The God Who Sees Series

• It was the 1956 Rose Bowl. I remember it well. I was one year old. Michigan State was playing UCLA in football, the score was tied at 14-14 with only seconds to play. Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State's coach, sent in placekicker Dave Kaiser who booted a field goal that won the game. When the kicker returned to the bench, Daugherty said, "nice going, but you didn't watch the ball after you kicked it." "That's right, Coach," Kaiser replied. "I was watching the referee instead to see how he'd signal it. I forgot my contact lenses, and I couldn't see the goal posts."

• Vision is important. We spend lots of money on vision, especially at my age.

• Sometimes we go into life situations and we cannot see.

• I am so glad I have an El Roi, a God who sees.

• In the previous passage, Hagar ran away from Sarai because of the harsh treatment.

• She was pregnant because Sarai sent her into the tent of her husband Abram to make her a surrogate mother.

• Fleeing scared, no place to go, what was she to do?

Gen 16:7 The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

• The Angel of the Lord went looking for her and He found her, of course.

• She ran to the spring on the way to Shur.

• Shur comes from the Hebrew word for “wall”. Interesting.

• Hagar hit the wall. She had enough and could not take anymore, she thought.

• When you hit the wall, look for the Lord.

• Second, Who was the Angel of the Lord?

• Hagar will tell us that it is Jesus, “the one who sees me”.

• This is a classic illustration of Jesus appearing as the Angel of the Lord, or the Captain of the Lord’s Host, or some other title in the Old Testament.

• Jesus was active and very present in the Old Testament.

• In the womb of Mary, Jesus stepped into humanity in order to save us.

• But He is eternal, from the beginning, and will reign supreme forever.

• Joh 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

• Joh 1:2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

• Joh 1:9-14 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

• Oh, the eternal Jesus. When a cult tries to draw you away from true Christianity, you can ask two questions.

• A. What do they teach about Jesus? Is He and has He always been the Eternal God?

• B. How many laws and works does the cult try to add to simple grace received through faith (believing).

• Rom 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Gen 16:8-12 And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai." 9 The angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her." 10 The angel of the LORD also said to her, "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude." 11 And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen."

• Hagar, where have you come from and where are you going?”

• Not only did the Angel of the Lord know where to find Hagar, He knew where she had come from and where she had planned on going.