Abraham’s Breach - 9/16/26 - 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

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with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

Genesis chapter 16. next portion of our

Genesis 16 · chapter mention

study uh tonight and a I want to say a

difficult portion. It's not difficult in

the uh study of it or the preaching of

it, but it's just difficult uh in the

nature of what it's talking about. And

so I'm asking you to pray for me tonight

as we look at this. Genesis chapter 16

Genesis 16 · chapter mention

verse number one. Now Sarah, Abram's

wife, bare unto bear him no children.

She had an handmade, an Egyptian whose

name was Hagar. And Sarah said unto

Abram, "Behold now the Lord hath

restrained me from bearing. I pray thee,

go in unto my handmmaid, unto my maid,

it may be that I may obtain children by

her." And Abram hearkened to the voice

of Sari. And Sarai, Abram<unk>'s wife,

took Hagar, her maid, the Egyptian,

after Abram had dwelt 10 years in the

land of Canaan, and gave her to her

husband Abram to be his wife. And he

went in unto Hagar, and she conceived.

When she saw that she had conceived, her

mistress was despised in her eyes. And

Sarah said unto Abram, "My wrong be upon

thee. I've given my maid into thy

bosom." When she saw that she had

conceived, I was despised in her eyes.

The Lord judge between me and thee. But

Abram said unto Sari, "Behold, thy maid

is in thy hand. Do her as it pleaseth

thee." When Sarai dealt hardly with her,

she fled from her face. And the angel of

the Lord found her by a fountain of

water in the wilderness by the fountain

in the way to shure. And he said, "Hey,

Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? And

whether wilt thou go?" And she said, "I

flee from the face of my mistress

Sarai." And the angel of the Lord said

unto her, "Return to thy mistress, and

submit thyself under her hands." And the

angel of the Lord said unto her, I will

multiply thy seed exceedingly that shall

not be numbered for multitude. And the

angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold,

thou art with child, and shalt bear a

son, shalt call his name Ishmael,

because the Lord hath heard thy

affliction. He will be a wild man. His

hand will be against every man, and

every man's hand against him, and he

shall dwell in the presence of all his

brethren." She called the name of the

Lord that spake unto her. And she called

the name of the Lord that spake unto

her. Thou God seeest me. For she said,

Have I also here looked after him that

seeth me? Wherefore the whale was called

Bear Lyro. Beholdest between Kadesh and

Bere. And Hagar Hagar bare Abram a son,

and Abram called his son's name, which

Hagar bare Ishmael. And Abram was four

score and six years old. when Hagar bare

Ishmael to Abram. Now, Father, I'm

asking you, God, tonight that you would

help us as we look into this passage of

scripture. And Lord, I realize, Father,

I'm unworthy tonight to share these

truths with this congregation. Lord, I'm

the least uh thy servants. But Lord, I'm

thankful, God, that I am one of thy

servants. Lord, to be numbered uh with

that crowd. I'm thankful for it. And

God, I'm asking you tonight to help me.

I pray you'd speak through me tonight.

And Lord, I pray you'd hit the nail on

the head with the word of God. I know

you will get glory to yourself and do

all that's in your will tonight. And

we'll ask we'll give you thanks for it

because we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Genesis 16 begins the account to us here

of Abram's probably greatest failure.

And when I look at this text tonight, I

want to review uh reveal a couple of

things here in this passage of

scripture. And uh I want to review just

a minute if I can. In chapter 15, there

were the three great events that we

looked at in chapter number 15 when we

considered in verse number one when the

Lord spoke to Abram and that God gave

Abram a shield for his fear. And then

God would promise Abram in verse number

five, a seed for his faith. And then we

looked at our last uh study there. We

pro he we saw that God provided Abram a

soil for his family. And God has given

Abram, if we could all agree on this

tonight, I think by the scriptures uh

implication tonight, we could definitely

agree that Abram has been given much.

Amen. And let's just be real tonight.

We've been given as much, but a whole

lot more than Abram. And when I look at

this text, we're quick to throw Abram

under the bus because of chapter 16. But

I want to remind you, he was called the

friend of God. Nobody else was ever

called that. And when I think about this

chapter in the word of God, it reminds

us, one writer put it this way. He said

that the Bible never just highlights the

successes of an individual, but it

highlights the life of an individual.

And what you find in the word of God is

everybody other than Jesus Christ has a

failure at some point in their life. Now

we, you know, many people say when you

look at the life of Joseph or when you

look at the life of Daniel, you'll find

no failures. Well, I just want to say

this tonight. We could say and be honest

that we know that they're men just like

us. And somewhere along the way, no

doubt they had a failure. Amen. But we

know Jesus never failed. Amen. But I'm

thankful the Bible highlights failures.

I'm thankful the Bible highlights this

failure in the text. It gives us hope

tonight. Cuz if there was hope for

Abraham in this sin, there's hope for

you and I tonight. And I want to lay a

few things on your heart. Four things.

And then I'll give you three things

tonight simply straight out of the text.

Kind of just an overview. Not really a

jump through the verses if you will, but

let's look at this. I want to note you

notice first of all verse number one

tonight. Notice the dilemma that's at

hand. In verse one, the Bible says,

"Now, so presently at this present point

in time, and the Bible puts that word,

every word of God is in there for a

reason." Amen. We believe it's inspired.

And so at this present time, the writer

is going to highlight the dilemma. Look

at this. Now Sarah, Abram<unk>'s wife,

bear him what? No children. So the very

same problem that Abram had in his

family that he had when he left the

Caldes is still present. In spite of

every promise, in spite of every

revealed word of God to Abram, the

problem is still present. And seemingly

we would we could say tonight it would

seem that Abram and his wife are

becoming discouraged. And out of that

discouragement, they're getting antsy.

And you notice what the Bible says that

she buried no children. But it says she

had an handmade, an Egyptian whose name

was Hagar. And so the dilemma at hand is

that Sarah is still barren. But the

promise of God still stands. And we know

that God's going to come through on his

promise tonight. We're assured of that.

Amen. But Abram in this text, like many

of us, and Sarah, his wife, is becoming

impatient. And we must also put this in

our mind. all of these promises that

were given to Abram, God never spoke

directly to Sarah about these promises.

And so what what Sarah knew about the

promise of God was what Abram told her.

And no doubt she trusted her husband.

But I just want to say this, I want to

remind you this. God's not speaking

audibly to Sarah. And so out of this, we

see the dilemma at hand brings about a

desire that gets hearkened to. Notice

verse number two. And Sarah said unto

Abram, "Behold now, the Lord hath

restrained me from bearing. I pray thee,

go in unto my maid, it may be that I may

obtain children by her." And the Bible

says, "And Abram hearkened to the voice

of Sarai." And so this great failure

ensues in the text. Now, in this day and

time, all right, just simply to give you

some information, what is going on in

this text was not frowned upon by

society. This was a normal occurrence.

When a woman had a maid, it was off that

she would give that maid to her husband.

And out of that, the family line would

be extended. And that was a normal

practice. Society did not frown upon

this event. But we know the truth. God

frowned upon it. Amen. And I'll say more

about that in a minute. And so we see

this desire. Abram hearkens to the voice

of his wife in verse number two. And out

of that, there becomes a decision that's

harmful. Verse three. Sarah,

Abram<unk>'s wife, took Hagar, her maid,

the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt 10

years in the land of Canaan, and gave

her to her husband, Abram, to be his

wife. So, the decision is made. Sarah

puts the offer on the table. Abram

hearkens under the voice of his wife.

They decide that this is what they're

going to do. And Hagar becomes his

bride. And out of it is the story that

we all know, the part of this that we

are all aware of. Verse four, the Bible

says, "And he went in unto Hagar and she

conceived." And when she saw that she

had conceived, her mistress was despised

in her eyes. So out of this decision,

this harmful, you say, "Preacher, why

was this decision harmful?" You see in

verse number four, their homes divided.

You say, "Preacher, how is that

harmful?" Let's just be real tonight.

God has never intended by any decision

of the man, the woman, or even the

children that a home be divided because

the Bible says what Jesus said, "A house

divided against itself cannot stand."

And so tonight, we see the end of what

they have done. Now, we know naturally

there is much implication this text. Not

going to deal with that tonight. But I

want to give you three things out of

these verses tonight concerning this

story, this event that transpires. Now,

number one, when I think about this text

here tonight, we have to look at it in

light of the sin that's mentioned in

this text. And I want to tell tell you

tonight, the thing that is most

prevalent in this chapter is the sexual

immorality that's present in these

verses. And there are principles that

follow. Every time there is sexual sin,

there are principles that are presented

to us in this chapter. I want to give

you three of those tonight if I could

here out of this text concerning sexual

immorality. Now, we know that God is his

design was one man for one woman. He

said there in the beginning of the book

of Genesis said, "A man shall leave his

father and his mother and shall cleave

unto his wife." We know that that's

singular. That's not plural. God has

never condoneed polygamy. There's an

uprising of that in our country in this

day and time. It may be not on this end,

but out in there in the West, uh we know

the Mormons, they practice that. Many

other groups practice that, but I want

to say this, the mind of God has always

been one man and one woman for life.

>> Amen. That's the mind of God. Now, I

know that sin has marred that image, but

I want to say this. It does not change

the word of God. And there's some

principles in this chapter about secular

immorality. Now number one I want to say

this where there is sexual immorality

there is always what that precedes that

act there is always conjecture say what

do you mean well notice verse two

there's an assumption look what he said

look what she says and Sarah said unto

Abram notice this statement behold now

the Lord hath restrained me from bearing

now I want to examine that statement for

just a little bit now when when you look

at what Sarah is saying in this text, we

know that the Bible teaches that it is

the Lord that closes and opens the womb

of woman. We know that that's what the

scripture teaches. All right? And I'm

not going to go against what scripture

teaches. But I am going to go against

the assumption that Sarah makes in this

text. You say, "What do you mean?" Well,

notice what she says. She says, "The

Lord hath restrained me from bearing."

What in other words, what Sarah is

saying is is the Lord is keeping me from

having a child. Now I want to ask you

something. When was Sarah buried?

The first description that we have of

Sarah, turn back with me to chapter

number 11.

Genesis chapter number 11. The first

description that we have of Sarah in the

text is verse number 29 of Genesis 11.

Abram and Naor took them wives. The name

of Abram<unk>'s wife was Sarai. And the

name of Naor's wife, Mila, the daughter

of Haran, the father of Mila, and the

father of Iska. Verse 30. What does it

say? But Sarai was barren.

So let's let's draw this back into the

assumption here for a minute. Why is

Sarai saying that the Lord hath

restrained her from bearing? Now what

she's doing is is she's blaming God for

her problem.

You see that? Notice it. Behold now the

Lord hath restrained me from bearing. In

other words, God's kept me from having a

child. Now you see how prideful that

sounds. You see, Sarah could have had a

a condition that caused her to be

barren. And matter of fact, it may not

be that God's kept her from having a

child, but it may be that God's waiting

for the time to allow her to put inside

of her what's what's needed for her to

have a child.

See, we're too quick to blame things on

God. We blame our ailments. We blame our

infirmities. We bl we blame our

arguments and our disagreements on God

at times. Say, "Lord, why don't you fix

this when maybe he's waiting on us?"

And I notice here, you say, "Preacher,

what does that have to do with sexual

immorality?" Will you think about it

tonight? Anytime there is somebody that

steps outside of the bonds of marriage

to commit lwdenness or sexual immorality

in this sense, there's always

conjecture. What does it normally

contend to? Well, it tends to conjecture

about self. Young man and a young lady

before they get married, they decide

that they're going to commit the act

outside of marriage. And this is

something they'll conjecture about.

Well, everybody will understand.

We Everybody does it.

And then it's not only a conjecture

about self. God made us this way. So,

not only is a conjecture about self,

it's the conjecture about the sovereign.

Well, God made us this way. He put this

desire in us. He knew we would be this

way. But it does not change the command

of God. And so you know what you do? You

blame your sin

on God. What sir I do? The Lord hath

restrained me from bearing. And so out

of that she says, I pray thee, go in

unto my maid, and it may be that I may

obtain children by her. So the

conjecture is not only about what God is

supposedly done to her, but there's also

conjecture. Notice this in the text. It

may be that I may obtain children from

her. There is a desired goal in mind.

All right? And the thing about is Sarah

is assuming the fact that Hagar is going

to let her have her child.

Let me ask you something. You say,

"Preacher, well, Hagar was her servant."

And you're exactly right about that. But

do you think Sarah would have took this

child from her by force if Hagar

wouldn't allow her to? I'll say this. If

God hadn't intervened, we'll look at

that a little later. If God hadn't

intervened, Hagar would have left with a

child and a Abram wouldn't even been

able to see him. And so all of this

comes together. You say, "Well, what

does it bring about?" Well, notice verse

number three. There's conjecture in this

immoral action, but there's also

coercion.

Notice verse three. And Sarah Abram's

wife, what's that next word, church?

Took. Verse three, let's look at it

there with me. And Sarah, Abram<unk>'s

wife, what's it say? Took Hagar her maid

the Egyptian after Abram had dwelt 10

years in the land of Canaan and gave

her, notice that, to her husband Abram

to be his wife. Now, I know the laws of

slavery. I'm full aware of that. I

understand everything that's going on in

this text in that realm. But let me tell

you this tonight. What do we know about

marriage? This is in evidence and this

is evidence of arranged marriage. That's

what this is. But let's just take look

take a step back from slavery and look

at this from a normal perspective. This

is Sarah forcing her will

upon another individual. You say, "What

is that?" That's coercion.

You know, anytime there's sexual

immorality, there is always coercion.

There's always somebody that's forcing

somebody else to do something. You say,

"Preacher, but they were both

consensual." Well, here's what you're

going to find. Deep in the heart of one

of those individuals, there's a desire

to not do that thing. But because of

sweet talk, what we call flirting,

they go on and do that thing because one

party wants it and the other says,

"Well, I'm just going to go on with it

because it's not going to cause any

conflict."

And anytime you say, "How is that?"

Well, if you look at every adulterous

relationship that happens, there is

always a withdrawal by some part of that

marriage union. I could preach this

tonight, but I'm not really going to.

I'm just going to tell you, we know this

is in every case. In every time it

happens, you say, "Preacher, but they're

consenting." It's still not the same

thing. You say, "What's consenting?"

Consenting is when two individuals come

to the marriage altar

and they stick those rings on each

other's hand. You say, "Preacher, but

what if it's if it's adultery and th

both of those individuals are consent?"

Well, let me ask you something. Do you

think that wife that was left at home is

consenting?

Do you think that husband that was left

at home is consenting? I'm saying,

friend, there is a there's an opposition

to that because never in any case, you

say, "Preacher, but what if it's two?"

If it's a young man and a young lady and

they've never been married and they're

and they're getting outside of marriage,

they're doing things outside of

marriage. You know who's not consenting?

God isn't.

You ever thought about that?

>> Marriage is not two becoming one.

>> It's three.

>> I've heard people say this. Well,

marriage is not 50/50. It's 100 100.

Now, let me tell you something.

Marriage, you you two can't make it

work.

>> That's right.

>> You going to have to have him.

>> And two people giving 100% to each other

is not enough. Because if you're not

saved by the grace of God and marriage,

you might hold it together for the rest

of your life. But the truth is your

marriage will never function until you

have God on both ends of that thing

because it is not a struck one-way

street. It's a triangle.

>> And it's not between you and your

parents. It's not between you and your

friends. It's between you and your

husband, you and your wife, and God.

>> And so there's always coercion involved.

So we see there's conjecture. Then

there's coercion. And what do we notice

out of this verse four? And he went in

unto Hagar and she conceived. And when

she saw that she had conceived, her

mistress was despised in her eyes. So

thirdly, we see not only is there

conjecture, there's assumptions that

lead to the act. There's the coercion.

There is the apprehension that leads to

this act. And then there is contention.

Say, how is that? Well, here in this

text, when Hagar bears a child to Abram,

she despises Sarah. Why does she do

that? Because now she feels like the

Lord has favored her and now that she is

going to take the place of Sarah. Let me

ask you something. Was that wrong of her

to feel that way? By all means, that

Sarah did this to her. I want to say

this to you. When you look at this text,

you think about this from a perspective

of a young lady who has been violated.

Somebody who's been forced into

something they wanted nothing to do

with. Now they have the child and now

she's going to be thrown away. See, how

is that? Notice the text. Verse 5. She

said, I by wrong be upon thee. She tells

Abram, I've given th my maid into thy

bosom. When she saw that she had

conceived, I was despised in her eyes.

The Lord judge between me and thee.

Listen to what Abram says. Abram said

unto Sarah, "Behold, thy maid is in thy

hand." Let me ask you something. Why was

Why was Why was he why is he calling her

his her maid? Now, no, that's his wife.

>> You know what he's doing? He's turn he's

throwing her away.

See, this is what happens. Sexual

immorality always lead to contention,

but it also always leads to corruption.

You say, "Preacher, but Abram and Sarah

were okay." But you think about it,

Hagar is going to be left alone.

I'm thankful the scripture teaches us in

this chapter, she wasn't left alone

because the angel of the Lord went and

found her. Amen.

But the principle is this. Sexual

immorality always leaves a broken mess.

Always does. I had some young people

here at the church a while back and they

they were living they were shacked up

together. And it's it's it's a shame to

me. I'll be honest with you. That

stuff's all that's celebrated in this

day and time. I can't stand that. We

have no business. A young man, a young

lady, they shack up together. They

decide to start living together and then

they have a child out of wedlock and

everybody just treats them like they're

married, just normal, like just like

everybody else. No. Sin has shame to it.

>> Sin still deserves judgment. You say,

"Preacher, it ain't your place to pass

judgment." No, they're supposed to pass

it on themselves. There's a separation

that comes involved. They're not ashamed

of it because they DON'T BLUSH ABOUT IT.

THEY DON'T EVEN THINK OF IT AS WRONG

ANYMORE.

And the reason that is because preachers

quit preaching about it. It's still

wrong.

>> And the thing about it is people say

something like this, "Well, it's already

done. Nobody can do nothing about it

now." Well, let me say this. I don't

have a problem with you having somebody

a uh um a gift gathering for somebody

that's got pregnant out of wedlock. I'm

fine with that. But you don't get

together and celebrate that.

Have baby showers and they put all big

stuff up and celebrate. Man, it's and

it's derived out of sin. You say,

"Preacher, well, that don't change the

baby's life." The baby's not even born

yet.

>> Common sense comes into play somewhere.

>> I know it's quiet, but I'm going to

preach it anyway. I'm telling you, this

is where we're living at. YOU SAY,

"PREACHER, THAT'S HARD." WELL, IF YOU'RE

NOT CAREFUL TO BE YOUR DAUGHTER OR YOUR

son there,

>> if everybody just celebrates it, there's

no there's no there's no recourse for

that. There's no judgment for that. I'm

saying it's embarrassing.

>> It ought to be embarrassing.

I don't say this, their their contention

brought about a national You think about

what we're dealing with, and I said I

wasn't going to talk about this, but I'm

going to. You think about what we're

dealing with that crowd in the Middle

East. It's out of this very situation.

>> Notice this sexual immorality. Number

two, I want to give you the spiritual

implication out of this text. That's

enough about that. The spiritual

implication. You say, "What do you

mean?" Well, it's found in this word

that's repeated in this chapter. Notice

verse one. Now Sarah, Abram's wife, bare

no children, and she had an handmade,

what's the next two words? An Egyptian.

Verse number three. And Sarah

Abram<unk>'s wife took Hagar. Notice

this description. Now, the Bible, I tell

you this all the time, but the Bible

goes at lengths to make this

description. Listen to this. All right?

Sarah Abram's wife took Hagar, first of

all, what's it say? Her maid. Second of

all, the Egyptian.

The Bible says Sarah Abram's wife took

Hagar, her maid, the Egyptian. And then

notice the next statement. This one

right here really grabbed my gooza when

I was studying today. Listen to this.

Hagar her maid the Egyptian after Abram,

listen to this now, had dwelt in the had

dwelt 10 years where in the land of

Canaan. Now I don't know about you, but

it don't take a smart man to figure out

that the Holy Ghost is trying to draw a

distinction there. You say, "What do you

mean?" Well, the spiritual implication

is this. Number one, you need to be

aware of the world.

said, 'What do you mean? That's Egypt.

You know where this woman showed up in

Abram's life? She showed up in Abram's

life when he in a lack of faith went

down to Egypt. Turn back with me.

Chapter number

12.

Chapter number 12,

verse number 10.

Chapter 12, verse 10. There was a famine

in the land. Abram went down into Egypt

to sojourn there for the famine was

grievious in the land. And then you

remember the story. He tells Sarah to

lie.

You're my sister.

You tell them that you're my sister. So

that when we come into the land, they

don't kill me and take you. Well, now

that's coming back to call because what

happens? Chapter number 12 verse number,

let's look here, verse number 16.

They tell the lie. Sarah goes to

Pharaoh. Verse 16. Pharaoh, notice it.

He intreated Abram well for her sake. He

had sheep and oxen and he assasses and

men servants and made servants and she

assasses and camels. And the Lord

plagued Pharaoh and his house with great

plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.

Abram tells his wife to tell a lie.

Because of that lie, Pharaoh gives Abram

servants, not just male servants, but

woman servants. And the Bible says she

is what? An Egyptian. So evidently, she

could she showed up while they were down

in Egypt. Let me say this. When you go

to the world, the world will follow you

back. See, how is that? What happens is

if we're not careful, we'll go out in

the world. We'll live all week because

we have to. Amen. Cuz we have to. If

we're not careful, we'll bring that

world from out there in here. And you

know what it does? It defiles here. But

let's let's let's get this down to real

terms. All right. What has Abram done?

He has went to the world. And what is

He's brought the world back to his home.

His home. Hey friend, where you go, you

better you better know just cuz you get

out of there alive don't mean that you

got out of there unscathed.

Or let's just put it this way, you got

out of there alone.

You'll bring things with you that you

wish you could have got rid of a long

time ago. But I notice this. You say,

"What do you mean?" Well, I I notice the

spiritual implication. Number one, you

need to be aware of the world. Number

one, in spite of who promotes it to you.

Say, "What do you mean?" Well, notice

verse two again. And Sarah said unto

Abram, "Behold now, the Lord hath

restrained me from bearing. I pray thee,

go in unto my maid, it may be that I may

have obtained children by her." And

Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarah.

Now, think about this. Who's telling

Abram to do this? His wife,

his closest friend, the one that he

should trust more than anybody else. I

read this quote this afternoon. I

thought this was great. Listen to this.

All right. FB Meyer said this, or maybe

it was John Butler. I don't remember

exactly. He said, "It is hard to find a

temptation more appealing than one that

pampers the appetite of the flesh, yet

seems also to obtain the goals of

faith." You think about what Sarah is

doing here. She knows the promise of

God. Abram knows the promise of God. And

she says this. She says, "All right, you

go get Hagar. You go in under her. We

have a child. By her, she'll be my

child, and that'll fulfill the promise

of God." But that's the problem. You

don't take the promises and plans of God

into your own hands.

>> But when you have your wife, the closest

person, and it may not be your wife or

you, but it may be that best friend that

you have, that closest individual in

your life, and they are telling you to

do something,

and also at the same time, you have a

desire within to do that. There's no

temptation heavier than that.

I want to say this. You need to be aware

of the world in spite of who promotes it

to you.

>> The person you love more than anybody

else in this world can tell you it's

better out there. But you just know it

doesn't matter who's saying it. It

matters what's being said.

Are you listening? It matters not who

says it, but it matters what is being

said. You cannot afford to listen to

everything from everybody.

>> Let me tell you this, and I'm being an

honest from my heart. If I ever say

something that would cause somebody to

sin, you better take that and you throw

it out. It's not worth listening to. It

don't matter who it's from. It don't

matter how much you love them, how much

you listen to them, how much you like

them AND THEIR ADVICE, HOW MANY TIMES

THEY'VE BEEN RIGHT BEFORE. YOU THINK

ABOUT SARAH. She could have been right

every time up to this point, but this

time she's wrong. And Abram should have

said, "Nuh-uh." One writer put it this

way. He said, "If somebody else would

have offered this to Abram, Abram would

have said, "No, that's crazy." But his

wife offered it. And you think about

this. Sarah's turning over her rights.

One man, one woman. She's turning over

her rights to another woman. Abram's

thinking in his head, and this is what

this is as righteous as I can make it.

All right. Abram's thinking in his head,

"Well, she's trying to be sacrificial

for the plan of God.

You better be careful about sacrifice.

You say, "Preacher, how is that?" Well,

Samuel told Saul, "Obedience

is better than sacrifice."

>> Just because something's going to, you

know, make you look like a martyr, that

don't mean it's right.

>> Right.

>> You need to beware of the world in spite

of who promotes it. I want to say this.

You need to be aware of the world in

spite of the period that it's been with

you. Notice verse three. Sarah,

Abram<unk>'s wife, took Hagar, her maid,

the Egyptian, after Abram, notice it

again, had dwelt how long? 10 years. So

evidently, for best of my knowledge,

Abram's been out of Egypt for at least

10 years at this point in time.

Hagar's been with him the whole time.

What's what's Cananan a type of? It's

the land of victorious living. Let me

say this, sin can come at any point in

your life.

>> And it ain't just little sin either. I'm

talking about dark, gross, wicked sin.

It can come at any point. I I've heard

people talk about this and and I wish I

could to could relay it to you how it's

in my heart tonight, but I've heard

people talk about their marriage, you

know, uh you know, they say, "Well, if

you can make it past the first year,

I've heard some people say, "If you can

make it past the second year, I've heard

some people say, "If you can make it

past the fifth year, you'll be all

right." But you know what I'm finding

out? It's really not any of those.

Cuz you know what? these people that

have been married 20, 30. Was talking to

a man of God last night. Preacher that

was a missionary for 30 or 40 years. Him

and his wife split up when they come off

the field. Been married 40 years.

It's no respector of persons. I'm saying

you need to be aware of the influence of

the world in spite of the period, how

long it's been with you. Hagar's been in

our house the whole time. She's never

played a played a part. But you know

what has happened? Circumstances.

Sarah's impatience

and Abram's well, let's just be real

about it. His lack of of uh discipline.

Sarah's impatience and Abram's lack of

discipline and Hagar's presence. You

know, this is what makes me so sad.

There's some people that just their

presence makes them part of a problem.

You say, "How is that?" Well, notice the

text. Hagar wasn't doing anything. But

you know what? Sarah comes and gets her.

Again,

I want to say this. You ought to be

careful. You say, "Preacher, we we've

we've been in the I've lived in the

world my whole life. I'm not going to

allow the influences of the world to get

me." Well, you going you you can't tell

me that

>> cuz you know what? I can't tell you

that.

>> Man, I'm telling you, these men dropping

out like flies. I never thought I'd see

it. They're loosening, letting go of

everything under the sun. And I ain't

better than none of them. I'm telling

you, it's we it COULD HAPPEN TO ANY OF

US.

>> YOUR MARRIAGE COULD BUST. THIS CHURCH

COULD BLOW UP. WE ARE NOT ABOVE THAT.

>> GOD HELP US. PAUL SAID IT THIS WAY. He

said, "Let a man that thinks he stands,

TAKE HEED, LEST HE FALL." AMEN.

>> You need to beware of the world in spite

of who promotes it, in light of who

promotes it, however you want to say

that. In spite of the period, how long

you been in the land of victory? I want

to say this. This is what you going to

be aware of the world. You say,

"Preacher, how do I determine that it's

the world?" Well, notice verse four.

Bible says that he, Abram, went in unto

Hagar and she conceived. When she saw

that she had conceived, her mistress,

notice this, was despised in her eyes.

And I say this again, all right, the

illustrated purpose is this.

We see the promotion by Sarah. We see

the period that Abram had been in the

land, but we also see the pride of Hagar

in this text. You say, "What do you

mean?" Well, when she saw that she had

conceived, you know what? She decided

she's better than the boss.

Here's what's going to happen. You say,

"Preacher, what what are you saying?"

I'm saying because the world is getting

more results than we are. You know what

the temptation for the world to do is?

They frown on us.

You say, "What do you mean by world?"

I'm saying all of the ones that are

adapting the worldly methods and their

ideologies and trying to throw a little

gospel tinge in there with it. Try to

make it suitable, make a relevant

gospel. You know what? The gospel's

never been relevant.

Not to the world's standards. It's not a

relative thing. And so, it's not ever

going to be relevant to the world.

Because here's the thing about it. The

gospel takes a man from what he is to

what he's supposed to be.

And the world will never receive a

gospel that lets them that wants them to

change.

And so what happens is because she's got

a baby and her boss don't. Well, I'm

better than she is now.

Here's what happens. I've seen it. It

fits a lot. I see it. And I This is the

comparisons in my mind because I'm a

preacher. Preachers compare results with

results on the physical realm. How many

people's in the church? How many

people's in the choir? How much money's

in the offering? All of that. and that's

what they compare by. But what do we

know about that? That's not how God

judges.

>> Let me say this to you on your

standpoint. Just because your marriage

don't look like somebody else's don't

mean that that's

their stand their marriage is God's

standard.

>> Let me bring it down to all of us. cuz

your life

don't look like somebody else's and they

frown on you because you're not doing

what they're doing or they're better

than you because you don't have what

they have or you're not as far along as

they are. You just remember in this text

Hagar in this text has been defiled and

it's brought her to this point. You've

heard the illustration that growth many

times is it's growth all the time is a

slow process. But when we think about

when we think about growth, you've heard

it said most time growth is not actual

real growth, but it's just swelling.

Think about those animals that lay on

the side of the road. They get real big

real fast on a hot day. But the truth

is, it's not growth. It's death.

>> And sooner or later, that death's going

to come to the surface, isn't it? I'll

say this and I'll be done. We see that

there is sexual immorality expressed in

this text. We see the spiritual

implication that we cannot allow the

pride of this world, the period that

we've been in the world or even the

promotion of those that we love dearest

to cause us to succumb to temptation.

But I'm also know I also notice in this

text that there is a great picture of

salvation. You say, "What is that?"

Well, I call this the sovereign

intervention. Say, "What do you mean?"

Well, what do we know about Hagar? Hagar

is going to be thrown away.

Say, "What do you mean?" Well, that's

where every one of us was at before we

got saved.

>> Look what the Bible says. Verse six,

Sarah dealt hardly with her. She fled

from her face. Verse number seven,

notice this. And the angel of the Lord

did what? Found her. Found her. Look at

this. By a fountain of water in the

wilderness. By the fountain in the way

to shure. I read this this afternoon.

You know what I immediately started

thinking about? I started thinking about

that woman at the well.

What better place for the angel of the

Lord to find her than at the well. I was

thinking about this. The Bible says that

the the uh the angel asked verse number

eight, "Whence camest thou

whetheritherwilt thou go?" And she said,

"I flee from the face of my mistress

Sarah." Verse 9, notice this. The angel

of the Lord said unto her, "Return to

thy mistress and submit thyself under

her hands." Now, not dealing with all of

the ins and outs of this text, I can

simply say one thing. You know what the

angel instructs her to do? to go to the

safest place for her.

>> You know what he wants for all of us?

For us to be in the safest place. And

you know where that is? It's the will of

God.

>> I know that's simple tonight. But you

know what sovereign intervention does?

When we start to get off the path,

it brings us back in line again, doesn't

it? And I know you say, "Preacher, Hagar

was going back to a place where she was

despised." Now, her pride was the reason

she left. Sarah, I run her off because

she was hateful. But you know what? God

said, "You need to go back where you're

safe." Sometimes our pride will get us

out of the place we're supposed to be.

But we'll find when we go back, we'll be

received. And you know what we find in

this story that they do make it a little

while. And I'm not going to paint a rosy

picture to you and tell you that it all

works out. But I will tell you this, God

protected her at this point in time. And

I can say this, if you'll go with him,

he will protect you.

his interventions promised. And I know

that's sort of three loose principles

out of the text, but I just wanted to

give you those tonight. Father, thank

you for the word of God. And Lord, I'm

thankful that you put these mistakes in

the word of God for us to learn from.

Lord, none of us are above temptation.

And Lord, God, help us never to be a

temptation to others. Lord God, help us

never to promote wickedness in the life

of others, Lord. because sometimes we do

it not even realizing it. Lord, we try

to be an encouragement, Lord, and

sometimes we're influencing people to do

things that you don't want them to do.

God, help us to be right with you, Lord.

Help us to make sure that we're prayed

up, Lord, and filled with the Holy Ghost

of God so that we're walking in your

presence. Lord, I know that it was

Abram's carnality and and Sarah's uh

antiness, Lord, that brought about this

event. Lord, I know that if Abram had

been living in all that you had done for

him in chapter 15, this would have never

happened. God, help us to remember,

Lord, how good you've been to us. Lord,

that you have promised us a soul and a

seed. But Lord, you are our shield. And

Lord, I know that if we'll just walk and

trust in you, Lord, you'll protect us.

And Lord, I thank you for that. Bless us

tonight. Help us as we go home. Please

watch over us. And I pray, Lord, for

those here tonight maybe that need help

from you, Lord. Pray wouldn't leave till

they get it. And we ask it all in Jesus

name. Amen. I love you, church.

Appreciate you. Thank

>> 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.