1 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:13,160 I hope you've made your way to Genesis chapter 15, Genesis 15. 2 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,760 As we continue in our series, we've titled Answering God's 3 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:22,720 Call, following specifically Abram on this journey as he has 4 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,840 answered God's call on his life. I don't know if you've ever 5 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:32,520 noticed how much you have to sign your signature just to do 6 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:34,080 life. You ever noticed this? 7 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,640 You didn't make it out of the hospital you were born in until 8 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,360 someone did what Till someone signed? 9 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:46,400 You didn't live where you live or call your house home until 10 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:52,240 you or somebody signed. You didn't drive the car that 11 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:54,360 you drove here today until someone. 12 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,400 You didn't get a driver's license until someone signed, 13 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:01,920 right? You can't enroll in school 14 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:07,520 without someone's signature. You can't get married unless you 15 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,160 sign. You can't open a bank account 16 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,280 unless you sign. You can't book a vacation, play 17 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:17,560 Little League skydive, file your taxes, or take a job until you 18 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:20,600 and those are just the things I could think of off the top of my 19 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:22,480 head. There's a zillion more. 20 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:26,040 When we sign, what are we doing? We are stating with our 21 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,720 signature that we're agreeing to keep the terms and the 22 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:33,640 conditions of the what the agreement, whatever it is, be it 23 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,880 house, be it car, be it expenses or whatever it may be, we're 24 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:42,040 agreeing to the terms and conditions of the agreement. 25 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,840 I want you to just hang on to this question that we're going 26 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:48,280 to answer in the course of our time today in God's words, in a 27 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,920 simply this question and we're probably not going to answer it 28 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:53,320 in the traditional way, but here's the question, Are you 29 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:55,760 ready? When it comes to the Christian 30 00:01:55,760 --> 00:02:02,320 life, where do you sign? When it comes to the Christian 31 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:08,400 life, where do you where do I, where do we sign? 32 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:11,440 We're going to answer that question as we go. 33 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,280 But first we're going to read God's word picking up in chapter 34 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,960 15, verse 7 and following listen to God's word. 35 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:23,440 And he that's God said to him, him as Abram, I am the Lord who 36 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:28,120 brought you out from ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land 37 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:32,160 to possess. But he that's Abram said, O Lord 38 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:36,160 God, I'm out to know that I shall possess it. 39 00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:41,560 He God said to him, bring me a heifer 3 years old, a female 40 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,600 goat three years old, and a ram 3 years old, a turtle dove, and 41 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,640 a young pigeon. And he brought him all these, 42 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:54,400 cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other, but 43 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:56,360 he did not cut the birds in half. 44 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,880 But when birds of prey and when birds of prey came down on the 45 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:03,800 carcasses, Abram drove them away. 46 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,800 This text is not your normal text of Scripture, if you've not 47 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,520 noticed, but by the way, all Scripture is inspired by God and 48 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,760 profitable, the whole council of God, profitable for what? 49 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,440 Our instruction for our teaching right for training in reproof 50 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:19,840 and correction, all in righteousness that the man or 51 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,280 woman of God may be adequate and equipped for every good work. 52 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:27,440 I believe God was going to show you, I hope this morning just 53 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:30,040 how relevant this text is, as odd as it may sound. 54 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,720 So just hang in there with me. You know, Abraham has been 55 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:34,640 believing God. If you've been following this 56 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:37,200 journey, Abram has been believing God. 57 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,400 Abram believed God when he left house, when he left home, when 58 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:43,360 he left country, and when he left Kindred. 59 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,200 Abram's been believing God. But if you follow the 60 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:50,320 conversation between God and Abram, you notice that Abram's 61 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:55,000 fate isn't perfect. Dude struggles along the way. 62 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,640 And here again he's struggling and it's obvious in conversation 63 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:00,920 with God. In fact, in verses one through 6 64 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:03,880 of chapter 15 we looked at last week, God said, Abram, I'm going 65 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,720 to promise you again, the offspring in Abrams like God, 66 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:09,960 he's not singing kumbaya. I believe you saying God, I'm 67 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:11,640 not sure I believe you. Where is it at? 68 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,640 Where is it at? I've been waiting all this time. 69 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,480 Abraham's faith was struggling, was fighting to believe Abram 70 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:23,120 was a man as high as we think of him was not a man of perfect 71 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:24,800 faith. In fact, what I just want you to 72 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,240 be encouraged by is sometimes we read of the greats in the Bible, 73 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,640 Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David and all the, all the 74 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:33,800 above. And we think, well, my faith 75 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:36,600 could never be like that or I could never be like that. 76 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:39,000 I, I struggle to believe too much. 77 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,480 I'm too weak in my faith. I've failed too much. 78 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:43,920 I have too much. I've got too many flaws, too 79 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,320 many weaknesses. Listen, you obviously hadn't 80 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,920 read your Bible. Like I'm serious. 81 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,120 Because if you do, you're going to really realize really quick, 82 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,920 wow, these people, far from perfect, These people are full 83 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,480 of flaws. These people who made the hall 84 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,840 of faith, Hebrews 11:10 and 11:00, they struggled mightily 85 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:06,400 at times with their with their faith. 86 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:07,760 This ought to be encouraging, right? 87 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:12,360 So here in verses 7 through 11, God is reaffirming another one 88 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:14,680 of his promises to Abram. This one's not about offspring. 89 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:18,280 It's about the land the God has promised to give Abram and his 90 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:19,280 offspring. And Abram's like God. 91 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:21,640 How can I be sure? How can I be 100%? 92 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:25,480 What evidence is there that I can trust you that I can believe 93 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:27,000 and not doubt because I'm doubting. 94 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,160 And of course, in our day and time, this is where the lawyers 95 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,440 would have pulled out the paper and handed each a pen and said, 96 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:35,720 you sign here and you sign here. But that's not what they did 97 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,160 back then, back when they came to agree to the terms of the 98 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:40,920 agreement or the covenant. When? 99 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,280 How do they know the house is mine, the land is mine, or the 100 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:45,520 car? The money we signed, they didn't 101 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:47,120 sign then. They didn't use pen and ink. 102 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:51,160 They used a knife and blood, not pen and ink. 103 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:56,720 Literally, as you're about to see, God says here, bring me 104 00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:58,400 Abraham a heifer. Now, in case you don't know what 105 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,760 that is. All right, that's a female cow 106 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:03,160 who's yet to have a cab. Don't call anybody that. 107 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:05,800 The Bible uses it in context, right? 108 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:09,280 Guys says bring me a heifer, bring me a female goat, bring me 109 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:12,240 a ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon and pigeon. 110 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,320 Abram brings all of them. He knows exactly what to do, 111 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,160 because this is what they did back then, when they came to 112 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:21,880 commit themselves in the most serious and critical of ways. 113 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:27,720 Abram cuts each animal in half, and then he lays each half over 114 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:31,320 against the other side of the half he just made. 115 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,880 Again, it's not pen and ink. This is knife and this is blood. 116 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:39,280 In case you've never butchered an animal before, this is an 117 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:43,440 incredibly messy process. Had it only been deer season? 118 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:45,240 I actually thought about demonstrating for you. 119 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,720 I promise I didn't won't do that, but I promise you it 120 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:52,240 crossed my mind because most people are familiar with the 121 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:54,160 meat section of the grocery store. 122 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,600 They've just got no idea what it looks like before it lands right 123 00:06:57,600 --> 00:06:59,720 there. And let me tell you, it ain't 124 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:01,560 pretty. Let me tell you as he would have 125 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:05,160 sliced open these animals and lay it half against half, blood 126 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,600 would have flowed everywhere. Abram would have been covered 127 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,320 himself. And this is incredibly labor 128 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:14,600 into animals when they're dead. Don't cooperate in the process. 129 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:18,640 This is labor intensive work. This is bloody, visceral work 130 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,000 that Abram was forced to do. Death was very real. 131 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,800 We're often so insulated from it in our modern day lives. 132 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,320 They were not, I guarantee you back then and literally by blood 133 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,640 and by knife. They were in the process of 134 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:36,080 making an agreement. Birds of prey. 135 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:40,360 The Bible says see the slaughter and wanted to do what they do 136 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:44,400 help come and clean up and yet that would have made these 137 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:47,600 animals prepared for the purpose of sacrifice unclean. 138 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,160 Abram had to act to protect what God had called him to collect 139 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:54,800 and cut to keep clean for the purpose of the covenant that 140 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,880 they were about to make. This is not in your notes, but I 141 00:07:57,880 --> 00:07:59,960 just want to drop you something along the way here and I've 142 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:02,280 already kind of done it, but in case you want to write something 143 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:05,400 down in this first section here, I think this is what I would 144 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:07,760 write down. Again, all Scripture is inspired 145 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:09,320 by God and profitable for teaching. 146 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:11,800 Here's one of the things that it teaches us here in seven through 147 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:12,400 11. You ready. 148 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:16,160 Faith that's real is not perfect. 149 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,280 Faith that is real is not perfect. 150 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,720 Faith does not have to be perfect in order to be real. 151 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:29,600 We see Abraham's faith here. Even as God is about to make the 152 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,440 highest and greatest of commitments to him, Abraham's 153 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:37,000 faith is still struggling. I don't know where you are in 154 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,320 your faith or if you thought, man, I thought I'd be further 155 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:43,360 along by now. I thought I'd be here by now. 156 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:45,720 I thought I wouldn't be struggling with this still. 157 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:51,040 Now, faith is real doesn't mean that at times our faith doesn't 158 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:52,920 struggle. And God wants to fortify 159 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,000 Abraham's faith. He wants to fortify yours as 160 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:57,520 well. Let's pick up and keep reading. 161 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:04,640 In verse 12 through 16, as the sun was going down, a deep sleep 162 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:09,160 fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great 163 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:13,360 darkness fell upon him. And then the Lord said to Abram, 164 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,760 no, for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in 165 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:22,240 a land that is not theirs, and will be servants there, and they 166 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:26,880 will be afflicted for 400 years. But I will bring judgment on the 167 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,080 nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out 168 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,640 with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your 169 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:37,600 father's in peace. You shall be buried in a good 170 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:41,440 old age, and they shall come back here in the 4th generation. 171 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:46,160 For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. 172 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:50,960 No doubt it took Abram quite a while to collect all the animals 173 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:55,960 God commanded to slaughter them, to process them in the right 174 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,840 manner and way for the making of this covenant. 175 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:03,400 And it's labor intensive work. As I've already mentioned, Abram 176 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,920 now is at the end of the day is in a deep sleep. 177 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,680 God puts in the Bible, says in a deep sleep causes that deep 178 00:10:10,680 --> 00:10:13,320 sleep to fall on him. And not only does sleep come 179 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:18,760 over him, but this mysterious supernatural deep darkness also 180 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:21,360 envelops him as well. I'm talking about a deeper 181 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:23,280 darkness than just when the sun goes down. 182 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:27,160 There is something supernatural type of darkness that is going 183 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,560 on here. And in this deep sleeping, great 184 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:33,680 darkness, God says some amazing things to Abram. 185 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:36,840 Now I just want you to think if you struggle to believe that the 186 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:42,200 Bible is true, well, just look at what God says hundreds of 187 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:45,920 years before it happens that you can verify in your history books 188 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,360 that happened. Look what God says. 189 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:52,800 Your offspring will be sojourners in a foreign land. 190 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:58,280 That foreign land is Egypt. They will serve as slaves for 191 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:02,480 400 years, which they did, but I'll judge the nation that 192 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:04,480 afflicts them. God certainly did with 10. 193 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:08,200 What 10 plagues. They will exit the nation with 194 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:09,360 great possessions. Why? 195 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:12,280 Because God says way hundreds of years before and you will 196 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:14,720 plunder the Egyptians. They're going to give you their 197 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:17,880 gold off their bodies and their backs for you to take with you 198 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:21,480 into the wilderness. You, Abram, will die in peace at 199 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:23,320 a good old age. Your offspring will enter the 200 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:25,600 land that I promised you after the 4th generation. 201 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:28,200 Why 4 generations? Why 400 years later? 202 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:30,320 Look at verse 16. Don't miss this little what 203 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:36,000 seems like random statement because the iniquity of the 204 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:42,000 Amorites is not yet complete. What in the world is going on? 205 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:47,560 God has given Abram a supernatural sedative, like 206 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:50,080 supernatural melatonin right here knocked him out. 207 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,920 God is acting as as an anesthesiologist, if you will, 208 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:56,360 here before he shows up. Why? 209 00:11:56,560 --> 00:11:59,720 So that Abram doesn't die. You know why? 210 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:04,320 Because no unholy human can be in the full manifest presence of 211 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:09,920 a holy God and survive it. So God is protecting Abram by 212 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:12,960 putting him to sleep, and not just that, but putting him under 213 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:16,880 a supernatural cloak of this darkness to protect Abram from 214 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,680 the full exposure to the holiness of Almighty God. 215 00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:24,000 And that's not strange. This is not a wicked sinister 216 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,720 darkness. This is a protective, veiling 217 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:31,120 Abram from the full holiness of God darkness, just like God did 218 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,360 when there was great darkness and clouds and smoke and rain 219 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:36,720 and lightning and Thunder on Mount Sinai. 220 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,880 The people from God who would come down to manifest himself. 221 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:44,120 By the way, God said also that in the temple that Solomon 222 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,600 built, when he said he would inhabit there, he speaks of 223 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,600 clouds and great darkness enveloping his presence there. 224 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:51,840 Why? To protect the people from the 225 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:54,720 manifest presence of God dwelling among them. 226 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:57,920 This is a protective darkness that God is putting around him 227 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,160 because God is about to show up. God doesn't want anybody to die, 228 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:05,120 but the animals already laying half off offset from each other. 229 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:10,200 Abram, he wants protected. The next thing God does is 230 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:12,920 speak, and what he says is again, overwhelming. 231 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,680 In case you're wondering, let me just give you the specifics on 232 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:23,520 this. 215 years in advance, God tells Abram his offspring will 233 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:30,400 move to Egypt. 286 years in advance, God tells Abram his 234 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:38,120 offspring will be enslaved in Egypt. 430 years in advance, God 235 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:42,360 tells Abram his offspring will exit Egypt with great 236 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,320 possessions. Meanwhile, Abram, you will live 237 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:47,880 long and die in peace. Ladies and gentlemen, this is 238 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:52,040 what we call the good, the bad, and the all. 239 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:54,600 Hear from God. God doesn't hold back, God just 240 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:56,480 gives it all while he's fortifying. 241 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:00,280 Abram said it's honestly quite rare that God so pulls back the 242 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:04,320 veil to reveal his plan. But again, Abrams asked for 243 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:05,640 confirmation. How can he know? 244 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:09,600 And God is graciously giving him long in advance confirmation of 245 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:11,560 his plan, even parts of the timeline. 246 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:15,760 And one of the reasons God gives Abram for the event and 247 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:19,080 especially don't know, misses the timeline of how he can 248 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,800 anticipate and when he can anticipate in the future is 249 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:27,800 because notice verse 16 for the iniquity of the Amorites is not 250 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:33,680 yet complete. What in the world is God saying? 251 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:39,560 Well, whether we first of all realize it or not, we need to 252 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:45,240 understand that God is God over every tribe, over every tongue, 253 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:49,240 over every language of every nation and every people group 254 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:53,800 from Amorites in ancient history to Americans in modern day. 255 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:58,720 God is sovereign above, and He's the one in charge of all 256 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,040 peoples. And whether that nation or those 257 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,960 peoples realize it or not, there is a King of kings who rules 258 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,760 over them, who is the one who establishes their kings and 259 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:12,320 deposes them, who raises up nations and overthrows them. 260 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:14,560 In fact, if you don't believe me, read this is the what the 261 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:17,560 Bible says. Psalm 47 Eight God reigns over 262 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:19,920 the nation's. Psalm 47 seven through 8. 263 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,600 For God is the king over all the earth. 264 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:27,200 Daniel 221 God removes kings, and God establishes them. 265 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:32,440 Psalm 2228 Dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the 266 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,840 nation's job, 12/23 He makes nations great and he destroys 267 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:38,880 them. He enlarges nations and he leads 268 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,120 them away. Finally, Psalm 3212 in light of 269 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:44,360 all that, no wonder the Bible says blessed is the nation who's 270 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:49,560 what God is the Lord. You mark it down. 271 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:50,880 Whether people realize it or not. 272 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:53,960 God is reigning and ruling from heaven and He is in charge of 273 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:57,440 the events of world history. He's in charge of the number of 274 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:00,920 breaths in your lungs. He knows the number of hairs on 275 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:04,560 your head and He's in charge and in control of who sits as king 276 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,640 and who doesn't anymore. That's who God is. 277 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:10,040 He is the King of kings and Lord of Lords. 278 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:15,640 And in verse 16, God gives us y'all some incredible insight 279 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:20,080 into how he deals with peoples and nations. 280 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:25,320 So who are the Amorites? Well, this is a name of a people 281 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:27,240 that inhabited the land of Canaan. 282 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:32,120 Now sometimes the Bible will use this word Amorites to describe 283 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:36,240 really all the people that lived in Canaan, or sometimes it can 284 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:40,160 refer to one of the specific groups of many diverse groups 285 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:41,720 that lived in the land of Canaan. 286 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,280 But the Amorites are descendants of one of the sons of Canaan. 287 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,600 And I actually told you a little bit about them. 288 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:51,160 Part of the Amorites included the Raphaim, and one of their 289 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,520 last kings was a king by the name of Ogg, whose bed was 13 290 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:57,160 feet 13 1/2 feet long, 6 feet wide. 291 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:00,520 This man was probably estimated 10 to 11 feet tall. 292 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:03,280 He was one of the last of the giants there that lived in the 293 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:05,119 land. They were tall and strong, 294 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:08,280 fierce warriors. But these people were idolaters. 295 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:12,680 They were rebels against the God of heaven and God list, the sin 296 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:17,319 list that he found so detestable multiple times in Scripture. 297 00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:18,319 I'm not going to get into it again. 298 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:19,440 I've already shared it with you some. 299 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:22,920 But again, the sin, why is that? He's Speaking of the sin of the 300 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,319 Amorites. What was their sin that God was 301 00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaking of? Here it is you ready? 302 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:36,920 Idolatry, sexual immorality, violence, corruption, and child 303 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:41,840 sacrifice. The God who rules over every 304 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:46,000 nation says here that judgement is coming for the Amorites, but 305 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,480 not yet. Why not yet? 306 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,800 Why not yet? He says here that the limit, in 307 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:58,760 other words, of God's patience and God's mercy for their sin 308 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:03,120 had not yet been reached. What in the world does that 309 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:04,240 mean? Let me tell you a couple things. 310 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:05,880 It means number #1 it means this. 311 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:12,280 It means God is incredibly gracious and kind and merciful. 312 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:17,240 God is looking over as King of kings, a people group in total 313 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,240 rebellion against him. And he says, I'm going to 314 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,920 continue to give them hundreds of years to repent. 315 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,600 I'm going to give them hundreds of years more of my patients. 316 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:31,640 What they're doing is an abomination in my sight. 317 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,160 The mercy and the love and the graciousness of Almighty God 318 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,720 continuing to pour out year after year after year after year 319 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:42,400 of them to do otherwise. God's God is merciful. 320 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:44,840 God is kind. He is compassionate. 321 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,800 He is full of grace. And yet #2 this means that 322 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:51,960 they're in a very real time. There is a very real time when 323 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:59,120 God says enough is enough, when there's sin. 324 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:04,520 Many scholars have described this as the legal limit of sin. 325 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:08,720 When God says sin has come up before him to a degree that is 326 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:12,360 enough, that his judgment, it's time, His patience, his mercy, 327 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:16,160 his kindness has been extended. But God, who is holy, must judge 328 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:18,520 sin. So just judgment for their sin 329 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,040 is coming. God says it's just not coming 330 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:22,880 yet. It's going to come, and you know 331 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:24,840 how it's going to come. It's going to come when God 332 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:28,120 leads his people, Israel into the promised land to do what? 333 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:33,240 To dispossessed, to overthrow these nations, including the 334 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,840 Amorites, for their idolatry, for their corruption, for their 335 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:40,000 unrighteousness, for their child sacrifice, for all their 336 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,400 wickedness and oppression, for all that rebellion against God. 337 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:45,920 God says there's a time coming when I'm going to send in my 338 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,080 just judgment. I'm going to dispossessed 1 339 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:49,600 nation. I'm going to raise up another, 340 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:55,920 which is actually what happened, but only after hundreds of years 341 00:19:56,360 --> 00:20:00,920 of God's patience. Y'all just to share a little bit 342 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:04,880 with you of what I processed as I process this text is I can't 343 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:07,360 help. Perhaps you can't help, or I 344 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:11,200 hope we can't help but draw some connections between ancient 345 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:15,080 Amorites and modern day Americans. 346 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:22,000 We would do the text injustice not to realize the connection. 347 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,840 For their sins for which God said judgement is coming but 348 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:31,000 just not yet. You can find in every 349 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:35,120 manifestation in the present modern day context of the 350 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:40,960 country in which we live, idolatry, sexual immorality, 351 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:50,520 violence, corruption, child sacrifice at about 100,000 kids 352 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,560 a month killed in the womb in our country. 353 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:57,960 I don't know how many of the Amorites did, but I bet it 354 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:02,240 wasn't that many. God gave them hundreds of years 355 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,200 of patience. You can't help if you're being 356 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:08,200 honest when you read the Bible and you look around, ask 357 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:10,880 yourself God, how long do we have? 358 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:16,400 How long do we have? Because there's a there's a 359 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:20,240 time. God says enough is is enough 360 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,040 people. Often, sometimes you'll hear 361 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,560 people argue about whether or not we're a Christian nation. 362 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:37,040 I actually think that discussion is quite honest at the end of 363 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:40,400 the day, unprofitable. Because I don't really think God 364 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:44,960 cares what we call ourselves. I think God cares what we are. 365 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:50,720 God doesn't so much want a name, a country in name only. 366 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,120 And by the way, there is absolutely no doubt that 367 00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:57,920 judeo-christian values are in the DNA of our inception, and 368 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,120 it's one of the reasons God's hand has been on our nation. 369 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,560 But what God wants is a nation. Blessed is the nation whose God 370 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:08,480 is the Lord. That that's not just for 371 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:12,760 America, that's for any people, because what God wants is a 372 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:17,080 nation whose leaders and whose people acknowledge God is God, 373 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,320 know him personally, and dedicate themselves to honor him 374 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,360 in every area of their lives. That's what God wants. 375 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,800 Call it what you want. God wants us to know him and 376 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:33,920 live by honoring him. And so as those who do, our 377 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:37,280 quest beginning right here in Cartersville is to seek as the 378 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:41,040 people of God, to live as those who know Jesus and to obey him. 379 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,200 And then from sea to shining sea, to see that people from our 380 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:48,960 mouths hear about him so they can know him and obey him. 381 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:51,840 And then from the ends of the earth, we go right here from 382 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:53,920 Cartersville so the people can know him and obey him. 383 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:56,560 Because you know what happens when a leader group of leaders, 384 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,560 when a country, when a people know God and honor him as God, 385 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:01,840 you know what happens? Knowing and honoring Jesus 386 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:06,760 eliminates it's idolatry. Knowing and honoring Jesus leads 387 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:11,360 to sexual purity. Knowing and honoring Jesus stops 388 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:15,680 violence, drives out corruption, smothers greed and injustice, 389 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,320 and causes us to value and protect the sanctity and dignity 390 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:24,160 of human life, of those made in the image of God that we 391 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:27,280 sacrifice on the altar of worship to the God of our 392 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:31,120 convenience. Ladies and gentlemen, you can't 393 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:35,040 help but ask how much time do we have? 394 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:38,160 He said, Kyle, I need a little bit of hope right here. 395 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:40,840 Let me just tell you what God says. 396 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,720 God gives us a principle in Scripture, just how he deals 397 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:46,880 with sin. There he talks to us in the same 398 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:50,160 about how he deals when people are ready and willing to respond 399 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:54,080 in light of what they've seen. Second Chronicles 714 says this. 400 00:23:54,080 --> 00:24:00,360 If my people who are called by my name, well, what humble 401 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:05,800 themselves and pray and do what seek my my face and turn from 402 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:09,560 their wicked ways, and God says, I'll hear, I'll hear from 403 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:16,040 heaven, I'll forgive their sin and I'll heal their land. 404 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:21,440 Listen, the God who is the King of kings and Lord of Lords is 405 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:27,440 looking and longing for people to humble themselves and pray 406 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,360 and repent of sin and come running back to him and saying, 407 00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:36,720 Oh God, oh God forgive us. Oh God have mercy on us. 408 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:37,800 Do we deserve it? No. 409 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:39,520 Could we ever earn it? No. 410 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,000 Does God say He'll give it when we ask humbly to seek him? 411 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,720 Yes. If you're taking notes here, I 412 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:47,720 want you to write this down. I'm going to give you a lot of 413 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:49,840 words for God, but there's reasons why. 414 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:55,040 Number one, God is holy, sovereign, merciful and just. 415 00:24:55,520 --> 00:25:01,000 God is holy, sovereign, merciful and just can I just give you a 416 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:03,560 little insight when you're reading your Bible and you're 417 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,240 reading a text like this and you don't have a fig Newton's idea 418 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:08,840 what in the world that means for your normal Monday morning life. 419 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:12,600 You ever been there? OK, you may be still be 420 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:13,720 wondering that about this sermon. 421 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,080 I'm not sure but listen, here's here's what you do. 422 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:22,120 You ask yourself, what is this text teaching about God? 423 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,280 Because anytime you ask that question, you'll start to see 424 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:29,160 clearly what is this text of the Bible teaching me about God? 425 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,600 And what is teaching you about God is that God is holy, that 426 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,120 God is sovereign, that God is merciful, and God is just. 427 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:38,440 He has all of those things and more at the same time. 428 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:40,920 And when you start seeing who God is clearly, because you can 429 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,400 see that through His word, then you can see clearly how one 430 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:47,280 ought to adjust one's life to live, to know and honor God, who 431 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:49,520 alone is God. And all the sudden that becomes 432 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:54,080 very relevant on Monday morning and Friday night when you get a 433 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:58,960 clear glimpse of who God is and who he is and how he operates. 434 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:02,160 And the Bible will always reveal that if you just ask that 435 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:05,160 question when you're reading it. So God is holy, sinful man 436 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,120 cannot be in his presence, completely exposed without his 437 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:12,120 protection or his forgiveness in the righteousness of Christ and 438 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:13,520 survive. God is sovereign. 439 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:16,440 He's in complete control of kings and kingdoms and peoples 440 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:18,400 and nations. He's merciful, right? 441 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,040 He's extending hundreds of years of patience and mercy to people 442 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:23,960 in complete rebellion against him. 443 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:27,000 He's finally just. He always judges sin at just the 444 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:28,960 right time and in just the right way. 445 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:31,920 Even if we don't understand God, who is infinite in his wisdom 446 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,640 and completely and compassionate beyond our understanding, also 447 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:39,640 holy, justly judges sin. All those things are true about 448 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:44,640 God. Final section beginning in verse 449 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:48,560 17. When the sun had gone down and 450 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:53,000 it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch 451 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:57,520 passed between these pieces. And on that day the Lord made a 452 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:01,160 covenant with Abram, saying To your offspring, I give this lamp 453 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,120 from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river 454 00:27:04,120 --> 00:27:07,880 Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kinozites, the 455 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:11,480 Cadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Raphaim, the 456 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,400 Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. 457 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:20,200 The sun has set. It's dark, but it's not just 458 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,680 dark, it's real dark. It's the kind of dark that's not 459 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:25,880 natural dark. It's darker than that because of 460 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,280 a supernatural darkness that God has brought. 461 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:33,800 Abram is fast asleep, but he's wide awake spiritually. 462 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:38,280 All Abram can see is this smoking fire pot in a flaming 463 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:40,480 torch. I want you to think about if 464 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:42,600 you've ever cooked with a Dutch oven or an ancient way. 465 00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,000 They would have cooked before modern electricity or gas. 466 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:48,240 They would have used an oven flamed by fire to cook their 467 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:49,920 food. I want you to picture this 468 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:53,080 boiling pot, this ancient oven with fire and a flaming torch. 469 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:57,320 These two things represent, with fire, if you will, in purity the 470 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:01,040 very presence of Almighty God. That's what you're seeing here, 471 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:05,120 represented by these things. And Abram sees the smoking oven 472 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:09,160 in the flaming torch. Watch this pass between the 473 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:13,160 pieces of the carcasses that he split in half and then laid the 474 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,400 halves opposite each other. He watches the smoking pot in 475 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,760 the flaming torch pass through the middle through where the 476 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:22,800 blood had flowed, where the bodies were split, where they 477 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:26,040 were cut, where the blood was. That's where he sees the 478 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:29,080 presence of God go. Literally the Bible says here 479 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,000 when you read in English, your God made a covenant with Abram. 480 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:36,160 Literally the Hebrew language, God cut a covenant with Abram. 481 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:39,720 For that's how a covenant was made, not with pen and ink, but 482 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,800 with blood and a knife. And what's fascinating about 483 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,840 this is that during these days when agreements would have been 484 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:47,920 made like this or covenants would have been entered. 485 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,680 What we know from history is that when a king entered one 486 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,960 with a servant, often times the way this would have worked is 487 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:56,600 that the animals would be split open. 488 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,400 The blood would have flowed, A passageway would be between the 489 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:02,680 middle and the servant was required to walk between the 490 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:04,720 pieces. And by walking between the 491 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:06,320 pieces, what they're saying is this. 492 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:09,280 They're not signing their name. They're saying, let it be unto 493 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:13,720 me as these I walk between. Should I violate the terms of 494 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:19,240 the agreement between you and I? Let I be split open, Let my 495 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:22,120 blood be spilt, Let this happen to me. 496 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:25,040 Let the curse that fell on these animals fall on me. 497 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:27,240 Should I violate? But in what we know from history 498 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,880 is that the king didn't walk through, The servant would, but 499 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,040 it was assumed that the king would keep the terms of the 500 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,160 agreement without actually having to walk through the 501 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:38,720 blood. This is the only recorded one we 502 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:41,040 have in history where the servant doesn't walk through. 503 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:48,440 Who walks through? The king and only the king? 504 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:50,600 Say, Kyle, what in the world does that mean? 505 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:57,680 It means that God himself was walking through the pieces of 506 00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:00,080 these animals saying let it be done to me. 507 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:03,160 Let what happened to them happened to me. 508 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:07,680 Let my blood be spilled if I were to violate Abram, the 509 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,040 covenant that I'm cutting with you. 510 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:11,920 But guess who doesn't walk through? 511 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:18,240 Abram doesn't walk through. Why doesn't Abram sign? 512 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:25,680 Because God signed for him by signing for him and for Abram 513 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:30,800 God walks through saying Abram, if I fail to keep, then let it 514 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,720 be done unto me. And Abram, if you fail to keep, 515 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:39,240 let it also be done to me. Do you see what God is doing 516 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,320 when God is committing himself by him being the one to walk 517 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,680 through the cutting of the covenant with it all falling on 518 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:49,800 him? God signs for both sides, for 519 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:52,920 both parties. When God cut this covenant, 2 520 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:57,520 didn't sign one sign for two. The covenant could not fail, 521 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:02,760 therefore, because God himself cannot fail, and he's the one 522 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:05,120 whose Son y'all. This is actually one of the 523 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:09,960 clearest pictures of Christ in the Old Testament. 524 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:12,680 Let me see if I can make it even more clear for you. 525 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:13,560 Watch this. Are you ready? 526 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:19,920 As Abram was in a deep sleep, so too you could say in a spiritual 527 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:24,360 way the New Testament says we are dead in a quote spiritual 528 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:29,280 deep blindness state of sleep. In our sin we are blinded to the 529 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:31,880 goodness and grace of God. In our natural state we can't do 530 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,880 anything to save ourselves. The Bible says. 531 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,920 The Gospels then tell us that when Christ died, a what 532 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:44,520 descended on Calvary in the middle of the day? 533 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:49,400 A darkness, Not a natural darkness. 534 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:54,720 A supernatural darkness where the sun refused to shine on the 535 00:31:54,720 --> 00:32:00,960 crucifixion of the Christ Jesus's body was broken there on 536 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,320 a tree. No, it wasn't cut in two and 537 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:07,520 laid and laid one side of the but it was split with a spear 538 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:12,680 wide open where blood did flow. And his body was broken for 539 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:15,680 sinners, and there his blood flowed for sinners. 540 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:18,880 And just as it would have been quite a visceral scene when 541 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:21,560 Abraham slaughtered those animals, so it was for the Son 542 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:26,200 of Man who was marred beyond human recognition, Isaiah 53 543 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:30,520 says mangled by men to the point where one could not, they would 544 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:35,680 turn your face away from him. Was God dying? 545 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:39,800 Was the Son of God? Was Jesus, who is fully man and 546 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:44,680 fully God, dying because he, God, had not kept up his end of 547 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:52,000 the bargain? Was God dying because you and I 548 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:54,200 have not kept up our end of the bargain? 549 00:32:57,040 --> 00:32:59,840 Was God dying because He's the one who signed? 550 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:03,000 He's the one who signed the covenant with Abram. 551 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:05,880 Abram, should you, should your offspring ever not keep this 552 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,040 covenant and fail the covenant we have? 553 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:11,200 Amen. Fail to keep up our end of the 554 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:13,960 deal, sinned and fallen short of the glory of God we all have. 555 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:18,200 But God signed for you and for me with the body and the blood 556 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:20,880 of His Son. In a way, God walked through the 557 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:24,520 pieces of the broken body of His Son to sign with His body and 558 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:27,200 His blood for sinners, including you and me, so that His 559 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:30,240 signature is what we would depend on for our salvation, not 560 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:31,120 ours. Amen. 561 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:33,480 Because guess what? If my salvation depended on my 562 00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:36,080 John Hancock, I would have failed and failed over and over 563 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,120 again, and so would so would you. 564 00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:42,440 But God signed in your place. And guess what? 565 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:46,080 What God starts God, what God completes. 566 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:50,800 Aren't you glad God signed for you #2 write it down. 567 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:55,480 God signed His covenant for you with the body and blood of His 568 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:57,720 Son. When it comes to the Christian 569 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:01,440 life, friends, where do you sign? 570 00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:08,159 You don't, because God's already signed for you. 571 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:13,960 God makes a covenant with Abram, not Abram with God, and all 572 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:15,840 Abram has to do is trust in the covenant. 573 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:19,960 By what? By faith, for by grace you've 574 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:23,760 been saved through. It's not of your own doing. 575 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:27,920 It's a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should 576 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:29,880 boast, right. We don't make a covenant with 577 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:31,280 God. God makes one with us. 578 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:33,000 We don't sign. God signs for us. 579 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,400 We couldn't pay for our sin. God paid for our sin for us with 580 00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:39,360 the body and blood of this. And the Christian life, friends, 581 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:42,920 is not so much Gods are our commitment to God. 582 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:47,040 The Christian life is far more God's commitment to us. 583 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:50,000 When it comes to the Christian life, where do you sign You 584 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,280 don't because God has already signed for you. 585 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:55,960 The question is, have you put your faith in God's signature 586 00:34:56,000 --> 00:35:00,320 for you through His Son who bled and died for you? 587 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:04,480 In your place? John and praise team are going 588 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:07,200 to come out. I have a few different responses 589 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:11,320 I want you to consider. I think one of these three will 590 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:16,600 apply to everybody in the room. Number 1 is this, if you've 591 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:21,520 never by faith trusted in Jesus Christ, whose body was broken 592 00:35:21,680 --> 00:35:25,000 and blood was shed to pay for your sin so that you can be 593 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:28,400 given forgiveness and life, y'all, today is the day. 594 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:32,280 God says He gave the amorite hundreds of years of his 595 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:33,880 patients. How many years? 596 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:37,000 How many days of God's patience has God-given you? 597 00:35:37,240 --> 00:35:40,080 And you've yet though his arms are outstretched to you to trust 598 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:43,920 him to receive his Son, but you've refused it thus far and 599 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:46,240 God says today is the day. Why refuse it another day? 600 00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:50,000 Why not call on God to save you, you who died for you? 601 00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:53,160 That's why I'm going to stand right here when we respond in 602 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:56,040 our time of invitation, you can step out and say I need to trust 603 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:58,120 Christ. Pastor Kyle, today needs to be 604 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:03,960 my day. You come #2 you might be in the 605 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:05,240 room. And to go back to where we 606 00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:08,880 started with Abraham, whose faith was real, but it was often 607 00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:11,680 weak. Maybe you're there, Kyle. 608 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:17,280 My faith is real. I've been saved, but man, Satan 609 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:21,080 is all over me because I've been failing. 610 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:23,720 I've been walking in disobedience. 611 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,400 I've been struggling to believe, struggling to obey, struggling 612 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:32,240 to honor God and Kyle, right now, I quite honestly feel like 613 00:36:32,240 --> 00:36:34,280 maybe God's giving up on me, or at least I feel that way. 614 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:36,360 Or I feel far from Him. And you need to be reminded, you 615 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:42,640 need to be encouraged that God didn't sign with His Son so that 616 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:47,720 His Son could let go of you. You've trusted in Christ. 617 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:51,880 You've received the salvation that Jesus offers. 618 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:57,160 I don't it it, it doesn't matter how you've messed up God saying, 619 00:36:57,160 --> 00:36:58,800 would you trust and what I've done for you? 620 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,160 Would you let me pick you back up and put you back on the path? 621 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:06,120 Maybe you need to come and say, I need the Lord to just restore 622 00:37:06,120 --> 00:37:11,320 me to the commitment that he's that I know he's made to me and 623 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:16,320 I've made to him and I need to, I need to ask him to renew my 624 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:24,400 fortify my faith #3 if God says if my people will humble 625 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:29,600 themselves and pray, I can't help but think these are days we 626 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:32,280 need to be praying. Amen. 627 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:34,880 How could we not as the people of God? 628 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:38,600 How could we not based on what we see in our day, in our 629 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:41,920 culture, on the forces of darkness that are at work and 630 00:37:41,920 --> 00:37:44,560 pressing the evil agenda of the enemy all around. 631 00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:47,520 How could we as the people of God not seek to humble ourselves 632 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:49,160 when we come? And perhaps you want to come 633 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:51,960 humble yourself, get on your knees or come stand or some come 634 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,680 and sat on the front row, the first service and just just 635 00:37:54,680 --> 00:38:00,760 pleaded with God on behalf of our nation, just asking God for 636 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:03,400 mercy, saying God, open our eyes. 637 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:06,720 Let us live with boldness and kindness and courage in the face 638 00:38:06,720 --> 00:38:10,320 of evil, in the face of the agenda of the enemy God, knowing 639 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,360 that there is a time when you say enough is enough. 640 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:19,640 Let us not be asleep at the wheel of life and eternity and 641 00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:21,360 what God's doing and what he wants to do. 642 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:24,760 So I'm going to, I'm going to ask you to intercede for our I'm 643 00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:29,720 going to ask you to intercede for America, for our leaders. 644 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:35,040 Who cares what we're called? God cares what we call him and 645 00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:36,800 how we choose to obey him and honor him. 646 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:41,960 And that's what we need to pray is true in our lives, in our 647 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:44,320 county, our community, our state, and beyond. 648 00:38:44,640 --> 00:38:49,880 Father God, I pray that this morning we'd respond to you 649 00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:58,560 boldly, wholeheartedly, full of faith and trust in what you've 650 00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:01,480 done. Have your way in these next 651 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:03,960 moments, I pray in Jesus name, Amen. 652 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:06,640 Would you stand? Would you come use this altar? 653 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:08,880 Come talk to me. Come, let us pray with you. 654 00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:10,200 You come as the Lord leads.