Sermon Tone Analysis

Call to Worship: Isaiah 53:10-54:7

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-38, 46-56

Benediction: Jude 23-24

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Covenant Renewal

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Joint Service - Aug 28

Today: SWF, Communion, Potluck

Call to Worship: Isaiah 53:10-54:7

To God be the Glory

Watching over me

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-38, 46-56

Prayers

From Reading

Unreached

Missionary

Global Church

Local Church/min

Nation/official

Our church

I want to be where you are

Show us Christ

Sermon: Genesis 16 Unfaithful People Before the Faithful God

I remember standing in a valley in my wife’s home country.

It was in the mountains north.

This valley is a fishbowl, on all sides there are mountains and the only way into this valley is over a mountain.

The echos in that valley were amazing.

It was too big for a voice to do much, a truck backfiring or a rock falling, it just reverberated from everywhere for quite some time

This passage is like that valley.

There are echoes of it all over Scripture

just as a short example

Paul writes about in Galatians, he uses an allegorical interpretation of it as an illustration to make a point about how we are saved

Paul in that interpretation Paul also quotes from our call to worship, Isaiah 54 - so we must read Galatians, and Genesis 16, and Isaiah 53-54 together to understand his point

Ishmael descendents have significant impact on the life of ethnic Isreal

When we read the Angels’ word to Hagar here, and we read out Scripture reading of the Angels words to Mary- the wording and the pattern of the conversation is so close to like Luke 1, it’s very likely intentional

At this point, we have connections to the Mosaic Covenant and the Davidic Covenant from Galatians and Isaiah, the New Covenant from Galatians and Luke.

Of course this is about the Abrahamic Covenant

And I really haven’t scratched the surface

The chorus of echos down the halls of time and history is beautiful and provokes awe inspired worship

It would be very easy for us to chase every echo but if we do that, we’ll miss the source, the heart of this passage

The heart of this passage isn’t found in Sarai or Hagar, its not found in Ismael or his Father Abram

The heart of this passage is God’s Faithfulness

God’s faithfulness to his covenant promises, even when every single person in this passage is unfaithful to God

Last week we learned began with Abram questioning if God would keep his Promises

Abram had the kingdom God promised.

Abram was faithful to God and those around him, he did what was right and because he did what was right.

But doing what was right, cost him everything God promised.

Abram understandably questioned and even accused God

God told him

I will bless you Abram, You will be my blessing

I will make you into a great nation with people and land, kings will come from you and rule over this Kingdom

but then he lost the people and the land, and he has no heir to this supposedly promised dynasty

God promises that he’ll give him it all, even more than before

But then Abram questions God, how will he know he just won’t lose it all again

God makes a Covenant with Abram, Covenants bring people into relationship with each other

And they are broken through disloyalty, unfaithfulness - normally you’d spilt animals in two and together walk between them.

By doing that each person is promising to keep the terms of the relationship or essentially may God strike them dead

But God to answer Abram’s question, how can Abram know that he or sons after him won’t lose the promised Kingdom

God walks through those cut animals alone.

God is saying if he, God, or Abram, break the covenant, if either of them are unfaithful to this promise.

God himself will pay the price in Blood.

And we know at that moment, God promised to nail his own Son to the Cross

God not only brings Abram into relationship with him through a Covenant, God

In our passage, God’s promise is immediately tested.

Every person, all of them members of Abram’s household, all of them apart of this relationship with God - every person mentioned is unfaithful.

By the terms of the Covenant, they break it - unquestionably

That’s the entire first half of our passage through verse 6

And as we begin reading the second half in verse 7 we’re left with the question:

If they broke the covenant.

Will God leave them?

If we are unfaithful will God leave us?

Will God forsake his promises because they were unfaithful, what about when we sin?

Will the God who alone walked through the bloody path between the spilt animals that night really remain faithful in the face of our unfaithfulness?

The answer yes - God will do it

God will remain faithful

You can trust God and in fact his mercy and his grace is even greater than what you’re probably thinking right now

But let start with the people’s unfaithfulness though and then we’ll get to God’s faithfulness

Unfaithful People

look at verses 1-3

Now what did God just promise to Abram

Now how much time as goneby? 10 years, a decade

I have to give Abram credit, he trusted God longer than I would have made it.

I’d give myself 2-3 years before I started questioning God.

definitely wouldn’t have done with Abram and Sarai did - but I certainly would have started questioning if I could trust God sooner

That’s what there doing.

On one hand they’re questioning God’s promises by taking matters into their own hands and on the other side, they’re trying to force God’s promises to come true

That’s two sides of one coin

If you try to make God do things he promised to do - not stuff he commanded you to do like share the Gospel and be a good witness and do kingdom work, but let’s say force a conversion by apply pressure on the person or using some tactic to get saved

on one side you are trying to take matters to your own hands - only God can save and on the other hand - you’re not trust that God will do what he promised and save sinners through faithful Gospel testimony

And you know what, even putting God on a timeline is the same thing

They thought, Ten years - that’s long enough.

God should have done it by now - let’s help him out

Bad idea -easy to say here when I look at that passage

Waiting in my own life - not so easy - God why haven’t you.... whatever yet, been praying for a long time - knock knock - do you hear me!

Of course he hears us.

If he is waiting, it is for a good and praise worthy reason.

With Abram and Sarai - he waits until they completely give up hope in themselves.

It’s only when they know there is no physical way - nothing they themselves could do any longer - that God gives Sarai a son - he waits until they know they can’t do themselves to teach them he will be faithful and he will do what he promised