Abram's Belief in the Restated Covenant

He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:5-6

• Not a                                system or                                               belief

• Abram is                                God                                                 -- believing that what he says will become                                     and then                                on that belief.

• Abram believed that                                                                his offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky.

• Because Abram takes God at his word, God                                     him with a                                on the basis of the                                               of this faith.

The Covenant Ritual -- "How Can I Know?"

But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
Genesis 15:8

• An heir in your lifetime, but not the                      --                                           from now

  Then the Lord said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
  Genesis 15:13

• Animal sacrifice, a smoking firepot, and a blazing torch

  So the Lord said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half... When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
  Genesis 15:9-10, 17

Life Lessons

• Obstacles -- if obstacles need to be removed or overcome, God is                                                               of doing that himself or of                                                    to us what we need to do.

• Submission -- when preparing ourselves for our role in God's, it is often                                                                                       to take the                                      to the goal.

• Communication -- God spoke with Abram 8 times in 100 years -- He has given you a book that                           you what                 is                      and                                          his plans and expectations.

• Expectations -- It is important for us to realize that God has no                                                    to live up to                 expectations of how he will work in history or in our lives. Genesis shows us a God who is not in a hurry.

• Faith -- Faith in a God who is who He says He is --                           your                      on it. Don't just believe,                      in faith.