Sunday, May 30, 2021

God’s Timeline – Part 26 The Three Visitors

 

God’s Timeline – Part 26

The Three Visitors

Pastor Bruce A. Shields

House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

Online Audio Files | HOF Church Facebook | Truth Digest Facebook

 

This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios.  For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on Facebook at House of Faith Church

 

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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