Week commencing Sunday 14th August 2022

Seems like it was only yesterday
She was living here
Yes, she was living here

Lord knows why He's taken her away
It isn't very clear
No, it isn't very clear

Into every life a little rain must fall
And losing one you love is like a storm
But storms are passing

I hear Leesha singing in Heaven tonight
And in between the sadness
Oh, I hear Leesha telling me that she's alright

Life goes on even after life
And that's what I believe
Yes, that's what I believe

Leesha's gone but she will still survive
In a memory that I'm keeping
Here with me
Silencing the voice of mortal tragedy
Listening to whispers of the soul
All is peaceful

I hear Leesha singing in Heaven tonight
And in between the sadness
Oh, I hear Leesha telling me that she's alright

Into every life a little rain must fall
And losing one you love is like a storm
But storms are passing

I hear Leesha singing in Heaven tonight
In between the sadness
Oh, I hear Leesha telling me that she's alright

I hear Leesha singing in Heaven tonight
And in between the sadness
Oh, I hear Leesha telling me that she's alright

I hear Leesha
I hear Leesha
I hear Leesha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR6rJVM2pRk

Hymn. “There is a day” MP 1115 (Guitar)

Nathan Fellingham

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDeaBPyk5-k

Hymn. “My Lord what love is this?” MP 476 (Piano)

Graham Kendrick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkr9d0O-dWM

Prayers

Eternal God, You are the Creator, the giver of life, and in Jesus Christ You have given us a new life which nothing can destroy. In the resurrection of Jesus You have shown us that the grave is not the end, but that your love holds us through all things.

We thank and praise you for this hope, not based on vain and wishful thinking, but on the message of Easter and the life giving power of your Spirit at work in your people, through Jesus Christ, the life and hope of the world. (B U handbook)

“Lord we come to you for guidance. We pray for pilgrims and seekers, all who strive for a better world. We ask your blessing on all who are seeking to extend your vision- that Your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We remember all who seek to live disciplined lives, all who are new to the Faith. Lord guide all who are leaders and teachers in your Church.

We give thanks for all who have built up the world, we pray for builders and architects, for city planners and members of government, for genetic engineers and all research workers. Lord give us wisdom to build on firm foundations. We ask your blessing upon all who live in poverty, those who live in squalid surroundings. All who live without much hope or vision.

We give you thanks for all who have extended our vision, who have increased our capacity to understand and to love. We pray for all who have shared their vision with us, for preachers and teachers, for artists and craftspeople, for our friends and our loved ones.

We pray for all whose vision and abilities are restricted through illness or weakness. We remember all who are losing mobility or agility, all who suffer from a stroke or multiple sclerosis, especially those who find it hard to communicate, and those who cannot look after themselves. We pray for loved ones who are ill. (Prayer in silence for those known to us).

You Lord, will bring us to the Promised Land where sorrow and pain are no more, but life and joy are everlasting.

Lord, we put our trust in you.

You are our hope and salvation. (From ‘Glimpses of Glory’ David Adam).

Loving God you have given us life with all its possibilities for growth and all its opportunities for service. You have made us in your image as men and women responsible and creative, open to great visions, and capable of great imagination. In Jesus Christ you have shown us what, by your grace, we might be. When you raised him to life you showed us that death is not the end for those who put their trust in you. Thank you for this new life in Christ, and for the hope of its future fullness. Amen

Reading. Genesis 25: 1-11

²⁵ Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. ² She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. ³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. ⁴ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

⁵ Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. ⁶ But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.

⁷ Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. ⁸ 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. ⁹ His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, ¹⁰ the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

Hymn. “How sweet the name of Jesus sounds” MP 251 (Piano)

John Newton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfumgpnshag

Sermon. “Gathered To His People”

King Solomon said, “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death, than the day of one’s birth” (Ecc.7:1) His point was that the name you receive at birth is like a fragrant ointment, and you should keep it fragrant until you die. When you were born nobody knew what you would do with your name, but at death that name is either fragrant or putrid.

Abraham’s name is fragrant and widely esteemed. Pious Jews believe they will rest in Abraham’s bosom after they die. Devout Muslims reverence his name as second only to Mohammed. The Apostles Paul and James both commend Abraham’s example in their New Testament writings.

Abraham headed a great people movement, he showed energy and endeavour, he possessed great wealth. But it wasn’t for any of these reasons that his name is esteemed as it is. His name is fragrant because it is synonymous with great faith in God.

After a person dies, we read the obituary; and after the burial we read the will. Let’s do that with Abraham.

Abraham’s Obituary

 Our passage tells us at the age of a hundred and seventy five years Abraham “breathed his last”.

What could be said of his life?

Abraham died in faith. For a hundred years, he had been a stranger and pilgrim on the earth, living his life according to a God given agenda that was radically different to the way people around him lived.

God had made Abraham some wonderful promises. Abraham had been promised land; the land of Canaan, posterity “I will make of you a great nation” and blessing; through Abraham all nations would be blessed”. These promises were not fulfilled when he died. But all through his life Abraham lived by faith. His thoughts and actions were schooled by these promises, even though he had little outward encouragement, circumstantially, to go on believing and trusting God. Hebrews 11 counts Abraham among its heroes of faith and says “all these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance” They were in the process of becoming established even when he died. But it is only with the benefit of hindsight we can see the promises first made to Abraham have been fulfilled, back then Abraham did not have that benefit. He walked by faith not sight.

In that faith Abraham left his native country and travelled to the one promised as an inheritance, though he did not know where he was going. In that faith he let Lot choose the best land for himself, because he was confident the Lord could give him what was needed in line with the promise. In that faith he waited through many years, sure that God would give him the promised child- the key to numerous descendants. When that son was born the Lord asked Abraham to offer him up in order to test Abraham. Such was Abraham’s faith in God, he reasoned the Lord could raise Isaac from the dead and so give him the promised descendants.

In that faith, Abraham lived a nomadic life, dwelling in tents and making no attempt to return to the more comfortable, secure life he once knew. Instead his soul was full of an assured expectation of the land God had promised to him. In that faith he buried Sarah in a cave he had purchased as a burial site. The cave was in Canaan. He did not take Sarah back to their former home in Ur but buried her in the land promised to him and his descendants. Again, he did not yet possess that land, but acted in the present in line with what God had promised for the future. That is faith.

What else can we say of Abraham’s life? How else does his obituary read? Genesis 25; 8 says Abraham died “full of years”. This suggests more than a quantity of time, it suggests a quality of life. It has been translated as “satisfied with life”. Abraham was satisfied with life. A life lived by faith has purpose and meaning. There is an assurance about the future because you know you belong to God. Further, if you have entrusted yourself to him, He will use your life to effect within His wider purposes for his Church and his World. You can entrust your family and friendships to Him. Abraham knew his life was being worked out within God’s wider purposes and we have that assurance as believers too.

2 Peter 1: 4-7 describes how faith is the door to other qualities God wants to develop in the Christian’s life and so enrich it. Abraham shows such qualities. Abraham showed courage by rescuing Lot from invaders. He demonstrated self- control in his insistence he would receive nothing from the King of Sodom as reward. Patience in waiting out the long years as a nomad in the desert. Godliness in building alters to God wherever he went. Brotherly kindness; he cared for his family, he was concerned even for the evil people of Sodom and interceded for that city. Love- he was generous, open handed- willing to pay the excessive price for Machpelah’s cave without haggling or complaint.

Abraham died satisfied with life. His faith gave him meaning and purpose. It issued in other qualities that kept him flourishing and fruitful to the very end. I know of godly elderly people, still satisfied with life, they have little energy left, but they look to see how God can use them in the most important activity- intercessory prayer! How few people really experience joy and satisfaction when they reach old age. Those with no active, living faith in God, have given up on life, they are literally hopeless. When they look back, it is with regret; when they look ahead, it is with fear, and when they look around, it is with complaint. But in Christ we always have a new beginning, we know we are accepted and loved by our heavenly Father and we can trust in his good purposes. It’s never too late to turn to Christ and so die satisfied with life.

God promised that Abraham would die in peace (Genesis 15:15), and he did. In his song “I’m So Tired”, John Lennon expressed the emptiness of his successful and wealthy life with these words: “I’d give you everything I’ve got for a little peace of mind”. The Welsh poet Dylan Thomas wrote that “old age should burn and rave at close of day”; but neither of these are the Christian approach to life, old age or death. Abraham was saved by faith and so had peace with God. Paul reminded the believers at Philippi, “The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). This is the peace God brings those who have been reconciled to God by faith in His Son Jesus. It is a peace we are to share with a world that is desperate for it.

Abraham was gathered to his people. This phrase is not referring to his bodily remains in the tomb. The meaning is Abraham continued to exist with the rest of his ancestors, because there is an existence beyond death. Some think that there is a temporary home for the spirits of the dead. But the words “sheol” in the Old Testament and “Hades” in the New can mean simply “the grave” or the “state of being dead”. The weight of biblical evidence suggests that the souls of believers, including Old Testament believers, go immediately into God’s presence in heaven after death, while the souls of unbelievers go immediately to eternal punishment.

Luke 16:19-31 envisages the saved in a place of blessing; Jesus describes how the beggar was carried by angels to Abraham’s side. The lost, however are in a place of anguish. The rich man, who had cared nothing for the beggar during his life time and had only used his wealth for himself found himself in hell and in torment, separated by a gulf from Abraham and the beggar.

1 Thessalonians teaches that the souls of all Christian believers go directly to God. Christ will return a second time to this earth and when He returns he will bring those who have died with Him and unite their souls with new bodies. Then they and the believers living at that time of his return will ascend to meet the Lord in the air. This is the rapture. We will all be taken up to be with the Lord- thus following the pattern of our Lord’s ascension. (See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We will be reunited with our brothers and sisters in Christ and know unbroken fellowship with the Lord for evermore.

One day you will be gathered to your people. If you are “in Christ” you will be gathered with God’s people. If not, and Jesus himself warned of this, you will be with those condemned to hell.

Abraham’s Will

Abraham left his material wealth to his family.

God renewed Abraham’s natural strength so Isaac could be born. God did not take that strength away. Abraham was able to marry again and have another family. However, he made a distinction between these 6 new sons and his son Isaac. Isaac was God’s choice to carry on the covenant line. Keturah’s sons received gifts, but Isaac’s son received the inheritance and the blessings of the covenant.

All who have trusted Jesus Christ are “as Isaac was, the children of promise” (Galatians 4:28). This means that we have a share in Abraham’s will. What is the spiritual wealth that he has left us?

To begin with, Abraham left us a clear witness of salvation through faith. Paul cites his example in Romans 4: 1-5 and relates it to Abraham’s experience in Genesis 15. Paul explains that Abraham could not have been saved by keeping the law because the law had not yet been given. He could not have been saved by the ritual of circumcision because God declared him righteous long before Abraham was circumcised. Like everyone else who has ever been saved, Abraham was saved by faith.

So many have discovered God’s love for them, their sins forgiven, their past forgotten, their future full of hope and assurance through putting their faith in Christ for their salvation.

Here are just a couple of testimonies from people who did the Alpha Course-a course that goes through Christian basics and that we have run here:

Karia: I come from a Christian background. “I went into Wrexham town where I saw the Alpha notice and thought “I’ll do that” So I went on Alpha. Due to a bad experience I couldn’t forgive someone. On the third week of the course I gave myself to Christ. I asked him to forgive me and I asked him to help me to forgive this person. I went to bed that night and I had this amazing vision. Jesus was with me. I woke up and he was still there. All of a sudden I had this peace inside me and I could truly forgive. I’ve got no hatred anymore and I’ve got so much peace”

Phil: I was a complete sceptic and atheist. I liked evidence and thought that science had disproved the Bible. By the end of Alpha I really believed in Jesus. Jesus has given me an assurance, a forgiveness for my sins. And now there’s a third person in our marriage”

Abraham has left us a clear witness of salvation through faith.

But Abraham also leaves us a clear example of a faithful life.

James in his letter uses Abraham’s example to illustrate the importance of proving our faith by our works (James 2:14-26). Wherever Abraham went, he pitched his tent and built his alter. He let the people of the land know that he was a worshipper of the true and living God. When he offered Isaac on the alter, Abraham proved his faith in God and his love for God. He was not saved by works, but he proved his faith by his works.

So from Abraham we learn how to walk by faith. True he had his lapses, but in general his life evidenced faith in God.

The late composer Leonard Bernstein said to an interviewer, “I believe in everything, in anything that anybody believes in, because I believe in people. In other words I believe in belief. I believe in faith”

But “faith in faith” is not the same as faith in God, because it has no foundation. It is building on the sand. True faith is our obedient response to the Word of God. God speaks we hear Him and believe, and we do what He tells us to do. Abraham and Sarah held on to God’s promises and God rewarded their faith.

We have been following this series about Abraham for several months now and seeing what it meant for him to walk by faith. We must learn to put it into practise for our lives as individuals and as God’s Church. Abraham acted with God’s future promises in mind. He knew God had promised him numerous descendants and took steps in the present with that end in view. In the same way God has spoken to His Church. He has shown us His purpose is to gather all who belong to Christ- the true children of the promise- at the end of the Age. Now like Abraham, the Church is to act in faith with that glorious end in view. How do we act? In His ‘Great Commission’ Jesus calls His followers to make disciples of all nations and teach them God’s Word (“all I have commanded you”). In short the Great Commission calls us to evangelise and then nurture new converts within the life of the Church through biblical teaching. To win people, grow them and get them ready for that great day.

William Carey (1761-1834) was a man who walked by faith in this way. He was a Baptist Bible translator, pastor, and father of the modern missionary movement. He challenged the hyper-Calvinist view, prevalent among British Baptists at that time, that God would bring the nations to Christ without human assistance. In 1792, as a young Baptist pastor in Leicester, he published ‘An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens’ (1792). This pamphlet argued that Christians should undertake evangelistic missions overseas. Expecting “great things” from God, he urged the leaders of the Northampton Baptist Association to found a “society for propagating the gospel among the heathen.” Thus was a Particular Baptist voluntary society born in 1792 that became known as the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS) - as it is still known today.

Carey arrived in colonial Calcutta in November 1793 without any travel permits. His family managed to survive because he accepted employment as manager of an indigo plantation in Bengal. After missionary colleagues arrived from England in 1799, he moved to the Danish colonial enclave of Serampore, 13 miles up to the River Hooghly from Calcutta. There he spent the rest of his life with Joshua Marshman and William Ward in a unique partnership dubbed by mission promoters as “the Serampore Trio.” A strange mixture of political opposition and encouragements from the East India Company significantly shaped the nature and work of the mission Carey established at Serampore. He spent well over half his time working as a professor of Bengali and Sanskrit at Fort William College, Calcutta. In partnership with several older colleagues and scores of Indian pundits, he accomplished much in the areas of linguistics, Bible translation (into dozens of languages), Orientalism, literacy, education (founding Serampore College in 1818), publishing, technology, relief work, social reform, botany, evangelization, and mission promotion. One commentator said of Carey ‘He died like a humble patriarch’ Carey has been highly revered by generations of Bengalis for his contributions to the renaissance of their culture.

Carey’s faith led to obedience in his evangelistic activity, his advancement of the Bible and its teachings, along with the many other benefits that sprung from these for his community.

Through Abraham’s example we learn to walk by faith.

Finally, because of Abraham, we have a Saviour. In the first verse of the New Testament (Matt.1:1), Abraham’s name is joined with the names of David and Jesus Christ. God promised Abraham that through him all the world would be blessed and He has kept that promise. We still need to get the message out that Jesus is indeed the Saviour of the World. (John 4:42).

There can only be one Abraham and Sarah in God’s great plan of redemption, but we have our tasks to perform in the will of God (Eph.2:10)

What is our spiritual heritage?

Today, you and I are writing our own obituary and preparing our last will and testament. We are saved by faith, as Abraham was. He trusted in God’s provision. We see that provision is Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice for us.

And we learn to walk by faith as Abraham did. In the words of William Carey to “Expect great things from God (and) attempt great things for God”

Hymn. “See, what a morning” MP 1105 (Piano)

Stuart Townend & Keith Getty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET65Y1r3YeQ

Blessing

“May the eternal God bless and keep us, guard our bodies, save our souls, direct our thoughts, and bring us safe to the heavenly country, our eternal home where Father, Son and Holy Spirit ever reign, one God for ever and ever.”

David Barnes 10/8/22