The Laugh

It's good to be back with you all.

As Gabe was sharing about having a passion for Bible translations,

I was like, you know what?

In order to have a passion for Bible translations

! and getting it out into the world,

you first must have a passion for the Bible.

If not, then what's the point of it, right?

You won't get fired up to try and get the Word out there

if you're actually not fired up for the Word itself.

And I think that's what we're trying to do here.

We're trying to cultivate and nurture in us

a passion for the Word.

I just got back from England

and I got to visit a lot of different churches,

some of the churches that I grew up in

and just different kind of places

and had a lot of conversations with past mentors

and brothers and sisters with churches that are doing well

and churches that are struggling.

And often the question always is,

well, how do we have a church?

What's a good church?

And I was like, you know what?

I don't even know.

But I do know what God is looking for.

I was reminded even as we were worshipping in John 4

where Jesus himself says,

the Father is looking for worshippers

who worship him in what?

In spirit and in truth.

Paul talks to the church in Corinth

in 1 Corinthians 14 and says,

I will sing with my mind

and I will sing with my spirit.

Right?

So you need both.

You need the Word

and then you also need the Holy Spirit.

And in order to have that truth

is to go into the Word.

That's why I keep trying to shame you

to bringing your physical Bible in.

It's an important part of my journey.

And as we're gathering here,

we're just saying,

it's got to be about the Word.

And actually, hold us accountable.

If you ever come into church,

and actually, I joke and laugh,

but you can actually go into churches

and who somehow manage to go through

a whole service without

really acknowledging the Bible or Christ.

It is possible.

I assure you, it is possible.

But we gathered here.

That's surely what we have to be about.

And for us to have that passion

for the Word itself.

So just an encouragement to you.

If it's something that you're thinking about,

please go and talk to Gabe

a lot more about it as well.

So I just got back.

I was away for three Sundays.

Went to what was the formerly Great Britain.

But less so great now.

It's been a good few weeks.

Lots has happened since that time.

Alex, Lee and Cara have welcomed the new baby.

Two couples got engaged.

So lots of things have happened in the time away,

which is very exciting.

But as someone who did grow up in England,

I'm most concerned right now of just the wait.

The wait that continues

because it's not coming home again.

It's great to watch the England footballers

win in a meaningful game last night, of course.

But the wait is very real.

60 years waiting.

The term, it's coming home,

was made popular 30 years ago

where the song, The Three Lions, came.

And of course, it's a painful, painful song

that we keep singing to ourselves

every four years.

And the wait is very, very real.

But actually, being in England,

you get used to waiting.

I realized having not been there for a few years,

waiting, even in restaurants,

waiting for someone to come and take my order,

waiting for the food to come,

waiting to get their attention so I can pay them.

All of it is just, I'm like, wow.

I realized since I came back,

I came back two days ago,

I realized I understand why

because we all use those QR codes now

and we order here

and we don't have to talk to anyone,

which I think there's a downside to.

There's so much waiting.

So much waiting.

There's so much waiting

when it's even for trains and buses.

Just seeing constantly the sign saying delayed.

And I realized I'd gotten so used to Hong Kong life

when I came back this morning.

Francis and I, we walked to the MTR station

and I glanced and I saw four minutes

on the MTR platform.

Four minutes!

How dare the MTR make me wait for four minutes?

But true to Hong Kong form,

it doesn't come in four minutes

because suddenly after two minutes,

it turns to arriving.

I was like, praise the Lord, all is right.

But in England, oh my goodness,

in England, waiting is a very, very real thing.

Today, I'm going to be talking about the wait.

We're going to be talking about what it means to wait.

The question I want to ask you is,

what are you waiting for?

What are you waiting for?

Everyone is waiting for something.

I'm currently waiting for my Taobao order.

That's something.

And that's annoying.

I'm someone who, when I buy something,

I like to have it immediately.

So that is an annoying thing for me.

But we're all waiting for something.

In fact, we have gotten so used to waiting.

We grow up, we're waiting to graduate.

Once we graduate, we're waiting to get the job that we want.

Once we've got the job we want,

we're waiting so we can share the money that we now have

with someone in our lives.

So we're waiting for someone to date.

And once we're waiting for someone to date,

and then we're waiting for them to propose.

And finally, after so many, so many months of waiting,

Nathan finally proposes.

And so we're waiting for that.

And then we're waiting for the wedding.

And then after that, we are waiting for a baby.

And this is where suddenly it starts to get a bit painful, right?

Because you start watching other people go through,

and you're like, oh, I'm still waiting.

And suddenly the waiting isn't as fun anymore.

And then you're waiting,

and you're showing up at other people's weddings.

And then it gets a little bit harder each time you show up.

Because you're still waiting.

But let's say some people who do end up getting married,

and then the next thing comes,

and you're waiting now to start your family.

You're waiting for a baby.

And then this is where it gets really, really painful.

Because you start seeing the people around you

start to get married and have kids.

And then you're like, okay, I'm still waiting.

Of course, just when you have your kids,

just when you think that that's over,

and you've stopped waiting, that is not the case, right?

Parents will know you're still waiting.

Still waiting.

I'm still waiting for Micah to understand

that he needs to go to the toilet.

I'm waiting for Ruben to put his socks back in the right place.

I'm waiting for them to study,

and waiting for them to study well,

and so that they can graduate.

And then I'm waiting.

And then the waiting game continues,

and continues, and continues.

The question is,

waiting is a part of life.

And it often is painful.

But do we wait well?

Do you wait well?

You're waiting for that project at work to finish,

so you can finally relax.

You're waiting for that exam to finish,

so you can finally relax.

But what's funny is,

after that,

suddenly there's the next exam.

Suddenly there's the next project.

And we are constantly waiting.

We see in Scripture today,

we are going to be looking at someone

who has been waiting for a long, long time.

We're going to be looking at Abraham.

And these last few weeks,

first Gabe,

and then Joe has been taking us through the journey

from Genesis 15 to Genesis 17,

where Abraham is still waiting.

Let me just rewind your mind

and go back to Genesis 12.

Abraham is 75 years old.

He's called to go.

So Genesis 12,

he's called to go,

and he's been told that he will have a kid.

Not only will he have a kid,

he'll be a father to many.

That's Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

You go all the way to Genesis chapter 17,

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

where Joe left yesterday.

It's been 24 years.

24 years when the promise came.

How many of us are waiting for God to deliver something,

but we're not expecting to wait 24 years?

So in the middle,

something happens.

In Genesis chapter 15,

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

Abraham hears from God again.

This time he's 85 years old.

So it's been 10 years since that first promise.

And God says,

you will be a father of many.

The chapter after that,

and the year after that,

his wife says,

you know what?

That's enough.

11 years of waiting is too much.

Maybe God promises in another way.

Maybe God needs us to be creative.

Let's take the matter and draw our hands

and let's create a baby in a different way.

So what happens?

The servant,

Hagar comes in.

Okay,

and then suddenly,

suddenly they try and do it in their own way

and it doesn't work.

At this point,

they're 86.

It happens.

Of course,

it doesn't really satisfy them.

In fact,

the moment it happens,

Sarah,

it was her idea.

After that,

she turns on Abraham straight away

and says,

it's your fault that this happened.

Now I'm filled with resentment.

Now I'm filled with bitterness.

Abraham just kind of just ignores it,

puts it to the side.

Genesis chapter 17,

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

God shows up again in his vision

and says,

hey,

Abraham,

you will be a father to many.

I'm going to change your name.

Your name meant exalted father,

which would have been quite comical

for a long time anyway,

but now it's going to be father of many.

How ironic would that have been?

And then of course,

Abraham,

hearing this promise again

in year 24,

how would he have felt?

Again,

God,

you're promising this,

but I'm not seeing anything.

Each time,

every time an England manager says,

this is the year,

I've got the right team.

It's the right mindset.

We're going to bring it home.

Sooner or later,

you lose hope.

But Abraham does something

very interesting.

He listens to God again

and he's getting this interaction with God

and he's like,

okay,

there's a covenant.

And so the next thing that he does,

he circumcises his whole house.

And so last week,

Joe talked a little bit about this,

the identity change

leading to the mission,

but also the pain that comes,

the sacrifice that comes,

the circumcision of the heart

that comes as well.

So at the end of chapter 17,

what you see here

is Abraham circumcises

his whole house

waiting for the promise

to still come.

And it tells me something

about the whole ordeal

of waiting

that I wanted to share with you,

which is that

John Oldberg says this,

biblically,

waiting is not just something

we have to do

until we get what we want.

Waiting is part of the process

of becoming

what God wants us to be.

Let me say that again.

Biblically,

waiting is not just something

we have to do

until we get what we want.

Waiting is part of the process

of becoming

what God wants us to be.

So there's something

about waiting

that God is using

to mold you,

to sanctify you.

If you look from

God's vantage point,

he can do anything.

He can gift you

whatever you're waiting for

immediately,

yet somehow he's withholding.

Somehow he's holding it back.

The question,

therefore,

is why?

And let me tell you,

I think I know the answer

to that question.

Why is God making you wait?

And I can answer it

in three simple words.

I don't know.

For some of you

who have been waiting

for a long time,

I don't know why

he's asking you to wait.

But I do know

that he is

making you wait.

And I do know

that he's making

something out of you

as you wait.

The question,

therefore,

then becomes,

do we wait well?

Now,

before we jump

into chapter 18,

I want to share

something a little bit.

It's been 24 years

Abraham's been waiting

for this baby

that God promised him.

24 years.

It's been

quite a few years

also since they made

the mistake

where they took matters

into their own hands.

At this point,

that son,

Ishmael,

is 13 years old.

He's 13 now.

And yet,

the satisfaction

isn't there

because they took matters

into their own hands.

So Ishmael's around

but they're like,

oh,

it's just something just,

can you imagine

just living with that guilt

for all that time?

Look,

I promised you,

you promised me

and I believed you.

It didn't happen

so basically I've taken matters

in my own hands

and now I've got evidence

of that and it's here

and my wife and I

are still distanced.

She's still resentful

and we're not going anywhere.

And so God,

you finally speak again.

Okay,

I'm going to act.

I'm going to circumcise

my whole house.

And then he's just sat there

and now he's 99 years old

and still waiting.

And it's at this moment

where he's probably

the most weak.

He's just had

a fairly significant surgery

done to him

and to his whole household.

Just bear in mind here,

Abraham,

okay,

so this next story

that we're going to read

in chapter 18,

we always imagine

it's just Abraham

and his wife in a tent.

It's not.

A few chapters ago,

he had 318 young men

who actually went

into battle with him.

So if you think about that,

a lot of scholars believe

there's at least

1,000 people

in Abraham's

whole kind of entourage.

So at least 318

but probably close

to 400 or 500 men

were all circumcised

and all in pain

and all waiting.

Guys,

we're just going to sit

in that moment

just for a second.

It's in that pain

that we then get

chapter 18.

This is where I invite you

to stand for the word

of the Lord.

Matthew is going to come

and read to us

Genesis chapter 18

Genesis 18:1–15

verse 1 to 15

and maybe before that

I'll just quickly pray.

God,

we lean on your word

and only your word

and actually we can only

understand your word

through your Holy Spirit.

So Holy Spirit,

as we read this

word that comes from you,

would you help us digest?

Would you help us

understand?

And then would you

help us apply?

The stage is yours.

Lord, we love you

and we want to hear from you.

The word of God

from Genesis chapter 18.

Genesis 18 · chapter mention

Genesis chapter 18.

Genesis 18 · chapter mention

The Lord appeared to him

by the oaks of memory.

As he sat at the door

of his tent

in the heat of the day,

he lifted up his eyes

and looked.

And behold,

three men were standing

in front of him.

When he saw them,

he ran from the tent door

to meet them

and bowed himself

to the earth

and said,

O Lord,

if I have found favor

in your sight,

do not pass by your servant.

Let a little water

be brought

and wash your feet

and rest yourselves

under the tree

while I bring a morsel

of bread

that you may refresh

yourselves

and after that

you may pass on.

Since you have come

to your servant.

So they said,

do as you have said.

And Abraham went

quickly into the tent

to Sarah

and said,

quick,

three sears

of fine flour

knead it

and make cakes.

And Abraham

ran to the herd

and took a calf,

tender and good

and gave it

to a young man

who prepared it quickly.

Then he took curds

and milk

and the calf

that he had prepared

and set it before them

and he stood by them

under the tree

while they ate.

They said to him,

where is Sarah,

your wife?

And he said,

she's in a tent.

The Lord said,

I will surely return

to you about this time

next year

and Sarah,

your wife,

shall have a son.

And Sarah was listening

at the tent door

behind him.

Now Abraham

and Sarah were old,

advanced in years.

The ways of women

had ceased

to be with Sarah.

So Sarah laughed

to herself saying,

after I am worn out

and my Lord is old,

shall I have pleasure?

The Lord said to Abraham,

why did Sarah laugh

and say,

shall I indeed

bear a child now,

now that I am old?

Is there anything

too hard for the Lord?

At the appointed time,

I will return to you

about this time

next year

and Sarah

shall have a son.

But Sarah denied it

saying,

I did not laugh

for she was afraid.

He said,

no,

but you did laugh.

Thank you both.

This is the word

of the Lord.

Please take a seat.

The most awkward

end to the conversation.

We'll get to the end

there

in a little bit.

I just want to paint

the picture again.

Okay,

so he's waiting.

It's been 24 years now

that he's still waiting.

He just had the surgery

probably a couple

of days ago.

His whole household

is just keeled over,

just in pain.

And he's waiting

and he sat

in the heat

of the day.

Okay,

so verse one,

we're just going

to go through

chapter 18,

verse one.

And the Lord

appeared to him

by the oaks

as he sat

at the door

of his tent

in the heat

of the day.

My goodness,

I was in England

for three weeks,

not a single drop

of rain

and no air con.

And the heat wave

was unreal.

It was unreal.

It was okay

in the day

because I'm used to it

because I've been

in Hong Kong,

but nighttime,

not being able,

just sleeping

with nothing,

no air con

was just terrible.

But in the heat

of the day

is where he was sat.

Now,

this is the afternoon

siesta time.

So he's sat there.

There's not really

much going on.

He just had surgery.

So he's just basically

resting.

And it's in this moment

he has the most

fascinating interaction

with three different people.

And so what we see here

is he lifted up his eyes

and looked.

So he's,

again,

what is he thinking?

Well,

first thing I think

I would be thinking

if I was a hair

I was like,

what have I done?

I've weakened

my whole household

and we're all in pain.

And actually,

it's been 24 years.

What did I just do?

And so he sits

and he's waiting

and then he sees

three men come from afar.

Now,

bearing in mind

in the ancient world,

it's not like Hong Kong.

You don't see people

all the time.

So he sees them

from afar

and what happens

during that time

is that actually

you must engage

with those people

that you don't know.

You must engage

with those strangers

because why?

They could either be allies

or they could be enemies.

So it's very important

for the livelihood

of Abraham's household

that he engages them

very quickly

to find out

whether they are allies

or whether they're enemies.

So he sees them

from afar

and the first thing

that he does

is he actually

runs towards them.

He's probably not

running very fast.

Why?

Because he's 99 years old

and because he just

had a surgery.

So he runs towards them

the best way

that he can

and he goes up to them

and actually

he treats them

with hospitality.

And this is my first point.

When we are waiting,

how do we wait well

is that actually

we still wait

with a spirit

and a sense of openness

of what God might do.

We might be waiting

for that one thing

but actually

sometimes

we're so obsessed

with waiting

for that one thing

we completely ignore

the rest of life

that God has given us.

We are completely

not open

to all the other things

because you're only

going to be happy

once you get that one thing.

Am I right?

That's what we keep thinking.

Once I pass that exam,

once I have that person,

once I do this,

once I get over this illness,

then and only then

will I be happy

and only then

will I serve you

and do all these other things.

But what we see here

is that when we're waiting,

even when we are in pain,

even when we are weak,

we still have to be open.

And there's a hospitality here

that he shows straight away

and he says this,

O Lord,

now bear in mind,

if you've got a Bible,

you can see that the Lord here

is capital L

and then lowercase for O-R-D.

He doesn't know

that this is God just yet.

He thinks

this is just a stranger.

In Hebrews 13,

2,

it references this event

and he says,

actually,

Abraham's just entertaining strangers,

unaware that actually

they are angels

and we'll talk a little bit more

about that later.

So he goes to them

like they would have

in the ancient world,

greeting this person

that they don't know

with hospitality.

O Lord,

if I have found favor in your sight,

do not pass by your servant.

Let a little water be brought

and wash your feet

and rest yourselves

under the tree

while I bring a morsel of bread

that you may refresh yourselves

and after that,

you may pass on

since you have come

to your servant.

So he says,

hey,

I'm so glad that you're here.

I'm bored out of my brains.

The Wi-Fi isn't working.

I'm in pain.

All I want to do

is just distract myself.

You've come.

Can I just look after you?

Can I offer you some water?

Can I offer you some bread?

And after that,

you can go.

I just want to show you

that I'm friendly,

that I am hospitable to you.

So the three men agree

and say,

do as you have said.

But he lies.

He doesn't just bring water

and bread.

He brings everything.

He kills a calf.

He brings milk.

He brings yogurt.

He brings a cake.

Can you see

that there is an extreme level

of hospitality that comes?

And this is my point.

When we are waiting,

my first point is,

can we be open

to the fact that

whilst we are waiting

for that one thing,

there are still

so many other things

that God wants us to see

and do.

Can we be hospitable?

Can we be friendly

to people

as we are waiting?

Now,

as your pastor,

I would like to tell you

that I have been trying

to put this into action

myself this week.

And one of the ways is,

actually,

there's a stark difference

between the two cultures

of the East and the West

is when you're in the East,

you don't talk to strangers.

Not only do you not

talk to strangers,

you do not actually

even look at them

or smile at them at all

because it goes against

our culture's way.

So we basically

just ignore everyone

and we just stay on our phones

and that's it.

But in the West,

I noticed something

very interesting.

Because everyone's

so used to waiting,

they greet each other,

they smile at each other,

they talk to each other

and they have lots

of conversation

with each other.

It does actually happen,

maybe outside

of the big cities.

There's something

about the city

which is the worst,

by the way,

which then makes me think

we are in Asian culture

in one of the big cities.

We have to be very much

aware of this.

We are not good

at being hospitable

to strangers.

Are you good

with strangers?

When was the last time

you had a conversation

with a stranger?

Oh, Agnes said last week,

tell us about it.

That is so amazing.

That is so amazing.

I'm so glad

that Agnes said that

because actually

that reinforces my point.

I love talking

to taxi drivers

because they know the world.

They see so many people,

they listen to so many things.

I love talking

to taxi drivers

and Uber drivers

and also they rarely

ever get cared for.

So to hear there's

someone in our church

who actually is willing

to talk to people

and you realize

that there are pains

going on in people's lives

and then you realize

actually I have problems

in my life

but when I speak

to other people

I realize they have problems

in their lives

and you realize

these are all opportunities.

Are we willing

to be hospitable

to strangers?

So I took that into action

because I am one

of those people

when I get into the lift

I slam the close button

as fast and as long

as I can

as though if I can

press it faster

it'll close

and there'll be less people

coming into the lift.

That is me.

But yesterday

for the first time

in many years

I was like

I'm just going to wait.

This morning we had someone

who managed to make it

onto the lift

and I was like

I'm so proud of myself

that that happened.

But to be hospitable

to strangers

is something that I think

we deeply, deeply lack.

I want to challenge

all of you

as you leave here today

can you strike up

a conversation

with someone

who you don't know?

I kid you not

it will be the most

shocking thing

that will have happened

to them.

But we always wonder

God why doesn't

those things happen to you?

Why don't I meet

an Uber driver

who's crying

and that I get to pray for

and share the gospel

I don't get a chance

to do that

I'm just stuck in my

well guess what

you have to speak to them

you have to ask them questions

you have to share with them

what you believe

and then you have to offer

to pray for them.

Are we open

to those interactions?

You see Abraham here

was

because why

when we're waiting

something that's very important

is that we

focus not just on the destination

but on the journey itself.

I think people

who live in slower cultures

who are more hospitable

they get that

because they know

there's one destination

but there'll be another destination

after the destination

it just keeps going

it's the rat race

it just keeps going and going

but if you realize

that actually

the whole of life

is a journey

that actually

we are all sojourners

then the driver

who's driving you

or the waiter

who's serving you

these are all

actual human beings

made in the image of God

I wonder

whether if we had

a new conviction today

to go out

and engage

in conversation

with a stranger

what could happen?

Would we be hospitable

to strangers

even when we

are still waiting?

Henry Nouwen

says this

waiting time

is not wasting time

that should speak

to the Hong Konger's soul

the deepest part

of the Hong Konger's soul

needs to remember

and understand this

the waiting time

is not wasting time

he carries on

waiting patiently

in expectation

is the foundation

of the spiritual life

our spiritual life

is a life

in which we wait

actively present

to the moment

this indeed

is a very radical stance

toward life

in a world

preoccupied with control

does that speak to you?

that speaks to me

my idol is control

and so I want to be

in control of everything

I don't want to be

open to the interactions

that God might be

leading towards me

because I think

waiting time

is wasting time

when actually

when we're waiting

we have to ask God

well why am I waiting

right here?

who am I supposed

to engage?

who am I supposed

to interact with?

it's so important

for us to get that

and Betsy Charles Howard

says this

if we wait

to reach out to others

from a position of fullness

we will never do it

if on the other hand

we love others

out of our own emptiness

we will paradoxically

find we have

an abundance of love

to give

how often do we do that?

I'll talk to the Uber driver

when I have a bit more capacity

when I'm not worried

about the thing

that I'm waiting for

and then

I might share the gospel

and then I might do this

and I might do that

we wait till we're in a place

where we think

we'll be completely full

and only then

will we do it

but we realise that

we will never truly be full

because we're always

waiting for something

so what we should do

is we should reach out to people

when we are even not

in our position of fullness

think about Abraham

he's waiting

he's been waiting

for 24 years

and yet now

there's someone who shows up

he's still open

he doesn't know that's God

up until that point

God's been showing up in visions

so he doesn't know

God's actually going to show up

right in front of him

and yet he's hospitable

yet he's open

how good are we at waiting?

I know all of you are waiting

for something

and I want to encourage you

that God sees

God knows you are waiting

God knows how painful

that waiting is

would you allow him

to do what he wants to do

in your life

even through that waiting?

maybe you're waiting

for your child

to come back to God

maybe you're waiting

for that sickness to go

maybe you're waiting

for that person

to come and join you in life

whatever it is

that you are waiting for

can you wait well?

can you appreciate

that God is trying

to do something?

he knows

he spoke to Abraham

three times

and yet he's still

making Abraham wait

for 24 years

God always has a purpose

in waiting

it's our job

as we're waiting well

to be open

to all the other opportunities

that he gives us

and to allow him

to do whatever he wants

to do in our lives

whilst we are waiting

I think that is a message

that someone here

needs to hear

you are waiting

and you might still

be waiting for a long time

but stay and wait well

and be open to whatever

God has in store for you

the second point

that we go here is

why did this interaction happen?

why is this passage

of scripture here?

we carry on in the story

the fan keeps changing my pages

so what happens here is

they eat

they're happy

verse 7

Abraham ran to the herd

took a calf tender and good

and gave it to a young man

who prepared it quickly

then he took curds

which is yogurt

and milk

and the calf

that he prepared

and set it before them

and he stood by them

under the tree

whilst they ate

true hospitality there

he is open to what

God might have in store for him

and then they speak to him

remember he thinks

they're strangers

at this moment

and then they turn to him

now there's three people there

scholars

mostly scholars believe

that this is

the pre-incarnate Jesus

and two angels

so that's what

most people think

but actually

it's a bit of a mystery

we don't actually know

who they are

because when he talks to them

he realizes

who they are

straight away

because suddenly

they say

where is Sarah

your wife

wait

these are strangers

how do you know

that my wife

well how do you know

I have a wife

okay but I guess

you could guess that

but how do you know

that my wife is Sarah

wait

but how do you know

that my wife is Sarah

and not Sarai

because it was only

last chapter

which was a few days ago

where she changed her name

who are you

and that's when the Lord

lowercase Lord

suddenly turns into uppercase

L-O-R-D

if you look at your Bible

you'll see the difference

verse 10

the Lord said

and suddenly it's capitals

and so what we see here

what Abraham will have

suddenly realized here

that this is

not just a random group

of strangers

that are lost

that this is God himself

and you realize

why this interaction

took place

because actually

God's spoken to Abraham

quite a few times already

he doesn't need to show up

why does he show up

this time

and we find out

it's not actually

for Abraham

it's actually

for his wife

the unveiling here

is that these

three strangers

actually know his wife

know that she's called

Sarah

her new name

and they're actually

here for her

isn't that interesting

and so it carries on

she is in

and then he says

she is in the tent

and the Lord said

I will surely return

to you about this time

next year

and Sarah your wife

shall have a son

24 years of waiting

finally

God shows up

and puts a timeline

on it

and says

this time

next year

you will have

a son

and Sarah

interestingly

was listening

at the tent door

behind him

they would have known

this because they came

for her

because they came

to speak to her

this is really interesting

because up until

this point

all Sarah

had ever heard

from God

or about God

was from who

Abraham

Abraham would have

been the one

that told her

hey I had a vision

I had a dream

that God's going

to do this

and hey

we've got to move out

because God

told us to move out

but finally

there comes a moment

where actually

God comes for Sarah

herself

which is interesting

which tells me

something else

because up until

this point

Sarah is resentful

she is unbelieving

why

because I think

she only knew God

through someone else

finally God

introduces himself

to her

personally

we all need

to have that moment

where God comes

to introduce himself

to us

maybe your parents

are Christian

maybe you have

that grandparent

who is a Christian

who dragged you

to church

whatever it is

we all come to church

through someone

in our lives

but the whole point

is that actually

God doesn't have

grandchildren

we cannot ever

just relate to God

as a distant grandfather

he must become

our father

we must have our

we must establish

our own direct

connection

with God

ourselves

and we see here

that God comes

and finds Sarah

specifically

to talk to her

because up until now

she'd only ever

heard from Abraham

and so

it carries on

so Abraham

hears this

now Abraham

and Sarah

were old

advanced in years

what a nice way

to put it

for someone

to be advanced

in years

Hank

I am so sorry

I've always called you

old

but you are

advanced in years

what a lovely

way to put that

don't any of you

come up to me

and say the same thing

advance in years

and then it gets

even better

the way of women

had ceased

to be with Sarah

what a lovely way

to say

that menopause

had passed

what that

is saying

is that basically

there is no chance

of her having

a baby anymore

it's like

I'm God

I know that I promised you

24 years ago

that you would have a son

and now

biologically

you cannot have a son

in the book of Romans

I think it's chapter 4

that says actually

her womb

was dead

it was barren

it wasn't capable

of having

a baby

so they were

advanced in years

and the way

a woman had ceased

to be with Sarah

and so Sarah

hears this

in the tent

even though they

are speaking

actually to her

and then she says

to herself

she laughs to herself

after I am worn out

and my lord is old

shall I have pleasure

this is a really

interesting passage

and it reminds me

of all the people

that I've met

all the couples

who have gone

through infertility

who have gone

through miscarriages

and the pain

of all of that

and how it actually

causes such a challenge

between a husband

and a wife

and how it actually

just wreaks

so much havoc

in just your emotional

and your spiritual life

and it's a wrestle

and it's a weight

that can go on

for so long

and can cut so

so deep

as I'm putting myself

in the shoes

of Abraham and Sarah

I'm imagining

24 years

of trying

and they had

God's promise

and yet it still

hadn't happened

can you imagine

that first time

where actually

she realizes

that menopause

is happening

she realizes

that this is the end

and she realized

the way a woman

has ceased to be

with her

and she's like

that promise

it's gone

and

10 years ago

when I tried

to take matters

in my own hands

I guess

that's it

I mean

the chapter before

sorry

in chapter 17

that's what Abraham

says when God's

speaking to him

when he says

I'm going to bless you

you're going to have a son

he's like

oh it must be Ishmael

I guess

because it can't be me anymore

because actually

I'm old

and Sarah's old too

and we biologically

cannot have children

anymore God

so he's trying

to make sense

of God's promise

through his

own earthly lens

he's like

okay this is how

it must happen

but God doesn't

work like that

but there's something

else that's really

interesting here

after I am worn out

and my Lord is old

shall I have

pleasure

the word pleasure

there

in the Hebrew

actually means

sexual pleasure

it means intimacy

so not only

had she passed

childbearing age

they were actually

no longer intimate

anymore

and you can totally

imagine why

they're 99

and 90 years old

they've suffered

this hurt

of the waiting

for all these years

they took matters

into their own hands

10 years ago

that didn't end up

being as satisfying

as they thought

and so you can

totally imagine

the distance

the chasm

between Abraham

and Sarah

so you can totally

imagine the two of them

are not even close

anymore

and so that

if you understand

it from that context

suddenly Sarah's line

makes sense

she scoffs

her laugh

is a hopeless one

now

after I'm worn out

remember also

in that context

childbearing

was everything

for a woman

if you could not

bear children

then you are

worthless in society

so this Sarah

who was formerly

very beautiful

popular with all

the guys

no doubt

ends up in a place

where she is now

just laughing

hopelessly

to make matters

worse

there was no

biological

info there

that we have

today

so Abraham

would have

completely blamed

Sarah

for this problem

especially

since Ishmael

had been born

so after Ishmael

had been born

the resentment

would have come

well see

it's not my problem

managed to get her

pregnant

it's you Sarah

can you imagine

the distance

can you imagine

the abandonment

so that's why

she says earlier

God is stopping

me from having

this

can you imagine

the hurt

that she has

now

after I'm worn

out

after I can't

even physically

have children

anymore

after my husband

won't even look

at me

let alone touch

me

how are you

supposed to

even have

a baby

is what she's

saying

can you start

to see now

why God

has shown up

to speak

to Sarah

and not

Abraham

that's the

pain

that she's

in

the Lord

then said

to Abraham

why did

Sarah

laugh

Abraham

doesn't know

this

because Abraham

isn't God

so she's

behind in the

tent

and then God

says shall I

indeed bear a

child now that

I'm old

is what Abraham

said sorry

is anything

too hard

for the Lord

if you see

in your Bible

there just

underneath

there's a

little

hysterics

there

is anything

too hard

or anything

too wonderful

for the Lord

it's interesting

he says

hey Abraham

why is your

wife laughing

why is she

saying that

this is

impossible

nothing is

too hard

for me

nothing is

too wonderful

for me

this is a

gift that I

would give

her

at this

appointed

time I

would turn

to you

about this

time next

year

and Sarah

shall have

a son

this is

where I

know

that God

actually

is interested

in Sarah's

well-being

because actually

she could also

just give

Sarah a

baby right

then and

there

he could have

actually showed

up and says

hey you've

been waiting

for 24

years

guess what

guess what

is in

Sarah's

womb

a baby

it's done

but he

doesn't

he says

I'm going to

come back

next year

what's he

doing there

he's not

only gifting

Sarah

a baby

he's gifting

her a new

marriage

because why

you're going to

have to get

close to Abraham

again for this

to happen

I'm going to

come back

next year

and you're

going to

have some

time where

you rekindle

your romance

with your

husband

you get to

be together

again

and only

when you

are together

only when

you have

loosened

the bitterness

and the

resentment

I'm gifting

you a new

marriage

and in

gifting you

a new

marriage

I will

gift you

a son

isn't that

amazing

see God

doesn't just

give us

gifts just

for the sake

of it

just because

we want

them

he knows

what we

want

but more

importantly

he knows

what we

need

and so

he comes

and that's

where we

have the

interaction

but Sarah

denied it

saying I

did not

laugh

for she

was afraid

he said

no

but you

did laugh

the most

awkward

conversation

and then it

just stops

and then it

just ends

which tells

me one thing

that God

just has a

sense of

humour

why

he wants

to tell

her

that I

know you

laughed

but I

know that

your laughter

was one

of pain

I know

that your

laughter

was one

of hopelessness

but I

want to

tell you

that I

know that

I know

that it

doesn't

seem

possible

but I

want you

to know

that nothing

is impossible

with me

and so you

end up

there

and it

kind of

just

stops

it's

really

interesting