1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:13,590 Love, but a loving God. Folks, I've said it before, if 2 00:00:13,590 --> 00:00:20,830 we ever in eternity some days lifting up our eyes from hell, 3 00:00:21,830 --> 00:00:24,870 we will have got there because we trampled over and trotted on 4 00:00:24,870 --> 00:00:33,070 the love of God to get there. Because He does not make it easy 5 00:00:33,070 --> 00:00:41,680 for anybody to be lost. Plucks heartstrings, pools, 6 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:47,520 yearns, woos. It's like the Shulamite of the 7 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:52,320 Song of Solomon. There's a smell that she smells 8 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:56,040 coming through the door. There's a voice on the opposite 9 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,920 side speaking for his beloved. She's already went to bed, the 10 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:02,160 Bible says. But she gets back on her shoes. 11 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,080 She says, Is that my beloved? She notices the fragrance of his 12 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:13,640 presence. If we ever go to hell, it'll be 13 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:15,680 because we. Trampled over the love of God. 14 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:27,920 Hallelujah. Jesus, it's the voice of my 15 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:36,240 beloved, I hear. She said he's calling. 16 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,560 She said he's calling. I hear this voice. 17 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,720 What's he doing skipping on the mountain tops toward me? 18 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,760 All this verbiage, the love of your God for you. 19 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,160 He's skipping because he's excited. 20 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,680 It's described like that because there's an excitement of him 21 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:06,000 toward you. Yes, you and your broken state, 22 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:07,800 you and your state of refusing him. 23 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:13,440 He's still excited about you, you as she says, Oh, don't look 24 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:15,760 upon me. I you know I for I am black, 25 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:17,240 right? She been in the sunlight, been 26 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,160 tinting the vineyard. Her skin is swarthy because of 27 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,080 just the the penetration of the sun. 28 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,760 But he says I, all of that aside, says I love you. 29 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:28,880 I don't care. What you look like, I don't care 30 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:30,160 what you've been through. I don't. 31 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:42,280 Oh, yeah. Amen. 32 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:49,560 Oh. And you know, that's the story 33 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:51,600 that don't just start in the Song of Solomon. 34 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:54,760 That love story don't start in the Book of Acts. 35 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,120 That love story starts all the way back in Genesis. 36 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:08,120 It does. It's what banned a man and a 37 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:10,680 woman outside of the garden so they wouldn't live in eternity 38 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,960 in a sinful state. It's. 39 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,880 What spares 8 souls on the ark so they can get out and have a 40 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:22,680 recreation? That love, it's. 41 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,760 The love that doesn't annihilate all the people that built the 42 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:26,880 Tower of Babel just confuses their languages. 43 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:33,000 That love. Amen. 44 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:43,680 Praise the Lord. Holy, you can turn to Genesis 24 45 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:49,640 here tonight. Again, pray for us this week in 46 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,560 this ministry conference. And so everything's gearing up 47 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,240 for it. I've had text and different 48 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:56,240 things to entertain today as a result of it. 49 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:00,120 Amen. So it's all gearing up and have 50 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,080 a good time, the Lord. Amen. 51 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,680 The very last Sunday of this month for the Michael Moppen 52 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:07,160 swinging through on a Sunday night. 53 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,880 So you want to you want to be here for that, be here, not just 54 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,160 for that. I hope I don't ever put it as 55 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,320 though when we have a special guest that's more important than 56 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:20,800 when we don't. They're all important. 57 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:24,160 They're all important. Amen. 58 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:27,200 So coming up in the month of October, the 11th is our annual 59 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,800 chili supper and hayride and now second annual cornhole 60 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,120 competition. If you want to be a part of 61 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:35,520 that, there's stuff out out there as far as the cornhole of 62 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:40,840 having a team and people names and such that you'd sign up also 63 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:44,680 then falling right after our annual thing is then Sunday 64 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,480 through Wednesday we're having another revival and it's going 65 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:49,120 to be with The Smiths. They're going to be here 66 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:50,280 ministering the word of the Lord. 67 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,160 You don't want to miss that. You don't want to miss that as 68 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:54,920 well want to be there for every service. 69 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,920 You all folks listen the last time and it was the first time 70 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,680 in a long time that we did a Sunday through Wednesday. 71 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:02,680 Last time we had one with brother Sanford. 72 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,640 You all did awesome about being here and being faithful, and so 73 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:08,880 you just set my expectation. It's a precedent. 74 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:12,080 I just believe that you're going to be here then in October as 75 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:14,200 well. And so come and be a part of 76 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:16,400 those services. Also in the month of October, 77 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,760 we're going to be doing another, another interview type of 78 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,160 session with Doctor Jerry Mason and going to be doing an 79 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:28,160 interview on Everyone Leads. Everyone Leads, not just a title 80 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:30,520 over your head, but everybody, everyone leaves. 81 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:34,040 They're going to be doing a interview with Doctor Mason on 82 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:38,600 that on the 8th of October. All right, So just keep our 83 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:40,360 minds, All right? Genesis 24 won't keep you, 84 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:42,120 Sandy. We got 67 verses to read. 85 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:44,960 Just joking. We're not doing them all. 86 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,240 I was feeling very. I thought I was going to get 87 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,800 through this whole chapter. It didn't happen. 88 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,000 Not by far. Not after I sat down. 89 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:57,760 Start putting pin the page. Amen. 90 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,840 Starting with verse #1 though if we can read a few verses here 91 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:02,120 tonight. And I'm going to let you stand 92 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:04,680 for all that I'm going to read. All right. 93 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:10,320 This is chapter 24. Remember we left off Sarah's 94 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,520 just died. Abraham has just purchased The 95 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:18,520 Cave of Mack the law the Bible says, and Abraham was old and 96 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,440 well stricken in the age. And the Lord blessed Abraham and 97 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,920 all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest 98 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:27,440 servant of his house that ruled over all that he had. 99 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,040 But I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and I will make thee 100 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,800 swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, 101 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:38,480 that thou shalt not take a wife, and to my son the daughters of 102 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:40,480 the Canaanites, among whom I dwell. 103 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:44,760 But thou shalt go into my country, and to my kindred take 104 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,240 a wife and to my son. Isaac. 105 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:50,800 And the servant said in the Henry adventure, The woman will 106 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:52,920 not be willing to follow me into this land. 107 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,600 Must I needs bring thy son again into the land from whence thou 108 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,120 camest? And Abraham said unto him, 109 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:04,760 Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again the Lord 110 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,280 God of heaven, which took me from my father's house and from 111 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:11,400 the land of my kindred, and which spake in me, And that 112 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:14,760 swearing to me, saying that thy seed will I give this land, He 113 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:16,400 shall send his Angel before thee. 114 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,400 And thou shalt take a wife and to my son from thence. 115 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,160 And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then 116 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:25,000 thou shalt be clear from this my oath. 117 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,600 Only bring not my son thither again. 118 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:31,480 He's pretty adamant about that. The servant put his hand under 119 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:35,080 the thigh of Abraham his master, and swear to him concerning that 120 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,360 matter. And the servant took 10 camels 121 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,080 of the camels of his master and departed, for all the goods of 122 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,320 his master were in his hand. He arose and went to 123 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,400 Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. 124 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:51,160 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well 125 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:53,240 of water at the time of the evening. 126 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:58,840 Even the time that women go out to draw water. 127 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,440 Last week I talked about faith that outlived the grave. 128 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:05,800 This week I want to talk about faith that facilitates the 129 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:09,000 promise. Faith that facilitates the 130 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:10,520 promise. We've got all this faith stuff 131 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:12,480 because we're talking about the Father of the faith. 132 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:15,240 Amen, Abraham. Hallelujah. 133 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:17,760 Let's ask God to touch us. His Spirit is already here. 134 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,200 We just need a continuance of that right now. 135 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,200 Father, I need you today, God. I'm thankful, Lord, for the 136 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,640 opportunity, Lord, to center my life around your word one more 137 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:28,400 time. I know, God. 138 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:30,000 Lord, these are the words of life. 139 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,480 These are the words that Scripture says speak of you. 140 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:35,600 I pray O God, anoint us God, give us a spirit of 141 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,720 enlightenment and revelation. I pray O God, how these things 142 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:42,720 can apply Lord to our very self same lives in this era of time. 143 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,960 I pray O Lord, today let your spirit bear witness with us in 144 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,440 this place tonight. You have through song now 145 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:51,040 through your word God. So let it be in the lovely name 146 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:54,600 of Jesus Christ that I pray Hallelujah in the church say 147 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,480 Amen, Amen. You may be seated tonight in 148 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:06,080 Jesus name. We don't have much longer for 149 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:10,520 Abraham to be here with us. And if your name's Abraham 150 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,240 tonight, I'm not talking about you, but it's no prophetic thing 151 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:15,840 for you. Don't go home, get nervous, 152 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,440 nothing like that. But Abraham, throughout his 153 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:21,360 lifetime, we have seen in just a short period of time that he has 154 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:25,000 been with us in Scripture that Abraham has, if you remember 155 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,640 whenever he started from earth, Chaldees, I talked to you about 156 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:31,400 how he's going on a trajectory of maturity concerning faith, 157 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:33,800 even concerning his relationship with God. 158 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,880 And I would hope to say at this point prior to dying, because 159 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,920 it's not too many years out, about 35 years from this point, 160 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:44,840 he's going to he's going to die. But I hope that we can say that 161 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:48,480 he we can see that there's been a trajectory of maturity that 162 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,640 happened that has happened in Abraham's life. 163 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:53,000 And I believe there has. And I believe there's several 164 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,720 lessons that he has learned over his lifetime, that he indeed has 165 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:00,520 grown in his faith, that there's a certain level and trust that 166 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:05,040 he has now in God that is sure today than what it was when he 167 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:09,760 first left her of Chaldees. And and so we might even call 168 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,520 the faith when he first left sometimes blind faith. 169 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,920 You know, you even throw on that terminology sometimes today 170 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:18,400 blind faith. But but now I believe without 171 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:21,520 doubt that Abraham has had enough experiences, enough 172 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:25,040 situations and circumstances where he's seen the hand of God 173 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:30,120 come to bear and proved over and over again that Abraham now has 174 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:32,120 the substance of things hoped for. 175 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:35,080 That the Hebrews writers does say his faith, faith is now the 176 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,320 substance that he's had enough substance of things hoped for. 177 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:41,720 That now his faith is not by no means blind faith, but it's 178 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:45,600 indeed faith that's founded on substance, faith that's founded 179 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,240 on on proof. And so when we read the 180 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:50,800 Scripture, the Bible tells us something that I think we 181 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:53,160 already know. But whenever the Bible tells you 182 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:55,000 things, you need to take it for what it's worth. 183 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,080 It tells us that Abraham is owed, and he is, for crying out 184 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:00,480 loud, Isaac was born when he was 100. 185 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:02,920 I'd already be gone them. Owed. 186 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,800 Some of y'all not even 70 years old calling yourself old. 187 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:11,280 Amen. So he's 100 years old whenever 188 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:15,680 Isaac is born. And as scripture tells us later, 189 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:20,320 if, if he is entering, if Rebecca entering into the tent 190 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:23,440 of Sarah, which happens much later in the story in the 60 191 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:27,120 some odd verses, if she indeed enters the tent of Sarah, who 192 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:30,120 Sarah of course is dead at the end of this passage. 193 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:34,560 If that indicates, which I believe it does, that Rebecca, 194 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:38,120 because Isaac's the one that invites her in that they are 195 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:42,720 going to consummate their marriage. 196 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:45,120 They're going to bring consummate rather their marriage 197 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:50,240 and bring it to fruition through through intimate relations. 198 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:54,400 I'll be as kind as I can then, if that's the case. 199 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,640 And that is what then puts the sill of of approval on marriage. 200 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,600 In the very next chapter, we read that Isaac then was 40 201 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,840 years old. We read that in verse #20 that 202 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:10,400 he was 40 years old whenever he was married to Rebecca. 203 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:14,800 So if that's the case, if Abraham was 100 whenever he was 204 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:18,360 born and Isaac got married at 40, and that includes this 205 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:22,120 situation right here, then that means that Abraham is somewhere 206 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:28,040 around 140 years old right now. And here's what Abraham knows, 207 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,120 this part and parcel, what he's doing. 208 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:33,720 We're not just looking at a marriage just because, you know, 209 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,240 a marriage to be looked at. The Bible always does what it 210 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:38,560 does purposefully. I mean, there's a lot of 211 00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:41,800 marriages that are not spoken of in Scripture, but this marriage 212 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:43,680 is spoken of because Abraham knows. 213 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,360 It's been prophesied to him. It's been promised to him. 214 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:53,600 In Isaac shall thy seed be. Called and he understands 215 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:55,680 Brother Reese. I know I sound like a broken 216 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:59,960 record, but I am just resounding how broken of a record the Bible 217 00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:02,600 sounds. He knows his descendants are 218 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:07,360 going to be many. Canaan's going to be their land 219 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:11,800 of promise. He has one son, one plot of 220 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:15,560 ground, which is a burial ground for his family in the land of 221 00:13:15,560 --> 00:13:19,320 promise. And so Abraham's actions in this 222 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:24,800 moment demonstrate really his responsibility and fatherhood 223 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:28,680 and his responsibility as the patriarch of the nation that 224 00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:32,400 shall come to pass. Because what Abraham is doing in 225 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,320 this whole setup? Is trying to preserve a legacy 226 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:41,520 for the covenant by finding a wife or his son if in Isaac my 227 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:46,960 seed shall be called he has to have a way to reproduce in order 228 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:50,160 to have descendants and so I'm. Going to I'm a old. 229 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:54,080 Man, imagine even Abraham at this time, even according to 230 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:57,080 what we can see in Scripture, he doesn't know how many years he's 231 00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:00,280 going to have. He's doing what he does because 232 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:04,320 that knowledge is not for him to know, but he's being proactive 233 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:09,840 and he's going to try to ensure that things are set in place so 234 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,720 that his son will not be without a wife. 235 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,760 Because if he has no wife, the seed just remains in Isaac. 236 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:22,240 There is no reproduction, there is no multiplying, there is no 237 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:25,800 multiplication of descendants. And so here is a man that's 238 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:27,640 leaving the legacy through the covenant. 239 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,240 Oh. Abraham, are you, Abraham, you 240 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:33,640 doing that because you don't believe that that, that that God 241 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,520 will keep his word? No, he's doing it because he 242 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:38,760 does believe. He's. 243 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:43,400 Doing it because he does believe God is going to keep his word. 244 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:49,200 So he's facilitating, if you will, he's making room for the 245 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:53,080 fulfillment of the promise in setting these things up with his 246 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:55,360 eldest servant. Amen. 247 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:59,120 And so for this to continue in Isaac, he needs a wife. 248 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:02,080 Abraham is old. I don't know when I'm going to 249 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:06,040 die, but I'm not going to be negligent about the future. 250 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:10,440 I'm not going to fall under the impression that all of this is 251 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:12,400 hinged and just sewed up with me. 252 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,680 No, I already understand that. We talked about it, I think last 253 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:19,080 week, if not the week before. This thing spans generations. 254 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:22,120 This promise doesn't just touch and affect me. 255 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:24,600 It touches me and my children and my grandchildren. 256 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:29,320 It spans generations. So I understand Abraham's like I 257 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:33,400 understand my role in this overall plan of God and his 258 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,920 desire for his people. And so for this ongoing 259 00:15:36,920 --> 00:15:40,200 fulfillment of the promise, it's going to outlast me. 260 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,000 Therefore, I'm going to make provisions for it now. 261 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,120 Listen, you need to make provisions for what God is doing 262 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:50,440 in your life, that it's not just for your life. 263 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,640 He didn't just save you to save you, He saved you to start a 264 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:05,560 legacy in your family. And all these people, Oh yeah, I 265 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:07,320 hear them. They talk about being 4th 266 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:09,640 generation Pentecost, you know, and all that. 267 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:12,360 And thank God that's where I stand in the crux of the road on 268 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,240 both sides of my family. But you know what, there was a 269 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:19,680 first there. There was a first generation. 270 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:22,760 Someone down in the line later is going to say Oh yeah we serve 271 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:26,680 the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, but they couldn't say 272 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:29,040 that if there wasn't yet 1st and Abraham. 273 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:43,360 We got to accept that then this isn't just for us. 274 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,480 This is for a legacy to be started in our families. 275 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,880 And so anyone the Bible hears interests me and I didn't get 276 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,160 very far here tonight, but this is the the the words of the 277 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,120 narrator, the words of the writer in Scripture speaking 278 00:16:56,120 --> 00:17:00,200 about Abraham that the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 279 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:02,960 I pause here tonight. I'm going to take just a little 280 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:07,440 time here that the Bible says that the Lord blessed Abraham's 281 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,200 ode. Please understand that what's 282 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:14,720 being stated in this moment is not a 13 year old and looking 283 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:21,440 back, this is not just a few years of life. 284 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,800 No, this is someone that's at the latter stage of their life. 285 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:28,840 That's right, that's right. That the narrator unequivocally 286 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:34,040 exclaims, he's a blessed man in all things. 287 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:40,480 Anybody can testify to us as a witness for the Lord. 288 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:43,240 Anybody could in their walk relationship with God. 289 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,400 But I'm asking you tonight. Those are sitting here some. 290 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,560 Sometimes we like just to talk to peers, right? 291 00:17:54,600 --> 00:18:02,160 But whenever I talk to an elder. Who's lived their days, had 292 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:07,120 their children raise their family, had their health issues, 293 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:15,520 Rob Peter to pay Paul. And I talk to them and they 294 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:21,080 start telling me about their history of serving the Lord 295 00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:25,520 through the UPS, through the downs, when it's been good, when 296 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:28,480 it's been bad. And the narration on their life 297 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:33,360 is they're blessed of God in all their ways and things. 298 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:40,880 You can take that to the bank. Someone that just appeared like 299 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:42,440 me has experienced so much like they. 300 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,280 They might say differently. But when you've gotten to the 301 00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:48,720 end of your life and you're exclaiming the last breath from 302 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:54,800 your lungs and those old Gray heads with smiles on their faces 303 00:18:54,800 --> 00:19:00,720 are saying he's been faithful and they say this is the best 304 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:02,560 life. I, I wouldn't want to live 305 00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:07,840 another. Then we got to open our ears and 306 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:12,160 open our eyes and say, although I'm doubtful where I am and at 307 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,680 my age, in this moment I need to let the aged. 308 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:25,440 In the Lord speak Amen, because they're saying something. 309 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:28,640 This is what the scripture says. And I'm not saying, listen, I'm 310 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:31,360 for sure not saying that every old person's report is valid 311 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:33,560 because not every old person is in the Lord. 312 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:42,760 Age doesn't just equal wisdom. Eli who said in the book of Job 313 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,920 Eli who said in Job 32 and verse #7 in life who was a young man, 314 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,760 the Bible says particularly said I said they should speak 315 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,200 multitude of years should teach wisdom verse 8. 316 00:19:54,480 --> 00:20:00,760 But there is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty 317 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,960 giveth them understanding. So a lie who's not just saying 318 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:06,080 let days of years and old people speak. 319 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:09,120 He said let those that have the inspiration of the Almighty 320 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:12,720 that's owed, let them speak. He what's he saying? 321 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:17,360 He said find yourself an old age, spirit filled, spirit 322 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:23,040 controlled elder and let them give a verdict on the ways of 323 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:27,960 God and the faithfulness of God. Remember this scripture and this 324 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,240 is important man, that this scripture comes back to my mind 325 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,440 so many different times at so many different areas of my life. 326 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:37,480 Hebrews 13 seven you need to bracket this scripture in your 327 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:39,560 Bible and you need to remember where it's at. 328 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:45,200 It says, Remember them which have the rule over you, who have 329 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:49,080 spoken unto you the word of. God. 330 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:54,360 Whose? Faith follow considering the 331 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,040 end. Let's talk about the exit, the 332 00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:02,040 end of their life considering the end of their conversation or 333 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:04,920 their manner of life or their behavior or their conduct. 334 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,520 You need to look at that person that may have been rule over 335 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:12,880 you, that spoke the word of God to you and you need to mirror 336 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:17,520 your faith after their faith considering how they exited this 337 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,760 world. Listen to the voice whenever 338 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:24,360 they can say all of my life he's been faithful. 339 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:28,120 You need to listen to that voice of experience that's been with 340 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,920 God and pattern your life after that. 341 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:37,960 Why are you saying that? Because I think sometimes we 342 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:43,200 have influences in our life that say otherwise. 343 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:46,920 But they've not been to the end of their journey yet. 344 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:52,240 Because no one can tell what a day will bring. 345 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:58,240 Scripture says if you don't watch it, you get caught up in 346 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:01,840 the mentality of David that he says, oh, that the wicked always 347 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:03,160 flourish. And they're doing this. 348 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,160 And Job even gotten that same fix too. 349 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:06,680 Oh, they're flourishing. They're doing that. 350 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:09,800 Listen folks, it's not the end till it's the end. 351 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,200 So listen to the age. Remember those who have led you, 352 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,160 remember those who have preached to you, remember those who have 353 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:20,160 taught you and the word that they have taught you. 354 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:25,160 Follow their faith because the understanding of the Almighty 355 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:28,120 has given them some understanding that through 356 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:30,280 everything that they've been through, everything they've 357 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,720 experienced, their faults, their failures, everything, right? 358 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:36,400 Listen, everybody's life has a story. 359 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,160 It's not peachy. I don't care if it looks like 360 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:41,920 from outside their life is just the best life ever. 361 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:44,440 Listen, you don't know their narrative. 362 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,760 The narrative saying this old man stricken with ears. 363 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,120 The Lord has blessed him and all all things. 364 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,880 So Abraham sins just had to hit that. 365 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:03,080 There's for a moment Abraham sins his eldest servant to find 366 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:06,480 a bride for Isaac. The servant is not named. 367 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:09,760 Most people assume that it's Eleazar of Damascus that's 368 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,800 mentioned in Genesis 15. It's this Eleazar that one of 369 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:18,440 the Lord told Abraham that I am your shield and exceeding great 370 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:22,160 reward that Abraham asked the question in Genesis 15 and 2. 371 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,440 Abraham said unto the Lord God, what will thou give me, seeing I 372 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:29,880 go childless at this time? No child, he says anything that 373 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:33,520 you give to me, any blessing, any reward you put upon me, even 374 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,200 if you were to give it when I die, I don't have anybody to 375 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:41,480 inherit it except the steward of my house, Eleazar of Damascus. 376 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:46,320 And so it may very well been this very elderly steward of his 377 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:50,480 house that is doing the bride search, Amen, for Isaac. 378 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:55,240 But nevertheless, with this servant, another highlight here 379 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,400 with this servant, I want to understand that this servant is 380 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:03,680 one of the unsung heroes of the Bible because it is his duty and 381 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:07,240 his responsibility in this chapter to find a bride for 382 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:11,360 Isaac, which is very crucial to the growth of the nation of 383 00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:14,280 Israel and him doing his job correctly. 384 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,040 Not only is it for the growth of Israel, it's for the lineage of 385 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:20,840 the Lord Jesus Christ. We'll, we'll, I mean, we want to 386 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,960 read about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Joseph, all these, but 387 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:28,360 this guy, if not on level ground, equally just important 388 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:33,080 as they because had he not found or according to the certain 389 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,040 prescription that was given him by Abraham followed, we would 390 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:40,520 have had a defunct, if you will, bride for Isaac. 391 00:24:41,120 --> 00:24:43,360 But he follows it to the letter of the law. 392 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:49,880 He's never named. He's never named, but his 393 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:54,600 influence has impacted all Christians of every generation. 394 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:02,920 Never named, but his value, it's priceless to us, as we see in 395 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:05,800 this chapter. And so he's the unnamed Stewart 396 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,800 and he plays a very crucial role in the setting the scripture. 397 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:12,000 Now Abraham. Asks. 398 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,560 Something of this servant that seems a little unusual to us. 399 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,960 I mean, we make deals and shake hands and wink and you know, 400 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,240 word is a bond. Things were different and 401 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:22,800 customary. And this time he asked the 402 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:26,800 servant that that he would place his hand under his thigh. 403 00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,440 This was actually somewhat typical for what was known as 404 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,680 deathbed oaths. Oaths or swearing that would 405 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,040 happen with people that thought death was pending or on the way. 406 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:39,880 You see, this also happened with Jacob. 407 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:45,240 Later in the Scripture and Jacob 20 or 40s in the 40s it is Jacob 408 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:48,280 47, I believe, Amen. It has his son Joseph come and 409 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:50,400 he said I want you to put your hand in my thigh and. 410 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,560 Promise me that you will not bury me in Egypt, you'll bury me 411 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:56,600 in Canaan. And so a lot of deathbed oaths 412 00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:00,880 happen this way. And so not only that, this him 413 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:05,640 put and having him put his hand under his thigh also underscores 414 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:08,360 the fact that Abraham is old and well stricken in years. 415 00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:11,160 If he thinks that he needs to make some type of oath. 416 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:12,920 Amen. With this servant. 417 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:14,360 Amen. But. 418 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:18,440 Furthermore, he's setting things in order, as I've already said, 419 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:22,360 and he's protecting it by this oath that he's having made. 420 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:24,960 Now, here's where it's going to get even more strange. 421 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:29,480 I don't know if you're ready for this, but our English Bibles 422 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,640 really clean up the language of what actually happened here. 423 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:39,080 Our English Bible says that he placed his hand under his thigh, 424 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:43,760 but the actual rendering of the Hebrew is that he placed his 425 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:53,720 hand on his circumcision. But listen, I know it's unusual 426 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:55,480 to us because it's not our culture. 427 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:58,680 There's nothing sexual about this. 428 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:06,480 This is just a dead, deathbed oath binding situation that he 429 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:11,480 says in order to make these words sure, I want your hand to 430 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:19,760 be on the mark of the covenant. And I know we swear today, 431 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:21,160 people. Put their hands on the Bible. 432 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,400 Because let's put it in these terms, we put our hands on the 433 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,360 Bible, which consists of 2 Testaments, Old and New, or two 434 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:33,440 covenants. Back then, they put their hand 435 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:37,240 on the mark of the covenant. There was no Bible. 436 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:45,840 Why? Because as you go out and 437 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:51,720 operate in my stead for finding a wife for Isaac, every choice 438 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:55,200 decision that you make, I want you to keep the covenant in 439 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:58,480 mind. Let's just get real for a 440 00:27:58,480 --> 00:27:59,400 moment. Just real. 441 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:03,360 Real. I don't care if it is a oath 442 00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:07,040 binding custom. It is going to be peculiar for a 443 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:10,840 man to put his hand on another man's mark of his covenant. 444 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:16,600 Not in a lewd way, but you're not going to soon forget that. 445 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:25,320 Because as you go, you're not going to be. 446 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:31,760 Well, let's just hurry up. No, you're remembering where 447 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:34,880 your hand was. It was on the covenant. 448 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:44,440 The decisions, the choices being streamlined by the memory and 449 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,240 the recollection of the covenant. 450 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:51,680 That makes sense with Abraham in this setting because they're 451 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,880 trying to find a wife for descendants to be propagated 452 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:58,040 with Isaac. It makes sense in Jacob's 453 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:01,520 setting with Joseph because he's wanting to be buried in the 454 00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:05,240 land. Both those items, people and 455 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:08,120 land, all pertain to the covenant. 456 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:20,760 Listen, it would do us well that as we make our choices, we do so 457 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:24,840 with the mindfulness of the covenant. 458 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:37,720 That's good because sometimes we're reckless with no regard. 459 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:41,800 But I guarantee if you had to do what that servant did. 460 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:48,040 You not go forget. Amen. 461 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,840 I know, I know you got pastor. You're awkward to know. 462 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:58,560 I'm just telling you the scripture here. 463 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:04,960 Ibrahim was adamant to the servant not to take his son back 464 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,280 on more than one occasion. He's mentioning that here in 465 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:10,240 just a few short verses that I read. 466 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:14,200 He didn't want his son to go on the trip, I believe for a few 467 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:15,760 reasons. Number 1, he didn't want his son 468 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:20,280 exposed to the land that he came from because no, I did come from 469 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:25,920 it out from it, all right. But also, again, I said last 470 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:29,840 week, you know, don't take my son back to where I started my 471 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,240 journey. And then let's let's process 472 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,600 that for a moment. Don't take my son back to where 473 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:40,160 I started my journey. Bring his bride here where I'm 474 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:44,800 ending my journey. I think this would be the heart 475 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:48,600 I would hope it would be the heart of any parent setting 476 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:53,240 among us, of any parent setting among us tonight. 477 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,800 I think this would be the heart, not to have your children start 478 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:03,800 where you started, and I'm talking about in your life for 479 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:08,480 Christ, not to have them start where you had to start, but that 480 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:10,800 they could build upon where you left off. 481 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:13,560 Why? Because you're giving them a 482 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:20,920 heritage maybe you didn't have. Again, that generational, but 483 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:23,000 woe. Is us as parents Brother Fred, 484 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,160 if we live our lives as Christians? 485 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:32,960 That we make our next generations default steal the 486 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:41,480 start that we started from. Go and make you walk the same 487 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:46,880 path, have to learn some of the same lessons, Go through some of 488 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:50,720 the same school of Hard Knocks. I'm not going to teach you 489 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:54,040 anything, not going to learn anything from my experience, not 490 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:56,400 going to learn anything from my faults, not going to learn 491 00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:58,360 anything from my failures. No, you're going to have to 492 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,240 start and just walk the same tap all over and you're just going 493 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:03,200 to be further behind the curve because. 494 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:14,720 Furthermore, Abraham does it on a very practical means. 495 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:16,800 Abraham doesn't want him going there for sure. 496 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:18,920 Probably it's the only son. I don't. 497 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:23,240 It's a long journey back. It's about a month's journey 498 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,200 from Canaan back. Not going to. 499 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:29,280 I don't want any chance happening to Isaac. 500 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:31,960 No, no, I don't want him to be injured. 501 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:33,880 I don't want to be wounded. Amen. 502 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:35,320 He's the key to more descendants. 503 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:37,680 No, no, no, no, I don't want him. 504 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:41,360 He let the he let the he let the, the the servant know. 505 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,600 He says I don't want him to marry any of the Canaanites 506 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:46,960 among whom they dwelled. I don't want that to happen. 507 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:49,360 So they're pagans. They're idol worshippers. 508 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:52,000 I don't want that to happen. That would be the easy route 509 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:54,800 because it's convenient. They're there. 510 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:56,680 So but I don't want that to happen. 511 00:32:57,120 --> 00:32:57,680 Amen. Be a. 512 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,000 Easy route but it wouldn't be the right route for that matter 513 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:02,880 if we Fast forward. Think with me this. 514 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,600 When the Israelites do inherit the promised land, and you read 515 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:09,960 some of the last chapters of the Book of Joshua and some of the 516 00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:13,360 first chapters of the Book of Judges, the Lord says to them 517 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:18,040 that they're going to drive out the inhabitants, the Canaanites 518 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:22,600 of the land. Why would Abraham want to set 519 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:28,120 his son up to be married to something that he should be 520 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:36,120 driving out? Someone say man, someone say 521 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:38,920 man. That's not what he's setting up 522 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,160 for him. He doesn't want him in this 523 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,760 place. He didn't want him him in that 524 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,480 in that position. So he's not going to sanction 525 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:50,240 that, because how difficult would have it been to be married 526 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:52,360 to something you were supposed to be driving out pale? 527 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:03,000 Glory not long ago and I taught it. 528 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,240 I'm not going back to teach it. We're not doing that in this 529 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:07,120 session of criteria to find a mate. 530 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:09,840 I just did that not long ago. Second time I ever did it here 531 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:12,440 at the church three-part series. I'm just saying that for your 532 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:16,320 reference on podcast YouTube, the criteria for finding a mate. 533 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:18,520 So it's a reference there for you and there may even be 534 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:21,000 something to argue. Well, Abraham, if we send it 535 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,639 back to his family, his family served to other gods, and they 536 00:34:23,639 --> 00:34:26,080 had. They had. 537 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:29,159 If you go back to my series, you'll see though, how Abraham's 538 00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:33,320 family had initial separation from her to Haran, the city of 539 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:35,080 New Horn. They've been there for about 65 540 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:38,600 years, separated from the roots. But besides that, let's get a 541 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:40,440 little more specific. All right? 542 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:43,719 This is not in criteria finding mate. 543 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:47,400 A little more specific, Abraham specified to the servant. 544 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:52,360 This lady, she must be willing to follow you to this land. 545 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,440 This lady must be willing to follow you, follow you to this 546 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:01,440 land. You know what that strikes in 547 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:03,360 the minds? Not just of Abraham or anybody 548 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:08,080 that knows Abraham. His whole scenario of when he 549 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:13,520 first began at UR of Chaldees and God called him from his 550 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:19,280 people, his kindred in his country and he left for the 551 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:21,680 purpose of going to the land of Canaan. 552 00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:24,560 What are you setting up? Abraham was saying this girl 553 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:29,520 must come to this land or don't take him back to that land. 554 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:34,520 He's saying she must leave her country, she must leave her 555 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:38,600 kindred, she must leave her father's house and follow my 556 00:35:38,600 --> 00:35:42,760 servant that I put to this land, the promised land. 557 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:46,120 And if she's not willing to leave, then she's not 558 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,520 marriageable material for my son Isaac. 559 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:56,360 Because to leave, remember Old Old Testament mentality for 560 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:58,800 concerning gods. There were gods over places and 561 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:01,520 localities, right? There's God over rivers and 562 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:03,680 stones and things over places and localities. 563 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:07,280 So to leave the country was to leave the gods of the country, 564 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:09,880 all right? And so we had all these Pagan 565 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:13,040 gods that were associated with specific places and locations 566 00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:16,440 the people know, or yes, even at one time the Bible says they 567 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,600 were worshippers of the moon God. 568 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:23,760 But Rebecca's willingness to leave wasn't just even leaving 569 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:25,680 dirt. She was leaving the gods that 570 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:28,280 supposedly had any dominance of the dirt. 571 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:32,000 She was willing to leave her gods. 572 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:36,360 It was a sign of her heart. Not only this. 573 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:40,840 And folks keep digging, right? It's not just that she left, but 574 00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:47,680 she was willing to separate some 400 miles referred. 575 00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:49,760 This is not a leaving and camping out next door. 576 00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:55,800 This is leaving and separating. Oh, that sounds familiar to what 577 00:36:55,800 --> 00:37:00,160 should happen concerning a bride and the groom that Christ set up 578 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:05,440 in the very beginning of Genesis Speaking of Eve and even spoke 579 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:09,040 of New Testament. Yes, shall leave father and 580 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:12,280 mother and there'll be a cleaving. 581 00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:17,280 It's going to be a cleaving a leave and cleave episode. 582 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:19,160 Amen. That takes place. 583 00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:21,960 We got to go on, don't we? We're not getting 67 verses. 584 00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:23,680 I already told you that so no one get nervous. 585 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:28,240 So Abraham is absolutely Adam. He he's not going to take, he 586 00:37:28,240 --> 00:37:33,520 don't want Isaac taken away from the land of promise, but he's 587 00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:38,440 also adamant that his wife should willingly follow the 588 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:43,000 servant to the land. And in that, and this is awesome 589 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:50,160 to me, in that Abraham recalls his account of leaving the Bible 590 00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:53,800 says in verse seven of our text, he says this is Abraham 591 00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:54,800 speaking. The. 592 00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:58,920 Lord God of Heaven, which notice the verbage here, The Lord God 593 00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:03,800 of Heaven, which took me from my Father's house, from the land of 594 00:38:03,800 --> 00:38:06,800 my kindred. If you go back to Genesis 12 595 00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:11,360 where the leaving took place, Genesis 12 and verse 4 says 596 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:16,680 this. So Abram departed as the Lord 597 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:20,520 had spoken unto him. What I see in these two 598 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:25,640 perspectives? Of the Lord took me, and then 599 00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:27,520 when it happened, Abraham departed. 600 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:34,720 What I see is a wonderful partnership between God and 601 00:38:34,720 --> 00:38:38,480 Abraham. God told Abraham and Jesus. 12 602 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:42,200 and one, this is what he said, Get thee out of thy country. 603 00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:47,000 Abraham departed. But as he. 604 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:50,200 Reflects on it. He says God took me. 605 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:56,920 It's a beautiful partnership between a person in God that as 606 00:38:56,920 --> 00:39:03,200 God commands and we act in faith, then God empowers our 607 00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:06,480 ability beyond our minds imagination. 608 00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:10,760 Hey man, God said get Abraham departed as he looks out. 609 00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:14,560 He said God took what that whenever you obey God works in 610 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:17,200 tandem with you. You're not going alone, you're 611 00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:20,320 not going by yourself, you're not operating underneath your 612 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:25,720 own power, but in when you obey God says, I'll back you up. 613 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:30,080 And So what looked like Abraham departing, Abraham said God was 614 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:32,400 taking me as I put forth the effort. 615 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:37,080 He, ladies and gentlemen, that's the same than anything. 616 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:40,280 You got sin in your life, depart and you'll look back on and say 617 00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:42,400 God was fooling as I was leaving. 618 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:44,640 He, he is in this thing with you. 619 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:53,680 There is a divine partnership. Huh. 620 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:59,680 It's a divine partnership. But. 621 00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:03,480 That goes unrealized if there's never the first obedience. 622 00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:09,440 Amen. So there's a partnership with 623 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:13,000 God. So he tells, he tells the 624 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:18,120 servant, he tells him, he said if the woman does not follow, 625 00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:24,360 here's the clause, then the purpose that I sent you for, 626 00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:28,160 you're free of it. You don't have to worry about it 627 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:30,800 years ago. Just again for reference, not 628 00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:33,760 going to re preach it right here years ago I preached the sermon 629 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:38,560 will you go with this man? It's all about this servant of 630 00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:42,040 Abrahams because whenever it gets to the very end, the final 631 00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:47,880 question is posed to Rebecca, will you go with this man and 632 00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:51,760 based upon her answer, determine whether or not she was the bride 633 00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:56,720 of Isaac. I posture in that sermon this 634 00:40:56,720 --> 00:41:01,400 how that servant of Abraham in many ways identifies the man of 635 00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:07,840 God in your life that is on a journey and the lookout for the 636 00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:15,440 bride of Christ. But you got a question answer. 637 00:41:15,680 --> 00:41:21,480 Will you go with that man? Oh, Lord, the preaching he 638 00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:25,040 preaches, the teaching he teaches, the guidance he gives. 639 00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:28,000 And I'm not trying to feather my hat tonight. 640 00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:29,720 Will you go with that man? Why? 641 00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:34,440 Because following his guidance, he's been ordained of a higher 642 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:37,560 power to try to get you to the groom. 643 00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:46,960 So let's go back then to Sunday. That's the reason why it's 644 00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:52,720 dangerous not to have a magistrate or a deliverer in 645 00:41:52,720 --> 00:42:00,360 your life. Amen. 646 00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:03,400 Oh, let's go. So Abraham, if it doesn't 647 00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:06,520 follow, he's like, so be it, then so be it. 648 00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:10,640 Don't take Isaac back here. Interestingly enough. 649 00:42:10,720 --> 00:42:13,280 And we, you know, we hear a lot about Abraham. 650 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:18,760 We hear a lot about Jacob. And they have a lot of noise in 651 00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:24,600 their stories. But Isaac's very small, not much 652 00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:26,440 said. You know what's interesting? 653 00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:29,040 And this is true. Dennis Prager said this, and I 654 00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:30,560 just kind of highlighted where I read it. 655 00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:33,880 He said Isaac is the only one of the three patriarchs who never 656 00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:42,810 left the promised land. There's some things he didn't 657 00:42:42,810 --> 00:42:47,730 have to experience, he didn't have to go through stories, 658 00:42:47,730 --> 00:42:51,010 didn't have to be written because he just stayed in the 659 00:42:51,010 --> 00:42:59,690 promise. So the servants, servants going 660 00:42:59,690 --> 00:43:01,120 to keep his oath. I'm running. 661 00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:02,840 I'm doing all right. We're we're doing great. 662 00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:05,920 I don't know when I've been doing so good. 663 00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:12,240 Talk to me in 10 minutes. The servant keeps his oath to 664 00:43:12,240 --> 00:43:14,560 Abraham. He's went to Mesopotamia. 665 00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:19,320 He's went to the city of Nahor. He took 10 camels with him. 666 00:43:19,680 --> 00:43:21,880 This is just very practical information right now. 667 00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:26,080 He took 10 camels with him because the Bible tells us it's 668 00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:28,120 not just the servant going by himself. 669 00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:31,000 Verse 32 tells us where they finally get to the House of 670 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:34,200 Laban, that there was water provided for the servants feet 671 00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:36,800 and the men who were that were with him. 672 00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:38,840 So he didn't just travel that by himself. 673 00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:41,400 Traveling 400 miles by yourself probably isn't the smartest 674 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:42,920 thing anyway. It's good to have some 675 00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:44,800 companions, people along on the journey. 676 00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:47,200 So he's got 10 camels. Not only that. 677 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:51,440 Whenever he returns, he's hoping not to be returning just with 678 00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:53,200 the camels and the servants that he left with. 679 00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:56,840 He's hoping that he's going to have a bride and a woman usually 680 00:43:56,880 --> 00:43:59,800 is going to go with her wet nurse, whoever nursed her as a 681 00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:02,360 kid and probably have some attendance too. 682 00:44:02,360 --> 00:44:05,360 So we're making provision that there's going to be ample, you 683 00:44:05,360 --> 00:44:08,040 know, to be able to carry and to be able to help with these that 684 00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:12,480 have went Amen so and so forth. And not only did they just need 685 00:44:12,480 --> 00:44:15,440 to enough camels for assisting getting people back, but the 686 00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:18,760 Bible says that that the servant of Abraham went with all. 687 00:44:18,880 --> 00:44:22,800 The good of their master. I have a symbol of status. 688 00:44:23,440 --> 00:44:25,800 My master is no, he's no put off. 689 00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:31,920 You got deep pockets, all right. He's got he's got menservants 690 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:33,880 and maidservants and gold and silver. 691 00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:37,320 And this is just illustrative of everything that he has. 692 00:44:37,520 --> 00:44:40,600 But even beyond that, all of the goods just wasn't even a status 693 00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:45,200 symbol because he's going to give some things to Rebecca and 694 00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:48,040 he's going to give some things to Laban and to his mother. 695 00:44:48,840 --> 00:44:51,280 Now, listen to me real clearly. Some people call this a bride 696 00:44:51,280 --> 00:44:54,920 price, right? How much you want for it now? 697 00:44:55,480 --> 00:44:58,000 It's like mail order bride. Pay out the money. 698 00:44:59,080 --> 00:45:02,840 No, here's what you got to think about in that day. 699 00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:07,680 You had children and you lived in an agricultural or agarian 700 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:14,520 time frame. Those kids were labor hens for 701 00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:19,760 you to do, to do planting and seeding and and and harvesting. 702 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:24,920 They were labor hands for you. So if a man had one of his 703 00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:30,440 daughters married off, he lost a valuable laborer. 704 00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:35,600 It's not even just in the sense that it's bride price so much as 705 00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:41,200 compensation to the family for losing someone they didn't have 706 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:45,040 to pay for. But now the vacancy would create 707 00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:49,760 either spreading the workload among the rest that were there 708 00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:54,040 or finding someone by value to take hers place. 709 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:56,960 And so he goes with that type of money. 710 00:45:57,360 --> 00:45:59,200 Amen. And these type of resources in 711 00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:02,840 order to do this. No, no versus 1011. 712 00:46:02,840 --> 00:46:05,320 Look at versus 1011. I'm getting there folks. 713 00:46:05,320 --> 00:46:06,840 Y'all doing all right, Y'all right. 714 00:46:07,560 --> 00:46:11,480 There's 37 verses in this. I'm telling you now, he took 10 715 00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:13,360 camels. He it talks about him going to 716 00:46:13,360 --> 00:46:16,600 Mesopotamia and then verse 11, he made his camels to kneel down 717 00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:19,360 without the city. So it don't even tell us 718 00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:22,840 anything about the journey. There's 400 miles of trip that's 719 00:46:22,840 --> 00:46:25,120 taking place. We don't even have any record of 720 00:46:26,080 --> 00:46:28,160 I guarantee you there's some cold nights and there's some 721 00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:31,160 rain and there's some storms. We're took nothing that I'm sure 722 00:46:31,160 --> 00:46:34,120 it was arduous. And so the servant was at the 723 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:37,000 well. The Bible says at the time when 724 00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:43,920 women usually drew water. Customarily women drew water in 725 00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:48,280 this day either early morning or late in the evening. 726 00:46:49,160 --> 00:46:52,840 Why? Because they didn't want to be 727 00:46:52,840 --> 00:46:57,560 caught in the heat of the day, wanted to be whenever it was 728 00:46:58,040 --> 00:47:02,160 cooler. And in these patriarchal 729 00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:06,760 societies that are men driven, they had deeds that they sing 730 00:47:06,760 --> 00:47:10,000 was manly deeds and womanly deeds. 731 00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:13,560 The woman took care of the house and pitching the tent and 732 00:47:13,560 --> 00:47:16,600 drawing water and making the food and grinding the grain. 733 00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:21,560 The men, they would take care of the folds and things of that 734 00:47:21,560 --> 00:47:23,680 nature. And so when it came to drawing 735 00:47:23,680 --> 00:47:28,600 water, it was the woman's responsibility in this society. 736 00:47:28,600 --> 00:47:33,600 Often it was the young married women because they're young, or 737 00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:37,440 the unmarried women responsibility to go draw water 738 00:47:37,440 --> 00:47:38,960 from the well. And so that's. 739 00:47:38,960 --> 00:47:42,200 The reason why as you read from Scripture, especially in 740 00:47:42,200 --> 00:47:46,160 Genesis, there's a lot of men. I'm helping some man right now 741 00:47:46,600 --> 00:47:49,320 that found their bride to be at a well. 742 00:47:51,040 --> 00:47:52,280 Guys, that's where you need me at. 743 00:47:55,080 --> 00:47:58,920 They're like Remedy with a water faucet at work today, or the 744 00:47:58,920 --> 00:48:01,760 water fountain, the old cooler at the workplace. 745 00:48:05,720 --> 00:48:06,760 We got a water found right back now. 746 00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:09,080 I just said. That's for even though a lot of 747 00:48:09,080 --> 00:48:13,440 a lot of men found their brides at the well, Abraham's servant 748 00:48:13,440 --> 00:48:20,080 found Rebecca at the well. Jacob met Rachel at the well. 749 00:48:20,640 --> 00:48:28,600 Moses met Zipporah at the well. The fascinating thing about the 750 00:48:28,600 --> 00:48:32,160 Bible, right, is that you can't pull a thread of it here without 751 00:48:32,160 --> 00:48:36,760 it bunching up somewhere else, 'cause when we talk about women, 752 00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:39,920 we talk about wells. What's a New Testament story 753 00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:41,600 that you know about women in wells? 754 00:48:44,480 --> 00:48:47,360 All these Old Testament occurrences are set in the stage 755 00:48:47,360 --> 00:48:53,640 for a New Testament scenario. I mean, wells were natural 756 00:48:53,640 --> 00:48:55,280 meeting places. It's where the. 757 00:48:55,720 --> 00:48:56,840 The. Women got together, they could 758 00:48:56,840 --> 00:49:02,640 talk, they could network whenever they went to the well. 759 00:49:04,080 --> 00:49:06,480 Our Bible tells us, though, in John 4, and I'm getting there, 760 00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:10,720 that here's a Samaritan woman. The Bible says she comes at the 761 00:49:10,720 --> 00:49:19,200 6th hour of the day, high noon. That's not early, that's not 762 00:49:19,200 --> 00:49:22,680 evening. That's not the normal time a 763 00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:28,040 woman would draw water, but says she has she has a past. 764 00:49:33,160 --> 00:49:37,680 She has five husbands, the one that she is with now, not her 765 00:49:37,680 --> 00:49:41,080 husband. She's not interested in small 766 00:49:41,080 --> 00:49:44,280 talk. She's not interested in network. 767 00:49:44,920 --> 00:49:47,320 For instance, if she went for small talk, she might be the 768 00:49:47,320 --> 00:49:52,120 small talk. Just stay with me here for a 769 00:49:52,120 --> 00:49:53,600 little bit. I know I'm taking my mind time, 770 00:49:54,240 --> 00:50:01,240 but she met a man at the well, you understand all of this is 771 00:50:01,240 --> 00:50:05,400 predicated on the Old Testament, which even a Samaritan would 772 00:50:05,400 --> 00:50:07,720 know. Samaritans did away with most of 773 00:50:07,720 --> 00:50:10,720 the Hebrew Bible, but not the first five books of Genesis, 774 00:50:10,720 --> 00:50:12,720 Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 775 00:50:13,040 --> 00:50:15,560 They were taught to the Samaritans just as much to the 776 00:50:15,560 --> 00:50:17,360 Jew. You know what that means? 777 00:50:17,600 --> 00:50:21,200 All the well occurrences they would know. 778 00:50:21,680 --> 00:50:25,760 That's the reason why this holds so much power whenever Jesus 779 00:50:25,760 --> 00:50:34,320 looks at her and says give me to drink, because that's what 780 00:50:34,320 --> 00:50:43,400 Abraham's servant asked Rebecca. With all the history of that, 781 00:50:43,880 --> 00:50:46,880 there's only one thing going through that lady's mind when 782 00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:52,400 she hears those words. Somebody's looking for a bride. 783 00:50:57,360 --> 00:51:03,880 Somebody's looking for a bride. But unlike Rebecca, she don't 784 00:51:03,880 --> 00:51:08,200 hurry off to get him a drink because she doesn't feel worthy 785 00:51:08,440 --> 00:51:13,200 to be the bride. I've been a bride. 786 00:51:14,240 --> 00:51:19,120 Five times removed. I've. 787 00:51:19,160 --> 00:51:21,280 Been there, I've experienced that. 788 00:51:21,480 --> 00:51:25,280 I know this, I I know this story, I know what's going out. 789 00:51:25,480 --> 00:51:28,960 And that's the reason why when you see in all the unflipping 790 00:51:28,960 --> 00:51:33,120 here scripture that Jesus flips the script on the story, because 791 00:51:33,120 --> 00:51:38,520 now he lets her know that I have living water, I have something 792 00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:42,200 that you need. And so the New Testament story 793 00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:47,800 mirrors the old Christ, like Abraham's servant was inviting 794 00:51:47,800 --> 00:51:51,760 what he was. Is inviting a woman into the 795 00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:56,280 covenant promise? Is essentially that's what 796 00:51:56,280 --> 00:51:59,120 happened for Rebecca. That's what happened for Rachel. 797 00:51:59,320 --> 00:52:01,320 That's what even is happening for Zipporah. 798 00:52:01,720 --> 00:52:06,280 They're being invited into the covenant and Christ is telling 799 00:52:06,280 --> 00:52:09,760 her, I don't care what relationships you have had and I 800 00:52:09,760 --> 00:52:11,760 don't care what your pastime is being. 801 00:52:12,040 --> 00:52:14,240 I don't even care the label. That's on you. 802 00:52:14,520 --> 00:52:17,600 There's an invitation. Come be a part of the covenant. 803 00:52:19,520 --> 00:52:22,920 That's good. Just with the simple words of 804 00:52:22,920 --> 00:52:26,600 give me drink that flowed all the way back through that 805 00:52:26,600 --> 00:52:33,320 Samaritan woman. Folks, that's the reason why in 806 00:52:33,320 --> 00:52:36,520 the closure of the Book of Revelation, Huh. 807 00:52:37,120 --> 00:52:40,640 Go there if you go to like chapter #22 What are some of 808 00:52:40,640 --> 00:52:43,280 those last words in the Book of Revelation? 809 00:52:43,440 --> 00:52:45,440 Let me get out my glasses so I can read it. 810 00:52:45,440 --> 00:52:50,560 Glory to God. Verse 17 And the Spirit and the 811 00:52:50,560 --> 00:52:56,360 Bride say, Come, and let him that hearer say, come, and let 812 00:52:56,360 --> 00:53:00,640 him that is a thirst come. And who's ever will let him take 813 00:53:00,640 --> 00:53:06,840 the water of life. It's an invitation into the 814 00:53:06,840 --> 00:53:10,600 covenant if you understand for me tonight. 815 00:53:11,760 --> 00:53:14,720 So Abraham in these actions and we're not done with them of 816 00:53:14,720 --> 00:53:20,280 course or his servants actions at least that is been employed 817 00:53:20,280 --> 00:53:22,680 for this purpose. Abraham's very faithful. 818 00:53:22,680 --> 00:53:24,240 He's trying to facilitate a promise. 819 00:53:24,240 --> 00:53:25,720 He's very deliberate. He's there. 820 00:53:25,720 --> 00:53:28,720 There's a partnership between him and God. 821 00:53:29,560 --> 00:53:32,360 He has a unnamed servant, the Rebecca's in the picture. 822 00:53:32,360 --> 00:53:35,160 All these things, all these people, the unnamed servant 823 00:53:35,160 --> 00:53:39,600 Abraham, Rebecca, each one really are in a partnership with 824 00:53:39,600 --> 00:53:41,440 God. So if I'd. 825 00:53:41,440 --> 00:53:42,720 Leave you just with a few things. 826 00:53:42,720 --> 00:53:44,680 Just from what I've taught tonight, it would be this. 827 00:53:44,680 --> 00:53:50,720 Listen to me very clearly concerning the servant, unnamed, 828 00:53:51,200 --> 00:53:54,920 but very important. I would tell you this, if God 829 00:53:54,920 --> 00:54:00,360 has an assignment for you, even if it seems small to you or 830 00:54:00,360 --> 00:54:04,880 behind the scenes, you need to trust that it's important. 831 00:54:04,880 --> 00:54:11,160 God will empower your obedience #2 This evening we need to seek 832 00:54:11,160 --> 00:54:16,760 the counsel from the elders. We OFT times confide in our 833 00:54:16,760 --> 00:54:20,400 friends. I don't know if that's the 834 00:54:20,400 --> 00:54:27,280 perfect place. You need to talk to somebody 835 00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:29,040 that's a little further down the road than you are. 836 00:54:32,560 --> 00:54:37,360 And listen, sometimes you ain't go like what they say, but let 837 00:54:37,360 --> 00:54:40,880 me ask any individual that's here, your parents ever told you 838 00:54:40,880 --> 00:54:42,960 something when you was young that as you've grown a little 839 00:54:42,960 --> 00:54:45,080 older, you're like, now mom and dad was right. 840 00:54:50,710 --> 00:54:53,710 So we, we, we, we need to befriend, we need to befriend 841 00:54:53,710 --> 00:54:56,190 some elders, all right, where these things have been 842 00:54:56,190 --> 00:55:01,510 demonstrated out in their lives #2 we need to be intentional 843 00:55:01,510 --> 00:55:04,870 like Abraham that we're, we're, we're creating legacy. 844 00:55:07,110 --> 00:55:09,190 That's going to outlast our generation. 845 00:55:11,240 --> 00:55:13,480 We don't need to be like a Hezekiah where they told him, 846 00:55:13,480 --> 00:55:14,960 hey, there's going to come a day in the future. 847 00:55:14,960 --> 00:55:16,600 They're going to come and they're going to take all these 848 00:55:16,600 --> 00:55:17,960 things for the things that you showed them. 849 00:55:17,960 --> 00:55:19,000 The they're going to take all that. 850 00:55:19,120 --> 00:55:21,560 He said everything is well in my generation. 851 00:55:21,560 --> 00:55:22,560 You say it's going to be in the future. 852 00:55:22,560 --> 00:55:24,600 Yeah, He says, well, as long as it's good in my generation, it's 853 00:55:24,600 --> 00:55:26,360 well. That's not the type of attitude 854 00:55:26,360 --> 00:55:30,640 we need to have. It's not about it just being 855 00:55:30,640 --> 00:55:32,560 good for you. Is it going to be good for your 856 00:55:32,560 --> 00:55:39,200 offspring? And then lastly, this whole 857 00:55:39,200 --> 00:55:42,600 story, this is really not something that's just 858 00:55:42,760 --> 00:55:45,520 flamboyant. In the miraculous, God uses 859 00:55:45,520 --> 00:55:49,160 ordinary things to bring about his purpose and will. 860 00:55:50,640 --> 00:55:54,480 Some people are just looking for, you know, this orchestrated 861 00:55:54,480 --> 00:56:04,960 sign and they miss what God is doing in the ordinary and just 862 00:56:04,960 --> 00:56:08,480 the normal living of life. They're looking for some 863 00:56:08,720 --> 00:56:12,520 glittering, you know, whatever lizard that glows in the dark 864 00:56:13,320 --> 00:56:16,480 that takes a path to the word of God and flips it open with its 865 00:56:16,480 --> 00:56:20,880 tail to a certain. But we're laughing. 866 00:56:20,880 --> 00:56:23,880 And I know my wife's the biggest one here because she just thinks 867 00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:26,960 I'm a funny guy and everything but. 868 00:56:28,120 --> 00:56:32,880 We are ridiculous. Sometimes we're waiting on the 869 00:56:32,880 --> 00:56:37,080 word when we've already been given a word, waiting on a 870 00:56:37,080 --> 00:56:39,040 prophet. Come through and read our mail. 871 00:56:43,880 --> 00:56:45,800 This will read your mouth. You'll read. 872 00:56:52,160 --> 00:56:58,440 It order the summers. Order my steps in your word. 873 00:57:01,360 --> 00:57:03,720 But it's hard to get them ordered in something you're not 874 00:57:03,720 --> 00:57:11,240 familiar with. OK, facilitating the promise. 875 00:57:12,400 --> 00:57:14,680 Far cry from 67 verses, but we got 11. 876 00:57:15,960 --> 00:57:18,200 Let's pray tonight. God's Spirit's still here. 877 00:57:19,040 --> 00:57:23,360 I feel an undercurrent, an undercurrent of his presence 878 00:57:23,360 --> 00:57:26,640 right now. Father, I need you tonight. 879 00:57:28,200 --> 00:57:29,640 God. I don't want these just to be 880 00:57:29,640 --> 00:57:34,160 words lifted off a page that we've endured 45 minutes of the 881 00:57:34,160 --> 00:57:38,560 preacher talking. But God let there be Lord 882 00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:42,160 application. God, let there be Lord, the 883 00:57:42,160 --> 00:57:45,080 mulling Lord of these things over in our mind. 884 00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:48,120 God up mostly. Lord, let there be spirits of 885 00:57:48,120 --> 00:57:51,240 conviction. God, I'm asking for spirits of 886 00:57:51,240 --> 00:57:53,960 conviction. God to. 887 00:57:53,960 --> 00:57:57,200 Lord rap Lord. Themselves about us this week 888 00:57:58,200 --> 00:58:03,400 cause us to consider and weigh the words of Scripture. 889 00:58:03,800 --> 00:58:08,040 I pray, O Lord God, in view of our own lives and legacies. 890 00:58:08,040 --> 00:58:16,440 Father. God help us, Lord, to be 891 00:58:16,440 --> 00:58:21,560 facilitators and partners, Lord God, in the propagating, Lord 892 00:58:21,600 --> 00:58:25,640 Jesus of this promise that you've endowed, Lord, upon us 893 00:58:25,640 --> 00:58:29,920 mankind, Lord people of the name, God will not fail to thank 894 00:58:29,920 --> 00:58:33,280 you and praise you for it. The lovely name of Jesus Christ. 895 00:58:33,280 --> 00:58:39,200 We pray Hallelujah, Amen. And the church say Amen, Amen. 896 00:58:39,200 --> 00:58:41,920 Following the footsteps of that faith, the New Testament writer 897 00:58:41,920 --> 00:58:44,240 said, let's do it this week. Amen. 898 00:58:44,240 --> 00:58:47,320 By the power of the Lord. God bless you tonight, shake a 899 00:58:47,320 --> 00:58:47,480 hand.