
“Delivering the Unexpected”
We Believers must prepare ourselves for times when God intentionally delays the fulfillment of His promises until we think it is too late. How could a couple in their 90s have a child? God can and does deliver the unexpected.
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Caption transcript for Faith for the Future: “Delivering the Unexpected” (3/10)
- 00:03 David Hart: Welcome to "Our Jewish Roots."
- 00:06 ♪♪♪
- 00:12 David: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
- 00:15 the conviction of things not seen, for by it the men of old
- 00:19 received divine approval.
- 00:22 For whatever was written in former days was written for our
- 00:25 instruction, that through endurance and through the
- 00:29 encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
- 00:36 "Faith for the Future: Our Journey with the Patriarchs."
- 00:43 David: Thank you so much for joining us today.
- 00:45 I'm David Hart.
- 00:46 Kirsten Hart: I'm Kirsten Hart.
- 00:48 Jeffrey Seif: And I am Jeffrey Seif.
- 00:49 You ever said, "What! Who, me?
- 00:51 Impossible."
- 00:53 With God, better not say that, right?
- 00:55 Kirsten: Ooh, that's one of my favorite verses, though.
- 00:57 "With God, nothing is impossible."
- 00:59 And we see that in the story today, don't we?
- 01:01 Jeffrey: Yes, we do. David: That's good.
- 01:02 Kirsten: Babies. It's a baby show.
- 01:04 [laughing]
- 01:05 David: Actually, Abraham was 99 when this miracle took place.
- 01:08 That's in our drama. Let's go there right now.
- 01:13 narrator: "And when Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared
- 01:17 to him and said, 'I am the Almighty God.
- 01:22 Walk before me and be thou perfect, and I will make my
- 01:26 covenant between me and thee and will multiply thee exceedingly.'
- 01:34 And Abram fell on his face and God talked with him, saying,
- 01:39 'Behold my covenant is with thee, and thou shall be
- 01:42 a father of many nations.
- 01:46 Your name shall no longer be Abram, but thy name shall be
- 01:50 Abraham, for a father of nations have I made thee and I will make
- 01:56 thee exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of thee and
- 02:01 kings shall come out of thee.
- 02:05 And I will give unto thee and thy seed after thee the land
- 02:10 wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an
- 02:15 everlasting possession and I will be their God.
- 02:21 Every male shall be circumcised.
- 02:24 As for Sarai, thy wife, thou shall not call her name Sarai,
- 02:30 but Sarah her name shall be.
- 02:34 And I will bless her and give thee a son also of her,
- 02:39 and she shall be a mother of nations.
- 02:43 Kings of people shall be of her.'"
- 02:46 Abraham: [laughing]
- 02:54 [speaking in Hebrew]
- 03:01 ♪♪♪
- 03:06 [speaking in Hebrew]
- 03:20 Jeffrey: The word was [speaking in Hebrew]
- 03:23 in Hebrew: "Walk before me and do it continually."
- 03:29 In chapter 17 that was the word for 99-year-old Abram.
- 03:34 He might have said, "Look, I'm old.
- 03:36 How about a wheelchair? 'Roll before me'?"
- 03:38 No, walk. Yes, even you.
- 03:41 Because something good is about to happen.
- 03:47 Halak is the Hebrew "to walk," and that term for moving forward
- 03:54 by faith is an abiding term in biblical literature.
- 03:59 Yeshua, Jesus, spoke of the narrow way.
- 04:02 The expression "to walk" in the Jewish world, to be pious and be
- 04:08 religious, it's called halakhah from halak which means to walk.
- 04:13 And he says, "Walk before me," [speaking in Hebrew],
- 04:17 walk before the face, [speaking in Hebrew]
- 04:20 This sounds to me a little more than just going to church
- 04:22 for Christmas and Easter and for a wedding and a funeral.
- 04:24 I mean, we're talking here about as we make our journey
- 04:28 from the womb to the tomb, having our eyes on the Lord.
- 04:33 And as you'll see, when we do that, we discover that, yes,
- 04:39 he has his eyes on us, and sometimes it's really remarkable
- 04:48 the way he turns things around.
- 04:53 Abram is 99 years of age and Sarah's in close proximity.
- 04:58 People don't talk about ladies' ages, but I'm telling you
- 05:02 they're beyond what's going to happen to them.
- 05:06 In terms of pregnancy, you just wouldn't think of it.
- 05:09 But what happens here?
- 05:12 There's a name change.
- 05:15 Abram, we're told in verse 5, gets the name change from Abram
- 05:19 which, you know, Abba, again,
- 05:23 the same root for exalted Father.
- 05:27 He becomes Abraham, from Ha'am in Hebrew,
- 05:32 the father of the nation.
- 05:34 Sarah, later on, in verse 15, she's gonna get
- 05:38 a name change too.
- 05:40 Sarai, you're familiar with that Semitic term for a government
- 05:46 facility or a palace.
- 05:48 She is gonna be Sarah, with the "ah" at the end as in princess.
- 05:55 Sar is the Hebrew for prince; Sarah is princess.
- 06:00 We're going to see with her being the princess and him being
- 06:04 the father of the nation, she's gonna bring forth a prince,
- 06:08 someone of destiny.
- 06:10 Well, that'll come in reasonably short order,
- 06:13 but it just seems so unexpected right now.
- 06:19 I wanna speak to you about God delivering on the unexpected.
- 06:26 I think people give up in life way too soon.
- 06:32 I mention that here because when you look at these people,
- 06:35 they've run their course by and large, but, you know,
- 06:39 it's not over for older folk.
- 06:42 Sometime, people think that, you know, it's the younger folk
- 06:45 that have all the goodies and the excitement and the promise
- 06:48 for the future.
- 06:50 Well, you're gonna hear from my wife about how the Lord
- 06:52 orchestrated circumstances in our life.
- 06:56 You know, I can speak to that in my own agency
- 06:58 that when I had opportunity, I was married for 30 years.
- 07:03 My wife Patty, may she rest in peace, went on to her reward,
- 07:07 and really, I kind of sort of came out of nowhere with Barri.
- 07:12 I had had an interest in her, but she was disinclined.
- 07:18 So I accepted the rejection, you know,
- 07:21 dried my little teary eyes and got on with it,
- 07:23 and married Patty and had a good life.
- 07:26 Before Patty died, she said, "Look, why don't you go back
- 07:28 and see what Barri's all about."
- 07:29 And when I did, it was rather unexpected.
- 07:32 I didn't dance around.
- 07:34 I just said, "Look, you know, I'd like to have a conversation
- 07:37 with you."
- 07:39 I told Barri, I said, "When I met you 30-some years ago,"
- 07:43 that was before Patty and I were together.
- 07:45 I said, "When I met you, I thought you were
- 07:47 the most beautiful woman I ever met, inside and out.
- 07:51 And I think you're more beautiful now than then.
- 07:54 And I'm wondering if we can have a talk."
- 07:56 She knew exactly where that was going.
- 07:59 And I mention this, I'm not God,
- 08:02 but sometimes when God does something, he does it quick,
- 08:05 and it affects people's trajectories.
- 08:08 I mention that because Abraham and Sarah thought they
- 08:10 were somewhere between going, going, and gone, but not so.
- 08:15 God wanted to talk to them about faith for the future
- 08:18 and he adjusted them.
- 08:20 It wasn't a radical change.
- 08:22 It was a name change, that was more suited to their destiny.
- 08:27 Sometimes, people are suited up with the wrong kind
- 08:31 of interior dialog, and they need to change the name.
- 08:34 In the newer testament, we're told that with conversion
- 08:37 comes a new name.
- 08:39 We hear that elsewhere in biblical literature.
- 08:42 A new name.
- 08:43 There's what we think about us, there's the way we understand
- 08:46 ourselves, but then we're renamed,
- 08:48 and here's the story of people renamed with destiny.
- 08:52 Well, this series is all about moving on with faith in God
- 08:58 for the future and note how he adjusts these two,
- 09:02 and then he does it.
- 09:04 We're not talking about teenagers here.
- 09:06 We're talking about people that are of our age
- 09:09 and I mention that.
- 09:11 I'm 65, Barri's 67.
- 09:13 We got married a few years ago.
- 09:15 There is hope for the future for those of us that have faith
- 09:19 in God for the future.
- 09:23 male announcer: Our resource this week:
- 09:25 the Hebrew Names of God Cards.
- 09:27 This collection includes 12 vibrant,
- 09:29 high-quality art cards,
- 09:31 each with Old and New Testament connections on the back
- 09:34 with Scripture and beautifully written devotionals.
- 09:38 These art cards can be used for personal reflection,
- 09:41 group discussion.
- 09:43 Order as a beautiful gift for your friend or pastor.
- 09:45 For this resource and more, call 1-800-WONDERS
- 09:49 or visit us at LEVITT.COM.
- 09:54 David: "Our Jewish Roots" is more than just
- 09:56 a television program.
- 09:57 See what you are missing on our social media outlets.
- 10:01 Kirsten: On Facebook and Twitter, you'll find our daily
- 10:03 Name of God devotional, current news articles,
- 10:06 the Bearded Bible Brothers, and more.
- 10:09 David: On our YouTube channel you'll find faith foundations,
- 10:13 music, interviews, the Bearded Bible Brothers, and more.
- 10:18 Kirsten: Or find everything on our website, levitt.com.
- 10:22 David: We invite you to keep in touch and join us
- 10:24 on social media.
- 10:28 Kirsten: Abraham and Sarah took this incredible journey
- 10:32 of faith into a new land, and the exciting thing is we offer
- 10:38 that same adventure to you to take a trip to the Holy Land.
- 10:44 We go two times a year and, okay, I'm putting you
- 10:47 on the spot.
- 10:49 Name a favorite place.
- 10:50 David: Oh, goodness.
- 10:52 I think everybody says this: the Sea of Galilee
- 10:54 when we're on the Jesus Boat.
- 10:56 It's spectacular.
- 10:57 We would love to take you there.
- 10:59 We go two times a year, both the spring and the fall.
- 11:01 Information you can find right here on levitt.com.
- 11:04 Kirsten: Abraham and Sarah experienced miracles in that
- 11:08 land, and from our journeys with people, with the pilgrims
- 11:12 that go on our tours, I want you to know there are still miracles
- 11:16 in the land happening.
- 11:18 There's something about getting your feet on that dirt
- 11:21 and on that ground in Israel.
- 11:23 It's life-changing, just as it was life-changing for Abraham
- 11:27 and Sarah.
- 11:29 Speaking of, let's go back to their story.
- 11:32 We're gonna see the miracles spoken to both of them,
- 11:36 followed by Barri Seif giving us some wonderful insight.
- 11:44 narrator: "And the Lord appeared unto Abraham
- 11:46 in the Plains of Mamre."
- 11:48 ♪♪♪
- 12:00 ♪♪♪
- 12:17 Abraham: [speaking in Hebrew]
- 12:28 [speaking in Hebrew]
- 12:56 male: [speaking in Hebrew]
- 12:59 Abraham: [speaking in Hebrew]
- 13:03 male: [speaking in Hebrew]
- 13:08 Sarah: [laughing]
- 13:14 male: [speaking in Hebrew]
- 13:29 Sarah: [laughing]
- 13:32 Barri Seif: Sarah laughed.
- 13:34 I love this because Sarah was eavesdropping
- 13:37 and gets the message she's going to have a child.
- 13:40 She was eavesdropping but God was eavesdropping on her.
- 13:44 And this is such a special time for Sarah.
- 13:49 When Jeff and I got married, we had a wonderful wedding.
- 13:54 And during the wedding ceremony, I circled around him
- 14:00 seven times.
- 14:02 It's called Sheva B'rachot, when the officiant is recalling
- 14:06 seven blessings and the fifth one,
- 14:11 and I'll do it in my paraphrase, "May she who is barren
- 14:15 rejoice exceedingly as she gathers all of her children
- 14:19 around her."
- 14:21 And as you can see, I just shook my head,
- 14:24 shook my hand, I giggled.
- 14:26 Jeff giggled, the audience giggled.
- 14:29 It was a great highlight to our wedding.
- 14:33 And yet, generations passed.
- 14:35 We are still extolling Sarah's fruitfulness,
- 14:41 not her barrenness.
- 14:42 What a great promise.
- 14:44 God is full of promises and I love that word, "Amen," amen.
- 14:49 In Hebrew, it's [speaking in Hebrew]
- 14:52 and the root is emet, which is the first letter,
- 14:56 the middle letter, and the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet,
- 14:59 aleph, mem, tav.
- 15:00 In John 14 we're told that Jesus is the way, the truth,
- 15:04 and the life.
- 15:05 Truth.
- 15:07 Not only is he the beginning, the first and the last,
- 15:11 but he is the beginning, the middle, and the last.
- 15:15 He's everything.
- 15:16 Everything about our faith is exemplified that he, Yeshua,
- 15:22 is the yes and the amen, amen?
- 15:29 Kirsten: Okay, so Barri was mentioning a part
- 15:32 in your wedding ceremony about fruitfulness,
- 15:34 a little dance, a little--
- 15:36 Jeffrey: Well, in the Jewish tradition, the bride goes
- 15:38 around the groom a number of times, and she did that, yeah.
- 15:42 Kirsten: Any news do you wanna share?
- 15:45 Jeffrey: Oh, about her being pregnant?
- 15:46 Well, she's 67. She hasn't told me yet.
- 15:49 Kirsten: But that was a major thing back then, right?
- 15:53 I mean, now we're thrilled to have two boys and happy
- 15:57 about that, but there was almost a stigma on women back then
- 16:01 if you couldn't carry on the name and produce a son, right?
- 16:04 Jeffrey: It's construed as a providential affliction,
- 16:06 something of a curse, actually.
- 16:08 A stigma, to be sure.
- 16:10 Kirsten: That kind of gave me goose bumps, though,
- 16:12 that God changed that curse.
- 16:14 Ooh, that's good.
- 16:16 Jeffrey: She went through her life thinking
- 16:17 there was something inherently wrong with her,
- 16:18 but actually she was the chosen.
- 16:20 Isn't that amazing?
- 16:21 Kirsten: No, I love that.
- 16:22 Look, I literally have goose bumps from that.
- 16:24 David: That's really good. Kirsten: Totally.
- 16:25 David: Right now, let's go to our drama where the chosen son
- 16:27 has been born.
- 16:32 narrator: "And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said,
- 16:36 and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
- 16:39 For Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age,
- 16:44 at the set time of which God had spoken to him."
- 16:48 ♪♪♪
- 16:51 Sarah: [speaking in Hebrew]
- 16:53 Abraham: [speaking in Hebrew]
- 17:13 Sarah [speaking in Hebrew]
- 17:15 Abraham: [speaking in Hebrew]
- 17:32 Abraham: [speaking in Hebrew]
- 17:39 Sarah: [speaking in Hebrew]
- 17:46 Sarah: [speaking in Hebrew]
- 18:15 Jeffrey: One of the benefits of being 65 years of age is that
- 18:22 that season in life entitles you to lecture every now and again.
- 18:27 Begging your indulgence, I need six minutes and I'm gonna speak
- 18:32 to you from the Scripture about something
- 18:34 that I think is supremely important.
- 18:38 I'm gonna put on my professorial hat, a little more from the head
- 18:43 than from the heart, but I hope it speaks to both of yours.
- 18:48 Of course, I don't know where I find you right now,
- 18:51 but I know where I find Genesis 21, verse 1.
- 18:55 It's a story about a woman and we're told: "Then Adonai,"
- 19:00 then the Lord, "visited Sarah just as he had said,
- 19:07 and Adonai did for Sarah just as he had spoken."
- 19:15 I wanna speak to that for a minute.
- 19:18 When I think of visiting, it's not like she's in the hospital,
- 19:21 and visiting hours are from 6 to 8 and he so happens
- 19:24 to show up then.
- 19:26 When it says he visited her, we're looking at the Hebrew
- 19:30 "paqad," and it's comparable to the word "remembrance."
- 19:36 It's a different word, "zakar."
- 19:38 But the point is, some people find themselves at a place
- 19:43 in life where they're like Jesus saying, "My God, my God,
- 19:48 why have you forsaken me?"
- 19:52 And people carry the sense of dreams lost,
- 19:58 realizations not experienced, hopes not materialized.
- 20:06 And for those that find themselves at that place,
- 20:10 I wanna tell you this is the space that that woman occupied.
- 20:16 The Lord was gracious to her.
- 20:18 Quite frankly, based on other things that I see in the
- 20:21 literature, I think her husband, by the way, had faith that kind
- 20:26 of carried her along in it, because she was, you know,
- 20:30 in all fairness, something of a doubting Thomas.
- 20:32 Pregnant, who me? She smiles.
- 20:35 There's a kind of like a cynicism there.
- 20:39 But, speaking to the dramas, and I love the dramatic vignettes
- 20:43 that you pay for that go along with these series,
- 20:46 rather than just a talking head giving voice to the literature.
- 20:49 And I hope you find me--that I do a reasonably good job
- 20:53 in so doing, but it's the picture that's worth 1000 words.
- 20:57 And the facial expressions on Sarah, to my way of thinking,
- 21:02 are priceless.
- 21:04 There's beauty here, there's a moment when the Lord visits her,
- 21:10 when the Lord remembers her.
- 21:13 I think of Jeremiah chapter 1, verse 12, where we're told that
- 21:17 God "watches over his word," to neglect it.
- 21:23 No, "to perform it."
- 21:26 To give it form and substance.
- 21:29 I like that.
- 21:31 Similarly, I like it in Psalm chapter 25, verse 7.
- 21:36 Even with the foibles that we have, not because we're wicked,
- 21:41 but just because we're weak.
- 21:42 Some of us feel that success in life, some of us feel that
- 21:45 God's will, that his ultimate fulfillment for us, is 13 inches
- 21:52 away but the problem is we only have a 12-inch reach.
- 21:56 And we can't quite get to it.
- 21:59 So what do we do? We give up.
- 22:01 I can understand that.
- 22:03 We don't give it up--we don't give up because we're wicked.
- 22:05 We give up because we're weak.
- 22:08 And God understands human weakness.
- 22:13 Don't take my word for it.
- 22:15 What do I know?
- 22:17 In Psalm chapter 25, verse 7, we're told here, David says,
- 22:23 "Remember not the sin of my youth, nor my rebellion.
- 22:32 According to your mercy remember me."
- 22:38 And isn't that what we want at the end of the day?
- 22:42 Sometimes we can be like Jesus, "My God, my God,
- 22:45 why hast thou forsaken me?"
- 22:47 He felt it and gave voice to it.
- 22:49 You know, he had a human nature, among other things.
- 22:53 Certainly, the divine enclosed therein.
- 22:56 God didn't really forsake him but he's giving voice
- 22:59 to the feelings that people have.
- 23:02 This series is all about faith for the future,
- 23:07 not faith in the future.
- 23:09 Some people say, "Well, I just believe it's all gonna work out.
- 23:12 You gotta be optimistic.
- 23:14 You gotta be confident."
- 23:16 I'm not talking about self-confidence here,
- 23:18 though I'd rather see someone have it, than not.
- 23:20 I'm talking about faith in God, the one who holds the key
- 23:25 for the future.
- 23:28 You might be waiting for your ship to come in, you don't even
- 23:31 see it over the horizon.
- 23:32 The net result is that you don't live with the anticipation.
- 23:34 Let me encourage you.
- 23:37 If you're just tuning in to this series now, you know,
- 23:40 go to our website, find what came before it.
- 23:43 And we're midway here.
- 23:45 See what comes after it.
- 23:47 The name of the game is to build up faith in order
- 23:50 that we can experience what David talked about here,
- 23:54 what Jeremiah remembered, and what we read in Genesis
- 23:59 when we're told that God visited Sarah.
- 24:04 He visited her, he can visit you.
- 24:08 Have faith in God for the future.
- 24:13 David: Join us right now for additional content that is
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- 25:01 David: Twenty-eight years ago, we were anticipating
- 25:03 the birth of our first son and we were thinking of names,
- 25:07 but I don't think we were thinking like back
- 25:09 in the Bible days where they named people
- 25:11 for a reason, like Isaac, for example.
- 25:14 Jeffrey: Yitzhak.
- 25:15 David: There was a reason-- Jeffrey: Yitzhak.
- 25:17 David: Which means-- Jeffrey: Laughter.
- 25:19 David: Yes.
- 25:20 Kirsten: Well, here's my question.
- 25:21 As a woman, I'm thinking about what Sarah was feeling
- 25:23 when she heard that she's gonna have a baby.
- 25:26 It said she laughed.
- 25:27 Do you think it was sarcastic, like, "Okay, I'm gonna have
- 25:30 a baby," laughter, or laughter of joy?
- 25:33 Jeffrey: She's not here to defend herself, unfortunately,
- 25:35 but I think it's more sarcasm, just it's so unbelievable.
- 25:38 Kirsten: It is, and in the naming of her son, meaning
- 25:43 laughter, there's so much purpose to a name and then
- 25:46 we see in this program also that God gave Sarah and Abraham,
- 25:50 Sarai and Abram, new names for their future,
- 25:54 for a new future.
- 25:56 Jeffrey: Yes, indeed.
- 25:57 Kirsten: A new part of their journey.
- 25:58 Jeffrey: Yeah, new identity which is something
- 26:00 that people need, by the way.
- 26:02 You know, we're pivoting away for an old way of being,
- 26:04 and an identity that's more congruent with our future.
- 26:08 Kirsten: And apparently, names are very important to God.
- 26:10 Jeffrey: Yes, people carry a lot of baggage from the past,
- 26:13 from yesteryear, old ways of thinking.
- 26:15 You know, pivoting away to a new identity, a new name,
- 26:18 a new calling, finishing up life like that,
- 26:20 that's the way to do it.
- 26:22 Kirsten: It is, and he's still a God of miracles, isn't he?
- 26:24 David: Yes, we're gonna hear more about that and more dramas
- 26:26 coming up in our series, more teaching from you
- 26:29 and your wonderful wife who'll be at this table.
- 26:31 It's time to end this program today.
- 26:34 Jeffrey: Sorry about that.
- 26:35 I wish we could go on but we can't.
- 26:36 As we go now, "Shaalu shalom Yerushalayim."
- 26:39 David: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
- 26:41 ♪♪♪
- 26:45 ♪ One day on the hillside ♪
- 26:49 ♪ you will see how much I care ♪
- 26:55 ♪ as I pay the price of love with the life ♪
- 27:03 ♪ I long to share ♪
- 27:08 ♪ Then I can embrace you with my arms ♪
- 27:15 ♪ held open wide ♪
- 27:19 ♪ Jerusalem, my chosen ♪
- 27:25 ♪ beloved, my bride ♪
- 27:31 ♪ I showed you, I taught you ♪
- 27:37 ♪ I loved you forever ♪
- 27:43 ♪ Jerusalem, I'll hold you ♪
- 27:49 ♪ My arms are open wide ♪
- 27:56 ♪ You'll see ♪♪
- 28:02 ♪♪♪