Sarah - Lady in Waiting Part 2 of 2

by John Lowe
(Woodruff, S.C.)

Sarah made the mistake of not believing that God could use her for great and mighty things. Sarah made the mistake of not believing that God would give her what she wanted more than anything else in the world, a son. Sarah made the mistake of not believing that God would use an ordinary woman to do an extraordinary miracle.

May I ask you a question this evening? Are you guilty of settling for a boring faith? Are you afraid to believe that God might choose to do something miraculous through you? Do you know why we don’t see God work as mightily as He could in Eastside Baptist Church? Do you know why too many of our lives seem to lack spiritual horsepower? Do you know why we’ve settled for “Average” when God wants “Outstanding”? It’s simply because we lack faith. We don’t really believe that God can and will and should use us to do something great.

May I share with you the result of failing to believe that God can do whatever He wants in our lives, our families, and our church? Look with me at Matthew 13:54-58. “And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”

There’s a mighty spiritual principle at work here. Jesus is a gentleman. He’ll never force Himself on you. If you suffer from unbelief, he won’t do many mighty works in your life! If you’re afraid to let God use you in a great way, He won’t. If you’re afraid to believe that God will do great things through you, He won’t! God will pass you by and choose a willing servant to use for His glory. I believe that Sarah would beg you. I believe that she’d say “Don’t be afraid to believe that God will do great things through you.” And 2nd I believe that she’d warn you. She’d say…

2. Don’t hurry God…He’ll accomplish His will in His way and time.Sarah was 55 when God first promised Abraham that He would be the father of a great nation. Sarah was 89 when God told her she’d bear a son within a year. Sarah was 90 when Isaac was finally born. Sarah waited 35 years for God to keep His promise! But, along the way she tried to hurry God. Genesis 16 tells us how she tried to force God to make a great nation by taking her maidservant, Hagar, and giving her to her husband Abraham. The son they produced, Ishmael, became the father of the Muslim peoples. Sarah tried to hurry God, and the result was a disaster!

Are you ever guilty of hurrying God? Do you ever pray for patience….right now!? Do you ever tell God exactly what He needs to do, how He needs to do it, and when you need it done? Have you ever given up waiting for God to answer your prayers? Do you ever try to get in there and “Help God” with a difficult situation? If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’ve been guilty of trying to hurry God! Sarah would look you in the face and say….DON’T DO IT! She’d tell you that trying to hurry God only caused her heartache and pain! She’d tell you that trying to hurry God only complicated and frustrated her life. This evening, Sarah would warn you. She’d say “Don’t hurry God…He’ll accomplish His will in His way and time.”

If Sarah were here today, she would have some great words of wisdom to share with us.
She’d say, “Don’t be afraid to believe that God will do great things through you.” “Don’t hurry God…He’ll accomplish His will in His way and time.” And last, she would say…

3. Remember That God will Keep His Promises. Genesis 18:12 tells us that when God told Abraham that Sarah would bear a child within a year, she laughed at Him! Genesis 18:10-12 says, “And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”

Can you imagine…Sarah laughed at God…and He heard her! May I remind you of something this morning? God hears you too, when you laugh at His promises. He knows every shred of unbelief in your Spirit. But, Christian, hold onto this fact…you can take it to the bank! IF GOD HAS MADE A PROMISE TO YOU…HE WILL KEEP HIS WORD!

In the end, do you know what made Sarah a hero of the faith? In spite of her momentary lapse, Sarah had the faith to believe that God would keep His promises. How do we know that? Look with me at Hebrews 11:11. “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” Sarah is listed with the heroes of faith for only one reason…”she judged Him (God) faithful who had promised.” Sarah had faith in God’s promises…and God delivered exactly what He promised!

What promises are you still waiting on God to keep? Some of you may have desperate financial needs this evening. May I remind you of God’s promise? He said in Matthew 6:25-34, “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

Do you have the faith to remember that God will keep His promises? God doesn’t forget like we do. He will keep every promise He ever made in His Word. Some of you may be struggling emotionally…doubt and depression and low self-esteem. May I remind you of God’s Promise? He said in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And then in John 14:15-16 He said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.”

Remember, there’s nothing that can happen to you today that you and God can’t handle together! Some of you may be struggling spiritually. May I remind you of God’s promise? He tells us in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Jesus will never quit on you. If you are one of His, then He has begun a work in you that will not be finished until He takes you home. Sarah would have wonderful words of wisdom to share with you today. I think that she might say: Don’t be afraid to believe that God will do great things through you. Don’t hurry God…He’ll accomplish His will in His way and time. Remember That God will Keep His Promises.

Amen.