Pastor Joseph Prince (4th service on 1st service playback)
Gen 18:1-33
A picture of God at Abraham's house - eating, fellowshipping, some family jokes (about Sarah laughing)
God eats with them, celebrates with them and gives them the news they want (that they will have a child)
That's how God wants our family to be like = homely, warm, intimate, joyful and with God in the midst
Sermon proper
Theme 1: Understanding God's nature
Micah 6:8
To do justice, love mercy & walk humbly with God
"Do justice" not "love justice"
Especially for leaders
God's nature is not to judge
His heart loves mercy = hesed = grace
There's a difference between being familiar vs being intimate with God
12 disciples walked with Jesus and were familiar with Him, but not all were intimate with Him
vs syrophoenician woman and centurion who didn't walk with Jesus everyday, but who knew His heart
2 Peter 3:9
God is long suffering, not willing that any should perish
There are people who perish, but God is not willing. Why doesn't God just "grab" them? Bcos God respects the free choice He has given to man
He wants to gather them like a mother hen gathers her chicks, but they were not willing (Luke 13:34)
Ie. It's a choice
Example of God's long suffering: during the time of the flood
Methuselah = his name means "death will bring". i.e. when he dies, the flood will come, and he was the longest living man on earth at 969 years
Why? Bcos God is not willing that any should perish and wants to drag for as long as possible
That's the heart of God - a long suffering heart
Similarly, God wants to delay the rapture & second coming for as long as possible
Why? Bcos he's waiting for more pple to be saved
There are those who will be raptured like Enoch, and then those who are saved in the judgement
Delivered but will go through the flood, and there's protection for them still
Every born again person goes up. Regardless of faithfulness
Needed for every marriage = long suffering
Love is patient = love is long suffering
Theme 2: Continuing last week's sermon
Angels can turn into the form of man
Some have entertained them and not aware (Heb 13:2)
Gen 18:20-33
2 Angels went to Sodom
Jesus stayed with Abraham in Hebron which is a mountain higher up but possible to look down and see Sodom from there
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Recall how Lot ended up in Sodom
Gen 13 & 14
Abraham let Lot choose where to go to split ways bcos there were too many of them and the there was strife among the herdsmen
Lot chose Sodom because it looked like the garden of Eden. Lot chose by sight
Later, Abraham rescued Lot when Lot was taken captive in the war
Abraham tithed to Melchizedek after the victory; no record of Lot tithing
Then Lot went back to Sodom
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2 Peter 2:6-8
Lot is righteous, and God emphasises it 3 times in 2 verses
But he is a defeated righteous man - he had a family but lost it all except 2 daughters, and ended up in wrong relationships with them
Watching and living in filth, and a leader amongst them. But he's still righteous, bcos righteousness is by faith not works
Compared with Abraham who is a victorious righteous man
Abraham = in Hebron (heaven), looking down at the judgement and knew about it long before Sodom knew
Lot = in the destruction, but still protected
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The 7 dispensations
Dispensations = the way God treats man; God testing man to show that man needs God
- Innocence = ended with the fall of Adam
- Conscience = ended with the flood (Noah)
- Human government = ended in idolatry
- Promise = started with the promise God gave to Abraham (that in him all nations will be blessed not just Israel); ended with man boasting in self efforts / inventions and forgetting God & law being given
- Law = ended with man's inability to keep the law / God finding fault with the law as too severe
- Grace = ends with the rapture <-- we're here now
- Kingdom = 1000 year millennia rule / return of the King. There will be perfect rule on earth with Jesus visibly ruling. Faith becomes sight. Devil is bound, can't blame him. Everything is perfect (family, health, finances etc). Like Garden of Eden conditions without lack. Also no more excuse of unbelief, but this will still end in rebellion and man's failure.
Every dispensation ends in failure of man & man blaming God for it. That's the whole point - to show man up; that we need God desperately / in and off ourselves, we cannot
Watch that with everything we have through grace, we don't fall into greediness and materialism
Like church of laodicea vs philadelphia
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V17 Shall I hide from Abraham what I'm doing
But Abraham is called friend of God (James 2:23)
And as friend of God, Jesus tells Abraham all things that He hears from the Father even before it happens (John 15:15)
Likewise for us
God wanted someone to intercede
If God wanted justice, He would have gone straight to Sodom, without telling Abraham, but He knew Abraham would pray!
Example: Jonah's case
Jonah 4:1-5
Jonah was very reluctant & unwilling to preach to Nineveh. Shortest sermon even (Jonah 3:4)
Jonah was very reluctant & unwilling to preach to Nineveh. Shortest sermon even (Jonah 3:4)
Bcos he knew God's nature - gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness
(Also see above on God's nature)
V32 Why did Abraham stop at 10 and not go to 1?
Lot's family:
At least 2 son-in-laws + 2 daughters
At least 2 sons
At least 2 unmarried daughters
Plus Lot and his wife
= Total 10
At least 2 unmarried daughters
Plus Lot and his wife
= Total 10
Abraham had a purpose
Why is it important to study the destruction of Sodom? Bcos as it was in the days of Lot, Jesus will be revealed (Luke 17:28); Sign of last days
Gen 19:1-38
V1 Lot was sitting in the gate
Ie. Lot was an established man in the world / worldliness
The effects of the blessings of the righteous were still on him
Like how Jews today still enjoy the remnant blessings of Abraham even though they don't believe in Jesus yet
V1 Bowed with face to the ground = has heart, but not totally bcos compared to Abraham, Abraham bowed totally prostrate to the ground
V1 Angels only. Jesus was not there = Jesus is not at home with Lot
(Me: V1 rose to meet them = compared to Abraham who ran to meet them
V2 rise early and go on your way = almost like can't wait for them to go)
Compared to at Abraham's side where they stayed in his house and had a warm gathering even
V3 unleavened bread without the shedding of blood
Compared to at Abraham's side bread and calf (i.e. bread plus shedding of blood)
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Recall Joseph interpreting dreams (Gen 40)
Bread alone = something bad = Jesus is a good man, but nothing about His sacrifice
Wine alone = something bad = … ?
Must be bread and wine together = Melchizedek with bread and wine and Abraham responding with the tithe
Exodus 12:8-9
Do not eat raw nor boiled with water
Raw / boiled with water = fire didn't touch it = Jesus died as a martyr, not receiving the judgement of God = the sacrifice never took our judgement / our sins have not been punished
But our sins have been punished in Jesus our sacrifice, so there must be fire
And if God punishes us now, that's unholy
God is righteous by making us righteous bcos it has already been paid for at the cross by Jesus
God is righteous by not remembering our sins now, because He remembered them on the cross
Like Jesus died this morning
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V8 How far Lot has fallen that he will offer up his daughters
Lot is righteous but defeated bcos he compromised
Just bcos you hear the grace message doesn't mean that you are under grace
If you are under grace, sin has no dominion over you (Romans 6:14)
If you are under grace, sin has no dominion over you (Romans 6:14)
Ie. If you have a lifestyle of sin (eg. adultery), that means sin has dominion over you and you are not under grace.
Don't bring grace into it. Be a man and take responsibility.
We don't condemn you, but we condemn your actions
V10 men = angels
V14 son-in-laws thought Lot was joking
Talk / drink / act like them such that when you try to talk to them about the rapture / want to be serious, nobody believes bcos you've lost your influence & credibility
Here is the Lord being merciful to him. God is so slow to judge, even helping and holding his hand to force him out
V17 the mountains = where Abraham was
V18&19 Lot didn't want to go to the mountains and didn't believe that it was safe there. He wanted to choose where to go
V19 Increased your mercy = first mention of hesed
- Lot never tithed
- Lot never focused on the blood
- His name means "a veil" = law (2 Cor 3:13-14)
We are delivered from the law to be governed by the Spirit. If someone is under law, it manifests by lust. (Romans 7:5-6 ?)
Ie. A defeated righteous man can still have his prayers answered and can still bring blessings to others
She looked back bcos she lived that life too long
V28 What we'll see up there, looking down
V29 God remembered Abraham
Thank God for people who are praying/prayed for us!
Thank God for people who are praying/prayed for us!
God remembers our prayers prayed in Jesus' name and this saves people
V30 Lot chose Zoar instead of the mountains the angels told him to go to. But now he is restless / unhappy at Zoar
Mountains here is not Hebron where Abraham was at
(Me: Better to follow what/where God tells you to do/go)
Be careful what your children are watching
Speak normally / calmly and trust that God gives weight to your words. God is on ur side
There's no need to raise your voice / shout / yell. If u do that, you've lost control. Don't lose control.
But do speak up and restrict. Don't keep quiet
Even if children go, trust that your words have power and glory
V37 Moab = from here came the Moabites (Ruth)
But do speak up and restrict. Don't keep quiet
Even if children go, trust that your words have power and glory
V38 Ben-Ammi = from here came the Ammonites
These were difficult people for Israel later on
That's the end of the story of Lot. No more mention of him and we don't know what happened after all this.
These were difficult people for Israel later on
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Hebrews 9:28 NLT & AMP versions
Second coming of Christ is not to deal with our sins
Salvation = of our bodies
Be like righteous Abraham, unafraid of the judgement that's so close! And just enjoying the fatness of fellowship with Jesus
But pray for others that their conscious be purged from sin with Jesus (Hebrews 10:2)
To those who are eagerly and confidently waiting for Him = us
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But pray for others that their conscious be purged from sin with Jesus (Hebrews 10:2)
God will delay for us to pray
We lead a victorious life, not for our glory, but for the glory of Jesus
Closing prayer
(Me: I especially love this week's closing prayer!!)
The Lord bless you with the blessings of Father Abraham. The Lord bless you with the blessings of Deut 28. Even as He has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You are blessed, you are blessed, you are blessed. And the Lord preserve, protect and keep you and your loved ones throughout this week from all manner of evil. The Lord deliver you from every evil work and preserve you unto His heavenly Kingdom.
The Lord give you grace never to go down from the mountain of fellowship. The Lord give you grace never to be like a Lot. God give you grace to bring your family with dignity and honour, not legalistically, not in a domineering way, but with power in your words.
Father, in the name of Jesus, grant power, irresistible power that does not have to be yelled out but spoken in quietness, with firmness with love to all the parents here. Be it not spoken word or written word.
The Lord preserve everyone throughout this week from every sickness, from every disease, from every accidents, and dangers and harms and from all the powers of darkness. The Lord grant to you and your family a blessed blessed family life. A family like Abraham's family where there's laughter and God speaking to you intimately, where there's no sin consciousness, only Jesus consciousness.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
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