Pride Week 1: How God Sees Us
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Pride 2022: Week 1
Pride 2022: Week 1
Introduction: The question is often asked by those who are either critical or ignorant of Pride month on why it is necessary. Why celebrate? What we celebrate in Pride month, June, is a commemoration & celebration of those who have come before us who fought to bring into proper alignment equality for all regardless of who you love.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
For the Christian who is part of the LGBTQ+ community “abundant life” has been difficult.
Churches & religious organizations have condemned same sex relationships. Pastors & religious leaders have preached, not only in their churches, but in their elementary, middle, and high schools condemnation of those who are homosexual.
States throughout history have outright banned same sex marriage. Up until 1973 “homosexuality” was listed as one of the mental disorders by the American Psychiatric Association.
Young men and women, who joined the military are were part of the LGBTQ+ community did so in silence under DADT. Could not answer the basic questions of life & relationships…questions like “what are you doing this weekend?” “Are you seeing anyone?” Not only living in secret, but in fear of losing your livlihood, career, and friends and family!
So why as a church do we celebrate or commemorate Pride month? For all of the children today who are sitting under the preaching & teaching that God condemns their same sex attraction and them by extension. For all who struggle and wrestle with the idea of, “How can I be a Christian and reconcile that with who I love?” For all who have left their faith because of the vitriol poison that has been spewed by religious organizations & leaders regarding this topic. Those who should have been lighting the Gospel fires drawing people to God have instead hastened the exit of LGBTQ members/attenders.
Perhaps they’re going for a certain demographic or clientelle to fit “their church”. But I know that:
God loves the World
Jesus died and rose again for EVERYBODY
the Apostles preach their is NO CONDEMNATION to those who believe
and in Christ we are the same…
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
So as we begin this Embrace! Pride series, we begin by addressing those who feel themselves marginalized, condemned, cast out. Shunned by society, skorned be religious circles, and failing to live as Jesus has called us to live…abundantly.
1 Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. 3 And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. 5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee. 6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. 7 And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. 9 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. 10 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. 11 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. 12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. 13 And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? 14 Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. 16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
The Story of Hagar
The Story of Hagar
The story of Hagar in Genesis 16 speaks of mistreatment and suffering.
Hagar was a slave to Abram’s wife Sarai. As Sarai and Abram had no children, Sarai wanted Hagar to conceive with Abram so that their family line could continue.
When Abram agreed, Hagar became his wife too and she became pregnant. This caused Sarai to look upon Hagar with contempt so she mistreated her.
Hagar ran away and ended up by a spring in the desert where the angel of the Lord told her to return back to Abram and Sarai.
He promised Hagar that her descendants would be too numerous to count
10 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
13 And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
1. He Sees Us
1. He Sees Us
From the two stories above, it is clear that God is watching the steps of our life and met these women in their brokenness. The same Lord that Hagar encountered is the same Lord that sees us today.
He saw us before the foundation of the world
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
He formed us in our mother’s womb
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
We can draw comfort from how we are under His care and how He is involved in all the details of our life. He is not a remote, distant God, but came into the world amongst humanity in all of their sin and suffering.
There is both comfort and warning in knowing that God sees us. As we trust in Jesus and turn away from our sin, we are “in Christ.” His righteousness becomes our righteousness.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
We will one day all bow the knee before the Lord and will have to give an account for our life (Romans 14:11-12; Hebrews 4:13).
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
May we say like Hagar, “I have now seen the One who sees me”
13 And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
2. He Chose Us
2. He Chose Us
Not only does the Lord see us, but He chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4).
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
It is God who draws us to Himself (John 6:44).
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
We have a purpose in life to follow Jesus and proclaim the good news about Him to others. He is the one who purchased us from the darkness of sin and death and brought us into His family as redeemed and restored children of God. Believers are a part of God’s redemptive plan in the world. We do not choose Him, but He has already seen us, chosen us and appointed us.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
3. He Knows Us
3. He Knows Us
When the Samaritan woman went to tell others about Him, she said, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Jesus knew everything about the woman at the well, even the parts of her life that brought shame.
There are things in our lives which we have done or thought that we do not want anyone to know about.
The Lord knows about those things and He went to the cross because He loved us and was the only one who could save us from our sin.
We cannot flee from His presence
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Our life is fleeting
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Each hair on our head is numbered
7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Our tears are counted and stored
8 Thou tellest my wanderings: Put thou my tears into thy bottle: Are they not in thy book?
The Lord looks to the heart not outward appearances
7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
It is comforting to know that we cannot pretend nor hide from God. We can be honest before Him and know that He came to save sinners and to bring them to everlasting life.
We can start living for eternity now by demonstrating our love for Him through obedience
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
and living our life in the power of the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-16).
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
4. He Hears Us
4. He Hears Us
There are times when we cry out to God about the hidden things in life which go unseen by others but that cause us pain and struggle.
We may be grieving, experiencing an abusive relationship, battling with a physical or mental illness, losing hope, caring for a loved one or something else that happens behind closed doors where the only audience is God.
It is a comfort to know that God not only sees us, but He hears our prayers. He is a living God, not a deaf or mute idol. He responds to the cries of our heart,
7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
God never abandoned His people and He heard their cries. He had a plan to save His people from slavery which foreshadowed the coming of Christ to save His people from their captivity to sin.
We are now living between the time of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection and His return. One day there will be an end to pain and suffering when God makes all things new and sin and death will be no more.
We can pray confidently to Him regardless of our circumstances, knowing that Jesus is reigning today, justice will be done and we will be part of a new kingdom free from trials and tribulations.
5. He Speaks to Us
5. He Speaks to Us
It is reassuring to know that God is not silent, but that He has spoken in these days by His Son, Jesus Christ who is the exact representation of His nature (Hebrews 1:1-3).
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
We may not be able to physically see God today, but Jesus shows us all that we need to know what He is like. We can listen to what God has to say and be taught, corrected and trained in righteousness when we hear or read the Bible which is the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
We do not have to face the day without help from the Lord as He has given us the Holy Spirit.
God will speak to us, but are we making time to listen to Him? By looking to Scripture and being filled with the Spirit, we can know God’s will for us and know more of His nature and who He is.
He is not just watching over us. He is a personal God who communes and comes close to us through His Word and by His Spirit.
6. He Saves Us
6. He Saves Us
On the cross, Jesus died in our place where God’s wrath toward sin and death came upon Him.
Seeing the sin in all of humanity from beginning to end, Jesus said “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
He had a plan to save His people from the beginning (Genesis 3:15; John 17)
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
and His death was prophesied in Isaiah 53:12:
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong; Because he hath poured out his soul unto death: And he was numbered with the transgressors; And he bare the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
Jesus provided Himself as the sacrifice for sins so that we would be restored in relationship to Him. Even while we were far off and enemies to God, He still died for us
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Jesus saved us from the penalty of what our sins deserve and purchased us by His blood on the cross.
When we trust in Him and turn from our sin, we need not fear the power of sin and death on this earth. Christ has overcome and has made a way for us to have everlasting life with Him forever.
The greatest comfort of all is to be adopted into God’s family, a free gift to us that cost Christ so much, and saved us by His grace through faith
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
