Can People Tell That God is With You? Part 2

Genesis 21:22-34 NKJV  And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do.  (23)  Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt.”  (24)  And Abraham said, “I will swear.”  (25)  Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized.  (26)  And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.”  (27)  So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.  (28)  And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.  (29)  Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?”  (30)  And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.”  (31)  Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.  (32)  Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.  (33)  Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.  (34)  And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days. 

• Good morning church! Welcome back to our two part series on “Can People Tell That God is With You? 

• Can people tell that God is with you? 

• This question stems from Abimelech’s greeting to Abraham from our key passage this morning. 

Genesis 21:22 NKJV  And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do.” 

• Now we have been preaching through Genesis, because that is what we do here at Christian Life Church, we love God’s Word and we preach through it… God has called us to the book of Genesis, and so this is our 56^th sermon in the book. 

• We have seen the call of Abraham, the many blessings that God has poured out on him and his family, the miraculous birth of his son Isaac, the many conversations that Abraham has had with God… and now we get to this section of scripture where Abraham is meeting with this regional king, king Abimelech. 

• And as I explained last week, when I first read this passage of scripture I thought to my self “How am I ever going to get a sermon out of this boring and uneventful meeting between Abraham and Abimelich. 

• Then I studied a handful of different commentaries and I thought “How am I EVER going to get a sermon out of this boring and uneventful meeting between Abraham and Abimelech? 

• But then I prayed, and God brought my attention to this phrase that Abimelech spoke: “God is with you”. 

• And I looked into the Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament, and found that the words in this sentence are: Em-Attah-El 

• Em-Attah-El… with you, God. 

• And when I saw this my Spirit stired… it started jumping up and down… I know that God was saying something… and immediately I thought of a different biblical phrase, the Holy Spirit brining it to remembrance… if you change the word You, Attah, if you change that to “us”, which in Hebrew is Añu, then you get something I think we all recognize. 

• Em, Añu, El… Emanuel… God is with us. 

• As much as God was with Abraham, God is with us. 

Isaiah 7:14 NKJV  Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. 

Matthew 1:23 NKJV  “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD, AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which is translated, “God with us.” 

• Now when I see a verse in the Old Testament that says “God is with you” and I know that Emanuel, God is with me… then I am going to start thinking that maybe these verses apply to me! In fact, the phrase “God is with you” on appears a handful of times in the Old Testament, and all of the other verses that say “God is with you” are powerful and familiar verses. 

Deuteronomy 20:1 NKJV  “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. 

Joshua 1:9 NKJV  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

1 Samuel 10:7 NKJV  And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. 

1 Chronicles 17:2 NKJV  Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.” 

Zechariah 8:23 NKJV  “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ‘ ” 

• So our passage from Genesis joins a prestigious group of verses, some prophetic, some encouraging… all of them powerful. 

• And as I realized how powerful this phrase was, Em-Attah-El, God is with you… I realized that I was not going to be able to preach just one sermon, but I was going to have to preach two sermons on it… four points over two sermons. 

Can People Tell that God is With You? Part 1: 

• Point One – People Should Know that God is With You 

• Point Two – Seek The Company of Those Whom God is With 

Can People Tell that God is With You? Part 2: 

• Point One – God is With You, Behave Like it! 

• Point Two – Leave Reminders that God is with You 

• Now last week I preached on these first two points, that people should be able to tell that Im-Attah-El… People Should Know that God is With You. 

• Abraham was so blessed, and holy, and focused on God that Abimelech couldn’t help but notice that God was with him. 

• Thus I encouraged us all to live our faith more outwardly, to be more expressive in what Christ has done for us… to celebrate Christ more publicly and le the world know of the goodness of God. 

• I also preached the second point, you should seek the Company of those whom God is with. 

• Abimelech recognized the favor and anointing on Abrahams life… so Abimelech sought to connect himself with Abraham, to have favor in Abrahams sight… Abimelech said it was for his own good, and for the good of his children, grandchildren, and all his land, that he would be friends with Abraham. 

• I challenged us all to be as smart as Abimelech, and to surround ourselves with people who are highly favored by God… upstanding, right living Christians… Christians who are favored, and holy, and focused on following God. 

• If you want to be fit, you should hang out with fit people. 

• If you want to be wealthy and successful, you should hang out with wealthy and successful people. 

• And if you want to be favored, you should hang out with favored people. 

• Now this week I get to preach through the final two points: God is with You, Behave Like it! And Leave Reminders that God is with You. 

• Let’s get into it with our first point this morning… God is with You, Behave like it! 

Point One – God is With You, Behave Like it!  

Genesis 21:25 NKJV  Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized. 

• Immediately after Abraham swears to deal kindly with Abimelech… right after Abimelech greets Abraham with Im-Attah-El, God is with you… right after that… Abraham rebukes Abimelech? 

• That… seems odd… 

• Abraham is upset, a well of water that he dug was stolen from him by Abimelech’s servant. An injustice has happened. It needs to be dealt with… so Abraham rebukes the man whom is showing him honor. 

• Can I tell you something church? Rebuking someone is a Christian thing to do… 

• Cowardly hiding your offenses and pretending like everything is OK… that is a worldly response. 

• It’s true… many people in the world respond that way. 

• But Christians, when there is an offense, we deal with it, and we deal with it quickly. 

Proverbs 27:5-6 NKJV  Open rebuke is better Than love carefully concealed.  (6)  Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 

• Did you know in some cultures rebuking is a sign of love? 

• When we had our Singaporean missionaries with us, I had to rebuke one quit harshly for sin that they were in. 

• I scolded them for 15 minutes… brought them to tears… 

• I thought to myself… oh man, I poured it on too hard… this missionary is going to hate me now. 

• When I was done, the missionary hugged me with such a loving embrace, sobbing on my shoulder saying “Thank you so much… thank you for loving me… I have never felt so loved”. 

• That day I found out that in some culture, rebuking is a sign of love… because I love you enough to put away pleasantries, and tell you what needs to be said, even if it is uncomfortable. 

• So Abraham rebukes Abimelech… but look how it plays out. 

Genesis 21:25-26 NKJV  Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized.  (26)  And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.” 

• Ok, so Abraham rebukes Abimelech… and Abimelech defends his innocence… “Bro, this is the first I am hearing about this, I had no idea that happened”. 

• Abraham brings a rebuke and allows Abimelech to defend himself… then what happens? 

• Does Abraham straw man Abimelech and then start throwing insults? 

• “DON’T TELL ME YOU DIDN’T KNOW! ARE YOU THAT STUPID‽ ARE YOU THAT INCOMPETENT AS A KING! TRY TO TELL ME YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOUR SERVANTS ARE DOING… THEY ARE YOUR SERVANTS THEY ARE AN EXTENSION OF YOU! NOW YOU BETTER START GROVELING YOU WICKED KING OR I AM GOING TO PRAY FIRE AND BRIMSTONE DOWN ON YOUR HOUSE!” 

• Is that how Abraham responded? No! In fact Abraham took lambs from his own flock to offer up as a covenant sacrifice between Abimelech and himself… such a generous offer that Abimelech was even confused by it. 

Genesis 21:25-32 NKJV  Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized.  (26)  And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today.”  (27)  So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.  (28)  And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.  (29)  Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?”  (30)  And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.”  (31)  Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.  (32)  Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 

• God was with Abraham. Abraham knew it, Abimelech knew it… And Abraham behaved like a man of God. 

• There was an offense, Abraham brought the offense to Abimelech, Abimelech explained himself, Abraham excepted the explanation as just… then blessed Abimelech with a covenant! 

• What if that was how we behaved as Christians. 

• What if you, for your whole life, behaved like Em-Attah-El… what if we all behaved like Em-Añu-el. 

• What if every conflict we ever had was resolved peaceful, resulting in blessing? 

Matthew 18:15 NKJV  “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 

• That’s how we should behave as Christians. Particularly with other Christians. 

• But some of y’all want people to know that Em-Attah-El… but you also want people who are driving on the road with you to know what your middle finger looks like. 

• You want to yell at the customer service representative… and I know sometimes they deserve it… But God may not be with them like He is with you. 

• Some of you post the sermon form Sunday on your social media account, and then the next day post about how you are taking your girlfriend to Cabo… or you post death threats against people with different political views… or you post pictures of yourself wearing clothes not becoming of someone whom claims God is with them. 

• Look, I want us all to live lives so holy, so blessed, so focused on God that you can walk into a room and they will say “Hey! I know you! Surely God is with you”… but this requires taking a look at our own lives and making sure that we are not running God’s name through the mud. 

• Not being a stumbling block to other believers. 

• Not being an offense to the world, unless the offense comes from Christ. 

• The world has enough reasons to hate us, let’s not give them more… instead, let us put forward a life of blessings, and holiness, and prosperity, and submission to and focus on Christ Jesus our Lord… that People would say “That guy is different” or they would say “That lady is different… Surely God is with her!” 

• Y’all picking up what I am laying down this morning! Good, then I will stop beating you up… 

• Pastor Matt always tells me “Leave them on a high note! Don’t let your final point be rebuke!”… and I have failed at that before, but today, the final point is not rebuke but a simple encouragement to leave reminders that God is with you. 

Point Two – Leave Reminders that God is with You 

Genesis 21:32-34 NKJV  Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.  (33)  Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.  (34)  And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days. 

• Abimelech says “Im-Attah-El, Abraham… Please deal kindly with me and my family, for the sake of all my land, for I know God is with you!” 

• And Abraham says “Sure, I will treat you well but listen I have this issue with you” 

• They resolve the issue, God is glorified… and then Abraham… plants a tree. 

• It says he planted a Terebinth tree, or it can be translated “a grove of trees”. 

• He wanted there to be a reminder to Abimelech and all the land “A man of God was here and he made an oath with the king of the land” 

• In fact the word “Beersheba” means the land of Seven Oaths, representing the seven sheep given there… or  it means “Sevenfold well” because it was a well that the dispute was over. 

• I once had a very difficult dispute with a fellow pastor. 

• One that caused us both a lot of heartache. It lasted for years, we could never seem to agree to disagree… 

• But after years of praying and interceding for one another, God made a way…  

• And through a truly miraculous turn of events, we made up and forgave each other… 

• In fact, I was praying in the morning, on my knees, Lord help me forgive this other pastor, I don’t want to carry this offense anymore… and 15 minutes later, my phone dings… it was a Facebook message from this pastor. 

• We apologized and made up completely that day, right over Facebook messenger. 

• And that was miraculous, and that was great, and it was done… 

• And I could have walked away right there, clean conscience, unburdened… 

• But the pastor said “Let’s meet, and secure this forgiveness”. 

• Sure man! We went and got Poke bowls… the first time I ever had a Poke bowl. 

• We hugged, we prayed, we apologized afresh, we encouraged one another… 

• We took an extra step to cement what God had done, to celebrate what God had done, to remember that God was with us, even in our feud… and certainly in forgiveness. 

• Now I know that we live in America and we don’t plant groves of tress or stack piles of stones to remember that God was with us in a moment… BUT WE CAN DO SOMETHING. 

• We can have a feast, share a meal, write a letter… 

• Did you get a new job after praying fervently for one? 

• Maybe head on down to Hobby Lobby and get a piece of wall art to remember what God did. 

• Did you pray for someone to be healed and they got healed? 

• Don’t just leave it at that, take them out to dinner and take pictures! GOD WAS HERE. 

• Don’t just be like “well that was nice” and move on… 

• I mean this wasn’t even a huge thing that happened in Abraham’s life, yet he set a memorial up for it. 

• Guy’s, throw a feast and invite guests over to celebrate what God has done. 

• Exchange a gift or two. 

• Write something down so people can see! THIS IS WHAT THE LORD DID HERE. 

• Man I am telling you, if you pray for a miracle over the Cashier’s life at Aldi, and God does that miracle… Why would you just walk away from that and be like “That’s nice”… TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER TO MEMORIALIZE WHAT GOD HAS DONE. 

• Leave a reminder that God was there! 

• I will NEVER eat a Poke bowl again without thinking about what God did between me and that other Pastor. Thank you Jesus! 

Psalms 103:1-2 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: 

• Now earlier I said “I know in America we don’t plant trees or set up memorial stones”… I told that to my wife and she said “We literally planted trees for the 10 year”. 

• Oh yeah… Guy’s, you can buy trees for CHEAP. If God has done something huge in your life, or through you in the life of another, PLANT A TREE. 

• So that 20 years from now you can point to that tree and say “I planted this tree because of what God has done”. 

• And when you tell people that, you know what… they will know in that instant, and every time they see that tree… that Im-Attah-El… God is with you. 

Conclusion 

• Worship team if you want to come up, let’s close this down by using our imagination a bit… 

• We have gone through 4 points for this sermon series… can you imagine what CLC would look like as a church if every born again believe in here followed these points… 

Can People Tell that God is With You? Part 1: 

• Point One – People Should Know that God is With You 

• Point Two – Seek The Company of Those Whom God is With 

Can People Tell that God is With You? Part 2: 

• Point One – God is With You, Behave Like it! 

• Point Two – Leave Reminders that God is with You 

• Imagine if we all lived lives that were so God focused and God blessed that people would know that God is with us. 

• Man… what kind of church would we be if we were all Abrahams, and no Lots…. 

• Just favor upon favor steaming from radical obedience and love for our Lord. 

• And what if we were a church that spent our time hanging out with each other and other favored Christians… 

• I tell you my job would be a lot easier if I never had to walk someone through the fallout of an ungodly relationship again. 

• What if as a church we all behaved in a Godly fashion all the time… 

• Even in times of Confrontation. 

• And what if we started to celebrate more, to put up more Ebenezer, more memorials. 

• What if pieces of art in our houses had meaning more than “it looked pretty”… what if everyone in CLC started memorializing all that God had done… then surely people would know that Im-añu-El… people would know as they visited our church, our homes, as we talked about our lives… people would know that God is with the people of CLC. GOD IS WITH US. 

• 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