Last week I mentioned to you in the sermon that we often go to certain books of the Bible or to certain individuals to read and to study and to learn from what's written there for us, from the events and experiences of their lives. I would like to spend the time in the message today talking about a portion of the life of one of these individuals, the patriarch Abraham, not specifically about Abraham, but one of the descendants of Abraham.

Abraham is probably one of the key people that you and I are aware of and probably is one that we have benefited the greatest from, from a physical standpoint… because through him, you and I have been blessed both with physical blessings and with spiritual blessings as we're going to see. These physical blessings have been bestowed upon this great nation that we're in. A nation we see slowly (well not so slowly anymore) disintegrating about us, which is just, of course as God's prophecies indicate will happen. Although it is very discouraging to see what is happening to our great nation, we all must remember that it's part of God's plan, part of God's design. Ultimately what this will bring about will be greater than any of the great blessings that we've enjoyed in this nation so far. If you go back to Genesis 26 you can read about Abraham and his descendants. God says He will multiply them as the stars of heaven. God told Abraham that He would give to his descendants all of these lands and He also told him that in Abraham's Seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

We find as we go through and read the story of Abraham's life that this promise of physical greatness was passed on to Abraham's son, Isaac and then down to the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh. Great Britain and the United States, being descendants of these two sons, have inherited those blessings… blessings you can read about in Genesis 48. We then see the spiritual blessings that were to come from Abraham's Seed (Jesus Christ). It's important for us to realize where our spiritual blessings come through Abraham. Gal. 3:16 "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ." Gal. 3:28-29 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Verse 29 "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Through Abraham, as I said, we are the recipients of both physical and spiritual blessings.

There are so many lessons we can learn from studying the life of Abraham and his descendants. For today's sermon, I want to go through one event in Abraham's life and that is the birth of his son Isaac, a son born to Abraham and Sarah. In studying the story of Abraham, as recorded in the scriptures, I approach this as I think we should all of God's word, with one thought in mind: What does this have to do with salvation? The entirety of the Bible is built on the idea of salvation being ultimately offered to all of mankind. As we study or read any portion of the scripture, we can ask this question and it helps us glean from what we're studying what God has for us. Again, it's not just a history lesson, but it benefits you and me. That being the case, can we see the plan of God's salvation for mankind being expressed or exemplified in the birth of Isaac?

You might be surprised to find in these events things that help us to see God's great plan intertwined throughout the lives of these men and women of old. As we will see, the birth of Isaac marked a pivotal point in God working out his eternal purpose. But first, I want us to get some historical information leading up to the birth of Isaac because it is good for us to set the scene for how this came about. We're going to enter the story some twenty five years after God had called Abraham to leave his home in Ur of the Chaldeans. Gen. 13:14-18 "And the Lord said to Abram (that's what Abraham was called at that time), after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward, southward, eastward, and westward;"" Verse 15 ""for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever."" Verse 16 ""And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered."" Verse 17 ""Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you."" Verse 18 "Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord." Here we see the promise that was given to Abraham and he was called at that time to receive that promise from God.

Gen. 15:1-6 "After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."" Verse 2 "But Abram said, "Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"" This was Abram's servant. Verse 3 "Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!"" Verse 4 "And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir."" Verse 5 "Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."" Verse 6 "And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness." We see that after yet another passage of time, remember this is happening twenty five years after God first called Abram out of his country… and still God had not blessed Abram with heirs. God reconfirmed his promise here that He was going to do this. Would that take some patience? Yes! It would also take faith, because it says it was accounted to him for righteousness BECAUSE he believed God was going to do what God said He was going to do. That's why Abraham is called the father of the faithful.

Some thirteen years later, we come to Genesis 17:15 "Then God said to Abraham (God had changed his name by this point), "as for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name."" Verse 16 ""And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; (He hadn't done this, yet, but, He's telling him again, 'I'm going to do this.') then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her."' Verse 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?"" It was kind of unbelievable, wasn't it? Abraham wasn't doubting God, because he said earlier he believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness because he did. Verse 18 "And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!"" Remember that Ishmael was a son born to Abraham from Sarah's handmaiden. Abraham loved Ishmael, so he wanted God to make his heir Ishmael instead of waiting on a son from Sarah and him. Verse 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."" We're beginning to see the importance of this yet-to-be-born son of Abraham and Sarah. Verse 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." Verse 21 "But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year." Now He is narrowing it down: twenty five years, fifteen years, thirteen years… and now He said at this time next year, it's going to happen. I imagine Abraham was getting somewhat excited at this time.

Sometime later we find the Lord accompanied by two angels, appearing to Abraham. Gen. 18:9 "So they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" So he said, "Here, in the tent."" Verse 10 "And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son. (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)" Again He tells him that this is going to happen at a certain time. Verse 11 "Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing." Verse 12 "Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"" Verse 13 "And the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?'" Verse 14 'IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."" This is a scripture we should never forget. NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD! How many times did God reiterate to Abraham this promise?

Later we see God fulfilling his promise to Sarah bearing a son to Abraham. We see the importance of this birth in Genesis 21:12 "But God said to Abraham, "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad (Ishmael, because Sarah had him sent away along with his mother) or because of the bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called." I want to note how the faith of this man and this woman from whose lineage Christ was to come, is described by the apostle Paul over in the book of Romans. Romans 4:19 "And not being weak in faith," (I'd consider that an understatement)" he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb." Verse 20 "He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God," Verse 21 "and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform." Verse 22 "And therefore "It was accounted to him for righteousness.""

In Hebrews 11, the Faith Chapter we see Sarah's faith, not only did Abraham have great faith that God would do what He said He would do, but Sarah also believed God. Heb. 11:11 "By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised." There's a lot for us to learn just from these two people and how they reacted and inter reacted with God through this whole thing. We see in Abraham an illustration of election, as one who was called and chosen by God. In Isaac, we see a son promised and born of God's power. There are many comparisons we could make between the birth of Isaac and the birth of Christ. We see how this election and birth are foreshadowed in the birth of Isaac and conveyed to us who are now in Christ. You can go to Ephesians 1: 3-14 and it makes it very clear that this comparison is so perfect.

What do we want to glean from the birth of Isaac? THE FIRST THING WE WANT TO GLEAN FROM THE CONCEPTION AND BIRTH OF ISAAC WAS THAT THIS CAME ABOUT THROUGH A MIRACLE. There was no power or strength in the natural man to be able to bring this about. As we read, Abraham's body was 'dead' and so too was Sarah's womb. She was long past the age of childbearing, in fact she laughed at the thought of such a thing being able to happen. But, what this teaches us is one of the most encouraging truths about the God that we worship. We read in Genesis 18:14 when God asks the question of Abraham, "Is anything too hard for God?" The conception and birth of Isaac was one of the countless answers to that age-old question that we all ask at times in our hearts and minds. What is beyond the capacity of our natural world, of natural man, of man's power and influence and abilities is never beyond the power of God to perform… NEVER! God tells us in 1 Timothy 2:8 that He wishes us to pray always… how? Without doubting! Prayers should never be tinged with any doubt whatsoever that what God says in His Word is absolutely true. James 4 tells us that we don't have, why? Because we don't ask. Abraham and Sarah had done what? They had asked God for a son, that's what they wanted, but here they both were nearly a hundred years old. What could they do? They hadn't been able to have children, now at a hundred years old, what else were they going to do? Absolutely nothing! Humanly they could do nothing to have this fulfilled in their lives. God was going to have to work a miracle if it was going to happen, but they had to wait. They had to wait a very long time for their request to be answered. Do we get impatient sometimes when we have asked God for something in our lives and it doesn't happen when we think it should happen? Sure we do. It's part of our human nature. The lesson we learn here is to be patient; let God work things out according to His will and it will always work out for the best; we humans can't know what is always the best for us. They had to wait a long time so that they could learn to never doubt the power of God, the power of God to bring about what He desires in a person's life. What does God want in your life? God knows. I don't know what He wants in my life in detail. I know the type of person He wants me to be, but I can't know what tomorrow is going to bring… God does and I just trust Him to work it out for my good.

We find that in order for Isaac to be born, that which was dead had to be made alive by a miracle from God. How does that relate to our salvation? Eph. 2:1 …who were dead in trespasses and sins," That is the reality in which all of mankind finds themselves. That's the reality of where you and I found ourselves. 1 Cor. 6:11 "And such were some of you." I'd say such were all of us; we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Man is alive naturally, physically, mentally and morally but man is dead spiritually. A miracle has to take place in a person's life for this to change. The miracle is called conversion. John 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." You have to hear the word and you have to believe, like Sarah and Abraham, what the word of God says. Just as God made alive the deadness of Abraham and Sarah so they could bring forth a child, He must also transform us from being dead in our sins to being made alive in Jesus Christ through the process of being called and chosen and granted repentance toward God. Then we receive his Holy Spirit and live our lives in obedience to Him. It's a process that each of us must go through. Then we are able to live a new life in Him by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. 2 Cor. 3:6 "…but the Spirit gives life." The Holy Spirit gives life to those in which it dwells. We have no life, no true life, apart from God's Spirit dwelling in us. Just as the conception and birth of Isaac was an act of God's creative power, so too, is the imparting of Spiritual life to those whom He chooses to call. It's a miracle, short and simple. 2 Peter 1:4 says we have become partakers of the divine nature through the Holy Spirit. Apart from God's Spirit, we do not have any divine nature in us whatsoever. SALVATION CANNOT COME ABOUT BY OR THROUGH ANYTHING THAT YOU AND I CAN DO. It's humanly impossible; we can't do it. We're dead! We have to be made alive through the process of being called, chosen and of receiving God's Spirit. It has to come through a miracle performed in our lives by a powerful Creator as it was at the conception and birth of Isaac. This is a tremendous analogy for us to contemplate.

What else do we see surrounding the birth of Isaac? It was interesting to see how the family dynamics changed once Isaac came on the scene. Remember there was already one son in the family, Ishmael who had already been born from Sarah's handmaiden Hagar. It's easy to understand when you just stop and think for a minute. You've got a son by one woman and then you have a son born into the family through another woman. They dynamics were stirring for trouble right there from the beginning. It was an explosive situation. One would naturally think that this was going to bring about a lot of opposition and conflict, which it did. As we're going to see, so many of these events that we see recorded in Genesis, we're also going to see played out in the New Testament that puts the connection between what happened physically to these people and what's happening spiritually to God's people today. Gen. 21:9 "And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing." He was ridiculing, making fun of or whatever, Isaac after he was born. Verse 10 "Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac."" We see what is happening here. Ishmael was the oldest and the new kid comes along… I'm sure there was a lot of jealousy and envy because Isaac was of Sarah and not of the bondwoman, terrible situation to be in.

Gal.4:23 "But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the free woman through promise," Here Paul is pointing out the spiritual difference between these two births. Verse 24 "which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar--" Paul is drawing a comparison between these individuals and how it translates into God's people today and people's relationship to God and to God's law. Verse 25 "for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children--" Verse 26 "but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all." Verse 27 "For it is written:

"Rejoice, O barren,
You who do not bear!
Break forth and shout,
You who are not in labor!
For the desolate has many more children
Than she who has a husband.""

Verse 28 "Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise." He makes the leap here from what happened in Genesis to you and I today. We are not children of this world any longer. We have been given a promise, a promise of eternal life, a spiritual promise in the family of God to live forever as part of God's family. This is what is being used to compare the difference between the two. Verse 29 "But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now." I mentioned this last Sabbath about persecution and the persecution we see all around us on Christians, as such. It's going to get a lot worse. We cannot expect that the people of God are going to escape persecution, we're promised persecution and it will be coming and is already. We see how the apostle Paul shows the application of this situation, this birth of Isaac and of Ishmael with you and me. We are like Isaac. We are children of promise, not children of the flesh. Ishmael exemplified the one after the flesh, Isaac the one born after the Spirit. Just as there were two sons in Abraham's household, the one the product of nature and the other the gift of God through His divine power, each standing for totally different principles and ways of living. We also find within us two natures, which are distinct and diverse. Just as there was conflict between Ishmael and Isaac, so the flesh in us lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh.

Gal. 5:16-17 "I say then: "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."" We see two dynamics here. Verse 17 "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." In Romans 7 Paul describes these as two laws within us that are warring against one another: the Law of God dwelling within us by the Holy Spirit and the law of sin through our carnal nature. We see this animosity between Ishmael and Isaac carries all the way through to us today and the spiritual against the carnal nature that you and I are fighting constantly. Paul goes on in Galatians to list for us the works of the flesh as opposed to the fruits of the Spirit. Gal. 5:24-25 "And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Verse 25 "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." The works of the flesh have to be crucified. Just like Ishmael and his mother were put out, sent away, we have to put out the sin, the flesh that we have to war against. You just somehow cannot improve the flesh; it can't be done. Paul said in Romans 8:7 that the carnal mind is enmity against God, it's not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. If the flesh cannot be subject to the law of God, how can it be improved? It can't. I found an interesting proverb that speaks to this in Proverbs 27:22 "Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him." You can't put window dressing on the works of the flesh and somehow make it appear acceptable to God; it has to be crucified, it has to be separated, it has to be sent away. It must be totally replaced with the mind of Jesus Christ.

There is very little written about Ishmael until Isaac comes on the scene. We would have to assume that he was a very quiet and obedient son, in fact we find that Abraham loved Ishmael and even desired God's blessings to be fulfilled through him. When Isaac was born, we find Ishmael's true nature emerging by him persecuting and mocking Isaac. What this tells us is that you don't recognize the 'Ishmael' nature in yourself until you have imparted into you the mind and Spirit of God. Did you recognize the wrong spirit before you had God's Spirit? No, you didn't.

Notice this truth about us: 1 Cor. 2:11-14 "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?" We understand human things, fleshly things by the spirit of man that is in us. Verse 11 continued, "Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God." Without God's Spirit, you can't really know the things of God. If it's not there, it can't happen, it's a miracle from God. Verse 12 "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God." Verse 13 "These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." Verse 14 "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Think about this: the very fact that you have within you this ongoing conflict between the natural and spiritual is proof that there are two natures present within you. You wouldn't recognize it if there weren't. Just as Paul described in Galatians 3, you find the "Ishmael" nature persecuting the "Isaac" nature so we should expect there to be a struggle that we must engage in every day of our lives. As Paul's own struggle shows us, sadly the "Isaac" nature doesn't always win out in our daily struggles against sin. As we grow in the "Isaac" nature, we're better able to recognize, to crucify, to put away, and to send away the "Ishmael" nature that is ever present within us.

Romans 8:5 "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." I have a sermon I'm working on titled "Where Do You Live?" The title says it all. Where do you live? Verse 6 "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Verse 7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be." Verse 9 "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." He can't claim to belong to Jesus Christ. Many in the world do, absolutely, but they don't unless they have God's Spirit dwelling within them. God's Spirit leads one to obedience to God. Verse 10 "And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." Verse 11 "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit which dwells in you." Again, we see Paul contrasting these two ways of living, two ways of living that have directly opposite outcomes.

As we see in the story of Ishmael and Isaac, we can never quit warring against the flesh until it is at last put completely away. Gen. 21:9-10 "And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing." Verse 10 "Therefore she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac." Only the nature of Isaac is going to inherit the spiritual promises. Verse 11 "And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son." Verse 12 "But God said to Abraham, "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called." Verse 13 "Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed." Verse 14 "So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba." Abraham again showed faith in what God said He was going to do. Did he believe that God was going to bless Ishmael? Remember Abraham loved Ishmael, yes he did. As much as it hurt, he was able to send Ishmael away.

Let's connect the dots, reinforcing what we've seen so far. Eph. 4:29 "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." Verse 30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by which you were sealed for the day of redemption." Verse 31 "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice." Crucify it; put it out of your life. Verse 32 "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Eph. 5: 1 "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children." The one who persecuted Isaac was cast out. Eph. 5:24 "Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." Verse 25 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her," The church is whom Christ gave his life for. Can we, must we continue living with an “Ishmael" nature within us? It's there, it will continue to be there as long as we're in the flesh, but we have to fight against it. We have to be putting it out of our lives each and every day.

I'd like to close in Phil. 3:17 "Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern." Verse 18 "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:" Verse 19 "whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame--who set their mind on earthly things." Verse "20 "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ," Verse 21 "who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." Phil. 4:1 "Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved." This is where our struggle against the flesh will ultimately come to its glorious end and not until then, but we must get up every day and we must fight the struggle anew to put the "Ishmael" nature out, to remove it as far from our lives as we possibly can. In so doing, we will finally receive the spiritual promise that God has given to us.