Sara: The Mother of Laughter

Bible Reading Introduction

Text: Gen 18 & 21, NT reading in Hebrews

Story will be told in two parts today. We all love a good story. Sunday night series. Long, Story Short.

Today we look at the example of Sarah, the wife of Abraham, and the mother of Laughter.

The reason I though she was a great story to talk about is because her story is far from perfect.

Maybe some of you could relate maybe you feel like you haven’t always done it perfectly or made some mistakes along the way. I would like to encourage you today with Sarah’s story.

Transitional Statement: I want you to see that despite the struggle you are given more than enough reasons to laugh and rejoice with Sarah today.

Genesis 18:6–15 (KJV)

6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.

8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.

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.

The Struggle is Real is Sarah’s Life

Wrongfully defined identity leads to insecurity

Insecurity, because of a lack of confidence in the God’s Word, leads to control issues.

Afraid of the vulnerability of hope.

Sermon Introduction

Have you ever found yourself laughing at the wrong time? Any of you in here infamous for not being able to control you laughter?

In case you are wondering this would be a good occasion for laughing. / Asked Caleb to bring the laughter but after talking with him decided it would be best if I just did it.

5 Principles of Motherhood That Every Mom Should Know.

If it was going to be easy, it would never have started with something called labor!

Shouting to make your children obey is like using the horn to steer your car, and you get about the same results.

Any child can tell you that the sole purpose of a middle name is so he can tell when he’s really in trouble.

There are three ways to get something done: Do it yourself, hire someone else to do it, or forbid your children to do it.

An alarm clock is a device for awakening people who don’t have small children.

According to Psychology Today, laughter is “one of the distinguishing features of human beings” and may be “the most contagious of all emotional experiences” — yet “little is known about the mechanisms behind it.”-

An uncontrollable laughter is one of the most enjoyable things to listen to.

Many of us like to make people laugh. / Many of us have people we would like to call today but cannot. I would like to call my grandmother and ask her a question and remind her of a funny story.

If yielded to the Lord it can be a real ministry. Visit those who need the medicine of laughter.

Laughter is the sound of joy.

Today we will look at some of the mechanisms behind it. This book knows more about us than any magazine.

Laughter though not necessary for survival is a gift from God. True, God centered laughter is such a gift.

As with all gifts it is often misused.

The Struggle is Real

Review of the story. Starting with Gen 12 and the promise made to Abraham. Promises in the Bible for the children of Israel, all believers, and in some cases for individual people. The promise of a child was given to Abraham and Sarah.

1. Wrongfully defined identity leads to insecurity

These are hard days.

In those days and in that culture, a woman's ability to bear children was her worth. It was her honor. It was her dignity.

Culture is glad to take us from one false extreme to the next. The world doesn’t care which version of the lie you believe. As long as you don’t believe God’s Word.

They leave their homeland because of a promise God have her husband.

When entering Egypt , due to Abraham’s lack of faith, Sarah is referred to as his sister and not his wife. Genesis 16:1 “1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.”

Even though Sarah couldn’t hear the Bible as a narrator in her life, I am sure she had that thought often, “Now Sarai Abraham’s wife bare him no children.”

Many have known the struggle of infertility, but you were not named to a man named “father of many nations.”

Her name will be changed to reflect she will be the mother of nations. Genesis 17:15–16 “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.”

Sarah had been given a promise from God, but you cannot rock a promise to sleep at night.

She began to despise the wonder of having a promise from God and desired to be made complete through childbirth.

She wanted more than to hear the promise repeated, she want to see with her eyes what she once believed by faith.

The harsh realities of life has suffocated the dream in her life.

2. Insecurity, because of a lack of confidence in the God’s Word, leads to control issues.

Genesis 18:12 “12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

God had made a promise.

As said earlier, this was a promise made to Sarah that was not made to us all.

However, we are also people of promise. We are holding a book of promises.

Possible the hardest aspect of trust has to do with timing. Could you imagine? Dr. Sisk sends me an announcement about getting remarried to a nice, widow lady who is 10 years younger than him. Believable. In a few more years he send me an invitation to a baby shower.

If God would have given them children at a common age they would have rejoiced, but we would not have been invited into the laughter.

Sarah has forgotten that she is part of a much bigger story. This is not just the story of a woman having a child, this is God’s story of the redemption of man.

Impatience causes us to want to have a bigger role in our own story, and a smaller role in what God is doing in this world.

In her impatience she is going to lean upon her own understanding.

Here is a prime example of no trusting. Proverbs 3:5–6 “5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Genesis 16:3 “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.”

Why? Genesis 16:2 “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.”

Looking for identity in child bearing, will set you up to misplace your identity in child rearing

There is also a shallow laughter that comes when you take something or someone or something and put all your hopes in it.

Going to skip ahead a moment, to a party being thrown for Isaac.

They had rented the a pavilion at the park. They are celebrating that the child is now weened. Genesis 21:8–10 “8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. 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.”

From history, we learn this is the first time the term “Mama Bear” is used.

You may say you get it, but it is irrational. This is not the act of faith.

This is a woman who believes she needs to control and protect her son at all costs.

She had forgotten that Isaac belonged to the Lord and she is a steward of a gift, not a sole protector.

One commentator called this the shallow laughter of addiction.

It is never the holy, God fearing decision to not care for others in the pursuit of caring for your own.

You cannot properly raise and nurture your child in the fear of the Lord if you find your identity in them.

Do you know what happens if your children become the light of your eyes? If the children become the savior of your souls? Do you know what happens?

You will not be able to instruct them as you should.

They will grow up knowing that you are living your life out through that them, and that you are not really loving that them, but you're loving yourself through them.

The child will sense that unless they succeed or are beautiful or successful or athletic or whatever, that you don't love them, that you're let down. They can't take the pressure.

3. Afraid of the vulnerability of hope.

Genesis 18:13–15 “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.”

Laughter is a form of self-defense

Sarah is afraid to allow herself to believe this promise remains true.

Believers are often criticized as weak people who need Christianity to be true for emotional reasons.

Unbelievers also need Christianity to not be true for emotional reasons as well.

You may have some emotionally very powerful reasons to not want to hope in it because if it is true it would change your life in ways you cannot control.

Sarah laughs so that she does not hope. At this point, hope hurts.

Sarah lied because she was afraid, and she was afraid because she knew there was nothing funny about disbelief.

Sarah was in danger of trading the wonderful in for the wonder-less life.

Take a 4 year old to a zoo and take a 14 year old to the zoo.

Components of a good story. We kids want to hear.

An acknowledgment of hopelessness. There's a doom. We're in an impossible situation.

There is a resolution but it is out of reach without help from someone or something outside of the story.

There's a heroic key and it comes into relationship with the impossible situation, and there's resolution.

Sarah needed reminding of the wonder of her story.

She was letting her life be defined by her performance not God’s promises

She knew her story needed a hero and in her impatience she took on that role

She was becoming afraid to hope

We have been given a reason to laugh and rejoice.

Emphasis placed on Sarah’s hidden laughter in ch. 18, the story does not end there. The sun will set on that story and the night will be very dark, but it will rise on ch. 21

Genesis 21:1–7 (KJV)

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.

1. The Lord is patient with us as our faith grows.

2 Thessalonians 1:3 “3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly…

God has transformed Sarah’s laughter.

Genesis 21:6 “6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.”

No longer a cynical chuckle from a lack of faith.

Response to joy that only God can give.

God visits with the struggling and helps them.

The pre-incarnate Christ came to encourage her. Genesis 18:9 “9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.”

Not a cultural norm to ask about the wife at the table of men

Shows these were not strangers.

Jesus refers to his disciples as “ye of little faith” but He never walks away from them

2. God does not allow our worst moments to define us.

Genesis 21:3 “3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, (and they named him laughter) Isaac.”

Sarah was once held captive of the laughter of those who judged her.

She could have been defined by her laughter of cynicism.

Sarah is freed from the judgement of others and invites the world to laugh with her. Genesis 21:6 “6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.”

This is the reason why Sarah could actually name her child Isaac, which laughter, which was the sign of her greatest failure. She laughed at God.

How is she redeeming that terrible memory? Not the way we do it in the world today, which is try your best to forget it.

God did not judge our performance but to say they need Me and I will die for them!

The memory of our failures just magnifies how good God is to us it does not cause who to walk around in perpetual guilt.

3. The Lord keeps His Word.

Isaac was the child of promise, born according to God's promise, not just Abraham's natural son. Romans 9:9 “9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.”

God did as He had promised. Genesis 21:1 “1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.”

When did he do it? Genesis 21:2 “2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”

If you have $5 and I told you I would give you $5 how much money do you have? If you have $5 and God was to tell you that he would give you $5 more how much do you have?

We would do well today to ask if God has changed and His made any promises to us.

Good news for struggling moms and the rest of us. He hasn’t changed and we have a book of promises in front of us today.

You see what God says is reality because God's word rings reality into being!

His promises are no different than His creation. Genesis “God said and there was..”

What are some of the promises we can rejoice in right now?

Some say there are 365 promises in the Bible, one for every day

I prefer to see every word as a promise. Even the promises in the Bible that are made to Israel tell me something of the nature of God that will not change.

Sarah needed to sit down with a cup of coffee and rehearse the Word’s of God each morning.

Sarah

For Sarah it was from you I will bring a son from whom will come a great nation.

This was not given to my mother.

For you and other believers

He is with me. Isaiah 41:10 “10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Personal

Promise to strengthen, help, and to uphold

He will give us everything we need in this life to do his will or glorify his name. Romans 8:32 “32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

The grace I need for today is available. 2 Corinthians 9:8 “8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:”

Closing:

A weak but easy application:

If we believe strong enough for great impossible things in our lives then God will give them to us. We should laugh knowing we will get these things.

Illogical because of Servant who had a better prayer life, had a perfect faith (being He was God), was more obedient (even unto death), lived a painful life, had no place to lay His head; died the death of a criminal.

Bad hermeneutics: We do not see this happening a result of Sarah’s great faith - but as a result of a great God and His unwavering purpose in the world.

It is also not as good of a “punch line” as the truth.

It is not about the power of your belief but it is about the certainity of His promises!

Do not lose the wonder of this story

Is there anything too hard for our God?

Greater than the fact God gave Sara a child.

Greater than God has given you a child.

God has made you His child! He is faithful to His promises.

Your kids bring laughter. But right now I want you to revel in something greater. You are a child of God. Just as you enjoy seeing your kids enjoy their place in your home, our God wants you to rejoice in His care for you.

Jesus is the true, eternal, Son of Promise! He has come into our lives! We have this story!!

An angel came to a virgin young Jewish girl and told her she would be with child. Luke 1 and she asks “how can this be possible?”.

If it seems impossible for Sarah to have a child with a really old man, how much more impossible for Mary to have a son with a husband at all.

Sarah would have a son - Mary the Son of God!

Jesus is the true Isaac - the ultimate son of Promise. We should laugh in wonder that He overcomes all of the impossibilities.

Because of His perfect birth, life, and death we know can be BORN AGAIN and receive NEW LIFE!!

Because you see, the true Father took the true Isaac up a mountain, raised the dagger over his head, and there was nobody there to say, don't. Brought it down.

This should create a WONDER-filled life for us all.

Now heal thy self, Physician; now come down. Alas! I did so, when I left my crown and fathers smile for you, to feel his frown: Was ever grief like mine?

He felt the Father's frown so you could have the laughter, so you could laugh.

How does God view the mother that struggling?

Hebrews 11:11–12“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.”

Move on to another mother.

Proverbs 31:25 “25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.”

When your faith is in God, you know that God is in control of all things, and so no matter how difficult it gets, and no matter how uncertain the future may seem, you can laugh at the days to come.

It is a bold, defiant, trusting laugh in the face of the unknown because your God is not unknown – you know him, you know his love for you.