Five On Five Is Not Enough Series

Five On Five is Not Good Enough

Genesis 14:1-16

• I know we have some basketball fans here today. Some people are fanatics.

• Robert Russell tells this story:

• huge rivalry in college basketball … University of Louisville and University of Kentucky.

• one games, an elderly woman was sitting alone … an empty seat next to her.

• Someone approached her, "Ma’am, I have rarely seen an empty seat in Rupp Arena, let alone at a game between these two teams. Whose seat is this?"

• she and her late husband had been season-ticket holders for 28 years, belonged to him.

• "Well, couldn’t you find a friend or relative to come to the game with you?" t

• "Are you kidding?" she replied. "They’re all at my husband’s funeral."

• A man who claims to be #1 NBA fan, and makes pro basketball his top priority?

• he wrote in a national sports magazine recently.

• “April & May are not only my favorite months because of the NBA play-offs but they are my credit card company’s favorite months too. I’ll bet the credit card people think we celebrate Christmas in May instead of December at our house. Airline tickets, motel rooms, play-off tickets, meals.. All of it adds up in a hurry. But quite frankly Christmas for me can’t hold a candle to the NBA play-offs.”

• certainly nothing wrong with loving sports and using them as a diversion. (I hope.)

• But.. if the NBA play-offs or anything else provides us more excitement than the fact God’s Son came to earth to save us, then something is way out of whack with our priorities.

• Only Jesus Christ is worthy of our primary priority.

• Tonight look at a five on five situation that had to be resolved off the court.

Gen 14:1 In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

• OK, so we have Team Chedorlaomer against Team Bera.

• Lot, Abram’s nephew, was in Sodom, and probably was a friend of King Bera.

• not be preaching military strategy and the progress of the war… jump ahead verse 11.

Gen 14:11 So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

• We have talked about how Lot made a bad choice and associated with bad company.

• consequences and trouble begins.

Gen 14:13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

• 318 special forces trained by Abram went on Black Op mission to rescue Lot and family.

• 318 men were a small army compared to five kingdoms.

• Abram wasn’t an Army Ranger or Navy Seal trainer.

• wasn’t the size of his army or specialized training, what made Abram’s band effective?

Gen 14:15 And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

• He split his guys up and defeated five nations.

• recovered all captives alive and all possessions.

• What Team Bera could not do, Abram and his 318 shepherds did with no losses.

I. Some troubles we bring on ourselves.

• Lot walked away from his mentor and his mentor’s God.

• Here comes trouble, round one.

• right in the path of trouble.

• if Lot was like a lot of Christians I counseled, He would have said,

• “Wow, I was suffering for Christ’s sake.”

• Or ask, “Why did God send this trouble to me? Why does God hate me?”

• Lot set up his camp on a railroad track, was surprised when the train came.

• many Christians respond to trouble this way … chosen unrighteousness for what it offers them.

• Why can’t they have their benefits of unrighteousness without trouble?

• Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.