1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,220 Please open your Bible at Genesis and chapter 16, 2 00:00:04,220 –> 00:00:07,920 we’re continuing our series Faith for Fractured Families. 3 00:00:07,920 –> 00:00:10,380 We looked at Abraham, the flawed father, 4 00:00:10,380 –> 00:00:12,920 Sarah, the perplexed wife, 5 00:00:12,920 –> 00:00:17,920 and today we meet with Hagar, the single mother. 6 00:00:17,959 –> 00:00:20,240 Now it’s important before we get into the story 7 00:00:20,240 –> 00:00:22,840 to remember what is at stake here. 8 00:00:22,840 –> 00:00:26,920 God has promised to bless people from every nation 9 00:00:26,920 –> 00:00:29,020 on the face of the earth, 10 00:00:29,040 –> 00:00:30,180 and that blessing will come 11 00:00:30,180 –> 00:00:33,540 through an offspring of Abraham. 12 00:00:33,540 –> 00:00:37,900 And at this point in the story, there is no offspring, 13 00:00:37,900 –> 00:00:40,720 and the blessing of God for the nations of the world 14 00:00:40,720 –> 00:00:44,919 therefore hangs on the birth of a child. 15 00:00:44,919 –> 00:00:46,820 And Sarah is aging. 16 00:00:46,820 –> 00:00:49,520 We saw last week, as the scriptures put it, 17 00:00:49,520 –> 00:00:53,599 the way of women had ceased to be with her, 18 00:00:53,599 –> 00:00:57,020 and the child to be born therefore could only come 19 00:00:57,060 –> 00:01:01,220 through a miracle of grace, and years have passed 20 00:01:01,220 –> 00:01:03,419 and that miracle has not happened, 21 00:01:03,419 –> 00:01:04,720 and so the question is now, 22 00:01:04,720 –> 00:01:09,099 how will the blessing of God then come into the world? 23 00:01:09,099 –> 00:01:12,019 And that is the point that we take up the story 24 00:01:12,019 –> 00:01:13,080 in chapter 16. 25 00:01:13,080 –> 00:01:15,419 You’ll notice the first thing that is said there 26 00:01:15,419 –> 00:01:20,419 is that Sarah Abraham’s wife had born him no children. 27 00:01:20,580 –> 00:01:23,720 So how will the blessing of God that depends upon 28 00:01:23,720 –> 00:01:28,099 is tied to a child, an offspring of Abraham, 29 00:01:28,099 –> 00:01:30,720 a line of descent that will come from Abraham. 30 00:01:30,720 –> 00:01:33,199 Of course, the line into which Jesus Christ, 31 00:01:33,199 –> 00:01:34,879 the savior of the world was born. 32 00:01:34,879 –> 00:01:37,959 How will that be if there is no line? 33 00:01:37,959 –> 00:01:41,160 And Sarah decides that the time has come 34 00:01:41,160 –> 00:01:44,739 for her to take matters into her own hands. 35 00:01:44,739 –> 00:01:49,320 And so, she finds a way of getting a child. 36 00:01:49,320 –> 00:01:53,580 Verse 1, Sarah had a female Egyptian 37 00:01:53,620 –> 00:01:58,260 servant whose name was Hagar. 38 00:01:59,660 –> 00:02:01,139 Now, if you ask the question, 39 00:02:01,139 –> 00:02:06,139 how did Sarah come to have a female Egyptian servant? 40 00:02:06,620 –> 00:02:09,380 I think the answer most likely lies back 41 00:02:09,380 –> 00:02:12,820 in Chapter 12 that we looked at a couple of weeks ago. 42 00:02:12,820 –> 00:02:14,880 You remember that Sarah and Abraham 43 00:02:14,880 –> 00:02:17,899 had gone down to Egypt in order to get food 44 00:02:17,899 –> 00:02:21,100 because there was famine in the land of Canaan. 45 00:02:21,100 –> 00:02:22,059 And when they went there, 46 00:02:22,119 –> 00:02:24,039 they had practiced this deception 47 00:02:24,039 –> 00:02:28,779 in which Abigail said that Sarah was his sister. 48 00:02:28,779 –> 00:02:31,080 The whole thing went terribly wrong 49 00:02:31,080 –> 00:02:35,740 and Sarah gets taken into the court of Pharaoh 50 00:02:35,740 –> 00:02:38,179 as a candidate to become his wife. 51 00:02:38,179 –> 00:02:42,360 And because Pharaoh wants for this path to progress, 52 00:02:42,360 –> 00:02:45,720 he plies Abraham with many, many gifts, 53 00:02:45,720 –> 00:02:46,839 which was one of the reasons 54 00:02:46,839 –> 00:02:50,339 why Abraham himself became a very rich man. 55 00:02:50,339 –> 00:02:52,460 And in chapter 12 and verse 16, 56 00:02:52,460 –> 00:02:53,820 when they were back in Egypt, 57 00:02:53,820 –> 00:02:56,300 we read that for Sarah’s sake, 58 00:02:56,300 –> 00:02:58,679 the Pharaoh dealt well with Abraham 59 00:02:58,679 –> 00:03:01,600 and he had sheep and oxen and male donkeys 60 00:03:01,600 –> 00:03:06,020 and male servants and female servants. 61 00:03:06,020 –> 00:03:09,100 So, we’re specifically told that during this deception 62 00:03:09,100 –> 00:03:11,399 that took place in Egypt 63 00:03:11,399 –> 00:03:13,779 that one of the outcomes of the deception 64 00:03:13,779 –> 00:03:17,100 was that Abraham was plied with gifts 65 00:03:17,100 –> 00:03:19,919 that included female servants. 66 00:03:19,960 –> 00:03:22,839 And so it seems we have good reason to think 67 00:03:22,839 –> 00:03:26,199 that Hagar became Sarah’s servant 68 00:03:26,199 –> 00:03:30,279 because she was given to Abraham by Pharaoh 69 00:03:30,279 –> 00:03:33,740 when Abraham and Sarah were in Egypt. 70 00:03:34,800 –> 00:03:36,520 Now, verse two takes up the story. 71 00:03:36,520 –> 00:03:37,800 Sarah said to Abraham, 72 00:03:37,800 –> 00:03:41,380 behold now the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, 73 00:03:41,380 –> 00:03:43,720 go in to my servant, 74 00:03:43,720 –> 00:03:48,000 it may be that I shall obtain children by her. 75 00:03:48,000 –> 00:03:52,179 And Abraham listened to the voice of Sarah. 76 00:03:53,339 –> 00:03:56,460 Now, the outline of the story therefore is very simple. 77 00:03:56,460 –> 00:03:58,960 Sarah wants to have a child 78 00:03:58,960 –> 00:04:02,279 and so she gives Hagar to Abraham. 79 00:04:02,279 –> 00:04:05,279 Abraham agrees with the plan. 80 00:04:05,279 –> 00:04:08,240 Hagar, as a result conceives 81 00:04:08,240 –> 00:04:11,259 and this already fractured family 82 00:04:11,259 –> 00:04:14,440 is now plunged in a new way 83 00:04:14,440 –> 00:04:19,440 into a web of conflicting loyalties and hidden resentments. 84 00:04:21,160 –> 00:04:22,920 Now, today we’re going to look at the story 85 00:04:22,920 –> 00:04:25,899 from the angle of Hagar 86 00:04:25,899 –> 00:04:28,779 and I want to offer to you three sketches 87 00:04:28,779 –> 00:04:32,940 of Hagar’s life and her experience. 88 00:04:32,940 –> 00:04:37,940 The first is simply Hagar emotionally abandoned. 89 00:04:38,600 –> 00:04:42,320 Want you to see what that experience was like for her. 90 00:04:43,320 –> 00:04:44,779 Many will relate to it. 91 00:04:45,720 –> 00:04:49,940 The second is a sketch of Hagar, spiritually wounded. 92 00:04:50,880 –> 00:04:53,679 Want you to put yourself in her skin as it were 93 00:04:53,679 –> 00:04:55,600 and to see what it was that she endured 94 00:04:55,600 –> 00:04:58,519 and the massive barriers to faith that she had 95 00:04:58,519 –> 00:05:03,480 as some here today may be facing massive barriers to faith. 96 00:05:03,480 –> 00:05:05,040 Then the third sketch will be this. 97 00:05:05,040 –> 00:05:10,119 She was a woman deeply, deeply, deeply loved, loved by God 98 00:05:11,040 –> 00:05:15,239 and her whole life was changed when she came to the place 99 00:05:15,239 –> 00:05:18,640 of knowing that love for herself 100 00:05:18,640 –> 00:05:21,179 and that is very much my prayer for today 101 00:05:21,179 –> 00:05:23,320 that as we engage with the scripture 102 00:05:23,320 –> 00:05:26,940 that there will be a pouring onto us 103 00:05:26,940 –> 00:05:30,959 by the Holy Spirit of the knowledge of the love of God 104 00:05:30,959 –> 00:05:34,540 and that we may sense it and that we may know it 105 00:05:34,540 –> 00:05:37,000 in a whole new way today. 106 00:05:37,000 –> 00:05:39,160 So these three sketches, hope you have your Bible open. 107 00:05:39,179 –> 00:05:43,220 First is Hagar emotionally abandoned. 108 00:05:44,519 –> 00:05:49,480 Now if Hagar was indeed given to Abraham by Pharaoh 109 00:05:49,480 –> 00:05:54,480 we may assume that Hagar therefore had some position 110 00:05:54,600 –> 00:05:58,399 within the court of Pharaoh of in Egypt 111 00:05:58,399 –> 00:06:00,359 that she was part of the retinue, 112 00:06:00,359 –> 00:06:05,359 the circle that was around the Pharaoh in the royal palace 113 00:06:05,519 –> 00:06:06,640 and remember that Pharaoh 114 00:06:06,820 –> 00:06:11,059 was very very eager to impress Abraham 115 00:06:11,059 –> 00:06:14,519 with high quality gifts 116 00:06:14,519 –> 00:06:17,359 and so he’s not off-loading on Abraham 117 00:06:17,359 –> 00:06:21,619 the least effective members of his court circle. 118 00:06:21,619 –> 00:06:23,399 I’m going to assume from the fact 119 00:06:23,399 –> 00:06:27,200 that Pharaoh is trying to make a great impression on Abraham 120 00:06:27,200 –> 00:06:29,920 in order to win favor in regards 121 00:06:29,920 –> 00:06:32,739 to who he thinks is Abraham’s sister 122 00:06:32,739 –> 00:06:35,079 that he was actually giving choice gifts 123 00:06:35,279 –> 00:06:40,279 and that therefore Hagar was a singularly impressive lady 124 00:06:41,220 –> 00:06:44,480 perhaps one of the most effective folks 125 00:06:44,480 –> 00:06:48,119 within the Pharaoh’s court in regards to the work 126 00:06:48,119 –> 00:06:50,339 that she may have been doing. 127 00:06:50,339 –> 00:06:51,739 And what I want you to notice 128 00:06:51,739 –> 00:06:54,200 is that this was Hagar’s experience 129 00:06:54,200 –> 00:06:56,600 that Pharaoh gave her up. 130 00:06:57,480 –> 00:07:01,880 He gave her up and now she finds herself with Abraham 131 00:07:02,519 –> 00:07:06,600 and she’s come from Pharaoh’s palace 132 00:07:06,600 –> 00:07:09,600 and she now finds herself in Abraham’s tent, 133 00:07:09,600 –> 00:07:12,820 in Abraham’s extended family 134 00:07:12,820 –> 00:07:17,820 and people dream of moving from a tent to a palace. 135 00:07:17,920 –> 00:07:19,519 Not many people are interested 136 00:07:19,519 –> 00:07:21,399 in moving from a palace to a tent 137 00:07:21,399 –> 00:07:24,880 but that was Hagar’s experience, why? 138 00:07:24,880 –> 00:07:29,880 Because Pharaoh gave her up and then the pattern continues 139 00:07:30,239 –> 00:07:32,239 because not only did Pharaoh give her up 140 00:07:32,239 –> 00:07:35,980 but Sarah gave her up, verse three. 141 00:07:35,980 –> 00:07:38,239 She’s now being serving Sarah. 142 00:07:38,239 –> 00:07:41,480 She’s been working loyally in Sarah’s interest 143 00:07:41,480 –> 00:07:43,119 and in her goods, she’s worked well 144 00:07:43,119 –> 00:07:46,299 and faithfully for 10 years and what did Sarah do? 145 00:07:46,299 –> 00:07:49,880 Sarah, Abraham’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant 146 00:07:49,880 –> 00:07:54,880 and gave her to Abraham, her husband, as a wife. 147 00:07:55,079 –> 00:07:58,299 So now Sarah’s giving her up also. 148 00:07:59,059 –> 00:08:03,700 This would not perhaps have been as surprising to Hagar 149 00:08:03,700 –> 00:08:06,880 as it is to us, very interesting 150 00:08:06,880 –> 00:08:11,220 that if you look at ancient law codes 151 00:08:11,220 –> 00:08:16,040 from pagan nations in the time of Abraham 152 00:08:16,040 –> 00:08:20,320 in the area of Mesopotamia, from which he came, 153 00:08:20,320 –> 00:08:23,019 that there are actually in fragments 154 00:08:23,019 –> 00:08:25,380 that have been preserved and unearthed through 155 00:08:25,859 –> 00:08:30,859 there are laws way back that particularly related 156 00:08:31,299 –> 00:08:34,539 to this kind of surrogacy we would call it today 157 00:08:34,539 –> 00:08:37,859 in which, if a woman was without a children 158 00:08:37,859 –> 00:08:40,440 that a servant would take this role 159 00:08:40,440 –> 00:08:42,979 and become as it were a second wife 160 00:08:42,979 –> 00:08:44,799 and then she had certain obligations 161 00:08:44,799 –> 00:08:46,739 and certain responsibilities. 162 00:08:46,739 –> 00:08:49,340 And it’s all laid out very fascinating. 163 00:08:49,340 –> 00:08:53,659 So that was the culture from which Abraham and Sarah came. 164 00:08:53,659 –> 00:08:55,760 What is important for us to know 165 00:08:55,760 –> 00:08:59,619 is it never was so with the people of God. 166 00:09:01,299 –> 00:09:03,859 Right back from the beginning of the Bible. 167 00:09:05,000 –> 00:09:07,140 It was always the purpose of God 168 00:09:07,140 –> 00:09:10,159 from the day that he brought Eve to Adam. 169 00:09:11,020 –> 00:09:12,780 It was always the purpose of God, 170 00:09:12,780 –> 00:09:14,820 from the very beginning, 171 00:09:14,820 –> 00:09:19,099 that marriage should be one man 172 00:09:19,099 –> 00:09:21,760 and that it should be one woman 173 00:09:21,760 –> 00:09:23,700 and that it should be a lifetime bond. 174 00:09:23,700 –> 00:09:25,200 That was the purpose of God. 175 00:09:26,219 –> 00:09:29,140 But the surrounding cultures in the time of Abraham 176 00:09:29,140 –> 00:09:32,159 do not know God and they have practiced 177 00:09:32,159 –> 00:09:36,919 with all kinds of alternative modes of marriage. 178 00:09:36,919 –> 00:09:40,039 It’s so fascinating that in our culture today 179 00:09:40,039 –> 00:09:41,880 and so sad that in our culture today, 180 00:09:41,880 –> 00:09:45,239 actually what’s happening is we’re reaching back 181 00:09:45,239 –> 00:09:49,979 into alternative modes that were widely practiced 182 00:09:49,979 –> 00:09:53,840 centuries and centuries ago amongst cultures, 183 00:09:53,840 –> 00:09:56,299 pagan cultures, where God was not known. 184 00:09:56,299 –> 00:09:58,479 It was never so among the people of God 185 00:09:58,479 –> 00:10:02,179 and so what you have here is you have Abraham and Sarah 186 00:10:02,179 –> 00:10:05,179 who are truly believers being absorbed back 187 00:10:05,179 –> 00:10:07,599 into the culture from which they came 188 00:10:07,599 –> 00:10:11,440 and the tragedy of the story is that 189 00:10:11,440 –> 00:10:15,020 as they move beyond the bounds of marriage 190 00:10:15,020 –> 00:10:17,539 as God has given it to his people, 191 00:10:18,500 –> 00:10:20,840 they go back into the culture alternative, 192 00:10:22,880 –> 00:10:26,539 they find that what comes of that 193 00:10:26,539 –> 00:10:29,400 is much less than they thought 194 00:10:29,400 –> 00:10:32,739 and much worse than they hoped. 195 00:10:32,739 –> 00:10:35,619 It is the beginning of a tangled web, 196 00:10:36,619 –> 00:10:41,080 the story of which we will follow today. 197 00:10:41,080 –> 00:10:42,659 Now what do you have? 198 00:10:42,659 –> 00:10:45,479 Now you have an emotional triangle. 199 00:10:46,479 –> 00:10:49,679 Abraham has two women in his life. 200 00:10:49,679 –> 00:10:53,440 The man is torn between his genuine love for his wife 201 00:10:53,440 –> 00:10:56,320 on the one hand and his strong desire for a child 202 00:10:56,320 –> 00:10:57,739 on the other hand. 203 00:10:58,760 –> 00:11:00,900 And now with this triangle in place 204 00:11:00,900 –> 00:11:03,559 as they’ve moved outside of the will of God here, 205 00:11:03,559 –> 00:11:04,400 what happens? 206 00:11:04,400 –> 00:11:06,599 You can read it just straight off in the story here. 207 00:11:06,599 –> 00:11:09,539 First, Hagar resents Sarah. 208 00:11:09,539 –> 00:11:11,099 It seems that she had served her well, 209 00:11:11,099 –> 00:11:13,479 but that all changed when they went outside 210 00:11:13,479 –> 00:11:14,719 the will of God. 211 00:11:14,760 –> 00:11:15,900 Hagar resents Sarah. 212 00:11:15,900 –> 00:11:18,760 Verse four, when she saw that she had conceived, 213 00:11:18,760 –> 00:11:23,219 Hagar looked with contempt upon Sarah. 214 00:11:24,200 –> 00:11:26,320 And so Sarah now is very unhappy. 215 00:11:26,320 –> 00:11:27,239 And what does Sarah do? 216 00:11:27,239 –> 00:11:30,880 Well, she blames Abraham and wants him to suffer. 217 00:11:30,880 –> 00:11:34,320 Verse five, may the wrong that has been done to me 218 00:11:34,320 –> 00:11:35,659 be on you. 219 00:11:36,679 –> 00:11:37,760 And here’s Abraham. 220 00:11:37,760 –> 00:11:41,440 Now he’s being blamed and he responds 221 00:11:41,440 –> 00:11:43,919 as so often we men can respond. 222 00:11:44,000 –> 00:11:45,400 He wants just to step back 223 00:11:45,400 –> 00:11:48,119 and he wants to wash his hands of the whole situation. 224 00:11:48,119 –> 00:11:51,200 Don’t blame me, he says in verse six, 225 00:11:51,200 –> 00:11:53,799 Behold, your servant is in your power. 226 00:11:53,799 –> 00:11:56,140 You do with her as you please. 227 00:11:56,140 –> 00:11:57,859 And so he basically just walks away. 228 00:11:57,859 –> 00:12:01,000 He says, I can’t handle this and so forth and so on. 229 00:12:01,000 –> 00:12:04,659 You see the dysfunction that is now come 230 00:12:04,659 –> 00:12:07,239 into this already fractured family. 231 00:12:08,260 –> 00:12:11,320 And now the whole thing indeed is falling apart. 232 00:12:11,320 –> 00:12:13,400 And you see what’s happening as we’re looking at it 233 00:12:13,400 –> 00:12:15,239 from Hagar’s point of view. 234 00:12:15,239 –> 00:12:18,520 Pharaoh gave her up, 235 00:12:18,520 –> 00:12:20,960 then Sarah gave her up. 236 00:12:21,840 –> 00:12:22,960 And now Abraham, 237 00:12:22,960 –> 00:12:26,239 who is the father of her child gives her up. 238 00:12:26,239 –> 00:12:28,739 Abraham has some responsibility for the child 239 00:12:28,739 –> 00:12:30,239 that she is carrying. 240 00:12:30,239 –> 00:12:32,599 He has a responsibility for her 241 00:12:32,599 –> 00:12:34,640 but he does not stand up for her. 242 00:12:34,640 –> 00:12:35,940 He does not stand by her. 243 00:12:35,940 –> 00:12:37,840 Hey, Sarah, it’s up to you. 244 00:12:37,840 –> 00:12:39,820 You just do with her whatever you want. 245 00:12:39,820 –> 00:12:43,359 And again, Hagar is given up. 246 00:12:43,359 –> 00:12:45,059 No one is committed to her. 247 00:12:46,080 –> 00:12:48,219 No one stands by her. 248 00:12:49,599 –> 00:12:52,419 People have her while it is convenient. 249 00:12:53,299 –> 00:12:54,940 Then they give her up, 250 00:12:54,940 –> 00:12:56,780 when it does not suit them. 251 00:12:57,900 –> 00:13:01,260 That has been the story of her life. 252 00:13:01,260 –> 00:13:03,679 Pushed from pillar to post 253 00:13:03,679 –> 00:13:06,700 at the convenience of others. 254 00:13:08,780 –> 00:13:10,059 And then we read verse six, 255 00:13:10,059 –> 00:13:11,320 not surprisingly, 256 00:13:11,320 –> 00:13:15,940 that Sarah dealt harshly with Hagar. 257 00:13:17,200 –> 00:13:19,419 And now you can easily imagine 258 00:13:19,419 –> 00:13:23,380 the cycles of blame, and hurt, 259 00:13:23,380 –> 00:13:26,419 and jealousy, and resentment 260 00:13:26,419 –> 00:13:28,099 that are festering 261 00:13:29,380 –> 00:13:34,380 in this now very dysfunctional family. 262 00:13:35,200 –> 00:13:40,200 In fact, the Bible speaking right into our world today. 263 00:13:44,359 –> 00:13:45,659 And so of course, 264 00:13:45,659 –> 00:13:49,280 Hagar’s work now seems to be impossible for her, 265 00:13:49,280 –> 00:13:52,099 and it is not surprising to read in verse six 266 00:13:52,099 –> 00:13:54,979 that Hagar fled from Sarah. 267 00:13:56,219 –> 00:13:58,219 And so we find her in the middle of the chapter, 268 00:13:58,219 –> 00:14:00,179 she is alone, 269 00:14:00,179 –> 00:14:01,559 she is pregnant, 270 00:14:02,320 –> 00:14:05,039 she is in the desert, 271 00:14:05,039 –> 00:14:07,320 which in that time of course, with wild animals, 272 00:14:07,320 –> 00:14:09,580 here’s a single woman pregnant in the desert 273 00:14:09,580 –> 00:14:11,799 that is about the most dangerous place 274 00:14:12,919 –> 00:14:14,979 that it was possible for her to be. 275 00:14:14,979 –> 00:14:17,559 The parallel today would be a woman alone 276 00:14:17,559 –> 00:14:21,900 and vulnerable with no one to protect her in the city. 277 00:14:21,900 –> 00:14:23,400 That would be the equivalent. 278 00:14:23,400 –> 00:14:25,400 The desert was the equivalent. 279 00:14:25,400 –> 00:14:29,739 It was the most dangerous place she could have been. 280 00:14:31,919 –> 00:14:34,000 Now then, as we translate this story 281 00:14:34,000 –> 00:14:36,080 from these many, many years ago, 282 00:14:36,080 –> 00:14:37,479 and already we’re beginning to get 283 00:14:37,479 –> 00:14:39,559 the sense of how it speaks to us today. 284 00:14:39,559 –> 00:14:43,979 This is a story then for the woman 285 00:14:43,979 –> 00:14:48,239 who feels like she has been a pawn 286 00:14:48,239 –> 00:14:53,239 pushed around on the board of other people’s lives. 287 00:14:55,320 –> 00:14:59,900 This is the story for the man, the husband, the father 288 00:15:00,780 –> 00:15:05,780 who has people around him, but does not feel deeply loved. 289 00:15:08,299 –> 00:15:13,299 He feels like a meal ticket for people who depend on him. 290 00:15:15,780 –> 00:15:18,099 This is a story for a young person 291 00:15:18,099 –> 00:15:21,880 whose father or mother takes no interest in you. 292 00:15:23,119 –> 00:15:24,719 They gave you up, 293 00:15:24,719 –> 00:15:27,900 your father or your mother has gone on to another life 294 00:15:27,900 –> 00:15:29,799 and that’s their life and they’re interested in it. 295 00:15:29,799 –> 00:15:32,780 Now you do not seem to matter very much to them at all. 296 00:15:32,780 –> 00:15:34,359 This is a story for you. 297 00:15:34,359 –> 00:15:38,340 This is a story for the person in the congregation today 298 00:15:38,340 –> 00:15:42,039 who has never felt deeply loved. 299 00:15:43,039 –> 00:15:43,880 Never. 300 00:15:45,780 –> 00:15:46,599 Think of it. 301 00:15:46,599 –> 00:15:51,020 Hagar was never first in anybody’s life. 302 00:15:52,599 –> 00:15:54,419 In the various relationships she had, 303 00:15:54,419 –> 00:15:58,280 she was in different people’s lives in different ways, 304 00:15:58,280 –> 00:16:03,280 but she was never first in anybody’s life. 305 00:16:05,380 –> 00:16:08,239 No one had ever got close enough to Hagar 306 00:16:08,239 –> 00:16:10,820 to know who she really was 307 00:16:12,059 –> 00:16:13,679 and what she most deeply felt 308 00:16:15,599 –> 00:16:18,380 and there was no one that she could count on. 309 00:16:20,140 –> 00:16:23,960 Not even the father of the child. 310 00:16:24,559 –> 00:16:25,500 She was carrying. 311 00:16:27,400 –> 00:16:29,619 So that’s the first sketch 312 00:16:29,619 –> 00:16:31,419 and you’ll see how immediately the story 313 00:16:31,419 –> 00:16:33,179 speaks into our world today. 314 00:16:33,179 –> 00:16:38,020 Here is Hagar and she is emotionally wounded. 315 00:16:39,739 –> 00:16:42,739 Second sketch, spiritually wounded. 316 00:16:45,239 –> 00:16:47,900 Think about Hagar’s spiritual experience 317 00:16:47,900 –> 00:16:48,900 with me for a moment. 318 00:16:48,900 –> 00:16:53,119 She would have grown up worshipping idols. 319 00:16:53,159 –> 00:16:55,919 The whole world was in idolatry at that time. 320 00:16:55,919 –> 00:16:58,080 In fact, Abraham himself had grown up 321 00:16:58,080 –> 00:17:00,039 in Mesopotamia, worshipping idols, 322 00:17:00,039 –> 00:17:03,080 until God wonderfully and freely 323 00:17:03,080 –> 00:17:05,280 had made himself known to Abraham 324 00:17:05,280 –> 00:17:07,000 and given him this blessing 325 00:17:07,000 –> 00:17:08,859 and made this covenant with him 326 00:17:08,859 –> 00:17:10,859 and made himself known to Abraham. 327 00:17:10,859 –> 00:17:14,579 At this time, so far as we are aware, 328 00:17:14,579 –> 00:17:17,079 there’s only one extended family 329 00:17:17,079 –> 00:17:18,420 on the face of the Earth 330 00:17:18,420 –> 00:17:20,319 who actually knows the living God. 331 00:17:20,319 –> 00:17:22,660 All the rest is in idolatry. 332 00:17:23,640 –> 00:17:25,180 But God has appeared to Abraham, 333 00:17:25,180 –> 00:17:26,640 God has laid hold of Abraham. 334 00:17:26,640 –> 00:17:29,479 God has made himself known to Abraham 335 00:17:30,579 –> 00:17:31,420 and said, 336 00:17:31,420 –> 00:17:32,680 “‘I will bless you, and through you 337 00:17:32,680 –> 00:17:36,900 “‘all the nations of the Earth will be blessed.’” 338 00:17:36,900 –> 00:17:40,599 Eventually, this one family would become a great nation 339 00:17:40,599 –> 00:17:45,599 and from this great nation would come Mary 340 00:17:45,920 –> 00:17:50,719 and from Mary, the son of God taking flesh 341 00:17:50,719 –> 00:17:52,560 and blessing coming to the world. 342 00:17:52,560 –> 00:17:54,920 But at this point, we’re at the early point 343 00:17:54,920 –> 00:17:57,819 of God making himself known to humanity. 344 00:17:58,959 –> 00:18:03,959 And Hagar would have grown up then worshiping idols, 345 00:18:04,839 –> 00:18:08,800 but in the kindness of God, the providence of God, 346 00:18:08,800 –> 00:18:10,920 through these unusual circumstances, 347 00:18:10,920 –> 00:18:13,119 she gets brought into the one family 348 00:18:13,119 –> 00:18:14,319 on the face of the Earth 349 00:18:14,319 –> 00:18:17,459 where particular blessing from God is found, 350 00:18:17,459 –> 00:18:21,459 the family where the promises of God have been deposited 351 00:18:21,459 –> 00:18:24,900 and she’s sort of adopted into this wider circle 352 00:18:25,839 –> 00:18:30,839 of God’s covenant and how wonderful that really was. 353 00:18:31,380 –> 00:18:32,420 Abraham through you, 354 00:18:32,420 –> 00:18:35,219 people from all nations of the Earth will be blessed 355 00:18:35,219 –> 00:18:36,859 and here’s a women from another nation 356 00:18:36,859 –> 00:18:38,280 and perhaps she was the very first 357 00:18:38,280 –> 00:18:40,939 to be brought into The Circle. 358 00:18:40,939 –> 00:18:42,380 And she comes to know something 359 00:18:42,380 –> 00:18:44,239 about Abraham and Sarah’s God. 360 00:18:44,239 –> 00:18:46,280 Everything that you would have learned 361 00:18:46,280 –> 00:18:50,939 about God, she would have learned from Abraham and Sarah. 362 00:18:50,939 –> 00:18:53,160 They would have taught her about the God 363 00:18:53,160 –> 00:18:55,380 who made the heavens and the Earth. 364 00:18:55,380 –> 00:18:58,219 The God who loves undeserving people. 365 00:18:58,219 –> 00:19:01,459 The God who chooses to bless a rebel world 366 00:19:01,459 –> 00:19:06,260 through a son in whom all his blessing will be found. 367 00:19:06,260 –> 00:19:08,260 Hagar would have learned this from Abraham 368 00:19:08,260 –> 00:19:10,300 and learned this from Sarah 369 00:19:10,300 –> 00:19:11,680 and in the kindness of God, 370 00:19:11,680 –> 00:19:14,219 she finds herself in The Circle 371 00:19:14,219 –> 00:19:18,140 of the family that God has chosen to bless. 372 00:19:19,140 –> 00:19:23,199 Picture Hagar sitting by the campfire 373 00:19:24,219 –> 00:19:26,699 and Abraham is praying 374 00:19:27,939 –> 00:19:29,839 and now Sarah is singing 375 00:19:29,839 –> 00:19:34,099 and other members of the extended family begin to join in. 376 00:19:35,160 –> 00:19:37,680 She’s become like a sort of adopted daughter 377 00:19:37,680 –> 00:19:39,739 into the family of faith. 378 00:19:40,880 –> 00:19:43,140 Everything that she knows about God, 379 00:19:43,140 –> 00:19:47,339 she has gained and learned from Abraham and Sarah 380 00:19:47,339 –> 00:19:50,339 and now think about what happens next. 381 00:19:52,000 –> 00:19:55,020 The people from whom she has learned 382 00:19:55,020 –> 00:19:58,859 everything she knows about God, abuse her horribly. 383 00:20:01,280 –> 00:20:04,699 That must have been devastating for Hagar, devastating. 384 00:20:06,880 –> 00:20:10,439 What good thoughts can she ever have 385 00:20:10,439 –> 00:20:13,400 about Abraham and Sarah’s God now? 386 00:20:14,359 –> 00:20:16,459 Spiritually wounded. 387 00:20:19,060 –> 00:20:22,819 So this is a story for the person 388 00:20:22,819 –> 00:20:27,819 who has learned about God but now struggles with faith 389 00:20:27,859 –> 00:20:30,780 because of what they have seen in those who believe. 390 00:20:33,099 –> 00:20:34,819 That speaks right into your experience 391 00:20:34,819 –> 00:20:36,319 if that’s where you are today. 392 00:20:38,260 –> 00:20:40,180 This is often an issue. 393 00:20:40,180 –> 00:20:42,140 Let me make this particular application. 394 00:20:42,219 –> 00:20:45,380 It is often an issue for children 395 00:20:45,380 –> 00:20:48,380 who grow up in a Christian home 396 00:20:49,479 –> 00:20:53,140 and perhaps particularly during the teenage years 397 00:20:54,040 –> 00:20:57,479 this becomes a part of your experience. 398 00:20:57,479 –> 00:21:01,119 Think of it, when you were young, I mean really young, 399 00:21:01,119 –> 00:21:05,619 your dad was your hero, your mom could do no wrong. 400 00:21:05,619 –> 00:21:06,920 Your parents are marvelous. 401 00:21:06,920 –> 00:21:09,140 Everything that comes into your life comes from them. 402 00:21:09,199 –> 00:21:10,699 I mean, when you’re really young 403 00:21:10,699 –> 00:21:14,319 you have this idealized kind of view of them. 404 00:21:15,880 –> 00:21:18,020 And then you grow, and you begin to see 405 00:21:18,020 –> 00:21:20,900 as you grow the cracks in their lives. 406 00:21:21,839 –> 00:21:23,680 We are all fractured sinners. 407 00:21:24,839 –> 00:21:26,479 Your mother talks about faith, 408 00:21:26,479 –> 00:21:28,920 but she seems to be uptight and worrying all the time. 409 00:21:28,920 –> 00:21:30,560 What is all that about, you say, 410 00:21:30,560 –> 00:21:32,619 when you’re 14, 15 and 16. 411 00:21:34,219 –> 00:21:36,319 Your father talks about following Christ 412 00:21:36,319 –> 00:21:37,560 and says all these grand things, 413 00:21:38,459 –> 00:21:41,359 You look at him and you say, is he really happy? 414 00:21:43,319 –> 00:21:47,180 Your parents are believers, 415 00:21:48,380 –> 00:21:52,560 but as you begin to see the cracks in their lives, 416 00:21:52,560 –> 00:21:54,359 you begin to say to yourself, huh, 417 00:21:55,739 –> 00:21:56,880 what is all this about? 418 00:21:58,000 –> 00:22:00,920 And now you have questions with regards to your own faith. 419 00:22:02,020 –> 00:22:03,459 And it’s good for you to know 420 00:22:03,459 –> 00:22:06,140 that you’re not alone in this experience. 421 00:22:07,599 –> 00:22:09,339 Some of you know what it is like 422 00:22:09,339 –> 00:22:10,880 far beyond the family circle, 423 00:22:10,880 –> 00:22:13,180 there has been someone who discipled you. 424 00:22:13,180 –> 00:22:15,719 There has been a Christian leader that you look to 425 00:22:15,719 –> 00:22:17,239 and you respected 426 00:22:17,239 –> 00:22:20,739 and you drew what you have learned from that person. 427 00:22:20,739 –> 00:22:21,819 And then something has happened 428 00:22:21,819 –> 00:22:25,260 and you suddenly discover that person has feet of clay. 429 00:22:26,579 –> 00:22:28,640 And you say, well, where does that leave me? 430 00:22:29,880 –> 00:22:32,300 And suddenly you’re thrown into a turbulence, 431 00:22:32,300 –> 00:22:34,819 a questioning, the struggle, 432 00:22:34,839 –> 00:22:38,420 in regards to your own walk with God. 433 00:22:40,300 –> 00:22:43,099 Try and think then what this was like for Hagar 434 00:22:43,099 –> 00:22:44,979 because this speaks to you. 435 00:22:45,939 –> 00:22:50,420 The impact when the only believers that she knew 436 00:22:50,420 –> 00:22:52,260 acted in the way that they did 437 00:22:52,260 –> 00:22:57,160 and against her in this injustice that they perpetrated. 438 00:22:58,959 –> 00:23:01,819 How can this woman ever come to believe 439 00:23:02,780 –> 00:23:05,459 everything that she knows about God 440 00:23:05,459 –> 00:23:08,859 has been mediated to her through Abraham and Sarah 441 00:23:08,859 –> 00:23:10,099 and now look at them. 442 00:23:10,099 –> 00:23:13,719 This is a massive, massive barrier to faith. 443 00:23:15,979 –> 00:23:17,420 And it’s recorded in the Bible 444 00:23:17,420 –> 00:23:19,819 because you and I need to know 445 00:23:19,819 –> 00:23:23,199 how God addresses such reality. 446 00:23:25,060 –> 00:23:27,699 It’s not surprising to me that Hagar 447 00:23:27,699 –> 00:23:29,500 ran from the family of faith. 448 00:23:29,579 –> 00:23:31,819 Not surprising to me that she ran from Sarah 449 00:23:31,819 –> 00:23:34,140 and from Abraham and then doing that, 450 00:23:34,140 –> 00:23:36,000 of course, she is running from the God 451 00:23:36,000 –> 00:23:38,060 that they had failed so badly. 452 00:23:40,199 –> 00:23:41,900 It’s in the Bible an amazing book. 453 00:23:43,079 –> 00:23:47,319 The Word of God speak into our lives today, 454 00:23:47,319 –> 00:23:51,140 our lives with the experiences that may have been yours 455 00:23:51,140 –> 00:23:56,140 of emotional abandonment and spiritual wounding. 456 00:23:58,280 –> 00:23:59,479 Here’s the third sketch. 457 00:24:00,319 –> 00:24:05,380 I want you to see Hagar today deeply, deeply loved 458 00:24:07,939 –> 00:24:10,900 because this story is full of hope. 459 00:24:10,900 –> 00:24:14,099 It is one of the most wonderful stories in all of the Bible 460 00:24:14,099 –> 00:24:17,439 for the person who has been emotionally abandoned, 461 00:24:17,439 –> 00:24:20,260 for the person who has felt spiritually wounded. 462 00:24:20,260 –> 00:24:22,719 This is in the word of God for you 463 00:24:22,719 –> 00:24:25,479 and for everyone who has experienced 464 00:24:25,479 –> 00:24:27,839 something of what you have. 465 00:24:27,920 –> 00:24:30,920 Hagar, who has learned about God 466 00:24:31,900 –> 00:24:34,099 as you have learned about God, 467 00:24:35,060 –> 00:24:37,660 now comes to an encounter with God 468 00:24:37,660 –> 00:24:40,680 in which she, personally, for the very first time, 469 00:24:40,680 –> 00:24:43,880 experiences the love of God 470 00:24:43,880 –> 00:24:47,079 as if it were being showered, poured upon her 471 00:24:47,079 –> 00:24:49,760 in a way that she had never, never known that before. 472 00:24:49,760 –> 00:24:52,920 She had never known what it was to have a committed love 473 00:24:52,920 –> 00:24:54,319 that would never let go. 474 00:24:55,160 –> 00:24:57,839 But in this encounter with God 475 00:24:57,839 –> 00:24:59,479 that takes place in the desert, 476 00:24:59,479 –> 00:25:01,640 and that I’m praying through the scriptures 477 00:25:01,640 –> 00:25:03,959 and by the Spirit will take place for you 478 00:25:03,959 –> 00:25:06,079 in a fresh way today, 479 00:25:07,239 –> 00:25:12,239 this fractured lady with such a difficult, troubled life 480 00:25:13,560 –> 00:25:18,560 is wonderfully touched by the healing grace of God. 481 00:25:20,839 –> 00:25:23,540 There are three glimpses of the love of God here 482 00:25:24,380 –> 00:25:28,859 and let’s just try and open your soul to this 483 00:25:28,859 –> 00:25:30,699 as we hear these things 484 00:25:30,699 –> 00:25:34,380 and apply them to ourselves. 485 00:25:34,380 –> 00:25:36,020 God’s love is seen in this, 486 00:25:36,020 –> 00:25:38,739 that he finds this lady. 487 00:25:40,060 –> 00:25:41,500 There she is, verse seven. 488 00:25:41,500 –> 00:25:45,339 The angel of the Lord found her 489 00:25:45,339 –> 00:25:47,939 by a spring of water in the wilderness 490 00:25:47,939 –> 00:25:51,180 the spring on the way to Sher. 491 00:25:52,040 –> 00:25:54,239 There’s a little note here. 492 00:25:54,239 –> 00:25:56,060 The angel of the Lord, 493 00:25:56,060 –> 00:26:00,400 this is God taking visible form again. 494 00:26:00,400 –> 00:26:02,060 Not a human form this time 495 00:26:02,060 –> 00:26:05,020 as in the story we looked at last week, 496 00:26:05,020 –> 00:26:09,660 but this is God taking the form of a visible angel, 497 00:26:09,660 –> 00:26:10,680 the angel of the Lord. 498 00:26:10,680 –> 00:26:13,099 It’s referred to, this happens on other occasions 499 00:26:13,099 –> 00:26:15,500 in the Old Testament. 500 00:26:15,500 –> 00:26:17,420 God Himself in visible form. 501 00:26:17,420 –> 00:26:18,599 Another theophany. 502 00:26:18,599 –> 00:26:19,780 The reason that I say that, 503 00:26:19,800 –> 00:26:21,280 and the reason we know that, 504 00:26:21,280 –> 00:26:22,780 is because in verse 13, 505 00:26:22,780 –> 00:26:23,959 if you look carefully there, 506 00:26:23,959 –> 00:26:28,540 we read that Hagar called the name of the LORD, 507 00:26:28,540 –> 00:26:30,000 four capital letters, 508 00:26:30,000 –> 00:26:33,800 she called Yahweh who spoke to her, 509 00:26:33,800 –> 00:26:38,800 so God Himself spoke to her. 510 00:26:39,040 –> 00:26:41,959 He made Himself present 511 00:26:41,959 –> 00:26:44,760 in a form that was visible to her. 512 00:26:44,760 –> 00:26:46,319 The angel of the Lord, 513 00:26:46,540 –> 00:26:50,140 a pre-incarnation manifestation 514 00:26:50,140 –> 00:26:52,540 of the second person of the Trinity, 515 00:26:52,540 –> 00:26:53,439 the Son of God 516 00:26:53,439 –> 00:26:57,099 appearing to this woman in her need 517 00:26:57,099 –> 00:26:58,719 and in her vulnerability. 518 00:26:58,719 –> 00:27:03,719 It is a marvelous, marvelous story of God’s grace. 519 00:27:03,859 –> 00:27:05,699 And I want you to notice this verse seven. 520 00:27:05,699 –> 00:27:09,199 The angel of the Lord found her. 521 00:27:09,199 –> 00:27:10,800 Found her. 522 00:27:11,780 –> 00:27:15,439 Hagar would never have found her way to God. 523 00:27:16,520 –> 00:27:18,219 In fact, she was running from God 524 00:27:18,219 –> 00:27:19,800 as someone here today may be. 525 00:27:21,160 –> 00:27:24,400 But God found His way to her. 526 00:27:24,400 –> 00:27:28,780 Friends, if God had waited for us to find our way to Him, 527 00:27:28,780 –> 00:27:30,540 none of us would ever have got there. 528 00:27:30,540 –> 00:27:32,060 I certainly would never have got there 529 00:27:32,060 –> 00:27:35,000 if God just passively waited for me 530 00:27:35,000 –> 00:27:36,719 to find it in my heart, 531 00:27:36,719 –> 00:27:39,140 the heart that is an unbelieving heart by nature 532 00:27:39,140 –> 00:27:40,180 to find my way to Him. 533 00:27:40,180 –> 00:27:42,560 How would that ever have happened? 534 00:27:42,560 –> 00:27:46,959 Lost sheep can’t find their way to the good shepherd. 535 00:27:46,959 –> 00:27:49,959 The good shepherd can and does find his way 536 00:27:49,959 –> 00:27:50,920 to the lost sheep. 537 00:27:50,920 –> 00:27:53,540 And that’s how a person is saved. 538 00:27:53,540 –> 00:27:56,000 That’s how a person comes to the knowledge of God. 539 00:27:56,000 –> 00:27:59,619 And it’s right here, the Angel of the Lord found her. 540 00:27:59,619 –> 00:28:01,619 And it’s very striking to me, 541 00:28:01,619 –> 00:28:06,619 the timing of God’s interception of this woman’s sad life. 542 00:28:08,900 –> 00:28:11,180 God steps into her sorrow 543 00:28:11,439 –> 00:28:14,579 at the time you would least expect it. 544 00:28:14,579 –> 00:28:17,760 I mean, here she is, she’s running from believers. 545 00:28:17,760 –> 00:28:20,199 She’s running from God. 546 00:28:20,199 –> 00:28:22,819 She surely was angry and resentful 547 00:28:22,819 –> 00:28:26,239 as a result of this terrible injustice 548 00:28:26,239 –> 00:28:27,680 that she has experienced. 549 00:28:27,680 –> 00:28:30,459 If you’ve experienced an injustice recently, 550 00:28:30,459 –> 00:28:33,619 you will know what it is for that to churn within you. 551 00:28:34,500 –> 00:28:35,920 And you think, well this isn’t a time 552 00:28:35,920 –> 00:28:38,239 where I’m likely to be in the frame of mind 553 00:28:38,239 –> 00:28:40,719 for hearing the voice of God. 554 00:28:41,339 –> 00:28:42,780 Well, God doesn’t depend on you 555 00:28:42,780 –> 00:28:44,219 being in that frame of mind. 556 00:28:44,219 –> 00:28:47,859 The angel of the Lord finds her and lays hold of her. 557 00:28:49,099 –> 00:28:53,500 Says God coming to break into 558 00:28:53,500 –> 00:28:56,439 the life of this emotionally abandoned 559 00:28:56,439 –> 00:29:00,380 and spiritually wounded woman. 560 00:29:00,380 –> 00:29:01,880 And it’s the turning point of our life. 561 00:29:01,880 –> 00:29:02,780 It’s wonderful. 562 00:29:03,859 –> 00:29:06,540 Notice how God deals with her. 563 00:29:06,540 –> 00:29:08,380 And may God deal with some of us 564 00:29:08,660 –> 00:29:11,339 in this way freshly today. 565 00:29:11,339 –> 00:29:12,459 There’s a question. 566 00:29:12,459 –> 00:29:13,339 There’s a command. 567 00:29:13,339 –> 00:29:15,540 And there’s a promise. 568 00:29:15,540 –> 00:29:17,939 The question as God intercepts her life. 569 00:29:17,939 –> 00:29:19,060 Verse eight. 570 00:29:19,060 –> 00:29:19,900 And He said, 571 00:29:19,900 –> 00:29:22,660 Hagar, servant of Sarah, 572 00:29:22,660 –> 00:29:26,300 where have you come from? 573 00:29:26,300 –> 00:29:29,199 And where are you going? 574 00:29:29,199 –> 00:29:31,680 There’s two great questions. 575 00:29:31,680 –> 00:29:34,060 Can you imagine the Almighty addressing them 576 00:29:34,060 –> 00:29:35,300 directly to you? 577 00:29:35,300 –> 00:29:36,300 Face to face. 578 00:29:36,300 –> 00:29:37,660 Where have you come from? 579 00:29:39,140 –> 00:29:41,540 Where are you going? 580 00:29:43,560 –> 00:29:45,260 Hagar, where have you come from? 581 00:29:45,260 –> 00:29:46,140 The answer, of course, 582 00:29:46,140 –> 00:29:49,219 is that she’s coming from believers. 583 00:29:49,219 –> 00:29:52,040 She’s running from God. 584 00:29:52,040 –> 00:29:53,599 She’s leaving the people of God. 585 00:29:53,599 –> 00:29:55,099 She’s running from faith. 586 00:29:55,099 –> 00:29:57,380 She’s abandoning the place 587 00:29:57,380 –> 00:30:00,160 where God himself had set her down. 588 00:30:02,380 –> 00:30:04,380 And you hear this question from the Lord 589 00:30:04,380 –> 00:30:05,900 into your life today. 590 00:30:05,900 –> 00:30:07,579 Where have you come from? 591 00:30:07,579 –> 00:30:10,780 Is there someone here you have been learning about God, 592 00:30:11,859 –> 00:30:13,579 but you’re on the path away from 593 00:30:13,579 –> 00:30:14,979 that which you have learned? 594 00:30:16,500 –> 00:30:19,060 Is there someone here you’ve been serving God 595 00:30:19,060 –> 00:30:20,920 but the truth is that the zeal, 596 00:30:20,920 –> 00:30:23,239 the passion to serve the Lord 597 00:30:23,239 –> 00:30:24,739 that once filled your heart 598 00:30:24,739 –> 00:30:25,979 has been dissipating 599 00:30:25,979 –> 00:30:27,540 and now your heart is quite cold, 600 00:30:27,540 –> 00:30:29,040 you’re merely going through the motions? 601 00:30:29,040 –> 00:30:31,500 You’ve come from a place of spiritual strength 602 00:30:31,500 –> 00:30:33,579 and health but you’re not there now? 603 00:30:33,579 –> 00:30:38,579 And Hagar’s awakened 604 00:30:39,979 –> 00:30:43,500 as God interacts in this most personal way with her. 605 00:30:43,500 –> 00:30:44,660 Where have you come from? 606 00:30:44,660 –> 00:30:47,119 Then this question, powerful one. 607 00:30:48,060 –> 00:30:49,760 Hagar, where are you going? 608 00:30:51,800 –> 00:30:52,800 Where are you going? 609 00:30:55,260 –> 00:30:57,739 Here you are, you’re moving away from faith. 610 00:30:57,739 –> 00:30:59,979 You’re moving away from the people of God. 611 00:30:59,979 –> 00:31:01,540 You’re moving away from the things 612 00:31:01,560 –> 00:31:04,020 that you have learned in these past years. 613 00:31:05,760 –> 00:31:06,760 Where are you going? 614 00:31:08,260 –> 00:31:10,540 And that question, as we hear it from the Lord, 615 00:31:10,540 –> 00:31:12,380 don’t think of it in terms of, you know, 616 00:31:12,380 –> 00:31:14,640 where are you gonna be tomorrow or next week 617 00:31:14,640 –> 00:31:17,880 or even next month or next year or a decade from now 618 00:31:17,880 –> 00:31:19,540 or even when you die. 619 00:31:21,540 –> 00:31:23,040 The question goes further. 620 00:31:24,260 –> 00:31:25,660 Beyond when you die. 621 00:31:27,060 –> 00:31:29,000 Beyond the day of resurrection. 622 00:31:30,000 –> 00:31:33,199 Beyond even the day when you and I 623 00:31:33,199 –> 00:31:35,339 and every other person who has ever lived 624 00:31:35,339 –> 00:31:38,079 will stand in the presence of almighty God 625 00:31:38,079 –> 00:31:39,599 who is our judge. 626 00:31:39,599 –> 00:31:41,119 Beyond that. 627 00:31:43,599 –> 00:31:46,199 Where are you going? 628 00:31:49,160 –> 00:31:51,680 Hagar, you’re choosing the path away from faith 629 00:31:51,680 –> 00:31:53,760 and the path away from obedience. 630 00:31:53,760 –> 00:31:57,959 You must think where that path ends. 631 00:31:59,880 –> 00:32:04,359 Because Hagar, the path you are choosing right now 632 00:32:04,359 –> 00:32:08,079 is not the path to Heaven. 633 00:32:09,800 –> 00:32:13,680 And Hagar is awakened by these gracious questions from God 634 00:32:13,680 –> 00:32:18,680 as God lovingly intercepts her on the road 635 00:32:18,920 –> 00:32:22,119 that would have been a road to destruction for her. 636 00:32:24,599 –> 00:32:26,439 And God gives her this command, verse 9, 637 00:32:27,079 –> 00:32:28,359 the angel of the Lord said to her, 638 00:32:28,359 –> 00:32:33,079 return to your mistress and submit to her. 639 00:32:33,079 –> 00:32:34,560 That was the one thing that Hagar 640 00:32:34,560 –> 00:32:36,000 did not want to hear, right? 641 00:32:36,920 –> 00:32:40,599 Oh God, tell me to do anything but not that, 642 00:32:40,599 –> 00:32:45,599 please, anything but that, anywhere but there, 643 00:32:47,199 –> 00:32:49,079 anyone but her. 644 00:32:51,359 –> 00:32:52,599 But the Lord is very clear, 645 00:32:52,599 –> 00:32:55,380 Hagar, you have taken a wrong path. 646 00:32:55,380 –> 00:32:57,540 You have moved from the place where I have set you 647 00:32:57,540 –> 00:32:59,500 and there is now only one thing to do, 648 00:33:00,459 –> 00:33:02,239 return to your mistress. 649 00:33:03,400 –> 00:33:06,359 Yes, it is a fractured home 650 00:33:08,099 –> 00:33:10,219 but it is where God has set you down 651 00:33:11,900 –> 00:33:14,739 and it is the place where God is known. 652 00:33:15,739 –> 00:33:17,979 In fact, it’s the only place on the face of the Earth 653 00:33:17,979 –> 00:33:20,459 apart from the extended family where God is known 654 00:33:22,219 –> 00:33:23,859 and that is where you need to be, 655 00:33:26,380 –> 00:33:28,000 is there someone here today 656 00:33:29,780 –> 00:33:32,060 and you are on the edge 657 00:33:33,439 –> 00:33:35,880 moving away from the people of God. 658 00:33:35,880 –> 00:33:38,660 You’re disillusioned with church, you’re fed up with it 659 00:33:40,239 –> 00:33:41,619 and in your mind you say, 660 00:33:41,619 –> 00:33:43,939 well, I can just have a private faith 661 00:33:45,619 –> 00:33:47,859 and you see the fracturing in the lives 662 00:33:47,859 –> 00:33:50,040 of brothers and sisters in Christ 663 00:33:50,040 –> 00:33:51,800 and you think, well, I’m not gonna have anything more 664 00:33:51,800 –> 00:33:55,180 to do with that and you’re gradually on your way 665 00:33:56,880 –> 00:33:58,180 outside 666 00:33:59,280 –> 00:34:02,380 of the gathered life 667 00:34:02,380 –> 00:34:04,640 of the people of God. 668 00:34:06,359 –> 00:34:10,199 You feel like Hagar with Abraham and with Sarah 669 00:34:10,199 –> 00:34:13,260 and you say, I’d be better on my own 670 00:34:15,800 –> 00:34:20,120 and God says to you, return to your mistress 671 00:34:20,120 –> 00:34:22,300 and submit to her. 672 00:34:24,459 –> 00:34:27,139 The church of Jesus Christ in this world 673 00:34:27,139 –> 00:34:29,360 sometimes looks pretty ugly 674 00:34:31,000 –> 00:34:35,800 but she is the bride of Christ 675 00:34:37,699 –> 00:34:41,679 and on the last day she will be radiant and beautiful 676 00:34:43,179 –> 00:34:46,860 and you do not want to be on your own in isolation 677 00:34:48,379 –> 00:34:49,760 apart from her. 678 00:34:51,080 –> 00:34:54,459 at the marriage supper of the lamb. 679 00:34:56,800 –> 00:34:58,520 And then there’s a wonderful promise 680 00:34:58,520 –> 00:35:02,159 as God is intercepting her life in great love here, 681 00:35:02,159 –> 00:35:05,919 verse 10, the angel of the Lord also said to her, 682 00:35:05,919 –> 00:35:08,520 I will surely multiply your offspring 683 00:35:08,520 –> 00:35:12,419 so that they cannot be numbered for multitude. 684 00:35:13,340 –> 00:35:17,399 Hagar, your life has been filled with so much pain 685 00:35:17,399 –> 00:35:19,639 but here’s the promise of God to you, 686 00:35:19,639 –> 00:35:22,320 you walk with God in faith and obedience. 687 00:35:22,320 –> 00:35:25,300 That will not be easy because it means going back to Sarah. 688 00:35:26,459 –> 00:35:28,879 It will be very hard and we’ll see how hard it was 689 00:35:28,879 –> 00:35:32,360 as we continue the story God willing next week. 690 00:35:32,360 –> 00:35:34,360 But Hagar, here’s the promise, 691 00:35:34,360 –> 00:35:36,719 you walk with God in faith and obedience 692 00:35:36,719 –> 00:35:39,639 and however hard your life may be, 693 00:35:39,639 –> 00:35:43,540 good will come of it and blessing will follow it. 694 00:35:44,459 –> 00:35:47,379 And Hagar, you will be able to say 695 00:35:48,379 –> 00:35:51,500 surely goodness and mercy will follow me 696 00:35:51,500 –> 00:35:55,100 all the days of my life and I will dwell 697 00:35:55,100 –> 00:35:57,199 in the house of the Lord forever. 698 00:35:57,199 –> 00:35:59,639 That’s not just for fractured Abraham 699 00:35:59,639 –> 00:36:01,100 and fractured Sarah. 700 00:36:01,100 –> 00:36:04,800 Hagar, that’s also for fractured you. 701 00:36:07,379 –> 00:36:10,399 This woman begins to discover in a new way 702 00:36:11,360 –> 00:36:13,879 a love that is different from anything 703 00:36:13,879 –> 00:36:17,600 that she has known before in all of its strength 704 00:36:17,600 –> 00:36:21,719 that is laying hold of her and will never let her down 705 00:36:21,719 –> 00:36:25,520 and will never give her up and will never let her go. 706 00:36:28,260 –> 00:36:29,919 Then I want you to notice this glimpse 707 00:36:29,919 –> 00:36:33,520 of the love of Christ as we try to open our hearts 708 00:36:33,520 –> 00:36:35,219 to that in all of its beauty 709 00:36:35,219 –> 00:36:38,040 and all of its life changing power. 710 00:36:38,080 –> 00:36:41,100 Not only do we see the love of the Lord 711 00:36:41,100 –> 00:36:43,399 in finding lost people, 712 00:36:43,399 –> 00:36:46,540 but here in hearing suffering people, 713 00:36:46,540 –> 00:36:49,000 verse 11, the angel of the Lord said to her, 714 00:36:49,000 –> 00:36:52,939 behold, you’re pregnant and shall bear a son 715 00:36:52,939 –> 00:36:56,120 and you shall call his name Ishmael 716 00:36:56,120 –> 00:37:01,120 because the Lord has listened to your affliction. 717 00:37:02,659 –> 00:37:04,780 It’s a very striking phrase. 718 00:37:05,719 –> 00:37:07,760 You would expect it to say 719 00:37:07,760 –> 00:37:09,979 the Lord has listened to your prayer, 720 00:37:10,919 –> 00:37:14,560 except that there’s absolutely no indication whatsoever 721 00:37:14,560 –> 00:37:16,199 that Hagar had ever prayed. 722 00:37:16,199 –> 00:37:17,719 In fact, she’s running from God. 723 00:37:17,719 –> 00:37:20,639 You don’t pray to a God from whom you are running. 724 00:37:22,439 –> 00:37:23,560 There’s been no prayer. 725 00:37:25,060 –> 00:37:27,520 God’s answering before she even called. 726 00:37:27,520 –> 00:37:30,060 God’s intercepting her life 727 00:37:30,060 –> 00:37:31,800 at a time when she was running from 728 00:37:31,800 –> 00:37:34,899 rather than seeking for the living God. 729 00:37:35,899 –> 00:37:41,060 But God says, I have heard your anguish, 730 00:37:41,060 –> 00:37:43,340 I have heard your affliction. 731 00:37:44,739 –> 00:37:45,899 Listen to this. 732 00:37:45,899 –> 00:37:50,620 God hears tears as well as prayers. 733 00:37:52,500 –> 00:37:54,659 There isn’t a tear that you have shed, 734 00:37:54,659 –> 00:37:58,699 there isn’t a sigh that has come from your inner soul 735 00:37:58,699 –> 00:38:02,300 that God does not know completely. 736 00:38:03,300 –> 00:38:07,699 There’s a beautiful verse in the Scriptures, 737 00:38:07,699 –> 00:38:10,860 Psalm 56 and verse eight. 738 00:38:11,659 –> 00:38:13,899 And if you can picture David the Psalmist 739 00:38:13,899 –> 00:38:16,060 in an anguish of soul, 740 00:38:16,060 –> 00:38:18,899 that’s the kind where you can’t get to sleep at night. 741 00:38:18,899 –> 00:38:21,459 You know these occasions where your mind’s so full 742 00:38:21,459 –> 00:38:25,060 and your soul’s in turmoil and you can’t get to sleep 743 00:38:25,060 –> 00:38:27,500 and you toss and you turn on your bed 744 00:38:27,500 –> 00:38:30,100 and you can’t get comfortable, you can’t settle 745 00:38:30,399 –> 00:38:33,719 and you know what that’s like at times. 746 00:38:35,459 –> 00:38:39,620 And David says this in Psalm 56 and verse eight, 747 00:38:39,620 –> 00:38:44,620 you have kept count of my tossings. 748 00:38:45,620 –> 00:38:49,780 Put my tears in your bottle. 749 00:38:51,419 –> 00:38:54,500 You know, the Bible says that the Lord knows 750 00:38:54,500 –> 00:38:57,459 the number of the hairs of our head. 751 00:38:57,459 –> 00:38:59,340 That’s marvelous. 752 00:39:00,260 –> 00:39:02,459 But I think this is something even greater. 753 00:39:03,659 –> 00:39:08,620 The Lord knows how many times you have turned on your bed 754 00:39:10,300 –> 00:39:13,719 in a night when your own soul was in anguish. 755 00:39:16,020 –> 00:39:19,699 And the Lord knows the precise number of tears 756 00:39:19,699 –> 00:39:21,860 that have come down your face. 757 00:39:23,780 –> 00:39:25,379 And because God knows all of this 758 00:39:25,379 –> 00:39:27,600 and God has heard all of this, 759 00:39:27,600 –> 00:39:31,879 the Lord says to Hagar that her son 760 00:39:31,879 –> 00:39:33,879 is to be called Ishmael. 761 00:39:35,239 –> 00:39:37,679 And he is called Ishmael. 762 00:39:37,679 –> 00:39:42,159 That means God has heard. 763 00:39:42,159 –> 00:39:44,560 And I really love this because the very fact 764 00:39:44,560 –> 00:39:48,120 that he was going to be such a difficult boy 765 00:39:48,120 –> 00:39:51,120 must have made his name rather useful for his mother 766 00:39:51,120 –> 00:39:54,620 when she shouted out in exasperation, you know? 767 00:39:54,620 –> 00:39:55,459 Can you imagine this? 768 00:39:55,500 –> 00:39:57,320 Ishmael! 769 00:39:57,320 –> 00:39:58,139 Ishmael! 770 00:39:59,139 –> 00:40:00,600 The Lord has heard. 771 00:40:01,439 –> 00:40:02,780 The Lord has heard. 772 00:40:03,820 –> 00:40:05,320 A blessing that must have been. 773 00:40:06,560 –> 00:40:09,040 And one more glimpse of the Lord’s love here. 774 00:40:10,399 –> 00:40:13,560 This woman’s discovering she is more deeply loved 775 00:40:13,560 –> 00:40:16,719 than she had ever experienced or she had ever imagined 776 00:40:18,500 –> 00:40:21,080 because God found her, because God heard her 777 00:40:21,080 –> 00:40:23,379 and most of all because God saw her. 778 00:40:23,379 –> 00:40:24,399 Verse 13. 779 00:40:25,719 –> 00:40:29,699 She called the name of the Lord who spoke to her. 780 00:40:29,699 –> 00:40:33,060 You are a God of seeing. 781 00:40:34,239 –> 00:40:37,719 For she said, truly here I have seen him 782 00:40:38,739 –> 00:40:41,020 who looks after me. 783 00:40:41,020 –> 00:40:42,500 There was no one in her life 784 00:40:43,459 –> 00:40:46,219 of whom she could have said before who looks after me. 785 00:40:46,219 –> 00:40:47,419 Pharaoh didn’t look after her. 786 00:40:47,419 –> 00:40:48,739 Sarah didn’t look after her. 787 00:40:48,739 –> 00:40:49,979 Abraham didn’t look after her. 788 00:40:49,979 –> 00:40:51,199 They all gave her up. 789 00:40:52,340 –> 00:40:55,060 But, here’s the one who will never give her up. 790 00:40:55,060 –> 00:40:56,419 I have now seen the one 791 00:40:57,860 –> 00:40:59,080 who looks after me. 792 00:41:00,340 –> 00:41:03,239 And the marvelous thing that impressed her most of all 793 00:41:03,239 –> 00:41:04,780 about this encounter with God 794 00:41:04,780 –> 00:41:08,060 in which she experienced love she had never known before 795 00:41:08,060 –> 00:41:11,479 was that you are a God of seeing. 796 00:41:11,479 –> 00:41:14,780 You are the God who sees me. 797 00:41:16,139 –> 00:41:18,139 Spurgeon has some wonderful words on this 798 00:41:18,139 –> 00:41:20,840 that I paraphrase for you here. 799 00:41:20,840 –> 00:41:22,419 They have been so moving to me. 800 00:41:23,379 –> 00:41:28,379 God sees you as much as if there was nobody else 801 00:41:28,899 –> 00:41:30,979 in the world for him to look at. 802 00:41:33,020 –> 00:41:35,260 The infinite mind of God is able to grasp 803 00:41:35,260 –> 00:41:37,399 a million objects at once and yet 804 00:41:37,399 –> 00:41:39,899 to set itself as much upon one 805 00:41:39,899 –> 00:41:42,580 as if there were nothing else but that one. 806 00:41:44,199 –> 00:41:49,080 You are looked at by God as much as if throughout space 807 00:41:49,080 –> 00:41:51,879 there were not another creature but yourself. 808 00:41:53,139 –> 00:41:56,179 Suppose the stars were blotted out in darkness. 809 00:41:56,179 –> 00:41:58,699 Suppose all the angels were dead. 810 00:41:58,699 –> 00:42:00,959 Imagine that all the glorified spirits 811 00:42:00,959 –> 00:42:02,419 in heaven were all gone 812 00:42:02,419 –> 00:42:05,780 and you are left alone, the last person, 813 00:42:05,780 –> 00:42:08,860 and there is God looking at you. 814 00:42:10,419 –> 00:42:14,939 God looks at you as if you were the only being 815 00:42:14,939 –> 00:42:16,979 his hands have ever made. 816 00:42:17,860 –> 00:42:22,620 You are the particular object of his attention 817 00:42:22,620 –> 00:42:25,540 at this and every moment. 818 00:42:27,820 –> 00:42:30,899 And God sees and knows you 819 00:42:30,899 –> 00:42:32,600 better than you know yourself. 820 00:42:33,820 –> 00:42:35,979 You find sometimes, even as life goes on, 821 00:42:35,979 –> 00:42:38,100 you wonder at some of what comes up 822 00:42:38,100 –> 00:42:39,100 wiithin your own soul. 823 00:42:39,100 –> 00:42:40,340 You don’t always understand 824 00:42:40,340 –> 00:42:42,379 what’s going on inside of yourself. 825 00:42:42,379 –> 00:42:44,500 The Bible says who can discern his errors? 826 00:42:44,500 –> 00:42:46,159 Who understands the human, 827 00:42:46,159 –> 00:42:47,699 even his own heart? 828 00:42:47,699 –> 00:42:49,719 Well God knows. 829 00:42:49,719 –> 00:42:51,979 And it is just fascinating to me 830 00:42:51,979 –> 00:42:55,540 that Hagar makes this wonderful statement 831 00:42:55,540 –> 00:42:57,459 about God seeing her, 832 00:42:57,459 –> 00:42:59,439 immediately after the prophecy 833 00:42:59,439 –> 00:43:02,100 about the character of the son, Ishmael, 834 00:43:02,100 –> 00:43:03,600 to whom she’ll give birth. 835 00:43:03,600 –> 00:43:05,719 God says, and we’ll take this up next week, 836 00:43:05,719 –> 00:43:10,280 he shall be a wild donkey of a man. 837 00:43:10,280 –> 00:43:11,840 Anyone got a son or a daughter 838 00:43:11,840 –> 00:43:13,939 who fits that description? 839 00:43:13,939 –> 00:43:15,860 His hand will be against everyone 840 00:43:15,879 –> 00:43:18,020 and everyone’s hand will be against him. 841 00:43:18,020 –> 00:43:19,179 There’s just something going on 842 00:43:19,179 –> 00:43:22,159 in the soul of this Ishmael 843 00:43:22,159 –> 00:43:24,399 that leads to turbulence 844 00:43:24,399 –> 00:43:26,899 and conflict that just runs throughout his life. 845 00:43:28,600 –> 00:43:30,219 We’ll look at that more next week. 846 00:43:30,219 –> 00:43:31,560 But it’s so fascinating 847 00:43:31,560 –> 00:43:34,100 when God says, now your son, 848 00:43:34,100 –> 00:43:36,000 he’s gonna be like a wild donkey. 849 00:43:37,120 –> 00:43:39,639 And I think Hagar’s saying to herself, 850 00:43:39,639 –> 00:43:42,379 I think I recognize a bit of that, 851 00:43:43,219 –> 00:43:48,199 and she says truly, you are a God who sees me. 852 00:43:50,139 –> 00:43:50,979 You know me. 853 00:43:52,500 –> 00:43:56,020 You know me as no one else ever has. 854 00:43:57,860 –> 00:43:59,300 And as no one else ever will. 855 00:44:01,699 –> 00:44:04,139 And the most marvelous thing about this seeing 856 00:44:04,139 –> 00:44:08,340 is this is not the seeing of condemnation. 857 00:44:09,340 –> 00:44:11,520 It is the seeing of love. 858 00:44:12,699 –> 00:44:16,239 Even when she was running away from God, 859 00:44:16,239 –> 00:44:20,060 it is the love of God that is intercepting her life. 860 00:44:21,800 –> 00:44:24,459 And by the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, 861 00:44:24,459 –> 00:44:27,100 intercepting your life today. 862 00:44:28,979 –> 00:44:31,659 And so, Hagar did what God had commanded. 863 00:44:31,659 –> 00:44:34,219 She went back to Abraham, she went back to Sarah, 864 00:44:34,219 –> 00:44:36,620 back to the fractured household of faith. 865 00:44:36,639 –> 00:44:40,659 She bears Abraham a son, and Abraham calls him Ishmael. 866 00:44:42,679 –> 00:44:45,500 And then this last moment, I just want you to see this, 867 00:44:45,500 –> 00:44:46,899 because it’s very important. 868 00:44:48,040 –> 00:44:52,199 Obedience to Christ, obedience to the Word of God. 869 00:44:52,199 –> 00:44:54,679 Walking in the path of faith for Hagar 870 00:44:54,679 –> 00:44:58,540 meant living with continued difficulty. 871 00:45:00,000 –> 00:45:02,340 She was trying to get away from a problem. 872 00:45:02,340 –> 00:45:04,520 And God says go back and face it. 873 00:45:04,520 –> 00:45:05,600 Go back and face it. 874 00:45:06,699 –> 00:45:09,659 And when Hagar went back, there were problems with Sarah. 875 00:45:09,659 –> 00:45:11,979 In fact, the two women, as we’ll see next week, 876 00:45:11,979 –> 00:45:14,379 really never got along. 877 00:45:14,379 –> 00:45:17,139 And when Ishmael was born, the prophecy, of course, 878 00:45:17,139 –> 00:45:20,580 came true, and he was indeed a daunting challenge 879 00:45:20,580 –> 00:45:24,219 of a son, and Hagar did end up raising him alone 880 00:45:24,219 –> 00:45:25,959 as a single mother. 881 00:45:25,959 –> 00:45:29,739 Not easy for a single mother to raise a son 882 00:45:29,739 –> 00:45:31,800 who has the temperament of a wild dog. 883 00:45:31,939 –> 00:45:32,780 Unlucky. 884 00:45:36,020 –> 00:45:39,360 And so this is not a story that is, 885 00:45:39,360 –> 00:45:41,939 and they all lived happily ever after. 886 00:45:42,879 –> 00:45:43,719 They didn’t. 887 00:45:44,739 –> 00:45:48,800 The happily ever after stuff belongs to fairy tales, 888 00:45:48,800 –> 00:45:52,520 and it belongs to 1930s Hollywood movies. 889 00:45:52,520 –> 00:45:54,520 Even Hollywood doesn’t make movies 890 00:45:54,520 –> 00:45:56,320 that are now happily ever after, 891 00:45:56,320 –> 00:45:58,879 because Hollywood knows that that’s not true to life. 892 00:45:59,040 –> 00:46:01,560 And some people drift through. 893 00:46:01,560 –> 00:46:02,879 If you don’t know the Bible, 894 00:46:02,879 –> 00:46:04,540 maybe you have the idea that the Bible’s 895 00:46:04,540 –> 00:46:06,719 a sort of sentimental spiritualized 896 00:46:06,719 –> 00:46:08,959 counsel of perfection kind of a book. 897 00:46:08,959 –> 00:46:11,780 No, the Bible is the word of God into real life. 898 00:46:14,840 –> 00:46:17,760 And as it speaks into the realities of our world, 899 00:46:17,760 –> 00:46:21,719 the realities of the experience of single mothers 900 00:46:21,719 –> 00:46:25,360 and perplexed wives and flawed fathers. 901 00:46:25,600 –> 00:46:28,479 And next week we’re going to look at troubled sons. 902 00:46:30,260 –> 00:46:33,860 The message is not come to Jesus 903 00:46:33,860 –> 00:46:35,760 and you will live happily ever after. 904 00:46:36,679 –> 00:46:39,179 And anyone who suggests that that is a Christian message 905 00:46:39,179 –> 00:46:43,560 is distorting the truth in a way that is deeply damaging. 906 00:46:44,419 –> 00:46:47,479 The message is not Hagar, go back to Sarah 907 00:46:47,479 –> 00:46:50,280 and then everyone will live happily ever after. 908 00:46:50,280 –> 00:46:55,280 It is you walk in the path of faith and obedience 909 00:46:55,419 –> 00:47:00,419 and God says my grace is sufficient for you. 910 00:47:00,919 –> 00:47:04,120 That’s the message for this newly redeemed woman. 911 00:47:05,739 –> 00:47:07,679 The grace of God is sufficient for you 912 00:47:07,679 –> 00:47:09,439 living in the tension of a house 913 00:47:09,439 –> 00:47:10,939 where there is little peace. 914 00:47:12,439 –> 00:47:14,320 The grace of God is sufficient for you 915 00:47:14,320 –> 00:47:17,199 to move beyond the emotional abandonment 916 00:47:17,199 –> 00:47:18,879 and the spiritual wounding 917 00:47:18,879 –> 00:47:22,000 that have had such deep effects on your life. 918 00:47:23,000 –> 00:47:25,199 The grace of God is sufficient for you 919 00:47:25,199 –> 00:47:29,040 to deal with the donkey-like wild impulses 920 00:47:29,040 –> 00:47:30,479 that you find within your soul 921 00:47:30,479 –> 00:47:34,080 that pull you into destructive patterns of temptation. 922 00:47:34,080 –> 00:47:36,820 The grace of God is sufficient for you there. 923 00:47:38,620 –> 00:47:40,600 And so to every person in the congregation 924 00:47:40,600 –> 00:47:44,580 who knows what it is to be given up, 925 00:47:45,979 –> 00:47:48,020 emotionally abandoned, 926 00:47:49,520 –> 00:47:51,080 for every person who knows what it is 927 00:47:51,120 –> 00:47:52,399 to be spiritually wounded, 928 00:47:52,399 –> 00:47:54,959 I’m saying to you from the scriptures today, 929 00:47:54,959 –> 00:47:58,500 you are deeply, deeply loved by God. 930 00:47:58,500 –> 00:48:01,300 He sees you, He knows you. 931 00:48:02,120 –> 00:48:04,080 There is nothing that you’ve gone through 932 00:48:04,080 –> 00:48:06,120 that He does not know completely. 933 00:48:07,520 –> 00:48:09,520 And He sent His son to save you, 934 00:48:10,739 –> 00:48:12,239 and even today, He reaches out 935 00:48:12,239 –> 00:48:13,479 through the preaching of His Word 936 00:48:13,479 –> 00:48:15,820 by His Holy Spirit to intercept you 937 00:48:15,820 –> 00:48:17,080 and to lay hold of you. 938 00:48:17,080 –> 00:48:18,040 Where have you come from? 939 00:48:18,040 –> 00:48:19,159 Where are you going? 940 00:48:20,040 –> 00:48:22,679 And He comes to you today with a command to repent 941 00:48:23,760 –> 00:48:25,760 and with a promise of His blessing 942 00:48:27,320 –> 00:48:29,360 and with His Word as you embrace 943 00:48:29,360 –> 00:48:31,800 Jesus Christ in faith today 944 00:48:31,800 –> 00:48:36,800 that His grace is sufficient for you. 945 00:48:38,060 –> 00:48:39,040 Let’s pray together. 946 00:48:40,080 –> 00:48:42,379 Father, we pray that You will work Your Word 947 00:48:42,379 –> 00:48:45,000 into the deep places of our hearts 948 00:48:45,000 –> 00:48:48,239 that it may bear fruit that honors Christ 949 00:48:49,239 –> 00:48:51,040 in whose name we pray 950 00:48:52,120 –> 00:48:54,120 and everyone says together, amen.