Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20080914.htm
THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION Genesis: Explaining The Foundations Of History Part VII: Explaining God's Plan To Bless Men Regardless Of Apostasy N. Adjusting To God's Permitted Faith-Inciting Trials (Genesis 25:1-23)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

In recent weeks and days, we as a body have faced spiritually inexplicable but numerous "trials", and we may wonder what they mean, and how to respond well to them (as follows):

(1) One of our members fell six feet at a construction site on September 6th, and was taken to the emergency room to see whether there were any extensive injuries. Thankfully, there were no broken bones or other destructive issues, but she was severely bruised.

(2) Two days later, a child in her family began to choke on a lifesaver candy to where an emergency "911" call was made for help. Thankfully, the candy was properly dislodged, and all is now well.

(3) Another party last Sunday related to my wife how intense trials of the mind and heart were affecting the party.

(4) Last Sunday evening, one of our members who has had serious medical problems attended the service, and told of the challenges she faced with ongoing health issues.

(5) Another believer told me a week ago how a trial at work had arisen, leaving him feeling vulnerable even in keeping his job.

(6) We received news of the death of a lifelong friend of one of our members, and of her challenge in adjusting to this loss.

(7) While trying to type up the first draft of this message last Tuesday, I received two phone calls, one from a member in our church and another from a business in the area, both of which addressed minor trials that had arisen affecting believers in our Church.

(8) We heard of a severe headache of a brother-in-law of one of our members that call for his having an M. R. I. on Wednesday.

(9) Also, last Tuesday, a line of severe thundershowers moved across the State, and its sudden deluge sent me scampering upstairs to this sanctuary to lower the windows as rain was already drenching the window sills. I then recall praying that, in view of all the "little trials" of the day, telling the Lord how helpless I suddenly felt to handle all of them, even if each of them were small, for they had built up into a huge mental avalanche, seemingly too overwhelming to handle!

Thus, we may ask, "If many or strong trials arise in the Christian life for which there seem to be no ready explanation, what does God want us to think, and how are we to respond?!"



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "If a believer in Christ faces seemingly pointless but sharp or numerous trials, what is he to think, and how is he to respond?!"

1. After God had wonderfully led Isaac to marry Rebekkah (Genesis 24), and after his godly father and spiritual mentor, Abraham had died (Genesis 25:8), instead of experiencing a life of peace, Isaac and his family faced various intense trials, Genesis 25:19-23 et al.:
1. Isaac and Rebekkah faced the trial of childlessness, the same trial his parents, Abraham and Sarah had known, Gen. 25:21a; 11:30; 15:1-2.
2. Isaac had learned from his parent's history not to try solving this need by use of a bondwoman to bear a son, but to ask God to make his wife fertile, and God answered his prayer, Gen. 25:11, 21a, c with Gen. 16!
3. However, when Rebekkah noted more than one child struggled in her (Gen. 25:22a), she worried, and asked God to explain (Gen. 25:22b,c), and He revealed it led to another trial: the elder son's seed would be weaker and serve the younger son's seed opposite the cultural norm, Gen. 25:23; H. C. Leupold, Expos. of Genesis, vol. II, p. 704-706.
4. We know from Scripture this news foretold centuries of strife between the younger son Jacob and his seed, Israel and the older son Esau and his seed, the Edomites of Mount Seir, Gen. 25:24-26; Ezekiel 35:1-5.
2. Though such trials at first might seem cruelly pointless, God HAD to LET them occur to COUNTER GREAT SPIRITUAL THREATS to His ETERNAL PLAN that had arisen regarding Isaac's family:
1. A close look at Scripture reveals Isaac was vulnerable to the impact of the UNBELIEF in God that existed in Abraham's other sons:
1. Ishmael and Isaac had both buried their father Abraham, Gen. 25:9!
2. Though this joint effort was culturally commendable, it strained at God's will: God had led Abraham to send his older son, Ishmael away since his animosity for little Isaac threatened Isaac's role as heir of God's covenant, Gen. 21:8-14; Bib. Kno. Com., O. T., p. 68.
3. Now, we know Isaac joined with Ishmael to bury his father out of respect for the testimony of Ishmael's mother, Hagar who told of God's help at Beer-lahai-roi, for Isaac was often there and so called on God for help, Gen. 16:11-14; 24:62; 25:11b, 21. Yet, joining Ishmael to bury Abraham strained against God's will: Ishmael was still hostile toward Isaac (Gen. 25:18b NIV; 16:12; Ibid., vol. I, p. 505), an attitude from an older brother that could easily bully Isaac to give up his role and thus his testimony as heir of the covenant!
4. Besides, Ishmael had sired 12 sons (Gen. 25:12-18) who would be influenced by Ishmael's enmity toward Isaac, adding more ungodly pressure against Isaac's spiritual walk, Genesis 25:18b NIV; Ibid.
5. Besides all of this, Genesis 25:1-6 (with 1 Chron. 1:32-33) reveals Abraham had six other sons by his concubine, Keturah, potentially more influence toward pagan unbelief for Isaac to have to face!
2. However, as we have seen in our studies of Genesis 10:8-11; 11:1-9 and 12:1-5, for Isaac and his sons to yield to pressure to cease trusting in God would leave them reverting to the apostasy of Nimrod that God wanted to counter by instituting the Abrahamic Covenant!
3. So, beyond blessing Isaac materially (Gen. 25:11a) that would signal this blessing came from Him, and using a program aligned to what Paul faced in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, God allowed trials to arise that would drive Isaac and his family to seek God's HELP in FAITH, preserving their ROLES of FAITH in GOD'S covenant (as follows):
1. Rebekkah's barrenness led Isaac to focus on trusting God to meet her need in line with Hagar's good Beer-lahai-roi testimony APART FROM Ishmael's faithless influence of animosity!
2. Then, God's answer to Rebekkah's prayer led to another trial where she had to focus on trusting God for an explanation, and that led to still another trial that was designed to point the whole family to seek God for His help to them ALL!
3. Thus, the focus of Isaac's family would be on the need to trust God just to function, which FOCUS via its INTENSITY would shield them from the unbelief pressure of Abraham's other sons!
4. This was similar to the trial Paul faced in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10: to keep him humbly trusting God without becoming proud in unbelief and thus turning useless, God let Paul have a "thorn in the flesh"!

Application: If we face seemingly pointless, severe trials, (1) may we trust in Abraham and Isaac's God, Jesus Christ, for eternal life and spiritual sonship, John 3:16; 8:56-58. (2) Then, may we accept the trials that arise as trials GOD ALLOWS to make us CLEAVE to Him in FAITH that we might be SHIELDED from UNBELIEF and so STAY USEFUL to Him in His ETERNAL PLAN!

Lesson: God let Isaac and his family face trials to make them FOCUS on TRUSTING HIM; that would SHIELD them from VULNERABILITY to the UNBELIEF of INFLUENTIAL, GODLESS folk around them so that GOD'S PLAN to disciple the world THROUGH them might ADVANCE!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

(1) After our morning service last Sunday, a member spoke to me about Lewis Sperry Chafer's book on Grace when he "happened" to ask about Chafer's view on election. I replied he held to moderate Calvinism, believing God chose who would trust in Christ while man authored faith in a seeming logical conflict of wills. Indeed, on page 53 of the 1995 edition of this work, Chafer noted of this issue that "The solution of the problem is never found in the range of human reason."

Though I highly value Dr. Chafer's writings, I cannot agree with his view, for holding a doctrine is logically inexplicable unintentionally leaves Scripture errant and not inspired of God! (Clark H. Pinnock, A Defense of Biblical Infallibility, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1967, p. 17) I told this member that Chafer's view erred, for years of trials over the matter had led me to much Bible study that revealed man authors his own faith, but God sovereignly chose those He knew in eternity past would be justified only to all that follows justification.

(2) The next day, while I lingered in an aisle of an area store, a clerk I knew passed by, saying, "Hi, Pastor Shell!" This party attends a church that holds to the opposite, errant Arminian view that man's faith helps to produce salvation! This "chance" meeting again led me to recall the many trials I have witnessed due this doctrinal issue!

(3) These two events led me to review our Revelation 3:14-22 notes that show this doctrinal issue is behind the key spiritual needs of our era of Church History! This led to recalling how we have inherited Augustine's theological battle with Pelagius over the roles of God's and man's wills in salvation that began way back in 412 A. D.!

(4) I then recalled Arminianism had been impacted by pagan Stoicism, and Augustinian and Calvinistic predestination had been formed via pagan Neoplatonism, and that the Neoplatonists, starting around 265 A. D., were those who most fueled the great persecutions of the Church in its early centuries! I saw the trials caused to believers by such pagan error has been immense in intensity, extent and time!

So, last Sunday, God arranged for this member and me to speak the truth on election last week in HUGE victory built on Bible study that was FUELED by INTENSE TRIALS of HOSTS of believers for 1,750 YEARS -- it was a priceless blessing from God!

As in Isaac's case, our trials will produce great blessings in God's eternal plan if we BEAR them by faith, so may we bear them!