In this sermon, the preacher shares a story about a young man who became paralyzed and was abandoned by his wife. Despite his anger and despair, the man turned to God and prayed for guidance in finding a suitable wife. He remembered the story of Isaac and Rebekah from the Bible, where Rebekah offered water to Isaac and his camels. Inspired by this, the man prayed for a similar sign. Eventually, he met a woman who not only offered him water but also watered all his camels. Through this encounter, he realized that she was the right one chosen by God. The sermon emphasizes the importance of walking with God and seeking His guidance in all aspects of life.

Welcome to my lecture. I am pleased to be here with you today. I am pleased to be here with you today. Let us listen to the Holy Word. Amen. How will I know that something is the will of God? How will I know that something is the will of God? That man has the certainty in his heart and the testimony of the Holy Spirit, that is the will of God. There are three people in the Bible. For me it is of the greatest importance, of greater value than all the treasures of this world, everything that the world can offer and give to us, that I will be there one day. For me it is of the greatest importance, of greater value than all the treasures of this world, everything that the world can offer and give to us, that I will be there one day. For me it is of the greatest importance, of greater value than all the treasures of this world, everything that the world can offer and give to us, that I will be there one day. I would like us to consider these heroes of the Bible today and it is my prayer that Lord may I take after them. May it be that when I say to a girl, please let down your jar that I may have a drink. And she says, drink and I'll water your camels too. Let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master. Genesis 24 verse 12 Genesis 24 verse 12 Before I had finished praying, Rebekah came out with a jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abram's brother Nahor. Genesis 24 verse 12 The girl was very beautiful, a virgin. No man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. Genesis 24 verse 12 Then the virgin walked up to her and said to her, let me drink a little water from your cup. Genesis 24 verse 12 And she said, drink, sir. Then she put the cup of her cup on her hand and let her drink water. Genesis 24 verse 12 When she had finished drinking, she said, I will also water your camels so that they may drink enough. Genesis 24 verse 12 Abraham was already old. Genesis 24 verse 12 You know that he had Isaac when he was already old, and Sarah was old as well. Genesis 24 verse 12 And then his wife, Isaac's mother, passed away. Genesis 24 verse 12 And then Abram called his chief servant, who was in charge of all that he had. Genesis 24 verse 12 He said, Elijah, come here. Genesis 24 verse 12 And he said, I want to send you to my family, to my own people, and I want you to go and fetch my son a wife there. Genesis 24 verse 12 That was what it was like right at the beginning, before people had increased on the face of the earth. It wasn't a sin to get married to a family member. Genesis 24 verse 12 And he said, I want you to promise before God. Genesis 24 verse 12 Promise me that you won't take a wife from these neighboring tribes, from these Canaanite tribes amongst whom you live. Genesis 24 verse 12 He said, I want you to go to my country, to my own relatives, and there to see if there isn't somebody who would be a fitting wife for my son. For I wouldn't want the world to come into my son's life and into my family. Genesis 24 verse 12 I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not do that, that you won't get a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites. Genesis 24 verse 12 And so this chief servant agreed with Abraham and he entered into this covenant. He made this promise to Abraham that he would do as Abraham had commanded him. Genesis 24 verse 12 And then he asked, he said, but what if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Should I then take your son Isaac and take him back to your home country? Genesis 24 verse 12 And he said, no never, make sure that you will never take him back to where I come from. Genesis 24 verse 12 Rather than leave her and then you are free from this promise that you have made. Genesis 24 verse 12 He said, then you are released from this oath that you have made. But he said, God's angel will go ahead of you and grant you success. Genesis 24 verse 12 That was a problem. Genesis 24 verse 12 How will he know that this is the one that God has chosen for Isaac? Genesis 24 verse 12 So that he will know that this is the one that God has chosen for Isaac. Genesis 24 verse 12 Genesis 24 verse 12 This was a problem situation. How would he know what is the right thing to do? Being sent to a foreign land, a land that he didn't know and going to look for a girl whom he didn't know. And then it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Where will you find that person? Genesis 24 verse 12 You will find that person in a foreign land. Genesis 24 verse 12 Genesis 24 verse 12 And so the chief servant took ten of his master's camels and he loaded it with all kinds of different goods and gifts that he took along with him. Genesis 24 verse 12 How will he know what is the right thing to do? Genesis 24 verse 12 It was not a free ride. His master didn't say to him, look, it's this one or that one. He didn't know about anyone. Genesis 24 verse 12 Genesis 24 verse 12 And we won't be the poorer for it. And you never regret it. You'll thank it for the rest of your life, not only in this world, but even in the world to come. Genesis 24 verse 12 If you make a mistake, and this, you'll have to pay a dear price for it. Genesis 24 verse 12 A young man can't afford to make a mistake here. Genesis 24 verse 12 This will go hand in hand with great hardship, suffering, and so on. Genesis 24 verse 12 And Abraham's chief servant said to him, Genesis 24 verse 12 This chief servant set off for that country. He had been with Abraham for many years. Genesis 24 verse 12 He was with Abraham. Abraham taught him. He was with him from the morning till evening. Genesis 24 verse 12 And that was the best school he could ever have wished for. Genesis 24 verse 12 That was a better school than any theological seminary or any Bible college. Genesis 24 verse 12 To live with somebody who walks with God. Genesis 24 verse 12 Where God is first and foremost in that person's life, not number two or number three. Genesis 24 verse 12 And so this chief servant went back, traveled all the way to Mesopotamia to where Abraham came from originally. Genesis 24 verse 12 When he arrived there, he had the camels kneeled down near the well. Genesis 24 verse 12 It had been a long distance that he had traveled. They were tired. Genesis 24 verse 12 It was towards evening. Genesis 24 verse 12 Now what was he to do in this situation? Genesis 24 verse 12 Because the youth today look at the outward beauty. Genesis 24 verse 12 If the person has got a well-formed nose and they smile very nice and attractively, then that's enough. Genesis 24 verse 12 But maybe that beautiful girl is a rotten peach. The outside is beautiful, but the inside is a worm. Genesis 24 verse 12 Now different criteria were used during the different ages to determine who would be a good wife. The older people used to go and see whether the girl could cook well or not. Genesis 24 verse 12 And whether she's diligent. Genesis 24 verse 12 And that would be the criteria they would use. Genesis 24 verse 12 The wife would go and see how does the young man treat his mother. Because she would say that the way in which he treats his mother, that's the way he would treat me once we are married. Genesis 24 verse 12 But today, all of those considerations have come to an end. They no longer apply. It's now only the external beauty. Genesis 24 verse 12 Now today it's just the outward appearance and how a girl, how she can make up her hair and paint and titivate herself. And then once they're married, the man finds out she can't even cook a potato. Genesis 24 verse 12 There's a good side to that, but it's also not always good. It can also be bad. Genesis 24 verse 12 But the best way is this, which Abram's chief servant chose. He prayed. Young men, learn to pray. Genesis 24 verse 12 Eliezer, Abram's chief servant, knew that my master prays. He speaks to God on a daily basis and he's led by God. Genesis 24 verse 12 In France, I know a young man. Genesis 24 verse 12 He was always with his parents. Genesis 24 verse 12 Believing parents. Genesis 24 verse 12 But one day he finds a beautiful girl, beautiful from the outside. Genesis 24 verse 12 And he goes to his parents and he shares it with them and says, Genesis 24 verse 12 This young man that I know of in France saw this beautiful girl. He had believing parents and so he went to them and he said, Father and mother, I wish to get married to this beautiful girl. Genesis 24 verse 12 Do you think this is the right kind of girl for you? If you look at her, in her walk, in her past, do you think this is the right one? But if a person is in love, nothing else goes in his head. And our Germans, German-speaking South Africans, say like the Germans, If the elevator falls, then it is a panic. Along the elevator, then he falls into panic. And the parents asked and said, Do you think she's the right type of girl for you? If you consider her past and her walk, her conduct, do you think she's the right one? But you know, once a person is blinded by love, there's no reasoning about it. He's fallen in love and in German there's even a saying that, If you've fallen in love and that love falls like the pancake of a cow, You'll fall in love with that pancake. The poor city people don't know what a cow's pancake is. You grow up in the city, you don't know what a roseapple is. Pears and apples. But the Germans know. But you don't know what in Berlin or Stuttgart is called. But you don't know what apples are called in Germany. You don't know what apples are called in Germany. You don't know what apples are called in Germany. And he said, whether my father or mother be against it, that doesn't matter. I will go through with it. I'll do it. Sometimes it's not even just mom or dad that are against it. But God, the Lord himself. But he'll turn his back upon God and follow that girl. Not many days, I think he was still on his honeymoon. Not many days after the wedding. What happened? They got involved in an accident. And he broke his neck. He was rushed to the hospital. And the doctor said to his parents and to him, for the rest of his life he will be paralyzed from top to bottom. The next day the young woman came. And she said to him, I don't see a chance for the rest of my life to live with a man who is so paralyzed. I came to say goodbye. Turned away. That was the end of him. She said, I've come to say goodbye. She turned her back on him and she left him. And that was the end of his idol. That he lay on his back. And then he was so paralyzed. And she, Macy, she said goodbye. Said goodbye. The parents went to get him out of the hospital. And looked at him. Just look at the heart of a mother and a father. A man so dark, says you're right. Now, let us see after you. You didn't want to listen to us. But the heart of a father is another kind of darkness. Who swill He's a cloth person A guy that and his parents took care of him and at the moment it's only the mother that's still alive and she prays for the salvation of his soul. Don't throw God away and look at other things. And so this man knelt down and he prayed and he said, Lord, I've come now to a land which I do not know. He spoke in his heart, the Bible says. He said, I am now at this well outside of the town. He prayed and he said, Lord, please show kindness to my master Abraham because of your love for him and lead me to the right one. The Bible says, before he finished, he finished praying. When he opened his eyes, he saw this girl coming out with a jar on her shoulders. And he said, Lord, how will I know? It is now the time for you to see the girl come to the fountain. How will I know which one is the right one? I hope that you English speaking people understand when we speak Afrikaans. Just think German, then you'll understand something. And he prayed and he said, Lord, if I ask a girl for some water to drink and then she lets down her jar and she says, drink and I'll water your camels too. Let that be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. And so when this girl came past him, she walked hurriedly. He asked her, can you please give me something to drink? And then she quickly let down her jar and she said, Lord, have a drink. And she said, after she had given him some water to drink, I'll also give water for all the camels. But he was not dead yet. He asked her again, he wanted to see what the end of that story would be. One time, a camel, one camel, after a long journey, can drink 25 gallons of water. One camel, starting with 250 gallons. So now that's 4.5 liters for one gallon. He said, about 5, between 4.5 and 5. Now you can work out how many liters that is. Over the 100 liters, one gallon. That was nearly amazing. Now, he said, Lord, please let it be the one who will say, I'll also give water to your camels to drink. And then when he asked of her, she said, drink and I'll also give to your camels water. And when she drew water for the camels, just think, how much water does one camel drink? In old language, 25 gallons. That's about more than 200 liters, one camel, and she had to draw water for 10 camels. And she gave them water to drink. Well, that's more than 100 liters at least. Now you can see, the chieftain of Abraham, this is the girl. She gave water to all the camels to drink. Now you see, this is the right one. And he asked her, where did you come from? She said, from me. Who is your father and your grandfather? And so, after he had watched her and had seen that she had watered all his camels without growing tired, then he became more interested. And he asked her and he said, now tell me, whose daughter are you? From which home and family do you come? And then he found out that she was the daughter of his master's brother. Now to a large extent, this has gone lost. We now do our own thing. We no longer inquire of God. We no longer seek His ways. We just do what we like and just see in what a mess, what a mess things have become. Can you still hear us? And there are the people. They have walked with God. How wonderful is that. Can people say that of us today? We walk with God. Like Enoch of old. Young people, this is the best way. This is the only way. You will never regret it. You will smile until the end. And when you think back, and your wife is no longer there, you will say with gratitude, Gentlemen, I thank you for the woman you gave to me. For answering my prayer and giving me this wife. I thank you for the woman you gave to me. For answering my prayer and giving me this wife. Learn to pray and seek God's will. Learn to pray and seek God's will. No matter what it might be, God will lead you, whether it be with choosing a wedding, a marriage partner, whether it be in your work, whatever it might be, see God's will. Now I'd wish to carry on with this theme and take it to its conclusion, how Rebekah came in the end to Isaac, how he took her into his mother's room and how he was comforted when that happened because his mother had passed away. Go through the Bible, look at all the men of God, those whose lives are in the hands of God. God had meaning and carried weight. People like Gideon, who prayed to God and said, Lord, show me your will, and he put down a fleece and he said, Lord, let the whole area be wet and just the fleece be dry. Oh, maybe it's just by chance. So he said, Lord, I don't want to sin and tempt you, but tomorrow morning, may that skin of the sheep, with the wool, be wet and everything dry. And he said, Lord, I don't want to sin and tempt you, but tomorrow morning, may that skin of the sheep, with the wool, be wet and everything dry. And he said, Lord, I don't want to sin and tempt you, but tomorrow morning, may that skin of the sheep, with the wool, be wet and everything dry. And he said, Lord, I don't want to sin and tempt you, but tomorrow morning, may that skin of the sheep, with the wool, be wet and everything dry. And he said, Lord, I don't want to sin and tempt you, but tomorrow morning, may that skin of the sheep, with the wool, be wet and everything dry. And he said, Lord, I don't want to sin and tempt you, but tomorrow morning, may that skin of the sheep, with the wool, be wet and everything dry. And he said, Lord, I don't want to sin and tempt you, but tomorrow morning, may that skin of the sheep, with the wool, be wet and everything dry. And he said, Lord, I don't want to sin and tempt you, but tomorrow morning, may that And he said, Lord, I don't want to sin and tempt you, but tomorrow morning, may that