Untitled Sermon

WALKING BY FAITH WITH GOD.

Today, Sarai the wife of Abram is at the forefront of our story. Sarai has traveled with Abram since his departure from Haran. You recalled that they ran into a situation while they lived in Egypt, but God pulled them out of that mess. We are reminded of her condition. Sarai is a woman who is barren. Sarai cannot bare children. She does not have the capacity to bring Abram a child. Naturally, I am sure they tried many times, but it was not yet in the cards for Sarai to have a child. In Abram’s day, for a woman to not be able to bare a child, she was seen as a failure. A woman like Sarai would have faced ridicule in the community. A woman like Sarai could only watched as other woman in the community care for and nurtured their children. She had no experience in this area. She did not know what it was like to change a dirty diaper. She was not accustomed to preparing lunches and sending a child to the bus stop. She could not relate to having to discipline a child after they have misbehaved. No, Sarai was barren, and to make matters worse, she was not getting younger. Her biological clock had gone pass 12 midnight and she had NOT given birth to a child. Sarai was physically limited in what she could do, but she was not limited in the resources available to her.

In comes Hagar. Sarai tells Abram, verse 2, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my maid-servant; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Sarai realized her condition and has come to the conclusion that the Lord has held back on his promise. Sarai dismissed the promise from God and sought an alternative to their dilemma and to their predicament. And Sarai, like some of us, has sidestep God’ plan and activate our own plan. Come on and tell the truth. It is not happening as she imagine and now Sarai seeks another plan. I need to remind some of us this morning that Isaiah 55, verse 9 says that, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” God knows what he is doing. And to try to figure how the Lord is going to move is a waste of time. His ways are higher. His thoughts are higher than what we can think. If you’re writing this morning, write this: the First a point is when we are Walking by Faith with God, we should not seek another alternative outside of God. Too many of us look to other things to fix our problems instead of looking and trusting in God. She says, the Lord has kept me from having children. Here’s another revelation for those of us who are impatient and have trouble waiting. Perhaps, the Lord is being intentional in keeping you something that could cause you some harm. Perhaps you have not experienced the promise because you are not prepared for the promise. Does not Jeremiah 29, verse 11, says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Sarai knew of the plan but she like some of us prematurely deviated from the promise. And in knowing the plan and prematurely acting on her own, we are introduced to Hagar.

Hagar was a young, beautiful, Egyptian sister. Hagar, again my brothers and sisters, was young, beautiful in appearance, smelled good, fertile, can cook, know how to clean the house. Sarai, old, wrinkles, stress marks, grey hair, unable to move around, always tired. Sarai comes up with an ideal for Abram to sleep with Hagar. Go sleep with my maid-servant; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Sarai looks to Hagar to become a surrogate mother so that Sarai can build a family. And at this critical moment, Abram listened and acted upon Sarai’s recommendation. Because after all, Hagar was young, beautiful in appearance, smelled good, fertile. And if given the choice between Hagar on one hand and Saria on the other, the choice is oblivious. We just preached whereby Lot was given a choice on where to live. Perhaps Abram thought this was the way the Lord wanted an offspring to come forth. Abram was eighty-six years old. Sarai nearly 75 years old. And God has yet to bring them a child.

And the Bible says that Abram agreed to what Sarai said, and he took Hagar as his wife, and verse 4 says that Hagar conceived. This scenario is like what happened in the garden with Adam and Eve. And here Abram obeyed the voice of Sarai and in that obedience was the beginning of conflict in the house. Abram has earlier dealt with conflict between him and Lot. But this conflict involved two women in the same house. Two queens in the same kitchen. Two women in different beds but with one husband. You get the picture. There is conflict in the house. The start of the conflict in this text is that Abram listened to the voice of wife and disregarded the voice of God. This was NOT the way the Lord desired for His will to manifest itself. All Sarai wanted was to have a child because having a child would be a sign of success in the household. Having a child in Near Eastern times was viewed as a successful functioning family. Abram, wealthy and looked upon as a man of honor, simply wanted to be accepted in the society in which they lived. My brothers and sisters, we should walk carefully when we are trying to be accepted in the groups we associate with. We should walk carefully and seek NOT to fit into every cliché and club that comes our way. No, Abram mistakenly listened to the voice of his wife Sarai and today we are still paying the price for that moment in bed with Hagar.

In this temporary moment of losing sight of the promise, much heartache suffered. In this temporary moment, there was misery in the house. In this temporary moment, stress and confrontation in the house became real. In this temporary moment, Abram would experience what we call today a dysfunctional family. We call this today having a laps of judgment. Making decisions when we were not thinking correctly. The Bibles says that Hagar conceives and verse 4 says that Hagar began to despise her Saria. Some translations use the word contempt. The word despises or contempt in this text means to consider one as worthless. To not give honor to or to willfully disrespect. In other words, Hagar began to treat Sarai the same way the women in the community treated. Dishonored her. Disrespected her. And before Sarai could just easily remove herself from those in the community, but now her problem was within her house. The very thing that Abram packed in Egypt and brought out of Egypt, is the very thing he should have left in Egypt. Because now, the plan the Sarai concocted has worked and she blames Abram. It’s right here in the text. Verse 5 says that, “Then Sarai said the Abram, you are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. (Watch how Sarai add God to the mix). May the Lord judge between you and me.” Here’s another point worth mentioning. When you implement your own plan instead of God’s plan be ready for the consequences. Sarai is mad because the plan she concocted worked. But what was not ready for, was how she would be treated by her servant. If you are not careful my brothers and sisters, the dog you feed can sometimes bit you. You may get that later tonight.

And my brothers and sisters, some of you have abandoned your position and now your promise lies in jeopardy. Anytime you hurry God, anytime you push forward your agenda and do your own thing, failure is right around the corner. And worse than NOT waiting on God is wishing that you had waiting later on. Question: Haven’t you said that I wish I would have known that before I did that? Come on. Tell the truth. So many of us have done something foolish, thinking that it was going to accelerate where you were trying to go, and perhaps it did, but you realized that the thing you were seeking to get. The place where you were seeking to go. The person you end up marrying. The job wind up taking. That person nor that job brought you the happiness or the fulfillment you desired. The wrong moves can cause you much devastation, and destruction.

Sarai basically, when we look at what is happening in this text. Sarai is trying to help God keep his promises. But I keep you too long. Saria started to treat Hagar badly t the point that she is sent away. Verse 7 says that, “The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going.” Hagar was caught in the triangle of Sarai’s plan. But what I love about those of us who find ourselves of on the other side of being mistreated is that God will come to our rescue. I pray that you heard me. God will rescue you from your problem. The Bible says that the angel of the Lord found Hagar. God put out a search party to find Hagar. God was looking for Hagar. And the reason he was looking and why he searches for us is because there is more that he has planned for you.

No, this was NOT the will of God for Saria and Abram to bring forth a child through Hagar, but God was going to use this to further develop the faith that Abram will need. I just something right there. The mess you may have start can be the very mess that God uses for His glory to further develop your faith. God will use any situation, any circumstance, anything necessary to grow your faith in him. Your pass pain, God can use. Your pass failures, God can use. Your pass foolish decision, God can use. I am trying to help somebody this morning. Because you thought there was nothing left that God could do through you. But let that divorce keep you from trusting God again. Don’t let that sexual sin, keep you from trusting God again. Don’t let that trusting in that man or woman, keep you from trusting the one who will never leave nor forsake you again.

The Lord told Hagar to go back to Saria and submit to her. But as you are going back Hagar, know this that the child you are carrying is a son, and you will call him Ishmael. Ishmael means that the Lord has heard your misery. He will have some brothers come against him and he will live in hostility. And the Bible says that Hagar called the place where she met God, Beer Lahai Roi, which means the God who sees me. Psalm 139

Aren’t you glad this morning, that God still sees you. God never sleep nor does he slumbers. His eye is always on us. He sees when you are weak and tired. He sees you when you are confused and do not which way to turn. Psalm 46. He sees you when you are struggling to pull yourself up. He sees you in your darkest hour. He sees you when your family turn their backs on you. He sees you as you fight through your illness.

And because he sees us in our most difficult times, we can praise him. We can praise him because what he has already done. He has already picked you up and turned you around. He has already opened the windows of heaven and poured out blessings upon. Won’t he do it!

Amen!