Resting in God's Provision
Notes
Transcript
Have you ever been given a gift only later to discover that gift wasn’t a gift at all? It turned out that the giver of the gift used the gift to manipulate or control you into doing something they wanted. It is a sign of narcissism, and we have all experienced it at least once in our lifetimes. The gift comes, and we think that the giver has the purest of motives, but it turns out their motives are more sinister than we thought.
The words narcissist or narcissism were coined in the late 1800s. It is used to describe a person’s attitude toward him or herself. A Narcissist is one who is wrapped up in self love and has a deep desire for others to share in that love, even to their own detriment. So a narcissist may use gift giving as a form of manipulation. Their gift doesn’t say, “I love you.” Instead, it says, “I need you to love me.” Well it turns out that Narcissism existed before the term itself.
As we walk through Genesis chapter 14, we will see how a gift could have become a burden and what the people of God should do instead of receiving gifts from those who might seek to manipulate or control them. Gifts might seem like a blessing, but we need to consider the source.
It is better to refuse a gift and rest in God’s provision than to accept a gift and enter into a bad relationship. As such, faith looks to God alone for provision, not to alliances that diminish His honor.
In Genesis 13, we saw a conflict arise. The land could not support both Abram’s herds and Lot’s herds. Abram suggested parting ways and gave Lot first choice in the land he would choose. Lot chose the Jordan valley region, and dwelled near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. We are then told the men of Sodom were wicked, so we know Lot is not living near good company. As we get into chapter 14, the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, and others are at war against the kings of a region that is now parts of Iran and Iraq. The first part of the chapter spells out how this war goes down. The kings of the Dead Sea region were in service to the kings of the east until they rebelled. The kings of the east came and squashed the rebellion and took for themselves the spoils of war. One of those spoils was Abram’s nephew Lot.
An escapee tells Abram what happened, and Abram gathers a small army in pursuit of the kings of the east. He is able to overtake them, defeat them, and rescue Lot. Not only does he rescue Lot, but he recovers all the people, goods, and possessions of the kings who lost in the Dead Sea region. Abram makes his way back home. We’ll pick up the story in verse 17.
Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.
He blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
He gave him a tenth of all.
The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.”
Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,
that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’
“I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”
Abram has already become a wealthy man, but here he has the opportunity to amass even more wealth by taking the king of Sodom’s offer. Abram wisely chooses not to take the deal, which means he has to shift his dependence to God for his provision rather than secure wealth for himself.
Today we are looking at three keys for resting in God’s provision.
Recognize God as the source.
Recognize God as the source.
Both Abram and Melchizedek acknowledge God as Possessor of heaven and earth. The Bible repeatedly testifies that God is the true owner of everything. The word possessor also means Creator. He owns it. Psalm 24:1-2 teaches us,
The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains,
The world, and those who dwell in it.
For He has founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the rivers.
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Psalm 50:10 says God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, which is a figure of speech expressing that God owns everything, but he is also very generous with what he owns.
Jesus says in Matthew 7:9-11,
“Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?
“Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
James also says,
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
God owns everything. He is also generous, and he wants to give you good gifts.
God is also our sustainer.
Behold, God is my helper;
The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
The eyes of all look to You,
And You give them their food in due time.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
When we look to God as the source of everything we need, we can rest in his provision.
Respond with gratitude.
Respond with gratitude.
Abram has this meeting with a mysterious figure named Melchizedek, who is the king of Salem. He is described as a priest of God Most High. We get a very tiny example of how God works even outside the covenant that takes center stage in the narrative. These two men recognize one another as men of God. Abram responds to this moment by giving a tenth of everything he had. This is where the concept of a tithe comes in, and is later developed into Jewish law. Abram receives a blessing from this mysterious man and Abram in return gives a tenth of everything, demonstrating his gratitude.
When we recognize that God is the source of everything, and we see how much God has allowed us to have, our response should be gratitude. We don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to be thankful. Rather, thankfulness should be an everyday attitude. We often take for granted the things God does for us. The solution is reminding ourselves why we should be thankful.
If you find yourself taking God’s provision for granted, go open your Bible and turn it to Psalm 136. It begins with:
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Then the psalm proceeds to list off a bunch of things God has done from creating the world, rescuing Israel from Egypt, rescuing Israel from her enemies, provides food, works wonders, and so on. Then when you have finished reading psalm 136, grab a pen and paper and begin crafting your own version of Psalm 136. If you sit with God and allow him to direct your thoughts to all the ways he has provided for you and you are not filled with gratitude, something is wrong.
Gratitude reminds you of what you do have, and breaks you from focusing on what you don’t have. If we focus on what we don’t have, our objective becomes obtaining it. But is we focus on gratitude, we can continue resting in God’s provision.
Refuse compromising rewards.
Refuse compromising rewards.
The king of Sodom, who lost the battle earlier in the chapter, shows up and makes Abram a deal. Remember that Abram went in pursuit of the kings of the east for the sole purpose of rescuing his nephew who had been captured. He was successful, but success meant that he recovered Lot and everything the other kings had lost. The king of Sodom wanted to reward Abram by letting him keep all the material goods. All the king wanted were the people who had been captured. Abram keeps everything else. What a deal.
Abram had already amassed some serious wealth. But here is a moment in which the rich can get richer. The temptation might have been that Abram could get even richer by taking the deal, but he refused. But why? It seems like an easy win. But Abram doesn’t want the king of Sodom to be able to say that he made Abram rich. Why not? The story already told us that the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord. In this instance, Abram does not want his reputation tied to the reputation of Sodom.
Remember when I talked about times when a gift is not really a gift? A gift of this size from a man of this reputation changes the relationship. The company you keep says a lot about you. While you can get something of value from wicked people, it often comes with strings attached. The king of Sodom could easily use such a gesture to manipulate Abram. Therefore, Abram was wise not to take the gift and maintain boundaries. Not every gift is a good gift. This gift could compromise Abram’s integrity. You don’t want gifts from corrupt people to compromise yours.
Do not be envious of evil men,
Nor desire to be with them;
For their minds devise violence,
And their lips talk of trouble.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
A faithful man will abound with blessings,
But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.
All of Proverbs chapter one warns of making alliances with wicked people. The gift from a crooked person is not a gift. Abram rested in God’s provision. We should too.
When things seem scarce, it is a natural response to panic and store up for ourselves the things we fear are never going to come around again. Living in Houston, water and ice were the first things to go when a hurricane was expected to blow through. In 2020, everybody bought insane amounts of toilet paper out of fear that it was not going to be there when they needed it. But if you will rest in God’s provision, you won’t need to make deals with crooked people to get what you want.
What are you tempted to secure for yourself because you are not sure you can trust God to deliver? At what point do you think God is not going to show up? What would it look like to rest in God’s provision? Remember, resting in God’s provision does not mean idleness. It means purposeful movement toward him while trusting him to provide for everything you need.
Maybe you are here and you have realized you have been trusting in the wrong source. Maybe you have been trusting in yourself or others who can never truly satisfy you. The good news is God has already provided the perfect gift: His Son Jesus Christ. Through his death on the cross, his burial, and resurrection, God provided coverage for your sin and mine. He calls us to trust in Christ and his sacrifice so we can receive forgiveness, enter into his family, and receive a great inheritance of eternity. You can rest in God’s provision by trusting in Jesus and choosing to follow him today.
For those of us that are already followers, today’s message is a reminder to trust in God’s provision. He will meet all of your needs. Choose not to be passive, but proactive in doing what he has called you to do and trust him with everything else.
