FEB 19 2023 | Genesis: Behind the Curtain S3E4 | Behind The Curtain – Season 4

Sea Change Church · Genesis: Behind the Curtain S4E4 · "Behind The Curtain - Season 4" · February 19, 2023
Automated transcript. Not reviewed for accuracy.

Good morning church. My name is Linda rutgard. Today's scripture reading is from Genesis 17 15 through 22. God also said to Abraham. as for Sarai your wife You are no longer to call her Sarai. Her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of Nations.

Kings of people will come from her. Abraham fell down felt face down he laughed And said to himself will his son be born to a man a hundred years old. Will Sarah bear a child at the age of 90? Abraham said to God. Ishmael might live under your blessing then God said yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son. And you will call him Isaac.

I will establish my Covenant with him and an Everlasting Covenant for his descendants after him. as for Ishmael He will be the father of 12 rulers and I will make him into a great nation. But my Covenant I will establish with Isaac. Whom Sarah will bear to you by the time this time next year? When he had finished speaking with Abraham God went up from him.

the word of the Lord Morning, again, if you have your Bibles or your notes, you can open up Genesis 17. 15 verse 15 through 22. We were in season 4 of our Genesis series and we are an episode for as well and we're looking at the time when God once again reiterates his plan to Abraham. Abraham has a plan B Abraham comes up the plan B. God has plan A.

Abraham comes up a plan B and it's not the plan that God has for him. So let me just start I want to start with this today. How's your plan a going? How's your plan a we all kind of have a plan a right the thing that we want for our life and sometimes we create those planes on our own and other times. We know that God has spoken to us about a plan a but we've run out of patience. We've run out of time. We've been beat down by the world or whatever the issue is and we are no longer seeking that plan A.

one of the things when some of you who got married you had a plan a when you got married, didn't you you had things called vows and you spoke about your vows and how amazing it was going to be and you had dreams and hopes and Visions, but 25 years have passed and the emotional connection that you had dreamed about. I was playing a it's no longer there. So you've settled for Plan B, you know, we're just two people living in a house and we're not gonna get divorced because of the kids and maybe because we're Christians and we just believe that we shouldn't get divorce or whatever reason. So we're just gonna live a separate human beings Under One Roof when you had a baby perhaps you had plan a hit a desire for your children and for your family would look like and the times away and the family dinners and the connectivity but School got in the way career got in the way all these things gotten in the way and all of a sudden your life doesn't quite look like plan a because we've just kind of settled for Plan B. You got into a restaurant business because you had a passion for food and for people and now you've just been worn down by covid and protocols and restaurants and Uber Eats and all the things that are happening and you're no longer living in your passion anymore. You're just trying to get by you're living in Plan B.

My question is do you once again is how's plan a going? Some of you might be on the doorstep a plan a and you're like, hey, my plan is going great. I haven't tried it yet, but I know it's there and I'm excited about it. other you had that plan in college and now you're nearing the door of 40. That's not happen yet. You're ready to bargain with God Abraham is here and he's bargaining with God. And so I want to say that as I go into this message. It's gonna open up a lot of different thoughts for you.

It's going to open up a lot of different doors. What about this? What about this? What about this and I want to encourage you to as you listen through it begin just to write down any questions you might have because I don't want this to end up being discouraged. What I want to do is preach the word of God and show God's Great desire to show you his plans for you and for you to be excited and encouraged by those plans and to step in to those.

So once again, how's plan a going and are you living in Plan B, when you go to your bottle of wine every so often just to get away from your issues? That's Plan B, right when you do whatever it is to distract from the thing that you're really called to do. That's Plan B when you've given up a desire for intimacy with God just to kind of make it through your life and enjoy because your life settled and good or whatever it is, and you're no longer pursuing God.

That's Plan B. What is Plan B A look like there's an actress named Zoe Tapper? And she said this she said the best piece of advice that my mother gave me is to never have a plan B. She told me to stick with plan a because if you have plan B, you will inevitably fall back on it. Let me say that again the best piece of advice that my mother gave me is to never have a plan B. She told me to stick to plan a because if you have a plan B, you will inevitably fall back on it. I was listening to a podcast recently about a person who had become a musician and was working in it becomes successful in there in their career. They were a jazz. They were a jazz saxophonist and the person asked him. Well, how did you do it? How did you do it? How did you have that second job to make the money so that I never had a side Hustle.

I didn't do a side hustle. He said because if I did a side hustle, I could never focus on being a jazz musician and so I just lived as lean as possible and I only did Jazz gigs. I didn't have a second job. How did you survive? He goes? I made it work. He goes, I never sacrificed what I want him. What I felt called to in order to hopefully make it down the way and a lot of times you do that that can open up some questions in our thought. How do we do that? Well, we're going to talk about two things today in the scripture if you look at your notes.

I'm becoming the master of the two-point message, right? It's easier for me. It's easier for you. I throw in 78 sub points, but nonetheless. number one develop circle the word develop I bring a pen with me. Develop a passion. Circle development passion for seeking and discovering God's best for you. and for the world and for others develop a passion develop a be passionate deeply passionate about determining determining what is God's best for you God's best is plan A.

God's best is always planning. It might not be your plan a you might not see it as best and sometimes we think we're on God's plan a only to determine later on, you know what he had other plans and now I understand it and that's one of the caveats that we have to understand we're walking this in faith, right? So you might turn around 10 years from now and realize. Oh my goodness that thing that never happened that was actually plan plan a that was actually planning and I'm content with that. We'll talk about how to deal and walk with that. But the first one is develop a passion.

For seeking and discovering God's best. Are you passionate about that? When you get up in the morning, you're like God, what do you have today? God what do you have for this week? What do you have for my job? What do you have for the restaurant that I work at? What do you have for my neighborhood God? What are you doing? I'm so excited to know what you are doing.

Sometimes I can't even schedule my family to know what they're doing. Let alone take the time to figure out God. What are you doing? And not only that to be passionate about it? To be passionate about you can continue if you're a pastor if you're in Ministry and any of us can do this in our lines of work to go through the motions.

It's not hard to fool people to make them think that you're grinding when you actually have quiet quit in your heart. You see you can go through the motions. And as a pastor, you can give people certain things that look good, but you've actually stopped passionately pursuing what God. What are you doing getting up in the morning and smelling the air and say God. Where are you? Where is the wind blowing? What are you actually doing? Do you have a passion for that anymore?

Or be just giving up on it. You just kind of going about it. You're only passionate about the things that you want for your life. Next one. Is this never? settle For Plan B. Never settle for Plan B. Once again that opens up some questions. What does that mean? Don't settle Looking at just a second. Let's go number one developer passion for seeking and discovering God's best verse 15.

God also said to Abraham he'd already been speaking. We've been talking about what he said before because he had already shared this with Abraham. as for Sarah your wife you Circle you it's important. He's trying to get him on board with the vision. Are no longer to call her by Sarah. I Her name will be Sarah. I will bless her.

And surely give you a Sun by her. Now. Remember she's like 89 years old at this point. He's 99. I will bless her. So that she will be the mother of Nations. Of kings of people that will come from her. That is a plan A. mmm now a little different he's having a theophany fun. Word. God showed up in person. God shows up. We all want that right? Well wish God would just show up and talk to us like this and and we have the, you know, chronological snobbery to think that if we were back in that time.

And God showed up to us. We would obviously recognize that it's God we would obviously say you're right God I've totally made a mistake since you were here in front of me, you're burning with fire and angels and all the good stuff that you have. Remember he had fallen down face down a couple times that I would believe it. What a fool Abraham is Abraham has all that happen.

And he still tries to make a bargain with God. He still scoffs at God. He's still laughs at God. You wouldn't right. You wouldn't do that because obviously he's the father of faith that is mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, but we probably would have done a better job than Abraham, right? No. Sometimes God can show up in such a profound way.

And we still don't believe what God wants to do. This is a plan A. And not only plan a for him. He's saying in order you're gonna be I'm gonna partner with you and I'm gonna take this person. That is alongside of you. Whose name doesn't mean that she is a princess which Sarah means but it means that she is scorned Sarai that she is a scorned one and he goes I'm going to change her heart as well and you need to get on board with that as well.

You need to realize that the people that are next to you. I have a new name for them. It's not just about you. It's about the community. Do you see those people around you with a new name? It's good. Because if you're going to go we're gonna go as a group God takes individuals, but we grow as a group you see God's not making just Abraham God is making Nations through Abraham and God wants to make quasi-metaphorically Nations through you.

He wants to take that soccer team that you coach he wants to take that neighborhood you live in and he wants to expand his glory through a plan a are you on board with plan a and do you have the ability to let other people into the plan by calling them by a new name? First thing I want to say about plans is this plants don't just happen.

I am the master of hey, this is an awesome thing. I'm gonna jump out of the plane. Oh, did I bring a parachute second? Thought I don't know if you were a jump and then find out your parachute later I tend to do that and especially when I was in the faith movement, the Pentecostal Faith movement is big on that. We're just going to trust God. This is trusting God and sometimes it's just foolishness.

Sometimes it's just foolishness because we don't want to wait on God we want to do what we want to do it. Let me say on it's a caveat Faith doesn't always pencil out. But I want to say if you're gonna have a plan with God if you're gonna be passionate about the plans of God. Plans are created one of the things I wrote in the notes. I don't know if it made it to your copy of the notes, but I put Plants don't just happen plans are created.

A plan isn't something that appears. A plan is something you think through. A plan is something you sit down with God on and you begin to dream through that plan a plan is something you ask his opinion on a plan is something you worked together with a plan is something that you have created in your heart and your mind and they are supposed to be not just plans of the mind, but when God is in the peace it is the plans of your heart.

You see when we plan with God when God has a plan a it's a heart plan. Every plan that is of god. will often can't say it that way too definitive. I will say it again every plan that is of god is a heart plant. God has other things that he does but when it comes to the plans he has for you those Jeremiah type plans that he had for Israel. He was speaking to all of Israel in that verse by the way. I know the plans I have for you. He's speaking to all of Israel to a community not just an individual and we butchered that verse.

But he says I know the plans that I have for you. These are heart plans plans to do these things for you. When you plan a plan doesn't just happen a plan isn't created. Sometimes we plan along the fly. It's we have to adjust it. But these are the plants where you sit with God and you seek God on what God is doing and they oftentimes come from the heart.

You'll know the difference. Between a plan of your own volition and a heart plan. You see God had given Abraham a heart plan here. But Abraham just wants hey, it's not working out. I got my own plan. Just let Ishmael. Be the one you do this through because I can see Ishmael ishmael's already been born by the maid servant we talked about her Hagar. I've got him here. He's probably maybe eight or 10 or 12 or whatever age he is. We're well on our way. I'm probably gonna die if there's another son even if it did happen, I wouldn't see that sun. I wouldn't see this come to fruition and him have children. Let's just do it this other way.

He's planning on the fly, but God has a heart plan for him. Are you going after the plans of your heart or if you closed your heart down to God in such a way you've been so wounded so broken that you don't even want to touch that area for fertility anymore. It's just become a Barren place that you need to go back into and say God. I want to open my heart back to you.

I want to know the plans you have for me. I want to know the plans that you have for the Abraham in my life the Abram in my life that needs to be Abraham. I want to know the plans that you have in my life for the Sarai in my life that needs to be a Sarah and I want to partner with you from the place of my heart. You'll know when a plan gets into your heart. You will know it.

There's a distinct difference between that thing you want to do the shiny thing you're reaching for that. You just want to do for your own reasons and the Heart plan of God, you will feel it and you will absolutely know it. Plants don't just happen. They're created and you have to develop. a passion for seeking God's plan and want it more than you want your plan.

Ephesians 3:20 I spoke about it a couple weeks ago. Says this now to him that's Jesus. Who is able to do a measurably more than all we can ask or imagine? according to his power that is at work where within us he's able to do more. Than you can what? You can ask. Or imagine that's the caveat you've got to be asking. You've got to be imagining and not just sitting and calling it spiritual. I'm just waiting for God just to show up and do it now do what he's gonna do without my intervention. No God is asking to partner with you. God wants to have a plan with you and he wants to reveal his plan to you. I'll tell you this Jesus did not die on the cross so that he could play hide and seek with you.

He didn't die on the cross raised from the dead so he could go away and say, you know, I'm hiding over here. And as soon as you find him, he runs away again, that's not him. He wants to reveal himself to you. That's why we have a book of Revelation. Jesus is a Revelator he wants to reveal to you. Do you have any plan what God wants to do for the friends who surround you?

Do you have any plans any idea what God wants to do for your family that is around you your neighbors that are around you God has a plan. He even says later in the scripture that other nations will be blessed because Israel is blessed those that will surround Israel will be blessing. God will bless others through you as well. What's this is gonna take you know, it's gonna take spiritual curiosity Not shutting down what we see here go to verse 17.

Abraham fell face down and he laughed and said to himself will son be born to a man that is a hundred years old. A hundred years old. He'd given up spiritual curiosity. He'd given up that Curiosity of seeking what God has have you seeking what God has. Or have you developed a spiritual curiosity, you know as I created this message, I got more curious about what God's doing.

Right now God seems to be moving in our country a little bit. I don't know if you've noticed but college students. Kentucky now in North Carolina different parts of the of the country if you haven't looked up Asbury Revival you can Google it with a hashtag. See what God's doing. All I know is this I don't know if it's a reliable. I don't know.

I know God's refreshing some young people and it's exciting and it's calling me to look at my heart. Do I want to be refreshed? How do I gonna release those young people? I called the college students in our group today and invited them tonight at 6 pm. To show up to the fellowship hall. We're going to pray together. By the way, you're invited.

I want to show up 6PM tonight Fellowship Hall. Come join us. If you have some spiritual curiosity and you have the time nothing else planned show up. I'm curious. I'm super curious what God's doing. I'm not gonna call it this or call it people are is it a true Revival? I said, I don't know. I don't know, but I'm curious. I want to know what you're doing. I want to get left behind because I'm too busy watching whatever tonight.

Number two is this never settle for Plan B. Never settle for Plan B. I got a number. I want you to write this number next to never settle for Plan B. The number is 2774. Write that number on your notes two seven seven four that number represents the amount of times. the Thomas Edison failed creating the light bulb 700 and 704 You know that is the mark of tenacity that is the mark of knowing that you have a vision for something that you know can happen that you have a dream for something that you know can happen and you are not going to give up seeking the light.

You see he never gave up and he wrote this Thomas Edison. Many of life's failures are people who do not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Many of Life failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. I've always been intrigued by prayer. That there's a certain numbers of prayer when God has moved by prayer. There is a number of prayers that when that final prayer is prayed.

the Levee Breaks I wonder how many things for our lives were four prayers away. two prayers away one prayer away You see the spiritual curiosity and the tenacity to say I feel that God has given me a plan. He has shown me through the test in my life and the different things that have happened to every experiment. I've learned something new that doesn't work. That's another quote from Thomas Edison. Every time you try something that doesn't work. You're that much closer to finding the truth because you know the way not to do it anymore.

Have you given up? 2,774 Abraham had given up back to verse 17 Abraham fell face down. Remember I said last week. that plans dreams that don't start face down go Belly Up. So you can say well he was laughing. He didn't start face down before God. This isn't the first time he fell face down. In chapter 17, this is the second time he fell face down.

The first time at the beginning of chapter 17, he falls Face Down When God begins to speak to him, but then when the dream becomes so expansive it becomes so big that he begins to doubt it. Says he falls down again. So he must have gotten back up which is fine. He falls face down, but this how many false face down. He's cynical.

He's laughing. He's laughing at that plan. It's been too long. I'm worn out their eyes worn out. We're all worn out. We don't believe you anymore for this we've given up on this now and I become cynical don't ever let yourself become cynical. So many Believers are cynical right now. I I hate cynicism. I hate cynicism cynicism kills faith. It kills optimism it kills. Hope it's just cynical. We become cynical so much is happening in the world. I'll tell you there's some students around the world right now that are not cynical.

There's some college students around the right world right now that are believing and continuing to believe in a dream that Jesus Christ wants to renew his people are we just become cynical? And we live out here in California. It's different than other places in the world. We're just cynical. We're just cynical. He laughs. I said never settle for Plan B.

You say this when it comes? to plan B's there's a massive difference between settling for a plan B. And waiting for God's best. Waiting for God's best might seem like you've settled. Well, this thing hasn't happened. So I'm just I've just kind of settled here. I'm just content I'm waiting on God I'm waiting on God is not settling.

Settling is I've been single for so long. I know that God has a spouse for me a Godly spouse for me. But you know what? It isn't working out. This guy has asked me out or this girl is is open to going out with me and you know what we should just get together. Maybe we should just live together and test it out. That's Plan B.

That's Plan B. See God has a plan a and there's a difference between settling for Plan B. And waiting on God for plan A. If you've settled you'll know it. You'll know it. I thought all these examples I can give I thought I don't need to give people examples, you know. You know where you've settled. You know when God has said I want this for you. I don't want this in your life because this is Plan B. You're like, it's okay God.

America I'm just going to make a bargain with you. I'm gonna try to make a bargain and try to bargain my way out of this. Before I get to that bargaining because Abraham does bargain with God remember God standing here in front of us. Now if God was standing in front of us, we would all do better, right we wouldn't bargain for a plan B.

Because we're us and he's just, you know Abraham, but before I do that, I mentioned something at the very beginning that I think is so important. It says that. In order for plan a to come to fruition. It required a new identity for both Abraham and Sarai. You see sometimes the main ingredient. In your plan a happening. Is not the circumstances of God.

Of the plan of what's happening right now. Maybe you're the ingredient that needs to change. You see maybe God's waiting on you. You're waiting on something to change you're waiting on to be asked out or you're waiting on that job opportunity to happen or to get that book deal. You're waiting on that thing and you're waiting for the miracle to happen. So your plan can happen and God's like I'm just waiting on you.

I'm waiting on you to turn your heart fully over me because it's not safe to give you the keys to that car when your spiritually four years old. You're not going to get that thing that will destroy your life if I give it to you now. God loves you too much to give it to you that soon. Sometimes the biggest thing that needs to be changes your identity.

And sometimes you need to let God change other people's identity. I was an accounting session years back and I was there and Things had been going really well this husband had done a really good job, and she said well for the first five years of our marriage he did this. He did this and I just can't get over this happened. He used to say these things to me and it was so damaging in the first five years and I said to her I said well, how long have you been married now 25 years.

She wasn't willing to change his name. You see maybe and I believe he had he had become the Abraham that God had called him to be. But she wouldn't let him out of the prison of Abram. Sometimes he's got to let people move on. Sometimes you got to forgive and you know what you're getting there together. Look what he says here at the very beginning verse 15 again. God also said to Abraham as for your wife Sarah you Are no longer that's a command you are no longer allowed to call her Sarah. That's a command.

do you ever Identity that you've given to your parents. children whoever God wanting to change that identity. They might even still be in that identity when he said that she was still in this identity. But you're not an agreement with the new identity and how are you going to step into the new identity? If you're not in agreement with what God wants to do that you have actually spiritually dreamed and imagined for the people in your life that are going to go to the next level.

Do you even want them to go to the next level? Sometimes we benefit by people's failures. It allows us to have a position of Authority or whatever. The reason would be plan. A required a new identity from both Abram and Sarah. She would become a princess. He would become the father of not a nation, but of many nations closing down shop here the final thing.

that I want to say is this is when Abraham Bargains for Plan B Got affirms him in plan a and what he has for his life Verse 18. So Abraham says to God. if only Ishmael might live under your blessing let Ishmael I can see Ishmael I can touch Ishmael. If only him just let me have him God's already come to him and he said I'm gonna do this. He says no no.

Know this I want this. And God's like no I got this. Abraham said to God if only Ishmael might live under your blessing. How many things in your life you're like God I'm I just need this. Or I'm just the way you live in your life. You're just accepting that secondary thing when God says I have so much more for you. You know, what's so interesting.

Got What God Says to him go to Go to verse 18. So he Bargains with God for a plan B and instead of God saying no, no, no, no, no. God says, yes. He knows that. God says, yes. He says okay. I'm gonna do that thing a plan B because I need to stick to my word and I said that your children your child will have authority. He's going to have one nation. He'll be the he'll be over princes, but I got this plan a that's gonna happen to Isaac. Look at Verse 18.

Verse 18 says God says yes, but your wife Sarah. Will bear you a son. And you will call him Isaac. I will establish my Covenant with him. As an Everlasting Covenant for his descendants after him. It's at Everlasting. Peace. when I assure you this God wants the best for you. God has his best for you. He wants the best for you. He wants you to say I want you to extricate Plan B.

You know what? I realize I got a bunch of plan B's in my life this week. I was so challenged. I was challenged by those college students. challenge that used to be me. It's not who I am now, and it's not who I'm supposed to be. Now. I feel like God has said you're placing. This is to bring wisdom and counsel and opportunity and open doors for young people in your church and let them go and you've got to step aside and let that generation and you do your generational thing to step into that. I don't like being old man Sage I want to be young college student hoping up at the worship thing and you can still do all that but there's a different place and a different identity.

And I realize how many Plan B. 's attitudes habits little things hold me back. I don't want Plan B. What does it look like, you know plan a if yeah, I will say it that way plan a scares the hell out of me. The requirements that it would take for me to limit plan A. It's terrifying to me. I always like B+. I do it's good enough, right?

It's good enough. He let all those Duo try hard to get their, you know, chromosomality, but I don't care about that. You know with God, I just feel like God saying do you want plan a I got such a better plan? so big we're gonna finish final thing is this is going to take everything all those plans all the things you're thinking about you want.

Got them all there God and it's opened up. A lot of questions hasn't it? It's opens a lot of questions. So you're going to seek God on this? I want to say God's plan a as your heart. You know what that does when I realize that all the stuff I was thinking about. God what are you gonna do with this we're gonna do with this Mission and those things are all still true. What are you gonna do with our church? We're gonna do with my marriage we're gonna do with my family. What are you going to do? I get all excited as I start talking about plans and then I have all the questions that you just had in your heads. Right? Like, how are those questions gonna happen? How is God gonna do all that? Is this a plan a is this a plan B and then God said No plan a is.

It's your heart man. It's all care about. Everything else is just a thing. It's your heart. Is your heart devoted 100% to Jesus Christ? Is your heart on its knees before me kissing my feet? Giving me Glory wanting only what I want regardless if it's a plan ever happens. Because when you get to the place of that you have in the Old Testament with job where he says this my favorite verse and probably one of the most crucial verses in the Old Testament.

Even if God parifies were to take a sword and slay me with it. I will still hope in him. What's that say about your plans? Even if God were to take a sword to all my plans and strike them down and slay me with that. I will still hope in him he want to plan a is it's your heart and that's all that matters Get Your Heart Right. You know, everything else will work. Amen.