Covenant - God Pursues.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] My name is Steve. I am one of the pastors here.

[0:05] What a privilege it is to to come before you this morning and share the gospel [0:09] of Jesus Christ, just caught up in singing about Jesus. [0:15] And that’s what we’re here to preach about this morning. [0:18] If you haven’t been here the past few weeks, [0:21] we’re in the middle of a series called Doctrine, What Christians Should Believe. [0:26] And what we’re doing is we’re taking 12 weeks

[0:28] and we’re basically going through what we believe [0:32] as a local church, what we believe about the Bible, [0:35] what we believe about God, what we believe about his plan for the world, [0:39] what we believe about where he is taking the world. [0:42] And today you have come to a very interesting day. [0:45] And it’s the day where we’re going to talk about the covenants

[0:49] that God has made. [0:51] And when I was in seminary, [0:53] the one class that no one really took a great deal of joy [0:58] out of was Old Testament history. [1:01] If you have done any type of studying and specialized history, [1:05] you know that the stories can be redundant and it can be a bit boring

[1:09] when you’re talking about a lot of facts and a lot of dates. [1:13] So I just want to let you know, this morning, we’re going to cover [1:15] a few thousand years of history today in the Old Testament. [1:19] And I know each and every one of you are so excited about that this morning [1:22] that you could probably barely wait to get here just to hear about it. [1:26] But I want to talk about it through a different lens

[1:29] than we’re probably used to looking at the Old Testament, [1:32] because here’s what typically happens in culture [1:36] and oftentimes within the church. [1:38] What we do is we look at the stories of the Old Testament [1:42] and we’ll look at something like the story of King David [1:46] and how he kills Goliath.

[1:48] And here’s what we’ll do with it is we’ll say, OK, [1:51] as God gave David the strength to kill Goliath, [1:55] what are the giants in my life that I need to slay? [2:01] You know, and we’ll look at at different stories in the Old Testament [2:04] and we’ll just simply say, OK, this is a good story. [2:08] Now, how do I apply it to my life?

[2:11] And then we get to Jesus. [2:14] And what we see in the Old Testament that is very narrative about history [2:18] in the New Testament, it’s very descriptive, a little bit about history, [2:22] but there’s a lot of prescription. [2:24] So what we do is for the Old Testament, we go there sometimes for inspiration. [2:29] And then we kind of ignore all the genocide that seems to take place.

[2:33] And then we go to the New Testament and we say, OK, here’s the commands. [2:36] Here’s how I need to live my life. [2:38] And in culture, what we often see actually at a conversation [2:42] with someone this week is that they almost believe that we follow two different gods.

[2:48] A god of the Old Testament that was very angry. [2:51] Who seemed to really want to kill a lot of people, whole nations at once. [2:57] And then we get to the New Testament and some people think, [3:00] well, that’s a different type of God, because here we find a god [3:04] that tells us we need to forgive our enemies. [3:07] Here we find a god that is about more than just one nation.

[3:11] He’s actually about all nations coming to him. [3:15] And this is a god that is obsessed with hope. [3:19] And so what we do is, is we really don’t want to go back and say, OK, [3:25] do these things fit together?

[3:30] So what we do is we say, well, that’s the Old Testament, [3:33] and that’s the New Testament. [3:33] The Old Testament doesn’t really apply today, so you can just ignore that. [3:37] Well, then it kind of begs the question in my mind. [3:40] Well, then why do I even read it? [3:43] So maybe I should just ignore it all together.

[3:45] And there’s just some history books there. [3:47] But kind of what I want to get us to this week is something that I mentioned [3:51] last week, kind of in passing, is that when we read the scriptures, [3:56] we are not reading 66 disjointed books.

[4:03] We’re reading one story. [4:06] About God redeeming people whom he loves. [4:11] And it’s not even two books. [4:16] They’re completely joined together. [4:18] They’re completely they fit together perfectly. [4:22] If we will take the time to actually look at how it all works out.

[4:28] So today, what I want to do is I really want to kind of in-depth [4:31] kind of look at four different covenants that God makes in the Old Testament. [4:36] And I want us to see what those covenants mean. [4:39] Was God faithful to those covenants? [4:42] And sometimes how we confuse those covenants and get very confused by it. [4:47] And it turns into sometimes when we look at the covenants of the Old Testament,

[4:49] we try to make charts about helicopters looking like locusts in the end. [4:54] And guillotines start coming out. [4:56] And there’s Nikolai Carpathier or somebody that’s the Antichrist. [5:00] And well, this is how Genesis fits with Revelation. [5:03] And I just want to tell you today, there’s not going to be any charts. [5:05] We’re not going to speculate on the future.

[5:08] What I want to do is I want to look at scripture and say, [5:10] does that apply to me right now? [5:14] And how do I live that case? [5:16] If you have your Bible, go ahead and open to Genesis, Chapter three. [5:18] And we’re going to go all the way from there up to the Book of Luke today. [5:24] And I promise you’ll eat lunch eventually.

[5:27] You know, it’s just the way it goes. [5:29] Jesus said, you know, man shouldn’t live by bread alone. [5:33] So, you know, if you’re hungry, just say, Lord, fill me. [5:36] No, I’m just kidding. [5:37] It’s not it’s not going to be that long. [5:39] You’ll get to lunch at some point today.

[5:45] Genesis, Chapter three, go to verse 15.

[5:52] This is God, if you were here last week, this is God judging the sin [5:56] of Adam, Eve and the serpent. [5:59] And in verse 15, I just want to single that out and then I want to jump [6:03] everything off of that verse today. [6:05] So speaking to the serpent whom Satan has used, I will put enmity between you [6:12] and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring.

[6:17] And some of you are like, that’s why I hate snakes a little bit. [6:21] Yeah, I guess. [6:22] But it’s way more than that. [6:25] OK, and here’s what he says. [6:28] He shall bruise your head [6:32] and you shall bruise his heel.

[6:38] It’s very interesting that in this entire section where Moses is recording [6:44] the judgment of God on the sins of man, where he eventually says things like [6:49] women will now have extreme pain in childbirth, where he says there will now [6:56] be a struggle, a power struggle, really, between husband and wife. [7:01] And marriage will be something that’s very difficult. [7:04] And all the married people in here said, amen.

[7:07] And then work will be exceedingly difficult. [7:11] It will no longer simply be something that’s easy, but rather it will be [7:14] by the sweat of your brow.

[7:18] But in this whole section, he says something that’s so interesting to us [7:22] about a snake bruising the heel of man, but then through man, that snake’s head. [7:29] Well, in the Hebrew there is actually crushed.

[7:34] And, you know, I don’t know about you, but I haven’t really done that in my life. [7:37] When I see a snake, I run. [7:39] I was at a team camp one time and we saw a snake in the cabin. [7:43] We were staying in and I got on a chair and a 12 year old had to get the snake out [7:47] of there. I don’t like snakes at all. [7:49] And the funny part about that story is later that day they had a rubber snake

[7:53] and they put it in my sleeping bag. [7:55] So when I went to bed that night, I didn’t see it. [7:57] I got in and all I feel is something rubbery at my feet. [8:01] And so I unzipped the sleeping bag and I thought that thing was real. [8:05] All right. I mean, I got out of there. [8:08] So you have not seen a fat man ever move that fast in your life.

[8:16] So I have never attempted to crush the head of a snake. [8:19] And some of you men are like, well, I just get a shovel and I go, well, whatever. [8:22] Good for you. All right. [8:24] I just don’t like snakes.

[8:28] I don’t know. I don’t even know how I got there.

[8:32] Sometimes when you’re up here, you just think of things and they have to come out [8:36] no matter how much you try to stop yourself. [8:38] And that just happened. [8:39] And you were here to hear it.

[8:42] We’re going to keep that in the podcast. [8:43] Don’t edit it out.

[8:47] But in Genesis 315 is where we first see [8:51] God make what I would like to refer to as a covenant. [8:54] But all a covenant really is, is a binding promise. [8:58] God makes a binding promise. [9:02] About the way history will map out and plan out. [9:07] And here’s what I want to say about that.

[9:09] It’s as if God had a plan.

[9:15] From before sin even occurred.

[9:20] And what we’re going to do now is we’re going to take a look through the rest of [9:25] history to look at how God goes about fulfilling this one prophecy that he makes. [9:35] He does not use a human being to prophesy this promise. [9:40] Rather, he takes the role of prophet in this occasion. [9:44] And he prophesies that there is coming a day where that which has entered the world [9:50] through the temptation brought about by this serpent, it will be defeated.

[9:58] And more than that, God says, I will use [10:03] the pathway through which the serpent or Satan used to get sin into the world. [10:11] I will use that same doorway to defeat it.

[10:19] And God continues about through the rest of the Old Testament, doing that very thing. [10:25] So very quickly, what I want to do is I want to take a look at a couple of the other [10:29] covenants that God makes. [10:30] A few chapters later in Genesis, Chapter six, we see in the beginning of Chapter six [10:35] that man is exceedingly sinful and has taken the rebellion of Adam and Eve and gone even [10:42] further into sin.

[10:44] And God looks at the world that he has created and he burns in a holy terror, really a [10:53] wrath for this sin. [10:54] And he chooses to then reveal that ultimate justice needs to be taken on sin, which he [11:03] cannot accept. [11:04] So when you read the story of Noah in the ark, pay more attention to something other [11:10] than simply the animals.

[11:14] We must pay attention to what God is doing. [11:17] Why does God take everybody out except Noah and his family? [11:23] Well, he does so to reveal his attribute of justice. [11:27] He cannot accept sin. [11:30] And in Chapter six, starting in verse five, this is what we read. [11:33] The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and every intention of

[11:39] the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. [11:44] And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him to his [11:50] heart. So the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the [11:55] land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that [12:00] I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. [12:06] These are the generations of Noah.

[12:08] Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. [12:11] But the reason he was blameless was that Noah walked with God. [12:17] So we have this view of all of the world and is all inclusive saying that man has every [12:23] intention of his heart and is just continually evil. [12:26] Evil has taken over where man is concerned and he’s just overcome by it. [12:34] And man does not think of God.

[12:35] Man does not worship God. [12:37] And then God chooses to put his favor on to one man. [12:41] And that is Noah. And why is that? [12:43] And it says that Noah is blameless before him. [12:45] And the reason that Noah is blameless for me is the same language. [12:49] And I’m just going to say this in passing and then you’re probably never going to worry

[12:51] about again. The same language that a few chapters earlier he says about a man named [12:55] Enoch who was just taken up by God and walked with God and then passed on to glory without [13:00] even dying. It’s the same language used for him. [13:04] But Noah walks with God. [13:06] And what we see there in the original language is this walking is this language of a [13:11] trusting and abiding and a worshiping.

[13:15] So Noah spends his life in remembrance that there is a God who created man and he seeks [13:21] to continually walk with him. [13:24] And then in verse 18, we read this, But I will establish my covenant with you and you [13:29] shall come into the ark, you your sons and your wife and your sons wives with you. [13:34] So God makes a covenant and God redeems humanity through the vessel of Noah and this [13:42] ark. So that’s a covenant that God makes.

[13:45] And we know the rest of the story. [13:47] If we went to Sunday school that Noah goes into the ark and he and his family are spared. [13:52] Then I want you to take a look a few chapters later into Genesis, Chapter 12, where we [13:57] come to this man named Abram. [14:00] The first thing I want you to know about Abram is that Abram did not worship God.

[14:05] It’s a very misunderstood thing about Abram. [14:07] We think that he’s some kind of high priest and he’s always worshiping God. [14:10] Now, according to scripture, Abram doesn’t even know who God is. [14:13] And actually, we see that Abram had idols, family gods that he wanted to take with him [14:19] on his journey, and he does it in sin.

[14:23] But in Chapter 12, we see something very interesting happen that God just inserts [14:29] himself into Abram’s life. [14:32] Because remember, what is God doing? [14:33] God is fulfilling Genesis, Chapter 3, verse 15. [14:37] And in Genesis, Chapter 12, he says, Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country [14:42] and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you, and I will

[14:45] make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will [14:49] be a blessing. [14:49] I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse and in you [14:54] all the families of the earth shall be blessed. [14:57] So God takes this one man out of many men at this point where the population of the [15:03] world has grown increasingly from Noah to Abraham or Abram at this point.

[15:07] He goes from the father to the father of nations. [15:10] That’s why his name goes to Abraham. [15:13] And then we see God insert himself into his life and he makes a few promises. [15:17] The first promise that he says is that I will make you a great nation. [15:21] I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. [15:24] So he will bless the world through him and Noah and Abraham will be a blessing.

[15:29] And then God will bless those who bless him and curse those who dishonor him and in you [15:35] all of the families of the world will be blessed. [15:36] So this is a promise that is greater than Abraham. [15:40] This is not a promise that is simply to him, but rather a promise of what God is going [15:45] to do through his descendants.

[15:49] That through his descendants, God is going to bless the entire world. [15:56] OK, then I want to go to another covenant. [16:00] And if you’re confused, a promise, it’s all going to come together in the end. [16:03] All right. In Exodus, Chapter three, we see a man named Moses, a descendant of Abraham.

[16:10] OK, remember what God has promised Abraham to make him a great nation. [16:14] And Moses is one of the vessels through which that promise is fulfilled in Exodus, [16:18] Chapter three, starting in verse seven. [16:20] Then the Lord said, now you have to understand Moses. [16:24] If you know the story, he was adopted and became one of the Pharaoh’s children. [16:29] He was adopted into his family and then he killed a man who was beating in Israelite.

[16:34] And then he runs into the wilderness and he hides. [16:36] And at this point, he’s kind of tending to his sheep and he’s in hiding and he walks [16:41] by a bush and it’s burning, but the bush is not withering under the fire. [16:44] And then out of the bush comes the voice of God. [16:47] And he first place we see him actually communicate and he actually says his name. [16:52] He says, I am who I am or Yahweh.

[16:56] And in Exodus, Chapter three, he says, then the Lord said, I have surely seen the [17:00] affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their [17:04] task, masters. If you ever want to know why the Old Testament refers to Israel as the [17:09] people of God, it is because they’re the descendants of Abraham. [17:12] It’s because of the promise that God made to Abraham and he’s fulfilling his promise. [17:16] They are his people.

[17:18] They cry because of their task, masters. [17:20] I know their sufferings and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of [17:24] the Egyptians and to bring them up out of the land to a good and broad land, [17:29] a land flowing with milk and honey to the place of the Canaanites, to the Hittites, [17:33] the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. [17:37] All right, that’s a lot of heights.

[17:40] God comes to Moses and he tells Moses to deliver the people out of Egypt so that [17:46] he can take them to what is referred to throughout the rest of the Old Testament. [17:49] You probably understand to be the promised land. [17:52] If you’ve seen the movie The Ten Commandments, that’s what it’s all about. [17:55] Charlton Heston is taking Israel to the promised land. [18:00] All right. And then in there, we see another covenant of God.

[18:03] And I’m not going to go through it because of time. [18:05] And you probably heard of it. [18:06] It’s called the Ten Commandments, which is actually six hundred and thirty nine [18:09] laws that God makes with Israel. [18:12] There are ceremonial laws, there are moral laws, there are civic laws. [18:15] And God makes these laws with Israel and he tells them how they are to act as his

[18:21] representatives on the earth.

[18:25] And then they get into the promised land. [18:29] And to be a nation, Israel says, we need a king. [18:33] And God raises up King David. [18:37] They choose King Saul. [18:39] God doesn’t want Saul. He wants David. [18:42] And so God brings David and then he makes a covenant with David.

[18:45] And it’s a kind of a lengthy section of scripture. [18:47] And because of time, I’m just going to skip right over it and give you the good [18:50] stuff. God tells David, David, I will establish my throne with you forever.

[18:58] Your family will rule forever. [19:03] And so that’s a covenant. [19:04] And so what we’ve seen here is that God is a God who makes covenants in this world. [19:12] God is not a God who has stepped outside of this world and decided to not have any [19:19] interaction with sinful man, but rather in God’s mercy and justice, we can see that [19:25] in order to fulfill his promise and be faithful and reveal himself as a holy God, he

[19:31] continually intervenes with man, making promise after promise after promise. [19:38] We see that God’s covenants reveal his enduring faithfulness. [19:44] And then we see secondly today that God’s covenants reveal his enduring love. [19:50] Forgot to say the first phrase a little earlier. [19:51] Sorry about that. But the second phrase this morning is that God’s covenants reveal [19:55] his enduring love.

[19:57] And you say, well, that just sounded like God was taking history through all this [20:01] stuff and doing all this stuff. [20:02] How is this love? [20:04] Go to Psalm, Chapter 136, if you will, this morning. [20:08] Now, I’m not going to read this entire chapter. [20:11] You can thank me later.

[20:14] But I want us to see something very interesting. [20:16] If you want to see some of the really interesting way in which Israel viewed the [20:21] history that God was fulfilling, read through the Psalms.

[20:27] One word that is constantly used to the Old Testament to talk about the [20:32] faithfulness of God is the word chesed. [20:37] All right, I’m not going to say that again. [20:38] It sounds weird. [20:39] But what that word means is steadfast, enduring love or loyalty in a loving manner. [20:53] The reason I wanted to go through Psalm 136 with you this morning is because I

[20:57] want you to understand that that word is used 26 times in this Psalm. [21:04] That word is used more than any other word in the Old Testament to explain why [21:10] God makes the covenants that he makes. [21:14] It is not a general love. [21:16] It is a specific love that is committed to a specific thing. [21:22] And throughout the Old Testament, what we see is that God is specifically just

[21:29] determined in fulfilling his promise. [21:34] Ultimately, in Genesis 315, then in Genesis 6, then in Genesis 12, then in [21:41] Exodus 3, then in 1 Samuel. [21:43] I don’t want to go back over there and I forgot which chapter it is, but I think [21:46] it could be chapter six.

[21:50] That God is determined. [21:52] And here’s how Israel prays to God. [21:57] Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. [22:00] For his steadfast love endures forever. [22:02] Give thanks to the God of gods for his steadfast love endures forever. [22:05] Give thanks to the Lord of lords where his steadfast love endures forever.

[22:09] To him who alone does great wonders for his steadfast love endures forever. [22:13] To him who by understanding made the heavens for his steadfast love endures [22:17] forever. [22:17] to him who spread out the earth above the waters [22:19] for his steadfast love endures forever, [22:21] to him who made the great lights

[22:23] for his steadfast love endures forever, [22:25] the sun to rule over the day [22:26] for his steadfast love endures forever, [22:28] the moon and the stars to rule over the night [22:30] for his steadfast love endures forever, [22:32] to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt

[22:36] for his steadfast love endures forever, [22:38] and brought Israel out from among them [22:40] for his steadfast love endures forever, [22:42] with a strong hand in the outstretched arm [22:44] for his steadfast love endures forever.

[22:49] Now, if you take out for his steadfast love endures forever [22:52] in this Psalm, what you have is a recounting [22:59] of all of the actions of God from creation [23:03] through the Promised Land.

[23:08] And what the Psalmist here, and we’re not exactly sure [23:11] who wrote this Psalm, but what the Psalmist here [23:14] is proclaiming is that in every move of God in this world, [23:21] you must see behind it a determined love [23:28] that is going to fulfill his promises, [23:33] and we will experience the benefits.

[23:39] It’s an interesting picture of God from the Old Testament [23:44] who is faithful to who he says he is. [23:52] Now, I know a lot about me, and I know a lot about who I say [23:58] I am, and often I know a lot about who I think I am, [24:03] but you know one thing’s certain about me. [24:06] No matter what I think about myself, I don’t always live up

[24:09] to even my own expectations.

[24:12] I don’t always live up to my own standards [24:16] or to my own proclamations of who I say and think I am,

[24:23] and neither do you.

[24:27] But the picture that we are seeing here [24:30] is this picture of a God who is revealing through history [24:35] and who is showing through the way that history is mapping out [24:40] and through the miracles that he brings about [24:42] and through his intervening on creation, [24:45] that he is who he says he is, and he always is,

[24:51] and he always will be. [24:53] He is not who you may think he is. [24:57] He is not always who you may want him to be, [25:02] but he is who he says he is. [25:05] You say, what in the world does that mean?

[25:10] When his steadfast love endures forever. [25:13] But here’s what I want you to see this morning, [25:15] and then I want to move on, and I want to explain out of it.

[25:21] I don’t think the Egyptians.

[25:28] Thought his steadfast love endured forever.

[25:33] You ever thought about that?

[25:37] I understand why some of us struggle with the Old Testament. [25:41] Because in one light, if you are in Israelite reading this Psalm, [25:45] and you’re looking out, and you’re saying, yes, [25:47] he slayed the firstborn of all the Egyptians on our behalf,

[25:54] put yourself in the Egyptian shoes, though. [25:57] Didn’t feel very loving to them. [26:00] Wasn’t their definition of love. [26:04] But more than that, Abraham, he screwed up quite a bit. [26:16] He lied to a bunch of people because he didn’t trust [26:18] God would come through on his promises.

[26:20] He questioned God. [26:21] He questioned God all the time. [26:23] He mocked at God on a few occasions. [26:27] Because God said a very old man and a very old woman who were really old [26:31] were going to have a baby, and they just, basically, [26:34] Sarah, his wife, almost blasphemed the name of the Lord because of it.

[26:39] Then we get to a guy named Moses who didn’t even get to go into the promised land.

[26:47] Then we get to David. [26:50] Well, Noah, let me back up a little bit. [26:51] Noah, his response to going through the ark was to get drunk as soon as it landed [26:55] and get naked, and his kids had to cover him up.

[27:00] It’s a good story. You should read it sometime.

[27:04] Then we get to King David. [27:06] God says, I’ll establish a throne forever. [27:09] But did you know that only two generations of his descendants ruled over Israel? [27:13] And then he had a dumb grandchild named Rehoboam, [27:16] who was such a terrible king that the kingdom of Israel split in half, [27:19] and nobody wanted to follow him, and then he lost the throne.

[27:26] And so sometimes when we’re looking at the covenants of God.

[27:34] Doesn’t all add up. [27:36] And then we even look at the history of Israel and their kingdom fell in 70 A.D. [27:40] to Rome, I mean, when when the history tells us that Rome sacked Jerusalem, [27:45] what it means is that Rome went in, killed everybody and burned the whole place down.

[27:50] So.

[27:52] Was God faithful to his promises?

[27:57] Or is there something we’re missing? [27:59] Or maybe he’s talking about a little bit later, a lot of these promises [28:03] are going to take place. [28:04] How do we kind of bring these things together when it says his steadfast love [28:09] endures forever and then we see over and over and over how sometimes it just [28:15] doesn’t work out.

[28:16] And every time that it doesn’t work out, we can point the finger [28:20] right at a human being that screws it up.

[28:26] And that each time the covenants of God don’t seem to work out for us, [28:32] we can find a single human being or an entire nation to point at and say, [28:38] why did you screw this up?

[28:44] And what we’re seeing really happen. [28:48] That’s what we talked about last week.

[28:53] The effects of sin.

[28:58] See, one thing I want you to understand is back in Genesis six, [29:02] when it said that there was nothing but evil in the hearts of man continually,

[29:07] it didn’t change after the flood.

[29:11] We kept sinning.

[29:15] And so, you know, I grew up in the church and this is one of the problems [29:20] I always had.

[29:23] It just doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me.

[29:27] And then I came to two stories that helped, but didn’t get me all the way. [29:33] And then the next thing got me all the way. [29:35] OK.

[29:37] I got to understand that God’s covenants were working towards something [29:44] that he wanted to do on his own because he knew he could not depend on humanity.

[29:52] In Genesis chapter 15, I want you to see, starting in verses three through six, [29:58] I want you to see something very interesting. [30:00] Well, I think it’s interesting.

[30:07] Abram is having a problem with faith. [30:12] God has promised to give him lots of descendants. [30:15] Him and his wife have been completely barren. [30:18] They can’t have kids. [30:20] And Abram is looking at the clock and he’s saying, I’m not getting any younger. [30:24] And she sure ain’t getting any younger, Lord.

[30:27] When is this going to happen? [30:28] And he had any he doesn’t believe because his present circumstances

[30:34] aren’t showing what God has promised.

[30:40] And so he goes out and he says, Lord, it’s not working out. [30:45] And then in verse three, it says, And Abram said, Behold, you have given me no offspring, [30:51] and a member of my household will be my heir. [30:55] Here’s what Abram said. [30:57] I’m going to just pick one of my servants. [31:00] And maybe you’ll work through that.

[31:03] Maybe I can help you out here, Lord. [31:05] Have you ever tried to do that? [31:08] Maybe I can come up with a segue to show your faithfulness in a way that you didn’t think about. [31:16] He does that. [31:16] And he says, Maybe my butler can do it.

[31:22] And behold, the word of the Lord came to him. [31:27] This man shall not be your heir.

[31:32] Love the certainty that God has in the face of my complete uncertainty.

[31:37] And your very own son shall be your heir. [31:42] And he brought him outside and said, Look toward heaven and number the stars if you are able to number them. [31:51] It’s kind of like just a rabbit trail here. [31:53] This is kind of like what he does to Job. [31:56] In the end of Job, when Job has suffered so much, and finally all of his friends have really been no help in comforting him. [32:03] Job had terrible friends.

[32:05] And Job’s friends all come to him and start accusing him of stuff. [32:07] And Job finally looks to God, and he doesn’t curse God like his wife wanted him to. [32:11] Don’t marry someone like that, guys. [32:13] But rather, he looks to God, and he just simply says, What have I done?

[32:20] I don’t get it. [32:23] And this is one of those moments with Abraham. [32:25] But God looks at Job, and he says, Job. [32:28] Let me just ask you a few questions. [32:30] God doesn’t even deal with Job’s circumstances. [32:33] I love it and hate it, because I feel like that happens to me all the time.

[32:37] It’s like, thanks for that message that has nothing to do with wax. [32:39] It’s happening to me, Lord.

[32:43] God looks at Job, and he says, Job, were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth?

[32:51] Have you ever made the clouds expand over the sky? [32:56] Can you make the rainfall or the snowfall? [32:59] Have you ever sent a bolt of lightning across the sky? [33:02] How about thunder, Job? [33:03] Can you do that?

[33:08] And what Job is learning here is that God is far more powerful than we are. [33:21] It’s not that we can’t question God, but it’s that he’s done enough that we might be able to trust him. [33:28] Here’s what he says to Abram. [33:30] And I love the fact that he’s like, Hey, go number the stars. [33:33] Oh, can you do that? [33:34] Didn’t think so.

[33:36] I can.

[33:40] God’s a little sarcastic sometimes, and that comforts me because I know it’s not a sin.

[33:47] So, yeah, so it’s like when you don’t like sarcastic people, well, the Lord.

[33:55] Someone’s out there. [33:56] That’s not true.

[33:59] My God is not a God of wit.

[34:03] See what I did there? [34:04] Turn sarcasm into wit.

[34:09] Here’s what he says. [34:11] If you are able to number them, then he said, so shall your offspring be.

[34:20] He looks at Abraham and says, I know your present circumstances may not seem to add up to my promises, but guess what? [34:26] I’m going to do it anyway.

[34:30] Abraham’s response, and he believed the Lord and he counted it to him as righteousness.

[34:41] Then inverse.

[34:45] So God is covenant thing with Abraham. [34:48] Well, humans came up from God through the sacrificial system with a bunch of ways to reflect on covenants and a bunch of ways to make them kind of contractually obvious.

[34:59] Obligating. [35:01] So God and Abram are going to do this thing where you cut the animal in half and then in order to seal the covenant, which represents sin and the blood flow for sin. [35:12] But then you pass through the center of the animal to seal the deal and saying that nothing can break this covenant between you and I. [35:19] That’s what they did. [35:20] And then in verses 12 through 18, and I’m just going to summarize them. [35:24] God is going to make this covenant with Abram, and this is what God does with him.

[35:28] And this helped me so much. [35:30] Abram does all the work to prepare the covenant. [35:33] He kills the animals. [35:34] He splits them in two and he puts them and he gets ready to make this covenant with God. [35:38] And he’s certain of God’s promises. [35:40] And then God puts him to sleep.

[35:45] And God walks through the center alone.

[35:55] God’s covenants are dependent on him alone.

[36:07] God knew Abraham’s sin.

[36:12] He puts him to sleep and he says, I know you can’t. [36:18] I will.

[36:21] So what we see through all these stories, and then there’s so many that I want to get to, but because you like lunch so much, I won’t. [36:29] But God makes all of these promises and every single time. [36:34] I want you to know that the man does not seek out God for a covenant.

[36:42] When God makes a covenant, what happens is, is God comes to man. [36:48] And he says, this is what I’m going to do. [36:51] And I’m going to let you be a part of it. [36:53] And then in Chapter 15, we see God even giving us a great revelation by saying, and it’s not dependent on you. [37:00] And then in Genesis, Chapter 22, we have this awe inspiring story where God says, I’m going to test the faith of Abraham. [37:10] And he comes to Abraham and Abraham has finally had a son.

[37:14] His name was Isaac. [37:16] Abraham says, yes, God is fulfilling his promise. [37:18] But then God comes to Abraham and he says, I want you to kill your son.

[37:25] Your only child.

[37:29] I’m going to test your faith here. [37:31] Do you believe I can fulfill my promise? [37:33] Even if you sacrifice your son, Abraham says, OK, Abraham takes Isaac to the land of Moriah up on top of a mountain there. [37:45] And he prepares the altar and Isaac is such a faithful son. [37:49] And he goes and he gets the firewood he’s going to be burned with. [37:54] And he comes back and he says, here it is, Dad.

[37:57] And he lays it all out. [37:58] And Abraham says, well, get on there. [38:02] And says, Abraham takes the knife and he’s about to plunge it into his only son. [38:08] And it says, and the angel of Yahweh, who is I believe this is a Jesus Christ.

[38:17] Says, stop.

[38:21] Do not kill your son. [38:25] I will not make you sacrifice for your sin.

[38:30] There’s a ram in the thicket.

[38:33] Kill the ram.

[38:36] So he goes and he kills the ram.

[38:41] And you look at that story and it’s very interesting. [38:43] Why would God do that tape? [38:46] I mean, man, it’s like you’re in Sarr or something. [38:49] Why would God do that? [38:50] Put him through that mental anguish.

[38:58] Here’s what I want you to understand. [39:00] All of the covenants that God has ever made. [39:05] Never will make. [39:08] Point to Jesus.

[39:12] Every single one of them.

[39:15] In First Corinthians, Chapter one, verse 20, we read that every promise of God finds its yes.

[39:26] In him, Jesus.

[39:29] So here’s what we were to be led to believe here, but then I don’t know how to work it out. [39:34] So I’m going to try for you. [39:36] I know how to work it out. [39:37] Maybe you don’t. [39:38] But the Abrahamic covenant says yes in Jesus.

[39:45] No way covenant. [39:46] Yes, in Jesus. [39:48] Mosaic covenant. [39:49] Yes, in Jesus. [39:50] The law, the covenant of the law. [39:52] Yes, in Jesus.

[39:54] The Davidic covenant, the covenant to David. [39:56] Yes, in Jesus. [39:59] You see, wait a second, but it doesn’t all make sense because, you know, Israel was this great nation, but it’s not this great nation. [40:05] Now, but Jesus didn’t even live. [40:08] He didn’t really bring about a nation. [40:11] He died on a cross and rose from the dead.

[40:13] So that’s how I’m not putting two and two together.

[40:19] In Hebrews, Chapter eight.

[40:23] Starting in verse six, but as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is a much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better.

[40:35] You know, he’s saying there he’s saying Jesus brings a covenant that’s better than the old covenant. [40:43] And he’s not saying it’s a different covenant. [40:45] What he’s saying is he’s speaking the book of Hebrews, of course, called Hebrews. [40:48] So it’s written to a Jewish audience. [40:51] What he’s saying is, if you really want what’s going to happen, if those old covenants aren’t fulfilled in Jesus, you get help. [41:01] Because you’re never going to be faithful to them.

[41:05] So the one through Jesus is better. [41:07] But why is it better? [41:09] Since it is enacted on better promises. [41:14] For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. [41:20] For he, God, finds fault with them when he says, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord. [41:27] And this is a quote from the Old Testament.

[41:29] When I will establish a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah. [41:33] What he’s saying is the old covenant would have worked out if more than God had been faultless. [41:42] In other words, if you were perfect.

[41:46] Everything would have worked out great.

[41:50] But you know why? [41:52] In Genesis 15, God doesn’t make Abraham walk through the calf because he knows Abraham’s not perfect. [41:59] He knows you’re not perfect. [42:00] He knows I’m not perfect. [42:01] He knows Moses wasn’t going to be perfect. [42:03] He knows David wasn’t going to be perfect.

[42:05] He certainly knew that Solomon wasn’t going to be perfect. [42:07] And he knew that Rehoboam wasn’t going to be perfect. [42:09] He knew that perfection was not something that humanity could grasp because we are born sinners.

[42:20] You are a sinner. [42:22] You are unrighteous. [42:24] So even if God makes a covenant with you, guess what? [42:28] You better hope that that covenant is only dependent on him and not on you.

[42:35] Because you will mess it up.

[42:40] And we saw last week that sin must be judged.

[42:46] And you say, okay, okay, so I need to be thankful for Jesus and that I’m not being held to those old covenants. [42:51] I’m still not working it out. [42:55] Romans chapter 15, Paul explains it this way. [42:59] For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised, a servant to Israel, [43:07] to show God’s truthfulness in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs.

[43:18] The patriarchs, Abraham, Moses, David. [43:22] In other words, Paul is saying Jesus reveals God’s truthfulness to those covenants. [43:29] And you still may say, how? [43:31] Galatians chapter 3 verse 16. [43:34] Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. [43:37] It does not say and to the offsprings, referring to many,

[43:42] but referring to one and to your offspring, who is Christ? [43:49] Here’s what I want you to understand this morning. [43:51] When God says, Abraham, I will make you a great nation, he is he is speaking of Israel, [43:58] but he is specifically, how will Israel be a blessing to the world? [44:04] Is how you must look at the Old Testament. [44:06] You must ask yourself that question, because in the book of Isaiah and in the book of Jeremiah,

[44:10] God says, Israel, be my lighthouse to the world. [44:13] And Israel says, no, we don’t like them.

[44:19] So they refused to bless the world.

[44:24] So Jesus says, remember when I said, it’s going to make a great nation. [44:31] Guess how I’m going to do it. [44:34] I’m going to die on the cross for your sin, for your unfaithfulness. [44:41] I’m raised from the dead, winning victory over sin and death. [44:45] And that redemption is going to be taken to the entire world. [44:50] Jesus is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant.

[44:56] Jesus is also the fulfillment of the law.

[45:00] Back in Galatians chapter three, I’m going to read starting in verse 21 now. [45:04] Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? [45:08] You ever wonder how that works out with the law and then Jesus? [45:12] Certainly not. [45:14] For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. [45:19] But the scripture imprisoned everything under sin so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ

[45:24] might be given to those who believe. [45:28] Now, before faith came, we were held captive under the law, [45:33] imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. [45:36] So then the law was our guardian. [45:39] Some translations say schoolmaster until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith. [45:47] The law was never God’s covenant for you to be righteous.

[45:52] And you say, well, what if I obeyed all of the law? [45:56] Well, then it may have worked out. But guess what? You haven’t.

[46:01] And I could go through like one or two and show you that. [46:05] But I think you all know that you’re a sinner. [46:07] If you don’t, I’m sorry. [46:10] But you are. [46:12] Because you’re prideful.

[46:17] OK, I’ll do it.

[46:22] Have you ever told a lie?

[46:26] I have. The smallest one. [46:30] Ladies, has anyone asked you how much you weighed this week?

[46:36] I lie on that one all the time. [46:40] Have you ever told a lie? No matter how small. [46:43] Have you done it? [46:45] I don’t say, yes, you have.

[46:48] Ever stolen anything? [46:51] And if you say no, I already know you lie.

[46:55] So how am I to believe you?

[46:59] So you’re a thief.

[47:02] Have you ever committed adultery? [47:05] You say, heavens no. [47:06] Married 76 years. [47:08] Well, Jesus says, if you look at someone with lust in your heart, [47:12] it’s as if you’ve committed adultery with them.

[47:15] Then we’re all guilty.

[47:18] And you’re like, not me. [47:19] Yeah, whatever.

[47:23] Have you ever murdered anyone?

[47:25] Well, 1 John says that if you have hate in your heart towards a brother, [47:29] it’s as if you’ve killed them already.

[47:34] I murdered my sister hundreds of times.

[47:39] She’s sitting over there. [47:41] When we were kids, I mean, I was like I was a serial killer just on her. [47:46] Just on her alone.

[47:51] Seriously, if you haven’t done that, drive on 76 at 530 in the afternoon. [47:56] Guilty as charged.

[48:00] We’re sinners.

[48:03] The covenant of the law cannot save us because we’ve broken it. [48:09] But it says that the purpose of the law in God’s wisdom and foresight was to [48:13] reveal to us our great sin so that we would know that we need to be redeemed. [48:20] And if life is not dependent on a move by him, then we are all in trouble. [48:26] And it says that the law kept us until at just the right time in God’s perfect [48:32] wisdom, he sent his son.

[48:37] All of the promises are yes in Jesus. [48:39] In the book of Luke, Chapter 2, you say, what about the throne? [48:45] What about David? [48:47] And some of you didn’t care, but some of you may have asked that question. [48:51] In Luke, Chapter 2, verses 4 through 6, and Joseph also went up from Galilee [48:56] from the town of Nazareth to Judea to the city of David, which is called

[49:02] Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.

[49:13] Jesus of the line of Abraham and of the line of King David.

[49:27] God has established his throne forever through the work of Jesus Christ.

[49:39] You see, sometimes when I’m struggling in life to even know why it is that I do [49:45] what I do with preaching and church planting and everything else, it can get [49:54] very discouraging, because my circumstances don’t always look that pretty to me. [50:01] You know, have you ever seen those people that are always spiritually happy? [50:05] I hate them.

[50:09] Because it’s like Jerry Fall once told me, he said, there are more bad days than good. [50:13] And I said, yeah. [50:15] And then there’s some people that their attitudes are like, no, there’s nothing [50:17] but good. [50:18] And I’m like, liar!

[50:21] Be honest.

[50:26] Life sometimes doesn’t look like it’s going to go right.

[50:30] But at the end of the day, when I look at the covenant of God that he has made [50:34] throughout the history of the world, and then I look at the very peculiar way in [50:39] which he has fulfilled all of his promises through his son, Jesus, who loved me [50:46] and gave himself for me. [50:48] I look at it and say, God, through hundreds and centuries of years, worked [50:53] history through Abraham, through Noah, through Moses, through the law, then

[51:00] through David. [51:01] And he fulfilled it all in this most interesting of ways through the one man being [51:07] born of a virgin, Jesus Christ.

[51:12] And Jesus is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant. [51:15] He is the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. [51:18] He is the fulfillment of the law. [51:20] He is the fulfillment of everything that God had ever promised to do. [51:25] And he will be the fulfillment of every promise God ever makes to me.

[51:35] No matter what happens in this life because of sin, Jesus is greater than my sin. [51:42] And you say, how do you trust that? [51:44] I trust it because God said there is coming a day when he will restore this [51:52] world to a place where sin does not reign any longer. [51:57] And I must trust in him and stop trusting in myself and in my sin and in the sin [52:06] of those around me.

[52:08] My faith is not based on me. [52:10] It is not based on you. [52:13] My faith is based on a covenant God who in spite of sin to bring himself glory. [52:20] He has pursued me and he has pursued you. [52:24] And in Jesus, he has established his kingdom forever. [52:29] And because of Jesus, I say I trust him then that there’s coming a day when sin won’t

[52:35] reign in this world. [52:36] Death will not exist any longer. [52:38] It will lose its sting completely. [52:40] And we will stand before his throne forever in all of what he is going to do.

[52:50] But you must trust him. [52:54] You must trust him because I know today, life is beating some of you up.

[53:08] And I’m not going to tell you this morning that God is going to take that pain out of [53:13] your life right now because he might not.

[53:20] But I am going to tell you that he’s made a covenant that someday there will be no [53:32] more pain. [53:34] There will be no more burdens. [53:36] And you will see him face to face. [53:44] And he’s established it and guaranteed it through Jesus. [53:51] He’s pursuing you.

[53:55] Trust him. [53:58] Father, I thank you so much this morning that in this world that is overcome by my [54:13] sin, you’ve been faithful.

[54:19] That in this world that we have ravaged with our rebellion and continue to do so, you’re [54:27] faithful. [54:29] And you’ve poured your love on us and it has been a steadfast, it has been an enduring [54:33] love and all of these promises have been fulfilled through Jesus and will be fulfilled [54:38] through Jesus and your kingdom will come.

[54:43] Lord, this morning may we worship. [54:46] May we simply trust. [54:50] And in that trusting, give our lives over to the only God who’s proven himself trustworthy.