I pray you feel it as well. I'm grateful for the Lord. I'm grateful for our worship team. Week in, week out continues to seek the Lord's leading and guidance and take us before His throne.

If you are visiting with us this morning, we want to say welcome. Thank you for visiting with us. Thank you for hanging with us. There are some little cards in the chair in front of you.

Please take the time to grab one. If my sermon gets boring, just fill it out during the sermon and fold it up and put it in one of the little churches up here and one in the back.

Is there an echo in here? Is it? No? It's just me. All right.

And this is also where we receive our financial gifts and offerings as you continue to be faithful to the Lord and continue the ministry that God's called us to do in the life of Ramon Community Church.

We're so grateful that you're here today. All of you, thank you for coming out last Sunday night to the bonfire. It was a great turnout. Great turnout. We had a great turnout.

It was just awesome to see everybody out there running around the field and burning marshmallows and calling them s'mores and all that good stuff and utilizing the property.

It was just really good just to see people that don't normally get to talk to each other talk to each other.

And I was trying to be the doorman to stay in here and get people to park here so you could walk through here and go out back.

But so many people were driving around and parking out back. The space was limited. Laura pulls up and she's so funny.

She says to me, she says, is there a rain delay? I was like, no, there's no rain delay. Most everybody's back there already. They're already parked back there.

I was like, that's funny. That's clever. But it was a great time. Great time.

And we we had lots of hot dogs and all that good stuff. And it was just really good just to hang out with everyone.

Want to remind you that next Sunday is our foundations class at 915.

That's how we we do. We don't do church membership like some churches do where you have to sign a letter and you need a letter, blah, blah, blah.

Foundations is is we do offer quarterly and foundations is where we talk about who we are, the life of the church, where we're going, what we believe foundationally, doctrinally.

What are the big rocks for us? And and everyone who serves in some capacity in our church has has been through foundations.

And we ask you to sign a covenant agreement. You don't sign a membership card.

You sign a covenant agreement that I understand that this is what God's calling you to do as a church.

And while I'm here, I see God leading me to do this and be a part of this.

And so 915 in the large children's room, if you need child care, please email Casey and she'll she'll get she'll get Taylor involved in it.

But we'll get some child care if you do need child care for next Sunday, next Sunday, 915.

Reminder that our student ministry meets tonight at 530 Sunday night in the in the in the student room.

And I think that's really all the announcements we really need to go through today.

Am I missing something that you can think of guys? No, but this time we want to dismiss our pre K through fifth grade.

If you guys will follow Mr. David, Mr. Taylor back there. Thank you very much. Pre K through fifth grade.

And the rest of us, we will grab our Bibles and we will turn to Genesis.

We continue Genesis chapter 21.

We continue our our expository study series is called in the beginning as we walk verse by verse chapter by chapter through the book of Genesis.

It's been a it's been an eye opening study for me. I hope there's been moments for you in this as well, too.

Today's messages is entitled the time for laughter, the time for laughter.

And so we get to we get to Genesis chapter 21.

And my prayer for you this morning is that there is a real.

There's a real there's a real sensitivity to what we're going to talk about.

Not sensitivity as in there's there's a real sensitive measure to what's what's going on here in Genesis 21.

We won't get through the whole chapter here, but we get to Genesis chapter 21.

And this is what we've been waiting for.

Whether you realize it or not, we've been waiting for this.

And it's at this point in in in in in Genesis where we have developed a certain pattern of looking at the text and thinking through time.

And that's going to that's going to serve us.

Well, not just understanding Genesis, but as we go and we look and we study the New Testament, it'll serve us well.

It'll serve us well as we go and we study the prophets, the writings of the prophets as well.

But it comes down to this.

We have been waiting for the birth of a child.

And the birth of that child is Isaac.

It's it's a promised child to Abraham and Sarah.

We've been waiting for this promised child, this promised child.

And this child is pointing to other sons of promise as well too. And in particular of one of whom it would be said to whom unto you a child is born, unto you a son is given. And so here we have the expectation of Isaac. And the pattern of our expectation of the fulfillment of God's covenant promises in Jesus Christ. There's a pattern here. And it gets really interesting when you look at it in the context of Genesis 21, that after

repeated promises to Abraham and Sarah, that unto them a son will come. Unto them a child is going to be given to them as a sign of the fulfillment of God's covenant that he made with Abram. And then he gave him the name Abraham.

And it's interesting how much has happened between then and now. You know, we just, we just go through a few pages, a few chapters, but it's been so much time and so much has happened. And it's just a, it's a great reminder of how much we need this son.

How much, how much, how, how much of the hopes that God has invested in Abraham and in Sarah to, to build the people and eventually father a nation comes through this. And so this son has to come for these promises to be fulfilled. Genesis 21 verse one, the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.

Now, again, often we take a text out of the context and, and this is the way we are even with stories and narratives, whether they're found in scripture or even in our own lives. If we just think of them in just the parts, okay, then it's impossible for us to keep simultaneously in our minds, the whole, you understand what I'm saying?

Because if sometimes in our own lives, if we just remember, you ever think back to, okay, I remember when I did this and I did this just parts of your life. You're like, well, was that before this or was that? I can't remember if it was before this or before that. When did that actually happen? I remember it happening, but I can't really put it all together.

And so it is, it is with our story as well as, as with scripture. And furthermore, there are sections with scripture that are very familiar to us like this, the birth of Isaac. We're going to read it. And there are sections of scripture that are less familiar to us.

And then there are sections of scripture that are less familiar to us than they ought to be. And Genesis 21, we are told that the Lord visited Sarah as he said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he promised. But the preceding verse at the end of chapter 20 explains what the Lord had done.

Okay. Remember last week, because of Abimelech and the misunderstanding and all that was rectified, we are told that the Lord had closed all the wombs in the house of Abimelech because of Sarah. Okay. Abraham's daughter, Abraham's wife.

And so this is the second time that Abraham presents his wife as his sister. And another foreign king takes her to be his wife, but he did not know her. Abimelech didn't know her. He didn't touch her. That's why he's still alive. Because the Lord spoke to Abimelech in a dream and said, look, she's the wife of another man. You touch her, you're a dead man. Okay. So he's still alive because he doesn't touch her.

But this makes a profound point in the last verse of chapter 20 and the verse of chapter 21. And the profound point is who it is that opens up the womb. It's God. It's God. It's God who is sovereign over the process of fertilization. It's God who is sovereign over the process of conception. It's God who is sovereign over the gestation and the birth.

Every single human being who is conceived, every single human being that is born is one who is born because the Lord said, let there be life. The Lord said.

In the same way, in the same way as God establishes life and He forms Adam out of clay and He breathes life into him.

And because of this, and we know this, we need to understand and make the point this morning, because of a lot of things that's happening in our world and our society today.

Listen to me. The Bible makes it clear. There are no accidents.

The Lord visited Sarah. And as we know, we'll be coming to other narratives concerning, you know, the promise of the Christ child and the birth of the Christ child. And we're told that the Holy Spirit came upon Mary in the same way that the Lord visited Sarah. That's what this is getting at. But in this case, it's not a virgin birth. In this case, it's not a virgin conception. It's God's action in creating in Sarah what is

creating in Mary, not what was created in Mary, but rather coming from the loins of Abraham. It's God's action to open up the womb. She's been barren all of her life. But it's God's action to open up the womb. And so, they have a son at a time when Abraham and Sarah are far beyond the possibility of ever getting pregnant.

It's far beyond the possibility. The Lord fulfills His promises. He fulfills His promises. As He said, He says, as He said. And that's not just a declaration. He did it because He said He was going to do it.

Because He said, I was talking with Tom in the prayer room this morning. And Tom was just saying, man, you can just count on the promises of God. The biggest reason is because He said He's going to do it.

If He says He's going to do it, He's going to do it. I can't tell you how many times we walked through a long time with foster care and with Caroline and all this. And we went through a lot of the highs and the lows and this, that and the other and the court dates and this, that.

And there was so many, so many times when my wife was in tears. But she said, I don't know what else to hold on to. But I can just tell you, Curtis, there was a day.

There was a day. I sat in that chair in the sanctuary and I heard the Lord. I had Caitlin in my arms and I had the little baby in the other.

And the Lord spoke to me and said, these are your children. And our whole world is a mess and spinning out of control. She said, all I can lean on is a promise.

But God said it. It doesn't look like it's happening. It's not going very well. It's not boding well to what we want and our benefit.

But God, if God says it's going to happen. And some of us need to be reminded of that today.

But the timing is not always our timing either. God's timing is different from our timing.

We have to be okay with that. Didn't we just say that God was sovereign? Then let Him be in charge of the timing too.

The Lord visited Sarah as He had said. And the Lord did to Sarah as He had promised.

This is language of fulfillment. This is fulfillment language.

Verse 2, And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.

So not only does God do what He promises to do, but God does what He promises to do when He said it would be done.

Alright, now so, when did the Lord promise that this was going to take place?

Turn a couple pages to your left to Genesis 15. Let's look at this real quickly again.

Genesis 15, verse 1.

After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.

Fear not, Abram. I am your shield. I am your reward. Your reward shall be very great.

But Abram said, O Lord, what will you give me?

For I continue childless.

And the heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus.

And Abram said, Behold, you have given me no offspring.

A member of my own household will be my heir.

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him.

This man shall not be your heir.

Your very own son shall be your heir.

And he brought him outside and said, Look upward.

Look toward heaven.

And number the stars if you are able to number them.

Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be.

And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

So the Lord makes a promise to Abram, later on Abraham.

And he simply believed it, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

But there's more.

Genesis 17, verse 15.

And God said to Abraham, As for Sarai, your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarai.

As for Sarai shall be her name, I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her.

I will bless her, and she shall become nations.

Kings of peoples shall come from her.

Then Abraham fell on his face.

My lord said goodbye was good for World ofaries.

Thank you.

shall bear a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and I will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at the end of next year.

So there's the promise of time, and there's the promise of the time of the birth of a child. And the birth of the child, the promise of the birth of the child, doesn't come until after Abraham was faithful to God. After Abraham, by undergoing circumcision. When he undergoes, when he's faithful with that, that was a big step right there. Be an old man and be circumcised. And so, he circumcises Ishmael and all the men. And we're told that Ishmael was circumcised at the age of thirteen.

And when Ishmael was thirteen, God says to Abraham that in one year's time, Sarah's going to have a son. So that means Ishmael is fourteen years of age when Isaac is born. This is important. I want you to hold on to that. We'll get to that in a second.

Back to Genesis 21, verse 3. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. Now, why would Isaac be this boy's name?

We know that the name Isaac means laughter. Laughter. I think it's pretty appropriate. You know, we've already discovered in the text that Abraham laughed when he was told that Sarah would conceive and bear him a child and fathered by Abraham.

And then Sarah laughed when he had the visitation of the angels just before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

And we've already discussed how those laughs were different. Abraham's laugh and Sarah's laugh were two different kinds.

He laughs at this unexpected joy. You know, is this really going to happen? This sounds so unlike anything. This has to be God, you know.

Has anybody ever had that laugh before? Something's happened to you and you just break out.

This has got to be God. You just laugh, you know. That's the laugh. But Sarah's laugh was more cynical.

And we know that because she denies laughing. And God says, yeah, you did. Yeah, you did.

And so the boy's name is laughter. And I think it's fitting because I don't care if you're reading it as it's happening during this time,

or if you're reading in 2019, the thought of a 101-year-old man getting a 91-year-old woman pregnant and having a child.

That's funny. That's funny. We laugh about it now, okay?

But, you know, we laugh about it now, but not as a cynical laugh. It's a paradoxical laugh, you know.

Only God could do that, right? Wouldn't you say that?

If you saw some 91-year-old, only God could do that.

Some 101-year-old man?

And so we laugh as a people who know only God could do something like this.

Verse 4.

And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was 8 years old as God had commanded him.

Okay, we know that Ishmael was circumcised when he was 13 and all the men,

but that was the sign of the covenant that God gave them.

But now the pattern is going to be on the 8th day.

We discussed that several weeks back.

That that's when the antibodies, the antibodies, the fight off all the infections and to be able to have the blood clot.

That was the perfect time that God designed.

So we're not going to go in depth on that again.

Verse 5.

Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

And Sarah said, God has made laughter for me.

Everyone who hears will laugh over me.

Not at me, but over me.

And she said, who will have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children?

Yet I have born him a son in his old age.

This is not cynical laughter, okay?

This is a laughter of joy, okay?

Sarah, who's old, she's having the last laugh.

You know?

She's thinking, you know what?

She's beyond the lifespan of most people today, okay?

She's 91.

And she just conceived and bore a son who is the son of the promise of this covenant.

And she knows that when people...

I have born him a son in his old age. This is a very interesting expression here because as she says this, this is a sign to me that this has surely been a point of great, great grief for this couple. We have waited so long for a child. It's a grief that many couples today are well aware of and that they know we have tried to have children. But the fact that Abraham

Abraham, he has no heir, he has no heir and that's heartbreaking and now he's a hundred and he's a dad. That's crazy. That's crazy. And verse 8 starts off, it says, and the child grew and was weaned. Okay? That's very important because it shows, it's going to show here in a second that he's not only... He wasn't some little child that was born to an old couple that had a lot of medical issues. Alright? He was a healthy kid. Only God can do this.

And God, verse 8, and the child grew and was weaned. This shows that God gave Sarah everything that she needed to be the mom that she needed to be. A 91-year-old woman. How is that possible? God did it. God did it. He's fulfilling His promises. And the child grew and was weaned and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

The child's growing. The child's growing. He's thriving. He's a healthy child. Verse 9, but Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.

Ishmael. We'd almost forgotten about Ishmael, hadn't we?

Ishmael was 13 when he got circumcised and so Isaac's born a year later. So Ishmael is 14. He's 14 years old when Isaac is born.

Abraham's son. Abraham's son and heir, Ishmael. You need to get the picture of this. He spent 13 years of his life having been born to Hagar, the slave woman.

And the idea of sending Hagar into Abraham was not Hagar's idea. It was Sarah's. It was Sarah. And then Sarah grows jealous of Hagar and now it's Ishmael who's jealous of Isaac.

It's not Sarah who laughs. It's not Sarah who laughs. It's not Abraham who laughs. It's not Hagar who laughs. It's Ishmael.

Verse 10. So she said to Abraham, cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not be heir with my son, Isaac.

Isaac. You know, you recall when we read in the past that Abraham and Lot, they had all these flocks and they had all these herds and they had all these people and the land couldn't sustain, you know, all of them together.

And they were like, look, you know, Abraham says, you choose what you want. You take the right, then I'll go to the left.

You take the left, I'll go to the right. You know, you make that decision. And listen, we can't maintain harmony with all of us living here together.

A lot of us can relate to that. We have family members. I love you as family, but I don't want to live right there with you.

OK, I'm glad there's a few hours separation. Anybody with me on that? I'm glad that you're just there only one state away.

Whoo! You know, you know, and so, you know, we all we all we all can we all can can can can sympathize with this.

So Abraham says, you take the portion you want, I'll take the other and our relationship will be strengthened as kinsmen by a little bit of distance between us.

It'll be OK. But the situation is now in Abraham's house.

It's in his house. And at least by our ability to understand, it is it is going to grow untenable here.

The boy, this boy born to the slave Hagar, who has been Abraham's don't don't don't don't just glaze over this.

He has been Abraham's sole heir for 13.

And he is now displaced by this son of promise. This son of promise. The one who was born to Sarah. The one who has God's covenant promise upon him. For he is a sign of that covenant promise. And the laughter of Ishmael is not over Isaac's name. Nor is it demonstrating great joy. It is a cynical laughter. It is a cynical laughter.

And you know, Sarah. Sarah has not shown herself to be a strong person at many points in the Genesis narrative. As we read through this. She simply seems to be really weak. She was weak in her faith concerning God's promises to Abraham.

And so she sends in Hagar. And, you know, to Abraham in the first place. And then Sarah's weakness is demonstrated by the fact that she laughs when the angels come to the tent.

And they are visiting. They say that she is going to have a child. Her faith is weak there.

And now, the mocking that is coming from Ishmael. It is too much for her. And she is unable to stand the mocking of a 14 year old boy.

That's what's going on here. And you have to know, you have to know that this 14 year old boy haunts her by her very, his very existence.

It's haunting to her. You need to understand the magnitude of what, because he was her idea.

He was her idea. He is the symbol of her lack of faith.

Every day in your face, there's your lack of faith.

Good morning, lack of faith. How are you today, lack of faith?

That's what his name should have been.

Maybe my lack of faith. Good morning, my lack of faith.

faith. And not only that, he's not only a symbol, but he is a boy. He is a boy who has his father's favor.

You know, not like Isaac, okay? Okay? It's not over Isaac. But he was the only son for 13 years.

And I know that Abraham, you know, probably realized it was a mistake that he lay and agreed with Sarah and lay with Hagar to have Ishmael.

But there comes a point in time where I don't care who you are, if you fathered that child, you love that boy.

You love him. Let's not lose sight of what's taking place here. There's a great love. You have been my joy for 13 years.

And furthermore, he's the one who's being displaced. Ishmael's being displaced. He can't be happy about that.

His mama's not going to be happy about that.

But Sarah can't stand the idea that Ishmael might be a co-heir with Isaac.

And so she goes to Abraham and says,

I saw the boy laughing. Send him out!

He was laughing.

He said,

Nanny, nanny, boo-boo to me.

I want him gone.

I want him gone.

And look how Hagar...

Look how she speaks of Hagar right there in that passage.

This slave woman.

Remember a few chapters back?

It was,

Oh, take my servant.

Hagar.

Lie with her.

Let's fulfill God's promises.

Now we're in a mess.

I didn't wait on God.

I made things happen.

I took matters into my own hands.

We got a mess.

Now this slave woman.

It was her idea.

Verse 11.

And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son.

And that's on account of his son, Ishmael.

On account of this.

Abraham was very, very heartbroken.

He had to be over the strife that's in his family.

He's very heartbroken over the fact that his wife was so distraught

that she wants to send not only...

Sarah says to you, do as she tells you. For through Isaac shall your offspring be named. So is the Lord agreeing with Sarah? That's not really the point. The Lord isn't agreeing with Sarah, but what the Lord is saying, all of this is actually part of my plan, Abraham. That's all part of my plan. Sarah's displeasure is a sign of the fact that she's actually understanding what's going on. Sarah's getting it, okay? The fact that the

the fact that the unique covenantal identity of Isaac is compromised by the fact that Ishmael is still here. It's compromised. But Ishmael, God says, is the son that you love. And he's someone that I love too, Abraham. Why wouldn't God love Ishmael? But he's not the son of the covenant. But I'll make a promise to you, he says.

Not a covenant. I'll make a promise to you. We'll get to that in a second. Whatever Sarah tells you to do, do it. For through Isaac shall your offspring be named. So the sons of Abraham are the sons of Isaac. We see that within the scriptures. Those are his sons. Verse 13, And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring. So very clear declaration. He's yours, Abraham.

Abraham, you found favor in my sight. And because he's yours, I'm going to watch over him. But not only watch over him, I'm going to make a nation of the son of the slave woman. Verse 14,

So 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.

That is a horrifying text. That's horrifying. Just heart rendering realization that Abraham, in order to be faithful to the covenant promise, in order to point to the singularity of Isaac,

for Isaac, for Isaac, for Isaac to be understood as the one who is going to be the fulfillment of the covenant that was made to Abraham, that Hagar and Ishmael have to be sent away.

And they're sent off into the wilderness with a skin of water and some bread. That's it. Out the door.

As if Hagar. As if Hagar and Ishmael are now supposed to make their way back to Egypt. Right?

And Egypt, that's the place Ishmael has never been to his entire life.

This right here is his whole life. This is all he's known.

You're my dad.

Dad.

When the water in the skin was gone, verse 15, she put the child under one of the bushes.

Okay? Remember, it's a 14-year-old boy.

Keep in mind that the lifespan wasn't, you know, wasn't these ridiculous ages that we had in the beginning part of Genesis.

Okay? A much shorter time by the time all this is happening.

She puts him under this bush.

Then she went and sat down opposite him, a good way off, about a distance of a bow shot.

For she said, let me not look on the death of the child.

As she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and she wept.

So you take him and you put him under a bush.

And then you walk away because you can't stand to watch him die.

I, you know, I don't, I don't know.

I've never been in a situation, you're out in the desert, you're, you know.

But all I can think about is, if I have my daughter, and we're trapped out in the desert, there's nothing else.

I'm not going to set her down and go, even as hard as it is.

I'm going to hold her as long as, I don't know, I mean, I'm not going to let her go.

I'm not going to let her go, I can't register with this.

But Ishmael wasn't, he wasn't under the bush, under the protection of the bush.

He's actually under the bush, under the protection of God.

I've been under the bush.

Thank you.

17. Thank you. I was like, wait a minute, where'd the angel go? And God heard, here you go, the voice of the boy. It said that she began to cry out to the Lord, right? But God hears the voice of the boy. Maybe he was whimpering, maybe he was, I don't know what he was saying. It doesn't matter. But God's listening to him. Here's the voice of the boy. And the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, what troubles you, Hagar?

Fear not. Fear not. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. He's under the protection of God here. Not the bush. Verse 18. Up. Lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand for I will make him into a great nation. Again, in scripture you have this spectacular passage where something happens that's unexpected and it gives us so much detail in its narrative.

So she's about a bow shot. You take an arrow. That's how far, you know, send the bow out. That's how far she's removed herself from him. Because she couldn't stand to watch him die. And the Lord heard him cry and the angel said to Hagar, fear not. Up. Simple command. Get up. Get up. Verse 19.

Then he opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin of water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy and he grew up.

And he lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. And he lived in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

So we have a tale of two boys here. One was the son of promise. Isaac. Born to a laughing Sarah and a laughing Abraham. You know.

And he's even given the name Laughter. And this is the son of promise that Abraham was promised when Abraham said of Eleazar of Damascus.

He's my only heir. And God said, this man shall not be your heir. Your very own son will be your heir.

Then after their faithless experiment with Hagar. And it led to the birth of Ishmael. And God says, Ishmael is not going to be your heir.

But rather a son will come from you. And from your wife Sarah will be your heir.

And Isaac's not only born, but he's thriving. Isaac is thriving. And he's been weaned. He's been circumcised.

He's growing. And the picture is very clear that he is the son of promise.

And upon him the covenant of God will rest. And it's through him that the covenant God made with Abraham is going to be fulfilled.

But God had a purpose for Ishmael.

He's going to make him a father of 12 tribes.

He's going to become the father of a great nation.

And he's going to, it says, and he's going to be, he becomes an expert with the bow.

Now, there are a couple of things embedded in Genesis narrative that sometimes we first don't see.

And sometimes we only see them in retrospect.

But this will come up later.

This will come up later with Jacob and Esau.

There's a differentiation in the text here and in the biblical narrative to follow between the one who has herds and the one who is a hunter.

Ishmael is a hunter.

And it says, he makes his way in the wilderness and he will become the father of a great nation.

And this great nation, it isn't going to be marked by land.

Okay?

It's going to be marked by tribal identity.

You just read the headlines today, to this day.

It's still all of that.

Because Ishmael becomes the head of a great nation and all these tribes.

And they are basically at war with Israel.

Not only in Genesis, but as the scripture says, unto this day.

Even today, they're still at war with Israel.

But God had a purpose for him.

But it's not the purpose of a covenant.

It's not the covenant of salvation.

It's not the covenant that points to the covenant of redemption in Christ Jesus.

It's a different covenant.

With Ishmael, it's a promise.

It wasn't a true covenant.

It's a simple promise.

What he said about Ishmael is not described as a covenant, but merely a promise.

And God does.

So, he doesn't make a covenant with Ishmael. So, he doesn't make a covenant with Ishmael. It's a promise to Abraham that I'll take care of Ishmael. You see the difference?

But in the story, guys, in the story in Genesis chapter 21, as we have gotten all the way up to this point, we have now learned to yearn for a child.

We've now learned to wait for a child. See what God's doing? He's teaching a people and he's teaching us as we go through Genesis.

I need you to yearn for a child that's coming. You're going to have a son, Abraham, Isaac. I need you to yearn for that child. I need you to expect that child.

And know that when God promises a child, that child is going to come.

And so, we're trained now, even by the book of Genesis, to look to the birth of such a child and to recognize, you know,

here's God's promise being fulfilled and something great and earth-shakingly significant is taking place right here in Genesis.

And history is going to be different after this point than it was before the birth of Isaac.

Okay? But because history will now be marked in time before Isaac and after Isaac.

It's very important. And of course, that points to the reality that there is another child of promise that will become.

And when he is born, it will be the fulfillment of that promise, the covenant of redemption.

And we don't just speak of time before him and after him.

We actually measure the time. B.C. and A.D.

All of this comes together in a beautiful picture.

How God just... He doesn't... He could have just given him Isaac just right off the bat.

But do you see how God creates the desire for the child, the yearning for the child.

The child is coming.

And you have to be faithful and waiting for the promise.

How many of you in here have ever had to wait on the promises of God?

If you don't raise your hand, you're a stinking liar.

It matures you.

Kevin's like, oh, okay.

I won't be that.

Oh, yeah.

I was going to raise my hand.

But this is not the Christ.

This is Isaac.

But we pause and we recognize just how much Christology is already embedded here.

And just how much of the promises of Christ are already visible here.

I want you to see that.

That's the tenderness of what I want you to see this morning.

Even though Christ isn't named and the covenant of redemption is far into the future.

But we can't read this as though we don't know it's coming.

We know it's coming.

We can feel that it's coming.

And we are gathered here in this place not as dispassionate observers.

And we're not just Jews reading the text.

Reading about the birth of our nation and the birth of our people.

We are reading this as Christians understanding that this is pointing to the covenant that God fulfilled in Abraham.

And that He fulfilled to Abraham by giving him Isaac.

Fulfilling it in Isaac.

But this points to the covenant of the redemption that's coming.

Fulfilled by God the Father through the Son.

It all comes together.

That's the beauty of the Scripture.

Scripture.

But we also see the reality of what it means for Isaac to be born.

Huge change comes for Hagar.

Huge change comes for Ishmael.

And a change for what will be known as Israel.

A change in terms of the trajectory of the entire story.

The book of Genesis from now on will no longer be waiting for God to act in the fulfillment of this promise.

But rather what happens when this covenant is fulfilled.

And the nation promised to Abraham by the Father starts to take shape.

And I'm thankful that our text here this morning just begins.

And I'll wrap this up this morning.

It just begins with,

The Lord visited Sarah as He had said.

And the Lord did to Sarah as He had promised.

He does exactly for the Lord for us. Think about all the Lord has done for us and what he has promised for us and said he would do for us.

Every once in a while, every once in a while, every once in a while when you think about God's ways, you think about God's ways and you consider how it was that you came to know Jesus Christ. You consider God's ways and you consider all the twists and all the turns in your life

that brought you to the knowledge of the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

All the twists, all the twists, all the turns, and you consider and you see how God has acted sovereignly, knowingly and unknowingly in your life.

All the things that He has orchestrated together.

All the things that He has worked together.

And when you think about the facts, you think about all of that, it's inexplicable how any of us could ever deserve to enjoy the promises of God.

We were, how could we ever deserve it?

And when you think about that, it just might make you laugh.

but god being rich in his grace and mercy but god the two greatest words of the new testament amen

i think about the lord and all that he's done he's orchestrated i i and it's not a laugh of

cynicism at all it's a laugh of sheer joy that strikes you that this is all mine and i don't

deserve any of it when was the last time that made you just laugh with joy too much of the church it's

just sour pusses and we want to follow rules and regulations and theories and and all this other

stuff and what's your what's your whole take on this hypothesis oh stop it

it's the kindness of the lord that led you to repentance it's the kindness of the lord that

led me to repentance that made me burst out in joy and i and i began to isaac i began to laugh

god you are so good to me i can't help but to love you i can't help but to serve you

and so when we when we when we read this when you have those moments in your life you just might

think of a little boy named isaac

laughter

some of you today need to laugh

i say that out of love so don't send me an email

i just need to laugh

i just need to laugh