The Child of Promise

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 109:16-31

Psalm 109:16–31 ESV

For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death. He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him! He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones! May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day! May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life! But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me! For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me. I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust. My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat. I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads. Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to your steadfast love! Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it! Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad! May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak! With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

Scripture Memorization: Genesis 50:19-20

Genesis 50:19–20 “But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:12-22

2 Corinthians 1:12–22 ESV

For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you. Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Sermon:

1

Speaker 1

00:00

Once again, and as always, good morning church. I was glad when they said to me let us go and Worship in the house of the Lord. This morning, the text we will be turning our attention to Genesis chapter 21. Verses one through seven. A shorter text, a very, very important text.

00:27

I've been. Maybe rightly criticized sometimes. Most often by myself. If I'm being honest with preaching too slowly? Through books of the Bible. Here we are. It's chapter 30, sorry, sermon 35, in the Book of Genesis. And we've barely made it to chapter 21 in terms of the length of the book.

00:55

We're not even halfway done with the Book of Genesis. We've been memorizing for the past 35 weeks. A passage from Genesis 50. That is the last chapter, so Genesis 25 would be halfway through. And so, here we are 35 weeks in. Not even halfway through the book. And it feels like it's taking a long time.

01:24

And sometimes I, I feel that with you. I remember as much as I loved going through the book of Isaiah. Those of you that were here for this series. We get to the end of that series, and we're like, okay, we've heard a lot, like, will you trust God and not man, will you trust God and not man?

01:39

Don't trust man trust in God, but you feel the weight of it, and I actually think that's part of why I like to go slow. I think that's good for us to feel the same weight. But sometimes. Like the passage we have for today. It feels even more appropriate.

01:58

To have been taking this long to get here. And so before we even read the passage. I just want to remind us. Of the the length of time. We have been in Genesis. I want to feel that just a little bit if you'll humor me. We started. We back at the beginning of the year in Genesis 1.

02:22

And in Genesis 1, God creates the Earth, he carefully. With care and goodness creates the good Earth. Chapters 1 chapter two, God is creating the Earth, and in particular, God is creating man in his own image. Male and female, he created them. Created man, he looked, he said. Man needs a helper.

02:46

He needs a helpmate. And so he took a rib from Adam's side and fashioned for him a perfect helpmate. Adam looked and said, behold, this at last is bone of my bone and Flesh of My Flesh. He called her Eve or she had come out of. We'll know who she's called these because she was a father she's called woman for.

03:07

She was taken out of. Man, the E Shah from the ish in the Hebrew. Then Genesis 3, everything broke. The serpent came tempted the woman, while Adam just sat there. Did nothing. Adam or Eve eight. Then she gave the Apple to her husband. And he ate and immediately. The scales fell from their eyes.

03:36

They realize their sinfulness. They're hiding from God and God comes, and he speaks to them.

03:44

To the serpents cursed. Are you? And I will put amnity between your seed and the seat of the woman. You shall strike his heel, and he shall crush your head to the woman, he said. I will multiply your birth, your pain, and child bearing. Your desire will be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you to the man, he said in toil, Blood, Sweat, and Tears.

04:06

Shall you eat all the days of your life? Life. Continue chapter 3. Sorry, in chapter four. You have Cain and Abel?

04:22

Kills his brother. We feel for a moment that the seed of the serpent came maybe has defeated. And killed the seed of the woman in Abel. And yet, after God deals with that situation, another son is born Seth. And then we get our genealogies. From Adam through Seth. To a man named Noah.

04:47

And a long story of Noah. The Earth is filled with sinful people. And God sees fit to judge the Earth. He sends a flood to destroy everyone. But Noah has found favor in God's sight. God calls Noah build an ark, take four, take you, your wife, your three sons, and their wives.

05:08

That's all the humanity that will live. With your family. Take two of every animal except for the clean ones. Take seven of those. After 40 days and 40 nights of rain. All the time waiting for the flood to recede. Abraham walks off the Ark. He offers a sacrifice to God, praising God in his goodness.

05:35

In the noises.

05:40

Gets drunk on wine. He becomes a tender of the vineyard. He has trunk on wine, one of his sons. Uncovers his nakedness. Two of his other sons cover his nakedness, the one who. Uncovers his naginess. Is curse. The other two are blessed. The more genealogies. And then we get to the Tower of Babel.

06:07

After seeing what we call the table of Nations, God is growing and multiplying man on the earth. Man is being faithful to be fruitful and multiply. When we get the Tower of Babel where man is divided Now by their language, God confuses because man's high and haughty attitude. There's desire to reach God's spaces, achieve God's prerogatives to be like God.

06:29

Ultimately, which was the sin of Adam and Eve. So, God comes confuse their language spreads man across the face of the Earth. For all this chaos and all of this sin. One man Rises in Genesis chapter 12. We are introduced to at this point Abram. And God calls Abram.

06:55

From ER of the Chaldeans. He says, go to the land. I will show you. He ends up in haran, him, and his father. His family. There in haran, his father passes away. God calls Abraham, a man of 75 years of old. He calls him go. Go to the promised land, and I will make of you a great nation.

07:24

So, we've been building chapters one through 12 get us to this man, Abraham. And God's promise to him. You're gonna have descendants. The descendants will be a nation. You'll inherit this land. I'm going to show you.

07:40

And Abraham, a man of 75 years old, has no kids.

07:46

He begins to trust God. Imperfectly trust God, but trust God. In Genesis 12, verses 13, verses 14. 15, 16, 17, and is 18. And he's 19. Genesis 20. We've been following the life of Abraham. In the background has been this promise. You will have descendants. You will have a son.

08:13

You will have a child. Abraham's tried his own way instead of with his wife, Sarah. At the time, his wife Sarai. He tries with his handmaiden. He has an illegitimate son, God says. That's not the child of promise that will not be the one that this nation will come through.

08:32

He's lied, he's failed. And yet, God has come. God has made promise after promise. He has covenanted with Abraham. With Abram over and over again, changing his name to Abraham in fact. And Abraham 75, when he first gets the cough. Chapter 12, chapter 13, chapter 14, chapter 15, chapter 16, chapter 17, chapter 18, chapter 19, chapter 20, 25 years of Abraham's life.

09:00

Still no child? Waiting. And waiting. And waiting. In chapter 17, God said one more year. What Abraham was 99 years old one more year?

09:19

You've waited 24 years. What's one more? One more year. You will have a son. Everyone's messed up again.

09:32

That's the background. For Genesis chapter 20, verses 1 through 7.

09:40

Genesis chapter 21, rather verses 1 through 7. The Lord visited Sarah, as he had said. And the Lord did to Sarah, as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham, a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son, who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him Isaac.

10:07

And Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac, when he was eight days old as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him. And Sarah said God has made laughter for me. Everyone who hears will laugh over me. And she said, who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children yet?

10:30

I have borne him a son. In. Old age. These are the words of the Lord for us this morning. It's open with the word of prayer. Dealore, we do. Thank you for your grace and your mercy. So, we read in this text. We thank you for your faithfulness.

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Though often we feel like we must.

10:55

You're the God, who cares for us, who holds us in The God Who will answer according to all of your goodness? Of your might all of your strength and power. So we thank you. The UC fit to save us to deliver us to work in. And so we asked that you would speak to us according to your word.

11:13

May our our hearts be enlivened as we see your goodness and Grace. May our Spirits be moved as we hear and understand who you are and what you do. May we learn to trust in you in the midst of? All of our lives. It's in Jesus name, we pray.

11:31

Amen. And amen. After 25 years. After nine chapters. Here he is.

11:47

Here's the child of Promise. God's faithfulness. Is on display. This truly is our first blank as we walk our way through. Seeing? The finally the the long-awaited arrival of the child of Promise, the one that we've been longing for the one that has been in our thoughts in our mind in our longings.

12:19

As we put ourselves in Abraham's position here, and we feel the weight of the waiting. Look here to God's faithfulness. As chapter 21 opens, we are told this is who is doing this work? Verse, chapter 21, verse 1 the Lord visits Sarah, the Lord did to Sarah, as he promised the Lord has done this.

12:43

Yahweh, the covenantal God, the one who has promised the one who himself walked through the carcasses of the animals and says, I will do what I have promised to you, Abraham. It's not up to you, it's up to me, and if I don't do it, this curse beyond me, for I will bless you.

13:01

I will keep you. Abraham has waited, and he's waited, and he's waited. He's had his name changed from Abram to Abraham. His wife's name has been changed from Sarai to Sarah.

13:17

The father of a multitude Abraham here now has. His son, and it is because of God's faithfulness. God said he would do it, and he did. The Lord visited Sarah, as he had said the Lord did to Sarah, as he had promised. The Lord did these things. The Lord is good.

13:40

The Lord is faithful, all praise and honor, and glory to the Lord.

13:48

Abraham waited, and he waited, and he waited, and he waited, and God was still faithful. God is faithful. Here in this great miracle. News flash. Men who are a hundred years old. Don't have kids?

14:15

News flash. Women who are Sarah's age? Do not have kids women who. We read earlier in Genesis, the way of women had left her. Women who are? Biologically and medically speaking past menopause. Past childbearing age. You don't have children. And yet here. Sarah holds in her arms. Child of Promise.

14:50

Here, Abraham. Lays his eyes upon, he sees, and he Witnesses. This is the child of Promise. God has done for Abraham all that he promised he would. And here in this tiny baby, it's just in seed form. This isn't the nation? Yet that God has promised. It's just one son.

15:18

But from this one son. Isaac. Will come another son. Jacob. Whose name will be changed to Israel? Who will have 12 sons who will become the 12 tribes of Israel who will grow and multiply that God will bless and keep and call. They will be his people. From this child, God's faithfulness will be on display.

15:46

From this child will come more children. From this child, one day will come David. To David, God will promise I will give to your sons, a kingdom that will never end. And God's faithfulness will be on display. And we keep going until we get to Matthew chapter 1 and we are finally seeing the true child of Promise.

16:10

It is Jesus Christ, Our Lord. The one who will save and deliver who will call us into relationship and right walking with God. When the child of Promise here it is Isaac. But because this child of Promise comes because of God's faithfulness. Here, God's faithfulness will continue, and here in seed form, we have the beginning of the hope and truth of the Gospel.

16:38

If for no other reason than this, God will move, and God will work. And God will do all that he has promised here to Abraham. He promised a child that would grow and become a nation. That Nation would become a blessing. To the whole world that all nations would be blessed by the one who comes from Abraham.

17:02

And we have the Blessed privileged position of looking back and saying Jesus is ultimately the child of Promise. But it starts here. Here's Isaac. Laughter.

17:19

Because God is faithful.

17:23

No matter how long we must wait. No matter what the waiting feels like. Never. For one moment, doubt this. He who called you is faithful. He will surely. Do it. The faithfulness of God is on display. Though we though he had to wait? Now, we've been waiting since chapter 12, though Abraham waited 25 years.

17:53

God's faithful.

17:57

So, what, then, is the right response? To God's faithfulness. I think that's a valid question. God's faithful. So, what do we do? And please hear very clearly this order. God is faithful. So, what then, do we do?

18:20

Well, Abraham is faithful. God's faithfulness is what leads to Abraham's faithfulness. God's faithfulness motivates and shapes Abraham's faithfulness. God's faithfulness calls Abraham to be faithful. And he is. Verse 3 Abraham called the name of the son who was born to him who Sarah bore him Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac, when he was eight days old as God had commanded him.

18:54

First and foremost, note God is faithful first and in response to God's faithfulness in response to. What God has done and what God is doing that moves in our life, and that motivates us to be faithful. Abraham's faithfulness does not earn God's faithfulness. Abraham's Good Deeds, Abraham, doing what God commanded.

19:18

It's not that God sees that, and then says, okay, now I'll reward you. The way this works is God is faithful first, and that moves in Abraham's heart and soul and even gives him the opportunity to be faithful to what God had committed. When Isaac is eight days old God, Sir Abraham circumcises him as God has commanded.

19:41

When God said, this shall be a sign for you and for all of your descendants after you. This shall be the sign that they are my people. When a Isaac is eight days old. Abraham gives Isaac the sign of the Covenant. This is the child of Promise. Abraham is admitting to what God has already said.

20:03

Through my children, God will bless through this. This is the child I've waited for, and so Abraham is faithful when God asks him and tells him and commands him to do something Abraham doesn't.

20:18

Verse 5 when he's a hundred years old.

20:24

God has shown his faithfulness to Abraham time and time again. Truly, this is the biggest sort of picture of God's faithfulness to Abraham. This is the promise that Abraham has been waiting for. This is the payoff. I don't say this lightly. This is, in many ways, the payoff of Abraham's life.

20:46

His life has been lived up to this moment to have this son and this child. Because been faithful to Abraham when Abraham was wandering in Egypt doing the whole. Yeah, that's my sister, but she's actually my wife thing. God blessed Abraham. As Abraham wandered around and was not in the land, God still came and blessed him.

21:07

God was still faithful God covenanted with him. Because God is faithful. When he's here. Last week, we looked at when he's around there with with. App with King abimelech. When he's running around in Gerard, God is still faithful. God still blesses him. He blesses, and he keeps, and he blesses, and he keeps God is faithful.

21:29

And because of God's faithfulness. Now, Abraham is faithful in response. True obedience. Our faithfulness is a response to God in his goodness and his faithfulness first. We don't earn God's favor. We don't Curry God's favor with our good works. We don't Curry God's favor by trying to be better.

21:52

We don't earn God's favor. God is faithful and the response to God's faithfulness in our heart and life is service and devotion and love for him.

22:06

The right response to God's faithfulness is our faithfulness. And we must keep that order in mind. It's not the only response. We need to pay attention to the end of this. We have God's faithfulness. We have Abraham's faithfulness. We have Sarah. Laughter. It's.

22:36

What a joy it is! To walk. And to experience. The goodness. Of the faithful God.

22:52

Sarah has gotten in trouble earlier. For laughing for laughing. If we remember when the one who is identified as the Lord? I believe a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus. And two others come, and they prophesy over her in one year. Your wife will have a baby. Sarah laughs. There's no way.

23:17

There's no way. Someone as old as me. Now that I'm old and all dried up, what she says. After I'm worn out, and my Lord is old. Now, I'll have pleasure, she laughs. And she's confronted. Actually, her husband's confronted, the Lord, says to Abraham. Why did your wife laugh?

23:40

Why did Sarah, why is she laughing right now? This isn't a laughing matter. She's going to have a child in a year. That's a joyous, wonderful. It's something to laugh at to mock. Genesis, chapter 18, verse 15, Sarah denied it, saying I did not laugh. For, she was afraid, but he said, no, you did.

24:02

Sarah Lofton mocking maybe I? I think it's more doubt and just the the ridiculousness of it all. Sarah's probably at her wit's end. We've been waiting. We've heard this all before 25 years. We've been waiting. She's laughing! Maybe the sort of laughter to keep from crying sort of maneuver?

24:28

But if she looks at this? Child. That God has promised.

24:36

Says God has made laughter for me. In fact, the name Isaac means laughter. Not in a mocking laughter. Like before, no, her laughter has been turned to Pure Joy as she Witnesses the faithfulness of God. To see the faithfulness of God. The right response is, like, Abraham, to be faithful to what God has called us to.

25:04

But truly, the right response is this joy that Wells up in our hearts so that we can rightly say the joy of the Lord is my strength.

25:19

Cereals. That's laughter.

25:25

An old woman. Who no one would ever think could have a child.

25:32

Has laughter? Is the laughter that just exists in a house? When a child? Loved and longed for. Has arrived.

25:48

And in between the difficult times the crying. Maybe not diapers in the same way, but? All of the things that come with babies.

26:02

You see? The smile on a baby's face?

26:08

There's laughter. And there's. Sarah said God has made laughter for me and everyone who hears will laugh over me. This is not a mocking laughter. The laughter that Sarah here speaks of this laughter that is laughed over. Her is no longer mocking, like she did. It's no longer a mocking laughter where they say Sarah thinks she's going to have a child.

26:32

How hilarious is that? It's not mocking. It's not demeaning laughter, the laughter that is laughed over her, is the laughter of joy and goodness and warmth. It's good friends who come together and share a laugh as they see and experience God's faithfulness. It is. Unencumber. There is no limit to this Joy, and that is the right response to God's faithfulness.

27:05

This. Is the moment we've been waiting for.

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And God is faithful. God is always. Faithful.

27:19

And so in our lives. How can we? What's the application? How do we think through this?

27:29

God is faithful.

27:34

In the midst of Trials in the midst of difficulties in the midst of waiting in the midst of pain in the midst of the hard times in the midst of the things that aren't going right in the midst of the things that you wish were better in the midst of the things that feel broken in the midst of the things when the world is mourning in the midst of the thing.

27:51

When all of this, when everything's broken, when all things are going wrong, God is faithful.

28:00

Every promise God has made will come true. How do we know we see it in Isaac? We see it when he sends Moses. We see it in David. And we see it ultimately in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For when the fullness of time had come. Jesus was born under the law to redeem us from the curse of the law.

28:26

For God, so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus said, take and drink all of you. For this is the New Covenant new promise in my blood. The New Testament teaches us all of the promises of God, find their yes, and amen.

28:47

In Jesus, he is the answer, and the rejoicing in our hearts for every promise of God. God is faithful. So what? Then church is asked of you. We too ought to be faithful. To wherever and whatever God has called us to. If he has called us to the wait, the 25-year weight of Abraham, be faithful in your waiting.

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Be faithful to live lives. Paul tells us worthy of the calling that you have received.

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Be faithful. And Hero.

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Have joy.

30:25

Sort of Joy, they can say.

30:40

When peace like a river? A tendeth my way. When Sorrows like see Billows roll? Whatever my lot. Thou has taught me to say. It Is Well. It is well. With my soul.

Unspeakable. Joy that Wells up within us? Joy that is not affected or? Quashed by the trials and Troubles of today joy that the world cannot shake or. Interfere with joy that Wells from deep within my soul, the sort of Joy that can say.

30:06

My sin. Oh, the Bliss of this glorious thought, my sin, not impart, but the whole. Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. O my soul.

31:07

May we walk in the joy the laughter? When we see God's faithfulness, may we be faithful? To walk in all that God has called us to, not to earn not to gain, but because God was faithful. Now, may the God of Peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, he who calls you, is faithful.

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He will surely do it. So, we walk in the newness of.

31:47

God is good. All the time. And all the time. God is good. Let's pray.