Someone has said, “When God bolts the door, don’t try to get in through the window.” God had not yet opened the door for Abram and Sarai to have a son, and they tried to get a son their way.

Transition

So that we can avoid the same mistakes, I want to point out several reasons that Abram missed God’s best.

Impatience

  1. Abram and Sarai were frustrated by waiting
    1. Sarai was barren and this frustrated her greatly.
    2. Abram was frustrated that he had been in the Promised Land ten years and still had no child (v.3).
    3. God promised to give them a son, but the promise was not yet fulfilled. They began to question God’s promise. They were impatient.
    4. Their impatience led them to a plan to help God hurry up.
  2. Impatience will cause us to miss God’s best
    1. We live in an age of fast food, fast travel, fast computers, fast Internet, and fast ATMs. Impatience is a description of the 21st Century. We are not good at waiting.
    2. If we are not careful, we will get impatient with God as well. We will jump ahead of God’s best for our lives and end up in a mess.
    3. God urges us to wait on Him rather than to get impatient.Psalms 27:14 “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.“

      Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.“

Selfishness

  1. Abram and Sarai were thinking of themselves
    1. Sarai wanted a child. To be barren was a shame.
    2. Abram wanted an heir.
    3. Both Abram and Sarai allowed their selfish desires to lead them ahead of God’s best for their lives.
    4. We find many examples in the Bible of others whose selfishness caused them to miss God’s best: Achan, Absalom, Jonah, Ananias and Sapphira.
    5. Abram and Sarai got what they wanted but they missed God’s best.
  2. Selfishness will cause us to miss God’s best
    1. “Me first” is the attitude that prevails today.
    2. When we focus on ourselves and on what we want, often we will miss God’s best for our lives. We do not like to sacrifice or to suffer. We like ease, pleasure, and prosperity.
    3. Jesus had a different perspective on life.Mark 8:34 “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.“

      Jesus prayed in Luke 22:42 “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.“

    4. If you make life’s choices based on what pleases yourself, you will nearly always miss God’s best.

Rationalism

  1. Abram and Sarai followed human reasoning
    1. From a rational point of view (based on reason), Sarai knew that her chances of having a son were slim.
    2. She reasoned, since polygamy was an accepted practice among the heathen around them, that she could help God fulfil his promise by giving her handmaid to Abram as a second wife. She would then raise the child as her own.
    3. Abram harkened unto her (v.2). He followed the sinful human reasoning of society.
  2. Rationalism will cause us to miss God’s best
    1. Rationalism is basing our decisions on human reasoning rather than on God’s Word.
    2. Have you heard people say things like, “God cannot expect us to live by the Bible in our modern age” or “I know divorce is wrong, but God knows we could not get along” or “The Bible may be against my choice, but I think God understands”? Statements like these may be rational but they are not biblical.God said in Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
    3. God is holy. He also sees the beginning and the end. He knows what is best for us. If we base our decisions on reason, many times we will miss God’s best for our lives.

Imprudence

  1. Abram and Sarai lacked biblical caution
    1. I realize that Abram did not have a Bible, but he did have an understanding of the ways of God. He heard about God’s hand in the events of creation, the fall, the flood, and Babel from his ancestors. God had talked to him more than once. God promised him a son.
    2. He should have used prudence or caution when Sarai urged him to take Hagar as his second wife. He knew that God created one wife for Adam not several.
  2. Imprudence will cause us to miss God’s best
    1. We now have God’s Word. The Bible is God’s mind concerning everything that we need to know to please Him in this life and to live with Him in eternity.
    2. Every decision we make must be in harmony with the Bible. You may not find your specific situation in the Bible, but I assure you that if you look, you will find a Bible principle that will guide you. “A principle is a timeless truth or guideline that reveals the mind of God on contemporary issues.”Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

      James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

      Charles H. Spurgeon said, “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”

    3. God urges us to test all decisions with the Bible. Use 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 as your standard. (Prove all things…) Former US President Ronald Reagan wisely said, “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.”

Prayerlessness

  1. Abram and Sarai failed to pray before acting
    1. We find no mention of either of them asking God for wisdom about this decision.
    2. Instead of praying, they based their decision on impatience, selfishness, rationalism, and imprudence.
    3. As a result, Abram got a son, Ishmael. God promised to multiply his seed exceedingly (v.10). He became the father of the Arab nations, the Jew’s enemies.
  2. Prayerlessness will cause us to miss God’s best
    1. If you fail to pray for the guidance and will of God, you may get what you want but it may not be what is best for you.
    2. If you want God’s best for your life, walking close to God and spending earnest time daily with Him in Bible study and prayer are essential.
    3. Have an attitude like the Psalmist who said:Psalm 86:11 “Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.”

Conclusion

God forgave Abram and later gave him a son by Sarai, but the problems he caused continue to this day. Do not miss God’s best for your life. Be patient, selfless, biblical, prudent, and prayerful. Put God first in your life. If God shut the door and you climbed in the window, confess your sin and seek God’s best from now on. If you do not know Him as Saviour, humbly trust Him this morning.

Song: Have Thine Own Way – 388
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Missing God’s Best
13 July 2014 AM – Genesis 16:1-16 – Gen 14 – Scott Childs