Hear the word of God as you find it in Genesis the 25th chapter
Beginning at verse 19 and I do want to remind us all that this is God's word And he gives it to us because he loves us He gives it to us for our good And so as we read it we can read it With expectation This is the genealogy of Isaac Abraham's son Abraham begot Isaac Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebecca as wife the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padana ram the sister of Laban the Syrian Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife because she was barren and the Lord granted his plea and Rebecca his wife conceived But the children struggled together within her And she said if all is well why am I like this? So she went to inquire of the Lord and the Lord said to her two nations are in your womb two peoples shall be separated from your body One people shall be stronger than the other and the older shall serve the younger So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth indeed there were twins in her womb and The first came out read He was like a hairy garment all over so they called his name Issa Afterward his brother came out and his hand took hold of Issa's heel So his name was called Jacob Isaac was 60 years old when she bore them So the boys grew and Issa was a skillful hunter a Man of the field from the mild man dwelling in tents Isaac loved Issa because he ate of his gain but Rebecca loved Jacob Now Jacob could this stew and Issa came in from the field and he was weary And Issa said to Jacob, please feed me with that with that same red stew for I am weary Therefore his name was called Edom But Jacob said sell me your birthright as of this day And he said look, I'm about to die. So what is this birthright to me? And Jacob said swear to me as of this day, so he swore to him and Sold his birthright to Jacob Jacob gave Issa bread and a stew of lentils Then he ate drank a rose and went his way Thus Issa despised His birthright The word of the Lord Let's pray together Father, please come and help us again. We ask come by your spirit and You Holy Spirit the one having inspired this word and Having through the centuries and now millennia Preserved it Be the one to come now and take this word and apply it to our hearts. You know These people, oh Lord, you know each of them You know their hearts. You see into the deep recesses of their souls You know where they stand with you. You know what their needs are. You know where their struggles are You know the encouragement The rebuke, the comfort, the conviction. You know what it is that they need and so by your spirit We ask you that you would come to us and take this word and apply it to us As in your estimation is wise and good for us. We ask in Jesus name amen Maybe seated. I don't know if you've been over in winter park lately Over on interlocking You've driven down interlocking between the little winter park golf course there and down toward Downtown winter park. Then you've passed the Kasa Feliz. I think that's what it's called The house of happiness House of joy and if you've been down interlocking and if you've passed That place or if you've maybe paid attention to the Orlando Sentinel or maybe through some of the other Media You've become aware of the fact that there is this rather Staggering spectacle that's going on over there on interlocking
Somebody wanted to demolish that house Amazing to me that whoever it is who bought that piece of property didn't think that house was sufficient That's an interesting commentary on our culture. They wanted to demolish that thing. I mean, it's huge. It's massive It's beautiful. It has all of this rich architecture and probably all of this incredible history and Somebody wanted a bulldoze the thing. I hope that person isn't sitting here or it doesn't get hold of the tape Because I think that's where I was stupid too, but in any event somebody decided that it would be a real shame if this thing Were demolished and so they mustered some support and somehow they managed to scrape together enough money Not only to buy this place and I suspect it was sold for a dollar or two something like that But to pay the cost of actually moving this house several hundred yards from its location on Interlock and across the street to a place on the ninth fairway of the Winter Park golf club there and It's really a spectacle I mean, it's amazing to see them move this brick Structure and I was by there the other day and I stopped for a minute and watched and Here you have this bit this massive brick structure. It's off the ground It's resting on these massive steel beams and those massive steel beams are resting on these trundles And they get all this equipment and machinery and cables and all these people running around and they're actually moving this thing Inch by inch across this lot and eventually across the street I don't know how they're going to get down the curbs and maybe they're going to cut them out or something Across the street to its new location on the golf course As I was watching all of this it occurred to me that whoever the foreman of this Whoever the administrators are the superintendents or whatever That in the course of moving this thing I suspect these superintendents or engineers or administrators and I imagine that these people have all in their instructions to the people who are doing these various things repeatedly said don't forget Don't forget Remember this remember that because in a project of that size And as precariously Perched is that thing seems to be on those steel beams on those trundles. I Suspector has to be one reminder after another given to those people so they don't forget something important and By forgetting that something important put that house at Jeopardy and maybe see it crumble Reminders somebody said I heard somebody say I read it or somebody said to me years ago and I've mentioned this to you before preaching is pretty largely Reminding people of things they already know preaching is pretty largely Reminding people of things they already know now. It's not that exclusively. I understand But because we are all sober and serious students of scripture because we read our Bibles every day because we go to Sunday school classes We read Christian literature we do all those things don't we? Then when we come together for worship preaching pretty largely becomes Reminders calling people not to forget calling people to remember things and in this passage verses 19 through 34 of Genesis 25 God In this narrative among other things Is calling his people to remember things to be reminded of things not to forget Certain things now. Why do I say that? Well, I say that because of the context in which this word of God comes and The context you know the Bible it's so important to remember this the Bible doesn't just fall out of the sky somebody doesn't stumble over it and And then present it to the people of God the word of God of God in the midst of very real circumstances That's why I say to you so often remember that the things described here in this in the scriptures in these narratives involve real people who are living at real places in real time and and the word that comes to this people in Genesis Comes to a people in the midst of their wilderness experience. They are between Egypt and their bondage in Egypt They've been delivered by the strong arm of God and they're between that beginning deliverance and their final resting place in the promise land The the people who received this word are in the midst of that trek in the midst of that sojourn from Egypt to the promise land now We haven't gotten to that place in the narrative yet But that's the historical setting of Genesis Moses who is the leader of the people is given this word by God and he's given it this word by God for the people of God And what these hear from Moses and what is reduced then to writing in the Genesis narrative Involves stories that they have heard about across the generations their stories that have been passed down from one generation to the next But you see the work of inspiring scripture and then the writing of scripture is the work of God by his spirit setting the record Entirely straight and preserving for his people and account a record of his marvelous works of redemption in behalf of his people The people have some knowledge of the stories you see they know about Adam they know about the flood they know about Abraham Isaac and Jacob But this now is a record a permanent record which God gives to his people for their good so that they might be instructed And in the midst of this particular bit of instruction there are some reminders For these people God has To those people and to us That he conveys in this passage He has things in mind And I'll put them to us In the form of these reminders remember this remember this remember this the first reminder is this Israel and I say this to you the Israel of God today The first reminder is this don't be surprised Don't be surprised at the conflict You will most definitely Experience as you live as a nation in the midst of the nations Don't be surprised when the nations oppose you Don't be surprised when the nations do battle against you Here is the background for that here is the historical Circumstantial background for that conflict. It is the conflict between Jacob and Esau the conflict between Jacob and Esau Lays the foundation for Israel's understanding of its conflict with the nations around Very strong language that's used in verse 22 here in this particular setting We've talked about this God in effect through Abraham and then now through Isaac promises to Isaac and Rebecca that they will have children or a child And so after 20 years of waiting and praying The prayers are answered, but it's not one child. It is two children who are given to Isaac and Rebecca And you come to verse 22 and you read this verse 22 the children struggled together Within her. It's very weak language the language describes two objects Smashing into each other the children Smashing into each other in the womb. They crashed into each other. It's violent language It's not incidental contact and the anguish of this is so So painful and so excruciating and so intense That Rebecca cries out to the Lord if everything is well in other words if the blessing of God is a Planets a plan Isaac and upon me if all is well, then why am I in this condition and in the midst of her anguish a literal physical anguish as these Children crashing to each other in her room. She goes to inquire of the Lord and this is the prophetic word that comes to her from the Lord These two children represent nations and These two nations will be separated from each other That's the thrust of verse 23. They will be separated from each other. That is they will be at odds with each other They will be opponents one will be stronger than the other and The younger Will be the master or the Lord of the older a Conflict That finds its expression not only In Rebekah's literal physical experience, but it is a conflict which finds expression in the relationship between these two sons Esau and Jacob and you read in the rest of the narrative about the beginnings of that conflict and Jacob Who is the father of the twelve Suns the twelve tribes of Israel Jacob Who is the ancestor of the Israel who receives under stands? That Esau who becomes Edom Is simply a metaphor of the conflict that exists between Israel and all of the nations throughout the course of her life You read in numbers chapter 20 is the people are making their way again through the wilderness up toward the promised land They ask permission Israel does to pass through the region of Edom where Esau's descendants have landed and where they have prospered and become numerous Israel asks permission to pass through their land rather than continuing in the wilderness Around to the east and then to the north and Edom denies Israel the people of God upon whom the blessing of God rests The nation that is to be a blessing to the rest of the nation's Edom included Edom denies Israel Access to her borders That she might pass through And the conflict then continues across the rest of Israel's history Israel is constantly in conflict With the nations of the world and that becomes a metaphor not only for the Israel of the Old Testament But for the church You mustn't be surprised When people look at you like you're from Mars when you stand for the things you stand for When you care about the things you care about When you seek to argue for the things you seek to argue for you mustn't be surprised
Jesus said in the world you'll have tribulation Jesus said John 15 if they persecuted me, they will persecute you You can take it to the bank
Sometimes I really don't think we read our Bible I don't think we read the gospels closely and carefully. I don't think we hear from Jesus all of the warnings That he offers in a sense even all of the obstacles that he puts up in the paths of those who might seek to be his disciples And I don't get me wrong. There is a better place in the world than the place of being in relationship with God through Jesus Christ There's not a more secure place. There's not a safer place. There's not a more blessed place a place with greater hope and greater promise than that place But make no mistake about it If you are contemplating becoming the disciple of Jesus You have to know that it may cost you your life You have to know that it may cost you your friendships You have to know that it may cost you at any number of different levels as you seek to live in the midst of the world as a Disciple of Jesus a member of the Church of Jesus Christ a member of the nation of Israel God's people That's the reminder. Don't be surprised But not only should we not be surprised at the opposition that by come from the world Don't be surprised At the opposition that comes from powers and authorities far greater than any All the way back in Genesis 3 the 15th verse God in speaking to the serpent laid the foundation for this conflict He said God did that he would put enmity between the seed of the woman That is the people of faith the line of faith the people of God He would put enmity between that people and the seed of the serpent The serpent who was the incarnation of the evil one the great opponent of God the great opponent of his purposes And across the rest of history until the consummation of all things in Christ until the end of history when Christ returns and Every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord of the glory of the Father until that day comes this warfare Between the people of God and principalities and powers in heavenly places will wax hot. Don't be surprised At that conflict Paul warns us about it Ephesians chapter 6 Heard a great great sermon from this passage that our meeting of Presbytery this last week and the imagery is so vivid It's frightening imagery And I think that's Paul's intent Ephesians 6 10 finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Putting on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil for we do not wrestle against flesh We do not wrestle against blood, but we rent wrestle against principalities and powers against the rulers of this dark age Against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places because of this Take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day The picture that is painted in that passage is the picture of a battlefield And rank upon rank upon rank of soldiers in armies opposing one another and here on the one side of the righteous The people of God and across that battlefield are countless minions principalities powers All arrayed by their captain the devil of hell himself who would sing to break seek to bring them against the church and the people of God to destroy the people of God and to frustrate his purpose I think of that passage and I can't help but think of the movie Braveheart and These poor weak and frail and grossly outnumbered and under-equipped scots who stand against these well-armed well-fortified English hosts and as that cavalry Funders across that battlefield William Wallace Says to his men
And you see the terror in the eyes of those scots and they should be frightened and So should you Because the one who is arrayed against you and who is arrayed against the church is smarter quicker stronger than you will ever be and the admonition of Ephesians 6 is that you not look to yourself Not for a moment, but you look to the Lord and You rest in the Lord and you depend upon the Lord and you be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his mind And that is what God is reminding Israel of Through this narrative God is reminding Israel that this conflict will wax hot Says he is reminding Israel that they're only hope in Life and in death They're only comfort. They're only strength is the Lord himself So reminder number one Don't be surprised Don't be surprised at the conflict Reminder number two Don't forget who you are Don't forget who you are what God says in this passage While hard and difficult and we struggle to come to terms with it What God communicates to Israel is this reminder That they are who they are not because of anything in themselves But because God in his sovereign good pleasure Pleased to make the younger To be his special people you see the expected order of things the natural order of things is for the older son To be the favorite of the father The expected order in these times is for the older son to receive the lion's share of the father's inheritance You read about this in Deuteronomy 21 just a few verses Deuteronomy 21 15 through 17 Passage basically says if a man has two wives and
The wife who is the unloved wife has a son and He is the first born The husband of these two wives is not free To give the lion's share of the inheritance To the son of the wife whom he loves But he is required by law in keeping with the custom of the day To confer that blessing upon the first born son Because it is the first born son Who is a testimony before his neighbors and in the midst of his nation and in the midst of the world It is that first born son who is a testimony to all of those people that God's blessing is upon him and he is not free To overturn that order That's the natural order. That's the expected thing for the elder to be the master of the younger but God here says That he will reverse the order and the older We'll serve the younger god reverses the expected order of things. He reverses the natural order of things That's what God does because he is a gracious and compassionate God He lifts up the weak and he makes them strong He takes the broken and he makes it whole He lifts up the needy and Blesses the needy abundantly That's what God does And God reminds Israel that she is who she is not by anything in herself But she is who she is because in the sovereign good pleasure of God God has been pleased to reverse the order of things The younger Do you listen to the hymn that was sung? Did you do what I asked you to do before the service? Did you read the text of just as I am without one plea? And did you hear it as it was sung? And do you know in your heart in your heart of hearts that God in your life has done the unexpected thing? He's done the unnatural thing. He's done the surprising thing Listen to these words just as I am without one plea without a leg to stand on Without anything to commend me to you oh God just as I am without one plea But that thy blood was shed for me and that thou bidest me come to thee O Lamb of God I come Just as I am and waiting not to ridden my soul of one dark blood to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot O Lamb of God I come Just as I am though tossed about with many a conflict many a doubt Fightings and fears within and without O Lamb of God I come I come just as I am poor wretched blind Which is healing of thy mind Jay all I need in thee to find O Lamb of God I come Just as I am thou wilt receive willt welcome pardon cleanse Relief because thy promise I believe O Lamb of God I come You see what God is done in your life. He's done the unexpected thing You are who you are Not because of anything in you that commends you to God Not because you've wiped out the blots and made yourself acceptable in the sight of the Father Not because you cleaned yourself up well enough not because you are without doubts and fears and Strivings on the inside Carthlets and terrors at night not because those things are gone But precisely because you carry them around with you and Here you find that God upon the unexpected thing by the finished work of Christ He has made you a Jacob. He has made you to belong to himself. He has made you To be his special special Possession and child What is God telling Israel and what is God telling you don't forget? Don't forget who you are Don't forget why you are who you are But because God In unspeakable mercy Has reversed the natural order of things and has made you his own Reading a book. I think I mentioned it last week reading a book by a man named Bruce Demarest It is a book called Satisfy the Soul and Here is what he encourages is what he suggests in the book He suggests that even gelicalism and I've hinted at this before he suggests that even gelicalism is played By post-enlightenment rationalism and what that means is that even gelicals and that's us folks folks who believe the Bible and who take it Seriously and who know that it's content is the truth of God that it is hours that it defines our lives That it tells us about who God is that it shapes how we think about the world we go to it because we believe it's true We in post-enlightenment even gelicalism have a tendency to reduce Christianity to its propositional content which means we tend to live the Christian life up here in our heads and
We tend to validate one another and ourselves based upon the right apprehension and articulation of what is up here in our heads And Demarest wants to say it needs to be pressed down It needs to get into our hearts because it is in our hearts that it does its work And so what I want to say to you is that you take Bruce Demarest's advice Which I'm trying to figure out how to apply to my own life and you take every truth you learn from the Bible and you make it a Matter of meditation and contemplation. You don't allow it just to land in your head and walk away from it and be pleased But you allow that truth to penetrate your heart because I tell you folks It is only as you understand that God has done something extraordinary By reversing the order by lifting you up from a place where you belong It is only as you come to understand not put to your head, but in your heart of hearts, in your soul of souls It is only as you understand that God has made you his Jacob It is only as you understand his grace and your hearts are fueled By the apprehension of that grace That you will be able to resist the temptation That he saw was what is the third thing that Israel is to know what is the third thing that Israel is to be convicted of? Don't be foolish Don't be foolish Don't trade your birthright Extraordinary privilege of your citizenship in the household of God Don't trade your birthright for a met cabbage super a mess of beans super a mess of potage That's what happened to Issa Issa may have known in his head That is the eldest son By law he had a right To the privileged position of the eldest son May have known in his mind That as the eldest son his was a double share of the father's inheritance His was the privilege of carrying the name his was the privilege of being honored As the grandson of Abraham and the heir of the promise he may have known it in his head But the extraordinary privilege of it never gripped his heart and so when the attractiveness of the world was set before him He thought his extraordinary privilege To be of no value And he traded it for a mess of potage Cabbage and beans Verbs in verse 34 Describe a detached Cold-hearted action the eight drank got up And he left How vivid How painfully vivid He gave up his privileged position. He satisfied his worldly longing Walked away from it all he may have known what his privilege was in his head But it never captured his imagination It never gripped his heart. It never filled his soul. I'll tell you what I need and I'll tell you what you need We need this desperately my friends. We need desperately to find ways To withdraw From this world that is so seductive That is so attractive that entices and seduces and in the end destroys and we need to get away and Use our minds To remind ourselves of our extraordinary privilege And as the Jacobs of God Those in whose lives God has reversed the natural and expected order of things
Those whose lives have been claimed
Those who are now sons and daughters of the God of heaven and earth And having gotten away to remind ourselves of those things We need to stay in that away place and meditate upon these things and contemplate these things And beg of God that he by his spirit Would pierce our hearts with these things and stir us up to great faithfulness Great obedience Great perseverance so that we're not seduced and drawn away like he saw God help us not to be foolish Remember there's a conflict remember who you are Remember not to be foolish Let's pray together Lord Jesus keep these things before us. We will leave this place some of us Some of us will go from this place we'll get in our cars We'll go to our homes We may have breakfast. We may prepare lunch Some of us will stay here. We will come to Sunday school. We will Go through promotions Sunday. We will leave after that and we will go to our homes and we will have lunch We'll be about the afternoon's activities others of us will come and are coming right now Whoever we are oh God Please please for our sake For the honor of your name don't let us forget these things may we not be broken by the conflict May we remember who we are Would you by your spirit keep us from being foolish? Please we ask this in Jesus name