WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:04.879 You're listening to the Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk 2 00:00:04.919 --> 00:00:11.359 about the Bible in fun in practical ways. Hey, everybody, welcome to 3 00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:14.720 the Bible Guys. We're back. We are back, better than ever, 4 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:18.800 baby, better than ever. Okay, see, everything's a movie to me, 5 00:00:19.719 --> 00:00:25.239 right, two guys sitting in a studio. Yeah, I'm back. 6 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:31.559 Oh geez, you want poorter guys on me? There they're here. Okay, 7 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:35.439 Hey, we are going to start off with one of my favorite segments. 8 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:39.479 And this really is just so fun. It is the Dad Joe competition. 9 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:43.840 I think haven't No, I haven't either. I haven't even read a 10 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:47.840 single one. But the older I get, the more I think I appreciate 11 00:00:47.880 --> 00:00:50.759 these. Yeah, I think they're funny. Yeah. So, uh you 12 00:00:50.799 --> 00:00:52.960 want me to go? Yes, you go first. We have five each. 13 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:57.799 Here we go. Here's the first one. What is that word? 14 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:03.840 Okay, here we go. The word Q is ironic. It's just a 15 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:10.840 queue with a bunch of silent letters waiting in line. So q U e 16 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:18.200 U e q q right, Like that's that's how Europe says. British people 17 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:22.239 say, standing in line. Right, So you queue up or you get 18 00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:26.000 in the queue. Right right now. Yeah, we have ques. Yes, 19 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:27.680 we were in the queue, but we usually say standing in line, 20 00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:30.640 right in line. But he says, it's just a queue with a bunch 21 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:34.840 of silent letters waiting in line. So you're clever, you short have to 22 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:37.959 very clever. It's a reading one's read one. That's one you have to 23 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:40.560 see. Come on, does a ray? Don't give us a reading one? 24 00:01:40.599 --> 00:01:44.640 That's right. Here we go. A color blind friend of mine insists 25 00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:49.439 that all apples are yellow. I told him that was bananas. Oh jeez, 26 00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:55.560 that was bananas. That's bananas, not apples. That's bananas. Number 27 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:57.319 two, here we go. What do you call it? Superhero with a 28 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:06.280 bad sense of direction? I don't know. Wonder woman. It's terrible. 29 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:12.080 So no, it's so bad. Okay, Oh that's awful. This one's 30 00:02:12.199 --> 00:02:15.039 terrible. This one is. We might get protested on this one. I 31 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:21.439 recently opened a company selling trampolines disguised as prayer mats. Profits are going through 32 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:29.599 the roof. Oh wow, wow, wow, that's really good. Okay, 33 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:31.840 that's really good. All right, How about this one? How can 34 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:36.240 you tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator? I don't know. 35 00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:39.159 Easy one will see you later, and the other one will see you in 36 00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:46.719 a while, after a while. Yeah, okay, while, yeah this. 37 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:49.520 My grandson does that all the time, does he. Yeah, But 38 00:02:49.719 --> 00:02:52.800 he doesn't understand the rhyme part of it, so he just makes up new 39 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:55.360 animals, so you'd be like, see you later, alligator, and then 40 00:02:55.400 --> 00:03:01.639 he'll be like, after a while, elephant. It's so funny. So 41 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:05.919 he hasn't quite figured out the rhyming part of it yet. We say, 42 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:08.479 after a while, crocodile, No, no, after a while, Ostrich, 43 00:03:10.520 --> 00:03:15.400 it's funny. Okay, here we go. The person who invented the 44 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:17.879 ferris wheel never met the person who invented the merry ground. They traveled in 45 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:23.000 different circles. Oh wow, that's pretty good. That's a clever one like 46 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:25.039 that. I like that one, all right. How about this one. 47 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:29.120 When I was a kid, bedtime was nine pm. I couldn't wait to 48 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:31.199 be grown up so I can go to bed anytime I wanted. Turns out 49 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:38.280 that's nine pm. That's really fun It's true. It is true. Man, 50 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:42.400 it's really funny. I fight it, but yeah, okay. NASA. 51 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:47.560 NASA is launching a satellite to say sorry to the aliens they're calling it 52 00:03:47.639 --> 00:03:54.360 the Apollo g O. That was rough. That was funny, clever, 53 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:57.960 clever. Why would we want to say we're sorry to the aliens? What 54 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:02.599 do we do then? All right, this one a dragon would never explode, 55 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:09.680 but a dino mite. Okay, good one, good one. It's 56 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:15.520 funny. What's your last one? Uh? Just when you think that food 57 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:24.519 cannot possibly call you on your phone, Boom onion rings. You know, 58 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:30.079 the delivery was just as good as the punchline. The way that they wrote 59 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:35.920 boom is great, and he delivered it perfectly. Boom onion rings. That's 60 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:40.439 the funniest part of that joke, not even it's not even the cleverness. 61 00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:45.920 It's really funny. Well, was that it? That's a lot of fun 62 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:48.279 Okay, we are moving on. So if you held on this long, 63 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:51.959 we're done. It's over. Yes, goodbye, and we'll see you next 64 00:04:51.959 --> 00:04:55.759 time. No, no, no, no, I'm just talking. The 65 00:04:55.800 --> 00:05:00.319 pain is is done. Well, we are now launching into the next after 66 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:03.759 Genesis seventeen. If you've been following along with us, yes, today we'd 67 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:09.399 be looking at how Abram is named Abraham, and clearly you can see how 68 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:13.000 excited Zarba is about it. So yes, I'm so excited Jeff for you 69 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:15.000 to read. Okay, so Abram, here it goes. I'm so glad 70 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.360 you do the readings. Why is that because last yesterday on the Bible, 71 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:28.040 guys, you read beer lahai roi, which means well the living one who 72 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:30.839 sees me? And I thought, and you just you just burned right through 73 00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:33.360 it. I was just making it up and I would never I just don't 74 00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:36.519 want that. Yeah. Yeah, So I just I just allow you to 75 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:40.279 read, you know, so thank you, like Tony Stark says, I 76 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:42.639 will allow, I will allow that. Yes, that's me. That's my 77 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:46.439 favorite line. Yeah. Well it's kind of spelled out that way, right, 78 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:50.079 But I just am grateful that you're doing the reading of these things. 79 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:54.399 Well, thank you. Yeah, that's my part, that's the small part. 80 00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:56.600 I get to play, yes, yes, because I mean you get 81 00:05:56.600 --> 00:06:00.879 the sing. Can you get the sing? And you get to laugh, 82 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:02.079 you get to do all the fun stuff. Yeah, yeah, here you 83 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:06.879 go, not actual Bible stuff. So Genesis chapter seventeen, verse one, 84 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:11.920 and it's just simply says this. When Abram was ninety nine years old, 85 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:15.399 the Lord appeared to him and said, I am el Shadai. I knew 86 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:19.759 that one, God Almighty, serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 87 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:24.879 I will make a covenant with you by which I will guarantee to give you 88 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:29.480 countless descendants. At this Abram fell face down on the ground, and then 89 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:31.279 God said to him, this is my covenant with you. I will make 90 00:06:31.319 --> 00:06:34.639 you the father of a multitude of nations. What's more, I'm changing your 91 00:06:34.680 --> 00:06:39.680 name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead you will be called Abraham, 92 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:42.959 for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you 93 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:46.879 extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among 94 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:49.600 them. I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 95 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:55.160 from generation to generation. And this is the everlasting covenant. I will always 96 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:58.399 be your god and the god of your descendants after you, and I will 97 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:00.920 give the entire land of Canaan and where you now live as a foreigner, 98 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:05.519 to you and your descendants. It'll be their possession forever, and I will 99 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:10.680 be their God. Wow, there you go. That's great, I think. 100 00:07:10.680 --> 00:07:13.959 I say, there you go almost every time I finished reading. Yeah. 101 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:16.040 Well, so just in case you're only ever listening and you're not reading 102 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:19.319 along with us. The Bible doesn't actually say there you go every one of 103 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:23.920 these at the end of the right, at the end of yeah, there 104 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:32.560 you go the uh. You know, it's interesting how God had already promised 105 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:35.759 Abraham to leave his country a long time ago, that's correct, and then 106 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:40.240 then he was gonna make him a father of nations, right, and he 107 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:44.439 promised them descendants long ago, which is why Abraham got up and he left, 108 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:46.720 and he packed everything up and took everything is with him, his wealth, 109 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:50.079 and he and he traveled all the way through right, even went further 110 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:55.480 down to Egypt and then came back. But now he is ninety nine years 111 00:07:55.519 --> 00:07:59.439 old, and then the Lord appeared to him. Now what's interesting about this 112 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:07.560 is is why would God appear and make such a drastic appearance to say the 113 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:15.360 same thing, only in more detail as he already said. Right, And 114 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:20.199 you know what I think the answer is. I think the answer is it's 115 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:24.600 found sort of in between the lines. You know, we just read last 116 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:30.759 chapter which was yesterday's podcast. The fact that you know, they're praying for, 117 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:37.159 you know, a child for decades and then they get impatient and then 118 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:41.080 they you know, act in sin and they do this thing with child out 119 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:46.360 of wedlock with a servant, and then now he's ninety nine years old, 120 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:48.360 which means there's another thirteen years that have passed. Yeah, you know what 121 00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:52.759 I believe it is. I believe what God is doing. And again it's 122 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:56.279 not said, but you can apply it and say, maybe God is showing 123 00:08:56.399 --> 00:09:03.000 up and he is reaffirming or reminding Abraham that he never fails, that he's 124 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:07.320 going to keep his word. That he is saying, Hey, I've not 125 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:11.879 forgotten you, and I've not forgotten the promise you know that I've given to 126 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:16.080 you. I've never stopped watching over you. I've never stopped hearing your prayers. 127 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:20.600 I've never stopped hearing your cries. And He is showing him up, 128 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:24.559 maybe showing up in person, maybe to perhaps solidify his faith to you know, 129 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:30.240 ground him once again and is resolve to serve God. I don't know 130 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:33.159 what are your thoughts on that. Yeah, I think so very much. 131 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:39.519 I think that the idea of changing the name. I think that right after 132 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:46.159 this comes the circumcision Covenant, which we didn't read all of these things, 133 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:48.639 is God is putting his mark on Abram. God is saying, are you 134 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:52.360 going to follow me? God? God? Has brought him on his journey, 135 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:54.240 and there's been kind of an expansion of the promise. This is the 136 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:58.879 third promise in Abram's life. So the first one Abram is, you know, 137 00:10:00.279 --> 00:10:01.799 probably I don't know what. Does the Bible tell us how old he 138 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:07.000 was when he left? I don't remember. I can't remember. But here 139 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:11.519 we are, he's ninety nine. So this has been decades since the first 140 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:15.200 time God promised. So God promises at the beginning, go to the land 141 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:18.080 of Canaan, I'm gonna give you that land. And he doesn't say I'm 142 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:20.080 gonna give you land, go to land of cana I'm gonna make a great 143 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:24.000 nation of you. That was the promise, right, and you know, 144 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:26.840 Abram had good times and bad times. He was following God, but he 145 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:31.080 wasn't a perfect man. Then God promises, Yeah, it says Abram was 146 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:33.039 seventy five years old when he left Horn. Okay, so seventy five, 147 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:37.759 So seventy five to ninety nine, so two and a half decades, yeah, 148 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:41.840 yeah. And then in the middle God promises again. And then this 149 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:48.200 one here where he finally comes and has this very strong reaffirmation. But at 150 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:52.159 this time too, he's also promising the whole land of Canaan, It's going 151 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:54.639 to be yours, right, all of this land is yours, where you 152 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:58.000 now live as a foreigner to you and your descent city'd be their possession forever. 153 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:01.639 Canaan is what is modern day Israel and Palestine that area. And God 154 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:05.919 said, hey, this is going to be your, your people's land forever. 155 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:11.799 And it is still right. And then God institutes the ceremony of circumcision 156 00:11:11.879 --> 00:11:18.039 as the foundational element, that is physical proof that they were set apart by 157 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:22.120 God. There's a lot of reasons for that, but God literally put his 158 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:26.320 mark in the place that is most important to Abram right at that point, 159 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:28.600 which to me, if you're going to start a religion, that seems like 160 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:35.879 a really bad recruiting mechanism or recruiting tool, right, But in this situation, 161 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:39.200 that's what God said. And there's an interesting note in here about this 162 00:11:39.320 --> 00:11:46.919 idea. It says it gave four reasons. One it was a sign of 163 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:50.679 obedience to God in all manners. And that's that's I think true. Right 164 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:56.480 from the very basic human behaviors all the way to saying that your heart is 165 00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:00.840 for God. Everything is that way. It is a kind of belonging to 166 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:03.600 his covenant people. Once circumcised, the man would be identified as one of 167 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:07.159 God's chosen people, eventually the Jews forever. The third reason is that it 168 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:11.879 was a symbol of cutting off the old life of sin and purifying one's heart 169 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:15.960 and dedicating one's self to God. That's where Abram got himself in trouble, 170 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:18.360 right, So this is where God says, okay, let's cut this off. 171 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:22.279 And then possibly as a health measure. There's a lot of health issues 172 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:26.000 that go along with that as well. And so in Abram's day, it 173 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:30.639 was essential God was saying, I'm going to send the Messiah through your line. 174 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:35.039 It's essential that God's people stay pure and clean and not defiled and have 175 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:41.559 their bloodline watered down by the pagans around them, the people worshiping other gods. 176 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:45.919 And so it was all those things together. And God changes his name 177 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:56.200 and he goes from Abram means like a celebrated father, right, and Abraham 178 00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:01.559 means father of many. And so even then the difference between hey, you're 179 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:05.039 going to have a son too, you are going to be the father of 180 00:13:05.240 --> 00:13:11.039 nations, that God elevates the promise. And so I think sometimes people feel 181 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:13.440 like, oh, I had sin in my past. This is thirteen years 182 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:16.480 later, right, But you might feel like, you know, a decade 183 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:18.399 ago you were so in your wild oats and you were messing up your life, 184 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:22.679 and that there's no hope for you, that God's ever got anything special. 185 00:13:22.919 --> 00:13:26.720 God increased his promise to Abram over those next thirteen years. As Abram 186 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:31.440 leaned back into his relationship with God, God says, hey, now what 187 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:33.879 did he say? He didn't tell him. I want you to live pure 188 00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:39.480 right, serve me faithfully and live a blameless life, and I'll make a 189 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:45.120 covenant with you by which I'll guarantee you countless descendants. So God elevates the 190 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:46.679 promise, and so you know, if you have something in your past, 191 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:50.399 God still can use you and still wants to use you in a great way. 192 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:52.639 Yeah, and I find it very interesting as well. Like, listen 193 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:56.399 to the wording of what God says. He says, it will no longer 194 00:13:56.399 --> 00:14:00.360 be Abraham. Instead, it'll be called Abraham. You'll be the father many 195 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:05.480 nations. And then listen to this next sentence. I will make you extremely 196 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:11.080 fruitful, you ninety nine year old man. Yes, make you extremely fruitful. 197 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:16.200 It's like, it's like, what, so the idea that, like, 198 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:20.519 you know, there's still time left. God has not done with you 199 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:26.039 yet, right, Yeah. How many stories have you ever heard of people 200 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:28.799 who they're just I mean, I mean simple stories, not even famous. 201 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:31.480 For instance, I know a guy, a good friend of mine, Tom 202 00:14:31.559 --> 00:14:35.279 Hoague, and his wife since has passed on. But she was a wonderful 203 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:39.960 nurse and my wife was looking to get into nursing and and she said, 204 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:41.639 oh, my wife said, I'm so old. I'm in my thirties. 205 00:14:43.399 --> 00:14:46.799 And I think Tom, I think at the time, Tom said, well, 206 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:50.759 my wife's been a nurse and she went to school to be a nurse, 207 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:54.120 like when she was in her late forties. And I was like what, 208 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:56.840 And here she is just, you know, this really well established nurse 209 00:14:56.840 --> 00:15:01.679 and that since then she's passed and and I think Tom maybe in his early 210 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:05.320 eighties. But anyway, the point is is that, you know, God, 211 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:09.399 God has great things on the horizons for anybody who maybe thinks, oh 212 00:15:09.480 --> 00:15:13.320 my time has passed, it's too late. Sure wish I would have served 213 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:16.399 God for decades and now it's too late. It's like no, no, 214 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:20.200 no, you know, do you ever read Charles Dickens, right, Scrooge 215 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:24.480 and his late right, you know, in his late ages. It says 216 00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:26.639 the last line of the Charles Dickens novel Course this is you know, fiction, 217 00:15:28.039 --> 00:15:31.720 but it says that he became known Christmas, became attached to his name 218 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:35.039 more than it was you know, against it or something like that. Right. 219 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:37.120 So I believe that that's what God can do. God is the god 220 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:41.480 of second chances. He's the God that wants to use us today, regardless 221 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:46.279 of how much time we have left. Yeah, my dad became a Christian 222 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:48.679 when he was forty, So you'd grown up be in a Christian home, 223 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:52.960 but it was not a Christian And then when he graduated high school, he 224 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:56.720 he ran from God and he became a Christian when he was forty. I 225 00:15:56.720 --> 00:16:03.639 can remember when he was fifty. I was eighteen, and I can remember 226 00:16:03.720 --> 00:16:07.840 him talking on his fiftieth birthday, Man, serve the Lord. Don't walk 227 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:10.519 away from the Lord. Serve the Lord. You know, you're at that 228 00:16:10.600 --> 00:16:12.440 age when I just threw it all away, and he said, I feel 229 00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:17.000 like I've wasted so much of my life. And he had a lot of 230 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:19.840 regret that he wasted a big chunk of his life in being effective and never 231 00:16:19.879 --> 00:16:22.240 really felt like he was going to ever be able to do anything for the 232 00:16:22.279 --> 00:16:27.039 Lord. But now my dad's eighty six, which means he's been a Christian 233 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:32.080 longer than he wasn't a Christian. Right, that's great. And my dad's 234 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:37.480 health is failing, and you know, just as you get older, things 235 00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:41.399 are different. And my dad spent a big, big chunk of his Christian 236 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:47.039 life just really enthusiastic about the idea of sharing his faith. He taught me 237 00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:52.279 how to share the gospel. We would share the Gospel together sometimes with people, 238 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:56.200 stuff like that. Just recently, I was with my dad and he 239 00:16:56.279 --> 00:16:59.759 was with somebody he cares a lot about, but he wasn't sure that person 240 00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:03.640 was a Christian. And my dad's not always putting together big arguments now or 241 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:08.279 conversations now, but he leaned in and wanted to make sure that this person 242 00:17:08.359 --> 00:17:12.359 knew Jesus and was on their way to Heaven, right, And I was 243 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:15.759 just thinking, Hey, that's kind of that. I love that my dad's 244 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:22.920 been serving Jesus longer than he didn't serve Jesus and he still wants everybody else 245 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:26.680 to know Jesus right at this point late stage and so for Abram here he 246 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:30.359 is. He's an old, old, old old man by every standard that 247 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:33.359 we have in modern times, ninety nine years old. God says, I'm 248 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:36.000 not done with you. I'm going to change your name. I'm going to 249 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:38.279 give you new mission. I'm going to expand my promises to you. And 250 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:41.359 so it's not too late. I guess that's that's what I'm trying to say. 251 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:45.640 It's not too late. God wants to use you. And maybe right 252 00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:48.240 now, you know, you're feeling you're at home, maybe and you're retired, 253 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:49.599 you're trying to figure out what you're supposed to do nexty A lot of 254 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:52.359 times people feel old, they've been told they're old, they have a couple 255 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:56.279 of health issues. You start to believe it. Whatever you believe about yourself 256 00:17:56.400 --> 00:18:00.519 is usually true in some way, or winds up becoming true in some way. 257 00:18:00.599 --> 00:18:03.000 Right you may get through their self fulfilling prophecies. But if you decide, 258 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:06.359 hey, guy's not done with me yet. My life has changed, 259 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:10.759 but now I have to find new strategies. My wife's my mother in law, 260 00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:17.559 she you know, is has some maturity about her. And I think 261 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:23.240 that's a nice delicate way of saying that man. She jumped in on you 262 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:26.559 know, we do a lot of the Timothy Initiative training with disciples making disciples 263 00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:30.519 at Heritage, and she jumped in in the very first round of training on 264 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:36.599 that she has gotten on fire for sharing the gospel making disciples. She started 265 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:40.680 a Bible study group at the Senior Center. Now she lives in a senior 266 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:45.920 retirement facility, and she started a group there. And she's just she is 267 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:51.359 on mission right now, and she has, you know, the time. 268 00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:53.559 She's moving a little slower, but she has the time to do it, 269 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:59.319 and so she's maximizing her time and man alive. I think that's kind of 270 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:03.319 what we're seeing here with Abraham now. When when I got out of Bible 271 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:07.799 College, I went straight to Atlanta, Georgia, and I worked at one 272 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:11.160 church that was a smaller church. It was like one hundred and eighty people. 273 00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:15.240 I was there for like eight years, and then I left that church. 274 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.319 I should have quite honestly left it long before that. I got in 275 00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:22.119 his timing right, and then I went to a decent sized church. It 276 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:23.920 was like eighteen hundred people. I was there for about three and a half 277 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.920 years, and then I left there. And I think that both of those 278 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:34.519 ended poorly. So I liked ministry. I liked, you know, pretty 279 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:38.559 much like my level down. The problem was I didn't like from my level 280 00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:41.960 up. I didn't like leadership in the church because I had been burned twice 281 00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:45.559 at two different churches. So I decided that I was going to be done 282 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:49.240 with ministry. And I was really, you know, I mean we're talking 283 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:52.279 like I'm thirty. I would have been like thirty something years old, thirty 284 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:56.599 two, And I thought, jeez, I don't know if I have it 285 00:19:56.680 --> 00:20:00.680 in me to go to another church, you know, and move across the 286 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:06.359 country or do whatever. And eventually I found myself moving to Michigan through an 287 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:10.480 unbelievable set of circumstances. I don't have time to tell the story, but 288 00:20:10.519 --> 00:20:14.400 it's my it's my angel story, right. But here's my point is that 289 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:17.519 is that, like I thought to myself, gosh, I've been in ministry 290 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:21.000 now for you know, for at the time, it would have been but 291 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:25.640 like a dozen years, and and I'd been a Christian for another five or 292 00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:27.759 six years. I thought, geeze, that's over twenty years of serving the 293 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:33.039 Lord. I think I think I'm I think I'm done doing this full time. 294 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:36.880 But the thing that God told me, and there's only a few times 295 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:40.480 in my entire life where I felt like God spoke it. I don't think 296 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:45.279 it was audible, but it was just about as close to audible as you 297 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:49.000 could possibly get. I knew it was from God, and it was it 298 00:20:49.079 --> 00:20:53.720 was just it was just this unbelievable moment. Uh. And it's you know, 299 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:57.200 it's just a long story, but basically, here's the message. Is 300 00:20:57.279 --> 00:21:02.480 I heard God say with clarity, and I've never doubted it. And the 301 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:06.240 message was I'm not through with you yet. That was it. And that 302 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:10.680 was in two thousand and four, and and I just remember thinking, in 303 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:17.680 fact, it was in It was in August August fifteenth, two thousand and 304 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:21.759 four. That's where it was. And uh and and I just thought to 305 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:26.440 myself, geez, like, what a thing to hear from God. And 306 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:29.319 I knew it was from God. And so if God says, hey, 307 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:33.400 I'm not I'm not done with you yet, it's that that fueled me for 308 00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:37.000 the next twenty years, from from then until now. Because it's been twenty 309 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:44.799 years exactly from that date, I can't even imagine how even even how how 310 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:51.279 much more great it was for God to appear and and to talk to Abraham 311 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:55.920 face to face. And then the Bible says, if we go on beyond 312 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:59.799 the circumcision thing, then God also changes Sarah's name to Sarah, right, 313 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.920 both of those names mean princess. But he says, and she's going to 314 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:07.359 have a son. And Abram is like, he said, oh, bless 315 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:11.160 her richly, should become the mother of many nations. And this is when 316 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:15.319 God's solidifying. Hey, you guys, I'm not done with you too yet. 317 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:18.359 And the Bible says Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed 318 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:22.000 to himself and disbelieve. And he's like, how in the world, I'm 319 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:25.400 almost one hundred years old, she's almost ninety years old. How are we 320 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:27.920 going to have a child. But then he also said, hey, God, 321 00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:33.440 would you bless Ishmael too, And so he didn't forget Ishmael just because 322 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:36.119 of the promise that God said, Yeah, I'll make a great nation out 323 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:40.640 of him. And then they went ahead and obeyed God. And I think 324 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:42.960 that that's the key. The key isn't just the promise. The key is 325 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:48.079 every promise of God in the Bible. I can't think of a promise apart 326 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:51.000 from it, every promise of God is if then. So he said, 327 00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:53.119 I want you to live holy right. I want you to be faithful, 328 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:59.200 be blameless, and I'm gonna bless you then, and i want you to 329 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:03.720 ope babe me and do this circumcision thing, and I'm going to change your 330 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:06.319 names. I'm going to change your future. I'm going to reaffirm and expand 331 00:23:06.440 --> 00:23:11.359 the promise. And then the very next thing Abraham did was follow God and 332 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:15.119 obey God and do exactly what he said to do. So promises of God 333 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:17.359 are if then promises. It's not just like, oh, I get to 334 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:19.680 claim the promise, it's mine. No matter what, God always attaches a 335 00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:22.359 thing to it, something to it, And in this situation, it was 336 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:26.400 be blameless and be faithful. That's great, and they obeyed. Well, 337 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:30.039 that looks like about our time, so hopefully we will see you tomorrow on 338 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:38.880 the Bible, guys,