Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Christ Community Chapel is a church in Hudson, OH, that invites people to reimagine life because of Jesus. Learn more about us at ccchapel.com.
00:00:01:10 - 00:00:04:22
Genesis 16 one through 16.
00:00:05:25 - 00:00:08:57
Now Sarai, Abraham's wife, had borne him
no children.
00:00:09:19 - 00:00:12:49
She had a female Egyptian servant
whose name was Hagar.
00:00:13:09 - 00:00:15:11
And Sarai said to Abraham.
00:00:15:11 - 00:00:18:45
Behold, now the Lord has prevented me
from bearing children.
00:00:19:09 - 00:00:20:58
Go in to my servant.
00:00:20:58 - 00:00:24:04
It may be that
I shall obtain children by her.
00:00:24:32 - 00:00:27:32
And Abraham, listen to the voice of Sarai.
00:00:27:41 - 00:00:31:17
So after Abraham had lived
ten years in the land of Canaan,
00:00:31:28 - 00:00:36:32
Sarai, Abraham's wife, took Hagar
the Egyptian, her servant,
00:00:36:39 - 00:00:39:41
and gave her to Abraham,
her husband, as a wife.
00:00:39:42 - 00:00:42:42
And he went into Hagar, and she conceived.
00:00:42:49 - 00:00:47:15
And when she saw that she had conceived,
she looked with contempt on her mistress.
00:00:47:37 - 00:00:51:54
And Sarai said to Abraham,
May the wrong done to me be on you.
00:00:52:12 - 00:00:54:34
I gave my servant to your embrace.
00:00:54:34 - 00:00:58:46
And when she saw that she had conceived,
she looked on me with contempt.
00:00:59:02 - 00:01:02:00
May the Lord judge between you and me.
00:01:02:00 - 00:01:06:41
But Abraham said to Sarai, behold,
your servant is in your power.
00:01:06:57 - 00:01:08:57
Do to her as you please.
00:01:08:57 - 00:01:12:31
Then, sir, I dealt harshly with her,
and she fled from her.
00:01:12:55 - 00:01:16:49
The angel of the Lord found her
by a spring of water in the wilderness.
00:01:16:54 - 00:01:19:12
The spring on the way to shore.
00:01:19:12 - 00:01:23:53
And he said, Hagar, servant of Sarai,
where have you come from?
00:01:23:53 - 00:01:25:26
And where are you going?
00:01:25:26 - 00:01:28:14
She said, I'm fleeing from my mistress.
00:01:28:14 - 00:01:29:22
Sarai.
00:01:29:22 - 00:01:33:59
The angel of the Lord said to her,
return to your mistress and submit to her.
00:01:34:26 - 00:01:38:29
The angel of the Lord also said to her,
I will surely multiply
00:01:38:29 - 00:01:42:04
your offspring, so that they cannot
be numbered for multitude.
00:01:42:22 - 00:01:46:02
And the angel of the Lord said to her,
behold, you are pregnant,
00:01:46:02 - 00:01:47:33
and shall bear a son.
00:01:47:33 - 00:01:52:14
You shall call his name Ishmael, because
the Lord has listened to your affliction.
00:01:52:43 - 00:01:55:05
He shall be a wild donkey of a man.
00:01:55:05 - 00:01:58:24
His hand against everyone,
and everyone's hand against him.
00:01:58:44 - 00:02:02:13
And he shall dwell over
against all his kinsmen.
00:02:02:24 - 00:02:05:09
So she called the name of the Lord
who spoke to her.
00:02:05:09 - 00:02:06:55
You are a God of seeing.
00:02:06:55 - 00:02:11:07
For she said, truly here
I have seen him who looks after me.
00:02:11:34 - 00:02:15:01
Therefore the well was called dear Leroy.
00:02:15:15 - 00:02:20:14
It lies between Kadesh and Bharat,
and Hagar bore Abraham a son,
00:02:20:19 - 00:02:24:41
and Abraham called the name of his son,
whom Hagar bore Ishmael.
00:02:25:10 - 00:02:29:35
Abraham was 86 years old
when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abraham.
00:02:34:26 - 00:02:35:23
Well, good morning and
00:02:35:23 - 00:02:38:38
welcome to the weekly gathering of Christ
Community Chapel.
00:02:38:39 - 00:02:39:55
My name is Zach.
00:02:39:55 - 00:02:43:06
I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm
so glad you're with us.
00:02:43:06 - 00:02:45:58
This father's Day weekend.
00:02:45:58 - 00:02:49:26
I'm excited to continue our sermon series
for the summer.
00:02:49:27 - 00:02:53:06
We're in week four of a ten week series
where we're looking
00:02:53:06 - 00:02:58:06
at God, acting in human history
through the family of Abraham,
00:02:58:06 - 00:03:01:57
making very big promises and keeping them.
00:03:01:57 - 00:03:06:17
We're actually calling this series
Promises Made, Promises Kept,
00:03:06:17 - 00:03:10:13
and our hope is over
the course of this summer that by studying
00:03:10:29 - 00:03:16:43
these stories, we would develop confidence
and an affection for a God
00:03:16:43 - 00:03:21:54
who is acting in human history
by making promises and keeping them.
00:03:22:25 - 00:03:25:21
But I do think there's a danger
00:03:25:21 - 00:03:28:32
the bigger God gets in these stories.
00:03:29:08 - 00:03:32:20
The bigger
the promises get, the more incredible
00:03:32:20 - 00:03:36:58
he is and the incredible things
he does in the lives of people.
00:03:36:59 - 00:03:42:03
There's a danger that for some of us,
if we come in this weekend
00:03:42:03 - 00:03:45:10
and our stories
are not in a great chapter,
00:03:46:14 - 00:03:49:14
if we come in, a little cold,
00:03:49:45 - 00:03:53:49
feeling guilty, ashamed, dirty, distant,
00:03:54:32 - 00:03:59:08
then a big god like, the bigger he gets,
the more incredible the things he does.
00:03:59:08 - 00:04:02:07
The smaller we feel.
00:04:02:20 - 00:04:05:11
The more incredible
he is, the more distance
00:04:05:11 - 00:04:09:23
we feel between him and us
so that we might say,
00:04:09:23 - 00:04:14:21
well, God does make promises
and keep them to some people.
00:04:14:46 - 00:04:18:27
I mean, the way we would say
some people have money
00:04:19:09 - 00:04:24:23
or some people have good marriages,
healthy families, success.
00:04:24:23 - 00:04:28:15
That doesn't mean that I do
or that you do.
00:04:28:17 - 00:04:32:33
The danger is that we would feel like
God is doing incredible things
00:04:32:33 - 00:04:36:41
in the lives of other people,
but because of our stories,
00:04:36:41 - 00:04:40:58
our decisions,
that couldn't be true of us.
00:04:41:30 - 00:04:45:01
So we want to do is kind of hit pause
a little bit and say, well,
00:04:45:01 - 00:04:46:09
hold on a second.
00:04:46:09 - 00:04:50:30
Is God still faithful to his promises?
00:04:50:53 - 00:04:52:55
When we are unfaithful,
00:04:53:58 - 00:04:54:49
what happens to
00:04:54:49 - 00:04:58:48
God's promises
when we make a mess of things?
00:04:59:02 - 00:05:02:02
Does he change? Do they?
00:05:02:18 - 00:05:04:53
That's the question
we're exploring this weekend.
00:05:04:53 - 00:05:07:24
We're going to do that
by looking at Genesis 16.
00:05:07:24 - 00:05:08:38
So if you have a Bible
00:05:08:38 - 00:05:12:57
and you want to follow along that way,
would you open it to Genesis 16?
00:05:13:02 - 00:05:13:52
Perfectly okay.
00:05:13:52 - 00:05:15:40
To take out your phone or your tablet.
00:05:15:40 - 00:05:17:24
Get there however you can.
00:05:17:24 - 00:05:18:48
And the verses I reference
00:05:18:48 - 00:05:21:38
are going to be on the screen behind me,
so don't feel like you have to.
00:05:21:38 - 00:05:24:50
But if you're here and you're new
and maybe you didn't bring a Bible,
00:05:24:50 - 00:05:27:25
you're not super familiar
with your Bible with a Bible,
00:05:27:25 - 00:05:29:53
but you would like to participate
in that way.
00:05:29:53 - 00:05:32:33
There are Bibles in the pew
in front of you
00:05:32:33 - 00:05:36:17
or in the back of the room in East Hall,
and those are available for you.
00:05:36:17 - 00:05:39:05
I actually preach from one of those Bibles
so that I can tell you
00:05:39:05 - 00:05:41:18
today's reading is on page ten and 11.
00:05:41:18 - 00:05:43:58
And hey,
if you're new to thinking about God,
00:05:43:58 - 00:05:46:52
this week was the perfect week
for you to come.
00:05:46:52 - 00:05:48:11
I'm so glad you're here.
00:05:48:11 - 00:05:51:11
I can't
wait for what God has to say to you.
00:05:51:11 - 00:05:52:54
Thanks for being here.
00:05:52:54 - 00:05:56:38
I am going to use Genesis 16,
of course, to answer the question,
00:05:56:38 - 00:06:00:19
but I'm also going to weave
in one metaphor throughout the sermon.
00:06:00:19 - 00:06:03:19
It's a jewelry store, a metaphor.
00:06:03:19 - 00:06:07:06
So my three points actually go like this
I want to talk about the velvet,
00:06:08:07 - 00:06:09:39
the diamond
00:06:09:39 - 00:06:13:54
and the proposal, the velvet,
the diamond and the proposal.
00:06:14:10 - 00:06:17:10
All right, let's dive into point number
one, the velvet.
00:06:18:02 - 00:06:20:55
I hope you noticed when this passage
was being read
00:06:20:55 - 00:06:23:56
that it is a pretty ugly chapter.
00:06:24:49 - 00:06:27:56
There are a lot of really dark things
going on.
00:06:27:56 - 00:06:32:22
Like if I told you
that I had just consumed some content.
00:06:32:22 - 00:06:33:48
And here's what it was about.
00:06:33:48 - 00:06:37:44
It's about a couple struggling
with infertility and turning
00:06:37:44 - 00:06:39:19
against each other.
00:06:39:19 - 00:06:43:15
It's about an affair with an employee
that explodes.
00:06:43:15 - 00:06:46:36
It's about two women
who are rivals and a weak
00:06:46:36 - 00:06:49:41
man who can't love either one of them.
00:06:49:41 - 00:06:52:27
It's about chaos and dysfunction.
00:06:52:27 - 00:06:55:26
You might think I'm
describing a new series on HBO,
00:06:56:56 - 00:06:57:36
but I'm not.
00:06:57:36 - 00:07:00:02
That's Genesis 16 two.
00:07:00:02 - 00:07:02:51
Two things
I want you to see from Genesis 16.
00:07:02:51 - 00:07:07:38
The first is that it's full of people
hurting people.
00:07:08:16 - 00:07:10:04
It's full of people hurting people.
00:07:10:04 - 00:07:13:21
Like, for example,
Sarai comes to her husband
00:07:13:22 - 00:07:16:43
Abraham, who I will probably, by the way,
refer to as Abraham and Sarah.
00:07:16:43 - 00:07:19:39
Their names change in the next chapter.
00:07:19:39 - 00:07:24:02
But, she comes to him and she says,
hey, look, I know God's made this promise
00:07:24:02 - 00:07:27:12
that we two elderly people
who have struggled
00:07:27:12 - 00:07:30:59
with infertility are going to have a baby,
but it's just not happening.
00:07:30:59 - 00:07:32:02
So I have an idea.
00:07:32:02 - 00:07:37:24
There's a local custom that says,
if you sleep with my slave girl
00:07:37:38 - 00:07:43:04
and she gets pregnant, since we own her,
we also own her baby.
00:07:43:04 - 00:07:46:38
So if we do it that way,
maybe she can give you a child
00:07:46:38 - 00:07:48:40
and that can be our child.
00:07:48:40 - 00:07:51:02
It's a monstrous thing to say to her
husband.
00:07:51:02 - 00:07:54:05
It's a monstrous idea to put in his brain.
00:07:54:05 - 00:07:57:38
It's similar to Eve going to Adam
and saying, here's some fruit,
00:07:57:38 - 00:07:59:40
you should eat it.
00:07:59:40 - 00:08:02:13
But of course, Abraham is hurting Sarah.
00:08:02:13 - 00:08:04:33
I mean, I've been married
for almost 20 years,
00:08:04:33 - 00:08:07:53
and I know when Amy says to me,
how do I look in this dress?
00:08:08:45 - 00:08:11:25
There's a certain
answer I'm expected to give.
00:08:12:57 - 00:08:13:59
So when Sarah
00:08:13:59 - 00:08:17:12
goes to Abraham and she says, hey,
what do you think?
00:08:17:12 - 00:08:19:39
Maybe
you ought to sleep with my slave girl.
00:08:19:39 - 00:08:23:12
I know she means it,
but I think at least part of her is hoping
00:08:23:12 - 00:08:26:11
he will say, absolutely not.
00:08:26:56 - 00:08:28:06
I don't just want a child.
00:08:28:06 - 00:08:30:57
I want a child with you, Sarah.
00:08:30:57 - 00:08:33:37
Absolutely not. But he doesn't.
00:08:33:37 - 00:08:38:02
And then Hagar, of course, the slave girl
who's owned by another human being,
00:08:38:02 - 00:08:42:03
which, of course is monstrous,
has no say in any of this.
00:08:42:03 - 00:08:48:11
Abraham and Sarah sin against her,
hurt her by making her do this
00:08:48:11 - 00:08:52:48
so that they can take the child
if she gets pregnant.
00:08:52:48 - 00:08:55:59
And then, of course, she's awful
because eventually
00:08:55:59 - 00:08:59:35
she does get pregnant
and she throws that in Sarah's face.
00:08:59:35 - 00:09:04:44
Look, you must be defective
because I can give him a child.
00:09:04:44 - 00:09:10:08
And then Abraham sins against both of them
by being totally unable to lead
00:09:10:16 - 00:09:12:23
either one of them. Here's the point.
00:09:12:23 - 00:09:16:09
First thing you see in
Genesis 16 is our world
00:09:16:22 - 00:09:19:57
is full of people hurting people.
00:09:21:25 - 00:09:24:25
What about you?
00:09:24:49 - 00:09:27:47
Is your story like mine?
00:09:27:47 - 00:09:30:46
Are there are some moments
you wish you could get back?
00:09:31:19 - 00:09:34:19
Some things you wish you hadn't said,
00:09:34:19 - 00:09:37:22
some things you wish you hadn't done.
00:09:38:39 - 00:09:42:06
The second thing I want you to see from
Genesis 16, though, is not just that
00:09:42:06 - 00:09:46:16
people hurt people,
but hurting people hurt people.
00:09:46:57 - 00:09:51:11
Because one way of reading Genesis 16
is it's full of people hurting others.
00:09:51:11 - 00:09:54:22
But the other thing is,
there are three main figures in this story
00:09:54:22 - 00:09:57:21
and they are all themselves hurting.
00:09:58:03 - 00:10:02:27
Abraham is an elderly man
who has yet to have a son,
00:10:02:45 - 00:10:05:07
and I have to be honest,
I hope you're okay with me saying this.
00:10:05:07 - 00:10:08:34
When I read the story of Abraham,
I often say to God, you know God.
00:10:08:34 - 00:10:12:51
Infertility is one of the hardest things
for any human being to walk through.
00:10:12:51 - 00:10:15:22
I have friends who have been through
that journey.
00:10:15:22 - 00:10:19:48
It's incredibly painful and I can't help
but feel like God in some ways.
00:10:19:48 - 00:10:23:55
You intense to fight Abraham's pain
because he had made his peace
00:10:23:55 - 00:10:25:23
with not having a son.
00:10:25:23 - 00:10:27:52
And then you come in
and you go, you're going to have one.
00:10:27:52 - 00:10:30:12
And every day wakes up going, is it today?
00:10:30:12 - 00:10:31:46
Is it today? Is it today?
00:10:33:03 - 00:10:34:53
Abraham is hurting.
00:10:34:53 - 00:10:36:26
Sarah is hurting.
00:10:36:26 - 00:10:38:52
In this culture,
if a couple couldn't get pregnant,
00:10:38:52 - 00:10:42:33
you blamed the woman,
which of course is horrific.
00:10:42:44 - 00:10:44:30
So, Abraham, you imagine the first day
00:10:44:30 - 00:10:46:13
Abraham comes home
and he goes, guess what?
00:10:46:13 - 00:10:48:15
Talk to God today
00:10:48:15 - 00:10:51:15
who has two thumbs
and is getting ready to have a baby.
00:10:54:00 - 00:10:57:00
And then every day,
Sarah can't make that happen.
00:10:57:17 - 00:11:00:34
And then Abraham sleeps with Hagar
and she gets pregnant.
00:11:00:34 - 00:11:05:25
Which means, at least in Sarah's
mind, biologically, she is the problem.
00:11:06:28 - 00:11:08:36
And then, of course, Hagar,
00:11:08:36 - 00:11:11:36
can you imagine
what it's like to be born a slave?
00:11:12:40 - 00:11:14:48
You don't have a future
00:11:14:48 - 00:11:16:38
you don't dream about one day.
00:11:16:38 - 00:11:17:53
There's no one day for you.
00:11:17:53 - 00:11:20:01
You're owned by another human being.
00:11:20:01 - 00:11:20:15
You see,
00:11:20:15 - 00:11:24:18
the Bible tells us that our world isn't
just full of people hurting people.
00:11:24:18 - 00:11:27:48
It's full of hurting
people. What about you?
00:11:30:52 - 00:11:32:54
Your story
00:11:32:54 - 00:11:35:58
full of times people have hurt you.
00:11:37:40 - 00:11:38:29
I want you to.
00:11:38:29 - 00:11:41:03
I want you to see something in the Bible.
00:11:41:03 - 00:11:44:12
We don't need Genesis 16
00:11:44:12 - 00:11:47:21
to tell the incredible story
about what God is doing in Abraham.
00:11:47:21 - 00:11:49:14
You have to understand that
we don't need it.
00:11:49:14 - 00:11:52:10
God can just come to an elderly couple
that is infertile
00:11:52:10 - 00:11:53:31
and say, you're going to have a kid.
00:11:53:31 - 00:11:56:31
Next verse they have a kid and we go, wow.
00:11:59:09 - 00:12:01:22
But the very next thing
after we say, wow, I would be
00:12:01:22 - 00:12:04:55
that would never happen in my story
and in my life.
00:12:05:11 - 00:12:08:09
You see, Genesis 16 is God telling you
00:12:08:09 - 00:12:11:09
he knows the world you live in.
00:12:11:36 - 00:12:13:43
He knows your story. He knows mine.
00:12:13:43 - 00:12:18:35
He knows the world is full
of hurting people who hurt people.
00:12:18:35 - 00:12:24:25
Genesis 16 is God saying
the Bible takes place in the real world
00:12:25:05 - 00:12:27:30
with real people who are hurting, with
00:12:27:30 - 00:12:30:39
real people who are hurting other people.
00:12:30:39 - 00:12:32:58
It takes place in your world
00:12:34:46 - 00:12:36:05
and in mine.
00:12:36:05 - 00:12:39:08
I told you I
was going to use a jewelry store metaphor.
00:12:39:08 - 00:12:42:03
You know, when you walk in a jewelry store
and you look at a case inside the case,
00:12:42:03 - 00:12:45:02
you'll find a lot of this
kind of black velvet,
00:12:46:27 - 00:12:48:42
totally unremarkable on its own, in fact,
00:12:48:42 - 00:12:51:42
not only unremarkable, little depressing.
00:12:52:00 - 00:12:52:46
It's black.
00:12:52:46 - 00:12:53:40
It's void.
00:12:53:40 - 00:12:54:47
It's pointless.
00:12:54:47 - 00:12:55:48
It's meaningless.
00:12:55:48 - 00:12:58:44
That is our world.
00:12:58:44 - 00:13:01:44
The Bible is telling us.
00:13:02:01 - 00:13:04:17
That if you came in this weekend,
you're feeling guilty.
00:13:04:17 - 00:13:06:03
You're feeling dirty.
You're feeling broken.
00:13:06:03 - 00:13:09:24
You're feeling frustrated
internally and externally.
00:13:09:24 - 00:13:13:24
If you came in this weekend having hurt
people, if you came in this weekend,
00:13:13:31 - 00:13:20:01
having been hurt by people,
this chapter of the Bible is for you.
00:13:21:40 - 00:13:26:04
God sees the velvet of your story
00:13:28:03 - 00:13:29:53
and he knows he can't
00:13:29:53 - 00:13:33:41
say one more thing about big promises
00:13:33:52 - 00:13:37:09
until he talks about that.
00:13:39:15 - 00:13:41:25
And that leads me to my second point,
00:13:41:25 - 00:13:44:25
which is to say not just the velvet,
00:13:44:44 - 00:13:46:45
but the diamond in my pocket.
00:13:46:45 - 00:13:50:06
Here I have a totally real
and totally expensive diamond.
00:13:53:59 - 00:13:56:58
You see, the whole reason
jewelry stores have the black velvet is
00:13:56:58 - 00:14:01:28
so that when you put a diamond on it, it
pops, right.
00:14:01:28 - 00:14:04:53
The velvet is intended
to make the diamond shine,
00:14:04:53 - 00:14:08:20
to make sure your attention is drawn
where it needs to be.
00:14:08:20 - 00:14:12:24
And friends, I want you to see that
the Bible tells a story that in a black
00:14:12:37 - 00:14:18:20
velvet world,
the diamond of God's promise sparkles.
00:14:19:02 - 00:14:22:09
And if you're paying attention in Genesis
16, you're saying, well,
00:14:22:09 - 00:14:23:12
what happens now? Right?
00:14:23:12 - 00:14:28:32
What happens to God's faithfulness
when we are unfaithful?
00:14:28:32 - 00:14:30:28
Which is why we have to look ahead
00:14:30:28 - 00:14:34:26
to Genesis 17, where Pastor Joe
will preach on this next week.
00:14:34:26 - 00:14:37:11
But, he can't stop me,
so I'm going to borrow from it.
00:14:38:34 - 00:14:41:07
If you have a Bible, look on page 11,
very next chapter,
00:14:41:07 - 00:14:44:52
Genesis 17, God's
going to have a conversation with Abraham.
00:14:44:52 - 00:14:48:20
And you have to know this happens
right after Genesis 16.
00:14:48:54 - 00:14:49:18
Okay.
00:14:49:18 - 00:14:53:49
Keep in mind the velvet of Genesis 16
is our background.
00:14:53:49 - 00:14:55:17
Here's how that conversation goes.
00:14:55:17 - 00:14:57:29
Pick it up in verse 15.
00:14:57:29 - 00:15:00:28
And God said to Abraham,
00:15:00:34 - 00:15:03:23
as for Sarah, your wife,
you shall not call her
00:15:03:23 - 00:15:06:23
name Sarah, but Sarah shall be her name.
00:15:07:08 - 00:15:11:27
I will bless her, and moreover,
I will give you a son by her.
00:15:12:03 - 00:15:15:38
I will bless her,
and she shall become nations,
00:15:15:58 - 00:15:19:03
kings of people shall come from her.
00:15:19:34 - 00:15:22:46
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed,
and said to himself,
00:15:22:52 - 00:15:26:38
shall a child
be born to a man who is 100 years old?
00:15:26:38 - 00:15:30:12
Shall Sarah,
who is 90 years old, bear a child?
00:15:30:21 - 00:15:34:40
And Abraham said to God,
oh, that Ishmael might live before you.
00:15:34:40 - 00:15:37:27
That's the son
he had with Hagar. By the way.
00:15:39:21 - 00:15:41:16
And God said, no, but,
00:15:41:16 - 00:15:45:13
Sarah, your wife shall bear you a son,
and you shall call his name Isaac.
00:15:45:24 - 00:15:49:03
I will establish my covenant with him
as an everlasting covenant
00:15:49:14 - 00:15:50:40
for his offspring after him.
00:15:50:40 - 00:15:53:17
As for Ishmael, I have heard you.
00:15:53:17 - 00:15:58:05
Behold, I have blessed him, and will make
him fruitful, and multiply him greatly.
00:15:58:14 - 00:16:01:37
He will fathered 12 princes,
and I will make him into a great nation.
00:16:01:46 - 00:16:04:47
But I will establish my covenant
with Isaac, whom
00:16:04:47 - 00:16:08:09
Sarah shall bear to you at this time
next year.
00:16:08:09 - 00:16:12:37
Friends,
we are only 22 verses from Abraham
00:16:12:37 - 00:16:16:47
and Sarah
sending Hagar into the wilderness to die
00:16:18:33 - 00:16:21:49
were 22 verses removed from an affair,
00:16:21:52 - 00:16:26:53
from an explosion,
from chaos, from dysfunction, from velvet.
00:16:26:53 - 00:16:31:24
And within 22 verses, all three people,
Abraham, Sarah and Hagar,
00:16:31:24 - 00:16:35:58
which we'll look at in a minute, have
already received another promise from God.
00:16:38:11 - 00:16:40:54
You know what that means?
00:16:40:54 - 00:16:43:16
It means that God
00:16:43:16 - 00:16:46:16
is establishing relationship with people,
00:16:47:17 - 00:16:50:17
not on the basis of who they are
00:16:50:21 - 00:16:53:04
and what they do,
00:16:53:04 - 00:16:56:01
but on the basis of who he is.
00:16:56:01 - 00:16:59:44
That means God is making promises
00:16:59:44 - 00:17:04:46
and keeping promises to unfaithful people,
00:17:04:53 - 00:17:08:32
hurting people who have hurt people.
00:17:08:32 - 00:17:10:11
That this means two things.
00:17:10:11 - 00:17:12:01
One is if you're here
and you don't know where you're at
00:17:12:01 - 00:17:13:34
with God,
you wouldn't call yourself a Christian.
00:17:13:34 - 00:17:16:59
You know what you call yourself
and you're going, if God is out there
00:17:16:59 - 00:17:20:49
and if God is doing something,
it isn't for people like me.
00:17:20:49 - 00:17:23:51
Genesis 16 is God hitting the pause
button and saying,
00:17:24:13 - 00:17:27:54
I refuse to move forward with the story
until you know how wrong you are.
00:17:30:57 - 00:17:33:57
His Abraham heroic.
00:17:34:24 - 00:17:37:06
Is Sarah virtuous?
00:17:37:06 - 00:17:39:23
Is Hagar innocent?
00:17:39:23 - 00:17:40:20
No, no.
00:17:40:20 - 00:17:46:31
But God is not basing his promises
on the moral performance of people.
00:17:46:31 - 00:17:51:07
By the way, if he was,
no one could ever get a promise.
00:17:51:16 - 00:17:55:41
There are only in this room
and on this stage and holding this
00:17:55:41 - 00:17:59:27
microphone,
hurting people who hurt people.
00:17:59:29 - 00:18:05:04
God is offering you relationship with him,
a future with him
00:18:05:05 - 00:18:08:41
on the basis of his performance,
not yours.
00:18:08:57 - 00:18:11:57
And it has to be that way.
00:18:12:10 - 00:18:13:45
But second, if you're here
00:18:13:45 - 00:18:17:03
and you're a Christian brother
or sister in Christ, how tempting it is
00:18:17:17 - 00:18:20:08
when we do what we ought not
00:18:20:08 - 00:18:23:17
when when we grow spiritually cold.
00:18:23:19 - 00:18:27:47
How tempting it is to lean in to shame
and to stay away from God.
00:18:27:52 - 00:18:31:37
And days become weeks and weeks
become months and months become years.
00:18:31:37 - 00:18:33:28
Some of you haven't been in church
in a while.
00:18:33:28 - 00:18:35:32
Others sit in church every week.
00:18:35:32 - 00:18:37:04
But the off switch is on.
00:18:37:04 - 00:18:41:12
There's no connection with God
because we're too ashamed to admit to him
00:18:41:19 - 00:18:45:06
what we've done for 22 verses after chaos,
00:18:46:43 - 00:18:50:14
he's reminding
them he's going to do everything he said.
00:18:50:14 - 00:18:54:20
Brother, sister in Christ,
why would you stay away another second?
00:18:55:34 - 00:18:58:48
Hasn't
your hope always been his faithfulness?
00:18:58:57 - 00:19:02:47
Has it your hope always been that
against the velvet of your sin
00:19:02:47 - 00:19:07:06
and mine,
the diamond of his promise shines.
00:19:07:51 - 00:19:12:11
And so we have to open ourselves
up to the idea that God is building
00:19:12:12 - 00:19:16:45
relationship on his work, not ours.
00:19:18:24 - 00:19:19:00
Can I know?
00:19:19:00 - 00:19:22:00
I know what you're thinking
because it's what I would be thinking.
00:19:22:00 - 00:19:24:59
You're thinking, well, okay,
for these people,
00:19:26:44 - 00:19:29:22
but how could I ever know?
00:19:29:22 - 00:19:30:28
How could I ever believe?
00:19:30:28 - 00:19:34:02
How could I ever trust
that God is doing that for me?
00:19:34:02 - 00:19:35:25
Well, that's my third point.
00:19:35:25 - 00:19:38:41
Not just the velvet,
not just the diamond, but the proposal.
00:19:39:48 - 00:19:42:46
Because
after all, if you're single and lonely,
00:19:42:46 - 00:19:45:46
a jewelry store
is the most depressing place to be.
00:19:47:26 - 00:19:49:14
The idea that someone out there is
00:19:49:14 - 00:19:52:14
falling in love is not encouraging to you.
00:19:52:27 - 00:19:55:19
Someone reminded me this week
that you can find lots of diamonds for
00:19:55:19 - 00:19:58:19
sale on Facebook Marketplace.
00:19:58:32 - 00:20:01:31
That's not because things went well.
00:20:03:23 - 00:20:04:38
No, a diamond
00:20:04:38 - 00:20:08:45
only becomes special
when someone picks it out for you.
00:20:08:45 - 00:20:12:35
I remember when I was saving
for Amy's engagement ring.
00:20:12:35 - 00:20:13:34
I was working at a bookstore.
00:20:13:34 - 00:20:16:34
I was in college,
and every Friday I would get paid
00:20:16:40 - 00:20:19:48
and I would go to the bank
and I would take out just enough for gas,
00:20:19:48 - 00:20:20:57
and then I would go to the jewelry store.
00:20:20:57 - 00:20:22:48
I must have had it on layaway
or something.
00:20:22:48 - 00:20:27:05
I would give them the rest of my money
week after week after week
00:20:27:12 - 00:20:30:14
after week
after week, after you get the picture.
00:20:32:49 - 00:20:33:36
And when I look back
00:20:33:36 - 00:20:37:26
on that time now,
I realize that the powerful part of what
00:20:37:26 - 00:20:41:19
I was saying to Amy, and it still holds
true, is that she was worth it.
00:20:43:06 - 00:20:44:21
That's the power of a diamond.
00:20:44:21 - 00:20:48:51
When someone takes it off of the case
and puts it on your finger.
00:20:48:51 - 00:20:52:37
Friends, I wouldn't want you to think
that God's promises are out there
00:20:52:37 - 00:20:56:20
somewhere for someone at some time.
00:20:56:26 - 00:20:58:48
God doesn't
want you to walk in a jewelry store
00:20:58:48 - 00:21:02:11
and see all the diamonds
of what he's doing for everybody else.
00:21:02:11 - 00:21:05:14
God wants to take one out of the case
and put it on your finger.
00:21:05:20 - 00:21:06:37
So how do you know that?
00:21:06:37 - 00:21:10:00
Because the least important person
in this story
00:21:10:00 - 00:21:14:52
in Genesis 16 is a unwed mother
who's a slave
00:21:14:52 - 00:21:18:40
girl living in the wilderness,
thrown out by her owners.
00:21:18:40 - 00:21:21:40
She does not matter to the story,
and she's the only one.
00:21:21:40 - 00:21:23:12
In Genesis 16, God speaks to.
00:21:27:00 - 00:21:28:53
Look with me at Genesis 16, verse six.
00:21:28:53 - 00:21:30:54
It's the most monstrous verse
in the entire passage.
00:21:30:54 - 00:21:33:18
Here's what it says.
00:21:33:18 - 00:21:35:50
But Abraham said, Sarah, I behold,
00:21:35:50 - 00:21:38:52
your servant is in your power
00:21:39:59 - 00:21:42:24
due to her as you please.
00:21:42:24 - 00:21:46:04
And then Sarah, I dealt harshly with her,
and she fled from her.
00:21:46:47 - 00:21:49:12
You know, if Hagar story ends there,
00:21:49:12 - 00:21:52:07
we would get that, wouldn't we?
00:21:52:07 - 00:21:52:59
Wouldn't be right.
00:21:52:59 - 00:21:56:31
But the world shows up and spits out
Hagar's.
00:21:57:25 - 00:21:58:51
We know that.
00:21:58:51 - 00:22:02:20
So if her story ends there, we would
understand what makes sense to us.
00:22:02:38 - 00:22:04:46
But it doesn't.
00:22:04:46 - 00:22:07:40
God comes looking for her.
00:22:07:40 - 00:22:08:50
God wants her.
00:22:08:50 - 00:22:11:55
God is pausing the story
of what he's doing
00:22:11:55 - 00:22:15:37
and Abraham and Sarah to come after her
and after the encounter.
00:22:15:37 - 00:22:17:51
This is what Hagar says in verse 13.
00:22:17:51 - 00:22:23:12
So she called the name of the Lord
who spoke to her, you are a God of seeing.
00:22:24:18 - 00:22:24:45
For she
00:22:24:45 - 00:22:28:35
said, truly here I have seen him
who looks after me did you know
00:22:28:35 - 00:22:32:45
the first person in the Bible to name
God is an unwed
00:22:33:05 - 00:22:36:05
slave girl mother on the run?
00:22:37:15 - 00:22:39:41
And you know what she names him?
00:22:39:41 - 00:22:42:40
The God who sees me.
00:22:43:33 - 00:22:46:57
Because you see, God isn't
just about big stories and big promises.
00:22:47:08 - 00:22:50:40
God isn't just about jewelry stores
and cases of diamonds.
00:22:50:49 - 00:22:55:44
God is about pursuing,
hurting individuals who have hurt others
00:22:55:44 - 00:23:00:43
and been hurt and making sure they know
he has a promise for them.
00:23:00:46 - 00:23:06:08
When you are reading Genesis 16, right,
you love the God who comes after Hagar,
00:23:06:12 - 00:23:09:15
and the hard cry of your life is God.
00:23:09:24 - 00:23:13:06
How could I know that you would
come after me the same way?
00:23:15:19 - 00:23:18:18
And the answer to that, friends,
00:23:18:45 - 00:23:20:06
is the life, death,
00:23:20:06 - 00:23:23:06
and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
00:23:24:20 - 00:23:28:28
God's own son,
who leaves the jewelry store
00:23:29:38 - 00:23:32:38
to find you in the wilderness
00:23:33:07 - 00:23:37:15
so that you wouldn't be left
out of the big promise of God.
00:23:37:15 - 00:23:40:24
Here's what the Apostle Paul writes
in the book of Romans chapter five.
00:23:40:24 - 00:23:44:08
He says it this way tell me,
if you don't hear Hagar echoing in these
00:23:44:08 - 00:23:47:28
verses, it says, for a while
we were still weak
00:23:48:44 - 00:23:50:05
at the right time.
00:23:50:05 - 00:23:52:59
Christ died for the ungodly.
00:23:52:59 - 00:23:55:57
For one will scarcely die
for a righteous person, though
00:23:55:57 - 00:23:59:11
perhaps for a good person
one would dare even to die.
00:23:59:11 - 00:24:02:11
But God shows his love for us,
00:24:02:13 - 00:24:06:46
in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
00:24:06:46 - 00:24:09:19
You see, Jesus is God coming to us.
00:24:09:19 - 00:24:12:44
Jesus is God saying to us, I'm
going to come myself.
00:24:12:44 - 00:24:15:15
I'm going to live
righteously in your place.
00:24:15:15 - 00:24:20:03
Jesus goes to the cross
having never hurt a single person,
00:24:20:10 - 00:24:25:08
but on the cross
he becomes a hurting person who has hurt
00:24:25:08 - 00:24:30:34
people as he carries my sin and he carries
the sins of all who will trust him.
00:24:30:39 - 00:24:34:40
And he comes up under the weight and anger
and wrath of God.
00:24:34:44 - 00:24:39:39
And God pours out his judgment on the
Jesus so that Jesus's final words are.
00:24:39:39 - 00:24:44:17
It is finished and he dies.
00:24:44:48 - 00:24:46:34
And three days later
he raises from the dead.
00:24:46:34 - 00:24:51:16
And he says, if you will see in me
the God who sees you,
00:24:51:16 - 00:24:56:33
if you will find in me an entry point
for you into the great story of God,
00:24:56:33 - 00:24:57:30
if you'll find in me
00:24:57:30 - 00:25:02:27
not just a macro promise,
but a micro promise, a promise for you.
00:25:02:29 - 00:25:05:07
You can be with God forever,
just like Hagar.
00:25:05:07 - 00:25:06:35
Not because you earned it,
00:25:07:51 - 00:25:11:39
but because
praise God he earned it for you.
00:25:12:48 - 00:25:16:02
Friends, we don't need Genesis 16
to tell the story of a promise
00:25:16:02 - 00:25:17:30
making promise, keeping God.
00:25:17:30 - 00:25:19:32
Genesis 16 isn't about God.
00:25:19:32 - 00:25:21:16
It's about you.
00:25:21:16 - 00:25:24:14
It's about me.
00:25:24:14 - 00:25:28:42
It's about letting us know
that if we come to God in faith in Jesus,
00:25:28:42 - 00:25:31:42
his faithfulness
00:25:31:51 - 00:25:36:12
will swallow up our unfaithfulness.
00:25:36:52 - 00:25:37:49
Let's pray.
00:25:37:49 - 00:25:40:43
Father God,
thank you so much for Genesis 16.
00:25:40:43 - 00:25:43:43
Somewhere this weekend there's a Hagar
00:25:44:44 - 00:25:46:16
who has long given up
00:25:46:16 - 00:25:49:30
the idea you you love Abraham,
you love Sarah.
00:25:49:30 - 00:25:54:45
There are some people here who know you,
who are experiencing you, but not them.
00:25:54:45 - 00:25:55:12
And God.
00:25:55:12 - 00:25:58:30
Not because of the sermon, not not because
of anything that happened, but.
00:25:58:46 - 00:26:02:43
But through the power of your Holy Spirit,
would you, the God who sees
00:26:02:43 - 00:26:04:15
draw near to them even now?
00:26:08:35 - 00:26:11:07
God, for those of us who belong to
you already that we would
00:26:11:07 - 00:26:15:02
remember our our unfaithfulness
is not a reason to hide from you.
00:26:15:02 - 00:26:16:57
It's a reason to run to you.
00:26:16:57 - 00:26:18:08
We are the velvet.
00:26:18:08 - 00:26:21:07
You are the diamond.
00:26:21:54 - 00:26:24:54
Our individual diamond.
00:26:26:16 - 00:26:28:06
Jesus name we pray. Amen.