20230507 Genesis 16: You Believe in God, But Do You Believe God?
Genesis: Looking Back in Order to Move Ahead Spiritually • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. 7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Introduction:
The Bible is made up of 66 separate writings. 66 books written by 40 different authors. 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books.
The first five books of the bible were written by Moses. And what makes these first five books so interesting is when they were written. The nation if Israel has been led out of Egypt after 430 years. The Lord has rescued then from slavery, Moses has led them across the Red Sea and into the desert to worship the Lord. And through the Holy Spirit Moses writes the Book of Genesis and over the course of 40 years the four books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Beginning with Exodus, everything Moses writes is the current history of the nation of Israel. But Genesis is the unknown history, the revealed history of the nation. Genesis is the book of beginnings, the book of creation, the book which tells the nation about their ancestors. And it doesn’t just tell the Israelites about their ancestors, it tells them about the God who has been faithful, the God who made promises that He vows to keep.
In Genesis we see:
Creation, Fellowship, Temptation, Rebellion, Restoration
We see Adam and Eve, Cane and Abel, Noah, Abraham and Sarah
In Genesis we see the principle of the universal fallenness of mankind. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We have all like sheep, gone astray.
We all do not trust the Lord with all our heart. We lean n our own understanding.
We say that we believe in God, but time and time again we show that we do not believe God.
Look for the inability of all men to trust the Lord, to not obey the Lord, and ultimately to reject the Lord.
This morning we are looking at Genesis 16. In genesis 12 we met Abram, and God has made a promise to him. He and his wife Sarai would become a great nation. His offspring would be more numerous than the grains of sand by the ocean.
But there’s a problem: Abraham and Sarai are getting old. In Genesis 12, Abram is 75 and Sarai is 65. Now we see in 16:16 that Abram is 86, so Sarai must be 76.
Let me make 4 statements concerning what we see in Genesis 16 -
(1) God has promised
The promise of eternal life, the promise of protection, the promise of forgiveness, the promise of a child - God has promised
(2) We believe in God, but we do not believe God
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
(3) The temptation of the Garden of Eden was not a one time event
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
It’s almost as if James is looking at the story of Abram and Sarai.
Unhappy with God, not believing the promise of God, desiring to do it their way, seeking a human solution to a divine problem, repeating the Fall over and over again.
(4) God is faithful in His promises and in your temptations
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Out of their lack of faith, Abram and Sarai fell into deeper sin in their treatment of Hagar and the young Ishmael. But the Lord was faithful and saved the lives of Hagar and Ishmael. The descendants of Ishmael would become the enemies of the nation of Israel.
But we need to focus on the Lord.
God is faithful. He was faithful then, He is faithful now. He promised a way of escape to temptation in the past, He provides a way of escape for the tempted believer today.
So here’s the question: Do you believe in God? Good. But do you believe God?
Let’s pray:
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.