Well, you may be wondering, why aren't we reading the Gospels and the Resurrection?
Isn't it Easter Sunday?
Well, I think there's hope here.
So let's pray and ask for God's help to us.
Our Father God, we thank you for this day where we, especially as your church across
the world, remember and celebrate Christ risen from the dead and the hope that that brings
to all who will put their trust in you.
Father, we pray that from your word today, we would be encouraged in the hope that we
have, that we would leave this building filled with assurance and confidence of our eternal
destiny with you, filled with a message of hope to a broken and dying world.
Father, help us by your Holy Spirit, we pray.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Amen.
But it reads like any other obituary.
Look at verse 7.
Abraham lived 175 years.
Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years,
and he was gathered to his people.
Not much to ponder over, is there?
Just another death notice.
Let's move on.
Well, let's not be in such a rush this morning, because it may seem quite ordinary to us, but
these verses, verses 7 and 8, are filled with glorious hope.
Abraham's death tells us with absolute certainty that death is not the end.
In fact, we, like Abraham, can have the same guaranteed hope.
The story of Abraham can be our story too.
So we have a very simple structure this morning, easy to remember, summarised in four words.
Here's the first one.
Abraham lived.
Look at verse 8 with me.
Abraham lived to a good old age.
In fact, he was 175 years old.
Wow, you say, really?
You want me to believe that?
That's impossible.
Nobody lives that long.
Well, the record of Genesis tells us, when we read from the beginning, that people lived
to be hundreds of years old.
However, what we see happening as we read through is a gradual decline in how long people lived.
As the effects of the curse take hold, so the span of life shortens.
In fact, the writer of Psalm 90 would later record this.
He says this,
Our days may come to 70 years or 80 if our strength endures.
That's a pretty accurate assessment for life today.
70, maybe 80 years will live if our strength endures.
But let's not miss the point.
Abraham lived a good old age.
We could say he died a happy and contented man.
A man with a big family dishing out his inheritance.
However, when we take time to look back on Abraham's life,
it's a surprise he even lived so long.
You see, in many ways, Abraham's life was a failure.
He messed up big time.
Remember the different accounts that we've been looking at?
First, there were the lies Abraham told about his wife Sarah.
Whenever they arrived to a new place, they were nomadic people,
so they would travel from one destination to another.
And when they arrived in a new place,
it seemed the ruling lords were known for killing off the men and taking all the women.
So Abraham came up with a wonderful plan.
And this is what he said.
It's recorded for us in Genesis.
He says to his wife Sarah,
This is how you can show your love to me.
Everywhere we go,
say of me,
He's my brother.
It seems it was a regular practice.
Everywhere we go.
Not very courageous of Abraham and not very protective.
It seems he was quite happy to kind of push his wife into danger,
put her into the arms of another man.
Well, as long as he saved his own bacon, that was okay.
Not a great husband.
Then there was the whole business with Hagar,
Abraham's wife's servant.
He went and got her pregnant as he tried to fulfill God's promises for himself.
And it was a disaster.
Desperate family breakdown.
And then, after Sarah died,
chapter 25, verse 1,
Abraham, Abraham, we're told,
had taken another wife.
Which suggests that he actually had more than one living wife.
In fact, the text tells us that he did have others.
Look down at verse 6.
But while he was still living,
he gave birth to the sons of his concubines.
Now, concubines were other women that men took.
Well, they weren't quite a wife or in the category of wife,
just a little bit below.
But they took them to themselves nonetheless.
Whatever happened to God's command about marriage
being an exclusive union between one man and one woman?
Given Abraham's life,
we wouldn't be surprised if God had stepped in and ended it early.
In fact, it wouldn't be a shock to us
if God's patience had run out completely with Abraham.
It seems these 175 years
actually tell us more about God's faithfulness
than Abraham's greatness.
In fact, the only reason Abraham lived as long as he did
is because God promised him many years
and God kept to his promise.
Just look back at chapter 15, verse 15.
There God made a promise to Abraham.
Chapter 15, verse 15.
He says,
You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace
and be buried at a good old age.
The same words that we have in chapter 25.
God kept his promise.
You see, the life we have
is a God-given life.
God made us.
He sustains us.
He provides for all that we have.
We all owe our very existence to God.
Scripture reminds us of that.
Look at the verse on the screen.
This comes from Isaiah the prophet.
This is what God the Lord says,
the creator of the heavens,
who stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth
with all that springs from it,
who gives breath to his people,
and life to those who walk on it.
Job said something similar.
In his hand,
in God's hand,
is the very life of every creature.
And in his hand,
is the breath of all mankind.
Breathe in.
Ah!
Breathe out.
Ah!
That's God sustaining you.
The fact that you are breathing right now,
the fact that you breathe through your sleep,
is God sustaining you.
Not because we're deserving,
but because God is faithful.
And as I look at my life,
both present and past,
I'm amazed at how God has been patient
and persistent with me,
despite all my rebellion,
and all the times I've walked away from God
and ignored him.
My years,
51 though they may be,
is not about the greatness of Johnny Grant,
but the faithfulness of God,
which should lead us all to humble praise and thanks,
to marvel at God's goodness and kindness
to each one of us.
So before you tuck into your Easter roast today,
let me encourage you,
round the table,
to stop and say,
thank you God,
for life.
Thank you God,
for your faithfulness to me.
Your grace and your mercy.
And perhaps,
even sing a verse of,
great is thy faithfulness.
God is good.
Abraham lived.
We live.
This is the story of us all.
So the first word,
lived,
told you it was a very simple outline.
The second word,
died.
Look at verse 8.
Abraham breathed his last
and died.
I was watching a health program the other evening
and in the program we were introduced to a middle-aged mum.
I think she was around about 40.
Her name was Linda.
And a number of tests were arranged.
Her weight was taken,
her height,
her BMI bloods were taken.
She did a stress test.
And then all of the results were fired into this computer program.
It chugged about for a little while
and then it spat out the calculated age
of her predicted death.
74.
12 weeks later,
after a change in exercise,
diet and lifestyle,
the same results were repeated.
All the information fired into the computer.
And guess what?
Age of death?
86.
An increase of 12 years
from 12 weeks activity.
Wow, I wonder,
what if you did a year's activity?
What would that give me?
Well, doesn't that say something about us?
We somehow think
that we can just add years to our life.
And if we're younger,
we think,
wow, we've got buckets of years.
It's kind of an eternity.
We can't even think that far.
I've got so long to live.
But whatever our exercise plan,
whatever our eating habits,
we cannot change the inevitable.
We will breathe our last.
You see, our life is transient.
The list of names in the genealogy,
if you just look forward to verses 12 to 18,
we get this long list of names.
And it helps move the story along
to the next generation.
But it also reminds us
that with every birth comes a death.
So look at verse 12.
This is the account of the family line
of Abraham's son, Ishmael.
Well, what happened to Ishmael?
Look at verse 17.
Ishmael lived 137 years.
He breathed his last and died.
Here today,
gone tomorrow in the blink of an eye.
You see, I think the text is forcing us
to stop and slow down in the busyness
and the rush of life
and all the things that we plan to do
and want to do and say,
slow down and consider your own impending death.
Look what Psalm 39 says.
Show me, Lord, my life's end
and the number of my days.
Let me know how fleeting my life is.
You have made my days a mere hand breath.
The span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath.
Even those whom seem secure.
Or consider this,
what James says,
the writer in the New Testament.
What is your life?
You know what your life is?
It's a mist.
You know the mist that appears in the morning?
There for a little while.
And then vanishes as it is burnt up by the sun.
You're nothing more than the steam out of a kettle.
Vapour.
You see it and then it's gone.
Think about what days you have.
How long do you think you're going to live?
Our lives are temporary.
We don't last.
We're born and then we die.
The God who gives us life
will one day take our life.
We won't die a second too early
or a minute too late.
It may come at old age,
but it may come through an accident.
One day we will breathe our last.
All the things that we wanted to do,
all the plans for our retirement,
gone in a flash.
Are you ready for your last breath?
Abraham lived.
Abraham died.
And we die.
This is the story of us all.
Well, third.
Gathered.
So Abraham lived.
He died.
And was buried.
Right?
Well, not so fast.
Let's not go to the funeral too quickly.
Look at the text.
Verse 7.
Abraham lived 175 years.
Then Abraham breathed his last
and died at a good old age.
An old man and full of years.
And he was gathered to his people.
You say, what's this gathering all about?
Well, gathered to his people.
It's a rare phrase to find in the Bible
and seen just on a few occasions
throughout the Old Testament.
But it's hinting, it's telling us that
though there's a death,
there is a life after death.
He was gathered to his people.
His soul departed
and his physical body was left behind.
Look at the progression.
We're told that he lived,
he died,
then he was gathered.
And then in the next verse,
we read about his burial.
So this isn't just another term for burial.
He was gathered to his people.
Oh, he was buried.
No.
It's something distinct,
separate from
he was gathered,
then he was buried.
And it's not another term
for an ancestral grave.
Because we know that Abraham
didn't go back to his ancestors.
He was buried in a small cave
alongside his wife, Sarah.
So it seems the author wants us to stop
and take on board
and recognise that,
yes, he lived, he died,
but there is a life after death.
Where you say,
well, isn't that stretching things
a little bit, Johnny?
Aren't you reading a little bit
too much into it?
Well, I don't think so
because the burial that we read of
in verses 9 to 10
point to that.
Look at verse 9.
His sons, Isaac and Ishmael,
buried him in the cave
at Machpelah near Mamre
in the field of Ephron,
son of Zohar, the Hittite,
the field Abraham had bought
from the Hittites.
There Abraham was buried
with his wife Sarah.
Well, you go,
well, what's all the detail
about this burial plot
and the place it is
and that he bought it?
Why not just tell us
he was buried?
Well, remember,
God had made a promise
to Abraham
that he would have a land
that he could call home,
the promised land of Canaan.
And as a sign of his faith
in God's promises,
as we read at the end
of verse 10,
Abraham bought a burial site
in Canaan.
Yes, it was the Hittites,
but the land was known
as the land of Canaan.
And this whole account
of buying the land
is recorded for us
back in chapter 23.
It's not a lot of land
that he manages to buy.
It's just a field
with a cave in it,
somewhere to bury the dead.
But for him,
it was much more
than just a burial site.
It was a foretaste
of what will one day
be received.
You see,
when Abraham bought the land,
he was investing
in his future inheritance.
For Abraham,
this burial site
pointed to something greater
and more eternal.
Go with me, please,
to Hebrews chapter 11.
It's on page 1209,
if you're using a church Bible.
1209,
Hebrews chapter 11.
And here we see
a gathering
that Abraham
was looking forward to.
We'll pick it up
in verse 13.
We've read other verses
in chapter 11,
but here's verses
we haven't read.
Chapter 11,
verse 13.
All these people
were still living by faith.
People like Abraham
were living by faith
when they died.
They did not receive
the things promised.
They only saw them
and welcomed them
from a distance,
admitting that they were
foreigners
and strangers
on earth.
They saw life
on this world
as temporary.
Verse 14.
People who say
such things
show that they are
looking for a country
of their own.
But what kind of country
was he looking forward to?
Well, we're told.
Verse 15.
If they had been thinking
of the country
they had left,
they would have had
opportunity to return.
Instead,
they were longing
for a better country,
a heavenly one.
Therefore,
God is not ashamed
to be called their God,
for he has prepared
a city for them.
Now, you can keep
your Bibles open
there in Hebrews.
We're going to come
back to it in a minute.
But look,
when Abraham died,
he was first of all
raised and gathered
to his people.
He joined all those
who by faith
were longing
for their eternal home.
You see,
the physical land
of Canaan,
the place where
he was buried,
was pointing to
not just the promised land,
but the eternal land.
The land of the new heavens
and new earth,
a new country.
An inheritance
that would never perish,
spoil or fade.
In fact,
it was something
that was guaranteed.
It's promised to us
by God.
And he promises
to keep us
for that glorious inheritance.
It's a double security.
You see,
this is what is promised
to all God's people.
We can have the sure
and certain hope
that we will be gathered
with and to his people,
that death is not
the end of the story.
Abraham lived.
He died.
And he was gathered.
And we too
can also be gathered.
This is the story
of God's people.
So fourth,
lived,
died,
gathered,
raised.
You see,
Abraham longed
for a better country.
But why was he
so confident
about his future?
How was he
so assured
of his eternal destiny?
Well,
one word.
Resurrection.
Abraham believed
that God
could raise
the dead.
well,
how do you know that?
Well,
because the Bible
tells us.
Have a look at verse 17,
Hebrews chapter 11,
verse 17.
This is recording
the account
of when Abraham
was called
to sacrifice
his son Isaac,
although in fact
God never intended
that to happen
because he would
provide
something in place
of Isaac.
but let's see
what it says here,
verse 17.
By faith,
Abraham,
when God
tested him,
offered Isaac
as a sacrifice.
He who had
embraced
the promises
was about
to sacrifice
his one
and only son
even though
God had said
to him,
it is through Isaac
that your offspring
will be reckoned.
Even though
that the promised
blessings
rested
in Isaac
and in his family
to come,
Abraham believed.
What did he believe?
Well, look at verse 19.
Abraham reasoned
that God
could even
raise
the dead.
Abraham
knew God
to be faithful
and he would
never break
his promise.
So Abraham
reasoned
in the faithful
God that he is.
He calculated.
He weighed it
all up about
the character
of God
and all his
promises made.
that even
if his son
was sacrificed,
even if his
son died,
God
could take
Isaac by the
hand
and raise
him from the
dead.
That's what
he believed.
And that's
what gave
Abraham
his confidence
and assurance.
God
could
raise
the dead.
God
would
say,
God
could
raise
the dead.
God
could
raise
the dead.
Did God
raise the dead?
Was Abraham
right to put
all his hope
in God?
God
Well,
what Abraham
reasoned
we have
had
fulfilled.
You see,
we have
something
better and
greater.
What Abraham
longed for
for God
to do,
we now
look back
on to what
God has
already
done.
We have
something
better and
greater,
don't we?
because we
know that
God has
sent his
son,
his only
son,
the son
he loved,
to die
for us.
He died
to deal
with all
of our
failures
over all
the years
that we
may live.
He takes
our
disobedience
on himself
and he
is punished
in our
place.
He dies
our
death.
But more
than that,
the scriptures
tell us
that three
days later
Jesus
bodily
and
physically
walked out
of that
grave,
out of
the tomb
of death
came a
life that
destroyed
death.
So all
who put
their faith
in Jesus
have absolute
confidence
and complete
assurance that
death is not
the end,
it is only
the step
into our
eternal
destiny,
that better
country,
that heavenly
city.
you see,
the death
of Abraham
gives us
a picture
here of
how we
should
understand
our own
death
and
resurrection.
all
centred in
and founded
upon the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ as
he looked
forward in
faith,
we look
back in
faith.
For
Abraham,
a resurrection
has happened
and a
resurrection
is yet
to come.
Well,
what do you
mean?
Well,
first for
Abraham,
when he
first died,
his soul
was raised.
He was
gathered to
be with
his people,
the people
of faith.
His physical
body remained.
It was left
to decompose
in the grave
alongside his
wife Sarah.
But his soul
was raised,
gathered with
the company
of God's
people.
Now,
that is true
for Abraham
and that
is true
for us
if we
put our
faith
in God.
The moment
we die,
our soul
will be
raised,
gathered
to be
with the
company
of God's
people.
But second,
there's another
resurrection,
isn't there?
For Abraham,
way back
then,
he was
waiting
for the
Lord's
return.
When Jesus
would come
again and
his soul
would be
reunited
with his
body,
a brand
new body,
not a body
that would
get corrupt
and get
sick,
but a body
that would
never get
sick and
never suffer
again.
And when
the Lord
Jesus would
come again,
at that
moment in
the future,
Abraham
believed
that what
he longed
for would
become a
reality.
He would
step into
that new
creation,
that promised
land.
Not just
a soul,
but a
physical
being
made new.
That isn't
just true for
Abraham,
it is true for
all who
trust in
God.
Well,
how can we
be so
sure?
Well,
go with me
to 1st
Thessalonians.
It's on
page 1188.
1st
Thessalonians
chapter 4,
it's on
page 1188.
We're going
to read
these verses
together,
because I
think they
bring a
conclusion
to what
we've been
thinking
about.
We're
thinking about
a gathering
to be with
God's
people,
that's our
first
resurrection,
and then
when Christ
returns,
that full
and final
resurrection,
where we
will be
gathered
with all
God's
people.
Verse 13,
we'll pick
it up,
chapter 4,
verse 13.
Brothers
and sisters,
we do
not want
you to
be uninformed
about those
who sleep
in death.
Now,
what's sleep
in death?
Well,
there's a
similar phrase
at the end
of verse 14,
where it says
about fallen
asleep in
him,
and the
end of
verse 15,
the same
thing,
fallen
asleep.
It simply
means that
those who
have died
trusting
in God.
People
like
Abraham,
any
person
who has
died
and has
been trusting
in God,
sleep
in death.
Their
soul is
raised.
So let's
read from
verse 13
again.
Brothers
and sisters,
we do
not want
you to
be uninformed
about those
who sleep
in death,
who died
trusting
in God,
so that
you do
not grieve
like the
rest of
mankind
who have
no hope,
because we
do have
hope.
Verse 14,
for we
believe that
Jesus died
and rose
again,
and so we
believe that
God will
bring with
Jesus those
who have
fallen asleep
in him.
According to
the Lord's
word,
we tell you
that we
who are
still alive,
that is,
if we're
still living
by the time
Jesus is
coming again,
who are
left until
the coming
of the
Lord,
will
certainly
not
precede
those
who have
fallen
asleep.
For the
Lord himself
will come
down from
heaven with
a loud
command,
with the
voice of
the archangel,
and with
the trumpet
call of
God,
and the
dead in
Christ
will rise
first.
So people
like Abraham,
people that
we know of
who've died
trusting Christ,
will rise.
And what
about us
if we're
still alive?
Verse 17,
After that,
we who are
still alive
and are
left will
be caught
up together
with them
in the
clouds to
meet the
Lord in
the air,
and so
we will
be with
the Lord
forever.
What a
sight!
What a
gathering that
will be!
All of
God's
people from
all time
and all
history
gathered
together as
one new
people,
raised from
the dead,
given their
brand new
body,
looking forward,
enjoying and
experiencing that
heavenly country,
the new
creation,
where there is
no more
suffering and
no more
death.
Verse 18,
Therefore,
encourage one
another with
these words.
So you
see,
Abraham's
death
didn't end
in death.
He lived,
he died,
he was
gathered to
his people,
and he
along with
us are
looking forward
to the
Lord's
return,
where he
will gather
all God's
people,
and we
will reign
with him
forever.
What hope
we have,
what encouragement
for us
today.
Let's pray.
Father,
we thank you
for the
life of
Abraham.
We thank
you for
his life
and his
account
recorded
for us,
telling us
all about
what he
did,
how he
died,
how he
was gathered,
how he's
longing and
looking forward
to that
final
resurrection.
thank you
Lord,
that with
the same
faith,
we too
have hope.
We have
hope in
death today,
life to
come for
all eternity.
Peace
with you,
rest at
last.
Thank you
Lord Jesus
for your
victory
over death
today.
Please
will you
send us
with that
word of
encouragement
and may
we
encourage
all those
we meet
with the
truth of
our risen
saviour.
Amen.