Genesis, Message 19: Living in Fellowship with God

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 19

Living in Fellowship with God

In Genesis 17, Abraham became a new man. He used to rely upon his own strength in producing the seed. He came to realisation that he was as good as dead. He and his wife were too old to have a child. And God revealed to him as "El Shaddai," the Almighty God, which also means the All-Sufficient God. Furthermore, he went through the process of circumcision, terminating his own flesh. The old Abraham who trusted in his own strength became the new Abraham who trusted God as the All-Sufficient One!

In this message, I'm going to share something from Abraham's experience in Genesis 18. God came to visit him, had fellowship with him, reassured him that the seed was coming, and revealed His plan of judgment on Sodom. At the end, I'm going to share about Lot's failure.

The LORD comes to visit Abraham.

Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 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, and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.” So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.” And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it. So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate. (Genesis 18:1-8 NKJV)

From the story, we see that there were 3 men came to visit Abraham. Obviously, one of them was the LORD, as indicated in verses 13-14, and the other 2 were the angels, as indicated in Genesis 19:1. The LORD appeared as the Pre-incarnate Christ to Abraham.
Before this chapter, God had never appeared to Abraham as a human. Abraham was not ready yet. He needed to have his own self terminated through circumcision in Genesis 17, and know God as his All-sufficient One first. He then became ready to converse with God face to face. Therefore after this experience, God was not only the Almighty Glorious One to him, but also a Friend who loved to have a personal talk with him.
Did Abraham deserve God's visit? If we consider Abraham's life, we will see that he does not deserve God's visit at all. In Genesis 12, he revealed his selfishness by lying that Sarah was his sister in order to safe his life in Egypt. He must have been very proud of the scheme, because he performed it again with Abimelech later in Genesis 20. (Even worse, his own son, Isaac, might have heard the strategy from his parents, and used it too with another Abimelech in Genesis 26.) And instead of waiting patiently for God's answer regarding the seed, he was so obedient to his wife Sarah by taking her maid Hagar as another wife. (Please note that I'm not suggesting that a husband should be rebellious to his wife!) This resulted in chaotic situations afterwards. But regardless of his imperfection, God first revealed Himself to Abraham, even in human form. And what was Abraham's reaction? He quickly ran to the men, welcomed them, and enjoyed fellowship with them. He stood there by them while they were eating.
Brothers and sisters, the bible says clearly that no one is righteous in God's eye. No one is worthy of His visit. Romans 5:6-11 explicitly says that we were weak and ungodly (v. 6). We were sinners (v. 8), and God's enemies (v. 10). We were absolutely unworthy. Yet by Grace, Christ, the Creator of the universe, became flesh to dwell among His people (John 1:14). Moreover, He who had never sinned became sin for us, and died for us at the cross, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). As C. S. Lewis writes, The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.
I always say to new believers that Christianity is not a religion. It is not about following the lists of dos and don'ts. It is all about relationship. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." (Revelation 3:20 NKJV)
What is your response to His calling? Would you gladly open the door and welcome Him? Would you like to be there beside Him, enjoying a sweet fellowship with Him?

The LORD promises to give Abraham the seed at the time of life.

[And the Lord said to Abraham] "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." (Genesis 18:14 NKJV)

Next, the LORD said to them that Sarah would surely have a son. When? At the time of "life."
Abraham was so old then. He was nearly 100 years old, and Sarah was post-menopausal (Genesis 18:11). It was absolutely impossible for them to have a child. His impotent body was as good as dead and that Sarah’s womb, too, was dead (Romans 4:19). But "is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14 NKJV) Surely, the answer is "NO." And about one year after that, Abraham begot the seed through Sarah as God promised. They eventually begot Isaac, which is the type of Christ.
What is the time of life for us? It is the time appointed by God. It is the time when we realise that we are but nothing, as good as dead. Only at that divinely appointed time can God fully work Christ into us so that we can participate in more life, and thereby bring forth Christ. These things are totally impossible for us to do. There is no way that we can participate in more life and have Christ brought forth from us, fulfilling God's purpose. That's why we need Christ who loves to do the impossible things. With Him, nothing is impossible.
Are you willing to participate in more life and bring forth Christ for the fulfilment of God's purpose on the earth today?

The LORD reveals His plan of judgment on Sodom to Abraham.

Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. And the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing" (Genesis 18:16-17 NKJV)

Then, Abraham, the friend of God (James 2:23), went with the Lord to send them on the way. And the Lord revealed him His plan that He would destroy Sodom, because the people there were exceedingly wicked. In fact, God came to Abraham to find an intercessor. That's why He revealed His plan of judgment to His friend. What was Abraham's reaction when he heard the plan? He interceded for Sodom.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord tells us that "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15 NKJV) Perhaps God is revealing His plan to you today. Perhaps God is calling you to be His intercessor, so that He can move through your prayer. What would be your response? Would you willingly participate in His move by interceding according to what God has revealed to you?
According to Abraham's experience, we can see that intercession is not merely a request that we make for others. Neither is it about our heart's desire. It is an intimate conversation with God according to His heart's desire that has been unveiled to us. We need not use very formal high words as we speak to the royal family. We only converse with Him as we talk with our friends. It is so easy, isn't it?
Here the means whereby God accomplishes His purpose is shown. God first has a desire. He then puts that desire into the heart of someone who is after His heart and has burden to participate in God's move on the earth. As a result, that person prays to God for it. And through the prayer of that saint, God moves and accomplishes the desire of His heart. Without our prayer, He cannot move. This confirms the statement of St Augustine that "Without God, we cannot. Without us, He will not."
One may ask, Why did God want to save Lot? Lot was not a very spiritual person. His descendents would even become enemies of His chosen nation. There seemed to be no reason for God to save his life. But He did this because Lot would become the father of the Moabite people. He did this to protect Christ's genealogy through Ruth the Moabite who was the great grand mother of King David.

A lesson from Lot's failure

Abraham decided to stay in Canaan, the good land God had promised to him. Even though he drifted away sometimes, but he eventually came back to live in the land. Geographically, the triangular boundaries of the land of Canaan consist of Egypt, Chaldea and Sodom, which represent the world, the idol worshipping and the sin. The good land was surrounded by these cities. Sadly, unlike Abraham, Lot decided to leave the good land and settled down in Sodom.
Brothers and sisters, please stay in the land of Canaan, which represents Christ. Stay in Christ by keep enjoying the fellowship with Him and His people. Never drift into the surrounding countries, so that we will not end up pitifully like Lot. Only in Christ can we live in, live on, defeat our enemies, and become His dwelling and His expression for the fulfilment of His eternal purpose.
I do agree a postulation of brother Witness Lee about Lot. He noted that Lot never came back to stay with Abraham again after their separation. Even after he was rescued from captivity, he went back to Sodom again, in spite of the wickedness of the people there. Coming back to Abraham seemed not to be a choice he would ever consider.
We did not know the cause of the strife between Abram and Lot's herdsmen. Whatever the cause was, Lot might think he was on the right side and Abraham did wrong to him by not giving him justice. He might have left Abraham with anger or frustration, and he seemed not to forgive. Moreover, there is no record that he really appreciated Abraham's fight for rescuing him. He preferred coming back to the wicked city rather than staying with Abraham in the land of Canaan. He became a leader in that city, as implied by his sitting in the gate of the city. His moral standard became degenerated, as evident by his decision to give his virgin daughter to the wicked men of the city to protect the guests and himself. And Genesis 19 records the extremely pitiful end of his life.
The story reminds me of one sister, Lotsy (pseudonym). Lotsy seemed to be very strong in The Lord when she first became a Christian. But one day she faced a life crisis. She was generously supported by another dear sister Abramy (pseudonym too). Abramy tried her best to help Lotsy. Abramy fervently prayed for and financially supported Lotsy so much that Abramy had very little money left for her own living. However, because of a few words or questions that Abramy said or asked, Lotsy felt so displeased or even angry that she gradually drifted away from the fellowship. Regardless of Lotsy hostile reaction, Abramy still genuinely loved Lotsy, and continued to help her. Nevertheless, it seemed that Lotsy had no desire to forgive and reconcile with Abramy. She became so blinded by the hatred that she could not see how gracious Abramy had been to her. May God have mercy on Lotsy that she would eventually come back and be reconciled with Abramy so that she would not end up like Lot who was saved but totally defeated.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 19.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)