I've entitled the message, The Faith of Sarah. A couple of weeks ago I said
that Abraham was probably, I have no doubt that he's the most significant
man as far as those born of Adam. He's the most significant man
in the scriptures. He's called the father of the
faithful. And I believe that Sarah would
be the most significant woman, certainly more a said of her
than any other woman in the scripture, including Mary. A whole chapter
is devoted to her burial. She is the only woman where her
age is given at her death, 127 years old, and Paul called her in Galatians chapter
4 as being Jerusalem, the mother of us all. As Abraham is the
father of the faithful, Sarah is the mother of us all. The faith of Sarah. Let's read verse 11 once again. Through faith also Sarah herself
received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child
when she was past age because, here's her faith, she judged
him faithful who had promised. Now there is the simplicity of
Sarah's faith. She judged Him faithful who had
promised. You first have to know Him before
you can make that judgment, don't you? You can't make a judgment,
an accurate judgment concerning Him if you don't know Him. But
if you know Him, you'll make this judgment with regard to
Him. She judged Him faithful who had
promised. And you have to believe in his
ability to do what he promised he would do. She believed in
his ability to do what he promised he would do. Now, if I promised
you after this service, if you come up to me, I will give you
$10 million cash. That'd be quite a promise, wouldn't
it? Would you judge me able to do
that? I kind of doubt it. I think you would have a lot
of questions as to whether or not I could bring something like
that to pass. $10 million? She judged him able to bring
to pass everything that he had promised. I love the scripture
with regard to Abraham, She was like him, he staggered not at
the promise of God through unbelief, being strong in faith, giving
glory to God, being fully persuaded that what God had promised, he
was able also to perform. She believed he was able to do
whatever it was that he promised. And the third thing that we see
in her is her faith is she believed in his trustworthiness or faithfulness
to do what he promised to do. He promised he would do it. She
believed the promise. Now, my dear friends, that's
faith. That's as simple and clear a definition of faith as you'll
find in all the Word of God, the faith of Sarah. She believed him able to cause
this to happen and faithful to do what he said he would do. Now, in this wonderful chapter,
Hebrews chapter 11, we're told what faith is. It's the substance
of things hoped for. It's the evidence of things not
seen. We're told what it does. It gives
everybody who has it a good report. God judges everyone with faith
as worthy of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. It's through
faith we understand, verse three, through faith we understand that
the worlds were framed by the word of God. Faith understands
that it can only bring the sacrifice of Christ. By faith, Abel offered
unto God a more excellent sacrifice. He knew that that animal sacrifice
he was bringing didn't please God. He knew what it pointed
to, the Lord Jesus Christ. We read with regard to Enoch,
by faith he was translated that he should not see death and was
not found because God had translated him before translation. He had
this testimony that he pleased God. You know everybody that
believes pleases God. If you believe the gospel, listen
to me, God is pleased with you. But without faith, it's impossible
to please God. For he that cometh to God must
believe that he is." Noah demonstrated the works that take place when
someone believes God. God said build an ark. Noah built the ark. He knew the
only place of safety was in the ark. By faith, Abraham when he
was called, When did Abraham obey? When he
was called. The call of invincible, irresistible grace. By faith
he sojourned, verse 9, in the land of promise as in a strange
country. We considered that last week,
the sojourn of faith. We walk through this world as
a strange country looking for a better country, a heavenly. And then we have Sarah in verse
11, through faith also Sarah herself received strength. Faith is the receiving grace. Through faith, Sarah received
strength to conceive seed. She received strength or power
to do that which was impossible. Now, she was already past the
time of life. It was, humanly speaking, impossible
for her to have a child. And Abraham, look what it says
of him in verse 12, therefore sprang there even of one, and
him as good as dead, he's a hundred years old. Now, you think about
this. A hundred year old man. That's an old man. And a woman
who has passed the time of life and is incapable of having children. She received strength to conceive
seed. I repeat, faith is the receiving
grace. And let's talk a little bit about
receiving. You don't receive a paycheck,
you take it. You work for it. It's yours. You receive a gift. You receive it gratefully. You
know it's a gift. It was given to you. You didn't
work for it. You didn't earn it. It's given
and you receive it. If you give a gift to a beggar
and he says, I received it. There's gotta be some merit in
that. I received that gift. You know what you're gonna do?
You're probably gonna take your gift back if he says something like that.
Men try to make the act of reception an act of merit. If you receive
this, this is the difference between you and somebody else. You received it, they didn't.
Let me see if I can explain that. There's no merit in receiving.
Now, false religion, and I use that word purposely. False religion. Religion where
there is no salvation. That's what's meant by false
religion. You cannot be saved in that which is false. God's
a God of truth. No lie is of the truth. Now,
in false religion, man-made religion. The act of receiving is the difference
maker in salvation. Christ is offered to all men. Christ died for all men. God
wants to save all men. There's an offer of salvation
to all men. Here it is. It's up to you to
either receive it or reject it. Now that is a fair representation
of most of what goes on under Christianity in our day. The
difference between the saved and the lost is the saved received. The lost fail to receive. They decide not to receive. Now under that kind of thinking,
listen to me carefully, this is very important. Under that
kind of thinking, God's love is not the cause of salvation.
The blood of Jesus Christ is not the cause of salvation. The
grace of God is not the cause of salvation, but your act of
reception. If you receive it, you're saved. It's because you received that
fella who is offered to, and he didn't receive it, he's not
saved, but you are. The difference between you and
him is not the grace of God. It's not the blood of Christ.
It's not the will of God. It's not the love of God. It's
your act of reception. Now, understand this. The act of receiving is not an
act of merit. Here's what happens. He gives,
you receive. The reason you receive is because
he gave. And if you do not receive, he
never gave. You know, it takes the grace
of God even to receive. It takes grace to receive grace. All that being said, there is
no salvation apart from receiving. We just read in that passage
of scripture, when Aaron was reading, as many as received
him. I will not be saved apart from
receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. As many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name. When grace is given, it'll always
be received. God's grace is not an offer up
to you to accept it or reject it. God's grace is saving grace. Listen to this scripture. First
Corinthians chapter four, verse seven. Who maketh you to differ
from another? And what do you have that you
didn't receive? Everything you have, God gave
you and you received it. You never thought, well, it's
a meritorious act for me to receive it. No, he gives it and you receive
it. Acts 1.8. says you will receive
power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you. The Holy Ghost
comes upon you and you receive power. Romans 1 5 speaks of receiving
grace for obedience. You obey because he gave you
grace and you received it. That is why you obey the gospel. We read in Romans 517 of receiving
the gift of righteousness. Now think about this. The righteousness
of Jesus Christ is a gift He gives you, and what do you do? You receive it. You're glad to
have it. It's good news to you. You receive
the gift of righteousness. Romans 511 says we receive the
atonement. Now the atonement is the reconciliation. God is reconciled. God is fully
reconciled. God's not mad at you. You know
what you do? You receive it. What is it to
receive? It's to believe. It's to rely. As many as received him, to them
gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them which
believe on his name. Acts 26 verse 18 says, we receive
the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness isn't offered to
you. He forgives you and you receive
it and you receive it joyfully. You're mighty thankful to receive
the forgiveness of sins. We read in the scripture of receiving
mercy. Oh, God has mercy on me, and
you and I do. I don't say, I don't want that.
By the grace of God, I receive it. Now, remember, it takes the
grace of God to receive grace, but by grace, we receive grace.
We receive the mercy of God. 2 Corinthians 2, verse 12 says,
we receive the things that are freely given to us of God. Now,
this scripture helped me. Revelation 22, 17 says, The Spirit and the bride say,
come. And let him that heareth say,
come. Whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. Now when I think of taking, I
think of reaching out and taking it. And I'd like to do that.
But you know the word is, same word translated in our text,
receive. The water of life, you know when you pour water into
a cup, the cup receives it. It receives it. God pouring his
water in a cup and my empty cup receives what he pours in. And he does so freely. Oh, we receive, we receive the
grace of God. The faith of Sarah through faith,
Sarah received strength. Now, Sarah, Abraham's wife. I think of when the Lord first
appeared to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. He was 70 years old
when the Lord first appeared to him. And I don't know how
old Sarah was. She was in her 60s at the time.
And they never had a child. And in that day, that was a great
reproach to a woman to not be able to bear a child. And she
was feeling the weight of that, no doubt, all of her life. And
the Lord appears to Abraham and says, you're gonna have a multitude
that no man can number. In thee shall all the nations
of the earth be blessed. You're gonna have a child. What
do you reckon the first thing Abraham did was? He went home
and told Sarah, Sarah, God told me we're going to have a son.
And he told me to go out to a place where we would afterwards receive
And inheritance, he told me to start going, pack your bags. And Sarah did so willingly. She followed her husband, Abraham. 12 or 13 years later, nothing's
happened. And God appears to him again. In Genesis chapter
15, verse six, he says, Abraham, Abraham still had no child. He
said, Abraham, can you count the stars? So shall your seed
be. Abraham believed God. That's what faith is. Believing
God. And I'm sure he went back to
Sarah. Sarah was probably thinking it hadn't happened yet. He said,
don't worry. The Lord promised we're gonna
have a child. Years later, by this time, Abraham's
85. This is 15 years after the Lord
first had appeared to him. Sarah says, Abraham, nothing's
happened. We need to do our part for God's
promise to take place. It's obvious the Lord's restrained
me from bearing. That's the word the scripture uses. The Lord's
restrained me. Now God said she was going to have a child, but
he said, she said, obviously it's not going to happen. The
Lord's restrained me from bearing. So here's what you need to do.
Go in to Hagar, my handmaid. And you can have a child through
her. And this is the way we're going to have this promised seed.
So Abraham agreed to do it. And they had a son. His name was Ishmael. And you
know when she had that son, the scripture says that Hagar felt
contempt toward Sarah. And I love what Sarah came up
to Abraham after this. She was angry. And she said,
your sin is on you. How does it say that? I know
it. I quote it because I'm going
to turn to Genesis 16. Here, verse 5, Genesis 16. And
Sarah said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee. You shouldn't have
taken this. I don't care if I did today,
you shouldn't have done it. You do better than this. This is
your fault. You shouldn't have listened to
me. She was upset. And we see something of her character
after this. Maybe she was insecure. Hagar made fun of her and didn't
respect her and so on. And she made her so miserable,
she had to leave town. She had to get out of the house
and it grieved Abraham. But he was gonna do what Sarah
said to do. But she was angry over this. But I don't see a
whole lot of faith right there, do you? In Genesis chapter 17. God comes to Abraham again and
he says, Sarah shall have a son. And Abraham said, oh, that Ishmael
might live before. Then he said, no, Sarah shall
have a son. And I'm sure he went and told
Sarah again. Now turn to Genesis chapter 18.
I'd like you to look at this. Verse nine. This is when the Lord has appeared
to Abraham, and they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife?
And he said, Behold in the tent. And he said, I will certainly
return unto thee according to the time of life and lo, Sarah
thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent
door, which was behind him. Can't you just see her in the
tent listening in to what was being said behind where nobody
could see her? Verse 11, now Abraham and Sarah
were old, well stricken in age, and ceased to be with Sarah after
the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within
herself. I don't know that she laughed
out loud, but she laughed within herself. And this was not the
laugh of joy, this was the laugh of unbelief. She was very incredulous
with regard to this. Look what she said. Therefore
Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old,
shall I have pleasure, my Lord, being old also? This is not going
to happen. And the Lord said unto Abraham,
Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I with surety bear a child,
which I am of old? Is anything too hard for the
Lord? Is the Lord able to make her bear a child? 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 a son. And Sarah, speaking to the Lord,
denied, saying, I laugh not. She lied to the Lord right from,
I didn't do that. Speaking to he who sees all things,
for she was afraid. He said, nay, but thou didst
laugh. Now you show me where there's
faith here. Do you see any faith here? I don't see any faith here. Turn to Genesis 21. A year later, and the Lord visited
Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had
spoken, for Sarah conceived and bear Abraham a son in his old
age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham
called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah
bared him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son
Isaac, being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And
Abraham was a hundred years old when a son Isaac was born unto
him, and Sarah said, God hath made me laugh, so that all that
hear will laugh with me. And she said, who would have
said unto Abraham that Sarah should have given children suck?
For I have borne him a son in his old age. Who would have ever
thought it? Well, God told you he would. Even after she has
the son. She hadn't really been betrayed
in any faith, has she? Who would have ever thought this? Well,
God told you you would. I turn back to Hebrews chapter
11. Now you can't look at anything
in the Old Testament account with regard to this dear woman
and see where she believed. She met God's word with laughter,
with skepticism. Even after she heard, she said,
who would have thought this would have ever happened when God said
it would happen. But here is what Hebrews chapter
11 says with regard to this special woman. And I do say special woman
through faith, 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 faithful who had promised."
Now in the Old Testament account, we don't see the faith of Sarah
but we do in the New Testament account. Which one's true? Both. Both. One is the testimony of the old
man. The other is the testimony of the new man. The old man never
believes. The new man always believes. I'm so thankful for the way the
Lord presented this to us. By faith, Sarah herself received
strength to conceive seed. And she did. You see, the new
man believes. The old man does not believe. Sarah's old man never believed.
Sarah's new man believed the gospel. By faith, Sarah received
strength to conceive seed. Now I Is there ever a time in
your experience as a believer, have you ever seen a time when
you didn't cry even at your highest place? Lord, I believe. I believe. I do believe. I do believe. Help thou mine
unbelief. That is there all the time. And Sarah gives us a beautiful
illustration of that. Now, let me say this about faith.
Faith is the gift of God. Scripture. By grace are you saved
through faith. And that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God. You know what I'm going to do?
Lord, give me this gift. Give me this gift of faith. I can't
come up with faith. Give me faith. I can't decide
to start believing. Somebody said, well, I'm going
to start believing. I remember an old time, not old time, it
was a modern Christian song. And I remember the words were,
I have decided I'm going to live like a believer. Turn my back
on the deceiver. I'm going to live what I believe.
I have decided. Oh, really? Good. Good. That's not the way this works.
You don't decide to believe, but you sure enough ask the Lord
to give you faith. And anybody that has asked the Lord to give
them faith, He's given it to them. Ask and you shall receive. Don't try to believe. I'm going
to try to believe. No, you don't try to believe,
you believe. And you believe when God gives you this gift
of faith. I believe. I do belief. Now through this God-given faith
she was given supernatural grace to receive strength. It was given
to her and she received it and through this strength that she
received she did what was impossible for her to do. She brought forth
a child. And through that child would
come the Messiah. Now that's what living people
do. She produced life. When I believe it's the product
of God's omnipotence. When I repent, it's the product
of God's omnipotence. When I person the fear and the
faith, it's because I've kept by the power of God, through
faith and to salvation, my life is the result of the omnipotent
divine begetting of God. And I love the way Aaron read
that because I got here in my notes. Here it is. Here it is. As many as received him. To them
gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them which believe
on His name, which were born, which were birthed, not of blood,
not of the will of the flesh, not because a bunch of men got
together and said, we're going to pray for this guy until he's
saved. Not of the will of man, not as an act of man's free will,
but of God. She believed that that child
was coming because she judged him faithful that had promised.
God said, you're going to have a child. She knew that he would
not lie when he gave that promise. She judged him able to do that. Is anything too hard for the
Lord? Sharon knew nothing was too hard for the Lord. She believed
God's ability to do what he said that he would do. Now, Let me
close with this thought. I believe, I believe, and it's
from the scriptures, I believe that God is able, now do you
hear that? I believe that God is able to
make me stand on judgment day without sin. You believe that? God is able
through what the Lord Jesus Christ did on Calvary's tree. I believe
God is able to make me to stand before God without fault and
I am relying on his faithfulness to do that for me which he said
he would do. I'm just like Abraham. Well, Paul, 2 Timothy 1, 12,
I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that what? He is able to keep that which
I've committed to him. I've committed to him the entire
salvation of my soul. My hands are off. If he doesn't
do it all, I won't be saved. I'm trusting only in who he is
and what he did, nothing else. I'm persuaded that he's able
to keep that which I've committed to him against that day. Sarah provides us a beautiful
illustration of the simplicity of faith. She knew him, she believed his
ability, and she believed his trustworthiness to do what he
said he would do. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that you would take your word and that you would bless it and
give us this faith of Sarah. This faith that comes from knowing
you. And the only reason we can know
you is because you've made yourself known to us. And when you make
yourself known, we know you. And Lord, knowing you, we believe
you're able to do what you said you would do for us. and we believe
that you are utterly trustworthy and reliable to do what you said
you would do. Lord, grant us this faith, the
gift of your grace. In Christ's name we pray, amen.