[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. If you'll turn to Genesis 18, I know we're in chapter 21, but I'll read some verses there because we're going to look at, compare two different kinds of laughter in the life of Sarah.
[0:15] I really enjoy laughing, you know? And any time that I don't, if I go very long and I'm not trying to be funny, I'm not laughing, people assume there's something wrong with me because I typically enjoy laughing.
[0:27] I like telling jokes, my little son's like that, he has the weirdest little jokes, but he really enjoys seeing people laugh. One of the funnier things that happened, Brother John and I spent a lot of time on the Kenya laughing, all kinds of laughter, and one of the first times, real funny events that happened, we were in the train station in Amsterdam and we needed some directions.
[0:48] We had bought this ticket and it was like 12 bucks, I don't know, it was an expensive ticket, but nobody wanted to see it, and we kind of wanted to show somebody our expensive ticket. So I walked over to these young ladies and I had some questions and I said, excuse me, are you from here?
[1:02] And they got real mad at me and they said, does it look like we're from around here? And I'm like, well, I'm not, so I don't know what we're supposed to look like. And she said, no, we're from Finland. And I was like, we're in Holland, you understand?
[1:13] And we found that so funny, you just have to be there, okay? But we found that so funny that these girls from Finland and we're over in Holland, just right around the corner, thought that I should tell the difference between them.
[1:26] And we laughed about that and all the things that would happen. But one of the great types of laughter we had and the kind you have is just sitting in a church and just hearing testimonies of a person said, I grouped the church, I got saved.
[1:38] And you just find yourself laughing. It's not really a punchline. It's just an uncontrollable response to what God's doing. I'm not a proponent of the laughing revival. You can go down to Pensacola for something like that.
[1:50] There's many places that talk about the laughing revival. But we find here that laughing would be a great expression of when we're just caught by surprise by the wonder of what God has done.
[2:01] That's what we find in the second laughter of Sarah. But in the first time she laughed, inside of her heart, it's not the same type of laughter. And we're going to look at those two. And I really want to urge you to follow along when I read the scripture here because it's a story.
[2:14] And you don't want to miss any part of it because there's application to be made from the story. So I'm going to start in chapter number 18. And I'm going to go through verse number 6 and go through 15.
[2:25] Then I'm going to jump over to 21. So Genesis 18 and verse number 6. And Abraham had hastened unto the tent unto Sarah and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the earth.
[2:38] Let me pause there and let you know that the Lord and two angels had come to visit Abraham. And when they did, he was going to be a host as would be culture. And it ought to be anybody's culture when Jesus comes and visits you.
[2:49] Could you imagine yelling to your wife, Hey, Stephanie, Robert Kelly's over here. Go in there and get three measures of fine meal and knead it and make cakes upon the earth. I'm glad that we have a hostess now. It's a lot quicker or little Debbie.
[3:02] It would take a while to make something from that. So he tells his wife to prepare something because they have company. And Abraham ran into the herd and fetched the calf tender and good and gave it unto a young man. And he hastened to dress it.
[3:13] And he took butter and milk and calf, which he had dressed, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. That the Lord had a place inside of their home. And they had a place ready for him.
[3:27] And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life. At an appointed time here it says, And lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which she was behind him.
[3:41] Sarah's eavesdropping over just a few with it but able to hear. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord, being old also?
[3:58] And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of surety bear a child, which I am old? Is there anything too hard for the Lord? And at the time I appointed I will return unto thee according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
[4:12] Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not, for she was afraid. And he said, Nay, but thou didst laugh. First of all, if the Lord ever visits your house and he says anything, I wouldn't encourage laughter, okay?
[4:22] If he comes down to speak to you, you should not laugh anywhere in response to him. But also, if you do laugh, don't deny it. I mean, it's God here. But it says here, this was a laughter that she was ashamed of.
[4:33] It was a cynical type of laughter. It was a laughter that came out of a disbelief. The same type of action, laughter, but it came out of disbelief. But then we get to chapter 21, and as I said earlier, we finally see that Abraham and Sarah get their child that they had been waiting for.
[4:49] And the Lord visited Sarah, and he said, And the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. Take note of the fact that it says twice, And the Lord visited Sarah, and the Lord did unto Sarah. He wants to remind you that it's all him that's doing this.
[5:02] For Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time in which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called to the name of the son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac, being eighty days old, as God had commanded him.
[5:17] And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me laugh, so that he will hear, will laugh at me. All that hear will laugh at me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham that Sarah should have given children suck?
[5:32] For I have borne him a son in his old age. And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. You know, I love to make people laugh, and comedy is just great, it lightens up somebody's day.
[5:45] But I would really like to make all of you laugh tonight, not outwardly, but inwardly, and not from my own doing, but from the word of God. We're going to see here that we have the same reasons to laugh as Sarah did.
[5:56] We should be some happy, joyful people, every day when we wake up and realize what God has done with our life. As I think about little children, and they're younger, and they have a laughter that just comes from their belly, and everything's funny because everything, they have a sense of wonder, that they get older in their teenage and college years, and they become to get cynical, that the gospel can restore that wholesome type of laughter to them.
[6:19] And this is just more than an outward ha-ha, but this is an inward joy that we're going to see. And I pray tonight as Christians that you'll see this, and you'll say, Man, what Sarah has, I have that so much more.
[6:31] What she has in Isaac, I have so much more in our Jesus. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I ask that you'll be with us tonight, Lord, as we look at your word. I pray that it will have the desired effect in our hearts that you would have.
[6:43] Thank you for preserving this word, Lord, and allowing us to have it. And in reading it and studying your stories, we get to know you more, which is the pursuit of our lives, Lord. We want to know you more and more.
[6:53] And I pray that you'll restore laughter in the hearts of people. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. As I already said, there's an uncontrollable laughter that's just great. Jared and Jessica McKinnon recorded their little baby laughing last week, and it was great that first time they laughed.
[7:08] And I remember recording that for Thatcher, their laughter. But there's also something very sad when a person's not able to laugh or to smile. Stephanie went to graduation last week, and Abby as well.
[7:18] And there's a young man there named Will Abernathy. And his family, his mom and dad, walked him across the stage, or his mom did. And he's been fighting two types of cancer for a time, and his days are limited.
[7:30] And this is a lady that loves the Lord, but right now she's not able to smile. And his life was taken from her. And that's a horrible place for people to be at. There's also a type of laughter that's a cynical laughter, which is just horrific when we hear it.
[7:45] But first of all, I want to make sure that I make note of the fact, before we go too far, in verse number one, is that the promise was fulfilled. The promise that had been given, that God said that he would fulfill, he did it.
[7:56] We've been waiting for this, for this moment to last three chapters. And Abraham and Sarah have been waiting for 25 years, and it's finally here. They've been living by faith. They've been stumbling at times when they would take their eyes off of the promise, and they would try to create things on themselves.
[8:10] But the promise was here. And I want to make sure, as the Bible does, that you realize that God is the fulfiller of his promises. In verse number one, it said it twice, and the Lord, and the Lord unto Sarah.
[8:22] This was not just prophecy of what Abraham would do, but this was a promise of what God would do. Remember the story of God putting Abraham to sleep, our pastor talked about, and he walked through there, and he let him know, I'm going to fulfill this promise.
[8:35] It's not going to be your efforts. I've got to tell you, after 25 years, Abraham was all but asleep. This promise wasn't, he had already given it his best, he had tried, and he had Ishmael, and he had done all these things, and now he was at a point where he realized, I can't make this happen.
[8:51] Hebrews 11 and verse number 12, Patrick put it on the screen, it says that he was as good as dead. Therefore spring there even of one him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky and the multitude.
[9:04] That's a pretty strong language, isn't it? Abraham was impossible to make this happen. It was impossible 25 years before, but even Abraham now is getting to the point where he knows it's not going to happen.
[9:16] And then verse 2, it said, at a set time. So not only does God fulfill it, but he fulfills it exactly when he had promised that he would, and when he had set, he was not behind at all on this.
[9:27] His promises never fail. It's kind of a confession, but the other day, Thatcher was hungry, and they're usually hungry when their mom's not home, because I don't pay enough attention to them, okay?
[9:38] Luckily, they're not with me for very long. And I kept saying, I'm going to get you something here in a moment. Just give me a second. I'm going to get you something. And he says, Daddy, I don't want your promise. I want cereal.
[9:49] And I was like, oh, man. He's like, I want you to stop saying that. But when God says something, it's as good as there, isn't it? Let's do some simple math here. Gregory, if you have $5, you got $5, okay?
[10:01] And I tell you I'm going to give you $5, how much money do you have? No, sir, you have $5, okay? All right, let's see. You have $5, and God promises He's going to give you $5.
[10:13] How much money do you have? Ten, but I appreciate you trusting me in the first illustration. You know, if God says He's going to give you $5, you go ahead. There's $10 there, because it's His good.
[10:24] It's a promise. His promise, it's there. It's creation. When He promises something, it's created. It's there. And so we see that there. It happened. It was going to. Abraham wondered.
[10:35] For three chapters, we wondered if we wouldn't have known the Bible. But it's there, and it happens. Now, how does Abraham respond? In verse number four, we're told that he responds with obedience. And Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac, being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
[10:48] He had already taught him about this outward expression of this inward reality. And so he was ready to be obedient there. It was in God's perfect timing He had prepared Abraham's heart for this day.
[11:00] So God doesn't act in reaction to Abraham. It wasn't that Abraham finally achieved to the point that he gets this. And that's not what I'm telling you in here. And I would never say that in here.
[11:10] And I want to go ahead and just say it, lest it not be assumed. It's not a child being withheld of them because of a punishment, and that someday they will earn that child. But I do want you to see here in the fact that God prepared Abraham's heart.
[11:24] And he knew when it was going to happen. And he had something for Abraham. Something the pastor has said to us many times. That sometimes God builds the ministry, and sometimes God builds the man.
[11:35] And so as he was waiting that day for it, God was doing the work. And it wasn't that nothing was happening. It was just everything that was happening was happening under the ground. That the foundation was happening, was being laid.
[11:46] And so big things had been happening to make this promise happen. But it was things that Abraham couldn't see, and God had prepared them. And so Abraham's response here is obedient. He had gone from belief to disbelief, the acts of courage, the shameful acts of disbelief.
[11:59] Abraham had been tested many times, first of all, with his father, and then with his nephew, Lot, and then we saw in chapter 16, even with his wife, he had been tested, and God had been doing the work, and these acts of obedience.
[12:11] He names his child Isaac, which we have to be told that Isaac means laughter. But if we were there in that day and age, we wouldn't need to be told that Isaac means laughter. They would know this is laughter.
[12:22] He named his child laughter. He circumcised the child as said. And then we'll see later on, at a later date, that he sends Ishmael away. And this has been so powerful studying Romans, as I've been trying to understand how to live a life by the law of the Spirit and not in the flesh.
[12:39] I find here with the story of Isaac, where God tells him to take his son up on the mountain and to kill his son. Did you know if he would have never sent Ishmael away and been obedient to that, then that wouldn't have been his only begotten son.
[12:51] And that act of obedience wouldn't have been the same. This is 17-year-old Ishmael, who Abraham had loved, who Abraham had prayed and said, God, please make it all happen through Ishmael.
[13:02] I love him. I'm taking care of him. And we're going to see he's going to have to send Ishmael away because he's ready to obey. Abraham has said, God, I've seen. You're faithful. And he's ready to obey.
[13:12] Now, let's look how Sarah responds here. It says in verse, here that she laughed before. In chapter number 8 and verse number 12, it said, and therefore Sarah laughed within herself.
[13:23] Remember, she's just right around the corner and she overheard it. And she laughed within herself saying, how is this possible? This was a cynical laugh of unbelief. It was a laugh that she was ashamed of.
[13:33] She said, I didn't laugh like that. Without grace, there was still laughter. There's a cynical laughter that says this is an impossible situation. There's no way out. There's a nervous laughter that says, I'm sure I can do this, but I'm kind of scared.
[13:46] So I'm burning expendable energy. Pastor tells that when he's in Burkina Faso and he's preaching and those men follow under conviction, they just start giggling to themselves. It's a laughter that's different there.
[13:58] God was transforming her laughter. What a loving God. Instead of pouring down fire from heaven on her for laughing at him, he fulfills a promise on her behalf.
[14:09] She laughs. And I don't mean this disrespectfully. She laughs in God's face. He's in the Lord is in the other room with the two angels and he speaks. And inside of her heart, which might as well be loud because God sees the heart, she laughs.
[14:24] And God, in his mercy, he doesn't pour down wrath upon her, but he goes to work and he performs that promise for her and gives her what is the desire of her heart, which is the child. He restores the laughter to its original purpose.
[14:36] It's her belief that changes the sound of this laughter. Isaac was real in chapter number 18, right? Because when God says he'll give you five dollars, you can go ahead and count it in your wallet.
[14:48] So when he says, I'm going to give you a son, is there a son? Yes, it's real. It's reality. But she hadn't seen it yet. And then the verse in chapter 21, she recognizes it. She needed to see what her eyes, what she should have been able to see by faith.
[15:02] Her belief causes a sense of wonder and an amazement that causes laughter. And so she sees this and it's just laughter. It says there in chapter 21, how is this?
[15:13] Nobody's going to believe this. People are going to laugh with me when they find out that I at this age have a child. It's a sense of wonder at what God has done. If there's anything that we can learn from children and we should work this summer and ask God to bring them in.
[15:28] And we should just bring them in so we can learn something from them. It's that sense of wonder. We can tell the same Bible story up in children's church and they can be on the edge of their seats. But as we get older, we have to have more special effects.
[15:41] We've got to have more things to create that same sense of wonder. The world tries to control our laughter. They want to tell us that nothing in creation is true. They want to deny the miracles. They try to pull everything out of the Christian story, don't they?
[15:54] The world would tell you that the miracles in the Bible are crazy, that God didn't create the world in six days. Anything that would create a sense of wonder about God, they say it's not true. But then they try to sell it back to us in a book or at art or some kind of thing.
[16:06] And they try to create a sense of wonder because they want to control it. Children still have that sense of wonder. Take a four-year-old to a zoo and their mouth is open the whole time. Take a 14-year-old to a zoo and they're going to break you at the concession stand.
[16:22] All right? At the older we get, the wonder leaves. And the world wants to sell us on a form of wonder that's packaged differently. But that kind of wonder is fleeting. You watch it via book. You read it and it's exciting.
[16:33] But it passes away. But this type of wonder, the one that Sarah says, Wow, God has done something on my behalf that I could never do. God has entered the story. That creates a sense of wonder and it creates her laughter here.
[16:45] So I'm told as I've been studying for this documentary, Praise the Lord, the money's there for it. And either in August or September we could go and film it. And so as I've been reading, I've seen three things.
[16:56] And I think you'll know this to be true. That they say if you want to create a really good story, you have to have these three elements. And maybe Andrew, he's studied all this. And we've talked about this before.
[17:06] But first of all, there needs to be a force, a hero, or an idea that has a power. Power that is greater than the problem in the story. Secondly, there has to be an impossible situation where the people in the story just seem hopeless.
[17:19] Then there has to be a heroic key that unlocks the first element and brings it to the second element. It can be a person. It can be a campaign. But it's something that makes the same hopeless. It brings hope into it.
[17:30] And it gets changed in different ways. But that's what we look for. That's what's exciting to us. And that's what Sarah sees. So there's no wonder in why Sarah would be filled with such wonder. There was a God that was greater than all of her circumstances of being barren.
[17:44] She had tried to solve her problems on her own. She was without resources to do it. She was hopeless in herself. Then the Son of Promise was born into her life from the grace of God.
[17:55] And it created a sense of wonder. And she laughs. We should laugh. We really should. We should express emotionally what we see and wonder every time we sing a song like we see that was just sung there in front of us.
[18:09] Any time we think about the cross, it ought to create a sense of wonder in our lives. And this is where God brings us laughter in our lives as well. So we see Sarah in a possible situation.
[18:20] God intervenes. And he creates a sense of wonder. And she responds to it. Can I tell you what was the easy but weak application here, David? The weak and easy application that would be made here is that if we believe, if our belief is strong enough, we can do the impossible things with our life, that if we'll just believe strong enough, then we can see great impossible things like Sarah did.
[18:43] And we would laugh knowing these things could be impossible. Can I tell you why that application will and may be good, but why it's weak? First of all, it's illogical. Because our Savior, the greatest servant ever, he came here.
[18:56] He lived a perfect life. He had a better prayer life than you do. He had a better prayer life than I do. He lived a perfect life, and he was crucified. And he lived a painful life. And at the end of it, they crucify him.
[19:07] So it's not even logical to think that, that our belief, if we just believe strong enough, is going to guarantee it. It's also just bad hermeneutics. Because we see here that Sarah was not a person that just believed really strongly.
[19:20] It was God that fulfilled this promise here. So not only is that a weak application, but it's not even the best punchline here in the story. There's something that's much better. There's something that creates way much wonder in it.
[19:33] And this is it. Is that Jesus is the true eternal son of promise. And he has come into my life, and he's come into your life. And that is our story. As an angel came to a virgin young Jewish girl and told her that you're going to be with child in Luke chapter number one.
[19:48] And if you think it's impossible for a lady to have a child with an old husband, think about how even more impossible it is for a woman to have a child with no husband, with no relation there. And God is going to do that.
[20:00] The angel tells her the same thing. He says, all things are possible with God. Jesus is the true Isaac, the ultimate son of promise. And we should laugh in the wonder that he overcomes all the impossibilities.
[20:12] And because of his perfect birth, life, and death, we know that we can be born again and receive new life. We should not be envious of Sarah's story because our story is so great.
[20:23] And the day we live in, we do not live in a shadow, but we see it. He's lived, died, and been resurrected. The story has been preserved for us here so we can read it, and we can go out and tell it. And we should never lose the wonder of that.
[20:36] You know, we're kind of amazed in this story about Abraham and Sarah. But we need to take a step back and say we have a story that is absolutely wonderful in itself and full of wonder. And this should create an unspeakable and a speakable wonder in our lives.
[20:51] We were people without hope. We had fallen short of the glory of God. The good works we were doing were filthy rags. We were the enemies of God. But there was a loving God whose hand was not short, who loved us and desired for us to be restored to our original state of fellowship with him.
[21:06] And then there comes a hero who bridges the two elements upon the cross, and that is Christ. And we should be filled with wonder. Between the laughters, we should tell people about that.
[21:17] What is impossible? That we should live forever? That you and I are part of the family God, despite the rebellious way that we live? That a rebellious redneck in Kentucky who did not deserve to know God gets to serve God?
[21:31] That's amazing to me. And that ought to have a response here in our lives. And here's... I'd like to give you four things in closing there. So there ought to be a sense of wonder simply in the gospel there.
[21:42] And I think we lose it so many times. I think we lose it, and that keeps us from telling it. If you're Sarah here, do you tell that story the rest of your life? I mean, parents love to tell that.
[21:53] Married people love to tell about their wedding. They love to tell about something that was so amazing. If you're Sarah, you spend the rest of your life saying, there's this impossible circumstances, but there's this desire in my heart, and it couldn't be done, but God intervened.
[22:06] It's a sense of wonder. And before, she was ashamed of it, and now she doesn't mind that everybody laughs with her. So one of the things that we also share with Sarah here is that we have a new identity in Christ.
[22:17] You ought to be filled with wonder at your new life in Christ. Sarah had a new self-image. She was a source of wonder even to herself. Who would have thought that I would, yet I am such humility here?
[22:29] She says here in verse number 7. She said, and she said, who would have said unto Abraham that Sarah should have given a child suck? Who would have thought that Sarah, old Sarah, would ever have a child?
[22:41] When's the last time you said that about yourself? Who would have thought that old Brian, that old Robert, that old Nathaniel, that old David or whoever, that Miguel, who would have ever thought that God would have ever saved me?
[22:53] That's humility. And she saw it because she knew she was without resources to do anything unless God intervenes. And we share that with her. We are new creatures of Christ, and that is amazing.
[23:04] Who would have ever thought that God would do this for us? Secondly, not only do we have a new life of Christ, but we find acceptance in Christ. It says here, others will laugh with me. The first time she laughs, she's ashamed of it.
[23:15] And she says, not only will I laugh, but people will laugh with me. She laughs about this. When people see me holding a baby and she sees me feeding a baby for the baby's weaned here, she said, people are going to walk by and say, what is that old lady doing with a baby?
[23:28] They're going to laugh at me. And she says, I think it's wonderful that when people see what God did in my life, they're going to laugh at me. I don't want to be laughed at. I want to be laughed with. But when I realize that people may look at my life and marvel and think, what in the world did God do?
[23:42] I want to say, I'm happy about that. That people would look at me and say, God has done something. It may be comical to me and they may laugh. But I think that's a wonderful thing because He has changed my life.
[23:54] We've been accepted by God. Teenager, adult, why do we fight for acceptance in this world when we're already told that we're accepted by Christ? It's a wonderful thing we should laugh about.
[24:05] He did not judge our performance but to say that they need me and I will die for them. That's how He judged their performance. God did judge it. He said, yeah, you need help. You don't need more than help.
[24:16] You can't do it. People say that Jesus is a crutch and we all say, no, He's not. He's a lifeline. He's way more than a crutch. He found me and without Him I would be nothing.
[24:27] So we find our acceptance. So as Sarah, we find our new identity in Christ. We find our new identity in what God has done for us and we laugh. We find acceptance in Him. Even though everybody else laughs at us, we love that because we know through seeing what God has done in our lives.
[24:41] And then number three, the sins of the past have been reconciled. Sarah has reconciled to her past. The greatest failure in her life is when she laughs at God and then she goes and names her son Laughter.
[24:53] And that shows that God is what God has done with her past. That He has forgiven her past failures. The first time she ever hears about it, she laughs. And then God says, I want you to name your kid Laughter.
[25:04] If you think this is so funny, we're going to go ahead and call your kid Laughter. And this shows here maybe a sense of humor, but it also shows that God brings restoration. He reconciles the past.
[25:15] The memories of our failures in the past, they don't carry guilt anymore because they've been forgiven. But those failures in the past simply magnify how good God has been to us.
[25:25] And they cause us to walk in love for Him, not in perpetual guilt. When you think about the sins of your past, the fact that you don't carry that guilt anymore, you praise God because He knew about them.
[25:38] He knew when we laughed. And He says, you laugh now, but I'm going to give you a kid and I'm going to call them Laughter. And that God has forgiven those things of the past. And we should laugh and be thankful for that.
[25:48] And then lastly, that the world's standards are distorted. Why did God choose Sarah instead of a younger person? Why on the line through Rachel and through Leah, why a poor young girl and not a queen?
[26:00] Why did God choose so many of the people that He did when He chose somebody else? Because the world's standards are not God's standards. And we laugh. Because when the world lines all of us up and picks a basketball team, I get picked last.
[26:14] But when God says, I have a work to do in this world, He says, Trent, you get to be on my team because of His grace. And that's exciting to me. And we should laugh and find that. Isaiah chapter number 54 and verse number 1.
[26:27] And we see what God's standards are so much different. This is Isaiah when he's even... Isaiah is talking about how amazing this is. Saying, O barren, that thou didst not bear. Break forth in the singing and cry aloud that thou didst travail with child.
[26:40] For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. There's people that Abraham and Sarah, hey, we're going to have a kid. God says we're going to have him to send the seas. People would mock and laugh at them.
[26:52] And they would have children. And God took the barren woman in old age and gave her more children than anybody else. Because God's economy is totally different. It's distorted.
[27:03] So you and I today, we should be filled with wonder and laughter at what He has done in our lives. Isn't it wonderful? We can see the wonder in this story.
[27:14] I hope you can. It's being built for three chapters of suspense. That God was going to take the seemingly impossible. And He was going to do something. Can I remind you that He's done that in your life? If you're a believer in here, you were without hope.
[27:25] You couldn't do anything about it. Then Jesus Christ came in and that the Son of Promise was born to you. And He was born to me. And He was born again in my heart. And so maybe in here, some of us would say, hey, I just lost that sense of wonder.
[27:39] I really enjoy the things that go on. I enjoy the things of church. But I have just simply forgot that what He did at Calvary for me is absolutely amazing. And you see here that when I'm speaking about laughter, it's just not what an outward sound that you would make, but just an outward expression.
[27:56] What's so great here is that it's just an uncontrollable laughter in the fact that when she hears this, something happens that she can't really control. Can I tell you tomorrow that the wonder of the gospel ought to cause things to happen inside of our lives.
[28:09] And when we think about the wonder of all that He has done for us. We have a new identity. We're accepted in Him. The world's value system is different than ours.
[28:20] And He has done such a wonderful thing. So can I challenge you to do what I will do? Find a place in your seat or come to an altar here. And simply thank God and say, God, I laugh inside of my heart that you took this cynical laughter, this rebellious person, and you have now given me a new joy.
[28:36] And could I ask all of you in here, find a place and do business with the Lord. And let's ask God for that joy in there. If you have it, thank Him for it and just focus on it every day because the world wants to take it from you.
[28:48] And this summer when God brings little kids in here and they sing on a stage and they hear a laughter, that we can teach them about a true eternal laughter and the greatest story in all of the world.
[28:59] Because they get caught up in it and they want to hear that story. You know what? I think there's probably some other people that want to hear it too. If we were first of all caught up in it and if we saw the wonder in it, they would see the wonder in it as well.
[29:12] Heavenly Father, I thank you so much, Lord, that you took this hopeless circumstance in my life and situation. And Lord, the desire that you have for us is absolutely amazing, Lord.
[29:23] And everybody in here, every believer in here is a testimony of your goodness, Lord. You have given them the promise, Lord. You have the son of promise that lives inside of them through the Holy Spirit, Lord, that's done something.
[29:36] Lord, I pray that you'll fill our hearts with wonder and that we will have these uncontrollable expressions. Lord, I pray it brings laughter. I pray it brings smiles. I pray it brings sharing of the gospel. I pray it brings people going to their closet and praying and talking to you and reading your word because we just have not lost the wonder of it all.
[29:55] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfredo, Georgia. For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.