JOHN: Okay, some of you aren’t getting this, some of you are. Okay, all right. All of you know me as John Bevere, speaker, some of you know me as John Bevere, author, but there is a lady, and she is a lady, her name is Lisa, Lisa Bevere. She knows me as John Bevere, husband, she knows me as John Bevere, best friend, she knows me as John Bevere, Dad, she knows me as John Bevere, Gee Daddy, that’s grandpa because I’m way too young to be called grandpa, she knows me as John Bevere, athlete, she knows me as John Bevere, lover. Now can I say this — none of you will ever know me as John Bevere, lover!
AUDIENE: (LAUGHING)
JOHN: That is a facet of my personality you will never know. Only Lisa knows it because she’s the closest person to me on this earth. God just revealed a facet of His personality to Abraham that nobody had ever known before because he’s my friend. Now if you look at the relationship between God and Abraham it’s amazing. One day God makes this statement: Should we do what we’re planning on doing with Sodom and Gomorrah without first talking to our friend Abraham about this? So the Lord comes down by the terebinth tree, has a meal with Abraham and He and Abraham leave the two angels and everybody else, all the servants and they go over to the cliff and they look over the plains of Sodom and the Lord looks at Abe and says, “Abe, we’re thinking about blowing up these two cities. What do you think?”
AUDIENCE: (BIG LAUGHTER)
JOHN: And Abe goes SODOM! And the Lord goes yeah, yeah, yeah, Sodom, and Gomorrah, too. What do you think? And Abe goes “think, think, think— Okay, okay, wait! You wouldn’t like blow up these two cities if there was 50 righteous people, would ya? And the Lord goes, “Excellent idea, excellent idea! Okay, we will not blow up the cities if there’s 50 righteous people.” Glad we talked to our friend, Abraham. Abraham goes what if there isn’t 50. He goes wait a minute, wait a minute, what about if there was 45 righteous people? Would you blow up the cities if there’s 45? The Lord goes “another good idea. Okay, we will not blow up the cities if there’s 45.” So Abraham talks Him all the way down to ten. He figures there’s got to be ten, I mean I got Lot’s, one, all I need is 9 others. Right?
AUDIENCE: (LAUGHTER)
JOHN: But you know there’s not. Now this is what is amazing. The Bible says Sodom and Gomorrah’s buying, selling, trading, marrying, giving in marriage, planting and harvesting. What is all that in today’s vernacular? Life is great, the economy is booming, and if there is a God, He doesn’t mind our lifestyle. They’re 24 hours from being obliterated and they’re clueless. That is not what’s scary. This is what is scary! Everybody say “Lot”!
AUDIENCE: Lot!
JOHN: Who the Bible calls righteous. Okay, let me put it to you in today’s terminology. Saved, born again, Christian.
AUDIENCE: Right, uh, huh, c’mon now.
JOHN: Lot’s 24 hours away from being obliterated. He’s as clueless as Sodom and Gomorrah. It takes two messengers of mercy, two angels, because Abraham prayed, thank God Abraham prayed, to get him out. And his wife was a little too attached, that’s why she became a pillar of salt and Jesus says in the New Testament “remember Lot’s wife” in speaking about the fear of the Lord. Now here’s two righteous men, two saved men, two born again men, let’s put in today’s terminology. One righteous man knows what God’s going to do before He’s does it and helps God decide how He’s going to do it. The other righteous man, righteous man, saved man is as clueless as the world. Why? This righteous saved man fears God, therefore he’s the friend of God, therefore God shares His secrets with him. This righteous saved born again man is not the friend of God. He’s saved, he’s righteous but he’s not the friend of God therefore God doesn’t share His secrets with him. Moses is the other man. The Bible says Israel knew God by His works, Moses knew His ways.
He revealed His ways to Moses but Israel knew God by His works. Correct? What does it mean that Israel knew God by His works? Israel knew God by how their prayers were answered. Do you know how many people in America, Christians I’m talking about, their relationship with God is limited to how God’s answered my prayers. My daughter was sick, we prayed and God healed her. We had a financial need, we sowed a seed, and God met the need. Moses knew many times what God was going to do before he did it and two times God literally changed His mind because of what Moses said to Him in reminding God of what He had previously said. Now here’s two righteous people, okay, groups of people, because they all came out of Egypt, they all drink the same spiritual food, ate the same spiritual food, they all followed that Rock which was Christ. We have two groups of saved people.
Israel who only knows God by how He’s answers his [their] prayers and you have Moses who knows what God’s going to do before he does it. Why? Because Israel doesn’t fear God therefore they don’t know the secrets of God they only know God by how He answers their prayers. And here’s Moses who knows what God’s going to do before He does it because he’s the friend of God because he fears God because the secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him and he will show them His covenant. Now do you want to see this in the New Testament? One person? (audience laughs) Do you want to see it in the New Testament?
