Gtcotr/ss062616
One
of the worse traps in life is deception. Deception is what occurs when a person
believes a lie. Deception is the devil’s greatest tool against mankind. If the
devil can get someone to accept his lies as truth, he can control them and
everyone they influence. We have no defense against our own faith. Deception
makes us Prisoners by Choice.
In
light of what is going on around the world these days we are going to take this
morning and focus our attention on:
3 Eternal
Truths
1.
We need God and God needs us.
2.
God is listening and taking account on planet earth.
3.
God rewards righteousness and punishes evil.
The
Bible account we will use this morning comes from the Book of Genesis and
beings in chapter 18. (Genesis 18) While we
review this account let’s all consider the condition of our nation and the
world today in hopes that God will continue to have mercy upon us and hear our
prayers.
Genesis 18
1 ¶ Then the LORD appeared to
Abraham by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in
the heat of the day.
2 So he lifted his eyes and
looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them,
he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
3 and said, "My Lord, if
I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.
9 ¶ Then they said to Abraham,
"Where is Sarah your wife?" So he said, "Here, in the
tent."
10 And He said, "I will
certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your
wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was
behind him.)
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were
old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
14 "Is anything too hard
for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time
of life, and Sarah shall have a son."
16 ¶ Then the men rose from
there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the
way.
17 And the LORD said,
"Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,
18 "since Abraham shall
surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall
be blessed in him?
19 "For I have known
him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him,
that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the
LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him."
20 And the LORD said,
"Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their
sin is very grave,
21 "I will go down now
and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it
that has come to Me; and if not, I will know."
22 Then the men turned away
from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.
For 50 Righteous?
23 ¶ And Abraham came near to the LORD and said, "Would You
also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 "Suppose there were
fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare
it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
25 "Far be it from You
to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the
righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of
all the earth do right?"
26 So the LORD said, "If
I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the
place for their sakes."
For 45 …?
27 Then Abraham answered and
said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon
myself to speak to the Lord:
28 "Suppose there were
five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack
of five?" So He said, "If I find there forty-five, I will not
destroy it."
For 40?
29 And he spoke to Him yet
again and said, "Suppose there should be forty found there?" So He
said, "I will not do it for the sake of forty."
For 30?
30 Then he said, "Let
not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found
there?" So He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty
there."
For 20?
31 And he said, "Indeed
now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be
found there?" So He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake
of twenty."
For 10 …?
32 Then he said, "Let
not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be
found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake
of ten."
33 So the LORD went His way
as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his
place.
Genesis 19
¶ Now the two angels came to
Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them,
he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.
2 And he said, "Here
now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and
wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." And they
said, "No, but we will spend the night in the open square."
3 But he insisted strongly;
so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and
baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
The Lord is merciful
to the righteous …
15 ¶ When the morning dawned,
the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two
daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the
city."
16 And while he lingered, the
men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters,
the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside
the city.
17 So it came to pass, when
they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not
look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest
you be destroyed."
2 Peter 2
7 ¶ And delivered just Lot,
vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
8 (For that righteous man
dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul
from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
9 The Lord knoweth how to
deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of
judgment to be punished:
3 Eternal
Truths
1.
We need God and God needs us.
2.
God is listening and taking account.
3.
God rewards righteousness and punishes evil.
(God loves everyone but He rewards the
righteous …)
May
I be so bold and pastoral as to caution you today to:
1.
Get your heart right with God.
2.
Measure your beliefs, convictions, and feelings against God’s Word.
3.
Allow God to use you to influence others to get right with God.
A
person is not right just because they are right. We can be right about one
thing and still be wrong. (From Eve to Agabus – Acts 21:11-12)
God
is still impressed with righteousness - Don’t be a Prisoner by Choice!
