1 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,720 You have your Bible, go and make your way to Genesis chapter 23, 2 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:17,920 Genesis 23 as we continue in our series in the book of Genesis. 3 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:21,720 If you're new to the Bible, Genesis is the very first book, 4 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:26,360 so it's the easiest to find. Find your way to chapter 23, the 5 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,800 big numbers, and we're going to work through the entire chapter 6 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,560 this morning. We are close to the end of our 7 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,680 series that we've been in for several months now in the book 8 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,440 of Genesis. We'll return to the where we 9 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:41,400 left off at some point, but for the month of July, for four 10 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:43,840 Sundays. Where we're headed is on a short 11 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,280 series just to examine and celebrate and look through the 12 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:53,400 lens of Scripture at such a time as we are like this at the 250th 13 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:56,440 anniversary of our nation. And just to see what guidance 14 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,880 the Word of God would have for us as citizens of our nation, as 15 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,160 stewards of such blessings from God, and how God's Word would 16 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:06,960 guide us to live in these days that we've been given as a gift 17 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:09,240 to stewards. I'm really excited about that. 18 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,400 Before we turn to the New Testament for a few weeks or a 19 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:16,720 short series out of the book of Titus, I'd also just like to say 20 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:20,320 happy Father's Day to the dads in the room, the grandfathers or 21 00:01:20,320 --> 00:01:23,240 those watching online. What a privilege it is to be a 22 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:25,160 father. And guys, may we remember the 23 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:27,760 stewardship from God that we have. 24 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:29,960 We had this incredible opportunity. 25 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:33,640 All people, every human being is made in the image of God. 26 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,080 But dads, when you think about it, our Father, our God is a 27 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:41,800 good, good father. And it is through earthly 28 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,080 fathers in so many ways and mothers, but it is through the 29 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:47,560 earthly father in so many ways that we get a privilege of 30 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,360 seeking to steward and to translate in an earthly way the 31 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:53,920 goodness of God through an earthly father. 32 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,760 The reality is in a world of sin we live in, some have 33 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:00,960 experienced that, some have not. There are no perfect fathers on 34 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:02,920 this earth. But I pray that whatever your 35 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:07,240 experience has been is that you would know the love of God the 36 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:11,680 Father for you, who has a plan for your life, has given you 37 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,600 life, longs for you to know Him through his Son Jesus. 38 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:16,640 If you don't. But if you are a dad or the 39 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:19,600 privilege of being one, I pray you're reminded today of the 40 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:22,840 amazing stewardship that you have to image the Heavenly 41 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,240 Father in the life of your children and grandchildren so 42 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:30,640 they get a small taste of heaven on earth through you before they 43 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:33,280 get to see and stand before their Heavenly Father. 44 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:42,920 Genesis 23 would not make a list of the most popular chapters in 45 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:46,480 the Bible. You might call it one of those 46 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,880 fly over chapters. You know, we have 50 states in 47 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:54,080 our United States and many of them are referred to as fly over 48 00:02:54,800 --> 00:03:00,120 states, those states that airplanes typically fly over 49 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:05,520 more often than they land in. Well, Genesis 23 would be 50 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:07,320 considered one of those chapters. 51 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,480 In fact, I'd be honest with you, I'd not be telling the truth if 52 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,280 I didn't tell you that I was tempted to fly over it myself. 53 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:16,680 I honestly thought, God, it's Father's Day. 54 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:20,000 I really, this is really the text that lands on Father's Day. 55 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:21,080 This is really what we're going to do. 56 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,920 And I'll tell you that God just gave me some confirmations along 57 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:26,240 the way. And already even the first 58 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,760 service has given confirmations that this, this message is for 59 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:34,480 some somebody and more than one. And I, I know that, but quite 60 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:36,760 honestly, when it comes to topics that are not easy with 61 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:39,480 truth, that is hard. You just don't naturally want to 62 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:40,960 embrace or talk about those things. 63 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:42,880 But I feel like we've known each other long enough now. 64 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:44,760 And I love you and I think you love me. 65 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,160 And about seven years in now that you trust me enough that we 66 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:49,600 would love the word of God, that we're going to just press 67 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,840 forward, know that God uses his word even on things that deal 68 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:54,960 with difficult things that are good for us. 69 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:57,920 And I think you're going to discover that as we walk through 70 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,240 this chapter today. We're going to begin by reading 71 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:02,840 the first two chapters. This is the first. 72 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:05,880 This is the first death and burial. 73 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,120 This is the first funeral in the Bible. 74 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:10,680 And so we're going to begin by reading the 1st 2 verses and go 75 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:16,519 from there. Sarah lived 127 years. 76 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,640 These were the years of the life of Sarah. 77 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,680 And Sarah died at Kiriath Arba. That is Hebron in the land of 78 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:29,120 Canaan. And Abraham went in to mourn for 79 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:34,440 Sarah and to weep for her. I think it would be true to say 80 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:39,520 there's no way to possibly describe the impact that Sarah's 81 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:47,160 death would have had on Abraham. These two had said yes together 82 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:51,720 to the call of God on their lives and have walked faithfully 83 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:56,160 in that call for over 60 years together now. 84 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,040 I just want you to get this. They had probably been married 85 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:04,640 for over 100 years. Now you laugh because some of 86 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,320 you, well, I won't go there anyway. 87 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,000 We'll keep going. Now Abraham has to figure out 88 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:14,440 how to do life without his bride by his side. 89 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:21,080 Some of you, some of you know precisely what Abraham is going 90 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,360 through. Sarah was a woman who had said 91 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:27,400 yes to God and His call on her life. 92 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,800 She was a woman of great and mighty faith. 93 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:32,800 And oh she she definitely had her moments, did she not? 94 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,720 She definitely had her times when she made mistakes. 95 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,160 She definitely had things she did that she regretted. 96 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:44,160 But haven't we all? But the essence of her life was 97 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,040 a life of faith following God's call. 98 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,560 Listen to how the book of Hebrews commentary on Genesis 23 99 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:54,080 and other chapters describes Sarah. 100 00:05:54,680 --> 00:06:00,760 Chapter 11 verse 11 and 12 says by faith Sarah received herself 101 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:06,600 power to conceive even when she was past the age since she was 102 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:11,600 considered, since she considered him faithful, who had promised 103 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,200 therefore from one man. This is how her husband's 104 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,320 described and him as good as dead. 105 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,880 He was that old we're born descendants, as many as the 106 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:25,760 stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand 107 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,280 by the seashore. Genesis 23 Y all is really a 108 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:34,200 real life living illustration of the truths of of Hebrews 11, 109 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:38,120 specifically verses 11 through 16 which I want to read that say 110 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:42,560 this. These, including Sarah, all died 111 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:50,280 in keyword faith, not having received the things promised, 112 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:55,200 but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having 113 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,160 acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the 114 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,120 earth. For people who speak thus, make 115 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,600 it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 116 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,160 For if they had been thinking of that land from which they had 117 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:07,760 gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 118 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,720 But as it is, they desire a better country. 119 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:15,240 That is a heavenly 1. Therefore God is not ashamed to 120 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,560 be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city. 121 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:24,000 Hence the title of the sermon, The Cave before the city. 122 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:29,320 When Sarah dies, the son that she was allowed to miraculously 123 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:34,920 conceive was approximately 36 to 37 years of age. 124 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:37,120 By God's grace, God had allowed her. 125 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:39,480 Y'all remember that sermon I mentioned the fourth quarter of 126 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:40,760 life? You've never let me live that 127 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:43,600 one down. She's in like fifth or sixth 128 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:44,400 quarter. All right. 129 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,160 The one that she was able to live to 5th or sixth quarter by 130 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,520 God's grace. By the way, this is the only 131 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,320 woman in the Bible who dies that says her age. 132 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,360 I think all the rest of them are like, don't say that about me. 133 00:07:55,600 --> 00:08:00,960 So anyway, she was miraculously allowed by God to concede and 134 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:03,480 live to see her child to adulthood. 135 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,520 And yet, when she died, she'd only seen to consider this. 136 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:13,160 She had only seen the tiniest tip of the iceberg of God's 137 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:19,040 promises that she had heard God say to her and Abraham say, 138 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,560 Kyle, what do you mean? Consider the fact that she heard 139 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:28,480 God promise them land. How much land do Abraham and 140 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:30,360 Sarah own to their name right now? 141 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:38,280 Not one inch. She had heard God promised them 142 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:41,400 offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky. 143 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,600 How many offspring does Sarah have right now? 144 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:50,920 Uno. She had heard God promised them 145 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,920 that they would become a nation. They're still living as 146 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:59,480 sojourners and as foreigners in a foreign nation. 147 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,440 She heard God say to them that through their family, He's going 148 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:06,120 to bring blessing to all the nations of the earth. 149 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,040 To be honest, there's days Sarah struggles to be a blessing to 150 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:11,920 her own family. Remember those some of those 151 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,440 days we've read about? We've all had those days, 152 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:20,240 haven't we? Not by perfection, but by faith. 153 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:26,080 Sarah has said yes to God and lived her part in God's plan, 154 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:29,160 knowing the best was yet to come. 155 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:33,600 Sarah died in faith and friends, here it is. 156 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:38,400 These are hard but true truths that do us good, just like you. 157 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:40,400 You eat some things, probably not because you love the way 158 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:42,240 they taste, but because they do your body good. 159 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:44,920 God is going to call, Danny says. 160 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,240 I don't do that. Well, I'm trying here. 161 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:49,720 I'm trying. That's all I can say. 162 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:56,120 Just like God calls Sarah to die in faith, friends, the deal is 163 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,200 should Jesus Terry. God is going to call you and I 164 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:05,320 to do the same thing. Point #1 is this God calls us to 165 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:10,480 die by faith. I had that point shortened to 166 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:13,640 die by faith, but I thought that came across a little strong, so 167 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:20,000 I just extended it to God calls us to die by faith should Jesus. 168 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,200 Terry, what kind of faith do you mean, Pastor Kyle? 169 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:29,000 Should we die in faith that death is not the end? 170 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:34,600 Faith that we are only strangers and sojourners in this life? 171 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:38,800 Faith that in this life we only see a tiny fraction of all that 172 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:42,280 God has promised us. That God has prepared for us a 173 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:46,240 place forever with him. A faith that the best is yet to 174 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:48,200 come. This is the kind of fate that at 175 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,480 the time of our death, whenever it comes in God's plan for our 176 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:55,600 lives, it should be the time, one of the times of the greatest 177 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:59,520 demonstrations of faith in our lives, knowing the best of God's 178 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:03,520 promises are beyond the grave, not before it. 179 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:08,240 I'm going to say that again, the best of God's promises are 180 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:13,440 beyond the grave, not before it. And there's going to come a day, 181 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:17,080 should Jesus, Terry, when we are going to be asked to put that 182 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:21,200 kind of faith into practice. So this begs the question, how 183 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:23,880 should we as Christians think about death? 184 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:26,320 We don't want to really talk about this, but they'd be be 185 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:28,360 quite honest. Everyone thinks about it. 186 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:32,880 In fact, if you want to have a little question in your back 187 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,800 pocket to pull out whenever you're looking to have a gospel 188 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:38,680 conversation with somebody and share your faith and to try to 189 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:40,520 share your testimony and the good news of Jesus with 190 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:42,880 somebody, maybe they're a stranger, maybe they're not. 191 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:47,160 But one of the best questions you could ask is, hey, you ever 192 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:51,680 think about life after death? No, I realize that's not 193 00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:54,240 typically what people ask, but quite honestly, that's not that 194 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:55,960 of a confrontational conversation. 195 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:58,160 You ever think about life after death? 196 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,200 If anybody has a stitch of honesty, guess what? 197 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:09,440 They're going to say yes. Because ever since sin entered 198 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:14,200 the garden and death followed it, mankind has thought about 199 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:17,840 death and life after. You can go back and study every 200 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:20,600 form of civilization you can, and mankind just thought about 201 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:22,880 death. Ancient Viking warriors thought 202 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:24,600 about death. They thought about it in this 203 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,400 way, and they desired to die valiantly in battle so they 204 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:32,000 would live their eternity. And Valhalla, one of the gods of 205 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:36,120 the Norse gods, they followed Odin in Asgard so they can fight 206 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:39,520 all day, have their wounds healed by night, feast and drink 207 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,280 all night, and be served by female Valkyries for the rest of 208 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:45,920 their eternity. They thought about life after 209 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,160 death. Did you know that the ultra rich 210 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:51,680 in our day you can read about our thinking about life after 211 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:52,520 death. You know why? 212 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:55,720 Because they are pouring billions. 213 00:12:55,720 --> 00:13:00,320 As we speak into longevity startups, biological 214 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,920 reprogramming and cellular rejuvenation tech, founders and 215 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:08,040 investors are backing high stakes research aimed at halting 216 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,320 the human aging process. Now there's probably some good 217 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,000 in that that may benefit us all to help our fourth quarter go 218 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:16,280 better. All right, Amen. 219 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,680 But let's just be honest, what's behind most of that is when you 220 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:23,320 don't believe there's any life after death, but you're thinking 221 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:26,040 about death, guess what you're going to do when you believe 222 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,240 this is all there is? You're going to try to make all 223 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:33,520 there is last as long as you as long as you can with as much 224 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:36,320 money as you can. People are thinking about life 225 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:38,520 after death. The question I'm asking is, how 226 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:40,600 should we as Christians think about life after death? 227 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:41,760 I'm struggling with the Lord this week. 228 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:42,960 God, do you really want to preach this? 229 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:46,240 And I'm just reading a book for fun right now, and the first 230 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,400 story in it is the story of a man by the name of Dag 231 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:52,440 Hammerschold. And when I read his story, it's 232 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,360 just one of the ways God confirmed this week. 233 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:56,200 This is exactly what I was supposed to preach. 234 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,560 Why? Because his story is exactly how 235 00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:00,960 Christians ought to think about death. 236 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:05,720 This guy was a Swedish diplomat. He served as the Secretary 237 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:10,520 General of the United Nations from April the 10th, 1953 until 238 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:14,600 his death in September 18th of 1961. 239 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:19,120 What we know about DAG, we know most from his private journal 240 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:20,800 that he kept. I love the title of his journal. 241 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,440 He titled it My Negotiations with Myself and with God. 242 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:28,000 You ever negotiate with yourself or with God? 243 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:30,920 This is how he titled his journal, and we know he was a 244 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:32,960 man of faith by what he wrote here. 245 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:36,800 And when his nomination came for Secretary General, he admitted 246 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,600 in his journal that he had strong feelings of personal 247 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:42,080 insufficiency. And yet he concluded that he 248 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:47,280 could not refuse to accept the task that God had imposed upon 249 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,080 him. But see, what the world didn't 250 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:51,800 know about him and what most of his even personal friends didn't 251 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,560 know about him, was that Dag had long prayed that God would give 252 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:59,800 him some life defining task. He was praying that God would 253 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:03,280 call him to something significant that would mark his 254 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:05,880 life. Confident confiding privately in 255 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,920 his journal at the time of his nomination, he wrote and I love 256 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:13,000 this statement. When the hour strikes, he takes 257 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:17,560 what is his Speaking of himself. What have I to say your prayer? 258 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:19,840 He's Speaking of himself. Your prayer Dag has been 259 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:21,880 answered. As you know God has a use for 260 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:23,440 you. Even though watch this. 261 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:25,920 I love this. Even though what he asked 262 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,920 doesn't happen to suit you at the moment. 263 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,040 You ever had God ask you to do something that didn't suit you 264 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:36,920 at the moment? If you haven't, you hadn't been 265 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,160 following the leadership of the Holy Spirit because those so 266 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:42,080 often he doesn't ask you. He doesn't show up money like 267 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:45,200 Kyle what you want to do today. That's never the way it's rolled 268 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:47,640 for me. But he's often brought me to the 269 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:49,760 brink of things that I really wouldn't think would have been 270 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:54,320 my choice that I had to trust. That's what he's saying. 271 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:57,800 Two days later he wrote not I but God in me. 272 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:02,800 He was 47 years old. On September 26th, 1957, he was 273 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:04,600 reelected for a second five year term. 274 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:07,000 He writes this. I love this statement. 275 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:09,920 He says the best and most wonderful thing that can happen 276 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:13,720 to you in this life is that you should be silent and let God 277 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:17,000 work and speak. That'll preach right there. 278 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,000 Dag would never finish his second term. 279 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,200 Dag indicated in his journal that he for weeks had been 280 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:28,480 feeling a sense of impending death, but that it was not an 281 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:33,440 end to be avoided, provided it came in accord with God's will. 282 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,400 He then wrote this line that defines how we as Christians 283 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,960 should think about death. Listen to it closely, he says. 284 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:46,280 Do not seek death. Death will find you, but seek 285 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:53,000 the road, which makes death a fulfillment of God's call on 286 00:16:53,000 --> 00:17:00,440 your life. That's exactly how every 287 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:01,600 Christian should think about death. 288 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:03,880 In some ways not even to really think about it. 289 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:06,760 Because we've said yes to God's call, knowing one day we'll 290 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,400 breathe our last. But whenever we do, we're going 291 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,000 to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that when we die, we're 292 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,560 going to be smack dab in the middle of God's will. 293 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,839 And it will be the day that is the final fulfilment of our yes 294 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:20,400 to God when it comes. Shortly after midnight, 295 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:26,839 September the 18th, 1961 Dags UND 6 plane with 16 people on 296 00:17:26,839 --> 00:17:32,120 board crashed in the forest 7 miles north of the runway in 297 00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:38,920 Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia. An estimated 250,000 people 298 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:43,920 gathered to mourn his death. Dag was a man who rightly 299 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:49,080 thought about death as the final fulfillment of God's call on our 300 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,800 lives. You see, the deal is, by faith 301 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:56,680 we as Christians should say yes to God in life, and by faith we 302 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:58,400 as Christians say yes to God in death. 303 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,120 And did not Jesus, the Son of God, exemplify this very thing? 304 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:06,120 Was his death not the final fulfillment of exactly what God 305 00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:09,040 had called him to to do? And what did he say? 306 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:13,360 Expressing that in three words, It is finished. 307 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:16,480 What was finished? The mission that God had given 308 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,920 him, the call of God on his incarnation and on his living on 309 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:21,240 earth in our shoes. It is finished. 310 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:22,720 And then how does he die In faith? 311 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:27,440 Into your hands I commit my Didn't Jesus exemplify the very 312 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:32,080 thing that we learned from Scripture and from his example? 313 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:37,000 The way we should think about it, God calls us to die by 314 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:40,080 faith. Now pick up in verse 3 through 315 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:47,720 9, And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the 316 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:51,520 Hittites, I am a sojourner and foreigner among you. 317 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:56,640 Give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury 318 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:01,320 my dead out of my sight. The Hittites answered Abraham, 319 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,120 hear us, my Lord, you are a Prince of God among us. 320 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,320 Bury your dead and the choices of our tombs. 321 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,400 None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from 322 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:15,800 burying your dead. And Abraham rose and bowed to 323 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:19,000 the Hittites, the people of the land, And he said to them, If 324 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,080 you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, 325 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:24,680 hear me. Entreat for me Efron the son of 326 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:28,240 Zohar, that he may give me The Cave of Makpala, which he owns. 327 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,720 It is at the end of his field for the full price. 328 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:33,680 Let him give it to me in your presence. 329 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,760 His property for a burying place. 330 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:41,000 As you would expect, Abraham is mourning and grieving the death 331 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,960 of his wife. And what is most surprising is 332 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:48,480 not what Abraham does, but what Abraham does not do. 333 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:52,480 Because what you've had expected Abraham to do is hitch up the 334 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:56,760 camels to the hearse and make the 500 plus mile journey back 335 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:01,800 home. Because that's typically what we 336 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,760 do, right? We tend to go back to that place 337 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:09,120 where we have our lives most anchored, what we consider truly 338 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:14,280 home, that place that maybe we even go back to for burial. 339 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:21,600 That's not what Abraham does. He continues just the opposite 340 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,680 from going back. He continues forward in the call 341 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:29,400 of God, the same call that Sarah had been with him side by side 342 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:32,200 in now for over 60 years. This is huge. 343 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:36,480 This is Abraham saying yes to God in the face of the good 344 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:39,520 times and the bad times. This is Abraham saying yes to 345 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:44,880 God in life and in death. Hebrews 11/15 through 16. 346 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:47,000 If you missed it when I read it earlier, it's worth hearing 347 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,120 again because this describes the mentality Abraham could have 348 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:51,320 had. Listen closely to it. 349 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:55,640 If they even Speaking of Abraham had been thinking of that land 350 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,880 from which they had gone out, they would have had an 351 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,920 opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a 352 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,800 better country. That is a heavenly 1 Therefore 353 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:07,720 God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he is prepared 354 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,040 for them a city. In other words, had Abraham's 355 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:15,440 heart been stuck on the past, on the things he had left behind, 356 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:19,640 if Abraham's mind and thinking, if his longings, if his living, 357 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,720 if his heart's greatest desires would have been what he left 358 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,840 behind instead of what God called him to, he would have 359 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:31,520 turned and done a 180. But that's not what he does. 360 00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:37,600 He continues forward in the call of God because he was thinking 361 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:39,000 and living by the promises of God. 362 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:40,960 What? What were those promises? 363 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,720 God, You called me to this land. You promised to give it to me 364 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:45,520 and my descendants. That would be like stars of the 365 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:46,960 sky. You promised to make me a 366 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,720 nation. But God, my wife just died. 367 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:53,840 I'm without my bride. I don't even own enough land, 368 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,960 God, to bury my bride. To put yourself in issues, 369 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:01,440 surely you'd have thought it's time to go home. 370 00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:08,080 That's not what Abraham does. Facing pain and loss, Abraham 371 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:09,520 kept trusting the promises of God. 372 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:12,400 This is the second thing I think we learned that God not only 373 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:16,920 calls us to die by faith, but listen closely #2 God calls us 374 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:21,440 to mourn the death of loved ones by faith. 375 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:27,200 God calls us to mourn the death of loved ones by faith. 376 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:31,720 You know, the truth is, and as many of you know first hand, 377 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:34,680 I've already spoken to a number after the first service that are 378 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:39,560 going through this very thing. You know, and I know and some of 379 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:43,360 you even experienced right now, the fact that times of sadness 380 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:50,240 and loss and grief come our way. This is part of life in a sin 381 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:54,560 cursed world. The question is, what keeps a 382 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,800 Christian from despair? What keeps a Christian from 383 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:03,000 plummeting into depression? What keeps us from spiraling 384 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,920 into emotional dysfunction? What is it? 385 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,320 It's one and only thing. It's called hope. 386 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,120 This is why the Bible says we must have a living hope in the 387 00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:16,280 promises of God, because when facing death, only a living 388 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:20,440 hope, a living faith in the eternal promises of God, will 389 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:24,280 keep us from despair. You see, a living hope is 390 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:27,040 expressed like this in Paul, from Paul in First Thessalonians 391 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,800 4 or 13 through 18. You know this, but I read it 392 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,160 again to remind you. But we do not want you to be 393 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:35,360 uninformed. Brothers and sisters, church 394 00:23:35,360 --> 00:23:40,280 family, about those who have died, those who are asleep, that 395 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:42,480 you may not grieve. He doesn't say don't grieve. 396 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:47,520 He says don't grieve as others who have no what no hope for. 397 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:52,560 Since we believe Jesus died and rose again, Even so through 398 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:54,880 Jesus God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 399 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,640 How can Jesus bring with him those who have fallen to sleep 400 00:23:57,840 --> 00:23:59,240 asleep? Because to be absent from the 401 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:02,400 body is to be present with the the Lord, because they're with 402 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,240 him as we speak, those who've gone on before us. 403 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:08,440 For this we declare to you by word from the Lord, that we who 404 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,720 are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord will not 405 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:12,040 proceed. Those who have died. 406 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:14,960 For the Lord himself would descend from heaven with a cry 407 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,320 of command, with the voice of an Archangel and the sound of the 408 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,000 trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise 409 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,200 first. Then we who are alive who are 410 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:27,200 left, we call up together with them in the clouds to meet the 411 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,520 Lord in the air. And so we will always be with 412 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:32,360 the Lord. Therefore encourage one another 413 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:36,920 with these words. That's how we don't spiral into 414 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:41,240 the lies of the enemy, that this world and this life is all there 415 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:45,360 is because of the promises of God and His plan for those who 416 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:50,280 love Him. I thought this week about 417 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:56,440 examples that I was aware of that have gone before us and 418 00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:00,600 have mourned the loss of loved ones and mourned and grieved, 419 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:04,120 and yet not without hope and done so under some extreme 420 00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:06,040 circumstances. I've mentioned to you one of my 421 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:10,920 favorite missionary biographies is A1 by about Adnaram Judson. 422 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,640 And in his story, one of the things I love about all the 423 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:17,440 stories of those who have faced incredible things and walked 424 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,680 before us is it. Again, it just puts steel in our 425 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,640 spiritual spine. It reminds us we're not alone 426 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:26,960 and that there are faithful shoulders of those we stand upon 427 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,640 as we seek to do life and living for Jesus Christ. 428 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,440 In fact, there was a time in America when almost every 429 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,360 Christian home had two books in it. 430 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:39,200 Number one was the Bible. Number 2 was John Fox's book of 431 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:45,000 how people died for their testimony following Jesus. 432 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:46,800 You know why that book was in the home? 433 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:51,520 Because that's like spiritual Wheaties every morning right 434 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:55,680 there. Because it it it, it puts a 435 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:59,240 little fearlessness in you when you realize people have gone 436 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,120 before me and given their all for Jesus. 437 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,360 And parents would raise their kids hearing the stories of 438 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:08,800 those who had died for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. 439 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,080 Why? Because it was worth it. 440 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:14,400 Adnaram's story is pretty similar. 441 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:18,840 Let me just tell you a little bit about how they grieve, but 442 00:26:18,840 --> 00:26:21,720 not without hope. His ministry was marked by 443 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:25,200 unimaginable sacrifice. If you remember, Adnaram was the 444 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:30,680 first America's first foreign missionary and he's poured 445 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:35,120 nearly 40 years of his life sharing the gospel, translating 446 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:37,760 the Bible into Burmese and planting churches in Burma, 447 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:43,160 modern day Myanmar. And as he did so, he mourned the 448 00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:48,880 loss of six of his thirteen children died on the mission 449 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:53,200 field. Six and two out of the three 450 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:56,920 women that he married all at one time, not at one time in in that 451 00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:03,960 came out wrong, one at a time, two died on the mischief. 452 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:05,800 And I just want to tell you about these ladies for a second. 453 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:13,160 Number one, Ann Nancy Haseltine Judson, married in 1812. 454 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:16,760 She died in 1826. She was the first American woman 455 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:18,080 to serve as a foreign missionary. 456 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:22,760 She was a brilliant linguist, A fearless advocate for her 457 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:25,600 husband. When Adnaram watched this was 458 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:30,760 falsely accused by being a British spy and thrown into an 459 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:34,600 infamous Burmese death prison for 17 months, where he was 460 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:40,600 often hung by his ankles from the ceiling and lived in a tiny 461 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:45,320 shack outside the prison walls to bribe the guards, beg for his 462 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,880 life and tend to him. Shortly after Adeniram was 463 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:52,200 freed, she contracted severe tropical fever and smallpox and 464 00:27:52,200 --> 00:28:00,520 died at the age of 36. He then married eight years 465 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,600 later, Sarah Hall Boardman Judson. 466 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,160 He was immersed in Bible translation. 467 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,440 The widow of a fellow missionary named George. 468 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:15,520 Her name was Sarah. She was a gifted writer and 469 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:18,000 translator who quickly learned the Burmese and Penguin 470 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,320 languages. She bore 8 children in 11 years. 471 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,560 But her health broke under the harsh climate and while 472 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:28,840 attempting to sail back to the United States, she trying to 473 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,680 recover. She passed away aboard ship and 474 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,960 was buried in a remote island in the South Atlantic. 475 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:43,000 His third wife would live to see Adiniram pass away at sea. 476 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:48,200 After his death, she her own health deteriorated and returned 477 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:52,280 to America, where she died of tuberculosis at age 36. 478 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:59,480 How do people do that? How do people do that? 479 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:08,120 Unless you believe that the best of God's promises don't come 480 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:13,800 before the grave, they come after you. 481 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:15,800 Don't do that. Unless you believe that we only 482 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:18,640 get to taste and see the tiniest fraction of the promises of God 483 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:24,000 in this life, that the best is yet to come, that no eye is seen 484 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:26,080 and no ear is heard, nor the heart of man. 485 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:30,520 Imagine what God has in store for those who love him. 486 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:34,360 Unless you really believe that God works all things together 487 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:38,160 for our good, for those who love Him and are called according to 488 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:41,800 His. Unless you truly believe that 489 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:46,160 the gospel is worth giving everything you got for people to 490 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:48,880 hear it. Unless you really believe 491 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,960 there's a heaven and there's a hell, you don't live like that. 492 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:55,280 Unless you believe the promises of God. 493 00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:00,440 And they, because they did their collective legacy watch this 494 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:04,400 became a foundational pillar for American Protestant missions, 495 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:07,520 establishing thousands of believers in Myanmar. 496 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,040 The first overseas mission trip I ever went on. 497 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:13,600 I wanted to go to Burma, and God gave me a chance to go to those 498 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:16,000 golden shores. And I watched and saw churches 499 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:17,720 and met Christians. Why? 500 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,680 Because some people were willing to give their all so those 501 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:24,240 people could know Jesus. Unbelievable, right? 502 00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:31,080 God calls us y'all to die by faith, and God calls us to mourn 503 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:35,320 the death of loved ones by faith. 504 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:39,000 God calls us to mourn the death of loved ones by faith. 505 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:44,640 I want to pick up in our next set of verses, 10 through 20. 506 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:50,560 Now Efron was sitting among the Hittites, and Efron the Hittite 507 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:54,160 answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went 508 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:57,280 to the gate of the city. No, my Lord, hear me. 509 00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:01,320 I give you the feel, and I give you The Cave that is in it, in 510 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:03,000 the sight of the sons of my people. 511 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:04,520 I give it to you. Bury your dead. 512 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,440 Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land, and he 513 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,040 said to Efron in the hearing of the people of the land. 514 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:15,200 But if you will hear me, I give the price of the feel. 515 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,480 Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there. 516 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:21,360 Efron answered. Abraham, my Lord listened to me, 517 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:23,880 a piece of land worth 400 shekels of silver. 518 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,520 What is that between you and me? Bury your dead. 519 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:29,680 Abraham listened to Efron. And Abraham weighed out for 520 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,320 Efron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the 521 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:36,000 Hittites, 400 shekels of silver according to the weights current 522 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,560 among the merchants. So the field of Efron in 523 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:42,440 Makpala, which was to the east of Monterey, the field with The 524 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:45,720 Cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field 525 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:49,160 throughout its whole area, was made over to Abraham as a 526 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,800 possession in the presence of the Hittites before all who went 527 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:56,960 in at the gate of the city. After this, Abraham buried 528 00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:00,400 Sarah's wife in The Cave of the field of Makpala, east of Mamre, 529 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:02,360 that is, Hebron in the land of Canaan. 530 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,520 The field in The Cave that is in it were made over to Abraham's 531 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:09,520 property for a bearing place by the Hittites. 532 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:14,520 On the surface. What we have here is an ancient 533 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:18,880 real estate transaction. Abraham has voiced his desire 534 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:22,240 for a piece of property in which to bury his wife. 535 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:25,960 When he asked for a plot, Everyone who hears him basically 536 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:28,640 responds to him is like, man, you're such an honorable 537 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:31,240 resident among us, pick out which one you want. 538 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:34,280 Feel free to borrow it. But Abraham's not looking to 539 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:38,280 borrow a burial plot. The locals, of course, don't see 540 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:42,040 Abraham as a permanent resident. He doesn't own any land. 541 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:45,760 But Abraham knows something these locals don't know. 542 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:50,760 That is that God has promised him this whole land. 543 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,280 He's not going anywhere. And so Abraham goes about this 544 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:56,960 real estate deal for the long haul. 545 00:32:57,200 --> 00:33:00,840 Abraham already has the burial spot he desires picked out. 546 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:03,200 He just needs to purchase it, which he offers to do. 547 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:08,360 But when Efron hears the offer, Efron responds in what you might 548 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:11,800 think was this Oh man, Efron must be a wonderful, generous 549 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:14,240 guy. He just says, hey, just just 550 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:16,480 take it. Well, that's kind of a little 551 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:21,880 bit of some surface level hospitality that is veiling 552 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:23,560 something that's a little different. 553 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:27,000 What's a little different is this, number one, had Abraham 554 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,360 just borrowed the plot legally, he would have never owned it and 555 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:34,160 it would have always remained in Efron's possession for his 556 00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:36,200 descendants and not Abraham's descendants. 557 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:38,720 And Abraham's looking for the long haul here, not the short 558 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:39,600 haul. OK. 559 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:42,280 But it would have sounded really generous for Efron to just say, 560 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:44,200 hey, use it. You're not long term among us. 561 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:45,800 If you're going to be moving on, which he probably thought he 562 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:48,400 would be, use it. That's not the plan. 563 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,360 But then when he realizes Abraham really wants to buy it, 564 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,840 it's kind of like he sees here an opportunity to kind of make 565 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:58,960 more bang for his buck, right? Maybe he thinks, well, if I sell 566 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:00,360 The Cave, I can't really sell the field. 567 00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:02,200 Nobody's going to want the field unless they get The Cave. 568 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,280 So I better just go all in and ask for as much as I can. 569 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:08,120 And he puts it out there as if Abraham's a, you know, wealthy 570 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:09,840 man, which he is. And Efron's a wealthy man, which 571 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:10,960 he is. And he's like, hey, just what's? 572 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:13,560 What's 400 shekels of silver between wealthy men? 573 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:16,840 That's kind of what he slyly names his price, but you get the 574 00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:18,120 idea. If you study the worth of a 575 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:21,320 shekel and the price of land at this time, it's pretty obvious 576 00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:23,239 that Abraham is not getting a steal. 577 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:27,040 In a way, Abraham is getting price gouged a little bit, which 578 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:29,679 begs the question, why would Abraham be willing to pay such a 579 00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:34,159 high price? Well, think about it like this. 580 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:39,120 Efren says, hey, what's 400 shekels between two wealthy men? 581 00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:43,679 Who can pay it but Abraham's thinking, What's 400 shekels as 582 00:34:43,679 --> 00:34:45,120 a down payment on the whole thing? 583 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:48,080 God has promised me, I think I'll pay it. 584 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:56,120 You don't know it, but this is a good deal for me #3 Y'all, God 585 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:57,440 calls us. This is what we learned, I 586 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:01,560 think, practically here. God calls us to press on in this 587 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:07,800 life by faith. God calls us to die by faith, to 588 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:10,040 mourn the death of loved ones by faith. 589 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:15,680 And then to press on in life by faith y'all? 590 00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:19,880 My guess is Abraham. Just just think about this. 591 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:25,040 I guarantee you when God called Abraham and Abraham said yes to 592 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:29,120 God, Abraham never thought that he would be in a spot after 593 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:31,640 hearing the promises of God. He never thought he'd be in a 594 00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:36,160 spot where he would be a widower and the only piece of land he 595 00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:39,800 owned was the cemetery where his wife would be buried. 596 00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:46,360 I guarantee you that scenario never crossed his mind. 597 00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:50,720 But let's be honest, did God ever say, hey Abe man, this is 598 00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:55,640 going to be easy? God never said Sarah wouldn't 599 00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,640 die one day. God never said Abraham wouldn't 600 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:02,960 die one day. God just told him his promises 601 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:06,880 were true and could be trusted. And that's what they did. 602 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:12,920 What God's call made clear was that death would not be the end 603 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:16,000 of his promises. The question for Abraham when he 604 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,640 found himself in that scenario, in those circumstances, is did 605 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:25,200 he believe God or not? And this is where this gets very 606 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:27,360 practical, not very fun, but very practical. 607 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:30,120 There's going to come a day when life is going to look you in the 608 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:33,200 eye and it's going to ask you point blank, do you believe the 609 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:41,040 promises of God, or do you want to go back home or do you want 610 00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:47,800 to move forward by faith? Are the promises of God truly, 611 00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:52,280 truly true? Is the best to come beyond the 612 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:54,280 grave? Is God really going to work all 613 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:56,720 things out for my good, for those who love him? 614 00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,960 Even though it doesn't seem like I never imagined God, I'd be 615 00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:00,400 here. I never imagined I would go 616 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:01,640 through this. I never imagined I would 617 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:04,160 experience this. But there you are, there He is. 618 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:07,080 And the question is, do you believe that the life is going 619 00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:09,440 to ask you? Do you believe the promises of 620 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:11,120 God? And you will give an answer one 621 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:15,560 day, and you won't have the right answer unless you have a 622 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:24,240 living hope, which only comes to trusting the Son of God, who is 623 00:37:24,240 --> 00:37:28,080 alive, who's conquered death, who's defeated sin, who paid for 624 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:31,080 your debt, hung on the cross for you, went to the grave for you, 625 00:37:31,240 --> 00:37:32,280 defeated death. For you. 626 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,720 Offer salvation and hope and life to you, if you'd receive it 627 00:37:35,720 --> 00:37:38,800 by faith calling on His name. So no matter what comes your 628 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:44,000 way, you know and have the promises of God anchoring your 629 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:48,000 soul deeper than any earthly circumstance could ever cause 630 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:51,560 you to question the promises of the truth of God. 631 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:53,600 The question is, do you believe them? 632 00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:57,640 Abraham presses on because he believes the promises of God 633 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:01,080 even when he only owns a tiny sliver of lamb. 634 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:03,400 Here's the deal in this Put it all together. 635 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:05,400 You ready? This is what this chapter is all 636 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:07,520 about. Success in the Christian life 637 00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:13,120 looks like faithfulness in life and in death, knowing the best 638 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:15,560 is yet to come. That's what faithfulness looks 639 00:38:15,560 --> 00:38:16,880 like. It looks like fate. 640 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:17,920 That's what successful looks like. 641 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:22,480 It is faithfulness, y'all in life and in death, in the 642 00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:28,760 promises of God, knowing the best is yet to come. 643 00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:30,960 You say, Kyle, what do you mean the best is yet to come? 644 00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:35,800 You remember how Paul puts it. If we are living only for this 645 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:43,400 life, he says as Christians, if we are living only for this 646 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:47,760 life, are living for the next, Rather, the way he puts it, we 647 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:49,360 are of all people, most to be what? 648 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:55,960 Most to be pitied. In other words, if God's 649 00:38:55,960 --> 00:39:00,280 promises are not bigger and better beyond the grave, we're 650 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:05,280 in trouble. We're in trouble but because 651 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:07,960 they are. Here's the honest truth. 652 00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:12,440 Your life and mine ought to look different in light of the fact 653 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:15,720 that the promises of God are bigger and better beyond the 654 00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:19,200 grave than they are before it. In this way, we ought to live in 655 00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:22,120 such a way that our lives don't make sense to those who watch 656 00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:26,600 us, to those who witness the way we talk, the way we spend our 657 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:29,960 money, the way we spend our time, the risk we take on what 658 00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:32,560 we choose to value, how we choose to respond when 659 00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:35,520 mistreated, and how we live our week, how we go about our work 660 00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:38,360 and how we raise our kids. And all the things ought to look 661 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:42,280 strange and light to someone who doesn't know Christ, right? 662 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,760 Because that doesn't make sense because we're living for 663 00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:47,480 eternity. I've heard eternity described as 664 00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:51,600 a if it was laid out as a rope. If we could roll out a rope this 665 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:54,440 morning, and that rope represented eternity, how long 666 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:58,280 would that rope be? Longer than you can imagine. 667 00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,560 Now, if you just imagine marking on the front of that rope what 668 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:05,280 this tiny, short earthly life would look like physically 669 00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:08,640 represented on that rope representing eternity, how much, 670 00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:11,560 how big a spot on that rope would you mark as an accurate 671 00:40:11,560 --> 00:40:15,000 representation of how short this life is compared to how long 672 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:18,640 eternity is? You'd have to try to mark it in 673 00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:21,120 a spot where you could barely even see that you've made a 674 00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:22,480 mark. That's how small a mark you'd 675 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,280 have to be in light of how long eternity is. 676 00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:32,400 And This is why no matter what happens in this life, we can 677 00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:34,600 live it by faith, we can die by faith. 678 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:38,000 We can mourn those who go ahead of us by faith, and we can press 679 00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:42,720 on in faith, knowing the best is yet to come. 680 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:46,320 You know, I can just imagine a conversation maybe that Abraham 681 00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:48,120 had with his family that went like this. 682 00:40:48,560 --> 00:40:53,120 They buried Sarah and maybe somebody asked Abraham, Abraham, 683 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:54,520 did you think you'd be in this spot? 684 00:40:56,240 --> 00:40:58,840 And maybe he looked over at The Cave and he said, do you see 685 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:02,760 that cave over there? Do you see that tomb? 686 00:41:03,680 --> 00:41:07,680 You see where Sarah's laid? Every day I look at that cave 687 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:11,440 and I remember that's the evidence right there that God's 688 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:13,360 given me a down payment on all that's to come. 689 00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:16,760 That's evidence to me. Every day I wake up that the 690 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:19,320 best is yet to come, that God has bigger and better promises. 691 00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:21,800 I may not live to see them all, but he's promised. 692 00:41:22,720 --> 00:41:24,000 And he started with that right there. 693 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:26,680 And Can you imagine God the Father maybe? 694 00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:29,080 And when life looks at us and ask us, do we believe the 695 00:41:29,080 --> 00:41:31,040 promises of God? What do you think God the Father 696 00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:34,800 might point us to? Do you see that tomb? 697 00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:39,280 Not the one where Sarah was laid, but to see the tomb where 698 00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:44,160 my son was laid, that tomb that's not occupied, but that 699 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:46,840 tomb, that's what that's tomb that's empty. 700 00:41:47,120 --> 00:41:50,400 Everyday evidence for over 2000 years that the best ladies and 701 00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:53,800 gentlemen is yet to the guts. Promises are bigger and better 702 00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:55,520 beyond the grave than they are before it. 703 00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:57,160 And that's how you can live different. 704 00:41:57,160 --> 00:42:00,400 Knowing every day is worth it, no matter if it's 36 years, 12 705 00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:04,080 years, or 127 years. Because eternity is long and 706 00:42:04,080 --> 00:42:06,120 life is short. The gospel is worth it. 707 00:42:06,120 --> 00:42:08,720 And every day God gives you. If you say yes to God when you 708 00:42:08,720 --> 00:42:11,320 die, it'll be the final fulfillment of God's call on 709 00:42:11,320 --> 00:42:12,480 your life. That's the way I want to live. 710 00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:15,400 That's the way we want to die. And that's how we can press for 711 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:17,320 knowing one day we'll be gathered around the throne 712 00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:22,360 together forever with Jesus our Savior. 713 00:42:24,200 --> 00:42:26,600 Do you believe the promises of God? 714 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:29,880 These are not truths we want to talk about, but these are truths 715 00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:33,600 when you're alone, when life asks you the hardest questions, 716 00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:39,400 you need to have an answer. And God's Word gives us that 717 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:42,360 answer. Heavenly Father God, I ask that 718 00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:46,400 in His our as we have heard your word that you would give us 719 00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:49,920 faith to receive and believe that it would penetrate our 720 00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:51,480 hearts, that you would have your weight. 721 00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:54,240 And I pray for anyone today who doesn't have that living hope in 722 00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:56,880 Jesus Christ that had ever called on you for salvation, 723 00:42:57,120 --> 00:42:59,360 that today would be the day that even right now they'd feel 724 00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:02,440 confident and unashamed to step out from where they are and just 725 00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:04,320 come tell us, I need to trust Jesus. 726 00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:06,960 Maybe someone's here and it's been living for the things of 727 00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:09,400 the world and needs to let them go and live for the things of 728 00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:11,520 eternity. Maybe somebody's here who needs 729 00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:14,720 to grieve, but not without hope, or someone here needs to believe 730 00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:16,840 the promises of God. God help them with all their 731 00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:21,880 heart to say yes to you, to know your goodness, Father, to have 732 00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:24,840 you give them the peace that passes understanding that comes 733 00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:27,080 from a living hope in Jesus Christ. 734 00:43:27,560 --> 00:43:29,640 Help us say yes. Help us trust you. 735 00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:32,480 In Jesus name I pray, Amen. Would you stand with me? 736 00:43:32,720 --> 00:43:34,480 I'm going to stand here if you need to come and talk with me 737 00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:38,000 about salvation, trusting Jesus. If you need prayer, this altar 738 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:39,720 is open. Our encouragers will be close. 739 00:43:39,720 --> 00:43:41,960 You come as we sing and worship together.