Sermon – Genesis 18 – Is Anything Too Hard For the LORD?

1 … We have finally moved on from Genesis 17 and have made it Genesis 18. Chapter 17 mainly focused on Abraham and him being given a command to follow God, he was given the covenant, and he was given the responsibility to fulfill the covenant – to be circumcised.
Now, the promise for the son is given again and we hear more from Sarah … then the chapter goes into Abraham interceding for Sodom and then after that Lot is rescued and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed in Genesis 19.
2 … Genesis 18:1-15 (NLT – A Son is Promised to Sarah) … (1) The LORD appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. (2) He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.
3 … (3) “My Lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. (4) Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. (5) And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.” “All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”
4 … (6) So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” (7) Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it.
5 … (8) When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees. (9) “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked. “She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.
6 … (10) Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. (11) Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children.
7 … (12) So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master – my husband – is also so old?” (13) Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’
8 … (14) Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” (15) Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.” But the LORD said, “No, you did laugh.”
9 … Verse 1 … God spoke to Abraham in many ways.
- 12:1 – The Lord had said to Abram … 12:7 – The Lord appeared to Abram and said … 15:1 – The Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision … 15:4-5 – The Word of the Lord came to him, saying … 15:17 – There appeared a flaming firepot and a burning torch … 17:1 – The Lord appeared to Abram and said
10 … Sometimes it was the Voice of God Abraham heard, but saw no form. Other times God appeared to Him in a vision or dream. And then other times He appeared to Abraham in bodily form as He does here.
11 … The hottest part of the day refers to the mid-afternoon when the heat of the Middle Eastern day is at its peak. This is the time of the afternoon siesta. People did no strenuous labor at this time, because if they did it would leave them so exhausted it might take a couple days to recover. They had learned to spend a couple hours during the heat of the day just lounging around or taking care of minor chores in the shade of their tent.
12 … Abraham seems to have settled down in the region of Mamre near Hebron. Mamre was a native Amorite ruler who controlled this area. Mamre had two brothers, Eschol and Aner who, as chapter 14 tells us, were allies with Abraham. All 3 of these Amorite chiefs went with Abraham on his raid on the Northern Alliance that rescued Lot. The trees belonged to Mamre and provided the kind of shade nomadic clans would love to settle under.
13 … Verses 2-5 … As he’s sitting there, his eyes wander to the hillside next to his camp and there are three men standing there. Abraham’s camp wasn’t alongside one of the main roads. Nomads locate their camps where they can have privacy. So when Abraham saw these men, he knew they were visitors.
14 … He got up, ran to where they were standing, bowed down to them as an act of reverence and honor, and then invited them to take a break from their journey and enjoy the hospitality of his home.
15 … Abraham wants to bring water for their feet and if they are accepting of that, then he would also like to bring them food, so they can be refreshed from their travels and then continue on. Now – notice the sense of urgency with which Abraham goes about getting the feast ready.
16 … Verses 6-8 … The urgency Abraham demonstrates here may be a clue that he knows who his visitors really are. They’re more than just passers-by; there’s something about their appearance and bearing that marks them as heavenly and Abraham shows all diligence to serve them.
17 … Abraham was a rich, powerful and influential chieftain, but he realized he was in the presence of those more exalted than he.
18 … He told Sarah to take the finest flour they had and make bread. Because of the speed these had to be cooked, they would have been unleavened flat-cakes – large pita loafs. He had some nice veal prepared and together with the bread, some butter/curds/yogurt and milk, brought it all in to his guests and then stood by to wait on them should they need anything.
19 … Verses 9-10 … The visitor now makes it clear that He is the Lord; He says, “I will return.”
20 … Abraham is told they (he and Sarah) would be gifted with conception when it’s the perfectly right time according to God’s plan for that conception to take place. This visit from the Lord takes place not long after the events of chapter 17 when God had promised Abraham he and Sarah would have a son.
21 … Here He is again a short time later renewing the promise. We might wonder why God repeats the promise again & again. Because He knows Abraham needs to hear it again & again. He needs to be reminded that every day that passes without seeing the promise is in fact bringing him that much closer to it!
22 … Friends – like Abraham, whose spiritual children we are, we need to constantly and continually abide in the promises of God! It’s good to rehearse them, review them, memorize & repeat them!
23 … Our faith is built up by immersing ourselves in the Promises of the God Who cannot lie and Who is Only and Always faithful! Faith comes by hearing the Word, the Promises of God! (Romans 10:17)
24 … It doesn’t matter how many times you have read the Bible – you need to continue reading because it has value – the God who inspired it has value – and each time you read and study you can learn and gain insights and be able to share your faith, share the Gospel more efficiently and with better understanding.
25 … Verses 11-12 … All along God was waiting for Abraham and Sarah to come to the place where bearing children was impossible on their own – where the normal timeframe of being a parent had passed.
26 … God wanted to give them a miracle because it was imperative they and all their descendants realize that they owe their very existence to the grace and power of God – not the strength or ingenuity of man.
27 … Up to this point, God has spoken only to Abraham – and he’s passed on the revelations to Sarah second-hand.

28 … This is the first time Sarah has met the Lord herself – but she sees these guys as just visitors. She doesn’t discern that they’re from heaven.
29 … Therefore, when she hears the leader of the trio speaking to her husband, she snickers behind her hand as she waits inside the tent.
30 … She’s given up on having kids; , she’s doubly barren, both by infertility and age. She’s most likely already been through menopause. When she said she was worn out and didn’t know how she could have the pleasure of being a mother – this could be a hint as to the main reason why God came to them at this time.
31 … They may have even given up being intimate – The combination of age, and the disappointment of barrenness may have made love-making just too much work and too emotionally painful. The Lord’s arrival at this time could have been just to tell them to not give up!
32 … Verses 13-15 … When Sarah snickered, even though it was to herself, the Lord knew it and challenged her disbelief. Her response was fear; she knew there was no way they could have heard her. The rebuke made her to realize these were no ordinary visitors.
33 … At this point, she steps out of the tent and attempts to deny she’d laughed; but her denial is denied! She’s quickly realizing these are not people to be trifled with. Her lack of faith is being challenged and for the first time she’s coming face to face with God’s promise directly to her!
34 … The main point of this entire passage and of this entire sermon is found in verse 14 – Is anything too hard for the LORD?

35 … Sarah had thought she was too old to be a mother and other places in Scripture we can read about women wanting children, but through no fault of their own – they are unable. Each Christmas (and perhaps at other times during the year) we read about John the Baptist’s parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. That is another couple that was advanced in years and were beyond the normal age range of being parents.

36 … Both of those woman – Sarah and Elizabeth – were older and their husbands were also old – it might be one thing if they had young men as spouses, but everyone involved was old. Just like those two women who waited and waited and had to rely on God and His timing and strength to bring about families, we too have wait and rely on God on Him to bring about whatever we need.

37 … This women however did not give up trying to have children – they did not give up intimacy – they still acted – they relied on God, yes, but they also did what they could do.

38 … We too may struggle with many things … Getting a family started … Raising a family … Worrying if we have enough money to pay all of our bills … School … Getting along with others / neighbors / co-workers / classmates … Managing our time … Going to bed early and getting up when we should … many, many things.
39 … We may have some struggles in our spiritual life as well … We may struggle with temptation and give in when we should say “no” … Maybe we do not read and study as much as we should … Maybe we do not pray as much, long, or deep as we should … Maybe we don’t witness we are given opportunities … Maybe we don’t thank God when we receive blessings and miracles … maybe we don’t go to church or maybe we go for the wrong reasons
40 … We may have some struggles in our church as well … Maybe we don’t show up as often as we should and could … Maybe we don’t take worship or prayer or study as serious as we should … Maybe we don’t take outreach as important as we should … Maybe we don’t seek to get more people here – we don’t invite enough or often … Maybe we support the wrong people and/or not the right people … Maybe we don’t give enough – either to the church or to other groups / people … Maybe our priorities across the board or our focus is off
41 … Regardless of our failings in the past or if our priorities or focus are out of balance or we lack the faith and energy and gumption to change things … we can change and always do better from this moment on.
42 … We must remember that we do not go through this life alone … Abraham and Sarah were told over and over what the promise was and that God would be with them and that God would take care of them. Countless passages tell us that God will be with us – that He will go before us – that He will take care of us, but for some reason, we lack the faith to believe He will. Countless passages tell us to have faith – to be strong and courageous – to go – to do – to act, but we don’t.
43 … Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) … Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
44 … The world’s philosophy is that “Seeing is believing.” It tells us that the only things we can be absolutely certain of are the things we can see with our eyes, feel with our hands, and weigh or measure with our scientific equipment.
45 … We know the truth in Scripture and we know what has happened in our lives and in others, but when faced with struggles we don’t act like we know who is in control.
46 … In Romans 12:3 Paul writes that God has given to each of us “a measure of faith” – some more and some less. Just as God didn’t make any of us carbon copies of one another so in the measure of faith, we differ from one another.
47 … Two people can each be “full of faith”, but one’s capacity is greater than the others.
The issue is not the quantity we have, but what we do with what we have.
48 … But what we all have in common is that we all have muscles. Without muscles we would be like blobs of Jell-O – unable to move ourselves or move anything. The degree to which we work out and exercise determines to a large degree how much we can do with our muscles.
49 … The more we feed our minds and our spirits with the word of God, and act on that word, the more we strengthen and increase our faith as we discover that God is absolutely faithful and totally trustworthy.
50 … So just as the person who is intent on working out and building his or her muscles does not shy away from the gym, and even though it is often tough – doesn’t quit – because they are looking beyond the present sweat and huffing and puffing and sighing to the slimmer, trimmer and more muscular physique and the sense of well-being that goes with it…
51 … So, we do not shy away from those moments that stretch our endurance and produce resistance – that cause us sometimes to huff and puff and toil and sweat – because we know that our loving heavenly Father in His mercy and grace has permitted this endurance test not to crush and destroy us, but to grow and strengthen our confidence in Him.
52 … And that prize involves beholding the smile on the face of our Lord Jesus Christ as He says to us on that final day, “Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in a few things. I will now set you over much. Come, enter into the joy of your Master.”
53 … Closing Challenge – Is anything too hard for the Lord? … Do we trust Him fully?
54 … What do you do with your faith? Do you use it and grow it; or allow it to wither away?
55 … If you want to have your faith wither away, then don’t read, pray, study, encourage, witness, invite people, and stay at home when you could be here.
56 … If you want your faith to grow, then act on it – read, pray, worship, study, witness, reach out, meet needs, invite people to church, and be here and not elsewhere when the doors are open – put God 1^st.
57 … I invite you to answer the question – “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” – your answer to that question will determine what you believe and how you live your life … Is your faith true, enduring, and active; or is it failing under stress and struggles?