I AM
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I AM
I AM
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
We have been discussing Faith and its application in our lives to release the promises of God’s Word
We said a few weeks ago “Faith is intention, demonstrated by obedience”
It means we live according to the promise not the circumstances
We have in Gen 15 the first recorded case of PTSD!
Abram is just off one of the fiercest battles of his life
In chapter 14 we see the events leading to this moment
For 12 years the kings to area, Dead sea were under tribute to the Pursians
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations,
that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
Here we see the cities of the Jordan plain, 5 cities that surrounded the are of the dead sea
An interesting point is that they rebelled in the 13th year
13 is the number of rebellion - # of Satan - name in Gematria - that’s were it get its “unluckiness” from! Occult worship & practice based on the #13
Moving on - these 5 cites decided enough was enough and rebelled
In verse 5 we read that the Chedorlaomer gathered together a great army and wiped out these 5 cites taking all of the goods and Abrams nephew Lot - 12
History tells us that between 50,000 and 100,00 troops in this army
Verse 3 tells us that the battle took place in the Siddim - “the valley of the salt sea” - know the location of Sodom & Gomorrah
We are also told an interesting fact -
Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains.
Asphalt pits! This will be important in the destruction of the cities by fire - likely setting these asphalt pits ablaze fueling the destruction of the cities
Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram.
Hebrew 1st use - Likely from the ancestral name Eber - includes a larger group of people including the Arabs - Ishmael was a son of Abram
Israel comes from Jacob and identifies the identity of his descendants and the nation today
Abram takes an army of about 500 and pursues this army for about 125 miles North to the base of Mount Herman
There they faced an unsurmountable obstacle! But God would give them victory
On the return we find a theophany - an appearance of Christ in the OT
And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
And 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.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
The King of Sodom - world King of Salem
There is no record of this King, he is without beginning and end yet it says he was the priest of El-yon - God the Most High
Bread & Wine - communion gave them and then blessed him
We have a picture here of the relationship of Greater to lessor
Blessing is given to the lessor and tithes are given to the greater!
The Lord has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
Order of priesthood the precedes the Levitical order - superior order to them
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,”
without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
Here we find the concept of the tithe
Abram rejects to wealth of the world after receiving the blessing of the priest, and purposes to rely on God’s provision
Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.”
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth,
that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—
except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”
This stresses the importance of knowing how to deal with our financial resources
It is about following the commands of the Master - sometimes things that come to us are only for a passthrough! Whatever cones, 10% is due to the Lord but the remainder isn’r necessarily ours!
We now come to our text for today
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
Agter these things:
Abram has just lived through one of the greatest battles he ever fought, The text indicates that he was in distress over the situation
He could hear the clanging of swords and shield, the smell of battle and the cries of injury and death.
He begins to wonder if giving up all the spoil was a good idea! If I was able to take from those kings, what if they come and attack me?
It is the battle we all face regarding finances - Abram was very wealthy, he had a lot to lose. He realizes the fleeting satisfaction of wealth
But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
God just told Him not to be afraid! You can trust me Abram!
First use of “I Am” I love that title I Am.... He is everything we need!
I Am - Jesus Light of the world, bread of life, Good shepherd - whatever your need might be!
Again we see Jesus in the statement - The Word of the Lord can to him in a vision!
Could have been Jesus Himself
I am thy shield - defense, exceeding great reward!
No need for worrying about your provision!
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
The enemy always brings the “what ifs” of life - he spreads fear to heart through unsubstantiated speculation whereas God give us concrete demonstration of His Word and the truth within!
The “what ifs...” need to answered with the “But the Word says...” in our lives
Maybe today the enemy has sacked your life and you are wondering if there is any hope!
Abram took 500 men and faced an army of thousands! The point here is that he didn’t deny the reality of the situation but was moved to action to take back what as his because he knew the faithfulness of God!
We need to learn how to take the battle to the enemy instead of waiting until he is upon us!
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
My friends today is not the day to hide in fear! Yes we can see the enemy at work but you are the agent of change! You are the Light shining in the darkness! You are the salt of the earth!
Rise up church and let’s take our rightful place as warriors executing the authority given us in the Spirit realm!