Title: True Satisfaction/Genesis 23:1-20
Content Title: True Satisfaction
Text: Genesis 23:1-20
Key Verse: (Genesis 23:4) I am a sojourner and a sojourner among you, so I beg you, give me a burial place among you for possession, that I may give away my dead to bury.
Where does our true satisfaction come from? Possession of abundant material? Or is it the possession of power and fame? God shows Abraham's materialistic view through Abraham. The details of the purchase of the land are recorded here to emphasize the fact that the entire land is a gift from God and belongs to Abraham, but it is not owned until God's time has come. We too, although certain blessings are clearly mine, and God keeps them well, we must wait until the time determined by God's wisdom. It is a touching confession. This aged chieftain did not own the land to settle on for many years to come. After many years of living in the Promised Land, there was still no land more than a grave. But he was happy.
1. Faith cannot be satisfied with the things of this world.
The Hades had land and wealth, but Abraham did not envy them. He had a brief glimpse of the Eternal City, and was so fascinated and satisfied with it that he did not desire anything the Philistines sought. Those who have experienced the world of God do not focus too much on satisfying the various needs of this earth. That is, we see that those who have faith are not disappointed or satisfied with earthly things or events. They run on the trajectory of life in pursuit of the higher and more ideal kingdom of God and Him.
2. Faith keeps us free from the present.
We are not going to live here forever, so we are content to dwell in tents. Compared to the eternal world, the splendor and vainness of this earth is like the light of a street lamp for the glory of the stars in the night sky. However, just as Abraham eventually possessed the necessary land, it is absolutely necessary to secure the minimum necessary materials through my sweat and effort on this land. The only difference from those who do not know God is the fact that I risk my life and that everything I do is not tied down.
3. Faith is accompanied by confession.
This is natural. We must do business fairly and thoughtfully. However, while we treat people righteously, righteously, and honorably in this world and fulfill the ministry of light, we must declare that the kingdom we are seeking is not this kingdom. How much do we need believers today, who are people of faith who confess that the kingdom of God and His righteousness are the highest pattern? Like Abraham, is that lofty faith and character still alive in my present self?
4. Faith is not put to shame.
If God has begun, He completes it. Otherwise, we will be ashamed of God for having stumbled the soul that trusted in him. But now he says, “(Hebrews 11:16) God is not ashamed to be called our God, but he has prepared a city for them.” The city God has prepared is our hope and our refuge from which we can overcome today. . God declares that He is our God and prepares a precious city so that those who have put forth extraordinary efforts for His glory on this earth will never be put to shame. Shall we not shout loudly at this boasting that we are also qualified to enter the city where Abraham and other ancestors of faith entered?
apply
1) What do you think are the sources of happiness that modern humans seek?
2) Have I truly deviated from the standard of happiness pursued by the world?
3) Am I living a free life as a body bound by the reality I live in?
4) Have we boasted that we have become God's children while accepting the saying that God is not ashamed of being our God?