An Ordinary Man Used By God

We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise.

We're singing in Psalm 34 in the Scottish Psalter, page 246 of the Psalm book.

Psalm 34, the beginning of the Psalm.

We're going to sing down to verse 8.

It's a psalm that reminds us of coming to worship God and knowing the blessing of that.

God, will I bless all times.

His praise my mouth shall still express.

My soul shall boast in God.

The meek shall hear with joyfulness.

We'll sing from verse 1 down to verse 8 to God's praise.

God, will I bless all times.

His praise my mouth shall still express.

My soul shall boast in God.

The meek shall hear with joyfulness.

Exol the Lord with me.

Let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord.

He heard and did me from all fears deliver.

They looked to him and lightened were.

Not shame it were their faces.

This poor man cry.

God heard and saved him from all his distresses.

The angel of the Lord.

The angel of the Lord encamps.

And run encampasses.

All those of the Lord.

All those of the Lord.

God, will I bless you.

God, will I bless you.

God, will I bless you.

God, will I bless you.

God, will I bless you.

Fear God, his saints, none that impere shall be with one oppressed.

We unite our hearts together now in prayer. Let us pray.

Amen.

We thank you for your day in the week, the Lord's Day. We thank you for the day of rest, a day to worship you, a day to spend in this way.

And we pray that in everything that we do today, that you would refresh us in it.

We thank you for the young ones here today with us. We thank you for all who help over the summer holidays just now with Twinnies and Cresce.

And we do pray, Lord, that as they go through to the hall in a few moments, that you'll be with them there, that they will enjoy learning from your word together.

And help us to be prayerful for one another, remembering to the holiday club as it comes up this week.

Thank you for all the children who have signed up for it.

Lord, we look forward to it. We pray that you will bless it each and every day, that you will bless all that we do, take care of us.

Lord, even as we travel to and from the holiday club and all that we do in the club, Lord, we pray for you to be with us, that you will speak to us, that you will help us to rejoice in your goodness to us.

So, Lord, continue to watch over us and all our loved ones, families and friends, neighbours, all our communities, day after day.

We will know your goodness and mercy following us all the days of our life.

So we ask all these things, looking to you, asking in Jesus' name, the forgiveness of our sins. Amen.

It's good to see you today. Was anybody through in the hall already?

Hands up if you were through in the hall already. A few of you have already been in the hall.

Some others will go through in a moment.

Now, those who are in the hall, just don't say anything for a minute, because I'm going to ask those who haven't been in the hall,

when you were coming up to the church today, did you notice anything that was different?

Possibly not.

Maybe as you were walking up through the gates, coming towards the church, everything just looked the same.

Maybe the fact that the sun shining is maybe a difference that we don't see so often.

But everything kind of looks the same.

You see the church, or maybe you see the hall.

Perhaps you didn't notice anything that was different.

But if you've been into the hall, well, then you'll see that things are different.

Because when you go into the hall, as soon as you open the door, things are very different.

You're entering into what looks like a jungle.

There's banners hanging, and there's things up on the wall.

It's very different to what it normally is.

There's all kinds of things that unless you go into the hall, you won't see them.

So today, I hope that many of you will come into the hall after the service, when there's tea and coffee served.

Go and see for yourselves how the hall has been transformed.

It's been transformed for the holiday club that's taking place this coming week.

So inside is very different to what it normally is.

But outside, it all looks the same.

But it reminded me of how that is the way we are as Christians too.

How can you look at someone today and say that they're a Christian?

If you look around the church, who is a Christian here?

Can you tell just by looking on the outside, a person's a Christian?

No.

Not really.

Sometimes you can think, well, they look very happy, but all kinds of different people can look happy.

Sometimes you think, well, they look very sad.

They can't be Christians, but sometimes Christians can be sad as well.

Maybe on the outside, nothing changes.

But inside, things change.

The Bible tells us again and again that the Lord doesn't look on the things on the outside,

but he looks on what's on the inside, in the heart, which is the very being of the person.

And that's what he changes.

Because inside, he changes us to know that whatever is going on outside of us,

things can look the same.

We go through times of joy and sadness.

But what we know is that he is with us and that we are trusting him.

We have faith in him.

He changes us inside to be maybe people who aren't trusting,

who are not looking to God,

instead to look to him and to trust in him.

People have worked very hard to change the inside of the hall.

And God has done so much to change us inside as well,

so that we can come and trust in him.

We look the same on the outside, but inside we are trusting him.

So if you can, all children and adults,

come through to the hall after the service and see the hall for yourselves.

We're going to say the Lord's Prayer together.

Let's say the Lord's Prayer.

Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

Well, we'll again sing to God's praise.

This time we're singing in Psalm 63 in the Sing Psalms.

It's on page 80 of the psalm books.

Psalm 63.

We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 8.

O God, you are my God alone.

I seek your face with eagerness.

My soul and body thirst for you in this dry weary wilderness.

We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 8 to God's praise.

O God, you are my God alone.

I seek your face with eagerness.

My soul and body thirst for you in this dry weary wilderness.

I've seen you in your holy place.

Your pardon and glory held my gaze.

For better is your love than life.

And so my lips will sing your praise.

I'll bless you, Lord, throughout my life.

And raise my hands to you in prayer.

My joyful lips will sing your praise.

My soul is fed with riches fair.

Upon my bed I lie awake.

And in my thoughts remember you.

I meditate throughout the night.

And keep your constant love in you.

Because you are my help alone.

In shadow of your wings I'll sing.

You hold me up with your right hand.

And to you, O God, my soul will cling.

Amen.

We turn to read in God's word together now in the Old Testament.

Reading in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

Reading in chapter 26.

Genesis chapter 26. We're going to read from the beginning of the chapter down to verse 25.

Genesis 26 · chapter mention

Here we see a little insight into the life of Isaac. So Genesis chapter 26 at verse 1.

Genesis 26 · chapter mention

Now there was a famine in the land besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham.

And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech, king of the Philistines.

And the Lord appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt. Dwell in the land which I shall tell you.

Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you.

For to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands.

And I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands.

And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

Because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge and commandments, my statutes and my laws.

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, She is my sister.

For he feared to say, My wife.

Thinking lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebecca, because she was attractive in appearance.

When he had been there a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebecca, his wife.

So Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, she is your wife.

How then could you say she is my sister?

Isaac said to him, Because I thought lest I die because of her.

Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us?

One of the people might easily have lain with your wife and you would have brought guilt upon us.

So Abimelech warned all the people saying, Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold.

The Lord blessed him.

And the man became rich and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.

He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants.

So the Philistines envied him.

Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abram, his father.

And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.

So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the valley of Gerah and settled there.

And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abram, his father,

which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abram.

And he gave them the names that his father had given them.

But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water,

the herdsmen of Gerah quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, The water is ours.

So he called the name of the well Essek because they contended with him.

Then they dug another well and they quarreled over that also.

So he called its name Sitna.

And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it.

So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, For now the Lord has made room for us,

and we shall be fruitful in the land.

From there he went up to Beersheba.

And the Lord appeared to him that same night and said, I am the God of Abraham your father.

Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham's sake.

So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there.

And there Isaac's servants dug a well.

And so on.

May God bless that reading from his word.

Let's again just unite our hearts in a word of prayer.

Let us pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

O Lord, our gracious God, we continue in worship of you, thankful for the privilege of prayer,

thankful for the privilege of hearing your word, thankful for the privilege of being able to sing praise to you.

For these are many things that we could so easily take for granted.

They are freedoms that we have enjoyed many, probably all the days of our lives.

But they are freedoms that in so many other parts of the world, that people, your people, they do not have.

And yet we thank you that throughout the world, that your people praise you.

For you are the God who has spoken down through all the generations.

You are the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, as your word tells us so often.

You are the God of promise, of covenant.

And you have promised to your people that you will be their God and they will be your people.

And so we thank you that you have your people here.

You have your people throughout our islands, throughout our nation, and throughout the world.

And that even when we feel few in number, your word reminds us, even as we have read with the promise to Abraham and to Isaac,

that your people will be a great multitude.

So many that, even like the stars, they cannot be numbered, or the grains of sand, they cannot be numbered by us.

But they are known unto you, each one.

And so we thank you that you are a God who knows his people, a God who cares for his people,

a God who sees us in all our different needs, that you saw Isaac in all his need,

and you met him in it, in every way you provided for him,

in every way you told him to not be afraid, but to trust in you.

And so we pray for ourselves as a people today,

that in all our fears, in all our anxieties, in all that goes on in our own personal lives,

in our family lives, in our community life, in our nation, in the world,

when there are so many things that cause us fear, that cause us worry and anxiety,

that we would hear your word to us, not to be afraid, but to trust in you.

Help us, Lord, if that is our situation today, when we have much to maybe tremble about,

that we'll be able to find you as the one who is near, the one who we can call upon,

the one who is there for us in all our different needs.

We do thank you, Lord, that you remember us in every way,

that you are the one who is able to do so much more than we ask or imagine.

And yet, so often we neglect you.

We feel that we can do things in our own strength and in our own ways.

But, Lord, you remind us, too, again, so often,

that we're apart from you, that we can do nothing.

And so, Lord, help us. Help us in our faith.

That we come today maybe with little faith.

We come maybe some with maybe no faith.

That we come maybe some who have had faith for a very long time,

but a faith that is now being tested.

And we thank you, Lord, that it is not about the size of our faith,

but the one in whom our faith is placed.

We put our faith in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

We thank you for all that you have done for us in and through him.

And so we pray in his name today that you will draw us close to yourself.

That you will draw us even under the shadow of your wings,

as the psalmist so often describes.

We pray that we will know your peace,

a peace that passes all understanding.

We pray that we will know your blessing on us,

so that in all that we do, it will give glory to your name.

And we think of all that goes on even this coming week.

And again, we think of the holiday club as it begins tomorrow.

And we do seek your blessing on it.

We thank you for all the work that has gone into preparing for it.

We thank you for all that has been done,

both in terms of practical ways,

but also in terms of preparing prayerfully

and according to your word,

as well as we seek to bring the message of the gospel,

the good news of Jesus to all who will come in through the doors.

We pray for your help and your blessing in that.

We pray for all the children who will come,

and parents and families associated with them.

We thank you for these opportunities to give the gospel to them,

to send it home with them,

to invite them along, not just to the holiday club,

but to the services of the church as well.

And we pray for your hand to be upon us for good in all of these things.

We pray to, Lord, your blessing on your people near and far.

We thank you for the means of communication that exists in our day.

Communication means that are so often abused in many ways,

but yet that allow us to keep in touch with your people near and far.

And we thank you for opportunities to meet with them.

And we pray for the Zoom meeting on Tuesday with Muriel.

We thank you again for her heart,

for serving you over these last many years.

And we pray that you will continue to bless her,

to watch over her,

to encourage her,

that our prayers for her will be heard by you.

And we thank you for many more, Lord,

who go out in that way as well,

throughout all ends of the earth,

that you send your people far and wide,

some into very difficult places,

some into places where their names cannot even be mentioned

for fear for their lives.

And so we thank you that your gospel is one that goes out with power.

Behind it is your spirit.

And we thank you for the power that is in that,

in your spirit,

in your word,

that your truth will reach out to all ends of the earth,

to change our world,

to transform us away from the paths that we are going,

paths that lead us away from you and your truth,

to once again turn us towards you,

to recognize,

oh Lord,

that you are not one to be,

not one to be put away,

not one to be mocked,

not one to be made into some kind of joke,

or fairy tale,

as so many people would call it,

but one who we are to fear in the right sense,

to know that we can bow before you as Lord and God,

to know forgiveness,

to know your blessing on us.

We pray that, Lord,

throughout the ends of the earth,

that you will shine your light upon us,

that you will turn us again towards you,

that you will make us to walk in your ways.

So Lord,

humble us before you even anew today,

in our prayers,

in our praise,

in all that we do,

may it be for your glory,

may we offer it all up,

as a sacrifice to you,

that we would pour ourselves out before you,

in body,

soul,

mind,

and heart.

Lord,

hear our prayers,

and continue with us throughout this day.

Bless your word to us as we turn to it.

Give us ears to hear what you are saying to us.

And all we ask,

we ask the forgiveness of all our sins,

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

We'll again sing to God's praise in Psalm 60,

in the Scottish Psalter.

Psalm 60,

page 292.

We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 5.

Psalm 60,

on page 292.

The psalmist speaks here about a people,

his people being,

God's people being rejected,

and scattered,

and scattered abroad,

because the Lord has been displeased with them.

But there is also the plea,

from the psalmist to God,

that God would return,

return to his people.

And in verse 4,

in the midst of all the difficulties

that have come upon the people of God,

there is these words,

And yet a banner thou hast given

to them who thee do fear,

that it by them,

because of truth displayed,

may appear,

that thy beloved people may,

delivered be from thrall,

save with the power of thy right hand,

and hear me when I call.

That we would know his banner over us,

as his people.

We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 5,

to God's praise.

Amen.

O Lord, thou hast rejected us,

and scattered us abroad,

thou justly hast displeased,

be returned to us, O God.

The earth to tremble,

thou hast made,

where in this preaches make,

do thou thereof the breaches heal,

because the land doth shake.

And to thy people

thou heartthinks hast showed,

and all them said,

and thou hast caused us to drink wine,

O astondish men.

and yet a banner thou hast given,

to them who thee do fear,

that it by them he calls,

for fruitless may he appear,

that thy beloved people may deliver me from thrall,

save with the power of thy fright,

and hear me when I call.

Amen.

Now we can turn back to our reading in the book of Genesis,

Genesis 26 · chapter mention

chapter 26.

I'm going to look at the beginning of this chapter,

from verse 1 down to verse 7 in particular.

But in this chapter we have much told to us of Isaac,

and the different things that he went through in life.

When you pick up your Bible to read it,

what do you think it is about?

I'm sure there's many things that maybe come to mind

as you lift your Bible and think,

well, what is this Bible all about?

It's about theology.

It's about God.

It's about worship.

It's about Jesus.

It's about salvation.

All of these things maybe come to mind

when we think,

what is the Bible all about?

These things are important things.

But there's one thing that we can often miss

when we pick up our Bibles to read them,

and it's something we mustn't forget

that the Bible is about too,

and that is that it is about people.

It is written to people,

and it's written for people.

And it's written not just to the people of that age

when it was written,

it's written to people and for people

down through every generation,

so that we learn all about theology,

we learn all about God,

we learn all about worship,

we learn all about Jesus,

we learn all about salvation,

but we learn it in a way that we recognize

it's not just something away or apart from us,

but it's something that is to us.

It's speaking to us as a people.

God has spoken to his people

down through every generation.

And so we thank God

that he has given his word to us in this way,

so that as a people,

we come to hear a message that is personal.

It's to all of us here today,

to all who hear God's word today,

it's a personal message to us as individuals.

And as you read through your Bible,

there is a phrase that we're seeing

or looking into today,

in part at least,

that appears in both the Old Testament

and the New Testament.

And it's a phrase that speaks of people,

three people in particular.

In the Bible, you read the phrase,

I am the God of Abraham,

of Isaac,

and of Jacob.

It's something that you hear very often

throughout both the Old and the New Testament.

It's got a common occurrence.

And at the heart of that phrase,

as God is saying it,

I am the God of Abraham,

I am the God of Isaac,

I am the God of Jacob.

At the heart of that is covenant,

God's promise to his people.

He made a covenant with Abraham,

he shared it with Isaac,

and he shared it with Jacob,

and it was a covenant,

a promise for all of God's people.

A God who will bless,

and a God who will provide.

So as we hear these three names,

Abraham,

Isaac,

Jacob,

we maybe often think of them on a pedestal.

They weren't ordinary people.

They were people who God blessed in a special way,

and yes,

God did.

But on the same way,

they were ordinary people

that God was speaking to

in an extraordinary way.

In the same way as we are ordinary people

who God is speaking to

in an extraordinary way

through his word,

the word of God

that speaks to us of salvation.

But when you look at these three,

Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob,

as you find them in God's word,

what you find is that Abraham,

we learn a lot about him.

A lot has gone into,

into the life of Abraham.

And maybe the same is true with Jacob.

Jacob is spoken about throughout Scripture.

We learn a lot about Jacob.

But what of Isaac?

What do you know of Isaac?

Well,

if you've heard of Isaac before,

I'm sure you've heard a little about his childhood,

perhaps in particular.

He was the son of Abraham.

And he was a child of promise.

Abraham and Sarah,

his wife,

were in old age,

and they felt that they couldn't bear a son.

But God blessed them with a son,

Isaac.

And then Isaac

was taken by Abraham

and was on the point of being sacrificed,

put to death

until the Lord stopped him.

So yes,

there is this

account of Isaac

in that way.

The focus is maybe more so

on Abraham there,

though.

But when you look at Isaac

into his adulthood,

there's not much said.

In fact,

pretty much

all that's said of Isaac

we have here

in chapter 26

of Genesis.

And yet he's used

in that phrase

the God of Abraham,

the God of Isaac,

the God of Jacob.

But I want us to look at

Isaac

in this chapter

and what we see

about him.

Commentators

have written about him

and too have described

Isaac

in this way.

Isaac

was an ordinary son

of a famous father

and an ordinary father

of a famous son.

Emphasizing

the

much being said

about Abraham

and Jacob

but little

about Isaac.

Another one said

Isaac was a man

who lived in the shadows.

He lived his life

first under the shadow

of his great father Abraham

and then he lived his life

in the shadow

of his great son Jacob.

But would that be fair

to say

well

in terms of content

and quantity

of content

maybe yes

but not maybe

in the life lived

because

Isaac

was a child

of promise

and he was

a man

who grew

to know

the promises

of God

in a special way.

But as we see

with all three

in their lives

they were ordinary men.

And like any

ordinary man

or woman

they had their failings.

They had their weaknesses.

They had things

in their lives

that maybe

if we keep them

on a pedestal

you wouldn't expect

these things

to happen to them

but they did.

God allowed

things in their life

that were difficult.

And so much

of what we learn

in their lives

is about that.

Just the ordinary

things

in their lives

too

but the extraordinary

power

of God.

So we're going

to look at

Isaac just now

and we're going

to think about him

in this way

an ordinary man

but an ordinary man

who was used

by God.

And that's what we see

here for ourselves.

We too

are ordinary men

and women

ordinary boys

and girls

but ones

who God

can use

as we put

our trust

in him.

The first thing

we see about

Isaac

as an ordinary man

is that he had

his trials.

Isaac had trials

like ordinary

people do.

Abraham,

Isaac

and Jacob.

The God of Abraham

and Isaac

and Jacob.

we hear that

we hear that

phrase

but it doesn't

mean that

they never went

through trials

themselves.

And the very

outset of this

chapter we are

told of one

of the first

trials that

Isaac has

here.

It says

now there was a

famine

in the land.

Isaac

was living

in this place

in this land

of promise

the place

where God

had placed

him

and yet

in the midst

of this

the land

that he was in

a famine

came in the land.

Which land

was it?

Well it was the

land of promise.

The place that God

had promised to

Abraham

to his descendants

a place later on

described as a

place flowing

with milk

and honey.

And yet at this

time

there is famine

in this land

and you notice

too that it's

something that

Abraham experienced

himself as well.

Besides the

former famine

it says

that was in the

days of Abraham.

Abraham had

suffered this

too.

Ordinary people

go through

trials

as well.

God could

easily have

supplied

the needs

of Isaac

here.

He could have

protected him

in the midst

of the famine

and given

to him

the needs

that he

needed for

getting through

this famine

and yet

he didn't.

God's

chosen man

he had to

suffer alongside

the others

in this land

as well.

Many others

in this land

were pagans

who had

turned against

God

but Isaac

was trusting

God along

with others

of God's

people and yet

they suffered

in this famine.

Trials

are the

ordinary

lot of

God's

people.

They

always have

been

and they

always will

be

until the

Lord

returns.

We are

reminded of

that so

often

throughout the

scriptures.

God's

people

going

through

difficult

times.

And yet

here was

Isaac.

He was

in the

place that

God wanted

him to be

and yet

there was

trouble.

That's a

reminder to

ourselves.

We seek

God's

will.

We do

things

prayerfully.

We can

pray for

God to

guide us

into the

place that

we should

work.

We can

pray for

God to

guide us

into the

place that

we should

live.

We can

pray for

God to

lead us

to the

place that

we should

worship.

all of

these

things we

can pray

about and

God can

show us

the way and

open all

the doors

for us

and yet

there can

still be

troubles.

There can

still be

problems.

And

sometimes it

can even

feel like

it's just

one problem

after another.

Because

somehow we've

picked up

this notion,

this idea

that because

God has

called us to

a particular

place or

to a

particular

work or

to a

particular

ministry,

that everything

is going to

go smoothly,

that everything

is going to

go right for

us, that we

won't encounter

any problems

at all, that

everything is

going to be

just milk and

honey all

the time.

So when the

way gets hard

we think,

well maybe I'm

not in God's

will, maybe

I'm not where

God wants me

to be.

And we can

be serving

God in a

position that

we felt led

by him

to.

It could be

a minister,

an elder or

a deacon,

it could be

a missionary,

it could be

serving in

the Sunday

school, as

a teacher,

it can be

serving God

in any

end of

means, in

our community,

in our

workplace, in

all of these

things.

And we think,

yes, this is

where God

wants me to

be to serve

him, and

yet it's

still just one

problem after

another.

And the

danger there

is that we

start to

think, I'll

just take

things into

my own

hands.

Isaac, like

every ordinary

person, he

had ordinary

trials.

Here was a

famine.

Abraham had

suffered famine,

and you see it

throughout the

scriptures, again

and again, God's

people going

through trials,

but it's not

the time to

take things

into our

own hands.

Isaac wanted

to do

that.

He went

to Abimelech,

and he was

going to go

down to

Egypt, we

are told,

here, and

yet God

stopped him.

If you are

in a

trial, if

you feel

that you

are in the

place that

God wants

you to be,

and yet

you're still

feeling that

it's just

one problem

after another,

maybe God

is saying,

stay.

Stay.

I have a

purpose.

I have a

plan.

You have

to trust

me in

this.

You need

faith.

We are

not immune

to trials.

Isaac,

this one

who was

so close

to God,

the God

of Isaac,

yet he

was someone

who knew

his trials,

and so

will we.

The second

thing here

is that

Isaac had

fears,

like every

ordinary

person has

fears.

What do

ordinary people

do when

trials hit?

very often

we panic.

We go

into a

fear mode,

and that's

exactly what

Isaac did

as well when

this famine

hit.

There was a

famine in the

land,

and you would

love to read

here,

there was a

famine in the

land,

and Isaac

sought the

Lord.

But it's not

what we read.

There was a

famine in the

land, it says

in verse 1,

and Isaac

went to

Gerar, to

Abimelech,

king of the

Philistines.

He went to

completely the

wrong place.

He wasn't

planning to

stop there

either,

because the

plan was that

he would go

all the way

down to

Egypt, as

verse 2

makes clear

for us.

He was

heading towards

Egypt until

the Lord

intervened.

The Lord

stopped him.

Isaac was

afraid.

It's a

natural reaction

in this

situation.

A famine

has come.

He's afraid.

And you

see it again

in verse

6 and 7

as well,

where there's

a fear

about his

wife,

Rebekah.

He says

she is my

sister.

In verse

6,

for he

feared to

say my

wife,

thinking lest

the men of

the place

should kill

me because

of Rebekah.

He was

afraid.

And that's

our own

natural reaction

too in so

many situations

we find

ourselves.

This reaction

of fear,

there are so

many things

that make

us afraid.

But what

does the

Lord

do here

in the

midst

of Isaac's

fear?

He

intervenes.

It says

there that

the Lord

appeared to

him in

verse 2

and said,

do not

go down

to Egypt.

Dwell

in the

land

for which

I will

tell you.

God

intervenes.

God

speaks.

God

says,

do not

fear

unless a

person is

afraid.

And yet

when you go

through the

scriptures,

you see him

saying it to

so many

people,

to Joshua,

to David.

You can

carry on and

go through the

scriptures and

find so many

people who

are afraid,

and yet the

Lord says,

do not be

afraid,

afraid.

Because he

knows the

fear that his

people have.

And so we

too, we

will have

fears.

And how do

we react

in fear?

We take

things into

our own

hands,

just like

Isaac.

We seek

to do

things our

own way.

We sometimes

maybe even

tell lies,

like Isaac

did about

his wife

Rebecca.

We react

in all

these different

kinds of

ways in

the midst

of our

fear,

instead of

turning to

God.

We ought

to take

our fears

to the

Lord,

take it

to him

in prayer.

Isaac

didn't do

it because

he was an

ordinary

person like

you and

I.

He reacted

in the

same way

we do

so often.

Instead of

turning to

God,

we'll sort

it out

ourselves.

But he

says,

do not

be afraid.

We looked

at the

passage

John 14

a few

weeks ago.

A passage

that speaks

to Jesus

speaking to

his disciples

about their

fears.

He's saying,

let not

your hearts

be troubled.

He tells

them,

do not

be afraid

because

they are.

They're afraid

of what the

future holds.

They're afraid

of everything

that's happening

in their lives

at that point.

But Jesus

says,

do not

be afraid.

We have

to turn

to God

and his

promises.

So often

he says,

do not

be afraid

for I

am with

you.

The

comforter

comes

alongside.

We have

our fears

but how

do we

respond

in them?

Take

them

to God.

That is

what we're

learning here

from Isaac.

Our first

port of call,

even before

God has

to stop

us in

our tracks

should be

to take

everything

to the

Lord

in prayer.

Third thing

we see here

about Isaac

is,

Isaac had

sinned

like ordinary

people.

When you

hear the

phrase

of God

of Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob,

you almost

think,

well they

must have

been a

class above

everybody

else.

They

must have

been without

sin.

But no

one is

without sin.

They are

sinners like

you and

I.

We are

all

sinners

before

God.

And you

see the

sin of

Isaac here,

the sin

of disobedience,

the sin

of doing

things in

his own

way,

the sin

of telling

lies to

those around

him.

You see

it here

again and

again.

And

sometimes

the enemy

gets us

thinking that

God cannot

use us

if this

is the

way we

are.

My

life just

seems to

be full

of sin.

Just one

sin after

another.

And yet

here and

so often

through

scripture you

see God

using people,

ordinary

people,

whose lives

have so many

sins and

yet God

can use

them.

One minute

you can be

sitting in

church,

you're

listening to

God's

word and

you're

singing

God's

praise.

And the

next minute

some kind

of horrible

thought comes

into your

mind.

And you're

thinking to

yourself,

I can't

be holy.

There's just

so much

sin in my

life,

in my

heart.

God

can't use

me to

do anything

for him.

I have

to purify

myself,

I have to

be perfect

before God

before I

can possibly

be used

by him.

Perfect

just like

Abraham,

Isaac and

Jacob were.

But they

weren't.

And neither

will you

or I

be perfect,

but it

doesn't mean

God can't

use us.

It doesn't

mean God

can't bless

us.

Isaac

was an

ordinary man

who had

sin in

his life.

You and

I are

ordinary

people who

have sin

in our

lives too.

God

is

perfect.

And you

look through

Scripture and

that's what

you see

again and

again.

Remember the

Bible is

about people.

It's showing

us people

in all the

realities of

life,

in all the

different

experiences of

life.

There is no

one perfect

because

Christ alone

is perfect.

perfect.

And we

all need

Christ for

our sin.

And that's

what we

are learning.

Isaac had

to depend

on God.

In the

midst of his

disobedience,

in the

midst of his

sin, he

is called

back to

God.

The Lord

appeared to

him and

says in

verse 2,

Do not

go down

to Egypt.

Dwell in

the land

which I

shall tell

you.

Listen to

the Lord,

he is

saying.

And that's

what God

says to

us as

well.

Let us

listen to

what God

is saying.

Let us

stop what

we are

doing and

trying to

do things

ourselves to

sort our

own sin

out because

we cannot.

Instead,

we have to

listen to

God.

we all

have sin

in our

lives.

That leads

us to the

fourth thing

and the

final thing

here.

Everyone

can have

hope.

Isaac

had hope

like ordinary

people too.

And that's

the wonder

of God's

word.

It reminds

us of

the fact

that we're

sinners,

the fact

that we

will have

trials,

the fact

that we

are

disobedient.

It reminds

us of

all of

these

things.

But it

speaks to

us as

an ordinary

people who

need an

extraordinary

God.

We need

him in

our lives.

Claire Booth,

an author

in America,

she once

said,

there are

no hopeless

situations.

There are

only people

who have

grown hopeless

about

them.

But we

can say

to ourselves,

but how

can anybody

say that

there is

no hopeless

situation?

Because so

many of our

situations in

life,

they seem

hopeless.

They seem

like nothing

is going to

change our

situation.

but no

situation is

hopeless

with God.

Because as

we look to

God's word,

to the

gospel,

it gives

us hope.

And it's

not just a

hope for

now.

Because we

need a

greater

perspective

of who

God is

and what

the plans

are for

his people.

We need

to look

at things

in an

eternal

perspective.

that all

of God's

people have

hope.

Our

situation

today may

not change.

It may

not go

the way

that we

want it

to go.

And the

greatest

fear we

have in

life,

the greatest

pain that

we have

in life,

is a fear

and the

pain of

death.

But God's

people have

hope in

that.

And that

is what we

have to

look to.

hope in

God.

We have

ordinary

fears in

life.

We have

ordinary

sins in

our life.

All ordinary

people have

all of

these things.

But as we

look to

God's

word, we

have hope.

And that

is what

God offered

to Isaac.

And it's

what God

offers to

all of

his people.

hope.

Because he

says that

he will

give him

a land

to dwell

in.

He says

he will

give him

a place

of promise.

He will

promise him

that he

will be

with him

in all

of these

things.

But above

all, he

promises him

this,

life

eternal.

will

be

a

gospel.

It's

a word

of hope.

A word

that we

find so

often

throughout

the

scriptures.

Psalm

Psalms 130:5

130

verse 5

says,

I wait

for the

Lord,

my soul

waits,

and in

his

word,

I

hope

that

all

his

word

will

be

fulfilled.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 29:11

29

verse 11,

I know

the plans

I have

for you,

declares

the Lord.

Plans

for welfare

and not

for evil,

to give

you a

future

and a

hope.

Paul,

in 1

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

Corinthians

chapter 2,

speaks about

the hope

that we

look to.

He says,

but as it

is written,

what no eye

has seen,

nor ear

heard,

nor the

heart of

man

imagined,

what God

has prepared

for those

who love

him.

What we

have to

hope for

in

eternity.

Titus

Titus 1:2

1

verse 2,

in hope

of eternal

life,

which God

who never

lies,

promised

before

the

ages

began.

There

is hope

found

in the

gospel.

Hope

not just

for today,

but for

all

eternity.

Isaac

was stopped

by God.

He remained

in Gerard.

He was

faithful to

God,

even in

his ongoing

faults.

But this

ordinary man

knew the

blessings of

an

extraordinary

God.

And when

you read

of him

in the

New

Testament,

when you

read that

phrase in

the New

Testament,

the Lord,

the God

of Abraham,

the God

of Isaac,

and the

God of

Jacob,

listen to

this as

it says

in Luke

Luke 20:37

20 verse

37,

where it

is speaking

about the

resurrection.

but that

the dead

are raised,

even Moses

showed in

the passage

about the

bush,

where he

calls the

Lord,

the God

of Abraham,

the God

of Isaac,