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All right, thanks for coming everybody if you need a bulletin go ahead and slip up your hand and brother Fabian will bring you one
As always in the upper left-hand side there. We have the service times every Sunday at 10 30 a.m. 5 30 p.m. 7 on
Thursdays, we're going through second Kings will be in chapter 9 and I mentioned it last Thursday
If you know second Kings chapter 9, you're probably gonna want to be here
It's a some pretty exciting chapters below that we've got the salvation's baptisms offering totals for both the month and year
And don't forget tomorrow is the annual chili cook-off
so the long anticipated chili cook-off is tomorrow and
All Chili's that are to be entered are to be made from scratch and let me put in this and I thought I made
This pretty clear, but apparently apparently not. So let me just clarify when there's no pre-seasoned ingredients allowed
So if you buy the seasoned beans if you buy the seasoned tomatoes, those are not allowed
Hopefully I made that clear enough. If you did that already you made your chili. Just just don't tell anybody
All right, you will give you it will give you a pass this year because maybe I didn't make it clear enough
but otherwise, you know, if you haven't made your chili yet, just remember it has to be made from
Ingredients that don't have any pre seasoning in it including chili kits things of that nature. You got a self spice
I mean, that's that's the whole point of the competition, right?
And then they have to be here by 5 p.m
So make sure you get the Chili's here at the building by 5 so we can start
Right away and then we've got the sides are gonna be provided by the church
So we're gonna bring the sour cream the cheese will have chips
Spiced cider. I don't think we're not planning on making any corn muffins or anything like that
So we got the corn bread. Oh, well then great. Yeah, trust me. Don't bother making any corn bread corn breads covered
Okay, I've had it. It's delicious. So you're gonna want to eat that and then
well, but we'll provide those sides and then you know, there'll be some beverages and then also
I think that's everything. I'm not I wasn't really
Planning on having a lot of dessert, but if people want to bring dessert, you're feel free to do that
I guess we will pick up a pie or two
Problem with dessert is is that the church provides dessert and then you all bring a lot of dessert and then it turns into
It's like is it a chili contest or is it a dessert social, you know?
So I guess it can be both but we will have a couple of desserts
I'll get a couple of pies and things like that. So who's planning on making it out tomorrow who can make it?
All right, great. Well, we look forward to having you out and we'll have the first second third place
You have to be 12 years old to vote for a chili
You can be younger to enter one and if you enter a chili and you may not vote
I'll go over all that again tomorrow night
Don't forget to join us next Sunday
November 6 at 10 a.m.
For donuts and coffee in honor of those celebrating the birthdays in the month of November and then we've got the annual church pickup
Picnic up in Tempe. That's on Saturday, November 12th
That's open to anybody who would like to go down here
Of course got to make the drive if you'd like to go with me and my family
I do have a couple seats open first come first serve on that
Speaking of events in Tempe on the back. There is a homeschool field trip scheduled Friday, November 18th to the Boyce
Thompson our
Arbor our arbor eat arbor eat them arbor eat them
I didn't when I put that in there like that's can't be the way it's supposed to be spell. It's supposed to be
Arbitorium but if that is how they spell it on Google that's on their official website take it up with them
So that's how I can't pronounce it, you know, but that's what it is. So you say what is that?
It's I think it's just like a thing where they they have trees. Yeah, exactly
There's a lot of trees there which I guess here in Arizona is probably a big deal
You know, if you you want to go see a bunch of trees, there you go
That's the place but I will say this obviously is about two hours away from us
So but I know sometimes there's people here in the Tucson Church that like to make it up there for these kind of things
so I'm throwing that in there if you would like to go please make sure you go over those details there and
Make sure you RSVP with me no later than Wednesday, November 16th
So we can get an idea how many people are coming
We will be having a homeschool field trip for the Tucson group down here to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
That's going to be in December. I got pushed out due to scheduling conflicts
But you have that stuff there a new sign-up sheet will be put out closer to that date
So keep that in mind. You also have the song scheduled for the upcoming services and that's going to do it for announcements
We'll go ahead and sing one more song before we get into the preaching this morning
Lying to walk in the steps of a Savior Trying to follow our Savior with failure
I
Read from Genesis chapter number 25 this morning be in Genesis chapter number 25
In Genesis chapter number 25 the Bible reads in verse 1 then again Abraham took a wife and her name was Keturah
And she bare Zimram and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah
And Jokshan begat Sheba and Dedan and the sons of Dedan were Asurim and Latushim and Lumim
And the sons of Midian Ephah and Ephir and Hanuk and Abidah and Eldah
All these were the children of Keturah and Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac
But unto the sons of the concubines which Abraham had
Abraham gave gifts and sent them away from Isaac his son
While he yet lived eastward unto the east country
And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived in 103 score and 15 years
Then Abraham gave up the ghost and died in a good old age and an old man and full of years
And was gathered to his people and his son his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of
Machpelah in the field of Ephron which the son of Zohar the Hittite which is before Mamre
The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth there was Abraham buried and Sarah his wife
And it came to pass after the death of Abraham that God blessed his son Isaac
And Isaac dwelt by the well Lehiroy
Now these are the generations of Ishmael Abraham's son whom Haggar the Egyptian
Sarah's hand made bare unto Abraham
And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their names according to their generations
The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth and Kedar and Abdiel and Mipsam and Mishma and Duma and Massa
Hadar and Timah, Jeter and Naphish and Kadima
These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names by their towns and by their castles
12 princes according to their nations
And these are the years of the life of Ishmael and 130 and seven years
And he gave up the ghost and died and was gathered unto his people
And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur that is before Egypt as thou goes toward Assyria
And he died in the presence of all his brethren
And these are the generations of Isaac Abraham's son Abraham Beget Isaac
Isaac was 40 years old when he took to Rebekah to wife
The daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Pat and Ram the sister to Laban the Syrian
And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife because she was barren
And the Lord was entreated of him and Rebekah his wife conceived
And the children struggled together within her and she said if it be so why am I thus
And she inquired and she went to inquire of the Lord
And the Lord said unto her two nations are in thy womb
And two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels
And the one shall be stronger than the other people
And the elder shall serve the younger
And where days were to be delivered were fulfilled behold there were twins in her womb
And the first came out red all over like in hairy garment and they called his name Esau
And after them after that came his brother out and his hand took hold on Esau's heel
And his name was Jacob and Isaac was three score years old when she bare them
And the boys grew and Esau was a cunning hunter
A man of the field and Jacob was a plain man dwelling in tents
And Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison but Rebekah loved Jacob
And Jacob sawed pottage and Esau came from the field and he was faint
And Esau said to Jacob feed me I pray thee with that same red pottage for I am faint
Therefore he called his name Edom
And Jacob said sell me this day thy birthright
And Esau said behold I am at the point to die and what profit shall this birthright do me
And Jacob said swear to me this day and he swear unto him and he sold him his birthright
And he sold his birthright unto Jacob then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils
And he did eat and drink and rose up and went his way
Thus Esau despised his birthright
Let's go ahead and have a word of prayer
Dear Lord again thank you for the opportunity that we have to be in your house
For the preaching of your word
Lord I pray you'd help me to preach your word
Word in a way that would edify you edify your people and glorify you
We ask these things in Christ's name Amen
So of course this morning I'm continuing on with a series I started several weeks ago
About let's call it entitled lessons from leaders
And every Sunday morning we've just been going through beginning with Adam
And and working through several leaders
You know Adam, Abraham, Noah and others
And here we are of course with the son of Abraham and Isaac
I want to look at Isaac this morning because you know Isaac is one of these characters
That you don't necessarily maybe think of as a leader
But we have to remember that Isaac is somebody that is referred to as one of the patriarchs of the faith
Often he is mentioned when when God is described as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
You know we might tend to kind of maybe skip over him in terms of a leader
But he was a leader nonetheless and it was kind of interesting
This honestly was kind of difficult for me to kind of
Think to come up with what to preach as far as a lesson from from Isaac
And I had to do a lot of thinking about it
And actually that's kind of what led me to this this point is in the thinking and the meditating
Is that Isaac himself I believe was a very thoughtful person
And that's the lesson that I think we need to learn from a leader like Isaac
Is that Isaac was a thoughtful person okay
And again the series is lessons from leaders
It's not lessons for leaders although again leaders could take that and use it
But this is lessons that we learn from people in the Bible that we can all apply to our lives
The lesson that we learn in Isaac is that he was a very thoughtful person
And I think we'll see that here by the end and how it manifested itself in his life
But again when I say thoughtful I want to clarify exactly what I mean by that
I'm not talking about simply that he was just somebody that did a lot of thinking
That he was just some kind of an intellectual
But what we mean when we say that somebody is thoughtful
Is that they are somebody who shows consideration right
They are somebody that is considerate of the needs of others
I believe that's what you know an attribute that Isaac displayed
When I say that he displayed thoughtfulness he was considerate
Think about some of the other synonyms that you would use for that word
Thoughtful, considerate, attentive, caring, understanding, sympathetic, concerned, helpful,
friendly, obliging, accommodating, neighborly, unselfish, kind, compassionate, tender, charitable
And again these are all attributes that we should all try to seek to have in our life
We could sum that all up by saying we should try to be a thoughtful person
Be somebody who is thoughtful
And again this is important because that's not something that everybody is
You know we're not all born being a thoughtful person
We're not all born being considerate and understanding
Often that's something that we have to learn in life
We have to make an effort to be more of a thoughtful person towards other people
And you see that Isaac was thoughtful in that his thoughtfulness
Manifested itself in a care for others
If you look there in verse 21 of course
If there's one person you want to be thoughtful with in your life it's your spouse
Okay and it says there in chapter 25 verse 21
So obviously you know he was very thoughtful about his wife
He was very considerate and attentive and caring
He was understanding, he was sympathetic for the position that she was in
As a result because he was thoughtful he entreated the Lord for his wife
He didn't just say well you go pray about it
You know that's your burden
You know I understand but you know you do something about that
He took it upon himself to go and entreat the Lord on behalf of his wife
It shows us that Isaac was a thoughtful person
Go back to Genesis or go forward to Genesis chapter 30
Keep something there in Genesis all morning
We're going to be back and forth in Genesis several times throughout the morning
But compare that you know Isaac's reaction to that of Jacob's his son
Later when Rachel came to him after Leah and the handmaids are giving birth to all these other children
Rachel eventually comes to her husband
And I understand that you know he might have been a little bit more provoked by her approach
When she came to him and said you know give me children or else I die
She says there in verse one and Rachel saw that Jacob that she bared Jacob no children
Rachel envied her sister and said to Jacob give me children or else I die
So obviously that statement saying hey this is she's kind of maybe laying the blame on him
Or you know she's being a little antagonistic
Maybe that would have led to Jacob's reaction
But nonetheless his reaction is very different from that of Isaac's
He says in verse two and Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel
And he said am I in God's stead who hath withheld thee from the fruit of thy womb
So he kind of rebukes her and maybe rightly so for the attitude that she had or whatever
We can talk about that
But it just goes to show you the difference between being a thoughtful person being kind
Considering compassion towards somebody else and a burden that they have that a need that they have
And you know maybe reacting a little bit more harshly than you might want to
Isaac was a very thoughtful person
I think we'll see that in the things that he did in his life
And again this is important because we should be considerate thoughtful people in our lives
To those around us
Go to Philippians chapter number two
Philippians chapter number two
You know we are told to be thoughtful people
We are told to be kind and compassionate
We are told to be understanding and sympathetic concerned and helpful and neighborly
We're told to be these things
In fact it's commanded of us in scripture
We should seek to be thoughtful people to those around us
And not just in the house of God
We should be considerate of everyone around us
The Bible says in Titus chapter 3
I'll read to you as you go to Philippians 2
Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers
To obey magistrates to be ready to every good work
To speak evil of no man
To be no brawlers but gentle showing all meekness unto all men
You know we're not supposed to go around just speaking evil of men
We're supposed to be gentle
We're supposed to be thoughtful
We're supposed to be what?
Showing meekness, kindness, compassion
This should be you know attributes that we seek to have in our lives as God's people
Look there in Philippians chapter 2 verse 4
You know and this idea of being a thoughtful person is what?
Being considerate
You know to be considerate is to be concern yourself with other people
Concern yourself with other people's situations, their needs
That's why it says there in Philippians chapter 2 verse 4
Look not every man on his own things
You know and this is something we have to keep in mind
Because obviously there's a lot of things that in our own lives
That we have to concern ourselves with aren't there
We have duties we have responsibilities
We have things that we have to tend to in our own life
But and by all means do that
But not at the expense of just treating everybody else coldly
Being harsh towards others
Not concerning ourselves
And just becoming very selfish and self-centered people
Who are focused only on the things that concern us
You know we as God's people should be like Isaac
We should be thoughtful
We should be concerned with others
We should be looking on the things of others
Not just on our own
Look not every man on his own things
But every man also on the things of others
Let this mind be in you
Which also was in Christ Jesus
So what's the example of thoughtfulness
What's the example of consideration and kindness
It's Christ
You know consider the fact that Jesus
He was somebody who was very thoughtful of our predicament
He was somebody who's very concerned with our needs wasn't he
And he's saying look you have to have the same mind that was in Christ
Who being in the form of God
Thought of not robbery to be equal with God
But made himself of no reputation
And took upon him the form of a servant
And was made in the likeness of men
You see this is where the rubber meets the road
When it comes to being thoughtful
When it comes to being considerate and compassionate
And concerned about the needs of others
Is that you know being thoughtful towards somebody else
Might actually inconvenience you
You know might actually have to cause you to have to sacrifice
Or give up a little bit
Or have to you know put yourself out there
Or give up something
You know it might actually cost you something
You might actually have to humble yourself
You might have to actually become a servant to somebody else
In order to fulfill this command to what
To look on the things of others and not the things of our own
That's why he's saying let this mind be in you
Which was in Christ
What was that mind
Somebody who took upon himself no reputation
And took upon him the form of a servant
And was made in the likeness of men
And being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself
You know and that might be something that we struggle with
Maybe we don't like the idea of having to humble ourselves
And to become obedient and to obey these commands
To be charitable and loving and kind
But you know I don't think that we're ever going to be asked to go to the great
To the degree of thoughtfulness that Christ went to
It says there that he was he became obedient unto death
Even the death of the cross
You know maybe we just have to be a little bit nicer
Maybe we could just try to smile a little bit more
Maybe we could just try to you know extend that hand of fellowship
Maybe we could just try to be a little bit more cheerful
Maybe we could just be a little bit more courteous
Maybe we could just be a little bit more considerate of others
Maybe we could pray for other people a little bit more
We're not actually you know being asked to literally lay down our lives for other people
You know but that that is the example of Christ
And that is how thoughtful considerate and kind he was
He was willing to go to that degree
And that's the mind that we should at least have in ourselves
Look to be considerate to be thoughtful
To be thoughtful of those around us is a command
Okay and it says and I read to you from Titus
Toward all men meekness unto all men
You know not we're to look on the things of others
And notice he didn't say you know if they're brethren
You know if they're in church right
But also you know it is a command to be thoughtful amongst the brethren
We should be considerate of others in the church
If you would go to Colossians chapter 3
Colossians chapter number 3
I'll just read to you from 1 Thessalonians 4 it says
But as touching a brotherly love you need not that I write unto you
For you yourselves are taught of God to love one another
You know Paul's saying look you guys get it in Thessalonica
You know you guys understand that God is the one that commands us to love one another
That God is the one that tells us to extend love towards the brethren
To be you know loving towards those in the house of God
1 Peter chapter 1 verse 22 it says
Seeing have you purified your souls and obeying the truth through the Spirit
Unto unfeigned love of the brethren
See that you love one another with a pure heart fervently
Now that's a command that's not a suggestion in the word of God
That we are to love the brotherhood fervently
You know we should be concerned of course with the needs of all men
We should we should not behave ourselves unruly towards those in the world
But how much more so in the house of God
Should we concern ourselves with the needs of others
You say well how does this show up
You know obviously being a considerate and thoughtful person is going to show up in different ways
You know it might be you know some kind of we might think of affection right
You might think of oh you know he's a very thoughtful husband
Because he always buys her favorite flowers on the anniversary
Or he always gets her a box too he does thoughtful things
He's always thinking of how he could you know please his wife and vice versa right
That and of course that has that is a form of thoughtfulness
Of course that is you know a way that it might manifest itself
Maybe not so much here in the house of God
You know I have yet to have anyone bring me a box of chocolates or hand me flowers
And just say hey I'm thinking about you you know
Or tell me how sweet I am or anything like that or write me some kind of a sauna
And and please let's keep it that way okay
But you know how would that manifest itself in the house of God
Well you know probably would manifest itself more in the form of being patient
Of being kind of being courteous and just being patient with one another
Look there in Colossians chapter 3 verse 12 it says put on therefore as the elect of God
Holy and beloved bowels of mercies kindness humbleness of mind
So this is how thoughtfulness is going to show up in your life
Again it's going back to that idea of humbleness of mind
Of being willing to be put out for the needs of other people
Of willing to be inconvenienced to in order to help somebody else
That requires humility it's going to require it's going to show up as as kindness
As what as meekness as long suffering what's long suffering
It's patience it's putting up with with people
It's when people say things or do things that might upset you
It's just keeping it to yourself you know and just you know letting it be water under the bridge
So to speak it's long suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another
Look we're all human we're all sinners we get it together enough times
You know throughout the year we're coming to church week in week out
We're getting to know one another maybe we start to fellowship outside of the church
It's only a matter of time until somebody does or said something that rubs you the wrong way
And it might not even be something that's necessarily wicked or sinful or bad
It's just something that you don't appreciate you don't like
But you know what why don't you just go ahead and forgive and forbear
And be long suffering anyway and and put up with things
And look we're all going to have to do that with one another
We're going to all have to be forgiving one another
So no no no not in a church then why is it being commanded
Then why are we being reminded to be this way
Why is he writing to brethren and saying look this is the way you're going to have to be with
Towards one another because these things will be required of us as a church as individuals
If any man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave you so also do ye
So this is how thoughtfulness shows up in your life
This is how it manifests it manifests through long suffering
It manifests through being forbearance through forgiveness
That's how it shows up in our life
It's not just you know being thoughtful to remember an anniversary or something of that nature
Although of course that could apply
The other ways it shows up specifically if you would go back to Genesis chapter 26
Genesis chapter 26 specifically in the life of Isaac
Some other examples of his long suffering
You might be sitting there thinking now it's kind of a stretch
With your long suffering bit about Isaac
Well let's just see let's go look at how else it shows up in Isaac's life
In Genesis 26 look at verse 34 and it said an Esau was 40 years old when he took to wife
Judith the daughter of Birai the Hittite and Bashamath the daughter of Elon the Hittite
Not the other Elon that you're thinking of okay
Which were what a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebecca
Now pay attention to how that's worded
Obviously he's you know Esau is wrong here and then he's marrying the heathen
Okay which is not what he's supposed to be doing
He's marrying heathen girls he's you know he's having more than one wife
Which is also not something he's supposed to be doing
But notice you know it so it's not right what he's doing
But notice it was a grief of mind to Isaac and to Rebecca
It bothered them right it was a grief of mind to them
They saw what was going and they were thinking to themselves in their mind
This grieves me but notice what we don't see in scripture
Is them coming to their grown son coming to their adult man who's already made his decisions
And making sure that they just know how they feel about his wives
And just making sure that we're making it perfectly known how what a grief this is to us
You know they it seems to me like they held that in go to Genesis chapter 28 verse 6
It's a it's it's a manifestation of of thoughtfulness in the sense of
That they're being forbearing that they're being long-suffering that they're forgiving
They're not just looking for an opportunity to jump down Esau's throat about these heathen wives
What's done is done okay there's nothing they can do about it
It's that's the decisions he's made and you know what they have to live with it
It's a grief of mind to them but it's not a point that they're going to go make to go
And make sure that he understands how perturbed they are by that look at Genesis 28 verse 6
It says when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Panenram
To take a wife from thence and that he as he blessed him he gave him a charge saying
Thou shalt not take a wife for the daughters of Canaan
So he's seeing this he's hearing what his father is saying to his brother saying
Don't take a wife from the daughters of Canaan saying well that's what I did
So he's putting two and two together but notice it's something that he saw
It wasn't something that you know Isaac went out of his way to say you know your
Your wives that you picked really bother me and your mom we don't care for them
He's heathen girls we don't we don't like their culture we don't like what they're into
We don't like how they spend Thanksgiving we don't like the way you know they do this
And they do that or whatever what all the trivial silly little things sometimes
That people pick each other apart over they didn't go out of their way to make sure
That Esau and his wives knew that right it was something that Esau had to see for himself
Because why because Isaac was somebody who was thoughtful and respected the feelings of others
Notice again it says in verse 7 and Jacob obeyed his father and his mother
And was gone to Panenram and Esau seeing the daughters of Canaan please not Isaac
Thoughtful person you know sometimes people are going to do things in your life that you
Disapprove of people around you're going to do things that you don't think is right
But it doesn't mean you have to go tell them you know a good example of this is that
You know here we preach some pretty hard things out of the word of God
You know we take some pretty strong stands when it comes to certain things don't we
We have standards we preach against sin you know what I don't do is I don't walk out that
Door and then every time I see those things that I'm against out there in the world
I make sure that all those people know you know when I go down the gas station
I see some hoochie mama walking by and things that are too low and too high where they shouldn't be
I don't go hey you little hussy you know you're dressed like a whore
That's not going to accomplish anything right I just say well too bad for her
You know I don't when I have some lisping effeminate waiter come and serve me my lunch somewhere
I don't say you sound like a faggot I just say I'll take this and that and I just try
to get the interaction over with you know why because I can put up with people because I can
be long suffering I'm not saying it's right you know I'm not saying what they what they're
doing is right I'm not saying that I approve of any of it but you know what I don't need to
go out of my way in life to make sure that every single person I disapprove of knows it
and that every little thing that people do that bother me I don't have to go out of my way
to make sure they know how much it bothers me you know I mean sometimes we can just see
something and just say well you know that's too bad or whatever oh I guess they have their
reasons whatever and just move on and still be kind and compassionate and courteous and neighborly
and everything else I mean that's what I see here when Esau he figures it out oh these wives
of mine aren't pleasing to them it wasn't because Isaac came to him and told them it's because he
had to figure that out on his own yes it was a grief but it was a grief of mind it was
something that they kept in why because Isaac is a thoughtful person okay that's how it's
manifesting in his life Esau had to perceive Isaac's disapproval for himself because the fact
that Isaac was somebody that was thoughtful of other people because he was considerate of the
feelings of others I mean how would you like to been Esau's wife how would you have liked to
been you know the daughter of Elon or whatever you know and heard how and find out you know
Esau comes home and you say what's wrong honey oh my dad hates you oh my dad doesn't like
you well my mom you're a grief of mine to my mom and dad that's probably not going to smooth
things over at the next gathering is it that's going to make it a little awkward isn't it
right what's done is done you know he was he was Isaac was considerate in the sense of
you know he was he was thoughtful because he was considerate of the feelings of other people
and look this is something that we you know some of us you know self-included probably
needs to work on a little bit more than others you know I am one who likes to tease a lot
you know I am one of the ways I show people I like them is by picking on them I mean define irony
right you know pray for my wife but you know that's something I've learned over the years is
that not everyone appreciates that not everyone gets that not everyone understands you're joking
you know and that's something I've for myself have to curve and say hey I need to be more
sensitive to the feelings of other people you know maybe just because I'm so macho like oh I
don't know I don't even know what sensitive is you know you know I'm not sensitive that whatever
you know but you know really honestly we should be try to be sensitive towards the feelings of
people of others you know we should be thoughtful considered people it's not going to degrade our
masculinity to be a little bit more thoughtful when it comes towards how we interact towards
other with other people you know he's thoughtful in the sense that he's considered the feelings
of other he doesn't need to go out of his way to draw attention to the indiscretions of
others when people make mistakes and do things that aren't right you know we don't have to jump
on them and say oh you know you messed up you know that might really actually hurt people go to
proverbs chapter 19 proverbs chapter number 19 we'll look at a couple proverbs that kind of
back this up in proverbs chapter 19 the bible says in proverbs 29 I'll read to you a fool
unearth all his mind you know a fool unearth all his mind a fool just let whatever he thinks
come out of his mouth whatever whatever enters his mind just whoop right out the mouth there's no
filter there's nothing there that's saying hey don't say that this isn't appropriate maybe you
shouldn't say that you know not just because it's vulgar or crude or crass obviously those
things shouldn't be coming out of our mouth either but sometimes maybe we shouldn't say things
that are going to what hurt the feelings of others that are going to be perceived as
disrespectful towards others that are going to make other people feel bad and we might even be
right about what we're saying we might even be right to say hey you know what you did was
stupid or whatever we you know what you did was sinful you know there's a time and place for
things we don't need to go around correcting everybody we don't need to go around uttering
all our mind the bible says to do so is foolish to utter all of your mind you know if
something's a grief to you maybe it could be more like isaac and just let it be a grief to
your mind and not make sure everybody else has to know specifically the people you know who are
that source of grief look at proverbs 19 verse 11 the discretion of a man defereth his anger
the discretion of a man defereth his anger you know part of being a fool is not having any
discretion part of being somebody just utters all his mind is not is is is not knowing what's
appropriate to say and what isn't or how to address people or how to treat people in a
certain way with your words and with your demeanor the bible says in proverbs 19 verse 11 the
discretion of a man defereth his anger it doesn't say that he's wrong for being angry
you know there might be things that people do and say that upset us but you know what it's
our it's at our discretion whether or not we're just gonna let them know or if we're just
gonna defer that anger elsewhere and continue to be thoughtful kind compassionate patient
meek long-suffering towards maybe even those exact individuals that have upset us
and it says that it is his glory to pass over a transgression it's you know it's a it's a it's
a good day when you realize it's not your job to correct every wrong in the world you don't
have to go around straightening everybody else out it's a glory to pass over a transgression
go to proverbs chapter 20 proverbs chapter 20 because again if we this is important because
if we're not thoughtful if we're just people who aren't don't think about the things that
we say if we don't think about how we affect other people we're going to create a lot of strife
right kind of going back to the example of isaac isa's wives were aggrieved to him in his mind
isa had to perceive that that was a grief to his parents his wives he had to see that
for himself he had to perceive it for himself it wasn't something that they brought to his
attention he picked up on that on his own you know going back to that example if if if isaac
and rebecca had just made it plainly known to you know that they disapproved all that would
have caused is strife you know if we just go around and just letting everybody know every
time everyone offends us or says something you know if we just go around being offended all
the time and making sure everybody has to know it's gonna cause a lot of strife in your life
look at proverbs 20 verse 3 it is an honor for a man to cease from strife it's an honor
for a man to cease from strife you know it's great to be able to just pass over a transgression
and just say i'm just not going to let that upset me i'm just not going to get upset about that
i'm just going to continue to love i'm just going to continue to be kind that's what this
is what it means to be thoughtful folks is to be thoughtful of the feelings of others and to
just forgive to cease from strife but every fool will be meddling every fool will be meddling
you know it would be it would be a foolish thing for isaac to have gotten to meddled in isaac's
marriage and gotten in there and said don't don't you see how she's like this your mother's not
that way and we didn't bring you up to be like that don't you see how how this white
your wife over here she does this and that they'd be you'd be meddling right that's a foolish
thing you know getting you know not letting things go not just keeping things to ourselves
not just keeping things to ourselves we end up meddling with other people and we don't want to
be people who meddle you know some again you know i've been using the specific application
when it comes to you know marriage that's kind of what we see in the story but this is
something that you see in marriages sometimes are the over involved in-laws over involved in-laws
you know the mom and the dad want to interject themselves in the marriage they want to tell
them why you know that the spouse they've chosen you know they want to tell their child well
you know your spouse is just such a bad person and look people get divorced over things like
this you know she gets a little offended or whatever the wife the new the new bride isn't
treated like the princess that she was brought up to be and the husband you know raises his
voice or puts you know puts his foot down over something and all of a sudden it's run back to
mommy and daddy and mommy and dad are like oh come right back you poor little thing
it's wrong folks it's not right you know and and i'll tell my daughters right now when you get
married you know don't come running back to daddy if your husband upsets you so that's
probably why you should think long and hard about the individual you're going to marry
because my door will not be open oh but he did this and he said i said well go back and
work it out go back and you know what i might even agree i might even say yeah your spouse
did something stupid but you know what and it grieves me but it's going to be a grief to my mind
and i'm not going to meddle in other people's you know even my own children's marriages
that's what isaac did isaac stayed out of it why because he's thoughtful he didn't want to
get involved and meddle you know and i already referenced this this example correcting complete
strangers i mean how is that going to go where i mean what if we took that attitude out
there soul winning knock on someone's door hey in front of the baptist church and i notice you
got a lot of empties laying around i was walking up your driveway and i noticed there's a lot of
beer cans rolling around the bed you know that's a sin right i mean it's it is a sin right oh
i noticed you got a coffee can out here it's filled to the brim with uh marbros you got a
bunch of cigarettes place stinks you know well it looks like you're a bit of a shut-in and
you know it doesn't don't have any personal hygiene you know that's that's not going to help
you you know smoking causes cancer you know that's not what we're out here to do you know but
if we're inconsiderate if we're not compassionate people we might develop an attitude maybe won't
even say it but maybe it's just something we'll be thinking you know and it'll affect the way we
talk to other people go to genesis 22 i should have had to go to first corinthians 13
but i'll read to you for first corinthians 13 the bible says and we all know if you know this
is the the verse that's you know every grandmother has knit you know on some crochet or i don't know
what you call those things needlework you know that's on every bathroom and every grandmother's
house across america first corinthians 13 charity suffereth long and is kind charity envieth not
charity vant not itself it is not puffed up doth not behave itself unseemly seeketh not our own
is not easily provoked thinketh no evil rejoiceth not iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth
beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things and doerth all things and we're
talking about being considerate and to be considerate to be thoughtful you know would be to be
charitable to be a loving person and notice in first corinthians 13 charity or what we would
call love today specifically it says that it suffereth long it's long suffering it's patient
and it's kind it is not easily provoked meaning every little thing that people do
doesn't bother you you know that's how do i know i'm a charitable person
because every little thing that people do just drive you nuts then you're probably not very
loving you probably don't you know the loving person looks past faults the loving person
looks past transgressions loving person looks past indiscretions and it doesn't just
hold people to this unrealistic standard of never offend me never do anything that i
perceive as wrong no it's not easily provoked it thinking no thinketh no evil it beareth all
things going back that idea of being patients endureth all things you know that might apply
more to persecution but you know it's there this idea of being willing to put up with a lot
of things that's one way that you know i believe this idea of thoughtfulness manifested itself
in isaac's life is that he you know he was thoughtful of other people and he was
considerate of their feelings and did not need to draw every indiscretion to their attention
okay also i want to point out here uh getting near the end here but isaac also was thoughtful
in that he was considerate of his father abraham you know he was able to understand
where other people are coming from okay because let's not forget the story when do we first
meet isaac right we know he's born right genesis 21 but then what happens in genesis 22
we talked about it last week abraham took him up a mountain and puts a blade and bound him and
put him on some wood and was going to cut his throat and offer him as a human sacrifice to
the lord now i don't know about you but if my father did that to me i might bear a little bit
of a grudge and maybe he did i don't know the bible doesn't point it out but it seems like
if he did he definitely got over it and i think the reason and maybe he never did i don't know
that's all conjecture but i think isaac was certainly considerate of his father abraham he
was able to understand why abraham did the things that he did why because he was a thoughtful
person he was able to be he was able to consider other people's feelings other people's situations
he was able to not just be focused only on himself he could understand where other people
were coming from right genesis 22 verse 1 and it came to pass after these things that god did
tempt abram abraham and it said unto abraham and he said behold here am i and he said take
now my son thine only son whom thou lovest and and so it wasn't that he was just some cold
calculating jerk waiting to sacrifice his own son he loved him and get thee into the land of
mariah and and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which i will
tell thee of you know and we know the story that he goes up there but and he and he was
going to follow it through he was going to carry out that sacrifice if the angel of the
lord hadn't stopped him that's what would have happened you know and and obviously you know
abraham is doing this because god told him to right and sometimes you know children
they they they can they can bear grudges against their parents you know we kind of
we're talking about the parents being nice towards the kids earlier right now let's let's
turn it around now children you know they should be considerate about why their parents do
some of the things that they do and not necessarily what it is that they're doing
okay i'm sure when it was going down you know up there on mount mariah when he's you know
about to be sacrificed he's probably saying i don't appreciate this i don't know what you're
why you're doing this later you know isaac probably connected the dots was able to say
well i see why my father did what he did i see why my dad made the decisions that he did
because god he was actually serving god obviously we're never going to be commanded to do things
like that but you know what we as parents sometimes they're going to have to draw hard
lines with our children at least we ought to and we're going to have to have standards and
rules and regulations and we're going to have to you know hold them to it you know we're not it's
not just going to be a free for all with our kids at least it ought not be you know but the
parent you know the children you know the tendency might be to say well i just don't get
it why do we have to have all these rules well you should just consider where your parents
are coming from you know a great example of this is and i i was talking to my wife about this
last night and she's given me permission to to use this you know i asked her if you
would mind me referencing it but she often will remind you know will tell me about how when she'll
call her mother and she'll call her mother who was a mother of 11 children my wife is number seven
of 11 children and she'll start to say to my my my mother-in-law say i understand now why
you were the way you were now when she was a child coming up in her home when she'd come home
my my wife when she was living in her mother's home as a teenager would come home
after working you know at burger king or whatever and would be told go do the dishes now
you know at eight o'clock at night after being at school all day and working all day and then
she's got to come and wash the dishes and she didn't even eat there she didn't even make
those dishes you know and at the time she got a little bitter and angry and upset at her mom
but now it's like now she gets it now that she's a mother of five children she can go oh
i get it maybe that's why mom couldn't coddle me every time i had a nightmare because she
was you know i woke up upset or something is because you know she had all these other
children to deal with you know maybe your parents are the way they are and you don't
understand it young people but you know wait till you're in their position wait till you're
a grown adult with several children then you'll probably start to be a little bit more
considerate a little bit more thoughtful a little bit more understanding of why your parents
did and do the things that they do think about the why i've you know that's what i see
in isaac's life he didn't get bitter at his dad he didn't get angry at his dad
because of what he did in the name of god you know he understood it and you see it show up in
his life in the burial look at genesis 25 verse 7 you know isaac honored his father
in genesis 25 verse 7 it says and these are the days of the years of abraham's life which
he lived in 103 score and 15 years and then abraham gave up the ghost and died in a good old
age an old man in full of years and he was gathered to his people and his son isaac and
ishmael buried him the cave of makpila in the field of ephron the son of zohar the hit tight
which is before mammary the field which abraham purchased of the sons of heth there was abraham
buried and his sarah his wife you know abraham or excuse me isaac when his dad passed away
honored him you know by burying him next to his wife by taking him to that same field
and burying him there he wasn't holding on to what happened you know all those years ago
on mount mariah he wasn't upset about that you know he learned why his father did the things
that he did and actually honored his father at his death it says in it it says in verse 11
and it came to pass after the death of abraham that god blessed his son isaac that's important
to take note of that it came after the death of abraham after isaac had obeyed his father i
mean isaac let his dad pick out his wife think about that how many of you would like that
how many would you like your parents to pick out you know the exact person you're going to marry
now i i do think you know we should definitely give our children guidelines and things like that
but this was an arranged marriage you know what isaac went along with it and said well god
dad knows what's best and he went along with it you know i know you know dad tried to offer
me as a human sacrifice all those years ago but now i understand why you know because he was
trying to serve god you know all my parents had all these rules and regulations growing up
you know that they got from the bible but now i understand why right and they and isaac honored
his father throughout his life and at the at the death of abraham god blessed isaac right that's
not a coincidence you know god blessed his son isaac because of the fact that isaac
was thoughtful enough to consider where his father was coming from okay he was blessed
the bible says in proverbs 19 go to genesis 26 he that wastes to the father and chases the way
his mother is a son that causes shame and bringeth reproach you know that is not isaac isaac was
one that honored his father and his mother and was blessed as a result notice also his
thoughtfulness when he redigs the wells of abraham in genesis 26 it says in verse 18 and
isaac digged again the wells of water which they had digged in the days of abraham his father
for the philistines had stopped them after the death of abraham and he called their names after
the names by which his father called him and isaac's servants digged in the valley and found there a
well of springing water and the herdman of garar did strive with isaac's herdman saying that
water is ours and he called the name of that well isaac because they strove with them so
notice there obviously there's a very practical purpose to re-digging these wells you need
water when you live in the desert right but he called he calls them by the name which his
father called him see even after his death even after abraham's gone and abraham's not going to
know what you whether you rename that well after the name i named it but isaac even after
the death of abraham is still honoring his father he's still continuing in the work why
because he was thoughtful enough he was considerate enough to see the wisdom and the value of his
father's life and continued in that work you know he was not just trying to come up with
things on his own or just doing things that the way he deemed best he was thoughtful he was
considerate he thought about his father's life he followed in his steps it says in verse 21
they digged another well and strove for that also and he called the name of it sitna and he
removed from fence and digged another well and for that they strove not and he came in the name
of it he called the name of it rehoboth for he said and for now hath the lord made room for
us and we shall be fruitful and land and he went up front from to beersheba and the lord
appeared unto him in the same night and said i am the god of abraham thy father notice that's
how god introduced himself to isaac he said i am the god of abraham thy father and fear not i
am with thee and will bless thee and multiply thy seed for my savior abraham's sake and he
builded there an altar and called the name of the lord called upon the name of the lord
and pitched his tent and there isaac's servants digged a well you know isaac you know when
god came to him he introduced himself as you know the god of thy father abraham oh that guy
oh oh god oh god you're gonna bring up my dad again don't you know what he did don't you know
the way he was that wasn't there you know isaac was somebody who understood why his father
did the things that he did and he saw the value in it and as a result you know the god that
that abraham had it was the god that isaac had and he didn't get there on accident it was because he
was a thoughtful person he was considerate he was wise he thought about things he thought about
the motivations of others the reasons why people do things and he saw the wisdom in his
father you know again this goes back to my point i made a minute ago about my wife the example
there and her and her mother we start to understand our parents when we become parents
you know and if you're a thoughtful person and if you're considerate you'll keep that in mind
young people that you'll understand your parents more when you become one
now i've kind of hopefully i've made the case that isaac was a thoughtful person you know
maybe you could have gotten another lesson from this leader and i'm sure it's there but to me
as i was thinking about it you know that's what i came up with that you know even thinking
about his life caused me to have to do a little more thinking than i might otherwise have it had
to done you know i could have turned to someone i could have just gone right over isaac and gone
straight to jacob right we could have gotten a lot of great lessons from him and there are there
but you know i had to stop and think about isaac and to me that just said well that's because
he was a thoughtful person he was somebody that you know there aren't a lot of great works that
he's do they don't these you know great tales of faith and things like that but we just
see him being a consistently just a thoughtful person and hopefully you see that well as
well in his life and i want to close on this thought if you would go to uh uh genesis 24 genesis
24 you say well you know i i could see you know how you could say that he's a thoughtful person
i could see how it manifested in the fact that you know he didn't bear grudges against
his father that he understood why his father did the things that he did that he honored his
father that he was thoughtful he was able to see those things perceive those things that he was
a thoughtful person isaac was and the fact that he didn't you know draw the discretion of
others to their attention that he kept those things in his own mind that he let other people
figure out things for themselves i see that but how does one get there how does one become a
thoughtful person well you know isaac wasn't born you know just innately thoughtful his
thoughtfulness was something that was cultivated i believe if you go to proverbs or excuse me
genesis 24 look at verse 61 this is of course when the servant of uh abraham is coming back
with his wife it says with uh uh isaac's wife and it says and rebecca that's his future wife arose
and her damsels and they rode upon the camels and followed the man and the servant took rebecca
and went his way and isaac came from the well away of the well lahiroy for he dwelt in the
south country and notice in verse 63 and isaac went out to meditate i mean that is one of
the definitions of being thoughtful is to be somebody who meditates who thinks who dwells on
things someone who spends time thinking you know and this is some this is kind of a lost art in
our day and age isn't it people like to let everything else do the thinking for them they'd
rather just pull out a phone and just let me tell me what to think about they'd rather just
turn on a television or open up a magazine or a book you know there's nothing wrong with just
spending some time to just think and just watch your thoughts and to meditate you know it might
cause you to be a more thoughtful person and he says that isaac here went out to meditate you
know i don't think isaac ended up being as thoughtful as he was on accident this is something
he cultivated in his life he went out to meditate in the fields that haven't even tied
and he lifted up his eyes and saw and behold the camels were coming you know taking the
time to think will make you thoughtful you know and specifically you know meditating upon
god's word you know this is why you preach so much about reading memorizing and thinking about
meditating upon the word of god it will make you a more thoughtful person to meditate on the
word of god this is why you should be reading your bible every day this is why you should
take the time to meditate memorize look i'm not saying you have to meditate the entire new
testament i'm not saying you know but you might find a verse or two you might find in fact
maybe even a chapter you might even find a passage that's gonna you know really bless you
and help you and change you and mold you into a more thoughtful person if you take the time to
meditate on it you know you'll never find it if you don't read it you know i don't know how
many times you you know i've gotten my devotions and i'm just reading along and just something
just pops out and just it just hits me and i just stop in my my reading and i'm just like i
know i've got more reading to do but i'm just in awe of what i've just read and i start to
commune with god you say oh well boy that sounds nice look that's available to any of us
that it's not because i'm special it's not because i'm you know some super spiritual giant
up here that's available to every one of god's children you know every single one of us could
be made a more thoughtful person by actually having regular devotions in the word of god
it would make us a kinder gentler more compassionate long-suffering loving individual
you know maybe somebody who's a little less prone to just uttering all of our mind
maybe somebody who's a little less prone to just getting angry at others angry at our parents angry
with our children it would make us a more thoughtful and considerate people to be in the
word of god and this is why we harp on it because it's important go to psalms chapter one
we'll close there psalms chapter one maybe i might turn you to another passage right now
go to psalms one you know meditating on the word of god will make you more thoughtful
god told joshua this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shalt
meditate therein day and night you know there's so many we're all going to think about something
aren't we hopefully you know hopefully you're thinking you know we're probably all thinking
about something at some point you know we're all we're all thinking it's the question is what
are you thinking about all the time i mean think about all just the stupid vain things
that we think about every day just all the meaningless dumb i mean sometimes i catch myself
rehearsing in my mind conversations from years ago with people that aren't even a part of my
life and we're like why am i even thinking about that why am i recalling you know some
stupid movie i saw years ago why am i recalling some dumb song i heard years ago
why am i sitting here thinking about some vain stupid thing because you're gonna think about
something but a lot of times the things we spend our time thinking about you know aren't
making us a more thoughtful person you know and people just spend their times just thinking
about anything but the word of god it's a good day when you wake up and the first thing that
enters your mind is the bible it's a good day when you wake up and the first thing that enters
your mind and runs through your mind is something out of the word of god that's a
good day and look if that's not happening for you you know you should probably address that
you should probably take the time to meditate upon the word of god joshua was told
meditate therein day and night day and night and look there's a lot of other things out there
that want to distract us there's a lot of other things that are vying for attention aren't they
there's a lot of just feeds out there there's a lot of scrolling we could do there's a lot of
clicking there's a lot of page turning there's a lot of just you know sitting there just
channel after channel after there's just a lot of things that can just preoccupy your mind
but you know we should be meditating upon the word of god you say i want to be a more thoughtful
person i want to be more considerate i want even more kind and compassionate it's not going
to happen by itself it's something you have to cultivate in your life psalms chapter 1 verse
1 we all know it blessed is the man that walketh not in the council of the ungodly nor
standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful you know this is the
guy that doesn't just run around with a bunch of wicked people but you know it's it's
how does he get there first two but his delight is in the law of the lord how do you identify
the ungodly how do you identify the sinner how do you know who the scornful are by meditating
in the law of god when we meditate upon it we get discretion we can start to say oh well
i'm not going to run with that crowd i'm not going to hang around with that individual i'm not
going to spend my time doing this i'm not going to sit in the seat of the scornful i'm not just
going to sit in front of some screen on whatever device and have a bunch of people just mock and
scoff the lord to my face i'm sure that's not going on in hollywood i'm sure there's nobody
out there on television or the internet that's mocking god right to your face on some screen
somewhere that's that surely isn't happening but you know that's what we'll end up doing if
our delight is not in the law of the lord and in his law death he meditate day and night
go to hebrews four we will close there hebrews chapter four you see why if if the bible
does all these great things you know if it if like it told he told jose or jake joshua excuse
me so many jays he says thou shalt meditate therein day and night for then thou shalt make
thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success that's a promise from god hey you
meditate upon my word you observe my word you don't walk with these wicked people you
meditate you delight in my law you're going to be like a tree that's planted by the rivers
of water whose leaf doth not wither who bringeth forth fruit in a season you know god's
going to bless you god's going to use you you know life's going to be good you know why don't
people do it then why don't people do it because a lot of times i think if we found ourselves
meditating and reading and contemplating the word of god on a regular basis god would probably
start to show us some things we don't like god would probably start to say you know you need
to fix this you need to change that you need to stop doing this and start doing that
that's why people don't like to meditate in the word of god because the word of god is a
mirror the word of god we oh it's you know it's like an unto a mirror we behold our face as in
a natural glass when we read the word of god we we start to read things and it's you know
sometimes it it cuts close to home doesn't it it's a lot easier just to go
watch some reel or something or whatever they're watching they just open up the tik tok app
and have some idiot entertain you you know juggling chainsaws or whatever they're doing
you know it's a lot it's a lot easier just get a bunch of cheap dopamine that way isn't it
it's a lot more fun yeah is it going to make you a better person is it going to make
you more thoughtful and considerate to waste your time on that nonsense no but you know
meditating on the word of god might in fact it will look at hebrews chapter 4 verse 12
for the word of god is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even
to dividing asunder of soul and spirit this is i mean god's sword is a spiritual sword it cuts
spiritually of the joints of marrow and notice and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart we read the word of god we learn things about ourselves we start to we
start to come to terms with some things about ourselves but you know that's what's going to
make us a more thoughtful person you know maybe we'll be a little bit more uh patient with other
people and their indiscretions we'll be a little bit more patient with people and their
transgressions but we start to see that we're just as flawed as they are when we start to let the
word of god show us that we can be just as rude that we can be just as crude that we can
be just as unkind that we can be just as impatient and unloving as anybody else and
that none of us has arrived you know we'll learn that when we actually meditate upon the
word of god we actually try we'll cultivate thoughtfulness when we take the time to
meditate on the things of god we be a little we'll be like isaac at the end of his life
and display those attributes of thoughtfulness if we practice you know the thoughtfulness by
meditating like isaac did isaac was a thoughtful person he made a point to go out at a specific
time in a specific place to meditate and you know and that that word meditate today has
a lot of different meanings everyone he wasn't out there in a lotus position going oh
he was thinking he was meditating he was pondering you know he's out there at sunset
you know try that you know david said you know when i you know when he i'm going to paraphrase
but he says when he beheld that god's handiwork in the stars he said why does man what is man
that thou art mindful of him you know going out and beholding god's creation will actually
probably make you think about god i mean i don't know how many times i've done that we live
in tucson i mean the sunsets here are phenomenal you can amen that i mean that's the truth you know
you go out there you know i go out across the park and i watch you know on some cloudy day
where the sun's setting and it's just like it's beautiful as any painting that man has ever
made 10 times more so you know but i'll never see it if i'm just doing this you know you
got to look up every now and then and meditate on god and that will make you be i know i'm kind
of ranting here at the end but meditating on the word of god is what will make you a more
thoughtful person a more thoughtful person who will be more like isaac kind compassionate
understanding of the disposition of others and why because it will remind us of our own faults
and shortcomings you know we're all hat we're all that aren't we we all have faults and
we all have shortcomings we're all human right the question is are we all like isaac in the
sense that we're thoughtful people we will be if we meditate upon the things of god let's go
and pray dear lord again thank you for this great example from a leader like isaac lord i
pray to help us to be people who think upon the things of god lord that you help us to
meditate upon your word would help us to give ourselves wholly to these things that
are profiting might appear to all we ask these things in christ's name amen all right we'll
go ahead and sing one more song before we go
before
us
string
us
oh
is
oh
is