Blessed in the Background

Genesis 25:1-18 NKJV  Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah.  (2)  And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.  (3)  Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.  (4)  And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.  (5)  And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.  (6)  But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.  (7)  This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years.  (8)  Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.  (9)  And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite,  (10)  the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.  (11)  And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.  (12)  Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.  (13)  And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,  (14)  Mishma, Dumah, Massa,  (15)  Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.  (16)  These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations.  (17)  These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.  (18)  (They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren. 

This is the Word of the Lord, Amen? 

• Good morning church! It is so good to be back! I had a great family reunion in the Ozarks, but honestly, my family is here, and I missed you all! 

• Now we just got done going through Genesis 24, and then our Associate Pastor, Pastor Jared gave us a teaching from James about how we chose to use our time. 

• Now we are back in Genesis and we have almost… ALMOST made it halfway… when we finish Genesis 25 we will have read half of the chapters of Genesis! 

• Now, we just read a large portion of scripture, and we went over some important topics. 

• And this week as I was going over Genesis 25 there was a lot of things that I thought would be worth saying… a lot of different sermons that I thought ought to be preached. 

• But I really struggled to write some of these sermons and I think the Holy Spirit kept me from preaching certain things, things that just aren’t for the whole church at this time. 

• For example, I wanted to start off Genesis 25 with a sermon called “If you fail to plan that you should plan to fail”. 

• And that sermon was going to go over the death of Abraham and how he made plans for his death and his estate. Note verses 5 and 6: 

Genesis 25:5-6 NKJV  And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.  (6)  But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east. 

• Take note that Abraham dealt with his last will and testament while he was still alive. He made the plans, gave the gifts, set aside the estate. 

• He could have, as many Americans do, ignored all of this and let his family figure it out once he was dead… but that almost never ends well… it probably would have ended in a lot of animosity between Abrahams many children… after all, father Abraham had many sons… and many sons had father Abraham! 

• So I was going to preach a sermon about that and talking about how we are all going to die if the Lord tarry’s… if He doesn’t come back in our lifetime, then we are all going to die so we should prepare for it… leave an inheritance for our kids… write a will… think about who you want to bless when you die… Giving to the Lord, giving to your kids… all of those things… but the Lord would not have me preach that this Sunday. 

• I also could have preached on the manner of Abraham’s death… that he died full of years… in a good old age… and I love the way the KJV puts it… 

Genesis 25:8 KJV  Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. 

• HE GAVE UP THE GHOST. The Hebrew here being “He gave up his spirit.” And in Hebrew the word for spirit is also the word for breath. So a lot of transaltaions say “he gave up his breath or he breathed his last”… 

• But I like the translation “He gave up the ghost” because it implies intentionality. 

• Abrahams spirit was not taken from him, it was freely given up. 

• Abraham had lived plenty of good years and now was ready to be with his people and to start his walk in eternity… he gave up the ghost… it wasn’t forcefully removed, it was freely given. 

• And oh saints I could preach about the importance of freely giving our spirit to God… freely giving our life to God… 

• Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days, let them flow in endless praise. 

• Lord I FREELY give you my life, I give you my spirit, I give you my days and my months and my years… take my life as an offering, a freewill offering LORD! And when my years are good and full, I freely give up my Ghost unto you! 

• DUDE I COULD PREACH THAT SERMON! 

• But God had something else for me this morning… God, I feel, wants me to talk about Esau… the forgotten child, the mistake, born in sin, cast aside… cast out… 

• You see I have talked a lot about promises in Genesis. I have talked a lot about blessings in Genesis… and I want to talk a little bit more about promises and blessings… but I want to talk about them from the view of this background character… Not the main character… but the side character, the background character… not as important as Isaac, not as central to the story as Abraham. 

• Mostly forgotten about by mankind… but NEVER forgotten about by God. 

• Blessed in the Background 

• If you have ever felt like you are a nobody… that you are not that important… that all these blessings that get talked about are for important people… people with bigger callings… people with more influence… 

• This sermon is for you! 

• If you have ever listened to a preacher talk about blessings, and promise, and eternal value, and callings, and thought “Well that is great for you, you’re a pastor! None of this applies to a nobody like me” then this sermon is for you. 

• If you have ever felt not good enough, not loved enough, not smart enough, not important enough… born in the wrong family… born at the wrong time… born in the wrong set of circumstances… If you have ever felt less than in God’s eyes… THIS SERMON IS FOR YOU. 

• You don’t have to be the main character to be blessed by God. GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN YOU! YOU ARE A SOMEBODY IN GOD’S KINGDOM! 

• In fact, these are our two points this morning. God Has Not Forgotten you and you are a somebody in God’s Kingdom. 

• So let’s get right into it with point one… God has not forgotten you. 

Point One –  God Has Not Forgotten You 

• Genesis 25:12-17 NKJV  Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.  (13)  And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,  (14)  Mishma, Dumah, Massa,  (15)  Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.  (16)  These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations.  (17)  These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 

• First I love how Ishmael is described: 

• Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son… 

• Not Abraham’s mistake… but Abraham’s son. 

• Just like Isaac, Ishmael is Abraham’s son. 

• Yes, he is the child of Hagar the Egyptian as well… but here God goes out of his way to remind us, this is Abrahams son. 

• Can I just give you some encouragement church? 

• Who ever you are, if you are born again, you are a child of God. 

• You are not the sum of your past mistakes. 

• You are a child of God. 

• You are not an orphan, you are not unwanted, you are not a mistake, you are not bound by the sins and failures of your parents. 

• You are a child of God. 

• I love that song by Hillsong, Who You Say I Am, it says “Who the Son Sets free is free indeed, I am a child of God! In my Father’s house there is a place for me! I am a child of God! OH YES I AM! I AM A CHILD OF GOD! 

Genesis 25:12 NKJV  Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. 

• Abrahams son… yes you were born of Ishmael… but you are ABRAHAM’S SON. You are a child of promise. You are a part of God’s plan, Ishmael, and God has not forgotten you! 

• The last time Ishmaels name was written in Scripture was all the way back in Genesis 17 when God gives him a promise and then he is circumcised… let me read that promise for you. 

Genesis 17:20 NKJV  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. 

• The last time we see Ishmaels name written was 7 and a half chapters ago… and in those final verses about Ishmael we see him circumcised into God’s covenant with Abraham, and we see him being promises 12 princes and that he will become a great nation. 

• Then we get 7 and a half chapters of Abraham, and of Sarah, and of Isaac… but Ishmael is not mentioned by name. 

• There is one story about him, in Genesis 21… where he scoffs at Isaac when Isaac is weaned… but in this whole narrative of Ishmael scoffing then being kicked out… he is never mentioned by name… he is simply “The son of Hagar”. 

Genesis 21:9-10 NKJV  And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.  (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.” 

• WOW! Look look look… Ishmael is not referred to by name, and instead of being called “Abrahams son born of Hagar” here, in his moment of pride and sin, he is called “Son of Hagar, born of Abraham”. 

• Do you see how his title changed from 21 to 25… From Son of Hagar, to Son of Abraham… 

• There is a redemption sermon in there church… 

• But that’s a whole other thing… I just want to point out that even in this pivotal chapter, his name is not mentioned. 

• Ishmael has become a background character… a side story… not nearly as important to the story. Now the narrative focuses on Sarah and Abraham and Isaac and Rebekah. 

• Yet through it all, God had made a promise to Ishmael… and God did not forget Ishmael. 

• And that is what we see in Genes 25… when we read the names, and the genealogy… it is important! It is in scripture for a reason… why is it in scripture? BECAUSE IT SHOWS THAT GOD WAS FAITHFUL TO ISHMAEL…w 

• That God was faithful to the one who had been cast aside, cast out, forgotten about… that mistake of a son… that son born in sin… We don’t even mention his name! 

• Yet here his name returns… 7 and a half chapters later… and what do we see? We see 12 princes, and a great nation being born of Ishmael… just as God has promised. 

• Nebajoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,  Mishma, Dumah, Massa,  Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.. 

• TWELVE SONS! Not ten, not eleven… TWELVE SONS. Just as God had promised… each prince of his own settlement… just as God promised. 

• The full promise, the full blessing of God being fulfilled not in Isaac, not in Abraham… BUT IN THE MISTAKE! THE OUTCAST. THE FORGOTEN ONE. 

• Yes Abraham and Isaac walk in all their blessings too… BUT NEVER LET THE DEVIL LIE TO YOU AND SAY THAT YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR BLESSINGS. 

• Never let the enemy deceive you into thinking that you are not worthy of God’s love, or His calling, or His blessings, or His promises. 

• Listen church, if you feel unseen by God, would you hear me… God wanted me to PREACH THIS SERMON THIS SUNDAY FOR YOU! GOD SEES YOU! 

• In fact is was Ishamels mother who first gave God the name El Roh-EE (רֳאִיאֵל) The God Who Sees Me. 

Genesis 16:13 NKJV  Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are- the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” 

• Listen, if you are born again, but you are feeling forgotten by God this morning, I have a scripture from you out of Isaiah. Let this scripture speak directly to your spirit this morning… 

Isaiah 49:15 NKJV  “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. 

• Well pastor that is a verse about Israel… 

• LAST I CHECKED YOU ARE A PART OF ISRAEL. If you are born again, then you have been grafted into the vine, you have been circumcised of heart, you are heirs to Abraham’s promise. 

• No longer the child of Hagar, but now a child of Abraham. 

• No longer a child of Satan, but now a child of God! 

• Father Abraham had many sons! I am one of them and so are you! GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN YOU! 

Deuteronomy 31:6 NKJV  Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” 

• Even when you are cast out, God goes with you. Even when others forget you, God remembers you. When everyone leaves you, God remains by your side. When the world forsakes you, God reminds you that he will NEVER forsake you. 

• Now that brings me to my second point this morning… You are a SOMEBODY in God’s Kingdom. 

Point Two – You are a SOMEBODY in God’s Kingdom 

Genesis 25:16 NKJV  These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations. 

• Ishmael was the father of princes, the father of NATIONS. 

• How come Ishmael doesn’t get any songs? Father Ishmael had many sons, and many sons had father Ishmael… Kedar’s one of them, and so is Dumah… so let’s all praise the Lord! 

• Okay… maybe that doesn’t have quit the ring to it, but think about this… DUDE had 12 sons! I only have one son to carry on my name, Ishmael, the outcast, the nobody… DUDE HAS 12 sons who all become princes. 

• In fact many scholars believe that the Arab people came from Ishmael… that is 5.9% of the global population are the sons and daughters of Ishmael. 

• I would say God really did bless him and make nations of him! 

• 5.9% of the population, that about 500 million people… they trace their lineage back to Ishmael… HE IS A SOMEBODY. 

• But how easy would it be for him to think “I am a nobody. I am worthless… born out of sin… out faithlessness… Cast out when a REAL son of Abraham came along…” 

• But in God’s kingdom he is not a nobody… He is a child of Abraham, he is the father of nations the father of princes. 

• Now what about you? Are you not a child of the King? Are you not SOMEBODY in God’s eyes? Are you not a SOMEBODY in God’s Kingdom? 

1 Peter 2:9-10 NKJV  But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  (10)  who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 

• Back to that Hillsong son I quoted earlier… I love that line “I am chosen, not forsaken, I am who You say I am.” 

• God says you, you dead Christian, you are chosen, you are a royal priest, you are part of a holy nation, part of God’s own special people. 

• YOU ARE SOMEBODY IN GOD’S KINGDOM. 

• Look, I realize I am just not that important. 200 years from now no one will remember me, no one but my great grandchildren will know my name. 

• I am never going to be President, there will never be statues of me, nor would I want there to be… 

• I am just not important in this earthly kingdom. 

• But in God’s Kingdom… in God’s Kingdom I am a somebody… and so are you! 

• In God’s Kingdom I have a calling, a task, a mission! And it is an important mission. A mission of eternal importance! 

• And it is the same mission and calling you have… it was right there in that verse in First Peter… 

1 Peter 2:9b NKJV  But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 

• Your calling is the same as mine… Proclaim the praises of God! Tell Him you love Him! Tell Him how great He is! Tell God thank You for all He as done… Then tell others, proclaim it, go tell it on the mountain, over the hills, and everywhere that Jesus Christ is Lord! 

Luke 24:46-47 NKJV  Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,  (47)  and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 

• It’s our job to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins… it is the GREAT commission. And it is given to all believers. 

• Satan wants you to think that you are a nobody, because nobody’s do nothing and accomplish nothing. 

• If Satan can convince you that you are nobody, then you will be content staying home playing video games and watching Netflix. 

• But when you realize that you are a SOMEBODY in God’s kingdom, then you start to walk in that calling. 

• You start to take back ground from the enemy. 

• You start to evangelize. 

• You start to serve. 

• You start to give. 

• You start to pray. 

• You start to fast. 

• You start doing spiritual warfare… and winning! 

• Listen, of the 12 disciples, almost ALL of them were nobody’s in the worlds eyes. 

• 8 of the 12 were poor fishermen or farmers. One was hated tax collector. Only two had any prominence in the world, one being a scholar, and one possibly being a part of the Zealot political party. The other was a treasurer who ended up betraying Jesus. 

• So about 3 fourths of the original 12 disciples were nobody’s in the world… but in God’s Kingdom they were incredibly important. 

• These fishermen and tradesmen changed THE WORLD. I mean, Jesus’ earthly father was a carpenter of all trades. 

• Not a king, not a high priest… a carpenter. 

• But in God’s Kingdom carpenter is a pretty high calling! 

James 2:5 NKJV  Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 

Psalms 113:5-9 NKJV  Who is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high,  (6)  Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?  (7)  He raises the poor out of the dust, And lifts the needy out of the ash heap,  (8)  That He may seat him with princes—With the princes of His people.  (9)  He grants the barren woman a home, Like a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD! 

• So please church, don’t let the enemy convince you that you are a worthless nobody, in God’s Kingdom you are chosen, you are royal, you are a somebody! 

• And you are not just a conqueror, you are MORE than a conqueror! 

Romans 8:35-39 NKJV  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  (36)  As it is written: “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER.”  (37)  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  (38)  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,  (39)  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

• Alright, let’s conclude this sermon… and I will conclude by telling you a story from my life, maybe it will encourage someone here… 

Conclusion 

• I remember clearly sitting under the teaching of Pastor Matt and then later under the teaching of Pastor Daniel Ong in Seattle. 

• I would listen to their sermons… sermons of faith… sermons of victory… sermons of callings, and promises and blessings… and I remember clearly thinking, time and time again “Yeah, that’s great for YOU… YOU ARE A PASTOR! Of course you are favored by God, of course you are chosen and called… of course you are blessed and walking in promises… what about me? What about little ol’ Christian… when I was a teenager I thought these things were only for adults… when I was married I thought they were only for hyper spiritual pastors who fasted every day… 

• But now that I am a pastor I look back and I see all the blessings, all the callings, all the promises… I had been walking in them the whole time. 

• God did not forsake me because of my youth. 

• He did not leave me when I was an IT Consultant and not a pastor. 

• He was with me the whole time, guiding me, blessing me, empowering me… 

• He is doing the same for you, and I pray that He would open your eyes to see it, and that you would start living like the royal priest, the chosen conqueror… more than a conqueror that you are! 

• God has not forgotten you, are a somebody in His kingdom… you may feel like you are in the background… but Ishmael was definitely in the background, and he was blessed in the background! 

Genesis 25:12 NKJVa  Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son… 

Galatians 3:26-29 NKJV  For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  (27)  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  (28)  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.  (29)  And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

• Amen? Amen! 

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