Dying Satisfied, Part 3

Be Bible, I would invite you to turn again to Genesis chapter 25 as we conclude the first 11 verses on dying satisfied We've spent a couple of weeks here This will be our last Week talking about what it means to die satisfied, and you're probably asking, why is it we spend so much time talking about death? Well, let me tell you what Harry Ironside said a number of years ago before he died He said, The church of God has gone in Into the entertainment business People must be amused And as the church needs the people's money, the church must supply the demand and meet the craving

How else are godless hypocrites to be held together? So, the picture show and entertainment take the place of the gospel address and the solemn worship of God And thus, Christless souls are lulled to sleep and made to feel religious while gratifying Every carnal desire under the sanction of the sham called the church And the end? What? An awakening in eternity He said it well about the fact that there are Many people who are just pleasantly lulled to sleep in the church

So they come and they sit without ever hearing the truth of the gospel because so many churches are into the entertainment business because they want to keep People coming, they want to keep the money flowing, they want to keep the buildings growing, they want to keep all those things happening

The bottom line is, there will be many people on that day who will say, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not cast out demons in your name? Did we not do many marvelous deeds in your name? Meaning that they all believed in the deepest parts of their heart that because they did religious Works that they were going to heaven So we want to make sure that doesn't happen with you We want to make sure that you'll die as Abraham died Not at 175 years of age, Lord willing, but that you'll die Satisfied as Abraham did It says in Genesis 25, verse number 8

Let me read it to you one more time And Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man, and satisfied with life Isn't that good? He's Satisfied with life And we've talked about that, and there are four main issues involved here One, he died satisfied because he was forgiven by God Genesis 15, verse number 6, says that he He belie God, and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness God declared the man righteous He believed in the promise of God He gave his life to God, and God declared him Righteous He was forgiven He was forgiven from the penalty of sin

There would be no condemnation for Abraham There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus Romans chapter 8 Verse number 1 Not only was he forgiven by God, but he was being set free from the power and practice of sin And as he went through his life, the longer he lived, the more righteous he became, because he lived Under the power of Almighty God to ultimately be set free from the presence of sin in his life, that when he died and went to glory, there would be no more sin As Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 15

When this mortality takes on immortality, when this body, which is perishable, now becomes imperishable, we will say, O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? It's because of the risen and resurrected Christ Christ, that there will be no more sin and glory And we thank God for what He has done And so Abraham died satisfied because he was a man forgiven by God And number two, he was a man who was called a Friend of God Abraham was God's friend We read about it in James chapter 2 And there are two elements that make up that friendship with God

One is, you're a friend of God when you are submissive to the command That God gives When you're submissive to the Word of God, you become a friend of God Christ said it this way in John chapter 15 He says this in verse number 14: You are my friends if you do What I command you You are my friends No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends for all things that I have heard from my father Father, I have made known to you Are you a friend of God this morning? Because you're submissive to the commands of Almighty God? Listen

At the core of your being, do you want to follow the Lord? Listen, I'm Know that all of us sin And Romans 7 talks about Paul, the great apostle, who struggled with his sin nature and the difficulty he had when he said, You know, the things that I want to do, I don't do And the things that I I shouldn't be doing that. I find myself engaged in Oh, wretched man that I am But he said in Romans 7, verse number 23, I believe it is, that within me, within the depths of my soul, the deepest part of my being, there is. A hunger, a longing for my life to concur with the law of God

Do you? At the deepest part of your being, you're going to sin The Bible is very clear about that Until one day we go home to be with The Lord, and there is no more sin But you know what? At the deepest part of your being, there's a desire to be submissive to the Word of God Psalm 119:1, I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I long for thy Commandments

Is that you? Are you submissive to the Word of God? Do you long for the commands of God at the depths of your being? Do you know what I found out that's true in my life? And I'm sure it's probably true in your life that there are some commands that I just don't want to obey You ever been there? And don't be pious on me and everything like that Now, you know, because I know you're there There are some things you read and say, I'm not sure I want to do that And I look back at Abraham and Genesis 2, and God says, You know, take your son, sacrifice your son

Abraham says, Sure, God, whatever you say And I'm saying, hold on a minute here Hold on just one minute. I find myself struggling with some of the things that God tells me to do. I mean, I'm not perfect. I know a lot of you think I'm a perfect guy, but I'm not a perfect guy. I'm very imperfect, and there are things that I really struggle with And I find myself saying, you know, I can do. I can do this, and God will be happy And I won't have to do that God says, I want you to keep all of my commands. I read the words over in a The book of Deuteronomy, the sixth chapter

Now, this is the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord God to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you all the days of your life, and your days, or that your days may be prolonged God says, I want you to keep all The commands for as long as you live He says this in verse number 24 of Deuteronomy 6

So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for For our survival as it is today. I want you to keep all the commands of God, for if you do, it will be for your good It will be for your survival It will be your key to maintaining a Life of strength in a world that's falling apart, keep all my commands, he says God never says, I want you to keep some of my commands He wants you to keep all of the commands You say, Well, Pastor, I can't do that That. I know that Neither can I

But are you like Paul? In the innermost part of my being, I want my life to concur with the law of God, to submit to the law of God, to do the law of God. I really want Want to do that more than anything else? Is that your heart's desire? If it is, you're a friend of God because you'll want to be submissive to the Word of God The other element that makes you a friend of God is that you're separate from the world You're separate from the world Abraham was a man who separated himself from the world It was so good He would build his altars

The Bible says over in Hebrews 11, verse number 9: by faith he lived as An alien You know, I want that across my tombstone By faith, he lived as an alien Isn't it great? What a marker at Forest Home The man was an alien He was He was a stranger in a foreign land It says of Abraham by faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise as in a foreign land Everybody knew that this man did not put his roots down too deep They knew he was a foreigner He was separate from the world He was different He was an alien

The Bible, in Hebrews 11 in the Hall of Faith, describes this man as extremely weird because he was an alien He was separate from the world The Bible says, love not the world, for if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you Do you want more of the world? Are you looking to get more of what they have to offer? Are you wanting to be with the world more than you're wanting to be with the people of God? What do you want more than anything? Are you separate from the world? Abraham was That's why he was called a friend of God

God says, my friends, my friends, boy, they got a home in heaven and they keep looking to that home because that's where they're going to go It keeps them motivated and that's what kept Abraham motivated for 1 years. T he died Bible says he died satisfied because he was forgiven by God because he was a friend of God Number three, we finally get to point number three, he was fulfilled By God He was fulfilled by God. I mean, that's why the man died satisfied God fulfilled him You see, if you love the world, you're not looking To be fulfilled by the things of God

You're looking to be fulfilled with the things of the world And so you find yourself continuously empty, continuously frustrated, and yet Abraham was a man who was fulfilled by God How do we know that? Remember back in Genesis chapter 15, verse number 1, right after he came back from that battle Against the armies of the east, and he defeated them with just a little over 300 men and brought back his nephew Lot and the occupants of Sodom And he was met by the king of Sodom, and he offered him all these treasures And he turned them down

And then the king of Salem met him, Melchizedek, and told him about the God who possesses heaven and earth And it says in Genesis 15, verse number 1 These things The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not fear, Abraham. I am your shield Your reward shall be very great Or literally, I am your shield, and I am I am your very great reward. I'm your reward For most of us, I'm sorry That just ain't enough Jesus just doesn't cut it for most of us We've got to be on Honest here But for Abraham, I mean, God was his reward. I'm your reward

It speaks of the presence of God in a man's life The presence of God was his Reward Listen very carefully How many times do we quote it? Hebrews: That's the latter part of verse number 5 of Hebrews 13 Where Christ says, I will never leave you, nor will I. I forsake you But we forget what the first part of the verse says Be content with such things as you have, for he him has said, I will never leave you, nor Fors you

And then we forget what Hebrews 13:4 says, which is the verse before verse number 5, and God put them in that order specifically to remind you of something when he says that the marriage bed is un Und, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge So, what the writer of Hebrews is saying, listen, be content with such things as you have, be content with the wife that you have Don't long for another man's wife He says, Don't be seeking after more money Be content with what you have For he him has said, I am enough That 's exactly what Hebrews 13:5 says. I 'm enough. I 'm never going to leave you

You. I'm never going to forsake you. I am your God. I will never turn my back on you. I am yours God says the same thing to you and me that He said to Abraham in Genesis 15:1, I am your reward And for most of us, That's just not enough The presence of God just doesn't cut it from most of us So, what do we do? We go after another woman who might be married or not married because we're not content with such things as God has given to us Us We look for other avenues to gain more money

If it's a little shady, it's okay, just as long as I can pay the bills and meet my taxes by April 15th, everything's going to be okay God doesn't care that much And so we seek to do other things that God Says, I want you to be content because I am your reward. I am with you. I am what you need If you have anxiety that needs to be alleviated, God says, I'm your Reward Remember Genesis 16 with Hagar? When Sarah sent her out of the house, God met her God met her God saw her God met her, and God took care of her needs

And later on, when she was actually ousted out of the house House and God said, Listen to your wife Sarah, Abraham Get rid of Hagar Listen, God was still with Hagar and still with Ishmael Why? Because He was their reward, He was present with them, He would take care of them So when anxiety Well up within you, the only way that anxiety will ever be alleviated is because of the presence of Almighty God When a crisis comes, in the midst of a crisis, the only way you'll ever receive comfort is because of the presence of God

When God has called you to service, the only way you'll be supported in that service is by the presence of Almighty God, who is with you, who will never leave you, nor will He ever forsake you In the midst of your suffering, when you need Strength There's only one source of strength It's Almighty God, and His presence with you is that which keep you going And Abraham recognized that He died fulfilled Is God enough? Not only his presence, but his peace Why was Abraham satisfied? Simply because of the presence of God throughout his life And number two, because of the peace of God in his life

To Genesis chapter 15, again, it says these words in verse number 15: As for you, Abraham, you shall go to your fathers in peace So when you come to Genesis 25, The man dies satisfied Why? Because of the peace of God in his life Can I tell you something about the peace of God? Listen very carefully The peace of God is inevitable The peace of God is inevitable Romans 5, 1 Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God Listen, the peace of God For the believer is in Why? Because when you come to saving faith, you are automatically at peace with God

You are no longer his enemy because of what he did for you on the cross in your belief In what he did through his shed blood on the cross of Calvary, you are now at peace with God, and now he becomes your peace As he was Abraham's peace, so he now is your peace That peace is in Inevitable, that peace is incomparable It can't be compared to anything else John:, Christ says, My peace I give unto you Not as the world gives, give I unto you But my peace I give unto you You see, the world can't muster up anything that compares with the peace of God

Oh, it tries, it does all kinds of things to set your life at ease, but the inner turmoil It's still there But the peace of God, no, he says, It's my peace What kind of peace is that? The peace that he had when he was on the boat on the Sea of Galilee and he was down below, and all of men were up above, and they were panicking for fear that they would all die Oh, Master, awake! Don't you come Care that we perish, and what's he doing? He's sleeping away Storm's coming, the boat's rocking, and what's Jesus doing? He's sleeping, he's resting, he's at peace My peace, I give unto you His peace

His peace is in His peace is incomparable His peace is ins His peace is ins or inexplicable Can't explain it How do we know that? Because Paul says in Philippians chapter 4: it's the peace of God which passes, surpasses all compre It cannot be comprehended How do you explain the peace of God in the midst of great tragedy? Can't explain it Can't It's inscrutable, it's inexplicable You can't explain it in normal terms because that's the way God. operates in the lives of his children That's our God

Do you have that kind of peace? The peace of God that is inevitable, that is incomparable, that is ins, that is inimitable That is, it cannot be imitated Why? Because Galatians 5 tells us it is the fruit of the Spirit For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, what? Peace You can't imitate this peace Why? It comes only to the believer It's through the fruit of the Spirit that peace is also invincible Invincible Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace Isaiah 26:3 It literally says, Thou wilt keep him in peace, peace They didn't know how to write it It was so incred, so invincible

They said, Thou will keep him in peace, peace In other words, it will keep you in perfect peace It is invincible whose mind is stayed on thee Isaiah 26, verse number 3 The peace that's invincible Nobody can tear it down Nobody can take it from you Nobody can shatter that peace because it's a peace that God gives That is inevitable And that peace that is inevitable is incomparable And the peace that's incomparable is inscrutable And the peace that is inscrutable is inim And it is invincible. I got one more for you It is invaluable The peace of God is inv You can't put a price tag on it

Oh, I love what the psalmist says in Psalm 119, verse number 165. 5 Those who love thy law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble Folks, that is invaluable What kind of peace do you have? Are you rack by fear? Are you rack because of wor about all kind of things that really mean nothing in the light of eternity? Abraham was a forgiven man, Abraham was a friend of God, Abraham Was a man fulfilled by God That's why he died satisfied And lastly, he was faithful to God He was faithful to God He was faithful to God Listen, when God called Him, he came When God called him, he came

Hebrews 11, verse number 8 By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance And he went out, not Knowing where he was going When Abraham was called, he came When Abraham was promised, he performed Romans chapter 4 tells us this: verse number 19 Without becoming weak in faith, he contemplated the His own body now as good as dead since he was about 100 years old, in the deadness of Sarah's womb

Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully assured that what he had promised He was able also to perform When Abraham was promised something, he believed it When Abraham was tried, he trusted his God explicitly By faith, when he was tested, he was 11. 17 offered up Isaac He who had received the promise was offering up his only begotten Son It was he to whom it was said, In Isaac your descendants shall be called

He considered that God is able to raise men even from the dead, from which he Also, received him back as a type When he was tried, he trusted his God He was a faithful, faithful man When he was blessed, he bestowed Blessing God had blessed him with so many things that he would offer to his nephew Lot whatever land he wanted, to the left or to the right When he was burdened, he beseeched his God Go back to Genesis chapter 18 He was burdened for his nephew, who lived in Sodom He prayed on behalf of his nephew He beseeched the Lord He was a great man He was a man of faith

Who, when he rebelled against his God, he would Turn back to his God and repent of his sins That's why he was a faithful man. A faithful man, when he sins, will repent of his sins and get right with Almighty God Let me give you just one more He feared His God Genesis 22 Now I know Abraham, you fear me If you are going to die satisfied, you must fear God That's how you die sat You're a God-fearing kind of person For those who fear God, there is no want For those who fear Him, He satisfies all their desires For those who fear Him are able to take refuge in Him

And for those who fear Him, listen to what the book of Mal Malach says, 3rd chapter, the 16th and 17th verse Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it And a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear the Lord The Lord, and to esteem his name And they will be mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I prepare my own possession. I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him That's why the man Died satisfied He was in the book of remembrance because he feared his God And God says, Those people are mine

They're mine Those people die satisfied Will you? I trust that you will Let's pray.