Spirit of Ishmael
An improper view of the Father
Text:
Gen 21:1-20
1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
16 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
I want to look tonight at the spirit of Ishmael
Here Ishmael is:
- He is a child of the flesh
- He was not the child that God had promised Abraham and Sara
- He was born out of their unbelief
- Spiritually this child is illegitimate
- He is not the rightful heir
- He is not the promise
This word illegitimate means unlawful
- He was not the lawful heir
- He was not the promised child
Deut 23:2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD. (KJV)
- This is speaking about those that are illegitimate
- For ten generations
I. Hagar
I want to look at Hagar for a moment
Her very name means stranger
- She is not part of the kingdom of God
- Her customs are different
- Her beliefs are different
- She is a Egyptian
- She is a slave in Abraham’s house
Egypt is a picture of the world
- Picture of sin
Sara gives her to her husband to bear a child
- She does this out of unbelief
- Hagar conceives and bears Abraham a son
- He is named Ishmael
What is birthed in the flesh
- Birthed in the world
- Birthed in unbelief
Will never have a proper few of the father
I have seen many children that have been raised with out fathers
- They are born out of wedlock
- Or their father abandon them when they were young
- Or maybe it was a bad divorce
I have seen these children that have been raised by bitter hurt mothers
- They always have a distorted few of the father
- They have a warped few
- There mothers have poisoned them
Some unintentionally
- Others it has been deliberate
- Out of bitterness
- Out of anger and hurt
They have poisoned their children against their fathers
This is what I believe Hagar is doing
She was not given to Abraham as a wife to be set free
- She is still a slave
- She is still a servant
- She has birthed him a son
But still she is Sara’s servant
I’m sure there is some bitterness here
- She feels abused
- She feels hurt
Can you feel the sting of this “thou a “wife” she is still a slave”
- The only reason she was there was to give him a baby
- Abraham did not want her out of love
- He did it out of love for Sara
- He does not even love Hagar
And as soon as the child is born she goes right back to her drudgery as a slave
- She resumes her duties to Sara
- Waiting on her
- Doing her choirs
This is the atmosphere Ishmael is raised in
- He was the heir to a kingdom
- But in that kingdom his mother was a downtrodden domestic slave
Can you see how this must have affected his few of his father
- He saw her working as the slave to his adopted mother
- He saw her subjected to daily indignities
He hears her complaints in private every day
- How bad life is
- How unfair it is
- How mistreated she is
She probably felt she should be treated as an equal to Sara
With this we get a picture of how Ishmael was raised
And what his spirit must have been like
- His mind
- His heart
- His very soul has been polluted
II. A wrong few of the father
Here is one of the majer problems in our day and age
We live in an age of illegitimacy
This is a spirit that is probably affecting everyone here tonight
There is a curse on the illegitimate for ten generations
Because of the times and day and age we live
- Some in this place tonight were born outside of marriage
- If not you then maybe your mother or father was
- Or grand parents
- Or great grand parents
- Or great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grand parents
Do you see how far this curse reaches
As a result of this we are affected by this spirit
- We have a wrong few of the father
- We have this distorted few of God
- We have this ugly bad few of who Jesus is
One of the biggest curses of illegitimacy
- Is no relation with the father
- No inheritance
- No blessing
And when that relationship is restored we have a distorted few of the father
Many people have a hard time living for God because they simply can not trust him
- Their always waiting for him to leave
- Waiting for him to abandon them just like their earthly father did
- They fear to get to close because they are afraid it won’t last
Heb 13:5 for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (KJV)
God is faithful he will not leave us
- Your earthly father may have abandoned you
- Mistreated you
- Did you all kinds of wrong
But our heavenly father is faithful
- His love for you is beyond measure
- He will not forsake you
- He will not leave you
You may be here tonight
- Your having a difficult time serving God for this very reason
- Every time you seam to draw close to God something clams up inside you
- You just can’t seam to break through
- You know God loves you
- You know he cares
- But something inside is holding you back
This is what I am talking about tonight
This is the curse of illegitimacy
The inability to have a right relationship with the father
You have been poisoned by Egypt
You have been poisoned by the world
- Tonight this spirit is going to be broken from your life
- You are going to be set free
- The curse will be cast down
There is no blessing on what has been birthed in the flesh
- There are those her tonight
- You have been saved
- You have been reborn
But tonight you are carrying this baggage with you
- This curse
- This unjust, wrong, ungodly few of the father
- Until this spirit is broken you will never be free
Ishmael carried this with him for fourteen years
- Before he was cast out
- For fourteen years he felt he just wasn’t quit good enough
- That he was just a substitute
It was this spirit that he cared
This curse of the flesh
- That caused him to become outcast after fourteen years
- This same spirit if left unchecked in your life will eventually cause you and I to become an outcast
Have you ever felt like this
- Your never going to be good enough
- You can never do anything right
- You will never be up to the standard
This is Ishmael
- I am of mixed blood
- I am part Egyptian
- I am half slave
- I will never fully be free
- This is what he is carrying around with him
Listen to me you can be free tonight
Jesus has paid the price for your freedom on calvery
III. A place for the outcast
One of the great lessons in the story of Ishmael is that God does have a place for us
- It doesn’t matter what your birth
- It doesn’t matter what your race is
- It doesn’t matter what colour your skin is
- It doesn’t matter whether or not you know who your earthly father is
We have a heavenly father
- And in him lies our hope
- In him lies our trust
- In him lies our salvation
- In him lies our blessing and inheritance
Gen 21:16-20 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. (KJV)
Here Ishmael is
- He has been cast out
- He is dying of thirst
- The water that Abraham had given him was run out
- His mother has now even abandoned him
- Left him to die
I want you to notice here in verse 17 “and God heard the voice of the lad”
Tonight you may be in this place
- You are dying of spiritual thirst
- You are dry inside
- You feel like you have been abandoned by everyone
- You even feel like God has let you down
But tonight if you will lift up your voice
- If you will cry out to God
- If you will open your heart to him
- God has a well of water prepared for you
Living water that flows from the very throne of God
John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (KJV)
God heard Ishmaels cry and he not only quenched his thirst but he gave him a promise
Gen 21:18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. (KJV)
Listen to me God has a great plan for your life
- His desire is that you be fruitful
- That his blessing flows threw your life
- As children of God there is an inheritance for you
- No matter your birth
You may feel tonight that everyone is against you
You may feel like an outcast of society
- But God still loves you
Hosea 14:3 for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. (KJV)
+
ILL> A letter written during world war 2
Dear son,
I wish I had the power to write
The thoughts wedged in my heart tonight
As I sit watching this small star
And wondering were and how you are
You know, son, it’s a funny thing
How close a war can really bring
A father, who for years with pride,
Has kept emotions deep inside
I’m sorry, son, when you were small
I let reserve build up that wall;
I told you real men never cried,
And it was mom who always dried
Your tears and smoothed your hurts away
So that you son went back to play
But, son, deep down within my heart
I longed to have some little part
In drying that small tear-stained face
But we were men—men don’t embrace.
And suddenly I found my son
A full-grown man, with childhood done.
Tonight your far across the sea
Fighting a way for men like me
Well, somehow pride and what is right
Have changed places here tonight
I find my eyes won’t stay quite dry
And that men sometimes really cry
And if we stood here, face to face,
I’m sure, my son, we would embrace
Macartney’s Illustrations
There’s a heavenly father and he desires a relationship with you
