DIGGING DEEP NO. 998 August 15, 2023 ABRAHAM – A STUDY OF FAITH IN GOD (PART 11) Gen.18: 9 – 33.

Abraham was given the special title of being a friend of God and he is the only person in the Bible to have it 2Chron.20: 7, Is.41: 8, Jam.2: 23. Jesus called Lazarus His friend Jh.11: 11 and He calls all who believe on Him friends Jh.15: 13- 15. As His friends, we can share His love and fellowship. Friendship involves ministry and in this chapter, you will find Abraham ministering in three different areas. 1. He ministered to the Lord

2. He ministered to his wife Gen.18: 9- 15. Because Abraham was faithful to the Lord, and by ministering to the Lord he became a channel of blessing to his wife and eventually to his familyGen.18: 19. Sarah had an important role to play in the working out of God’s plan of salvation for the world and she did her part Heb.11: 11; 1Pet.3: 1- 7; Rom.4: 18- 21. The Lord had come all the way from heaven to give Abraham and Sarah an announcement “Sarah would give birth to the promised son”. The news was so incredible that Sarah laughed and questioned whether such a thing can happen to two elderly people. Abraham’s laughter had been born out of joyful faith Gen.17: 17; but Sarah’s laughter was born out of unbelief, even though she tried to deny it. Whenever we doubt God, we are questioning both His veracity and His ability Rom.4: 21- 22. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Gen.18: 14 of course not! Jb.42: 2, Jer.32: 17 and 27, Lk.1: 37, Ephe.3: 20- 21. If God makes a promise, you can be sure He has the power to fulfill it; and He will remain faithful even if we are faithless 2Tim.2: 13. The husband who ministers to the Lord will find himself ministering to the members of his own family, especially his wife. He will be a source of blessing in the home.
3. He ministered to a lost world Gen.18: 16- 33. Abraham belonged to that select company of God’s people known as intercessors. People like Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Jeremiah, the apostles, and our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Our Lord’s ministry today in heaven is the ministry of intercessionRom.8: 34. It is good to be a blessing to our Lord and our home, but we must also strive to win a lost world and bring sinners to the Savior. Charles Spurgeon said, “If sinners will not hear you speak, they cannot prevent you from praying”. Are they far away so that you cannot reach them? Your prayers can reach them. Have they resolved never to listen to you again? God has a voice that they must hear.

The Lord and the two angels left Abraham’s camp and started towards Sodom, but the Lord lingered while the angels went on Gen.18: 16 and 22; 19: 1. In the first half of this chapter, Abraham was running here and there; but in the last half, he is standing reverently before the Lord interceding for Lot and the other people in Sodom. Blessed are the balanced.

An intercessor must know the Lord personally and be obedient to His will Am.3: 7, Ps.25: 14.

Gen.18: 23 Abraham drew near to the Lord Jam.4: 8. Abraham’s prayer was based on the justice of God Gen.18: 25, Deut.32: 4. A just and holy God could not destroy the righteous believers with wicked unbelievers; and Lot was a believer 2Pet.2: 6- 9, though his actions and words seemed contrary to the fact. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were exceedingly wicked Gen.13: 13. They were given over to sexual practices that were contrary to nature Gen.19: 5, Jude 7, Rom.1: 27. The sudden destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is used in the scripture as an example of God’s righteous judgment on sinners Is.1: 8- 9; 3: 8- 9; Zeph.2: 9, 2Pet.2: 6.

Why would Abraham want God to spare such wicked people? Abraham’s first concern was for Lot and his family. Abraham had already rescued the people of Sodom solely because of Lot Gen.14: 12- 16; though they all went right back into their old way of life and did not heed the warning of God. Abraham also did not want to see all those people die and be lost forever. God is not willing that any should perish 2Pet.3: 9; 1Tim.2: 4, Ezek.33: 11. The issue is not what kind of sins people commit, but that the wages of sin is death Rom.6: 23 and beyond that death is an eternal hell. Intercessors must have compassionate hearts and a deep concern for the salvation of the lost, no matter what their sins may be Rom.9: 1- 3; 10: 1

In Conclusion – Never underestimate the importance of even a small number of believers. As few as ten people would have saved a whole city from destruction. If Lot had won only his own family to faith in the Lord, judgment would have been averted.

Your personal witness today is important to God, no matter how insignificant you may feel.