The Strange Promise

Genesis 17:15 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;

To begin with brothers and sisters, Christian Friends, Well Wishers, and Saints of God it is with great poise, posture, and poetic peace that we bring this Mother’s Day Narrative.Today in this sermon I want to teach, talk, and tell us about The Strange Promise. Sometimes in life we get some strange orders and declarations from The Almighty God. And if God said it, the affirmation is that God will perform it. Genesis 18:14 “Is there any thing too hard for God”? Everything is possible with God and since God told Abraham that Sarah would have a baby boy then in actuality God can’t lie so by Divine Orders it has to happen.

Tell your neighbor: It’s got to happen. And so the question is How did all of this come about?

Well, It’s Mother’s Day, so here’s the short version of a massive amount of scripture.

Point 1 God Promised

Tell your neighbor; God Promised. Yeah God promised Abram that Sarai would have a baby boy making Sarai a bonifided Mother. But when you read the genealogical studies of the origin of Abram it paints a different picture. Because in Genesis 11 the bible says that Abram married Sarai. The bible says in Genesis 11:30 that Sarai was barren, she had no child. By and by Abram’s daddy Terah died and God told Abram to leave.

Point 2. When God tell you to move you got to move in Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

When God tell you to move you got to move and things will work out on your behalf if you are obedient because in Genesis 12:7 God reassured Abram that he would bless his seed to be a great nation. What a Strange Promise from God since clearly the bible says that Abram’s wife Sarai was barren and couldn’t have no children, but yet the bible says she’s going to be a great mother. And just for a moment here’s a short letter to all of the beautiful mothers surrogates grandmothers etc,

I am so thankful for all the things you do, your gentle words of guidance always help me through. In all the times of trial when life has let me down, you have led me back to where true happiness abounds. You show me how to love by the way you live, from you I have learned life’s best lesson to forgive.

God has truly blessed me from above with a Mother like you who fills my heart with Love. we want to simply say we love you mom”, Happy Mother’s Day To the best moms ever.

And brothers and sisters whether mom, surrogate parent or grandma is here or in heaven we all love our mothers and grandmothers. Amen? Happy Mother’s Day

And the word Mother 3x is in the Hebrew Vernacular is the word em it means the bearer, birther, and benevolent caregiver of a child.

The bible says there was a famine in the land and Abram and Sarai had to move to Egypt And listen even though Sarai couldn’t have any children she was drop dead gorgeous. Sarai was so pretty until Abram had to lie and say Sarai was his sister not his wife. He did this so that the Egyptian Pharaoh wouldn’t kill him and take Sarai for a wife.

Point 3 Don’t Try Live a Lie And while in Egypt Abram and Sarai lived a lie.Don’t Live a Lie. Because in this case God cursed Pharaoh’s house and Pharaoh asked Abram and Sarai to leave their land. Sometimes when you try to live a lie you make everybody else around you go through hard changes because of your lies.

And So The Strange Promise comes again in Genesis 13: 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

This is A Strange Promise. And God confirms this Strange Promise over and over and over again. In the natural it’s “Impossible” but put some Super with that natural and watch God change things because if God tell you something you can bank on it.

Look at Genesis 15:5  And God brought Abram forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and God said unto Abram, So shall thy seed be. 6 And Abram believed in the LORD; and God counted it to Abram for righteousness. If you believe that God is Able God will count it for righteousness. But here’s the problem, Abram told Sarai about what God said, and instead of Sarai believing God at His word, she tried to help God out.

Point 4. Don’t Try To Help God Out Tell your neighbor: Don’t try to help God out.. Sarai decides in Genesis 16 that her handmaiden Haggai would be a substitute surrogate mother for her. So Sarai made Haggai go in and have a baby for Abram. This was not the way God planned it for Abram and Sarai. And the short version says that after a while Sarai didn’t like the idea of that baby being there and Haggai ran away and the angel of the Lord took care of Haggi and her child Ishmael anyhow And that’s where we find the name Jehovah Elroi the God who sees what you’re going through. And listen People do stuff all the time that’s outside of the will of God in the name of doing God’s will, and God has to come in and fix your life.

Don’t Try To Help God Out When you try to help God out and do things on your own !!! you gon mess it up!!! And likewise in this story Sarai has messed things up and has caused 13 years of headaches and heartaches because now little Ishmael is growing up and Ishmael is not the promised child and eventually Abram had to put Haggai and Ishmael out!

Genesis 17 God brings up The Strange Promise before Abram again. The Lord visits Abram when he’s 99 years old.

Point 5. God Gives Abram Divine Orders. When The Lord God Jehovah Almighty speaks we ought to listen.

1. God told Abram to walk before him perfectly.

2. God said for Abram to accept the covenant the berith between he and God.

3. God said Abram I’m going to multiply you and your seed exceedingly.

4. Abram fell on his face and worshipped God.

5. God told Abram I’m going to make you a father of many nations.

6. God said and Abram your new name is Abraham.. and now I want to go and circumcise all the men including your son Ishmael.

7.God said and Sarai’s new name will be Sarah. God told Abraham “I will bless her and God said I will give her a son and God said and Sarah! shall be an (Em)” In other words Sarai is going to be A mother of nations.

Yes In deed A Strange Promise. 2x But if God said it, Then we ought to believe it. Because the bible says in Genesis 17:17 that Abraham fell on his face but laughed and doubted in his heart that a 99 year man and a 90 year old woman could actual produce a child. Well before you judge Abraham too fast because at 99 Abraham is about 59 years overdue. And Sarah is a good 50 years overdue And they know it , So It’s A Strange Promise to tell poor Abraham that he’s going to have a son in his old age.

Oh but in Genesis 18 God shows up in the plains of Mamre.

Point 6. What Do You Do When the Lord Shows Up at Your House Brothers and sisters the OT is filled with rich flavors that makes us ask pertinent questions like Who exactly showed up in the plains of Mamre. It’s The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost. Read that when you get home because in Genesis 18 The Father talks with Abraham “in person”. Abraham bows himself down to the ground and bid, begs and beseeches that the Great Divine Deity please stay and have a meal with him. So Abraham calls for Sarah and says this in essence “honey we have the highest esteemed guest in the world visiting our home today”, baby go pull out the fine china, have the servants get the tenderest calf, have them dress it, and have them cook it all up!!! and Sarah, you make some of those tasty mandrakes. And then after Abraham thought that Sarah was completely gone to get the food ready, while there in the tent The Lord rehearse the covenant the promise and the Strange Promise but, Sarah is hiding behind the tent door and this time Sarai hears the Strange Promise with her own ears. and the bible says that Sarah laughed in her heart Saying to herself “I’m an old umman and I couldn’t have children when I was young”huh and for sure I can’t have none now.

Point 7. Don’t Ever Underestimate The Power of God. “So Sarah laughed! And the bible says in Genesis 18:13  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.

And Y’all are going to name him Isaac. START CLOSING

Sarah laughed at God and the bible said that Sarah tried to say I didn’t laugh 3x but let me remind you that tah even if there are no witnesses God sees everything. And even if you just say things in your heart God still hears it all.

And from the human prospective it’s a Strange Promise but tah I believe that God can do everything He says He going to do. And I believe that God can not fail um um

Because the bible says that almost a year later Sarah had baby boy. um um They called him Isaac the Child of the Promise and the Strange Promise had come to pass. Somebody in here today has been believing God for a special blessing.

Sarah got a blessing from a strange promise. oh yes she did. And if you keep the faith God will show up show out and show off in your situation

Because Jesus He had a strange Promise too Ah Lawd Jesus came that we might have a right to the tree of Life. um Because God so loveth the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believe in Him should have eternal life.

Because Jesus went to Calvary with a Strange Promise Yes.

He died on the cross for your sins and for mine and that’s a Strange Promise because nobody else could do what Jesus did. He died, 3x on the cross but Early 3x Sunday Morning He got up! with All Power in His Hands. Yes Happy Mother’s Day