MESSAGE SERIES
“Look to the Stars”- Message III
The Life of Abraham
God keeps His promises; we must remain obedient to Him even when the future isn’t clear.”
INTRODUCTION OF SERIES
We are doing a series on Sunday mornings, titled, “LOOK TO THE STARS” The Life of Abraham.
The whole idea of the series that I want to get across is this, “God keeps His promises, but in order to enjoy those promises we must remain obedient to Him even when the future is not clear.”
LAST SUNDAY
We talked about Abraham leaving Haran and going to Canaan and in spite of God telling him to leave his family which was idol worshipers in the land of Ur, he took Lot and the people that he and his father had acquired while living in the land of Haran.
Abraham was 75 years old when he left Haran.
Sometimes it takes us a while to get to the place where God wants us.
We talked last Sunday about Abraham’s desire to serve God and build altars to the Lord and we compared that to his nephew Lot who made decisions based strictly on fleshly desires.
Lot pitched his tent toward a wicked place called Sodom and Gomorrah and you know he eventually lived there and it was Abraham’s intercession that kept him and his family from being destroyed when God poured His wrath out on them because of their wickedness.
The main point of last Sunday’s sermon was this, “Don’t sacrifice your walk with God for money or material possessions.” Be careful where you pitch your tent.
Did you know we better off without stuff, if stuff gets between us and God? It is not what we have that is so important but what has us. Lot was a prime example of improper priorities in his life.
TODAY’S TEXT is in Genesis 14.
Two things happen in this chapter. The first 17 verses I am not preaching on this morning but I want to look at it for a moment.
We find the first recorded war in the Bible, it may have not been the first war but it is the first recorded war. There was a battle of 9 different kings.
The kings of the East capture Sodom and Gomorrah and in taking Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot Abraham’s son was taken prisoner.
A servant escapes and tells Abram that Lot has been taken prisoner and Abram takes 318 trained servants and took all the goods, delivered Lot and well as the women and the people.
QUESTION
I wondered something, I wondered if the well watered plains of Jordan looked as good to Lot now as it did earlier.
Sin is a captivating thing. Three things sin will always do.
WILL YOU SAY THESE WITH ME AS THEY COME UP ON THE SCREEN?
• Sin will always take you further than you wanted to go
• Sin will always keep you longer than you wanted to stay
• Sin will always cost you more than you wanted to pay.
I just wonder now if Lot had any second thoughts about living and casting his tent toward Sodom.
TEXT- Genesis 14:18-24
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
19 And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all.
Who is Melchizedek? The truth is we really don’t know.
The Bible says he was the king of Salem, that He brought forth bread and wine:
(Which are the elements of the Lord’s Supper) and he was the priest of the most high God.
We don’t know where he came from, he walks out on the pages of Scripture with bread and wine, he blesses Abram, and then he walks off the page of Scripture- that’s it.
J. Vernon McGee says:
We wonder where he came from.
We wonder where he is going.
We wonder what his business is.
I believe that Melchizedek is a marvelous Old Testament picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He comes on the scene
He bears the elements of the Lord’s Supper
He blesses Abraham
He is mentioned only three times in scripture.
This passage
Psalm 110 which is prophecy of Christ.
Hebrews tells us that Jesus was of the order of Melchizedek having no beginning and no end.
Hebrews 7:1-4 (NKJV)
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated "king of righteousness," and then also king of Salem, meaning "king of peace,"
3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
One has to ask how did Abraham know about paying a tithe to the Priest of the Most High God? Hebrew writer said it was a tenth of the spoils he had taken.
I want to talk to you this morning about the importance of putting God first even in your finances.
I don’t preach a lot on tithing and I don’t talk a lot about money even though the Bible talks a lot about money.
Money is such an important topic in the Bible that it is the main subject of nearly half of the parables Jesus told. In addition, one in every seven verses in the New Testament deals with this topic. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith, and more than 2,000 verses on money.
In fact, 15 percent of everything Jesus ever taught was on the topic of money and possessions-more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined.
There is a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and handle money.
I never think of preaching on tithing I don’t remember years ago when I was serving the Russell church and I announced that on a certain Sunday I was going to preach on the subject of tithing. Some of you are thinking, “I wish you would have announced that this morning.”
I was in the church office and I got a phone call, the lady on the other end said, “I heard your announcement that you were going to preach on tithing this Sunday. I wanted to call and tell you that me and my husband have gotten a little behind on paying our tithes and we want to catch up before you preach Sunday so I want you to come by the house and pick up our tithe check before Sunday.”
So as strange as it was, I went by Mom’s house and picked up her check.
That is the honest truth my own mother.
It is so important that you and I put God first even in our finances.
You can never ever out give God.
The last book of the Old Testament gives us some clear understanding on where and how to tithe.
Malachi 3:8-10
8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
If we don’t put God first in our life which includes our finances, we rob God of the opportunity of blessing us.
I want to give you two New Testament Scriptures on giving.
I Corinthians 16:2, On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper” (II Corinthians 9:6), “But this I say; He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each of one give as he purposes in His heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
My translation of that verse is “God loves a cheerful giver but he will accept from an old grouch to.”
It is not the amount of money given.
I personally believe in the tithe being a 10th but I can’t demand that by scripture.
• Abraham gave a 10th to the Priest of the Most High God
• Malachi said we are to give a tithe and offering
• Paul said we are to lay aside according to how God has prospered us.
It is not an amount it is the place it has in our priorities that matters.
MAIN POINT OF TODAY’S SERMON-Abram had an Old Testament experience with an Old Testament symbol of Christ and he gave to Him first. God wants to be first even in our checkbook and on our calendars.
It is not how much it is the place it is in our giving.
CONCLUSION
It was a good think Abram had this encounter with Melchizedek because his very next encounter was laced with temptation.
Genesis 14:21-23
21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself."
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth,
23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I have made Abram rich'—
Abraham had an Old Testament meeting with the priest of the Most High God which I believe is a symbol of Jesus.
PERSONAL TESTIMONY
In my Christian walk I have always prioritized my personal time with Jesus, there has been time it hasn’t been as first as it should be but meeting with Jesus has always been a priority in my life.
However, since I started reading the Book, “Discipled by Jesus” my meetings with Jesus has received renewed passion. In my time with Jesus I have always journaled.
So yesterday Linda and I kind a took the day off, I didn’t get up as early as I usually do, we ran some errands took care of some business, went to Wal-mart and come home, took a nap and then it was time for me to study and prepare for today’s service. For me to get ready on Saturday for Sunday is about a 6-8 hour job. I know you are thinking you study 6 hours and don’t do any better than that? But it is what it is.
So I got over here last night about 6 pm, and the one thing I have learned that I can’t start preparing until I have a meeting with Jesus for myself. So I was having my meeting with Jesus and I was kind a complaining.
I am going to just read you an entry from my journal. “Jesus sometimes, I feel like my life seems void of joy and empty.
“Jesus I don’t know what attributes to that, if is spiritual, physical, emotional or all three. I do wish Jesus you would give me more of a passion to do what I need to be doing for You.”
This is what I feel like I heard Jesus say to me.
“The problem is you are seeking a passion to do things when you should be seeking a passion for me. To truly love me. It is not the things, it is not the preaching and the teaching or the ministry it is all about me.”
I was reminded of what Jesus said to Peter that day so long ago on the beach, “Peter do you love me more than these?”
Then on down after Jesus ask Peter 3 times about his love for Him, Jesus said, “Follow Me.”
I want to encourage you this morning to make an effort to put Jesus first in your life. When you do, He will be first in your:
• Giving
• Calendar
• Everything you do.
MAIN POINT OF TODAY’S SERMON-Abram had an Old Testament experience with an Old Testament symbol of Christ and he gave to Him first. God wants to be first.
