Before My Hair Grows Back

Before my hair grows back Genesis 21:9-21(AMP)

• • One Sunday night around 9pm I was driving from Kalamazoo Michigan heading to Southbend Indiana (about an hour and half) back to my apartment
  • As I drove home, I think I saw the traffic lights turning red but my brain and my body could not communicate well, because I was very drunk 

• This was not the first time I had done this. My friends and I often drove to Kalamazoo on Sundays because Indiana state did not allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays 

• • Back to the red light- Right after I speed through the red light, I looked behind and there in a very sobering moment – was the blue and red light behind me
  • Do you know why I stopped you? – Yes sir – I missed the light 
  • License and registration please 
  • Right there I sobered up and my prayer life got super charged – God please, please – Let him not smell my breath, please Lord don’t let him ask me to step out of the car – knowing the level of drunk I was, I could barely stand leave alone walk a straight line 
  • Even worse, this was not just going to be just a DUI – it was a possible jail time and deportation because at that point, I had overstayed my visa
  • As I sat there thinking that my life was over – I couldn’t help but think of how my life got to that point 
  • I had been brought up in a Christian home, loved by my mom, grandparent & my family, I had witnessed the power of prayers through my grandma 
  • I was the first person in my family to get a grand opportunity to go to college and also to go to an international school and live abroad
  •  Go and make something of yourself and don’t forget your family – we are all counting on you 
    • I could hear those words from my family/friends that had worked so hard to pay for the flight, gave me pocket money and gave me an opportunity many would have desired. 
  • What was it going to be like when they heard that I was in jail because of drinking and driving and deported – what a heartbreak to my family and friends
  • My mind flashed back to when I had given my life to Christ for the first time in high school around 14 years old – how He had healed me 
  • And the many times I had “fallen”-actually walked intentionally back into the world …and now here I was praying to the God I had forsaken 
  • I was- asking Him to rescue me from my choices that had said to Him, I can do better on my own 
  • Here I was hoping that my grandparents had prayed for me that morning – it was morning in Kenya 
  • I was promising God that if He would rescue me from this – I would change – never again would I drink
  • The trooper came to the window, and as my heart was almost stopping, I heard:
    • I am giving you a ticket for speeding and ignoring the light. Take this and be safe out there -Have a good evening, sir
  • No step out of the car, no put your hands behind your head, no your sins have found you out 
  • Right that moment, I knew that it wasn’t anything I had done, or who I was that got me out of this – But it was the unmerited Grace of God!
  • I heard someone say, that after we had had such a life changing moment, after a while those that are of the world go back to the world of sin but those that are of Christ go back to Christ 
  • And unfortunately, I went back to the world 
  • I wish I could say that I never went back to Michigan or that I never drunk and drove again but as a dog returns to its vomit so did I 
  • All I can say is that “Whether I recognized it then or not – The truth is that I have been a recipient of God’s Amazing Grace in my live -not just ones but over and over and over 
  • My story might be different from your stories –but the Grace and Mercy of God is the same 
  • We all can attest that this far the Lord has been very, very good to us!
  • If we are true with ourselves, we can attest that if it wasn’t for God’s mercy and grace- we would not be here today
  • Yet the Lord consistently proves His Word to be true

• The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent ~2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)

• For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life – John 3:16 (KJV)

• • It’s sobering to realize that there is another person somewhere, who got drunk, who got into a car, who ran a red light, who got stopped by a trooper, who was asked to step out of the car, who got booked that night and maybe got deported – maybe died doing the same thing I was doing
  • The things that God has rescued us from, there is someone that didn’t get that same opportunity – But because of God’s unmerited favor – He chose me and you to still be here!

• That none should perish -none should be lost, destroyed- but all can be saved 

• When you read this verse in the light of the amazing grace of God- your response should be “Yes Lord, here I am – do with my life as you please”
• The Psalmist writes – But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears~ Psalm 18:6-7 (NLT)

Ismael 

• And this is where Ismael finds himself in our reading today – The Bible says” in vs 17 – God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from where he is [resting]

• • Let’s back up just a little and see what led Ismael to this point in his life
    • Sarah sees Ismael mocking Isaac, and she is done – Isaac is about 2 years old and Ismael is around 16 years old 
    • She tells Abraham to send the boy away – this time for reals – If you remember in (Genesis 16:4–6) Hagar had run away while she was pregnant 
  • But before we judge Sarah – Apostle Paul sheds some light on what this mocking was 

• Galatians 4:29 (NLT) – But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.

• • There is more to it – there is a promise being challenged, and this can be seen by the response from God 

• Vs 12 – Do what Sarah tells you because Isaac is who carries the promise 

• • Abraham obeys God and sends Hagar and Ismael away 
  • Things turn south when Hagar lost her way and ran out of water 
  • Hagar has reached her end, and it all looked really bad – Clearly death was the obvious outcome 
  • How many times in our lives do we feel like we have reached our end: 
    • I can’t move on , I can’t pay my bills anymore
    • I can’t deal with this sickness, be in this marriage, deal with my kids, I can’t continue 
  • If you were here on Monday – you would have learnt that God is in the Donkey business 
  • But before you throw in the towel – here is a great reminder of WHO God is – Before they got lost in the desert, before they ran of water, before they ran of hope – God had already declared His promise – vs: 13 And I will also make a nation of [Ishmael] the son of the maid, because he is your descendant.” 

• Vs18: –  Get up, help the boy up, and hold him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the [empty] skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

• Before you are overcome with fear – remember God’s promises 
  • I will never leave you or forsake you 
• What is happening here? Ismael cried out to the Lord and his mom’s eyes were open to the provision that was already there 
• That tells me that maybe, maybe the reason we are still oppressed by most of our issues is that we have forgotten God’s promises in our lives and maybe, maybe – if we remembered for a second, it would cause us to cry out to the Lord who is waiting to open our eyes – that we can see what He is doing 

But something had to break 

• • The Bible says that Hagar cried out to the Lord – She raise her voice and wept 
  • My assumption is that she is expecting an angel to respond to her as it had happened before 
  • However, something significant happened 

• Vs 17: God heard the voice of the boy and the angel of the Lord called Hagar from heaven and said “do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from where he is resting 

• • The Bible is very clear that it wasn’t Hagars voice that God responded to – it was Ismaels 
  • The Bible does not tell us if Ismael had a relationship with God before hand
  • I am sure he knew about God– You couldn’t live in Abrahams and Sarahs house and not know 
  • This is the first time; we read that Ismael calls on the Lord
  • And the Lord heard Ismael 
    • Maybe all along like some of us, He thought that God did not love him – After all, He is not the son of the promise 
    • I am not like so and so -who has the easy life (Promise) 
  • In the flesh these were the odds against Ismael 
    • The boy that persecuted Isaac – God’s chosen 
    • The boy that was born in sin 
    • Here is the boy that Sarah doesn’t want anything to do with him 
    • Here is the boy that was sent away by his own father 
  • Yet in the Spirit – God is saying – My promises are yes and amen!
  • God heard him and responded when He cried out – didn’t matter what he had done or who he was – He called on the name of the Lord and the Lord answered 
  • I wonder what would happen today if you cried out to the Lord with an honest heart 
  • I am glad that the Bible is real – So many people have messed up royally and yet when they called the name of the Lord, He heard them and came to their rescue 
  • One particular story is of a man that was very equipped and given such a beautiful gift to rule Israel and destroy God’s enemies 

• Judges 13:3-5 (NLT) The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food.[a] 5 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”

• • Samson – a man that was given strength to do above and beyond anything you can ever think or imagine 
  • Read Judges 13-16 – and be sad because Samson did everything against God’s warning and ended up losing his strength
  • Samson:
    • He pursued a Philistine woman based on physical attraction against God’s command~ Judges 14:3(NLT)
    • He touched the carcass of a dead lion, against God’s command not to touch a dead animal ~ Judges 14:9 (NLT)
    • He acted out of personal revenge ~ Judges 15:11(NLT)
    • He revealed the secret connected to his consecration- After Delilah repeatedly pressured him, Samson finally told her about his hair and Nazirite calling ~ Judges 16:18 (NLT)
  • Sadly, Delilah cuts Samsons hair and he is capture, his eyes are taken out and he is used as an amusement prompt in the Philistines party 
  • In Judges 22 Samson has a “how did I get here moment” 

• Judges 22:30 (NLT) 22 But before long, his hair began to grow back. The Philistine rulers held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon. They said, “Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!”24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy to us! The one who killed so many of us is now in our power!” Half drunk by now, the people demanded, “Bring out Samson so he can amuse us!” So he was brought from the prison to amuse them, and they had him stand between the pillars supporting the roof.

Samson said to the young servant who was leading him by the hand, “Place my hands against the pillars that hold up the temple. I want to rest against them.” 27 Now the temple was completely filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there, and there were about 3,000 men and women on the roof who were watching as Samson amused them. 28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.” 29 Then Samson put his hands on the two center pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with both hands, 30 he prayed, “Let me die with the Philistines.” And the temple crashed down on the Philistine rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.

• Here we see God’s amazing Grace yet again – He didn’t tell Samson – Sorry you wasted your life
• Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time.
• Beloved, there is a beauty in calling out the name of God 
• Don’t miss this, just like the well was already there before Ismael called on the name of the Lord, Samson’s hair had already begun to grow back 

My prayer: 

• Here is a prayer for all of us – That before my hair grows back, I can have a heart to serve the Lord with everything that I have
• That I can dedicate my second chance to God fully and completely 
• Because if my hair grows back without the reverence of who God is and what He has called me to, I will easily go back to the things of the world and use my renewed strength for evil and I will easily forget what God has done in my life this far 
• I pray that I don’t wait till I am dying in the desert or have no eyes and with only one more chance to be used 
•  Just like I have seen His grace over and over and over- May I avail myself to be used over and over and over – to bring Him glory
• What a beauty to be used in my prime years– while my hair is fully grown 
• I pray that you don’t forget what God has called you to and if you don’t know – Ask Him
• I love that God does not measure our success the same humans do. He measures success with how good we fulfilled what he had called us to 
• Hebrews 11:32 (AMP) 32 And what shall I say further? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets…
• Family, commit today what you are going to do for the Lord “before your hair grows back”