Life in the Kingdom of the Absurd (Kingdom Life) Pt 2 (3)

Intro:

What are insights/truths that God has instilled in you this past week?

How have you been able to apply these truths and those we discussed last week to your everyday life?

Helping God

Charge Card charges—racked up charges but someone else has paid when you get the statement. Well, Jesus has done that for us

Abram and Sarai had their fair share of charges.

Romans 4:2 NLT

2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way.

We talked last week about their lying

Really they trusted the Egyptians more than they trusted God and so Abram lied and Sarai went along; they did this a second time

And Sarai we talked about took matters in her own hands.

We find that in Genesis 16:2-3

Genesis 16:2–3 NLT

2 So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. 3 So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)

Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary B. Abram Fathers Ishmael by Hagar (16:1–16)

Abram listened to Sarai

What does that remind you of?

Genesis 3:17 NLT

17 And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.

Genesis 16:4 NLT

4 So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt.

Abram and Sarai now have an heir—but not the heir God intended

**If you’ve ever wondered how God could use you to change the world, just look at this couple. They made a lot of bad decisions. —But Abram did make one that changed everything for his family:

Romans 4:3 NLT

3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

God extends His grace to us, sets us back on the right track. We are all in need of a little grace.

Staying Hopeful

When we get to chapter 17, we see its been 25 years since God first promised Abram and Sarai a son. Can you imagine the routine conversations Abram may have had with people

What’s your name?

Abram

Oh “exalted father”! How many sons do you have?

Abram would sigh—None.

But after 25 years God does what He does best—the impossible.

Begins with a name change

Abram the father of one will be Abraham the father of a multitude

Sarai, the barren one, will be Sarah the mother of nations..

Like Abraham and Sarah we need to decide to trust the promise rather than focus on the problem.

Enemy—likes to steal our hope—if we listen to his voice we call ourselves names like forgotten, unloved, unimportant, unworthy, nonvaluable,

1 John 4:4 NLT

4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

Romans 8:17 NLT

17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Ephesians 1:4–5 NLT

4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

What does God call you?

Promise Fulfilled

Genesis 18:14 NLT

14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Luke 1:37 ESV

37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

A Test of Faith

Genesis 22:7 NLT

7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

Genesis 22:8 NLT

8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.