Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20240110 - Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord? - Genesis 18:1-15

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#20240110 - Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord? - Genesis 18:1-15 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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  Welcome to the Study of God's Word, recorded live at Calvary
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  Church in Aurora, Co To learn more about the many resources
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  available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our
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  live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
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  or download our free Calvary Church app.
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  Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
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  Amen. Thank you.
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  All right, you may go back to where you were seated.
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  Hey, tonight we are going to go back a little further in Genesis
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  to Chapter 18 and we're going to look at an impossible situation
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  because we are at the beginning of 2024 and my guess is that
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  there are at least a few of you who are looking at 2024.
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  And we're going, how is this ever going to work?
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  And fear rises up in your hearts and you look at the
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  circumstances on the horizontal and you think, I can't do it.
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  I I don't have the connections. I don't have the resources.
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  I don't have the ability or the health situation comes in.
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  I can't control that. And and fear and anxiety rises
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  up in your heart as you look ahead at 2024.
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  And you just need to know like the like the third prayer.
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  We need perspective that the Lord is already there.
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  He's already at the end of the year and he's waving us on and
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  saying, you can do this, Come on, I'm the Good Shepherd, You
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  know, I prepared a way for you. Yeah, they'll be enemies that
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  will be standing on the cliffs looking over at you as a little
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  sheep. But I've got this covered.
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  My rod and my staff, they're here and it we need that
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  perspective because we get so distracted.
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  And isn't that the enemy's way? Is just to get us distracted
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  from looking at the Lord and who he is and what he wants to do.
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  And he wants us to get our eyes on US.
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  And when you get your eyes on you, you start seeing your own
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  inability or your own weakness, or your own lack of education or
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  your own lack of common sense and and all your failures.
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  And the Lord is just saying, listen to me, Listen to me.
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  We can do this just one step by one step.
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  That brings us to the title of our message tonight.
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  Is anything too hard for the Lord?
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  And that's where we have to just get our eyes back on him.
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  I mean, we're only 10 days into 2024, and some of you have blown
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  out all your New Year's resolutions and you're going,
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  dude, I just wasted the whole year, you know?
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  But it's not about you. The year isn't about you.
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  It's about him. And some of you may be in church
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  here, or you're listening on Grace FM, or you're watching
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  online and you're thinking, I don't want to go through another
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  year of hopelessness. I'm just done and you're at the
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  end of your rope and the enemy's pouring oil down it.
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  But I want you to know that God knows you're here and God knows
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  you're listening, God knows you're watching.
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  And this text here is going to show that tonight.
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  So before we launch into this, I want to shift gears a little bit
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  and say thank you for the prayers that you as a
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  congregation have given to my wife and I during our mission
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  there in the UK during those the 1st of November, all the way to
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  the middle of December. I mean your prayers carried us
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  through because it was it was quite an active time seeing and
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  teaching at 16 different places and sleeping in all kinds of
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  different places, freezing cold and but yet glorious
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  opportunities and ministering to brand new church plants and and
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  those that have been there a while.
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  Encouraging and and even when the enemy tries to throw out
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  stop sticks to throw your way. The Lord knew that was going to
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  happen. So he just kind of worked around
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  it and it was awesome because of the prayers.
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  So thank you. Thank you very much.
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  So tonight what we're going to do is take a look at Abraham and
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  Sarah. We're going back now because
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  we've been studying through Pastor Ed.
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  We've been studying the life of Joseph.
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  But we want to crank this back now and look at a season in
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  Abraham and Sarah's life that was pivotal.
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  And in the same way, maybe 2024 in your life is a very pivotable
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  time, a pivotal time, a pivotal time.
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  It's going to be a new normal. It's going to be different.
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  And we like things the same. We like it to be just like we're
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  used to, because then I don't have to think.
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  But the Lord wants to stir you and me into new things, just to
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  take fresh steps of faith and to receive His Word and to say,
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  Lord, if you are leading me to do this, you can enable me, even
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  though I don't have the goods, I don't have the resources, I
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  don't have the courage. And that's where you pray for
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  the gift of faith to to to believe the promise of God even
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  when it seems impossible. So for those of you that are
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  fresh and new to the Bible, let me give you a little back story,
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  because that we have to catch up to this.
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  But before I do that, we're going to ask for the Lord's
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  Prayer, not the Lord's Prayer. But, you know, we're going to
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  ask the Lord in prayer to take this word and breathe on it and
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  make it alive in your heart. So join with me in prayer if you
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  would, and then we'll get going. Father in heaven, we know you
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  are listening to us because that's what the Bible tells us
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  and we have trust in the words of our Lord Jesus, and we're at
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  a divine appointment here tonight.
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  We want to hear from you, not just learn information, not just
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  understand an account of what happened many years ago, but
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  you're the same God. You were there.
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  It's all at once with you. And so, Lord, would you open our
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  ears and open our hearts to receive your heart your word, by
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  the power of the Holy Spirit. Do this tonight.
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  And Father God, if there is any here tonight that have not yet
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  surrendered their life to your Son Jesus, and put faith in him
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  and his work, may tonight be the night, the beginning of 2024.
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  So it's your work tonight, Lord, we pray in Jesus name.
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  Amen. Amen.
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  So for those of you that are new to the Bible, we're looking at a
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  a biblical character who was a historical character.
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  Abraham and his wife Sarah, they lived in a city called Ur.
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  You are there at the headwaters or or actually the mouth of the
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  Tigris and Euphrates River. That's where the city of Ur was
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  there, on the Persian Gulf. But historically,
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  archaeologically, ER was a center of worship for the moon
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  God. So the whole place was steeped
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  in idolatry, and out of that environment, God spoke to
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  Abraham. God Almighty spoke to him, and
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  called him out of ER, he and his family to go to a land that God
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  would show him. And Abraham believed God at that
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  point, and believed in in the one true God against all that
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  was happening in society. And he packed up his camels and
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  his bags and took off and headed north to Haran at the headwaters
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  or close to the headwaters of the Euphrates River, parked
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  there for a while until his dad died, and then headed on down to
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  the land of Canaan. And when he got to the land of
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  Canaan, God gave him such especially 2 great promises,
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  Number one, that he would have descendants as many as the stars
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  of heaven and as the sands of the sea, when as yet he had no
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  children. And he was 75 when he when he
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  left and came into Lamb. And he was older than me.
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  So he came into the land and he believed God's promises, even
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  though he didn't have physical proof.
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  So the descendants were the first part of the covenant
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  promise, and the second was this land will be yours and your
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  descendants forever. It's part of the covenant.
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  And so, as a few years went on, Sarah is unable to have
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  children, and so she decides to draw upon the custom of the day
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  where you take your your servant, your handmaid, and have
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  her marry your husband so that there can be an heir to keep the
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  family going. And so Sarah presented this to
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  Abraham, and that was one of his main errors is is he didn't seek
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  the Lord on that little idea. And of course he married the
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  Hagar, as she has called his wife.
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  There in the text, she has a son whose name is Ishmael, heard of
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  God, and Abraham thinks that he's done the work.
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  I mean, this is great. It's all happened.
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  But thirteen years later, God again comes to Abraham and
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  that's chapter 17 of Exodus and says, by the way, Abe, I got, I
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  got. This is my plan.
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  My plan is it needs to be through Sarah.
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  I know you're 99 now and she's 89, but I know what I'm doing
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  and Abraham laughed and you read it in chapter 17.
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  And then God says, and by the way, I want to make a special
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  sign in you and in all the males in your household, a sign that
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  would happen for every male that would be born that.
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  And when they were eight days old, they would be circumcised.
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  Really. How about it?
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  Just a ring in the ear, you know.
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  No, no, no, it has to be this because that's what got you in
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  trouble in the 1st place. And so all the males in his
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  house, including Ishmael who was 13, were circumcised.
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  And then chapter 18 happens, Abraham's 99 years old, Sarah's
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  89, and I want us to read the 1st 5 verses.
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  Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of mamrie as
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  he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
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  So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men
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  were standing by him. And when he saw them, he ran
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  from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground
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  and said, My Lord, if I have found favour in your sight, do
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  not pass on by your servant, Please, let a little water be
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  brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
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  And I will bring a morsel of bread that you may refresh your
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  hearts. After that you may pass by
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  inasmuch as you have come to your servant and they said do as
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  you have said. And I just loved the scriptures
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  because you know the Holy Spirit was the one who inspired Moses
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  to write these things down. They were carried on by word of
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  mouth and their stories were very accurate going down through
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  the generations. And and the wording is
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  significant here because it says in verse one, Then the Lord
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  appeared to him. It wasn't that God wanted Abram
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  to go on a safari or on a scavenger hunt to find this.
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  The Lord appeared to him. The Lord initiated this
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  appearance because the Lord knew where to find him.
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  And it brings to mind the reality that the Lord knows
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  where to find you. Some of you have had such a bad
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  year in 2023. You just you feel alone, even
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  though you're in the middle of a crowd and you just feel like God
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  is somewhere else. Lord, if you were here, then
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  why? But I just want to tell you from
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  the scripture, the Lord knows where you are and knows how to
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  reach you. He knows how you process your
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  world. He knows how you think, he knows
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  how all that's happened, and he knows the repercussions that
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  you're living with as a result. He knows that.
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  So here was Abraham sitting under the overhang of his, of
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  his tent there as the piece of leather goes over for kind of an
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  awning and it's in the heat of the day, it's probably mid
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  afternoon. The hottest part of the time of
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  the activity was at a minimal. They're just resting there and
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  all of a sudden the Lord appears.
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  Now when you're in that area, I mean if some if three people
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  were walking, I mean it's not like it's a traffic, you know,
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  it's like, you know you're on I-25 and you're watching the
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  traffic go. There's nobody that comes by as
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  a rule and all of a sudden he looks up and here's three men,
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  but they're far enough off where he has to run to meet them.
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  They don't come to where the tent door is, but they're
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  they're a ways off. And so he sees them and he runs
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  to meet them. He's 99 years old.
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  He's still running in the heat of the day.
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  Man, I lived in Arizona for 35 years.
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  I know what the heat of the day is, is like.
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  You know when you get like June and July and it's 119 and the
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  wheels, the tires on your car are melting on the asphalt.
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  And I know what that's like. You get in your you open the
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  door and you walk away and the heat has to has to escape and
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  then you happen to climb in. But, but did you realize that
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  the seatbelts are metal and so you get branded with whatever
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  the brand of your car is on your hip?
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  But you know that the term heat of the day also is used in
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  scripture with going through hard times.
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  And some of you, I would guess, are in the heat of the day right
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  now in your life, you don't know what's going on.
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  The activities at a minimum, everything you've tried isn't,
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  isn't working. And the pressure is great, the
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  financial pressure, and you're in the heat of the day.
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  But that was just when the Lord appeared to him.
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  Sometimes we think everything has to be going good for the
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  Lord to appear to us. No, I'm.
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  I'm so blessed with your life and I wanted to come and say how
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  blessed I am. You know, listen, God knows what
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  you're going through. He knows your heat of the day
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  and he wants to meet you in the heat of the day.
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  And by the way, there are times He has to allow brokenness so he
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  can come in there and prove to you He's the one who is the
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  healer in the midst of brokenness.
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  So it says here he ran to meet them and we find here they're
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  called men here, but we find out verse one says the Lord appeared
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  to him. So you've got to put start
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  piercing this together here. And then we see that two of
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  these men were actually angels. As you look at later on and
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  throughout the rest of the chapter, into the next chapter,
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  and this is the basis of what we read in Hebrews chapter 13.
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  Verse two, do not forget to entertain strangers, for by
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  doing so some have unwittingly entertained angels.
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  And there are times when things happen in life and you go, that
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  person was there helping, and now he's disappeared.
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  I mean we got stuck on a train in the UK because of train
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  strikes. And and there was this, there
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  was this 20 something girl who was hitchhiking around the
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  country with a big backpack on her back and a little suitcase.
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  And she comes and finds us in the carriage and says, I have a
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  friend that's driving up from Bristol and he's going to pick
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  me up and take us. Do you want to go with us?
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  And so I'm. And the train was stopped in the
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  middle of England and we couldn't.
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  I mean it was ridiculous. And I'm thinking, is this an
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  Angel? I wonder if this is an Angel.
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  So I said a few things and I go, Nah, she's a fallen Angel.
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  Actually, no. So but the Lord used her to get
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  us out of that situation and on to our next destination.
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  Thank you for your prayers, because we will still have been
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  on that train. Look what he did here.
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  He ran from the tent door, verse two, to meet them and bowed
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  himself to the ground. Bowed himself to the ground.
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  This was the ultimate sign of humbling oneself before an
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  honored guest with the degree of bowing equal to the honor of the
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  guest. And that's also the very
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  definition of the word worship, which means to kiss the ground
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  before a sovereign or to kiss the feet.
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  So this is you. You could say he is.
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  He is doing an act of worship in this way.
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  And see what Abraham says in verses 3 through 5.
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  He says if I found favor in your sight, don't pass by your
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  servant. Let a little water be brought
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  and wash your feet. That was #1 and #2.
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  Rest yourselves under the tree and #3.
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  I will bring a morsel of bread that you may refresh your
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  hearts, those three things, he said to them.
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  And it's interesting here, washing the feet, I mean if they
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  were walking through in their sandals in the desert area, they
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  would be dirty and having the the the feet washed was
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  something to just refresh and and comfort the guests.
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  It was a natural thing to do. Number two was rest yourselves
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  under the tree. There weren't a whole lot of
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  trees in that area, but there was a big oak there and they
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  say, listen, take some time, rest yourself under the tree.
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  And #3 let me give you bread to provide nourishment to youth
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  weary travellers. And then #4 just stood out to
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  me. It says that you may refresh
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  your hearts. And when I read that, what
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  dawned on me is how do you refresh the heart of the Lord?
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  What can I do to refresh his heart?
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  It's not that he gets tired, but he can't be blessed.
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  Scripture say, bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within
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  me. Bless his holy name.
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  Well, it's possible to bless his heart.
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  It's possible to refresh his heart, because here's what we
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  read in Romans and Hebrews Chapter 11, verse 6.
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  But without faith it is impossible to please him, For he
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  who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he's a
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  rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
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  Walking by faith blesses the Lord.
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  Romans, chapter 8, verses 5 through 11 And the New Living
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  says those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about
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  sinful things. But those who are controlled by
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  the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
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  If your sinful nature controls your mind, there's death.
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  But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there's life and
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  peace. For the sinful nature is always
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  hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws and
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  it never will. That's why those who are still
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  under the control of their sinful nature can never please
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  God. But let's jump down to 1st
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  Thessalonians, 4 verses one and two.
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  Finally, then, brethren, we urge you and exhort you in the Lord
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  Jesus that you should abound in love more and more, just as you
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  received from us how you ought to walk and to please God.
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  That's refreshing his heart, for you know what commands we gave
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  you through the Lord Jesus. And then I want you to look at
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  verse five. At the end, they said, do as you
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  have said. Sometimes we have these ideas.
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  God, I really want to do this. And you got to understand.
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  He says, let's do this. Come on, let's go forward with
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  it. Let's get it out of the realm of
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  thinking and into the realm of action.
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  Let's do it. Bless the heart of the Lord.
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  They received these gifts of hospitality.
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  Did they need them? I mean if it was 2 Angel and a
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  pre Incarnate appearance of the Lord himself in the form of a
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  man, you think they would need sustenance?
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  You think they would need rest? I mean they just showed up.
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  It's not like they walked for miles, but they received it.
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  God doesn't need our worship to exist because he is
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  self-sufficient. But he calls upon us to worship
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  him because of who he is and because of our great need.
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  Let's look at verses 6 through 8.
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  So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said quickly make 3
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  measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.
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  Abraham ran to the herd. He's running.
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  He's 899, running all over the place.
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  He ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to
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  a young man, and he hasted to prepare it.
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  And he took butter and milk and the calf, which he had prepared
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  and set it before them, and he stood by them under the tree as
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  they ate. He hurried into the tent.
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  He ran to do this. He's like, so excited.
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  I don't think Sarah had ever seen him run like this before.
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  Something was going on and she's behind the tent flap listening.
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  So here's what he does. He runs to Sarah and says
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  quickly make ready 3 measures of fine meal and eat it and make
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  cakes. That's going to take a little
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  time because you got to make the flour and then you have to bake
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  it over coals. And then he ran to the herd,
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  took a tender and young calf. By the way, he didn't give the
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  old beat up cow that he that was diseased and say, you know this
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  is a good chance to get rid of old Bessie.
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  You know that that's not what he did.
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  He took a tender and young calf. He took the best to give to the
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  Lord, which is a reminder to us that in our service to the Lord
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  we are to give our best, not the leftovers.
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  And what that refers to is just our time, our devotions, our our
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  service to Him, our service to the body of Christ.
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  Do we give the leftovers Because it doesn't fit our schedule?
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  That that's a lack of perspective.
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  That's not Kingdom thinking, that's world thinking.
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  It's not about money. It's about worship.
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  And the Lord calls us to give the best because he wants to
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  give back the best life. That's that's what we need so
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  desperately. Not more things.
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  Life, fullness, purpose, focus. He gave the best so he had.
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  He had a strong young man quickly prepare it.
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  He must have taken a couple hours for this meal.
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  And then I want you to look at verse 8 closely.
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  He took butter and milk and the calf, which he had prepared, and
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  set it before them. You realize that's not kosher.
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  You're not supposed to mix meat and milk.
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  So basically he prepared a cheeseburger for him.
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  It was a double, double, you know, right there.
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  And and and the Lord received it because this was before the
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  Mosaic law which was set those dietary rules.
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  This was before then and then notice in verse eight he stood
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  by them under the tree as they ate.
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  He didn't sit down and chow down with them.
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  He served them. He prepared it as a servant and
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  he waited. And this reminded me of what the
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  Lord Jesus said in Luke chapter 17, verses 6 through 10.
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  Which of you having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will
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  say to him when he has come in from the field, come at once and
• 28:17
  sit down to eat? But will he not rather say to
• 28:20
  him, prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and
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  serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will
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  eat and drink? Does he think that servant,
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  because he did the things that were commanded him?
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  I think not. So likewise you, when you have
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  done all those things which you are commanded, say, we are
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  unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty
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  to do. Sometimes we get so focused on
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  our service we think that everybody should notice how
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  intently we're serving, and they should affirm us, and they
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  should and they should throw a party for us for just how much
• 29:04
  we're serving. But that's not the focus here.
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  When we serve the Lord, our reward comes at the end.
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  Our reward comes from when Jesus comes back.
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  So during this life, there's going to be times when you are
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  going to do what the Lord set before you to do.
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  You're going to serve. You're going to serve, and
• 29:24
  nobody's going to notice. As a matter of fact, people
• 29:28
  might complain. And you got to be careful that
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  you don't get into a little entitlement mode saying, well,
• 29:35
  you know, I I've served hard and nobody's noticing.
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  Now wait a second. That's not, that's not what's
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  supposed to happen. We have no right to even be
• 29:45
  here. The Lord has no right to even
• 29:48
  use us. I mean, he knows our history.
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  Why would he use a broken vessel like this that even the yard
• 29:57
  sales don't want? But he chooses to use us so that
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  he gets the glory. And our service to others should
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  be that I'm serving him and whatever they decide if they
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  receive it or not is absolutely second.
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  It's him that I worship. It's him that I serve and I'll
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  serve his people because that's what he's called me to do.
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  And it's all a matter of perspective.
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  Let's continue on verses 9 through 10.
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  They said to him, where is Sarah, your wife?
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  So he said here in the tent and he said, I will certainly return
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  to you according to the time of life.
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  And behold, Sarah, your wife shall have a son.
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  Sarah was listening in the tent door, which was behind him.
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  They didn't know where she was, by the way, and they just called
• 30:53
  her out. But listen to what he said here
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  in verse 10. I will certainly return to you
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  according to the time of life healing at age 89.
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  When did you go through menopause?
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  How many times did she go through menopause?
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  I mean, holy smokes. She's 89 years old, and God says
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  that's not a problem for me. According to the time of life,
• 31:28
  nine months, it's going to happen naturally.
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  Not only will she have a child, she'll have a son.
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  Sarah's listening behind the flap.
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  I wonder what she's thinking. Well, we'll find out what she's
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  thinking here in a bit. Verse 11.
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  Now, Sarah and Abraham were old, well advanced in age, and Sarah
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  was past the age of childbearing, I guess.
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  Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, not outwardly, because
• 32:06
  she didn't want to draw attention to herself.
• 32:09
  I don't know if it was a, you know, that kind of thing.
• 32:12
  You're trying to hold it in because you're trying to bust up
• 32:14
  laughing. She laughed within herself,
• 32:17
  saying, After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure my Lord
• 32:20
  being old also? And then verse 13, the Lord said
• 32:27
  to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh sometimes?
• 32:32
  When God gives you a promise, that seems, how could he turn
• 32:36
  things around? We chuckle.
• 32:42
  Yeah, right. Or you get the famous whatever,
• 32:47
  man. I hate that when my kids come to
• 32:50
  me and say when they were young, whatever, man, it just like it
• 32:54
  was like pushing a button, like panic button, whatever.
• 32:59
  And then roll the eyes. Oh Lord, why did Sarah laugh
• 33:08
  then? He says in verse 13 or verse 14,
• 33:13
  Is anything too hard for the Lord when God makes a promise to
• 33:21
  be with you in the midst of your impossibility and to work things
• 33:27
  that you never thought could be worked, do you laugh at his
• 33:33
  promise? I confess I do.
• 33:39
  I don't go. Oh, yes, Lord, That's great.
• 33:42
  No, that there are times I go. You've got to be kidding.
• 33:45
  And then he can handle it. He just catches it and go.
• 33:52
  I knew you were going to say that.
• 33:54
  That's why. That's why I brought it up to
• 33:55
  you. I wanted to show you what I can
• 33:59
  do. In the midst of your weakness.
• 34:04
  Is anything too hard for the Lord?
• 34:10
  Some of you may be praying. Oh God, please heal me.
• 34:12
  It's impossible. But what if he chooses to
• 34:17
  instead heal you on the inside and and enrich you with His
• 34:24
  presence in the midst of the pain, in the midst of the health
• 34:28
  issue? No.
• 34:30
  Why would he do that? I don't want to pray for that.
• 34:33
  Wait a minute. What's the whole purpose of your
• 34:37
  life? Just to have everything perfect,
• 34:40
  physically, emotionally, mentally, circumstantially.
• 34:44
  Is that what the gospel's all about?
• 34:48
  It's about him coming into your world, coming into your life of
• 34:52
  difficulty and pain and brokenness, and making himself
• 34:57
  real and giving you life and calming the storm on the inside,
• 35:02
  Healing you on the inside. Because when you go to be with
• 35:07
  the Lord, you'll really be healed.
• 35:10
  But right now you need his grace to endure, because he wants to
• 35:15
  show you something about himself in the midst of the hardship.
• 35:22
  He could heal you with a word, and you've asked him to.
• 35:29
  But the Lord says, I am going to work in you, and you're going to
• 35:34
  experience me, if you will let me, to have life and go deeper
• 35:41
  than you ever thought possible, because I want to show the world
• 35:47
  through your infirmity how strong I am.
• 35:55
  Is anything too hard for the Lord?
• 35:58
  Job chapter 42, verse two says. I know that you can do
• 36:03
  everything and that no purpose of yours can be withheld from
• 36:07
  you. That's a good verse to put on
• 36:09
  your car, Dash. By the way, I know that you can
• 36:13
  do everything and that no purpose of yours can be withheld
• 36:17
  from you. Jeremiah, 32 verses 26 and 27.
• 36:22
  Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah saying, behold, I am
• 36:27
  the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for
• 36:33
  me mark chapter 10, verse 27? But Jesus looked at them and
• 36:40
  said with men it is impossible. But not with God, for with God
• 36:46
  all things are possible. Ephesians 320 and 21.
• 36:52
  Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all
• 36:58
  that we ask, or think according to the power that works in us,
• 37:04
  To him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus, to all
• 37:08
  generations, forever and ever. What are you facing in 2024?
• 37:19
  And you look on it with dread, anxiety, unbelief.
• 37:32
  Because why would he bother? Look how many times I've failed
• 37:36
  him. Look how many times.
• 37:39
  Look how many times. Look how many times.
• 37:41
  Why would he bother? But you got to get your
• 37:46
  perspective back, because there's nothing too hard for the
• 37:52
  Lord. He's got to get through to the
• 37:55
  heart first, and that may be the biggest challenge.
• 38:02
  Because you don't want to give up to the Lord in your heart
• 38:05
  because you're fighting with God over what didn't happen, over
• 38:11
  why things have happened in your time.
• 38:14
  That's not fair. You're pretty upset with God and
• 38:18
  there's a war going on between you and God right now.
• 38:22
  And even though I'm saying is anything too hard for the Lord,
• 38:24
  you're just, you're just rolling it off because you're at war
• 38:28
  with him and God knows you're at war with him.
• 38:31
  And he wants to, he wants to say, listen, there's no reason
• 38:34
  for this, but you got to lay down your armor and and let him
• 38:44
  prove himself to you. There's victory and surrender,
• 38:52
  but it depends who you surrender to, because the Lord's not going
• 38:57
  to surrender to you. You just need to surrender to
• 39:03
  him to find out and to taste and see that the Lord is good.
• 39:20
  In verse 15 we close here with this, but Sarah denied it,
• 39:24
  saying I did not laugh, for she was afraid and he said no, but
• 39:29
  you did laugh. Fear can block faith.
• 39:39
  I'm afraid that it won't work. I'm afraid I'll be let down.
• 39:44
  I'm afraid that Amen. If I give my life to the Lord, I
• 39:50
  don't want to be let down again. So I'll guard myself and you end
• 39:54
  up still in jail. You end up still in a place of
• 39:59
  aloneness. And God says, please open your
• 40:06
  heart to me. Open your heart to me.
• 40:11
  He's made it as simple as possible for you to take the
• 40:15
  first step. What's that first step?
• 40:19
  If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
• 40:22
  your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
• 40:26
  saved. That burden of sin will be
• 40:29
  lifted off of you. Yeah, but what if it doesn't
• 40:32
  happen? It's all the yabbits.
• 40:34
  Yabbits are not in the Greek, by the way.
• 40:36
  Yabbits. That's not a Greek word.
• 40:39
  Yeah, but what if? Don't ask, don't ask.
• 40:42
  What if it doesn't happen? Ask yourself, what if it does
• 40:46
  happen? What if it's right?
• 40:50
  That's what I asked myself at age 18, because I was fighting
• 40:55
  so hard against the gospel and just the Holy Spirit was
• 41:00
  bringing me to that place. What if it is right?
• 41:03
  Oh, it can't be right. Yeah, but what if it's right?
• 41:06
  Yeah, but there was that Greek word again, which doesn't exist.
• 41:12
  So how do you take that step at the head of 2024?
• 41:16
  How do you take that step? It's not hard.
• 41:22
  You just ask him. You just ask God, God, if this
• 41:28
  is true, if all this is true. I'm tired of bearing the burden
• 41:40
  if you're saying that Jesus has taken my sin and if I believe on
• 41:46
  him, he will take my sin and give me his righteousness in
• 41:49
  exchange. If that's true and you want me
• 41:54
  to believe it with all my heart, and then the question comes up,
• 41:59
  but what if it doesn't work? And that's where you just have
• 42:05
  to put it aside and say at the headwaters of 2024, I have to do
• 42:13
  it. And so this evening I'm going to
• 42:18
  lead you in a prayer. If this is you, maybe it's you
• 42:21
  listening on the radio or you watching on online or you
• 42:25
  downstairs and you've never really taken that time to
• 42:31
  actually ask God to make himself real to you as He's promised in
• 42:39
  His word, and you. I'm going to lead you in a
• 42:43
  prayer and you can pray this prayer something like it, mean
• 42:46
  it in your heart though. It's not about a mantra that you
• 42:49
  pray, it's about surrendering your heart to Him, talking
• 42:52
  honestly with him. So let's all just pray together
• 42:57
  here and pray for those that might be praying this particular
• 43:00
  prayer. Let's bow our heads, our Father
• 43:05
  in Heaven. We're asking right now that if
• 43:08
  there are any that are listening here, or maybe listening to this
• 43:11
  study years from now, and you're speaking to their heart through
• 43:16
  the text we've been talking about, and you're calling them,
• 43:21
  you're drawing them to yourself. God granted them faith by which
• 43:25
  to believe encouraged us to take that step.
• 43:30
  And as the rest of us pray for those of you that are ready to
• 43:34
  take that step, let this be your prayer to the Lord.
• 43:38
  And say to him, God, I come to you.
• 43:43
  Right now my mind is just whirling with questions, but I
• 43:52
  want to reach through all of that whirlwind, and I want to, I
• 43:57
  want to grab on to you. I believe that Jesus died on the
• 44:03
  cross bearing my sin, and it killed them.
• 44:14
  And I also believe that you rose him from the dead after three
• 44:17
  days to prove that you accepted what he did for me.
• 44:27
  And I believe with all my heart upon the Lord Jesus to be my
• 44:31
  Savior. And I ask You, God, to move into
• 44:37
  my life right now. I ask you to wash away all the
• 44:43
  sin of my life and make me a new creature, a new creation.
• 44:52
  Fill me tonight with the Holy Spirit of God.
• 44:56
  Make yourself real to me as we continue to pray as a
• 45:03
  congregation. If you prayed that prayer
• 45:06
  tonight, this is the beginning of a new life for you.
• 45:13
  God takes you at your word. Is there anything too hard for
• 45:18
  the Lord? For those of you that did pray,
• 45:29
  I would like you to take a step of faith after the chorus is
• 45:32
  done here and I ask you to come on up and receive this pamphlet
• 45:38
  called First Steps Because we want to help you get first steps
• 45:42
  going in your life and that's your call to take that step to
• 45:49
  come up here. And any of the prayer partners
• 45:52
  or pastors that are up here will help you.
• 45:59
  Let's all stand. So Father in heaven, we're
• 46:05
  asking now that you would take these words from this text and
• 46:10
  this exhortation and speak to us deeper as we go.
• 46:17
  Thank you for tonight in Jesus name, Amen.
• 46:23
  We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study
• 46:26
  delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church.
• 46:29
  For prayer. Call us at 87730 Grace.
• 46:34
  That's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
• 46:40
  entirety or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
• 46:44
  online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
• 46:49
  Church app. Be blessed as you Worship Jesus
• 46:52
  this week.