1 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:11,640 Good morning church family. It's so good to see you this 2 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:14,720 morning and welcome to worship. I'm so glad that you're here 3 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:19,200 gathered on the Lord's Day as we gather in Jesus name to give him 4 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,920 glory and honor and praise on the first day of our week. 5 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:24,720 And what a joy to start with baptism. 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:29,000 I love seeing people go public with their faith in Jesus and of 7 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,480 course, to see our own kids that are seeing us live out our faith 8 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:37,440 as parents and then have a church family around them, as in 9 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:40,360 they're investing in them and seeing faith come to fruition in 10 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:42,560 their lives. What a what a joy to watch the 11 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,720 next generation choose to follow Jesus. 12 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:49,760 So I'll show you a little picture as we get started this 13 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:51,040 morning. This past week, Thursday and 14 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:53,280 Friday we did our ministry staff annual retreat. 15 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,320 This was here local in Taylorsville, the Mountain House 16 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:58,920 Inn owned and operated by Ricky and Connie Woods. 17 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,400 What a great place and they blessed us with opportunity to 18 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,040 use it. Our spouses got to join and God 19 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:05,440 gave us a beautiful day on Friday. 20 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,640 So many of y'all prayed for us. This is just a time where we 21 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:12,760 seek to be renewed and refreshed and worshiped together to hear a 22 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:14,680 speaker. He's there with us by the name 23 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,720 of Claude King and where we get away in order to come back 24 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,480 fuller and ready to minister as you guys give us the opportunity 25 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,040 to. So, you know, you don't see all 26 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,080 these people on the stage each week, but every single one of 27 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,840 them is just as vital to the ministry of CFPC and their 28 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,760 spouses, just as vital to the ministry of CFPC as anybody that 29 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:38,080 stands on this stage. So not everybody is in the light 30 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,360 every week, but praise God for them and thank you for your 31 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:43,880 love, support, generosity that makes working with such a 32 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:46,960 wonderful staff possible. Y'all. 33 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:49,480 There's also this is not also the sermon either, but I'll just 34 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,120 share with you because there's a lot going on in the news and. 35 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,240 Your head might be in different places and wondering different 36 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,600 things and with things on the stage of world events going on. 37 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,120 There's a verse out of Mark 13 that comes to mind. 38 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,560 I'll just give you before we dive into Genesis, it says this 39 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:05,360 and when you. Hear. 40 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:11,039 Of wars and rumors of wars. Do not be alarmed. 41 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:14,760 The Bible says don't be shaken, don't be fearful, don't be 42 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,200 alarmed. This must take place. 43 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:19,880 Jesus said it would happen before it. 44 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:24,720 Happened God is in total absolute control this must 45 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:29,200 happen but the end is not yet for nation will rise against 46 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,560 nation Kingdom against Kingdom there'll be earthquakes in 47 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:35,120 various places be famines. These are but the beginning of 48 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:38,360 the birth pains. You know, it's when things 49 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,480 happen on a world stage that oftentimes we wonder what's 50 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:46,360 going on should simply give us confidence in our Savior and the 51 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:48,120 fact that he's in control of the whole world. 52 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,200 He's got the what as we learned his kids, He's got the whole Rd. 53 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,480 in his hands. He's got us in his hands. 54 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:56,200 He's got a plan for our life that hasn't changed. 55 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:58,040 All right. We ought to pray for 56 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,280 righteousness to reign, for evil to be undone, for peace to 57 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,440 happen, for innocent life to be protected and for Jesus to have 58 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,680 this way, for us to be bold in our witness and for us to 59 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:11,400 maximize every day God gives us for the mission of making 60 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:13,920 disciples unto Jesus as it's time for him to come. 61 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,240 Amen. And so we continue to walk 62 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,920 faithfully together individually and as a church, and praying for 63 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:22,400 what God's doing right here locally and around the world, 64 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:27,160 all under all under God's plan. Well, if you have your Bible, go 65 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,680 and make your way to Genesis chapter 14. 66 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:32,920 Genesis chapter 14 is where we're picking up today. 67 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:38,040 In our series that we've titled Answering God's Call, Genesis 68 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,920 14, y'all would make for an incredible movie, at least the 69 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,120 kind of movie I would like to watch. 70 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,080 All right, you're going to see why kings of old are conspiring 71 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,200 and alliances are forming. There are 4 kings that are about 72 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:55,160 to go against five and invasion is looming over the 73 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:59,000 unsuspecting. There's a surprise attack that's 74 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,960 on the brink. The defeated are going to flee 75 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,040 for their lives and some are going to fall into tar pit. 76 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:06,480 She thought that was just in movies. 77 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,720 That's in the Bible too. Others are killed or captured. 78 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,600 A loved one and his family have been caught in the middle, now 79 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:16,839 abducted, losing all but their lives. 80 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:20,040 They're going to be hauled off as slaves and Abraham and his 81 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,760 small band of men. For them, it is time to rise up 82 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,200 and fight. If life is going to be 83 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:28,240 preserved, they're going to have to go get it back. 84 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:29,320 They're going to have to go to battle. 85 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:30,680 They're going to have to go to war. 86 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:33,680 They're going to have to actually stand up and seek to 87 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:35,600 regain what has been lost. They're going to have to 88 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,600 sacrifice for those that they love. 89 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,800 And as any good movie will have, the odds are overwhelmingly 90 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:47,160 against them. In fact, Abraham and his men, as 91 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:49,200 we're going to read, is no different. 92 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:53,160 Than a bunch of mice going up against against 10 ton elephants 93 00:04:53,840 --> 00:04:55,880 in the odds. We're going to read in the text 94 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,640 starting in Genesis chapter 14 beginning in verse one through 95 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:01,880 12. Listen to the word of God. 96 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:03,880 And by the way, I practice these names. 97 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:07,720 So let's see how this goes. Y'all ready in the days of 98 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:12,640 Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch king of Elasar, Kedo Laomer king 99 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,880 of Elam and Title king of Goem? These kings made war with Bera, 100 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:21,240 king of Sodom, Bursha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Adma, 101 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:26,080 Shemaber king of Zeboim and the king of Bayla, that is Zoar, and 102 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,920 all these joined forces in the valley of Sidham, that is the 103 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:34,600 Salt Sea. 12 years, don't miss this, 12 years they had served 104 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:36,880 Keto Laomer, that is a foreign king. 105 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:41,640 But in the 13th year they rebelled and in the 14th year, 106 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,320 the one they rebelled against Keto Laomer and the kings who 107 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:48,080 were with him came and defeated the Raphaim and Ashtaroth 108 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:53,600 Karnaeim and Zuzim and Ham and Imim and Shava Kiriathaim and 109 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,680 the Horites in the Hill Country of SER as far as El Paran on the 110 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,560 border of the wilderness. Then they turned back and came 111 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,680 to end Mishpat, that is Kadesh and defeated all the country of 112 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:06,880 the Amalekites and also the Amorites who were dwelling in 113 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,560 Hazazan, Tamar. And then the king of Sodom, the 114 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,800 king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboim and 115 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:17,840 the king of Bala, that is Zohar went out and they joined battle 116 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:22,000 in the valley of Sidim with Keto Laomer king of Elam, title king 117 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,880 of Goem, Amraphel king of Shinar and Ariot king of Elasar. 4 118 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,880 kings there it is against 5. Now the valley of Sidim was full 119 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:34,240 of bitumen pits, that's the tar pits that it had. 120 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:37,840 And as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into 121 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:40,520 them and the rest fled to the Hill Country. 122 00:06:40,840 --> 00:06:43,920 So the enemy took took all the possessions of Sodom and 123 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:46,880 Gomorrah and all their provisions and went their way. 124 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:49,960 They also took Lot, the son of Abraham's brother, who was 125 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,640 dwelling in Sodom and his possessions and went on their 126 00:06:54,880 --> 00:07:00,000 way. Well, praise God, Amen it. 127 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:01,880 Could have gone a lot worse, let's say that. 128 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,640 So obviously a little remember, a little reminder, God is called 129 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:09,400 Abram to leave house, home, country and kindred. 130 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,200 Abram does that, but with a small minor exception. 131 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:15,920 Do you remember? He doesn't quite leave all the 132 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:19,520 kindred behind. He takes Lot, his nephew with 133 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,680 him. This is a thing where we often 134 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,920 seek to obey God, but kind of try to do it a little bit our 135 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:29,160 way. We, we, we think, well, God, 136 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,240 that's wonderful. But I, I've got a little idea 137 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,000 that could improve upon that. Certainly God will be good with 138 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:36,520 this. And so we like to customize our 139 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:38,280 obedience. Perhaps this is exactly what 140 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:42,040 Abram has done. And it's obvious that it's not 141 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,000 really working out. It's only going to cause Abram 142 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,360 trouble. In fact, Abram and lots 143 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,680 employees now their businesses have grown so big that they 144 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,280 can't fit in the same office space together and they can't 145 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:54,680 share the same parking lot and they're arguing over who gets to 146 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:56,880 park where. All right, who gets to be in 147 00:07:56,880 --> 00:07:59,480 what office? So now there's bickering, and 148 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:01,120 now they realize they have to separate. 149 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:05,720 And Abram is very unselfish and says, hey, Lot, you take first 150 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:07,840 pick. I'll take the leftovers, All 151 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,880 right? And so Lot looks around and does 152 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:15,440 the economic and demographic and all the financial calculations 153 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:18,280 and goes according to the world's wisdom that he needs to 154 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:23,040 be thinking location, location, location. 155 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:25,920 And he looks down to the Jordan Valley and sees what he thinks. 156 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,040 Man, that's the most prosperous. That's going to be the most 157 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:31,560 financially feasible. That's going to be the best for 158 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,600 me and my future and doing what I want, achieving to get what I 159 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:38,080 want to get. And Lot there moves his family 160 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,720 to the Jordan Valley next to Sodom and Gomorrah. 161 00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:45,280 There was just one problem that Lot either didn't consider or 162 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:49,200 intentionally overlooked when he chose his new address. 163 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:53,400 That, he thought, was certain to ensure his success. 164 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:54,880 But here's what he didn't consider. 165 00:08:55,280 --> 00:09:00,000 Genesis 1313 makes it explicit. We looked at it last week, it 166 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,400 says now the men of Sodom. Were wicked great sinners 167 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:09,520 against the Lord y'all the political situation in the 168 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:14,120 Jordan valley modern day Israel is that there is a military. 169 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:18,560 Alliance among 5 kings. And so what's going on here is 170 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:23,800 the 5 kings of the Jordan Valley have allied together and they've 171 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:28,000 been under submission for 12 years to a foreign king with 172 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,000 three kings with him. So 5 kings against four. 173 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,000 And the main one there against Kedalayomer has been the one 174 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,680 that they've been subject to. And it says in the in the 12th 175 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,560 year or 13th year there, they rebel and for the 13th year, 176 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:43,840 they're on their own. But in the 14th year, 177 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,760 Kedalayomer, along with the three additional kings, has 178 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:48,720 said, listen, I'm not going to rebel against me without a 179 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:50,320 fight. I'm going to come back and get 180 00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:54,000 what I have won as mine. So they marched down. 181 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,480 They, they, they launched this military campaign from the 182 00:09:56,480 --> 00:09:57,720 north. They sweep through. 183 00:09:57,720 --> 00:09:59,920 The victory is swift and complete. 184 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:02,720 And there's a final battle there, if you will, in this area 185 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:05,720 South of the Dead Sea. And the defeated kings and their 186 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:08,720 armies flee for their lives. Some fall into tar pits. 187 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,640 Others, like Lot, are abducted and taken captive along with all 188 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:15,240 their possessions. So what in the world do we take 189 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:17,440 away from that so far? Watch this number one in your 190 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:19,120 notes. I think this is a principle. 191 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:25,040 We can clearly see you ready. Lot, by all appearances, is away 192 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:29,600 from the will of God and loses everything. 193 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:38,680 Lot is living his life away from the will of God, a way not 194 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:41,520 answering the call of God, but really responding more to the 195 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:44,480 call of the world, the call of what he would want of money and 196 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,040 prosperity and possessions and worldly success. 197 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,920 And so Lot is living away from the will of God and, and and and 198 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:57,120 loses everything. From the facts that we have, it 199 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,240 appears that Lot has made his life choices based on 200 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:05,440 appearances, based on what he can see and looking for life and 201 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:09,080 all the things of the world. Lot found it and it cost him 202 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:11,120 everything. Does that sound familiar with 203 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:12,720 anything Jesus says in the New Testament? 204 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,840 Matthew chapter 10 verse 39, Jesus says whoever finds his 205 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:22,560 life will what will lose it and whoever loses his life for my 206 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:27,880 sake will will find it. What Jesus says is if you think 207 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:32,000 you found your life and all the ways and things the world offers 208 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,720 you or makes you think that it offers you life. 209 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:36,760 If that's where you find your life and the things that are of 210 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:39,760 the here and now and goods and possessions and bank account 211 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:43,480 balances and political or social status and power and all the 212 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:45,960 above. If you think that's life, watch 213 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:47,040 out. There's going to come a day, a 214 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:49,280 rude awakenings coming when all the sudden you're going to 215 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:54,520 realize that was no life at all and when all of a sudden is gone 216 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:57,360 and provides no future, no eternity and no hope. 217 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,720 Jesus says when you realize that this world is not where life is 218 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:04,880 found, but when you find life in the only true source of life, 219 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:07,320 that is the creator of life. He's going to be described later 220 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:10,600 in this passage as the possessor or the creator of heaven and 221 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,360 earth as El Eleon, God Most High. 222 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,880 When you find life and the one and only one who offers life, 223 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:18,080 then you can mark it down. You truly found life. 224 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:20,720 You may have lost it in terms of what the world defines life as. 225 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,280 But Jesus says in me. You will find it. 226 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,480 Let me ask you some just questions to consider in light 227 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,360 of the lesson we're learning here from Lot. 228 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:33,280 And this may not sound like they connect, but then I think 229 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,880 hopefully they will #1. Why do you live where you live? 230 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:45,320 Why do you work where you work? Why do you go to church where 231 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:48,920 you go to church? Why do you go where you go? 232 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:53,480 Why do you do what you do? Let me put it like this. 233 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:56,440 Hopefully it'll make sense. Are you living where you live, 234 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,880 working where you were going, where you go based on your 235 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:05,840 response to the call of God on your life or in response to a 236 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:10,200 different call? Or have you thought about it? 237 00:13:11,680 --> 00:13:14,800 But when you think about that, if God has a plan for your life 238 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:18,640 and He does, and if God made you and knows the number of hairs on 239 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:22,200 your head and the number of breaths in your lungs, then God 240 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,400 is not planning for you to just show up and go somewhere 241 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:27,960 arbitrarily and do something randomly. 242 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:31,320 God has a very clear plan and path for your life. 243 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,400 And if you ask him for it and say God, I want to follow you 244 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:37,840 and live your will for my life, then it begs the question, why 245 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,960 do you live where you live? Why do you work where you work? 246 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,360 Why do you go where you go? Are you living your life? 247 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:49,600 Is your life being driven by God's call or something else? 248 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:54,840 Lot is obviously his life being driven by something else and 249 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:58,680 it's cost him everything. Listen to Genesis 14 we pick up 250 00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:04,000 in verse 13 then. One who had escaped came and 251 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:08,680 told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the 252 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:11,760 Amorite, brother of Eshkol and of Ainur. 253 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:16,040 These were allies of Abram, and when Abraham heard that his 254 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,520 kinsmen had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men 255 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:25,000 born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as 256 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,000 Dan. And he divided his forces 257 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,040 against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them 258 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,320 and pursued them to Hobart, north of Damascus. 259 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,320 And then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought 260 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:42,080 back his kinsman Lot with his possessions and the women and 261 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:44,560 the people. This is one of those sections of 262 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:47,160 the Bible when I would really love to have a lot more details. 263 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:50,880 About how exactly that went down, because what happened just 264 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,080 then that we read about is absolutely miraculous. 265 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:55,560 It's absolutely stunning US against all odds. 266 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:58,480 And the Bible reports it as if it's number six on the Evening 267 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:03,680 News, like one more normal thing and the life of what God does, 268 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:06,320 right? So one of the few survivors of 269 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,960 Keto Laomer's military campaign to retake the territory that 270 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:13,120 rebelled against him shows up and tells Abram, hey, Lot, your 271 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:16,680 family member and all his people have been hauled off. 272 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,320 Now, when we read about this, we learn a couple things about 273 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:21,680 Abram here. Number one, you notice this is 274 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:24,360 the first time in the Bible he is called the Hebrew. 275 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,960 Now, as we know, his descendants would be known as Israelites. 276 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,560 They'll be known as Jews. They're also known as Hebrews. 277 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,720 That word Hebrew comes from a meaning which means to cross 278 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:36,400 over. And so he gets that name because 279 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,480 Abram has literally geographically crossed over the 280 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,760 Euphrates River into the land of Canaan, which God had promised 281 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:44,400 him. But I also want you to think 282 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,120 spiritually about this. Abraham is not just a man who's 283 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,840 crossed over physically in the land. 284 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:52,760 He's also a man who's crossed over spiritually. 285 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:55,960 He's crossed over from following a different call, perhaps the 286 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,360 one he would have called or the world would have called for his 287 00:15:58,360 --> 00:15:59,840 life. And he's answered whose call. 288 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,800 And now that's determined where he lives and where he goes and 289 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:07,000 what he does and what his future is. 290 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:11,400 And now he has crossed over, if you will, now following the call 291 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:12,880 of God. I could ask you in this way, 292 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:16,520 have you crossed over from being someone following your call, the 293 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:19,800 world's call, to following the call of God and Jesus Christ on 294 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,360 your life by faith in Him, right as the Bible would say, if you 295 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:26,240 crossed over from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light 296 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:29,120 of his beloved Son, you say, Pastor, how does that happen? 297 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:31,920 It happens by faith in Jesus Christ. 298 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,160 You realize what separates you is not the Euphrates River, but 299 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,240 something much bigger from God. The Bible says it's our sin. 300 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:42,240 It's our sin against God that leads to death that separates us 301 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,040 from the author of life. This is why Jesus took on human 302 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:46,880 flesh. This is why he lived a sinless 303 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:48,440 life. This is why he died as a 304 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,080 substitute on the cross. This is why he defeated death. 305 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:53,160 Why? So that we could be rejoined 306 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,400 with our Creator by faith in his Son Jesus. 307 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:59,200 Has there been a moment you've know you've crossed over? 308 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,560 Your life has been changed because you found life when you 309 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:05,720 joined yourself with Jesus by faith. 310 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:07,480 The New Testament has a little phrase for that. 311 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:11,000 It says over and over called in Christ. 312 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:14,280 Are you in Christ? Have you crossed over? 313 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:20,440 Abram is called here the Hebrew. If you've not, you simply call 314 00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:22,079 on the name of the Lord to save you. 315 00:17:22,079 --> 00:17:26,119 The Bible says you can do so even now #2 we learned here. 316 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,880 This is interesting. Abram has 318 trained men. 317 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:32,280 Now. When I read that, my first 318 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:35,000 thought is, wow, Abram's household is a lot bigger than I 319 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:36,800 thought. You get an idea. 320 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,520 Here there's a bunch of people. And you also got to get, 321 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:44,320 remember, not one of these are a biological offspring of Abram or 322 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:46,440 Sarah. And yet God has blessed them 323 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,240 with all these people, all right, that are walking, living 324 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:55,320 with them, going where they go. And of this group, 318 are able 325 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:58,520 bodied military men. My second thought about these 326 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:02,400 318 men is that's big. I had no idea Abraham's family 327 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,120 was that big potentially when you first read that. 328 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:08,880 But then you also think, what in the world are 318 men going to 329 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:12,120 do against an army of potentially 10s of thousands led 330 00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:16,720 by 4 kings that just wiped out an alliance of 5 kings with all 331 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,520 their soldiers? Like who does? 332 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:23,000 Who does Abram think he is? Right? 333 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:25,960 I mean, jiu jitsu is one thing, but it's like, come on now, 334 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:27,640 what? What? 335 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:29,800 What in the world do they think is going to happen? 336 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,000 Well, we're going to find out what happens. 337 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:37,720 As we read the Coalition of Kings, I want to just get some 338 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:41,560 better insight though into just how big a proposition this would 339 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:43,600 be. Because when these 4 kings, 340 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,200 Ketelayomer among them, swept through, defeated this alliance 341 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:49,680 of 5 kings from north to South and back up again. 342 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,520 Some of the peoples they defeated you just read right 343 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,040 past and wouldn't think much about unless I give you some 344 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:56,680 insight. Notice some of the peoples they 345 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:58,960 defeated. They defeated the Raphaim, the 346 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:02,360 Zuzim, the Emim, the Horites, the Amalekites and Amorites. 347 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:04,600 And the five kings of the Jordan Valley. 348 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,560 All right, those first three people groups, Raphaim, Zuzim 349 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:10,560 and Emim. I don't know if that means 350 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,600 anything to you or not, but the Bible describes those people as 351 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:19,920 living in the land of Canaan as starts with AGI heard it giants, 352 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:26,840 giants people that potentially were between 7 and 10 feet tall. 353 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,760 You think, Kyle, now you're just talking random stuff that I 354 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:32,320 don't know if I believe. Let me just tell you what the 355 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,720 Bible says right about it. And this is Deuteronomy 2, verse 356 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,760 20 and 21. And the Deuteronomy 311 speaks 357 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:41,160 of the Raphaim as strong and tall. 358 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:46,160 In fact, it specifies one by the name of Ogg, king of Bastion, 359 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:50,120 was described as the last of the Raphaim in the land. 360 00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:53,360 That's Deuteronomy 311. His bed was made of iron. 361 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:57,040 It was 13 1/2 feet long and six feet wide. 362 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,760 Now, you don't do that if you're 5 1/2 feet tall, you don't order 363 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:04,720 that bed from the blacksmith. All right? 364 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:06,960 This is why the Bible calls them mighty men. 365 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:10,280 This is why the Israelites were what, when they encountered the 366 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:15,960 edge of the promised land and said, uh, uh, God, there's big 367 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:18,400 people, right? We're like what it said. 368 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:21,840 Grasshoppers, you can read in the writings of ancient Egypt, 369 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,440 there were giants living in the land, right? 370 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:27,840 This are these are the people that Keto Laomer and his army 371 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:29,760 just defeated? And Abram thinks he's going to 372 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:31,680 go chase them down and bring Lot back. 373 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:34,320 Do you see what I'm talking about? 374 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,880 And Abram and his men don't just choke a few guys out, grab Lot 375 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:42,080 and run. They wipe the table with him 376 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:46,000 that night and slaughter them all the next day. 377 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,600 It's not even a fight. Nobody gets a scratch. 378 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:52,920 They come back. They come back without casualty. 379 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:56,400 It's an absolute miracle. It's mice against elephants. 380 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:57,800 But here's the deal #2 in your notes. 381 00:20:57,800 --> 00:20:59,560 I don't know where I am, but I'm going to give it to you. 382 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:03,200 Abram is with God and God is all he needs. 383 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:07,040 Hallelujah. Abram is with God and God is all 384 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:08,520 he needs. Do you see the difference 385 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:12,200 between how Lot is living his life away from the will of God, 386 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:15,880 losing everything, and Abram here is living his life against 387 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,000 impossible odds. But who's with him? 388 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,360 God is with him and it doesn't matter who's against him. 389 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:24,040 If there's one principle to learn in life that I hope you 390 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,080 know, not only is Jesus the way, the truth, and the life, but you 391 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:28,880 can mark this down in these scripture verses. 392 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:32,160 Make this so clear. If God is for you, who can be 393 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:34,920 against you? If the Lord is my light and my 394 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:39,040 salvation, whom shall I fear? If the Lord is the strong one of 395 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,280 my life, of whom shall I be afraid? 396 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:43,120 Fear not, I love this one, Elisha said. 397 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:46,520 Those that be with us are far more than they that be with 398 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:49,080 them. When he showed in the armies of 399 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:52,320 heaven surrounding them, right? If the Lord had not been on our 400 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:56,120 side, disastrous the results would have been, David says. 401 00:21:56,120 --> 00:22:00,280 But our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and 402 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,680 earth when God is with you and you're living in the will of 403 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:06,640 God. If you're doing the will of God 404 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:09,840 and plan of God, walking in obedience to God and God's will 405 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:11,880 for your life is what you've given yourself to. 406 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:13,760 I'll just tell you you're undefeatable. 407 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:16,480 You're unstoppable, you're invincible. 408 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:18,680 Little Lottie Moon, all four foot nine of her, that I 409 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:23,000 consider myself immortal until God's will from my life is done. 410 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:26,400 Mark it down, period. That's you and that's me. 411 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,760 When we live our lives according to the answer of the call of 412 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:34,680 God, then everything, everything that God has planned for us by 413 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:37,880 faith is possible by him until he says otherwise. 414 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:39,800 That doesn't mean things don't go wrong. 415 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,760 That doesn't mean we may not die of disease one day, but we're in 416 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,680 the hands of God and God's will for our lives when we say yes to 417 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:47,480 that call. That's what we'll walk in by 418 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:51,360 God's help. All right, lots living away from 419 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:53,520 the will of God. Abraham's living in the will of 420 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:56,840 God, God with us changes everything when someone 421 00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:00,080 complimented. Jay Hudson Taylor, the famous 422 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,280 missionary to China, they founded the China Inland 423 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:06,000 Mission. Here was his response. 424 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:11,600 He says all God's giants have been weak men or women, that is 425 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:15,280 you could say who did great things for God because they 426 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:21,240 reckoned on God being with them. They learned the lesson. 427 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,040 So when I say yes to God's call, and when I'm with God and God is 428 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:28,000 with me, and I'm living God's plan for my life, and nothing, 429 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:32,960 nothing, nothing can change or stand in the way or defeat. 430 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,960 No weapon formed against me, as the Bible will say, will 431 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,000 prosper. Have you learned that lesson? 432 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,800 Friends? This is the way life is meant to 433 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:46,080 be lived. Why do you live where you live? 434 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,560 Why do you work where you work? Why do you go where you? 435 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,400 Why do you do what you do? Why are you living the way 436 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:53,720 you're living? Why, why, why? 437 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,080 Is it an answer to the call of God? 438 00:23:56,200 --> 00:24:01,800 Or is it something different? Or maybe have you ever asked the 439 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:07,760 question from God at all? Let's pick up in verse 17 after 440 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,360 his return from the defeat of Kedo Laomer and the kings who 441 00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:14,240 were with him. The king of Sodom went out to 442 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:17,480 meet him in the valley of Shavet, that is the King's 443 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:21,440 valley, and Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and 444 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,240 wine. He was priest of God Most High, 445 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,280 and he blessed him and said Blessed be Abram by God Most 446 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:32,560 High, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God, that 447 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,760 is El Elian Most High. Who's delivered your enemies 448 00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:37,680 into who did? Who did all the deliverance, 449 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:40,840 right? I mean, it wasn't that Abram 450 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:45,320 trained the baddest Navy Seals on the planet, OK, it says they 451 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:48,680 were trained, but it was God who gave them the victory. 452 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,040 And Abram gave, what's this, a 10th of everything? 453 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:57,200 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, give me the persons that 454 00:24:57,200 --> 00:24:59,720 take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of 455 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,520 Sodom, I've lifted my hand to the Lord that is made a vow that 456 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:06,160 God most high possessor of heaven and earth, that I would 457 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,640 not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, 458 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,280 lest you should say I've made Abram rich. 459 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,480 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten and the 460 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:17,600 share of the men who went with me, with me. 461 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:21,560 Let Ainur, Escol and Mamre take their share. 462 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:29,400 The times of victory can be the times of greatest testing you 463 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:34,640 and I will ever face. Typically, we tend to think that 464 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,760 is in the lowest of lows. That is in life's hardship, that 465 00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:40,120 we discover who we really are. And there's a lot of truth to 466 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:42,240 that. There is a lot of truth that 467 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:46,320 what happens in the fire and in the trial exposes what's deep 468 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:48,640 down all right. But there's something else 469 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:50,920 actually that counterintuitively, I think 470 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:55,560 actually is even more effective at revealing who you and who I 471 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:59,080 really are. Proverbs puts it like this in 472 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:04,480 chapter 27, verse one. The Crucible is for silver and 473 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:08,840 the furnace for gold and a man. This is so random sounding but 474 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:12,000 listen to this. And a man is tested by his 475 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:16,960 praise. I'll be honest, I think the 476 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:18,920 first time I read that I just scratched my head. 477 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:22,800 What in the world? But here's what I think that 478 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,840 verse means. You want to make a man or you 479 00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:29,040 want to make a woman? Put them in the fire. 480 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:33,600 Put them in the fire. It'll refine them. 481 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:37,360 It'll burn away that which won't last. 482 00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:39,080 Put them in the fire. If you want to make a man or 483 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:42,520 make a woman. But if you want to reveal who a 484 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:49,240 man or a woman really is, pour on praise, pour on power, pour 485 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:55,560 on success. See what that person does, and 486 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,120 then you're really going to know who they really are. 487 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:04,880 A man, a woman is tested by. By their praise, I think victory 488 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:08,960 can be times, success can be times of great testing. 489 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:13,840 And Abram here is in a time where he's just in, he's just 490 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:17,800 experienced one of the greatest, most miraculous victories a man 491 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:20,080 could have ever imagined. In fact, Abraham's gone viral in 492 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,720 the Middle East. This is this is unheard of. 493 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,000 He couldn't believe what just happened. 494 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,120 All right, Everybody wants Abraham's signature, wants his, 495 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,840 wants his. What's the word I'm looking for? 496 00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:33,160 There you go. That's what I'm trying to say. 497 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:37,920 And in the midst of this, Abram interacts with two people that 498 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:41,400 give us insight into who he really is. 499 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,000 OK, the first one is this guy by the name of Melchizedek. 500 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,320 Now, I don't have a ton of time to expand upon all this, but let 501 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:49,960 me just just stay with me here. You ready? 502 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:53,720 It says he's the king of Salem. Salem is the word for the 503 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:58,040 ancient city that would come to be known as Giroux Salem, right? 504 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,960 Salem means peace. Okay, the the king of peace or 505 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,120 king of righteousness. This is also he's a priest of 506 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:07,200 God most high. That is, he knew, he served, he 507 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:10,960 worshipped, he ministered on behalf of Yahweh, the one true 508 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:14,200 God, the one who is El Elian God Most high. 509 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:18,480 Melchizedek y'all is one of the most mysterious characters in 510 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:20,240 all the Bible. I don't have time to really 511 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:23,480 develop this, but scholars talk about it in two different ways. 512 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:27,000 Some actually believe that this Melchizedek is what we've 513 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,080 called, if you've been here, a Christophany that is a pre 514 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:33,000 Incarnate appearance of Christ in the Old Testament. 515 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,640 There's some who believe that, but most scholars believe this 516 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:40,640 actually was a very real actual person man here that Abram 517 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:43,400 encounters. Here's what Hebrews says about 518 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:48,080 him for this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most 519 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:52,200 High God, met Abraham returning from the watch this how big was 520 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:57,360 Abram's win from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him, 521 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,400 and him and to him Abram apportioned a tenth part of 522 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,840 everything he is first by. Translation of his name, King of 523 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:08,000 Righteousness, and then he's also King of Salem, that is King 524 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,520 of peace. He is without father or mother 525 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,840 or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of 526 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:16,080 life. But resembling the Son of God, 527 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:22,640 he continues a priest forever Hebrews 715 quoting Psalm 110 528 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,960 four Speaking of Jesus says this you are that is Jesus, you are a 529 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,840 priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. 530 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:33,960 Part of the difference here this being spoken to is Hebrews is 531 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:37,840 that the Levitical priesthood the the the priesthood developed 532 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:41,200 under the old covenant depended on your lineage. 533 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:45,040 All right, your family tree and it was dependent on working and 534 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,240 serving as a priest, but those priests were not kings. 535 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,360 The difference is Melchizedek, at least from what we can tell, 536 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:54,640 the Bible says had no genealogical records or whatever 537 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,440 it means to be without father or mother beginning or end of days. 538 00:29:57,440 --> 00:29:59,840 All right, which is a very mysterious we can't get into all 539 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:03,200 that now, but it but what it means is this one is not based 540 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,560 on genealogy and it's also not limited to someone just being a 541 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:13,600 priest, but also a king. Jesus comes as a priest in the 542 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:19,400 line of one who is a priest and king, which is exactly how Jesus 543 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:21,720 will operate because it's who he is. 544 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:26,080 Melchizedek brings you notice, bread and wine. 545 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:29,680 No doubt, on the surface, these are physical provisions for 546 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:31,920 Abram and those weary from war and. 547 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:35,640 Returning the prisoners of war. That they rescued. 548 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:39,120 Perhaps it's also a sacrifice used in the sacrifice to God. 549 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:41,440 I also think it's interesting and I think perhaps 550 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:44,440 foreshadowing isn't an interesting out the bread and 551 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:46,640 the wine he brings out for their provision and potential 552 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:49,520 sacrifice. I think also perhaps speaks to 553 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:53,880 what do we use now to celebrate the greatest victory that who 554 00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:59,360 secured for us on the cross with his broken body and shed blood, 555 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:03,840 setting us free, bringing us back from prisoner of war to sin 556 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:05,600 and death and separation from God. 557 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:09,240 And Jesus Christ rescues us when everything had been lost because 558 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:13,800 of our sin and we were rescued by the Son of God, right? 559 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:19,200 A miracle in itself as Jesus loved us who'd sinned against 560 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,880 him. Two things happen here, you 561 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:25,520 know, Kizadek blesses Abram and gives God the glory for the 562 00:31:25,520 --> 00:31:28,280 victory, and then Abram gives Melchizedek. 563 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:32,080 Watch this a 10th. That's called a tithe in the 564 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,240 Bible. Literally 110th of everything 565 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:39,680 that he won in terms of the victory in the spoils of war. 566 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:44,080 Abram does this y'all as a voluntary act of worship. 567 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:48,600 It's a recognition of God's power and provision that enabled 568 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:50,600 him to have this miraculous victory. 569 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:53,120 So what I want to do is just for a moment, talk to you about 570 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:56,960 where do we get this pattern of giving of generosity that we 571 00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:58,840 call a tithe? We get it right. 572 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:02,640 Out of the pattern of the Bible. All right, this is not some man 573 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,360 made math that we come up with, but we see this exemplified 574 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:08,400 right here in Scripture. And what I want you to also 575 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,200 notice is that pattern of giving to God a tithe of all He gives 576 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:17,440 to us as a part of our worship predates the Old Testament law. 577 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:19,840 God's not written anything on any tablets yet. 578 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:23,640 God's not given an old covenant, the old covenant for that the 579 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:25,720 Israelites that he will make with them. 580 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:29,600 He started with the Abrahamic covenant, but Abraham gives to 581 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:32,520 God as a voluntary act of worship long before the 582 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:34,600 Israelites. And by the way, when you add up 583 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,040 all the percentages that the Israelites gave as a part of the 584 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:40,640 old covenant, it's like high twenties, 30% of their total 585 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:42,800 income. They gave back to the worship 586 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:45,640 and following of God in the way they they did life. 587 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,280 But beginning the beginning of giving to God as a part of 588 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:51,840 worship doesn't even begin here. It goes all the way back to 589 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:55,360 Cain. And who gave what to God as a 590 00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:58,280 part of their worship? A sacrifice. 591 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:01,200 And the only one that was honorable to God was one that 592 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,680 was a first, a best offering to God. 593 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:10,600 And so here we see this pattern predating the law of giving to 594 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:14,040 God in proportion to what he has given to us. 595 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:20,520 If giving to God is not a part of your worship, the Bible says 596 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:24,160 it ought to be. If giving to God is not a part 597 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:28,600 of your worship, the Bible says it's a actual part of the way we 598 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:32,480 worship and honor God based on all that he's given us and as a 599 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:34,920 part of our worship. I also think the Bible very 600 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:38,360 clearly that would give us the principle that our primary 601 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:41,240 giving in our worship should be where we worship through. 602 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:42,920 How do we worship? Through the gathering of the 603 00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:47,280 local church that we're a part of that doesn't mean there's not 604 00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,920 all sorts of wonderful amazing things and ministries to give to 605 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:54,280 of all sorts but guess what none of those other things that man 606 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:57,960 comes up with are God's plan A to advance the mission of God to 607 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,360 make disciples to the ends of the the earth right. 608 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:03,360 So giving what I'm trying to show you is there's. 609 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:05,200 A pattern of worship in the Bible. 610 00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:10,400 You're not going to turn to any New Testament book and it says 611 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:12,960 thou shalt tithe 10%. You're not going to find that 612 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:18,320 verse, OK, But what you're going to find there is the application 613 00:34:18,320 --> 00:34:21,000 of principles that have been built through the whole Bible of 614 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:25,440 man giving to God in worship, sacrificially, giving God their 615 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:28,199 best, giving God first. And then you're going to read 616 00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:29,600 how God loves the cheerful giver. 617 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:30,560 And then you're going to hear Paul's. 618 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:33,880 Instructions to set aside things on the first day of the week, 619 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:35,120 right? You're going to hear him call 620 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:37,159 for radical generosity to meet needs. 621 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:39,159 You're going to hear of the early church gathering together 622 00:34:39,159 --> 00:34:41,280 and selling their stuff to meet needs. 623 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:44,440 You're going to hear and read of much more radical generosity 624 00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:47,400 than 10% in the New Testament. And it's obvious what I'm trying 625 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:51,080 to say there is that 10% as a pattern is meant to be a floor, 626 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:54,239 not a ceiling of the giving and the life of a follower of God in 627 00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:56,040 their worship. Y'all follow me. 628 00:34:57,520 --> 00:34:59,840 So we don't have time to turn to all these verses and show you. 629 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:03,120 But if you're, if you're interested and learning more 630 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:05,160 about what is giving as a part of worship look like, let me 631 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:07,200 just give you some principles. You can fill these in on your 632 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:08,400 notes. All right, I'm going to go quick 633 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:10,800 on this. First is how would you grow in 634 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:12,840 your giving? Well, you might need to #1 635 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:14,640 become a new giver. In other words, you've never 636 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:17,200 done that before. You never worship God by giving 637 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:20,960 back of what he's given to you of any amount at any time. 638 00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:24,560 To say God, I want to start by faith to give #2 would become a 639 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:26,400 regular giver. That this is not a one time 640 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:28,160 random thing. This is the thing that's a 641 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,200 systematic intentional action in my life. 642 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:34,520 And then #3 the next step would say, hey, I want to, I want to 643 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:37,600 be a tither. I want to at least embrace the 644 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:41,120 pattern that the Bible from the early pages of the first book 645 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:44,680 gives as a principle of what would it look like to give in 646 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:46,840 proportion to what God has given to us. 647 00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:50,920 That's a 10%, all right. And then again, that's not a 648 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:53,080 ceiling thing, that's a floor thing. 649 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:56,680 And so sacrificial tithing is something that we see people 650 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:59,080 giving above and beyond as God calls them to and. 651 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:00,720 Let me give you a little example. 652 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,160 I read it, didn't read. I actually heard a man share 653 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:06,600 with a group that I was with in Texas about how he and his wife 654 00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:09,640 had been very blessed by the Lord and they actually were led 655 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:15,120 by God to make a decision to. Up their tithe by 1% every year. 656 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:21,560 And when I heard this man share he was in his 90s, they were 657 00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:28,240 giving 94 to 95% of their income away and living on the rest. 658 00:36:28,920 --> 00:36:31,240 And by the way, they weren't hurting on the rest. 659 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:34,920 That old principle you can't out give God. 660 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:36,800 Let me get show you some guidance and giving. 661 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,320 And again, here's what I would tell you y'all listen, don't 662 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:42,600 take my word for it, but examine your own Bible and see what 663 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:45,600 principles jump out to you for how giving should be a part of 664 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:46,960 your worship. But here's some that I think 665 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:49,160 that you can take away. Number one, you're going to see 666 00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:51,600 that it ought to be regular. This ought to be something 667 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:53,720 that's done intentionally and consistently. 668 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:55,960 I think you're going to see something that's going to show 669 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:59,600 you that it ought to be in proportion to what God has given 670 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:02,480 you. Abram did a tie they tent it 671 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:04,160 wasn't based on a certain amount. 672 00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:05,920 It was like how much did God give me? 673 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:08,960 I'm going to do in proportion to that percentage based church 674 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:09,680 focus. Why? 675 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:11,520 Because giving is a part of. Worship. 676 00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:14,600 And so we're giving through the way we worship in our church, 677 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:17,360 where we worship doesn't mean you don't give beyond that in 678 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:21,760 other ways. And then finally, God does not 679 00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:24,880 ask Abram to put his bonus on the altar. 680 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:26,480 What does he ask him to put on the altar? 681 00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:32,560 A sacrifice, right? In other words, if you could 682 00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:39,280 really give to God and not notice it, you're probably not 683 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:45,360 really giving to God, right? I think it's designed to say, 684 00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:50,840 God, we wouldn't do this if we didn't have faith in you to 685 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:53,840 honor you with what you've given us, believing that you're going 686 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:57,800 to you're going to honor those who honor. 687 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:00,400 So those are just some principles I'd encourage you to 688 00:38:00,400 --> 00:38:04,480 explore, pray, read for yourself, land on that according 689 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:06,840 to how God leads you. But let me talk to you not just 690 00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:10,040 about Melchizedek, but quickly here before we can conclude the 691 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:13,200 king of Sodom. This man is the polar opposite 692 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:16,240 of Melchizedek. This was a wicked man who led 693 00:38:16,240 --> 00:38:19,640 wicked people. He's present for the interaction 694 00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:21,800 between Abram and. Melchizedek. 695 00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:24,640 But he's silent. When he does speak, he does not 696 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:27,760 congratulate. Notice he doesn't say thank you. 697 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:30,840 He doesn't say wow, Abram, that was amazing. 698 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:34,320 I lost, but you won. Dude's a sore loser. 699 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:40,840 And what does he ask for? Not the stuff he realizes. 700 00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:42,000 He's got no right to ask for that. 701 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:45,800 What does he ask for? He asked for his people back. 702 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:51,040 What is a king? Not without his people. 703 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:59,440 He's not a king, Abram. Can I have my job back, Abram? 704 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:05,840 Can I have my relevance back, my importance back, my identity 705 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:10,120 back? You know, this man basically is 706 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:13,080 silent while he watches Abraham answer the call of God. 707 00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:17,360 And then he asked back so that he could just go back to being 708 00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:22,200 what he wanted to be. And we see here Abram's response 709 00:39:22,200 --> 00:39:24,480 to him. It says, listen, I don't want 710 00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:28,640 your stuff. I made a vow to the Lord that I 711 00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:31,840 would not prosper by anything else than the blessings of God. 712 00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:35,320 I would not allow any human being to get credit for what God 713 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,720 wants to accomplish alone in my life. 714 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:42,360 Let me tell you there's a lesson there because so often sometimes 715 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:45,520 in our effort for pursuit or success, we start to grope and 716 00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:49,440 to grab after maybe what we can get on our for us by human hands 717 00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:52,400 or human ability, rather than simply trusting God and saying 718 00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:54,920 God, whatever prosperity or success you want to give to me, 719 00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:57,520 I'm going to trust you for and go about the right way. 720 00:39:57,800 --> 00:40:01,120 Abram says let my neighbors who allied with me get their share, 721 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:05,320 otherwise I want nothing. Abram did not want the spoils of 722 00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:08,360 war that wouldn't last. He wanted the enduring promises 723 00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:12,840 of God. Lot ran after something away 724 00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:15,920 from the call of God. Abram ran after the call of God. 725 00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:19,560 And watch, look, notice, don't miss the difference #3 is this. 726 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:25,400 Abram is with God and gives God a tenth of the goods and all the 727 00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:28,120 glory. Abram is with God and he gives 728 00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:30,920 God a tenth of the goods and all the glory. 729 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:33,480 God is with Abraham and Abram is with God. 730 00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:36,040 Folks, that's the way life is meant to be lived. 731 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:38,720 This is the pattern God wants for us. 732 00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:42,240 God with us means we have all we need and us with God means God 733 00:40:42,240 --> 00:40:44,480 gets all the glory for everything in our life. 734 00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:47,800 Life is God with us and us with God. 735 00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:51,960 Don't miss those blinks. Life is God with us and us with 736 00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:53,600 God. My question for you this morning 737 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:58,600 is where are you? John and praise team are going 738 00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:01,040 to come out. Lot was away from the will of 739 00:41:01,040 --> 00:41:03,360 God. If you're living away from the 740 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:05,400 will of God, you're risking everything. 741 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:08,840 The Bible says you might think you found life, you might even 742 00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:12,440 think you've prospered, but in the end there's no life there if 743 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:14,800 you're not living in response to the call of God on your life. 744 00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:18,760 Abram was with God choosing to answer God's call on his life 745 00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:21,160 and realize God was all he needed and he didn't need even 746 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:23,000 the stuff that man could give him. 747 00:41:23,040 --> 00:41:25,920 When he even got it by God's help, he gave it right back and 748 00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:27,840 said that's not God's plan for me and he knew it. 749 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:31,120 He answered the call of God just as much with his no as he did 750 00:41:31,120 --> 00:41:35,720 with his yes. Are you living in response? 751 00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:41,120 To the call of God on your life, can I be honest with you? 752 00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:44,880 I think a lot of Christians go day in and day out without 753 00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:48,200 thinking about what God's call on their life is that day. 754 00:41:49,320 --> 00:41:52,440 They're just worried about maybe a paycheck and food on the table 755 00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:55,440 and doing what needs to be done, but not living in daily 756 00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:57,560 surrender. Not living by saying God, I want 757 00:41:57,560 --> 00:42:03,840 you with me and me with you, and walking by faith even if against 758 00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:07,120 impossible odds. But I'm telling you that's how 759 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:10,520 life is meant to be lived. That's where life is found. 760 00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:14,760 I don't know how you may need to respond this morning, but you 761 00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:18,160 may need to call on Christ to save you because you've never 762 00:42:18,160 --> 00:42:20,200 been joined with God by faith in His Son. 763 00:42:21,240 --> 00:42:23,640 You might need to come and just kneel and stand and say God. 764 00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:27,840 I've just not been asking what your call on my life is, what 765 00:42:27,840 --> 00:42:29,320 your plan is. I haven't done that in a long 766 00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:32,920 time, but I want to do it today, God, I don't want to risk 767 00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:35,480 everything by living for my own plan or the call of the world or 768 00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:39,400 my own ideas. God, if it's, if it's not your 769 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:44,000 ideas, I don't want it because God, I want to do it your way. 770 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:46,400 I want you to get all the glory and I trust you. 771 00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:49,120 I don't know what decision God wants you to make, but I'm going 772 00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:51,800 to ask you to respond boldly, respond faithfully. 773 00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:56,000 Respond in a way that you know you're answering God's call on 774 00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:57,520 your life. Heavenly Father, I prayed that 775 00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:00,200 that's exactly what we would do. God, including me. 776 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:03,840 God, every day I want to live in response to your call, your 777 00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:06,400 plan, your will, and God, we want that as a church. 778 00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:09,680 We want that as individuals and I pray that you'd have your way, 779 00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:11,840 your will, and our lives today. If anyone doesn't know you as 780 00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:15,240 their savior, may the day be the day they call on you and respond 781 00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:18,120 to your call on their life to trust in your Son. 782 00:43:18,120 --> 00:43:21,880 In Jesus name I pray, Amen. If you would stand with me as we 783 00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:23,480 sing, you come. We're going to wait for you to 784 00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:26,520 pray with you, to minister to you in any way as you come.