{"id":3191,"date":"2017-08-20T17:52:30","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T21:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/?p=3191"},"modified":"2017-08-20T17:52:30","modified_gmt":"2017-08-20T21:52:30","slug":"failure-and-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/?p=3191","title":{"rendered":"FAILURE AND FUTURE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sermon by Rev. Richard Jones<\/strong><\/h3>\n

rec0820-112227<\/a><\/p>\n

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Sermon Series: <\/strong>The Story of Abraham<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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FAILURE AND FUTURE<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

Genesis, Chapters\u00a020 & 21:1-21<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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DECEPTION AND A DREAM<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Genesis 20:1-7 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>1 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
\n2 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, \u201cShe is my sister.\u201d And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
\n3 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, \u201cBehold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man\u201d\u2122s wife.\u201d
\n4 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, \u201cLord, will you kill an innocent people?
\n5 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Did he not himself say to me, \u201d\u02dcShe is my sister\u201d\u2122? And she herself said, \u201d\u02dcHe is my brother.\u201d\u2122 In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.\u201d
\n6 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Then God said to him in the dream, \u201cYes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.
\n7 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Now then, return the man\u201d\u2122s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

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REBUKE FOR THE RUSE<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Genesis 20:8-18 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>8 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid.
\n9 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, \u201cWhat have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.\u201d
\n10 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And Abimelech said to Abraham, \u201cWhat did you see, that you did this thing?\u201d
\n11 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Abraham said, \u201cI did it because I thought, \u201d\u02dcThere is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.\u201d\u2122
\n12 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.
\n13 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And when God caused me to wander from my father\u201d\u2122s house, I said to her, \u201d\u02dcThis is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, \u201cHe is my brother.\u201d\u201d\u2122\u201d
\n14 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him.
\n15 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And Abimelech said, \u201cBehold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.\u201d
\n16 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0To Sarah he said, \u201cBehold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.\u201d
\n17 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children.
\n18 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham\u201d\u2122s wife. <\/span><\/p>\n

Proverbs 29:25 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>25 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Proverbs 28:13 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>13 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n\u00a0THE BIRTH OF BLESSING<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Genesis 21:1-7 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>1 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised.
\n2 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.
\n3 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.
\n4 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
\n5 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
\n6 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And Sarah said, \u201cGod has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.\u201d
\n7 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And she said, \u201cWho would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Hebrews 6:10-12 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>10 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.
\n11 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,
\n12 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.<\/p>\n

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SEPARATE THE SONS<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Genesis 21:8-14 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>8 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
\n9 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.
\n10 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0So she said to Abraham, \u201cCast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.\u201d
\n11 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son.
\n12 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0But God said to Abraham, \u201cBe not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your offspring be named.
\n13 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.\u201d
\n14 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. <\/span><\/p>\n

Galatians 4:21-31 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>21 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?
\n22 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.
\n23 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.
\n24 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.
\n25 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
\n26 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
\n27 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0For it is written, \u201cRejoice, O barren one who does not bear;<\/span> break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!<\/span> For the children of the desolate one will be more<\/span> than those of the one who has a husband.\u201d<\/span>
\n28 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
\n29 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.
\n30 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0But what does the Scripture say? \u201cCast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.\u201d
\n31 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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HEARING FROM HEAVEN<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Genesis 21:15-21 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>15 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes.
\n16 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, \u201cLet me not look on the death of the child.\u201d And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.
\n17 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, \u201cWhat troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
\n18 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.\u201d
\n19 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
\n20 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow.
\n21 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.<\/p>\n

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Applications:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

1. God loves us even in our mistakes.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

2. Sin has an impact beyond ourselves.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

3. What God has promised He will deliver.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

4. The flesh and the Spirit can never live in peace.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV)
\n<\/strong>14 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
\n15 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
\n16 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
\n17 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith\u201d\u201dthat you, being rooted and grounded in love,
\n18 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
\n19 <\/span><\/sup>\u00a0and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. <\/span><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sermon by Rev. Richard Jones rec0820-112227 Sermon Series: The Story of Abraham   FAILURE AND FUTURE Genesis, Chapters\u00a020 & 21:1-21   DECEPTION AND A DREAM Genesis 20:1-7 (ESV) 1 \u00a0From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,24,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-messages","category-sermon-series","category-sermons-by-rev-jones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3191"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3194,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3191\/revisions\/3194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.crossroadchristianfellowship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}