The Day Abraham Believed, Part 3

Genesis 15 answers the question for us about how a man can be made right with God. It is the foremost chapter in the Old Testament, quoted over and over again in the New Testament as to what it means to have faith in God and to believe in God. We have spent the last couple of weeks here.

So if you have your Bible, turn back with me to Genesis 15 and let's review just for a brief moment and then continue our study in Genesis chapter 15. We began with looking at a vision that Abraham received, a vision of God's protection. That's in verse number one.

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying, Do not fear, Abram. I am a shield to you. Your reward shall be very great.

Not only am I your shield, Abraham, I am your very great reward. And so in that vision Abraham would have a realization of God's protection and that would result in his satisfaction. Abraham would become a satisfied man.

He would know what it means that God was his reward. And we have to understand that today. If we're going to believe in God then we need to understand that God is our reward.

And that everything we long for is wrapped up in who God is. On the day Abraham believed God there was a vision of God's protection that would result in Abraham's satisfaction, that he would believe in that God and give his life to that God. We move from there to see number two, a revelation of God's provision.

And it says in verse number two, And Abraham said, O Lord God, what wilt thou give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? And Abraham said, Since thou hast given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir. Lord, what are you going to do? He had understood that the Word of the Lord had come to him and he felt confident in going back to God and saying, God, how is all this heir thing going to happen? There's a servant in my household, Eliezer, is that the one you're going to use? He wanted to know how God was going to bring about his promise. And so Abraham would come to him and Abraham would reply to God's vision and Abraham would respond by asking a question, God, what is it you are going to do? How is it going to work itself out? And then we receive God's reassurance.

In verse number four, Then behold, the Word of the Lord came to him, saying, This man will not be your heir, but one who shall come forth from your own body. He shall be your heir. And he took him outside and said, Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.

And he said to him, So shall your descendants be. God would reassure Abraham. The Word of the Lord would come to him.

It's a reminder that God's Word is that reassuring fact in our lives. When we are doubting anything, when we have questions, we need to go to the Word of the Lord and seek what God has to say to us. And the Word of the Lord would come to Abraham and would reveal to him about the promised seed.

Abraham, this is where it's going to be. It's going to come from your own body, your own body. And come with me, Abraham, look at the stars.

I want you to look up. I want you to count the stars. You can't count them, Abraham, because your descendants will not be able to be counted either.

There will be so many of them. So God would come and reassure Abraham. And the Bible says in verse number 6, Abraham believed God.

He believed Him. He gave his whole life to Him. He leaned his whole body upon God.

He believed the promise of God. He believed the Word of God. No matter what others might say, no matter the fact that he was 85 years of age and it was physically impossible for him to be able to produce a seed, he would trust in God.

He would believe in God. Even though it was beyond human comprehension. Even though he didn't understand the ramifications of it.

And even though he didn't completely grasp it, he would believe in what God said. He would believe in the divine veracity. Divine truth.

God's truth. He would believe that. He would say amen to that.

He would believe God. God would reassure him. And he would believe what God said without question.

Then comes God's reckoning. This is where we left off last week. God's reckoning.

Verse 6 says, that he believed in the Lord and he that is God reckoned it to him as righteousness. Folks this is so powerful. Abraham believed in the Word of God.

He believed in God in who he was. His character. His person.

And that God was able to fulfill his promise. Although he didn't quite understand it, he believed it. And trusted in it.

And God counted it to him. Reckoned it to him as righteousness. The word to count is a financial term.

It's translated in the Greek Septuagint. It's used 11 times in Romans chapter 4 to explain how man obtains the righteousness of God. When you have a debit and God credits to your account his righteousness, your sin is erased.

Your debt is paid in full. It's an amazing thing. Here was Abraham who was a sinner.

Here was a man who was not righteous for the Bible says there is none righteous, no not one. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Every man is born in sin.

Every man has a sin nature. And the question comes back, how can a holy God declare an unholy man a righteous man? Simply by the fact that this man Abraham believed in what God said. He trusted in what God said.

You say, is that it? Is that how a holy God makes an unholy individual holy? Turn with me to Isaiah 53 for a moment. Isaiah chapter 53. It explains to us how Christ credits our account.

The Bible says for the wages of sin is death. The wages of sin is death. There is a debt that needs to be paid.

And look what it says in Isaiah 53 verse number 4. Surely our griefs he himself bore, that is Christ, and our sorrows he carried, yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities.

The chastening for our well-being fell upon him. And by his scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray.

Each of us has turned to his own way. But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. This is the answer to how God could credit to Abraham's account righteousness.

This is how Abraham became a free man. This is how Abraham became a saved man. He believed in the Word of God.

He believed in what God would tell him about who he was and about what he was going to do. Christ would pay for his sins. You see, Abraham had to believe in what God was going to do as we believe in what God has already done.

Abraham had to believe that in that seed there would be a deliverer who would bless the nations of the world. And although he didn't quite grasp it, he didn't understand all of it. And as you go through the book of Genesis, he will understand more and more as God reveals more to him.

He believed in that seed, that Messiah, that deliverer who would come and bless the entire world through him. He believed it. You see, Christ had already paid for Abraham's debt before he ever died.

And Abraham would believe in that coming Messiah. You say, well, how can that be? Just like we look back 2,000 years and believe what Christ did on the cross, Abraham would look forward to what would happen as a result of the deliverer, the seed, the Messiah who would come. Simply 2 Corinthians 5, 21, he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

How does that happen? The perfect, spotless Lamb of God who, as Isaiah 53 says, took our place on the cross. That perfect sacrifice satisfied God's requirement for sin's payment. And when you believe that, when you give your life to Christ and say, yes, Lord, I believe that what you did on the cross 2,000 years ago takes care of all my sin and erases that sin from me, when you believe that and give your life to Christ, God credits your account.

God counts it to you as righteousness. Abraham couldn't do it by keeping the law. The law had not been given yet, right? So Abraham could not obtain the righteousness of God because he met up to a certain standard.

No, Abraham believed in what God said. He said, wait a minute, if he believed, wasn't that something that Abraham did? If Abraham had to believe, then that means that Abraham did something in order to obtain that righteousness. That's a good question.

Let me read to you Philippians 1, verse number 29. For to you, it has been granted for Christ's sake to believe in him. This is very important because a man does not believe in the promises of God unless God grants him the gift to believe.

So important. Why? Because salvation is a total work of God. 2 Peter 1, 1 says that the faith that we have is a gift from God.

Ephesians 2, 8, 9 says the exact same thing, right? Faith is a gift. Belief is a gift. 2 Timothy 2, 25 says that repentance is a gift.

Everything in the salvation experience is a gift granted by God. Abraham was granted the gift to believe by God, Philippians 1, 25. It had been granted to believe.

That is so good. That should cause us to rejoice. That should cause us to sit down and say, Lord, God, thank you for granting me the opportunity to believe in your Word, to take it at face value, to not question it, but to believe and to trust it with all of my heart, soul, and mind and spirits.

And that's what Abraham did. And God reckoned it to him as righteousness. That's God's reckoning.

And then look with me at God's reinforcement. Back to Genesis chapter 15. It says in verse number 8, and he said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess it.

Let me reinforce something to you, Abraham. I am the God who brought you where? Out of Ur of the Chaldeans. Remember, when he was at Ur of the Chaldeans, he had to cross the great river of the Euphrates.

That's where we get the name Hebrew, to cross the river. When he was at Ur of the Chaldeans, it was God who brought him out. Now you understand what it means for God to grant you the opportunity to believe.

God goes back and reinforces in Abraham's mind, Abraham, it was I who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans. I was the one who brought you out of your pagan environment. I get all the glory.

It's all about me, Abraham. And earlier, as we read in Genesis chapter 14, that God granted Abraham the victory, as Melchizedek would tell him against his enemies. It was God who grants him everything.

And so God would reinforce in Abraham's mind the fact that he's the all-powerful one. And because he's the all-powerful one, he can fulfill his promises. Because of what I did in the past, Abraham, because of where I brought you from, this is what I'm going to give you into the future, because I am the all-powerful God who not only grants you the opportunity to believe in me, but grants you a future with me.

And so he would reinforce in Abraham's mind the truth of who he is. But on the day Abraham believed God, not only was there a vision of God's protection and a revelation of God's provision, one would lead to a satisfaction, the other to a salvation, but there was a confirmation of God's promise, a confirmation of God's promise, and this would lead to Abraham's security, Abraham's security. Read on with me in verse number nine, excuse me, verse number eight, and look at Abraham's concern.

It says, then he said, O Lord God, how may I know that I shall possess it? You're going to give me a land? How will I know I'm going to possess it? This is so good, because you see, Abraham's got this conversation thing going on with God. And you know, when you believe God, when you know God, when you're a child of God, you know, it is so good to be able to sit down and talk to God about your problems and all your concerns, right? I mean, where does the unbeliever go? You know, the therapist, the psychotherapist, the psychoanalysis, or did he get psychoanalysis? Where does he go with his concerns? Who does he talk to? And Abraham's talking to God. You know, how is all this going to work itself out? I don't understand it here.

And this is very good, because you see, Abraham is not doubting God. He is just asking how it's going to be accomplished. He wants to know more.

He longs to know more, not for information's sake, but for confirmation's sake. Did you get that? God speaks to you through His Word, and God wants to speak to you. And so Abraham, having received what God has already said, has a concern about the land.

Why is that? Because the land is already occupied with at least ten other nations. And we'll learn about that as we get down to verse number 21. The Gergesites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, they're all there.

And so if this is going to be my land, and my descendants are going to have this land, Lord, what about all those people who are already here? What are we going to do with them? Who's going to take care of them? Do I got to fight all of them off, too? He didn't know. He just wanted to ask God a question. When was the last time you asked God a question? When was the last time you went to God with one of your concerns? You said, Well, Pastor, you know, I went to God with one of my concerns.

He didn't show me what to do. He didn't answer my concern. Well, if you say that, then you need last week's lesson.

You missed last week's sermon. You need to get last week's sermon, because it explains to you why God delays sometimes. But the bottom line is, if you've got a concern, and you go to God, God will answer, because that's the way God is.

So Abraham's concern leads to God's command, right? So God comes back and gives His command to Abraham. Look what it says in verse number 9, So he said to him, Bring me three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old female goat, and a three-year-old ram, and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. Then he brought all these to him, and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other.

But he did not cut the birds, and the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abraham drove them away. God said, Abraham, this is what I want you to do. Get the birds, get the animals, and cut them.

Do what you need to do, Abraham. Now, Abraham knew what was going on here. He knew that there was going to be a covenant.

He understood that. So God says, Abraham, this is what you need to do. And Abraham said, Okay, I'll do that.

He did it. His heart is racing. God's going to reveal to him something.

And isn't it interesting that the birds come down and try to eat the carcasses? It kind of reminds me of the fact that whenever God tells us to do something, then we do it. There's always things that kind of come around that kind of keep us from doing what God has asked us to do. Is that not true? There's always these hindrances that come our way.

And Abraham was devoted. He would chase the birds away. And then look after Abraham's, or God's command to God's clarification.

Look what it says. It says in verse number 12, Now, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abraham. And, behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.

Now, think about this. Here's a man who had just received from God great encouragement. Here's a man who believed God.

It was counted to him as righteousness. And all of a sudden a deep sleep falls over him and his mind is filled with horrifying, terrifying things. Darkness engulfs him.

What's going on here? Read on. God said to Abraham, Know for certain. You need to put a on those words.

Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for hundred years. Wow. Abraham was about to get the Word of wisdom from God about his descendants, his land, and even his own life.

But God would clarify everything to Abraham as he fell asleep, and darkness would engulf him. It says in verse number 14, But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. There's a good side to this, Abraham, and this is it.

And as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried at a good old age. Abraham's going to live a long time, but what God is saying to him is that, Abraham, you're not going to see the fulfillment of the land.

You still going to trust me, Abraham? You still going to trust me? You're going to live only to be 175 years of age. That's how—that's when he died. 175.

He lived 90 more years beyond this point. But the promise he never really ever saw. But God says, You still going to believe in me? You still going to trust me, Abraham? Oh, you'll be satisfied in life, and you'll live to a ripe old age, but you won't see the fulfillment of the promise.

Then he says, That is, the Amorites who are here still need to be dealt with, and I will deal with them, but not yet. That's God's grace and God's mercy. And God goes from His command to His clarification to His covenant.

Another word for covenant is promise. This is God's promise. Verse number 17, No matter who's there, Abram, this is your land.

Note, God made a covenant with Abram. Notice, Abram didn't walk between the rows of dead animals. Why? Because Abram made no promise to God.

God made the promise to Abram. This is an unconditional covenant. This is a covenant that God made with Abram.

And so he would walk through it, representative by the smoking oven and the flaming torch. We know that the Lord God is the light to the world. The smoking oven was that pot that was used to refine gold so that it would become pure.

And God is representative by the smoking oven and the fiery furnace, or the flaming torch. And God, as he passed through, would speak to Abraham and make his oath, his promise, his covenant to Abraham, This is your land. This is my promise to you.

It is unconditional. So important, because Abram didn't walk through it. He had no part in the covenant.

He had no part in the conditions of the covenant. It was all based on who God is and his character and what he would do for Abraham and his descendants. And if you've been with us in our study of the book of Revelation on Wednesday night, you know that there's still a land for the nation of Israel.

And that land will be theirs. And God will rule from the city of the new Jerusalem. And they will be his people and he will be their God.

It's a covenant that God made with Abraham. Folks, listen. God has made an unconditional covenant that says, if you believe in me, if you give your life to me, I promise to do this for you.

I promise to credit to your account my righteousness. I promise to make you holy. I promise to infuse in you the divine life.

I promise to give to you that which is me, my life. I promise. And I promise that.

And that promise is based solely upon me and what I do. It does not have anything to do with what you will do. And therefore, my covenant stands as an eternal covenant.

You will receive an eternal inheritance. You will receive eternal life. You will never perish.

And no man will ever be able to pluck you out of my hand. You're mine forever. That's God's promise to you and to me.

Every need a man has, every need a woman has is met in the God alone, the King of the universe. Have you met him? Do you know him? Have you believed in God? That's my prayer for you, that you will not leave this place, this auditorium today, without making sure that you know for certain that God who saves, satisfies, and secures the life of his people. Let's pray.