24 29-67 When God Calls, We Better Listen
liberty bible church 3/9/08 P.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“when god calls, we better listen”
If we follow the will of God, we will be led by God.
Genesis 24:29-67
introduction
Illus. of the child development expert I heard this past week. He said that when your toddler throws a temper fit, they are doing it because they trust you so much. If they don’t throw temper fits, it’s because your relationship with them is not good. When they throw the fit, you need to talk quietly to them because this will quiet them down, when they realize that they can’t get to you. And viola, no more fit! Good luck with that. The Bible says that foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of reproof will drive it far from him. When I call my kids or tell them to do something, I expect first time obedience and if they fail, then the rod will train them to listen the next time.
If we expect to be led by God, then we have to be willing to follow God. If we fail, then God’s loving rod of reproof will bring us back to where He wants us to be. If we want our children to follow God’s will, then we must set the example for them and follow it as well, and then help them to find God’s will in their life. This is not always easy and the results may not be what we planned, but God will be glorified, when they are able to do what God is leading them to do. We see that tonight in the life of a young girl, who never dreamed what was about to happen to her. Nor did her father.
OPEN to passage.
Prop. In this passage, we see why following God is so important.
Open in PRAYER.
PREVIEW the passage. Last week we saw where Abraham had sent his oldest and most trusted servant to his home country to find a bride for Isaac. He comes to the city of Nahor, named for Abraham’s brother, and sits by the well where the young women come to gather water. He there meets, Rebekah, who happens to be the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor. He gives her some expensive gifts and then asks if they can lodge him and his men and camels. As of yet, Rebekah has no clue as to why he is there. That’s where we pick up the story and learn that we must be…
i. open to the communication of god vs. 29-33
Illus. of the number of people that God used to get my attention about serving him, most of whom were from my local church. At first, I wasn’t open and I became more discontent with my life. When I opened up to God’s communication, my life began to change for the better. We see here that Rebekah’s house was open to God and his messenger and this enabled them to hear God’s communication for their daughter.
a. We invite
V 29 1. Here we meet Laban. We’ll see a lot more of him later. In this culture, sometimes the brother gave their sister in marriage, which explains why Laban helped in the negotiations for Rebekah here.
V 30 2. Rebekah told her brother of her meeting this man at the well and that they possibly may have the honor of lodging him and his men. This was something that people sought to do. He was obviously very wealthy and it would be an honor to have him in their home.
V 31 3. Laban invites him in to their home. They can care for the men and the animals. As of yet, they know nothing of their connection. But, they are open and realize that these men have been blessed by God.
b. messengers come
V 32 1. He served the guests. It was like a 5-star hotel experience. And it was done for strangers. The Bible tells us that sometimes we may be entertaining angels and not even know it. That’s how they treated their guests.
V 33 2. Eliezer wanted to give the message that he had to deliver. He would not eat until this was done. He gave great priority to this task. It was a message, not just from Abraham, but from God Himself. Remember the hesed of God? “loyal love” or “loyalty to the covenant.” Cf. 12, 14, 27, 49 Eliezer wanted to be faithful to his covenant, as Abraham was and as God was in leading him here.
Trans. To be led by God, we must be OPEN TO THE COMMUNICATION OF GOD. Second, we must be…
ii. open to the call of god vs. 34-49
Illus. of After I determined to go to Bible College, I had to be open to God’s call for a specific place. I had my plans, but God had others. I had to be open to His call. Rebekah is called here.
a. god sometimes calls with people
V 34 1. He finally shares who he is. Certainly Laban would know of Abraham.
V 35 2. He has been blessed materially.
V 36 3. He has been blessed with a miracle child. That son is his heir.
V 37- 4. He recounts the whole story and we are given it again. It is not to be skipped over as meaningless repetition. It
41 is a great story and it is worth repeating. In it we see the faithfulness of God and many of His servants. God was leading and the servant faithfully followed. We can’t just listen to people.
b. god sometimes calls through prayer
V 42- 1. Now he recounts is time at the well that day and how he had prayed for God to show him who he should seek
48 as a bride for Isaac. God answers his prayers marvelously and immediately and he can do nothing but worship for this answer to prayer.
V 49 2. Now the question. And he uses the hesed. “kindly” Will Laban and Bethuel be as faithful as Abraham and Eliezer to this call from God. Note that the men had a real opinion in this matter. It was to them that Rebekah was to be submissive. It was them that would answer to God for whether or not she obeyed here. What would they do?
Trans. To be led by God, we must be OPEN TO THE COMMUNICATION OF GOD. Second, we must be OPEN TO THE CALL OF GOD. Finally, we must be…
iii. open to commit to god vs. 50-67
Illus. of when Cindi and I had to come to the point that we were committed to following God if that’s what He wanted us to do. We had to forsake family and friends and familiarity to follow God. Rebekah and her family must decide to do the same.
A. don’t stand in God’s way
V 50 1. This is from God. What can we say? He is far more authoritative in Rebekah’s life than we are.
V 51 2. They are willing to let her go and be obedient to the Lord in all of this. They too are willing to be faithful to God’s call, as is Rebekah. Anytime in this process, if any one of these people had not be hesed, faithful, God’s will could not have been accomplished.
V 52 3. Eliezer worships God for His faithful leading and allowing him to have success.
V 53 4. He gives gifts to Rachel and her family; perhaps a dowry of sorts.
V 54 5. They are ready to go to complete the mission. But, there is some hesitation. They must be…
b. commited to follow
V 55 1. They were having trouble letting go.
V 56 2. They were encouraged by Eliezer to not stand in the way of God. If this is of him, then let it be.
V 57 3. One last check. Is Rebekah willing? What if she says no?
V 58 4. She knows it is God’s will and so is willing to go.
V 59- 5. She goes with the blessings of her family. They didn’t even know what they were saying, but God’s
60 providence proved all this to be true.
V 61- 6. When everyone is obedient, God’s will can be accomplished. We certainly see that here in the lives of all these
67 patriarchs of God.
conclusion
When Gods calls, we better listen. To be led by God, we must be OPEN TO THE COMMUNICATION OF GOD. Second, we must be OPEN TO THE CALL OF GOD. Finally, we must be OPEN TO COMMIT TO GOD. If we will follow the will of God, we will be led by God. We can apply this from several perspectives, because we are all these people at one time or another.
1. The servant, Eliezer- he was submitted to God first and his master second. But, he was faithful to both and was led by God so as to be able to please his master. We know from 2 Pet. 2 that we are to submit to our masters, even when they are harsh. In this way, we act as Christ acted when he was crucified for us. To do this well, we must be submitted to God. GOSPEL
2. Laban and Bethuel- when they heard how God had led Eliezer, they could not stand in the way of God’s call. Even though they hesitated, they allowed Rebekah to go. As parents, we shouldn’t stand in the way of our children as God leads them. Our encouragement for them should be to find God’s will for their lives, no matter where that may be.
3. Rebekah- she left a safe secure home for God’s will. She was faithful to follow His lead and she truly was blessed for that. Had she not gone, no doubt we would have never heard of her.
4. Abraham- He stayed in his new home, even though his only land was a burial plot.
They were all faithful to the leading of God and were blessed in many ways.
Illus. of “Mule-Team Scenery” Someone once said that “Life is like being on a mule team. Unless you’re the lead mule, all the scenery looks about the same.”
That may be true when following people, but not with God. When we follow Him, that’s when the scenery is best. Be open to His communication, be open to His call, and commit to following and you will be blessed.
pray
liberty bible church 3/9/08 P.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“when god calls, we better listen”
If we follow the will of God, we will be led by God.
Genesis 24:29-67
introduction
If we expect to be led by God, then we have to…
i. open to the of god vs. 29-33
a. _____________________ invite
b. _______________________ come
ii. open to the of god vs. 34-49
a. god sometimes…
b. god sometimes…
iii. open to to god vs. 50-67
A. don’t _________________________________ in God’s way
b. commited to _____________________________
conclusion
We can apply this from several perspectives, because we are all these people at one time or another.
1.
2.
3.
4.