WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.259 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:15.419 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.620 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristchurchEastBay.org. 00:00:25.560 --> 00:00:30.539 Good morning, everybody. I'm Cheruba, and I lead the Women of Prayer Fellowship. 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:36.619 Today's lesson is taken from the Old Testament from the book of Genesis as printed in your liturgy. 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:44.039 Now, Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 00:00:44.039 --> 00:00:52.560 So she said to Abram, the Lord has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my slave. Perhaps I can build a family through her. 00:00:53.479 --> 00:00:55.460 Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 00:00:56.100 --> 00:01:05.319 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai, his wife, took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 00:01:05.980 --> 00:01:08.060 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. 00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:12.359 When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 00:01:12.359 --> 00:01:17.579 Then Sarai said to Abram, you are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. 00:01:18.039 --> 00:01:22.439 I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:25.439 May the Lord judge between you and me. 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:30.760 Your slave is in your hands, Abram said. Do with her whatever you think best. 00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:34.560 Then Sarai mistreated Hagar, so she fled from her. 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:38.200 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert. 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:41.060 It was a spring that is beside the road to Shur. 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:46.140 And he said, Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going? 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:49.219 I am running away from my mistress, Sarai, she answered. 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:51.379 Then the angel of the Lord took her. 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:53.939 Go back to your mistress and submit to her. 00:01:54.780 --> 00:01:59.800 The angel said, I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count. 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:05.579 The angel of the Lord also said to her, you are now pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. 00:02:06.399 --> 00:02:09.680 You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. 00:02:10.419 --> 00:02:12.259 He will be a wild donkey of a man. 00:02:12.539 --> 00:02:15.659 His hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand against him. 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:18.240 And he will live in hostility towards all his brothers. 00:02:19.139 --> 00:02:21.780 She gave this name to the Lord, who spoke to her. 00:02:21.780 --> 00:02:27.259 You are the God who sees me, for she said, I have now seen the one who sees me. 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:30.319 That is why the well was called Bir Lahai Roy. 00:02:31.060 --> 00:02:33.180 It is still there between Kadesh and Bered. 00:02:33.920 --> 00:02:39.259 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had born. 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:44.020 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:49.939 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. 00:02:49.939 --> 00:02:51.340 Thanks, Truba. 00:02:51.620 --> 00:02:52.780 Let's go to the Lord in prayer. 00:02:55.479 --> 00:03:02.359 Lord God, we pray that you would speak to us, convince us that you are the God who sees, 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:08.500 that that would be a comfort to us, and that you would open our eyes to see as you see. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:14.560 So Lord, be honored in the preaching of your word, and would your spirit move in this place. 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:16.419 For Jesus' sake, amen. 00:03:16.419 --> 00:03:20.280 So I want to start with a personal question. 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:27.439 The question is, have you ever felt utterly invisible and unable to do anything about it? 00:03:27.819 --> 00:03:31.399 Have you ever felt utterly invisible and unable to do anything about it? 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:36.859 Overlooked, unnoticed, unthought of, uncared for, perhaps even neglected and disregarded? 00:03:36.959 --> 00:03:40.979 Like the last player all the way at the end of the bench, the most expendable colleague, 00:03:41.259 --> 00:03:44.000 the least worthwhile person in the room. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:47.099 Have you ever felt like no one cared about your story? 00:03:47.219 --> 00:03:52.900 Like no one ever noticed or considered the heavy things you might be carrying or even cared to know? 00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:59.080 And then have you ever felt so unseen that you've also wondered if you and your story 00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:03.199 were even insignificant and invisible to God? 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:07.560 As a church, we've been going through the first book of the Bible, Genesis. 00:04:07.899 --> 00:04:13.199 And in the past two weeks, our focus has been on this character, Abram, and God's special promise to him 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:18.300 to make him a great nation, to use him to bless the world, to protect him, 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:21.620 and to give him descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. 00:04:21.740 --> 00:04:26.659 But while Abram does have a unique calling in God's redemptive story for the world, 00:04:26.660 --> 00:04:32.920 the teaching of Genesis from the very beginning was that actually every human being, not just Abram, 00:04:33.200 --> 00:04:34.400 is made in the image of God. 00:04:34.660 --> 00:04:39.680 Every one of us has a unique and valuable calling and purpose in the eyes of God. 00:04:39.780 --> 00:04:40.840 No one is insignificant. 00:04:41.540 --> 00:04:43.540 No one is invisible to God. 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:49.500 And our text today, Genesis chapter 16, is a great example of this really revolutionary teaching 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:50.840 in the Christian Scriptures. 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:57.359 It's a reminder that as important and blessed as Abram was, he wasn't the only one who had God's attention. 00:04:57.859 --> 00:05:01.500 He wasn't the only player that God intended to use for his purposes. 00:05:01.659 --> 00:05:07.679 No, actually, in our text this morning, Abram actually plays a very, very passive background role 00:05:07.679 --> 00:05:11.299 while two women in his household, they take center stage. 00:05:11.379 --> 00:05:16.419 One, his barren wife, Sarai, and two, his wife's maidservant, Hagar. 00:05:16.420 --> 00:05:20.819 And, you know, this is something that's incredibly unique about the Hebrew Scriptures 00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:23.660 compared to all other ancient Near Eastern literature. 00:05:23.780 --> 00:05:29.240 The story today begins with, and it features women, and not just as accessories to the male lead, 00:05:29.300 --> 00:05:32.639 but as incredibly significant characters in their own right. 00:05:33.139 --> 00:05:38.780 See, unlike other ancient writings, the Bible actually gives remarkable attention to the voices 00:05:38.779 --> 00:05:44.059 and the agency and the emotions and the inner thoughts of multiple women, 00:05:44.179 --> 00:05:48.019 whether rich or poor, fertile or barren, slave or free. 00:05:48.099 --> 00:05:51.179 Women who would otherwise, and in every other culture and religion, 00:05:51.679 --> 00:05:54.159 be virtually invisible and insignificant. 00:05:55.259 --> 00:06:01.500 So as Genesis 16 distinctively and intentionally, like, shifts our focus from Abraham to the women in his life, 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:04.439 God's Spirit is inviting us to open our eyes today, 00:06:04.439 --> 00:06:06.420 to hopefully see as God sees. 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:09.160 And I have four points this morning to help us see as God sees. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:13.000 The burden of barrenness, the cycle of sin, 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:17.319 the sovereign who sees, and the glory of grace. 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:19.620 Right, so let's start with the burden of barrenness. 00:06:19.699 --> 00:06:22.620 Now, Genesis 16 starts with Sarai in verse 1 saying, 00:06:22.620 --> 00:06:26.360 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. 00:06:26.500 --> 00:06:28.740 And listen, that's not a throwaway detail here. 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:33.220 No, actually, that's basically her whole identity in the story of Genesis so far. 00:06:33.220 --> 00:06:39.240 When we first meet her, her whole identity in the story of Genesis is that she is barren. 00:06:39.340 --> 00:06:41.780 We meet her all the way back in Genesis chapter 11, verse 30, 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:43.140 and it goes out of its way to tell us, 00:06:43.380 --> 00:06:44.760 Now Sarai was barren. 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:46.260 She had no child. 00:06:46.780 --> 00:06:48.680 This is the headline of her life, 00:06:48.780 --> 00:06:52.940 the ache she probably feels when she goes to bed at night and rises each morning. 00:06:53.060 --> 00:06:57.060 Up to this point in Genesis 16, all we know about Sarai are three things. 00:06:57.740 --> 00:06:58.620 She's Abram's wife. 00:06:59.160 --> 00:06:59.800 She's beautiful. 00:06:59.800 --> 00:06:59.879 Beautiful. 00:07:00.460 --> 00:07:02.980 And then three, the most prominent thing that we know about her, 00:07:03.020 --> 00:07:05.000 it's repeated twice, is that she's barren. 00:07:05.100 --> 00:07:08.980 So here in chapter 16, it's ten years later from when we met her in chapter 11, 00:07:09.540 --> 00:07:12.439 and we're reminded once again she's still barren. 00:07:12.520 --> 00:07:13.980 That's the frame around her life, 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:16.019 probably the lens through which she sees herself, 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:17.699 through which everyone else sees her, 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:19.660 beautiful but barren. 00:07:19.660 --> 00:07:23.760 And not just barren as a biological fact, 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:26.660 but to her social and psychological shame, 00:07:27.380 --> 00:07:29.960 even threatening her family's economic situation. 00:07:30.080 --> 00:07:33.240 Remember, this was a culture where a woman's whole worth 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:35.940 was tied to her ability to make babies, 00:07:36.520 --> 00:07:39.520 to produce more arrows for her husband's quiver, right? 00:07:39.620 --> 00:07:41.180 Barrenness wasn't just a private sorrow, 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:42.080 it was a public shame. 00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:45.379 When the text tells us that Sarai is barren, 00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:48.060 it is signaling to us that in the eyes of her society, 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:49.579 perhaps even in her own eyes, 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:51.439 she is a failure of a woman, 00:07:51.899 --> 00:07:54.860 providing far less value than what is expected of her. 00:07:55.659 --> 00:07:58.420 So put yourself in Abram and Sarai's shoes for a second. 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:01.060 Abram, by the way, means exalted father, right? 00:08:01.439 --> 00:08:03.819 And Sarai means princess or noble lady, 00:08:03.899 --> 00:08:06.279 and yet this exalted father is childless. 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:07.659 And this princess, 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:10.639 her life seems more like a nightmare than a fairy tale. 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:13.419 Every day, their names probably reminded them 00:08:13.419 --> 00:08:14.500 of their barrenness, 00:08:14.579 --> 00:08:17.079 like a cruel joke that they could never escape. 00:08:18.039 --> 00:08:19.599 And maybe you're thinking to yourself this morning, 00:08:19.719 --> 00:08:21.639 well, okay, I can see how that was sad for them, 00:08:22.039 --> 00:08:23.680 but also maybe some of us are, you know, 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:24.659 modern Western folk, 00:08:24.719 --> 00:08:27.279 we're like, well, childlessness isn't so bad. 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:30.079 My kid was a pretty tough one this morning, right? 00:08:30.599 --> 00:08:31.459 It's not so bad. 00:08:31.479 --> 00:08:31.979 Or maybe you're thinking, 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:33.500 well, I can see how barrenness 00:08:33.500 --> 00:08:36.279 was especially devastating in ancient times, 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:39.220 but good thing we're living in the 21st century, right? 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:42.519 But, you know, while we modern Western folks, 00:08:42.660 --> 00:08:44.840 we might think of barrenness differently today, 00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:48.300 though honestly, I know a lot of people in my life, 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:50.240 actually, who do feel Sarai's pain, 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:53.000 who wish that they could have children that they can't. 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:54.639 But even if that's not, 00:08:54.700 --> 00:08:56.420 you want to suggest that this discussion 00:08:56.420 --> 00:08:58.019 of Sarai's barrenness, 00:08:58.100 --> 00:08:59.460 it's still relevant for all of us, 00:08:59.500 --> 00:09:00.080 because, you know, 00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:02.560 regardless of whether or not you're infertile, 00:09:03.440 --> 00:09:06.139 what Sarai was really faced with in her society, 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:07.220 it's something we're all faced with, 00:09:07.220 --> 00:09:10.500 is the question of whether or not we're enough. 00:09:11.259 --> 00:09:13.379 The question of whether or not we're bringing value 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:15.160 to our families, to our society. 00:09:15.300 --> 00:09:18.740 For Sarai, barrenness meant she wasn't bringing value 00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:20.980 in the eyes of most people in her life. 00:09:21.820 --> 00:09:23.540 And while the goalposts may have changed 00:09:23.540 --> 00:09:24.519 thousands of years later, 00:09:24.779 --> 00:09:26.620 and while our standards and values 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:28.460 might be different from the ancient Near East, 00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:30.820 has there ever been a culture 00:09:30.820 --> 00:09:34.620 that didn't have some kind of critical standard 00:09:35.180 --> 00:09:38.519 determining who in society brought value and honor 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:41.220 and who brought liability and shame? 00:09:41.800 --> 00:09:43.480 I was just speaking with a family last week 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:44.759 who recently moved here from a place 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:46.379 where it felt like people with special needs 00:09:46.379 --> 00:09:48.759 and disabilities were liabilities 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:52.460 to be overlooked rather than valuable members of society. 00:09:52.460 --> 00:09:56.639 Truly, every culture has its own definition of barrenness. 00:09:56.740 --> 00:09:58.800 We all feel the burden of barrenness 00:09:58.800 --> 00:10:00.660 in some way or another, don't we? 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:04.060 In Sarai's world, barrenness meant no children, 00:10:04.180 --> 00:10:06.580 but in ours, barrenness might mean 00:10:06.580 --> 00:10:07.920 you're not attractive enough, 00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:10.780 you're not wealthy or accomplished enough, 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:12.340 you don't have that picture-perfect, 00:10:12.620 --> 00:10:13.900 Instagram-worthy family. 00:10:15.100 --> 00:10:17.720 See, every kingdom built by sinful human beings, 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:19.600 every culture whispers, 00:10:20.300 --> 00:10:22.580 unless you have this, you're nothing. 00:10:23.259 --> 00:10:23.960 You're barren. 00:10:24.920 --> 00:10:27.360 And so Sarai's barrenness isn't just an ancient problem, 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:28.340 it's our problem too. 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:31.180 We're all dealing with some kind of barrenness, 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:33.019 some kind of deficit and lack 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:35.620 that's keeping us from satisfaction, security, 00:10:35.800 --> 00:10:37.660 or some kind of salvation. 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:39.879 And so the question for us is, 00:10:40.019 --> 00:10:42.779 what do we do with the burden of barrenness 00:10:42.779 --> 00:10:44.340 that we all feel? 00:10:45.379 --> 00:10:46.700 This brings me to my second point, 00:10:46.700 --> 00:10:47.440 the cycle of sin. 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:48.380 And again, verse one tells us 00:10:48.380 --> 00:10:50.240 that Sarai had born no children, 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:52.760 but it says what she did have 00:10:52.760 --> 00:10:56.320 was an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 00:10:57.140 --> 00:10:59.120 In other words, she didn't have what she longed for, 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:00.380 but she did have something, 00:11:01.020 --> 00:11:02.420 something she could use, 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:03.700 someone she could use, 00:11:03.800 --> 00:11:04.620 someone vulnerable, 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:07.020 over whom she could exert the little power 00:11:07.020 --> 00:11:08.320 that she did have. 00:11:08.780 --> 00:11:10.160 She had an Egyptian slave. 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:11.360 Now, if you were an Israelite 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:12.840 listening to this origin story, 00:11:12.900 --> 00:11:14.920 you'd catch the irony immediately, right? 00:11:14.920 --> 00:11:17.160 Wait, Sarai had an Egyptian slave? 00:11:18.340 --> 00:11:19.340 That's what we were. 00:11:20.340 --> 00:11:21.300 But apparently, 00:11:21.500 --> 00:11:24.500 before the Egyptians had Hebrew slaves, 00:11:24.980 --> 00:11:27.060 these Hebrews had an Egyptian slave. 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:29.460 This was a reminder to Israel and all of us 00:11:29.460 --> 00:11:30.960 that the line between the oppressed 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:32.680 and the oppressor in history 00:11:32.680 --> 00:11:34.019 is actually quite thin. 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:36.800 It can go back and forth quite easily. 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:38.519 And so now, 00:11:38.620 --> 00:11:40.240 who was this Egyptian slave? 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:41.040 Her name was Hagar, 00:11:41.180 --> 00:11:42.139 which literally means 00:11:42.139 --> 00:11:43.360 the immigrant, 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:44.620 the sojourner. 00:11:44.620 --> 00:11:45.840 It's the same word that's used 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:47.500 in the chapter before in Genesis 15. 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:48.980 We looked at that last week 00:11:48.980 --> 00:11:51.139 when God reiterates His promise to Abram, 00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:52.600 but also mentions to him 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:53.940 that His people are going to be strangers 00:11:53.940 --> 00:11:55.980 in a country not their own for 400 years. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:56.779 That word strangers, 00:11:57.200 --> 00:11:58.940 it's the same word as the name Hagar. 00:11:59.100 --> 00:12:00.879 Strangers, sojourners, immigrants. 00:12:01.460 --> 00:12:03.480 And according to some Jewish traditions, 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:04.100 in Midrash, 00:12:04.220 --> 00:12:06.480 Hagar may have even been a princess 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:08.179 in Pharaoh's household, 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:09.519 maybe even Pharaoh's daughter, 00:12:10.180 --> 00:12:11.240 which if you think about it, 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:13.279 makes this even more tragic and twisted. 00:12:13.419 --> 00:12:14.879 So now we have two princesses 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:16.419 in this story, right? 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:19.120 Both vulnerable in a patriarchal world, 00:12:19.680 --> 00:12:21.360 but instead of being allies, 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:22.840 they become rivals 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:24.419 in Abram's household, 00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:26.500 caught in a cycle of sin. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:28.799 And it starts with Sarai, right? 00:12:28.820 --> 00:12:30.399 She's burdened with her barrenness, 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:32.600 and yet she's unable to see herself 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:33.340 in Hagar. 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:35.419 She only sees Hagar as an object 00:12:35.419 --> 00:12:36.159 to be used, 00:12:36.220 --> 00:12:38.120 a tool to build her own family, 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:40.039 a biotechnological object 00:12:40.039 --> 00:12:41.779 to deliver herself 00:12:41.779 --> 00:12:43.759 from the burden of her barrenness. 00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:46.079 As the saying goes, right? 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:47.839 Hurt people hurt people. 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:49.919 Sarai couldn't see 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:52.079 what she proposed to do to Hagar 00:12:52.079 --> 00:12:53.480 was the same thing 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:55.179 that was done to her in Egypt. 00:12:55.379 --> 00:12:56.240 And in case you're not familiar 00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:57.059 with what I'm talking about, 00:12:57.099 --> 00:12:58.379 we didn't have time to go over this 00:12:58.379 --> 00:12:59.399 a couple weeks ago 00:12:59.399 --> 00:13:00.240 in Genesis chapter 12, 00:13:00.299 --> 00:13:01.579 but back in Genesis chapter 12, 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:02.879 Abram and Sarah, 00:13:02.959 --> 00:13:03.719 they flee to Egypt 00:13:03.719 --> 00:13:04.899 because of a famine. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:06.339 And there, 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:07.959 because of Abram's cowardice, 00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:09.199 because of his lack of faith 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:10.200 and the promises of God, 00:13:10.520 --> 00:13:11.780 Abram, he lies, 00:13:12.220 --> 00:13:13.940 and Sarah is just his sister. 00:13:14.540 --> 00:13:15.740 So his beautiful wife, 00:13:16.060 --> 00:13:17.020 she gets objectified, 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:17.720 she gets taken 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:18.900 into Pharaoh's harem, 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:20.200 she's given over 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:22.680 into another man's bed, 00:13:22.780 --> 00:13:23.160 basically. 00:13:24.120 --> 00:13:24.780 So like Sarah, 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:25.440 you know, 00:13:25.500 --> 00:13:26.900 no one knew better than her 00:13:26.900 --> 00:13:28.259 the painful feeling 00:13:28.259 --> 00:13:29.180 of being trafficked, 00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:30.600 of being objectified 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:31.680 by the powers that be. 00:13:32.540 --> 00:13:34.140 And yet in her desperation, 00:13:34.840 --> 00:13:35.900 in her unbelief 00:13:35.900 --> 00:13:37.180 about the promises of God, 00:13:37.179 --> 00:13:37.979 in her unbelief 00:13:37.979 --> 00:13:39.219 regarding God's goodness, 00:13:39.500 --> 00:13:39.979 His power, 00:13:40.219 --> 00:13:40.959 His faithfulness, 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:42.019 she takes matters, 00:13:42.259 --> 00:13:43.399 she takes Hagar 00:13:43.399 --> 00:13:44.699 into her own hands. 00:13:45.419 --> 00:13:45.839 Verse 2. 00:13:46.620 --> 00:13:47.379 So she said to Abram, 00:13:47.459 --> 00:13:48.279 the Lord has kept me 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:49.099 from having children. 00:13:49.239 --> 00:13:49.500 Literally, 00:13:49.819 --> 00:13:51.399 the Lord has restrained me, 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:52.899 has limited me. 00:13:52.959 --> 00:13:53.559 In her mind, 00:13:53.620 --> 00:13:54.779 just like Eve's mind, 00:13:55.459 --> 00:13:57.199 the Lord is a prohibitive, 00:13:57.500 --> 00:13:58.500 restrictive God 00:13:58.500 --> 00:14:00.059 rather than a generous one. 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:01.919 So she says to Abram, 00:14:02.179 --> 00:14:03.299 go sleep with my slave, 00:14:03.419 --> 00:14:05.139 go depart from God's ideal 00:14:05.139 --> 00:14:06.279 in Genesis chapter 2 00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:07.539 of a one husband, 00:14:07.699 --> 00:14:08.199 one wife, 00:14:08.319 --> 00:14:08.600 marriage, 00:14:08.699 --> 00:14:09.199 and family, 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:10.840 go the polygamous way 00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:11.919 of Cain's descendants 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:13.039 of Lamech, 00:14:13.259 --> 00:14:14.240 take another wife, 00:14:14.439 --> 00:14:15.860 go sleep with my slave, 00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:16.179 she says. 00:14:16.220 --> 00:14:16.899 She doesn't even mention 00:14:16.899 --> 00:14:17.980 Hagar's name 00:14:17.980 --> 00:14:18.519 because she's just 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:19.340 an object to them. 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:20.360 And perhaps, 00:14:20.439 --> 00:14:20.819 she says, 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:21.699 maybe because it's all 00:14:21.699 --> 00:14:22.779 up to chance anyway, 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:23.600 not God, 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:25.439 perhaps we might get lucky 00:14:25.439 --> 00:14:27.379 going this alternative route. 00:14:27.500 --> 00:14:27.860 Perhaps, 00:14:27.939 --> 00:14:28.259 she said, 00:14:28.259 --> 00:14:29.539 I can build 00:14:29.539 --> 00:14:31.319 a family through her. 00:14:32.139 --> 00:14:32.659 If you think 00:14:32.659 --> 00:14:33.319 that sounds funny, 00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:34.360 I can build 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:35.120 a family through her. 00:14:35.420 --> 00:14:35.820 It is, 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:36.760 but it's very intentional. 00:14:37.340 --> 00:14:38.040 That word build, 00:14:38.100 --> 00:14:38.900 it's the same word 00:14:38.900 --> 00:14:39.400 that's used 00:14:39.400 --> 00:14:40.180 when God built 00:14:40.180 --> 00:14:40.980 the first family 00:14:40.980 --> 00:14:42.260 in Genesis chapter 2, 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:42.840 verse 22. 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:44.140 He took Eve 00:14:44.140 --> 00:14:45.100 from the side of Adam 00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:45.640 and he built 00:14:45.640 --> 00:14:46.460 that first family. 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:47.740 But it's also 00:14:47.740 --> 00:14:48.400 the same word 00:14:48.400 --> 00:14:49.020 that's used 00:14:49.020 --> 00:14:50.640 when Cain's descendants 00:14:50.640 --> 00:14:51.920 defy God 00:14:51.920 --> 00:14:52.840 and build cities. 00:14:52.940 --> 00:14:54.100 It's also the same word 00:14:54.100 --> 00:14:54.640 that's used 00:14:54.640 --> 00:14:55.300 when the people 00:14:55.300 --> 00:14:55.840 at Babel 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:56.760 build their city 00:14:56.760 --> 00:14:57.380 to sustain 00:14:57.380 --> 00:14:58.280 their own security. 00:14:58.560 --> 00:14:59.140 All of them, 00:14:59.500 --> 00:14:59.820 Cain, 00:15:00.260 --> 00:15:01.320 the Babylonians, 00:15:01.320 --> 00:15:01.940 and now, 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:03.460 even Abram's wife, 00:15:04.180 --> 00:15:04.920 they're all trying 00:15:04.920 --> 00:15:05.980 to build their way 00:15:05.980 --> 00:15:07.260 out of barrenness. 00:15:08.180 --> 00:15:08.700 And all these 00:15:08.700 --> 00:15:09.620 building projects, 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:11.040 they depend on 00:15:11.040 --> 00:15:12.360 anything 00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:13.320 but the promises 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:13.780 of God. 00:15:14.180 --> 00:15:14.720 All of these 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:15.320 building projects 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:15.900 depend upon 00:15:15.900 --> 00:15:16.560 violence 00:15:16.560 --> 00:15:17.700 and harshness, 00:15:18.060 --> 00:15:18.540 oppression, 00:15:19.040 --> 00:15:19.420 rivalry, 00:15:19.660 --> 00:15:20.540 and selfishness. 00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:22.660 So verse 3 says, 00:15:22.660 --> 00:15:23.600 so after Abram 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:24.220 had been living 00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:24.740 in Canaan 00:15:24.740 --> 00:15:25.560 10 years, 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:26.500 Sarai, 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:26.980 his wife, 00:15:27.160 --> 00:15:28.240 took her Egyptian 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:28.740 slave, 00:15:28.740 --> 00:15:29.159 Hagar, 00:15:29.299 --> 00:15:30.100 and gave her 00:15:30.100 --> 00:15:30.980 to her husband 00:15:30.980 --> 00:15:31.759 to be his wife. 00:15:32.519 --> 00:15:32.980 Does that language 00:15:32.980 --> 00:15:33.919 sound familiar to you? 00:15:34.519 --> 00:15:35.139 She took 00:15:35.139 --> 00:15:36.299 and she gave. 00:15:37.180 --> 00:15:38.080 Same as Genesis 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:38.720 chapter 3. 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:40.180 When Eve took 00:15:40.180 --> 00:15:41.019 and gave 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:41.560 to Adam, 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:42.120 the cycle 00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:42.639 of sin 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:43.500 continues. 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:45.100 Abram is passive 00:15:45.100 --> 00:15:46.039 as Adam was. 00:15:46.419 --> 00:15:46.980 Abram takes 00:15:46.980 --> 00:15:47.759 a second wife 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:48.519 like Lamech. 00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:49.360 Sarai repeats 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:49.799 the oppression 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:50.639 once done to her. 00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:52.960 And then verse 4 says, 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:54.820 Abram slept with Hagar 00:15:54.820 --> 00:15:55.820 and she conceived. 00:15:56.379 --> 00:15:57.019 When she knew 00:15:57.019 --> 00:15:57.659 she was pregnant, 00:15:57.659 --> 00:15:58.839 she began to despise 00:15:58.839 --> 00:15:59.679 or look down upon, 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:01.059 even curse her mistress. 00:16:01.199 --> 00:16:01.779 So the cycle 00:16:01.779 --> 00:16:02.819 of sin continues. 00:16:02.939 --> 00:16:03.480 The oppressed 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:04.120 Hagar, 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:05.500 she's proved fertile. 00:16:05.939 --> 00:16:06.819 She's got some cards 00:16:06.819 --> 00:16:07.539 to play now. 00:16:07.659 --> 00:16:08.319 And now she 00:16:08.319 --> 00:16:09.839 becomes the oppressor 00:16:09.839 --> 00:16:10.500 looking down 00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:11.259 on Sarai 00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:12.059 just as Sarai 00:16:12.059 --> 00:16:12.939 looked down upon her. 00:16:13.259 --> 00:16:13.819 Hurt people 00:16:13.819 --> 00:16:15.379 continue hurting people. 00:16:16.219 --> 00:16:16.839 And this creates 00:16:16.839 --> 00:16:17.639 more conflict 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:18.319 in the household, 00:16:18.459 --> 00:16:18.939 verse 5, 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:20.120 than Sarai said to Abram, 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:21.159 you are responsible 00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:21.799 for the wrong 00:16:21.799 --> 00:16:22.480 I am suffering. 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:23.659 I put my slave 00:16:23.659 --> 00:16:24.419 in your arms 00:16:24.419 --> 00:16:25.480 and now that she knows 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:26.120 she is pregnant, 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:27.139 she despises me. 00:16:27.139 --> 00:16:27.840 May the Lord 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:28.819 judge between you 00:16:28.819 --> 00:16:29.519 and me. 00:16:30.139 --> 00:16:31.100 Just like Adam 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:31.639 and Eve, right? 00:16:32.139 --> 00:16:32.980 Blame shifting. 00:16:33.340 --> 00:16:33.939 No one takes 00:16:33.939 --> 00:16:34.639 responsibility. 00:16:34.819 --> 00:16:35.199 Verse 6, 00:16:35.480 --> 00:16:37.019 your slave is in your hands, 00:16:37.100 --> 00:16:37.600 Abram said, 00:16:37.659 --> 00:16:38.240 not acknowledging 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:40.019 that he got to have sex. 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:41.080 He wasn't some 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:42.220 passive actor here. 00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:42.939 He wasn't innocent. 00:16:43.539 --> 00:16:44.000 And then, 00:16:44.299 --> 00:16:44.939 just like Sarai, 00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:45.939 also treating Hagar 00:16:45.939 --> 00:16:46.299 as not, 00:16:46.340 --> 00:16:47.199 he just callously says, 00:16:47.699 --> 00:16:48.139 do with her 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:49.799 whatever you think best. 00:16:50.620 --> 00:16:51.240 And literally, 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:51.879 in the Hebrew, 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:52.259 it says, 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:53.659 do what is good 00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:55.000 in your own eyes. 00:16:55.779 --> 00:16:56.360 Does that remind you 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:56.740 of anything? 00:16:57.480 --> 00:16:58.220 Maybe of the fruit 00:16:58.220 --> 00:16:58.960 that was nice 00:16:58.960 --> 00:16:59.800 and pleasing 00:16:59.800 --> 00:17:00.899 to Eve's eyes. 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:01.259 Also, 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:02.060 the book of Judges 00:17:02.060 --> 00:17:02.759 where the refrain 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:03.779 of Israel's downfall 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:04.599 is that everyone 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:06.140 did what was right 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:07.940 in their own eyes. 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:09.259 Here, 00:17:09.360 --> 00:17:09.740 Abram, 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:10.779 the father of our faith, 00:17:10.860 --> 00:17:11.620 he checks out, 00:17:12.180 --> 00:17:12.920 shrugs his shoulders 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:14.720 and leaves the bearer 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:16.039 of his firstborn child, 00:17:16.339 --> 00:17:17.039 he leaves her hanging. 00:17:18.099 --> 00:17:19.240 And verse 6 ends, 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:20.960 then Sarai mistreated 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:21.440 Hagar, 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:22.900 so she fled from her. 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:24.500 It could also be translated, 00:17:24.900 --> 00:17:26.000 she afflicted Hagar. 00:17:26.059 --> 00:17:26.779 It's the same word 00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:27.240 that's used 00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:28.200 of how the Egyptians 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:29.180 mistreated 00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:30.740 the Israelite slaves. 00:17:31.819 --> 00:17:32.759 So do you see 00:17:32.759 --> 00:17:33.460 what this story 00:17:33.460 --> 00:17:34.339 is showing us? 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:36.779 When we don't entrust 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:38.440 our barrenness to God, 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:39.920 when we refuse 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:41.120 to trust in his timing 00:17:41.120 --> 00:17:42.299 and in his promises, 00:17:42.620 --> 00:17:43.579 when we take things 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:44.900 into our own hands, 00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:46.240 we only perpetuate 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:48.000 the cycle of sin 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:49.400 that began long, 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:50.779 long, long ago. 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:52.460 We objectify others, 00:17:52.819 --> 00:17:53.640 we use them 00:17:53.640 --> 00:17:54.579 rather than love them, 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:55.339 we misuse 00:17:55.339 --> 00:17:56.480 what little power we have, 00:17:56.519 --> 00:17:57.500 we look down on people, 00:17:57.579 --> 00:17:58.460 we see them as threats 00:17:58.460 --> 00:17:59.240 and rivals, 00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:00.059 we shift blame. 00:18:00.299 --> 00:18:01.200 And when it suits us, 00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:03.079 we escape into passivity, 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:04.059 we shrug our shoulders 00:18:04.059 --> 00:18:04.920 and we think 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:05.839 we're being so tolerant, 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:06.359 we think we're being 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:07.460 so chill and open-minded 00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:07.759 and we say, 00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:09.079 hey, just do whatever 00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:09.720 seems good 00:18:09.720 --> 00:18:10.779 in your own eyes. 00:18:11.420 --> 00:18:11.859 But really, 00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:12.880 we're not doing anyone 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:13.539 any favors, 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:14.660 we're merely enabling 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:15.620 the evildoers. 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:16.900 When we, 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:18.480 like Abram and Sarai, 00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:19.559 experiment with 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:21.180 building our own ways 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:22.299 out of barrenness, 00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:24.359 our pain and shame 00:18:24.359 --> 00:18:25.599 are only compounded 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:26.839 and it spreads to hurt 00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:27.980 and enslave everyone 00:18:27.980 --> 00:18:28.880 around us, 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:30.440 multiplying selfishness 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:31.259 for generations 00:18:31.259 --> 00:18:32.160 upon generations. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:32.539 You know, 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:33.000 that might be 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:33.980 the scariest part 00:18:33.980 --> 00:18:34.680 of all of this, 00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:35.940 the generational ripple 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:36.920 effects of sin. 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:37.839 We're still feeling 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:38.819 Adam and Eve's today. 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:40.620 So just as Adam and Eve 00:18:40.620 --> 00:18:41.480 thought that they were 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:43.140 advancing humanity, 00:18:44.200 --> 00:18:44.680 Sarai, 00:18:44.980 --> 00:18:45.839 she thought she was 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:46.519 solving her own 00:18:46.519 --> 00:18:47.379 barrenness problem, 00:18:47.579 --> 00:18:48.980 but her sin set in motion 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:50.059 a rivalry, right? 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:51.519 Between Hagar's son, 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:52.039 Ishmael, 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:53.059 and her eventual son, 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:53.359 Isaac, 00:18:53.419 --> 00:18:54.740 a rivalry that's lasted 00:18:54.740 --> 00:18:55.959 even to today 00:18:55.959 --> 00:18:57.139 between the Jewish 00:18:57.139 --> 00:18:58.259 and Arab peoples. 00:18:59.659 --> 00:19:01.179 So a question for us 00:19:01.179 --> 00:19:02.659 is have we reckoned 00:19:02.659 --> 00:19:04.179 with the implications, 00:19:04.459 --> 00:19:05.220 the consequences 00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:07.039 of our sinful patterns? 00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:08.740 Have we considered 00:19:08.740 --> 00:19:09.519 their effect, 00:19:09.879 --> 00:19:10.759 not just on us, 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:11.879 not just on our 00:19:11.879 --> 00:19:12.419 immediate neighbors, 00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:13.420 on our children 00:19:13.420 --> 00:19:14.800 and our neighbors 00:19:14.800 --> 00:19:15.940 and our children's 00:19:15.940 --> 00:19:16.240 children 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:17.120 and our neighbors' 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:17.580 neighbors? 00:19:18.740 --> 00:19:19.779 Our unbelief, 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:21.320 our addictions, 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:22.279 our short tempers, 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:23.160 our selfishness, 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:23.960 our prayerlessness, 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:24.660 our greed, 00:19:24.800 --> 00:19:26.160 and lack of generosity. 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:27.279 What are the vices 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:29.740 that we are perpetuating 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:31.060 in this world? 00:19:31.779 --> 00:19:32.720 And what legacy 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:34.000 do we hope to pass on 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:35.420 to the next generation? 00:19:36.820 --> 00:19:37.060 Christchurch, 00:19:37.120 --> 00:19:37.960 we need to deal 00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:38.820 with sin 00:19:38.820 --> 00:19:39.600 in our church. 00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:40.259 As John Owen, 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:40.959 the Puritan wrote, 00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:42.419 be killing sin 00:19:42.419 --> 00:19:44.699 or sin will be killing you. 00:19:45.919 --> 00:19:46.319 And listen, 00:19:46.459 --> 00:19:47.379 I'll be the first one 00:19:47.379 --> 00:19:48.019 to recognize 00:19:48.019 --> 00:19:49.339 that sin is complex 00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:50.679 and it often comes 00:19:50.679 --> 00:19:51.179 from a place 00:19:51.179 --> 00:19:52.259 of having been sinned 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:53.299 against, right? 00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:54.179 I'll be the first 00:19:54.179 --> 00:19:55.339 to agree that hurt people 00:19:55.339 --> 00:19:56.879 hurt people who hurt people 00:19:56.879 --> 00:19:57.899 and I know that many of us 00:19:57.899 --> 00:19:58.539 in this room, 00:19:59.019 --> 00:19:59.839 I'm the pastor of care here, 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:00.919 I know that many of you 00:20:00.919 --> 00:20:01.539 are hurting, 00:20:01.719 --> 00:20:02.159 that you've been 00:20:02.159 --> 00:20:04.319 badly sinned against 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:05.799 and that many, 00:20:05.959 --> 00:20:06.559 if not most, 00:20:06.619 --> 00:20:07.559 of our sin patterns 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:09.219 are themselves ripple effects 00:20:09.220 --> 00:20:10.019 from the sins 00:20:10.019 --> 00:20:11.000 of those who've gone 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:11.640 before us. 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:12.819 Trauma is real 00:20:12.819 --> 00:20:14.400 and it's devastating. 00:20:14.900 --> 00:20:15.600 Genesis 16 00:20:15.600 --> 00:20:16.519 has taught us that. 00:20:16.600 --> 00:20:17.700 Hagar is its proof. 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:18.519 She didn't ask 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:19.079 for this story, 00:20:19.180 --> 00:20:20.079 she didn't choose it, 00:20:20.100 --> 00:20:20.960 she was taken 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:22.120 and given over, 00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:22.940 she was used 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:23.839 and then discarded, 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:25.180 a traumatized victim 00:20:25.180 --> 00:20:26.700 of another traumatized victim 00:20:26.700 --> 00:20:27.759 and her whole life 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:29.100 was undoubtedly shaped 00:20:29.100 --> 00:20:30.000 by this trauma 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:31.079 and victimization 00:20:31.079 --> 00:20:31.680 just as many 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:32.600 of your lives 00:20:32.600 --> 00:20:33.920 are indebably marked 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:35.019 by your own wounds. 00:20:35.019 --> 00:20:37.740 But the danger, 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:39.619 the danger in our current 00:20:39.619 --> 00:20:41.180 often trauma-obsessed 00:20:41.180 --> 00:20:42.019 cultural moment 00:20:42.019 --> 00:20:44.039 is that because trauma 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:44.539 is real 00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:46.079 and because we long 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:46.819 to be seen 00:20:46.819 --> 00:20:47.779 in our trauma, 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:49.379 many of us 00:20:49.379 --> 00:20:50.139 can let our trauma 00:20:50.139 --> 00:20:51.599 take over our identity 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:52.639 as if trauma 00:20:52.639 --> 00:20:53.339 is the truest, 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:54.160 most important 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:55.039 and most essential 00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:56.720 thing about us. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:20:59.139 And I want to be careful 00:20:59.139 --> 00:20:59.839 not to minimize 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:01.240 the pain in this room 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:02.700 or to suggest 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:03.440 that we sweep 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:03.960 our trauma 00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:05.380 just under the rug. 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:07.319 I'm totally in favor 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:08.539 of people working 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:09.160 through their trauma, 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:10.140 acknowledging it, 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:10.799 naming it, 00:21:11.079 --> 00:21:11.900 lamenting it. 00:21:12.259 --> 00:21:13.079 It's all definitely 00:21:13.079 --> 00:21:14.960 a part of healing 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:16.460 and of being seen. 00:21:17.700 --> 00:21:18.140 But, 00:21:19.140 --> 00:21:20.079 if we believe 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:20.920 in God's story 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:21.779 about the world, 00:21:22.380 --> 00:21:23.120 if we believe 00:21:23.120 --> 00:21:23.839 that God's story 00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:25.099 isn't just creation 00:21:25.099 --> 00:21:25.859 and then fall 00:21:25.859 --> 00:21:26.339 and then, 00:21:26.740 --> 00:21:27.039 oh man, 00:21:27.099 --> 00:21:27.839 that really sucked, 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:28.700 right? 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:29.839 If we believe 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:30.640 that God's story 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:31.320 is creation, 00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:31.860 fall, 00:21:31.940 --> 00:21:32.820 and then redemption, 00:21:33.540 --> 00:21:34.380 if we believe 00:21:34.380 --> 00:21:35.580 that Christ is risen 00:21:35.580 --> 00:21:36.980 as the first fruits 00:21:36.980 --> 00:21:37.500 of a new 00:21:37.500 --> 00:21:39.040 and incorruptible creation, 00:21:39.180 --> 00:21:40.160 then whatever your trauma, 00:21:41.420 --> 00:21:42.240 it is not, 00:21:42.800 --> 00:21:43.840 it must not, 00:21:44.220 --> 00:21:44.780 it cannot 00:21:44.780 --> 00:21:46.020 be your truest 00:21:46.020 --> 00:21:47.740 and final identity. 00:21:48.740 --> 00:21:49.860 To let your trauma 00:21:49.860 --> 00:21:51.060 be your most significant 00:21:51.060 --> 00:21:51.759 identity 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:52.960 is to say 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:53.920 that the most significant 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:55.060 part of a book 00:21:55.060 --> 00:21:55.720 is the problem 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:56.340 and the conflict 00:21:56.340 --> 00:21:56.940 right in the middle 00:21:56.940 --> 00:21:57.400 of the story 00:21:57.400 --> 00:21:57.980 rather than 00:21:57.980 --> 00:21:58.960 the resolution. 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:02.700 what if our fixation 00:22:02.700 --> 00:22:03.779 on trauma 00:22:03.779 --> 00:22:04.519 actually comes 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:05.079 from a deeper 00:22:05.079 --> 00:22:05.740 desperation 00:22:05.740 --> 00:22:07.440 of wanting someone 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:08.279 to see us 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:09.100 in it? 00:22:11.180 --> 00:22:12.140 Someone to notice, 00:22:12.700 --> 00:22:13.360 someone to care, 00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:13.840 someone to say, 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:14.620 I see what happened 00:22:14.620 --> 00:22:15.000 to you, 00:22:15.500 --> 00:22:16.400 I see what you're 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:16.759 carrying, 00:22:16.940 --> 00:22:17.920 and I feel for you, 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:18.519 and I will never 00:22:18.519 --> 00:22:19.940 leave you nor forsake you. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:21.559 Maybe for some of us, 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:23.019 airing our trauma, 00:22:23.700 --> 00:22:24.559 it feels like 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:25.420 the only way 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:26.720 will ever be seen. 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:28.960 Like if I can convince 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:30.319 them of how terribly 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:31.039 I've been wounded, 00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:31.720 then maybe, 00:22:32.339 --> 00:22:32.940 finally, 00:22:33.660 --> 00:22:34.539 people will have 00:22:34.539 --> 00:22:35.220 to see me. 00:22:36.779 --> 00:22:37.519 But don't you see 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:38.299 what this is doing 00:22:38.299 --> 00:22:39.220 to us 00:22:39.220 --> 00:22:40.079 in our society? 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:41.539 How it's become 00:22:41.539 --> 00:22:42.420 a race to the bottom, 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:44.220 people vying for power 00:22:44.220 --> 00:22:44.860 or credibility 00:22:44.860 --> 00:22:45.660 by showing that 00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:46.039 they've been 00:22:46.039 --> 00:22:47.240 more traumatized 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:47.880 than others, 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:49.000 everyone clamoring 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:49.779 for a platform 00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:50.360 and fighting 00:22:50.360 --> 00:22:51.319 for visibility. 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:52.880 I love how 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:53.460 one of my favorite 00:22:53.460 --> 00:22:53.799 thinkers, 00:22:53.900 --> 00:22:54.299 Alan Noble, 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:55.140 puts it when he writes, 00:22:55.140 --> 00:22:56.740 everyone is on 00:22:56.740 --> 00:22:57.480 their own private 00:22:57.480 --> 00:22:58.700 journey of self-discovery 00:22:58.700 --> 00:22:59.680 and self-expression 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:00.660 so that at times, 00:23:01.100 --> 00:23:01.960 modern life feels 00:23:01.960 --> 00:23:03.160 like billions of people 00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:04.200 in the same room 00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:06.160 shouting their own name 00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:07.540 so that everyone else 00:23:07.540 --> 00:23:08.600 knows they exist, 00:23:09.180 --> 00:23:10.220 to be recognized 00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:11.360 and to draw the gaze 00:23:11.360 --> 00:23:11.960 and the attention 00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:12.900 of others. 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:15.220 And then trauma sharing 00:23:15.220 --> 00:23:16.740 is quite a popular 00:23:16.740 --> 00:23:17.660 way to do this. 00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:19.620 And yet God's word 00:23:19.620 --> 00:23:20.840 here in Genesis 16 00:23:20.840 --> 00:23:23.080 has better news for us, 00:23:23.780 --> 00:23:24.580 that we don't have 00:23:24.579 --> 00:23:25.579 to win the trauma 00:23:25.579 --> 00:23:27.460 Olympics to be seen. 00:23:28.339 --> 00:23:29.099 We don't need 00:23:29.099 --> 00:23:29.779 to out-suffer 00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:30.419 everyone else 00:23:30.419 --> 00:23:31.000 to be worthy 00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:32.500 of care and comfort. 00:23:33.779 --> 00:23:34.500 This brings me 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:35.139 to the third point, 00:23:35.220 --> 00:23:36.139 the sovereign who sees. 00:23:36.259 --> 00:23:36.960 Verse 7 says, 00:23:37.059 --> 00:23:37.819 the angel of the Lord 00:23:37.819 --> 00:23:38.899 found Hagar 00:23:38.899 --> 00:23:39.699 near a spring 00:23:39.699 --> 00:23:40.179 in the desert. 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:40.919 It was the spring 00:23:40.919 --> 00:23:41.859 that is beside 00:23:41.859 --> 00:23:43.119 the road to Shur. 00:23:43.639 --> 00:23:44.720 So Hagar has now 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:45.899 fled into the wilderness 00:23:45.899 --> 00:23:47.159 and she's at a spring 00:23:47.159 --> 00:23:48.059 beside the road to Shur 00:23:48.059 --> 00:23:48.740 which indicates 00:23:48.740 --> 00:23:50.019 that she's fleeing south, 00:23:50.339 --> 00:23:51.759 probably back to Egypt. 00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:53.559 And she's all alone 00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:54.279 and no one's come 00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:54.700 after her. 00:23:55.019 --> 00:23:56.519 Sarah's still hostile, 00:23:56.740 --> 00:23:58.039 Abram's still passive, 00:23:58.160 --> 00:23:59.079 but the sovereign Lord, 00:23:59.879 --> 00:24:01.339 he is neither hostile 00:24:01.339 --> 00:24:02.200 nor passive 00:24:02.200 --> 00:24:03.119 toward Hagar. 00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:04.180 No, verse 7 says, 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:04.980 the angel of the Lord 00:24:04.980 --> 00:24:05.579 comes after her. 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:06.059 And by the way, 00:24:06.140 --> 00:24:07.579 this isn't just any angel, 00:24:07.720 --> 00:24:09.019 it's the same angel 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:09.500 of the Lord 00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:10.579 who spoke to Moses 00:24:10.579 --> 00:24:11.859 from the burning bush. 00:24:12.140 --> 00:24:13.259 This is the Lord himself 00:24:13.259 --> 00:24:14.680 entering into creation 00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:15.680 to be present 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:16.559 with his people. 00:24:17.400 --> 00:24:18.440 And what's crazy is 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:20.080 this is his first appearance 00:24:20.080 --> 00:24:22.279 to anyone in history, 00:24:22.380 --> 00:24:23.320 at least what's recorded 00:24:23.320 --> 00:24:23.860 in Scripture. 00:24:24.340 --> 00:24:25.920 This first person 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:26.400 in Scripture 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:27.080 to encounter 00:24:27.080 --> 00:24:27.960 the angel of the Lord. 00:24:28.059 --> 00:24:28.680 It isn't Abraham, 00:24:28.920 --> 00:24:29.759 Isaac, Jacob, 00:24:29.840 --> 00:24:30.420 it's not Moses, 00:24:30.539 --> 00:24:31.860 not some Jewish man. 00:24:32.500 --> 00:24:33.240 No, it's Hagar, 00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:36.059 an Egyptian slave girl 00:24:36.059 --> 00:24:37.620 who was used 00:24:37.620 --> 00:24:38.440 and abused 00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:39.700 by her masters. 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:41.820 And notice what he says 00:24:41.820 --> 00:24:42.380 in verse 8. 00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:43.539 He says, 00:24:43.620 --> 00:24:43.940 Hagar. 00:24:45.320 --> 00:24:46.360 He calls her by name, 00:24:46.460 --> 00:24:47.160 slave of Sarai. 00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:48.019 Where have you come from 00:24:48.019 --> 00:24:48.519 and where are you going? 00:24:48.579 --> 00:24:49.539 This is crazy, you know. 00:24:49.619 --> 00:24:50.279 Throughout the story, 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:51.099 Abram and Sarai 00:24:51.099 --> 00:24:52.839 never speak Hagar's name. 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:53.859 They always refer to her 00:24:53.859 --> 00:24:54.859 as my slave, 00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:55.539 your slave, 00:24:55.660 --> 00:24:56.599 but God, 00:24:57.619 --> 00:24:58.599 he says Hagar. 00:24:59.420 --> 00:25:00.279 He knows her. 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:02.160 He calls her by name. 00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:02.960 The first person 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:04.000 in this entire narrative 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:04.900 to call her by name, 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:06.180 treat her like a person 00:25:06.180 --> 00:25:07.160 and not property. 00:25:08.099 --> 00:25:08.920 And this is also 00:25:08.920 --> 00:25:10.039 the only known instance 00:25:10.039 --> 00:25:11.259 in all of ancient 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:12.359 Near Eastern literature 00:25:12.359 --> 00:25:13.619 where a deity 00:25:13.619 --> 00:25:14.720 addresses a woman 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:15.619 by name. 00:25:16.339 --> 00:25:17.319 The God of the Bible 00:25:17.319 --> 00:25:17.819 is a God 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:18.700 who sees Hagar 00:25:18.700 --> 00:25:19.460 individually, 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:20.220 personally, 00:25:20.419 --> 00:25:21.419 comprehensively, 00:25:21.579 --> 00:25:22.559 and compassionately. 00:25:22.659 --> 00:25:23.399 He sees her 00:25:23.399 --> 00:25:24.759 and he dignifies her 00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:25.759 and he dignifies her, 00:25:25.939 --> 00:25:25.980 how? 00:25:26.200 --> 00:25:27.019 With a promise. 00:25:28.159 --> 00:25:29.059 Now think about that 00:25:29.059 --> 00:25:29.480 for a second. 00:25:29.579 --> 00:25:30.039 Think about what 00:25:30.039 --> 00:25:31.200 a promise is. 00:25:32.159 --> 00:25:32.720 A promise 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:34.700 is a binding commitment. 00:25:35.579 --> 00:25:36.200 So here you have 00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:36.919 this slave girl 00:25:36.919 --> 00:25:37.919 who no one ever 00:25:37.919 --> 00:25:38.779 made a promise to. 00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:39.960 No one ever felt like 00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:41.359 they owed her anything, 00:25:42.159 --> 00:25:42.919 but the maker 00:25:42.919 --> 00:25:43.919 of heaven and earth, 00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:44.759 the I am, 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:45.399 Yahweh, 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:45.720 here, 00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:47.120 he is committing himself. 00:25:47.380 --> 00:25:48.519 He is binding himself 00:25:48.519 --> 00:25:49.620 to her story 00:25:49.620 --> 00:25:51.519 by making a promise 00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:51.960 to her. 00:25:52.140 --> 00:25:52.759 And it's a promise 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:53.799 that sounds a lot 00:25:53.799 --> 00:25:55.940 like it has the same 00:25:55.940 --> 00:25:58.180 scale as Abram's. 00:25:58.740 --> 00:25:59.059 Verse 10, 00:25:59.120 --> 00:25:59.799 I will increase 00:25:59.799 --> 00:26:00.299 your descendants 00:26:00.299 --> 00:26:01.360 so much that they 00:26:01.360 --> 00:26:02.180 will be too numerous 00:26:02.180 --> 00:26:02.759 to count. 00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:04.200 See, 00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:04.839 God is saying 00:26:04.839 --> 00:26:05.660 everyone else 00:26:05.660 --> 00:26:06.519 is trying to use you 00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:07.480 for their own plans 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:08.880 to elevate themselves. 00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:10.279 But Hagar, 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:11.660 I have a plan 00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:12.500 to elevate you. 00:26:13.420 --> 00:26:14.000 Your child 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:15.039 will be so much more 00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:17.319 than a trauma-born baby. 00:26:17.420 --> 00:26:18.779 Verse 11 through 12 00:26:18.779 --> 00:26:19.759 detail how this child 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:20.660 will not be forgotten. 00:26:20.859 --> 00:26:21.859 This child will be strong 00:26:21.859 --> 00:26:22.559 and free, 00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:23.160 independent, 00:26:23.339 --> 00:26:23.900 and a force 00:26:23.900 --> 00:26:25.180 to be reckoned with. 00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:27.019 Hagar's son Ishmael, 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:28.519 which means God hears, 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:29.319 would be a reminder 00:26:29.319 --> 00:26:30.019 to her for the rest 00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:31.839 of her life 00:26:31.839 --> 00:26:32.900 that God has not 00:26:32.900 --> 00:26:33.779 shut his ears 00:26:33.779 --> 00:26:34.960 to her misery 00:26:34.960 --> 00:26:36.400 nor overlooked 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:37.579 her affliction. 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:39.740 And so impactful, 00:26:39.900 --> 00:26:40.599 so transformative 00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:41.500 is this moment. 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:42.899 Look how Hagar responds. 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:43.919 Verse 13, 00:26:44.099 --> 00:26:44.799 it's one of the most 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:45.619 remarkable verses 00:26:45.619 --> 00:26:46.419 in the entire Bible. 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:46.799 It says, 00:26:47.459 --> 00:26:48.459 she gave this name 00:26:48.459 --> 00:26:48.859 to the Lord 00:26:48.859 --> 00:26:49.579 who spoke to her. 00:26:50.179 --> 00:26:51.359 You are the God 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:52.779 who sees me. 00:26:54.179 --> 00:26:54.759 Did you know 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:55.299 that this is 00:26:55.299 --> 00:26:56.459 the only place 00:26:56.459 --> 00:26:57.980 in all of Scripture 00:26:57.980 --> 00:26:59.459 where a human being 00:26:59.459 --> 00:27:00.679 gives God a name? 00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:02.980 Normally, 00:27:03.159 --> 00:27:04.480 it's some higher authority 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:05.299 that's supposed 00:27:05.299 --> 00:27:06.419 to bestow a name, right? 00:27:06.859 --> 00:27:07.379 But here, 00:27:07.500 --> 00:27:08.639 Hagar is giving God 00:27:08.639 --> 00:27:09.000 a name, 00:27:09.179 --> 00:27:09.759 and not because 00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:10.259 she's higher, 00:27:10.259 --> 00:27:11.420 but because she's humbled 00:27:11.420 --> 00:27:12.960 and she's bearing witness 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:14.099 to his character. 00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:16.559 She names him El Roy, 00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:17.140 which means 00:27:17.140 --> 00:27:19.140 the God who sees me. 00:27:20.119 --> 00:27:20.940 In verse 13, 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:21.680 it literally says, 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:22.680 she is calling upon 00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:23.319 the name of the Lord 00:27:23.319 --> 00:27:24.279 just like the descendants 00:27:24.279 --> 00:27:25.039 of Seth. 00:27:25.259 --> 00:27:26.099 She's naming him 00:27:26.099 --> 00:27:27.579 according to her experience 00:27:27.579 --> 00:27:28.279 of him. 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:30.480 The God who personally 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:31.180 found her 00:27:31.180 --> 00:27:32.180 when she was lost 00:27:32.180 --> 00:27:32.900 and miserable. 00:27:33.019 --> 00:27:33.980 The God who called her 00:27:33.980 --> 00:27:34.379 by name 00:27:34.379 --> 00:27:35.160 and promised her 00:27:35.160 --> 00:27:36.500 a better tomorrow. 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:37.900 This overwhelms her. 00:27:37.900 --> 00:27:38.140 Like, 00:27:38.540 --> 00:27:39.440 have I actually 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:40.340 just right here 00:27:40.340 --> 00:27:41.700 gazed upon the one 00:27:41.700 --> 00:27:43.480 who gazes upon me? 00:27:44.820 --> 00:27:46.480 Hagar is blown away. 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:48.120 She is transformed 00:27:48.120 --> 00:27:49.040 by this encounter 00:27:49.040 --> 00:27:49.820 with the sovereign 00:27:49.820 --> 00:27:50.800 who sees, 00:27:50.900 --> 00:27:51.840 precisely because 00:27:51.840 --> 00:27:52.480 he's the sovereign 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:53.800 who sees her, 00:27:54.600 --> 00:27:55.820 her of all people. 00:27:57.500 --> 00:27:58.740 A well is even 00:27:58.740 --> 00:27:59.700 dedicated by her 00:27:59.700 --> 00:28:01.280 to this remarkable moment, 00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:02.519 Bir Lahoy Roy, 00:28:02.660 --> 00:28:03.000 which means 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:04.040 well of the living one 00:28:04.040 --> 00:28:04.680 who sees me, 00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:05.820 and so transformative 00:28:05.820 --> 00:28:06.920 is this moment for her 00:28:06.920 --> 00:28:08.680 that she is even willing 00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:10.360 to heed and obey 00:28:10.360 --> 00:28:11.060 the Lord's command 00:28:11.060 --> 00:28:12.019 to her in verse 9 00:28:12.019 --> 00:28:13.620 to go return 00:28:13.620 --> 00:28:14.640 to her mistress 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:15.700 and even submit to her 00:28:15.700 --> 00:28:16.460 is what it says. 00:28:17.700 --> 00:28:17.980 And listen, 00:28:18.060 --> 00:28:18.620 this is not 00:28:18.620 --> 00:28:20.740 a prescriptive story. 00:28:20.860 --> 00:28:21.820 This is a descriptive one. 00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:22.539 This isn't God saying 00:28:22.539 --> 00:28:23.299 you should go back 00:28:23.299 --> 00:28:24.259 to return to those 00:28:24.259 --> 00:28:25.180 who abuse you, 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:26.660 but it is a story 00:28:26.660 --> 00:28:27.500 telling us that 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:28.140 sometimes God 00:28:28.140 --> 00:28:29.000 has a better plan 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:30.180 than what we think. 00:28:30.779 --> 00:28:31.820 God has a distinct 00:28:31.820 --> 00:28:33.000 and unmistakable plan 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:33.539 for Hagar, 00:28:33.539 --> 00:28:35.180 and Hagar believes it 00:28:35.180 --> 00:28:36.839 having seen the one 00:28:36.839 --> 00:28:37.980 who sees her. 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:40.159 And my question is, 00:28:40.220 --> 00:28:41.460 is this how you understand? 00:28:41.740 --> 00:28:43.519 Is this how you view God 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:45.460 as El Roy, 00:28:46.059 --> 00:28:47.220 the God who sees you, 00:28:47.779 --> 00:28:48.559 as the God who sees 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:49.279 all your tears, 00:28:49.420 --> 00:28:50.099 hears your cries, 00:28:50.180 --> 00:28:50.559 who observes 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:51.399 all your affliction? 00:28:51.500 --> 00:28:52.440 Have you experienced him 00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:53.259 in this way? 00:28:53.339 --> 00:28:54.519 Would you dare believe 00:28:54.519 --> 00:28:55.200 this about him? 00:28:56.059 --> 00:28:57.099 My really good friend, 00:28:57.200 --> 00:28:58.099 author, biblical counselor, 00:28:58.159 --> 00:28:58.779 her name's Esther, 00:28:59.319 --> 00:29:00.220 she puts it this way, 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:01.299 the story of Hagar 00:29:01.299 --> 00:29:02.619 throws us off 00:29:02.619 --> 00:29:03.479 because it expands 00:29:03.479 --> 00:29:04.179 the scope of 00:29:04.179 --> 00:29:05.139 who matters to God. 00:29:06.139 --> 00:29:06.659 We're not sure 00:29:06.659 --> 00:29:07.459 we expect God 00:29:07.459 --> 00:29:08.879 to inscripturate this story 00:29:08.879 --> 00:29:09.639 for all eternity, 00:29:09.819 --> 00:29:10.759 but he does care 00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:11.899 about this seemingly 00:29:11.899 --> 00:29:13.399 insignificant character, 00:29:14.179 --> 00:29:14.859 maybe in part 00:29:14.859 --> 00:29:16.359 to confound our notions 00:29:16.359 --> 00:29:17.959 of who he cares about, 00:29:18.500 --> 00:29:19.179 who he sees. 00:29:19.299 --> 00:29:20.279 God cares about people 00:29:20.279 --> 00:29:21.639 we're not sure 00:29:21.639 --> 00:29:22.699 he would care about, 00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:24.259 and we find hope 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:24.859 that maybe 00:29:24.859 --> 00:29:26.519 his watchful regard 00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:28.019 is for us too. 00:29:28.019 --> 00:29:30.139 This is a word 00:29:30.139 --> 00:29:31.039 to the Hagars 00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:31.599 in the room, 00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:32.619 those of us 00:29:32.619 --> 00:29:33.480 who feel unseen, 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:34.819 unnoticed, 00:29:35.299 --> 00:29:36.119 and unhopeful. 00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:37.720 But get this, 00:29:37.799 --> 00:29:38.879 this is also a word 00:29:38.879 --> 00:29:39.759 to the Sarai's 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:40.519 and the Abram's 00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:40.920 in the room. 00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:41.819 The God who saw 00:29:41.819 --> 00:29:42.799 Hagar's suffering 00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:44.460 also saw Abram 00:29:44.460 --> 00:29:45.660 and Sarai's sin. 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:46.279 He sees both 00:29:46.279 --> 00:29:46.779 the oppressed 00:29:46.779 --> 00:29:47.700 and the oppressor, 00:29:47.799 --> 00:29:49.160 victims and the victimized. 00:29:49.720 --> 00:29:50.200 That's a word 00:29:50.200 --> 00:29:50.700 for us too. 00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:51.639 The sovereign who sees 00:29:51.639 --> 00:29:52.700 is both comforting 00:29:52.700 --> 00:29:53.599 and terrifying 00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:54.720 at the same time. 00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:55.200 But what's even 00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:55.879 more beautiful 00:29:55.879 --> 00:29:57.440 than God simply seeing 00:29:57.440 --> 00:29:59.059 is that this isn't 00:29:59.059 --> 00:30:00.420 just God's mind 00:30:00.420 --> 00:30:01.559 being like a massive 00:30:01.559 --> 00:30:02.799 data collector, right? 00:30:03.420 --> 00:30:04.500 When Hagar is calling 00:30:04.500 --> 00:30:05.000 upon the name 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:05.420 of the Lord 00:30:05.420 --> 00:30:06.240 as the God who sees, 00:30:06.380 --> 00:30:07.680 she's not marveling 00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:08.960 at God's knowledge 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:10.240 simply about her. 00:30:11.340 --> 00:30:12.559 But she's marveling 00:30:12.559 --> 00:30:13.799 that he knows her, 00:30:14.759 --> 00:30:15.900 that he gets her, 00:30:16.019 --> 00:30:17.500 that he's tenderly present 00:30:17.500 --> 00:30:18.480 and attentive to her 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:19.840 and powerfully working 00:30:19.840 --> 00:30:20.500 in her life. 00:30:20.580 --> 00:30:21.140 And this doesn't mean 00:30:21.140 --> 00:30:22.440 he just snaps his fingers 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:23.680 to transform all 00:30:23.680 --> 00:30:24.460 her circumstances 00:30:24.460 --> 00:30:25.240 around her, right? 00:30:25.360 --> 00:30:26.880 Sarai's still hostile. 00:30:27.500 --> 00:30:28.560 Abram's no advocate. 00:30:29.840 --> 00:30:30.800 God seeing Hagar 00:30:30.800 --> 00:30:31.700 doesn't mean giving her 00:30:31.700 --> 00:30:32.720 exactly the kind of story 00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:34.180 she'd write for herself. 00:30:34.280 --> 00:30:35.120 No, he's too wise. 00:30:35.240 --> 00:30:36.140 He's too good 00:30:36.140 --> 00:30:36.980 to do that for her 00:30:36.980 --> 00:30:38.120 or for any of us. 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:40.000 But what the sovereign 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:42.180 seeing God does mean 00:30:42.180 --> 00:30:44.040 is that the sovereign maker, 00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:44.900 the sustainer, 00:30:44.980 --> 00:30:45.740 the maker of heaven 00:30:45.740 --> 00:30:46.200 and earth 00:30:46.200 --> 00:30:47.920 does not find it 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:48.680 too lowly 00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:50.200 to bend down low 00:30:50.200 --> 00:30:51.580 and to personally 00:30:51.580 --> 00:30:53.020 and privately assure us 00:30:53.020 --> 00:30:53.580 one-on-one, 00:30:53.740 --> 00:30:54.400 I see you. 00:30:55.080 --> 00:30:56.300 I hear you 00:30:56.300 --> 00:30:57.480 and I will not 00:30:57.480 --> 00:30:58.160 abandon you. 00:30:58.660 --> 00:31:00.140 My promises are sure. 00:31:00.980 --> 00:31:02.160 He assures Hagar 00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:02.780 that her future 00:31:02.780 --> 00:31:03.460 isn't determined 00:31:03.460 --> 00:31:05.220 by Sarai's spitefulness 00:31:05.220 --> 00:31:07.200 or Abram's apathy 00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:08.820 nor even by her own trauma. 00:31:09.360 --> 00:31:10.880 Her future and ours 00:31:10.880 --> 00:31:11.759 are sure 00:31:11.759 --> 00:31:13.480 just because God says. 00:31:14.080 --> 00:31:14.640 They're sure 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:15.620 according to the word 00:31:15.620 --> 00:31:16.080 and promise 00:31:16.080 --> 00:31:16.620 of the God 00:31:16.620 --> 00:31:17.500 who sees us. 00:31:17.580 --> 00:31:18.320 And this is what 00:31:18.320 --> 00:31:18.780 helped Hagar 00:31:18.780 --> 00:31:19.600 to live another day. 00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:20.339 And this is what 00:31:20.339 --> 00:31:21.639 we can all find 00:31:21.639 --> 00:31:22.399 help from 00:31:22.399 --> 00:31:23.859 to live a new day 00:31:23.859 --> 00:31:24.599 as well. 00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:26.619 When we're tempted 00:31:26.619 --> 00:31:27.099 to believe 00:31:27.099 --> 00:31:27.679 that our stories 00:31:27.679 --> 00:31:28.500 are too broken, 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:30.099 not worth living on, 00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:31.439 because of the people 00:31:31.439 --> 00:31:32.179 who hurt us, 00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:33.359 the failures that haunt us, 00:31:33.419 --> 00:31:33.939 the burdens 00:31:33.939 --> 00:31:34.879 that weigh us down, 00:31:34.980 --> 00:31:35.359 God says, 00:31:35.439 --> 00:31:36.359 no, I see you. 00:31:36.779 --> 00:31:37.779 I hear you 00:31:37.779 --> 00:31:38.419 and your story 00:31:38.419 --> 00:31:39.759 isn't invisible to me. 00:31:40.339 --> 00:31:41.179 Let my promise 00:31:41.179 --> 00:31:41.980 sustain you. 00:31:42.219 --> 00:31:42.919 Let my promise 00:31:42.919 --> 00:31:43.839 have the final word 00:31:43.839 --> 00:31:44.819 and not your pain. 00:31:46.119 --> 00:31:46.939 And my question 00:31:46.939 --> 00:31:47.659 for us this morning 00:31:47.659 --> 00:31:48.179 is do you think 00:31:48.180 --> 00:31:49.000 you could believe that? 00:31:50.420 --> 00:31:50.820 Do you think 00:31:50.820 --> 00:31:51.380 you could believe that? 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:52.259 Do you want 00:31:52.259 --> 00:31:53.000 to believe that? 00:31:54.019 --> 00:31:54.759 Do you want 00:31:54.759 --> 00:31:55.560 to live as though 00:31:55.560 --> 00:31:57.060 God's good promises 00:31:57.060 --> 00:31:58.880 were true for you 00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:00.560 and for those around you? 00:32:01.620 --> 00:32:02.759 Here in Genesis 16, 00:32:02.920 --> 00:32:03.980 Sarai couldn't 00:32:03.980 --> 00:32:04.940 and neither could Abram, 00:32:05.019 --> 00:32:05.580 but Hagar, 00:32:06.080 --> 00:32:07.740 she could believe that. 00:32:08.500 --> 00:32:09.820 When Sarai and Abram 00:32:09.820 --> 00:32:10.880 lived by technique 00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:12.279 and human strategy 00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:13.180 rather than trusting 00:32:13.180 --> 00:32:13.820 the promises 00:32:13.820 --> 00:32:14.799 of God by faith, 00:32:15.340 --> 00:32:16.259 they chose to live 00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:17.519 by human ingenuity. 00:32:18.180 --> 00:32:19.920 Rather than by divine grace. 00:32:20.779 --> 00:32:21.299 And this is where 00:32:21.299 --> 00:32:21.840 we'll land the plane. 00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:22.060 You see, 00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:23.420 Genesis 16 isn't just 00:32:23.420 --> 00:32:24.100 a touching story 00:32:24.100 --> 00:32:24.640 about how God 00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:25.519 sees the underdog 00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:26.240 in Hagar. 00:32:26.960 --> 00:32:27.759 It's a story 00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:28.880 of the transformative 00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:29.759 power 00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:30.960 and the glory 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:31.640 of grace. 00:32:32.500 --> 00:32:33.420 So powerful 00:32:33.420 --> 00:32:34.360 was God's 00:32:34.360 --> 00:32:35.320 gracious encounter 00:32:35.320 --> 00:32:35.840 with Hagar. 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:36.700 So convincing 00:32:36.700 --> 00:32:37.480 was His gracious 00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:38.460 promise to her. 00:32:38.840 --> 00:32:39.460 Seeing the one 00:32:39.460 --> 00:32:40.039 who saw her 00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:40.720 transformed 00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:41.279 how she saw 00:32:41.279 --> 00:32:42.299 her own circumstances. 00:32:42.840 --> 00:32:43.600 It was no longer 00:32:43.600 --> 00:32:44.100 a choice 00:32:44.100 --> 00:32:45.080 between living 00:32:45.080 --> 00:32:45.980 under the empire 00:32:45.980 --> 00:32:46.700 of Sarai 00:32:46.700 --> 00:32:47.140 and living 00:32:47.140 --> 00:32:47.980 under the empire 00:32:47.980 --> 00:32:48.759 of Egypt. 00:32:49.579 --> 00:32:50.039 The choice 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:50.700 was now between 00:32:50.700 --> 00:32:51.539 the gracious plan 00:32:51.539 --> 00:32:51.900 and kingdom 00:32:51.900 --> 00:32:52.480 of God 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:53.920 and everything else. 00:32:55.279 --> 00:32:55.880 The choice 00:32:55.880 --> 00:32:56.559 was now between 00:32:56.559 --> 00:32:57.440 depending completely 00:32:57.440 --> 00:32:57.860 on God 00:32:57.860 --> 00:32:58.279 to show up 00:32:58.279 --> 00:32:58.660 for her, 00:32:59.019 --> 00:32:59.640 to see her, 00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:00.180 to meet her, 00:33:00.259 --> 00:33:01.059 to provide for her, 00:33:01.140 --> 00:33:01.839 or depending 00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:02.420 completely 00:33:02.420 --> 00:33:03.579 on someone else 00:33:03.579 --> 00:33:04.700 or something else 00:33:04.700 --> 00:33:05.539 to show up 00:33:05.539 --> 00:33:05.880 for her 00:33:05.880 --> 00:33:06.920 and to meet her 00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:07.700 and to provide 00:33:07.700 --> 00:33:08.099 for her. 00:33:09.220 --> 00:33:10.140 Grace gave her 00:33:10.140 --> 00:33:11.380 the strange freedom 00:33:11.380 --> 00:33:12.579 of entrusting 00:33:12.579 --> 00:33:13.360 herself to the 00:33:13.360 --> 00:33:13.779 goodwill 00:33:13.779 --> 00:33:14.259 and pleasure 00:33:14.259 --> 00:33:14.799 of God 00:33:14.799 --> 00:33:15.519 instead of having 00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:16.099 to engineer 00:33:16.099 --> 00:33:17.200 her own salvation 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:18.059 as Sarah 00:33:18.059 --> 00:33:18.759 was trying to do 00:33:18.759 --> 00:33:19.599 for herself. 00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:21.639 The glory 00:33:21.639 --> 00:33:22.259 of grace 00:33:22.259 --> 00:33:23.440 is that we 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:24.000 don't have to 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:25.119 bear the burden 00:33:25.119 --> 00:33:26.119 of our barrenness 00:33:26.119 --> 00:33:27.000 any longer. 00:33:28.279 --> 00:33:28.940 The glory 00:33:28.940 --> 00:33:29.460 of grace 00:33:29.460 --> 00:33:29.859 is we don't 00:33:29.859 --> 00:33:30.500 have to build 00:33:30.500 --> 00:33:31.039 our way 00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:32.000 out of barrenness 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:32.859 ourselves. 00:33:34.799 --> 00:33:35.639 So ironically, 00:33:35.899 --> 00:33:36.139 Hagar, 00:33:36.619 --> 00:33:37.500 the slave girl, 00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:38.500 the one Abram 00:33:38.500 --> 00:33:38.940 and Sarah 00:33:38.940 --> 00:33:40.500 used to try 00:33:40.500 --> 00:33:41.319 to expedite 00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:41.859 the plans 00:33:41.859 --> 00:33:42.419 of God. 00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:43.939 Hagar returns 00:33:43.939 --> 00:33:44.699 from the wilderness. 00:33:45.439 --> 00:33:46.139 She turns away 00:33:46.139 --> 00:33:46.799 from Egypt. 00:33:47.439 --> 00:33:47.979 She gives birth 00:33:47.979 --> 00:33:48.500 to Ishmael 00:33:48.500 --> 00:33:49.179 whose name again 00:33:49.179 --> 00:33:50.099 means God hears 00:33:50.099 --> 00:33:51.000 and thus Hagar 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:51.819 becomes a sign 00:33:51.819 --> 00:33:52.539 and a reminder 00:33:52.539 --> 00:33:53.779 to the people 00:33:53.779 --> 00:33:54.199 of God, 00:33:54.299 --> 00:33:54.679 to Sarah 00:33:54.679 --> 00:33:55.719 and to Abram 00:33:55.719 --> 00:33:56.279 of the way 00:33:56.279 --> 00:33:57.439 God graciously 00:33:57.439 --> 00:33:58.039 fulfills 00:33:58.039 --> 00:33:58.839 his promises. 00:33:59.500 --> 00:34:00.299 For every time 00:34:00.299 --> 00:34:01.419 Sarah and Abraham 00:34:01.419 --> 00:34:02.379 would hear 00:34:02.379 --> 00:34:03.299 Ishmael's name, 00:34:03.879 --> 00:34:04.259 they would be 00:34:04.259 --> 00:34:05.299 reminded of the way 00:34:05.299 --> 00:34:06.279 that they pursued 00:34:06.279 --> 00:34:07.219 their own salvation 00:34:07.219 --> 00:34:08.679 by works of the flesh 00:34:08.679 --> 00:34:09.679 rather than calling 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:10.579 upon the name 00:34:10.579 --> 00:34:11.019 of the Lord 00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:11.579 who hears 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:12.319 and actually 00:34:12.319 --> 00:34:13.199 are encountering 00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:14.099 the good and gracious 00:34:14.099 --> 00:34:14.799 living God 00:34:14.799 --> 00:34:16.119 as Hagar had. 00:34:17.440 --> 00:34:18.579 Hagar and Ishmael 00:34:18.579 --> 00:34:19.179 were a reminder 00:34:19.179 --> 00:34:20.239 to Abram and Sarah 00:34:20.239 --> 00:34:20.980 that the promises 00:34:20.980 --> 00:34:21.460 of God 00:34:21.460 --> 00:34:23.639 will not be expedited 00:34:23.639 --> 00:34:24.299 nor engineered 00:34:24.299 --> 00:34:25.139 to fulfillment 00:34:25.139 --> 00:34:27.759 but only divinely 00:34:27.759 --> 00:34:29.880 delivered by grace. 00:34:30.799 --> 00:34:31.739 And that's the gospel. 00:34:32.539 --> 00:34:33.259 That we cannot 00:34:33.259 --> 00:34:34.380 save ourselves 00:34:34.380 --> 00:34:35.819 but God. 00:34:36.500 --> 00:34:37.460 And we've beheld 00:34:37.460 --> 00:34:38.440 an even fuller picture 00:34:38.440 --> 00:34:39.179 of this God 00:34:39.179 --> 00:34:39.719 than Hagar 00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:40.539 who met 00:34:40.539 --> 00:34:40.899 the angel 00:34:40.899 --> 00:34:41.419 of the Lord. 00:34:42.519 --> 00:34:43.299 We met him 00:34:43.299 --> 00:34:43.859 in Christ. 00:34:44.459 --> 00:34:44.759 For God 00:34:44.759 --> 00:34:45.339 has not merely 00:34:45.339 --> 00:34:45.980 come to us 00:34:45.980 --> 00:34:46.799 as an angel 00:34:46.799 --> 00:34:48.500 but as Jesus Christ 00:34:48.500 --> 00:34:49.039 the Son 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:49.759 in the flesh. 00:34:50.619 --> 00:34:51.119 He's the one 00:34:51.119 --> 00:34:51.439 the angel 00:34:51.439 --> 00:34:51.739 of the Lord 00:34:51.739 --> 00:34:52.519 was pointing to 00:34:52.519 --> 00:34:53.839 who is not only 00:34:53.839 --> 00:34:54.419 the sovereign 00:34:54.419 --> 00:34:55.599 who sees 00:34:55.599 --> 00:34:56.839 he wasn't just 00:34:56.839 --> 00:34:57.159 the one 00:34:57.159 --> 00:34:57.559 who saw 00:34:57.559 --> 00:34:58.459 the Samaritan woman 00:34:58.459 --> 00:34:59.139 at another well 00:34:59.139 --> 00:34:59.919 but he's the Savior 00:34:59.919 --> 00:35:01.039 who suffers. 00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:02.659 Like Hagar 00:35:02.659 --> 00:35:04.480 he moved back 00:35:04.480 --> 00:35:05.139 toward those 00:35:05.139 --> 00:35:05.980 who afflicted him 00:35:05.980 --> 00:35:07.199 out of faith 00:35:07.199 --> 00:35:07.959 in the promises 00:35:07.960 --> 00:35:08.519 of God 00:35:08.519 --> 00:35:09.380 and perhaps 00:35:09.380 --> 00:35:10.320 better than Hagar 00:35:10.320 --> 00:35:11.360 out of love 00:35:11.360 --> 00:35:12.220 for those 00:35:12.220 --> 00:35:13.139 who'd crucify him. 00:35:14.980 --> 00:35:15.840 So what do we do 00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:16.340 with this? 00:35:17.460 --> 00:35:18.800 Well like Hagar 00:35:18.800 --> 00:35:20.840 we should bear witness. 00:35:21.460 --> 00:35:22.300 We should bear witness 00:35:22.300 --> 00:35:23.079 to what we've seen 00:35:23.079 --> 00:35:23.539 to the one 00:35:23.539 --> 00:35:24.360 who's seen us 00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:25.360 and better yet 00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:25.820 to the one 00:35:25.820 --> 00:35:27.460 who's saved us. 00:35:28.220 --> 00:35:29.539 That was Hagar's gospel. 00:35:30.260 --> 00:35:31.220 That was her good news 00:35:31.220 --> 00:35:31.860 her testimony 00:35:31.860 --> 00:35:32.780 that she saw 00:35:32.780 --> 00:35:33.599 the one 00:35:33.599 --> 00:35:34.559 who saw her. 00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:37.019 So what's your good news? 00:35:37.900 --> 00:35:38.840 What's your gospel? 00:35:38.980 --> 00:35:39.599 What's your testimony 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:40.320 about how God 00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:41.139 has saved you 00:35:41.139 --> 00:35:42.699 from having to save 00:35:42.699 --> 00:35:43.360 yourself? 00:35:44.039 --> 00:35:44.840 This is my practical 00:35:44.840 --> 00:35:45.739 challenge to all of us 00:35:45.739 --> 00:35:46.940 to help others 00:35:46.940 --> 00:35:48.039 see the God 00:35:48.039 --> 00:35:49.460 who sees 00:35:49.460 --> 00:35:51.500 and saves us. 00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:52.920 Let's pray. 00:35:58.920 --> 00:36:00.139 Lord convince us 00:36:00.139 --> 00:36:01.980 of our barrenness 00:36:01.980 --> 00:36:03.019 and our inability 00:36:03.019 --> 00:36:04.000 to bear that burden. 00:36:05.059 --> 00:36:05.599 Save us, 00:36:05.719 --> 00:36:06.139 deliver us 00:36:06.139 --> 00:36:06.739 from the cycle 00:36:06.739 --> 00:36:07.219 of sin. 00:36:08.900 --> 00:36:09.920 Oh God convince us 00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:10.400 that you are 00:36:10.400 --> 00:36:11.380 the God who sees. 00:36:13.179 --> 00:36:14.280 Lord lift up our eyes 00:36:14.280 --> 00:36:14.840 to the glory 00:36:14.840 --> 00:36:15.480 of your grace 00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:16.360 in Jesus Christ. 00:36:16.500 --> 00:36:17.460 We ask in his name. 00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:18.380 Amen.