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Turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 12. I'm going to read a few verses from Genesis 12 just to read the opening story of Abraham as God calls him. And then we're going to look at Genesis chapter 17, sorry, Genesis 21. verses 1-7. But first we'll read from Genesis 12. And we'll read verses 1-5. Now the Lord had said to Abram, get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you. and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abraham departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. Abraham was 75 years old when he departed from Haran. Then Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. Let's go turn over to Genesis chapter 21. In Genesis 21, we begin reading at verse 1, And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said. And the Lord did for Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, God has made me laugh and all who hear will laugh with me. She also said, who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age." Genesis 21 Once again, I'd like to thank you for your kindness in having our family with you today. I'd also like to thank Jonathan and Heidi and their family for their kind hospitality that we received this afternoon. As I stand up here, I am just astounded at God's goodness I grew up in London, and we would come down at times, especially on Good Friday, and we would meet in the old part of Trinity. I don't know what you call it. And as I drive down, and I think back, this is a church that I would visit often, the Lord has granted you new facilities. The Lord has been with you. over many years of faithful Christian Kingdom service. Our God, He is a good God. He's just good. And I am thankful for Trinity. And I'm thankful for what He continues to do. And I'm thankful for what God has done through Trinity in my life and the Sovereign Grace Fellowship. So, these times of reflection, they ought to bring that joy to our hearts. And that's what I want to talk about this evening. I just want to talk about joy from the life of Abraham and Sarah. We're allowed in a very personal moment in their life, really, the birth of their child. But it was a special birth. And we cannot walk away from this passage without just understanding that this is an extremely joyful time in their lives. Boys and girls, Christmas has just passed. So I have a little quiz for you because I know for those of you who are old enough, you're probably missing school. So I'm going to give you a pop quiz. As you opened up your gifts this past Christmas or whenever you do it with your family, who is more joyful? the one who opens their gifts and can't believe what's inside the box and starts jumping up and down and all around and doing somersaults and cartwheels and yelling and screaming, or the one who maybe doesn't yell and scream and do cartwheels, but they quietly sit back and reflect and they just give you that little half smile. Who do you think, you don't have to answer out loud, but who do you think is more joyful? Well, the one who would be doing the cartwheels would appear to be a little more joyful, but it's not necessarily so. There are different ways that we can express joy. Someone who may sit back A half smile on their face can be just as joyful as someone who does cartwheels. However, it is good to learn, I think, expressions of joy. Because that's in part what we read in the life of Abraham and Sarah tonight. They expressed their joy in very public ways. I'm going to give you a little personal example. And this is really kind of silly. But I'm going to share it anyway. Sometimes when, and I'm not a good singer, so I don't go on a, I mean, I sing with a crowd and I can latch on to voices and kind of carry a tune, but sometimes I notice when I'm singing, I get very serious. Even in the joyful songs. You know, you have to be contemplative and all of these things. So, as I have considered joy and rejoicing. And that God really does command us to be joyful people. There's times when I think, you know, when I sing, I'm going to smile. That's kind of silly, isn't it? The most I can eek out of my life is a smile. Now, I'm not talking cartwheels here. I'm just talking a smile. Now, that might seem rather silly, but I think there's a lesson in it to say that we believe in joy. I think of all the people who live on this life, the most joyful ought to be believers because we have the joy of the Lord in us. How do we express the joy of the Lord? Do your children know that you are happy in the Lord? We used to do this with our children. And I'm not going to sing it to you. And I hope I can remember the song. We used to wake our children up singing this song that talks about the joy of the Lord and the glory of God. What is the song? I forget it. It's not This is the Day. But it was a joyful song. Whatever it was. And we would sing it. And it would be an expression of This is what God has given us. Let's rejoice in the day so that our children would know that God is our God and He has given us many things to be thankful for. Tonight, as we look at laughter in the house, you might say, well, I'm a long way from joy tonight. I don't even think I could crack a smile. what God is sending me through. That's where I think there are times when you just quietly reflect and even in those dark moments, you can still have the joy of the Lord. But then learn how to develop in 2008, in our hearts, an expressive joy so that we can share with others that joy that we have in the Lord. I think the amazing thing about Christian joy is it's true joy. It's joy that reaches a depth that the world cannot know. It's not a passing or fleeting joy. It's not a circumstantial joy. It doesn't depend upon our circumstances. We could read in Philippians 4 that you are to rejoice. In fact, you are to rejoice always. So how do we rejoice? what we're going to look at this evening. In fact, most of what we're going to look at this evening is Sarah and Abraham's joy and how they express their joy. So this evening, we want to look at how God brings joy and how we may receive the joy of the Lord and how we may express the joy of the Lord. So we're going to take a look at five areas in which Abraham and Sarah were able to rejoice in the Lord and seek to apply those to our lives. I think one of the things that we need to understand is the context. In Genesis 12, Abraham was 75 years old. Part of what God did when He commanded Abraham to go to another land, He commanded Abraham to leave, but He didn't just say, leave and I hope it goes well with you. He gave Abraham promises. So if you turn back to Genesis 12, we read some of these promises in Genesis 12 after He asked Abraham to leave. He says, get out of your country. In verse 2, I will make you a great nation. If Abraham is going to be a great nation, then he is going to need a seed. And we see the promise of a seed being very important in the life of Abraham. So in verse 2, I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great and you will be a blessing. In verse 3, he promises Abraham protection. a very great promise for Abraham because he's going into enemy territory. So he says, leave your father's house. I will make you a great nation. And as you're a pilgrim in this life, those who bless you, I will bless. Those who curse you, I will protect you from them and they will be cursed. And in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed. If you know certain things about the life of Abraham, you will know that he had to go into Egypt. Pharaoh, he almost died. The Lord protected his life. We read about another promise given to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15, a covenant that he made with Abraham. That Abraham would be, again, a great nation would come from Abraham and they would be God's people. We read that there was a time when Abraham and Sarah were questioning the coming seed. So, Sarah gives Abraham Hagar. They have Ishmael as a son. And then you read later on that Ishmael was not the promised seed. That there was still a seed to come from whom this great nation would arise. Twenty-five years later, Twenty-five years later, Abraham and Sarah have a son. They were wandering pilgrims. Twenty-five years they waited for the promise of a seed. Twenty-five years of waiting and simply having nothing other than God's Word to trust. that this promise would come true. With each passing year, humanly speaking, becoming more impossible. They had walked through the valley. They had walked through the darkness. They had had their faith tested. They did not understand the ways of God all the time. They only had God's Word. They were not always faithful as they distrusted some of God's promise. And they tried His faithfulness. But at the end of all of this, there is this incredible story of joy. See, before we turn to Genesis 21, we have to understand that Abraham and Sarah had been waiting 25 years. And then in Genesis 21, you read, "...and the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham, a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him." And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Laughter! How do you enter into the emotion of this passage? Imagine the joy of Abraham and Sarah. How do you develop joy in your heart? Is it possible? How do you cultivate joy? Expressive joy. Not hidden joy. Expressive joy. Genesis 21, the first thing that we read is if you're to develop, cultivate expressive joy in your heart, Remember that God watches over His people. Remember that God watches over His people. If you have the New International Version, it would read something like, He was gracious to Sarah. The New King James Version says, The Lord visited Sarah as He had said. The meaning of the passage is that God noticed Sarah and visited her with undeserved blessing." Here is the amazing truth about God that gives us that expressive joy in our hearts. That God noticed Sarah all the time. Even though there was really 25 years of only promises, but never seeing the fruition of those promises, even though after each passing year, it became more and more impossible for Abraham and Sarah to have children, there was not one point where God neglected to watch over Sarah. Turn with me for a moment just to a few passages. Psalm 46. Psalm 46, this is a well-known psalm, probably a psalm that is turned to often. See, as you go through those long moments in your life of God's silence and you say, you know, if you understood my life tonight, you would not be preaching this sermon to me because there is very little room for joy in my heart. But one of the things that we know from God's Word is that the Lord visits Sarah, and the Lord is always present with His people, even though all He has given them is His Word and His promise. Notice in Psalm 46, verse 1. In verses 1-3, the psalmist is going to describe his life. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling." As you know, Psalms is poetry, so it's not going to come out and tell you the specific issues in their life. But through poetry, he's going to say, my world is falling apart. Mountains are carried into the sea. Those firm things in my life, all of a sudden, they're taken away. Waters roar in my life. My life is filled with trouble. The mountains of my life, those sure things, they're now shaken with the waters that are roaring over them. So where is God? Verses 4-6. There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God. The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. Notice the contrast. The psalmist's life moved. The psalmist's life, all this uncertainty. But in the presence of God, God is not moved. God shall help her just at the break of dawn. The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. He uttered His voice. The earth melted. Where is God? In the midst of her. Verse 8, Come and behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear in two. He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts, He is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. The Lord is with you and you can run to the Lord as your refuge. Where is God when your world is falling apart? He visits you every day. There wasn't a time in 2007, there wasn't a time in your 35 years of existence, your 70 years, where God has not been present. It is amazing to think that God is just as much God, and He's just as much in control, when all you have are His promises and His Word, but you have not yet seen the fulfillment of those promises. It's not like all of a sudden, and I say this very reverently, but God woke up one day and said, today I'm going to love Sarah. He has loved her all along. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me. Isaiah chapter 43. Isaiah 43 Isaiah is a tumultuous book. Judgments, blessings. We come to Isaiah 43 talking of the Redeemer. But now, thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flames scorch you. For I am the Lord your God. the Holy One of Israel, Your Savior. I gave Egypt for Your ransom, Ethiopia and Theba in Your place. Since You were precious in my sight, You have been honored and I have loved You." This is in contrast to the opening chapters of Isaiah where God is just laying out their sins. This rebellious people. You are precious to Me. You are the ones who I have loved. Therefore, I will give men for you and people for your life. Fear not, for I am with you. I will bring your descendants from the east and gather you from the west." And he goes on to speak of his love for them. He says, you're going to walk through rivers. They're not going to overflow. You're going to walk through fire. You're not going to get burned because I'm with you. In Genesis 21, the opening words are very intimate words. And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said. The Lord visits His people with special times of blessing. But that does not mean that all of a sudden God appears. Every part of your life, every breath, is watched over by God. What a comfort to think that in 2008, part of your expressive joy can be because from the moment that that clock strikes 12 to the very end of next year, there is not a moment where God will ever leave you or forsake you. There is not a moment when God's everlasting love will be poured out on you. There is not a moment when Christ is not interceding for you, when the Spirit's power is not working in you. Think for a moment if the one thing that was removed from your life was God. Everything would be taken. But when you understand that God has loved you, that's joy. That's celebration. That's amazing grace. Do you think God's love will ever run out? Do you ever get those times in your Christian walk where you say, ah, I think God's had enough of me. I think he's done. Notice what the second thing that we read in the Word of God says is, after the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age. Listen, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. We can be joyful because God always watches over His people. But we can also be joyful because God is always faithful. I have it in my notes, so I'm going to do it this way. God is always faithful. Always faithful. Always faithful. Three times. God is always faithful to His promises and to His Word. And we need to say it like three or four or five times because we forget the faithful part. What is God saying? God is saying something like, didn't I tell you? Why did you do that Hagar thing? It created all sorts of turmoil in your life. Why didn't you trust Me? I am always faithful. He says, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. Something like this takes place a number of years later. We won't turn to it, but I'll just tell you the story. Israel's going to leave Egypt. And when Israel has left Egypt, there's a verse that says 430 years later, to the exact day Israel left Egypt, just as God had spoken. God is right on time 430 years later. God is right on time 4,000 years later when Jesus Christ comes and an angel comes to tell Mary, Mary, you're going to be with child. And you're going to name Him Jesus. And He is going to be the Savior of the world. so that we read in the book of Acts that God set this appointed time for Jesus to die and then be raised again on the third day and ascend to glory. Later on in verse 2, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. Now, if you're not an expressively joyful person, this ought to at least crack a little smile on your face. Do you know what he's saying? He is saying that whatever you are going through at this time in your life, there is an exact time, not a time before and not a time later, but an exact second of an exact minute of an exact day of an exact month of an exact year that you will pass through that. Now here's what I do in my sinful nature. I want to take God's watch and I want to move up His hour and His day. And I want to say, God, now! Can you imagine waiting 25 years for the promise? Do you think Abraham... well, we know they did. They wanted to move up God's timeline. Why 25 years approximately? Here I think is one of the lessons that we need to learn as believers, especially in our instant society that we live in. Our microwave society. Our individualistic society. One of the things that this passage teaches us through the life of Abraham and Sarah is that we must be careful to make sure that we do not settle for little joy when we can have great joy. And sometimes receiving the great joy means going through great trials and great tribulations and waiting patiently for God to do what He needs to do in us so that at the end of the day we can have our Genesis 21, 1-7. where we can say that was not easy. That was so difficult. If I had to choose my life, I would not have done that for that long. I don't want to say allow, because God will do it anyway, but to be patient as God works in our life and works that that sin out of our heart and creates in us that dependence upon Him, so that at the end of all of it, we will have our Isaac. We will have our laughter, because we have gone through that 25 years or whatever time God gives us, so that at the end of it, we will say, God, it was hard, it was difficult, but praise Your name. And sometimes when we get into our time zone, we say, God, cut it short. And God says, I love you too much to cut it short. I want you to have the fullness of joy. I want you to crack that smile. I want you to have that laughter in your heart that you would not have. You see, the world is so counter-Christian. The world says as long as you have everything good in your life, that's where you find laughter. Christ comes along and as we read this morning, you lose your life. What do you find? You find life. You take up your cross daily and what do you find? You find life. God sends trial and tribulation into your life. Life is not going your way. And what is God saying? I'm watching over you. I know what's going on. And there's coming a day when you will laugh again. It will be the exact time. But meanwhile, I have work to do. Turn with me just for a moment to James 1. James 1. James 1 begins with an explosive bang. We say, well, we love to turn to this book because it is so practical. Imagine hearing this for the first time. James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad. Greetings. Sounds kind of official. He gets straight down to business. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. You see what James is doing? He knows what's going on in the brethren's lives. He's saying, brethren, I know what you're going through. You're going through trials. You're going through tribulation. Some of you are suffering persecution. Some of you are going through such deep suffering. Count it all joy. Imagine, somebody comes and visits you. And you are just going through difficult times. And what you need is someone to just listen to you. But all of a sudden, James comes in. He knocks on your door. He says, greetings. Brethren, brother, sister, I want you to count it all joy for the trials that you're now going through. What do you want to do? You want to wind up, eh? A little more sympathy. A little more empathy. Do you not understand my trials? Thank God that He doesn't stop there. Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. I don't know if anybody would argue that they don't need more patience in their life. Isn't that just one of the basic Christian sins that we all live with? We do. I mean, if you don't think you have patience issues, we just simply do. And he says, you need to count it joy, because there's a greater purpose in your suffering. God is working in you to test your faith to produce patience. Verse 4, but let patience have its perfect work, unbelievable, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. How are you going to end up lacking nothing? You're going to go through trials. And that's why you're going to count it joy. So that at the end of the day, you can say, I lack nothing. What happens if that trial had never been sent your way? What you now have, you would be lacking. What's happened because you've gone through that trial? You're beginning to lack nothing. It's producing godly character. It's producing a Christ-likeness. Who is the happiest, most joyful person to walk on this earth? Christ. How do you find real joy? Be Christ-like. I count it all joy. I don't know if I've had a lot of deep, deep trials in my life. I look at some people I minister to and I think, that's tough. Would I count it joy? I doubt it. God would probably have to teach me the hard way. But does knowing that He's going to produce patience, so that at the end of it, you will lack nothing, give you a half smile? God is going to do things in you that are painful, and you say, God, enough. And He says, I want you to have everything. Let's go back to Genesis chapter 21. Sarah and Abraham are now going to speak. Verse 3. This is a relatively simple point. We can learn or develop joy in our heart by remembering that God watches over us. Remembering that God is always faithful to His promises and to His Word. But we can also rejoice just in the blessings of God. We can talk a lot about sin and that we're sinners. And we need to remember that. But do you know that God delights to delight His people? Why is it that we can accept the fact that we're sinners so readily, but when we seek to try to understand that God delights to rejoice over His people and He delights to give His people good things, that we have a hard time receiving those good things from God. In verse 3, "...And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac." You know what they did with Isaac is they publicly declared God has been good. God has blessed us. We now laugh in the presence of God. It was a name, but it was also a name that expressed their hearts. Turn with me just for a moment to Genesis 17. Genesis 17, God is going to say to Abraham that He is going to give them Isaac. So in Genesis 17, we'll begin reading at verse 15, Then God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her. Then I will bless her and she shall be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples shall come from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed. The reason why he laughed in this case is because he was overwhelmed with the thought that God was now going to pour out this blessing in their life. This was a laugh of rejoicing. This was a laughter that said, God, You have overwhelmed me with Your goodness. Because he says, and he said in his heart, shall a child be born to a man who is 100 years old? And shall Sarah who is 90 years old bear a child? And Abraham said to God, oh, that Ishmael might live before you. Then God said, no, Sarah, your wife shall bear you a son, and you will call his name Isaac. Now, turn with me to Genesis 18, verse 13. Because Sarah is now told by the angel, by the Lord that she is going to have a child. And in verse 11, now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in years. or well advanced in age, and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself, saying, after I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord, being old also? And the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh, saying, shall I surely bear a child since I am too old? Is anything too hard for the Lord?" You see, for Sarah, it was a laugh of distrust. Does he not know how old I am? Past childbearing years. I do not expect. I don't expect to have another brother or sister. I really don't. That's what Sarah is saying. I'm way past this. It's done. I am done with the child-bearing thing. For her, the promise was lost, right? And God says to her, is anything impossible? What happens now in Genesis 21 when Abraham and Sarah call their son laughter? Sarah has been taught to laugh. Sarah now rejoices in the Lord. Sarah laughs alongside her husband and comes alongside him and says, God has blessed us. Nothing is impossible with Him. It is hard work to develop laughter in your life. Because there can be so many things to discourage you. There can be so many things in your heart to discourage you. But there are times when God comes into your life and He gives you something that you should rejoice over. There are thoughts that God puts in your heart about the Lord Jesus Christ that you should maybe just quietly meditate and say, God, this is my Isaac. This is my laughter. I do not think it's a mistake. that the first seed in Abraham's line was called laughter. Because who would be the final seed in Abraham's line? Jesus Christ. And what would He bring? He would bring laughter. So if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and all you have around you is darkness, what do you still have? You still have your Isaac. You still have Jesus Christ. You still have that deep-seated joy in your life. Cultivate in your hearts that when God gives you something good, to rejoice. Not to say, although you can say it in the right context, Oh God, I'm so unworthy. That's a given. God understood that. God understands that. How about God? You have given me laughter. You have given me breath. You have given me brothers and sisters. You have given me a faithful church. You have given me a faithful pastor. You have given me faithful parents. You have given me health. You have given me And His mercies are new every morning. Even if all around you is darkness, and the future is uncertain, God is with you. 2 Corinthians 1 talks about troubles flowing into your life. And then it talks about the comfort of Christ overflowing. Troubles flow. Christ overflows. When is the last time that you have sat down and simply said, God, I laugh in your presence because you are good? Is one of your aims in 2008 to be more joyful? Verse 4, and we close with these two thoughts. Verse 4, then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old as God had commanded him. We won't spend a lot of time here, but circumcision was the sign that brought Abraham and his descendants into relationship with him. It was that outward sign of a relationship with God. They were God's people. God was their God. And they responded by circumcising their boys on the eighth day. What is this verse 4 doing here? Well, it's not just an information verse. It is a verse that is saying Abraham and Sarah are in a right relationship with God and they are seeking to bring Isaac into that right relationship with God. In other words, where are you going to find your joy? You're going to find your joy in a right relationship with God. How do you cultivate joy? Not through circumcision anymore, but you cultivate joy through your relationship with God. Christianity is not a list of rules. Christianity is not about coming here tonight and earning good points with God. Christianity is about developing your relationship with God. How do you cultivate your love of God? How do you cultivate an openness with God? How do you cultivate a relationship with God? Abraham says, I am taking my son. I am circumcising him. I am seeking to bring him in a right relationship with God so he will know where life is found. I simply say this, if you want to live your life in 2008 without the Lord Jesus Christ, then feel free to do so. But understand this, you compromise joy. Satan is the father of all lies. And what is He going to say to you? Do you want life? Live it without God. Do you want life? Live it without Christ. You go ahead. Live your life without Christ. But what will you find at the end? Broken promises, tears, broken lives, and ultimately death. And then an eternity of hell. That's not joy. Verse 4, shouts to the nations and says, do you want joy, boys and girls? Do you want joy, teenagers? Do you want joy, older ones? Know the Lord. You say, where do I begin with joy in 2008? Open your Bibles. Know the Lord. Know His promises. And then say, God, give me grace to laugh again. If you've lost your smile, if you've lost your passion, it is simply there is too much world in you and not enough God. And then finally, how do you cultivate joy in your life? I love these words by Sarah because they're so personal and they're unashamed joy. And Sarah said, God has made me Laugh. And all who hear will laugh with me. You've got to wonder if there's a couple things going on there. Sarah, congratulations. 90 years old, they're thinking. They're going to laugh with me. I'm 90. I'm bearing a child. But what else is it? It's the promise. And then she says, and then I think this is how we cultivate joy, with these simple four words. And this is why we're going to close with the hymn, And Can It Be. Who would have said? Abraham, Sarah. Abraham, you're 100. Sarah, you're 90. You're going to have a child. Who would have said that? For I have borne him a son in his old age." Notice the detail that Sarah gives. Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? It's not only bear child, but she's going to nurse them. God has given her the grace not only to bear, but to give life to this child through her milk. I have borne this child. I am nursing this child. This child is mine. God has given it to me. What was the question that God asked her? Is anything impossible with God? What is Sarah's answer at the end of it? I laugh because nothing is impossible with God. And what words did it begin with? Who would have said? At the beginning of 2008, who would have said that you would be called a child of God? Who would have said that God would take a wicked sinner like you deserving hell and eternal condemnation. And He would place His love on you. And then abundantly pour out His love on you day by day by day. And then give you the hope of the riches of glory to come. And the promises that nothing will separate you from the love of God. Nothing will separate you from the love of God. Who would have said He would have taken a young boy and had mercy on him? Who would have said He'd taken a young girl and had mercy on her? Who would have said He'd taken an elderly man or woman and had mercy on them? Do you want to laugh again? Do you want to put that quiet smile on your face? Who would have said? Think of where you'd be without God. Who would have said that He would give me laughter? There's not a whole lot of laughter left in this world of ours. Where do your children need to learn about laughter? They need to learn it from you. 2008. We can laugh because God always watches over His people. We can laugh because God is always faithful. We can laugh because God blesses His people. He delights to bless you. We can laugh because we have a relationship with Him. And we can laugh because by God's grace, we will not lose the wonder of our salvation. And can it be Who would have thought? Let's bow in a word of prayer. Our Father in Heaven, we pray that You would create in us a clean heart. Renew a right spirit within us. Father, we pray that You would restore to us the joy of our salvation. Teach us to laugh. Teach us to rejoice. You are abundantly good. And we love You. And we want to serve You. And we want to rejoice in our trials. We want to rejoice always. This coming year, gracious Father, Holy Spirit, give us joy. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Laughter in the House
1 Joy is Found as we remember God watches over His people
2 Joy is found Trusting that God is always faithful to His promises and His Word
3 Joy is found as we simply rejoice in His blessings
4 Joy is found only in a relationship with Him
5 Joy is found as we understand the words: who would have said?
Sermon ID | 12310795664 |
Duration | 54:35 |
Date | |
Category | Sunday - PM |
Bible Text | Genesis 21:1-7 |
Language | English |
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