The Faith of God’s Princess
Hebrews 11:11-12
Well, here we are this morning on Mother’s Day
The day in which mom is rightly praised and recognized by her family.
And since we are in between book studies
It seemed only fitting to take this one Sunday morning
And examine God’s Word with regard to
One of the truly great women of the Bible.
This morning we are going to look at God’s Princess.
Now many little girls grow up with the dream of being a princess.
Hannah dresses up in her princess outfits in order to play the part.
Older girls in beauty contest still love to wear the tiara.
This morning we are going to study the woman that God called princess.
Genesis 17:15-16 “Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
The name Sarai means “argumentative”
But when God looked at her He saw something else.
God changed her name to “Sarah” which means “princess”.
He had pegged her to be the mother of the nation of Israel,
And so Sarah would be her name.
This morning I just want to show you her faith.
I’ve always thought that Sarah
Tended to get a bad rap among the Christian world.
1) THE HAGAR INCIDENT
Genesis 16:1-6 “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me.” But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.”
2) THE EAVES DROPPER
Genesis 18:9-12 “Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
3) THE SEND OFF
Genesis 21:9-10 “Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac.”
As you will see in a moment,
Not all of those incidents were necessarily negative ones,
But because of those events, Sarah tends to get a little bit of a bad rap.
She is viewed by many as a temperamental woman
Who seemed to bully Abraham around.
If that is the impression you take from studying the life of Sarah,
Then you did not get the point God intended for you to get.
The New Testament routinely points to Sarah as a model woman,
1 Peter 3:5-6 “For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.”
Peter didn’t paint Sarah as an overbearing woman,
But rather as a woman of supreme submission.
And of course this is accurate.
Twice, Sarah obeyed her husband by saying that she was his sister
In order to keep him out of trouble.
And it was this woman that God called “A Princess”.
SO THIS MORNING WE LOOK AT THE LIFE OF SARAH
To do that we look at Hebrews 11
You know it as the “Faith Hall of Fame”
ONLY TWO WOMEN ARE SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED HERE.
While others are alluded to (Jochabed and the women who received back their dead)
Only Sarah and Rahab are listed by name.
So let’s look at the “The Faith of God’s Princess”
READ: HEBREWS 11:11-12
While we are using this passage to talk about Sarah, I find it very important that we never study a passage without knowing it’s purpose.
The author of Hebrews knows he is addressing men and women
Who have professed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
However, because the persecution is so strong against Christians,
Some of them are tinkering with the thought of denying the faith.
The writer of Hebrews is strongly warning against that.
In Chapter 10 he actually gives the penalty of apostasy.
(READ 10:26-31)
Then he gives a word of encouragement.
(READ 10:32-34)
Then comes the point.
(READ 10:35-39)
In light of the present suffering and hardship,
The author is pushing these to quit walking by fear
And to start walking by faith.
“But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”
That then is the reason for Hebrews 11 – (The Faith Chapter)
The author now gives illustrations of those who have walked before them,
Who also faced difficult circumstances,
But who chose faith over fear and received the reward.
That is also why, after the faith chapter
The writer begins the 12th chapter by saying:
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
So the purpose of our text is to encourage the discouraged
By reminding them of the great faith
Of those who walked before them.
And on this list are some of
The greatest demonstrations of faith the world has ever seen.
Among those events listed are:
• Noah building the ark
• Abraham leaving Ur of the Chaldeans
• Moses forsaking Pharaoh’s court
• Joshua bringing down the walls of Jericho
And also included in this list is God’s Princess Sarah
She is meant to be an encouragement to you
To walk by faith in the midst of difficult circumstances.
Let me just quickly show you four points from this text.
#1 THE PROMISE OF GOD
Hebrews 11:11
Now there are other truths in that verse we will return to in a moment,
But what I want you to be aware of us what we see at the end of the verse.
And that is that God had obviously made a promise to Sarah.
Genesis 18:10 “He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.”
But this is not the first time that God had made that promise.
(It was the 3rd)
The first came on the day Abraham was saved.
Genesis 15:5-6 “And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
You may remember however that Sarah had trouble believing that promise
And that is why she gave her handmade Hagar to Abraham.
But that was never what God intended.
Then in Genesis 17 the promise was made again.
Genesis 17:15-21 “Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. “But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.”
That was the second time God spoke the promise,
And then of course the third time was the time
In which Sarah was listening in the tent.
But the point is that God had made a very specific promise
About Sarah’s role in the creation of the nation of Israel.
Sarah would be the mother of all.
Sarah would be God’s chosen princess.
That was the promise of God.
#2 THE PROBLEM OF ABRAHAM
Hebrews 11:11-12
I call it the problem of Abraham,
But it was really both of their problem.
Verse 11 says that Sarah was “beyond the proper time of life” for having children.
Verse 12 says that Abraham was “as good as dead”
The problem was obvious.
• Sarah was barren, unable to have children.
• Abraham was too old at this point, even if Sarah was able.
This is why they both laughed when they heard the news.
Abraham in Genesis 17
Sarah in Genesis 18
This is why Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham in Genesis 16
This was not just a minor problem.
This was a real issue.
And so you see what Sarah was up against.
On one hand she had a promise.
On the other hand she had the facts.
Sarah was found at that crisis of faith
Where she must determine what she believed.
The Promise of God
The Problem of Abraham
#3 THE PATIENCE OF SARAH
Hebrews 11:11
And this is a very important verse.
When you read the faith chapter
There are two obvious themes that emerge.
1) All showed great faith
2) That faith is measurable by their obedience
(4) “Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain”
(5) “Enoch…obtained the witness that…he was pleasing to God”
(7) “Noah…prepared an ark”
(8) “Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out”
(9) “By faith he lived as an alien”
Their faith is measured by their radical obedience.
Except for this one event.
Sarah’s faith is not listed by anything she did.
When you read verses 11&12
You don’t find any radical thing that Sarah did.
“By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.”
You could possibly make the argument that “she considered”
But that isn’t really a measurable action.
The point is it doesn’t look like
Sarah did anything radical or seemingly crazy for God.
Sarah’s faith is not measured by her radical obedience,
But by her consistent patience.
Let me show you the turning point in Sarah’s life.
Genesis 18:9-15 “Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
That moment proved to be pivotal to Sarah.
God asked, “Is anything too difficult for the LORD?”
And Sarah was forced to answer.
SARAH NEVER WAIVERED AGAIN
In fact, at moments Sarah even exhibited greater faith than Abraham.
Earlier I read to you that incident
Where Sarah told Abraham to kick Ishmael out.
Many see that as a negative mark on Sarah.
IT WAS NOT
Genesis 21:8-12 “The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac.” The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.”
At that point, Abraham was still holding out hope for Ishmael,
But Sarah knew better.
Ishmael was a mistake.
He was partly Sarah’s fault, but a mistake none the less.
And she knew that Ishmael threatened what God desired to do.
In fact, thousands of years later when Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians he used this very event.
Galatians 4:28-31 “And you brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. But what does the Scripture say? “CAST OUT THE BONDWOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE BONDWOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN.” So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman.”
Paul knew that those who are of the flesh (Ishmael)
Have no inheritance with those who are of the promise (Isaac).
Sarah knew it long ago.
God asked Sarah if anything was too difficult for Him
And she decided that it was not.
And she never wavered again.
She never lost faith that she would have a son.
She never lost faith that her son would be the father of a nation.
DID SHE DO ANYTHING RADICAL?
No.
She just patiently believed while God worked out the details.
In this life, it is not always about
Doing wild and crazy things in the name of God.
Sometimes faith is just trusting God do to what He said
Even in the midst of discouraging situations.
If I were to pick a verse to demonstrate Sarah’s type of faith,
I’d give you this one.
Isaiah 40:31 “Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
Or any of these.
Psalms 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalms 27:13-14 “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.”
Psalms 62:5-8 “My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.”
In fact, that was the same type of faith that Jeremiah had
While writing the book of Lamentations after the fall of Jerusalem.
Lamentations 3:22-26 “The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD.”
That is the type of faith Sarah had.
She wasn’t radical, she just believed God would do what He said,
And she continued to believe it,
Even when her circumstances seemed to dictate otherwise.
THIS IS NOT “NAME IT AND CLAIM IT” THEOLOGY.
THIS IS “READ IT AND BELIEVE IT” THEOLOGY.
Simply believe God will do what He says He will do.
Cling to His promises and never let them go.
Wait patiently on Him while He does what He said He will do.
That was the faith of Sarah.
The Promise of God The Problem of Abraham The Patience of Sarah
#4 THE PROCREATION OF ISRAEL
Hebrews 11:12
And here we see the effects of Sarah’s great faith.
Now don’t miss the point.
Sarah didn’t do this.
Abraham didn’t do this.
GOD DID THIS
Faith by itself has absolutely no power.
God is the One with the power.
He just asks us to believe Him and when we do, He shows up.
This old barren woman with her old barren husband
Actually conceived a child.
A child not created by the flesh or works of man.
A child created by the power of God.
A child who became the father of a nation.
Isaac had two sons.
Esau & Jacob.
Jacob’s name was changed by God to “Israel”
And Jacob’s 12 sons became the 12 tribes of Israel.
And it all started in the womb of a barren woman.
It wasn’t possible, except that God made it possible,
And Sarah chose to believe it.
This morning, as we have seen the faith of God’s princess
I want to encourage you to read God’s promises a little differently.
And I want to leave you with a simple word of testimony.
• A year ago on this day, Carrie and I were in Wichita Falls, not knowing what was going to happen.
• I started searching for a sermon, really just intending to get lost in Scripture.
• It was there I found this promise.
1 Peter 5:10 “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
I’m not here trying to declare that our suffering is over.
Maybe it is, maybe it’s not.
Either way, God’s promise has held true for us.
And sometimes during rough times
All you can do is cling to that promise and wait just like Sarah did.
This morning let me encourage you to cling to the promises of God.
Wait on God
Trust in God
Hope in God
Because God always comes through with His word.
Abraham obeyed God
Sarah waited on God
God did it all.
Trust in Him.
Psalms 37:3-5 “Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.”
