It's Kind of a Big Deal

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Introduction

In 1200’s, England’s King John was in trouble

He was a bad king

Imprisoned his ex-wife, starved opponents to death, and imposed heavy taxes on barons

(The lowest members of British nobility)

If they couldn’t pay, he illegally punished them or took their properties

The barons got together and demanded the king follow the law

He refused, they revolted - capturing London

In June 1212, the two sides met to negotiate at Runnymede and made a deal

The king’s clerks wrote up a very important charter

The charter wouldn’t actually work very well initially

It would be instated, declared illegal, reinstated, ignored, rewritten many times

However, it still lives on as one of the most important contracts of all time

You may have heard of it - it’s called “Magna Carta,” Latin for “Great Charter”

In it, are two famous clauses that strongly affect us today (39, 40)

Magna Carta: “No free man shall be seized, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or ruined in any way, nor in any way proceeded against, except by the lawful judgement of his peers and the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right or justice.”

For the first time, all free men were guaranteed the right to justice and a fair trial

Used for Declaration of Independence and Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations)

What began as an agreement during a particular historical squabble...

Has now been British law for 800 years

And restrains tyrannical leaders and requires everyone to be subject to the law

Without the Magna Carta, the values we claim as our rights might not exist today

Today, we’re looking at another very important contract

The Abrahamic Covenant, and how it affects us today

YouVersion: It’s Kind of a Big Deal

We’re in Genesis 15:17-21

Last week, Abram starts out afraid

Then God says, “Don’t be afraid, I’m your shield.”

Then Abram says, “Yeah? What about the people you promised?”

God says, “Don’t worry, you will have a son and then billions of descendents.”

Genesis 15:6 (ESV)

6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

So Abram believes, everything is straight, right?

Genesis 15:7–8 ESV

7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

Abram is back to questioning God’s promises again

V. 6 said he believed, he’s in the hall of faith… but he keeps doubting - I don’t get it!

Even the faithful wrestle with doubt

I empathize with that

Nelson Mandela: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

If that’s true, bravery is taking action even though you are afraid

I think faith works the same way

To be faithful isn’t simply never doubting

The faithful will take action even if doubt is present

It’s knowing that your lack of understanding won’t have the final say over where your faith is

Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

I don’t think Abram disbelieves what God is saying

He’s just trying to have a firmer grasp on it

Remember, Abram will never own more than a single plot of land in his lifetime

Back in 12 we saw this:

Genesis 12:7 (ESV)

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.”

Abram won’t be alive to see it, so how can he know?

He knows he won’t have the actual experience of possessing the land

So he’s asking for another kind of experience

An assurance that he promise will come

I think that’s a good thing to ask for in our relationship with God

Sometimes we find ourselves fighting a battle

The type we don’t know we’ll ever fully win

Sometimes I spend time walking with people through stuff, and I doubt they want to change

Sometimes I doubt they even can

And I’ll pray, “Lord, remind me of your power, let me see some results of your work”

Boom, I’ll hear a story or reconnect with a person I’ve seen a major change in

Or I’ll be reminded of a time the Lord completed a major work in me

And it’s like, “Oh yeah, you are powerful and good. You got this just like you had that.”

Sometimes people will come up after a message and say, “Oh man, that’s just what I needed to hear.”

Or, “That’s just what so and so needed to hear.”

Sometimes, it’s good to ask God for a reminder or for fruit to keep you going

So for Abram, God shows up to settle this once and for all:

Genesis 15:9–11 (ESV)

9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

To us, we’re thinking: That’s the weirdest shopping list I’ve ever heard

Go to Kroger, hit the meat dept. and grab a cow, a goat, a ram, a turtledove and a pigeon

Then he lays them out like this:

Show layout

Know what’s weird, God didn’t even tell him to do that last part

He just said, “Get these animals” and Abram is the one that cuts them and lays them out

And then he’s got to sit there, watching and chasing off these vultures that are trying to eat them!

Weird. Really weird, but not to Abram

This was likely a very normal custom in that day

We learn a little about it in Jeremiah 34

Jeremiah 34:18–20 (ESV)

18 And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. 20 And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.

Evidently, two parties making an agreement would sacrifice an animal and cut it in half

Then, the parties would pass through together

A physical sign that they we making an agreement

Think of it as a signature today

If you broke the covenant, you’d end up like the animals - hut in half and fed to the birds

That’s why Abram has to sit there and chase the buzzards

In fact, when we get to verse 18 it says, “The Lord made a covenant with Abram.”

But a literal translation of Hebrew says, “The Lord cut a covenant with Abram.”

God was literally using a sign of the times to ensure that Abram was clear on what God promised

That’s really important for us too

Look for God’s seal on His promises

It can be dangerous when we place expectations on God He never accepts

We ask, “If God exists, why is there suffering?”

God didn’t promise a successful career, so we shouldn’t have an expectation that we won’t

God didn’t promise us a perfect spouse, so we shouldn’t have an expectation for one

God didn’t promise perfect health, so we shouldn’t have an expectation of it

Instead, we should look for those things He does promise us

Jesus promises us rest if we switch burdens with Him (Mat 11)

God promises to work everything for good if you love Him (Rom 8)

He promises to forgive us and cleanse us of sin (1 John 1)

He promises eternal life (John 3)

Those are the things we hold on to, not just what we want

So let’s see exactly what God promises Abram:

Genesis 15:12–16 (ESV)

12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

God reiterates that the land will belong to Abram’s descendents

But like we’ve said, it doesn’t go to Abram himself

In fact, it won’t go to his son Isaac, or his grandson Jacob, or his great grandson Joseph

Or to another 430 years of descendents

Or to anyone for 40 years after, until they all die - included Moses!

But eventually with Joshua and Caleb, they will finally set foot and take ownership of the promised land

Here’s what we can learn:

God often offers complicated blessings

Abram might have been like, “Wait, what?!”

The land is an amazing promise, what is this 400 years of affliction thing?

Some think it’s because Abram didn’t cut the birds in half - I have my doubts, but maybe

Honestly, God’s promise through Jesus is a promise like that too

We know all about the good parts

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Psalm 34:8 ESV

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Revelation 21:4 ESV

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Those are all good promises from God!

but what about the other things God says?

John 15:20 ESV

20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

Matthew 10:35 (ESV)

35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

Romans 5:3–5 ESV

3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Wait, I didn’t sign up for this suffering stuff...

Sorry, but that’s part of the deal - non-negotiable

But don’t get lost in that

Those things we don’t like helps us to end up with the best possible reward

We have to learn to trust God and accept His discipline - that’s how we get better

Ever look back on things and find yourself grateful when they’re done?

Any veteran’s in here today? Would you stand up for a moment? Can we thank our servicemen and women?

Most veterans are proud of what they’ve done - and thankful for the results

Our freedom comes from the result of our fighters

But also, many say, “Man, I learned responsibility, a sense of duty, and got in great physical shape!”

I learned skills, I got my education paid for, I saw the world!”

Does that mean it was easy? No!

Crawling through the mud and running in the heat

Getting screamed at and woken up before the sun

Being away from your family and facing the enemy in battle

It costs you, but the payoff is worth it

Ask any Ph.D. recipient, Super Bowl winner or Eagle Scout

They worked their butts off, but they’re glad they did

That is our walk with Christ

It costs us, but it’s worth it

Genesis 15:17–21 (ESV)

17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

Remember I said this custom involved the two parties passing through the animals together?

Here, we see smoke and fire going through the animals, why?

That means that God passes through the animals

Remember God and His Shekinah glory lead the Israelites in a pillar of smoke by day and fire by night

Now, we see smoke and fire making the covenant

Notice who’s not walking through the animals though: Abram

That’s because this is an unconditional covenant

God is doing this regardless of what Abram does - Abram has no terms to complete in the deal

Abram will have offspring, they will take land, and they will be blessed… period!

And God is sealing this up for Abram right here

For us, we learn this:

Always look for God’s tangible reminders

God loves to give reminders and seals to His promises

When Jesus gets ahold of you, the Holy Spirit seals you for eternity

Want a reminder? Look at how God works in your life

Any saved Christian will see the results of the Spirit moving - we have to look for that

Both in ourselves and in others

We also have things like baptism: tangible reminder that we have been crucified/raised with Christ

Or communion, tangible reminder that God paid the price for us

Or a rainbow, tangible reminder that He won’t flood the earth again

Probably the most important one is His word

God never had to give us Scripture, but He did

66 books, 31,102 verses, 783,137 words - a lot of correspondence!

Kinda suspicious, right?

Almost as if He wants us to know Him intimately...

If you want to know God the way He wants you to know Him, you gotta read

That’s why discipleship includes, “Reading Scripture to know God...”

Amongst prayer, Love and Worship

Conclusion

We must look to God’s promises

Lesson from Vaneetha Rendall Risner

She asked a question that we all have probably asked

In fact, Gideon asked it in Judges:

Judges 6:13 (ESV)

13...“if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us...?”

Anyone asked that before?

If God loves me then why this, or why that?

Vaneetha learned that the answer was hard, if not impossible to find

It all came down to one word

She had what I think would be good reasons to ask the question

As an infant, she had polio

Childhood was spent in and out of the hospital for surgeries

She had a hard, emotionally draining marriage, and her husband left

Then a substitute doctor took her son off his heart medication

He passed away 2 days later

She struggled for a long time asking God “If you love me, then why?”

She didn’t get the answer to that question

Instead, she learned she needed to change the question

Or really, one word in the question - the word if

Asking “If God loves me,” begins in a place of doubt

We wait for an explanation so we can determine if were okay with what God is doing

We’re saying, “Prove Yourself to me on my terms.”

“If” is the word that Satan used when he tempted Jesus

Luke 4:3 (ESV)

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

Matthew 4:6 (ESV)

6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down...”

Luke 4:7 (ESV)

7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”

If is not a God word to use when we approach God and His promises

Instead, the question should be, “Because God loves me, why?”

Rather than centering what happens on what we want

We must center our thoughts on what He’s doing with it, what we can learn from it

We start to pursue what He wants in it, instead of what we want in it

God isn’t cruel, He’s kind

He’s not selfish, He’s generous

He’s not inhibitive, He’s helpful

He is love, and we have to remember that - even when we don’t get what we want