Some Things Will Never Change
Notes
Transcript
There’s an old song out there that was released in 1986.
The artist who released it was named Bruce Hornsby - a secular 80’s performer - and the theme or message of the song is still one of interest today.
The song talks about different “unfortunate” life circumstances… people being people… and the negative effect their actions have on themselves and on others. It comes across as a story telling song. At the end of each “story” or illustration given, Bruce sings these words:
“That’s just the way it is. Some things will never change.”
The name of the song is “The way it is.” The saddest part of this song to me is… it doesn’t offer any resolve to society’s short comings. But… Bruce does offer this bit of advice, “Don’t you believe them.” In other words, Society might be this way BUT you don’t have to be that way.
So what does a 1986 classic song have to do with getting back to Genesis this evening?
We find ourselves back in Genesis 20 (where we left off) and the passage of study is going to sound similar to one we covered some time ago.
We are going to see some of the same main characters.
We are going to see some of the same actions taken.
The sad reality is… the SAME mistake will be made… and in the making of this mistake, people will face negative consequence!
As I studied this passage, the phrase, which also serves as our title tonight, “Some Things Will Never Change” came to mind. And as we will see in a moment, some of these realities are good, others are… not so good.
Change… can be something that is hard to implement… especially when dealing with… PEOPLE!
It’s easy to rearrange furniture. It’s easy to reorganize a toolbox. It’s easy to restructure a file system or even an office structure. It’s easy to find a new commuting route or morning routine. These are not the kind of changes I am talking about.
I am talking about the kind of changes that go deep… deep within the heart. Changes that impact the entire person.
Going back to the song, the issues brought up include racism, social injustice, inappropriate judgement and so on.
These kind of issues require a deep adjustment to a person’s heart and world view. These are NOT easy changes to implement as is in most cases… what they know and feel is all they have ever known and felt.
Can believer experience these kinds fall outs as well?
I’m not speaking of the same issues the song points out… I’m talking about things like:
Fear overcoming faith.
Emotions overriding assurances.
Distractions overriding dependency.
Deception overriding Truth.
Bitterness and hurt overriding forgiveness.
Bondage overriding freedom.
Own understanding overriding His understanding.
The study tonight demonstrates that even the faithful might sometimes struggle with making and adopting much needed… change.
We begin by seeing Abraham again on the move.
1 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
Abraham, again, introduces his wife, Sarah, to the region as his sister. Can anyone remember why it was Abraham did this the first go around in Egypt?
11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”
Abraham was AFRAID for his life! This was the case in Egypt and it was the case in Gerar (see Genesis 20:11). His fear pushed him to the point of allowing His wife to be taken into another man’s house!
That’s a great deal of fear!
That’s a great deal of sacrifice on Sarah’s part!
Abraham had FAILED to change. This was NOT because God had failed Abraham, bu because Abraham could not see beyond the fear that gripped his heart.
Tonight, there are a couple of things I want us to look at as we talk about… change. It does seem like some things never change! In some ways… this can be good. But in many ways, it can be bad.
Let’s first look to Abraham and the motive behind his reluctance to change.
Abraham Could Not See Beyond His Fear.
Abraham Could Not See Beyond His Fear.
It is clear that Abraham struggled in the area of fearing for his life. This seems like a duh statement, right? Who doesn’t want to preserve their life for as long as they can?
Well, it depends on the motive behind the action. Abraham was looking out for number one. He didn’t stop to consider how many people he was wronging in order to spin the story that “saved” his life.
His deception impacted his wife. As we saw in Genesis 20:2, the king sent for Sarah and she was taken as his wife.
Forgive the expression for a moment but talk about a cowardly move! Abraham hides behind this lie and places his wife in a very peculiar situation! Abraham was fearful of the customs in that day… so much so that he lost sight of his trust in God and created another bad situation!
His deception impacted the king and his household.
4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.”
Abimelek hears from God and is alerted to the truth. Immediately Abimelek demonstrates a fear of God.
I find that point to be very interesting. Why? Because of Abraham’s assumption in Genesis 20:11
11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’
Funny enough, when God spoke, Abimelek demonstrated a fear of God. It was Abraham who FAILED to demonstrate a fear of the Lord… instead he demonstrated a fear of death.
Not only was the king impacted, but the entire household of the king was impacted. God closed the wombs of Abimelek’s wife and slave girls so no children could be conceived.
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
Something within Abraham’s heart had led him to go in the wrong direction.
Something had caused him to fear death more than he feared God. And before we judge him too harshly, stop and look within for a moment.
Our life experiences will impact us in ways we sometimes don’t realize.
Your upbringing, your good experiences, bad experiences, relationships, and so on have a way of imprinting responses and feelings within your heart.
You might have impulses that kick in that are a result of things that happened 10, 20, 30 years ago. These impulses create tendencies that can be difficult to… change.
However, the more we become aware of these things, the more apt we are not to give in to them.
Abraham could not see past this fear… and this fear was impacted him in more ways than he realized.
Consider the words of Jesus for a moment.
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
Abraham was forfeiting his faithfulness to God to preserve or save his life. Abraham… was placing his own life in his own hands!
Church, when we do this, when we take control, we completely limit God in what He can do in us! Thankfully, it doesn not limit God in what He can do in others!
This situation is turned around NOT because Abraham repents, but because Abimelek hear’s from the Lord!
Abraham tries to lean on a technicality to excuse the situation… but in all reality, he lied out of his fear of losing his life.
Thankfully… someone else displays something in this moment… a characteristic that never changes. This characteristic is something that benefited Abraham then, and it is something we live in daily today.
God’s GRACE Will NEVER Change.
God’s GRACE Will NEVER Change.
God did not have to intervene in this situation. He could have left Abraham to deal with the consequences of his lie - consequences that could have had unthinkable results.
What if Abimelek had taken Sarah as his wife indefinitely? What would have happened or… what wouldn’t have happened?
God’s promise would not have taken place. God had a plan for Abraham and Sarah… a plan that had not yet come about.
Abraham’s actions went against this plan… but in His grace, God reset the stage for His promise to remain intact.
Even when Abraham failed… GOD DIDN’T
Sometimes we struggle with change. Sometimes we have tendencies that are hard to let go of or see through .
I’m not suggesting that we excuse or try to play off with technicalities… these are things we need to give to God… sometimes daily.
However, never forget that when we fail, God doesn’t fail. When we mess up, His grace is there to pick us back up.
His grace is not to be abused, but it’s not to be forgotten either.
We need to absolutely turn from all sin. As Romans 6 says, we can no longer allow sin to reign in our lives.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
God’s grace will forever remain sufficient. His grace can help you overcome any thorn in your side or any weakness trying to pull you down.
AND… should you find yourself down… on the wrong end of a situation because you messed up… God’s grace is STILL THERE to pick you back up!
Closing
Closing
So what do we need to do when faced with a situation that we have struggled with before?
What should we do when we feel that tendency rising up… that fear or worry or delight or distraction or temptation, etc? WE GO TO GOD IN PRAYER BEFORE WE FALL FOR IT AGAIN!
Imagine for a moment what might have happened at the beginning of Genesis 20 if Abraham would have taken his fear to the Lord, first?
I believe God would have calmed his fear and helped him to remain faithful.
Such is the same for us this evening.
Maybe God is leading you to do something, say something, start something, reach someone, teach someone, disciple a family or help someone in need. Maybe God is calling you to something new… but something inside is keeping you from from stepping out in faith.
Maybe you are distracted. Maybe you are following old routines. Maybe you are making excuses. Maybe you are giving in to how you feel. Maybe you are unsure, unsettled, or overwhelmed.
TAKE IT TO GOD IN PRAYER.
I will be the first to say there are feelings… tendencies in my life that try to keep me in a box. These things hit my confidence, my trust, etc. They are a product of my past… things I don’t want getting in the way of the future I have in the Lord.
I have to lay these things down daily. I have to be willing to give all to Jesus, as He gave all for me. Are you wiling to do the same?
Change doesn’t come easy, but remember the change Christ made in you… the change mentioned in Romans 6:13 - those brought from death to life! I am thankful for that change!
Give it all to Jesus! His Grace will carry you through!