ABRAHAM'S PROMISE

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               ABRAHAM'S PROMISE

Genesis 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee,
and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 

Today, we have two or more great bodies of human beings claiming to be the
heirs of that promise which God gave to Abraham.

Abraham had two sons-- Ishmael and Isaac.  Both were destined to become great
nations.  But, the Lord definitely intended to honor one above the other.  It
was Isaac and his children who were to be the children of promise.

Genesis 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before
thee!   Genesis 17:19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son
indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant
with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him.
  Genesis 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed
him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve
princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.   Genesis 17:21
But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee
at this set time in the next year. 

Ishmael's birth was a completely normal process of procreation.  The birth of
Isaac was supernatural from the start of conception.

The births of the boys can tell us something, if we are willing to listen to
what the Lord is trying to tell us.

While the posterity of the two boys are squabbling over the land and the
inheritance, GOD IS WORKING ON A DIFFERENT PROJECT ALTOGETHER.  The two boys
were merely the blueprint of what God was, and is, doing in the world today.

God chose to bless and use the one whose birth was miraculous, in order for
us to have a guideline to direct us into the correct understanding of His
Purposes in the earth today.

God is not (NOT) planning to make a great nation out of the NATURAL offspring
of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob.  We are sorry to have to disappoint the
prophetic teachers of the day.  A correct understanding of Scripture points
us in an entirely different direction.

The ONLY WAY (REPEAT, ONLY WAY) God has anything future in store for the
NATURAL SEED of Abraham is in the exact same manner as everyone else comes
into it.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost.   For the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God
shall call. 

If our present-day theologians could have it their way, things would get into
a royal mess right soon, but God is still in control, and--

"MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH" -- God is quietly working on the REAL PLAN--
the one which is typified by the birth and difficulties of the two boys born
to Abraham-- one an NATURAL birth, the other a MIRACULOUS birth.

Genesis 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will
multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon
the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 

Hebrews 6:14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I
will multiply thee. 

In tracing the PROMISE of the Father to Abraham, we can follow it TO and
THROUGH Isaac, Jacob, Judah and David.  Still following, the Promise is found
upon the Man, Jesus.  But Jesus said that when He went away, He would SEND
THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER (to Abraham) upon those who followed Him.  Luke
24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in
the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.   Acts 1:4
And, being assembled together with [them], commanded them that they should
not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which,
[saith he], ye have heard of me. 

Now, it boils down to the fact that the PROMISE  given to Abraham was
actually the promise that in the "SEED" there was to be a blessing to all
nations.  Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.
He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy SEED, which
is Christ.   

Acts 19:2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye
believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there
be any Holy Ghost.   And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized?
And they said, Unto John's baptism.   Then said Paul, John verily baptized
with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should
believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.   When
they heard [this], they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.   And
when Paul had laid [his] hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and
they spake with tongues, and prophesied. 

Galatians 3:19 Wherefore then [serveth] the law? It was added because of
transgressions, till the SEED SHOULD COME TO WHOM THE PROMISE WAS MADE; [and
it was] ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 

Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 

Galatians 3:29 And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs
according to the promise.