Untitled Sermon (13)
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 23 viewsNotes
Transcript
1 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.
Reflections Sunday Message Recap:
“Speak Over Yourself”
Pastor Louis H. Straker, Jr.
July 18th, 2021
Ezekiel 37:1 - 10
Self talk is very important
Being born again by the work of God give you the ability to speak differently, and favorably to yourself.
Overwrite the negative messaging you’ve been programmed during your life.
Sometimes people project their failures on you.
The children of God have something greater than positivity. If you are going to be successful i life you have to learn how to use your tongue.
You have got to say what God says about you, to yourself.
Proverbs 14:1 A wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.
Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue...”
Proverbs 21:9; 19 Nagging wife (corner of a roof, or a wilderness)
Ephesians 6:4 Fathers do not anger your children
Colossians 3:21 Fathers do not exasperate your children
Your words frame your world
What you say you eventually believe
Your words have divine power.
A spiritual word does not begin with us, but with God. Truth is only found in God.
ICE BREAKER:
OPENING QUERY:
If the most important, non-family member,in your life showed up to you home unexpectedly, who would that be, and how would you feel about it?
Genesis 18:1 - 8
1 And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” 6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
For whom would you prepare your best meal?
LESSON:
Soon after Abraham’s covenant of circumcision, he was visited by what appeared to be three men standing near him. It’s obvious these were not ordinary visitors. The context would suggest that two of them were angels and the third was the Lord. This was a “Christophany”, a preincarnate but visible manifestation of Jesus Christ. The hospitality Abraham showed the three men was customary for the day. He immediately took care of his guests. This is visit from the Lord was a surprisingly intimate one: God sat and ate with Abraham for half a day, fellowshipping with him.
NOTE:
God sometimes gives you indications of promises He made, or things you’ve requested, but sometimes, most times it take longer because He also needs to work some things out of you, or some things into you, so that when the promise of fulfilled you will not squander it.
Genesis 18:9 - 15
9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 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. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 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.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Question #1:
Did Sarah do something wrong here? Explain your answer.
LESSON:
Every time God interacted with Abraham, he confirmed the promise. This time, though, it got more specific. But, evidently Abraham had failed to pass along the lesson he had just learned about the folly of laughing at God (Gen. 17:17). God, of course, knew that Sarah was laughing, whether he heard it directly or not (18:13). In response, he asked the most important question of faith: Is anything impossible for the Lord? (18:14).
Most of our faith problems go back to how we answer this question. We look at the facts and say, “I must be too old, too weak, too messed up. God can’t work in this situation.”
Genesis 18:16 - 21
16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
Question #2:
What does this story reveal about the relationship that Abraham had with God?
Genesis 18:22 - 32
22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
Question #3: What aspects of this discourse between the Lord, and Abraham stand out to you? Share.
LESSON:
At the very least Abraham showed a great deal of humility in his approach to the Lord. He also displayed a level of compassion for others, he was advocating for people he did not live with though he had a connection because of his nephew. Unfortunately, as the Lord well knew there were not enough righteous people for Sodom and Gomorrah to spared. The omniscient God already had all the information He needed. His coming would further verify that the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was immense, and that their sin was extremely serious. It consisted of gross immorality, violence, and oppression of the poor (c.f. Ezekiel 16:48-50).
Genesis 19:1 - 11
1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
Question #4: (v. 8) What is your reaction to Lot’s proposal regarding his daughters?
First of all the fact that Lot had a seat at the gateway to the city of Sodom is significant. Leaders, and those intimately involved with the how the city runs, are those that sit at the gate. It was at the gateway where business was transacted, and civil cases tried.
Lot’s readiness to protect the two men from the mob surrounding his house is commendable. After all, he saw two strangers in danger and took them in. However, what he does next shows how much of Sodom’s wicked culture he had absorbed. In as attempt to protect his angelic guests, Lot offered to give the lustful, riotous crowd his two daughters to be raped instead (19:8) - a shocking, cowardly, and inexcusable act (even if he intended this only as a bluff, or expected the offer to be rejected).
We are (and should be) repulsed by such an offer, which reveals Lot’s moral ties to Sodom as well as his failure to believe that God would protect him. The reaction of the crowd only confirms the truly evil nature of their intentions. Thankfully, before Lot could carry out his plan the angels stepped in and struck the crowd with blindness (19:10-11).
Genesis 19:12 - 29
12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. 15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
Question #5: (v. 16) Despite everything that was happening, Lot still hesitated to leave the city. In what ways do we hesitate to leave the people, and places that drag us into sin? (Rhetorical)
LESSON: The potential sons-in-law refused to leave Sodom because they did not believe God’s wrath was real. But, even Lot hesitated when the time came (19:16). The angels had to drag him, his wife, and daughters out of the city by hand because they were too attached to it. They had become comfortable in a society that rejected God and his laws.
Lot’s wife showed the most hesitation, and received punishment for her disobedience. Even though the angels strictly warned them, Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere on the plain (19:17), Lot’s wife paused and looked back, and instantly became a pillar of salt (19:26). She became a permanent monument of the consequences of disobedience and worldliness.
Only because of God’s promise to Abraham were Lot and his two daughters spared, only three people out of an entire city.
The story of Sodom’s destruction, while it clearly shows God’s judgement against homosexuality, offers a much larger warning. In Luke 17:32 Jesus charged us to remember, not the evil men of Sodom, but Lot’s wife, because our chief temptation is to become too attached to this world. Jesus teaches us to be in the world, working for the good of our neighbors, but not attached to the world in sinful ways, contaminated by its rebellion against God.
Genesis 19:30 - 38
30 Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 35 So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
Question #6: Why do you think the text emphasizes the origins of the Moabites and Ammonites in this story?
CLOSING: The conclusion to Lot’s story is a pitiful one. His daughters, with their fiances now dead, were so concerned about there marriage prospects that they devised a scheme to get Lot drunk and have sex with him (19:31-32). The plan worked, and both daughters became pregnant by their father (19:36). However, as with every scheme cooked up in the minds of sinful man, this “success” would eventually turn out to be a disaster, The two sons produced Moab and Ben-ammi, who would be the patriarchs of the Moabites and Ammonites, ongoing enemies of God’s people.
When we try to solve God’s “problems” for Him, we only create more problems for ourselves.