Genesis 20:1-18 NKJV And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. (2) Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. (3) But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” (4) But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? (5) Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” (6) And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. (7) Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” (8) So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid. (9) And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done.” (10) Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?” (11) And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. (12) But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. (13) And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ‘ ” (14) Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. (15) And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” (16) Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked. (17) So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; (18) for the LORD had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
- You know church… I feel like I have heard this story before.
- Abraham fears for his wife’s safety, thinking “she is so desirable that the king will kill me in order to marry her! I will tell the king she is my sister”.
- This is exactly what happened in Genesis 12, but instead of king Abimelech, it was Pharoh.
Genesis 12:11-13 NKJV And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. (12) Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. (13) Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”
- Now that was Genesis 12, that was right after Abraham was originally called by God.
- And a lot has happened since Genesis 12 when Abraham lied to Pharoh about Sarah being his sister and now, when Abraham lies to Abimelech about Sarah being his siter.
- In the time between the events of Genesis 12 and the events of Genesis 20 Abraham has, with the help of God:
- Defeated an army and saved Lot
- Been blessed by Melchizedek, who I maintain was Jesus in the flesh
- Entered Covenant with God where God promised to give him an heir and the promised land to inherit.
- Abraham was given the Covenant of Circumcision and circumcised his whole household.
- Was promised by the audible voice of God that he would have a son by Sarah.
- Was visited by Jesus and two angels.
- Was told of the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Successfully interceded for his nephew Lot to be saved from Sodom and Gomorrah.
- And finally Abrahm saw the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah with His own eyes.
- Between Chapter 12, where Abraham lied about Sarah… and Chapter 20, where Abraham lied about Sarah… Abrahm has seen and talked to Jesus face to face, twice, entertained physical angels, entered in to covenant multiple times with God, had multiple audible conversations with God the Father… and seen God’s miracles and justice played out multiple times, in miraculous fashion.
- Yet hear again Abraham falls into the same sin… driven by the same fear that happened 8 chapters ago…
- Abraham seemingly forgets all the promises of God and reacts to his situation in fear and anxiety… That is why my sermon today is titled “Fearing Problems, Forgetting Promises.”
- Promises over problems… the events that just unfolded in chapter are the events of a man who know the promises of God, but chose to elevate his problems over those promises. He was afraid of what might happen, and he allowed his fear to make him forget about all of God’s promises…
- But even through it all, as we just read, God’s promises triumphed over Abraham’s problems… even when Abraham failed, God remained faithful to His promises.
- So that is what we are going to talk about this morning, how we can learn from Abraham, and how we can live a Christian Life that elevates God’s promises over our problems.
- We have two point this morning:
Promises Over Problems
- Point one – Fearing Problems Means Forgetting Promises
- Point Two – God’s Promises Triumph Over Our Problems
- Now, let’s pray and ask God to lead and guide this message:
Point One – Fearing Problems Means Forgetting Promises
Genesis 20:1-2 NKJV And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. (2) Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
Genesis 20:10-13 NKJV Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?” (11) And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife. (12) But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. (13) And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ‘ ”
- Abraham had a problem… the problem was that in ancient Philistine culture it was permissible for a king to murder a man in order to take his wife as his own.
- And from the get go, as Abraham was called away from his home country, Abraham feared this problem.
- To the point that he and Sarah had devised a preconceived plan… if questioned by a king, we are to say that we are brother and sister… not husband and wife… then if you get taken away to be married to someone else, so be it, at least I get to live… I mean you are going to get taken away anyway Sarah, so why die over it?
- And it seemed like a good plan, church, because TECHNICALLY they were brother in sister… though they are just half brother and sister, still kind of eww, but whatever… so it wasn’t technically lying…
- And it still allowed them to pray that this horrible thing would never happen.
- But it did happen, twice! This is now the second time Abrahm has been questioned by a king about his wife…
- And this is the second time that Abraham has said “She is my sister”.
- So was it technically a lie? No… but he was TECHNICALLY a coward…
- He put the fear of his problems over the promise of God.
- Abraham was PROMISED by God, multiple times… even by Jesus in the flesh flanked by two angels… Abraham was promised that he would have a son, Isaac, He was even given a timeline of when Sarah would give birth…
- So what exactly did Abraham have to fear? Because of that promise Abraham should have known that his wife can’t get married off to someone else… Abraham should have felt secure in his marriage. Abraham had nothing to fear…
- I mean, is not the same God who struck down Sodom and Gommorah watching over you know?
- And as you dig into what Abraham said more, you see just how bad it get’s when you elevate your problems over the promises of God…
- Sure he didn’t “Technically” lie… but he did “technically” commit blasphemy…
Genesis 20:13 NKJV And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ‘ ”
- “When the Lord caused me to wonder from my father’s house…”, wait, what?
- Did YHWY force you to leave your fathers house, or did He call you? There is a big difference…
- And what do you mean “Wonder”, God called you to the promised land… what are you even doing in Gerar? God did not tell you to go there?
- “When God caused me to wander from my father’s house…”
- In other words “This is God’s fault! He made me leave the safety of my father’s house, so I had to figure out how to overcome this problem!”
- I think the only excuse worse than “The devil made me do it” is “God made me do it”.
- “Lord the woman YOU gave me… caused me to eat the forbidden fruit”.
- “When God caused me to wander from my fathers house… We decided to deceive any king who finds Sarah desirable…”
- This is blasphemy… attributing evil to God… that’s sin church! Say what you will about the lie… but blaming God… that is a BIG NO NO.
- And what about the pride of Abraham… His pride led him to this awful place of fear…
Genesis 20:11 NKJV And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife.
- “Because I though ‘surely the fear of God is in this place’”… HOLD ON, ABRAHAM… Abimelech has done NOTHING wrong here… his morality is not in question here, yours is!
- In fact, many commentators say that scripture shows that Abimelech was indeed a God fearing man. There are verses that seem to show that Abimelech not only knew of God, but that he at the very least respected and honored God.
- But because of his fear, Abraham comes in with this boastful statement “I am the only one who knows how to follow God, and everyone else is out to get me”.
- Nah bro, the people who were out to get you were just destroyed by fire and brimstone, your good my dude…
- What this story shows overall though is just how easy circumstances, pride, and fear can make us forget the promises of God… it can make us elevate our problems above His promises.
- Abraham you are a called man, whom shall you fear?
- You are anointed… what wickedness should befall you?
- You speak with God face to face… the King of King’s and the Lord of Lord’s is your friend… why fear a much lesser king?
- The hands that hold the universe want to guide you… why take matters into your own hands when His hand has been there all along?
Psalms 27:1 NKJV A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
- The Lord is my Light, He is my salvations, He is the strength of my life… so whom shall I fear?
- Church I don’t know what you are facing right now… I don’t know what your issues are… what your problems are… but be encouraged this morning to elevate the promises of God over the problems of this world.
- Be encouraged to lay down your fears and pick up God’s word…
- To have a worldview that God is in control and that no matter what happens, you are His and in His hand… and nothing is going to pluck you from that hand… not Pharoah, not Abimelech… not Chedorlaomer or any of his kings…
- When a problem faces you, you need to look at that problem and tell it the promise.
- Tell that problem “Yeah you can press me, but you can’t crush me”.
- “You can persecute me, but I you can’t make God leave me.”
- “You can strike me down, but you don’t have it in you to destroy me”.
- “As a matter of fact, go ahead and form that weapon against me, because I know that it will not prosper.”
- Church I want you to take a moment right now and think about the things that God has promised you…
- If you are born again then God has promised you abundant and eternal life.
- He has promised never to leave you or forsake you.
- He has promised to give you peace… the peace of God which transcends all understanding.
- He promises to provide for you… Phillipans says God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Jesus Christ and Matthew says God will provide everything you need if you seek the Kingdom of God first.
- God promises to give you strength, and better yet, He promises to BE your strength.
- He promises to guide us and lead us, to instruct us and teach us. He says that anyone who lacks wisdom need but only ask.
- Of course He promises to forgive our sins and purify us from unrighteousness.
- He promises to protect us from all forms of evil and danger, so that we can say of the Lord “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust!”
- And of course, He promises us love… eternal, unending, uncompromising, unconditional love.
Romans 8:35-39 NKJV Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) As it is written: “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER.” (37) Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (38) For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, (39) nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Put the love of God… put the PROMISES of God over your problems and watch as God works out the rest… now speaking of working out the rest, let’s talk for just a minute about just how wonderful and good our God is… even when we are so stupid, and wicked, and fearful, and ignorant…
Point Two – God’s Promises Triumph Over Our Problems
Genesis 20:3-7 NKJV But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” (4) But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? (5) Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” (6) And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. (7) Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
Genesis 20:14-18 NKJV Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. (15) And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” (16) Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked. (17) So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; (18) for the LORD had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
- You know who wins in this story?
- God wins! He is proven to be just. He does not bring down unjust punishment on Abimelech…
- God gives Abimelech a fair and clear warning, and in fact it says that God stopped Abimelech from sleeping with Sarah… “
Genesis 20:6 NKJV And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
- God stopped Him from sinning. God is in the business of stopping sin.
- Some people get so caught up in the fact that there is sin in this world… and they ask “Why would God allow sin” but they fail to realize that God does interfere and intervene… He does stop sin…
- Yes there is sin in the world… but there is not nearly as much sin as the devil and wicked men would like there to be… God stopped Abimelech from sinning, and Lord I thank you when you stop me from sinning!
- But I don’t want to focus on sin this morning… I want to focus on Promises Over Problems… You see God is not the only one who won in this story…
- Oh here we go… I am about to get a little charismatic here…
- God is not the only one who won in this story… ABRAHAM won in this story!
- Abraham deceives a King, causing curses to come down on a nation, and he goes home with his wife, sheep, oxen, and servants!
Genesis 20:14 NKJV Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him.
- And then Abemelich rebukes Sarah by giving her husband silver…
Genesis 20:16 NKJV Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked.
- Thus she was rebuked? YOU GAVE ABRAHAM $25,000 worth of silver to rebuke his wife?
- Lord I don’t know what Amanda did, but PLEASE REBUKE HER LIKE THAT!!!!!
- Just consider this story for a moment… Abraham sinned, Sarrah sinned… they elevated their problems over God’s promises… they didn’t think it through…
- And the result was that they received blessings… real, physical, material blessings.
- Why? Because even when we are faithless God remains faithful!
2 Timothy 2:13 NKJV If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
- But pastor, aren’t the promises of God conditional?
- Why yes, many of them are!
- God’s love is unconditional… but most of His promises are conditional.
- They are conditional, but they are not fragile.
- So no, you can’t go and live your life like a reprobate…
- You can’t turn your back on God and turn to sin and embrace it… partying and drinking and participating in witchcraft and then try to act like God owes you something…
- No, God’s promises are often conditional… meaning there are conditions you have to follow to receive the promises… and generally the condition is “Love and honor and serve and obey God”
- IF my people turn from their ways and pray… Then He will heal their land.
- Draw near to God and He will Draw near to you.
- Lean not on your own understanding, submit to Him.. then He will make your paths straight.
- Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, then this things will be given to you.
- IF we confess our sins, then He is faithful and Just to forgive us…
- These are all conditional promises… yes the promises of God are conditional… but they are not fragile…
- Make no mistake… Abraham was still walking with God, talking with God, serving God, obeying God, submitting to God.
- This was sin, yes… but it wasn’t a lifestyle, it was a mistake…
- AND LOOK HOW GOOD GOD IS THROUGH IT ALL…
- CHURCH IF YOU WOULD JUST GIVE IT ALL TO JESUS THEN YOU CAN MAKE MISTAKES AND STILL COME OUT BLESSED.
- Now that is not something you will hear often from this pulpit because we hit sin HARD in this church… we urge repentance, and humility, and confession, and obedience..
- But the truth is, THOSE WHO WALK IN THE GOODNESS OF GOD LIVE IN THE PROMISES OF GOD… EVEN WHEN THEY MESS UP, THE PROMISES REMAIN!
2 Corinthians 1:20 NKJV For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
- God’s promises are yes and amen… amen meaning “It is done” or “Let it be”… This verse means that when God promises something it is as God as done!
- Don’t let the devil tell you otherwise… walk in the goodness of God church and receive the goodness of God.
- If this story teaches us anything it is that you don’t have to be perfect to live a life of abundance and blessing, to live a life where God’s promises are constantly fulfilled.
- You don’t have to be perfect to be blessed.
- We need to grow toward perfect, that is the goal… but God’s promises remain even in our own perfection.
- So God’s promises triumphed over Abraham’s problems, and God’s promises triumphed over Sarah’s problems… God’s promises triumphed even over Abraham and Sarah’s sin.
- God won, Abraham won, and Sarah won… who else won in this story? Well Abimelech won!
- You see God could have struck Abimelech down… he was trying to sleep with the matriarch of God’s people!
- Dudes have been killed for less… but God not only intervened, stopping Abimelech from sinning… but God also allowed Abimelech to be the first person in the Bible to be healed.
Genesis 20:17 NKJV So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children;
- This is the first recorded event of someone being prayed for and being healed!
- Now granted, the sickness was a curse put on him and his family… but still! This is the first time we see God as a healer… and it is through Abimelech… Just being around God’s anointed allowed Abimelech to be a part of God’s eternal story!
- I think that is pretty cool…
- But again, church, the take away here is that if you are living your life for God, then His promises are going to always overcome your problems… PROMISES OVER PROBLEMS.
- Now had Abraham not lied, I still think He would have been blessed by Abimelech…. Maybe an ever bigger blessing… but the take away from this chapter has to be positive… even in Abraham’s stupidity… He was blessed.
- Even in Sarah’s stupidity, she was blessed.
- Even in Abimelech Ignorance he was blessed.
- God’s Promises TRIUMPH over our problems.
- Promises over problems!
- Let me conclude by just reading a few verses…
Conclusion
Numbers 23:19 NKJV “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Hebrews 10:23 NKJV Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
2 Corinthians 1:20 NKJV For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
- If you are struggling with fear this morning… maybe fear for your life like Abraham was…
- Fear for your job… fear for your family… fear for your health… fear for your future…
- I am asking you today to learn from Abraham… you don’t need to take matters into your own hands… lean not on your own understanding… trust in the promises of God… He hasn’t failed before and He isn’t going to start now…
- And of all the promises of God, the most important for all of us this morning must be the promises of eternal life.
1 John 2:25 NKJV And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
- If you have never received this promise I pray that you would receive it this morning!
Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God.
Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids
2808 Schaeffer DR SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
www.CedarRapidsChurch.com
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