Abraham’s Blunder - 6/3/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

today. If you enjoy today's message, be

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with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

>> Genesis chapter number 12. I want to

begin reading in verse number nine.

And we'll look through the end of the

chapter. Was going to break this up. Uh

but I just feel led to go ahead and get

through with this chapter tonight

concerning the life of Abraham.

And uh following our series tonight, if

you're titling the message, we're going

to title this not a graceful title, but

it's true nonetheless. We're going to

title it Abraham's blunder. And you'll

see that in the text tonight. Abraham

makes a grave mistake in this text,

right?

>> And uh we're going to deal with that

subject uh this evening. And uh you know

what? I'm thankful uh we was I was

talking with a dear sister out there in

the forer there just a little while ago

and I said, you know, every man that God

used to do something great was seemingly

full of failures. You know what that

does? That encourages me

>> because you know what? I'm full of

failures. Right.

>> And uh if you think that your past is

the only failures you'll have, you're

very wrong. You're right.

>> And you've got failures yet ahead of

you. And you say, "Preacher, how do you

know that? I might not make it another

day." Well, you understand we fail him

every day.

>> Amen.

>> Amen. And uh we ought to do our best

best we can not to, but you know we do.

Amen. And uh I want to look at this text

tonight. Verse number nine. The Bible

says, "And Abram journeyed going on

still toward the south, and there was a

famine in the land. And Abram went down

into Egypt to sojourn there, for the

famine was grievious in the land. And it

came to pass when he was come near to

enter into Egypt, that he said unto

Sarai his wife, Behold, now I know that

thou art a fair woman to look upon.

Therefore, it shall come to pass when

the Egyptians shall see thee, that they

shall say, This is his wife, and they

will kill me, but they will save thee

alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my

sister, that it might be well with me

for thy sake. My soul shall live because

of thee. And it came to pass that when

Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians

beheld the woman, she was very fair. The

princes also of Pharaoh

saw her and commended her before

Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into

Pharaoh's house. And he had treated

Abram well for her sake. And he had

sheep and oxen and he assasses and men

servants and made servants and she

assasses and camels. And the Lord

plagued Pharaoh in his house with great

plagues because of Sarah is Abram<unk>s

wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said,

"What is this that thou hast done unto

me? Why dst thou not tell me that she

was thy wife? Why setst thou she is my

sister? So I might have taken her to me

to wife. Now therefore behold thy wife.

Take her and go thy way. And Pharaoh

commanded his men concerning him. And

they sent him away and his wife and all

that he had. Now Father, I ask you once

more tonight that you would help us.

God, we we know we can do not do this

without you. And so Lord, I pray God

that you would give us strength, give us

wisdom tonight and hide the ignorance of

our youth, Lord. And and God, I pray

you'd give us uh the tongue of the learn

tonight that we might be able to speak

with boldness and clarity the word of

God. I pray, God, that you would help

every hearer tonight, wherever they may

be. Lord, if they're in this building or

by way of the internet, I pray, Father,

Lord, that they would be touched and

challenged by the message and more than

anything that you would get glory uh

from now on from this message. We love

you. Thank you for loving us. We ask it

in Jesus name. Amen. This text tonight

deals with the subject of Abram

journeying out of the land of Canaan.

And this may not interest you tonight,

but it's interesting to me that Abram

here in this text when he enters Canaan,

it's not but literally just four or five

verses and he is exiting Canaan. And I

think that that's a good reminder for

all of us tonight because that picture

of victorious living and Canaan, you

know what? That can be exited just as

fast as we enter into it. You can spend

a very short time in victory and you'll

find yourself back again in a place of

despondency if you're not careful. Abram

does not take very long. And he finds

himself journeying outside the land of

Canaan. And I notice in verse 9, the

Bible says that Abram journeyed going on

still toward the south. And Matthew

Henry made a good point about this text.

It is interesting to me that, you know,

Abram didn't turn around and go back.

And we could say that to his credit. He

didn't try to go back to Haran. He

didn't try to go back to the Caldes. But

he he's journeying as if he's not really

satisfied with where he is at. And I

want to say this. I was talking to a

brother uh this week, one of the dear

brethren here in the church and we was

talking about contentment and what that

really means. You know, contentment,

Bible says godliness with contentment is

great gain. And Paul said this, he said,

"Having therefore food and raignment,

therewith let us be content." And uh

when I think about contentment in your

life and mine, what I find is is that

very few of us are dwelling in a state

of contentment. Because contentment does

not have to do so much with possessions

or pleasures, but it has to do with the

position of your mind.

>> There's people that have a lot of poss

possessions in this life, but they're

content. God has blessed them with

riches. And then there's people who have

nothing and they're not content because

they're always trying to gain something

else. And so contentment is the state of

the mind. And it appears in this text is

maybe that Abram's not content with

where he's at in the text or maybe he's

just trying to move on. But I I want you

to notice something here. Something I

really feel like the Lord pointed out to

me by way of introduction. Then we'll

give you three points and be done. The

Bible tells us as he's going on in verse

number nine, verse number 10, there is a

famine that arises. Now the famine, you

know, of course that is a illustration

here. There's a lot of first in this

text. This famine really appears the

first time here in the text that word is

used and has to do with the darth that

was in the land of Canaan. And uh you

know mainly probably dealing with uh the

oppression of the Canaanite people and

the testing of Abram's faith to remain

in this land. And the Bible says that

Abram went down into Egypt to sojger

there. So Abram didn't go to Egypt to

stay there but he went there just to

sojger. That word sojourerm simply means

just to pass through for a time. And the

Bible says that the famine was grievous

in the land. Now, this is what I wanted

to get to right here for by way of

introduction, then we'll give you the

points and be done. The Bible says in

verse 11, and it came to pass when he

was, notice that phrase, come near to

enter into Egypt. Now that come near

there, it almost imp uh I guess it

implicates the thought that Abram was in

sight distance of Egypt. He was looking

down through there in his journey out of

the land of Canaan and to come near he

is getting in the vicinity where he can

begin to see the landscape. And the

Bible says when he was come near to

Egypt that he said unto Sarah his wife.

So something Abram sees in this text

because let me ask you this. Had Abram

ever been to Egypt?

Not that we know of, not from what

scripture tells us. And so, what is it

that in this text caught Abram's

attention? Well, I think when he saw the

landscape, I think he saw much people.

Egypt is defined by a great population

all throughout scripture. And so, when I

look at that in this text, the Bible

says when he was come near into Egypt,

something prompted Abraham to do what he

did in this text. And I want you to

notice first of all, and I'll elaborate

more on that in just a minute. I want

you to notice first of all in the

message tonight, number one, the lie of

Abraham or if you're keeping with

alliteration, it'll be the lie of the

patriarch. Tonight, notice what the

Bible says in verse number 11. He when

he came near to enter into Egypt that he

said unto Sarah's wife, "Behold, now I

know that thou art a fair woman to look

upon. Therefore, it shall come to pass

when the Egyptians shall see thee, that

they shall say, this is his wife, and

they will kill me, but they will save

thee alive. Verse 13, he gives her the

instruction. He says, "Say, I pray thee,

thou art my sister, that it may be well

with me for thy sake. My soul shall live

because of thee." All right. So, the

first thing I want to put to rest

tonight is in the moral physical realm,

would we say in our flesh that Abram's

lying? Not really. Here's why. Because

what do we know about Sarah? Sarah was

his sister. It's what the Bible tells

us. She was his halfsister. All right?

And so, is there technically a lie in

this text? No. But here's the lie in the

text. He's withholding the truth. You're

>> right.

>> Do you know what? You know what's just

as bad as lying?

>> Withholding truth.

>> You're right.

>> Amen. The Bible says to him that knoweth

to do good and doeth it not, what does

it say? human sin. And so what Abram

does here in this text is he's going to

withhold the truth. And so basically

what this turns out to be is what it

turns out to be a lie, doesn't it?

Because to keep up this story, he has to

lie. And that's what he does continually

in this text. And so I want you to

notice some things about this lie. What

causes him to do this? Well, I would say

number one, this lie is presumptuous by

Abram in the text. Look what he says in

verse 11. Behold now I know that thou

art a fair woman to look upon. Therefore

it shall come to pass when the Egyptians

shall see thee, that they shall say,

this is his wife, and they will kill me,

but they will save thee alive. Now, this

is where Abraham begins to go off the

rails. He's planning out in his mind

what's going to happen when they ain't

nothing happened yet.

>> You're right.

>> All right. And you know what? That's the

worst thing we can do.

>> You're right.

>> Amen. The worst thing you can do as a

child of God or as a person in general

is decide the outcome without ever

seeing the outcome. You do not you

cannot predict what's going to happen in

the next event. That's why Solomon said

in Proverbs 27 and verse one, he said,

"Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou

knowest not what a day may bring forth."

And so he's presumptuous in the fact

that he says, "All right, you're you're

beautiful, Sarah." And so when we go

into this land, they're going to look at

you. They're automatically going to know

that you're my wife. And because of

that, they're going to kill me so that

they can have you. Now remember, what

did we say already? Has a Abram ever

been to Egypt?

What is it about Egypt that Abram saw?

You see, why would Abram, let me ask

this question, and I encourage you, put

this in your margin. Why would we go to

a place knowing danger awaits us there

in so much that it would require

perversion

for us to obtain provision?

>> Right?

>> Did you think about what Abram's doing

in this text? Basically, he's selling

out his wife. He's saying, "All right,

we're going to go into this city." And

he knows the dangers on the rise. How

does he know that? Well, you know what

Egypt looked like? It looked like where

he was raised at.

It looked like earth the cowes. And when

Abram got within sight distance, you

know what he saw? I believe he saw the

smoke rising up. Now, you know, we we

could talk about a lot of things

tonight, but when we when we studied

earth, the cowes, we learned about the

tower of babel. What did we discover?

They were building that tower. They were

making pavement. They were burning fires

and making brick and all. It was a town

of industry. And when Abram saw this

city, something in his mind clicked. And

he makes this statement in this text.

Let me ask you something. Why would you

as a child of God go to a place

willfully knowing that danger awaits you

there?

>> Yeah. Amen.

>> Furthermore, let me ask you this. Why

would you allow your children

>> to be a part of something that you know

if just if everything don't just happen

just perfectly right, they're not going

to make it through it?

>> You see, this is the way we've operated.

We've decided, all right, we're going to

go here and we're going to take this

step, that step, and that step to try to

prevent disaster when if we'd have just

stayed where we're supposed to be.

>> You're right.

>> Amen.

>> Danger would have not been impending on

us.

You say, "How does how do you know that

Abram is presump?" Well, he reveals it

in the text. He says, "I they're they're

going to kill me because you're

beautiful." And I thought about this.

You know what? This lie of Abram is not

only presumptuous but really it's

prideful.

You think about what is he counting

upon? He is counting upon number one the

beauty of Sarah his wife. Let me say

this. Proverbs 31 says favor is

deceitful and beauty is vain.

>> You're right.

>> Beauty is not all there is to life.

>> My wife's a beautiful lady. But I'll

tell you this. Just cuz you tell me

she's not beautiful, that ain't going to

change my mind about it.

>> You're right.

>> Because it's not objective to me.

>> You know what Abram's problem was? his

wife was an object instead of his

spouse.

>> You're right. Come on. Amen.

>> And how do you say, "Preacher, how do

you know that?" Well, his pride is seen.

Notice what else is said in the verse.

Verse 13. Say, "I pray thee, thou art my

sister, that it may be well with me."

Notice that. What is the central point

of pride? It's self, fainting. Look what

he says. That it may be well with me for

thy sake, and my soul shall live because

of thee. So, not only is his lie

presumptuous and his lie prideful, but

his lie is for his own protection.

>> You're right.

>> John Phillips said this or John Butler

said this. This was his three-point

outline on this text. I thought it was

so good. I wasn't going to use it and

make it my own, but I want to give you

this. All right. He says in the text

that Abram, number one, he begins with

deceit. He says in verse 13, he says,

"All right, Sarah, you need to say, say,

I pray thee, thou art my sister." All

right. What that is is not telling a

lie, but it's not telling the whole

truth. All right? She was his sister.

But you know what? One writer said this.

He said, "Just because he was she was uh

she was his half sister didn't mean that

she was his half wife." Amen.

>> She was his whole wife. Amen. There's a

lot we could say about that, but let's

just move on. All right? And I just got

some crazy looks on that. But anyway,

she was his wife. Okay? And so her

deceit deceit begins with what she said.

But then there's not only deceit, but

there is disloyalty. Look what the Bible

says. Say, I pray pray pray thee, thou

art, my sister, that it may be well with

me.

Abram's not concerned about Sarah.

You're

>> right.

>> Not once in this text has it entered his

mind that his wife could possibly be in

danger. You're

>> right.

>> That she could possibly be in danger of

being defiled.

Notice this. Not only he said deceit,

then disloyalty, but then there's

disinterest as well. Notice the last

part. And my soul shall live because of

thee. So he's not loyal to his marriage,

but he's also not even showing an

interest in what's going on with her.

You're

>> right.

>> And Sarah, as the submissive wife in the

text, she goes on and does what he says.

Let me say this. You know, I some

writers said, "Well, why did Sarah not

speak up?" Well, we're reminded in this

text that Abram has stepped out

following God on his own. Abram has

nothing to go off of other than what God

told him when he was in Haran and then

what God told him again when he was in

Canaan land. You know what he's doing

now? He's operating outside the voice of

God.

>> You're right.

>> And so as far as Sarah knows, this is

why your responsibility is important,

men.

>> As far as Sarah knows, Abram is still

following what God said.

>> You're right.

>> Because Abram spoke to God himself.

I know that's not a popular item. You

say, "Preacher, well, I have the Holy

Spirit, too." And you do. That's a

different day. Okay? You got to

understand the difference. You you you

get what I'm saying tonight. But he

points out this disinterest. Now, I want

to remind you this. Obviously, there was

a a past warning or a past witness of a

of a place like Egypt. For Abram,

evidently, it reminded him of the cowies

or of Haran. He saw something and it

made him decide in his mind what they

were going into. And so instead of

turning around and going back, he

decides to lie. You know what? I'm

seeing that a lot.

>> You're right.

>> We are more desirous to do damage

control with a lie

than we are to tell the truth. You're

>> right.

>> And have to go back from where we came.

Somebody put it this way. I think he

said it like this. Said a half a half a

pound of cure is simply worth a half an

ounce of pure prevention. You ever heard

that statement before? That's the way a

lot of people operate. They'd rather

take a long road around to try to get

somewhere. Amen. Instead of just going

the way they were supposed to go,

>> right?

It's quiet tonight.

>> Notice this verse 14. And it came to

pass that when Abram was coming to

Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman

that she was very fair. Notice verse 15.

The princes also of Pharaoh saw her and

commended her before Pharaoh. And the

woman was taken into Pharaoh's house and

he entreated Abram well for her sake. So

we've seen first of all the lie of the

patriarch. And and I believe in this

text Abram stays unscathed. Now we could

make the argument based on verse 16 that

Abram has got a got his own agenda in

his mind. I don't believe that. You can

make that argument. You know you could

say that maybe Abram's desirous to get

gain. He went to Egypt. He got all that

substance in Haran that is mentioned in

verse number five. They got their

substance and their servants. And so

when he comes to Egypt, we're going to

learn in just a minute that he gets more

substance and more servants. And in

chapter 13 says that he was very rich in

gold and silver and and cattle. And so

Abram obviously is increasing in this

text. But I believe Abram's sin stopped

with a lie. I think that he thought,

well, we'll just get through here and

we'll go on to live another day. But you

understand that your sin will often

create sin in lives of others that is

much worse than your sin.

>> You're right.

>> Did you hear what I said?

>> Notice the text. We see not only the lie

of the patriarch, but notice the lust of

Pharaoh. Bible says in verse 14 that

when it came to pass when Abram was

coming to Egypt, the Egyptians beheld

the woman that she was very fair. So now

what you see is a a series of events. So

there's the people that see Sarah here

in the text. They see she's beautiful.

And then it goes from the people in

verse 14 to the princes in verse 15. The

princes also of Pharaoh saw her and

commended her before Pharaoh and the

woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

So, so the PR it went from the people of

the city to the princes of the land. And

then the princes went and corresponded

with Pharaoh. And in the matter of

probably just a few days, Sarah ends up

in the king's house,

>> right,

>> in Egypt.

>> You know what? Sin escalates quickly.

You'll make you you you'll take two,

three steps. You know what you're going

to find yourself? You're going to go

right from the bottom straight to the

top.

>> You're right.

>> And you know what? I would rather I

would rather be at the bottom of God's

ladder than at the top of the world's

ladder any day.

>> You're right.

>> You say, "Preacher, that sounds bad."

Well, David said, "I'd rather be a

doorkeeper."

>> Amen. That's what he said. He said, "I'd

rather be a doorkeeper in the house of

my God than to dwell in the tents of

wickedness." So, there's your scripture

for that. Notice this. There's the

people. There's the princes. Notice the

perversion. The woman was taken where?

Into Pharaoh's house.

You say, "Preacher, what does that

mean?" Well, if nothing else, they are

looking at Sarah. I I'm not implying

anything, but I'm telling you this. They

are beholding her. And what has got her

to this place? It It might be her

natural beauty, but I'll tell you this.

The reason she's there is because

they're lusting over her.

>> You're right.

She may never have undressed herself

before them, but you know what? Men

don't ha they don't have to. It don't

don't have to happen.

>> That's right.

>> All right. There's perverts all over

this world today. If you send your

daughters out in this world, not dressed

like they ought to be, and even if they

are dressed like they ought to be, you

still got to protect them.

>> You're right.

>> Amen.

>> And so here in the text, we see their

the perversion. And you say, "How does

it how do you see that?" Well, notice

verse 16. And he entreated Abram well

for her sake. It's almost like a

business transaction,

>> right?

>> You remember that word I used a little

little while ago that Sarah become an

object to him instead of his spouse.

>> Sir, if your wife is nothing more than

an object to you, you know what she'll

be to everybody else? An object.

>> You're right.

>> Same way goes for you, wife.

>> You're right.

Because Abram objectified her, Pharaoh

and all the men of Egypt have

objectified her. And out of that

perversion, they have made a business

transaction. Look what the Bible says.

And he entreated Abram well for his

sake. And he had sheep and oxen and he

assasses and men service and maid

service and she assasses and camels. You

say, "Preacher, why do you title this

message the blunder of Abraham?" Do you

realize that every sin of Abram

throughout the rest of his life is

traced back to this event?

You say, "How is that?" Well, Lot

sinned,

>> pitching his tent toward Sodom. You know

why? Why he did that? Because it looked

like Egypt. And so Lot ended up s in

Sodom because Abram took Lot into Egypt.

>> Furthermore, you say, "Preacher, what

about what about his servant Hagar?" We

don't know this for a fact, but the

Bible says in verse 16, he had sheep,

oxen, he asked as Ben servants, and

what? made servants

and she assasses and camels. So it's

very likely that Hagar the Egyptian

came from this event.

Every mistake that Abram dealt with,

came from this blunder.

And you know what it came from? It came

from a moment when he allowed himself,

maybe in fear, maybe in pride,

to turn his wife over to the Egyptians.

You say, "Preacher, what does that look

like?" Well, I don't want you to fall

out with me right here, okay? Because

it's it's not popular in this day and

time. But in the influencer world we

live in, there is men, particularly my

generation, that are making hundreds of

thousands, if not millions of dollars on

the internet off of their wives being

influencers.

>> You're right.

>> And it ain't because women are looking

at them either.

>> You're right.

>> Right.

>> It's because men, old all the way to

young, some man's got his wife up on

there and he's too sorry to go work a

job.

So they're making they're making their

living and they're living big.

>> Amen.

>> Off what they're getting off the

internet. You say, "Preacher, I don't

believe that." You just go look her up,

friend. There's people making all kinds

of money off of that. Men sitting at

home doing nothing. You say, "Preacher,

what do you mean?" Abram in this text is

is benefiting off of selling his wife

out.

>> You're right.

>> Himself.

I I knew it wasn't going to be a shout,

but I'm I'm trying to get you get you to

see this is where we're living at.

>> You're right. Right.

>> And and and and young men and and even

some older men with their their wives,

they're they're all over the internet

and and and and the men don't really

care about it because they're like,

"Well, it it pays the bills."

And you say, "Preacher, but even the

ones that are undressing themselves, no,

it's they're making themselves an

object."

>> You're right. I'm talking about

Christian women that have set out to be

influencers. They've made themselves an

object to this world. Do you realize

your first responsibility as a wife is

to your husband?

>> You're right.

>> You're objectifying yourself to the

world.

Notice this. We see the perversion. We

see the possessions in verse number 16.

And the lust of Pharaoh, see, it wasn't

just limited to him. You say, "Preacher,

how do you know it was lust?" Well,

notice the Lord's plague in verse 17. If

it was just an innocent

acknowledgment of her beauty, would God

have plagued them?

>> God's never unjust.

>> You're right.

>> All right. Notice what the Bible said in

verse 17. And the Lord plagued Pharaoh

and his house with great plagues because

of Sarah, Abram's wife. Now, now, don't

miss this. All right. This is what

really links it all together. There's a

statement in verse number 17 that points

out to us the reason that this is lust.

The Bible says the Lord plagued Pharaoh

and his house.

You see, Pharaoh had had brought Sarah

unto him himself in the text. We know

the Bible says it was because of her

beauty. That's by inspiration of what

the scripture itself says. But Pharaoh

wasn't the only one beholding her. You

say, "Preacher, how how how do you know

that principle carries?" Well, I can

take you to the book of Esther.

We can see it pretty much through the

entirety of that. You understand why

that king Howus put away Vashi. In the

book of Esther, he put her away because

she wouldn't stand and unclo herself

before all those wicked, vile men. And

because she had some moral decency to

her, a house put her away.

>> You're right.

>> And so, you know what they were doing?

They were trying to find him another

queen. And then Esther gets put into

that. Of all the women that were brought

into there, we could talk about it in

the godly sector of the think about

Solomon. He had 700 wives and 300

concubines and yet still was not

satisfied.

>> You're right.

>> You say, "Preacher, well that's Old

Testament." Well, you remember in the

New Testament,

the Bible tells us about many different

women in the New Testament. You remember

them Pharisees? They brought that woman

to Jesus who had been taken in adultery.

>> Right?

>> And more than likely, according to the

text, the woman taken in adultery was

probably in the act with one of the men

that were present there.

>> You're right.

>> I'm saying the the reason this happens

is because women are objectified. And

this is what I I I'm not for of the

feminist movement of this country

because they're promoting women being

objectified.

>> You're right.

>> But here's what I am for. I am for women

embracing their femininity.

>> You're right.

>> You are a woman and God made you to be

and you love that.

>> You're right.

>> I wish I could shout to every young girl

in this world that she does not have to

have the likes. She does not have to

have the loves, the favorites, the

follows of this world TO BE DEEMED

VALUABLE IN THE EYES OF AN ALMIGHTY GOD.

IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT ANYBODY, A MAN,

WOMAN, BOY OR GIRL SAYS ABOUT YOU. YOU

ARE LOVED IN THE EYES OF GOD. AND DO NOT

DO NOT LET THIS WORLD OBJECTIFY YOUR

LIFE.

>> YES, SIR.

>> Abram was a man of God and trying to

protect himself. HE ALLOWED HIMSELF TO

OBJECTIFY HER.

>> You're right.

>> You say, "Preacher, how will I know

that?" When it comes to that point,

you'll know.

>> Amen. Say, "Preacher, how how do I know

when you are being sold out cheaply?"

Young ladies are doing it all over this

country every day. And young, not just

young, but all ladies,

>> you're right.

>> Selling themselves out cheaply

for things like this. You say,

"Preacher,

those feminist movements, they're

started for what you're talking about."

Do you realize at the background of all

of those movements,

>> there's a man that's cashing in?

>> You're right.

>> Oh, man. I could I could preach on this,

man. I'm telling you.

>> I'm telling you, you're duped. If you

think if you think that that's the

that's that's what's going to get you

liberation.

>> Go ahead.

>> That's what's going to get you bondage.

>> You're right.

>> Them women that'll talk to them

seminars. I don't know why I'm on this,

but I'm just going to hammer it while

I'm here. them women that'll talk to you

in them seminars and tell you you need

to go get a job cuz you can do anything

a man can do. They're stupid.

>> You're right.

>> You know the reason why they're up there

talking is because they can't hold down

a job somewhere.

>> You're right.

>> And they've just got enough people duped

that'll listen to them.

>> Amen.

>> Is anybody in the building?

And they'll take you away. You say,

"Preacher, what about the young men?"

And it's it's true for them in this day

and time. I'm thankful in Stokes County

it ain't so much of a problem. Amen.

Somebody say amen right there.

>> You raised around here, you going to

have to learn how to hunt or fish

something.

>> Amen.

>> Let me let me say this to you though.

Social media's made this a lot more

mainstream. The reason why it all be

preached more is because it's a lot more

mainstream than it used to be. Right. We

used to be the only influence just like

you had like this that you had was on a

TV

>> or before that in a magazine but now

it's all of us.

It's there now. Now the plague back to

that. All right. What does the plague

emphasize? Well, it emphasizes the men.

Verse verse number 17. The Lord plagued

Pharaoh. Not just Pharaoh but his house.

That's his his his king. That's that's

his kingdom. You know, I thought about

this. This is something else interesting

to me about this text. The Lord plagued

Pharaoh and his house with great plagues

because of Sarah Abram's wife. Now,

plagues can be a lot of different

things. It can be a disease. It can be a

mark. You know, the plagues in Pharaoh's

day some years down the road when Moses

would lead God's children out and there

would be those 10 plagues, there was a

lot of different things. But these

plagues were physical plagues. These are

personal plagues. These are plagues that

were on the body.

>> Amen.

>> Notice the text.

They plagued Pharaoh's Pharaoh and his

house with great plagues because of

Sarah Abram's wife. You say, "Preacher,

what what what are you trying to

emphasize?" Well, notice verse 18. And

Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is

this that thou has done unto me? Why

does not thou not why does thou not tell

me that she was thy wife?" So, there's

the men that are representing this

plague. It's his house. But then there's

the message of this plague. You know

what this plague told them? That Sarah

belonged to somebody.

>> You're right.

>> How did they find that out?

I'd say the plague probably had

something to do with it. Maybe where it

was, what it was. You say, "Preacher,

that's gruesome." No, I'm being real

with you.

>> You're right.

>> God attention.

>> Yeah.

>> And you know what? He didn't even have

to say a word.

>> You're right.

the epidemic of STDs in this country.

>> Yep.

>> If that don't wake you up, I don't know

what will.

>> You're right.

>> I'm not saying that's what is in this

text, but I'm saying it's a God-scent

plague because of their lust.

>> You're right.

>> And when they got this plague, they knew

automatically. They traced it back to

the time. They traced it back to the

period. Evidently, it started when Sarah

showed up.

>> You're right.

Notice this. Not only the men, the

message of this plague, but notice the

miracle out of this plague. Verse number

19. Why sets thou, she is my sister, so

I might have taken her to me to wife.

Now therefore, behold, thy wife, take

her and go thy way. And Pharaoh

commanded the men concerning him, and

they sent him away and his wife and all

that he had. Now, the miracle in this

text is this, that Abram made it out

here alive.

>> You're right.

>> You know what should have happened? He

should have killed both of them.

>> You're right. should have killed Sarah

and Abram both because you know what he

did? He brought a curse on. But aren't

you thankful God was watching over him.

>> Amen.

>> And God when he brought that plague

instead of turning it to pride, he

brought it to humility and they said,

"Y'all get out of here." You're

>> right.

>> Amen. Let me say this. God will protect

you. Ladies, listen to me. The Lord will

protect you.

You don't have to hear that from me.

This little woman up here's told you

that. Your mamas have told you that

over and over again. God will protect

you. And let me say this.

This text reveals to us that when it

requires perversion to obtain provision,

you are not in the will of God.

>> You're right.

>> When Abram

got out of God's will, he had to sell

out something in his family so he could

eat.

>> You're right. And so I ask you again,

why? Why wouldn't it be better to just

stay and trust

than it would be to walk out and have to

lie and have to cheat? You say,

"Preacher, but Abram didn't lust." And

and and you know, if you say that he

did, I'm not going to argue with you

because he did get all kinds of things

in this text out of this transaction.

But I'll say this, regardless of the

fact Abram's sin was not as bad as

Pharaoh's and his house was. But who was

that sin committed against?

>> Right?

>> It's committed against his wife.

And so when you fail to lead, Daddy,

listen to me. When you fail to lead,

your daughter, your wife is going to

reap the consequences of it. You're

>> right.

When you fail to step up and take the

position that God has called you to

take. When you fail to be obedient to

what God has told you to do, you may

suffer some. Abram really didn't suffer

any in this text other than Sarai just

being gone from his presence for a few

days.

>> You're right.

>> But you know who suffered? Sarah lost

her dignity.

>> You're right.

>> You said, "Preacher, well, the Bible

doesn't say she unclothed herself." You

understand? It don't matter. It does not

matter if you stand if somebody is

lusting over you.

You can you could be in a trash bag, not

even visible, and if they're looking at

you, that is the most nasty,

icky, disgusting, defiling feeling there

is. You're

>> right.

>> And you don't need to be in the presence

of those kind of people,

>> right?

>> You know who's going to control that?

Daddy.

>> Amen.

>> You know who's going to make the

decision on that? Daddy is. You say,

"Preacher, what if dad's not in the

picture?" Well, that means mom has to.

You're

>> right.

>> And let me say this, Sarah probably

Sarah, this mistake was made because she

was following her husband. And I'll say

this, Sarah probably would have stayed

in Canaan if Abram wouldn't been in the

picture. But let's also remember this.

Sarah would have never made it to

Canaan.

>> You're right.

>> Had Abram not been in the picture.

>> So take it for what it's worth tonight.

Here's the here's the emphasis I want

you to get. All right. Every mistake

that appears in Abram's life is because

of this one single event. Every trial

that he goes through, every issue aside

uh the only thing that he went through

out of this that was by the will of God

was when he had to take Isaac his son up

on Mount Mariah and offer him. And that

was by God's will. But everything else

that Abram went through, what he went

through with with Ishmael, what he went

through with Hagar, what he went through

with with Lot in this text and Lot's

children came out of this event,

>> right?

>> And it's still

they're still fighting.

Ishmael's children and and Isaac or

Isaac's children are still fighting.

>> You're right. Right. You don't know the

effects.

You don't know how far the effects of

your sin will go.

>> You're right.

>> And it may just be a lie. Let me say

this. Don't lie.

>> Say, "Preacher, I'm trying to protect

somebody." Well, Abram thought he was.

>> Come on.

>> You cannot afford to lie

in this day and time.

>> You're right.

>> You say, "Preacher, what are you talking

about?" I'm saying, friend, a lie in

this day and time, a lie before the days

of technology would travel around the

world before the truth gets its boots

on.

>> You're right.

>> But in this day and time,

>> a lie is light speed,

>> right?

>> Do you realize before we get out of

these doors tonight, if a lie is told,

it can go over 500 people in 30 seconds?

>> Oh,

>> by just a series of phone calls.

And here's what I'm telling you. All

right. When it comes to the truth, it's

got a higher price now than it's ever

had.

>> You're right.

>> Tell the truth. Be honest with people.

>> Let me say this, Dad. Watch your family.

I I think feel like I've told every man

of the church that this this summer.

I've preached messages about sins of

summertime, things of that nature here

at the church before. But I feel like I

told every man, if I haven't told you

specifically, I'm telling you right now,

when you go on vacation this summer,

watch your wife and your children.

You're right.

>> I'm not telling you that because they

might do something. I'm just saying the

devil might.

>> You're right.

>> Right.

>> And I'm serious as I can be about that.

Keep your eyes open.

>> Amen.

>> Mama, keep your eyes open, too.

>> Amen.

I don't like preaching like this, but if

we're going to have services like we had

Sunday, and we've had real regular here

of late. Can I get a witness? They've

been regular.

>> Don't you thank God for that?

>> Amen.

>> I wouldn't trade nothing for it. It's

this kind of stuff that keeps that

around.

>> You're right.

>> If we'll stay right, God will bless.

>> Amen.

>> We're all about quality, not quantity.

>> Amen. I'm not going to reach out to this

world and just say kumbaya with them so

we can have this place full. If God

wants it full, he can fill it up.

>> Amen.

>> Amen. And I'm going to trust him to do

so. We're going to do everything we can

to do that. But I'm I would rather keep

the presence of God.

>> And uh I love you. I do. It's just a

burden on my heart these days,

especially social media the way it is.

And uh it's so mainstream now. It's just

I think I seen a thing the other day. It

said the average the average American

teenager spends five to eight hours on

social media a day.

And you think that's not influencing

them.

We get what? Three hours a week to

preach to them.

Five to eight hours a day.

Young people, keep your mind straight.

>> Amen.

>> Love the Lord.

>> Amen. Stay pure. Don't let any boy or

any girl take from you.

>> Amen.

>> What God has given you.

>> Go ahead.

>> I promise you when you get to that

marriage altar, more importantly, when

you get to heaven.

>> Amen.

>> Right.

>> You'll be glad you did.

>> You're right.

>> Amen.

>> Father, thank you for this time. Thank

you for the truth of your word. And

Lord, I thank you, God, tonight that I

know without a shadow of a doubt this is

where we're at in our society. in this

day and time. God, would you help us or

would you help us to be obedient to you?

Would you help us to do what you've

called us to do? Forgive us of our

failures and shortcomings.

And uh Lord, because I do believe,

Father, that we don't need just a cure,

Lord, we need to get to the root. We

need to get rid of of not just the

fruit, but God, we got to get down where

it really the rubber meets the road. in

these days. Help us to stay close to

you, close to each other, and uh to be

right, stay right, stay close to you.

Lord, we love you. Thank you for loving

us in Jesus name. Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you'd join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church. Our physical address is

2988 Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 700 p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.