Title Fountain of Blessing/Genesis 18:1-15
Contents The fountain of blessings received by treating people as if they were the Lord / Genesis 18:1-15
1. God approached Abraham in the form of an ordinary man: verses 1-2
Today's text, Genesis 18, begins with the words that Jehovah appeared to Abraham. The fact that Jehovah God appeared to Abraham alone is an event of great glory to Abraham and a blessing of experiencing God's special grace. However, God did not appear to Abraham from heaven with numerous angels in heaven riding on the clouds and playing the heavenly military band. God appeared to Abraham in the form of an ordinary man that can be seen everywhere. Of course, Abraham never dreamed that the one who appeared before him was Jehovah God.
God visits us at a special time and special place where the members of the church gather to worship together, meet us, and give us grace. Also, God comes to us as a very ordinary person in our daily life. He comes to us in a strong way at special times, but he comes to us in a very ordinary way in our daily life.
Abraham was sitting and resting at the entrance of the tent, and a man appeared from the opposite side, and when he lifted his eyes and looked at the other side, he saw three strangers standing there. Abraham had no idea who they were or why they were standing there.
2. Abraham welcoming people with all his heart: verses 2-8
Abraham could look indifferently and turn his eyes away from the three men who appeared before his eyes. However, if Abraham had looked at the people with indifferent eyes and turned away, Abraham would not have met God who came to him and the blessings of God. Abraham could also look at the three men before his eyes with hostility. If Abraham had seen him with hostility, he would have missed the opportunity to meet God and God's blessings who came to him. Therefore, looking at the people in front of me with hostility is like kicking with my feet the blessings of God who visits me and God wants to give me.
Abraham was not indifferent to the three men who appeared before him. Nor was he treated with hostility. When Abraham saw those who appeared before him, he did not delay and ran to meet them. And he bowed down and treated them with dignity. Abraham welcomed the people from the heart and warmly welcomed them with all his heart with water, bread, and calves. A man of God is a person who was created in God's image regardless of the person's social status in dealing with people, and for one reason that God loved him at the risk of his life, we welcome the people we meet like Abraham, It is to receive them like Abraham and to treat them like Abraham. God gives such a life the blessing of obtaining a spring.
We live in constant relationship with others. However, in our relationships with other people, we react in two main ways. One is hostility, the other is hospitality. It is one of the devil's main strategies to make us live in hostility. Then our inner man becomes a life full of many enemies, and the enemies in our hearts will destroy us. However, the Holy Spirit comes upon us in full and melts the hostility in our hearts. The Holy Spirit removes the hostility that seeks to hold us captive. The Holy Spirit removes enmity and instead cherishes people and fills them with welcoming and welcoming hospitality. Hostility is treating the other person as an enemy, whereas hospitality is accepting the other person as a friend. The Holy Spirit fills our hearts with hospitality and fills our lives with countless friends. I bless you as believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit and welcome people as friends with warm hospitality.
3. Abraham received God's visitation and blessing: verses 9-14
Abraham valued the people he met by chance and welcomed them with all his heart. And while receiving warm hospitality with all his heart, he enjoyed the precious blessing of meeting God. They also enjoyed the blessings that God gave them. What blessings?
First, Abraham warmly welcomed, welcomed, and treated those who appeared before him. Then, I enjoyed the greatest glory of receiving and treating God. Second, Abraham received God's great blessing while receiving and treating those who appeared before him. It was a blessing in which God's promise to Abraham was realized in concrete terms. Previously, it was the stage of the covenant. However, you will receive the blessing that goes beyond the covenant and enters the stage of concrete realization with joy. So, until this day, I was at the stage of the promise that I would have a son. However, on this day as an opportunity, Abraham's family received the blessing of being the first day of the realization of the conception of a son.
Abraham received the blessing of God, in which God's blessings that work beyond all impossibilities are realized in concrete terms, even though the possibility does not appear. It is the fact that Abraham received the blessing of God, who overcomes all impossible realities and makes it a reality, while serving those who pass by. The blessings of obtaining a spring of blessing in detail are those that the members meet every day and treat the people they deal with every day as if they were the Lord, and when they sincerely treat them, they receive them by welcoming them with all their heart.
Dear saints! How we treat people is an important indicator of our faith. When there are people we meet at work, or people we stumble upon, we want you to realize that they are so precious. And please actively express them so that they feel that their lives are precious. At that time, we will meet Jesus through such daily events and receive a fountain of precious blessings from Jesus. I bless you in the name of Jesus that you will become the saints who will receive this precious blessing.
application and sharing
??Let's share experiences in which God came to us in a very ordinary way in our daily life.
??Unknowingly, Abraham enjoyed God's blessing through hospitality. If there is a blessing from God that I have received from people in my life through hospitality rather than hostility, let me share.
??We live in constant relationship with others. Let's pray together so that we can receive the filling of the Holy Spirit in that relationship, fill our hearts with hospitality, and enjoy God's blessings by welcoming people.