Sunday Sermon
sunday evening 14th Sept 2008
Gen 16
Faith and the Fall:
Context
God has just spoken. Ch15.
He has sealed his covenant. He has promised Abram’s offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. He has promised that they will inherit the Promised Land.
What great promises and great reassurances were given!
God spoke in such a free and open way to Abram that we are reminded of the pre-fall conditions in the Garden of Eden.
But then as we come into chapter 16 we are given a clear reminder of the Fall!
Just as Eve came to Adam with words of rebellion against Gods command so here Sarai comes to Abram!
And just as Adam goes along with Eves suggestion so does Abram simply go along with Sarai suggestion.
Then, as with all sin, there is consequences all round.
1) Hagar “despises” Sarai v4.
2) Sarai begins to feel the pain of the situation v5
3) Sarai begins to ill treat Hagar - then Hagar runs off v6. (Back to Egypt! v7)
Then the Lord comes intervenes in the situation v7-12.
V8 the question for Hagar is basically the same as that for Adam after the fall (3v9)
V8 the answer Hagar gives is “I’m running away from my mistress” is also basically the same one Adam gave - “I’m hiding - running from God” (3v10)
V9 the remedy for Hagar is obedience to her mistress
V10-12 the blessing for obedience will be a son and many descendants from him
V13 Hagar then names the LORD “the God who sees me”
Finally the conclusion v15-16.
The son Ishmael (God hears) is born to Abram who is now 87 years old.
What points can we draw from all this for our life of faith today?
1) from Abram we need to be reminded about the subtlety of the devils ways.
There is no direct approach from the devil to Abram.
There is just this seemingly sensible suggestion from Sarai to use Hagar!
What was wrong with using Hagar? Apart from the morality of it all, but this was a socially acceptable practice at the time!
And we need to bare in mind that Abram did not have the revelation of God that we have today.
He had none of the superstructure of the faith that we enjoy. No bible, no church, no death and resurrection etc.
So what was wrong with the whole situation?
It displayed a sever lack of faith!
They attempted a human solution to a divine problem!
They thought - “God has promised a child, none is forthcoming what can we do to help”.
They intervened and tried to play God! Just like Adam and Eve! - “you will be like God….”
1 Lessons for our faith?
Don’t try to do Gods work for him. - we try to do Gods work whenever we seek that our will should be done and not Gods!
Thus the need to always, in all our planning and praying to constantly seek for Gods will to be done.
That should be our aim and great desire!
2. From Hagar we are reminded that “God sees me”
In the original Fall Adam tried to hid from God!
Sin always gives us this great desire to hid from God.
Sin fools us into thinking that God does not see!
But Hagar, sitting in the middle of this road back to Egypt, is met by God and she comes to realise that God sees.
We need to remind ourselves too that the seeing eye of God is always there and there for our good.
Our Father does not keep an eye on us to condemn us but to keep us on the right track!
He sees us and asks “where are you going to, and where have you come from?”v8.
Lesson 2
We need to diligently keep our faith on track! How?
By reminding ourselves who we are first of all - where we came from!
We are children of God, saved by Jesus, bought at the price of His blood.
We are no ordinary people! We are loved by God! Saved, Sealed and Delivered. Justified, sanctified and glorified!
Then too, remind yourself of where you are going by faith.
To heaven, to God, to Glory, to perfection, endless peace, joy and happiness….
3. From Yahweh we are reminded that He hears v11. Ishmael - God hears.
God wanted Hagar to have this permanent reminder before her as the boy grew.
A daily reminder that He hears!
She was miserable! She had run away!
But there is no mention of her calling out to God! Yet God heard her misery v11.
And of course this makes sense, God sees everything, and hears everything because he is everywhere. He fills the universe!
Lesson 3 God hears.
We know this when we pray. We are instructed in the life of faith to pray.
But note: God hears even when we don’t seek to address Him.
Maybe we are like Hagar, in a miserable state. Going through a hard time!
For some reason we cannot pray. Well know this: God still hears us.
Romans 8:26-27 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
Try this week to remind yourself of this great fact: God hears.
Hagar had Ishmael as a living reminder before her eyes.
What can you use to remind yourself that God hears?
sunday morning 14th Sept 2008
John 14:15-17
Context:
Jesus is speaking to the disciples only hours before he is killed on the cross.
He is passing onto them some essential truths that they would never be able to live without.
They were living in a great transitional period of the kingdom.
The events that were about to unfold would change the world!
For us these truths are no less world changing and no less essential for our ministry.
What teaching is given in these few verse that are still so important for us now?
1) there is teaching about the Holy Spirit.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The holy Spirit is the gracious gift of God given to the Church by the Father and the Son. V16 &26.
The first thing then that we say about the Holy Spirit is that He is Gods gift! Just as Jesus is the Gift of God!
APP
Dose this not give us great cause to praise God.
God gives good gifts! Luke 11:13 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
Further does this not give us a reason to pray! The Spirit is Gods gift, given to the church but we are to go on being filled with the Spirit!
Ephesians 5:18 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
“another Counsellor…” v16
If Christ was the embodied representation of God on earth then the Spirit is
un-embodied representation of God on earth.
He is not a different Counsellor, but another.
In fact because the Spirit and Christ are one in Nature, Jesus is able to say
v18, “I will come to you.”
So the Spirit is another Counsellor - Advocate, Helper, Assistant, Comforter.
APP:
We often think how different we would be if we lived in the days of Christ on earth.
Well we do! We have another Christ. The Spirit.
Our problem may be that we do not believe/know this thus we do not work it out in practice.
Further He is the Spirit of truth. v17
Not the Spirit who represents the truth, or tells the truth only, but is “of” truth.
That is He is the truth, just as Jesus is the truth. The Spirit is what is true, what is real.
Real because He is God.
So the Holy Spirit is another Counsellor, the Spirit of Truth.
APP:
Therefore the Spirit is worthy of all the reverence and awe and worship that we afford Christ. We are to respect the Spirit, adore the Spirit, love the Spirit.
We can pray to the Spirit, plead with the Spirit.
He is Personal. Thus we can offend Him, grieve Him.
But more positively we are to obey Him!
What does the Spirit do?
We will see more as we go along but the main thing here is the Spirits work is to be with us and in us, in order to bring to us Jesus. V16-18.
He is to be “with us forever”.
The disciples were losing Jesus, so they thought. Jesus was going away,
But, a Replacement was coming!
The Spirit is with us forever!
With us in the same way that Jesus was with the disciples.
The Spirit comes to us an lives “in” us.
“will be in you” - the disciples experienced the indwelling of the Spirit at Pentecost.
We experience the indwelling of the Spirit at conversion.
Just as we are called to put on the full armour of God, and put on the new self,
so the Spirit is called to put on the believer!
So the Spirit is called to be with us and live in us forever! Why?
To bring us to God and God to us! V23 “we will come and make our home”
In the coming of the Spirit to us we have the coming of Christ to us!
In the coming of the Spirit to us we have the coming of the Father to us!
APP:
Every believer is indwelt with the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
Psalm 8:4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? - the Psalmist asked.
And what a great question.
Why does God care for us, why does God think about us?
We are the poor fallen sinful human race! We have more problems than we can fix, our history is filled with more shame than praise!
But God cares for us! God thinks about us! More:
We can ask in light of this NT teaching, what is man that you indwell him!
What does that do for you and your life?
Does it not give you an unimaginable glory and dignity!
Does it not transform your behaviour and lifestyle!
Paul had to ask the Corinthians : 1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body.
Your body, your very body is the dwelling place of God.
God in you, with you, forever!
Finally let me just ask, how do you feel today?
Is your soul telling you that you are empty, that you are lost?
Do you have spiritual appetites that you have been trying to satisfy with all kinds of stuff but have come up short?
There is a good reason for that. You were made for God. And thus only God can satisfy you. Living without God is like trying to drive a petrol engine with diesel in it. It will not get very far, it will splutter and cough and die.
It needs the right fuel to drive well.
You were made for God, without God you will never be as you could be and as you should be!