(7/6) Good morning, church. I am so thankful that you are here, whether you are here in this room or joining us online. Welcome.

We are continuing in part 4 of our series, 'You Are Known,' and I believe that God has something deeply personal and powerful that He wants to speak into each of our hearts today.

This message is for anyone who has ever felt overlooked, forgotten, or stuck in a place that seems like it will never change.

If you’ve ever wondered, does God really see what I am going through? You are in the right place, because today we're going to talk about a woman who felt all of that, and yet she discovered that God saw her.

Let’s go to the Word of God—Genesis chapter 16, beginning in verse 1:

"Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children" (Genesis 16:1).

And so, right from the start, this is the context: we are introduced to a barren place, not just in Sarai’s body, but also in the atmosphere of Abram's household.

Today, some of you may feel that is where you are. Maybe you feel unseen in a season that seems to have no end? Maybe you feel forgotten, overlooked, or stuck in a place that feels empty, barren, and lifeless?

If that is you, here’s what you need to know: God sees you. Even in your lowest moment, when others pass by you or treat you like you don’t matter, God sees you. When you are drained, discouraged, and out of options, God sees you.

And so, I want to encourage you today to stir up the kind of faith in this place that would cause you to lift your hands and bless the Lord when everything around you feels barren.

Do you have that kind of faith today? A faith that believes that you can be in the wilderness and God will bring bread to you. You can be in the desert, and He will make water flow in the hard, dry places.

In other words, you can be sick and without a doctor, grieving without a counselor, broke without a paycheck, and still see God provide because we serve a God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20-21).

That’s why we praise him the way we do. That’s why we serve him. That’s why you’re watching today. That’s why I’m standing here preaching this word. Not because I’m religious, not because it’s expected of me, but because, like the prophet Jeremiah said, his word is in my heart like a fire, and I am weary of holding it in; in fact, I cannot (Jeremiah 20:9).

You see, the word of God changes lives. His word gives strength, brings healing, and sets the captives free. The Bible declares that the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12, NKJV).

And so, as we approach the word of God, we do so with the precision of a surgeon, because we often celebrate the faithfulness of individuals like Abraham and leaders like Moses. However, it’s none of those big names that I want to share with you today. My task this morning is to talk about a woman who doesn’t receive much attention. She was a foreigner, a servant, an innocent woman caught in someone else’s poor decisions. I’m talking about an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar (Genesis 16:1).

Even though the world tried to push her aside, God did not. Today, we will learn from Hagar a powerful lesson: that no matter who you are, you are known.

That is why we’ve got to be careful with power. There is nothing more dangerous than misusing power. When God gives you influence like Abram, a voice like Sarai, giving you authority to speak into someone else’s life, you must handle that responsibility with reverence and fear because how you execute power matters to God.

In other words, you can’t exercise your authority in the flesh. You can’t let your emotions take over, making decisions based on your mood or your pride or your pain, because God will judge you for how you handle what he has placed in your hands. And so, you need discipline, self-control, and spiritual restraint so that you’re able to walk in wisdom and not in impulse, because if God has entrusted you with much, then much will be required of you (Luke 12:48).

And so, you can’t just go by what people are saying. You can’t act based on what your friends would do, telling you, 'If it were me…' Because you are not them. When you have been given authority, you carry responsibility, and with that power, you need God’s help to make decisions in righteousness.

In this story, Abram and Sarai were overlooking some boundaries that God had established, and when boundaries are disregarded, chaos is born. When you begin to lower your standards and remove the guardrails that God designed for your protection, confusion rushes in. And that is exactly what happened in Abram and Sarai’s house. The Bible says,

"Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, ‘The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.’ Abram agreed to what Sarai said" (Genesis 16:1-2).

In other words, they stepped outside of God’s promise, they bypassed God’s process, and because of that, pain, division, and mistreatment followed.

I want to emphasize this today, and I am going to keep talking about it until someone's marriage is restored; things change at your workplace, healing happens in your family, and you stop fighting with the people God has called you to love. I'll keep preaching this until you see that the chaos didn’t just happen; it started because a boundary was crossed and broken.

Many times, I hear people crying out to God, wondering why things are falling apart, but we really need to look back and ask, "Who moved the line or who changed the standard?"

In other words, you borrowed the money, you maxed out the credit card, and now you're angry because they're asking for it back, but it was you who swiped the card and closed the deal.

Or, remember it was you who invited them into your home, and now you're frustrated because they drank all the milk, but you're the one who opened the door.

What I am saying is that we must own it and take responsibility, because often the issues we face aren’t from the devil; they are the result of a decision we made without seeking God’s guidance.

So after Abram had been living in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, his wife, took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress (Genesis 16:3-4).

Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘You are responsible for the trouble I am facing. I gave my servant into your care, and now that she knows she's pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.’ ‘Your servant is in your hands,’ Abram said. ‘Do with her whatever you think is best.’ Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her (Genesis 16:5-6).

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring beside the road to Shur. And he said, ‘Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?’ ‘I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,’ she answered (Genesis 16:7-8).

We should ask ourselves the same question: "Where have you come from and where are you going?" In other words, with everything you know and everything you've been through, how did you end up in this dry, deserted place, ready to give up on your calling, prayer life, and your sanctification? You know you weren’t made for the desert, you know your provision isn’t here, so what are you doing here? Why are you trying to survive in a place you were never meant to stay?

I believe that, like Hagar, some of us have been avoiding conflict, avoiding those difficult conversations, and avoiding what God is actually calling us to confront. It’s not just us; Moses ran from the snake, then ran from Pharaoh, and each time God sent him right back. That’s terrifying, because if I run from a snake, why would I want to go back and pick it up? But the truth is, God is calling us to face our fears and stand up to them. You can’t spend your life running from everything that challenges you.

Some of you have spent your entire lives avoiding anything difficult. When a job became too hard, you quit. When your business faced challenges, you gave up. When your marriage went through a storm, you walked away. And you have run from everything that pushed you outside of your comfort zone.

And so, if you hear nothing else today, here is your word from the Lord: stop running!

You’ve come far enough—there’s nothing left for you in that desert. If you keep running, you’ll never become the person God created you to be. You’ll never step into your purpose or see the gifts He has placed within you. That’s why I’m here to encourage you today: it’s time to stop running and stand your ground. When the day of evil comes, you must be able to stand. And after you’ve done everything, stand. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth secured around your waist and the breastplate of righteousness in place (Ephesians 6:13-14).

You have to stop running because no one can truly respect themselves if they are always fleeing from every fight. You will never feel strong, never feel whole, never feel worthy, because deep down inside you will know that you gave up each time.

But the good news is that God said, "I will heal you from running, from quitting, from giving hope up, from stopping, and living in almost." You know, "I almost made it, almost finished school, almost bought a house, almost walked in my calling."

Like the prophet Elijah, sitting under a broom tree, praying that he might die (1 Kings 19:4). Whenever you sit down on your calling, your ministry, and your anointing, and ignore your destiny, it’s not the desert or your ministry killing you; it’s the sitting down.

And so, the angel of the Lord gave Hagar a message that likely troubled her: "Go back to your mistress and submit to her" (Genesis 16:9).

That might have seemed unreasonable to Hagar, going back to the very person she had escaped from, returning home with her head bowed in shame. That definitely didn’t sound like freedom; it looked like a setup for punishment, humiliation, and even more pain. But then, watch this, the angel added, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too numerous to count" (Genesis 16:10).

You are now pregnant, and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers (Genesis 16:11-12).

Now, Hagar, knowing that God had heard her crying, brightened her face right there in the middle of the desert. Instead of crying in sadness, she was filled with the joy of the Lord.

In other words, she felt happy right there in the desert. She didn’t wait for the breakthrough, the promotion, the apology, or for anything about her situation to change; instead, right there in the desert, in the wilderness, she praised God joyfully. She named the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ and she praised him, saying, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me’ (Genesis 16:13).

You see, it’s a sacrifice of praise that can move mountains. Your praise will shake the gates of hell. To praise God even while you are still in the midst of the struggle, with unanswered questions, and with tears in your eyes is a battle cry - it’s a shout of victory!

I wish there were people this morning who would give God that kind of praise. You may not have enough money, but you have a praise. You might be running out of food, yet you have a praise. You don’t have a job yet, but you have a praise. You are walking through a health crisis, but you have a praise.

Hagar experienced the joy of the Lord in the desert and praised God, saying,

"I have now seen the One who sees me" (Genesis 16:13).

You see, hell gets nervous when you praise God. Demons tremble when you worship through the struggle. I wish there were someone watching online who would praise God in your living room, praise Him at the kitchen table, because the Scripture says: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!" (Psalm 150:6).

There is Hagar, praising God in the desert, because that’s the kind of praise that God is looking for. Anyone can praise him when the church is full and the worship team is singing, but God is looking for a desert praise, someone who will praise him when it’s just you and God in a quiet place.

Hagar didn’t offer God a rehearsed or religious praise—she wasn’t quoting the Psalms. Her praise came from a place of revelation as she declared, "You are the God who sees me."

If you’ve ever felt invisible, overlooked, or unknown, there is power in knowing that God sees you. That’s why I came to tell you this Sunday morning that God sees you. Because you may not have enough money, but God sees you. You may not have a title or a degree, but God sees you. You may be talked about and rejected by men, but God sees you.

Do you know what it means to have God’s attention?

The psalmist said, "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:4).

God is saying to you this morning, "I see you." Look at verse 13; Hagar said it, and now it is your turn. Everybody say it with me.

"You are the God who sees me" (Genesis 16:13).

Suddenly, the woman who had been running is now on her way back. She had an encounter with God, and now she is walking in a new direction.

I wonder if there’s someone here ready to make a 180E turn in your house, your mind, or your situation. I sense a turnaround coming; what you were running from, you are about to run toward. God is preparing to turn some things around.

Here comes Hagar, walking back down the road, because the angel told her,

"Go back to your mistress and submit to her" (Genesis 16:9).

In other words, there is no provision in the direction you are heading; the provision is found in facing the conflict. You need to stop running you’ve got return to confront it because your provision is in the house of Abram. That’s why the enemy has tried to drive you out- because your blessing remains there.

You see, it’s only a matter of time before you witness God's provision, but you need to go back, you need to get in position and align yourself; you’ve got to get back in position.

I know you walked away because you weren’t recognized, it got complicated, you gave up because it hurt, but what you didn’t realize was that God is providing for you in the middle of the trouble. That is the God that we serve, the Bible says,

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).

You see, if you always run from trouble, you might be running away from God’s provision because He places what you need in places that may feel uncomfortable. He hid your promise where you didn’t expect it. It wasn’t ideal; things are tight, tense, and emotions are high, but God said, "I put your bread there. I put your water there. I put your blessing there."

And so, Hagar couldn’t receive what God had prepared for her until she returned to the very place she had run from—the place of discomfort. Her breakthrough wasn’t on the run. Her blessing wasn’t in the desert. It was waiting for her back in the place she didn’t want to go.

When she obeyed, when she trusted God enough to return, the Bible says:

"Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne" (Genesis 16:15).

The promise was fulfilled—not in comfort, but through obedience. Because the place of discomfort is where you grow. The place of discomfort is where you gain strength. The place of discomfort is where you find provision.

It’s the place where your character is shaped. It’s where your faith is stretched. It’s where God shows up and proves that He is more than enough. And so, don’t despise the difficult place—God may have hidden your next miracle right there. What feels like a struggle might be the soil in which your promise will grow.

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott