know and enjoy Your blessing. God, fill the earth with Your glory. Amen.

s). God, we pray that You would help us to be all the more zealous in the days to come, to live with the urgency of eternity, to lead people to live in You, that they might celebrate salvation in You through Baptism. Oh God, we exalt You as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We exalt You God, our Heavenly Father. Amen.

PN 5). The Book of Genesis has at least eight God’s promises. The first promise is creating man in His image and giving him supremacy over all He made on earth. God promised to bless Abraham’s descendants and every other person through them, and He also promised credit to the righteous who believed in Him.

God had seen the sin of the human race. Instead of sending a flood to destroy them all again, as He had in the past, God saved one man and his family. To this man God came and gave wonderful promises, “I will make you a great nation. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.”

In Genesis 12:1-3, God promised Abraham that He would multiply his descendants as the stars in the sky. He would be their God and give them a specific piece of land forever. Yet even before that, God said He would bless Abraham and his descendants so that all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12).

When Abram was called by God in the preceding verses, he was called as the last person on earth to deserve God’s grace. And he was blessed by God and given promises by God for more blessing; offspring who would bless the nations, a land for them to live within, significance in the work of God’s redemption! But those blessings were meant to fuel and support the mission of God to bring redemption into all the earth. In Abram, God planned to bless all the families of the earth.

God made four promises to Abraham -(1) land, (2) numerous descendants, (3) blessing for him and his descendants, and (4) blessing through him for all nations

The promise of offspring to Abram is protected by God not only through the relief from famine but also by God protecting Sarai from the threat of becoming another man’s wife. We’ll soon see that God has a part for her in particular to play in that promise. God protects Abram from the threat of a king’s wrath. We could expect a very different outcome were God not protecting Abram from such a threat. (God’s promises come by default with provision and protection)

Jesus calls the first four citizens into that Kingdom and says they will fish for men (Matthew 4:19). God promised in Jeremiah 16:16 that fishermen and hunters would come who would bring people from all nations into His Kingdom. And in Jesus, this promise becomes reality.

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds. out of the mouth of God.”

I will make you fishers of men. Jesus used a clever play on words to call these fishermen to give up their livelihood of catching fish to rescue people. This shows that Jesus’ ministry is not just about knowledge or only about the disciples’ own lives.

t). Heavenly Father, thank You for the many ways that Your Word is proven to be true and altogether reliable. Lord God, we pray that Your Blessing shall spread to all peoples. We shall rise daily to do as You have told us, live trusting in Your promises, believing, knowing that You are always faithful to Your promises. We shall walk fully by faith to do Your Will for our Comfort, Robust Manifestation of Your Glory in us and all to Your Glory, and for our promotions. You shall increase our greatness as you did for Abraham and comfort us on every side. Amen.

u).  God of Creation, Infinite of Majesty, You sent Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to become our Saviour and Messiah, redeeming the world from the throes of sin and eternal death and restoring humanity to Yourself for the sake of Your Glory. Yes, Your Word,  O Lord shall sustain us. God, help us to live like we believe this. Like we believe Your Word is our sustenance because it is. Our lives depend on Your Word. God, we cannot experience life apart from Your word. Help us,  O Lord. Amen.

PN 6). Even in the sinful disobedience of man, God gave us a promise in Genesis 3:15. He promises to defeat His Enemy in our life and set our children free, so that we have a good life in this world, and to spend eternity in Heaven with Him.

Abram is a man walking with God. His misadventure in Egypt is behind him and he is back in the place of blessing walking by faith. This is seen in the fact that when a dispute arose between himself and his nephew Lot, Abram willingly took the second place. He placed the needs of Lot ahead of those in his own life and left himself in the gracious care of God. By the way, that is how you can know when you are growing as you should be. When you can willingly turn loose of your rights and privileges for the good of others, you are on your way!

After the incident with Lot, Abram is left alone with his wife, his servants, and his possessions. It must have been a difficult thing to see his own flesh and blood separate from him under such harsh conditions.

Yet, for Abram, that difficult time would turn into a time of grace and blessing. For it is at this time that the Lord chooses to renew His promises to Abram.

Indeed the renewal of God’s promises is a promise of fulfilment and refreshment. God continues to reaffirm His promises to Abram and to expand on them. Not only will the Lord give Abram children and make his offspring a great nation, but God will make them so numerous as to be uncountable.

Abram settles by the oaks of Mamre at Hebron and builds an altar to the LORD. God reaffirms the promise he has made to Abram. The promise includes both land and offspring to fill the land—two elements of a great nation. Yet, so far, Abram remains childless, which raises the question of how God will fulfill his promise.

God had promised to bless Abram, as well as to bless all who blessed him and curse all who dishonored him. The mighty Chedorlaomer had dishonored Abram by taking his nephew (Genesis 14:12), and now God keeps His promise once again. Genesis 14:1–16 is an action-packed story of war between ancient city-states.

Abram flatly refuses to keep even a single coin—not even a thread—from the king of depravity. Abram’s stance is explicitly clear: His oath to God means having absolutely nothing to do with wicked Sodom or its king.

God’s kingdom is a spiritual kingdom with spiritual blessings. Note that in each statement, Jesus says, “Blessed are.” He does not say that you will be blessed. It is not just something that God will do for believers some time in the future, or after they die. Followers of Jesus are blessed. Right now.

The kingdom of heaven is ours. We shall be comforted. We shall inherit the earth. We shall be satisfied. The one who comes to Jesus empty, He will fill. They shall receive mercy.  We will be forgiven! They shall see God. This is the best promise of all. Kingdom people will see the King.

v). Heavenly Father, today we choose to lift up our eyes of faith toward You. Thank You for surrounding us with Your goodness and mercy. Thank You for believing in us and for preparing a good future for us. Fill our hearts with Your peace and confidence as we continue to trust You in every area of our lives. We thank You that You are a faithful God whose Word is true and whose promises will never fail. Amen.

w). God, we pray today before You, our King. And we say, “We trust in You.” Some trust in chariots, some in horses, and some in worldly kings and leaders. We do not. We trust in the Name of the Lord, our God alone. Oh, we trust in the Name of Jesus alone. We confess that we shall enjoy the covenant blessings of Abraham in Christ Jesus. We shall be extremely rich in livestock, in silver and gold. We demolish every evil altar in our life and family. We thank You for the many promises that are ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ in Christ Jesus our Lord. We praise and thank You for Your precious promise to deliver us from all our enemies. Thank You that, like Abram, our faith in Christ is credited as righteousness and that in Him we have been declared righteous in Your sight. May our lives become a sacrifice of prayer and praise for all Your goodness and grace. Amen

x). We pray that we shall walk closely with Jesus and that His light will shine through us.  We shall live humbly, but boldly, for God’s glory. We shall live with gospel intentionality. God will grant us opportunities to share the gospel with others and His glory will be proclaimed all the time. Amen.

PN 7). The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, reassuring Abram of God’s protection and reward. Abram responded with heartfelt concerns, pointing out that the Promise-maker still had not given him any children. God assured Abram once more that his heir would be his flesh and blood, not a servant. The Lord reassured Abram that he would have an heir that came from his own body. And, that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the night sky (Genesis 15:4-5). Abram then believed and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6)

Put simply, what God has promised to do for Abram is the following: To give him land: God promises land and to make of him a great nation. To bless Abram, and to make his name a blessing – like royalty. Through Abram, all people at all times (including us) will somehow be blessed.

In Genesis 16:11-12 God promises Hagar that she will have a son. God goes on to say that this son will be a “wild donkey of a man.” It is as if God says, “Hagar, I have some good news for you and some bad news. The good news is you will have a son. The bad news is he will be a wild donkey of a man and his disposition will be so bad that he won’t get along with anyone and no one will get along with him.

In His interaction with Hagar, God clearly showed Hagar that he cared for her. Though she was a slave, she could be assured that her son and his many descendants would never be. With this promise, she was greatly encouraged, and she returned as a slave to Abram and Sarai.

God promises to bless Sarah and give her a son. Gen 17: 21-22 God promises to fulfill the covenant through the son, Isaac, that Sarah will bear in one year. God’s enduring promise to Abraham, the Abrahamic covenant, should be a comfort to the Church. It models God’s heart towards humanity.

Genesis 17 also sees the changing of Sarai’s name, to Sarah (Genesis 17:15). God promises that she will produce an heir, be the mother of many nations, and that kings would come from her line.

God’s promises to Abraham have many parts that lead to a total picture of grace and redemption for humanity. This covenant follows the Noahic covenant, in which the Lord promises to preserve the created order. God maintained the place in which He can fulfill His redemptive purposes.

The covenant with Abraham is a covenant of grace, in that it brings about the redemptive purpose. It does so by making a separate nation out of Abraham and his descendants, the Jewish people, through Isaac and the twelve tribes of Israel. And one of those tribes led to the promised Messiah Jesus.

In Genesis 12:1-3, God promised Abraham that He would multiply his descendants as the stars in the sky. He would be their God and give them a specific piece of land forever. Yet even before that, God said He would bless Abraham and his descendants so that all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12).

Abraham’s blessing and promises extend to all the families of the earth. By faith, we as believers, experience Abraham’s blessing of being in the family of God. We believe by faith, just as Abraham believed by faith and it was credited to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)

Just as Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness, those of us who have faith in Jesus, are imputed with Christ’s righteousness, just as Christ takes on our sins and transgressions.

Matthew 5:43–48 continues Jesus’ teaching on love and humility, a part of the Sermon on the Mount. After commanding believers not to seek revenge in the face of insults, Jesus expands the idea of love to include one’s enemies. Human beings naturally struggle with the idea of passively accepting persecution.

y). We pray that God would work in our lives, the faith like that of Abram. Help us not to stagger at Your promises, but believe Your Word and trust in Your faithfulness.  Please give us all we need to live and serve You and others in this world, and help us avoid all selfishness. Lord God, there may be opportunities and things that we want, but opportunities and things that are not good or necessary for us; teach us all we need to know and help us be submissive to Your will. Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see the world of the poor, the neglected, the war-torn, and the abused. Help us to appreciate Your grace,  mercy, and favour we are receiving daily. Raise us up O Jesus, to walk tall as Your people, according to our calling. Grant us the courage. Help me to submit to You, resist the devil, and recognise the dangers of fleshly lusts and the wisdom of trusting Your Word. Help us to long to serve You faithfully and to live a blameless life before You, which is only possible through the all-sufficient power of the Holy Spirit’s work in us. Amen.

Z). We shall receive the grace of constant communication with You from now on. Lord God who sees the most hidden part of the hearts of humans, come and satisfy our hearts’ desires. What we don’t think would happen to us positively, make it happen to us for good! Let’s acquire what we think by our age we can never acquire again. The impossible questions of our hearts oh Lord answer them to the letters. Obstacles to our acquiring blessings from You should be removed. Let’s receive a promise that would make us matter to our generation. God, we pray that by Your grace in us, by the power of Your love in us, You would help us to love like You required of us in Matthew 5:43-48. Help us to love our enemies. Help us to pray for those who persecute us, who seek harm against us. In this way, make us the unique people You’ve called us to be. Amen.

IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, WE RECEIVE ANSWERS TO ALL OUR PRAYERS. AMEN.

PRAISE GOD, HALLELUJAH!
PRAISE GOD, AMEN!!
PRAISE GOD, HALLELUJAH!!!

JESUS IS LORD.