God Intervened!

Genesis 20

• This chapter sort of feels like a deja vu of Genesis 12:10-20. 
• It starts with Abraham journeying through several regions, ending up in Gerar (v. 1). 
• It is here where Abraham says that Sarah is his sister and she is taken by King Abimelech (v. 2) – you would have thought that he would have learned his lesson! 
• This is a crisis of HUGE proportions! 
• The woman who is to bear the seed of the nation of Israel CAN NOT lie with another man! 
• So, God intervened! 
• God comes to Abimelech in a dream to ensure that Sarah did not have sexual relations with the king (v. 3).
• God intervened! 
• He prevented Abimelech from sinning (v. 7) by not letting him touch Sarah. 
• Part of God’s intervention was to cause a great distress on the king’s entire household (v. 18). 
• Sometimes God’s interventions don’t make sense to us, in fact, sometimes we may think that He is being mean or unfair or even attribute His interventions to the enemy. 
• Isn’t it great that God intervenes! 
• What does this tell us about Him? 

Genesis 21

• In this chapter we find that Sarah gets pregnant with the promised son
• What joy!  At least for her and Abraham, as they received the son of the promise, the heir!
• But what about Hagar and Ishmael?
• Ishmael mocks Isaac and Sarah wishes to have Hagar and Ishmael expelled from the household
• Sarah knew that God had planned for the promise to be fulfilled through Isaac so she wished to have this other son removed from all claim on the inheritance
• This greatly troubled Abraham (v. 11), but God intervened by reassuring Abraham that this was for the best (v. 12). 
• God then renews the promise that He gave to Ishmael (v. 13). 
• So Abraham did something that would have been very difficult. 
• He sent Hagar and his first born son away and they departed (v. 14). 
• Ishmael would have been around 16-17 years old at this time.  In the wilderness, Hagar and Ishmael ran out of water so she cried out to the Lord (v. 15-16). 
• God heard her cry and called to her, God intervened! 
• He promised to make a great nation out of Ishmael and opened her eyes to see a well with water so they could drink and be refreshed (v. 18-19). 
• God intervenes again! 
• Abraham’s sin left Ishmael without a father and left Hagar without a husband. 
• His sin affected these innocent people. 
• Yet God intervened for Hagar and Ishmael, He protected them and kept them alive. 
• Isn’t it great that God intervenes! 
• What does this tell us about Him? 

Genesis 22

• In this chapter we find God putting Abraham to the ultimate test (v. 1). 
• The conditional promise which was given in Genesis 12:1-3 would be guaranteed if Abraham passed the test. 
• The death of Isaac would contradict everything that God had promised Abraham. 
• Would Abraham obey? 
• Does he fully believe in the promise that God gave him? 
• He had failed before therefore Ishmael was born and now was lost to him. 
• Now God commands Abraham to take the son of the promise, his beloved son and offer him as a burnt offering (v. 2). 
• Abraham promptly obeys, gathers his supplies and begins on the journey
• Abraham and Isaac then leave the servants behind as they go to worship the Lord. 
• Isaac carries the wood for the offering and Abraham carries the knife and fire (v. 6). 
• Abraham went fully prepared to offer his son
• But God intervenes! 
• Abraham knew He would! 
• He had experienced God’s intervention for the purpose of fulfilling His promise to him so many time that Abraham just knew that even death was not barrier for God!
• Abraham finally got it! 
• Abraham finally sees that God does what He says He will do
• He now knows that God can and will intervene supernaturally
• Abraham is now trusting God
• Abraham is not doubting anymore, He isn’t’ lying, He isn’t fixing the problem himself anymore
• Abraham is OBEYING! 
• Abraham’s action confirms his faith and obedience to God.  
• His faith is now active, it is complete. 
• God provides a ram to be sacrificed as a burnt offering instead of Isaac (v. 13) and Abraham offers it up as a burnt offering. 
• The place was called Jehovah-Jireh (v. 14), the Lord will provide! 
• Hebrews 11:17-19 gives us further insight into this incident: 17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. 
• Isn’t it great that God intervenes! 
• What does this tell us about Him? 

Genesis 23

• BUT, in this chapter we find that God does not intervene, instead, He lets Sarah die
• WHY? 
• Sarah died at 127 years old, Abraham died at 175 years old
• This couple could have had many more years together
• What is God doing here? 
• To find out we must look a little deeper
• God had not just promised to make a great nation out of Abraham, God had also promised to give Abraham the land (Gen. 15:18-21)
• But how would God do this?
• It was through the death of Sarah
• Abraham needed a place to bury Sarah and being a man of honor, He didn’t want to rent a spot, He wanted to own the spot where He laid his wife to rest
• It was important for Abraham to buy the property because that would be the only way to ensure that the land legally belonged to him. 
• Abraham then buried Sarah in the cave, in the land of Canaan (v. 19). 
• Verse 20 concludes by repeating that Abraham owned the field and cave. 
• We’ll see later in the book of Genesis that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Rebekah and Leah will all be buried in this cave. 
• This is significant for the children of Israel as it marks the ownership and future rights to the land of Canaan. 
• In this story we can see the sovereignty of God in Sarah’s death. 
• It was God’s plan to give Abraham’s descendants the land. 

  

What is going on here?

Chapter 20 – God intervenes

Why? To protect His promise to Abraham

Chapter 21 – God intervenes

Why? To protect His promise to Hagar

Chapter 22 – God intervenes

To protect His promise to Abraham

Chapter 23 – God does NOT intervene,

To protect His promise to give Abraham’s descendants the land

CONCLUSION

• KEY POINT:  It’s not about us, it’s about God’s plans, purposes and His will! 
• So, the issue becomes how to figure out God’s plans and will!!!!
• God has specific plans and purposes that He has predetermined for you and your life
• Are you on track with these things?
• We have a choice to get on board with those plans or live in disobedience to God
• Esther 4:14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
• We are all Esther’s. 
• We have been placed on this earth at exactly this time in human history for a reason
• God has a purpose for your life
• He has expectations of your life
• If you don’t complete the plan He has for your life then you will lose many rewards in eternity
• 1 Cor. 3:10-15 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
• You have tasks to complete here on earth
• God has a vision for your life? 
• Do you know what that vision is?
• You have a part to play in His plan in bringing back His Son to rule and reign on earth for ALL ETERNITY
• Jesus is coming back soon! 
• Do you know your part to play in preparing the world for His return?
• Are you participating in His plan for your life?

Lot's Big Mistake

Introduction:

·         Lot is the nephew of Abraham (Gen. 11:31)

·         When Abraham was called by the Lord, Lot went with him (Gen. 12:4)

·         It is assumed that Lot went with Abraham down to Egypt during the famine in Gen 12 since Gen. 13:5 tells us that Lot was moving about with Abraham

Genesis 13

·         It seems as though Lot was trying to mooch off of Abraham’s success, it was like he was going with the flow, following Abraham

·         We don’t see Lot engaging with God, we don’t find him building altars to the Lord or calling on the name of the Lord like Abraham

·         Was Lot riding on the coat-tails of Abraham’s relationship with God?

·         Abraham recommends that they part ways because the land couldn’t support both of them if they stayed together (v. 6) and their herdsmen were quarrelling.

·         Abraham wanted to avoid fighting within the family (v. 8)

·         Abraham let Lot decide which land he wanted and Lot picked the best land (v. 10-11)

·          Lot then pitched his tent near Sodom (v. 12) even though Sodom was wicked and there was much sinning there (v. 13)

·         Did you note how Lot did not inquire of the Lord about this decision…he just chose based on the temporal, avoiding the spiritual ramifications of his decision

·         This decision put Lot in a place of temptation

·         Lot was playing with fire because Sodom was known for it’s wickedness

Lot in Danger

·         As a result of Lot’s living in Sodom, his very life came into danger on two occasions.

·         In the first, he was taken captive and saved by his uncle Abraham in Genesis 14

·         Look at verse 12 – Lot now LIVES in Sodom

·         He no longer lives near this wicked city, he now has moved right on in! 

·         In the second, he was also saved by his uncle Abraham’s prayers, in Genesis 19

·         Look at verse 1 – Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city

·         On a quick reading this may not mean anything to us but the more you read scripture the more you begin to recognize the significance of statements like this

·         Lot sitting at the city gate meant that Lot had probably become a member of Sodom’s ruling council, since a city gateway served as the administrative and judicial center where legal matters were discussed and prosecuted

·         Lot was infusing himself into the wicked culture of this city

·         So what’s the big deal?  As Christians, aren’t we supposed to be salt and light?  In the world but not of the world?

·         The thing is that Lot wasn’t having a positive effect on Sodom, Lot was not evangelizing

·         RABBIT TRAIL:  ice cube vs. iceberg

o   Ice cube:  If I hold an ice cube in my hand, I have enough heat to melt it, my hand will get a bit cold in the process by my body will be OK, I am not in danger. 

o   Iceberg:  there is no way that I will be able to melt an iceberg by holding it in my hand, I could try to wrap my body around the iceberg and use all my body heat to melt it but what will be the end result?  I will die of hypothermia! 

·         We need to think about the principle of the ice cube versus the iceberg when it comes to our  relationships

o   Are you having a positive effect on the other person?  Evangelism/discipleship?

o   Are you being dragged down by the other person

o   If you are being dragged down then you are not evangelizing or discipling, in fact, you are actually being damaged by the relationship

o   If your marriage is dragging you down then you need to talk to Tim Ryan

·         In the case of Lot, Sodom was like an iceberg, Lot had little effect on it but it had a huge effect on him

·         How do we know this? 

·         It’s because we don’t see a whole lot of fruit in Lot’s life

·         We can deduce this from other incidents in Genesis 19

·         First, Lot does good by being hospitable to the guests and inviting him into his home and making a meal for them (v. 3)

·         But then Lot makes a bad offer, in order to protect his guests (good) he offers his virgin daughters to the Sodomites (bad, v. 8)

·         There is nothing that could justify this proposal of Lot, it’s sickening and cannot be excused or overlooked

·         When the two visitors suggest that they leave Sodom immediately for it was about to be destroyed, Lot spoke to his daughter’s future husbands who thought he was joking (v. 14)

·         They thought Lot was telling some sort of ridiculous tale

·         This shows that they didn’t trust his judgment– the result was that they died!

·         The angels urged Lot to leave but he hesitated or lingered (v. 16)

·         Did you catch that!  Hell, fire and brimstone were about to be poured down on this city, and Lot lingered, he hesitated! 

·         This shows us something about his heart condition.

·         In fact, the angels actually grasped Lot’s hands and the hands of his wife and daughters and it seems as though they somewhat forced them out of the city

·         The angles had to urge them to FLEE and not look back

·         What is with this guy?  Why is he not eager to follow these visitors who are trying to save his life?

·         The action of Lot’s wife and daughters gives us more insight into the type of leader that Lot was

·         His wife looked back, towards Sodom, and became a pillar of salt (v. 26) – did she lack fear of the Lord?

·         His daughter’s show their depravity in getting their father drunk in order to have sex with him because they wanted a baby (v. 31-38)

·         It is obvious here that the influence of the culture of Sodom was stronger than the influence of their “righteous” father

·         Their desire for offspring was stronger than their desire to be holy

·         Now Lot had nothing to do with this but it does show that he was a failure as a father

·         Basically Lot reaped what he sowed

·         When you look at the fruit of his life, you see NOTHING worth mentioning

·         Lot had a virtually no positive influence on those around him (his wife, his children, the Sodomites)

·         Lot’s life produced little to no fruit, He produced nothing for God’s kingdom

·         He was considered by Peter to be a righteous man (2 Peter 2:7-8) but we really don’t see that he had all that significant an influence on anybody

·         At the end of your life, will you have fruit?  Or will you be fruitless like Lot?

·         We can do better than Lot! 

·         Let’s summarize what went wrong with him

·         KEY PRINCIPLE:  A little bit of sin can grab hold and more sin then creeps in little by little

·         With lot, it started with a little materialistic act and choosing the fertility of the Jordan valley instead of considering the character of his new neighbours, who were wicked (a little bit of sin)

·         He invited future temptations by dwelling near Sodom (a little bit of compromise)

·         It was only a short while later when we find that Lot was now living within the city  (a bit more compromise)

·         Finally, we find him sitting at the city gate which was reserved for the elders or judges of the city (even more compromise)

·         We see numerous compromises in Lot’s life

·         What danger was he ignoring in the process?

·         And it all started with a little bit of sin and a little bit of compromise

·         A little bit of sin and an little bit of compromise can have serious consequences

·         True freedom comes when we choose God’s path

·         Life comes when we turn from our sin and areas of compromise and follow Him wholeheartedly

·         The nature of sin is that it sucks us in, it often starts with just a little area of compromise and then grows to more and more and before we know it we have done something that we never thought we would have done

·         EXAMPLE: of teenage girls and sexual impurity

·         They start out with a firm desire to save sex until marriage

·         But one little compromise after, giving in just a little bit here and there, and wham, they go all the way

·         Many of these teens know that what they are doing is wrong but they rationalize and eventually, in order to alleviate the guilt, they harden their hearts towards God

·         Can you see how sin creeps in little by little?

·         We must get rid of sin while it is in infancy, before it gains control of our lives

·         This is why it is so important to confess sin regularly

·         There is no sin that is too little to confess

·         Confession frees us from the bondage of sin, from compromise and future temptation

·         If we truly repent and turn from our sin then we find freedom and true life in Christ

·         Confession is not a bad thing, it is lovely

·         David though so

·         Psalm 32:1-5  ¹ Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ² Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. ³ When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. ⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. ⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. said, “I will confess  my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

·         Lot started out with a little bit of sin, a little bit of selfishness, a little bit of greed and in the end he hesitated to flee from Sodom even though he knew God was going to destroy the city

·         We must get rid of sin and compromise NOW, while we can, before it’s too late

·         We must RUN, FLEE, get rid of sin! 

·         We can’t play with fire, we can’t dance with the devil

·         YOU CAN LEAD YOUR FAMILY BY WALKING IN HOLINESS AND TURNING FROM SIN AND COMPROMISE! 

·         You don’t need to preach it (although He may ask you to), YOU MODEL OBEDIENCE, you LIVE it

·         Holiness matters to God, we must obey and live according to His Word and according to His laws

·         Fence sitting is not an option, FLEE sin, don’t be indifferent towards it

Building Towers

INTRODUCTION

·         Last week we talked about building ARKS, today, while we can, to prepare for the FLOOD that is coming (persecution).

·         We saw how God was merciful and loving towards people in giving them time to repent and how He was protecting the world from evil and how the flood was actually God saving the world

·         What does the name Methuselah mean?  (His Death Shall Bring)

·         We also saw how there were many people who perished in the flood because they did not heed the warnings of Noah, they just went on through life, going through the motions

·         We looked at how many Christian’s today are not seeing the times that we are living in and therefore are not preparing for the coming “flood”

·         God showed Noah ahead of time and gave plenty of warning so that when the rain came they would be safe

·         Noah did not start to build his ark once it rained, he prepared ahead of time.

·         We too are called to build our arks – we prayed about what this means for us individually

·         To summarize, building an ark means that you are obeying, following the Lord, actively seeking His will, you are preparing by growing in a real, authentic relationship with God.  

BUILDING ARKS OR BUILDING TOWERS?

·         We are supposed to be building ARKS but instead, many of us get distracted and spend more time building TOWERS

·         This doesn’t mean that we aren’t working on our arks from time to time

·         But we aren’t supposed to be building TOWERS at all, only ARKS

·         Abraham did both in Genesis 12

·         In verses 1-9 we find Abraham following God (building an ARK)

·         God invited Abraham to become a nation whom through the entire world would be blessed

·         God’s invitation challenged him to abandon the normal sources of personal identity and security, his family and his country and to obey

·         In verse 1 God says “GO” and in verse 4, “Abram WENT, as the Lord told him”

·         His obedience was immediate and unquestioning – Abram was building an ARK!

·         BUT, in verses 10-20 we find Abraham doing his own thing (building a TOWER)

·         A famine causes Abram to go to Egypt

·         Did you notice how he did not consult the Lord?

·         He just did what he thought was best

·         Do you see how Abraham could build an ARK in one instance AND build a TOWER in another?

What does it mean to build a tower?

·         We’ll find our answer in Genesis 11 (see commentary in devo homework)

·         According to verse 1, the whole world had one language so everyone could understand everyone else. 

·         Verse 2 tells us that men moved eastward and began to settle down. 

·         They decided to build a city with a tower to reach the heavens (v. 4). 

·         They wanted a place to be settled instead of scattering over the whole earth (v. 4) and they wanted to make a name for themselves (pride)

·         If we dig a little bit deeper in the account of the Tower of Babel we find the heart of what is going on here. 

·         The building of the city and TOWER were outward expressions of heart issues. 

·         The people wanted to do their own thing, they did not inquire of the Lord

·         Their actions show human independence and self-sufficiency which are both forms of pride. 

·         These attitudes are praised by our culture but loathed by our Lord. 

·         In this story we see that pride is equated with rebellion, independence and disobedience. 

·         Yet pride is prevalent in most believers’ lives. 

·         We need to repent of pride! 

·         Look at the following common areas of pride (see devo’s, ch. 11 question 3)

o   Struggling with admitting you are wrong

o   Feeling that your achievements are your own, ‘self-made’ success

o   Striving for self-advancement

o   Boasting about accomplishments either outwardly (spoken) or inwardly (unspoken)

o   Seeking acknowledgement or praise of others

o   Grandiose thoughts about yourself

o   Feeling like you know everything

o   Controlling others

o   Inflexible, not wanting change unless you initiate it

o   Wanting to have your own way.

o   Making assumptions, tending to want to speak first and be heard

o   Struggling to listen to others

o   Thinking you are better than other people, whether unspoken or spoken.

o   Harboring grudges, not forgiving easily

o   Feeling self-righteous about wrongs that have been done to you

o   Being critical of others, judgmental

·         But the Lord came down to see the city and TOWER and confused their language so they couldn’t complete their task (v. 7-8). 

·         God intervenes and the people are dispersed throughout the world (v. 8-9). 

·         Here we again see the grace and love of God as He restrained the people from continuing in sin. 

·         God’s response to their pride and sin was to make it harder for them to communicate with each other so they couldn’t unite in deeper rebellions against Him.

·         Once again, we see God’s love and mercy present here as He was protecting them from their very own sin nature! 

Your Towers Affect More People than YOURSELF

·         The TOWERS you are building may seem small or insignificant but if kept unchecked they can have significant influence on your future and the future of your marriage and your kids and other relationships

·         Next week we’ll see how a TOWER in Abraham’s life led to sin and trouble – trouble that is still in the world TODAY, through Ishmael…

·         We’ll also see how a TOWER in Lot’s life costs him his home and his wife and how it causes a deep perversion in his daughters

·         Little TOWERS can have dire consequences because they are sin! 

·         Sometimes it’s harder to root out the little sins than the big ones that are more obvious

·         Attitudes are much harder to remove than actions sins

·         Many of us stay blind to them for years

Tower or Ark?

·         This weekend Pastor Ray talked about how we are changing the services to holding both of them on Sunday

·         He explained how this change came about due to much prayer on behalf of himself and the staff as we desire to follow God’s direction for the church

·         He used the following example from scripture:

·         When Joshua led the Israelites to defeat Jericho, God gave them the direction to march around the city once a day for six days and then seven times on the seventh day

·         The strategy was brilliant, it worked and they were victorious

·         Then, the very next city they were to conquer was Ai.

·         Did they use the same strategy? NO!!!

·         God showed them a different strategy for that city which required setting an ambush and pretending to retreat

·         Each time the Israelites were successful it was because God was giving them strategy and they were obeying. 

·         The same is true of David and His battles. 

·         Scripture tells us many times that David inquired of the Lord

·         This is a HUGE KEY, a Biblical principle to apply to your life!

·         If you want to build and ARK instead of a TOWER then you MUST inquire of the Lord REGULARLY

·         The fact is that many of us are spending way too much time building TOWERS instead of building ARKS because we never ask the Lord about the stuff in our lives

·         This shows human independence and self-sufficiency which are both forms of pride. 

·         In fact, many of us think that we are building ARKS when we could very well be building a TOWER

·         How do you know?  INQUIRE OF THE LORD! 

·         If you are not reading the Word regularly and if you don’t listen in prayer regularly about all areas of your life (your walk with God, parenting, work, time management, marriage, etc.) then you really have no way of knowing if you are building a TOWER or an ARK in a particular circumstance

·         In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you are not reading the Word regularly and not listening in prayer regularly then there is a tower of independence and self-reliance in your life. 

·         How can a Christian go through life without inquiring of the Lord?

·         How can a Christian make decisions without seeking the Lord’s will through prayer and Bible reading?

·         We need BOTH!  Being in the Word give us the foundation so that we can hear God correctly when we listen in prayer, it grows us in godly character so we can hear God more accurately

·         Listening in prayer without a proper Biblical foundation can be dangerous.

·         You need both in your life – Time meditating in the Word and Listening Prayer…

·         We can’t do it as a church and you can’t do it in your personal life either?

·         Not if your desire is to build an ARK!