Abraham’s Bond - 9/30/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

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Meadows Baptist Church of Walnut Cove,

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friends. Now, let's join Pastor [music]

Charlie Branch with a word from God.

Continuing our study in the life of

Abraham [snorts]

indeed. Um, one of the most influential

characters upon the pages of scripture

and in history. And we're going to look

talk a little bit about that uh tonight.

And uh I think it's very important to

understand the Bible. Uh somebody said

they spoke it spoke this about Genesis

that Genesis is the key uh to the Bible

and I believe that and uh every primary

doctrine uh of the scriptures is has its

origin here uh in the book of Genesis

and some of it mostly in type but and

figure um but all the doctrines of the

Bible can be found uh in the book of

Genesis and I think Abraham is one of

the most influential characters

definitely probably the influential

character when it comes to our

salvation, understanding the covenants

and all of that. We're going to talk a

little bit about that this evening.

Let's look in Genesis 17. I really need

to read the whole chapter, but I'll not

do that for sake of time uh tonight.

We'll just select a few verses here and

read those and then we'll uh give you uh

the message tonight. Genesis 17 verse

number one. And when Abram was 90 years

old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram

and said unto him, I am the Almighty

God. Walk before me and be thou perfect.

And I will make my covenant between me

and thee, and will multiply thee

exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face.

And God talked with him, saying, As for

me, behold, my covenant is with thee,

and thou shalt be a father of many

nations. Neither shall thy name anymore

be called Abram, but thy name shall be

called Abraham. For a father of many

nations have I made thee, and I will

make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will

make nations of thee, and kings shall

come out of thee. And I will establish

my covenant between me and thee, and thy

seed after thee in their generations,

for an everlasting covenant, to be a God

unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

Notice with me verse number 10. This is

my covenant which ye shall keep between

me and you and thy seed after thee.

Every manch child among you shall be

circumcised, and ye shall circumcise the

flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be

a token of the covenant betw twix me and

you. And he that is 8 days old shall be

circumcised among you, every manchild in

your generations. He that is born in the

house or bought with money of any

stranger which is not of thy seed. He

that is born in thy house and he that is

bought with thy money must needs be

circumcised and my covenant shall be in

your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

Notice verse number 15. And God said

unto Abram, as for Sarah thy wife, thou

shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah

shall her name be. And I will bless her

and give thee a son also of her. Yay, I

will bless her, and ye, she shall be a

mother of nations, kings of people shall

be of her. Verse number 19. And God

said, Sarah, thy wife shall bear thee a

son indeed, and thou shalt call his name

Isaac, and I will establish my covenant

with him for an everlasting covenant,

and with his seed after him. And then I

want you to notice just a couple of

verses here at the end of the chapter,

and we'll leave off reading tonight. The

Bible says in verse number 24 that Abram

was 90 years old and nine when he was

circumcised in the flesh of his

foreskin. And Ishmael his son was 13

years old when he was circumcised in the

flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame

day was Abraham circumcised and Ishmael

his son and all the men of his house

born in the house and bought with money

of the stranger were circumcised with

him. Father, I ask you humbly tonight

that you would help us as we look in

this text that I realize, Father,

there's great importance, Lord, with

these these uh verses that we've read

tonight, Lord, some of the foundational

truths of the word of God is found in

this chapter. And I pray, Lord, tonight

that you would help us, God, to hear

them, to heed them, and Lord, to hide

them in our heart tonight, Lord, that we

might receive help from the days to

come. And Lord, I pray God you'd get

glory unto yourself. Remove the flesh

from us. Clothe us in our calling. Speak

to us and through us. And God, make the

applications, God, that you would have

us to make tonight. And we sure love

you. Thank you for loving us. Bless

these people tonight. I love them so

much, God. Thank you for them. We ask

all this in Jesus name. Amen. Genesis

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17 is marked by a departure or

marked by a uh what's the word I want to

use here? There's a distance in time.

That's the word I'm looking for between

chapter 16 verse 16 and chapter 17

verse1. Now we did not look at the

entirety of chapter 16. The last several

verses of chapter 16 detail to us the

story of Hagar meeting with the Lord in

the text. And the Bible tells us in the

last few verses of chapter 16 that Hagar

bare Abram a son and Abram called his

son's name which Hagar bare Ishmael.

Notice verse 16. And Abram was four

score and six years old when Hagar bare

Ishmael to Abram. So verse 16 of chapter

16 tells us that Abram is 86 years old.

And so from chapter 16 verse 16 to

chapter 17 and verse number one there's

a gap of 13 years that is mentioned here

in this text. And it's 13 years uh not

just of a gap but it's 13 years of

silence. And I I'll say this tonight we

know what Abram did. Chapter 16 is the

the history of Abram's sin, his failure,

where uh I titled it, I believe it was

the breach of Abraham, the probably the

greatest failure he had in his life was

in chapter 16. And out of that failure

would proceed 13 years of silence in

this text. And I think it's interesting

to me that you do not see the Lord

talking to Abram in chapter number 16,

but you see the Lord talking to Hagar.

And Abram never hears a word from God

through all of that. A lot we could say

about that but I simply want to say that

to make this point in verse number one

look what the Bible says when Abram was

90 years old and n and so we see tonight

number one we see Abram the aged is here

in the text he's 99 years old 13 years

of silence the Lord has not spoken unto

him and I I wonder tonight if that

silence is because of his sin but I want

to say this nonetheless those were

silent years and you think about the

fact tonight of the lifespan plan that

we have. Uh many of us will not live to

see that age. I hope every one of us do

in here. But I'll be honest with you

tonight, the reality is Abram is at an

age now and a point most of us will

never see. And you see that Abram is

still not to the point where God wants

him to be. You think about this tonight.

I believe personally the reason why

Abram has not had a child. I know number

one is because God it's not time in

God's calendar yet. But I wonder if

Abram has delayed his child being

brought to him by his sin. I think we

delay the blessings of God in our life.

>> I think that's possible. If you choose

to walk in disobedience to the Lord, it

is quite possible what God intends for

you may be pushed down the road for

years to come. And so we see Abram here.

He he's old in the text. He's 90 years

99 years old. But I love the Bible. And

I'm thankful that where man's uh

fleshliness, man's carnality is

prevalent, I'm thankful that God's grace

far extends that. Amen. The Bible said

there in the book of Romans, where sin

abounded, grace did much more abound.

Abram's years are being counted as a

measure of sin. You think about that.

Years would have never been kept up with

if it hadn't been because of sin.

I know you had to chew on that for a

little a minute to think about, but the

truth is, you think about Adam and Eve

in the garden, they'd live forever.

years wouldn't have mattered if it

hadn't been because of sin. And so this

measure of years as a representation of

sin. But you see, right in in contrast

with the sin of humankind, there is the

sovereignty of God in verse one. Notice

what the Bible says. When Abram was 90

years old and nine, the Lord appeared to

Abram. Listen to this. And said unto

him, I am the Almighty God. And so we

see the age of Abram in the text. But

I'm thankful that the almighty God, he's

not gotten any older. Amen. He's not

lost any ability. Age has not affected

him at all. But you see, God's exactly

the same at this moment as he was 13

years before. And all of that time

before when he was in earth cities. God

has not changed. Age has not affected

him. Sin has not hindered him. Amen. And

so God here in the text, he comes to

Abram and he says, "I am the almighty

God." the first appearance in the text

of the Hebrew word El Shadai. That's

what this is in the text, the almighty

God. And God here has revealed himself

not as Jehovah in this text, but he is

revealing himself to Abram as what Abram

needs in this moment. And and we see

that contrast on the pages of scripture

where Abram's 99 years old. What do we

know the age does? Our strength begins

to wne. Ain't that right? God says, "My

strength's not changed."

>> Amen. And just exactly for what Abram

needed in this moment, he's still

telling Abram the same story. Hey, what

I told you I was going to do, he's going

to spin this chapter. And he's going to

tell him furthermore about how he's

going to do it. Amen. But it's still not

going to happen in this chapter. And

Abram, it's going to be years down the

road, a year down the road before Isaac

shows up. But we find in this text that

the Almighty has not changed. And he

puts these words out to Abram here in

verse number one. He says, "I am the

Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou

perfect." And so we see the aged in the

text. And we see the Almighty that's

mentioned in the text. But then we

notice the attributes that God describes

that he is requesting or really

commanding Abram to obey and to present

in his life. He says, "Walk before me

and be thou perfect." Now, simply put

tonight, that's two things. That phrase

to walk before him simply means that

there is to be closeness. that Abram is

to desire to stay close to the Lord.

Now, we don't have a history of the past

13 years. We don't know how Abram's life

has been. But I can tell you this. God

is reminding him one more time that you

need to stay close to me.

>> Amen.

>> I want to say this. I'm thankful that

we're not like Abram and we don't have

to wait for an audible voice to heaven

from heaven.

>> We have the word of God that can tell us

any day and every day that we go to it

that we need to stay close to him. Amen.

That's why Paul said to the Ephesians

church, he said, "Walk circumspectly."

He said, "Redeeming the time because the

days are evil." And that exhortation can

come to us anytime you open the pages of

the word of God. But God one more time

is reminding Abram. He says you need to

be close to me. But I want to say this.

He doesn't only say you need to be close

to me, but he says you need to be

committed to me. Look what he says. Walk

before me and be thou perfect. Now,

there's been a lot of ideas. I've even

presented some to you that that word uh

perfection speaks of completeness. We

know that there never will be sinless

perfection on our part on this side. We

understand the harder we try. Many times

it seems like the more we fail, we

should always strive. Amen. To be as

clean as we can be, but I'll be honest

with you tonight, there is a perfection

that we can attain to. And you say,

"What do you mean?" Well, I'm not saying

that you can be perfectly clean and

completely sinless. you you you cannot

be at a place where you are are perfect

in that sense morally complete in that

sense and I've even said that before

that there's a moral uprightness that

that a Christian can have that they are

blameless so to speak and I understand

that all of us are sinful so really I

believe what one writer I was reading

after today I believe what he said about

it there is one place that a Christian

can be complete and perfect in and

that's your surrender

>> so what do you mean you can be complete

completely and totally surrendered to

God. He says,"Abram, you walk before

me." He says, "And be thou perfect."

He's saying, "You commit yourself to me

totally."

Putting everything else aside,

Abram, you're not ever going to be

perfect. You're not ever going to be

morally upright completely, but you can

be committed to me completely. I want to

say this tonight. I'm reminded of the

Apostle Paul. He was definitely not

perfect. We even see some of his

failures on the pages of scripture. But

he was able to tell Timothy at the end

of his life that he had done what God

told him to do.

>> He said, "I fought a good fight. I've

finished my course." That's alluding to

that perfection. He did what God asked

him to do. And there is a perfection

that we can arrive at. And it is that

perfection of submission. Is there

something in your heart between you and

the Lord tonight? And that would hinder

this closeness, this committedness or

this completeness, whatever you want to

call it tonight, this perfection in your

life. If there's anything that would

stand between you and God being

completely committed to him, I I submit

to you that's the first thing you ought

to remove in your life.

>> Amen.

>> Whatever is standing between you and God

being completely connected and nothing

between your soul and the savior. Notice

a couple of things. I'll give you three

things tonight. We'll be done. We see

the uh promise that's given in verse

two. And I will make my covenant between

me and thee. Will multiply thee

exceedingly. We see the performance of

that promise in verse two. He says, I'll

multiply thee exceedingly. Speaking of

his seed, his family line, he would be

multiplied exceedingly. We'll say more

about that in just a minute. But then I

notice Abram's posture in verse three.

The Bible says, "And Abram fell on his

face and God talked with him, saying,"

then God for the rest of the chapter all

the way up to verse number 22, with the

exception of just two verses is going to

converse with Abram. I'll submit to you

tonight, a lot of the way that you

approach God has to do with your

posture. And I'm not talking about just

physically speaking. I believe it's the

posture of the heart. We come to him

bowing to him in reverence. We don't

come to him with a sack of burdens that

we want to place on him and then just,

you know, go our merry way. But the

truth is, he wants some. He's got some

things he wants to put on us that we

need to leave with. There's a burden he

has asked for us to bear. And I notice

in this Abram falls on his face. He

falls on his face out of reverence. One

writer said more than likely that this

was the uh theophony of pre-incarnate

appearing of Jesus Christ. And so all of

those that view viewed him in his

glorified state, I'm reminded of there

in the garden, we see that Christ speaks

and those men, all of them, the

Pharisees that had come to take him, he

speaks and they all fall on their back.

It was the glory of his word. It was the

brightness of his shining that caused

him to fall to his knees. Just like the

Apostle Paul before he was saw on

Damascus road, the brightness of the

Lord caused him to fall on his face. And

I want to say this. When you really meet

with God, you only have one way to meet

with him. That's humbly.

>> You won't come to him any other way.

>> Because he, the Bible says, you know,

James said, "He resisteth the proud,

>> but he giveth grace to the humble." I

want to give you three things. Summarize

this chapter. There's absolutely no way

we could look at everything in this

chapter in one message tonight. And I

was telling my wife, I said, "The

hardest thing about this chapter is is

me trying not to say everything that's

already been said, but I also want to

make sure I give you everything that's

here." You see, chapter 17 is a review

of these covenants. Now, we we talked

about these the the covenant that was

made with Abram in chapter number 15. We

talked about all that God showed him in

the text, but there's this is a further

revelation. years have passed and God is

giving him a greater view of these

covenants. This covenant that he's going

to make with them and that's established

eternally in the text. And there's three

things tonight. I'll give you these

three and we'll be done. We'll see first

of all the sign here given of the

covenant. We'll see second of all the

seal of the covenant. Then we'll see the

sign of the covenant. And you say,

"Preacher, we've already heard all

that." Well, this text right here's got

a lot more in it. All right? You don't

need to miss that. God's not repeating

himself for no reason. And there's

reason for that. And so I want you to

notice first of all tonight the sign

that's mentioned verse number four as

God has is talking with Abram in verse

three verse4 he says as for me and so

this beginning portion of the covenant I

love this is made on God's terms and you

know and I want to tell you this tonight

for us who are saved tonight we ought to

thank God that our salvation that

scripture and the spirit of God it's all

written out and kept by his terms.

>> Right. Amen. They can't none of us

change that,

>> right?

>> It's not alterable. It's the will of

God. It's that written will of God that

cannot be changed. And God here in the

text is giving Abram his will. As for

me, he says, God is speaking about

himself. Listen to what he says. Verse

four, behold, my covenant is with thee.

So, that right there tells me that this

is an unconditional covenant. Said, what

do you mean? God has established this

with Abram and it's not pending on

anything that Abram does. You say,

"Preacher, well, circumcision's coming."

Just hold on a minute. We'll talk about

that in a minute. But that does not have

any effect on the covenant. But notice

this. He says, "My covenant is with

thee. Thou shalt be a father of many

nations." Verse 5, "Neither shall thy

name anymore be called Abram, but thy

name shall be called Abraham. For a

father of many nations have I made thee.

So the sign of this covenant number one

is this new name. You notice not only

this new name is given to Abram. His

name is changed from Abram to Abraham.

Abraham is how we know him, right? We

think about Abraham. He's the father of

the faith. That's how he's noted all the

way through scripture. That's what Jesus

called him in the book of John chapter

number eight. Before Abraham was I am.

Amen. And so it's mentioned here that

his new name is the sign of this

covenant. It's also given to Sarah in

chapter number uh 17 and verse number

15. And God said unto Abraham, as for

Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not cover her

name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

Now number one, you need to understand

the implication of this name. So what do

you mean? Well, it's mentioned in verse

five. But thy name shall be Abraham for.

You see that colon and then the word

for. This is the description of his

name. A father of many nations have I

made thee. So you say, "Preacher, what

did Abram mean?" It means, if you look

it up in its etmology in the Hebrew, it

means an exalted father. But God changes

his name from an exalted father as he's

a high father as one that was caught out

of the Caldes, but now he is a father of

multitudes.

And I want you to think about this with

me for a minute. Abram has one child

and he is going to have his name changed

and now he's going to request all those

around him to recognize him this way.

Now you think about how that must have

made him feel. He has one child. My

name's changed. God changed my name from

Abram and exalted father. You know that

could apply to Ishmael. One child. But

he says now I'm a father of multitudes.

Don't you think there was probably some

people that looked down their nose at

him? But you think about what we know

now. One writer said this. Matthew Henry

said, "There have been and are more of

the children of men descended from

Abraham than from any one man at an

equal distance with him from Noah, the

common root." You think about this. All

of Ishmael's children, the Muslim

people, is the greatest people group in

this world in number that is. And if

that's not enough, then you have Israel,

Isaac's children. But then you don't

only have Ishmael's children and Isaac's

children, but you have his other wife,

Coutura, and her three children. And out

of that are more of Arabian nations.

Abram has more children than

any descendant in this time. You think

about this. That's that was God

fulfilling his promise,

>> right?

>> We see it, don't we?

>> The implication is many look what he

says. A father of many nations have I

made thee. But this is where we we stop.

Many people stop when they get to that

point, but they miss the point of

Abram's new name. You see, Abram's new

name, Abraham, is not just for the

nations that were to come after him, but

this is for him. You say, "Preacher,

what do you mean?" Well, this name is

given to him by God. In verse 5, neither

shall thy name be anymore be called

Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham,

multitude of nations. And so there's not

only an implication here of his children

would be many, but there's an insertion

here. And you say, "What is that?" Well,

there's an insertion of the name in

Hebrew for God. Say, "What do you mean?"

Well, there's two letters added. Verse

number five, notice it. Abram is abraham

is ab

a ha m. Notice this in the text. All

right. You say, "Preacher, what does

that mean?" Well, the ah in the Hebrew,

Yahweh, Jehovah in the Hebrew is Yahweh.

And it's that Yah. That's the name for

God. And so what God is doing is he's

inserting his name into Abram and it

makes it Abraham. You say, "What does

that mean?" God's putting his name on

Abraham.

God's saying he's mine. Amen.

>> Notice this in the text. You say,

"Preacher, what do you mean?" Notice

verse 15. God said unto Abraham, "As for

Sarah, thy wife, thou shalt not call her

name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name

be." You look up the word Sarai. There's

a lot of disagreement about what her

name means. The best thing I could find

on it was this was that Sarai means my

princess. Her her parents named her my

princess. But then when you look at her

name changed to Sarah, it means the

prince, it means the princess.

Basically, one writer put it this way

that G she would be the mother of who

Jesus would come from. Let me give you

this. All right, you know the verse. We

actually just looked at this the other

day. Matthew chapter number one.

Just draw some dots here if we can.

Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

Listen to what Matthew says about Jesus.

Matthew chapter number one and verse

number one. The book of the generation

of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the

son of Abraham.

Jesus is recognized as being the son of

David first. He's the root of Jesse, the

seed of David, but he's the son of

Abraham.

And their names are changed. That ah is

tacking on the name God. Do you see

where's else is that? Can anybody tell

me the names? The Hebrew names of

Shadrach, Meach, and Abednego. Somebody

tell me those Hebrew names. Somebody

know those. No, you do.

Haniah, Mishel, and Azerai. And what?

Daniel's name. So, when you look at all

of those Hebrew names, Hebrew names have

meanings. We know that. All right?

You're no stranger to that. So, Daniel,

the eel on the end, that's the name for

God. Eel is God. Elohim is the triune

God. God the Father, God the Son, God

the Holy Ghost. Daniel, uh, Haniah,

Mishel, it's the same. And then the ah

on the end of Haniah is Yah. That's the

Hebrew name, the letter for God. Haniah,

Mishel, and Azeriah. And when

Nebuchadnezzar changed their names, what

was he doing? He was removing God

>> from their name. You see in this text,

God is inserting his name on them. You

know what happened when you got saved?

You got a new name. But what does that

name refer to? It's a brand. But you

belong to him. Ain't that right? We are

heirs and joint hes. We are sons and

daughters of God. He's given us his

name. And the truth is he in this text

it is the insertion God. What he's doing

is he says I'm my covenant. I'm

connecting you in so much, not that it's

just in writing legally, but I'm

connecting you, Abraham. Every time

Sarah says your name and every time you

say her name, you're going to remember

God's on us.

>> I'm putting it in your name. That's why

they would call their names. I believe

it was I think it was uh Yes. Yes, it

was Ruth. We think about Naomi, her

husband. Maybe it was Elcana, I think it

is. His name means my God is king. And

when you look at that, all of that

emphasis is on the name his it's God.

Those names are names that that they

would name their children and

representing them, connecting them unto

God. And God in this text is identifying

with them. He's inserting his name into

theirs. That was far greater than the

implication that he would have many

children. Think about what God is doing

for him. He's promised him something,

but you realize what he's do putting on

him right now is far greater than what

he would ever receive to be called by

his name.

What a wonder. This is the sign, the new

name. You say, "Preacher, what is the

sign of the covenant?" Well, every time

his name is said, that would be a a

signature, a stamp, so to speak, that

the covenant is sealed. God says, "I'm

changing your name no more to be called

Abram again." The covenant is sealed by

the sign of the name. I hope that makes

sense to you. Notice, not only this,

this covenant new name is is has an

implication. There's an insertion of

God's name, Yah, in the in the name, and

then there's also the immortality of

this name. Notice verse number six and

7. And I will make thee seed and

fruitful. I will make nations of thee,

and kings shall come out of thee. And I

will establish my covenant between me

and thee, and thy seed after thee in

their generations. Notice this, for an

everlasting what? Covenant. He would no

more be called Abram. This name stands

for time and for eternity. And so God

has inserted himself into Abram's life.

Now, before the Calvinists jump out of

their clothes at me, all right, you're

saying that God put his name against

Abram's will? No. Abram took it

willingly.

God did this for him. But you know what?

Abram received it.

>> That's right.

>> He didn't reject that. God has never

went against the will of man.

>> That's right.

>> You realize that, man. I tell you, we

there's so many people they get all out

of sorts on that preacher. God hardened

Pharaoh's heart. Pharaoh's heart was

already hard. And Pharaoh had already

decided that what he was going to do was

destroy the children of Israel. And so

God says, "Since you've already made up

your mind what you're going to do, I'm

just going to go ahead and let you do

it. But I'm going to help you do it."

>> Right?

>> What you decide to do, he won't make you

decide. But after you decide, he might

help you in what you're doing.

>> Right?

>> Oh, man. Boy, I tell you, that makes

them mad when you say that right there.

But I'm telling you the truth tonight.

This is an immortal name. this covenant

that is given here in the text. You say,

"Preacher, how isn't an immortal name?"

Well, let's go to Luke 16 for a minute,

the rich man and Lazarus. What does the

Bible say? He he he when the rich man

died and went to hell, he said he looked

up and saw Lazarus in whose bosom?

>> Abraham. Now, there's a lot we could I'm

not trying to confuse you right there,

okay? But there's reasons why this name

stands because he is the father of all

that believe.

And it is in his bosom that all of those

saints dwelt from the Old Testament

until the time came that Christ entered

into the heart of the earth and led

captivity captive. They dwelt in the

bosom of Abraham because he is the

father of the faith. Notice not only the

immortal name, but notice the

involvement of God in their covenant in

verse number seven. In the last part in

verse eight, he says verse number seven,

I will establish my covenant between me

and thee and thy seed after thee in

their generations for an everlasting

covenant to be a God. Notice that to be

a God unto thee and to thy seed after

thee. God made this covenant for Abram's

sake.

Notice that to be a God. A he's making

this covenant with Abraham for what he

can do for him.

You know, this is our problem with

Christianity. That's the way we view

God.

We think it's all about us. But you

know, the reason why Abram got this

blessing is is because it wasn't all

about him to him. Here's what'll happen

in your life. When you put God first,

he'll put you first,

>> so to speak. And I want I want to say

this and make this clear tonight. The

truth is he loves me like I was his only

child.

>> He treats us all as good as he would any

of the rest of us. But I'm going to tell

you this. You got as much God as you

want. And Abram is expressed here. It's

expressed to Abraham his involvement in

their life. He said in verse 7, "To be a

God unto them, to thy seed after thee.

And I will give unto thee until thy seed

after thee the land wherein thou art a

stranger all the land of Canaan and for

an everlasting possession, and I will be

their God." He is wanting to be involved

in his people's lives. He cares about

them. And so the sign of this new name

is given here in the text concerning the

covenant. Notice number two. And I got

to move. Notice the seal of the

covenant.

The Bible says in verse number nine. And

God said unto Abram, "Thou shalt keep my

covenant. Therefore, thou and thy seed

after thee in their generations. This is

my covenant which ye shall keep between

me and you, and thy seed after thee.

Every man child among you shall be

circumcised." So there is the seal of

this covenant in the text. Now, when we

think of a seal, we think of something

that makes it valid. All right? Let me

say something to you. When God's

covenant's made, his seal is what

establishes that. Okay?

>> Let's let's get this down where we live.

Jesus Christ died for the sins of the

whole world. And his death was the seal.

>> All right? But this seal of circumcision

that he's referring to is the same seal.

It's a representation of the seal of the

Holy Spirit in our life. You see what

happens is is this seal is on our end

not on God's end. It does not change the

nature of the covenant. God made a

covenant with the world for God so loved

the world that he gave his only begotten

son that what whosoever believeth. So on

God's end the whole world

is connected to that. Isn't that right?

But on our end what's the seal of the

covenant? The Holy Ghost the Bible said

is the earnest of the spirit. He has put

within the evidence is there. The Holy

Ghost is the evidence that God has made

the covenant for us.

You get that? And when we get to heaven

one of these days, the Holy Spirit's no

longer not just going to be in us, but

we'll be in his presence forever. We are

now on this earth. We are as a a bride

here on the earth. We are a spouse to a

husband. And when we get to heaven will

be the wedding.

>> And so, we are given the earnest of the

spirit, that down payment. It's that

wedding dowy. I hope you understand what

I'm saying. It is that engagement ring

that seals us until we get there.

>> And so circumcision has nothing to do

with salvation in this matter. Now we

could look at this in another aspect

tonight. You say, "Preacher, this

circumcision, it says in verse number 10

that ye shall keep my covenant." Well,

this is where the difference comes in.

The covenant is made. God has

established that. It cannot be changed.

God is going to keep his people Israel

in spite of them. God has not cast away

his people which he forneew. Okay, we

know that according to the book of

Romans. But what this means is verse 10.

This is my covenant which ye shall keep

between me and you and thy seed after

thee. Every man child among you shall be

circumcised. Ye shall circumcise the

flesh of yours foreskin. And it shall be

a token of the covenant between me and

you. Here is the symbol. All right.

You've got to think number one about

where this where this seal is seen.

Where's this seal at? It's in the flesh,

right?

What are we called to be in the flesh?

Salvation spiritual, right? All right.

Don't stay with me, okay? Salvation

spiritual.

And so, I made an image there a minute

ago of the spiritual side of that. But

on the physical side of this, what are

we called to do as children of God?

We're called to be sanctified, right?

Romans 12. For I beseech you therefore,

brethren, by the mercy of God, that you

present your bodies a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable unto God, which is a

reasonable service. Be not conformed to

this world, but be you transformed by

the renewing of your minds may prove

what is that good and acceptable and

perfect will of God. There's a

cleanliness in the flesh that we are to

adhere to. And so this circumcision is

an outward mark. You Let's see. Let's

just be honest. God knows who's a Jew

and who ain't.

>> God knows who's saved and who ain't.

That's right.

>> You know what the seal is for? The seal

is for us

>> to know who is and who ain't. Now, I

understand this text. This is something

that's hidden. Okay? But you've got to

realize in this text, this command is

given. It's continual. Verse 10. Every

manchild among you shall be circumcised

between me and you and thy seed after

thee. It's a continual seal. It's a

carnal seal. Ye shall circumcise the

flesh of your foreskin. It is a notice.

You notice the condition that is given.

You say, "Preacher, what happens when

those um that did not receive this? What

happens to them when they did not take

this? Do they lose their salvation?" No,

they don't. Notice verse 14. And the

uncircumcised manchild whose flesh of

his foreskin is not circumcised, that

soul shall be cut off from who? From his

people. Now, who is he not cut off from?

From God.

Give you an example. I ain't got time to

preach all this. Notice with me Exodus

Exodus 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

We may leave off with this and come back

to it at a later date. I don't want to

keep you all night. Exodus chapter 4.

Exodus 4 · chapter mention

Moses has went to the wilderness. He's

lived with his father-in-law Jethro.

Exodus 4 verse number notice verse

number 23.

And I say unto thee, let my son go that

he may serve me. And if thou refuse to

let him go, behold, I will slay thy son,

even thy firstborn. This is God telling

Moses what he's going to say to Pharaoh.

Verse 22, thou shalt say unto Pharaoh,

thus sayith the Lord, Israel is my son,

even my firstborn, I say unto thee, let

my son go, that he may serve me. And if

thou refuse to let him go, behold, I

will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

Verse 24, listen to this. All right? And

it came to pass, by the way, in the inn,

this is where Moses was staying, that

inn is a campsite or a dwelling place,

that the Lord met him and sought to kill

him. Now, let me ask you something. That

don't make much sense, does it? [crying]

God's just told him in verse 22, "All

right, you're going back to Pharaoh. You

got to tell him this, this, and this

about Israel." Moses is in his campment

going back toward Israel, going back

toward Egypt to tell Pharaoh that curse

is coming. And God, the Bible said in

verse 24, that the Lord met who? Moses,

and sought to kill him. Notice what

happens in verse 25. Then Zapora took a

sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of

her son and cast it at his feet and

said, "Surely a bloody husband art thou

to me." So he let him go. Then she said,

"A bloody husband thou art because of

the circumcision." Moses had been

circumcised, but who had not been

circumcised? His son. Why had he not

been circumcised? Because they had lived

with his father-in-law, Jethro. But when

God had something for Moses to do, you

know who the Moses had to deal with that

issue in his home. There's a whole

another sermon in that, but Moses had to

deal with that issue in his home because

his son's flesh had not been separated.

This is the image. It is not a

destruction of the bo of the soul in

hell because it's not a spiritual

matter. Here's what it does. It hinders

you in this life. Here's what I'll

compare that to. All right. Baptism and

that fleshly symbol. Some people say,

"Well, you don't have to be baptized to

go to heaven." And I would agree with

that. That man on the cross, the thief,

what do we know about him? He died just

moments after he said, "Lord, remember

me when thou comest into thy paradise."

And so or when thou comest into thy

kingdom today shalt thou be with me in

paradise. They die. He goes with the

Lord. Amen. Into paradise. Never been

baptized. All right. So what do we know

about baptism? Baptism is a ordinance

just like the Lord's supper is. And if

you are truly saved by the grace of God,

those two things, the Lord's supper and

baptism are something that you will want

to do.

>> Circumcision is something that the

parents of that child would want to do.

You remember what is recognized in

Hebrews 11. I know this is a lot of

connections, but don't lose me right

here. Hebrews 11, the Bible says in

Hebrews 11 about Moses. All right. It

says, "By faith Moses." And then what

does it say? Does it say anything about

Moses first? No. It says, "By faith

Moses when he was yet a child, he was

hid of his parents." What was that

referencing? His mom and daddy's faith.

And so they circumcised him. But you

know what? She put him in that little

basket. He ended up in Pharaoh's house.

And then he lived with them all the

time. All that time being an Israelite,

he was circumcised, set apart, separated

from the world. And when it come time

for him to choose, you know what he

choose? He choose to suffer with the

with the Israelites rather than enjoy

the pleasures of sin for a season

because his mom and daddy chose faith.

That faith had been put into him. Here's

the illustration. I know that's a long

way around the world to make a point,

but the illustration is is that matter

of circumcision is you identifying

yourself with God. The covenant is made.

God's identifying with you.

>> Ain't that right?

>> Abraham was say he would have went to

heaven regardless. But the Bible tells

us Romans 4 that he did this because he

knew that that was what God wanted him

to do. And it was an act of obedience to

God. And it was the seal of the covenant

that said Abram could say after he did

that, I'm a child of God. God said,

Abram, if you gonna have my name,

Abraham, if you're going to have my

name, you got to be marked

and you got to choose it. You know what?

If you're a child of God tonight, if you

have his name, you ought to be marked

that way. And you know who makes the

mark? You do.

>> That's good preaching tonight. even if I

am doing it. Father, thank you for this

day. Thank you for this word. Lord, I

ask you God that you would please help

us tonight to adhere to this truth.

Lord, I realize God tonight that the

world says we don't have to be separate.

But Lord, you told us in your word,

wherefore come out from among them and

be you separate, sayith the Lord, and

touch not the unclean thing. And Lord,

you said you would receive us. And God,

I pray that you would help us to embrace

that truth. Lord, I wish that I could

have put all this in there tonight, but

Lord, you know what we need better than

I do. Lord, I humbly ask tonight, God,

please, that you would take this word

and write it on our hearts. God, that we

would remember the covenant you've made

with us. You've given us a new name, but

Lord, you've called us to mark ourselves

in this world, Lord, that we may be

different from those that are lost and

out there in the world. Help us to be

different as we go forth our ways

tonight. Help us to shine the light of

Jesus that all the world would see. What

a privilege you've given to us. Bless

these people tonight. I love them and I

appreciate them. And Lord, I pray you

give them a special blessing for being

here tonight. We ask all this in Jesus

name. Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it [music] if you'd join us in

person the next time you are able at

Meadows Baptist Church. Our physical

[music] address is 2988 Stewart Road in

Walnut Cove, [music] North Carolina. Our

service times are Sunday school at 10:00

a.m., Sunday morning worship [music] at

11:00 a.m., Sunday evening worship at

6:00 p.m., and Wednesday evening Bible

study at 700 p.m. [music]

For more information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.