Okay, well, morning folks. It is lovely to see you. My name is Graham. I'm the pastor here of the church.
Now, I get that it's hot, says the guy in the jumper, but this is really worth our best time and concentration today.
This is an incredible passage if we've got the eyes of faith to tune in and see what it's saying to us.
So let me encourage you to come expectantly to Genesis chapter 26.
You can grab a Bible round about you or your own, or you can scroll on your phone.
But so important that we have God's word open in front of us, Genesis chapter 26.
And so with that in mind, let me try and get us into both the challenge and the comfort that God is going to hold out to us today in his word.
Now, here is British tennis player Emma Raducanu.
Now, back in 2021, she became a household name when she won the US Open as an 18-year-old rookie.
And if you've followed her career since then, you'll know that she's kind of struggled both mentally and physically with the demands of the game of tennis.
And so she said this in an interview with BBC Sport this week.
If anybody read it, I thought it was a fascinating insight into the personality of a sports person.
She said this.
She said, I very much attach my self-worth to my achievements.
If I lost a match, I would be really down.
I would have a day of mourning, literally staring at the wall.
I feel things so passionately and intensely.
Now, on the one hand, part of me kind of loves that drive in her.
But on the other hand, I may be saying this as a father, I really feel for her.
Because no 18-year-old, or she's now, what, 20, should live with that kind of outrageous burden and pressure on their lives, right?
Let alone in life, as opposed to the game of sport.
Now, I take it, though, when she uses that phrase in yellow there, she says,
It's my self-worth.
I take it short for the thing that she perceives that gives her life meaning and purpose.
Okay?
It's kind of one of the buzz phrases of our day, our self-worth.
And for her, that thing is winning.
Which you have to say is fine when you're winning.
But what happens when you don't win?
I've got a friend called Andy.
In fact, Andy was preaching here a couple of weeks ago.
Andy's the chaplain at Hearts Football Club down in Gorgate.
I remember hearing him say, not so long ago, that in his role as the chaplain of that football club,
none of the boys want to talk about the big things in life when things are going well, right?
When things, when they're winning, when they're performing well,
nobody's thinking about the existential questions of life.
But all it takes is for the team to start losing,
and for contracts to be up for discussion,
and for injuries to set in,
and all of a sudden the questions come flying out.
So let me ask you, with that in mind,
where does this morning, where does your sense of self-worth come from?
You see, here is the stunningly unique thing
that the Christian faith has to say into our world today,
that's the polar opposite of what you'll hear every single day
as you live your life in this world,
when it comes to the whole issue of identity and worth.
The Christian faith, the Bible consistently says
that in order to understand ourselves,
we need to first begin by looking away from ourselves,
and to the God who made us,
and who created our hearts
to be eternally satisfied in knowing him.
And so here is where,
if you wondered where on earth we're going with this this morning,
here is where Emma Raducanu connects with Genesis 26.
See, the first readers of Genesis,
and this is what we've got to understand,
as Moses writes this book of Genesis,
the first readers of this first book of the Bible
are the generation who are wandering in the wilderness.
Right?
The Israelites, the people who God has rescued from Egypt.
Right?
Remember that story,
Let My People Go,
that famous line?
I was going to say that Will Smith made famous
in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,
if you know that scene.
Yeah?
Let My People Go.
They're out of Egypt.
They're now journeying towards the promised land,
the land where God said he was taking them.
So these guys are the first readers of Genesis.
Now that's critical for understanding the book as a whole,
and it's crucial for understanding the message of chapter 26,
because as that generation journey to where God has taken them,
right,
they have got all sorts of questions,
spoken and unspoken in their minds.
Who is the Lord?
Is he good for his word?
Can we trust him?
Or actually,
is he just a bogus salesman
whose words aren't worth the bit of paper
that they're written on?
How do we know that we're not staking all of it
on an old wife's tale?
Right?
Always love it.
Is atheist Richard Dawkins right?
Is Christianity just a fairy tale for those afraid of the dark?
Always love how Christian professor John Lennox
responded to that claim in a moment with a bit of love
and a bit of humor when he said,
actually,
you think Christianity is a fairy tale for those afraid of the dark?
Can I just say,
atheism is a fairy tale for those afraid of the light?
It's what we do with the truth,
isn't it?
Like a beach ball,
the Bible says,
we suppress it.
We hold it underneath.
We don't really want to think about truth
and the claims it has on our lives.
You see,
they're wondering,
asking,
who are we?
Where are we?
Where are we going?
And you understand that those are not just postmodern questions.
Right?
Human beings have been asking them ever since we were created.
And this chapter is meant to give them,
and it's meant to give us,
a big piece of that puzzle.
Kind of reminded me this week,
if you remember that game show catchphrase.
Yeah?
They always had that scene at the end
where the big thing was you had to kind of guess the picture
that was behind the puzzle pieces.
And you just got that music,
didn't you?
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do.
Vump.
And you saw a big piece of the puzzle reveal the picture.
Now,
that's exactly what's going on in chapter 26.
Have a look at the text with me,
and this will become clear, I hope.
You see,
the bookends are the clue to the purpose of this chapter.
So,
if you scan your eye in the text,
over verses 3 and 5,
and then again,
you kind of get the repetition of it at verse 24,
it's all about promises.
It's all about what God is promising to do and to be,
for this man called Isaac.
As God affirms the promises that he made to Isaac's father,
Abraham,
and as they get passed down this family line.
There are four Ps,
if you want to think about it like this.
Four Ps underlined on the screen.
They are promises of his presence.
Okay?
God is saying,
that's what he says there.
That's the,
I will be with you language.
God is saying,
my presence,
and a people.
That's the,
I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the heaven language,
and a place.
I will give you these lands.
Right?
Isaac,
as he hears this,
I think is probably at the southwest corner of this bit of geography called Canaan,
which is the promised land where God is leading his people,
which as we'll see,
is pointed to something far greater.
And,
slightly stretching it a little bit,
it's a program.
Through your line will come one through whom I will bless the peoples of the world.
Now,
what's strange here in terms of timeline,
is that chapter 26 likely comes before chapter 25 chronologically.
Okay?
So,
before these two boys,
Esau and Jacob are on the scene.
So,
you kind of think about it like this.
This is like when a character in a film has a flashback,
to a key moment in the past,
which kind of explains the present.
It's kind of what's going on here in this chapter.
Because,
in the present,
do you remember what we saw last week?
Are the last words of chapter 25.
Look at it there.
The very last phrase.
What did Esau do?
He despised his birthright.
Yeah?
So,
being the firstborn
meant nothing to him.
This was a bit like when
a bit of junk mail comes through your letterbox.
You take one,
look at it,
scrumple it up,
and throw it in the bin.
This is how this guy
reacted to
the promises of God.
And it's almost as if
Moses is saying,
in this chapter,
with that as the backdrop,
do you see what Esau threw away?
Do you see what he threw away?
Do you see what he thwarted?
Do you see what meant nothing to him?
And I'm begging you,
don't make the same mistake.
Do you see how glorious these promises are?
How good God is for his words.
Don't make the same mistake.
And so,
here's what I hope we see
as we journey through this real quick
as disciples of Jesus
in terms of our identity
and our worth.
That who you are today,
and who I am today,
and who we are today,
and who the church is today,
is a community that is formed by,
and fortified with,
and standing to inherit
the unchanging promises of God.
And it's my prayer today
that we would leave,
as we gaze at Jesus,
we would leave here with zero doubt
about God's ability
to deliver on his promises.
And so, as we get there,
and that's where we're going to
kind of finish today,
here's two lessons I think we learned
from this chapter about
the people who are journeying
with faith.
Here's the first one.
Don't be frightened
by what's around you.
So, in the text,
do you see
how there's a famine
facing Isaac?
Do you see that straight off the bat,
chapter 26?
And he thinks to himself,
I'm going to do what my dad did,
and I'm going to head to Egypt,
because in Egypt,
there's help,
and there's food.
But God says,
I want you
to stay here.
So, Isaac's got a choice
to make at this point,
doesn't he?
Will he be obedient,
or will he do the thing
that he thinks makes sense to him?
Will he live by faith,
or will he live by sight?
Which is the question
that faces every single generation
of God's people,
isn't it?
Now, the cultural air
which you and I breathe
every day
goes right against the grain of that.
That if it feels right to you,
then how on earth
could your heart be wrong?
And you spend enough time
in God's words,
and you learn that your heart
is the last thing
that you want to trust.
And actually,
the person of faith
says
that God's word
is the good compass
by which I'm going to sail by.
So, Isaac settles,
do you see,
in this place
called Gerar.
But as he settles there,
do you also see
how he begins
to lose
his nerve?
So, the men of Gerar
inquire about Rebecca,
his wife.
She was attractive
in appearance,
which I take it
is Moses channeling
his understated,
polite Brit.
She's drop-dead gorgeous.
That's what we're meant
to understand here.
And Isaac,
when he gets wind of this,
oh man,
what a spineless fool he is.
Yeah?
And he's making
the same mistake
that Abraham,
his father,
made.
Rather than standing
by his wife
and believing
that the Lord
will protect them both,
what does he say?
She's my,
she's my sister.
Now,
why,
I can't get my head
around that,
why that would be
the first thing
coming into your mind
to play that card.
Yeah?
If we were giving him
the benefit of the doubt,
now,
I'll come on in a minute
just to say that I don't,
okay?
But if we were giving him
the benefit of the doubt,
knowing how the birds
and the bees work,
this could be him,
because Rebecca
is key to this whole
offspring thing,
yeah?
This could be him
trying to protect her
and preserve her life.
But this is where
I'm kind of landing.
That he's pretty much
a coward at this point.
Abimelech says,
verse 9,
why did you do that?
And he says,
lest I die
because of her.
Now,
it's a half-truth,
isn't it,
that Isaac's kind of told?
But in this moment,
I think his heart,
as it reacts,
is revealed.
And it's so often
the case,
this is what the Lord does,
is we find ourselves
reacting,
not in the big things
of life,
but in all the little
details that come our way.
He's revealing
and he's prodding at
and he's forming
our character.
Now,
do you see this
in your own heart?
I see this all the time
in mine.
Right?
The little half-truths
that we tell,
the little exaggerated stories,
the little things
that we think
aren't actually
that big a deal
in God's eyes.
And to be honest,
no one else
kind of sees it.
You know,
kind of doing that
rather than kind of,
you know,
doing what we tell the kids
to just be honest,
honest being the best policy.
Do you see that
in your life?
My heart instinctively
wants to do an Isaac
at certain points in time
and just save
my own skin.
And those little times
when we do that
in our lives,
I take it they're revealing
something big
about what's going on
in our hearts.
What Jerry Bridges
called respectable
sins.
Right?
The little things
that we do
that we think
no one else sees.
They're not one
of the headlines.
They're just one of
these little
respectable things.
We've got to remember
that God sees that.
I take it we need
to recapture something
of what the church
leaders from the past
called Coram Deo.
Okay,
how's your Latin
this morning?
Okay,
Coram
meaning always.
Deo meaning God.
Always
before God.
So God
sees everything
that's going on
in our lives.
There's nothing
that's hidden from him.
He is the all-knowing
one.
And we should live
our lives
every single detail
knowing that we want
to praise him
with every single
little detail.
Always living
before
the face of God.
So why do we
cop out?
Right?
Why is it when
the person at
your workplace
and on the school run
asks you what you
did at the weekend?
There's part of you
that's tempted just
to kind of duck
the question
and ask about
something else.
Why is it
that church leaders
around the country
so many of them
are kind of
fudging what the
Bible says
about sexuality?
Why is that
going on?
The answer is
because the fear
of man
is bigger
in our minds
and greater
in our hearts
than the fear
of the Lord.
Now you've got to say
what is the
antidote to that?
I take it
it's just that
we need to pray
and humble ourselves
and repent
and seek
a big view
of God.
Now here's where
I don't often do
this in sermons
but I'm going to
do it here
okay
just pull someone
out in a good way.
Do you know what
Jackson was telling
me the other day?
And friends
the Lord teaches
me so much
through you
in ways that
you just will
not be aware
of but he does.
He said this
he was talking
about how one
of the options
that he looked
at to getting
back to Canada
in the summer
was the boat.
I said Jackson
how long
is that going
to take you?
Eight days.
Eight days
right?
Waking up each day
just looking
at the sea.
Waking up the next
day just looking
at the sea.
I said why
would you choose
that over just
not flying?
And he said
this phrase
and it's just
in my mind
at the minute
he said I just
wanted to
experience the
distance.
yeah I
wanted to
feel the
the grandeur
of the sea
and how
small I
am
in comparison
to all
of creation.
And we've been
reminded this week
haven't we
that the Atlantic
Ocean
is a
is a beast
it's big
and how much
greater than
the God
who created
all of the
things that
we see
and that phrase
has been
pinging around
my mind
asleep
like a
ball in
a pinball
machine
because it
reveals that
my my view
of God
is way too
small
and my
fear of
man
is way too
big.
You begin
to read
Isaiah
and the
prophets
and that's
the message
to their
generation.
Why regard
man in
whose
nostrils
is breath?
The nations
are but a
drop in the
bucket in
comparison
to him.
And I
take it to
be increasingly
growing in
our understanding
of the
holiness
and the
grandeur
and the
magnificence
of God
as we
immerse
ourselves
in the
word of
God
is an
incredibly
healthy
thing
for our
hearts
to do.
And that's
why Isaac
has totally
lost his
nerve
here.
And that's
the message
to this
generation.
Wandering,
worrying about
what's around
them,
tempted to
conform to
the idols
and just be
like everyone
else around
them.
Moses is
saying don't
be frightened
by what's
around you.
And secondly
he's just
saying don't
be doubtful
of what's
ahead of
you.
Now verse
12,
when we're
told that
Isaac sowed
in the
land,
I take
it that's
just code
for he
started to
walk by
faith again.
Right?
He started
to do the
thing that
God had
told him
to do.
And what a
year this
was if you
caught that
in the
text.
Imagine
getting this
family Christmas
letter through
the post.
How was the
year gone?
Well we had
a bumper
crop,
our wealth
increased,
our flocks
and our
herds,
their numbers
went through
the roof and
because of
that we had
to hire a
whole heap
of servant
workers.
Pretty good
year for us.
Right?
No wonder
the people
in the land
envy them
as he puts
that out on
Instagram saying
hashtag blessed.
But I think
that's what we
need to see is
exactly what's
going on here.
Right?
This is more
than just Isaac
has got the
Midas touch.
Do you
remember what
those four
Ps,
remember some
of the blessings
that God said
he would give
his people
because of his
promise to
them?
Right?
People
and lands.
Do you
see how
the author
is trying
to tell
us
that God
is beginning
to make
good
on his
promises?
So much
so that
verse 16
Abimelech
says you
need to
leave,
you need
to get
away because
people are
too envious
of you
because you're
getting too
big.
right?
And again
as we fast
forward to
the Exodus
stories,
exactly what
you see is
they begin
to grow
and multiply.
What does
Pharaoh say?
No,
we can't
have this.
Abimelech
says you're
too big and
despite opposition
that comes as a
result of the
wells that they
dig,
verse 22,
do you see
how the
well that they
finally settle
at,
what does he
call it?
Rehoboth
meaning the
Lord has
made room
for us.
In other
words,
the Lord
has provided
like he
said he
would.
Abimelech
even says
so,
verse 28,
we see that
the Lord
has been
with you.
So there's
another P,
do you see it?
We see that
God is with
you,
we see the
presence P.
So to
see the
message to
this generation,
you can put
all your
eggs in
the God
fulfilling his
promises basket.
No need to
split your
risk,
no need to
open different
bank accounts
just in case
one of them
goes under.
No,
no,
you can put
all of it,
stake it all
on God
fulfilling his
promises.
So don't
mistake,
don't make
the same
mistake
that Esau
made.
Don't be
scared of
what's around
you.
Don't be
doubtful
of what's
ahead of
you.
And here's
what I want
us to see
sitting where
we do
in 2023
at this
point in
salvation
history.
I want
us to
understand
that we've
got so
much more
reason to
trust that
God will
make good
on his
promises.
And the
reason that
we do
is because
of Jesus.
Because he
came from
this family
tree.
We've seen
one baton
pass from
Abraham to
Isaac.
Way down
this family
line is
going to
come Jesus.
Now do you
see how God
makes these
promises?
Who does he
make them
to?
Let me
just stretch
us for
just 5-10
minutes as
we bring
this to a
close.
He makes
them to
offspring.
Yeah?
And the
New Testament
tells us
that that
offspring
is singular.
So there's
one person
that's going
to inherit
and make
way for
these things
to come to
pass,
these covenant
blessings.
Because God
said to
Abraham,
walk before
me and be
blameless.
Right?
Only the
person who
is going to
fully fulfill
God's side
of the
covenant
bargain is
going to be
the one who's
going to
inherit these
four Ps.
Only Jesus
walked before
the Father
and was
blameless.
Right?
Only he
lived the
perfect life
so as to
inherit these
blessings.
We couldn't
do that.
No chance
we could do
that.
See,
part of
this
covenant
bargain
that God
made with
Abraham and
is being
passed down
is that
there would
be blessings
for obedience
and there
would be
curses for
disobedience on
man's part.
But the
wonderful thing
about the
story of
Abraham is
that God
is so
committed to
getting his
people the
blessing that
he says,
I'm even
going to take
those curses
on myself.
And that's
what Jesus
did as he
dies on the
cross.
He is
taking the
curses that
we deserved
on himself.
Do you know
something I'd
never seen
before until
this week?
Love this.
Genesis chapter
three.
As sin
enters the
world,
and as
God says
there's a
curse now,
you will
feel the
effects of
sin.
What is
one of the
symbols of
the curse
in terms of
the ground?
It's
thorns,
isn't it?
Thorns and
thistles.
Scottish people
kind of don't
talk about
the thistles.
Thorns.
And what do
you see
going on
as Jesus
goes to
the cross?
What is he
wearing on
his head?
A crown of
what?
A crown of
thorns.
Do you
understand
that Jesus
is taking
the covenant
curses that
his people
deserved on
himself?
That's what
he does as
he goes to
the cross.
He hangs
on a tree.
So there's
another sign
of the
covenant
curses.
He takes
them in
our place.
And with
that in
mind,
as you
see here,
Isaac the
coward,
when faced
with the
decision that
it's either
your bride's
life or
it's yours,
and he
says,
I'm
picking
mine.
You cannot
help but
think of
Jesus as
he goes to
the cross
with his
bride in
mind.
His bride
being his
people,
and he's
faced with
the exact
same question.
It's either
your life
or it's
hers.
It's either
your life
or it's
your people's.
Isaac made
his call,
and Jesus
also makes
his call,
but he does
the opposite
of what
Isaac does.
He says,
it's me
instead of
her.
And there,
as he dies
on the cross,
he is
uniting
himself to
the death
penalty that
every single
one of us
deserved.
and in
turn,
we are
united
because of
our faith
to these
blessings
that only
he deserves.
And that's
why I love,
we started
with it
today,
that chorus
that kind
of captures
the language
of Ephesians
1.
Ephesians
1 starts
about how
God has
blessed us
with every
spiritual
blessing in
the heavenly
places.
He has
what to
us?
He has
chosen us
He has
redeemed us,
He has
justified us,
and He has
adopted us
as His
sons and
daughters.
Not because
of what
we've done,
but because
of our
covenant
King who
died on
the cross
for us
and shares
with us
His life.
And in
Him,
those four
Ps are
ours.
A people,
Christians all
over the
world,
today,
do you
know,
just love
the fact
that there's
a small
number of
us today,
but how
many different
countries and
how many
different continents
are represented?
Maybe we
can chat
about that
at the
picnic.
Global
people that
Jesus has
gathered for
Himself,
His presence,
it's one of the
blessings that
we have,
is God's
Spirit,
not living
over us,
but living
in us.
A place,
God is leading
us home
to
Himself.
And that's
why the
Spirit living
inside of
us testifies
with us
that yes,
that's
true,
sealed us
with the
Spirit,
wonderfully
true,
partially
now,
but all
of these
things are
going to be
fully amplified
in God's
new creation,
the place
where He's
taken us.
So who
are we?
Where are
we?
Where are
we going?
Come to think
of it,
who is
the Lord?
Well,
here is my
plea to us,
dear brothers
and sisters
in the
faith,
is not
to do
an Esau,
but to
be firm
in God's
ability to
deliver on
His promises.
And by
God's sheer
grace,
we have been
scooped up
and this
is our
story.
Whatever is
going on in
your life
today,
here's what I
want you to
know as we
bring this
to a close,
that right
here,
however you're
feeling,
whatever you're
facing,
whatever sin
is weighing
you down,
dear brothers
and sisters,
let's come
back to
Jesus and
remember that
in Him,
this is our
self-worth.
Now,
here's the
thing,
just as we
close,
just for one
minute,
to kind
of bring
us back
to the
centrality
of where
I think
this is
meant to
lead this
first generation.
Put your
hands up
this morning
if you
turned on
a light.
This is
going somewhere,
trust me,
okay?
Yeah?
I turned
on a light
this morning.
Now,
as far as I
can see,
there are
two types
of light
switch in
the world
that I
know of.
You've
got your
classic on
and off,
you've
also got
your
dimmer.
You can
kind of
phase in and
phase out
the light.
And I
think this
passage,
as Moses
writes us,
he's getting
us to think
about both
of those
lights.
Okay?
First of
all,
as he asks
us to examine
our hearts
and see where
we're at,
first of
all,
think about
the on
and off
switch.
When it
comes to
your faith
in Jesus,
are you on
or you off?
Are you in
or you out?
Are you trusting
in the promises
of God or not?
And I
think about
the dimmer.
See,
the thing
about the
dimmer is
it can
be on,
but it
can be
really,
really low.
And I
think the
challenge that
comes to
us that
are on
is as it
concerns both
our obedience
to and our
confidence in
God's promises
and having seen
how committed
he is to
bringing them
to completion
in Christ
is that
when it
comes to
the dimmer
of light
of our
faith,
the challenge
here is to
turn it
up.
Turn it
up.
Okay,
whatever that
looks like in
your life just
now,
in terms of
your witness
at work,
turn it
up.
In terms of
maybe your
church attendance,
you know,
I pray that
for many of
us,
the Lord
would be at
work in
our life,
that church
would stop
being something
that we go
to and
you would
come to
the centre
and realise
that it's
something that
we are part
of.
Yeah?
Turning it
up.
You know,
the way that
we raise our
children,
turning it
up as we
thought about
it today,
whatever this
looks like
in our
lives,
I think the
challenge of
this passage
is to turn
it up.
Turn it
up.
I know
not why
God's wondrous
grace to me
he has made
known,
nor why
unworthy
Christ in
love
redeem me
for his
own,
but I
know whom
I have
believed,
and I'm
persuaded
that he
is able
to keep
that which
I've
committed
unto him
against
that day.
Let's pray,
will we?
And so,
Father,
it's our
prayer this
morning,
that by
your grace
that you
would just
increase
our
appetite
for
and our
assurance
of
what you
have won
for us
in the
person of
your son,
Jesus.
Lord,
thank you
that there
is just
simply no
one like
him.
Father,
who else
would die
for his
enemies?
God,
you
have to
be with
us.
And so,
Father,
as we
contemplate your
outrageous, unmerited
love for us
that's seen
there,
oh,
Father,
would you,
by your
spirit,
increase our
desire for
not just
the blessings,
blessings, but
our desire and
our hunger and
our affection for
you.
So,
Father,
be with us as
we continue on
this morning.
I thank you for
my friends here.
I thank you for
the role which
we have in
each other's
lives.
And Lord,
may we
together spur
one another on
towards love
and good deeds.
And in
Jesus'
strong name
we pray.
Amen.