Life of Abraham 5
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Abram called to leave home, family, and go to a land God will show him
God makes him big promises: great nation, bless you, name great, protection plan, all families of the earth will be blessed through you
God rescues Abram from tough situation in Egypt, when he went there to escape a famine, and blesses Him financially
Abram and Lot separate because of quarreling over the land, so Abraham allows Lot to pick first, and it seems Lot got the best deal, however God reaffirms his promise to Abram
Background Info
Background Info
Time and an area of the world that had city-states, each city would have it’s own king
Gen 14: 1-11 War breaks out between 5 Canaanite kings and four kings from the east, and the four kings from the east won, Lot was captured because Sodom was one of the cities in the mix
12 They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.
Lot went from having the pick of the land, to losing everything . . .
You cannot put your trust in riches, land, houses, and wealth
fleeting, it will waste away, people can steal it
13 Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram.
in the meantime, though Abram had lost the security blanket of Lot, Abram had made some new friends, real friends it turns out . . . and it seems they were able to live close to each other without arguing over the land.
Abram tried to supply his own support/security by bringing Lot
God will provide your needs
14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
15 He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.
16 He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.
Word comes that Lot has been captured, Abraham does not hold a grudge, but leads 318 trained men on a rescue mission (and his friends)
They travel far but catch up with the enemy, defeat them, capture all the spoils back, and rescue Lot
Not many think of Abram as a warrior (Abram has hands)
True test of forgiveness, if there person is in real need, and you can help, you help . . . action/decision more than feeling
you might not ever forget about it or feel good about what they did to you
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).
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.
Let’s watch Abram’s interaction with these two kings: the King of Sodom, and the King of Salem, Melchizedek
we already see a difference
the king of Sodom, was one of the defeated kings, is the king of Sodom . . . (evil/wicked place)
the king of Salem (peace), Melchizedek (King of Righteousness) brings bread and wine, his country was not directly involved in the war (maybe showed as a sign of respect), and he is a priest of the God Most High
There should be a difference between you and your contemporaries
other mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, teachers, retirees, co-workers
so embrace it (He comes out with bread and wine) Lord’s Supper symbolism
Yet, you are not the only person serving God. (Melchizedek shows up out of nowhere as another servant of God)
don’t get conceited or frustrated
19 He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all.
King of Salem who has already brought refreshment, says a blessing, gives credit to God
Abraham gives a tithe of the spoils
Bless God and man, like the King of Salem
Give of your increase like Abraham
let’s talk about the Connection to Jesus
6 just as He says also in another passage, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
lots of things to investigate with this connection, but we will keep it simple:
Melchizedek is king and priest, civil and religious, rules over everything, kingly priest, priestly king
throughout history there has been a struggle between the civil and religious
America has tried to address this struggle through the “separation of church and state”
Melchizedek is priest and king, Jesus is our priest and king
we get to God through him - priest
he reigns over our lives - king
he rules over everything
When Jesus comes back, he will be king over everything, do division of power
in the lives of Christians, Jesus is supposed to be king over everything now
Too many only allow Jesus to rule over their religious life
what I say I believe
holidays
special occasions - weddings, funerals, christenings
but Jesus has no civil authority over their lives
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.” 22 Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, 23 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.’ 24 “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.”
King of Sodom just ask for his people and none of the spoils or there stuff that was plundered
Abram already knows there is something evil about Sodom and it’s king
he wants nothing to do with them
believes his help will not be appreciated in the future
just wants food for his soldiers
and wants to reward his friends who helped him fight
Deal with people accordingly
not what should transpire, but will probably transpire
don’t associate with evil
good being repaid with evil has been around for a long time, don’t be shocked
Review of Small Lessons
Review of Small Lessons
You cannot put your trust in riches, land, houses, and wealth
God will provide your needs
True test of forgiveness, if there person is in real need, and you can help, you help . . . action/decision more than feeling
There should be a difference between you and your contemporaries
Yet, you are not the only person serving God. (Melchizedek shows up out of nowhere as another servant of God)
Bless God and man, like the King of Salem
Give of your increase like Abraham
Too many only allow Jesus to rule over their religious life
Deal with people accordingly
Overall Lessons
Overall Lessons
God remains faithful to his promises
Abram is blessed . . . in everything he does
Abram is a blessing . . . to his nephew, lot, people of the area
those who blessed him are blessed - King of Salem, his friends
Faith causes you to act differently
Abram will help nephew who tried to give him a raw deal
what people have done, will do, doesn’t matter so much anymore
Abram goes to battle with confidence
Abram is generous, not stingy
Abram more worried about the spiritual than the material
Seems to have this confidence that God will bless me anyway (not depended on people)
Announcements
Announcements
Exciting Day Sunday
Communion this Sunday
There will be a baptism, Sis. Jones is rededicating her life
Mentor Moment
Mentor Moment
Reminder that a sign of your calling or ministry is your passion
that will usually get you headed in the right direction
How do you know your passion? Two signs
you usually are frustrated that “they” are not doing it, don’t see it
cause it’s for you to do
some of the most critical people are usually condeming themselves (church)
if someone ask you a simple question, you have a hard time giving them a short, simple answer . . . you just start bubbling over with answers
How’s the weather? Hot
How’s the weather? Slightly humid, it’s 97.2 now, but all week temperature have been falling between, 95 and 100, which is unusual for this particular region, being that Texas has a history of fluctuating temps, the real question is, “what is the heat index?”