- [00:00:00] You know, as I was sitting down, I thought, God is on the move. We must say, we talked about it, and you are a witness to that. God has moved you to move others, and you never thought that would be possible. So I really give praise to my Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ for you and what you are doing here and beyond. I think it is no coincidence. There is no “co” in coincidence in the Bible. It is God’s providence that He uses in our lives. - [00:00:32] Sufferings, difficulties, even migration are not easy, but God uses those things for His glory. So I just wanted to—I think they have asked me to speak for about 30 minutes, so I will try to be kind with time. I’ll give you some pictures of my children; we named them IB already ABCD for easier reference. I think you have seen Bua; she was here a few weeks ago. What we do is Louise does a lot of work with women. Culturally, it is very hard for me to approach an Arabic woman or others. I don’t like to do that, so I try to keep away from them, and Louise fills in the gaps. I think she does more work than I do with women. She goes and helps. - [00:01:10] One particular thing I want to show you in these pictures is about Ukrainian opinions. I know your church, about four years ago, sent a reasonable gift, and we used it to help. At the moment, what Louise is helping with is the elderly people from Ukraine. Like many parts of the world, the war forgets women and children quite often, but also the elderly. The people who come to Germany, many are doing well; some go on to study, but most of the elderly people can’t speak German and cannot even understand what’s going on. So Louise’s favorite time is helping them. - [00:01:44] We also run a community café. Most of the people who come are Tamil people from Sri Lanka. In the camps, they don’t get food they are used to; their food from Sri Lanka is special. It doesn’t matter what you give them, they need really chili-soaked chicken or something very spicy. We provide that, and that connection brings a lot of people to us. It has been a very helpful way to connect with these people. We don’t shy away from sharing the gospel. The only reason we do it is because we love the Lord Jesus Christ and He cares for them. It’s pretty safe to say that. - [00:02:46] Of course, we also visit refugees. As you see from recent pictures, there are Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus among them. I’m not allowed to go into the camps, but I can take people out. What we do is take them to restaurants—McDonald’s most of the time—and invite them out of the camps to eat with us. It’s a small matter for us, but for them, it’s a huge thing. We invest in that kind of thing. We also run a sports camp dedicated to refugees once a year. Some people come and help us. If you are interested, you can also come and help. - [00:03:48] Recently, we started different things: the Tamil church, Iranian church, Arabic church—all are going well. But we realized the movement of people is so frequent, unlike America where they come and stay for many years. Here, they come for two or three years and move somewhere else. Sustaining a church is a bigger struggle for us. So we decided to have worship in their own language but connect them to the local German church. We are trying this as an experiment of faith. The Lord has blessed us this year. We had about 80 people for Christmas, most of them refugees, and only 10 of them were believers. This is the first time in my life I’m ministering in a church overwhelmingly made up of unbelievers and very few believers. We are thankful and grateful. - [00:04:46] We do Christmas outreaches every year. As you know, migration is a huge theme and very negative, so it is a hard time for refugees—not for us; we just manage it—but for them, it’s a hard time. I think the presence of the gospel is very important. That is why we are there. There’s no reason that Louise and I, or the children, have to live in Germany, but we do. Thank you. I hope you got the idea of what we do. Thank you very much for your support. It means a lot to me. I take pride in telling my friends how migrants care for migrants. We know the heart of migrants. When somebody prays for the visas, that is real to me. - [00:05:22] This year or last, I have seen people deported so quickly, and they run to you hoping you can help. I couldn’t help anything other than praying for them. It is heartbreaking because they have invested so much—their children, their lives, whatever the situation. But God is working all these things in His way. That is the comforting thing for me. I’m not a savior; Jesus is the Savior, and He works according to His will. Thank you for letting me share this morning. - [00:05:55] I was asked by a pastor to preach, and I really enjoyed it. At first, I made excuses because I have been busy, but he graciously said, \"It’s okay, Viml, you can preach whatever you want.\" Then I said, \"Read the chapter,\" and it reminded me of so much help I have received from it and how much faith I lacked in this situation—the life of Abraham. - [00:06:31] Now I want to tell you a story about a lady in Germany, about eleven years ago. We met her; her husband is Catholic and didn’t like her going to church. She became a Christian in India. She has lived a very difficult life. They had no children, but she always told me, \"God will give me a child.\" She prayed, but her husband ridiculed her, saying, \"It doesn’t matter; we don’t need children.\" There were so many difficulties, but she prayed for over 26 years—longer than Abraham, who waited roughly 25 years. Lo and behold, God granted her a child last year. When I looked at the story, I thought, Abraham was just like us—great, but God made him great because he trusted God through his faith alone. Nothing he did or performed made him known to us. - [00:07:56] This chapter is about the Abrahamic covenant. It highlights that it is God who makes the covenant and God who keeps the covenant. Imagine this: Is there any God like that? God calls you into a relationship and says, \"We couldn’t sustain you; you’re a rascal, but I will keep you if you just believe in Me.\" This is amazing! I hope you were encouraged this morning. - [00:08:42] I was reading a Dutch theologian named Bavinck, who said a covenant is a bond of friendship and communion established by God. It’s not just a contract between two people; God sovereignly establishes the relationship. The whole idea is relationship, not just legalities. God made a bond of friendship with Abraham and his people throughout the Old Testament covenant stories. - [00:09:20] Let’s look at Abraham’s story. The phrase \"after these things\" invites a question: What happened before? Earlier, eastern kings invaded Canaan and kidnapped Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Abraham, an amazing character, gathered 318 men and defeated four kings. The lesson: It was not Abraham’s strength but God’s presence that brought victory. - [00:10:03] Abraham then met Melchizedek, king of Salem—king of peace. Abraham gave him a tenth of all spoils, which is the origin of tithing. Melchizedek gave Abraham bread and wine. Many scholars see this as a type pointing to Christ, our eternal high priest. Hebrews 5:7 mentions Jesus as high priest in the order of Melchizedek. - [00:11:17] The king of Sodom offered Abraham spoils, but Abraham refused, saying he did not want anyone to say they gave him anything. He claimed God as his reward. Beautiful contrast. - [00:12:02] Yet, not long after this victory, Abraham was afraid. Isn’t it amazing? We experience God but still have fear and doubt. In this chapter, several firsts occur: \"The word of the Lord came\" is used here for the first time in this section. \"Fear not\" is also used for the first time. God is called a shield for the first time—the one who protects. - [00:13:15] The chapter also records the first time someone \"believed in the Lord,\" which is very significant. The New Testament uses \"believe\" as synonymous with faith in Christ. - [00:13:58] Abraham’s name is changed to \"father of a multitude.\" \"Abraham\" means \"exalted father.\" God continues to speak to him, even after long waiting. Ten years have passed since God promised a son in chapter 12. For us, 10 years is a long time; in today’s fast-paced world, even 5 minutes feels long. - [00:14:41] Abraham looks at his circumstances—no child, no heir, no visible fulfillment—and brings his fears to God. That’s the great thing about Abraham. Unlike us who often bring our fears to others, Abraham brought his to God. - [00:15:25] Many of us doubt God’s plans. I’ve been asking, \"Lord, why Germany?\" for 25 years. We all have doubts—even pastors. We worry about our future, families, marriages. But God does not reject Abraham; instead, He reassures him and reminds him of His promise. - [00:16:16] God does something extraordinary: He binds Himself by covenant. Why would He do that? If I saw a man trying to make such a covenant, I might walk away, but this is the God we worship—the covenant-making and covenant-keeping God. - [00:17:00] Abraham feared God had forgotten him, but God said, \"I am your shield; I have not forgotten you.\" The shield is the weapon you don’t wear but use to protect yourself. If God is your shield, nothing can harm you. Will we believe that in our hearts and souls? God promises to be there. - [00:18:19] Faith is living trust; it is personal reliance on God’s covenant promises. It is not just mental assent but active trust. God reassures Abraham and points to Himself as the reward. Abraham refused the king of Sodom’s reward because God alone was sufficient. - [00:19:28] Psalm 18:20 says, \"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.\" Have you taken refuge in Christ? Refuge means safety, protection. God offers Himself as our refuge and shield. - [00:20:29] Faith trumps fear. Abraham believed the Lord, and it was counted to him as righteousness. This verse is foundational to the Reformation and is quoted in Romans 1:17: \"The righteous shall live by faith.\" The gospel is present in the Old Testament. - [00:21:09] Righteousness does not mean moral perfection but being declared right before God through faith. Abraham’s faith in God’s promise counted as righteousness. The seed of Abraham is Christ. Redemption unfolds covenantally through history. - [00:21:54] The covenant-making God binds Himself by oath and blood. The covenant ceremony involved cutting animals in two and passing between the pieces, symbolizing the seriousness of the agreement: breaking it would result in death. This ancient practice shows the solemnity of God’s promise. - [00:23:59] After the ceremony, Abraham falls into a deep sleep, and a smoking firepot and flaming torch pass between the pieces—God’s presence confirming the covenant. God made Abraham sleepy, similar to the sleep of Adam when God made Eve. No human participates in this agreement; it is entirely God’s action. - [00:25:33] This teaches us that salvation is not by human effort but entirely by God’s grace. While we are called to good works, salvation is God’s work from start to finish. Jesus said no one can pluck us out of His hand. - [00:26:53] God swears by Himself because there is no one greater. Abraham was not perfect; he made mistakes, yet God binds Himself to the covenant. God wants us to know He is sufficient for us, even through our doubts and trials. - [00:28:21] The covenant-keeping God will fulfill His promises in history. Verse 13-14 says Abraham’s offspring will be sojourners—refugees, migrants without roots in the land. God allows His people to experience this. - [00:29:04] God tells Abraham they will be there for 400 years, enslaved and oppressed. This is hard to hear for Abraham, but he believes in the Lord God—Yahweh, the sovereign Lord. - [00:31:12] Suffering is part of God’s plan for glory. We should not reject suffering but trust God’s greater purpose. The covenant is not nullified by suffering. God promises judgment on the nations oppressing His people, but He is patient and merciful, waiting for repentance. - [00:33:43] God’s timing is perfect, unfolding with justice and mercy. He is slow to anger and abounding in mercy. This strengthens Abraham’s faith, requiring trust even when promises seem delayed or uncertain. - [00:35:12] Abraham obeyed by faith, going out not knowing where he was going. He lived in tents as a foreigner, looking forward to the city God would build. - [00:36:00] The covenant-making and keeping God creates a new covenant in Christ. God continues to make and keep His promises through Christ, the mediator of a better covenant (Hebrews 8:6-7). - [00:37:34] Christ’s death redeems us from the curse of the law. He shed His blood for us, fulfilling the covenant promises to Abraham. - [00:38:25] Isaiah 53 describes Christ’s sacrifice: He was pierced for our transgressions, bearing our iniquities. Christ is the perfect covenant keeper. - [00:39:50] The promises to Abraham and his offspring refer to Christ. By faith in Him, righteousness is imputed to us (Galatians 3:16, Romans 4:23-25). - [00:40:37] The gospel is simple but profound: we just have to believe and receive Christ in our lives. The cup we take in communion is the new covenant in His blood. - [00:41:18] Adam disobeyed; Christ obeyed. Israel broke the covenant many times; Christ fulfilled it once and forever. No need for another covenant. Christ secured the promise with His work on the cross. - [00:42:05] Like Abraham, we trust God’s word. The righteous shall live by faith. The same God who made the covenant and passed through the pieces keeps His promises in Jesus Christ. - [00:42:41] In Christ, we have access to all God’s promises. We are justified by faith, not by works (Galatians 2:16). May you be encouraged that your God is your reward and He is always with you. - [00:43:00] The covenant-making and keeping God will not forget you. Whatever your situation, He knows and will keep His promises. Keep trusting and keep walking in faith. Even when it is hard or difficult, trust in the Lord. - [00:43:17] The new covenant in Christ continues God’s faithfulness. Amen.