August 27, 2006

The Intervention of God
Gen 18:16 -33

Constantly we are reminded in the scriptures that God is Holy and cannot stand sin. Note here that once more what God says:

He said at Babel," I will go down and see“ .This is not an indication of Gods not knowing what is up, but an indication of God readying to judge sin.

Listen to the hard words of the Lord to Moses in Deut. 13: 4
Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn [you] away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which [is] as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
[Namely], of the gods of the people which [are] round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth;

Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.

God hates sin and this Death sentence for idolatry shows it. recall Annanias and Sapphira in Acts 5? recall how they lied to God and died suddenly for it? God hates sin. God has to Judge sin. That is what happens when God comes down.
Now turn to Genesis 11 and recall the Tower of Babel.

Now note the clear and rebellious statement of God's creature in verse 4: Let us build a city and a tower whose top may reach to heaven and let us make a name (NOW here it comes) LEST WE BE SCATTERED UPON THE FACE OF THE WHOLE EARTH.

Why is that rebellious? Because God's instruction in His covenant was specific," be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." Fill the whole earth. The tower they would build and the city were just emblems of the old sinful "ME" spirit. The one that caused the downward progression into judgment. You know it today by watching the magazine titles," It was LIFE, then US, then Self, and ME magazine. This is the same thing as they had in those days. It gets the same result too. They wanted to build a “Great society,” a “New World Order,” and just like the ones who would build a new world today, they too would make man its center and oust God.

Why do I say it was self centered? Look at verses 5-9. "Let US make brick, Let US build a city, Let US make a name...Let US, US ,US!

God hears this and HE counters with this: “LET US GO DOWN and Confound their speech.” When God comes down then stuff happens.
You recall the parable of the vineyard in Matt 21: 33 ?

In this story, The Master sends various servants to collect what is due. Each is summarily beaten and finally he sends his own son who is murdered in cold blood under the false assumption that the evil doers will now be the owners.

Are they daft?

Now what happens? The owner shows up and LISTEN and listen well, when the owner shows up the price will be paid and paid in full.

YOU MAY JUSTIFY YOUR SIN TO YOURSELF AND HIDE IT, BUT WHEN GOD COMES DOWN TO TAKE A LOOK, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HIDE.

Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD , Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things [are] naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Job 5:12-13 He disappoints the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform [their] enterprise. He takes the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the forward is carried headlong.

God always knows what we are up to. He didn't have to "come down" at all. He just told us He fills everything, but the expression is for our benefit. And here God is preparing to dispense judgment on sin.

But people, God came another time in the scriptures for judgment, and that was as a man, a living breathing able to feel pain and temptation man. And that time He came not to mete out judgment but to become the absolute payment for it. Jesus Christ came to take your place in judgment (John 3:16) And you know what? He is coming back one more time, and this time it will be not to take anyone's place, but to deal with those who refused Him. The Owner will show up and those who rejected His Son will pay the price.

Yet There are still people who say, Oh there is no God, or if there is and He's loving He won't judge us". Funny thing though, God is not any more affected by man's ideas today than He ever was and those who reject His Lordship today will suffer for it and be separated just as they were all those years ago.

Only this time it will be the final fix, eternal separation from God. Weep when you say that beloved.

Having seen the intervention of God, Lets note secondly:

The Intercession of Abraham.

Abraham has shown his heart of compassion for his son Ishmael, and now shows compassion for others, Lot and the few righteous of Sodom.

But notice here that he asks God to spare the whole city. I was talking with a person one time and the subject came up of some men who had done a horrible deed. This horrid deed was that they disagreed with him , and do you know what he said? “I hope they all burn in hell!!”

This man was supposed to be a Christian Leader and yet had the compassion of a rat.

I confess that though I’d not say that, I have FELT it.

I have lacked compassion for the lost and dying and though I have-not said it, but I've done it.

Done it by NOT praying to God and asking HIM to spare them, by not telling them the way to have forgiveness. I have failed. Have you?

Listen to Abraham plead with God here for that city. Sodom was a slime pit of evil and we will see that more next time, but Abraham prays that God would spare it for the sake of the righteous ones there.

Listen, I wonder how many of us honestly have that attitude? Do we have an attitude of “Spare the city “ or an attitude of “Burn the suckers?”

Here's what it ought to be: George Whitfield the famous British evangelist prayed “Lord give me souls or take my soul.”

David Brainerd missionary to the North American Indians “Lord I dedicate myself to thee. O accept me and let me be thine forever. Lord I desire nothing else, I desire nothing more.” The last words in his diary seven days before he died at a young age as a missionary were “O come Lord Jesus. come quickly”

William Booth, Salvation Army founder suffered some of the most vile persecution in modern times. Hear what he wrote in king Edwards autograph album at 75:
“Some men's ambition is art, some men's ambition is fame, some men's ambition is gold, My ambition is the souls of men.”

Abraham cared a great deal about the souls of men. Even VILE ones.

A few years before Charles Spurgeon died an American lecture bureau tried to hire him to come to America and deliver 50 lectures speaking in all the large cities of the USA. As compensation this bureau offered to pay all his expenses, his wife's and secretary's and to pay $1000.00 a night for each lecture. Spurgeon promptly declined to make 50,000 dollars in 50 days He said, “I can do better, I will stay in England and try to save 50 souls.”

David Brainerd said," I care not whether I live, or what hardships I go through so that I can but gain souls to Christ. While I am asleep I dream of these things; as soon as I am awake, the first thing I think of is the great work. All my desire is the conversion of sinners and all my hope is in God.”

What are your first thoughts? What are your dreams?

I have had to realize that I have fallen into a rut of ease , apathy and complacency.
I ask you to join with me in renewing our relationship with God. A relationship that desires holiness, desires righteousness, and desires to see souls truly converted.
Many years ago in Indianapolis a young man was overheard saying that he had intellectual difficulties about the faith of Christians. A lay man in the church heard this and got the address of his boarding house and went to visit. Over the course if the evening one difficulty after another faded and at last he got on his knees to pray for the young man. “won't you surrender to Christ now and here?” he asked and the young man said yes.

That layman went to his pastor and said “I have had many thrilling experiences but that one outranks them all.” That soul winner who stayed in a hall bedroom with a strange young man until 1:00 Am was Benjamin Harrison former president of the U.S.A.

I dare say that we tiptoe in this area of telling others more than any other area. We boldly stand against abortion, and we should. We get our back up, over homosexuality. BUT when it comes to do the ONE thing that Jesus said to do we clam up and tell no one. we have shame and fear .

Listen and listen well. We have prayer meetings and Bible Studies each Wed. and Thursday night and in those meetings about 25 people total come and share requests for prayer, for needs and for the lost.

That is where Abraham started, that's where we must start. PRAYER Fervent prayer, prayer for souls and prayer that God would give us compassion for souls and embolden us to go into the world and tell what we know. If you don't know then you cant tell it though

1. Do you know for sure that of you died you'd go to heaven?

2. How do you know? truth or sense?

3. Do you know how to tell someone else?

Why don't you know how, if you say you know, that you are going?

Do you earnestly ask God either for the desire to see people saved, or for the souls of others?

I close with the prayer of T.J .McCully whose son Ed was one of the men slain by the Aucas with Nate Saint and Jim Eliot Roger Youderain and Pete Fleming. He prayed this shortly after the Aucas had murdered his son.

“Lord let me live long enough to see those fellows saved who killed our boys that I may throw my arms around them and tell them that I love them because they love my Christ”

You think about that Amen