Family Feud

Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

! Genesis chapter 12 and our passage this morning will be the second half of Genesis chapter 12 starting in verse 10 and then all of chapter 13.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention Genesis 12 · chapter mention

So when you found that in your Bibles Genesis 12 verse 10 all the way through the end of chapter 13.

Genesis 12:10

Let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning.

Now there was a famine in the land.

So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there for the famine was severe in the land.

When he was about to enter Egypt he said to Sarai his wife,

I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance.

And when the Egyptians see you they will say, this is his wife.

Then they will kill me but they will let you live.

Say you are my sister that it may go well with me because of you and that my life may be spared for your sake.

When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.

And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her they praised her to Pharaoh.

And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

And for her sake he dealt well with Abram.

And he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys and camels.

But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

So Pharaoh called Abram and said, what is this you've done to me?

Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?

Why did you say she is my sister so that I took her for my wife?

Now then here's your wife, take her, go.

And Pharaoh gave orders concerning him and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had and Lot with him into the Negev.

Now Abram was very rich in livestock and silver and in gold.

And he journeyed on from the Negev as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning,

between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first.

And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord.

And Lot who went with Abram also had flocks and herds and tents,

so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together,

for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.

And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock.

At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.

Then Abram said to Lot,

Let there be no strife between you and me and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen,

for we are kinsmen.

Is not the whole land before you?

Separate yourself from me.

If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right,

or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.

And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere,

like the garden of the Lord,

like the land of Egypt in the direction of Zoar.

This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east.

Thus they separated from each other.

Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley,

and moved his tent as far as Sodom.

Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

Then the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him,

Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are,

northward and southward and eastward and westward,

for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.

I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth,

so that if one can count the dust of the earth,

your offspring also can be counted.

Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land,

for I will give it to you.

So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre,

which are at Hebron.

And there he built an altar to the Lord.

The grass withers and the flower fades,

but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Father, we praise you for your word,

and we pray now as we look to this account

and see your faithfulness to your promises.

Lord, we ask that you would deepen our faith in you,

we pray in Christ's name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

But you learn pretty quickly as a parent

that you ought not make promises that you can't keep.

Or better yet,

don't make promises that might in some way be threatened

by something outside of your control.

Because as you know,

there are about a million ways

that things can go off the rails,

things can go wrong,

and your promises might not be capped.

For example,

don't promise your kids

that no matter what happens,

you promise

you will take them to the pool

next Friday.

Because of course,

next Friday is a long way away,

and something might go wrong.

Something might go wrong with you.

You might get sick before next Friday.

Something might happen.

Some work comes up.

Something else comes up.

Some family emergency might happen.

Or if you're honest,

you might just change your mind

before Friday comes.

You might not want to go to the pool anymore.

So the issue might be within you,

and you won't keep your promise.

Or the issue might be something outside of you,

something external,

something beyond yourself.

So Friday comes,

and it starts to rain.

Friday comes,

and the pool is closed.

Friday comes,

and you're on your way.

Somebody else runs a red light

and runs into your car.

There are all sorts of threats,

both internal and external,

to our promises coming to pass.

But not so with God.

God faces no such obstacles

to His promises coming to pass.

The good news of our passage this morning

is that when God makes promises,

no distraction,

no enemy,

no threat,

whether internal or external,

can keep Him from fulfilling His word.

Our God is faithful

to fulfill every promise.

No threat, internal or external,

can ever nullify the promises of God.

That's the big idea for us this morning

in our passage.

We saw last week from Genesis chapter 12

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

that God has made some pretty incredible promises

to Abram.

But this morning,

what we see is that

as soon as God makes these promises,

what happens?

We see threats to the promise.

In fact, we see two threats

here in our passage this morning.

This will be our outline this morning.

Two threats to the promise.

We see the first one here

in the second half of chapter 12.

First, we see a threat to the promised seed.

A threat to the promised offspring.

Look there to chapter 12, verse 10.

We saw last week

that Abram has come into Canaan.

He's arrived in the promised land.

But pretty quickly,

we see things aren't so great

here in the promised land,

are they?

Verse 10 says that

there was famine in the land.

And apparently,

it says the famine was severe

in the land.

So what does Abram do?

He leaves the promised land

and he comes down

to the land of Egypt.

And already here

in just one verse,

things have taken

a pretty drastic shift,

haven't they?

God has just called Abram

and told him to go

into the land of Canaan.

He's just promised

to give him this whole land.

All this would be his.

But here,

automatically,

right away,

as soon as there's an issue,

here he is

leaving the promised land

because quite literally,

the grass is greener

down in Egypt.

It's not a good start

for Abram.

And we see that

once he gets there

in Egypt,

it doesn't go much better

for him, does it?

Look there,

starting in verse 11.

As Abram and his wife Sarai

are about to enter Egypt,

he has this bright idea.

Now, married women

in the room,

I want you to

place yourself

in Sarai's shoes

for a minute.

Tell me how this would go.

Now, you have just moved

to a new place

with your husband.

He said,

we got to go.

We got to move.

You just move

everything you have,

everything you own

to leave your father's house,

to leave what's familiar to you,

go into a brand new place.

And now he says,

babe,

it's time to move again.

It's time to go.

We need to go down

into Egypt.

And then he says,

darling,

you are so,

so beautiful.

That's a good start,

right?

You are so beautiful

that any man

who lays his eyes on you

would want you

as his wife.

It's pretty good.

He says,

darling,

you are so beautiful

that when we get down

to Egypt,

I want you to tell everybody

you're my sister.

Now, we don't have

Sarai's account

of what happened here,

but I can only imagine

that she might say

something like,

why would I do that,

Abram?

And he says,

well,

because if you tell them

that you're my sister,

maybe they'll let me live

and they'll take good care of me

and they'll give me

all these blessings

and so you go be with them

so that it might go well

with me.

How would that go over

for you ladies?

This would be a threat,

I would think,

to any marriage,

wouldn't it?

But there's a bigger issue

at stake here,

isn't there?

Do you see what it is?

This is a threat

to God's promise.

God promised

to give Abram

offspring

and that would be

difficult enough already

considering Abram's age

and considering

Sarai's infertility,

she is barren,

but that would be

absolutely impossible

if as soon as

they go to Egypt,

Abram just gives

his wife away.

We're left wondering,

how will God

fulfill his promise

to Abram?

Abram almost immediately

because of his own sin,

because of his own selfishness,

he is a threat

to the promise of God.

And to make matters worse,

look there,

starting in verse 14.

To make matters worse,

it seems like the plan

is working,

doesn't it?

It seems like he was right.

Verse 14 says,

when Abram entered Egypt,

the Egyptians saw

that the woman

was very beautiful,

he was right about that,

and when the princes

of Pharaoh saw

her,

they praised her

to Pharaoh,

and the woman

was taken into

Pharaoh's house,

and for her sake,

he dealt well

with Abram,

and he had sheep

and oxen

and male donkeys

and male servants

and female servants

and female donkeys

and camels,

and by all accounts,

it looks like his plan

is working out

just fine,

doesn't it?

By all accounts,

Abram is doing

pretty well.

He's getting away

with it.

His plan

is resulting

in prosperity.

He's got all sorts

of material blessings,

sheep and oxen,

donkeys and servants.

He is prospering

because of his lie.

Abram deceives

his way into blessing.

He lies

and he prospers

and it seems like

all is going great

for Abram,

doesn't it?

But do you think

that that's how God

desires to bless Abram?

God promised

to bless Abram,

but do you think

that this is

how he desired

to do it?

No,

not at all.

Psalm 37,

Psalms 37:16

verse 16,

it tells us,

better is the little

that the righteous

has

than the abundance

of the wicked.

You hear that?

Better is the little

that the righteous

has

than all

the abundance

of the wicked.

In other words,

in God's accounting

of things,

in God's economy,

righteousness

and integrity

and faith

and blamelessness

and holiness,

Christ-likeness

are worth more

than all the material

blessings in the world.

Sometimes I think

that you and I

can be tempted

in the very same way

that Abram is tempted here.

We can be tempted

to just maybe

just tell a little

white lie,

just something

a little bit short

of the truth,

just some alternative

version of the whole truth

in order that it might

go well with us.

That we might be blessed.

I mean,

what's wrong with that?

We come out

on the positive

end of things.

What's so wrong

with just giving

a little bit

less than the truth?

And so we might

be tempted

to just fudge

the numbers

just a little bit

on our taxes.

Maybe just a little bit.

That way we don't

have to pay everything

that we actually owe

and we come out

a little bit better

on the end.

What's wrong with that?

Maybe we're tempted

to deceive our boss

and pretend like

we're busy at work

when we're really

using that paid time

to go take care

of personal things,

personal business.

That's so normal

and we think,

well,

what's the big deal

with that?

The big deal

is that God's people

are called to be

people of the truth

and we aren't called

to just chase blessing

any way that we can get it.

We're called to be people

of holiness

and righteousness

and blamelessness

and to seek God's blessing

in God's time

in God's way

even if we think

we could just reach out

and grab it ourselves

if we just took

a little shortcut.

We're called to seek first

the kingdom of God

and His righteousness

and all these things

will be added to you.

Maybe not now,

maybe not how you desire.

Abram here,

the man of faith,

he shows us very clearly

that he too,

like us,

is a sinner.

You know,

it's amazing

how similar this passage

is to the fall

in Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

We just talked about this

in our grow class

this morning.

The fall in Genesis chapter 3,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Abram,

like Adam before him,

fails in his responsibility

to love

and to guard

and to protect his wife.

But what I want you to see

is that Abram's not just

acting like Adam,

Abram is acting like Satan.

Now the language here

is so similar

to Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Just think about it.

Just as the enemy

deceived Adam and Eve

and they saw

that the fruit was good

and they took it

and ate,

here because of

Abram's deception,

the Egyptians see

that Sarai looks good

to the eyes

and they take her

into Pharaoh's house.

You see that pattern?

See,

good,

take.

See,

good,

take.

This is in many ways

another repeat of the fall,

but did you notice

Abram's place in all of it?

Abram is standing

in the place

of the serpent himself.

He is the one

deceiving the Egyptians.

He's the one

that's leading them

to see

and to take

what was not rightfully

theirs to take.

What a tragedy.

The one who is meant

to be an agent

of blessing to the world

is right away

because of his sin,

he is multiplying curse

instead of blessing.

The one

through whom

the promised offspring

is meant to come

is threatening

the promise

right away

because he's giving

his wife away

in exchange for blessing.

Look at what God does.

Verse 17.

God does not

let Abram's sin

stop his promise.

You see that?

God does not

let Abram's

unfaithfulness

nullify

his faithfulness.

Verse 17.

God afflicts

Pharaoh with plagues.

Now that ought to

sound familiar too,

doesn't it?

Oh, this is

sort of

foreshadowing

the events

of the Exodus

to come.

You remember

the Exodus.

God's people

are driven to Egypt

because of famine.

They are taken

into Pharaoh's

property.

The promises

of God

appear to be

threatened,

but God

steps in.

God afflicts

the Egyptians

with plagues.

God intervenes.

He brings

his people

out with

all the blessings

and the property

of the Egyptians

back to the land

of promise.

Well, this is

exactly what

happens here

with Abram.

And the point

is, the point

that would

certainly comfort

the Israelites

in years to come,

God will

defend

his promises.

God will

not let

Abram's

faithlessness

or foolishness

derail

or destroy

his purposes.

God will

not let

Abram's

sin

or Abram's

selfishness

alter his

plan in

any way

to bring

about the

promised

offspring

through

him.

God

acts

to fulfill

all his

promises.

That's true

for the

promised

offspring.

And second

here we see

is also true

for the

promised

land.

Look there

to chapter

13.

The second

threat that

we see

here is

the threat

to the

promised

land.

Look there

with me

starting in

verse 1

chapter 13.

Chapter 13

tells us that

after all of

this,

Abram left

Egypt.

He's kicked

out of

Egypt.

Pharaoh

says,

you've got

to get

out of

here.

And through

this whole

ordeal,

he comes

out very

rich,

very wealthy.

He has

sheep and

oxen and

donkeys and

servants,

silver and

gold and

somehow still

has his

wife.

But starting

in verse 2

we see that

this abundance

of wealth

very quickly

poses a

problem for

Abram.

Look there

to verse 2.

Verse 2

says,

Now Abram

was very

rich in

livestock and

silver and

gold and

he journeyed

on from

the Negev

as far as

Bethel to

the place

where he

had his

tent at

the beginning

between

Bethel and

Ai to

the place

where he

made the

altar at

the first

and there

Abram

called upon

the name

of the

Lord.

And we

hear in

verse 5

that Lot

also who

went with

Abram also

had an

abundance of

material

blessings,

flocks and

herds and

tents,

so that the

land could

not support

both of

them dwelling

together,

for their

possessions were

so great that

they couldn't

dwell together

and there's

strife between

the herdsmen of

Abram's livestock

and the herdsmen

of Lot's

livestock.

The promised

land has some

problems here,

doesn't it?

For one thing,

there's famine,

and for another,

it's just not

big enough.

It's not big

enough to host

even two wealthy

men, and the

reason why we

see it here is

that it's still

occupied by the

Canaanites and

the Perizzites.

They're still

dwelling in the

land.

The enemies are

still there,

and so the

space that

Abram and

Lot can

occupy is

limited.

There's simply

not enough

room for both

of them.

They're stepping

on each

other's toes.

It's a problem.

You know how

when you go on

vacation with

your family,

extended family,

and you have

all of them in

maybe like one

big beach

house, and you

just are trying

to get into the

kitchen, trying

to get what

you need,

trying to go to

the bathroom,

and there's only

like two or

three for 20

people?

It gets old

real quick,

doesn't it?

You are

stepping on

each other's

toes.

The space

simply isn't

there.

Look how

Abram goes

about it.

Notice the

contrast here

between Abram

and Lot.

Abram makes

a move

towards peace

with his

family.

Chapter 13,

verse 8,

Abram says to

Lot, let there

be no strife

between you

and me,

between your

herdsmen and

my herdsmen.

Why?

For we are

kinsmen.

We're family.

I don't want

to fight with

you.

Is not

the whole

land before

you?

Separate

yourself from

me.

If you take

the left

hand, I'll

go to the

right.

If you take

the right

hand, I'll

go to the

left.

Look out

and take

whatever you

want.

Abram gives

Lot first

pick.

Now Bethel,

where they are,

that's about

2,800 feet

above sea

level.

And so Lot,

he can truly

look out on

all the land

as far as

his eye can

see.

He can lay

eyes on all

of it and

take his

pick.

And Abram,

very generously

I would say,

he says,

I don't want

there to be

trouble between

us, so you

just take a

look, you

get whatever

you want.

Lot looks

and it

doesn't take

him too

long to

make his

decision,

does it?

Right away,

verse 10,

it says,

he lifts

his eyes

and sees

that the

Jordan Valley

looks good,

it's well

watered,

like the

garden of

the Lord,

like Egypt

in fact.

And so what

does Lot do?

Look at

this.

Lot sees

that it

looks good

and he

takes for

himself the

Jordan Valley.

Here we go

again.

Do you hear

that pattern

again?

See,

good,

take,

see,

good,

take.

That's a good

indicator for

us that

something is

not quite

right with

Lot's decision

making here.

He sees,

it looks

good,

he takes.

what's the

issue?

Ultimately,

this is a

contrast between

Abram walking

by faith and

Lot walking

by sight.

You think

about it,

what could

motivate Abram

to be so

generous?

What could

motivate him

to be so

confident that

he can open

up all the

land and tell

Lot to just

go take

whatever you

want?

Abram is

acting like

someone who

trusts in

God's promise

to give him

all the land,

isn't he?

And meanwhile,

Lot is acting

like someone who

makes choices

based on

simply what

appeals to

the flesh.

Abram,

he's showing

us here that

trust in God's

promises ought

to make God's

people incredibly

generous and

open-handed with

all of our

worldly treasure.

You realize,

church,

God has

promised us

eternal riches

in Christ

beyond our

wildest imagination

for all

eternity,

all our needs

met in

Christ,

and so

therefore,

we can be

generous

and open-handed

in ways that

simply don't make

sense to the

world's way of

accounting for

things.

God has

promised us

forgiveness

in Christ.

He has

reconciled us

to himself

in Christ.

And so,

God's people,

we can humble

ourselves and

risk looking

foolish in

order to

reconcile and

make peace

with others.

Christ has

promised us

there is no

one who has

left house

or brothers

or sisters

or mother

or father

or children

or lands

for my sake

and for the

gospel who

will not

receive a

hundredfold.

Now,

in this time,

houses and

brothers and

sisters and

mothers and

children and

lands with

persecutions

and in the

age to come

eternal life.

if so,

God's people

can take

risks that

look foolish

in the world's

eyes.

Risks like

moving to a

dangerous place

to take the

gospel where

it's not yet

been heard.

Risks like

turning down

extra hours

at work on

the weekends

to prioritize

gathering with

God's people

in worship.

Risks like

risking

relationships

and risking

rejection to

share the

gospel with

our friends

and our

family and

our neighbors

and our

co-workers.

Why?

Because like

Abram, we are

called to walk

by faith and

not by sight.

Abram shows

us what this

looks like.

Meanwhile,

Lot shows us

what it looks

like to walk

by sight.

Did you notice

the little

editorial comments

about the land

that Lot

chose?

It looks

good, doesn't

it?

It looks

beautiful.

It's like

the land of

Eden.

It's like

Egypt.

It's well

watered.

It's beautiful.

But look at

these little

comments.

All this

was before

the Lord

destroyed

Sodom and

Gomorrah.

Verse 13,

the men of

Sodom were

wicked,

great sinners

against the

Lord.

As far as

Lot's eyes

could tell,

this was

clearly the

best choice,

but as we'll

soon see,

there are

bigger issues

to come

for Lot.

Calvin,

in light of

this passage,

he urges

us,

let us

then learn

by this

example,

that our

eyes are

not to

be trusted,

but that

we must

rather be

on our

guard,

lest we

be ensnared

by them,

and be

encircled,

unaware,

with many

evils,

just as

Lot,

when he

fancied that

he was

dwelling in

paradise,

was nearly

plunged into

the depths

of hell.

Church,

how often

are our

choices

driven by

sight,

faith,

and not

by faith?

How often

are our

decisions

driven by

what appeals

to our

senses,

and not

by the

promises

of God?

Do we

realize that

in every

single decision

that we

make,

there is

more to

consider

than simply

what appeals

to our

flesh?

There's

application

here all

over the

place,

isn't there?

There's

application

for moving

to a new

place.

Often people

make moves

based on

jobs,

they get a

new,

better job

opportunity,

leads them

to a new

place,

they look

up the

place,

they Google

it,

and they

see all

this beautiful

landscape,

all the

fun things

to do,

all the

areas to

explore,

all the

good restaurants

to eat

at,

and then

somewhere

all the

way down

the list,

eventually,

maybe,

they might

think about

finding a

church

somewhere.

Can I

suggest that

that's

completely

backwards?

It is

infinitely

better to

be in

a place

that is

physically

famished,

but spiritually

well watered,

than to be

somewhere physically

beautiful,

but spiritually

famished.

Apply this

to dating.

A few of you

are maybe

in that

phase,

and if you're

not,

maybe your

kids or

your grandkids

will be

soon.

If there

is anywhere

in our

culture

that emphasizes

sight,

and feeling,

and physical,

appealing to

the senses,

this is it,

isn't it?

And hear me

say,

attraction is

good,

chemistry,

if you want

to call it

that,

that's fine,

that's good,

but for a

Christian,

nothing is

more important

than making

sure that you

are spiritually

united in

Christ.

I mean,

how far down

the list

is that for

you?

as you

date and

evaluate the

potential of

a future

with somebody,

put this

first,

do they

know the

Lord?

Are they

committed to

walking with

you in a

Christ-honoring

marriage?

Do you

share a

common vision

for the

spiritual

health of

your home?

Here we

see another

apparent threat

to the

promise of

God.

The land

is insufficient,

it's famished,

it's occupied

by the enemy,

it's causing

problems for

Abram's

family and

Lot chooses

the most

attractive portion

and here is

Abram left

in a desert

without any

family and

he's wondering

will God

fulfill his

promise?

How will

God fulfill

the promises

that he's

made?

Look down

to verse

14.

God

speaks

and he

assures

Abram once

again,

no

threat,

will

overcome

my

promise.

The Lord

said to

Abram,

after Lot

separated

from him,

lift up

your eyes

and look

from the

place where

you are

northward

and southward

and eastward

and westward

for all

the land

that you

see I

will give

to you

and to

your

offspring

forever.

I will

make your

offspring

as the

dust

of the

earth

so that

if one

can count

the dust

of the

earth,

your

offspring

also

can be

!

Arise,

walk

through

the

length

and

breadth

of

the

land

for

I

will

give

it

to

you.

So

Abram

moved

his

tent

and

came

and

settled

by the

oaks

of

Mamre

which

are

at

Hebron

and

there

he

built

an

altar

to

the

Lord.

In

other

words,

God

says,

Abram,

no

threat

can

cancel

out

my

promise.

You

may

mess

up

a

thousand

times

but

I

will

make

your

offspring

as

the

dust

of

the

earth.

Others

may

sin

against

you

and

be

selfish

and

take

what

looks

best

to

the

naked

eye

but

walk

through

the

land

I

will

give

it

to

you.

No

threat

from

within

no

threat

from

without

can

cancel

out

my

promise

when

I

speak

and

when

I

promise

I

will

accomplish

everything

I

say

to

you.

Certainly

Abram

would

be

assured

and

comforted

by

this

but

church

now

let me

tell you

why

this

is so

good

for

us

because

this

has

everything

to do

with

us

in

Christ

God

has

made

promises

to

us

in

Christ

in

fact

we saw

last

week

and

we'll

see

over

and

over

and

over

and

over

again

throughout

Abram's

story

we

are

the

heirs

of

these

promises

by

faith

in

Christ

it

is

those

who

share

the

faith

of

Abraham

who

are

children

of

Abraham

and

heirs

of

the

promises

Paul

says

in

Galatians

3

so

here

again

we

have

layers

to

these

promises

layers

to

these

promises

here

in

the

Old

Testament

on

one

layer

on

one

level

yes

we

can

look

forward

and

see

how

God

fulfills

his

promise

to

Abraham

he

gives

him

physical

children

Isaac

and

then

through

Isaac

the

whole

nation

of

Israel

those

who

are

his

offspring

according

to

the

flesh

!

and

we

can

look

forward

and

see

how

on

one

level

God

fulfills

his

promise

to

Israel

and

brings

them

into

the

promised

land

of

Canaan

but hear

me

that

is

not

the

whole

picture

that

is

temporary

and

partial

there

are

greater

promises

at play

here

than

just

a

physical

offspring

in

just

a

small

patch

of

dirt

over

in

the

Middle

East

these

promises

!

all

God's

promises

are

ultimately

expanded

and

fulfilled

and

extended

to

us

in

such

a

way

that

no

threat

can

ever

remove

them

in

Jesus

Christ

the

promised

son

of

Abraham

who

can

number

the

church

who

can

count

the

number

of

God's

people

throughout

the

ages

all

those

who

by

faith

have

trusted

in

the

promises

of

God

they

are

more

numerous

than

the

sand

on

the

shore

more

numerous

than

all

the

stars

in

the

sky

you know

John

saw

this

in

revelation

and

he

spoke

about

it

he

said

there

was

a

great

multitude

that

no

one

could

number

from

every

nation

from

all

tribes

and

peoples

and

languages

!

standing

before

the

throne

and

before

the

lamb