God's People Birthed: Covenant

Hello and welcome to the Kalamazoo Church of Christ podcast.

Thank you so much for listening.

We're Startup Church.

We just planted in September, 2020 and at the Kalamazoo church, we believe that Christianity is done best when it is done together.

And so if you live in the Kalamazoo area, we would love to connect, be it coming to a Sunday service, one of our small groups, or even just grabbing coffee with a member to learn more.

You can visit kalamazoo.church in order to do that.

We pray that you are inspired by what you hear today.

So I just want to address this out of the gate.

If anyone is concerned about my wife's ability to dress me, my belt is pretty floppy right now.

It has nothing to do with that.

I just, I'm finally back to my pre-wedding weight and I don't have a belt or pants to fit that.

So we're figuring that out.

I just really found out kind of today with putting this belt on that I'm all the way back.

Right.

So amen.

Jaron told me two years before I got married that I would gain 30 pounds upon getting married and I gained 35.

So amen.

You know, I like to exceed expectations.

Today we will be continuing our thread series.

We've been in this teaching series that has a podcast and daily devotionals that kind of weave all together and lead all the way up into Sunday.

We are on this journey for multiple years.

It's possible that it could be all the way up to three years.

We started all the way back at the beginning of Genesis with creation.

Now we've kind of meandered our way up to the life of Abraham.

One thing that I will tell all of you within my personal experience with this thread with reading the podcast and doing the daily devotions, one thing that has really enhanced my experience is going into the Bible and reading the full chapters surrounding kind of what we're digging into in a deep sense.

And I really, if you haven't done that yet, I really encourage you to do that.

The life of Abraham is in Genesis chapters 12 through 25.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

And so you can really enhance your experience by going in and digging in deeper if you haven't done that.

This past week, we were learning about something called the Suzerain Vassal Treaty in the podcast.

It is a portion of three kind of periods, three big happenings in the covenant between Abraham and God.

It was a part of the covenant that I was really unfamiliar with.

I'm sure you all may have been unfamiliar with that as well.

The covenant of circumcision is the one that usually stands out mostly because of, yeah, naturally so.

It's going to stand out amongst those three interactions because of the way that it is.

But this one, in my mind, after reading it and digging into it, I feel like this is the most important part of the whole covenant.

This part where God is doing something with Abraham, is taking on this treaty.

And it's a treaty that Abraham very likely would have seen or possibly even done in his own life coming up into this point.

He knows how it's going to happen, the methods of it, and they're walking through it.

And then all of a sudden at the end, when they both have to put up kind of their lives as collateral, essentially for this covenant, Abraham doesn't have to go through.

God takes on all of the collateral and shows us a lot in this interaction, as well as our interactions between God and Abraham through chapters 12 and 25 through the life of Abraham.

God shows us that he's going to meet us where we're at.

God shows us that he is loyal.

God shows us that he wants a covenant relationship with us.

That's a really cool thing to think about on any day.

And I really want us to think about that as we start off today, digging in deeper into the scripture.

The God who made the universe wants a covenant relationship with each and every one of us.

And he is loyal to make that happen and to help it to grow.

And he is always going to uphold his end of the bargain.

So as we kind of go back, last week, Jaron taught us about in the life of Abraham, how Abraham everywhere that he pitched his tent along the way as he was traveling, he built an altar to worship.

And so I wanted to pose the question to you.

How did it go for you this week, worshiping God everywhere that you go?

For me, it was a little bit up and down.

This worshiping God everywhere I go thing is not the easiest for me.

I really like to have my times with God be extended periods of time.

I really do.

I do enjoy multiple extended times of the day, but I have a hard time bringing God with me as I go, especially at work.

I really wanted to strive to do that this week.

And I had one victory this week in bringing God with me to work.

There were some guys that were working very unsafely and I prayed out loud for their safety.

My crew chief yelled at me for doing that, but I was able to bring God with in that situation and I am pleased to say that they did not die, which they absolutely could have with what they were doing.

I'm very encouraged constantly about my wife, how my wife brings God with her, with us in her prayer life.

It's really cool.

We can be walking or driving down the road.

Somebody's driving their bicycle down the road without a helmet on and she prays for them.

Somebody, somebody may cut us off on the road and she's going to pray for that person to get where they have to go safely.

And just constant random occurrences like that along the way as we go.

And it's super encouraging.

And she truly is a great example of a prayer life that is constantly bringing God with.

And I really appreciate Maya for that.

Last week, Jaron highlighted through scripture three of the four altars that Abraham built.

And today we will eventually zoom in on the fourth and final altar that he built.

But first, let's talk about seeing God.

Finding ways to see our invisible God is essential for a faithful life.

You can observe a lot by watching, but you don't always see what you see.

Does anyone have any idea where these quotes could come from?

I was hopeful for Paul or Gary.

But it's Yogi Berra.

These are what you call Yogi-isms.

Yogi Berra is a famous baseball player.

He's one of the great Yankees of the past.

Way back when in the 40s and 50s, I believe, he became a manager as well, but he was mostly known for his great personality and these crazy sayings that don't make sense, really, but they do, the longer that you think about them.

And as you all know, I'm an avid documentary watcher.

I love documentaries because of the way in which you can take something that you have an idea or you know about, and it gives you a different lens or a deeper lens, and then you can gain understanding about what you're watching.

And I watched this documentary this week, this past week about Yogi Berra.

And I tell you what, I really had an under appreciation for how great of a baseball player he truly is.

His personality is larger than life.

Personality is what people remember.

But in my opinion, now after watching this documentary, he is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

And I had no idea.

And it's pretty cool to be able to watch something, see something with a different lens and gain understanding.

We're going to do that today with some scripture.

We're going to take some scripture that we all know, and we're going to turn it a little bit and look at it with a little bit different lens in hopes that we can gain some understanding.

When we read the Bible, we are reading a translation of Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek, depending on what section we're reading from.

And whenever you translate these languages, you're going to miss ideas, rhymes, alliteration, or wordplay that might be going on.

Seeing is a major idea and theme in Abraham's life, and in our lives as well, if we are paying attention and living lives of faith.

Today we're going to look at a theme in the Hebrew translations that we can actually see pretty clear, even in English, if we're paying attention.

Up here I have a little fun, fun little scripture blitz for you all.

These are passages that are rephrased to highlight the use of the word seeing in Hebrew.

In Genesis 12.1, the land I will show you can be rephrased, land I will let you see.

In Genesis 12.7, he will build an altar to the Lord who appeared to him, can be rephrased, the Lord who was seen.

In Genesis 13, 14 to 15, it says, look around all that you see.

In Genesis 15.5, he took him outside and said, gaze into the sky and count the stars.

In Genesis 15.17, the covenant is cut in the dark, pitch black, where nothing could be seen but the fire pot.

Next week we're going to be learning about the life of Sarah and Hagar, and Hagar calls God the God who sees me.

In Genesis 17.1 and 18.1, the Lord appeared to Abram, or Abraham, could be rephrased, the Lord was seen by Abraham, and in Genesis 18.2, he looked up and saw three men.

As we move forward with this, one question I would like to dig in on is, can seeing things God's way make us righteous?

Have you ever thought about what it takes to be righteous?

It's pretty tough, right?

It's actually impossible.

The Bible tells us that it's impossible.

No one is righteous, not one.

And we see that Psalm 14, Psalm 53, Romans 3, and we can see it throughout the Bible as well, as we pull apart the different characters that aren't Jesus.

If you're a Christian, I hope you're trying hard to be righteous, but even with great effort, we fall short.

Let's take a look and see what happens when Abraham sees things God's way.

Turn over to Genesis 15.1-6 for me.

Genesis 15.1 says, After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.

Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward.

But Abram said, Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless, and the one who will inherit my estate is Eleazar of Damascus?

And Abram said, You have given me no children, so a servant in my household will be my heir.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, This man will not be your heir, but a son whose your own flesh and blood will be your heir.

He took him outside and said, Look up at the sky and count the stars, if indeed you can count them.

Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be.

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

One thing that I feel that is important to note here is that Abram was in a state of doubting.

He was doubtful about God, what God was saying, and he brought it to God.

He gave it up to him.

He complained to God.

I do feel that it's important in our walk of faith with God to do this, to bring our vents to God, to bring our questioning to God.

He wants us to do this.

Do you vent to God?

Do you bring your questions to God?

God wants us to bring these questions to him so he can help us see things his way.

After Abraham questions God, he takes him outside to see the stars.

He promises Abraham, who doesn't even have one child, that his descendants will be like the stars in the sky.

And this is cool what happens next.

Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

We can't be perfectly righteous in our actions.

Not even Abraham was perfect.

But here we are given an unlikely path to righteousness.

When we see things God's way, he credits it to us as righteousness.

Now, believe it or not, I don't always see things God's way.

And one example of this was that I didn't always believe in the importance of being together constantly with God's family.

I felt that I was going to be okay as long as I had my extended periods of time with God, which I had a lot of them.

I came to church on Sunday and came on Wednesday whenever it worked for me.

And then I was good from there.

I was missing out on so much blessing from God in this.

I kept seeing Hebrews 10, 24, and 25 throughout my life.

It was intense how often I was seeing it, where God calls us to spur one another on towards love and good deeds and not give up meeting with one another, as well as continuously saw the end of Acts 2, where the disciples were together constantly and God blessed it.

I eventually made the decision to see things God's way.

And let me tell you, it has been way better to see things His way.

There have been so many blessings that have come from me making this decision.

To see things God's way and make being with the family, with God's family, a constant in my life.

It has helped me to fight my sin.

It has helped me to grow in my faith by seeing others' faith.

It has helped me to have so many great meals and laughs and spiritual conversations.

The amount of memories that I have made for God have been incredible and are things that are foundational in my faith going forward when I'm struggling now.

I can look back to those moments, those memories, those things that have happened when I was with the family of believers in between times.

Right?

There's only so many memories that can be made at church on a Sunday or a Wednesday.

The real stuff happens is when we're doing it on a daily basis.

And I feel very blessed that God was patient with me and He helped me to see things His way so that I could change.

Is there some righteousness that you are missing out on because you are not seeing eye to eye with God?

What if you decided tonight, underneath the stars, to go outside and call out to God and ask Him to help you to see it His way?

Now let's take a look and zoom in on that final altar that Abraham built.

Please turn to Genesis 22, 1-14.

Genesis 22, 1 says, Sometime later God tested Abraham.

He said to him, Abraham, here I am, he replied.

Then God said, Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah.

Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.

Early the next morning, Abraham got up and loaded his donkey.

He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac.

When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.

On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

He said to his servants, Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there.

We will worship and then we will come back to you.

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac.

And he had himself carried the fire and the knife.

As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father, Father, yes, my son.

Abraham replied, The fire and wood are here, Isaac said.

But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?

Abraham answered, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.

And the two of them went on together.

When they reached the place God had told them about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.

He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven.

Abraham, Abraham, here I am, he replied.

Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said.

Do not do anything to him.

Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns.

He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

So Abraham called that place the Lord will provide.

And to this day, it is said on the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided.

There's a lot here.

It's really deep.

And I'm sure that you have seen multiple ways in which you can look at this scripture in depth.

Today we're going to turn this gem ever so slightly and see something a little bit different.

See something a little bit different.

In verse two, where it talks about go up to Moriah, this mountain in Moriah.

Moriah means seeing in Hebrew.

Now for this final altar, Isaac himself, the son of the promise is holding the wood.

Can you imagine being Abraham in this moment?

What would you be going through inside of your head?

But he says in verse five, we will worship and then we will come back to you.

It shows that maybe, just maybe, Abraham was seeing something more already outside of this situation.

And then hearing Isaac's question about the sacrifice.

Father, where is the lamb?

Like Isaac is starting to figure out, I think, a little bit what's going on here.

Like, what are we doing here?

It's pretty shocking to read.

And Abraham just says God himself will provide.

God does provide the ram in verse 13, a substitutionary sacrifice.

And Abraham calls the place, the Lord will provide.

Saying on the mountain of the Lord, it will be provided.

As we break this down even a little bit further now, turn the gem one more time.

In English, we have another way of saying someone will provide.

We say they will see it through.

This worship proclamation of Abraham could be translated, Abraham called the name of that place, God sees it through.

As it is said today on God's mountain, God sees it through.

Sorry about that.

God will see it through.

He's willing to enter into covenants with us that he won't ever break.

God will see it through.

God will provide.

This mountain shows us how God sees it through all the way to the cross.

This is the same mountain that Solomon built the temple on.

That many Jews worship and sacrifice at.

It was also the same mountain and the site of this, where Jesus was crucified.

God has seen it through.

Whatever you have going on in your life right now, that is tough.

That you don't feel like you're seeing out the other side.

Just know that God will see it through.

I have a challenge for everyone going forward this week.

My challenge to you is to ask God if there is anything that you aren't seeing eye to eye with him on.

And pray for his help in seeing it his way.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven, God, you are the mighty God.

You are the holy God.

You are so powerful and awesome.

You created the universe, God, and yet you want a relationship with each and every one of us.

God, you are gentle and you are near.

God, we are so grateful that you want to have a covenant relationship with each and every one of us.

God, we are so grateful that you are the God that sees it through.

God, you meet us where we are at and you bring us to where you want us.

God, you want to have a dialogue with us.

You want us to bring our troubles to you.

You want us to bring our questions to you.

God, help us this week to bring our questions to you.

God, to vent to you more.

God, help us this week to see what we aren't seeing your way.

God, and help us to change our hearts and our minds to see it your way.

God, we love you so much.

And we pray all this in Jesus name.

Friends, you are dismissed.

Go pick up your children.