Truthbombs - Pt. 3 - If You Laugh . . . You Leave Series

Truth Bombs

Pt. 3 - If You Laugh ... You Leave!

I. Introduction

Truth is talked about a lot. It has been said that truth is different for everyone. I would beg to differ. Truth is truth because it is truth across the board. That is what makes it truth. There has to be a standard of truth by which what we believe to be true is judged. We have been very clear in our declaration that the standard for a true believer is the Word. By the way . . . Just because we don't like the truth, can't handle the truth or even if truth doesn't line up with our experience/feelings that doesn't make it any less truth.

The urban dictionary defines a truth bomb as "a fact spoken in clear, easy to understand terms and without bias." So, very clearly today I want to share a truth with you.

From early on in Scripture one of the revelations about God is that God is a God of covenant. A covenant is a binding promise. It is a promise that carries with it a guarantee or contract. Time and time again we find God making covenant with man. Making covenant is part of His nature. In fact he continues to seek and enter covenants with us today. Promises, words, declarations, decrees over our lives that we can hold on to and bank on to come to pass. We also know that covenant promises almost always carry with them stipulations usually found in if/then clauses. If you will do this, then I will do this. I know very few believers who have been following Christ long that haven't received a personal promise or covenant from God. Much like the subject of our attention today. It is one of the earliest and most profound covenants in history. It establishes the bloodline of an entire race of people. The covenant is first mentioned in Genesis 12 but knowing that we forget it is repeated in Genesis 15.

II. Text

Genesis 15:1-6

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

So, we see that Abraham is about to give up on the covenant. He is about to take matters into his own hands and hand his inheritance to a substitute rather than a son. God vetoes that plan and reminds him that he has a covenant on which he can count. You know the rest of the story. Time goes by and once again Abraham gets impatient with God's timing. This time his wife Sarah steps in and repackages Abraham's original plan by offering him her handmaiden/servant. Abraham agrees and lo and behold she has a son named Ishmael. Abraham's impatience cost him and continues to cost us today since Ishmael's seed has spawned the continued unrest in the Middle East to this day. However, I want to draw your attention to one particular instance in this account that will be the basis for our truth bomb today.

Genesis 21:1-5, 8-10

The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah exactly what he had promised. She became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. This happened at just the time God had said it would. And Abraham named their son Isaac. Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac. So she turned to Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son. He is not going to share the inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won’t have it!”