2024.05.05. Sermon Notes. EL SHADDAI. ALL SUFFICIENT GOD.
A new covenant. From Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah.
William Akehurst, HSWC
BIG IDEA: From Abram to Abraham, a New Covenant, a New Name, a Fresh New Start…all at 99 years old! It’s never too late! El Shaddai – The All Sufficient, Almighty GOD. HE IS “More than enough”.
Scriptures: Genesis 16:15-16, Genesis 17:1-27, Isaiah 55:8-9, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalms 42:11
Genesis 18:1-15
A new identity for a new future and destiny
Abram means “exhalted father” or “high father”.
Abraham means “father of many”.
Sarai means “my lady, or my princess”. Dominion to one family, as to her husband Abram.
Sarah also means “Princess” but also “mother of nations”. Without restriction. Princess of a multitude.
ABRAM at 86, Ishmael’s birth. Misunderstanding the Promise.
Genesis 16:15-16
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
MISUNDERSTANDING THE PROMISE, Sarai, who was barren and couldn’t have children, didn’t understand the ALL-SUFFICIENCY of GOD and HIS Promises. As a result of her own understanding, she gave Abram her handmaid to fulfill GOD’s promise as she saw it. However, this was not GOD’s plan, and today we see GOD in HIS GREAT MERCY, restarting both Abram and Sarai in the direction HE had proposed to them once before.
HOW OFTEN TO WE MISINTERPRET GOD’S WAYS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT OUR LIVES, AND HEAD DOWN THE PATH THAT WE THINK HE’S TRYING TO TAKE US, ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT WE WERE WRONG?
ABRAHAM AND ISAAC
Genesis 17:1-27
I AM THE ALL SUFFICIENT, ALMIGHTY GOD
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.
COVENANT – FATHER OF MANY NATIONS
2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
Notice the change.
ABRAM – Exhalted High Father. Abram begat Ishmael.
ABRAHAM – Father of Many, Father of Nations. Abraham Begat Isaac. IMPORTANT!
5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
KINGS SHALL COME FROM YOU. FROM DAVID TO JESUS!
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
EVERLASTING COVENANT
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
9 And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
CIRCUMCISION – SIGN OF THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT
• FROM PARENT TO CHILD. Our responsibility to the next generation. Pass it on.
• DEMONSTRATES FAITH IN GOD’S WORD.
Romans 4:11-12 (ESV) 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, (FOR ALL BELIEVERS, JEW OR GENTILE)
12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
• SHOWS GOD’S DIVINE MERCY – A SPIRITUAL MEANING.
THE CIRCUMCISED MAN IDENTIFIES HIMSELF AS A MEMBER OF ISRAEL.
12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. 13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
SARAI TO SARAH
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
SARAI – MY PRINCESS – OF ONE FAMILY.
SARAH – PRINCESS TO MANY, MOTHER OF NATIONS. ROYALTY FOR ALL.
16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
KINGS SHALL COME – DAVID TO JESUS
17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
ABRAHAM’S FINITE UNDERSTANDING.
NO, NOT ISHMAEL. SARAH WILL BEAR A SON, YOU SHALL CALL HIS NAME - ISAAC
19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
MY COVENANT WILL BE WITH ISAAC
21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”
22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him.
24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael;
27 and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
GOD transformed Abram’s identity to Abraham to be the Patriarch and Father of Many Nations, who would have that same faith and believing in the All-Sufficient GOD.
GOD transformed Sarai’s identity to Sarah, from an aging barren woman to the Matriarch of a great nation
God transformed Sarai’s identity from an aging, barren woman to the matriarch of a great nation through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed.
Her story is an incredible testament to God’s sovereignty and grace.
While we may never receive a divine name change like Sarah did, her life encourages us to wait faithfully on God even when his promises seem impossible. The same God who fulfilled his covenant with Abraham and Sarah continues to work in the lives of those who hope in him today.
ONCE AGAIN, ABRAHAM’S FAITH MAY BE GREAT, BUT HIS UNDERSTANDING MAY BE LACKING.
HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE THE FAITH, BUT LACK THE UNDERSTANDING?
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Pray not only for increased faith, but also for wisdom, discernment and understanding in the WAYS and THOUGHTS of our ALL SUFFICIENT EL SHADDAI.
Life Lessons from Abram to Abraham. It’s never too late for a fresh start!
Abram waited all his life until 86 years old to have a child by another woman, due to a lack of understanding in what GOD was saying and doing in his life.
And at 99, GOD met with him to give him a new start, as Abraham, the father of many nations, beginning with his “own” son, one from the union of Abraham and Sarah, the appointed line of the covenant.
So many times, we get news of something wonderful on the horizon, and when it doesn’t happen fast enough, we jump in and try to get things going. Many times, we go the wrong direction. We are to wait on the LORD for HIS Timing is perfect. And yet, when we go the wrong direction, our ALL-SUFFICIENT ALMIGHTY GOD, can give us a new start to get back on track.
Let’s Pray,
FATHER,
Thank YOU for YOUR Great Mercy and Love. For YOU ARE, the More than Enough, ALL-SUFFICIENT, ALMIGHTY GOD. We can’t even begin to comprehend the vastness of WHO YOU ARE and WHAT YOU can accomplish. In our finite thinking, we can only know that YOU ARE the GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE, because of our limited understanding. Align our thinking and paths with YOUR divine thoughts and ways. Don’t allow us to become distracted by our limited minds, by our worry or anxiety to get things done in our own timing based on our own understanding. YOUR WORD tells us (Proverbs 3:5-6) not to rely on our own understanding, but to rely on YOU and acknowledge that YOU are in control. How many times have we been worried, or downcast because of circumstances beyond our control? And because of our lack of understanding YOUR Ways.
Remind us to Look to YOU in all our circumstances. In Psalms 42:5,11, David writes, Why are you downcast oh my soul, Hope in GOD!
Father, increase, expand and make firm that Hope that is within us, especially when we are downcast. We ask for wisdom, discernment and understanding as YOU lead us through this chapter of our lives. Open our hearts to the voice and leading of YOUR HOLY SPIRIT, to teach and guide us in all truth. Refresh our paths and direction for YOUR Purpose. Our Hope is in YOU LORD JESUS, and we ask these things in YOUR NAME, Amen.
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing,
Bill
