Faith’s Hall of Fame – Part 7

Message Date: June 26, 2022
Bible
  • 1. Miraculously born according to promise (Genesis 21)
    • 1 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. 4 Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭21:1-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
  • 2. Spared from sacrifice by the purpose of God’s grace (Genesis 22)
    • 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” 15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. Genesis‬ ‭22:14-19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
      • Isaac’s first faith adventure was God providing a sacrifice for him–an encounter with the grace of God.
  • 3. Guarded  through grief by God’s favor (Genesis 23)
      • Walking by faith doesn’t mean you’re exempt from the sorrows of life–but you are immune.
    • 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
  • 4. Supernaturally provided a wife through God’s guidance (Genesis 24)
    • 1 Abraham was now an old man. God had blessed Abraham in every way. 2-4 Abraham spoke to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh and swear by God—God of Heaven, God of Earth—that you will not get a wife for my son from among the young women of the Canaanites here, but will go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant answered, “But what if the woman refuses to leave home and come with me? Do I then take your son back to your home country?” 6-8 Abraham said, “Oh no. Never. By no means are you to take my son back there. God, the God of Heaven, took me from the home of my father and from the country of my birth and spoke to me in solemn promise, ‘I’m giving this land to your descendants.’ This God will send his angel ahead of you to get a wife for my son. And if the woman won’t come, you are free from this oath you’ve sworn to me. But under no circumstances are you to take my son back there.” Genesis‬ ‭24:1-8‬ ‭MSG‬‬‭‭
    • 10-14 The servant took ten of his master’s camels and, loaded with gifts from his master, traveled to Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor. Outside the city, he made the camels kneel at a well. It was evening, the time when the women came to draw water. He prayed, “O God, God of my master Abraham, make things go smoothly this day; treat my master Abraham well! As I stand here by the spring while the young women of the town come out to get water, let the girl to whom I say, ‘Lower your jug and give me a drink,’ and who answers, ‘Drink, and let me also water your camels’—let her be the woman you have picked out for your servant Isaac. Then I’ll know that you’re working graciously behind the scenes for my master.” 15-17 It so happened that the words were barely out of his mouth when Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel whose mother was Milcah the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with a water jug on her shoulder. The girl was stunningly beautiful, a pure virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please, can I have a sip of water from your jug?” Genesis‬ ‭24:10-17‬ ‭MSG‬‬
    • 55 Her brother and mother said, “Let the girl stay a while, say another ten days, and then go.” 56 He said, “Oh, don’t make me wait! God has worked everything out so well—send me off to my master.” 57 They said, “We’ll call the girl; we’ll ask her.” They called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man?” 58 She said, “I’m ready to go.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭24:55-58‬ ‭MSG‬‬
  • 5. Perpetually sustained by the legacy of obedience to Gods blessing (Genesis 25)
    • 5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭25:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
    • 11 And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭25:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
  • 6. God graciously granted the guarantee
    • 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭25:21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
      • He had to believe for himself. Not his fathers faith but his.
      • God wants to give your children lions and bears too.
  • 7. Promised protection through obedience
    • 1 There was a famine in the land, as bad as the famine during the time of Abraham. And Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar. 2-5 God appeared to him and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt; stay where I tell you. Stay here in this land and I’ll be with you and bless you. I’m giving you and your children all these lands, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I’ll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands. All the nations of the Earth will get a blessing for themselves through your descendants. And why? Because Abraham obeyed my summons and kept my charge—my commands, my guidelines, my teachings.” 6 So Isaac stayed put in Gerar. ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭26:1-6‬ ‭MSG‬‬
      • Two choices: old iniquities, old wells
    • 7 The men of the place questioned him about his wife. He said, “She’s my sister.” He was afraid to say “She’s my wife.” He was thinking, “These men might kill me to get Rebekah, she’s so beautiful.” 8-9 One day, after they had been there quite a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah. Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So, she’s your wife. Why did you tell us ‘She’s my sister’?” Isaac said, “Because I thought I might get killed by someone who wanted her.” 10 Abimelech said, “But think of what you might have done to us! Given a little more time, one of the men might have slept with your wife; you would have been responsible for bringing guilt down on us.” 11 Then Abimelech gave orders to his people: “Anyone who so much as lays a hand on this man or his wife dies.” 12-15 Isaac planted crops in that land and took in a huge harvest. God blessed him. The man got richer and richer by the day until he was very wealthy. He accumulated flocks and herds and many, many servants, so much so that the Philistines began to envy him. They got back at him by throwing dirt and debris into all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham, clogging up all the wells. 16 Finally, Abimelech told Isaac: “Leave. You’ve become far too big for us.” 17-18 So Isaac left. He camped in the valley of Gerar and settled down there. Isaac dug again the wells which were dug in the days of his father Abraham but had been clogged up by the Philistines after Abraham’s death. And he renamed them, using the original names his father had given them. 19-24 One day, as Isaac’s servants were digging in the valley, they came on a well of spring water. The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s shepherds, claiming, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named the well Esek (Quarrel) because they quarreled over it. They dug another well and there was a difference over that one also, so he named it Sitnah (Accusation). He went on from there and dug yet another well. But there was no fighting over this one so he named it Rehoboth (Wide-Open Spaces), saying, “Now God has given us plenty of space to spread out in the land.” From there he went up to Beersheba. That very night God appeared to him and said, I am the God of Abraham your father; don’t fear a thing because I’m with you. I’ll bless you and make your children flourish because of Abraham my servant. 25 Isaac built an altar there and prayed, calling on God by name. He pitched his tent and his servants started digging another well. Genesis‬ ‭26:7-25‬ MSG