Why Did You Laugh? | Pastor Ivor Myers

I'm gonna ask a question that will confuse you but it is a title of the sermon and that is why did you laugh why did you laugh so I'm gonna ask it again do you believe that Jesus is coming again and my question again is why did you laugh I invite you to turn your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 18 Genesis chapter 18 and we are going to begin reading from verse 1 Genesis 18 verse 1 when you're there let me hear you say Amen the Bible says and the Lord appeared unto him and the plains of Marmora and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day and he lifted up his eyes and looked and lo three men stood by him and when he saw them he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself to the ground and said my lord if now I have found favor in thy sight pass not away I pray thee from thy servant let a little water I pray you be fetched fetched and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree and I will fetch a morsel of bread and comfort you your hearts after that you shall apat you shall pass on for therefore are you come to your servant and they said so do as thou has said and Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah and said make ready quickly three measures of fine meal knead it and make cakes upon the earth and Abraham ran unto the herd and fetched a calf tender and good and gave it unto a young man and he hasted to dress it and he took butter and milk and the calf which he had dressed and set it before them and he stood by them under the tree and they did eat and they said unto Him where is Sarah thy wife and he said Behold in the tent and he said I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life and lo Sarah thy wife shall have a son and Sarah heard it in the tent door which was behind him now Abraham and Sarah will old and well stricken in age and it seems to be with Sarah after the manner of women therefore Sarah laughed out loud I read that again therefore Sara laughed out loud she laughed how within herself it wasn't a loud laugh because that would have revealed doubt so being a good seventh-day adventists she laughed but on the inside saying after I am waxed old shall I have pleasure my lord being old also and the Lord said unto Abraham wherefore did Sarah laugh saying shall I ever surely bear a child which I'm old is anything too hard for the Lord at the term appointed I will return unto thee according to the time of life and Sarah shall have a son then Sarah denied what she do everyone she looked strangely at the pastor when he asked why did you laugh then Sarah denied saying I laugh not for she was what a freeing and he said nay but thou didst laugh you did laughs Sarah you laughed you laughed at the promise of God now you know we're probably thinking yes this was Sarah you know and maybe she was weak in faith and her husband probably had to encourage her you know to stand strong because Abraham of course is the father of faith amen amen amen except if you go that one chapter to chapter 17 you'll notice something very interesting in chapter 17 God is speaking to Abraham and in verse 15 it says God said unto Abraham after Sarah thy wife thou shalt not call her name Sarai but Sarah shall be her name and I will bless her and give thee a son also of her yeah I will bless her and she shall be a mother of Nations kings of people shall be upon her then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed Sarah had the decency to do it on the inside but Abraham the father of faith laughed out loud the verse says that he said in this heart shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old and shall Sarah that is ninety-nine years old there and Abraham said unto God oh that Ishmael might live before thee I have a question for you very quickly I just want you to keep this point in mind abraham thought that ishmael was the fulfillment of the promise are you with me I need you to catch that and I need you to listen to that carefully tuck that away in your mind abraham thought that ishmael was a fulfillment of the promise of god let me ask you a question why are they laughing Abraham is 99 years old at this time the Bible tells us that it was many years earlier that God had come to Abraham and given him the promise that they were to have a child in fact come back with me to Genesis chapter 12 and verse 4 Genesis chapter 12 and verse 4 the Bible says so Abraham departed and the Lord spoke unto him and lot went with him and Abraham was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran so Abraham was 75 years old when he was given this promise and I want you to imagine just just think with me for a moment Abraham has been given this promise he's 75 years old and God says you're gonna have a child you are going to be the father of a great nation and so uh in its at 75 years old how do you think Abraham is feeling how do you think Abraham and Sarah are feeling yes God's Word have spoken God said we're gonna have a child God said it I believe it that settles it amen eight months come and go and people are asking Abraham and Sarah hey you know what you know what's up are you sure God spoke to you and they probably rebuked them saying how dare you this is the Word of God God's Word will stand firm God said it that settles it I believe it amen three years pass don't worry God may be late but he's always on time seven years fast keep the faith brother keep the faith 10 years past 12 years past 18 years past 20 years past 25 years past and now when the promise is repeated to them what are they doing they're laughing have you ever laughed at the promise of God that laughter in in Genesis chapter 18 has some some some context that I want you to get that I want you to understand it has a prophetic context and I need you to see this and in order to see this we're going to go all the way back to the beginning of the Bible and we're going to go to Genesis chapter 1 you don't need to turn there but we know that in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 we have the creation of the earth in Genesis chapter 3 we have the fall of man in Genesis chapter 4 we have Cain killing Abel in Genesis chapter 5 and 6 or rabbit chapter 6 we have the introduction of a man by the name of Noah and and in Genesis chapter 6 God is about to give a prophecy to this prophet named Noah and the prophecy is that after a certain time the world is going to be flooded how much time was there how much time was Noah giving to preach 120 years and the Bible tells us that that during this 120 years that Noah was preaching he was building an ark to prepare for the flood now I want you to notice something here we're in Genesis chapter 6 we're gonna work our way back to Genesis chapter 18 but in Genesis chapter 6 you may not have realizes in Genesis chapter 6 we have the first time prophecy of the Old Testament how many of you knew that how many of you never thought about that in Genesis chapter 6 you have the first time prophecy of the Old Testament it is 120 years that Noah is given to preach now want you to notice something about this time prophecy this time prophecy was a prophecy of mercy of one everyone mercy God was giving a probationary time period to a group of people who listened carefully if they were if they rejected the message that had come to them they were going to be cut off and God was going to bring a new people about does that prophecy sound familiar to you just hold on for a second remember that at the end of this are preaching time that's 120 years remember that Noah gets into an ark built of wood and the rain lifts that wood up above the earth so in essence at the end of this time prophecy you have a man preaching a message of salvation who has ultimately lifted up above the earth on wood and those who reject him are cut off and a new people are raised upon the scene whose mission it is to spread around the world does that sound familiar to you does that not sound like the first time prophecy of the New Testament known as the 70 week prophecy it is the 70 week prophecy in which God foretold the coming of his own son he had given a probationary time period to the children of Israel and basically says to them listen at the end of this time period my son is going to be lifted up above the earth on wood and if you reject him you will be cut off and a new people will be brought about whose job it will be to spread the gospel around the world if you would be so far to say in it so I want you to check this out from Genesis 1 to Genesis 6 we have a parallel of the 70 week prophecy the first time to see of the Old Testament 120 years parallels the first time prophecy of the New Testament the 70 week prophecy if you're with me so far once again amen now Genesis chapter 7 covers the flood Genesis chapter 8 covers a flood Genesis chapter 9 chapter 10 when we get to Genesis chapter 11 we have the introduction of the Tower of Babel what was the Tower of Babel what's that story all about it was about rebellion it was a lot of people who's whose sins ultimately were reaching unto heaven Tower of Babel we're gonna use cert the throne of God we're gonna go up to heaven and find a way to avoid any other kind of punishment that God would pour out upon us like he did in the flood so the Tower of Babel the Tower of Babel the Tower of Babel a symbol of rebellion a symbol of a people whose sins have reached unto heaven and I have a question for you is there a time prophecy in the Bible that points to a power that is symbolically represented by the Tower of Babel whose sins also reach unto heaven is there yes or no absolutely and the time prophecy that points that out is something called the 1260 year time prophecy time times and 1/2 where this power called Mystery Babylon rises on the scene and is seeking to reach where heaven to usurp the authority of God are you with me so far Genesis chapters 1 through 6 parallel the 70 weeks Genesis chapter 11 is a snapshot in seed a parallel of the 1260 years in which Babylon rises and seeks to usurp the authority of God okay that's Genesis chapter 11 now at the end of Genesis chapter 11 now I want you to see this with me Genesis chapter 11 please notice with me Genesis chapter 11 and verse 29 or rather verse 27 now these are the generations of Tara Tara begat Abram Nahor and Haran and Haran begat lot and Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his Nativity in ur of the Chaldees anyone know what or of the cow these is where is that Babylon okay very good and Abraham and they her took them wives the names of Abraham's wife was Sara the name of NARAS Nahor's wife was Milkha the daughter of Haran and the father of Milcah and the father of iske but Sarai was barren she had no children and Terah took Abram Abram his son and lot the son of Haran his son son and Sarah his daughter-in-law his son Abraham's wife and they went forth with them from ur of the counties to go into the land of Canaan I have a question for you did God call Abraham where did he call him out of where did he call him out of he called him out of Babylon I have a question for you is there a time prophecy in the Bible that designates God calling his people out of Babylon yes or no what time prophecy is that the 2300 day time prophecy so guys watch this now from Genesis in Genesis chapter 6 you have the first time prophecy in the Old Testament which caramels what in the New Testament it parallels the 70 week prophecy when we get to Genesis 11 we have this seed or this snapshot of the Tower of Babel a symbol of rebellion against God which parallels in the New Testament what the 1260 with the rise of spiritual Babylon and then in Genesis at the end of Genesis 11 you have God calling a people of Babylon to go to the land of Canaan which parallels what time prophecy the 2300 day time prophecy beloved did you know that this movement was foreshadowed in the Bible not just in Daniel chapter 8 verse 14 but beloved actually in many places in the scripture and this is one of them because remember Abraham was called to produce a great multitude I hope that this quietness is the Adventist version of excitement and I have grown to learn that that the way that Adventist get excited is by being quiet it's a quiet version of excitement so I'm gonna be quiet with you just for a moment because I am really excited amen so God calls a people out of Babylon to produce a great multitude now watch this because remember this is Genesis chapter 11 and then watch this Genesis 11 he's crawled out of a call out of Babylon and then watch this in Genesis 12 he is given a promise he's told listen the Promised One is coming no no no did you catch that just now after calling them out of Babylon that call out of Babylon is anonymous with a promise of a coming son yes yes yes amen and listen beloved in 1844 when the promise was given that Jesus will return again everyone was excited because yes October 1844 it's going to happen and then on October 22 1844 the Sun the Promised One did not come but not a problem because we are people of faith and God's Word said it that settles it we believe it that settles it amen you ants in 1844 is Jesus coming again everyone said no no no they didn't say yes everyone said let's pretend that we're in 1844 and we are really excited about hearing it and everyone said right right right that was 1844 I need you to help me now okay just pull just just do 18:44 everyone said everyone all right all right 1850 rolls around listen guys it's Jesus coming again no no no you still got to do your amens guys everyone Jesus coming again yes yes yes why because look listen listen listen guys Jesus word God's Word is faithful God said it and we believe it eighteen ninety rolls around Jesus is coming again amen he may be late but he's always on time nineteen fifty jesus is coming again a little lower please Jesus is coming again yeah about right 1980 Eamonn I can give you an amen to that y2k amen amen amen amen mm amen 2010 2015-2019 yeah yeah yeah nice try because when we hear that now many of us laugh inside yeah we laugh not now we're good Adventists so we know you're not supposed to laugh at that but the issue is what we're saying is look my parents thought that and their parents thought that and their parents thought that and it hasn't happened so we say amen amen but in reality we're laughing we have come to the place where we are now doubting the word of God and we don't say that without the Word of God but just by the way we live just by the way we we treat one another just by the way we act as Christians it says we're laughing on the inside because didn't our other didn't our earlier generations say he was coming and didn't this one say he was coming like haven't we said the song and I want you to imagine this struggle because check this out remember Abraham has been told you're going to be the father of a great nation you're going to be have a great multitude his name Abraham means father of many and can you imagine he has no son wait what is naming again father of many okay where are the many that must have been an embarrassing thing but I want you to think about some of our churches we are supposed to be the people who have been called and I got a name change to signify you didn't catch that I'm giving you a new name seventh-day adventists I mean Abraham and this name signifies your mission you're going to be the you're going to be the the the people who bring about a great multitude okay well where's the great multitude look at our churches where is the great multitude really really beloved I want you to listen to the words that God speaks to Abraham but to Sarah because he says it's anything too hard for the Lord like this message today is designed to get us to stop laughing to get us to stop doubting the word that God has said it is to get us to understand that he is coming again the promised son is coming have faith believe it's going to happen I know right now it looks like an impossibility as impossible as Sarah I was thinking how am I gonna have a child of this old age I believe when I was younger but I've grown all now and I know that and we kind of have that attitude sometimes beloved to me it's it's so mind-blowing that this is in the Bible how is our story in the first 18 chapters of the book of Genesis how is that how is it that the very thing the very parallel the very events that happened in Genesis 1 to 18 how is it that parallels what God's endtime movement would go through you mean God was thinking about us don't laugh guys this is not made-up stuff we have not believed cunningly devised fables you are not an Adventist by accident if you ever doubt the word that God gave us when he began when he started this movement don't doubt it he's showing you listen I know what I'm doing he's coming but check this out because it gets sweeter come back with me to Genesis 18 so in Genesis 18 we're gonna go to verse verse verse 15 right and this is the verse we left off then Sarah denied saying our last not for she was afraid and she said nay and he said nay but now did laugh so he confronts her you did laughs you don't believe you are doubting we need to face our reality amen don't deny yes faster I'm struggling with belief yes faster I'm wondering if I gave everything up for nothing I'm struggling God says face yourself but then he says also listen to my word acknowledge it out but I'm trying to get rid of your doubt don't pretend don't pretend so now check this out here's what happens next verse 16 then the man arose from thence and look towards Sodom and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way and the Lord said should I hide from Abraham the thing that I do seeing that Abraham says surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him for I know him he will command his children in his household after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him and the Lord said because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah great and because their sin is very Grievous I will go down now and investigate okay I've often been told pastor you have to give us like 10 seconds to catch up so we can think so I'm going to give you your 10 seconds is everyone ready you guys the in 120 years parallels 70 weeks Tower of Babel parallels 1260 calling out of Babylon and being told that you're going to produce a great multitude and that the promised son is coming and at that time God says to Abraham now Abraham while I'm letting you know that the Sun is coming in the meantime I gotta let you know something else a judgment has begun I am going down to judge Sodom and Gomorrah to see what's going on there and now check this out so so what is he trying to do he wants Abraham to be aware of the work that he is about to do I'm about to judge the earth and Abraham's response what is it yes Sodom and Gomorrah that wicked city does he respond like Jonah whoo yes yes it's time destroy the city how does Abraham respond Abraham begins the work of intercession beloved listen to me if you want to know what we as a church should be doing while we are waiting for the coming of the promised son it's right here Abraham begins this work of intercession if they're fifty will you spare it if they're forty-five will you spare it and he goes on and on pleading with God for lost souls in other words beloved it is as if Abraham has been given the Ministry of reconciliation wait so how many men came to see Abraham how many angels because they were all angels I'm giving you your ten seconds okay there were three messengers and two of them went ahead oh my that's what I said oh my and the third one you guys if you have ever doubted this message I need you to stop laughing right now we have not believed cunningly devised fables how is this stuff in the Bible how is what we have been preaching from the book of Revelation chapter 14 how is our history the rise of our movement and the history that followed on our mission how is all this in Genesis chapters one day how is that possible divine design beloved this to me is evidence of the power of God's Word this to me is evidence of the existence of a supernatural being named God because man could not do this three angels to go ahead and with the third one comes destruction by fire you're not feeling me when the third one arrives who we know to be God Himself when the third one arrives there is destruction with fire so it is this third angel you understand what I mean when I say third angel I'm talking about third messenger who happened to be God Himself not a created being but God Himself says to Abraham listen this is the closing work it is the work of reconciliation isn't that what we've been given the Ministry of reconciliation but here's the problem guys how do we expect to reconcile the world to God when we cannot even reconcile amongst ourselves what authority can we have to reconcile the world to God when we cannot even reconcile amongst ourselves it is hypocrisy you cannot reconcile if you don't have the spirit of love in you and this is what Abraham had flowing through his veins when he heard about these people who were blaspheming God and cursing God enough for God Himself to come down and go destroy the city what is Abraham doing he's pleading he's pleading listen guys he's not pleading for the fifty righteous you didn't catch that he wasn't pleading for the forty five or even for the ten he was not pleading for them he was simply saying hey will you spare the whole city if there's ten righteous in it Wow Wow what kind of love are we to have for the world should we love the world yeah God so loved the world not God so loved the church God so loved the world so you got to understand its beloved because what the position God has put us in it is a tremendous an honor it's a tremendous position listen do you think God follows his own advice what do you think so so if if God follows his own advice then how are we supposed to reconcile let me ask you does it hold hold that question for a second and let me go to this question how when you have an issue with someone how do you reconcile what do you do you you Matthew 18 you go to the person yourself and if they don't hear you then what do you do you take one or two witnesses with you and if they don't hear you then what do they do or they don't hear them then what do you do you bring it before the church that's the process does God follow his own process absolutely you see beloved Jesus had an issue with mankind yes or no so what did he do you can laugh what did he do he came himself there's a prophecy for that by the way it's called the 70 weeks hey friends humans I have an issue with you see we you have sinned against me and what did mankind do they killed them we're not listening to you so they put them to death 70 week prophecy now you know G is not going to give up so hey you reject me I'm gonna send two witnesses did he send two witnesses what were those two witnesses there's a prophecy for that by the way because how long did the to witness prophesy 1260 years well did the world hear the two witnesses what did they do with them they killed them Revelation chapter 11 French Revolution two witnesses put to death they rejected the two witnesses now check this out since they have rejected Christ and then they rejected the two witnesses then the world has one more chance take it before the church but God needs a church so what does he do he raises up an entire movement and Abraham no no oh yeah ten seconds and Abraham at least a church that is to be like Abraham but beloved to a large degree what you have happening now is that we are fighting with each other instead of interceding for a lost world so now we're fighting over all these issues in the church I don't have to name those issues you know what those issues are I've been involved in that fight myself no no this way no no this way and beloved listen there's a there's a place to address these things but beloved when it becomes the forefront when it takes over the mission we have lost sight of our purpose because the bottom line is we have to understand that till the end of time there is going to be wheat and tear in the church and there's not much we can do about it it's going to happen so at some point we have to start saying listen God called us here to intercede for a lost world and beloved let me tell you it's a strange thing how when we begin to intercede for a lost world how you can begin to come together and the things that once separated you you now find whoa what are we doing as a church we are spinning our wheels while a world is perishing in their sins the infighting and all this stuff happening in the church and it's so crazy because despite that God is still blessing the church we are still growing rapidly not as rapidly as we should be growing but we are still growing how much more effective could this church be if we realized what's going on here in Genesis 1 Genesis chapters 1 to 18 you see beloved this investigative judgment is really about what how do we respond to crisis God was trying to see Abraham with it I'm gonna go destroy the city Abraham what are you going to do and Abraham is immediately like okay what can we how can we work together God to - to save as many as possible in a sense God is judging Abraham and in a sense Abraham takes on the very attributes of the Savior who became our intercessor this is in the Bible guys stop laughing God is trying to show us what it takes to pass the judgment come I'm gonna we're gonna we're gonna just just come with me to the book of Genesis and I need you to see something else because we're gonna come back to this story but I need you to follow this carefully come with me to Genesis 27 this is still going right in line with what we've been talking about Genesis chapter 27 Genesis chapter 27 and and I want you to notice with me verse 1 in Genesis 27 and verse 1 we're talking about the judgment we're talking about us being down here at the end of time and what is God trying to get his people to see he's trying to get us to stop laughing he's trying to get us to understand that we have not believed cunningly devised fables and he's trying to show us through these stories let me tell you something beloved the Word of God is multi-dimensional there are so many layers to this thing and we often cut ourselves off from a deeper understanding of the Word of God because we treat the Word of God as a shallow thing Genesis 27 and it came to pass that when Isaac was old and his eyes were dimmed so that he could not see he called Esau his eldest son and said unto him my son and he said Behold here am I and he said behold now I am old and I know not the day of my death you guys know this story right you have Isaac you have Jacob you have Esau and you have Rebekah and who is Isaac's favorite Esau and in the story Isaac is about to bless Esau I need you to listen to this who do we have in this story there are four characters Isaac Esau Rebecca Jacob okay tell me about Jacob what does he want in this story he wants the blessing he wants the blessing amen anybody in here want the blessing amen who is Isaac he is the father who is Esau who who is Esau he is the first born the beloved of his father for a moment I want you to forget about the names in this story are you with me forget about Esau and his wickedness forget about Isaac and his favoritism forget about Jacob and his deceptions forget about Rebekah just look at the characters of the story you have the father the firstborn the beloved a helper you didn't guess I think you is there a helper in the story who is the helper Rebekah Abraham's help me watch this and you have one who desires the blessing one who wants with everything he has to receive the blessing promised by God now now now let's keep reading so the Bible says Rebekah verse 6 read that or verse 5 and Rebekah heard so the helper overhears a conversation between the father and the son and what that helper years the helper then turns to the one who is seeking the promise of God does that story sound familiar it should sound familiar because guess what guys how many of you want the blessing of God and how many of you know that the only way you can get it is through the helper so so watch this so so when Rebecca heard Isaac speak to his son Esau verse 5 and he so I went to the field to hunt for venison and to Brian and Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son saying behold I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother saying bring me venison and make me say every meet that I may eat and bless thee before the Lord before my death now therefore my son obey my voice according to that which I command thee go now to the flock and fetch me from thence to good kid to the goats and I will make them savory meat for thy father such as he loveth and thou shalt breed that I father that he may eat and that he will bless thee before his death and Jacob said to Rebekah his mother behold mother you are crazy behold Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man my father peradventure will what will what will feel me and I will seem to him as a deceiver and I served in a curse upon me and not a blessing and his mother said unto him upon me be thy curse my son only obey my voice and go fetch me there now is this a messed-up story in the Bible this is a mess of sorry yes and but never listen to me even in the messed up stories you can find dimensions of the plan of salvation because all things work together for the good of those that love God so so here's what happens check the saw guys so Rebecca listen carefully Rebecca uses Rebecca tells Jacob we just gotta read it come okay notice with me verse okay I think my page is turning ok verse verse 15 and Rebecca took goodly remnants of her eldest son Esau which was with her in the house and put them upon Jacob her younger son and she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hand and upon the smooth of his neck pause for a second what is J what is Rebekah doing here what's her plan her plan what she's telling Jacob is that in order to get the blessing you have to be covered in the garments of the first born I am slowly packing up because I'm excited right now in order for you to stand before the father and receive the blessing an animal must be sacrificed and cover you so that when you go in before the Father he will not see you he's gonna see his beloved son okay okay okay so Jacob buys into this and you can imagine him shaking his head like mom what are you doing he goes and watch this and in verse 26 and his father verse 25 or verse 24 verse 20 first 22 verse 21 oh my I'm sorry guys forgive me I'm just excited we're going to go to verse 19 you know I'm in verse 18 right and he came unto his father and said My Father and he said here am I who are thou my son now if you remember earlier in this story the Bible says that Isaac was old and his eyes were dimmed praise God his eyes were dimmed he could not see praise God that the father in the judgment dims his eyes okay you want the blessing I'm gonna close my eyes I'm gonna see I'm gonna give you a chance to prove to me that you are my son watch watch watch so so it says and Isaac said unto his son how is it verse 19 Jacob said unto his father I'm Esau thy firstborn whoa I am Esau thy firstborn I have done according as obvious me arise I pray thee sit and eat my venison that I made but as I saw me bless me and Isaac said unto his son how is it that you found it so quickly my son and he said because the LORD thy God brought it to me Wow and I said some of the Jacob he come near I pray thee that I may steal thee my son whether thou be my very son Esau or not what what is Isaac doing here he's investigating come here wait who are you wait you're telling me crisis in you really really okay come near to me I want to feel you I want to feel your hands and your neck I want to see if you feel like my firstborn BLEVE you want you want to pass the investigative judgment you better have the hands of Jesus you better have the hands of Jesus you can imagine that Jacob must be terrified I'm standing before the father in my imperfection and whooping praise God and our Heavenly Father dims you get what I mean when I say that yes that he deems his eyes so at least give us a fighting chance to stand in the garments of the firstborn and say yes I am hidden in Christ and so the fart the father calls Jacob Colts and the Bible says in verse 22 and Jacob went near unto Isaac his father and he felt him and he said the voice is Tina's voice it's Frank's voice it's Michaels voice it's Roxanne's voice but the hands you know the hands of my son these are helping hands these are caring hands these are hands that are ministering to those that are in need these are the hands of my son and he discerned him not because his hands were hairy and his ass his brother Esau hands so he blessed them and he said are gone my very son Esau he's still not totally convinced you can imagine that Jacob was about to pass out and he said bringing their to me and I will eat of my son's venison that my soul may bless thee and they brought it near the M&E and he did eat and he brought him wine and he drank and his father Isaac said unto him come near now and kiss me my son I mean it's can you imagine Jacob just wants to get the blessing and get out of there as fast as he can and the father's like no no no no no no stay a while because he's still not sure and verse 27 says and he came near him and he kissed them he like grabs him and pulls him in and kisses him and he smelled the smell of his rich I know how I can tuck it let me smell you and he said see the smell of my son is that the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed yeah it's none of my son indicates and he's been in the field my son is in the field my son is bringing in the sheaves let me smell you do you smell like you have been in the field if you smell like you've been in the field if you have my hands then I know even in the midst of stories of the Bible beloved Jesus is there alright I want you to put that analogy on pause and we're just gonna totally flip the scene right now and I'm gonna destroy I just want you to check this out because listen as as Jacob is standing before the father he's covered in a what he's covered in a sacrifice he is standing as a sacrifice before the father to be accepted who does that remind you of it reminds us of Jesus in another sense Jacob himself is like a type of Jesus standing before the Father covered in a sacrifice receiving the blessing now now watch this do you remember this story that after Jacob receives the blessing that he has to go away Jacob has to leave he receives the blessing and then he goes away does that sound familiar to you because after Jesus's death burial and resurrection does he go away yeah okay now watch this while Jacob is away because remember he was away for some time while he was away he was doing two things he was working for his bride do you need 10 seconds no good good good when I asked that just say go and I know that you got it you say 10 oh wait when Jacob stands before the Father as a sacrifice after the sacrifice is accepted he then is sent away he goes away and while he is away he is not only working for his bride but he's multiplying to himself sons and daughters not only is he doing that he is also literally multiplying the flock what check this out guys while he is away he is doing three things he is working for the bride he's multiplying to himself sons and daughters and he is multiplying the flock is that not what we are supposed to be doing while the heavenly Jacob has entered Heaven Jesus right now in the heavenly sanctuary is working for his bride he is multiplying to himself sons and daughters and he is literally multiplying the flock but here's a question the question is how did Jacob multiply the flock do you remember the story how Laban he's getting ready to leave and labels like no I want you to stay and then he says okay you give me all the speckled cattle and and that'll be my pay and then what does Laban do he takes all the speckled cattle away and and separates them three days from the flock that he leaves with Jacob so that Jacob has no speckled or spotted cat or cats so now Jacob has a problem because he has nothing to leave me so you know what he does check this out come with me to Genesis to Genesis chapter 28 Genesis chapter 28 or rather 27 I'm sorry Genesis chapter 27 nope nope it is Genesis chapter 20 oh no no no I'm sorry Genesis chapter 30 Genesis chapter 30 Genesis chapter 30 and verse 31 we'll go to verse 32 so the Bible says here I will pass through all I flock today removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle and all the brown cattle among the sheep and the spotted and speckled among the goats and such saviem are higher verse 35 verse 34 and Laban said Behold I would I wouldn't it be might be according to my word and he removed that day the he goats that were ringed straight and spotted and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted and every one that had some white in it and all the brown among the sheep and gave them into the hands of his sons and said three days journey how many days everyone three days remember that number three days journey betwixt himself and Jacob and Jacob fed that fed the rest of late of late onslaughts and Jacob took him rods of green poplar and of the hazel and chestnut tree and peeled white streaks in them and made the white appear which was in the rods and his set the rods which he had peeled before the flocks in the gutters in the water troughs where the thoughts came to drink that they should conceive when they came to drink and the floods conceived before the rods and brought forth cattle ringstraked speckled and spotted and Jacob did separate the lands and set the faces of the flats toward the ringstraked and all the Brahman the flock of the Lamb a flock of Laban and he put his own flocks by themselves and put them not unto Laban Seattle and it came to pass when so ever the stronger countably conceived that Jacob laid the rods before their eyes before the eyes of the cattle and the gutters that they might conceive among the rods but when the cattle were feeble he put them not in so the feeble air were Levens and the stronger were jacob's and the mane increase exceedingly and had much cattle and maidservants and men's servants and camels and houses do you know what Jacob did let me tell you when he and don't try this at home because this was a miracle watch this he takes branches he takes wood and he he puts stripes in the wood and then he sets the wood before the cattle that he wants to change so when the cattle come together and they begin to breed and their eyes were on the striped wood by beholding by beholding they became changed and I would listen to me do you want our church to multiply do would you like a church full of strong Christians keep your eye on the Striped would keep your eye on the cross of Calvary where Jesus Christ took stripes on our behalf that we might be healed and strengthened you see beloved Satan realized Satan does not care if we multiply as long as we're not looking at the striped wood you didn't catch that because the flood that multiplied without looking at the striped wood were the weaker flock you want to be strong look up you want to be strong look to the cross you want a strong church lift up Christ and crucify you want a strong Church intercede for lost world through the merits of Jesus Christ look to the striped wood the question is what are we beholding because my beholding you become changed so sin can take your attention off of the striped wood guess what you might be bringing 20 50 100 people into the church and in a short time guess where they are out of the church because we did not lift up Jesus we didn't lift up the cross notice Layden kept his flock three days away another that three day journey is a symbol of Christ and him crucified Satan wants to keep us three days away Satan wants to keep us away from the cross he wants to keep us away from the one that died by whose stripes we are healed and I'm telling you when as a church we learn to focus on Christ and lift up Christ that's gonna change that's gonna change sososo come notice with me Genesis chapter 31 Genesis chapter 31 soul the Bible says in verse 1 and there and they and he heard the words of Laban son saying Jacob at stake and all that was our fathers and and of that which was our fathers has he gotten all this glory and Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban and behold it was not toward him as before notice verse 3 and the Lord said unto Jacob return hold on Jakub stands before the father as a blessing that's a sacrifice after the sacrifice is accepted he goes away he goes away and while he is away he is multiple heals working for his bride multiplying to himself sons and daughters multiplying the flock by having them focus on the strike wood and then the father says Jacob it's time to return return return you don't catch that let's go to Genesis 32 and Jacob went on his way verse 1 and Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met him so not only did he return he was returning with angels y'all not feeling bad I've given you a retinue of angels I've given you a of giving you an army of angels return now how many of you know the story here how many of you remember what happens next so Jacob sends a group of his people because he hears that Esau is coming after him let me ask you a question why does Esau think Jacob is coming why does he think he's coming for what for warfare he thinks he's coming to make good on the promise that was given to him remember the blessing wait he's coming to take my stuff Esau believes that Jacob is coming with with a vindictive purpose son answer question does Esau understand the nature and character of his brother does he understand the nature and character of the one who is returning listen to me church there are Esau's out in the world who fear the second coming of Jesus because they don't understand his character they don't understand who he really is they think he's coming for one purpose and for one purpose only and that is to destroy but beloved the Bible says that Jesus came to save so Jacob hears this he hears that Esau is coming with an army and I want you to notice what he does come with me Genesis chapter 32 Genesis 32 verse 13 so the Bible says and he lodged there the same night and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother let me ask you a question a present for Esau his brother what does Jacob trying to do here he's trying to change the heart of Esau but then what is our mission are there Esau is out there in the world that need to understand the true character of Jesus so watch when Jacob does so the Bible says he lodged there the same night and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother two hundred she-goats and 20 he goats and two hundred ewes 20 rounds 30 mils camels which with their coats forty kind and ten bulls twenty ciasses and ten foals and he delivered them into the hand of his servants every juror of by themselves and said unto his servant pass over before me put a space betwixt drove and drove and he commanded the foremost saying when II saw my brother cut me taffy and asked if these saying whose art thou and whither boards down and whose are these before thee then thou shalt say they be thy servants Jacobs it is a present seventh to my lord Esau and behold also he is behind us and so commanded he the second and the third I'm gonna give you ten seconds Jacob is now sending his flock out to meet he saw there is a messenger at the head of the flock but he breaks them up he sends three messengers and every messenger is saying hey listen uh basically we want you to know that Jacob loves you but by the way he's behind us he's coming he's coming they never listen to me the three angels messages were not designed to put fear in the hearts of the world it was designed to tell the world that the true fear of God is to love him because he loves you and when Jacob saw that this flock was healthy and powerful not scrawny not malnutrition but I healthy flock why was a flock healthy because they had been beholding striped wood when Esau sees the the frock he's like whoa this is blessed and you know what ends up happening when Jacob finally gets to Esau the Bible says they embraced beloved in that story we have a snapshot of how God wants to meet the Esau's of the world he doesn't want to meet them in in vengeance he wants to see for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life and he depends upon us the flock to go before him to prepare the way for the coming one listen to me I have ten minutes left now is about to go into a whole nother section and I don't even have time to do that so I'm gonna wrap this up early instead of going over late I need you to understand something Jesus is coming again don't laugh stop laughing stop doubting it's going to happen and beloved if our hearts are not right with God we will not be ready for that second coming in fact do you remember earlier how I said that Abraham thought that Ishmael was the Promised One Abraham the father of faith because his heart was not right he was ready to receive an imposter twenty seconds because his heart at that moment was not right he was ready to see to receive an imposter in the place of the promised son that Ishmael lived forever he is the one and I know as Adventist we always do that thing well we know that when Satan comes his feet don't touch the ground or when Jesus comes his feet don't touch the ground so that's Satan and let me tell you something you might know that all you want and have faith in that all you want but if your heart is not right the overwhelming deception of Lucifer himself appearing as Jesus will lead you to the conclusion that you were wrong at seventh-day adventists maybe god's worried about giving me a son in this way about bringing the son in this way maybe it wasn't right because god clearly said to abraham you Sarah will have a son not someone else but Sarah but maybe we got it wrong maybe we should look for the promise in another way and hey this looks like it we've been waiting so long anyway I mean maybe this is it maybe we were wrong I know what you say now you say the same thing Abraham would have said before Hagar us never we shall trust in the Word of God look how far we've come we've can't we obeyed God's Word we came out of Babylon we've done all these things we trust God but Abraham the father of faith because his heart in that moment was not right he was ready to receive an imposter in the place of the true promise beloved do not Pat yourselves on the back thinking I'm an Adventist and I know Bible truth because a mere mental assent to truth will not hold you when the overwhelming delusion takes place on this earth Satan will soul flip things that it will make your mind spin if your heart is not right with God now as the time to laugh there is coming a time to laugh but now is not that time you see sir I did have a son and his name was Isaac and the name Isaac means laughter and beloved when Jesus comes again then it will be time to laugh not a mocking laugh ha ha ha we told you no but a rejoicing laugh wow it's here it's happening we have not believed cunningly devised fables it will be a holy all righteous laugh then it will be turned to laugh now is not the time to laugh now is the time to pray now is the time to reconcile now is the time to get our hearts right with God now is the time to love as Jesus loved now is the time to cover yourselves in the garments of Christ and then the sacrifice of Christ so that when the father looks at you he does not see you he sees Jesus now is the time to smell like Jesus now is the time to act like Jesus to walk like Jesus to do as much as you can now is the time beloved to intercede for a world that is lost now is a time to have faith like never before that the promised son is indeed coming let's start laughing is Jesus coming again do you believe that Jesus is coming again do you believe that Jesus is coming again that needs to be an 1844 amen do you believe that Jesus is coming again [Applause]

Channel: Power of the Lamb

Views: 27,215

Rating: 4.8964143 out of 5

Keywords: ivor myers, ivor myers 2019, pastor ivor myers, pastor ivor myers 2019, ivor myers sermons 2019, ivor myers sermons, pastor ivor myers sermons, bible, christ, the second coming, jesus' return, the 2nd coming, abraham, sarah, laugh, God's promises, promises of God

Id: osk-BF6CaXc

Length: 81min 18sec (4878 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 24 2019