Mercies Of A Covenant God

Q: What does the Bible say about God's mercy?

The Bible reveals God's mercy as enduring and accessible to those in need, highlighting His willingness to forgive and save. In Psalm 107, it states, 'Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; His mercy endureth forever.' This highlights the perpetual nature of God's mercy. Throughout Scripture, God is depicted as merciful, responding to the cries of His people when they find themselves in distress. For example, in Genesis 21:17, God hears the cries of Hagar and Ishmael, demonstrating His attention to the downtrodden. This mercy is central to God's character and illustrates His readiness to respond to our needs and pleas for help.

Q: How do we know the importance of grace in salvation?

Grace is fundamental in salvation as it signifies God's unmerited favor towards sinners, emphasizing that salvation is a gift. Grace is central to the salvation narrative in Scripture, as illustrated in Ephesians 2:8-9, which states that it is by grace we are saved through faith, not by works. The distinction between Ishmael and Isaac in Galatians 4 serves as an allegory for two covenants—the old covenant based on works and the new covenant based on grace. The Old Testament law, represented by Hagar, offers no salvation. In contrast, the grace represented by Sarah and Isaac signifies God's redemptive plan where salvation is given through faith in Christ alone. Hence, grace is not merely an addition to faith but the very foundation of our hope in salvation.

Q: Why is understanding the two covenants important for Christians?

Understanding the two covenants clarifies the distinction between law and grace, illuminating the fully redemptive work of Christ. The two covenants, represented by Ishmael and Isaac in Galatians, are crucial for understanding the biblical narrative of salvation. The covenant of the law, which is associated with Hagar and Sinai, constrains and leads to bondage as it demands perfect adherence to the law. In contrast, the covenant of grace associated with Isaac, the promised child, illustrates the freeing power of faith in Christ. This distinction helps Christians recognize that they are not bound by the old covenant's demands but liberated by grace, enabling a closer relationship with God through Christ. It is essential for believers to grasp this truth to fully appreciate the nature of their salvation and the assurance they have in Christ.

Q: What is the role of prayer in seeking God's mercy?

Prayer is the means by which we call upon God for His mercy, recognizing our dependence on Him for salvation. Prayer plays a crucial role in the life of a believer as it is both an act of faith and a means to access God's mercy. In Psalm 130, the psalmist cries out for God to hear his voice, emphasizing the importance of God’s attentive nature in hearing our pleas. As demonstrated in Genesis 21, when Hagar lifted her voice to God in her distress, it was through her prayer that she experienced God's mercy. This reflects the reality that God hears those who earnestly seek Him, and often it is when we reach the end of ourselves that we turn to God in prayer for help, which is a crucial moment for receiving His grace. Thus, prayer is not just a ritual but a heartfelt communication with a merciful God.

Gracious Lord, in time by year,
My requests thou save to hear. Hear my never ceasing cry, Give
me Christ, or else I die. Give me Christ, or else I die. Wealth and honor I disdain. Earthly comforts, Lord, are vain. These can never satisfy. Give me Christ or else I die. Give me Christ or else I die. Lord, deny me. will only ease
me of my guilt. Supplies at thy feet I lie. Give me Christ or else I die. Give me Christ or else I die. All unholy and unclean I am nothing
else but sin On thy mercy I rely Give me Christ or else I die
Give me Christ or else I die Thou dost freely save the lost. In Thy grace alone I trust. With my earnest suit comply. Give me Christ, or else I die. Give me Christ, or else I die. Thou dost promise to forgive
all who in thy Son believe. Lord, I know thou canst not lie. Give me Christ, or else I die. Give me Christ, or else I die. Now the pastor told me last Wednesday when he was in
Ashland for the funeral service of Pastor Hap Yates, that on
Sunday nights here you were going through the book of Genesis,
and that he would like for me to continue that study. when I spoke tonight, and that
the place where you were in the study was in Genesis chapter
21. So I'm going to speak from that
portion of Scripture, but I want you to turn first in your Bibles
to Galatians chapter 4, and let's lay out simply and plain and
clearly. four or five things that we need
to know, and I'm sure you've already touched upon many of
these. But let me say them as clearly and simply as I can. Point number one is this, Abraham
had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. And we think perhaps Ishmael
was about 14, 15, or 16 years old when Isaac was born, at least
that old. When this incident occurred with
Abraham sending Ishmael away, he was almost 17 years old. We think about him as a lad,
you know. Well, they called him a lad.
He was a lad, but he was a big lad. He was about 17. Now, he
had two sons. Galatians 4 verse 22 says, For
it is written that Abraham had two sons. All right? The second
thing now we need to understand. Ishmael was born of a servant. Hagar was a servant. She was
not married to Abraham. She was a servant. That's all
that she was, a servant. And Ishmael was born of a servant,
and that's all he ever was. was a servant. That's right. He was born of a bondwoman. Look here at verse 22. Abraham
had two sons, one by a bondmaid, that is a servant, a slave, the
other by a free woman. Ishmael was born of the bondwoman,
servant, and he was a servant. Isaac was born of the wife. He was never a servant. He's
a son. He's the heir. Always the heir. That's right. He's the heir.
That's right. He was born of the free woman.
He's the heir. Isaac, Ishmael was born of the
bondwoman, a servant, and he was not the heir. Ishmael shall
not be your heir. God told him that. Isaac was
born of the free woman who was joined in marriage to her husband.
Therefore Isaac was no servant. He was the heir. Now look at
the next verse. Thirdly, but he who was born
of the bondwoman was born after the flesh. In other words, this
is what that is saying. He was born not by any—well,
any birth is a miracle. Now, but what I'm saying is this,
that he was born by natural means. That's what this is saying here.
He was born after the flesh. But Isaac was born after the
flesh in the sense that he was born of flesh and blood. But
Ishmael was born of a young woman by ordinary strength according
to nature. A man went into a woman and a
child was born. But look at the next line. But
he of the free woman was born by promise. He was a miracle
child. There's nothing ordinary in his
birth. Everything about this birth was heavenly and supernatural. God's hand, God did it. As miraculously
as John the Baptist's birth, as miraculously as your birth
into the kingdom of God, God did it by promise. It's a new
birth we're talking about there, as he was born by promise. Now
then, fourthly, which things are an allegory, an illustration. These two women, their two covenants,
the one from Mount Sinai, which gendered the bondage, which is
Hagar, H-A-G-A-R. And for this Hagar is Mount Sinai
in Arabia, an answer to Jerusalem, which now is in bondage with
its children. But Jerusalem, which is above,
is free. We're talking about Sarah here
now, which is the mother of us all. Now here's what that's saying.
It's saying that these two women represented two covenants. The
Old Testament, with its ceremonies and Sabbath days and tithes and
laws and sacrifices and priesthood, circumcision and all these things.
That's the Old Testament covenant given to God, given by God to
Moses. And that's what Hagar represents. Hagar represents that old covenant. Sarah represents the new covenant. If the Son shall make you free,
you shall be free indeed. See that? These two women represent
the two covenants. Hagar represents Flesh, bondage,
represents the old covenant, sacrifices and pictures and types
which can never put away sin, which can never save, which can
never give peace, which can never set a man free. Those sacrifices
and types and pictures can never give freedom, can never make
a man a son of God. You make him religious, but you
can't make him a son of God, an heir of life. And Hagar can
give birth to a son, but can't make him Abraham's heir. But
Saber can give birth to a son, and he is the heir. See that? So these two women, when you
think of Hagar, the bondwoman, you think of the old covenants,
Sinai, with its bondage, serpent. When you think of Saber, you
think of The new covenant in Christ, grace, miracle birth,
miracle grace, freedom. Now then, these two sons, who
produced Ishmael? Hagar, bondwoman. Who produced
Isaac? Saber, free woman. So when God
came to Abraham, he said the old covenant's got to go. Hagar's got to go. But so has
her offspring. It's got to go, too. It's got
to go. That's which the old covenant
produced has got to go along with the old covenant. That the
new covenant in Christ and those that are born by grace and who
the Son has set free, they are the heirs of God. They're the
heirs, you see. So if you look at Hebrews now,
Hebrews chapter Look at verse 30. You know, if you say it in
Galatians, there, look at verse 30. I'm sorry. Look at verse
30. And down here in verse 28, now,
we brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. That's
people who look to Christ, who look to his blood, who don't
look to a Sabbath day and a ceremony and a priesthood and a tabernacle
and holy graves and all. We don't look to those things.
We look to Christ. We look to Christ. But as then,
he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born
after the Spirit, even as it is now. In other words, Ishmael,
the child of the bondwoman, mocked the child of the free woman.
make fun of him. And that's the way works people
do. They make fun of grace. They
make fun of grace people. Folks that are dependent on their
work for salvation make fun of people who look to Christ. They
persecute them. They persecute them. They ridicule
them. They say, I believe what you
believe. I do this. You know how they ridicule grace
and ridicule the miracle of the mercy of God in Christ Jesus?
The free man doesn't mock the man in worship because he knew
he was one for the grace of God. He'd be there. That's—it's not
reverse. It's not reverse. You don't make
fun of the people that believe free will because you were there
yourself one day, and I was too, you see. They make fun of you.
You don't persecute them. They persecute you. And that's
what he says. He said, as it was then, as Ishmael,
the child of the bondwoman, he wasn't an heir. He didn't know
the grace of God, so he made fun of the grace of God. What
people don't understand, they ridicule, they make fun of. But
we understand them, we don't ridicule them, we don't persecute
them. Now, what's the next verse? Nevertheless, what's in the Scripture?
Cast out the bondwoman. and her sons. For the son of
the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman."
Can't be. It can't be. What fellowship does grace have
with words? Light with darkness? God with
faith? It can't be. They can't exist
together. Just can't do it. Not in a church,
not anywhere in peace. Can't do it. Cast them out. And that's what this is. Turn
to Hebrews, and this is what Paul has said over here in Hebrews
chapter 10, that I started reading to you this morning, and I'm
going to finish reading it tonight. In Hebrews chapter 10, verse
7, you remember I read this this morning? Verse 5, Hebrews 10,
verse 5, Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, Christ Jesus,
he says, Sacrifice and offering, thou wouldst not, but a body
hast thou prepared me. Now, in this old covenant, in
these burnt offerings and sacrifices to sin and priesthood and animal
sacrifice, thou hast had no pleasure. God has had no pleasure. Hebrews
10, verse 6. No satisfaction. Then it said,
I come, and the volume of the book is written of me, to do
thy will, O God. Above, when he said, Sacrifice
and offering, and burn all things, and offering for sin, thou wouldst
not. Neither had pleasure therein which are offered by the Lord.
That's that old covenant. Then said he, Lo, I come to do
thy will, O God, his redemptive will. He taketh away the first,
and establishes the second. What does he take away? That
first covenant. What does he establish? grace. What does he take away? Sabbath,
tithe, tabernacle, priesthood, holy days, all these things. Sacrifices, Passover, takes it
away. Why can't he take it away? Christ
fulfilled it. I'm not in bondage to those things. And they've let it go. You're
quoting on Sunday morning, on Sunday morning preach Christ
and then require people to keep some kind of Sabbath to be complete
in Christ? You can't mix those things. You
can't preach Christ and then demand that folks be circumcised
in order to be saved. You can't preach Christ and demand
that everybody give a ten percent of what they make in order to
be right before God. You can't do that. You can't
mix these two things. They got to go. The old—all this
old covenant. With these pictures and promises
and types and patterns, they served their time, they served
their day. They parted to Christ. Now that
He's come, they kept the call. And that's what over here in
Genesis—now turn to Genesis 21. Genesis 21. And that's where
we'll understand a little bit better Somebody says the Lord
was cruel to do this. No. I tell you, when God Almighty
teaches us something, He teaches us in a firm manner, in a firm
manner, in a strong manner and a strong way. And He told Abraham
down here in verse 12 of chapter 21, now, God said, Abraham, let
it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad, because of
the bondwoman. And all the sinner hath said
unto you, Hearken to her voice, for in Isaac shall thy seed be
called. Put the bondwoman out, and her offspring." That's right. And in this, in the gospel of
grace, for me as a preacher and you as a church, put the bondwoman
out, the old covenant, the old law, the old sacrifice, and put
out those who follow us. Put out their offspring. You
can't... Well, Abraham would say, Lord,
let him have the forty acres down here close by the river,
you know, and I will pay attention to it. Put them out. They got
to go. See that? Well, you know, something
else, I haven't preached on this in, since I think the last outline
I had on this I looked at was 1960-something. But you know, Paul helped me
a little bit on it. He said, we think about Isaac all the
time, why should we talk about Ishmael? And I suppose that's
the reason I haven't pushed on this in so many years, been pushing
on Isaac, on Isaac. But in restudying this chapter
here, I saw something yesterday that I skipped over. You know,
I know why Abraham could take I don't—I haven't entered into
this experience, but I know from the Scriptures how he could take
Isaac up on that mountain and literally go through with the
plans to put him to death. You know what? Here's a man,
Abraham, a hundred and some odd years old, and God came to him
and said, Take your son, your only son now—the other one was
gone—whom you love. and take him up on Mount Moriah
and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. In other words, kill
him and burn his body and put his blood on the altar, like
you do a sheep. And Abraham is a three-day journey
to Mount Moriah, three days' journey. God never spoke to him
another time, not another time. And he took that lad, and the
men, he had the two donkeys and the supplies, and his servants
were down at the foot of the mountain, and they were going
up, the lad and Isaac and his father, and Abraham turned to
those men standing there and said, You wait here. The lad
and I are going up and worship God, and we'll be back. He said, We'll be back. The lad
and I will be back. You going to put him with Dad?
An offer is a great offer, and bring him back, gonna bring him
back. Because God—Abraham knew in here
that God would raise that boy from the dead. He had God's promise
that that young boy was gonna be his heir. And from that boy
was gonna come a people as the stars of the sky. Abraham knew
that. He believed God even against hope. He knew that God would
keep his word. His promise. And I told the pastor
of our group, I see in this, he put Ishmael out knowing the
same thing. Because look at verse thirteen
of Genesis twenty-one. And also, he said in verse twelve
of chapter twenty-one, the last line, see the last line of verse
twelve? In Isaac shall thy seed be called. But verse 13, And
also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because
he's your seed. So when Abraham put that bottle
of water on her shoulder and told her and that boy goodbye,
he knew he'd see him again, that that boy was going to be a great
nation. God wasn't going to kill him. Nothing was going to happen
to him. But God urged him about. Wherever
he went, God hedged him about. That's God's promise. He promised
Abraham, that boy's going to be a great nation. And he hedged
him about, and Abraham knew he would. So when he walked out
there and put the bottle of water on her shoulder and gave her
that bread in the bread holder and waved goodbye, in his heart
he was grieving. He was brokenhearted. He had
to see him go, but he knew this, this God. was above circumstances
and troubles and all these dangers, and that boy's going to be a
great nation, because he's my seed, Abraham's seed. All right. I found a picture there of our
redemption, of our redemption. Now, that's the first point.
That verse thirteen's my first point. God promised Abraham that
Ishmael would be a nation, that God was going to make a nation
out of that boy. That's a covenant he made up
there with Abraham. Israel's going to be a great
nation, and Abraham was certain of it. And I'm saying this, that
God made a promise that Christ is going to have a kingdom and
a people, and we're going to be in that kingdom. In Christ,
we're going to be in that kingdom. And I'll give you four assurances.
Here's four assurances. pillars on which you can base
your confidence that God will have a people. That's his promise
in Christ. Number one, God spoke it. He called Abraham out, said,
look up to the sky, count the stars. He said, I can't count
the stars. He said, that's how many seed you're going to have.
That's how many seed. And that's in Christ. You see,
that promise was made to Abraham and his seed, not seen. But see,
which is Christ, God spoke it. Secondly, God wrote it. We have
it right here. This is God's word. He wrote
it. He said, My word will not return void. It shall accomplish
that whereinto I have sent it. Hath not, he said it, hath I
not, hath God not purposed, and shall he not do it? Hath he not
spoken, shall he not make it good? That's the word. Thirdly,
God swore to it. Did you know that? He not only
spoke the promise to Abraham that he would have a heavenly
kingdom and a people in Christ. He not only spoke it and wrote
it, God spoke it. Let me show you that. Turn to
Hebrews 6. Hebrews chapter 6. And you know,
somebody, you know about this, I'm sure. Hebrews 6 verse 13,
but when men swear, they must swear by the great anointed.
I hear people swearing, I don't know. too much about it, I hear
them swear him to the Bible, and swear him by heaven, and
I say, I'll swear to God. But if God swears, by whom does
he swear? Well, listen to Hebrews 6, 13.
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear
by no greater, he swore by himself. And he said, Surely blessings
I will bless thee, and multiplying I'll multiply thee." God swore
it. What's the fourth foundation
of our confidence? God said it, God wrote it, God
swore to it, and God sent His beloved Son to the cross and
sealed it with His blood. That's all. He spared not his
own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not
with him freely give us all things?" Now, you can rest. There's a
kingdom. When Abraham sent old Ishmael out, God said, I'll make
him a great nation. I'll make him a great kingdom.
And Abraham believed it. And when God said in Isaac, Shall
thy seed be called? I'll make him a great kingdom.
Abraham believed it. Do you believe me? Abraham believed God and was
imputed to Him for righteousness. What shall we say that Abraham,
our father, has found? Righteousness. Where'd he find
it? In Christ. How'd he find it? By believing
Him. All right, secondly, God promised that He'd bless him.
All right, verse fourteen, So Abraham rose up early in the
morning, took bread and a bottle of water, gave it to Hagar, putting
it on his shoulder, and the child and sent her away. And she and
the lamb departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba."
Is that not the story of all his sheep? All of us wander,
all of us wander. We're born into this world, we're
born for wandering, wandering. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We've wandered, everybody's our own way. Everybody in here's
got a different story of how you wandered and wandered and
wandered, and yet God Almighty was pleased to arrest you and
bring you to Himself. But that didn't keep you from
wandering. The Lord finds His sheep in strange places. He found
them here in the wilderness of worship, wandering around the
wilderness, lost. Lost, wandering around. Brother
Half-Yates, you heard Paul speak of him I know often, and he told
you about his death. Half was 55 years old when he
died last Wednesday, last Sunday, Sunday was he died. But he pastored
this little, little church up in Dingus, West Virginia. Dingus
is a coal mining village. mountain town, not a town at
all, mountain village. It's just way up in the middle
of nowhere, nearly. Backwoods. Got some choice people
there, choice people. I went up there and preached,
I think it was fourteen years ago. The pastor was dying of
black lung. Pastor of this little church
was dying. He's in the hospital and he heard me preach on television.
is a free will Baptist church, dangerous free will Baptist church.
And the pastor heard me preaching on the radio and he was dying.
He sent for two of his men to come see him and they went up
to the hospital. And he said, I want you to listen to a man
on television. He's preaching what I really
believe, what I've been trying to show you fellas. He's preaching
the grace of God. So they started listening, Samuel
Baines and Henry Preston. So the pastor died and they made
Samuel Pastor, he was one of the deacons. He called me and
said, would you come up here and preach in this free will
Baptist church? I said, yes sir. So Thursday night, one Thursday
night, Darcy and I went up there. Auditorium was not as big as
this auditorium, but it was full. Choir was full. And I sat up
here with the pastor. It's been 12, 13, 15 years. I
don't know how long. And I sat out there, and I sat up there,
and they started carrying on. It was—we were shocked. Everybody hooped to do it, singing
and running around, you know, and shaking hands and hugging,
and then they all—we're going to have prayer, and everybody
played at the same time. Just bam! And I just sat there. And after they calmed down, the
pastor introduced me to preaching. I got up and preached this message.
Grace of God. Not want to put you in that,
but the grace of God. This is the message. And you
know, they didn't, they couldn't tell the difference. And he invited
me back again. I went up again. And he invited
me back again, and some of them began to notice the difference. And I wasn't saying, they've
been making so much noise, they didn't hear me, you know. They've
been carrying all sorts of foolishness, they didn't know what I was saying.
So he invited me to come back and preach for five nights. That
did it. That did it. One of the times I preached,
and I thought, now they heard me tonight, and the pastor came
to them and said, the ladies want to see you in the back.
I thought, sure, they heard me tonight. We're going to have
a problem. So I went in the back, and they, as my birthday, they
had presents for me, shirts and underwear and socks and anchovies.
They just couldn't hear me. So for just five nights I preached.
And God revealed the gospel. Abbey, Terry, Roland, Ben, Bill,
different men, they saw the gospel, and the church split. Totally
split. And all the free, they lost the
vote, the free willers did, and they left, and left the grace
people there. And I grew back and preached, some of our elders
went up and preached, And they didn't know the songs.
They didn't know these old songs, Come Thou Fount, Rock of Ages. They didn't sing those songs.
They sang, There's a Mansion in the Hilltop, you know, and
Tell Mother I'll Be There and things like that. So they began
to try to learn these great hymns. And they learned them. And Brother
Half went up there as pastor. Pastor for eight years. And God
just taught the people. They got some men up there that
can stand up here at Kent that Jerry Vance and Roland Browning
can stand up and give a Bible lesson, won't wait a minute,
just love the gospel. It's great. But anyway, there's
a hunk of talk right up about two or three blocks from the
church, and half-stopped up there wanting to change the name of
it to Dangerous Grace Church. to that little great church down
the road there. Oh, he said, John, he said, yeah,
why don't you come down and hear me preach? Why don't you come
down and serve us? Oh, he said, you don't want a
lot like me down there. He said, those people don't want
me down there. Hap said, you're the kind we
do want down there. He said, we're looking for sinners.
God saved sinners. Looking for wandering sheep.
Well, that's true, isn't it? A wish was out there wandering.
All right, let's see what happened here. See what happened in verse
fifteen. So the bottle, the water in the
bottle was spent. The water was spent in the bottle.
In other words, his leg finally run out of gas. They wandered
and running, and finally they run out of supplies. You see,
that's the deceitfulness of this world. That's the deceitfulness
of riches. That's the deceitfulness of sin.
That's the deceitfulness of pleasure. We go along deceived and fooled
by all these promises that the world makes, and they don't keep
their promises. The prodigal son came to himself,
and he said, Here I am in a mess. I don't have anything. The servants
back home in my father's house, better off than I am. The water
was run out, didn't it? The water ran out. It just ran
out. It does, too. That's the point.
You know about that. It runs out. That woman with
the issue of blood, she tried everything, everything. She tried
many physicians, and it was no better. And that's when she said,
if I can just touch the hem of his garment, if I can just get
the hem, I'll be all right. So Hagar, the water was gone,
and she took that young boy. He was, he probably had let her
have the water. He probably hadn't had any in
a long time, because he was about done. And she put him over under
a little shrub in the shade. Didn't want to see him die. Didn't
want to see him die. Waiting there. Gave up. Gave up. That's when God saves
people, when they give up. That's when you're lost. Lord,
save me or I'll perish. Lord, be merciful to me, O Savior. You gotta let the longsuffering
of God—you read that while ago. The longsuffering of God is selfless. He—God is longsuffering to us
when He puts up with us. He lets us wander, lets us go. You know. You've been there,
ups and downs, and then we run out. And that's when He comes. She quit, look at verse 16, she
quit trying and went to crying, listen, and she went and sat
down, sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were,
a bow shot. She said, let me not see the
death of my child. She sat over against him and
she lifted up her voice. Lifted up her voice, she cried
to God. Same thing the pastor read a
while ago. God dealt with her before, remember? She said, she
called the name of the place, Thou, God, seest me. She knew
who she was calling on. She's calling on the same one
who helped her before. And the lad was crying, too.
She's calling on God. Oh, I tell you, calling on God. Turn with me to Psalm 107, just
a moment. Psalm 107. I was sitting in my
study one day, A lady, a member of our church, stopped by the
study and came in and sat down, and she said, uh, I'm deeply
troubled. And I said, well, what's the
trouble, Jenny? She said, uh, I'm just flat lost. I'm not saved. I'm not saved. I know it. She
said, I said, well, do you believe the gospel? She said, I believe
everything you preach. I've been here all my life. I
believe exactly what you preach. It so way can be. I believe the
Word. I believe what you preach. I believe those. I believe I'm
a sinner. I believe God's suffering. I believe Christ died for sin.
I believe those things. But I'm still not saved. I said, well, Jenny, have you
ever asked the Lord to save you? She looked at me so strangely.
She said, well, no. I said, well, why not? He said,
ask and it shall be given you. Seek and you shall find, knock
and it shall be opened. The thief on the cross, ask him.
The publican in the temple, ask him. The leper who came and cut
at his feet, ask him. Barnabas, ask him. I said, why
don't you go home and ask the Lord to save you? She said, I'm
going to do just that. I know it did just that. I believe she did that, and I
believe he gave her peace. It seems to be she's still there,
and that's been 20 years ago. Ask him. Listen to Psalm 107,
verse 1. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord.
He's good. His mercy endures forever. Let
the redeemed of the Lord say so." Who meant redeemed from
the hand of the enemy? Gathered them out of layers from
the east, the west, the north, the south? Listen, they wandered
in the wilderness in a solitary way. They found no city to dwell
in. Hungry and thirsty, their souls
fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble. And He delivered them out of
their distresses. Why don't you ask Him? When did they cry when they got
in trouble, when they couldn't save themselves? To whom did
they cry out the Lord in their distress? What did He do? Well,
let's see the next verse in our text, Genesis 21. He heard. He
heard. In Genesis 21 verse 17, listen,
and God heard the voice of the Lamb. God heard. I preached a message on prayer
one time, but I think I got a hold of something that is so vital,
something that, you know, we, the Lord's pleased to reveal
things to us in His own time, but I don't know why I haven't
made this point before. What is the most important thing
about prayer. What is the greatest thing about
prayer and the most important thing about prayer? It's not
what I say. It's not when I say it. It's not what words I use and
how long I pray. You know the most important thing
about prayer? If God hears me. Isn't that right? And But over there, don't turn
it. Listen to David in Psalm 130. Out of the depths have I
cried unto thee, Lord, hear my voice, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to
the voice of my supplication, hear me. It really doesn't matter what
I say. What matters is, is he listening?
Is he looking my way? Is he interested? You gotta,
if I got his attention, if he's thinking on me, he knows what
I need and what I do. I don't need to tell God what
I need. Do it. You just talk about the
sinner can't pray. If he's in trouble, yes he can.
If he needs God badly, yes he can. I tell you, He sure can. And it's not how he words it,
or how many words he uses, or theologically. When Peter was
walking on that water, and he gave way under it, you know,
the wind blew, and he said, Lord save me! That's how he words,
Lord save me. Lord save me. And I'll tell you,
God heard him. And that's all that... And that's
what you're saying in our text here, is the Lord heard him. He heard him. And I'll tell you
this, look at verse 17. God heard the voice of the lad,
and the angel of God, John Gill, said, that's Christ there, called
a hager out of heaven and said, what aileth thee, hager? Fear
not. I tell you, if he hears you,
you don't need to fear. If he speaks, you don't need
to hear. God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Now then,
here's the last point. arise Hagar, go over there where
the lad is, lift up his head. She picked up his head and put
it in her lap. I'll make him a great nation."
And God opened her eyes. And God opened her eyes. I tell
you, there can be no failure at any point in the divine purpose. God said to Abraham, that boy
is going to be a great nation. Put him out. He wandered around
the wilderness. He didn't know he was going to
be a great nation. He didn't know he was going to live. Hagrid
didn't know it either. She thought he was going to die.
She put him over there waiting on him to die. God knew he was
going to live. That God was going to keep him
alive. And they began to cry. Crying to the Lord. And God heard
it. God heard because He would hear.
But God heard because they cried. It's both true, isn't it? And
they cried, and God heard, and God opened her eyes. And what
did she see? She saw a cup of water. No, not
a cup, a well. Well, what little old girl and
her son don't need a well? God's sufficiency is always abundantly
so. The Lord doesn't leave in cups
of water. He dealed in rivers of living
water, plenty, plenty for everybody, sufficient, a river of water
just for her, just for her. And you know something? Nancy
had been there all the time. She didn't see him. He didn't
dig that well right there. He'd been there all the time.
And Christ is, He's not too far from any of us. In Him we live
and move and have our day. Boy, I never saw that before.
It's been there all the time, whether you see it or not. It's
been right here all that time. But I sure didn't, I'm telling
you, I've been fumbling around, I know it. God has to open our
eyes. And when He does, you're going
to see Christ, you're going to see His glory. You're going to
see His grace. You're going to see the way He
saves sinners. You're going to see His kingdom. You're going
to see everything you need to see. And the well—see, whom He
foreknew, He predestinated to be a great kingdom. And whom
He predestinated, He called. And whom He called, He justified.
Whom He justified, He glorified. Abraham, when He put him out,
didn't have any doubt, but he was the only one that there The
boy didn't know it, and she didn't know it. God knew it. And He
called him. And He opened her eyes. Not a
cup, but a well. Plenty. Plenty. He was there
all the time. He was there for her. And it
required nothing on her part but to drink. Just drink. Just drink. Isn't that beautiful? That's
beautiful. Our Father, thank You for Your
Word. Thank You for this day and the
mercies and blessings that have been ours. We pray that You make
Your Word to be effectual. Lord, be pleased to give us a
view of Christ, a heart to love Him. We pray for our friends
who are bereaved, brokenhearted, minister to them. Pray for our
loved ones who are sick. Strengthen, heal their bodies.
Pray for all who are in this congregation tonight. Thou knowest
the needs of every person, of every family, of every home.
The heartache, the trials, the pain, the fears, the doubts. We say with hatred, Thou, God,
seest me. You know all about me. when you
meet all my needs, in Christ our Lord. Amen. I don't know if you've heard
this, but there's a story. There's a story about a little
girl, a little girl, a little girl, a little girl, a little
girl, a little girl, a little girl, a little girl.

Mercies Of A Covenant God

What does the Bible say about God's mercy?

How do we know the importance of grace in salvation?

Why is understanding the two covenants important for Christians?

What is the role of prayer in seeking God's mercy?

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Mercies Of A Covenant God

What does the Bible say about God's mercy?

How do we know the importance of grace in salvation?

Why is understanding the two covenants important for Christians?

What is the role of prayer in seeking God's mercy?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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