01-72 The Practice of God's Presence
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Genesis 26:1-33
Genesis 26:1-33
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 1979 So Great Yet so Little
1979 So Great Yet So Little
One of the most infamous freethinkers of England was a man by the name of Anthony Collins, who died in 1729. He was author of the well-known “Discourse on Freethinking.” This Collins one day met a poor working man on his way to church.
“Where are you going,” asked Collins.
“To church, sir,” answered the workingman.
“Is your God a great God or a little God,” asked Collins in an attempt to confuse the mind of the poor fellow. But the church-goer gave him the perfect answer:
“He is so great, sir, that the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, and so little that He can dwell in my heart.”
Collins later admitted that this simple but sublime answer of an uneducated man had more effect upon his mind than all the volumes of argument he had read in favor of religion.
Theologians speak of the omnipresence of God—that God is present everywhere. Many of them speak of another of God’s attributes alongside of omnipresence— “The immensity of God.” Immensity refers to the fact that God transcends and fills all space. This is difficult for us to fully grasp the implications of such a marvelous doctrine.
AW Tozer:
Genesis—Beginning and Blessing Chapter 41: Weakness—God’s Presence—Blessing
We should never think of God as being spatially near or remote, for He is not here or there but carries here and there in His heart. Space is not infinite, as some have thought; only God is infinite and in His infinitude He swallows up all space. “ ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ saith the LORD.” He fills heaven and earth as the ocean fills the bucket that is submerged in it, and as the ocean surrounds the bucket so does God the universe He fills. “The heaven of heavens cannot contain thee.” God is not contained: He contains.
Hear what the Scriptures teach:
27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!
23 “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? 24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
What David is expressing is that God was present wherever David would go and that all of God (not merely some aspect of God) was present in His whole being. Wayne Grudem explains: “God does not have any size or spatial dimension and is present at every part of space with his whole being, and yet God acts differently in different places.”
God is present with every point of space in his entire being—that is spatially present everywhere but He is specially present with His people and the presence of God in the lives of His own children is an exceptional blessing to those who have perceived His presence.
David says in another psalm:
11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
The Lord says:
Matthew 28:20 (NASB95)
20 and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
That’s a special name that was given to LJ—Immanuel “God with us”. His presence is manifest where the church is faithful to discipline those who are living contrary to the way.
20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” 6 so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”
What does it mean to be in the presence of God? We often pray for God to be with us…so what are we asking? What does that mean? What should an awareness of God’s presence do for us, to us, in us?
The title of my sermon is “The Practice of God’s Presence” and here I want to explore with you what God’s omnipresence means practically for those who know the Lord.
Kent Hughes writes: “The truth for believers is: All of God is always with us in every place and at all times to protect us and bless us. And when taken to heart this truth is elevating and life-altering.”
This doesn’t mean that some of God is over there, some over here with some elsewhere. “God is present with every point of space in his entire being.” And this truth will have an impact on your life right now.
As we come to Gen 26, basically the history of Isaac is condensed into this 1 chapter. We’re not going to take time to study these verse in great detail (and there is much that we could spend time digging deep) but I want us to see how Isaac learned that God was present with him: future promise, present reality, past reality—vs 3, vs 24, vs 28.
I have 4 headings that will take us thru our vv this morning and as we begin to look at them I think it is necessary to say that when we consider God’s presence, most of the time we are thinking about God’s blessing. But sometimes the presence of God pertains to sustaining His creation or in punishing sin/unbelievers.
1. Adversity & God’s Presence
1. Adversity & God’s Presence
vv 1-5
We see several similarities b/t Isaac and his father Abraham. First, there is another famine in the land. When the famine struck during the time of Abraham, he travelled to Egypt: vs 1. This probably is not the same Abimelech (or Phicol) as those were likely titles given to those who occupied those offices. But the circumstances mirror what Abraham had encountered.
Isaac was going to set out b/c of the famine—seeking relief and as he started to make his way toward Egypt, YHWH appeared to Isaac—vs 2.
It is then that God promised Isaac His presence in the midst of adversity—this famine: vs 3. Now, God has already blessed Isaac at the bereavement of his father (25:11). Once again, God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants is reiterated (God is true to His Word): vv 4-5.
So Isaac has God’s instruction to go to the place God would show him and stay there. This was in Gerar. The exact place is unknown though most scholar speculate that it was an area to the west of Beersheba (and SW from Hebron--where Abraham was buried).
This was a test for Isaac. Would he obey the voice of God as his father Abraham had done previously? Or would he lean on his own understanding and go, contrary to the Lord’s instruction? Whatever adversity we encounter (difficult family relationships, economic hardship, persecution that you’ll encounter for desiring to live godly in XJ) you have God’s promise: I will be with you. What an overwhelming joy this is to have the certainty of God’s presence in all that you encounter. Isaac did well as he settles in Gerar—sort of!
2. Sin & God’s Presence
2. Sin & God’s Presence
vv 6-11
Isaac is like his father in other ways too. One is how he handled a perceived threat and feared for his own life—vs 7. Aha! just like his father Abraham (Gen 12:11-13; 20:11).
Abraham and Isaac both married “beautiful” women. The men of Egypt noticed Sarah and the men of Gerar notice Rebekah and began to take an interest in her. Now, no doubt Isaac learned of his father’s scandal (x2) and he followed directly in his footsteps. Now, even though this sin is not condemned here by God, or even later recounted as to suggest that Isaac forfeits his position in the Messianic line, Isaac’s sin is a disgrace and God can never be pleased by sin.
Habakkuk 1:13 (NASB95)
13 Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor.
As believers, we can be convinced of God’s presence, affirming the reality that God is always everywhere…but to live in a way that this dominates our lives is another matter. Isaac was assured of God’s presence “I will be with you.” But that knowledge did not result in Isaac restraining his own fears or keep him from sinning. Does the presence of God keep you from sinning? It should, but many times we act like Isaac.
Herman Bavinck (Dutch theologian d. 1921):
When you wish to do something evil, you retire from the public into your house where no enemy may see you; from those places of your house which are open and visible to the eyes of men you remove yourself into your room; even in your room you fear some witness from another quarter; you retire into your heart, there you meditate: he is more inward than your heart. Wherever, therefore, you shall have fled, there he is. From yourself, whither will you flee? Will you not follow yourself wherever you shall flee? But since there is One more inward even than yourself, there is no place where you may flee from God angry but to God reconciled. There is no place at all whither you may flee. Will you flee from him? Flee unto him.
8 You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
The blessing of God’s presence, when the believer sins, is to encounter the discipline of the Lord. That discipline takes on many forms…sometimes God uses the unregenerate to rebuke to His child. This is what happened with Isaac—vv 8-11.
“caressing” vs 8 (showing endearment, sporting, laughing). This is the term used of Ishmael toward younger Isaac that incensed Sarah (21:9). It is more than just laughing with Rebekah (that wouldn’t draw suspicion) but the term suggests that Isaac was behaving intimately with his wife in view of the public. So the king confronts Isaac—vs 9-10.
It’s bad when believers err in conduct but when the world has to come to rebuke us for that behavior—it is truly a sad state of affairs. The presence of God in our lives should cause us to grow in sensitivity toward our sin that we would become more holy and righteous like LJC who saved us and who is in us.
3. Conflict & God’s Presence
3. Conflict & God’s Presence
vv 12-22
We don’t have anything specific in the text but it seems as though the rebuke from Abimelech was received and Isaac responded the way God wants us to respond to correction—living obediently. And God blessed him abundantly. vs 12—he reaped 100-fold. Now, remember this is the year of a famine and there was only wasteland around him. For Isaac to have prospered, God must have been with him. Moses tells us that is why, b/c God blessed him—vv 13-14.
From the worldly perspective, this produces widespread envy among those who don’t know the Lord. Moses describes their envy—a term that denotes a strong, hostile, disruptive passion at Isaac’s unusual prosperity. Notice how they responded—vs 15.
This had an immediate effect on Isaac’s herd by cutting off a treasured water source. Now, in Abraham’s day, the residents of Gerar simply seized the wells to use them for themselves. In this case, they filled them in with dirt so they were useful to no one. The tensions b/t Isaac and the Philistines were deteriorating so Abimelech asks him to leave b/c “you are too powerful for us” (vs 16).
I want you to notice how Isaac responds to this present conflict. It is made possible b/c he recognized that God was with him and that prosperity was not tied to a particular location but to that fact that God’s blessing was upon him.
vs 17-22. Isaac doesn’t fight over the wells. He is not one to prefer disputes but would rather seek to end the conflicts by simply digging another well and then another. He was finally far enough away from the quarrelling herdsmen b/c “God has made room.” You see Isaac’s perspective in this whole ordeal—that wherever he went, God was with him.
4. Peace & God’s Presence
4. Peace & God’s Presence
vv 23-33
Of course, peace is the opposite of conflict. Isaac preferred peace b/c that’s what the godly do.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
12 Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
Isaac sought peace and that’s what he encountered with the Philistines.
So Isaac, once again, is on the move and heads toward Beersheba. Here the Lord reveals Himself again to Isaac: vs 24.
God is so very gracious to speak again the oath that was made to Abraham and his descendants. This same promise is given to Isaac and his descendants. Here, Isaac begins to shine. He has followed in the footsteps of his father Abraham for the worse but here—just like Abraham (man of altars)…Isaac hears God’s promise and he can do 1 thing: WORSHIP.
When you live in a way that pleases the Lord—you’re going to have peace—especially with those around you.
7 When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
So Abimelech…vv 26-31.
“God has been with you.” This is the central theme of ch 26. I will be with you, I am with you, I have been with you…Abimelech knew fully well that God was with Isaac. He had blessed him abundantly. After pitching his tent at Beersheba, and after they had exchanged oaths to one another to live in peace…vs 32-33.
The city was already named Beersheba by Abraham when he made an oath with Abimelech 80 years earlier (21:31)—so it is the “well of the oath.” Isaac again is like his father in making the peace treaty with a pagan king and naming a city (or renaming) in this case.
Isaac lived in a way that acknowledged that God was present in his life. He obviously had his missteps but in general, God poured out his blessing on Isaac and he live in a manner that pleased the Lord.
Let me close by giving you 3 words that should help see what God’s presence in your life should mean:
Guide
Guide
God’s presence means that He is always with you to guide you in the way you should go. When you believe on the LJC—from a doctrinal point of view…you have all 3 members of the Godhead dwelling with/in you.
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
Col 1:27 Christ in you the hope of glory.
10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
All 3 persons are in you and you have this overwhelming presence of God to guide you, to direct you, to lead you in the path of His will.
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
As you become increasingly aware of God’s guiding presence, you will encounter great joy in following and living in Him.
Guard
Guard
I want to come back to that vs in Gal (Gal 5:16-21)…God’s spirit in us, with us is to our great benefit by guarding us against walking into the temptations of the flesh.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
It is the desire and the delight of every Xn to live in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord. One of God’s blessings to us—the presence of HS is to guard us against the sins of the flesh. And Paul explains what they are in 3 groups: sensual sins, religious sins, and social sins. Those who “practice” these things (speaking of durative, on-going, habitual pattern of life) will not see life. Walk by the Spirit and you cannot carry out the deeds of the flesh…this is the HS’s ministry to those who belong to Christ.
Growth
Growth
The next vs—Paul says “But…fruit of Spirit...”
When you recognize God’s presence you will grow in sanctification grow in Christ-likeness, grow in godliness, holiness, in righteousness. There is 1 fruit of the Spirit…but it manifests itself in many ways (9 in Gal—but not exhaustive—humility, meekness—and other qualities of godliness). Walking by God’s Spirit-(moment by moment, day by day awareness) knowing that God is with you…you will increasingly bear the fruit of righteousness.
Do you believe God is with you? Your life will demonstrate to what degree you believe this. Now, go and live as though He is!