Genesis 24:1-9 NKJV Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. (2) So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, (3) and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; (4) but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” (5) And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?” (6) But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. (7) The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. (8) And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” (9) So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
This is the Word of the Lord, Amen?
Well Good morning Church, and happy Palm Sunday!
- Palm Sunday is when we recognize Jesus as the Triumphant victory, entering into Jerusalem as King.
- People waved Palm Branches in celebration and worship as Jesus entered… and in that time a Palm Branch was a sign of victory given to athletes who won first place, similar to a Gold Medal handed out in the Olympics.
John 12:12-18 NKJV The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, (13) took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’ The King of Israel!” (14) Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: (15) “FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SITTING ON A DONKEY’S COLT.” (16) His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. (17) Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. (18) For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.
- The imagery is clear:
- There were large crowds at Jerusalem who had gathered to celebrate the Passover.
- Many in these crowds had witnessed or heard of the Miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.
- They believed, for now, that Jesus was the Messiah, the King of Isreal, and that He had triumphed over death.
- So they worshiped him with Palm Branches, signifying that He was the Victor!
- Of course the Disciples knew things weren’t quite finished, but they would understand it all once Jesus rose from the Dead, which we will celebrate next week.
- Now what does these verses and Palm Sunday have to do with our key text this morning?
- Well, Abraham is seeking a wife for his son, and in the rest of this chapter we find out that Abraham’s servant is successful in finding this wife, her name is Rebeckah.
- Rebeckah ends up being the Great Great Great… well 39 greats… Grandmother of Jesus.
- The Blessing that Abraham is seeking is not just a wife for his son, but it is a fulfilment of promise… that Abraham would have generations upon generations of heirs… and that one of his descendants would bless the whole world. Remember that promise from Genesis 22:18?
Genesis 22:18 NKJV In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
- Paul made it clear that this promise to Abraham was about Christ:
Galatians 3:16 NKJV 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.
- Now this Palm Sunday church I want to ask you an important question, and I want you to respond with the enthusiasm that you deem is appropriate for this question.
- HAVE YOU BEEN BLESSED BY CHRIST?
- HAS HE SAVE YOU?
- HAS HE REEDEMED YOU?
- HAS HE SET YOU FREE?
- Let me ask you one more time: HAVE YOU BEEN BLESSED BY JESUS?
- Okay then, so check this out… The blessing Abraham is seeking is a blessing for YOU! Because ultimately Abraham is seeking the blessing of Christ… because it is THAT promise that Abraham wants to see fulfilled, and for it to happen Isaac needs a wife.
- So this story of Abraham seeking a wife for Isaac… it is a story that leads to Christ’s triumphal entry on Palm Sunday… it leads to His betrayal on Passover Thursday… to His crucifixion on good Friday… and, of course, to His resurrection defeating death once and for all on Easter Sunday…
- Christ lives in me, in part, because Abraham found a blessing, because Abraham found a wife for Isaac.
- Now what we have been doing for the past two weeks is we have been examining the way in which Abraham sought this blessing, and from that I have extrapolated six keys to walking in blessings… six things Abraham did while seeking this eternally important blessing.
- And I believe as a pastor with more than a decade of experience, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, that following these very practical keys will lead to a life of blessing, and failing to follow them can lead to calamity.
- And I want to serve a blessed church, I want everyone in this church to live a life of blessing like I am living… now we are not talking Private Jets and Air Conditioned dog houses… but we are talking a life where we, like Abraham, are blessed in all things.
- Blessed in all things: Six keys to walking in blessing.
- Blessed in all things: Six keys to walking in blessing: What are these six keys? Well I have them in this tidy list for you:
- Blessed in All Things: Six Keys To Walking in Blessing
- Don’t Rush the Blessing
- Don’t Look to the World
- Avoid Temptation
- Keep Good Company
- Don’t Force the Blessing
- Trust That God is Able
- First: Don’t rush the blessing, God makes all things beautiful in it’s time.
- Second: Don’t look to the world. God is the provider of our blessing, not the world.
- We talked about these two keys two weeks ago.
- Third: Avoid Temptation… if something looks like a blessing, but comes with temptation, it is not from God… because God does not tempt anyone to sin.
- Fourth: Keep good company. Surrounded yourself with godly people… blessings have a tendency to overflow, and those blessings will likely overflow into your life… and on the other side of the coin… if you have friends who are not saved, but live a life a sin… sin also has a tendency to overflow, and that sin can flow into your life and destroy it.
- We talked about that last week along with avoiding temptation.
- Now this week we get to the final two keys: Don’t force the blessing and trust that God is able… Y’all ready to get into it? Praise God. Now, Y’all remember the ground rules?
- First: I assume that I am speaking to a room full of Christians, born again and on fire for God. If you are not born again, we can fix that at the end of service… but blessings are for God’s people, Amen?
- Second: I assume that you are doing your best to live righteously… as we just read in Deuteronomy, blessings are for those who diligently and carefully obey what God has commanded. We have preached sermons on this many times before… that’s not this series, but it is important.
- Third: These are not “mix and match” keys to blessings… you can’t pick a few to follow and ignore others… missing just one key is enough to throw you into a tail-spin.
- You guys with it? Then let’s get into Key Five: Don’t Force the Blessing
Key Five – Don’t Force the Blessing
Genesis 24:5-8 NKJV And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?” (6) But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. (7) The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. (8) And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.”
- Abraham is making his servant swear to some very specific details… and the servant asks an important question: What if this woman doesn’t want to follow me back?
- And Abraham’s response is so faith-filled: “Listen man, God is doing this… not me, not you… but God is doing this. God is providing this blessing… God is going to grant a wife to my son. God is sending His angel out to take care of this for us. If you go and this woman doesn’t want to come, fine… then it is not from God… DON’T FORCE IT… just come back and figure it out.
- DON’T FORCE THE BLESSING.
- This goes hand in hand with don’t rush the blessing, but it is just a slightly different take on it.
- If something isn’t working out, if something is not going right… if you don’t have peace with the situation… DON’T FORCE IT.
- God has something else, God has something better… DON’T FORCE IT.
Psalms 127:1 NKJV A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.
- I love this verse because it reminds me of how we got to this building.
- Raise your hand if you were attending CLC at the building off Edgewood next to the Mexican Restaurant El Paraiso.
- You guys remember what that building was like, right?
- We prayed so hard for THAT building… we fasted for THAT building. We made videos to drum up support for that building. We fundraised and sent out letters for THAT building.
- We signed a contract for that building… we had lawyers work on that building… we paid thousands of dollars of real estate fees for that building…
- We put so much work and maintenance into that building…
- We felt that building was the blessing God had prepared for us. It was our permanent place, surely…
- But then the owner, one day, via text message… told us it was all for nothing, that he was canceling out contract to buy the building and that we needed to move out.
- I was so angry… but… God had something better.
- I easily could have called our real estate lawyer and started a lawsuit… and we likely would have one… We could have forced it… BUT MAN OH MAN WHAT BLESSINGS WE WOULD HAVE MISSED.
- We would have robbed ourselves from this blessing and we probably would have robbed the city of the Golden Apple Buffet!
- If God is in it, I don’t have to force it. God prepares the way, my job is to just walk in it.
- You know, when it comes to walking in blessing, here is a pro tip: Things from God come with peace.
James 3:17 NKJV But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
- When you have to force something, you probably are not at peace with the situation. You are probably not being gentle, you probably are not being fully of mercy and willing to yield…
- When the owner of our previous building pulled out, I had to be willing to yield… I had to refuse to fight, choosing a gentle response instead… and with it came peace.
- GOD WILL MAKE A WAY WERE THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY.
- When Abraham was seeking a wife for Isaac, he was willing to yield… “If she won’t come back with you you are release from this oath”.
- As a Christian the first way that many people hear from God is “Do I have peace about this” because wisdom from the Lord is pure and peacable.
- Man if I am praying about something: Should I take this job, should I make this investment, should I have this surgery… whatever blessing I am seeking… if I pray and I don’t have peace… I know it is not from the Lord.
- On the other hand, if it is something that I don’t want to do, something that seems crazy… something that seems out of my league… but if I pray and God gives me peace… Ok then, there is a blessing here for me to walk in!
- But again, let me reiterate church… if you are seeking a blessing… financial blessing, material blessing, spiritual blessing, marital blessing, blessings in your health… if you are seeking any kind of blessing, and an opetunity comes along that looks like it is from God… but you don’t have peace when you pray about it… it is probably not from God.
- If you start pursuing that blessing… maybe it is a job opportunity, maybe it is buying a new home… maybe it is dating someone… but things don’t seem to be working out… DON’T FORCE THE BLESSING.
- When I was dating my ex-fiancé I tried to force it… we argued ALL the time… we would yell at each other, call names… but I didn’t care… I WANTED TO BE MARRIED…
- My Pastor warned me, her parents forbid us… but I didn’t care… WE WERE GOING TO DO THIS THING NO MATTER WHAT.
- I was going to force the blessing… and it was only through God’s mercy and a whole lot of calamity that I avoided marrying that woman, a woman who was NOT the wife God had for me.
- I have seen people do the same thing… I have seen them do it with jobs, I have seen them do it with fad diets, I have seen them do it with living arrangements… trying to force the blessing they want for God… it doesn’t end up well.
- Instead, be at peace, be willing to yield… trust that GOD and GOD alone is able to bless, and He is not the author of confusion or calamity… Don’t force the blessing.
- Now that brings us finally to Key Six: Trust that God is Able.
Key Six – Trust that God is Able
Genesis 24:7 NKJV The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
- Do you see the faith that Abraham has. Abraham fully trusts that God is going to make a way… he is not sending his servant on an impossible mission… not in Abraham’s mind he is not… He is sending his servant on a simple fetch quest.
- God will do all the hard work, Abraham suggest… you just have to show up, and this woman will be ready for you.
- In Abrahams mind the matter was already settled… God is sending His angel to prepare a way, go and get my Son’s wife!
- Oh how many blessings do we miss church because we forget that God is able.
- And it starts by forgetting what God has already done for us.
- I started this sermon by asking if God had blessed you.
- A follow up question I think would be: Do you believe God will cointinue to bless you.
- If He has done it before, will he do it again… or were those old blessings just a one time thing… just a fluke… or, maybe… is it in God’s very nature… His unchanging nature… is it in His very nature to bless His people.
- If that is the case then the fact that you have been blessed before should prove that you will be blessed again.
Psalms 35:27 NKJV Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
- Abraham knew this… Abraham had seen so many blessings in his life. Blessings of financial prosperity, health and long years, miracles in child birth… miracles in battle… miracle after miracle… provision after provision… Abraham remembers all that God had done, even sparing his son Isaac on the altar, and miraculously providing a substitutionary sacrifice.
- Remembering these blessings builds your faith to trust that God is able.
- But when you forget this blessings… bad things happen.
- When we forget what God has done for us it is easy to fall into a depression… then in that depression we make poor, shallow, faithless decisions to seek any kind of pleasure or relief from that depression… those sinful choices bring us down a road of sin and not a road of blessing… it’s a terrible cycle.
- This is why one of my favorite psalms is Psalm 103
Psalms 103:1-5 NKJV A Psalm Of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! (2) Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: (3) Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, (4) Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, (5) Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
- When I am seeking a blessing it helps me to remember that I serve a God who not only is ABLE to bless… but who has ALREADY blessed.
- When I got angry that our building deal fell through… and I got REALLY angry for a moment…
- In that rage, in that moment… I forgot who God was… I forgot what he had done for our church already… I forgo that God was able.
- If I would have been a greater man of faith, I would have received that text… that terrible news that the deal was off… I would have received it with faith… ok, that’s fine… God has something better. God is able to bring us into a better building… God is able to do a greater miracle.
- And that is exactly what happened when I calmed down… I began to sing “God will make a way, where there seems to be no way… He works in ways we cannot see, God will make a way for me”.
- That is a song that got me through a very difficult time of ministry, but a time where I saw miracle after miracle… and I remember, God got me through then, God will get me through now.
- God was able then, God is able now.
- Church this is the last key but this is the most important key. Trust that God is able… so let me conclude with this… IF WE would just have faith that God is Able… if we would just trust that God is able.. all the other keys would fall into line.
Conclusion
Matthew 9:28-29 NKJV And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” (29) Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”
Mark 5:34 NKJV And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
Mark 10:51-52a NKJV So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” (52) Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.”
Matthew 21:22 NKJV And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
- Oh church! If we just had faith, if we just believed that God is able… then these other keys would fall into line!
- I have talked about these six keys of blessings, but they hinge on this last key.
- Blessed in All Things: Six Keys To Walking in Blessing
- Don’t Rush the Blessing
- Don’t Look to the World
- Avoid Temptation
- Keep Good Company
- Don’t Force the Blessing
- Trust That God is Able
- If we just had the faith to believe that God is Able… then we would have no need to rush the blessing…
- I can be patient, God can even give my 90 year old wife a child.
- If we would trust that God is able we would never look to the world.
- Yes there are millions of viable women to marry my son, but God will bring a woman from His people… because God’s people marry God’s people
- If we would trust that God is able we would avoid temptation.
- Sodom has nothing for me, I trust in God’s way.
- If we would trust that God is able we would be willing to rid ourselves from worldly friends.
- I don’t need to fellowship with the darkness, God is able to give me friends in the light.
- If we would trust that God is able we would never feel the need to force the blessing.
- I don’t need Hagar’s help to have this blessing, God is able to give it to me through Sarah.
- So there you have it church, six keys to walking in blessing… for the born again, on fire believer, six nuggets of wisdom to super charge your life of blessings… but if you are not born again, I would love to help you be born again, right now in this place.
- Gospel Call
Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God.
Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids
2808 Schaeffer DR SW,
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
www.CedarRapidsChurch.com
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