What can wash away my sin? What can make me whole again? For my part in this I sing. ♪ For my cleansing this my plea ♪ ♪ Oh, precious is the flow ♪ ♪ That makes me white as snow, bare snow ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing can for sin atone Not of good that I have done This is all my hope and peace This is all my righteousness. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white found, I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus. How precious is the flow That makes me white as snow There's no other fount I know Nothing but the blood Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Amen. I hope you know that cleansing power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those of us that have tasted of it know the sweetness of forgiveness and it's all because of Jesus Christ on Calvary. So we thank him for that this morning. Genesis chapter 18 in your Bibles, as the kids go to their class with Mrs. Shore. Genesis chapter 18, it's a bit of a topical message this morning. We're gonna start, introduce it with a story that we've already read about Sarah and Abraham. You know, today's Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day. It's a day where we take and set aside to honor the person that worked so hard, right, to bring us not only into this world, but then to raise us up in this world. And motherhood is a precious thing. It's a precious thing. Most of us were able to enjoy our own mother growing up and some, sadly at times, you know, there's times where kids don't have that relationship because of a death or something like that. But praise God, most of us have enjoyed that. Some of us have enjoyed the other side of being a mother and mothering and the preciousness of that. You know, it's a special day. when a wife announces to her husband that she's expecting. And today you don't just announce it to you, you kind of have this pageant or something, or a video or something that you do, and a usual way to let people know that you're going to have a baby. My sister-in-law, Kelly, She's pretty creative, and when she was going to announce that they were having their sixth, we happened to be with them in Michigan back on furlough this past time, and she bought pumpkins for all the kids, and everyone got their pumpkin, and then there was this extra pumpkin, and everyone's like, what's the extra pumpkin for? And that was to represent the baby that was coming. For us, last child we had, I think we told Nelson, go up and tell your brothers and sisters that mommy's gonna have a baby. And I think as a three-year-old or something, he went up and said, you know, let them know. And they come down, what? Is he telling the truth, you know? It's fun, isn't it? Letting people know this baby's coming. Sometimes they're shocked, you know, perhaps, The family had to tell their college-aged child that mom's going to have a baby and all that shock involved. Or maybe it's child number 12 or maybe there was a reason why they thought, you know, it's not possible to have children. And lo and behold, they find out it is possible to have children. But it's a fun thing. It's a sweet thing to have that joy of a baby. And this morning, we've already read the story, so I can't surprise you with this. But imagine if you read this in the newspaper or someone told you that a 100-year-old man and a 90-year-old woman were expecting. I'm pretty sure that on your lips there would be something called a smile, right? It's not something you can take straight face. Somebody says, oh, by the way, this 100-year-old man and 90-year-old woman are gonna have a baby. There's a natural smile if it, I hope it makes it to our face, if it's in our heart, but I think it would be there, right? It's interesting, did you notice this morning as we read the passage about the announcement to Sarah and Abraham that they were gonna conceive and she was gonna be pregnant and have a baby, that that announcement was met with laughter? Did you see it in the story? Genesis 17, 17. It says, then Abraham fell upon his face and he laughed and said in his heart, shall a child be born unto him that's a hundred years old? And shall Sarah that's 90 years old bear? Okay, we always think, who laughed in the story? We always think, will Sarah laugh? Well, wait a second. Abraham laughed as well. He fell upon his face, he laughed. Genesis 18, 12. Then Sarah, therefore Sarah laughed within herself. Okay, Genesis 18, 13. The Lord said to Abraham, wherefore did Sarah laugh? And saying, shall I have a surety bear a child which am old? "'Is anything too hard for the Lord?' Then Sarah denied, saying, "'I laughed not, for she was afraid.' He said, "'Nay, but thou didst laugh.'" And I don't think, I think sometimes we're too harsh on Sarah. We think God was scolding her, that Jesus was scolding her. I don't know that he was. I don't know that he was. It doesn't say that. And there's a reason why I'll say that as I read a verse in just a second that you may not have noticed before. And that's in Genesis 21.6. Because Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh so that all who hear will laugh with me. And she said, who would have said unto Abraham that Sarah should have given children and son, for I have borne him a son in his old age? Isn't that funny? It's okay to laugh this morning. It's not unbelievable for us to laugh. And I think too often we're too hard on Sarah, saying, Sarah, you shouldn't have laughed. But Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh so that everybody that hears this is gonna laugh. And who hasn't heard the story about Abraham and Sarah having a baby and not have a smile, right? It's not possible. And so this morning, I've entitled the message, Laughing with Sarah. Let's laugh with her this morning. As we remember the question that Jesus, a theophany is a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus appeared to Abraham and Sarah, said, you're gonna have this son. But he asked the question, when Sarah laughed, what did he say? Genesis 18, 14, is anything too hard for the Lord? Think about that statement. Is anything, that's the problem, right? Is anything, and you can put any problem there, is anything, and then there's the equation, too hard, and the power or the answer is what? For the Lord. How does that equation work out? Is anything too hard for the Lord? No. God is greater than any problem that we'll ever face in our life. We can laugh with Sarah this morning. We're gonna consider that idea. It's anything too hard for the Lord, but we're gonna consider it with a mother's perspective. And I think there's three things that we're gonna look at this morning that might be special burdens that a mother would carry. They're burdens that we all carry or things that we can all think about this morning. And this message is not just for mothers, but it has a mothering focus. Okay, we're gonna consider this this morning. God can provide children. God can provide for children, and God can provide children-in-law, okay? These are three things that we're gonna look at, maybe special concerns that a mother might have, and let's pray and ask God to bless His word to our hearts this morning. Father, we're thankful for the grace that you give, and what amazing grace, what amazing goodness to Abraham and Sarah. They were They were tested and tried in this area beyond what anybody has been tested and tried. And I pray this morning that the Spirit of God speak to our hearts. Give us grace to see some truths that would be beneficial and helpful to us. I need your help as I speak. I pray the Spirit of God would lead and guide me as I speak. I pray give us ears to hear. Father, even as we looked at in Sunday school this morning, we prayed that you'd hinder the hinderer, that you would bind Satan and spoil his goods. Father, you had opened the eyes of those that are blinded by Satan because of their unbelief. And Father, I pray that the Spirit of God has set some free even today. But Father, for mothers that would hear this message especially, we pray that the Spirit of God would encourage their heart and remind us all of your power today. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen. First thing, again, that we're gonna look at this morning is that God can provide children. We're already looking at that as we come to this story about Sarah. Sarah had this big burden. She wanted to be a mother, perhaps as a young girl thinking someday, I'm just looking forward to being a mommy and caring for my kids. And she had the joy of being married and God had blessed her with a great husband. But for years and years and years and years, they'd waited on the Lord for children and she had not had one. In fact, it came to the point where she tried to solve the problem in the flesh. In Genesis 16-2, Sarai said to Abram, Behold, now the Lord hath restrained me from bearing. I pray thee, go in unto my maid. It may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar, her maid, the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt 10 years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband, Abram, to be his wife. Now, we're not gonna get into this morning polygamy, or multiplying of wives, as they did in the time of the patriarchs. I would say this, though, in that time, they didn't have the book that we have. They didn't have written revelation like we have. They had a relationship with God by faith and based upon God's revelation to them in dreams or in appearances such as the Theophany, the Lord Jesus Christ appearing to them. So their accountability and their stewardship of what they were given as far as revelation was not as great as ours. So we have a greater stewardship in that regard. So we have more understanding of that. But in this story, She wants to have a child. God has promised that they'd have a child, but they've not been able to conceive. And so year after year, they're waiting on the Lord, waiting on the Lord. It's not happening. And sadly, finally, they fail by trying to solve in the flesh what God would answer with his great power. But you know, As you think about this story, it's not an isolated story, is it, in scripture? How many stories are there? And we're gonna look at them, so you don't have to think too hard this morning. Maybe the ones that came to my head are the ones that we're gonna look at. But each story shows that this impossible burden is heavy upon the heart of the one who's been given it. Do we like this morning, impossible burdens? Do you like things that you can't do anything about? You know what, we all know that for the last five and a half weeks, our family's been without a car. And I can't fix it. And I can't do anything to make it get fixed any sooner. And we had holiday coming and wanted to get it done. But you know, it's not something that we can do anything about. I'll tell you, on the other side here, God's graciously given it back to us right on time for our holiday. Praise God. Again, at 6 p.m. last night, we leave after church this morning to go on holiday. Right on time. But I'll tell you, I don't like not being able to do something about something. I understand a lot of times, God gives us those things that we look at and say, I just wish I could get it off my plate. I just wish I could do something about it. But God gives us those kind of things so that we have to look to him and say, God, you're gonna have to do something about this. I can't do anything about it. Now, as far as Sarah and Abraham, they wait on the Lord, wait on the Lord, wait on the Lord. God gives them who? As their son. Isaac. Okay, who is Isaac? Isaac is the son of promise that every Jewish person that the Bible says like the sand of the sea goes back to. God blessed Abraham through that one son, the son of promise. We're gonna see that with every individual that we consider this morning, that that person's a key person that God would use mightily, but God would send that person in his timing. Rachel, remember Rachel, Jacob's wife? Genesis 30 verse one, and when Rachel saw that she bared Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister and said unto Jacob, give me children or else I die. Does that sound like a familiar saying? Have you ever heard a saying like that? Give me children or I die. What's that remind you of? Is there a saying that comes to your mind, anybody? Because there's a famous Scottish saying that comes from that. John Knox, Protestant Reformation, what'd he say? Supposedly the prayer that's recorded of him is, God give me Scotland or I die. He took the prayer of this woman that is burdened about having a child and can't have a child. John Knox apparently took that burden of that woman and put it into his heart saying, God, give me this country or I die. The passion of that woman that desired a child. We know the story there, Jacob was deceived by Laban. He was given Leah to wife instead of Rachel. He wanted to marry Rachel and found out he'd been deceived into marrying her sister. But a week later, Laban gave him the other daughter for his labor for many more years. And so he has two wives. And Leah, the Bible says about Leah, in Genesis 29, 31, when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. It's interesting. We can't get into why God does what he does necessarily. We may not understand, but God gives us a reason there. Leah was a despised wife, and so God blessed her with children, and the favored wife, Rachel, was barren in God's wisdom and God's providence. You know, should we assume this morning that somebody can't have children? Obviously, there's something bad that's taking place, and God's not gonna bless them. No, we don't assume that at all. because we don't know why God has allowed that burden to be there. It's like the disciples, they came to Jesus when Jesus healed the blind man, and they asked him a question. They said in John 9, 2, his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, neither hath this man sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. What's God saying? No, guys, you got it wrong. It's not about sin, it's about bringing God glory. God wants to bring special glory to himself through this blind man, and so he's allowed this for that reason. It's interesting, he gave a reason. And so we don't know in the providence of God why God allows things, special burdens to different individuals, but this special burden is on Rachel's heart. I can't have children, I wanna have children. Oh God, Jacob, she says, give me children or I die. And then, The Bible says in Genesis 30, 22, and God remembered Rachel and God hearkened to her and opened her womb. Interesting. It's interesting to me, and especially when it comes to having children, it's interesting to me how many times in scripture God reminds us that he is providentially and sovereignly over them. Now, I don't understand. There's times, there's loving couple, sweet couple, godly couple, that God just allows to carry that special burden of not being able to bear a child. But when Rachel has a child, who is it? Remember who Rachel's first child is? Joseph. Okay, is he a significant person in the history of God's people? The answer is yes, incredibly significant. It is through Joseph that God spares the children of Israel, brings them down into Egypt, and then through his rising up into power, it allows for them to enter into bondage, but then to be brought out with such victory. It was through Joseph. And then God also gave her who? Benjamin as her second son. There's another person, Hannah. Remember Hannah? Elkanah, her husband, said to her in 1 Samuel 1.8, Hannah, why weepest thou? Why eatest thou not? Why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better to thee than ten sons? Of course, a lot of times, Elkanah's been given a hard time for his insensitivity to a wife, you know, and her burden. She's burdened about having children, and he has the audacity to say, you know, am not I better to thee than ten sons? But as a husband, what was he seeking to do? He's seeking to comfort his wife and minister to his wife and he's trying to take away a burden that he has nothing to do with in a sense. He can't make her conceive, right? He can't do that. God alone can't do that. And so he tries to logically answer a need that God has to answer miraculously, Eli, And 1 Samuel 1 15, Hannah, he's the priest there at the temple. She's at the temple and she's so troubled with the fact that she can't have children that she's weeping. And Eli looks at her and thinks, this woman's drunk. I mean, she's just mumbling or muttering, and what's the problem there? And she says, no, my Lord, I just have a sorrowful spirit. I wanna have children. And the Bible says, the Lord remembered her. 1 Samuel 1.19, they rose up in the morning early and worshiped before the Lord and returned and became to their house to Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah, his wife, and the Lord remembered her. I love that phrase, the Lord remembered her. Think about that, as you pray, you're burdened about something, you're praying so long about it that there comes a time where God is gonna answer and God is gonna remember that prayer and answer that prayer, though he bear it long or though he wait a long time. Samuel is given back to the Lord by Hannah. You know the story. And what does God do for Hannah? Anyone remember that? Hannah is given three sons and two daughters. She has five children. Elizabeth, remember Elizabeth? And Elizabeth, New Testament, we don't see her burden, as it were, to have children, but we see that fatherhood is also a special desire that a father has, and a burden that a father carries, desiring to see his wife conceive and bear a child. In Luke 1.13, the angel said unto him, fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife, Elizabeth, shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name. John. Wow, God not only knows when somebody conceives, it's not like a, well, you pull a handle and you just kinda hope you're gonna get the right toy, or the right thing's gonna come out. It's that God knows when somebody conceives who is in the womb. Isn't that amazing? David spoke about that. We know today there's a lot in the news about genetics and that information that describes life. Now, I wanna tell you something, and maybe this will encourage your faith this morning, but 3,000 years ago, in the word of God, it spoke about genetics. It said this, David said it, Psalm 139, 16. Thine eyes did see my substance. He's speaking about in the womb. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect, And in thy book, all my members were written. Okay, my hands, my feet, my hair color, my eye color, all in thy book, all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. I know that's a little tricky to understand, but basically, David's saying, God, you had the blueprints for my life before I was ever fashioned, before I was ever made. We understand that now, we go, ah, genetics, we understand. That information is there right at the beginning. But you know what? Whoever you are today, you're not a mistake. You know, God has a purpose for your life. His name shall be John. He shall be great. This is his ministry. What he's going to do, young people, God has a plan for your life. Adam, God has a plan for your life. He knows exactly what he wants us to do. Nobody is a mistake. If we follow God's will, God has a special plan. Oh, we can be encouraged this morning. That's an impossible thing that burden that has been given to some young couples. And unless you've been there, you don't know what it's like. And I confess this this morning, I can't I can't fully sympathize with the burden other than I've seen it. I've seen it's a very heavy burden on the heart of a young couple. They want to have children. They can't. And, you know, praise God. You can take that verse that God gave. You know, is there anything too hard for God and claim that? and seek God's answer. And praise God for that. God can provide children. And then God can provide for children. You know, a mother might think, well, I want to have children. I want to have children. Then she has children. Then she thinks, wow, they're expensive. You ever noticed that? If you're a parent, you understand children are expensive. They're not free. You know, they don't come with, you know, lifetime supply of food or something. When they're born, it's expensive to raise a child. In fact, there was a study recently, it said the cost of raising a child to age of 21 has soared to 222,000 pounds, with parents paying 58% more than a decade ago, according to a study published in January. The annual cost of a child from cradle to college found that this insurer, LV, found that the average cost is up by more than 4,000 pounds since last year. You might think, why did you share that? That's depressing. It's Mother's Day. Kids are expensive. That's awful, terrible. Take them back. You can't really do that, can you? You've got to supply for them. You've got to provide for them. The world says, oh, they're so expensive, and they're consumed with cost, and there's even people that put off children until they have a career. Oh, I gotta have my career first. I gotta make all this nest egg, and then I'll have children. That's not God's plan for us. David said it this way. He said, I've been young and now I'm old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor a seed begging bread. David said, in my experience, I've always seen God provide for his people that are in obedience to him, the righteous, those that are pleasing God, obeying God. I've seen God provide. I've seen God meet their needs. Psalm 127.3, low children are a heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward. On the front of the bulletin this morning, it says, you are God's reward. God gave you as a blessing to a family. Is he gonna give you as a blessing to a family and then not provide? But again, children are expensive, but God will supply. Remember that widow of Zarephath? She's a widow woman. She doesn't even have a husband anymore to help meet the needs, but she has a son. And the story is in 1 Kings 17, God said to Elijah, arise and get thee to Zarephath, which belonged to Zidon. Dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks. And he called her and said, fetch me, I pray thee, a little water and a vessel that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called her and said, bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, as the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal and a barrel and a little oil and a cruise. And behold, I'm gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die. And Elijah said unto her, fear not, go and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof a little cake first. Now I think it's interesting he said a little one. He didn't totally test her faith, say take it all and make it for me. Make me first a little cake. Did God meet this mother's need? She's burdened, she's got a son. They're out of it. They've got nothing left. But what did God command her to do? Interesting. He said to Elijah, I've commanded a widow woman there to sustain me. Her obligation to provide for his livelihood was given to her by whom? God. And then God said through Elijah, put my servant first and then I'll supply. Interesting, isn't it? You notice God commanded us with regard to our giving. Hasn't he said in the Old Testament, the tithe is the Lord's? He says, give, and it shall be given unto you in good measure, pressed down and shaken together. But he says, give, and in the New Testament, I understand giving is by grace, and yet it is shown to us by God that this is God's plan. But notice with this woman, you look and say, praise God, God supplied, but what did she do? She trusted God. I mean, can you imagine if anybody could have said, I can't put God first, she could have. No, I can't give, I don't have anything to give. She could have said that, but she put God first by faith, and what did God do? God met her need. Does that remind you of another widow woman in the Bible that put God first? Yeah, there's another one. There's several actually, but this widow, we're not told that she had children. She might have, doesn't say, but she might have. Luke 21, two through four, the Lord saw a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. And he said, of a truth I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God. But she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. And she could have said to God, God, I can't afford it. But she said to God, God, I can't afford not to give. And she gave by faith. And tell me this morning, do you think that Jesus complimented her faith and her giving? And then she went out and died of starvation. Impossible. The Lord didn't say, dear lady, what are you doing? That's all the money you have. Please take that back. Go buy yourself something. He saw it as investing that as she met God's need, God would meet her needs. There's another widow woman. a prophet's widow, the widow with the oil, you might know the story. There cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha and said, thy servant, my husband is dead. Thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord. Okay, I wanna stop right there real quick and ask you a question. If her husband feared the Lord, did he tithe? The Bible commanded tithing. Did he give his first fruits to the Lord? Yes. So we know that he was right with God in the way that he used his finances, but he did have debt, as we'll see, or she had incurred debt since then, because the creditor is come, to take away unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, what shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in thy house? And she said, thine handmaid hath not anything in the house save a pot of oil. Then he said, go borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels, borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her, and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, there is not a vessel more, and the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God, and he said, go sell the oil and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest. Okay, who was in the room with her when she poured out the oil? Her sons. Who was in the house and heard the creditor knocking on the door saying, I'm gonna take your two sons into servitude if you don't pay this bill soon? Her sons. Who was relieved when they sold the oil for much money and paid off the creditor and saw God's supply? Answer? her sons. Now, here's the thing. As parents that are godly parents, we put God first, trust God to meet our needs. We do it in a visible way before whom? Our children. So that someday they can see, hey, God can meet my needs. He always met mom and dad's needs. Hey, by the way, Logan found 10 pounds this morning. God doesn't have to come in the way that we see. It may come a way we don't understand. We might look at our bank book and say, I don't know how it's gonna work out. If I start tithing, if I start giving God a 10%, and by the way, you can't out give God. You can't. My wife and I for the last, for 15 years, we've proven that God is faithful. And trust me, when we got married, we were students. We had to pay full schooling rent plus food plus insurance and I was making 70 bucks every two weeks and I was getting on top of that I'd work for a guy God provided a job for me working for a man that paid me $10 an hour back then okay which was good money back then and the weekends I could get some extra money that way and he actually hired my wife as well. And then my boss at the snack shop hired my wife to work with me because I was manager at the snack shop and I did concessions and she worked concessions with me at the football matches on Friday nights at Bob Jones. We didn't have much, but we got through that year debt free and I've shared this story before. I know I have and I'm not going to share it again. We got, I'll just share this much of it. We got $1,700 from a church that we worked at in Georgia. And we got a job right out of school in New York City. That $1,700 took us through those three weeks and we had nothing left at the end of it. And we had, there were many times like that where we didn't really have anything except everything that we needed, but God provided. My wife and I have lived debt free for the last 15 years. The only debt that we've ever had was on a mortgage or on a vehicle. And our assets always were above our liabilities. And when we had the $60,000 medical bill because of a child and his surgery, you know the story, God provided. But my wife and I, since we got married, have always given more than 10% to the Lord. Always. I have, for my youth, I praise God, I'm trying to teach this to my children. And we do teach it to our kids that whatever they get, the tithe is the Lord's. Why? Because I want them to know the joy of, first of all, giving unto the Lord and worshiping the Lord in that way, but then seeing God provide. I look forward, when I get older, sharing even more stories, and I could tell you stories, and I've shared them before, things God's done for our family, that I look at and say, you know, if I wasn't faithful in giving, I wouldn't expect things like that because I haven't honored God with my finances. There's no reason this morning I should trust God to meet my needs if I'm not faithful in my giving. In fact, in the times where everything's been tight and I feel like financially it's not going right, I examine my heart and Katie and I talk about it. Are we giving like we should? Are we giving like we should? Because if we honor God in that, God meets those needs. Isn't that what the Bible says? in the Sermon on the Mount. I can't claim the end of that verse without the first, can I? I can't say this morning that if I'm not seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, that all these things, these material needs are gonna be met in my life. I can't say it because that's not the promise. The promise is seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. So not only am I right financially, I'm right in my heart relationship with God and my obedience to God and my purity and my holiness and my sanctification. and then you'll meet my needs. I can bank on that. I don't have to worry today if I'm right with God financially, if I'm right with God as far as my sanctification, I can trust God. Seeking first the kingdom of God is righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Remember that verse Paul gave, but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Do you remember the context? The context is him saying to the church, church, you have been faithful in giving, you've given beyond your means, but I wanna tell you something, but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Why? Because you faithfully gave. I hope everyone here this morning knows, I don't wanna say this in the wrong way, I don't care in the sense of padding the church account. God's been gracious, he's met our needs. No, we've got money in the bank, praise God. It's not anything that we profit off of. We don't draw a salary from the church accounts. In the future, I hope this church will support a pastor and pay for a pastor's salary. But it's not about that, it's about what? seeing God meet the needs of our family. How does that take place? By obeying God in our giving, right? So God can provide for children, but there's some caveats there. We gotta be in obedience to God, we gotta be faithfully using what God's given to us for the Lord, and God will meet our needs. And then, lastly, okay, God can provide children, God can provide for children, but now that I've got a child, now that I've fed him enough to get him grown up out of my house, Who's he gonna marry? How am I gonna find a godly spouse for my child? God can provide for children in law. My mom, and I praise the Lord, I can say this on Mother's Day, I praise the Lord for a godly mom. I had a mom that loved the Lord and faithfully prayed for us as children. And one of the things that I know my mom, especially, I know my dad prayed about as well, but I know my mom prayed, God, give my kids godly mates. God, give my kids godly mates. Because mom knew that you raise a child to maturity and you're only halfway there in having a godly heritage. Say you have a godly child, they may marry an ungodly person, what about your grandkids? It's not about just reaching the general, so you know my heart. I don't wanna just see my kids get saved. I wanna see my grandkids saved. And not just saved, loving God, living for God. How do we get there? Well, they gotta marry godly. They have to. They have to marry somebody that loves the Lord. So how are we gonna do that? What can we do about that? Well, first of all, seek the spouse in the right place. Encourage the kids. Seek a spouse in the right place. Abraham. Okay, coming back to Abraham. Genesis 24. Sarah's passed away. Isaac is single. "'And Abraham was old, well-stricken in age, "'and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. "'And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house "'that ruled over all that he had, "'Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh.'" It was a symbolic gesture of promise. "'And I will make thee swear by the Lord, "'the God of heaven and the God of the earth, "'that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son "'of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, "'but thou shalt go unto my country and to my kindred "'and take a wife unto my son, Isaac.'" Say no, don't take, don't even look around here. No, it's not, this isn't an option. The option is seek a godly spouse from God's people. Ruth, you might remember the story of Ruth. She was a Moabitess, but Ruth fell in love with her, not just her husband, but her husband's family. And she loved Naomi, her mother-in-law. And when all these husbands died, Naomi's husband, Ruth's husband, and the sister-in-law's husband, Naomi's gonna go back out of Moab and go back to her home area. And Ruth says, look, I'm gonna go with you. Where you go, I will go. Your people shall be my people. Remember Boaz, that relative that could marry Ruth. Ruth 3.10, he said to Ruth, blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter, for thou has showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followest not young men, whether poor or rich. He's saying, Ruth, I praise you as a godly woman that you're seeking God's will and not seeking convenience. I look at Robert Murdoch or whoever that guy's name is. They got married again at 84 years old, his fourth wife. And I'm thinking, why is this woman marrying him? And the answer, logically, to most people probably is money. And I don't want to assume that. Perhaps this woman loves this man, perhaps. But Ruth wasn't about money. It wasn't about convenience. It wasn't about what's near at hand. She went with her mother-in-law. And then she pursued where God wanted her to pursue. You know, we need to encourage our kids in that. God has a godly spouse. Just wait on God for God's person. Pray for God's clear direction. Verses 12 and following. In that same story, he said, the servant now said to God, oh Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day and show kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water and let it come to pass that the damsel to whom I shall say, let down my pitcher, I pray thee that I may drink. And it came to pass before he had done speaking that, behold, Rebekah came out and he said, and she did that. She gave him drink and to the camels also. And then he said, blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham. I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren. That's an awesome story. That's a miracle, isn't it? Abraham wanted a godly heritage for his daughter-in-law and for his son. So he sent his servant to the right place. But the servant gets there, he goes, where do I go? And he looks at the well and he says, I'm gonna ask a woman for a drink. And if she says, I'll give you a drink and I'll give a drink to all your camels as well, let that be the one. And lo and behold, we know the story. It was, it was Rebecca. Here's a question for you this morning. Did God know that Isaac should marry Rebecca? Yes. Let me put it in a modern context. Did God know that Benjamin should marry Katie? Yes. You know, I prayed, and I told my wife in a note to her this morning, you know, that's the biggest answer to prayer for which I thank God most for is my prayer that God would give me a godly wife. And waiting on the Lord, and waiting on the Lord, and waiting on the Lord. I can't tell you how absolutely clear it is that I was to marry Katie. It's as clear as my salvation, okay? It's that clear. God has given me a godly wife, but you know what? We were praying. I mean, I would claim I've told some people jokingly, but I'm serious about it. I took two verses in the Bible. Here's one. No good thing will he withhold from them who walk uprightly. The other verse, he that findeth a wife findeth a good thing. Okay, and I would take that. He said, find a wife, find a good thing. Ah, no good thing will he withhold from them who walk uprightly. I claim that in prayer. I'm not joking, I'm serious. I beg God, God, give me a godly wife. God, give me a godly wife. Again, my mom praying, God, give my, now give my kids godly wives, but also give my grandkids godly wives. My mom has told my kids, if they marry a loser, she's not coming to the wedding. Somebody that doesn't love God, somebody that's against God, she's not coming. And I praise God that I've got a mom like that that says, hey, look, God can provide a godly spouse for you guys. Last thing, kids might look and go, yuck, what if I don't like that person? Well, here's the thing, trust God to open the heart of your child to God's will. Trust God to open the heart of your child to God's will. Genesis 24, 66. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent and took Rebecca, and she became his wife. And he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. And you might say, Pastor Ben, are you advocating arranged marriages? And the answer is no. But I think any child ought to have the grace if mom and dad say, look, son or daughter, I've got a real concern about that person. They don't show a close walk to the Lord. They show a heart that's selfish. They show a heart that is rebellious against God. And I'm really concerned about that. I want to let you know about that, that my hope would be that that child has the wisdom to listen to mom and dad and say, you know what? I'm going to trust God to help guide me to my spouse with the good counsel of somebody that loves the Lord. My parents love the Lord. My pastor loves the Lord. My teacher loves the Lord. I've got some godly friend that loves the Lord saying to me, look, I have concerns that I need to listen to them. but that when God works it out, God's gonna open the heart of that child and say, man, I am so thankful. I can't tell you again how much I love my wife, how thankful I am that God gave me a godly girl that loves him. God provided the answer to my mother's prayers and in every situation. My brother-in-law is a great guy, loves the Lord. My sister-in-law is a great gal and loves the Lord and just praise God. He provided for all of his kids, godly mates in the right place and at the right time. So this morning, you think it's funny? 90 year old, 100 year old having a baby? I think it's funny. It's okay, laugh. Why? Because Sarah wants us to laugh. She said, everybody that reads about this, they're going to laugh. Why? Because it's amazing. Only God could do that. And so we're reminded this morning, what? God can provide children. God can provide for children. And God can provide children's in law. Why? Because Genesis 18, 14 is anything too hard for the Lord. Answer? No. Praise God. Let's pray.