Our Trust Makes Room For God’s Rewards Series

Alpha and Omega, Part 22

Our Trust makes room for God’s Rewards

Genesis 21:1-7; Genesis 22:1-18

Introduction

- 2023 has had one primary “purpose”: To know there is a God!

-- Continuing our series, “Alpha and Omega”; examining the beginning to the end

- Last week we saw how we can become a friend of God by conquering unbelief

-- It is a mindset change, a choice to admit, “His promises matter more than …!”

-- We must assert that God knows - God cares - and lean to Him for our strength

- How do we conquer unbelief? The answer is knowing:

1. God’s omniscience – know He is everywhere, so He knows

2. God’s omnipotence – know He can overcome; His power can overcome

- BIG: Unbelief will always keep us from trusting & drawing closer to God

-- It is here, in the life of the great Abraham, that we must see our need also

- Today, we are going to see how conquering unbelief leads to God’s rewards

-- Spoiler: There is still a testing of faith as life goes on … but God still provides!

-- Today will end Part 1 of the A&O series, next week: promises of Messiah / Rev

- Let’s dive in … Read Genesis 21:1-7 and 22:1-18 / Pray

- TR: When you think of this story, a couple applications can come to mind

-- I’d like to look at the app for you and I vs. what it meant for Abraham

Point 1 – God’s promises give us reason to celebrate!

- We ought to celebrate when God fulfills His promises – it gives us hope

-- Three questions to see about God and why we can celebrate …

• First, how does God fulfill His promises? (v1-2)

- He keeps His word! He is always faithful to Himself (this builds trust)

-- He proves Himself, and His power, and does exactly what He says He will

- We need to grow in our faith, to know He does this, to:

o Learn more endurance and patience

o Become stronger and more determined

o Learn to trust and hope more in God

o Desire to pray and fellowship more with God

- God will always keep His promises!

-- Saw this moment last week in Genesis 18:14, “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

• Second, how does God achieve His promises? (v3-5)

- He stirs obedience & faithfulness to Himself

-- Abraham’s joy can only be imagined here, but many of us can see it

-- Abraham would’ve been overflowing with happiness & celebration

- But it’s not the joy that is focused on – it’s the obedience (which brings joy!!)

o He named His son Isaac, in obedience to God’s command (ref Gen 17:19)

o He circumcised his son when he was 8 days old (v4)

o And he recognized his dependance on God: miracle of this birth at their age

• Third, how does God call us to realize his promises? (v6-7)

- He causes us to rejoice over what He has done (v6)

-- This is what reminds us to persevere through even the toughest times of life

-- Look: We see Sarah holding the child of God’s promise, even after her unbelief

- APP: The line of Isaac is part of the greatest promise known to mankind

-- It is through this lineage, given to Abraham, that God will give us Jesus Christ

- But there is more to this than meets the eye …

-- As we look at this, won’t you consider marveling at how amazing God is?

• Isaac’s birth was miraculous, Abraham and Sarah too old (Gen 17:17)

• Jesus’ birth was miraculous, Mary was a virgin when conceived (Matt 1:23)

• God set the time of Isaac’s birth (Gen 21:2)

• God set the time for Jesus’ birth (Gal 4:4, “in fullness of time, God sent”)

• Isaac was the promised seed (Gen 17:16)

• Christ was the promised seed from the very first of history (Gen 3:15)

• Sarah was too old, but God assured her of His omnipotence (Gen 18:13)

• Mary was a virgin, but God’s omnipotence comforted her (Luke 1:34)

• God chose the name of Isaac (Gen 17:19)

• God chose the name of Jesus (Matt 1:21)

- APP: When God says, “He will”, our place is not to find doubt and argue

-- This is the lesson Abraham and Sarah had to learn, and we still need to focus on

- TR: So, how does God affirm this with Abraham, and in turn, for us?

-- By showing how us a pattern to follow for how we can rely on Him completely