Covenant Renewed
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Part of being a pastor, means people come to me and want to get the God angle of life.
Part of being a pastor, means people come to me and want to get the God angle of life.
They want to know what the Bible says about certain issues and current events.
Last Sunday, there was the shooting in Las Vegas.
This was a terrible tragedy.
It seems as if everyone I talk to knows at least one person who was there or was affected by it.
And every time it’s talked about people want to know why it happened.
How could God allow this to happen?
Is there a God?
If God is good how could He let this happen?
Though they are honest questions, underneath these questions is a subtle attack against God.
They ask me, and they ask Christians these questions, not because of genuine curiosity, but more because they wonder how we can have faith in the face of such horror.
Underneath these questions, is an underlying question of do we still believe?
Do I still faith, or am I so appalled that I thrown in the towel?
Today as we go through our text, we will see 3 great reasons to trust in the Lord in the face of tragedy and hardship.
We see 3 reasons to persevere in our faith.
And these 3 reasons are timeless truths.
They are true when there is a shooting in Las Vegas.
They are true when you struggle financially.
They are true when you are sick.
And they are true when you are genuinely joyful.
I’ll tell you these points now, and we will tackle each one as we go through our text.
We trust God because of His Word.
We trust God because of His sovereignty.
And we trust God because of His Promise.
Let’s first look at trusting God because of His Word.
Let’s first look at trusting God because of His Word.
We will be in today, a truly memorable and powerful passage.
This is one of those passages I’m deeply honored to preach from.
As we examine trusting God because of His Word, let’s look at .
Read .
This passage begins with a great promise from God.
God has made him some pretty tremendous promises.
You see it in verse 1, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
Those are good words aren’t they?
He’s promised Abraham a land, a nation, and to become a nation.
They are words that we need to hear.
They are words that you need to hear.
Especially when we struggle.
“Fear not” -
When life is scary, and I’d certainly say this past week was a scary week.
Each of you know someone who was there in Las Vegas.
You are grateful they are okay.
The scary thing is that these things happen when we least expect it.
And it scares us.
What does God tell us?
Fear not.
God says, “I am your shield;”
Why don’t we need to fear?
Because God is our defender.
God is sovereign over life and death.
And neither of those can happen without His permission.
Your reward shall be very great.
God has promised Abraham some great things.
He’s promised to make out of Abraham a great nation, who has a great land, and through Abraham all the families of the earth will be blessed.
Truly great promises.
And yet, like many people this week, Abraham doubted.
Sure God, you speak a big game, but how can I be sure.
Abraham doubts.
God’s made some huge promises to him, but Abraham’s wondering how they can actually come true.
Abraham’s been promised to become the head of a nation, yet he is childless.
He’s only getting older.
His wife is only getting older.
This promise is beginning to seem impossible.
Abraham has this habit of hearing the promise of God, but not taking God literally, not taking Him at His word.
Many Christians do that today.
They read the Bible, and they read the promises of God.
Perhaps concerning creation, the resurrection, eternity or even Christ returning, and they think -
God must not have meant it literally.
Things are taking too long.
That seems physically impossible.
God must have meant it another way.
Abraham heard that God would bless his offspring, but with him being childless he begins to question how literally God meant it.
In verse 2 he mentions Eliezer, a servant of his.
He thinks, maybe if he adopts Eliezer, then he would qualify as his offspring, and then the promise would be fulfilled.
The promise would be fulfilled, just from a different point of view then he was expecting.
He doubted God’s clear intention.
He tried to reinterpret it.
And he then receives the promises.
But this was not the plan.
Verses 4 clarifies God’s plan.
“This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
I don’t really like the way the ESV translates it this way.
The ESV says your very own son shall be the heir, but the Hebrew is much stronger.
All the other translations seem to pick up on the distinction.
The NASB says that the son will come from his own body.
The NIV says that the son will be his own flesh and blood.
The KJV is closest, he says the son shall come forth out of thine bowels.
The language of the text is that this child will be Abraham’s own biological son, a product of normal procreation.
Then as an added bonus, God takes Abraham outside and tells him to look at the night sky above him.
He says count the stars above, if you’re able too.
He then says, this is how many descendants you will have.
They will be like the stars in the sky.
One source I read, said that in our own Milky Way Galaxy, there is an estimated 300 billion stars.
That’s a huge number, and God says that will be what descendants will be like.
So why should we trust God?
Because of His Word.
He has said, “This is what I will do.”
This past week in our Family Discipleship book we learned that we aren’t to lie.
Why don’t we lie?
Not just because it’s a sin, and not just because it’s wrong, but because God doesn’t lie.
He tells the truth, He is truth.
Therefore, the first reason why we can trust God is because of His Word.
He can be trusted.
And we should trust it.
This is why it’s so important to read His Word.
If you struggle with doubting God.
If you struggle with worry.
Then read His Word.
It’s given so that we would believe and we would trust Him.
says, “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
Abraham was struggling, he was doubting, and he heard God’s Word.
Look at the affect of God’s Word on His life.
He responded as we should, it says in verse 6, “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”
That’s another massive statement.
But notice that he’s trusting in the person of God.
He hasn’t received any promises yet.
He hasn’t received the land.
He hasn’t been given a son.
But the Word of God is enough.
God has said, “Here’s what I will do.”
He trusts that God Himself will fulfill what He has said He will do.
And in this little action, believing, it then says that He is counted as righteous.
You see, Abraham wasn’t righteous.
He was an idolater.
He was disobedient.
He was a terrible husband.
And he was a liar.
And yet, he trusted in the promise of God, and he was counted as righteous.
He was judged and given righteousness.
Abraham had done nothing to deserve this statement.
He hadn’t done anything notable yet.
He had done nothing that would make him pleasing in the eye of God.
And yet, by God’s own grace, He gave to Abraham what Abraham did not deserve.
And yet, His hope in God.
This also becomes a picture of how we are saved.
We too have our own sins that we have done.
We have lied.
We have been disobedient.
And yet, our faith, our hope, is in the person of God.
That He will not give us what we deserve, but that He will count us as righteous.
We are to go to Him like Abraham went to God.
With nothing to boast of.
Helpless.
Knowing that our salvation comes only from Him.
The next reason to trust God is because of His sovereignty.
The next reason to trust God is because of His sovereignty.
Before I address verses 7-11, lets skip down to verses 12-16.
God then tells Abraham something that is gonna sound like bad news.
Read .
God says know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs.
God is telling Abraham that his descendants will one day be taken to another land, they will be sojourners, strangers there, and there they will be slaves for 400 years.
At the end of that time, God will judge that nation.
The nation that treats Abraham’s descendants poorly would be plundered.
And then years later, they will return to the promised land.
But they won’t go to the promised land, until the iniquity of the Amorites is complete.
This is all very interesting.
it’s talking about Israel’s time in Egypt.
At the end of this book, through the journeys of Joseph, Israel will find themselves in Egypt.
400 years after that , the book of Exodus starts, and they are slaves, cruelly treated.
God then sends the plagues on Egypt.
Israel is sent packing, but after receiving great riches from Egypt.
This is not only interesting, but extremely important to Israel and for them to hear.
Remember who is writing Genesis?
It’s Moses.
And who is the audience?
It’s Israel.
The very people who have just been released from slavery in Egypt.
They have just experienced all these words that God has warned Abraham about.
And God’s not done with them yet.
There is a land that has been promised to Israel, but currently at this time, it was occupied by the Amorites.
So God is going to use Israel as His sword, and bring judgment upon them.
The second reason to trust God is because of His sovereignty.
They have just experienced some terrible things.
They’ve grown up in bondage.
They’ve suffered.
God is reminding them of something that He had told Abraham 600 years earlier, this was a part of His plan.
The fulfillment of this prophecy verifies that God not only knows the future, but writes it.
In times of heartache and sorrow, in times of doubt, we are to turn to His Word, but we also are to trust in His Sovereignty.
We need to remember that God is definitely in control.
The middle of is written to Christians who are suffering.
In , Paul says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
Then in verses 22-25, Paul says, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
When we trust in the sovereignty of God in the midst of suffering, we can patiently endure it, because we know that God has a purpose for it.
When events like this past week happen, those who are semi-religious tell me that they think Jesus must be coming soon.
Their thinking is that God has lost control.
I usually don’t join them in their turmoil, because I trust in the sovereignty of God.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t have pity, feelings or don’t mourn.
But it’s because I have a firm understanding of Who God is, and where Christ is.
Just as God told Abraham, some bad things are coming, but I have a purpose for it, I can know that when we experience bad things, that the Lord has a purpose for it and stands over it.
And then the third point is that we can trust God because of His Promise.
And then the third point is that we can trust God because of His Promise.
Let’s go back and look at our text in , and look at verses 7-11.
Read .
This is an interesting scene.
God had promised Abraham land, and yet, it’s sounding kind of impossible.
Abraham is just 1 man.
He’s got a wife and servants, but no children.
That’s hardly a nation.
How in the world can he take the land?
How can He trust God?
So God tells Abraham to get some animals together.
A 3 year old heifer, that’s a cow.
But it’s a strong cow.
A 3 year old goat.
A 3 year old ram.
A turtledove.
And a young pigeon.
God then tells Abraham to take the heifer, goat, and ram, and to cut them in half.
Then he is to line up these animals, with their halves against each other.
Just imagine what this looked like.
I’m sure it’s bizarre, like something from a horror movie.
Then let’s skip down to verses 17-21.
Read .
What is happening here?
Abraham has asked for proof that he’ll be able to take the land.
He wants to know how he can trust God.
So God says cut these animals in half.
Then in the final section of this chapter, when it’s dark out, Abraham sees something that proves he can trust God.
In verse 17, it says that he sees a smoking fire pot, and a flaming torch, and they passed between the halves of the animals.
This may not seem like much, but to Israel it’s crystal clear.
When Israel wandered in the Wilderness following the Exodus, God literally lead them.
How’d He lead them?
As a cloud of smoke, and a pillar of fire.
And here what passes between the halves of animals?
Abraham says give me proof.
And what passes between the animals?
A smoking pot, a cloud of smoke.
And a torch, a pillar of fire.
Abraham saw what Israel would recognize as the presence of God.
So back to these animals, Abraham takes the animals, cuts them in half, then God passes between them.
And what’s so significant to that?
In verse 18 it says that God made a covenant with Abraham.
But a more literal translation would be that God cut a covenant with Abraham.
This word is used elsewhere in the Bible to talk about cutting down a tree, or even when someone was circumcised to cut off skin.
It’s a violent word.
It’s a word that brings with it destruction.
When God passed through these cuts of meat, he is making an oath.
He’s making a violent oath.
He is saying, May this be done to me.
It sounds crazy, but the holy God of the universe proved His commitment to His promise by saying that if He doesn’t follow through with what He’s said He would do, that He too should be cut into pieces, just as those animals were cut in pieces.
God says, “I swear on my life.”
God is making an oath.
Men make all sorts of oaths.
In a courtroom setting, you swear to tell the truth by putting your hand on a Bible.
In a business setting, you sign your name on a dotted line.
Among men, you clasp hands, and shake.
With me, you pinky swear, what I jokingly say is the ultimate of swears.
But these can be broken.
Either on purpose or accidentally.
George Bush famously said these words, “Read my lips - no new taxes.”
Only to begrudgingly have to raise them during his presidency.
But God’s oath is sure.
And the nature of this oath is almost incomprehensible.
God isn’t saying, “Because I said so.”
God proves His word, and swears in a way that God shouldn’t have too.
Here is an incomprehensible oath:
The uncreated one.
The One who the angels sing, holy, holy, holy about.
The one who existed in eternity past and on into eternity future, swearing by Himself.
Saying may He be cut in half if He fails to do what He said He will do.
And can God be cut in half?
No.
Of course not.
He’s God.
This means, that there is no way that God will break this covenant.
He can be trusted because of His promise.
There are lots of promises in the Bible.
And we can trust them, because God has sworn by Himself to keep them.
We’ve seen how this all applies to Abraham, how does it apply to you?
We’ve seen how this all applies to Abraham, how does it apply to you?
God proved that He can be trusted in 3 different ways.
His Word.
His Sovereignty.
His Promise.
Abraham had only a fraction of God’s Word available.
You’ve got a complete canon.
You’ve got the Bible.
Read it.
Treasure it.
It’s written so that you would believe, so that you would trust in Him.
Abraham had God’s sovereignty but only saw it dimly.
It was given in promises and prophecy.
These were things that were in the future, unfulfilled in his life.
We know of prophecy fulfilled.
We know of the Exodus.
We know of Christ.
And we know that according to God’s sovereign plan, Christ will return, and gather us to Himself.
We know that all things work together for good.
We know that even in the midst of evil, what men mean for evil … God means for good.
I can trust that.
That gets me up -
That gets me going in a scary world.
Abraham was given a very strong covenant, where God condescended to him, humbly showing He meant what He said.
We know of Christ.
We know of a better covenant.
And with Christ, it wasn’t a bull, goat, ram, or a bird that was given.
says,
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
A better covenant is given, and this covenant is Jesus Christ.
To cut a covenant is a violent word.
When the covenant of Jesus was made, the New Covenant it wasn’t a bull, goat, ram, or a bird that was given.
And with Christ, it wasn’t a bull, goat, ram, or a bird that was given.
This time, the violence was done to Jesus.
And it was by His blood, that we are secured in Him.
How can you doubt that?
You can trust God to keep you, because of the blood that was shed to cut that covenant.
I hope that I have given you sufficient reason to trust God.
His Word.
His sovereignty.
His Promise.
How do we trust God?
By trusting Him with our souls.
By trusting Him in prayer.
Frequent prayer is evidence that you do trust Him.
By worshipping Him.