Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18"How do you know that he loves you?" In the Disney movie "Enchanted" that is the question that leads into a big musical number. In the song the answer to the question is more about the little things people who are romantically involved do for each other. The answer is the little things like writing notes and sending gifts and such.

But if you stop and think about it we all do things to demonstrate our love to others. We give hugs and kisses and handshakes and pats of the back. We check on friends when we know they may need some help. We go out of our way to send them cards or notes or give them phone calls on important days in their lives.

Sometimes we even make promises and even take vows. We say, "I'll be there for you." Or "just call and I will be there," or "No matter how old you get you will always be my child." Sometimes the vows are serious: "Until death us do part." Even children will say, "Cross my heart and hope to die stick a needle in my eye."

How do we know?

That was Abraham's question. "O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" You see Abraham was dying. I mean the guy was on the far side of 100. And Sarah was not far behind. God had said that he would be the father of a nation.

But how can you be a father with no children. And how can you be a nation with no land? It seemed that the butler Eliazer would inherit all his property. And what would become of him.

But God said "don't be afraid. I've got your back Abram. I will take care of you. Just call and I'll be there. You will have children and land and it will all happen like I said."

But Abraham still worried "how am I to know."

So God made a vow or in Biblical language a covenant. He sealed his promise with a demonstration of how serious he was. The problem is that the symbolic language he used is about 4,000 years old, so it is lost on most modern people. Abraham brings heifers and goats and rams and birds and cuts them in two and lays them out: a sacrifice. Then he waits. Then God appears as fire and smoke and passes between the cut up animals.

What does all that mean? Keep in mind this was all in a time before written contracts and lawyers and notary publics. In the language of the 20th century BC God is making a promise and showing how serious he is about that promise. By passing between the severed halves of the animals he is saying "If I break my promise may what happened to these animals happen to me." Or in a language we are more familiar with "Cross my heart and hope to die stick a needle in my eye."

And so God seals the deal with Abraham. God reassures Abraham that he will have his back and that all that he said will come true. Yes, Abraham had joined the centenarians club and his picture was even on Good Morning America. But he will have offspring. And even though he has wandered his whole life, his descendants would inherit the land that would later be called Israel. That's how he is to know!

How are we to know? We are all dying. Not just physically. We are dying spiritually. The wages of sin is death and we have all sinned.

God promised to save us to take away our sin. God said that we would have a place with him in heaven. The Bible says that we are children of God and heirs to glory. But I don't look like an heir to glory. I mean I try to be good but often a fail and fail miserably.

How are we to know that God will keep his word? What assurance do we have? How do I know that God really loves me?

So as with Abraham God says I will show you how serious I am. Meet me on a green hill outside the city wall. This time I will bring the sacrifice. And God appeared in his Son. And between two sinners he was nailed to a cross. And there Jesus bled and died to seal the deal that saves us.

And God said, "This is how much I love you. This is how serious I am about my promises. I would rather die than not have you come to heaven and be with me. I am giving my life so that you can be heirs to the kingdom of God.

How do I know that God loves me? He sent his son to show me. And Jesus died on the cross for my sins. And I have the assurance that God will keep his promises to forgive my sin and give me eternal life. And the cross is a sign of that promise!

That's how I know God loves me!

Psalm 27

"Wait on the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yea, wait on the LORD!" (Psalms 27:14) I'm not very good a waiting. I lose my patience easily when someone makes me wait. I can't stand stop lights. They are always too long for me. They have yet to invent an express checkout that meets my definition of express.

So whenever I anticipate an extended wait, I bring things to do. I take my laptop and work on sermons or bulletins or something. The orthodontist's office has a nice table and chair set up with an outlet near by. I think they put a plaque with my name there when my daughters finally go the braces off. A lot of times I bring books. Mary calls them my "boring preacher study books." You ought to see me in an airport; I can do a weeks worth of work during one extended layover.

I have to admit that I also find it difficult to wait on the Lord. When I bring a need before the Lord, I want to see results. I want an answer as quickly as possible. And I don't think I am alone. We all find it hard to wait on the Lord's timetable for things when we sense an urgency about a situation. So today I want to suggest some things to do while waiting on the Lord.

The psalmist gives us some good examples of what to do while waiting on the Lord. The first thing to do is to remind ourselves who we are waiting for. We are not just waiting on any Jane or Joe. A person can be detained or thwarted in their arrival. We are waiting ion the Lord God Almighty!

The psalmist does this in the opening verses. He says, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalms 27:1) Paul said the same thing in Romans: "If God is for us, who is against us?" (8:31)

Since we are waiting on the Lord, we know that our waiting is not in vain. There is nothing on heaven or Earth that can stop God. And his care for us is so great that he came to die for us. "Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.(27:3)

Another thing we can do as we wait on the Lord is take a walk. Not as in walking away. But as in walking with God. The psalmist says, "One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple." (27:4)

The psalmist is talking about going to the temple to be with God. In the psalmist day they believe that God dwelt mainly in the temple in Jerusalem. There have been times that I was going through difficult periods in my life. I found that just coming to church to pray helped me through those times. That prayer time helped me to wait upon the Lord until I could see the unfolding of God's plan for my life. But you don't have to come to church or to some mountain chapel to be with God. Although gathering with the congregation is a good idea.

As we wait on the Lord we can seek places of sanctuary in our lives. We can seek out times of prayer and meditation. We can seek times of Christian conversation with friends. We can spend our time worshipping and seeking a closer walk with God.

Another thing we can do while waiting on the Lord is remind ourselves what God has done in the past. The psalmist says, "thou who hast been my help."(27:9) God has been our help. God is the one who gave us life. God is the one who has blessed us in the past. God is the one who gave His Son to die for our sins. God is the one who has purchased for us eternal life.

If God has done all that, then God will certainly help us now. I know God has helped me. God has seen me thought the deaths of parents and family members. God has seen me thought the illnesses of those closest to me. God has seen me though depression and anxiety.

Look at your own life. Take the time to list the times that God has lifted you up. If God has not let you down before then what makes you think he will let you down now. As you wait remember the other times you have waited and seen "the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!"(27:13)

Wait on the Lord. But sometimes waiting gets hard. Sometimes it seems the answer is not coming: the illness lingers, the depression deepens, the pile of bills gets higher, the estranged family member will not be reconciled.

What do we do then? You know the psalmist does not tell us that God had answered his prayer. He doesn't tell us what the situation was that led him to call on the Lord. He also doesn't tell us that God had brought it to a resolution yet. The prayer ends, "Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the LORD!" (27:14) It seems that the psalm ends with the psalmist still waiting.

But what else can we do? Only God can help us. He is the one who knows us and loves us and has the power to do all things. Sometimes our will is not His and He is just waiting for us to be ready to realize that. But other times the time is just not right or the answer. So when you get tired of waiting and you run out of things to do; then just wait on the Lord some more!

Luke 13:31-35

One day as Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem. And one of the people responded to his teaching by asking, "Lord, will only a few be saved?" Jesus replied, "Go through the door while it is open. For the time will come when the owner of the house will shut the door, then people will stand outside and bang on the door and say 'let us in for we ate and drank with you.' But the owner of the house will say, 'I don't know you so go away you evil doers.' In that day there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom. And you are on the outside!"

Well, the Pharisees got wind of this, and I guess they thought Jesus was talkin' about them. 'Cause within the hour they had caught up with him. When they did they were real sly. Instead of attacking Jesus they acted like they were his friends. They said, "Jesus we hear that Herod wants to kill you so you had better run away."

They were sly but Jesus was more cunning. Jesus said "Give that Fox a message for me," as if the Pharisees were on speaking terms with a sinner like Herod! But before they could protest he continued, "I am busy casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow and on the third day I am finished my work. But that doesn't matter because I am going to Jerusalem for no prophet worth his weight in salt can be killed outside of Jerusalem." Then Jesus looked down the road and said "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, city that kills the prophets God sends her. I have longed to gather your children like a hen protecting her chicks. But you wouldn't let me. Just watch what happens to you. You won't get me until that day when you say 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

On the way to Jerusalem ... It's more than just a place that Jesus was going. It was a purpose; a final destination. Jesus was headed to Jerusalem to die and he knew it. When he said "On the third day I finish my work" he was thinking about the resurrection which would finish his work in Jerusalem.

He also knew that it was God's will that he die there. Sure, Herod had motivation to kill Jesus. He had killed John for causing trouble. Jesus seemed to be cut from the same cloth. If he would behead John he might do the same to Jesus.

But Jesus knew that was not "The Plan." God would not allow Herod to kill Jesus as he has killed John. God's plan was for Jesus to go to Jerusalem and be crucified. Herod could not thwart that plan even if he tried. But Jesus also knew the role that the Pharisees and other religious leaders would play in his death.

On the way to Jerusalem � Why was Jesus on the way to Jerusalem? Why did he go to the trouble of giving his life for us? Put simply: to open the door. That nameless disciple was right; only a few would be saved. And Jesus was opening the door for those few.

Jesus was headed there to try to offer shelter for those who were in danger of judgment. Like a mother hen, he wanted to shelter the masses from evil foxes like Herod and the religious leaders. Sure the pilgrims would sing Hosannas and shout "Blessed if is the one who comes in the name of the lord." And they would enter through the open door. But most of Jerusalem would reject him and even his closest friends would abandon, deny and betray him.

But he did it to open the door to salvation. The door is open. Jesus went to Jerusalem. His body was broken and his blood was shed to open the door. The door is open so come and eat and drink.

The day is surely coming when the door will be closed. Then it will be too late to say, "We ate and drank with you and we intended to do more." There will be much weeping and you will be outside. So come and say, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

I think often times we put the people we read about in the Bible up on a pedestal. We think of then as larger than life. After all God talks with them and walks with them and God performed great miracles for them. We imagine them as people of tremendous faith. They are not like us. We are ordinary people. We doubt too much, and when was the last time God spoke to you out of a burning bush or parted an ocean for you. And so the people of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, like Abraham seem distant and strange not like the people we are and know.

But they were more like us than you think. They were just ordinary people. They were capable of great sin as well as great faith. Does that sound like us? God didn't always speak to them out of a burning bush. Sometimes God spoke through a quiet voice.

Abraham is the best example of the point I am making. He was no great preacher or prophet or king or great warrior or theologian. He was a farmer, he was into agriculture, primarily livestock. Abraham was much like the cattle farmers around here. If you want to know what Abraham was like, look at your neighbors who keep cows.

Abraham was an ordinary man with ordinary problems. For one he had no children. Why was this a problem? I told you that Abraham was like people today, but there is one important exception. Abraham's religion was much more incomplete than ours. He lacked the understanding of God and God's will that we take for granted. For instance Abraham didn't even have the ten commandments. All he had was a relationship with God and God told him to do things but that was it. One of the things Abraham didn't know was that there is an afterlife. Just read the first 15 chapters of Genesis. There is only one hint of an afterlife and that involved a person of exceptional righteousness. You see God was still working of the basics of our religion. And if you think about it, knowing about an afterlife wouldn't do us much good if we didn't trust God in this life. So God concentrated on teaching Abraham how to trust.

Because Abraham apparently didn't know about life after death, he was particularly worried about not having children. Without children he would have no heirs. All that he had worked for would have to be willed to one of his servants. He thought his only chance for immortality was to have children to carry on his name and the family business. I am sure Abraham was pleasantly surprised when he got to heaven and discovered there was more. Just as we will be surprised to find out how much we have underestimated the Glory of heaven. But to Abraham, with his limited understanding, a death with no children to carry on was the end.

So Abraham was worried. You have heard of a mid life crisis when a person reaches middle age and they wonder what the have accomplished in life. Well Abraham was in his 80's so I guess he was having a late life crisis. He had done many things. He had gone where God had commanded him. He had a wonderful wife and a thriving business. But what would happen to it all. And he thought, "If only I had a child to pass all this on to."

Then something happened that is very characteristic of the way God acts. In the midst of Abraham's despair God came to him to comfort him. God spoke to Abraham and said: "Don't worry Abraham, I will take care of you. You have been faithful to me all these years and I will reward you." Abraham replied, "O Lord, I know you mean well, but what can you do. I am old and I have no children. All that I have will be left to my hired hand Eliazer." God said, "Eliazar will not inherit all this. Your own son will." Then God took Abraham outside and showed him the stars. And God said, "Your descendants will be as many as the stars." And Abraham believed him and God considered him righteous because of his faith.

But God doesn't stop with just taking away our fears, our Heavenly Father also provides for our future. So God did the same with Abraham. After promising Abraham more descendants than he could count, God said, "I will give you all this land." Without thinking Abraham said, "But how can this be? How can I be sure all this will come true?" God said, "Meet me tomorrow night with a heifer, a lamb, a goat, and two birds and I will show you how sincere I am."

Abraham may have doubted, but he had enough faith to meet God as he had been commanded. And Abraham brought the livestock and he prepared them as God had commanded and he waited. First vultures began trying to eat the dead animals. And Abraham had to chase them off. These were a gift for God, he couldn't let the birds ruin them.

Then the sun started set. And Abraham began to worry. He was tired. Not just tired for the night; that he wanted to sleep for the night. He was old and tired; he was about ready to sleep for good. The sun was not just setting for the day it was setting on his life. His only hope was God's promises. And where was God? Had God forgotten or decided not to keep the promise. Not only were the surroundings getting darker but so was Abraham's soul.

Finally when it could get no darker God appeared. In the form of a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch God appeared and passed between the halves of the slaughtered animals. And that day God sealed the promise to Abraham and made a statement. In the symbolic language of the 20th century B.C. God said, "If I break my promises may I split open like these animals."

Abraham was an ordinary man with ordinary problems. He was much like us. We worry about our future. What will happen to me, what will become of all I have done. Who will take care of me? What will happen when... Fill in the blank with one of your fears. Like Abraham many of us have followed God for years, yet we still wonder and worry. But as with Abraham, God speaks to us and reminds us that He will take care of us. And God promises to take away our fears and provide for us beyond our concern. And God says, "Just meet me and I will show you how sincere I am."

So we come to meet God. But it is getting late. There is not much time: to have children, to have successes, to find hope, to pass on the faith. The sun is setting and it�s getting dark. And where is God. Has God abandoned us, will he leave us here to fight off the vulture until we can no more and they feed on us.

I know it�s getting dark. But just wait. Hang on. God hasn't let you down before and God will not let you down now. Just when the sun has set and you think it can't get any darker. Just when you are tired of fighting off the vultures and detractors. Then God will come, with the fire of the Holy Spirit, and our Lord will show you how serious an Almighty God can be.

Wait a minute! How do I know that God is serious about keeping the promise to save us? I know God is serious because of the way he sealed the promise. God sealed the promise to Abraham by passing between the slaughtered animals. God symbolically said, "May I split apart and die like these animals if I break my promise." God sealed our promise by sending his Son to die on a cross for my sins. Hey, that�s serious! If God takes my salvation that seriously, then I can trust his word.

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