Bury Your Dead and Walk in Faith.

Steve Gentry

[0:04] All right, go ahead and have a seat. [0:06] Welcome to Village Church. [0:08] If this is your first time here, welcome to Village. [0:11] My name is Steve, I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:13] And if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them to Genesis chapter 23. [0:17] As we continue to make our way through the book of Exodus as a church, you know, I am

[0:23] always thankful to be here, but even more so today. [0:27] We’ve already had seven baptisms this morning. [0:29] We’ll have six more at the end of the preaching time this morning. [0:33] And I’m just thankful for the work of God at Village Church. [0:38] But last week, we got back into our study on the book of Genesis, as we started what [0:44] we’re calling kind of part three of our study.

[0:47] And this is the first book of the Bible. [0:49] So if you’re already lost, go to the table of contents and just like skip two or three [0:54] pages and you’ll be there at the beginning of Genesis, then go 23 more chapters. [0:58] And that’s where we’re picking up. [1:00] But what Genesis is, it’s literally the book of beginnings. [1:05] And so this is where our understanding of God starts.

[1:09] This is where the journey of God throughout human history to redeem for himself a people, [1:16] to bring himself glory. [1:18] This is where the record of that begins. [1:21] And we begin to really, through this book, understand our place in the world, because [1:28] that, you know, no matter who you are, no matter what background you come from, we’ve [1:32] all kind of got this commonality among us that we tend to think that life is about me.

[1:39] We tend to think that this is my story. [1:42] We tend to look at life and say, you know, what story am I going to tell about myself? [1:47] Sort of making ourselves the centerpiece of this great story. [1:52] But the book of Genesis, when it starts, this is in the beginning, God, we looked last [1:56] week and we saw that that kind of discounts that view. [1:59] This is not about me.

[2:02] This is not about you. [2:04] This is not about a great story that you’re going to tell about your life. [2:08] But instead, this is the great story of God. [2:13] This is what he is working through this world to show himself glorious, to show himself [2:21] powerful, to show his all redeeming power to make for himself a glorious creation that [2:29] worships him throughout everything.

[2:31] And so when we started this part three last week, we went ahead and we preached 22 chapters [2:36] of the Bible in one day. [2:37] And so we kind of took a wide brushed look at creation, at the fall of man. [2:43] We kind of took a look at God’s promise to restore this world, to redeem for himself [2:49] a people. And we kind of when we begin to look at it, we say Genesis is really calling [2:54] people to faith.

[2:56] And when you think about the gospel of Jesus, that’s what the gospel calls us to. [3:01] And so in that, when you begin to look at all the different places of scripture, you [3:04] can kind of understand that God’s call on people has never really changed, that life [3:10] is about trusting him. [3:12] Life is about putting your faith in who he is, because one thing that’s clear, we can’t [3:18] save ourselves.

[3:21] God never once looked at any person and he said, you have sinned against me. [3:26] Save yourself from this mess, because the Bible over and over contains records of how [3:33] utterly foolish that thought would even be. [3:36] We cannot even have a hope of coming close to save ourselves. [3:42] And so instead, God calls us to believe his promises and through that faith, he will [3:49] save us. And make no doubt there are challenges to faith.

[3:55] God’s promises are not usually revealed in full or as fast as we would like them to [4:03] in this world. [4:04] But God does have a plan and he will follow it. [4:09] And his plan is usually a longer framed game than we would choose. [4:15] I would like for God to make a promise and then 30 seconds, let me see the fulfillment [4:19] of that promise. But that’s not how it works out.

[4:22] Throughout scripture, we see God taking decades, centuries, millennia to fulfill promises [4:29] according to his plan and his calling throughout every one of those moments is trust me,

[4:36] have faith in me, follow me. [4:39] In his time, he will always reveal his plan. [4:44] But since we struggle, we typically experience things in this life that challenge our faith. [4:51] But none of those challenges are ever rooted in God being untrustworthy. [4:56] Rather, the challenges to faith are always rooted in our sinfulness. [5:02] It is never that God is untrustworthy, but instead it is because sin is a curse that is

[5:08] endured throughout this life. [5:10] Now, I’ll be honest with you, there is something that’s extremely challenging to faith. [5:14] And that’s what I want to talk about today is that the most challenging thing that a [5:18] follower of Jesus typically endures through this life is probably pain and death. [5:24] No one that’s normal delights in pain. [5:30] And dealing with death typically brings fear, mourning, loss.

[5:36] Oftentimes it will bring guilt. [5:39] And usually it all always brings a struggle to move forward. [5:43] Now, the book of Genesis, which is the beginning, it does deal with death. [5:48] And today we’re going to deal with a specific instance of the deaths of Sarah and Abraham, [5:53] the ones who received the initial promise of God of how he would save this world by [6:00] making a great nation, by blessing all the nations of the world, by blessing all the

[6:05] families of the world. [6:06] But as we’re going to see today, Abraham and Sarah never on this earth experienced the [6:13] fulfillment of that promise that God made in Genesis 12, 15 and 22. [6:18] And so jumping right into it, number one, this morning, the promises of God extend [6:22] beyond this life. [6:24] That’s a hope in death, that this world is not the end of things.

[6:32] But often that’s how we look at death. [6:35] But death is not the end. [6:37] Look in Genesis, Chapter 23, it says in the very beginning in verse one, Sarah lived [6:42] one hundred and twenty seven years. [6:44] These were the years of the life of Sarah and Sarah died at Kiriath Arbor, that is [6:49] Hebron and the land of Canaan.

[6:52] And Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

[6:59] Abraham and Sarah’s lives on earth did not last forever. [7:03] Look over in Genesis, Chapter 25, starting in verse seven, it says, these are the days [7:10] of the years of Abraham’s life, one hundred and seventy five years. [7:13] Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man full of years. [7:20] He was gathered to his people. [7:23] Isaac and Ishmael, his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron,

[7:27] the son of Zohar, the Hittite east of Mamre.

[7:33] It is not that the natural pain of death should be denied. [7:40] Abraham didn’t. [7:41] If you look in Genesis 23, the narrative of Sarah’s death, what does Abraham do? [7:46] Abraham goes in, he mourns. [7:49] It says that he weeps. [7:51] You see, the religion of this world does not typically give us any space for mourning.

[7:58] It does not give us any place to experience loss. [8:02] It does not give us any place to actually deal with death, because in this life, you [8:08] will be conditioned to deny weakness. [8:12] You will be conditioned to deny pain. [8:14] You will be conditioned that mourning is something that should be avoided at absolutely [8:20] all costs to your life.

[8:22] You should, even if something bad is happening, put on a veneer of strength, deny [8:27] these things. But that’s not the message of scripture. [8:31] Later in the scriptures, in Ecclesiastes, Chapter seven, verse two, this is how Solomon [8:35] put it. He said, It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house [8:39] of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind and the living will lay it to heart. [8:46] If you ever want to be sobered up to the realities of life, go read Ecclesiastes.

[8:53] He’s here. He actually tells us, he says, the house of mourning is healthier for you [8:59] in many instances than trying to feast in celebration. [9:04] Why would that be possible?

[9:08] Because it is in the house of mourning that we come face to face with the reality, and [9:12] that is, is that this world is filled with pain. [9:14] And the second reality is, is that we are all going to die.

[9:19] The house of mourning is a prophecy of the truth for every single one of us. [9:24] And the scriptures do not give us a place where we deny it, but instead actually gives [9:30] us a doctrine in which we can see that death is part of God’s plan for his glory. [9:37] If we endure it for faith, look at the lives of Abraham and Sarah. [9:41] Their lives on Earth did not last forever. [9:44] The promises of God did not make their physical lives immortal.

[9:49] Their story on Earth ended. [9:53] You see, the problem with death is that it feels like the end, but it is not. [9:59] From our perspective, the way that we view death is that there are no more memories. [10:04] There are no more stories to be told. [10:07] It puts a period on the sentence of life. [10:12] But friends, that is why faith is so vital, because God does not view from his perspective

[10:20] death as the end. [10:23] He views it through the lens that we in faith must view it. [10:26] He views it through the lens of his promises. [10:29] You see, the promises of God endure as do the lives of those who have faith. [10:36] Mourning is not forever. [10:38] Death does not have any impact on the promises of God.

[10:45] None. And you see this with the way that Abraham dealt first with the death of Sarah, but [10:50] then the way that he deals with his own death right before he goes to the grave. [10:54] In Genesis 25, five, Abraham leaves and gives everything that he has to his son, Isaac. [11:06] In verse nine, it reveals that Isaac and Ishmael then rise up to bury their father. [11:12] They continue in their life. [11:15] They continue with the blessing of God.

[11:18] They continue in light of the promises of God. [11:21] Now, we would be tempted, as probably many were at that time, to look at Sarah and Abraham [11:26] and say, weren’t they the ones that received the promise of God? [11:31] A lot of good that did them. [11:33] They’re dead. [11:35] It didn’t save them.

[11:37] They still faced a physical end to their lives. [11:42] But the reality is that the way Abraham dealt with Sarah’s death is what? [11:46] He trusted the promises of God. [11:47] He moved forward. [11:49] He didn’t stop. [11:52] We see that as he gives everything that he has over to Isaac, then Isaac buries Abraham

[11:58] the way that Abraham buried Sarah and everything continues to go to the next generation. [12:04] The promise did not stop with Abraham because the promise was not contingent on Abraham. [12:11] The promise was not dependent on Abraham. [12:14] The problem that many of you have with your life, especially in growing in faith, is that [12:18] you live as if the promises of God are dependent on you.

[12:25] If the promises of God were not contingent on Abraham, the one who heard the very voice [12:31] of God, the one whom God called out of his tent and said, Abraham, number the stars if [12:35] you can, this is what your descendants will look like upon the face of the earth. [12:41] Abraham never saw that. [12:44] He never experienced that in his physical life. [12:49] He saw one, Isaac.

[12:54] And so if we look at it and we say the promise was contingent on Abraham, then it’s over. [12:59] And if you look at your life and you say the promises are contingent on me, the promise [13:02] is contingent on my spouse, the promise is contingent on my children, the promise is [13:06] contingent on my parents. [13:07] Everything must go good for them. [13:09] And if there’s ever any failure, if there’s ever any loss, if there’s ever any trouble,

[13:14] if there’s ever any pain, the promises of God must come into question. [13:18] If you live like that, you will never walk in faith. [13:23] Because you will walk beaten down by your own failure and you will walk beaten down [13:31] by your greatest enemy, fear.

[13:35] But the death of Abraham, something that we often look past. [13:39] The death of Abraham is proof of the enduring promises of God because the promise to [13:47] Abraham outlived Abraham. [13:51] And to move forward throughout scripture, especially in the wisdom book of Proverbs, [13:57] it repeatedly casts a vision of the next generation. [14:02] The problem with dwelling on death too long is that it makes you lose sight of the next

[14:07] generation. [14:08] If you dwell on death, if death stops you in your tracks, if death is something that’s [14:14] completely strangling in your life and you cannot get past the death of a loved one, [14:19] the death of someone or the fear of your own death, then it will bring you an issue of [14:24] faithlessness. [14:26] Abraham had to focus on the child of promise, even in the face of the loss of Sarah.

[14:34] Friends, God’s promises endure past the loss of those that we love. [14:40] You will experience loss. [14:42] You will experience death of loved ones. [14:45] If you’re in here and you’re older, you’ve probably lost loved ones somewhere along the [14:50] way, whether it be parents, whether it be a spouse, whether it even be the death of a [14:54] child.

[14:56] If you’re younger, maybe you haven’t experienced death that much. [15:00] So you don’t know the pain, you don’t know the grief, you don’t know the mourning, but [15:05] surely you’re experiencing the death of something. [15:07] Many of you have experienced the death of a dream. [15:10] You’ve experienced the death of a career. [15:12] You’ve experienced the death of a relationship.

[15:15] You’ve experienced some kind of loss. [15:18] And the problem with the challenge of our faith is that what it reveals is those dreams, [15:24] those relationships, those careers. [15:26] And yes, even those people are what the promises of God and what our faith was all [15:32] wrapped up in rather than God. [15:36] And so when we lose those things, we are tempted to give up.

[15:42] We are tempted to question God. [15:44] We are tempted to lose every ounce of faith that we have. [15:48] But Abraham moved on and he looked to the next generation. [15:52] And he said, the promise of God now goes to Isaac. [15:55] And then the promise of God went from Isaac to Jacob. [15:58] Then the promise of God went from Jacob to Joseph.

[16:00] Then the promise of God went on to the nation of Israel. [16:03] Then the promise of God was fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

[16:12] There are more births and deaths throughout the Old Testament than I care to count. [16:17] And the promises of God endured every single one of them. [16:23] Never lost any traction, never lost any truth. [16:26] I mean, look at Hebrews, chapter 11, starting in verse 13, it says these all died in [16:30] faith. [16:31] Chapter 11 is what we call, you know, the Hall of Fame of Faith.

[16:34] And it talks a lot about Abraham. [16:36] Talks a lot about those who came from Abraham. [16:38] Then in verse 13, it gives us the sober. [16:40] They all died in faith, not having received the things promised.

[16:47] But having seen them and greeted them from afar and having acknowledged that they were [16:52] strangers and exiles on the earth. [16:53] So they realized, guess what? [16:56] This earth is not what the promises of God are contingent on. [16:59] So this earth is not what it is dependent on. [17:02] It says that Abraham, from glory, from heaven, saw the promises fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

[17:10] And even today, he sees the promises fulfilled through the Church of Jesus Christ. [17:15] Death is not the end for those who trust God. [17:19] Because when you trust God, you realize that this life is only the beginning.

[17:26] But understand well, number two, there will be loss before receiving God’s promises. [17:32] There will be loss. [17:34] You will lose something. [17:36] Death must be reconciled to the promises of God. [17:40] You know, you will not avoid death. [17:43] I mean, you can have the healthiest diet.

[17:46] You can use the finest of wrinkle creams. [17:50] You can drink the grossest, most pointless of green smoothies that taste disgusting. [17:59] Why are you doing this to yourself?

[18:05] You can do that because you’re trying to add five more minutes. [18:10] That’s about as good as you’re going to get from all that stuff. [18:12] It’s like five more minutes. [18:14] Now I’m all for being a good steward of this life. [18:17] You can’t really see it from the outside, but I am. [18:21] All right.

[18:21] Be a good steward.

[18:25] And I don’t say this too crassly, but you’re going to die.

[18:30] 100 percent. [18:31] All of us are. [18:33] It’s coming. [18:34] And so will others. [18:36] You will not avoid death, friends. [18:39] Death is a reality.

[18:40] When I was younger, I struggled with why we still die. [18:44] If Jesus has conquered death.

[18:47] But throughout the scripture and throughout our lives, there it is. [18:51] Both Genesis 23, Genesis 25 show families dealing with death. [18:56] And throughout the centuries, you see person die after person die after person [19:00] die and throughout my ministry, I have had to walk with more people than I, than I, [19:06] care to even think of through the death, through the loss of loved ones of all ages. [19:13] And there will come a time, statistically speaking, if you have a normal family, my

[19:19] children will have to deal with the loss of me. [19:23] My wife may have to deal with the loss of me. [19:25] I may have to deal with the loss of my wife. [19:28] You will have to deal with the loss of someone. [19:31] And I want to prepare you to be faithful through that loss.

[19:39] You see, the reality that I came to searching the scriptures, why do we still die? [19:44] If Jesus rose from the dead is that the curse of sin is still felt through physical [19:49] death and as Jesus endured it, he wants us to endure as Jesus endured it. [19:55] But the sting of death is removed. [19:58] Why? [19:59] Because of the promised resurrection.

[20:02] See, we all want to be like Jesus, but none of us want to die like Jesus. [20:06] But if we don’t die like Jesus, we will never be resurrected like Jesus.

[20:12] And in his glory and in his wisdom, the father says it would be better for you to [20:17] experience that resurrection.

[20:20] You see, the life of Abraham is one of faith. [20:23] Abraham had never seen Jesus rise from the dead, but he still trusted. [20:27] You know, Hebrews 11 goes into great detail about this journey of trusting God [20:31] throughout Abraham’s life. [20:33] But death shows us that it isn’t just the life that God wants us to trust him through.

[20:41] God wants us to trust him with death. [20:43] And that’s why Abraham died. [20:46] That’s why every prophet of the Old Testament died. [20:49] Every priest died. [20:52] Every king died. [20:54] The apostles, they all died.

[20:58] And they died in faith. [21:01] That their death would do absolutely nothing to negate the promises of God [21:09] throughout the history of scripture. [21:11] As God continued his march to fulfilling his promises, there are more births. [21:15] There’s more deaths. [21:16] But through those genealogies, we get to Jesus.

[21:21] Jesus was born. [21:23] He too died. [21:25] And God promised, endured through his death. [21:30] And in faith, my death is not the end either.

[21:36] You see, friend, your version of heaven will be challenged for the sake of your faith in light of death. [21:45] Look at Hebrews chapter 11. [21:46] If you go a few verses later from verse 13, you get to verse 32. [21:50] And it goes to talk about the aspect of faith that we love. [21:55] The author of Hebrews writes, he says, [21:56] What more shall I say for time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson,

[22:01] Jephthah of David and Samuel and the prophets who through faith they conquered kingdoms. [22:06] They enforced justice. [22:08] They obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, [22:12] escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war. [22:19] But foreign armies to flight. [22:21] Women received back their dead by resurrection.

[22:25] We like that part.

[22:28] That’s a strong part. [22:31] We’re conquering kingdoms for the glory of God. [22:34] And we’re like, yeah, I want to do that. [22:36] I want to live like that. [22:37] And then a movie about my life will be made. [22:41] I’m all about that.

[22:42] Obviously, Channing Tatum would play me. [22:45] It’s the obvious choice. [22:47] I know that’s what you were thinking. [22:49] I know. I know.

[22:52] Oh, no, that’s not what you’re OK. [22:53] Is the hair OK?

[22:57] We love that. [22:59] That’s the poison that the prosperity gospel will give you, this this false gospel [23:04] that will tell you that Jesus wants you always healthy. [23:07] Jesus wants you always wealthy. [23:09] Jesus wants you to never have to deal with pain. [23:11] It’s poison. It’s a lie.

[23:13] It’s not the gospel, because then the author goes on. [23:18] He says this. [23:20] This is some were tortured, refusing to accept release [23:26] so that they might rise again to a better life. [23:29] Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. [23:33] They were stoned. They were sawn in to they were killed with the sword.

[23:38] They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, [23:44] mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy. [23:49] Wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth.

[23:56] Friends, we love experiencing the victory. [23:59] We love celebrating when things go the way that we want them to go. [24:04] And don’t get me wrong, we should celebrate that. [24:07] We should hope for that.

[24:12] But we must also trust God’s wisdom when he chooses a harder path for us. [24:19] See, right there in verses 36 through 38, [24:21] their path of pain and death was in no way an indicator that God wasn’t working. [24:29] But that’s what we are tempted to think. [24:31] But he writes in the scriptures, he says, these people who suffered, [24:34] these people who died, these people who were mistreated.

[24:39] The world was not worthy of them.

[24:45] See, those are powerful words.

[24:49] Trusting God when it all goes according to my wisdom is one thing. [24:54] Trusting him when it goes the opposite direction of what I would choose [24:59] is quite another. [25:01] But that is where faith is refined.

[25:05] You see, friend, if your version of heaven can be found on this earth, [25:11] you will lose what you thought was faith. [25:15] Because it is too flimsy for God. [25:20] The kingdom of God endures pain because glory is promised on the other side of it. [25:30] God can be trusted in absolute every moment of your life, [25:37] the moments that you would have chosen

[25:41] and the moments that you wouldn’t have chosen if you were given any list under the sun.

[25:48] His promises endure. [25:50] His path can be trusted. [25:52] Faith endures pain. [25:55] Faith endures loss. [25:58] Faith endures life and faith endures death. [26:05] Every time.

[26:07] Because number three this morning, when God is trusted, you don’t go back. [26:12] When God is trusted, you don’t go back. [26:16] Friend, there is no going back with God. [26:19] When we look at Genesis 23, between verses four and verse nine, [26:23] Abraham does something that is very culturally significant. [26:27] See, in that culture and really moving forward throughout most cultures, even today,

[26:32] when someone died, when your wife died, when a loved one died, [26:35] if you were so journeying in a far land, the custom was to return to your homeland, [26:41] to return to your birthplace. [26:44] And that is where you bury your loved ones. [26:46] That is where your family takes you to be buried so you can return home. [26:51] Abraham doesn’t do that.

[26:53] And that is significant. [26:56] Instead, his request of the Hittites in Genesis 23 is unique in that it is an example [27:03] of his faith changing the way that he lived. [27:08] And that’s how we live oftentimes. [27:10] What are the ties that root you where you are? [27:15] Abraham, in this text, is called a foreigner.

[27:19] But he was called to the land of the Hittites by God. [27:25] And because God’s calling was to the land of the Hittites, [27:28] Abraham acted like he was home. [27:33] Because he was. [27:36] God had called them there. [27:38] So because of that, Sarah would be buried there.

[27:40] His sons followed suit in Genesis, Chapter 25, by burying Abraham [27:45] in the same location upon his death. [27:48] Let me tell you something, friend, where God has called you is where your home is. [27:55] Now, for some people, God will call you where your family is, for better or worse. [28:02] But for some of you, you need to realize that if God calls you somewhere else, [28:08] if God calls you to leave where you were born, if God calls you to move hundreds,

[28:14] thousands of miles away from family so that you can live his mission elsewhere, [28:18] that is where home is. [28:21] That is the best place on earth for you to be, because that is where God has called you [28:27] to trust him, to take you. [28:30] What are the ties that bind you where you are? [28:34] What are the reasons that you live where you are?

[28:36] What are the reasons that you’re going where you are going? [28:39] Are they because of the material things of this earth? [28:41] Are they because of the sentimental realities of this earth? [28:44] Or is it because that is where God has you to obey the calling that he has on your life? [28:51] I think it’s appropriate that Jesus speaks about this issue in Luke 9. [28:56] So I will let him speak, starting in verse 57, where he gives what I believe to be the

[29:02] hardest teaching throughout the gospel accounts of his teaching. [29:07] It says, as they were going along the road, someone said to him, someone said to Jesus, [29:12] I will follow you wherever you go. [29:14] Have you ever said that in a moment of excitement? [29:17] Lord, I’ll storm the gates of hell. [29:21] And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.

[29:31] But then Jesus looks to another man and Jesus says to him, follow me. [29:36] But the man looks to Jesus and he says, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. [29:41] I know you’ve said this one. [29:43] Lord, I know you’ve called me to this. [29:45] I know you’ve told me to do something. [29:48] But first, wait a minute, I got to do some other stuff real quick.

[29:55] Jesus said to him, leave the dead to bury their own dead. [29:59] But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. [30:04] And then yet, you know, the bold guy that’s walking in the back that wants to get noticed, he said, I will follow you, Lord. [30:12] But let me preface that with I need to go say farewell to those at my home. [30:16] There’s that word home.

[30:20] And Jesus said to him, no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

[30:31] First, when Jesus tells the man, he says, you count the cost. [30:37] Safety.

[30:39] The second one, Jesus says. [30:42] What are the ties that are rooting you where you are? [30:45] To follow me, you must leave home. [30:49] To the third one, he says.

[30:53] Never go back.

[30:56] Move forward. [30:58] You see, Jesus challenges the reason that we live our lives the way that we live them. [31:04] He challenges our notion of security and risk. [31:07] He challenges our notion of whether or not family and friends and some geographic location is our God. [31:16] He challenges our temptation to kind of quit when things get hard and go back home. [31:23] He challenges every single one of those notions.

[31:27] But he says a farming metaphor, which I don’t think anybody here’s got the back 40 tilled. [31:32] So I don’t know that you understand his analogy there. [31:36] But what he’s saying when he says, keep your hand to the plow, it’s because back in those times you would put the plow around an ox and an ox would pull you as you tilled the soil before you were going to plant something down. [31:50] And back then, if the ox was actually going, you wouldn’t stop that ox for anything because you couldn’t be certain that when you got back, he would make the decision to go forward again. [32:03] I don’t know if you’ve seen an ox, but they’re big. [32:06] All right. You can’t really move them.

[32:08] They motivate themselves.

[32:12] Jesus challenges them. [32:13] And he says, if you’ve put your hand to the plow on the farm, you will not let go of the plow until the fields are completely tilled.

[32:24] And so it is with the kingdom of God. [32:27] You will follow Jesus if you trust in him until the kingdom arrives.

[32:36] And he says, if you let go of the plow, you are not fit for his kingdom. [32:44] Your path is changed. [32:46] Your life is changed. [32:48] Your values are changed. [32:50] Faith changes your life. [32:53] It changes how you deal with life, and it most certainly changes the direction of your life.

[32:59] The ties that once bound you, bind you no longer. [33:03] Your identity and your home is now the kingdom of God.

[33:12] It’s not just that there’s no going back.

[33:17] Abraham isn’t there and he’s like, oh, it’s too far to go barrier there. [33:21] No, friend. [33:23] It’s not just that there’s no going back. [33:25] There is only always moving forward with God. [33:29] And that is the significance of the deaths of Sarah and Abraham. [33:33] This is the significance of the call of God to consider what faith actually costs in this life.

[33:42] Is it causing this in your life? [33:45] Where is your citizenship? [33:48] Is it the ties that bind you to this world’s rules? [33:52] Or is it the foreign land of the kingdom of God towards which you are always advancing in every single moment? [34:00] Friend, I tell you, as Jesus did, consider the cost.

[34:06] But follow Jesus. Why? [34:09] Because his kingdom is eternal. [34:12] His promises will outlive you. [34:14] His promises will outlive your children. [34:16] His promises will outlive your grandchildren and on and on and on. [34:20] And Jesus says his burden is light.

[34:22] Why is it light? [34:23] Because Jesus can be trusted. [34:24] In his right hand are pleasures forever more. [34:30] But it will change your life. [34:35] Or it was never in your life.

[34:40] Friends, God can be trusted with death.

[34:47] That’s because he can be trusted with life. [34:51] Because he can be trusted with eternity. [34:54] Because Jesus Christ endured death on our behalf. [34:59] And then Jesus proved one very important thing. [35:03] That death does not have power over God. [35:05] God has power over death.

[35:09] Because three days later Jesus just got up.

[35:13] It’s interesting how fearless you can be when you know, [35:17] even though I perish, I will get back up. [35:22] And I will live in his kingdom forever more. [35:26] That is the life that number one is worth living. [35:31] But then number two, that is a life that will endure any pain, [35:36] any shame, and anything that comes your way, even death.

[35:42] Pray with me. [35:45] Father, Lord my prayer today is that you will aid us in enduring all that life has. [35:54] You will give us joy in moments of victory. [35:57] But you will also give us hope in moments of pain. [36:02] You will give us life when we fear death. [36:06] You will aid us to consider the cost.

[36:08] You will help us to understand the reality that faith in Jesus changes everything. [36:15] And that in that, we will follow you faithfully. [36:22] In the name of Christ, I pray. Amen. [36:25] I didn’t get shorter. I’m not on the stage anymore.

[36:29] But usually this is the time in the service when we will transition into the Lord’s Supper, [36:35] or what is commonly called as communion. [36:37] But today we’re going to take a gander into the other ordinance that Jesus commanded [36:44] that we celebrate and practice as a church where we will be conducting the ordinance of baptism. [36:50] Now if you were here with us a few weeks ago, we had a sermon on baptism talking about what it is. [36:55] But if you were not able to be with us, let me just briefly explain what’s about to happen to you.

[37:00] When Jesus was leaving this world, he told us that we were to be baptized [37:05] once we came to faith in him. [37:08] And baptism, as we talk about death, it’s an interesting metaphor for death [37:12] because we literally put people under the water. [37:15] I don’t know if you’ve ever been underwater, but you can’t breathe down there. [37:19] You know, there’s no air.

[37:21] And so when you go into the water, we bring you up quickly, don’t worry. [37:25] But it is a metaphor for death. [37:28] And that is what Jesus endured for us. [37:31] But it’s in water because it’s not a metaphor necessarily just for my physical death, [37:36] but it is a metaphor for the death of my sin. [37:39] Because water is something that cleanses you.

[37:42] And then when you come up, very quickly by the way, out of the water, [37:47] it represents that you are rising again to new life in Jesus Christ. [37:53] Where your sin isn’t something that you have to deal with. [37:57] Where guilt is something that you’ve been forgiven of. [37:59] Where shame isn’t something that you need to walk through life with [38:03] because Jesus died and he paid the penalty for your sin.

[38:07] He took your sin onto himself and then gave you his very perfect righteousness. [38:13] The people that are baptized today, this water isn’t going to save them. [38:19] What they’re telling you is I have put my faith in Jesus Christ. [38:23] And it is my faith in him that saves me. [38:27] But what baptism is, it is a step of obedience to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. [38:34] Jesus told us to practice baptism.

[38:37] And in baptism we obey him because we’re saying I want to obey Jesus with my life. [38:43] And then when we come up, we also give everyone here a witness [38:47] of what the gospel of Jesus Christ does to our lives. [38:50] To where if you’re not here today, this is a testimony of life changed through the gospel. [38:56] Something that if you’ve never trusted, you need and can have today. [39:02] And so today we’re going to start. We’ve already baptized seven in the first service.

[39:06] Today we’re going to start and I’m going to ask Tamara Morris to come forward. [39:11] Now in the conversations I’ve had with Tamara over the last few weeks, [39:15] I’ve done interviews with every single one of these people. [39:17] And Tamara told me she’s a little anxious to be up in front of you guys and take a swim. [39:22] But she told me last week she said, but I need to do this as a step of faith and obedience to Jesus. [39:29] And so today we’re going to baptize Tamara.

[39:32] It should be warm. This is the baptismal 2.0 we upgraded. [39:37] We used to have just a tub that was really cold. [39:42] Really. Turn around please and just go ahead and have a seat. [39:46] Just right here.

[39:49] All right, Tamara, today you’ve professed faith in Jesus. [39:53] And because of that, in obedience to the command of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, [39:57] I baptize you my sister in the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. [40:02] I’m going to lower you in the likeness of his death. [40:04] And then I’m going to raise you up in the likeness of his resurrection. [40:07] Put your hand over your nose.

[40:09] Bring this way.

[40:13] All right.

[40:17] We’ve got a towel for you.

[40:25] One of the awesome things that we experienced here is that you’re going to see baptisms of people [40:30] from different backgrounds, different age groups. [40:33] And I am thankful that God at Village Church is bringing people to faith from all sorts of ages. [40:39] And our second baptism today is going to be someone that’s a little smaller in stature. [40:43] It’s my good buddy, Junie Florida. [40:46] So I’m going to ask Junie to come forward.

[40:48] I tried so hard to make Junie fail the test in the baptismal interview, but he is sharp. [40:56] And he passed the test. [40:58] I think he knows more theology than I do. [41:00] So I’m going to ask Junie to step into the Kenya root. [41:03] Okay. [41:04] I didn’t know if we needed a stool.

[41:06] Junie, come on over here, brother. [41:07] And you’re going to turn this way. [41:09] I’m going to baptize Junie. [41:10] All right. [41:10] Put your hand over your nose for me. [41:12] Junie, in obedience to the command of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I baptize you, my brother.

[41:17] In the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I’m going to lower you in the likeness of Jesus’ death. [41:23] And you’ll be raised to new life in Christ.

[41:26] Oh, boy.

[41:31] You know, if all of you could go on a diet so you could be his weight, that was the easiest one so far today. [41:42] I appreciate him dieting down for today’s baptism. [41:47] Now, one of the things that I often encourage people to do, I ask them, you know, you know, who’s discipling you in your life? [41:54] Is there someone discipling you? [41:56] Because that’s the person I would love to baptize you. [41:58] And right now I’m going to ask Leanna Fisher to come forward.

[42:03] And one of her roommates, I think, I could have my information wrong. [42:06] Sarah Warren is going to baptize her today as she’s been pivotal in her faith. [42:13] And so I’m going to stand over here and spot, kind of like in the gym. [42:17] I’m the spotter for this one. [42:20] Oh, no, I’m going to go on the other side. [42:22] I’m actually going to be over here.

[42:23] And you take it away, Sarah. [42:24] Okay.

[42:27] In obedience to the command of our Lord and Savior Jesus, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, [42:35] lowered in the likeness of his death and raised in new life in Jesus. [42:40] All right. All right. Praise God. Praise God.

[42:50] One thing that I always encourage every single one of you to do is join a village group, [42:56] because that is where the stories of faith come time and time again. [43:02] And right now I’m going to ask Jennifer Russell and one of her small group leaders, Summer Garnett, to come forward. [43:09] And Jennifer came to me a couple of weeks ago and she said, I realized that, you know, since I’ve been coming to village, [43:14] I understand what faith is and I haven’t been baptized. [43:18] And so she asked if Summer Garnett, who’s been a discipleship force in Jennifer’s life, could baptize her.

[43:25] I’m going to let them take it away. And again, I will resume spotting.

[43:33] Jennifer, in obedience to the command of our Lord and Savior Jesus, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, [43:39] and the Holy Spirit, lowered in the likeness of his death and raised in new life in Jesus.

[43:47] All right. All right.

[43:57] Yesterday, I had the privilege of talking to Katie Lohr. I think I said her name right. Is Katie in here? [44:04] OK, there she is. And and man, I was so thankful for the story that she had about how Village Church has literally taught her what faith in Jesus means. [44:17] And so today, Katie comes forward to profess her faith in Jesus. You can step right in.

[44:24] Nobody ever spots for me. It’s just, you know, just kidding. [44:28] All right. Turn this way. Put your hand over your nose. I don’t drown you. [44:34] All right. In obedience to the command of our Lord and Savior Jesus, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit. [44:41] I’m going to lower you in the likeness of his death, and then you will be raised in life in Jesus.

[44:59] And finally, this morning, I’m going to ask Andrina Anduiza to come forward. Did I get it right? [45:06] I’ve been practicing and Andrina comes with it with a testimony of faith that she wants to make public her faith in Jesus Christ this morning. [45:15] And so we are thankful for that. And we’re going to baptize Andrina right now.

[45:23] All right. Andrina, in obedience to the command of our Lord and Savior Jesus, because you have professed him as your Savior, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit. [45:35] I’m going to lower you in the likeness of his death and raise you to new life in Christ.

[45:41] All right.

[45:48] Man, that is 13 baptisms today. You’ve got a hand. What a good God we have. [45:58] Now, stand with me. Stand with me just for a moment as the band comes forward. I tell you, God is good. [46:07] Faith is not about you. It is not a power that you well up from within you to make things happen. [46:15] No, faith is in a person who is all powerful. Faith is in the God who created all that is. [46:22] And faith that saves says, Lord, I trust that your promises are true and I live to tell your story through my life. [46:33] It’s about him. It’s not about us. What you saw today was a testimony of the way that God is working and the lives of everyday people through the church that he promised to build.

[46:48] So this morning, as we approach lunch, I tell you, guys, God wants to do something in every life in here. I believe that. [46:56] He wants to do things in my life that I’m not even sure of yet. He has steps of faith for me to take this year. [47:04] That will cost me something. But in every one of those steps of faith, no matter what I go through enduring that cost, [47:13] God says there’s something better on the other side, specifically the best thing, which is his kingdom, which will reign forever and ever over all creation. [47:26] If you’ve never trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I call you, friend, today. Trust him. [47:34] Follow him with your life. His promises endure for eternity.

[47:41] And there’s coming a day where I will see his face and I will worship him forever. [47:48] Friend, as we sing this song to our Lord, praise him and then go live for him.