It's a joy to be with you this morning. It's lovely to be able to open God's Word together and to consider all that he has to say to us.
And both this Sunday and next we're going to be looking at two of the names of God that we find in the Old Testament,
both of which appear in the record of the life of Abraham.
And today we're going to be looking at a story in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, and in chapter 16.
And to one couple, it appears as though God isn't doing anything at all.
Yet someone else will discover that he is the God who sees everything.
In fact, she will declare, you are the God who sees me.
In Hebrew it's pronounced El Roy, simply the God who sees.
And like many stories in the Bible, it doesn't try to cover up the sins of the main characters,
but instead it reveals more to us about the God whom we worship.
So let's read together from Genesis chapter 16.
Now, Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children.
But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar.
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.
Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
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.
He slept with Hagar and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
Then Sarai said to Abram,
You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering.
I put my slave in your arms
and now that she knows she is pregnant,
she despises me.
May the Lord judge between you and me.
Your slave is in your hands, Abram said.
Do with her whatever you think best.
Then Sarai mistreated Hagar,
so she fled from her.
The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert.
It was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.
And he said,
Hagar, slave of Sarai,
where have you come from
and where are you going?
I am running away from my mistress,
Sarai, she answered.
Then the angel of the Lord told her,
Go back to your mistress
and submit to her.
The angel added,
I will increase your descendants so much
that they will be too numerous to count.
The angel of the Lord also said to her,
You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael
for the Lord has heard of your misery.
He will be a wild donkey of a man.
His hand will be against everyone
and everyone's hand against him.
And he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers.
She gave this name to the Lord
who spoke to her.
You are the God
who sees me.
For she said,
I have now seen
the one who sees me.
That is why the well was called
Beer the Hoy Roy.
It is still there
between Kadesh and Beret.
So Hagar bore Abram a son
and Abram gave him the name Ishmael
to the son she had born.
Abram was 86 years old
when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
So Father, we pray now
that you would continue to speak
these words by your spirit
to our hearts
so we might get a better view
of who you are
and that we might see clearly
who we are.
And Father,
where those things that we see
would cause us to want to turn away
and not to look,
we pray,
that you would help us
to understand
that you reveal our hearts
so that we might turn to you
and run to Jesus our Saviour.
And so Lord,
do what you will in our hearts
this day,
I pray.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
It was about 30 years ago,
but I still remember it so well.
I woke up on Christmas morning
with a throbbing pain in my mouth.
I spent the day in bed
feeling really miserable for myself
while the rest of the family
tucked into their Christmas dinner.
there was obviously no doctor
or dentist open on that day.
I couldn't face the thought
of Christmas Day
an accident and emergency.
Thankfully,
we knew someone
who was able to give me
some penicillin
to get started,
but it turned out
it was an abscess
and I was going to have to
start a series of treatment
at the School of Dentistry
in Belfast
for a number of months.
I arrived for one
of those appointments,
went to the reception desk,
gave them my appointment card
and took my seat.
I had carefully counted
the number of people before me
just as you do
to work out your place
in the queue
and I waited patiently
for my turn.
But when it came
to what I thought
was my turn,
someone else was called
instead of me.
My mistake,
I thought,
I'll just wait patiently.
But then someone else
was called
and then someone else
and then someone else.
It kept going on
until even I realised
that this was far too long
to wait.
I went up to the reception desk
and asked,
ever so politely,
if I had been overlooked.
Well, I'd been more than overlooked.
My appointment card
had been thrown in the bin
and I've been sitting there
all day
with nobody to see me.
You know,
sometimes
we can feel that way
about God.
We have brought
something
to him.
we have left it
with him.
We have waited
patiently
for him.
And we've waited
what we think
is more
than a reasonable
period of time
to wait on God's answer
and it appears
that God
is doing
nothing.
and we decide
that we cannot
wait
any longer.
That's how
Sarai is feeling
in Genesis 16.
God has promised
to make
Abram
into a great
nation
with descendants
that will outnumber
the stars of the sky.
But at this point
in time
it wouldn't take
the whole weekend
to do a stock take.
The total
is none.
Not
one
child.
Not even
an expected
child.
And as time
was passing
by
Sarai was
giving up
on any chance
of giving birth.
She concludes
that this God
who made
these promises
is doing
nothing
and she
cannot wait
any longer.
So she
hatches
a plan.
But it's
a plan
that lacks
faith.
The story
is written
so well
that we are
almost thinking
Sarai's thoughts
before her.
Verse 1
Now Sarai
Abram's wife
had borne him
no children
but
she had
an Egyptian
maidservant
named
Hagar.
Now even
if you've
never heard
this story
before
you already
know what
Sarai is
thinking.
Even if
you're
thinking
no
she
can't
do
that.
But
verse 2
she said
to Abram
the Lord
has kept
me from
having
children
go
sleep
with
my
maidservant
perhaps
I can
build a
family
through
her.
you
see
it's
a plan
that
lacks
faith
because
it is
a plan
that
resists
God.
It
appears
here
in the
form
of
blame.
Look
at what
Sarai
says
in
verse
2
the
Lord
has
kept
me
from
having
children.
She
recognises
that God
is the
author
of her
barrenness.
She
knows
that he
is the
source
of all
life
and she
knows
that it
is he
who has
withheld
life.
But
Sarai
will
resist
God's
will.
She's
determined
to have
a child
and if
God
will not
give her
one
she
will do
it
herself.
She
puts it
as plainly
as that.
Go
sleep
with my
maidservant
perhaps
I
can
build
a
family
through
her.
Do you
hear those
words?
Perhaps
I
can
build
a
family
through
her.
This
will be
Sarai's
doing.
She's
not going
to sit
around
any
longer.
Since
God
appears
to be
doing
nothing
well
Sarai
is going
to do
something.
It's
a plan
that lacks
faith
because
first of
all it
resists
God
but it's
a plan
that lacks
faith
because
it is
completely
Sarai's
own
doing.
Now you
and I
have no
shortage
of plans
that lack
faith.
We can
gamble in
the hope
of paying
off debts.
We can
use alcohol
to numb
our pain.
We can
alter tax
returns so
that we
pay less
than we
should.
We can
enter into
relationships
and non-Christians
because there
seems to be
no prospect
of a
Christian
boyfriend
or
girlfriend.
We can
dress up
our CV
because we
think that
if we're
truthful
we're not
likely to
get that
job.
We have
no shortage
of plans
that lack
faith.
It isn't
easy to
trust God
when he
appears
to do
nothing.
It can
feel as
though we
cannot wait
any longer
and we
hatch plans
that lack
faith.
In fact
we do
things that
we know
resist God
and his
purposes.
We do
things that
we know
are wrong
but we
do them
anyway
because it
seems that
it's the
answer to
the immediate
problem that
we face.
But these
plans are
not of
faith.
In fact
they are
faithless.
It is
Sarai who
hatches the
plan but
we assume
that Abram
will not
go along
with it.
After all
this is
Abram the
man of
faith.
This is
Abram the
friend of
God.
said.
But we
read in
verse 3
Abram
agreed with
what Sarai
had said.
It's sadly
reminiscent
isn't it of
another story
the story of
the fall
itself.
You remember
that Eve
took the
fruit which
had been
forbidden to
her and
she gave
it to
Adam.
And what
does Adam
do?
he takes
and eats.
He's
without
excuse.
The Lord
later rebukes
him saying
because you
listened to
your wife
and ate
from the
tree.
You see
behind the
voice of
Eve was
the voice
of the
evil one.
And behind
the voice
of Sarai
was the
voice of
the evil
one.
And both
Adam and
Abram should
have recognized
the real
voice behind
their wives
words.
You'll
remember a
time when
Jesus recognized
the voice of
the evil
one in
the words
of a
close friend.
Jesus had
just revealed
to his
disciples that
death lay
ahead of
him.
But you
remember that
Peter resists
what Jesus
says.
Never
Lord this
shall never
happen to
you.
And you
know Jesus'
response?
Get
behind me
Satan.
You are a
stumbling block
to me.
You do
not have in
mind the
things of
God but
the things
of men.
You see
we need to
learn to
recognize the
voice of
the evil
one when
it comes to
us through
the words
of others.
God
maybe I
should
clarify just
in case I
misunderstood
that it's
not only
through wives
that the
voice of the
evil one
can be
heard.
It can
come through
husbands and
children,
parents and
siblings,
work colleagues
and friends
and we need
to recognize
it for what
it is to
learn to
resist it as
Jesus did
no matter
what the
consequences may
be.
This plan,
this plan
that lacked
faith,
was also
a plan
that lacked
foresight.
It's one of
those plans
that when
later revealed
you want to
ask,
what were
you thinking?
What were
you thinking?
We often
ask our
children that
question,
don't we,
after they've
done something
foolish.
what were
you thinking?
And the
best defense
I've ever
heard from
any of my
children is
simply this,
I wasn't
thinking.
But it's
not only
children whose
plans lack
foresight.
We all
get sucked
into situations
that resolve
an immediate
problem,
only to
create an
even bigger
one.
That's
exactly what
Abram does.
He listens
to Sarai,
he takes
Hagar as
another
wife,
she becomes
pregnant,
and the
result is
conflict
between
Hagar and
Sarai.
Well,
who could
have foreseen
that?
Well,
anybody,
anybody who
has thought
about it.
Of course it
would lead to
tension in the
family.
Of course
Sarai would
feel better
that Hagar is
able to give
to Abraham
what she could
not.
Of course
Hagar would
look down
on Sarai.
Anyone could
have foreseen
it, except
those who
weren't
thinking.
That's what
happens when
we resist
God and
when we
hatch plans
that lack
faith.
We think
that God
is not
doing
anything,
and we
act as
though God
does not
see anything,
but we
discover from
the rest
of the
story,
that he
is the
God who
sees
everything.
You see,
Abraham thought
that by doing
what Sarai
wanted,
he would
at least
enjoy some
peace in
the home.
But there
is more
unrest than
ever.
She now
starts blaming
Abraham for
the whole
thing.
It's all
his fault.
And Abraham
pursues his
desire of a
quiet life by
simply telling
Sarai to do
with Hagar as
she sees
fit.
She begins
to treat
Hagar so
badly that
she cannot
take it any
longer, and
she runs
away.
But this
is a God
who sees
everything.
He sees
our suffering,
and he
sees Hagar's
suffering.
And not in
a distant,
far away
sense,
he sees
our suffering
in a very
near sense.
Look at
verse 7.
The angel
of the
Lord found
Hagar.
It suggests
that he was
looking for
her.
Not that God
didn't know
where she
was, but
that he
sought her
in her
suffering.
He had
seen how
Sarai had
treated her.
He had
seen how
cruelly
she had
been
treated,
and he
had seen
her flee
for safety.
None of
it had
escaped
God's
notice.
Absolutely
none of
it, because
he sees
everything.
We're inclined
to think,
aren't we,
at times,
that God
doesn't
really
appreciate
our
suffering.
We feel
that he
has turned
his back
on us.
In fact,
it's as
though
he's able
to block
us out of
his thinking
completely.
because if
he really
saw what
we were
going
through,
he would
surely do
something
about it.
But all
this time,
he appears
to do
nothing.
Yet he's
the God
who sees
everything.
You
remember when
God sent
Moses back
to the
Hebrew
slaves in
Egypt.
He told
him to
bring God's
words to
the elders
of Israel,
I have
watched
over you
and have
seen
what has
been done
to you.
None of
it had
escaped God's
notice.
It appeared
as though
God was
doing
nothing,
but he
had seen
it all.
For
400 years
it felt
like God
was
unconcerned
or unaware
of the
hardship
that they
faced.
But not
one bit
of their
suffering
had gone
unnoticed
by God.
Not
one
bit.
And the
same is
true
of you.
Whatever
you're facing
at this
time,
whatever
hardship
you're having
to endure,
not one
bit of
your
suffering
goes
unnoticed
by the
Lord.
But God
sees more
than our
suffering.
God
sees the
attitudes
of our
hearts.
Hagar
has suffered
terribly
at Sarah's
hand,
heart.
But it
didn't
excuse the
attitude of
Hagar's
heart.
You
remember that
once she
became pregnant
she began
to despise
her mistress.
Now look
at what God
says to her
in verse
9.
Go back
to your
mistress
and
submit
to her.
God
had seen
her suffering,
suffering,
but God
did not
remove her
suffering.
In fact,
God
sends her
back to
the place
of her
suffering.
Why?
Because
God is
dealing with
the attitude
of Hagar's
heart.
See,
sometimes,
not always,
but sometimes,
God does
not remove
your suffering
because he
is more
concerned
with the
attitude
of your
heart.
Remember the
apostle Paul
three times
prayed for
something that
he simply
called the
thorn in
his flesh
to be
removed from
him.
But God
said,
no.
Instead,
God promised
that his
grace would
be sufficient
for Paul.
And Paul
recognized that
God had left
him with this
thorn in his
flesh to
protect him
from pride.
Now,
that must
have been a
tendency that
Paul had
come to
recognize in
himself.
Paul knew
how easily
he could turn
his spiritual
experiences into
a reason to
boast and
become proud.
God
and he
recognized his
suffering as
God's
gracious
gift to
protect him
from this
tendency to
sin that
could have
destroyed his
life and
his ministry.
God
does indeed
see our
suffering,
but he
sees more
than our
suffering.
He also
sees the
attitudes of
our hearts.
And
sometimes he
delays
relieving us
of our
suffering so
that he
might address
the deeper
issues of
our hearts.
And in
such circumstances
that is not
God's punishment
of you, but
God's gracious
gift to
you.
This God
who sees our
suffering and
our attitudes
also sees
our fears.
Hagar's
position is a
desperate one.
She is a
slave who has
run away from
her mistress.
She is a
woman alone
with no
rights, no
wealth, no
security, no
future.
In this
culture, your
children were
your pension
plan.
They were
your only
hope for
old age.
And God
assured Hagar
that she
will have
a son.
He will
make her
descendants too
numerous to
count.
God had
seen her
and God
would provide
for her.
God
knows
God
knows
your
fears
about the
future.
God
knows
about
those
things
that
intrude
into your
sleeping
hours
and rob
you of
rest.
God
sees
all of
that
and he
can be
trusted
with all
of that.
His
answers are
not always
what we'd
imagined.
love
and he
would
be a
wild
donkey
of a
man
doesn't
sound like
anyone's
dream of
motherhood
does it?
But he
would provide
security for
her nonetheless.
God
has seen
her vulnerable
position,
he knew
her fears
and he
reassures
her that
he is
in
control
of it
all.
Her
response is
quite wonderful
in verse
13 isn't
it?
She says
you are
the God
who sees
me.
I
have seen
the one
who sees
me.
How
wonderful
is that?
After
all,
who is
Hagar?
She's
certainly
not the
main
character
in the
story.
She's
not going
to be
the mother
of the
son
that God
had
promised
Abram.
If you
like,
she's
only a
supporting
actress,
not part
of the
main
cast.
But
God
had
seen
her.
Do you
feel that
way at
times?
Who
am I?
Why
would
God
be
concerned
about
me?
I'm
not
someone
important.
I'm
not going
to do
anything
important.
I'm
nothing
special.
Well,
this God
who sees
everything
sees
you.
He
sees
your
suffering.
He
sees
your
attitudes.
He
sees
your
fears.
He
sees
you.
Is it
any wonder
that Hagar
responds as
she does?
God
sees her.
But not
only does
this God
see her,
she has
seen the
God who
sees her.
God has
made himself
known to
her.
And we
too can
know this
God who
knows us.
How
incredible is
that?
God
this
same
God who
sent his
angel to
find
Hagar
would send
his own
son into
the world
so that
he could
make himself
known,
so that
we could
see the
God who
sees
us.
In fact,
we have a
far clearer
view of
God than
Hagar
ever did.
just as
God
sought
for
Hagar,
Jesus
came into
this world
to seek
and to
save
the lost.
God
did not
stay
distant
from our
suffering,
but in
his son
entered
into our
world
of suffering.
God
not only
saw the
danger
that we
were in,
under
his
judgment
for our
sins,
he sent
his son
to rescue
us from
the death
that we
deserve
by his
death on
the cross.
Now,
if God
has done
all of
that for
us,
do you
think that
he doesn't
see what
you are
going through
right now?
That he
doesn't
care?
It may
appear as
though God
is doing
nothing,
but
Hagar
has
learned
what
Abram
and
Sarai
had
forgotten.
The
one we
worship
is the
God
who
sees
me.
Let's
pray
together.
Father,
even as
we
reflect on
these
words,
we
have to
respond as
David did
that such
thoughts are
too wonderful
for me.
To think
that you
see and
know
me.
to think
that the
God who
created the
whole of
the universe
and sustains
it by his
powerful words
at the
same time
is concerned
about me.
Oh, how
humbling
a thought
and how
overwhelming
to think of
the love
the heavenly
father has
for his
children.
Father, we
know that
at different
times your
people are
called to
endure all
kinds of
hardship and
suffering.
Father, may
we never be
those who
start to
think that
somehow you
do not
see or
you do
not care.
But rather
as we look
to the
fact that
you gave
your own
son for
us,
may that
assure us
of your
unchanging
love towards
your children
and that
even in
our suffering
your purposes
are for
our good.
Father, we
thank you that
you are not
only the
God who
sees me
but that
we can
see the
God who
sees us.
Thank you
that in the
Lord Jesus
you made
yourself fully
known that
when we
look to
him we
see the
invisible
God.
And
Father, we
pray then that
you might
draw out our
hearts both
in love for
you and
in confidence
in you.
And we
ask this in
the name of
the Lord
Jesus.
Amen.
in response
to what we
have heard
together
we're going
to sing
when I
fear my
faith will
fail
Christ
will hold
me fast.
It's an
invitation to
come and
see the
God who
is faithful
towards us
who sees
us and
knows our
need
and is
faithful.
Let's
stand together
as we
sing in
response.