Genesis 16:1-16, Stop Taking Matters Into Your Own Hands

and with that said let's do this Bible study turn your Bibles to Genesis chapter 16 tonight I had the ambitious goal to do 16 and 17 but it's not gonna happen tonight we're only doing the sixteenth chapter because there's so much good stuff to talk about not that the chapter 17 doesn't have anything good to talk about we just you know it happens sometimes this way you guys ready let's pray lord I know sour weather can change morale and even just her attitude and Lord we want to come to you with a glad heart knowing that you're a God who speaks to us through the word and through the reading of the word and Lord just even tonight us we're gonna talk about this this thing about taking matters into our own hands and even when I'm thinking first of what Paul said that that which you begun in the spirit you tried to complete in the flesh and Lord we don't want to do that we want to be a church that's driven lead and pour it into by the Spirit of God and we want to be sensitive to it and we want nothing more than to hear you Lord through the teaching of the word thank you for the example of chapter 16 I pray that you administer to your saints tonight especially those who feel heavy hearted that they can come to you right now and you'll meet them exactly where they're in Jesus name and all God's people said amen ten out of ten times when I take matters into my own hands apart from the will of God I fail every single time miserably and some of you know exactly what I'm talking about in that frustrated manner that you attempt to manipulate and you do you attempt to manipulate alter change things whether it's with your husband or your wife with your finances with your spending habit just even your honesty radar yes there is such a thing as that you use in the frustrated manner you try to manipulate an altar you the moments when you're angry that when people get you angry you just think to yourself you know what enough is enough no one's getting the job done I'm gonna get the job done I gotta do it you know what these people are called they're called vigilantes when they take things into their own hands and typically it doesn't end well but the next thing you know you do you take things into your own hands apart from God and then you fall flat on your face and then the next thing you know your circumstances which you thought were bad are even worse even worse than they were at the beginning and I wonder how many of you can relate with that like genuinely full-on understand exactly what I'm talking about whether it's this week today or just in general and do you know why 10 out of 10 times we decide to take things into our own hands without seeking God for wisdom plain and simply we do it because we're unwilling to wait on God we're unwilling to do the hard thing called falling to our knees praying and seeking him we're unwilling to wait but then hear what we what we need to do and what he has for us and in Genesis chapter 16 we've got numerous characters who come into the play we have Sarah and Abram and you have Sarah who's in her mid-70s and Abram who's in his mid-80s and they are waiting on that promise to be fulfilled of what God told Abram that out of his body would come in air that he would bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him but more importantly out of Abram a green nation is gonna come but it hasn't happened yet they're still waiting on God to do this not only that but in the 16th chapter they're not even gonna hear from God and again I ask the question how many of you can relate with that where you have those highs man you get those moments where it's like God is just pouring into me and then you fill these desert wasteland moments where it's like I feel like I'm not hearing anything and it does it frustrates us and maybe for some of you who haven't attempted to take things into your own hands but you are you're waiting here from God but nothing's happening john phillips a commentator and i thought it was worthy enough and important enough to show you guys on the screen put it this way look what it says on the screen john phillips said it's not unusual for god to be silent indeed he has been silent far more than he has spoken but look at this last part his silences are as eloquent as his saints and for some of you your method might be a complete sham like i don't even know how i can relate with what why you even read that text in and that quote but think about it because especially in the text it isn't uncommon for god to do this with us cuz he did it with Abram that God spoke to Abram this revelation that out of his body it's gonna come a great nation the Jewish nation as we know it today and that again God is gonna curse those who curse him and that God out of this single man is gonna come a great nation and it gives him this visual illustration and tells they've room to look in the sky at the night time and he says can you count the numbers of the stars in the sky and he relates that that even out of that you Abram is gonna come such a mass amount of people and all those things still remain true but in the sixteenth chapter God is remaining silent toward Abram he did the same thing for Noah remember he gave him the timeclock of hey I'm gonna flood the earth you need to build the ark and he gave him a hundred and twenty year countdown and then after the 100 year countdown then God finally speaks to him and then when he's on the ark remember he had been on the ark for almost a year until God finally spoke to him again but it's not an uncommon unbiblical thing for God to do this even for us and if you think about it God can't reveal anything everything he wants to us if you chooses to and we too like Abram we can receive this information the promises these declarations from God but it's God who will then wait on our part to see if our faith will blossom because that's really what it comes down to is God is gonna make promises declarations and it's on our part that we're gonna say I believe in those or I don't or I'm not willing to wait on them and this is where it gets unfortunate for Abram and say all right because they think I'm tired of waiting because at this point in chapter 16 it's been almost eleven years and the promise hasn't happened yet and they think you know what we're gonna take matters into our own hands and like I said before ten out of ten times we do this and ten out of ten times when we do it apart from the will of God we fall flat on our face so let's see what happens with Abram and Sarai verse 1 and 2 of Genesis 16 now Sarai Abrams wife had borne him no children and she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar so verse 2 so Sarai said to Abram see now the Lord has restrained me from bearing children please go into my maid perhaps I shall obtain a child by her and then Abram as you can imagine how or why you would do this he did the voice of Sarai like I said at this point they've been waiting on guard 11 years for this promise to come to fulfillment to fruition but Abram and Sarai they don't have a son yet they don't have this this great heir that's gonna come from Abraham's body and that doesn't mean it's not gonna happen it just hasn't happened yet and so let's put ourselves in Ser eyes and Abraham's shoes right now and because something had to happen to prompt this conversation that we're reading in the sixteenth chapter I don't know maybe they're at home making a lovely dinner of hummus and lamb and then Sarah I was like hey Abram under God spoke to you about like his son and Abraham's like of course I can remember it I can remember like it was yesterday and she's like yeah about that um What did he say exactly because it's kind of been 11 years I'm getting a little older and prunier I don't know how this is gonna work out and he's like well he told me that out of my body our air the air would come that this great nations can come for me and she's like from your body hmm interesting then that must mean that I'm not involved in this process because in Sarah's mine she's you know I'm unable to have kids she's like I can't do this we can't do it together at Lisa and bear children together and so Sarah is going to help God out what a weird saying to do or give God some advice on helping him out which is a funny thing I feel like we say that to one another and we know people aren't asking for our advice but we prompt that little saying before we say it like I know you're not asking for my advice but and it's like so keep quiet then oh well I'm gonna say it anyways but I just thought I'd be polite you know because God needs our help and all and then Sarah is mine she's like well God needs my help in this and so then she decides to get her much younger able to bear children Egyptian maidservant and basically says listen I'm gonna help God out and resolve this problem through her first mistake and yes I understand that Abram and Sarah at this point guys that they have been waiting eleven years for this and I can tell you right now that Carolyn and I have known couples that have tried to have kids for not just awhile but for years and are unable to and for some of them they still have not but for some there have been decades where that's happened like I can think of a single couple and I won't say their names that they waited almost 10 years before they had their first kid and they tried that entire time and I'm looking at Sarah and an Abraham's position and they know they this is gonna happen or at least they want it to happen but it's not happening and they've been waiting for so long and it's such an interesting thing cuz even Solomon said in the Proverbs and it's gonna be on the screen look at this proverbs 13 12 says Hope deferred makes the heart sick but fortunately when hopes fulfillment is sometimes delayed and then delayed some more as that's what Solomon meant when he said when it's deferred his conclusion is it makes the heart sick you guys know what I mean by that where you're waiting on God and you know you're supposed to and you want to at least in your heart of hearts continue doing that but it's so heavy on your heart sometimes it makes you sick like it I'm not talking either you guys are like a heart disease no I'm not talking about that but you know what I mean just that feeling of heaviness that you don't understand why it's happening that that as Solomon put it Hope deferred makes the heart sick and I can imagine that's where Abram and Sarai are right now and it's so true even in general guys it's hard to wait on God it's hard to say listen god I know you have a plan for me and I want to wait on it but show me how to wait properly so I don't get into the into my flesh or try to rush things or take things into my own hands it is it's hard to wait on God in 2008 Carolyn and I were helping her father with a church plan in North Charleston South Carolina and I remember distinctly in 2008 I was getting my oil change at a at a dealership and I was reading Warren Weir's B's book on being a servant or excuse me I'm being a leader of God hey guys I remember distinctly I was sitting in the waiting room for my car and God prompted unto my heart in that moment reading that book in that year Jonathan I want you to start preparing now to Pastor a church and remember it was so clear and so distinct it was like wow and at this point in my life the thought of pastoring or leading a church or even being anything related to that was far from the spectrum and and in that moment I was saying I need to prep your heart for this huge endeavor and it wouldn't be until four years later guys that Carolyn and I will take the crazy journey to Mount Pleasant South Carolina to start a church declaration Church in Mount Pleasant South Carolina and four years later but I remember in that four year preparation not only God was prepping me for the things that were to come even while leading the church and prepping to even do this thing called it's like being a parent I always compare church planning like being a parent as a parent your first kid what do you go into it as you've got it figured out Bay son what you've seen with your own parents and how they raised you and what you've seen with others and what do you realize with your first kit you have no idea what you're doing like it's like this is way harder than I thought and church-planting is the same thing where each day and each week we learned something new but God had to prepare my heart even in that moment that took four years and then even into the church plant almost four years into the church God's gonna say now hand it over and then you called us back here just to Calvary South Denver and it's such a weird dichotomy guys to hear from God respond to God and to wait on God waiting on God is hard it's both necessary and it's difficult and just as it's important to wait on God as it is promptly important to respond to the call that he presents on our life both play a key importance to one another and and I'm just thinking in Abraham's case in the sixteenth chapter every single year that has gone by since this promise has been made that out of your seed is gonna come a great nation out of your body and air is gonna come your one nothing happens your two nothing happens your three and each year that goes by Abraham's looking at his wife and each year he's like yeah I've been noticing today you're kind of sick walking funny waddling oh that's just how you normally look and walk okay so not pregnant not pregnant okay and and year after year even after that nothing is happening and here's Abram eleven years almost into it and we're gonna read that here in a moment where he's like you know my wife is telling me to take my maidservant and maybe that's the way that it needs to happen and unfortunately she heeded the voice of Sarah and this is something to take note guys just in general that anything you do that is not supplied by the power of God is not from God as much as you want to justify it as much as you want to sugar it up and make it look beautiful if it's not supplied by the power of God then it's not from God and they're gonna find that why this is the case verse three through four of Genesis team so then Sarah Abraham's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife after Abram had dwelt 10 years in the land of Canaan verse 4 so he went in to Hagar and she conceived and when she saw that she had conceived her mistress became despised in her eyes I mean again in Sarah's mind she's like this is such a good idea like you're welcome Abram I just I have this plan for you and you're welcome because clearly this is going to work and she finally has the kid that she always wanted through her maidservant and again it seemed like a great idea until the end of verse 4 it tells us that Hagar she conceives and when she saw that she conceived her mistress despised what became despised in her eyes it's always interesting to me that the flesh of our eyes always makes things sound great on paper when we rationalize in the moment why we're gonna do whatever we're gonna do it sounds good on paper it must be a good thing until the act is fulfilled and then shame cups and then not just shame but just all I made the wrong decision and this was not an act of faith on Sarah's part that and it's the same for us that when we sow to the flesh we reap corruption that's what always follows every single time in in Sarah's case the Texas her mistress became despised in her eyes another translation listen to this guy's it says he went to Hagar and she saw that she was gonna have a child and when she saw that she was gonna have a child here's the translation she began to hate Sarai this situation just got worse it went from bad to worse because Sarah is angry she can't bear children Hagar despises say Sarai because of what she was asked to do and maybe she was mistreating her maybe she was you know treating her differently but just all of a sudden she is hating Sarah and again it reminds me of what Paul said in Galatians 3 it won't be on the screen but Paul once said that having begun in the spirit are you now trying to be made perfect in the flesh here's the reality to all this guy's god is really good that's starting something he's even better at finishing it why do you think Paul will tell the church at Philippi and F Philippines the Church of Philippi that he who begun a good work in you because God is in the business of beginning of good work he who begun a good work in you is going to complete it bring it to an end it's an idea that God starts something he always intends to finish something he's always been good at starting and finishing things and again how many of you have felt like you've tried to rush and complete something for God like let me help you out God because somehow you're not getting this and I'm gonna try to speed this up and again it's a constant reminder to each one of us the importance that God is going to begin something in the spirit and we mustn't attempt to complete it in the flesh I can't I was prepping for this this evening and I was thinking about you guys and I was just thinking about the text and even for myself Lord you're so good like in it and I've told you guys this before you remember those moments when you first gave your life to Jesus and it was so fresh and real and it's almost like you try to manipulate that first encounter you have with Jesus and then you find yourself you find yourself discouraged because it's not that same experience and I feel like it's that same thing that Paul is gonna say that he who'd be you know that which was begun in the spirit is trying to be made perfect in the flesh and that's not how God ever intended all that to be God if you began something in me john geraci then help me not to complete it in the flesh to which we asked the question well then how do we do that and again it reminds me of proverbs 3 and won't be on the screen but it says to trust in the Lord with all of your heart lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and what's interesting about the end of that verse is what and then he shall direct your paths and Sarai and Abram are most certainly not doing that here in fact there was an old Jewish proverb that I heard someone say and I thought oh this is so good I have to share it there's an old Jewish proverb that once said it's better to ask which is the right Road ten times than to take the wrong road once and Sarah and Abram they take the wrong road guys see what I mean check verse five in Genesis chapter 16 then Sarah I said to Abram my wrong be upon you I gave my maidservant into your embrace and when she saw that she had conceived I became despised in her eyes the Lord judge between you and me wait a second hold up wait a second whose idea was this in the first place was it Abram he's like well honey I need you to know something it's a great idea but no it was it was Sarah's idea this was her idea from the start and I can just imagine poor Abram walking into the kitchen like do I smell falafels what's for dinner and Sarah's like I'll tell you what's for dinner I gave my maidservant into your embrace and now she hates me because you got her pregnant it's your fault and Abraham's like whoa what the heck just happened and of course Abram he's in a fetal position in the corner he's shaking he's looking at her like I just I don't know what happened he's scared at his angry wife right now and Abram he has to respond to this Abram the peacemaker Abram the father of faith what is he saying verse six so Abram said to Sarai indeed your maid is in your hand and do to her as you please and when Sarah dealt harshly with her she fled from her presence and I could just imagine Sarah I asked him what do you think I should do Abe and there's like this twitch in her eye and he's like just do what you please don't hurt me I mean she's your maidservant whatever you think is the best it's the most bizarre pad and by the way I mean surrogacy even today obviously is performed too differently thank God in the way that things happen but this was a form that of basically a custom that was normal back then so even though it was customary and even though that culturally they did stuff like this in this situation was not at all what God wanted them to do and now Abraham's finding himself in a situation where his wife is angry and this is what we can learn from this that again any and every time we operate in the flesh it will guys it will produce corruption not maybe not in time it's going to produce corruption fighting fire with fire doesn't extinguish the problem it actually makes it worse and I just think about this law in a long-term effect what is conspiring and taking place in the sixteenth chapter has created a conflict that's even we're seeing before our eyes four thousand years later it's affecting even us today that we're experiencing this arab-israeli conflict that that the seed of Ishmael and the seed of Isaac they're constantly at war with one another we're seeing it on the news all the time we've been seeing it for decades all the time with suicide bombings with problems at Gaza even the 911 and what took place there and it's a this constant conflict that were even seen from a distance is because what happened right here in the sixteenth chapter of Genesis and so Hagar she's cornered she hates Sarah Sarah deals with Hagar harshly and she's like I'm out of here I'm done hey guards on the run Sarah is still mad Abram is hiding somewhere still because he fears his wife that doesn't say anything that's not the text I've made that up but then look what happens in verse seven through nine back in Genesis six sixteen so the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness by the spring on the way to sure again she's probably making her way to Egypt there's she would not have survived to this trip and so she probably found this spring of water and that's where God is the angel the Lord's gonna meet her verse 8 so he said Hagar Sarai's made notice how he identifies her as Sarah's maid not Abraham's wife where have you come from and where are you going she said I'm fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai verse 9 the angel the Lord said to her return to your mistress submit yourself under her hand now this is our inception series in Genesis the reason why we call it the inception is because it's the starting point it's the beginnings and as always I think it's important to share with you the the beginning of anything that we read in Scripture and right here in this portion of Scripture is the first mention of the in the Bible that term angel of the Lord and I want you to think about that for a second it's the first time we're gonna read it but we see it all throughout Scripture with that term angel of the Lord in fact you can look on the screen all the different opps at times you see it at least in the Old Testament that that the angel the Lord is gonna appear to Abram in Genesis 22 to Moses in Exodus 3 and we're gonna see it in numbers and in numbers 22 we're gonna see it in judges two judges six judges 13 second Samuel 24 first Kings 19 and all of these places and all of these people that are mentioned right here is that term angel of the Lord when it appears and yet and this is what stood out to me the very first appearance the inception of the angel the Lord that appears in the Bible is right here he didn't appear to Noah he didn't appear to Enoch or Abram the angel of the Lord first appears to a single mother to be a woman who do who dealt with pride and is mistreated by her by Sarai and she's in a whole heap of mess and they Andrew the Lord she at least what's recorded in Scripture decides to himself known to her first and again it couldn't help but to think and smile just how we can relate with Hagar here that God and his loving mercy and grace still chooses even today to reveal himself to men and women like you and I who are flawed who are proud who are angry and yet God and His grace still says I want to reveal myself to you and that doesn't give us an excuse to live in those moments of being flawed proud angry people but God and his loving mercy still chooses through his word and through the Saints and the gathering of people together through worship to say I love you enough that I want you to know that I am true and my word is true that Jesus wants to reveal speak and make himself known to you guys every single time and you may think and even hearing me say that you may think I feel insignificant unimportant even unloved in the eyes of God but you're wrong but you're you're wrong even in this moment that you might be coming into church ashamed jesus loves you and he wants to sanctify you and he wants to deal with you individually whatever it is you're going through and Hagar here as an example of that because again God could have left her in the desert she probably would not have made it she's probably fleeing back to Egypt because think about it when when God is telling Abram to leave the area that he was in to go to that promised land what does he do he makes a pit stop in Egypt and I think this is where Hagar comes in because a lot of us might ask where does this woman come from probably when they stopped in Egypt remember that portion of the scripture when Abram pretends to be the brother of Sarah and the Pharaohs like why did you do that and then at this point he obtains all of this wealth and everything and he had a maid servant Hagar and I just look at this individual who might seem insignificant to a lot of people is significant in the eyes of God even in this moment because remember the original question the Eames the Lord asks Hagar where have you come from where are you going and here she thinks she knows the answer to that I came from the most terrible place ever and I'm going nowhere and the angel of the Lord he says I have a plan and I have a plan for you to move forward not backwards you'll see what I mean look at verse 10 through 12 of Genesis 16 then the angel of the Lord said to her I will multiply your descendants exceedingly so that it shall not be counted for multitude verse 11 and the angel the Lord said to her behold you are the width child and you shall bear a son you shall call his name Ishmael because the Lord has heard your affliction and that's what it means Ishmael God hears so every time Hagar is going to call out her son's name she's calling out to remember that time of God's mercy in her life when he's gonna meet her at this spring of water and in Hagar his mind she's probably thinking okay I'm gonna have a son who knew well will he be like will he be a doctor he's gonna be meet a nice girl then we're gonna find out in verse 12 look what the angel the Lord describes this man he shall be a wild man his hand shall be against every man and every man's hand against him and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren so rather than just again letting hagar leave her home maybe die in the wilderness the angel brings her back to this notion go back to your - sara i go back to abram submit under her and it's interesting because he's basically encouraging for ishmael to grow in the household of Sarai and for abram and i don't know who made this comment but i thought again it was noteworthy enough to incorporate in the bible study but someone someone once said when god can't rule because we won't let him he always over rules again it makes me think of Jonah it makes me think of what's happening right here and it makes me even think of Romans chapter 5 where it says you know where where sin is abounded grace has did much more abound and it just it overflowed here and then God's example to show grace to a woman that is fleeing and to her son that's in her belly right now that where sin has abounded grace did much more abound and I just think about that even for myself that I serve a God who relentlessly pursues me that loves me even in the years that I rejected him see Satan's really good at trying to make me feel like a terrible individual for the years that I was running from God where he was pure rebellion in his core but I'm reminded by God and His grace that in his love toward me even in my years of rebellion that in his relentless pursuit he still showed grace towards me until I came to that acknowledgment that I need him to be my Savior and you know what guys I serve a God who demonstrates love and mercy and grace towards me even after times when I would run from him and you know what I owe him my life and I am going to spend the rest of my life telling others about this love and power that can come from putting their put their trust in Jesus God shows grace to Hagar in immeasurable ways and her child's life it's not gonna be easy and I'm gonna talk about that here in a moment but God's still gonna bless her and sustain her and I hope you hearing that and even hearing my voice right now understand that God God's dealing with Hagar and the way that he's doing it should give you hope that even in our moments of suffering he desires to touch our life even while we suffer because he's good because he's consistently good in that whip manner look what it says in verse 13 through 16 now back in Genesis 16 then she shall then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her you are the God who sieze for she said have I also hear seeing him who sees me there for the well was called bear la ha Roy Roy I love these names observe it is between kadesh and bered verse 15 so Hagar bore abraham a son and abraham his son who Hagar bore Ishmael for 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram she's quickly figuring out Hagar at least that's this is not a mere angel that appeared before it's the angel of the Lord and to her in that moment she recognizes you are the God who sees that in faith in that moment she says okay I am gonna go back to Abram I am going to go back to Sarah I and she is in fact gonna give birth to Ishmael and here's a couple of fun facts concerning Ishmael that Ishmael at least was the first man in the Bible to receive his name before he was born he falls under the category of John the Baptist and Jesus of these individuals who receive this insight that this is what you're gonna call him and this is what you're gonna call him even before he's even born and Hagar she's gonna listen she's gonna say okay she's gonna return home but then you guys have to think about it we're reading the scripture and something had to happen where she does return and she says I got explained you everything that just happened because the last thing that happened was Sarah dealt harshly with Hagar and she's like listen the angel of the Lord just appeared to me not only did he just appear to me he told me that I'm pregnant and he told me that we're gonna have to call him Ishmael and he told me that I needed to submit under you Sarah and something happened where they believed her and something happened where they received that and said that is true because they are gonna name him Ishmael it wasn't like something happened in the man maybe God's done this before at least it's not written in texts that God didn't reveal that to Abram at the time he's listening to Sarah excuse me to hit to Hagar and saying okay if God had done that then obviously I'm gonna believe and receive it but what's interesting to me is that she had to have tell I have told him in the midst of that concerning the characteristic of of Ishmael because in Abraham's mine out of his seed is gonna come a great nation that through this seed something fantastic is gonna come the characteristics and they don't know that yet that they're gonna name the son Isaac but then all of a sudden and Abraham's mind because he doesn't know yet that he thinks Ishmael is this Promised One and we're gonna find out in the next chapter that not only is he not it but in the 21st chapter they're gonna give birth to that promised son that he was talking about but Sarah or excuse me Hagar had to at one point say also he's gonna be a wild man according to the angel the Lord also his Hannah's gonna be against every man every man's against him and healed dwell in the presence of all of his brethren and this sounds completely different than the promise what God told Abram in the original chapters so something happened even in Abraham's mind where he doesn't ask the question God is this the one whom you spoke about and that should have been the that in and of itself should been the moment where he questioned that hasn't sound like what God told me that he's gonna be a wild man that his hand is gonna begin every man but he goes along with it and he doesn't know it yet and he's gonna think it's gonna come through Ishmael and it's not and then when we get to the seventeenth chapter Abram guys he's gonna be 99 years old and he's going to appear to Abram he's gonna reiterate that promise what I've been telling you this whole time and Sarah is gonna be 90 years old and again I get I know it sounds like something from National Enquirer it's like this is insane the way this is gonna come about but Abram he's gonna have a hard time believing in that because in his mind he loves Ishmael guys he's gonna receive this from the Lord in the in the next chapter Ishmael is gonna be 13 years old around 13 years old and and in his mind it's like God you promised me a son and I thought it was this guy and God's gonna reveal to him that it's gonna be fulfilled through Sarah which is also interesting because in the nineteenth chapter we're gonna see Abraham's name change he's now going to be called Abraham the 19th or 17th chapter he keeps in the 19th chapter in the 17th chapter his name is going to change to Abraham and Sarah's name is gonna be changed to Sarah and it won't be until the 21st chapter that this fulfillment actually comes to pan that Isaac is gonna be born and even more problems if you can imagine are gonna arise from that because Sarah is gonna see Ishmael mocking Isaac the promise son and she's like get rid of the slave woman Abram he's out of here that she's out of here they're not gonna share the inheritance God promised and not only does he listen and do exactly what she's saying you fast forward into the future upon Abraham's death he's gonna leave everything to Isaac everything but Ishmael in the twenty-fifth chapter is gonna help his half-brother bury Abram and chapter 25 of Genesis is the last mention ever of Ishmael until you see certain genealogies but for the most part that's his last time we see him mentioned in the scriptures and we can't go into deep into this and I wanted to but we can maybe a little bit next week but Ishmael he's considered to be this patriarch to those a part of Islam the Islamic faith and while it's not completely accurate to say that all Arabs are descendants from Ishmael many probably are many of them and they're still like I said a great deal of strife between the descendants of Isaac and those who seem to call on Ishmael as their father and then it makes you wonder damn we're gonna be done it makes you wonder what would have happened even today what would have happened if in the sixteenth chapter of Genesis Abrams simply trusted God to bring about the promise without any added help without coming before God and to his office and saying listen I know you're asking for help but my you know my Egyptian servant here is going to be the one that you talked about what if none of that happens what would have done to us today I mean we've changed a lot and you could do that throughout scripture for a lot of things and but you know what I made me realize - how many of us say that even for ourself where we look at past related decisions that were not the wisest pour and we go I wish I wouldn't have done that be encouraged because we serve a God of second chances we serve a God of love that will take the years of locusts and what they Fe and then restore them back to victory take heart Saints because the Bible says Jesus wants to give us a crown of beauty for our ashes the oil of joy instead of mourning a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair anger to love misery to victory hopelessness to again that moment where you have hope and you can smile again God gave Abraham a revelation concerning his son in an air and he does the same thing for us and he does the same thing for us that he can he chooses to reveal any and everything he wants to us and we - like Abram can receive the information the promises the declarations but then it comes on our part - in faith believe that they're true to move forward in them and to wait and then faith blossoms and I'm here to tell you and I hope you guys will make this pledge with me I'm done doing things my way I'm done taking things into my own hands I'm ready to watch Jesus do what he has always done best do exceedingly and abundantly above anything I could ever ask or think we serve an unlimited powerful God a limitless God and we say that but it's time to start acting and believe him like it not a god that we just hear about in a church building with the AC or heap sometimes on but it got outside of this facility that was unlimited in power next week chapter 17

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Rating: 4.8987341 out of 5

Keywords: Calvary Chapel, Christianity, Bible Study, Jon Geraci, Genesis, Abraham and Sarai, Ishmael

Id: 9j-t30gfyHI

Length: 42min 24sec (2544 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 06 2018