First Baptist Church Hoptown
This is the preaching and teaching podcast for First Baptist Church in Hopkinsville KY.
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Pastor / Teacher: Todd Goulet
First Baptist Church Hoptown
01/26/2025: Genesis 21 "In God we Trust?"
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The episode explores the contemporary culture’s struggle to genuinely trust in God, reflecting on themes from Abraham’s journey. Through discussions of process, the promise and pain intertwined in faith journeys are unraveled, emphasizing the necessity for surrender and reliance on God’s faithfulness amidst life’s challenges.
• Discussion on the modern culture’s detachment from authentic faith
• Importance of the church's role in cultivating a culture of trust
• Understanding the promise of God's process through Abraham's faith
• Navigating the pain that often accompanies spiritual growth
• The story of Hagar as a testament of God's provision and grace
• Reflection on the need for sincere trust and daily reliance on God's promises
and then in 1955, you skip ahead. You see President Dwight Eisenhower. He signed a bill placing the phrase on all American currency. One sponsor of that legislation, congressman Charles Bennett, echoed the sentiments that had inspired the sovereignty of God amendment during the Civil War when he proclaimed that the US was founded in a spiritual atmosphere and with a firm trust in God. So the next year, 1956, in God we Trust was adopted as the first official motto of the United States. This is the motto of our nation. In God we Trust.
Speaker 1Kind of hard to believe, that, isn't it, since it seems so irrelevant in our current culture. I mean, giving lip service to God is very chic in our culture. You see movie stars do it. You see all kinds of people music people, just anybody at award shows and they say you know glory to God, or you know, they look up and I believe a lot of that is real. But I doubt a lot of it because I see their lifestyle outside of that and you go. Do you really trust in God? How can you say you trust in God but your lifestyle is still the same as it was when you were lost? I don't see a difference. So it's easy to give lip service to God. It's even popular in our culture. Many would say they believe in God, but it's just they're saying it because they think. Apparently they think it gives them some special dispensation or favor just by saying, yeah, I believe in God, but their life doesn't back it up.
Speaker 1So the truth is, trusting and believing in God has become irrelevant in our culture. And I have to ask the question why? Why? I mean, look back, not that many, many years ago, and it was being put on our coins, it was being, I mean, it had to get through Congress and be passed, and so there was enough people at that point in power to say, yes, this is something we believe, yes, this needs to be on our money, on our coins. But now you look at, ooh, if that same bill was to go to Congress today. Matter of fact, there's probably bills and I haven't looked it up to verify but probably bills that are going forward to say let's take that off. I know there's a new controversy about the Ten Commandments because our culture does not trust in God. But why? Because our culture does not trust in God. But why?
Speaker 1And I'm going to pick on myself here for a second, because I think at some point it halfway became irrelevant to the church. It became irrelevant to the church to say and to truly believe that, yes, we can trust in god. And it's been said that as the church goes, so goes the nation. Because who's the church made up of? The you. We are the church, right? Not the buildings, we are the church. So if our personal faith is built upon Christ and we say we trust in him, then that makes the church strong and that makes the culture strong, because we are part of this world. At least for now, church is made up of us.
Speaker 1So why is it such a struggle? Why do we, if we were, were honest, we honestly can say man, I struggle with trusting in god. We, I I've been to churches and and believe me, this is not one of them. But I've been to churches where it's like they believe in all kinds of things to have god in the service, or they try all kinds of different things to bring God's presence into the service. They believe in doing this or doing that, the flicker and the flash and all that can be tools, but when you use it as a means to say this is how we can worship, this is the only way we can worship that God will be in it, then you've gone way off track and you're not trusting in God's promises. In fact, he says, where two or more are gathered, I'm there, so we don't have to have all this. I'm a worship guy and I'm saying that. But it's true we don't, because when this gets in the way of this, we're off the mark, we're not trusting in God. So when do we begin putting our trust in everything else? Now, I know it's an age-old problem, starting in the garden, but the church is to be that beacon on a hill right, a lighthouse, jesus to a lost world. Yet we, the church, constantly struggle with placing our trust in everything else but God, and you know the list, all the things that we place our trust in other than God. You know that. I don't have to go into that this morning.
Speaker 1And so, as we look at Abraham, we realize that Abraham is remembered for eternity as a man of faith, right, a man who trusted in God, followed God, had favor with God, but he was no saint. That should be good news to some of y'all, me especially. He was no saint, as we have seen in previous chapters of his life. He was flawed, he had relapses of belief and trust, yet God still made him the father of Israel, a patriarch in the lineage of Christ, this non-saint. Why and how does that happen? Because God promised and Abraham surrendered. Now, you know, god always accomplishes his promises, right? So God promised Abraham and Abraham surrendered to what I want to talk about this morning, where I want to focus? Abraham surrendered to God's process.
Speaker 1I want to talk about process. This morning we don't really talk about it, or we can use the word sanctification. We're working out our sanctification on our journey in this life. This morning, I want to talk about it in the term of process, as we look at this chapter through the lens of process. Abraham was definitely in God's process and as believers, we're no different. If we believe in God, if we trust in God, we proclaim him as our Lord and Savior in God. If we trust in God, we proclaim him as our Lord and Savior. We are in his process and here's process. It reveals the reality, it reveals the posture of your heart, it reveals your belief or your unbelief, and God we trust can only be proven and manifested in our lives as we surrender to the process, to God's process.
Speaker 1Now, there's a lot of processes in life, right, I mean, if you want to be an athlete, if you want to be a musician, if you want to be anything and be great at it, you've got to what Surrender to the process. In the artistic world music world for sure, in an artistic world there's a saying you've got to get in your 10,000 hours before you can start becoming professional at it or getting paid to do what it is that you're doing. You've got to put in your 10,000 hours. Now, I have a feeling it's like that with a lot of things Pastor Todd and I like to. Well, he likes to beat up on me when we're boxing, right. That's a process in my life. If I was wanting to become an accomplished boxer and knock his block off one day, I would have to stick to the process. But his arms are like this and mine are like this, so chances are, no amount of process is going to get me to that point. But that's not what I want to do. I don't want to be a boxer, I just enjoy the physical activity of it and getting to hit something. There was just something that is so awesome in getting to hit something. And he wears this vest thing and I do too, but he wears it so. But it would take a lot of process to get me any fulfillment in that.
Speaker 1But we all are in process in areas of our life, but when it comes to our spiritual life, we don't want to be in the process. Just admit it to yourself, just be honest. Because if we did, if we were honest about it, where would a lot of our time, where would a big percentage of our time be focused, god's Word Praying, doing the things that are in the process? But even if you're not, if you are a child of God, you are somewhere in that process because God loves you too much. As Max Lucado says, god loves you too much to leave you where you are and he's always calling you and pulling you forward. And no matter the longevity of your Christian journey, we are always in process and all of us are, at different places, in the process. So you can't look at your neighbor or at your spouse and go I am so far ahead of you. You can't do that when it's being judgmental and it's not allowing them space in their life for God to move and you're holding them to a standard that God's not even moved them to yet.
Speaker 1But we should always be thankful and this is a hard part here for God's process in our walk and for his process in the walk of others. Right Process purifies our flaws. It empties us of self and fills us with him. The process brings him glory, makes us a blessing to the world around us. And the process challenges us to trust God's words, his promises, his methods, his timing and his faithfulness. And I know there's been a lot of times in my life I've questioned all of those. But the further I get in his process, the more I trust him, the more those things become things that I just automatically accept and know I don't question anymore. And so I ask do we trust in God? I believe process is key to being able to truly truthfully say yes, I do.
Embracing the Pain of God's Process
Speaker 1So we're going to take a look at three different truths, I believe, about process this morning as we look here in Genesis 21, because we can see Abraham and his household experiencing the promise, the pain and the purpose of process as they navigate past and present, choices and consequences. As they navigate, deciding to trust or not to trust God's leading and faithfulness. They experience these three things. So let's just look at the first one, the promise of process. Pastor Todd read this in verse one through seven there, and what we see is we see Sarah and Abraham excited, enjoying the fulfillment of a promise. Right, and what was that promise? The promise is that Isaac would come right, that Sarah, in her old age, would bear a son to Abraham, which something that seemed impossible, but God promised it. They weren't sure, weren't completely trusting, but regardless of their trust or belief or unbelief, what happened? God still fulfilled his promise. Right, because it didn't depend on them, it was all depending on him, correct? That's the thing about God's promises they don't depend on you, they depend on him. Now, I'm happy to know that, because I have failed many, many times, and there's a lot of times I doubt the things that God has promised in his word and to me as a follower personally. But Abraham and Sarah experienced the joy of a promise fulfilled. Sarah, here, at the age of 90, gives birth to Isaac. You know what his name literally means he laughs. I think God's got a sense of humor, don't you? He has to. Yeah, I mean, look at us. I've looked in the mirror lately, didn't like it. But Abraham at the age of 100, 100, he's a new father. And see Sarah. She had laughed with doubt right when she was told a year earlier that she would bear a child, and now Sarah is laughing with joy and amazement at the divine hand of God.
Speaker 1Abraham and Sarah were experiencing God's continued faithfulness to the promise he had made them 25 years earlier, even in regards to Abraham being the father of a great nation, and the journey to this moment had been one of what. Had it been perfect up to this point, had everything just gone? You know, abraham and Sarah have been perfect examples of Christ followers. Hopefully your heads are shaking. No, which means they've been listening, todd. That's good. No, the journey to this point had been one of sinful failures, unbelief, fear Listen to all these adjectives Fear and doubt and selfish decisions, personal loss, as well as times of belief and obedience, fearless trust and worship. They had experience and walked through all of it to get to this point and, just like he had so many times before, god revealed his faithfulness through the birth of Isaac to his covenant with Abraham. He revealed his faithfulness why? Because they were in his process. He was shaping them, molding them. Sound familiar? I mean.
Speaker 1Abraham was by no means perfect. However, he was devoted to following God. I mean. That was his heart's desire. God chose Abraham and was committed to walking with him through the process and seeing him obtain the fulfillment of the promise.
Speaker 1And let me tell you something that is just like you and me. God is committed to you, he's committed to me and he's committed to walking us through together with him, him and us, us and him, through the fulfillment of the promises he has for us. He's committed to us. His all-in love is overwhelming. It's his all-in guidance, his all-in promises, his all-in grace, his all-in mercy. He is all-in for you and, as a child of God, he loves you so much, he loves us so much that he puts us in his process. He loves you so much that he says I want to mold you and I want to shape you, I want to form you into my image. Because here's the deal.
Speaker 1The promise of process is this that God is faithful in spite of us. God is faithful to do what he says he will do in spite of you and me, in spite of our failures, our fears, our unbelief, our doubts. The promise is that he will be faithful to do what he says he will regardless of us, in spite of us. But things work so much better when we go along with the plan, don't they? I mean, unless you just like hitting the brick walls, sometimes it takes us a few times. Boom, okay, great, boom, oh, come on, it didn't break the thing. Boom, you know, run head first. You know what I'm talking about. Whatever God begins in us, he will complete.
Speaker 1No matter the promise, god's process will lead us to his fulfillment and you see, abraham and Sarah got to experience this in a very real way. Because God fulfills his promises, because it's his nature and his good pleasure. He can't break a promise, but it's not because of anything we do. We deserve nothing but hell now and for eternity. We deserve eternal separation from a holy God, but glory to God. We have the promise of hope. Who is what? Who did we say earlier Jesus Christ. He is our hope for now and for eternity. You press on to that hope through the process, knowing that we will see him face to face. And I don't know about you, but there are days when that is the one hope and promise that I cling to, knowing that I will see him face to face and I won't have to walk by faith anymore. I'll be totally able to walk by sight because I can see Him. Man, what a promise that is of a process that can be so painful. As a matter of fact, our second point here is that what we don't like about the promise of process is that it will definitely be accompanied by refining pain, the pain of process. There's a lot of P's in this, but I did that on purpose, just so I could mess it up. We don't like the pain of process.
Speaker 1Let me read this verses here, verses 8 through 16, as we see this in this chapter "and the child grew and was weaned", that's Isaac. "and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned". They had a big party. "but Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing". Sarah saw Ishmael laughing. She wasn't happy about it. So she said to Abraham Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac. She got ticked, protective mom, unhappy, and the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. Abraham loved Ishmael. That was his son At that point. That was the only heir he had. But God said to Abraham be not displeased because of the boy and because of your slave woman. Whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you. For I first got married God whispered that in my ear Whatever Jackie says to you, just do as she tells you. That's just good stuff right there. For through Isaac shall your offspring be named, and I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman, also because he is your offspring Again, god fulfilling his promises in spite of Sarah, in spite of Abraham, but because he made the promise. So Abraham rose up early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder along with the child, and sent her away and she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Speaker 1I've heard it said that pain is weakness leaving the body. I don't like my weakness leaving the body because it's painful. So it's a true statement Pain, weakness leaving the body, the pain of process, occurs as we embrace the cross and die to self, trusting in God and not ourselves. Letting go of all that is fleshly is painful to our flesh. However, it breathes life to our soul and into our spirit. We don't like to let go, but hopefully, as we deal with the pain of our sin.
Speaker 1The weakness leaving our body is pride or selfishness, unbelief, deceit, etc. You see, sarah had endured the pain of barrenness and Hagar and Ishmael were constant reminders of that, and it was Abraham and Sarah's sin, 16 years ago, that birthed this very moment, right? So not only is Ishmael laughing, sarah doesn't like it, she's, she's offended. But don't you think she's carrying around a little bit of baggage in her heart, knowing that it was her sin, it was her jumping ahead of God with Abraham? Who's the one who actually sent Hagar in to sleep with Abraham that she could get pregnant? They were trying to take care of a problem that they thought they could solve by themselves, instead of what Trusting in God? Trusting in God.
Speaker 1So Ishmael's scoffing and mockery opened old wounds, revealed failures and reminded them of failures and fears. And Ishmael's laughing triggered Sarah's insecurities I've got to think and her protective instinct, even though she knew. Okay. So here's the thing. She knew the promise of Isaac, she knew what Isaac's role was to be in their lives, but yet she was still upset, still got angry. She could have trusted God with the circumstance and the hurt, knowing his plans can't be thwarted, but she instead chose to act out of fear and insist that the slave woman, instead of wasn't Hagar and Ishmael anymore. All of a sudden, it was right back to get that slave woman and her son out of my house. She wanted them cast out.
Speaker 1This reaction, though, is similar in Sarah, similar to what we saw back in chapter 16. She let fear drive her choices. This joyous celebration, this weaning celebration of Abraham enthroned, celebration of God's faithfulness, became overshadowed by their faithlessness. Man, we go from woo, we're so excited also. Oh, I can't stand it. Get that woman out of here. And all the baggage of the past now has come back, and all the anger and the fear. The baggage of the past now has come back, and all the anger and the fear.
Speaker 1But see, acting out of fear and not faith reveals our lack of trust and unbelief, doesn't it? When God allows us, in his process, to go into circumstances and we begin to get fearful, we begin to make choices out of that fear, it is completely revealing our lack of trust in his hand that is guiding us right. Hagar and Ishmael were a constant reminder of past sinful choices and the continuing repercussions of those choices. Got anything like that in your life? Got anything that? Yeah, you know it kind of fades into the background. But then when you get together with family and the holidays, it all just whoosh, comes right back. Somebody says something right, somebody does something, or somebody brings up a bad memory or brings up some kind of hurt and all of a sudden, there we are, right back where we were ten years ago or five years ago. You see, god allows those things to happen so we can take those circumstances, those fear spots, and place them under the blood and experience forgiveness and let Him wash it away, let Him teach us and show us how to walk through it and away from it so that no longer does it infect our minds and our hearts. Whenever we get triggered, that's called maturing in your faith. Those things don't trigger me anymore.
Speaker 1When I was early in ministry, y'all probably remember Pastor Tim. He was here a few months back, preached, I think, sometime in November. So he was my pastor for about 14 years and actually then wound up working under him in Michigan for another seven years. So he's basically like family to us. But when we first met, jackie and I were just in a super low place I mean lower than low place, right, had been in ministry and thought we were doing things great. And then come to find out the pastor just totally disagreed with that and said you got two months, you're gone, right, you're out of here. And if you don't do all these things that I'm telling you you have to do, you're not going to get any severance. And we just had a baby. So that really felt really nice on his part. And you know, we'd only taken a ministry of like 10 students and grown it to like 50, but apparently that wasn't good enough.
Trusting God Through Painful Process
Speaker 1So and I'm not bitter, don't, don't hear that, and I'm not bitter, don't hear that but the main incident happened while we were gone on a world changers mission trip with the kids and we came back and apparently something had happened and all of a sudden it was all my fault and there was no explaining anything and nobody died, nobody got hurt. We all made it back safe. So I don't really understand what it was all about. All I know is that I was given, like you know, like two months and boom, that was hard, that was hard to hear, hard to understand, hard to walk through. So in that process we met Pastor Tim. He, of course, was sending out resumes and he happened to pick up or get my resume over the email and got a phone call and we talked and he said well, I'm going on a mission trip. When I come back we'll have more conversations. So he did. He came back and we met at a Cracker Bell pouring down rain and it was just one of those things I remember so vividly having that first meeting and then, of course, inviting us up to the church and the thing was, they really loved Jackie. I was just coming along for the ride. Okay, that was, and I know that's what it was here. So it's okay, I'm used to it by now. Amen, yeah, amen, I'll amen that myself, amen.
Speaker 1It took about two years of working with Pastor tim, who loved on us. That church a lot reminds me a lot of, like this church, just great people. Okay, that loved on us helped us, uh, kind of get back into the groove of not feeling like we're just, you know, being dumped on or being hurt. But it took me two years. Every time we'd go on vacation I'd come back and I'd be like, do I still have a job? Do I still have a job? And that fear would lock in. And finally, after about two years of just going okay and Pastor Tim taking me in his office going look, we like you, you're doing a great job, you're not going to get fired, it's all good, just don't step in, stupid. Y'all heard him say that before I know, and so eventually the sting of that went away and I can talk about it now with happiness and joy on my face, whereas before it now with happiness and joy on my face, whereas before it wasn't happiness and joy.
Speaker 1But when we act in fear, it reveals that lack of trust and unbelief. But God keeps us in his process so that we can learn to walk through that and we can learn to give forgiveness and seek forgiveness and get forgiveness, so that those things don't have to prop up and cause us pain anymore. But Hagar and Ishmael were constant reminders of that to Sarah and Abraham. So she said get him out of here. So, abraham, what did he do here? Abraham had to send Hagar and Ishmael away against the pain of his heart. The thing is he loved Hagar and Ishmael. He was deeply hurt. He anguished at having to banish them and the only thing that soothed his pain was the voice of God saying look, it's okay, do what Sarah's telling you to do, because I'm going to take care of this. And I have learned and that's one of the things I did learn from Pastor Tim is timing is everything. If we just trust God, more than likely when you think you need to step in and fix the problem, god's going. Just hang on, just wait, I'll take care of this, just let me handle it. And he does. And that's exactly what he's telling Abraham here. Of course, little did Abraham know that this was a dress rehearsal for something in the future, right with Isaac.
Speaker 1So Hagar and Ashton are cast out, completely powerless to control their fate. They became collateral damage of Abraham and Sarah's sinful choices. Hagar once again persecuted for obeying her mistress and being the object of her fears. And although Hagar had been reassured by God 16 years earlier, in the moment she forgot about what God had told her, that God had seen her. If you go back and look at that, she goes you are the God who sees me. She forgot that.
Trusting God's Transformative Process
Speaker 1How easy it is for us to forget God's divine intrusions in our lives. It's easy to forget what God has done for us in the past. When we get so caught up with fear and doubt and unbelief in the moment, we somehow just forget that God's taking care of us. God's told us he's going to handle this, and that's where Hagar found herself. And have you ever noticed how sin always affects more than just the sinner? You ever notice that Anybody raise their hand? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. See, sarah and abraham's sin didn't just affect them. Now it's having crazy effect on their family and on hagar and ishmael, because sin always affects more than just a sinner. It's painful dealing with our sin and its consequences. It's painful seeing our sin affect the lives of those we love and care about, but it's this process that causes us to learn from our mistakes. God's process causes us to humble ourselves and ask forgiveness from God and those we've hurt. It should also prompt us to constantly fall on God's mercy and grace and trust him. Because the crazy reality is this as we mature and grow in our faith and you may not like this, but we learn to be thankful for the pain in the process we learn to be thankful for the pain, knowing that the refining pain of process shapes and molds us more into the image of Christ. Shining paint of process shapes and molds us more into the image of Christ, because without the paint of process, we would never achieve the purpose of process, which is intimacy with God and an all-in trust. See God's molding our hearts, shaping he wants our hearts. And here we see Hagar and Ishmael thrown out and they wander in the desert until finally they run out of provisions. And Hagar, she goes and sits a distance away from her son and she says Let me not look upon the death of the child. And she cries out and as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice, she wept and God heard the voice of the boy and the angel of God called the voice of the boy. And the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her what troubles you, hagar? Fear not. I love that, fear not. You've been acting out of fear. Everybody in this whole household has been acting out of fear. But, hagar, look, fear not, even though it's looming. Fear not why, for God has heard the voice of the boy, where he is. Get up, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation again. He reveals the promise to her, tells her his future plans for her and her son. And then he opened her eyes and showed her a well of water and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. How easy it is for us to get so caught up in our fear and doubt that we can't see the provision that God has placed in front of us a lot of times right, because all we can see is what's about to just overwhelm us, or all we can see is somebody else's wrong, how they've wronged us. All we can see is our hurt when God's put a provision right in front of us that, if we would just look up, look at him, he'll go look, here's what I've got for you. I'm going to take care of this. Look at him. He'll go. Look, here's what I've got for you. I'm going to take care of this. Look at me.
Speaker 1Hagar, at the end of her rope, she encountered a God who saw her and heard her again, as he had years earlier, having lost all she had family, security, her status, love. She encountered a God who hears Now listen to this. A God who hears, who sees, who heals, restores security, her status, love. She encountered a God who hears. Now listen to this. A God who hears, who sees, who heals, restores loves and always keeps his promises. His process was leading Hagar into an all-in-trust relationship with himself, because God loved her and, as God had promised, he would give her and Ishmael all they had lost. Why? Because that's what God does. It didn't depend on them. It was not because she was wonderful or great, it was because he had made the promise and that was his intention for them, and so he would fulfill it.
Speaker 1God desires our heart.
Speaker 1He desires relationship.
Speaker 1God desires our heart, he desires relationship.
Speaker 1His desire is joyful obedience, motivated by love, relationship with him. And process teaches us that. Teaches us to desire, rely on God's guidance, to listen and obey. You see, methodically, abraham was learning to hear the voice of God and obey, instead of acting impulsively in the situation, like he probably would have done before. What did he do? He actually listened to God's voice and obeyed God's direction. God said listen to Sarah, do what she's asking. I'm going to take care of this. And what did Abram do? Even with all that pain in his heart of losing his son, he said okay, all right, I'm listening. Now I'm going to act out and I'm going to do it.
Speaker 1Like you said, god's process in Abraham's life had produced a rock-solid personal relationship with God. Gone were the doubts, and we see this so incredibly manifested later on when God says I want you to take Isaac up the mountain and you know and sacrifice him. We see that this relationship with God has grown to the point, has matured to the point where the doubts and the second guessing and figuring out selfish delusions was gone away. Abraham said yes, god, whatever you ask, that's what I'm going to do. Woo, they've gone through some process, folks, but that's the same place that we need to be. That's the same place God is calling us to. His testimony of faith is endured for centuries because he surrendered to and trusted God's process, and that's how we remember him. He had to rely solely on God. His faith became his reputation, his blessing to himself and those around him.
Speaker 1In present day and the chapter ends with Abimelech, the Philistine king of Gerar from chapter 3 comes and he wants to make a pact with Abraham. Why? Because he has seen make a pact with Abraham. Why? Because he has seen God's hand on him. He has seen God's favor on him. He has seen God multiply and make him abundant in all that he has. The heathen king has witnessed God's power before in his own life and he knew that God's hand was with Abraham in a mighty way.
Living Out Trust in God's Process
Speaker 1This is what's so cool about when we allow process to have its way in us, when we submit and trust God's process, even the lost will notice the presence and power of God in our lives. When we allow the sanctification process like I said, that was another word we could use when we allow God to mature us on this Christian journey, even lost people go, man. There's something different about you, man. I want to get to know you. What have you got? Why are you so confident? Why are you not breaking down in this crazy awful circumstance?
Speaker 1And at the very end, all I noticed is because I thought it was very interesting. They made a covenant, abraham and Abimelech, and Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. So that's all cool and stuff. And I went and I thought you know, that's really interesting because it specifically says tamarisk tree. And I'm thinking, okay, why would it say something? Be that specific. Why did you say he planted a tree and you know it stayed there for many years? Why not say that? So I looked it up he planted a tamarisk tree. Check this out.
Speaker 1The tamarisk tree is mentioned only a handful of times in the Bible, but it helps us understand wonderful truths. And I'm just reading this from downloading it, okay. Native to the drier areas of Eurasia and Africa, tamarisk trees can withstand heat and drought by sending roots deep into the soil. The leaves of the tamarisk tree are scale-like, similar to junipers, and the canopy is thick, so it's great heavy shade. Salt crystals are exuded onto the leaves by the tree and overnight tiny drops of droplets of water form around the crystals. When the surrounding air is warmed by the morning sun, the water on the leaves evaporates and makes the shade even cooler. Today, tamarisk trees are frequently grown as shade tree.
Speaker 1Now listen to this when we live humbly in god's process, he makes us like this tree. We become strong and deeply rooted, able to withstand heat and drought and provide cool, refreshing shade for those around us as we continually place our trust in the everlasting God, el Halom. How cool is that? How cool is that Abraham would plant a tree like that that has those characteristics, and those are the exact same characteristics that God is calling on us to exhibit as we go through his process. We provide shade for people, we become a blessing for other people. We become deeply rooted so that the storms of life can't overwhelm us and yet, in those storms of life, we can still provide shade and comfort and encouragement to those around us. That is so cool, shouldn't we be the church? Shouldn't the church be like the tamarisk tree? So what if the church began to truly embody all in trust and all in God, that's us. What if the church could say, with complete integrity in God we trust. How great an impact in this world we could have if we live that out daily. He tells us right here, daily. He tells us right here. What if we could truly believe the promise of process and embrace the pain of process and passionately desire the purpose of process, intimacy with God. Remember God is always faithful to his people and his promises and process is good and necessary to make us more like Christ Folks. May God in God we trust be how we are known and how we remember. That's how we remember Abraham, isn't it man he trusted, he wasn't perfect, but he was in God's process, and now we remember him as a man who completely trusted in God.
Embracing Trust in the Process
Speaker 1So where are you at this morning in the process? That's my final question. Are you fighting it or are you surrendered to it? Are you going. No, no, no, no. I don't want that God. I don't want this pain. I don't want to go through this God. I don't want this pain. I don't want to go through this.
Speaker 1If you're fighting it, take a moment and reflect on the promises that God has answered in your life. Take a moment and look where God has carried you through the fire. That song we sang. I trust in God. He's always been my fourth man in the fire. God has always and will always be in the fire with you.
Speaker 1So if you're fighting this process, take a moment, stop and remember what God has been doing and what he has done in your life. Reflect on the promises God has fulfilled in your life and then just thank him for it. Thank him for the process. See, that's the place we need to be right God. Thank you for the process as the praise team comes, thanking God for the promise of process, for the pain of the process, but also for the purpose, the refining purpose to bring in him glory and honor in all that we do.
Speaker 1Would you stand with me this morning as we take a few moments and just express that trust? And Todd and Rachel will be down here this morning and I just invite you church. I don't know where you're at, but if you need to come and just place yourself on the altar this morning and say God, I want to trust you more. God, I'm not trusting you like I should. God, I want to be in the process. I'm sorry I fight it so much and don't be ashamed of that, because I guarantee if you're struggling with it, 20 other people are too. But if you need prayer this morning, you'd like somebody to pray with you. Rachel and Todd will be down here as we sing. I trust in God.