A Generous Faith Part 2

Reese Flores looking to Jesus found her improvement block chose to ally with the king of Sodom is eventually ruined. Abraham paid homage to the king of Salem, Melchizedek, priest of God most high. From that choice is floating blessing to the entire world today.

What will your choice be from the Moody Church in Chicago this morning to win with Dr. Sir, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line series is strength for the journey. Pastor Luther and our personal journeys we all face significant choices in life and you know Dave, what's really scary is this even a decision that is small may appear small to us, if it's a wrong decision. It can put us on the wrong road and one bad decision can lead to another. That's why it's so critical for us to learn from the life of Abraham and Lot most assuredly, but also to learn from history. What bad decisions can do. Perhaps you been listening to the ministry of running to win. You've heard various sermons from this series entitled strength for the journey, but maybe you've missed some. Would you like to have them in permanent form so that you can listen to them again and again and make sure that you are listening to them in sequence. Well, we're making this series available to you. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask for this series of messages. Strength for the journey and again I want to thank you in advance for helping us financially as the ministry of running to win continues to expand. Thank you so much for being a part of all that we're doing to get the gospel to thousands upon thousands noticed that Abraham paid him 1/10 of all the paid ties. Some people think that tithing came about as the result of the Mosaic law, but here hundreds of years before Moses you have Abraham paying tithes. Jacob tithed it was a principle that God obviously revealed very early so here you have the story of Abraham's generosity in the presence of this mysterious man milk has a deck king and priest prefiguring Jesus. Now we have a second king that enters into the picture. You'll notice it says in verse 21 and the king of Sodom said to Abraham give me the persons but take the goods for yourself. You recovered the spoil you can keep the spoil that you recovered but of course you return the person sandlot. Of course, would be among that group that had been taken captive and that Abraham was able to return. Now think about that for a moment that was a reasonable deal.

Abraham could say that the spoils that I received from this incursion into the territory of these four kings is legitimate payment for my risk.

I took a risk and the spoils. Therefore, should be mine. Obviously, the king of Sodom would not get anything if I had not gone so y'all keep it.

Notice that what Abraham says.

Verse 22 but Abraham said to the king of Sodom. I have lifted up my hand to the Lord God most high possessor of heaven and earth using the same language of the blessing given to him by Melchizedek that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours last you should say I have made Abraham rich. Some of the young men who are here what they ate and and what they want to take that's their business.

But as for me, we would translated I will not take one red cent less. The king of Sodom say well yes, Abraham is rich, but I just want you to know I contributed to that riches. He has some of our goods.

He had it coming to him, but we decided to be generous and to give them whatever it is that he captured Abraham says I don't want to hear one word along that line because if the king of Sodom were to speak that way I'd be robbing God of his glory is not the God that I serve the possessor of heaven and earth didn't he bring everything into existence. Does it not say in the Old Testament and Abraham wouldn't have known this, but we do that all the gold is mine the silver is mine the cattle on a thousand hills, is mine says the Lord, even that which people grab for themselves belongs to God.

The possessor of heaven and earth, and Abraham says I want to make a clear distinction here I will receive God's blessing, but I am refusing the manipulation and the deals of the world so that God gets all the glory. I woke up this morning quite early 4:45. Actually, before I got out of bed.

I was praying and saying, Lord, you know, I'd really like to find an illustration. To illustrate this and none came to mind. I searched around couldn't find it. And then God did something very special this morning as I was getting ready for the baptism. I have a friend of mine who's a prayer partner prays for me all the time who will receive in heaven. Reward of any good thing that I've ever done and he was helping me get into my garb that I need for baptism and he told me he was just on a weekend journey that was very very profitable from the standpoint of his business and he wanted to do something he told me I was volunteering all this he doesn't have a clue what the sermon is about. He wanted to do something that would violate a principal. He had always held to in terms of relationship with unbelievers. Of course we have to do business with all kinds of people in the world most assuredly, but it had to do with a partnership and he decided to go along this way at first thinking that you know it'll work and the potential here is awesome until he was rebuked in his spirit last night.

Took a walk decided that the answer was no. And God confirmed it by having this man back out of the deal by leaving a voicemail message on his phone. You see the temptation that we get to when we want to have opportunity, and when we want to make a deal. Nothing wrong with deals.

But when you're in partnerships with those who do not know the Savior.

They might say it is because of you that because of me that you today have been blessed. I know that that's complicated and there may be some exceptions and some unanswered questions, but the main thing I want to leave with you today is this, don't ever. Don't ever make a decision that will rob God of his glory. It's better to be blessed by God most high possessor of heaven and earth than to manipulate it, deal with the kings of Sodom. Three very important lessons grow out of this. First of all, the lesson is we always face a choice between two Kings. We always face the choice between two Kings. It's either King Jesus or its ourselves and the world, but all of our choices boil down to that one more time I'm going to look at this man. Melchizedek, who was he, anyway comes out of nowhere. No genealogy superior to Abraham king priest of the most high God, who was he, anyway, many Bible scholars feel, and I've come to this conclusion, though I cannot prove it absolutely that Melchizedek was Jesus. Melchizedek was Jesus in the Old Testament. What you find is from time to time God revealed himself. Jesus became flesh, and sometimes he became an angel for a very specific reason and then after his work was done, he would disappear and then later on.

Of course he came in Bethlehem to permanently accept humanity so that he could be our brother and our Savior. This is called by theologians pre-incarnate manifestation that is prior to Bethlehem when God became flesh manifestations of God and and here Abraham doesn't know it. He doesn't understand the Trinity like we do, but I believe that is in the presence of deity.

And isn't it interesting that Melchizedek gave him bread and wine which later, of course, would be symbolic of the blood and body of Jesus is in the presence of Christ and that's where we stand today. Always a choice between two Kings King Jesus and all of the options and the kings of this world you young people you stand today between two Kings tomorrow when you go to school. It's going to be either King Jesus or other kings that are going to be thrown in your direction and the temptations of the world are going to be there and you have to choose you businessmen you have to always choose between King Jesus and some other King some other King of Sodom who offers you a deal for the purpose of opportunity and there you stand making your choice every choice almost every choice is King Jesus or someone else you know the story of George Beverly Shea. He has been for many years. The singer for the Billy Graham evangelistic Association.

Some of us have had the privilege of meeting him.

He is son to millions and billions of people and you know about that story don't you that he loves to tell because it's his personal testimony of how he had been offered a job because of his wonderful baritone voice.

He been offered a job by a radio company back in the 30s and all that they dangled before him is fame and fortune if he were to sign up with them and his mother put a Pro-Am on the piano so that when he sat down, he'd see the poem and you know what the poem was that he wrote the music to the song that we often sing.

I'd rather have Jesus than silver and gold. I'd rather be his then have riches on told I'd rather be his than houses or land. I'd rather be led by his nailed peers. Dan then to be the king of a vast domain and be held in the sins dread sway. I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today. We all stand in the presence of Jesus making our choice first lesson second, our choices determined by our hearts. Your choice will be determined by your heart. Case in point lot peers lot who chose the best pastureland he pitches his tent toward Sodom. Now he's living in Sodom he's carried off and then he's brought back by his uncle Abraham. You think to himself he would say you know this is a real bad deal living in Sodom and it's going to get worse by the way, if you know how the story ended. So what I'm going to do is to move out of Sodom and begin to follow the Lord I'm going to begin to have an altar in my life just like my uncle Abraham that would lot does know lots heart was in Sodom so his body had to follow because your body will go where your heart wants to go. It's basically a matter of what you love. That's why the Bible says love not the world needed the things that are in the world for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the father but is from the world and the world passes away, and all of its lusts, but he who does the will of God abides forever.

And then notice this if you love the world, the love of the father is not in you. It's always a choice as to what you love, that will determine your decision. No question about it. Now I don't mean that. Simply, if you love God that that means you're always going to be kept from sin. There is a need some time for rules you member that story in Homer's Odyssey were… Knows that he is going to be so tempted by the siren song as the boat goes along and he knows that many captains have actually turned away, hit the rocks because they could not overcome the temptation and he asks that all of the sailors had wax put in their ears and then he himself is tied to the mast and he told his men no matter how much I struggle no matter what happens, no matter what I tell you no matter what promises I make. Do not unbind me on till we are past the siren songs. Yes, there is the need for rules and for accountability and binding ourselves to the mast the end of the day. It is what is in our hearts that will determine what our decision is. Abraham loves God, he turns to the possessor of heaven and earth and says no to the king of Sodom lot love Sodom returns away from God and says yes to Sodom, which means burning, not knowing that all that he has in all that he accomplishes will someday soon be burned up. Final lesson and that is that our hearts are hearts need to be changed by God, our hearts need to be changed by God. You see we can't wake up in the morning and say to ourselves. You know what I'm going to do today. I just made a choice.

Today I'm going to love God and love righteousness and hated iniquity. That's my choice today.

You can change your heart by saying that, in the immortal words of Woody Allen, the heart wants what it wants. You can't change your heart, leopard changes spots.

The Bible says no leopard cannot change its spots. Can you clean your heart.

Can you change your heart. Can you use steel wool and scrub it in make it clean. No, you can't do that. But God says a new heart. I give you. And with that new heart comes new, love's until we may find ourselves in sin.

But if we do we hate what we are doing because fundamentally we do love God and the first commandment is, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy soul and with all thy mind, and when we love God like that sin loses its attract goodness.

We no longer love it because we love God but God bursts that in us you can change people. You can't even change them by putting pressure on them about 15 years ago young man wandered into my office that I'd known from a previous church and he was really far from God. He was doing his own thing and saying no to his parents. I knew his parents and I put a lot of pressure on them. I said you want to get on your knees right here and repent.

Well when I told him that he was a little sheepish, but thought well my goodness of pastor Luther thinks I should do it and I want to get out of here so I guess I will so I got down on my knees with him and he quote repented, never changed a bit. There is a form of saying sorry and even a form of repentance that does not bring about the change of heart that Jesus called the new birth which gives you new loves this past week in a certain context that I will not take time to tell you about.

I put my hand in a young man I've never met him before but I simply said to him, have you accepted Christ as your Savior and he said oh yeah, I do it every day you met that kind heaven they do it every day. You do it every day you don't understand what you're doing. You may confess your sins every day. But once you've made the transfer of trust to Christ, you become God's children, you begin to live for him every day that you don't receive him every day. But the real issue is that you accept Christ everyday. Great idea, has God given you a new heart with new loves so that now you love righteousness.

The contrast couldn't be clear here between Abraham and Lot both did what they love to do. Abraham serving the possessor of heaven and earth lot serving Sodom. They were where their hearts wanted to be. Let's pray father.

Our hearts are so deceitful they are so filled with our self-love and self-absorption and ego show us that today father that we might genuinely that we might genuinely be led to a point of saying God I can't change my heart. Words of the song that we sang last week. Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.

If gods talk to you today. Would you talk to him say, God give me a new heart do in me. What I cannot do myself. I embrace Christ to change my heart, would you tell them that father give us the faith of Abraham take from us, Lord, the heart of lot in Jesus name we pray. Amen. This is pastor Luther, you know, my friend. I've learned a lesson regarding communication, people listen more carefully with their hearts than they do their minds as a boy when I was reading the Scripture. I was always puzzled by the words of Jesus. He who has ears to hear, led him here. I thought everybody I know has ears to hear what Jesus is saying is they don't have hearts to hear so I have to ask you today. How is your heart, where are you have spiritually on your journey will you know this series of messages is titled strength for the journey is really the life of Abraham, who by the way he shows up in the New Testament in many many different references. He's a very important man for us to understand and I believe that this series of messages will introduce him to you in a new way for a gift of any amount. It can be yours. Now here's what you do, you can go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 knowing the New Testament we discover that the reason that there are stories in the Old Testament true stories of course is to instruct us to guide us to learn and to be able to benefit from people's mistakes as well as their good decisions. That's why I believe this series. Strength for the journey will be a great blessing to you and you can have it listen to it again and again. Let me give you that contact info and when you connect with us. I want to thank you so much for standing with us with your prayers and your gifts go to RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Remember, the series is titled strength for the journey and all of us need strength for the journey all the way to the finish line. You can write to us at running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago line 60614 in Genesis 15 God promises Abraham numberless offspring and pledges to give them much of the Middle East know that something really big. Next time I'm running to win God's guarantee of the land and the people to bring forth the Redeemer running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life.

Thanks for listening for Dr. Erwin looks this is Dave McAllister running to win his sponsor and teacher