The Future
Hebrews 11:20-21
Here is a question to start with: Are… you…. a “worrier?”….. If you are, do you worry more about the past,… or the future?... Most generally people worry about the future. Now we may dwell on the past, but there is nothing that we can do about the past right? So we tend to worry about the future…Today we are going to look at Abraham’s son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob and Abrahams's great-grandson Joseph.
Hebrews 11:20-22: 20 It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau. 21 It was by faith that Jacob when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff. 22 It was by faith that Joseph when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.”
Worrying about what may or may not happen when you think about it, is so crippling. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. The thing about the future is, we will spend the rest of our lives in the future. Every second that goes by, is the future passing us by. So the truth is, we shouldn't worry about the future, but we should “PLAN” for it!
Remember Hebrews 11:1 which should be a memory verse by now- “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.”
If you follow Jesus’ teachings, you will find that learning to trust God with the future is an extremely powerful cure for worry. So if your life is hindered by worry, then this message is for you.
Look with me at Genesis 17:7. This is the covenant that God made with Abraham. It says, “I will confirm My covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.”
So Abraham’s sons each have something specific to teach us about trusting God with the future. Let first look at Abrahams's son Isaac…
I- With Isaac we can learn to trust our children’s future to God.
Look at verse 20 with me- “By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning their future.”
The Bible does tell us much about Isaac. We know that he married Rebekah, and she finally gave birth to twin boys. Esau was born first with Jacob right behind him grasping Esau’s heel as he came out into the world.
We know about the oldest son Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. And Jacob deceived his dad stealing Esau's blessing. But in the end, God had chosen Jacob over Esau before they were born…
The Bible tells us that when Jacob and Esau were still in Rebekah’s womb, the twin boys seemed to be fighting, so she asked God about it. And God answered her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger” (Gen. 25:23).
You see, God in His sovereignty, chose Jacob instead of Esau to carry on the promises of God to Abraham however,
we also read in Genesis that, as the boys grew older, Isaac preferred Esau over Jacob… Genesis 25:28 tells us that, “Isaac loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” That was the problem.
Transition: Now when parents play favorites with their children they are just asking for trouble… And Isaac and Rebekah both made that huge mistake of playing favorites.
One thing that we do know is that Rebekah and Jacob took matters into their own hands and deceived Isaac into giving the blessing to Jacob rather than to Esau.
One of the problems was with mom. Rebekah and her son Jacob lacked faith. What they should have done is, left the situation in God’s hands. God already had everything planned out. Jacob would have received the blessing without mom’s deception. And because of this deception, it rips the family apart for many years to come.
You see folks when we take matters into our own hands, serious consequences may come. And yet Hebrews 11:20 tells us: “By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning their future.”
Even though Isaac did not intend to give Esau’s blessing to Jacob, once it happened, he did not doubt that God would indeed fulfill the blessing in Jacob’s life. He could only give Esau a lesser blessing. And God fulfilled both blessings in both sons’ lives.
You see folks, one of the lessons you can learn from Isaac, is that it is better to trust God with your children’s future than to try and force their future.
So, how can you bless your children concerning their future God’s way?.... Well, you can speak prayers of blessing on their behalf, and you may speak words of blessing to them as well.
Here are 3 simple Biblical blessings you can speak over your kids:
Numbers 6:24-26- “May God bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon your face. May He be gracious to you. May you find favor in His eyes. May you have peace all of your days” Psalm 12:7-8-“May the Lord keep you from all harm as you trust in Him. May He watch over your life, your coming and you're going, both now and forevermore.” 2 Corinthians 9:8- “May God make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
You can also bless your children’s future when you raise them to know God and His Word and to walk in God’s ways. Ephesians 6:4 says: “Parents, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
If you want the best for your kids, and you want to see them do well in life, because once they leave your home, they make their own decisions….. And nothing breaks a parent's heart more than when you see your kids struggling or in trouble… But you need to trust them to God.
So the best thing you can do is, 1-Raise your children in the training and instruction of the Lord, 2-and you can set the example by leading them God’s way. 3-You can encourage them with your love and support, but eventually, 4-you have to let them go….
And when they chose to leave your home, (And hopefully not at the age of 40) they are out of your care for the most part. This is when you trust them fully to the Lord… But….never stop praying for them. But without exception, a big part of growing in faith is learning to trust God with your children’s future.
Transition: Next, let’s look at Abraham’s grandson Jacob, and see how it is better to…
II- Trust God instead of trying to control people or events.
Abraham was 160 years old when Jacob was born. And then Abraham lived another 15 years, so he got to know his grandson growing up. Look with me at, verses 21- “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.”
So part of trusting God with the future is learning to trust God rather than trying to control people or events. Unfortunately, it took Jacob most of his life learning this.
Jacob was the king of manipulation. He was an expert deceiver and controller. But now at the end of his life, he has peace, he is trusting, and is worshiping and trusting God. It is sad because it took all his life to learn this…
Hebrew 11:21 “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.”
Now Jacob’s end is near, and his son Joseph wanted him to bless his two sons. So once again, manipulation is taking place. His son Joseph positions his older son Manasseh, next to Jacob’s right hand, and Ephraim next to Jacob’s left hand…
That way, Jacob’s right hand would go on Manasseh’s head, giving the greater blessing on Joseph’s firstborn sin Manasseh, sounds familiar right.
But Jacob crosses his hands putting his right hand on Ephraim’s head and his left hand on Manasseh’s, basically reversing the blessings and so Joseph grabs hold of his father’s right hand and tries to move it from Ephraim’s head back to Manasseh’s. But Jacob refused.
Jacob had received a word from God that Ephraim should receive the greater blessing. Jacob was through fighting with God. Jacob had finally learned to trust God rather than try to manipulate and control people and events.
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to make things turn out just the way we want them to turn out? But that’s not faith and it’s not reality either.
None of us are in control of tomorrow, are we? We might think we are, but one day you have a job and the next you don’t. One day you are healthy and the next you are not. One day everything is the same and the next we have a worldwide pandemic. Situations happen and in an instant, we realize that we are not in control. However, God is in control, and we need to learn to trust Him.
Remember, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” So faith means trusting God with our futures. And that means trusting God rather than trying to control people or events.
Now finally let’s look at Abraham’s great-grandson Joseph, and how he-
III- Trusted God to fulfill His plan for the world.
Hebrews 11:22: “By faith Joseph when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.”
Now the Exodus was God’s great deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt. Remember Moses led God’s people out of Egypt. And it is clear from verse 22 that Joseph was prophesying about this future event 430 years into the future.
Now the night that Jesus was betrayed by Judas, He and the disciples were celebrating the Passover supper. You see, setting the Hebrew people free from slavery was only part of God’s plan. It also involved God’s plan of redemption in sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of the world… It was far more than setting people free. It was fulfilling His promise that God made to us back in Genesis 3:15, the promise of sending a solution for our sin.
Before his death, Joseph gathered his brothers together, and he reminded them of God’s larger plan. He told them in Genesis 50:24: “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Joseph was so confident that God would fulfill His larger plan that he told the Israelites: Hebrews 11:22 “By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones”
Without question, our world has gone crazy. But you need to remember that God is still in control, and you need to trust God to fulfill His plan and His plan for your life.
Now- Isaac sought to give the blessing to Esau, but God’s overruled him and Jacob received the blessing. Joseph tried to manipulate his dad by crossing Jacob’s arms. Then many years later Pharaoh placed Israel in slavery, yet God’s people would carry out Joseph’s body in the exodus.
You see, you can’t change God’s will and plan for your life. We can only make it harder on ourselves. And part of trusting God with the future is trusting God to fulfill His larger purpose and plan for the world. He has it under control.
So, if you tend to worry, or you try to control things, or if you are despairing over the messed up condition of the world. Well, God says you don’t need to worry. Have faith and trust Him.
Trust Him with your kids and their future. Trust Him rather than trying to control things. Trust God to fulfill His larger purpose and plan for the world. You cannot control tomorrow, only God can.
The facts are, we have two choices when it comes to tomorrow. You can trust God, or you can worry, but you can’t do both at the same time… And part of faith means trusting God with the future. So take hold of tomorrow by having faith in God.
Let me end with this great memory verse.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your understanding. 6 Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take” (Proverb 3:5-6).
