The Promised Son is Born

“The Promised Son is Born”

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Don’t you love the birth of a baby; there is nothing like hearing the cry of a new born baby. I was there when all 3 of our children were born, it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen!!

I got news for us men, we are not a tuff as our wives; I was coaching Tess, telling her how to breath, wiping her brow, bouncing around the room life a rub ball. And she looked at me like, I am going to kill you as soon as this is over.

What was it like when a 90 year old lady had a baby, it must have been physically hard on her, was Abraham in the tent with her are sitting in the fathers waiting room like they use to do it. One of the young men in the waiting room said, hey pop’s is it your son or daughter that is having the baby? Abraham says, it is my wife, woe, are you kidding, you are the man…

After 25 years of waiting for the promised son to be born Isaac arrives; and Abraham and Sarah and the whole camp rejoices over the birth of Isaac, everyone but one person, Ishmael. He is not happy, he does not welcome Isaac, and he mocks, ridicules and persecutes the promised son.

They way Abraham and Sarah respond to the birth of Isaac is an example of how we should respond to the greater son of Promise the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are two ways that we should respond to the Son of God today:

#1 we should:

1. Receive Him with Great Joy!

V:1-7.

The first few verses in this chapter are filled with joy and celebration, after years and years of waiting for the promised son to be born, he is here.

V:1-2“The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him”

The Lord visited Sarah…God intervened in her life and she got pregnant and had a baby, it was a miracle of God. A 100 year old man and a 90 year old woman have a bouncing baby boy!

This intervention in Sarah life blessed her, it filled her life with joy and laughter, a baby is born into her life!! This intervention into her life would not only changer her life, but it would change the destiny of the world; because from this son would come the nation of Israel and the Savior of the World-Jesus!!

The birth of Isaac was a time of great Joy, because:

· God’s keeps His Promises!

We are told that this fulfillment was based on the word of God, three times in two verses we are told that God was fulfilling His word when Isaac was born:

· V:1-as the Lord has said.

· V:1-as he had spoken.

· V:2- at the set time which God had spoken to him.

God spoke to Abraham and told him in

-“At the time appointed I will return unto you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son”

God keeps His word, He always has and He always will! This reminds us of the absolute reliability of the word of God!! What God says you can believe!

, God had promise to make of Abraham a great nation that would bless the whole world. God had promised to make his descendants like the sand of the sea, and the stars of the sky.

And here is the start of it all, little baby Isaac, a miracle baby!!

The birth of Isaac was a time of great Joy, his birth meant:

· God rewards Patience!

After 25 years their son was finally born; the bible tells us, -“through faith and patience we inherit the promises”

As we trust and wait on the fulfillment of God’s promise we grow in godliness and faith.

Someone said, “When God wants to build our patience, He gives us promises, sends us trials, and tells us to trust Him”.

God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah, and it was a time of great rejoicing!!

The birth of Isaac was a time of great Joy, his birth meant:

· God demonstrates His Power!

One reason God waited so long to give them Isaac was to demonstrated His power: He wanted Abraham and Sarah to be "as good as dead" so that their son's birth would be a miracle of God and not a marvel of human nature ().

Abraham and Sarah experienced God's resurrection power in their lives because they yielded to Him and believed His Word.

The birth of Isaac was a time of great Joy, his birth meant:

· God accomplishes His purposes!

The future redemption of a lost world rested with a little baby boy! Isaac would beget Jacob, and Jacob would give the world the twelve tribes of Israel; and from Israel the promised Messiah would be born. Down through the centuries, some of the "living links" in the chain of promise may have seemed insignificant and weak; but they helped to fulfill the purposes of God.

You may wonder if what you do is really important to God and His work in this world; but it is, if you are faithful to trust His Word and do His will.

The next time you feel defeated and discouraged, remember Abraham and Sarah; and remember that faith and promises go together. God keeps His promises and gives you the power you need to do what He wants you to do. No matter how long you may have to wait, you can trust God to accomplish His purposes. Abraham and Sarah received the promised son with great joy!

Listen to what Sarah said, V:6-7”Sarah said, “God has made me to laugh; so everyone who hears will laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

You can just hear the joy and excitement in her voice; what a mind-boggling, promise-keeping, prayer-answering, miracle-working God we have!!

All the ridicule she had faced, all the agonizing monthly disappointments she had endured, all the sorrow she had felt and had seen in Abraham’s eyes were swept away as though they had never been! Unspeakable joy welled up in her heart, spilling out in tears from her wrinkled eyes and laughter from her aged lips! At long last, Sarah was a mother!

I can see her hand the baby over to Abraham, and he takes Isaac up in his arms and smiles, laughs and thanks God!!

Not only did Abraham respond to the birth of Isaac with Joy, he also responded with obedience.

V:3-4-“And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.

Abraham named the baby Isaac in obedience to God; and he circumcised him in obedience to God.

You can’t have lasting Joy without obedience!!

This home was filled with laughter, because God had made them laugh, V:6.

Nobody but God can put real, lasting Joy into your life.

Abraham and Sarah received Isaac, the son of promise with great Joy!!

And today, you should receive the promised Son of God with great joy!! There is a parallel between the birth of Isaac, and the birth of the Son of God:

· Jesus birth was a fulfilment of God’s Promise!

Jesus birth was promised before Isaac’s birth was promised.

-“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

God is telling about the seed of a woman, the virgin birth of the promised Son of God.

· Jesus had a miracle birth.

Jesus birth was a greater miracle than Isaac’s birth, he was born of a virgin, the angel came to Mary and said to her, -“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.

· Jesus birth was for God’s purpose!

Jesus was born for an expressed purpose:

-“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

-“ But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

The birth of Jesus brought great joy to this world; Jesus and joy go together!!

When Jesus was born, the angel said,

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

The Pharisee hated Jesus because He was filled with so much Joy; he went to dinners, weddings, he held children. What do you think it would have been like to follow Jesus around for a day? Blind people are getting there sight back, the deaf are hearing, the lame are walking… and everybody is filled with Joy and amazement!!

-“God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

Yes, Jesus was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief, but He was a man of Great Joy also!

The life of Jesus was a life of Joy; Jesus endured death on the Cross, because of the Joy set before Him! Friend, when Jesus walked out of that tomb on resurrection morning, there was Joy, the angels rejoiced, the women rejoiced, the disciples rejoiced!!

When get a glimpse into heaven in the book of Revelation and we see a worship service around the throne of God, we hearing praise going to the Lamb of God on the throne, to the Lord Jesus Christ!!

And when you receive Jesus into your heart, there is Joy in your life!! The fruit of the spirit is love, joy…

Isaiah said, -“Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation”.

There is no real and lasting Joy like the Joy when Jesus is born into your heart and life!

, we are told about the lost sheep, silver and son, and when each one of these things are found there is joy. Jesus says just like finding those things brings joy on earth, that when a lost sinner is saved there is joy in heaven.

If you get saved today, you will set off a party in heaven in your honor!!!

Jesus will be filled with joy that His blood has made you clean, you loved ones will be shouting down the streets of gold; and all of heaven will rejoice, if you get saved today!!

And the person who will rejoice the most, will be you; and we will rejoice right along with you!!

A sad, negative, gloomy Christian who walks around with a tombstone under one arm, and a coffin under the other arm, looking like they’ve been sucking on dill pickles is false advertisement! Jesus didn’t make you a mean, nasty, sour, negative person, you did that to yourself. When Jesus saved me, he gave me joy, peace and purpose.

-“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Jesus picked me up, set me up, straighten me up, filled me up, and has tuned me up to praise His name!! Jesus did for me something that religion couldn’t do, something the Baptist couldn’t do, something the church couldn’t do…

He saved my soul, forgave my sin, changed my life, and I am going to live for him, praise him, love Him, and serve him until I die or He comes and gets me in the rapture.

And I am not going to let some mean-spirit dead, dry, backslidden Baptist steal my joy!!

When Isaac was born, it was a time of great Joy; when Jesus is born into your heart and life, it is a time of great Joy.

The second way we should respond to the Son of God today is to:

2. Remove Whatever Opposes Him!

V:8-14.

The Joy of Isaac’s begin weaned would have happened when he was around 3 years old, and Ishmael was around 15 years old.

We are told that Abraham made a great feast to celebrate Isaac begin able to now eat table food, he was growing. But during the party, Sarah sees Ishmael V:9-“mocking” Isaac, and mommy ain’t happy!

The word “mocking” means- laughing and making fun of, to make sport of. It is the same word as was used to describe Lot as he attempted to warn his family, he seemed to them as one that mocked, they didn’t take him serious are respected him.

It is the same word that is used to describe what the Philistines did to Samson after they put his eyes out, they made fun of him.

Ishmael is making fun of Isaac, he is ridiculing him, , says that he persecuted him.

Ishmael does not like Isaac, he is a threat to his position and place in the family, he wants to be the heir, he is the first- born, the child of the flesh, and he does not like the promised-son, the child of the Spirit. When Sarah saw this, listen to what she said:

V:10-12-Read.

She told Abraham, Ishmael must go, he is a threat to Isaac, his growth, future and place of authority and prominence, Abraham was shaken by the thought of casting Ishmael out, but God said do it, Ishmael and Isaac cannot coexist together.

What does this teach us; Paul tells us the spiritual application to our lives in :

-“And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the Scripture say? Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.

In this chapter, Ishmael is a picture of the flesh, Isaac a picture of the Spirit, and the flesh and the Spirit are in conflict with each other and always will be until we see the Lord.

Just as Ishmael mocked, ridiculed, and dominated Isaac, so the flesh will mock, ridicule, persecuted and try to dominate the Spirit of God in your life, the flesh must be put off, cast off, crucified with Christ!!

There can be no compromise, Ishmael, the flesh must not be given a place!

Please don’t miss this truth, as soon as the son of promise was received with Joy, the son of the flesh begin to oppose him. And it will be the same way in your life spiritual; as soon as you receive the son of God, your sinful nature will oppose Him!!

That is why the bible tells us in several places to

“Put off the old man, and put on the new man”

There is a battle that starts in your life the moment you receive Jesus into your life; Paul tells us about it in , he said the things I don’t want to do I end up doing, the things I want to do I end up not doing; then he cries out, who can deliver me from this body of death?

You have an Ishmael and Isaac in you; and the flesh must be cast out, the old man put off, the flesh crucified daily.

Do you have an Ishmael in your life, some friendship that is opposing your spiritual life?

Do you have an Ishmael of lust that is dominating you; you must cast out the flesh!

Do you have an Ishmael of greed, and selfishness that is control your life, you must cast it out.

The flesh will control and destroy your spiritual life, unless you become brutal with it, cast it out, cut it off, and crucify it with Christ.

Now I must warn you of two things:

1. If will be painful to say no to the flesh!

V:10- "Wherefore Sarah said to Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son."

The Hebrew word, grievous, really means to shake violently. This really shook Abraham up when he was told to get rid of this Ishmael. This was very painful. This was not an easy matter to Abraham.

When you make up your mind to be totally committed to Jesus, there is a pain involved. It is not a pleasant experience, there's a price involved in putting Jesus Christ first in your life.

- "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you."

When the knife cuts, the vine bleeds. When the dross, the impurity of our lives is consumed, the fire is hot. There is a price to pay to be totally committed to the Lord. It hurts sometimes to do God's will in your life.

Jesus demands to be and deserves to be #1 in your life!

2. You can’t do it on your own.

Abraham knew what Sarah told him was true, and it was painful to hear it; but it was not until God spoke to him that he was able to do it.

Don’t get the idea that I am saying, that when your flesh rises up against the new nature that you just need to dig a little deeper, try a little harder and you can overcome the flesh and live in victory; no that is never going to happen!! NEVER!!

You do not have what it takes to overcome the flesh, unless God speaks, unless God intervenes, unless God gives you His supernatural power you will be a failure.

We are never told to defeat the flesh; we are told to walk in the Spirit, and when we walk in the spirit we won’t walk in the flesh. I am not preaching to you moral improvement; I am telling you the only way you can send away the Ishmael, is to hear what Abraham heard, V:12-“ For in Isaac shall your seed be called”

If you love Isaac, get rid of Ishmael, you overcome the flesh and live for Jesus, by loving Jesus more than anything else!

It is all about Jesus, Jesus is to be your #1 love, make him your life; it is only through the power of the gospel that you remove whatever opposes Jesus Christ!

Today respond to the son of God by; receiving Him into your heart with great Joy; and remove whatever opposes Him as Lord and master of your life.