Do You Really Care About Others - Genesis 18-19

If you contend that you really care about other people who are not members of your own family or life long friends, what do you have to prove it even during the last twelve months? Just remember that your actions speak much louder than your words; so do you have some pictures or receipts; are there memories of specific incidents where you have shown mercy or specifically ministered to a stranger? Or, does your bank statement reflect that you love lost or needy people? There are several ways that you can know for sure; and there should be ways that you can prove that you do care for other people.

In our church, and I am sure in most others, there are many ways to prove your interest in lost and needy people. Your tithes support the local church in its daily task of ministry to the local congregation and of course we understand that many of these locals have desperate needs that include both the spiritual and physical. We call this our general operating fund and it pays the salaries of the staff, for water, lights, heat and air conditioning, and the other cost connected with the operation of a program that is now approaching a million dollars each year. The Bible explicitly says that the tithe of a Christian is equal to ten percent of your annual gross salary, and NOT your annual NET salary. God demands that your tithe be paid first, before the grocery bill. Believe me, if you will live and give by this rule, the 90% you have left will go further than it will under any other arrangement.

If you will be faithful to God in the payment of your tithe, he will always prosper you in such a way that you will have some other monies during the year that you can give as your offerings. These are the ones that go to Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong, Dixie Jackson, your Sunday school class, The Hammerheads, and love offerings, to help the needy and students that are perusing a Christian education. Guess what…when it is all said and done, you will be the one that receives the greatest blessings. The Bible promises that if we “Will give, it will be given unto us…stacked up and shaken down so that we do not have to worry about our own circumstances. The greatest blessing in all the world comes when we give of ourselves that God and others may be blessed. Do you care about others? Sure you do.

One more thought regarding giving to the poor and needy, and then we will move on to other ways that we are expected to share with others. I don’t know about you but I am depressed when I view some of the scenes that appear on television where children are shown in desperate circumstances—weak and starving, swarming with flies and bugs of all kinds, digging through garbage in search of a morsel of food. I do not deny that this may be actual scenes of the way things are; this may be actually happening each day of our lives—but I am sorry to say that there are crooks that are so greedy for wealth that they will exploit these children, collect your money and use it for personal excessive wealth, and the children actually receive very little of your gift…if any at all. How do you respond?

I hope I can set your mind and heart at ease if you are one that turns these programs off along with the televangelist that are living in palace like homes, flying custom made jet planes, and wintering in the Bahamas, all this on the money that people contribute to needy children. What ever church you attend, surely it has some avenues through which you can safely give knowing your money will arrive where it is needed and where unto you gave it. My advice is to stick with programs that you are sure of and have confidence in. If you do not have such a program…then you can always find some needy soul around your town and make it a personal gift. Deliver your gift yourself and receive a double whammy of grace and glory. It will make you feel good.

Now let us stop for a few moments and think about other ways that we can contribute to the welfare of others in need. Don’t know about your church, but at First Baptist in Heber Springs, you can walk into the sanctuary almost any Sunday morning and get the feeling that you have just entered the auditorium in some Old Folks home. Most of the women’s hair is grey, while most of the men’s hair is just not there. Believe me, there is a huge number of our people that need your intercessory prayers.

Many of these older people who have more problems than carter has little liver pills. The problems are real and sometimes devastating. They have lost their health and sometimes their wealth and have special needs just like the people in the third world countries. It is even more difficult for any person to have lived well and now find themselves deprived. The mind plays tricks on some of us who are older, and we wonder what we have done wrong that is causing our new hampering situations. Christians have the obligation of being conservative, seeing and recognizing the needs that are present and offering personal advice, personal help, and above all intercessory prayer for them regularly.

Now allow me to get down to the nitty-gritty, down where the hair grows short; where it is difficult to love, care, and give to others. There are circumstances that we can observe that may cause us to feel that some people just do not deserve being helped; but this is not for us to decide. I think we all realize this, but what I want to warn us about is that it is not our place to make the judgment. The Bible says that we should leave the judging to God. It says that we should judge not, lest we be judged by the same judgment. I have a suspicious feeling that Abraham had a pretty good knowledge of what was going on in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah regarding the sinful lives of the people who lived there. But he did not condemn them and call for their destruction; rather he entered into intercessory prayer for their welfare.

It is pretty difficult for us to realize how Abraham and Sarah really had much trust and confidence left. It had been thirteen years since they were told that they would have a son that would be the father of all mankind. They had already taken over for God and devised their own plan wherein Ishmael would be their source through which they would be blessed with unnumbered descendents. [Abraham and his wife’s maid, Hagar had Ishmael out of wedlock.] Then during this thirteenth year later, three angels [men sent from God] dropped by his house to tell him that he and Sarah would have a son in their old age, whose name was to be Isaac, and that they would be back by to see the son when he was born. Some doubt was present because Sarah laughed at the thought.

They were frightened, and embarrassed and even showed openly that they had some doubts. Even in this condition and under these circumstances when they learned that the men [angels] were going on down to Sodom and Gomorrah to judge the people of that city, Abraham was very concerned. His nephew, Lot, lived there and he had knowledge of the sins of the people in those cities. I feel sure that he was concerned about his nephew; however he went to some length to intercede for the many others whom he did not know. Abraham asked them their intentions, and they told him that they were being sent to destroy the cities because of their many sins against the living God. Here you will find one of the most specific personal requests ever made to God about saving people, some that Abraham did not even know.

Abraham questioned God’s plan to destroy every one in these two cities. He asked these questions. Is it right to destroy everyone in these cities if there are some there that are not a part of the sinful ways of the people? The answer seemed to be, probably not. So he started one of the most specific intercessory prayers ever uttered by man.

If there are 50 Godly people found there; will you spare the cities? Yes. What if there are only 45; will you then spare the people from destruction? Yes. But, Lord, if there are only 30 righteous found there, should you not spare them? Yes. In my mind’s eye, I can see the two angels still standing, and looking into Abrahams worried eyes, as he made still another request…What if there are only 20 God fearing people in the land, will you spare them? YES. How far do you go in your intercessory prayers for strangers? Abraham realized that he had kindred there; Lot, his wife and two daughters…four people that were his kindred, but that was not the number used in his last request. Abraham asked the two angels from God, if you can find at least 10 [ten] righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, will you spare the cities. YES. Abraham did not extend his request to only his relatives.

There are some unknowns in this story, but is interesting and may be worth some speculation. Three men visited with Abraham and Sarah, brought the good news regarding Isaac and had dinner with them—but only two of the angels [men] showed up at Lot’s house. Remember that it was after they had left Abrahams house that he had a conversation with one man called [the lord] and prayed his prayer of intercession. Did one of the three remain behind to hear this plea?

Men, young and old, stormed Lot’s home and demanded that he send the two visitors out so they could have sex with them. To my knowledge, this is the only specific sin that was mentioned in this story. This should warn everyone about the sin of homo-sexuality. After the altercation outside the front door, the two angels dragged Lot inside to save his life, closed the door, and struck all, young and old, with blindness. My question here is did this include spiritual blindness? It must have, because until this day, homosexuals still cannot see that they are living in a condemned life style. They are still blind and either do not recognize it or have hardened until they do not care any more.

Instructions were given to Lot to leave hurriedly—and don’t look back. Lot’s wife looked back and was killed immediately and preserved as a block of salt. Why not stone—or as a petrified stump or log? I believe that she was petrified as salt, because of the preservative nature of salt.

This lesson is one good example of how God is able to depart many truths to us in one passage of scripture. There is no wonder why we can read the same scripture over and over and still glean other truths at each new reading. Take a few moments and think about other titles that could have been given to the study of these two chapters. A few are: “Saved as by Fire”—“Never Doubt God”—“Don’t Laugh at God’ Word”—“Intercessory Prayer”—“God’s Judgment is Sure”—“Be Wise in Choosing Your Home Site”—“The Horrible Sin of Homosexuality”—or “Don’t be Blinded by Your Sin.”