Would you please find in your Bibles tonight the book of Genesis, chapter 25, reading from verse 5. So that is Genesis, chapter 25, and we break into the chapter at verse 5. Genesis. 25 in verse 5, and we'll read down to the end of verse 10. When you find a place to end, we will read the scriptures together. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. Of course, Isaac was Abraham's well-beloved son. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts and sent them away from Isaac, his son, while he yet lived, eastward unto the east country. And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life, which he lived, 103 score and 15 years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre. The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth, there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. May God bless his word to all of our hearts. I want to Draw your attention to verse 8 for a little time this evening. Verse 8, let me take a moment to read it again. Then Abraham gave up the ghost and died in a good old age, an old man, full of years, and was gathered to his people. Let's bow for a moment just to pray again. Father, may the Spirit of God descend upon us now, gather up every wandering thought from our minds, and for a little time, we pray that the Word will be precious to us. It will prove to be an interesting Word, an informative Word, an inspiring Word, a word especially designed for each one of our souls gathered here. May some part of the message at least be applicable to each one gathered here, to the very youngest, to the very oldest. And may we sense that we are in God's presence, that we are in the King's business, and the meeting like this can prove to many people to be the greatest gathering for them in all the world, a time when they will meet personally with Jesus Christ. And so that's our desire tonight, that each one of us, saved or unsaved, will have that desired meeting with Him to encourage the saints of God and to bring a blessing to those out of Christ, far off from the Savior's side, that they might find, even tonight, the joy of full salvation and forgiveness for all their sins. Forgiveness that cannot be purchased, that cannot be bought by anything on earth, that can only be found through the precious atoning blood of Christ, shed in Calvary. So abide with us for the moments left to us in the service. And bless thy word to all of our hearts. For Jesus' sake, amen. I want to give the message a very simple title tonight. At Journey's End. At Journey's End. In this 25th chapter of Genesis, we have come to the last chapter in Abraham's life. This is the final account in Genesis of his life, covering a period of 35 years. There are no reports of any special appearances by God to him during this time. Nor do we read of any particular trials that he had to face during these 35 years. So here in the verses before us, we have reached the end of the life story of Abraham in the Bible. And as you can see, his death is briefly described just in a few verses. But though a brief description, it is very instructive. I think it was a lesson for you to learn and a lesson for me to learn from the story before us tonight in God's Word. So in these verses, Abraham has come to the sunset of his life, if you like. He's come to journey's end. But then what? Then what? Well, we know from the account of Abraham that he had a hope for heaven. And when that moment came, I'm not sure if it was in the tent. I'm not exactly sure where it happened. But the moment he closed his eyes for the last time, the moment he breathed for the last time and expired, he went home to heaven. Now, we all hope to get home tonight. Home's a very special place for us. It doesn't matter how long you're away, enjoying a good time in the sunny climes or staying in some very expensive hotel. It's nice to be there for a period of time, but it isn't always good to get home. It's always good to get home. And many of God's saints here tonight are longing for that time, too, when they get home to glory. to be with Christ, to be free from all the trials of life, all the burdens and all the cares, all the illnesses and all the sicknesses that we have to deal with as individuals. Let me ask you the question, how have you made preparation for home? Father's house above. I trust that even through the message tonight, the Lord will touch your heart and bless you in a special way. I have three simple things that I want to leave with you tonight from the verse before us. I want to talk for a little time about Abraham's departure. Now it says there in verse 8a that Abraham gave up the ghost and died. In other words, he breathed his last, or we could say he expired. The emphasis is here upon the last breath. His last breath has been taken. His life is gone. He's dead. His life is over. That's the way it will be for us some day. The Bible does tell us that it is appointed unto man once to die, Hebrews 9, 27. Now, that word, appointed, simply means a time set aside or in store, a certain period of time. There was the story in the Bible of the parable of the pounds. Three different individuals were given different amounts of pounds. Two of them traded with that pound and gained other pounds and so on. But the third one, he took the one pound that he had and he rubbed it in a napkin and set it aside. Set aside. There's a day coming. It may be soon, it may be later, when we will come to that day that is set apart in the calendar of God for us to leave the world behind. Now, I have an appointment tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock. It's an appointment with a dentist. Now, I've received different texts during the past week to remind me that this appointment is coming. So I've been warned, you need to be there at 11 o'clock. I wish someone could take my place, but that's impossible. When the morning comes, I've got to be there to keep the appointment. We all will keep that appointment. Doesn't matter how we try to avoid it, we all must keep that appointment. Now, his life was over. But it was not the end of Abraham's existence. That's got to be made absolutely clear. Death really is a separation of the body from the soul. Let me try to illustrate that for you tonight. You take a house. It's demolished. The people who lived in that house, they've got to move out when that happens. Now, this is our house. This is our tabernacle. That's the way it's described in the Bible. a tabernacle, not a permanent place. We're only here for a short period of time. When this tabernacle dissolves, when we die, the real me moves out. The soul moves out. And it moves out into God's eternity to await the dead judgment. And it goes to one of two places. It goes to heaven to be with Christ. It goes to hell to be damned forever. Let's be clear about this to get the message. Are you understanding it? Is it clear? Am I being clear? Is the word of God clear to you? That's the picture we have before us. The Bible says that he died in a good old age. He died in a good old age as God had promised. God had promised him in Genesis 15, verse 15, thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace. Thou shalt be buried in a good old age. Some of us don't reach that good old age. Some were cut off young, as children, teenagers, in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and so on. If we live longer than the 70 years, we are privileged people. And God has given to us many wonderful opportunities in this particular period of time. He died in a good old age. And one author said, the Hebrew says that he was satisfied with his days. That is, the number of days allotted to him satisfied him. He redeemed the time. He lived life to the full, so that when the time came for him to go, he was ready to go. God had given him a long life. He had given him ample opportunities to prepare to meet him, to be ready when that moment of death overtook him. I think of Simeon that we read over there in chapter two. And he had been waiting for a long time, an old man waiting for a long time to see the promised Messiah. And then one day in the temple, behold, Mary and Joseph brought this baby in. And it's interesting that Simeon recognized the child to be the Messiah. He recognized the child to be the son of God, his savior. And I can see him there as he takes the babe up in his arms. So, you see the picture? He's got the babe in his arms. He's embracing the Savior. It's only those who have embraced the Savior by faith, who have received him by faith, that are ready to say, I am now ready to depart, for my eyes have seen my salvation. That old man who had waited for a long time that day, When he met with Jesus as a baby, he recognized him to be a savior. And he now says, I'm ready to go. Abraham was ready to go. He used the time wisely that God had given to him. His life had been blessed, and he died contented. John Calvin said he died with a good conscience and a serene and tranquil mind. He was satisfied with a life. that he left and was ready to move on. Death did not take him by surprise. So when that happened, the soul moved out of the tent, out of the tabernacle, out of the house. His life was ended, but he still did not go out of existence. He's still living, and he will live forever. We never, not one of us, will ever go out of existence. He was satisfied with his life. Someone said, the world that we live in is a great thief. And I quote, it robs men not only of their youth and health, it robs them of peace, joy, and innocence, and everything else. How true that is. We see continually on news broadcasts and our own streets, Lorne, Bellarmine, Belfast, wherever we go, We see men and women who have been robbed of everything, almost, because of sin. Sin will always take you farther than you want to go. We pity those who have been so deceived, so waylaid. They're on their way to a lost eternity, and few seem to care. about those who are perishing. Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save. I read a little poem just there recently. It goes like this. The clock of time is round but once, and no one has the power to tell just when the hands will stop at late or early hour. To lose one's wealth is sad indeed. To lose one's health is more. To lose one's soul is such a loss that no man can restore a lost soul. I may have mentioned this last time, but it comes to mind right now. In Luke chapter 15, we read of three lost things. Well, you've got the lost sheep. You've got the lost silver. And then you've got the lost son. And we know only too well from the story, even from Sunday school days, that the lost sheep was found, the lost silver was found, and the lost son was found again back from the far country. But then we cross into the next chapter, Luke chapter 16, and we read of another lost thing. This time, it's a lost soul. The man who died in the sand. He lost his soul, and he said, I am tormented in this flame. More or less, he was saying, I'm lost. That soul was never recovered. That soul was never saved. And so Abraham dies. His soul moves out. His body is taken by his two sons. And by the way, the two brothers didn't really get on too well, Isaac and Ishmael. But the death of Abraham brought them together, and they joined together to bury him. That's what happened to him. He wasn't cremated, he was buried. And the two boys were reunited with the death of their father. It's only the death of Christ that can reunite lost sinners with a loving father. We can only be reconciled to God through the death of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and shed his life's blood to purchase redemption for us. He's the way back to God, the only savior of God's elect. He was buried in a cave. The only piece of real estate that he owned was a piece of ground in the corner of a field, enough to bury him and his family. And when you read the story, he had great things. God gave him great wealth. But at the end of the day, he ended up in the corner of the field. Body that is. Only piece of real estate he owned. Verse seven tells that he died when he was 175. In the last 35 years, his family grew considerable compared to the first 140 years. For during the first 140 years, he had only two sons. Ishmael was born when he was 86. Isaac was born when he was 100. Imagine changing that when you're 100. What a nightmare that would be. Or even at 86. It never was a favorite thing I liked doing anyway, I thought to the wife. Now a few years after the death of Sarah, Genesis 23, she died. He married again. Genesis chapter 25 tells us about that he married again. He had more children in verses 2 through 4. And since he died when he was 175, he lived in the land of Canaan as a pilgrim for 100 years, walking with God. 75 when he began the journey, according to Genesis chapter 12, verse 4. He saw his son Isaac reach the age of 75. His two grandsons, Jacob and Esau, reached the years of 15 years. They were born when Isaac was 60. But he was fruitful right to the end of his life. This is Abraham. Because verses 2 and 4, chapter 25, show that he had six more sons, seven grandsons, and three great-grandsons. So here's this man who begins walking with God when he's 75. He lives in the land of Canaan for 100 years. His wife has been dead for 40 years. He remarries again, and he has another family. He's fruitful to the end. That's what God can do for us spiritually. What he did for the Lord physically. Some people, they get to 65, that's retirement. That's me finished with in church or whatever. Well let me remind you Moses began when he was 80 and I haven't quite reached that yet. I don't know about Sammy Greg there. He's gone beyond that probably. But he began walking with God when he was 80. Abraham 75. The end is not yet and the best is still to be. Praise the Lord. So we see the experience of Abraham, he was so fruitful right to the very end. Now death and dying and the afterlife are all shrouded in deep mystery and generally surrounded by fear and apprehension. Now the thought of death strikes fear into many hearts. Every one day, so just a simple illustration. A man said one day, a believer, he said, I'm not afraid to die. It's the flipping part that I don't look forward to. The flipping part, the moving part, the getting out, the leaving. And I suppose, child of God, we're all human beings. And we are not afraid to die, but we're human beings. And it's the flitting part, the moving part, whether illness, disease, accident, whatever. A friend of ours, about maybe three years ago, went to shop with her friend one Monday morning, I think it was, up in Limond Valley. She was trying on some clothes or looking for some clothes. It's all dead to the ground. It's a nice way to go if you're ready, that is. So here we have the thought of Abraham's departure. But then in the second place, let's think for a moment about Abraham's destination. We're told in verse 8c, he was gathered to his people. What does that mean? What's that all about? This is actually the first occurrence of this particular phrase in the Bible. So what does it mean? It could hardly refer to the family sepulcher in Genesis 23 that he had purchased to be buried in, and a place for the burial of his wife, because only Sarah was buried in that place thus far. It could not be referring to the bodily remains in the family tomb either. That's not what it refers to. What happened to his body is mentioned in the following verses, 9 and 10. I've mentioned this before. He was buried. The meaning is that he continued to exist as a person with the rest of his ancestors, for there is an existence beyond death and beyond the grave. That's what it means. He went to join those in soul who were believers, who had moved on before. They were still in existence. So he joined them. He was gathered unto his people in the soul, not in his body. The body's in the grave, but the soul has been gathered unto his people, those who have gone on before. So Abraham, the flesh and bones was buried. It's only his body, but his soul continued to live on. So the expression points to the continued existence of the dead. It means to go to the realm of the dead, referring to the destiny of the spirit, not the body. For James 2 verse 26 says the body without the soul is dead. That's what really death is, the separation of the body from the soul. The body corrupts and wastes away, but the soul goes out to meet with God. It refers to the life after death. Death is an unnatural state, it has to be said, for it means existing without a body. So when he died, he was gathered in his soul to his people, and then he was buried in the cave of Machpelah. Verse seven. These are the days of the years of Abraham's life. A life, after all, is made up of days. How few my days are on the scene of time. Now, Abraham lived a total of 63,000 days, and 36,000 of those days had been lived as a believer, walking with God as living one day at a time. He outlived his wife, Sarah, by 40 long years. So for 100 years, he had been walking with God as a pilgrim, as a stranger on earth, seeking a heavenly country. Now his desires were fulfilled. He's home at last. Thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace. That was the promise of God. And we have the promises of God to rely upon, to depend upon. You cannot die in peace. If you don't know the God of peace, I think of Balaam who said, let me die the death of the righteous. But he wasn't a righteous man. You can't die the death of the righteous if you're not a righteous person. If you're not declared just before God, if you're not justified, if you're not saved, you may be good living, but if you're not saved, you're unrighteous. Under the wrath and condemnation of God, and one day it will become a reality to you. to be cast away forever, but there's mercy with God. There is a Redeemer, there is a Savior, who's mighty to save. Are you saved? Are you sure you're saved? Have you had your sins forgiven you? If you have been redeemed, what are you doing to see others redeemed? Oh, we will stand before God, but we will not have to give an account of our sin. We'll have to give an account of our service, how we have served the Lord since we were redeemed by precious blood. Don't bury your head in the sand and pretend that there's not a responsibility given to the people of God to declare the good news of the gospel. That's the reason why there's a church on earth, to get the gospel message out, to tell others of Jesus, the mighty to save. If you want to die the death of the righteous, you must live righteous. Beelum failed miserably. And so he died in shame, being slain by the Israelites. When Puritan John Owen lay on his deathbed, and secretly began to write down what the old Puritan was saying. He wrote to a friend, and this is what he wrote. "'I am still in the land of the living.' "'Stop,' said Owen. "'Change that and say, "'I am yet in the land of the dying, "'but I hope to be soon in the land of the living.'" A dying man went to his doctor, who was a Christian. This has gone back many years ago. And he asked his doctor, Doctor, can you tell me something about the place to which I am going as a believer? The doctor fumbled for an answer. Caught him unexpectedly, though. But then, as he was just thinking about what to say, he heard the scratching at the door of a surgery. It was the dog that he left downstairs, scratching at his door. And the doctor immediately said, did you hear that? And the man says, yes, I did. It's my dog. I left him downstairs. But he is growing impatient, and he's come up, and he hears my voice. He has no idea or notion what's inside this door, but he knows I am here. Isn't it the same with you? You don't know what lies beyond the door, but you know that your master's there. What a comfort that is to every child of God. Our master's there. The Lord, our righteousness, the God of glory. And Jesus Christ is there in his glorified body, buried in the marks of shame in that body because John saw him in the book of Revelation as a lamb that had recently been sacrificed. He identified the lamb, he identified Christ. With the marks he received in Calvary, those marks will remain in that glorified body of Christ forever. And we will gaze upon and be reminded of the cross. We'll never forget the cross. Never forget his work that he accomplished to redeem us. We're knocking on the door tonight. We don't know what's there. We don't know all the details about this glorious place. But there's one thing we do know. My Redeemer's there, Christ is there, my Savior is there. Finally, we come to the last thing, Abraham's distinction. So we thought about two things, Abraham's departure, Abraham's destination, he's gathered onto his own, and then his distinction. What do I mean by that? Well, Abraham bears a distinction by being called the friend of God three times. No one else in the Bible is called the friend of God, just Abraham. Three different occasions in 2 Chronicles, in Isaiah, and in the book of James, he's called the friend of God. Imagine that. Imagine that, to be called the friend of God, to be known as the friend of God, to be accepted in the Father's sight through Jesus Christ, the Son, and justified by God himself through the work of his tongue." Did God not say, I know him, in Genesis chapter 18, verse 19? Remember when the Lord came with two of his servants, two angels, to Abraham's tent? And he said in verse 19, I know him. Does the Lord know you? He knows all about you, but does he know you as one of his redeemed saints? He belongs to me, he's mine. I purchased him or her by my precious blood. I went to the cross to die for him or for her, for them. What a savior, what a redeemer he is. The Lord Jesus Christ in the gospel of Matthew was speaking to false prophets, and this is what he said to them. I never knew you. Depart from me. What he will say to the redeemed of God, I know you. Come. Come in. There's a difference. There's a difference. Genesis 15 verse 6 says, he believed the Lord. That was his testimony. He believed in the Lord, and it was counted onto him for righteousness. Now when Abraham, when we meet him, he's called Abram, A-B-R-A-M. But God changed that in Genesis chapter 17. He said, thy name shall be called Abraham, the father of a multitude. He did so by adding to that name the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and five in the Bible is the number of grace. And so when God gave to Abraham the covenant of circumcision, indicating that he was one of his covenant people, he changed his name by adding the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. He was saved by grace. Are you saved by grace? The same thing happened to Sarah. She was saved by Sarah. There's the addition of the fifth letter of the alphabet again. It's all grace, you know. Grace, grace is the message. Saved by grace, kept by grace, sustained by grace, will be taken home by grace. What an awful thing it would be to go to hell with the gospel ringing in your ears. What a thought it would be just to be going down into the caverns of the dam from a gospel service, from a place of gospel privilege, just to waken up in a Christless eternity, forever and ever lost. But there's mercy with God. There's a way back. Abraham rejoiced to see my day, it says, in John chapter 8, 56. Was that possible? How did he love him so many years before Christ? How did he see my day? Well, I'll tell you how he saw his day. One day, God said to Abraham, I want you to take your only son, your well-beloved son, the covenant son, that is, and I want you to take your son up to Mount Moriah. That's Calvary. And I want you to offer him there as a sacrifice. And so Abraham, there's the father, there's the well-beloved son, they set out on the journey. They leave the handlers behind, and they go on a little bit more, and they come to Mount Moriah, the father and the son. Abraham has a heavy heart as he goes, because he's got the knife there, so he will use that to slaughter his son, because God has requested this. Strange request, but God was testing how far he would go in his faith. But there's a wonderful picture here of God the Father journeying with God the Son to that place called Calvary. And there God said to Abraham, offer him there. And there the altar was built and Abraham said, get you on the altar. And Isaac was wondering what was happening. Father, what are you doing? Where's the lamb? And Abraham by faith said, God will provide a lamb. But he took the knife, he raised it to plunge it into the heart of his son. And just at that moment, God called, and it was a double call. He said, Abraham, Abraham. Had he called twice to get the man to stop. So here's God the Father, and here's the well-beloved son, a picture of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ going to Mount Moriah. In the case of Abraham, Isaac was spared, but not the case of Jesus Christ, because God spared not his son, but offered him up for us all. How was Isaac spared? They heard a noise in the thicket. They looked around to find a ram caught, listen to it, caught by the horns, caught in the thicket. Does that not remind you of the thorn crowned Christ? That ram became the substitute for Isaac. That ram was offered in the place of Isaac. The thorn crowned Christ took our place and died on Calvary's cross to redeem us. Oh, what a mercy this is. What grace this is. What a savior we have. Do you know him? Is he yours? Does he know you as his child? Isaac's shortness of time. In that way, Abraham saw my day and believed. The Lord was implying that Abraham was still alive. Now you think about that. Stepping out with God for a new life at 75. Living for 100 years, walking with God. They served God more than they lived in sin. Cut his family ties when he was 75. He walked out not knowing where he was going. Sometimes we don't know where we're going, but the light is always there before us. He will open up the way. Someday the silver cord will break, and I no more as now shall sing, but oh the joy when I shall wake within the palace of the King. and I shall see him face to face, tell the story." What's the story? Saved by grace alone. Glory be to his holy name. Now, we know very little about heaven, but one theologian describes it as an unknown region with a well-known inhabitant, and that is certainly true. Here in this world, he bids us come But then, in the next, he bids us welcome. That's the word I'm waiting to hear, welcome home. Welcome home. Will you hear it? Or will you hear that word, depart from me? I never knew you. John Wesley, when he came today, this is what he said. This is what God's servant said, the best of all is God is with me. Farewell, farewell. And Charles Wesley, the hymn writer and John Wesley's brother said, I shall be satisfied with thy likeness. Satisfied, satisfied. And a day is coming when every child of God will be satisfied with his likeness. when we see him face to face and tell the story saved by grace. I close with a very simple story. Maybe a humorous thing attached it well, but it's a solemn thought as well. Following a campaign speech, a young man rushed up to a senator who happened to be a believer. And he said to him, Senator, I wouldn't vote for you if you were St. Peter. The senator looked at the young man, and he said, son, if I were St. Peter, you wouldn't vote for me because you wouldn't be in my district. There's a thought. There's a distinction. I'm saved, and you're not. You'll not be in my district. Death is the devil's most powerful, terrifying weapon against us. And at the cross, Christ defeated Satan on behalf of his people. And the fact that Christ has conquered the devil, Satan, and sin, thank God he brings delight and joy to all who trust in him. He has triumphed for us. We triumph in him. Is it well with your soul? Are you ready to depart to be gathered with your own people, the redeemed of God? Have you set out on the journey? Have you commenced? Are you enjoying Him? Are you serving Him? Are you living for Him? The gospel is the good news. It's grounded in Christ's victory over Satan and sin. The gospel can liberate you and set you gloriously free. What about it tonight? What about it? Trust in him. May God give you the grace to do so. May God bless his word. We'll close now in prayer. I'll now be going to