Just how thankful we are that we can
meet together again. I want to thank Brother Neil
for handling the services while I was gone. We had a wonderful
time to relax. It's always good to go. Always
better to come home. You know how that is. I want
you to take your Bibles tonight and turn with me to the book
of Genesis chapter 15. Genesis chapter 15. This evening I'd like to deal
with one verse, verse one. Genesis 15, verse one. After these things, the word
of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, fear not Abram,
I am thy great shield. No, I am thy shield and thy exceeding
great reward. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank you that
we can come before you this evening in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, call upon you. Lord, we know for Christ's sake
you hear our prayer. I pray that you would bless the
service. Blessed I pray to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
and for the good and comfort of your people. And these things
we ask for Christ's sake. Amen. Abram has come back victoriously
from battle with the kings. He's rescued Lot. He's recovered
not only Lot, but also Lot's family, Lot's goods, and the
people that were there taken hostage. And as he returns, Abram
is approached, and he's blessed by a man named Melchizedek, who
I truly believe was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the priest of the Most High God. And Melchizedek, when he approached
Abram, he brought bread and wine. Lord willing, we're going to
remember the Lord this evening with the taking of the Lord's
supper. But here, when Melchizedek came,
And he approached Abram. This was the emblem. This is the gift that he had
in his hand. And these emblems, as the emblems
that will protect, set forth the body and the blood, the sacrifice
of our precious Savior. And the King of Sodom, after
Melchizedek had blessed Abram offered his blessing unto the
Lord and unto Abram, a prophet and a priest. This king of Sodom
made Abram an offer. He said in verse 21, give me
the persons and take the goods to thyself. But Abram, by faith,
he refused to take any of the spoils for himself. The reason, he said, I've lifted
up my hand to the Lord, the Most High God, the Possessor of Heaven
and Earth. And therefore, he said to the
king, I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet that is
thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich. Abram did allow the men that
were with him the privilege of being able to eat, and the portion
of the spoils that would normally go to them, but Abram personally. He said, I've lifted my hand
to God. You're not going to give me anything. Now the scripture now starts
off, and it says, after these things, after the battle of the
kings, but not only the battle of the kings, but after all that
Abram had experienced, after all the things that God had led
him through, from Ur of the Chaldees, leaving there, going to Haran,
going from Haran down into Canaan, leaving Canaan, going into Egypt,
then leaving Egypt, going back into Canaan, being there, having
separated from Lot because of a squabble over grass and water. And he's come to this point now. After all these things, the scripture
says, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying. Now, the Lord was speaking to
Abram, but I want us to stop for just a minute and realize
the Lord speaks personally to his people. For everyone that
knows Him, knows Him in saving grace. The Word of the Lord comes
to that person. Comes to that person. The Word
of the Lord came, when I consider it, the Word of the Lord came
to Marvin. The Word of the Lord came to
David. The Word of the Lord came, but
this is the Lord Jesus Christ. the word of God himself. And
he speaks to his people. Now, what an amazing thought.
God spoke to Abram personally. He spoke to him. God spoke to
him. Called him by name. John 10, 27, my sheep, hear my
voice. Now, as I'm just reading these
scriptures right here, saying things concerning the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the need of God's people to hear, and
God's people are sitting there and saying, that's consistent.
Everything, Lord willing, that you'll hear tonight, it's gonna
be consistent with these scriptures. And it's God himself speaking
in the gospel, in his word. My sheep hear My voice, and I
know them, and they follow Me." They follow Him according to
this Word. What they see in this Word, they
follow. They accompany Him. John 10,
verse 3, "...to Him," that is to the Lord, the shepherd, the
porter, God Himself, To him the porter openeth. Who can open
but God? Who can close up but God? And
the sheep hear his voice, he calleth his own sheep by name,
and he leadeth them out. The sheep of God hear the Lord
Jesus Christ, they hear his voice because they've got ears to hear.
They've got ears to hear, they've got a heart to believe, they've
got a heart to follow, They know His voice. They know it. They know the consistency of
His voice. They know His voice in providence,
and they know it in their heart. And at the sound of His voice,
they're obedient. They want to be obedient. His
voice, the consistency of these scriptures, is a comfort to them. It's familiar to them, it's the
voice of His love and His care and His direction. They hear
His voice and they know in their hearts, they know something that
is theirs only to know. When God's people hear His voice,
they know something. Ezekiel 34.30, Thus shall they
know that I, the Lord, their God, am with them. Now, God's people know that.
They know that. I, the Lord, their God, am with
them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people,
saith the Lord God. I'm their God and they're my
people. That just, that just that warms the heart, like those
two on the road to Emmaus. Did not our heart burn within
us as he opened unto us the scriptures as we were in the way? So the
Lord, who knew Abram, knew his frame. He came to Abram in a
vision. Now, I tried to do a little reading
on this vision. And what I did, and I read definitions,
and I I've tried to write down a few statements about a vision
that is consistent to what we read the scriptures. I found
out that a vision was not a dream as we perceive dreams of the
night. Dreams of the night. You know,
dreams are strange things. It makes sense when you're dreaming
it. But you know, a lot of times
you try to think the next morning, and you think back and try to
tell somebody what you dreamed, they're just strange. They don't
make sense. I mean, you know, I was in this
place, you know how dreams go. A vision is not a dream as we
know dreams to be, but rather I jotted down a special blessing
of the divine awareness of God's presence. The blessing to truly perceive
and have God's truth fixed. and settled in the heart and
mind with a mental consciousness of things beyond the sphere of
our natural activity. That was a vision. God would
speak in visions to his people, to his prophets, and he'd speak
in a vision. It didn't necessarily mean they
were asleep. There were visions. And they would have, and even
there's one scripture I read in Numbers and it was talking
about visions in a dream, but when I looked at it, it was like
a daydream. Not a dream of the night that's
inconsistent. A vision, it was a revelation
from the Lord, a perception to our mental consciousness, but
far beyond our natural ability. The Lord came to Abram in a vision. He came to him, and in light
of, and Lord willing, we'll look next time, at what Abram feared. The Lord's gonna tell him something,
and I won't get into it tonight, verses two through six. I won't
get into it tonight, what it is. But Abram feared something. And the Lord, said to him in
preparation for what Abram was going to reveal in light of what
Abram feared. He was going to ask a question.
And the Lord said this before he ever said anything. Fear not,
Abram. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Fear. That's something that man,
until the fall, knew nothing of. Genesis 3, 9 and 10, the
scripture says, speaking of Adam and Eve and the Lord calling
Genesis 3, 9. And the Lord called unto Abram
and said unto him, where art thou? And he said, I heard thy
voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked. And
I hid myself. I was afraid. The Lord asked
him, did you eat of the fruit? The Lord knew what he did. He knew. He said, Abram, fear
not. Isn't it comforting to realize
that though the fears of the sheep are ever secret to others,
you really don't know what I'm thinking. You really don't know
how I feel inside right now. You don't. I don't know how you
feel. Though the fears of the sheep may be secret to others,
especially if we don't say anything. I can be afraid, just don't tell
you. The Lord takes notice of the
fear of His people. He takes notice of it, and He
will not have their fear overcome them. Listen to this scripture,
Psalm 31, 7 to 10. I will be glad and rejoice in
thy mercy. for thou has considered my trouble.
Thou has known my soul in adversities and has not shut me up into the
hand of the enemy. Thou has set my feet in a large
room. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for
I am in trouble. Mine eye is consumed with grief,
yea, my soul and my belly, for my life is spent with grief and
my years with sighing. My strength faileth because of
mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed." Abram had not said anything outwardly
to the Lord, but the Lord knew his heart. He knew what Abram
feared. He knew what Abram was going
to ask him. Isaiah 65, 24 says, and it shall
come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while
they're yet speaking, I will hear." Abram was struggling, as we all
do, and the Lord knew it. Today I was talking to Gabe,
and we were just talking, and he said, you know,
Dad, sometimes I feel that I've waited till
the last minute to talk to the Lord about something that's bothering
me. And I just feel as though that sometimes I've wasted time. And I thought, I wish I'd have
prayed about this before. And I told him, I said, I know
exactly what you're saying. Why didn't I do this before?
He said, but you know, I thought about this Christmas. I knew
I had it in my notes tonight. The Lord knew before we ever
called, the Lord knew. And he said, I'm gonna answer.
He knows what we need. He knows what we need to pray.
I'm so thankful that scripture that says the spirit help with
iron firmities. We don't know what to pray for.
I don't know what to ask. I just, there's times that I
try and I'm so thankful. Oh, Lord, thank you. Thank you
that you don't leave this in my hands because I'm so frail. I'm frail, frail. Here, Abram
was walking by faith. The scripture says that. Abram
believed God. We're gonna deal with that, Lord,
Willie, next time. Believe God. But the scriptures bared out
that while we walk by faith, fear is still found within. This
was the crust of this first verse. Abram, fear not. This is 2 Corinthians
7, 5. For when we were coming to Macedonia,
Paul said, our flesh had no rest. but we were troubled on every
side. Without were fightings, within were fears. Isn't that
right? That's right, isn't it? That's the way a believer is.
So believer, don't be surprised when you find yourself troubled.
We find ourselves troubled all the time. The presence of sin
manifests itself in our struggles, in our trouble. 2 Corinthians
4, 8, we're troubled on every side, yet we're not distressed.
We're perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken,
cast down, but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body
the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus Christ
might be made manifest in our bodies. So we're just in a constant
battle. Abram, don't be afraid. Marvin,
don't be afraid. The Lord promised in this world,
You shall have tribulation, but be a good cheer. I've overcome
the world. With the word of the Lord to
Abram, concerning Abram's fear, came this word of assurance and
comfort. He said, fear not, Abram. I am thy shield. I am thy shield. I'm your buckler. I told you I found out a buckler. Just a little small shield. It's a small shield. And it was
quick, quick. Defensive, defensive. Offensive,
defensive. He said, I am, I'm your shield. I'm your buckler of defense.
That shield that we hold by faith the shield of faith. We need him. We talk about the
shield of faith. Our shield in whom we trust is
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our shield. That's what
we told Abram. Abram, I am thy shield. We need him. We need Him as a
shield. We need Him as a shield from
the wiles of the devil, from the penalty of our sin. We need
Him as our shield from the judgment of the law, from death held the
grave. We need Him and have Him by the
grace of God. We didn't earn Him. He gave Himself as our shield. He who loved us and gave Himself
for us. We need Him, all that He is, all who He is, what He's
done. I'm your shield. What hope would I have from the
penalty of the law? What hope would I have if He
were not my shield? The fiery darts of Satan, what
can I do? How do I stop that? a sinner,
helpless, rebel against God? Abram, I am thy shield. And he being our shield, who
or what can eternally harm us if the Lord is personally? He said, Abram, I'm your shield. I'm your shield. That's personal. I'm your shield. Didn't say anything
about the king of Sodom. Didn't say anything about him.
I'm your shield. I've given myself to you. You're
mine. I'm your God. You're mine. You're
mine. Psalm 2 7 says, he layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. That is, he hides or reserves
in a secret place all that's needful for the righteous. It's
a secret place. Where is that secret place? It's
a secret place. I don't need to know where it
is. The Lord knows. He is a buckler, a shield to
them that walk upright. He's the protector. He's the
shield of defense to them who walk after the spirit and not
after the flesh. You know when Noah and his family
were in the ark and the rain fell upon the ark, the ark as
a picture of Christ, the ark. That was a buckler. That was
a shield to all that were inside. I am thy shield. So don't be afraid. I'm your shield. I'm your shield.
But not only was the Lord's statement to Abram that he was his shield, he said, and thy exceeding great reward."
Now here Abram was taught that not only did he possess by the
grace of God. How was the Lord Abram shield
and exceeding great reward unless the Lord had chosen
Abram to be the vessel of his mercy. The Lord had to do something
for Abram. But here, Abram possessed by
the grace of God and found to be satisfied only with the Lord. Abram's reward. He said, I am
thy exceeding great reward. Abram, along with all of God's
sheep, are said to be their sons, and
being sons, therefore they are heirs of God. They're heirs of God. Now, when
we talk about an heir, or heirs, you know, your kids, those that
will be the recipients of what you pass on. Now if you've got
more than one, then what they're going to receive is a portion
of the inheritance. They're going to get a portion. We who are the heirs of God,
we don't receive a portion, a segment. What do we receive? God. We are heirs of God and all that
God Almighty has of himself for his people. God is our inheritance. Now, Pat, I'm way over my head
on this one. God is our inheritance? Yes. We're heirs of God. Heirs of
God. The Lord told Abram, Abram, I
am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. What does that
mean? That means the Lord told Abram,
you have me. You have me. I am thy exceeding
great reward. Eye hath not seen, ear hath not
heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man that which God
hath prepared for those that love him. I don't even know what to say. God is our inheritance? Yes,
that's what he told Abram. I am thy great exceeding reward. I am your inheritance. We're heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ. Now Christ is the heir of all
things. Listen to this, Hebrews 1 verse
1 and 2. God, who at sundry times and
in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things. by whom also He made
the world. Now who is the heir by right
of all things? Who's the heir by right, by merit? Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's heir of everything. He's
heir of all. By His merit, by His worthiness,
by His holiness, and being joined to Him by the grace of God, given
to Him in electing grace, by Him betrothing Himself unto us
according to that everlasting covenant of grace, not by works
of righteousness that we've done, but according to His mercy saved
us, one with Him, by grace, We are joint heirs with Christ. We are partakers of the same
eternal glory with the glorified human nature of Christ who is
our head and we are his body. He's the head. He is worthy. worthy of all honor,
all glory, and all praise. And He has joined us to Himself. We're His body. You know, I think of a monarch or somebody
sitting on a throne and they've got crowns on their head, but
you know their hand is part of them. Again, it's more like fathom.
Abraham, fear not. Don't you be afraid. I am thy shield. I'm your shield. And I am your
exceeding great reward. You're mine. by my grace, by my mercy. I'll have mercy on whom I'll
have mercy. I'll have compassion on whom I have compassion. We're
his by his choosing. And he's ours by his gift. I'm yours. I'm your God. You're my people. I pray that
the Lord be pleased to just allow us to muse upon that for a moment. And here's what we say, Lord, as you say it is, it is. Lord, teach me, help me. Lord,
I believe, help my unbelief. Let's pray. Our Father, as we
come before you this evening, we thank you for these few moments
just to be able to assemble ourselves together contemplate the wonder
of your mercy and grace to us. Lord, we're not deserving of
it. We think so disrespectfully. Lord, we've acted so disrespectfully. Thank you that you will not,
according to your good pleasure, impute iniquity to your people.
Lord, it's not that we're not chargeable. but you won't charge
us with it, having charged it to your blessed son. Lord, as
we remember you this evening in the partaking of these elements,
help us to remember, for Christ's sake, amen.