May 25, 2025 • 35 mins
Genesis 12 is a story of promise, worship, and a God who keeps His word.
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You're listening to the weekly teaching podcast of Cornerstone Community Church in
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Wildomar, California, where we exist to reach people, make disciples, and build
relationships. If you'd like to connect with us even further, visit our website at
Cornerstone.org. Good afternoon and welcome again to Cornerstone. First off, thank
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you for everyone who's been praying for me and my poor little finger. I'm about a
week and a half removed from the pins being taken out. And as you can see, I don't
have very much flexibility or dexterity. I'm starting physical therapy
hopefully soon, so I can play golf again, such a dangerous sport I never knew. If
I, if you think I'm like pointing at you, I'm probably not, it's just my
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finger cannot bend, all right? But it's good to be with you guys today. We've
taken a break the past few weeks to celebrate Easter and to walk through our
family series. But today we're jumping right back in to our study in the book of
Genesis. And we're picking up in a really, really important and key chapter,
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Genesis chapter 12. If you ever Bible, please open up to Genesis 12, Bible app,
go ahead and swipe there, or you can follow along with the sermon notes in the
church center app. Genesis chapter 12. So far in this book, the book of Genesis,
we've seen some really huge moments. God creates everything and he calls it good.
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Sin unfortunately enters the picture through Adam and Eve's disobedience. But
even then, God gives a glimpse of hope, a promise to one day make all things
right. We saw that hope carried forward through Noah, the ark, and the flood,
and God's promise to never destroy the earth like that again. Praise the Lord.
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But now in Genesis chapter 12, we go from here, big things, and we zoom in on one
man. We zoom in on Abram, whose name God later changes to Abraham. And it's to
Abraham that God makes a powerful promise to bless him and then to bless the world
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through him. This chapter is the start of something that will take years and
years and years and some more years to unfold. And it's where God begins to reveal
his rescue plan more clearly. Ultimately leading us to Jesus our redeemer, our
Savior, our King, who comes from the lineage of this man, Abraham. And what
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striking to me is Abraham's response to this promise. As we'll see, Abraham
worships. He worships. And get this. He worships before, he word before. He sees
the full promise come to life. Abraham says he builds altars. He trusts. He obeys.
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He operates by faith. And even when his faith is shaky, we're going to see that
God stays faithful. So as we step into Genesis chapter 12 today, we're stepping
into a story of promise, a story of worship. And we're going to see a God who
keeps his word. Genesis chapter 12 verses 1, 2, and 3. Follow along as I read. The
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Lord had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's
household to the land I will show you. 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." Verse 3,
"I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you, I will curse. And all
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people on earth will be blessed through you." This is the word of the Lord that's
pray one more time. God we're here, ready, expectant to hear from you.
Holy Spirit, you're here in this room. We acknowledge your presence and we beg for
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his ministry of teaching that you would illuminate the Scriptures for us today.
That we would hear clearly what the Spirit is saying. So open up our ears, open up our
hearts, open up our minds to understand. God your Word says that it's living, it's active,
it's powerful, it's sharp, it's discerning. And I ask Lord that you would help us to
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place your Word in the proper place it deserves in our lives. We would stand
underneath it as the ultimate authority but stand on top of it as a firm
foundation. God we're all going through something unique today and we trust
your ability to minister uniquely to each person here today. Do this work by your
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grace, Lord, and for your glory. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's start with
verse 1. We're going to see here God's calling and God's promise, verses 1, 2, and 3.
Verse 1 again says, "The Lord had said to Abram, go from your country, go from your
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people and from your father's household to the land I will show you." So right
out of the gate, this is a radical call. God essentially tells Abram, "Leave everything
you know, your family, your neighborhood, your culture, and go." Where? God says, "Go
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to the land I will show you." And for all the fellow type A personalities in this room,
we all just got a bit of anxiety right here. I've shared this before but I'm the type
of person who wants all the information up front. Please, and thank you. If we're
traveling, don't give me directions like those are the old days, okay? Just give me an
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address, drop the pin, give me something that I can put into ways or something.
Well, contrary to how this might make us feel, we'll see that Abram exercises faith and
he's simply obeys God. Now, not only was this a radical call from God, but what's even more
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incredible to me is who God is calling. You see, Abram didn't grow up following God. He
wasn't raised going to church, going to Sunday school or a youth group or YA or VBS or
Alwana or anything. He wasn't in a life group, he wasn't in a discipleship group, he wasn't
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in a mischievous community. In fact, the book of Joshua, chapter 24 verse 2, tells us something
really, really interesting. It says that Abram actually came from a family that worshipped
other gods. Abram comes from an idolatrous family and idolatrous background. Growing up in
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a city called Er, you are Er in Mesopotamia, which is in modern-day Iraq, he was raised
worshipping a pantheon of gods. His hometown was even known for housing the temple to the
moon god for that Sumerian culture. Abram growing up was an idolatrous. In other words, when
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God calls Abram, Abram is not looking for God. But get this, God is looking for Abram.
When God calls Abram, Abram is not looking for God, but God is looking for Him. And you guys,
this is grace. This is pure, undeserved, unearned, unmarried grace. And for me, when I read
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God's calling of Abram right here, it has echoes of what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church
in Rome. Romans chapter 5 verse 8 says this, "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this,
that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That while we were still actively
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sinning, that Christ died for us." Listen, God doesn't wait for us to get our act together
before He moves towards us. No, He pursues us in our wandering. He calls us when we're still
a mess. As the good shepherd, He leaves the 99 in search of the one over and over and
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over again. I was that one. You were that one at one time or another. He did that for Abram
and He's still doing that today. And if you're a believer in Jesus Christ today, make sure
to remember that your salvation is a gift of God's grace. Amen? Amen? All right, there
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we go. I thought this was 8 a.m. for a hot second there. We've lived like half the day already,
guys. We're awake. Amen. Amen. There you go. Perfect. Let's look at verses 2 and 3. Now, as
God gives Abram a promise. And actually, it's several promises bundled together. Genesis
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chapter 12 verses 2 and 3 says this, "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." Verse 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." I want you to notice the repetition of a certain phrase in these verses, the phrase
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"I will." God says, "I will. I will. I will." A total of five times in just two verses.
And this isn't just poetic language. No, this is purposeful. This is intentional. And
it shows the unconditional nature of this covenant promise. God's not asking Abram to make this
happen. God is saying, "I will do this." No matter what, "I will do this." God says, "And
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through this I will statements, God is binding Himself personally to this promise." And
we have to note that it's not based on Abram's performance. It's not a quid pro quo type of
situation here. If you behave well enough, then I'll follow through on this promise. No,
it's a covenant rooted in God's own faithfulness, not human effort. And as we just read it, as
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we'll continue to see, God promises three main things to Abram. He promises a great nation,
a great land, and a great name. A great nation, a great land, and a great name. But there's
some irony here. And here's the irony. Abram, whose name means exalted Father, which God will
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later change to Abraham, which means Father of a multitude, this dude is 75 years old when
God calls him and makes this promise. And his wife, not far off, Sarah, whose name changes
to Sarah later on, you guys, she's 65 years old. This couple has never had any kids and in fact,
they're barren. And obviously, they are well past the typical age of having children. And
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the irony continues, the land that God's promising to Abram and his non-existent descendants,
well, this land is currently occupied and full of the Canaanite people. On paper, and at first
look, this is a hopeless situation. Like, there's no way this has got to happen. They're old,
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they're barren, and the land is full. God, you surely must have missed the memo when you picked
Abram and Sarah. This is a hopeless situation. But I think that's the point. That's the point
right here, because God loves to work in the realm of human impossibility. Why? So that it's
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clear that he alone gets the glory. God loves impossible situations, because then it's clear
that we didn't do anything, and that he did everything. He gets all the glory. And as you
read scripture, you see time and time again, how God makes a way where there is no way. I
think of Moses in the splitting of the Red Sea as the Egyptian army is bearing down on him.
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I think of the shepherd boy David, killing the man of Wargoliath with just a sling in a stone.
I think of Daniel being protected in the den of lions. I think of his three buddies Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego as are protected in the fiery furnace. Fast forward to the New Testament.
I think of Jesus healing the woman with a 12-year issue of blood. I think of Jesus healing
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the man who was let down through the roof by his friends and curing his paralysis. I think
of Jesus healing blind Bartimaus. I think of Jesus calming the storm on Galilee, the Sea
of Galilee, with just a word. Church, we serve a God who is not limited. Amen? We serve
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a God who is not limited. And it makes me think of this song as I was preparing for this.
I grew up in Sunday school. Maybe you did too. There's a certain song we used to sing. It
goes like this, "My God is so great, so strong, and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot
do for you and for everybody." Right? Kind of a throwback old school Sunday school song.
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Adidas ran and add a few years ago and it said, "Impossible is nothing." And I think that's
a fitting motto for the God that we serve. "Impossible is nothing for God."
Now as we continue, I want to shed some light on the fact that this promise that God makes
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to Abram, that it finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus our Redeemer. This blessing to all nations,
this blessing to all peoples in verse three comes through the Savior Jesus that is born from Abram's
line. Galatians chapter three verse eight makes this clear. It says, "The gospel was preached in
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advance when God said, 'All nations will be blessed through you.'" And this hits home for us because
we are saved today not by trying harder, but by faith, by simple faith, just like Abraham
exercised faith. If you jump ahead a few chapters in Genesis chapter 15 verse six, you'll see this
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that Abram believed the Lord, keyword believed, and God credit it to him as righteousness.
Faith in Jesus is how we're made right with God. And that's it. It's not performance and it's
certainly not perfection. It's simple trust in the God who makes promises and keeps them.
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Jesus said in John 8.56, he said this, "Your Father, Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day."
He saw it and was glad. Somehow Abram had some spiritual insight that one day through his line
would come a Savior and King Jesus. Amazing. And so we see that Abram looked forward in faith to Jesus
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and we look backward in faith to Jesus. It's the same faith in the same Savior.
And then notice this, God says, "I will bless you so that there's some causation so that you will be
a blessing." And that's the pattern. God blesses so that we can bless. God doesn't bless us so we
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can hoard it. No, he blesses us so we can share it. Very simple. He blesses us so that we can share it.
Now that might be your time, your home, your job, your creativity, your experience, your resources.
And when we give, when we serve, when we volunteer, when we love others in Jesus' name,
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we're stepping into the very promise right here, Genesis chapter 12.
I've heard it put like this, maybe this is helpful for you. It was for me. Be the river, not the reservoir.
Be the river, not the reservoir. I love being outside, give me a good stream or river, and I'll
post up, give me a good book. I'm good. Maybe some coffee and maybe some in and out. I'm good.
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Perfect day. All day. And listen, reservoirs hold and keep. So don't be like that,
but rivers receive and release. God's blessings were never meant to stop with you, but to flow
through you. And so I want to ask you, what has God blessed you with that you can use as a blessing
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to others? It'll be different for everybody, but maybe for you, it's financial blessing turned into
generosity. Maybe it's personal growth turned into mentorship. Maybe it's a flexible schedule turned
into opportunities to serve your community and your neighbors. Maybe it's spiritual insight turned
into teaching or discipleship. For others, maybe it's influence and platform turned into a voice
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for those without a voice. Whatever that might be for you, I promise you that if you take time to
seriously pray about it, that the Holy Spirit will begin to put ideas on your heart. He will inspire
these things because he gave them to you for this reason. We've been blessed to be a blessing.
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Let's keep reading verses four through nine. Here we're going to see Abram's obedience and Abram's
worship. Verse four says, "So Abram went as the Lord had told him and lot went with him. Abram was
75 years old when he set out from her hand. He took his wife, Sarah, his nephew, lot, all the possessions
they had accumulated and the people they'd acquired in her hand." And they set out for the land of
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Canaan and they arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of
Mora at Shechem. At that time, the Canaanites were in the land. Verse seven, "The Lord appeared to
Abram and said, 'To your offspring, I will give this land.'" So he built an altar there to the Lord
who had appeared to him. Verse eight, "From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and
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pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and AI on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and
called on the name of the Lord." Last verse, "Then Abram set out and continued towards the Nagev."
Verse four again, "So Abram went as the Lord had told him. He doesn't ask for a map. He doesn't delay
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he goes and this is faith in action." But for a minute here, trying to put yourself in Abram's shoes,
imagine what this call, this move would have been like. Kind of scary, go to a land I will show you. I
don't have to direct, just go. Remember, he's leaving everything he knew behind. All the things that
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were familiar to him. He was leaving everything. But listen, sometimes obedience to God means stepping
into the unknown, doesn't it? Trusting that God knows the way, even when we don't. The key to the
Christian life is this, trust and obey. Trust and obey. For there's no way else to be happy in
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Jesus, but to trust and obey. And as Abram journeys, we see something really important, verses seven and
eight. The text says that he builds altars and he worships God. Take a look. He's not worshipping because
he's already received everything God had promised. He's worshipping right here in anticipation. He's
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worshipping before the fulfillment of the promise. And you guys, this is a powerful reminder for us.
We shouldn't just worship God after the breakthrough or after the victory or after the answered
prayer. No, we worship God in the waiting. We worship God when the fulfilled promise is still unseen.
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In fact, the entire Christian life from here until Jesus returns is a time of waiting. And so we
worship. Why? Because God is worthy of our worship. And we see this throughout the Bible. We see
His character, His heart, His love. These are all reasons why He's worthy of our worship right now
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today. Sunday, May 25th. Listen, worship isn't just a thank you card. It's an act of trust.
Worship is not just a thank you card. For after we receive what we were asking for. No, worship is an
act of trust. It's an act of trust in the worthy one. Let me ask you, have you ever prayed for something
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for a long time? You're praying. You're praying. You're praying. Maybe it's for a job, for healing,
for your family, for a restored relationship. You're praying. You're praying. You're praying. And
nothing seems to change. It's easy in those moments to stop worshiping, to stop praying, to think,
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what's the point? Does God care? Does He see? Does He know? Does He understand?
But it's in those moments. And even more so, I think that God invites us to build altars of praise
right where we are, to praise Him even in the waiting. I've experienced this personally, maybe you have
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as well, but worshipping in the waiting has a way of shifting our focus, doesn't it? It shifts our
focus and our perspective off of the mess of right now and onto Him who never changes.
Worship has a way to recalibrate our hearts. It acts as an anchor for us when the storms of
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life try to pull us under. This past week I was scrolling on Instagram and I came across this quote,
said this, "Life is never out of control. It's just out of your control." And that hit me. Life is never
out of control. It's just out of your control. Here's the implication, God's in control ultimately,
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right? God's in control. So church, He's worthy. So let's praise Him even in the waiting room.
Let's move on and close up this chapter versus 10 through 20. And we're going to see just a heads up
a moment of weakness and failure for Abram. We're going to see God's faithfulness despite Abram's
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failure. I'll summarize. In his last 10 verses there's a famine in the land. And so Abram kind of
freaks out, he reacts and he goes down to Egypt. Instead of trusting God to provide and protect
Abram panics, he tells Sarah to lie and say that she's his sister, which is kind of a half truth,
Pharaoh sees that Sarah is beautiful and well this is just his sister, he takes Sarah into his palace
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to be one of his wives. And just like that, the promise that God made a few verses earlier seems
to be in danger. This great promise to be a blessing to all nations seems to be compromised and
in jeopardy. But God, like He so often does, He steps in at just the right time. He afflicts Pharaoh's
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household that says with serious diseases in verse 17 and God rescues Sarah, I praise the Lord.
Follow along verses 18, 19, and 20, it says this, "So Pharaoh summed into Abram. What have you done to
me?" He said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say she is my sister so I took her
to be my wife?" Now then, here's your wife. Take her and go. Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to
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his men and they sent him on his way with his wife and everything he had. And here's what we learn
in this section. We learn that God's promises don't depend on our perfection. That should be a
collective sigh of relief right here. God's promises don't depend on our perfection because even when
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Abram fails, and this is the major failure and spoiler alert, you keep reading, He fails again,
and He fails again, and He fails again. All the heroes of faith failed over and over and over,
but God was still faithful. Despite all their failure, God was still faithful. The Apostle Paul
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writing to his protege, Timothy writes this in 2 Timothy, chapter 2 verse 13, he says, "If we are
faithless, He speaking of God remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself." Church, faithful is who
God is. This is a necessary attribute that makes God God faithfulness. And we see here that God is
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committed to his promises. He doesn't walk away when we mess up. No, He steps in. He rescues and he
redeems. And guys, this is really, really, really good news for me and for you. It's like a GPS
recalculating your route. When you make a wrong turn or you miss an exit or you turn right on
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monivista when you're leaving church and the road is still closed. And you're like, "Oh my gosh,
make a U turn." Right? What does GPS tell you when you make a wrong turn or miss an exit? What does
it say? "Re-routing, recalculating, rerouting, recalculating." And it gives you the new way forward.
Make another wrong turn, rerouting. Miss another exit, recalculating. Here's a new way. Here's a fresh
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start. Listen, God does the same thing for us. When we fail, when we miss our exit, when we make a
wrong turn, when we sin, when we rebel against God, and when we confess and repent and turn back to
Him, God offers us a fresh start in new beginnings. Paul David Trip wrote this in his devotional
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everyday gospel to new one I picked up. It says this, "This theme of fresh starts in new beginnings
runs throughout the biblical narrative. The Bible is a record of God's again and again
picking up his failing followers, dusting them off and blasting them with forgiving grace,
and granting them new beginnings. For every human failure, there is plentiful, restoring grace."
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The Bible is honest about the powerful tragedy of sin, but it doesn't leave you there. No,
it consistently points you to restorative grace. And I love that. Beautiful paragraph by Paul,
David Trip. Listen, we're all prone to wander. We're all prone to wander to get off the right path.
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And so I want to encourage you to pray like I have so many times, just like the hymn says,
"Lord, bind my wandering heart to thee." Prone to wander, but Lord, bind me to yourself.
And if we want to stay close to God, I think we need reminders. I think we need community. We need
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people around us who will help us walk in obedience and remind us of God's never changing truth when we
forget. I can't tell you how many people I've heard from here at Cornerstone about how big of a
blessing their life group and discipleship group was for them when everything went down the drain.
If it weren't for these people in their corner, they say, "I would have been lost."
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There's so much benefit from being in community with other believers who can encourage you,
who can push you towards God's grace and God's love. And yes, even call you out when you're acting
kind of crazy. Christian community is one of the best gifts that God gives to us, His church.
Abram failed in this moment, like so many of us, he got his eyes off of God's promises,
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off of God's faithfulness, and onto the situation, this famine around him. And I know many of us have
been in a similar spot where fear is controlling us. It's all to ask you, who are you surrounding
yourself with? Who are you listening to when fear knocks on your door? Are you letting fear drive
your decisions or are you resting in God's promises? Are you being encouraged by Christian community
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when fear is at your doorstep? Genesis 12 shows us a God who calls people purely by grace.
We see a God who makes promises he intends to keep, and a God who remains faithful even when we stumble.
And the question is this, will we respond to Him today in faith? Will we trust and obey?
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Will we worship in the waiting? Before I close in prayer, I want to suggest four practical ways that
you might be able to respond to this message. Number one, use your blessing to bless others.
We're doing a food drive. You heard that from Pastor Andy earlier today. That's an easy way to
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meet a real need in our community. You can also be a blessing by joining a team or volunteering here
at the church. Maybe it's for you, it's starting to give generously and faithfully as we pursue God's
mission together. Use your blessing to be a blessing. Number two, get into Christian community.
Church, God didn't design us to walk this Christian life alone. No, we were made to belong.
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So get into a group. Guys, men, this summer hear me. We have a men's study starting up this summer June
3rd out on the patio Tuesday nights. Come and join us. Ladies, there's a book discussion
happening later on this summer for you. Youth, we got camp coming up. My daughter's going for the
first time. I'm kind of freaking out. That's okay. Kids, we have VBS coming up. So round yourself,
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find your people. Number three, worship in the waiting. Maybe you're in a season of waiting where
the answer still feels really far off. I want to encourage you, worship anyway. Worship God anyway.
Build an altar with your praise right now today and let God redirect your focus back onto him.
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And his faithfulness. Number four, trust God's faithfulness, even when you fail.
Maybe you blew it last week in your parenting. Maybe you pushed when you should have pulled,
right? Dr. Lee's sermon was really good last Sunday. Maybe you blew it earlier today with your
spouse on the way to church. Maybe you've taken things into your own hands again. Here this, God
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has not given up on you. His heart towards you is still one of love. It's still one of grace.
It's still one of mercy. So rest in Jesus. Rest in his faithfulness.
Please stand as the clothes and prayer. And I just want to make a special note that every Sunday,
we have a team up here, ready and willing to pray for you. Whatever you're going through. After
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the service, come up and we love to pray with you. And as I close, as I close and pray, I want to invite
you to open up your hands and kind of extend your arms like this. This is a posture of saying God,
I let go of some things that I'm holding to tightly to, but I'm also ready to receive whatever you
have for me. It's a very vulnerable position. But again, that's the point. God knows us. God loves
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us. And so I'm going to pray right now. Lord, we stand here right now. I just so grateful, first and
foremost for Jesus and for His faithfulness to us. We stand Lord with open arms, open hands,
letting go of things that are not in our control. And we trust you with them. And Lord, we ask,
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we beg that you would replace those things with blessing, that we would be a blessing in turn
to those around us. Whatever that might look like, Holy Spirit inspire us this week
to recognize and realize what we have, how we can be a blessing, Lord. Help us to worship, Lord,
in the waiting, even when it's hard. Worshiping with eyes of faith. And Lord, I pray that you would
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surround us with community. For those who are looking to be long somewhere, I pray that you would
raise people up around them, Lord. And I pray that we would do our due diligence and seek those
people out as well. God, you've placed us here for a reason. There's wisdom in your body.
We've been designed to benefit one another, mutual benefit. And so Lord, we give you this week,
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we give you the rest of today. And we ask for the Holy Spirit's filling. Would you bless us, Lord,
would you keep us? Would you make your face to shine upon us? Would you give us grace? Would you give us
peace? Do this work for your glory, by your grace. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. God bless you guys.
We hope you're blessed by this week's message. If you're a first-time listener, text the word new to
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951-425-4425. If you'd like to give to our ministry, please visit cornerstone.org/give. Thank you for
listening and have a great week.
[Music]
You're listening to the weekly teaching podcast of Cornerstone Community Church in
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Wildomar, California, where we exist to reach people, make disciples, and build
relationships. If you'd like to connect with us even further, visit our website at
Cornerstone.org. Good afternoon and welcome again to Cornerstone. First off, thank
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you for everyone who's been praying for me and my poor little finger. I'm about a
week and a half removed from the pins being taken out. And as you can see, I don't
have very much flexibility or dexterity. I'm starting physical therapy
hopefully soon, so I can play golf again, such a dangerous sport I never knew. If
I, if you think I'm like pointing at you, I'm probably not, it's just my
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finger cannot bend, all right? But it's good to be with you guys today. We've
taken a break the past few weeks to celebrate Easter and to walk through our
family series. But today we're jumping right back in to our study in the book of
Genesis. And we're picking up in a really, really important and key chapter,
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Genesis chapter 12. If you ever Bible, please open up to Genesis 12, Bible app,
go ahead and swipe there, or you can follow along with the sermon notes in the
church center app. Genesis chapter 12. So far in this book, the book of Genesis,
we've seen some really huge moments. God creates everything and he calls it good.
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Sin unfortunately enters the picture through Adam and Eve's disobedience. But
even then, God gives a glimpse of hope, a promise to one day make all things
right. We saw that hope carried forward through Noah, the ark, and the flood,
and God's promise to never destroy the earth like that again. Praise the Lord.
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But now in Genesis chapter 12, we go from here, big things, and we zoom in on one
man. We zoom in on Abram, whose name God later changes to Abraham. And it's to
Abraham that God makes a powerful promise to bless him and then to bless the world
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through him. This chapter is the start of something that will take years and
years and years and some more years to unfold. And it's where God begins to reveal
his rescue plan more clearly. Ultimately leading us to Jesus our redeemer, our
Savior, our King, who comes from the lineage of this man, Abraham. And what
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striking to me is Abraham's response to this promise. As we'll see, Abraham
worships. He worships. And get this. He worships before, he word before. He sees
the full promise come to life. Abraham says he builds altars. He trusts. He obeys.
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He operates by faith. And even when his faith is shaky, we're going to see that
God stays faithful. So as we step into Genesis chapter 12 today, we're stepping
into a story of promise, a story of worship. And we're going to see a God who
keeps his word. Genesis chapter 12 verses 1, 2, and 3. Follow along as I read. The
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Lord had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's
household to the land I will show you. 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." Verse 3,
"I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you, I will curse. And all
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people on earth will be blessed through you." This is the word of the Lord that's
pray one more time. God we're here, ready, expectant to hear from you.
Holy Spirit, you're here in this room. We acknowledge your presence and we beg for
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his ministry of teaching that you would illuminate the Scriptures for us today.
That we would hear clearly what the Spirit is saying. So open up our ears, open up our
hearts, open up our minds to understand. God your Word says that it's living, it's active,
it's powerful, it's sharp, it's discerning. And I ask Lord that you would help us to
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place your Word in the proper place it deserves in our lives. We would stand
underneath it as the ultimate authority but stand on top of it as a firm
foundation. God we're all going through something unique today and we trust
your ability to minister uniquely to each person here today. Do this work by your
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grace, Lord, and for your glory. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's start with
verse 1. We're going to see here God's calling and God's promise, verses 1, 2, and 3.
Verse 1 again says, "The Lord had said to Abram, go from your country, go from your
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people and from your father's household to the land I will show you." So right
out of the gate, this is a radical call. God essentially tells Abram, "Leave everything
you know, your family, your neighborhood, your culture, and go." Where? God says, "Go
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to the land I will show you." And for all the fellow type A personalities in this room,
we all just got a bit of anxiety right here. I've shared this before but I'm the type
of person who wants all the information up front. Please, and thank you. If we're
traveling, don't give me directions like those are the old days, okay? Just give me an
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address, drop the pin, give me something that I can put into ways or something.
Well, contrary to how this might make us feel, we'll see that Abram exercises faith and
he's simply obeys God. Now, not only was this a radical call from God, but what's even more
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incredible to me is who God is calling. You see, Abram didn't grow up following God. He
wasn't raised going to church, going to Sunday school or a youth group or YA or VBS or
Alwana or anything. He wasn't in a life group, he wasn't in a discipleship group, he wasn't
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in a mischievous community. In fact, the book of Joshua, chapter 24 verse 2, tells us something
really, really interesting. It says that Abram actually came from a family that worshipped
other gods. Abram comes from an idolatrous family and idolatrous background. Growing up in
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a city called Er, you are Er in Mesopotamia, which is in modern-day Iraq, he was raised
worshipping a pantheon of gods. His hometown was even known for housing the temple to the
moon god for that Sumerian culture. Abram growing up was an idolatrous. In other words, when
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God calls Abram, Abram is not looking for God. But get this, God is looking for Abram.
When God calls Abram, Abram is not looking for God, but God is looking for Him. And you guys,
this is grace. This is pure, undeserved, unearned, unmarried grace. And for me, when I read
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God's calling of Abram right here, it has echoes of what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church
in Rome. Romans chapter 5 verse 8 says this, "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this,
that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That while we were still actively
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sinning, that Christ died for us." Listen, God doesn't wait for us to get our act together
before He moves towards us. No, He pursues us in our wandering. He calls us when we're still
a mess. As the good shepherd, He leaves the 99 in search of the one over and over and
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over again. I was that one. You were that one at one time or another. He did that for Abram
and He's still doing that today. And if you're a believer in Jesus Christ today, make sure
to remember that your salvation is a gift of God's grace. Amen? Amen? All right, there
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we go. I thought this was 8 a.m. for a hot second there. We've lived like half the day already,
guys. We're awake. Amen. Amen. There you go. Perfect. Let's look at verses 2 and 3. Now, as
God gives Abram a promise. And actually, it's several promises bundled together. Genesis
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chapter 12 verses 2 and 3 says this, "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." Verse 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." I want you to notice the repetition of a certain phrase in these verses, the phrase
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"I will." God says, "I will. I will. I will." A total of five times in just two verses.
And this isn't just poetic language. No, this is purposeful. This is intentional. And
it shows the unconditional nature of this covenant promise. God's not asking Abram to make this
happen. God is saying, "I will do this." No matter what, "I will do this." God says, "And
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through this I will statements, God is binding Himself personally to this promise." And
we have to note that it's not based on Abram's performance. It's not a quid pro quo type of
situation here. If you behave well enough, then I'll follow through on this promise. No,
it's a covenant rooted in God's own faithfulness, not human effort. And as we just read it, as
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we'll continue to see, God promises three main things to Abram. He promises a great nation,
a great land, and a great name. A great nation, a great land, and a great name. But there's
some irony here. And here's the irony. Abram, whose name means exalted Father, which God will
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later change to Abraham, which means Father of a multitude, this dude is 75 years old when
God calls him and makes this promise. And his wife, not far off, Sarah, whose name changes
to Sarah later on, you guys, she's 65 years old. This couple has never had any kids and in fact,
they're barren. And obviously, they are well past the typical age of having children. And
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the irony continues, the land that God's promising to Abram and his non-existent descendants,
well, this land is currently occupied and full of the Canaanite people. On paper, and at first
look, this is a hopeless situation. Like, there's no way this has got to happen. They're old,
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they're barren, and the land is full. God, you surely must have missed the memo when you picked
Abram and Sarah. This is a hopeless situation. But I think that's the point. That's the point
right here, because God loves to work in the realm of human impossibility. Why? So that it's
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clear that he alone gets the glory. God loves impossible situations, because then it's clear
that we didn't do anything, and that he did everything. He gets all the glory. And as you
read scripture, you see time and time again, how God makes a way where there is no way. I
think of Moses in the splitting of the Red Sea as the Egyptian army is bearing down on him.
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I think of the shepherd boy David, killing the man of Wargoliath with just a sling in a stone.
I think of Daniel being protected in the den of lions. I think of his three buddies Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego as are protected in the fiery furnace. Fast forward to the New Testament.
I think of Jesus healing the woman with a 12-year issue of blood. I think of Jesus healing
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the man who was let down through the roof by his friends and curing his paralysis. I think
of Jesus healing blind Bartimaus. I think of Jesus calming the storm on Galilee, the Sea
of Galilee, with just a word. Church, we serve a God who is not limited. Amen? We serve
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a God who is not limited. And it makes me think of this song as I was preparing for this.
I grew up in Sunday school. Maybe you did too. There's a certain song we used to sing. It
goes like this, "My God is so great, so strong, and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot
do for you and for everybody." Right? Kind of a throwback old school Sunday school song.
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Adidas ran and add a few years ago and it said, "Impossible is nothing." And I think that's
a fitting motto for the God that we serve. "Impossible is nothing for God."
Now as we continue, I want to shed some light on the fact that this promise that God makes
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to Abram, that it finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus our Redeemer. This blessing to all nations,
this blessing to all peoples in verse three comes through the Savior Jesus that is born from Abram's
line. Galatians chapter three verse eight makes this clear. It says, "The gospel was preached in
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advance when God said, 'All nations will be blessed through you.'" And this hits home for us because
we are saved today not by trying harder, but by faith, by simple faith, just like Abraham
exercised faith. If you jump ahead a few chapters in Genesis chapter 15 verse six, you'll see this
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that Abram believed the Lord, keyword believed, and God credit it to him as righteousness.
Faith in Jesus is how we're made right with God. And that's it. It's not performance and it's
certainly not perfection. It's simple trust in the God who makes promises and keeps them.
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Jesus said in John 8.56, he said this, "Your Father, Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day."
He saw it and was glad. Somehow Abram had some spiritual insight that one day through his line
would come a Savior and King Jesus. Amazing. And so we see that Abram looked forward in faith to Jesus
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and we look backward in faith to Jesus. It's the same faith in the same Savior.
And then notice this, God says, "I will bless you so that there's some causation so that you will be
a blessing." And that's the pattern. God blesses so that we can bless. God doesn't bless us so we
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can hoard it. No, he blesses us so we can share it. Very simple. He blesses us so that we can share it.
Now that might be your time, your home, your job, your creativity, your experience, your resources.
And when we give, when we serve, when we volunteer, when we love others in Jesus' name,
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we're stepping into the very promise right here, Genesis chapter 12.
I've heard it put like this, maybe this is helpful for you. It was for me. Be the river, not the reservoir.
Be the river, not the reservoir. I love being outside, give me a good stream or river, and I'll
post up, give me a good book. I'm good. Maybe some coffee and maybe some in and out. I'm good.
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Perfect day. All day. And listen, reservoirs hold and keep. So don't be like that,
but rivers receive and release. God's blessings were never meant to stop with you, but to flow
through you. And so I want to ask you, what has God blessed you with that you can use as a blessing
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to others? It'll be different for everybody, but maybe for you, it's financial blessing turned into
generosity. Maybe it's personal growth turned into mentorship. Maybe it's a flexible schedule turned
into opportunities to serve your community and your neighbors. Maybe it's spiritual insight turned
into teaching or discipleship. For others, maybe it's influence and platform turned into a voice
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for those without a voice. Whatever that might be for you, I promise you that if you take time to
seriously pray about it, that the Holy Spirit will begin to put ideas on your heart. He will inspire
these things because he gave them to you for this reason. We've been blessed to be a blessing.
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Let's keep reading verses four through nine. Here we're going to see Abram's obedience and Abram's
worship. Verse four says, "So Abram went as the Lord had told him and lot went with him. Abram was
75 years old when he set out from her hand. He took his wife, Sarah, his nephew, lot, all the possessions
they had accumulated and the people they'd acquired in her hand." And they set out for the land of
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Canaan and they arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of
Mora at Shechem. At that time, the Canaanites were in the land. Verse seven, "The Lord appeared to
Abram and said, 'To your offspring, I will give this land.'" So he built an altar there to the Lord
who had appeared to him. Verse eight, "From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and
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pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and AI on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and
called on the name of the Lord." Last verse, "Then Abram set out and continued towards the Nagev."
Verse four again, "So Abram went as the Lord had told him. He doesn't ask for a map. He doesn't delay
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he goes and this is faith in action." But for a minute here, trying to put yourself in Abram's shoes,
imagine what this call, this move would have been like. Kind of scary, go to a land I will show you. I
don't have to direct, just go. Remember, he's leaving everything he knew behind. All the things that
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were familiar to him. He was leaving everything. But listen, sometimes obedience to God means stepping
into the unknown, doesn't it? Trusting that God knows the way, even when we don't. The key to the
Christian life is this, trust and obey. Trust and obey. For there's no way else to be happy in
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Jesus, but to trust and obey. And as Abram journeys, we see something really important, verses seven and
eight. The text says that he builds altars and he worships God. Take a look. He's not worshipping because
he's already received everything God had promised. He's worshipping right here in anticipation. He's
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worshipping before the fulfillment of the promise. And you guys, this is a powerful reminder for us.
We shouldn't just worship God after the breakthrough or after the victory or after the answered
prayer. No, we worship God in the waiting. We worship God when the fulfilled promise is still unseen.
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In fact, the entire Christian life from here until Jesus returns is a time of waiting. And so we
worship. Why? Because God is worthy of our worship. And we see this throughout the Bible. We see
His character, His heart, His love. These are all reasons why He's worthy of our worship right now
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today. Sunday, May 25th. Listen, worship isn't just a thank you card. It's an act of trust.
Worship is not just a thank you card. For after we receive what we were asking for. No, worship is an
act of trust. It's an act of trust in the worthy one. Let me ask you, have you ever prayed for something
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for a long time? You're praying. You're praying. You're praying. Maybe it's for a job, for healing,
for your family, for a restored relationship. You're praying. You're praying. You're praying. And
nothing seems to change. It's easy in those moments to stop worshiping, to stop praying, to think,
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what's the point? Does God care? Does He see? Does He know? Does He understand?
But it's in those moments. And even more so, I think that God invites us to build altars of praise
right where we are, to praise Him even in the waiting. I've experienced this personally, maybe you have
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as well, but worshipping in the waiting has a way of shifting our focus, doesn't it? It shifts our
focus and our perspective off of the mess of right now and onto Him who never changes.
Worship has a way to recalibrate our hearts. It acts as an anchor for us when the storms of
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life try to pull us under. This past week I was scrolling on Instagram and I came across this quote,
said this, "Life is never out of control. It's just out of your control." And that hit me. Life is never
out of control. It's just out of your control. Here's the implication, God's in control ultimately,
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right? God's in control. So church, He's worthy. So let's praise Him even in the waiting room.
Let's move on and close up this chapter versus 10 through 20. And we're going to see just a heads up
a moment of weakness and failure for Abram. We're going to see God's faithfulness despite Abram's
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failure. I'll summarize. In his last 10 verses there's a famine in the land. And so Abram kind of
freaks out, he reacts and he goes down to Egypt. Instead of trusting God to provide and protect
Abram panics, he tells Sarah to lie and say that she's his sister, which is kind of a half truth,
Pharaoh sees that Sarah is beautiful and well this is just his sister, he takes Sarah into his palace
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to be one of his wives. And just like that, the promise that God made a few verses earlier seems
to be in danger. This great promise to be a blessing to all nations seems to be compromised and
in jeopardy. But God, like He so often does, He steps in at just the right time. He afflicts Pharaoh's
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household that says with serious diseases in verse 17 and God rescues Sarah, I praise the Lord.
Follow along verses 18, 19, and 20, it says this, "So Pharaoh summed into Abram. What have you done to
me?" He said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say she is my sister so I took her
to be my wife?" Now then, here's your wife. Take her and go. Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to
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his men and they sent him on his way with his wife and everything he had. And here's what we learn
in this section. We learn that God's promises don't depend on our perfection. That should be a
collective sigh of relief right here. God's promises don't depend on our perfection because even when
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Abram fails, and this is the major failure and spoiler alert, you keep reading, He fails again,
and He fails again, and He fails again. All the heroes of faith failed over and over and over,
but God was still faithful. Despite all their failure, God was still faithful. The Apostle Paul
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writing to his protege, Timothy writes this in 2 Timothy, chapter 2 verse 13, he says, "If we are
faithless, He speaking of God remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself." Church, faithful is who
God is. This is a necessary attribute that makes God God faithfulness. And we see here that God is
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committed to his promises. He doesn't walk away when we mess up. No, He steps in. He rescues and he
redeems. And guys, this is really, really, really good news for me and for you. It's like a GPS
recalculating your route. When you make a wrong turn or you miss an exit or you turn right on
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monivista when you're leaving church and the road is still closed. And you're like, "Oh my gosh,
make a U turn." Right? What does GPS tell you when you make a wrong turn or miss an exit? What does
it say? "Re-routing, recalculating, rerouting, recalculating." And it gives you the new way forward.
Make another wrong turn, rerouting. Miss another exit, recalculating. Here's a new way. Here's a fresh
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start. Listen, God does the same thing for us. When we fail, when we miss our exit, when we make a
wrong turn, when we sin, when we rebel against God, and when we confess and repent and turn back to
Him, God offers us a fresh start in new beginnings. Paul David Trip wrote this in his devotional
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everyday gospel to new one I picked up. It says this, "This theme of fresh starts in new beginnings
runs throughout the biblical narrative. The Bible is a record of God's again and again
picking up his failing followers, dusting them off and blasting them with forgiving grace,
and granting them new beginnings. For every human failure, there is plentiful, restoring grace."
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The Bible is honest about the powerful tragedy of sin, but it doesn't leave you there. No,
it consistently points you to restorative grace. And I love that. Beautiful paragraph by Paul,
David Trip. Listen, we're all prone to wander. We're all prone to wander to get off the right path.
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And so I want to encourage you to pray like I have so many times, just like the hymn says,
"Lord, bind my wandering heart to thee." Prone to wander, but Lord, bind me to yourself.
And if we want to stay close to God, I think we need reminders. I think we need community. We need
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people around us who will help us walk in obedience and remind us of God's never changing truth when we
forget. I can't tell you how many people I've heard from here at Cornerstone about how big of a
blessing their life group and discipleship group was for them when everything went down the drain.
If it weren't for these people in their corner, they say, "I would have been lost."
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There's so much benefit from being in community with other believers who can encourage you,
who can push you towards God's grace and God's love. And yes, even call you out when you're acting
kind of crazy. Christian community is one of the best gifts that God gives to us, His church.
Abram failed in this moment, like so many of us, he got his eyes off of God's promises,
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off of God's faithfulness, and onto the situation, this famine around him. And I know many of us have
been in a similar spot where fear is controlling us. It's all to ask you, who are you surrounding
yourself with? Who are you listening to when fear knocks on your door? Are you letting fear drive
your decisions or are you resting in God's promises? Are you being encouraged by Christian community
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when fear is at your doorstep? Genesis 12 shows us a God who calls people purely by grace.
We see a God who makes promises he intends to keep, and a God who remains faithful even when we stumble.
And the question is this, will we respond to Him today in faith? Will we trust and obey?
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Will we worship in the waiting? Before I close in prayer, I want to suggest four practical ways that
you might be able to respond to this message. Number one, use your blessing to bless others.
We're doing a food drive. You heard that from Pastor Andy earlier today. That's an easy way to
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meet a real need in our community. You can also be a blessing by joining a team or volunteering here
at the church. Maybe it's for you, it's starting to give generously and faithfully as we pursue God's
mission together. Use your blessing to be a blessing. Number two, get into Christian community.
Church, God didn't design us to walk this Christian life alone. No, we were made to belong.
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So get into a group. Guys, men, this summer hear me. We have a men's study starting up this summer June
3rd out on the patio Tuesday nights. Come and join us. Ladies, there's a book discussion
happening later on this summer for you. Youth, we got camp coming up. My daughter's going for the
first time. I'm kind of freaking out. That's okay. Kids, we have VBS coming up. So round yourself,
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find your people. Number three, worship in the waiting. Maybe you're in a season of waiting where
the answer still feels really far off. I want to encourage you, worship anyway. Worship God anyway.
Build an altar with your praise right now today and let God redirect your focus back onto him.
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And his faithfulness. Number four, trust God's faithfulness, even when you fail.
Maybe you blew it last week in your parenting. Maybe you pushed when you should have pulled,
right? Dr. Lee's sermon was really good last Sunday. Maybe you blew it earlier today with your
spouse on the way to church. Maybe you've taken things into your own hands again. Here this, God
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has not given up on you. His heart towards you is still one of love. It's still one of grace.
It's still one of mercy. So rest in Jesus. Rest in his faithfulness.
Please stand as the clothes and prayer. And I just want to make a special note that every Sunday,
we have a team up here, ready and willing to pray for you. Whatever you're going through. After
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the service, come up and we love to pray with you. And as I close, as I close and pray, I want to invite
you to open up your hands and kind of extend your arms like this. This is a posture of saying God,
I let go of some things that I'm holding to tightly to, but I'm also ready to receive whatever you
have for me. It's a very vulnerable position. But again, that's the point. God knows us. God loves
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us. And so I'm going to pray right now. Lord, we stand here right now. I just so grateful, first and
foremost for Jesus and for His faithfulness to us. We stand Lord with open arms, open hands,
letting go of things that are not in our control. And we trust you with them. And Lord, we ask,
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we beg that you would replace those things with blessing, that we would be a blessing in turn
to those around us. Whatever that might look like, Holy Spirit inspire us this week
to recognize and realize what we have, how we can be a blessing, Lord. Help us to worship, Lord,
in the waiting, even when it's hard. Worshiping with eyes of faith. And Lord, I pray that you would
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surround us with community. For those who are looking to be long somewhere, I pray that you would
raise people up around them, Lord. And I pray that we would do our due diligence and seek those
people out as well. God, you've placed us here for a reason. There's wisdom in your body.
We've been designed to benefit one another, mutual benefit. And so Lord, we give you this week,
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we give you the rest of today. And we ask for the Holy Spirit's filling. Would you bless us, Lord,
would you keep us? Would you make your face to shine upon us? Would you give us grace? Would you give us
peace? Do this work for your glory, by your grace. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. God bless you guys.
We hope you're blessed by this week's message. If you're a first-time listener, text the word new to
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951-425-4425. If you'd like to give to our ministry, please visit cornerstone.org/give. Thank you for
listening and have a great week.
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