Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev19991017.htm

GENESIS: THE SOURCES OF GOOD AND CALAMITY IN OUR ORIGINS
Part III - God's Ongoing Program Of Countering Man's Apostasy At Babel
H. Round Seven: Encouragement To Live By Faith In Viewing Its Friendship With God
(Genesis 18:1-33)
  1. Introduction
    1. Sometimes we believers simply need to be encouraged in living by faith and obedience in the Lord.
    2. Genesis 18:1-33 reveals the great blessing of intimacy and power with God we have in living by faith:
  2. Encouragement To Live By Faith In Viewing Its Friendship With God, Genesis 18:1-33.
    1. Abraham had made a sad mistake in trying to "help God out" by having a son by Sarah's handmaid, Gn. 16.
    2. Consequently, God initiated the rite of circumcision, teaching Abraham to submit to His lead in all matters of life, even those involving the use of the reproductive systems of the household , Gen. 17:1-22.
    3. Abraham had accepted God's instructional directive, as difficult as it might have seemed, and circumcised his household and himself submitted to such a surgical procedure when he was 99 years old, 17:23-27.
    4. After Abraham's obedience that followed his corrective instruction, he would in all likelihood have needed a strong dose of encouragement to counter the rigors and demands living by faith had cost him. Accord ingly, the Lord revealed Himself to Abraham in a wonderfully edifying way, Gen. 18:1-33:
      1. Instead of appearing to Abraham in a vision, dream or with an unseen voice, God came to Abraham in bodily form probably with two accompanying angels, Gen. 18:1-2a.
      2. Abraham customarily invited these travelers to dine with him in keeping with the custom of the day, Genesis 18:2b-5b, cf. Leupold, Genesis, vol. I, p. 535-536.
      3. God and the two angelic messengers accepted this dining invitation, a wonderful signal of willingness to fellowship with Abraham in complete harmony with the day's customs, Gen. 18:5c, Ibid. God is here recorded as eating meat and milk products TOGETHER, something legalistic Judaism resists, Genesis 18:8. God is thus not all that "legalistic" after all!
      4. Abraham was equipped thereby to show His appreciation of the Lord by supplying a royal banquet for God Incarnate and His angelic messengers, Genesis 18:6-8.
      5. God then returned the favor by providing Abraham great blessing and influence with Him:
        1. God provided great blessing in offering to give Sarah a son in her old age, Gen. 18:9-15: (a) God promised Sarah would have a son in the following year, Genesis 18:9-10. (b) This promise was too good to be true in Sarah's mind, and she privately laughed in herself in unbelief, 18:11-12. (c) God responded that Sarah's unbelief was incorrect, that He was able to provide Sarah the capacity to have a son in a year, Gen. 18:13-15.
        2. God then provided Abraham great influence with Him even affecting the judgment of Sodom: (a) Having established a close affinity with Abraham, God rose up from the meal to head toward Sodom, Gen. 18:16. (b) However, God was heading toward Sodom to evaluate it for coming judgment, and He knew Abraham had a strong interest in the welfare of his nephew, Lot there, 18:20-21 with Gen. 13:11-12. (c) Being Abraham's close Friend now, God chose to inform Abraham ab out the coming judgment of Sodom so he could plead for Lot's safety, Gen. 18:17-19. (d) Abraham naturally sought to "barter" with God, asking in successive questions if God would save the city if eventually only Lot and his family alone were righteous i n it, Gen. 18:22-32. (e) The Lord graciously, as Abraham's Friend, let Abraham unconditionally "barter" Him down to the number in Lot's family, indicating He would allow Lot to get out of Sodom before judgment, Gen. 18:33.
Lesson: Following spiritual defeat in his faithless "help God out" crisis regarding Ishmael's birth, Abraham responded with the uncomfortable call of God to be circumcised and thus submit all of his life to God's leadership. Accordingly, God follo wed up this "tough time" with ENCOURAGEMENT.

Application: Though obeying the Lord in faith may COST us in sacrificed pride and even human discomfort as in Abraham's case, God REWARDS such obedience with encouraging friendship with us and by providing rich influence in His program, cf. John 14 :21, 23; Revelation 3:20-21.