Introduction
Last week, we began a new series about the four big areas of our life that God must win. The first one we talked about was God must win our choices. At the end of the day, there ought to be more checks in God’s column on things that I chose to do God’s way rather than yielding to the world, the flesh and the devil and allowing them to steal that check for their column.
Today, we will tackle the second thing that God must win. God must win the control over all areas of my life. How many of us would say that in some area of our life, we have not been able to relinquish control to God? Even though I am a Christian, I am securely in control over that area and I just cannot let it go. Let’s see a show of hands.
For a parent, it may be their children. You have not given control of your children over to God. For the ones of us that pays the bills, we may not have given our finances over to God. We make the choice how we are going to use our money not God. For the business owner, he or she has not given the operation of the business over to God. Instead of allowing God to run your business, you are eaten up with worry how you are going to do this month.
So, if you have not given control of a certain area of your life over to God, then this message is for you. You ought to take notes; so that you can begin today learning how to give those areas over to God. The command from God is quite simple, and it is found Proverb 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. How much is all your heart? It is 100% of your heart. How much is lean not on your own understanding? It is more than I give God because I usually want to try to figure it out on my own. So, how much control is God shooting for in my life? The answer is simple 100%. God wants to have control in all areas of my life.
I know that we do not give God that 100% control. So, I set out to find a Scriptural example of a man or a woman who did not give that control over to God to see what we can learn from that example. I did not have to look very far because I found it in the first book of the Bile, the Book of Genesis. So, if you have your Bibles turn with me to Genesis 16:1-5.
Scripture
The New King James Version Chapter 16
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go into my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4 So he went into Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.”
Background Information
Abram and Sarai were childless and more than anything else they wanted a child. God had promised Abram the most amazing promise in Genesis 12:2 that “I will make you a great nation.” To be a great nation, you must have a child or children who will carry on your name. But nothing happened; Sarai was barren and month by month kept marching by and the couple still had no child.
So, Sarai did what you and I would do when God’s timing is not our timing, she took control of the situation. She figured a way to a child to have a child through her Egyptian slave by the name of Hagar. Abram agreed to do what Sari said, and they had a relationship and conceived a child by the name of Ishmael. And this story is a perfect story of taking control from God and placing it on ourselves. So, we will use this story to learn the lessons we need to learn about letting God having control.
Point #1
GOD HAD CONTROL OF THE SITUATION, BUT SARAI COULD NOT WAIT ANY LONGER AND DECIDED TO TAKE CONTROL FROM GOD’S HANDS AND PUT IT IN HER OWN HANDS. THE LESSON TO LEARN FROM SARAI IS THAT WHEN WE TAKE CONTROL OUT OF GOD’S HANDS, WE CAN EXPECT A MESS.
In the short-term, things were messed up, Sarai knew it by verse 5 when she realizes a mistake has been made. She says, “My wrong be upon you.” Notice that she did not say, “My wrong be upon me” instead she said that the wrong be on you Abram. Isn’t that just like us, we take control out of God’s hands, mess up and then want to blame it on our spouse? So, I am sure that there was some tension in that house between her and Abram when she is blaming Abram for her mistake.
But we also see in the short term that there is tension between Sarai and Hagar, the maid. The tension was so bad that Hagar fled from Abram’s house. Those are the short-term problems.
But sometimes when we take control out of God’s hands, we also create long term problems. In this case, Hagar created long term problems. As we fast forward in history out of Ishmael becomes the Palestine nation. Out of Ishmael’s line comes Mohammed. And we know the tension today between the Jews and Palestinians. We know the tension in the world between serving Christ or serving Mohammed.
So, we see the danger in taking something out of God’s hands and putting it in our hands. We could experience short term mess or long-term mess or both. So, my question is how can I avoid that? So, the rest of the time I want to spend finding what questions that I can ask myself to avoid taking control out of God’s hands.
Question #1
IS IT WORTH TAKING CONTROL OUT OF GOD’S HANDS BECAUSE I CANNOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT ANYWAY IF I TAKE BACK CONTROL?
If we go back to Genesis 12 and the promise to Abram, God said, “I will make you a great nation.” God did not say that I will make you a nation. God had a specific nation in mind- a great nation. Only He could bring that about. So, by Sarai taking control out of God’s hands, she could not do anything about making the specific nation God had in mind. All she could do would be settle for something way less that was just going to create a bunch of problems.
We do the same thing that Sarai did. A single Christian girl knows that she needs to marry a Christian man so that they will not be unequally yoked together. You can’t find a single Christian man, so you settle for this real nice man. The mess up is that she went searching for the single guy rather than waiting for the Christian man God would have brought her.
As Christian parents, we are to give our children back to God and let Him have control over them. You decide that you want to take the control back from God. The problem is that you cannot watch them and guide your children down the right path 24 hours a day seven days a week. Only God can do that. You took back control, but you cannot do what God can do. You are going to settle for something far less.
Question #2
IS IT MINE TO CONTROL IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Psalm 127:3 NKJV
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
The Bible tells us that children are a heritage or a gift from God. So, if that is true then the timing of that gift is in the hands of God. So, in the case of Sarai who tried to manipulate the situation was it hers to control in the first place? The answer is no. Sarai attempted to control something that she had no right to control.
Let’s be honest there are things in life that are not ours to control in the first place, but we try anyway to control them.
Pastors of churches think it is their responsibility to control the church. But the last time I looked in the Bible, it told me that Jesus is the head of the church. The pastor’s job is no to control the church, but to find out what Jesus as the head of the church wants and carry out his orders.
Spouses, if you have been married any time you should know that you cannot change your mate. Some of you think you can, but you can’t. Your spouse is not yours to control only God can control your spouse. So, if you want your spouse to change you need to pray to God.
If it is not mine in the first place, that makes prayer so valuable to me.
Question #3
CAN I SURRENDER THIS AREA OVER TO GOD AND WAIT FOR HIS TIMING?
In the case of Sarai, we knew the answer, she could not surrender this area over to God and wait upon his timing. It is hard but it can be done.
Philippians 4:4–7 NKJV
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
When the Apostle Paul writes these words, he is chained to a Roman guard under house arrest. Basically, that is prison. He does not write and tell the people to petition the Roman governor to release him. Paul did not write to tell them that he would devise some way to get out of this place. Instead, He is surrendered to God to see what God is going to do in his timing. So, it can be done. You and I don’t have to take control. We can surrender. In fact, we are to surrender when we are told to commit our bodies as living sacrifices to God.
Conclusion
I want to go back to what God tells us in Proverb 3:5 to close.
Proverbs 3:5 NKJV
Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding.
Let us pray!
