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[1708.96 --> 1709.46] we see hate,
[1709.54 --> 1710.16] we see lying,
[1710.26 --> 1710.82] we see stealing.
[1711.16 --> 1712.48] We see all sorts of corruption
[1712.48 --> 1713.82] taking hold of humanity.
[1714.82 --> 1715.68] God sends a flood
[1715.68 --> 1717.24] to bring judgment and renewal.
[1717.38 --> 1718.38] Even after the flood,
[1718.46 --> 1719.66] we see sin just spreading
[1719.66 --> 1720.98] through humanity.
[1721.58 --> 1722.50] And it all culminates,
[1722.56 --> 1723.04] you might say,
[1723.08 --> 1723.92] in Genesis 11,
[1724.02 --> 1724.86] which is the story
[1724.86 --> 1726.08] of the Tower of Babel,
[1726.38 --> 1728.02] where humanity comes together,
[1728.38 --> 1729.08] not for worship,
[1729.46 --> 1730.78] not to adore God,
[1730.92 --> 1732.14] but to build themselves
[1732.14 --> 1733.00] this structure
[1733.00 --> 1735.44] that shows just how significant
[1735.44 --> 1737.54] humanity is without God.
[1738.64 --> 1739.74] And God's response
[1739.74 --> 1741.02] after Genesis 3-11
[1741.02 --> 1742.48] narrates the unraveling
[1742.48 --> 1742.98] of humanity.
[1743.14 --> 1744.56] His response to the wickedness
[1744.56 --> 1745.20] of human hearts,
[1745.64 --> 1747.22] his response to the deadliness
[1747.22 --> 1748.46] of disobedience,
[1748.72 --> 1749.62] of idolatry,
[1749.70 --> 1751.30] is Abraham.
[1752.48 --> 1753.14] Genesis 12,
[1753.70 --> 1754.36] right on the heels
[1754.36 --> 1755.12] of the Tower of Babel,
[1755.12 --> 1756.36] God goes to this man
[1756.36 --> 1757.72] named Abram at the time,
[1758.08 --> 1758.42] and he says,
[1758.52 --> 1758.90] Abram,
[1759.32 --> 1760.60] I've got a plan.
[1760.92 --> 1762.84] I'm selecting just you
[1762.84 --> 1763.88] out of all of humanity
[1763.88 --> 1765.34] as a new start,
[1765.46 --> 1766.16] you might say.
[1766.52 --> 1767.82] And I'm going to bless you,
[1767.96 --> 1768.70] I'm going to enable you
[1768.70 --> 1769.26] to flourish,
[1769.44 --> 1770.30] I'm going to teach you
[1770.30 --> 1771.12] how to live,
[1771.38 --> 1772.64] and as you flourish,
[1772.92 --> 1774.06] the nations will flourish,
[1774.14 --> 1775.30] and my blessing will flow
[1775.30 --> 1776.64] through you to them.
[1778.52 --> 1779.38] Let me show you
[1779.38 --> 1780.18] how God says it
[1780.18 --> 1781.34] in Genesis 12.
[1781.58 --> 1781.98] This is,
[1782.14 --> 1782.64] in some sense,
[1782.70 --> 1783.86] such an important verse
[1783.86 --> 1784.44] for the whole
[1784.44 --> 1785.44] Old Testament story.
[1786.10 --> 1787.02] Because God starts
[1787.02 --> 1787.48] with Abraham,
[1787.54 --> 1788.30] and he says to him,
[1788.30 --> 1789.78] I will make you
[1789.78 --> 1790.62] into a great nation.
[1791.52 --> 1792.50] I will bless you.
[1792.98 --> 1794.26] I will make your name great,
[1794.34 --> 1795.26] and you will be
[1795.26 --> 1795.76] a blessing.
[1796.24 --> 1797.06] I will bless those
[1797.06 --> 1797.70] who bless you,
[1797.72 --> 1798.72] and whoever curses you,
[1798.82 --> 1799.46] I will curse,
[1799.68 --> 1800.64] and all peoples
[1800.64 --> 1801.86] of the earth
[1801.86 --> 1802.76] will be blessed
[1802.76 --> 1804.14] through you.
[1804.92 --> 1805.98] A few chapters later,
[1806.10 --> 1807.10] God binds himself
[1807.10 --> 1807.62] in a covenant,
[1807.76 --> 1808.18] which is just
[1808.18 --> 1809.94] a really deep promise,
[1810.26 --> 1811.36] and he says to Abraham
[1811.36 --> 1812.34] in chapter 17
[1812.34 --> 1812.88] of Genesis,
[1813.08 --> 1813.92] no longer will you
[1813.92 --> 1815.00] be called Abram,
[1815.00 --> 1817.16] your name will be Abraham,
[1817.58 --> 1818.60] for I have made you
[1818.60 --> 1819.02] the what?
[1819.64 --> 1822.04] The father of nations.
[1823.00 --> 1824.18] I'll say the point again.
[1824.28 --> 1826.00] God's plan from the beginning
[1826.00 --> 1826.88] was a global,
[1827.18 --> 1828.50] multi-ethnic family
[1828.50 --> 1829.76] of faith,
[1830.34 --> 1831.48] and he's now working
[1831.48 --> 1832.14] through Abraham
[1832.14 --> 1833.94] to make this possible,