Apply Within

Bob Davis: And of course Jesus, when he prayed many times, he stood and he looked to God. So if we're bowing our heads, is it a sin? It depends on the church you talk to. You realize that, right? They'll say if you don't bow your head, you're not really praying. If you don't kneel down, you're not really praying. If you don't lay flat on your face, you're not really praying. And the list goes on and on and on.

So everyone, let's get this. It's not you. It's you. It's your heart. The position of your heart is everything.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, apply it within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse-by-verse through the Bible.

Beginning in Genesis chapter 17, God appears to Abram with a new name and a big promise. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: We're going to come into chapter 17 now. Remember when we last saw Abram, he was 86. And now, chapter 17, when Abram was 99, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, "I am the Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect." Mature, upright. "And I will make my covenant between me and thee and will multiply thee exceedingly."

Now, don't misunderstand. This is God is not coming up with another covenant. He is reconfirming the other one. When was the last time he spoke with Abraham? Well, the last time he spoke with Abraham was a little bit before he was 86 years old. Remember they had the baby at 86. So now he's 99. And if you could do the math, doesn't that come close to 13 years ago? But we read it in the Bible, it's just chapter 16, then chapter 17. So if you stop and think about it, it works the same way in our hearts and lives too, doesn't it?

I'll show you what I mean. Abraham's 86 when Ishmael was born, and the Lord appears to Abraham again, Abraham's 99. So there's been 13 years since the Lord has spoken to Abram. Doesn't God love him anymore? Is God punishing him? No, not at all. How many of you, don't raise your hand, you pray and you pray and sometimes you know God loves you, you know you're born again, but it seems like nothing's going on. Has God forgotten that I'm here? I don't seem to be getting any answers. I don't see what he's doing.

He's walking with us. He's right here with us. He's doing it. But it's an opportunity for us to do what? Rest in him. Trust in him. Even though we may not have had something going on for a while. "Lord, what is it? What's wrong with me?" Right? Thirteen years since Lord has spoken to Abram. And still Abram and his wife Sarai have not had any children of their own. Abram and Sarai. They haven't. They've got Ishmael, okay. He's 13 years old now.

And some people do say it, and that's why I just brought it up. You think about you for a moment. Sometimes it seems like we're not hearing from the Lord, doesn't it? You read your Bible and you go, "I'm not sure I'm getting it." And you're praying and it seems like is it not getting through? Is there something blocking the prayers up through the ceiling somehow? No, God is listening. God hears and God is right here. But you notice how he allows us to trust.

He's teaching us, "I'm with you always." Okay, I haven't heard from you in years. Well, 13, as a matter of fact, here. Is God still good? Yes. Do this. Is God still love us? Yes. Is God is still in control? Yes. And what are we doing? Trusting. Remember? You don't stop. Say, "Okay, well God's not answering, so I think I'll do this and I'll think." No, you continue to cry out, don't you? "Lord, what do you want me to do? Just show me. But you better tell me soon or I'm going to do something wrong."

No, you're not. You're going to wait, aren't you? So some people say sometimes it's like I'm not hearing the Lord or it seems like he's not interested in what's going on in my life. I'm crying out for help. Take heart, Christian. The Lord is working. The Lord is moving. The Lord is keeping his promises for Abram and Sarai. All right, it's been 13 years, but he hasn't stopped what he's doing, has he? It's just that's how we think. So sometimes it's good not to think. We call it stinkin' thinkin'. We want to get that out of there.

Does God love you? Answer. No, does God love you? Are you sure? You sound like you're not. Has God promised to see to your every need? Is he? He is, isn't he? We're expecting what? Notes every day. Little note, secret note in the car when you sit down. "Oh yeah, it's God. He wrote." Yeah. The Lord is working. The Lord is moving. The Lord is listening. The Lord is answering prayer.

And God has a plan. So there's the key. God has a plan for my life. He's got a plan for Abram, for Sarai. He's got a plan for those two and he's told them what it is and he's going to do it. "Yeah, but you haven't done it and it's been quite a while." Nothing's changed. And here's our opportunity to rest. Keep walking by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Keep trusting. But keep on.

God has a plan and we need to in faith trust him. And by the way, here in verse one, we have a new name for God. The first time in the Bible that God calls himself the Almighty one. You haven't seen that before yet. First mention in the Bible. The Almighty one. In the Hebrew, El Shaddai. It literally is in the Hebrew the most powerful above all. In our language, we could say it this way: the all-powerful, all-sufficient God who can do anything and he will meet our needs.

He is the Almighty God, all-powerful and all-sufficient. El Shaddai. That's we've never seen that before. That's brand new. The Lord calls Abram and what does he call him to do? The very thing he said last time they got together and he appeared to Abram. The very same thing. What does he say? Christian, he's not going to give you any more than the truth, right? He's not going to change up on you. "Okay, well I don't want you to act this way no more. I got a better idea." No, God never changes.

So listen. He is the most powerful above all. And he calls Abram to do what? Walk before me and be perfect. Well, what does that perfect? What do you mean? Mature, single-hearted, sincere, honest, truthful, genuine, dedicated, devoted. All that from perfect. Dedicated or devoted to the Lord. Isn't that what he's called us to be? Just trust in him. By grace through faith, we're walking with Jesus.

We're going to trust God. "Yeah, but things are falling apart." God said they would fall apart. Walk with him. Trust him. He's got you. He's got a plan. He knows what he's doing. We really need to rest a little bit in him. And I don't mean take more time off. I mean rest in him. Just get alone in a quiet place and sit there and say, "God," and just wait for a while and just listen to him and just let him speak if he's got something to say. If not, sit there together quietly. There is a real peace in it. There is a real peace in it.

God's word says, and we read it earlier in Genesis, Enoch walked with God. Do you remember that? Enoch walked with God and Enoch wasn't, for God took him. Do you remember that? He walked with God. I remember reading that. Noah. God called upon Noah and Noah when God called upon him, Noah walked with God. Do you remember that? Now we have something a little different here. God calls Abraham to walk before me.

Noah walked with God. Enoch walked with God. Abraham walked before God. Something different is going on here. I'm sure you caught it right away, didn't you? Yeah, I see it in your eyes. God calls Abram to walk before me. How would you say that? What does that mean? Live each day in the knowledge that the Lord is with you always. That I'm right with you. That his eyes are on you constantly.

So it's been 13 years. Did God leave? So it's been 13 years. Did God forget? So it's been 13 years. Is the covenant still intact? I mean, what do I do? Nothing's changed, Christian. The moment you gave your heart, you surrendered your life and gave yourself to Jesus Christ and he took up residence and the Holy Spirit took up residence in your heart, nothing's changed since then.

You've had ups and downs. You've fallen, he's helped you back up. You've wandered down this path and that because it looked kind of cool down there. You went down this little stream thing and it was going to take you to the ocean and you ended up in the sewer. Remember? But with all that, God is still good and he's still with you. I'll say it again. Enoch walked with God. Noah walked with God.

God calls Abram and you and me to walk before God. Live each day in the knowledge that the Lord God is with you always. That his eyes are on you constantly. That he will provide and protect and lead you. That's what he's saying to Abram. "Walk before me. Walk right in my presence. I'm with you." We're walking right now by grace through faith with Jesus Christ, aren't we? We're walking with our Lord Jesus. We're on our way to heaven and it's by God's grace and we know it.

The Lord God is simply reminding Abram, I think here after 13 years, stop trying to get things done on your own. Trust in the Lord. And you know what? Remember who he is. El Shaddai. You trust in El Shaddai for everything. And God says, "The covenant between you and me, I've made it. I will multiply you exceedingly." And God promises in this chapter alone seven times, "I will." Seven times, "I will."

You've got God's promises. Go through and see the promises that are for you as a believer in Jesus Christ and count on those promises. They will never change. They do not change. You'll change. I change. Who knows what we're going to do? We can tell you our plans, but we can't tell you what we're going to do because tomorrow the car might not even start. Do we quit? No, we find out what's wrong with it and go on, don't we? Trusting in God for everything.

Well, look at verse three. Abram fell on his face and God talked with him, saying, "As for me, behold, my covenant is with you and you shall be a father of many nations." You'll notice it's not a new covenant. It's the covenant they talked about all those years ago. Nothing's changed. "You shall be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name be any more called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham." Thank you. I always wait for this chapter. I'm always so thrilled to get here.

"Neither shall thy name anymore be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham for a father of many nations I have made you. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful over and abundantly fruitful. And I will make nations from you, of you, and kings shall come from your body, out of from you, you and your wife Sarai. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee."

"And I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee the land wherein thou art a stranger. The one the land you're standing in right now. Where you were a stranger. And all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession and I will be their God." A lot of "I will"s. Abraham's worshipping. He falls down on his face to worship God. He bows down before the Lord God Almighty. That's what God's word calls worship.

Do we have to lay down flat or we're not worshipping? You see, the key in worship is not if the music is in tune or out of tune. It's not if the song is country or rock or classical. The key is the heart that is in me. The key that is the heart that is in you. Style means nothing in the long run. And styles change with the breeze nowadays. So what's cool today won't be cool tomorrow, but it'll come back in a couple of years as blow back through again.

You know that. We've been doing this forever. But worship is from the heart. He just bows down before his God in worship. Just like Abram when he bows down, you and I and every true believer should fall down before the Lord and worship him in our hearts. The position of your body doesn't make a difference. Have you ever listened to the different churches talk about the position you should be in prayer if you want the prayer to be answered?

I love that when you read books about prayer, they tell you what position to take. Where should your right leg be? Who cares? Got nothing to do with my right leg, okay? I could stand on it. How holy is that? And of course Jesus, when he prayed many times, what did he do? He stood and he looked to God. So if we're bowing our heads, is it a sin? It depends on the church you talk to. You realize that, right?

They'll say if you don't bow your head, you're not really praying. If you don't kneel down, you're not really praying. If you don't lay flat on your face, you're not really praying. And the list goes on and on and on. So everyone, let's get this. It's not you. It's you. It's your heart. The position of your heart is everything. So you could be on your knees, you could be wailing at the top of your lungs, crying. That's not anything.

Some people are taught they're supposed to cry, so you do it because that's what you're supposed to do. But that's not a heart. And if it is coming from your heart, then wail away. Go for it. Now this is not a new covenant. He wants Abram well, we can call him Abraham now. He wants Abraham to trust in him. To put all his faith and trust. Put all his weight. "I want you to lean on me, Abraham. I want you to fall on me. I want you to let me carry the load. I am El Shaddai, the all-powerful one. I can carry you. I can carry your wife. I can carry your kids. I can do this. I am El Shaddai."

So he gives us that new name to call on. This is not a new covenant the Lord establishes with Abram Abraham. Stop it, Bob. Now I'm going to go back the other way. That's just what I get, okay? That's just what I get. You don't have to be this way. It's the same covenant that it was established right from the start when God spoke to Abraham for the first time. The same covenant. And he reminds him of the covenant all those years ago.

The Lord God is repeating, if you will, you could use the word reaffirming the covenant. Reaffirming the covenant and he's going to give them a sign or if you will a seal for the covenant. And that seal is going to be circumcision. In the male bodies of Abraham and any of his children that are males. Reaffirming, God says, the covenant that we've made. A sign or a seal of the covenant would be the circumcision.

Abraham, you shall be a father of many nations. You will no longer be called Abram. I will change your name now. You will now go by the name of Abraham. Abraham means well, Abram means exalted father, but Abraham means father of a multitude. Now I like that and I'm sure that thrills Abraham, but a rose by any other name is the same thing. Do you get the point? You get it? God's giving you another name now and that's what you're going to go by: Father of a multitude.

Lord says, "I will make you exceedingly fruitful. Entire nations will come from you, through you and Sarai. Not through Hagar, through you and your wife." And I establish this covenant between you and me and your children after you. The covenant is, everyone, everlasting. And of course now as Christians, we fight over what does that mean? I don't understand why there's an argument, do you? Everlasting probably means lasting forever. I looked it up and sure enough it does.

Everlasting means lasting forever, neverending, everlasting. When you have everlasting life, how long will it last you? Till you sin the wrong kind of sin? Some churches teach. And then we look at people we're trying to determine. Did they lose their salvation or were they never saved? And we're all just holy and trying to figure it out. I'd leave that alone. I wouldn't even touch it. I'd leave that to God.

How could I determine what your problem is when I can't even figure out my own problems? But we're busy doing it. The covenant is everlasting. That means forever. It will never end. Not in this world and not in the world to come. Because God's going to create a new heaven and a new earth and the covenant remains. And they're going to have the land. Isn't that what he said? "I will give you and your seed after you this land. The land called Canaan."

We call it today Israel. And he gave the borders before: way down south there, almost into Egypt, over to the east, it's over to the Euphrates River. That's big piece of property, right? He says you're going to have that as an everlasting possession. Well, how can it be everlasting? This earth is going to melt away with a fervent heat. How can they have their land forever? God will create and he promised a new heavens and a new earth and on it will be Israel.

I don't know what else will be on it. Won't have any big oceans but it says, but it's going to be big and Israel's going to be there and their land is their land for all eternity. It's everlasting. You have to get that through your head because that's exactly what God says. He says, "I will give you and your seed after you this land, the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession and I am your God and I will be their God."

Are they going to like him? Not a lot of them, no. Are they going to disobey? Pretty much the whole way. Give or take a few years. But what did God say? It's grace. They're my people. They're not going to like me. They're not going to obey me. I'm going to have to discipline my children, but they are mine and I'm never giving them up. So are they still his today? They are. So you cannot confuse the church with Israel because Israel has everlasting covenants with God.

Starting with Father Abraham, coming all the way through for eternity. Remember he had quite a few years back, 318 servants that were trained in military and they fought a war with 318 of them. Servants that grew up in his house. How many's he have now? More. I don't know how many more but those servants grew up, they have families. Their kids grew up, they have families. You're talking quite a few years now.

So think about this. He's got all these people and they know Abraham. They know Sarah, Sarai. They know them. How many kids do they have together? None. Does everybody all the servants know that? Okay, now just imagine, put yourself you're a servant, we're pretending for a moment. And Abraham comes along says, "Hey, dudes." "Yeah, yeah boss." "Call me Father of a Multitude from now on." And we go, "Okay. Okay. Whatever. You're the boss." Right?

I mean, you got to admit it sounds a little funny to be called a father of a multitude and you don't even have one child between you. What's it going to take? Faith.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is the radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM.

You can download today's message in its entirety at northcountrychapel.com/studies. That's northcountrychapel.com/studies. If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date. The address is Apply Within, 2281 West Seltice, Post Falls, Idaho 83854. Or call us at 1-800-572-8851. That number again: 1-800-572-8851.

Our mobile app is available for iPhone and Android. Download it to listen to full-length studies, watch the live stream of our services, or to find out more about church events. If you have been blessed by the teaching or have prayer requests that you would like to share with us, write, email, or call us as well. Please join with us every Monday through Friday as we study together verse-by-verse on Apply Within, sponsored by North Country Chapel.