Sarah: The Doubter God Used

You are faithless when you keep appealing to human needs to bring about spiritual results. Dr. Tony Evans lifts some lessons from the life of Sarah, who doubted God's promise of a pregnancy. He will let you stay barren, lifeless, until faith rises. For without faith, it is impossible to please him.

This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Today, Dr. Evans takes a look at why the Lord's plans aren't limited by our perceptions and why God's will must be carried out God's way. Let's join him.

Today I want to talk from the life of one of the great women of the Bible. Her name is Sarah. In Genesis chapter 11, verse 30, it says, Sarai was barren. She had no child. But she had a lot going for it.

She was married to a very successful man. Name Abram. The thing that caused Sarai to stand out. Was her beauty? The Bible declares that she was unusually beautiful.

In fact, when we discover her. Here at the end of chapter 12, she is. 65 years old. And yet the Bible declares that She was a knockout.

So Sarah had a lot going for her. But there was one major missing element in her life. It says she was barren. She had no child. God pronounces a blessing on Abraham.

He says, through you. A blessing is going to come to the whole world. And I'm making a promise to you. That I'm going to do something special in your life. And what I'm going to do is, I am going to give you.

Asan.

Now he's 75 years old. His wife has never gotten pregnant. She's 65 years old. He says, But in the middle of your barrenness, I am going to give you life. In chapter fifteen, verse two, Abram is confused.

He says, now, I'm childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus. Abram says, You've given me no offspring. Verse 3: One born of my own heir. But the Lord says in verse 4, oh no, but one will come forth from your body. And he shall be your heir.

Now that's crazy. Because he's 75. And Sarah is 65.

So it It's too late to expect. Life. Cause I've been lifeless. For so long. Yeah.

Even though God says this. Sarah decides that Evidently, God does not understand biology.

So she said, let me help God out. Abraham, we have a maid. She can get pregnant.

So probably what God means is. You go in the Hagar. And you impregnate her. And that will be the child. Cause Because I can't have no baby.

Yeah. I'm too old to get pregnant.

So in chapter 16, Abram's wife Sarah, verse 3, took Hagar, the Egyptian hermaid, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as his wife. He went into Hagar and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. Too many people in the kitchen.

So now we got a conflict brewing. Because watch this, Sarah wanted to help out G.O.D. In order to help out God, watch this, she went to a... Human solution to bring about a supernatural. Promise.

But the reason why so many of us Seem to not realize the promises of God is we resort. to human solutions. to help out GOD. To help God out, because obviously God is not living in the real world. Where there's real barrenness and real lack of pregnancy and real life-challenging situations.

And so we revert. to a human way. To bring about the desired result of what we wish God would do in our lives based on the promises in His Word or their application to us.

So important is this issue with Sarah and Hagar. that Paul picks this up in the New Testament. In Galatians chapter 4. And this is what Paul says. I'm going to come back here, but I want to read what Paul says in Galatians 4, verse 21.

He says, tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the one by the bond woman was born according to the flesh. The son by the free woman was born through the promise. He goes on to say, verse 26, but Jerusalem is free.

She is our mother, for it is written, rejoice, barren woman, who does not bear. Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor, for more numerous are the children of the desolate than the one who has a husband. And you, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time, he who was born according to the flesh, persecuted who was born according to the spirit, so it is now. But what does the scripture say?

Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.

So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman. but of a free worker.

So the New Testament piggybacks on this story to tell us how we're to live our lives under the grace of God. And he says, don't live your life. By the bond woman. In other words, don't try to experience God. with a Hagar mentality.

In other words, don't try to help God out by using the flesh. Your human approach. to getting things done and realizing the promises and provisions of God in your life. Don't go haygar on God. You cannot appeal to the flesh to gain the promises of the spirit.

So God has to come back. to Abraham another time. And to explain to him. Abraham? That's not how this is going to work.

Chapter 17. Verse 15, then God said to Abraham, as for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. In the Bible, naming was more than just ascribing nomenclature. Naming had to do with. creating a new identity.

You name something because you wanted to create a new identity. The word Sarah means princess or noblewoman. In other words, I'm going to make Sarah. This noble princess. And she is going to, verse 16, be blessed.

I'm going to give you a son by her. Then I will bless her. And she shall be the mother of nations. Kings of people will come from her. In other words, girl is going to be living lodge.

Because I'm going to do something special with her. And you know what he's giving Sarah? Her destiny.

Now, it doesn't look like that's a possible destiny because she can't get pregnant. But he says, I'm going to give her a destiny. I'm telling you that. Because I don't care how barren you are right now, God has a destiny for you. Because you have a name.

In fact, you belong to the name above all names. There is a destiny. You say, well, how do I know if I've been barren without life for an extended period of time that I still have a destiny? Simple, you're still here.

Well, Abraham hears this, verse 17. Stay with me now. Abraham fell on his face and laughed. and said in his heart, will a child be born to a man 100 years old? And will Sarah, who is 90 years old, bear a child?

All right, hop over to chapter 18 now. God says in verse 9, where is Sarah your wife? He says they're in the tent. He says, I'm going to return to you at this time next year. Sarah, your wife, will have a son.

There is a 25-year gap. Between the giving of the promise initially And the realization of the promise. There's a time gap. Because the promise can only be realized when captured by faith. When the promise is not believed, the promise is automatically delayed.

For without faith, it is impossible to please God.

So the question is, how long do you want to delay? God coming through for you because you tied into the facts. And you always hear it with Christians when they say, let's be practical. Let's be practical. In other words, these are the facts.

Now, you never dismiss the facts. The facts are the facts, but you never let the facts override the promise. And one of the reasons that we do not see God more. is we're too tied to the facts. Don't ignore the facts, but you can't be locked into them because if you're locked into the facts, you're locked into the natural.

Only faith. can move you to the supernatural.

So what she did was she promoted unrighteousness in order to help God out. Her motivation was great. Her action was wrong. And that creates extended time. Delay.

in realizing the promises of God. Dr. Evans will tell us how God fulfilled his promise to Abraham and Sarah. and help us discover some applications for our own lives. When he continues our message in just a moment.

First though, I want to tell you about a helpful resource that goes hand in hand with the series we're in the middle of. It's Tony's popular book, Kingdom Heroes. And it takes a close look at the lives of ordinary people in Scripture who chose to trust God. and saw him do extraordinary things through them. If you've ever wondered whether your faith is strong enough or if your past has disqualified you from God's blessings, this book will help you see how God works through people who are willing to take Him at His Word.

And right now, as our thank you gift for your support of this ministry, We're bundling the Kingdom Heroes book together with all eight full-length messages in Tony's current teaching series called It's Not Too Late. This powerful collection reveals how God can step into your life. No matter how off-track it may seem, and rewrite your story with hope and purpose. This is a limited time offer, so be sure to request this special package when you visit tonyevans.org. or call us any time of the day or night at 1-800-800-3222 and one of our resource team members will be happy to help.

That's one eight hundred eight hundred three two two two.

Well, Dr. Evans will return with more of today's message right after this. Life moves fast and sometimes the most important thing you can do is slow down. You're invited to join Dr. Tony Evans for a Caribbean cruise designed to help you rest, reflect, and renew.

Beginning February 28th, set sail on a seven-day journey round trip from Fort Lauderdale. Visit stunning destinations like Nassau, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, and even a private island at the Bahamas. But this journey is more than scenic beauty. It's a time to reconnect with God and with others. You'll experience life-changing teaching, uplifting worship, and moments of peace that are hard to come by in the middle of everyday life.

Whether it's a quiet morning on deck or a shared moment of praise with fellow believers, every part of this cruise is designed to refresh your body and your soul. Make plans now to step away so you can step back renewed. Visit tonievans.org for details and reservations. That's tonyevans.org. Many of us are holding back the promises of God because we are believing the facts alone.

The facts are real. The facts are practical. But the facts are not the promise. And there are 8,000 promises in the Bible.

So God has to take us through. Trial after trial, difficulty after difficulty. And God will wait as long as it takes for faith to give life. For without faith, it is impossible to please him. Okay, now watch this.

chapter 21 because now we just swept through 25 years Then, somebody say then, then the Lord took note of Sarah as he said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. She conceived and bore a son, verse 2, to Abraham. I like this, in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Yeah. Uh We've been reading about doubt.

We've been reading about flesh. We've been reading about human attempts that didn't work. And then God having to do things to engage faith in them so that he would be free to move. And the New Testament now picks up on that. To teach us some very vital lessons, turn your Bible to Romans 4.

Watch this now. Verse 16, Romans 4. For this reason, it is by faith. In order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise, in this case, of salvation, but the principle, the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants. Oh wait, wait, wait now.

The principle of God making a promise doesn't just apply to Abraham and Sarah. He says it applies to all their children. All the descendants.

So you and I get in on this principle. Not only to those who are of the law, no, no, not just the Jews, but also to those who are of the faith in Abraham, who is the father of us all. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, Abraham is your daddy.

So this principle applies to you. It says Verse 17, as it is written, a father of many nations, I have made you in the presence of him who he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead. God can make something out of nothing, although it doesn't exist. You got a dead marriage. God has a way of making life come out of something that doesn't exist.

You've been single for a long time and you can't find up. God can bring people out of stuff that doesn't exist. He says in verse 18, in hope against hope. Having hope when there was no hope. It says, Abraham hoped against hope.

He believed. When did he believe? He believed after God showed him his power so that he might become a father of many nations. That's a big dream. That's a big vision.

That's a big plan that he was going to use Abraham for in his glory. According to that which he had spoken, so shall your descendants be.

Now, watch this, watch this. Without becoming weak in faith. He contemplated his own body. This is sweet.

Now, as good as what? He says, he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead, since he was about 100 years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. Come on, can I talk to you for a minute? To contemplate means to think about it. All right, he laying in the bed at night.

Any thinking about the fact that God told me. I'm going to have a baby. I'm 100 years old. Sarah's womb is dead. I'm dead?

Because I'm 100. She did. Cause she barren. I'm laying in bed. God has made a promise.

I'm going to have a baby. He's contemplating this thing and he's thinking about this thing and he's rolling this thing over in his mind. But while he's contemplating his body as good as dead, verse 20, yet with respect to the promise of God.

So one hand, he's thinking about, okay, I'm 100 years old. Everybody, but God said, yeah, but I'm 100 years old. And everybody, yeah, but God said, but yeah, I'm 100 years old. But yeah, but God said.

So he's thinking about the situation, but then he's thinking about the promise. And it says, yet with respect to the promise, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith.

Now wait a minute now. There's a question on the floor. If I'm thinking about my situation over here and it doesn't make sense, but then I think about the promise of God and how do I make my faith grow when I'm contemplating my problem over here? He tells you at the end of verse 20, he said, giving glory to God. He said, I thought about my problem.

Then I thought about his promise. Then I thought about my problem. Then I thought about his promise. And I'm getting a headache. I thought about my problem.

Then I thought about his promise. And what took me over the heart is that when I thought about my problem, I gave glory to God, which took me to his promise. And his promise outgrew my problem when I got my praise on in spite of the dilemma that I faced.

So it says, and being fully assured that what God had promised, he was able to perform. When he gave God glory, the promise overrode the problem.

Now, watch this. Hebrews 11, 11 says, by faith, Sarah conceived. Genesis 21 says, then God kept his word and his promise to Sarah and she conceived. Hebrews 11 says, by faith, Sarah conceived and became the mother of many nations.

Now, the problem is she didn't conceive till she's 90 years old.

So the natural question is, if I'm 90 years old and have a baby, how much time I'm going to get to spend with it? If I'm 90 years old and getting pregnant, it's nice. I got nine months of pregnancy. That's all nice. But I'm so old, I may not get to enjoy my baby.

I'm 48. Old, I ain't married yet. I mean, I get to enjoy my husband. I'm this age and not my career hasn't flourished yet. I mean, I get to enjoy my career.

It's taking too long, God, for you to do what you're gonna do. But the Bible says that Sarah died when she was 127 years old.

Now, let me tell you why that's important to know. Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age is given at her death date. There is no other woman in the Bible who has her age written out at the point of her death. That's done for men, but it's done for no other woman but Sarah. Why?

Because God wants you to know that even though it may look like it's taking a long time. For him to come through with his promise. When he comes through, he's going to give you enough time to enjoy it. If you were 127 years old. And you have a baby at 90, that means you have, you get to enjoy that baby for 37 years.

So for 37 years, she got to enjoy what it took a long time for her to have, but it only took that long because she went to the flesh rather than believing the promise of the word of God. Caleb was 40 years old, but other folk messed him up. Other folks' unbelief left him hanging out there without being able to go into the promised land. 40 years later, they go into the promised land. Caleb says to Joshua, give me that mountain, which the Lord promised me.

He says, and just so you know, Joshua, even though it's got a 40-year delay in me getting a promise, I'm as strong now as when I was at 40. I'm as vibrant now as when I was at 40.

So even if other folk and their unbelief is messing you up, it won't control what God has for you and the time he gives you to enjoy his plan. For your life by leaving the flesh and applying to the spirit and believing God's promises more than the facts. We bless your name, Lord. We give glory to God. Your power, your promise, your provision.

We give glory to you. I see the facts. But I give glory to you for the promise. I see what's practical, but I also see the promise. I see what things look like, but I also see the promise, and I'm going to hold on to the promise.

and not limit myself. to the facts. Dr. Tony Evans with some encouraging lessons from the life of Sarah.

Now, to listen to today's lesson in full, you can request a copy of Sarah, The Doubter God Used. Better yet, get it as a part of Dr. Evans' current eight-part audio series, It's Not Too Late. It's a powerful look at why nobody, including you, is too far gone for God to use. And if you're looking to lead your small group or Bible study on this subject, you'll want to get a copy of that great follow-up book I mentioned earlier called Kingdom Heroes.

For a limited time, we're packaging both of these resources together. And they can be yours with our thanks in return for your contribution toward keeping Tony's ministry coming here to this broadcast outlet. You can make your gift online and get information on these and all our other resources when you visit tonyevans.org. That's tonyevans.org. or call 1-800-800-3222 where one of our friendly team members is ready to help you day and night.

Again, that's 1-800-800-3222.

Now, if you find these messages from Dr. Evans helpful, You'll also want to listen to the Unbound podcast. where Tony engages in thoughtful discussions with other followers of Christ. You can find these conversations on his YouTube channel or wherever you stream your favorite podcast. The phrase, you can run, but you can't hide, is never truer than when you're describing somebody who's running from God.

Join Dr. Evans tomorrow as he talks about a man who tried. and what we can learn from his miraculous turnaround.