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liberty bible church 6~/22~/08 P.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“You Can’t Stop It, You Can Only HOpe To COntain It”
The Fulfillment of God’s Will
Genesis 26:12-35
introduction
Illus. of We have all watched in horror the recent floods in the Midwest and have been extremely thankful that we have been spared this trial.
Sandbags are the front-line of defense against floods.
They filled millions in the Midwest trying to hold back the water.
One engineer they interviewed said that sandbags won’t stop the water, they will only slow it down, with the hopes that it will crest and recede before it breeches the wall altogether.
In some places they were more successful than others, but in the end, the realization comes that you just can’t stop it.
The same is true with the will of God.
The world and even many Christians try to stop it, but it can’t be done.
In the end, God’s purposes will be accomplished.
As believers, we should find great comfort in this because we will be the ones on the frontline of the enemy’s attacks and it is us who will be “sandbagging” if you will the floodwaters of adversity.
But in the end, it is God’s will that cannot be stopped.
We see that in our passage tonight and we see how God gives the victory in the face of opposition.
When it comes to God’s will, the enemy can’t stop it, he can only hope to contain it.
How should that affect us today?
OPEN to passage.
*Prop.
*In this passage, we see why we can be confident in God’s will.
Open in PRAYER.
PREVIEW the passage.
It’s been two months since we last were here.
We have been looking at Isaac and Jacob.
The last time we saw Isaac fall into the sin of his father by lying about his wife, saying that she was his sister.
Today we see more problems with the people of the land and how God deals with it.
We get confidence from this section realizing that what God has purposed cannot be stopped, yet the enemy still tries to contain it.
First, when it comes to fulfilling God’s will, we need to realize that…
i.
the enemy will attack vs. 12-22
Illus. of I served in the military during the Cold War.
Never was a shot fired, but we were ready to obliterate the enemy should they attack us.
I.e.
alert.
In our spiritual battles that we struggle through, it’s not just possible that the enemy will attack, they do, every single day.
Isaac faces attacks here…in subtle ways.
a. why does he attack?
V 12 1.
Isaac is blessed by God.
He has a bumper crop.
And the people of the land see this.
Satan’s greatest enemy is God, When we are on His side and reaping His blessings, the enemy will surely oppose this.
V 13- 2.
Isaac continues to be blessed in every venture and he becomes very wealthy and with wealth comes power.
14 And with power comes concern by those that have it.
They become jealous and that is what happened with Isaac’s enemies here.
They become envious.
b.
They want to eliminate him.
V 15 1.
Why are wells so important?
Illus. of what do we look for on Mars?
Water.
Water is the source of life.
In this culture, wells were a sign of divine blessing.
V 16 2.
The enemy wanted them gone.
Isaac with all his goods and servants were a threat to those in power.
He was a welcome guest if he was a weak Bedouin.
He was too powerful now.
He needs to leave.
c. enemies, enemies, everywhere
Illus. of all that went wrong when we moved to KC.
We thought we were in God’s will.
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed at when you think you are in God’s will and you are still attacked.
V 17- 1.
Isaac moves to a new region and God continues bless him with what he needs for his great numbers of servants
19 and flocks and herds…water.
More opposition comes.
V 20- 2.
The people from Gerar also dispute with Isaac over these new wells, claiming that the water there belonged to
21 them.
Both of these names reflect the conflict.
Illus. of similar to the battles in Israel today.
Other people groups claim the land.
V 22 3.
Isaac never fought back, He trusted God and God finally made room, as the name reflects.
He was still confident that they would be fruitful in the land.
God would continue to allow them to prosper.
*Trans.*
When it comes to fulfilling God’s will, we need to realize that THE ENEMY WILL ATTACK.
Second, when we feel that there is nowhere to turn, it is then that…
ii.
the lord will affirm vs. 23-25
Illus. of couples who restate their marriage vows on a major anniversary or after a trial of some sort.
They want to affirm their love.
It is a reminder to their spouse that they are still committed after all that time or after a trial.
Isaac here has the Abrahamic covenant affirmed to him after several trials within the land.
First…
a. GOd affirms His promises
V 23 1.
Isaac at some point moves to Beersheba.
Abraham too had lived here.
V 24 2.
God reaffirms His covenant promises to Abraham and these same blessings would be passed on though Isaac.
There was no reason he should fear in the face of the enemy.
He would need this affirmation with the meeting that he would soon have.
After this encounter with God…
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