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Christ redeemed us from the curse of the

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law so that in order that the whole

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purpose of this was not just that I

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can be free but that the blessing of

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Abraham might come upon us.

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I mean he the Jews may claim him

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to be their father but the blessing which

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God gave Abraham is for us and if

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the Jews don't claim it well just too

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bad and that is so the blessing of

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Abraham so we can receive the Holy Spirit

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by faith we can receive a blessing and

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the blessing in the New Testament is the

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Holy Spirit.

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See that's the opposite of the curse of

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the law.

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Law Holy Spirit, curse blessing, curse of the

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law blessing of the Holy Spirit.

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So this is it.

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So if I don't replace this I was

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you and I were under the curse of

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the law for so many years because we

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tried to please God that way and didn't

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work but now have you just kept our

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heart empty now we sort of nod and

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say yeah I believe in the Holy Spirit.

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It's not a question of believing it's a

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question of whether he's occupied the place in

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our heart and say Lord I believe that

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you have given me the Holy Spirit to

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give me Abraham's blessing.

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That's been a tremendous encouragement to me.

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We can receive the promise of the Holy

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Spirit by faith.

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Abraham received it by faith.

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He didn't do any works.

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I want you to turn to Genesis chapter

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12 and see what Abraham's blessing is.

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Genesis chapter 12 you know we read here

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what the Lord said to Abraham when he

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was 75 years old It tells us in

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verse 4 he was 75 years old when

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he departed from Haran.

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Now I don't know at what age he

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left Ur of the Chaldees.

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You know because God had called him when

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he was in Ur of the Chaldees is

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down south near somewhere near south Iraq or

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somewhere there and then he went north to

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a place called Haran and that was just

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the route to go to Canaan which is

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today Israel.

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But because he took his father with him

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and took his nephew with him and there

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were some others also.

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It says in chapter 11 31 Terah took

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Abraham his son and left the son of

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Haran grandson and Sarah's daughter-in-law and

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they all went together to Haran and when

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they saw this place called Haran Abraham's dad

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said hey this is a good place we're

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gonna stay here and little boy Abraham 75

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years old said okay daddy we'll stay here.

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God had told him to go to Canaan

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and he didn't listen.

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Imagine listening to your dad when he was

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75 years old.

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That dad must have been a strong man

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for Abraham.

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You know what God had to do?

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He killed his father.

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I've got a full full of purpose to

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live I'm not gonna let I mean he

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didn't kill his father when he was young

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father must have been 150 or something it's

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okay about time to die just knock him

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off so that Abraham can move on it

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says there the days of Terah oh 205

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he's much older than that that's fine.

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So he killed him and then Abraham then

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it says so chapter 12 verse 4 Abraham

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went forth.

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Why?

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Because in between it tells us in verses

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1 to 3 chapter 12 1 to 3

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what God had told Abraham when he was

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in Ur of the Chaldees.

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You see chapter 12 verse 1 to 3

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is not what he told him in Haran.

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That's what he told him some years earlier

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in Ur of the Chaldees.

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Now as I said I don't know it

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doesn't say here how long they settled in

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Haran.

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I hope it was only a year or

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so or less.

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I don't think God ever kept them long

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there but anyway chapter 12 verse 1 to

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3 says way back in Ur of the

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Chaldees maybe a year earlier a few months

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earlier God had told Abraham leave your relatives.

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He didn't listen.

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Leave your country listen to that part.

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You see it's very common throughout scripture for

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people to obey half of God's commandments.

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They'll believe in the Lord Jesus Christ but

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they won't get baptized or they'll come out

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of Egypt but they won't go to Canaan

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and then numerous cases like this the Lord

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told told Abraham give up your land and

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give up your relatives he gives up his

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land but not his relatives and they become

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the cause of the problem.

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You look into your life you may see

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a lot of problems come because you obeyed

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one thing and you didn't obey the other.

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The numerous husbands and wives who suffer because

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God tells the husband leave your father and

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mother and cleave to your wife the last

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verse of Genesis 2.

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God tells the wife in Psalm 45 10

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forgive your father's house.

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Well one or the other don't obey they

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don't have very happy marriage.

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That is true universally.

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So it's like that you know they think

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they know better than God and Abraham probably

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thought okay but he didn't leave his father's

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house.

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He left his country but he didn't leave

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his father's house.

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He took his dad along with him.

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The Lord said you've got to leave all

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that if you want to follow me.

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Even today you find you know Jesus said

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if you want to be my disciple you're

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gonna hate your father, mother, brother, sister, wife,

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children and I'll tell you many many years

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I've discovered the fundamental reason why many people

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don't become disciples of Jesus is they got

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some attachment to some earthly relative who means

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more to them than Christ whose word means

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more to them than Christ's word.

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So they're never disciples.

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They always wonder why they don't make progress

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because they've got one leg tied back to

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somebody on earth.

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That's what happened to Abraham.

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Anyway God did something radical and listen here

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is Abraham's blessing now when you fulfill this.

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It's like I said the other day you

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get rid of this wretched chameleon or lizard

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sitting on your shoulder and throw it down

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it becomes a horse.

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The steed on which you can drive right

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and so when he the Lord said if

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you break free from your relatives and break

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free from your family you know what I'm

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gonna do for you I'm gonna bless you

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and this is the Abraham's blessing now listen

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to this in verse 2 it's all there

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together I will bless you and you will

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be a blessing.

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Basically that's it in one sentence two parts

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I will bless you and you'll be a

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blessing and all the families of the earth

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verse 3 will be blessed through you.

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Now there's certain other things he told him

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about he would curse those who curse them

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which you know in Jesus that's under the

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law for the Jews but it doesn't apply

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to us because there's no curse on us

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and we don't put a curse on anybody

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else either.

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Jesus said bless those who curse you.

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We don't curse anybody.

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So that part doesn't apply to us.

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We're talking about the blessing.

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The blessing is I will bless you and

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you will be a blessing to everyone.

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You see in fact that's one of the

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promises the Lord gave Israel towards the end

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of the Old Testament in Zechariah chapter 8.

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The Lord told Israel in Zechariah 8 and

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verse 13.

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That's a lovely promise and it will come

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about that just as you were a curse

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among the nations so now you will become

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a blessing.

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I will save you and you'll become a

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blessing.

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Don't fear let your hands be strong.

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So that's a promise we can take ourselves.

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I mean if you've been a nuisance and

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a curse to other people in your past

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life the Lord says I can change all

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that.

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Now the thing I want you to notice

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in Genesis 12 you remember in our last

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study on Sunday I mentioned how the old

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covenant was thou shalt thou shalt thou shalt

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thou shalt not thou shalt not thou shalt

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not thou shalt not and now the new

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covenant God says I will I will I

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will I will I will.

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Now notice how it is with Abraham's blessing

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Genesis 12.

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There's nothing of thou shalt.

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There's nothing of you have to do this

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or you shall do this.

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It's almost like before God gave the old

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covenant in Exodus he gave a glimpse of

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the new covenant in Abraham.

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He told Abraham I will make you a

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great nation and I will bless you and

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I will bless those who bless you and

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and you will become a blessing not you

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should.

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You know there's a difference between you will

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becoming a blessing and you should becoming a

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blessing.

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Some people they feel God said you should

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be a blessing to others and so they

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try to be a blessing.

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Have you ever tried to be a blessing

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to other people?

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You don't realize what a nuisance you are

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if you go and ask those other people

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to whom you are trying to be a

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blessing hey listen please don't try to be

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a blessing to me.

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You tried to be a blessing to me

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last month and I know what happened.

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Thanks