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Hagar and Ishmael - The Book of Genesis · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold,
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  Speaker 1: thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and
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  Speaker 1: shalt call his name Ishmael, because the Lord hath heard
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  Speaker 1: thy affliction. Genesis 16.11 To my Lord and Savior, thank
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  Speaker 1: you that you are so many things in my life.
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  Speaker 1: And in this moment, I choose to thank you for
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  Speaker 1: being a shield, and a covering for my heart. May
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  Speaker 1: the cry of Hagar also serve as my cry when
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  Speaker 1: others seem to mistreat me, even when my heart is
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  Speaker 1: in the right place. When my good deeds go unnoticed
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  Speaker 1: like Hagar in Genesis 16, I will run to my
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  Speaker 1: place of refuge and seek your face with the full
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  Speaker 1: assurance that you are a good God and that you
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  Speaker 1: have a love like no other for me and my heart.
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  Speaker 1: I rest in the finished fact that no matter what
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  Speaker 1: others do to me, I can walk with my head
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  Speaker 1: held high. Because in spite of how I'm treated, you
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  Speaker 1: will elevate and vindicate my life. Thank you, God, that
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  Speaker 1: my story doesn't end with hurt, but begins with your goodness.
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  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for praying with me today.
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  Speaker 1: Continue listening for an incredible Bible story brought to you
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  Speaker 1: by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Hagar and Ishmael. Before this story, we learned about the
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  Speaker 2: covenant God made to Abram and a promise that his
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  Speaker 2: descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky.
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  Speaker 2: Abram showed faith and God accounted it to him as righteousness.
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  Speaker 2: Now we will learn about the lack of faith Abram
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  Speaker 2: shows and the birth of Ishmael inspired by the book
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  Speaker 2: of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
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  Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important, that we
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
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  Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: to get a copy of The Jesus Book, simply go
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  Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
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  Speaker 3: you for your support. We've been looking at the life
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  Speaker 3: of Abram and God's promise to bless the world through him.
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  Speaker 3: But Abram wasn't the only one in that plan. His
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  Speaker 3: wife Sarah was to be the one to give him descendants.
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  Speaker 3: And today we'll take a look at her and the
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  Speaker 3: discouragement she and Abram felt as they continued to wait
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  Speaker 3: on a promise yet to be fulfilled. Sometimes the journey
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  Speaker 3: of faith feels like two steps forward, one step back.
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  Speaker 3: And today, we'll see how Abram and Sarah took a
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  Speaker 3: big step back, a step born out of impatience and
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  Speaker 3: a desire to do the work that only God could do.
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  Speaker 3: Once more, we'll see the devastating effects of wanting to
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  Speaker 3: be like God and of failing to take responsibility for sin.
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  Speaker 3: Listen to how God continues to patiently walk with Abram
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  Speaker 3: and his household, even in the midst of unfaithfulness. Abram's
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  Speaker 3: sin would not go without consequence. but God keeps his
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  Speaker 3: promise to never leave or forsake him. And then finally,
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  Speaker 3: pay attention to how God has compassion for those who,
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  Speaker 3: like Sarah's servant Hagar, are wounded by the sins of others. Now,
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  Speaker 3: here's today's story of Abram, Sarah, and Hagar, and Ishmael.
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  Speaker 2: Years had passed since God's promise to give Abram and
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  Speaker 2: Sarai descendants. So many years, in fact, that the possibility
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  Speaker 2: of child-rearing seemed far out of reach. After all God
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  Speaker 2: had promised, Abram and Sarai's hearts became discouraged. Out of discouragement, impatience,
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  Speaker 2: and uncertainty, the two decided to repeat the sins of
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  Speaker 2: their forefathers. They wanted to become like God. Sarai's impatience
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  Speaker 2: reeled within her. As Eve took the forbidden fruit, so
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  Speaker 2: she would become like God, so Sarai devised her own
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  Speaker 2: plan to replace God's plan. Go into my servant Hagar
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  Speaker 2: and have a child with her. I will claim the
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  Speaker 2: child as my own, she said. Abram, just as his
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  Speaker 2: ancestor Adam, did nothing to defend his wife's honor and integrity. Instead,
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  Speaker 2: he took the Egyptian maid servant to his bed, and
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  Speaker 2: the two embraced often, and had sex until a child
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  Speaker 2: was conceived. Given full permission by his wife, yet ignoring
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  Speaker 2: the call to be a better man, Abram went into
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  Speaker 2: her again and again, falling further from God's plan for him.
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  Speaker 2: When Hagar discovered she had conceived, she looked at Sarai
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  Speaker 2: with contempt. Her body had been used for the twisted
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  Speaker 2: desires of her insecure mistress, and there was anger and
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  Speaker 2: hurt because of it. Sarai, already feeling the shame welling
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  Speaker 2: up within her, lashed out at Abram. This wrong done
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  Speaker 2: to me is on your hands. I gave my servant
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  Speaker 2: for you to embrace. The second she conceived, she looked
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  Speaker 2: on me with contempt. God will judge you for this.
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  Speaker 2: The once noble and heroic Abram, now crestfallen and pitiful,
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  Speaker 2: pressed into his sin even more. She's your servant. Do
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  Speaker 2: to her as you please. As Adam once did in
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  Speaker 2: the garden, Abram refused any responsibility over his companion and
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  Speaker 2: allowed her heart to stray even further. Sarai abused her servant, Hagar.
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  Speaker 2: Her words and her fists oppressed her into a panic.
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  Speaker 2: Feeling like she had no other options, Hagar fled to
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  Speaker 2: the wilderness. Hagar ran until she found refuge by a
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  Speaker 2: spring There an angel of the Lord appeared to her, saying, Hagar,
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  Speaker 2: servant of Sarai, where did you come from, and where
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  Speaker 2: are you planning on going? Frantic, pregnant, and alone, she replied,
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  Speaker 2: I am fleeing from the oppression of my mistress Sarai,
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  Speaker 2: for she has become cruel. The Lord, with compassion and
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  Speaker 2: understanding in His voice, spoke clearly to her, Go back
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  Speaker 2: to your mistress Sarai. Submit to her. I, the creator
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  Speaker 2: of life itself, will multiply your descendants as well. He continued.
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  Speaker 2: You shall bear a son and call his name Ishmael,
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  Speaker 2: because I have seen your affliction and heard your cries.
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  Speaker 2: Your son will grow to be a wild and strong warrior.
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  Speaker 2: He will struggle, fight, and be beaten by many. The
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  Speaker 2: world will be against him, but I will bless him.
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  Speaker 2: and he will gain the respect of his people and
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  Speaker 2: rule over them. Hagar, having just been used by her
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  Speaker 2: master and mistress, finally felt some semblance of worth. She
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  Speaker 2: felt that God had truly seen her. So there at
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  Speaker 2: the spring, she gave a personal name for God, the
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  Speaker 2: God of seeing. She said, I have seen the God
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  Speaker 2: who looks after me. Hagar returned to Sarai and Abram,
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  Speaker 2: and bore a son just as God had said. She
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  Speaker 2: named him Ishmael, which means God hears. Abram was now
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  Speaker 2: 86 years old, and his unfaithfulness to God would not
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  Speaker 2: go without its consequences. Yet God's promise to bless Abram
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  Speaker 2: was not void, for he made a covenant to Abram
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  Speaker 2: and would not leave him or forsake him.
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  Speaker 3: Just yesterday, as we examined the story of Abram and Lot,
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  Speaker 3: it seemed God's chosen vessel for His great plan of
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  Speaker 3: redemption had learned His lesson. Abram was trusting God, seeking
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  Speaker 3: Him continually and waiting patiently even when the promise seemed distant,
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  Speaker 3: even an impossibility. But time has passed as we reach
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  Speaker 3: today's story. Abram and his wife, Sarah, are growing impatient. Worse,
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  Speaker 3: they once again decide to take matters into their own hands.
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  Speaker 3: and made a plan of their own. Here's a powerful
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  Speaker 3: truth you need to hear. God invites us to be
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  Speaker 3: a part of his plan, but he doesn't need us
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  Speaker 3: to help him. When something isn't happening yet, it isn't
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  Speaker 3: because God can't do it or because he has forgotten
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  Speaker 3: his promise. God is simply working in his own perfect timing.
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  Speaker 3: Abraham and Sarah have forgotten that, forgotten the covenant that
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  Speaker 3: God had made, and they decided to act like God.
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  Speaker 3: Enter Hagar, Sarah's younger, fertile servant. If she can't have
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  Speaker 3: a baby, Sarah thinks her maidservant will do the job
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  Speaker 3: for her. But that wasn't God's plan. And when Hagar conceives,
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  Speaker 3: another character that we've seen before emerges, Jezebel. Sarah now
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  Speaker 3: looks with jealousy on Hagar. Hagar, for her part, gets
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  Speaker 3: prideful and looks with contempt on Sarah, her mistress. But
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  Speaker 3: Abram is the wise hero of the story, right? He'll
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  Speaker 3: step in and acknowledge the error and seek reconciliation and forgiveness, right? Well, no,
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  Speaker 3: not this time. Abram, just as Adam did, shifts the
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  Speaker 3: responsibility off his own shoulders. He refuses the mantle of
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  Speaker 3: leadership in his family and tells Sarah to deal with
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  Speaker 3: her servant as she pleases. This, of course, doesn't go well.
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  Speaker 3: There's a relational stress and strife and separation all over
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  Speaker 3: the place. Hagar flees, feeling worthless. But the ever-caring and
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  Speaker 3: loving God seeks her out and comforts her. He promises
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  Speaker 3: that even though the son she is bearing is not
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  Speaker 3: the one chosen for God's ultimate plan of redemption and blessing,
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  Speaker 3: he will be a great man. Listen to these beautiful,
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  Speaker 3: comforting words God spoke to her through his angel, Genesis 16, 11.
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  Speaker 3: The angel of the Lord said to her further, Behold,
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  Speaker 3: you are pregnant, and you will give birth to a son,
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  Speaker 3: and you shall name him Ishmael, which means God hears.
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  Speaker 3: because the Lord has heard your affliction. When you are
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  Speaker 3: going through trials, through suffering, through disappointment, you can know
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  Speaker 3: too that God hears you. Your cries are not falling
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  Speaker 3: on deaf ears. God hears the cries of his children
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  Speaker 3: and cares deeply for you. Abram's lack of faith will
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  Speaker 3: leave long-lasting tragic consequences. Yet still, God renews his covenant
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  Speaker 3: and promises the blessing will come just as God had promised.
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  Speaker 3: He will not leave Abram. When your faith walk stumbles,
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  Speaker 3: God promises the same to you. He will not cast
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  Speaker 3: you out for your failures. In Jesus Christ, he will
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  Speaker 3: restore you and work his plan in your life for
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  Speaker 3: your good and for his glory. Heavenly Father, thank you
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  Speaker 3: for this story that shows your compassion for those who
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  Speaker 3: are hurting, for those who are confused, for those who
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  Speaker 3: are struggling. Thank you that we can know that you
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  Speaker 3: do in fact hear us and care for us as
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  Speaker 3: you did Hagar. And thank you that when we stumble
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  Speaker 3: and fail and fall, you remain with us. You have
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  Speaker 3: promised to never leave or forsake us. Your presence is
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  Speaker 3: always with us. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. And before we go, I
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: wanted to let you know that the Bible in a
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: Year podcast is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: only come to you each week through the support of
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: listeners like you. Your support today is so important that
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: we want to thank you for your gift by giving
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: you a copy of my book called The Jesus Book.
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: This book is a powerful guide that shows how every
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: book in the Bible points to Christ and how you
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: can better read and understand the Bible and how God's
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: word transforms our lives. So to get your copy of
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: The Jesus Book, simply go to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank you for your support.