Thank you.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord God,
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation.
He that believeth shall not make haste.
Lord, you shall abide in thy tabernacle, who shall dwell in thy holy hill.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord God,
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation.
He that believeth shall not make haste.
Lord, you shall abide in thy tabernacle, who shall dwell in thy holy hill.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord God,
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation.
He that believeth shall not make haste.
Thank you.
Two, two, three.
Springs of Living Water.
Two, two, three on the first.
Happy now am I, my soul they satisfy,
Drinking at the springs of living water,
O wonderful and bountiful supply.
How sweet the living water from the hills of God,
It makes me glad and happy all the way.
Now glory, grace, and blessing mark the path I trod,
I'm shouting hallelujah every day.
Drinking at the springs of living water,
Happy now am I, my soul they satisfy,
Drinking at the springs of living water,
O wonderful and bountiful supply.
O sinner, won't you come today to Calvary,
A fountain there is flowing deep in wine.
The Savior now invites you to the water free,
Where thirsting spirits can be satisfied.
Drinking at the springs of living water,
Happy now am I, my soul they satisfy,
Drinking at the springs of living water,
O wonderful and bountiful supply.
Amen. Good singing brother Evan.
Do you want to say a word of prayer?
Alright, our second song will be song number 230,
Heavenly Sunlight.
Song number 230, Heavenly Sunlight,
in the green hymnal.
Song number 230, sing it out on the first.
Walking in sunlight, all of my journey,
Over the mountains, through the deep veil,
Jesus has said I'll never forsake Thee,
Promised Divine that never can fail.
Heavenly Sunlight, Heavenly Sunlight,
Flooding my soul with glory divine.
Hallelujah, I am rejoicing,
Singing His praises, Jesus is mine.
Shadows around me, shadows above me,
Never conceal my Savior and God.
He is the light, in Him is no darkness,
Ever I'm walking, close by His Son.
Heavenly Sunlight, Heavenly Sunlight,
Flooding my soul with glory divine.
Hallelujah, I am rejoicing,
Singing His praises, Jesus is mine.
In the bright sunlight, ever rejoicing,
Pressing my way to mansions above,
Singing His praises, gladly I'm walking,
Walking in sunlight, sunlight of love.
Heavenly Sunlight, Heavenly Sunlight,
Flooding my soul with glory divine.
Hallelujah, I am rejoicing,
Singing His praises, Jesus is mine.
Alright, welcome back to the Shure Foundation Baptist Church.
Let's take our bulletins and go through them real quickly.
On our front cover we have the verse of the week.
If you don't have a bulletin, would you raise your hand high,
and one of the ushers hopefully has an extra one.
Anybody need a bulletin?
Alright, on our front cover we have our verse of the week.
It says, the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble,
and He knoweth them that trust in Him.
Nahum chapter 1, verse 7, great verse there.
Our service times at Shure Foundation Baptist Church Sunday morning service is 10.30 a.m.
and Sunday evening 3.30 p.m.
We're going to be in Genesis chapter 15 tonight.
And Thursday Bible study, we're in 1 John chapter 4 this coming week.
So if you want to read ahead and kind of know where we're at,
maybe you've been skipping or you just haven't been caught up in the series or whatever.
It's good to just read that before we come to church and so know what we're studying.
Anyway, we had soul winning today at 1 o'clock, and I think the blue team got skunked.
Anybody have a salvation today?
I'm looking around and oh wow, alright.
Well, that's a great area that we were in, so wipe the dust off your feet
and we'll move along to the next area.
So we knocked a lot of doors today, and we had a really angry lady come to the door.
And if I had to live with her, I'd be up on the housetop in the corner.
She was just like, when she answered the door, she was like,
it's finally my chance to go against Christianity.
And she just was saying all this stuff.
Brother Alex was really nice.
He was just like, well, can I show you this verse?
And she was accusing us of being every religion that we weren't.
So the Mormons believe this, and the Jehovah's Witnesses weren't.
No, we're not Jehovah's Witnesses, we're not Mormons.
But anyway, it was interesting.
We got to plant a few seeds, but hey, God rewards us for what we do
and the time we put in, amen.
Our regional soul winning times are listed below.
If you're wanting to go to those different soul winning times,
we use a WhatsApp group.
So if you're not in that group and you come to this church
or you come on a regular basis and you want to be in that group,
it's good to know what's going on.
It's kind of like a church bulletin board that if you have an instant prayer request,
you put that in there and people are praying for you and things like that.
So that WhatsApp group is very nice.
We might end up having to divide up some groups here and there
because things get buried in there.
So anyway, we'll try to come up with something where it doesn't get all clogged up.
But anyway, our praise report, you can look down and see how many salvations we have, baptisms.
We had three up in Vancouver, B.C.
And we had good attendance a couple weeks ago before the snowstorm hit.
And we got Spanish kids class coming up next Tuesday at 6 p.m.
So please make sure that you're RSVPing and making sure, you know,
she doesn't want to come and do a class and nobody's here.
So please, just as a courtesy, let Ms. Alejandra know.
She didn't tell me to say that.
I'm just saying that because I see her posts sometimes like, is anybody coming?
So she might have to work on her own Spanish and just teach herself,
but I think she can do that at home.
So just be courteous of people that are doing things like that
and just let people know what you're doing
because if you're not going to be able to make it,
then it would probably be a good chance to cancel that class.
So anyway, Pastor Jones is having his two-year anniversary
for Shield of Faith Baptist Church.
That's this coming weekend.
And on the 26th, Pastor Jimenez is preaching there.
And on Saturday, there's a time of soul winning.
I'll be preaching a quick morning soul winning sermon
and then be soul winning with their church for a while.
And I'll be coming home for the Sunday services.
But Pastor Jones will be preaching both services if you can make it
or if you want to make it.
It would be a good thing to go and support Pastor Jones
and Shield of Faith Baptist Church for their two-year anniversary.
Our two-year anniversary in Spokane is coming up in two weeks.
On March 5th, on Friday night at 6 p.m.,
Pastor Bruce Mejia will be preaching for us at the Spokane location.
We'll have the time of soul winning on Saturday.
And then on Sunday, I'll be feeding you between the services,
but I'll be preaching both services on Sunday for the two-year anniversary.
And as usual, there's like a basketball tournament.
I have to skip a week or something so this basketball tournament
doesn't keep messing me up.
But if you're wanting to go, just let me know.
I'd like to be able to order the food for the second service
or between services.
It's a tight schedule kind of like we have here.
Anyway, I'm going to be preaching in OKC at Steadfast Baptist Church in OKC.
I've never been to Oklahoma before, so I'm excited about that.
That's April 25th.
And then our two-year anniversary trip to Hawaii is actually May 31st through June 6th.
The camping trip is not canceled thus far, but it could be canceled.
So it's just going to be up to the county.
The county kind of owns that property or whatever,
and so last year they canceled on us so we weren't able to do it.
But it's tentatively scheduled for the 16th through the 19th.
And then our anniversary, of course, is going to be August 1st, June 30th through August 1st.
And we're trying to get into a new building, so continue to pray about that.
We're trying to get it.
We put all of our information in, and so we're just kind of waiting to hear back.
Otherwise we might have to look at someplace else.
But I like the place that we're trying to get, so if everything goes good,
then we could be in that building by August doing our three-year anniversary
in a brand-new building where there's way more room and all kinds of stuff.
And it's one building. There's no bars right next door.
There's no all this other junk.
And it's a good soul-winning area, so we'll be able to enjoy some great fresh soul-winning area.
So that's a good spot.
Anyway, so pray about that.
The Bible Memory Verse Challenge, John 14, 1 through 6,
you have until 11, 59 seconds to get that verse word perfect to a non-church, non-family member.
A lot of people did the challenge. Great job, everybody.
I really appreciate that.
And so we'll probably start another one here pretty soon,
and it will be way harder so that you can't earn any prizes,
but it will be 1 Chronicles, Chapter 1, the whole chapter.
You have to get the names word perfect, too.
You have to have the Scorby translation, all right?
The Brooklyn accent.
So anyway, we'll do another one.
I'm thinking about doing John 3, 15 through 18 or something like that.
It will be some low-hanging fruit with good verses.
So anyway, with that being said, we had the UK church plant head, 45 in service
and 39 for the evening service, and so I didn't get the salvation total.
I can't remember what it was.
Anyway, they didn't have any COVID police try to break up the place or anything like that,
so it sounded like it was a good service, and we are a family-integrated church.
We all know this.
Children and infants, please take them out if they start freaking out
or you need to change their diaper or feed them or whatever, and that would be great,
and bring them back in when they're closing their right minds, so just like the maniac of Gadara.
All right?
And then please make sure you're latching both baby gates before and after you come up and down the stairs.
Be careful on that back set of stairs and use the handrail, please.
And let's see, no food in the assembly area.
Silence your cell phones at this time.
Escorts to your vehicles are available by the ushers or the guys with the pens that say usher on their jackets,
and online donations are available at our website given there, and then the text to give numbers there also.
And who did we not sing happy birthday to?
Was it Bowie?
Bowie.
All right, Bowie, you've got to come up here.
She'll do it, won't she?
You can come up here.
Hey, by the way, while she's coming up, whose is this?
Nobody's going to say.
It just ended up in my office.
So come on up, Bowie.
We're going to sing happy birthday.
Do you have your tiara?
Do you have a tiara?
No?
All right, everybody's going to sing happy birthday to you, so face everybody.
All right, ready?
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday, God bless you.
Happy birthday to you.
You can go ahead and take a seat now.
I've teased people about that for years and nobody's ever actually come up.
If you're a first-time visitor, we have a little gift package that we give everybody.
So if you're a first-time visitor, on the way out you can grab one of these.
It has the film Being Baptist.
It has a pin.
It has some other goodies in there.
So if it's your first time here, please take one of these on your way out the door.
We're thankful to have you as a first-time visitor.
Anything else?
All right, are we voting on anything?
No? Okay.
Let's sing another song and we'll receive the offer.
All right, our next song is going to be song number 228, I Love to Tell the Story, in the green hymnal.
Song 228, I Love to Tell the Story.
Song 228 in the green, I Love to Tell the Story, sing it out on the first.
I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story because I know it is true.
It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
I love to tell the story, twill be my theme in glory, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story, more wonderful it seems than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams.
I love to tell the story, it did so much for me.
And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee.
I love to tell the story, twill be my theme in glory, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story, tis pleasant to repeat.
What seems each time I tell it more wonderfully sweet, I love to tell the story for some have never heard.
The message of salvation from God's own holy word.
I love to tell the story, twill be my theme in glory, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story for those who know it best, seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.
And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song, twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.
I love to tell the story, twill be my theme in glory, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.
Amen. Good seeing Brother Justin. Could you bless the offering?
Amen.
You want to go ahead and open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 15?
Genesis 15, if you don't have a Bible, raise your hand and someone will bring you one.
Genesis chapter 15.
Genesis 15, the Bible reads, after these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying,
Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.
And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless?
And the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus.
And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed, and lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own boughs shall be thine heir.
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven and tell the stars, If thou be able to number them, and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness.
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.
And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a shegoat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the mists, and laid each piece one against another, but the birds divided he not.
And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in the land that is not theirs, and shall serve them,
and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterwards shall they come out with great substance.
And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
But in the fourteenth generation they shall come hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
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.
In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Under thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates,
the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Brother Evan, will you pray for us?
Well it's been a while since we've been in the book of Genesis, so remember last time we were in Genesis in chapter 14 we saw the slaughter of the kings and how Abraham went and rescued Lot.
And so it picks up in verse number one, it says, After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.
Let's pray, Heavenly Father, we thank you Lord so much for the book of Genesis and the foundational truths that it teaches us.
And Lord, I pray that you would help me as I preach the scriptures tonight.
Lord, I pray that you would help my tongue to just speak those things that I should.
And if there's something I shouldn't be speaking, Lord, I pray that you would hold my tongue back.
And I pray that you would bless each and every single person tonight. Fill them with your spirit.
And Lord, I pray that you would just bless the congregation tonight. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
So the title of my sermon tonight is Abraham the Prophet of God.
Abraham the Prophet of God.
Now, how do I know Abraham was a prophet of God?
Well it says the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision.
So usually when the word of the Lord comes to someone in the Bible, that person is a prophet.
But do you want me to prove it further?
Look at Genesis chapter 20 verse 3.
Turn over to Genesis chapter 20 verse 3.
And I don't want to ruin this story because I think this is a great story in the Bible
and I definitely want to cover it in further detail.
But point number one tonight is Abraham was a prophet of God.
Abraham was a prophet of God and these verses prove it.
So this is when Abraham is pretending to be brother and sister with his wife
and he doesn't want Abimelech to kill him and take his beautiful wife who is over 100 years old I think at this point.
So it's hard for us to imagine that someone would be beautiful at 100 years old
and they would want to steal your wife.
Because usually at 100 years old when we see someone now they look like pretty shriveled up at that point.
So no offense, but it's just true.
Anyway, so look at verse number 3.
It says, But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him,
Behold, thou art but a dead man for the woman which thou hast taken, for she is a man's wife.
So that's definitely not how you want God to come to you in a dream is saying thou art but a dead man.
But it says, But Abimelech had not come near her.
And he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
Said he not unto me, she is my sister?
And she herself said, He is my brother.
In the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
So he's basically saying, I didn't realize that they were actually married.
And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart.
For I also withheld thee from sinning against me, therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
Now, therefore, restore the man his wife, for he is a prophet.
So that's the proof of the pudding right there. Abraham was a prophet.
And it says, And he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live.
And if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are dying.
So one thing, just looking at this, you definitely don't want to mess with God's prophets.
And so God was protecting Abraham. He was protecting his wife.
And he's like, basically, you're a dead man if you don't do what I say right now.
And so he says, Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning,
and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears, and the men were sore afraid.
And so, just as a little side note, if you're messing with God's man, if you're messing with God's prophets,
and look, everybody in this room brings the message of salvation to somebody's door.
When people mess with you, God doesn't take that too kindly.
And so they're going to have a reckoning, like the lady that answered the door and was very rude to us.
Hey, the Bible says, Touch not thy anointed, and do thy prophets no harm.
And obviously she wasn't trying to kill us or anything, but if looks could kill, me and Alex would have dropped over dead.
So she was very angry.
And we had our masks on and all that stuff, so she had no excuses.
I think that's probably what she wanted to come out and say, but we already had her. It was too late.
So anyway, people should be careful who they're messing with.
And God doesn't take too kindly to his prophets being harmed and his anointed being touched.
And every single one of us that's saved in this room has the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon them.
So God considers all of you his people, his elect, his prophets, or whatever you want to call it.
When we go to the door, we're preaching to people.
And so prophets, what do they do? They prophesy. They preach.
So be careful when you're trying to mess with God's man or God's woman or whoever.
But if there's someone that's saved and their people are harming you, God doesn't take too kindly to that.
Number two tonight, the test of a prophet.
Well, how do we know that someone is a prophet?
Well, turn to Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 20.
Now, in this prophecy, Moses is talking about how there's going to be a prophet that would rise up like unto him.
And because Moses was a different kind of prophet, God spoke to him face to face in a way that he doesn't speak to other people.
And Jesus was like that also. So it said that he would raise up a prophet like unto him.
But look what it says about people that say they're prophets and really aren't.
Look at verse 20. It says,
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak,
or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall what? Die.
So look, these people that are false prophets, what does God think about them?
He doesn't think good about them. I preached about that this morning about these false prophets called the Mormons.
But anyway, look at verse 21. It says,
If thou shalt say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
So God's going to tell us, give us a little litmus test about whether they're actually prophets or not.
Now modern day, I mean, the Bible's written.
So when a prophet preaches in the name of the Lord or the word of the Lord is preached by a man of God,
it's something from the Bible. It's not something God gives them extra biblically.
So thinking in the New Testament right now, if I'm prophesying, I'm preaching God's word,
it's something that the word of the Lord is all in here.
So in modern day, you're preaching what God says in the Bible.
Now these people that say, I have a message from God that says to tell you this, they're lying.
They're false prophets. So look what it says. Verse 22.
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass,
that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken.
But the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him.
So what does that mean, afraid of the prophecy?
There's all kinds of false prophets in the Bible and sometimes it's hard to differentiate
whether they're actually false prophets or they're just wrong.
Well hey, if they're preaching something that's wrong that God didn't tell them to preach,
then they're false prophets. That's what it's saying.
And if someone prophesied in the Old Testament and said this is going to happen
and it doesn't come to pass, they're false prophets.
And there's false prophets and false teachers now saying things are going to happen.
Like these guys that predicted that Donald Trump was going to win the presidency.
False prophet! Don't listen to that person anymore. They're wrong. They're liars.
So if someone's telling you that kind of garbage and it never comes to pass,
then it's not something that came from the Lord. Is that simple enough?
And if some watchtower society says that Jesus is going to come back in 1874
and they have all these dates that he never came, guess what they are?
False prophets! Charles Taze Russell is a false prophet
and he's buried in some tomb that has the Masonic logos on it.
I mean these people are straight out of hell.
So just like the Mormon prophets, they're straight out of hell.
Numbers 12, verse 5, this is the test of a prophet.
And God explains it when Aaron and Miriam start to get envious of Moses.
After all the things that they saw and heard,
this is the last thing that they should be doing.
But look what it says in verse 5.
And the Lord came down in a pillar of the cloud
and stood in the door of the tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam.
And they both came forth.
And He said, Hear now My words.
If there be a prophet among you,
I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision
and will speak unto him in a dream.
So usually when He calls prophets of God,
He does it through a vision or through a dream.
Isn't that what it says?
He says, My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently,
and not in dark speeches.
And the similitude of the Lord shall he behold.
Wherefore then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?
So here again is a warning from people that are speaking about God's man
and God's leadership.
Hey, you better be careful because God, what did He do to Miriam?
He made her leprous, didn't He?
And Moses had to intercede for her.
But be careful what you're saying about leadership and about God's man
because look, we believe in a pastor-led church.
And look, I want to be led by the Spirit of the Lord
and by the Lord Jesus Christ.
You know what is my boss? This book right here.
But if it doesn't say it in this book, then I don't want to do it.
And if it says it, we should do it.
So that's what makes, you know, and so you've got these congregations
that have plurality of elders or deacon boards that run these churches.
Hey, a deacon board can run that pastor right out of town
if they don't like what he's doing.
Is that biblical? No.
The deacons are not supposed to control anything.
They're the servants of the church.
They're supposed to listen to what the pastor says to do.
They don't tell the pastor what to do.
You know, for some reason in America we have this democracy within churches,
but that's not how God wants it.
That's never how God has done it.
Did Moses have to go and say,
Hey, you know, let's get together and whatever you guys decide,
we'll vote on that.
No.
Moses did what God said to do, and he told them what to do.
And if people bucked at that system, they were punished.
You know, the false prophets were hell literally split wide open
and all of Dathan and Abiram and all that pertained unto them
went straight down to hell, and they went straight to hell alive.
So they got off light in Numbers 12.
But what does it say about a prophet?
God's going to make it known through a dream or a vision,
and the way he dealt with Moses and Jesus, of course,
was a little bit differently.
But a prophet, if you just go by the dictionary definition,
is a person regarded as an inspired teacher
or a proclaimer of the word of God or will of God.
It's just a, you know, and obviously, and they're led by the Lord.
So let's go back to Genesis chapter 15,
and this will lead us into point number 3.
The Lord speaks to and through his prophets.
It says in verse 2,
And Abraham said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me,
seeing I go childless?
And the steward of my house is Eleazar of Damascus.
Is this Eleazar of Damascus?
And Abraham said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed,
and, lo, one born of mine house is mine heir.
Didn't God already tell Abraham what he was going to do, though,
in previous chapters, in chapter 12,
and, you know, other previous chapters, chapter 13?
He did. He promised him things.
So Abraham is just, you know, I don't know,
he's not having a lapse of faith, I don't think.
He just, it's like he's 100 years old now, or whatever,
and he's like, okay, well, you said that I was going to have a child.
You know, usually if you're 100 years old,
you're past that time and those seasons in your life.
So you can see how, like, you know,
what do you really want me to do here?
And it says in verse 4,
And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him saying,
see, God spoke to Abraham.
He said, The word of the Lord came unto him saying,
This shall not be thine heir,
but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels
shall be thine heir.
Jesus Christ was a literal descendant of Abraham,
and he was in the line of those that would be in the line of Christ.
Look, it's very important that we understand that
there's the prophecy of Jesus coming as the seat of a woman,
and, you know, all these different, you know,
why does it tell us, and so and so begets so and so,
and all that stuff in the Book of Genesis and other places?
Because it's important because it's a prophecy
about the Lord Jesus Christ that had to come true.
So this seed had to literally come from the bowels of Abraham.
It couldn't be, you know, we'll get into later chapters
where Sarah kind of has a lapse in faith.
But look at verse 5.
It says, And he brought him forth abroad,
and said, Look now toward heaven,
and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them.
And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
So he's saying, look, there's a lot of stars out there, isn't there?
And he's saying, if you look toward heaven,
and you can number all the stars,
that's going to be the number of how many children you'll have.
But that child is actually seed, thy seed.
So it is a plurality,
but at the same time it's talking about Jesus.
All the earth is going to be blessed
because of his one descendant, which is Christ.
And then all the nations of the earth
are going to be blessed because of his seed.
So look at verse 6.
It says, And he believed in the Lord,
and he counted it to him for righteousness.
So belief alone has always been what saves people.
Look at what it says.
And he believed in the Lord.
So what do we have to do to be saved in 2021?
We have to believe in the Lord with all of our hearts,
and that's how we get saved.
It's not believe and do extra works.
It's never been that way.
But you've got these dispensational dirt bags,
like Pastor Jones calls them, that will say,
in the Old Testament you were saved with your faith plus your works.
And then it was only graced through faith.
And once Paul's dispensation is done,
then it's going to...
That's garbage!
I read you the verses this morning
and now it's just one sacrifice for all.
One!
Jesus did that.
He fulfilled that.
And that's how you get saved.
But you know what?
Abraham was looking forward.
The loins of his own flesh
was going to be what brings his own salvation.
So pretty trippy stuff for a person like Abraham
to think about, you know?
To think about that your loins
are going to come forth out of you.
Even the children of Israel
were still yet in the loins of Abraham
because he had 12 sons, right?
So, I mean, not 12 sons, that was Jacob, excuse me.
But he had Isaac, and then through Isaac was the seed.
I'm sorry, that was a mistake on my part.
I was getting a little too happy there.
But Jacob is the one that had 12 sons, excuse me.
So at least I caught it there.
So it says he believed in the Lord
and he counted it to him for righteousness.
So I believe that faith alone has always been what it is
and that's always what it's going to be.
And that's the only thing that God asked us to do
is believe on the Lord with all of our heart,
with all of our mind, you know?
Nothing on works, 0% on you, it's all faith.
So that destroys the dipstick dispensationalism.
It destroys it.
But I want to lead in with this,
with number four in my sermon is
when was Abraham saved?
This verse that we just read seems to indicate
that he got saved right here,
and that's what a lot of people think.
But I don't agree with that.
And I'll tell you why, because I think that
Abraham did a lot of things that you would say,
well, hey, that act of faith shows that he saved.
This act of faith.
But I want to go over some scripture with you
and why I don't think that he was saved right here.
I think he was already saved when this verse was written.
So if you don't agree with me,
we can go fight in the office afterwards about this.
But you can email me later and tell me
how I don't understand hermeneutics and whatever, okay?
I've never even heard of, I don't even know Herman.
So anyway, turn to Romans chapter four.
So you have to understand that Abraham did a lot of things
that would consider him,
the Bible actually talks about Abraham a lot.
And it talks about him in James,
it talks about him in Galatians,
it talks about him in Romans,
and a lot throughout the Bible.
Abraham was a key figure in the Bible.
In Genesis, he's a key figure of showing us
that salvation is by faith alone,
that he's the father of the faithful.
And this happened before what?
Before he was circumcised or anything like that.
So there's other times we're going to turn to
in our next chapters where Abraham calls upon the name of the Lord.
So which part is Abraham saved at?
I just want to go through some scripture with you tonight
and show you what I think.
And if you think I'm wrong, well, that's okay.
I would agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong.
So, Romans chapter four, verse one.
So what shall we say then that Abraham our father
has pertained to the flesh hath found?
For if Abraham were justified of works,
he hath whereof to glory, but not before God.
So here this also is saying,
hey, if Abraham were justified by works,
then he would have some way to brag and boast.
Like it says in Ephesians chapter two,
no man's going to boast of these things.
You're not justified by your works.
You're justified by your faith.
It says, but not before God.
So Abraham's works were so good that he could be like,
hey, Abraham, he had some good works, but not before God.
So he was a good man.
He had a lot of great works,
but God is the one person
that's not going to accept your works.
Look at verse three.
For what sayeth the scripture?
This is an important thing.
What does the Bible say?
What's the Bible say?
What's the scripture say?
Abraham believed God,
and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
You're like, Pastor Thompson, this is easy.
It says right here in Romans chapter four, verse three,
that Abraham believed God
and it was counted unto righteousness.
That happens in Genesis chapter 15.
But hold on a second.
So let's look at some other scriptures here
before you just take that, because here's what I think.
I think that God's just making a statement
about Abraham's faith.
I think that he believed him all the way back,
but let me show you.
So I'm not 100% sure when Abraham got saved.
I can't be dogmatic about that,
because where does it say that he literally got saved?
It doesn't really say.
But when he came out of Ur,
do you think he already had faith?
It sounds like he did.
So this should be pretty easy to convince you of.
Think about the salvation stories
about all the prophets that you've heard in the Bible.
I mean, remember where it tells us how Elijah got saved?
No.
How about Elisha?
Does it say when Elisha got saved?
No.
Does it say when Moses got saved?
Does it say if Moses believed in the Lord?
No, it doesn't say that.
How about Daniel?
Does it say when he got saved?
How about Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah?
Any of those guys?
Can you remember a time
when one of the prophets gets saved?
Maybe Samuel is probably a good example
of when you see a prophet actually get saved
when he was a child.
But these other guys,
Elijah just comes on the scene
and it's like he's already doing stuff.
So we don't really know.
So I don't think it's necessarily that important
to think when exactly did Abraham get saved,
but there are people,
and I don't recommend going to commentaries,
if you get confused about something
and you just want to see what do these people say,
most of the time the commentaries are written
by unsaved devils.
So whatever they're saying,
you can be like,
I definitely don't agree with that
because they're wrong about all this other stuff.
Maybe a clock is right a couple times a day,
but most of the time if I look at a commentary
just to see what they're saying,
like Matthew Henry or something,
it's always wrong.
So I went to a commentary
to see when people think that Abraham was saved
and all of them say Genesis chapter 15.
So that just made me think,
well, it's definitely not that.
Look at Romans 4-9 though.
It's going to talk more about Abraham
and the things he did.
Come with this blessedness
upon the circumcision only
or upon the uncircumcision also,
for we say that faith was reckoned
to Abraham for righteousness.
So was it when he was circumcised?
Because if you look at things
and you're too narrow on what you're thinking,
you can think that that's what it's saying right there,
that he was circumcised.
But let's read on further.
How was it then reckoned?
How was his faith reckoned?
When he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision.
Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
So here's one thing we do know.
It was before he got circumcised.
So this makes me feel pain just thinking about that.
But anyway,
I'm glad we don't have to do that anymore.
So that's a clue right there
that he wasn't saved after he got circumcised.
But I bet you the Jews think that.
The Jews think that you have to be circumcised to be saved.
Because that's a major theme in the New Testament
where they're just like,
they're saying that we have to be circumcised
and follow the laws of Moses.
Not true.
And the guy that they like to say
is the father of their faith is Abraham.
And when was he saved?
Not in uncircumcision.
I mean not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
Look at verse 11.
And he received the sign of circumcision,
a seal of the righteousness of the faith
which he had yet been uncircumcised.
So he already had that faith.
That he might be the father of all them that believe.
Though they be not circumcised,
that righteousness might be imputed unto them also.
So circumcision was a sign or a symbol
of the faith that he already had.
That's what it says, right?
Verse 12.
And the father of circumcision to them
who are not of the circumcision only,
but who also walk in the steps of that faith
of our father Abraham,
which he had been yet uncircumcised.
So it's making it very clear his faith came before that.
For the promise that he should be the heir of the world
was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law,
but through the righteousness of faith.
So there's another clue that when it's talking about
the promise that he should be the heir of the world.
Now skip down to verse 16.
It says,
Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace
to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed,
not to that only which is of the law,
but to that which is of the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of us all.
Now look at verse 17.
As it is written,
I have made thee a father of many nations,
before him whom he believed,
even God, who quickeneth the dead,
and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
So it talks right there about
before him whom he believed, even God.
So he believed in the Lord.
We saw that in Genesis chapter 15.
We see it here in Romans chapter 4.
Let's keep going here in verse 18.
It says,
Who against hope believed in hope,
that he might become the father of many nations,
according to that which was spoken,
so shall thy seed be.
And being not weak in faith,
he considered not his own body now dead
when he was about a hundred years old,
neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb.
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief,
but was strong in faith, giving glory to God,
and being fully persuaded that what he had promised,
he was able also to perform.
And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Now it was not written for our sakes alone
that it was imputed to him,
but for us also to whom it shall be imputed,
if we believe on him.
That raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was delivered for our offenses
and was raised again for our justification.
So I mean, this whole chapter is basically about Abraham
and the imputation of righteousness
without the works of the law.
And it's kind of just going through
some of the things that Abraham,
different faith points of his life
and works points of his life,
because if someone tells you to go circumcise yourself,
that would be an act of faith right there
for both guys, right?
That's a big deal.
But think about with Isaac, his son,
being asked to kill his own son.
Look at Hebrews chapter 11.
Let's look at some more of Abraham's faith.
Like I said, Abraham was a big deal in the Bible.
He was the friend of God.
He was the father of the faith that we believe in,
faith alone.
And he had these outward showings that he had faith.
And the Bible speaks about him having faith
imputed unto him for righteousness.
But when was that?
Well, let's look at Hebrews chapter 11,
verse number 8.
What does it say?
This is called the faith chapter, by the way.
By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out
into a place which he should after receive
of an inheritance, obeyed,
and he went out not knowing whether he went.
So what does it say right here?
I mean, this should give us a big clue, right?
That by faith Abraham was called.
When did that happen?
Genesis chapter 12, right?
When God called him to come out,
it says it was by faith that he did that, right?
So now look at what it says in verse 9.
By faith he sojourned in the land of promise,
as in a strange country,
dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob,
the heirs with him of the same promise,
for he looked for a city which hath foundations
whose builder and maker is God.
So God called him to go out to Canaan,
and that took an act of faith.
It says it right there, by faith Abraham
was called out to that place.
By faith he sojourned in the land.
He looked by faith for a city
whose foundations whose builder and maker is God.
Now skip down to verse 12, it says,
Therefore sprang there even of one,
of him as good as dead,
so many as the stars of the sky in multitude,
and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable.
So this is referencing here to Genesis chapter 15,
which we're in tonight, right?
So it's telling us all these acts of faith
that Abraham had.
So look at verse 17, let's skip down to verse 17.
It says, And by faith Abraham,
when he was tried, offered up Isaac,
and he that had received the promises,
offered up his only begotten son,
which is obviously a picture of God the Father
offering up his only begotten son,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so that was an act of faith.
You know, a lot of people take that
and they look at that and they say,
God is evil because he asked Abraham
to sacrifice his son, but he didn't let him do it.
He just wanted to see, he was testing him.
He was testing his faith.
And, you know, Abraham,
but why did Abraham do that?
Why was he willing to do that?
Because of his faith.
He knew that God would raise his son from the dead.
Look at verse 18, it says,
Shall thy seed be called?
So if Isaac's born, he's a young lad,
and God already said that his seed would come through Isaac.
He hasn't had any children yet,
and God says, go sacrifice your son.
And look at what it says in verse 19,
accounting that God was able to raise him up.
So he knew that God would raise him up.
If he killed Isaac, if he let him go through with that,
then he would raise him up anyway.
And so to him, that's an act of faith.
I mean, think about being put in that position
where you're being asked to kill your own son.
That's a big act of faith that he did.
It says, even from the dead,
whence he also received him in a figure.
So now let's turn,
let's look back at Hebrews chapter 11, verse number 6.
So we're already in Hebrews 11,
but look at verse number 6.
What's the Bible say here?
Without faith, it is impossible to please him.
You see that?
It's impossible to please God.
So when Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees,
it says by faith he went out, right?
So what is the Bible saying that Abraham had faith?
And it was pleasing to God, right?
So if that's true, then when did Abraham have faith?
It was before he left Ur, wasn't it?
So it says,
For he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Look, anybody that's trying to work their way into heaven,
are they pleasing God?
Does God count their works as anything?
Does he count them as righteousness?
No, because they're not done in faith.
So obviously God was pleased with Abraham,
and in the hall of faith, the chapter of faith,
he says Abraham, by faith, went out, right?
So it couldn't have been an unbelieving faith.
It had to have been a believing faith.
Does that make sense to you?
So look at Hebrews chapter 6.
Just flip a couple pages back in your Bible
and look at Hebrews chapter 6, verse number 1.
Therefore, I'll give you a second to turn there.
Hebrews 6, 1.
Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrines of Christ,
let us go on unto perfection.
Not laying again, what?
The foundation of repentance from dead works,
and of the faith toward God.
So look, what is it saying?
The foundation of repentance from dead works.
See, there's a lot of people that think they're going to heaven,
and we ran into, I mean, several people said it today.
When we're out soul wanting, you know,
I've got to be a good person.
I talked to a young Catholic teenager
who was cleaning his garage out,
and he didn't have time to talk.
I was able to give him some verses,
but what did he say?
Just like a good Catholic would say,
I've got to confess my sins to the priest,
and I've got to repent of my sins.
He was saying all this stuff.
I was just telling him, hey, Jesus paid your whole price.
You don't have to work your way to heaven.
Grace means it's something that you don't deserve.
Grace means that God is giving you salvation
even though you don't deserve it,
and it's a gift that God gives you
because you have faith in him
and the works that he did for you.
So if it's true that anything before salvation,
any work you do before salvation,
that's what God considers a dead work.
So when Abraham left Ur,
it couldn't have been talking about a dead work, right?
It had to have been an act of faith that he did
because he already believed.
Does that make sense?
And I feel like that that's...
I'm not saying when Abraham got saved,
but let me tell you something.
I forgot to bring my little sheet that shows
there's people that were patriarchs
that still lived past the flood of Noah
that Abraham could have known.
Now, I'm not saying his dad was...
I think his dad was an idolater,
or maybe his grandfather was an idolater,
but look, think about all the people
that already believed, that lived past,
that were born from Noah and Shan.
And I think it's possible
that one of those people he knew and grew up with
could have gotten him saved.
Or just led him to that point or whatever.
It doesn't say, though,
so I'm not going to be dogmatic about that.
I'm not going to give my,
this is what it is and just shut up
because do what I say or believe what I want you to believe.
But I think I did prove very clearly
that Abraham was saved before he left Earth.
I think that's pretty nailed down.
So let's look at Genesis chapter 12,
and I'll actually try to prove that even more.
Uh-oh.
We killed that alarm on my phone right there.
Thank you.
Just turn it off, son.
It doesn't have a screensaver on it.
Sorry about that.
It's supposed to be on airplane mode.
It's on airplane mode.
The alarm still works.
Good night.
I guess alarms still work on airplane mode.
So I'm sorry.
In Genesis chapter 12, look at verse number 1.
It says,
Now the Lord had said unto Abram,
Get thee out of thy country,
and from thy kindred,
and from thy father's house,
into a land that I will show thee,
and I will make of thee a great nation,
and I will bless thee,
and make thy name great,
and thou shalt be a blessing.
And I will bless them that bless thee,
and curse him that curseth thee,
and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
So Abraham departed as the Lord had spoken unto him,
and Lot went with him,
and Abram was seventy and five years old
when he departed out of Haran.
Now, keep your finger there,
and turn to Galatians chapter 3.
Just keep your hand in Genesis chapter 12,
and look at Genesis chapter 3.
So why am I going on my way to prove this?
Because people will say that Abraham got saved
in Genesis chapter 15,
but what I think is he's just saying,
in totality, Abraham believed God,
and it was counted unto him to righteousness.
There's lots of examples of that, right?
We looked at a lot of them.
Look at what it says in Galatians chapter 3 verse 6.
It says, Even as Abraham believed God,
it was accounted unto him to righteousness.
So that's from Genesis 15, but let's read further down.
Galatians 3, 7.
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith,
this same are children of Abraham.
And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify
the heathen through faith,
preached before the gospel unto Abraham,
saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
So what scripture does that match up with?
Genesis chapter 12.
If you just flip back your hand and look at verse 3 again.
It says, And I will bless in the blessing,
and curse in the cursed thee,
and thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
So you see how, you know, it's saying,
even in verse 6 in Galatians 3, 6,
it's saying Abraham believed God.
Of course he did.
But when did he preach the gospel,
the future gospel to him?
It says, and that matches with Genesis chapter 12,
does it not?
It's the same exact word.
In thee shall all nations of the earth be blessed.
He preached the gospel unto Abraham.
So that they which are of faith
are blessed with faithful Abraham.
So the point is that Abraham had faith.
When did he have faith?
Well, it was before he left Ur.
So that's the point I wanted to prove
that I can prove with the Bible.
So I just, you know,
because there's a lot of confusion
about the calling upon the name of the Lord.
I think people just think every time
it says someone called upon the name of the Lord,
that's when they got saved.
But Abraham calls upon the name of the Lord
in three different instances where he does,
he sacrifices,
and, you know, people are like,
well, that's when he got saved.
He got saved three times.
Or that's when he got saved, Genesis 15,
but he had already left,
or many years before that.
So that can't be it.
So one thing I do know is that Abraham was saved
before he left for the Promised Land.
Anyway, so hopefully that makes sense to you
if you have any questions.
Like I said, we can fight about it in my office.
After church, last point.
Man, I got through this quick.
It's not over though.
This is like my first point from this morning.
I'll try to get through it fast.
So Abraham is shown things to come in the word
and in symbols later on in the chapter here.
So a lot of times the things in the Old Testament
are pictures of things in the New Testament.
So I gotta just admit to you right now,
I struggled with this.
I was like, what does this mean?
And really it shouldn't be such a struggle,
but I did have to dig in some deep scriptures here
and kind of make sense of all this.
And maybe I'm not 100% right about everything.
I think there's two things going on
in the point where Abraham does this sacrifice
that God asked him to do.
So look at verse number seven.
Back in Genesis chapter 15.
It says,
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.
And he said,
Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
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.
Why all of these animals?
Obviously this is called the Abrahamic Covenant,
this chapter here.
And obviously Abraham does this sacrifice
that God asked him to do.
But why are they these specific animals?
Why are they three years old?
I'm just like, what does this actually mean?
And I think it could be a couple things.
Obviously I'm not going to be dogmatic about anything I say here.
For a spiritual application to what's going on here,
you have five different animals.
Moses wrote five different books.
So what's coming next on the scene?
He gives Abraham this prophecy
that the children of Israel are going to be enslaved for 400 years.
It's kind of a dark time in history.
It's not a group of faithful people like Abraham was.
We look at the fall of Israel
and how they just had all these years to the judges
where they did what was right in their own eyes.
But I think it's a picture looking forward
to the actual burnt sacrifices
that were going to be in the Old Testament
that were made as an atonement for sin.
But what do those ultimately picture?
They picture the atonement that Christ made for us.
Those burnt offerings were different offerings
that they were allowed to make,
but not everybody made the same offering, did they?
Did they all have to make the heifer, the ram,
the turtledove, the goat, and the young pigeon
for every offering?
They didn't.
But I was just like, why these specific animals?
Because these are the ones that were used in burnt sacrifices.
Turn to Leviticus chapter 1, verse 1.
Leviticus chapter 1, verse 1.
You're going to see in this chapter here
the different animals that God specifically tells Abraham
to sacrifice.
Why does that matter?
Well, it's a picture of things to come.
Just like the Passover, you think at one glance
it's just to help the children of Israel in their time.
No, that's a picture of them leaving sin
and they have to kill a lamb and strike the doorpost
with his blood, which represents us personally
having to accept Christ as our Savior
and that his blood covers us with all sin.
And then this angel that comes and kills the firstborn,
they basically either have to accept Christ
or their firstborn is going to die.
So I think this is an interesting picture
that God is showing us here with Abraham.
But let's look at Leviticus 1.
It says,
What is that picture?
The Lord Jesus Christ.
It's a male without blemish.
There's nothing wrong with him.
So also I would say that this kind of pictures
the fact that we have to, of our own free will, accept Christ.
We have to accept that sacrifice.
And so Christ is obviously pictured here.
And it says,
Shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering
and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
And he shall kill the bullock.
So that matches with the heifer.
It's a cow, right?
Before the Lord.
And the priest Aaron's son shall bring the blood
and sprinkle it round about upon the altar
and that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
And he shall flay the burnt offering
and cut it in his pieces.
And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar
and lay the wood in order upon the fire.
And the priest Aaron's sons shall lay the parts,
the head and the fat in order upon the wood
that is on the fire which is upon the altar.
But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water
and the priest shall burn all on the altar
to be a burnt sacrifice,
an offering made by fire of a sweet savor unto the Lord.
So when Jesus Christ was on the cross,
it was an acceptable offering to him
for the atonement of the sins of all mankind.
And it was a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire.
Why is there fire?
This is the funny thing.
The Baptists just get so upset about this
and people just get upset about this
that that burnt sacrifice represented
Jesus going to hell for three days and three nights.
And even when Abraham offers Isaac as his son,
we'll get into that when we get into chapter 22,
part of it was supposed to be a burnt offering.
And then he said, where's the lamb for the burnt offering?
He said, God will provide himself
a lamb for the burnt offering.
So I believe that's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ
being that burnt sacrifice.
So it's obviously a picture of God letting his son be killed.
So Leviticus chapter 1 verse 10 says,
And if the offering be of the flocks, namely the sheep,
so what was one of the offerings that Abraham did?
He did a heifer, and a ram is a sheep, or of the goats.
Another one was a goat for a burnt sacrifice.
He shall bring it a male without blemish,
and he shall kill it on the side of the altar
northward before the Lord.
And the priest Aaron's son shall sprinkle his blood
round about the altar.
Verse 12, And he shall cut it in his pieces,
and the head with his fat,
and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood
that is on the fire which is upon the altar.
But he shall wash the inwards, and the legs with water,
and the priest shall bring it all,
and burn it upon the altar.
It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire
of a sweet savor unto the Lord.
And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the Lord
be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering
of turtle doves or of young pigeons.
You see that?
So every single animal that Abraham had offered,
that God asked him to offer, was in this list
that we see in Leviticus chapter 1.
So you've got the pigeons, you've got the turtle doves,
and you've got the rams, the goats, and the cows, right?
Basically, you know, we call them cows these days,
so I don't say heifer, but only what I'm talking about.
No, I'm just kidding.
You heifer!
Anyway, verse 15, And the priest shall bring it to the altar
and wring off its head and burn it on the altar,
and the blood thereof shall be wrung out of the side
of the altar, and he shall pluck away the crop
with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar
on the east part by the place of the ashes.
And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof,
but shall not divide it asunder.
That's very important for this chapter that we're looking at.
It says everything else is cut up and chopped
and cleaved asunder, but not the birds.
So it says, And the priest shall burn it upon the altar,
upon the wood, and upon the fire.
It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by a fire,
a sweet savour unto the Lord.
So these all picture the death of the Lord Jesus.
They're clean animals that were supposed to be used,
but Abraham was asked to make all these sacrifices.
Now, you didn't have to do all these different animals
at the same time every time you made an atonement.
Why would people have to give pigeons and turtle doves
as an offering?
What was the reason why?
When they couldn't afford it.
Right, when they couldn't afford it.
So did Jesus die for...
He died for everybody, right?
He died for the rich and he died for the poor.
So everybody had a chance to make an offering.
If they couldn't afford it,
Mary was not able to give an offering of a heifer
when she was put apart for a time after Jesus was born.
What did they offer?
Turtle doves, right?
So I believe that this is picturing...
Because Abraham was rich,
he could have given any kind of animals he wanted.
So God knew he had those specific animals,
but not everybody could afford that.
I just think it's a picture of the fact
that Jesus died for everybody, including the rich and the poor.
Again, all these sacrifices were not required by one person.
But Abraham sacrificed them all.
All require burnt sacrifices to atone for the sins
and Jesus was the complete package.
When they killed these animals and they burned them,
they burned everything, right?
So everything was put on the altar
and Jesus died for all of our sins.
It was a complete sacrifice for everybody.
So look at verse 10 in our text here.
It says,
And he took unto him all these and divided them in the midst
and lay each piece one against another,
but the birds divided he not.
So you can see how it's a picture
of the Old Testament sacrifices as it talks about in Leviticus.
So he's actually doing the things of the law
before they're even put into place.
Isn't that interesting?
But the birds divided he not,
and when the fowls came down upon the carcass,
Abraham drove them away.
Obviously, you have all this meat out there
and there's vultures and all kinds of birds of prey.
Well, in the Bible, in Revelation,
it talks about how it's a place of habitation
of unclean birds and cages of all these unclean birds.
I mean, if I'm thinking of it symbolically or spiritually,
there's a lot of people that were trying to kill Jesus
before the time, right?
They were always trying to come against Him,
and those birds that it's talking about in Revelation
is basically representing these devils.
So there was a lot of people that were trying to stop Jesus
from making His sacrifice, weren't they?
They were trying to kill Him their own way before the time.
And it says His time was not yet come, right?
And so, I mean, I just picture this as, you know,
maybe Abraham driving away these people
and just like Jesus drove away the people
that were trying to get at Him
before He could die on the cross, right?
So, I mean, I might be reaching on that one,
but Abraham drove them away, and look at verse 12.
It says, and when the sun was going down,
a deep sleep fell upon Abram.
So when did Jesus die?
He died at even, didn't He?
On the Passover.
And so it says a deep sleep fell upon Abram.
Well, Jesus died at even.
He died right before the sun went down,
and, you know, so He was in, you know, a deep sleep.
He was dead in hell.
His grave, His body did not decay.
It says, and low and horror of great darkness fell upon Him.
And this is what I was like, wow, this is,
you know, what is this talking about?
But it just took me a long time to figure it out
because I'm a little dumb sometimes.
But, I mean, I think it pictures the darkness
of outer darkness, you know, because hell is not a place,
we think of hell, it's like it's fire,
but it's not bright, it's not lit up, it's darkness.
It's outer darkness, and the flame obviously
doesn't brighten things up, so you can see.
So, but Jesus died at even.
You know, the darkness, I believe,
represents Him being in hell for three days and three nights.
But, you know, think about the animals.
How old did the animals have to be
that Abraham was sacrificing?
Three years old.
So, I mean, I would venture to say
that that's representing the three days and three nights
that Jesus had to go to hell.
I mean, I could be wrong about that,
but it's interesting how it just says
how old those animals had to be, right?
So, let's look at verse 13.
And He said unto Abraham,
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.
And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge,
and afterward they shall come out with great substance.
So here He's talking about the children of Israel
going out after, you know, and what happens
during that time?
The Passover is instituted.
So, I mean, I think it pictures the Passover,
which also pictures the death, burial,
resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
So, this darkness falls upon Abraham,
and he has to do the sacrifice right before it goes dark,
just like in the Bible when Jesus died on the cross.
So, look at verse 15.
And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace,
and thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
But in the fourth generation thou shalt come hither again,
for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
And just kind of taking a pause break here
from what we're talking about,
when it says the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full,
I just want to say this,
that God will judge every nation
that continues to just do wickedly,
like our country that we live in right now.
But God does have a breaking point
and an end of his long suffering.
And I preached about this before.
Any nation that rejects God,
they're going to be cast into hell.
The nations that forget about God
shall be cast into hell, right?
So, you know, it's just,
we've got to understand that God,
like, he was giving these people a chance.
This shows the long suffering of God.
He's waiting until the time when he says,
these people are done.
I can't deal with them anymore.
But see how God just gives long suffering
and mercy to people?
Even, you know, as bad as this country is,
we're still getting mercy.
We're still getting grace.
We're still getting to go soloing.
We're still getting to go to church.
But, you know, eventually God's time with America
is going to be done, too.
But he's only going to take so much.
And, like, I personally believe
that we are Babylon USA,
and I think that, you know, we're that nation
that God's going to barbecue in the end times.
So, you know, but how bad is it going to get
before that happens?
It's got to get worse.
As it was in the days of Lot,
as it was in the days of Noah,
this world's not getting better,
it's getting worse.
So count your blessings right now
that we have the freedoms that we have,
but they're not promised to us tomorrow.
They're not promised to, I mean, you know,
and if this isn't really Babylon USA,
or nation, then we should be really worried
because God could judge this nation before.
And another nation could be that Babylon.
So, let's look at verse 17.
Let's wrap it up here.
And it came to pass that when the sun went down,
it was dark.
Behold, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp
that passed between those pieces.
What do you think that represents?
You know, what is the picture
of the burnt sacrifices in Leviticus chapter 1?
You know, the smoking furnace,
what does God call hell?
He calls it a smoking furnace, doesn't he?
So a smoking furnace and a burning lamp
that passed between those pieces.
But that sacrifice actually,
when it's actually the Lord Jesus Christ
giving that sacrifice,
that's a sacrifice that he made,
a sacrifice of fire.
And it was a well pleasing smell to the Lord
when Jesus did that for us.
And all of us are able to be saved because of that.
And I think that it's a mistake to not think
that these smoking furnace and burning lamp
are not representing the fact
that Jesus did go to hell for us.
And I think it's ridiculous when people just,
oh, that just doesn't mean, you know,
don't worry about that part of it, you know.
The sacrifice is just the death.
No, it's just the death, burial, and resurrection.
And where did he resurrect from?
He resurrected from hell.
I think Abraham, you know,
God's showing us a picture of the future sacrifice
that actually his great, great, great, great, great,
great, great, great, whatever grandson
is gonna be coming from his loins.
And so why wouldn't God show that picture through Abraham?
You know, what is that darkness
that it was talking about, that darkness?
Well, you know, I believe that that darkness
and that smoking furnace represent hell.
You know, and anybody doesn't trust in Christ
as their savior, they're gonna go to that furnace.
Our church exists for one purpose,
you know, a couple other purposes,
preaching the word of God,
but also the most important thing is getting people saved.
So they don't have to go to that smoking furnace.
So it says in verse 18,
In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham,
saying unto thy seed, Have I given this land
from the river Egypt unto the great river
and the river Euphrates.
The Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Cativinites,
the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephames,
and the Amorites, and the Canaanites,
and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
So basically he's just saying,
and these nations end up being wicked
and God asks them to be destroyed,
but their long suffering, God's long suffering
came to an end with them, you know?
And we gotta, I mean, I think that's a picture for us
to say, hey, there's still time to save these people
that are out and about, but if we're not out doing it,
then, you know, it's not gonna happen.
You know, if our gospel be hid,
it's hid to them that are lost.
So it's important to go soul winning.
It's even, hey, even if nobody listens,
nobody listens to Jeremiah either.
So you guys are all a bunch of Jeremiah's out there today.
But you know what, Jeremiah preached the word of God
without apology, he didn't compromise on what he said,
and you know, God loved Abraham, I mean, Jeremiah.
He loved Abraham too.
So number one, Abraham was a prophet of God.
Number two was the test of a prophet.
Number three tonight was the Lord speaks to
and through his prophets.
Number four, when was Abraham saved?
I think it's pretty easy to see that he was saved
before he left Urb.
And number five, Abraham is shown things to come
in word and in symbols.
Let's pray.
Lord, thank you so much for this great book of Genesis
and all the many layers, things that are in the word of God.
Lord, I pray that you would just help us to see
the spiritual things alongside the physical things.
And I just pray that you bless each and every person
that came, those that are traveling afar,
and those that are from the surrounding area.
Lord, I just thank you so much for a great,
faithful church family.
I pray you bless them for their attendance
and for their love of the word of God and souls.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Our last song is going to be song number 236,
No Not One.
Song number 236 in the green hymnal,
No Not One.
Song 236, No Not One.
Song 236, sing it out on the first.
There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus
No, not one, no, not one
None else could heal all our souls' diseases
No, not one, no, not one
Jesus knows all about our struggles
He will guide till the day is done
There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus
No, not one, no, not one
No friend like him is so high and holy
No, not one, no, not one
And yet no friend is so meek and lowly
No, not one, no, not one
Jesus knows all about our struggles
He will guide till the day is done
There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus
No, not one, no, not one
There's not an hour that he is not near us
No, not one, no, not one
No night so dark but his love can cheer us
No, not one, no, not one
Jesus knows all about our struggles
He will guide till the day is done
There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus
No, not one, no, not one
Did ever saint find this friend, forsake him?
No, not one, no, not one
Or sinner find that he would not take him?
No, not one, no, not one
Jesus knows all about our struggles
He will guide till the day is done
There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus
No, not one, no, not one
Was there a gift like the Savior give him?
No, not one, no, not one
Will he refuse us a home in heaven?
No, not one, no, not one
Jesus knows all about our struggles
He will guide till the day is done
There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus
No, not one, no, not one
Amen. Good seeing you, brother Alex.
Barea, could you end us in a prayer?