Let's go to Hebrews 11. Hebrews chapter 11. I apologize,
that PA was not on this morning. We've got it now. Hebrews chapter
11. Let's read verse 11. Hebrews 11, verse 11. Through faith also, Sarah herself
received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child
when she was past age, because she judged Him, God, faithful,
who had promised. Through faith, Sarah also. I know of at least one person
in here who will be probably listening very well. Sarah. We looked at the stories of four
men, four different men, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham. Now, we're
going to look at this woman, the story of a woman named Sarah,
the wife of Abraham. Now, this is an actual story,
a true story. This is also a spiritual story.
This is my story. This is your story. This is our
story. This is how the Lord saves every
believer. Now, verse 11 says, Through faith
also, Sarah herself received strength to conceive C. Through faith also, Sarah. Up in verse 6, it says, Without
faith it is impossible to please Him. He that cometh to God, and
he wanteth to approach God, know God, worship God, live with God
some day, must believe that he is. And we studied Abel by faith
Abel, by faith Enoch walked with God, by faith Noah, by faith
Abraham. We studied these. We saw what
faith is, didn't we? Do I need to tell it again what
faith is? Yes, I do. Faith is, it said there, believing
He is. Believing God is God. Believing
God is God. Apparently, evidently, Sarah
believed, eventually believed that God is God, holy, sovereign. She's in His hands. A God who
worked all things for her. That's the thing that makes God
God more than anything else, you know? Not just the creation,
but who worketh all things after the counsel of His will. There's
only one God, and He does as He will. That's what makes Him
God. You know that? Sarah believed
God will work. Eventually, she believed that.
She believed God's Word. She didn't understand it. No
man can understand the works of God. They're past finding
out. But by His grace, we believe. She believed God. She believed His Word. She not
only believed God is God, she believed God. Whatever God said,
she believed. That's faith. That's faith. Faith is to believe God's Son. Sarah believed the Christ. Sarah's hope of salvation was
in the Christ. Is that right? So where do you
get that? From Christ Himself, who said,
this is life eternal, but they might know thee, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent, because no man comes
unto the Father but by me. No man. Abel couldn't. Enoch couldn't walk with God
unless he believed Christ. Noah couldn't, Abraham couldn't,
and nor could Sarah. She must trust the Christ of
God. Is that right? Christ said, I
am the way, the truth, the life, and no man comes unto the Father
but by me. You say, how does Sarah know Christ? Same way we do. The Word of God. Through the pictures of the lambs
killed and the Word being preached to her, right? Sarah heard the
same gospel. I'm not going to go back and
preach what Adam did to Abel and Enoch and so forth. Well, she heard the same message,
Brother Stan, didn't she? She heard, without shedding a
blood, no remission. Maybe I will preach it again. But she believed Christ. Yes,
she did. She didn't know his name was
Jesus. But she looked to the coming Christ who would bear
her sin. It would be her substitute and her righteousness. Is that
right? Yes, it is. Old Testament saints are saved
the same way that we are. Yeah, they are. So by faith,
Sarah also. Sarah also. All right. Where does faith come from? Let's
look at it again. Verse 11. One verse, but it's
very plain, isn't it? Through faith also, Sarah herself
received Strength. Scripture says, by grace are
you saved through faith. And that is what? Not of yourselves. It's a gift
of God, lest any man should boast. Nobody's going to say, well,
I just up and decided to believe you one day. No, the only reason
anybody believes God is God gives them that faith. The only reason
anybody believes God's word is because God gives them that faith. The only reason anybody trusts
Christ alone is because God gives them that faith. So Sarah also
received the same faith that Tammy, Joe did, that Amy did,
that Barbara did, that Rebecca did, that Robin did, that every
woman in here who believes received strength. Receive faith. A man can receive nothing, John
said, except what? Except it be given from above. Receive something is to receive
it, is it? Huh? You don't work for it. You don't
obtain it. You don't go after it. Receive it. Faith is the gift of God. The
gift of God. The work of God. The working
of His mighty power, Ephesians 1, 19 says. Those who believe,
believe according to the working of His mighty power. How is Sarah
going to believe the unbelievable? How is Sarah going to believe
the impossible? How is Sarah going to believe God who she's
never seen? How? It's a miracle. It's a powerful
work to make a flesh and blood person believe something they
can't see, touch, haven't actually heard with these ears, seen with
these eyes. It's the miracle, supernatural
work, the work of God. So Sarah received strength being
past age. Now look at this. She was delivered
of a child when she was past age. This story is going to make
it clear to us that it was impossible for her to have a child. Right? God's Word is going to say several
times, There's no way that this woman could have a child. No
way that her and her husband could have a child. No way. She was past age. God's Word
makes it very clear that with her it was impossible. Now go back to Genesis 17. We're going to stay over in Genesis
17. Here's the story of Sarah. Genesis 17. And see, salvation. The whole story of salvation
through God's book, God's word is very plain to tell us that
with man, it's impossible. Salvation is impossible. With
man, it's not of him that willeth, it's impossible. Not of him that
runneth, it's impossible. Not of him that figureth God
out, it's impossible. With man, it's impossible. He's
dead in sin. Salvation is called this. It's called regeneration. The
creation of new life. Not physical life. Spiritual
life. Salvation is... Now here's the
whole key to understanding this story. Are you with me? Salvation is Christ in us. Our hope of the Lord. Christ
in us by faith. In our mind, in our heart. A
new creature created in us. In Christ Jesus. Unto good work.
All things pass away. Everything become new. In Christ.
In Christ. Paul says this over and over,
doesn't he? Throughout his epistles. In Christ. In Christ. In Christ. In Christ. And Christ in you.
He said, God revealed his Son in me. In me. In me. Sarah, it's impossible for her
to have a baby. God says, you're going to have
a baby. Well, it's impossible. Who's going to put a baby in
her? It's impossible with her, but
God's going to do it. He's going to create something
in her. He's going to generate life in her. From her dead womb,
God's going to create life. This is the story of salvation. What a picture Abraham is of
Christ. God made this covenant with Abraham. Sarah was chosen in him, wasn't
she? Oh yeah. Sarah sure was blessed
to be married to Abraham, wasn't she? Oh, what a picture of Christ
Abraham is. God came to Abraham. God spoke to Abraham. God made
this covenant with Abraham. God told Abraham all things.
And Sarah was married to him, so she got the blessing too.
That's a picture of Christ and His church, His people, His bride,
is it not? All the blessings of God are
in Christ Jesus for His people, for His church. But we're not
going to dwell on Abraham as a type of Christ. We're going
to look at him as just a man. All right? But he's a type of
Christ nonetheless, because he joins with Sarah. He joins himself
to Sarah. God, in a covenant through the
power of God, told Abraham to go into his wife, and through
Abraham she conceived seed. Christ in you. The hope of God. Christ in us. Christ travailed
in birth until he was formed in us. Reproduced himself in
sinners. All right, now let's look at
it. Genesis 17, verses 15 through 17. God said unto Abraham, God
is speaking to Abraham, As for Saraiah thy wife, thou shalt
not call her name Saraiah. The word means dominant. But Sarah shall her name be. Princess. Sarah means princess. God said, I will bless her, and
I'll give thee a son by her, also of her. Yea, I will bless
her, she'll be mother of nations, kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell on his face
before the Lord to worship, and he laughed. Now, Abraham wasn't laughing,
that is, through unbelief. Abraham wasn't saying, no, I
don't believe this. He wasn't laughing at God. Oh,
no, no. He's rejoicing. Laughter of amazement,
the laughter of marveling, of rejoicing. This is the laughter
that Abraham laughed. He said, in his heart shall a
child be born unto him that's a hundred years old? Shall Sarah
that's ninety years old bear? You see, because the Lord didn't
approve him for laughing, did he? The Lord didn't say, why
are you laughing? This was a rejoicing. Abraham
believed God. God had already appeared to him
and spoken to him years before that. And he appeared again and
spoke to him. I believe it was Christ himself.
And he left. God said, Sarah, thy wife shall
bear a child. I'm going to bless her and bless
you and all the blessings of The Lord are going to be for
you and your wife and the seed to follow Abraham. Oh, he thought
that was wonderful. He laughed. He sighed. How can this be? It seems so
impossible. Sarah may have heard him laughing. Sarah wasn't there when the Lord
was telling him this. But I'm certain that Abraham
went back and told Sarah. Aren't you? He came in the tent
laughing, honey, the Lord came to me. He's laughing, he's smiling,
he's happy. And you laugh when you're happy,
don't you? Oh, listen, the Lord has reconfirmed
to us, to me, we're going to have a child. He's laughing. I remember as a child, and Sarah
doesn't understand this. I don't think she believes it.
We're going to see in a little while. And Abraham says, oh, he's so
happy. He's laughing. She doesn't understand
that laughter. I remember as a child, and I've
told you this, but I remember distinctly, we would go attend
Bible conferences, meetings, and there was an old fellow,
well, he was old to me from a child, about my age then, probably. I thought he was old. He didn't
have much hair like me, but what he had was white. He'd always sit up about where
Margie is there. I'd sit down front where my dad
had me, where my mother. Old Brother Henry Breedlove was
his name. He didn't preach in those conferences. He didn't
preach much, but he went wherever the preaching was. Oh, he loved
it. He loved the gospel. He'd sit behind me. And the preacher
would be preaching, and I'd hear him behind me going, ha, ha,
ha, ha, ha, ha. I remember thinking, what's he
laughing at? I did not hear the preacher tell
a joke. Oh, he did that all the time. In the course of a message,
the preacher would say something over to Brother Henry, ha, ha,
ha, ha, ha, ha. I thought, this is what's wrong
with this man. My cousin and I, just a few months
younger than I, we'd sit together and we'd both just laugh at him
for laughing. He's rejoicing. Psalm 126 is
a wonderful psalm. It says, The Lord has filled
our mouths with laughter. He said, The Lord has done wonderful
things for us, wherever we're glad. He filled our mouths with
laughter. See, I didn't understand why
Brother Henry was laughing at me. I do now. See, I'm laughing. Sarah didn't understand. Abraham
laughed. Go over to chapter 18. She's
going to laugh. She's going to laugh. Chapter
18. Now the Lord comes again to Abraham
to deal with him, to confirm his covenant. See, this is significant. The Lord speaks through men.
The Lord speaks through men. Sarah overheard what the Lord
said to Abraham. You're going to hear it through
a man. Except when he convicts you of
your sin, and then you're going to think, he's talking right
to me. In chapter 18, verses 1 and 2,
the Lord appeared unto Abraham in the plains of Mamre, and he
sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. He lifted up his
eyes and looked. Lo, three men stood by him. Ah,
the Lord comes to those that are looking for him. The Lord
will appear to those that look for him. To those that seek me
early shall find me, he said. Lo, three men stood by him, appeared
unto him. How did he know one was the Lord? The Lord reveals Himself to His
people. Alright? Three men. One Lord. Does that remind you of a story
anywhere? Peter, James, and John. The Lord
took them up on a mountain and in a vision they saw three men.
Elijah, Moses, and Jesus. But one Lord. And they began
to speak to and be spoken to by one Lord. Oh, that's beautiful. But verses 3 through 5. Now,
verse 2, it says, Abraham ran to meet them. He couldn't get to them fast
enough. This is the Lord. He's come to
be with me. ran to meet him and bowed down. He was in a hurry to worship.
He was so glad to see the Lord. He ran to meet him and bowed
down himself toward the ground. Verse 3, it said, My Lord, he's
speaking to one of them. Three men, he's speaking to one.
I believe this is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who delighted
to dwell in the habitable parts of the earth, the sons of men."
There in Proverbs 8. My Lord, if now I have found
favor in thy sight, oh, don't leave me. Does this sound like
another story? The disciples on the road to
Emmaus, walking along, talking, all of a sudden the Lord appeared.
And he began preaching to them. And they said, oh, don't leave.
Oh, don't stay. Let's eat. I've got to hear some
more of this. Abraham said, I pray thee, don't
leave. Don't pass away from thy servant.
Oh, pass me not, O Lord and Savior. Verse 4, let a little water,
I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves
under the tree. I'll fetch a morsel of bread.
Comfort your hearts. After that, you shall pass on.
For therefore, you've come to me. You've come to your servant. You've appeared to me. Here you
are. And I'm so happy, so glad. Would
you just stay a little while, just an hour? And I'll go get
bread and we'll sit down and we'll sun up together. That's
what he's saying. And though they said, as you've
said, according to what you look for is what you get. That's what
you get. told me this story again while
we were in Florida. I've heard it many times, but
I've forgotten it. It's a good one. Years ago, back when Charles
Spurgeon was preaching back in the 1800s, a woman came to the
services somewhere and didn't know that Spurgeon was going
to be there. For some reason, he turned up. She didn't know
he was going to be there. She came that day to worship. And the Lord blessed Brother
Spurgeon to preach with great power. And the woman was so blessed
to hear of Christ. Oh, she was so blessed to hear
about Christ. Well, that night she heard Spurgeon
was going to be somewhere else. So she went to where he was going
to be. She went to hear Spurgeon. And she went there. And after
the message was over, she was real disappointed. She was real
disappointed. She was talking to someone, the
pastor. She was talking to the pastor
after service and said, you know, I heard Brother Spurgeon this
morning, and I was so blessed. But tonight, I just didn't get
anything out of it. And the man said, well, why did you come
this morning? Why did you go to the house of worship this
morning? Oh, she said, I came to worship
the Lord. I came to hear from the Lord. Or hear from His Word. We said, well, why did you go
to church that night. She said, I went to hear Brother
Spurgeon. He said, well, you got what you
came for then, didn't you? And she went to hear the
Lord, and she heard. She went to hear Spurgeon, and
she heard Spurgeon. She heard him. Just a man, isn't
he? Abraham. Oh, my. He wanted to hear from the Lord.
He was in a hurry. He believed. He worshiped. He
loved the Lord. He rejoiced to sup with the Lord. And he got
what he asked for. Oh, just hang around and eat
with me. Oh, did he. And oh, did he hear
a message. I've got to go on. And so it
is with every believer. Two or three are gathered. That's
where the Lord is. He said, I stand at the door
and knock. Whoever opens, I'll come in and
sup. Whoever is hungry and thirsty,
I'll come in and sup with you. Verse 6 says, Abraham hastened
into the tent unto Sarah and said, Make ready quickly three
measures of fine meal. Knead it, make cakes upon the
hearth. Verse 7, Abraham ran unto the
herd and fetched a calf tender and good, gave it unto the young
man. He said, Hurry, get it done. Sounds like Abraham is in a hurry. Yeah, the scripture says, Thy
children shall make haste. In other words, if somebody really
believes that the Lord's going to be somewhere, if somebody really believes,
they'll make haste to believe. In other words, they won't put
it off like old a gripper, almost, thou persuadest
me." Oh, no, if the Lord persuades you, you'll cast yourself on
Christ without being there. Well, maybe someday. Oh, no, you'll run. You'll run. You'll run to Christ
for mercy. He hastened. And Abraham's full
of hospitality. Do you notice that? These strangers appeared to him.
He didn't know it was the Lord. from afar, did he? He's given
to hospitality. This man entertained angels,
didn't he? And nothing was too great for
him. Kill the best cat. Honey, hurry,
make some homemade bread. Three loaves. He didn't need
any of it. It was for the Lord and the two
angels. He ran. He ran. He couldn't get to the Lord fast
enough. He couldn't give Him enough.
He couldn't do enough. He was so happy that the Lord
was there. Nothing was too much to give.
He was generous. He was in a hurry. This man is
sincere, isn't he? How do you know he believes? And to whom much is forgiven,
I love much. I love much. Whoever you love,
you'll climb the highest mountain to see them. You'll swim the deepest sea.
Yeah, you will. If you love somebody, won't you?
Spending time with them is not long enough. You don't have enough money to
give to them, do you? You love somebody. Abraham loved
the Lord. Ah, generous. In a hurry to worship
Him. Sarah, now... Not Sarah. Apparently, she didn't
believe yet. Or at least she didn't have the
enthusiasm that Abraham did. Did she? The Lord said in verse
9, Where is Sarah thy wife? And Abraham said, She's in the
tent. Kind of like Martha, I guess,
preparing. But she hangs around the tent.
After it's over, she stays in the tent. Doesn't she? After
she's fixed the bread, she stays in the tent. She's busy. She's occupied. She's hanging
around. But she's really not that interested in what these
men have to say. I preach to Sarah's all the time. I preach to Sarah's all the time.
Who though they're present where the Lord is, who though they
may be the wife or the daughter or the friend of an Abraham,
yet not that interested. I preached
to some male seraphs. It didn't have to be female only. Male. But they're hanging around,
but not laughing. Not too big. More occupied with other things.
Oh, yeah. Busy. Cumbered about. She's going to hear. She's going
to hear, bless God, Bless God for His mercy and His grace and
His revealing truth. She's going to hear. She's not
interested now. She's going to be. She's going
to laugh. I just laughed. She's going to
laugh. She's going to laugh. She doesn't see what Abraham
is so excited about. She doesn't believe it. She's
going to. Bless God she's going to. She's going to hear and fear. She's going to believe and conceive.
She's going to rejoice in God her Savior. The Lord said, verse
10, here's what the Lord said. Sarah's in the tent. The Lord's
saying this to Abraham. The Lord said, I will certainly
return unto thee according to the time of life, and lo, Sarah
thy wife shall have. I will and Sarah shall, the Lord
says. Now, she's in there, she's not
interested. Now, the Lord didn't say to Abraham,
would you please go plead with your wife? Would you please ask
her to do us a favor by attending this service? We can't be a church
without Sarah. After all, we need her. She's
a wonderful woman. The Lord is just saying, I will
and she shall. She's in the tent now. Apparently
not too interested. She's going to laugh at me at
first. But according to my holy name,
I will and she shall. Be interested in what she does. She's going to conceive. She's
dead. Her womb is dead. I'm going to
put life in her. I will and she shall. Oh, good God, he'd say that to
a dead son of this morning. He must do it. Abraham can't
plead. The angels can't plead. Only
the Lord must say, I will and she shall. She had been hearing this for
years from Abraham. Abraham had been trying to tell
her. The Lord is going to have to
speak to her. He is going to have to convict her of what she
is and speak to her directly. Right now, he is speaking indirectly
through a man, but it is the Lord speaking. Sarah heard it in the tent door.
She's behind him. We read over there where it said,
Abraham stood before the Lord. The face, he saw, he stood face
to face with the Lord. He saw the glory of God in the
face. I mean, he stood, she's behind him. Behind him. She's
got to stand before him. Got to stand before him. Now
Abraham, now look how the word goes on and makes it very clear
that Sarah can't have a baby, or Abraham. Now Abraham and Sarah
were old and well-stricken in age, and it ceased to be with
Sarah after the matter of women. She's ninety years old. She can't
have a baby. She can't conceive. They probably
haven't had relations for years. She's 90 years old. He's 100.
Huh? It's impossible. Her womb is dead. She has no
joy in these things. It's impossible, isn't it? She
has no pleasure. She hasn't had pleasure like
that for years, probably. Because they said that, didn't
they? We have pleasure again? Let alone conceive and bear a
child and fruit and be a nurturing mother, and all things become
brand new. Boy, if you have a baby, everything
changes, doesn't it? You're not yourself anymore.
You live for that person. What a picture of the gospel
that is, huh? What a picture of regeneration
that is, huh? When Christ is revealed to you,
boy, you're not yourself anymore. You don't live for yourself anymore. She has up to this point, Barbara,
she's selfish. She's for self. She's doing. She's not interested. She does, ah, it's impossible. With Sarah, it's impossible. Neither can we. Neither can we. I can't make one person interested
in this gospel. I can't make one person believe.
Neither can you. We try, don't we? We talk to
our children. We talk to our husbands and wives. We talk to
our friends. They were blue in the face, literally.
I'm turning blue right now. In other words, we talk so fast
we don't breathe. Don't you understand? Don't you understand? No, they
won't until the Lord makes them understand. They can attend,
like me, attend church all their lives, hear it all their lives
from Abrahams. But until the Lord Himself speaks
and convicts, then I don't hear it. It's impossible. Can an 18-year-old boy, can a
19-year-old boy who's got his whole life ahead of him, who's
interested in everything and anything but God, can he possibly Turn from a course pursuing this
world to an unseen God? Can a young lady who's got all
her life, who's thinking about houses and babies and this and
that and the other, possibly put all that aside in favor of
her heart set on one thing? Can that be possible? With man,
it's not. It's not possible. Not possible
for a teenager to be interested in God, let alone a 75-year-old
man. But God, with God, all things are possible. Abraham's proofing. Can a person
worship idols for seventy-five years, think they know God, believe
God, were saved, and God make them lost and renounce all that
they used to believe and confess Christ brand new? Ask Abraham. Ask Saul of Tarsus. With Sarah, it's impossible.
Verse 12. So Sarah laughed within herself. That is, privately, inside. She didn't do it out loud. She's
sitting in the tent, and she's hearing this. She's
not interested, but she's hearing it. She's interested, Nancy,
she's got there. But she's hearing it. And the
Lord said this, I will and Sarah shall. I remember laughing one time
when I was a kid. My cousin and I, as I told you
about, were sitting in a pew cutting up. Oh, I wish I'd never
left. I'd never left again after that. Oh, man. My dad saw me. I've seen the same thing among
our young people and even adults. I've seen them come in and sit
and listen and kind of, you know, laugh about things while their
life or death's being proclaimed from the pulpit. But their life hangs in the balance.
The man's telling them, the only hope, the only hope there is
that person sitting there laughing, cutting up, playing around, you
know, and all that. I did the same thing. I was certain
one day. Sarah laughed within herself.
She didn't believe. She laughed. The Lord said unto Abraham, and
he's speaking unto Sarah, but he's doing it through Abraham. He said in verse 13, Why did
Sarah laugh? What's she laughing about? That's
what the Lord said. What's she got to laugh at? Sarah heard that. Sarah heard that. How did he hear me laugh? She's thinking that. I didn't
laugh out loud. And she said that in a minute.
She said I didn't laugh. She didn't laugh out loud. She
did it within herself. Didn't she, Kelly? That's what
it said. Within herself. She's laughing. She's not interested.
Within herself, the Lord, the Scripture says, the Word of God
is picked, powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, able
to pierce asunder, to divide into the thoughts and intents
of the heart. It's a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. When God Almighty finally speaks
to someone, it's like He's speaking out loud to you. Has that happened
to you? Has that happened to you, Juanita?
One day, finally, it's like God Almighty, through His Word, what
are you laughing at? It's too serious. Something funny here? This struck fear in her heart.
The Lord read her thoughts, her mind. The Lord knew everything
about her. And the Lord, God, bless God,
He loved her. The first thing He's going to
do, though, is strike fear in her heart. Who do you think you
are? Do I have to have mercy on you
because you're married to Abraham? Do I have to have mercy on you
because you're the daughter of so-and-so or son of so-and-so? Do I have to save you because
you're mama, because you're daddy, because you're husband? No! What
are you laughing at? Now, the Lord is still speaking. Why did Sarah laugh? Why did Sarah laugh? Verse fourteen,
the Lord says, Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time
appointed, I will return unto thee according to the time of
life, and Sarah shall have sons. I will. And she shall. And what am I laughing at? God's
going to turn her to unbelief and believe in laughter. Now, she's afraid. Look at verse
15. It says, Sarah denied, saying,
now she comes out. Now she comes forward, doesn't
she? She comes out now. The Lord brings her, I believe,
face-to-face with Him now. She's in the tent. Now she's
coming a little closer. She heard this. She heard a picture
in her heart. She's reading my thoughts. And
she came out front and center to face before the Lord. And
He said, why did you laugh? And she said, I didn't laugh. Yes, you did. She's afraid, you see. What's
the beginning of wisdom? When does the Lord start to reveal
Himself to somebody? When is the Lord going to save
somebody? What is the first thing He does? The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom. When the Lord knocks out somebody's
props out from under them. Like Saul, brings them off their
high horse. Everything, everybody, they've
trusted, takes it away. Themselves. Reveals to them. You've been laughing all this
time. They may not have been interested. The Church strikes
fear. Who am I to not be interested?
Huh? Why did I tarry all this time?
Why did I not believe Abraham? Fear. She's afraid, Nancy. She's
afraid. She's fearful. The Lord is going
to kill me for laughing. And he said, Yes, you did. You
laughed. Nay, but thou didst laugh. So the Lord leaves. That's all
he said to her, Tammy. You laughed. No, I didn't. Yes, you did. And he leaves. That's all he says to her. Abraham
comes back home in a little while. There's a whole city been destroyed. Lot's wife, her sister-in-law,
was consumed by this holy Lord. Are you with me? She saw Lot's
sight of burning. Heard about her silver and salt.
The whole city destroyed. Three people escaped for their
lives by the mercy and grace of God. The Lord left her. He left. That's all he said. Let me tell
you the story again. Brother Barnard, years ago, was
preaching somewhere. He was preaching somewhere and
a father and a mother came up to him after the service and
said to him, Brother Barnard, our daughter is in a bad way.
She doesn't believe this gospel. She won't listen to us. She's
wild. A real problem with her. She's
here today. We've begged and pleaded her
to come. She came. She's here today. But, oh, Brother
Barnard, would you speak to her? Please. We can't. All right. He reluctantly did. Okay. So the girl was confirmed by
Brother Barnard. All he said to her was, young
lady, I want you to go home tonight. And Martin used to say, I double-dog
dare you. That's what he used to say. You go home. I double-dog dare you to do this.
You go home tonight, and you get in your closet on your knees
before our thrice-holy God, whom you have slighted. It's
not really interesting. You get on your knees before
God, and you ask Him. You ask Him to show you yourself,
to show you what you really are. That's all he said. Of course,
she probably laughed within. She didn't laugh at Barnard,
his face. She laughed within, I'm sure.
But you know what? She did that. The Lord caused
her to do that. Barnard came back in town a few
months later. The same parents came up to Barnard
and said, Brother Barnard, you've got to speak to our daughter.
Ever since you left there, she hasn't been the same. She's broken. She's broken. We can't give her any peace.
Whatever you said, we can't give her any hope, any peace. She
won't listen. Would you speak to her?" He said, yeah. And so he spoke
to the young lady and he said to her, young lady, he said a
little nicer this time. Young lady, I want you to go
home tonight. I have a double dog there. I
want you to go home tonight, get on your knees in your closet,
and you ask God Almighty to show you His Son. If you don't ask, the Lord's
not going to speak to you. He's not. He that asks shall
receive. He that seeks shall find. He
that knocks shall be opened unto. I double-dog dare you, Sarah. And I'm speaking to all Sarahs. Well, bless God. Barnard came
back a couple months later. There sat that young girl on
the front row with a big smile on her face, laughing at the
gospel, with the gospel, rejoicing. Lord revealed Christ to her.
Sarah laughs. Chapter 21. A lot of time went
by. She's tore up, isn't she? A lot
of time went by, and I close with this. Chapter 21, verse
1 says, you got it? And the Lord visited Sarah, as
he had said, See, he would, didn't he? He
did. The Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. Yeah, but Sarah
went into Abel. Come on now. It's impossible! The Lord did it. She called. Yes, she did, because
he called her. She believed. Yes, she did, because
he gave her the gift. She's interested. Yeah, because
he was interested in her. The Lord did it. Who gets the
glory in this story? Who gets the glory in the story?
God does. You're not sharing His glory
with Abraham or Sarah. God did this. Preacher's not
going to get it either. Oh, how many times I direct a
message that, there's some people not here, I wish were here this
morning. They weren't supposed to be here. So many times I've directed a
message, or I hope so-and-so hears this, and she or he doesn't,
but somebody else does. Because God's not going to share
His love with a preacher. He doesn't know who needs it,
thank God. God does. And it says, as he
had spoken, Sarah conceived something brand new inside her, a baby. Baby? It's impossible. Yeah,
no, no. And the word went out, everybody.
Sarah's pregnant. You'll never believe this. Sarah's
pregnant. No, you're crazy. Oh, yes she is. Nine months. You'll never believe it. Oh,
Stan Anderson believes the gospel. No. Yeah, he does. No, that's not possible. The Lord visited Sarah and she
conceived. See, God will and you shall.
He sets his affection on you, sets his purpose on you. Verse
6 and 7, Sarah said, now she had a child, named it Isaac. God made me to Verse 6, Sarah
said, God hath made me to laugh. She's laughing now. She's laughing
now. What's she laughing at? Oh, she's
not laughing at anything. She's rejoicing. I wasn't interested,
but oh, bless God, he's interested in me. Oh, I came for years and
didn't hear a thing. He should have been done with
me. Oh, but Blessed be God who had mercy on me and bore with
me all these years and finally revealed Himself to me. Phew,
man. I thank you, Lord, she said. Everybody is going to laugh with
me. Who would have thought it? I love this verse 7. She said,
Who would have said unto Abraham, Sir, I would have given children
so? I have borne him a son an old age. If you ever find out that you're
a no-good sinner before God Almighty, and God reveals the gospel to
you, you'll say, who would have ever
thought? Right, Kelly? Who would have ever thought that
God would do something for an old sinner like me? Who would
have ever said? Paul Mahan's interested in the
gospel. Not only that, he's preaching it. No way! This is the only way you've ever
known me. I went in years ago to Kroger,
and I always try to make it a point to dress decently out in public,
you know, so you won't be ashamed introduce me or whatever. One
time I was in a real hurry and I went into Kroger and I had
a baseball cap on. I tried to disguise myself. Baseball
cap, you know, and a Carhartt jacket, the way I dress when
I'm at home. And I went up to Jill. Oh, hey Jill. Hey. Jill, it's me. Take my hat off. Oh, I didn't recognize you. All
she'd ever seen me in was these clothes. Tim James used to call
it my uniform. So I ran out of uniform. Me? Oh, no, he's not preaching. Yes,
he is. Who'd ever thought it? Who'd ever thought it? Who'd ever thought it? That's
what every believer From the heart, say it. Right, Teresa?
Who would have ever thought it that Teresa Patterson, Sunday
and Wednesday, spending all her time sitting in a pew? Who would have ever thought it? That's
a miracle. All right. May God reveal himself
to another Sarah. All right, let's sing in closing. Number 235. Would God somebody
sing this from the heart? Like Abraham, pass me not. Don't
leave. He's spoken to others evidently.
Would you speak to me? Pass me not. 235. Let's stand as we sing.
235.