Know For Certain

Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to the book of Genesis.

And our passage this morning is Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

This is a absolutely key passage in the storyline of Scripture.

If you were to just select a few important key passages that everyone ought to know

as we follow God's plan of redemption throughout the story of Scripture,

Genesis 15 would be one that I would tell you to emphasize, highlight, read over, over, over again.

So I'm excited for the opportunity to open it up with you this morning.

So when you found it, Genesis 15, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word.

Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.

Fear not, Abram, I am your shield. Your reward shall be very great.

But Abram said, O Lord God, what will you give me?

For I continue childless in the air of my house as Eleazar of Damascus.

And Abram said, Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him.

This man shall not be your heir.

Your very own son shall be your heir.

And he brought him outside and said, Look toward heaven and number the stars, if you are able to number them.

And then he said to him, So shall your offspring be.

And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

And he said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.

But he said, O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?

He said to him, Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon.

And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other.

But he did not cut the birds in half.

And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram.

And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.

Then the Lord said to Abram,

Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs,

and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace.

You shall be buried in a good old age.

And they shall come back here in the fourth generation,

for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.

When the sun had gone down and it was dark,

behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch

passed between these pieces.

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

To your offspring I give this land,

from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

the Amorites, the Canaanites,

the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Father, we praise you for your word,

and we praise you for your faithfulness to your word,

that we see demonstrated here in this passage.

And we pray, God, as we look to your dealings with Abraham,

the promises, the covenant that you've made with him,

would you assure us once again of your faithfulness in Christ.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

The most recent statistics on marriage will tell you that the average engagement length

in the United States for couples is now approximately 12 to 18 months long,

somewhere right there in the 15 to 16 month window,

seems to be the sweet spot for most engaged couples.

But the interesting thing that I saw this week as I read up on these numbers

was how that number has steadily increased over time.

It was 14 months in 2019, 15 months in 2020, 16 months in 2021.

And if you go backwards in time, all the way back to the 1950s,

you can imagine how much things have changed since then.

The average engagement length in the 1950s was just about six months long.

The delay is increasing.

And on top of that, the average age of marriage, age of engagement,

has been steadily climbing as well.

And in 2023, the median age was about 30 for men and 28 for women.

Whereas again, if you go back to the 1950s, that was a different time.

They were about 22 for men and 20 for women.

Although Miss Martha had all of them beat this morning.

She said that she was married at age 16.

Now we can take some guesses as to why things have shifted in that way,

why things have delayed so long.

But what we can say with confidence is that there is an increasing delay

between verbal promises made and actual commitment.

Between promises made and promises kept.

And I can only imagine that as that delay gets longer,

at some point, people start asking questions, right?

Questions like, is this actually happening?

When is this going to happen?

How will I know that this is going to happen?

Can we set a date?

Can we book a venue?

Can you give me some sort of assurance

that you're going to actually make good on the promises that you made to me?

In a way, it's a little bit like what Abram is feeling in our passage this morning.

God has made promises to Abram, but there has been a delay.

None of the promises God has made have actually happened yet.

And in this delay, Abram feels the way that you and I often feel.

Okay, God, I hear what you're saying, but when is this going to happen?

Okay, God, I believe you.

I take you at your word, but when?

How is it going to happen?

Did you actually mean what you said when you made these promises to me?

Can you give me any sort of assurances?

How can I know for sure?

For Abram, the issue is, for Abram and for us,

delay often leads to doubt.

But the good news of our passage this morning here in Genesis 15

is that God assures us of his faithfulness.

God assures us of his faithfulness.

Here in our chapter this morning, God moves from the stage of engagement

to the stage of marriage.

He moves from this phase of simply making promises to Abram now

to entering into a covenant with Abram.

So let's take a look.

And what we'll see this morning are two ways God relieves the believer's doubt.

This will be our outline this morning if you're taking notes,

try to make it easy for you to follow along.

It's two ways God relieves the believer's doubt.

First, we see God reminds us of his word.

God reminds us of his word.

Look there with me starting in verse 1.

So last week, you remember Abram, he made a couple of risky decisions.

He went to war.

He jumped right into this battle with kings and nations at war

in order to rescue his nephew Lot.

That's one risky decision.

And then afterwards, the king of Sodom came promising him all these blessings

and he turned them down.

He refused to receive any blessing from the king of Sodom.

So now, on the other side of this, you might imagine how he might be feeling.

On one hand, probably a little bit vulnerable.

What if these kings come back?

What if these kings want revenge?

What if they want to get some payback and snuff me out?

And then on the other hand, well, I just put my full faith in God to bless me.

When will he do it?

So after these things, we're told, verse 1,

the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.

And what does he say?

Fear not, Abram.

I am your shield.

In other words, I will protect you.

Don't worry about those kings.

And your reward shall be very great.

In other words, I will bless you.

Don't worry about receiving blessing from the king of Sodom.

I am committed to bless you.

The word of the Lord, again, it reassures Abram.

God will protect and God will bless.

But Abram is clear.

He has his mind set on one particular blessing, doesn't he?

He is narrowly focused, one-track mind on one particular blessing.

What is it?

Verse 2.

Abram said, Lord God, what will you give me?

For I have no child.

I continue childless in the heir of my house, Eliezer of Damascus.

He's going to be my heir.

You've given me no offspring yet, so the member of my household is going to be my heir.

Abram has his heart set on God's promise of an offspring.

That's what he really wants God to give him.

You remember the promises God made to Abram?

God promised Abram to multiply him, to give him offspring, to make him an agent of blessing for the world, to give him the promised land.

And yet, none of this has actually happened yet.

There's this delay between promise and fulfillment.

And you know, this is one of the main reasons why you and I struggle with doubt, isn't it?

It's not necessarily that we don't believe God's word, but it's this delay.

There's a delay between promise and fulfillment.

God has promised us eternal life, but none of us have experienced that in full yet, have we?

God has promised us resurrected, glorified, invincible bodies, yet here we are in weakness and frailty.

We struggle with sickness and injury and ultimately death.

God has promised us an imperishable kingdom, that all the earth will be filled with the glory of God, that Jesus Christ will reign over all the earth.

And yet, here we are and the nations continue to rage against the Lord and his anointed.

The delay is hard and it often leads to doubt.

Where do we turn when delay leads to doubt?

Well, in the same way, God has promised Abram a child, but time's gone on, time's gone on, and still he is childless, still Sarai is barren.

So naturally, the longer the delay, the more Abram wonders, well, maybe God's going to do this a different way.

And maybe the heir of my house will be Eliezer of Damascus.

In Abram's time, there was a provision made for childless and barren parents.

They could essentially adopt a member of their household, a household servant, and he would then become the heir.

And so Abram wonders, is this how God's going to do it?

Well, the Lord speaks and immediately, he sets him straight.

This man shall not be your heir, your very own son shall be your heir.

And the Lord brings him out and he says, look up toward heaven.

Abram, number the stars, if you're able to number them.

And then he said, so shall your offspring be.

It is his word that eases Abram's doubt.

God confronts our doubts with his word.

And what did you notice here?

God doesn't really add anything new to the conversation, does he?

This isn't new information.

He's not making any new promises here.

He's not adding anything extra, anything additional, anything new to the conversation.

God is simply reiterating the promises that he's already made.

As Abram struggles with doubt over whether or not God's going to do what he's promised,

how does God handle it?

He just doubles down on his word.

This is instructive for us.

In light of Abram's doubt, God gives him again his word.

You see, when you and I make a promise and then time goes by and nothing happens,

other people are right to doubt and to say, well, do you remember what you said?

You remember that commitment that you made to me?

What are you going to do about it?

I'm starting to doubt whether or not that's going to come true.

When a contractor comes by and says they're going to finish the job and then they leave

and they don't finish it, we are right to wonder if they're ever going to come back, right?

That's just how people work.

But God doesn't work that way.

Not so with the Lord.

God is not like us.

If God has said it, he will do it.

God's word is true.

His word is effective.

His word alone is enough to assure us and to comfort us when we wrestle with doubt.

Numbers chapter 23 tells us God is not a man that he should lie

Numbers 23 · chapter mention

or a son of man that he should ever change his mind.

Has he spoken and he will not do it?

Has he spoken and he will not fulfill it?

The delay between promise and fulfillment is a challenge, no doubt.

But if God has promised, we can take it to the bank, church.

He will bring it to pass.

His word is sufficient.

And by the grace of God, we see here, it was enough for Abram.

Look there to verse 6.

What's Abram's response to the word of the Lord?

No new information.

No new development here.

No extra details given.

Just the promise.

Just the word of the Lord.

How does Abram respond?

He believed the Lord.

And he counted it to him as righteousness.

Now, this is one of the most stunning verses in the Bible.

I just want to camp out here for a little bit because we need to understand this.

Abram believed the Lord.

Yes, he wrestled with doubt, but he knew God said, I will do this.

I will give you offspring.

I will multiply you.

I will give you this land.

I'll multiply your offspring as the stars in the sky.

And so Abram, not knowing how, not having any details, not knowing when,

just simply knowing God said it, believed the Lord.

That's faith.

That's faith.

Hebrews chapter 11 tells us faith is the assurance of things hoped for.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Abram believed the Lord.

And what happened?

The Lord counted it to him as righteousness.

Righteousness.

Abram is counted righteous by faith.

Abram received a credit.

This is an accounting term, isn't it?

He's credited with righteousness.

He is a counted righteous.

It is counted to him.

The Lord counted it to him as righteousness.

This is a crediting to Abram's account of something that was not there before.

This was foreign to Abram.

It came from the outside and it's now credited into him on his behalf.

This is a wire transfer.

You know why they used to call it, they call it a wire transfer because there actually used

to be a wire, right?

We don't have that anymore.

Digital banking, right?

But that used to not be a thing.

There was a wire.

And if you wanted to transfer money from one account to another, you telegraphed it and

it went from one account to the other through a wire.

The funds go through the wire and they're credited to the account.

Here, Abram's faith is the wire.

And because his faith is wired up to the promise of God, righteousness is now transferred, credited

into Abram's account.

This is incredible, church.

Because Abram is not righteous.

Abram is not a righteous man.

You turn back two chapters.

If you were here a couple weeks ago, you know he's not righteous.

He tried to give away his wife so that he could be blessed.

You stick around next week.

We'll see he is not righteous as he deals with Hagar.

He is a sinner just like I am a sinner.

He is a sinner just like you are a sinner.

He is like all of us.

Abram is born into this curse of sin.

He is not righteous.

But here, he is counted as righteous.

God shows us here that it is possible even all the way here on the outside of Eden.

It is possible there is a way for sinners like us to be counted as righteous.

What is it?

How?

One way.

By faith in the promises of God.

This is what we call justification by faith.

Justification by faith.

What is justification?

We just read it aloud.

What is justification?

It is being declared righteous.

Being counted righteous.

Being seen by the eyes of God, in the sight of God, as righteous.

And it is the answer to our greatest problem.

Our greatest problem.

I don't know everybody in the room, what you are dealing with in your life.

What issues you came through this week.

I don't know all of you and your ins and outs personally what is going on.

But I can tell you this.

I know what your greatest problem is.

Your greatest problem is that none of us can stand before a holy God.

Not on our own two feet.

Because none of us are righteous.

Our sin has earned us his wrath.

We are under the curse.

We are hell bound by nature.

We are dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked.

That is a problem.

Our greatest problem.

And so the question that every single religion in the world seeks to answer is this.

How can man be made right with God?

How can you and I be acceptable in the sight of God?

You realize that is what every single religion tries to figure out.

And every other religion beyond Christianity.

Every other religion gives some version of the answer that sounds like this.

Just try hard.

Just try harder to be righteous.

However we define that.

Do better.

Be better.

Work harder.

Try harder.

Find your way somewhere on the line that's more acceptable to God than everybody else.

The Muslims think this way.

The Jehovah's Witnesses think this way.

The Catholics think this way.

The Jews think this way.

This is right at the heart of the Protestant Reformation, you realize.

These are all faults.

Gospels.

And if you think this way.

That I just need to more righteous myself into eternal life.

You will not inherit eternal life.

Because at the end of the day.

The very best behaved sinner that you know.

Is just that.

Polished up religious sinner.

In church that is not good enough.

We must be righteous in the sight of God.

So how do we do it?

How do we get there?

How do we be declared righteous in the sight of God?

Abram shows us.

There is one way.

Not by works.

But by faith alone.

In the promises of God.

In the promises of God.

Abram believed.

And it was counted to him.

As righteousness.

You know.

If you're stuck in this way of thinking.

That's so natural by the way.

That I just have to do better.

Work harder.

Try harder.

Be better.

Find some level of morality.

To make it into God's good graces.

Let me just say this again.

As clearly as I can.

God says to you sinner.

Simply put your faith in me.

You can't do it.

God says.

I will do it on your behalf.

You can't become righteous.

I will count you as righteous.

You simply must put your faith in me.

It sounds too good to be true.

On this side of the cross.

We can say it like this.

Put your faith in Christ.

And you will be saved.

This is what Paul.

Says in Romans chapter 4.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

The passage that we had.

Read to us this morning.

I just want to read a portion of it again.

He's talking about this passage.

Here in Genesis 15.

And he says.

Abram.

Of Abram.

No unbelief.

Made him waver.

Concerning the promise of God.

But he grew strong in his faith.

As he gave glory to God.

Fully convinced.

That God was able to do.

What he had promised.

That is why.

His faith was counted to him.

As righteousness.

But.

Listen to this.

The words it was counted to him.

Were not written for his sake alone.

But for ours also.

It will be counted to us.

Us.

Who believe in him.

Who raised from the dead.

Jesus our Lord.

Who was delivered up for our trespasses.

And raised for our justification.

This is good news.

We are saved.

By grace.

Through faith.

In Jesus Christ alone.

God.

If you should wrestle with doubt.

Then the best place for you to turn.

Is back again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

To the promises of God.

Namely.

The promises of God.

For you in Christ.

But what has he said?

What has he promised?

And then to pray.

God.

Would you.

Would you grant me faith.

To believe what you've said in your word.

Lord.

And then.

Friend.

To rest.

And rejoice.

That if you are in Christ Jesus by faith.

Then even you of little faith.

With all your weakness.

With all your doubt.

With all your wrestlings with sin.

If you are in Christ by faith.

You are counted righteous.

In the sight of God.

Here we see.

In our second point.

Of our passage this morning.

God doesn't just leave it there.

God provides an even greater assurance.

To Abram.

And to us.

Of his promises.

Look there.

Starting with me.

In verse 7.

Here.

In second.

Second point.

We see.

God assures us.

Of his faithfulness.

God assures us.

Of his faithfulness.

Look there to verse 7.

God reminds Abram.

Once again.

Of his calling.

I am the Lord.

Who brought you out of Ur.

Of the Chaldeans.

To give you this land.

To possess.

But Abram said.

Lord God.

How am I to know.

That I shall possess it.

How will I know.

You know.

That's a valid question.

He has believed.

The promise of God.

But now.

He's seeking confirmation.

He's seeking assurance.

He's looking for a grounds.

For his faith.

You know.

We need to disentangle.

That word faith.

From the way our culture.

Has just watered it down.

To where it means absolutely nothing.

This is one of those words.

That people say all the time.

Whether believer or not.

Well just have faith.

Right.

Have faith.

Things will work out.

I'm a person of faith.

You're a person of faith.

If you just have faith.

Everything's going to be okay.

Okay.

Biblical faith.

Is tied up to something.

It is.

It is tethered.

Faith.

Faith is a.

A rope.

It is anchored onto something.

Or someone.

It's never just.

Empty faith.

That has no object.

If you are.

Are down in a pit.

It's good for you to have a rope.

But only if it's tied to something.

Right.

That rope needs to be tied up to something sturdy.

And reliable.

And trustworthy.

At the top of the pit.

It's no good for you to just have faith.

Unless it's tied up to something.

Someone reliable.

It has to be connected to a faithful God.

Here.

Abram is seeking something to tie that rope of faith to.

God.

How will I know?

Would you confirm your promises to me?

Would you show me again that you are faithful to do what you've said?

Look what God does here in verse 9.

God assures Abram of his faithfulness.

Look there.

Bring me a heifer three years old.

A female goat three years old.

A ram three years old.

A turtle dove.

And a young pigeon.

He brought him all these.

He cuts them in half.

He lays them each half over against the other.

On either side.

Sort of makes an aisle here.

On the left and on the right.

He didn't cut the birds in half.

But he kills them.

And when the birds of prey come down on the carcasses.

Abram's driving them away.

Get out of here.

What in the world is going on here?

Because this is strange for us.

Isn't it?

This is foreign for our context.

Abram would have known exactly what was happening here.

This is a covenant making ceremony.

God is assuring Abram of all of his promises.

By moving from the stage of verbal promise.

Now to actual formal commitment to him.

He is entering into a formal covenant with Abram.

And would you just notice how bloody this whole thing is?

I mean this is a promise sealed in blood.

This is a blood oath.

Abram takes these animals.

The heifer.

The goat.

The ram.

He cuts them in half.

He lays them on either side.

He kills the birds.

He lays them down.

This is a bloody mess.

There's vultures circling.

And then.

God causes Abram to go into a sort of slumber.

And he speaks again.

And he broadens Abram's perspective a little bit here.

He fills him in on the master plan.

You know Abram's just thinking maybe 5, 10, 20 years down the road.

Maybe having a kid before he dies.

God shows him.

Abram I'm thinking a little bit more big picture here.

Let me fill you in on the next 400 years or so.

Know for certain.

That your offspring.

Will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs.

Will be servants there.

They will be afflicted for 400 years.

But.

Verse 14.

I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve.

And afterward.

They shall come out with great possessions.

And you.

Abram.

You shall go to your fathers in peace.

Be buried in a good old age.

And they shall come back here in the fourth generation.

God promises.

He prophesies here.

About the events that we know happened in the exodus.

400 years of delay.

For your offspring.

But then I will fulfill my promise to you.

And I will bring them back into the land.

But Abram.

This delay is even bigger than you thought.

400 years.

And by the way.

You're not going to be around for it.

You're not going to see this come to pass.

Abram.

But God assures him.

I promise you.

I will do it.

I will be faithful.

To my promises.

Look at this.

Verse 17.

He assures Abram of his faithfulness.

In the most incredible way.

When the sun has gone down.

And it was dark.

Behold a smoking fire pod.

And a flaming torch.

Passed between the pieces.

It says on that day.

The Lord made a covenant.

With Abram.

This.

This smoking fire pod.

And the flaming torch.

That can only be understood.

As a visible manifestation.

Of the presence of God.

This is.

The Lord.

Who went before his people.

As a pillar of cloud.

By day.

And a pillar of.

Fire.

By night.

It's the Lord.

Who appeared to Moses.

In a burning bush.

And who.

Gave commandments.

From Mount Sinai.

As the.

The whole mountain.

Was engulfed in flame.

The Lord himself.

In this fiery.

Manifestation.

Passes.

Through the aisle.

He walks down the aisle.

Of this slaughtered.

Mess of animals.

On either side.

So what?

What's going on here?

O.

Palmer Robertson.

Explains it like this.

He says.

By dividing the animals.

And then passing between the pieces.

Participants in a covenant.

Pledged themselves.

To life.

And death.

These actions.

Established.

An oath.

Of self.

Malediction.

If they should break.

The commitment.

Involved in the covenant.

And they were asking.

That their own bodies.

Be torn into pieces.

Just as the animals.

Have been torn into pieces.

And divided up.

Ceremonially.

Do you see why this is so incredible?

Who walked the aisle?

Who committed themselves.

This oath of self.

Malediction.

Who walked through the animals?

It wasn't Abram.

Abram doesn't walk through.

God himself.

Walks through.

As if to say.

Abram.

If I don't do what I've promised.

May I be as these animals.

Abram.

If I am unfaithful.

To my word.

To you.

May I.

Be slaughtered.

If I.

Do not make good.

On my promises.

To you.

May I.

Be destroyed.

May I.

Bear the curse.

God puts his own.

Neck.

On the line.

May I be destroyed.

If I don't keep my promise.

To you.

How is that for assurance?

God himself.

Walks through.

The valley.

Of the shadow.

Of death.

To confirm.

His promises.

To Abram.

God.

Himself.

Will do it.

And if he doesn't.

God be destroyed.

Do you think Abram.

Was assured.

Of God's faithfulness?

I would imagine so.

But church.

The incredible truth.

Is.

We.

Have.

Even.

Greater.

Assurance.

Of God's faithfulness.

Than this.

Where do we look.

When we need to be assured.

Of God's faithfulness.

To us.

Where do we need to look.

When we need to be assured.

Of God's faithfulness.

To.

To bring about.

The promises.

He's made to us.

Church.

We look.

To Christ.

Jesus.

By faith.

We've seen time and time again.

As we've walked through.

This section of scripture.

That these.

These promises.

In one sense.

Have been fulfilled.

To Abram.

God did exactly.

What he said.

He would do.

He brought Israel.

Out of Egypt.

Brought them into.

The promised land.

But on a much.

Greater.

Grander scale.

These promises.

Find their way.

To us.

By faith.

In Christ.

God has promised us.

Such incredible blessings.

In Christ.

Church.

Do you.

Do you realize this?

God has promised us.

Adoption.

As sons.

In Christ.

Forgiveness.

Of sins.

In Christ.

Eternal life.

In Christ.

Peace.

With God.

In Christ.

He has promised us.

All the world.

Renewed.

Freed from sin.

Freed from the curse.

The new heavens.

And the new earth.

In Christ.

Blessings.

And joy.

And eternal satisfaction.

In him.

Without sin.

Without shame.

Without suffering.

Without pain.

Without death.

These promises.

Come to us.

The same way.

They came to Abram.

By faith.

In the promise of God.

Faith.

In all the promises of God.

Or as.

We can say.

On this side of the cross.

Faith.

In Christ.

Who is.

The fulfillment.

Of all the promises of God.

These promises.

Come to us.

By grace.

Through faith.

In Christ.

But.

Man.

How slow are they to come.

We have not received.

The fullness of these promises yet.

Two thousand years.

Since Christ came.

And we cry out.

How long.

Oh Lord.

Will we live.

In this land.

That's cursed by sin.

God.

How long.

Will I live in this body.

That's so weak.

And frail.

God.

God.

How long.

Will sin.

Just wreak havoc.

On our marriages.

And our families.

And our churches.

And our nation.

How long.

Oh Lord.

Until your promises.

Are kept.

And we wonder.

Will God.

Really come through.

And do what he promised.

Will he really.

Make all things right.

And come.

And make us whole again.

That's what he's promised to do.

What assurance.

Do we have.

Church.

God assures us.

Of his faithfulness.

At the cross of Christ.

At the cross of Christ.

God.

Vindicates.

His faithfulness.

To all his promises.

Because at the cross of Christ.

Christ.

Jesus.

Becomes.

A curse.

For us.

Think about this.

At the cross of Christ.

What happened.

Jesus Christ.

Bears.

The penalty.

Of a covenant.

Breaker.

He offers up.

His own body.

And is slaughtered.

Not for his sin.

For our sin.

Christ.

Walks.

Through the valley.

Of the shadow.

Of death.

For us.

So that by faith.

In him.

All of the promises.

Of God.

May come to us.

Christ didn't break covenant.

With God.

We did.

And yet.

He bears our shame.

Bears.

Our penalty.

Bears our curse.

Ray Vanderland.

Says it like this.

This is a long quote.

But I had to.

I had to include it.

He said.

Picturing God.

Passing through that.

Gory path.

Between the carcasses.

Of animals.

Imagining the blood.

Splashing.

As he walked.

Helps us.

To recognize.

The faithfulness.

Of God's commitment.

He was willing.

To express.

In terms.

His chosen people.

Could understand.

That he would never.

Fail to do.

What he promised.

And he ultimately.

Fulfilled his promise.

By giving his own life.

His own blood.

On the cross.

Because.

Because we look at.

God's dealings.

With Abraham.

As some remote.

Piece of history.

In a far off land.

We often fail.

To realize.

That we too.

Are part of the long.

Line of people.

With whom God.

Made a covenant.

On that rocky plain.

Near Hebron.

And like those.

Who came before us.

We have broken.

That covenant.

When he walked.

Into the dust.

Of the desert.

And through.

The blood.

Of the animals.

Abram had slaughtered.

God was making.

A promise.

To all the descendants.

Of Abraham.

To everyone.

In the household.

Of faith.

When God.

Splashed through the blood.

He did it.

For.

Us.

What greater assurance.

Do we need?

Friend.

When you struggle.

With doubt.

God.

When you need assurance.

Of God's faithfulness.

When the delay.

Between promise.

And fulfillment.

Is long.

And you are discouraged.

Would you look to the cross.

Of Christ.

Would you look to the cross.

Of Christ.

Where the son.

Of God.

Took the penalty.

Of death.

Upon himself.

How will we know.

That God will do.

What he promised us.

He has sent his own son.

To pay our penalty.

To assure us.

Of his faithfulness.

If you need to be.

Counted righteous.

Sinner.

In the sight of God.

Put your faith.

In Christ Jesus.

Christ's death.

At the cross.

Removes.

The curse.

Of the old covenant.

And at the same time.

Fulfills.

The blessings.

And promises.

Of the new covenant.

In his blood.

For all.

Who look.

To him.

By faith.

So look.

To Christ.

By faith.

And see.

The great faithfulness.

Of our great God.

And know.

For certain.

He will do.

All.

That he promised.

Father.

We.

Praise you.

For your faithfulness.

And we praise you.

For the gospel.

Of Christ.

And Lord.

We confess.

Father.

That we do.

Often wrestle.

With doubt.

We often wrestle.

With discouragement.

Would you remind us again.

Of your word.

Would you remind us again.

Of the plan.

Of redemption.

In Christ.

Your faithfulness.

Displayed.

At the cross.

Your victory.

Shown at the resurrection.

We love you Lord.

We pray this all.

In Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.