Leaving God out of our plans leads to discipline

Open: some story of creating a strategy for handling a situation. We believe the strategy is comprehensive, but we miss some important detail and it goes sideways.

Transition: Having a plan is a good thing. God certainly doesn’t call us to sit back and do nothing. We should plan as if it all depends on us and we should pray because it all depends on Him. The problem results when we plan without praying first!

Scripture records many situations like this and we are going to look at one such situation in the life of Abram as we read again about his early travels.

READ the Text: Genesis 12:10-20

We can be tempted into self-sufficiency when we encounter difficulties (Genesis 12:10)

Explanation: Abram was doing well in His walk with the Lord. After a slow start with his holdover in Haran, he is shown making progress: he is building altars and worshiping the One True God in the middle of enemy territory. In v. 10 we are informed of Abram’s first difficulty - there is a famine in the land. This is a test of faith that God allowed into the Patriarch’s life. By the brevity of the text, it appears that Abram didn’t even consider it a test; he simply leaves Canaan and goes down to Egypt.

The problem is that God did not send Abram to Egypt. God sent Abram to Canaan. If God wanted Abram in Canaan, does it not follow that God would have provided for him in Canaan? This was an opportunity for Abram to express trust in His God by praying and seeking God’s guidance. Instead of praying and waiting, he simply takes the easy way out and heads for the well-watered land of Egypt

Illustrate: “We have tried everything we can think of, so now we want the church to pray” [may be better to use the example of the Gibeonite Deception - the people accepted the ruse without consulting God]

Argument: A well known pattern of life for believers seems to be that immediately after some wonderful high point of spirit success we encounter hardship. Ray Pritchard declares, “Trouble often follows blessing in order that God may test our motives.”

God was certainly testing Abram. God was going to use Abram to bring forth a people group that would eventually result in the forthcoming of the Messiah. It was a big job that required spiritual maturity and character, and God was allowing Abram to see his areas of improvement.

Application: We CAN grow during difficult situations. First, we have to recognize them as opportunities for growth that God is allowing into our lives. If we simply see them as problems to solve or to suffer through, we will miss the point and the growth. As a man named Kenneth Krell put it, “In times of testing, the important question is not, ‘How can I get out of this?’ but what can I get out of this?’” Having the correct viewpoint will make all the difference in the world!

Developing our own plan apart from God results in compromise (Genesis 12:11-13)

Explanation: Abram makes the decision to leave his God-assigned territory and head to Egypt. He gets concerned about his physical well-being on the way and comes up with his own plan for safety. He knows that Sarai is very attractive and he is worried about being killed so that another could have her as his wife. He concocts a plan to pass her off as his sister instead of his wife, and Sarai goes along with the plan. His idea is that Sarai will live in his tent while others may be courting her. As the brother, he can control the situation until the famine in Canaan breaks and they can return before he has to give her up in marriage (this possible scenario is taken from a sermon by Bob Deffinbaugh)

Argument: By not seeking the Lord’s provision, Abram has compromised his new faith and is lying. Not only is he lying, he has talked Sarai into the plan and she will be lying. Instead of fulfilling his role as protector, Abram is leading his wife into sin!

Application: Realize that trusting in yourself instead of God is not a smart move. Believers who leave God out of the decision-making process WILL compromise at some level

Trusting in our own resources WILL fail (Genesis 12:14-16)

Explanation: Abram’s plan may have worked at the start and he may have bamboozled some of the Egyptian traders and lesser officials. Abram had not counted on Sarai’s beauty attracting the attention of Pharaoh. When Pharaoh noticed and desired Sarai, she “was taken into Pharaoh's house.” (v. 15). Abram got a lot more stuff (sheep, oxen, donkeys, and camels), BUT he also lost control of his plan. Abram never intended for Sarai to be taken into another home during his deception. Pharaoh, being the ruler of Egypt, didn’t ask - he just took her.

Argument: Sin will take us further than we want to go, Sin will leave us there longer than we want to stay, and Sin will cost us more than we want to pay.

Example: The parable of the Prodigal Son. He also came up with his own plan that did not involve God. How did that work out for him?

Application: Ask God to give you His wisdom. Pray for the wisdom to see the end of your own actions IS failure before the crash. Do not be prideful or stubborn when the Lord begins the discipline process for restoration.

God is gracious and CAN rescue us (Genesis 12:17-20)

Explanation: Abram is in a bad position. His wife is in the harem of the most powerful man in Egypt, and Abram is probably thinking hard about how his foolish actions have endangered the promise of a seed. He is without resources of his own and may have even been thinking about the hopelessness of his mess.

But God steps in to protect His own plans and purposes. Verse 17 declares the direct intervention of God Himself. We are informed that “the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house.” No details are given as to the nature of the plague, but it must have been connected with the women in the harem with the exception of Sarai. This Pharaoh was not as stubborn as the Pharaoh during the Exodus, and he immediately wants to send away those that are plaguing his house.

Argument: God had promised Abram that he would be the father of a great nation and that Abram’s ultimate descendent (Jesus) would be a blessing to all the earth. God is a Promise Keeping God so He steps in and ensures that no one else will take Abram’s place as the physical father of the nation.

Isaiah 46:8–10 (KJV 1900) 8Remember this, and shew yourselves men: Bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors.

9Remember the former things of old: For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times the things that are not yet done, Saying, My counsel shall stand, And I will do all my pleasure:

Conclusion: We can read this account and think that Abram and Sarai came out in good shape, may be even better than they went in. After all, Abram left Egypt with his wife intact and he left with “all that he had.” (v. 20)

Sin ALWAYS has consequences

Abram was rebuked by a pagan

Abram lost his witness

Abram built no altars in Egypt

Our aim as believers is to please the LORD and to follow Him as we travel our journey of faith. May we remain humble and teachable instead of being self-reliant; may we remain open to correction when we stray; may we consider the consequences of moral failure and guard against it. (Ps 69:6)