The Paradox of Pain and Promise

Genesis 25:21-28 NKJV  Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.  (22)  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.  (23)  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.”  (24)  So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.  (25)  And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau.  (26)  Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.  (27)  So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents.  (28)  And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 

• Man there is so much rich theology, and history, and prophecy contained in these few verses. 

• I think one of the hardest things for me preaching through Genesis is discerning exactly what the Lord wants me to preach out of each text. 

• Because in this text we have huge prophecies that extend to the birth of Jesus. 

• Prophecies that I would argue affect us today. 

• There are points in this passage that are brought up in the book of Romans and remain some of the most controversial and hotly  debated topics amongst Christians. 

• The last book in the Old Testament even starts out with God saying “Jacob I have loved but Esau I have hated”. 

• Man, I could right hundreds of sermons from this passage. 

• I could lead revival services prophetic, and honestly, preaching “The spirit of Esau remains today… struggling with the people of God”. 

• I could write a doctoral thesis about the two nations who came from Rebekah’s womb… Jacob who becomes the nation of Israel, Esau who becomes the nation of Edom… 

• And I could point out how Edom fought against Israel all throughout the Old Testament, and how Israel always prevailed… proving that truly the older served the younger. 

• I think one of the biggest things that I would love to talk about is how it was from the line of Jacob that Jesus came, the promised seed of Abraham coming to save us from our sins…. 

• And it was from the line of Esau that we got Herod the great, the wicked king who murdered untold number of infant boys trying to kill Jesus. 

• And maybe I will talk more about some of this stuff next week… but this week God wants me to talk about The Paradox of Pain and Promise. 

• We have a birthright… that is the series we are in the morning, the birthright series… and we have this wonderful birthright… this inheritance from God that belongs to us now that we are born again… 

• Just like Isaac had a birthright. A promise from God that he would be the father of a mighty nation. 

• Now last week we talked about Isaacs’s persistent pleading prayer… He had this problem… his birthright and reality didn’t seem to be matching up. His wife had been baren for 20 years… but he was supposed to be a mighty nation. 

• So how did he confront this problem? He confronted it with persistent pleading prayer… and there was power in that prayer, there was power in the persistence… And God answered and gave his wife twins! 

• Thank you JESUS! There is power in persistent pleading prayer! 

• But what happens when you pray and you pray and you pray… and then God answers! He gives you what you asked for… a double blessing! 

• But it’s not feeling like a blessing anymore… 

• What you thought was good and from God now feels a lot like pain… 

• A lot like suffering. 

• There is confusion, there is turmoil, there is hardship. 

• It wasn’t supposed to be like this… it wasn’t supposed to be this hard… 

• IF I AM LIVING IN THE PROMISE GOD… WHY IS THERE SO MUCH PAIN? 

• Now this sermon is for someone this morning… because I am skipping over a lot of historical and theological richness to preach paradox of pain and promise… so if you are here this morning and this sermon is especially for you, tell God “thank You” because He sees you, He loves you, and He want’s to be your very present help in this time of trouble… 

Point One – Don’t Just Pray – Listen 

Genesis 25:21-23 NKJV  Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.  (22)  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.  (23)  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.” 

• Isaac pleaded with the Lord… for 20 years… and God answered. 

• The birthright, as promised, has come to fruition… 

• But something is wrong… 

• What was once celebration has now turned to pain and confusion. 

• The twins are fighting in the womb… Rebeckah doesn’t understand it. 

• There fighting is causing her considerable physical, spiritual and emotional pain. 

• What she most be thinking as her womb rumbles with the kicking, the pulling, the pushing, the wrestling inside of her. 

• She didn’t even know at this point that they were twins. 

• Can you imagine? 

• I mean I have felt babies kick before. But only one happy baby giving happy kicks. 

• Or the adorableness of when the baby in the womb gets hiccups and you can feel it bouncing up and down with each one. 

• But twins, fighting furiously in your womb… and not even knowing they are twins… what would be going through your head… 

• Miscarriage? Sickness? Demonic attacks? 

• I mean I have seen one foot kick out from my wife’s tummy… it’s a little shocking to see that little foot pushing out against the wall of the womb… now imagine FOUR feet, two heads, four hands… kicking not joyfully but angerly… 

• That would probably be a pretty terrifying sight for an expectant mother who doesn’t know she is having twins. 

• Now here is my question church: Have you ever experienced pain and confusion coming alongside the promise? 

• Happy families that were prayed for… persistently prayed for… once celebrated as an answer to prayer… 

• But now your blessing is turning into something else. 

• Divorce, death, addiction, chronic illness, financial upheaval. 

• You prayed for a spouse and God answered… but now this promise is feeling more like a curse. 

• You prayed for a family, but tragedy has ripped you apart. 

• You prayed for a job and celebrated when you got it… but now the stress of this new job is tearing you a part. 

• You prayed for a baby, but no one told you it would be this hard… 

• Side note: Having babies is HARD… I haven’t sleep consistently through the night in 10 years! 

• But many people have it far harder than I have it… 

• What do you do when God answers your prayer… the promise is being fulfilled… you are walking in your birthright… but things take a turn… and the blessing seems wrapped in suffering… what do you do then? 

• Well, you do what Rebeckah did… you pray… but you don’t just pray… you pray and then you listen. 

Genesis 25:22-23 NKJV  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.  (23)  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.” 

• Rebeckah is struggling… she doesn’t understand. She is in spiritual, emotional, and physical pain… so she speaks to God. In the secret, quite place she prays “God, if all is well… if this pregnancy is from you… if this is a blessing… if this is my birthright… if it is so, then why is this happening to me? Why am I experiencing this? Why am I like this?” 

• Now we talked in depth last week about how we have access to the throne, how we can come boldly before God making our requests known. 

• JESUS ON THE MAINLINE Y’ALL, You got to tell Him what you want. Just call him up and tell Him what you want! 

• And that is what Isaac did for 20 years… 20 years of persistently, pleadingly, telling God what he wanted… calling on the promise… 

• But Rebeckah did something else… 

• You see I like the song Jesus on the mainline for two reasons… we sang it when I first got saved, so I have such great memories with it… but also because so many times prayer feels like a phone call. 

• It is a dedicated conversation I am having, a dedicated time, I am stopping everything else, I am putting everything else aside, so I can pick up the line and talk to Jesus. 

• But here is the thing about a telephone… yes it has a microphone that I can talk into, but it also has a speaker. 

• So if Jesus is on the main line, yes that mainline has a transmitter I can talk into, but it also has a receiver for me to listen to. So at some point in that conversation with Jesus, I need to stop telling Him what I want and I just need to stop and listen to His response. 

• And that is what Rebeckah did… she brought her question before the Lord… and then she listened. 

• So this point is very simple, I have preached it before, and I will preach it again… because it is SO VITAL to the Christian faith. Don’t just pray – Listen. 

• You need to be hearing the voice of God. 

• You need to be able to discern the voice of God. 

• You need to be listening. 

John 10:27 NKJV  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 

• The first time I heard this verse preached was at Lincoln City Church in Lincoln Nebraska. It was Mission Sunday for them and Pastor Rick Seaward, the Pastor who sent us to Iowa, was preaching. 

• He said when you give your mission faith pledge you should ask the Lord what to give and you should listen. 

• Then pledge what God tells you to pledge. 

• And if you are not hearing God’s voice that is a problem, because Jesus said “My sheep hear my voice”! 

• It made such an impact on me as a young pastor, not because I struggled to hear the voice of God, but because I did not encourage CLC to hear the voice of God, at least not enough. 

• I have now come to believe that hearing the voice of God is VITAL to the Christian walk, so if you are not actively hearing the voice of God and you are born again, then this needs to be a top priority. 

• So what is the voice of God… did Rebeckah hear an audible voice speaking to her from heaven? 

• Maybe. 

• Did Rebeckah hear the still small voice of God speaking to her in her mind? 

• Maybe. 

• Did God speak to Rebeckah in gentle nudges, wisdom, and leadings… leading her in the right direction. 

• Almost certainly she did, but that’s not what is recorded here. 

• All of these are ways that we can hear from God. 

• We can hear from God when He speaks to us as a voice from Heaven. 

• As Paul heard on the road to Damascus. 

• As Jesus heard the father speaking when He was being baptized. 

• As I heard when I was 17 and driving my little 1987 Honda Civic, and the world stopped and God spoke to me from heaven calling me to be a Pastor. 

• We can hear from God in a still small voice in our mind. 

• When we pray, and we stop and listen, sometimes in the silence God answers us, in a voice other than our own, but in words we can understand. 

• We can hear from God in gentle nudges leading us in the right way. In the peace that He gives us when we pray for wisdom or direction, as James says “Ask for Wisdom and God will grant it… and the wisdom from above is peaceable. 

• I hear these gentle nudges daily, and I hope you do too. 

• Now there are other ways to hear from God, but these are the main ways… when I say “You should hear the voice of God and follow Him” I am speaking about these three ways. 

• You should be hearing the still small voice of God often. 

• You should be hearing the small nudges of peace and grace daily. 

• The audible voice of God is rare, and not all Christians hear it in their lifetime, but when He speaks in that way you better listen! 

• Rebeckah likely heard God as the still small voice or the audible voice when God spoke to her about two nations raging in her womb. 

• Now, for some REALLY practical advice. Because I know this has been a struggle for people in this church, some people struggle with it their whole life… 

• I want to suggest a book, it is called “Discerning the voice of God” by Priscilla Shire. 

• I actually bought 6 copies to give out, so if you would like one, let me know… 

• But in the meantime, let me recap what the book goes over in what I like to call the 5 M’s of Discerning God’s voice… 

• The Five M’s of Discerning God’s Voice 

• Message From the Holy Spirit –  

• When you speak with God and you listen… what is He saying to you? You should be able to put it into words, be specific “I believe God is saying this” or “God is telling me this”. Notice that Rebeckah heard a specific, clear word from God, it was a clear prophecy “There are two nations in your womb”. 

• Mode of Prayer 

• When you think you heard God speak, keep praying… there should be peace when you pray. God’s words and wisdom are peaceable. Treasure His words in your heart like Mary did. Keep them at the forefront of your mind. God doesn’t change His mind, and He is not the God of confusion… if you are praying over what you think God said and you feel not at peace, or you are getting mixed signals, then you need to slow down… pray some more, listen some more, and adjust your expectations for what God might be saying. 

• Model of Scripture 

• God’s spoken word never contradicts God’s written word. This means you need to know the Word. You need to be reading it and studying it. I know some of you don’t like reading, I know some of you find it hard to concentrate. YOU HAVE TO PUSH THROUGH THAT. As a Christian God’s Word is to vital, both spoken and written. Push through, do B90, listen to audio Bible. Daily feast on the written word of God, and His spoken word will soon follow. This is probably the number one reason people don’t hear God’s voice… because they don’t read His word. 

• Ministry of the Mature 

• Ok, so you believe you have heard from God about who to marry, what job to take, how to approach a situation… whatever… you have been praying about it, you have peace about it… it is Biblically based… great! But understand you are not the only one who hears from God! And God never contradicts himself. Find some believers who are more mature than you and ask them to pray about it. Are they hearing the same thing? If not, that’s a big red flag, and you need to listen to that red flag. 

• Mercy of Confirmation 

• God often gives external confirmations to what you are hearing. When God spoke to me and told me I was going to be a pastor… I went to church and that Wednesday night, before I had told anyone at church about what I heard… a woman prophesied over me that God said I was called to be a Pastor. That Sunday a guest preacher I had never meet came from Texas. In the middle of his sermon he stopped to prophesy over me that I was called to be a pastor. God give’s external confirmations like these so there is no doubt in your mind that God is speaking to you. 

• Now, if you need more than that, please grab one of the books on discerning the voice of God, read it and study it… let this be a HUGE priority in your life.   

• Now, for the rest of the short time I have left, I want to speak to the believers in this church who do hear from God. 

• You know His voice, you listen to Him daily… 

• But that doesn’t man things are always easy. 

• I want to encourage you, mature believers, this morning… that when you are facing the paradox of pain and promise… when things are hurting… when things are not making sense… when you find yourself saying “If all is well… why are things like this”… 

• Saints I want to encourage you that trusting the Lord and His word will always trump the turmoil of pain and confusion. 

• Trust Triumphs over anxiety and confusion. 

• Trust Trumps Turmoil. 

• That is our second point this morning, and I will try to keep it brief… but it is so important for the saints this morning facing pain… persevering in praying… walking in promise… but still facing pain and confusion…  

• Church, TRUST TRUMPS TURMOIL. 

Point Two – Trust Trumps Turmoil 

Genesis 25:22-23 NKJV  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.  (23)  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.” 

• Rebeckah is living in a paradox, she has been promised children, her husband pleaded for the children, she was miraculously given this pregnancy… 

• If all of this is from God, then why is there pain? Why is it like this? 

• How can I be living in the promise and at the same time be living in so much pain? 

• I know some of you understand this paradox all to well. 

• So we do what Rebeckah did and we pray… and we listen… 

• But here is my question… God answered Rebeckah’s prayer with this prophecy “Two nations are striving inside of you… The older will serve the younger”. 

• Why does God answer her that way? And why does it seem to give Rebeckah peace? 

• We don’t know for sure it gave Rebeckah peace, the next verse is her giving birth… but I bet this answer from God gave her loads of peace… why? 

• Because this answer showed her “The God of the Universe herd my prayer and answered me”. 

• “The Great I Am sees me and sees my struggle” 

• “The Lord of Lord and King of Kings has a plan for me” 

• “God is working this out, He is in control, He is sovereign… this is all part of His plan”. 

• Listen church… when you can trust in the sovereignty of God, when you can know that He is in control and that He is good… turmoil melts away. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;  (6)  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 

Isaiah 26:3 NKJV  You [God] will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. 

Psalms 56:3-4 NKJV  Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.  (4)  In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? 

Psalms 112:7 NKJV  [A goodly man] will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. 

• You see you need to pray, you need to persistently pray… you need to pray pleading prayers… but you also need to listen. 

• And when God speaks, and you hear Him, and you know Him… then you can trust Him. 

• Trust that He is in control. 

• Trust that He is working for your good. 

• Trust that everything He does is good, and loving, and just. 

• Now some of your problems are your own dumb fault… 

• But you can still pray in the pain and listen… and when God rebukes you it can be so sweet, and tinder, and it can really restore hope in your pain… 

• Because God doesn’t just say “Sin no more” but he says first “Take up your matt and walk”. 

• He doesn’t just say “your sins are forgiven” but He says “leave her  alone, for she has been forgiven of much thus she loves much.” 

• He doesn’t just say “Go and sin no more” but He first says “Let he without sin cast the first stone”. 

• So when you are in pain as a Christian, and you are suffering from the consequences of your own sin or your own stupid actions… and you cry out to God and He answers you…  

• And He calls you to repentance… And He brings you to forgiveness… 

• Then what is there left to be anxious about… 

• What turmoil is left. 

• Well the consequences may still be left, you reap what you sow… but you are now reaping with a clean conscience, you are reaping with a mighty savior on your side… you are reaping now in victory, even if that means trudging through your pain. 

• You can trust that you are not alone, because God loves you enough to call you to repentance, because God loves you enough to rebuke you… it shows that God sees you, that He knows you, that He want’s the best for you, that He loves you! 

• So even in rebuke… hearing the voice of God is sweet. Even in rebuke… Trust trumps turmoil. 

• But when the pain is NOT your fault, for it rains on the just and the unjust a like… when the pain is not your fault… how sweet it is to know that God is there with you. 

• How sweet it is to know that God sees you, and is working even through your pain… 

• That He is refining you through the fire… that He is growing you. That He is being glorified in it all. 

• How sweet for Abraham to hold God’s promise of a son, even as the years passed and his body grew old. 

• How sweet for Rebekah to know about the nations inside of her even before she gave birth to waring twins. 

• How sweet for Joseph and his to know the Prophesy before the imprisonment. 

• How sweet for Moses to hear God’s call at the burning bush before facing Pharaoh, rejection, and the wilderness. 

• How sweet for David to know he was anointed king long before he faced Goliath, or ran from Saul, or hid in caves. 

• How sweet for Mary to hear Gabriel say, “You are favored by God,” before fleeing as a refugee and watching her Son be crucified. 

• How sweet for the disciples to hear, “I go to prepare a place for you,” before facing persecution, martyrdom, and exile. 

• See church, if you can listen to God, if you can hear His voice… then there is such a sweet peace in trusting Him… there is no turmoil, no madness, no calamity, no anxiety, no pain… that can trump the peace God gives you when you hear His voice… and not only hear it, but trust in it. 

• When you lean on it, instead of your own understanding… Yeah I got this pain, but now I know there is PURPOSE in this pain… now I know God is working something GOOD out… now, at the very least, I know that God sees me and that He cares. 

Romans 8:28 NKJV And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  

• Let me end by saying this… if you are born again, and you call on the Lord… I believe the Lord WILL answer you. 

• (If someone can come play) 

Conclusion 

If you are born again, call to the Lord and He will answer, that is what Jeremiah says: 

Jeremiah 33:2-3 NKJV  “Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name):  (3)  ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ 

• Now I recognize that this verse is God speaking to the prophet Jeremiah… 

• But part of me feels like this verse is a promise to all believers… that if we who are born again would call on the Lord, that He would answer us… and He would show us great and mighty things… 

• Prophecies, visions, and dreams. 

• His plans for us, and our families and our church. 

• Plans even in the pain… even through the pain… knowing that He will be there all the time, walking through that pain with us. 

• If we would just call on Him, listen, hear the voice of our Good Shepheard… if we would trust Him, and lean on Him… then we would find peace… a peace that surpasses understanding… a shalom peace from the Lord. 

• You see the real takeaway from this sermon is this: Peace is found not in the absence of struggle, but in the presence of God. 

• So many people are trying to get out of the pain, get out of the struggle… but how many are really trying to just get in and stay in God’s presence? 

• He will help us. Sometimes He will take away the pain, other times He simply tells us His grace is sufficient. Either way, what peace we can know by hearing His voice and staying in His presence. 

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