GOD SEES ME - GOD HEARS ME
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· 103 viewsGod sees and hears you — be still and listen because He has something good in store for you
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Introduction:
There are all kinds of moms. When they still have kids at home, they wear many hats in order to keep everyone on track - appointment-setter, personal assistant, trouble-shooter, janitor, cook, style-coordinator, tutor, spy, etc. Not to mention many moms work full time to help makes ends meet. Many are single moms! Step-mothers have a whole unique set of things to navigate.
Most mothers are extreme control freaks, like the moms (and dads) recently caught trying to bribe their
kids’ way into the right schools. No, most mothers are simply trying to do their best, and it’s a bit overwhelming at times. Many women feel totally inadequate as mothers...often spending lots of time and energy beating themselves up for all of their failures. They internalize every little problem their kids are having…wondering what they did wrong as a parent.
There are all kinds of moms in the world: busy soccer moms, gentle and determined moms that make their home a sanctuary for the family. There are moms that are very close to Jesus, and do everything they can to show His love and truth to their children.
Moms, like dads, come in all shapes and sizes with all kinds of internal wiring and all kinds of background and experience that make them who they are. Some mothers are absolute control freaks, ruling their children (and husband) with an iron fist. She has a plan and if anything gets in the way of that plan…she does whatever it takes to get the plan back on track. In fact, some really wealthy moms recently found themselves in a ton of trouble for bribing and cheating the system, in order to get their kids accepted to the right universities. The dads were involved also.
Most mothers are not that extreme — they are simply trying to do their best, and it’s a bit overwhelming at times. Many women feel totally inadequate as mothers...often spending lots of time and energy beating themselves up for all of their failures. They internalize every little problem their kids are having…wondering what they did wrong as a parent.
Moms sometimes fret and worry and stress over every little detail when they have to prepare for family dinners or having friends over.
Many women feel totally inadequate as mothers...often spending lots of time and energy beating themselves up for all of their failures. They internalize every little problem their kids having…wondering what they did wrong.
There are moms that feel totally inadequate to be a mother....and they often spend lots of time and energy beating themselves up for all of their failures. Some mothers can’t handle it and run away, if not physically…definitely emotionally.
You know what? Dads fit into some of these descriptions too…plus a whole bunch of their own unique characteristics
Here’s an important thing to remember: even when you fail as a mom or dad, and you will, God doesn’t abandon you. He offers healing and wholeness to your heart and to your family.
Here’s an important thing to remember: even when you fail as a mom or dad, God doesn’t abandon you. He and bring healing and wholeness to your heart and to your family.
The book of Genesis records the story of an Egyptian woman by the name of Hagar. She was Sarai’s servant (Sarah - Abraham’s wife). To make a long story short, at Sarai’s urging, Hagar become pregnant with Abram’s child so Sarai could have a son. Sarai mistreated Hagar, so she ran away. In Genesis chapter 16, the angel of the Lord found Hagar - sitting under a tree near a spring…out in the desert. The angel said, “Hagar, where have you come from and where are you going?” I don’t know what Hagar must have thought when the angel of the Lord suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was probably all she could do just to say “I ran away!”
The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. 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 toward all his brothers.” She gave this 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.”
Genesis 16:
Genesis 16:9-
Big Idea: God sees and hears you — be still and listen because He has something good in store for you
Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
He told her that she would have a son whose name would be Ishmael
Ishmael - The Lord hears
God heard her cries of loneliness, anger, brokenness, confusion....He heard it all
So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!”That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi. (It is located between Kadesh and Bered.)
Genesis 16:
Hagar gave the Lord a name: El-roi
El-roi - The one who sees me
El-roi - The one who sees me
She saw the angel of the Lord…this angel represented the very presence of God…seeing her
El-roi - The one who sees me
God sees you — God hears you
PRAYER
Big Idea: God sees and hears you — be still and listen because He has something good in store for you
Big Idea: God sees and hears you — be still and listen because He has something good in store for you
PRAYER
Transitional: No matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done - no matter what, God sees and hears you, always. He sees and hears…He has set you apart for good things
When You Have no Control, God sees,hears, and acts
When You Have no Control, God sees,hears, and acts
Exposition
The reason Hagar ended up having a child with Abraham was because Sarai become impatient. God had promised Abraham that he would become a great nation. But Abraham was in his mid-eighties and she was no spring chicken, and still no child.
Sarai offered her servant Hagar to Abraham - to conceive a child - in order to get the ball rolling with this whole “great nation” thing.
Are you lost and broken, like Hagar?
Are you lost and broken, like Hagar?
She had no rights
She became pregnant
Hagar now hated Sarai
Sarai told Abram and he told her to do whatever she wanted with Hagar
Sarai mistreated her so much that Hagar ran away
Sometimes it may feel like you have no control over your own life...
People take advantage of you and mistreat you…
You develop a defensive and ugly attitude that infects your relationships and your soul
The angel visited Hagar — she was convinced that God was there — She was given hope in an impossible situation
God is visiting you now…He has set you apart for good things
6. When Isaac was born — Hagar faced another impossible situation, but God had not forgotten her
The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”
The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring.” Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.
Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. While he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt.
:
Genesis 21:8-
God sees you
God sees you
God sees you
God hears you
…Even when it doesn’t seem like it…He sees and hears you
…
…the woman caught in adultery
Are you deeply hurt and disappointed, like Hannah?
Are you deeply hurt and disappointed, like Hannah?
She was one of two wives married to a man named Elkanah
She wasn’t able to have a child…and it grieved her heart deeply
Elkanah tried to make her feel better…he gave her special treatment over the other wife, but he just didn’t understand the depth of her longing
The other wife had children — and she wasn’t nice - she taunted and teased Hannah because God didn’t give her children.
Elkanah went up to Shiloh every year with his family to worship the Lord…and every year became more and more miserable for Hannah
One year, she was so wounded and hurt, and disappointed, that she went to the Temple and wept bitterly before the Lord…she even vowed that if God gave her a son she would give him to the Lord to serve for his entire life.
The priest saw her praying but he thought she was drunk and scolded her
“Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”
Application
You may feel lost, broken,disappointed, or worse
You may feel like nobody cares or appreciates you
God sees you
God hears you
The woman caught in adultery ()
She recieved forgiveness and a second chance at life
The Samaritan woman ()
She recieved Living Water — Jesus Christ — in spite of her sketchy past
God knows every wound, every scar, and every fear you may be dealing with…this is for all of us, not just moms.
He sees it all…He hears the voice in your heart that others cannot hear.
Hannah
CHALLENGE
CHALLENGE
The Worker and Worshiper
The Worker and Worshiper
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Martha — The Worker
Martha — The Worker
Martha
Martha
Martha invited Jesus in
She was a worker…so she got to work
Workers can get irritated if they see others that are not pulling their weight
She invited Jesus in…that’s a good thing
Have you invited Him in?
In the process of working to feed Jesus and the Disciples, she got distracted - it’s not bad to be a worker…we are all called to work in the Kingdom
If we get so busy working for the Lord that we forget to worship Him, He will remind you
“Martha, Martha...”
Mary — The Worshiper
Mary — The Worshiper
She sat at Jesus’ feet....taking every word
She also became distracted....by Jesus and His words
She had to focus on Him…it was the most important thing
Would you rather get distracted by all the work you need to do or by the very presence of Jesus in your life?
Sometimes the work needs set aside so you can simply sit at Jesus’ feet and take in everything He has for you.
Application
IN BALANCE....Mary and Martha both loved the Lord dearly and they had faith in Him. When Jesus came to their home 3 days after Lazarus’ death, Martha was the first one to run out and greet Him. ()
Martha ran out to meet Him and Mary stayed seated in the house…she eventually came and greeted Him also…
The key is to work for the Lord with a heart full of worship
It is important, sometimes, to drop everything and just spend time at the feet of Jesus
In due season, Mary and Martha realized, without a doubt that God sees and God hears them
God Sees You
God Hears You
CHALLENGE
God sees and hears you — be still and listen because He has something good in store for you
Sometimes the most difficult thing is to be still and listen...
Hagar was alone in the wilderness weeping…in despair…isolated
God saw her first! And then, she saw Him! And everything changed
Two important situations where you benefit from being still and listening
Take time each day to meditate on Scripture…AND LISTEN
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
2. Take personal inventory each day
Are you fighting unnecessary battles?
We serve the God of angel armies…let him pick and choose your battles
He says, “Stop your striving and recognize that I am God! I will be exalted over the nations! I will be exalted over the earth!”
Psalm 46:
God sees you!
God hears you!
God has set you apart
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.