Sermon #S026 - I'll Take it From Here - (Part 1) 00:00:06.23\00:00:20.15 Pastor Snell: Today, we are beginning a new teaching series entitled "Family-ish". 00:00:20.18\00:00:27.12 And we are going to be looking over the next couple of weeks at God's plan for a family. 00:00:27.16\00:00:31.39 How many of us want God's blessing over our families today? Do you want His blessing 00:00:31.43\00:00:36.63 over your marriage? Come on and say Amen. Do you want His blessings over your children? 00:00:36.67\00:00:40.57 Let me hear you say, Amen. [Congregation: Amen] 00:00:40.60\00:00:42.47 Listen, if you are single and you want Him to bless your walk until... let me hear you say, 00:00:42.50\00:00:45.87 Amen. [Congregation: Amen] 00:00:45.91\00:00:47.98 Even if you are mourning or grieving, there is a word in this series that I believe is 00:00:48.01\00:00:51.35 going to help and bless you along the way. And so today I am going invite you to go with me 00:00:51.38\00:00:56.48 into your Bibles to Genesis 16 and hear a message that is really near and dear to my 00:00:56.52\00:00:59.72 heart. Genesis 16. We are going to begin together from verse number one, and then we are 00:00:59.75\00:01:06.19 going to peek over to Genesis 21, which is where we will land. And so we will have a good bit 00:01:06.23\00:01:12.50 of reading for this morning's session. Genesis 16, and will begin there at verse number one. 00:01:12.53\00:01:21.74 When you get there, say "Pastor, I'm here." Genesis 16:1. Anybody remembers the story of Abraham, 00:01:21.78\00:01:32.39 Sarai, and Hagar? [Congregation: Amen] 00:01:32.42\00:01:33.25 Yes, it is a trip. 00:01:33.29\00:01:36.09 [Congregation: Laughing] 00:01:36.12\00:01:38.79 The Bible says, "Now Sarai, Abraham's wife had born him no 00:01:38.83\00:01:45.50 children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to 00:01:45.53\00:01:52.14 Abraham, "See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please go into my maid 00:01:52.17\00:02:01.72 and perhaps I shall obtain children by her". And noticed that there was no disagreement. 00:02:01.75\00:02:05.52 [Congregation: Laughing] 00:02:05.55\00:02:07.76 In the story, the Bible says that "Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abrams's 00:02:07.79\00:02:17.63 wife, took Hagar, her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 00:02:17.67\00:02:26.51 And after Abram had dwelt 10 years in the land of Canaan. So he went into Hagar and she 00:02:26.54\00:02:37.19 conceived, and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes." 00:02:37.22\00:02:45.79 Then Sarai said to Abram," My wrong be upon you. I gave my maid into your embrace, and when 00:02:45.83\00:02:50.93 she saw that she conceived I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me". 00:02:50.97\00:03:02.44 So Abram said to Sarai, "Indeed your maid is where in your hand do to her as what?" 00:03:02.48\00:03:04.05 [Congregation: You please] "...you please." And Sarai dealt harshly with her and she fled 00:03:04.08\00:03:09.15 from her presence. Now the Angel of the Lord found her by the spring of water in the 00:03:09.18\00:03:13.39 wilderness. By the spring on the way to Shur. And he said to Hagar, Sarai's maid. "Where have 00:03:13.42\00:03:20.90 you come from? And where are you going?" She said," I am fleeing the presence of my mistress 00:03:20.93\00:03:27.77 Sarai." The angel of the Lord said to her," Return to your mistress and submit yourself 00:03:27.80\00:03:31.57 under her hand." Then the angel of the Lord said unto her, "I will multiply your what?" 00:03:31.61\00:03:36.34 [Congregation: Descendants] 00:03:36.38\00:03:36.91 "...descendants." How? 00:03:36.95\00:03:38.68 [Congregation: Exceedingly] 00:03:38.71\00:03:40.15 "...exceedingly. So that they shall not be counted for 00:03:40.18\00:03:43.85 multitudes". And the angel of the Lord said unto her, "Behold you are with child, and you 00:03:43.89\00:03:50.69 shall bear a son and you shall call his name, what?" 00:03:50.73\00:03:51.46 [Congregation: Ishmael] 00:03:51.49\00:03:52.59 "...Ishmael because the Lord has heard your affliction." 00:03:52.63\00:03:56.26 Everybody, notice there are some traits he gives about Ishmael. "He shall be a wild man. 00:03:56.30\00:04:02.80 And his hand shall be against every man. And every man's hand shall be against him. 00:04:02.84\00:04:08.34 And he shall dwell in the presence of all of his brother." And now go over to Genesis 21. 00:04:08.38\00:04:15.98 We will begin together at verse number 8. When you get there say "Pastor, I'm ready." 00:04:16.02\00:04:20.96 [Congregation: Pastor, I'm ready] 00:04:20.99\00:04:22.69 Genesis 21:8. Again, when you get there, I'll wait for just say "Pastor, I'm ready." 00:04:22.72\00:04:29.30 [Congregation: Pastor, I'm ready] 00:04:29.33\00:04:31.10 All right. So fast forward about 15 years. The child that was promised, Isaac, has been born. 00:04:31.13\00:04:36.77 Abraham has been able to manage it to a point but he can not manage it no further. Bible 00:04:36.81\00:04:43.78 says, "So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac 00:04:43.81\00:04:51.25 was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had born to Abraham's 00:04:51.29\00:04:59.36 scoffing. Therefore, she said to Abraham, "Cast out this bond 00:04:59.39\00:05:04.70 woman and her son. For the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son namely, Isaac." 00:05:04.73\00:05:11.01 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son. 00:05:11.04\00:05:16.54 But God said to Abraham, "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of your bondwoman. 00:05:16.58\00:05:24.49 Whatever Sarah has said unto you, listen to her voice for in Isaac, your seed shall be 00:05:24.52\00:05:30.79 called. Yet I will make a Nation of the son of the bondwoman because he is your seed." 00:05:30.83\00:05:38.30 So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and skin 00:05:38.33\00:05:42.74 of water, and putting it on her shoulder he gave it to the boy and the boy gave it to Hagar and 00:05:42.77\00:05:50.75 sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water in 00:05:50.78\00:05:59.05 the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the 00:05:59.09\00:06:02.86 shrub. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance about that of a bow 00:06:02.89\00:06:08.96 shot. For she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite of him 00:06:09.00\00:06:19.94 and lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of 00:06:19.97\00:06:24.68 the lad. Somebody out there shout hallelujah! 00:06:24.71\00:06:27.18 [Congregation: Hallelujah!] 00:06:27.22\00:06:29.15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, 'What ails 00:06:29.18\00:06:34.32 you, Hagar? Fear not for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise and lift up the 00:06:34.36\00:06:43.77 lad, and hold him with your hands, for I will make of him a 00:06:43.80\00:06:46.17 what? [Congregation: Great nation.] 00:06:46.20\00:06:47.74 "...great nation." Then God opened her eyes and she saw a 00:06:47.77\00:06:53.01 well of water, and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink. 00:06:53.04\00:06:57.61 And so God was with the lad. He grew and dwelled in the wilderness and became an Archer. 00:06:57.65\00:07:03.62 He dwelt in the wilderness of Paran and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 00:07:03.65\00:07:11.33 For emphasis, I am going to read verse eighteen, "Arise, lift up the lad hold him up with your 00:07:11.36\00:07:18.43 hands, for God says I will make of him a great nation. 00:07:18.47\00:07:22.40 Today, with God's help and your prayers, I want to talk for a little while under the subject: 00:07:22.44\00:07:32.65 I WILL TAKE IT FROM HERE. Let us pray together. 00:07:32.68\00:07:33.88 Father, in this little while would you say much? Father, 00:07:33.92\00:07:39.42 there is something that you want to say to us in the way we 00:07:39.45\00:07:43.86 parent, in the way we date, in the way that we marry, in the way we teach our children about 00:07:43.89\00:07:50.47 you. And so father, I sense a spirit of anxiety over this service, Lord. Would you cause 00:07:50.50\00:07:57.77 it to be broken up? Father, I ask that you would allow your spirit to be made so dense, that 00:07:57.81\00:08:05.65 it would smother all rivaling principalities. So Lord, would you hide Me In the Shadows of 00:08:05.68\00:08:14.22 the cross, that Jesus alone might be seen, that Christ alone would be heard. And at the end 00:08:14.26\00:08:21.73 of our time together may Jesus alone be praised. We ask this in the name of him who is 00:08:21.76\00:08:27.00 altogether lovely. It is in the name of Jesus, that we pray. Let God's people say together Amen. 00:08:27.04\00:08:31.94 You may be seated in the house of the Lord today. Again, talking under the subject: I 00:08:31.97\00:08:38.68 WILL TAKE IT FROM HERE. Church, when I was pastoring in Lexington Kentucky, I once got 00:08:38.71\00:08:50.73 an invitation to preach in a small town called Kings Mountain, Kentucky. Now to be 00:08:50.76\00:08:58.00 clear, this city was not on the outskirts of Louisville or Lexington. This city was all the 00:08:58.03\00:09:05.37 way out in those Kentucky sticks. And when I first got the call to go, I was a little bit 00:09:05.41\00:09:13.62 nervous because Kentucky is a very red State, and I am a very dark, man. [Congregations: 00:09:13.65\00:09:15.48 laughing ] But whenever God calls, the inclination is always to say yes. So I put the address 00:09:15.52\00:09:23.16 in my GPS, and it begins to guide me to my destination. My guide tells me where I am 00:09:23.19\00:09:29.56 supposed to turn. The guide tells me when I am going the wrong way. The guide tells me if 00:09:29.60\00:09:36.71 I need to turn around. I do not have much anxiety because my GPS is there to guide me. 00:09:36.74\00:09:41.84 But have you ever been going down a country road when the GPS 00:09:41.88\00:09:48.28 loses its signal? [Congregation: Answering] 00:09:48.32\00:09:50.15 All of a sudden, the icon that was on a street starts buffering. It is like you are 00:09:50.19\00:09:55.99 nowhere. All of a sudden Siri suddenly goes quiet. Now I am determined to make it to my 00:09:56.02\00:10:03.67 destination. But I have got now a lot of anxiety because I have nothing to guide me. 00:10:03.70\00:10:09.30 I have to guess where I am going because I have no one to guide 00:10:09.34\00:10:14.51 me. I have to rely on the advice of strangers because I have got nothing to guide me. 00:10:14.54\00:10:20.18 I have got to keep starting over because I have got nothing to guide me. And I almost miss out 00:10:20.22\00:10:27.99 on my assignment because I have got nothing guiding me. And how many of us understand that a 00:10:28.02\00:10:38.03 child's father is to serve as the spiritual GPS, or the compass to guide children to 00:10:38.07\00:10:42.27 their destination? [Congregation: Clapping] 00:10:42.30\00:10:43.97 But the problem is, in our time, we have fathers that do not have enough signal strength. 00:10:44.01\00:10:49.28 So the kids have to make the journey by themselves. And so our children have to guess which 00:10:49.31\00:10:56.55 way to go because we do not have anyone guiding us. Some of our girls have to take the advice of 00:10:56.58\00:11:03.06 strangers because they do not have anyone guiding them. There are some that keep having to 00:11:03.09\00:11:08.93 start over because they do not have anyone guiding them. There are some that will not make 00:11:08.96\00:11:14.74 their destination because they do not have anyone guiding them. 00:11:14.77\00:11:17.81 And as we look at the Story of Abraham, it is a call to our brothers to make sure that we do 00:11:17.84\00:11:26.25 not leave our kids buffering, because we don't have enough signal strength to make sure 00:11:26.28\00:11:34.12 that we guide them onto their destination. And this is a word of encouragement to the men that 00:11:34.16\00:11:42.70 are handling their business and doing the hard work of being a priest. But I also want to give 00:11:42.73\00:11:50.31 a word of admonition to the brother who is on the verge of leaving their posts. You got to 00:11:50.34\00:12:00.48 make sure that you do not allow your freedom to lead to their bondage because children need 00:12:00.52\00:12:01.18 somebody to guide them. [Congregation: Clapping] Are you hearing the word today? 00:12:01.22\00:12:02.62 There is somebody saying, "Pastor, did you make it to your 00:12:02.65\00:12:06.59 assignment?" I'll let you know how I made it then. When I got down the way, I eventually 00:12:06.62\00:12:14.56 pulled into this country gas station, and I asked the owner of the store, "Have you heard of 00:12:14.60\00:12:20.04 such an SDA church?" He says "I have never heard of it." And so he says you can get on the 00:12:20.07\00:12:25.27 internet, and go to MapQuest in order to get to your destination. I got my phone and 00:12:25.31\00:12:33.25 I say "What's the password?" And he says, "So many people lose 00:12:33.28\00:12:36.55 their signal. I leave the network open so anybody can log on and get to their destination 00:12:36.58\00:12:43.93 from here." Can I say to anybody that's been left behind by mother or father, Jesus has 00:12:43.96\00:12:52.07 said, "I am going to leave an open network. I am going to make the password accessible so that 00:12:52.10\00:12:57.74 when they stop guiding you, I will take it from here and make sure you make it to your 00:12:57.77\00:13:04.21 destination." [Congregation: Clapping] 00:13:04.25\00:13:04.75 [Congregation: Amen] 00:13:04.78\00:13:06.15 Are you hearing the word today? Friends, as we go back to this 00:13:06.18\00:13:09.82 text, I want to quote something that the wise man Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:9, he says, 00:13:09.85\00:13:24.73 "There is nothing new under the sun." He says, "What has been will be again." And he says, 00:13:24.77\00:13:32.71 "What has been done will also be done." And it's crazy friends because the longer I live, the 00:13:32.74\00:13:40.55 truer that statement begins to ring in my life. In fact, when we talk about the things that 00:13:40.58\00:13:48.69 are plaguing families in our time, we act as if these things are new. But the Bible says, 00:13:48.72\00:13:52.63 "There is nothing new under the sun." In other words, we act like homosexuality is a new 00:13:52.66\00:14:01.40 thing, but it is as old as the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. We act as if human trafficking just 00:14:01.44\00:14:10.21 started, but how do you think the slave got into Naaman's house to help her become aware 00:14:10.25\00:14:17.65 of Jehovah? We tend to act like threesomes or multiple partners is a new thing, but remember how 00:14:17.69\00:14:24.06 Lot slept with his two daughters so that he could impregnate both of them. In fact, we think baby, 00:14:24.09\00:14:35.30 mama drama is new stuff. But it is as old as Abraham's Sarah and Hagar. In other words, this is 00:14:35.34\00:14:41.61 an old story that could be on the Maury Povich Show. In other words, you got a man who gets an 00:14:41.64\00:14:47.68 African woman pregnant. [Congregation: Murmuring] 00:14:47.72\00:14:49.28 But because he's connected to somebody else, he can't commit 00:14:49.32\00:14:55.22 to the boy's mama. What arises as a dispute over child support or the birthright, he has got to 00:14:55.26\00:15:05.23 abandon the African woman and she has got to raise the African boy by herself. There is no 00:15:05.27\00:15:11.94 nothing new. Are you all hearing the word? [Congregation: 00:15:11.97\00:15:12.47 Clapping] [Congregation: Amen] 00:15:12.51\00:15:13.94 Friends of mine, I need you to know that the only difference in 00:15:13.98\00:15:17.61 our time, is that some things that were outliers then have simply become commonplace and 00:15:17.65\00:15:25.05 way too systematic. Do you realize that 72% of African American kids are born outside 00:15:25.09\00:15:34.56 of the union of matrimony or wedlock? Do you realize that less than 38% of our kids will 00:15:34.56\00:15:42.20 grow up in a home where there are two parents? It's amazing how 50 years ago a first-time 00:15:42.24\00:15:50.35 grandmother would hit that mark around the age of 45 or 50. But now, grandmothers are routinely 00:15:50.38\00:15:59.02 33 and 34. And the ones that are supposed to tell you how to figure life out, are still at a 00:15:59.05\00:16:03.16 place trying to figure out life for themselves. The problem friends are that there are some 00:16:03.19\00:16:08.86 cycles of recklessness and brokenness that are affecting the prosperity of our homes. Are 00:16:08.90\00:16:16.40 you with me today, friends? [Congregation: Amen] 00:16:16.44\00:16:18.24 I need you all to get it today, that the first thing that this story teaches friends of mine, 00:16:18.27\00:16:21.78 is that you can't keep two women happy at the same time. 00:16:21.81\00:16:26.01 [Congregation: Cheering] 00:16:26.05\00:16:27.82 Can I say this to the brothers in the church? That the more women you are trying to juggle, 00:16:27.85\00:16:33.05 the more women you are trying to entertain, the more women whose affections you are calling out, 00:16:33.09\00:16:40.03 the more soul ties you have connected become the noose that the devil uses to strangulate 00:16:40.06\00:16:49.17 your soul. Are you all hearing me today? 00:16:49.20\00:16:50.21 [Congregation: Clapping] 00:16:50.24\00:16:50.74 [Congregation: Amen] 00:16:50.77\00:16:51.97 And see, I need you all to get this thing, friends of mine. 00:16:52.01\00:16:53.58 That there are some of us who actually believe that the Bible 00:16:53.61\00:16:59.31 promotes polygamy. The Devil is a lie. What the Bible actually describes is the practice of an 00:16:59.35\00:17:09.39 ancient custom that the people of Israel borrowed from the foreign nations. In other words, 00:17:09.42\00:17:14.56 when you read the stories of polygamy, what it actually teaches is that the joint does 00:17:14.60\00:17:20.00 not work. In other words, read the stories of polygamy. So whether it is Hagar and Sarah 00:17:20.04\00:17:27.68 stressing out old Abraham. Whether it is Peninah and Hannah stressing out Elkanah, or 00:17:27.71\00:17:37.69 whether it is Leah and Rachel fighting over Jacob's love, one of the things that become clear 00:17:37.72\00:17:47.76 is that God did not promote polygamy, God just works with sinful humanity wherever it is. 00:17:47.83\00:17:48.30 [Congregation: Clapping] [Congregation: Amen] 00:17:48.33\00:17:50.47 In other words, friends, I need you to get that the blueprint for how relationships work was 00:17:50.50\00:17:55.44 given at creation. Are you all with me today church? 00:17:55.47\00:17:56.64 [Congregation: Clapping] 00:17:56.67\00:17:57.17 [Congregation: Amen] 00:17:57.21\00:17:58.74 In other words, when God created marriage, he pre-agreed one 00:17:58.77\00:18:02.71 woman for one man. He didn't create Adam and give him 15 women like in an episode of The 00:18:02.74\00:18:08.78 Bachelor. In other words, he knew that Adams's peace would be in commitment that his joy will 00:18:08.82\00:18:17.39 be in monogamy. That his prosperity will be in oneness. See? We are so messed up, 00:18:17.43\00:18:25.73 church. That when we hear words like commitment and monogamy and fidelity, those words are boring 00:18:25.77\00:18:31.94 in our minds. Somewhere along the line, in our culture, we begin to glorify the idea of 00:18:31.97\00:18:40.22 pimp life. Somewhere along the line, we begin to exalt the ladies' man and the womanizer. 00:18:40.25\00:18:48.56 That's what gets to play in our culture. And by default, we begin to castigate the young 00:18:48.59\00:18:56.67 brother that treats a woman with respect and value so much so that we say, "Nice guys finishes 00:18:56.70\00:19:03.37 last." And let me just say you got to be careful what you celebrate, because whatever you 00:19:03.41\00:19:06.74 celebrate you recruit. [Congregation: Clapping] 00:19:06.78\00:19:08.58 [Congregation: Amen] 00:19:08.61\00:19:10.71 In other words, you got to be careful, whatever you glorify because whatever you glorify, 00:19:10.75\00:19:17.95 you multiply. Understand that men will always gravitate to whatever is celebrated, and 00:19:17.99\00:19:27.60 whatever we celebrate as a people, that is what we begin to recruit as a people. 00:19:27.60\00:19:30.30 In other words, we have glorified jail life. That is why we have multiplied jail life. We 00:19:30.33\00:19:38.61 glorify thug life, and as a result, we have multiplied thug life. We have glorified baby 00:19:38.64\00:19:44.85 mama drama, and as a result, we've multiplied baby mama drama. We've glorified the side 00:19:44.88\00:19:50.65 piece, and as a result, we have multiplied the side piece. That is why in this church, we are 00:19:50.69\00:19:57.03 not glorifying street life, we are not glorifying thug life, we are not glorifying baby mama 00:19:57.06\00:20:01.50 drama. In this church we are going to glorify marriage, we are going to glorify education, 00:20:01.53\00:20:09.27 we are going to glorify husbands and virtuous women because what you have multiplied is going to 00:20:09.30\00:20:16.98 be the thing that has been glorified. [Congregation: 00:20:17.01\00:20:18.25 Clapping] [Congregation: Amen] 00:20:18.28\00:20:19.15 Are you all hearing what I'm saying? 00:20:19.18\00:20:20.35 [Congregation: Clapping] 00:20:20.38\00:20:20.88 [Congregation: Amen] 00:20:20.92\00:20:22.75 Can I just say to my young brothers in this place today what the culture will not tell 00:20:22.78\00:20:25.39 you, is that the more women you have attached to you, the more curses and stresses and drama 00:20:25.42\00:20:34.46 you bring to your own soul. [Congregation: Murmuring] 00:20:34.50\00:20:39.90 I don't want to say this wrong, one woman requires enough. Come on and say Amen, husbands. 00:20:39.93\00:20:45.21 [Congregation: Amen] 00:20:45.24\00:20:46.17 [Congregation: Clapping] 00:20:46.21\00:20:48.51 I mean you barely have enough to give to the wife you have got. You know you ain't got no extra 00:20:48.54\00:20:53.95 to give to no other woman. Come on and say Amen, all of you here 00:20:53.98\00:20:55.82 today. [Congregation: Amen] 00:20:55.85\00:20:56.48 [Congregation: Clapping] 00:20:56.52\00:20:58.15 That is why the word teaches when a man becomes an adult, he has to leave his father 00:20:58.19\00:21:04.49 and mother's house and be joined unto his wife. And those two shall become one flesh. 00:21:04.53\00:21:11.40 The reason the boy cannot bring his wife to his mama's house is because you can not keep your 00:21:11.43\00:21:18.54 wife and mama happy at the same time. You can not keep your baby mama happy at the same time. 00:21:18.57\00:21:25.08 You can not keep your wife and mistress happy at the same time. 00:21:25.11\00:21:29.12 You just ask God for strength to keep the one God has given you happy. Let the church say Amen 00:21:29.15\00:21:36.89 in this place. [Congregation: Amen] 00:21:36.93\00:21:37.46 [Congregation: Clapping] 00:21:37.49\00:21:38.36 Let me say to all the pimps in the room, 00:21:38.39\00:21:40.63 I need you to know that the baddest guy on the 'block is not the one that can get a bunch of 00:21:40.66\00:21:46.87 women happy for one night. It is the brother that can keep that same woman happy for an entire 00:21:46.90\00:21:51.94 lifetime. [Congregation: Amen] 00:21:51.97\00:21:52.51 [Congregation: Clapping] 00:21:52.54\00:21:54.21 You can get it right by accident on one night, but when you have been married 30 years, 00:21:54.24\00:21:57.88 and 40 years, and 50 years, and she's still smiling, that is how you know you are the man. 00:21:57.91\00:22:04.82 Are you all hearing me today? 00:22:04.85\00:22:06.92 [Congregation: Amen] 00:22:06.96\00:22:08.76 [Congregation: Clapping] 00:22:08.79\00:22:09.86 [Instruments: Piano playing] 00:22:09.89\00:22:12.26 And so the word says, Genesis 16:4, go back there with me if you don't mind. Genesis 16:4. 00:22:12.29\00:22:21.20 When you get there just say Amen. [Congregation: Amen] 00:22:21.24\00:22:23.24 So the Bible says, "He went into Hagar and she what? Conceived. And when she saw that she had 00:22:23.27\00:22:29.58 conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. So then Sarai said to Abraham, 00:22:29.61\00:22:34.45 "My wrong be upon you. I gave my maid to your embrace, and she saw that she had conceived, 00:22:34.48\00:22:40.89 I became despised in her eyes. May the lord judge between me 00:22:40.92\00:22:45.76 and you". So Abraham said to Sarai, "Indeed, your maid is in your hand, do to her as what? 00:22:45.79\00:22:52.67 [Congregation: You please] 00:22:52.70\00:22:53.47 "...you please." 00:22:53.50\00:22:55.20 See? The second thing this teaches us today, friends and young people, hear me on this. 00:22:55.24\00:22:58.87 It teaches that love can never begin below the waist. 00:22:58.91\00:23:04.38 [Congregation: Amen] 00:23:04.41\00:23:08.22 [Congregation: Clapping] 00:23:08.25\00:23:11.42 I am going to stand in it here for a minute. 00:23:11.45\00:23:14.46 [Congregation: Clapping and murmuring] 00:23:14.49\00:23:16.02 Now again I do not really know how much say Hagar actually has 00:23:16.06\00:23:21.86 in the matter. In fact, some scholars believe that Hagar was a willing participant because if 00:23:21.90\00:23:28.17 she went along with it, that having Abraham's baby would give her a beeline to access to the 00:23:28.20\00:23:36.31 birthright. But when I look at the text it becomes clear that Hagar is treated like property, 00:23:36.34\00:23:39.91 as she has been handed over from a jealous woman who wants children at all costs. Are you 00:23:39.95\00:23:47.49 with me here today? Now another thing I need you to get about this, friends of mine, is that 00:23:47.52\00:23:54.40 most folks don't get pregnant on the first try. [Congregation: 00:23:54.46\00:23:56.03 Murmuring] In other words, I need you to get that this is not just a one-time occasion. 00:23:56.06\00:24:01.14 And what happens is there is a relationship of sorts where Abraham keeps visiting the tent, 00:24:01.17\00:24:08.11 at least, for a month and a half or until that first cycle is missed. Are you all hearing what 00:24:08.14\00:24:14.25 I'm saying? In other words, I need you to get, beloved, that there is a familiarity that has 00:24:14.28\00:24:20.22 developed. He has shared Hagar's most intimate space. And because he wants her to get along, he 00:24:20.26\00:24:28.93 does not go in like a monster. So that in the heat of the moment, he expresses attraction 00:24:28.96\00:24:37.24 for Hagar. He expresses value for Hagar. He tells Hagar if I had only met you first, he tells 00:24:37.27\00:24:44.75 Hagar "I want you to have my baby." He tells Hagar what his other woman is not providing. 00:24:44.78\00:24:53.46 And noticed as soon as he gets what he wants. The word says, that he is done with her, and he 00:24:53.49\00:25:02.03 tells Sarah "Do with her whatever you please." Now, friends, I need you to get this 00:25:02.06\00:25:07.97 even though Hagar doesn't necessarily ask for this, and patriarchs and prophets Ellen 00:25:08.00\00:25:16.54 White says that after a while, Hagar begins to develop an attachment, jealousy, and 00:25:16.58\00:25:19.18 expectation towards Abraham. The problem is that she thought a physical interaction was going 00:25:19.21\00:25:29.12 to change the emotional makeup of the relationship. In other words, for her at some point, it 00:25:29.16\00:25:39.17 got emotional. But for Abraham, it was always transactional. In other words, I need some young 00:25:39.20\00:25:44.21 sister to understand the nature of a man. Just because he is into you that means that he is 00:25:44.24\00:25:48.71 into you. [Congregation: Clapping] 00:25:48.74\00:25:51.15 [Congregation: Amen] 00:25:51.18\00:25:53.11 In other words, just because he is in that means he's all the way in. I got to hear what I'm 00:25:53.15\00:25:58.05 saying. In other words, a physical interaction is not going to create an emotional 00:25:58.09\00:26:04.56 connection and you can't trust the things said in the heat of the moment because stuff said in 00:26:04.59\00:26:10.90 the heat of the moment, is done binding as soon as the moment is 00:26:10.93\00:26:14.37 over. [Congregation: Clapping] 00:26:14.40\00:26:17.24 [Congregation: Amen] 00:26:17.27\00:26:20.31 See? In other words, your boy Abraham is mad because like when Hagar is getting all turned up, 00:26:20.34\00:26:25.98 he's like you breaching the contract. In his mind, he's saying, "We was all grown folk 00:26:26.01\00:26:31.49 here. We all knew what we were getting into." In other words, "We knew it was just supposed to 00:26:31.52\00:26:37.83 be a transaction but now you didn't get your feelings caught all up in this thing and now 00:26:37.86\00:26:44.30 you're making me the bad guy?" Are you all hearing what I'm 00:26:44.33\00:26:46.27 saying? And this is why beloved I need you to understand that intimacy outside of a committed 00:26:46.30\00:26:52.41 relationship, I meant committed marriage is always dangerous. Because guess what? Somebody's 00:26:52.44\00:26:58.38 going to always get hurt. It's always going to mean more to one than it does to somebody else. 00:26:58.41\00:27:03.89 Somebody's going to always misinterpret the nature of the relationship and what Abraham, 00:27:03.92\00:27:11.03 as a man does not understand, is that even though his mouth has said, "We're not committed." 00:27:11.06\00:27:18.90 That the very act itself creates commitments. [Congregation: 00:27:18.93\00:27:21.10 Clapping] Thank you so much for joining us for the Breath of Life Television Ministries 00:27:21.14\00:27:27.48 Broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell. We hope and pray that you've been blessed by Part One 00:27:27.51\00:27:35.18 of " I'll Take It From Here". The first message in our series entitled "Family-ish". Join us 00:27:35.22\00:27:40.86 next week for part 2, You won't want to miss it! Hi. I'm Debleaire Snell. Have you ever 00:27:40.89\00:27:46.63 been in a place where as soon as you start believing big, praying big and thinking big, someone 00:27:46.66\00:27:53.40 told you that you need to be more realistic. It was unrealistic for Jesus to say, 00:27:53.44\00:28:00.14 I'm going to lay down my life and in three days I'm going to pick it up again. I would 00:28:00.18\00:28:11.39 encourage you to put down your commonly held beliefs. And it's time for us to get unrealistic. 00:28:11.42\00:28:44.02 (Breath of Life Theme Music) [END] 00:28:44.05\00:28:59.03