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The shaken faith of Abram and Sarai

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[Genesis 16:2]

so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children.

Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her."

Abram agreed to what Sarai said.

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God promised to give a son between Abram and Sarai.

By faith in that promise, Abram and Sarai left their hometowns and came to Canaan.

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However, God's promise did not come to Canaan ten years later.

Sarai began to feel weak about God's promise as she watched her husband get older.

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Among the servants of Sarai was Hagar the Egyptian.

Sarai thought through Hagar that Abram would have a son.

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So Sarai offered Abram one suggestion.

"Jehovah did not allow me to have children. So let's have a child through my maidservant."

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Abram also waited for ten years, but when he had no children, he agreed with Sarai's words. So he decided to follow Sarai's suggestion.

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Abram slept with Hagar, Sarai's maidservant. And Hagar became pregnant.

As Sarah thought, everything went smoothly.

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However, the difficulty that unexpectedly occurred to Sarai.

Hagar, a maid with Abram's child, began to ignore Sarai.

Sarah was troubled by the ridiculous thing.

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Sarai was very angry with this and went to Abram and protested.

"It is because of you that I suffer this pain.

My maid got pregnant and started to look down on me. May God judge this matter."

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When Abram heard this, he said to Sarai:

"Hagar is your servant, do whatever you want."

Abram did not intervene with Hagar, but gave it to Sarai.

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Sarai hurried Hagar, who ignored her master and acted rudely.

Hagar, who could not bear the severe abuse of Sarai, left the mistress and fled.

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When Hagar was near the well of the desert, the angel of the Lord appeared there.

And he asked Hagar where she came from and where she was going. Hagar replied, "It is the way to escape from the mistress Sarai."

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The angel said to Hagar, "Go back to your mistress and obey her words."

Then he delivered the following words of God's promise:

"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."(Gn 16:11)

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Hagar was amazed that she was alive without dying even though she saw God.

So the name of the place was called Beer Lahai Roi, and she came back and obeyed Sarai.

As time passed, Hagar gave birth to a son to Abram.

Her son's name was Ishmael, as the angel said. Abram was 86 years old.

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God promised that he would have a son between Abram and Sarai.

But they could not wait for the promise of God,

and they quickly got Abram's son through Hagar.

The son got it, but it was a wrong decision that he did not believe in God's promise.

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God allowed his son through Sarai as Abram promised when he was 100 years old.

God is the one who can never do by man's power.

A faith that does not believe in the omnipotence of God is not a whole faith.

We should not behave as hastily as Abram and Sarai,

 but wait for God's approval and turn them into true glory to God.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)