1 00:00:09,180 --> 00:00:11,140 If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, go and make your 2 00:00:11,140 --> 00:00:15,180 way to Genesis chapter 21, Genesis chapter 21. 3 00:00:15,180 --> 00:00:18,620 And as you make your way there, can we just thank Al and family 4 00:00:18,900 --> 00:00:24,940 for leading us in worship today. Praise God and so many talents 5 00:00:24,940 --> 00:00:27,620 in our church and just praise God when people are willing to 6 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,440 put those into use for the sake of the good of the body. 7 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:33,920 And I pray that's you. I pray that you know perhaps how 8 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:36,280 God has gifted you or what your passions and interests are and 9 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,480 that somehow our church is growing and maturing and being 10 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:42,760 benefited because of your service in the life of our 11 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:44,720 church. Somehow, someway. 12 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,520 So grateful for Al and his family as John and them are away 13 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:50,840 this week. As you make your way to Genesis 14 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,080 21, I think you're going to agree with this statement. 15 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,400 And that's simply this, that life is oftentimes a lot more 16 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:03,320 real than we want it to be. You say, God, what in the world 17 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,840 do you mean it's just never quite as simple as we think it 18 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,160 should be. Why is it always that life seems 19 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:15,080 to be a little more complex than we think it should be? 20 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,600 Why is it never quite like the movie say? 21 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:24,600 And they lived happily ever afterlife is a lot more real 22 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,440 than we want it to be. The deal is in Genesis 21. 23 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,640 Life is going to get real in this chapter. 24 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:35,600 And as it gets real, we're going to learn some very real and 25 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:40,560 valuable lessons about God along the way as we walk through this 26 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,960 chapter of Genesis 21. So follow along either in your 27 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:47,720 copy or on the screen and listen as we begin in verse one. 28 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:55,680 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah 29 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,560 as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore 30 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:05,120 Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken 31 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,120 to him. Abraham called the name of his 32 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:12,440 son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him Isaac. 33 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:17,240 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old 34 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:22,520 as God had commanded him. Abraham was get this, 100 years 35 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,440 old when his son Isaac was born to him. 36 00:02:25,920 --> 00:02:29,120 And Sarah said God has made laughter for me. 37 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,080 Everyone who hears will laugh over me. 38 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,960 And she said, who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would 39 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:39,560 nurse children? And yet I have borne him a son 40 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,960 in his old age. If you look very closely at 41 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:48,240 verse one, you see a really clear example of when you choose 42 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,080 to just read your Bible closely and look at what it says. 43 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,840 It can be really hard to miss the main thing that God is 44 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,680 saying and wants to say to you through His Word because it's so 45 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,200 obvious, right? You look there at verse one, who 46 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,800 is the one doing the action in verse one? 47 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,640 It's the person that is doing the subject work of the 48 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:10,160 sentence, a grammatical part of the sentence you learned in the 49 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,640 3rd through 5th grade, right? It's the Lord. 50 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:14,440 The Lord is the one that's the subject. 51 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:18,280 He's the one that's acting here. He's the main idea and what is 52 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,120 he doing? What action is he taking? 53 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,240 Notice it says here the Lord visited Sarah. 54 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:25,880 What does that mean? Here we see the difference 55 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,720 between the Omni, that means always, everywhere presence of 56 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:31,800 God. God is always everywhere 57 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,680 present, but here we see the difference between the 58 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,840 omnipresence of God and what we might call the manifest presence 59 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,280 of God, like the clearly made tangible in a special way 60 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:43,280 presence of God. God visited. 61 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:45,840 It's not that God wasn't with her before, but God poured out 62 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,840 his presence to her, his power to her in order to be gracious 63 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:54,120 to her in a supernatural way. The way it puts it, next is God 64 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,520 visited and that he did to Sarah, meaning God allowed this 65 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:05,480 woman at 89 years of age to supernaturally believe God did 66 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:09,120 what was only possible by the power of Almighty God. 67 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:11,440 And it's not just that it happened y'all. 68 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,920 It happened twice according to this repeated phrase, as he had 69 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,160 said and then as he had promised. 70 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,440 God is not acting on a whim. God did not wake up this day 71 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:29,040 feeling extra generous. God is doing exactly what he 72 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,760 said he would do and when He said He would do it. 73 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:37,600 Verse 2 says at the time which God had spoken, they named the 74 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:40,240 boy Isaac. That name actually literally 75 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,480 means laughter. And Sarah explains in verse 6 76 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,080 she's makes these statements. God has made laughter for me. 77 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:48,080 Everyone who hears will laugh over me. 78 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:49,680 That doesn't mean mock or make fun of. 79 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,400 That means celebrate with. That means smile. 80 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,320 That means laugh if you will. Look at what supernaturally is, 81 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,560 and this is the very name Isaac. This is what it means, she says 82 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,360 here, along these lines. Who would have said to Abraham 83 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,800 in his old age that Sarah would nurse children? 84 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,600 That's correct. English for who to thunk it? 85 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,960 Who would have ever imagined that this would be in the realm 86 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,920 of possibility? Absolutely no one would have 87 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:19,600 ever thought this. Here's the first thing we 88 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,360 learned out of this text. You can write this down in your 89 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:24,960 notes. In the midst of our doubts, God 90 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,680 keeps His word. Ladies and gentlemen, in the 91 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,240 midst of our doubts, God keeps His word. 92 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:37,280 Friends, mark it down. God cannot not keep His word. 93 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:43,000 What God says, God does. The promises God makes, God 94 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:44,680 keeps. In fact, the way you should 95 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,160 think about it is like this. God's word is the surest thing 96 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:52,080 in all the universe. Proverbs 30 verse 5 says every 97 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:55,880 word of God proves true. Isaiah 40 verse 8 says the grass 98 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,720 Withers and the flower fades, but what stands forever? 99 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,240 The word of our God stands forever. 100 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:08,080 Friends, if we did not have the sure and the reliable, 101 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:12,360 absolutely and always true promises of God, let me just ask 102 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:16,040 you to consider this question. What would we really have? 103 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:23,080 If we didn't have the sure and rock solid foundational promises 104 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:27,960 of God, what would we really have? 105 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:32,480 I will never leave you nor forsake you. 106 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:38,560 You know that one If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is 107 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,600 Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the 108 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,520 dead, you will be. Can you imagine if we didn't 109 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:49,000 have that one? My God will supply all your 110 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,800 needs according to his riches in glory. 111 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,080 Can you imagine if we didn't have that one? 112 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,880 If you confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you 113 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:02,560 of your sin and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. 114 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,200 Can you imagine if we didn't have that one? 115 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,840 To be absent from the body is to be present with the Can you 116 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:12,480 imagine if we didn't have that one? 117 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,240 Ladies and gentlemen, the Christian life is nothing other 118 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:21,040 than reacting to the promises of God as if they were true. 119 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:29,440 That's it, and they are. The Christian life is none other 120 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:33,360 than living like what God has said is true. 121 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:34,760 You say, how do I live like that? 122 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,040 How do I react like that? When #1 You got a daily remember 123 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:41,040 the promises of God. How in the world do you remember 124 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:47,440 them unless you first read them and then know them? 125 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,720 See, a lot of times we live each day as if we don't need the 126 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:55,160 promises of God. When we don't what, when we 127 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,720 don't even read them, when we don't even re familiarize 128 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,640 ourself with them, we live like we don't need the promises. 129 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:05,280 We're not living by reacting to what God has said is actually 130 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:06,800 true. So we got to remember the 131 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,080 promises of God by getting in God's word every day. 132 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:10,440 And then we need to rehearse them. 133 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,080 You know what that means? That means we preach them to 134 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:15,720 ourselves. You ever need to be preached to 135 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,120 besides Sunday morning. I know I do. 136 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,520 You know, I preached to myself when I'm not preaching to you, 137 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:24,280 and I'm preaching to myself when I'm preaching to you. 138 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:26,440 Amen. Kyle Walker needs to be preached 139 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:29,040 to not because I don't know some things, there's a lot of things 140 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,039 I don't know, but because I often don't believe and put into 141 00:08:32,039 --> 00:08:36,559 practice the things I do know. So you need to remember them, 142 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,200 and you need to rehearse them, and then #3 you need to rely on 143 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:42,679 them. When the rubber meets the road, 144 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:44,440 and you want to be anxious, and you want to be angry, and you 145 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:46,720 want to lose self-control, and you want to be prideful, and you 146 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,040 want to not obey, guess what you need to do? 147 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,880 Choose for yourself this day whom you're going to serve. 148 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:55,720 Am I going to obey the Lord? Am I going to believe His 149 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:57,000 promises? Or am I going to live like 150 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,320 they're not true? But mark it down. 151 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,760 Right in the midst of our doubts, God keeps His word. 152 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:04,040 Let's keep going. Verse 8. 153 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:08,400 And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great 154 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:10,440 feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 155 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:15,840 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had born 156 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,600 to Abraham. Laughing, she said to Abraham, 157 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:20,960 cast out the slave woman with her son. 158 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,160 For the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son 159 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:25,800 Isaac. And the thing was very 160 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,120 displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 161 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:31,920 But God said to Abraham, Be not displeased because of the boy 162 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:36,760 and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do 163 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:40,160 as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be 164 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,520 named, and I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman 165 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:45,400 also, because he is your offspring. 166 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,760 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a 167 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,360 skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her 168 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:53,720 shoulder along with the child, and sent her away. 169 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,520 And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 170 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:01,400 Isaac would have been approximately 3 years of age 171 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,760 give or take when he was weaned. And Abraham throws those a 172 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:08,760 massive all out family celebration for his son. 173 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:12,360 This is not unlike, you know, those birthday parties we throw 174 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:16,000 for our children, They turn one year of age, right? 175 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:17,360 This is their first birthday party. 176 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:19,160 They don't have a clue what's going on. 177 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:20,880 They're not even happy half the time. 178 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:22,640 They definitely don't even know what to do with the cake. 179 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:24,760 And yet we put it in front of them all nice and neat and 180 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:28,280 expect them to do what? Eat it and go crazy with it? 181 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:29,720 Make a big mess? You know, that's like the one 182 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:31,600 time in your life you get to make a mess with your cake and 183 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:33,960 go first after that you get to lick the candles. 184 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:35,440 That's about it. And everybody gets to have a 185 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:37,280 piece, right? But when your age, massive 186 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,360 family, you know, the family gets together and it's just as 187 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:42,200 much about the family as it is the child. 188 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:43,200 And so this is what you got going. 189 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,920 You got a big family party going on now almost all the time. 190 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,120 Parties are fun. But families remember life 191 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:52,400 sometimes is real. Families and even parties and 192 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:58,120 families are rarely what rarely perfect, rarely as simple as 193 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:01,880 they should be, never quite like in the movies, sometimes as they 194 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,040 as they should go, right. And so this party gets real. 195 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:07,280 Where does it start getting real? 196 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:11,160 It starts getting real when the 16 year old older half brother 197 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:16,200 Ishmael starts laughing, starts mocking, has done something now 198 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:20,560 to give his younger about 3 year old half brother Isaac a hard 199 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:22,200 time. We don't know exactly what 200 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,240 happened, but it's obvious Ishmael has done something. 201 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:27,720 And you know, mom's keeping an eye on their kids. 202 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:31,560 She sees, Sarah sees is exactly what's going on that has led to 203 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:34,960 this. Laughing at her son Paul in the 204 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:38,240 New Testament actually gives us a little insight into what may 205 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,320 be happening here, at least from a spiritual perspective. 206 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:45,800 He says in Galatians 429, he says, but just as at that time 207 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,840 he, that's Ishmael, who was born according to the flesh, that is 208 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,200 according to the thoughts and the plans that Abraham and Sarah 209 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,960 engineered on their own, persecuted him, who was born 210 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,320 according to the Spirit that is born according to the promise of 211 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:00,280 God. That's Isaac. 212 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,480 And so also it is now Paul says, let's put it this way. 213 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:09,040 There were two people at this party who didn't want to be 214 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:11,320 there and were unhappy before it ever started. 215 00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:15,560 Their names were Hagar and Ishmael. 216 00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:17,160 You say Kyle, I'm no, I don't follow. 217 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,200 Now, let me try to understand. Let help us understand with the 218 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:22,520 words of another. Listen to this. 219 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:29,040 The prospects and expectations of Ishmael are suddenly 220 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:33,080 shattered. He had grown almost to adulthood 221 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:37,960 with the confident expectation, as the eldest son of his father, 222 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:42,880 that he was to inherit great wealth, power, and possessions. 223 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,920 Now the true heir appears and Ishmael is moved to mad hatred. 224 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:52,160 Proud and impetuous, he does not conceal his anger on the 225 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,160 occasion of a great feast. Given an honor of his half 226 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:59,400 brother Isaac, he's guilty of insolence, mockery and insult. 227 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:03,120 Sarah had probably anticipated. In fact, I bet Sarah went to bed 228 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:05,720 the night before the party anticipating if Hagar does does 229 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:07,920 this, if Ishmael does this, I'm going to do. 230 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,560 Don't you know she's she knows what they're thinking. 231 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,760 She knows perhaps where things are going to go wrong. 232 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,520 She's probably pre rehearsed what she's going to say when it 233 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:18,600 does. And sure enough, she's so swift 234 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:20,960 and to the fact when it goes down the way she thinks it might 235 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:23,440 go down. In verse 10, Abraham cast this 236 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:25,760 woman out and her son. He's not going to be an heir 237 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,760 with my son Abraham. Get these two out of here and 238 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,480 get them out. Now just imagine how this scene 239 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:35,680 went down at this party. Sarah witnesses what's 240 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:41,400 happening, and I mean goes Mama Bear Ballistic right? 241 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:51,360 Ready to burn the place down. Music stops, dancing stops. 242 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:59,320 Sarah grabs Isaac, coddles him, goes One Direction, and Hagar 243 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:03,720 grabs Ishmael and goes the other direction, and Abraham's left 244 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:07,960 standing in the middle, and all eyes are on on Abraham. 245 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:12,520 Party's over. You ever been to a party like 246 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:15,120 this? Life's a little more 247 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,360 complicated, not quite as ideal. Things sometimes don't go as 248 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:20,920 perfectly as planned. You got a little drama in your 249 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:26,640 family too, right? Abraham is tore up. 250 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:28,280 That's Southern English for his hearts. 251 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:35,120 Like hurting, torn between his oldest for 16 years is almost 16 252 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:39,200 years his only child, and then the son of the promise that God 253 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:41,560 said he would give him that actually eventually even came 254 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,240 despite the fact he doubted he would ever have him right. 255 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:47,240 Does not this sound like real life? 256 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:51,320 Abraham goes to bed that night, probably had to sleep on the 257 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:56,120 couch. God speaks to him that night 258 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:00,520 while he couldn't sleep and says, Abraham, don't be upset. 259 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:05,480 What Sarah has asked you to do, do Why? 260 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:08,840 Because your offspring, God says, shall be named through 261 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:11,000 Isaac. And because I am going to take 262 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,960 care of Ishmael as I have promised as well. 263 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:19,400 As soon as God speaks, Abraham does what he's done pretty well 264 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:24,560 up until this point. He obeys right away all the way. 265 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:27,600 You don't have those two phrases in your mind. 266 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,400 I like to repeat right away all the way because that is biblical 267 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,320 obedience. That is what we ought to teach 268 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,400 our children, and that is what Abraham does in response to what 269 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:38,000 God says right here. And the next morning, that 270 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:42,720 obedience looks like rising and sending Hagar and Ishmael on 271 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:44,120 their way. The second thing I want you to 272 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:46,920 see is this. In the midst of our mistakes, 273 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:52,720 friends, God can make a way. In the midst of our mistakes, 274 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,760 and I'm talking about even our big ones, I'm talking about the 275 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:57,480 biggest things in our lives we may regret. 276 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:02,080 In the midst of our mistakes, God can make a way. 277 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,960 You see, what you have to remember here is the fact that 278 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:08,840 even though God had promised Abraham and Sarah a son, they 279 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:16,040 both got impatient. After 10 years and no son, they 280 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:21,480 started doubting the Word of God and doubting the word of God. 281 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:26,240 They both engineered a plan to get ahead of God and to get what 282 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:28,880 God had promised by going around God. 283 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:30,400 Does that sound like a wise idea? 284 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:35,840 But that's what they do in their own human wisdom. 285 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,080 Big mistake. And yet the whole time, Here's 286 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:41,000 what I don't want you to miss. This is unbelievable. 287 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:45,000 The whole time that they do that, that they don't believe in 288 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,280 God and His promises and go act and get ahead of God on there. 289 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,560 God is still merciful. God is still gracious, God is 290 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:55,040 still compassionate. God is still going to make a way 291 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,280 in the mess of the disobedience of these two people. 292 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:00,840 It's unbelievable, right? You say, pastor, how did he do 293 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:02,120 that? Well, don't you remember when he 294 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:06,000 made a way for Hagar, when Sarah ran her off the first time and 295 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:07,880 God says don't be afraid and go back. 296 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,359 God made a way for her. And by the way, when she did 297 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:16,440 that, Ishmael got to be raised. God made a way for Ishmael, who? 298 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:18,200 That was not God's plan for the promise. 299 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:20,200 But God is gracious and merciful and kind. 300 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:23,560 God makes a way for him in the household of Abraham to be 301 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,000 raised as a son almost to adulthood. 302 00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:28,760 Here in the midst of mistakes, God's making a way. 303 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,680 But in reality, there came a day, there came a day, y'all, 304 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:37,840 when what God had promised to Abraham came to fruition. 305 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:40,960 And on that day Abraham would have a choice. 306 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,120 And this choice was this Abraham, as if God was saying to 307 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:46,000 him, Abraham, are we going to do this my way? 308 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:47,080 Are we going to do this your way? 309 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:51,320 And if we're going to do this my way, then Ishmael has to go. 310 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:58,440 No, Sarah's motives were not 100% pure. 311 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,800 She was madder than a wet hen. She's ready to burn the place 312 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,920 down. But if you heard the expression, 313 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:09,520 God can hit a straight lick with a crooked stick. 314 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:14,520 If not, you ought to know that you have to write that one down, 315 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,240 right? I wish I could own the invention 316 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,680 of that, but I didn't. But listen, there's no perfect 317 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:24,240 preacher. There's only one perfect 1, and 318 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,040 that's Jesus. But if anything comes out 319 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:29,480 straight in our lives for the Kingdom of God, it's not because 320 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:31,680 of us. It's because God can hit 321 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:33,360 straight licks with crooked sticks. 322 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,840 God uses in our words imperfect people, right? 323 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:40,200 God's not waiting for you to be perfect to use you. 324 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,560 God's waiting for you to be all in like that 16 year old that we 325 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:45,680 just baptized. God's just waiting for you to be 326 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:47,880 all in. Say God use me, send me. 327 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:52,560 And so here's the deal. No Sarah's motives who are not 328 00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:57,160 100% perfect, but God is going to use this to say, I'm going to 329 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,520 make a way, the way that Joseph is going to put this later or 330 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:04,040 God's going to put this actually, Joseph is going to say 331 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:06,400 it to his brothers. He's going to say what you meant 332 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:13,960 for God, meant for God is that good God is so good he can use 333 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,920 imperfect people to accomplish his perfect plan. 334 00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:21,600 So Abraham hears from God, Hey, no, Sarah may not be in the 335 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,720 right here and yet I'm going to use what she's doing, what she's 336 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,000 asking for to bring about what's right. 337 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:29,240 And I'm going to I'm going to borrow some words here because I 338 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:32,440 think this is helpful to be clear of what is going on here. 339 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:37,240 It's been described like this. This is a delayed judgment of 340 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:39,000 God. You say, Kyle, what is that? 341 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:44,880 Well, Ishmael is 16 years old. Abraham had known from the 342 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,280 beginning that Ishmael had not been God's choice. 343 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:51,920 He had come from Abraham's deliberate disobedience. 344 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:54,920 Since God had not chosen this boy, he would not be Abraham's 345 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:57,080 heir. Yet God permitted him to stay, 346 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:02,400 saying nothing to Abraham about it until Isaac came along. 347 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:04,880 Follow me here. This is where it gets practical. 348 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:08,920 When we come to a choice like this in the spirit of God who 349 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:13,120 indwells us as believers, speaks to us about a matter, about an 350 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:15,120 Ishmael in our lives, that must go. 351 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:18,360 Something needs to be to be done, something we need to quit, 352 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:19,880 something we need to walk away from. 353 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:25,640 We often tend to think God is being mean, God is being harsh, 354 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:30,280 God is being unjust, God is being cruel, God is being 355 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,760 uncaring, hateful, demanding, When in reality, God all along 356 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:38,160 has been what merciful, kind, patient and gracious to us, 357 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,520 despite the fact we got around his will, got ahead of him, 358 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:43,400 engineered our own circumstances. 359 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,480 And yet God often makes the way. But there comes a point when God 360 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,120 will come to us and say, if you want to move forward my way, the 361 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:51,680 things that you brought about in your life by your flesh and your 362 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:55,880 plan, that's not my plan. Those things got a they got to 363 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:59,640 go. Sometimes when we say God, why 364 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:01,680 hadn't you said something about this 16 years ago? 365 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,760 Because I was making a way forward, even through 366 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:09,320 circumstances that were not my perfect will. 367 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:11,960 But I'm merciful, kind and compassionate. 368 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:16,080 God makes a way. But at some point, what's not of 369 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:18,560 God, What's not God's plan for our lives, what's not of the 370 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:20,200 Holy Spirit? The way I've heard it put is 371 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,720 this. Often times when God is ready to 372 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,280 ripen a fruit of the Spirit in our lives, whatever other fruit 373 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,920 that's in the way of that fruit coming to be ripe and ready in 374 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,040 our lives, God may say time for it to go. 375 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:36,040 You know when you first come to Christ, if you never accepted 376 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:38,680 Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, Jesus invites you to 377 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,520 come just as you are. He doesn't invite you to put 378 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,200 your Sunday clothes on. He doesn't invite you to go 379 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:48,760 clean up your life. He invites you to come just as 380 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:50,800 you are because that's the way He loves you just the way you 381 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,160 are. He accepts you just the way you 382 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,760 are and, and, and praise God. Aren't you glad God doesn't say? 383 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,800 OK, day one boot camp, we're going to be perfect in 24 hours. 384 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:03,120 Can you imagine how bacon that cake would go? 385 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,400 That's not what God does. But one step at a time by the 386 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,360 leadership of the Holy Spirit, we start to leave sin behind 387 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:15,800 like a trail of a man or woman running after Jesus, throwing 388 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:19,520 off sin that entangles. And you know what you'll throw 389 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,560 off sin after running with Jesus for 30 years that Jesus never 390 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:24,320 said anything to you about in 10 years. 391 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:27,320 But as you walk with him more closely, you get to say, my 392 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:29,440 goodness, I didn't realize, I never realized this didn't honor 393 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:31,800 the Lord in my life. Why has he never said something 394 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:33,320 to you? Because you weren't ready to let 395 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:37,680 it go 20 years ago, but time is right to let it go now. 396 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,600 God is going to complete what he started in you. 397 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,680 This is what he promises. He was faithful, going to see it 398 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,240 to completion. Your sanctification, all these 399 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,320 things are in play here. I don't know what form Ishmael 400 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:55,040 may be taking in your life right now, but if it's not God's way 401 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:57,680 and God's speaking to you about it, the deal is it's got to go. 402 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:00,760 If God's will is going to be accomplished in the midst of our 403 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,560 mistakes, God can make a way, but Ishmael must go. 404 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:07,640 Let's pick up in verse 15. When the water in the skin was 405 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:11,760 gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. 406 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:16,520 And then she went and sat down opposite him, a good way off 407 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,320 about the distance of a bow shot. 408 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,160 For she said, let me not look on the death of the child. 409 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:27,000 And as she said opposite him, she lifted up her voice and 410 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,440 wept. And God heard the voice of the 411 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,080 boy. And the Angel of God called to 412 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:35,920 Hagar from heaven and said to her, What troubles you, Hagar? 413 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:41,560 Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is up. 414 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:45,680 Lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will 415 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,600 make him into a great nation. And then God opened her eyes, 416 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:51,600 and she saw a well of water, and she went and filled the skin 417 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:53,360 with water, and gave the boy a drink. 418 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:55,520 And God was with the boy, and he grew up. 419 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:57,960 He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 420 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,680 He lived in the wilderness of Puran, and his mother took a 421 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:03,280 wife for him from the land of Egypt. 422 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:08,080 The average human being can live just three days without water. 423 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:12,800 What happens is, is our internal organs begin to rapidly fail 424 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:17,880 without hydration. Hagar is in a difficult spot for 425 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,160 sure. They know she knows they're in 426 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,640 serious trouble. So much trouble that she 427 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,240 actually doesn't want to witness what she believes is about to 428 00:24:26,240 --> 00:24:28,200 happen. She actually doesn't even want 429 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:32,280 to hear what she believes is actually about to happen. 430 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:36,040 So she instructs her son to go get under a Bush in the shade 431 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:38,720 and stay there. And she goes about 100 yards, 432 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:42,560 about a bow shot away so she doesn't have to see, hear or 433 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:46,720 witness what she anticipates is about to happen. 434 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:53,680 She doesn't want to see her boy die when she got away from him 435 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,800 that distance. She obviously cries out to God 436 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,360 and weeps, the Bible says, as you would expect her to do. 437 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,240 But she wasn't the only one crying out to God. 438 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:10,960 Or verse 17 says something you actually would not expect the 439 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:13,720 Bible to say right here because we don't even know this is what 440 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:17,640 the boy is doing. But verse 17 says after it says 441 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:22,280 Hagar cried out to God, verse 17 says God heard the voice of who? 442 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:25,600 The boy. Now that's not what you'd have 443 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,280 expected it to say. You've been expected it to say 444 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:31,560 God heard Hagar's voice, but that's not what it says. 445 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,240 Can I just go and tell you whenever you read something, the 446 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,040 Bible that catches you off guard? 447 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:38,000 Like that's surprising. That's not the way I would have 448 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,120 expected it to read. That's like Rd. sign. 449 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:44,440 Hey, zoom in right here. God's teaching something right 450 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,120 here. Don't miss this right here. 451 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:48,800 I'm catching you by surprise because I don't want you to miss 452 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:50,360 this. You say, Kyle, what is God 453 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:52,200 saying? It's as if God is saying this. 454 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:54,640 Hagar. You distanced yourself so you 455 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,520 couldn't hear. You couldn't see the boy and 456 00:25:57,520 --> 00:25:59,560 what's about to happen? But Hagar, even though you're 457 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,800 only 100 yards away and can't hear him, I can hear him. 458 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:08,520 Even though you can't hear him, Hagar, I can hear you, because 459 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,880 I'm the God who's always everywhere, who's always 460 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:16,360 faithful, who's always true. Hagar, I've heard your son even 461 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:17,720 when you're trying not to hear him. 462 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,320 And then the Angel of the Lord asks Hagar this question. 463 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:29,520 What troubles you, Hagar? Now you know what they say, 464 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:31,960 right? There's no such thing as a bad 465 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,680 question. Can I be totally honest with you 466 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:42,320 right here? This strikes me as a bad right 467 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,480 by God. Talk to me about this from your 468 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:48,520 perspective, because this looks pretty bad for mine. 469 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:53,040 God, you see what spot I'm in? God, do you see the rock and the 470 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:56,800 hard spot that I'm between God? Do these circumstances look good 471 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:58,360 to you? Right? 472 00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:00,040 This strikes me as a bad question. 473 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,760 But to be honest, we know God doesn't ask bad questions, does 474 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:06,480 he? In fact, God can't ask bad 475 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,640 questions because God can't ask a question he doesn't already 476 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,800 know the the answer to. So God doesn't ask questions for 477 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:15,920 himself. Ladies and gentlemen, God ask 478 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:20,160 questions for you know who. God ask questions for us, 479 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,600 questions that we've forgotten the answer to. 480 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,920 So this question is for Hagar. Let me translate the question to 481 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:30,560 Hagar. He asked Hagar, what troubles 482 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:31,800 you? Translation. 483 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:36,040 Have you forgotten Hagar? The spot you were in 16 years 484 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:40,080 earlier when guess who saw you, provided for you, rescued you, 485 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:43,360 made a way for you, and that you called out to as the God who 486 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:52,080 sees Elroy Hagar, have you forgotten who I am? 487 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:56,080 Have you forgotten my name, Hagar? 488 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,960 Have you forgotten that I'm faithful, Hagar? 489 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:03,640 Have you forgotten my promises, Hagar? 490 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:10,840 What could possibly trouble you if my promises are true? 491 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:15,200 Hagar Did you think I lied to you? 492 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:19,720 Because that's how you're acting. 493 00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:23,120 God doesn't ask questions for himself. 494 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:28,000 God ask questions for us. And notice, here's the deal. 495 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:31,720 If you read closely, God doesn't tell Hagar anything she doesn't 496 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:36,520 already know. God tells Hagar what she needed 497 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:40,760 to be reminded of when she started believing that her 498 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:44,040 circumstances had negated the faithfulness of God. 499 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:47,880 She started believing her circumstances more than she 500 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:50,560 believed the word and promises of God, and she needed to be 501 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:52,800 reminded of what she'd already known and heard was true. 502 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,600 And then verse 19. Then God opens Hagar's eyes and 503 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:58,880 she sees a well of water. Now I happen to believe, though 504 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:02,040 I may be wrong, that the well of water was there the whole time. 505 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:07,920 She just hadn't seen it yet, that the provision was there, 506 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:11,920 she just hadn't realized it yet. The same physically was true. 507 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:13,880 Spiritually, God was there. The what? 508 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:17,720 One was there the whole time. The provision was there the 509 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,320 whole time. She just hadn't seen it yet. 510 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:26,760 In the midst of our distress #3 third thing we learned in the 511 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,560 midst of our distress, God is with us. 512 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,120 God is with us. Just because, ladies and 513 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:36,200 gentlemen, God feels far away doesn't mean that he is. 514 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:41,080 And just because our the circumstances may make God's 515 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:44,560 promises seem untrue does not mean that they are. 516 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:47,160 What does David say? Yeah, though I walk through the 517 00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:51,600 valley of the shadow of it doesn't get any worse than that 518 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:56,000 yet I will What? I'm going to fear no evil. 519 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:59,520 Why is that, God? Because your promises are true, 520 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,840 though my circumstances may try to convince me they're not. 521 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,280 Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 522 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:08,960 God's promises are true. So I will fear no evil. 523 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:12,160 And your rod and your staff, God, your provision and your 524 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:13,960 power and your protection. Well, what? 525 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:17,920 They're going to comfort me when my circumstances preach to me 526 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:20,320 Lies. God, I'm going to choose to 527 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:23,880 believe your truth. This is the way we live life. 528 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,760 This is the Christian. It is reacting to the promises 529 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:30,160 of God as if they are true, remembering them, rehearsing 530 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:34,120 them, and relying on them every single day no matter the 531 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,320 situation, just as he promised he would be. 532 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:41,120 Verse 20, God was with the boy and Ishmael grows up to become a 533 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:45,440 man, finds a home, a vocation, and a wife in the midst of our 534 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:48,080 distress. Friends, God is with us now. 535 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:52,280 Let's read the final portion of our chapter as we finish this 536 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:56,480 morning, verse 22. At that time, Abimelech and 537 00:30:56,560 --> 00:31:00,960 Feikal, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, God is 538 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,720 with you in all that you do. Now. 539 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:08,920 Therefore swear to me here by God, that you will not deal 540 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:11,720 falsely with me, or with my descendants or with my 541 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,560 posterity. But as I have dealt kindly with 542 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:19,120 you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have 543 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:21,640 sojourned. And Abraham said, I will swear. 544 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:26,440 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that 545 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:30,320 Abimelech servants had seized, Abimelech said, I do not know 546 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:34,040 who has done this thing. You did not tell me, and I've 547 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:37,320 not heard of it until today. So Abraham took sheep and oxen 548 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:40,600 and all and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made 549 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:43,600 a covenant. Abraham set 7 U lambs of the 550 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:46,120 flock apart. And Abimelech said to Abraham, 551 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:48,920 What is the meaning of these seven U lambs that you have set 552 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:51,120 apart? He said, These seven U lambs, 553 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:54,800 you will take from my hand that this may be a witness for me, 554 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,800 that I dug this well. Therefore that place was called 555 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:01,400 Beersheba, because they're both of them swore an oath. 556 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:03,880 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. 557 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:08,000 Then Abimelech and Faikal, the commander of the army, rose up 558 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:09,840 and returned to the land of the Philistines. 559 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:14,520 And Abraham planted A tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called 560 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:17,080 there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. 561 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:21,040 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines. 562 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:26,720 Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Bible says there's a couple 563 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,760 people doing intelligence operations in the vicinity. 564 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:34,040 The man that hits their radar is Abraham. 565 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:38,360 And the reason why isn't such an amazing statement made about a 566 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:40,000 man or a woman that you could ever make. 567 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:41,360 Do you notice what they say here? 568 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:47,400 Hey Abraham, verse 22, God is with you in what everything you 569 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:53,200 do and may. What if that was true of you and 570 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:56,600 me? What if somebody watching your 571 00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,800 life and mine couldn't help but say the one thing they would say 572 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:04,000 is God is with that person in everything they do? 573 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:06,360 Abraham We've been watching you, man. 574 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:10,880 And supernaturally you've got prosperity, like supernaturally 575 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:13,320 you've got protection. Supernaturally you seem to have 576 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:15,000 power. Supernaturally you seem to have 577 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:16,720 peace. Abraham Everywhere you go and 578 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:19,280 everything you touch and all that you do seems to be anointed 579 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:21,960 of God. But what? 580 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:24,400 What is the deal? Abraham Hey, we want to make a 581 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:26,280 treaty, dude. We want to be friends with you 582 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:29,040 and we want you to be friends with us. 583 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:34,880 Charles Spurgeon said this. I love this quote. 584 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:40,080 He says I think the greatest blessing God ever gives to a man 585 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:47,280 or a woman is his own presence. He says if I had my choice of 586 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:51,840 all the blessings in life, I would certainly not ask for 587 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:56,200 wealth, for it can bring no ease. 588 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:01,800 And I should not ask for popularity, for there is no rest 589 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:05,920 to the man or woman upon whose words people constantly wait. 590 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:10,520 And it's a hard task for one one has to perform in such a case as 591 00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:13,760 that. But I should choose as my 592 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:17,560 highest honor to have God always with me. 593 00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:20,880 Can I just ask you, what are you chasing and pursuing as your 594 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:24,239 highest honor to answer that question, what is your highest 595 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:26,280 priority? Is it your God? 596 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:28,400 Is it the King of kings and Lord of Lords? 597 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:31,120 Is it truly seeking him and knowing him and walking with him 598 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:34,400 and asking for his will, saying yes to the call of God, of his 599 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:37,120 call on your life? Is that your greatest pursuit or 600 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:41,679 is something else your highest pursuit and therefore the 601 00:34:41,679 --> 00:34:46,960 highest honor you desire, The greatest of blessings come from 602 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:51,880 the presence of God. They bring up Abraham rather 603 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:53,880 brings up one of the problems he's had with him. 604 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:55,920 He's like, hey man, you any of your guys have been stealing my 605 00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:58,640 water. So they take care of business. 606 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:01,680 Make an oath and get all that straightened out and Abimelech 607 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:04,120 and his commander go home. And then Abraham does something 608 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:06,760 interesting. It says here he plants a Tamaris 609 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,240 tree and that's a very slow growing tree. 610 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:10,800 And like what in the world is that? 611 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:14,440 What that is? Is Abraham marking a moment of 612 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:17,600 God's faithfulness in life in a physical way for future 613 00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:21,120 generations to remember what God had done and who God is? 614 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:24,680 And by the way, who does he say God is in the very next 615 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:26,160 sentence? The what? 616 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:33,240 The everlasting God. It's as if Abraham here is 617 00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:38,880 realizing the character and the the faithfulness of God over 25 618 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:42,680 years now, of following the call of God on his life and seeing 619 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:45,520 God be faithful to him in big things and in small things. 620 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:49,040 Of seeing life get real. Like real even. 621 00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:52,840 Like water being stolen. Like neighbor dispute and family 622 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:57,880 blow UPS at a birthday party and a nephew that his staff members 623 00:35:57,880 --> 00:35:59,360 couldn't get along with his staff members. 624 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:03,920 And yet when life got real for Abraham, life getting real 625 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:06,200 didn't drive Abraham further away from God. 626 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:09,320 You know what it did? It drew Abraham closer to God. 627 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:13,080 So much so that every neighbor looked at him and said, dude, 628 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:15,600 you know what's true about you? God's with you. 629 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:19,640 Was life always easy? Was life perfect for Abraham? 630 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:21,600 Did they're not? Did life not get real for him? 631 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:25,200 Some days it absolutely did. But that allowed Abraham to 632 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:27,320 display to a watching world around him. 633 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:32,720 There was 1 secret to his life and one only, and it was the 634 00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:36,840 presence of God, the one who was everlasting and unchanging the 635 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:38,280 same yesterday, today and forever. 636 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:40,720 Who's always faithful. Y'all? 637 00:36:40,720 --> 00:36:44,680 If we had to put all of this together, final and fourth thing 638 00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:47,600 is this in your notes, In the midst of all our troubles, the 639 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:49,720 way we could put it is God provides peace. 640 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:52,760 In the midst of all of our troubles, God provides peace. 641 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:56,200 Abraham continues to live in peace and prosper in the Lamb. 642 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:58,520 You know about that. One of my favorite verses in 643 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:02,640 Proverbs is Proverbs 16 verse seven that says when a person's 644 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:05,760 ways please the Lord, watch this. 645 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:10,240 He makes even his enemies live at peace with him. 646 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:15,560 That's a crazy verse when a person's ways please, God can 647 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:18,920 work out even the relationships and even the people, maybe even 648 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:22,040 family, maybe friends, maybe coworkers, it doesn't matter. 649 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:26,760 God can make a way of peace for you in His path if you say yes 650 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:31,040 to His call and trust Him. Even in the midst of trouble. 651 00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:35,920 God provides peace. Let's put all this in one 652 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:37,560 sentence so you're ready and your notes. 653 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:43,040 If you want this, here it is. Sometimes life gets real. 654 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:46,760 Sometimes it gets really real. But here's the deal. 655 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:51,080 God always is. God always is real. 656 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:54,960 God always is there. God always is true. 657 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:58,920 God always is faithful. God always is everlasting. 658 00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:02,280 God is always strong. God is always watching. 659 00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:07,720 God can always hear. He is the everlasting God. 660 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:14,960 Y'all as owl and family and Kathy and others come for our 661 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:17,760 invitation, let me let me put some questions to you. 662 00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:22,280 I want you to consider as we think about how we might respond 663 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:23,880 to God. Who's the everlasting God this 664 00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:24,600 morning? Are you ready? 665 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:30,360 In the midst of our doubts, God keeps His word. 666 00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:34,240 Let me ask you a question. Is there a promise of God that 667 00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:37,520 you are doubting or choosing not to believe this morning? 668 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:44,320 Let me ask it like this, are you someone that has never placed 669 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:48,240 your faith in Jesus Christ? Maybe you watch those baptisms 670 00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:51,600 and you're like, man, I really want what they found. 671 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:55,600 The one they found is Jesus. What they found is forgiveness 672 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:59,240 of their sin by confessing with their mouth Jesus is Lord and 673 00:38:59,240 --> 00:39:01,680 believing in their heart that God raised him from the dead. 674 00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:04,040 They realize they have sinned against the holy God, that they 675 00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:06,960 deserve separation from God. But Jesus so loved them. 676 00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:09,360 God the Father so loved them that Jesus came and lived a 677 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:13,240 sinless life in our shoes that he died as a sinless sacrifice 678 00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:16,680 in our place and defeated the power of death rose from the 679 00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:18,880 grave to offer us forgiveness and eternal life. 680 00:39:18,880 --> 00:39:21,880 How do you get that Pastor Kyle? You call on the name of the Lord 681 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:23,840 to be said. You can in your heart, from your 682 00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:26,760 gut right now, say, Jesus, would you forgive me and save me and 683 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:31,280 be the Lord of my life? Maybe you need to believe that 684 00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:34,040 promise that if you call on Jesus, he'll save you today. 685 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:39,160 If you've done that, maybe there's another promise that 686 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:41,520 you're failing to believe. I'll never leave you nor forsake 687 00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:45,080 you. Maybe to be absent from the body 688 00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:48,560 is to be present with the Lord or all the ones in between. 689 00:39:48,560 --> 00:39:53,160 Let me ask it like this. In the midst of our mistakes, 690 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:55,440 God can make a way. Do you have an Ishmael that 691 00:39:55,440 --> 00:40:00,160 needs to go? Is God's way in your life being 692 00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:02,440 blocked at all because you won't let go of your way? 693 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:07,360 In the midst of our distress, God is with us. 694 00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:11,520 Can I ask you, what if God asked you insert your name for Hagar's 695 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:13,040 name? What troubles you? 696 00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:19,000 Is anything troubling you that should not be troubling you if 697 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:24,320 God's promises were true? Finally, in the midst of our 698 00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:28,720 troubles, God provides peace. Are you allowing, when life gets 699 00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:32,480 real, to drive you away from Jesus and his peace, or to drive 700 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:35,840 you to Jesus and his peace? Because it's one or the other, 701 00:40:37,880 --> 00:40:41,280 we have a choice. Are we going to rely on the 702 00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:46,800 promises of God because we've remembered them, rehearsed them? 703 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:51,960 We're ready to rely on them. The Christian life is reacting 704 00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:54,880 to the truth of the promises of God. 705 00:40:55,240 --> 00:40:58,280 I don't know how you need to react to the everlasting God 706 00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:01,480 this morning, but he is waiting for you to react in faith. 707 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,200 And as I pray, we're going to stand and then I'm going to ask 708 00:41:04,200 --> 00:41:05,560 you to come. If you need to pray with me, 709 00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:07,920 talk with me, kneel at this altar, talk with one of our 710 00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:09,920 encouragers, make a decision to follow Christ. 711 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:12,640 You name it, you can come. I'm going to pray and then you 712 00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:15,080 come. Heavenly Father, have your way 713 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:16,440 in us. We pray. 714 00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:20,400 God help us respond to you, the one and only one who is always 715 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:24,880 and forever and perfectly true. God help us to follow you no 716 00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:28,200 matter what, to believe you no matter what, and be with us as 717 00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:30,560 you promised no matter what for the world to see. 718 00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:33,160 In Jesus name, Amen. Would you stand and would you 719 00:41:33,160 --> 00:41:35,120 come? As we sing, and as the Lord lead 720 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:36,120 you this morning, you come.