The Mercy Of God In The Life Of Isaac by Dr. Paul Enenche: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Mercy of God in the Life of Isaac

Genesis 17:19

God said to Abraham that Sarah his wife would bear him a son indeed, and he would call his name Isaac, and God would establish his covenant with him for an everlasting covenant.

Several things in the life of Isaac communicate the mercy of God.

1. Mercy Plans Greatness Before Birth

It takes the mercy of God to plan for a person, to plan their success and their good, even when they are not yet aware of it. Isaac's greatness was announced before he was born.

Jeremiah 1:5

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.

Jeremiah 29:11

I know the thoughts I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Every person created by God was formed with a divine program, purpose, and agenda, and was not created to be wasted or to be bad news.

2. Mercy Brings a Person as an Answer

Isaac came into the earth as an answer to the question of Abraham and Sarah's delayed childbearing. He did not come merely to occupy space but to answer a need.

In the same way, every person's life is not the question to be answered but the answer to the questions of their world, in the way that soap answers dirt and a formula answers an equation.

3. Mercy Brings Joy and Laughter

The name Isaac means laughter, the one who makes me laugh. If a person carries that identity, no devil is permitted to steal their laughter.

Where a person has been forsaken and hated so that none went through them, God said he would make them an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.

4. Mercy Gives a Person Their Rightful Place

Even though it appeared that Ishmael had already taken the place that belonged to Isaac, when Isaac came, the mercy of God still gave him his rightful place. No matter how long a delay has lasted, the mercy of God still grants a person what belongs to them, and no one else can permanently occupy it.

The story of David is similar: seven of his brothers were lined up ahead of him to be considered for kingship, yet none of them could take his place, because it was reserved for him by the mercy of God.

5. Mercy Brings a Person from the Back to the Front

The mercy of God brought Isaac from the back and placed him ahead of Ishmael, who was there before him. Whether such placement is right or not depends on two things:

• Whether the process by which the person came to the front was correct.
• Whether the character and conduct of the person is right before God.

If both are not right, a person will be replaced regardless of the position they currently hold. Therefore the counsel is twofold: follow due process, and operate in right character before God.

Genesis 24:63

Isaac went out to meditate in the field at eventide. He was a man of deep thought, deep meditation, and deep fellowship with God. Unlike Abraham and Jacob, Isaac was tied to one wife for life, and when Rebecca could not conceive, it was Isaac himself who went to God in prayer for her rather than seeking another way.

Deliverance from the Works of Darkness

Some come under demonic influence through exposure to occult practices or entities, sometimes without full awareness of what has entered their lives, and it can render a person miserable until the power is broken. No agent of darkness assigned to tie down a person's life, family, or destiny will be able to survive by the power at work.

Every believer, whether pastor, church worker, or businessman, is called to walk with the mentality of being created as an answer and a solution, since communities, families, and nations depend on what God has packaged into each life. Being the light of the world means being the answer, the solution, and the illumination for others.