“Giving Birth To Ishmael”
 Genesis 15:1-5 and 16:1-16

    I want you to take note first of all, to verse 3 of 16 - “So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years”!… Ten years have past between chapter 15 and 16, since God told Abram he would have a son…but the stork still had not arrived. Now, Abraham was not getting any younger. He was 76 when God called him, and if you go ahead to 16:16 you will find that now he was 86!  It’s interesting that, if you go back to verses 2 and 3 of 15 - Abraham is concerned that Eliezer - who was his chief servant - would inherit all that was Abraham’s. How-ever, God had told him that his heir would come from his own body. But, ten years is a long time, and Sarah did what most of us have a tendency to do when we get tired of waiting for God, she decided to figure out a way to help God along with his promise. Remember, she didn’t think it was possible to begin with and laughed at the thought of having a child when she was 80!…Little did she know that she would actually be 90!

    So, the story tells us that at age 86, ten years after the promise, after ten years of waiting, Sarah has an Egyp-tian maidservant named Hagar, and she suggests to Abraham the idea of starting a family through her maid-servant. Abraham agrees, and Hagar gives birth to Ishmael.  Little did Abraham or Sarah know the problems that this cute little baby would cause…and even create for generations to come.
    One of Ishmael’s descendants was Mohammed, who started the religion of Islam. From that baby came a whole race of people who are still fighting to this day with the Jewish people in the Middle-East.  Because we have the hindsight of this Biblical story, it may be easy to think, “How could Abraham be so foolish”… But, you see, whenever we get tired of waiting for God to answer our prayers, and we get impatient, we also do stupid things and we can also give birth to an “Ishmael”. We get ahead of God, and often create more headaches than we can handle.
    Waiting can be frustrating. It seems like you can be waiting for some-thing, you look at your watch and it’s 1:30…an hour later you look at your watch and it’s 1:35!!  There are some things revealed in this story that are common to all of us at one time or another that reveals our impatience:
    Trying to help God. This is what Sarah and Abraham did. God had promised them a son. And, Abraham probably thought, “Well that only takes nine months”. So, he got out his calendar and started marking off the days. But, Sarah wasn’t showing. 6 months, nine months, two years, ten years….and, finally they decided that God must need a little help. We always get into trouble when we try to help God out.
    A fellow was trying to get a washing machine through the door of his house, and a neighbor thought that he would help him out. So, he went over and grabbed one end of the washer. After about 15 minutes of struggling, the neighbor said; “I don’t think we are going to get this washer in the house through this door”… To which the man replied, “What do you mean ‘in’ I’m trying to get it out!” …. Most of the time when we think we are trying to help God in some way, we find oursel-ves struggling against Him. Abraham and Sarah did not wait for God’s timing, and they gave birth to Ishmael.
   The second thing we do when we are tired of waiting is to over step our bounds.  By that I mean we go beyond what we are instructed to do. A good example of this is found in 1 Samuel 10:8 where Samuel told Saul to go to Gilgal and wait seven days until he arrived, when Samuel would then sacrifice an offering to the Lord. In chapter 13 we find the Philistines assembled to attack Israel… And, in verse 7 it says; “Saul and all the troops were “quaking with fear”. How often does something come against us in life, and we too are quick to fear rather than trust? Saul waited the seven days, but on the seventh day his men began to scatter, and Samuel didn’t seem to be coming, So Saul decides to over step his bounds, to go beyond what he was told, and make an offering himself. And, of course, just as he does, Samuel arrives.
   The rest of the story tells us that Saul gave birth to an Ishmael by over stepping his bounds. He grew impatient and he lost his family, he lost his kingdom, and most of all, he lost the Holy Spirit’s presence in his life. How often in our own lives as well as in the church, we expect God to “fax” us the answer, and it seems like He is still using the pony express!
    Here is what I have experienced in my own life when it comes to patience or waiting upon God;  God doesn’t want us to wait upon him and his timing because he likes to see us squirm…He has good reasons for us to wait. Satan, on the other hand, always puts his best offer up front, so those who want instant gratification don’t have to wait. However, I have come to know that God’s timing is always best.
    First of all, I have found that I may not be ready for what God has planned. And, if we are not ready, we may not appreciate it as much… or we may even destroy it. Let me give you an example; When a kid is 14 years old and wants to drive…the car might be ready for the kid, but the kid is not ready for the car! Throw the keys to a 14 year old, and you may be asking for disaster! There is a reason for driver training, and a written exam, and a drivers test, and so on…Do you see the application? (What about Training? Examination? Testing? Preparation?) Sometimes, even when they are 16 and think they may be ready, we are reluctant to throw them the keys.
    God may still be in the process of preparing “behind the scenes” so to speak, things that we are not aware of like; the right people, the right events, the right programs, the right timing may not be in place, and we need to wait upon the Lord to bring these things together.
    Third, God may be desiring to develop the very thing we lack, and that’s patience. Patience is letting your motor idle when you want to strip the gears! ( A teacher had just finished putting the boots on all of her first graders…32 in all. After she had the boots on the last little girl, the girl said; “Teacher, did you know these are not my boots?”…The teacher patiently removed the boots from the little girls feet, when she continued; “Their my sister’s and she let me wear them”… Someone once said that “When it comes to patience, it’s the little things that annoy us; we can sit on a mountain top forever, but we can only sit on a tack for an instant! God may be trying to develop the very virtue we need the most.
    Fourth, Sometimes God desires to something greater. If Jesus had arrived in Bethany two days earlier than Mary or Martha thought he should, he would have probably healed Lazarus rather than raise him from the dead!
    So, the question then becomes “How do I wait? How do I develop this discipline of waiting upon the Lord?”  For that we turn to Psalm 37;
    Verse 1 says; “Don’t fret or be envious”.  Do you know that the greatest motivator of impatience is envy?…Wanting what everyone else has rather than what God has for our lives! Verse 3 says “Trust in the Lord and do something good”. Just trust in the Lord and keep yourself busy doing good things. Verse 4 says “Delight your self in the Lord”. “Delight” means to find pleasure in…Have you ever noticed how time flies when your having fun?” Delight yourself…find some fun in your Christian walk…and “he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Verse 5 - “Commit your way to the Lord”…Be willing to put your life, your plans, your past, your present and your future into God’s hands. Verse 7 - “Be still before the Lord”… “Hyper” is the word that we use for those who have to be doing something or always moving, fidgeting, and can’t sit still. There are times when we just need to “sit still” and not always be doing something.
    Finally, verse 8 says - “refrain from anger”. When we get angry, we do some rash things. Anger will cause us to sin if we let it get out of control and in control of our lives. We don’t have time to go through the whole Psalm, you can read it for yourself. It is filled with wise “how to’s” concerning patience.
    Abraham and Sarah did finally live to see their promised son born from Sarah’s womb. His name was Isaac. Sarah was 90 and Abraham was 100. Twenty five years had past since God made the promise to Abraham. How long are you willing to wait for God to answer your prayers?
    Go with these thoughts about our message today; Remember, circumstances don’t matter to God; Time doesn’t matter to God; Abilities or disabilities or impossibilities don’t matter to God; He is able to do all things! “Greater is He that is in me”, and He does not change!  God is working some things out in your life right now… God is working some things out in my life right now… Let’s not jump the gun and give birth to an Ishmael… Wait for Isaac!   “They that wait upon the Lord shall re-new their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not get weary, they shall walk and not faint, teach me Lord, teach me Lord, to wait”!

Blessed? Pass it on!
Proverb 11:24-25

    I want to give you just five quick areas of our lives where I feel we can all become greater channels of blessing. I believe that God can take these areas and pour out so much blessing upon them that they will have an impact on our families, our community, and even our world, in a powerful way that has eternal results.
    The first area that we don’t usually think of as a blessing is prayer. We never think of saying “I feel blessed today because I can be a channel of God’s blessing on those for whom I am praying.” The power of prayer is incredible…If we could see the blessings that are unleashed through prayer we would all become prayer warriors!  The next time you pray for someone, don’t just ask God to fill their need…ask God to release his blessings upon them, that they might be overwhelmed with His presence and turn to Him.
    Second, God wants us to be channels of Love. We receive God’s unconditional and undeserved love, through Jesus Christ; we ought to let the love of God flow through us. The Word says that “we love because He first loved us.” Because God is love, he certainly has an infinite supply to pour into us so we can pour into others. I have said this before and it bears repeating; “If you are not going to love people – all people – unconditionally…then don’t tell them God does!”  It’s the most negative form of evangelism there is.
    Third, what about being a channel of God’s forgiveness? We ought to say that “I feel blessed today because I am forgiven.” I have received God’s undeserved forgiveness. The Lord, in fact, commands us to forgive others with the same kind of forgiveness we have received…And, He says, if we don’t forgive others then he won’t forgive us…That’s a sobering thought. Forgive-ness is a blessing that must be passed on…
    Forth, just as God’s Word is a blessing to our lives, so our words can be a blessing in the lives of others. We can never underestimate the power of words. Words can bless, encourage, help, lift up and build up… but, they can also have the opposite effect. Think about the fact that the hearts of people can be turned toward God because of our words…and they can also be turn away because of our words. If we want to be channels of God’s blessing, we must choose our words wisely and carefully.
    Finally, of course, we can be channels of all the blessings God has given us through our actions and deeds. Using our talents, gifts, time, resources, or whatever we have, to be channels of blessing to people in need. In our Doxology we sing “Praise God from whom all blessings flow”… Do we really believe that? Do we live that? 
    Our scripture says “He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed!” We have often heard that we are God’s hands and feet, we are God’s eyes and ears and God’s heart to the world… As we bless those around us, God pours his blessings back in an abundant supply. Proverbs 28:20 says “A faithful man will abound with blessings”.
    Captain Levy, a believer from Philadelphia, was once asked how he could give so much to the Lord’s work and still possess great wealth. The Captain replied, "Oh, as I shovel it out, He shovels it in, and the Lord has a bigger shovel."

You can’t put a price tag on the satisfaction you get when you make someone’s life a little bit better. So, if you really feel blessed this morning – Pass it on!

“All of Life Is A Decision” - Scripture - Psalm 23

    A very successful executive was interviewed by an up and coming junior and was asked how he got to be so successful. The man replied; “It’s the result of making good decisions”. The junior asked; “How is it that you always make good decisions?”. “Experience” the man replied. “How do you get experience”? To which the executive said; “From making bad decisions.”

    Let me quote from 2 Peter 1:3-9 - “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godli-ness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsight-ed and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”  My paraphrase of that last verse might be; “If he does not have them…he has made some wrong decisions!” You see, all of life is a decision…and all of life is the result of our decisions. 
    The 23^rd. Psalm begins with the most important decision we could ever make in life; “The Lord is my shepherd.”  (It’s a fact, it’s a truth…and it is a decision.)  David says; “I have made a decision that the Lord is my shepherd…. “I shall not want.” That’s also a decision. It’s an attitude. But, it is also a fact, a truth, “Because the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want!”
    David paints us a great picture here. As we consider our lives and our future both here and now and eternally, every one of us has made a decision as to who we will follow…who will be the shepherd of our lives. If not the Lord, then maybe we follow the world…or maybe we follow some other person or religion, or maybe we have made the decision that we are our own shepherd and we follow self! Well, let me ask you this; “How’s it working for you?”  Do you have peace and joy and self-control and kindness and love in your life?…or is life filled with cheap imitations?
    Our world has convinced many people that they cannot make some decisions and stand by, or be committed to, those decisions for very long. We can’t make long term decisions; we can’t make long term commitments; especially as it concerns marriage and family. Listen, the world is committed to not make any commitments!
    David is making a long term decision here; “The Lord is my shepherd” I have no other shepherd…no one else is leading my life…nothing else is directing my path or influencing my decisions… and because of  experiences in life that have come from making wrong decisions, David makes a right decision.  Some people have asked why we would move clear out to Virginia from Wisconsin…or why to Maryland…or South Carolina? There is only one answer - “because the Lord is my shepherd.” He leads us, he guides us, he restores us, even when we don’t know why…we trust him. We have made some bad decisions in the past, but the best decision was to follow Christ and allow God to be in control.
    “I shall not want” says David. He has learned that God supplies all his needs. God cares about all our needs; our spiritual needs, our emotional needs, as well as our material needs.
    “He restores my soul”… God is in the business of restoring souls. His Word says that the outer man is decaying and aging, but the inner man is “being renewed day by day.”
    “He guides me in the paths of righteousness.” When God is my shepherd, I can trust that he will - not that he can, but will - guide me wherever he wants me to go either for my good, or His glory.  However, I must make the decision to follow, even if I don’t understand the direction or the even if the path doesn’t make sense. “My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts” says God…“Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him,  and he will lead in paths of righteousness….and it may not always be the easy way… the smoothest way…or the way we believe will make us happy, but it is always the right way!
    David goes on to say that “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear”… Why? .. Because I have made the decision that the Lord is my shepherd! Notice also that he says “through” and not “into” the valley!
    Let me close with verse 6 - “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” God’s people don’t leave this world with no one following. I have seen cars following for miles, someone who has gone through life with the Lord as their shepherd. They don’t leave behind hurt feelings and broken relation-ships. They have many friends and family…lives they have touched and been a part of over the years. They leave goodness and mercy and beauty and honesty and integrity as those things which have followed them all the days of their lives. All of life is a decision….and all of life is the result of decisions!
    Joshua said; “As for me and my house, we will follow the Lord!”… I challenge you today to make the decision that the Lord will be your shepherd…and everything else in life will be based on that decision…. It’s the most important decision any of us will ever make.