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Sermon Date:	February 17, 2008 (Redeemer, Sanford)
Sermon Text:	Genesis 27:1-10, 30-35
Church Calendar:	TKC Week 7
Delivered By:	Rev. Brian Roberts

"How Does God Get Anything Done?"

My dear friends, if you search the Scriptures, you will uncover a very surprising truth: God’s people are not perfect. Okay, maybe it’s not that surprising. We all know how imperfect we are.

However, many of us might think that the people in the Bible are somehow, LESS imperfect than we are. After all, that’s how they MADE it into the Bible, isn’t it? But when we look closely, we discover that most of the famous Bible characters portrayed in Scripture do not stir up much admiration in us.

Adam and Eve are no sooner out of the garden than their children, Cain and Abel, get into a murderous fight. Noah’s sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth are forced to devise a strategy to hide their father’s drunken shame. Joseph and his brothers reveal horrible relationships and parental incompetence. King David is unfortunate in both wives and children. He is a man after God’s own heart and Israel’s greatest king, the Bible says, but he cannot manage his own household.

Even in the family of Jesus, where we might expect something different, there is evidence of similar dysfunctions. In Mark, chapter three, the Gospel writer gives us a picture of Jesus, active in ministry, healing the sick, comforting the distressed, and fulfilling His calling as Messiah. Meanwhile His mother and brothers are trying to get Him to come home, because they are quite sure that He is crazy.

And finally, in today’s episode of our Thy Kingdom Come walk through the Bible, we see that the brothers, Jacob and Esau, are bitter rivals. And, the famous Isaac has a family that is filled with division and deception.

With this scenario constantly playing out in the Bible, I have only one question: How does God get ANYTHING done?!

You see, from my perspective – and perhaps you will agree – life often looks like a constant string of unexpected, random events.

Life is kind of like the marathon that the city of Bangalore, India staged back in December. City officials decided that they wanted to lift their city up as a location for world class sporting events. They wanted to attract elite marathon runners. They wanted to bring prestige and recognition to the city. And they wanted to help the city’s economy.

But according to the Times of India newspaper, all kinds of problems occurred during December’s marathon. First, there was the city’s omnipresent potholes: runners were having to dodge them everywhere. Then there was the city’s terrible air pollution. Many runners were finding it hard not to cough and gasp as they ran. At about the 12-mile mark, the leaders were chased down the street by barking dogs snapping at their heels.

And twice during the race, runners were forced to stop and wait because impatient drivers were disregarding the traffic barriers, and driving out into the runner’s path.
[The Times of India, 12-17-07]

As we move through life, all kinds of unforeseen things happen, don’t they? – often times setting us back, ruining our plans, forcing us to start over.

And isn’t it hard, sometimes, to see or believe that God is in control? Is God really getting anything done in my life?

Another story of chaos, like the marathon story, is the family mess in the Old Testament lesson for today. In this story, we have twin brothers, Jacob and Esau, who don’t get along. We have their parents, Isaac and Rebekah, who make a fundamental parenting mistake by showing favoritism to each of the kids.

Isaac favors Esau. And Rebekah favors Jacob. This favoritism towards Esau is what gets Isaac in trouble. And it sets the stage for the incident in our story today.

Earlier in chapter 25, when Jacob and Esau are born, the Lord tells Rebekah which of the two sons will carry forward God’s promise for the Messiah. In other words, the Lord chooses the family member, who will be the Messiah’s descendent.

In chapter 25, verse 23: The LORD said to [Rebekah,] “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”

Esau was firstborn – the older. And Jacob was born second – the younger. Now normally, the firstborn is the heir to the family. However God’s prophecy was that “the older will serve the younger.” God’s prophecy was that Jacob would carry the Promise. Jacob would carry the Offspring forward. It was Jacob who would carry the blessing.

Now, as you see, this was a special blessing. It was no mere inheritance. In families at that time, the blessing was an inauguration. The one blessed was inaugurated as the head and manager of the family and household. Normally, this went to the oldest son.

But with Isaac, this blessing carried something else. It carried the bloodline of the coming Christ. Whoever possessed THIS blessing, also possessed God’s Promise. They were the keepers of The Story. Their descendants would carry the promise forward – the Promise made to Adam and Eve, to Noah, to Abraham, and to Isaac.

And now, in verse 1 of chapter 27, Isaac is about to hand off the Story, that is the Promise or the Blessing, to the next generation.

But why does Isaac intend to bless Esau? God’s Word in chapter 25, shows that God intends the blessing to go to Jacob. But Esau is Isaac’s favorite. Isaac WANTS Esau to be the one. He is the oldest, after all. It is the right thing to do.

You see, Isaac was thinking in terms of earthly blessing – of family headship and benefits, and inheritance. He was not thinking in terms of the spiritual blessings that God intended to bring. He was not thinking in term of whom GOD had chosen to be the Messiah’s descendent.

And so, in all of this, Isaac deceived himself into believing that Esau was the one. It is ironic that Isaac’s self-deception sets the stage for the sad trickery that plays out in the story today.

With his mother’s help, Jacob pretends to be Esau, and is inaugurated as the head of the family AND as the one who will carry God Promise forward for another generation, which was, of course, exactly God’s will.

However, the deception involved causes all kinds of trouble. Esau ends up bitterly hating his brother, as later verses reveal, and he promises to kill him. As a result, Jacob flees to another land. What a mess.

Yet, in all of these rebellions and deceptions, let’s not miss the point. God was still at work. His will was still accomplished. Despite all of the sinful activities of these sinful people that God using, He was still carrying out His plans.

Earlier I asked the question, “How does God get anything done?” As He works with such dysfunctional and sinful people, how does His will get accomplished?

But the thing to focus on more is that, in all of this, God always DOES get everything done. His will always DOES get accomplished. And that is the wonderful news, which is presented to us today. Our assurance is that God’s gracious, loving will cannot be overthrown by our silly, sinful behavior.

THAT is the beating heart of the story today. In the unexpected and random things of our lives, God is still there for us. As we move through life, with all the unforeseen things that happen, the things that keep setting us back, ruining our plans, forcing us to start over – the message of God is this: you are not failing, even though it often feels like it.

The living part of the story today proclaims what Romans 8 says, “that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

You see, even in the most unexpected and random things, God still wins. Look at the cross of Jesus Christ – perhaps the most unexpected and random event in all of human history. Satan thought that in his dealings with Christ, he could destroy the Savior. What he found out, like Isaac, was that he had been tricked.

Christ presented to the devil the clothing of weak humanity. The incarnation covered over Christ’s divinity and victorious majesty. In this, Satan thought he could strike down the Lord of Life.

And for a while things looked dark and terrible. But it turns out that Christ was bait on a hook. Jesus put on human flesh and was cast into the waters of humanity, like fishermen cast their hooks into the sea.

Satan circled Jesus, and finally at the cross lunged to bite Him. There Christ was bit by sin, death, and the devil. But after biting Him, Satan was suddenly hauled out of the water by God, thrown on dry land, and crushed.

And thus, the power of Satan, of death and hell were overcome. As Colossians 2:15 says: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, [Christ] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

Satan could have complained that he had been terribly tricked and deceived. He thought that he was killing Jesus, but discovered that it was he who was being tricked and he was destroyed by it.

People of God, trust the Lord. His loving, merciful, and gracious will is always being done in you. And that is because, through your faith, the power of our Lord God LIVES in you.

Consider how God has worked in our little congregation here. There have been some deep depths, and there have been some wonderful highs. Through it all, God has been right here amongst you. In the unexpected and challenging things that are certainly ahead, THAT’S not going to change.

Rest assured, in your life, in your church, and in your heart, God’s loving, merciful, and blessed will is being accomplished.

Amen.

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