Home Page   Contact Us    Service Times   Sermons   Are You Going To Heaven?

NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!

NEW BEGINNINGS!

Introduction 

As Genesis 24 opens, we find that Abraham is getting old. He is concerned that the time of his death is drawing near and his son Isaac is not married yet. So before he dies, he wants to find a suitable bride for his son Isaac.

So, Abraham sends a servant to his homeland in search of that suitable bride.

The servant obeys Abraham and proceeds to accomplish what he was sent to do. The Lord God directs Abraham’s servant to Rebekah, and demonstrates to the servant that she is the one.

As the servant is brought to the house, he won’t even as much eat until he reveals what he’s there for. From the story he relates, it is very obvious that the LORD has guided him in his journey and that Rebekah is God’s choice for Isaac.

For Rebekah, her encounter with Abraham’s servant came down to this question found in vs. 58, “Wilt thou go with this man?”

Abraham’s servant was offering Rebekah a new beginning, but she had to make a choice. She had to choose to stay with the life she knew or believe this servant and go with him to meet her bridegroom.

We see her response, which is also found in vs. 58. She said, “I will go.”

 That response changed her life forever! It gave her a new beginning!

From a spiritual viewpoint, everything boils down to the very same question.

In this story, Abraham is a picture or type of God the Father. The Servant is a picture or type of the Holy Spirit. Rebekah is a picture or type of believers (those saved by grace) and Isaac is a picture or type of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God the Father has sent His Holy Spirit into this world to call out a bride for Jesus Christ. Like Abraham’s servant, the Holy Spirit does not promote Himself, but He talks about Jesus and calls lost people to come to Him for salvation.

When a person falls under conviction and the Holy Spirit reveals Christ in his or her heart, they are brought face to face with the greatest question they will ever encounter! “WILT THOU GO WITH THIS MAN?”

How they answer that question determines where and how they spend eternity!

Let’s take note of some things in this story:

I.            WE SEE THAT SOME MATTERS WERE CLEAR TO REBEKAH.

               A.         Isaac Was A Man Of Mystery.

In reading the story, it appears that the name of Isaac is not even revealed to Rebekah at first.

Don’t you imagine that over the 500 or so miles of the journey Rebekah talked to the servant about him, and tried to learn as much as she could about him.

I believe she came to love him. And the more that the servant revealed about Isaac, the more her love grew for him, even though she had never seen him.

The Holy Spirit of God teaches us all about our Lord Jesus Christ as we journey toward heaven to meet the bridegroom.

                            The more we come to know Christ as the Holy Spirit reveals

Him to us, the more we grow in our love for Him, even though we have never seen Him with our eyes.

The Holy Spirit is in the teaching business.

John 16:13-14–“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”

               B.         Isaac Was A Man Of Money. (Vs 35-36)

The servant reveals that everything that Abraham owns is in the hand of the son. Isaac is well able to care for His bride!

                            Everything that God owns is in the hands of His Son too!

                            And the Lord Jesus Christ is well able to care for His bride!

                            Isaac Was A Man of Mystery. . .Money. . .

               C.         Isaac Was A Man Of Matrimony.

                            The whole purpose of the journey was to find Isaac a bride!

This servant was not teasing Rebekah or leading her on!

He was very up front with her and wanted it known from the beginning that Abraham’s son was interested in a bride!

And listen, God is not interested in an on again off again relationship. He’s not interested in a one-night stand.

                            He doesn’t get involved in meaningless courtships.

                            The LORD has made his intentions known from the beginning:

                            HE’S LOOKING FOR A BRIDE !

                            He is dead serious about a marriage relationship!

               WE SEE THAT SOME MATTERS ARE CLEAR TO REBEKAH.

II.           WE SEE THAT SOME MATTERS WERE CONCEALED FROM REBEKAH!

               A.         Her Road Was Concealed.

There were some things that Rebekah didn’t know.

She didn’t know what she might face on the road between where she was and where Isaac was!

In fact, there were many unknowns along the way, but the servant had made it clear to her that he had all the necessary resources to make her journey successful!

Don’t you imagine that Rebekah probably had many questions about the journey, about the destination, and about Isaac.

She might have even wondered along the way if the length and the roughness of the journey she had to endure was worth it.

We don’t know what lies on the road we travel between where we are and seeing our bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are many unknowns along the way, but the Holy Spirit has made it clear through the Word of God that he has all the necessary resources we need to make the journey successful.

We may have many questions about the journey, about our destination and about our bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We may wonder along the way as the journey gets long and rough sometimes, of whether the journey is worth it.

                            Her Road Was Concealed.

               B.         Her Reception Was Concealed.

Do you think that maybe she wondered, “When Isaac sees me, what will he think of me? Will I be accepted? Will I be loved?

If he is all that I have been told, he may not be too impressed with me!”

                            But, all her fears were in vain. (vs. 67)

                            We don’t need to wonder whether Jesus will have us or not!

                            If you come to Him, He will not turn you away!

John 6:37–“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

If you are already saved, you don’t need to fear His rejection at the end of the journey!

               C.         Her Reward Was Concealed.

What was in this decision for Rebekah? Was this offer for real?

                            It sounded almost too good to be true!

Rebekah didn’t know it, but she not only was getting a new beginning, she got a lot to go with it!

She got a new Father, a new Family, a new Faith, a new Fortune, and a new Future! That is some new beginning!

Rebekah got more than she could have ever imagined when she got Isaac!

Listen, the world, the flesh, and the devil all will try to tell the believer that there is no payoff in serving God, but the rewards for coming to Jesus are without number and without limit!

When you say yes to Jesus, you get a new Father, a new Family, a new Faith, a new Fortune, a new Future!

               WE SEE THAT SOME MATTERS WERE CLEAR TO REBEKAH,

               SOME MATTERS WERE CONCEALED FROM REBEKAH. . .

III.         WE SEE THAT SOME MATTERS WERE CERTAIN TO REBEKAH.

               A.         She Was Willing To Choose. (Vs 58)

Even though she didn’t know all there was to know about Isaac, she knew that she wanted to be with him.

She didn’t have all the information about Isaac, but she had enough to choose! He sounded just like the man she wanted to marry.

Salvation boils down to our wanting Jesus more than we want anything else in life.

Being saved means coming to the place where we are willing to choose Jesus over our former life and lifestyle we had!

Salvation is about reaching the place in our lives where we have a desire to have a new beginning!

Salvation comes to us by grace and through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Rebekah determined in her heart, “I want him more than anything I have here. I will go!”

Salvation comes down to being willing to make Christ your choice, after He has found you and made you His choice!

Don’t allow anything to stand between you and your soul’s salvation! There is nothing in this world that is more valuable than your being saved!

Mark 8:36-37–“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

                            She Was Willing To Choose.

               B.         She Was Willing To Change.

Rebekah esteemed Isaac as being more valuable than anything else in her life.

She was willing to turn her back on everything she had in order to go be with Him. She was willing to live in a new place, in a new way, and under new management!

                            She had been under the rule of her father’s house all her life.

                            But now she would be under the authority of Isaac!

That is the essence of salvation, too. It is a total life change, because it is a new life. You can’t change yourself, but until you are willing to let God change you, you can never be saved!

You’ve got to be willing to get out from under the rule of Satan’s house and let Jesus be the authority in your life.

               C.         She Was Willing To Commit.

Rebekah was willing to commit the rest of her life to being Isaac’s wife. We see that she was willing to give her all to him!

Salvation is not about a mere profession. It is about a total commitment!

Salvation is a radical commitment to follow Jesus Christ for the rest of your life, with no reservations!

Salvation comes when a lost sinner is convicted of his sins and is drawn to Christ, repents of his sin, and believes the Gospel!

Salvation is a new beginning, but it is also a total commitment to a new life!

Conclusion

Rebekah made her decision to go to Isaac. And as a result, she was loved, she was blessed and she lived a happy and joyous life.

It all happened because she said, “I will go!” when she heard the question, “Wilt thou go with this man?”

What about you? If you are lost today, in your heart, are you hearing that same question being asked today, “Wilt thou go with this man?” Will you?

If you will come to Jesus, He will save you, He will give you a new beginning and change your life forever.

But, only you can decide what you will do with Jesus!

Jesus is standing at your heart’s door.

Standing and knocking, He’s knocked before;

This is the question we face once more:

What will you do with Jesus?

At your sad heart He is knocking still,

Longing to enter your soul to thrill;

You must accept or reject His will:

What will you do with Jesus?

Oh, will you leave Him alone outside?

Or, will you choose Him whate’er betide?

This is the question you must decide:

What will you do with Jesus?

What will you do with Jesus?

Neutral you cannot be;

Someday your heart will be asking:

What will He do with me?

Home Page   Contact Us    Service Times   Sermons   Are You Going To Heaven?

NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!