God’s Timeline – Part 26
The
Three Visitors
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
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SERMON INTRODUCTION (2021 A.D. = 5781 Jewish
Calendar Year)
-
Creation Week
(Approximately 4000 B.C.)
o Adam, Eve, and the Fall
-
Cain and Abel
o Evil Fills the World
-
Noah Did All God
Commanded Him
o The Flood 2400 – 2300 B.C.)
o God’s Covenant with Noah
-
Noah’s Sons and Ham’s Sin
-
Nations of Noah’s Sons
-
Tower of Babel
-
God calls Abram (2090
B.C.)
o Abram and Lot part ways
o Rescue of Lot
-
The Lord’s Covenant with
Abram for Isaac
o Hagar and Ishmael Born (2101 B.C.) Abram 86
years old
o Sarai and Isaac (2088 B.C.) Abraham 99 years
old
-
The Three Visitors
SCRIPTURE READING
Genesis 18:1-15
“The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre
while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2
Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he
hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do
not pass your servant by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all
wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat, so you
can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your
servant.”
“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he
said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”
7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf
and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some
curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them.
While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.
“There, in the tent,” he said.
10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about
this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which
was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past
the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After
I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and
say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard
for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah
will have a son.”
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not
laugh.”
But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
I.
RECOGNIZE THE LORD AND RESPOND PROPERLY
a. The Lord makes Himself available
to Abraham
i.
The
Lord makes Himself available to Abraham, just as He does with all of us.
ii.
The
Lord is always present; however, we have a responsibility to respond properly
to the Lord’s presence.
iii.
ILLUSTRATION:
If you are in a building and it is on fire, and you see a fire extinguisher on
the wall, but do not pick it up and us it, what good has the extinguisher done
for you?
1. Many, in the same way, know
of the Lord, the Bible, about the Lord, God, sin and salvation, yet do nothing
about it.
2. We MUST do more than just
know, we must properly respond!
iv.
“As
Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For
there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and
richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on
the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:11-13
v.
“Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is
light.” Matthew 11:28-30
vi.
“Jesus
stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me
and drink.” John 7:37b
vii.
Nothing
should stop you from coming to Jesus! Matthew 9:1-8 they lowered the guy
through the roof to get to Jesus for healing!
b. When Abraham saw the Lord,
he responded properly
i.
How
do we know? Verse 2 says Abraham hurried (ran) to meet them and bowed low to
the ground.
ii.
Bowing
is a sign of submission to the Lord.
iii.
Surrendering
to His presence.
iv.
Outwardly
expressing that the Lord is Abrahams Lord and Master
v.
THIS
is the proper response to the presence of the Lord. Jesus is NOT your Lord if
you are NOT His servant!
c. Abraham served the Lord
because he is a servant
i.
So,
a good servant serves
ii.
Abraham
prepares a feast for the Lord and His companions.
iii.
Abraham
gets THE BEST of all he has for the Lord!
1. This is important
2. When the Lord instilled
sacrifice, He requires the “first fruits”, and the BEST
3. Because this represents His
sacrifice, and He is unblemished and perfect
4. Anytime we serve the Lord,
it MUST be the BEST of what we have to offer!
5. Not scraps…not leftovers,
but the best…why?
6. Firstly, because He requires
it, but secondly, our obedience to what the Lord commands is what unlocks the
blessings of His promises.
iv.
“Scripture
says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 7 Submit
yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come
near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and
purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:6b-8
1. Come near to God and He will
come near to you…
2. What if I offer scraps of my
time to reading His Word?
3. What if I spend a few minutes
a day in prayer to Him?
4. We need to realize, if we
humble ourselves, submit to Him, and give Him the BEST of all we have to give,
He will return that!
v.
If
you give 10% to any relationship, you’ll be lucky to get 10% back.
vi.
If
you run to the Lord, He will run to you!
vii.
If
you want more of the Lord in your life, then give the Lord more of your life!
viii.
The
proper response to the Lord is to submit, surrender your best, and serve Him!
II.
WALK IN THE SPIRIT OF TRUST AND FAITH NOT IN THE FLESH
OF DOUBT AND FEAR
a. The Lord once again tells
Abraham of His plan
i.
Over
the last few chapters, we have seen the Lord tell Abraham multiple times HE
would make him the father of many nations. The Lord would give Abraham more
offspring than stars in the sky and sand on a beach.
ii.
We
also saw Abraham and Sarah respond to the Word of God in the flesh by getting
Abraham another woman to have children with instead of believing what the Word
had told them.
iii.
We
also see in previous chapters, Abraham thinking to himself this was ridiculous,
and the Lord, hearing his thoughts corrected him.
b. There are many promises in
the Word of God
i.
So
Abraham had been told multiple times by the Lord of this promise
ii.
He
was also corrected by the Lord when he doubted
iii.
By
this time, Abraham should have been walking in the spirit (trust and faith in
the Word) as opposed to the flesh (doubt and fear)
.
c. We must walk in the Spirit
not the flesh
i.
The
Lord once again tells Abraham He will give him and Sarah a child to fulfill His
promise in Genesis 18:10
1. You know the Lord gives us many
promises in His Word
2. He also shows us that He
ALWAYS fulfills those promises in His Word
3. We really shouldn’t question
what the Word says, though sometimes we struggle like Thomas.
4. However, the Lord ALWAYS
does what the Word promises!
a. Isaiah 55:11 “so is my word that goes
out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I
desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
ii.
Trust
and Faith in the Word gives us;
1. Peace that surpasses
understanding Philippians 4:6
2. Rest in Him Psalm 62:1
3. Security in ANY troubled
times Psalm 18:2
4. Confidence in an unsure
world! Joshua
1:9
iii.
Trust
and Faith in the Word of the Lord gives us peace!
1. John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my
peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your
hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
2. Psalm 16:8 “I keep my eyes always on
the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
3.
Psalm 23:4
4.
Psalm 46:10
5.
Psalm 55:22
6.
Proverbs 3:5-6
7.
Jeremiah 29:11
8.
Matthew 6:25-27
9.
Matthew 6:34
10.
Romans 8:31
11.
Philippians 4:6-7
12.
Hebrews 13:6
13.
1 Peter 5:7
iv.
Trust
and Faith, not doubt and fear
1.
Abraham
and Sarah acted in the flesh (doubt and fear)
2.
They
were afraid they were too old for the Word of the Lord to happen
3.
So
they acted in that doubt and fear, and this is how Ishmael came about…a work of
the flesh
III.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE WORD OF GOD AND OUR FAMILY
a.
When we have the Word of God, we also have
responsibility
i.
The
Lord told Abraham many times Sarah would have a son…so what is going to happen?
Is the Lord a liar? Is the Word of God incorrect?
b. Sarah heard the Lord and
laughed
i.
Doubting
and in fear, just as Abraham did in the previous chapter, laughing to himself,
but the Lord heard his thoughts.
ii.
The
Lord also hears Sarah’s thoughts
iii.
She
laughed to herself, “after I’m worn out and Abraham is old, now I’ll have
this pleasure?”
iv.
However,
the Lord, hearing this, didn’t correct Sarah, rather, He addressed this issue
with Abraham!
c. The Lord then reprimanded
Abraham
i.
The
Lord asked, “Why did Sarah laugh?”
ii.
The
Lord is asking Abraham instead of Sarah for the same reason He questioned Adam
before Eve.
iii.
It
is Abraham’s duty to take the Word of the Lord that was given to him to his
family!
iv.
Adam
had the Word of the Lord, and told Eve, but he didn’t make it clear and was
held responsible!
v.
Now
Abraham has to answer for why HE didn’t make Sarah know about the promise of
the Lord, and believe it would happen!
vi.
The
Lord then says to Abraham (again) “Is anything to hard for the Lord?”
CONCLUSION –
Sarah at this point
becomes afraid, seeing the Lord heard her thoughts.
As most humans do when
confronted with the Truth, she lies…to the Lord
“I didn’t laugh.”
And the Lord replies,
“Yes, you did laugh.”
We can Trust the Word,
and we can have Faith it will come to pass. Not in our timeframe, but in the
Lord’s timing, who works all things together for good to them that love God, to
them who are called according to HIS purpose! (Romans 8:28)
Draw close to the Lord,
and He will draw close to you. The more
of your life you give to Him the more He gives to you.
Walk therefore in the
Spirit (trust and faith)
2 Thessalonians 3:16 “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every
way. The Lord be with you all.”
Next week Abraham pleads with the Lord for Sodom.
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