Sermon Central
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A God Of Covenant
Contributed by Joe Rowland on Jun 30, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: God has always been a God who gives promises. God made a Covenent with Abraham. God makes covenants with us through Christ Jesus. Through a vision, God showed me that my mom was in Heaven waiting on me.
A God of Covenant
7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. {a burning...: Heb. a lamp of fire}
How many, this morning, know that we serve a God of Covenant?
When I say that we serve a God of covenant we serve a God of promise.
What God has done, He still is able to do, we just have to come to a place in our walks where we believe that He can.
God has made many precious promises to His children, we just have to learn that what He has revealed is ours to obtain.
God revealed to Abraham that he would be the Father of many Nations.
In order to be a Father of something, you have to have seed, and in this instance Abraham had no children.
Abraham was going to trust in what the Lord spoke and believe that with God all things were possible.
The Lord had already shown Abraham this Revelation, but now He was going to expand the Revelation.
We find from the examples of the Bible greats, and our experiences as well, that the Lord has to constantly reaffirm His Promises to us and to strengthen our faith. It does not take much to weaken our faith, despite our claims to the contrary.
8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
Abraham ask two questions,
1. What will you give me? Genesis 15:2
2. And whereby shall I know?
Christ is the answer to the first question and the Covenant to the second.
9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
The Covenant is founded on grace for five living creatures are sacrificed to establish it.
Five in the Scriptures is the number of grace and these five sacrifices set out the fullness of the great Sacrifice of Calvary.
10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
The dividing of the three larger animals in sacrifice meant that their bodies were literally cut in 2 pieces, with one piece on one side and the other piece on the other side.
This signified the depth of sin which the cross alone could answer.
11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
The fowls represent the opposition to the cross by demon spirits.
Abraham drove them away. In the Name of Jesus Christ, we have power over demon spirits and as Abraham we must drive them away.
12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
God, during this time of sleep, showed Abraham what would be in the future, but also goes on to show that there would be a great deliverance.
God was making a Covenant with Abraham.
17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. {a burning...: Heb. a lamp of fire}
