Overview
This teaching examines “Grace, God’s Aid in Time of Need” through 2 Timothy 1, Genesis 1, Hebrews 4, Genesis 18, showing how grace, abraham, time shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Transcript
Understanding Grace, God’s Aid in Time of Need
Grace, God’s aid in time of need. Most of us are probably familiar with the Star Wars movies. There are many of these movies and they’ve been a part of our movie culture at least here in the United States for decades.
So much so that some of the most well-known lines from the movies have kind of permeated into the culture itself. And one of the most well-known lines from the Star Wars movies is, may the force be with you. And if you’re familiar with these movies, you know that this line was spoken by the Jedi fighters to each other and literally meant that no matter where you went or what situation you faced, the force would be there to guide and protect you.
And if you think about it, God’s grace is like that. It’s a force field, if you will, of His love, His kindness, and His favor for His people to tap into. And one of the things that we’ve learned about grace recently, specifically from the Grace Conference, is that God’s grace is eternal.
And 2 Timothy 1.9 tells us that. It existed before Genesis 1.1 and will be present throughout all eternity. It’s an indescribable loving gift from our loving Heavenly Father that has spanned before all time even began and will continue forever.
So understanding grace in that light, could mankind possibly ever do enough to deserve it or earn it? No. Grace existed before we were even in existence. So how could man really have anything to do with it? And this is why grace is really the heart and foundation of our wholeness and oneness with God, our Heavenly Father.
Because of this wholeness and oneness with God, we can do a lot of things. We can commune with God. We can talk to God.
The Biblical Foundation
We can partner with God in every aspect of our lives. We can go to God in any situation, and He wants us to do that. And it says so in His Word.
And if you’ll turn, please, in your Bibles to Hebrews 4.16, you can read your version there. King James, it says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. The New Living Translation of this verse says, So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.
There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. In researching this topic of grace, I found it described various ways. I saw it described as God’s loving regard, timely aid, gracious pity, bestowing of needful blessings.
One biblical researcher described it as timely aid, punctually and precisely at the very nick of time, at the very exact time of heaven’s chronometer. A chronometer is an exceptionally precise timepiece, and there are numerous records in God’s Word where these elements of grace are beautifully illustrated. And we’re going to look at one today in the Old Testament.
And it’s a record of Abraham and Lot. And if you turn in your Bibles to Genesis 18, we’re going to pick up this record of Abraham. And at this particular time in Abraham’s life, it’s right on the heels of Abraham receiving the covenant of circumcision.
And at this time, Abraham is resting outside of his tent. So let’s read verse 1. And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre, and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him.
And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself toward the ground. So Abraham looks up. He sees these three men standing by.
Examples and Spiritual Lessons
So he hurriedly runs to greet them, and he goes on to offer them hospitality. The rest of the washing of feet and offering them a meal, which is the Eastern custom at the time to which the men accept. And during the course of their visit to Abraham, these men began to state the nature of their business.
And they proceed to deliver to Abraham several pieces, two particular, very startling news. One of those pieces of news was that Sarah would, in fact, conceive and have a son. It’s probably at this point that Abraham begins to realize that these aren’t just men.
These are God’s representatives, our angels. It’s during this visit that these angels also inform Abraham of the fate of Sodom. So what do we know about Sodom? Genesis 13, 13 states, the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
So the men of Sodom despised God. They openly defied him. But who else lives in Sodom? Abraham’s nephew, Lot.
The Word tells us in 2 Peter 2, verses 7 and 8, that Lot was righteous and that he was vexed or oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked. Day to day, seeing and hearing their lawless deeds. And yet, earlier in Genesis 13, it is stated that this is where Lot chose to live when he separated himself from Abraham.
The beauty of the land caught Lot’s eye, but the wickedness of its people apparently had not. Either he was willing to overlook their wickedness for the sake of the land, or perhaps he just never found out and didn’t know anything about the people. But we might wonder, you know, about Lot’s choice in choosing to live there.
So Abraham, still in the presence of the angels, he’s been told of Sodom’s imminent destruction. To Abraham, this is not good news. Before that happens, we’re going to see Abraham’s intervention.
Faith in Action
We’re going to pick up the record in Genesis 18 and we’re going to read verses 23, verses 25. And Abraham drew near, still in the presence of the angels, and said, Will thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city. Wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? Verse 25.
That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked. That be far from thee. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? What’s Abraham doing here? He’s doing Hebrews 4.16. He doesn’t have the verse in front of him, of course, but he is going boldly before God’s throne of grace for that timely aid on Lot’s behalf.
What he’s really doing is he’s he’s tapping in to that eternal force field of grace to intercede in order to save Lot. And what’s interesting is some biblical scholars say that Abraham was interceding not just for Lot, but for the entire city as well. And these people were the ones that Abraham and his trained men risked their lives for.
We can read about that in Genesis 14. To bring them back from captivity when they, including Lot, had been captured. And Abraham goes on to intercede by going to God a total of six times in this exchange to spare the righteous.
Each time moving from, if there be 50, if there be 45, well what if there’s 40? What if there’s only 30 and 20 and down to 10? Six times he did that. At that point Abraham is assured that if there’s 10 righteous found in the city, then it wouldn’t be destroyed. And we’re going to pick up the record in Genesis 19.
So go over a chapter. Verse 1 says, And there came two angels to Sodom at Even. And Lot sat in the gate of Sodom.
Walking in Love and Confidence
And Lot, seeing them, rose up to meet them. And he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. Now these most likely are two of the three angels that had just been with Abraham that have now arrived for their mission in Sodom.
And like Abraham, Lot rises to greet them and offers them hospitality and takes them into his home for refreshment, a meal, and so forth. But before nightfall, all the men of Sodom surround Lot’s home and demand that he turn over the visiting men to them. Their attack and intent was so vicious that the angels smote the men with blindness to thwart their purposes.
The angels smote them with a confusion to thwart what they were trying to do. One biblical commentator said that it was actually this act, the act of the men trying to attack the angels in Lot’s home, it was actually this act that sealed the doom of the city. And we’re going to jump up in Genesis 19, read verse 13.
So this is a really intense time for Lot, his family, the angels, that this has just taken place. And in verse 13, the angels then tell Lot, we will destroy this place because the cry of them is waxing great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. But let’s back up, hang on, because remember we’re learning about grace.
And we want to look at verse 12. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides, son-in-law and thy sons and thy daughters? And whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place. So what’s happening here? In Barnes notes, he says, the visitors now take steps for the deliverance of Lot and his kindred before the destruction of the cities.
All that are related to him are included in the offer. There is a blessing in being connected with the righteous, if men will but avail themselves of it. So we see here, not only was Abraham like a shield of grace, if you will, for Lot and his immediate family, but God then allows Lot to be a shield for his extended family.
Applying the Teaching in Daily Life
How huge is God’s grace? We know that only Lot and his immediate family ultimately escaped Sodom’s destruction, but Lot had offered escape to other members of his family. They just refused to accept it. Matthew Henry says of this point of the record, the salvation of the most righteous men is of God’s mercy, not by their own merit.
We are saved by grace. And the point here is that Abraham wasn’t perfect, Lot wasn’t perfect, none of us are perfect, but God is there with timely aid. His grace and whatever form or shape we need at our time of need.
And this record involving Abraham and Lot really illustrate this point perfectly. Other records do as well. We can all think of other records where these points are illustrated.
Another one, for example, is in Joshua 6. We see Rahab in a similar fashion as a shield of grace for her father’s entire family were saved from Jericho’s destruction because they were connected to her and they did listen to her. Another one that we can review is in Acts 27. During that Euryclidon, that terrible typhoon, through no doubt Paul’s intercession, in that situation, God told Paul that this was also by way of an angel in that situation, that even though the ship would be destroyed, Paul and his companions and everyone else on that ship, their lives would be saved.
How huge is God’s grace? Talk about aid in time of need. There were over 200 people on that ship. In each of these records, we see God’s loving care and his timely aid to the righteous and to others connected to them.
And if we go back and look at Hebrews 4.16, I’m going to read the amplified. Therefore, let us with privilege approach the throne of grace, that is the throne of God’s gracious favor, with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy for our failures and find his amazing grace to help in time of need, an appropriate blessing coming just at the right moment. We certainly saw that, especially in that situation with Abraham and Lot.
James 4.6 says that we’ve been given more grace. God has certainly paved the way for us to simply accept what he makes available and we only need to really reach out to that force field of grace, to tap into it. Grace is part of our heritage and is the heart and the very foundation of our wholeness and oneness with God.
Key Takeaways
- He doesn’t have the verse in front of him, of course, but he is going boldly before God’s throne of grace for that timely aid on Lot’s behalf.
- And Abraham goes on to intercede by going to God a total of six times in this exchange to spare the righteous.
- King James, it says, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
- A chronometer is an exceptionally precise timepiece, and there are numerous records in God’s Word where these elements of grace are beautifully illustrated.
- It’s during this visit that these angels also inform Abraham of the fate of Sodom.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of “Grace, God’s Aid in Time of Need”?
This teaching examines “Grace, God’s Aid in Time of Need” through 2 Timothy 1, Genesis 1, Hebrews 4, Genesis 18, showing how grace, abraham, time shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Which scriptures are central to this teaching?
The teaching draws especially from 2 Timothy 1, Genesis 1, Hebrews 4, Genesis 18, Genesis 13.
How can believers apply this teaching?
Believers can receive the truth presented, verify it in Scripture, and put it into practice with faith, humility, love, and consistent action.
Scripture References
2 Timothy 1; Genesis 1; Hebrews 4; Genesis 18; Genesis 13; 2 Peter 2
This text was prepared from the teaching audio or source document. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
