Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Genesis

Genesis 14 05/26/02

Intro: 'One Sunday morning, Joshua, a 6-year-old was busy getting dressed for Sunday school. When it was time to leave, he came out of his room carrying his entire stock of neckties. When asked  why he was doing this, he eagerly replied, Cause the Pastor told us to put our ties in the offering!'

'It was Super Bowl Sunday, and in church the time for the collection of tithes and offerings was approaching. The minister, a true sports enthusiast, reached into his pocket, took out a quarter, flipped it into the air, glanced at it as it landed, then in typical referee fashion joyfully announced: The ushers will receive!'

 OK, why the admittedly lame attempt at humor about tithes and offerings? After all, it is an important subject, one we all need to be more concerned with. Well, it's because when most people read this passage all they really see is the tithe Abram gives to Melchizedek. And they want to talk tithing...is that 10% of the gross or net?

 Tithing, however, is not the central focus of the text, faith is. The life of Abram, Gen. 12-24, is about his journey of Faith, since he is the father of all who are saved not by tithing, but who are saved by faith.

Read: Gen. 14:1-12

 What we read here is not uncommon for that area of the world, at that time in history. There was no central government and each city had it's own king.  A strong king, not unlike a modern mob boss, would force weaker kings to pay protection...to given them money so that they wouldn't invade their land and take everything. It seems a group of 5 weak kings, headed up by the King of Sodom, got tired of paying protection and decided to fight. Well, they lost.  Chedorlaomer  and his 3 allies took everything; people, animals and possessions.

 And it's in this context that we once again read about Lot. Sometime after Lot moved to the Jordan Valley and before the time he was taken prisoner, he and his family moved into Sodom. He knew it was exceedingly evil but he moved into town anyway.

Read: Genesis 14:13-16

 Someone escaped from the battle and went to Abram to tell him that his nephew Lot had been captured. This presents Abram with yet another challenge of faith. Abram had 2 choices?

1. Do Nothing:
     -The people of Sodom were wicked, evil people and deserved judgment from God.
     -There were 4 powerful kings, it was a suicide mission.
     -And it was not really any of Abram's business.
     -As far as Lot is concerned, well, he got what he deserved. He freely chose to live in Sodom.

 Not a bad bit of rationalization. The problem with this choice is that it lacks godly compassion. Even  though Lot made a poor choice by moving first near and then into Sodom,  he was still family. And not only that he was a believer in the One True God. Even if he wasn't acting like it. Remember, Abram had made some bad  choices..remember the famine, Egypt and the whole brother sister thing? Doing nothing was not the godly choice.

2. Do Something: To act, to get involved. But this does not come without it's own difficulties.  How could Abram get involved in behalf of people who were so evil? This is a problem Christians have struggled with for centuries. The key is involvement without compromise. And that is not always easy. But Abram will show us how it can be done.

 Abram chose to get involved. The text very briefly tells us that when Abram heard of Lot's capture, he gathered 318 of his trained men and went after Lot.

Picture this...This small group of men went up against the armies of 4 great kings.  Abram marches as fast as he could to get to where the opposing armies were. They were, no doubt, still celebrating their victory. Then, Abram and his men attack at night and defeat them. Abram got back all the possessions, people and animals that were taken..including Lot and his family.

 The whole thing seems impossible. But nothing is impossible for our God. How did Abram defeat 4 powerful kings? Faith! Abram remembered and trusted in Gods promises. A person who knows and believes, really believes God's promises knows that whenever he/she acts in faith they risk nothing. There may be challenges, but they are not risks, when there actions are based on the certainty of God's Word.Abram was not worried about being outnumbered. He had God and His promises on his side. Friends, the best way to face a seemingly insurmountable problem is with faith.

Faith is the victory, the old hymn so rightly says.  The problem you may be facing may be something other than an invading army but it may feel like one.

    -Perhaps it's the fear or reality of cancer.
    -Perhaps it is a problem in a relationship
    -Perhaps you suffer constant anxiety, worry
    -Perhaps you are debilitated by loneliness

 The enemy may be different but the solution is the same. When you know you are the most helpless, you need to be the most trusting. God will make a way and He  will see you through,, when you go forward in faith.

 Well, Abram comes back a hero. You might have thought they all lived happily ever after. But on his way back Abram faces one of  his greatest temptation in his life.

Read: Gen. 14:17
 
  Temptation came in the person of the king of Sodom comes out to meet Abram after he returns from his victory.  What was the temptation? Let's skip down to vs 21.

Read: Gen. 14:21-24

 Did you see it, the temptation? The king of Sodom tells Abram 'Give me the people and you keep the goods for yourself.' Now you may be thinking, what's wrong with that. It sounds fair?  Where's the temptation?

By taking the king of Sodom up on his offer...

1. Abram's integrity would have been compromised

 Favors? The way of the world is that when you do a favor for someone, one day, that person will call in that favor and  you become obligated to them. That's is the issue here. If Abram takes the King of Sodom up on his offer then he will incur some kind of obligation. Remember, Sodom and the king were evil and Abram wanted nothing to do with the city or the king. Abram would not compromise his integrity or his faith. He knew there is a price to be paid when you unite with the world.

 Paul says this when he tells believers not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. It may and often does lead to a compromise of your integrity and your faith.

2. Abram's God would have been robbed of glory

 If Abram had accepted the King of Sodoms offer, the king would have been able to say 'Abram prospered because I let him keep all my possessions.' The king would be stealing some of God's glory. You see, it was God who won the victory for Abram and who allowed him to gain all the people, possession and animals...not the king of Sodom. And God will not share His glory with anyone.

 Listen to how Abram responds to the King of Sodom.  'I will accept nothing belonging to you'. He says this twice.  Think about how absolute that is. He will keep nothing of his, nothing associated with ungodliness.

 We need to appreciate the enormity of this decision. We need to understand what Abram was turning down here. He had just liberated the people, possessions and animals of 5 cities. By rights they were his to keep. All of it. We are talking about an incredible about of wealth...all rightfully his. Abram refused to compromise. He gave up what was rightfully his to retain his purity before God and his integrity before the people.

 The $64,000 question is what gave Abram the strength to do that? The secret is found in the verses we skipped over.

Read: Gen. 14:18-20

 The King of Salem came out with bread and wine to offer to Abram's tired and hungry men. By doing this he showed compassion to Abram. But, who was he?

1. He was king of Salem which would later become Jerusalem.

2. He was a priest of God Most High.
     -This means he was a believer in the One True God and Abram recognized this.

3. Melchizidek is a title not a name. It means king of righteousness. It spoke of his uncompromising faith and integrity.

4. He was a godly man who saw Abram's victory as an opportunity to proclaim the greatness of the God both he and Abram
   served. And this is a key point.

 We see this when Melchizedek blessed  not only Abram but God Most High who delivered Abram's enemies into his hands. You see, Melchizedek realized it was God who won the victory and he was reminding Abram of that.

 Something happened in his conversation with Abram. I believe that what Melchizedek said truly strengthened and encouraged Abram, in just the time he needed it. Just before he was tempted to compromise his faith in God.  I believe Melchizedek's words strengthened Abrams faith and gave him strength to overcome the temptation he would face.
It is interesting that Paul says the same thing.

1 Corinthians 10:13 'No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.'

 Melchizedek was God's way out to help Abram stand up under the pressure of temptation.We need to look for opportunities to be a Melchizedek to others who need encouraging.

 How did Melchizedek do it? Focus. The temptation of the King of Sodom was to make Abram think he won the victory all by himself and the riches he got in return, he got as a reward from the King of Sodom. Melchizedek reminded Abram that the victory was God's and it was God who would make Abram great. Melchizedek also reminded Abram to give the glory to God alone.God providentially placed Melchizedek in Abram's life to encourage him and to help keep him on his journey of faith. It was Melchizedek who helped Abram say no to the King of Sodom.

 By the way, Abram's tithe to the King of Salem was an expression of gratitude both to God and to Melchizedek his servant. He was thanking his God and his new friend for building his faith.

Conclusion
 Well, let's see what our text this morning has taught us.

1. How we respond to temptation in life is determined by our faith.

2. That faith is based in God and His promises?

3. We also need faith in the people God places in your life to bring you encouragement to do the right thing.

4. Tmptations are more frequent and more influential the closer you are to living in Sodom.

5. We can have victory over temptation when by faith in God and in His promises we live involved in the world but
    separated from the entanglement of sin.

 If we learn well from the life of Abram, we will find that faith is the victory.