Latest / Sermon Podcast at Cartersville1st / King of Kings

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King of Kings · Sermon Podcast at Cartersville1st

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Good morning church family. It's so good to see you this
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morning and welcome to worship. I'm so glad that you're here
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gathered on the Lord's Day as we gather in Jesus name to give him
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glory and honor and praise on the first day of our week.
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And what a joy to start with baptism.
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I love seeing people go public with their faith in Jesus and of
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course, to see our own kids that are seeing us live out our faith
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as parents and then have a church family around them, as in
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they're investing in them and seeing faith come to fruition in
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their lives. What a what a joy to watch the
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next generation choose to follow Jesus.
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So I'll show you a little picture as we get started this
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morning. This past week, Thursday and
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Friday we did our ministry staff annual retreat.
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This was here local in Taylorsville, the Mountain House
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Inn owned and operated by Ricky and Connie Woods.
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What a great place and they blessed us with opportunity to
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use it. Our spouses got to join and God
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gave us a beautiful day on Friday.
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So many of y'all prayed for us. This is just a time where we
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seek to be renewed and refreshed and worshiped together to hear a
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speaker. He's there with us by the name
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of Claude King and where we get away in order to come back
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fuller and ready to minister as you guys give us the opportunity
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to. So, you know, you don't see all
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these people on the stage each week, but every single one of
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them is just as vital to the ministry of CFPC and their
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spouses, just as vital to the ministry of CFPC as anybody that
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stands on this stage. So not everybody is in the light
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every week, but praise God for them and thank you for your
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love, support, generosity that makes working with such a
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wonderful staff possible. Y'all.
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There's also this is not also the sermon either, but I'll just
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share with you because there's a lot going on in the news and.
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Your head might be in different places and wondering different
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things and with things on the stage of world events going on.
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There's a verse out of Mark 13 that comes to mind.
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I'll just give you before we dive into Genesis, it says this
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and when you. Hear.
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Of wars and rumors of wars. Do not be alarmed.
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The Bible says don't be shaken, don't be fearful, don't be
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alarmed. This must take place.
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Jesus said it would happen before it.
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Happened God is in total absolute control this must
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happen but the end is not yet for nation will rise against
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nation Kingdom against Kingdom there'll be earthquakes in
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various places be famines. These are but the beginning of
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the birth pains. You know, it's when things
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happen on a world stage that oftentimes we wonder what's
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going on should simply give us confidence in our Savior and the
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fact that he's in control of the whole world.
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He's got the what as we learned his kids, He's got the whole Rd.
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in his hands. He's got us in his hands.
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He's got a plan for our life that hasn't changed.
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All right. We ought to pray for
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righteousness to reign, for evil to be undone, for peace to
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happen, for innocent life to be protected and for Jesus to have
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this way, for us to be bold in our witness and for us to
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maximize every day God gives us for the mission of making
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disciples unto Jesus as it's time for him to come.
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Amen. And so we continue to walk
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faithfully together individually and as a church, and praying for
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what God's doing right here locally and around the world,
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all under all under God's plan. Well, if you have your Bible, go
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and make your way to Genesis chapter 14.
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Genesis chapter 14 is where we're picking up today.
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In our series that we've titled Answering God's Call, Genesis
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14, y'all would make for an incredible movie, at least the
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kind of movie I would like to watch.
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All right, you're going to see why kings of old are conspiring
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and alliances are forming. There are 4 kings that are about
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to go against five and invasion is looming over the
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unsuspecting. There's a surprise attack that's
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on the brink. The defeated are going to flee
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for their lives and some are going to fall into tar pit.
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She thought that was just in movies.
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That's in the Bible too. Others are killed or captured.
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A loved one and his family have been caught in the middle, now
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abducted, losing all but their lives.
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They're going to be hauled off as slaves and Abraham and his
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small band of men. For them, it is time to rise up
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and fight. If life is going to be
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preserved, they're going to have to go get it back.
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They're going to have to go to battle.
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They're going to have to go to war.
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They're going to have to actually stand up and seek to
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regain what has been lost. They're going to have to
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sacrifice for those that they love.
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And as any good movie will have, the odds are overwhelmingly
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against them. In fact, Abraham and his men, as
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we're going to read, is no different.
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Than a bunch of mice going up against against 10 ton elephants
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in the odds. We're going to read in the text
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starting in Genesis chapter 14 beginning in verse one through
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12. Listen to the word of God.
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And by the way, I practice these names.
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So let's see how this goes. Y'all ready in the days of
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Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch king of Elasar, Kedo Laomer king
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of Elam and Title king of Goem? These kings made war with Bera,
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king of Sodom, Bursha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Adma,
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Shemaber king of Zeboim and the king of Bayla, that is Zoar, and
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all these joined forces in the valley of Sidham, that is the
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Salt Sea. 12 years, don't miss this, 12 years they had served
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Keto Laomer, that is a foreign king.
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But in the 13th year they rebelled and in the 14th year,
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the one they rebelled against Keto Laomer and the kings who
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were with him came and defeated the Raphaim and Ashtaroth
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Karnaeim and Zuzim and Ham and Imim and Shava Kiriathaim and
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the Horites in the Hill Country of SER as far as El Paran on the
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border of the wilderness. Then they turned back and came
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to end Mishpat, that is Kadesh and defeated all the country of
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the Amalekites and also the Amorites who were dwelling in
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Hazazan, Tamar. And then the king of Sodom, the
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king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboim and
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the king of Bala, that is Zohar went out and they joined battle
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in the valley of Sidim with Keto Laomer king of Elam, title king
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of Goem, Amraphel king of Shinar and Ariot king of Elasar. 4
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kings there it is against 5. Now the valley of Sidim was full
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of bitumen pits, that's the tar pits that it had.
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And as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into
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them and the rest fled to the Hill Country.
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So the enemy took took all the possessions of Sodom and
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Gomorrah and all their provisions and went their way.
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They also took Lot, the son of Abraham's brother, who was
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dwelling in Sodom and his possessions and went on their
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way. Well, praise God, Amen it.
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Could have gone a lot worse, let's say that.
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So obviously a little remember, a little reminder, God is called
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Abram to leave house, home, country and kindred.
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Abram does that, but with a small minor exception.
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Do you remember? He doesn't quite leave all the
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kindred behind. He takes Lot, his nephew with
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him. This is a thing where we often
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seek to obey God, but kind of try to do it a little bit our
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way. We, we, we think, well, God,
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that's wonderful. But I, I've got a little idea
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that could improve upon that. Certainly God will be good with
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this. And so we like to customize our
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obedience. Perhaps this is exactly what
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Abram has done. And it's obvious that it's not
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really working out. It's only going to cause Abram
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trouble. In fact, Abram and lots
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employees now their businesses have grown so big that they
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can't fit in the same office space together and they can't
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share the same parking lot and they're arguing over who gets to
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park where. All right, who gets to be in
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what office? So now there's bickering, and
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now they realize they have to separate.
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And Abram is very unselfish and says, hey, Lot, you take first
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pick. I'll take the leftovers, All
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right? And so Lot looks around and does
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the economic and demographic and all the financial calculations
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and goes according to the world's wisdom that he needs to
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be thinking location, location, location.
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And he looks down to the Jordan Valley and sees what he thinks.
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Man, that's the most prosperous. That's going to be the most
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financially feasible. That's going to be the best for
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me and my future and doing what I want, achieving to get what I
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want to get. And Lot there moves his family
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to the Jordan Valley next to Sodom and Gomorrah.
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There was just one problem that Lot either didn't consider or
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intentionally overlooked when he chose his new address.
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That, he thought, was certain to ensure his success.
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But here's what he didn't consider.
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Genesis 1313 makes it explicit. We looked at it last week, it
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says now the men of Sodom. Were wicked great sinners
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against the Lord y'all the political situation in the
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Jordan valley modern day Israel is that there is a military.
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Alliance among 5 kings. And so what's going on here is
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the 5 kings of the Jordan Valley have allied together and they've
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been under submission for 12 years to a foreign king with
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three kings with him. So 5 kings against four.
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And the main one there against Kedalayomer has been the one
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that they've been subject to. And it says in the in the 12th
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year or 13th year there, they rebel and for the 13th year,
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they're on their own. But in the 14th year,
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Kedalayomer, along with the three additional kings, has
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said, listen, I'm not going to rebel against me without a
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fight. I'm going to come back and get
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what I have won as mine. So they marched down.
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They, they, they launched this military campaign from the
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north. They sweep through.
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The victory is swift and complete.
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And there's a final battle there, if you will, in this area
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South of the Dead Sea. And the defeated kings and their
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armies flee for their lives. Some fall into tar pits.
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Others, like Lot, are abducted and taken captive along with all
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their possessions. So what in the world do we take
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away from that so far? Watch this number one in your
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notes. I think this is a principle.
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We can clearly see you ready. Lot, by all appearances, is away
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from the will of God and loses everything.
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Lot is living his life away from the will of God, a way not
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answering the call of God, but really responding more to the
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call of the world, the call of what he would want of money and
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prosperity and possessions and worldly success.
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And so Lot is living away from the will of God and, and and and
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loses everything. From the facts that we have, it
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appears that Lot has made his life choices based on
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appearances, based on what he can see and looking for life and
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all the things of the world. Lot found it and it cost him
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everything. Does that sound familiar with
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anything Jesus says in the New Testament?
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Matthew chapter 10 verse 39, Jesus says whoever finds his
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life will what will lose it and whoever loses his life for my
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sake will will find it. What Jesus says is if you think
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you found your life and all the ways and things the world offers
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you or makes you think that it offers you life.
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If that's where you find your life and the things that are of
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the here and now and goods and possessions and bank account
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balances and political or social status and power and all the
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above. If you think that's life, watch
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out. There's going to come a day, a
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rude awakenings coming when all the sudden you're going to
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realize that was no life at all and when all of a sudden is gone
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and provides no future, no eternity and no hope.
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Jesus says when you realize that this world is not where life is
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found, but when you find life in the only true source of life,
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that is the creator of life. He's going to be described later
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in this passage as the possessor or the creator of heaven and
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earth as El Eleon, God Most High.
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When you find life and the one and only one who offers life,
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then you can mark it down. You truly found life.
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You may have lost it in terms of what the world defines life as.
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But Jesus says in me. You will find it.
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Let me ask you some just questions to consider in light
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of the lesson we're learning here from Lot.
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And this may not sound like they connect, but then I think
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hopefully they will #1. Why do you live where you live?
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Why do you work where you work? Why do you go to church where
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you go to church? Why do you go where you go?
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Why do you do what you do? Let me put it like this.
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Hopefully it'll make sense. Are you living where you live,
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working where you were going, where you go based on your
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response to the call of God on your life or in response to a
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different call? Or have you thought about it?
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But when you think about that, if God has a plan for your life
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and He does, and if God made you and knows the number of hairs on
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your head and the number of breaths in your lungs, then God
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is not planning for you to just show up and go somewhere
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arbitrarily and do something randomly.
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God has a very clear plan and path for your life.
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And if you ask him for it and say God, I want to follow you
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and live your will for my life, then it begs the question, why
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do you live where you live? Why do you work where you work?
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Why do you go where you go? Are you living your life?
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Is your life being driven by God's call or something else?
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Lot is obviously his life being driven by something else and
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it's cost him everything. Listen to Genesis 14 we pick up
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in verse 13 then. One who had escaped came and
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told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the
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Amorite, brother of Eshkol and of Ainur.
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These were allies of Abram, and when Abraham heard that his
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kinsmen had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men
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born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as
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Dan. And he divided his forces
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against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them
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and pursued them to Hobart, north of Damascus.
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And then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought
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back his kinsman Lot with his possessions and the women and
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the people. This is one of those sections of
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the Bible when I would really love to have a lot more details.
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About how exactly that went down, because what happened just
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then that we read about is absolutely miraculous.
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It's absolutely stunning US against all odds.
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And the Bible reports it as if it's number six on the Evening
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News, like one more normal thing and the life of what God does,
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right? So one of the few survivors of
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Keto Laomer's military campaign to retake the territory that
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rebelled against him shows up and tells Abram, hey, Lot, your
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family member and all his people have been hauled off.
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Now, when we read about this, we learn a couple things about
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Abram here. Number one, you notice this is
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the first time in the Bible he is called the Hebrew.
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Now, as we know, his descendants would be known as Israelites.
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They'll be known as Jews. They're also known as Hebrews.
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That word Hebrew comes from a meaning which means to cross
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over. And so he gets that name because
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Abram has literally geographically crossed over the
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Euphrates River into the land of Canaan, which God had promised
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him. But I also want you to think
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spiritually about this. Abraham is not just a man who's
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crossed over physically in the land.
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He's also a man who's crossed over spiritually.
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He's crossed over from following a different call, perhaps the
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one he would have called or the world would have called for his
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life. And he's answered whose call.
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And now that's determined where he lives and where he goes and
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what he does and what his future is.
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And now he has crossed over, if you will, now following the call
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of God. I could ask you in this way,
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have you crossed over from being someone following your call, the
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world's call, to following the call of God and Jesus Christ on
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your life by faith in Him, right as the Bible would say, if you
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crossed over from the Kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light
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of his beloved Son, you say, Pastor, how does that happen?
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It happens by faith in Jesus Christ.
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You realize what separates you is not the Euphrates River, but
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something much bigger from God. The Bible says it's our sin.
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It's our sin against God that leads to death that separates us
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from the author of life. This is why Jesus took on human
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flesh. This is why he lived a sinless
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life. This is why he died as a
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substitute on the cross. This is why he defeated death.
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Why? So that we could be rejoined
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with our Creator by faith in his Son Jesus.
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Has there been a moment you've know you've crossed over?
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Your life has been changed because you found life when you
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joined yourself with Jesus by faith.
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The New Testament has a little phrase for that.
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It says over and over called in Christ.
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Are you in Christ? Have you crossed over?
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Abram is called here the Hebrew. If you've not, you simply call
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on the name of the Lord to save you.
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The Bible says you can do so even now #2 we learned here.
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This is interesting. Abram has 318 trained men.
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Now. When I read that, my first
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thought is, wow, Abram's household is a lot bigger than I
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thought. You get an idea.
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Here there's a bunch of people. And you also got to get,
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remember, not one of these are a biological offspring of Abram or
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Sarah. And yet God has blessed them
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with all these people, all right, that are walking, living
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with them, going where they go. And of this group, 318 are able
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bodied military men. My second thought about these
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318 men is that's big. I had no idea Abraham's family
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was that big potentially when you first read that.
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But then you also think, what in the world are 318 men going to
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do against an army of potentially 10s of thousands led
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by 4 kings that just wiped out an alliance of 5 kings with all
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their soldiers? Like who does?
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Who does Abram think he is? Right?
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I mean, jiu jitsu is one thing, but it's like, come on now,
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what? What?
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What in the world do they think is going to happen?
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Well, we're going to find out what happens.
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As we read the Coalition of Kings, I want to just get some
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better insight though into just how big a proposition this would
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be. Because when these 4 kings,
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Ketelayomer among them, swept through, defeated this alliance
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of 5 kings from north to South and back up again.
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Some of the peoples they defeated you just read right
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past and wouldn't think much about unless I give you some
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insight. Notice some of the peoples they
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defeated. They defeated the Raphaim, the
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Zuzim, the Emim, the Horites, the Amalekites and Amorites.
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And the five kings of the Jordan Valley.
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All right, those first three people groups, Raphaim, Zuzim
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and Emim. I don't know if that means
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anything to you or not, but the Bible describes those people as
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living in the land of Canaan as starts with AGI heard it giants,
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giants people that potentially were between 7 and 10 feet tall.
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You think, Kyle, now you're just talking random stuff that I
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don't know if I believe. Let me just tell you what the
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Bible says right about it. And this is Deuteronomy 2, verse
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20 and 21. And the Deuteronomy 311 speaks
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of the Raphaim as strong and tall.
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In fact, it specifies one by the name of Ogg, king of Bastion,
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was described as the last of the Raphaim in the land.
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That's Deuteronomy 311. His bed was made of iron.
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It was 13 1/2 feet long and six feet wide.
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Now, you don't do that if you're 5 1/2 feet tall, you don't order
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that bed from the blacksmith. All right?
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This is why the Bible calls them mighty men.
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This is why the Israelites were what, when they encountered the
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edge of the promised land and said, uh, uh, God, there's big
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people, right? We're like what it said.
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Grasshoppers, you can read in the writings of ancient Egypt,
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there were giants living in the land, right?
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This are these are the people that Keto Laomer and his army
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just defeated? And Abram thinks he's going to
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go chase them down and bring Lot back.
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Do you see what I'm talking about?
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And Abram and his men don't just choke a few guys out, grab Lot
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and run. They wipe the table with him
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that night and slaughter them all the next day.
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It's not even a fight. Nobody gets a scratch.
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They come back. They come back without casualty.
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It's an absolute miracle. It's mice against elephants.
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But here's the deal #2 in your notes.
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I don't know where I am, but I'm going to give it to you.
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Abram is with God and God is all he needs.
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Hallelujah. Abram is with God and God is all
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he needs. Do you see the difference
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between how Lot is living his life away from the will of God,
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losing everything, and Abram here is living his life against
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impossible odds. But who's with him?
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God is with him and it doesn't matter who's against him.
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If there's one principle to learn in life that I hope you
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know, not only is Jesus the way, the truth, and the life, but you
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can mark this down in these scripture verses.
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Make this so clear. If God is for you, who can be
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against you? If the Lord is my light and my
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salvation, whom shall I fear? If the Lord is the strong one of
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my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
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Fear not, I love this one, Elisha said.
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Those that be with us are far more than they that be with
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them. When he showed in the armies of
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heaven surrounding them, right? If the Lord had not been on our
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side, disastrous the results would have been, David says.
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But our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and
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earth when God is with you and you're living in the will of
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God. If you're doing the will of God
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and plan of God, walking in obedience to God and God's will
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for your life is what you've given yourself to.
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I'll just tell you you're undefeatable.
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You're unstoppable, you're invincible.
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Little Lottie Moon, all four foot nine of her, that I
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consider myself immortal until God's will from my life is done.
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Mark it down, period. That's you and that's me.
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When we live our lives according to the answer of the call of
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God, then everything, everything that God has planned for us by
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faith is possible by him until he says otherwise.
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That doesn't mean things don't go wrong.
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That doesn't mean we may not die of disease one day, but we're in
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the hands of God and God's will for our lives when we say yes to
22:45
that call. That's what we'll walk in by
22:47
God's help. All right, lots living away from
22:51
the will of God. Abraham's living in the will of
22:53
God, God with us changes everything when someone
22:56
complimented. Jay Hudson Taylor, the famous
23:00
missionary to China, they founded the China Inland
23:03
Mission. Here was his response.
23:06
He says all God's giants have been weak men or women, that is
23:11
you could say who did great things for God because they
23:15
reckoned on God being with them. They learned the lesson.
23:22
So when I say yes to God's call, and when I'm with God and God is
23:25
with me, and I'm living God's plan for my life, and nothing,
23:28
nothing, nothing can change or stand in the way or defeat.
23:32
No weapon formed against me, as the Bible will say, will
23:35
prosper. Have you learned that lesson?
23:39
Friends? This is the way life is meant to
23:42
be lived. Why do you live where you live?
23:46
Why do you work where you work? Why do you go where you?
23:49
Why do you do what you do? Why are you living the way
23:52
you're living? Why, why, why?
23:53
Is it an answer to the call of God?
23:56
Or is it something different? Or maybe have you ever asked the
24:01
question from God at all? Let's pick up in verse 17 after
24:07
his return from the defeat of Kedo Laomer and the kings who
24:11
were with him. The king of Sodom went out to
24:14
meet him in the valley of Shavet, that is the King's
24:17
valley, and Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and
24:21
wine. He was priest of God Most High,
24:24
and he blessed him and said Blessed be Abram by God Most
24:28
High, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God, that
24:32
is El Elian Most High. Who's delivered your enemies
24:35
into who did? Who did all the deliverance,
24:38
right? I mean, it wasn't that Abram
24:40
trained the baddest Navy Seals on the planet, OK, it says they
24:45
were trained, but it was God who gave them the victory.
24:49
And Abram gave, what's this, a 10th of everything?
24:53
And the king of Sodom said to Abram, give me the persons that
24:57
take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of
24:59
Sodom, I've lifted my hand to the Lord that is made a vow that
25:03
God most high possessor of heaven and earth, that I would
25:06
not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours,
25:09
lest you should say I've made Abram rich.
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I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten and the
25:15
share of the men who went with me, with me.
25:17
Let Ainur, Escol and Mamre take their share.
25:22
The times of victory can be the times of greatest testing you
25:29
and I will ever face. Typically, we tend to think that
25:34
is in the lowest of lows. That is in life's hardship, that
25:37
we discover who we really are. And there's a lot of truth to
25:40
that. There is a lot of truth that
25:42
what happens in the fire and in the trial exposes what's deep
25:46
down all right. But there's something else
25:48
actually that counterintuitively, I think
25:50
actually is even more effective at revealing who you and who I
25:55
really are. Proverbs puts it like this in
25:59
chapter 27, verse one. The Crucible is for silver and
26:04
the furnace for gold and a man. This is so random sounding but
26:08
listen to this. And a man is tested by his
26:13
praise. I'll be honest, I think the
26:16
first time I read that I just scratched my head.
26:19
What in the world? But here's what I think that
26:22
verse means. You want to make a man or you
26:25
want to make a woman? Put them in the fire.
26:31
Put them in the fire. It'll refine them.
26:35
It'll burn away that which won't last.
26:37
Put them in the fire. If you want to make a man or
26:39
make a woman. But if you want to reveal who a
26:42
man or a woman really is, pour on praise, pour on power, pour
26:49
on success. See what that person does, and
26:55
then you're really going to know who they really are.
26:58
A man, a woman is tested by. By their praise, I think victory
27:05
can be times, success can be times of great testing.
27:09
And Abram here is in a time where he's just in, he's just
27:13
experienced one of the greatest, most miraculous victories a man
27:17
could have ever imagined. In fact, Abraham's gone viral in
27:20
the Middle East. This is this is unheard of.
27:22
He couldn't believe what just happened.
27:25
All right, Everybody wants Abraham's signature, wants his,
27:28
wants his. What's the word I'm looking for?
27:31
There you go. That's what I'm trying to say.
27:33
And in the midst of this, Abram interacts with two people that
27:37
give us insight into who he really is.
27:41
OK, the first one is this guy by the name of Melchizedek.
27:45
Now, I don't have a ton of time to expand upon all this, but let
27:48
me just just stay with me here. You ready?
27:50
It says he's the king of Salem. Salem is the word for the
27:53
ancient city that would come to be known as Giroux Salem, right?
27:58
Salem means peace. Okay, the the king of peace or
28:00
king of righteousness. This is also he's a priest of
28:04
God most high. That is, he knew, he served, he
28:07
worshipped, he ministered on behalf of Yahweh, the one true
28:10
God, the one who is El Elian God Most high.
28:14
Melchizedek y'all is one of the most mysterious characters in
28:18
all the Bible. I don't have time to really
28:20
develop this, but scholars talk about it in two different ways.
28:23
Some actually believe that this Melchizedek is what we've
28:27
called, if you've been here, a Christophany that is a pre
28:30
Incarnate appearance of Christ in the Old Testament.
28:33
There's some who believe that, but most scholars believe this
28:35
actually was a very real actual person man here that Abram
28:40
encounters. Here's what Hebrews says about
28:43
him for this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most
28:48
High God, met Abraham returning from the watch this how big was
28:52
Abram's win from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him,
28:57
and him and to him Abram apportioned a tenth part of
29:01
everything he is first by. Translation of his name, King of
29:04
Righteousness, and then he's also King of Salem, that is King
29:08
of peace. He is without father or mother
29:10
or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of
29:13
life. But resembling the Son of God,
29:16
he continues a priest forever Hebrews 715 quoting Psalm 110
29:22
four Speaking of Jesus says this you are that is Jesus, you are a
29:27
priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
29:31
Part of the difference here this being spoken to is Hebrews is
29:33
that the Levitical priesthood the the the priesthood developed
29:37
under the old covenant depended on your lineage.
29:41
All right, your family tree and it was dependent on working and
29:45
serving as a priest, but those priests were not kings.
29:48
The difference is Melchizedek, at least from what we can tell,
29:51
the Bible says had no genealogical records or whatever
29:54
it means to be without father or mother beginning or end of days.
29:57
All right, which is a very mysterious we can't get into all
29:59
that now, but it but what it means is this one is not based
30:03
on genealogy and it's also not limited to someone just being a
30:06
priest, but also a king. Jesus comes as a priest in the
30:13
line of one who is a priest and king, which is exactly how Jesus
30:19
will operate because it's who he is.
30:22
Melchizedek brings you notice, bread and wine.
30:26
No doubt, on the surface, these are physical provisions for
30:29
Abram and those weary from war and.
30:31
Returning the prisoners of war. That they rescued.
30:35
Perhaps it's also a sacrifice used in the sacrifice to God.
30:39
I also think it's interesting and I think perhaps
30:41
foreshadowing isn't an interesting out the bread and
30:44
the wine he brings out for their provision and potential
30:46
sacrifice. I think also perhaps speaks to
30:49
what do we use now to celebrate the greatest victory that who
30:53
secured for us on the cross with his broken body and shed blood,
30:59
setting us free, bringing us back from prisoner of war to sin
31:03
and death and separation from God.
31:05
And Jesus Christ rescues us when everything had been lost because
31:09
of our sin and we were rescued by the Son of God, right?
31:14
A miracle in itself as Jesus loved us who'd sinned against
31:19
him. Two things happen here, you
31:21
know, Kizadek blesses Abram and gives God the glory for the
31:25
victory, and then Abram gives Melchizedek.
31:28
Watch this a 10th. That's called a tithe in the
31:32
Bible. Literally 110th of everything
31:35
that he won in terms of the victory in the spoils of war.
31:40
Abram does this y'all as a voluntary act of worship.
31:44
It's a recognition of God's power and provision that enabled
31:48
him to have this miraculous victory.
31:50
So what I want to do is just for a moment, talk to you about
31:53
where do we get this pattern of giving of generosity that we
31:56
call a tithe? We get it right.
31:58
Out of the pattern of the Bible. All right, this is not some man
32:02
made math that we come up with, but we see this exemplified
32:06
right here in Scripture. And what I want you to also
32:08
notice is that pattern of giving to God a tithe of all He gives
32:12
to us as a part of our worship predates the Old Testament law.
32:17
God's not written anything on any tablets yet.
32:20
God's not given an old covenant, the old covenant for that the
32:23
Israelites that he will make with them.
32:25
He started with the Abrahamic covenant, but Abraham gives to
32:29
God as a voluntary act of worship long before the
32:32
Israelites. And by the way, when you add up
32:34
all the percentages that the Israelites gave as a part of the
32:37
old covenant, it's like high twenties, 30% of their total
32:40
income. They gave back to the worship
32:42
and following of God in the way they they did life.
32:46
But beginning the beginning of giving to God as a part of
32:49
worship doesn't even begin here. It goes all the way back to
32:51
Cain. And who gave what to God as a
32:55
part of their worship? A sacrifice.
32:58
And the only one that was honorable to God was one that
33:01
was a first, a best offering to God.
33:05
And so here we see this pattern predating the law of giving to
33:10
God in proportion to what he has given to us.
33:14
If giving to God is not a part of your worship, the Bible says
33:20
it ought to be. If giving to God is not a part
33:24
of your worship, the Bible says it's a actual part of the way we
33:28
worship and honor God based on all that he's given us and as a
33:32
part of our worship. I also think the Bible very
33:34
clearly that would give us the principle that our primary
33:38
giving in our worship should be where we worship through.
33:41
How do we worship? Through the gathering of the
33:42
local church that we're a part of that doesn't mean there's not
33:47
all sorts of wonderful amazing things and ministries to give to
33:51
of all sorts but guess what none of those other things that man
33:54
comes up with are God's plan A to advance the mission of God to
33:57
make disciples to the ends of the the earth right.
34:01
So giving what I'm trying to show you is there's.
34:03
A pattern of worship in the Bible.
34:05
You're not going to turn to any New Testament book and it says
34:10
thou shalt tithe 10%. You're not going to find that
34:12
verse, OK, But what you're going to find there is the application
34:18
of principles that have been built through the whole Bible of
34:21
man giving to God in worship, sacrificially, giving God their
34:25
best, giving God first. And then you're going to read
34:28
how God loves the cheerful giver.
34:29
And then you're going to hear Paul's.
34:30
Instructions to set aside things on the first day of the week,
34:33
right? You're going to hear him call
34:35
for radical generosity to meet needs.
34:37
You're going to hear of the early church gathering together
34:39
and selling their stuff to meet needs.
34:41
You're going to hear and read of much more radical generosity
34:44
than 10% in the New Testament. And it's obvious what I'm trying
34:47
to say there is that 10% as a pattern is meant to be a floor,
34:51
not a ceiling of the giving and the life of a follower of God in
34:54
their worship. Y'all follow me.
34:57
So we don't have time to turn to all these verses and show you.
34:59
But if you're, if you're interested and learning more
35:03
about what is giving as a part of worship look like, let me
35:05
just give you some principles. You can fill these in on your
35:07
notes. All right, I'm going to go quick
35:08
on this. First is how would you grow in
35:10
your giving? Well, you might need to #1
35:12
become a new giver. In other words, you've never
35:14
done that before. You never worship God by giving
35:17
back of what he's given to you of any amount at any time.
35:20
To say God, I want to start by faith to give #2 would become a
35:24
regular giver. That this is not a one time
35:26
random thing. This is the thing that's a
35:28
systematic intentional action in my life.
35:31
And then #3 the next step would say, hey, I want to, I want to
35:34
be a tither. I want to at least embrace the
35:37
pattern that the Bible from the early pages of the first book
35:41
gives as a principle of what would it look like to give in
35:44
proportion to what God has given to us.
35:46
That's a 10%, all right. And then again, that's not a
35:51
ceiling thing, that's a floor thing.
35:53
And so sacrificial tithing is something that we see people
35:56
giving above and beyond as God calls them to and.
35:59
Let me give you a little example.
36:01
I read it, didn't read. I actually heard a man share
36:03
with a group that I was with in Texas about how he and his wife
36:07
had been very blessed by the Lord and they actually were led
36:09
by God to make a decision to. Up their tithe by 1% every year.
36:16
And when I heard this man share he was in his 90s, they were
36:21
giving 94 to 95% of their income away and living on the rest.
36:28
And by the way, they weren't hurting on the rest.
36:32
That old principle you can't out give God.
36:35
Let me get show you some guidance and giving.
36:36
And again, here's what I would tell you y'all listen, don't
36:39
take my word for it, but examine your own Bible and see what
36:42
principles jump out to you for how giving should be a part of
36:45
your worship. But here's some that I think
36:47
that you can take away. Number one, you're going to see
36:49
that it ought to be regular. This ought to be something
36:51
that's done intentionally and consistently.
36:53
I think you're going to see something that's going to show
36:55
you that it ought to be in proportion to what God has given
36:59
you. Abram did a tie they tent it
37:02
wasn't based on a certain amount.
37:04
It was like how much did God give me?
37:06
I'm going to do in proportion to that percentage based church
37:08
focus. Why?
37:09
Because giving is a part of. Worship.
37:12
And so we're giving through the way we worship in our church,
37:14
where we worship doesn't mean you don't give beyond that in
37:17
other ways. And then finally, God does not
37:21
ask Abram to put his bonus on the altar.
37:24
What does he ask him to put on the altar?
37:28
A sacrifice, right? In other words, if you could
37:32
really give to God and not notice it, you're probably not
37:39
really giving to God, right? I think it's designed to say,
37:45
God, we wouldn't do this if we didn't have faith in you to
37:50
honor you with what you've given us, believing that you're going
37:53
to you're going to honor those who honor.
37:58
So those are just some principles I'd encourage you to
38:00
explore, pray, read for yourself, land on that according
38:04
to how God leads you. But let me talk to you not just
38:06
about Melchizedek, but quickly here before we can conclude the
38:10
king of Sodom. This man is the polar opposite
38:13
of Melchizedek. This was a wicked man who led
38:16
wicked people. He's present for the interaction
38:19
between Abram and. Melchizedek.
38:21
But he's silent. When he does speak, he does not
38:24
congratulate. Notice he doesn't say thank you.
38:28
He doesn't say wow, Abram, that was amazing.
38:31
I lost, but you won. Dude's a sore loser.
38:34
And what does he ask for? Not the stuff he realizes.
38:40
He's got no right to ask for that.
38:42
What does he ask for? He asked for his people back.
38:47
What is a king? Not without his people.
38:53
He's not a king, Abram. Can I have my job back, Abram?
38:59
Can I have my relevance back, my importance back, my identity
39:05
back? You know, this man basically is
39:10
silent while he watches Abraham answer the call of God.
39:13
And then he asked back so that he could just go back to being
39:18
what he wanted to be. And we see here Abram's response
39:22
to him. It says, listen, I don't want
39:24
your stuff. I made a vow to the Lord that I
39:28
would not prosper by anything else than the blessings of God.
39:31
I would not allow any human being to get credit for what God
39:35
wants to accomplish alone in my life.
39:39
Let me tell you there's a lesson there because so often sometimes
39:42
in our effort for pursuit or success, we start to grope and
39:45
to grab after maybe what we can get on our for us by human hands
39:49
or human ability, rather than simply trusting God and saying
39:52
God, whatever prosperity or success you want to give to me,
39:55
I'm going to trust you for and go about the right way.
39:57
Abram says let my neighbors who allied with me get their share,
40:01
otherwise I want nothing. Abram did not want the spoils of
40:05
war that wouldn't last. He wanted the enduring promises
40:08
of God. Lot ran after something away
40:12
from the call of God. Abram ran after the call of God.
40:16
And watch, look, notice, don't miss the difference #3 is this.
40:19
Abram is with God and gives God a tenth of the goods and all the
40:25
glory. Abram is with God and he gives
40:28
God a tenth of the goods and all the glory.
40:31
God is with Abraham and Abram is with God.
40:33
Folks, that's the way life is meant to be lived.
40:36
This is the pattern God wants for us.
40:38
God with us means we have all we need and us with God means God
40:42
gets all the glory for everything in our life.
40:44
Life is God with us and us with God.
40:48
Don't miss those blinks. Life is God with us and us with
40:52
God. My question for you this morning
40:53
is where are you? John and praise team are going
40:58
to come out. Lot was away from the will of
41:01
God. If you're living away from the
41:03
will of God, you're risking everything.
41:06
The Bible says you might think you found life, you might even
41:08
think you've prospered, but in the end there's no life there if
41:12
you're not living in response to the call of God on your life.
41:14
Abram was with God choosing to answer God's call on his life
41:18
and realize God was all he needed and he didn't need even
41:21
the stuff that man could give him.
41:23
When he even got it by God's help, he gave it right back and
41:25
said that's not God's plan for me and he knew it.
41:28
He answered the call of God just as much with his no as he did
41:31
with his yes. Are you living in response?
41:36
To the call of God on your life, can I be honest with you?
41:42
I think a lot of Christians go day in and day out without
41:44
thinking about what God's call on their life is that day.
41:49
They're just worried about maybe a paycheck and food on the table
41:52
and doing what needs to be done, but not living in daily
41:55
surrender. Not living by saying God, I want
41:57
you with me and me with you, and walking by faith even if against
42:03
impossible odds. But I'm telling you that's how
42:07
life is meant to be lived. That's where life is found.
42:11
I don't know how you may need to respond this morning, but you
42:14
may need to call on Christ to save you because you've never
42:18
been joined with God by faith in His Son.
42:21
You might need to come and just kneel and stand and say God.
42:24
I've just not been asking what your call on my life is, what
42:27
your plan is. I haven't done that in a long
42:29
time, but I want to do it today, God, I don't want to risk
42:32
everything by living for my own plan or the call of the world or
42:35
my own ideas. God, if it's, if it's not your
42:39
ideas, I don't want it because God, I want to do it your way.
42:44
I want you to get all the glory and I trust you.
42:46
I don't know what decision God wants you to make, but I'm going
42:49
to ask you to respond boldly, respond faithfully.
42:52
Respond in a way that you know you're answering God's call on
42:56
your life. Heavenly Father, I prayed that
42:57
that's exactly what we would do. God, including me.
43:00
God, every day I want to live in response to your call, your
43:03
plan, your will, and God, we want that as a church.
43:06
We want that as individuals and I pray that you'd have your way,
43:09
your will, and our lives today. If anyone doesn't know you as
43:11
their savior, may the day be the day they call on you and respond
43:15
to your call on their life to trust in your Son.
43:18
In Jesus name I pray, Amen. If you would stand with me as we
43:21
sing, you come. We're going to wait for you to
43:23
pray with you, to minister to you in any way as you come.