Sunday, June 13, 2021

God’s Timeline – Part 28 Birth of Isaac

 

God’s Timeline – Part 28

Birth of Isaac

Pastor Bruce A. Shields

House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

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This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.  For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on Facebook at House of Faith Church

 


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 SERMON INTRODUCTION (2021 A.D. = 5781 Jewish Calendar Year)

 -         Creation Week (Approximately 4000 B.C.)

o   Adam, Eve, and the Fall


-         Cain and Abel

o   Evil Fills the World

 

-         Noah Did All God Commanded Him

o   The Flood 2400 – 2300 B.C.)

o   God’s Covenant with Noah

 

-         Noah’s Sons and Ham’s Sin

-         Nations of Noah’s Sons

-         Tower of Babel

-         God calls Abram (2090 B.C.)

o   Abram and Lot part ways

o   Rescue of Lot

-         The Lord’s Covenant with Abram for Isaac

o   Hagar and Ishmael Born (2101 B.C.) Abram 86 years old

o   Sarai and Isaac (2088 B.C.) Abraham 99 years old

-         The Three Visitors

-         Abraham Pleads for Sodom

-         Birth of Isaac (Hagar and Ishmael sent away)

 

 

SCRIPTURE READING

Genesis 21:1-21

“Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

 

6 Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 7 And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

 

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”

 

11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”

 

14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.

 

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob.

 

17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

 

19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

 

20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.”

 

 

        I.         GOD DOES WHAT HE PROMISED

a.      Sarah and Abraham have a child by the power and Spirit of God

                                     i.      Remember, God promised Abraham and Sarah a child

                                  ii.      Instead of believing the Lord, they formulated their own plan (of the flesh) to fulfill what God promised

                               iii.      This resulted in Abraham have a child with an Egyptian servant, naming him Ishmael (a work of the flesh)

                                iv.      Instead of living in faith and trust in the Lord (walking in the spirit) they allowed their faithless mistrust in the Word of the Lord to guide their actions.

                                   v.      The world has suffered this decision for over 4,000 years because of their choice.

                                vi.      The children of Ishmael and the children of Isaac have fought each other since.

 

b.     He is named Isaac

                                     i.      Meaning laughter

                                  ii.      Fitting, considering Sarah first laughed in unbelief at the prospect of the Lords promise that she and Abraham would have a child at their old age.

                               iii.      Secondly, Isaac speaks of blessing, increase, healing, life, well being

1.      Now Sarah laughs from never ending joy, and the promise that through her child the Messiah would come into the world

 

c.      He is the fulfillment of God’s Promise to bring the Messiah into the world

                                     i.      It is through Isaac that the promise of the Lord will be fulfilled

                                  ii.      Sarah nursed until about the age of 5, this is when the feast took place and the mother would turn over the boy to his father for training and education.

 

II.            HAGAR AND ISHMAEL ARE SENT AWAY

a.      The work of the Spirit is always at odds with the work of the flesh

                                     i.      Galatians 5:19-21 the works of the flesh – “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

 

                                  ii.      Galatians 5:22-26 the fruit of the Spirit – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

 

                               iii.      The flesh has to “work” to achieve, and even so, it was not produced by the Spirit, but a substitution created by man.

 

                                iv.      The Spirit produces “fruit”, naturally occurring results of the Spirit of God. Not forced, or man-made, but the result of the presence of the Spirit of God.

 

1.      Ishmael was a “work” of the flesh. Man trying to make God’s promise happen.

2.      Isaac was a “fruit” of the Spirit, a naturally occurring result of the Spirit of God fulfilling what He had promised.

 

b.     The presence of God’s Spirit brings contention against the Flesh

                                     i.      Paul explains this in Romans 7

1.      Romans 7:15 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

 

2.      Romans 7:21-25 “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

 

                                     ii.      Galatians 5:17 “For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another”

 

                                  iii.      We see this opposition in Genesis 21. Ishmael sees Isaac at the feast in his honor and begins mocking.

 

c.      The (work of the) flesh mocks the (fruit of the) Spirit

                                        i.      Ishmael at this time is between 18-20 years old. By now he must understand that Isaac “is” the promise of God, and the one who shall receive all of his father’s blessings and the promises of God for future generations.

                                     ii.      The flesh often mocks the Spirit.

 

III.            WHAT IS TO BE DONE WITH HAGAR AND ISHMAEL

a.      Before Sarah and Abraham made their mistake

                                        i.      God promised Abraham’s offspring would be a great nation

                                     ii.      God keeps His promise with Ishmael being one of Abrahams

                                  iii.      The offspring of Ishmael are many nations today

                                   iv.      The offspring of the work of the flesh to this day mock the fruit of the Spirit

 

b.     This contention typifies the two covenants

                                        i.      The Old covenant (in the flesh) and the New covenant (of the Spirit)

                                     ii.      The birth of the new demands the expulsion of the old

                                  iii.      If allowed to remain, Ishmael would have murdered Isaac

                                   iv.      Ultimately the works of the flesh have given us the religion of Islam

 

c.      The continuing battle of the flesh and spirit

                                        i.      It continues today, in us, and in the nations

                                     ii.      The offspring of Ishmael and Isaac will never have peace because they are of two different worlds.

 

                                  iii.      2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”

 

                                   iv.      The flesh and the spirit will never agree

 

 CONCLUSION –

 

To this point in Genesis, Abraham has barely been faithful and trusting of God.

 

He has had to be told multiple times about the Lord’s plans, and still, chose the “work” of the flesh instead of faith and trust in the Word of the Lord to fulfill the Lord’s promise by the Spirit.

 

Now, the Lord must do something for Abraham, and for humankind.

Abraham’s test.

 

 

 

Next week we will see the Lord test Abraham

 

 

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