All right, back to Genesis 18
now. Genesis chapter 18, this is an
amazing chapter and should be extremely interesting
and hopefully profitable. The Holy Spirit has to make it
so. I immediately thought of Hebrews
13.2 after reading this, and that's
one of the marginal references. The Hebrews 13, 2 says, Be careful
to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels
unaware. And that verse in Hebrews 13 is written to us in this latter
day. And so it still applies, doesn't
it? We can still entertain angels. That's what it said. That's written
to us. Well, Abraham entertained the
Lord himself. And I also thought of Revelation
3, verse 20, where the Lord said to the church, Behold, I stand
at the door and knock. And now he says that to his people,
to the church. Behold, I stand at the door and
knock. If any man hear my voice and
open the door, I will come into him. and will slip with him. And he would make. In Abraham
did that in the Lord did that the Lord made the overture didn't
the Lord came to him. And we will see where he found
Abraham that we found in the commune with what a person to
entertain. The Lord Jesus Christ and that's
just who this is in our story the Lord Jesus Christ appeared
to Abraham Let's read verses 1 through 3 again. It says, The
Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre. The Lord appeared unto him. Now, this is undoubtedly another
bodily appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, as at other times. Look down at verse 13. It says,
And the Lord said unto Abraham. Verse 17. And the Lord said. And look at verse 20. And the
Lord said. And on and on it goes. And Abraham
began to speak to the Lord in verse 33. And the Lord went his
way. And then in chapter 19, verse
1, it says, And then two angels came to Sodom. So it was the
Lord and two angels. That's obvious, isn't it? And Jesus Christ is this one
here. This is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Lord. Because the scripture
says no man, Christ said this, no man has seen God, has seen
the Father at any time. Didn't it? Now what the Lord
said? No man has seen God at any time. God's a spirit. Christ
said no man, not even Abraham, has seen God at any time. the
only begotten son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath
declared him." This is Jesus Christ. There's no doubt whatsoever,
is there? And also, the scripture says,
"...in him, in Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead."
Where? Bodily. In a body. If we're going to see God in
a body, if God's going to appear to us, it's going to be Jesus
Christ. And that's who this was. Is there any doubt now, from
this point on, who this was? God is spirit. The Holy Spirit
is spirit. And when God comes to man, it
is in the form of his Son, Jesus Christ. And Philippians 2 says
that he is equal with God, yet he takes the form of a servant,
made in the likeness of man, and appears unto man. This is
Jesus Christ, no doubt. And it says in verse one that
Abraham was in the plains of Mamre. Now, look back at chapter
13, chapter 13, the last verse. Chapter 13, verse 18. Got it? Chapter 13, verse 18. Now, when the Lord first called
Abram, Abram came into the land of Canaan, and this is where
he came to, this plain of Mamre, or in other places called Moreh,
and he built an altar there. And that's where he first began
to worship the Lord, around the altar. That's where you worship
the Lord. And that's another picture of
Christ, isn't it? We have an altar who is Jesus
Christ. And that's where the Lord first
brought Abraham, and that's where the altar was built. Well, he
went to Egypt, you remember that story, and he came back, and
then there was a division between Lot, and then he came back again,
verse 18. And Abram removed his tent and
came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and
built there an altar unto the Lord. So that's where he was,
and that's where he stayed. That's where he stayed. He took
a brief exodus down to Egypt, but he
came back where the place of worship was and around the altar. That's a picture of the gospel.
It's a picture of Christ, and that's where you find Abraham.
That's where you find him. That's where the Lord found him,
and that's where the Lord communed with him in that very place.
All right? He says the Lord appeared unto
him. In verse 2, Abraham lifted up
his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him. Three
men. And when he saw them, he ran
to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself toward the
ground. Three men stood by Abraham. Now, it's obvious that the other
two were angels. That's what chapter 19, verse
1, says. We don't know who these angels
were. Maybe it was Michael and maybe Gabriel. We don't know
who they were. But there were two angels. And
the third was definitely the Lord. And it says that Abraham
knew him. How did he know him? Because he'd seen him before.
Right, Rick? You don't have any problem with
that, do you? The Lord had met with Abraham before, when he
called him out of Ur, and when he met him in the person of Melchizedek.
He knew this one. He'd met him before. And again,
I say this again and again, I believe it's the Lord Jesus Christ who
appears at these most important times to be the messenger of
the covenant, like Malachi 3 calls him. Behold, I send my messenger
my messenger, the messenger of the covenant, and Christ is that
messenger of the covenant. It was Christ in the Garden of
Eden, the voice of God walking in the cool of the day. The voice
of God is the word of God, isn't it? I believe it was Christ that
came to proclaim the gospel the first time to those sinners,
to the first sinner. That was a pretty important message,
wasn't it? The first gospel message ever preached. That's an important
message. I believe Christ was the one
that preached it. It was Christ who, and somebody prove me different,
it was Christ in Eden's garden who came and brought that first
gospel message. It was Christ who spoke to Noah
concerning the ark. Perhaps the most glorious type,
clearest type of Christ in all the scriptures. You see, God
speaks to us through the person of his son. It was Christ who
declared the covenant to Abraham. It was Christ who brought the
bread and wine as a symbol of the covenant to Abram. And now
it's Christ who comes as the judge of all the universe to
announce the destruction of the ungodly. See, Christ is all and
in all. He's the creator, he's the covenant
head, he's the savior, and he's the judge. He's all. Christ is
all. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. And the Lord appeared to Abraham
and it says that three men stood by him, stood by Abraham. Now here's a type here. This
is a beautiful type here. Three men stood by Abraham there.
When God reveals himself to a sinner, that sinner sees three persons
engaged to save him. Three men stood by Abraham, he
saw three. And when God reveals himself
to a sinner, when God speaks and reveals the gospel and comes
to a sinner with the gospel, that sinner sees three persons
engaged to save him. He sees the Father, he sees the
Son, he sees the Holy Spirit. He sees the Father's purpose,
he sees the Son's purchase with his blood, he sees the Holy Spirit's
preservation and calling. Look at verse 5, and it says,
the last part of verse 5, it says, And they said, they spoke
to Abraham as if they spoke in unison, as if all three of them
spoke at the same time. They said. You see, these three
were one in what they were about to do. These three were one in
purpose, in mind, and in word. All right. Abraham entertains
these Look at verse 3, and he bowed before them. Verse 3, he
says, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, don't
leave. Pass not away, I pray thee, from
thy servant. Stay with me. Abraham's desire
was for the Lord's presence. That's what he wanted. Asked for any special favors?
Did he? He didn't ask for this or for
that. All he wanted was the Lord's
presence. And so it is with Abraham's sons
and daughters. The song says, Pass me not, O
gentle Savior, hear my humble cry, while on others thou art
calling, do not pass me by. That's what A sinner wants more
than anything is the Lord's presence, and I'm reminded of the disciples
on the road to Emmaus. You remember that story in Luke
24, where Christ himself appeared to them on the road to Emmaus,
and he acted as if he was going to go further, and they constrained
him and said, Lord, abide with us. Don't leave. Stay here. Their hearts were
burning as he opened the scriptures to them. Abide with me. Because fast falls the even tie. The darkness deepens. Lord, with
me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts
flee, O help of the helpless, abide with me." That's what the
child of God wants more than anything. He wants the Lord's
presence. Look at verse 4. Let's get a little water, I pray
you. Let that be fetched and wash
your feet and rest yourself under the tree." Abraham washed their
feet. Abraham hastened into the tent
to Sarah and said, Honey, get ready quickly. Three measures
of fine meal. Knead it. Make some cakes upon
the hearth. And Abraham ran into the herd
and fetched a calf, tender and good, and gave it unto a young
man, and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter and milk and
a calf, which he had dressed, and set it before them. And he
stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. See, Abraham was feeding all
three of them. He was feeding all three of them,
but you notice that what he was doing, he was doing it unto the
Lord, wasn't he? It was the Lord that he was serving
there. He did it to all three, but he was doing it as unto the
Lord. The Scripture says, Whatever
you do, do it heartily as unto the Lord. And our Lord said,
inasmuch as you've done it unto the least of these my brethren,
you've done it unto me. And what he was doing, he was
doing that as unto the Lord. But there's something more important
here I want you to notice. Look where they all were fellowshipping. Look where the feet washing and
the feeding and everything was taking place. Do you notice where?
Three words there. It was repeated twice. and rest. They were resting. They were
having their feet washed. They were eating good food. Where?
Under the tree. Verse 8 says the same thing.
And he stood by them. Abraham stood by them under the
tree. That's a picture of Calvary's
tree, isn't it? That's where the believer communes
with his Lord. That's where all fellowship is.
That's where we feed That's where we rest, beneath the cross. Did you pay attention to the
word? Beneath the cross of my Lord Jesus, I fain would take
my stand. The shadow of a mighty rock within
a weary land, a home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way
from the burning of the noonday heat, or those fiery trials and
the burden of the day, or my sin. Beneath the cross. That's where they had good fellowship. That's where rest was to be had. That's where food was to be taken,
and the feet were washed. That's a beautiful picture there,
isn't it? Remember now, be careful to entertain strangers,
the scripture says. Well, he ran into Sarah where
she was. and told her to hurry up and
make something to eat. Now, ladies, what would your
reaction be if your husband came running in to you and said to
three men outside, get something to eat fast? What would you do? Huh? Well, good for you, Ellen. I believe she would. She's the
only one in here who spoke up. And Sarah may have resented this
a little bit. I'm busy. I don't have time. You give me
more time. Well, the scripture says, Deborah, the scripture
says, be careful for nothing, doesn't it? Don't be full of
anxious care about anything but this. Be careful for nothing. Don't
be full of anxious care and be like Martha, you know, cumbered
about with many things. But this, be careful to do this. Isn't that a rebuke, a general
rebuke from our Lord? But that's what it says, doesn't
it? Be careful to entertain strangers. Be careful for nothing but be
careful for them. Well, look at Sarah's unbelief,
and I think it all went together, Stan. Verse 9, they said unto
Abraham, Where is your wife? Where is Sarah thy wife? And
he said, Behold, she is in the tent. And the Lord said, I will
certainly return unto thee according to the time of life. And that's a picture, that's
the gospel right there in it. Our Lord Jesus Christ will someday
return to this earth, and it will be the beginning, time of
life, new life for God's people. The dead in Christ shall rise,
and we shall go to be with the Lord, and so shall we ever be
with the Lord, the eternal life. He will certainly return, even
so come Lord Jesus. But here's the picture. I will
return unto thee, and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent
door, which was behind him. Now, Abraham and Sarah were old,
ninety and over ninety, and well stricken in age, and it ceased
to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore, Sarah laughed
within herself. She didn't laugh out loud. She
laughed within. saying that I'm wax old, shall
I have pleasure with my husband being old also? And the Lord,
the omniscient Lord, said unto Abraham, why did Sarah laugh? And I think Sarah walked out
the door about that time when she heard him say that, because
she denied it in verse fifteen. But the Lord says in verse 13,
why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child
which am old? Verse 14. Is anything too hard
for the Lord? Is anything too hard for the
Lord? With man it's impossible, but
with God nothing is impossible. Not giving life to a dead nor giving life to a dead sinner. Is anything too hard for the
Lord? No matter how old and stricken in age, he can give life, and
he did. He said, like this, I will surely,
I will return in the day. No matter what she says, no matter
what you think, I will. I'll do that. And no matter how
old the sinner, how old and stricken in sin he is, the Lord can save
him. The Lord can change him, him
or her. And when the Lord sets out to save such a one and give
life, he says, I will, and they shall. I will. And Sarah shall
have a son. Verse fifteen, Sarah that came
out denied, saying, I didn't laugh. I didn't laugh. She was afraid. And he said, No, you did not. You did not. I'm out. Sarah overheard the conversation
and laughed at the promise, didn't she? Unbelievable. Here's a difference. Look back
at chapter 17. There's a difference in her laughter. Do you remember
back when Abraham laughed? I thought somebody might have
caught that. Back in chapter 17, verse 17,
when the Lord came the first time and told him, I will bless
Sarah and give a son from her. Verse 16, I will bless her, she'll
be a mother of nations, kings of people shall be of her. Then
verse 17, Abraham fell on his face and laughed, it said, and
said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred
years old? Shall Sarah that is ninety years
old bear? He fell on his face There is
a difference between his laughter and her laughter, and I like
to call it holy hilarity. I think he was just beside himself
with joy at the thought of this, is what it was. I believe he
was kind of like the people over in Psalm 126, where the people
said, When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were
like them that dreamed. Then it was our mouth filled
with laughter. And our tongue was singing, and
they said, The Lord hath done great things for us. The Lord
hath done great things for us, and we're glad. We're happy.
We got glad. Got happy, as Donnie would say.
We got happy. Laughed. Remember me telling
you about old Brother Henry Breedlove, who passed away just not too
long ago? I'd like to be with the Lord.
Whenever that old man would hear the gospel, he'd laugh out loud. Holy hilarity! When I was a young boy, I'd hear
him behind me, and I used to think, what is he laughing at? But now I know. Now I know. And there's a difference there.
And also look at chapter 21. Sarah laughs again. Look at chapter 21. She laughs
again later on, verse 6, and there's a difference in her laughter
then and the laughter now. Verse 6, Sarah conceived and
bore a son. Verse 6, and Sarah said, God
has made me to laugh. God's made me to laugh, so that
all that hear will laugh with me. Ah, boy. God's made me laugh. It made you laugh, huh? The Lord turned again your captivity.
Isn't it too good to be true? Like them that dream, your mouth
filled with laughter, your tongue with singing, and you say with
God's people, with David, the Lord had done great things for
us, and we're glad. We're glad. Ah, boy. And there's something I want
you ladies to notice here in our story. Most of the time,
it is the man the Lord reveals his will to. And he, in turn, passes it on
to his wife, because the man is the head, the spiritual leader
of the home, and the woman is to follow. That is the way it
is. That is a type. There are certain
exceptions, those who have no husband or do not have a believing
husband, or like Manoah's wife, you know, she had to straighten
him out one time. But nevertheless, the general
rule is it's the man who's the head, the spiritual leader, because
there's a type of Christ. Christ is the head, Christ is
the messenger, Christ is the revealer of the Father. To us,
his bride. And he leads and we follow. And
women are to follow their believing husbands. and his spiritual leadership. Well, there are some wonderful
verses here, and I wish we had time to dwell on each one of
them. Look at verse 14. I wish we had time to really
develop that into a full message. Is anything too hard for the
Lord? Then down to verse 25, that verse that we often quote,
Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Boy, we could
spend a while on that, couldn't we? Some classic verses there. Classic. Verse 19. What a verse that is. The Lord
says, I know him. I know Abraham. He will command
his children and his household after him. They'll keep the way
of the Lord. I wish it'd be said of me. Wish the Lord would say
that of me. Don't you, men? Wonderful verses. Well, the Lord makes another
visit. after Abraham. Look at verse
16. A man rose up from the fence
and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to bring
them on the way, walked with them on the way to Sodom. And
the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?
No, he didn't, because the Lord reveals himself
and his purposes and his mind to his people, doesn't he? Not
to every man. Not to the world, does he? They're
hidden. He hides these things from the
wise and prudent. He hides these things from the
world, but reveals these things unto me. And no man knows the
mind of the Lord, save the Spirit of the Lord revealed them. But
we have the mind of Christ, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2. We have
the mind of Christ. He hath revealed these things
unto us by his Spirit. and he that is spiritual discerneth
all things." It's a revelation, and Abraham got that revelation
from the Lord. Look at verse 18, verse 7, "'Seeing
that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and
all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.' Now,
I know him. He will command his children
and his household after him. He'll teach them. He'll teach
his children what we're going to teach him. And they'll keep
the way of the Lord. That's a great verse, isn't it?
He'll teach his children the gospel, to do justice and judgment,
do justice and judgment unto them, that the Lord may bring
upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him. He's true to his
promise. And now look at Abraham, the
intercessor here, verse 20 through 22. And the Lord said, Because
the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin
is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have
done all together, according to the cry of it which is coming
to me. And if not, I'll know." Now, he knew, didn't he? Known unto God are all his works
from the beginning. Charles, he knew what he was
going to do before he started. He knew there weren't ten righteous
there. He knew he was going to destroy the city, but he said
this for Abraham's sake, didn't he? He was testing and trying
Abraham. Well, look at what Abraham did.
It says the men went turn their faces from fence, went towards
Sodom. Verse 22, But Abraham stood yet
before for sinners. Christ, the only
mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. Read on,
verse 23. And Abraham grew near and said,
Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Prayer adventure
there be fifty righteous within the city. Will you also destroy
and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous
with the wicked. and that the righteous should
be as the wicked, that be far from thee. Shall not the judge
of all the earth do rights?" Oh, there's gospel here. Maybe I should have devoted three
or four messages to this chapter. Oh, my. Yes, the Lord will not
slay the righteous. He won't do it. It's far from
him to slay the righteous. He will not slay one righteous
man. The Lord won't do it. Because
the scripture says, he loveth the righteous, but hateth all
workers of iniquity. The righteous Lord loveth righteousness,
but he hateth all workers of iniquity. It's far from him,
it's impossible for God to slay the righteous. And there's good news in that,
people. If you believe and rest in and
trust in and look to and hope in the imputed righteousness of
Jesus Christ, it's impossible for the Lord to slay you. Huh? That's all our hope now.
John Wesley, you know what he called this? You know what he
called the blessed doctrine or truth of imputed righteousness?
Imputed nonsense. Can you imagine? Huh? If it is, Stan, we're hopeless,
aren't we? We're goners. But it'd be far
from the Lord to slay the righteous. What will you say? Aren't we
all And God spares some people. God spares his elect. God spares
those accepted in the Beloved. God loves his people in Christ. Even though they themselves are
workers of iniquity, yet God spares them because he sees them
as righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the workers of iniquity,
listen to me, the workers of iniquity here The workers of
iniquity that God hates are those, listen, listen to me now, this
is, this is very important. It's not only outward, openly
immoral people, but it's the workers of iniquity whom our
Lord said would stand before him in the judgment and say,
you remember that? Where they said, why we have
preached, we've prophesied, cast out devils, done many good in
your name. You remember what he said to
him, Stan? Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. Self-righteous works are works of iniquity. Unbelief. That's unbelief is what it is.
Unbelief. That's those who say imputed righteousness is imputed
nonsense. I have to believe John Wesley
heard those very words from the Lord himself. Look how many souls
I want to depart from me. You call what I did on this earth
as a man for my people nonsense? Self-righteousness is a work
of iniquity, and it will bring the charge of worker of iniquity
and certain destruction. Abraham said the Lord Lord. We
spread the city for ten right. How many people were in Sodom
at this time. You know how many people they say was in Sodom
at this time. Upwards of six or seven million. That's what some estimates have
some lot less they don't know for sure but at any rate There
were hundreds of thousands, at the very least. God save one man. One man. Now the world would say, not
fair, unfair. What do you think Lot was saying? Mercy. Mercy. Sovereign mercy. Sovereign grace. Lot was a chosen
man. A chosen man. The Lord, the angel
of the Lord came to him, and we're going to look at it. That's
the reason I wanted to get through this, because I wanted to get
to chapter 19, how the Lord comes to him and grabs him bodily and
dragged him out of the city. He's plucked, light becomes as
one, as a bran plucked from the burning, wasn't it? He wanted
to stay there, stay. And for all practical purposes,
he looked just like them. But he was a chosen man, a righteous
man. Why was he righteous? Huh, Jeanette? Why was he righteous? He appeared
as one that mocked. The people didn't His son-in-law
didn't know him any different from other people. He was a sinner. Why did he call him? Why was
he righteous? Because the Lord said he was. That's good news
to me. Why are you smiling and laughing
at that? That's good news to me, too. A chosen man, a vessel of mercy
among vessels of wrath, fitted for destruction. They were reprobate, and Lot
was a vessel of mercy, which God had prepared before the foundation
of the world. And that's me. That's me. And thank God Christ visited
me in mercy and revealed himself to me and sent his angel of mercy,
the Lord Jesus Christ, and his preacher of the gospel to me
and saved the likes of me. Stand with me now, this Mississippi. Our Heavenly Father, we thank
you so much for this glorious book that tells of a holy, sovereign,
all-seeing, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God who will by no
means clear the guilty. but will destroy all workers
of iniquity. Yet, but this same God comes
in the form of a man, came in the form of a man, the Son of
Man, the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Emmanuel,
God with us, comes to sinners such as we are and reveals the
glorious gospel to us and saves us by his grace. when we deserve
that same condemnation, same destruction, and these two wonders,
we confess when we see what Christ has done in choosing us and dying
for us. These two wonders. Oh, Lord,
His glorious love and our worthlessness. Lord, we're not worthy. the least
of thy favors, let alone this glorious, this greatest gift
of the Lord Jesus Christ, shedding his own precious blood for sinners
such as we are. We're worthless, but this is
who you came for, the unworthy sinners, the ungodly, the unrighteous,
to make them righteous. Thank you, Lord, for the glorious
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in him and his cross
and his work that we glory. God forbid we should glory in
anything else. We are ashamed of ourselves and
our filthy rags, but we glory in this glorious dress we've
been covered in, robed in, Christ's righteousness in his shed blood. In his name we're met together
tonight, thanking you for the gospel. In Christ's name, amen.
You're dismissed.