God's Plan Versus Man's Plan — Genesis 15-18

0:01 Good morning. Good morning. Well, bring your Bibles to Genesis 16. That's our text for the day. Genesis sixteen and seventeen.

0:12 So good to be here this morning. I don't know about you, but the the singing this morning was just glorious. I kinda wanted to keep going. You know? It's like, oh, no.

0:20 Now they have to hear me. But... Alright. But it was truly truly wonderful. I really felt that the Lord prepared my heart even for his word.

0:31 Good to have the Eichenhaus also and Drew back with us. I feel very, very blessed to be here today with them here amongst us. And also Denise over here from New Hampshire. Good to have you. K.

0:47 We've been we've been studying the the book of Genesis from the beginning, and I don't know about you, but I personally have been blessed by it. Such a such a blessing to be able to go to Genesis and see where we came from, how God created. We don't have to be worrying about all those questions. You know, where do we come from? Do we come from monkeys?

1:08 And where where... When did time start? All of that is in the bible. We can just go there and read it, and indeed we are blessed by it. So has anybody found the spot yet?

1:17 Genesis sixteen and seventeen? The title of today's message is this, God's plan versus man's plan. Alright? God's plan versus man's plan. I don't know about you, but when I was 18, 19, 20, I had a plan.

1:38 And I kinda looked into the future, and I I saw kinda things unfolding. And then god says, that's your plan. I have another plan. Now I look back and like, wow. My plan was not god's plan, and god changed everything up.

1:54 So that's the whole thought of today's message, God's plan versus man's plan. And I'm sure all of you have all these thoughts. You're thinking about your future. You have all these plans and and even those who are a little older, you're still thinking, okay. I still got a couple of years left that...

2:12 You're having your your idea, your plan for life. Right? So gonna take a look at this today, and I pray that the holy spirit would use it to to bless all of us. I'm gonna read some select text in Genesis sixteen and seventeen, then we're gonna go to Proverbs. So is this how the light there is?

2:32 Wow. K. Good thing I brought my reading glasses in. Okay. Hang on.

2:36 A little bit of... Too much hot air. K. Let's begin. Is there a light here, brother?

2:46 Thank you. Amen. Then then there was light and man can see. Alright. So let's begin.

2:54 Genesis 16. Now Sarai, Abraham's wife, had born him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abraham, now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maid.

3:14 Perhaps I shall obtain children through her. And Abraham listened to the voice of Sarai. And Abraham lived ten years in the land of Canaan. Abraham's wife Sarai took Hagar, the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. And he went into Hagar, and she conceived.

3:36 And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. And Sarai said to Abraham, may the wrong done to me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that I that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the Lord judge between you and me. But Abraham said to Sarai, behold, your maid is in your in your power.

4:01 Do to her what is good in your sight. So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence. Now the angels of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness by the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Saria is maid. Where have you come from and where are you going?

4:24 And she said, I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai. Then the angel of the Lord said to her, return to your mistress and submit yourself to her authority. Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to her, I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they shall be too many to count. The angel of the Lord said to her further, behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has given heed to your affliction, and he will be a wild donkey of a man. Wow, I don't know if that's a compliment or a or an insult.

5:03 Some commentaries say it's a compliment because the the donkeys were admired in those days. So I'm gonna take it as a compliment. Let's go on to verse 12. And he will be a wild... Well, verse 12.

5:14 He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone. And everyone's hand will be against him, and he will live to be... I'm I'm sorry, to the east of all his brothers. So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, thou art a God who sees. For she said, I have been...

5:34 I have even remained alive after seeing him. That is the angel of the Lord. The the the Lord Jesus pre incarnate, which is God himself. Therefore, the well was called Beer Samtin Roy. Behold, it is between Kedesh and Berid.

5:53 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore Ishmael. And Abram was 86 years old when Hagar was... Bore Ishmael to him. Now let's go to chapter 15. I wanna read a little bit just so that you can get some of the context.

6:39 Then the... Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him saying, this man will not be your heir, but one who shall come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir. So you see Sarah's plan. You see Abraham's plan. Alright.

6:58 Let's go to let's go to Proverbs 16. Let's go to Proverbs 16. Already, Proverbs 16, and we're going to look at verse number one. Okay. The Bible says this, the plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

7:33 Verse three, commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. Verse nine, the mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Chapter 19 and verse 21. Chapter 19 and verse 21. Many are the plans...

7:55 That's nineteen twenty one. I'll her a chance to find it. Many are the plans in a heart... In a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand. But the counsel of the Lord will stand, and the Lord always blesses his word.

8:10 Amen? Alright. Let's go back to Genesis 16. God made a promise to to Abraham and Sarah. They were an Er.

8:20 He called them to come and serve them, told them to leave their country. They leave their country. And part of the promise was that they were gonna have a baby. And a lot of us feel like the Lord has called us, has has made promises to us. We make...

8:35 We have all of these plans and and these thoughts. And so they leave with the hope that Sarah not being able to have a baby yet. She was 65 when they left. And so you can just imagine the thrill in her heart. You know, Abraham communicates to her.

8:51 God made me a promise that he's gonna give us a baby. And so they leave, and she starts to imagine already being able to hold that little baby in their in their arms. And I think the desire of every woman is to have a baby. Even though many today say they don't want any children now deep inside, I think every every woman desires to to have a baby and hold them in their arms and to be able to raise a baby. I think that's from God, and it's a good thing.

9:17 And and so God makes this this promise to them, and and they're excited that that through them, this baby is gonna be born. And so they leave their country. They go to to Heron, and they're up there, and then they move down to Canaan, and they're kinda wandering around. And then one year goes by, another year goes by, another year goes by, and time is just passing. And so just picture ten years already gone by, and nothing's happening.

9:44 And so I don't know about you, but I like things to be done quickly. I don't like to wait. I hate traffic because I have to sit there and wait. Amen? Do you agree?

9:54 Amen. I I actually almost sin sometimes when I'm in traffic. So what about you? You did send, didn't you? I thought so.

10:03 But, you know, traffic has a way of getting on my nerves because I can't stand the weight. I wanna get there. In fact, I bought a new microwave because my other one was too slow. Alright? And they wouldn't get the food hot enough fast enough.

10:15 So throw that thing away and get a new one. And so by by this time, you can only imagine Abraham and Sarah were real people like you and I with real feelings and real real aspirations. And so they're looking to this this promise of God that they're gonna have this baby. And so so the years are going by and then Abraham is like, okay, Lord, Genesis 15, you know, you say you're give us a baby and it's not coming and I'm getting older. Come on.

10:42 You know, where's this plan? Where's this plan of yours? Where's this promise that we're gonna have a baby? And, you know, a lot of you've had a lot of dreams too and then kinda fall apart. You've been praying, asking God for something, and and it's like, come on, Lord.

10:54 Are you are you listening? Where are you? You know, it's kinda getting along in in in time and you're not doing anything. It feels like you're not real to me. Like, you're not intervene.

11:04 You're making these promises, but where are they? And so Abraham comes before the Lord in chapter 15. May... Maybe may... Maybe Lord, your plan was that I use my my my...

11:16 Eliezer, my servant. Maybe that's how you're gonna do it. And God said, no. No. No.

11:20 No, Abraham. I got a plan. I got a plan. It's it's my plan. You're coming up with a plan to fix mine because you want me to hurry up.

11:29 And it's not my time yet. And so and so... But I'm tired of waiting, Lord. You made this promise, and it feels like it's not even real. So God said, no.

11:40 No. No. No. It's not gonna be through him. So forget that plan.

12:02 Ten years down the line or make that eleven? Okay, Lord. This is not really working out. You you made us a promise. Oh, I got an idea.

12:11 I have a plan. How how about the servant? Hey, Abraham. You you know, the the the lord maybe maybe through her, god's gonna fulfill his plan to us, and we're gonna have a baby. You know, how about if I give you my my mate?

12:25 Of course, Abraham didn't think, oh, sure. Hey, bring, you know, bring her to me. You know, why not? He didn't even think twice, you know, at this at this goofy idea. So Sarah comes up with a plan.

12:36 I I I know how I'm gonna do God's will. I'm gonna do it my way. I'm gonna come up with this idea to go through this servant lady. And so indeed, it was her plan. And because, you know, God is God is not doing anything.

12:51 I've been praying. I've been asking. He made this promise. You know, where where is he? And so we come up with our plan.

12:59 Have you been there? And so God is not restricted or or concerned with our timing. He's got his own timing. He does his things in his way. Have you found that out yet?

13:14 Right? How long have you been praying? A good friend of mine, very, very, very godly woman, we were raised together, extremely godly. She told me when they were married, we're the same age, married the same time and all that. I remember when they were married, she told me, yeah, Ray, you know, we're gonna have five children together.

13:34 And they had all these plans, all these dreams. That was her plan. And ten years down the line, they hadn't had any children yet. And so she was really struggling with it. And she she tells me, you know, we've been praying and God has not given us any children, I have this desire in me that's so bad and and really aching.

13:54 And so here's what I'm gonna do. She she rented a cabin in Colorado and took off, and she says, I'm gonna I'm gonna go before the Lord, and I'm gonna fast and just be with him alone and say, okay, Lord, if you're not gonna give me any children, do you have to take the desire out of my heart then? And show me what your plan for my life is. I had my plan and my dreams, and this is what I wanted, but apparently you want something different. And so...

14:18 But I want children so bad, Lord. I wanted five. And so she went up to the cabin, met with the Lord alone, was there for a whole week. And when she came down, we we would record. We had...

14:32 We would... I had a radio program in Houston and we would record every week. And so I would see her every week. And she came back down from from the mountain and and she says, well, I I think I had to accept the fact that God's plan was different than mine. He's not gonna give me any children.

14:48 And and and the Lord has helped me to deal with it. He's gonna give me the grace to deal with it. He's got other plans for me, and he's gonna use me. And she's going on for the Lord. She didn't turn bitter at God's plan for her.

15:02 And so here's here's Sarah. She comes up with a plan. Hey. How about how about we use Hagar? You know, let...

15:11 Let's get it done because God says he's gonna give us a a baby. Right? So let's go that way. And so sure enough, she conceives. Wouldn't you know it?

15:30 I mean, they're killing everybody, and it's... There you go. It's right there. Isn't that interesting? So the Lord has given heed to your affliction, and he does care.

16:13 Wow. Now go back. I got a plan. I have a plan. I have a plan for your son, Ishmael.

16:18 Even though he wasn't the the the plan that I had, I'm still gonna have mercy, and I'm gonna bless him. Right? And so God tells her to go back. And he's... She says, thou art a God who sees.

16:33 So he knows what's going on in our lives. The disappointments. Anybody disappointed here? Sickness. Aren't you tired of being sick?

16:43 The unfair treatment, the broken dreams, and God in his wisdom knows why and what's going on. He sees the whole thing. You know, last week, I was at a camp. Jacob was with me, and I was teaching. And what I was doing was I was teaching over God and, you know, teaching about God and how he's a sovereign God, the all knowing God, the free God, able to do what he wants, when he wants without having to give account to us as to why he does what he does.

17:11 Well, I had a... I had three different people come to me. They were all related. The dad, his name is Phil. He said, you know, I'm really struggling with that because I was married to my first wife and then she died of cancer.

17:24 Then I married my second wife and three months later, she died of a heart clot, a clot in her heart. Right? And so all of sudden, I had three children with with no mom. Right? And then he marries a girl, a woman, the third wife, you know, and she says, the same thing happened to me.

17:42 My husband died, and then I married a second one, and he died. And all of sudden, we find each other coming together. I had three boys. He had three kids, and we get married. And then all of sudden, there's this mixed family.

17:55 And so so he says, I'm really, really trying to grapple with why God allows these things in my life. So then the son comes and tells me, you know, I grew up at camp and hearing the word of God and everything. And and outside, I was pretending like everything was good, but inside, I was mad at God. What kind of a God would take my mom away and then take my second mom away and and then all this mess? Where's God?

18:24 Where's God? And so he was he was grappling. He was he was he was grappling with his anger and his... With his frustration with God and what happens in life. See?

18:36 So then Jacob comes to me. Jacob is a son of the mom. And he tells me, I'm mad because god took my dad, and then he took my second dad, and now we're in this blended family. And so I'm I'm grappling with why I had to grow up without a dad, and and I'm mad. So father and the two, the son and the stepson, all struggling with the same thought.

19:01 Disappointed with God and his ways, with God's plans, what God allows. And so they they were honest, and they were grappling with God and his purposes. Verse seven... Chapter 17 and verse one. Now Abraham was 99 years old.

19:20 Alright? What... What's your observation of the text right there? What's your observation? If he was if he was if he was 86 years old, how old is he now?

19:33 99. It tells you right there. Right? He was not... How many years?

19:37 13. 13. Now, you know, this time I did my calculations before I preached. You know? For those of you math teachers and all that guy, all that kind of stuff.

19:46 So it was simple math math. So I was able to do this one on my own. Right? So... But think about it.

20:16 I better hurry up because if not, they're gonna be mad at me, and and and I better do it by next year. You would think. You would think, God, I've been praying for my mom to be saved. Lord, I've been praying for something to happen, and it seemed like you don't answer. And look.

20:33 It's thirteen years. Good grief. Year after year. Wait a minute. We already tried this Hagar thing.

20:41 That didn't work. And and and Abraham comes up with his suggestion, and that wasn't the idea. And so it's it's... It seems like, you know, god, you drive me crazy. Amen?

20:52 Ain't that true? Why you taking so long? Where where are you? And so god didn't even bother to give us all of the details of all the frustrations. You can imagine the prayers.

21:07 You know? Right? Thirteen more years. Wow. God's plans versus man's.

21:19 Man's plans are so different. That's why we read the Proverbs. A man plans in his heart, but God is the one that says, this is... That's your plan. I'm working it out.

21:29 I'm working it out. And so God has to do plan b with us because we always do our own thing. Says, okay. Alright. I had a plan for you.

21:37 You did your own thing. I'm gonna fix it now. I'm gonna do different things. I'm still gonna accomplish my purposes in your life because it's gonna be the way I do it, not the way you do it. So how long have you been praying and asking God?

21:52 Are you frustrated yet? And what happens is that during that time we make a lot of dumb choices because we want God to do it now. And so you you remember David in Psalm thirteen one? Listen. Don't go there.

22:08 How long, oh lord, will thou forgive me forever? How long will you hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all day long? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? You see, remember Samuel came and anointed David?

22:29 You're going to be the king. He thought, hey. That's great, man. I'm a become king. Thirteen years later, he's still not king.

22:37 And he's being chased around living like a savage in caves and and and, you know, scrapping for food and and having to defend themselves constantly and and hiding from this guy. And it was a good grief. Lord, when is this gonna change? So how long, Lord? How long will the enemy be exalted over me?

22:58 And you can just just feel the... In David's heart also in that song, the frustration. But aren't you glad God reveals the reality of life to us and doesn't pretend that life is some piece of cake? Don't you understand that life is unfair? It is not gonna be fair until we get to heaven?

23:17 Do you understand that? Right? And yet God is righteous and fair in everything he does. Even if you don't understand it, and God doesn't care what you think. He's always right.

23:30 He's always just in everything he does. And so he repeats the promise to Abraham. Hey, Abraham. Hey, Abraham. Thirteen years later, I haven't forgot.

23:39 I made the promise. Alright. So let's go. Look what he says. Now Abraham was 99 years old.

23:46 The Lord appears to Abraham and said to him, I am the God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. Meanwhile, while you're waiting or praying, keep walking right, keep being blameless. It's not an excuse to sin. It's not an excuse to sin or to be rebellious or to do your own thing.

24:08 And I will establish my covenant, verse two, between me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly. And Abraham fell on his face and talked... And God talked with him. As for me, behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but you shall be called Abraham, for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations, and I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make the nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you.

24:41 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after after you throughout the generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give you and your descendants after you the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. Now has he given them the land yet? How long has it been? And yet is god gonna give it to him?

25:13 You better believe it. You better believe it. When god makes a promise, he keeps it. It's just not in your timing. God's plans versus our plans.

25:22 See? So then he goes to Sarah. Alright, Sarah. You're discouraged. Here you go.

25:57 Look at... Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and he said in his heart, will a child be born to a man of 100 years old? And will Sarah, who is 99 years old, bear a child? And so he gets all excited. He believes God again as God reiterates his promise to him.

26:17 I told you twenty five years ago, I was gonna give you a baby. I'm gonna give you a baby because my plans are gonna come true. Now you try to fix it with your own plans, but I'm gonna do what I said I was gonna do in my way, in my time, the way I wanna do it, and not the way you wanna do it. Wow. What a promise.

26:38 And so Abraham laughs and he gets all excited. Whoo. But look at look at look at before you jump to any... At verse 18. And Abraham said to God, oh, that Ishmael might live before thee.

26:51 There goes Abraham again. Okay, God. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I don't like your plan.

26:55 I have another plan. What about Ishmael? He's my son. Well, why don't you just work it out to him and don't worry about this waiting and this having a baby through Sarah because maybe that's not even gonna work out because she's so old now and so am I. Well, there's Ishmael.

27:13 There's there's this plan b. Right? His second plan. The plans of man. And so what did God think about that plan?

27:21 Verse 19. God said, what? Everybody with me? God said, no. That's right.

27:28 There you go again, Abraham. There you go again with your own plan. No. I have a plan. A baby boy will be born through Sarah, and it's gonna be a supernatural work of God to awaken the dead womb of Sarah.

27:43 And through her, the baby of promise is gonna be born. It's not through Ishmael. I have a plan for Ishmael. I already told you I had a plan for him. He's not the one, and don't try to make him the one.

27:56 No. My plan is gonna be... Sarah is gonna have a baby, and it's gonna be supernatural because, see, this is a picture of salvation. God supernaturally awakens our dead soul unto salvation through the holy spirit. And that's how you're saved by the work of the holy spirit giving you new birth.

28:16 And so it's gonna be me working powerfully in two dead bodies, a woman with a with a dead womb all her life that's old and an old man, and I'm gonna work it out till you're gonna have a baby. That's my plan. And quit trying to change it, Abraham. And so the Lord fulfilled his promise. I'm not supposed to jump into 18, but just a quick peek.

28:46 18 and verse 14. Is anything too difficult for the Lord? See, it's not question... It's not a question if God can do it. It's a question of God's timing and God's plan the way he wants to do it, and us submitting to it.

29:02 Submitting to it. And so do you have any broken dreams? Have you been having desires and plans that you made and they haven't come to fruition and your life has taken a totally different turn that you ever imagined? Then join the crowd. Everybody else is the same.

29:23 You just didn't know it. You just didn't know it. Me included. All these dreams and all these plans that I have when I was young and God says you're goofy. I got a whole different plan for you.

29:35 Course, I couldn't have seen it back then. The plans of God. So I leave you with this verse. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. What do you do?

29:49 You just trust him. As you're living obediently and faithfully to the Lord, you just trust him. Trust in the Lord and don't lean on your own understanding because then you're gonna come up with your own plan. And so it'd be a good thing for you to go home tonight and say, Lord, these have been all my plans, but I forgot to ask you, what's your plan? What's your desire?

30:09 What's your timing? What's your timing? You're in a hurry? You're asking, hurry up, Lord. Join the crowd.

30:17 It's everybody else too. Are you frustrated with the way God's worked out? Join the crowd. Everybody else is the same. Unless there's somebody super spiritual in here that didn't happen to them.

30:28 Right? Yeah. Yeah. We're all the same. Just like Abraham and just like Sarah.

30:47 Even though they had faith, Lord, they did things in their own way so many times, trying to rush you along and trying to change your plans. But your plans were not worth it, your will was done, and the baby was born. Wow. Lord help us to trust you even when it doesn't make sense, even when we're frustrated, even when we've been praying for twenty, thirty years and nothing seems to be happening and look like if you don't care, help us to trust you even through all those times, Lord. Pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

31:20 Amen.