The God who sees me Gen 16: 1-14 Gen 21: 14-20

The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. Gen 16: 11 She gave the name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Gen 16: 13

The God who sees me The God who sees the truth we try to hide. The God who sees our value beyond social expectations. The God who sees us in our crisis of faith. The God who sees us when others don’t.

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she has an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar, so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Gen 16: 1-2

Substituting God’s promise with our own efforts. Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. Gal 4:21-23, 31.

The God who sees the truth we try to hide. The essence of sin is human beings substituting themselves for God. Sin begins with self salvation by works and effort. Sin is us seeking to be our own Savior and Lord of our lives.

The God who sees the truth we try to hide. The essence of sin is human beings substituting themselves for God. The immediate response of sin is blame shifting (cf Gen 2:12). Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms. May the Lord judge between you and me (cf 1 Sam 24: 13,16). We justify the blame shifting on the hurt we are going through.

The God who sees the truth we try to hide. The essence of sin is human beings substituting themselves for God. The immediate response of sin is blame shifting and hiding the truth from ourselves. Sin is not just by our actions, but also by our inactions. “Your servant is in your hands,” Abram said, “Do with her whatever you think best.” There is no such thing as a Christian who is a persistent coward.

The God who sees the truth we try to hide. The essence of sin is human beings substituting themselves for God. The immediate response of sin is blame shifting. Sin is not just by our actions, but also by our inactions. The impact of sin is much more far reaching than we want to believe. “He will 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 towards all his brothers.” Gen 16: 12.

Who are the bad guys in the story? If there was no social pressure to have a child, Sarah would not have asked Abram to sleep with Hagar. If Hagar did not despise Sarah, Sarah would not have “treated her badly”. If Abram had not turned a blind eye to Hagar’s mistreatment, Hagar would not have run away. If Ishmael had not mocked (persecuted, as per Gal 4:29 ) Isaac, Sarah would not have demanded Hagar and Ishmael be casted out.

The God who sees the truth we try to hide. The essence of sin is human beings substituting themselves for God. The immediate response of sin is blame shifting and hiding the truth from ourselves. The impact of sin is much more far reaching than we want to believe. Sin is not just by our actions, but by our inactions. Everybody sins.

The God who sees our value beyond social expectations Culturally acceptable during ancient times to:- Have slaves. Have many wives. Have children through your slaves. The first born son gets the main share of inheritance. Make your slave your heir if you have no children. Let your mother chose your wife.

Culturally acceptable nowadays to:- Have servants and helpers that we treat as slaves. Have sexual relationships with anyone we want so long both parties consent. Sign a pre nuptial agreement to protect your assets. Get married. Get divorced. Repeat.

A person’s value is often shaped by the immediate social conditions. In ancient times the nucleus family was the definition of a person’s primary identity, especially for a woman. For Sarai, her value as a person was defined by the need to get pregnant and have a family, at all cost.

A person’s value is often shaped by the immediate social conditions. In today’s society a person’s identity is shaped by something ancient society did not have- individual choice.

If my sense of value as a human being is rooted in:- Family pressure to get married, have children, raise them well, etc. Peer pressure to conform to certain social behavior. Work culture pressure to succeed based on outside influences. Self expectations due to past hurts, etc. then I will use my own efforts to get what I believe will fulfill me in my life. I will be Lord and Savior of my life to get my goals.

and when My aspirations of a family life suffers a breakdown. The relationships in my life are hollow and unfulfilling. My career does not go as well as I had hoped. I cant let go of past hurts and disappointments. then Bitterness. Blame shifting. Self denial. Jealousy. Exploitation. Injustice. Despair…… will follow.

The God who sees our value beyond social expectations. If my sense of value as a person is rooted in the God who sees me:- Whatever the status of my life. I know I am valuable to God.

The God who sees us in our journey of faith Life changing awareness of God. You accept Jesus as Lord and savior. You begin your Christian life. Discipleship You start to learn what it means to follow Jesus. You get involved in church life. Actively serving You are joyful in your Christian life You are regularly involved in church life. The Wall I am hurt I am angry I am very sad I am confused I feel lost I feel disappointed

Inward reflection You need time and space to grief, scream, shout, reflect, etc. Your faith is in crisis stage. Outward journey You rediscover God’s profound love. You start to heal spiritually. Transformed with true joy You realize God will complete the work he began in you. You learn to surrender more of yourself to God

Life changing awareness of God. Discipleship Actively serving Inward reflection Outward journey Transformed

The God who sees us in our crisis of faith Abraham has many crisis during his entire journey of faith. Sometimes he obeys, sometimes he does not. The consequences of his disobedience are disastrous for those around him. Despite all his failings, he is considered the father of faith in the Bible.

The God who sees us in our crisis of faith God will allow us to be tested during our entire journey of faith. Sometimes we will fail, other times we will succeed. The aim of all testing is to move us to a state where we are completely dependant on Him. The starting point of any journey of faith is to know and depend on the word of God (Sarah’s wrong belief about God- v2). Waiting on the Lord is a critical part in our walk of faith. Our journey of faith will often require hard decisions before we appropriate God’s promised blessings.(Hagar having to go back to an abusive mistress –v9).

The God who sees us when others don't In Hagar, God saw:- An exploited slave. An abused woman. A foreigner. An unbeliever of Yahweh. Someone who did not pray to Him. Someone outside the Abraham Covenant. Do you have faith that God sees you?

The God who sees me The God who sees the truth we try to hide. The God who sees our value beyond social expectations. The God who sees us in our walk of faith. The God who sees us when others don’t. As we begin the New Year, who do you think God wants us to see in our lives?