Andrew Fountain - God Uses Messed-Up People
- Artist: Andrew Fountain
- Title: God Uses Messed-Up People
- Album: Newlife Church, Toronto
- Year: 2015-07-12
- Length: 25:52 minutes (10.4 MB)
- Format: MP3 Stereo 44kHz 56Kbps (VBR)
Link to Video:
God Uses Messed-Up People Sermon notes - God Uses Messed-Up People
..Genesis 20
- Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev region and settled between Kadesh and Shur.
While he lived as a temporary resident in Gerar, 2Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.”
So Abi-melech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. - But God appeared to Abi-melech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.”
- Now Abi-melech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, would you really slaughter an innocent nation?
- Did Abraham not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience and with innocent hands!”
- Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. That is why I have kept you from sinning against me and why I did not allow you to touch her.
- But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed he is a prophet and he will pray for you; thus you will live. But if you don’t give her back, know that you will surely die along with all who belong to you.”
- Early in the morning Abi-melech summoned all his servants. When he told them about all these things, they were terrified.
- Abi-melech summoned Abraham and said to him,
“What have you done to us?
What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom?
You have done things to me that should not be done!” - Then Abi-melech asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?”
- Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.’
- What’s more, she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife.
- When God made me wander from my father’s house, I told her,
‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’” - So Abi-melech gave sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him.
- Then Abi-melech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.”
- To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your ‘brother.’ This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.”
- Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abi-melech, as well as his wife and female servants so that they were able to have children.
- For the Lord had caused infertility to strike every woman in the household of Abi-melech because he took Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
based on NET Bible
- What on earth are we supposed to learn from it?
- Many times in the Bible... Examples?
- Pharoah
- Herod
- Athaliah (& Joash)
- When we understand the Big Story we can understand the context for what is happening
- Do you know what happens in the next chapter?
- The was actually the second time Abraham had done this—it happened when he went down to Egypt.
- What a “man of faith”
- Samson had a weakness for women, non-Israelite women
- This got him into lots of trouble, but God always got him out
- Eventually he landed himself as a slave with no eyes
- But at the end, God still heard his prayer
- heroine addict
- saved, but relapsed several times
- now a church leader
- Struggled with depression and suicide
- A very flawed and damaged person,
but he wrote some phenominal poetry that has been a strength to countless people.
- ✻ It’s either obvious you are messed up, or you hide it well
- All of us go back again and again into things we shouldn’t do
- The enemy is defeated. He is going down, but not without a fight!
- God is able to pull you out of those jaws every time
- ‡ Rev 12:17 is about us
- This is why we can draw a direct line between Abraham and us
- His head has been crushed on the cross
- He death-twitches
- What kind of a man of faith are you Abraham?
- In the long run it didn’t really matter—God carried Abraham to his destiny
- If you mess up, don’t let Satan discourage you
- Don’t be frozen by guilt
- Tell Satan that it happened to Abraham and God still used him!
- “God has not given up on me…”
Updated on 2015-07-13 by Andrew Fountain
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