This is Connect with Skip Heitzig, and we're so glad you've joined us for today's program. Connect with Skip Heitzig is all about connecting you to the never-changing truth of God's Word through verse-by-verse teaching. Before we get started, we want to invite you to check out connectwithskip.com to find resources like full message series, sermon outlines, and more. While you're at it, be sure to sign up to receive Skip's weekly devotional emails right in your inbox. When you do, we'll send you Skip's booklet, Hell No, Don't Go. This insightful resource will help you gain a deeper understanding of what awaits believers in heaven and unbelievers in hell. It's an encouragement for those who have said yes to Jesus and a sobering picture for those who have not. Get your copy when you sign up today at connectwithskip.com.
That's connectwithskip.com. Now let's get started with today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Here's King Abimelech. He's sleeping at night. He does not know what's happening. He does not know the relationship between this man and woman. He did not take her that night, which was typical when a new woman was brought into a harem. He just went to sleep that night. While he was sleeping, just on the pillow, sawing logs, God spoke to him and said, you're a dead man.
I'd call that a nightmare. Because the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife. But Abimelech had not come near her and said, Lord, will you slay a righteous nation also? Now it's interesting that he said slay a righteous nation and we'll learn the full impact of that when we get to verse 18 and we discover that all of the wombs of the Philistine women had been closed by God. So not only was God threatening King Abimelech, but God had closed all of the wombs of the women so they were unable to bear. Well, if you can't bear little Philistines and have little Philistines running around your tent who will grow up to be big Philistines, you won't have a nation of Philistines. And so would you slay a righteous nation?
Interesting that he calls it that. Did he not say to me, she is my sister? Even she herself said he is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and in the innocence of my hands, I have done this. And God said to him in a dream, yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against me.
Therefore, I did not let you touch her. Now every time there is a first mention of something in the Bible, I've been telling you that principle of first mention, right? The very first mention of the word integrity is found here from the lips of a Philistine, a man of integrity. And God says, you're right.
I actually agree with you. You are a man of integrity. And that's why I'm keeping you from further sin.
Now here's a principle. If you are a person of integrity, honesty, you're not covering up, you're not hiding anything. You are who you say you are.
What you are in private and public are the same. If you're a person of integrity, God will keep you from further plunging into those kinds of activities, sins that would destroy families and destroy relationships. But if you are a person who lacks integrity, you're on that dangerous road of going further into areas that will destroy.
You're right. You're a man of integrity. That's why I'm not letting you do this. In fact, there's something I find interesting in verse six. It says, for I also withheld you from sinning against who?
Me. Now wait a minute. Abraham sinned against his wife Sarah by doing this. Abraham sinned against King Abimelech by doing this. King Abimelech took Sarah not knowing what it is. And even if he did know what it was and he was going to do it anyway, wouldn't that be a sin first of all against Sarah or first of all against Abraham?
No. Here's the important principle. Adultery is first and foremost a sin against God. And that's what most people forget. Oh, the poor children. True. Oh, the poor wife.
She was a victim or husband. True. But first and foremost, it's a sin against God. And why would that be? Because God was the one who invented the institution of marriage.
That's why. For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife and the two shall become one flesh. Jesus will say amen to that by saying what God has joined together, let not man separate. So to commit adultery, according to God here, is first a sin against him. That's where we ought to look. That's where the fear of God begins.
This is with thoughts like this. Now later on you're going to read about Moses. And Moses was Egyptian. He was at least a Hebrew but in the Egyptian court. And one day he goes out and he's angry at an Egyptian and says he looked this way and he looked that way and he killed the Egyptian.
What was his problem? He didn't look that way. And so we look around to see who's looking or not looking. God's always looking. And in his sleep God reminds Abimelech of that truth. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore restore the man's wife for he is a prophet.
He's a what? This is shocking to me. And he will pray for you and you shall live. Okay, back to the rule of first mention. The very first time the word prophet is mentioned in the Bible is in this verse. And it's used of a disobedient Abraham.
Now I say I'm shocked at this because if there's one time you would think that God would not want to even be related to Abraham, would be here. You'd think he would say, for this man is a problem. This man is a problem child of mine. I've had problems with him for years, ever since I called him. Or I don't know who this joker is, but God owns him as his prophet.
Isn't that interesting? He says he's a prophet and he'll pray for you and Abimelech is probably thinking, I don't want him to pray for me. I'll tell you why this is good. It's good because whenever we fail, whenever we blow it, and we all do, in our own thinking we ruin our future ability to serve the Lord so often by these thoughts. Oh, I've blown it.
Oh, that was a bad mistake. I can never be used by God again. Oh boy, you don't understand our God. You don't understand the great grace of our God, the mighty mercy of our maker. He's a prophet and he's going to pray for you. In fact, the Lord's going to hear his prayer and going to heal him. Now, I don't want you to misunderstand me because some of you may be thinking, oh, so great. So if I blown it and I have, I can just keep blowing it.
Nope. Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound? God forbid, said Paul. Because even though you can get up there and still teach a Bible study or preach a sermon or play the notes on the piano or guitar, there'll be something you will be lacking the whole time.
Life, real life. You'll shrivel up inside. There'll be pain and sorrow and repercussions in you and around you with relationships and family.
You'll just be drying up inside. The Bible says in Proverbs 13, I believe that the way of the unfaithful is hard. It's hard. It's miserable.
So you'll be operating out of an empty well instead of a full well that never runs out. But he calls him a prophet and he said, he'll pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours. So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all of his servants and told all of these things in their hearing. And the men were very much afraid. Of course, God just said they're going to be dead men unless they give her back. And Abimelech called Abraham.
Well, this is going to be interesting. And said to him, you jerk. No, he didn't say that.
It's perhaps what I would have said. He said, what have you done to us? How have I offended you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done. Now he's rebuked by them.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, God will not allow his children to sin successfully. And so he does it. He goes through with the plan, man.
We made it down here. God reveals something in a dream, unwitting to Abraham's knowledge until the next day. What have you done to us, he says. Now there's a scripture in Proverbs 25 that says, when a righteous man falters before the wicked, he is like a murky spring or a polluted well. Very picturesque, isn't it? When a man or woman of God, known to be a man or woman of God, known to be a Christian man or woman, when they stumble before the unbeliever world, they're like a murky spring. No refreshment there.
A polluted well. Abraham has done exactly that. Well, when you stretch the truth, it's apt to snap back, right? And here we find it. Abimelech said to Abraham, what did you have in view that you have done this thing? And Abraham said, because I thought. Now stop right there.
What was the problem? Because I thought. That's where he goofed up. He started thinking. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we get back to Skip's teaching, in his book, Is God Real?, Lee Strobel, author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Case for Christ, provides a rational exploration of the proof of God's existence and the basis of our eternal hope. Writing to skeptics and believers alike, Strobel turns his critical mind and expert interviewing skills to perennial questions like, how do we know which God is real? And if God is real, why does he seem so hidden?
Is God real? Along with two messages preached by Lee Strobel at Calvary Church are our thanks for your gift of at least $50 today to help share biblical teaching with more people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your resources when you give at least $50 today to reach people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Let's continue with today's teaching with Pastor Skip. Now don't jump to conclusions.
Finish it out and I'll explain. Abraham said, because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place. Well, really, they seem to be more attuned to the fear of God than Abraham.
And they will kill me on account of my wife. Notice he doesn't say, well, I'll tell you what I had in mind here. Because I prayed, and when I prayed, I felt that the Lord was telling me, give your wife to this man. That's not what he says. In fact, if he would have prayed, God would have spoken to him and said, what are you thinking?
Of course not. So he doesn't say, because I prayed, I felt led, or the Spirit told me, but it's because I thought. And that's where we so often get into trouble is we think it through, and we strategize, and we get our buddies together, and we plan, and we do everything but pray. There's two categories of people.
Which do you find yourself in most? A thinker or a prayer? Some of you are quite bright. Maybe you have 144 IQ. You're considered genius. Don't know. Maybe you're above average.
You're 100 to 115 or 20. Wow. You're an idiot in comparison to the mind of God.
Do you recognize that? If you are living just by your own thinking and your own strategizing and your own planning and not consulting the leader, that's ignorance. That's stupidity.
Well, you know, I thought. Wrong answer, buddy. That's your problem.
And yet, I find people in ministries, I find them having conferences around the country strategizing for church growth and strategizing for the next level and strategizing, why not just get together and pray and ask God for His wisdom? That's where the power is. It's because I thought. And boy, did he think wrong. He assumed. Assumption is the lowest form of communication. You assume.
You just probably don't do that. He assumed and he assumed wrong. He was clever, and it got him into trouble. Now watch this. But no, indeed, she truly is my sister. Now watch. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother.
And she became my wife. Okay, so technically, it was true, right? It's a half truth. A half truth is a total lie. It was meant to mislead, right? You can say, well, technically it was the truth.
Now here's the problem. If we start living on these little technicalities and verbal, you know, statements that aren't meant to fully disclose, that's bearing false witness. If we start saying, well, it depends on what is is, that is a statement purposely meant to deceive, not to disclose. It's bearing false witness. Now, it's interesting that that term finds its way into the New Testament bearing false witness. By the way, that's one of God's top 10 that he thundered from Mount Sinai that day. You shall not bear false witness, yes?
We find it in the New Testament when at the trial of Jesus, they couldn't find anything against him, so it says they brought in false witnesses who said, pointing to Jesus, this man said that he would destroy the temple and in three days he would build it back up. Now, did Jesus say that? Yes, he did say that. He did say that.
Technically, it was true. In John chapter 2, he said, destroy this temple and in three days I'll build it back up. But John, in an editorial comment says, but he was speaking of the temple of his body, not the temple in Jerusalem. So yes, it's what he said, but what he meant was his own body. So to bear false witness is more than just giving information, it's all about the implication.
It's the spin you put on it. And if you are meaning to deceive, which is what Abraham was doing, he is born false witness and he's in trouble. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, this is your kindness that you should do for me in every place where we go, say of me he is my brother.
Okay, now just stop right there and I don't care if we make it into 21 or not. Now, we have some information that is valuable in verse 30. Now, we are privy to some information where the picture comes together.
It all makes sense. We didn't have full understanding when in chapter 12, he goes to Egypt and says, say to Pharaoh, you're my sister. But now we have some information. It wasn't that Abraham was pressured into saying this or he panicked and he just said it spur of the moment.
Now we understand it's been a pattern. He planned to say this. When in chapter 11 and on into chapter 12, when we read the first read about Sarai and Abram leaving Ur of the Chaldees and going to Haran and then down into the promised land, now we understand that ever since we were married, part of the prenuptial agreement was wherever we go, she's going to say this. Can you imagine their wedding vows? Will you have me as your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold from this day forward for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer in sickness and in health and wherever you go, if I'm in trouble, say you're my sister. I will. I don't know. Maybe she looked at Abram and thought, honey, whatever you want, sweetie baby, I love you. I'm crazy about you.
Yeah, I'll do it. Whatever it was, they made a pact in agreement 30 years before. So when in chapter 12 he does it and now he does it, we understand it's been a pattern. He never broke from sin. He never made a break from it. It's been a pattern and a pattern and he could have done it more than twice.
It's mentioned twice. He could have done it all the time. Whenever you see a Christian fall and you're initially shocked, I can't believe that. What would possess that person suddenly out of the blue to do that? It wasn't sudden. It wasn't out of the blue.
They fell in the very spot they were most vulnerable and weakest and unguarded and over time sewed into that area. We made a pact 30 years ago. It was the kindness that I asked her to do for me.
It's a pattern. And Abimelech took sheep and oxen and male and female servants and gave them to Abraham and he restored Sarah and his wife to him. And Abimelech said, see, my land is before you.
Dwell where it pleases you. Now you might say, well, this is kind of weird. Why would he bless him and reward him? Because God woke him up in the middle of the night and spoke audibly to him and said, he's a prophet. So he understands not that he's impressed with Abraham. He's not impressed with Abraham. He's very impressed with Abraham's God. And he knows that Abraham's God is connected to Abraham.
So I'm going to bless him. You know, it's like, where does an 800-pound gorilla sit? Wherever he wants. Where's Abraham connected to this great God going to go? Wherever he wants. Take the land.
Go for it. And he leaves. So Abimelech said, see, my land is before you.
Dwell where it pleases you. Then to Sarah, he said. Now watch what he says. Behold, I have given your husband.
No, he didn't say that, does he? Oh, yeah. You want to call him your brother? I'll call him your brother, too. Because I'll tell you one thing, sweetheart, he sure didn't act like a husband to you. So he didn't even call him a husband, but a brother.
I could see a brother doing that, but not a husband. So I've given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. Indeed, this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody. Thus she was rebuked. So Abraham prayed to God. And God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants.
And they bore children. For the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. Abraham could not preach to Abimelech. He couldn't. He couldn't give him a message. He couldn't say, no, Abimelech, do you know that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life?
Here's a four spiritual law booklet, Abimelech. Let me just go through this with you really quick. He wouldn't have listened to him, right? He had ruined his testimony, yes. He couldn't preach to him. Abimelech wouldn't receive anything from him, but he could pray for him. All of us have somebody in our lives that we have hurt. Don't know what it was.
Maybe it was just some dumb sin we committed. You can't preach to them. You can't share anything with them. They won't receive it. They won't listen. If you call on the phone, they'll hang up. If you send them a letter, they'll send it back unopened.
They won't receive from you. But you can secretly pray for them. You can secretly pray for them. You say, why would I want to do that?
Two reasons. You'd want to do it, number one, because it'll free you from being bitter. They may be bitter at you, but you can be freed from bitterness by praying for them. If you put your enemies on a prayer list, you won't have a grudge against them.
I will guarantee that. If you pray for them, if you daily bring them before the Lord and ask God to bless them, you can't harbor a grudge. If it's an old colleague or an ex-spouse or some brother or sister who's erred against you, and you pray for them, man, you're free.
You sleep well. You're asking God to bless them. Number two, you'll bless them. They'll be blessed. You go, I don't really want them blessed. Oh, yes, you do.
Yes, you do. Because here's what's going to happen. They're not receiving from you now, but you're praying for them, and you're getting free of it, and you're watching them get blessed, and they won't even know that you're the instrument of that blessing. They won't know the source of it until you get to heaven. And in heaven, it will be revealed, and they'll be blown away. You mean you were the source of all of that blessing? You prayed for me?
Yeah. There will be such a wonderful reunion. It will be so grand and glorious. So you can't preach to everyone, but you can pray for everyone, and you'll be free and others will be blessed, and eternity will tell those stories. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We hope you've been encouraged in your walk with Christ by today's program. Before we let you go, we want to remind you about this month's resources that will help you confidently respond to questions and challenges to God's existence.
It's Lee Strobel's book, Is God Real?, and two messages he preached on the topic at Calvary Church. Request your resources when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888. That's 800-922-1888, or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. And did you know that you can get a weekly devotional and other resources from Pastor Skip sent right to your email inbox?
Simply visit connectwithskip.com and sign up for emails from Skip. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross. Cast all burdens on His hand. Make a connection, a connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
