GENESIS 16:13....GOD SEES YOU
Notes
Transcript
GENESIS 16:13 .....GOD SEES YOU
GENESIS 16:13 .....GOD SEES YOU
Psalm 16:8 “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”
Today’s message is one of remembering to have patience, one of remembering that people will turn on you and most of all it’s one of remembering that no matter what season you are in, GOD SEES YOU....
God sees you when you are up, when you are down, when you are broke, busted and disgusted…guess what He sees you....
The God with whom we have to do is a seeing God, and all-seeing God. God is (as the ancients express it) all eye.
We ought to acknowledge this with application to ourselves. He that sees all sees me, as David (Ps. 139:1), O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. TALK, PREACH.....
And it’s a good thing to truly know and truly believe that God sees you....
A believing regard to God, as a God that sees us, will be of great use to us in our returns to him.....TALK, PREACH....(hopefully will make you act right)...
People on this side just may see you the clothes you wear, or the car you drive. Where you work. They are just superficial and materialistic. But God, as Charles Spurgeon says, sees you entirely and sees you constantly.
He does not merely note your actions; he does not simply notice what is the appearance of your countenance; he does not merely take into his eyesight what your posture may be; but remember, God sees what you are thinking of; he looks within. God has a window in every man's heart, through which he looks; he does not want you to tell him what you are thinking about-he can see that, he can read right through you....TALK, PREACH...
And I know what you are thinking…it’s good that He sees me and if He sees the trouble I in, why doesn’t help....Patience....
Let’s get into this text....
Abram had head the voice of God and left his home.....(TELL THE STORY) Genesis 12....
Abram and Lot get into it over land and seperate.....genesis 13
In Chapter 15, Abram is promised a son....
And this is where our lesson begins....
We see in verses 1-4, Abram and Sarai, decided to take matters in their own hands.....Genesis 16:1–4 “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.”
(WORK TEXT)..... PATIENCE
Despite God’s promise, Sarai and Abram proceed as if the promise will not be fulfilled. By agreement between them, Abram has a child through Hagar, Sarai’s maid.
God is watching and sees how we react to the tests.
And that’s when we get into trouble when we try to go ahead of God.
You wonder why things are hard are difficult. Did you consult God?
You are no further then what you think you should be. Are you letting Him lead and guide you?
I hear you Isaiah, Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”
TALK, PREACH...
Next, we see Sarai getting mean and nasty with Hagar...
Genesis 16:5–6 “Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.” So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.”
This leads to friction between Sarai and Hagar.
With Abram’s permission, Sarai deals harshly with Hagar, who flees from her.
Now this was Sarai’s idea and now she mad.
Now all the blame can not be put on Sarai because the scripture says, that Sarai says she was despised in Hagar’s eye....
2 quick points here....
1st…don’t get above yourself.....TALK, PREACH...
2nd....people will hate on you when you get blessed.....TALK, PREACH...
Now we see Hagar fleeing, or running away...
Genesis 16:7–12 “Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” And the Angel of the Lord said to her: “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.””
Hagar is trying to run away....
How many of you know that you can’t run away from your problems......TALK, PREACH...
Hagar didn’t realize it but she was being used by God as well and when you run away from God thats a sin.....
But before we go any further, please note that this is the first time in the bible that the Angel of the Lord appears to anyone....
This is the first appearance of the Angel of the LORD in the Bible. He didn't first appear to Noah or Enoch or Abram. The Angel of the LORD first appeared to a single mother-to-be who had a pride problem and was mistreated by the woman who put her into the whole mess.
All this makes us amazed at God's love for the unlikely, and we should never forget that He often delights in doing this....TALK, PREACH....
God shows His unconditional love for Hagar. He takes the initiative and sends the Angel of the LORD to find Hagar, speak to her and comfort her. He confirms that her son, to be called Ishmael, will survive and also father a great nation
Let’s briefly look at this nation and a little history.....If i have any bible readers in here, you know that the Ishmaelites and the Israelites didn’t get along.....family...
but look at this.....jacobs boy Joseph was put in a well by his jealous brothers....the medianites which were also decesendants of abraham took joseph out of the well and sold him to the ishmaelites and they took joseph to egypt.....TALK, PREACH....
But Hagar was trying to flee and got caught by the Lord, who sees all....
now i am sure Hagar had heard about the God of Abram but really didn’t know Him.....being from Egypt she was probably used to multiple gods....But on that day the true and living God spoke to her...
Here comes the climax....
After their conversation, Hagar makes a bold statement....Genesis 16:13 “Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?””
Hagar knew this was no mere angel who appeared to her. The Angel of the LORD was also the-God-Who-Sees, the same One watching over Hagar and the yet-to-be-born Ishmael.
Hagar called Him EL ROI “the God who sees me..God had seen her in distress, seen her in her hour of need, her broken heart, how she was about to sin and He stepped in right on time...
Is there anybody in the house today, that knows He sees you....constantly and entirely...
TALK, PREACH, CLOSE
Gerard Chrispin, The Bible Panorama: Enjoying the Whole Bible with a Chapter-by-Chapter Guide (Leominster, UK: Day One Publications, 2005), 34.