Covenant 7/19/2020

Will the title of my message this morning is forerunners of faith. And we're looking at the story of Abram and Sarai. Are you familiar with those names Abram and Sarai? You might be a little bit more familiar with them by their other names Abraham and Sarah, but this is not what they were or who they were until God called them to follow him. He gave them new names new identities and a new promised that he would bless the world through him. Now last week we traced the degeneration of the human race says the radical in sweeping consequences of Adam's sin reverberated in the lives of his children and his children's children Adam and Eve originally created in God's image created in his likeness created good sinned against God and asked the Lord warned sin brought death into the world spiritual death and physical death. It affected the very fiber of their being the very nature of what it meant to be human was deformed on the day of the Fall headed to form the lives of their children with catastrophic and immediate consequences. The first born son as we saw Cain murdered his brother Abel In Cold Blood. Immediately that impact of Adamson had a bath consequence and repercussion on all the children that came after him, but Kane was not alone. He was not the exception to the rule but but the rule that emerged in the life of the human Community was a rule of rebellion and sinfulness betrayal in Disobedience. We saw in Genesis chapter 6 verse 5 through 8 that only a few short Generations after the fall. That's the whole world that seemed had Fall Fallen deeply and Darkly in the depravity Genesis 6 reads. The Lord saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and every intention of the thoughts of his heart was evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on Earth headed grieved him to his heart to the Lord said I will blot out man who I have created from the face of the land man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens for I am sorry that I have made them. In the very end of that very statement of judgment. We hear a word of Grace and hope but Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Even though humankind demanded judgment and deserved under condemnation. God is gracious and merciful. He is today and he is the same God today and yesterday and forever remarkable Act of grace and mercy to Noah and his family. He spared them from the Judgment that he bought upon all Flash. For 40 days and nights it rain upon the Earth chapter 7 year of Noah's life on the seventh day of the second month on that day. All the Springs of the great deep burst forth or opened it rain for 40 days and nights straight. It would be one year before Noah and his family would set their foot back on dry land again as they exited the ark with a cataclysmic judgment upon the world for a level of depravity that I don't believe that we have ever witnessed in our lives and it's a judgment that God will bring again at the End of Time upon men get to Noah and his family God showed grace and mercy That's very important. Not to misunderstand the story of Noah, and I think we're very app to do that. Noah was not a righteous man. And he was not a perfect man get a sinful nature as did all of Adam's Sons. He was trapped by sin. Even as we were and he lived a life. That was not righteous. He disobeyed God he did what was wrong even as those in his generation. Did he get God showed grace and mercy to Noah and that grace and mercy that God showed to Noah brought about a faith and trust in God. Such that Noah began to Faithfully obey God in his generation. And one Mighty active faithful gracefield obedience was when Noah heard those remarkable words that got under can you imagine I want you to build this great Arc. That's the size of 1 1/2 football fields in I'm going to bring a judgement of rain upon the Earth and of course, you know, his response would be but you know, what are you talkin about? And what is rain the Bible tells us that that's not the way that the Earth was cared for by God in those days. It was in the flood that rain burst forth to the first time but no it was faithful and obedient to The God Who had shown Grace to his family ever over a year. He built that ship and proclaimed as a preacher of righteousness, which means he was also a preacher of God's grace, but also God's judgement against in that there was a way of Salvation that God Was preparing No one in that generation wanted anything to do it do with it until God in his promise fulfilled to know his family brought them into the ark and the Animals as well and he watch over them and he cared for them. He showed his mercy and grace to the human race. In fact, all of animal kind as Adam built that or can they watch every kind of creature that had breath in its lungs walk onto that are fit. What must have been one of the most miraculous moments to ever witnessed in the history of humankind. And then after that year was off as the floodwaters recited Noah emerged from the ark along with his family in the first thing that they do. If they celebrate the grace and mercy of God. And they give thanks to God not because they were worthy to be saved. But because he showed them his mercy and Grace and they put their trust in him. And what's interesting about that account is God realtor rates the very command that he gave to Adam and Eve we find it in Genesis. 9:7 He commands them to be fruitful and multiply to increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it. The reason that we know that Noah was not a perfect man is the very story that follows Noah's emergence from The Arc betrays the great dysfunction, even of this family who got it Mercy redeemed through the ark and the Waters of the flood turn with me if you will and we're going to take a journey through the scriptures here to learn this story to Genesis chapter 9 verse 18 and following The sons of Noah Genesis rights went forth from the ark their names were Shem ham and japheth and you're going to hear some names over the course of the message today that you're going to remember from other points in Biblical history and I shared the broader story so that you can connect some of these historical realities in your thinking as you study scripture. I just want Shem ham and japheth ham was the father of Canaan. Remember the land of Canaan and the Canaanite these three were the sons of Noah and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed head to the biblical account not just Adam and Eve the children that they had to populate the Earth, but we're told the great judgment came such that Noah and his family alone were spared as they emerged from the ark once again, and then it an act of mercy and Grace got resets the mindset of the human Community. He knew that for certain if he left. His hands apart from the sin and in the heartlessness in the wickedness that was rampant on the earth that the whole of the human Nations for all the generations to come would be lost. And so he intervenes here and he saves Noah Fant knows family as they emerged from the ark there's this resetting of a focus on the Lord. And it doesn't last for long these three were the sons of Noah and from these the people of the whole earth from that point forward. We're dispersed snowed began to be a man of the soil verse 20, Teddy planeta Vineyard. He drank up the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent and ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside then Shem and japheth took a garment and laid it on both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father their faces were turned backward and they did not look upon Him window awoke from his wine and end in found out what his youngest son had done to him. He said cursive detaining a servant of servants. Shall he be to his brothers? He also said blessed be the Lord the god of Shem and let Cain and be his servant. May God enlarge japheth and let him dwell in the tents of shin. Jimin. Let Canaan be his servant you may hear from the name Shem. Do you know what we get? What word we get from the name Shem we get the word Semite. Is Semitic people or for one line of those folks to the Jewish people come from the line of Shem? And of course, we know from our Biblical record that name Canaan. The land of Canaan is very land that Abram and Sarai would enter into and faithfulness to Lord and the Canaanites were those that the children of Abraham would be opposed by every single turn you recognize those names. This is hundreds of years before all the tensions would arise from this family and its dysfunction After the flood were told Noah lived 350 years all the days of Noah were 950 years and he died I know about you but one thing that we see in this biblical account is the Great Links of the lives of the men and women of that generation. Hey, we're told just before the flood that when God looked upon their wickedness. He said I will number their days because I will not endure with him any longer and I believe if I remember right that he numbered their days. So no more than 120 at that time. It's so that the care that got it placed upon the human Community these beings that he had made to live for eternity in the very bodies that he'd given them as Believers. We recognize in the resurrection. We will have physical bodies as we do now these bodies hit they were unhindered by sin and we were watched over by the providential care of God with his power would leave forever and one day redeemed and regenerated and glorified. These bodies will be doing just that but dear God had broken in the flood had changed the very ecological system of the world in which they live and God had super naturally limited their age, And so these long years that we hear of a begin to descend rapidly on the other side of the flood who will be seen from this story is the even Noah and his family this unique family the God showed his grace and mercy to not because of deserving it because simply of the favor that God had placed upon them and the mercy that he has shown to our race that we might call him the name of the Lord and not be utterly lost in darkness. They wish owned it a family that was broken and dysfunctional and that would play out over the history and experience that would follow follow up with me with your Bibles. Just know we can see how this story plays out Genesis chapter 10 verse 1. These are the generations of the sons of Noah Shem ham and japheth hit one of the little literary devices that the author of Hebrews uses to set apart his section these in the generations of these men. These are the generations of these And he tells the story notice when he's talking about the generations of men when we tell the story of the generation of a group of men we call it what history fish is the history of these forerunners of the faith who came before us space telling about them some who were faithful some to her faithless, but in every and all generations get to always proves faithful the Lord God Almighty a 10-1. These are the generations of the sons of Noah Shem ham and japheth Sons were born to them after the flood Genesis 10 to the sons of japheth and then he goes on to document who those Sons were Genesis Penny to the sons of ham. Now listen to the names of the sons of ham. You'll recognize them the sons of ham Kush. Egypt put in Canaan fathered Nimrod the first Mighty Man were told according to the scriptures and Nimrod went on to found the city of Babel as well as the city of Assyria and Nineveh if you heard of those cities in ancient history. A little bit farther we read in Genesis 10:2 and following Canaan fathered side in his first born in half and the jebusites and the amorites the girgashites and he bites all names that we find in Old Testament reading as we watch the people of Israel go into the land of Canaan it so this is the beginning of that story. How many Genesis 11 we read? The Tragically, once again for the second time the human Community has descended into otter sinlessness and wickedness to Pride and Rebellion sweet find that famous story of a tower that was built that men might Ascend to the heavens and declare their power and might and independence from The God Who made them Genesis 11 have a whole earth had one language in the same words and its people migrated from the East they found a plane in the land of shinar and settled there and they said to one another come let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly and they had brick for stone and bit him in for Mortar and then they said, let's build ourselves a city and its power with its pop in the heavens Heavens make a name for ourselves lest. We be dispersed over the face of the whole Earth. And the Lord came down to see the city in the tower, which the children of man had built in the Lord said behold. They are one people and they have one language and this is only the beginning of what they will do and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come let us go down there and confuse their language. So they may not understand one another's speech. Dolor disperse them from their over the face of all the Earth and they left off building the city there for its name was called Babel because they're the Lord confuse the language of all the Earth head from there the Lord disperse them over the face of all the Earth. Let me ask what happened there. Do you think that God doesn't like tall buildings above 10 stories high and so he came down and confuse the language of the people and drove them out. No remarkably, this again was an act of God's grace in the face of human Defiance. They knew if they continue down this path. Nothing would be impossible for them. They would find great success and why because he had made them in His image and with one language they could overcome so many even of the curses of the fall and in their wealth and prosperity and success as those Made In His Image, they would no longer recognized in the fullest way possible their shortcoming and their weakness their need for the Lord their sinfulness their hearts would grow hard and other cities with power. Their souls and their children would perish into an act of Grace God intervenes and an instant he changes the language of the human race Adidas purses them from that place. I was listening to a Biblical archaeologist who studies cultures talk about a lifetime's work of finding if possible this city and he believes that he found it. It's a city that they've discovered in which there's a great Temple that was built and then suddenly it was stopped and the whole area was left behind. Can you say what how could you make such assertions? But what happens if they find evidence of the pottery in the cultural artifacts of that culture immediately dispersed throughout the entire region hundreds and thousands of miles away from their head by looking at the pottery. They're able to tell that it's from the same time. You see how thin they do that. How many of you have an iPhone? What is it now 12 or something like that if I Pick up an original iphone in one city and I find an iPhone 12 in another city. What do I know time has passed as the cultural artifacts changed but this archaeologist as they studied the city they've seen that there was a catastrophic and significant events that cause the dispersion of these people and if they landed in these different cities there were battles that took place there was conflict. It appears that all the sudden these people groups had a seed of conflict within them that they did not have before very possibly the fact that their language is no longer could speak with one another. It must have been an overwhelming experience in the time of the human Community not to be able to speak to ones that you had spoken to before or communicate in any way. I can't imagine that they were not aware that this was an act of God's judgment and I'd be surprised to find if they were not aware that it was an act of God's grace as well. We're not told that explicitly from the scriptures. We certainly are told that in the New Testament regarding Noah. Not just that he built the ark to save his family and animal kind but then he preached righteousness that in the midst of that act. They were men and women of God who could Proclaim what was happening and call people to repentance. This is the story of the children of Adam and Eve. It's the story of the the ramp it in devastating effects of Adam's decision the corruption of the human nature the corruption of human society not once but twice the rebellion of the larger social Community the third Rebellion if you can't Adam and Eve's in the face of God, even of the mercies that he showed when he said he would never destroy the Earth again and places rainbow his warbow as we talked about last week in the clouds. It is out of this morass that we hear the story of this man and his wife emerge. Genesis chapter 11 Begins the introduction of that Tale in Genesis 11:10. We read this the these are the generations of Shem a shift in focus from Shem and japheth and ham and thus their story and the cultural developments that came stupid to know a focus a tightening of the shot in the life of Shem himself who ultimately would be the father grandfather that the the one who came before Abraham. Here's what we read these in the generations of Shem Genesis. 11:10 windshield was 100 years old. He fathered are Pacs add two years after the flood and shim live after he fathered our part packs had 500 years and had other Sons and Daughters the story continues in Genesis, 11:27. One of those descendants was named Tara. It's a man's name in that generation. Now. These are the generations of Tara focusing even tightly Ron one family in the line of Shem Tara fathered Abram. Mejor and her and had her own father-in-law. Do you remember Lots name in the scriptures? Ron died in the presence of his father? Tara in the land of his Kindred Lots father died. And as you know Abraham took lot under his wing and he died there an hour of the Chaldeans where the family of Tara had settled and Abraham in mejor took wives. The name of Abraham's wife was Saray and the name of nahor's wife was milcah the daughter of her on the father of milk and is Scott s a r i was Barren. She had no child, which would Define so much of their lives in the days ahead of her and his grandson and Sarai his daughter-in-law his son Abram his wife and they went forth together from Earl of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan. That's an interesting story when we talked about Abraham we talked about the fact that he responded to God's call and he left her and he made his way to the land that God called him to but what do we learn here that he wasn't the first to begin that Journey that his father before him had begun that Journey. The God was already at work. Even before that moment when they were told they settled are the days of Tara were 205 years and Tara died and her on And then we go to Genesis chapter 12 and the chapter that introduces Abraham and Sarah ride to the biblical account go from your country and your Kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you and I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse and in you all the families of the Earth shall be blessed.

Story of Abram will become a remarkable one as you who are familiar with the Book of Genesis will find scripture and God's interaction with them is not very bad his interaction with no is also very quick. Although know it was a very significant figure hits Abram hear the son of Shem the son of Terah who got focus is in his attention. One of the descendants of Noah, one of the descendants of Shem the one who know a blast in that family squabble at the end of their time as they came on the dry ground hits this Abram that God will now begin to call his own head from his line a seed will come. Casino if it's unfamiliar to the biblical reader I seen that have been promised to Adam and Eve even moments after their fault that one of the descendants of the woman would be born who would redeem humankind from their sin not a ship to save them from water but his son to save them from God's righteous wrath and this man Abram would be the one through whom God would bring that promise into reality. What did we read in the very words of Abraham's story read plainly the his wife Sarah. Which Baron She had no child and she could not have a child by any natural means. Turkey part of that story as well aware will be the promise of God to change all that. I want to stop and take a quick look as we did even with Noah and a snapshot that we find in the New Testament about his wife Luke rights and Acts chapter 7 verse to about this couple about this man brothers and fathers hear me the god of Glory appeared to Our Father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, I'm pretty sure this was Stevens a message preached right before he was put to death before he lived in her eye on it. And God said to him go out from your land in from your Kindred and go into the land that I will show you Vinny went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in her aunt and after his father died God removed him from their individual and in which you are now living Did he gave him no inheritance in it's not even a foot link promise to give promise promise to give it as a possession this land and his offspring after him though. He had no child. It was the New Testament looks back upon Abraham, it sees him as a man who had faith in the Lord. But here in this moment, we begin to hear the story of a man who listens to God's call in his life. It's God's instruction shaped the way that he will live and the decisions that he will make. What was Abraham a perfect man. Just like Noah just like Adam just like any who would come before it. We're all Sinners Free Falling short of God's standards and yet God's grace and mercy is poured out upon us and in response we put faith and trust in him and he works and acts in our life for his purposes. And so this man Abraham and his wife Sarah made their way to a Promised Land. Hey year upon year Abrams about 85 years old at this time. No child comes I can only matter imagine the shame and the sadness for their family in the midst of a culture in which children were a sign of God's blessing his children were a factor of of wealth and success and your care in old age and joy in every possible benefit would come through the course of your family line and and they were bearing and yet Abraham's name meant Mighty father. point to Abram means yet God comes to him and he's now obeyed and moved his family to this land that he's never seen before in and in frustration and confusion as these promises of God don't seem to be coming into reality is is spoken to by God in the vision. Genesis chapter 15 recalcitrant the Lord came to Abram and division fear not Abram. The Lord said I am your Shield your reward shall be very great. But Abram said oh Lord God, what will you give me? Try continue childless? And the air of my house is Eliezer of Damascus head. Abram said you have given me no Offspring and a member of my household will be my heir. The promise that God had made the Abram unfulfilled weighing heavily on Abram and his wife. I can only imagine that you would have shared that promise with her.

The Lord in the moment to to comfort him speaks. This man shall not be your Air verse for your very own son. Shelby rare penny brought Abram outside and said look toward heaven and Number the Stars if you're able to number them then he said to him. So shall your Offspring be any believe the Lord? And the Lord pounded to Abram as righteousness a gracious promise to God unfolded before him that his children the childless in this moment would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens a gracious promise that God gave you this undeserving man. And what was Abraham's response? I Trust You Lord. I have faith in the promise in the grace that you have set before me on this day in the Lord declared this unrighteous man righteous and that moment because his grace had made it so it would be one of the sons Jesus Christ who would bring about the reality of that righteousness mini Generations. Later. And yet even Jesus said Abraham saw my day and was glad wrap some reference to some kind of a vision undocumented that the Lord provided a Clarity of purpose and promise that God would bring in effect through Adams Abraham's seed of the Redeemer. I am the Lord who brought you out from earlier of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess what he said. Oh Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it? And God said to him bring me a heifer 3 years old in a female goat some animals to be sacrificed 10 Abrams verse 10 brought those things out and he cut them in half and laid each half over against the other. He separated two halves of these sacrificial animals. Ed Edd n Eddy when the birds of prey came down the Devourer the carcass is Abram drove them away. That's kind of a fascinating little throwaway line, you know is Abram would tell that story to the generations. That would come. I remember when God came and he said this thing and he gave this promise and he told me to cut that I'd cut them and and I waited in the ferns and I'm coming. I'm trying to shoo them away. It's kind of a remarkable recollection that Abram had these shared with the children they came after him and listen to what we hear. It's very important in the history of of Abraham's family in the history of the the the chosen people in our history as chosen people and Christ as the sun was going down Route 12a deep sleep fell on Abram notices name and behold Dreadful and great Darkness fell upon him. The Lord said to Abram know for certain that your Offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there and they will be afflicted for 400 years. You have any idea what that to reference to? Biblical Scholars, the prophetic announcement that Abraham's sons would be in Egypt in bondage for those many years, but I will bring judge and after where they shall come out with a possession house for you. You shall go to your father's in peace. You shall be buried in a good old age and they shall come back here in the 4th generation. Now listen to this very interesting, for the iniquity of the amorites is not yet complete. God had a plan that don't match just with the chosen people the Seed of Abraham that would come but if people the amorites another group of descendants from Noah who were engaged in wickedness, that would at some point reached such a crescendo that God would bring judgment upon them, but he would do it by the hands of his own chosen people and you read about that in the Old Testament and some of the challenging chapters has God calls them to bring military force against God this nation's as an act of God's judgment against their wickedness. The wrap up this story of Abraham and Sarah we come to probably one of the most compelling points it when the sun had gone down and it was dark Behold a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between the pieces of this offering head on that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying to your Offspring I give this land. In This Moment God commits himself to a promise and if he commits himself to that Promise by passing through these split animals the house separated by a sword kissing to Abram in the vernacular of that culture This Promise is bound to me and me alone. And if I violate This Promise may it be on me God is telling Abraham hear that he is providing him with a irrevocable promise based on God's character not based on Abrams character are the character of his children. That would come.

And yet the promise is slow to be fulfilled. And in one of the most interesting stories of the Book of Genesis in Genesis 17, the last one that will look at we find this very interesting encounter years later and Genesis. 17:20. Abram was 99 years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him. I am God Almighty walk before me and be blameless that I may make my Covenant between me and you and a * * you greatly again reaffirming the promise that he had given to Abram time and time again spit Abram fell on his face and God said to him the whole by Covenant is with you and you shall be the father of a multitude of Nations. He said to this man whose wife is Barren who has no Sons nothing but a servant to carry on his name no longer. Shall your name be called Abram? But your name Shall be Called Abraham, which means the father of a multitude for I have made you the father of a multitude of Nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I made you into Nations and King shall come from you and I will establish my Covenant between me and you and your Offspring after you throughout their generations for an Everlasting Covenant to be God to you and to your Offspring after you and I will give to you and to your Offspring after you the land that you Journey with in all the land of Canaan fir Everlasting possession, and I will be their God.

Do you know what that's a promise of in the scripture? The promise of the Salvation that would come in Jesus Christ an everlasting promise. That would be fulfilled in such a remarkable way that this child this man once noted Abram a mighty father now called Abraham by almighty God would be the father of a multitude of Nations by way of a promise that would last for all eternity. You know the picture that we give. I get from the scriptures of the end of time. It's a picture of a great Wedding Banquet with men and women from east and west and north and south from every nation from every language think of the Tower of Babel here reunited by what the promise of God to Abram a king who would come from his life. Any King know the greatest came to walk the earth the King of Kings and the Lord of lords the one who God would bring to fulfill this promise to Abraham a promise to Noah a promise to Adam a promise to save men and women from their sin. Hebrews chapter 11 speaks this way of Abraham and I want to ask you a question at the end of this and then we'll close he's right if he bruised right by faith. Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith, he went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land living in tents with Isaac and Jacob Ayers with him of the same promised for he was looking forward to the city has foundations who's designer and Builder is God by faith Sarah herself. It was the name Sarah. Sarah by Sarah herself receive power to conceive what miraculous power gracious power god-ordained power, even when she was past the age since she considered him and Facebook who had promised there for from one man and him as good as dead noticed if underscoring of the fact that this was an act of God's miraculous Grace on the dead were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many and as his numerable at the grains of sand by the seashore, but then noticed this last thing the author of Hebrews said, these are All died. And how did they die they died in faith not having received the things promised. Did Abraham see the coming of the Messiah one of their children would be the Redeemer see those things they didn't see those things in their generation. They had faith that God would bring it about bad faith that one day they would see it but they never saw in this life. But having seen them interesting meet up not having received the things promise but having seen them and greeted them from afar looking down and knowing that God would bring about what he promised and having acknowledged that they were strangers and X-Files on the earth that this place was not their home for people who speak us make it clear that they are seeking another home when it had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out. They could have gone back but as it is they desire to better country. That is a Heavenly one there for God is not ashamed to be called their God for his prepared for them a city. What does it look like to be a child of Abraham? Looks like to be one who's put their faith in the promise descendant that God sent through his seed Jesus Christ one who is perfect for good who doesn't make mistakes and it X terrible mistakes?

It looks like one who recognizes that in the midst of those mistakes. They serve a God who is forgiving and merciful and gracious and good. To be a follower of a child of Abraham in a follower of Christ is to recognize that this Earth is not our home. But the promises of God that he's given to us in the gospel. Go beyond this life to another. Not the ship that no experience salvation through the life of peace that Abraham experience in his generation with the hope of glory of a future that God would bring the path by grace. That we trust. As we trust me, look ahead. We've not received the promises fully we can see them on the horizon and we know that they will come to pass because we know in whose hands those promises rest. forerunners of Faith Abram Saray Abraham and Sarah Bill and Sharon and Bonnie and all

Tell me about here on that. Very same Journey. It's a remarkable thing that God has done for you and for me in the course of human history to bring us to this point. My Hope and prayer for you is like Abram you listen to the Lord in your life and you do what he's called you to do and you share the good news of the grace of God in this generation because there's so many who have not heard it and this is the season of Life which in so many ways is desperate to hear a word of Hope and word of Grace. closing prayer gracious and holy God we give you thanks for your promises down through human history that have changed the course of Our Lives. It's sometimes difficult Lord the struggle through the history in the pages of scripture and yet if we do not know what you've done. We cannot trust as strongly and what you will do it. So we thank you for a demand for knowing for Shem in for Tara and for Abraham and for Sarah. We thank you for those who have come before us not perfect people but those upon whom you've shown your grace and we thank you Lord that even us as broken Sinners and you have shown to us that same Mercy. Help us Lord to live our lives marked by that Grace by that promise and to share that good news with all that we meet as we act Faithfully even as those before us did the same. We pray all these things in Jesus name. Amen. Let's sing our closing song.