Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• Take Heed lest you fall
• No Christian is immune to falling
• Abram takes a backward step falling into the sin of expediency, the sin of presumption
• Gal 3:3 - why have you returned to walking in the flesh?
• Gen 14:
• Abram overcoming 4 kings and Chedorlaomer and rescuing Lot
• Meeting Melchizedek
• Refusing the King of Sodom
• Abraham growing in faith and grace
• Gen 15:
• God's Shekinah glory is seen for the first time
• God makes a covenant with Abraham
• Gen 16:
• Abram and Sarai become impatient
• They have been 10 years in the land and have no heir
• It will not be Eleazar but one born of the family
• Sarai offers Hagar her maid to Abram
• Hagar despises Sarai
• Sarai treats Hagar harshly and she flees
• The Son of God appears as an Angel
• The first Theophany
• The Person of God
• Concentrating on v8-9

Where have you come from?

The House of Conflict

• Hagar had come from a place of conflict
• It started with Sarai's bareness (v1)
• It is hard for Sarai
• It was the culture of the day to take a maid to have an heir
• Hagar began to blame Abram
• The sin of presumption
• Trying to force God's hand
• Think of Saul - not waiting for Samuel
• Think of David - counting his army
• Think of Adonijah - he proclaimed himself king instead of Solomon
• We should be a patient people waiting upon Him
• Abram and Sarai followed the culture of the day
• Are we being squeezed into the mold of our culture?
• Are we doing things not sanctioned by the word of God?
• It is not easy waiting on God
• Did Abram reflect back on this?
• Sometimes sin from the past catches up with us
• Hagar came from a place of conflict (v4)
• It wasn't her fault
• But she despised Sarai her mistress after she had conceived
• She wanted to be an equal with her
• She was now to have Abram's child
• Prov 30:21-23
• Maybe Hagar had sought to take the place of Sarai
• The conflict was between husband and wife (v5)
• She blamed her husband although she was the one who suggested this course of action
• Abram advises Sarai to deal with the matter (v6)
• Hagar is often seen as a victim - but everybody is to blame
• How is this to be resolved?
• The only was this was to be solved was by the intervention of God

The House of Blessing

• The House of Blessing
• The only house on the earth where there was real prayer and worship
• The only house on earth where God had covenanted with man
• The only place on earth where God's word was known
• We must remember we come from a place of blessing
• God has chosen to bless the church

Where are you going?

• She was found in Shur - on the road to Egypt
• She was acting on impulse
• When we act on impulse - where are we going?
• Are we going in the centre of God's will?
• God met her by a spring of water
• As if to speak of blessing
• God is very tender to us
• When we are tempted to turn back
• We must pray that when people are in this wilderness they do no turn back
• Hagar was honest and spoke what was on her heart
• God knew where she was going
• Consider Jonah - thought he was going in the opposite direction but God knew where he was really going
• God knows where all His people are

Where do you need to return to?

• "Return to your mistress"
• This was probably the last thing she wanted to her
• It was the right course of action
• God encourages her with many promises and blessings
• A multitude of descendants (v10)
• You shall bear a son (v11)
• He shall be called Ishmael for God hears (v11)
• God was truthful
• His hand would be against many others (v12)
• Her reaction:
• She was overwhelmed
• She had met with God
• Ps 139
• v4 - God knows our words, He is omniscient
• v7 - God is omnipresence, no person could flee from Him
• Wherever I am and whatever I am doing - God knows everything
• I would be very foolish not to return to Him
• Do we confess any sins before God?
• Remember how gracious He was to Hagar
• Return to God and He will receive you