Ishmael vs. Isaac, Part 2

Situation worse before he comes because we want you to be absolutely upset when he comes through. It had to be God. Have you ever wondered why God sometimes put you in an impossible situation. Part of the answer comes your way. Next on today's destined for victory hello and thanks for stopping by for today's message with pastor Paul Shepherd, Senior Pastor destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, California. You know God could have made it easy for Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Instead you brought them face-to-face with the impossible.

In doing so, the point of the Israelites directly to himself to his power to his glory. Today Pastor Paul reminds us that God will sometimes lead us to our own Red Sea work victory brings with it an opportunity give God all the glory.

Stay right here or visit Pastor Paul.net to hear any recent destined for victory message on demand. That's Pastor Paul.net you can also listen or download the podcast at stitcher or wherever you get your programs now is Pastor Paul. Today's destined for victory message Ishmael versus Isaac we continue our series looking at key passages in Paul's letter to the churches in Galatia and we come now to this latter portion of chapter 4. Now in the previous message. We looked at the center part of chapter 4 where Paul makes some personal comments about his relationship with the Galatians and he talks about the fact that he had throughout his time with them such a rich and loving, intimate relationship with this church. He was their spiritual father. It was Paul and his companions who went through that region of Galatia and preach the gospel and one close the cries and established churches there and he made the point that our relationship is changed because you all have allowed yourself to be influenced by the Judaizers, who have a personal ungodly agenda that takes you from freedom back into spiritual bondage, and I made the point in the last message that we have to be careful who we allow to speak into our lives. If you let the wrongful speak into your life, you will get the wrong results and headed in the wrong direction. Every time we have to be careful about who we allow to weigh in on important matters in our lives. Be careful who speaks in your life about spiritual things. Be careful about people who would divide you or alienate you from being part of a healthy church where you are growing and being strengthened in your faith. I talked about the importance of the role that God has pastors and teachers, and spiritual mentors and brothers and sisters. The play in our lives.

God has you set up with the right people in your life so they can help you get from heaven, and if you allow the wrong people to speak in your life.

They'll alienate you from those folk that God has ordained and then they insert their own will and their own agenda into your life. So we talked about the importance of being careful. We talked about the fact that we are sheep and sheep are at their best when they're following the shepherd, not when they are going astray or being tainted with the wrong influences because I mentioned in the previous message God called RC for very specific reason.

Sheep are not particularly smart. I know that hurts our feelings but let's let it hurt what God is saying is I have you set up and I need you to follow my plan.

I put you in healthy churches so you can grow.

I give you strong pastors and leaders that help you grow. I surround you and brothers and sister to love you and have your best interest at heart so that you can grow. Don't allow worldly people or single spiritual people with a false agenda to speak into your life.

I talked about it on a practical level, not to allow somebody to not know what it is to live in victory in your marriage relationship. Don't let the problems begin to your marriage sometimes imagine doing pretty good little issues like every marriage. But when something which you your marriage is to have a little issues to going to the critical list because if you let people speak in your life. Get the wrong results and so we talked about the importance of terrain.

The influences in your life would begin to look at the first section of this latter portion of Galatians 4, where Paul uses the analogy of Hagar and Sarah and the analogy of Isaac and Ishmael to make the point about how we are to walk with the Lord in the new covenant and not allow ourselves to be dragged back into bondage. The point Paul made was that Christ has set us free.

Christ came to give us freedom instead of slavery and he uses it by looking at Ishmael versus Isaac, Ishmael was born the son of Thomas P was born because Sarah was not convinced that she could have a child in her old age. She was in her 70s when the Lord said to her husband Abram going to bless you through your seed all the nations be blessed and Sarah figured well he must not be talking about me and my second child. By now, but we got to know that God's ways are not our ways. God sets you up to in a place where it is going to happen. It has to be him not like to do that in our lives. If you haven't noticed it. Just check it out. Sometimes Gotto let your situation go from bad to worse before he comes there because he wants you to be absolutely sad when he comes through. It had to be God. That's what he did back in John chapter 11, when God said when Jesus seemed to his bedside.

He stayed where he was because the purpose of God was to let him get sick and not die. God said they know me as a healer. They see me so I'm not going heal Lazarus. I want to see a new dimension of who I am. But in order for you to see new dimension. God is sometimes the you like to go places. It's never gone before, and he let go from sick so that when he came through.

Everybody would know now that had to be God and the same thing happen way back in the old covenant. Sarah thought it was gonna be something to believe God for child in her mid-70s because they will instead she gave another woman to her husband, a slave of hers. She said I'll let you become husband's wife just for procreation purposes and that way I will build family through my slave. And the point Paul was making is although they came up with a child. That child was not the promised child and therefore he was born of a slave and Paul's point is whatever God is doing in our lives. It is not to produce slavery to sin, to produce the freedom to live righteously before God. I want to pick it up where I left off their and we were looking at Romans chapter 7, so I want to go there with me again as I continue to make sure we understand that Christ offers us freedom instead of slavery. Ishmael represented slavery. Isaac was born later about three woman because God wanted us to know that his client is to set you free.

If you don't enjoy the freedom of God, you'll be asleep. All thoughts about our slavery to sin here in Romans chapter 7 he says beginning in verse 14.

The law was spiritual, but I am unspiritual because I'm a slave to sin and then he talks about what it's like to live your life without God giving you the power about what it's like to try to be holy to try to be righteous without God's power and look at how he describes it, he said, I do not understand what I do what I want to do. I do not do, but what I hate I do read on.

He said, and I do what I do not want to do.

I agree that the law was good as it is, it is no longer I myself do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me. That is, in my sinful nature I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out for what I do is not good. I want to do know the evil I do not want to do.

That's what I keep on doing so, you see describing what it's like to try to live up to God's holy standard, but you have no power. Same slavery is when you're trying to observe the law but all it is is your power, your personal ability which comes to nothing. Paul said about Peter as an example that we all know that Peter was a man in the big room, but when he got out on the field of trial he fell flat on his face. Jesus was betrayed, Peter was trying to convince Jesus all that you think they're going to forsake you. But the one thing you did right Lord is you picked me because I got your back and what happened when they betrayed Jesus and the other scattered Peter to stand up for the Lord. But that night when they started looking around for other followers of Jesus we will get them to somebody even knowing Jesus was a go to Jesus that I got your back is called a power failure power failure in your life. Have you ever said God, I'm really going to get myself together.

I'm tired of living like this. I'm tired of my sin on my struggle a lot going to do this time.

Give me another chance.

I got give you another chance and what you do go right back in to the same thing you escalated. Why because we don't have the power within ourselves to live the way God wants us to live our ability in the house to do God's will. Jesus would never had to come from heaven to earth name means we needed a bailout for 11 days. Want to talk about bailouts, government bailing out companies and bailing out mad, bad, and I didn't bail me out and all that people who pay their mortgages see another little bail out some see in the bailouts are very specific and very targeted when it came to you all you will need me, and you stay with us the second half of Pastor Paul Shepard's message is coming right up. We want to thank all of you who support Dustin for victory with your prayers and financial support, gifts that help Pastor Paul share the good news of salvation in Christ with a growing audience destined for victory is a listener supported ministry, as we find ourselves to walking through a season of uncertainty.

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No matter how long you been a believer in Christ, about how spiritually mature he may have helped you become never outlive your need for the power of God in your life. This Pastor Paul with the rest of today's message Ishmael versus Isaac we all need the Lord because we are all leaves to sin and just because you been in charge alone time.

That means you only the Lord just because your Bible and read it so long and is nice and raggedy looking at stuff that make you look holy when you have a raggedy Bible you know I love the lassie folk with them right about that mean admin trials and tribulations with some time you open my Bible and the pages you know our little crispy had been crying and tears been dropping on an auto raggedy Bible tear stained Bible that we see them I would nice Chris Bobby so got promoted at the Pomona long you been in charge miserably and you could know when you first got say all in the freedom that Christ has given you because this is not about us is about his power, and the Lord had predicted that in Peter's life. He said Peter Satan himself petitioned to have been shake you now Satan wanted to shake you up to destroy your faith, but the Lord said to Peter, but pray for you that the father wouldn't allow you to be shaken because the shakeup will help you. Some of us don't begin to put our trust in God every day.

Trust in God to begin to live with a dependence on the power of God.

Don't do that until we fail miserably have the best interest in letting you fail because he needs you to see without him. You can do nothing. And so Peter failed and Jesus said I know was going to happen, but I prayed that when you have your Paul, your dozen fail and he says later on when you're converted. When you finally get it Peter that it's not about your power.

It's about you trusting Christ that I want you to strengthen your brothers. That's where all of us are having to learn that God's plan of redemption in our lives is one designed to take us into freedom rather than slavery, but the only way you experience the freedom to live the way God want to live. You must understand it is Christ in you get saved you gotta let Christ into your life so that you don't walk according to the flesh you walk by the Spirit, and that is what produces the freedom that Christ has promised us now. I want to move on and look at the second lesson we can learn from this. Ishmael and Isaac analogy that we find in Galatians chapter 4. Not only does Christ offer freedom instead of slavery but number two Christ offers purpose instead of insignificance.

Christ offers purpose instead of in significant and what is said here in Galatians chapter 4 it said that Abraham had two sons, verse 22 one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman is signed by the slave woman. Once this was born in the ordinary way, but his son by the free woman was born as a result of a promise.

One was born it was not God's purpose in one of them connected to God's promise was born out of every circumstances because of faith and he said, but the other son was the result of a promise if you know the story back in Genesis when Abraham and Sarah missed the first test and Sarah said no one will give you Hagar not to build a family through her. Sarah was 70 in her 70s when they made this decision and what God do. He waited 13 years and when Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 89. God said all right if you already now to take a makeup exam.

Since you failed the first one to bring my promise to pass that when you read in Genesis chapter 17 portion and there. In fact, let me read it with you. Genesis chapter 17 and you're going to see that Pam tries to sell God on switch in his plan to sell God on Ishmael here already Lord to do some with him your bottomless funnyman you got to get into the Bible, Genesis chapter 17. Let's begin our reading at verse 15 God said to Abraham sell your wife you're no longer the conference arrived, but her name will be Sarah.

I will bless her I will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations, kings of people will come from her look at Abraham, he fell face down. He laughed and said to himself son be born to a man 100 years old. Will Sarah bear a child at the age of 90.

What he says in verse 18.

He said only Ishmael might live under your blessing when you say okay we messed up we should Ishmael I'm sorry to hear what you plan to promise me what you got understand is… Operate like that God is a God of purpose. He knows what he wants out of life and he cannot transfer somebody else's blessings into your normally transfer yours in somebody else's God is a God of purpose and Paul is teaching us here in Galatians that Christ offers purpose instead of insignificance. We must learn is that God knows why he saved you he knows where he's taking you destination destiny for each of our lives and we must learn to follow God's purpose for years I talked about principles of purpose that I learned a couple of decades ago that have blessed me richly over time.

There are not original with me, but they have blessed me over the years.

Let me share five of the principles of purpose with you. Number one. Everything God creates has a purpose.

Note that everything God creates has a purpose. Ecclesiastes chapter 3 will tell you that God is a God of purpose.

It tells you that everything there is a season and a purpose for every activity under heaven. When God creates something or someone. There is purpose attached to his creation.

Everything God praise. The purpose number two where purpose is unknown or rejected abuse is inevitable where purpose is unknown if you don't know God purpose you or purpose something in your life. All you can do is abuse. It is a profound truth that if you don't understand God's purposes you'll abuse the resources it gives you when God gives you money if you don't know why he gave you money, you will abuse it for your own purposes rather than God's purposes, God brings you into a meaningful relationship if you will discover from the pages of Scripture.

Why God brought those people in your life you will only abuse them. What is abuse.

Abuse is abnormal use. It's a combination of two words abnormal use. If you purpose of a thing you can't use it normally you will use it abnormally. So for us to settle into roles in the winter resources we must look through God, which is the owner's manual for living to discover more what is your purpose in bringing this into my life get better when we were God is a God of purpose and that includes marriage. God graded marriage. He knows why he gave you a wise man. God knows why you get your wife is right in the pages of Scripture.

The Bible says that the Lord said, and he said will create a help bowl for him why God gave you a life because you need. Thanks so much for joining us for today's destined for victory message by Pastor Paul Sheppard know God has a unique purpose for all who put their faith in Christ. But he also has a plan for those who haven't consider second Peter three verse nine God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. This is our primary calling as Christians to go out into the world and share our faith with others, and there's no better time than now to help Pastor Paul do just that. People are often more willing to accept the cross in times of crisis as we continue to walk together through a challenging and chaotic season in our history.

Now is a great time to offer destined for victory. Your prayers and financial support. When you give were always glad to share gift of our own in this month. That gift is a booklet from Pastor Paul called little is much when God is in it. Have you ever felt like what you have with your money or talent is too insufficient to be of any real use. If so, Pastor Paul wrote this booklet with you in mind as you follow along.

To be reminded that God can take the limited and do the legendary that's little is much when God is our gift to you by request for your generous donation to destined for victory. Call 855-339-5500 to give that gift over the phone or visit Pastor Paul.net to make a safe and secure donation online and you can also mail your gift to destined for victory PO Box 1767, Fremont, CA 94538. God wants to do some things show in your life. That's why some of the things you go through because he wants to doubt his own purpose and you God says that's because I want you to trust me and follow my purpose in your life that's tomorrow. Would Pastor Paul shares his message Ishmael versus Isaac. Until then, remember he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in Christ, you are destined for victory