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Birds of Prey

Words of Faith Final

Birds of Prey
Words of Faith 3-18-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL    
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 15
    [7] He also said to him, "I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
    [8] But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
    [9] 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."
    [10] 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. [11] Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

       The Lord declared His intention to give Abram and his descendants the land they were in. The Lord had no intention of backing down on these promises! He had great things in mind for the nation He would bring forth from Abram and Sarai. The giving of this land was not a simple bequeath but a Covenant sealing the promises the Lord had already made to Abram.
       The Lord instructed Abram on exactly what to bring to this Covenant. Three animals were cut in half and laid out before the Lord. Two birds were sacrificed as well. The Hebrew word for Covenant means 'to cut'. Covenant involves cutting. Covenant often consists of the shedding of blood. Covenant involves sacrifice.
       Abram did as the Lord instructed and then waited. As he waited, a horrifying thing happened. Birds of prey came down and tried to eat the covenant offering. But Abram drove the birds away. Scholars tell us that the birds of prey would have been seen as a bad omen. They probably foreshadowed the time of enslavement in Egypt that was to come for Abram's descendants and the many ways that enemies would seek to disrupt the Covenant between God and His people. For sure, Abram was not about to let birds come and eat the sacrifice of the Covenant.
       We should quickly recognize that a Covenant made with God does not go unnoticed by the Enemy of God's people. As people of the New Covenant, we should realize that the Enemy would like to consume the offering of that Covenant as well! The Enemy may send birds of prey to disrupt or tear apart the Body of Christ, the church.
       What do we do about this? How do we respond? Abram drove them away! Of course, we are ministers of reconciliation. We don't always recognize who God is still working on. We seek to proclaim the Gospel to all people, but we also must protect the offering of the Covenant. We must protect the Body of Christ that was sacrificed for our sins. It is a careful walk.
       The protection of the Body starts with prayer. It requires sound doctrine and teaching. It calls for good leadership. One of the most difficult and vital tasks of our day is to protect the Body of Christ. This is mostly the task of God's appointed leaders, but we must all be vigilant. We must all be in prayer.

       Lord, show me how I can encourage my church leaders. Show me how I can strengthen the teaching ministries of my church. I lift my pastor and church leaders to you in prayer. I lift to you all the pastors and church leaders around the world. Protect them and give them Your wisdom. Protect the Body of Christ from the Enemy. In Jesus' name.
 
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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.