The Covenant

We're going to begin our worship this morning singing to God's praise in Psalm 105 and sing psalms.

! This is page 138 in the Blue Book.

The tune will be Centennial.

We're going to sing from the beginning through to verse 11.

So four stanzas.

Give thanks to the Lord God and call on his name.

His wonderful deeds to the nations proclaim.

Sing praises to him and his exploits record that all those who seek him rejoice in the Lord.

It's good for us to come with joy into the presence of our God and worship today.

So let's sing with joy to his name.

We'll stand to sing if we're able.

Give thanks to the Lord God.

Let all those who seek him rejoice in the Lord.

You've chosen one's look to the Lord and his might.

Seek help of his face and his wonders beside.

His miracles too and his judgments divine.

You children of Mepra and Jacob's own life.

The Lord is our God and he rules all the earth.

Remembering his covenant the word he set forth.

He vowed for the ages to come to make good.

His promise to Abraham to rise and renew.

To Jacob is sovereign.

He was made sure.

With Israel his command would always endure.

To you I will give us your portion to stand.

The country of Canaan.

The beautiful land.

Let's bow our heads in prayer to God.

God and our Father in heaven.

We come before you this morning with these words of praise on our lips.

That we have today so much to give thanks for.

Because of your goodness and your grace towards sinners like us.

We want to thank you today for your covenant.

You are the one who has entered into an agreement.

First and foremostly within the Trinity.

Between the Father and the Son.

A covenant before the foundation of the world.

Where our Lord and our Savior Jesus agreed to come into this world.

In the fullness of time.

And to bear the sin and reproach of his people.

Let me thank you that in the fullness of time he did indeed come.

And come into this world that was full of sin and rebellion against him.

A world that would ultimately reject him.

And yet out of your great love.

He fulfilled the terms of that covenant.

And so our peace and our security was made sure.

So we thank you today for the fact that we worship a covenant keeping God.

We worship a God who has established a plan of salvation.

Who has fulfilled all that is necessary for us today.

To know the security of that salvation in its fullness.

And so we are therefore today free to come and worship you like this.

We are today free to look with hope on the future.

To know that your purposes will be unfolded in their fullness.

That there is the promise of a new heavens and a new earth.

And that in the midst of all of the sorrow and travail of this world.

There is much that we can look forward to.

And so we pray that today we would meet with this living God.

That we would meet with the covenant keeping God.

That we would today rejoice in our salvation.

And that we would have a confidence given to us.

An assurance of the completeness of the work of Jesus.

And that our faith in him would deepen and strengthen.

And so receive our worship this day.

Receive our confession of sin.

Forgive us our sins.

And bless us with your own presence.

And we ask this for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

So boys and girls.

Over the last few months when I've been here preaching.

I have been sharing with you some of the exploits from our house.

Because it's getting done up just now.

And today I bring you a box.

This box is, if those of you who are electricians will understand some of the jargon that's written on the side of this box.

This says it's a two gang double pole switched socket dual earth.

If you're an electrician, you will know what that means.

If you're not an electrician, it will suffice for you to know it had a plug in it.

And that plug is now mounted on the wall in one of the rooms in our house.

I don't even know which room this woman into.

Because there's about 50 of them.

I don't know.

There's loads and loads and loads of these.

Maybe that's something you could do this afternoon when you go home, boys and girls.

You could go home and you could count how many plugs are in your house.

That would be an exciting thing to do.

Our house has got more plugs in it now than it used to have.

And the reason today that I know that our house has more plugs is not only that I can go around and count them.

But because I also found sitting in my kitchen this week this box.

And unless my electrician is messing us around, I was fairly confident that he hadn't left a full box to go out to the recycling.

I was pretty sure it was in fact an empty box.

And if I open the box, I can show you inside it.

It is an empty box.

And an empty box is a good thing when you're employing someone to do some work for you.

Because that means they've done the job.

And so you can be really glad when you find an empty box.

Now, in the Bible, there is a story, a very important story, about an empty box.

And it was after Jesus had been crucified.

So you remember Jesus went to the cross and he died in our place.

And at the cross, he took our sin and our guilt for all of the bad things that we do.

He took all of that on himself and he paid the price to satisfy divine justice.

To satisfy God's just punishment for our sins.

Jesus paid that price.

And then he died.

And after he died, a man called Joseph of Arimathea came and asked for the body of Jesus.

And he took the body of Jesus and put the body of Jesus in a tomb, in a garden.

And then they rolled a big stone over the front of the tomb.

So that was on Friday night.

And on Sunday morning, Mary and some other women went to the tomb to find if they could anoint the body of Jesus with spices, anointments and things that they used to do when they buried someone.

And they found that the stone had been rolled away and that inside the tomb, there was no body.

Think of it like this.

The tomb was an empty box.

And they were confused.

They were thinking, why is this an empty tomb?

Why is it an empty box?

Now, what did I just tell you?

What does an empty box tell you?

An empty box tells you the work has been done.

And on that first Sunday, when they went to the empty tomb of Jesus and they found the tomb empty like that.

What that says to them and what it should say to us today and what it's going to say forevermore is the work is done.

Jesus died.

Jesus died.

And then he rose again from the dead because the father was pleased with all the work that he had done.

The work is finished.

And that's why today we can trust in Jesus completely for salvation.

There's nothing else that we need to do.

There's no extra work that we need to do.

Sometimes we say to ourselves, well, God will love me if I'm just a little bit better.

If we were going to add anything to the finished work of Jesus, that would be like saying the box isn't really empty.

There's a little bit more inside the box that we have to do.

But actually the box is empty because all of the work is complete and done.

And so today we can trust Jesus because he has done all of the work for us.

We're going to say the Lord's Prayer just now.

And then after we've done that, we'll sing again.

So let's bow our heads in prayer to God.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to sing again to God's praise.

This time from Psalm 2027.

Again, in Sing Psalms, page 31 in the Blue Book.

The tune is Jackson.

We're going to sing from the beginning through to the second half of verse 4.

So 5 stands as to God's praise.

The Lord's my Savior and my light.

The Lord's the stronghold of my life.

Why should I be afraid?

Again, we'll stand to sing to God's praise.

The Lord's my Savior and my light.

The Lord's my Savior and my light.

The Lord's my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior and my Savior?

When people do hurt, threaten me to take my life away.

My adversaries and my foes will stumble in that face.

Though an army hands me in, my heart will feel no dread.

Though one against me should arise, I will lift up my hand.

One thing I'll plead before the Lord, and this I'll seek always.

That I may come within God's arms and dwell there all my days.

But from the beauty of the Lord, I constantly make it.

And in his arms may seek to know direction in his ways.

Please pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray, if you pray,

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

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

But Abraham said, Lord God, what will you give me?

For I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus.

And Abraham said, Behold, you have given me no offspring, and no member of my house will be my heir.

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 towards 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.

And he said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out of 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, and cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other.

But he did not cut the birds in half.

And when the 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 afterwards they shall come out with great possessions.

As for yourself, 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 firepot 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.

Amen.

Again, this is God's word to us.

Let's once again bow our heads in prayer to God.

Our Heavenly Father, we come before you today.

We give you praise and thanks for the great privilege that we enjoy today gathering for worship like this.

How good it is for us to come into the presence of our God, to give you thanks for your goodness to us,

for us to gather on the first day of the week in particular, remembering the resurrection of our Savior Jesus.

We thank you that he has indeed defeated death.

We thank you that the work of salvation is indeed complete, that all that is necessary to satisfy your justice over our sinfulness and our iniquity has been fully met,

that the price has been paid in full.

And today we can have that confidence to therefore draw near to you, knowing that your wrath has abated against sinners like us,

because Jesus has borne the curse.

We thank you today for the fact that Jesus is not merely in the grave and not even merely risen to life, but that he has ascended up to heaven.

That today he is seated at your right hand.

And from there he continues to rule over all things until one day we know he will return to judge the living and the dead.

And so, Father, we seek today to give you due homage and praise because of the work of salvation,

and because as well that Jesus reigns, that Jesus is Lord over all things this day.

And, Lord, we have to confess the mystery of that, because as we worship you today,

each one of us will know in our own different ways, in our own different experiences,

the strangeness of your providence.

There are, O Lord, so many times when the things that happen to us in our lives,

the things that happen to us day by day, week by week, are a real mystery.

We don't understand why so much suffering is sometimes allowed to continue.

We wonder at why pain endures.

And we are left, Lord, so often uncertain about what the real plan is.

We often feel like Abraham did.

In that passage that we've read today.

And we thank you that we can rest in the knowledge that you have a purpose in all things.

That you are working out that purpose in its fullness.

And that one day we will see the mystery of that marvelous interweaving of all of the events of our lives,

woven together into your glorious pattern.

And so we pray, Father, that you would give us faith.

Simply enable us, Lord, to trust in you when things from our perspective seem to be so difficult.

We ask and pray for those, therefore, who are going through times of profound sorrow at this moment.

We pray for those who are grieving the loss of loved ones.

Those who are anxious over the health of loved ones.

Perhaps even the health of those who are near to death.

May you minister to them into these trying times, your own grace and your love and compassion.

May they know and experience the mercy of the living God,

whose promise to them is that he will never leave them nor forsake them.

We thank you for that experience that is so often shared by your people.

That when we feel our own strength has failed and where there is no hope for us,

that we find that underneath are the everlasting arms of God.

And that you continue to lift us up and to carry us through hard and difficult experiences.

We pray, therefore, for that strength today.

Not for a strength merely to endure,

but for us to know the strength of God that enables us to thrive in the midst of great turmoil and sorrow.

We want to pray, Father, for the congregation today and all of its different needs.

We pray especially for Calamurto as he ministers to us.

We ask and pray your blessing on him and his family.

We pray for the vacancy in the congregation.

We pray that you would raise up a pastor who will minister in this place

and lead the congregation in the study of your word and in the pastoral care that needs to be exercised.

We pray for the eldership of the church,

that you would give them wisdom and understanding in the roles that they exercise.

Lord, we know that in this day pastoral care is such a challenge

because the problems that are in the world

so often press into the lives of your people as well.

And we ask, Father, therefore, for wisdom and grace

in how pastoral care is exercised,

that it will be done so, Lord, full of gentleness and care and love

in the way in which Jesus cared for his people.

We thank you that you do not abandon us when it comes to pastoral ministry.

We thank you that we have the Holy Spirit to help.

And we do pray, Father, for the working and the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of this church.

We pray, Father, that day by day, week by week,

we would be more aware, in fact, of that,

that we would see the fruit of the Holy Spirit's work in our lives

overflowing in the lives of each and every one of us,

and that we would know and experience a deepening love and care and compassion,

that we would see patience and endurance increase,

that we would see tenderness grow in the way in which we deal with one another,

Father, that you would make us a congregation of men and women who love one another

as Christ loved us.

We pray, Father, therefore, for humility to possess us.

We pray, Father, that our lives would be characterized by that overflow of grace,

and that we would know your hand and your work upon us.

We want to pray today, Father, for the wider church on the island and across our nation.

We pray, Father, for the vacancies in the church.

We thank you, Father, for ministries beginning at the moment.

We lift up and pray, Father, for those who are undertaking studies

and preparing for ministry in our seminary.

We pray for the staff there.

We ask and pray your blessing on the training

of those who will go out into the work of the vineyard of the gospel.

We pray, Father, that you would continue to raise up others

who will serve in different capacities and ministries

throughout the life of the church.

We pray for the health of the church in our land.

We pray, Father, for healthy gospel churches to spring up

and to be encouraged across our nation,

for the light that shines in the darkness,

to shine more brightly across our land,

not because we are great, but because our gospel,

the gospel that we herald and proclaim,

the good news that we have is a wonderful message

and that it does make a difference in the lives of men and women.

And so, Father, bless us with an evangelistic zeal.

Bless us with a desire to make Jesus known.

And so across our nation this day,

whatever the gospel has been preached,

may you add fruit and multiply the blessing

of the preaching of the word.

Father, just as we long for that blessing in our own nation,

we pray for the nations of the world.

Lord, our news, Lord, just now is full of dire warnings

and calamities that are happening in different places,

concerns that people have about the movement of the nations

and the hearts of rulers.

We thank you that you are the one who establishes all things.

And we pray that in the midst of strange times

that you would give us a resilience in the church.

Help us to see the seasons for what they are,

the unfolding of the great plan of the fullness of time,

and to remember that Jesus is the one,

the Lamb who is slain, standing in the midst of the throne,

who alone is worthy to unravel the scroll of history.

We thank you that Jesus rules,

even over the crises that we see in the nations.

We thank you that Jesus rules over the uncertainties of war,

the uncertainties of regimes that are violent and iniquitous,

that Jesus rules over all of this.

And therefore, we pray for the resilience to endure in these days,

not only for ourselves, but for our brothers and sisters

who face far more difficult circumstances than we can imagine.

May they shine brightly for Christ,

and may the radiance of Jesus be reflected in the faces of your children,

especially those who languish in prison,

who are facing persecution and violence

for gathering in Jesus' name this day.

Because in all places,

the triumph of the resurrection is worthy to be proclaimed,

the triumph of the cross over sin,

and the good news that salvation is for us,

may, Lord, our persecutors discover this message for themselves.

May men and women everywhere taste and see that God is good,

and may your blessing flow.

And so be with us, we pray this day,

as we continue to worship you,

and as we reflect on your word.

Bless us in the truth.

Strengthen us in your service,

and uphold us by your Holy Spirit.

And we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to sing once again to God's praise

in Psalm 23 in the Scottish Psalter.

This is page 229 in the Blue Psalm book,

the tune of St. Columba.

James was pointing out to me this morning, actually,

Psalm 23 appears three times in the bulletin sheet today.

We have the Scottish Psalter version this morning.

We'll be singing the St. Psalms version tonight,

and it's also part of the memory verse.

That's in the bulletin as well.

So the Lord must be speaking to someone from these verses today.

It's good to remember these words, then.

The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.

He makes me down to lie in pastures green.

He leadeth me the quiet waters by.

We'll stand and sing the whole of the psalm to God's praise.

The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.

He makes me down to lie in pastures green.

He leadeth me the quiet waters by.

And so the love restore again.

And leadeth me the quiet voyque.

Oh, I thought it just not will, yet will I fear the hell.

For thou art with me and thy watch, and stop me comfort still.

My table that has furnished it, in presence of my foes,

my hand the dust with oil anoint, and my cup of gold.

Goodness and mercy on my life shall surely follow me.

And in your sight forevermore, my dwelling place shall be.

Amen.

Well, as we turn back to that passage in Genesis 15,

let's just bow our heads in prayer to God.

Heavenly Father, as we come just now to your word in the Bible,

we pray for your blessing today.

We need, Lord, your Holy Spirit working in our hearts.

Otherwise, everything that we do today is just words.

It's just meaningless in its ultimate import,

because without the Spirit to open up our hearts,

and without the Spirit to direct us to see what is most important,

and to help us to understand,

then all of this will be meaningless to us.

And so we do pray today, Father, for that work of the Spirit amongst us.

We thank you that what we're reading today is

truly one of the most important verses and scriptures and passages

in the whole of your word.

And we thank you that it's a passage today that if we understand it,

we'll see clearly what binds together the Old and the New Testament.

We'll see what it is that really the whole of your revelation is about.

And so we ask and pray today that we would see clearly Jesus in these verses,

that we would see clearly what it is that Jesus has done,

and that we would be blessed to be like Abraham,

believing God and have been counted to us as righteousness.

We ask this in Christ's name.

Amen.

So as we kind of begin today looking at this chapter,

I think it's worth kind of just remembering the context

in which all of this takes place.

Abraham has been called by God from the city of Ur of the Chaldeans.

He has moved from there and has been on this journey towards the Promised Land.

And having arrived in the Promised Land,

God has been giving him more and more promises.

There's been assurances that have come to him

that Abraham's descendants would inherit all of the land in which he is going.

However, there is a problem.

And the problem is simply this.

Abraham has no child who will inherit.

And so in his thinking at this particular point,

he's entering into the thinking of the ancient Near East,

which was common in his day,

which was that if the lord of the household had no heir to inherit,

then the inheritance passes to the chief steward.

And the chief steward would then hold this in trust

and perpetuate the legacy of his master.

And so this is before there's any sign of Ishmael or anything else.

Abraham is literally thinking,

this man, Eliezer of Damascus,

is the one who will inherit everything that he has received.

All of his flocks, yes.

All of his tents and earthly possessions, yes.

But also, crucially, will Eliezer of Damascus be the one to inherit the promise of God?

And that's the big question.

This hope of salvation,

is Eliezer of Damascus going to carry it on?

Is Eliezer of Damascus a man who loves the Lord?

And these are the things that are occupying or preoccupying Abraham's mind.

And so it's into this that God,

this picture of doubt and uncertainty,

that God intervenes,

clarifying his promises

and giving Abraham something to hold on to.

And as we'll see,

a covenant is really important

in that sense of what Abraham can latch on to

and trust in.

It's also a passage where we have one of the key verses in the Bible.

Verse 6,

Abraham believed the Lord

and he counted it to him as righteousness.

He believed the Lord

and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Abraham wasn't considered righteous by God

because of his good works.

He was considered righteous by God

because of his faith.

He believed, he trusted in God.

And these verses are reiterated in the New Testament

as crucial to understanding what we continue to believe today.

that our salvation,

our hope,

our hope of being counted as righteous

and saved by a merciful God

is rooted not in our obedience,

not in our goodness,

not in our general ability to keep God's law,

but rather in our trusting in his promise.

And the promise that we have

is essentially the same promise that Abraham has.

A promise that God will give him a future.

A promise that God will persevere with him and his descendants.

And that promise,

as we'll see,

is found in its fulfillment in the person of Jesus.

And so therefore,

for us today,

the same holds true.

If we believe and trust in Jesus,

then that will be counted to us as righteousness.

That is where salvation is to be found,

believing in Jesus Christ.

And so I would urge you all today,

just from the outset,

to understand this passage in that light.

God is making promises to us.

God is offering to provide for us.

And God offers us a sure and certain pledge.

And the response is not to therefore say,

I must be good enough to be worthy of God's promise

and to earn God's provision

and to receive God's pledge.

The right response is to say,

I believe him.

I will trust in him alone.

So that's our points today.

Firstly, that God promises.

The passage starts with God

reiterating his promise to Abraham.

These wonderful words,

Fear not, Abraham.

I am your shield.

Your reward shall be very great.

God takes Abraham outside

and invites him to see the stars of the heavens

and says,

Your offspring shall be numbered

in the same innumerable way.

As you look back through the pages of the Bible

up to this point,

there's not many.

You can go home and read

from Genesis 1 to Genesis 15 this afternoon.

It'll take you about 20 minutes maybe.

Not even that.

But as you read through these chapters,

you'll see that

God is giving promises repeatedly.

The first of these is right after the fall.

As Adam and Eve

are being cast out of the garden

and as the judgment of God

is announced over them,

there's a promise given there

that the seed of the woman

will bruise the head of the serpent

and that in the process

the serpent will bruise his heel.

And that's the beginning of the promise

of an offspring

one day coming

who will triumph over

the entry of sin into the world,

who will deal with sin and brokenness.

We know that's found ultimately

in the person of Jesus.

Then again, after the flood,

again when terrible destruction

has been wrought,

Noah is given another promise.

And the promise that's given to Noah

is that God will never again

destroy the world in a deluge,

that the seasons will remain until the end.

And that there's some kind of hint

of a cost to this promise

because the Lord puts a bow in the heavens.

And it's said that the idea there

of the rainbow is not merely

that there's this multicolored sign

in the heavens,

but that it's an actual bow

pointed heavenward.

The arrow that it shoots

piercing the heart of God himself.

Again, the idea there

of the promised one

being in some way wounded

in the process of salvation.

Long after all of these things

are given,

God's promises are ultimately fulfilled

because the seed of the woman

did arrive.

And because the promised one

did come and bear the cost

in himself.

And you see it in the life

and ministry of Jesus.

That cost is born.

The person who does come,

he comes in the fullness of time

to deliver on the promise of God.

And it's fascinating to do it

if you go through the life of Jesus

and you look and you see

all of the occasions

in which his life and his ministry

leading up ultimately to his death

and to his resurrection.

All of these things fulfill

promises established

in the Old Testament.

He comes to deliver

the promise of forgiveness.

He comes to deliver

the promise of eternal life

to his people.

Remember these precious words

in John 14,

I am going to prepare

a place for you.

The promise is not merely

of a physical place

in this world

for Abraham and his descendants,

but it's of an eternal dwelling place

for God's people

to be with him.

An eternal home.

An eternal rest

that we're looking forward to.

The promise,

ultimately,

as well,

of justice.

I mean,

we look upon a world

which is full of injustice.

And there's all sorts

of attempts

to exert justice

in the world.

And yet,

these attempts

are so often flawed

and inadequate.

But one day,

when Jesus comes,

justice will be done

in full.

All wrongs

will be righted.

The guilty

will indeed

carry the penalty

for their sin.

And for us

who are in Christ,

we should remember

what that means.

Jesus has borne

the penalty

for our sin.

Justice

has been done

for our wrongdoing.

His heel

was indeed bruised.

The arrow

of God's

wrath

was directed

towards

Jesus

to bear

the penalty

of our sin.

And just as God

had made

promises to Abraham

and says to him,

I will fulfill

these things,

God today continues

to make promises

to us.

The same promise

extends to us today.

Fear not,

I am your shield.

Your reward

shall be very great.

God's promise

to his people,

the offer

of the gospel

today that comes

to all of us

is the same.

God is promising

protection

and incredibly

good things.

And that promise

comes into

the sorrow

of our lives

right now.

It comes into

the sorrow

of a world

marred

by death

and suffering.

and it invites

us to put

our faith

in a God

who puts

his promise

over against

that weight

of suffering

in our experience.

And who says

there are good

things

that lie

in store.

There is a hope

given to his

people.

And the condition

on this

is one of faith.

faith.

Because just

like the promise

came to Abraham,

the same promise

comes to us

and says,

fear not.

I've been

thinking about

this in the

face of

difficult

circumstances

and

the invitation

there is to

have faith.

That's what

Abraham is

invited to do.

He's invited

to trust

God

rather than

fear the

future.

fear.

And that's

the same

for us.

As our

God is

speaking to

us today,

as our

God is

inviting us

to continue

trusting him

today,

the invitation

is just

the same.

He says

to us,

fear not

because my

promise

is of

myself

and I

am

greater

than

any of

the

things

you

fear.

I wonder

today if

that's

true of

us.

Do we

fear?

What

things might

we fear?

I suppose

like Abraham,

the fear

was that

there might

be no

legacy,

nothing to

carry on.

Sometimes

that's true

in the

church.

We might

be fearful

about what

the future

looks like,

especially

when we

see the

church

nationally

and perhaps

locally

declining.

We see

congregations

shrinking.

We wonder

what's the

future going

to be like

for the

church.

perhaps you

fear

personal

things.

You fear

for your

kids

or you

fear for

your own

future.

Perhaps you

fear for

your parents'

health.

Perhaps you

fear for

your own

health or

the health

of your

loved ones.

And into

all of

these fears,

God is

saying to

us the

same thing

as he

was saying

to Abraham.

Fear not,

I am

your shield.

The

invitation to

us is to

trust him

who is

greater than

these fears,

to relinquish

our uncertainty,

to relinquish

our doubts,

to give them

all to him

and to

believe in

him,

to trust

in his

sufficiency.

God is

a God

who is

making

promises.

But he

is also

secondly a

God who

is providing.

This

passage, it

tells us about

God as a

provider.

God tells

Abraham that

it is true

not only of

the past,

but that God

is going to

continue to

provide for

him in the

future.

So you

look at the

way God

speaks to

him.

And this

is really

interesting because

this is the

way covenants

in the

ancient world

were formed.

God, the

overlord, the

mighty one, the

powerful one,

would come and

say, this is

how I

deserve to

be setting

the terms of

our relationship

because I

have already

done things.

And I want

you to see

the things

that I have

already done

in order for

you to trust

me going

forward.

So God

comes to

Abraham and

says,

Abraham, I

am the

Lord your

God that

has taken

you out

of the

Chaldeans.

And what

I was saying

to Abraham

is simply

this.

You can

look back,

Abraham, on

what's already

happened in

your life.

You can

look back over

recent years

and you can

see the

journey you've

been on and

how I have

been with

you through

all of this.

Now, again,

if you go

back and you

read the last

few chapters

in Genesis

before this,

you'll see

all of the

ways in which

God has

really been

helping Abraham.

God has

really blessed

him.

Abraham has

become

powerful,

so powerful

in fact,

that nations

around about

look to

Abraham for

help.

When an

invader comes

and carries

away the

people of

some of the

cities around

about,

Abraham is

the one who

goes to

rescue them.

I mean,

Abraham's that

successful and

God has

blessed him and

enriched him and

strengthened him.

And so

Abraham, as he

looks on his

past, he's

able to say,

well, God

hasn't let me

down thus

far.

And so

if God has

been with

me this

far, he's

not going

to let me

down in

the future.

I know

his character.

I know

he's dependable.

I know

I can trust

him.

And God

is saying,

I am

providing for

you.

I've brought

you here.

Look back.

I will take

you forward.

Therefore,

look ahead.

Abraham's

whole life

has been

characterized

by this.

God has

provided for

him.

And if you

go down to

verse 14,

you see that

God says,

I'm going to

do that in

the future

for your

offspring.

The

exodus is

actually

prophesied

in verse

14 and

15.

the

children of

Israel are

going to

go down

into another

land.

They're going

to be

enslaved

there.

And for

four generations,

that will be

their experience.

But at the

end of it,

they will

come out

into a

place of

freedom and

huge enrichment.

And that's

exactly what

happened in

Exodus.

The Israelites

left Egypt.

They plundered

the Egyptians.

Such was the

Egyptians'

desire to

get rid of

them in

haste.

God has

provided.

God will

provide.

God has

begun to

provide for

his people.

He's going

to keep

doing that.

And the

invitation to

us today is

just the

same.

The invitation

to us today is

to look back

over our

lives, to

look at all

of the awful

things that we

have already

come through.

And if you're

a Christian,

it's a

healthy thing

to do, to

look back

over your

life, not

with rose

tinted

spectacles as

we are

sometimes wanted

to do, but

rather with

honesty.

And to

see all of

the times

that God

in his

grace has

delivered us

from absolute

disaster.

All of the

times that

God has

lifted us,

our feet,

out of the

mighty clay,

and set us

on a rock.

All of the

times in our

experience where

our foolishness

and where

our sin

has warranted

nothing but

failure and

misery and

disaster upon

us, and

yet God

has been

gracious and

delivered us

from all of

these things.

And that's

what God

does in his

grace.

God in his

grace delivers

us from the

worst of our

own failings,

let alone the

failings that

might have been

visited upon

us by other

people vindictive

and vicious

or anything

else.

God delivers,

and God

has provided,

and God

has strengthened,

and God

has been with

us and

helped us

and presenced

himself amongst

us.

He's blessed

us.

And so we

can look

forward.

God will

deliver, that

God will

help, that

God will

provide, because

he is a God

who provides.

And so when

God calls us

to have faith,

when he calls

us to start

following him

and trusting

in him, he's

not just asking

us to do that

with a vague

sense of some

sort of cloudy

purpose that

we have no

idea how it's

going to work

out.

He asks us

to trust

someone who

proves himself,

who demonstrates

himself to be a

God who is

worthy of

trust.

And Abraham,

we're told in

this passage,

Abraham believed

God, and it

was counted to

him as

righteousness.

Salvation

comes from

learning to

trust in

God.

God.

So there's a

God who

promises, a

God who

provides.

There's also

in this

passage a

God who

pledges.

And that's

when the

passage takes

for us a

really weird

turn.

Because in

the middle

of the

passage, God

gives Abraham

a very specific

instruction.

Bring a

three-year-old

heifer, a

three-year-old

female goat,

and a

three-year-old

ram, and a

turtle dove,

and a young

pigeon.

And split

them.

And so

Abraham takes

some kind of

instrument and

cuts the

animals in

half, slaughters

them and

cuts them in

half.

And he

puts one

half over

here and

one half

over there,

and then

keeps the

birds away

from them,

the vultures

and the

birds of

prey that

will come

and scavenge

the meat

from these

things,

until he

falls asleep.

And in

his sleep,

the Lord

comes to

him, and

this profound

vision that

he has of

God's

promise and

God's

provision.

And to

us, that

looks completely

alien.

It looks

really strange.

But to

Abraham, it

was entirely

normal.

Because all

over the

ancient Near

East, this

is what you

did when

you were

signing a

treaty between

an overlord

and this

vassal.

The overlord

would come

along and

say, I

am giving

you promises

of things I

will do.

Here is the

story of

what I have

done in

order to

deserve to

be in this

position of

authority over

you to

dictate these

terms.

I will

provide for

you.

I will

provide

security.

Normally, it's

because I've

already beaten

your army.

My military

force is

greater than

yours.

but I've

already

demonstrated my

power.

Now, we're

going to cut

some animals

in half and

we're going to

make an

agreement.

What we're

going to say

is, if we

break the

terms of

our agreement,

may the

same thing

happen to

us.

As you

walk between

the animals

that have

been cut

in half,

the terms

of the

covenant

are, if

I break

my loyalty

to you,

both the

overlord

breaking his

loyalty to

us and

us breaking

our loyalty

to him,

rebelling

against him,

the terms

are, the

same thing

will happen

to us.

We deserve

to be

cut in

half.

And that's

a really

solemn

thing.

This is

like a

blood bond

that has

been instituted.

You're

saying we

will be

loyal upon

pain of

death.

And so

Abraham is

expecting a

covenant

agreement

that he

recognizes,

a legally

binding

framework

to be

signed

between

him and

God.

But he

falls asleep.

And I

think that's

where the

thick darkness

kind of comes

into this.

It's

an evidence

almost of

Abraham's

distress.

He expects

he has to

be a party

to this.

But how

can he?

Because he's

lying unconscious

on the

ground.

And then

something

miraculous

happens.

There's

two entities

appear.

There's

this

smoking pot

and there's

this fiery

flaming torch.

And we

have to

understand that

both of

these are

somehow

God.

One of

them maybe

represents

Abraham or

acts on

Abraham's

behalf.

and one

of them

acts on

God's

behalf.

But neither

of them

are actually

Abraham.

Abraham

doesn't walk

between the

slain animals

and say,

well, if I

break the

terms of my

loyalty to

you, O

God, then

may the

same thing

happen to

me.

No, God

himself somehow

walks between

the slain

animals.

And God

himself says

on his

behalf, may

the same

thing happen

to me if I

break my

loyalty to

you, Abraham.

Abraham, but

equally, a

divine presence

is there who

says, I

will take the

consequences of

Abraham's sin,

Abraham's

rebellion,

Abraham's

inability to

keep faith.

And Abraham

does.

I mean, you

go on reading

the next few

chapters in the

book of Genesis,

you see Abraham

can't keep

faith.

He thinks,

well, I still

don't have a

son, my

wife's getting

too old,

I'll maybe

have an affair

with one of

my servants

and her

child will

become my

heir.

And then

they go down

to Egypt and

he tries to

pass off his

wife as a

sister.

I mean, Abraham

is not

righteous.

He doesn't

manage to

keep perfect

righteous loyalty

towards God.

He is a

sinner and a

failure.

But the

covenant that

God has

entered into

with him

doesn't depend

on Abraham

keeping the

terms of the

covenant.

It depends on

this other

divine figure.

this other

divine figure

who comes

and passes

between the

slain animals

and who

says,

if my

people

fail to

keep the

terms of

the covenant,

if my

people are

unable to

live

righteously

enough,

I will

bear the

consequences.

And this

is none

other than

God the

Son.

Acting

as our

representative,

as Abraham's

representative,

and going

between the

slain animals

and saying,

I will

take the

consequences

of their

sin upon

myself.

death.

And you

jump forward

to the

cross

where

Jesus

is torn

asunder

practically.

I don't

want to go

into it,

but that's

what crucifixion

really does.

It shreds

with the

terms of the

damage that it

does to your

ribcage.

It tears

your ribs

apart.

heart.

He's

pierced.

He's

nailed to

the tree.

He

experiences

not only

the physical

turmoil of

this,

but at the

cross he

experiences

the wrath

of God

upon sin.

That God's

justice

is meted

out on the

person of

Jesus,

hung on

the tree

for our

sin.

because he

agreed to

be our

representative in

this covenant

between God

and man.

In this

covenant between

God and

Abraham,

which is the

same covenant

that we come

into in the

New Testament.

And that's

why today we

can trust the

promise of

God.

Because the

promise of

God to us

doesn't depend

on our

obedience,

it depends

on the

obedience of

Jesus.

And as

long as

Jesus is

obedient,

as long as

Jesus bore

the price of

our failure

on the

cross,

then God

will not

forsake

us.

It's

finished.

The work

of salvation

is now

an empty

box,

because it's

done.

It was

done figuratively

here for

Abraham,

and Abraham

believed God

and it

was counted

to him as

righteousness.

It was

ultimately done

at the

cross,

and today

we're invited

to the same

faith,

to believe in

God,

to say,

yes,

Jesus has

done it

all for

me.

My salvation

is secure

in him.

My future

and my hope

is promised

in him.

All of my

needs will be

met in

him.

It's all

of Jesus.

Jesus,

because he

went to

the cross

to fulfill

the promise

of Genesis

15,

that the

terms of

our sin

being dealt

with

would be

him torn

apart.

And so

today,

we are

invited

to trust,

to trust

in these

words,

fear not,

I am

your shield,

your reward

shall be

very great.

Will you

not believe

in him?

let's

pray.

Heavenly

Father,

we want

today to

come to

you seeking

encouragement

to have

faith like

Abraham.

We know,

Lord,

you are the

one who

gives great

promises.

As we look

back in our

lives,

we can see

ample evidence

of your

provision.

You have

not forsaken

us thus

far,

and you

never will.

And ultimately,

we thank you

that you've

made that

through the

promise and

the pledge

of Jesus.

That before

the world

existed,

he agreed

to come

and die

for his

people.

That in

the fullness

of time,

he did.

And we see

many examples

of that being

carried out

in promise

form throughout

the Old

Testament.

And ultimately,

the climax

of that was

at the cross.

And so we

thank you today

for our

Saviour

Jesus.

We thank you

for what

he has

done.

And help

us today to

be assured

of that

truth,

that the

work is

finished,

that salvation

is entirely

done,

entirely

accomplished,

and we can

trust in

him alone.

Bless us

with that

kind of

faith.

We ask

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

We're going

to sing

in conclusion

just now

in

Psalm

150.

This is in

Sing Psalms,

page 195.

The theme

of the

Old Testament

is that

ultimately the

climax of

creation will

be the

praise of

all resounding

to the

glory of

God.

And Psalm

150 is

really all

about this.

It's about

the all

encompassing

praise of

the whole

of creation

gathering in

together.

It begins

in the

temple,

but it

seems almost

to spread

out from

there with

all things

rejoicing and