Sarah - Lady In Waiting

7-5-05

Sarah - Lady in Waiting

Hebrews 12:1-12:2

Today, I want to talk about one of those “Heroes of the Faith” that Paul talks about in Hebrews.

In Hebrews 12:1, Paul declares that you and I are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

And that because we’re surrounded by that “cloud of witnesses”, our lives should reflect Jesus Christ in everything we do.

He refers back to chapter 11, and names some of the men and women who make up the “Heroes of the Faith”.

He calls them a “great cloud of witnesses” so there must be more of them than He has room to mention in Hebrews 11.

At this very moment, in heaven, thousands and maybe millions of Godly saints are watching the race that you’re running for Jesus.

They see you each time you stand tall for Jesus.

They see you each time you resist the fiery darts of the enemy.

They see each kind act you do.

They see you each time you fall short.

They see you when you’re a saint, and they see you when you’re a sinner.

Paul wants you to know this morning that we have cheerleaders in Heaven.

The greatest heroes of the faith are cheering for you and me.

Adam, Moses, Noah, David, Isaiah, Peter, Paul, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, Billy Sunday…

And wait a minute…there’s another cheerleader mentioned here in chapter 11.

And this one is different from those other heroes.

This “Hero of the Faith”, mentioned in Hebrews 11:11, goes by the name of Sarah, and she’s the first lady mentioned in Paul’s hall of fame for Heroes.

I must confess to you that there is so much spiritual meat in Sarah’s life that it’s hard to boil it down into a few worthy snapshots.

Genesis 12 shows that Sarah was a woman of grace and submission.

Do you remember when Abraham and Sarah were forced to go to Egypt because of the famine?

Do you remember how Abraham said to Sarah as they were about to cross the border, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”

She was 65 when Abraham pulled this stunt!

I can’t imagine what would happen to me if I tried to pull that mess with my wife!

Let’s say I’m being pulled over by the highway patrol for speeding.

I look at my wife and say, “Honey, when the policeman asks who we are, I’ll tell him you’re my sister and send you home with him. Then maybe he won’t give me a ticket!”

I’d be dead and Sierra would be in jail for murder!

Sarah was a woman of grace and submission!

Sarah was also a woman of patience, at least with her husband.

Genesis 20 tells us that Abraham pulled the whole “Say you’re my sister” stunt again with King Abimelech.

He passed Sarah off as his sister twice and lived to tell about it!

She was a woman of patience, at least when it came to Abraham.

Sarah was a woman of grace and submission to authority, until it came to her having a baby.

Sarah was a woman of patience, until it came to believing that she could still conceive.

We’re going to focus in Genesis 17 and 18 on Sarah’s promise, patience and pregnancy.

And out of that 20 year experience, we’re going to learn some truths that we can apply to our lives.

I believe that Sarah would jump at the chance to stand here this morning and share the happiness and heartbreak of her life.

I believe that she would have some words of advice to share with us.

This evening, we’re going to listen to Sarah as she describes her life as a “Lady in Waiting?”

There are 3 pieces of hard won wisdom that I believe Sarah would share with us today.

First, I believe that Sarah would challenge you.

She would say…

1. Don’t be afraid to believe that God will do great things through you.

God has never used most of us in a great or mighty way.

Most of us have never prayed and seen a miracle as a result.

Most of us have never given our testimony and seen thousands accept Jesus.

Most of us have never started a new church and seen it grow for God.

Most of us have never experienced dramatic growth in our own church.

Most of us live a pretty ordinary Christian life.

We come to church a few times a week.