Transcript [00:03] [music] [00:06] Hallelujah. Thank you team. Also those [00:09] serving in the back that we don't get to [00:11] see up front and our media team, our [00:14] sound, our lyrics, uh our servants, our [00:17] first encounters, our children's [00:18] teachers. Thank you everybody for being [00:20] part of this family and uh serving [00:23] together with us. We're so happy to have [00:25] you here at King of Kings. Welcome back [00:26] to all of our members. Welcome home. If [00:28] you're visiting tonight, welcome. We're [00:30] glad you're able to join us. And [00:32] everybody watching online, Kings [00:33] Community Live, Facebook Live, YouTube, [00:35] other platforms, Alpha Omega Ministries [00:37] all around Europe. Welcome to Jerusalem [00:40] and to King of Kings. It is great to be [00:42] with you tonight. Thank you. I know [00:45] Pastor Mike got a chance to say this, [00:46] but we want to continue to say it. Thank [00:48] you to all the servants in the house who [00:50] helped us with the BU worship and arts [00:52] expo. Uh Melissa, you know, Julia Taes [00:56] and so many. I can't mention uh [00:57] Stephano, etc. There there's just too [00:59] long of a list to mention. But thank you [01:01] for helping us pull that off and really [01:04] connect the body of Messiah in a brand [01:06] new way. It was remarkable. And uh we're [01:08] going to go a little bit deeper. Those [01:10] of you that connect, especially online [01:12] with King's Community Live, uh on our [01:14] next broadcast next week, you're going [01:15] to see me dive a little bit deeper into [01:18] the details of how the BOU Expo came [01:20] about, what the goals were, what we [01:22] thought we accomplished, and get you [01:24] some testimonies from that. So, praise [01:26] the Lord that all those wonderful things [01:28] uh happened. Uh it's always good to have [01:30] Rey uh and his daughter Naomi back in [01:33] the house with us. So, praise the Lord. [01:35] Thank you, Pastor Ray. [applause] [01:37] And I bring you greetings from uh uh the [01:40] congregation Elahimik, our Arabic [01:42] speaking congregation in Betsor. We got [01:44] a chance to be uh Ray and I went out [01:47] there on Friday night to worship with [01:48] them. They've grown. They're doing a [01:50] great job. So, bless you, Pastor Paul [01:53] and Kristen. and they send their [01:54] blessing and their thanks because they [01:56] know how much we have prayed for them [01:58] and bless them as we want to bless our [02:00] Arabic speaking community uh in our [02:03] region. Grab your Bibles and while you [02:05] turn there, you're going to be turning [02:06] to Genesis 18 today. But listen, while [02:08] you turn there, I want to give you some [02:10] good news. Every year [02:13] you know there is a uh there is a survey [02:16] that is done of all the nations all the [02:19] known nations and they and they ask [02:21] people about how happy they are and and [02:23] and are they fulfilled in the joy of [02:25] their life and however many hundreds of [02:27] nations there are. Uh this past year [02:31] Israel ranked number eight [02:34] in the whole world we ranked number [02:36] eight in terms of happiness. Praise the [02:38] Lord. Now you you wonder how can a [02:40] country that is constantly bombed, [02:43] constantly terrorized, [02:46] the threats from all around, [02:47] anti-semitism all over the world, how [02:50] can you be number eight when it comes to [02:52] joy? We're going to have to give all the [02:54] credit to the Lord for that one. Amen. [02:57] Um, you want to hear something even a [02:59] little bit uh more surprising? [03:02] A newer survey has been done over the [03:05] last few years and the the 2025 surveys [03:09] have come in and now they've compiled [03:10] all the numbers and this is called uh [03:12] the global flourishing study. The global [03:16] flourishing study and they they measured [03:19] all kind of stuff inside the country of [03:22] all the known nations in the world. And [03:24] so the the the the numbers came in and [03:26] and uh this time around in the global [03:29] flourishing [03:31] study, Israel ranked number three in the [03:34] world. Isn't that amazing? For everybody [03:36] that hates us, [03:40] we're we seem to be happy and [03:42] flourishing. Amen. [03:44] >> Isn't that amazing? What was what was [03:46] interesting about that particular [03:47] flourishing study, you can look it up. [03:48] There's a lot of uh a lot of [03:50] universities that have published it. um [03:53] was some of the categories that they [03:54] looked at was the tightness of family, [03:58] how close the family lives to each [04:00] other. That was an important thing. [04:02] Well, we're a small country. We kind of [04:03] all live close together. So, we're kind [04:05] of forced in it out. But one interesting [04:07] part was the countries that ranked high [04:11] had longstanding [04:13] traditions, [04:15] things that they do uniquely that other [04:18] nations don't do. We are called to be a [04:21] nation of kingdom of priests, right? A [04:24] royal priesthood, a holy nation. We are [04:26] not to live like the other nations. [04:28] There must be something unique about how [04:30] we live. Israel, don't be like the [04:33] world. We're not going to be like the [04:35] rest of the churches around the world. [04:37] You see, we're not going to be like [04:39] that. We partner together with the [04:42] global church. We're part of the uh the [04:44] Goffam Mashiach, the body of Messiah, [04:46] but we are unique in our messianic space [04:49] in our our Jewish space. And there are [04:52] things that I think we need to make sure [04:54] that we are living uniquely. And if you [04:55] ever want to dive a little bit deeper, [04:57] you want to grab that, I invite you to [05:00] worship with us at one of our [05:01] congregations called Nakalatu, where we [05:04] very intentionally go deeper and [05:07] celebrate the heritage of our faith. If [05:10] you ever want to do that, if you want to [05:11] be part of the the service where we take [05:13] the Torah scroll out or you want to put [05:14] the talit on or you want to open the [05:16] prayer book or you you want to learn [05:17] more about the Jewish roots of faith uh [05:19] and discuss that uh together, we invite [05:22] you on Saturday nights. You can come [05:23] join us. Ask our ushers. They'll give [05:25] you details. Come and join us on [05:27] Saturday nights where we do go quite a [05:29] bit deeper into that heritage since it [05:31] is one of the parts that makes us [05:33] flourish. Amen. So, if you've grabbed [05:36] your Bible, we're in Genesis. [05:40] We started a series last week called the [05:42] covenant table. The covenant table. [05:46] As a quick recap, [05:49] Genesis 12, Abram, remember his name's [05:53] not Abraham just yet. Abram hears God's [05:55] voice to move to Canaan from where he [05:58] lived in and Haron. He moves to Canaan. [06:01] He hears God's voice to make covenant [06:03] with him. and that he will become the [06:06] father of a future Jewish nation. In [06:08] chapter 13 of Genesis, Abram hears the [06:10] voice of God again. And at this time, [06:12] he's offered what's called the land [06:14] grant of Israel. The future Israel [06:18] doesn't exist yet. It's the future. The [06:20] land grant. So, it's a second covenant [06:22] that's being offered to Abram here [06:25] through God's voice. In Genesis 14, [06:27] which is really the center of where we [06:29] studied last week, Genesis 14, Abram and [06:32] his army, yes, he had an army. He's a [06:34] king at the same level of many of the [06:36] other city states of his day. He had an [06:38] audience with kings. He built an [06:40] alliance and he had his own army. That's [06:42] a king. [06:44] Abram and his army defeats King Cadile [06:47] and his allies. And in this successful [06:50] military campaign, he rescues his nephew [06:53] Lot. [06:54] And after the campaign, as would the [06:58] ancient custom be, the kings around you [07:01] would come and they would they would [07:03] come and wish you well and they would [07:04] congratulate you with gifts because you [07:06] won the war. Well, Abraham's alliance [07:09] won the war. And here comes a king named [07:12] Melkisedc [07:14] to congratulate Abraham. [07:17] But he's not like the other kings. [07:18] remember some of the other kings came to [07:20] bring [07:22] gifts to him and congratulations and one [07:24] of the the the ones mentioned by name [07:26] was Barah of of uh Sodom and and he [07:31] rejected it and he said I don't want [07:33] your gifts I don't want to ever owe you [07:35] anything I want all glory to go to God [07:37] he rejects the gifts from the other [07:38] kings but Melkisedc king of Salem notice [07:42] I threw some quotes up there [07:45] he brings gifts and Abram accepts the [07:47] gifts so he's different. He stands out. [07:49] Something's different. So, we talked [07:50] about that last last week. They have a a [07:53] little bit of a covenant time over a [07:55] meal together. And it says that [07:56] Melkisedc presented [07:58] bread and wine to Abram. Then he gave [08:01] him a priestly blessing. And then [08:03] Abraham turns around and gives his 10% [08:06] tithe to MelkiseDC. We made many [08:09] parallels between this king Melkisedc, [08:12] king of Salem, king of peace, and Yeshua [08:15] himself because they were both uniquely [08:17] king and priest at the same time. [08:20] Neither one of them were from the tribe [08:22] of Levi. They both predated the [08:25] Levitical priestly commandments. One was [08:28] called the king of Salem or the king of [08:30] peace. The other one's called the prince [08:31] of peace. [08:33] We focused on taking the Lord's supper [08:36] together, having that covenant moment, [08:39] and that this covenant table gave us [08:42] specific details about who the future [08:44] Messiah would be. That's that's quite a [08:47] table now that you learn more about who [08:49] the Messiah would be. [08:51] So either we concluded last week either [08:54] Melkisedc was God in human form which we [08:57] call Yeshua or Abram knew that he was a [09:02] true priest of God and some kind of [09:03] foreshadowing figure of the coming [09:05] Messiah. He knew it was one or the other [09:07] which is why he treated him so special. [09:10] You can catch the rest of that sermon on [09:12] our website, our YouTube page or on the [09:14] core. [09:17] Now, as I'm continuing to get us to [09:19] where we want to go tonight, which is [09:20] Genesis 18, we could not pass over [09:24] Genesis 15 [09:26] without hitting something [09:29] important. [09:31] In Genesis 15, [09:34] God visits Abram again, but this time he [09:36] visits him in a in a trance or a vision [09:39] or an open dream or whatever word you [09:41] like to use. He sees him in a vision. [09:44] It's not a voice this time. And in that [09:47] vision, God tells Abram that he's going [09:49] to have a supernatural child to pass [09:51] along his covenant to. So, he's already [09:53] got the covenant of you'll be a blessing [09:54] to the nations. You'll be the father of [09:56] nations. He's already gotten the [09:57] covenant of you'll have this special [09:58] land. And now he gets the covenant of [10:00] you will have a supernatural child. So, [10:02] lots of gifts and covenants and promises [10:04] being given to Abram at this time. He [10:08] goes on to tell him a little bit more [10:09] and he says,"Abram, listen, your [10:11] descendants will be slaves in Egypt for [10:13] a while, but later I will deliver them." [10:15] So he it's a predictive vision in that [10:18] way. He confirms the land grant again. [10:21] And then at this point of promising the [10:23] child and promising the land in the [10:26] vision, this is what's going on. I [10:27] promise you the child, I promise you the [10:30] land. [10:31] In the vision, God sets up these [10:34] animals, these different animals, and he [10:36] cuts them in half down the middle. And [10:38] he puts an animal on either side and [10:41] makes a little row. And he and he [10:44] says,"Abram, you're going to walk [10:46] through the row. You're going to walk [10:47] through these pieces of the animals, but [10:49] I'm also going to walk through the [10:50] pieces." And it says that a a flaming [10:53] firepot, [10:56] it says went through. I guess I'm [10:58] interpreting that as floated through. [11:02] Couldn't walk. So, I guess it floated [11:03] through. It floats through the pieces. [11:06] And then in the vision, Abram goes [11:08] through the pieces. and and and and [11:10] God's making a what's what we call very [11:13] important we call a reciprocating [11:15] covenant. Genesis 15, a reciprocating [11:18] covenant. God is saying, "I split it in [11:20] half so we're equal [11:23] in this covenant. We're equal. Not in [11:25] power and authority, but in this [11:26] covenant. And I'm going to go through [11:28] and then you're going to go through and [11:29] we're going to be equal in the covenant. [11:31] Everything that's mine is yours and [11:32] everything that's yours is mine." It's [11:35] called a reciprocating covenant. Genesis [11:36] chapter 15. It's what happens. But it [11:38] happens when the firepot goes through or [11:42] floats through. [11:44] And what's important about that moment [11:46] is is the context and the timing of God [11:50] saying, "You're going to have a special [11:52] child and you're going to have a special [11:54] land. Now, let's have this covenant [11:56] together, and it's going to reciprocate. [11:58] Whatever is mine is yours, and whatever [11:59] is yours is mine." And Abraham would [12:02] have applied that immediately to the two [12:05] topics on the table. [12:09] God, are you saying [12:11] whatever's mine is yours and whatever [12:13] yours is mine and you're going to ask me [12:16] for my son? [12:20] Well, the only way Abram would have [12:21] known to fulfill that and and in faith [12:24] do that is because he knew the covenant. [12:26] And if God was saying, "I want your [12:27] son." And Abram was willing to give the [12:29] son, then Abram would have already known [12:32] that he would get God's son. [12:37] That's the reciprocating covenant. You [12:39] want my son? Sure. I get yours. [12:43] And God was like, "Exactly. That's what [12:46] I'm setting up here." [12:48] And then the land grant was on the table [12:50] at the same reciprocation of the [12:52] covenant. What God is saying is, "I'm [12:54] going to I'm going to send you to this [12:56] land and you're going to have it, but [12:57] guess what? That land's going to be my [12:59] land." [13:01] And if Abraham understood the covenant [13:02] and he said, "We're going to go conquer [13:04] this land and it's going to be yours. [13:06] That means wherever you dwell, I get to [13:09] dwell." [13:11] And Abraham would have been smart enough [13:13] to apply the two topics in the vision to [13:17] the vision itself. The reciprocating [13:20] covenant of Genesis chapter 15 [13:24] is profound. Go study it a little bit [13:26] more. [13:30] I would give you this key phrase to take [13:33] away that Yeshua is the fulfillment of [13:37] the reciprocating covenant that God made [13:39] with Abram. He's it. He's the thing that [13:42] it was all pointing to all along. [13:49] Here's another interesting thing. [13:52] Notice that the first couple of [13:54] chapters, Abram hears the voice of God. [13:57] But in chapter 15, he sees the fire of [13:59] God. It's a different way to interact [14:01] with God. Right? [14:04] Keep that in mind as we get to our main [14:06] text today. Genesis chapter 18. Let's [14:08] look at the first couple of verses [14:13] 1-4. Genesis 18 1-4. [14:18] The Lord appeared to Abram. And now his [14:21] name of course is Abraham. Notice that [14:24] difference. The Lord appeared to Abraham [14:26] near the great trees of memory. While he [14:28] was sitting at the entrance to his tent [14:30] in the heat of the day, Abraham looked [14:32] up and he saw three men standing nearby. [14:35] And when he saw them, he hurried from [14:37] the entrance of his tent to meet them [14:38] and bowed low to the ground. And he [14:40] said, "If I have found favor in your [14:43] eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant [14:45] by. Let a little water be brought and [14:48] then you may wa all wash your feet and [14:50] and rest under this tree." [14:54] This is a powerp packed paragraph. Okay, [14:57] we're going to go slow. There's so much [14:59] here. It's like mining for gold. [15:03] And when you're used to like digging a [15:05] lot of dirt and getting a little gold, [15:07] every once in a while you hit these [15:08] little and there's so much gold you got [15:10] to slow down. [15:13] That's going to be what we're doing [15:15] tonight. [15:18] Abram, he's already had his name [15:21] changed. Abraham, you're going to be the [15:22] father of many nations. He still lives [15:24] in the same place as before, the great [15:26] trees of Mamry, which we said last week [15:28] was in the Amorite territory, right? [15:31] Canaan's not conquered yet, so it still [15:33] belongs to the other tribes and the [15:35] other peoples. But a big change has [15:37] already happened. The first thing I want [15:38] you to notice is that it says the Lord [15:40] appeared to Abraham, [15:43] physically appeared to him. Remember [15:45] Genesis 12 and 13, the Lord spoke [15:49] to Abraham. In Genesis 15, the Lord [15:52] appeared in fire in the vision to [15:55] Abraham. But here in Genesis 18, the [15:57] Lord appeared to him physically. [16:00] It's so crucial that you catch this. [16:03] God is explaining in this moment to [16:06] Abraham. He's revealing to him the [16:09] triune nature of God. [16:13] The most common ways that we interact [16:15] with God in whatever form he wants to be [16:18] in is what? Voice from the father, [16:21] the Holy Spirit, either through wind, [16:24] cloud, or fire. It's always in one of [16:27] those little styles, [16:30] or God in the flesh, which we call [16:32] Yeshua. [16:34] And now in these chapters, [16:36] Abraham has now experienced the full [16:39] triune nature of God. He heard the voice [16:41] of Almighty. He saw the fire in the pot [16:44] and now he's seen physically Yeshua. [16:48] That's an amazing revelation here at [16:50] this covenant table. You say, "Chad, [16:52] they didn't they didn't eat yet." Yeah, [16:54] I know. That was just like in the [16:56] waiting room. [16:58] You know what I mean? When you give your [16:59] name and you're waiting for your buzzer, [17:01] you didn't even get to the full meal yet [17:03] and you've already just been given a [17:04] revelation of the triune nature of God. [17:11] But now [17:13] it's not just hearing his voice or [17:15] seeing the fire in a vision. Now it's [17:17] the flesh of God. He's right there in [17:19] front of him. God appears to Abraham. [17:24] It's around lunchtime. We know that [17:26] because it specifies the heat of the [17:28] day. So obviously we're not at breakfast [17:30] and we're not at dinner yet. We're in [17:32] the middle of the day. [17:34] So what would happen [17:37] is in the middle of the day you would [17:39] stop your work in the fields or with the [17:41] cattle or whatever you're doing. It's [17:43] too hot. You know in Israel it does get [17:45] very hot. Not today. [17:48] Today it's cold and rainy. It's really [17:50] cold. It's like bone chilling cold right [17:51] now. Right. But in most of the year here [17:55] in Israel it's hot and you can't work in [17:58] that heat of the day. We've gone through [18:00] a couple of the shav and you know 110 [18:03] you you know I had chickens one time. [18:07] Funny segue [18:10] say pastor Chad how did we get from the [18:11] triune nature of God you have chickens. [18:15] How did we get there? Listen, God [18:18] translates us sometimes we just show up [18:21] places. [18:24] [laughter] [18:26] No we did. We had chickens and we went [18:28] through the shav the the heat wave. It [18:31] was about 110. There's no way to keep [18:34] chickens from overheating. And my wife [18:35] has this brilliant but brilliant idea. [18:38] She says, "Here's what we're going to [18:39] do. We're going to take some water [18:41] bottles at night uh like old uh soda [18:46] plastic bottles and we're going to [18:47] freeze them overnight. And in the [18:49] morning, we're going to go lay out all [18:51] these frozen [18:53] bottles in the chicken pin. [18:57] And then when the chickens get hot, they [18:59] get under the shade, but it doesn't cut [19:02] it all the way. Maybe they're smart [19:04] enough to go and sit next to one of the [19:07] frozen water bottles. Lo and behold, it [19:10] worked. [19:12] We'd go out there in the morning, give [19:13] them out and and and the and the the [19:15] chickens would just kind of snuggle up [19:17] next to it and they put their foot on [19:18] it. I always thought it was funny. I [19:21] thought they were like taking authority [19:22] over it. They would put like one foot on [19:24] the thing. I got to take authority over [19:27] this frozen water. It really had to do [19:30] with their their temperature is [19:31] regulated through their feet, [19:34] right? And so it's funny because they, [19:36] you know, if I if I put two feet on it, [19:38] I'm too cold. It's too much cold. So, [19:40] I'm going to put one foot on it. [19:43] And I start to think, these chickens are [19:44] spoiled, man. They got like the [19:46] temperature is so perfect that they can [19:48] choose to just put one foot on it. So, I [19:51] know in Israel in the heat of the day, [19:53] it's hot. You can't keep working. If [19:56] you're a chicken, [19:58] you need some ice. You need a break. You [20:00] need you need a drink. You need lunch. [20:03] So, Abram is not out in the field in the [20:05] heat of the day. He's at the tent. He's [20:07] inside the tent where everyone else was [20:10] supposed to be taking a quick break, [20:16] right? It's a lunch break. And while [20:19] he's there, we we see the three visitors [20:23] show up. These are the three famous [20:25] visitors. [20:27] But what I want you to notice in that [20:29] text, back to Genesis 18 1-4, back in [20:32] that part of the text, it says, "When he [20:35] saw them, he hurried from the entrance [20:38] of his tent to meet them, and then he [20:41] bowed low to the ground." [20:44] Listen, I think there's an easy, logical [20:47] connection here. You do not hurry and [20:51] run to meet someone you've never met [20:54] before. [20:58] You don't run to somebody who's a [20:59] stranger. [21:01] That'd be a little socially awkward. [21:04] You know what I mean? Can you imagine if [21:06] you're a visitor at King of Kings and [21:09] you turn the corner at the beginning of [21:10] the pavilion lobby, you're about to come [21:12] into the lobby upstairs and one of our [21:15] ushers mad sprints over to you full [21:19] speed. [21:20] Welcome to King of Kings. [21:24] We are so glad you're here. Get yourself [21:27] on in here. [21:29] I mean, I like the enthusiasm, but I'm [21:30] not sure. Yeah, you probably Hey. Hey, [21:32] this is Israel. Hey, [21:34] we don't like people coming up to us [21:36] like that. [21:38] We're a little suspicious, [21:40] but you do run to someone that you know, [21:43] someone you recognize. And can you [21:45] imagine, it's the heat of the day. [21:46] Abram's in there with with Sarah, and [21:48] they're just trying to cool off. I'm [21:50] sure they had some servants with them. [21:51] You know, give me a drink, man. I've [21:53] been out in the field. And then I look [21:54] up and [21:56] Oh, I know who that is. Get up. [22:00] Doesn't say walked, by the way. [22:04] Careful. It doesn't say walked. Doesn't [22:06] say mossied on over. [22:09] Hurried. Ran. Remember how old Abraham [22:12] is, too, by the way. Okay. He's still in [22:14] good shape. Goes to the gym at older [22:16] age. That's what I like to think. [22:18] Lifting rocks. [22:23] He saw the visitor. He hurried to him [22:26] because he recognized him. How on earth [22:30] would he recognize him? Since before he [22:33] heard the voice and he saw the fire in [22:35] the vision, [22:38] how would he recognize him if he didn't [22:40] see him before? And that's where [22:42] Melkisedc comes back into play. [22:45] He looks up and he goes, "Ah, we've [22:48] talked before, [22:50] runs over, bows down." How do we know [22:53] it's not just three angels as the rabbis [22:55] like to trick people? [22:59] Because he bows down. In every other [23:03] passage of scripture, if you try to bow [23:05] down to an angel, what does he say? Get [23:07] up. Do not bow down to me. But in this [23:10] passage, he lets him bow down because [23:12] it's the right thing to do. [23:14] So, not only does Abraham recognize him [23:16] as the Lord God in the flesh, Yeshua, he [23:19] bows down and Yeshua stands there and [23:21] says, "You got it right." He confirms [23:24] the relationship. You got that right. [23:26] You can stay bowed down. It's okay. [23:30] And you know, Abraham's got to look up [23:32] and say, [23:34] "You're the one I have covenant with, [23:35] right?" Yeah, that's me. I'm the one [23:38] that's been talking to you. Thank you [23:40] for your obedience. [23:42] Thank you for traveling all that way. [23:44] Thank you for taking the risk. Thank you [23:46] for moving your family. Thank you for [23:47] fighting in that war that you didn't [23:49] want to be part of. [23:51] Thank you, Abraham. I've been looking [23:54] I've been searching the planet for [23:56] someone like you. I'm so happy to meet [23:59] you. [24:01] You're the one I've been looking for. [24:04] You know, God [24:07] can say that to every one of you. He can [24:10] say it to you. He can say, "I've been [24:12] looking for someone like you if you'll [24:15] just hear my voice. [24:19] Think about me in the dreams that I give [24:20] you. They're real. They're from me. [24:22] Think about them. I want to visit you. [24:27] Come be part of my kingdom. I'm trying [24:29] to give my kingdom away with this [24:31] reciprocating covenant thing. I want you [24:34] to have it all. I want you to have the [24:35] earth. I want you to have the future [24:37] earth. I want you to have a new body. I [24:39] want you to have the keys to the [24:40] kingdom. I want you to have my power and [24:42] my authority to cast out demons and [24:44] raise the dead. Take it. Take it. Take [24:47] it. [24:49] And there's too many of us at the heat [24:51] of the day in the tent that look up and [24:53] say, "I don't know who that is." [24:58] It's not until we spend the time with [25:00] God. [25:03] And we hear his voice enough to where [25:06] you start to recognize, I know who that [25:08] is. [25:10] Even when Yeshua came back and rose from [25:12] the dead, remember he met with several [25:14] people. I taught you this a couple of [25:15] weeks ago. And he meets Miriam in the [25:17] garden and she doesn't recognize him. [25:20] Now, he's been obviously in a new [25:22] glorified body form. But it's not until [25:25] he says her name. She goes, "Oh, I've [25:28] heard that voice before. I know who you [25:30] are." Or the two young disciples that he [25:34] has the covenant meal with, and we'll [25:35] get to that a little bit later in the [25:36] series. and he and he's talking to them [25:38] and they have no idea who he is and it's [25:41] not until he says the the baha over the [25:43] meal they go wait we've heard you say [25:46] that before ah it's you I heard your [25:49] voice I know who you are I see you at [25:51] the opening of the tent what am I going [25:53] to do I'm going to recognize you and I'm [25:55] going to run [25:57] to you cuz you're the one I've been [26:00] waiting for God [26:06] Abraham Damn, there's so much more here, [26:08] guys. We didn't even get to the meal [26:10] yet. I told you it was gold. We didn't [26:13] even get there to the meal yet. Listen [26:15] to what the rest of that little section [26:17] says. [26:19] He runs to the Lord. He recognizes him. [26:21] He sees him before. And he says, "Let a [26:23] little water be brought and then you may [26:26] all wash your feet and then rest under [26:28] the tree." And I thought to myself, I [26:30] was meditating on this [26:32] and I just felt like I should pause [26:34] right there and read it like five, six [26:36] times over and over. And I thought, [26:38] Lord, are you are you are you serious [26:42] about this? [26:44] This is the foreshadowing of you washing [26:46] our feet. [26:48] Are you serious? And it just the Holy [26:51] Spirit was like, "Yeah, you caught that. [26:53] I threw that one in there at the last [26:55] minute. I thought you might like it. [26:59] that Yeshua comes and visits us and in [27:01] this reciprocating covenant that [27:03] everything is mine is yours and [27:04] everything is yours and mine and [27:06] whatever I do to you can do to me and [27:07] it's this thing it's like a Abra Abram [27:11] got it he bowed down before the Lord [27:14] he's like oh we're going to wash your [27:15] feet [27:17] and then thousands of years later here [27:19] comes Yeshua with the disciples and he [27:21] says I remember that now it's my turn [27:24] now I get to wash your feet [27:26] you see the Lord sets these things up in [27:29] such a rich way that the word of God, [27:32] it's so alive [27:34] and that every time we can just take [27:37] those few moments to sit before the [27:38] Lord. [27:40] The Bible says in the book of John that [27:42] the Holy Spirit was given to us to [27:44] illuminate the word of God and to remind [27:47] us of everything the Lord taught us. And [27:49] if you'll sit in front of the word with [27:51] the Holy Spirit active in your life, he [27:54] starts to just uncover so many amazing [27:56] things. [28:00] I just saw this as one of those covenant [28:02] moments of reciprocation where [28:05] through Abraham's faith, we're children [28:08] of Abraham through faith. Through [28:09] Abraham's faith, we got to wash the feet [28:11] of Yeshua. [28:13] And then through the disciples faith, we [28:16] got to have our own feet washed by [28:17] Yeshua. [28:22] So Abraham is on point here. Let's get [28:25] to the meal. [28:27] Man, we may not cover everything [28:28] tonight. [28:30] It's so good. We'll do part two next [28:31] week. How about that? [28:35] Genesis 18:5. [28:39] He says, "Let me get something to eat." [28:41] He says, "I want to get you something to [28:42] eat." so you can be refreshed and then [28:44] you can go on your way now that you have [28:47] come to your servant. Very well, they [28:49] answered. Do as you say. So Abraham [28:51] hurried into the tent to Sarah. Quick, [28:53] he said, get three says of finest flour [28:56] and knead it and bake some bread. Then [28:59] he ran. Abraham's always running [29:01] everywhere. [29:03] I did notice that, by the way. He's in [29:05] great shape. Really, he is. It's a [29:07] little bit of a challenge to us, men. [29:11] Somebody asked me the other day, "Pastor [29:13] Chad, your schedule's full. You're [29:14] always moving quickly. You're always [29:16] running around." I'm just trying to be [29:17] like Abraham. This guy's running around [29:20] everywhere. [29:23] Thank you, Ray. [29:32] Then he ran to the herd and he selected [29:34] a choice tender calf and gave it to a [29:36] servant who hurried to prepare it. [29:40] Even his servants [laughter] been [29:42] watching the example. He's running [29:43] around. I guess I got to run around [29:44] everywhere, too. The the servant hurries [29:47] to prepare it. And then he brought some [29:49] curds and milk and the calf that had [29:51] been prepared and set these before them. [29:53] And then they ate it together. And he [29:55] stood near them under the tree. So what [29:58] are they preparing? Well, they're [29:59] preparing this covenant meal. Remember [30:01] what has being offered here already. We [30:04] got the promise of being the father of [30:06] nations and blessing the world. We have [30:07] the promised child. We have the promise [30:09] of the land. We've recognized the Lord. [30:11] We've seen the triune nature of God. [30:13] We've reciprocated the covenant now. [30:15] We've washed the feet. We've ran to him. [30:17] There's so much going on, right? [30:20] So, what do we have at the meal? [30:23] Well, we have bread made with flour is [30:25] what it tells us. We have bread. We have [30:27] the beef from the calf. So, now we have [30:30] bread and beef. Then it says that they [30:33] got curds and milk. H. And then they all [30:37] ate it together. So Yeshua was there. [30:41] He ate the bread, the beef, the kurds, [30:45] and the milk. So you say, "Well, in my [30:49] language, I don't know what a kurd is." [30:52] If English is not your first language. [30:53] Well, even if English is your first [30:54] language, I'm not even sure I knew what [30:57] a kurd was. [31:00] Accurd. If you want the actual [31:02] definition of what a kurd is, a kurds [31:05] are the solid coagulated bits of milk [31:07] protein [31:09] that form during the first stage of [31:11] cheese making. [31:13] So they're eating bread, milk, [31:17] beef, and cheese. [31:20] That's what they're eating. And Yeshua [31:22] eats it. Now, this may speak to some [31:26] people about your calling [31:28] as Jewish people and any gentile who [31:31] wants to connect by the leading of the [31:32] Holy Spirit of what we mean when we talk [31:34] about keeping kosher. [31:38] We believe in that. We want to encourage [31:40] that to all of our Jewish members and [31:42] any other Gentile who feels called to [31:43] that. We want to encourage it. It's [31:45] commanded in the word of God for the [31:46] Jewish covenants. So, we want to [31:49] encourage that. [31:51] But there's a difference between [31:52] biblical kosher [31:55] and rabbitic kosher. [31:58] One of them comes from God in the Bible [32:00] and one of them are rules made by men. [32:04] And if you want to hear the difference, [32:07] you can look it up in Romans chapter 16 [32:10] where Paul says, "One of my biggest [32:12] concerns to you Roman congregation is [32:14] that you are putting man-made obstacles [32:17] in front of your people. [32:21] And Yeshua talked about it. You [32:22] whitewashed tombs, you hypocrites. You [32:25] lay heavy burdens on the people, but you [32:26] don't lift a finger to help them. You [32:28] love the laws of men more than you love [32:29] the laws of God. He said, [32:34] and I just thought it was interesting [32:36] here that when the rabbitic tradition [32:39] went the one direction to separate meat [32:41] and milk from your diet, I mean, [32:43] obviously it's based on some scripture. [32:45] We know the three passages that it's [32:47] based on. when you you you hear the [32:49] passages don't bathe the calf in his [32:51] mother's milk, right? That's the passage [32:52] it comes from. [32:54] But those passages are not mentioned in [32:56] terms of the kosher food eating laws. [32:58] They're they're actually mentioned in [32:59] the paragraph about pagan worship style. [33:03] So, you can take it to the Lord. But [33:05] here's the good news. Here's the good [33:06] news. Even if you do want to adhere [33:09] uh to a rabbitic style of kosher keeping [33:13] uh and you separate meat and milk, it's [33:16] okay. It's okay because that still falls [33:19] under biblical kosher anyway, [33:21] right? It doesn't it doesn't violate the [33:23] kosher laws. It's just not [33:27] written as such that you need to do [33:29] that. So, we're okay. We're good. [33:32] Everybody relax. [33:34] Oh, my friend, they separate. My this [33:36] other friend doesn't separate. It's [33:37] okay. We all win. [33:40] My only point here is that that's a meal [33:43] I would have liked to be part of. [33:46] my wife who is who is Jewish uh Romanian [33:51] from her background and Norwegian, [33:55] right? And so a lot of the Norwegian [33:57] people, welcome online, they eat a lot [34:00] of bread and cheese. And she told me [34:02] when she visited Norway, it was so [34:04] delicious, [34:06] the bread and the cheese. She said, "I [34:07] can just live on bread and cheese." I [34:09] said, "Well, you could visit Abraham." [34:13] Me on the other hand, I I, you know, I'm [34:16] a little bit more Levitic in nature. [34:19] I need the meat. [34:22] But I'm glad Abraham, he's my guy. He [34:24] runs around everywhere. He's in good [34:26] shape, working out at an old age. And [34:28] what does he eat? He eats meat. But I [34:31] like that he ate meat and cheese [34:32] together. That makes a heck of a [34:34] hamburger. [34:37] Cheeseburger, I guess you could say. [34:39] Yeah. Cheeseburger. [34:42] Yeah. So whether you're supporting [34:43] biblical kosher or you're supporting [34:46] rebbitic kosher, we bless you. We [34:47] welcome you into the family. We can all [34:49] do it together. A lot of things are [34:51] going on here at this covenant table. [34:54] There's a lot of lot of power going on. [34:55] I want to close with this last little [34:57] section here. Pastor Ray and uh [35:00] Stephano, you can come and help me when [35:01] you're ready. [35:04] Abraham's already been told [35:07] twice that he's going to have a [35:09] miraculous child. [35:10] And God wants to give him a little bit [35:12] more detail at this covenant table. [35:15] Genesis 18:9. Let's read it. [35:18] He says, "Where is your wife Sarah?" [35:21] They asked him. There in the tent, he [35:24] said, "Then one of them said, I will [35:26] surely return to you about this time [35:28] next year, and Sarah, your wife, will [35:29] have a son." [35:31] Now Sarah was listening at the entrance [35:33] to the tent, which was behind him. And [35:36] Abraham and Sarah were already very old. [35:38] And Sarah was past the age of [35:40] childbearing. So Sarah laughed to [35:41] herself as she thought after I am worn [35:44] out and my Lord is old. She just called [35:46] Abraham old. [35:48] Will I now have this pleasure? Then the [35:51] Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah [35:53] laugh and say, will I really have a [35:56] child now that I'm old? Is anything too [35:58] hard for the Lord? I will return to you [36:01] at the appointed time next year, and [36:02] Sarah will have a son. Sarah was afraid. [36:06] So she lied and said, "I did not laugh." [36:08] But he said, "Yes, you did laugh." [36:12] While of course we could focus on the [36:14] laughing as as we do from time to time [36:16] in this part of the the passage, it's [36:18] not our main point today. Our main point [36:21] today is that [36:23] it was the Lord who chose the covenant [36:26] table. It was the Lord who chose the [36:28] meal time to share all of this [36:31] information with Abraham and Sarah. It [36:34] was the Lord who chose and set the [36:36] timing of the birth of the promised [36:39] child, Isaac. [36:41] Did you catch it? They're eating and and [36:44] he and he he turns to Abraham and he [36:46] says, "This time next year, you will [36:49] already have the son." That means, [36:52] friends, come on, a little bit of math. [36:55] That means within the next three months [36:58] from that spoken word, she would get [37:00] pregnant. [37:02] The promise of 15 years ago that he [37:05] would have that child is about to [37:08] happen. [37:10] And some of you need to hear that in [37:12] your own life tonight. You've been [37:14] waiting a long time for God to break [37:17] through. [37:18] And I'm encouraging you tonight. [37:22] In 3 months, [37:25] you'll be pregnant. [37:28] In three months, that promise that [37:30] you've been waiting on will be in your [37:31] belly. It's about to come out. In three [37:34] months, there's going to be the [37:35] breakthrough that you've been [37:36] interceding for. The family member [37:39] you've been praying for, the [37:41] breakthrough in your your workplace or [37:43] in a relationship that is broken down, [37:45] you've been praying for it. Or your [37:47] health, there's something that God says, [37:49] you've made it these 15 years. In 3 [37:52] months, you're going to be pregnant. [37:54] And by this time next year, you will not [37:58] give me the same story. It'll be a [38:01] different story next year. [38:04] And it speaks of Abraham's faithfulness. [38:06] It speaks of Sarah's faithfulness. Of [38:08] course, they laughed, of course. But it [38:10] speaks of their faithfulness. [38:12] They make their mistakes. Of course they [38:14] do, as we will. [38:18] But remember the timing of the covenant [38:21] meal. Remember the timing of the [38:24] reciprocating covenant when God says, [38:26] "Whatever is mine is yours, whatever [38:27] yours is mine, and you're going to have [38:30] a child. [38:32] And now they've got the countdown [38:34] clock." Before they didn't know when, [38:36] but now they know when. [38:40] God is going to say to someone in the [38:42] room today, "I'm almost there. [38:46] My timing is almost ready. I'm not late. [38:50] I'm not too busy for you. I'm not late. [38:52] The timing [music] is almost ready. And [38:55] I want to just pray that over us tonight [38:58] before we move back into a time of [39:01] worship cuz I believe somebody [39:02] prophetically needed to hear that [39:03] tonight. [39:09] Why don't we all stand just in unity [39:12] together? If I'm sure you need to [39:13] stretch your legs [39:17] and if this is you tonight, I just ask [39:19] you to lift your hands to the Lord and [39:21] receive this prayer. Lord, we pray that [39:25] all of our friends in the [music] house [39:26] and online that have been waiting for a [39:28] breakthrough in their life, whatever it [39:30] be, and they've been faithful to hold on [39:33] to your promises for what seems like [39:35] many, many years, that tonight is the [39:38] night they get [music] to receive the [39:40] encouraging word that it's almost here. [39:44] A few more months, you'll see it. It's [39:46] going to be here. Stay faithful. Run the [39:48] race. Finish well. [39:51] Those promises are coming to you. [39:57] They're they're coming. They're not [39:59] late. I [music] didn't forget. I [40:01] promise. [40:03] I never break a promise. [40:05] So, Father, those of us in the room that [40:07] need to receive that, we say yes in [40:09] [music] faith. We receive it tonight. We [40:11] receive the miraculous. We receive the [40:13] promise. We receive the covenant. We [40:15] receive the supernatural breakthrough. [40:16] We receive it. [music] [40:19] We receive it tonight by faith. [40:23] By faith. Prayer [music] team, please [40:24] come down and get ready. Hallelujah. [40:28] Hallelujah. [40:30] You're so good, God, that [music] you [40:32] showed Abraham [40:34] the various sides of your nature as a [40:37] unified God [music] in the voice form, [40:39] the fire form, the physical form. You [40:42] you talked to him about his children and [40:44] his legacy and his land. You talked to [40:46] him about who the Messiah would be. that [40:48] we would even recognize him. You you you [40:51] foreshadowed washing our feet in this [40:54] story. [40:55] And then you gave him the word he had [40:58] been waiting on for 15 years. [41:02] [music] She's going to get pregnant [41:03] within the next 3 months. [41:06] We love you, God. There's nothing too [41:08] hard for you. And we receive [music] [41:10] your blessing today in Yeshua's name. [41:13] Amen. Prayer team is ready. If you need [41:15] prayer for any reason, please come down [41:17] and get it. We're going to worship. Just [41:18] let that sink in for a few minutes. [41:20] [music] [41:28] [music]
