Denied
They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.” (Genesis 18:9-15 ESV)
The Point:
A Leader never denies their actions, they take responsibility for them.
Teach It:
Sarah knew God’s power. It had seen them this far in their sojourn, it had freed her from Pharaoh. Now, God’s promise seemed to amuse her. She laughed at it.
When she was accused by God and questioned about her laughter, she denied it.
There was no point in denying it, God was right there and heard it.
First of all, never laugh at God.
Denying our actions in front of anybody is pretty dumb:
God knows what we’ve done already. Denying it doesn’t change a thing except we have now lied to God.
If we deny our actions to people, and they find out we’re lying, we will lose their respect, our influence, and the trust of other people, leading quite possibly to losing whatever ministry we have.
If I was Sarah, I might have laughed as well, what God was claiming was humanly impossible. I don’t think many of us think twice about her laughter. What does make her look like an idiot is denying that laughter to God.
Activity:
List some prominent people that have been in trouble lately, but denied any wrongdoing. Talk about your perception of them as the scandal broke, as they denied what they were accused of, and if the truth came out and they were lying, how your perception of those people changed. Talk about the trust that those people lost, and whether or not they are still prominent or in a position of leadership.
If you can’t think of anyone, here are a few suggestions:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Anthony Weiner
Tiger Woods
Governor Mark Sanford
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About Matt Gooch