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[0:00] Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you that, Lord, as we read it, there's so much just reading it that jumps off the page, Lord. Just so many types and pictures and the truth that you want to exhibit to us, Lord. A large chunk of scripture spent with Abraham, but such a small portion of his life displayed to us for a man who lived so long. So, Lord, help us to see, to hear, and understand what the Spirit would speak to the church today. In Jesus' name, amen.

[0:30] So, we've traveled with our friend Abraham here through his ups and downs through the birth of the son of promise, Isaac. And if you remember, in the beginning of chapter 23, we find out that Sarah has passed away. And so, he had to purchase the field of Machpelah from the Hittite, Ephron, and that was what last week was about. But Sarah was, it says, 127 years old. We know Abraham was 10 years older than him, I mean, than her. So, he was 137 years old. He was 100 when Isaac was born.

[1:02] So, Isaac's 37 years old at the time Sarah dies. And the beginning of chapter 24, it says, Abraham was old and well-stricken in age. Well, yeah, he was. But how old is he? Well, chapter 25 kind of gives us a date stamp. In chapter 25, verse 20, going through the genealogy of Abraham, it says, Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebecca to wife. And so, we know that at this time, chapter 24, Isaac is now 40, which means Abraham's 140. So, we've got three years have passed since the beginning of chapter 23, the death of Sarah, until now. And at this point, Abraham, old and well-stricken in age, realizes something needs to be done about his boy.

[1:47] So, my title for today's message is, When Opportunity Knocks. There's a word in here, we'll see, down in verse 12, it's the King James, the old English says, I pray that you send me Godspeed, or good speed. And the word there literally means to make a way, or to open a way, or to make opportunity. The servant will ask God to make an opportunity. So, when opportunity knocks, what do you not do when opportunity knocks? You don't say, go away, I'm busy. You don't say, no solicitors. Right? And you don't ask someone else to get the door. When opportunity knocks, you open. But Abraham, where it says he's old and well-stricken in years, the wording there literally means he's gone unto days. So, he's gone into, or entered into, many, many, many days he's entered into. I kind of like that wording, the way it just kind of plays out in the English. He's gone unto days. It's kind of like, well, he used to keep track by years, then not even months, or weeks. The man is down to days. He's keeping track. Okay, he's gone unto, he's gone unto keeping track of his life into days. Well, I'm 140 and 37 days old, you know, and the next day, I'm still here. So, he's gone unto days. Each day is precious to him. And I think of the days that we're in. And I believe we've gone unto days, that we should be tracking our time here when we get up each day. Like, we're still here. What's going on in Israel? Is Damascus still there? The trumpet hasn't blown. These are the last days, not the last years or months, but days that we are in. And it says in Proverbs 16, 31, it says, the hoary or the gray head is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteousness. So, it's indicating that a long life is a glorious thing if it's a righteous life. And Abraham is definitely that. And it says there at the end of verse 1, and the

[3:41] Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. So, we're getting this picture, where Abraham's at in his life, in his age, and then where he's at in his relationship with the Lord. It says, the Lord has blessed him in all things. You know, what about when he went down to Egypt and told everybody Sarah's his sister? What about when he does that dumb idea and takes Hagar and creates this big mess and stands by just like a deadbeat dude and doing nothing? You know, what about when he goes to Gerar and potentially Sarah's pregnant even with Isaac at that time, and the king of Gerar takes her to wife? Even then, God blessed him? Yes, because God's blessing is the only thing that can reach into failure. Even into failure, God's blessing reaches. And so, it says he's blessed him in all things he has. And we have the same promise, that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. And I think for every one of us, we can look at the failures in our life and be like, God's blessing reached even there. On this side of it, I can see that God was blessing me even there. God was still keeping and watching over me in failure. So, that's the point Abraham is at in his life. Sarah lived with

[4:54] Isaac for 37 years, and the man never got married, right? It's interesting to know it's only after she's off the scene that Abraham realizes, I need to get a wife for my son. Now, typology, we see that fits perfectly. Abraham as the type of the father, Isaac as the type of the son of promise, that Rebecca is the bride. And then, as we said, Sarah is the spouse of the father, as God refers to Israel in the Old Testament as his spouse. And so, Israel and the bride do not coexist together with the son of promise in this world until Jesus comes back to set up his kingdom. But right now, that's not the case. Now, we're here with them in the sense that Israel exists and the church exists, but we do not exist together with the son of promise. Israel as a nation is still blinded.

[5:43] I'm not saying Sarah was holding her son back in any way, you know, that he was a mama's boy, but there are some relationships that God has to put away before he can move us on into what he has for us into the future. And in this instance, maybe Abraham was like, boy, it's been three years.

[6:01] You need a woman in your life. Your mom's gone, and it is not good for you to be alone. Either way, Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, not to his son, to the servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and I will swear, make thee swear by the Lord God, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou shall not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell. So he calls his oldest servant, the one that ruled over all that he had. Who is he? Well, again, in typology, throughout this chapter, he's the unnamed servant. And throughout scripture, in the Old Testament, the unnamed servant represents the Holy Spirit. Many times we see that David, when he calls in his servant and says, who is this woman? When he sees Bathsheba, then this unnamed servant says, David, that is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, your captain of, you know, of your guard. He, this unnamed servant reminding him, don't do this, David. You see that when Naaman goes to wash in the Jordan River, or refuses to wash in the Jordan River when he has leprosy. And Elisha said, go dip seven times in the Jordan. And he's like, no way, that's a filthy river. I will not. And an unnamed servant says to him, my Lord, if it was a hard thing, wouldn't you do it? So why don't you do this easy thing? And you see the type where the unnamed servant speaks truth and redirects a person back into the way of the Lord.

[7:22] Most likely, this is Eleazar. If you remember back in Genesis 15, verse 2, Abraham's kind of speaking back to the Lord, and the Lord is promising blessing to him. He says, Lord God, what wilt thou give me? Seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eleazar of Damascus. It's like, you promised me this land and a future, but I don't have any children. I just have this one guy. Now, we don't know for sure it was him. Someone else might have left, and he left, and someone else might have come on the scene. But either way, we see what? This servant has proven himself time and time again. This is not just some new person, some nobody. This is a very awkward, weird, and intimate oath that he's asking him to partake in. And the oath of the thigh was an intimate oath between two people who knew each other well. So he says, I know you. I recognize what you've been in my life, and I'm entering into this covenant with you. I want you to do this.

[8:27] In Luke, Jesus says, in Luke 16, verse 10 through 12, he kind of gives us the same idea where he says, he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. And he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore you've not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, things of this world, who will commit to you, to your trust, the true riches, things of heaven?

[8:51] And if you've not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? Weird verse, isn't it? The last verse there. We would say, if you haven't been faithful with what's your own, who's going to trust you with theirs? But scripture puts it backwards and says, if you've not been faithful with that which is another's, who's going to give you that which is your own. And so the idea is, you know, if in our relationship with the Lord and in our walk with him, God is looking at our ability to be faithful, not with me himself, but with others stuff. So then he's like, okay, I can commit now this into your hands, and I know that you'll be faithful with it.

[9:27] Paul says the same thing in Timothy, in 1 Timothy 3. He says, and speaking of those who would be bishops or elders or pastors in the church, he says, not a novice, not a new guy. Someone's going to be lifted up in pride, you know, because it's like, hey, I just got saved. I'm God's man of the hour, and this church thinks I am, and now I'm their pastor, and you know, he's lifted up in pride.

[9:47] He's a novice. But somebody who's had a lot of bumps and bruises along the way, and they know. And so that's who this guy is. He's someone that Abraham trusts, and Abraham is essentially binding his servant by the same covenant he was bound to by his God, because he's saying, put your hand under my thigh. He's essentially saying, put your, we're making an oath based on the covenant that God made with me of circumcision, right? He's saying, I am binding you by the same oath I'm bound by. It's not me, but it's before the Lord that we are making this. And Abraham tells him, he says, look, I want you to go, in verse 3, and I want you to find a wife for my daughter, but not among the Canaanites, who, among whom I dwell. He says, look, I dwell among the Canaanites, but I am not going to dwell with a Canaanite, okay? We should dwell among the Canaanites. We're in the world, but not of it, but we don't dwell with them. You don't bring them into your home, right, to fellowship, to be one with.

[10:42] What fellowship does life have with darkness? Why doesn't he send Isaac? Isaac's 40 years old. Okay, I get the typology that the father sends the servant into the world to get the bride and to bring him back to the son. But why, Isaac, go find yourself a wife. I think it's really interesting because we live in a world that's thrown off all authority and all respect. We were looking, my parents are in town, we were looking at pictures last night and noticing how there was so much of the generational family interaction. They all get together and they're all there, you know, and this idea that everybody would be there. And you see with Abraham here and Isaac that Isaac was perfectly willing to submit to his father. He's like, well, wait a minute, he was a grown man, you know, he shouldn't be, have his life run by his father. I don't think he was. When a man's ways please the Lord, makes even his enemies, whoever to be at peace with him. What's the, what's the factor here in verse 3?

[11:40] And the God of, he says, I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth. So the key ingredient here is the Lord. I think when you have a family who the different generations are all seeking the Lord, there should be unity in a direction that they can be going. Saying, okay, yes. If there's not that, then no. Then it'd be perfectly acceptable for Isaac to say, dad, I'm not going to marry this girl you're bringing me who's not of the Lord. But he's trusting that God is working in this situation. And also, Abraham essentially is securing his, the future of his corporation. You know, Abraham, all of his goods and all of his holdings that he had here in the wilderness and as the sheik over his entire caravan, this was how he was passing on and securing his future. He's like, okay, Isaac, you're going to inherit all this, but I'm not going to let you choose exactly how you're going to, you know, do all of this. I'm going to have a hand in it. And so he sends his servant to go and to bring this bride. But there are no shortcuts. There are no shortcuts in the life of faith. For Abraham, he had learned through Ishmael that just because something looks like God's will, it's not necessarily God's will. So he says, you know what? I could get a daughter of the Canaanites and I could get a bride for Isaac and I would satisfy that requirement. He's got a wife, just like

[12:53] I took Hagar and essentially got a son, but it wasn't really God's will. And so he's realizing now there's no shortcuts here. I'm going to have to send you back to find a bride. Jesus said in Luke 7, when the Pharisees were questioning and all upset with him, he said, look, you guys, you think John the Baptist has a demon because he's so austere and you think I'm like a liberal because I'm going to parties and being a light there. I mean, guys. And then he says, but wisdom is justified of all her children. Don't judge by appearance, right? We're to judge according to fruit. The Pharisees were judging by appearance. He's like, what is the fruit coming from this? What is the offspring coming from this? Wisdom is justified of all her children.

[13:40] Abraham's looking around and he's like, this is, this is not what I want for my son. I can tell by these, the daughters of these Canaanites, the type of home that they grew up in. I don't want that for my son. So he says, go, go back. And then the servant now responds to him in verse four.

[13:58] I'm sorry. Abraham speaks in verse four, but thou shall go unto my country and to my kindred and take a wife unto my son, Isaac. So the bride was called to go into the land of promise, unto the son of promise. We keep that typology. We're going to refer to the bride a lot. When we do, it refers to Rebecca, but it's also referring to that type, the bride of the church or the bride of Christ, the church. So here the bride, the father is telling them named servant. No, the bride's place is to leave, to come into the land of promise and unto the son of promise. And the servant says then in verse five, well, okay, but what if the woman is not willing to follow me into this land? Must I needs bring my son again unto the land from whence thou came? It's very logical.

[14:43] Okay. What if I find someone who's willing who really like, yes, this is great. I'll marry Isaac. I'll be part of this family. I think it's wonderful. Um, but I'm not leaving here. He's got to come to me. How does that work? And Abraham said unto him, beware that you bring not my son fither again. You see, it was not for the son to learn the ways of the bride, but for the bride to come into the father's house and learn the ways of the son. There's a principle here that whenever the bride attempts, the church attempts to bring the son of promise, Jesus, into conformity with her past life, it results in corrupting the relationship. It is for the bride to go unto the son and into his house and to learn his ways in the land of promise. Whenever we try and reverse that and think, well, I can just bring Jesus into this situation and he makes everything good, right?

[15:33] It's like that magic touch. I'll just bring him into this situation. Now we are to leave. There must be complete surrender of the old life to embrace the new. And Abraham says, no, she's not willing to come.

[15:45] There can be no compromise in this relationship between the bride and the son. It's all or nothing. Luke 14, 33, Jesus says, so likewise, whoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he can't be my disciple. It's all or nothing. Do you want to be part of this? You can't have it both ways. Rebecca, we're not taking the five to 900 miles, depending on if she lived in Haran or Ur of Mesopotamia. We're not taking the five to 900 mile trip, you know, back for holidays. You're here for good, baby. This is it. And so Abraham says, no, no, beware that you don't bring my son back. And then in verse seven, he states, the Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred and which spake unto me and that swear unto me saying, unto thy seed will I give this land. He shall send his angel before you and you shall take a wife unto my son from thence. There's three words in here. In the first part of that verse, he said, the Lord took, the Lord spake, and the Lord swear, the Lord promised unto me. The Lord took me from my father's house. Did he do that? He did. He spake unto me and he swear unto me and he promised me.

[16:58] And he said, I will give you a seed and I'll give you a land. Well, guess what? He gave me Isaac. I don't have the land yet, but I know because of his past faithfulness, then there's future promise.

[17:09] And God's past faithfulness is his future promise. Has God been faithful in the past? Then that's his promise for future faithfulness. Because he says here to the servant, he said, because I know what God did, then I know what he will do. He shall send his angel before thee and you shall take a wife unto my son from thence. Here's a picture of God's sovereignty. The father declaring, this is what will happen. You will get a bride. Yet now we see man's responsibility here in verse eight. If the woman will not be willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this, my oath only bring not my son thither again. Well, wait a minute, Abraham. You just said, God will do this. But now you're saying, if she's not willing, then, then he's free of his oath. And the answer is yes. He's saying, look, I know what God's going to do. God's going to call a woman to come back here for my son, but God's not going to make her. She's still going to have to choose. And if she chooses not to, you're free of your oath, but don't bring him back there.

[18:11] And in Malachi, we're told that the Lord, in Malachi chapter three, verse six, he says, for I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob are not consumed. And in Hebrews, we know Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And so Abraham is saying, this is what God has done. So I know what God will do. He's not going to change, guys. The way the Lord has dealt with you in your relationship, in particular, is how he's going to continue to deal with you in your relationship, right?

[18:39] He's not going to all of a sudden turn me into like a jacket swinging, charismatic, you know, I sit, I don't even stand, guys, you know, I kind of move my hands a little. But like, some people, like they're up and they're moving. We went to this pastor's conference. Some of the guys, they're walking and they're moving. And it's like, wow, I couldn't do that. I'd stand and then I'd be like, I was trying to figure out what was next. I don't know. But who I am is who I am.

[19:05] And those people that are very strong in their witness to the world, that's not, that's not me in the sense that like, I don't press into people's spaces very well. And it's more like, this is, this is what I have to offer. And when God puts me in a place where I can offer it, great, this is a place I can offer that. And that's what he's called me to do. I don't go and stand in the street corner.

[19:25] We've met people when we were in Palm Springs. There's a guy standing on the street corner, just reading through the book of Isaiah. God called him to do that. Every week he does that as he's planting a church. Amazing. Cause the guy is from Lake Norman, the Covey Chapel up here.

[19:39] And then God used us to connect with him. And he prayed for us. We prayed for him. The Lord spoke some things. This is way cool, but that's not me. I would be like sweating and like, this is so awkward. And oh my word, you know, that's just not how I operate. But the Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever. And we can be confident that the way he's dealt with us in the past, is the way he will in the future. Now that doesn't mean that he doesn't want us to grow or to leave things behind or to further our, our walk with him, but he's not going to all of a sudden turn into something other than what he's been a loving and faithful father.

[20:13] And so Abraham says, look, if the woman's not willing to come, you know, man's responsibility, God's sovereignty, and then man's responsibility. He says, Hey, you're free too. If the bride's not willing to follow the servant, she's not going to be willing to follow the son. Okay. If the bride is not going to listen to the Holy Spirit, if the world's not going to listen to you, when you tell them about Jesus, if you're a witness, uh, if they're going to say, no, no, no, no, I don't want any of that Jesus. Well, then they're not going to want Jesus. The world wants, they think they want to go to heaven. When I die, I'm going to heaven. Really? Do you know who's in heaven? Jesus is in heaven.

[20:46] I don't want anything to do with him now, but I'm sure I will then. No, you won't. Because if you don't want anything to do with him now, you're going to find at that time that you have solidified yourself in the position you're in, and you're going to be, um, even more adamant at that time.

[21:02] So let's keep going. And the servant then, he says, okay, I got all questions and clarifications out of the way. Um, all right. He put his hand on the thigh of Abraham, his master, and swear to him concerning the matter. And again, in Luke, Jesus kind of gives the same idea. Remember he said, hey, if you're not willing to, to give up all and follow me, you can't be my disciple. But he doesn't just ask us to just kind of willy nilly do that. He says in Luke 14, he says, for which of you intending to build a tower sits not down first and counts the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it, know what you're getting into. Yes, forsake all and follow me. Lest happily after he's laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him saying, this man began to build, was not able to finish. And I know what that's like having just trying to take a 1970s house into the 2020s. Um, you know, it's no fun when you kind of come into a project and realize, oh, we can't go any further in that area or whatever. You want to ahead of time, um, make sure that you have sufficient to complete it. And so when Jesus says, forsake all and follow me, he says, count the cost though. Know what that means. You don't want to get halfway into this and be like, this wasn't what I was expecting. You know, Jesus, you're, you're asking so much of me, it seems.

[22:18] What about me and my time? And the Lord's like, no, know what you're getting into. So the servant here, he took care of all the questions and all clarifications. And then he says, yes, let's go forward. And so now we have this journey in verse 10.

[22:34] And the servant took 10 camels of the camels of his master and departed for all the goods of his master were in his hand. And he rose and went to Mesopotamia onto the city of Nahor. Where did Nahor live? If you remember back in Genesis, the end of Genesis 11, it tells us about Terah, Abraham's father, that he took Abraham and he took Lot, the son of Haran, but he didn't take Nahor, it says, who was his oldest. And they went then from out of Ur of the Chaldees and they went up into Haran.

[23:04] And so that would look something like this. If you remember, he left Ur, went up to Haran, and then he went down into the land of promise, into Canaan. So right now he's down dwelling in Beersheba, which is way down in the bottom there. And he could have gone to Haran or he could have gone all the way back to Ur. I don't know where Nahor was. If he went to Haran, you're talking about 500 miles. It's about double that if he went all the way back to Ur of the Chaldees. So that is anywhere from two to four weeks of that trip, depending on where he went to. It's a long trip he's going on. He takes these 10 camels and he takes and he goes. And all the gifts, at this point they were what? All the gifts of the father are at the disposal of the unnamed servant, aren't they? He takes of all that his master has, for they were all in his hands. And all the gifts today are still in the hands of the unnamed servant. First

[24:04] Corinthians chapter 12, Paul is talking about the gifts of the spirit. And he says, but all these, all these work by that one and self-same spirit. They all come by the Holy Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. So it's the same. The father has put into the hand of the unnamed servant gifts to be distributed. And so the unnamed servant, he goes out to find a bride. So that could be anywhere from a three to four week journey as he travels with these 10 camels back to the city of Nahor. And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day and show kindness unto my master Abraham.

[24:50] He refers a lot to the Lord God of his master Abraham. But later he refers to him as his Lord, the Lord, but the Lord God. So it is his Lord, but he's emphasizing that he's on the behest of someone else. And so he comes to this place. He's had three weeks thinking about this as he's traveling.

[25:09] How am I going to find this girl? What am I, how am I going to figure this out? And he gets here and he says in verse 11, he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening when the women go out to draw water. So women would usually go in the evening or they could also go in the morning. That's why it's so abnormal in the New Testament when the woman at the well comes in the middle of the day. She was trying to avoid everybody. She didn't want to be there when the other women were because of her lifestyle. So they would go in the evening, they'd have a big picture, could hold what? 40 gallons maybe. So if you got, I mean, five gallons because of about 40 pounds, because you got eight, 8.34 pounds per gallon.

[25:48] So it's about five gallons is about 40 pounds. It's pretty hefty, you know, for, for a girl to carry. And they would take that, they'd fill it and they'd take that back home and that'd be their water then for the next day. Or if they went out in the morning to get it. So it seems like he's like, I know where there's a bunch of girls, right? I'm going to go. I've got this plan. And so we see in verse 12, he's praying, but in verse 11, he had a plan first. He came with a plan and he prays.

[26:18] And he says to the Lord, he said, give me good speed or literally God make an opportunity. So the message title was, when opportunity knocks, which is kind of a little tongue in cheek, because instead of waiting for opportunity to knock, the unnamed servant is saying, God, give me opportunity. You make the opportunity. I'm going to pray. I'm going to knock first in prayer and saying, God, I need opportunity. I'm not going to wait for it to knock because I recognize what your will is, Lord. So let's go forward. And Lord, you make the opportunity.

[26:48] When we planted the church, obviously that's a very big thing in my life right now, in my immediate past. I was like, okay, Lord, we recognize this is, I recognize what you want me to do.

[26:59] You got to make the opportunity and I'll go forward into it. And God did. And it's been wonderful. So instead of waiting, when we know God's will, we press forward in prayer. And so he prays and he asked the Lord to make opportunity. And he says, show kindness unto my master, Abraham. So this is at the behest of not himself, but someone else, Father Abraham, right? When the disciples said to Jesus, he said, Lord, teach us to pray. One of the times when he had finished praying, they're like, you know, John taught his disciples to pray. Would you teach us to pray? And he says, okay, so in this manner, pray.

[27:34] Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. He's saying, you emphasize that you want the Father's will to be done, not yours. And here you see, that's what the unnamed servant does. That's what the Holy Spirit does when it interprets our prayers with groanings that cannot be uttered. He says that you show kindness unto my master, Abraham. He's praying according to the will of the Father. He wants the Father's will to be done. Let's see through 13, 14, and then into 15, but mainly 13 and 14, this picture of prayer. So he had a plan. He prayed. We're going to see he was specific. He was active. He was assured, and he was expectant as he addressed the Lord.

[28:21] Verse 13, he was specific. Behold, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. He's very specific in his prayer. God, this is what's actually happening.

[28:32] You know, Lord, I need you to send some girl from somewhere. No, he's like, God, I want your will to be done in this specific place. I stand here by a well of water in this city. And he was active, and let it come to pass that the damsel to whom I shall say, he's like, I have a part in this. I'm going to speak to her. I will be active in God's will in fulfilling this prayer. Let down your pitcher. I pray thee that I may drink, and she shall say, drink.

[29:01] And I'll give the camel's drink also. So he has this plan. Again, he's, in one sense, he's projecting out into the future, like, okay, I'm going to go to this place, and he defines someone. But instead of trying to think, how am I going to do this, he's turning it to prayer, and he's seeking the Lord's will on it. I don't do that as often as I should. I end up projecting myself into a situation and think, oh, what would, if I said this, and that person said that, and oh, that could get awkward.

[29:25] You know, instead of just relying on the Lord, in prayer, before the situation arises and saying, okay, Lord, you know the situation that's coming. Would you please make opportunity for your will to be done? And then expecting, I'm going to have a part. The other thing we have here is he recognizes that the bride would only be revealed by how she responded to the spoken word, right, the word of the unnamed servant. And the bride today is only revealed by how she responds to the word of God by the unnamed servant. And he knew he was, he knew God was able to answer prayer. Why? Because he had watched it in Abraham's life. So he's like, all right, I'm going to do this now. And then he asked the Lord something very interesting. It's not like call down fire from heaven, you know, make her glow.

[30:11] But he puts it just outside that realm of normalcy, right? God, I want to see something that's going to show me the heart and character of this type of woman, to know that she's for Isaac. That she has a heart of service, and that she would go above and beyond, and that she would sacrifice for others. And so he says, you know, okay, it's one thing she's going to give me drink, but have her water my camels. Camels, they drink a little bit. A camel can drink 53 gallons in three minutes, okay? A very thirsty camel. Depending on how much fat they have in their hump, it depends on how much water they can, you know, absorb. So, and they can go about a week without drinking. So if you think he might have stopped once, you know, to fuel up. And then he gets here, his camels are thirsty.

[31:00] So if she, again, can carry about five gallons, and each camel is doing 50 gallons, so that's about 10 trips per camel. The wells at this time, it either was a well that you would walk down to by stairs, almost like a spring, and you'd fill that and go back up. Or the women would carry with them like leather buckets, almost, with a rope kind of wrapped around their waist, their jug on their shoulder. They get there, and they let the water down and up. Remember when the woman at the well, Jesus comes to her, she says, you have nothing by which to draw with. So this is quite a task for him to think that this woman is going to just want to water his camels.

[31:41] But he's putting it where? He's putting, it's kind of the fleece he puts before the Lord. Lord, it's not wrong to put before the Lord in prayer, Lord, I want to know it's you. I want to know your will. I don't want to just guess, you know, because she's pretty and nice and gave me a drink. I need to know this is you. And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. Lo and behold, here comes Rebekah.

[32:16] When was his prayer answered? When did the named servant get his prayer answered? It says before he was done speaking, she comes. So when did God answer? In Daniel chapter 10, when Daniel's praying, the angel comes to him, Michael, and says unto him, fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you did set your heart to understand and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I am come for your words. The first day you began to pray, Daniel, I was on my way. It took me a couple of weeks because of things that were happening in the spiritual realm for you to receive the answer. But the first day in Matthew chapter six, Jesus says, but when you pray, use not vain repetition as the heathen do, for they think they should be heard because of their much speaking.

[33:02] Be not you therefore like unto them, for your father knows what things you have need of before you ask him. So when is prayer answered? Prayer is answered at the time it's offered, even if we do not experience that answer in the moment. We think, well, God, I've been praying and praying. Are you going to answer my prayer? He answers. As soon as you pray, God answers. The answer has been sent forth.

[33:22] You might not experience that answer for a day, a week, 10 years, but God has answered it. And so when this unnamed servant of Abraham's is praying, God has already answered that prayer, and he is experiencing this answer right away. Here comes Rebecca. And the damsel was very fair to look upon a virgin. Neither had any man known her. And she went down to the well and filled her pitcher and came up again. Boy, she passes the eye test, and she even passes the relationship test.

[33:50] She is Nahor's granddaughter. This is amazing. But the bride is more than just a relationship, isn't she? Romans tells us in chapter two that he's not a Jew, which is one outwardly. It's not, it's just about the family relationship. Neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh.

[34:07] But he's a Jew, which is one inwardly, and a circumcision of the heart and the spirit. But so that's why he's like, I need to see something more. I need to see her heart. And so her response to his prayer, essentially about the camels, is going to reveal that. So the evidence of a true relationship can be clearly seen, and the evidence of our relationship with the Lord should be clearly seen just as well. And so she heads on down. She doesn't stop to think, oh, who's this man with 10 camels who's staring at me? You know, kind of creepy dude, right? No, nothing's going to distract the bride from what? From being filled. She's going and she's taking her pitcher to be filled. And that's what she's set to do, to take it back for her house. And so the servant ran to meet her. And he said, let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of your pitcher. A faith anchored in prayer does not hesitate, right? A faith anchored in prayer acts without hesitancy. I prayed. I'm trusting God that he's heard my prayer. He's answered my prayer. He's going to make opportunity. I'm going to go forward into the thing I know that he's called me to do. And he asked her a little water to drink.

[35:15] And she said, drink, my Lord. And she hasted and let down her pitcher upon her hand and gave him drink. Well, that's nice of her. She didn't say, get lost, creepo. I'm trying to get some water. I got to get back home. You know, my favorite show is coming on. No, she said, oh, okay. There's a need.

[35:29] Yeah, I'll help you for sure. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for your camels also until they've done drinking. Just out of the blue, as crazy as that is. I'm sure we've all had moments like that, not where someone's offered to water our camels, but where you know it's the Lord, where he comes in and someone says or does something and he's just like, because you know what he's prayed. We're going to find eventually when he just relays this to Laban and Bethuel, he says, I was praying in my heart. So he wasn't saying this out loud. It's between him and the Lord alone.

[36:05] And then he's seeing the things he's talked to the Lord about play out in front of him. So we see that Rebecca's willingness to serve was part of her character. It was not just situation dependent. It wasn't, well, I'll give you water, but your camels, forget that.

[36:21] That's too hard. It's just part of who she is. So whatever situation you drop her in, this is what her character was going to be. But the bride, that's a lot of water, isn't it? Rebecca, the future bride of the son of promise is going down again and again, back to the well, to be filled, back to the well, to be filled, right? The bride has an unending source of water.

[36:41] She does not withhold from any who are thirsty, no matter the personal cost to her, right? So she goes again and again to the well to fill, not for herself, but for others. In Jesus seven, I mean, in John seven, Jesus said this, in the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Hang on, I'm thirsty.

[37:05] He that believes on me, as the scripture said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. And here, the unnamed servant, he's found a bride who's willing to fill and empty over and over for the sake of another. And she hasted, in verse 20, and emptied her pitcher into the trough and ran again unto the well to draw water and drew for all his camels. And the man wondering at her held his peace to wit or to wondering to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not. How do I know if it's the Lord? He waits. He's going to wait and see how this plays out. It's the same for us.

[37:47] What appears to be God is proven to be God by waiting on God to wait. Does it look like him? Well, then he'll prove it to be so. And so he wondered whether this was the Lord. See, the bride stands out in the world. This was like, this was way abnormal. The other women that were there, they're all there. They're probably looking at, wait, Rebecca or Rachel? Rebecca, thinking she is crazy. She's always doing this, always offering to fill someone else's vessel, always. Now she's watering his camels. Oh my word, she is nuts. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight and two bracelets for her hands of 10 shekels weight of glory and said, whose daughter art you? Tell me, I pray thee, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge in? The bride receives gifts, doesn't she? The bride does not lack for gifts, but the bride must receive them. We said this recently, I don't know, it was last Sunday or on a Wednesday night. You can't, you have to receive from the Lord. You can't take anything from them. You're not going to go and take something from them. They're gifts because they're given and they have to be received. Ephesians 4, Paul says, but unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore, he says, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men by way of the Holy Spirit. He gives gifts unto the bride.

[39:16] Then he says, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge in? In John 14, Jesus says, in my father's house are what? Many mansions. The bride has room enough for all who would come.

[39:29] All who would come can come into the house. Revelation 22, 17, the spirit and the bride, the servant and the bride both say come. And let him that hears say come. And let him that is a thirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. And so Rebecca exemplifying that so perfectly. Offering, water, offering, lodging. And she says unto him, so we know who she is, but he doesn't. Right now he's like, this is the one. She's watering the camels. Maybe it's a coincidence though. And he said, who are you? And she says, I'm the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. Moreover, she said, we've both straw and providor enough and room to lodge in. And then the man does this really strange thing she's talking to. And the man bowed down his head, drops to the ground and bows and worships the Lord. You see, fellowship with the bride always results in worship. And he said, blessed be the Lord God of my master, Abraham, who's not left destitute, my master of his mercy and his truth. I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren. And the damsel ran and told them of her mother's house, these things. The servant had put himself in the way by obeying the father on behalf of the son, didn't he? He said, I being in the way, the Lord can only lead those that are in the way, can't he? We need to be in God's way. Now, in both sense of those words, we need to follow him and walk in his ways. We also need to put ourselves in

[41:10] God's way, right? God, I want to be involved in what you're doing. Like the servant here did. He prayed and said, Lord, give me opportunity. Give me something I can do. He stuck himself essentially in the way of the Lord. Think of how many times Jesus encountered that in the New Testament, in the Gospels. How many people put themselves in his way and said, God, here's my need. Help.

[41:32] And he's like, oh, great is your faith. Don't ever be afraid to put yourself in God's way. It's never a burden to him. And then where he says here, you've not left destitute my master. That literally means you've not loosened the bands of mercy and truth. That just makes me think of Psalm 23, where David says, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Will hunt me down. Will track me down. Will be bands about me all the days of my life. And I'll dwell where?

[42:02] In the house of the Lord. Is there room in the house? There is plenty of room. So as we close, we need to get out of our own way and get into the Lord's way. Right? We need to get out of our own way. Again, in both senses, stop following your own path and seek his. We also need to get out of our way and stop tripping over ourselves. Get out of your way so that you can get into the Lord's way.

[42:30] And God will show us the way. If only we would ask, just like he did with his unnamed servant. Right? And faith knocks upon the door of God's opportunity. Doesn't it? We don't sit around and just wait. But if you know God's put something on your heart, or he's given you a task to do, then seek him for an opportunity to do that.

[42:51] In John 14, 6, again, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father, but by me. What way do we want to get in? We want to get in his way. We want to be in the Lord's way.

[43:04] So the gifts have been given. They've been given by the unnamed servant. They've been given to the bride. But let's make sure we honor, that we use them in the same way that he did. Right? He used them to honor the Father and bring glory to the Son. He had these gifts and he gave them to the bride.

[43:21] He said, look, this speaks of the honor of Abraham and the glory of his son. And as the bride, we have the amazing privilege now to work with the unnamed servant in this world, to call people out of this world and into the land of promise. But man, don't lose your way. Don't lose your way in doing that and thinking that there's something on you that you got to do. He's the same yesterday and today and forever. He'll show you what to do. And then it's on us to seek the Lord in prayer that he makes opportunity for that. So we leave here with, she's running to tell her mother and the bride, what does the bride always do? She shares her good news. She brings the gospel. And that's what the bride does here. And next week, we'll see how that plays out. So Father, as we sit with you now, and as we close in song and just worship you, we pray, Lord, that we would respond with yes and amen to the things you've spoken to us. Lord, the things that you've put in front of us to do, we would seek you for opportunity to accomplish them, Lord. We would ask you to open those doors,

[44:34] Lord, that you would show clearly what it is you have for us to do, and then that you would clearly show that you have made a way for that to be accomplished. Lord, we are each part of the bride as we are in Christ. Lord, in relationship is not something that can happen by accident. It requires work. It requires effort. It requires being very active. So Lord, we want to be active with you, with the Son of Promise. We pray that you would show us your ways and that we would walk in them. Lord, fill us with your Spirit that we would have to give. We have this treasure in earth and vessels just like Rebecca carried her vessel, and she filled it and used that to give to others. Lord, would you fill us with your Spirit? And Lord, would we be willing to be filled and refilled and filled and refilled however times we need to until, Lord, the need is satisfied, recognizing that it's not ourselves. It's not by might nor by power, but it's by your Spirit. We thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to do that. Speak to us now as we just close, Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen. One last thought.

[45:49] You know, it's by prayer that the unnamed servant directs us into the way of obedience of the Father so that we might live on behalf of the Son, right, as a bride whose vessel's filled.

[45:59] It's through prayer. It's through prayer. It's through prayer. We don't see the unnamed servant here getting together for a big prayer meeting. I'm sure if there's opportunity, we'd do that.

[46:12]  But have a prayer life. Spend time with the Lord. Be in prayer so that we can hear the direction that our Father has for us. Amen.