After The Victory

BASKETBALL / BEACH PICTURE STORY

We had to hit the sweet spot. We had to make sure that goal was in the right spot. We had to make sure that we were in the right zone, that the ball was in the right zone.

Did you know that God want’s you to be in the zone? And in that zone there is blessing. PEOPLE HAVE ABUSED THE WORD BLESSING — IM TALKING TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE

WHAT DO YOU DO AFTER YOUR BLESSED? We celebrated. We freaked out.

After you close the deal, finished the lesson plan, got the promotion.

You can tell a lot about a person based off what they do right after something good has happened to them.

GOD IS FOR US

Full of grace. Full of blessing. He want’s us to live in that zone.

What happens when you are in that zone? Being blessed seeing God move. The choice you make matters.

ABRAHAM = FATHER OF FAITH

Godly man in un-godly place

UR - God told him to leave with just his family. God promised blessing and Abraham ALMOST did what God wanted him to do…

LOT - Nephew

Caused Drama and Trauma

We all know people like this — PEOPLE sometimes are like SCAFFOLDING

ABRAHAM with LOT - THERE WAS TROUBLE — THEY SEPARATE

LOT GET’S FIRST DIBS ON LAND — Lot chooses the better land

YOU CAN TELL ALOT ABOUT PEOPLE BASED ON HOW THEY RESPOND TO BLESSING — Lot didn’t talk to God, Didn’t defer to Abraham — Lives on the outskirts of SODOM and GOMORRAH

ABRAHAM - BLESSED - IN THE ZONE — Ends up in a barren place

LOT - Only blessed because of ABRAHAM — Ends up in the best place. It’s funny how when we are blessed we so quickly forget where that blessing came from.

An alliance of kings get together, they take Sodom and Gomorrah, then they take Lot and his family hostage and off they go.

Genesis 14:13–16 NLT

13 But one of Lot’s men escaped and reported everything to Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram’s allies. 14 When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan. 15 There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives.

Abraham got together 318 people, chased them down, dominated them, secured them, and now we come to the victory.

WHAT DO YOU DO AFTER BLESSING?

Genesis 14:18–20 NLT

18 And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. 19 Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.

Abraham has just been blessed again — What you decide to honor as the SOURCE of your BLESSING — DETERMINES your COURSE

YOUR SOURCE DETERMINES YOUR COURSE

Who do you thank as the source for the blessing you receive? Yourself? God?

And you may say “Cody I’m not blessed” but everyone in this room is blessed in some way.

Breathing? Blessed.

Woke up in a bed? Blessed.

Drove here? Blessed.

Eaten in the last 24 hours? Blessed.

We all are blessed. And if we want to live in the grace zone and see what God can really do in and through our lives we have to see God as the blesser not ourselves.

KING OF SODOM COMES TO NEGOTIATE

Gives us back your people and you can keep the goods you took back.

Abraham is like… no! We just defeated you. You have nothing to bargain with.

THIS IS WHAT THE ENEMY DOES. He tries to bargain with you but he actually has nothing to give in return

John 10:10 NLT

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

That’s all the enemy can do.

Give into this SIN my way can give you what you want. Take this shortcut. Steal that thing. Cheat in this area. But in the end you never get what you thought but you give up a lot.

We often are the king of Sodom though. We operate like him. We have nothing to give God. But we tend to negotiate.

Like God… I know you want to be LORD over my life… what if I just gave you Sundays.

What if I gave 10% once I get that promotion .

What if I work on my marriage as soon as she starts working on it?

I’ll give up this sin when I start feeling happier.

We negotiate.

WHO ARE WE TO NEGOTIATE WITH GOD? You want to see God’s blessing in your life, live in the grace zone? Honor God today. Not when, not if, but now in the middle of where you are now decide to go all in and honor God. Get in his word. Not when you have time, today. Start to honor God with the tithe the 10% not when you feel better about it start today. Decide to work on your marriage today even though the other person doesn’t want to. Give up that sin you are coping with today not when you have something to replace it with. HONOR GOD TODAY

We all have a choice. We can go the way of Sodom and Gomorrah. And crazy fact the king of Sodom, his name means burning. And your life will constantly feel like you are putting out fire after fire when you are living a life that doesn’t honor God.

WHAT WOULD YOUR LIFE LOOK LIKE TODAY IF YOU DECIDED “GOD FIRST. IM BLESSING HIM. IM GIVING TO HIM OUT OF WHAT I HAVE TODAY. IM HONORING HIM IN THE MIDDLE OF MY LACK TODAY. IM MAKING THE TIME TO DIVE INTO HIS WORD TODAY.

What would your life look like this time next year if you decided “TODAY IS THE DAY I BEGIN TO HONOR HIM.

MY SOUCE.... DETERMINES MY COURSE.