The Faithful God

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

! Special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here. And we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good they don't need God's grace and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word.

This week and next week, we are finishing our series in the story of Abraham, which you find in the book of Genesis.

The book of Genesis tells the story first of the origin of the world in chapters 1-11 and then in chapters 12-25, it tells the origin story of God's people, his people Israel, which begins with Abraham.

And so that's been our focus as we've been going from the end of chapter 11 to the beginning of chapter 25.

And we're doing that for two reasons. First, to prepare us to go back into our sermon series in the book of Romans.

There we're going to pick up in chapter 4 in just a couple weeks, which tells, again, the story of Abraham.

So we've been looking at Abraham to prepare us to look at Abraham.

We're doing it for a second reason, which is that it allows us to ask this question,

what does it look like to follow God in faith?

Last week, we were in chapter 23, the death of Sarah.

And we saw once again that God did what he said he would do in the burial plot.

He was continuing the process of giving the land that he had promised.

This week, we turn to chapter 24, the story of Isaac and Rebecca.

And I have both good news and bad news for you.

Bad news, this passage is really long.

Good news, this story is really fun.

And so I'm just going to invite you to really get lost in it as we read it.

It's a long passage. It's a rich story.

I am simply not going to be able to say the many number of things that could be said.

So I want you to enjoy the narrative.

We're going to skim the surface.

I'm not going to retell the story very much.

We're just going to draw out a couple truths from this chapter.

We're going to see God's faithfulness.

We're going to see his faithfulness through generations.

We're going to see his faithfulness to Abraham.

We're going to see God's faithfulness through generations.

We're going to see God's faithfulness to Abraham.

It's with that that I invite you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 24.

Genesis 24 · chapter mention

You'll find it in your worship guide.

You can find it on your phone.

You can find it in your Bible.

No matter where you find it, remember that this is God's word.

Proverbs chapter 30 verse 5 tells us every word of God proves true.

Proverbs 30:5

He's a shield to those who take refuge in him.

So that's why we read now Genesis chapter 24 starting at verse 1.

Genesis 24 · chapter mention

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years.

And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household,

who had charge of all that he had,

put your hand under my thigh,

that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of earth,

that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites,

among whom I dwell,

but will go to my country and to my kindred

and take a wife for my son Isaac.

The servant said to him,

perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land.

Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?

Abraham said to him,

see to it that you do not take my son back there.

The Lord, the God of heaven,

who took me from my father's house

and from the land of my kindred

and who spoke to me and swore to me

to your offspring I will give this land,

he will send his angel before you

and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

But if the woman is not willing to follow you,

then you will be free from this oath of mine.

Only you must not take my son back there.

So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his master,

and swore to him concerning this matter.

Verse 10.

Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed,

taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master.

And he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.

And he made the camels kneel down outside the city

by the well of water at the time of evening,

the time when women go out to draw water.

And he said,

O Lord, God of my master Abraham,

please grant me success today

and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.

Behold, I am standing by the spring of water

and the daughters of the men of the city

are coming out to draw water.

Let the young woman to whom I shall say,

please let down your jar that I may drink.

And who shall say, drink, and I will water your camels.

Let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac.

By this I shall know that you have shown

your steadfast love to my master.

Verse 15.

Before he had finished speaking,

behold, Rebekah,

who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah,

the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother,

came out with her water jar on her shoulder.

The young woman was very attractive in appearance,

a maiden whom no man had known.

She went down to the spring

and filled her jar and came up.

Then the servant ran to meet her and said,

please give me a little water to drink from your jar.

She said, drink, my lord.

And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand

and gave him a drink.

When she had finished giving him a drink,

she said, I will draw water for your camels also

until they have finished drinking.

So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough

and ran again to the well to draw water.

And she drew for all his camels.

The man gazed at her in silence

to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.

Verse 22.

When the camels had finished drinking,

the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel

and two bracelets for her arms weighing 10 gold shekels

and said, please tell me whose daughter you are.

Is there room in your father's house

for us to spend the night?

She said to him,

I am the daughter of Bethuel,

the son of Milcah,

whom she bore to Nahor.

She added,

we have plenty of both straw and fodder

and room to spend the night.

The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord and said,

blessed be the Lord,

the God of my master Abraham,

who has not forsaken his steadfast love

and his faithfulness toward my master.

As for me,

the Lord has led me in the way

to the house of my master's kinsmen.

Then the young woman ran

and told her mother's household about these things.

Verse 29.

Rebecca had a brother whose name was Laban.

Laban ran out toward the man to the spring.

As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets

on his sister's arms

and heard the words of Rebecca, his sister,

thus the man spoke to me,

he went to the man.

And behold,

he was standing by the camels at the spring.

He said,

come in,

O blessed of the Lord.

Why do you stand outside?

For I have prepared the house

and a place for the camels.

So the man came to the house

and unharnessed the camels

and gave straw and fodder to the camels.

And there was water to wash his feet

and the feet of the men who were with him.

Then food was set before him to eat.

But he said,

I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.

He said,

speak on.

Verse 34.

So he said,

I am Abraham's servant.

The Lord has greatly blessed my master

and he has become great.

He has given him flocks and herds,

silver and gold,

male servants and female servants.

These,

excuse me,

camels and donkeys.

And Sarah,

my master's wife,

bore a son to my master

when she was old

and to him he has given

all that he has.

My master made me swear,

saying,

you shall not take a wife for my son

from the daughters of the Canaanites

in whose land I dwell.

But you shall go to my father's house

and to my clan

and take a wife for my son.

I said to my master,

perhaps the woman will not follow me.

But he said to me,

the Lord before whom I have walked

will send his angel with you

and prosper your way.

You shall take a wife for my son

from my clan

and from my father's house.

Then you will be free from my oath

and when you come to my clan

and if they will not give her to you,

you will be free from my oath.

Verse 42.

I came today to the spring

and said,

O Lord,

the God of my master Abraham,

if now you are prospering

the way that I go,

behold,

I am standing by the spring of water.

Let the virgin who comes out

to draw water

to whom I shall say,

please give me a little water

from your jar to drink

and who will say to me,

drink and I will draw

for your camels also.

Let her be the woman

whom the Lord has appointed

for my master's son.

Verse 45.

Before I had finished,

speaking in my heart,

behold,

Rebecca came out

with her water on her shoulder

and she went down

to the spring

and drew water.

I said to her,

please let me drink.

She quickly let down her jar

from her shoulder

and said,

drink

and I will give

your camels drink also.

So I drank

and she gave the camels

drink also.

Then I asked her,

whose daughter are you?

She said,

the daughter of Bethuel,

Nahor's son,

who milk aboard to him.

So I put the ring on her nose

and the bracelets on her arms.

Then I bowed my head

and worshiped the Lord

and blessed the Lord,

the God of my master Abraham,

who had led me

by the right way

to take the daughter

of my master's kinsman

for his son.

Now then,

if you are going to show

steadfast love

and faithfulness

to my master,

tell me.

And if not,

tell me,

that I may turn

to the right hand

or to the left.

Verse 50,

Then Laban and Bethuel

answered and said,

The thing has come

from the Lord.

We cannot speak to you

bad or good.

Behold,

Rebecca is before you.

Take her and go

and let her be

the wife of your master's son

as the Lord has spoken.

When Abraham's servant

heard their words,

he bowed himself

to the earth

before the Lord.

And the servant

brought out jewelry

of silver and of gold

and garments

and gave them to Rebecca.

He also gave

to her brother

and to her mother

costly ornaments.

And he and the men

who were with him

ate and drank

and they spent

the night there.

When they arose

in the morning,

he said,

Send me away

to my master.

Her brother

and her mother said,

Let the young woman

remain with us a while,

at least ten days.

After that,

she may go.

But he said to them,

Do not delay me

since the Lord

has prospered my way.

Send me away

that I may go

to my master.

They said,

Let us call

the young woman

and ask her.

And they called Rebecca

and said to her,

Will you go

with this man?

She said,

I will go.

So they sent away

Rebecca their sister

and her nurse

and Abraham's servant

and his men.

And they blessed Rebecca

and said to her,

Our sister,

may you become

thousands of ten thousands

and may your offspring

possess the gate

of those who hate him.

Then Rebecca

and her young women

arose and rode

on the camels

and followed the man.

Thus the servant

took Rebecca

and went on his way.

Now Isaac had returned

from Bir Lahai Roy

and was dwelling

in the Negev.

And Isaac went out

to meditate

in the field

toward evening.

And he lifted up

his eyes and saw

and behold,

there were camels coming.

And Rebecca

lifted up her eyes

and when she saw Isaac,

she dismounted

from the camel

and said to the servant,

Who is that man

walking in the field

to meet us?

The servant said,

It is my master.

So she took her veil

and covered herself.

And the servant

told Isaac

all the things

that he had done.

Then Isaac brought her

into the tent

of Sarah his mother

and took Rebecca

and she became his wife

and he loved her.

So Isaac was comforted

after his mother's death.

I invite you to pray

as we come to this portion

of God's word.

Our Father in heaven,

we do praise you

and thank you

for your providence

and work in this world

that you arrange

all things

for our good

and for your glory.

We ask that you would do that

with this passage

this morning,

that you would

open our eyes

once again

to see

your great mercy

and work

in our lives

and in the world

that we would grow

in our wonder

and our love for you.

We ask these things

in the mighty name

of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

If you

ever go to the theater

and you watch a movie,

you know

that it can be,

well, maybe you know,

a little bit dangerous

to walk out

right as the credits

are starting.

Although that's

what some people do.

And it's dangerous

to walk out

when the credits

are starting

because you never know

if there's going

to be another scene.

Right?

Sometimes in the middle

of the credits

a scene appears,

sometimes after

the credits.

You know,

a teaser for the next

movie appears.

This is called

a stinger

or a credit cookie.

Happens all the time.

You can find a list

of every single one

documented on Wikipedia.

Last year,

this happened

in Captain America,

Brave New World,

which I know

all of you watched.

Captain America

defeats the Red Hulk.

The credits roll.

And after the credits,

this villain,

Sam Stern,

shows up

to talk to Captain America

and he tells him,

by the way,

there are other worlds.

There's a whole multiverse.

You thought you defeated

the Red Hulk

and it was all good?

No,

there's probably going to be

other threats

from other universes.

So you've won that battle.

The war isn't over.

And even more importantly,

not only is the war not over,

there will be another movie.

Right?

That's the point.

Here,

as we're coming near

the end of the Abraham story,

we are in the middle

of the credits.

Okay?

It started last week

with the death of Sarah.

Chapter 22

is kind of the end

of the Abraham story, right?

Chapter 21,

Isaac is born.

Wow,

the tension that's driven

the entire plot

is finally resolved.

Chapter 22,

we have this final test.

You know,

is Abraham going to remain faithful

when God asks him

for such a sacrifice?

Then last week,

chapter 23,

the death of Sarah.

Next week,

chapter 25,

the death of Abraham.

It's all over.

Except.

Right?

Except.

The battle for Abraham

is over.

over.

The war is not.

Remember,

God made this promise

in Genesis chapter 12,

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

which was then repeated.

You're going to be

the father of many nations.

And the question was,

how is this going to happen

when I'm so old

and Sarah's so old

and she's not going to be able

to have children?

And so all of that

drives us to the birth of Isaac

and Isaac is finally born.

Great.

Abraham is still

not a great nation.

And that will only happen

if Isaac himself

marries

and has children.

And so we are not even close

to the end

of the story.

The death of Sarah, though,

signals this transition,

this passing of the baton

off to the next generation.

Unless the Lord returns,

every single one of us

will exit stage left.

There is a sense in which

my job

is to prepare this church

for its next pastor.

And there is a sense in which

it is our job

to prepare this church

for the next congregation.

This church was founded

in 1996.

And there are only

two people in the room

right now

who were there.

Abraham's story

is over.

Look what it tells us

in verse 1.

Abraham was old,

advanced in years.

Abraham's story is over.

There is still work

to be done.

Abraham's story is over.

The mission

is not complete.

This particular challenge

has ended.

There is still

so much more

to do.

Point is this.

The challenge

of faith

continues

generation

to generation.

The challenge

of faith

continues

generation

to generation.

It continues

your entire

life.

Yes,

verse 1 is true.

Abraham is old.

But

Abraham's work

is not

done.

Abraham is old.

His work

is not done.

You know this

in your own life

if you've lived

long enough.

It never

stops.

Okay,

you reach retirement.

Great.

time to raise

up the next

generation.

You raised

your kids.

Great.

And then

what happens

next?

Your kids

have kids.

The work

does not

end.

Maybe your kids

love the Lord,

right,

and you have a

sigh of relief.

It's not over.

Well,

their kids

rise up

to know

the Lord.

And maybe

they do.

Maybe you're

like my

grandmother.

You have

multiple

great

grandchildren,

right?

And so

the question

begins

all over

again.

One generation

stands for

truth and

wins the

battle.

And it

can be

all

lost

by the

next.

The

basketball

player

J.J.

Reddick

says,

you never

arrive,

you are

always

becoming.

And I'll

change that

quote to

this.

You never

arrive,

you're always

following God

in faith.

Never

arrive,

you're always

following God

in faith.

And that's

discouraging

news in a

sense,

right,

to say,

well,

it's never

over.

You might

think,

no,

I was

hoping it

would end

at some

point,

right?

I was

hoping at

some

point I

could put

my feet

up.

It's

discouraging

news unless

until we

remember a

greater truth.

Yes,

it's true

that you've

never arrived.

It is

also true

that God

is faithful

again and

again.

God is

faithful

generation

to

generation.

Your

challenges

in this

life do

not

end.

Neither

does

God's

faithfulness.

And that's

what we see

in this

story.

In every

step,

God is

at work

guiding

Abraham's

servant.

One of the

key words

that appears

over and

over here

is this

idea of

success or

prospering.

So track

with me here

for a second.

You have

verse 12.

He said,

O Lord,

God of my

master Abraham,

please grant

me success.

The servant

realizes God's

going to have

to show up

for this to

work.

If his

promises will

be fulfilled

and generation

to generation

will continue

until Abraham

becomes the

father of

many nations,

God must

act.

So that's

his prayer

in verse 12.

Then we get

to verse 21.

The man

gazed at her

in silence

to learn

whether the

Lord had

prospered his

journey or

not.

So it's the

same question,

right?

We could talk

all day about

the servant

and his

faithfulness

and that

would be

true.

But what

is more

true and

more important

is God's

work and

God's

faithfulness.

It keeps

going through

all that we

read.

Verse 40.

He said

to me,

the Lord

before whom

I have

walked will

send his

angel with

you and

prosper your

way.

Verse 42.

And if

now you are

prospering the

way that I

go.

Go with

me to

verse 36.

56.

He said

to them,

do not delay

me since the

Lord has

prospered my

way.

And why

is God

prospering

his way?

Well,

there's

another word

that appears

over and

over.

The servant

keeps returning

to God's

steadfast love.

Remember,

we've talked

about this

before.

It's the

Hebrew word

hesed,

which the

children's

storybook

Bible tells

us means

God's

never ending,

never stopping,

never giving

up, always

and forever

love.

So go back

again to

verse 12.

We looked

at this just

a second

ago.

Please grant

me success

today and

show

steadfast

love.

Verse 14,

he gives

this prayer.

The end

of verse

14,

by this

I shall

know that

you have

shown

steadfast

love.

Verse 27,

blessed

be the

Lord,

the God

of my

master

Abraham,

who has

not

forsaken

his

steadfast

love.

God

is

faithful.

God

is more

faithful

still.

There's

tons of

faith here.

It only

works

because of

God's

faithfulness.

God's

faithfulness

to honor

his promise,

to continue

the line

that he's

begun.

Of course,

it happens,

right,

because the

servant actually

finds a

wife.

It actually

works.

He goes

out,

gets what

he needs.

If you've

been with

us,

I don't

need to

tell you

at this

point that

one of

the major

themes of

Abraham's

story is

God's

faithfulness to

his promises.

What we've

been saying

over and

over,

that God

will do

what he

said he's

going to

do.

And you

might be

thinking at

this point,

well,

you know,

why are

we still

just saying

the same

thing over

and over?

You know,

you get to

this point

sometimes when

you're in a

narrative and

you think the

preacher doesn't

have a new

point,

right?

He's just

repeating the

same thing

over and

over.

Here we are

talking about

God's

faithfulness

again,

but there's

a specific

angle and

detail that

we're zoned

in on,

and it's

this.

Not God's

faithfulness

in general,

but his

faithfulness

throughout

the ages.

God's

faithfulness

generation

after

generation.

And so

we're not

just talking

about God's

faithfulness

to his

promises to

you in

particular as

a Christian,

which we've

covered before.

We are

talking about

his faithfulness

to his

church until

the end of

the age.

I don't

know if

Cheyenne

Mountain

Presbyterian

Church will

exist until

the end of

the world.

I hope

it does.

I don't

have any

reason to

believe it

won't,

but I do

know this.

God's

church,

his

capital

C

church,

will

not

fail.

And I

know that

because of

the character

of God

and the

promises

that he's

made.

Eight years

ago,

in the

summer of

2017,

I told you

guys a story,

almost none

of you were

here back

then,

about how

when I was

a sophomore

in college,

I went on

this study

abroad trip,

a trip to

the classics

department at

my college,

and so part

of it was

focused on

ancient

archaeology,

and we

had to

take this

final exam

after we'd

seen all

of these

sites across

the Mediterranean.

The last

question on

the exam

was this,

if you're

an ancient

building,

and you

would like

to survive

until the

modern day,

what do you

need to do

to make sure

that you make

it,

and you don't

fall down and

topple?

the answer

is this,

if you're an

ancient building

and you want

to survive,

you need to be

used continuously

as a place of

Christian worship.

That's how you

make it.

God's people,

his church,

his mission,

transcends and

outlasts every

earthly kingdom.

It is his

faithfulness,

generation

generation after

generation.

As you work

in this world

to make it

on earth

as it is

in heaven,

know this,

God cares

about that

more than

you do.

God cares

about it

more than

you do.

God cares

about this

church

more than

any of us

does.

God cares

about people

worshiping in

him and

following him

in every

generation

more than

any parent

in this room

can.

God cares

more than

you do

and

he will

finish

what he

started.

He'll

finish

what he

started.

Isaac

matters

ultimately

because of

the promise,

right?

Because of

the promise,

Isaac must

have a wife

and the

promise matters

because it

is through

Isaac that

Jesus ultimately

is going to

come.

Matthew

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

when we go

to the

New Testament

we have

Jesus'

genealogy

which starts

with Abraham.

It shows

us how

God's promise

is fulfilled

from Abraham

all the way

to Christ.

Luke

Luke 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

which we

read this

morning,

page 3

of your

worship guide.

You might

be wondering

why did

we read

Mary's

song

when we're

talking about

Abraham?

Well,

look with

me what

she says

in verse

50.

His mercy

is for

those who

fear him

from

generation

to

generation.

Verse

54 and

55.

He has

helped

his servant

Israel

in remembrance

of his

mercy

as he

spoke to

our fathers

to Abraham

and his

offspring

forever.

brothers

and sisters,

it is not

just or

simply that

God will

do what

he said

he would

do.

It is

that in

doing it

God will

finish what

he started.

He will

finish it

for you.

He will

finish it

in his

church.

It's what

we sang

earlier this

morning.

We will

stand as

children of

the what?

the promise.

We will

fix our

eyes on

him,

our soul's

reward.

Till the

race is

finished and

the work

is done,

we'll walk

by faith

and not

by sight.

And by the

way,

unless you're

dead,

the work

is not

done.

some of

you all

remember,

we had

congregants

before who

have been

in their

90s and

I tell

people,

you know

they're

serving the

church and

the way

that they

serve the

church when

they're in

their 90s

or even

in the

triple

digits is

they pray

faithfully

to God.

There is

always a

task before

us when

we're on

this earth.

It's not

just that God

is faithful

though,

generation to

generation,

we also

see his

faithfulness

in growing

and refining

Abraham.

I mentioned

this before

in our

confession of

faith,

Andy said

last week,

you know,

Abraham is

kind of a

dummy.

Abraham is

kind of a

dummy.

Abraham has

many failures.

Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12,

right after God

made this

promise to

him,

he lies to

Pharaoh about

Sarai,

right?

And then God

has to come

rescue them.

Genesis

Genesis 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16,

Abraham and

Sarah don't

trust God's

promise and

so they have

to create

their own

alternative by

having a

child through

Hagar.

Genesis

Genesis 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20,

Abraham lies

again,

this time to

Abimelech.

God rescues

him again.

But,

at the

very end,

Abraham is

not a

dummy

anymore.

When he

is almost

finished,

Abraham

has this

unshakable

faith.

Here he is

only trusting

and obedient.

There are

two different

mistakes Abraham

could make in

this situation,

right?

He knows

his son

needs a

wife,

right?

So we see

this at the

very beginning.

The first

mistake would

be for his

son to

marry a

Canaanite.

Look with

me at

verses 3

and 4.

He makes

him swear

with his

hand under

his thigh.

Don't ask

about that.

you will

not take

a wife

or my

son from

the

daughters

of the

Canaanites

among whom

I dwell.

No matter

what happens,

we will

not compromise.

And who's

saying this?

It's Abraham

who we've

seen time

and time

again

compromise.

But now

that is not

an option.

So that's

mistake one.

You could

marry a

Canaanite.

Abraham

has no

time for

that.

Mistake

number two,

you could

leave the

promised land.

That's

verses 5

and 6.

The servant

said to him,

perhaps the

woman may

not be

willing to

follow me

to this

land.

Must I

then take

your son

back to

the land

from which

you came?

And Abraham

is crystal

clear.

Verse 6,

see to it

that you

do not

take my

son

back

there.

Abraham

refuses

the

compromise

that he

has found

so

tempting

before.

In

verse 7

we find

out why.

Because

Abraham

has what

I've

called

this

unshakable

faith.

Look

with me

at verse

7.

The

Lord,

the

God

of

heaven

who

took

me

from

my

father's

house

and

from

the

land

of

my

kindred

and

who

spoke

to

me

and

swore

to

me

to

your

offspring

I

will

give

this

land.

Abraham

believes

what he

doubted

before.

Abraham

finally

believes

that God

really

will

keep

his

promise.

What's

changed him?

Remember

Abraham's

failures

before

were driven

by fear.

Driven

by fear

that God

wouldn't

provide,

that he

wouldn't

protect

him

and

Sarah.

Fear

that God

needed

their

help

to

provide

a

child

through

Hagar.

Now

finally,

as he's

at the

end of

his

life,

Abraham

has

seen

God's

faithfulness

again

and

again.

He's

seen

God's

faithfulness

that Sarah

gave

birth

in her

old

age.

He's

seen

God's

faithfulness

chapter

22.

Remember,

the

ram was

provided

instead

of

Isaac

and

what

does

Abraham

say

at this

point?

On the

mountain

of the

Lord,

he

will

provide.

Abraham

has

seen

God

provide

over

and

over.

Abraham

has

struggled

and

stumbled

for many

years.

And

at the

end,

God

has

used

all of

those

things

to

produce

a

sweet

fruit.

At

the

end,

God

has

shown

Abraham

his

faithfulness

in the

midst of

Abraham's

failure

and that

has

grown a

man

who

trusts

God

more

than

anything

else.

Christian,

your

life

is

filled

with

stumblings

and

failures.

God's

faithfulness

still

shines

through.

Your

life

is

full

of

mistakes

and

compromise.

God

is still

at work.

God

is

growing

you

year

after

year

after

year.

God

is

making

you

more

like

Jesus.

You can

look with

me on

page

nine of

your

worship

guide.

You'll

find this

quote.

God

is

working

throughout

your

life

on a

scale

of

days,

years,

and

decades

to

remake

you

into

the

likeness

of

Jesus.

You

are

being

progressively

sanctified.

You

are

being

saved.

Christian,

God

is doing

a

beautiful

work

in

your

life.

In

the midst

of your

failure and

compromise

sin.

He is

shaping

and

forming

you

to look

more

like

Jesus

Christ

at the

end of

your

life

than you

did at

the

beginning.

He is

doing that

through the

sufferings that

you encounter

as he grows

your faithfulness

in him

because he

shows up

over and

over

again.

And I

tell you

that not

because it's a

happy sentimental

thought but

because God

has made a

promise to

you.

Philippians

Philippians 1:6

chapter 1

verse 6,

he who

began a

good work

in you

will bring

it to

completion

at the

day of

Jesus

Christ.

where is

God

growing

your

confidence

in

him?

What does

it look

like to

follow

God

in

faith?

It means

trusting

that little

by little

day by

day.

He is

making you

more like

Jesus

Christ.

At the

end,

the very

last

verse of

this

chapter,

then Isaac

brought her

into the

tent of

Sarah,

his mother.

The

baton

has been

passed.