Living the BLESSED LIFE Genesis 18 1 5
Living the BLESSED LIFE
Genesis 18: 1 -5 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. 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. He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 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. ”
SCANNING. .
HAS NEVER READ BIBLE EVER
ROMANS 12: 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
GENESIS 18: 6 -8 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. ” Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 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.
FELLOWSHIP OF THE SERVANT HEART • • Can take place in all aspects of life We fellowship just like him • The Lord uses us too in our servanthood of others REVELATION 3: 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. SERVING THEM = ENTERING INTO FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM
-Matthew 25 “Going to divide the nations” “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. ”
What do the test results reveal? • • Not for self gain • Doesn’t know them Clearly has a servants heart! • Sold out • Responds immediately
STOUT NITRO ATLAS STOUT NOVA NITRO HIGH LIFE
GENESIS 18: 17 -21 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. ” Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know. ”
GENESIS 18: 17 -21 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. ” Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know. ”
GENESIS 18: 17 -21 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. ” Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know. ”
45 40 30 20 10 GENESIS 18: 22 -26 OK OK OK The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? ” The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake. ”
WHY STOP AT TEN?
WHY STOP AT TEN?
THE BLESSED LIFE
THE BLASTED LIFE
A LOOK AT LOT: THE WASTED YEARS AKA THE BLASTED LIFE GENESIS 19
Genesis 19: 1 -3 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet 2 them and bowed down with his face to the ground. And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way. ” They said however, “No, but we 3 shall spend the night in the square. ” Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
How did Lot become Mayor of Sodom? Genesis 12 Genesis 13 o. Lot left Ur with Abe o. Returned to Canaan o. Settled in Canaan o. Abe & Lot herdsmen begin arguing o. Went to Egypt Genesis 13: 10 o. Abe lets Lot choose the Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well land watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar.
Genesis 13: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom Genesis 14: 12 They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom Genesis 19: 1 The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city….
Point: Lot is COMPROMISED! James 4: 4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. o. World = κόσμος = KOSMOS!! o. System of values/beliefs contrary to God’s principles o. Meant to keep us deceived/ enslaved 2 Cor 4: 4 o. Satan is the ruler of the system 1 Jn 5: 19 o. Lot wanted both: friendship with Kosmos & God o. How did it end up for Lot?
What effect did Sodom have on your spiritual life? Questions for Lot
Genesis 19: 4 -11 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded 5 the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you 6 tonight? Bring them out to us that we may rape them. ” But Lot went out to 7 them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, and said, “Please, 8 my brothers, do not act wickedly. Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof. ”
Genesis 19: 4 -11 (continued) 9 But they said, “Stand aside. ” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them. ” So they pressed hard against Lot and 10 came near to break the door. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the 11 door. They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.
and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled 8 men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds) Lot: A Righteous Man?
Matthew 6: 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled 8 men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds)
If you live to serve the Kosmos, you will end up fruitless, troubled each day. Matthew 6: 33 BUT SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE ADDED TO YOU.
What effect did Sodom have on your spiritual life? Questions for Lot How much were you able to help Sodom?
Genesis 19: 12 -14 Then the two angels said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A sonin-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have 13 in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before 14 the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it. ” Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy the city. ” But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
THERE IS NO REDEEMING THE KOSMOS
Luke 4: 18 -19 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the 19 oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. ”
What effect did Sodom have on your spiritual life? Questions for Lot How much were you able to help Sodom? How much did you make in Sodom?
Genesis 19: 15 -29 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in 16 the punishment of the city. ” But he hesitated. So the angels seized his hand the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out and put 17 him outside the city. When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away. ”
Genesis 19: 15 -29 (continued) But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! 19 Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster 20 will overtake me and I will die; now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small? ) that my life may be 21 saved. ” He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there. ” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar. The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
Genesis 19: 15 -29 (continued) 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone 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 his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood 28 before the Lord; and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace. 29 Thus it came about, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.
THE REMNANTS OF SODOM & GOMORRAH
The Kosmos is passing away… 1 John 2: 15 -17 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in 16 him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the 17 Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
What effect did Sodom have on your spiritual life? Questions for Lot How much were you able to help Sodom? How much did you make in Sodom? How did living in Sodom work out for you and your family?
Genesis 19: 30 -38 Lot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his 31 two daughters. Then 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 the 32 earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our family through our father. ” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
Genesis 19: 30 -38 (continued) On the following 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 35 with him, that we may preserve our family through our father. ” 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 were with child by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son, and 38 called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.
If you try to attain the …HE WILL SUFFER LOSS; BUT HE HIMSELF WILL BE SAVED, YET SO AS THROUGH FIRE “best of both worlds”, you 1 CORINTHIANS 3: 15 will lose your family LOT LOST IT ALL
Abraham (Kingdom) • Served 1 Master (God) • Close friendship with God • Heart at peace • Abundant fruit • Reward in Heaven • Spiritual Legacy • Family Saved Lot (Kosmos) • Tried to serve 2 Masters • Distant from God • Heart troubled, turmoil • No fruit to show • “saved only as through fire” • Life wasted • S. i. L. & Wife dead, raped by daughters WHICH PATH TO CHOOSE?
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