Introduction

We’re continuing our series on Spiritual Recovery, and two weeks ago, we looked at Elijah when he was struggling spiritually, being burnt out, running into the wilderness wanting to die. And it was the Lord who came to revive Elijah through His presence and providence and gave him renewed purpose.

Today, we’re going to look at another piece of the pie of our spiritual condition called Spiritual Weariness. In other words, it’s the state of spiritual exhaustion that sometimes occurs when we get tired of waiting. It’s when you need that providence and strengthening that Elijah received, but no matter how long you wait, it doesn’t seem to be coming. You’ve prayed for so long, you’ve been patient for so long, holding on with no sign of hope. You’ve been running for so long, telling yourself just a little longer, just a little more, but time keeps going with no relief, no fruit in your life, no evidence of anything happening or getting better. And slowly, hope fades into disappointment, discouragement, and then hopelessness and despair.

This was exactly the kind of context in which the Lord speaks to Israel through Isaiah 40. Although scholars debate when exactly Isaiah 40 was written, what we know is that God is speaking prophetically to a people dwelling in exile, whose view of God was changing because of their circumstances. They had been waiting to be saved for a long time, and now they were tired of waiting.

Introduction

We’re continuing our series on Spiritual Recovery, and two weeks ago, we looked at Elijah when he was struggling spiritually, being burnt out, running into the wilderness wanting to die. And it was the Lord who came to revive Elijah through His presence and providence and gave him renewed purpose.

Today, we’re going to look at another piece of the pie of our spiritual condition called Spiritual Weariness. In other words, it’s the state of spiritual exhaustion that sometimes occurs when we get tired of waiting. It’s when you need that providence and strengthening that Elijah received, but no matter how long you wait, it doesn’t seem to be coming. You’ve prayed for so long, you’ve been patient for so long, holding on with no sign of hope. You’ve been running for so long, telling yourself just a little longer, just a little more, but time keeps going with no relief, no fruit in your life, no evidence of anything happening or getting better. And slowly, hope fades into disappointment, discouragement, and then hopelessness and despair.

This was exactly the kind of context in which the Lord speaks to Israel through Isaiah 40. Although scholars debate when exactly Isaiah 40 was written, what we know is that God is speaking prophetically to a people dwelling in exile, whose view of God was changing because of their circumstances. They had been waiting to be saved for a long time, and now they were tired of waiting.

Introduction

We’re continuing our series on Spiritual Recovery. The condition we’ll be looking at is called spiritual exhaustion or burnout, that feeling of running on empty until you feel like there’s nothing more to squeeze out of you, or like you’re burning the candle on both ends.

This is something experienced in all walks of life and not just in the church. But this is particularly true of anyone serving in ministry and in each person’s faith journey.

Spiritual burnout is not about not loving Jesus anymore, it’s about having poured out your own without properly being replenished. My prayer is that if you are feeling spiritually burnt out, that the Lord would heal you as we spiritually diagnose the life of the Prophet Elijah and recognize this condition in our lives and how God heals and restores us.

Introduction

In our new sermon series on Spiritual Recovery, we’ll be looking at Psalm 42 which is a maskil. A maskil is a song that gives instructions and Psalm 42 gives us instructions on how God helps us to recover from the times and seasons of spiritual dryness when we don’t feel God anymore in our life.

Introduction

Today’s passage picks up the story after the consequences of the spiritual darkness in Isaac and his family. At the same time, we saw the grace of God that is committed and faithful to His chosen people. You may remember from Isaac’s life that God never condones sin, however, God can still use the messiness of our brokenness to accomplish His perfect will and sometimes He will allow us to make those mistakes and sins so that we may know there is no true solution without God.

This is a truth that follows as the story transitions over to Jacob. In Chapter 28, we begin to see Isaac truly coming around after God broke his spiritual darkness. Things are off to a good start with Isaac calling Jacob and blessing him. Isaac doesn’t scold Jacob but properly blesses Jacob as Jacob, and we see Isaac sending Jacob away to Rebekah’s hometown and instructing him to find a wife from their kin, just as Abraham had done for Isaac all those years ago. Isaac did stumble, but now he is realigned with God’s Will and His Word. Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife from among Rebekah’s family (Genesis 28:1–5).

Introduction

Have you ever wondered what our lives may have been like if the Fall never happened? I find myself asking this question often whenever I go through the OT because there are so many cases where the Bible shows us that “this is not the way things were supposed to be.” Our passage today in Genesis 27 is one of those places. Today, as we look into the life of Isaac and his family, we will see something that plagues us as a result of the Fall.

The first two verses begin by saying: “When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see... He said, ‘Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death.’” (Genesis 27:1–2) In light of the following context of chapter 27, Isaac’s physical blindness introduces us to the spiritual blindness of Isaac’s family.

Introduction

There was a famine, and it seems Isaac planned to go down to Egypt because Egypt was more plentiful since it surrounds the Nile River while Canaan depends on its seasonal rainfall. However, that’s not God’s plan. When Isaac stops in Gerar, the land of Abimelech, King of the Philistines, God commands Isaac not to go to Egypt. Furthermore, in verses 3–4, God re-establishes the covenant that He made with Abraham, but now with Isaac. It is a reminder that God is with him.

Introduction

Today’s passage in Genesis 25 is often preached as a sermon on good parenting. While that is a valid application of the text, there’s something the text shows us before even getting into the topic of parenting. The most important question when we engage with Scripture is: what does the text tell us about God?

Reading through today’s passage reminded me of a jingle from a sitcom from the 90s and early 2000s. Some of you in your early 20s may not know it, but the jingle went like this:

“No one told me life was gonna be this way~”

And our walk with the Lord can sometimes feel exactly like that.

Introduction

Genesis 25 is not about missions; the interpretation of this chapter is about God’s covenant and His faithfulness to His people as His covenant people. Genesis 25 begins with a bit of a surprise. Abraham takes another woman as his wife named Keturah. We know that she used to be one of his concubines, but other than that we don’t know much else. We actually don’t even know whether or not this was before or after Sarah’s death. Although Genesis is for the most part written chronologically, there are places like genealogies where it is written thematically and not chronologically.

Introduction

When you look at the Greek language, the Greek language is satisfied with the concept and idea of things. Hebrew is slightly different in that, while concept and idea is very important, those concepts and ideas needed to be tangible and experiential in life. This is why we see a lot of stuff happening and people doing things in the stories. These are not simply stories; they are messages that God has placed within the stories. However, many Christians look at what people in the Bible do prescriptively, as though God is telling us to do exactly the same thing. While there may be some truth to that, these stories function descriptively, and we have to ask what the Lord is revealing about Himself through the events as they unfold.

What this means for Genesis 24 is that although we see prayer, discernment, marriage, and finding a spouse, this chapter is not ultimately about any of those things. If we make it about them, we risk making ourselves the main character. The main character of Scripture is always God. Genesis 24 continues to reveal God's faithfulness to His covenant, His commitment to His promises, and His sovereign work of preparing the way for His people.

Introduction

At first glance, Genesis 23 may not seem particularly significant. It serves as a transition between Abraham's story and Isaac's. Sarah dies, Abraham mourns for her, and the rest of the chapter appears to describe nothing more than the purchase of a burial site. Yet within this seemingly ordinary event, God gives us one final and important picture of Abraham's faith.

Introduction

Last week we saw how God shaped Abraham into a man of faith who, in his darkest hour, was able to respond to God with trust, obedience, and the words, “Here I am.” The testing of Abraham in Genesis 22 was not simply about whether he would sacrifice Isaac. It was the culmination of a lifetime of God transforming him from the fearful, self-reliant man he once was into a man who trusted the Lord completely. God challenged us to ask ourselves, “Will you trust God with your Isaac?”

Today, we go back one chapter because before Abraham could trust God with Isaac, there was another lesson he first needed to learn. Before Abraham could become the man of faith we see in Genesis 22, God first called him to let go of Ishmael.