The God Who Uses My Mistakes
Text: Gen. 12:10-20
Introduction
1. Illustration: John Maxwell in his book Failing Forward, said, "The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception and response to failure...What does matter is that your life can change if you're willing to look at failure differently. You have the potential to overcome any problems, mistakes, or misfortunes. All you have to do is learn to fail forward" (2, 7).
2. We learn a great lesson in life from what happens to Abram and Sarai in this text...even great people of faith make mistakes.
a. Abram was the Father of Faith.
b. He was considered righteous because of his faith.
c. He was the father of great nations.
d. However, he made mistakes.
3. This should be an encouragement to us, because if Abram can make mistakes then it is alright for me to make them as long as I learn from them.
4. From Abram we learn that we shouldn't:
a. Walk Ahead of God
b. God Doesn't Need Our Help
c. God Can Make Something Good Out of Our Mistakes.
5. Read Gen. 12:10-20
Proposition: It's all right to make mistakes as long as we learn from them.
Transition: The first mistake we need to learn from is...
I. Walking Ahead of God (10-14).
A. Severe Famine
1. Just because God calls us does not guarantee that our lives will be free from trouble.
a. John 15:20 (NLT)
Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.
b. Following God does not guarantee that there won't be difficulties, on the contrary, it is a guarantee that there will be difficulties.
2. We learn this from Abram because as soon as he followed God's call, "a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner."
a. Unlike the previous section this one begins with an indicative rather than an imperative.
b. Gen 12:1 is the first time since chp 2 where Yahweh takes the initiative.
c. However, in this section it is Abram and Sarai who take the initiative.
d. In other words, God didn't tell them to go to Egypt, they went on their own, and possibly without His blessing (Hamilton, NICOT: The Book of Genesis, vol. 1, 379).
e. Foreigner: The root means to live among people who are not blood relatives; thus, rather than enjoying native civil rights, the "foreigner" was dependent on the hospitality that played an important role in the ancient near east (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament).
f. We can hardly blame Abram because the phrase "lived as a foreigner" shows he did not intend to stay in Egypt and abandon God's promise, but rather was intended to be a temporary situation until the famine ended. However, he was not acting out of faith (Ross, 275).
g. He was not following God at this point he was trying to lead.
3. Just to demonstrate that walking ahead of God is a recipe for disaster, "As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill him; then we can have her!’
a. Abram is married to a very beautiful woman. Keep in mind that at this point she is at least 65 years old and still very physically attractive (Hamilton, 380).
b. Being a stranger in the land he would be especially vulnerable, and so will Sarai.
c. Abram's fear of the Egyptians shows that the law of hospitality, that is central to biblical thought, was absent from other cultures.
d. Being a stranger, he is concerned that they will take advantage of him, abduct his wife, and kill him (Hamilton, 380).
e. The acknowledgment of Sarai's great beauty and his fear of the Egyptians' desire for her presented Abram with what seemed an insurmountable problem.
f. If he died that would surely be the end of the promised blessing (Ross, 275).
4. Once again Abram rather than praying and asking the Lord what to do tells Sarai, "So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you.”
a. He wanted Sarai to deceive the Egyptians by telling them she was his sister, possibly to buy time to escape because if she was his sister another man would have to negotiate with him to marry her.
b. He could rationalize this since she was actually his half-sister.
c. Notice two phrases that get to the heart of the matter for Abram: 1) they will spare my life, and 2) treat me well.
d. He knew they would spare her life but was afraid they would kill him because of her (Ross, 275).
B. Follow God's Lead
1. Illustration: When I was a young boy growing up in Akron, OH a famous TV preacher named Rex Humbard, whose church was just north of Akron, began to build a huge tower. The plans for this tower were very elaborate and were to include a large revolving restaurant at the top of the tower. I often wonder how much prayer went into this decision? As it turns out he ran out of money and had to abandon the project. He was a wonderful man of God, but the thing that most people will remember about him is what he left undone. Again I wonder how much prayer went into the project?
2. Moving ahead of God is always a bad idea.
a. James 4:13-17 (NLT)
13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. 17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
b. Prayer keeps us from making bad decisions.
c. Prayer keeps us from getting outside of God's will.
d. Prayer keeps us out of trouble.
3. Walking ahead of God is not a step of faith but a step of foolishness.
a. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
b. God knows things that we don't.
c. God understands things that we don't.
d. To do it on our own without his help is asking for trouble.
Transition: The next thing we need to learn is that...
II. God Doesn't Need Our Help (15-16).
A. Pharaoh Gave Abram Many Gifts
1. Isn't it ironic that sometimes when we get out of God's will that things seem like we've made the right decision?
a. Things initially fall into place and seem like they might work out.
b. However, it is always short lived and disappointing.
2. Such was the case with Abram and Sarai. At first the plan seems to work like clockwork. The text says, "And sure enough, when Abram arrived in Egypt, everyone spoke of Sarai’s beauty. When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace."
a. At first it seems like Abram was correct and his plan was working.
b. However, things got complicated when the palace officials noticed her beauty and sang her praises to Pharaoh.
c. As a result, she was taken away into the royal harem.
d. Abram is powerless to prevent it, and his plan backfires because here was one that didn't need to negotiate (Ross, 276).
e. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt and did whatever he wanted.
3. We need to notice something here, Abram isn't the only one to blame.
a. Notice that Sarai is silent when she could have easily objected to Abram's plan.
b. She is as guilty as he is for not objecting.
4. What happened next might seem like a good thing, but when we look at the big picture we see that it wasn't so good. The text says, "Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her—sheep, goats, cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels."
a. Abram received considerable wealth in exchange for Sarai.
b. However, the wealth only heightened the loss of Sarai. The wealth would only be a constant reminder of his mistake (Ross, 276).
c. Isn't it curious that many of Abram's blessings came through Sarai?
d. Nevertheless, Abram had to live with the fact that these blessings came because he sacrificed his wife, her integrity, and their marriage.
B. The Leading of the Holy Spirit
1. Illustration: A walk in the Spirit will of necessity be a walk in accordance with the Word the Spirit has inspired...To remain filled with the Spirit, and thus enjoy His continuing sanctifying work, will mean continuing to be filled with the Word. The relationship is obvious (J.O. Sanders, Enjoying Intimacy with God, 91).
2. God has given us his Holy Spirit to lead us.
a. John 14:17 (NLT)
He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
b. He will lead us, but we have to willing to follow.
c. He will show us which way to go, but we must be willing to obey.
3. Following the leading of the Holy Spirit will keep us in God's will.
a. Galatians 5:16 (NLT)
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
b. If we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit we won't be led into sin.
c. If we follow the Holy Spirit we won't fall into foolish mistakes.
d. If we follow the Holy Spirit we will stay under his covering of protection.
Transition: However, we must also realize that even when we mess up...
III. God Can Make Something Good Out of Our Mistakes (17-20).
A. But the Lord
1. It's nice to know that God not only bails us out of our mistakes, but even uses them for our good. What an awesome God we serve.
2. The text tells us, "But the Lord sent terrible plagues upon Pharaoh and his household because of Sarai, Abram’s wife."
a. Without any explanation of the plagues or how they knew they were because of Sarai, the text tells us that God intervened in the situation.
b. The construction of the verse in Hebrew stresses the severity of the plagues so that it is reasonable to assume that Pharaoh's household was overwhelmed with the plagues.
c. The assumption in the ancient world is that all disease is a reflection of the displeasure of a god or gods.
d. Infectious disease could be coped with through purification and sacrifice and might be treated with herbal medicines, but the root cause was viewed as divine, not physical.
e. Thus disease was considered the direct result of sin or some violation of custom, so the ancients would seek to determine which god might be responsible and how he might be appeased (The IVP Bible background commentary : Old Testament electronic ed.).
f. There are times in the history of Israel that God did not deliver His people, or may have delayed in delivering them because of their sin and rebellion.
g. However, in this case God had to deliver Sarai because of the promise (Ross, 276-277).
3. Somehow Pharaoh knew the source and reason for the plagues. "So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. “What have you done to me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ and allow me to take her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and get out of here!”
a. Pharaoh summons Abram and says to him something reminiscent of what God said to Adam and Eve, "What have you done to me?"
b. The words of Pharaoh don't need to be interpreted that he had sexual contact with her.
c. It would often take time for her to come before the monarch.
d. Esther 2:12 (NLT)
Before each young woman was taken to the king’s bed, she was given the prescribed twelve months of beauty treatments—six months with oil of myrrh, followed by six months with special perfumes and ointments.
e. Furthermore, the statement "here is your wife" strongly suggests that she was returned unharmed, as his wife (Ross, 277).
4. There is something we need to notice in v. 20 which says, "Pharaoh ordered some of his men to escort them, and he sent Abram out of the country, along with his wife and all his possessions."
a. Not only does Abram get Sarai back unharmed, but he gets to keep all the stuff too.
b. Pharaoh doesn't ask for the animals back and also sends an escort to protect Abram from any harm.
c. He wanted to be sure that nothing happened to him and thus incurring on Egypt the wrath of Abram's God.
d. The phrase "sent Abram out of the country," is the same word used in Gen 3:23 where God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden (Hamilton, 386).
e. God not only fixed Abram's mistake, but blessed him as a result.
B. All Work Together For Good
1. Illustration: Again I want to refer to John Maxwell's book Failing Forward. He says, "No matter how difficult your problems were, the key to overcoming them doesn't lie in changing your circumstances. It's in changing yourself. That in itself is a process, and it begins with a desire to be teachable" (8).
2. God promises to cause things to work in our favor, even our mistakes.
a. Romans 8:28 (NLT)
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
b. God can cause our mistakes to be character developers.
c. God can cause our mistakes to be stepping stones of growth.
3. God promises to forgive our mistakes.
a. 1 John 2:1 (NLT)
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.
b. He forgives us when we fail.
c. He picks us up when we fall.
d. He teaches us teaches us to do better.
4. However, God does not expect us to keep making the same mistakes.
a. Romans 6:1-2 (NLT)
1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?
b. He want to learn from our mistakes and not repeat them.
c. He wants to grow from our mistakes and be transformed by his wonderful grace.
Transition: The question is are we learning from our mistakes?
Conclusion
1. From Abram we learn that we shouldn't:
a. Walk Ahead of God
b. God Doesn't Need Our Help
c. God Can Make Something Good Out of Our Mistakes.
2. What are you learning from your mistakes?
