"You Are The God Who Sees
Me (Gen 16:13)
1/13/08 AM R. Sams BIG IDEA:
SCRIPTURES TO VIDEOPROJECT (coded with P ):
OTHER
SCRIPTURES:
OTHER ITEMS TO VIDEOPROJECT: three phrases under Bulletin
Bottom CALL TO WORSHIP:
THEMES/SONGS/STORIES:
GOSPEL/MISSION:
VISION/PRIORITIES:
ASSIGNMENTS/TESTIMONIES:
PASTOR�S
MINI-LESSON/PROMO/BIG QUESTION:
BULLETIN BOTTOM, p. 1 WHEN FAITH
FALTERS, SIN SUCCEEDS T.T.T. TAMPERING WITH GOD�S TIMETABLE LEADS TO
TRAGEDY ARE THE TEMPORARY PLEASURES EVER WORTH THE PERMANENT
PAIN?
I. It's one of the most popular convention locations
in the United States. Guess why it�s so popular. It's not only
attractive to conventioneers, but people who want to keep things a secret.
A recent advertising campaign for this city offers it as the place to go if you
want to get away with something, going on to show some scenes on billboards that
suggest romantic relationships that you don�t want anyone to know about.
Culminating in the well-known logo (repeat after me): What happens in
_______, stays in…. A. (Gen 16:7-11, 13; Heb 4:13) "Nothing in all
creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare
before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. B. Could the
Bible be more blunt? God has seen it all. He knows. The
consequences may not come immediately, but they will come. (Numbers 32:23)
says: "Be sure your sin will find you out." There's no such thing as a sin you
get away with.
C. God not only sees everything we do, He sees
everything we THINK. If the actions He sees don�t convict us, no one gets
a free pass on the thought life. I don�t know how many times I�ve done the
right thing for the wrong reason (in ministry), and God comes to me in some
clear way and tells me He not only sees my noble actions, He also sees my heart,
and it stinks (As clear as my dear wife who once said to me, she only had to say
it once, early on in our marriage, "if you can�t do the dishes with a good
attitude then don�t do them at all. I was doing them in anger and
arrogance).
D. Romans 2:16 says, "God will judge men's secrets
through Jesus Christ" (Romans 2:16). Praise God that when we have a stinky
attitude or actions, we have a sin-forgiver and His name is Jesus.
E. The Bible says, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands
of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). But the amazing GOOD NEWS Jesus
brought is that you and I don't have to fall into His hands alone. Jesus
goes with us to God saying: "I paid the penalty for his sinful actions and
attitudes, NOT so He can keep on doing them, but so He is free to live a new
life: "He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…The
blood of Jesus His Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 Jn 4:10; 1:7).
GOSPEL.
II. The God who sees me. It�s meant to
COMFORT AND CONVICT Which do YOU need today? (Gen 16:1-2).
A.
We�ve already learned how infertility was a curse in ancient times. A huge
factor was there would be no heir to pass on the family land (huge), legacy,
life lessons, history and wealth. Most Jews believed that it had to be a
curse from God because hadn�t God Himself commanded us to be fruitful and
multiply. "Something must be terribly wrong with me to take away my
ability to obey one of His first commands. Today infertility isn�t viewed
as a sin or as a result of sinning, but talk to people who�ve suffered with it
and most feel it�s a curse.
B. But Sarai (Sarah) had a solution for
their problem. The law of the day allowed the man to take a second wife,
especially if the first was barren. It was even more permitted if the
second wife was a slave girl. Slaves were viewed as possessions, not
people.
1. But nowhere does God ever bless having multiple
wives. There is inevitable jealousy and rivalry as we�ll see soon.
Nowhere does He ever say it�s okay. Need I tell you there are things legal
today that are not moral? (Name them.) The world says "OK. The Word
says: "No WAY! Jesus actually spoke clearly against multiple wives when He
said: "No man can serve two masters.
2. You�ll argue: "But great
men of God did this (multiple wives). Great men of God sinned and God
forgave them. People always make those kinds of statements when they�re
about to do something stupid.
3. May I ask: "ARE THE TEMPORARY
PLEASURES EVER WORTH THE PERMANENT PAIN? Have they been for you?
Like Dr. Phil asks (I�m not a fan, but it�s a great question): "How�s that
working for you…really?
4. Examine the life of David who is
often the example held up of a great man of God who sinned greatly, but kept his
kingdom and his kingship.
Yes, but…incest, rape, murder, treason…all within
his immediate family, stemmed directly from his sin with
Bathsheba.
C. Abram agreed to what Sarai said…(vs
3-6).
1. "mistreated is the same word for what the Egyptians
did to the Jews (Ex 1:11-12).
2. Note Abram�s PASSIVITY. When
he should have been a leader in his family, he was passive. When he should
have resisted the temptations of the world and the flesh (doing things his way),
he gave in.
3. Abram was PASSIONATE in things of the flesh, but
PASSIVE in things of the spirit. He should have taken care of Hagar, not
turned her over to Sarai. Two wrongs don�t make a right. He should
have provided and protected her and the child he had sired, named
"Ishmael, or "God hears.
4. What a rebuke this boy was to
this couple every time they said his name because he reminded them that God did
hear their prayers for a son, AND WOULD HAVE FULFILLED His own promise to them
had they not let their faith falter.
5. When FAITH FAILS, SIN
SUCCEEDS. When faith falters flesh overflows in…sin succeeds. When
we stop believing God will do it His way, we start to do it our
way.
D. Often it�s simply impatience…we don�t want to WAIT.
1. T.T.T. TAMPERING WITH GOD�S TIMETABLE LEADS TO
TRAGEDY.
2. God had spoken earlier telling him he would be the
father of many nations (12:1-3; 15:3-6+). God never makes promises he
wants us to fulfill in sinful, fleshly, worldly ways. He always has a way
to fulfill His promises to us in His ways; ways that are HOLY, HEALTHY, and
HAPPY. In our spring holiness series we�ll see how all those words go
together contrary to popular belief. But, like us, the WORLD had shaped
Abram more than God�s WORD.
3. He and Sarai couldn�t SEE how God
was going to "get it done, they thought God needed their help. They
had a way to get �er done themselves: Hagar.
E. So the big Q for
you and me: What do you feel God has promised you that you think you need to
help him out. But the way you�re helping Him out isn�t helping you
out. It�s leading to misery, not happiness?
1. Examples: God
said He�d give you a husband. Mr. Right hasn�t appeared. So
you push the panic button and settle for someone clearly outside God�s biblical
description of a godly man.
2. That�s the problem. We don�t
SEE the solution with our PHYSICAL eyes, so we start to do our own thing, come
up with our own solution.
That�s exactly when we need to see with SPIRITUAL
EYES of faith to see more than ever.
3. You said you�d give me a
job. Instead of waiting for Him to open doors, you push doors down and
take something you know isn�t right for you. God promised me happiness and
my life is boring. I�ll spice it up with some illegal substance, or
something legal, but not moral, not right.
You give some examples, when your
faith (in God�s ways) falters, flesh (you way) succeeds.
F. (Vs
7-11). Hagar ran south, likely headed for her homeland, Egypt. The
angel of the Lord made His first appearance in the Bible here. Most Bible
scholars show many other Scriptures to support their belief this is an OT
appearance of Jesus. "Angel simply means "messenger. Who was
God�s best messenger? When we are hurting Jesus ALWAYS FINDS us (v
7).
G. Note the two key life changing questions and remember what
RW said about God�s questions: they�re not for His benefit? So for whose?
Hagar�s. Yours. "Where have you come from and where are you
going? Wow! Key Qs.
1. Where has she come from?
"Running from her mistress. Where is she going? She doesn�t
know. She doesn�t answer.
2. When the Lord asks us those two
questions, and He does A LOT, if we don�t know where we�re going, He�ll usually
tell you to go back. He wants us to be called TO something, not just
running away from something.
3. Do you feel you need to get out of
that dead end job? Where is he calling you? Or that dead end
ministry? Where is He calling you?
4. That�s one of the
reasons our leaders are excited about how He�s calling a number of the third
service worship team to start a weekly Sat night service. Things are going
well in third. They are not running. But God has put a fire in their
belly about something new to reach more people, and they are running toward that
calling, not away from something. There�s a huge difference! And our
leaders bless them. We say thanks for the past, but we�re excited for the
future because we see God calling and already working.
H. So, if
you only know the answer to one of those questions, you�re likely being called
to finish well where you are, or just bloom there…UNTIL He calls you
elsewhere.
III. (V 13). There is only one person in this
story seeing with spiritual eyes, and you�re looking at her.
A.
"You are the God who sees me. She sees Him and He sees her. God sees
me.
1. This actually comes from a word for "provision, so it
actually means "God sees to it (provision), or "God sees me through it
(perseverance).
2. What does God need to see to in your life
(provision)? What does He need to see you through (persevere)? This
name for God is real and it�s real for YOU. It�s meant to comfort AND
convict.
3. So let Him do His perfect and practical work for you
today. God provided very perfect and practical for Hagar: a well.
She was in the desert.
B. Wells in the Bible were great symbols of
God�s provision, His blessings, and promises. This was called "the well of
the Living God who sees me (marginal ref NIV). I believe God will give you
some sign, some practical help to prove He sees you and will see you
through. Maybe He has already. Will you pray for spiritual eyes of
faith to see it? Closing song(s).