SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

The Outcry

Words of Faith Final

The Outcry
Words of Faith 3-31-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL    
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><<><

Genesis 18
    [20] Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous [21] that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
    [22] The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. [23] Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? [24] What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? [25] Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
    [26] The Lord said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

      When does the judgment of the Lord come? Why? How severe? God is all-knowing and certainly knows these things. Yet, God chooses to interact with those He has called even as that future unfolds.
      There was an outcry against the wickedness in Sodom and Gomorrah. The outcry was probably from the people hurting and shattered by the horrible depravity (the many sins) of Sodom and Gomorrah. It may have been an outcry from creation itself at the wretched twisting of nature that was going on there. The Lord determined to have a closer look.
      Of course, God is all-knowing, but this image shows us that He desires to closely interact with His creation. God does not take the matter of judgment lightly. He takes a close look.
       The "three men"-- the presence of God Who had been meeting with Abraham under the trees-- went to investigate the situation in Sodom but Abraham remained before the Lord. What we see is a powerful scene of intercession here.
       This passage and the following verses should not be viewed as "bargaining" with the Lord. Abraham knew that he had nothing to offer in a bargain. This was pleading. Abraham knew that he had been blessed to be a blessing to all nations. The destruction of these cities by the Lord would preclude any possibility of them receiving such blessing.
        Perhaps the most significant point here is that the Lord is not capricious in His judgments. He is not rash or sudden. He is patient. He is willing to allow sin to continue if there is some hope of repentance. He is willing to wait on His judgment a long time. God had called Abraham to a heart of intercession. Abraham was right where he was supposed to be, before the Lord, pleading for mercy on behalf of the righteous.
        A powerful point of reference is found in Romans 11:33-36: Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! [34] "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"  [35] "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" [36] For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
         God is sovereign. He is all knowing. We cannot "counsel" Him! Yet, like Abraham, we are called to stand before Him and intercede for His mercy. We are called to pray for those He is still saving. We are called to stand in prayer for a lost world that desperately needs the Gospel!

      Gracious and merciful Father: I stand today before You, humble and broken. The world around me is filled with sin. My own sin is ever before me, yet I stand in Your righteousness. I plead for mercy for our world. I plead for more time that more may come to know You. I plead for the safety of the righteous as they stand in places of danger. You are just. You are alone are righteous. You alone are God. I worship You. In Jesus' name.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at http://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/cgi-bin/devotions/displayMonths.cgi
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -      
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.