Promises Made, Promises Kept

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here. It's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

We are continuing this morning, really not just continuing, actually we're ending this morning, our series in the book of Genesis.

Remember the book of Genesis tells the origin story of God's people beginning with Abraham.

That's been our focus over the last four or five months to prepare us to do what we're going to do next week, which is to return to our series in Romans.

We're going to be in Romans chapter 4 where Paul uses Abraham as this example that God's grace is by faith alone.

Romans 4 · chapter mention

Of course, we've also been asking this question as we go throughout Genesis of what does it look like to follow God in faith.

Last week we looked at Genesis chapter 24 with Isaac and Rebecca and we saw that God was faithful through generations.

Genesis 24 · chapter mention

That even as Abraham and Sarah exit stage left, God's promises continue.

We also saw that God was faithful to Abraham, faithful to refine and grow him.

That Abraham was more and more obedient as his life went on.

Here we're in chapter 25, the death of Abraham.

We're at the end of the road, so to speak.

We're going to focus on two things.

First and mostly one final look at God's faithfulness to his promises.

And also a reminder, as death often reminds us, of a life well lived.

So with that, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 25.

Genesis 25 · chapter mention

If you're new to the Bible, Genesis is going to be very easy for you to find since it happens to be the very first book.

And so you just have to open up to the very beginning.

You can also turn where it's printed in your worship guide.

As we come to it, remember that this is God's word.

Jeremiah chapter 23 tells us that God's word is a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces.

Jeremiah 23 · chapter mention

It's a way of saying that there is nothing so powerful that it can stand against God's word.

So that's why we read now Genesis chapter 25, starting at verse 1.

Genesis 25 · chapter mention

Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.

But to the sons of his concubines, Abraham gave gifts.

And while he was still living, he sent them away from his son Isaac eastward to the east country.

Verse 7.

These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years.

Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age,

an old man and fool of years, and was gathered to his people.

Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar, the Hittite,

east of Mamre, the field that Abraham had purchased from the Hittites.

There Abraham was buried with Sarah, his wife.

After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac, his son.

And Isaac settled at Bir Lahai Roy.

Verse 12.

These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar, the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham.

These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth.

Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, and Kedar, Abdel, Mibsam, Mishma, Duma, Massa, Hadid, Tema, Jeter, Naphish, and Kedema.

These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their villages and by their encampments.

Twelve princes according to their tribes.

These are the years of the life of Ishmael, 137 years.

He breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people.

They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt, in the direction of Assyria.

He settled over against all his kinsmen.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.

Our Father in Heaven, you have promised us in Isaiah chapter 55 that your word does not return to you void, but it accomplishes your purposes.

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

So we ask this morning that you would honor that promise here and now,

that you would use this passage to accomplish great things in our lives.

You would remind us once again of your character, your steadfastness, your love,

that you would use it to shape us and form us,

that we would grow not merely in knowledge, but we would grow in love.

We'd grow in our love and affection for Jesus Christ.

We'd grow in our reverence and our awe for him.

We'd grow in our obedience to him.

That you would remind us of what matters.

You'd help us to see clearly.

Father, that we would worship you more and more.

We ask all of these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

December of 1988 was the next to last month of the eight years of the Reagan administration.

And so as they prepared for the handover in January of 1989,

when President George H.W. Bush would take the oath of office,

the administration published a 60-page book with four categories and 48 specific areas

where Ronald Reagan believed he'd accomplished great things for the American people.

And the title of that publication was this.

Promises made, promises kept.

And the point, of course, is to show, at least Ronald Reagan was trying to show,

hey, I honored my word.

And that matters because as a voter, you know we are cynical when it comes to politicians.

Right?

And we're cynical because we've had experience with them.

Right?

We know politicians often will say anything to get elected.

And then magically, those things don't happen.

Right?

And so the perception is that politicians are lying.

Reagan, on his way out, wanted to say,

look, everything I said, I did.

I honored my word.

Now, whether he did or not, we'll leave to the historians.

The point is not whether you loved or hated Ronald Reagan.

The point is this.

As we come to this passage, Genesis chapter 25,

Genesis 25 · chapter mention

the Abraham administration is coming to an end.

It's coming to a close.

But the point is not about Abraham.

The point is about God.

The final word of Abraham's life,

final word of this story,

is that God has honored his word.

Promises he's made are promises he's kept.

If you've been with us throughout this series for the last several months,

you know God's promises are one of the major themes

that we've turned to over and over again.

And as we come to this passage,

the very structure of the passage points us in that direction one final time.

I've told you guys before that I don't want you to just learn things

that are in the Bible or about the Bible.

I actually want you to learn how to read the Bible.

And so whenever we come across a bookend,

I make a big deal about it.

And we are coming once again to a bookend.

Abraham's death is in verses 7 through 11.

It is enclosed on both sides by genealogy.

So it's bookended.

It's trapped there,

which tells us what the point is meant to be.

It's pointing us towards the emphasis of this passage.

It's telling us,

focus on this as you think about Abraham's death.

Focus on the genealogies.

Focus on his descendants as his life comes to an end.

There's another bookend that's happening,

not just in this story, but the entire story.

So this is the end of the Abraham story.

Go back with me to the beginning of the Abraham story.

Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

What do you need to become a great nation?

You need people.

And how do you get people?

You have sons and daughters.

Throughout the story,

this promise has intensified

as three different images were used

to represent how many children Abraham would have.

Genesis chapter 13.

Genesis 13 · chapter mention

God says,

If you can count the dust of the earth,

that's how many kids you will have.

Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

He comes to him and says,

Look at the sky.

Can you number the stars?

If you can number the stars,

that's how many children you will have.

Genesis chapter 22.

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

He comes back again,

repeats the stars,

and adds another image.

Can you count the sand on the seashore?

If you can,

that's how many descendants you're going to have.

Dust, sand, stars.

As Abraham dies,

it is already happening.

He's already multiplying generation by generation.

So the point is this.

We are given genealogies

before Abraham's death

and after Abraham's death

to remind us

God is keeping his promise.

One last time,

what we've been told over and over again,

we're reminded of once more.

Isaac will be the father of many nations.

Not just the father of Isaac,

as many children as the dust,

as the stars,

as the sand.

You might wonder,

that's great.

I'm glad that Abraham had lots of kids.

What in the world

does that have to do with me

in Colorado Springs

in September of 2025?

And it has many things to do with you.

The most important of which is this.

It is this promise of many descendants

from Abraham

that gets us fully and finally

to Jesus Christ.

It is because God honors his promise here

that he fulfills his promise there.

And it's related to another promise,

also Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

It wasn't just that God

was going to make Abraham

the father of many nations.

No.

In you,

all the families of the earth

shall be blessed.

How are all the families of the earth

supposed to be blessed?

It is not simply

by Abraham having lots of kids.

No.

The families of the earth

are going to be blessed

by fulfilling

an even earlier promise

from Genesis chapter 3

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

that the seed of the woman

will crush the head of the serpent.

In other words,

all the families of the earth

are going to be blessed

because one day

a descendant of Abraham,

that is Jesus Christ,

will come.

He will live the perfect life

that we should have lived.

He will die the death.

We deserve to die.

He will save his people

from their sins.

All families of the earth

blessed in Christ.

Not merely the Jews.

you as well.

I've been telling you

for weeks now,

one of our major questions

of Genesis is

what does it look like

to follow God in faith?

Following God in faith

looks like

constantly

reminding ourselves

of the promise

that he has kept

in Jesus Christ.

I've said that before

over the last number of months.

That is the keystone

to every other promise.

It is the guarantee

of every other prophecy.

Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

he who did not spare

his own son

but gave him up

for us all,

how will he not

also with him

graciously

give us

all things?

Which is a way

of saying

if God kept

his promise

about Jesus

which he did,

of course

he will keep

every other one.

If he kept

the hardest promise,

of course

he'll keep

the easy ones.

promise

that God

kept

to Abraham

is a promise

he has

kept

to us.

It's a promise

he's kept

to you.

That is a

north star

of the Christian life.

That's our

horizon line

as we try to

keep big things

big and small

things small.

I have a friend

who I've known

for many years

who has struggled

with a variety

of things

including his

own challenges

with depression

and at one

point he told

me

basically what

it comes down

to is this.

When I get

up out of bed

every morning

I answer

this question.

Did Jesus

rise from

the dead

or did he

not?

And if he

did,

everything else

flows from that.

Jesus rose

from the dead

everything else

will be

okay.

Whenever we're

tempted

to doubt

God's word

or to doubt

God's

goodness

we can do

one

very simple

thing.

We look

to God

fulfilling

his promise

in his

son

and our

savior

Jesus Christ.

that's what

it looks like

to follow

God

in faith.

Remember

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

tells us

all the

promises

of God

are yes

and amen

in Christ.

Promises

made

promises

kept.

There's a

focus here

not just

on children

in general

although that

is why we

have these

bookended

genealogies

but there's

also this

special focus

on Ishmael

in verses

12-18.

It's

first

the first

set we

get

verses 1-4

is Keturah's

children.

So apparently

Abraham had

another wife

we find out

later in the

passage she

was a

concubine

but we

end here

with this

word about

Ishmael

the special

focus

which raises

the question

why is

this important

as we think

about the

end of

Abraham's

life?

Ishmael is

important for

a couple

reasons.

One reason

is that

Ishmael

becomes one

of the

nations.

Remember

the promise

at the

beginning

in chapter

12 was

that Abraham

would become

a great

nation.

Later

God

adds to

that.

He says

actually

you become

many

nations.

Ishmael

is one

of that.

one of

those.

Another

reason

that we've

kind of

skipped over

a little

bit because

we were

focusing on

other things

is this.

Abraham

loves

Ishmael.

Remember

in chapter

21

Isaac is

born and

there's this

rivalry that

develops between

Isaac and

Ishmael.

So Sarah

comes to

Abraham and

she says

you have to

deal with

this Abraham.

Abraham.

We didn't

talk about

it at the

time because

we were

focused on

God's

fulfillment of

the promise

but in

the Hebrew

there even

more than

in the

English you

can see

Abraham is

livid.

He's

livid at

the suggestion

that Ishmael

would be sent

away because

he loves

him.

That's why

in that same

chapter God

has to come

to Abraham

and say

do what

your wife

has told

you to

do.

We saw

the same

thing back

in Genesis

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17

God comes

to Abraham

and says

look it's

Sarah who's

going to

have a

child.

And Abraham

says yeah

but what

about Ishmael?

Sarah's in

her 90s.

Can't Ishmael

be good

enough?

There's a

promise that's

repeated multiple

times both to

Abraham and to

Hagar that

Ishmael is

going to be

also the

father of a

nation.

In fact God

tells Hagar

Genesis chapter

Genesis 16 · chapter mention

16 he will

have so many

children they

can't be

numbered.

So the

promise is

kept about

offspring yes

promise also

kept about

Ishmael.

So we're just

going through the

list.

Every promise

God makes

he keeps.

All the

loose ends

are being

tied up.

Promise

about the

children kept

promise about

Ishmael

kept promise

not just about

Ishmael but

now turn for

me for a

second promise

about the

land.

We saw a

hint of

this chapter

23 with

Sarah's

death now

it comes

again here

verses 9

and 10.

We get to

the burial

of Abraham

where is he

buried?

With Sarah

in the cave

he purchased

in the land

God had

promised.

Once again

we end

where we

started.

Remember

Genesis chapter

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

12 we had

the promise

great nation

we had the

promise of

great blessing

we also had

the promise

of land.

In fact that

came first.

Go from

your country

and your

kindred

and your

father's

house

to the

land

that I

will show

you.

And then the

land promise

just like all

the other

promises is

repeated over

and over

again in

Genesis chapter

Genesis 13 · chapter mention

13 and 15

and 17.

and here

at the

end

Abraham

is buried

in the

land God

promised

to give

him.

Promises

made

promises

kept.

God has

kept his

promise

about children

that they

would be

as many

as the

dust

and the

stars

and the

sand.

God has

kept his

promises

about

Ishmael

whom

Abraham

deeply

loved.

God has

kept his

promise

about the

land.

Everything

God

said

he's done.

Every

promise

fulfilled.

We've

talked about

the promise

of the

blessing

to all

the nations

how that

overflows

to you

in Jesus

Christ.

The promise

of the

land

also

comes

to you

Christian.

Jesus

in the

New Testament

expands

the promise

of the

land

from this

one

specific

plot

to the

entire

earth.

That's

what he

teaches

in the

Sermon

on the

Mount

in Matthew

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5

Jesus

says this

blessed

are the

meek

for they

shall

inherit

the

earth.

That's

the

Christian

promise

the

Christian

hope

that

heaven

is

when

God's

presence

fills

not just

the

promised

land

not just

Jerusalem

no the

entire

world.

Promise

of land

to Abraham

is just

the beginning

and Abraham

himself

knew that.

Even

Abraham

was looking

beyond

this

one

plot

of

land

to

something

larger

and

greater.

Brit

read it

for us

this

morning.

We

talked

about

it

before

in

our

series

on

Abraham.

Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter

11.

This

is on

verse 2

of your

worship

guide.

Speaking

about

Abraham

verse

10.

For

he

was

looking

forward

to

the

city

that

has

foundations

whose

designer

and

builder

is

God.

mentioned

to you

just a

few

minutes

ago

the

north

stars

of the

Christian

the

things

that

we

fix

our

eyes

on.

One

of

them

is

Jesus'

death

and

resurrection.

That's

a main

thing.

I wake

up every

morning.

Has

Jesus

or has

he not

risen

from

the

dead?

If

he

has

everything

else

flows

from

that.

But

here's

another

north

star

we

look

to

the

heavenly

city

to

come.

We

look

to

the

future

that

God

is

preparing

for

his

people.

The

same

place

Abraham

looked.

Abraham's

hope

was more

and

greater

than

one

plot

of

land.

And

so

for us

we

look

beyond

this

one

story

and

this

one

man

we

look

to

the

same

city

he

longed

for.

Thankfully

we

don't

have

to

wonder

too

much

about

it

because

God

tells

us

there's

another

bookend.

The

Bible

begins

in

Genesis

in a

garden.

It

ends

in this

city,

the city

that Abraham

looked

forward

to.

The

book

of

Revelation

tells

us

what

this

city

looks

like.

This

is

Revelation

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

chapter

21.

verse 1.

behold, the dwelling place of God is with men.

He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,

and God himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,

and death shall be no more.

Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,

for the former things have passed away.

What does it look like to follow God in faith?

Christian, it looks like remembering every day two things.

It looks like remembering every day that Jesus Christ did in fact die and rise again from the dead.

And that because of that, he will honor every single promise.

It also looks like remembering every single day exactly what your future will be.

And your future will be this, that God will dwell with you,

you will be his people,

and God himself will be with you as your God.

And your future, like Abraham's, involves God wiping away every tear from your eyes.

It looks like death being no more,

and it looks like no mourning, no crying, no pain,

for the former things have passed away.

That is what it looks like to follow God in faith.

Promises made, promises kept.

If you live with those two things as the horizon line of your life,

I promise you,

everything else will fall into place.

Those are the north stars of the Christian.

Those are how we live life in focus and on mission.

It's how we keep our lives in perspective.

In the midst of those, of course,

Abraham actually dies.

Verses 7 through 11.

We have been with Abraham on a journey.

We started with him in chapter 12.

We were told he was 75 years old.

In chapter 21, when Isaac is born,

we're told he's 100 years old.

And now, verse 7, he's what?

175.

Now, our focus has been really on like 40 to 50 of those years.

Obviously, the story spans a full 100.

Reminds us again of what I told you last week.

All of us, at some point,

will exit stage left.

All of us, at some point,

end our walk in this world.

Following God in faith

looks like living with death in mind.

How do we keep our future front and center,

that new Jerusalem?

Well, we have to remember

that what we have here and now is temporary.

And we remember that

as and when we think about the day of our death.

Christian,

are you ready to die?

Because, by the way, you will.

If you're not a Christian,

are you ready to die?

Or are you pretending,

living as if,

this life will continue forever?

Will you let your death,

which will happen,

shape your life today?

There's an old saying you may have heard

that goes like this,

only one life

will soon be passed.

Only what's done for Christ

will last.

Another person puts it this way,

this is on the back of your worship guide.

When life ends or is about to end,

absolutely everything else comes into focus.

The things that don't really matter,

but which we gave so much time to,

now seem so empty and pointless.

The lives we touched

and the generosity we showed

and the love we gave or received

now mean so much more.

At the end of a life of great faith,

Abraham died.

Christian, non-Christian,

you will too.

Live like it.

In his fantasy series,

The Stormlight Archive,

Brandon Sanderson introduces us

to a character named Terevangian.

And Terevangian is a king

who has an unusual problem,

which is that his days flip

between two things.

Some days,

he is extremely intelligent.

He's a genius.

He's able to think at a level

that the rest of us can only imagine.

On other days,

he's extremely compassionate.

He has an empathy

that we cannot imagine.

But those two things

are never true on the same day.

So the compassionate days,

he's not smart.

The smart days,

not so compassionate.

And so when he's very intelligent,

he realizes he has to prepare himself

for the days when he's not.

And so on the days

when he thinks clearly,

when he really sees what matters,

he hurries to write down

what it is he needs to remember.

He writes this book

called The Diagram,

which is his plan

to save the world.

And then on the days

he can't think straight,

he comes back to it.

Because it reminds him,

okay,

when I was thinking clearly,

this is what I knew

had to happen.

Now,

if you're familiar with the series,

you know Teravangian

has some ethical problems.

The point,

though,

is this.

He thinks clearly

on some days,

his mind is muddled

on others.

What does it look like

to follow God in faith?

It looks like

living with focus

on what matters

more than anything else.

and on the days

that we see that clearly,

we cling to it.

We write it down.

We return to it

again and again.

And so that on the days

when we are filled

with doubt

and fear

and confusion,

we return

back to what is true.

God has given us,

in a sense,

our own diagram,

the things that we need

to cling to

more than anything else.

That as we're distracted

in this world,

pulled in so many

different directions

and loves

and affections,

we return

over and over again

to the fact

that Jesus

has died

and risen from the dead.

And we return

over and over

that no matter

what happens now,

we know

what will happen

then.

That we will be

with God

forever

as our God.

all I have needed,

thy hand

have provided.

Great is thy

faithfulness,

Lord,

unto me.

Let's pray.

Our Father in heaven,

we praise you

and thank you again

that you have not

left us

as orphans

in a merciless universe,

but you have come

and spoken clearly

to us in your word

that you remind us

of what matters.

We ask that you would

capture our hearts,

that we would look

at the right horizon line.

We would have

the correct north star,

that we would return

again and again

to Jesus

and his death

and his resurrection,

to the future

that you hold

for us in this world,

that it would cause us

to walk forward

in faith

and obedience

and love.

We ask these things

in the mighty name

of Jesus Christ.

Amen.