Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Well, good morning, Dover.
[00:00:02] My name is Kyle Smith. I'm your pastor. Man, am I happy to see you guys.
[00:00:08] So I just. Last night I got home from a six day trip to Africa.
[00:00:14] The journey home was 39 hours including a 16 hour flight from South Africa to Atlanta.
[00:00:24] And boy, are my arms tired.
[00:00:30] So I went with a team from Grace on a what's called a Vision trip with World Vision.
[00:00:35] World Vision is a humanitarian organization that meets the most basic needs of hurting people around the world. All in the name of Jesus.
[00:00:44] So the purpose of this trip was to catch the vision of what our church's partnership with World Vision accomplishes through their Chosen Child sponsorship program. And through this program, we partner with churches and pastors and local leaders to be part of the local community and support lasting change.
[00:01:06] So last Sunday, many of you had your picture taken out in the commons or you sent in a picture that captured your awesome personality.
[00:01:16] And then that day I flew to Zambia where with a team we hosted a chosen party and kids chose their sponsor. So that's these are all the kids who are going to choose the people around the edges or the team they're helping.
[00:01:33] For many of these kids, making a choice is not something they get to do right. They are told how often they get to eat. For most of them, it's not every day.
[00:01:46] They have one set of clothes and clean water is a luxury if it exists for them at all.
[00:01:54] So what World Vision does, they enter a community, they identify needs and then they work with families and they empower them to take ownership of their own advancement. And then over the course of like 15 years, they lead them towards being self reliant.
[00:02:10] And our trip took us to Grace's newest sponsor sponsorship area, Niawa, Zambia.
[00:02:16] There's not much there other than the people that fill it.
[00:02:21] But I fell in love with this place.
[00:02:24] It showed me that you don't need electricity or running water or Pizza Hut or Netflix or air conditioning to be happy.
[00:02:35] And I had just gotten to a place in my life that I really, really needed that because it's true.
[00:02:42] And I was overwhelmed with pride as I watched the kids of this village choose you to be their sponsors on Wednesday morning.
[00:02:53] So we were set up in what's we would call it a square cinder block building. They call it a school.
[00:03:02] And one by one the kids were allowed to come in and they would.
[00:03:06] Some of them walked right to the picture they wanted. They pulled it down, they took it to the table, others came in and they started at the upper left and they looked at Every picture.
[00:03:15] And they studied every face.
[00:03:17] And I said, hey, they know they may have in your refrigerator for 10 years. Like, this is a big, this is a big deal.
[00:03:24] One boy, he took so long that the lead volunteer goes, let's get another one in here. And two other kids came and chose while that boy was still.
[00:03:35] So another event we got to experience on the trip was goat dipping.
[00:03:42] Not cow tipping like we have in Texas, but good old fashioned Zambian goat dipping.
[00:03:49] It's exactly what it sounds like.
[00:03:51] So through World Visions empowerment, this local community, they developed a way to treat their goats for all kinds of diseases by dipping them in medicine. Dipping is a generous term. They were very strongly encouraged to go into this medicine.
[00:04:12] And then they came out. But they do this because goats are part of the equipping plan.
[00:04:18] So we met this gentleman, Karisto and his family.
[00:04:22] It should be the next picture. Their lives were transformed by goats.
[00:04:28] Part of what World Vision does is they give a family in need five goats, one male and four females. And the deal is they go back to World Vision in one year no matter what, because they're teaching them to be self reliant.
[00:04:44] So Caristo told us his story, and he said, years ago, I couldn't support my family.
[00:04:51] I was ashamed of myself and I wouldn't even call myself a man.
[00:04:56] He said, I couldn't look at my wife and understand why she would be with me because I wasn't a man.
[00:05:02] And he said, I cried out to God. He said, I just said, God, you made me. What's your purpose for me?
[00:05:09] And he said, God heard me and saw me. And soon after that, his family was chosen for the local World Vision program. He was given five goats. And his five goats under his what he had been equipped and taught to do, they multiplied so quick, he contacted World Vision and said, would you come get your five goats so I can focus on mine?
[00:05:32] And those five goats eventually turned into 300, and then pigs and chickens and then seven head of cattle, some of the most beautiful cattle I've ever seen.
[00:05:44] And soon, hopefully, his dream of a four wheel drive truck.
[00:05:48] I said, you're a true Texan.
[00:05:52] And by the way, this picture is actually from a trip I took to Zambia in April of 2024.
[00:06:01] So if you're skeptical of this, I met them two and a half years ago. They're doing even better today.
[00:06:08] And Karisto is empowering other men to come out of their shame and, and lead and support their families.
[00:06:16] It's as if he's being a disciple who is making Disciples.
[00:06:21] So at the start of the trip, we sat literally in the dirt with people who felt lower than dirt, like Christo once did.
[00:06:33] Then we saw the difference it makes when someone comes along and tells you you have value and affirms that your life matters.
[00:06:46] I witnessed firsthand that God hears and sees his people. So we're going to look at a story in the Bible of a woman who lived this.
[00:06:55] Before we move on, I just want you to look at that picture.
[00:07:00] I mean, that is one of the cutest kids I've ever seen in my whole life.
[00:07:06] And you can see she's got this little paper in her hand. It's got her name and information on it. So after she shows her sponsor, she gives it all to a volunteer and they track it all. But outside that window there was a little barrel of clean ish water with the.
[00:07:22] I went to college, it's like tapping a keg. And they got clean, they got clean water out of it. And the local kids like had dirty bottles they were passing around to fill it up to drink out of.
[00:07:36] And this was like a party for them.
[00:07:40] And then these kids had these papers in their hand and they were so proud of it.
[00:07:46] They felt seen and heard and loved.
[00:07:49] So thank you. So let's pray. Thank you God, that you are doing miraculous work on the other side of the world. And you are doing miraculous work right here.
[00:08:01] God, you're moving in the hearts of your people.
[00:08:05] We celebrate your goodness today. But also I know I can guarantee you with this many of us gathered, there are people in this room hurting, desperate, needing hope. May they find that hope in you today. May your word be alive and loud and life changing for us today. In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:08:30] So the story today is about Hagar.
[00:08:33] Not Sammy, just Hagar.
[00:08:36] Towards the beginning of the Bible, God chose a man, Abraham. Let's get off that picture. Next slide. Thank you.
[00:08:44] Towards the beginning of the Bible, God chose a man, Abraham, to be the patriarch of his people, the OG of Israel.
[00:08:51] God promised to build a great nation from Abraham and bless everyone on earth through him.
[00:08:58] Pretty big deal.
[00:09:00] And God promised Abraham. He said, I will multiply your descendants.
[00:09:05] Can we look at the next slide? I will multiply your descendants beyond number like stars in the sky and sand on the seashore.
[00:09:15] Isn't that beautiful?
[00:09:17] Father Abraham would have many sons.
[00:09:19] Many sons would have father Abraham.
[00:09:21] So God promised Abraham a huge family.
[00:09:26] But 11 years went by.
[00:09:32] 11 years, nada, zilch, zero kids.
[00:09:40] Abraham's wife, Sarah, she was not getting pregnant.
[00:09:45] So Sarah told Abraham hey, you should make a baby with my servant Hagar.
[00:09:51] Spoiler alert.
[00:09:53] That does not work.
[00:09:56] That does not go well.
[00:09:58] Up next on Real Housewives of Canaan, Hagar has Abraham's baby.
[00:10:04] It's not good.
[00:10:06] So Hagar does become pregnant by Abraham.
[00:10:10] She's mean to Sarah. Sarah, in turn, is mean to Hagar. This is where we pick up the story.
[00:10:16] At this point, Sarah is called Sarai and Abraham is called Abram. Eventually, God would change their names, but we join it right here. If you're using one of the Bibles from the back, which, if you need a Bible, there are some at the corners of the tech booth. They're a free gift to you.
[00:10:31] I'm going to preach out of these and give you page numbers. So today, the story is in page 10.
[00:10:37] Page 10, Genesis 16, 6.
[00:10:42] Using one of these Bibles, page 10, look for the big 16, then a small 6 under it.
[00:10:54] So after Sarah told Abraham to have a baby with Hagar, verse 6, Abram replied, Look, she's your servant. Deal with her as you see fit.
[00:11:03] Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.
[00:11:07] The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness along the road to Shur.
[00:11:14] The angel said to her, hagar, Sarai's servant, where have you come from and where are you going?
[00:11:20] I'm running away from my mistress, Sarai, she replied.
[00:11:23] The angel of the Lord said to her, return to your mistress and submit to her authority.
[00:11:28] Then he added, I will give you more descendants than you can count.
[00:11:32] And the angel also said, you are now pregnant and will give birth to a son.
[00:11:36] You are to name him Ishmael, which means God hears, for the Lord has heard your cry of distress.
[00:11:43] This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey. He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.
[00:11:55] Therefore, Hagar used another name to refer. I'm sorry. Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord who had spoken to her. She said, you are the God who sees me.
[00:12:09] Amen.
[00:12:11] So there's an odd verse in there when he says that her son will be like an untamed donkey. There's a whole sermon in that one sentence. Basically, he was saying, hey, I made a promise to Abraham. I'm going to fulfill it. Your nonsense doesn't change my plan. I love you, too. I know you want a baby. I'm answering your prayer and giving you a son. This Is not who I promised to Abraham. Don't get confused. Don't get mixed up. So there's a whole.
[00:12:38] I wish we could do a series on like those seven verses, but that's the context of that one weird verse that stands out a little bit. Our takeaway today, that God met Hagar in her brokenness, right? She was hiding from her problems and she found God.
[00:12:57] She was running away from her suffering, and she ran into Jesus.
[00:13:03] And there's a cool. If you're. If you're watching there, something really cool happened.
[00:13:08] He didn't ask who she was, right? He walked up to her and called her by name.
[00:13:17] Jesus knew her.
[00:13:20] He knew her pain.
[00:13:22] And he met her right in the middle of it. And he does the same for you today.
[00:13:27] He knows you.
[00:13:30] He knows your pain. He knows your fear, your anger, your struggle, your doubt. He knows it, and he meets you right in the middle of it.
[00:13:41] What God did for Hagar, he does for you.
[00:13:44] Verse 11. The angel also said, you're now pregnant, will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael, which means God hears. For the Lord has heard your cry of distress.
[00:13:56] So in your distress, in your fear, in your anger, in your pain, in your struggle, God hears you.
[00:14:05] God hears you today.
[00:14:09] So God told Hagar that her cries met his ears and she was to name her son after that so she would never forget God.
[00:14:19] Can we get that next slide? God hears you. I know some of you are visual, so I want this to.
[00:14:25] Want this to stick with you. You remember what's written in yellow font? Do you know that you will. Now God hears you.
[00:14:35] Let's look at some more instances of this in Scripture. Psalm 116. I love the Lord because he bends down.
[00:14:44] Because he hears my voice in my prayer for mercy, because he bends down to listen. I will pray as long as I have breath.
[00:14:52] Our prayers don't require a megaphone, right? They don't demand a degree. Our prayers don't have to be loud or long, but because God is bending down to listen. And God hears you.
[00:15:05] Psalm 18. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.
[00:15:12] The ropes of death entangled me. Floods of destruction swept over me. The grave wrapped its ropes around me. Death laid a trap in my path. But in my distress, I cried out to the Lord.
[00:15:26] He heard me from his sanctuary. My cry to him reached his ears.
[00:15:32] David was a poet. David. King David wrote this psalm. He was a poet. He wrote in beautiful, metaphorical, poetic language. So let's Take what he wrote and let's connect it to some things we might be going through. Right.
[00:15:43] He wrote, the ropes of death entangled me. Maybe a diagnosis has rocked your life, and now every thought you is wrapped in fear.
[00:15:54] He writes, floods of destruction swept over me. Maybe a choice that you made seems to have destroyed the life you dreamed about.
[00:16:05] Or maybe something happened to somebody you love and it seems to have just derailed the life that you had envisioned.
[00:16:12] He wrote, death laid a trap in my path.
[00:16:15] You might feel trapped and unsure that you'll ever be free again.
[00:16:21] But as you cry out to God, he hears you.
[00:16:27] And the psalm ends by telling us how he responds after he hears you. He says, he reached down from heaven and rescued me.
[00:16:34] He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me. He led me to a place of safety. He rescued me because he delights in me.
[00:16:46] David really wants you to hear. God rescues.
[00:16:50] God hears you and responds to you. And he ends by telling us why. Because he delights in you, right? Not because of something that you did, just because he loves you.
[00:17:04] So after God listened to Hagar and knew her pain, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord who had spoken to her. She said, you are the God who sees me.
[00:17:17] God didn't turn his back on her. He didn't avoid her. He didn't shake his head in disgust.
[00:17:22] He saw her.
[00:17:24] And he does the same for you today.
[00:17:28] God sees you.
[00:17:31] God sees you in the middle of your brokenness.
[00:17:35] He sees you in that moment that you're alone, that you say, how did it get this bad?
[00:17:43] God sees you.
[00:17:45] And after her experience, Hagar called God by a new name. Because the fact that God heard her cry and saw her pain and showed her grace and love changed how she saw God.
[00:17:58] And it should do the same for us today, right? We shouldn't see God as distant and far off. We should see him as bending down to listen to our prayers close, hearing us and seeing us, hearing our prayers, seeing our need. God hears you and sees you.
[00:18:21] So I wish you all could have gone on the trip to Zambia.
[00:18:26] I'm going to be really honest and transparent with you.
[00:18:30] Last Sunday morning, I was wishing someone could go in my place.
[00:18:34] I really was. It is overwhelming to just envision six days to Africa and back. I was so happy to do it. I really felt like God called me to be part of the trip. But it is overwhelming to know that you're giving up any sense of control.
[00:18:54] You're literally flying across over an entire ocean.
[00:19:00] You're going to eat strange food or maybe just not eat. You're not going to sleep. And the worst part, there's no Walmart there.
[00:19:08] When we go on a trip, I pack to a point that I go. I'm tired of packing. There's a Walmart there.
[00:19:13] There are no Walmarts in Zambia.
[00:19:18] So on the way to church last Sunday morning, I talked to my kids and I told them, I said, hey, you're old enough that I'm going to shoot straight with you.
[00:19:27] I don't really want to go.
[00:19:29] A big part of me is afraid.
[00:19:31] It feels much safer to just watch the Cowboys win because they did last Sunday.
[00:19:39] It just feels a lot safer to lay on the couch and watch football.
[00:19:43] And part of me is really afraid.
[00:19:46] I was just totally honest with them when they were little. I showed no fear.
[00:19:50] Dad's in control. I got it.
[00:19:53] Nothing scares dad. But I said, hey, you're old enough with me that I want you to know something. I'm a grown man who faces fear.
[00:20:01] But more important than that, I'm a grown man who trusts God.
[00:20:05] I can be afraid and trust God. And I told them, in your life, God, God is going to ask you to do some hard and scary things for him and for his kingdom. And you can say yes, because God hears you and sees you and he can be trusted.
[00:20:22] So, church, let me say the same to you.
[00:20:24] God may ask you to do some hard, scary things for him and for his kingdom, and you can trust him and say, yes, you can be filled with faith and take a risk.
[00:20:39] Because wherever he calls you, whatever he calls you to do is the safest thing to do.
[00:20:48] Guys, I'm tired and I didn't know you're going to make me preach.
[00:20:52] I said, wherever God calls you to and whatever he asks you to do is the safest place to be. Hallelujah. Amen. Thank you. Okay, since we couldn't all go to Zambia, let me take you on another trip quickly. I want to take you on a vision trip to when Jesus told us the vision of his mission. Let's take a trip to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, verse 17.
[00:21:16] Let me find where it is in this Bible.
[00:21:19] Jesus had just been baptized. Then Satan led him into the wilderness to tempt him.
[00:21:24] Jesus resisted. And this is where we pick up the story.
[00:21:28] Luke 4:17.
[00:21:33] If you're using a Bible in the back, it's page 6 17, 61 7.
[00:21:40] Luke 4 17.
[00:21:43] So we meet Jesus after his temptation that he resisted Satan. We join him in a synagogue back in his hometown and the scroll of Isaiah. The prophet was handed to him.
[00:21:54] He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written.
[00:21:59] And Jesus read this. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
[00:22:06] He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord's favor has come.
[00:22:17] He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down.
[00:22:22] All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently.
[00:22:26] Then he began to speak to them.
[00:22:29] The scripture you just heard has been fulfilled this very day.
[00:22:35] So typically in this setting, the person who. The teacher who would read, they would then sit and teach.
[00:22:42] And so it's time for Jesus to teach. And he just went.
[00:22:48] I meant.
[00:22:50] He said, I came to bring good news, to release captives, to bring freedom. And here's the thing. These are not just future promises.
[00:22:59] If you have Jesus, you have these promises.
[00:23:02] Is your life just filled with bad news?
[00:23:07] He is the good news.
[00:23:10] Are you captive to some choice that you made or you feel captive to your past?
[00:23:16] Jesus releases you.
[00:23:19] Are you oppressed by an addiction?
[00:23:22] Jesus sets you free.
[00:23:25] Do you feel unseen, unknown, unloved?
[00:23:29] His favor is on your life.
[00:23:33] Maybe you fear death.
[00:23:36] Jesus has already defeated death. He has won victory for you.
[00:23:40] He has already done all the work and just invites you to trust Him.
[00:23:46] Right? He rescues you because he delights in you.
[00:23:49] So if you don't know him, all he asks, trust me.
[00:23:54] He says everyone is welcome to come to him for life and salvation. So if you've never done that, that invitation is wide open to you today. I'd love to talk to you about it.
[00:24:04] So let's close with one more story from the trip to Zambia.
[00:24:08] This is Judith.
[00:24:10] She's at the top there, drawing water out of a shallow well. Her baby is on her back. It's kind of hard to see, but she's working like that with the baby across her back. Those.
[00:24:22] Does anybody know why those branches are across the little well?
[00:24:29] I've been to places like this before, and I thought it was so they could stand on it. It's to keep cows and pigs out of it, Right? They had a bigger water hole. I've got a picture of that. They had to quit using it because the. If you look on the left side, you can see the hoof prints in it. That's their drinking water.
[00:24:48] So that's why they had to move to the smaller hole. Here's a close up of the water they drink that came out of the well.
[00:24:54] You can't see the bottom of that bucket.
[00:24:58] So the vision trip begins with seeing a family like Judas, who's in need, who's suffering.
[00:25:04] The next day, we see a family like Karista, who I introduced you to, who experienced support and intervention from world vision. And they're now flourishing and helping others do the same. And this all comes from the support of your chosen child.
[00:25:19] You help bring life back to a child and a family and a community.
[00:25:25] So we sat down with Judith outside her home.
[00:25:28] She told us her story. That's their home.
[00:25:34] Heartbreaking is not a strong enough adjective.
[00:25:39] Her words could barely come through her tears.
[00:25:43] She speaks the native language there. So of all the languages I speak, that's not one.
[00:25:49] It's not English.
[00:25:52] So there's an interpreter. And she was really. You could tell she was being, like, very gracious and not speaking a whole lot, crying.
[00:26:01] And then something happened. At one point, her filter kind of came off, and she just kind of let loose. I don't know what she was saying, but, I mean, she was sobbing and talking, and it was just painful. And she finished and the translator just went, yeah, it was really hard.
[00:26:23] Her body was, like, shaking in a mix of anger and embarrassment.
[00:26:29] And her speech and her life were just drenched in regret.
[00:26:35] She said, if only.
[00:26:39] If only. If only my parents hadn't died. If only I had gotten an education. If only my husband didn't struggle with his eyesight. If only I had done better.
[00:26:50] If only I was better.
[00:26:53] And that.
[00:26:55] That was what broke my heart. Because knowing what I know about myself, she probably deserves my life more than I do.
[00:27:02] And I probably deserve their life.
[00:27:06] And she just sat before us, raw and vulnerable. Dignity seemed like a distant dream for her, much like Hagar sitting at the well.
[00:27:17] Much like you might feel today.
[00:27:20] If only I had done better.
[00:27:23] If only I was better.
[00:27:27] But Judith and you and I, we're not valuable because what we've done or what we haven't done.
[00:27:35] Our dignity comes from the fact that.
[00:27:39] That you and I are sons and daughters of God Almighty, who made all of us in his image.
[00:27:47] That is where our dignity comes from. Our value comes from the fact that God loves us.
[00:27:55] That while we weren't doing better, while we weren't being better, God gave us value by giving his son Jesus to die for us.
[00:28:04] And his death and his return to life means that we are to offer to eternal life tomorrow and the fullness of life today, which Judith and her family will experience soon because of Your generosity.
[00:28:18] So in a little while, all those who sponsored a child will go out and celebrate that they were chosen.
[00:28:24] But for everyone, I want to make sure I got your attention.
[00:28:29] For everyone we celebrate this, that God chose you because he loves you.
[00:28:39] Let's pray. God, thank you for your love.
[00:28:46] Thank you for your love that is greater than anything we have done, anything that's been done to us, any choices we've made that God, we don't have to earn your love, but it falls and covers us freely and completely.
[00:29:05] May we accept it through your son, Jesus.
[00:29:12] May we know that our dignity and our value is because you created us in your image and you are our father.
[00:29:21] We praise you in Jesus name.
[00:29:23] Amen.
[00:29:26] So, church, now, those of you who had your picture taken or submitted one and sponsored a child last week, you get to go meet the child who chose you.
[00:29:35] So thank you for hearing God's call to you individually and responding to it.
[00:29:41] I know a lot of you have done this in the past few years as Grace's partner with World Vision. Thank you.
[00:29:48] And some of you are not in a place right now that this is what God's calling you to do. But I want to tell you, you are still part of Grace's mission, right? In every way. And everything we do, we do it together. I mean, even I was literally thinking when I was tired or cranky on the trip, I was representing you, my seatmate. When their arm was on my side, they didn't get a sharp elbow, they got a warm smile because I was representing you because you are part of everything we do.
[00:30:15] So there's a gentleman on the trip from another church who watched a girl choose him. And he came back and he said, well, now I have three kids, so you may view it like that. You may just be ours. Graduated from the program. So we got a new one. But we prayed for her. She was on our refrigerator. So every time we got a drink or a snack, which is like all day, we pray for her.
[00:30:38] And I'm pretty positive you will meet these kids one day.
[00:30:44] You're probably. Maybe you'll go to Zambia, I don't know. But I sure couldn't get you back to their village. But you'll meet them in heaven.
[00:30:52] I'm pretty sure I'll sit with Judith outside of her mansion and she will praise God just like she did outside of what you saw.
[00:31:01] So thank you for being part of this, for spreading the gospel around the world. So now let's go do it in our own neighborhoods, right?
[00:31:11] Church, can I bless you. If you'd like to put your hands out. If you'd like to, you can to receive what God has for us and say we're open to where he's sending us.
[00:31:19] May the Lord bless you and protect you.
[00:31:26] May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
[00:31:32] May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. Amen.
