Sermon Central
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Our Trust Makes Room For God’s Rewards Series
Contributed by T.j. Conwell on Jun 11, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: - Do we live with the knowledge that God knows what He’s doing? From creation to this moment, God has been preparing us for redemption because what is to come is God’s wrath for our disobedience, because His holiness demands it. However, His grace provides a way through (or out of) it.
Alpha and Omega, Part 22
Our Trust makes room for God’s Rewards
Genesis 21:1-7; Genesis 22:1-18
Introduction
- 2023 has had one primary “purpose”: To know there is a God!
-- Continuing our series, “Alpha and Omega”; examining the beginning to the end
- Last week we saw how we can become a friend of God by conquering unbelief
-- It is a mindset change, a choice to admit, “His promises matter more than …!”
-- We must assert that God knows - God cares - and lean to Him for our strength
- How do we conquer unbelief? The answer is knowing:
1. God’s omniscience – know He is everywhere, so He knows
2. God’s omnipotence – know He can overcome; His power can overcome
- BIG: Unbelief will always keep us from trusting & drawing closer to God
-- It is here, in the life of the great Abraham, that we must see our need also
- Today, we are going to see how conquering unbelief leads to God’s rewards
-- Spoiler: There is still a testing of faith as life goes on … but God still provides!
-- Today will end Part 1 of the A&O series, next week: promises of Messiah / Rev
- Let’s dive in … Read Genesis 21:1-7 and 22:1-18 / Pray
- TR: When you think of this story, a couple applications can come to mind
-- I’d like to look at the app for you and I vs. what it meant for Abraham
Point 1 – God’s promises give us reason to celebrate!
- We ought to celebrate when God fulfills His promises – it gives us hope
-- Three questions to see about God and why we can celebrate …
• First, how does God fulfill His promises? (v1-2)
- He keeps His word! He is always faithful to Himself (this builds trust)
-- He proves Himself, and His power, and does exactly what He says He will
- We need to grow in our faith, to know He does this, to:
o Learn more endurance and patience
o Become stronger and more determined
o Learn to trust and hope more in God
o Desire to pray and fellowship more with God
- God will always keep His promises!
-- Saw this moment last week in Genesis 18:14, “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
• Second, how does God achieve His promises? (v3-5)
- He stirs obedience & faithfulness to Himself
-- Abraham’s joy can only be imagined here, but many of us can see it
-- Abraham would’ve been overflowing with happiness & celebration
- But it’s not the joy that is focused on – it’s the obedience (which brings joy!!)
o He named His son Isaac, in obedience to God’s command (ref Gen 17:19)
o He circumcised his son when he was 8 days old (v4)
o And he recognized his dependance on God: miracle of this birth at their age
• Third, how does God call us to realize his promises? (v6-7)
- He causes us to rejoice over what He has done (v6)
-- This is what reminds us to persevere through even the toughest times of life
-- Look: We see Sarah holding the child of God’s promise, even after her unbelief
- APP: The line of Isaac is part of the greatest promise known to mankind
-- It is through this lineage, given to Abraham, that God will give us Jesus Christ
- But there is more to this than meets the eye …
-- As we look at this, won’t you consider marveling at how amazing God is?
• Isaac’s birth was miraculous, Abraham and Sarah too old (Gen 17:17)
• Jesus’ birth was miraculous, Mary was a virgin when conceived (Matt 1:23)
• God set the time of Isaac’s birth (Gen 21:2)
• God set the time for Jesus’ birth (Gal 4:4, “in fullness of time, God sent”)
• Isaac was the promised seed (Gen 17:16)
• Christ was the promised seed from the very first of history (Gen 3:15)
• Sarah was too old, but God assured her of His omnipotence (Gen 18:13)
• Mary was a virgin, but God’s omnipotence comforted her (Luke 1:34)
• God chose the name of Isaac (Gen 17:19)
• God chose the name of Jesus (Matt 1:21)
- APP: When God says, “He will”, our place is not to find doubt and argue
-- This is the lesson Abraham and Sarah had to learn, and we still need to focus on
- TR: So, how does God affirm this with Abraham, and in turn, for us?
-- By showing how us a pattern to follow for how we can rely on Him completely
