God's Promises and Faith.

KJ Washington

[0:04] Good morning. My name is KJ Washington and I serve on staff here at Village Church as [0:08] a church planning apprentice. I’m grateful for the opportunity that we have this morning [0:12] to be able to dive into God’s word together. I pray that we will cherish Jesus more through [0:16] this time together in his word. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Genesis chapter [0:20] 26 verses 1 through 11. That’s Genesis chapter 26 verses 1 through 11. That’s the text we’ll [0:27] be reading for the duration of our time this morning. Our aim this morning is to see how

[0:33] God’s promises impact the trajectory of a believer’s life. Not only does it impact the [0:38] trajectory, but it dictates the trajectory of the believer’s life. So what we’re saying [0:43] is this, is that because of God’s promises, that means that changes everything about our [0:47] lives, that it moves you to live in a certain way because God has said that he’s going to [0:53] with his people and establish this relationship with them. So it has to therefore change the [0:58] trajectory of our lives. Not just impact it, not just move us in slight ways, but the entire

[1:05] direction of our lives has changed because the promises that have been established by God. [1:11] Think about the moments in your life when you’ve been promised something. The promises made to [1:15] you may vary, but I guarantee you that the words exchanged to you had weight to them. And there [1:21] was a commitment attached to those promises. Some of the promises made to you were fulfilled [1:26] and others were not fulfilled. If those promises were not fulfilled, you probably felt hurt or [1:30] betrayed. But when the promises were fulfilled, you felt comforted or hopeful. Thankfully,

[1:36] God’s promises are always fulfilled. Regardless of your past experiences, you can be hopeful since [1:41] God’s promises will always be fulfilled. His promises might not play out the way that you think [1:46] they should play out, but he will fulfill his promises. We find ourselves in the book of Genesis [1:53] where God’s promises is being reiterated. God has established his covenant relationship with Abraham, [1:58] but he’s intentional here to reiterate it to Isaac. Why? Because God’s promises dictates the [2:04] trajectory of the believer’s life. God wanted Isaac to realize that the covenant was for him too,

[2:09] and which changed the purpose of Isaac’s life. Genesis chapter 26 verses 1 through 11 [2:17] reads this.

[2:39] And I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your [2:44] offspring as the stars of the heaven, and I will give to your offspring all these lands, [2:48] and in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Because Abraham obeyed [2:53] my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statues, and my laws. So Isaac settled in Gerar. [2:59] When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, she is my sister. For he feared [3:03] to save my wife, thinking lest the men of this place should kill me because of Rebecca. Because

[3:08] she was attractive in appearance. When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the [3:12] Philistines looked out the window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebecca, his wife. So Abimelech [3:16] called Isaac and said, behold, she is your wife. How then could you say she is my sister?

[3:23] Isaac said to him, because I thought lest I die because of her. Abimelech said, what is this that [3:28] you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would [3:33] have brought guilt upon us. So Abimelech warned all the people saying, whoever touches this man [3:37] or his wife shall surely be put to death. Pray with me.

[3:43] Father, I pray that this morning that you would help us to realize your enduring promises. [3:48] I pray that you would help us to see how you have kept and held to your promises laid out to us in [3:54] scripture, Lord. That you’ve covenanted with your people, and that you’re faithful to fulfill that, [3:59] which should produce trust in us, Lord. That should produce obedience in us, Lord. And that [4:03] should alter our plans for life. Father, help us have faith this morning. Help us cherish you and [4:09] to cherish the cross. In your name we pray, amen. Point number one this morning is that God’s

[4:16] promises can always be trusted. God’s promises can always be trusted. This is to me from Genesis 26 [4:21] verses one through four. Isaac found himself in a similar predicament as his father experienced. [4:26] There was a famine in the land, and he knew that he needed food. So the best place for him to go [4:31] was Egypt. He knew that each year Egypt had the largest harvests of food. So for him, the smartest [4:36] thing for him to do was to take his wife and to go to Egypt. But while he was en route to Egypt, [4:41] he took a path through the Philistine territory of Gerard. When he traveled to Gerard, he encounters

[4:46] God, which is known to us throughout the Old Testament as a theotome. Simply put, he had a [4:50] divine encounter with God. Abraham as well had a divine encounter with God in Genesis chapter 22 [4:56] verses 16 through 18. As Abraham was at Mount Moriah, God established that he would fulfill [5:04] his plan to make Abraham a great nation. It was Abraham’s faith in God that brought him to this [5:09] moment. He was willing to sacrifice his son in faith so that he could be faithful to God. But [5:15] God was gracious to him in providing for him a substitute, a ram on his behalf to take his son’s

[5:20] place. God is reiterating his covenant to Abraham in Genesis 22 in light of the covenant made to [5:27] Abraham in Genesis 17. So we’re going to take a snapshot look at Genesis 22 verses 2 through 4 [5:34] to see how there’s a connection between that passage and this passage.

[5:51] And as the sand that is on the seashore, and your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, [5:56] and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. [6:02] Doesn’t that sound familiar to the pastors that were in this morning? God was still in the process [6:07] of fulfilling his covenant established with Abraham. The covenant started with Abraham, [6:12] but it didn’t end with Abraham, but it continued with Isaac. As believers today, we should be [6:17] thankful that God’s covenant didn’t end with Abraham because God in his grace has allowed us

[6:21] to partake and be a part of the nations that have been blessed by his offspring. But for God to [6:28] redeem us, he chose to work through Abraham’s family. This means that God had to use Isaac [6:33] as a part of this process. In God’s plan to fulfill his promise, he encountered Isaac to [6:38] declare to him his plan to work through his offspring. The hope was that for Isaac to hear [6:43] and to understand God’s plan and to respond in faith, the best way for him to respond [6:50] was for him to trust God’s promises. So wouldn’t you think this would be an easy sell for Isaac?

[6:57] You know, it should have been simple for Isaac. During the course of his life, God had been

[7:04] immensely blessing him throughout the entirety of his life. Even before he was born, [7:09] God was faithful to him and his family. So it should have been the easy response for him. [7:13] He should have just walked in faith to God’s promises. And he didn’t understand or think [7:18] about that God spared his life and provided a substitute on his behalf because the son that [7:23] Abraham went to sacrifice was Isaac. He couldn’t remember even in the midst of famine that God [7:28] provided a land for him and his people to flourish in. It’s really easy for us to become nearsighted

[7:35] when it comes to God’s promises. We get frustrated when we feel like God isn’t working in our lives, [7:39] we are only considering our life from a jaded perspective, not acknowledging that God has been [7:44] working in the totality of our lives for his glory. God does not need to defend himself [7:49] when it comes to his faithfulness. He doesn’t need to pull out his records and prove to us [7:53] of his faithfulness. We know the faithfulness of the Lord. So that was the case for Isaac. Isaac [7:59] knew how the Lord has been faithful to his family, how the Lord has been bringing his family

[8:04] through tumultuous times. He’s been faithful to them even in the midst of moments where they [8:08] felt hopeless. But when famine struck, he lost hope, he lost trust. We act as if we have forgotten [8:18] God’s faithfulness at times too because when famine strikes, we lose trust, we lose hope. [8:25] Abraham and Isaac both did the same thing. When the famine hit, they immediately fled to Egypt [8:29] for help while not trusting God for a provision. See, Isaac wanted to head towards the land of [8:34] the countiful harvest when God had called him to stay in the land of divine blessing.

[8:39] So yes, Isaac needed to have God’s covenant reiterated to him. His affections were captured [8:44] by the hope of just staying alive. He didn’t trust that the Lord will fulfill his promise. [8:50] He didn’t think about God’s faithfulness to his family in the past. Isaac trusted God in word, [8:55] but not in deed. When we trust God’s promises, we have to trust that his plans to implement those [9:01] promises will be fulfilled. God is working in the details to fulfill his promises.

[9:10] If we don’t believe that he’s working in the large and even the minute [9:14] details of his plan, then we’re no better than agnostic. [9:19] As if God has just kind of left us here to our own devices, to our own thoughts, [9:24] and said, hey, go about life on your own. We’re the same thing as them. People of no hope, [9:30] no faith, and that God will provide on his behalf for his promises, on our behalf for his promises.

[9:40] One good reminder for us is this, is that God’s plan to fulfill his promises [9:44] is the work that he started in us. Think about that. So God’s already started to work in you [9:49] in your life. That’s God’s promise. He’s going to fulfill that work as well, is what we see in [9:53] scripture. So if you need another testimony of the fact that God started working, that he’s going to [9:59] fulfill his promise, think about the change he’s done in your life, that he’s redeemed you from [10:03] yourself, that he’s starting to sanctify you, he’s doing a work in you. God’s going to be faithful to

[10:08] fulfill that promise. That’s a reminder to us that God is working, that God has established a promise [10:12] and a promise to us that he’s going to fulfill. With the faith that he’s going to continue to [10:18] work in us, and that he’s going to finish his promise, and he’s going to fulfill his promise. [10:23] You might not fully understand how he’s going to fulfill his promises, but you have to have [10:28] trust that he will. We have no reason to not submit our lives to God’s promises because of the [10:33] death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. If the tomb is empty, then we must believe and

[10:38] trust that God is going to do everything that he said he’s going to do. The nations have been [10:43] blessed through Jesus, so we must trust him. It’s different for us because in comparison for Abraham [10:51] and Isaac, they’re looking towards the cross. We look back at the cross and we say, man, we see [10:56] the finished work of the cross and what God has accomplished for us on our behalf through Jesus. [11:01] God fulfilled his promise to Abraham. We can boast in that promise being fulfilled, [11:05] but they were trusting him by faith that he would fulfill his promise based on his faithfulness to

[11:09] him in the past. It still goes to show that God didn’t have to define himself to them. He didn’t [11:16] have to show them his record of faithfulness. They need to trust him in faith, but we have no [11:22] excuse. We’ve seen God’s faithfulness. We have the word of God that shows us God’s faithfulness [11:27] to his people for generations upon generations upon generations upon generations, yet we still [11:33] lack faith. We still lack trust in God. See, Isaac had every reason to immediately submit his life [11:40] to God’s established covenant, but he still needed to be reminded of what God was going to do.

[11:46] And that’s us at times. We need to be reminded of God’s faithfulness, God’s promises. We have to [11:50] remind our friends around us that God’s still working in us, that he’s doing what to redeem us, [11:56] that he’s coming back for his bride one day. We have to be reminded of those promises. [12:01] Friends, we have the same struggles as Isaac. We have the tendency to forget all that the Lord has [12:05] done. We spend our days as if the Lord has relented his covenant to us, as if he’s not going to work [12:10] in the midst of our lives for his glory. We live as if he had not redeemed his people to himself

[12:15] according to his established covenant in Jeremiah chapter 33, 31 through 34. [12:21] God did what he said he was going to do. Therefore, we can be assured that Jesus is coming back [12:26] to unite his people to his father. God has been faithful to his covenants for thousands of years. [12:33] So who are we to lose hope in his ability to keep his promises?

[12:39] God’s covenant didn’t end with Abraham’s death, but it continued with Isaac. God is bigger than [12:43] that. His promises surpassed the need of having one man spearhead the effort, but one man’s faith [12:48] did impact the nations for God’s glory. God was calling Isaac to the same faith so that he would [12:54] trust God’s promises. Friends, we have to trust God’s promises. It’s really easy for us to become [12:59] nearsighted when it comes to God working in our lives to bring about his plan. Most of the time [13:03] this happens when we have a small pocket-sized view of God. He’s there for us when we need him,

[13:08] but we can kind of just place him back in our pockets whenever we don’t feel like we need him. [13:12] See, this happens because we lack a very robust view of God’s sovereignty and dominion over the [13:18] world and his creation. For us to have that perspective, we have to have a ginormous [13:22] perspective of God. When God is small to you, you will always struggle to trust God’s promises. [13:27] It’s the same reason why you struggle to follow him in his plan laid out for us in scripture. [13:31] It’s the same reason why you struggle to not place your faith in Jesus, all because the God

[13:35] that you create wouldn’t be able to fulfill the promises laid out in scripture. That pocket-sized [13:40] God that you’ve created is not big enough to fulfill what the Bible says, and that’s why you [13:44] struggle to have faith. But luckily for us, you don’t define God, I don’t define God, he defines [13:52] himself. Thankfully, he’s the one that defines his promises and puts the stipulations on them. [14:01] Friends, aren’t you thankful that the God of the universe has entered into a covenant relationship [14:04] with you? You don’t have to worry about him letting you down like everyone else, but you can trust

[14:10] and know that he will always be faithful to his covenant promises. There’s nothing better than [14:16] that. The only way that we can respond to this type of relationship is in faith, by trusting him [14:22] and placing our hope in him. I think Proverbs chapter 29 verse 25 clarifies this, for the fear [14:29] of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts the Lord is safe. You have nothing to fear, friends. The [14:37] Lord is not like everyone else who might flake on you. He instead is a secure place of refuge [14:43] for his followers, which should bring us the most joy and comfort throughout all of life’s situations.

[14:52] Our ability to trust the Lord produces faith in our lives, which is worked out in obedience [14:56] through our ability to trust in him as a safe place. That leads us to our second point this morning. [15:01] God’s promises produce faith and obedience. This is stemming from verses four and five of [15:07] Genesis 26. As God is recalling to Isaac, his covenant relationship with Abraham is clear in [15:13] describing what he produced in Abraham’s life. The covenant produced faith, which worked itself out [15:17] in obedience. It wasn’t that God established the covenant relationship with Abraham. He didn’t

[15:22] respond. The covenant was established because of God’s grace in choosing Abraham as a vessel for [15:28] the covenant. The author continues to describe how the covenant relationship produced faith [15:31] in Abraham’s life, which reinforced the blessing of Abraham’s offspring. [15:35] It’s clear that God continued to work through Abraham’s family because of Abraham’s faith. [15:40] His faithfulness and commitment to the Lord led to faith being produced in generations to come. [15:45] Frankly speaking, we would not be grafted into God’s people if it wasn’t through Abraham’s faith.

[15:51] We needed Abraham to be faithful to God’s mission, to God’s covenant, for God to save us, to redeem [15:56] us through the blessing of the nations. Let’s be clear, it’s through his faith, not by his faith. [16:03] Galatians chapter three verse seven through nine says this, [16:06] know then that it is those of faith who are sons of Abraham. In the scripture foreseen that God [16:11] would justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, and you shall [16:17] all the nations be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man

[16:23] of faith. So think about how Abraham’s faithfulness to God, his God’s promises, impacts us. [16:29] We are beneficiaries of God’s covenant because of a man’s faithfulness that spurred on faithfulness [16:34] for generations. It’s through his faithfulness and the faithfulness of others in his family that led [16:38] to the birth of Christ. It wasn’t for the faith, if it wasn’t for the faithfulness to God’s promise, [16:43] we wouldn’t have the opportunity to be redeemed through the blood of Christ. He didn’t know or [16:48] understand what God was up to, but God’s promise to him produced faith, which led to him to

[16:54] surrender his life to God’s will. He never knew how God would bless the nations through his faith, [17:00] but he listened to God’s voice. He believed God was who he said he was. He believed that God would [17:06] fulfill his promises. He believed God’s plans were better than his plans, and all this was seen [17:11] through his obedience. So how many people in here right now with trust and boldness [17:18] would prepare to sacrifice your child who might be in Village Kids right now?

[17:24] Honest question. If God came in here right now and was like, [17:28] I’m calling you through faith and obedience to my promises to offer up your child,

[17:36] how would you respond?

[17:39] That’s what God called Abraham to, through faith. Faith in his promises that God will fulfill his [17:46] promises, his plans. God called Abraham to sacrifice his son, his beloved son. The only way [17:53] that you would be able to be content and sacrifice your child is if you believe that his decrees and [17:57] plans are better than yours, but many of us don’t. Many of us believe we have faith, but sometimes [18:03] it’s not until you have to give up something, you’re called to give up something, you cherish [18:07] that you realize you don’t really have faith. There are countless examples throughout scripture

[18:11] when God causes people to give up whatever is capturing their affections. I don’t know what you [18:17] individually cherish or what is individually capturing your affections currently, but are [18:22] you willing to give it up for the sake of the gospel? You may be thinking, why would I have to [18:26] give up something I cherish? Maybe for you to gain it all for his glory, you might have to lose it [18:31] for the sake of God’s promises and faith. If you’re familiar with that narrative, he cherished [18:44] his son. He was hopeful for this son. He knew that this son was going to be God’s plan to bless the

[18:49] nations, that he’s going to be God’s plan to bless the offspring. His son was the key. He cherished [18:58] him. He idolized his son and God called him to give him up. I like what Tim Keller has to say [19:05] about our hearts. He described them as an idol factory that were constantly just making idols [19:10] in our hearts. We naturally take things that are good and make idols out of them. Those are the [19:15] things we struggle to give up in our life for faith. And Jesus, for Abraham, his family and [19:23] son in particular had become an idol and God called him to sacrifice his son.

[19:29] Yet we struggle with sacrifice and time given to our idols throughout the week to worship Jesus [19:34] and to follow him and trust his promises. Just think about that.

[19:42] We struggle with the fact that God’s called us to give up something big in our life for his mission. [19:47] This man was willing to give up his son, his beloved son, on our behalf [19:52] so that he could walk in faith.

[19:57] But we’re holding so many idols so near and dear to our heart, [20:00] saying that what they give us is better than the promises of God.

[20:05] And I think for many in here today, it might be the fact that God’s calling you to give up some [20:09] of your idols in faith for Jesus. You’re wondering why your life doesn’t look like a life of faith [20:15] in Jesus and it’s because you’re clinging to idols. We should be clinging to Jesus [20:19] and his promises that Jesus is enough.

[20:26] See our idols have captured our affections that have stopped us from walking in faith. [20:30] When you trust God’s promises, you’re willing to do anything in and through faith to be obedient [20:34] to Jesus. See I believe our faith is evident when our actions are in alignment with God’s [20:40] decrees. When our faith is not in alignment, it should bother us. Simply put, you cannot say [20:45] you have faith in Jesus when your actions are not in alignment or moving into alignment with [20:50] his decrees. I’m not referencing the audible notion of announcing your faith, but I’m referring to

[20:57] working out your faith in Jesus through your actions. This is a point of contention for some [21:02] of us in here because you want to audibly respond and confess your allegiance to Jesus, [21:08] but your works show that you have no faith.

[21:13] When you’re called to put your foot, your feet in motion, you struggle to. Somebody asks you [21:19] though, you have faith, but Monday through Friday doesn’t look like you have faith.

[21:26] When your world’s just tumbling down, it doesn’t look like you have faith, you have hope in God’s [21:31] promises. I think Abraham’s example is pretty clear to us. God calls us to have faith in [21:40] him regardless of the circumstances, regardless of what he calls to because he is to be glorified. [21:47] He’s to be cherished over everything else. And when we walk in faith to God’s promises [21:53] and obedience to him, you have to give up things. Are there things you’re not willing to give up?

[22:01] Really consider that. I think James chapter two verse 14 through 17 is key here because it helps [22:08] us to believe that our faith should produce works here. What good is it, my brothers, [22:13] if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or [22:18] sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food and one of you says to them, go in peace, [22:24] be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? [22:29] So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Friends, the outworking of our

[22:35] faith is works. Since we believe God’s promises are true, we must respond in faith. If you don’t [22:41] put your faith into action, what’s the point of having faith? What’s the point of you trusting [22:47] that the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is enough if you’re not going to live as if it is? [22:52] If you believe that only Jesus can redeem you from your sins, then you must live your life as if [22:57] God’s plan of redemption is all that you need. Abraham believed that God’s promise was all that [23:02] needed. He trusted that. I think that’s key through his actions. We can see that.

[23:08] He knew that there was nothing else worth dictating his life, and it’s only God’s promises [23:13] that could be the driving force in his life. And it’s the same for us. Only God’s promises [23:18] and the work through Jesus can be the driving force in our lives. It’s encouraging to know that [23:25] how God uses our faith to encourage others because God used Abraham’s faith to encourage [23:29] Isaac and others for generations to come. Abraham’s faith was a call to Isaac to encourage him to be [23:34] faithful to God. Consider what that means for us. Our faith is on display for God’s glory. It’s

[23:38] not that we have to have perfect faith. We actually have faith marred by sin. Thankfully, [23:42] our faith does not have to be perfect because our faith is pointing to the one who is perfect. [23:48] But how we live our lives shows others what it means to have faith in Jesus. [23:52] Sadly, some may not be able to tell the difference based on your life [23:55] of what it looks like to have faith in Jesus.

[24:00] When someone has faith in Jesus, it’s noticeable to the next generation and the people around them. [24:05] It’s noticeable when believers are constantly submitting their plan for their life under the [24:11] authority and the supremacy of Christ, which is them saying, his plans are better than my plans. [24:16] That leads us to point number three this morning. God’s plans to fulfill his promises is better [24:20] than our plans. Verses six through 11. We’re moving on to the next part of our narrative where [24:26] Isaac decided to stay in Gerar. He was trusting God’s promises to be true, but he was quickly

[24:31] met by a situation where he either had to trust God’s promises or take matters into his own hands. [24:37] He arrives and settles in the land and then is engaged by some locals. It’s crucial to remember [24:41] here that that Isaac was brought into the land by the grace of God, but it’s clear here that Isaac [24:46] had forgot. Remember, God told him to be in this land, to dwell in this land, I’m gonna bless you [24:51] in this land, but as soon as he arrived in the land and somebody asked him, hey who was that? [24:56] He’s like, oh yeah, that’s my sister, referring to his wife Rebecca.

[25:01] Like God had just told him, it’s like look, you’re gonna be in this land, you’re gonna [25:04] dwell in this land, I’m gonna bless you. Like God is for him in this. God’s gonna use him to fulfill [25:11] his promises, but he felt like he had to take matters into his own hands, and he quickly [25:18] forgot God’s promises. He was worried about someone desiring to be of his wife or actually [25:25] just killing him. Genesis chapter 26 verse 6 through 11 is interesting to me because [25:31] there’s a parallel connection between it and Genesis chapter 20 verses 1 through 13,

[25:36] but we’re gonna look at a small portion of it here this morning. Verses 2 through 5.

[25:42] And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, she’s my sister, and the Bimelech king of Gerar sent and took [25:48] Sarah, but God came to Bimelech in a dream by night and said to him, behold you are a dead man [25:54] because of the woman whom you have taken, and for she is a man’s wife. Now Bimelech had not approached [26:00] her, so he said, Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me she is my [26:06] sister, and she herself said he is my brother? In the integrity of my heart, in the innocence of my [26:12] hands, I’ve done this. Abraham found himself in the same land, and he too denied his marriage to

[26:19] ensure his protection. This situation is an example of Abraham’s lack of trust in God to fulfill [26:24] his promises and plans. Apparently apples don’t fall too far from the tree, because both of these [26:30] men too fell into the same temptation, as if God would not protect them to fulfill his promises. [26:38] So instead of Bimelech encounters God in a dream, he found Isaac laughing with Rebekah, [26:42] and he knew that they were more than just siblings. We all know this wasn’t the normal [26:47] type of laughing, but laughing that displayed affection for another person. Imagine the

[26:51] flirtatious, playful type of laughter that most men in here have probably attempted with a woman [26:56] at some point in their life, but I’m not saying that that was received well or worked out too [27:00] for you, but you know what I’m talking about. You gotta be honest with yourself, I know many of you [27:04] probably tried it. There’s just a distinct type of laughter, of playfulness that was there, [27:09] and so Bimelech saw that and was like, oh yeah, y’all more than just friends. [27:14] He’s like, I know it, there’s something more going on here, and so he basically calls him out on it.

[27:23] Regardless of their actions, God gave away his intent to deceive the people. Bimelech [27:28] responds, how could you do such a thing? Someone could have easily have lain with your wife. [27:35] Isaac found himself in this predicament because he did not believe that God would fulfill his [27:39] plan to sustain and to bless his people. He thought, well, let me help God out a little bit. [27:45] How many of us have had that same thought at times? Oh God, you have a plan, but let me help [27:49] you fulfill this plan. I got you, God. This is our point of contention because our issues that we

[27:55] try to compare God’s plan to our plan. We may not even try to take God’s plan and then try to [28:02] manipulate it so that the plan unfolds our way. That’s the wrong train of thought. We cannot [28:07] manipulate God’s plan. Sometimes we might be silly enough to think that we can, but he will fulfill [28:15] his plans. The moments we try to combat against God’s plans, we are trying to affirm that we [28:20] struggle with God’s sovereignty. That’s what you’re really affirming. You’re saying he is not [28:26] sovereign enough to handle this situation. That was Isaac’s issue. He was thinking, God, you have

[28:32] a plan, but let me assure its fulfillment. Isaac’s insurance plan had nothing on God’s plan. [28:41] He couldn’t offer him anything that’s going to help him fulfill his plan. God didn’t need him. [28:44] The best way to combat this real temptation is to spend time in the Bible and to develop a biblical [28:49] understanding of God’s sovereignty. His sovereign rule and reign is written throughout the scriptures [28:54] and when we have a robust understanding of his sovereignty, we will be quick to relinquish all [28:59] of our ideas and into submission to God’s plan. For that to happen, we must acknowledge how big

[29:05] he is and how small we are. See, many of us have been driven to take matters into our own hands [29:11] because we have fear in our hearts. We fear what tomorrow holds. We just let this fear set into us [29:20] and we act as if God can’t handle it. Nothing is too large or too small for the mighty hand of God. [29:27] With that being said, there’s nothing that should make you worried about tomorrow. [29:30] Just trust God and walk in faith because Isaac was worried. He didn’t know what was going to happen [29:36] next, but God’s like, I got this. I have a plan. I’m going to fulfill my plan. I brought you to this

[29:43] land for a reason. I told you what’s going to happen in this land. You just got to trust me. [29:47] Don’t try to take matters into your own hands, but trust me,

[29:51] God had called Isaac to be in the land. So why would he think that God will let something [29:55] bad happen to him or his wife? He was too worried about sinners messing up God’s plan. [30:00] He thought he would need to protect God’s plan so that it would be fulfilled. And the same is for [30:04] us. We have many moments when we think that we need to take matters into our own hands because [30:08] if we don’t, everything will fall apart. How crazy does that sound? We believe that human [30:13] sinners can mess up God’s plan. Think about just how twisted that is. We really believe that we

[30:19] can manipulate, change, or influence the plans of God. Who do we think that we are? It shows our [30:25] perspective of God. It shows how small we believe God is. We feel that we can thwart his plans.

[30:34] Clearly, we believe in a weak and malleable God if we can mess up his plans. [30:39] If we can mess up his plans, then he is not God. Straight up. Friends, how big is your view of God? [30:48] Are you living as if he is small? My hope is that you will live as if he is a sovereign, [30:53] supreme, authoritative, big God who cannot and will not be thwarted. And if he promises [30:59] he’s going to do something, he is going to do it. No sinner can mess him up. [31:07] We don’t need to take matters into our own hands because he’s got this. He doesn’t need us,

[31:12] but he is gracious enough to use us to bring about his plans, which means we need to grow [31:17] in trusting him in his plans. We have to remember that we can always trust God and his promises. [31:26] When we trust his promises and plans, it will be seen in our faith and obedience. Genesis chapter [31:32] 26, verses 6-8 is a picture of someone not walking in faith to God’s promises. [31:39] Friends, I want to encourage you this morning because God’s plans cannot be altered due to our [31:42] lack of faith. God still looked out for Isaac and protected him and his wife even though he lacked

[31:46] faith. Even in the moments of your life when you feel like you’ve messed up God’s plan for your [31:51] life, don’t forget whose plan it was. When you realize it was God’s plan, you will quickly [31:55] remember you cannot alter his plan. Remember, you do not have the power to thwart God’s plans. [32:02] Some might be thinking, how can we lack faith when it comes to God’s plan? We lack faith when [32:07] we take matters into our own hands. I think that’s clear. Just think about it. How easy it is for us [32:12] to want to take matters into our own hands. You might be doing this currently in your own life.

[32:15] You might feel like you have to save the day, but the reality is that you don’t.

[32:21] You have to trust God and walk into obedience while you cling to his promises.

[32:27] God’s brought you into your current situation and circumstance for a reason. Your current [32:31] situation is all a part of God’s plan to usher in his kingdom. Do you have faith to trust God even [32:38] when you don’t know what’s next in life? For some of us today, you might feel like you’re the person [32:44] that has been taking matters into your own hands. And I want to be honest here, I know how easy it [32:50] is to gravitate towards that disposition of just wanting to take matters into your own hands. But [32:55] remember this, God’s plan will never be derailed even when sinners are involved.

[33:04] How refreshing is that? That God’s plan will never ever ever be derailed even with sinners [33:12] involved. That takes a weight off your shoulders. You can’t jack up God’s plan. God’s going to [33:19] fulfill his plan. Even when you mess up, God’s still going to work. God’s still going to redeem [33:22] you. He’s not done yet. He’s not done doing the work through our church. He’s not done finishing [33:29] the work that he started in you. Jesus is faithful to that because we know that because he said he’s [33:34] going to do it. We have the records, we have the history, we can read the Bible and see the truth

[33:40] and live it out and know and trust and faith that Jesus is going to do all that he said he’s going to do.

[33:50] But we have little faith at times that he’s going to. God’s been faithful to us.

[33:58] Job chapter 42 verse 2 says this, that I know that you can do all things and that no one, [34:06] no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Thank you Jesus for that. I’m thankful because I can’t mess [34:12] up his plan. I’m thankful that any plan I come up with is inferior to his plan. I’m thankful that [34:16] I’m thankful for his promises and his ability to fulfill his promises, but I have to respond in faith [34:23] and walk in obedience. I think the promises of God are clear to us. They’ve been laid out for us, [34:31] but how are we going to respond? Are we going to respond in faith and in submission to God?

[34:38] Are we going to try to go after our own plans?

[34:42] Thinking that we’re, we have better plans than him. So as the band comes forward this morning, [34:49] friends, as you consider the passage this morning, I pray that you realize you can trust God and his [34:53] promises. I hope that you realize that he can be trusted, that we should be able to respond in faith.

[35:04] But this all points to the fact that we have to believe that he is who he says he is, that he’s [35:10] done what he says he’s already done, that we can look forward and be hopeful to the fact that he’s [35:14] coming back for his bride, that he’s coming to save his church, that he’s not done working in us. [35:20] We have to place our faith there. That’s all a part of us trusting God’s promises.

[35:28] So I think there’s a twofold response for us this morning. [35:31] The first response is for people that haven’t trusted and put their faith in Jesus. [35:35] My hope for you is that you will place your faith in him. As you’ve heard this morning how God has [35:40] been faithful to his promises and redeeming for himself with people, how he’s been faithful to his [35:45] promises through working through a people. I pray that you would see that and say, I think Jesus [35:49] is enough. The death, burial, resurrection of Christ is enough. That’s all that I need. That’s

[35:53] all I need to have my boast in. That’s all I need to place my hope in and trust his promises and [35:59] walk in faith, knowing that God’s coming back for his church. Trust Jesus. For falls of Jesus today, [36:07] I pray that you would be able to place more faith in him than you have before [36:12] because you’ve seen God working in your life. You’ve seen him working right now. And I know [36:15] there might be a few people in here right now that you might feel that God isn’t working right now, [36:19] but he is. He’s setting the stage to fulfill his ultimate plan and he’s working in you right now.

[36:26] But you have to have faith and walk into obedience. Trust the word of God as as being true.

[36:31] Submit your life to him and his plans laid out to us in his word.

[36:35] That’s your call this morning to trust his promises.

[36:40] Friends have faith today in Jesus and let’s boast in him for the rest of our lives.