Genesis 15:1-5 (NIV):

The Lord’s Covenant With Abram.

15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield,[a]

your very great reward.[b]”

2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[d] be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Hey Guys today we begin the last Sunday Series for the Year: From Preparation to Purpose.

The first part of this study is the LORD’s Covenant with Abram.

1. The Covenant: It all starts at the cross. You have to receive salvation in your heart and accept the LORD into your life to fully step into the benefits of the covenant. Before the covenant, Abram did not have the promise. The covenant comes before the promise. When the covenant is made, the LORD begins to speak into your situation. This is why the word of the LORD came to Abram because the word comes only to the children of God-He reveals Himself only to His children (1 Samuel 3:21).

2. The Vision: Abram received a vision from God. This is how it starts-with the Word. The Word comes with vision to the children of God meaning it comes with understanding-with knowledge because once you enter the covenant you are now a child of God. And He reveals Himself only to His children. The vision builds your connection to the LORD. God told Abram not to be afraid because He is his shield and his great reward-in other words, the LORD is now His defense (Proverbs 18:10). And it is through this intimacy we experience the rich love of God because His perfect love casts away all fear (1 John 4:18).

3. Brokenness: God always speaks to your barrenness or your brokenness. That is where His strength moves in your weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). Where you struggled, is where He will reveal His glory. This is where the vision will take root. Notice Abram’s vision took root in his barrenness. He said to the LORD-he had no child. (Genesis 15:3). And then the LORD showed him the vision. (Genesis 15:4) once more through the Word-which is why as believers we have to stay in the Word-the Word will reveal the will of God into our lives. The Word of the LORD spoke to Abram’s barrenness about a child-because you see, once you step into your spiritual inheritance you are no longer physically limited. It is not I who live, but Christ that lives in me (Galatians 2:20) as the Word says.

4. Separation: If you want to receive the Word of God into your life and step fully into your purpose you have to be separated. It is a product of your inheritance because you are called out of the world to be a light to the world (Matthew 5:16)-this is why the Word says your light should shine before men-because you are no longer just men (2 Timothy 3:5)-you are a child of God meaning you have certain benefits, protections, provisions. This will all require separation to enter into the place of preparation that will ultimately lea

d you to the promise. And if you are not separated you will not be able to understand the word of God concerning your life. This is why God had to take Abram outside-outside here means outside your flesh, your worldly understanding, your own belief system-and is a place of simple and deep reliance on God (Prov. 3:5)-this is where the connection becomes stronger because you begin to feed on His Word and become stronger (Luke 4:4)-this is where you learn to walk by faith not sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). God will not speak if you refuse to follow Him outside because as a child of God you must be led by His Spirit (Romans 8:14). If you refuse to follow Him, you are limiting your own access to the sonship we have received through Christ.

5. Direction: When you step outside, (Prov. 3:5) this shows trust because you are putting your faith into action (James 2:26). This is why God then said he should look. This means direction-because God told him where to look-at the sky. Hence God will always lead you higher than you can take yourself, He will always show you further than you can possibly see on your own. He will always release you into a place of elevation when you follow Him-His direction is to bless you. This is why Abram was told to look up at the sky. This implies limitless possibilities because God will always lead you beyond your own boundaries.

6. Focus: When you listen and look where He shows you, He will focus your stare because now your faith is stronger, you will begin to see clearer and would be able to count. Can you see the correlation between obedience and release? Abram was told to count the stars, which is interesting because of course he could not possibly, humanly count the stars! This is because once you receive your vision you have begun your mission! Your mission has begun in private in those moments of obedience before anyone knows. As you focus and grow in faith-it releases understanding which will enable you to focus, which is, why Abram can now count. Next the LORD says if indeed you can count them. This is because you would not be fully able to grasp the intensity of the blessing no matter how much you believe. Sure you can count but you can’t comprehend the quantity because you cannot count everything-this means God wants to bless you beyond what your mind could possibly understand (1 Corin. 2:9).

7. Revelation: And then God said so shall your offspring be. In other words, the place of Abram’s barrenness was going to be the place where he would bear fruit-because God touches your broken places to reveal His glory in your life. This is why your purpose is tied to your pain-where have you suffered hurt/confusion/uncertainty-that is where the LORD will release revelation and blessings. But you have to walk through the process of stepping first into the covenant and the other steps highlighted to be able to get to the place to envision the mission. God spoke to Abram through the stars-God will speak to you through areas of your life you least expect-but His presence will be clearly there-His presence was in the stars since they shine, His presence was in the sky since He is everywhere, hence His presence is all around you but the key is to step into the covenant. The path is illuminated in the vast expanse (the sky) through the process of counting the stars.

8. Faith: A whole lot of faith is required to bring the vision to pass, which is why God grows your faith as you walk with Him and as we have seen through this study. It took more faith to step outside than it did to enter into the covenant with God. Then it took even more faith to look up at the sky and then some more to count the stars and then some more to believe God. But you have to believe what He shows you because your agreement is a necessity (Amos 3:3) for you to receive the blessing. This is why the Word also says God will show you what you do not know (Jer. 33:3) because it is revealed through faith which is why faith is so important to God (Hebr. 10:38). What does to credit mean? To credit is the ability of a customer to obtain goods or services before payment based on the trust that payment will be made in the future. Abram believed God would surely give him a son before he saw the son physically; hence he put his faith into action. His faith spoke for him because God credited it to him as righteousness-in other words God credited it to him as an act of faith/belief. This is why Abram was able to obtain the promise (customer) before payment (the son) because he trusted that payment would be made in the future (his faith). God hears your faith. So is your faith speaking? Faith is the exchange rate of heaven, which is why it was credited to Abram as righteousness. Hence he received the promise before he saw the manifestation.