Good evening. The words of God are beautiful indeed. The gospel offering pardon and peace to all, wooing us to heaven. And Jesus sanctifies us. I would like to request that we turn in our Bibles to Hebrews, the letter to the Hebrews chapter 11. We're only going to read two verses. Verse 11 and verse 12. Of course, the discourse is coming from very far. The writer has been building a case. And here, he's talking about the life of faith for believers, that we need endurance. And we draw this by faith. So verse 11, by faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful, who had promised. Therefore, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants, as many as the stars in heaven, and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. Let us pray together. Our father in heaven, we count ourselves greatly privileged, a blessed people. You have raised us from death and given us life. And our father, we are now part of the body of your son, Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church. We are not our own. You have bought us at a great price. And so, our Father, we want to submit ourselves to you and listen to you. We want to hear from you this evening. We plead, O Lord, that you will descend by your Spirit and open our hearts Give us appreciation of the things that we are going to hear. Lord, that we may become even better children of God. Sanctify it. But Lord, if there are any that do not know you here, oh Lord, may this be a challenge to them, that they may consider their lives. And Father, you may draw them to your son. We pray asking that you will hear us in that worthy name of your son Jesus. Amen. The Christian life is filled with many situations and experiences and challenges. And in fact, it is a guaranteed life of pain. The Lord Jesus Christ, in his discourse with the disciples, says, you will weep and mourn in this world. It's almost guaranteed that there will be pain, that there will be difficulties. But we also are sinners, and so it doesn't make the situation easier. We also add to our own pain. We have a wonderful story here of the woman called Sarah. The text that we read tells us how Sarah trusted God and was strengthened to be able to have a baby despite the odds against her. We can save ourselves a lot of stress and despondence if we trusted the Lord in our times of difficulty, in our times of weakness. It will save us well if we entrust ourselves to the one who is faithful, the one Sarah trusted. How does faith strengthen the work of believers? I'm arguing that faith results in strength for the Christian walk. And I would like to consider a number of things here. In the first place, I would like to first look at the trouble and the pain that Sarah caused herself. And we can learn from that the fact that we hurt ourselves when we live by sight. We hurt ourselves when we live by sight. To understand this text that we have just read, we have to inevitably go back to Genesis chapters 12 to 24, where we find more detail about Sarah. But I would like to say that Sarah is well-known. She was married to Abraham, the patriarch, the well-known father of the faithful. She moved around with him. When he was caught away from the worship of pagan gods, she was with him. God did not give Abraham a roadmap. In fact, he told him, you start off and go to a place which I will show you. God was going to show him, but he had to start off. Talk about a man convincing his wife with no roadmap, except God has said so. She must have trusted in the dream of her husband. Possibly he convinced her about it. But then we also see her faltering. She faltered on a number of things. When in Genesis chapter 18, the Lord showed up, in fact, there is a picture, an appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ before his incarnation with two angels, makes a promise of a child As they were talking with Abraham outside, she was sitting in a tent. And she was overhearing what they were saying. And we are told famously that she laughed. And she was asked about it, why did you laugh? And obviously she lied about it. Sarah was barren. She was very old. In fact, that is why she laughed. She says, I'm so old. I'm finished. And my husband is also finished. And shall I have the pleasure of having a child? She has passed childbearing age. So she thought that possibly God was not serious in promising something that was clearly impossible. something that was, in fact, in our time, against science. She gave it a chance for some time, trying to wait. But before long, we see she takes charge of the situation and sees that possibly God did not mean that I'm going to have the child biologically. In any case, it was common in the ancient Near Eastern tradition. Among the nations, those who were servants, the maids, could be given to the husbands to have a child. And the child that is born from there would legally belong to the mistress. And she considers that possibly God meant it this way. And so she influenced the situation in the home. Sarah took up lordship in the home. She took up headship in the home. She took up leadership in the home. And the results are in full view for all to see. She looked at the evidence in the world. so that people who are barren and old cannot have children. So she considered that God had overlooked certain scientific facts. God had obviously made a mistake, or maybe let us do it the way of the world. I will say she created serious problems for herself and for her husband. In fact, she created serious problems for everyone. She presented the maid to her husband. The maid became pregnant. When she became pregnant, she started despising the mistress, because the mistress was not having children. And we have certain expressions we make locally, which are derogatory, concerning people who do not have children. She did not care that it is a dangerous thing to hurt the mistress, to be at loggerheads with the mistress. We know how it is. Most maids and garden boys in our time understand that if you want to have peace at this home, be in good books with the madame. Otherwise, you are gone. And Haga started despising the mistress. And Sarah became harsh with her, started mistreating her. And we are told she blamed the husband for the misery that she was suffering. She was the one in charge of the maid. She could have decided to fire the maid. But she went to the husband and despised him as well, disrespected him. She had taken over. And this was a problem. Abraham had let her take charge. Instead of leading, he was being led by the wife. He tried to manage the strife between the two wives. The child was sent away with the mother. They remained alone at some point. She had invented what God had designed. She had set aside what God had designed for marriage, for the home. She imposed her idea on her husband. This is the same thing that happened in Eden when Eve took charge. She became the leader of the home, and we are here. Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and sin came upon all, for all have sinned. We have sinned because of this situation. Dear friends and brethren, we must always remember that God has established the order of things. He has established the order of things. in many aspects, in all aspects of our lives, and particularly here in the family. If you are to be happy, as God has determined, take your place, submit to what God has said. If you want to be hurt and to lead a miserable life, break up your family, neglect your responsibility at work, Be irresponsible, be lazy, and you will hurt yourself. If you swap your roles in your home, it is a matter of time. Things will crumble. Do you think that maybe you can have better luck if you went to consult mediums You are sick and the hospitals are not helping you. And everyone, your relatives are telling you, you are young, you don't understand these things. There is someone. No, he's not a witch doctor. He actually even prays. They use the Bible. And you go. You do not want to trust your God. You do not want to trust that the Lord has said, you shall not consult mediums, you shall not go to witch doctors. Dear friends, so sad that these things are happening in the church. Not just in the charismatic churches who are prone to superstition. Here, in the Reformed Baptist churches, these things are happening. A number of people used to be to go, like going to Mecca, they would go to Nigeria to see TB Joshua. You see friends admiring those that have been to TB Joshua and they are saying they have been healed. In fact, that oil, it works. It's only that you've reformed demodification. You are educated, you don't believe in these things, even witchcraft, you don't believe in it. So you go because you want to get a job, you want to get promotion, you take shortcuts. Or are you tired of waiting on the promise of God? Are you tired of waiting that the Lord will bring you the right man? He will bring you the right woman. And so you take shortcuts. Very soon we are going to discover for those decisions that you have made. The Bible says we should not lean on our own understanding. We should not be wise in our own eyes. To obey is better than sacrifice. God will reject you if you do the things of your own. Remember King. Remember King Saul. It might actually be a pointer that you are not connected to the head, the Lord Jesus Christ. We cause ourselves pain that way, but God is gracious to strengthen us. That is the second lesson we see. God is gracious to strengthen our faith. Let's go back to Moses and see what he tells us about the story of Sarah. The wonderful works that God did in the life of Sarah that she witnessed that showed her that God was to be trusted. that God could do things beyond our wildest imaginations, things that are out of the ordinary, things that we could have never conceived. God is able to do. He showed her. He allowed her to experience those things as she was going about with her husband. Yes, she laughed. But we also see that In that time, God confided in Abraham. He was about to destroy Sodom. And he says, shall I do this thing without letting my servant Abraham know about it? And the Lord disclosed it to him. So she must have told her about it, that God is going to destroy. And she saw him, she saw Abraham praying, pleading. to God for Lot who was in that place, praying that the Lord may preserve the righteous. She saw that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed in fire. And she, yes, saw that God had heard the prayer of the husband. Lot and his daughters were saved. Yes, she was unsure about that promise that God had made, but God was gracious to strengthen her faith. In any case, even Abraham fought hard. He fought hard. In Genesis chapter 17 verse 17, he fell on his face and laughed. Then another occasion came up where Abraham made a plan that my wife is so beautiful, I'm in danger. When I go to the people that do not fear God, I must tell them that she's my sister, which was a half truth. And he goes to the place of Abimelech, the Philistines, and Abimelech sees and realizes, oh, this woman is the sister. She's not married. It was a beautiful woman. I always wonder, this kind of beauty must have been beauty indeed. An old woman. Abraham was fearing that the wife was going to be grabbed from him. But the thing that we see here is that when Abimelech took Sarah to be his wife, There was no peace in that home. God struck the home with disease. In fact, God struck the home, all the women, the wombs were closed. They were not going to have children. They stopped having children. But then, Abimelech complained and he says, what have you done? What have you done? You want to kill me and to have my kingdom destroyed? And Abraham sheepishly apologized. And the Lord told him to pray for Abimelech and his family. Abimelech was told, give back the woman to the husband. He will pray for you. And indeed, he prayed. And what happened? The wombs were opened. And all the women whose wombs were closed We are able to have children. And God allowed Sarah to see this. What was Sarah's problem? Sarah's problem was inability to have children. She was too old. And then God shows her that he is the one who has the power to decide which womb he closes and which womb he opens. He did this to show her His power. He did this because He is a gracious God. To strengthen her faith, she was able to see that God is able to do this. He has done it for these. In fact, these are pagans and God has done it. He can do it for me. He can give me a child. The Bible tells us, Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord. the fruit of the womb, the reward of the womb. In Psalm 127, verse 3, God has sovereignty over the womb. It is he that made the promise to Sarah. And God is saying, can you continue doubting? This was the grace of God that was available for Sarah. And God is so gracious that he bears with the faults of his people, yet he magnifies their graces. See how Peter speaks highly of Sarah. In 1 Peter 3, the first seven verses, likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands. so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be worn without a word by the conduct of their wives. When they see your respectful and pure conduct, do not let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair and the putting on of God's jewelry or the clothing you wear, but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart. with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. Who is it describing who had this? For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves by submitting to their own husbands. Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. And you are her children if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. Sarah is presented as a model for you, our sisters, for the women. Aspire to be like her. The Lord magnifies the graces of this woman. And this is unlike us. who are always seeking to bring out the negative things, even when someone has got so many positives. In fact, we get offended when we don't see anything negative. We are sure this is a sinner. Something must be wrong. They must have something to point at. And you embark on a mission to find that out. Maybe they mispronounce a certain word, and you are saying, but I was a believer. They can also mispronounce. I heard him saying, you can be able. How can you say you can be able? And you make it a big issue. The Lord magnifies our graces. Are we not going to be like him? In Hebrews chapter 11, verse 11, we are told that Sarah had faith. By faith, Sarah herself received the power to conceive. It was faith. She is an example, a model of faith, one who had faith. We are to look up to her and have faith like her. What else is said there? Since she considered him faithful, who had promised, she trusted our God. She trusted the Lord. Where do you get your principles from? Do you get your principles from TV? From Mpali? You think that is real life? They're just acting. You get your principles from Facebook? from Instagram, from TikTok? Is that where you get your principles from? Get your principles from the Lord. He has been gracious to show you. You have been in Sunday school. You have been in YP. You have seen many people in your life, in whose lives God has been working, doing great things. Some you saw them as sinners, big sinners, and God changed them. You can see what God has been doing in other people's lives. You have seen people who have been struck with disease and death, and how God has raised them up and strengthened them. You have seen how some have hit rock bottom and the Lord has been gracious to sustain them and come through for them. You have seen people that have failed even in your school and they have trusted God, they have gone on, they have succeeded. The Lord has been gracious to show you that He is able to do things. You can trust Him. He is being gracious to you. What about this same word we are listening to right now? Isn't it testimony of the things that God is able to do? Isn't it meant to strengthen your faith? Won't you be encouraged from it? And if indeed you are changed, won't you live in accordance to your new nature of trusting and relying on the one who is faithful? God is gracious. But in the third place, we also see here that God strengthens us when we trust him. He does strengthen us when we trust him. We see in our text that Sarah came right from that doubting woman. She came right and trusted God. Here we are told that she considered him faithful. And what was the result? The result is that God gave her power to conceive. By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive. Even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful, who had promised. This is the design of God that you trust him and he will do it. It is the design of God that you go to him, you trust him. In fact, Unbelief is the greatest sin of mankind. Homosexuals are not going to hell because of being homosexuals, but because of unbelief. A liar and every other sinner is going to hell because of unbelief. Sarah shows her confidence in the Lord by considering him that he was faithful. The God who promised was faithful. She knew he was faithful and took him on that basis, believing his promise. She took him to be steadfast, to be firm, to be one who is a God of fidelity. that God is trustworthy. He is dependable. He commits himself to that which he has promised. In fact, even when you are unfaithful yourself, the Lord remains faithful because his faithfulness, in fact, is so bound up in his being that the Bible says that he cannot deny himself. He cannot be unfaithful, thereby denying himself. He will commit himself and she trusted him. Our God never goes back on his word. He is always faithful. He is always faithful. We have known his faithfulness. We have experienced his faithfulness. He is a faithful God. Even if we have not felt it, he is. That is the reality. He is a faithful God. He is to be trusted. So my friends, why wouldn't you want to believe and save God? He is a faithful God. What we ought to do is trust him. Great is his faithfulness. And because God is faithful, we can endure all the way until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We can remain Christians. We can be growing as Christians. We will be strengthened. The Lord will nourish us. He will give us fulfillment. He will give us purpose and meaning as long as we live because he is faithful. It doesn't matter what our situation is. There's nothing like you don't know what I'm going through. God knows it all. It is not me. God knows it all. Yes, I may not understand what you're going through. But what I'm telling you is God is faithful. So go to God. Trust Him. He is faithful. And you know what? He will strengthen us. The Bible tells us in many places that God is our strength and defense. In Exodus chapter 15 verse 1 to 4. The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah chapter 8 verse 10. God is our refuge and our strength. Psalm 46. And David makes a prayer, strengthen me according to your word. The Lord is our strong tower. Hebrews chapter 18, verse 10. I am weak, but thou art strong. What does it mean when you sing? Trust yourself to the Lord. He will strengthen you. When you have made a stand for what is right, even when you are being attacked or mocked. He strengthens us when we are tempted. He will strengthen you when you are isolated by the wicked. The Lord is trustworthy. First Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13, no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. What does God do? God is faithful. And He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. You are weak. He will strengthen you. But with the temptation, He will also provide the way of escape that you may endure. What will He provide? Strength. He lifts us up when we seek Him. Even when we have sinned. You have sinned against God, return. It is an opportunity to go back. You can be right. He can take you back. Let me conclude by what the writer also concludes with concerning Sarai. He says, therefore, as a result of the confidence that she had in the Lord, as a result of that, from one man and him as good as dead were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven. God rewards the faithful with more fruitfulness. The Lord blessed her with a child, Isaac. And then Isaac had children as well. Jacob has the 12 tribes. And they multiply themselves in all their history. David is born as king, assured that he's going to have someone on the throne forever. And that man comes born in time, the Lord Jesus Christ. So that the children of Sarai are not just the tribes of Jacob, But even many more, everyone that has faith has been born of Sarai. That is the blessing that God gives her. We are born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. When the right time came, God blessed her. She is the mother of the faithful. What does Galatians chapter 4 verse 31 tell us? So brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. Talking about Sarah and Hagar. Sarah is the free woman. Hagar is the slave. We are children of the free woman. Who are the we? It is the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the saints. And who are these? Gentiles. People who were not a people. They are now a people. They have been taken in. Children who are described as numerous in heaven. We're given a picture of how it will be in Revelation chapter 7 verse 9. After this, I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed in white robes with palms in their hands. Righteous, sanctified, glorified from every tribe, multitudes upon multitudes, she was fruitful because God strengthened her. He has called us to bear fruit, dear friends, but he also gives us the power to be fruitful. In fact, it is as though he is saying, be fruitful Not as a command like crank yourself and do it. He is saying be what you are. Let fruit come out. You are a changed people. You are Christians. Why are you living in hiding? Why are you living a compromised life? Why are you not involving yourself in the body? of believers. Why are you not playing your part? Why are you not making yourself available so that your brethren can benefit from you? That they can also minister to you? Bear fruit. But He provides us the grace. He provides us the power to be fruitful. Jesus told the disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit would come upon them for them to be his witnesses. He expects them to be his witnesses. He gives them great power that the Holy Spirit wakes in them and goes out speaking, convicting men of sin, bringing in shields, bringing in many. Do you cower? Do you keep away from making yourself available? God has given us power to make disciples of all nations. Why do we hold back? Why do we hold back spreading the gospel in our area? The university is there, yearning, waiting. Just waiting. Do you see people perishing in sin? Involved in all sorts of vices? Which doctors are not afraid? They are not ashamed. In the newspapers, they take a full page, a section of the newspaper. Which doctors? They should be ashamed. Because the gospel is reaching them and condemning them. But they are courageous. They even call themselves special names, making themselves look cool. That is a sign, dear friends, that there is something wrong which we can do. Drunkenness and prostitution is all over. But yet, the Lord has given us power to live for Him. Liars and crooks and thieves are all around us, in our homes. Workers, it's like it is in the syllabus. Every worker, caretaker, garden boy, whoever, they are not hearing the gospel. They are just being given instructions to work. They don't hear the gospel. They are not condemned by the gospel. Or could it be that maybe you are deceived to think that you are a Christian when you are not? Could your lack of obedience in an area be indicative of your lack of faith? You know, what the Bible says is that faith produces trust, confidence in the one that has promised, even to the very end of the age. If that is not happening, we must look to be healed. We must go to that fountain. The Lord will heal us. That is why we gather together around the table. That will be administered shortly. That we may come to the fountain that flows, ever flows, to cleanse us, to make us right. That we may be counted among those multitudes that are dressed in white robes. We can be dressed in white robes. The Lord be gracious to us as we think about these things. He cares about us. Amen.