After These Things

After these things Genesis 15:1-6 (Nkjv)

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, [a]your exceedingly great reward.”

2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I [b]go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one[c] born in my house is my heir!”

4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted for it to him for righteousness

• • I titled this message “after these things” – Process of giving a sermon a title 
  • Honestly, I could not get past these “three words” – “After these things”
  • Many things can be said in our lives regarding these 3 words ( ATT) examples
    •  “After victory, defeat, sickness, promotion, after waiting so long for something, after marriage or death, after a baby, after you get a friend, other times after getting what we want, thing that should be dead staying alive- after these things
  • There is something to be said about our attitude (how we carry on, the stories we tell ourselves and others) after these things 
  • It’s easy to think about what comes next after we have overcome challenges- we are excited about the future without the past pain, struggles and feelings
  • But it’s another thing when we have just won, God moved in a mighty way, you had promotion, healing, miracles and immediately after these things – here comes lack of fulfillment or here comes more tests 
  • At the end of Matthew chapter 3 Jesus Himself has a great moment -He is baptized and a dove comes from heaven. God – His father confirms that He is pleased with Him 

• And the next chapter Matthew 4:1-2 (NLT) – Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

• • In today’s text we see 
    • Abram/Abraham come from rescuing Lot, his family and possessions – He had a great victory 
    • He went to the enemies’ camp and took what the enemy stole from him
    • We see him offer Melchizedek an offering of thanksgiving 
    • He is winning – and if the story ended here, we would be like – Let’s go! I want to be like Abram
  • But as we continue to read on, the Lord comes to Abram in a vision 
  • His first words to Abram are – Do not be afraid 
  • Who told the Lord that Abram was fearful? 
    • Was it that Abram thought that the kings who he had defeated were going to regroup and come after him 
    • Or was it that – as chapter 2 tells us – Abram had no children and no matter how successful he was, there was a longing that victory, possession, fame could not fill?

• Hebrews 4:12-13 (NLT) For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

• • I am your shield, definitely – something to do with war – War against any current and future attacks, and also – we all know that wars are not just physical. 
  • The biggest battles we face are unspoken 
  • I am you exceedingly great reward
    • Abram had just said NO to the gifts from king of Sodom – and God promised him great reward – exceedingly 
  • I like the sound of that – I would be like sign me up
  • From the look at Abram portfolio, he is an immigrant – he has possessions, he has servants, he can have anything physical that he wants but yet- there is something that is of more importance to him than everything that he has
  • But there is more to it – Abram longs for that which he doesn’t have – but forgets that it was already promised to Him by He who is faithful

• 2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I [b]go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one[c] born in my house is my heir!”

• An heir, especially a son was a big deal back then
  • A son preserved the family line 
  • A son inherited the estate 
  • A son kept the family name from disappearing 
  • A son provided security in old age 
  • A son was necessary for future descendants 
• In that culture if anyone didn’t have an heir, it was common for them to adopt a servant to be their heirs
• Eliezer was the servant that would inherit everything if Abram did not have a child i.e If God’s promise would not come true 

Eliezer of Damascus

• • Who was this guy Eliezer – The Bible does not tell us much about who he was 
  • He was Abram’s chief servant, steward, and likely the manager of his household and possessions
  • But he plays a significant role to a point of making it in the Bible
  • Eliezer in this chapter does represent a person but, in our lives, Eliezer represents the ideas that we have of how things will work 
  • Our plan B – our contingent plan, our control, our timing – especially if the promises don’t work 
    • Eliezer shows up when plans are taking too long 
    • He shows up when we have no victory where we thought victory should have been 
    • He is loud in our mind when we expect things to be done in a certain way but the Lord has plans that are not what we EXPECT or even what we WANT
  • These are the Ismael plans

• After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, [a]your exceedingly great reward.” – When we are focused on Eliezer, we can’t hear what God has for us  

• • I want you to note this – that when God speaks to Abram and regarding his promises 
  • Abram doesn’t say – ooh, I forgot, thank you so much for reminding me – you are faithful 
  • Instead, he says “I have no kids and this servant Eliezer is the one that will inherit my stuff 
  • In this situation Eliezer is louder than God’s faithfulness, Mercy and grace – Just like Abram we are too quick to forget 

• We have to be careful about who we are elevating in our lives – are you elevating Eliezer’s plan or are you elevating God’s promises?

• Eliezer is not necessary a bad thing – it could be how you expect God to do something, how you expect him to move
• It could be the hope that you are holding on to as you WAIT on the Lord – but He cannot drown the Word of God!!
• It’s dangerous when Eliezer is louder than what God is saying 
• I will be your shield, your exceedingly great reward – But Eliezer – It should be BUT GOD!!
• Some of us are so focused on cultural expectations that you leave no room for the Holy Spirit to work 

Gentleness of God 

• Psalm 8:3-4 ( NLT) When I look at the night sky and see the work of your finger the moon and the stars you set in place 4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? 

• • This verse and many others as such blows my mind – The character of God!
  • If you have been with us on Wednesday’s, God brought Abram from a pagan family, He led him to the land He had called him. Abram left for Egypt, leaving where God had called him to be, he lied and God’s still brought him back and blessed him in the process 
  • At this point – if I was God- My conversation would have been very different 
  • Lord God, what will You give me, – Are YOU SERIOUS 

• Matthew 11:29 (NLT) Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

• • Before Abram can remind God that He doesn’t have any kids, God has a plan in place 
  • God does not rebuke Abram 
  • V4 -“This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

• God vs our expectation – 

• • There is something to be said about the vulnerability of Abram – God already knew 
  • Eliezer might be loud but we have to be louder – 
  • I am reminded about the Blind Bartimaeus in the book of Mark 

• Mark 10:48 (NLT) Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

• Mark 10:51 (NLT) What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi,[a]” the blind man said, “I want to see!”

• • No matter how loud Eliezer is – We have to let the Lord know what we need 

• What is it that you want Jesus to do for you?

• Abram voiced what he wanted – and God reminded him that He was still holding true to the promise 

After these things

• Life is going to happen –There will always be things that are happening, waiting to happen and have already happened
• The main question is WHO are you going to be after these things?
• Pastor Jay – How do I want to remember this time
• Genesis 15:6 (AMPC) And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God).
• After these things, are you going to be considered righteous 
• And for those who don’t know Jesus, those that don’t have a personal relationship 
  • After your life, after your 9-5, after you kids, after your achievements, after the toil of this life, at the end of your life; 
  • After these things – What next