Whenever we want to do something, there are two ways we can do it. We can either do it in the flesh, or we can do it in the spirit. We can do it the right way, according to God’s word, or we can do it our own way, according to our own ideas.
Whenever we follow God’s word, we will be blessed. But whenever we follow our own ideas, we will face problems. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
This applies to almost any big decision we will make, like making money or finding a spouse. Will we walk in the Spirit, or in the flesh? Will we wait for God to bring his word to pass, or will we force it?
This especially applies to the church. Will the church do things according to God’s word, or will the church make something happen using our clever ideas?
Abraham and Sarah are examples of this important lesson.
God told Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son. God said that their son was essential to fulfilling his plans. The problem was that they weren’t having a son because Sarah was too old to have children.
Instead of waiting for God to do a miracle to give them a son, they took matters into their own hands. They had a maid named Hagar, and she was young enough to have children. Hagar didn’t need a miracle. God didn’t seem to be helping them out, so they decided to help HIM out. HE wasn’t bringing his word to pass, so THEY would have to bring God’s word to pass.
At Sarah’s insistence, Abraham got Hagar pregnant. In their minds, the reason Abraham got Hagar pregnant was because they wanted to please God and accomplish his will. But in spiritual matters, the end does not justify the means. God’s will can only be done in God’s way. The flesh cannot bring forth the spirit.
In Galatians 4:22-31, God reveals that Sarah and Hagar represent several things.
Sarah represents heavenly Jerusalem, which is populated by those who believe in Jesus.
Hagar represents earthly Jerusalem, which is populated by people who claim to be ethnic Jews.
Sarah represents the New Covenant.
Hagar represents the Old Covenant.
Sarah represents freedom.
Hagar represents bondage.
Sarah represents the Spirit. Sarah represents accomplishing God’s will in God’s way. She represents walking in the Spirit and keeping God’s word.
Hagar represents the flesh.
The flesh can do a lot of things, but it can’t do anything for God. Only the Spirit can bring forth anything of eternal value.
Sometimes we want to achieve something good, but it seems like if we stick with God’s word, it won’t happen. God is taking too long, or it seems impossible. So we are tempted to compromise in order to bring “God’s will” to pass.
But God doesn’t work the way we work. He has his own timeline, and he wants to get all the glory. God chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. He chooses weak things of the world, and things that are not, to confound things that are (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
God uses things that are weak and incapable in order to accomplish his purposes.
It has to be supernatural, and God has to do it, otherwise it won’t be done.
If we could do it in our own strength, then we would get the glory. But God has made it impossible for us, so that we rely on him. Maybe we have come to a place of impossibility so that God can glorify his name. In the meantime, we need to stay faithful to his word.
Churches are tempted to compromise God’s word for the sake of results. They get out the special lights, fog machines, and rock bands in order to gin up something for God and attract crowds. They ignore the radical commands of Christ lest they offend someone. But these human alterations to church will not accomplish God’s plan.
We might be tempted to compromise in order to accomplish something in our lives for God. But we must not compromise God’s word for the sake of results. We will never fulfill our divine calling through compromise.
Hagar got pregnant and brought forth a son named Ishmael. Ishmael was born after the flesh, and this product of the flesh could not fulfill God’s plan. Ishmael would only cause problems.
Soon after birthing Ishmael, Hagar began creating trouble in the home. She despised Sarah (Genesis 16:4). Then Ishmael began mocking and misbehaving (Genesis 21:9).
Finally, Sarah miraculously brought forth a child by the power of God’s word. His name was Isaac. God will always bring his word to pass.
Ishmael represents the flesh, and Isaac represents the spirit. The flesh fights against the spirit.
There was a conflict between Hagar and Sarah, and between Ishmael and Isaac. This mirrors the conflict between the flesh and the spirit. These two cannot dwell together.
Finally, Hagar and Ishmael had to be cast out of the house.
At some point, we will have to get the victory over our flesh. The word of God will whittle down and crucify our flesh. Before we embraced the word of God, we may have had many options and possibilities and plans. But God’s word came and eliminated many of them. His word is pruning us (John 15:3). The truth is setting us free.
God’s word forces us to rely on him. This sets the stage for miracles.
Jesus lived at the point of inability without the Father. The Bible says that the Son could do nothing of himself, but what he saw the Father do (John 5:19). Jesus was at a place of inability apart from God. There were no Hagars in Jesus’ life. There was no flesh operating through him. Jesus was in the Spirit at all times. Everything he did originated in the Spirit, not in the flesh. This is why he brought heaven into the earth, and he did miracles all the time.
We need to come to a place of inability apart from God. This is the Sabbath Rest. We are to enter into God’s rest and stop doing our own stuff (Hebrews 4:10). We need to do God’s works, not our own. We need to stick to God’s word, and not compromise. This is the beginning of fulfilling our calling.
Whenever we face a big decision, we must ask ourselves, are we following a Sarah or a Hagar? Are we sticking to the word of God or are we compromising to get a quick result?
Lincoln House Churches 