Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #10132 - Seasons of Loss - Genesis 23

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#10132 - Seasons of Loss - Genesis 23 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's word with pastor and author.
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Ed, Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora,
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Colorado to learn more about the many resources available,
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through abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream
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Services. Visit us online at Calvary, Co
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dot church or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Now, here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Amen. Amen, take your Bibles, open
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them. Genesis chapter, 23 is where we
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are, Genesis, chapter 23, and I'm entitled, our Bible study
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seasons of loss seasons of loss. And that's where Abraham really
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is in chapter 23. He's in a season of life, we're
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losing those who meet loves is pressing upon him.
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So far Abram Abraham has lost a lot in his relationship with the
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Lord. He's had to leave behind so much
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in his life for that upward call of God.
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He lost his homeland as God called him out.
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He lost his family. Most of his family that he left
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behind. Then a very personal way.
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He lost lot. And lots family, he lost,
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Ishmael his son. He In his heart, we learned last
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time he lost his son Isaac. And now in this chapter, he
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loses his beloved wife to death. And I think there's a spiritual
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principle here before we even get into the text to be learned
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from us, for sure. Tonight, and I'm reminded hold
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your place in Genesis, I asked the open there but turn over to
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Matthew 16. Whenever we talk about loss,
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let's put it in a broader context of the teachings of
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Jesus. Not just in the Lost through.
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Death or in the loss of leaving a Homeland or leaving something
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familiar but let's go deeper before we get into the text
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today. In Matthew chapter 16 I'm
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reminded of a teaching that Jesus gave to us on the topic of
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loss. And when you get there, go with
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me. To verse 24, Matthew chapter,
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16, and verse 24, it says, then Jesus said to his disciples.
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If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself.
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Take Take up his cross and follow me for whoever desires
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notice to save his life will lose it.
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But whoever loses his life, for my sake, will find it for what
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profit is a is it to a man? If he gains the whole world and
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loses his own soul, or what will a man give in exchange for his
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soul? And that's the key in following
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Jesus is loss. And coming to terms with the
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significant loss that you and I need to experience and truly
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following Jesus. In the new King James it
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describes, as denying yourself. That's an important concept to
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understand an important teaching, the word deny here, in
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the Greek literally means to disown.
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If you're taking notes, it's good to jot this down because we
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don't often expand it. But the Greek word literally
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means to disown or disregard or Forsake or to renounce or reject
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or refuse or restrain or to do without, I mean, if you think
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about and plug that into the teachings of Jesus, so that we
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might understand if anyone desires to come after me let him
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deny sewn himself, let him disregard himself.
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Let her forsake yourself or renounce herself or reject
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herself, or refuse or restrain, or do without.
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It speaks of a life of subduing, and it's not a denial of
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something, Jesus says, deny it all.
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And don't read the text within the cultural norms of these
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definitions. As if now somehow, this is to
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think. So, lowly of yourself, or to put
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yourself down, or to live as the world might say, with some low
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self-esteem, the highest esteem that we have is in Christ to
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Value what he's done in our lives.
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And so this isn't an instruction to beat yourself up and become a
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doormat. Even as will learn in Sarah's
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life but rather to understand the right priorities that when
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you and I are on the throne of Our Lives, calling all the shots
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were in the wrong place and the wrong position.
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We're not going to experience the Life of Christ when we're
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living for ourselves. First Jesus says, deny it all
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Dethrone yourself and remember that Jesus?
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Now is on the throne, the person who abandons, their this life,
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who sacrifices in this life, who gives all that she has and all
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that. She is for Christ is the one
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that saves their life. The one that lives their life,
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the one that enjoys their life but Jesus says the one that
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keeps their life the one that's fighting for their life.
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The one that is trying to keep everything that they have and
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get more and seek more and more from this temporary life is
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going to lose it all. And not have any type of Joy
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along the way, when you and I were born again, we were born
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into a life of loss. Sometimes, that's painful loss,
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like, through grief and sorrow and sadness, and the loss of
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loved ones and death, but there's a deeper loss and that's
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the loss of life. In the spiritual realm.
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You were born again into a loss. So contrary to the world, a loss
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of your own life to be replaced with the Life of Christ and we
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quoted often, but let me read it to you in Matthew 6:33.
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Jesus would say, but seek first, the kingdom of God, and his
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righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
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Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow.
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Will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its
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own Ooh and although Abraham is living in the old Covenant,
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looking forward to the coming of Messiah, his life of Faith,
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Abraham's life, of faith is truly a picture of what Jesus
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would teach many years later. Abraham is living the teachings
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of Christ before he teaches them because he is a friend of God,
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Jesus, the second person of the Trinity God in human flesh
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before he ever teaches in his human body Abraham's live.
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These things out in the old Covenant because he's a friend
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of God. It's true.
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And as we live in Christ and as we live for him and we abide in
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him, we will experience loss after loss after loss.
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And I have to say in the very beginning, some of the minor
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losses they seem so big God's calling you to another new level
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of Faith. But you know what, you think
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you're leaving behind though, no, I can't ever give that up.
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I could never live without that and then the Lord gives you a
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comprehensive. Our nation, he gives you the
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faith that you need to make the decision.
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And then you step out in faith into a newness.
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As we are reading in the psalm this last weekend from glory to
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glory from strength to strength, but it takes a long time to
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believe it, because the first step is so scary.
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Is like, I know, I don't want to lose that.
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I don't want to turn my back on that.
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What am I going to do without that?
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And then you take the step of Faith, you go home, and I didn't
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need that at all. I got us something so much
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greater for me. There's so much ahead for me.
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He's going to take me from glory to glory forward and not.
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Backwards. But loss is painful.
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And we do go through the process of having to deal with pain and
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the pain of loss. Notice with me now in chapter
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with that in mind, in chapter 23, Sarah, Verse 1, lived, 127
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years. And these were the years of the
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life of Sarah and so, Sarah died and Kier Jeff arba that is in
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Hebron, in the land of Canaan and Abraham came to mourn for
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Sarah and to weep for her, Sarah dies, at 127 years old.
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And Abraham is 137 at this time and Sarah dies.
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And I want you to note that she dies in Hebron the word, had
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Braun means fellowship or communion.
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And what a beautiful picture of a place to take your last
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breath, and a place of communion and fellowship with the Lord,
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she dies in the place of promise and she dies.
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Guys, in a place of Fellowship, what a sweet place to be.
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And what an example, Sarah is of a Godly woman.
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Just a wonderful example to look at and to watch and to see as we
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will today, and with the loss of his wife, it says here that
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Abraham came to mourn and to weep.
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And this is the first mention of weeping in the scriptures time
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of sorrow and loss they've been together.
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Now, almost 80 years. Can you imagine 80 years of
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being together? And he has lost his life
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partner, his wife He spent his life with her, they've gone
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through a lot together and those of you that have been married
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for a while, I want I'm prepping you.
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This is a prep for an amen. Even on the radio, you can say
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it loud on the radio but those of you who have been together
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for a while you've been through a lot.
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Yes. Yes.
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It's true. Every marriage has how about 80
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years worth? And we know a little bit of Sun
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as we were praying today about dark areas.
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Certainly there are parts of your life that we don't know
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about but imagine if it was a page in the scriptures and we've
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had some pages in the life of Abraham and Sarah that peel back
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the curtains of their private life and their personal life and
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their home life and what marriage really looks like at
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times it's not easy and it's not always happy and husbands don't
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always make the wise choices. Oh by the way, wives don't
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always make the wives choices either and we've gained Insight
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on what a real family looks like through this man of faith.
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Do this friend of God and they've been together a long
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time and gone through a lot together.
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They put up with each other's failings.
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They've enjoyed each other's company Sarah hung in there with
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her husband. That's an important principle
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she hung in there in times. I, I think, as we are reading,
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we might have even just read the text and go.
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I don't think I could do that. Like maybe you couldn't that
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would require Grace every required, Grace for Sarah to
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hang in with Abraham. And maybe you couldn't maybe in
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those times when God brings you to the end of yourself within
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your marriage within your home within your life, and you just
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get to the place to go, maybe I couldn't do that and you reading
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through the scriptures or you just kind of assessing your life
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and you're like, okay maybe you couldn't, but through the power
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of God all things are possible. So yeah, maybe you can't do it
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with impossible with man is possible with God, and you could
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come to, that conclusion. I mean, it was hard, it was
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challenging, but they made it through all the way to the The
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end. And we can understand, I think,
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to some degree, as we followed the life of Abraham, we've
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previously Abram and Sarai and then when their names are
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changed to Abraham and Sarah, I think we can understand in a
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practical way, how God stuck it out with Abraham?
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How he carried him along because of the character and nature of
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God? And I can understand that.
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But let me ask you a question. How is it that Sarah stuck it
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out with him? What was required in her life?
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Of course the Bible is all about the character and the nature of
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God, but we also see it lived out in the lives of men and
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women. And what about Sarah?
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Why did she stick it out with him?
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Why did she continue on? I mean, of course, we have to
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remember, we've got to take the Bible and make sure that we read
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it first and foremost in the time and culture in which it was
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written. So, culturally I can see that it
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was necessary or even needful for her to stick around, it
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would have been a very challenging hard life if not
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impossible to separate from Abraham.
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So, culturally, yes. But what about humanely?
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Why don't we read the humanity and to this as if we're in the
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story. And how did she stick it out for
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a? Here's a couple of notes to
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consider. Number one, she was a woman of
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God. I know Abraham was a man of
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faith, and it is clearly. But you know what, Sarah, she
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was a woman of Faith. She was a woman of God.
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She had her own personal walk. She had her own relationship
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with God. She was married to Abraham.
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But she was Sarah and Sarah first.
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So she had her own relationship with God.
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The Bible says, is much and Hebrews 11:11 by faith.
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Sarah, she had such a strong relationship with God.
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She made it into the Hall of Faith, gang, the Hall of faith
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and by faith. Sarah herself.
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Also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a
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child when she was past the age because she judged him faithful.
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Who had promised? That's the kind of relationship.
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She judged. God faithful.
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Who made promise even though she laughed and she experienced
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doubt the humanity that you and I have chuckled at the promise
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of God and even in the chuckle she believed and she trusted
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God, secondly, that's answer ask we ask the question.
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Why did she stick it out with Abraham?
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Number one, she had her own personal walk with the Lord.
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She's a woman of God. Number two, she loved her
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husband. You ask any marriage of why did
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they last so long with even if you know some of the details
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about the hurt and pain that's shared in that marriage?
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And I'll tell you what the answer is going to be because I
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loved him. I loved her.
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And you know in the agape love of God, there's forgiveness.
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And anyone will tell you in any long-term relationship, the only
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way you make it too, long term relationships, marriage
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friendships or whatever, is a lot of forgiveness and a lot of
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humility. Not going to make it any other
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way. She loved her husband and lived
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with him. You could even put this maybe as
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a third one, but you could put it together.
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Not only did she love Abraham but number three, she lived with
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him in the power of God. And who knows the episodes were
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the power of God was demonstrated in her life but you
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know, she made it and stuck it out for 80 years with this guy
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because of the presence and power of God.
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And what a beautiful woman. The Bible says and some of you
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may be familiar with this passage it's too bad it gets a
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bad rap Sarah gets a bad rap. But in First Peter chapter 3 it
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says in verse 6 Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord whose
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daughters you are. If you do good in her Not Afraid
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with any Terror and it's just too bad.
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That this passage of scripture is red with 20 cent 20th century
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and 21st century eyes. And it's red within a context of
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where Sarah's kind of seen as a pushover or she's made font for,
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as a doormat or I would never call my husband.
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Lord. What is Sarah's problem?
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Or a husband? Will take this and wins a lot
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called when you walk in the door you call me.
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Lord. I mean it's just, you know, when
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we kind of have fun with the Bible that way we miss, what God
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is trying to teach us, the, the kind of fun that God wants from.
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This passage is for you. And I those of us That are
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married those that will be married, the kind of fun that
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does that God desires from us is for us to walk in the spirit and
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enjoy the fruit of the spirit in marriage and how is it possible?
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That Sarah could even say that she obeyed Abraham were another
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way she submitted to Abraham. She saw the role when it says
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calling him Lord. It was not a position where he
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was more valuable or more important than her.
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But she understood the role in which God placed her in
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marriage. And she respected her husband.
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And out of that respect, they made it 80 years.
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She was a faithful and here to summarize it.
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She's a faithful loyal, loving wife to her husband. it's kind
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of even dumb to say this, but it needs to be said, It's a good
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thing to be a wife. And it's a good thing as a wife
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to follow in the footsteps of Sarah.
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You ladies that are married, it is a good and honorable and
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glorious and fulfilling role that God has given you to be a
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wife. Even in the tough times.
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Because Sarah. She married a man that was
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filled with failure, who just in case you weren't with us, in
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previous studies, she he literally gave his wife away.
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Twice. Told her to lie.
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And I'm sure there was a lot going on behind the scenes, but
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what God reserved for us, was to show, the failure of Abraham to
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try to save his own skin. This is a guy that had quite a
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few major swings in his life. He didn't have the kind of
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steady never make a mistake. And by the way, ladies for the
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sake of studying Sarah today, you're married to an imperfect
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man. Some of the men are going, amen.
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Pastor preach it and knowing how imperfect I am.
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Now this like this no excuse to live in sin.
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It's no excuse to hide behind where, you know what Buster
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said, Abraham made mistakes and know that it takes a lot of hard
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work in marriage requires humility, Abraham was known, not
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for his failures. That's not how his story ends,
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he doesn't end up losing his wife forever.
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He doesn't end up living under the shadow of his failures.
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We're reminded Abraham, he overcame his failures through
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humility and Brokenness, and whatever they did behind the
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scenes, just like, in your life. I don't know how you saw
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problems in your house. I don't know how you work things
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out. I don't know.
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The kind of arguments to have, I don't know when you're raising
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your voice. I don't know.
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When you refuse to talk to one another, I don't know when you
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let the sun, go down on your wrath, but I do know this.
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In Christ, you work it out. And you have worked at all.
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And I think every marriage experiences the difficulties of
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The Selfish has marriage is very simple selfish man.
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Mary selfish woman creating selfish kids.
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That's marriage. And with all that selfishness
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ruling in the home, it's very difficult to walk in the spirit.
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I mean, it starts in the home friends and it continues in the
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home and it ends in the home. It does, it's not your hour and
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a half here, you know, all all made up and I can always see the
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best of you. I'm glad that we see the best of
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you, but sometimes we see the worst and especially in the
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home. 80 years together. It's a great encouragement to
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us. It's possible by the grace of
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God. It's possible.
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You wives didn't marry a perfect man and you men didn't marry a
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perfect woman that's the way it is.
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And God gives Grace for Change. They shared an intense love for
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one another. But more importantly they shared
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a love for God together. Individually and together, it
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could be said that Sarah too. Was a friend of God and Sarah to
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was a friend of Abraham. That was their marriage.
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Marriage is a partnership of three.
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There's the husband and the wife and the Lord.
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In Ecclesiastes 4:12 though, one may be overpowered by another
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two can withstand him and a three-fold cord is not quickly
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broken. And in marriage.
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It's a necessary to have that three-fold cord.
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God is the designer of marriage. He's the one that created it so
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because he created marriage, he gives us the insights of what's
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necessary to enjoy marriage. In marriage is not as it's joked
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about in the world today like a ball and chain and now you're
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moving into misery and you're leaving the freedom of
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singleness and you're going to live a life of misery, it's not
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God's will for you to live a life of misery.
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And it's just the, these things that we picked up from the world
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that we kind of dismissed, but but they're deep.
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They're like, as we were saying earlier, you like just believing
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a lie. And not living by faith in the
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midst of the challenges and the difficulties.
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I'd like to in difficult marriages.
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I always like to draw out a triangle for them.
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Marriage is best is one of the beautiful illustrations is of a
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triangle. If you can get a picture of the
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triangle, at the top would be Jesus At The Pinnacle, that's
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the goal. And then on, either side of the
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bottom, you'd have husband and wife and so many problems by the
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if you ever end up in my office, or talking after the service
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here, or with one of the pastor's, you almost always end
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up in a pastor's office or under pastoral discipleship at The
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bottom line and just going at each other going out each other,
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and sometimes you just sit there and wait, it out like, when
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who's the first one that's going to forget you know, say
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everything. They got us.
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A and say, well Pastor, I need to come back for another time.
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I knew another time. Well, eventually you're going to
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run out of things to say and as soon as you're done soon, as
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Bob, you, are you done? Are you done?
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Yes, I'm done. Okay, well then let me talk for
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a moment. I'll be right.
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The out, draw out a little station.
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I'll show you. Look at the Folly of what's
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Happening Here. Whatever the issue is, I don't
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even have. Any help for the issue yet.
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I just want to show you what it looks like when someone watches
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you argue. Believer, follower of Christ.
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You just going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
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Neither one of you are getting closer to Christ, just going at
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each other on that bottom line, bottom line, boom, boom, boom,
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boom, boom, boom, boom. Yet when one person decides to
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follow the lord, which is often the case, isn't it?
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Because a lot of the marriage discipleship that takes place
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actually starts with one spouse showing up, not to just one And
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it's okay because God can work with one.
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And that's one of the distractions we start going out.
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Each one at one another and one of you or both of you stop
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seeking the Lord. But when one of you start
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seeking the Lord, you start leaving that argument.
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You start going up toward Christ and really what the goal is to
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get you both seeking the Lord. That's why you get homework.
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Hey, why don't you guys just read the Bible?
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I don't want to read with him. Okay, just read separately.
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Just read separately. Well, I don't want to read any
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more. What do you want me to do?
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We need to read to you, come to your house and read to you.
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Like you got to do something that you want to see progress.
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Amen. Hello.
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So like like you, if we wrote a book, we will never do it of all
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the things we've heard in our office, you would trip out.
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You're coming to me for help and then I give you help me go.
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I don't want to do that. Then don't come to me.
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But, you know, sometimes we just got to be patient work with you
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get you back on track and we will.
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So when you, when you, when I can get two of you doing
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something for the Lord, then as you can get this triangle again,
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right? As you guys are getting closer
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to the Lord, what happens, you're getting closer to one
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another, but you're not down at the bottom screaming and yelling
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at each other anymore holding everything against each other
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anymore. You've left that it doesn't mean
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it didn't exist and doesn't mean, it doesn't need to be
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dealt with it. Just means it needs to be left
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because you got to seek first, the kingdom of God, then, all
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these things will be added unto you.
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It's not fixed him or fix her. It's seek the Lord.
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That's how it starts. I mean, it's true for any
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relationship. It's true for any of our
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problems. You begin to seek the Lord.
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You're Going to forsake, your send, you can't do it.
24:29
You can't be in sin and seek the Lord at the same time, it's
24:32
impossible. You're either sold out to send
24:35
or you're seeking a what did Jesus say you?
24:37
So it proved it to me. Jesus said, no man can serve two
24:39
masters. He's going to love the one or
24:42
hate the other. It's you can't serve two
24:44
masters. So when you start seeking the
24:45
Lord God begins to work. You give God a chance to work in
24:49
your marriage which leads to the question and it's a good
24:52
question. What if I'm married to an
24:54
unbeliever it? What about that?
24:57
Where's the three-fold cord there?
24:59
Well, it's still a marriage of three.
25:02
If you are married to an unbeliever number one, you're
25:05
still married. That's two.
25:09
And you love the Lord. That's where Jesus comes in and
25:11
sanctifies your home. That's three.
25:14
It may not be the best but let me just tell you this.
25:18
Most marriages are not what you think of whatever the best is,
25:22
because whenever you're going through crisis, someone else's
25:24
marriage is always better than yours.
25:26
But you don't live with them. You don't know what they're
25:28
going through. You can't be comparing.
25:29
Bible says don't compare yourself with others because
25:31
that's not wise and the other way, you know, me describe, it's
25:34
not Wise, It's foolish, it's foolish.
25:38
So even in an unequally yoked and the way we would address,
25:40
this is if you're not married, yet, do not marry an unbeliever.
25:44
Don't even go in that direction, but if you're already too
25:48
married to an unbeliever, do everything as much as possible
25:52
in you to live at peace with him or her.
25:56
Of course, there are times with maybe abuse or things that you
25:59
might need to sort out with a general discussion, you know,
26:03
General description, like this, that it doesn't apply to every
26:06
situation, you want to be in a safe place and you can sit down
26:10
and sort some things out with someone, but most marriages
26:14
aren't that bad. It's bad in hard because you're
26:19
married to an unbeliever. And immediately you just like I
26:23
got to get out of this. And yet there's still a
26:27
three-fold cord. Even if your spouse is not
26:30
cooperating or saved today, And I'll tell you in an unequal
26:35
yoke, marriage is bad, as it is right now, it would be worse
26:39
without the Lord. That's why you have to think.
26:42
God has not abandoned me. Maybe it's a wife today and
26:47
you're thinking, but yeah you don't know what my husband said
26:49
about me or did and Sarah would remind you you want to talk
26:53
about husbands. And the same with.
26:59
Wives, you know, sometimes many times actually will receive
27:03
phone calls here and time after service for prayer or even on
27:07
the live radio though ask the question or something around
27:10
like this. They'll describe a situation and
27:12
they'll say is this grounds for divorce.
27:13
Pastor tell me if I can divorce. And the situation, almost always
27:19
is explained and painted in a way where the answer is
27:23
expected. You're expecting to hear they
27:25
painted in such a way where they're just expecting.
27:27
Oh, I guess so. You guess you have your reason
27:29
to divorce? And that's where the Bible would
27:33
say. The first one, to plead his case
27:35
sounds right, until his neighbor comes in reproves him.
27:40
And I'm sure it's about. I don't want to minimize that in
27:42
any way, but most of the time people will that call with that
27:46
question already have their mind made up and they're just wanting
27:49
a pastor to affirm it. They're wanting a pastor to
27:53
approve it. But I want you to remember this
27:58
even where there are grounds for divorce.
28:02
Biblical grounds exceptions. I want you to remember this, you
28:06
might even want to jot it down of divorce comes up in your
28:09
conversation. Where there are grounds for
28:13
divorce. You ready where there are
28:17
biblical grounds for divorce you guys with me so far.
28:20
So you've come to the conclusion and there's a Biblical reason
28:23
for divorce. Where there are grounds for
28:26
divorce, there are equal and even greater grounds for
28:31
forgiveness. And I don't know how God's going
28:35
to work it out. Don't misunderstand the
28:38
Simplicity of this Bible study with an answer to every
28:42
difficult marriage. That's listening to me right
28:44
now. However, I am asking you to
28:48
accept the Simplicity of this marriage.
28:50
Are this Bible study regarding your difficult marriage?
28:54
I want you to accept it as an invitation from God to take it
28:58
back to the Lord. Because even with Biblical
29:03
grounds for divorce, at least now in the last 23 years you
29:08
will not hear from me. Go ahead and divorce.
29:13
That is not my decision to make in your life.
29:17
It's my decision to make in my life.
29:20
And I choose my wife. Any day of the week and
29:24
hopefully nothing drastic happens.
29:26
We got to work it out but we'll work it out.
29:29
I choose my wife and I've already told her if she ever
29:32
chooses to leave me. I'm going after her.
29:35
So she can't get rid of me that easy, but we have a normal
29:40
marriage and we have normal difficulties and we have
29:43
challenges, and we've been through a lot together.
29:45
We haven't been together 80 years, but we've been together,
29:48
almost 40 years together, married.
29:51
And before we got married, We've been through some bad hard stuff
29:55
but that's the key, isn't it? We've been through them.
29:59
And we're going through them and we're living with them.
30:03
And we're learning how to trust in the Lord in the different
30:05
seasons of our marriage. Again, I want to speak to and
30:11
this is all after studying, two verses.
30:15
But it's so important. I didn't want to skip sarab.
30:17
We can go through the rest of the chapter quickly, but I
30:20
didn't want to skip this because Sarah, you know, so many times
30:23
pastors will just make dumb jokes about really beautiful
30:27
passages of scripture and you know what happens when we do
30:31
that and I'm sure if you look back in older studies, this is
30:33
something I've grown in, and I've learned in, and I'm
30:36
repenting of that, maybe this is even an area where I got a cheap
30:40
joke and I miss the opportunity. I missed the opportunity and I
30:44
pulled a whole group of people incorrectly to look at Sarah and
30:49
look at her life and see the wonderful woman that she was.
30:54
Some of you want to meet her in heaven.
30:55
I'm sure. And yeah, maybe you'll ask the
30:58
question. A Pastor.
30:59
Ed said, this is this? This what was the real reason
31:04
and you know, whatever her answer will be, it will
31:05
encourage you. It will point to her faith in
31:09
God, it will probably include, it was super hard.
31:13
But you'll be in the presence of the Lord.
31:14
You guys will all be rejoicing. We made it.
31:16
We made it. We made it and let our lives be
31:20
an encouragement to others. Even after we die that our lives
31:24
were Lived to trust in God. And I realize there's broken
31:30
marriages here. You're on the other side of the
31:31
divorce. It's very painful.
31:34
You're unequally yoked, it's very hard.
31:38
You're only equally yoked and you were married as unbelievers.
31:41
Like you didn't even ask for. It's just the condition of your
31:44
life. But this is the condition of
31:45
your life. God has allowed at Sovereign
31:47
Lee. He's going to use it in your
31:48
life. He's going to strengthen you and
31:50
make you a stronger woman, a stronger man.
31:54
And if you need help sorting out abusive situations in those
31:57
types of things. Look God never never requires
31:59
you to stay in an abusive situation but she should talk it
32:03
out ladies. You should talk it out with a
32:04
Godly woman man. You should talk it out with a
32:06
Godly Man and pray through it from a safe place now pick up in
32:13
verse 3, it says Abraham stood up from before is his then
32:18
Abraham stood up from before is dead and spoke to the sons of
32:21
Heth saying I'm a foreigner and a Sojourner.
32:24
Among you give me property for a burial place among you that I
32:28
may bury my dead out of my sight and the sons of Heth answered
32:31
Abraham saying am here Us. My Lord, you're mighty Prince
32:34
Among Us, bury your dead in the choices of our burial places.
32:38
None of us will withhold from you is burial place that you may
32:41
bury your dead and Abraham and stood up and bowed himself to
32:45
the people of the land, the sons of Heth.
32:48
And he spoke with them saying if it's your wish that I bury my
32:50
dead. Out of my sight hear me and meet
32:53
meet with Ephron, the son of Zohar for me, that he may give
32:57
me the cave of machpelah, which he has, which is at the end of
33:01
his field. Let him give it to me at full
33:03
price as property for a burial place among you.
33:07
And so, it was an important that Abraham act quickly is the body.
33:11
Would soon deteriorate and decompose the Jews would bury
33:15
their dead almost immediately within 24 hours.
33:18
Towers of possible wrapping the body in spices and encasing the
33:21
body in a cave and there's the switch Swift transition in
33:26
Abraham's life. It says that he's weeping and
33:28
mourning and then there's a quick transition we don't know
33:31
exactly how long this took place but there is a swift transfer
33:35
transition even within the text before us that I think is
33:39
important to draw out as well because it suggests to us that
33:44
Abraham would mourn. And grieve.
33:50
But also would continue to keep on living.
33:54
This wasn't the end of his life. It was the end of a season in
33:58
his life. A painful one nonetheless, but
34:01
he would keep on living and that's an important part of the
34:03
mourning process. I think we understand the stages
34:08
of grief that have been presented to us.
34:10
I think they're pretty accurate. Even though they were written to
34:13
us from assist a woman that was not a Believer, but she gave the
34:20
stages of grief is denial Anger, bargaining, depression, and
34:27
acceptance. And I've done studies on this
34:30
biblically on grieving and such another Bible studies, but, you
34:33
know, they don't necessarily have a beginning and an end,
34:36
sometimes they all happen together.
34:37
I mean, everybody Grieves differently.
34:39
And that's why those of you that are ready to take that next step
34:43
on the Journey of your grief would be well for you to join
34:46
the grief share class. So you can learn the wisdom of
34:50
just some skills that we may not currently possess.
34:53
Because we never experienced this before to just walk on the
34:56
journey. But Abraham gives us an example.
34:59
You've got to continue living often, you'll hear that referred
35:02
to if so-and-so was here. They would want you to.
35:06
Well, this is demonstrated Abraham, did he continued?
35:09
It's not a sign of weakness, and it's not a sign of a lack of
35:14
concern. And it's not a sign of, and I
35:17
think if you've learned anything in life, everyone has an
35:19
opinion, but also it's true in grief.
35:22
Everyone has an opinion about your grief but only you're the
35:25
one living out your personal grief and so opinions.
35:30
You know, they might be valuable might be helpful.
35:32
They might not be valuable at all or very unhelpful but I do
35:36
know this. It is God's will for you to
35:38
continue the life that God has given you.
35:39
The live and Abraham shows us that eighty years of his life.
35:46
I mean, the majority I didn't do the percentages but the majority
35:49
of his life He's, he's lost, and he Mourns and he Grieves, but he
35:55
needs to move forward. He needs to move forward.
35:58
We see the same thing happen throughout the scriptures.
36:01
We see that when Moses died Joshua had to continue on, he
36:05
took the people into the land of Italy, took them into the
36:07
Promised Land. It was important that they move
36:10
forward. We see the same thing happen
36:13
with the loss of Jesus, at the death of Jesus where the 120
36:16
continue to gather together and seek God and obey.
36:20
The final words of Jesus, they continue to live their life and
36:24
God continued to show up. Not only that, but we learn from
36:28
Abraham. He understood his role in place
36:31
on the earth. He was a foreigner.
36:33
It says, in verse 4, notice I'm a foreigner and a Sojourner, it
36:38
can I just speak to To the current cultural climate that
36:41
you're in today, that we are living in right now, one of the
36:43
most difficult Seasons that in our generation we've ever
36:46
experienced, things would be a lot better if you harnessed and
36:50
grab this concept, you are a foreigner and a Sojourner, this
36:56
is not the end, you're just passing through, you're a
37:00
pilgrim, you have temporary residents whatever is happening
37:04
at the governmental levels whatever happening on the global
37:07
levels. Whatever is that whatever?
37:09
Is happening in this world. Listen is not the end.
37:13
You're just passing through and that helps give perspective as
37:17
we've learned. It's so important to have the
37:20
right perspective. Whether we're fighting a giant
37:23
or we're living in a Godless World filled with Antichrist.
37:26
We got to have the right perspective because if we let
37:29
the world various and we're just taking in information, taking in
37:32
information, taking all what's happening in the world from a
37:35
bunch of hopeless? People that don't know Christ.
37:37
What do you think's going to happen to you?
37:39
You're going to become hopeless and, you know, Christ.
37:42
Was there any more miserable place than to know?
37:45
Jesus Christ personally and be hopeless.
37:49
The only other thing that's more miserable is a person that
37:52
doesn't know Christ and is hopeless.
37:56
He's a Sojourner, Foreigner, a stranger.
38:00
And that's one of our problems that we don't want to be a
38:02
stranger. We want to be wanted.
38:05
I want to fit in. We want to enjoy all the things
38:09
of life and just as yes I've given you all things to enjoy
38:13
but you're a stranger. No wonder.
38:16
This is odd. The Wonder.
38:17
It doesn't make sense. No wonder the ungodly Mock and
38:21
laugh at God? We're strangers.
38:25
Visitors temporary residents that God desires for us with our
38:30
citizenship, in heaven to use our citizenship on Earth as
38:36
we're passing through for his glory.
38:37
Abraham's the man of Faith. Loved his wife mourning and
38:42
grieving And he desires to bury her and move forward with his
38:48
life. And so notice they're willing to
38:51
give it to him but Abraham says, no, I got to buy it and I
38:56
believe this is one of the passages in Scripture that David
38:59
would later use as he buys an area for the temple.
39:04
So, I don't don't give it to me. I got to buy it.
39:07
It needs to be a legal proper transaction.
39:11
We need to do it the right way. And friends.
39:14
Let me just say that phrase do it the right way is God's will
39:17
for your life. You got to do things the right
39:19
way. There is a right way and a wrong
39:22
way and followers of Christ need to choose to do things the right
39:26
way. I know we can use a few things
39:29
because it's coming up but like Believers in Jesus Christ, they
39:32
don't cheat on their taxes. I don't even need to do a bible
39:39
study on that, that should be enough.
39:42
We don't lie at work. We don't flirt with someone
39:48
that's not our spouse. We don't course jet like you
39:53
could go on and on, there's a right way to do things and a
39:55
wrong way to do things and it's God's will for us to do it,
39:59
right? Do it right today and you don't
40:02
need to worry about it. Again you do it wrong today,
40:05
you're going to worry about it, the rest of your life, until you
40:07
get fought caught and found out, and then you're gonna have to
40:10
deal with the consequences of doing it the wrong way.
40:13
It's always everything in Jesus is yes.
40:17
And amen, the way of God, the way of Jesus Christ, the way the
40:22
truth, and the life. No one comes to the father,
40:24
except through him the way of Christ the teachings of Jesus
40:28
everything. All the promises of God in
40:31
Christ are yes and amen. You can trust him when you do
40:36
things, right? But Ed, it's going to cost me so
40:37
much. It's going to cost you more to
40:39
do it wrong. But add, you don't understand,
40:42
all lose everything but Jesus said you want to follow him,
40:45
you've got to lose everything in order to gain.
40:49
And Abraham. He's going to do it right here.
40:51
So they bought they haggle verse 10, Efron dwelt with the sons of
40:56
Heth and Ephron. The hittite answered Abraham in
40:59
the presence of the son of Heth, all who entered at the Gate of
41:02
the city saying no, my Lord hear me, I'll give you the field and
41:05
the cave that's in it. I give it to you in the presence
41:07
of the sons of my people. I'll give it to you.
41:09
Bury your dead but Abraham bowed himself from this is a place of
41:13
humility. Don't miss that.
41:15
He bowed himself down before the people of the land, this great
41:19
prayer. It's this great king.
41:20
This great, man of God, this man, that is a friend of God.
41:25
This man, who is a man who's the father of Faith, he bows down
41:29
before these Canaanites. And he says In the hearing of
41:34
the people, he says, if you verse 13 will give it please
41:37
hear me. I will give you money for the
41:39
field. Take it from me and I'll bury my
41:41
dead there. A nephron answered Abraham
41:43
saying, my Lord, listen to me the land is worth four hundred
41:46
shekels of silver. And I guess those who study
41:48
shuts things says, this was a ripoff price.
41:53
Deeply, deeply overpriced. What does that between you and
41:56
me? There bury your dead and
41:58
Abraham. Listen to Efron and Abraham Wade
42:01
out the silver. In the name of the hearing he
42:04
got ripped off. He wanted very his wife, do it
42:07
the right way, four hundred shekels of silver verse 17.
42:12
So the field of Ephron was in machpelah, which was before
42:16
mamre the field and the cave which was in it and all the
42:19
trees that were in the field which were within all the
42:22
surrounding borders were deeded to Abraham, as a possession in
42:25
the presence of the sons of Heth before all who were in the gate
42:29
of the City verse 19. And after this Abraham buried,
42:32
Sarah's wife in the cave of the field of machpelah before mamre
42:35
that is Hebron the place of communion.
42:39
Place of Promise, the place of Fellowship.
42:43
In the land of Canaan. So the field and the cave that's
42:46
in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for
42:51
a burial place so a Sarah's laid to rest.
42:56
I just think taking the spotlight as we head out today,
43:00
just backing up a little bit away from marriage and just
43:04
think of relationships in general, love is what binds us
43:08
together. We're not going to make it
43:11
without love for Love Is the is the lubricant if you will that
43:17
helps keep us together when there's friction The
43:21
unconditional love you know you begin meditating on the word
43:25
unconditional in any relationship God will soon begin
43:29
to reveal to you. How many conditions you've
43:31
placed on that relationship. I challenge you to pray and ask
43:36
God. God, show me, the unconditional.
43:38
I love I have for so-and-so and show me where I don't have it.
43:42
And he'll begin to show you how we have redefined unconditional
43:47
as unconditional except or unconditional, but Just because
43:54
we're human. And there's always the sense of
43:57
wanting to be selfish and self-centered, how do we get
44:00
away from that? The agape love of God.
44:03
Love, gives us the context of life and togetherness and hope
44:07
even pain. There's no greater demonstration
44:10
of love than the cross. The ultimate sacrifice.
44:14
God reconciling man, to himself Abraham offered.
44:18
Isaac remember, as a burnt offering.
44:20
Nothing to be leftover. He yielded everything to God in
44:24
his heart of hearts. He was trusting God with even
44:27
his most prized possession in the moment.
44:30
And here we are, fellowshipping and praising God.
44:33
Either together just enjoying growth, the spiritual growth
44:37
that's going to come through a Bible, study through a time of
44:40
prayer, with one another, the spiritual growth, it's going to
44:42
come through singing songs together and what binds us
44:44
together. But the love of God, as we're
44:47
growing in understanding that difficulty, you're facing is an
44:50
opportunity for love the challenge that you're going
44:53
through an opportunity to express love.
44:56
I was even reading today. In the Proverbs talking about
44:59
hey you want to do something for your enemy love them.
45:03
It's so contrary. But love is the key.
45:08
And how does it begin? Just like, you know, Lord
45:11
forgive me for doubting, you love me.
45:16
We come to our prayer closets, with all our failures, and all
45:19
our difficulties, and all our mistakes, and all our doubts,
45:22
and all our fears. And maybe we plow right through
45:26
them in all our requests. And we just got to we're missing
45:29
a step. So, we're just forgive me.
45:33
What's happened? I'm find myself distant from me
45:36
because I don't believe you love me.
45:40
I just don't experience that. I don't feel it.
45:44
Been so beat up by the world. I don't want to love anymore.
45:47
A bit up by other Christians trusted a Christian.
45:50
He burned me. So I'm never going to trust
45:52
another Christian and again Forgive me.
45:58
Forgive me for that. Every time I've made myself
46:02
vulnerable, I got ripped off, you know, sometimes we over
46:05
exaggerate things. It's not every time I feel that
46:10
way. But, you know, God allowed you
46:14
to get ripped off. As hard as that is to receive.
46:19
And perhaps, it's just time to say, Lord.
46:21
Why did you allow me to get ripped off?
46:23
I don't like that. I don't want to be ripped off.
46:28
And you can almost hear all the different answers that will come
46:29
from heaven. And who gave you that to get
46:31
ripped off I think you Lord. Yeah.
46:35
So it really just belongs to me. Yeah, Lord.
46:38
So I got ripped off. Yes.
46:39
Lord, you got ripped off but, you know, it's like you just
46:42
like if you just have a real relationship with the Lord, he's
46:44
just he's gonna draw you into comfort.
46:46
You, and remind you, and give you the right perspective. and
46:51
can almost imagine with our holy imaginations, some of the
46:54
prayers from Sarah, God, why did you give me this man?
47:01
I'm next in line for the king to take me into his bedchamber.
47:04
And where's my husband? God, you know, this is the
47:09
second time he did it. Don't you love me anymore?
47:15
and all the hurt in the pain could easily take you away from
47:19
the very love of God, I mean maybe you grew up in a very
47:26
difficult home, or Maybe your difficulty with God right now is
47:30
because of the home. You grew up when and the model
47:33
of dad that you had, maybe he was abusive, maybe he left you
47:36
and abandon you and you carry that hurt into your relationship
47:40
with God. And there's might be even a
47:43
pattern ladies of being hurt by men and being hurt by pastors
47:47
and being hurt. By landlords, I mean, you name
47:50
it just the enemy has just been relentlessly beating you down
47:53
beating you down. So you don't understand the love
47:55
of God. It's been miss defined for Are
47:58
you it hasn't and it's the same with guys it's not just
48:02
exclusive to ladies at the same with guys where the enemy just
48:05
wants to twist everything. That's what the word perverse
48:08
means. You know, perverted means to
48:10
twist things to take something and make it something that it's
48:13
not in a wicked evil way, and there's no more wicked evil way
48:19
than to twist our view of God. And his care and his concern for
48:23
us God is faithful. He's ready to help you walk
48:27
forward in the moment right now. I don't know.
48:30
We kind of use some of the solutions and maybe got a little
48:33
laugh about people in my office but I know if you walked into my
48:36
office right now or came up here, I don't know the answer to
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all your problems. I don't know how to solve all
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your marriage issues. I don't know how to convince
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your spouse of XYZ or convince you of ABC.
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I don't know. but I do know a God in heaven that does and I do
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know the baby steps to take that you will keep your your physical
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sanity, and your spiritual Vitality, if you will choose to
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obey God in the little things right now.
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And that relationship and this relationship and you will just
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lay it all on the table with the Lord and you just lay all your
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pain and hurt. And you just talk about the
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things you've been carrying and you just open yourself up and
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that could very well be the will of God tonight that as you were
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praying for dark areas, it's not necessarily hidden sin as much
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as the things you've been stuffing down, stuffing down and
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thinking if you don't think about it and you don't talk
49:40
about it and it's always In the dark that you can just get on.
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And the Lord says no, I have something so much better for
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you. I'm ready to heal.
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You And I'm ready to help you and I'm ready for you to take
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the next step in your relationship with me.
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God would say even to the point where the Bible speaks about,
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think about this. Those of you that are hurting
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and those of you that are overwhelmed by your past, think
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about this, the Bible even speaks about having the spirit
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of God. So overwhelming you that you cry
50:08
out to your father and God Abba, Father.
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That's like calling your that's like calling God, the kind of
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intimacy that you would with your human father, like calling
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him daddy. That's what Abba means.
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Abba Father Abba Daddy. It's intimacy.
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And closeness and trust in the Lord has that for us women and
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men. And I just am.
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So encouraged by this fresh look for me.
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If Sarah. And your own reminds me and
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memorials that we do all the time.
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There's always such wonderful things to be shared about the
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people that have passed away. If I have to say, I'm not a big
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fan of memorials, myself. They kind of heard in there hard
50:52
to do, but there is a part of memorials that I love, and
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that's to hear. Everybody's great memories and
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to see the pictures up on the screen and and it just to even
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get a laugh of something. Someone said or did I'm just
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thinking, even at Sarah's death, there's a lot.
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Good coming out but you don't have to wait for someone to die
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to say something nice. You don't have to wait.
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You can start bragging on people right now, expressing your
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appreciation for them. Just tell me how much you love
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them and how much they mean to you.
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You don't have to wait, you can at the end but you don't have to
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wait. You can do it now, you can send
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that text message or make that phone call, or look, someone in
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the eye and go. You know what?
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You just. I love your sense of humor.
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I hate your jokes but you're trying so hard.
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I love it and just enjoy the relationship that God has given
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to you. because there will come a day, when you'll separate
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There will come a day when it won't be possible.
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You'll have to be waiting until eternity to be reunited with
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them. And I just love this, the pain
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of death of Sarah so much. Good comes out of it.
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Because, you know what, here in the 21st century, the death of
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Sarah, got his using to disciple and train you and say, okay,
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Lord, I get my eyes back on you. And so Lord, I pray today, all
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that we've taken in that truly you'd have your way with us that
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we would leave here more encouraged by the life of
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Abraham and Sarah. Even Lord, just with us, that we
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wouldn't make excuses for our sin and kind of like, well, you
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know, Abraham did this and Sarah did, it wouldn't become excuses,
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but it would say, but God, even in my imperfections, you love
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me. You're forming and Christ not
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against me as much as Abraham. Was a man of faith and friend of
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God. How much more that we have in
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Christ in the New Covenant and the blood of Jesus Christ
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cleanses us from all our sins. And that's where we leave
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ourselves today. Lord under the cleansing work of
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your spirit in Jesus name. Amen.
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We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible.
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Study delivered live from the sanctuary of caliper.
53:07
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53:19
entirety or to join us for our lives dream Services.
53:22
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53:31
this week.