DRIVE YOUR ISHMAEL AWAY

-
Text :  Gen 21:10. 

 *She told Abraham, “Throw out this slave girl, along with her son, because this slave’s son will never be a co-heir with my son Isaac!”* 

After waiting for so long without a child, Abraham agreed with his wife to raise a child through their maid, Hagar. Genesis 16:1-4.

Hagar  bore a child to Abraham when he was around the age of 86, and they called his name Ishmael. However,  this was not the plan of God for them- Abraham and Sarah.

God promised Abraham a child through his wife Sarah and nothing more.

 *When you are impatient to wait for God's promise, you improvise for Him. Note that such improvisions come with huge consequences.*  

At God's own time, He made good His promise to Abraham, and Sarah gave him a child at the age of 100.
Humanly speaking, this is an impossible feat, but our *God specialises in making the impossible possible- learn to trust in Him.* 

After much ado, Sarah could no longer condone the excesses of Hagar and her son Ishmael, and she demanded that they be sent away.

Bear in mind that this is the first born child of Abraham, regardless of his birth circumstances. So this demand didn't go down well with Abraham. 

Surprisingly,  God told Abraham to do exactly what his wife demanded. Abraham was very troubled about what was being said about his son, but God told Abraham, “Don’t be troubled about the youth and your slave girl. Pay attention to Sarah in everything she tells you, because your offspring are to be named through Isaac. Genesis 21:11-12.

Ishmael represents your achievements in the flesh, while Isaac represents your obedience to His Word. 

Whenever God is demanding of you to let go of whatever you hold dear to your heart, don't hesitate to do so, because your promotion lies in your obedience. 

 *God is not a waster of people's time or resources.  If He's demanding something from you, it's because He has something bigger in store for you.*  Let go of your Ishmael. 


 *Bible  Reading :* 

Genesis 21:1-14.

PRAYER FOCUS

1.) Father God, I receive the grace to let  go of my "Ishmael" (be specific) that your promise may flourish in my life.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE GOOD FIGHT-2

-
Image
Text:  1 Timothy  6:12   Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. Another thing to pursue in fighting the good fight of faith is Godliness. We understand through the Holy scriptures that godliness is profitable unto all things.   *For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.* 1 Timothy  4:8.  You will reap the reward of your godliness not only when you get to heaven, but from here on earth. And this is why we are admonished to exercise ourselves unto godliness. (1 Timothy  4:7), because godliness with contentment is great gain.1 Timothy  6:6. Godliness is the practice of conforming to the image of God by reflecting the nature of the kingdom of God in the course of everyday life. In other words, godliness is living and portraying the nature of God here on earth.  2 Peter  1:
Read more

PRAYING MEN

-
Image
Text : 1Timothy 2:8. I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. God gave explicit instructions to all of His children as to how we must live our lives. Some of these instructions cut across boards, of which all of God's children must obey. However, there are some instructions that are specific to gender or portfolios. We we'll be looking at some of these instructions today.  *THE MEN* From our text, there are two distinct responsibilities God wants men to undertake, and the two are intertwined. First, God wants men to pray. The word  'men' as used in our text is not generic as to mean all human beings. It is specifically requesting that all men should pray. Yes, God expects every of His children to pray, but He specifically called men out here.  A number of times,  when prayer meetings are called, the proportion of women in attendance always outnumbered men. This is because the devil knows the import of praying men.   
Read more

BE CALM & LISTEN-3

-
Image
Text: 1 Kings 19:12 "...and after the earthquake a fire, [but] the LORD [was] not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice" Prophet Elijah fled after he received the life threatening message from Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, because he didn't keep himself calm before the Lord.  *Endeavouring to listen to God in difficult times is a major prerequisite to your deliverance.*  Are you faced with a life threatening situation like Prophet Elijah, the first and most important thing you need to do is: "Set yourself before the Lord for His still small voice."  *"You will be saved from many unwarranted troubles if only you will always maintain your calm before the Lord and listen to Him."*  After Prophet Elijah heard the still small voice, then the Lord asked him, "What are you doing here?" This question shows that Prophet Elijah had left his rightful location and God-given assignment.  The windstorm he saw, revealed that he has been blow
Read more