Be careful of the vultures

So last week we preached about goboki.

Today we're going to preach about Passover.

The arse faller in English. Beware of the asphalt.

This exact translation. So we're looking at Genesis,

we're looking at Abraham, and we're looking at Abraham the

friend of God and looking at some things of friendship.

And one of the amazing thing that the book of John says in

John chapter 2, it says many people trusted Jesus, but he did

John 2 · chapter mention

not trust them because he knew what was in the heart of a man.

So we can actually trust Jesus and Jesus doesn't trust us.

So the Bible says. And then in John 15, he says, I

no longer call you disciples, but now I call you my friends

for the things that my father has taught me, I have taught

you. And so one of the ways you know

that somebody is a friend of God is that you'll hear things

coming out of their mouth that you've never heard from anybody

else, not contrary to the Scripture, always in line with

the Scripture. But you'll hear little snippets

of truth or little secrets that God has shared with them in

their quiet time. Just little values and little

ways they treat their wives and ways they bring up their kids

and. Think wow.

God has actually trusted them with some amazing things.

So let's look to Genesis 15, and I really want to do a sermon

called Be Careful of the Vultures, chapter 15, and we'll

go a little bit about what we went last week after this, say

after this, say after this. So many people say it's because

of the war that he had fought. I think it's because he had just

tired. So you're just tired.

You'd stepped out, you'd given 10% and actually became scared.

Money and God and situations and circumstances are very scary

things. So don't worry, we're not going

to take up an offering. Later the word of the Lord came

to Abraham in a vision. Do not be afraid of Abraham.

I'm your shield, your protection, your very great

reward, your provision. But Abraham said, O sovereign

Lord, what can you give me since I remained childless?

And the one who will inherit my state is Eliezer of Damascus.

And Abraham said, you have given me no children, so a servant in

my household will be my heir. And the word of the Lord came to

him. This man will not be your heir,

but a sun coming from your own body will be your heir.

He's 100 years old, eh? Look at your body.

Some of us, it's more scarier than others, eh?

Look at it. He's 100 years old.

His wife is 90. They lived in the desert.

Can you imagine what she looked like?

You go to King's Meet, you'll probably find what she looked

like. I mean a licker drawn piece of

drew, a horse made harder. So like this, you, Abraham and

that cheeky wiki of yours are going to have a baby.

My baby. He took him outside and he said,

look up at the heavens and count the stars, and I hope you've

been doing that this week. If indeed you can't count them.

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

Abraham believed the Lord. Abraham believed the Lord.

Say that Abraham believe the Lord.

How do we become friends with God?

We believe him. How do we become friends with

each other? We believe each other.

Abraham believed the Lord and he credited it to him as

righteousness. Say credited to him.

Keep please close your eyes. I want to read Romans 4 over

you. You can go and read it a bit

later. Close your eyes everybody.

This is Romans 4 verse 8. It's not going on the screen.

Romans 4:8

Just close your eyes against all hope, against all hope.

After this, after what? After 2025, after your divorce,

after the loss of your child, against all hope.

Abraham in hope believed. Keep your eyes closed.

I've just spoken to a lady in this church.

Four years ago, she dug the ground of a dream, and that

dream died a long, slow, painful death.

But against all hope in hope she believed.

And this week she moves in to her new property.

Against all hope. And hope believed.

Why are you sitting here? Just to remind you that against

all hope in hope believed. And so became the father of many

nations. Just as it had been said of him,

so shall your offspring be. Without weakening his faith, he

faced the fact that his body was as good as dead.

So knees, so ankles, so back, so shoulders, so system, so

everything. Without weakening in his faith,

he faced the fact that his body was as good as this since he was

about 100 years old, and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 90

years old. Menopause. 40 years before dead,

Her womb was dead. No more periods, no more living

organisms inside of her, no more cells dead.

Yet He did not waver through unbelief regarding the promises

of God, but was strengthened in his faith.

And he gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had

power to do what He had promised.

I'm not sure why you're here, but I want to tell you this.

I am fully persuaded that God is able to do what He has promised.

This is why. This is why it was credited.

Say credited, eyes closed, credited.

The way we build friendship is by giving each other credits.

It was credited to Him as righteousness.

The words it was credited to Him were written not for him alone,

but also for us to whom God will credit righteousness, for us who

believe in Him who raised Jesus. Our Lord.

From the dead, say this, I am credited.

Good morning, let's keep reading.

He also said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out of the

air of the Chaldeans. He also said to him, I am the

Lord who bought you. I say bought you out.

Keep the scripture up there. Every about four times a year

I'll meet with the legends of the city.

There's a man who decided that he wanted to honor the fathers

of the city. So men like Dirkie Funder Spay,

who was from interim Arletta, and Neville Norden from Lebanon

Worth. And a very beautiful man called

Doctor Isaac Burger, who was the head of the AFM, the Archaeus.

When I was a 28 year old pastor going through a really tough

time, I was at a conference with a whole lot of just all these

hotshot guys. I think I was the youngest guy.

I was sitting at a table and Doctor Issaq Bridgar came and

sat next to me and said, are you all right young man?

I said, hey doctor, it's tough. And I remember him grabbing my

arm and praying for me in Afrikaans.

Here, Mulsa father, here, Mulsa father.

I'd breakfast to them this week. Amazing just to sit to these men

and they talk about what God has done in Pretoria.

But I met a man called Martin Smith from a church called Ibaka

this week. They baptized 650 people.

Let's thank God I'm the only English out there.

He said if he had Rory, what's Muttala 8 fights.

Muttala inset was one of eight fights.

And I Muttala inset and I said don't fight Martin.

He said don't steer. Look at that.

I am the Lord who brought you out.

Say I'm the Lord who brought you out.

What friendship does it brings us out of anything that

captivates us or kept holds us captive to anything.

The first thing God does, he brings us out out of sin, out of

religion, out of bad habits, out of our disqualification.

And he. Takes us into that which he has

for us. And what we go into is it's just

as important as what we come out of because there's no point in

coming out of sin and going into a religious system that keeps

you captive. I was sitting recently in a

church with people and we were talking and there's a Deacon who

lives about an hour away. And the pastor said, I said, how

you doing and how do you get there?

I said, sometimes it takes me an hour and 20 minutes.

And the pastor said, I wish you would come to more Sunday

services. I said, why don't you just leave

him? Because not his attendance at

Sunday services, it's actually his heart commitment to the

things of God. And I'm sure he'll get there

when he wants to. Because you can't come to church

because somebody's expecting you to come to church, or somebody's

ticking off a box to come to church or so.

Because you can't come out of a system that's holding you

captive into another system that's holding you captive.

That's not friendship. You come out of a system into

freedom. And in that freedom you start to

learn to obey God. But it's not obedience that gets

us the pleasure with God. It's the finished work of

Christ. Does that make sense to you,

friends? So come out.

Come out of your staff, come out of your religious practices.

That's all. When people call me pastor said

don't come out of that stuff. It's a system.

I'm Rory, come out of your stuff and let's operate in complete

freedom. So God knows I'm the Lord who

brought you out of I'm the Lord who brought you out of.

Close your eyes and say, what does God need to bring you out

of habits, traditions, sin. I am the Lord who brought you

out of out of. If we are true friends, we would

bring each other out of anything that stops us from fulfilling

the call of God in our lives or living in the fullness of what

God has designed us for. We've got to pull people out of.

We've got to rescue people. Some of you know this story, but

I have a watch, gold watch that my dad gave me that was given to

him by a man called Ian Duggan. There was a flood in in in East

London and and Mr. Duggan, who my dad worked for his wife got

stuck on the top of a roof of a double story house with a river

raging through people getting washed down.

People got washed out to sea. And this woman was stuck on a

double story roof. And my dad and his friend went

in a canoe 1 kilometer upriver and they went in and they got

washed down by this flood, got to his house, put his wife in

the boat and brought her out there.

I thought if that my dad can get her out of that mess.

Can you imagine what my heavenly Father can do and every now and

again I just hold that watch in my hand.

It's a bit outdated now, but and the backer says to Ian love the

Duggan family. Thank you and I think he just

got it out of must remember this God gets us out of anything that

stops his. Purpose on our lives.

Particularly the habits. Of sin.

I was looking at 1 John chapter 3.

1 John 3 · chapter mention

If you walk with God, you cannot keep.

On sinning. You cannot, it's impossible, for

then you have neither seen him. Or know him.

But Abraham said, O sovereign Lord.

How? Can I know?

O Sovereign Lord, how can I know?

We're talking about Christmas. We're talking about how can you

know that God is going to do everything that he?

Said he's. Going to do.

For you. How can you know?

How can you honestly sit here with deep assurance in your

heart while all the people are outside there?

Can you imagine the atheist at Christmas time?

Who do they say thank you to? They feel so thankful, but who

do they thank? How do you know that I will gain

possession of it? So the Lord said to him, bring

me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with

a dove and a young pigeon. Abraham bought all of these to

him, cut them in two and arranged the horse opposite each

other. The birds IEB did not cut in

two. Can you imagine, friends, what a

mess that is? I mean, let's just read it.

Ah, that sounds awesome. Have you ever seen an animal get

cut? Ever said the sheep get cut?

The cutter. That's when you cut its neck in

heart. When you cut it in two.

Can you imagine that? Didn't have chainsaws just with

a saw. I wonder when you stopped at the

top or the bottom. I know if you started the head

or the BEP. Imagine that.

Blood spurting everywhere. We're about to enter covenant.

We're about to go into covenant. I was at a wedding the other

day. Beautiful virgin bride,

beautiful white dress, beautiful white cake.

I looked at it and thought if God did this, he would just cut

the cough in half. Can you imagine that?

Then it goes one of the worst things of my life.

I've given money to the Anton Fonvo Trust.

I know some of you are Voki's, so sorry about that, but the

Anton front row trust have a fundraiser every year.

It's like you're gonna buffle quip a kind of glutter buffle

quip. May buffle is crutter as yo

buffle and next song near Batal for may buffle as Jason Batal

for yo buffle buffle. But I'm standing there, the only

English oak for about 100. Miles.

And they bring a sheep head that's been.

Split in half. And they give me a knife and I

look at that, I think, yeah, what must I do with that?

So you want? Them yet which part?

The eye, the tongue, the brain, and can you?

Imagine he cuts this thing in half.

And there's just guts and brains and.

Eyes. And tongue, tongue.

You actually eat tongue. You're Afrikaner smoked tongue.

Calm down my Hastings Hunbiki Tong.

Yet it's like, goodness gracious me, I cannot taste anything that

can taste me back. Can you?

Can you possibly, can you possibly imagine as it's going

down, it's like and I think it's sitting in my tummy and it's

sort of licking the inside. But he's saying I'm going to

enter a covenant and it's going to be a covenant of blood and be

a covenant of blood. And what you should actually do

is take the groom and the bride and actually walk them amongst

the entrails and the guts and the blood in that beautiful

white. Dress.

So when they walk in the car, they will realize that not only

in covenant with each other, but they're in covenant with God,

splattered with the blood of the sacrifice.

And sometimes we whiten everything down to a little

sheet of paper to say actually, we're going to enter a covenant

and and actually just please hold on because the past.

Is going to sign the covenant and the two people are going to

sign the covenant. Becomes a very clean thing.

It wasn't. That clean in the Old Testament,

it was quite. Gory.

It was quite. Sacrificial, but but Abraham

understood it. It's very open.

Then birds of prey. He put that picture up.

Ricks. Then birds of prey came.

Down to the carcasses. But Sophie asked Will.

Because the moment. You enter into covenant.

The vultures will come and take away that which is vital.

To your well-being, you put it up.

It's quite hectic. Then birds of prey came down on

the Caucasus, but Abraham drove them away.

Who's the father of our faith? What did he get happened?

He got credited with righteousness.

You and I have been credited with righteousness.

But what happens after credited with righteousness?

The vultures come down. The vultures.

Circle in December. The Voltzer Circle in December.

Just waiting. For a little gap when we take

the eye off the ball so they. Can come down.

You see, Stephen and I are in covenant.

Inside of that covenant is Lovejoy, peace, patience,

kindness, gentleness. Self-control.

And if we just take our eye off the ball for a little bit and

the Vulture comes and takes patience away, just takes

patience away, sits in the tree and eats the liver of patience

or the kidney of patience, our friendship is fine as long as

there's love and peace. And joy.

But when you need to exercise patience and that piece of the

sacrifice is. Gone.

You've got to be. Very careful.

December is when things go funny.

After this, after this busy year, you must know we are in

covenant and covenant will protect us.

But be careful because the vultures are circulating.

The vultures are circulating, but Abraham drove them away.

As the sun was setting, Abraham fell into a deep sleep and a

thick and dreadful darkness came over him.

The Lord said to him, know for certain, how must I know?

Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in

a country not their own and they will be enslaved and mistreated

400 years. But I will punish the nation

they serve as slaves. And afterwards say afterwards,

didn't doesn't it start with after this, starts with after

this, and it says afterwards. But actually the sacrifice

happens before they go into Egypt.

So you think, is that afterwards or was it before?

Well, if we understand friendship, it's afterwards and

before. So before they go into Egypt,

the sacrifice has taken place and afterwards they put the door

on the posts, the blood on the posts.

So we are absolutely locked in the covenant of God.

Let me explain it to you like this without taking up an

offering. You think that I've been in the

church for 30-4 years, that the biggest month financing in the

church should be December because that's when everybody

gets bonuses. But it's the worst.

It's the worst month. Why?

Christmas? Busyness, Presents.

Not all sorts of things. School.

Fees, all sorts of things. But this is how it goes.

Before December, we are in covenant.

After December, we are in covenant.

If you don't tithe, you're still in covenant.

You're still in covenant because our covenant is not dependent on

our obedience. Our obedience is dependent on

the covenant. You understand that, friends?

And when January starts, before January starts, we are in

covenant. And after January ends, we are

still in covenant. And So what happens, Rory, if I

miss two months of tithing? You're still in covenant.

No one's checking, but be careful the vultures, because

they can steal with you what's absolutely important to live in

fullness. You understand I'm free, but

there's also robbery. Understand that.

And in that. Place we find.

Unbelievable freedom. You are able to go to your

father's in peace and be buried at a good old age in the 4th

generation. Your descendants will come back

here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached

this full measure when the sun had set and.

Darkness had fallen. A smoking fire pot with a

blazing torch. Appeared and passed.

Between the pieces on that day the Lord made a covenant and

said to your descendants, I'll give this land from the river of

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

Kenneth Skinnerzides, Cadmanites, Hittites,

Pirozzites, Riphites, Amorites, Canonites, Gigazites, Jebusites

and Stillbiites. You know how God cut the?

Covenant. He put Abraham to sleep.

You and I have got absolutely no role.

In the covenant. It's made by him and it's kept

by him even when we don't keep it and he.

Says I'm going to give. You a piece of land from here to

here to here to here. And no.

One can steal that land. Away from you.

Said What happens if I'm sleeping, Lord?

He said I'm going to do it. While you're sleeping and what

he's basically saying how covenant works is if I don't

keep my end, I'll end up like these animals dead and people

enter covenant in marriage and I think when the pressure.

Gets tough. They just say cheers guys.

I'm out of here. That little piece of white

paper, No, friends. That little piece of white paper

is actually. Animals cut in half and

eventually. Because it becomes very.

Dark. It's fast.

Asleep eventually, God says in order to implement.

This. Now I'm going to have to do this

in the New Testament. I'm going to have to make

everything dark and I'm going to have to cut my son.

The blood of the new Covenant, The blood of the.

New Covenant. You see, friends, we we enter

into Covenant very quickly. Say what they do in the gangs,

they cut here, they cut here and they say.

We Blood Brothers. And then you've got to keep the

covenant. But God said, I tell you what,

I'm going to cut my son. And that blood is going to.

Be enough after. This.

And before this. And after this.

And before this. And after this and before this

and after this, and before this and after this and before this

and after this and before this and after this and before this

and after this and before this. And you're saying, what about if

I mess up December and January? Then may the brackets of the

credited covenant of God cover you.

But remember. Be careful, the vultures.

Thank you.