Transcript What’s the Implication?

Come discover God’s heart, desire, and
provision for
you through …
The Abrahamic Covenant
Previously we learned that God is
intimately involved in the affairs of
man
God plans to redeem the earth and make all
things new through Jesus Christ, for Gods glory.
 God decided to adopt us into His family through
Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:4-5
 For a true love relationship to occur, we had to
be free to reject Him.
 Throughout the Bible, God’s relentless pursuit of
us is seen in the “Divine Covenants”.
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What is a Covenant?
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A covenant is a bond in blood, sovereignly
administered.
A covenant is that which binds people together.
 It is always a person, either God or man, who
makes a covenant.
 The result of a covenant commitment is the
establishment of a relationship.
 A covenant commits people to one another.
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The sovereign God of heaven and earth
dictates the terms of His covenant.
 There is no bargaining or contracting in
divine covenants.
 The presence of a “sign” at the beginning
of a covenant also emphasizes that a
divine covenant binds people together
 There is a consequence for covenantal
violation.
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How does this relate to us?
The extent of the divine covenants
reaches from the beginning of the world
to the end of the age.
 God’s multiple covenants ultimately unite
into a single relationship – a bond
between God and man.
 Satisfies our deepest human need and our
ultimate purpose in life.
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What have we just learned?
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Adam – The shedding of blood is
necessary for forgiveness of sin(1 man)
Noah – The redemptive nature of God (1
family)
We see in (Genesis 11:1) - At Babel, man
disobeyed God and didn’t scatter, God
judged them and confused their
language (70 distinct families &
languages)
The Abrahamic Covenant
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We will learn about Abraham and his family
We will learn how God established His
relationship with Abraham and his descendants
through blessing.
We will learn who his descendents were and are
We will learn how Gods heart, desire and
provision for Abraham blesses us
We will learn how this blessing compels us to be
blessors. (A balance between the Top Line/
Bottom Line)
Viewing the Covenant as
The “Blessor Franchise” Paradigm
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From Merriam Webster
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paradigm
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1 : EXAMPLE, PATTERN; especially : an outstandingly
clear or typical example or archetype
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example
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4 : a parallel or closely similar case especially when
serving as a precedent or model
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The “Blessor Franchise” is a model to help
understand the Abrahamic Covenant.
A Franchise might consist of:
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The franchisor
The franchisee
The business
A product
A balance sheet. Top Line/Bottom Line,
Assets/Liabilities, Profits/Losses
Goals and objectives
Employee(s) Recruitment, selection and training plans
Customer(s)
A Supplier(s)
Genesis 12 The Call of Abram
1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country,
your people and your father's household and go to the
land I will show you.
 2 "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.
 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses
you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed
through you."
 4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot
went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when
he set out from Haran.
 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the
possessions they had accumulated and the people they
had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of
Canaan, and they arrived there.
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The Top Line
Genesis 12:2,3 “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”
 A Top Line Blessing
 Blessor established
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The Bottom Line
Genesis 12:2,3 “and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
 A Bottom Line Blessing
 In our franchise, as in any business, our
goal must be that our top line match our
bottom line.
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The Promise
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Genesis 12:2,3 “whoever curses you will I
curse;”
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and all peoples (Nations) on earth will be
blessed through you."
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In Greek, Nations is “panta ta ethne” such
as Jewish, Hahn, Cherokee etc.
The Story
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We will be viewing a segment from a PBS Documentary
on the life of Abraham titled:
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“Walking The Bible” by Bruce Feiler
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The “Blessor Franchise” was borrowed from author Don
Richardson.
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The lesson presentation and discussion questions are
available at:
http://www.icfutd.org/calendar.htm
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All biblical references are available at:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
For emphasis, God repeatedly
speaks to Abraham …
Genesis 18:28 Again to Abraham
 Genesis 22:15-18 Once again to Abraham
 Genesis 26:4 To Isaac Abrahams son
 Genesis 28:14 To Jacob Abrahams
grandson
 And to his seed (us) 400 other times
either by direct quote or in paraphrase
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The rest of the story
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Genesis 16:1-15 Abraham and Sarah try to take control of the problem and
Abraham conceives a son, Ishmael, through Hagar a concubine.
Genesis 17:11 A sign is given (circumcision).
Genesis 21:1 God blesses them by giving them a son, Isaac.
Gen. 21:8-20 God tells Abraham to send Ishmael away, but not before
honoring the promise that his descendent would be a great nation.
Genesis 22:1-6 God tests Abraham (sacrifice your son).
Genesis 22:7-15 A blood sacrifice of Isaac was required (a lamb was
provided and substituted).
The Blessor Franchise In Review
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The franchisor: God
The franchisee: Abraham
The business: Blessor
The product (s): Blessings and more blessors
The balance sheet: Top line blessings, bottom line blessings.
Goals and objectives: Operate so that our top line blessings equal
our bottom line blessings.
Employee (s): Abraham, his descendents (including US), and the
Nations that have been blessed and are blessors.
Customer (s): The Nations that have yet to be blessed
A Supplier: God Himself
A successful track record: Started with 69 families and languages in
2000 b.c. Grew to 16,008 speaking 6912 languages in 2006 a.d.
The future: 6584 ethne (nations), speaking 2529 languages have
yet to become blessors. See: http://www.wycliffe.org/wbtusa/trangoal.htm & http://www.joshuaproject.net/index.php
In Conclusion
The “Blessor Franchise” is a Grand Theme of the Bible.
 God is in the business of blessing and creating blessors.
 Gods method was to model His business through a
relationship with Abraham.
 Abraham was Gods initial product and for those that
hear his story, it acts as a teaching tool for us to follow.
 God continues to work with Abraham and his
descendents (including us), producing blessors through
blessors, coming to have relationship with (know) God.
 Next, we will learn the end of the story, that God
planned to send His son (Himself), in the form of Jesus,
to give us a perfect model and a perfect blessing.
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