THE BIRTH OF ISAAC (Genesis 20:1 to 21:34)

Today’s message is about spiritual highs and lows.  If you have been a Christ follower for very long, then the mountain top experiences when you feel so close to God, are right there alongside the deep valley experiences when you feel so far from God.  The Bible describes Abraham as a hero of the faith, and I certainly agree with that description.  Some of the things that we have seen Abraham do in our study of the book of Genesis, and some of the things that he will yet do in this book, are truly remarkable examples of a man who is filled with the Spirit of an all-powerful God.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I never like to see my heroes stumble.  I mean, the Lone Ranger never told a lie, he was never mean to people, and he always rescued the girl, and defeated the bad guys.  That is just the way it works, our heroes are not supposed to do the same kind of foolish things that we do, especially twice.

So, when you have the type of expectations that I do for my heroes, chapter 20 of the book of Genesis is a chapter that you would like to just skip over.  That is because Abraham does all of the things we just talked about.  He lies, and he is mean to Hagar and Ishmael.  Worse, he repeats the same sin that he committed when he went down into the land of Egypt and lied concerning Sarah, saying, “She is my sister.” It is the same story, all over again. But in the end, Abraham defeats the bad guy, or the sin that has been in his life, he obeys God’s commands, and he gets the only girl God has wanted for him from the beginning, which is Sarah.

Yet, this story tells the truth about all of us as Christians.  No matter how great we think we are, each time we try to solve our problems using the world’s methods, using our own strength, instead of depending on God, we will fail.  And there is nothing more miserable than a Christian who has failed because he did not depend on God.  The lost see this person as the hypocrite they are, and they want nothing to do with that kind of shallow belief.  

Click on the link below to hear a message on how our faith and trust in God is the foundation for living a victorious Christian life.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.