Sojourners: Defending Your Lot
[powerpress]
No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. - Charles Dickens
What you will learn quickly when you begin your life as a sojourner is that this is a fight of faith. You will have to fight not only for your own walk with God, but for others' as well. Today, as we continue to study the life of Abram, we will see why we should learn to choose the right battles, defend our Lots and ultimately bring honor to our true champion.
Picking Your Battles
At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela that is, Zoar. All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim that is, the Dead Sea Valley. For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near the desert. Then they turned back and went to En Mishpat that is, Kadesh, and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazezon Tamar. Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboyim and the king of Bela that is, Zoar marched out and drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Siddim against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some of the men fell into them and the rest fled to the hills. The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away. They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. (Genesis 14:1-12)
In the long history of humanity, there have always been power struggles, a changing of power between kingdoms and ideologies. According to the Bible, this is a pattern slated to exist until Christ's return.
There are tar pits in these transitions - people get stuck in issues and miss Jesus altogether.
In this instance, Lot gets caught in the crosshairs of cultural transition and upheaval, much like we see in America today, where people want to throw off the shackles of the "old guard." Lot ended up in trouble because he was trying to enjoy as many of the comforts of Sodom as he could without paying the price for his association.
The first thing that you have to do if you are going to live a useful life for Jesus is make sure you have the right identification. Make sure that you find yourself firmly embedded in His camp, whose boundaries are found in His Word. This is what Lot failed to do.
Pitching your tent in Sodom essentially means you are living as close to the edge as possible while not falling over. It's the idea of "taking your Christian liberties to the limit" since you are supposedly under grace. When you live like this, it doesn't mean that God won't love you, but you'll have far more difficulties in life, struggles and, like Lot, even find yourself in bondage.
"The point is not that God will refuse you admission to His eternal world if you have not got certain qualities of character: the point is that if people have not got at least the beginnings of those qualities inside them, then no possible external conditions could make 'Heaven' for them - that is, could make them happy with the deep, strong, unshakable kind of happiness that God intends for us." -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (p.81)
Pitching your tent in Sodom means that you are basing your confidence in and giving your best energies to things that are destined not to last. You are secular, not in a cultured sense, but in the sense that you only care about the temporal and have no foresight in the ordering of your life. Your life revolves around things that you ultimately cannot keep (i.e. - your beauty:
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30 NIV)
vs. health:
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8 NIV)
It can also be an obsession with career positioning vs. kingdom usefulness, the establishment of connections vs. character development and the accumulation of idle wealth vs. gospel investments.
There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 14:12 NIV)
Examples: "I don't need to go to church to be a Christian." "I don't have time for the things of God because of the demands of my academics or career."
The question is: "Who told you this?" It was not God. And, if this is where you are presently, "When does it end?".
Each day is a building block for the trajectory of your life. Are you turned towards Sodom (solely worldly success) or Canaan (the land of God's promises)?
"Again, Christianity asserts that every individual human being is going to live for ever, and this must be either true or false. Now there are a good many things which would not be worth bothering about if I were going to live only seventy years, but which I had better bother about very seriously if I am going to live for ever. Perhaps my bad temper or my jealousy are gradually getting worse - so gradually that the increase in seventy years will not be very noticeable. But it might be absolute hell in a million years: in fact, if Christianity is true, Hell is the precisely correct technical term for what it would be." - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (p.74)
The things that will last - your ever-deepening relationship with Christ, as well as relationships built around the knowledge, fear and love of God, are what you, like Abram, should be willing to fight for.
Defending Your Lot
God can move even when there are relational strains. Abram and Lot had parted company, but Abram was still willing to fight for him.
A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh that is, the King’s Valley. (Genesis 14:13-17)
This is a fight of faith and you will have to fight for your Lot. Just as the Israelites fought very tangible physical battles, there is also a very real spiritual battle that you will find yourself engaged in for yourself and your Lot.
How do I fight?
1) Prayer (and fasting when necessary) This includes worship, which magnifies God in your situation and invites His powerful intervention (Psalm 149).
2) By your example
It is not enough that you are able to preach or teach the Bible. It is not enough that you have a desire to espouse or wax eloquent regarding Scripture. It is much easier to desire a captive audience than it is to lay down your life as an example in your (I Timothy 4:12):
Speech Conduct Love Faith Purity
It is how you relate with your spouse, children, co-workers, authorities and peers. In essence, you must strive to be a role model. To really help people, your life must be exemplary.
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV)
Elders and Deacons were required to have a life worthy of emulating in Christ. (I Timothy 3; Titus 1)
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:9 NIV)
Finally, Jesus' younger half-brother, the apostle James said:
Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (James 3:1 NIV)
You do not save people, Jesus does. However, your example can either help them see Jesus more clearly or allow them to live in the confusion and deception of a compromised life. This is why the apostle Paul told both the Corinthian and Roman churches not to put any stumbling block in anyone else's path. If what you are going to do makes someone else, not to mention yourself, stumble, cut it off. Encourage righteous living and do not embolden someone else's sin (Romans 14,15; I Corinthians 8,10). This is love.
3) Persevering, persistent encouragement
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! (Galatians 4:19-20 NIV)
We need to have the same patience and perseverance in seeing Christ formed in people as we do with the delivery of a child. In the meantime, bring those we hope to see delivered around the people and things of God.
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16 NIV)
Who are you acting as a relational anchor for here in the church? For whom in the community are you acting as a life preserver? You never need to be the sole life preserver or anchor in someone's life. Abram went to war with his tribe, not alone. Otherwise, not if, but when offense comes, your Lot can disappear if not anchored by other relationships.
Our Great Champion
Ultimately, Jesus is the savior; you are not. You need to build your Lot into community, and, most importantly, into Christ. The meeting of Abram and Melchizidek was essentially a juxtaposition between Sodom (the perishable world) and Salem (the home of the everlasting King).
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High,who delivered your enemies into your hand.”Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.” (Genesis 14:18-24)
As a sojourner, you need to give yourself to that which will last forever. This is what Melchizedek, who was a foreshadowing of Jesus, represented. He who was without beginning or end, is that into which Abram sowed - the eternal.
Though Abram was great, Melchizedek was greater and because of that we see Abram, prior to the law, honoring Melchizedek with a tithe of his plunder.
This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! (Hebrews 7:1-4 NIV)
This is where we find the gospel when we are fighting for people in prayer, in the sharing of our testimony, in the call to faith and repentance. Jesus, offers a righteousness that is complete. His mercy is without begin or end, because by nature, He is merciful. The peace that He holds out is found at the cross, which we should return to daily. You should bring people to His feet again and again that they might be washed clean, be delivered from the evil one (Lord's prayer) and find peace with God in His city within the city. Melchizedek is a picture of Jesus. Salem, which he rules, is a picture of His church.
Why wouldn't Abram accept provisions from the king of Sodom?
Over and over again we see that your trust should be in God, not in man. Jesus uses human agencies to educate, help and deliver, but only to the extent that they are aligned with Him should you entrust yourself to them. It is the difference between Abram's response to Melchizedek and the king of Sodom.
Look to Jesus for your identity. Look to Jesus for your peace. Look to Jesus for your righteousness. Look to Jesus for your joy. Look to Jesus for your success in all that you put your hands to. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. You can be sure that He is faithful and will help you defend your Lot.
Second City Church- Sojourners Sermon Series 2014