Sojourners: The House that God Built
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As a sojourner, you will inevitably reach forks in the road where it becomes a challenge to embrace and patiently wait for the promises that God has made to be fulfilled. What will you do when it takes longer than anticipated to see something that you desire materialize? Will you jump ship and head in a different direction? Will you lose focus and turn distractions into destinations? Will you take your life into your own hands thinking that you can do it better? Abram and Sarai had to learn not to grab the steering wheel of life away from God. In doing so, they left us valuable lessons as we consider what to do when your life feels like it is in a holding pattern- the results of your life in your own hands and the results of a life in God's hands.
Is Your Life in a Holding Pattern?
Genesis 16:1-3 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
It is true that when you are believing for the beginning of a new business endeavor, a spouse, a child, or the fruit of your studies and labor to change your financial state, what is a short period of character development in the economy of the eternal God can seem like forever for you.
At this point in the game, God had not specifically indicated to Abram that Sarai was going to be the one to bear him a child. Ten years had passed and their state had not changed. It is understandable that they would turn to natural reasoning rather than the wisdom of God to see their heart's desire fulfilled. The problem is is that this came with trouble. How do we find ourselves in the same situations?:
Examples: God sets the lonely in families through church community, but we are unwilling to make the persistent effort for godly relationships so we... God says don't be yoked together with an unbeliever, but for the sake of companionship we... God says that diligent hands will rule, but quick money-making schemes look more appealing so we... God says tithe your first and your best, but we think to meet our financial goals, we have a better plan so we... God says if you are faithful with little, you will be ruler over much, but we... God says touch no unclean thing and he will receive you, but for the sake of entertainment, we... God says that as we seek first the kingdom and His righteousness, the food, drink, clothing that we need will be added, but we...
In this place, you come up with solutions that deviate from God's game plan without even realizing it. How do you avoid making the same mistakes Abram and Sarai did?
3 ways to know that I've begun to take my life in my own hands
1) I begin, like Sarai, to make impulsive, purely emotionally based decisions.
Desire without knowledge is not good— how much more will hasty feet miss the way! (Proverbs 19:2 NIV)
2) I isolate myself. I do not consult the Bible or those who diligently seek Him for counsel to find precedent for my decision in God's Word.
My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me. No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence. (Psalm 101:6-7 NIV)
3) I do not take time to pray. I do not ask Jesus for His direction or wait for an answer.
Proverbs 3:5-8 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
This is what Abram and Sarai did not do. How about you?
The doctrine of God's sovereignty means that He has all of the affairs of your life in mind and you can turn what would otherwise feel like desperation to productive patience.
What do I do while I wait for the desires of my heart to be fulfilled?
What was Abram doing as he was waiting for his child? He was building the Kingdom of God and making disciples.
You are not waiting for your life to begin when one of the aforementioned milestones is realized. Just as Abram was deepening his walk with God, building his empire and establishing the ways of God within his tribe, so you are to do the same as you wait for specific promises to be fulfilled that will be part of your story that Jesus is unfolding for His glory.
Your Life in Your Own Hands
The lesson that you learn from Abram and Sarai is you don't want to take matters into your own hands. This always ends with consequences that you will regret. Don't try to achieve the desires of your heart on your own terms, outside of the wisdom of God or merely by your own strength.
Genesis 16:4-12 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael,for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man;his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him,and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
The things that we thought were the solutions outside of God's plan are the things that begin to cause us pain. My pastor used to say that "sin will take you further than you want to go, make you pay more than you were willing to pay and keep you longer than you want to stay."
Like Sarai, we then begin to look for someone to blame and get reckless or desperate in our decision making.
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.
When your identity is in some achievement (your work, your significant other, your looks or your bank statement) rather than in Christ, you are tempted to take matters into your own hands to realize success rather than waiting on God and doing things His way. In the end, like Ishmael, this inevitably produces a wild donkey of a man in your life, an uncontrollable burden.
“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there? ” ― John Piper, God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself
Your heart will finally be at rest when you know Jesus and whatever life He unfolds for you as the all-sufficient prize.
Your Life in God's Hands
Because Jesus is the one who sees you, He has mercy to meet you even in the midst of your mistakes. He is kind and blesses your efforts when we come to repentance, even while you will wade through the consequences of your actions.
Genesis 16:13-16 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
This is the very essence of the gospel: Jesus meets us in our sin and insufficiencies. Where we fail, He lived life perfectly. Where we are weak, He is strong and makes us strong as we put our trust in His finished work for us on the cross. The gospel tells us that where there was death, Jesus comes to bring life.
Abram needed to learn patience and so do you. Patient endurance comes from the understanding of your life as a part of the larger narrative of God. Use the time that you are waiting for your heart's desire to go deeper in Jesus. During that time let your ultimate desire become Jesus. There you learn to resist taking your life in your own hands and the beauty of being found in His. Let's go to the cross and allow Jesus to become your all in all.
Second City Church- Sojourners Sermon Series 2014