<TITLE>09. Par 31-34</TITLE>L-31 Now, Abraham was then getting older, and he said, "Lord, how will I know this?"
Now, I want to show you a little something here. I want you to listen quietly. God told Abraham, said, "Go get a heifer of three years old, and the sheep, and so forth, and two turtle-doves. And cut them in the middle, but don't divide the birds." The birds was put in whole.
Now, if you are spiritual and understand, the bird's always the sacrifice for healing. God changed from law to grace, but healing has always been on the basis of faith. Notice, but he clave these...?... these pieces apart, in two. And then, Abraham watched the sun, as it went down, and kept the birds off. And when it got dark... Listen close. When it begin to get dark, a deep sleep fell on Abraham. God was going to show... Now, this, to you Arminian brother, may pinch just a little bit, but I don't want you not to squeal, but just set still a minute; listen.

L-32 Notice, "Abraham, I'm going to show you how I'm going to do it." And here's the 16th chapter--the 15th chapter, I believe it is, of Genesis. It's a beautiful picture.
Now, Abraham was put to sleep by God. "Now, you don't have one thing, Abraham, that you can do to save yourself. But I'm going to show you how I'm going to do it."
Now, He put him to sleep so he would be out of the picture altogether. And we're not saved by works; it's by grace, through faith, we are saved, not one thing you can do. Not one little corner could you turn to merit anything towards your salvation; it's a free gift of God by grace. That's right.
If you give me a thousand dollars, and I say, "Well, I'll straighten up your tie, sir, for that."
A little thing like that, yet you never give me the thousand dollars for I did something to merit that. It's absolutely a free gift of God, that He knocks at your hearts and says, "Do you wish to have it?" That's all.

L-33 Notice, Abraham went to sleep, and when he did... Watch the routine of this. The first thing he saw was a horrible darkness. That represents death to every one of Adam's race. And after the darkness, went a smoking furnace. Every sinner deserves to go to hell. Death, hell, and then the next he saw, was a little, white Light. Blessed be the Name of the Lord for that little, white Light. And the little Light went up through these sacrifices, and it went right in between each one of these claved sacrifices, writing or making a covenant, showing that through these sacrifice, that He would save Adam's race.
Notice, God was making His covenant unconditionally to Abraham.

L-34 Now look, in--these many ways that we make a covenant. Now like in America, if I'd say, "We'll make a covenant or promise one another." We'd go over and have us a little sandwich and made some kind of a deal. I take a hold of the man's hand, and say, "Shake, brother." That's a covenant in the United States. That's an agreement. We shook hands on it."
In Japan, a covenant, when they make a covenant, they stand and get a little box of salt and throw salt on each other. That's a covenant in Japan.
But in the Orients, back in Abraham's time, you know what they done to make a covenant? They took a--a animal, and slew the animal, cut it apart, and stood between these pieces of the flesh, and they wrote on a piece of paper, "I agree to do this, and such and such a thing." Then they tore the paper apart. One man kept one part; the other kept the other part. And they took a oath over that dead animal's body, that if they broke this covenant, let their bodies be like this dead animal. And when they come together, they had to have the right piece of paper, 'cause it have to dovetail perfectly with the other piece of paper.


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