West Greeley Baptist Church
May 10 2002
“An unlikely mother”
Genesis 18: 10-15
Pastor Mark Hensley
10 Then the Lord [3] said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master [4] is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, ’Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."
Introduction: A teacher asked a boy this question: “Suppose your mother baked a pie and there were seven of you—your parents and five children. What part of the pie would you get?” “A sixth,” replied the boy. “I’m afraid you don’t know your fractions,” said the teacher. “Remember, there are seven of you.” “Yes, teacher,” said the boy, “but you don’t know my mother. Mother would say she didn’t want any pie. “Bits and Pieces, June, 1990, p. 10
A four-year-old and a six-year-old presented their Mom with a house plant. They had used their own money and she was thrilled. The older of them said with a sad face, “There was a bouquet that we wanted to give you at the flower shop. It was real pretty, but it was too expensive. It had a ribbon on it that said, ‘Rest in Peace,’ and we thought it would be just perfect since you are always asking for a little peace so that you can rest.” Source unknown
Transition: Today we honor women who need rest! Who unselfishly give of their resources and themselves to make life more enjoyable for the rest of us. Mother’s certainly Mother’s it is after all Mother’s day….but we would be remiss if we didn’t take the time to celebrate the tenderness warmth and kindness that can be found in women. Women who love the Lord, women who have children of their own and those that do not and yet provide needed hugs and reassurance to the people that cross their life’s path! Today I am thinking of a woman who lived ages ago who lived most of her life without a child of her own. A Godly woman who discovered at 90 that God is a God of surprises and the impossible is possible for an “Unlikely Mother”.
Genesis 18: 10-15
10 Then the Lord [3] said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master [4] is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, ’Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he said, "Yes, you did laugh." Genesis 18: 10-15
God is a God of surprises!
God’s plan can often seem impossible
God will accomplish His plan, regardless of our reaction!
I. God is a God of surprises! 10 Then the Lord [3] said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."
The events that led up to Sarah’s impending pregnancy are found in Genesis 17: 15-17
15 God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"
What a promise! What a surprise!
I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."
Becoming a mother at 90! Any one here, looking forward to your Doctor saying that to you on your annual checkup when you reach four score and ten?
Imagine your Doctor saying to you:
“Here are some sample prenatal pills for you. Be sure to stop by the desk on Your way out this morning…Because CNN wants to do an interview! I am sorry I just had to call them… And There’s a message from the President of the United States, he is wondering If you could join him with your little bundle of joy in the Rose garden next May! Oh and your husband….he called and asked that you pick up his Sedatives at King Soopers Pharmacy on the way home!
Is it any wonder that:
17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?"
God is a God of surprises! He has plan’s incredible, breathtaking, fantastic!
Life often seems so predictable, we Miss God in the simple yet profound experiences of life! Can any of us fully comprehend the mystery of love or being loved, or friendship connecting with another human being in ways that are somehow hard to define but never the less essential? I am still amazed at the majestic sunsets that God paints daily here in the West!
Too many of us treat life as a dress rehearsal! We live like there will be a certain day that all are dreams will come true all at once. God is a God of surprises! He has plan’s incredible, breathtaking, fantastic! He is working things out in your life now! There will be people you will meet, and decisions you will make that God will arrange and orchestrate…that will put you in a place you have only dreamed about! Why are we so quick to conclude that God’s plans for some are wonderful and for me are predictable boring somehow?
I feel compelled somehow to urge you to live life now! Believe God for great things for your life, now! We have no problem recognizing the activity of God in other’s lives, but we tend to think that God won’t do anything with me…I am just ordinary clay nothing special not someone who is potentially the choice of God to do something extraordinary with and through and in!
There’s a dignified, Godly woman who speaks to us this day from History past who would tell you “Don’t assume that” God is God after all and He is a God of surprises….let me tell you about our son, we named him Isaac, meaning laughter, because his arrival at that time in my life was a surprise of God…a surprise of a lifetime!
God is a God of surprises!
II. God’s plan can often seem impossible 10 Then the Lord [3] said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master [4] is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
Sarah was listening! She had been listening for “this” kind of news ever since she said yes to Abraham! Fifty, Sixty years pass by. She has been busy and time has (as it always does) moved ahead with incredible precision and breathtaking suddenness! Now looking back on the decades spent with her husband she hears what at first must have been unintelligible, incomprehensible, perplexing.
Then the Lord [3] said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master [4] is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
God is a God of surprises! Yes without question! His ways can also:
Seem impossible!
She laughs at such news! Wouldn’t you? Childbearing and rearing is best left up to the young, the mobile the flexible! Yesterday while driving, I noticed a mother, a “Young” mother feeding her baby a bottle! You say so? What’s so unusual about that? She was driving! Driving down 10th Street at 45 MPH and the baby was in the back seat! She had one long arm with bottle in hand feeding her child while driving! I told Laura there’s an Illustration in that! One word came to me….multitasking!
Mother’s of young children can handle the demands…the physical demands easier at 19 than 90!
Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master [4] is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
The child promised to Abraham and Sarah had been promised 25 yrs earlier when Abraham left his home country of Mesopotamia. The child of the promise was now coming soon. As your aware Sarah decided to take matters in her own hand years earlier. She decided to help God out! Telling Abraham to sleep with one of the servants Hagar. He did and Hagar had a son Ishmael. Only thing he wasn’t the promised child! Isaac was!
What does this teach us? On this Sunday when we are turning our focus on a woman who became pregnant at 90 we learn that God will bring about his plan and promise in your life on his terms not yours!
When God makes a promise He always keeps it…always!
Dare you ask God great things for your own life and family? Yes! Ask, believe, trust, and when the awaited answer is slow (as we count time) in coming stay faithful and watch the Mighty hand of God!
God is a God of surprises!
God’s plan can often seem impossible
God will accomplish His plan, regardless of our reaction!
I. God will accomplish His plan, regardless of our reaction! 13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, ’Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."
We humans are such emotional creatures. We seem to live on a treadmill of Spiritual highs, followed by a predictable decent in to valleys! Valleys of doubt, doubt so profound and alarming that we seem to live as agnostics! Saying in effect there may be God, there may not be! There is! And He is a living God!
The God of surprises!
Whose plans often seem impossible.
God will accomplish His plan, regardless of our reaction!
The Lord himself finds the laughter of Sarah and her husband disconcerting, bewildering….a surprise!
He states a fact that we must put deep in our hearts and souls, not so far removed from the surface that they can’t be readily accessed. On a day when you will need to reminded a day that for you may be far from now or soon, quite soon. 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord?
Can a woman have a baby at 90? If it’s God’s will she will! Why? Because this remarkable yet reluctant Mother found out that:
God is a God of surprises! Are you expecting? Not a child….but God to surprise you with his plan for your life, for some of you your whole life is about to change in ways you can’t now imagine. For others there are lessons “great” lessons to be learned in the school of what you think is routine or predictable the every day ho hum of living!
God’s plan can often seem impossible/ Are you asking God for what others have written off as impossible, not do able? Could be a new job, or the salvation or physical healing of a loved one….are you asking?
God will accomplish His plan, regardless of our reaction! Why not believe? Don’t lean to heavily on your emotions! What seems to be impossible is common place with the God of miracles!
Sarah a reluctant mother? Yes, she laughed at the news of her impending pregnancy! She wasn’t alone…Abraham thought it humorous too. Theirs was the howling laughter of disbelief! The child of the promise couldn’t possibly come via a 90 year old womb!
Just about as incredible and far-fetched as a baby coming to this world via a virgin’s womb….but He did! And he awaits your response on this day when we celebrate those first of life’s encouragers "Mothers" On this mother’s day…..will you trust the Son…..of God? Who:
Is a God of surprises!
Whose plan can often seem impossible.
Who will accomplish His plan, regardless of our reaction!
