WEBVTT 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:05.459 So what we've been doing in church, and we're going to continue doing it for the next couple 00:00:05.459 --> 00:00:13.919 of months, is to see how the whole story of the Bible invites us to see Jesus, and to 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:19.960 think about how every figure that's represented points us to a reality and a fulfillment found 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:27.260 in Jesus. So today we're thinking about Jesus as the true and better Abraham. I'm going 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:32.140 to give us a really simple image to keep in our heads as we begin, and it's this. Every 00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:40.320 river has a beginning. 19th century explorers spent years of their life trying to discover 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:45.200 the sources, the headwaters of the great rivers of the world. But every river has a beginning, 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:55.240 and every river flows somewhere. In Genesis 1-12, which is a vital part of our origin story 00:00:55.240 --> 00:01:03.620 as the human race, that can be pictured in terms of two rivers, perhaps even two floods. 00:01:04.939 --> 00:01:13.700 On the one hand, we have this river that becomes a flood of sin and evil. So we have Adam and 00:01:13.700 --> 00:01:19.079 Eve eating the fruit they were told not to, and we have Cain murdering his brother Abel. 00:01:19.300 --> 00:01:24.840 We have, at the time of Noah, worldwide evil, where every heart is turned away from God. 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:31.439 And then in the Tower of Babel story, we have humanity gathered together to build this tower 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:37.939 to raise their fist against God in heaven. So there's a flood of sin. But there is also, 00:01:38.300 --> 00:01:43.960 within these opening chapters, a wonderful flood, a river of God's grace. There is this pattern. 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:48.900 Every time that there is sin and there is judgment, there is also mercy and grace. 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:54.900 So there's the promise that comes to Adam and Eve that one of their seed will come and enter into 00:01:54.900 --> 00:02:01.860 battle against the forces of darkness and win a decisive victory. After the flood of God's judgment, 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:10.560 the rainbow is put in the sky to say, never again will the earth be destroyed by a flood. And this week, 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:21.159 after judgment at the Tower of Babel, grace comes from God in the form of a family tree. Somewhat 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:28.840 surprising. We see in these opening chapters both a human pride that wants to reject God 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:36.840 and a human pride that wants to be like God. Consider the Babel story that we've just read. 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:43.379 We have this idea that people are progressing. They're learning about technology and tools. 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:51.780 Culture is developing, but that technology and those tools are being used in a building project 00:02:51.780 --> 00:02:59.360 to make a great name for themselves, which is both an act of disobedience against God and an act of 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:06.140 saying we are great like God. Technology and tools being used to say we are great. 00:03:07.620 --> 00:03:13.700 Perhaps as people, we recognize that in some ways we haven't changed so much. It's still very easy 00:03:13.700 --> 00:03:19.900 for us, either physically or in different ways, to build towers and monuments to the self. 00:03:20.780 --> 00:03:26.879 We want to say to the world, we are great. Pride is still one of the great problems in the human heart. 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:33.400 So we see that in these chapters, but we also see again and again and again God's gracious response. 00:03:33.400 --> 00:03:39.240 And this time we're going to see his gracious response in the covenant promise that he gives. 00:03:39.540 --> 00:03:44.200 A promise that he gives to Abraham, to the world, to you and to me today. 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:51.719 And to think about that river image, the promise given to Abraham, it's like the headwater. 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:58.819 It's like the source from which God's wonderful promises will flow through time and history. 00:03:58.819 --> 00:04:04.859 So let's get into Abraham's story. I've got three things to think about with us. First of all, 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:11.819 the idea of Abraham and new beginnings. So I think we mentioned this a couple of weeks ago. The word 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:17.920 Genesis is to do with the idea of beginnings. And in the book of Genesis, we find a series of new 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:27.199 beginnings. And they are marked out by family trees. Whenever we find a family tree, in the book of 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:34.519 Genesis, it's like a chapter division. It's telling us God is going to do something new in the story of 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:41.000 salvation. He is going to, in a new way, show kindness to people who don't deserve kindness. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:49.079 And after the judgment that falls on Babel, the confusion, the scattering, God's response of grace 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:59.659 is to show us this family tree, this genealogy, and the focus that falls on one family and on one man, 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:06.899 the man Abraham, becomes known as the father of faith. Two things to notice about this new beginning. 00:05:07.039 --> 00:05:13.860 First, to just think for a little bit about the person. Who is Abraham? I don't know if you noticed 00:05:13.860 --> 00:05:19.100 this, but there's an interesting preparation. So God is going to call Abraham to leave everything, 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:24.360 to leave his family, to leave his land, and to go. That's already happened in his family before. 00:05:25.460 --> 00:05:32.580 In verse 31 of chapter 11, we find Tira, his dad, doing exactly that with Abraham and with his family. 00:05:32.660 --> 00:05:39.000 We're not told why, but his father begins this journey to Canaan. And we're not sure why he stopped 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:43.819 and he never gets there. But we do know that the God who knows everything and nothing is wasted 00:05:43.819 --> 00:05:50.920 in God's economy has given Abraham this experience of what is it like to uproot everything to go to a 00:05:50.920 --> 00:06:00.300 new land. We also need to recognize that when God calls Abraham, we can see this as a very 00:06:00.300 --> 00:06:07.199 unpromising situation. He makes these promises about being a great nation, but look at verse 30, 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:14.779 what we discover about Abraham's wife, she's childless and not able to conceive. And bearing 00:06:14.779 --> 00:06:22.779 in mind that Abraham is 75 years old, this is a very unpromising situation from a human point of view. 00:06:23.659 --> 00:06:29.919 This is going to need God's intervention. This is going to be one of the many stories 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:38.259 that gives glory to God. Whenever God intervenes and has mercy and shows grace, it's intended to give 00:06:38.259 --> 00:06:49.780 glory to God. We also see in this focus on Abraham that God's plan for a godly line continues. 00:06:51.340 --> 00:06:56.939 So there's this theme that emerges is that God in his kindness is going to be choosing people and 00:06:56.939 --> 00:07:01.519 saving people and rescuing people. So it came in the form of a promise to Adam and Eve that one of 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:10.379 their seeds would come and be the great champion for the people of God. And then we see Abel and Seth 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:21.379 being identified as this godly line. And then in the midst of worldwide evil, God shows grace to Noah 00:07:21.379 --> 00:07:30.279 and saves him. And then he does exactly the same thing with Abraham. That God has this design that 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:35.920 this line will continue. And this is really striking when we remember, this is one thing that's not in 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:43.019 our text, but it's in the Bible. In Joshua chapter 24, one other thing we know about Abraham is that he 00:07:43.019 --> 00:07:51.399 was a pagan who worshipped idols. So before God called him, he was just like everyone else in Babel, 00:07:53.079 --> 00:08:01.019 worshipping false gods, worshipping self. And God's grace came and changed him. Into that confusion and 00:08:01.019 --> 00:08:10.180 into that darkness, God chooses, God saves, and God transforms. That's God's way. And every one of us 00:08:10.180 --> 00:08:16.480 here who is a Christian can testify, that is God's way. So that's the person, when we think about these 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:22.120 new beginnings, it centers on this person, Abraham. But I also want to notice a couple of patterns, 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:27.360 one that I've already mentioned a little bit. God's covenant promise, and here we have a covenant 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:34.940 promise. It involves this pattern, this principle, that God chooses one for the sake of many. 00:08:34.940 --> 00:08:43.520 The story previous to Babel, God chose Noah out of the whole world that had turned against him. He 00:08:43.520 --> 00:08:50.700 chose to save one so that humanity could be preserved. And now, again, as the world is gathering 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:59.620 together in defiance of God, he chooses one man. He chooses Abraham. And why does he choose Abraham? 00:08:59.620 --> 00:09:05.600 End of verse 3, so that all peoples on earth will be blessed through you, one for the many. 00:09:06.980 --> 00:09:13.060 Abraham's family will eventually become the nation of Israel. And God makes promises to Israel, 00:09:13.539 --> 00:09:22.460 and chooses them, but says to them, you are to be a light for the world, one for the sake of many. 00:09:22.460 --> 00:09:30.800 And it's the same when it comes to their great king, King David. He is to represent the rule of God 00:09:30.800 --> 00:09:40.240 on the earth, drawing people to worship as he reveals God's glory. So that one for the sake of many 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:49.800 becomes really important, especially as we recognize that God chooses to send Jesus for the sake of many, 00:09:49.799 --> 00:09:58.079 to be the Savior. There's another pattern, though. There's a number pattern. In Genesis chapter 3 to 11, 00:09:58.939 --> 00:10:04.339 there is a theme that keeps coming back. It's a negative theme. It's a theme of curse. 00:10:05.539 --> 00:10:13.279 Five times we're told that the world or different people stand under God's curse. And to be under God's 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:18.599 curse is the idea of being under God's judgment, and to be separate from God and his goodness. 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:26.079 But if you look with me at chapter 12, and if you do your numbers, verses 2 and 3, you will find 00:10:26.079 --> 00:10:35.620 five times the word bless. And this tells us that God is choosing one man, Abraham, and making a 00:10:35.620 --> 00:10:44.639 promise to him so that the curse will be reversed. That honestly, you and I deserve curse, but God is so 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:52.259 kind that he would give blessing. And he will give blessing through this godly line and the promise of 00:10:52.259 --> 00:11:03.519 salvation. Let me just think about how that applies to you and I today, as we recognize that God's grace 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:11.960 brings new beginnings. This story of Abraham is really the turning point in the story of mankind, 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:19.139 of all the news headlines, of all the stories of the human race that you will read about this week, 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:25.759 there is none more important than this moment here. Because again, we are discovering God's 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:31.360 commitment to show love to people that haven't earned it and people that haven't deserved it. 00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:38.440 It's being revealed. Here is the answer for our disobedience being revealed. Here is the answer to 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:45.440 the hate and the murder, to the cruelty and the wickedness, to our worship of self. It's found in 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:53.120 God's grace. While there is that flood of sin and we experience and it separates us from God and it 00:11:53.120 --> 00:12:00.300 places us under judgment, God acts in grace, calling the one, bringing blessing, not curse, 00:12:00.299 --> 00:12:05.899 restoring us to life in special relationship with God and all through Jesus. 00:12:08.219 --> 00:12:13.919 And that's an invitation today. If you're not a Christian, there's always that invitation to new 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:23.839 beginnings because of God's grace. And a second thing that we need to see is that Jesus is God's 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:31.540 chosen one who brings grace. It's interesting to notice in the stories that we tell, especially 00:12:31.540 --> 00:12:39.100 the great and the epic stories, how often that theme of the one who is chosen to rescue a world or a 00:12:39.100 --> 00:12:46.139 kingdom. I was talking about the Matrix this week, Neil, the one, or Mulan if you like Disney, 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:53.800 the one chosen to rescue and say, it's a theme that's deeply influenced by the story of the 00:12:53.799 --> 00:13:03.779 Bible. It is shaped by Christianity because God's own Son is sent to be the Savior and the rescuer. 00:13:04.439 --> 00:13:09.599 When the people looked at Jesus, they saw very unpromising beginnings. He comes from a poor family, 00:13:10.740 --> 00:13:20.219 from an unimportant town. The king of the day tried to kill him, but this Jesus, he comes to rescue, 00:13:20.220 --> 00:13:32.379 to give new beginnings, to give eternal life. And his way to bring blessing is to take the curse for us. 00:13:32.980 --> 00:13:43.080 That's the way the curse can be reversed. Jesus takes it. The separation from God, the judgment from 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:48.660 God, he knows it, he knows it as he is judged in the place of sinners so we can enjoy blessing. 00:13:49.900 --> 00:13:57.300 And so God comes to us in his grace and he calls to us and he says to us, listen, leave behind your 00:13:57.300 --> 00:14:05.720 failed building project, seeking our own glory, looking to build our own identity without him. 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:14.540 And he invites us to come, to enjoy life with him, to be part of his kingdom, and then to be on his mission. 00:14:16.779 --> 00:14:21.980 So that's Abraham and new beginnings. And an essential part of new beginnings, secondly, is 00:14:21.980 --> 00:14:29.040 Abraham and this new promise that is received. Again, to go back to that river analogy, 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:36.139 19th century geographers and adventurers, folks like David Livingston, spent years of their life trying 00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:40.919 to find the source of those great rivers, so the Zambezi and the Nile. You know, they were all charted 00:14:40.919 --> 00:14:47.860 at that time. There was that great drive to find where are the sources, where are the points of 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:54.679 connection. And it's really interesting to see that the New Testament authors, they do exactly the 00:14:54.679 --> 00:15:01.179 same thing with God's covenant promise. As they understand that God has shown so much kindness 00:15:01.179 --> 00:15:05.979 to them in Jesus, they want to follow that upstream to find out where does this all come from? 00:15:07.339 --> 00:15:13.259 That's why we read the book of Galatians, where Paul follows that mighty river of God's grace 00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:18.459 that flows to us in Jesus and sees that it fulfills those promises made to Abraham. 00:15:18.460 --> 00:15:24.460 So we're going to look at Genesis 12, 1 to 3, just for a few moments, and notice three features 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:33.500 together. First, recognize that this is God's grace. This is all of grace. Notice who speaks, 00:15:33.780 --> 00:15:39.860 the Lord said to Abraham. And look who's acting. This is God. I will make you into a great nation. 00:15:39.860 --> 00:15:47.879 I will bless you. I will make your name great. I will bless those who bless you. Christianity is always 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:56.759 a top-down religion. We are not trying to climb the ladder to get up to God with our goodness. 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:05.659 We're not trying to build our way up to God. He is simply too holy. We are simply too sinful. 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:15.360 God must come down. And in Jesus, He has, He does. God takes the initiative to speak to this pagan, 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:22.560 to this idol worshiper, to change His heart. God commits Himself in a special relationship. 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:28.460 And notice the contrast. So the people at the Tower of Babel, what did they want to build? They 00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:34.740 wanted to build a tower, but they wanted to make a great name for themselves. But look what God does 00:16:34.740 --> 00:16:41.779 as He comes to Abraham. He says, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:51.659 So there's grace. There's also guarantee. So these are wonderful promises, big promises. They take time 00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:57.419 to be fulfilled. But Abraham is invited to live by faith because these promises are a guarantee, 00:16:57.419 --> 00:17:05.519 because they're rooted in God's character and God's commitment. Look at what he guarantees to Abraham. 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:12.279 He guarantees that he will take him and give him the land that he will show him. He guarantees him 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:19.500 a great family. Remember, his wife is childless. I will make you into a great nation. And he promises 00:17:19.500 --> 00:17:27.220 that special relationship. I will bless those who bless you. Whoever curses you, I will curse. And Abraham 00:17:27.220 --> 00:17:35.039 will discover this principle that we sang about, that the Lord will be by His side at every point in His 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:40.279 journey of faith. And so it is for all of God's people. So there's a guarantee. And notice thirdly, 00:17:40.639 --> 00:17:46.579 so there's grace, there's a guarantee. Notice too that this promise ultimately is global. 00:17:47.700 --> 00:17:53.680 Again, we mention it, end of verse 3, all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. So it comes 00:17:53.680 --> 00:18:01.700 directly to one family by that principle, one for the sake of the many. This promise will become this 00:18:01.700 --> 00:18:10.120 river of grace, this flood of grace that will go to all nations, and especially as Jesus comes. 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:17.039 One thing I want us to think about just for a moment is that in these verses, 00:18:18.360 --> 00:18:25.400 God is coming to someone who is worshiping a false god, and in His grace He is offering hospitality. 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:36.540 God is saying to Abraham, you are free to come in. It's an invitation in. In many ways, it's a promise 00:18:36.540 --> 00:18:43.259 that takes us back to Eden. The story of the Garden of Eden, that land where Adam and Eve lived, 00:18:43.360 --> 00:18:51.080 that was God's land. Adam and Eve were the family that God blessed. And Adam and Eve enjoyed a special 00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:56.039 relationship with God. They were made in His image. They talked with God. They worshiped God. 00:18:57.059 --> 00:19:04.299 And here's the wonderful thing. Even though people, including Abraham, have sinned terribly, 00:19:06.359 --> 00:19:11.779 even though people like us have sinned and sinned terribly, God is ready to show grace, 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:15.220 to welcome people back to Himself, 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:23.779 to give people what we don't deserve, a way back to life with Him, to life as it was meant to be. 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:30.400 So that we as people, we don't need to be like the people at Babel, scattered and confused. We don't 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:38.440 need to be like Cain, restless wanderers far away from God. Rather, God comes near in Jesus and gives 00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:47.460 the promise of home. And how that happens, Paul makes clear in Galatians chapter 3. So we read in 00:19:47.460 --> 00:19:55.840 Galatians 3, there's that sense that the floodgates open. So let me just read again Galatians 3 and verse 00:19:55.840 --> 00:20:03.340 8. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announce the gospel in advance 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:12.159 to Abraham. This blessing from God, which comes through Jesus, comes to all who have faith, 00:20:12.699 --> 00:20:18.839 regardless of where we come from or our background, we can be justified, we can be declared in right 00:20:18.839 --> 00:20:26.439 standing with God if we trust in Jesus. How does that happen? Well, he continues, Galatians 3. 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:35.400 We're told that Christ Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law. The law condemns us because we've 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:41.700 broken the law, and so we stand under judgment. Jesus comes and He fulfills, He completely obeys the law, 00:20:41.860 --> 00:20:48.960 and then He takes the penalty for breaking of the law. He takes the curse so that 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:57.620 the blessing given to Abraham might come through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive 00:20:57.620 --> 00:21:03.180 the promise of the Spirit. Our response to all the wonderful things that God has done, 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:12.420 Paul says it's to have faith, like Abraham, to trust God's provision and His promise and to receive it for 00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:19.400 ourselves. But it's a wonderful picture. Think about any great river, the River Nile, still, I think, 00:21:19.460 --> 00:21:30.039 the source of life for Egypt. God's powerful grace, that river of grace, has transforming and life-giving 00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:38.840 power, and He is willing to give us that. He invites us to trust Him that we would be adopted into His family, 00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:49.220 that we would be blessed. Here's the last thing to talk about, Abraham and new worship. We've already 00:21:49.220 --> 00:21:58.179 been picking up on this journey theme, that God's promise goes on a journey, a journey that takes us to 00:21:58.179 --> 00:22:04.000 Jesus as final destination and flows from Jesus to all who have faith in Him. But there's another obvious 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:10.220 journey in Genesis 12, and that's the physical, actual journey that Abraham is called to make. 00:22:10.759 --> 00:22:15.539 The Lord said to Abraham, go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land 00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:24.599 I will show you. Now, if you've read any accounts of pioneers, adventurers, those 19th century geographers, 00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:30.500 if you've had any interest in Livingston's travels or Shackleton's expeditions, if you read their 00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:37.359 accounts, you will get a sense of the great amount of preparation that had to be made, the many 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:43.099 adversities that were faced along the way, and you also get those reflections on encountering natives and 00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:50.660 interactions with them. But Moses doesn't take us there. Instead, Moses wants to focus on just two 00:22:50.660 --> 00:23:00.640 aspects of Abraham's journey. One, he leaves, and two, he sacrifices. And both of these matter. 00:23:01.600 --> 00:23:08.880 So he's heard God's call in verse 1, and we're told in verse 4, so Abraham went as the Lord had told him. 00:23:09.840 --> 00:23:17.040 Here is the cost of discipleship. Here's the cost of following for Abraham. He must leave his home, 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:22.579 which represent some of the great sources and centers of power and influence in the world in his day. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:30.059 He must leave those. He must leave friends and family. He must leave home and security. He becomes 00:23:30.059 --> 00:23:40.500 an exile, a pilgrim sent by God into the world, but not like the people of Babel were sent into the world, 00:23:40.500 --> 00:23:46.019 scattered and confused. Not like how Cain was sent into the world, a restless wanderer. 00:23:46.019 --> 00:23:54.720 So he is sent knowing that God goes with him. We know this in verse 7. As he arrives in the land, 00:23:55.259 --> 00:24:00.879 the Lord appears to Abraham and speaks to him, speaking the promise again, to your offspring, 00:24:01.180 --> 00:24:09.980 I will give this land. Again, he knows the Lord is by his side as he leaves. He leaves in a covenant 00:24:09.980 --> 00:24:17.620 where God has committed to him. But he also sacrifices. Verse 7, as God spoke to him, he built 00:24:17.620 --> 00:24:22.779 an altar there to the Lord. And then we're told about another movement where he pitches his tent 00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:28.440 with Bethel on one side, Ai on the other. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name 00:24:28.440 --> 00:24:34.160 of the Lord. One more pattern we find in the early chapters of Genesis is that after God shows grace and 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:41.720 kindness, his people respond by worshiping with a sacrifice. So we read of Abel sacrificing. We read 00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:49.400 of Noah sacrificing. Now we read of Abraham sacrificing. He is representing God in the world. In fact, he kind 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:57.759 of functions like a priest. By his worship, he is revealing to the people around him who the true God is, 00:24:57.759 --> 00:25:07.700 and that this true God deserves worship. He leaves and he sacrifices. Just like every epic story, 00:25:08.660 --> 00:25:14.839 those journeys of people on a quest to save, every fairy tale about the prince who must rescue the princess 00:25:14.839 --> 00:25:22.099 locked in the castle and slay the dragon. There are sacrifices there is cost in order to accomplish the 00:25:22.099 --> 00:25:33.959 mission. So Abraham leaves and goes and gladly sacrifices as he goes on God's mission to bring blessing to the 00:25:33.959 --> 00:25:45.339 world. He is a true worshiper living with faith and obedience, giving to us a picture of the Christian 00:25:45.339 --> 00:25:57.779 disciple. For you and I to follow Jesus is to live a lot like Abraham. It involves cost, to deny ourselves, 00:25:58.699 --> 00:26:07.919 to give our loyalty to the Lord, to become exiles, to say, do you know what, this world is not my true home. 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:14.420 And we go on a mission every day. We go on a mission that we seek to make Jesus known. 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:19.220 So the New Testament says we are a kingdom of priests. That's our calling. 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:28.700 Many of us have probably left our homes, the places where we grew up in, to come to the city and to be 00:26:28.700 --> 00:26:33.460 in this church today. And you may find in the city of Edinburgh, in your studies or your work, 00:26:33.460 --> 00:26:40.579 new ways you will discover where you need to be ready to count the cost and to carry the cross. 00:26:41.380 --> 00:26:47.620 And that's true for every Christian, just as it was true for Abraham. There is this call to us to 00:26:47.620 --> 00:26:53.740 leave and to go. Remember, Jesus said to his disciples, to his church, go and make disciples. 00:26:56.079 --> 00:27:00.420 Recently in our denomination, our church, the free church, we've been thinking about the need that 00:27:00.420 --> 00:27:05.640 there is for more ministers. The needs of Scotland are so great. 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:14.720 We need people who would be willing to leave and go, to count the cost, to bring good news. 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:22.120 The same is true for the work of global mission. We need to be ready to hear that call to leave 00:27:22.120 --> 00:27:27.500 and go. So the story of Abraham gives us a picture of the Christian disciple. 00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:36.680 But wonderfully, the story of Abraham gives us a picture of Jesus, the true and better Abraham. 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:46.839 Jesus is the one who leaves home, leaves the glory of heaven, where he was worshipped by angels, 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:56.140 to enter this world to become one of us. Jesus leaves in full and glad obedience. He is the 00:27:56.140 --> 00:28:06.440 faithful worshipper, always concerned for the Father's glory, always doing the Father's command all the way to the cross. 00:28:08.100 --> 00:28:20.580 Jesus sacrifices. His altar is the cross. The sacrifice he offers is his own life. His whole life is one of 00:28:20.579 --> 00:28:33.859 humble service. But then at the cross, he lays down his life. Takes the curse. Endures judgment that we might receive blessing. 00:28:33.859 --> 00:28:43.439 As Jesus left and went, he went with a promise from his Father. Sam 2, I will make the ends of the earth your possession. 00:28:44.479 --> 00:28:50.559 He knew that he was God's way to bring blessing to all peoples on the earth. So he had a promise. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:58.319 And Jesus also brings a promise. This promise that the river of God's grace, 00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:07.299 that came to Abraham, that flows through history, flows to his people still. 00:29:08.639 --> 00:29:15.899 God's grace would come to you and to me today, bringing life in him and life with him, 00:29:16.279 --> 00:29:20.819 forgiveness of sin and eternal life, if we have faith. 00:29:20.819 --> 00:29:30.720 faith that Jesus is the promised one. Faith that Jesus is God's way for us to know life with him 00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:39.139 and true blessing. Let me pray for us briefly. Our Father in heaven, we thank you. 00:29:39.140 --> 00:30:09.120 God bless you.