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Abraham and Sarah's New Life - The Book of Genesis · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and
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  Speaker 1: the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. Genesis
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  Speaker 1: 21.1 My God, the Master of Time Through today's reading
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  Speaker 1: of Genesis 18, I now make the declaration that I
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  Speaker 1: will not become a victim of time. I will not
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  Speaker 1: go another moment believing that the best of my life
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  Speaker 1: is behind me. or that I missed my opportunity to
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  Speaker 1: become what you've called me to become. Instead, I will
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  Speaker 1: look to Abraham and Sarah and see your hand move
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  Speaker 1: outside the confinements of man and create something supernatural. Today,
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  Speaker 1: I declare that it's not too late. Today, I declare
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  Speaker 1: that I will give birth to my dreams. Today, I
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  Speaker 1: declare that God has the final say. I will not
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  Speaker 1: look to others or to my circumstance to determine if
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  Speaker 1: my breakthrough can occur. Through Christ, my answer is yes
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  Speaker 1: and amen. So if God said it, I choose to
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  Speaker 1: believe it, and that settles it. Thank you for my
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  Speaker 1: new season and for the birth of what's next. My
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  Speaker 1: new life is upon me, and I will not laugh
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  Speaker 1: but rejoice. in the impossible becoming possible. Time is on
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  Speaker 1: my side. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for making
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  Speaker 1: prayer a priority in your day. To learn more about
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  Speaker 1: the Bible, stay tuned for today's story. Brought to you
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  Speaker 1: by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Abraham and Sarah's New Life Before this story, we learned
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  Speaker 2: about Abram and Sarai's slow descent into madness from impatience
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  Speaker 2: with God's promises. Per Sarai's request, Abram slept with her
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  Speaker 2: servant to have a son, Ishmael. In doing so, they
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  Speaker 2: took the promises of God in their own hands and
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  Speaker 2: furthered their dysfunction and woes. Now, we will learn about
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  Speaker 2: how God still makes promises despite their disobedience. As God
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  Speaker 2: blessed them, He changes their names as inspired by the
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  Speaker 2: book of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
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  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
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  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
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  Speaker 3: slash stress. Yesterday, we learned that despite Abram and Sarah's
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  Speaker 3: impatience with God and lack of faith in his plans,
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  Speaker 3: God reaffirmed his promise to give them a child that
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  Speaker 3: would bless the nations. Their sin wasn't without consequence, of course,
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  Speaker 3: and as we join them in today's story, it has
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  Speaker 3: been over a decade since Hagar bore Ishmael. Throughout the Bible,
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  Speaker 3: we see examples of God giving people new names to
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  Speaker 3: signify a new start and a fresh identity. This is
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  Speaker 3: what we find here with God once again reassuring Abram
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  Speaker 3: and Sarah of His covenant and now giving them new names,
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  Speaker 3: Abraham and Sarah. So the theme of new beginnings is
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  Speaker 3: clear with the outset here, but there are other themes
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  Speaker 3: to pay attention to. You will see also how it
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  Speaker 3: is okay to question God in faith when we have
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  Speaker 3: doubts and even when we wonder out loud or if
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  Speaker 3: he is able to deliver on a promise. Faith and
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  Speaker 3: questions can exist in the same mind and hearts without
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  Speaker 3: nullifying each other. You will find this in today's story.
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  Speaker 3: We'll also see that God's blessings are not limited. They
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  Speaker 3: are often different in nature from one person to the next,
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  Speaker 3: but God has no shortage of blessing to give to
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  Speaker 3: those who trust in Him. And finally, today's story will
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  Speaker 3: mark an important step forward in enacting God's plan to
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  Speaker 3: save the world through the sacrifice of one of Abraham's descendants. Now,
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  Speaker 3: let's get to today's story of new life and reaffirmed covenant.
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  Speaker 2: Abram and Sarai following their shameful attempts to fulfill the
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  Speaker 2: will of God themselves, had waited thirteen years. They were
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  Speaker 2: both growing old, and their already small chances of being
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  Speaker 2: able to have children were all but lost. Abram was
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  Speaker 2: ninety-nine years old. Yet God is not a God to
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  Speaker 2: fail on his promises. God spoke again to Abram, saying,
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  Speaker 2: I am the Almighty. Walk with me. Be blameless, and
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  Speaker 2: I will make my covenant between us, and I will
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  Speaker 2: multiply you greatly. Abram, in prayer to God, prostrated himself
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  Speaker 2: in the dirt. Face down on the ground, Abram responded
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  Speaker 2: to God, broken and discouraged. God continued, saying, My covenant
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  Speaker 2: is with you, and you shall be the father of
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  Speaker 2: many nations. Behold, no longer shall your name be called Abram,
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  Speaker 2: but your name shall be Abraham, because I have made
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  Speaker 2: you a father of all nations. My promise to you
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  Speaker 2: will last for thousands of generations, an everlasting covenant. I
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  Speaker 2: will be God to you and all your offspring. Abraham
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  Speaker 2: looked to heaven. God had promised him again that he
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  Speaker 2: would provide him a namesake, and through him all nations
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  Speaker 2: would be blessed. God knowing that Abraham needed reassuring, spoke again.
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  Speaker 2: My promises are true, you will see. But first, your
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  Speaker 2: promise to me must be made. Go and circumcise yourself
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  Speaker 2: and all the men in your family. This will be
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  Speaker 2: a sign of our covenant, that you will be mine
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  Speaker 2: and I will be yours. From now on, when a
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  Speaker 2: baby boy is eight days old, you will circumcise him.
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  Speaker 2: Any male who is not circumcised will be estranged from
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  Speaker 2: the people of God, since he has broken my promise
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  Speaker 2: with you. God also spoke of Sarai, saying, As for
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  Speaker 2: your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah.
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  Speaker 2: I will bless her abundantly, and I will give you
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  Speaker 2: two a son, and you will call his name Isaac.
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  Speaker 2: I will bless her, and she shall the mother of
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  Speaker 2: nations to come. Abraham fell on his face again, but
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  Speaker 2: this time it was not in worship. Abraham laughed at
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  Speaker 2: the notion of his wife giving birth in her old age.
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  Speaker 2: He said to himself, Shall a child be born to
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  Speaker 2: a man who is a hundred years old? Is my
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  Speaker 2: ninety-year-old wife going to conceive? Abraham trusted God, but saw
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  Speaker 2: plenty of reasons to doubt before him. This is the
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  Speaker 2: struggle of man with God, trusting him despite all circumstances,
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  Speaker 2: saying the opposite. Abraham looked to God and said, What
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  Speaker 2: of my son Ishmael? Could you just bless him instead?
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  Speaker 2: I doubt we will be able to have children. No,
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  Speaker 2: God said. But Sarah, your wife, shall bear you a son,
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  Speaker 2: and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish
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  Speaker 2: an everlasting covenant with him. I will bless him and
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  Speaker 2: all the children beyond him. As for Ishmael, I have
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  Speaker 2: heard you. I have already blessed him and will make
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  Speaker 2: him fruitful. He shall be the father of twelve princes,
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  Speaker 2: and I will build a great nation through him. But
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  Speaker 2: I will establish my covenant with Isaac, and Sarah will
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  Speaker 2: bear him to you at this time next year. Abraham
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  Speaker 2: believed in God, though he did not completely understand Abraham
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  Speaker 2: and Sarah were victim to the time they felt slipping away.
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  Speaker 2: Mankind was not built to endure the entropy of age. Abraham,
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  Speaker 2: in faith, did as he was told. He circumcised his family.
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  Speaker 2: The tearing away of the foreskin was a symbol that
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  Speaker 2: Abraham's seed belonged to the Lord. It was a strange
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  Speaker 2: sacrifice with eternal and metaphysical meaning. Abraham and Sarah's family
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  Speaker 2: was blessed by God forever, and he carried them through
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  Speaker 2: all the strife of living. The whole world would soon
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  Speaker 2: come to know intimately Abraham's blessing from God. One day,
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  Speaker 2: the sacrifice of a descendant of Abraham would shower the
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  Speaker 2: entire earth with blessing. Yet for now, they waited on
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  Speaker 2: the Lord.
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  Speaker 3: As a result of their impatience and attempt to control
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  Speaker 3: the working out of God's plan, Abram and Sarah have
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  Speaker 3: suffered 13 years of waiting as we open today's story.
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  Speaker 3: Hagar has long since given birth to Ishmael and God
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  Speaker 3: has reaffirmed that it will not be through him that
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  Speaker 3: he will deliver the promised blessing to the world. But
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  Speaker 3: Sarah and Abram are now old, and though they are
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  Speaker 3: still trusting God, the promise of Sarah getting pregnant seems minuscule.
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  Speaker 3: Did you notice that once again God makes a covenant
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  Speaker 3: with Abram? But this time there is a big difference.
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  Speaker 3: With the covenant comes a new name, a name that
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  Speaker 3: further solidifies the promise. Listen to Genesis 17 verses 4
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  Speaker 3: and 5 as God records the promise and the new
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  Speaker 3: name Abram receives. As for me, behold, my covenant is
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  Speaker 3: with you, and you will be the father of a
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  Speaker 3: multitude of nations. No longer shall you be named Abram,
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  Speaker 3: but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made
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  Speaker 3: you the father of a multitude of nations. He also
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  Speaker 3: gives Sarah a new name, Sarah. God does not tire
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  Speaker 3: of reassuring those who trust in him. He knew Abraham
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  Speaker 3: and Sarah were weary. He knew they were holding onto
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  Speaker 3: something that from a human perspective seemed downright crazy, that
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  Speaker 3: an old man and an old woman would conceive and
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  Speaker 3: have a child. So God lovingly restated his promise and
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  Speaker 3: he gave them new names and a visible new sign
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  Speaker 3: of the promise, circumcision. This would be a constant reminder
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  Speaker 3: that God has set Abraham and his descendants apart. And
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  Speaker 3: although in his heart Abraham believed God and had faith
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  Speaker 3: in him, this story shows that it is possible to
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  Speaker 3: question God and wonder, honestly, how a promise will come about.
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  Speaker 3: It's not as though God does not know of these doubts.
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  Speaker 3: God can handle your questions. He can take care of
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  Speaker 3: your doubt, even your laughter at the seeming impossibility of
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  Speaker 3: his plans. He is pleased by your honesty and will
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  Speaker 3: comfort you as he did Abraham, even in the moments
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  Speaker 3: of doubt. So Abraham falls on his face, laughing at
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  Speaker 3: the thought of him and Sarah having children. God is
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  Speaker 3: not upset or angry. He once again confirms that, indeed,
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  Speaker 3: they will be the parents of a child. We even
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  Speaker 3: see Abraham trying to offer another alternative. Just use Ishmael
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  Speaker 3: to fulfill it, he suggests. Again, making a suggestion or
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  Speaker 3: an offer isn't offensive to God. It was when Abraham
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  Speaker 3: took things into his own hands without consulting God that
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  Speaker 3: problems arose. But God told him, no, I will do
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  Speaker 3: what I said. We also see here that God's blessings
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  Speaker 3: are not limited. He promises to bless Ishmael just in
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  Speaker 3: a different way. So Abraham demonstrates his faith with action.
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  Speaker 3: He circumcises the males in his household. And so finally,
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  Speaker 3: God gives Sarah and Abraham a son, Isaac. It is
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  Speaker 3: through Isaac that God will bring about his great redemptive plan,
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  Speaker 3: a perfect sacrifice once for all time. Holy God, your
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  Speaker 3: timing and your plans are perfect. And we thank you
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  Speaker 3: for this powerful story today that shows us just how
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  Speaker 3: true this is, that you keep your promises, just as
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  Speaker 3: you kept every promise to Abraham and his descendants. You
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  Speaker 3: are faithful to keep your promises to us through Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 3: and we praise you for this, and we thank you.
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  Speaker 3: Help us to honestly always come before you, even in
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  Speaker 3: times of doubts and questions and fears and anxiety, and
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  Speaker 3: that we would trust you and trust ourselves to your
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  Speaker 3: loving care and for your assurance every day of our lives.
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  Speaker 3: In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening to today's
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Before we go, I want
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: into your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: slash stress.