Genesis - Part 34 | Pastor Paul McGee

John chapter 21 records one of the times the disciples had went

John 21 · chapter mention

back fishing. Lord comes to visit them, has

hot coals on the bank and fish to go to meet him on the shore.

And it's that fame spot where Jesus asked Peter about three

times, do you love me? He says more.

And once thou knowest the Lord thou knowest yes.

And do you love me? Do you love me more than than

these reference really being to the fish that was already on the

fire because having been a fisherman in the life about

fishing and time a lot of time absorbed in fishing.

Just want to know where he stood concerning something that he

knew that Peter loved. You love me more than these And

I don't know. It's probably not a fish that he

holds in the hand when he talks to us today, but there's

probably something that he has that he's squaring up with us

and asking you, do you love me more than this?

That that thing that maybe strikes our heartstrings, maybe

that we have an affection for. He wants to know how much we

love him. Amen.

And I want to be able to say emphatically, Jesus, I love you.

Amen. I love you today.

Hallelujah. Just a few announcements here.

I've already mentioned of revival next week also.

Then on that Thursday is Power Hour.

Also. This is the last Wednesday of

Genesis 18, but just next month we're going to be having a

course revival on one Sunday or Wednesday rather Wednesday going

to be interviewed for the Alex Mason on that Wednesday.

Wednesday after that brother Jerry Mason will be speaking

here in the Wednesday after that brother Zach McGee will be

speaking here and so we'll have a Wednesdays of of a break from

Genesis. Maybe you I don't know.

Nonetheless, a few a couple of those Wednesdays I'm not going

to be here anyway. So and give you a reprieve also

then on the June the 22nd, actually, I'm going to be back

up on June the 15th, it's Father's Day here at First

Apostolic Church, Amen. Come bring someone, bring a

father or someone that you have as a Mason Sunday or all right,

and we're going to have Pastor Merrill.

We're here. It's going to be ministering the

word of the Lord on that day as well.

So again, plenty of things to be able to plug into.

In the month of June, we're going to be turned to Genesis

chapter. In the month of June, we're

going to be turned to Genesis chapter of Goldsmiths.

And so we're glad, so glad to have her.

I had to have Fred and Sheila McGee and we're glad to have

Samantha. I had to have Fred and Sheila

McGee, and we're glad to have Samantha and her family back

with us tonight. Amen as well.

Verse #12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying,

After I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord, being

old also? The Lord said to Abraham,

Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear

a child which I'm old? Is anything too hard for the

Lord? The time appointed, I will

return it to thee according to the time of life.

Sarah shall have a son then Sarah denied saying I laughed

not for she was afraid. And he said nay, but thou didst

laugh. So I'm having just a little

overlap here tonight and I want to speak to you about this.

Speaking of God, He knew her laugh, He knew his friend, He

knew her laugh, and he knew his friend.

Amen. Let's ask the Lord to help us

here in the next little while. Father, I come to you this

evening. Got to thank you, Lord, for

about the privilege of being in your house, the privilege of

being able to center our lives once again around Your word.

That's Lord. It's a settled word.

Having a nerve shall pass away, but your word shall not pass

away. Pray, O Lord, that you ever give

a spirit of revelation and light tonight, God as we look at it,

God as we try to apply it, thrown individual lives will not

fail to thank you for the lovely name of Jesus Christ that we

pray the church say Amen as we cure in chapter #8 their

household, their tent hold, I guess it would be called their

tent hold was visited by three men as the scripture describes

them. At least that's the way they are

introduced to us in the second verse of this chapter.

And they are in this area primarily for the announcement

to Abraham and Sarah. Some further details about the

birth of their son, their son Isaac, and that it would indeed

happen through Sarah, but they're also here to

investigate, investigate the the cry or the outcry that seems to

be coming from Sodom and Gomorrah.

And they have an intent of destruction on their mind after

their findings of Sodom and Gomorrah.

And so their dual purpose is to announce a birth and perhaps

announce judgement. And that's quite a contrast for

for their, their, their purpose. One's going to visit and bring

some news of miraculous life to one family.

And then on the other hand, there's going to be this

heralding of some potential destruction for an entire city

and actually cities of a particular reason, a region

rather. And so God is though involved in

both of these knowledge had God has the knowledge of the human

heart really in both of these respects.

And it's his prerogative to to intervene if he so desires.

And so where we left off last week, we kind of noted just a

little funny, or at least it was funny to me, I won't say to you,

but the funny little interchange of God and Sarah, how Sarah is

denying that she laughed and then the Lord's like, no, yeah,

you did laugh. You did.

And certainly that the Bible that she's in a tent.

So she's in a tent and she's laughing within herself and she

even has some internal dialogue with herself.

She says, after I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord,

being old also? And we learned last week, and I

don't have time to go back and recap all last week, but we

learned that this laughter isn't just about her age, but it's

about where she should be in life, her age as far as biology,

alright. And, and it's though about

really more than that. It's not about biology.

It's not about age. It's really about, about her

belief and her amusement or bewilderment with what is

occurring right here in, in this moment.

And so she, she chuckles. She she she's chuckling, she's

laughing and it's revealing really how deeply and her her

doubts or perhaps even amusement can be and how sometimes they

can hide some other things all right and what she discovers in

this moment that we all will realize very soon that there is

nothing internal inside of you that is hidden from eternal God.

The Bible says in verse 13 and the Lord said to Abraham

wherefore laugh saying shall I have a surety bear child which

am carrying comment on and it wasn't spoken out loud to

anybody that was around her. God was tuned into her internal

dialogue and he addresses it though openly.

All right, and this seems to be the the the way that God

operates at different occasions throughout the Old Testament.

It almost seems to be an aspect of God to know you'll remember

in the book of Samuel that who searches their lives, I guess is

what I'm saying. I guess is what I'm saying he

does he can discern what is of the thoughts of our mind.

Essence of the gospels like Matthew #9 and the diet Bible

describes their paralytic man is brought to Jesus and the Bible.

He never he never spoke out loud here in a sign.

Don't look at them as isolated events.

Amen. I believe they are revelations

that the God who heard Sarah in her tent is the same God who

heard Simon silence sneer in the New Testament scripture.

What this tells me is this. It's not that Jesus possessed

some type of insight. Jesus was the divine the things

we see in the Old Testament that only God seemingly could do we

see this man Christ Jesus doing the very same thing.

It's not that Jesus had a special right Amen and so the

ear of God is not stopped them by lips that were heart and

they're examples throughout Scripture we could look at Amen.

But again, the connection should be made the Old Testament God

that characteristic of God. We see that quality in the Lord

Jesus Christ because Jesus is God manifest in the flesh.

Jesus even told the Jews, he said, verily, verily, I say unto

you before and respond to something that hasn't been

verbalized. And there might be some sitting

here tonight. I start to ponder that.

God knows our minds and our hearts.

They might start to get a little spooky and you might feel like

you've been intruded on just a little bit.

God knows my internal dialogue. Oh, is he on for a roller

coaster ride today? Or maybe he's been on one with

you today. Right, here's the thing, we can

deceive each other. We can deceive a lot of people,

but we can't deceive God. But let's not look so negatively

at this. This should also be a source of

comfort to you, that God knows your heart, and he knows when

you're sincerely struggling. Yeah, even when we fell

outwardly, He knows whenever you're like, man, I'm such an

idiot. You say it in here.

Maybe you don't profess it outwardly, but you have a lot of

this. Enter God.

God hears that conversation as well.

He knows when you're trying, even when you stumble because he

knows what's going on here just as well.

He sees our motives, not just our mistakes.

And so there might be something. Yeah, I feel a little uneasy

about God, you know, hearing everything that's going on

inside my head. And some of y'all got some, a

lot of conversations going on, right?

I matter of fact, I don't know any of us as human beings that

we are just odd, you know, hearing everything that's going

on inside my head. And some of y'all got some, a

lot of conversations going on even at this very moment.

And yet we have this assurance too, that when we can't express

it right, whether it's unspoken fears or hopes or thoughts.

And God hears it. There's some things I can't put

into words, it seems like, but I put a lot of thought into it.

Just, you know, I've, I've thought some things to have work

that I couldn't say or articulate.

God heard it. I've I've thought some things to

have work thread there that I couldn't say or articulate.

God heard it godly and full of inward groans.

The for groans and thoughts that seem to too deep even for words

and David tries to express that sometimes even in Romans 826

we're told that Paul writes that the spirit help you know what

that tells me It's God's way of saying I hear you when you even

don't know how to talk to me about that's powerful.

That's powerful things some truth think imagine how

frustrating it must be to understand the thoughts of

someone's hearts and mind. Let's put let's put it this way.

Let's consider how many friends you would really have if you

said everything you ever thought of or separate ways now.

Amen. Let's pick back up here.

Verse #16 The Bible says. And the men rose up from thins,

and look towards some Abraham. That thing which I do, seeing

that Abraham shall surely become a great nation and a mighty

nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in

him. For I know him that he will

command his children, his household after him, and they

shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that

the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him.

And the Lord said, because the cry of Sodom, Gomorrah is great,

and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and

see whether they have done altogether according to the cry

of it which is coming to me. And if not, I will know.

And the men turned their faces from thence and went, well, I'll

stop right there with I will know.

And then we'll continue on here in just a little bit, accomplish

their first, the first mission here.

These men that have come, they've talked to Sarah, they've

talked to Abraham, they've they've, they've given the

message and the declaration. Their son would be Isaac.

It would come through Sarah. And now the men carry on.

Their eyes are fastened on Sodom, and Abraham is

accompanying them for a little leg of the journey.

They've been at his team. And so he continues in the

direction that they are going towards Sodom.

And as they walk towards Sodom, it seems like nothing's being

said. There's this stillness of

unspoken words. Except now we have God

deliberating, God's deliberating about sharing his intent of what

they plan on doing at sodomy. Thinking about should I share

this with Abraham and the Bible says that God says and even the

word said there can't even mean that it's that God spoke like in

his heart like giving us almost a a similar thing something that

happened within that God said in his heart.

Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do and I spoke

about this a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning in the in the

pool from the far message, but the transparency it's about

really trust. Shall I share with Abraham this

thing that I'm I'm about ready to do?

And yet the Lord is looking very introspectively and thinking

about Abraham and all this and he knew he knew Abraham and he

knew he could trust Abraham with this information about Sodom and

the plan for Sodom. And so he's considering all this

and God shares his purpose again, not just to inform

Abraham, but to involve Abraham. Because here's the thing for God

sharing with Abraham some divine revelation, it for sure wasn't

for gossip. It was a summons for

involvement, really for change. So Abraham isn't just being told

the news, he's being invited really to be involved in

something that's going to be going on.

And so so we we have moments when we deliberate to right.

I know we do. That's part of that thinking

process. Do I share this information with

so and so? Do I share this information?

Do they need to know? Will it make a difference if

they do know or not? How will they react if I tell

them? Well, God knows.

Here's what God knows about Abraham.

God knows that Abraham nations and I love the first phrase in

verse #19 God says in this dialogue with himself.

For I know him as the leader of his family.

I know him as the leader of what will be his country.

And I know, look what the Bible says.

I know that he's going to execute justice and judgment

when necessary. He's going to commit command his

children well is what small thing he knows Abraham.

Furthermore, even trust Abraham and so with that trust, that

trust, though comes with a responsibility for Abraham God

trust him and with that trust God has in him comes a

responsibility. If Abraham's going to shape

nations, then he says I'm going to allow him to wrestle a little

and I50 righteous. Now this just side note this

just and I know school's over right now those let me tell you

this, God does math. They start at 50 and Abraham's

next request, he said, Lord, if they lack 5 righteous will you

destroy? And God comes back and says I

won't destroy them for 45. God did math.

OK, this is 550 -. 5 is 45 for anybody just ain't following

that right now. God did math and that's the

reason kids, you need to stay in school and pay attention.

Amen. So when when Abraham asked about

the 10 he approaches God all along the way.

He's getting more humble and more you know he's approaching

God. You know, especially if he

started out in the way and near to God's face.

Will you destroy the right just with the way he's being very

kind. You know, he's like, oh, I come

to you again and I it's like almost, I hate to impose another

time and, and please hear me out.

I beckon to the let me lower my head in your presence and, you

know, speak and, and then it gets to the tent.

He's like just one last time. He says, I will speak again only

this once. It's like this, this, this is

the last time, God, this is the last time I'm coming.

And there's a lot of people over the years, even scholars want to

criticize Abraham because he stopped asking.

They say, well, he he he seized and he stopped asking before God

stopped giving. But this is what I personally

believe, that Abraham stopped at 10 because he trusted the judge

of all the earth to do right, quitting at trust you with the

rest. And God, please know God doesn't

leave. It's the very last verse.

God doesn't leave for him. Stop.

So they go there. So they go their respective

ways. I'm, I'm, I'm coming to a close.

I'm coming. Just got to find that nice

landing spot that we're not going to be together for a month

and everybody will forget everything about the 1st 18

chapters. So they go their separate ways.

God, God's going, no doubt, to to the Sodom region.

Abraham is going to the plains of Maine.

Ring where you come from, and you stand with me.

And so from the door of Sarah's tent to an essence, the gates of

the city of Sodom, we understand that God not only hears what's

hidden, but he also shares and reveals with us what matters.

And that God, he's not like sitting around eavesdropping to

expose, but he listens in Abraham's case, to involve him.

And so it doesn't matter whether it's the laughter of a Sarah or

the groan of a intercessor like Abraham, God responds.

And your thoughts about the trout, they matter to God.

He knows them. Sister Brenda and like Abraham

again, we're not just called to receive some type of revelation,

we are called to act upon what we have received.

God listens to those things to involve us, whether whether it's

that whisper, whether it's that, that groan, whatever it is, but

we're to act. Compassion came from Abraham.

Boldness, unwavering recession. And so the God that hears in

secret is the same God who invites us by telling us,

wanting to include us and deliberate about us, to come and

stand in the gap, make up a hedge, be the intercessor for

our cities and our times. So can we bow our heads and

pray? And here's the fabulous thing.

And this is not for sure telling us just to all pray in our heads

by no means. But even if you don't say

something with your lip, He's picking up on your thoughts

right now. Can we just begin to talk to

God? Maybe.

Maybe you can be vulnerable right now, in the moment and the

things that He's already heard in your mind.

Maybe there's some things that you just need to speak out by

faith right now. Or maybe maybe there's some

things that you've been afraid to entertain outside of your

mind and heart that you need to just present before Him.

He already knows and He has already heard.

He has already heard. He is a merciful God.

Amen. Say, well, I don't, I don't want

God to judge me. He will give you mercy and he

will verify before there's ever any judgement.

We got some space of time. Maybe we need to ask God to

search us, look at us. Maybe, maybe we need to cling to

that mercy and we need to take advantage of that.

Not in the negative way, but we need to, we need to pull that in

close and understand the opportunity and the privilege

that's been extended to us by that.

Maybe there's something alone and in your heart.

You, you got lost family, you got lost family members.

You have people in your community, strangers you don't

even know, but you see them on a path to destruction of

wickedness and despair. And maybe you're standing

somewhere in the gap in your home, in your bedroom, you're

crying out to God for the city of Mount Carmel and for your

family. And for those it's going to be

taken because they've they've rejected God's mercy and, and

everything that has been spoken about where they are has

BeenVerified by the Kingdom of heaven.

Maybe you need to be one that lifts up your voice and say,

God, Lord, Lord, trust me. Lord, with that, trust me.

With that agenda, trust me, Lord Jesus, with that scenario, God,

I pray, O Lord, intervene, Help us to go to God in prayer and

intervention, in giving of ourself, of our time, of our

resources, Amen. For the purpose of someone else,

God, you can trust me. Can someone say that tonight?

Amen. Toward heaven.

God, I want you to be able to trust me.

I want you to be able to trust me.

Oh Lord, you know me inward and outward, Oh Lord, you know, Lord

Jesus, the things that my mind even fastens to, you know me,

Lord. You know what I've entertained

today? You know what I've entertained

in my heart today? You know, Lord Jesus, what I've

kept hidden from everybody else, but in my heart and mind, God,

I've cradled the Lord Jesus there.

You know God, you know God, You know God the Lord, You know Lord

Jesus the laughter and you know Lord Jesus.

God, I said I want to be accounted as your friend, Lord.

I want to be accounted as more than just an acquaintance.

I want you to know my name and I want to know your name, Lord

Jesus. God, I want there to be some

type of Lord equalization of a knowing Lord Jesus as much as we

can to one with the other. I pray, O Father, today God help

us Lord in this hour, help us O Lord to be known and to know God

in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that I pray Hallelujah,

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, the church say Amen.

It is important tonight again remember revivals coming up on

Sunday when we start Sunday it don't end till Friday because

revivals till Wednesday. But then we got prayer on

Thursday, OK. And so it don't end till Friday

and so sleep when you can, right?

Be mindful. Be here.

Your regular times on Sunday. The other days of the week will

be at 7:00 PM. They'll be consistent.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, all of it will be 7:00 PM.

Come worship ready to praise, magnify the Lord.

Whenever your carcass is telling you to stay home this next week,

tell it to go to church. When it's saying you're tired,

put in your mind it's a hour and a half, two hours of time.

Even if you got to show up when it starts and leave when it

ends. Also another side note, if

you're going to camp, whether on on site, off site, please sign

your name on the list in the back, there's 2 sheets of paper

on two different things because 1 sheet of papers almost already

full. So please sign your name just so

I know who is there. And I'm going to go on and put

this in here if this is all right.

Brother Mason, again, I've had a question.

Come to me about Monday there will you cannot show up on

Monday. If you're going to camp, you

cannot show up on Monday. You'll show up on Tuesday, all

right. In years gone by, we've been

able to show up Monday, but you can't this year.

It just, there's a lot of people that get there that's just in

the way of really set up, trying to be done and it just makes it

more difficult to be set up and ready for Tuesday.

So you cannot be there on Monday.

If you want to go to Frankfurt on Monday, fine, but you won't

be on the campgrounds. You're saying what I'm saying?

I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to be blunt, all

right. And so you can't be there on

Monday, be there on Tuesday. You can get there and get

registered before the service begins there in the afternoon

time. So all right, just a reminder or

public announcement and that will be coming soon, I think in

social media direction to from from the Indiana district.

But just a heads up for planned preparation, all those good

things. So you can keep some towels at

the house. You don't have to less towels to

bring.