Giving birth to the Promise
Genesis 18:9-1 Title-Giving Birth To The Promise
Text: Genesis 18:9-15, Genesis 21:1-2
We as people of God or people in general have a problem with waiting. We want what we want, when we want, how we want and why we want it and it always has to happen at the time when we plan. But how many of you know that things don’t always go our way. We are a spoiled generation. It doesn’t matter if it is good for us or not, We just want it. And if it doesn’t happen when we think it should, we began to devise plans on how we are going to get it to come to pass. That’s how we tend to get in trouble.
Actually we live in a society that encourages our inability to wait. That is why the fast food industry is so popular. Instead of cooking a nice hot homemade meal, We want to pack ourselves or the kids in the car and head over to Mc Donald’s Or walk down to the nearby sub shop or greasy spoon. Let’s not even talk about microwave dinners, For my family calls me the microwave Queen. Now you can even by dinner in a box. The dishwasher was set in place to take away the time it even takes to wash a dish. The tendency not to wait is also the reason that has landed allot of our young men in the jailhouse, Because instead of working to make legitiment money, they would rather live a dangerous life and make fast money. We have got to be honest with ourselves, we have a problem.
Our inability to wait is also what afflicts and destroys our ministries. We tend to want to move to fast instead of waiting on God. The process of moving to fast is what causes a lot of us to fall and lead to our disaster in ministry. The disaster comes when we are unprepared. Unprepared for the work that God has for us to do. How sad it would be to be like the men of Sceva in Acts 19:13-16, who being unprepared for the ministry of casting out demons called themselves going against a demonic spirit. The demonic spirit turned around and said to them Paul I know and Jesus I know but who are you, then he proceeded to jump on them, beat them up and then send those boys out of the houses wounded and naked. They could have been killed but God spared their life. Never try to do the work of God while being unprepared, you will be exposed.
Don’t get me wrong God’s time can seem to take so long. But we also need to realize that God is not a puppet to move at our time or when we want him to. Trust me when he finally does move in your life you will find that it was you who were late and he who is on time. Because we feel that God is not moving fast enough to give us the blessings which we think that we deserve, we tend to want to put our 2 cents in the situation and help him out; not realizing that God does not owe us anything and that everything he gives us come because of privilege and favor. We get this attitude of ok God I have been waiting and waiting on you and nothing has happened yet, so now I am going to do things my way. After I do what I am going to do I’ll repent and you will have to forgive me. We say all of this forgetting the principles that patience is a virtue and good things come to those who wait, we have a problem.
Our problem with waiting is also the reason that Satan can come in with his sneaky conniving self and give us a right now counterfeit blessing. Which is the very thing that will take our minds and focus off God. It always seems to be in our nature to go for the right now thing, instead of the right thing. That which God has for us. Thank you Holy Ghost. The reason that we fall so often is because Satan is always showing us through the VCR’s Of our minds what we are lacking and how everybody else seem to have everything, while we seem to have nothing. That’s when we began to lose faith, lose focus, question God and get out of the will of God. We will ask God, Why am I being held back? How come I have been serving you all these years and I have nothing? Why does the wicked seem to prosper more than me? Why is my life always at a stand still? Lord the bible says that the earth is yours and the fullness thereof, so where is the blessing that you promised me?
I think that at some point and time in our lives, all of us go through a stage in our life where we wonder if God will ever show up in our lives. It seems as if we are always falling into a life of constant hard times and nothingness. Overtime you turn around there is a different trial, a different problem and a different tribulation. When you get to the end of your rope it seems as if God is still not there, he has still not answered. The reason that God had not moved in your situation so far is because it was not yet your appointed time for a visitation, but I tell you on tonight to get ready, get ready, get ready, for your visitation. Because you’re appointed time is on the way.
History
if you have ever read the story of Abraham and Sarah you will see that their lives were filled with excitement and adventure. They lived their lives as wanderers, living from place to place, dwelling in tents, seeing different lands and different people. Abraham was known as the father of the faithful. He was called the friend or God. He was remarkable for his simple unwavering faith, He was the father of a nation, but before he was any of these things, he was plain old Abraham, son of Terah, born in Ur of Chaldea. He lived amongst an idolatrous nation married to a woman named Sarai, Whose name was later changed to Sarah ,which meant princess. Who would later on become mother of a nation.
Abraham and Sarah’s whole life changed when they met God. God commanded Abram to come from among his kindred and his fathers’ people and to go to the land that he/ God had commanded him to come to. The reason for the move was because God was about to establish a covenant with Abram that stated that he would make him a great nation and that he would be blessed and that his name would be great and that he would be a blessing. And how through him all families on earth would be blessed. When God made that covenant with Abram that meant you and me am also covered under that covenant. How many of you know that sometimes in order for you to be blessed you have to separate yourself from some stuff. You have got to remove some things from your life. You have to make a change. You have to let some friends go. Sometimes you even have to walk away from some family members. Sometimes you have to leave everything behind in order to be blessed. For the bible says in 2 Corinthians 6: 17 wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate,saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you. Turn around and tell somebody in order to be blessed you have to make a transition, you have to get ready to move to the next level.
So the bible tells us that in the 12th Chapter of Genesis that Abraham packed up his bags, his possessions and his wife and went on his way as God had commanded him and set out on the Journey set before him. Now as I mentioned earlier God told Abram that through his seed all families on the earth would be blessed. Well thank the Lord for that but there was one big problem. Sarai was barren, which meant that she couldn’t give birth. The only way that she would ever give birth was if God touched her womb himself. Some blessings you are not going to receive until God himself shows up in your situation. Tell your neighbor you have got to wait. Sometimes you have got to wait for his touch.
This was a woman who probably by this time had gotten use to the idea that she would never have a baby and was dealing with being barren. She had many things that we would think that would make here enormously happy, and leave her feeling quite satisfied with her life. She was beautiful. How do we know that? Because the bible tells us how Abram on to occasions lied about the true basis of their relationship, to avoid being killed. The reason that he lied was because someone always to take his wife because of her beauty. She had a husband that loved her. She had all her material needs and wants satisfied, why wouldn’t she be happy? Well there was one thing that she wanted, perhaps even needed to make her happy, and all of her beauty, all her wealth, and all of Abrams love couldn’t seem to provide. You see the scripture tells us that Sarai was barren. Not simply that she had no children, but that she was barren. Now that is surely something that would make a woman happy. Now we see that at this juncture in her life, her husband has received a promise from an unknown God, who tells Abram that they would have a child. This news made the move she had to make easier. Ok she probably thought the idea of me having birth is more precious than me mourning over leaving my family behind, so honey when do we leave, let’s go now. I can imagine that she was filled with joy. I can imagine that she had received New Hope. Happiness probably bubbled from within at the aspect that she who had been barren was going to have a child. She was going to give birth. I can imagine that images of her unborn child danced through her head. She had probably begun planning where the baby would sleep and what he would look like.
Well the years went by and year after year Abram would have a meeting with God and he would come back year after year with more and more promises from God about nations being birthed and year after year nothing happened. I can imagine that after not receiving the promise year after year , Sara started only half listening to what Abram said and I can imagine that eventually her half listening turned to unbelief. This took place because she probably at this point no longer had any faith in her husbands’ words, God’s words or herself.
I can imagine also that Sarai began to come to the assumption that it was her fault that she was not getting pregnant, that it was her fault that the promise was not taking place, so she did the inevitable, she decided to put her 2 cents in God’s plan. She put her nose where it didn’t belong and that was in God’s business. What she didn’t realize was that God’s blessings are not subject to biological conditions or time. He is a God that can make the impossible possible. He does not need our help; he can do it on his own.
That’s how it has been for some of us. Year after Year you are told that it is your Year. Year and year after year, preacher after preacher has spoken sermon after sermon telling you to get ready for your blessing, Prophets have called you up and told you to get ready for the move of God in your life and you wait patiently and nothing seems to happen. You began to get so frustrated and tired of waiting that you began to lose faith in what God has promised you and that lose of faith eventually turns to disbelief. You began to think that maybe God didn’t tell me what I thought he did, Maybe I don’t deserve what God has promised me, so now I am going to follow my own plan to get what I want and God is going to have to forgive me. Guess what you have just stopped God’s movement in your life and killed your blessings.
Anyway we see that Sarai at this time is tired of waiting. Her biological clock has ticked out, so she decides that she is going to give Hangar to her husband and that is how they are going to have a child. She made a big mistake. I can imagine that by this time other woman sneered at Sarai and laughed behind her back. She probably had a bunch of naysayers in her midst that helped her to doubt the word of God. See you have got to understand that in those times if a woman did not have a baby, she was considered to be less than a woman. The reason was because any Jewish woman knew that the Messiah would be born through the womb of a woman. So we see from reading the text that Sarai wanted a child so bad that she got tired of waiting and the inevitable happens. She gives Hagar to Abram, Hagar gives birth and Ishmael was born. What you have got to understand is that even though he was Abrams son, he was not the son of the promise. He was actually a counterfeit, The product of their inability to wait. Sarai wanted children badly. So badly, that she was willing at this point to accept anything so she decided upon a scheme to help the process along a bit. She told her husband in chapter 16 to take Hagar as his wife. Now Hagar was an Egyptian, and was Sarai’s handmaiden. Which means that she was a slave. God didn’t want his promise to birth in bondage but he wanted his promised to be birthed in freedom. So we see here that Abraham apparently went along with his wife’s wishes, because in verse 4, we see that Hagar conceived. From reading the word we can come to the conclusion that Hagar flaunted her pregnancy in Sarai’s face. Hagar thought she had it going on because she was having Abram’s baby. Don’t get mad when the devil throws other people’s blessings in your face be content in knowing that God can do exceedingly and abundantly above anything we can ever ask or think.
So we see that Sarai’s little plan backfired though. When Hagar became pregnant, Sarai became intensely jealous. She demanded that Abram do something! I can fully picture her with her hands upon her hips, ranting and raving at poor old’ Abraham, telling him exactly how it is HIS fault that he did her wishes. He should have known better than to listen to her. The hardest lesson that many of us to face in life are what seem to be delays in Gods answers to our prayers. We not only have a need; we have a time schedule by which we would like those needs met. When we become so frustrated that we attempt to help God achieve what we have ask for, we are demonstrating doubt either about Gods ability or his timing. He told her that Hagar was her servant, and she could do what she willed. So she dealt rather severely with her, and Hagar fled. And to this very day, the descendants of Ishmael are a thorn in Israel’s side.
Sarai wanted something so badly, that she wasn’t willing to be patient. She wasn’t willing to wait for God’s time; she wanted it on her timetable. The lesson that we learn from this is that we don’t need to help God along. We don’t need to scheme and plot, plan and promise, in order to receive God’s blessings. We need to seek Him first, and all the rest will fall into place. Because of Sarai’s actions, we can learn this lesson without experiencing it. We don’t need to help God. He does the helping, we do the following. We must allow things to happen in God’s time, and they will work out better than if we try to go it alone. The bible goes on to tell us that the Lord again comes to Abraham and does four significant things. First, He changes Abrams Name From Abram to Abraham which means father of a nation, 2) God again establishes he covenant with Abraham and this times he uses circumcision as the token of the covenant. God does this so that the covenant can be remembered. I want you to understand that God used circumcision as a token of the promise, because every time Abram would think in his mind to doubt the promise, he would remember the pain and every time that he remembered the pain he would remember the promise. God was willing to do what ever was necessary to carry his word forth. Don’t we serve an awesome God? 3)The bible tells us that God also changes Sarais’ name to Sarah, Which means mother of a Nation and again tells Abraham that she is going to have a child. #4 Then God names his child Isaac and gives him a Ball park time of when the blessing was going to come to pass.
The significance of the name change was that God wanted Abraham and Sarah to walk in faith and their names were no more than a play on word. You see every time somebody called them by their new names, or every time they introduced themselves to somebody by their new name, they were making a statement of faith. Sarah was calling herself the mother of a nation even before she had a child. By this time she was already ninety years old. Faith tells us to calls those things, which are not as if they were. All people of faith should be doing this. We should be constantly speaking the word of God and his promises over our lives, our families and our children. Actually once I really began to study I came to realize also that the reason God changed their name was because neither one initially believed that the thing would come to pass. In Genesis 17:17-18. Abraham Laughed and tried to sell him on Ishmael and at one time he tried to sell God on a servant and in (18 11-12) Sarah laughed.
So I am here to tell you on tonight that sometime when you move to your new level God has to give you a new name. Your name on tonight is sought out, sought to receive the blessings of God, sought to walk in his will and his way sought out to do the things of God, turn around and tell your neighbor my name is sought out. A city not forsaken. God has not forsaken you and he has not forgotten about you.
As we look at the text in Genesis 18, we see that three men have come to Abraham’s tent and when he looks at them he knows instantly that the Lord is in his midst, He invites them in, wash there feet and has Sarah Prepare a meal. Well eventually they asked him where Sarah was and He says in the tent. Knowing that Sarah is in the tent, they mention that Sarah is going to give birth and Sarah knowing that it was impossible because she no longer had her monthly’s laughed at what she had heard. This is impossible she must have been thinking they cannot be serious. So the Lord asked Abraham why did Sarah laugh. Sarah thinks this too good news to be true; she laughed, and therefore cannot as yet find in her heart to believe it. Sarah laughed. Long delay seems to have weakened faith. Sarah treated the announcement as incredible, and when taxed with the silent sneer, she added falsehood to distrust. Now, Sarah didn’t laugh in the face of the two messengers, but she did go off by herself and spare a chuckle or two. Lets look at it from her point of view. Both she and Abraham were well past childbearing years. She knew that she could bear no children. Who wouldn’t have laughed? Who wouldn’t have thought the idea of an elderly woman giving birth to a child to be hilariously funny? She forgot one important fact though. She forgot whose messengers they were. She forgot that the message came from God! She scoffed, and she forgot that with God all things are possible. When God gives us our instructions, which are we to question His judgment? God does not always choose the Hollywood ideal to do a task. He generally chooses the person most willing to conform to His ideal. What God tells us to do is no laughing matter. It is usually a matter of most seriousness. We ought to learn from Sarah and not laugh in the face of God. How many times have we refused to teach a class, or visit a friend, or bake a cake, or prepare a meal because we thought we were not capable? How many times have we passed a job on to someone else because we felt that we were not the best suited for the job? How many times do we think that God knows who is suited? The answer to the last question is EVERY TIME. God knows best each time, and when we are presented with a challenge, we can accomplish it with the help of the Lord.
SO the Lord says at the appointed time I will return unto thee, according to the time of life and Sarah shall give birth. One thing I want you to understand is that until this point the lord had not spoken to Sarah. She had not heard the promise from his mouth She had received the promises from Abraham’s mouth. So it was not until she heard the words directly from God that she began to believe. What people don’t realize is that it is our lack of faith that stops many of the blessings in our lives. It is our inability to believe the word of God> So we see that God tells them that at the appointed time he will return and she will give birth.
What you have got to understand is that before Sarah could become the mother of a Nation there was a process that she had to go through. Before she could give blessing to the promise she had to go through some trials and tribulations, she had to make mistakes, she also to grow in her faith of God, and she had to hear the voice of God.
So finally in Genesis 21:1-2 we see that Sarah finally gives birth, After God visited her, she had a baby at her set time. God came to her when he was ready for her to give birth to the promise, not when she wanted to give birth. That is the significant thing about God you can not rush him. He does not move according to our time schedule, but He moves according to his will. What you have got to understand is that before Sarah could become the mother of a Nation there was a process that she had to go through. Before she could give blessing to the promise she had to go through some trials and tribulations, she had to make mistakes, she also to grow in her faith of God, and she had to hear the voice of God. Finally she gives birth to a son called laughter. You are not going to go forth or to do anything successfully until God feels that you are ready
I am told that in a physical birth, while a woman is waiting to give birth; she can sometimes be in travail for hours, waiting to give birth to her child. I am told that the pain that she experiences is one of the worst pains that a women can go through but I am also told that when a mother finally hold her new born baby in her arms that all of the pain is worth it. The wait and the pain forgotten as the mother celebrate the new birth.
I don’t know too much about giving physical birth for I have never had a child but what I can tell you about is spiritual travail, I can tell you about being spiritually pregnant. I can tell you about waiting to give birth to spiritual babies. But what I can tell you about is waiting to give birth to the promises of God and never seeing it come forth. Somebody knows what I am talking about in here on tonight. I know about waking up in the middle of the night crying and asking God what next and not receiving an answer. I know about travailing for a promise year after year and having it never come to pass. I know about never ending disappointment but I am here to tell you on tonight that God has not forgotten about any of us. He says on tonight that he is about to birth some things in you, that you never thought would. Some blessing that you never thought would come to pass. God says on tonight take those promise off the shelf and dust them off because I am about to bring them forth and when you get them nobody is going to be able to say they gave them to you but me. You shall come forth with singing you shall come forth with the newness of life. No matter how old you are, no matter how young you are. God wants to bless you on tonight, don’t let your unbelief cause you to have a spiritual miscarriage and don’t forget the promise which will cause you to have a spiritual abortion. See what I like about this thing is in spiritual birth you don’t have to be a woman to give birth. You can be man, woman or child. Turn around tonight and tell somebody I am about to give birth. I been pregnant for along time but I am about to give birth. I am about to give birth to my promise.
There is a prerequisite however to receiving this baby in your spirit, you have got to trust God and have faith that it is already done. The birth cannot take place if you don’t believe. The birth can’t happen if you don’t go through the pain. Watch it. Allot of you would have never met God if it had not been for turmoil. Accept God’s blessing in your life on today.
