Walk by Faith

• 1^st – Too much stuff… vs. 5-9
  • 1^st – Lot had traveled with Abram – from Ur / to Haran / Canaan / Egypt / and back… vs. 5-7
    • Along the way both had accumulated a LOT of flocks (sheep) / herds (cattle) / tents (people)!
    • Not to mention the Canaanites and Perizzites who also lived in the same place!
    • This caused a problem because there were too many animals for the land to support…
    • As a result – conflicts began to arise between herdsman of Abram and Lot…
    • Presumably they were fighting over watering holes – Canaan is a desert…
    • As well as fighting over sparse grazing lands!
  • 2^nd – Lot had a LOT of STUFF…
    • That STUFF was about to lead him into a LOT of trouble…
      • We often miss that our circumstances are arranged by God – we are where He wants us…
      • Yet most of us do not accept what the Lord has given to us – we want more!
      • Solomon tried everything – looking for happiness – Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
      • But Solomon learned instead it was all vanity – like chasing after the win!
      • Looking for happiness – answers to life in this world – is chasing the wind…
      • It is not about chasing something that is hard to catch – nothing there to catch!
      • There is nothing wrong with having STUFF – the problem is when stuff has us…
      • The richest man is not the one with the most STUFF – it is the one who is content…
      • The poorest man is not the one with the least STUFF – it is the one who wants more!
      • I Timothy 6:6 – “Now godliness with contentment is great [wealth].”
    • Therefore – we should be content with what we have…
      • Buy a new motor / a new cell phone – happy – but it only lasts a day / week!
      • In the end we are emptier than before we started – it does not fill our life…
      • We will never be content – not matter how much we have – if we want more!
      • Hebrews 13:5 – “Do not covet – be content with such things as you have.”
        
    • The problem is we cannot serve two masters – Matthew 6:24
      • If our main concern in life is getting STUFF – we are going to have trouble…
      • We will get lots of UTANG and then have the problem of how to pay it back…
      • We will gamble your money – then have nothing left for food…
      • We will compromise our morals to get an extra PESO – then not sleep at night!
      • All because we thought having LOTS of STUFF would solve all our problems…
      • It does not solve problems – it is the SOURCE of our problems!
      • I Timothy 6:9-10 – “People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money [STUFF] is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money [STUFF], have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
  • 3^rd – The solution of Abram… vs. 8-9
    • Abram said (imperfect) to Lot…
      • We are brethren – therefore there should not be a strife between us…
      • Let us separate – if you go left then I will go right / if you go right then I will go left…
      • Abram was not worried about what was to the left or to the right…
      • He knew that it did not matter which way he went!
      • He had LEANED his lesson with the FAMINE and EGYPT – Genesis 13:1-4
      • His fortune did not lie in where he was – it was based on whom he trusted in!
    • Often – we get caught up in the rights and lefts of life…
      • A place where we have to make a decision – and we do not know what to do…
      • We want to know which way we should go – and it really does not matter…
      • Rather than worry about decision – all that matters is who we are trusting in!
      • Are we relying on Jesus – then go right or go left – He will take care of both!
• 2^nd – Lot lifted his eyes… vs. 10-13
  • 1^st – A decision made with the eyes… vs. 10
    • Lot LIFTED his eyes (Sequential / Imperfect) and SAW (S/I) …
      • BECAUSE Lot was looking continually with his eyes – he saw what he wanted to see…
      • The fertile plain of the Jordan – reason and logic said it was the best place to go…
      • It was well watered everywhere – like the Garden of God (Eden) / like Egypt near Zoar!
    • The problem was rather than seek the Lord for direction – Lot looked with his eyes
      • The problem with depending on what we can see – is we only see today…
      • What looks like a good idea today – may turn out to be a terrible idea tomorrow!
      • The fertile valley Lot saw – is called the Dead Sea today – nothing grows there are all!
      • The reason – God reigned down fire and brimstone to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah…
      • It is like saying you want to get on the Titanic because it is the biggest / safest ship…
      • If only we could see tomorrow – we might make very different decisions!
    • To insist on making decision by what we can see – is in truth BLIND faith
      • We cannot see tomorrow – but we know who can – Jesus sees it all!
      • If are willing to ask and trust Him – we never have to worry about what will happen…
      • Trusting in the Lord who sees all – that is walking by true sight!
      • II Corinthians 5:7 – “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
  • 2^nd – The progression… vs. 11-13
    • Lot CHOSE (S/I) the plain of Jordan – then JOURNEYED (S/I) east…
      • He separated (S/I) from Abraham – a godly influence on his life…
      • Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain – pitched (S/I) his tent towards Sodom!
      • There is a progression – LIFTED / SAW / CHOSE / JOURNEYED / SEPARATED / PITCHED
      • All of these VERBS are tied together in the Hebrews as one consecutive action!
      • There is no way to break the chain in the middle – you have to go back to the beginning!
      • Once the first step is taken – LIFTED – the conclusion is inevitable – PITCHED!
      • BECAUSE Lot made his decisions by what he could SEE – he ends up near Sodom!
      • A city where the men were EXCEEDINLY wicked and sinful against the Lord…
      • And when we see him next – Genesis 19 – he will be living in that wicked city!
    • Lot was a good man – turns out he was a righteous man – II Peter 2:7
      • Yet where Abram had a BLESSED life – Lot did not end up nearly as well!
      • Because the path away from Jesus – to living for the world is a PROGRESSION…
      • We do not choose to live like the world in one day – it is a slow decent…
      • It begins when we choose to live by what we can SEE – not by FAITH…
      • From there our eyes are enticed by the things of the world (Sodom) …
      • Before you know it are walking away from those who are a godly influence…
      • And we are living like the world – no different from it…
      • There is only one way to break the chain – go back to the beginning…
      • Like Abraham – learn the lesson and chose to walk by FAITH!

3^rd – The faith of Abram… vs. 14-18

• 1^st – After Abram had separated from Lot – the last part of the command was fulfilled… vs. 14
  • God told Abram to leave his country (Ur of the Chaldeans) – Acts 7:2-3
    • He told him to leave his father (Terah died in Haran) – Genesis 12:1
    • But the last was to leave his family – he now finally done the last – left Lot…
    • It was when Abram had done all that God commanded – that things really happened!
  • God was patient to wait from Abram to learn and grow…
    • You do not plant a seed – and expect there to be fruit on the branches in the morning…
    • And if you sat there and waited for the plant to grow – you would likely give up!
    • So often we want to see the good fruit from our efforts right now!
    • When the fruit does not come – we get tired – assuming nothing will ever happen…
    • It is easy to get frustrated with the failures in our Christian walk…
    • It can be tempting to want to GIVE UP – thinking things will never change…
    • But we are not going to be great men and women of faith – in a day!
  • Abram was slow to learn – he even had his little side trip to Egypt…
    • The important thing is to be willing to step out and try to follow Jesus…
    • Not to say that we will be perfect – we will make mistakes…
    • We may fall – but that just means we get up and try again!
    • Proverbs 24:16 – “A righteous man may fall seven times And rise again.”
• 2^nd – The Lord COMMANDED Abram… vs. 14
  • LIFT (imperative) your eyes – and LOOK (imperative) – same verbs used by Lot…
    • BUT – Abram was not looking at the world – he was looking at the Lord!
    • Because his eyes were on Jesus – he could see things in a different light…
    • He had no son – the land he was in was full of great and powerful nations…
    • Yet as he looked – he saw what the Lord was showing him…
    • The bountiful land that God would give to his descendants!
  • When our eyes are on Jesus – we will see things very differently
    • We will face the same challenges that everyone else has in life…
    • But with our eyes on Jesus we will see things in a very different light…
    • We may have no money – yet we praise the Lord because we know God provides
    • In the same hardships where others are overwhelmed and despair – we smile
    • How – because where they only see the moment – we see far beyond – we see Jesus!
• 3^rd – The two promises… vs. 15-18
  • The Land…
    • Look to the north / south / east / and west – the land would be his descendants forever…
    • Not descendants – plural – the word is literally SEED – singular – Jesus!
    • There is a lot of question today about if Israel still belongs to the Jews…
    • All of the Arab nations would love to see the Jews leave PALESTINE!
    • The name Palestine is derived from the Latin word for Philistines…
    • It was a name first given to Judea by the Romans – after the Jewish revolt of 132 A.D.
    • Up until the 1960s it was a term that was synonymous with Jews…
    • At the beginning of the War of Independence in 1948 – Arabs fled PALESTINE…
    • Israel won the war – but failed to capture the West Bank (Jordan) / Gaza (Egypt)…
    • Any Arabs who stayed in Israel became citizens (and still are to this day)…
    • Those Arabs who fled ended up in refugee camps – never assimilated by Egypt / Jordan!
    • When Israel captured the West Bank / Gaza in 1967 – they inherited those camps…
    • They could not integrate the Arabs into Israel – they outnumbered the Jews (democracy)…
    • Yasser Arafat began the lie of the Palestinian people – tell it loud enough / long enough…
    • The PALESTINIANS are just Jordanian Arabs who were orphaned by their country in 1948!
    • The world debates over whether Israel has a rite to the Palestinian territory…
    • But it turns out God promised the LAND to the SEED over 4000 years ago!
    • The struggle is not about Land – the LAND belongs to Jesus – the struggle is spiritual…
    • And there will not be any peace in Israel – until the Messiah comes!
    • Psalm 122:6 – “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem…” – or pray for Jesus to come!
  • Your descendants – will be as numerous as the dust of the earth…
    • So how much dust is on the earth – lets compare…
    • God also said the descendants of Abram would be as the stars – Genesis 15:5
    • On a clear night you can see about 3000 stars in the sky – that is a lot….
    • But in our galaxy – there are over 100 billion stars – there are over 100 billion galaxies!
    • That means that there is an estimated ten billion trillion stars!
    • Perspective – a 10 billion trillion stack of 20-peso bills…
    • Would go from here to the sun and back over 3.5 million times!
    • The point being – there is a LOT – more than can be numbered…
    • And that was what God promised – your descendents will be beyond number!
  • Arise – walk through the Land – through its length and width…
    • Abram went to Hebron – south of Jerusalem – there he built an alter to the Lord…
    • Abram understood what the Lord was promising to give to him…
    • It was more than he could handle – it was beyond his imagination – Ephesians 3:20
    • His only response was to worship the Lord!
    • God wants to do so much in our lives – and does not expect it to happen in a day…
    • He only asks that we keep our eyes on Jesus – not caught up in the world…
    • We too will be left speechless – simply overwhelmed by the goodness of God!

4^th – The capture and rescue of Lot… vs. 1-11

• 1^st – As chapter 14 opens we are introduced to two groups of kings… vs. 1-2
  • The 4 Kings of Babylon…
    • Amraphel – proclaimer of darkness / King of Shinar (Babylon)
    • Arioch – lion like / King of Ellasar (town in Babylon)
    • Chedorlaomer – handful of sheaves / King of Elam (province in Babylon)
    • Tidal – great son / King of nations (literally gentiles – non-Jews)
  • The 5 Kings of the Jordan valley…
    • Bera – son of evil / King of Sodom (burning)
    • Birsha – with sin / King of Gomorrah (submersion) – wicked cities with wicked kings!
    • Shinab – splendor of the father / King of Admah (red earth)
    • Shemeber – lofty flight / King of Zeboiim (gazelles) – apparently they ran fast!
    • The King of Bella – (destruction) – also called Zoar – (insignificant) – note no name for king!
• 2^nd – For 12 years the Kings of the Jordan had served the Kings of Sodom… vs. 3-11
  • But in the 13 year they rebelled – no longer paying tribute…
    • In response – in the 14 year King Ched came with the Kings of Babylon…
    • They came to put down the rebellion of the kings of the Jordan valley…
    • They also took the opportunity to conquer all the kingdoms on the east side of the Jordan!
    • Rephaim – giants / in Ashteroth Karnaim
    • Zuzim – wild beasts / in Ham
    • Emim – terrors / in Shaveh Kiriathaim
    • Horites – cave dwellers / in Mt. Sier
    • The Amalekites and Amorites / in Hazezon Tamar
    • Then they turned and conquered the Kings of the Jordan plain – 4 against 5
    • Routing their armies – forcing the Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah to flee!
  • Why did the Holy Spirit want us to know all about these kings and their battles…
    • It shows the power of 4 Babylon kings that came and conquered…
    • Not only did they defeat the combined 5 armies of the Jordan Valley…
    • They first had conquered – Giants / Wild beast / Terrors / and Cave dwellers!
    • The point is simple – this was one seriously tough and powerful army!

• 5^th – One man escaped told Abram the Hebrew… vs. 12-15
  • 1^st – They Kings also took with them as captives – Lot – who dwelt in Sodom… vs. 12
    • Notice that Lot is no longer living close to Sodom – he is now IN Sodom!
    • The consequences were when the city fell – he became a captive as well…
    • If he had not moved into the city – there would never have been a problem!
  • 2^nd – One of the survivors of the onslaught came and told Abram what happened…
    • This is the first time in the Bible that the word HEBREW is used…
      • HEBREW – 34x in OT – one from beyond – Abram saw that this was not his home…
      • Again – in contrast to Lot – Abram was not tied to the world…
      • He was looking for a city whose maker and builder was God – Hebrews 11:8-10
    • Because he was walking by faith – looking to the Lord…
      • When the city of Sodom fell – it was not problem at all for Abram!
      • Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus tells us there are two foundations for life…
      • You can build your life on the Rock (Abram) or on the sand (Lot) …
      • When the storms of life come (in this case the armies of Babylon) …
      • If you are founded on sand (looking to the world) you will lose everything – Lot
      • If you are founded on the Rock (looking to Jesus) you will lose nothing – Abram!
      • The world is a very uncertain foundation for our lives – COVID
      • Much better to be on the immovable foundation that come from living in Jesus!
      • Like Abram realizing this is not our home – we are just passing through!
  • 3^rd – When Abram HEARD what happened… vs. 14-15
    • HEARD (sequential / imperfect) – he ARMED (S/I) 318 men born in his house / trained…
      • And went in PURSUIT (S/I) of the Armies of Babylon as far north as Dan…
      • He DIVIDED (S/I) his forces against them at night (sneak attack) …
      • And ATTACKED (S/I) and PURSUED (S/I) them to Hobah (hiding place) by Damascus!
    • God did not need a LARGE army to defeat the kings of Babylon…
      • Gideon was told to take an army of 300 against a foe numbering 135k – Judges 6-7
      • God used Jonathan and his armor bearer to defeat the Philistines – I Samuel 14:1-14
      • We assume we are just ONE person – what can we do make a difference…
      • God does not need an army – He is just looking for ONE who is willing to stand up…
      • All it takes is ONE being willing to stand up for God – to make a difference!
      • Romans 8:31 – “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
    • All of the VERBS are tied together in the Hebrews as one consecutive action!
      • Meaning the moment Abram HEARD – he knew he would go to WAR for his brother!
      • How do we respond when we see a brother who has fallen into sin – Galatians 6:1-2
      • Christians unfortunately are famous for – shooting their wounded!
      • Rather than picking them up – they instead are quick to judge…
      • But it should not be that way – the moment we HEAR – we are to FIGHT for / LOVE them!
      • John 13:35 – “All will know you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

• 6^th – Melchizedek… vs. 16-24
  • 1^st – Abram brought back all that good / people – taken by the Kings of Babylon… vs. 16-18
    • The King of Sodom came out to meet Abram upon his return – Kings valley…
    • But there is another King that came out – one not mentioned before…
    • Melchizedek – King of Righteousness / who was the King of Salem – King of Peace!
  • 2^nd – There are a couple of options who the King was… vs. 18-19
    • It is possible that he was Shem – the godly son of Noah – forefather of Abram…
      • It turns out that Shem lived some 150 years after Abram was born…
      • It is possible that he came out from the city of Salem – Jerusalem – to congratulate Abram!
    • It could also have been Jesus Christ
      • Abraham did meet Jesus – John 8:56 – could have been here o Genesis 18:1
      • Was this Jesus – perhaps – it was certainly a PICUTRE of Jesus – Hebrews 5:10
      • Who was a High Priest AFTER the order of Melchizedek – Psalm 110:4
      • Hebrews 7:1-3 – “For this Melchizedek… without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.”
      • Priest of the God Most High – He was BOTH King and Priest (only time this happens)!
      • He had no mother or father – no beginning or end…
      • He came bringing Bread and Wine out for Abram – Communion!
      • Blessed Abram in the name of the God Most High – possessor of Heaven and Earth…
      • And Abram gave him 10% of all he had – he gave his tithe (first mention in the Bible)
      • Abram knew that this was a greater man than he was – the greater blesses the lesser!
    • In the wake of stepping out to help a fallen brother – Abraham was blessed…
      • Jesus is the good shepherd that is willing to leave the 99 to find the lost ONE – Luke 15:3-7
      • That is why He came – he came to seek and save us – from sin – Matthew 18:11
      • He came to find His children who were lost – who put their eyes on the world – like Lot…
      • And those who – HEAR and go to WAR – for our brothers who have fallen…
      • Will find that we are blessed by the Lord for having His heart for the LOST!
  • 8^th – I have raised my hand… vs. 20-24
    • The King of Sodom only asked for Abram to give the people back…
      • He encouraged Abram to keep the extensive spoils from the war…
      • I have to imagine that would have been quite the tempting offer…
      • After all Abram had earned it – he had won the victory – or had he
    • I have raised my hand…
      • It would appear that Abram had a conversation with Melchizedek…
      • Abram uses the same title for God that Mel greeted him with…
      • He made a vow to the LORD – God Most High – Possessor of heaven and earth…
      • That he would take nothing from the spoil – not even a thread or sandal strap (worthless)!
    • Lest you should say…
      • The problem was Abram did not want Sodom to get credit for the work of the Lord!
      • Abram also did not want to take the credit himself for the victory…
      • He knew it was God who had won the battle – and God alone deserved the Glory!