Compassion Of Christ

Pray

Well Good morning. I’m excited this morning as we continue through our sermon series entitled Faith Full. In my prayer time this week, I woke 30 minutes each morning, and spent time just along with the Lord. And in my time of prayer this week God spoke to me.

You see on Thursday morning. God shifted the direction of this mornings message… and although, we’re going to continue in Genesis and talk about Abraham and his Wife Sarah. The emphasis of this mornings message is actually going to be more on Hagar, and on Ishmael… and not from a standpoint of their holiness, because, they’re not that… but my prayer this morning is that we would hear of their story and see the compassion of Christ… and how He is Faithful to us.

If you have your bibles with you this morning, turn with me back to genesis 16. And as your turning there I want to just give us a gentle reminder of the time of year that it is… The truth is, as you know, it’s starting to get a little colder out as of late. In fact, I was under the impression based on the last month… that the weather in Ohio must stay at least in the 70s year round… but I suppose I’ve been sadly mistaken, and i’ve had just a little bit of wishful thinking as of late.

But the reality is, today is Halloween. It’s the end of October and here’s what I know… Thanksgiving is just over 3 weeks away and now, only 7 Sundays separate us from Christmas morning. And with the upcoming holidays, there is a sense of excitement. Who here likes Christmas? What about thanksgiving? You see, there is excitement as we look forward to the season ahead… as we gather together and we celebrate the birth of our savior and Lord… and as we relish moments together, where we eat far more than we should, and play board games, and enjoy the warmness of the holiday season…

But here’s the key, in the midst of the upcoming holidays. Friends, Depending on where you sit this morning, there are those who feel an element of sadness. Those for instance, who will eat thanksgiving alone. Those perhaps, who have lost a loved one and the holidays won’t be the same this year. And those who remember Christmas or thanksgiving at one point in the past, and this year… it just won’t be the same…

You see, the holiday doesn’t change, but the experience does.

For some people there can be seasonal depression that sets in right around this time of year… and whether it’s the circumstances of life of maybe even just a lack of vitamin D… this time of year can be difficult. For others of us, we’re going through a season in life right now and need to be reminded of the compassion of Christ. Wherever you are the Lord meets you here this morning and shows you his faithful.

You see as I working through this morings message… the initial plan was to talk about sacrificial faith…and we’ll probably go there next week. But as I was preparing for this mornings message… The Lord softened my heart to his compassion and the story of Hagar. A person, who just like you and me, went through life with difficulties, who was given a bad hand and yet God came to her rescue. In her moments of need, God was faithful to her.

If you’re not already there, turn with me to Genesis 16 and as your turning there are 2 ideas we’ll focus on this morning as we read the story together 1. The Compassion of Christ leads to correction, and 2. The Compassion of Christ the comfort.

So beginning with Point one. Turn with me to Geneis 16. And as your turning there. I want to remind us of the scene which we encounter this morning. Just over 2,000 years BC. The Lord called Abraham to Go from the land he was living (which we remember was Haraan) and to go the Land God would Show him. In the course of time God sets up a covenant with Abraham and promises him the land of canaan (or isreal), descendants as numerous as the starsin the sky and to bless all people on earth through him.

Now if you remember from last week, we said that when Abraham first arrived in Canaan, and God promised to give his descendants the land… there were 2 major problems. We saw that there were 1. canaanities, occupying the land at the time and the 2. Abraham didn’t have any kids…

We remember that Abraham and his wife Sarah, along with Lot go to Egypt where lies about Sarah being his sister and not mentioning the fact that she’s also his wife… because ultimately Abraham wanted to help God in fulfilling his promises.

This morning, we see that some time has passed in between Abrahams calling and the stories we will be focusing on this morning. In fact, When we’re first introduced to Abraham, he’s 70 years old, And this morning, in the story, 26 years have passed… And still Sarai continues to be without child.

And after a season of having no children, Sarai looks at the circumstance and reasons that she should take matters into her own hands… for the promise to be fulfilled.

Let’s read together Genesis 16:1-4 16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” 6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

So we see a messy scene unfold, almost like you might see on a modern day talk show like Dr. Phil... And Abrams wife isn’t able to conceive, so she decides to call in the Egyptian slave. Which so we know was common at the time… But Sarai knew that the Lord would be blessing their family through their offspring… and yet still, they don’t have a child, so she tells her husband to go sleep with this other women and wouldn’t you know, she ends up pregnant…

The NKJV Explains a different version of the text, Sarai says in Genesis 16:4 “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.GENESIS 16:5 NKJV

2 Hebrews words I want us to see for a moment. First of all the word despised in the Hebrew means to “make small, to be insignificant, unimportant.” And the word ʿayin is the Hebrew word has 2 meanings. It means eye, but interestingly enough, it also means fountain.

7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring( עַיִן) in the desert; it was the spring ( עַיִן) that is beside the road to Shur.

By the way, these springs or fountains. Would stand out among a big sandy desert, as bright sparkling "eyes" of the desert, which are remarkable for their abundance and their beauty,

You see, we don’t see this correlation when we read the text… but what started in Hagars eye ʿayin, flowed to her heart… and brough her back to the spring.

Proverbs 4:23- Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.

You see in a season of not acting very faithfully towards her owner… Hagar allowed her circumstance to get the best of her… She allowed her heart to mislead her… and she wound up alone, and by herself in the middle of the desert… by this spring or the eye of the foundation... And God met her there.

7 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, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. 9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

You see, Hagar ran, and yet God met her where she was that day. And more so, God promised to Hagar that he would increase her descendants through the child that she would have… But don’t miss this… she had to listen to what God was calling her to do.

11 The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi (which means the living One who sees me) ; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Friends if we stop for a second and see that Hagar was all alone. And though you would suppose her thirst is satisfied, her heart isn’t. You see the Angel of the Lord is a form in which God himself meets with her by the spring. and when he does he tells her to name her son Ishmael which by the way means God hears…

and from there we’re told: She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

Friends, the key is this… Hagar despised her mistress. We know that much, and she wasn’t perfect, we also know that… But here’s the key, in this moment of despair… and misery, and sadness God saw her… and had compassion.

You know a story is told about a little boy who had been invited to a friend’s birthday party. He was so excited and started counting the days until the party. But the morning of the party he was devastated when he found that a blizzard had struck their little town. The snow was falling in wet, heavy flakes, and the wind was howling. “I don’t think you should go to the party,” his father said. The little boy was so disappointed.

He began to importune his father, begging to be allowed to go. Finally, much to his surprise, his dad said, “All right, you can go to the party.” The little boy bundled up in his hat and coat and mittens and started down the street to his friend’s house. When he got to the door, he turned around and saw his father turning to walk back home. It was then he realized that his father had been walking behind him all the way to make sure he was safe.

Friends, sometimes in life… We can feel like we’re all alone… Like we’re the only ones on this journey. And yet, in our moments of despair when we make a mess of things… God meets us there in the desert…

You see Sarai, Abraham and Hagar… they all acted foolishly rather than faithfully… and yet God… came in, he corrected what was lost and gave them a future and a hope.

That takes us to point number 2 which is the Compassion of Christ brings comfort.

As we continue this morning. We fast-forward to 14 years to Genesis 21 … and while I wish I could say everyone was getting along like the brady bunch, it was quite the opposite.

Genesis 21:5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” 7 And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

8 The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”

So here we see that a party with all kinds of food is being thrown for Isaac, who at this point is only about 2 or 3 years old. And it’s not just a gathering of a few people, but there’s a lot of people who come out. I mean Abraham is well known, and he would’ve had many friends and people he knew, and he’s also very wealthy… and so he throws this massive feast… like thanksgiving … and yet, like some family get togethers during the holidays… This feast would have it’s problems.

You see Ishmael begins to mock Isaac. Which by the way, in studying this week, the word “mocking” in Hebrew actually translates to playing. And I found that it is the sight of young ishamel playing as an equal with Isaac that causes Sarah to become jealous and angry… and ultimately caused her to tell Abraham to get ride of her.

The story continues that: 11 The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. 12 But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. 13 I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.”

14 Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she[c] began to sob.

So Hagar and Ishmael are sent from the party. They go from being at the party, and likely eating the food, and you would imagine enjoying this day… To all of a sudden. They’re being told to leave. And not just to leave the party, but for both of them to go and never return.

I mean can imagine how upset and hurt Hagar is? She’s innocent in this story, and yet she’s being told to leave the life she knew all of those years… and she’ll end up brining her son Ishmael to this new land.

And then from Ishmael’s perspective, he was at the party too. He’s there with Isaac, and his Father Abraham and the other guests… and he’s likely enjoy his day and carrying on as any teenage boy would…

And then in an instance, the party was over. The script changed and he would no longer see his father or any of his friends, or anything he was used to. I mean can you imagine the questions that Ishmael would have asked in those moments? Hey mom, why do we have to leave? This isn’t fair… Mom I don’t want to leave dad. I mean for this boy, he would have been hurting and confused and probably pretty scared…

And yet God, meets them where they’re at.

Genesis 21:17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. 18 Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

You see friends, God heard Hagars cry, and he heard Ishmaels cry… He wasn’t going to leave them alone.

You see at the end of our story in Genesis 21 God meets them where they’re at. The Bible tells us Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. 21 While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.

Friends, where I want to draw our attention to is verse 19. You see the bible tells us that God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. What stands out to me is not only that God provided for her physical needs in this moment but that he was there for her when it seemed like she was all alone.

You see this is the key… In Genesis 16, when Hagar was all alone by the spring… God heard her cry. He met her where she was and gave her hope. We recall from earlier in the message this verse it says:

Genesis 16: 13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

And as the Lord was with Hagar in Genesis 16, God comes once again and not only does he see her. But God also hears her. You see friends many years before, God gave Hagar this boy. The Lord met her by the well and told her to name him Ishmael, meaning “God hears.”

And when she feels like she’s all alone… and There’s no one there to help. God hears her cry, God comforts her… and not only gives her a drink… but also opens her eyes to the reality that he’s still with her.

You see friends, Hagar went from feast to famine. From the height of life, to the lowest... And yet, alone on the road, with just her suffering Son, God meets her in this moment and opens her eyes to the well.

2,000 years later. Jesus is in Jerusalem, and he’s speaking to a crowd that’s gathered at the festival of tabernacles. And this is what he read: 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[c] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Friends, some of us this morning find ourselves by the well… We find ourselves perhaps a bit life Hagar…and life hasn’t gone as we planned as of late. Perhaps like in genesis 16, we got ourselves into a mess, and we end up by the stream, feeling empty… and yet God meets us here this morning.

Others of us perhaps are just the victim of circumstance. For whatever reason, things don’t make a lot of sense this morning… and we’re struggling… and friends, may I encourage us this morning. That God hears us, that he sees us. That we may not feel it right now, but God has been here the whole time.

And for some of us our eyes are closed. Maybe, we can’t see the future of what God has for us… or maybe we just don’t want to look above… and yet God calls us this morning… and he says come to me and drink.

The old you, you don’t have to be, your problems, they don’t define your identity, and your thirst God wants to satisfy this morning.

You see like a mother with a child who recognizes their childs cry… God hears you this morning.. and it may not be an audible cry, and it may not come with tears… but your hurt, your emptiness, your struggle… God see’s and God hears… and God is for you this morning.

Call Lisa Back up at this time.

Lamentations 3:22-24 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

There are 2 groups I want to talk this morning as we close out. Perhaps you’re here and much like Hagar… you feel like you’ve gone your own way as of late. Maybe some type of sin has crept in and your struggling this morning and yet God calls you to return to him…

Maybe you’re here this morning, and life has been difficult as of late and thing don’t feel Good. And you don’t understand what’s going on… and in the midst of the confusion, God would put a well before you and offer you a future and a hope.

Wherever you are this morning… God meets you in the desert. God hears you, and God sees you and God is for you. Pray