Would you rather Prosper Spiritually or Physically?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
We have been studying “Life is a Journey” from the life of Abraham.
We discovered Abraham started his journey with Faith. However, we found that it didn’t take long for a Failure to happen taking Abraham to Egypt because he started walking by sight rather than faith.
Today, we are going to continue this thought showing that repentance will get us back on the right path but just because we are on the right path today doesn't mean we will be on the right path tomorrow.
Lot, who was not commited to faith and should have been left in Ur of Chaldees was brought with Abraham and was not a encouragement to Abraham’s faith but was rather a hinderance to his faith.
However, we will notice a few things about how Abraham now dealt with this issue and how God blessed him for his faithfulness.
Abram chose peace over quarreling with close relatives.
Abraham chose to separate from Lot to keep peace.
Abraham chose to do what was right rather than be entangled in strife.
Every one of us will need to decide what is best, not just good or sufficient but the best.
To separate from entanglements that want to divide us or live in peace and obedience regarding the things of God.
We are to leave old worldly desires behind and separate from those situations that will tempt us to sin. Abraham let go and separated from his family ties. But he never forgot about Lot and his responsibility for Lot.
So. Abram and Lot leave Egypt.
5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
Lot, like many today, think nothing about the moral atmosphere that surrounds them. Rather than separating, rather than letting go of worldly ways of life, they remain on the same path.
A Fleshly Choice:
A Fleshly Choice:
Both Abram and Lot gained immense wealth and power while in Egypt. We will discover that there is nothing inherently wrong with wealth when controlled by the right spirit. However, when our “things” control us, then we are headed for trouble.
Worriment Develops
Worriment Develops
7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
The herdsmen are wanting the best grazing ground for their herds.
Wish Decided:
Wish Decided:
8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
Abram takes the lead and displays a loving gracious spirit when he deals with Lot.
2 reasons are given as to why they should live in peace that are also very valid for us in the church today.
They were brethren.
As brethren, we should love and respect one another.
There is nothing so important that it should be allowed to tear up the work of the Lord in His church.
Also, blessings cannot happen in an atmosphere of discord and trouble.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
2. Heathens were watching.
7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
There are always people watching our lives. People that waiting to attack to take what we have, but also to see if our God is real.
When we fight, Satan has a heyday. He scatters the flock, and the world sees our lack of love and forgiveness and immediately conclude that we are no better off then they are.
Way Determined:
Way Determined:
9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
Abram willingly gave up his rights as the elder of the family. It was his first, but he yielded to Lot.
Without compromising the truth to please anybody, we should give in to the wishes, needs, and rights of others.
How could Abram so easily give up the best of the land to Lot?
Abram was walking by Faith. He was trusting in God to fulfill His promise that ALL the LAND was already his.
A Fleshly Character:
A Fleshly Character:
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
Walk Without Discernment
Walk Without Discernment
Lot makes a decision with his eyes.
He didn’t consult the Lord, he simply beheld the land he thought would be best for his herds.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
John warned us that this mentality has not changed.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Where did Lot get his appetite for what he saw?
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
Where Abram took him by sight, not faith, because of the famine.
Walk of Disfunction
Walk of Disfunction
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
Lot had absolutely no regard for the needs of Abram. There doesn’t seem to be any respect for Abram at all.
When everything is about “my rights”, “my wants”, “my needs”, “my life”, “my way”, and so forth, that is not a life that is pleasing to the Lord.
This dysfunctional attitude took Lot first of all in the
Wrong Direction
Wrong Direction
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
He didn’t just run into Sodom. I don’t think Lot ever intended to move into Sodom. He just simply went in that direction.
Our eyes tend to go toward the direction of our heart.
The world was in his heart because it reminded him of Egypt and therefore he set his eyes in the direction of his heart.
Is there in your heart some worldly compromise, some ungodly direction, some uncontrolled desire and love, some choice that you don’t think is so bad, but you know that it’s contrary to the will of God?
What was just simply choosing the wrong direction now turns into a
Willful Decision
Willful Decision
12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
First he pitched his tent toward Sodom but now he is living in Sodom.
Scripture doesn’t explain how it happened, because I think for each of us it is different. However, I am sure that what your heart desires and your eyes are fixed on will not take long to bring your body with you.
But notice, because it doesn’t stop there.
Turn is chapter 19 and we will see his
Wicked Deception
Wicked Deception
1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
Lot had now become a city councilman. He had now come to the place where he was an elder of Sodom, helping to transact business and make decisions.
Lot’s conscience had become dull and hardened. Sin no longer shocked him. This was a man who loved God because he made the choice to follow Abram as he followed God.
However, the world courted Lot in Egypt and conformed him in Sodom.
You say, how do you know this?
7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
He pleads them as brothers. They are now family.
The same people that are so wicked that God is about to destroy them and their city.
Who are these brethren that he was pleading?
You can read this chapter entirely, later, but these men were coming to rape and do what only God knows to the angels, messengers of God.
Look at the next verse.
8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
He offers up his daughters to these wicked men.
Jump down with me to verse 12
12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.
14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
He totally lost his testimony and witness in the eyes of his family.
Lot lingers in verse 16
15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
Lot is drug out of the city and you know the rest of the story.
Lot’s wife looks back and turns to a pillar of salt. His daughters get him drunk and become impregnated by him. All because he let his eyes be driven by his heart.
However, lets get back to chapter 13 and see the contrast of
A Faithful Choice:
A Faithful Choice:
14 And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.
Mamre meaning “Fatness,” and Hebron meaning joined together, fellowship, communion.
Abram is saying, in type, “I’m not interested in the people, pleasures, prosperity, politics, or perversity of Sodom. Instead, I’m going to enjoy the fatness, the richness, the satisfaction which comes from Communion.”
Lot and Abram both lifted up their eyes and looked:
⇒ Lot lifted up his eyes to the world, but Abram lifted up his eyes to the promised land.
⇒ Lot lifted up his eyes in self-sufficiency, but Abram lifted up his eyes in trust.
⇒ Lot lifted up his eyes with a selfish, greedy desire for gain; Abram lifted up his eyes with a giving, sacrificial desire for unity.
⇒ Lot lifted up his eyes from an uncommitted, worldly heart; Abram lifted up his eyes from a committed, spiritual heart.
Hebron is the place where God and Abram were joined together in a very special way, the place where God fellowshipped and communed with Abram in a very special way.
The city was special to the Jews because of the great events that took place there.
The city …
• is one of the oldest cities upon earth
• is about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem
• was one of the campsites where Abram pitched his tent for a while (Ge. 13:18)
• was the city where Sarah died (Ge. 23:4f)
• was part of a special inheritance given to Caleb because he followed the LORD totally (Jos. 14:14)
• was one of the six cities of refuge (Jos. 20:7; 21:11; 1 Chr. 6:55–59)
• was the capital city of David for about seven years when he was king over Judah, before he was installed as king over Israel (2 S. 2:11f)
• was the city where Absalom began his insurrection against his father, king David (2 S. 15:10)
After the promise has been given, a call to obedience is issued.
This is always the way it works with the Lord.
His promises are nearly always coupled with His commands. This is good and right!
If we want His best, then we should be willing to follow Him.)
A Duty To Walk—
A Duty To Walk—
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Abram is called upon to get up and to go with God. He is being challenged to deepen his walk with the Lord.
(Note: God is looking for people who will simply walk with Him, Micah 6:8.
8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; And what doth the Lord require of thee, But to do justly, and to love mercy, And to walk humbly with thy God?
Sadly, many believers are just sitting around and are not walking with Him by faith.
Romans 13:11–14 has a word for you!)
11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
A Duty To Weigh—
A Duty To Weigh—
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Abram is commanded to get up and walk up and down, all over the land he has been given. He is to try and see it all!
(Note: As believers, we need to take the time to review all that we have in Jesus Christ, Eph. 3:18; Phil. 3:10; Eph. 1:3.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
That is a tall order, but it is one that is worthy of our time. No doubt, there are many believers who are less than they could be simply because they do not know who they are and what they have in Jesus Christ.
A Duty To Win—
A Duty To Win—
As Abram journeyed, he was to live as though he carried the title deed to the land in his hand. Even if, at the moment, it belonged to someone else, Abram was to accept by faith the fact that this land was his land!
(Note: So it is in our spiritual journey. We have much in Jesus, but we have to claim it by faith.
For instance, what about victory? Jesus says that we have it, 1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14; Rom. 8:37.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Let’s face it, there are days when you just have to take that by faith!
What about Romans 8:28?
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Or what about Romans 8:18?
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Or what about 2 Cor. 4:17?
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
Or what about Hebrews 13:5?
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Those are all great promises and they are true whether I believe them or not!
Abram could have set still and the land would still have been his. I have all those things I have mentioned and more, but they do me no good until I reach out and take them by faith!)
Spiritual Prosperity will lead to Physical prosperity.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Will you choose Physical Prosperity or Spiritual Prosperity?
