All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn Genesis 17, Genesis chapter 17. The last time we were in this chapter,
the Lord had reassured Abram of the covenant that he had made
with Abram, a picture of all of the vessels of God's mercy
and he had given them a token of the covenant and it was called
circumcision. Now circumcision was a sign,
it was a token, it was a seal that was delivered to Abram concerning
God's promise of the surety of redemption and salvation for
a people of God's choosing through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Through the blood of Christ,
the filth of sin would be taken away. And that token was circumcision. The Lord had previously told
Abram that he would have a son, he would have an heir. Just turn
back to Genesis 15 verses 1-4. The Lord had said, after these
things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision saying,
Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord God, what
wilt thou give me? seeing I go childless, and the
steward of my house is this Eleazar of Damascus. And Abram said,
behold, to me thou hast given no seed, and lo, one born in
my house is mine heir. And behold, the word of the Lord
came unto him, saying, this shall not be thine heir, but he that
shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir."
He had a promise from God that an heir would be born and the
heir would come from Abram. Well, with that promise of an
heir, Sarai related to Abram, which I'm sure made perfect sense
to her and obviously Abram, humanly speaking, what they could do
concerning the fulfillment. of that promise. In Genesis 16,
1 to 3, now Sarai, Abram's wife, bare him no children. And she
had a handmaid, an Egyptian whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said
unto Abram, behold, now the Lord hath restrained me from bearing. I pray thee, go in unto my maid.
It may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to
the voice of Sarai. And Sarai, Abram's wife, took
Hagar. Her maid, the Egyptian, after
Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave
her husband Abram to be his wife. Well, with the conception of
the child, there was animosity between Hagar and Sarai, and
the bondwoman, Hagar, was made to flee from the face of Sarai
only to be found later by the Lord in the wilderness. And the
Lord told her that she was to go back. And she would go back
to the house of Abram and there she would have a son. And he
told me, he said, his name is going to be Ishmael. And so she
did. She went back. The last verse
of chapter 16, it says, I'm sorry, 1516, Hagar bare Abram a son.
And Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare Ishmael. And Abram was four score, six
years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. So it was years later. Comes in now, it's 13 years later
in chapter 17. comes in to our understanding. And after years of not hearing
from the Lord, God appeared to Abram, verses 1 and 2 in chapter
17. It says, and when Abram was 90
years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, said unto
him, I am the almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between
me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. Now here's
the Lord repeating the promise made to Abram concerning Abram
having a seed of God's providing and then the Lord did something
that was amazing. He said to Abram in verse 5 of
chapter 17, neither shall thy name anymore be called Abram,
but thy name shall be called Abraham, for a father of many
nations have I made thee." Now, the Lord changed Abram's name,
and when we look at those three scriptures that I want to deal
with tonight, the Lord changed Sarai's name too. He changed
both of their names. And the Lord told Abram, he said,
you won't be called Abram anymore. Your name is going to be Abraham.
And Abraham means father of a great multitude. And Abram to Abraham would set
forth an amazing revelation of God's mercy and covenant grace
to Jews and Gentiles. That name Abraham, this is what
he told him in verse 5. Now listen to it. Neither shall
thy name any more be called Abraham, but thy name shall be Abraham. Father of great multitude, for
a father of many nations have I made thee. Now the Lord's going
to set forth a beautiful picture here of the covenant of God's
grace and the changing of Abram's name to Abraham is setting forth. I want you to turn, hold your
place right here, and turn to Romans 4, 16. Romans chapter
4, verse 16. That name, Abraham. Romans 4.16, Therefore it is
of faith that it might be by grace to
the end the promise might be sure to all thy seed, not to
that only which is of the law. but that also which is of the
faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. Abraham, that name, would set
forth that God Almighty has made a covenant of grace with many
nations, not just Jews, but Jews and Gentiles. So he's setting
forth something that is of great importance to us to realize. Why did he change his name? He changed his name to set forth
that God has a people out of every nation and kindred and
tribe and tongue, and Abraham would be the father of them all,
meaning all like him, who walk by faith who trusted God, not to take
Hagar, a handmaid of his wife, and try to produce something,
but those that believed God and waited on God, rested in God.
Abram, now I wanted to look this up. I wanted to know, what did
Abram mean? What did that name mean? He changed
it from Abram to Abraham, and I know that Abraham, It is that
father of a great multitude. That's what it means. But what
did Abram mean? What did that name mean? Abram
actually means high father. Abram, high father. But it's
from a root word. And I'll just tell you this,
just so you'll understand it. When you look it up in Strong's,
it'll tell you where that name came from, what was the root.
And it'll trace it back and trace it back and trace it back. Abram
means high father, but it's from a root word, Strong's number
48. And it means this, father of
height or lofty. And when you trace it even further
back, it goes back to a different root word, number 7311. Just so you can look it up. It
means to be high, to rise or to raise, to bring up, to exalt
self, haughty. presumptuous, to promote, proud,
set up, or to breed worms. So you start looking back on
what Abram means. And you find the depth of that
name Abram. And it's an expression of what
we all are by nature. It shows you that really all
of it. Abraham believed God. He was
a believer. But he was a picture. He was
a type. We're going to look at Sarah. Sarah in just a minute. Changed her name too. But where
did he come from? Where did Abram come from? He
took him out of the Ur of the Chaldeans. What was he doing?
He was worshipping idols with his daddy. That's what they were
doing. And God pulled him out, rescued him, as He does all of
His people, out of the depth of pollution. And God showed
mercy and grace to him. He took him from being Abram,
that which was lofty, haughty, presumptuous, proud, set up,
breeding worms. He said, your name is not going
to be Abram anymore. I'm going to give you a new name.
You're going to be called Abraham. Abraham, father of many nations,
father of the faithful, made so by the grace of God. So that's
where Abram is. He changed his name. Now, let's
look at verse 15 to 17. And God said unto Abraham, As
for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, But
Sarai shall be her name. Now, let's look at Sarai's name.
Sarai is from a root word which means dominative. Dominative. You look up Sarai's
name. Sarai. Sarai. Look up her name. Look
it up in strong concordance. Look it up in a good concordance.
Here's the first word that pops up. Dominative. Webster's Dictionary defines
dominative, if I'm saying it correctly, it means governing,
determining. It's from a word that means a
captain that had rule, a chief, a governor, a lord, a taskmaster,
a prince, a ruler, a steward, And even tracing her name back
further, the name is from Strong's number 8323. It is to be or act
as a prince, to have or to get dominion, to make self a prince,
to bear rule, to strive or contend. When you look back at Sarai's
name, it's got a poor beginning too. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Abram and Sarai, and the Lord
was pleased to show mercy to that man and that woman. And
he's going to set forth his glorious covenant of grace through that
couple right there. He told Abram, he told him, he
said, you're going to have an heir. You're going to have an
heir. It's going to come from your loins. Sarai gives him a suggestion.
This is the way it's going to be. We're going to see in just
a minute. The Lord said, no, that's not
the way it's going to be. Your name's not going to be Abram
anymore. Her name's not going to be Sarai anymore. Your name's
Abraham. Her name is Sarah. Sarah's name,
according to God's good pleasure, the glory of God's grace, was
changed to Sarah. And her name means princess.
Princess. A name of distinction, honor
from the Lord. I looked up, how does a woman
become a princess? Two ways. One of two ways. Only
one of two ways. Either by birth, or being the
daughter or granddaughter of a king or a queen, or by marrying
a prince. That's the only two ways you'd
be a princess. by marrying a prince. And in the case of Sarai, Sarai
being a picture of the elect of God's church in their unregenerate
state, will no more be called that name in that unregenerate
state, one who thought themselves to have the right to dominate
or to exalt themselves and have rule or strive, the nature of
every man, woman born in Adam, every object of God's mercy. until they're powerfully called
out of the darkness of sin and unbelief is born with a heart
that thinks that they can accomplish God's will and purpose by their
own efforts. That's what they had done. That
was the picture. That was the type. That was what
the Spirit of God was pleased to show us. But when the Lord
comes to one of His own in covenant mercy, And all of us, all of
us are like them. There's no difference in any
of us. We're all dug out of that pit
of sin and rebellion against God, and it's the Lord that lifts
us up. That's what God did for Abraham
and Sarah. That's what He's done for those
here that believe. But whenever the Lord comes in
mercy, in grace, and He gives a new nature, He gives a new
name. And that one that he shows mercy,
they're never the same. Turn over, hold your place, turn
over to Genesis 32. Lord willing, we'll be here soon,
and we'll look at this particular passage. Genesis 32, verse 24
to 31. Remember when the Lord came and
wrestled with Jacob? Let's read verses 24 to 31, see
what it says. And Jacob, Now what Jacob, what
does that mean? What Jacob was? Surplanter, trickster,
huckster, liar, conniver. That's the definition of Jacob.
And Jacob was left alone. And there wrestled a man with
him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he
prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh.
And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled
with him. And he said, let me go for the
day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee
go except thou bless me. He said unto him, what's thy
name? He said, Jacob. And he said, thy name shall be
called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince as thou power
with God and with men has prevailed. And Jacob asked him and said,
tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, wherefore is it
that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And
Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, where I have seen
God face to face, and my life is preserved. And listen to this. And as he passed over Penuel,
the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. God had
touched him. Touched him. Touched him in the
hollow of his thigh. He was out of joint. And he never
walked the same. None of God's people do. They're
always reminded of what they are by nature. He knew by nature. He knew what he was. But God
said, that's not you anymore. I'm going to give you a new name.
You're a prince with God. Your name is Israel. So here,
Sarah would now bear that name that speaks of all who have been,
from before the foundation of the world, everlastingly betrothed
and married to the Lord Jesus Christ according to God's promise,
promise and grace, not of works, not of works. We don't enter
ourselves into the position of being the bride. God chooses
His bride. God has chosen His bride. And
given them to the Lord Jesus Christ. He loved them and died
for them. Put away their guilt in His own
precious blood. Your name is not going to be
Abram anymore. Your name is Abraham. Your name
is not Sarah anymore. Your name is Sarah. And the scripture
says in Genesis 17 verse 16, and I will bless her and give
thee a son also of her. That's the first time that God
ever told Abraham that they were gonna have a child by Abraham
and Sarah. He told him he's gonna have a
son out of his own loins. Here, he said it's gonna be through
her. Yeah, I will bless her and she
shall be a mother of nations, kings of people shall be of her.
Just like Abraham is the father of many nations. She's the mother
of many nations. Now we see that God has been
pleased to reveal his purpose, but by degrees. Like I said,
he had told Abraham you'd have a son. He's going to come out
of your loins. Now it's to Sarah. You know, we walk by faith. As
the Lord is pleased to reveal things to us, He reveals things
to us in His timing, His way. If it wasn't that Abraham didn't
know he was going to have an heir, now it's going to be through
his wife. And she's going to have a son,
and in that son, that promised son, Isaac. He's going to be
in the lineage through Him and on and on and on. The Messiah
was going to come. So she would be blessed of God
and a son would be given her, a son of God's choosing, a son
of God's blessing. And she would behold that open
manifestation of how God saves His people. by grace, by free
grace. Here's that allegory. Remember
that allegory we read back in Galatians chapter four? Hold
your place right there. Turn back to Galatians four for
just a second. Lord willing, make all so much
more clarity. Galatians chapter four. Galatians
chapter four, verse 22 to 31. For it is written, Abraham had
two sons, One by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman. But
he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh. But he of the free woman was
by promise. There's that changing of that
name. It's not going to be your name.
Abram, you're not going to be out of rebellion. Sarai, you're
not going to be dominant. You don't call the shots. Abraham, father of many nations,
Sarah, a princess. Which things, verse 24, are an
allegory, for these are the two covenants, the one from Mount
Sinai which gendereth to bondage. And that's what the law does.
The law is bondage. We can't keep it. The law reveals
sin. It doesn't give life. It shows
us what we can't do. One is by bondage, which is Hagar,
or Agar. For this Agar is Mount Sinai
in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem, which now is the Jews who are
thinking that they could keep the law. Let's see, this Agar, verse 25,
is Mount Sinai in Arabia, which answers Jerusalem, which now
is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem, which
is above, is free, which is the mother of us all. But it's written,
rejoice thou barren that bearest not. Break forth and cry thou
that travailest not. For the desolate hath many more
children than she which hath a husband. And that verse of
scripture right there is talking about God speaking of the Gentiles
that he would call out. Rejoice thou barren that bearest
not. So he was talking about the Gentiles.
It didn't have the laws and the prophets and the scriptures.
Break forth, cry thou that travailest not for the desolate, hath more
children than she which hath a husband. Now we, brethren,
as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that
was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit,
even so is it now." So he said in verse 16 back in Genesis chapter
17, I'm going to bless her. I'm gonna give thee a son also
of her. I will bless her. She shall be a mother of nations,
kings and people shall be of her. And then the scripture says
in verse 17, we'll look at this one and then we'll stop for the
night. Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed and said
in his heart, shall a child be born unto him that is 100 years
old? and shall Sarah, that is 90 years
old, bear. Now, though it might appear at first
that when Abraham laughed that it was in a distrusting or unbelieving
way, I'm going to say that I would greatly doubt that. I looked
up the word laugh in this particular scripture, and what it means
is to laugh in merriment or scorn. It could be either one. But truly,
in great humility, number one, the scripture says, Abraham fell
upon his face. He fell in adoration. in humility,
he bowed unto the Lord. He fell upon his face, and obviously
in great joy, he was said to laugh, but laughed the laughter
of delight, merriment, and not of distrust. The promises of
God are the promises of joy that enlighten the soul. The Lord
declared that Abraham saw his day and was glad. He was calmly happy and fully
rejoiced. That's what glad he was. He saw
my day and he was glad, John 8, 56. And surely it was the
joy of faith that Abraham rejoiced. That is, jumped for joy to see
Christ's day. Now, there was a time when Sarah,
and it's the same word. It can mean merriment or it could
mean merriment or scorn. One of the two. Now, Sarah was
said to laugh. Why don't you just turn over
Genesis 18. I'm going to show you the difference
here. Same word. to laugh with scorn
or to laugh with merriment or rejoicing. Abraham, because of
what the Lord said about him and him bowing and falling upon
his face, he laughed. But obviously, the text bears
out that it wasn't out of unbelief or what the Lord said when he
said, Abraham saw my day. Abraham believed God. Why don't
you look at Genesis chapter 18 verses 9 to 15. This is what
happened. This is when the two angels and the Lord Jesus He
came and met, we'll go look at this, this is the next chapter.
Came to Abraham when he was out in the wilderness there. And
he comes and Abraham tells his servant, go over there and prepare
something for them to eat. And they're doing and they're
talking to Abraham. Now before the two angels go
into Sodom. And I want you to notice something
that is written here. It says in verse 9 of Genesis
chapter 18. Now remember, there's two angels
and the Lord. And I want you to notice who
asks Abraham where his wife is. It says in verse 9, and they,
they, obviously all of them, said unto him, where is Sarah
thy wife? And Abraham answered, and he
said, behold, in the tent. And then the Lord speaks. And
he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time
of life. And lo, Sarah, thy wife, shall
have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent
door, which was behind him. And 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? And the Lord said unto Abraham,
Wherefore or why Did Sarah laugh, saying, shall I of a surety bear
a child which am old? Is anything too hard for the
Lord? At the time appointed, I will return unto thee according
to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I
laugh not. For she was afraid. And he said,
nay, no, but thou didst laugh. Now, that laugh, that was a laugh
of unbelief. She doubted, and the Lord called
her on it. Why'd you laugh? She laughed in her heart, it
says, but the Lord heard it. He knew. Why'd you laugh? I didn't laugh. Yes, you did.
Yes, you did. Yes, you did. The scripture says,
though, but she laughed again. Over in Genesis chapter 21, Genesis
chapter 21, In verse six, Isaac's born now. Isaac's been born,
and listen to this. And Sarah said, God hath made
me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. God's
given me joy, given me merriment, and all that hear me can laugh
with me. God has prepared me to laugh,
to be happy, to rejoice, Yes, Abraham back in Abraham 17, 17,
hearing the promise of God, he laughed. But he laughed in faith. Abraham believed God. He believed
the Lord. He rejoiced in God. He saw by
faith the surety of these things. You're going to have a son by
Sarah. And Abraham fell on his face. And he laughed. He rejoiced. In Meribeth. Abraham taken out
of Ur of the Chaldees. God revealed himself to him. Abraham was told by the Lord,
he said, I'm going to show you a place. I'm going to show you
a place. He showed him Canaan. And Abraham,
by faith, saw the surety of heaven in the promise of Canaan. And he saw the surety of Christ,
the one who would come for all like himself, vessels of God's
mercy, sinners truly in need, in the promise of Isaac, being
born not of works. He saw that. He saw what happened
when he went into Hagar and he had a A son by Hagar, a handmaid,
and then God said, no, no. I'm going to give you a son.
A son by promise. It's going to be a son from you,
but it's going to be through Sarah. And he rejoiced. Abraham saw the glory of God. He saw it in Canaan. He saw it
in that boy. He saw it in God's deliverance
through all of these things. And I pray that the Lord's pleased
to show us just the rejoicing in seeing how God took them and
taught them and changed their names, gave them new names, names
of honor that honored God. God is faithful. He's faithful
to His promise. May the Lord bless these words
to our hearts for Christ's sake. Amen. All right, Gary. Let's
look at your Psalms and Grapes book this evening, if you will,
in closing. Let's look at 127. The Great Substitute, behold
He has come. The price has been paid, the
work is all done. Christ took on Himself the great
load of our sin. He poured out His blood and He
put away sin. ? God's justice and law are now
satisfied ? And all who believe have been justified ? Through
faith in the blood of the Lamb we are free ? From sin's condemnation
eternally free Brother Neil, would you dismiss us please? Thankful for this time together,
Lord. We pray that you would bless this message to our hearts.
Oh, Lord, help us to think on the things that have been said
here. Help us to rejoice, Lord, in thy great salvation. We remember
our loved ones, Lord, that are lost and undone. Oh, Lord, you're
a merciful God, and we pray that you might be willing to show
mercy unto them. We pray for our sick, oh, Father,
those those who are going through trials and tribulations. We remember
them all before you. Bless us now, watch over us,
and care for us. We ask this in the name of our blessed Savior. Amen. Amen. Lord willing, I'll
see you Sunday.