We will celebrate Christmas soon; a time to remember God becoming a human being. About 2000 years ago, God Jesus Christ came to earth to seek and save lost people. The Bible tells us that this same Jesus will someday return to earth to judge the living and the dead. Take a look briefly with me at 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 …..
Did you notice the phrase “caught-up”? One of the earliest translations of the Bible was in Latin. The word “caught up” is raptus in Latin; thus, we get the word rapture for being caught up in the air with Jesus and all the Believers. You know, the rapture can happen at any time; the rapture can happen today!
Can you picture this? While we are gathered, we can all of a sudden hear a loud trumpet sound; Christians who have died will rise up; then those of us who believe in Jesus Christ will be transformed and fly to the sky to meet Jesus!! Impossible?
Our Scripture of the Week tells us, “…. nothing is impossible with God!” (Luke 1:37).
We need to encourage one another this truth!
Is anything too hard for God?
Will you turn to the person next to you and ask them, “Is there anything too hard for God?”
God desires to bless us with this truth! Everything is possible with God! But, if we are not mindful, we can easily miss out on God’s incredible blessings!
When the rapture happens, many will be left behind on earth to face the consequences. I pray that none of you will be left behind.
Let us continue to learn from Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18:1-15………..
Our text doesn’t tell us how, but Abraham knew the men were godly beings. Abraham bowed down and he called them Lord. How did Abraham know they were godly beings? Any ideas??
The Bible gives us clues of how one can see the spiritual world. We can read about Ezekiel being filled with the Spirit of God and he was able to hear and see the majesty of God. In Acts 7:55 we read, “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” And like Ezekiel, the Apostle John was filled with the Spirit and he heard and saw God!
Abraham knew the men were godly beings because Abraham lived his life with the spiritual world in mind. Abraham yielded to God the Holy Spirit and he was able to see and hear God.
But you know, even with this knowledge, Abraham could have still ignored those godly beings.
Abraham could have said, “Well, if God really wants something, they will come to me.” Have you ever thought that way? Have you ever said, “God if you really want something from me, prove yourself!”
Be careful!
Abraham did the right thing and he was blessed! Abraham rushed to God and offered to serve Him (v2-5).
The Lord accepted Abraham’s offer; then look at what Abraham did in v6……….
What do you think Abraham was doing??
Yes Abraham put his wife to work; but we can note that Abraham did much of the work. Abraham did not forget about his wife and got her involved in ministry (v6). Men, let us all learn from Abraham.
I know, we can be so excited about doing things, we can easily forget about our family. Yes, Abraham had some time alone (he was just resting by the door of his tent); but when a ministry opportunity came up, Abraham got his family involved. Abraham did not ignore God or his family. We will see in the future how God blessed Abraham.
Verses 9-15 tell us the reason for God’s visit to Abraham and Sarah. You see, to this point in time, God’s promise of a son to Abraham and Sarah was never actually been told directly to Sarah herself.
Did God know that Sarah was listening when He made the announcement? Of course!
God actually wanted to bless Sarah at that time.
God visited Abraham and Sarah to announce the birth date of their first son. But what did Sarah do?
Sarah did not think that God could hear her!
Sarah talked to herself and laughed at what God said! Remember Abraham laughing earlier about the news of having a baby at age 100? Abraham laughed at that time with amazement. What kind of laugh did Sarah do here?? Sarah laughed because of unbelief!
God desired to bless Sarah with the good news but instead Sarah was confronted by God because of her unbelief.
Did you notice how Sarah reacted when she was confronted by God? Look again at v15…………..
Sarah lied, but God rebuked Sarah!
Now, the Bible does not tell us exactly how Sarah responded to God’s rebuke. How do you think Sarah should have responded to God’s rebuke??
You know, sometimes what God doesn’t say also can speak to us! After God’s rebuke of Sarah, we don’t hear anymore from Sarah about the subject until she rejoices with the birth of her son Isaac! Sarah became a believer after being confronted and rebuked.
Is God confronting or rebuking you today?
God desires for you to believe in Him!
What other biblical principles can we apply to our lives today? We can miss out on God’s blessings when we: ignore the spiritual world. Abraham knew there was a God and angels exist even on earth. Abraham looked for spiritual things. Do we look for spiritual things in our lives? There is a spiritual world even here on earth! Always look for God and picture angels all around you and you will be blessed.
We can miss out on God’s blessings when we don’t yield to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Sprit is present on earth. God the Holy Spirit lives in Christian’s hearts.
And we can miss out on God’s blessings when we wait to be served rather than serving with gladness. Abraham rushed to the opportunity to serve! Are you looking for opportunities to serve God and others, or are you just looking for opportunities to be served?
And we can miss out on God’s blessings when we don’t believe what God says. Sarah actually laughed at what God said. Do you know anyone who laughs at the Bible? Don’t worry; God will confront those who laugh at His Word. And don’t be surprised when people lie when confronted. And again, don’t worry, God hears and knows everything!
God hears and knows everything we say and do.
Did you hear about the robber who broke into a house in the middle of the night? As the robber was grabbing things from the bedroom he heard a little voice say “Stop! Jesus is watching!” The robber paused and thought for a moment, but he assumed it was just his conscience speaking to him so he went to the next room and stole more things. Then he heard the voice again, “Stop! Jesus is watching!” It sounded like it came from the next room, so the robber quietly entered that room and he heard from the corner, “Stop! Jesus is watching!”
The robber cautiously turned on his flashlight and saw who was talking. The robber laughed and said to himself, “It’s just a little parrot!” The parrot then said, “Sick him Jesus!”, and a large Rotweiler dog attacked the robber!
Now, you may reconsider your thinking about preachers being like little parrots, saying the same thing over and over again!
More importantly, never think that the Bible is just like a little parrot, saying something meaningless.
God does hear and know everything we say and do!
Jesus is watching! But this Jesus desires to bless you not attack you unless you ignore His message!
How are we going to respond to what God is saying?
See the spiritual world around you!
Yield to God the Holy Spirit!
Take the opportunities to serve God and others!
Believe in the Bible!
Make your belief in Jesus Christ as your only Savior and Lord a reality in your everyday life!
