Warragul Presbyterian Church

Genesis 23:1-20, Genesis 49:29-50:26

A burial place became very important to Abraham after his wife Sarah died at the age of 127 years.

Abraham is described as a sojourner in the land of the Hittites, He had nowhere he could call his own to bury his dead. He was still an immigrant in Canaan even though he had gained rights to the well at Beersheba. 

He was highly esteemed as a prince by the Hittites, and they were willing to give Abraham the choicest of their tombs to bury his dead, but Abraham would not accept land as a gift from men, because it had already been promised to him as a gift from the Lord.

Rather than return to the past and his ancestral home to bury Sarah, Abraham paid Ephron’s asking price for the chosen burial land in Canaan with the interests of his descendants in mind.

This desire to purchase rather than borrow land at Hebron demonstrates that he had no intention of his or his descendants being servants to the Hittites. It also demonstrates Abraham’s growing faith and confidence in the Lord’s promised blessings.

Abraham obtained the new family plot as a pledge of greater things to come. He buried his much loved wife Sarah in a small part of the Promised Land where he would later be buried. This bore witness to future generations of Abraham and Sarah’s faith and hope that the Lord would do so much more, even after their earthly lives were over.

Genesis 22:1-24, Hebrews 6:12-20 & 11:17-19

It has been approximately forty years since Abram left Haran to this point in the narrative and during that time Abraham has learnt what God is like through many different interventions and the provision of what seemed impossible; a son is born to him at the ripe old age of one hundred.

God now tests Abraham’s faith and his obedience to his commandments. In this passage, God requires Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, the promised (only) son, on an altar.

Abraham’s faith that God would provide is now evident. God had previously made specific promises in regards to Isaac and Abraham trusted God to deliver those promises, even if he were to slay his only son.  Abraham believed God would provide the necessary sacrifice and that he and Isaac would return Gen 22:5.

This passage is a foreshadowing of God’s provision of His only Son, Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. By faith, like Abraham, we will be saved through faith, by trusting in the perfect sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To hear more of the Abraham narrative click here

Galatians 4:20-31, Genesis 21:1-34

The birth of Isaac wasn’t a surprise; God always fulfills his promises.
It was truly astonishing that Sarah bore Abraham a son in his old age; Abraham being one hundred years old when Isaac was born.
Sarah laughs with joy at the birth of her son. Others may have laughed mockingly, but no one could laugh at the fact that what seemed impossible physically had not been impossible for the Lord God to accomplish. God’s purposes required the birth of the promised Isaac.

Ishmael and his mother were cast off from Abraham but God heard the cry of Ishmael and protected and provided for him in the wilderness. He promised Ishmael that he would receive blessings because he was Abraham’s son.

Abimelech understands that Abraham is blessed by the Lord. Abimelech and Abraham swear an oath together which is very significant in the Lord’s plan of redemption and an important step forward regarding God’s pledge of land to Abraham and his offspring.
Abraham is now at peace with Abimelech. He has permanent water rights and a place to dwell in the promised land of Canaan so that he is no longer a nomad.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!”
“Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-
“Great is Thy faithfulness,”
Lord, unto me!…

At the end of last year, we commenced a series in Genesis looking at the Abraham narrative.

What was Abraham really like, warts and all?

We took  a short break for a couple of weeks to focus on Psalms 80 and 81.

We now return to Genesis to pick up the Abraham narrative from
Genesis 20:1-18.

God’s plan to bless the nations was through Abraham, a man with many failings.

Even after God had restated his promises to Abraham, that Abraham’s heir would be born within a year, through Sarah his wife, a few weeks later Abraham permits Sarah his wife to be taken by Abimelech.

God restrained Abimelech and prevented him from sinning by warning him in a dream about the sin which was occuring and that if he didn’t return Sarah to her husband, then he would surely die. Abimelech quickly obeyed the Lord as soon as he woke the next morning, he also took Abraham to task for having deceived him.

Throughout this passage, we see Abraham demonstrating that he fears man more than he fears God and yet he is Gods choice, to be our father of faith.

Please listen to today’s sermon below or you can commence the series by clicking here for the full play list.

 

 

Genesis 11:27-13:1

We begin our study of our foundational member of faith Abram and how the Lord graciously called him out of a pagan and idolatrous civilisation, Ur of the Chaldeans, and led him to the promised land.

God made gracious promises to Abram and to his offspring. He would make Abram’s name great and would make of him a great nation, despite the fact that he was an old man, his wife was barren and the promised land was already occupied.

Abram stumbled in his belief of God’s promises and made some terrible choices, leaving the promised land, giving away his wife and deceiving the Egyptian pharaoh.

However, it is God’s plan to bless all nations through the offspring of Abram and despite Abram’s stumble, God’s plans will never fail.

 

The completed Galatians series for 2019 is now available at:

Galatians

This has been a wonderful series of teaching from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia in which he argues that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.

Leviticus 19:19; Galatians 5:13-24

How do we escape from enslavement to sin and get right with God legally?

Before we are born again, we are enslaved to serving ourselves rather than serving others. We live self pleasing lives in total rebellion towards God.

Now that we are born again, how do we deal practically, as physical creatures, with the practice of sin in our daily lives when our flesh is so weak. Even though our sins have been dealt with, past, present and future, that doesn’t give us free licence to sin and continue to indulge the flesh.

How do we put our new found freedom into practice without gratifying our sinful desires?

Are we relying on the Law to keep us in check or are we walking with and depending on the power of God’s indwelling Spirit to change us?

There is only one way to defeat the flesh and that is through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, so that Gods Spirit will bear fruit in us.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Genesis 21:1-21; Galatians 4:8-3

Paul hung out with the Galatians during a time when he needed medical assistance. They were unbelievers but they gladly received him as an angel of God and even as Jesus Christ even though he was a trial to them.

Paul preached the gospel to the Galatians and they believed. but when he left them, others came in and were suggesting that Paul hadn’t told them the whole story.  They flattered the Galatians and drew them away after themselves.

Paul is now appealing to them by letter to remain faithful and not re-introduce law keeping practices which are weak and worthless principles of the world; a return to a form of slavery.

Law keeping is ineffective in dealing with our sin!

Paul is in anguish over the Galatians and desperate to be with them so that he could labour again (as in giving birth to a child) to help them understand this vital truth.

Genesis 15:1-21; Galatians 3:15-4:7

If people want to inherit the promises God gave to Abraham, it won’t be based on moral performance.

Our inheritance must depend on something far superior.

It won’t be based on how well we keep the law which can never achieve righteousness. 

The law shows us that we are imprisoned by sin and that anyone who depends on law keeping for righteousness is under a curse because they cannot keep the law. 

It isn’t possible to keep the law!

If we can’t be made righteous by keeping the law, why was the law given?

Genesis 12:1-8, Galatians 3:1-14

Jesus was seen to be put to death by the Romans using the most cruel method they knew how. They slowly tortured criminals to death by crucifixion. Jesus suffered great shame and agony, both physically and spiritually when he was cut off from the Father, in a way we can’t fully comprehend. He did it because he loved us and so that he would obtain our freedom from slavery!

Can we possibly add to that which Jesus has finished by His death and resurrection? It’s our natural tendency to try to gain favour with God by doing good works or acts of penance, instead of simply trusting in Jesus for our salvation. Galatians chapter 3 is clear that we can’t be made righteous by keeping the law, only through faith.

Abraham wasn’t justified by the law (which didn’t come until over 400 years later!), or by circumcision, which wasn’t given until after he was declared righteous. He was justified because he believed God’s promises and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6 & Romans 4:3). )

It is no different for all who believe God and trust in Christ. Salvation can’t be obtained through works of the flesh; it is through faith in Jesus alone.

“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  Galatians 3:1-3