Devotional materials. Week commencing Sunday 17th July 2022
Call to Worship
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! (Luke 24:5, 6)
“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact” (Acts 2:32).
We continue with our series on Abraham. The principle event in our passage today is the death of Abraham’s wife Sarah. So it would be good to remind ourselves that our hope is in Christ. For those who walked by faith looking forward to the coming Messiah, and for all those, like ourselves, who have put our faith in Jesus Christ since He came.
Opening Hymn
‘Thine be the glory’ MP 689 (Piano)
Edmond Budry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk0XVT1Cmb8
Reading. Genesis 23:1-20
23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, 4 “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.”
5 The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6 “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.”
7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of the land, the Hittites. 8 He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my dead, then listen to me and intercede with Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9 so he will sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price as a burial site among you.”
10 Ephron the Hittite was sitting among his people and he replied to Abraham in the hearing of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. 11 “No, my lord,” he said. “Listen to me; I give you the field, and I give[c] you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.”
12 Again Abraham bowed down before the people of the land 13 and he said to Ephron in their hearing, “Listen to me, if you will. I will pay the price of the field. Accept it from me so I can bury my dead there.”
14 Ephron answered Abraham, 15 “Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
16 Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms and weighed out for him the price he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weight current among the merchants.
17 So Ephron’s field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded 18 to Abraham as his property in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. 19 Afterward Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.
Hymn
‘For the joys and for the sorrows’ MP 829 (Guitar)
Graham Kendrick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MOS6zb3ysg&t=6s
Praying for peace when I am anxious. Psalm 23.
MY GOOD SHEPHERD
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” (v1)
There are lots of reasons to feel afraid and vulnerable right now. But praise God that you are a sheep with a good shepherd. He knows you, and loves you, and is committed to caring for you. Thank him for the good things he’s given you- the “green pastures” and “quiet waters”, which show his kindness (v2). Thank the Lord Jesus for being a shepherd who laid down his life to provide all that is needed for the salvation of his sheep. (Do that now).
GUIDING ME
“He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake” (v3)
Perhaps you are worried about a decision or are unsure how to help someone you love- ask God to guide you. Then ask him to use this time to make you ever more prayerful. Pray that as you spend time with him in his word each day, he would refresh your soul. (Do that now).
LEADING ME THROUGH
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (v4)
Anxiety feels like a valley that we see no way out of- but our shepherd has promised to lead us through to the other side. Ask god to calm your fears and bless you with a real sense of his presence. Then pray the same for any people who you are worried about. (Do that now).
WITH ME TOMORROW
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all he days of my life… (v6)
Jesus’ words are apt for this crisis: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). Ask for his help to take things one day at a time, knowing that whatever you face when you wake up tomorrow- and on every day that follows- God’s goodness and love are assured and his grace is sufficient.” (Do that now).
MY SHEPHERD ETERNALLY
“…and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” (v6)
Thank God that because you are one of Jesus’ sheep, you will spend eternity dwelling with him, in perfect security and peace. Pray that knowing this would help you not to fear sickness or death, but instead to live with growing joy and confidence. (Do that now).
(“5 things To Pray in a Global Crisis.” Rachel Jones)
Reading. John 14:1-4
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going."
Hymn.
‘I serve a risen Saviour’ MP 295 (Piano)
Alfred Henry Ackley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-2cAg0sFLU (R & B version, Bryn Hayworth)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEcfRlAsBB8
Sermon. ‘A Foothold in the Promised Land.’
We will read of 3 major events as we near the end of our series about Abraham: the death of Sarah, Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah and Abraham’s death. Two funerals and a wedding.
God’s Word comes to us in all life’s experiences- whether joyful or sad and speaks to our condition. God is good. God has provided us with many blessings- such as marriage. But sin has entered into this world, and the wages of sin is death. We are touched by the good in life God has given us, but we also come into contact with those things that are alien to God’s nature, on account of Sin: “all our joy is touched with pain” and “Shadows fall on brightest hours…thorns remain”. However, God is good. And we will see God’s purposes at work in these final events, even through the funerals- creating faith, giving assured hope and still working towards the fulfilment of earlier promises given to Abraham. So too God comes to us in our experience as it is- the times of joy and the times of pain. He is willing to work out His purposes in our lives for good, to give us a future and a hope that is eternal.
We are told that Sarah died one hundred and twenty seven years of age. She had been married to Abraham for seventy or eighty years.
Death is the great divider. In the marriage vows the promise is made to live together “till death us do part”. Here is a sobering reminder to all husbands and wives, to make every effort to live together happily, so that when death comes you will have no regrets. Happy the person who does not have to reproach themselves for unkind and bitter words towards their spouse. Who wished they had another opportunity to show love. Who wish they could have made more effort to be gentle and loving.
As Abraham knelt by Sarah’s side he wept tears of affection. A tide of memories must have rushed over him. Memories of their common plans, hopes, fears and joys. She was the only link to his childhood home. She, thirty years before, had shared the hardships of his pilgrimage. Abraham would miss Sarah greatly.
Sarah had her faults but in 1 Peter 3:6 she is held before us as an example of a godly woman who submitted to her husband. And Hebrews 11:11 indicates she died in faith, she considered God to be faithful in keeping His promise: “And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.”
Abraham felt the loss. His tears were real. Matthew Henry writes “It is not only lawful but a duty to lament the death of our near relatives” Some Christians think that it’s wrong to cry and show signs of mourning. But weeping is like a safety valve, given to us to release the shock of great loss. Death is unnatural. It was not part of God’s creation. Death is the enemy, the result of sin.
It’s true, Christians do not sorrow like those who have no hope. But we still weep in the face of death just as Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus. However, we are assured that all who die trusting Jesus for salvation are present with him in heaven.
In his book “Bereaved” Ian Knox writes: “Dorothy and Norman were married for 54 years. Norman was my gardening advisor: what he didn’t know about fruit and vegetables and flowers wasn’t worth knowing. He sang in our church choir, and was the most positive of men. He radiated his love for God, and was one of my greatest encouragers for the Christian work I was doing. But Norman had cancer of the lymph glands, and he and Dorothy faced squarely the fact that he was dying. They talked about their being physically separated, and prepared for his death. After a period of hospitalisation, Norman came home as the end drew near. For the last three weeks, many of his friends came to say their goodbyes. “It’s done us good to see him,” they would say as they left, having experienced his shining faith in the Lord Jesus.
Dorothy’s main feeling was not of grief, but of gratitude. She was grateful for good friends, for those who cared for Norman in his illness, for the support of the church, and especially for a sense of well-being that all was well with her husband. He was so sure of his faith, and so certain of his heavenly destination, that Dorothy’s sadness never overwhelmed her.”
We clearly see Abraham’s faith at work in his purchase of the burial site from the Hittites.
In some countries and cultures it’s very important to be buried in the land you belong. Two African natives spent over a year, despite strong opposition, bringing David Livingstone’s body back to this Country- and he was buried at Westminster Abbey.
It may be that Abraham first thought of returning to Haran, and have Sarah buried along with his parents. But Abraham’s old country had no claim on him now. The reason Abraham bought this field and cave in Hebron was because of his faith in God’s promise. Hebron, as verse 19 tells us, is in the land of Canaan.
God had long before promised Canaan was to be Abraham’s real home and his descendants would live there. As yet he owned none of it. But on the strength of God’s promise Abraham bought a plot of land there.
This faith is also shown in his utter refusal to receive the land as a gift from anybody but God. Abraham knew if he accepted it as a gift from the Hittites he would have put himself under obligation to them. He made sure he had bought it, and that it was not a gift from one of the Canaanite tribes. Eventually, Ephron offered to sell the land at the inflated price of 400 shekels.
So here again, we see Abraham’s faith in God. He expressed his trust in God’s future purposes by purchasing a piece of land, confident that one day his people would return and enjoy it as their future home.
Can you envisage God’s purposes for the future and so- in the good of that vision- act by faith now?
Take Marriage. A man hopes for a strong Christian marriage and perhaps children in due course. He courts a Christian woman. But perhaps for him the strong family is becoming an ideal and he is tempted to find fault with his current love! Yes, they follow Christ, they’ve even changed because of their trust in Him, but there are things about both of them that lead to arguments. Out of fear he is tempted to call it off and look for someone “better”. But faith says that the God who works in this person now will continue to work in her and indeed him all your lives long. As they remain committed to Christ He will cause them both to understand the nature of His committed, sacrificial love and grow that love in their relationship.
Perhaps the step you need to take in your real, and not idealised present relationship, is a step of faith; faith in light of what God can bring about in a relationship committed to Him. To take steps of faith in terms of communication and working through current difficulty- trusting God, trusting what he has done and will do in the other rather than give way to fear. You want the “end product” of a mature relationship, but that future hope needs small steps of faith from you in the present.
The same principle can operate in Church life. You want to be part of a Church that is vibrant, full of expectation and trust in God, loving one another and reaching out to those who need the Good News of the Gospel.
The Bible teaches that Christ is the Head of the Church and He is growing His Church- not just universally- but as that Church is manifested in local congregations. That is what He is moving us towards. But in any single congregation you seem to get involved with, there are these good things in some measure yes, but then you become aware of some issue. Some people want this and others are resisting it. Some seem to take an interest in you but others don’t.
You hear of complaints about this group of people or that, and of course it’s not long before you have someone come along and give you a critique of the Pastor (which is probably true!!) And so you feel discouraged. The temptation is then to try and find the perfect Church that ticks all the boxes you want. Unfortunately that will never happen this side of heaven!!
Some people get into the idealised view of what a local Church should be, they chop and change and eventually give up on Church altogether. But the Lord has promised to build His Church. That is the promise that gives hope. He will do that. But He wants to use you in that building process. He wants you to take the step of faith now which is in keeping with His future purposes for His Church. If you are not baptised be baptised, if you are not a member become a member as a sign of your commitment to this local fellowship.
If you are not using the gifts God has given you within the fellowship take initiative and offer what you can- perhaps in hospitality, in children’s work, in giving financially to support the mission of the Church, in administration. You want the end product of a perfect Church, but you are the Church and that future hope needs a small step of faith from you in the present.
To act in such ways seems out of synch with the surrounding value system which is “I want everything now on my terms according to what I think I deserve and how I think things should be”. But God calls you to act by faith, in line with His purposes. Acting in line with what God’s Word has revealed about the future.
Even if, rather like Noah building his ark waiting for the flood to come, your values and actions seem incomprehensible, perhaps even ridiculous to those who do not believe God. But if you build by faith now you will see God’s good purposes grow and mature for the future. You will have hope.
We use the word hope lightly. We hope it won’t rain tomorrow when most likely it will. Biblical hope is more positive than that. Christian hope is more assured. It is the deposit paid on the sale of the house. The “earnest” of things to come. The anchor which keeps the boat from shifting. It’s like the pull on the fishing line that tells you the fish is there though you can’t see it. It’s the legacy, written in a will and legally binding, waiting for you at a certain time in the future, when a relative departs this life.
In the early part of the last Century there was a hope that the world would improve under its own steam. Through enlightened education and a belief in man’s innate goodness, it was believed the Kingdom of God could be brought about on earth. Just as man was advancing materially, it was hoped we would advance morally
Then, in April 1912, came the sinking of the titanic. It had been said even God cannot sink her! But within a few hours this feat of human ingenuity lay at the bottom of the ocean.
If that disaster shook the world’s optimism, the First World War shattered it. David Cecil summed up the changed mood “barbarism is not behind us. It is beneath us. Ready at any time to break through the fragile, thinly polished surface of human nature.” Yes, there have been improvements in health provision and social care, and Science has been a useful ally when used for good. But in other ways it could be equally said of us “we are technological giants and moral pygmies”.
But Jesus had said that it will always be like this: the wheat and the tares will grow together in his harvest field side by side in equal measure. The world will continue like this until the final harvest. And God Himself will make the final separation on that day.
In one way it is a truly hopeful sign that people are more pessimistic about human nature today. The biblical doctrine, that our sinful nature is the essential problem, is more likely to be faced up to and believed. A new humility can then take root. We see our own resources are not enough to bring the hope we long for. And through that pain of discovering our own limitations, God awakens within us the conviction that we must depend on Him and His power instead.
Hope comes from God
What is the ultimate hope God has promised us? It is Heaven.
Abraham and other Old Testament heroes of faith were “aliens and strangers on earth” Their motives and actions showed they were not merely tied to living their life on this earth, their actions inspired by faith indicated they were looking forward to something better. Hebrews 11:16 says “they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one.
For us Christians, Canaan the land promised to Abraham, is a picture of heaven. There a place has been bought for us; by Jesus Christ. We have hope beyond death.
2 Peter 3: 13 “But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness”
Consider Jesus great promise to his disciples and indeed to all who trust Him: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14: 2, 3).
Hazel Felleman has put it this way:
“Think of stepping on shore, and finding it heaven!
Of taking hold of a hand, and finding it God’s hand
Of breathing a new air and finding it celestial air
Of feeling invigorated, and finding it immortality
Of passing from storm to tempest to an unknown calm
Of waking up and finding it home”
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)
So how can sinners be welcomed into heaven?
Our hope is assured through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Jesus death on the cross, his dying in our place, bearing our sins on Himself means we are forgiven. This is God’s salvation, God’s provision for us. Jesus resurrection then becomes our resurrection. We are raised to new life. We are given the Holy Spirit. But most significantly Jesus’ resurrection becomes our resurrection in that we too will be raised from the dead just he was raised from the dead: 1 Thessalonians 4: 14, 18 “We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so it will be for those who died as Christians; God will bring them to life with Jesus. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words.”
Jesus’ death and resurrection is our passport into the heavenly country. It is guaranteed by Jesus and we will be welcomed there through faith in Him. But a passport is endorsed by a Visa, showing it to be valid. And someone has said that Visa for the Christian is a Christ like life. Now, our Visa will not affect our entry into heaven but it may affect our enjoyment of heaven
Faith in Christ should lead to a Christ like life. By His Holy Spirit He will work in us all our lives long and we, co-operating with the Spirit, will show the fruit of love and holiness in our relationships together.
The friendship between John Wesley and George Whitfield was strained but never broken by their dispute over freewill and predestination. Another man tried to stir things up by asking Whitfield “Will we see Wesley in heaven? Whitfield said “No, no, he will be much too near the throne for us to get a glimpse of him”. That’s the kind of attitude; that kind of generosity we are to have towards one another springing from His love in us. The fruit of a Christ like life.
In Christ God has given us the assured hope of a Heavenly country. In light of that hope have you your passport- have you put your faith in Christ? And is that passport even now being endorsed by the “Visa” of your becoming more like Him? Those small steps of faith, following in the footsteps of Jesus, contrary to the World but pleasing to God, will be found to be treasure laid up in heaven. That should be our ambition, so to live in this life, that in the next life we shall not only be welcome, but home.
Abraham by faith bought a plot of land in Canaan confident that one day His children, his descendants would return to enjoy it as their home. And by faith we too look forward to that day when God will gather all his people from every tribe and nation- all who are truly Abraham’s offspring; all who are “children of the promise” (Romans 9:8) and together we will possess the promised land, the heavenly kingdom. To God be the Glory.……………………………………………………..
Communion Hymn
‘All hail the Lamb’ MP 12 (guitar and clarinet)
Dave Bilbrough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyNvTmjiv0w
Communion
Hymn.
‘One day when heaven was filled with His presence’ MP 540 (Piano)
J Wilbur Chapman
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I89avf9vjI0
Blessing.
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (From 1 Peter 1).