By Faith Sarah
Notes
Transcript
11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Outline:
The author of Hebrews goes on to speak of Abraham’s wife, Sarah: “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore” (11:11–12).
Like her husband, Sarah judged God to be faithful. That’s the dynamic of faith. As I said above, faith is not believing that there is a God. Faith is believing God. Faith is trusting the fidelity of God. When I am faithful, I am relying on One whom I deem to be perfectly faithful. That’s what Sarah did, and that’s what people do today when they put their trust in God because they see that He alone is ultimately worthy of absolute trust.
There is a kind of interlude in the roll call in Hebrews 11:13–16: “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”
This passage sums up the experiences of those who already have been enumerated. They had much in common, including this: they died in faith. They died without seeing or realizing the full measure of the promises that made them pilgrims in the first place. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. We talk about Canaan as the “promised land,” and it was promised first of all to Abraham and to his seed, yet the only parcel of real estate that Abraham ever owned after he made his journey from Mesopotamia was Machpelah, which was the site of his grave. That was the only piece of property that he actually inherited, but he could see the future fulfillment of the promise that God made him, and he trusted in that.
“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child
when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT SARAH’S BACKGROUND?
As Abraham’s wife, the history of Sarah is substantially that of Abraham. She came with him
from Ur to Haran (Gen 11:31), from Haran to Canaan (12:5), and accompanied him in all his
wanderings.
1. We are introduced to Sarai in Genesis 11:29 “The name of Abram's wife was Sarai.”
2. Her names: Sarai means “princess.” Sarah means “my princess.”
3. She was beautiful. “When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very
beautiful woman.” (Gen 12:14)
4. Sarai was barren – “Now Sarai was barren; she had no children” (Gen. 11:30) which was
a social stigma.
5. She was the mother of Isaac, another hero of faith mentioned here in Hebrews 11.
WHAT DO THE VARIOUS BIBLE WRITERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT SARAH?
Sarah is not an insignificant Bible character. Sarah’s name is mentioned a total of 38 times in
the Bible - 3 times in the New Testament, one time in Isaiah and 34 times in Genesis: (Gen.
11:29-30; Gen. 12:15-17; Gen. 16:1-8; Gen. 17:15-21; Gen. 18; Gen. 20:2-18; Gen. 21:1-12;
Gen. 23:1-19; Gen. 24:36-27; Gen. 25:10,12; Gen. 49:31)
Especially significant are the following mentions of Sarah:
Isaiah 51:2 - The prophet Isaiah declares Abraham and Sarah the father and mother of the
Hebrew people: "Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you.”
Romans 4:19 - The apostle Paul pointed out that "the deadness of Sarah's womb did not
cause Abraham to waver in his faith.”
Romans 9:9 – “For this was how the promise was stated: ‘At the appointed time I will return,
and Sarah will have a son.’"
Gal 4:21-23 – Sarah is referred to, but not by name: “Tell me, you who want to be under the
law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons,
one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was
born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.”
I Peter 3:5-6 - Peter in his 1
st Epistle, cited Sarah as an example of the holy women: “For in
this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves,
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being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose
daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.”
Hebrews 11 - The writer of Hebrews includes Sarah as one of only two women mentioned by
name in the Roll Call of the faithful. It is interesting that some of the women that we would
expect to find mentioned in Hebrews11 are not mentioned, such as: Rebekah, Rachel,
Esther, Ruth etc. …Sarah, therefore, occupies a prominent place in scripture. But what about
Sarah’s faith?
WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT SARAH’S FAITH?
1. FAITH ACTS WHEN REASON FAILS.
11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
It was through Faith Sara believed God.
10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
1 And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
Sarah had faith enough to copulate with Abraham even though, physically, she was past
the age when she could get pregnant. God can revive the physical as well as the spiritual.
Sarah’s faith triumphed over reason “because she considered him faithful who promised.”
2. FAITH IS ASSURED BY GOD’S CHARACTER.
“because she judged Him faithful…” (Heb.11:11) Here is the basis of her faith: the
faithfulness of God! She put her faith in the Faithful One! All human probabilities were
against what was predicted. There must have been simple trust in God; nothing else but
faith in the Faithful God could have led her to believe that in her old age she would
become a mother.
3. FAITH APPROPRIATES GOD’S PROMISES.
“who had promised.” (Heb.11:11)
9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, And to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.
Sarah was a promise claimer and a promise clinger! Do you know how many promises are
in the Bible? According to an article in Moody Monthly magazine, A man by the name of
Evert E. Storms claims that he found 8,810 promises! Of these, 85% or 7,487 are given by
God to mankind. Do you believe the promises of God?
It is impossible for faith to overdraw its account on God’s bank of promises!
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“Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the Living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.”
- R. Kelso Carter
PRINCIPLE TRUTHS TO TAKE WITH US:
(1) Nothing is too hard for God. He specializes in doing the impossible.
(2) It is never too late for God to work.
(3) We are never too old to believe God and live by faith!
EXTRA AND OPTIONAL
ABRAHAM AND SARAH’S LAPSES OF FAITH
Sarah’s faith fed off of Abraham’s faith. Likewise her “faith failure” fed off of Abraham’s “faith
failure.” Here we see the frailty of humans and the faithfulness of God. The Heroes of Faith
mentioned in Heb. 11 were not perfect people. Nor are we!
FAITH LAPSE #1 - Gen 12:1-4
1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4 So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
And Abraham had nothing but trouble with Lot! “And there was strife between the herdsmen
of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock.” (Gen.13:6-7
6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
) Also the Sodom
episode in Gen.13:12-13 and chapter 19.
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
FAITH LAPSE #2 – When Abraham went down into Egypt he arranged with Sarah that she
should announce herself as his sister. (Read Genesis 12:10-20
10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
17 And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.
18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
FAITH LAPSE #3 - Having no children of her own, Sarah gave to Abraham her Egyptian
handmaid, Hagar, who became the mother of Ishmael. Later she demanded that Hagar and
Ishmael should be cast out of their home. (Read Gen.16:1-4
1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
; Gen. 21:9-10
9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
FAITH LAPSE #4 -
After the destruction of Sodom, Abraham moved south and remained for some time in Gerar.
Here Abimelech, the Philistine king, took Sarah, whom Abraham had again announced to be
his sister, into his harem, probably to ally himself with Abraham, the rich nomad prince.
Warned by God in a dream, Abimelech restored Sarah to her husband.
Abraham said, “….she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother;
and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said
12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
AND YET – God included both Abraham AND Sarah in the Heroes of Faith chapter!!
SARAH’S (and Abraham’s) LAUGH - FAITH or FAITHLESSNESS???
READ Genesis 17:15-17
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
; Gen. 18:10-15
10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
& Gen. 21:1-7
1 And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac.
4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.
6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
QUESTION: When Sarah and Abraham laughed when God told them that they would have a
son, was their laugh a laugh of joy or a laugh of unbelief?
SARAH’S DEATH
Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age was recorded at death. She was 127 and
died at Kirjath Arba (Hebron) and was buried by Abraham in the cave of Machpelah.
“Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. She died at Kiriath Arba (that is,
Hebron) in the land of Canaan.” (Gen 23:1-2)
SARAH’S LEGACY
Sarah’s legacy to female and male believers is this: Nothing is impossible with God!
Therefore, in the face impossibilities have faith in God.
“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child
when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”
“WITHOUT FAITH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD”
Hebrews 11:6