Shammah Temple Fellowship: Sermon of November 10, 2024
By Theophile Ndayiziga
Theme: Hardships chasing those who have God’s promises.
Reference scriptures: Genesis 15:1-5, 18-21 & Genesis 16:1-2, 4-12
God had talked to Abram and told to him that He would bless the world through him, that he would be the nations’ great grandfather. Though that sounds magnificent, there is distance between the covenant and the fulfilment of the promises.
What are the temptations following God’s promise?
- Doubt
Although Abram had God’s covenant, he wasn’t seeing the promises materializing. In Chapter 12, there was an order for Abram to leave his father’s house and people. He left with Lot; he had left with the people who had not the same covenant he had received from God. They both decided to separate and things got better. Chapter 15 starts with God bringing back again the promise.
Abram was in doubt of the promises of God. Being 75 years old with no child, he was convinced that his slave was his heir. Despite of him being a trustworthy servant of Abram, God knew that wasn’t enough for him to succeed him.
Doubts can come our way as we wait for God’s covenant to happen, but no matter what, it must be fulfilled one day. Abram wanted a child so much and constantly thought about his end of life without that child.
How to beat doubt and stay in God’s covenant?
- Keep our eyes and spirit on God’s promises, not what we hear and see.
- Keep meditating God’s script and constantly praying
- Avoid negative voices coming our way
We should not be distracted by what we see, maybe going against the direction of our covenant, our God is faithful and He will do all that He has promised us.
2. Trying one’s own way
Seeking shortcuts when waiting for God’s covenant is so dangerous. Sarai proposed his husband, Abram, to try their own way and see if God’s promise would be fulfilled from her own slave, Hagar. That was against God’s will to bless Abram’s through his one and only one wife, Sarai. They tried to make their own way.
When Abram got Hagar pregnant and she started despising her mistress, it became worse. Consequences started as Abram and Sarai hadn’t anticipated the repercussions.
Consequences of going our own way, different from God’s way.
Misunderstanding and accusing the other the couple started. Sarai accused her husband “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering…” Genesis 16:5. Sarai mistreated her slave, Hagar. She suffered and fled the Abram’s home though God brought her back.
However, the angel told Hagar that her son, Ishmael would “be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” Genesis 16: 12.
All these sad promises and consequences came straight from the bad decision Sarai and Abram took. Our bad decisions, our trying to pass our own ways create consequences that later can be threat to generations. May our Lord guide us to take good decisions inspired by the scriptures.
To sum this up, we are reminded of the importance of respecting God’s promises in our lives. We should never doubt God’s way to achieve His promises in our lives. Also, it’s extremely dangerous to try our own way as shortcuts and ignore God’s way. May we find wisdom to stay in the lane God has designed for us and most importantly believe each and every word from the mouth of God.
