Text: Heb 11:20, Gen 27:1-40, Title: Really Blind Faith, Date/Place: NRBC, 3/4/12, AM
Opening illustration:
Background to passage: Last Sun night we looked at Abraham’s life of faith with all its highs and lows, and the encouragement that it gives to the Christian. The next verse speaks of the faith of Isaac in the blessings of his sons regarding their future. So we are going to go back to Gen 27 and look at the account of the fight that was superintended by God to accomplish His own will. Aside: Blessings and Rites of Passage.
Main thought: God uses many means to ensure the accomplishment of His ends
A. Ingredients of a Mess (v. 1-17)
Ingredient #1: birth order. Lots of literature on the subject, but simply know that it was accepted at the time that the “first-born” was really the firstborn. And there are many rights that go with it: a 2X of the estate, father’s major blessing, status, legal responsibility, etc. God made it a point to say that “the older will serve the younger,” because it would go against the grain, against the norm.
Ingredient #2: favoritism. Immediately after the account of the barren Rebekah conceiving at about 40 years old, the bible speaks of Isaac’s propensity toward Esau, and Rebekah’s toward Jacob. We all know that sibling rivalry is bad enough, esp among twins, but to add favoritism to the mix was another poison in the mix. This favoritism played right into the events of chapter 27.
Ingredient #3: distrust. They don’t trust God, but they don’t trust each other either. Rather than a public blessing (which was the norm), Isaac kept it a secret. He wanted his favored son to be blessed. Rebekah didn’t trust her husband, because she had her “ear to the keyhole.” Isaac didn’t trust Jacob or Rebekah enough to tell them, but didn’t trust them in the actual blessing. Another poison to the family.
Ingredient #4: deception. Jacob’s name means “the one who grasps the heel.” He came out of the womb grasping. He traded a bowl of soup for a birthright. He limited his answers to one word ones once dad picked up on the voice. And he obviously came by it honestly from both sides. And the motivation was their own selfish ends.
Gen 25:23, Deut 21:15-17,
Illustration: Erika is one of the best examples of not letting your past slow you down. Cymba ran from his past, and forsook his responsibilities blaming it on something that happened to him a long time ago,
So since we are in it, let’s talk about it. #1: Two things: don’t let things like birth order and how you were raised determine your future. It is not required that you have trouble with relationships because your dad was a bad father (or an absent one). Secondly, sometimes we are all going to get the short end of the stick. Things don’t always have to be fair. Jesus didn’t get treated fairly, and he promised that if they hated him, that they would hate us. So GET OVER IT. Bad things will happen, injustice will happen, you will be taken advantage of, left out, kicked out, or whatever, but don’t play the victim, wallow in your pain, cling to some other time, etc. This is not to say that these things don’t hurt. But simply: don’t expect painless
#2: There is no hope of us being entirely impartial to your kids or grandkids or cousins or coworkers. BUT we can aim for it. Do you look down upon those who are of a different class, race, educational level, professional level, family level? Do you exclusively prefer those who are higher or similar levels? In a family and in a church this can be hurtful.
#3: If trust has been undermined in your relationships, you must work to gain it back. This will take time. Going the extra mile will be required, and the mile after that too. A certain amount of trust can be willfully given, but the final, deepest kind is earned. If there are areas of distrust in a family, confront them wisely and helpfully. Get some help if you need it!
#4: There is a reason that the bible includes lying among the 10 Commandments. As you will see in the story, the truth will come out, and the pain will be great. Lying always is motivated by selfishness (even if you are protecting another), and it is always an issue of character. In relationships it is ALWAYS destructive. Do you tell small little lies to preserve peace?
B. Beauty of Providence (v. 27-29)
After all these ingredients for relational and spiritual disaster (we have all had times like this), God, without so much as breaking a sweat, still brings about His plan. Isaac blesses the son that God told him 77 years before that he would. The genealogy of Christ is set in another generation. The course of history is continuing to move toward the central point in God’s economy of salvation. The point of the story is that in spite of their failings, God never fails. In spite of their striving, manipulating, deceiving, anger, and other sin, God saw to it that His ultimate plan will not be thwarted.
Eph 1:11, Ps 139:16, Acts 2:23, 4:27, 17:28, Dan 4:34-35, Pro 21:1, Gen 50:20, Isa 45:7
Illustration: my time with the SO this week: deputy: “it just seems that sometimes the Lord just puts people in the right place at the right time.” Me: “SEEMS? SEEMS! No, God is an absolutely sovereign God governing every molecule in the universe to accomplish His will!” “God causes all things to happen, but that He does so in such a way that he somehow upholds our ability to make willing, responsible choices that have real and eternal results, and for which we are held accountable.” –Grudem, Macbeth, would read you my favorite quote, but you have heard it over and over, and it is long, suffice it to say that, “there is not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine.’” –Abraham Kuyper,
We have all made messes with the ingredients of sin. But what a comfort to know that the Master of the Universe, who rules over every thing and being in all of creation and beyond, from the wisest and strongest to the poorest and weakest, from the heights of heavens to the depths of the sea, from the most infinitesimal to the most monumental, from the influential and powerful to the the insignificant and inconspicuous, from a bird in an Amazon rainforest who falls or the hairs on your head to the most powerful leaders and nations on the earth, and everything in between, JESUS IS LORD! He is the everlasting sovereign God of whom we speak and desire. No matter how deep the pain, no matter how large the failure, no matter how high the impact, no matter how long the effects of your mistakes linger, know that He is large and in charge of all things, and WILL accomplish all that He desires. One speaker that I heard once said that the greater the sin and injustice the greater the glory God receives when He destroys it and redeems it (and this is the reason that He does all things); and this was an African American who was talking about the injustice of slavery and the providence of God. Nothing can stop, slow down, or hinder Him from doing all that He pleases. There are no plan B’s, no emergency meetings of the trinity, just beautiful, purposeful, loving, plans for you and the world.
THEREFORE, knowing that He is good, loving, kind, and merciful, as well as sovereign, 1) we can trust Him. So I am calling out to you this morning, knowing that many of you are facing difficulty or life-altering decisions in the present, to trust a sovereign God to bring about what he wishes. This doesn’t mean that you don’t pray, study, seek counsel, and make wise decisions, nor does it justify sin, but it helps curb anxiety and long-term disappointment. Continue to pray, and cling to Him, but trust Him in advance for whatever comes.
2) Secondly, I am asking you to refuse bitterness over past hurts. I am asking you to embrace pain and suffering and hardship placed in your life, rather than begrudge it. How many have I witnessed to over the years whose primary beef with God is not the gospel, or hell or election, or any other theological topic, but over a particularly painful or seemingly unjust event in there lives. They may have excuses, but when you uncover them all, you get to the core: they are angry with God, or doubt His character, because He allowed this to happen. God loves you! And those things were not without purpose, nor without mercy. There are two messages on this topic on our website. And this is not to say that these things are not painful, nor is it to say that they were just, nor to say that you will find the answer, but simply to help you not to charge God with injustice even in the depths of your mind and soul.
3) Thirdly, these truths give us freedom to risk it all for Christ’s kingdom! These are the truths that have undergirded millions of efforts to carry the gospel into hostile environments; to give all that one has to a cause; to attempt great things for God; to risk all earthly goods and possessions, dreams and aspirations, power and influence, status and reputation, needs and wants, comforts and conveniences, etc. for Him! No arrow or disease will harm you outside of His plan! No embarrassment will break you! He is absolutely sufficient to meet every need, use every situation for His and your good, mend your heart, and strengthen your resolve! Some of you waiver in your commitment, because of fear or attachment to temporary things. Waiver no more! GO ALL OUT for Him. Cast aside fears, you have a Captain who assures your passage to the destination! You have a general with the unfailing plans! Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:35-39)You have a coach that guarantees your victory! Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. – 2 Cor 2:14. And because of these truths we can joyfully accept the plundering of our goods; we can choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, and esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; we can for the joy set before us endure the cross; we can go forth to Him outside the camp and bear His reproach, and finish our coarse with joy even if it costs us everything!!!
Closing illustration:
Recap
Invitation to commitment
