Abraham’s Life Summarized: A Call To Joy
We conclude our study of Abraham’s life today…
Heb. 13:7 ¶ Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.
Psa. 102:18 ¶ This will be written for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.
Piper: God ordains that we gaze on his glory, dimly mirrored in the ministry of his flawed servants. He intends for us to consider their lives and peer through the imperfections of their faith and behold the beauty of God. [p. 17; Legacy of Sovereign Joy, 2000]
If we grasp the faith of Abraham, we may taste the joy he knew.
Joy: how do we get there?
I. Abraham’s story of joy…warts and all:
1. His first crisis: he left the land of promise, to which God had directed him.
2. His first words, revealing his character:
Gen. 12:13 “Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.”
3. His first error, he repeated later, as if he had learned nothing.
Gen 20—deceived Abimelech, king of Gerar, in the same sort of way,
4. He passed on this pattern to his son, Isaac, who repeated his failure in Gerar.
Gen. 26
5. His evaluation in Romans and Hebrews, however, is surprisingly affirming.
a. Gen. 15:6 Remember the startling statement
Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
b. Romans 4
i. Rom. 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham Believed God, And It Was Credited To Him As Righteousness.”
ii. Rom. 4:12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.
iii. Rom. 4:13 ¶ For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.
iv. Rom. 4:16 ¶ For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham,
v. Rom. 4:17 (as it is written, “A Father Of Many Nations Have I Made You”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
vi. Rom. 4:23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, Rom. 4:24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, Rom. 4:25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.
c. Hebrews 11
i. Key verse: Heb. 11:13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
ii. Heb. 11:39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, Heb. 11:40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.
6. Ultimately, he received the son of promise, though he did not live in the city with foundations, the same city we seek.
a. Isaac brought true laughter to the couple and grandchildren to the family.
What sort of means might we find to OBTAIN JOY OUT OF SORROW?
II. We obtain joy just as those who have gone before us.
Follow the lessons Augustine learned:
i. Love first then obey: John 14:15
1. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
2. If you love me, THEN you will obey, “keeping Christ’s commandments results from loving Christ (Piper).
ii. Love to the point of ease in obedience. 1 John 5:3
1. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
2. Piper: loving God means keeping his commandments in such a way that his commandments are not burdensome.
iii. Love God for His own sake.
1. “I call ‘charity’ [i.e., love for God] the motion of the soul toward the enjoyment of God for his own sake, and the enjoyment of one’s self and of one’s neighbour for the sake of God.” [On Christian Doctrine, III, x, 16].
2. “If those things delight us which serve our advancement towards God, that is due not to our own whim or industry or meritorious works, but to the inspiration of God and to the grace which he bestows.”
3. Piper: So saving grace, converting grace, in Augustine’s view, is God’s giving us a sovereign joy in God that triumphs over all other joys and therefore sways the will.
4. Piper: The will is free to move toward whatever it delights in most fully, but it is not within the power of our will to determine what that sovereign joy will be.
5. LOVE GOD BY THE LOVE GOD GIVES US: Rom. 5:5 …and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6. If we do not respond to that implanted love, we have replaced it.
APPLICATIONS
1. Prayer in the pursuit of Joy.
a. Every sentence in Augustine’s Confessions, all 350 pages, is addressed to God. …Augustine is utterly dependent on God for the awakening of love to God.
Psa. 27:4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
John 16:24 “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
[It’s not merely to answer that brings us joy, IT’S THE DIRECT CONNECT WITH JESUS—as we know from writing letters, texting messages, then having someone RESPOND IN KIND.
b. On Confessions: “You made us for yourself, and our hearts find no peace till they rest in you.”
2. Study of Scripture in the pursuit of Joy
“…loving, or delighting in, what we know of God in Scripture will be the key that opens Scripture further. So study and preaching were, for Augustine, anything but detached and impartial, as scholarship is so often conceived today.” Piper, Legacy of Sovereign Joy, 69.
3. Enjoying the beauty of the world as a means of pursuing joy:
BETROTHED = PROMISED IN MARRIAGE, ENGAGED
“Suppose…a man should make a ring for his betrothed, and she should love the ring more wholeheartedly than the betroth who made it for her…Certainly, let her love his gift: but, if she should say, “The ring is enough. I do not want to see his face again: what would we say of her? …The pledge is given her by the betrothed just that, in his pledge, he himself may be loved. God, then, has given you all these things. Love Him who made them.”
Psa. 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sarah's Contagious Laughter
Sarah’s Contagious Laughter
Intro—Laughter—not something we associate with Church, or …with God!
I hope today that God laughs out of joy and that we are made to laugh as well.
SUMMARY:
IN our present story, God hears a different sort to laughter from Abraham and Sarah, a laughter that VEILS TEARS.
Sara and Abraham laugh not because they are full of joy and delight, but because they are childless; the promises of God to make Abraham the father of many people have exaggerated their despair. Perhaps it might have been easier to accept their barrenness had God not spoken so certainly about their prospects for parenting.
However, God does not leave Abraham and Sarai in despair…
God transforms sorrow into joy, working His good intentions through the lives of real people, even those without faith(!).
I. God honoured his promises to Abraham.
II. Cynical laughter was changed into joy.
a. God is a God of joy.
i. God laughs.
1. Sarcastically—Psalm 2—“the nations plot against ME?”
2. Joyfully—Behold my Son, in whom I am well-pleased
ii. God stimulates joy and laughter in us.
Psa. 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
b. God worked in Abraham and Sarah to transform their sorrow into joy.
i. Abraham laughed at God’s promise.
1. Abraham believed God early on.
p. 10 Gen. 15:6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
2. Abraham lost heart after 24 years of waiting.
p. 11 Gen. 17:17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
3. Abraham did have faith.
a. He believed God’s promise.
b. He followed God to a new land and lived there as an alien.
c. He lost faith over time.
d. He regained his faith after Isaac’s birth, such that he was able to trust God to raise Isaac up.
p. 924 Heb. 11:8 ¶ By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Heb. 11:9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
Heb. 11:10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Heb. 11:17 ¶ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; Heb. 11:18 it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac Your Descendants Shall Be Called.”
Heb. 11:19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.
4. Abraham’s faith waned over time, much time.
ii. Sarah had no faith; her pain had drained it away.
1. Evidenced by her cynical laughter:
p. 12 Gen. 18:12 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
Cynical laughter is a veil for tears.
Cynical laughter happens when the tears are exhausted, when hope is dashed, after despair has set in.
Wikipedia: Bono's lyrics evoke helplessness and frustration:
“Running To Stand Still” Bono: “cry without weeping,
talk without speaking,
scream without raising your voice”
Sarah did not believe that God would fulfill His promise to be good to them.
LESSON--we must believe that GOD HAS GOOD PURPOSES FOR US, ESPECIALLY IN THE STORMS OF LIFE.
Sarah had no faith; her pain had drained it away.
Evidenced by her cynical laughter:
2. Evidenced by her lack of laughter:
a. No laughter left in their marriage.
b. No physical intimacy?
Gen. 18:12 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
THEN…
3. God heard Sarah and Challenged her cynical laughter:
a. God challenged the cynicism.
b. God challenged the false laughter because He is a God of genuine pleasure and laughter.
Gen. 18:13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’
Gen. 18:14 “Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
iii. Sarah responded with some faith.
1. Hearing with faith was needed to experience conception…
Gen. 18:15 Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
2. Sarah believed God’s promise…
a. We know that because Hebrews says so.
Hebrews 11:11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.
b. We know that because she conceived the promised child
3. Sarah laughed again, transparently.
4. Sarah had a contagious kind of laughter.
Sarah wanted to share her joy with others.
p. 14 Gen. 21:6 Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
Sara understood little of the purposes of God swirling around her.
Sara’s anguish then Joy transforms US as we hear of it.
5. They name their son…Isaac = He laughs!
a. The Laughing Son
b. The Essence of Joy
Lessons:
1. We experience sorrow because…
a. We live in a broken world that brings us sorrow.
b. We are broken, which causes pain for those around us.
c. We break people and things, causing sorrow.
Therefore, We should not be surprised at sorrow, even long-term.
2. We worship a Laughing God.
a. God is pleased with His Son:
Matt. 3:17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said,
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Matt. 12:18 “Behold, My Servant Whom I Have Chosen;
My Beloved In Whom My Soul is Well-pleased;
I Will Put My Spirit Upon Him,
And He Shall Proclaim Justice To The Gentiles.
b. We can please God, we can bring God to laughter:
Heb. 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Heb. 13:16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
3. We can expect God to transform our sorrow into joy, if we are His.
a. God turns sorrow into joy in people whom He loves.
b. Does God love us?
c. Do we believe that He does?
4. Joy and tears happen simultaneously.
5. We can expect God’s joy if we are awaiting & fulfilling His good purposes.
a. God transforms circumstances in people whose purposes are His purposes.
b. God will create a world without tears, but we do not yet live in that world, that world where heaven and earth are intimately connected.
c. God only uses barren people, husbands and wives such as Abraham and Sarah, so that He receives glory for the offspring.
d. God worked in and through Sarah.
Another BARREN ONE lived a difficult life, died an ignominious death, left this life Bereft of offspring, Yet, for the JOY SET BEFORE HIM, ENDURE THE CROSS; His catastrophic end became the reason for our HOPE; His joy in US became our reason for joy.
6. We don’t laugh enough. We might laugh more if we knew the lengths to which God works daily in our lives to provide his good gifts, just in time.
a. He did provide Seed, giving us reason to hope.
b. God works in and through us…
i. To nurture Christ-like character.
ii. To reproduce according to His kind.
iii. To bring JOY to others as they see our anguish and relief.
iv. Romans 4—reason to laugh: We are no longer under the wrath of God.
CONCLUSION
Intro—quads laughing
Those babies laughed in response to their father and their dad enjoyed their laughter as much or more than they did.
REVIEW:
1. Sarai’s problem: no children and no prospects; she was without hope.
a. BARRENNESS AS CENTRAL to the story.
Waltke: Sarai is barren; she has no children (11:30)
Gen. 18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age;
Sarah was past childbearing.
b. Brueggemann: barrenness in any ancient text is the metaphor for HOPELESSNESS.
2. God’s exceptional blessings benefit ONLY the barren woman.
a. Abraham and Sarah
b. Rebekah and Isaac
Gen. 25:21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.
c. Rachel and Jacob
Gen. 29:31 ¶ Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
d. Hannah, mother of Samuel
e. Samson’s parents, Manoah and Zorah
Judg. 13:2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children.
f. Elizabeth and Zechariah
Luke 1:7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
Intro—Laughter—not something we associate with Church, or …with God!
I hope today that God laughs out of joy and that we are made to laugh as well.
SUMMARY:
IN our present story, God hears a different sort to laughter from Abraham and Sarah, a laughter that VEILS TEARS.
Sara and Abraham laugh not because they are full of joy and delight, but because they are childless; the promises of God to make Abraham the father of many people have exaggerated their despair. Perhaps it might have been easier to accept their barrenness had God not spoken so certainly about their prospects for parenting.
However, God does not leave Abraham and Sarai in despair…
God transforms sorrow into joy, working His good intentions through the lives of real people, even those without faith(!).
I. God honoured his promises to Abraham.
II. Cynical laughter was changed into joy.
a. God is a God of joy.
i. God laughs.
1. Sarcastically—Psalm 2—“the nations plot against ME?”
2. Joyfully—Behold my Son, in whom I am well-pleased
ii. God stimulates joy and laughter in us.
Psa. 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
b. God worked in Abraham and Sarah to transform their sorrow into joy.
i. Abraham laughed at God’s promise.
1. Abraham believed God early on.
p. 10 Gen. 15:6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
2. Abraham lost heart after 24 years of waiting.
p. 11 Gen. 17:17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
3. Abraham did have faith.
a. He believed God’s promise.
b. He followed God to a new land and lived there as an alien.
c. He lost faith over time.
d. He regained his faith after Isaac’s birth, such that he was able to trust God to raise Isaac up.
p. 924 Heb. 11:8 ¶ By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Heb. 11:9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
Heb. 11:10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Heb. 11:17 ¶ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; Heb. 11:18 it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac Your Descendants Shall Be Called.”
Heb. 11:19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.
4. Abraham’s faith waned over time, much time.
ii. Sarah had no faith; her pain had drained it away.
1. Evidenced by her cynical laughter:
p. 12 Gen. 18:12 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
Cynical laughter is a veil for tears.
Cynical laughter happens when the tears are exhausted, when hope is dashed, after despair has set in.
Wikipedia: Bono's lyrics evoke helplessness and frustration:
“Running To Stand Still” Bono: “cry without weeping,
talk without speaking,
scream without raising your voice”
Sarah did not believe that God would fulfill His promise to be good to them.
LESSON--we must believe that GOD HAS GOOD PURPOSES FOR US, ESPECIALLY IN THE STORMS OF LIFE.
Sarah had no faith; her pain had drained it away.
Evidenced by her cynical laughter:
2. Evidenced by her lack of laughter:
a. No laughter left in their marriage.
b. No physical intimacy?
Gen. 18:12 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
THEN…
3. God heard Sarah and Challenged her cynical laughter:
a. God challenged the cynicism.
b. God challenged the false laughter because He is a God of genuine pleasure and laughter.
Gen. 18:13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’
Gen. 18:14 “Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
iii. Sarah responded with some faith.
1. Hearing with faith was needed to experience conception…
Gen. 18:15 Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
2. Sarah believed God’s promise…
a. We know that because Hebrews says so.
Hebrews 11:11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.
b. We know that because she conceived the promised child
3. Sarah laughed again, transparently.
4. Sarah had a contagious kind of laughter.
Sarah wanted to share her joy with others.
p. 14 Gen. 21:6 Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
Sara understood little of the purposes of God swirling around her.
Sara’s anguish then Joy transforms US as we hear of it.
5. They name their son…Isaac = He laughs!
a. The Laughing Son
b. The Essence of Joy
Lessons:
1. We experience sorrow because…
a. We live in a broken world that brings us sorrow.
b. We are broken, which causes pain for those around us.
c. We break people and things, causing sorrow.
Therefore, We should not be surprised at sorrow, even long-term.
2. We worship a Laughing God.
a. God is pleased with His Son:
Matt. 3:17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said,
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Matt. 12:18 “Behold, My Servant Whom I Have Chosen;
My Beloved In Whom My Soul is Well-pleased;
I Will Put My Spirit Upon Him,
And He Shall Proclaim Justice To The Gentiles.
b. We can please God, we can bring God to laughter:
Heb. 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Heb. 13:16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
3. We can expect God to transform our sorrow into joy, if we are His.
a. God turns sorrow into joy in people whom He loves.
b. Does God love us?
c. Do we believe that He does?
4. Joy and tears happen simultaneously.
5. We can expect God’s joy if we are awaiting & fulfilling His good purposes.
a. God transforms circumstances in people whose purposes are His purposes.
b. God will create a world without tears, but we do not yet live in that world, that world where heaven and earth are intimately connected.
c. God only uses barren people, husbands and wives such as Abraham and Sarah, so that He receives glory for the offspring.
d. God worked in and through Sarah.
Another BARREN ONE lived a difficult life, died an ignominious death, left this life Bereft of offspring, Yet, for the JOY SET BEFORE HIM, ENDURE THE CROSS; His catastrophic end became the reason for our HOPE; His joy in US became our reason for joy.
6. We don’t laugh enough. We might laugh more if we knew the lengths to which God works daily in our lives to provide his good gifts, just in time.
a. He did provide Seed, giving us reason to hope.
b. God works in and through us…
i. To nurture Christ-like character.
ii. To reproduce according to His kind.
iii. To bring JOY to others as they see our anguish and relief.
iv. Romans 4—reason to laugh: We are no longer under the wrath of God.
CONCLUSION
Intro—quads laughing
Those babies laughed in response to their father and their dad enjoyed their laughter as much or more than they did.
REVIEW:
1. Sarai’s problem: no children and no prospects; she was without hope.
a. BARRENNESS AS CENTRAL to the story.
Waltke: Sarai is barren; she has no children (11:30)
Gen. 18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age;
Sarah was past childbearing.
b. Brueggemann: barrenness in any ancient text is the metaphor for HOPELESSNESS.
2. God’s exceptional blessings benefit ONLY the barren woman.
a. Abraham and Sarah
b. Rebekah and Isaac
Gen. 25:21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.
c. Rachel and Jacob
Gen. 29:31 ¶ Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
d. Hannah, mother of Samuel
e. Samson’s parents, Manoah and Zorah
Judg. 13:2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children.
f. Elizabeth and Zechariah
Luke 1:7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
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