6/16/19 Genesis 21:8-21 “Everyone is Worthy”

14 Jun 6/16/19 Genesis 21:8-21 “Everyone is Worthy”

6/16/19    Genesis 21:8-21       “Everyone is Worthy”

I hope that you are enjoying our little look into Genesis. But before we continue I would like to share a little something for the fathers on this Father’s Day.  Donald Smith gives us ten things we can say on this day that we probably shouldn’t say at any other time.  And we may even want to think twice before we say them today.  But this is all in fun and it is our day so here goes.

10. Whenever possible, please say what you have to say during commercials.  9.  Shopping is not a sport and we are never going to think of it that way.  8.  Sunday afternoon=sports.  It is like the full moon or the changing tides or winds.  Let it be.  It is the way it is.  7.  ‘Yes’ and ‘no’ are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.  6.  Check your oil.  Please check your oil.  5. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.  In fact, all past comments become null and void after 7 days.  4.  Now this is an important one.  If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.  3.  If we ask what is wrong and you say ‘nothing,’ we will act like nothing’s wrong.  We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.  2.  And this one is for Sharon.  ALL men see in only 16 colors, like the Windows default settings.  Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color.  Pumpkin is also a fruit.  We have no idea what mauve is.  1.  Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.  Anyway, today we are going to look at the story of two half-brothers and how they came to being great nations.  And as we look at this let’s see if we can kindle in ourselves some of the kindness that God shows towards the people of the world who are down on their luck.

John Wesley, who founded the Methodist movement, could often be found riding from one church to the next to preach in the 1700’s.  If I’m not mistaken he averaged something like 3 sermons a day during his adult life.  Anyway, one day a robber stopped him on such a journey and said, “Halt, your money or your life.”  At this point the story is rather humorous because John Wesley never had any money.  He would always give it away.  He died with no money.  Anyway this day he had a couple of coins in his pocket and that was all.  The disgusted highwayman started to leave and Wesley cried out, “Stop, I have something more to give you.” The robber returned and Wesley told him about Jesus and ended by saying, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s son, cleanses us from all sin.”  Silently the robber left and Wesley continued on his way.

Wesley prayed for this bandit and years later he recognized him at a service that he had just completed.  The bandit had mended his ways and had become a successful businessman.  This man came up to him after the service and said, “To you, dear sir, I owe it all.”  Wesley softly replied, “Nay, nay, my friend, not to me, but to the precious blood of Christ which cleanses us from all sin.”  I, for one, am very happy for this blood.  Many of you here today feel the same way.

I would also guess that Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael felt this gratefulness too as we read this Scripture.  But before we look at this, let’s take a gander at what has happened prior to this reading.  Abraham and Sarah had been waiting for a child.  They finally thought that they should take matters into their own hands.  So Sarah gave her maid, her servant to Abraham so that they could have a child.  This way they thought that their dream would be fulfilled as long as it was a child of Abraham.  We need to remember that this was a very male dominated culture.

So Ishmael was born the son of Abraham and Hagar.  Now we have Ishmael being raised as the legal heir to Abraham.  Several years pass by and the Lord comes to them in the story we talked about last week.  And just as God had promised all along, Sarah and Abraham had a baby boy named Isaac.  I think that this is one of the most genuine human nature stories in the Bible and it is a great one that brings all the glory to God.  Now lots of things happen as the two boys are together.

I almost get the feeling that they really did try to work these issues out.  If these weren’t trying circumstances, I really don’t know what would be.  We have Abraham, his wife, the mother of his other male child, and both children all living together.  This was a recipe for disaster.  We have many similar things happening today in various marriage and so-called marriage scenarios.  Now we are ready to move into today’s reading when the disaster finally takes place.

Also keep in mind that Abraham and Sarah had disobeyed God and taken the matter of trying to have a child into their own hands.  They didn’t have time to wait.  I don’t think that I need to dwell too much on how many disasters in our own lives that have been caused by not waiting for God.  But I would like to point out what happens when you do wait for Him.

Martin Luther waited for God to give us the printing press before he could post his work on the door.  John Wesley needed to come to this country and fail before he learned that it wasn’t about him.  He also needed the church to become self-important like in the days of Luther, before he could start a new movement centered on the love of Jesus Christ.  All through history we can see where the timing of God had to be just right so that a certain person could attain success through God.    Just think what would have happened if Sarah and Abraham had waited for God as they were told.

But they didn’t and the story moves on.  Sarah couldn’t stand having a child of another woman mocking her own child.  So she tells Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son.”  She is saying, “Scram, get out, don’t think about coming back, sayonara!” to a defenseless woman and a child.  Wow! Is she mean or what!

Now this had to put Abraham in a tight spot.  You know that he loves both sons but only one could be his heir in those days and that had to be Isaac.  So Abraham listens to God.  God tells him to do as Sarah says and he will make nations out of both sons.  It is always fun to see God in control of situations where there seems to be no solution.

I have talked many times before how important it is to go to God, listen to God and finally do as God says.  Just the other day I was on the internet looking for something.  I came across one of those forums where you can tell anyone who will read it, what you think about a subject.  The subject was so-called gay marriages.  I couldn’t believe some of the things that I read about how some people feel about God.  It is no wonder we are in so much trouble as a country when we have people blaspheming God right and left.  The liberal leaders of the UMC are blaspheming and mocking God right now!  If this is how people feel about God, then we have a lot of work in front of us.  If only people would talk to God and listen.

Anyway, back to the story.  The next morning Abraham gives some food and water to Hagar and sends the two of them off into the desert.  This is the part of the story that really gets me.  Can you imagine the emotions going through Hagar’s mind?  Here she is facing the desert with a child with only a little water and a little food.  She had to be devastated.  She had to be crushed.  Her world had crashed down before her eyes.

We are guilty of doing this today.  The first thing that comes to mind is divorced women.  We seem to think that it is just fine that a man can walk away from his wife and children and not look back.  We have a shelter in Fargo that is full of such women and children and it’s been full for years.  It hasn’t been until the last few years that we ever did anything to try to collect unpaid child support.  Studies have shown us that when there is no father present in the home, the dropout rates are higher; drug addiction rates are higher as are rates of suicide, mental illness, joblessness and rates of abuse.  And it’s even worse in so-called gay marriages with children!  And knowing this we are still content to let our women and children wander in the deserts of today.

I know that the situations in our story and our shelters are quite a bit different.  But I also believe that God does not want us to abandon our homeless women and children.  He has a plan for them just like He did for Hagar.  What we have to realize is that often times that plan includes God working through us so that we can help these poor people out a bit.  In our Scripture God uses direct intervention and in our shelters He will usually use us in indirect intervention.

And it is not just homeless women.  We are also to be concerned about the physically and mentally handicapped people.  Often times these people are overlooked by the system.  They need the help of Jesus as He works through us to tend to the afflicted.  And we should not forget about the poor either.  All around us is a tremendous mission field where Jesus wants us to do the ministering.  This is just another way that He shows His tremendous love for us.  He trusts us to help Him with His work.

I think that one of the powerful concepts that come from this passage is the love that God has for all of us.  God doesn’t take sides in this argument.  God loves Isaac just as much as He loves Ishmael.  God loves our neighbors just as much as He loves the foreigners.  He loves you (pointing) just as much as he loves you over here.

And God solves the problem.  It doesn’t matter if it will take a toll down the road.  The line of Ishmael will clash with the line of Isaac again and again in the future.  This doesn’t matter because God loves these two children so much that He will spare them both regardless of the cost down the road.  The love of God is for each and every person of the world.  There are no exceptions.  There is only one person in the history of the world that God sent as a sacrifice for those in the future and that was His own son, Jesus Christ.

The story today has really been a sad one.  Here we are three thousand + years later and we really do no better now than we did then in caring for our needy.  As long as they are out of sight then it is ok.  However, the last couple of verses of this passage contain all the hope of the world.

First God opened the eyes of Hagar so she could see the water that was there all the time.  She was in a state of total desperation.  You know about 27 or 28 years ago I was in a state of total desperation.  My life was at a very bleak point when Jesus opened my eyes to Him.  Since that time I have been seeing many things for the first time from a perspective of the Lord.  How many people do you know who are in a desperate situation?  Maybe things aren’t going so well for you?  This is a good time to assess your life a little.  All the good things that you will ever need are right in front of you.  All you have to do is let Jesus open your eyes so you can see them.  You can do this by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior today.  Confess your sins to Him and ask Him to live in your life.  Then watch as things begin to happen.

Look what happened to Hagar and Ishmael.  They not only found the water but God was with the boy.  God helped them to live in the desert and guided Ishmael to become an archer.  It wasn’t long before his mother found a wife for him from her family in Egypt.

God continued to bless this family.  And it is the same way with you.  God will continue to bless you as long you are faithful.  I think that our country was founded by a bunch of faithful people who loved Jesus.  I think that the Methodist movement was founded by some extremely faithful people.  And I know that as a country and a denomination, we cannot rest from the work of the people before us.  When we rest from our Godly labor then our numbers go down and Satan’s go up.  This is what is happening right now to the Methodist Church in this country.  Our job is to follow the great commission and talk to as many people as we can about passages like this that tell us of the incredible love that God has for us.

Try to remember this as you go about your week.  God loved Isaac and Ishmael so much that He made them into nations.  Jesus loved you so much that He was willing to die for you.  And God loves you so much that he will bless you with incredible blessings if you only follow Him.  And this following of Jesus includes telling others of these beautiful stories of love that we find in Genesis which, by the way, is no myth or fable!  It’s true!

Our churches are small but fortunately, God is huge.  It may not seem like much to you to reach out to your neighbor who is in trouble.  But it may mean the world to that neighbor as you are showing them the love of Jesus Christ.  They are worthy.  We have been richly blessed in our community and people know it.  They know it by the love of Jesus that you show.  That, my sisters and brothers in Christ, is what we are all about.  Thank you Jesus for your love and patience.  And thank you for first loving us.  Let’s pray.