Good to see everybody. Hopefully,
unless I've miscounted, which has happened, I forgot a birthday
or two over the years. I'm as frail and weak as anybody.
Unless I've miscounted, I've got a book for every family represented
in this congregation by my friend, who was your pastor for a long
time, Don Fortner. I'm thankful for that because
Dom was God's messenger. He was God's prophet to Danville,
Kentucky and many other places without light in this world.
How do I know that? Because he told what God said.
His opinion is in those books. This is a really good idea and
here's what I think. Here's what this means and here's
a scriptural reference. That's what that means. Got any
questions? Here's what God says. I don't
like that. I can't help you on that one. God's got to make you
bow to it, but that's what it means. It served me well. I got
the paperback version, and I've just about wore the spline out
of it. I go to it often, find scriptural references. You think
I have them memorized by now, and I don't. But I wanted you
to have a copy. I think it'll benefit all of
us because God just might be getting ready to use us. I've
been invited to preach throughout this country on several occasions
this year. I've been asked to go to Australia.
I don't think it's a solid or something that's going to be
followed through on, but I got asked to preach in Pakistan this weekend and throughout
the world. God may use us. That sounds good
on paper, don't it? Until you get used. God may use
you, us, to send his word forward. Ms. Shelby sends her regards.
her words of love to this congregation, and I've invited her out. Anytime
she wants, she comes visit with us. We'll stay with her, put
her up, feed her, and she can come worship with us. I hope
the Lord will lay that on her heart for too much longer. Genesis
15. Genesis 15. This really is almost
a two-part message. You can't really have one without
the other. If someone was to listen to the
next hour, I'd encourage them to go back and listen to this
hour. And if someone listens to this hour, hold off till the
next hour. They go hand in hand. Genesis
15. Abraham asked here in verse 8
concerning the land that was promised by God. Genesis 15,
8. And he said, Lord God, whereby
shall I know that I shall inherit it? How can I know? What way will I know that I'm
going to have this land and my seed shall inherit this land? Abram wanted assurance. That's
okay. Good. You want assurance? That's
okay. It's okay to want assurance.
You and I ought to have full assurance, shouldn't we? this written Word of God, and
we know Him that it concerns. We have it in our hand. We can
go look at it. Abram didn't have that. Did you know that? Abram
couldn't go read the Psalms. He had a word from the Lord,
and it may be a long time before he got another word from the
Lord, from what we know, from what's recorded. It may be years.
Maybe a while. What assurance I ought to have
when I'm so down and I'm so just How am I going to know that there's
His Word? Not to have assurance. When the
Lord tells us something in His Word, as He proclaimed verbally
to Abram, as He spoke to Abram, to not have assurance in what
God says is only unbelief. What is that? It's unbelief.
You don't believe God. Did He say it? Yeah. Did He mean
it? Of course He did. He said it, didn't He? To not
have that is just unbelief. Our assurance of salvation. How
can I know I'm saved? Our assurance that the Lord will
do just as He promised He will. Our assurance that truly all
promises of God are in Him, yea, and in Him, amen. Our assurance
resides all of that. No matter what our assurance
is, it resides in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ and
it resides in His work. Who He is and what He did, that's
all of our assurance. You ain't going to find it in
you. You ain't going to find it in organization. You ain't
going to find it in creed. You ain't going to find it in
the doctrine of theology. You ain't going to find it in Calvinism.
You're going to find it in Him. Or you ain't going to get it. Christ our substitute and that
substitute, that sacrifice that He made Himself was accepted.
who He is and what He did. That the Father accepted the
sacrifice that He provided for His chosen people. When a sinner
saved by grace comes to understand that for the first time, when
that's made alive to you, real, for the first time. Or when somebody's
been saved by grace, you're reminded of that once again. That God
is satisfied with the sacrifice of His darling Son. it pleased
him to bruise his son. When you're reminded of that,
when you get a hold of that, when you realize it, that's when you
have assurance. That's when we have assurance.
We will be confident and content on what has took place. We'll
be confident, we'll be content on what's taking place right
now, what God's doing in this world. What's that? All. Is there things in this world
you ain't content with? Well, when we see Him, we'll say, Amen.
The Lord does it. And what shall take place? You'll
be confident and content to what has took place, what's taking
place right now, and what shall take place. Where am I going
to be? This life's going to end. There's a big controversy around
the nines. Remember, the doctors said, well,
they expired when somebody died in the hospital. That's just
rude. Well, is it? I have an expiration date. There's a time appointed for
me, isn't it? I left. I was no more. I expired. Time's
up. The Lord took me home. His time's
appointed. I'll be confident in that. We won't have assurance
when we look to ourselves, and we won't have assurance when
we look to this world. It ain't gonna happen. You may
get a fix. You may get a little warm fuzzy
for a fleeting moment. It's a pacifier to people that
won't bow to God. That's all it is. You know what
a pacifier does? And you want that baby to grow.
You want that baby to have life. Give it a pacifier. And then
give it another pacifier. And then give it another pacifier.
What's going to happen to that baby? It's going to starve to death
and it's going to die. What's it need? Milk. It needs
a bottle, don't it? We need to censor milk at His
Word. Abram's going to call out to
God and cry to Him that he may know, Lord, let me know. And
the Lord's going to point him to the sacrifice that he demands
and the sacrifice that he provides. That's what's going to happen.
You who experienced the grace of God and you that need assurance,
when you're reminded that Christ bore all of our sin, He bore
all of our guilt on that cross, and that the Father was well
pleased, that God accepted that propitiation He provided, and
we're in Him. He's our substitute. We're made
one with Him. That means we're accepted too. He accepted Christ. That means
He accepted those in Christ. When that's stirred up in your
heart one more time, is there anything else more reassuring?
Is there anything else I need to know that make me feel better? There's nothing more needed because
there's one thing needed. Him. To be in Him. Turn over
to Colossians 2. The simplicity of union. Colossians
2. It ain't complicated. How somebody
say, well here's a long laundry list of things you got to do
and say and pray and stop doing and start doing and no. You need
to be one with Christ. That's the completeness of it.
Colossians chapter 2. Here in verse 9 it says, for
in him, in Christ, the God-man dwelleth all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily." That means in Immanuel, God with us, when
Christ came to this earth, the whole fullness of the Godhead,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost manifest in Him. He's it. And you are complete
in Him. What else you got to do? Well,
now it's Christ plus. Now you've got to add, you've
got to start, you've got to stop. You're complete. What's complete
mean? Complete. Can't add nothing to
it, can't take nothing away from it. It's done. It's complete.
And you are complete in Him, which is the head of all principalities
and powers, in whom also you're circumcised. I need to be circumcised? Are you required to do that?
With a circumcision made without hands. and the putting off the
body of sin of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried
with Him in baptism." You have to be baptized. Buried with Him
in baptism. "...wherein also you are risen
with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath
raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins
and uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together."
He circumcised us in the heart. We're baptized with Him. He's
quickened us together. Gave us life with Him. having forgiven
you all trespasses," blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us. Why was it contrary?
We can't do it. "...and took it out of the way,
nailing it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them." What about this salvation? Is this head in a corner? No.
Salvation of the Lord, that's going to be declared. What Christ
did, who He is and what He did for His people, it's going to
be openly declared throughout the ages. Everybody's going to
hear it. Well, how do we respond to those
things? You feeling assured now? Unless you want to add something
to it, then you ain't going to be too happy, but He's everything.
I'm assured. Now what? What do we do with
that? We've got some assurance. How do you handle that? Verse 16,
let no man. Who's that? I'm a man. What if I was alone on a deserted
island? I accuse me. The biggest cause of unbelief
and lack of assurance in me is me. Let no man, not even me,
not even you. Let no man therefore judge you
in meat or drink or in respect of a holy day or of a new moon
or of the Sabbath, which are shadows of things to come. But
the body is of Christ. His person. His work is our assurance. That's what it is. Being one
with Him. Being made one with Him. What He's done. Now back
in our text here in Genesis 15. How can I know God will give
me what He promised? How can I know? Verse 6 says,
Genesis 15, 6. And he believed the Lord. The
Lord took Abram out. He said, I need a sign. He said,
come outside, Abram. Look up. You see them stars?
Count them. So shall you see. and he believed in the Lord,
and he counted it to him for righteousness." Abraham was counted
righteous because righteousness was there. It was in him because
God put it there. What's the proof? What's the
proof that Abram was righteous? He believed. What's the proof
there's a new man in Abraham? He believed. It was counted to
him. It was reckoned to him. He didn't
merit it, but it's his. He didn't produce that belief.
But now he possesses it. It belongs to him. He didn't
pay for it. He owns it. Isn't that contrary to the way
we think? Isn't that contrary to this old
flesh? God did something for him. He
saved him. It was counted to him. He counted to him for righteousness. Verse 7 says, And he said unto
him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur the Chaldees to
give thee this land to inherit it. And the Lord blesses his
people. He always lets them know that
it's Him that's doing the blessing. If you're blessed, if something
wonderful happened in spiritual places, in heavenly places, or
something's happened in your heart, or something's happened
in this earth, if I get my next meal, the Lord's gonna make it
known to His people, He gave it. If I have life that's eternal,
He's gonna let His people know, He gave it. It ain't our wise
decisions. It ain't our wisdom. It ain't
our good doing. It's Him that does it. I can't
do that. Did you know that? That needs
said. I can't bless anybody. A man
can't bless another man. Do you know that? I ain't a priest. I don't mediate between God and
man. Christ does. I can pray for Him to do it.
Do you know that? I can pray for God to bless you.
I can't bless you if I can ask Him. That's what that great Arianic
benediction was, wasn't it? The Lord bless thee and keep
thee. The Lord make His face shine upon thee and be gracious
unto thee. The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give
thee peace. That's who's speaking here. That's
who's speaking to Abram. Verse 7, he said unto him, I
am the Lord. He declares who he is. And then
he declares what he did for Abram. He saved him. He said, I am the
Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees. God commanded
Abram to leave Ur and Abram obeyed, didn't he? He believed God and
he did what God said. But what does it say here? He
said, I brought you out. Where'd that belief come from?
Where'd that obedience come from? God gave it. Can he boast in
that? It ain't gonna happen either.
You gonna have anything? If there's one iota A man or
woman can glory in. They're going to glory in, and
God won't have it. I know a man that gave Bill Gates
$100 back in 1980. I don't, but if I did, what do
you think that fellow would talk about? Well, I know he built
this massive company and corporation, he stayed up late, but I gave
him $100 back in 1980. That's what we glory in. If we
had one thing to contribute, God won't have it. He said, I
brought you out and then Lord gives the purpose for calling
him out to give thee this land to inherit it. The gospel declares
who God is and what he's done for his people through his son.
That's the good news. Who saved us? Christ did. He
shed his own blood. He willfully laid down his life.
He provided himself as the land. He provided himself as the sacrifice.
That's who saved us. What'd he save us from? And now
we kind of come into the Rubber meat and road on us, doesn't
it? He saved us from ourselves. What's me? Sin, darkness, idolatry,
death, isn't it? This wicked world that we're
just so a part of and we love so much and we just cling to
with every fiber in us. That's what he's brought us out
of. Or the Cowdys, the idol-worshipping. And everybody's just hunky-dory.
They didn't know nothing was different. The Lord brought him
out of that. He left it. He ain't there no more. You see
that? He was there and he left it. The Lord brought him out. You turned from your idols. You
knocked it off. Why? He made you. He made you. Then the gospel declares what
He's given us. Who saved us? Christ did. Him
laying down His life, His person and work. What did He save us
from? Ourselves, sin, depravity, darkness, death, iniquity, wickedness,
perverseness. What does He give us? Eternal
life. Right now. Eternal forgiveness. He gives
us complete righteousness. And He gives us a place to dwell
with Him. A mercy seat that God will meet
with us. We get to be made like Him. We get to be with Him. I can't imagine. I don't care
if the streets are gold or asphalt. It don't make a difference. He's
there. What nonsense people come up with. He said, I go to prepare
a place for you. place. We're going to be somewhere
and it's ours. It's prepared for you. He provided
it and we possess it. With him. In him. What a thought. Salvation from a curse of the
law. It's ours. The righteousness he gave us,
made us, is ours. The rightful place in heaven
is ours because we're in him. Because we're in Christ. Abram
wanted a sign. God gave it and Abram believed.
He was counted righteous in the eyes of the Lord because he was. Then the Lord declares again
to Abram who he is, what he's done for him, what he's going
to do for him. And now here's what this great believer asks.
Verse 8, and he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall
inherit it? You know what come to mind? You ever
been a kid and you ask your parents on a long car ride, Are we there
yet? Well, how am I going to know?
Can I see a sign? Give him a sign. Yeah, but how am I going to know?
He's probably looking down and kicking rocks. That's like a
child, isn't it? It's like a child. It's easy
for you and I to ask, how could Abraham doubt? I wrote that. How could he doubt? The Lord
just took him outside, spoke to him, told him everything he's
already done, told him what he is doing, told him where he's
going to. He believed. He believed God. What more you
need? How easy it is for me to say,
how could Abraham doubt? But how quickly do I doubt? Peter
said, the Lord shined on that mountain of transfiguration.
Peter was there when God Almighty opened up the heavens and said,
this is my son in whom I'm well pleased. And then he gave the
effectual command, hear him. You listen to somebody, you listen
to him. Do it. And Peter did, didn't he? And
what did he tell us? We have also a more sure word
of prophecy. Whoa, we'll see that next hour,
it's vital. We have Christ the word, the
living word, and we have it in the written word. And all across
this country right now, it's on tables, it's in your hand,
on your cell phone, on tablets, any way you want it, any language
you want it in. Here's God's word about his son.
and we can have the Word and the promises of God right then
to us. Now that'll take understanding. Somebody run around with the
Bible without the understanding of who God is and who man is and the
gospel, and without knowing God, that's like a baby with a hand
grenade. That's dangerous. It's bodily dangerous, eternally
dangerous to people. But having this and knowing Him,
I still doubt. And there's times I pray, Lord,
how shall I know? How can I know, Lord? How can a sinner know God must
do a work in him? He has to teach him. What will
a sinner know? That God's got to do the work
in them and that he's got to teach them. They'll know that. Our assurance is it's finished. The fact that it is finished,
yes. And who said it? What about twofold
blessing? What's the answer to any lack?
You need something. You need assurance. What's the
answer to that? if there's any problem at all. If all the people
of Israel are chiding Moses, and Moses said, Lord, they're
going to kill me. They're not kind of upset with me and a little
disgruntled. They're taking up stones. They're
going to kill me. What do you say? Go smite the
rock, Moses. Show them Christ and Him crucified
one more time. Show them the sacrifice. That's the answer. In verse 8 it says, And he said,
Lord God, whereby shall I know that I have now inherited? Verse
9 says, And he said unto him, Take me. and heifer of three
years old, and she-goat of three years old, ram of three years
old, and a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. Quickly, I want to touch
on these. Brother Paul Mahan had a wonderful
message on this, but if I find it, I'll send it to you. He says,
take me. The Lord speaks to Abram and
says, take me. Not take you. Not take you. Take me. Take me. Christ offered himself up to
the Lord. That's what he did. He said,
take a heifer. What's that? You know, a heifer
is a cow that hasn't had a calf. It's completely pure. It's completely
undefiled in the newness of life. That's three years old. Take
me a heifer of three years old. Our Lord walked this earth for
three years preaching the gospel. His ministry was three years
and that was it. It stopped. We had his word now. Boy, am
I thankful for it. He was there for three years.
A she-goat and a ram. That's a pair, isn't it? That's
a bride and a husband. That's what that is. What about
that ram? That ram was the one that was caught in a thicket
whenever Abram went up the hill. A turtle dove. Psalm 74 and the
Song of Solomon tells us that's the bride of Christ. His church. Well, how could we be a sacrifice?
We're one with Him. We're one with Him as He is,
so are we. And a young pigeon. That's the
sacrifice accepted by the one that was just too poor to have
anything else. All this took place before Leviticus
came out. Yeah, I know. God doesn't change, does he?
What if I'm a great cattleman? What if I'm Job and I own all
these cattle? God's going to have blood. What
if I can't even buy a pigeon? I've got to catch one. God's
going to require blood. That's what it is. Who does all that point to? these
heifers, and these goats, and these pigeons, and these turtle
doves. It's Christ. It's Christ. The Lord told Abram,
you go take these things. And Abram obeyed. He didn't but. Why does it got to be a turtle
dove? Don't I need two turtle doves? What about this? What
color do they got to be? No, he did it. The Lord spoke
to him and he obeyed. Verse 10 says, And he took unto
him all these things, and divided them in the midst, and laid each
piece one against another. and the birds divided, he not."
We'll learn more about that if we ever get to Leviticus. They
took heads off. Why? His body's intact. Christ, our
head, was what was offered to God. He went for us. This was
orderly. This was not haphazard. Our God
is a God of order. He's a God of order. And what
happens whenever our great propitiation is clearly and orderly laid out? Christ the sacrifice, when He
goes out, when that's proclaimed, what's going to happen? You know
what happens when we spread the gospel? There's going to be some naysayers.
There's going to be some trouble coming. You want to forego that
and not spread the gospel? What do you think is going to
happen? I got some junk mail back here in the office. Nonsense. Nonsense. What do I expect? God's working. What happens when
Christ is clearly proclaimed? When that sacrifice that God
demands in His Son is put out there neatly and orderly, what
happens? Look at verse 11. And then the fowls came down
upon the carcasses. Abram drove them away. Buzzards
came. Meat eaters came. Ravens came. And they picked
apart the sacrifice. Here's what God requires. Well,
I don't know about that. You've got to understand this.
Here's these little intricate details. God requires His Son. That's the perfection He requires.
Hold on now. Buzzards came. Ravens came. Ungodly birds came that devour
death. The flesh eaters came down to
pick apart the sacrifice and Abraham drove them away. You
don't debate with a buzzard. Do you know that? You shoo it
away. You don't go out and have a long
theological conversation with a bird that eats dead meat. You
say, get out of here, throw a rock at it. Beat it. That's easy for it. We like picking
up rocks, don't we? I'll do it. I'll clean the house. What need
to clean? How many buzzards do I have in
me? Verse 17, and it came to pass.
Down to verse 17. We'll look at these other verses
next time. Verse 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. It came to pass when
the sun went down at the end of time. It was dark, a smoking
furnace and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. What's smoke? That's fire consuming
something, isn't it? Isn't that a consuming fire?
That means whatever was provided to the Lord for sacrifice was
accepted. He took it up. It was burnt. There's smoke there.
And a burning lamp. What's the burning lamp? Light.
And that darkness on Calvary. Who was there? God was there.
God was dealing with God on our behalf. What a thought. And he
was moving right between those pieces. That's where he was.
And there was smoke because he accepted his son. You want assurance? You want to know? God accepted
Christ the Lamb. Is that good enough for you?
Is that enough assurance for you? He accepted His Son and
those in Him. False religion will point you
to anything but Christ for assurance. False prophets, ministers of
Satan will go out and they'll say, you got a feeling. Well,
you had an experience. You got a baptism card when you
was nine years old. Well, you do something. How you
live now. Look at how you used to live.
Well, now you really cleaned up your act. I'm different now.
That won't give assurance. That won't save. And that won't
give lasting contentment. Look what I do for the gospel's
sake. Look what Christ did for the gospel's sake. For his name's
sake. That's what will give assurance.
That's what will give contentment. Assurance is found by looking to the Lamb
of God. and it comes from looking to the same one God's looking
to. The only church we will have
is looking to the Lamb of God, Christ and Him crucified, and
it comes from looking to the same one, to Him, that God's
looking to, that the Father looks to. I thought I had this in the
bulletin, but I didn't. So this morning, last minute, I stuck
it in my notes. Brother Clay Curtis wrote this.
God said to Noah, The bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look
upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between
God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the
earth. That's in Genesis 9, 16. He writes, It is comforting to
consider that when we look upon a rainbow in the sky, God is
looking upon that same rainbow. Have you thought about that?
When I look at that rainbow and I remember God's covenant, God's
looking at that rainbow. He hung it. He says He looks
at it. Even more comforting is that
our Heavenly Father is looking upon His Son, remembering the
everlasting covenant of grace towards each elect child of our
Savior, perfected by His one offering. You know why we have
a shorts looking across? Because God looks at Christ.
He's satisfied. He's accepted. You know what
a privilege that is? Do you know how rare that is?
We don't have some cousins out there that happen to be related,
but they have different daddies and mommies. No. There's one
family of God, and it's a rare thing to be a child of God and
to look to the one that died for us and to know that's the
only way that God's going to be just and the justifier. Look
at wisdom next hour. That's a precious gift. This took place at night. Abram's
out there looking at stars. Stars at nighttime, right? Couldn't
sleep. Oh, give me a sign. He gave him a sign. Yeah, but
how am I going to know? It's 2 a.m. He's wallowing around,
isn't he? God said, my son is going to come. And that's all
you need. What a privilege that is at night
or at day. Look to him. That's peace. Because that's who the father
looks at. And he's well pleased with his son. I hope that's a
blessing to you. Father, we're so prone to need
signs and we're so prone to doubt and be unknowing and just wallowing
in our own unbelief. Lord, in all occasions, allow
us to see who Christ is and what he did, what he accomplished
for his people, and that you're well pleased. Lord, thank you
for this hour. Thank you for teaching us these
things and giving us life. Thank you for quickening us.
Give us ears to hear of Him. Thank you for giving us a heart
that praises Him and is grateful for your salvation. Lord, allow
us to praise Him. Give us a desire and ability
to worship your Son. Be with those that aren't with
us, Lord. Those that you've sent illness to and trials to. Show them the same assurance.
You promised you will. It's in Christ's name that we
ask it. Amen.