WEBVTT

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Welcome everybody to Hosanna. I am Pastor Nathan,

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and if it is your first time here, I don't normally

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dress like this. And if you're watching online

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as well, we are so glad you're here to worship

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with us today here at Hosanna. You know, this

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morning we're going to be continuing our study

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in Genesis, in Genesis chapter 25, looking at

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the death of Abraham. We've come to the end of

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his story, the end of his life, and really what

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we're going to see is the testament of his faith

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today, the effect that his life has on all of

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us. As we've come to the end of his life here

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in Genesis 25, we're going to see the story of

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his death framed by two genealogies. There's

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a genealogy before it, and there's a genealogy

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after. Anytime we go through scripture and see

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genealogies, we're always like, okay, why is

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it here, and what is the point? Now, particularly

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here in Abraham's story, the point is this. We're

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meant to see that God is continuing to answer

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his divine promise to Abraham. His promise that

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God would make his offspring as the dust of the

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earth and the stars in the sky, that Abraham

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would be extremely fruitful. That he would be

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a father of nations and kings that would come

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from him. That's what this story shows us today.

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This is really what Abraham's life was all about.

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That God is faithful. It's all about the faithfulness

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of God to his word. That's what his whole story

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has been about. The grace of God towards those

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who trust in him by faith. The patience of God

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as those who trust him. even fall and stumble

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and mess up in their lives, and then the outworking

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of God's promises, not because we earned it,

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but because he promised it, and he is always

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faithful. You know, the Bible tells us that Abraham

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is the father of all who believe. And that is

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a true thing that the New Testament grabs onto.

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The New Testament shares so much of Abraham's

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life because his life teaches us the very foundations

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of our faith and how we are to live and walk

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with God. The New Testament highlights his example

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of faith as the very basis of salvation. The

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New Testament highlights his example of works.

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based on his faith, that the life of faith results

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in obedience and a life lived to honor and obey

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God. The New Testament teaches us that Jesus

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Christ is the ultimate offspring of Abraham,

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that the promises that came through Abraham and

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Isaac and down through his line were fulfilled

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completely in Jesus Christ, and that faith in

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Jesus makes us offspring of Abraham and inheritors

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of the promises that God made to him. And then,

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of course, the New Testament uses Abraham's life

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to show us all the aspects of what faith looks

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like in the life of one of his children. The

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obedience of faith, the journey of faith, the

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hope of faith, the confidence, the longing, the

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sacrifice, the reasoning of faith. Yeah, truly,

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Abraham is the father of all who believe. All

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who come to Christ only by faith, all who receive

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salvation. only by faith and all who live for

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Christ by faith in this world. But first, we're

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gonna worship God because we're so grateful to

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him for who he is and what he's done. The Bible

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says that he is the pioneer of our faith, that

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he is the one that blazed all the trails that

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we would be able to follow to the eternal glory

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of being with God in heaven forever. Let's pray.

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Father, we love you so much. God, you are worth

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our entire lives. You are worth even more than

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that. You are infinitely worth all because you

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are the God of perfection and holiness and justice

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and the God of glory. And God, every single one

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of us in this room, Lord, have heard about you

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and many of us, Lord, have given our lives to

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you to trust in you and your promises, Lord.

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And that is what the life of this man, Abraham,

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has been all about, Lord, an imperfect man, simply

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believing in you because you are you and believing

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in your promises because you made them. And yet,

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God, your word tells us that because of that

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faith, it was accounted to him as righteousness.

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And it is the same today, God. And so, Lord,

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as we come to the end of his story, Lord, may

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we be encouraged by his testament of faith that

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we would see, God, that even in his death and

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beyond, you always fulfill your promises fully,

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no matter what. But, God, we want to worship

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you right now. We want to praise your name because,

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God, you are worth it. You are holy. You are

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almighty and we love you so much. God, let us

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be people of faith and let our faith even now

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be expressed through our worship to you. We love

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you so much. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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We are in Genesis chapter 25. We're going to

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be looking at the first 18 verses today. And,

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you know, at this point in Abraham's story, we've

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come to the end. His wife, Sarah, had passed,

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and with her passing, there was some major dynamic

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shifts in the family structure. Obviously, she

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was the patriarch of the family. She was Abraham's

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wife, the love of his life. She had gone from

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being named Sarai to Sarah, which meant princess.

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Her husband had gone from being named Abram to

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Abraham, which means father of many nations.

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And so God had done so many works in their life,

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but with her passing, it was a major shift, as

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you can imagine. And as we looked at last week,

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you know, Isaac, the son of the promise, the

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son who was born miraculously, was there and

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had been growing. And it had come to the point

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where it was time for him to get married so that

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he could have offspring to be a part of the continued

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fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that

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his offspring would be more than the dust of

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the earth and countless as the stars in the sky.

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And so with all of that, we come to Genesis chapter

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25, verse 1, if you will read with me. It says,

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Abraham had taken another wife whose name was

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Keturah. And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan,

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Midian, Ishbak, and Shua. Jokshan fathered Sheba

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and Dedan. Dedan's sons were Asherim, Letushim,

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and Leumim. And Midian's sons were Ephah, Ephur,

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Hanak, Abida, and Eldah. All of these were sons

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of Keterah. Abraham gave everything he owned

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to Isaac. But Abraham gave gifts to the sons

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of his concubines, and while he was still alive,

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he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac,

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to the land of the east. So as I mentioned in

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our intro, the story of Abraham's death is bookended

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with two genealogies, and this is the first one.

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He married a second time after Sarah had passed,

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and so, you know, Having a second marriage in

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situations like this is biblical. It's not unbiblical

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to have a second marriage when your spouse has

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passed away. And so we just read this short story.

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And this is really all we have about this woman,

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Katera, or Keturah. We don't know much about

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her outside of the fact that she was Abraham's

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second wife and she bore him these sons. Now,

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chronologically, it's very possible that this

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all took place after the Isaac and Rebecca story.

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We don't know for sure if this marriage happened

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prior to Isaac and Rebekah or after. But likely,

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either way, we can figure out based upon Abraham's

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age and Isaac's age and when he died and all

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this stuff that after Isaac and Rebekah got married,

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Abraham probably lived another 35 to 40 years

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before he passed from this earth. And in that

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time, he met this woman. We don't know where

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she came from. We don't know, as I said, much

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anything about her. her other than her offspring.

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But there are some clues that might tell us what

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her legacy was, what her contribution, if you

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will, was to the promises of God in Abraham's

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life. And one of those is the meaning of her

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name. The name Keturah means spices, all right?

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So I don't know if that meant she was like spicy

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or anything like that, but... Now when you couple

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that with where her children ended up settling,

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because in those verses we just read, it says

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eventually Abraham sent them away from his son

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Isaac, we'll talk about that later, but sent

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them specifically eastward to the land of the

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east. Now this would be east of the promised

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land, the land of Canaan, and so when we look

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at where they likely have settled and whatnot,

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many Bible scholars take her name and where her

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sons settled, and kind of connect her sons to

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be in major players in what was known as the

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international spice trade that took place along

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the Silk Road. If you guys remember the Silk

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Road from history class, it was a road that went

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essentially from the promised land through Arabia,

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through India, all the way out to China, and

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it was one of the major trade routes in ancient

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times, and so many think that Keturah's sons

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as they, spread, colonized, that's not the right

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word. Settled, there you go. Settled in the Arabian

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Peninsula that they were likely a part of the

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gathering and the distribution and the process

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of getting these spices out to the international

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trade routes. So I want to go through the sons

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real quick because I just kind of like to point

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out where in our real world, you know, these

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places, these people likely settled. But the

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first one that's mentioned in her line there

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is her son, Zimran. Now, Zimran is likely thought

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to have settled between Mecca and Medina, which

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is in the western part of Arabia. Now, this guy,

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Zimran, he has no significant presence in the

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biblical narrative. And so that's all we're told

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about him. Zimran was a son, and then we surmise

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that he settled in the west there. The second

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son of Keturah was Jokshan. Now Jokshan is the

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progenitor of the people that are in southern

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Arabia in the area known today as Yemen. The

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Yemen people came from Jokshan, that is down

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in southern Arabia, and his people... have a

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minor, you know, somewhat moderate presence in

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the biblical narrative. And so, you know, you'll

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notice that some of these sons in this genealogy,

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their sons are expanded on and others aren't.

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And that's simply so we could understand, you

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know, the effect and the, wow, I'm blanking on

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all kinds of words today, how they were involved

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in the biblical stories. Because Jokshan's two

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kids, one was named Sheba. Now Sheba is down

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in the very southwestern tip of Arabia. That

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was a land called Sheba. And if you're a Bible

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scholar, you might be thinking of somebody who

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visited Solomon at one point named the Queen

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of Sheba. This queen was a descendant of Sheba

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from this land. Jokshan's other son was Dedan,

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and there's actually a town that's still there

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today called Dedan that's thought to be descendant

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from this line or this clan, and that was in

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northwest Arabia. And then Dedan had two kids,

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Asherim. That's not the Assyrians. That's a different

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group of people. And then Letushim and Lumim,

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right? Those names in particular, we don't see

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them anywhere else in scripture, but Dedan is

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a place that is famous for being a major crossroads

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in the trade routes and whatnot. And so it's

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thought that Dedan was there in Northwest Arabia

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where the town of Dedan is today. Her next son

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was Medan. We really don't have a lot of information

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about him or know where that tribe settled. It

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was probably in northern Arabia. There's some

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slight evidence that seems to indicate that they

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settled in northern Arabia, east of Canaan. But

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again, this son, no significant presence in the

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biblical narrative. And then we get to Midian,

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her son Midian. Now that should immediately bring

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to mind a major people group that have a major

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presence in the Israeli history, and that is

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the Midianites, right? The Midianites have a

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major presence. Now they settled in what would

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be the western side of the Sinai Peninsula and

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then into northwest Arabia, really in the area

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that is south of Jordan, the modern country of

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Jordan today. And the Midianites, you know, settled

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in other places as well. This is the people,

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the land that Moses went to. If you remember

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the story of Moses when he killed the Egyptian,

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and then everybody was like, whoa, are you gonna

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do that to us? The Jews were like, you're gonna

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kill us too? He fled, and it says he fled to

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the land of Midian in Exodus chapter two, verse

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15. This was also the country that partnered

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with Moab to attack Israel in the story of Balaam.

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You guys remember that story, the talking donkey,

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right? The Midianites, the king of Midian, was

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part of the group that attacked Israel. And then,

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during the time of Judges, these people, the

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Midianites, as an enemy of Israel, were conquered

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in the story of Gideon. And you guys remember

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the story of Gideon, where he showed up with

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all these people, and God said, that's too many.

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And Gideon said, what are you talking about?

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Their army's way bigger. And God said, I don't

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care. Got all the way down to 300 people, right?

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And then they went and followed and trusted the

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Lord and defeated the Midianites. And so what

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we have here is Midian's offspring is Ephah,

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Ephor, Hanok, Abida, Eldah. And these are just

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the different clans of the Midianites that made

00:14:04.289 --> 00:14:05.870
up these people. And so we don't necessarily

00:14:05.870 --> 00:14:09.710
see these individual names. We just see the people

00:14:09.710 --> 00:14:11.549
group throughout Scripture referenced as a whole.

00:14:11.830 --> 00:14:14.470
Then you have Ishbak, which is understood to

00:14:14.470 --> 00:14:17.710
be in northwest Arabia in what is the Transjordan

00:14:17.710 --> 00:14:20.129
area. Again, another group that settled around

00:14:20.129 --> 00:14:24.389
present -day Jordan. And then Shua is thought

00:14:24.389 --> 00:14:27.809
to have settled up in Syria and maybe is an early

00:14:27.809 --> 00:14:31.940
progenitor of the Syrian people. As you can imagine,

00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:36.559
with all of these sons and the spread of these

00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:39.019
nations and the settlement and then who they

00:14:39.019 --> 00:14:43.980
became even today, that Abraham truly became

00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:48.779
the father of many nations just as God had promised

00:14:48.779 --> 00:14:53.159
him. And that's really the idea of this genealogy

00:14:53.159 --> 00:14:55.220
here is at the end of Abraham's life, what is

00:14:55.220 --> 00:14:58.120
the legacy? What is the testament of his faith

00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:00.679
that is being left behind? And what we're seeing

00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:05.620
here is that God fulfilled his promises to Abraham.

00:15:06.460 --> 00:15:10.440
He fulfilled them in full. He didn't waver in

00:15:10.440 --> 00:15:13.320
any of those and that has been a lesson of Abraham's

00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:16.220
entire story that we've seen over and over and

00:15:16.220 --> 00:15:21.879
over again. Trust God because his promises are

00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:27.720
sure. Now we don't know any record of how these

00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:31.159
sons, these six sons of Keturah interacted with

00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:33.919
Isaac. We do know that Isaac was much older than

00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:35.960
them because he was 40 when he married Rebecca.

00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:38.519
And then we have the story of Keturah and her

00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:41.539
sons. And so, but he was still the son of the

00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:44.399
promise. He was still the one through whom God

00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:46.860
was gonna bring blessing to the world. He was

00:15:46.860 --> 00:15:49.580
it, right? Now in modern day terms, you might

00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:52.820
say he was the favorite son. And in a sense he

00:15:52.820 --> 00:15:55.320
was because he was in line to inherit everything.

00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:58.200
but there's no conflict implied here between

00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:00.220
them and Isaac as there was between Isaac and

00:16:00.220 --> 00:16:03.460
his other brother Ishmael. So what we get through

00:16:03.460 --> 00:16:05.899
this opening genealogy is not just a boring list

00:16:05.899 --> 00:16:08.279
of names. We're meant to get this picture that

00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:14.019
Abraham's sunset years were chill. That as he

00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:17.019
lived the rest of his life, there was no major

00:16:17.019 --> 00:16:19.700
events going on, no major conflicts that are

00:16:19.700 --> 00:16:22.159
recorded. It was just that his family continued

00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:25.080
to expand all the way into the point where he

00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:29.200
passed. Now through all of that, we're told here

00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:32.899
these details that God remembered and maintained

00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:36.200
his belief that God's promise was through Isaac

00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:39.639
alone. We go back into a story and we see the

00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:42.500
whole Ishmael incident and God said, nope, that's

00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:44.139
a work of the flesh. It's gonna be through a

00:16:44.139 --> 00:16:47.259
miracle, right? His wife couldn't have a baby.

00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:49.960
Isaac's born. He's the one. It's God's work.

00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:52.720
Nobody could get the credit for that. But then

00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:54.779
Abraham goes on to have these other sons. And

00:16:54.779 --> 00:16:57.600
so there was the possibility as these sons grew

00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:59.340
that maybe, you know, they would be like, well,

00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:01.559
what about us? And what's going on with us? And

00:17:01.559 --> 00:17:03.980
why does Isaac get everything? And all of this

00:17:03.980 --> 00:17:07.259
stuff. But he was the one. That was going to

00:17:07.259 --> 00:17:09.859
get everything. It tells us after it lists Keturah's

00:17:09.859 --> 00:17:12.500
sons, it says, but Abraham gave everything to

00:17:12.500 --> 00:17:17.819
Isaac. Least we forget, he is the one the promise

00:17:17.819 --> 00:17:20.099
is going to come through. It's not Ishmael, as

00:17:20.099 --> 00:17:25.180
Islam purports. It's not any of these sons. It's

00:17:25.180 --> 00:17:29.119
Isaac. He is the one. And so not only did he

00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:31.880
inherit all of Abraham's stuff, he also inherited

00:17:31.880 --> 00:17:35.019
the promise of the land, right? The promise that

00:17:35.019 --> 00:17:37.440
God had given to his father. And so even though

00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:40.440
Isaac inherited everything, the sons, it tells

00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:42.200
us there, did get gifts from their father. They

00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:44.019
weren't neglected. They weren't treated bad.

00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:47.059
They weren't ignored. They were loved and they

00:17:47.059 --> 00:17:50.359
were taken care of as Abraham did to his family.

00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:53.319
And so, but I see a detail here where it says,

00:17:53.380 --> 00:17:55.579
while he was still alive, he sent them eastward

00:17:55.579 --> 00:17:57.700
in verse six, away from his family. his son Isaac.

00:17:59.799 --> 00:18:02.740
That indicates the possibility that Abraham was

00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:06.420
like, well, I don't want them to maybe get jealous

00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:08.819
of Isaac. I don't want them to come against Isaac.

00:18:08.920 --> 00:18:12.119
I don't want them to group up and come against

00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:15.039
him, which is kind of, you know, if that's what's

00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:16.920
taking place here, I see that as prophetic because

00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:20.539
what happened later on with Jacob's sons, they

00:18:20.539 --> 00:18:25.769
all grouped up against Joseph. and tried to kill

00:18:25.769 --> 00:18:29.029
him, right? And so that's speculative, but I

00:18:29.029 --> 00:18:31.329
kind of see a connection there on that. So he

00:18:31.329 --> 00:18:33.829
sent them away, and he sends them eastward into

00:18:33.829 --> 00:18:35.869
the areas we already talked about. And there's

00:18:35.869 --> 00:18:37.930
a lot of archaeological evidence for much of

00:18:37.930 --> 00:18:39.849
what was there. That whole green area on the

00:18:39.849 --> 00:18:42.630
map along the western side of Arabia and down

00:18:42.630 --> 00:18:45.009
through the bottom is primarily where it's understood

00:18:45.009 --> 00:18:48.930
these people settled. Now there's a phrase here

00:18:48.930 --> 00:18:51.490
that some people might read and go, what? And

00:18:51.490 --> 00:18:54.109
it says concubines, verse six, but Abraham gave

00:18:54.109 --> 00:18:58.769
gifts to the sons of his concubines. Now if you

00:18:58.769 --> 00:19:01.549
go into the Hebrew language to look up the tense,

00:19:01.789 --> 00:19:05.890
right, of that word, or the structure of the

00:19:05.890 --> 00:19:09.859
word, it is a plural word. Concubines, plural,

00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:13.400
more than one. And you go, what? I thought we

00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:15.539
were talking about Keturah here and Sarah's gone

00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:18.839
and Hagar's been sent away. So how do we reconcile

00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:21.680
that? Well, again, we have to go back to understanding

00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:24.119
that in this time, there was a very, very high

00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:28.000
cultural priority on family line and clan identity.

00:19:28.339 --> 00:19:31.299
And all of this existed in Abraham's time. And

00:19:31.299 --> 00:19:33.900
then as the 12 tribes of Israel came, the clan

00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:36.539
identity, the tribe identity was very important.

00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:40.079
And so you didn't, marry outside of the clan.

00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:44.819
And so people would be, the goal of having as

00:19:44.819 --> 00:19:48.779
many sons as possible was desired, was pursued,

00:19:48.980 --> 00:19:51.619
right? And it was something that happened in

00:19:51.619 --> 00:19:53.839
those days, and so concubines were essentially

00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:57.680
the lesser wives of the family, if you will.

00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:01.559
It was very common for heads of families to have

00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:05.980
a primary wife who was the wife, right, who carried

00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:09.640
all the authority that the leading woman, the

00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:12.339
first lady of the house would carry, and then

00:20:12.339 --> 00:20:15.480
he would have secondary wives that were a part

00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:18.259
of bearing children and expanding the family,

00:20:18.380 --> 00:20:22.599
and they would have possibly less authority than

00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:25.119
the primary wife, and then in some cases, you

00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:29.859
had wife, secondary wives, and concubines, which

00:20:29.859 --> 00:20:32.559
had even less authority in the house or none

00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:36.180
at all, who served the purpose of simply bearing

00:20:36.180 --> 00:20:39.319
children and expanding the family. Now, we have

00:20:39.319 --> 00:20:41.160
to remember, at least we go, what? That seems

00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:43.799
kind of weird. Why did God allow that? That in

00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:46.559
ancient times, it was nearly impossible for an

00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:49.819
unmarried woman to provide for herself. If a

00:20:49.819 --> 00:20:53.440
woman was not connected to a husband or a dad

00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:57.819
or a brother or somebody in that culture that

00:20:57.819 --> 00:21:00.539
was male who would take care of them, the women

00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:03.920
would be left destitute. They would often be

00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:07.599
taken into slavery and very often very violent

00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:10.160
and abusive slavery. They would be forced into

00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:13.819
prostitution to just feed themselves. Many times

00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:16.700
they would starve to death. And so in the culture,

00:21:18.250 --> 00:21:21.309
God, I believe, allowed, even though it wasn't

00:21:21.309 --> 00:21:23.809
his plan, he allowed this polygamous activity

00:21:23.809 --> 00:21:27.789
really kind of as a social protection net for

00:21:27.789 --> 00:21:30.170
the women who would otherwise be cast out and

00:21:30.170 --> 00:21:32.769
starved to death. Now, we do know that God's

00:21:32.769 --> 00:21:35.490
plan was never multiple wives, right? His plan

00:21:35.490 --> 00:21:38.410
was one man, one woman from Genesis, and we get

00:21:38.410 --> 00:21:40.329
all the way through the New Testament, and we

00:21:40.329 --> 00:21:45.289
see that God's plan for marriage was monogamous.

00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:47.859
But we do see it throughout the Old Testament

00:21:47.859 --> 00:21:50.720
here, and it appears that God tolerated it for

00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:53.259
a time. And one of those reasons is this kind

00:21:53.259 --> 00:21:58.440
of social protection net for women. But then

00:21:58.440 --> 00:22:00.500
on top of this, the words wife and concubine

00:22:00.500 --> 00:22:03.720
could be used interchangeably to refer to any

00:22:03.720 --> 00:22:06.279
woman who is not the primary wife in a family.

00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:08.940
For example, here in Genesis, Keturah is called

00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:12.579
his second wife. But if you read in 1 Chronicles

00:22:12.579 --> 00:22:15.519
1, verse 32, Keturah is called his concubine.

00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:19.160
So that explains all of that. We good? All right.

00:22:21.089 --> 00:22:23.529
Nothing is said here about how the sons departed,

00:22:23.769 --> 00:22:25.950
right? Their dad said, hey, I'm sending you guys

00:22:25.950 --> 00:22:28.710
away. That was not an uncommon thing in the culture

00:22:28.710 --> 00:22:30.670
where the sons would get to a point where it

00:22:30.670 --> 00:22:33.109
was time for them to depart or there would be

00:22:33.109 --> 00:22:35.630
reasons for you need to split off and take your

00:22:35.630 --> 00:22:39.009
family elsewhere. We saw that with Abraham and

00:22:39.009 --> 00:22:42.190
Lot. There was a logistical reason and the family

00:22:42.190 --> 00:22:44.930
separated and so they left. That's all it tells

00:22:44.930 --> 00:22:48.069
us is he sent them eastward and there was nothing

00:22:48.069 --> 00:22:49.829
there about how they felt about it. You know,

00:22:49.849 --> 00:22:51.589
were they like, dad? It's an adventure. Were

00:22:51.589 --> 00:22:53.630
they mad, upset? It doesn't say anything. But

00:22:53.630 --> 00:22:57.369
we read this very brief account of Keturah having

00:22:57.369 --> 00:22:59.369
these sons and them being sent off, and we might

00:22:59.369 --> 00:23:01.289
think, well, what about their spiritual destiny,

00:23:01.509 --> 00:23:05.069
right? What about Ishmael and his people, right?

00:23:05.150 --> 00:23:07.549
We think about these other family members in

00:23:07.549 --> 00:23:09.650
Abraham's line, and did God just throw them in

00:23:09.650 --> 00:23:11.950
the trash? Did God just cast them off and say,

00:23:12.029 --> 00:23:15.309
you know, they have no bearing on my promises?

00:23:15.430 --> 00:23:17.369
And the answer to that question is, of course

00:23:17.369 --> 00:23:21.700
not. They would benefit from God's promises the

00:23:21.700 --> 00:23:23.900
same as everybody else in this world benefits

00:23:23.900 --> 00:23:28.200
from God's promises through faith. They had and

00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:31.220
always had and still have and will always have

00:23:31.220 --> 00:23:34.400
until the end of all things the opportunity to

00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:37.079
become part of the blessing of God through faith.

00:23:38.410 --> 00:23:41.470
Through faith in who God was. And so, you know,

00:23:41.470 --> 00:23:44.309
we see again here this idea moving forward that

00:23:44.309 --> 00:23:46.569
as God blessed Abraham and he became the father

00:23:46.569 --> 00:23:49.769
of many nations and all of these offspring, that

00:23:49.769 --> 00:23:52.309
the promise that God made that came through Isaac

00:23:52.309 --> 00:23:55.849
applies to everybody in the world. If they simply

00:23:55.849 --> 00:23:58.829
believe in Jesus Christ. If they put their faith

00:23:58.829 --> 00:24:02.930
in him. Now, although Keturah, like I said, has

00:24:02.930 --> 00:24:04.950
very little mention in scripture, I believe her

00:24:04.950 --> 00:24:08.359
story is here very briefly. to show us something

00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:10.920
very important about Abraham's life and the testament

00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:12.920
of his life and the legacy he leaves behind,

00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:16.859
that God was faithful to fulfill all his promises.

00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:21.920
Also, I believe that it is meant to show us that

00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:25.289
God faithfully records every detail and knows

00:24:25.289 --> 00:24:27.829
every detail of every life that is a part of

00:24:27.829 --> 00:24:29.910
his family, every life that knows him, right?

00:24:30.049 --> 00:24:32.990
You may feel like you're not the main character

00:24:32.990 --> 00:24:35.630
from the world's perspective, right? That you're

00:24:35.630 --> 00:24:38.509
insignificant and that you have no effect, right?

00:24:38.690 --> 00:24:40.970
You're not an Elon Musk, whether you like him

00:24:40.970 --> 00:24:43.670
or not. The effect he's had on culture and society

00:24:43.670 --> 00:24:46.710
is phenomenal and you're not this person, but

00:24:46.710 --> 00:24:50.059
God knows your story. God knows who you are.

00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:53.140
God knows every detail about your story. He knows

00:24:53.140 --> 00:24:56.619
your part in his narrative. And that is, again,

00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:59.500
the encouragement from Abraham's life. Trust

00:24:59.500 --> 00:25:04.500
him. Trust him. You may, you know, God, my part

00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:08.420
of your kingdom is insignificant. No. Your part

00:25:08.420 --> 00:25:11.920
of his kingdom is radically important because

00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:15.180
it's your part that he made for you and nobody

00:25:15.180 --> 00:25:19.779
else. And so we see that Keturah, even though

00:25:19.779 --> 00:25:22.740
not a whole lot of influence in the biblical

00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:26.119
narrative, we do see this major impact she was

00:25:26.119 --> 00:25:28.720
a part of in God fulfilling his promise to Abraham.

00:25:29.859 --> 00:25:32.000
So now we come to verse seven. This is the actual

00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:35.619
story of Abraham's death. It says, this is the

00:25:35.619 --> 00:25:39.660
length of Abraham's life, 175 years. He took

00:25:39.660 --> 00:25:42.619
his last breath and died at a good old age, old

00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:45.359
and contented, and he was gathered to his people.

00:25:46.049 --> 00:25:49.869
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the

00:25:49.869 --> 00:25:52.930
cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of

00:25:52.930 --> 00:25:55.930
Ephron, son of Zohar, the Hethite, or Hittite.

00:25:56.250 --> 00:25:58.789
This was the field that Abraham bought from the

00:25:58.789 --> 00:26:01.089
Hethites. Abraham was buried there with his wife

00:26:01.089 --> 00:26:04.009
Sarah, and after Abraham's death, God blessed

00:26:04.009 --> 00:26:06.650
his son Isaac, who lived near Be 'er Lahai Roy.

00:26:07.009 --> 00:26:10.640
What an end, right? You know, it wasn't like

00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:15.339
he went too soon or some sudden tragedy. It just

00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:18.880
says he went at a good old age, old and contented.

00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:22.619
You know, over my years of life, you know, I've

00:26:22.619 --> 00:26:25.680
run into a number of people and I've got to say

00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:28.920
in every case it was a believer that people who

00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:31.759
are entering the end of life and in the last

00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:34.900
phase, oftentimes I hear things like this. I'm

00:26:34.900 --> 00:26:38.140
just ready to go home. You know, I just can't

00:26:38.140 --> 00:26:40.279
wait to go home. And often that's accompanied

00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:42.539
with, because everything hurts now, you know,

00:26:42.539 --> 00:26:45.900
and stuff like that. But there's just this contentment

00:26:45.900 --> 00:26:47.700
for those who know the Lord when they come to

00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:51.660
the end. They're like, I'm not done. I'm about

00:26:51.660 --> 00:26:54.539
to get started. I'm about to enter into eternity.

00:26:54.779 --> 00:26:57.779
And so he died contented. Now it says he lived

00:26:57.779 --> 00:27:02.099
175 years. Guess how many years that is? 175

00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:07.279
years, right? It's not an allegory. He lived

00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:10.299
175 years, just like when we go back to the people

00:27:10.299 --> 00:27:12.319
before the flood that lived hundreds and hundreds

00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:16.319
of years and some 900 plus. That's true. That's

00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:19.779
real. That's accurate. That's what it says. And

00:27:19.779 --> 00:27:22.960
so obviously the lifespans of people decreased

00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:26.740
after the flood. And so Abraham's 175 years is

00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:29.980
long to today's standards, but short compared

00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:32.519
to the original creation. But when you look at

00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:35.099
his life overall, he didn't really come to faith

00:27:35.099 --> 00:27:37.900
until he was 75 years old. That's when he left

00:27:37.900 --> 00:27:41.319
his hometown of Ur. And so what that tells us

00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:44.019
is that he had been a traveling nomad with brief

00:27:44.019 --> 00:27:48.039
stops for 100 years, the last 100 years of his

00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:51.559
life. And he had learned through his long life,

00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:54.579
the Bible is going to tell us, that his ultimate

00:27:54.579 --> 00:27:58.880
home, the ultimate place for him to settle, didn't

00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:02.410
exist here on earth. Right, it tells us in Hebrews

00:28:02.410 --> 00:28:05.589
chapter 11 verse nine, by faith he stayed as

00:28:05.589 --> 00:28:08.390
a foreigner in the land of promise, living in

00:28:08.390 --> 00:28:12.150
tents as did Isaac and Jacob, co -heirs of the

00:28:12.150 --> 00:28:14.829
same promise. For he was looking forward to the

00:28:14.829 --> 00:28:17.250
city that has foundations whose architect and

00:28:17.250 --> 00:28:22.089
builder is God. He lived in tents even though

00:28:22.089 --> 00:28:23.970
God said this land is going to your descendants.

00:28:24.869 --> 00:28:26.890
Notice he didn't build cities. Well, I gotta

00:28:26.890 --> 00:28:29.420
get ready for all my people, right? It would

00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:31.440
make sense to build fortified cities so that

00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:33.359
when my people get here, they would be safe and

00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:37.299
protected. No, he just said, this isn't the ultimate

00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:41.420
home. I'm here, I believe God's promise, but

00:28:41.420 --> 00:28:44.640
there is a city that I'm looking forward to.

00:28:45.099 --> 00:28:48.160
The city of God, heaven. That's what his whole

00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:52.039
life was lived in faith of, looking forward to.

00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:55.619
And it's such an encouragement to us in how we

00:28:55.619 --> 00:28:59.609
live this life. You know, we're called to live

00:28:59.609 --> 00:29:04.029
lives here as sojourners. When you go on a trip,

00:29:04.089 --> 00:29:06.250
a weekend trip, a five -day trip, do you pack

00:29:06.250 --> 00:29:09.529
up everything in your house? When you go on a

00:29:09.529 --> 00:29:12.809
trip, you don't pack everything. Well, some of

00:29:12.809 --> 00:29:16.109
you maybe, right? But most people, sane people,

00:29:16.230 --> 00:29:18.509
don't pack everything when they go on a trip.

00:29:18.529 --> 00:29:20.529
Why? Because you know you're there temporarily.

00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:24.440
So you just take what is needed for the time

00:29:24.440 --> 00:29:27.599
that you're there. That is the perspective God

00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:31.440
encourages us to have of this life. This life

00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:34.660
is, in the scope of eternity, a weekend trip.

00:29:35.980 --> 00:29:39.420
And so it makes no sense to try and maintain

00:29:39.420 --> 00:29:43.039
everything here and build everything here and

00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:46.000
put our roots and foundations down here and make

00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:48.019
sure all of our time and the priority of everything

00:29:48.019 --> 00:29:50.960
is building wealth and security here because

00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:56.779
this life is temporary. Abraham knew that. He

00:29:56.779 --> 00:30:01.519
lived that way. And the question to us is, if

00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:03.460
you're a believer and you trust in Jesus Christ

00:30:03.460 --> 00:30:05.670
and you have the hope of heaven before you, Do

00:30:05.670 --> 00:30:09.609
you live that way? There's nothing wrong with

00:30:09.609 --> 00:30:11.869
handling your business and paying your bills

00:30:11.869 --> 00:30:14.390
and going to work. There's nothing wrong with

00:30:14.390 --> 00:30:19.730
investing and building things and businesses

00:30:19.730 --> 00:30:23.789
and whatever in this life. As long as you know

00:30:23.789 --> 00:30:26.829
that everything that exists here is about building

00:30:26.829 --> 00:30:31.430
for the future. And so how does what you do contribute

00:30:31.430 --> 00:30:34.660
to the kingdom of God? Because that's what it's

00:30:34.660 --> 00:30:38.380
all about. And so, yeah, having a car and a house,

00:30:38.460 --> 00:30:41.579
none of that's bad. But if you think those things

00:30:41.579 --> 00:30:43.460
are the end all, those things are what's important,

00:30:43.619 --> 00:30:45.700
those things are what have eternal value, those

00:30:45.700 --> 00:30:49.039
are the only things that matter, you're missing

00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:52.799
it. You're missing it big time. And so Abraham,

00:30:52.980 --> 00:30:56.220
he lived in tents because he knew this wasn't

00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:58.259
his permanent home. And then he died at this

00:30:58.259 --> 00:31:02.480
good old age. That should remind us all that

00:31:03.389 --> 00:31:06.710
We all have a particular span of life allotted

00:31:06.710 --> 00:31:10.650
to us. Did you know that? Did you know we're

00:31:10.650 --> 00:31:14.829
all going to die one day? Do you live like it?

00:31:16.849 --> 00:31:18.910
Do you live like you only have a certain amount

00:31:18.910 --> 00:31:20.529
of days allotted to you? This is what the Word

00:31:20.529 --> 00:31:25.029
of God says in Psalm 139 .16. Your eyes saw me

00:31:25.029 --> 00:31:28.069
when I was formless. All of my days were written

00:31:28.069 --> 00:31:30.890
in your book and planned before a single one

00:31:30.890 --> 00:31:35.730
of them began. You know the implication of that?

00:31:36.710 --> 00:31:40.690
There's a fixed number. God knows the fixed number.

00:31:40.849 --> 00:31:44.890
God knows which one is the last day that you

00:31:44.890 --> 00:31:48.109
have here on this earth. But you and I don't

00:31:48.109 --> 00:31:51.029
know that, do we? So what are you doing with

00:31:51.029 --> 00:31:55.730
the days you have? Are you wasting them on frivolity?

00:31:55.789 --> 00:31:58.569
Are you wasting them on self and pleasure? Are

00:31:58.569 --> 00:32:01.109
you wasting them? Now again, don't misunderstand.

00:32:01.849 --> 00:32:04.759
There's nothing wrong with... recreation and

00:32:04.759 --> 00:32:07.059
entertainment and relaxation. God encourages

00:32:07.059 --> 00:32:10.380
that through his word. But when we think about,

00:32:10.500 --> 00:32:13.720
I only have so many days left, what are you doing

00:32:13.720 --> 00:32:17.299
with those days for God's kingdom? What are you

00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:19.680
doing with them? How are you using them? Are

00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:22.960
you about God's work in his time? Because you're

00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:25.539
going to run out of days eventually. Psalm 90

00:32:25.539 --> 00:32:28.000
verse 12 says, teach us to number our days carefully

00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:31.079
so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:35.900
When you know that it's a three -day trip, that

00:32:35.900 --> 00:32:39.660
gives you the wisdom to say, I should only pack

00:32:39.660 --> 00:32:45.359
this much. Right? It would be silly to try and

00:32:45.359 --> 00:32:47.619
jam your entire wardrobe, and again, I know some

00:32:47.619 --> 00:32:50.400
of you try, but your whole wardrobe into a three

00:32:50.400 --> 00:32:54.680
-day trip. Silly. You're not going to even get

00:32:54.680 --> 00:32:58.119
a chance to wear all those clothes. And it's

00:32:58.119 --> 00:33:00.839
the idea here that we should number our days.

00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:02.559
We should know that there is a limited amount

00:33:02.559 --> 00:33:05.000
of days so that we develop wisdom in our hearts.

00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:08.160
To embrace the reality that our days are limited

00:33:08.160 --> 00:33:12.380
leads to seeking and applying wisdom on how to

00:33:12.380 --> 00:33:17.460
use those days. And where do we get wisdom? The

00:33:17.460 --> 00:33:20.359
Word of God. In His Word. You want to know how

00:33:20.359 --> 00:33:22.559
to spend your time and use your days? Get in

00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:25.609
the Word of God. That's why every church... should,

00:33:25.970 --> 00:33:28.650
if they don't, be in the Word every day. It's

00:33:28.650 --> 00:33:30.230
like sustenance. It's like food. You need to

00:33:30.230 --> 00:33:31.950
read it. You need to study it. You need to absorb

00:33:31.950 --> 00:33:34.809
it. You need to memorize it because it is the

00:33:34.809 --> 00:33:36.490
source of wisdom. And if you want to know what

00:33:36.490 --> 00:33:38.130
do I do with my life, get in the Word of God.

00:33:39.630 --> 00:33:41.750
Well, the Word of God doesn't say go to this

00:33:41.750 --> 00:33:45.069
college or start this business or do that. God

00:33:45.069 --> 00:33:47.990
will take care of those details. He wants you

00:33:47.990 --> 00:33:50.069
to have the foundation that those details build

00:33:50.069 --> 00:33:57.390
upon, and it's in His Word. Now, And really,

00:33:57.509 --> 00:34:00.049
the most important things we could do in our

00:34:00.049 --> 00:34:02.990
life are the things that have eternal value and

00:34:02.990 --> 00:34:06.009
eternal fruit. Those are the things that are

00:34:06.009 --> 00:34:07.450
going to last forever. Those are the things that

00:34:07.450 --> 00:34:09.590
lead to ultimate peace. Those are the things,

00:34:09.630 --> 00:34:11.389
I believe, that lead to contentedness. You see,

00:34:11.449 --> 00:34:13.969
because I don't believe Abraham's contentedness,

00:34:14.010 --> 00:34:16.670
right? It said he was old and contented. I don't

00:34:16.670 --> 00:34:19.010
believe that came from, wow, I got to live 175

00:34:19.010 --> 00:34:23.559
years on this earth. I believe his contentedness

00:34:23.559 --> 00:34:26.500
came from living 100 years walking with the Lord.

00:34:27.679 --> 00:34:30.119
It came from a life of faith, walking with God,

00:34:30.219 --> 00:34:33.179
knowing that his life had a purpose and a future

00:34:33.179 --> 00:34:36.059
and a hope. And so at the end of that life here

00:34:36.059 --> 00:34:39.920
on earth, he was like, I'm good. I'm good. It's

00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:43.380
time to go home. I can't wait to see my dad.

00:34:45.219 --> 00:34:48.880
And so... We read here in his death story that

00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:52.559
his two estranged sons, Isaac and Ishmael, came

00:34:52.559 --> 00:34:55.280
together to honor their father in the burial

00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:58.199
there and buried him at the place that he requested,

00:34:58.500 --> 00:35:01.519
right? That cave that he purchased as a testimony

00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:04.380
to all that, hey, I'm being buried here because

00:35:04.380 --> 00:35:06.219
God said my descendants are going to have this

00:35:06.219 --> 00:35:08.619
land and I want my bones here when they get here,

00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:11.980
right? And so they buried him there as he requested.

00:35:12.099 --> 00:35:14.719
And what we see in the beginning here is it had

00:35:14.719 --> 00:35:17.900
been 35 to 40 years. that cave was opened. Sarah

00:35:17.900 --> 00:35:20.760
was buried there. Now the cave is open again,

00:35:20.900 --> 00:35:23.179
and we have Father Abraham now buried next to

00:35:23.179 --> 00:35:26.119
Princess Sarah. And it would be a very long time

00:35:26.119 --> 00:35:28.280
before this cave is open again when we come to

00:35:28.280 --> 00:35:30.960
the end of Isaac's life. And there in Isaac's

00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:32.500
life, it's going to be really ironic because

00:35:32.500 --> 00:35:34.920
here we have the two estranged brothers, Isaac

00:35:34.920 --> 00:35:36.840
and Ishmael, coming together to honor their dad.

00:35:37.260 --> 00:35:39.320
Same exact thing is going to happen in Isaac's

00:35:39.320 --> 00:35:42.320
life when it's his two sons, Jacob and Esau,

00:35:42.420 --> 00:35:45.119
who are estranged, coming back together to bury

00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:47.710
their father. And then the last detail I want

00:35:47.710 --> 00:35:50.429
to point out there is just to notice that Isaac

00:35:50.429 --> 00:35:55.269
is listed before Ishmael. This again is highlighting

00:35:55.269 --> 00:36:00.929
God's promises. Ishmael is the firstborn. By

00:36:00.929 --> 00:36:04.010
all cultural intents and purposes, he should

00:36:04.010 --> 00:36:06.650
always be listed first. But in the eyes of God,

00:36:07.010 --> 00:36:12.159
Isaac was the firstborn. Why? Because Isaac was

00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:15.360
the result of trust and faith. Ishmael was the

00:36:15.360 --> 00:36:18.000
works of the flesh. So from God's perspective,

00:36:18.420 --> 00:36:21.619
Isaac was the firstborn in Abraham's family.

00:36:21.739 --> 00:36:23.780
And so that doesn't mean Ishmael wasn't blessed

00:36:23.780 --> 00:36:25.500
at all. We're going to read here in a moment.

00:36:25.559 --> 00:36:29.340
He was blessed. You know, God's promise to Abraham,

00:36:29.519 --> 00:36:32.519
his father, is going to be seen as Ishmael gives

00:36:32.519 --> 00:36:35.099
birth to 12 sons and becomes many nations as

00:36:35.099 --> 00:36:38.179
well. But with Abraham's passing, it tells us

00:36:38.179 --> 00:36:42.809
there. that God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac

00:36:42.809 --> 00:36:44.949
was the one who inherited the promise, inherited

00:36:44.949 --> 00:36:47.289
the blessing, all of that. And really for the

00:36:47.289 --> 00:36:49.449
next 10 chapters of Genesis, you know what the

00:36:49.449 --> 00:36:53.949
theme is going to be? God blessed Isaac, right?

00:36:54.409 --> 00:36:58.610
So verse 12, we read now the genealogy of Ishmael.

00:36:58.610 --> 00:37:00.469
These are the family records of Abraham's son

00:37:00.469 --> 00:37:03.769
Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's slave,

00:37:03.949 --> 00:37:07.050
bore to Abraham. These are the names of Ishmael's

00:37:07.050 --> 00:37:09.070
sons. Their names, according to the family records,

00:37:09.230 --> 00:37:12.750
are Nebaioth, Ishmael's firstborn, then Kadar,

00:37:12.809 --> 00:37:18.670
Abdeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Duma, Masa, Hadad, Tima,

00:37:18.909 --> 00:37:23.590
Jeter, Napish, and Kadema. These are Ishmael's

00:37:23.590 --> 00:37:25.590
sons, and these are their names by their settlements

00:37:25.590 --> 00:37:42.809
and encampments, 12 leaders of their clans. And

00:37:42.809 --> 00:37:48.639
so... And so... The idea here, again, is that

00:37:48.639 --> 00:37:52.679
they expanded, that Abraham's people, his family,

00:37:52.820 --> 00:37:55.940
God's promise happened exactly as God has promised

00:37:55.940 --> 00:37:57.860
it. Now, it tells us the names of all these people

00:37:57.860 --> 00:38:01.980
and where they settled. And it says specifically

00:38:01.980 --> 00:38:05.199
that they settled from Havilah to Shur. Now,

00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:08.420
nobody is entirely sure where Havilah is, okay?

00:38:10.250 --> 00:38:12.610
there's a major consensus that Havilah is over

00:38:12.610 --> 00:38:15.090
there where Kuwait is, modern -day Kuwait. It's

00:38:15.090 --> 00:38:17.530
right kind of in the area of where the Garden

00:38:17.530 --> 00:38:19.550
of Eden might have been. And so when it says

00:38:19.550 --> 00:38:23.949
from Havilah to Shur, Shur is the desert of northern

00:38:23.949 --> 00:38:27.389
Sinai that is really between Egypt proper and

00:38:27.389 --> 00:38:29.710
the Promised Land. And so what it's telling us

00:38:29.710 --> 00:38:32.690
is that Ishmael's sons settled from the northwest

00:38:32.690 --> 00:38:35.269
to the northeast of what is modern -day Arabia.

00:38:36.380 --> 00:38:38.880
And so each lent their name to their tribe, as

00:38:38.880 --> 00:38:41.039
was common practice in the day, and they flourished

00:38:41.039 --> 00:38:44.659
over the centuries. And there's a lot of evidence

00:38:44.659 --> 00:38:48.199
and stuff to see that these clans or remnants

00:38:48.199 --> 00:38:50.219
of these clans were in those areas. And so we

00:38:50.219 --> 00:38:54.659
see, again, God's faithful promise. Abraham,

00:38:54.820 --> 00:38:56.300
you're going to be the father of many nations.

00:38:56.460 --> 00:38:59.699
Many nations. This whole peninsula. And, of course,

00:38:59.699 --> 00:39:02.019
these people ended up spreading over the entire

00:39:02.019 --> 00:39:04.619
Arabian Peninsula. And then, you know, it just

00:39:04.619 --> 00:39:11.239
became... Many, many, many, many people. How

00:39:11.239 --> 00:39:13.960
faithful to his words of promise God had been

00:39:13.960 --> 00:39:16.780
in Abraham's life. Was Abraham a perfect follower?

00:39:17.420 --> 00:39:23.619
No. Was he a sinless individual? No. Not at all.

00:39:25.139 --> 00:39:30.900
Was he a liar? He was a liar. But you know what

00:39:30.900 --> 00:39:35.849
else he was? Saved by faith. And that is the

00:39:35.849 --> 00:39:38.210
testimony of his life. God's covenant to him.

00:39:38.570 --> 00:39:40.630
Offspring as numerous as the grains of the sand

00:39:40.630 --> 00:39:42.369
of the whole world and all the stars of the sky.

00:39:42.809 --> 00:39:44.969
God's promise to him that he'd be a father of

00:39:44.969 --> 00:39:48.230
a multitude of nations. God's promise that he

00:39:48.230 --> 00:39:51.610
would pass in peace and be buried at a good old

00:39:51.610 --> 00:39:56.170
age. God promised that Isaac would become the

00:39:56.170 --> 00:39:58.630
sole heir of the covenant. That Ishmael would

00:39:58.630 --> 00:40:00.650
become greatly increased in number and father

00:40:00.650 --> 00:40:04.150
12 tribes. And it all happened exactly as God

00:40:04.150 --> 00:40:08.670
had said. Like for weeks and weeks and weeks

00:40:08.670 --> 00:40:10.429
we've been studying Abraham's life. And if you

00:40:10.429 --> 00:40:13.869
don't get the lesson yet, you haven't been paying

00:40:13.869 --> 00:40:20.219
attention. God is faithful. God is faithful to

00:40:20.219 --> 00:40:22.719
his promises and all of his promises. And so

00:40:22.719 --> 00:40:25.460
what do you want the legacy of your life to be,

00:40:25.539 --> 00:40:28.599
right? This is a question that has been asked

00:40:28.599 --> 00:40:32.179
before. You know, when you have passed and, you

00:40:32.179 --> 00:40:33.659
know, there's the memorial service or whatever,

00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:36.880
what is the main thing you want people to remember

00:40:36.880 --> 00:40:42.239
about you? Oh, they were a complainer. They were

00:40:42.239 --> 00:40:46.579
a liar. Or do you want them to remember that

00:40:46.579 --> 00:40:49.929
this was a person of faith? My gosh, they weren't

00:40:49.929 --> 00:40:53.369
perfect, but they believed God. They believed

00:40:53.369 --> 00:40:56.730
in God's word, even when it was silly and impossible.

00:40:58.449 --> 00:41:01.630
In fact, we could tell you testimonies of what

00:41:01.630 --> 00:41:03.869
God did and how God fulfilled the things that

00:41:03.869 --> 00:41:07.190
our loved one believed in, and that's what we're

00:41:07.190 --> 00:41:10.570
left with. Not the mistakes, but the faith, and

00:41:10.570 --> 00:41:13.690
that is the legacy of Abraham's life. So much

00:41:13.690 --> 00:41:15.909
so that there are many New Testament passages

00:41:15.909 --> 00:41:20.840
that are used or that use his life to teach us

00:41:20.840 --> 00:41:24.119
the very foundational truths of what we believe.

00:41:25.139 --> 00:41:28.019
Romans chapter 4 is one of them, where Paul demonstrates

00:41:28.019 --> 00:41:30.780
the truth that we are saved by faith, right?

00:41:31.219 --> 00:41:34.420
Verses 1 through 3, it's all about Abraham, saved

00:41:34.420 --> 00:41:37.139
by faith. Then he extends it, verse 6 through

00:41:37.139 --> 00:41:39.880
8, King David is saved by faith. Verses 9 through

00:41:39.880 --> 00:41:42.800
12, the Gentiles are saved by faith. Verses 13

00:41:42.800 --> 00:41:45.099
through 17, that even when the people were under

00:41:45.099 --> 00:41:49.369
the law, righteousness was still by faith. Then

00:41:49.369 --> 00:41:51.889
you go to James 2. James uses Abraham's story

00:41:51.889 --> 00:41:55.190
to teach that Abraham was justified by works.

00:41:55.309 --> 00:41:57.909
And you go, uh -oh, big contradiction. The Bible's

00:41:57.909 --> 00:42:01.809
not true now, right? Not at all. You take the

00:42:01.809 --> 00:42:03.570
teaching of James and you put it together with

00:42:03.570 --> 00:42:06.130
Romans and we have the very basic foundational

00:42:06.130 --> 00:42:09.110
essential truth and understanding of true faith.

00:42:10.170 --> 00:42:14.010
That Abraham was saved by faith and that true

00:42:14.010 --> 00:42:17.289
saving faith was evidenced by his works of faith.

00:42:19.239 --> 00:42:22.639
You could say you're saved all you want. James

00:42:22.639 --> 00:42:25.880
says, let me see it. Let me see it in your life.

00:42:26.559 --> 00:42:31.420
Do you walk in faith? Are the works of your life

00:42:31.420 --> 00:42:35.320
a result of how you believe, how much you believe

00:42:35.320 --> 00:42:37.840
God and his word and his promises? Galatians

00:42:37.840 --> 00:42:39.960
3, Paul then teaches that the ultimate offspring

00:42:39.960 --> 00:42:43.960
of Abraham is Jesus Christ. And he says, if we're

00:42:43.960 --> 00:42:46.340
saved by faith in Christ, then we are the ones

00:42:46.340 --> 00:42:48.320
who are true offspring of Abraham. What does

00:42:48.320 --> 00:42:50.969
that mean? If you have faith the way Abraham

00:42:50.969 --> 00:42:55.289
had, it doesn't matter if you're Jewish by genetics.

00:42:56.769 --> 00:42:59.090
It doesn't matter if you're anything by genetics.

00:42:59.150 --> 00:43:02.969
What matters is that your faith makes you a part

00:43:02.969 --> 00:43:05.469
of his family and an inheritor of the promises

00:43:05.469 --> 00:43:08.670
that God gave to him. And then, of course, Hebrews

00:43:08.670 --> 00:43:12.369
11, we looked at a couple times, uses Abraham's

00:43:12.369 --> 00:43:15.210
life to say this is what a life of faith looks

00:43:15.210 --> 00:43:20.130
like. Verse 8, faith's obedience. Verse 9, faith's

00:43:20.130 --> 00:43:23.510
journey in Hebrews 11. Verse 10, it's hope. Verse

00:43:23.510 --> 00:43:25.969
11 through 12, it's confidence. Verses 13 through

00:43:25.969 --> 00:43:28.550
16, it's desire. 17 through 18, it's sacrifice.

00:43:28.750 --> 00:43:34.050
And verse 19 of Hebrews 11, it's reasoning. Why?

00:43:35.710 --> 00:43:37.570
Abraham's whole life is a testament of faith.

00:43:38.210 --> 00:43:41.760
And it's a... It's an example that we are to

00:43:41.760 --> 00:43:44.099
learn from, to apply into our lives. You know,

00:43:44.139 --> 00:43:47.059
if we had recorded what his deathbed words are,

00:43:47.159 --> 00:43:49.840
right? The famous story of the Apostle John,

00:43:50.099 --> 00:43:51.980
right? The Apostle of Love. The story says on

00:43:51.980 --> 00:43:54.940
his deathbed or at the very end of his life,

00:43:55.300 --> 00:43:58.280
last recorded words pulled out for a sermon.

00:43:58.340 --> 00:44:01.320
Speak to the church, John. Love one another.

00:44:02.159 --> 00:44:03.860
I don't know if he sounded like that, but he

00:44:03.860 --> 00:44:08.260
was old, okay? You know, those were his words.

00:44:08.300 --> 00:44:10.159
That's what it was all about. Abraham, I believe,

00:44:10.239 --> 00:44:13.019
would have been like, have faith. Just trust

00:44:13.019 --> 00:44:16.239
God. But, but, but, no, no, no. Just trust God.

00:44:17.280 --> 00:44:21.019
He's God. Abraham's life and death shows us that

00:44:21.019 --> 00:44:27.079
God fulfills all his promises in full, always,

00:44:27.280 --> 00:44:30.519
including the promise to forgive us of our sins

00:44:30.519 --> 00:44:33.639
through faith in Jesus Christ and his death on

00:44:33.639 --> 00:44:37.360
the cross. That's what God promised. And he is

00:44:37.360 --> 00:44:38.940
faithful to fulfill that promise. And that's

00:44:38.940 --> 00:44:41.039
what we remember when we partake of communion

00:44:41.039 --> 00:44:45.599
together as the church of Jesus Christ. It's

00:44:45.599 --> 00:44:48.179
because we're saved by faith that we're able

00:44:48.179 --> 00:44:51.599
to live by Christ or live for Christ by faith.

00:44:52.759 --> 00:44:56.000
It's a life where we live trusting that his atonement,

00:44:56.000 --> 00:44:58.619
his death on the cross was the acceptable payment

00:44:58.619 --> 00:45:02.000
for our sin. Christianity isn't about being perfect

00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:04.280
because none of us are. And it's not about being

00:45:04.280 --> 00:45:06.599
without sin completely because none of us ever

00:45:06.599 --> 00:45:10.400
will be until we're in heaven with him. And so

00:45:10.400 --> 00:45:12.340
it's about a life here where we wrestle against

00:45:12.340 --> 00:45:14.760
our sin nature and our born again nature. And

00:45:14.760 --> 00:45:16.460
we say, God, I want to obey you, but sometimes

00:45:16.460 --> 00:45:23.920
I give in and I fail. If you have faith in me,

00:45:24.000 --> 00:45:26.159
the blood of Jesus Christ is applied to your

00:45:26.159 --> 00:45:29.320
life. That just like this man Abraham, that because

00:45:29.320 --> 00:45:31.760
you believe me, it is accounted to you as righteousness.

00:45:34.239 --> 00:45:36.099
And then we say, God, I'm so ashamed though.

00:45:36.179 --> 00:45:37.860
I don't deserve that. And he's like, I know.

00:45:39.579 --> 00:45:44.400
But that's how much I love you. That's how much

00:45:44.400 --> 00:45:49.340
you mean to me. And I promised. And I will not

00:45:49.340 --> 00:45:53.440
go back on that promise. Because when God makes

00:45:53.440 --> 00:45:57.059
a promise, it is sure. It's about simply trusting

00:45:57.059 --> 00:46:00.480
that he is who he says he is. That he did what

00:46:00.480 --> 00:46:03.599
he said he would do. And that he's going to do

00:46:03.599 --> 00:46:08.579
what he said he is going to do. His promise that

00:46:08.579 --> 00:46:11.920
if we have faith in him and we trust in him,

00:46:12.079 --> 00:46:16.099
we'll have what he said we will have. Total forgiveness

00:46:16.099 --> 00:46:19.460
from all of our sins. For all of our sins. Everything

00:46:19.460 --> 00:46:23.280
we've ever done. Grace to be adopted into his

00:46:23.280 --> 00:46:25.139
family as one of his children. Not just forgiven

00:46:25.139 --> 00:46:28.639
and left alone, but brought in. To be inheritors

00:46:28.639 --> 00:46:31.559
of everything that he wants to give us. Gifted

00:46:31.559 --> 00:46:34.099
by his Holy Spirit to serve him and to serve

00:46:34.099 --> 00:46:36.699
the rest of his family here in this world. To

00:46:36.699 --> 00:46:39.400
live without condemnation, but to be full of

00:46:39.400 --> 00:46:44.219
peace and joy in all things. Mercy to know that

00:46:44.219 --> 00:46:48.199
even when we blow it and mess up, he still loves

00:46:48.199 --> 00:46:53.469
you. He still accepts you. He still wants to

00:46:53.469 --> 00:46:57.969
have a continued relationship with you. His promises

00:46:57.969 --> 00:46:59.730
mean that we know that when we're honest with

00:46:59.730 --> 00:47:01.630
him about our mess ups, that he is faithful and

00:47:01.630 --> 00:47:05.710
just to forgive us. Every single time, forever.

00:47:06.449 --> 00:47:12.690
Why? Because he sent his son to die for our sin

00:47:12.690 --> 00:47:17.030
in our place. And Jesus did that willingly because

00:47:17.030 --> 00:47:20.750
he loved you so much. You know, this is the reality

00:47:20.750 --> 00:47:24.769
that he has promised us. The reality that he

00:47:24.769 --> 00:47:26.710
promised Adam and Eve when they fell in the garden.

00:47:27.210 --> 00:47:30.489
That one day he would come and defeat sin and

00:47:30.489 --> 00:47:32.369
the power of sin and the power of death, the

00:47:32.369 --> 00:47:34.570
penalty of sinning against him. He would defeat

00:47:34.570 --> 00:47:36.849
all of it completely and totally, eternally.

00:47:37.789 --> 00:47:40.809
To say this eternal separation that you now have,

00:47:40.869 --> 00:47:43.670
you've inherited through your sin nature, I'm

00:47:43.670 --> 00:47:48.599
going to wipe that away. You see, Abraham believed

00:47:48.599 --> 00:47:50.840
God simply because he was God and that was enough.

00:47:52.500 --> 00:47:56.539
And it's enough for you and me as well. God is

00:47:56.539 --> 00:48:00.480
God. We don't have to understand why. We don't

00:48:00.480 --> 00:48:03.960
need to understand how. We just need to understand

00:48:03.960 --> 00:48:10.400
who. That he is God Almighty. If you're in this

00:48:10.400 --> 00:48:12.019
room today and you've never put your faith in

00:48:12.019 --> 00:48:13.519
Jesus Christ, I want to give you an opportunity

00:48:13.519 --> 00:48:17.190
to do so right now. You see, there is a reason

00:48:17.190 --> 00:48:19.090
and a purpose behind everything God has done.

00:48:19.170 --> 00:48:23.730
And it's one purpose. That you would be saved.

00:48:24.349 --> 00:48:26.690
That you would be in his family. That you would

00:48:26.690 --> 00:48:28.929
have the hope of heaven. Forgiveness applied

00:48:28.929 --> 00:48:30.489
to everything you've ever done and everything

00:48:30.489 --> 00:48:34.869
you ever will do. God loves you that much. And

00:48:34.869 --> 00:48:36.750
the reality is, is without that forgiveness,

00:48:36.989 --> 00:48:39.650
you're going to stand before God one day, but

00:48:39.650 --> 00:48:42.190
you're going to stand there in judgment. Because

00:48:42.190 --> 00:48:48.239
God is holy. God is just. And in his word, he

00:48:48.239 --> 00:48:51.980
gives us the things, if you will, that have caused

00:48:51.980 --> 00:48:54.420
us to be guilty. He gave us the Ten Commandments.

00:48:55.320 --> 00:48:57.480
And we read that and we go, I've done all of

00:48:57.480 --> 00:49:00.199
those. And he goes, yeah, you're guilty. And

00:49:00.199 --> 00:49:02.480
we think, well, if I do enough good things. Abraham's

00:49:02.480 --> 00:49:04.559
life is not a testament of him doing good things

00:49:04.559 --> 00:49:09.329
to earn the favor of God. Abraham's life is a

00:49:09.329 --> 00:49:11.949
testament and an example to you and I today of

00:49:11.949 --> 00:49:14.489
a person who said, okay, God, I believe in you

00:49:14.489 --> 00:49:17.769
and I want to follow you, but I'm so glad that

00:49:17.769 --> 00:49:20.869
this is not based on me being perfect because

00:49:20.869 --> 00:49:26.190
it's about grace and mercy. And so in a moment,

00:49:26.210 --> 00:49:27.510
we're going to pray and then we'll move into

00:49:27.510 --> 00:49:30.570
our communion time. But if God has been speaking

00:49:30.570 --> 00:49:33.090
to your heart today and you've never given your

00:49:33.090 --> 00:49:34.769
life to him, you've never accepted him as your

00:49:34.769 --> 00:49:36.369
Lord and Savior, you've never come to God and

00:49:36.369 --> 00:49:42.000
said, You're right. I'm wrong. I believe in you.

00:49:43.019 --> 00:49:47.219
Please forgive me. If you've never done that,

00:49:47.260 --> 00:49:48.460
you're going to have an opportunity to do that

00:49:48.460 --> 00:49:51.480
right now. Let's pray. Father God, we trust in

00:49:51.480 --> 00:49:56.340
you for all things. We trust in your work. And

00:49:56.340 --> 00:49:58.699
we believe, God, that you are faithful to every

00:49:58.699 --> 00:50:00.639
promise you have ever made, that you will fulfill

00:50:00.639 --> 00:50:06.150
every promise in full every time. And God, from

00:50:06.150 --> 00:50:08.250
the very beginning of man, a promise was made

00:50:08.250 --> 00:50:10.449
that you would deal with our sin nature. You

00:50:10.449 --> 00:50:12.869
would deal with the power of sin in our lives.

00:50:12.949 --> 00:50:14.750
You would deal with the penalty of sin in our

00:50:14.750 --> 00:50:19.690
lives. And you did that. You came to this earth.

00:50:20.730 --> 00:50:26.190
You clothed yourself with frail humanity. You

00:50:26.190 --> 00:50:31.369
died in our place. And that, Lord, it's simply

00:50:31.369 --> 00:50:36.500
through faith in you. That God, you then wipe

00:50:36.500 --> 00:50:41.360
clean our record. That you wipe away all the

00:50:41.360 --> 00:50:43.559
penalty, Lord, for the sin we've committed and

00:50:43.559 --> 00:50:45.980
the sin we will ever commit, God. Because through

00:50:45.980 --> 00:50:48.940
the blood of Jesus Christ, the penalty has been

00:50:48.940 --> 00:50:53.980
paid. And Lord, it doesn't mean we're going to

00:50:53.980 --> 00:50:57.079
be perfect people. Because you know, Lord, none

00:50:57.079 --> 00:51:01.280
of us are. But it's about being saved people.

00:51:02.510 --> 00:51:04.889
who have called out to the one who loves them

00:51:04.889 --> 00:51:07.369
more than anything to receive something they

00:51:07.369 --> 00:51:11.690
definitely don't deserve, God. And so, God, while

00:51:11.690 --> 00:51:14.050
we're praying, if there's anybody in this room,

00:51:14.110 --> 00:51:17.989
if God has been speaking to you today and you

00:51:17.989 --> 00:51:19.750
want to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and

00:51:19.750 --> 00:51:22.030
Savior, you want to receive forgiveness today

00:51:22.030 --> 00:51:25.159
for all the sin you've ever committed, Maybe

00:51:25.159 --> 00:51:28.719
you've wrestled with the idea of that seems too

00:51:28.719 --> 00:51:32.679
simple. I have to pay a price. I have to suffer

00:51:32.679 --> 00:51:35.960
some type of penalty for my sin. I'm telling

00:51:35.960 --> 00:51:38.679
you today that penalty was meted out on Jesus

00:51:38.679 --> 00:51:42.820
Christ. He took the penalty. It's not that you're

00:51:42.820 --> 00:51:45.800
going to get away with it scot -free. It's that

00:51:45.800 --> 00:51:50.900
someone else died for you. And if you want that

00:51:50.900 --> 00:51:55.139
payment to be applied to your ledger today, God

00:51:55.139 --> 00:51:58.500
has promised that if you put your faith in him,

00:51:58.599 --> 00:52:03.139
you will be forgiven. And so while we're praying,

00:52:03.300 --> 00:52:06.400
all heads down, eyes closed, if you want to receive

00:52:06.400 --> 00:52:08.099
him today, I just want you to raise your hand

00:52:08.099 --> 00:52:10.519
where you're seated and let me pray with you.

00:52:12.860 --> 00:52:15.380
God's not shocked by what you've done. God is

00:52:15.380 --> 00:52:16.980
not unaware of what you've done. He's aware of

00:52:16.980 --> 00:52:18.659
every detail and he still loves you anyways.

00:52:21.059 --> 00:52:24.340
And he says, just call out to me. Let me save

00:52:24.340 --> 00:52:28.059
you. Let me change your heart. Let me change

00:52:28.059 --> 00:52:29.840
your life. If you want to receive that this morning,

00:52:29.880 --> 00:52:31.400
just raise your hand and let me pray with you.

00:52:32.460 --> 00:52:35.639
God bless you on the side. Anybody else? God

00:52:35.639 --> 00:52:37.539
is speaking to you today. I see you, sir, as

00:52:37.539 --> 00:52:42.099
well. Anybody else? You want to receive Jesus

00:52:42.099 --> 00:52:44.380
Christ as your Lord and Savior. I see you as

00:52:44.380 --> 00:52:48.539
well. If you're watching online, obviously I

00:52:48.539 --> 00:52:51.320
can't see you, but if you want to put your faith

00:52:51.320 --> 00:52:55.170
in Jesus this morning, just Follow with me in

00:52:55.170 --> 00:52:59.590
this prayer. But just in this last moment, if

00:52:59.590 --> 00:53:01.210
there's anybody else in this room, you want to

00:53:01.210 --> 00:53:03.670
receive Jesus this morning, just raise your hand.

00:53:04.869 --> 00:53:10.889
All right. Pray with me. Father God, I believe

00:53:10.889 --> 00:53:19.929
in you. I trust you. I put my faith in you. I

00:53:19.929 --> 00:53:25.519
know I don't deserve salvation. I know I don't

00:53:25.519 --> 00:53:30.980
deserve to be forgiven. But Lord, I believe your

00:53:30.980 --> 00:53:36.559
promises. I believe you when you say it's not

00:53:36.559 --> 00:53:42.280
about deserving. It's about trusting. And so

00:53:42.280 --> 00:53:46.639
Jesus, I trust in you today. I trust in your

00:53:46.639 --> 00:53:51.659
sacrifice for me. I trust that your sacrifice

00:53:52.539 --> 00:53:58.420
is enough to pay for all of my sin. And I say

00:53:58.420 --> 00:54:02.980
thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for granting

00:54:02.980 --> 00:54:05.639
me grace and mercy. I receive all of it, Lord.

00:54:07.079 --> 00:54:13.460
Come into my life. I invite you in to be my Lord

00:54:13.460 --> 00:54:16.739
and Master, to be my Savior, to teach me how

00:54:16.739 --> 00:54:23.849
to live, to give me a new heart. Thank you for

00:54:23.849 --> 00:54:27.289
loving me so much. It's in Jesus' name I pray.

00:54:28.409 --> 00:54:32.070
Amen. Well, God bless you for those of you that

00:54:32.070 --> 00:54:34.849
gave your life to the Lord today. You're saved.

00:54:38.389 --> 00:54:40.849
Now, the evidence of your decision, sure, is

00:54:40.849 --> 00:54:42.730
going to be seen in the life you live from now

00:54:42.730 --> 00:54:44.469
forward. But it's not about you trying to be

00:54:44.469 --> 00:54:46.949
perfect. It's just you saying, God, I want to

00:54:46.949 --> 00:54:50.559
live a life that glorifies your name. But we're

00:54:50.559 --> 00:54:52.019
going to move into a time of communion right

00:54:52.019 --> 00:54:55.639
now as we celebrate that work that Jesus did

00:54:55.639 --> 00:54:57.300
for us. If the men of the communion board would

00:54:57.300 --> 00:55:01.440
come forward, please. You know, together while

00:55:01.440 --> 00:55:04.320
we worship during this time, we're called to

00:55:04.320 --> 00:55:08.519
remember by partaking together of these communion

00:55:08.519 --> 00:55:13.340
emblems. When Jesus was with his disciples, he

00:55:13.340 --> 00:55:15.780
said this bread, as he broke it and handed it

00:55:15.780 --> 00:55:17.900
to them, he said, this is my body given for you.

00:55:19.170 --> 00:55:23.070
Because he, his body, took the judgment of the

00:55:23.070 --> 00:55:26.750
most and only holy and just God upon himself

00:55:26.750 --> 00:55:30.449
so that we could be spared. Some of you just

00:55:30.449 --> 00:55:34.610
received the benefit of that right now. And then

00:55:34.610 --> 00:55:36.469
he said, drink of this cup because it represents

00:55:36.469 --> 00:55:39.570
my blood being shed to establish a new covenant.

00:55:40.750 --> 00:55:43.710
A covenant means an unbreakable promise. What

00:55:43.710 --> 00:55:45.969
was that covenant? The covenant between God and

00:55:45.969 --> 00:55:48.940
any who would call upon the name of Jesus. To

00:55:48.940 --> 00:55:52.760
say, God, forgive me. And that God would apply

00:55:52.760 --> 00:55:56.000
that blood to wash away your sins and secure

00:55:56.000 --> 00:56:00.699
your freedom forever. We should have suffered

00:56:00.699 --> 00:56:02.340
the full judgment because we're the ones who

00:56:02.340 --> 00:56:08.440
sinned. But God spared us. The Bible says the

00:56:08.440 --> 00:56:10.719
wages of sin is death and God spared us because

00:56:10.719 --> 00:56:14.030
he loves us. But the covenant, the promises is

00:56:14.030 --> 00:56:16.210
this. Believe that Jesus is the only perfect

00:56:16.210 --> 00:56:18.550
spotless and pure sacrifice that will satisfy

00:56:18.550 --> 00:56:20.909
the holy justice of God almighty. And those that

00:56:20.909 --> 00:56:22.610
call yourself Christians in this room today,

00:56:22.690 --> 00:56:24.389
that's what we believe in. That's what you remember

00:56:24.389 --> 00:56:27.750
in this moment of communion. That through faith

00:56:27.750 --> 00:56:32.349
in him and what he did, that faith is accounted

00:56:32.349 --> 00:56:35.389
to us as righteousness. God sees us as spotless

00:56:35.389 --> 00:56:37.710
and pure and clean. And God will forever see

00:56:37.710 --> 00:56:39.949
us that way through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

00:56:41.260 --> 00:56:45.300
We live that way, and when we continue to live

00:56:45.300 --> 00:56:49.019
that way, our lives will truly be lives that

00:56:49.019 --> 00:56:51.860
have a testament of faith, just like this man

00:56:51.860 --> 00:56:56.119
Abraham. A testament of knowing his amazing promises,

00:56:56.239 --> 00:57:03.260
his amazing grace, his amazing love. Let's worship.