Faith Alone

We have challenges as a church, as every church does, and I praise God that that is not one of our challenges.

! It's a great blessing and privilege to be a church with young, crying children. We're thankful. So we give God all the praise for that.

He grows his church by bringing folks from outside. He grows his church by giving us children inside. We're grateful for all of those.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning, B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B

And we are doing that for two reasons.

First, it prepares us to go back into our series in the book of Romans.

Romans chapter 4 will be about Abraham.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

And second, it allows us to ask this question,

what does it look like to follow God in faith?

The last several weeks, we've sort of had this side quest.

In chapters 13 and 14, we've been in the story of Lot.

You'll remember that Lot is captured.

Abraham rescues him.

Has a great victory over multiple kings.

And then last week, we saw Abraham comes back.

He gives all praise and honor and glory to God.

Now we're on the other side of the Lot quest,

although we will come back to Lot next month.

This week, though, we're back to the main plot.

The main plot of Abraham and Sarai

and what is going to happen with the promises that God has made to them.

So our question this week is this.

What is the foundation of our relationship with God?

What is the foundation of our relationship with God?

I invite you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

You can turn in your Bible.

You can turn on your phone.

You can turn in your worship guide.

No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word.

And Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5 tells us,

Proverbs 30:5

every word of God proves true.

He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

And so that's why we read now 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,

and the heir of my house is Eliezer 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.

Then he said to him,

So shall your offspring be.

And he believed the Lord,

and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Verse 7.

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 of 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.

Verse 12.

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 400 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.

Verse 17.

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.

I invite you to pray with me

as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven,

we do praise you

for this church that you have planted

and established here

before it was ever known to any of us.

We thank you even more than that

for your word

that you have given to us

to show us

the way to walk in this world

and even more

to show us the great salvation

that you have for us in Jesus Christ.

We ask that you would send your spirit now

to help us do what we can't do on our own,

that we would be able to understand your word,

that you would speak clearly to us in it,

that we would see you

and we would see Christ.

We ask these things

in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

I know of a man

who has four children,

and at one point,

when his kids were young,

they had this ritual at bedtime

when he would ask his kids this question,

do you know that mommy and daddy love you?

It was an easy question,

and so they would just say,

yes, we know that mommy and daddy love us.

And then he would follow it up

with a second question,

do you know why mommy and daddy love you?

And they would go through

this set of answers each time.

The kids would say,

do you love us because we're good at baseball?

No.

Do you love me because I caught such a big fish?

No.

Do you love me because I'm so obedient?

No.

Maybe they're not.

Do you love me because I got good grades?

No.

No.

I'll tell you their final answer at the end.

The real question they're asking, though, is this.

What is the basis of our relationship?

What is the foundation?

Is it your baseball?

Is it your grades?

Is it your behavior?

What is really at the bottom of all of it?

Genesis 15 presents that same question to us.

What is the foundation of our relationship with God?

Why is it that God loves us?

It's going to take us a little bit to get to the end,

the bottom of that answer,

but I want you to jump in with me

at the very beginning of chapter 15.

You have to remember that we're coming off of chapter 14.

And what happens at the very end of that chapter?

Abraham refuses to receive the spoils

offered to him by the king of Sodom.

The king of Sodom offers all of the spoils.

Abraham rejects all of the spoils.

And that helps us understand what's going on in verse 1.

God comes to him and says,

Fear not, Abram.

I am your shield.

Your reward shall be very great.

Which raises the question for us,

why is God saying this to Abram?

And why is he saying it now?

Of all the times in the narrative,

why is it this specific point

that God decides to tell him,

By the way, don't be afraid.

I'm your shield.

Your very great reward.

Well, it's very simple.

Abraham's just sacrificed for God's glory.

He's given up all these things that were his right.

Of course he's entitled to take the spoils

from rescuing Sodom, right?

And so God's saying,

Look, I see you.

I've seen the sacrifices that you've made.

I will take care of you.

Yes, you gave up everything from Sodom.

But, and,

your reward shall be very great.

Don't worry.

You gave it up.

I will take care of you.

Last week I told you about a family trip

that I went on in the year 2000

to Easley, South Carolina.

August of 2000 when I turned 11.

And you'll remember we went to help

an older relative with her house and her yard.

And when we did that trip,

that trip cost my family something.

But my dad took off a couple days of work,

which we know is precious, right?

Cost my parents the money for a hotel and gas.

And we did it.

My parents were happy to do that.

We got back home.

And within a couple of days,

a few days,

out of the blue,

my dad received an award at work.

And for that award,

he was given

two days of vacation

and $200.

The exact amount,

almost to the penny,

of the hotel and the gas.

And my mom said,

God just handed it right back.

Christian,

whatever you give,

God gives it all back.

It may not,

it probably won't be as direct

or immediate as it was

for my parents in that story.

And it may not be in this life.

But he will restore

whatever you give.

Abraham,

you've sacrificed,

you've rescued Lot,

you gave up the plunder,

you gave up the glory.

Don't worry.

I am your shield.

Your reward shall be very great.

Have you lost things

for following Jesus?

Have you given things up?

Have you sacrificed something?

Fear not.

God is your shield.

Your reward

shall be very great.

What does it look like

to follow God in faith?

Whatever we give,

we receive so much more.

If not in this life,

then in the life to come.

It turns out,

Jesus says something like this too.

Mark chapter 10,

Mark 10 · chapter mention

truly I say to you,

there is no one

who has left house

or brothers

or sisters

or mother

or father

or children

or lands

for my sake

and for the gospel

who will not receive

a hundredfold now

in this time

houses

and brothers

and sisters

and mothers

and children

and lands

with persecutions

and in the age to come

eternal.

life.

Never underestimate

God's generosity.

The Lord loves his people.

Christian,

he loves you.

Your sacrifice

is not in vain.

There's a foundational question

that we have to get straight

for the rest of life.

If you're a Christian,

this question matters more

than almost any other.

Do you believe

that God will care for you

or do you not?

Do you believe

that God means it

and he'll do it

and he'll do it

when he says,

I will never leave you

nor forsake you?

Do you believe Jesus

when he says,

not a hair

can fall

from your head

without your father

in heaven

knowing?

And underneath that,

there's an even more

important question,

which is this.

did Jesus

rise from the dead

or did

he not?

Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8:32

verse 32.

He who did not

spare his own son

but gave him up

for us all,

how will he not

also with him

graciously give us

all things?

Christian,

whatever you have lost,

do not fear.

God is your shield.

Your reward

shall be very great.

All that is good

and true.

we've been on a mountaintop.

It's now time

to go back

straight down

to sea level

in verse 2.

Abraham says,

okay God,

that is really cool.

I'm so glad

you're going to be

my shield

and my very great reward

but guess what?

That doesn't really matter

and it doesn't matter

because I don't have

a child.

Who cares

that you can replace

all this spoil?

I have no one

to give it to.

I don't have a kid.

This is verse 3

and I don't have a kid

because you haven't

given me one

and so

I have this problem.

Any spoil you give me

it's going to go

to Eliezer

of Damascus

and he's referring

most likely

to a servant here.

Hey,

there's this person

in my household.

Sarai and I

have no child.

What

does it matter?

This takes us back

to the very beginning

of the Abram story.

The very first thing

we learn about Sarai

in chapter 11

is this.

She is not able

to have children.

The promise

in chapter 12

is that despite that

they're going to be

a great nation, right?

And yet we find out

also chapter 12,

Abraham is 74 years old

and none of it

has come true.

And so Abraham says,

so what?

So what that

you're my shield?

I don't have

what matters

most.

And so God

tells him here

in verse 4,

you don't have it now

but you will.

Not only

will you have

your very own son,

verse 4,

verse 5,

number the stars.

And you can

number the stars,

you will know

the size

of your offspring.

And so we get

to verse 6,

one of the most

shocking

and important

verses

in the entire

Bible.

And it is shocking

for two reasons.

First,

I don't want you

to lose here

how staggering

it is

the difference

between the reality

and the promise.

The reality

is that Sarai

cannot have children

and that Abraham

is very old

and they actually

don't have any

children right now.

The promise

is that they

are going to

have more children

than the stars

in the sky.

God tells

this staggering

thing to Abraham

and what does he say?

Oh, okay.

And he believed

the Lord.

Why is Abraham

our great father

in the faith?

Because God

comes and gives

him something

that seems

completely impossible,

right?

And Abraham

says,

yes,

I believe that.

I'll take that,

I'll live on that,

I'll act on that.

Okay,

that's shocking.

What's even

more shocking

is the second

half of the verse.

And he counted

it to him

as righteousness.

Now to understand

how shocking

this is

and to understand

what he means

by righteousness,

we have to go

back in the story

all the way back

to Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Remember,

Adam and Eve

rebel against God

in the garden

and they take part

of the forbidden fruit.

In that moment,

Adam and Eve

lose their righteousness.

They lose their

standing with God,

their relationship

with him.

That lack

of righteousness

as sons and daughters

of Adam and Eve

is passed on to us.

Okay?

We also don't have

right standing with God.

And we don't have that

because we daily

do not love him,

serve him,

obey him,

worship him

as we should.

And so the whole

plot of the Bible

turns on this question.

How will righteousness

be restored?

One man puts the story

of the Old Testament

in this way.

How will God's people

return to God's presence

in God's land?

How will God's people

return to God's presence

in God's land?

Which is a way of asking

how is righteousness

going to be restored

in light of humanity's

rebellion against God?

What's going to happen

now that we live

east of Eden?

And verse 6 says,

you know,

it's actually going to be

really simple.

Believe.

Believe that God's promises

are true.

that is part of the answer.

I've told you before

about the English writer

Samuel Johnson

from the 18th century

who says people need

to be reminded

more often than they need

to be instructed.

And so I'm going to remind you

of some things this morning.

You live in a world

full of voices

that are not

telling you

about various things

you need to do

to be loved

and lovable

and okay.

Some of those voices

tell you that you need

to take Botox

to look young enough.

Some of them

are telling you

that you need

to wear the right thing

and go to the right school

and be powerful enough.

Some of those voices

tell you you need

to be funny enough,

athletic enough,

have enough friends,

hold the right beliefs

for your social group.

hope.

Genesis chapter 15

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

says something

radically different.

What do you need

to do

to be okay,

to be right with God?

Believe.

That is what God

offers.

Christianity is the only way

to get off the treadmill

of justifying your right

to exist.

Christianity is the only way

to get off the treadmill

of justifying your right

to exist.

I'm going to ask you

to go back with me

to page three

of your worship guide.

Jim already read this

for us.

He's talking about

Abraham and his belief.

Verse 7,

blessed are those

whose lawless deeds

are forgiven

and whose sins

are covered.

Blessed is the man

against whom

the Lord

will not count

his sin.

How are your lawless deeds

going to be forgiven?

Believe.

How are your sins

going to be covered?

Believe.

How will the Lord

not count against you

your sin?

Believe.

Of course,

belief,

our belief,

is not the foundation

of a relationship

with God.

Your faith

is not some sort

of work

that justifies you.

And so we have

to keep digging

even more

into this passage.

God's promise

is believing them

part of the answer.

God calls us

to believe them.

He credits that

to us

as righteousness.

But we also have

in this passage

God's sacrifice.

Verse 8,

Abraham believes

and he needs

assurance.

Verse 7,

God's promised

him to land.

Land and descendants

are part of what's

happening here.

Verse 8,

Abraham believes,

God credits that

belief to him

as righteousness

and as a feeble,

falling,

frail person.

He is looking

for reassurance.

What happens here

in verses 9

through 17,

there's a lot

going on,

so I'm going to

summarize it for you

very briefly.

Abraham takes

five animals.

Three of those

animals get cut

in half.

Those halves

are placed

on opposite

sides

of basically

a path

that someone

can walk

through.

So I want you

to imagine

a path

or a road

and on each

side

there's the

halves

of the animals.

So on one

side you've

got heads

and the other

side you've

got tails.

I'm assuming

that's how

the animals

were cut.

And this

sounds like

a strange

practice

to most

of you.

Maybe some

of you do

this from

time to

time.

The reason

is this.

In the ancient

Near East,

if you were

making a

covenant,

an agreement,

you would

chop animals

in half

like this

and then

both parties

would walk

down the

path.

And you

were acting

out the

consequences

of breaking

your agreement.

So you

were essentially

saying,

if I don't

keep my

word on

this,

may I

be like

these

animals.

If I

break my

promise,

may I

be cut

in half.

Okay,

so that's

what's

happening.

There's a

covenant

being made

between

Abraham

and God,

animals on

each side

of the

path to

represent

the curse

for anyone

who breaks

the agreement.

Verse

17,

a smoking

fire pot

and a

flaming

torch

passed,

between

these

pieces.

So the

fire pot

and the

torch

represent

God.

God is

passing

through the

animals

and saying,

if I

don't keep

my word,

if I

break the

covenant,

may I

become like

these

animals.

Now,

did you

notice

where

Abraham

walks

between

the

animals?

No,

you didn't

because he

doesn't.

Abraham

is

left off the

hook.

That's the

wrinkle here

is that

God

upholds

both

sides.

God

breaks

it.

God

is cut

in half.

If

Abraham

breaks

it,

God

is cut

in half.

Of course,

that is

exactly

what happens,

right?

the story

of Israel

and of

mankind

is that

they

continue

to fail

to worship,

love,

serve,

and obey

God.

God

upholds

his side

of the

agreement.

Mankind

does not.

But who

does the

punishment

fall on?

It

doesn't

fall on

man.

It

falls

on

God.

Because

he is

the only

one

who

walked

between

the

halves.

Mind

blowing.

At this

point,

Abraham

is probably

shaking

with how

overwhelmed

he is.

We

don't get

cut in

half.

God

does.

I invite

you to

turn with

me to

the back

of your

worship

guide.

You'll

see this.

In

Jesus,

God

himself

bears the

punishment

of being

almost

literally

torn apart

by the

whips,

the

thorns,

the

nails,

and the

spear for

our sin

so that

he could

be faithful

to his

promise to

be our

God,

that we

might be

his people

through

simple

faith in

him.

What is

the foundation

of our

relationship

with God?

First of

all,

it's

belief in

his

promises

which he

credits to

us as

righteousness.

Second,

it is the

sacrifice that

God takes

upon himself

that Jesus

dies the

death that

we deserve

for our

sins and

lives the

perfect life

that we

should have

lived.

But I

want you to

dig underneath

that even

deeper because

there is a

deeper

foundation.

If we

say that

Christ's

death is the

foundation

ultimately,

then we have

to say in

some ways that

Jesus was

convincing God

to love

us.

But what

does John

John 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

tell us?

For God

so loved

the world

that he

gave his

only son

that whoever

believes in

him should

not perish

but have

eternal life.

You notice

the sequence?

God loved

the world

first,

sent his

son.

I told you

at the

beginning I

know a man

who has

four kids.

and when

he puts

his kids

to bed

he has

a ritual

with them

and he

asks them

do you

know that

mommy and

daddy love

you?

And they

say yes.

And then

he asks

them do you

know why

mommy and

daddy love

you?

And they

go through

all the

reasons that

are not

true.

It's not

because you

bought a

big fish.

It's not

because you're

so obedient.

You're probably

not.

It is not

because you're

good at

school.

It's not

because you're

so funny.

They get to

the end of

the questions

and the dad

finally says

this.

We love

you because

you are

our child

and that

will never

change.

Christian,

what is the

foundation of

your relationship

with God?

He loves

you because

you're his

child and

that will

never change.

love.

Let's

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven,

we do

praise you

and thank

you for

your great

love,

love beyond

what we

can

comprehend

and

understand.

We ask

that we

would turn

to you

rather than

all the

other things

that offer

to make

us okay

because we

know that

you and

you alone

can give

us the

righteousness

that matters.

We ask

these things

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.