Blessing, Division, and Vision
Genesis 13:
1 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South.
2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
3 And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
4 to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.
6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
9 "Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
When God blesses, division often follows. In the study on the Tower of Babel, I spoke of division as a part of God withdrawing his blessings. When a church is blessed, they often get ‘blessing focused’ and lose sight of the purpose of God’s blessing. In this study, I will look at another reason for division. The blessings of God separate the spiritual from the carnal. Division isn’t always a tragedy. When a leader gets a call from God and a vision for His purpose, he begins to follow that purpose. God blesses someone’s life because they are going where God is going and doing what God has ordained. When we follow God, blessings follow us. People are drawn to success. Division follows success because not everyone drawn has the mind to do God’s will. Blessings cause division as people are separated into two groups; those who are focused on what God is doing and those who are focused on what God is giving. Those who aren’t spiritually minded with follow the blessing at the cost of sacrificing the purposes of the One who provides the blessing. I have never been in a church that did not have divisions during times of phenomenal growth. This becomes a tragedy only when the leaders get sidetracked by trying to hold everything or everyone together. They lose the vision for God’s will and becomes focused on reconciling the disputes between people. I recognize the need to address issues as they arise, but when people can’t or won’t get behind the vision, there is no way to reconcile and we must be willing to part ways. Unity at the expense of God’s plan is worse than a split in ways. We need to be reconcilers, but not at the cost of abandoning our call. We are commanded to pursue peace with all men. Sometimes parting ways is the only way to living peaceably. The important thing is that we never part from pursuing God’s call. God can’t bless those who cause division, but we also can’t please everyone. The person who pleases everyone accomplishes nothing.
When God is working, those who are unwilling to focus on God’s plan will have trouble adjusting. People focused on self-gain or self-fulfillment will only stand behind decisions that continue to offer them the personal fulfillment they are seeking. The work that God is doing will be hindered until paths part. I say this at the risk of sounding divisive. I believe we should first try to reconcile and build up others to gain a spiritually strong life. The first option is to lift up others into a closer walk with God. Only then can others catch our vision. We divide from those who don’t want God’s plan; we don’t leave behind those who are not yet ready. It is our responsibility to disciple and equip those who want a deeper walk with Christ. We don’t know who God will call us to disciple. We can only invest our lives in those around us and be used by God to equip those who respond. It is important for leaders to recognize that when God’s leading goes against the grain, people will resist unless they are godly focused. We need to be first be disciplers. We also are commanded to be reconcilers, but not at the cost of abandoning our call. If we have done everything possible to nurture people spiritual and have not left them behind, then, I believe we are free to separate from those who do not want to pursue a higher purpose than personal benefit. If we leave our brothers and sisters behind, then division is the result of a failure to disciple and nurture as Jesus commanded.
God always tests our faith to separate the eternally minded from those who are worldly-minded. God won’t allow us to remain blessing focused. It is for our benefit that trials come. Even the most spiritual person can begin to take blessings for granted and lose focus. If you look at the life of Abram, God always blessed, tested, blessed, and tested. It is during times of trying that we are forced to put our focus back on God. The Bible refers this as separating the wheat from the chaff. In the past, wheat was harvested and separated by hand. It would be sifted on the threshing floor and as it was tossed into the air and fanned or cast into the wind. The wind would blow away the chaff and the wheat grain would remain. In comparison, those who are focused on God will endure trials, but those who focus on blessings or outward things will be driven away when things don’t go their way.
We see this played out in Abram’s life. God ordained the circumstances that would reveal the motives behind Lot’s and Abraham’s vision. He forced them to choose between human desires and walking by faith. As God blessed it flowed to those following Abram. Division followed and Lot followed the blessings while Abram followed the vision and promise. Lets look at each of these areas closer.
Blessing
When God blesses, all those around are benefited as well. If God blesses me, my family will also benefit; my community will benefit and it flows outward. God can’t bless me without others around me being touched as well. If I am faithful, I will use what God gives me to touch those around me. What I do – in obedience or disobedience – will indirectly affect those around me whether I want it to or not. Our culture is blessed or cursed based on our decision to live godly or ungodly. The holy lives of believers don’t only benefit their own lives, but make a direct impact on the culture around them. Look at Philippians 2:
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world
Our purpose is to reflect the light and glory of God. If I am a child of God, everything I do is a direct reflection on my Father in heaven. We have been blessed and equipped so that we can stand in a generation that does not know God. As a light, those who don’t love darkness will be drawn to the light. Anyone can let their light shine. That is not a spiritual gift, it is a part of the Christian life. If I have the light of God, I am commanded to let that light shine.
God blesses godly people with godly leadership. Look at Proverbs 14:
34: Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.
Compare this to Proverbs 29:2
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
There is no substitute for godly leadership. That goes for political and spiritual leadership. Being religious does not equal godliness. No one was more spiritual and religious than the Scribes, Pharisees and Priests of Jesus’ day, but He said that they were children of the devil and not only were they not going to heaven, but they were also hindering those who were seeking heaven. Religious practices without a God-given vision means very little. The battle for our culture begins in the church. If church leadership is not following God’s vision, the people will fade along the way. The leadership will seek to please the people so they can maintain their churches. They and the culture around them will decay as they forget God. They may or may not keep practicing religion, but God will not be the central focus of their lifestyles. Look at Proverbs 29:
18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law. (NASB)
There must be a vision – a purpose God provides that gives us hope, significance and value. Without reaching for that godly vision, we will have nothing that restrains our lives. It doesn’t work to resist our sinful desires, we need a change of heart and new, godly desires. Our lives are impacted by having godly desires. We are not resisting what we want, but reaching for what we want. The desire for God is greater than the sinful desires that call me to cast off my restraints and pursue sin. I am restrained from sin because I don’t want what sin offers. I want what God offers and I reach for what lies ahead. Without a vision for what lies ahead – the eternal promises God gives, there will be no internal restraint. God has made us a self-governing people. We govern ourselves so that we can obtain the better life that is yet to come.
The culture around us is impacted by our witness and the world around us benefits from the blessing God pours out on us. God does not bless me for my sake alone. God blesses so that I can be a blessing to the needs of others and bring glory to Him. He gives that I may show compassion and give. As the world sees His light shine through me, they are drawn to know more. Now it is my responsibility to point them to the light of Christ that I am reflecting. A godly man is blessed because he is exactly where God wants him to be. Those around him are blessed as a result of his faithfulness. When Abram was blessed, Lot benefited, as did those who were within Abram’s circle of influence. Later in Genesis we will see that Jacob was blessed and his father in law benefited. Also, Joseph was enslaved, but God blessed him and his master was benefited.
Spiritual benefits are far more important than physical benefits. As the above proverb stated, when the righteous are in leadership, the people rejoice, but wicked leadership causes the people to groan. If our churches fail to provide good leadership, they will have no vision and the people will leave or be lulled into complacency. When a church falls from God’s will, the culture goes down with it. The old Soviet Union had museums dedicated to church abuse. These exploited poor church leadership to keep the people from seeing the benefit of the true church. It was the church that lost its vision and purpose that opened the door to spiritual disillusionment and the Russian revolution ushered in an atheistic government that nailed the coffin shut on Christianity for half a century. Atheism did not defeat the church; atheism filled the vacuum created when the church abandoned God’s call. In Germany, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was killed for his faith by the Nazis. He stood and gave a speech before his fellow ministers and openly criticized Hitler’s human rights violations and the church’s failure to stand. When he finished his speech, the convention hall stood empty as one by one each pastor got up and walked out in protest of Bonhoeffer’s statements. He was calling them to stand upon scripture and found himself on the outside of popular opinion. Would the door have been open for Hitler if the church had lived its faith? An entire nation was lured into the deception. They didn’t just stand by and watch, but they we consenting and participating in the holocaust. Without godly leadership, there is no vision. Without a vision, the people are unrestrained.
Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed because ten people could not be found that were righteous. If there were 10 righteous men, could Sodom and Gomorrah have descended to their sinful state? The Bible says that the prayers of the righteous accomplish a lot. If there were 10 men praying and letting their light shine, the people would not have been willing to flaunt their sins. Darkness never clouds the light. Darkness can only fill in where light is absent. When we live our faith, our light directly dispels the darkness around us. That will make us unpopular because people who love darkness will despise the light. John 3 puts it this way:
19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 "But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
We must remember that our command is to let our light shine. When we do, we will be welcomed by those searching for truth and hated by those hiding in darkness. They called Jesus a demon and accused Him of using the power of the prince of demons. It should not surprise us that Christians who make a stand are called evil as well. To hide our light to please those who hate Christ is no different than breaking ranks and joining the enemy. We either become part of the darkness or beacons of light. When we walk in the light of Christ, God blesses our efforts and His blessings (both material and spiritual) impact those around us.
Division
God allowed division for the purpose of separation. Without division, the wheat can’t be separated from the chaff. Abram was not willing to fight over the blessing because he understood the promise and there was more to God’s call than fighting over land. When the winds of division blow through, those founded upon the promise will remain faithful while those focused on circumstances will be driven away. Much is revealed about Abram’s faith by how he handled the dispute over the blessing. It was not a bitter division, though it could have been. Look at Abram’s reaction in Genesis 15:5-9
5 Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.
6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
9 "Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left."
We begin the chapter by seeing that God gave them flocks, herds and abundant wealth. Almost immediately there arose a bitter dispute as a result of the large number of the livestock. Abram had the right to demand his way, but instead he saw past the problem and shifted the focus on what was important. He recognized the issue of possessions was not important. There is no value in fighting over what is passing away. God blesses for a purpose and that purpose is not to fight over the blessing.
I heard an interesting story about Cavalry Chapel. I believe it was Chuck Smith that was leading an outreach to inner city youth. God blessed his efforts and teens were coming and surrendering their lives to Christ. Because the youth being reached were primarily kids with no family relationships and no direction, naturally there were problems that arose. During the youth services, kids were leaving candy wrappers behind and some gum became stuck in the carpet. The some church members were upset over their beautiful carpet getting ruined by these youth and confronted the pastor. He promised that by the next Sunday, the problem would be resolved. Instead of banning the youth from meeting in the sanctuary as expected, they arrived Sunday to find the carpet had been removed leaving the easily cleaned concrete floor. I have no doubt that there were some unhappy members, but there definitely was not a gum cleanup problem. Many may disagree with that resolution, but consider the real issue. In five to ten years the carpet will be old and worthless, but those reached will be vibrant and growing. The carpet will be forgotten but these youth who were reached will be eternal. They will be the future leaders of the church, the carpet and fixtures will not be part of the future church at all. I have seen churches divide over the color of carpet or the style of choir robes. I have seen churches divide over outreach as people argue that they like their small church group and don’t want a growing church.
If God is leading a church out of its comfort zone, there will be divisions. We should seek unity, but not at the cost of our calling. If someone parts ways because we are doing what is right, it is from God. Here we see Abram dividing with Lot over an issue that was petty but could have escalated into a real battle. Lot was focused on gain and Abram was not willing to fight for what was passing. Abram let Lot go after his selfish vision while he pursued God. He gave Lot the first pick knowing full well that Lot would pick selfishly. Abram sacrificed personal gain for the sake of peace. If Abram had picked first, Lot would not have left willingly and there would have been a bitter war. What God intended for a blessing would have been perverted into a curse. I believe that God ordained this division because these two men had incompatible visions. Lot was focused on self and selfish desires prevent obedience to God’s plan.
Vision
Our vision directly effects how much God can bless. God does not give to us so we can be greedy, but so we can do His will, bless others, and enrich our lives. When the gifts of God become our god, it becomes a curse. Lot picked the land that was ‘like the garden of the Lord’ and within a short time it was so sinful and polluted that God destroyed the entire land. ‘The garden of the Lord’ will forever be remembered as the evil twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. It wasn’t the land that caused the pollution, but the vision – or focus of the men who treasured it. Money is not evil, but the love of money roots many evils (1 Timothy 6:10). What made Abram faithful is that he never focused on God’s blessing. His focus was always on God as the Blesser. Abram never pursued the blessing, he pursued God. In Matthew 6:33 Jesus said,
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Today’s modern theology has twisted this around. We seek the things and forget about the righteousness. The fact that someone is pursuing the blessing is a sign that their vision is in the world and not in God’s plan. Forget about the blessing, pursue God’s kingdom and seek His righteousness. Our righteousness is worthless and so are all the treasures in this life. We seek to build His kingdom and seek His righteousness. When we seek to establish ourselves in His kingdom and surrender our lives to Christ in exchange for His righteousness, then the things of this life will have their proper perspective. The moment we are drawn off course and elevate things above the kingdom of God, we turn the blessing into our master.
Our vision must be eternal. When God is our reward, it won’t matter if we have material possessions. When God does provide, we will recognize that we are stewards and God is the owner. I am the steward, or caretaker – the one who manages the affairs of God. He provides me with what I am capable of handling and will hold me accountable for my faithfulness. Abram was able to let go of the good land because he recognized that it wasn’t his. His reward was God and wherever God was, goodness was. If God wasn’t in the ‘garden of the Lord’, it was not good land. He could never have been able to let go if his vision was not on God’s plan. Even when Lot was taken captive and Abram rescued him, Abram did not take the spoils of war. In Genesis 14 we also see Abram’s focus was not on things, but God:
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’ --
24 "except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion."
By Abram’s confession, we see that he understood that God was the Possessor and everything was His. Abram did not want anyone to get credit for his wealth. He knew God would bless and Abram wanted his life to be a reflection on God and not the gifts of men. God could not have blessed Abram if Abram worshipped the gifts. Lot followed the blessing, Abram followed the Lord. Lot had the possession, Abram had the promise. Gain was Lot’s portion, God was Abram’s portion. History shows who chose the better portion. The last time Lot is mentioned in the Bible, he commits incest during a drunken stupor. We follow Abraham to an old age and fulfilled life. Abraham died in righteousness after inheriting every promise. God’s redemption of man through Jesus Christ was the final promise that all the world would be blessed through Abraham.
*** This sermon can be downloaded as a Word document by following the link at
http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/gen/bless-div.htm
***
