Abram's Renewed Trust in God Most High

What does hope in God look like?

Stressed. Worried. Anxious. I’m sure these are words that you have used to describe yourself. Or perhaps when someone has asked how you are doing, you have masked it with the overused response of, “Busy.” “How are you?” “I’m busy.” Stress and worry are common issues almost everyone is dealing with. So what causes worry and anxiety and stress? Let’s take some time to answer this question together: You can complete the sentence: I am stressed when [blank]; I am worried when [blank]; I am anxious when [blank]. I’ll get us started. I am stressed and worried when I have too much to do and too little time to do it. I am worried when I think I did something wrong that others noticed.

Why do those situations create fear in you?

Series Introduction
In our Beginning the Journey Home series in the book of Genesis, we are continuing to walk with Abram in his story. He was called by God to “go” from his homeland, his clan, and his family to the land God would show him. God’s promise is that he will become a great nation, have a great name, and be blessed to be a blessing to all other families of the earth.

Sermon Introduction
But even though God chose Abram, we quickly discovered that Abram is imperfect and undeserving of the great promises and blessings God has in store for him. A famine hits and he goes down to Egypt for refuge where he lies about his wife, Sarai. He tells the Pharaoh that she is his sister so it will go well with him and he won’t be killed. He figures that if they know Sarai is his wife, they will kill him to take her for their own. God sent plagues on Pharaoh and his household after he takes Sarai into his harem and then Pharaoh rebuked Abram for his lie and sent him out of Egypt.

Our passage today deals with Abram’s return from Egypt. The big question this passage answers is: What does hope in God look like? What does hope in God look like?

We will cover this passage in two parts. First we will go through chapter 13 then chapter 14.

Abram Back in Canaan (Genesis 13)

Verse 1 of chapter 13 days:

1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. (Genesis 13:1)

These verses remind us that Abram’s nephew, Lot, is with him. Lot’s father died so Abram has taken him into his care. They travel into the Negeb, which is the southern part of the land of Canaan. What’s Abram’s first action? Verses 2 to 4 tell us:

2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord. (Genesis 13:2-4)

From the Negeb, he goes to Bethel. When Abram obeyed God by going from his place and his people, he built two altars upon entering Canaan, the land God promised to give him. Here, he returns to one of them.  Altars were used for religious purposes in Abram’s time to worship God, oftentimes by offering an animal or plant sacrifice. What’s Abram doing? Why is he going to this altar he built before? Well, what just happened? Abram just had a failure of faith. In Egypt, he was afraid of Pharaoh and the Egyptians so he lied to save his own skin, his wife got taken into Pharaoh’s harem, then they got plagues, and Pharaoh booted him out of Egypt with a rebuke. He went down to Egypt to escape the famine and now he is returning to it with his head hanging.

So what does Abram do upon returning? He renews his trust in God. He centers himself by returning to an altar he built before to praise his God. He recalibrates his heart by calling upon the name of the LORD, praising him, thanking him, and asking him for help. When Abram came into this land, this altar is a flag he planted declaring his trust in God’s promise to give the land to him and now he returns there to get his heart and head right.

Using Jesus’ language, he repents and believes the good news. Abram trusted in Egypt to keep him secure, then he devised a lie to keep him secure and it all ended badly. To repent means to turn and go a different direction or to change your mind. Abram turns from trusting in Egypt and trusting in himself to keep him safe. He turns from Egypt and himself to God. He believes the good news that God can do what he said he would do.

Don’t we need the same thing? Throughout the week, we travel down the bumpy road of life and our hearts get out of tune with the truths about who God is so we start trusting in other things. If Dave strapped his guitar to the back of a bicycle and went mountain biking, the first thing he would do if he wanted it to sound right when he stopped is tune it. We need the same thing. That’s why we Gather as God’s family for Worship Gatherings. With all the things in our lives and in our world that could cause us stress, worry, and anxiety, we need the family of God and the word of God to return our hearts.

Even though Abram renews his faith, there are consequences to the choices he made when he wasn’t trusting God.

First, because of what they acquired in Egypt, Abram and Lot must separate. Abram wanted Sarai to tell the Egyptians that she is his sister so that it would go well with him and he wouldn’t be killed. His plan works! Abram is enriched by the Egyptians because of his lie. Abram leaves Egypt with more than when he entered. But gaining material wealth is not always a sign of God’s favor because this creates problems in the family. Look at verse 5:

5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that the land could not support both of them dwelling 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. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. (Genesis 13:5-7)

Abram and Lot gained all this stuff, but now they have too much. The land isn’t able to feed their flocks so as their herdsmen try to find pastures for the flocks, they are getting into fights. Now Abram has to separate from his nephew.

Second, because of Abram’s example, Lot is looking for worldly security. Look at verse 8:

8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord. (Genesis 13:8-13)

Lot lifts up his eyes and sees a place that is like Egypt. Even though Abram renewed his trust in God to provide security for him, Lot is still focused on an Egypt to give him security. He has learned from his uncle’s example. We are given the warning that the area Lot goes to is not a good place morally. He goes near the city of Sodom, a wicked place sinning greatly against the Lord. Lot is willing to find security at any cost, even if it means moving to a bad place.

Lot learned to trust in worldly security from his uncle. He sees his uncle turn to Egypt and so now he looks for his own. What are the people around you learning from your example? Is your life an example of trusting in God? Or is it an example of trusting in worldly security? Are you looking to your own Egypts, always searching for the next one to take your stress, worry, and anxiety away? Or are you looking to God?

We see Abram’s trust in God when he gives Lot the first choice of the land. Don’t you think in a time of famine and scarcity that it would have been a good idea for Abram to choose where he wants to live first to make sure he is taken care of? Instead, Abram says, “You choose.” Don’t you think since Abram was promised this land by God that he would be a little territorial about it and make Lot leave? He could have said, “Lot, it’s my God-given right to live here so you need to figure out your own place to live.” Instead, Abram says, “You choose.”

In verse 14, God reassures Abram of his promises. Abram’s blunder and unbelief in Egypt hasn’t invalidated God’s promises. Why? Because they are based on who God is and not on what Abram does. Lot lifted up his eyes and saw a place like Egypt, in verse 14 God tells Abram to lift up his eyes and look everywhere around him and see the land that he will give to his family. Then he tells him in verse 16: 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. (Genesis 13:16). Abram believed God was going to make him into a great nation, but now he has a picture to go with it: his family will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! Galatians 3 tells us that all who have faith like Abram are children of Abram. Every person throughout time who put their trust in God and in Jesus is a child of Abram by faith.

Lot’s separation from Abram and his move toward Sodom sets us up for chapter 14.

Abram Rescues Lot and Other Nations Respond (Genesis 14)

The first part of Genesis 14 can be super confusing because it is a battle report using a bunch of names and places that we have never heard of. Here is the summary.

Five kings of cities in the land of Canaan were under the dominion of four kings from elsewhere in the region. The five servant kings had served the four overlord kings for twelve years. In the thirteenth year, the five servant kings had had enough so they rebelled and stopped serving the four overlord kings. But in the fourteenth year, the four overlord kings decided they had had enough so they came to put the five servant kings back in their place. The big battle between the five servant kings and the four overlord kings happens in the Siddim Valley where there are pits of tar. The forces of the servant kings of Sodom and Gomorrah get stuck in the pits, are captured and those cities get plundered. Lot is taken captive because he is living by Sodom.

Now, as the four overlord kings make their way back home, someone escapes from the battle and tells Abram that his nephew has been taken captive. So Abram musters his 318 men and pursues them north, then divided his forces in the night, and defeated the four overlord kings. He brought back all they had taken from Sodom and Gomorrah, including his nephew Lot.

After Abram returns, two kings come out to meet him and they have two very different responses. Remember, God said he would bless Abram to be a blessing. But not only that, God will bless those who bless Abram and he will curse those who dishonor Abram. These two kings fall into these two categories. One is the king of Sodom, who travels north from his region to meet Abram. The other is the king of Salem, who is not one of the kings that rebelled. He lives close to where Abram has settled so they probably know each other.

Melchizedek, the king of Salem, who also a priest of God Most High, comes out with a royal greeting of bread and wine for Abram. Verse 19 says:

19 And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” (Genesis 14:19b-20)

Melchizedek responds how God wants people to respond to Abram! He blesses Abram and recognizes the hand of God on his life, giving credit to God Most high for Abram’s victory. Abram responds by giving him a tenth of the spoils from the battle, affirming what Melchizedek has said. Abram blesses Melchizedek as they both praise God for this victory.

On the other hand, the king of Sodom responds very differently. Verse 21 says:

21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” (Genesis 14:21)

The king of Sodom brings nothing to honor Abram’s victory. He rudely and coldly goes straight to talking business about dividing up the spoils of war. The king of Sodom wants his people back but offers to let Abram keep the goods as his share. Abram’s response shows his trust in God. Verse 22 says:

22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.” (Genesis 14:22-24)

Abram refuses to take any of his share. Of course, his men have eaten some stuff during the journey so he can’t give that back and he isn’t going to speak for his allies and their share. But Abram says he has sworn to God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth that he will not take anything because he doesn’t want Sodom to be able to say, “I have made Abram rich.” God has promised Abram that he will make Abram into a great nation so Abram refuses to make himself into a great nation by the spoils of war. God is the one who will do that. This action shows his trust in God. He will no longer trust in himself or in other nations for his security. He will trust in God alone.

But if the famine is still going on, wouldn’t it have been a good idea to stock up on supplies at this moment for the famine? Abram doesn’t though. He’s trusting God. He won’t put his hope in another Egypt.

What does hope in God look like?

This returns us to our big question. The big question this passage answers is: What does hope in God look like? We have four answers.

First, hope in God looks like trust in the person of God. Trust in the person of God. This is the “who” of hope. Hope is very closely related to faith. One pastor said that hope is faith in the future tense. Hope looks to the future. As we look to the future, we trust in the person of God. We trust the one who holds the future in his hands. Because we see God as trustworthy, we don’t have to worry. Both Melchizedek and Abram praise God as “God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth.” Abram is trusting in God Most High - nothing is above him or beyond his control or ability. His God is the Possessor of heaven and earth - he is its Creator. He owns everything so Abram can trust him to deliver on his promises.

Second, hope in God looks like trust in the plan of God. Trust in the plan of God. This is the “when” of hope. Abram is trusting God’s timing for giving him the land. This makes him open-handed. With Lot, he tells him “you decide where you want to live.” He doesn’t freak out when their herds are too big and damage their relationship by kicking Lot out. He trusts God’s timing to give him the land.

Third, hope in God looks like trust in the provision of God. This is the “how” of hope. Abram is trusting God’s method to make him into a great nation so he opens his hand on the spoils of war. He gives a tenth of the booty to praise God with Melchizedek then gives the rest to the king of Sodom.

Fourth, hope in God looks like trading greed for generosity. Greedy people are always asking: “What's in it for me? How can I get more for me? How does this benefit me?” And they never have enough. They are never happy. They always want more. But Abram shows generosity in his interactions with Lot, Melchizedek, and the king of Sodom. Even though he could come up with tons of reasons why he should get the first choice of the land and why he should keep the spoils of war for himself, he is generous with them. “You decide” he tells Lot and “You keep it” he tells the king of Sodom. After trusting in himself and in Egypt, Abram has learned that he needs to hold tight to God. As he holds tight to God and his promises, that enables him to open his hand on worldly security. He is truly able to be a blessing to other nations like God called him to be. Even in a time of scarcity, he is able to be generous.

Know this: Know that you can trust God with your future. He's God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. Whatever you have, he gave you. Whatever you will need, he can give you. Put your hope in him.

But too often we look inward and outward instead of upward for our security.  But you can’t love others like Abram did if your hope is in yourself or in the people you want to love.

Abram’s trust in his generous God creates generosity in him. It enables him to love others. Generous people are eager to give. Hope in God loosens your grip and opens your hand to be generous. It creates a generous heart in you. We often think about generosity in terms of money. But here are four ways we can be generous:

1. We can be generous with our ears. Eager to listen to others. Listening well to others. Asking questions. Not always bringing it back to us.
2. We can be generous with our mouths. Eager to a affirm others and build them up.
3. We can be generous with our hearts. Eager to empathize with others - to carry their burdens, struggles, and concerns with them.
4. We can be generous with our hands. Eager to give our resources. Biggest one for our culture is time.

Is there a person you need to be generous with in one of these areas this week?

But we won’t do this if our hope is inward or outward. We need to turn to God. When we put our hope in our generous God, then we will be truly generous. When it comes to worry, anxiety, and stress, we are often asking "what if."  What if this happens?  What if that happens?  We need to turn our "what ifs" into "even ifs."  Here's three steps:

1. What is causing you worry and anxiety right now? Kids, job, money, spouse, a relationship, school, friends
2. What are the what ifs you are worried about?
   • What if I never get to talk about my day?
   • What if I never get to share what I care about?
   • What if I don’t get cared for?
   • What if they don’t like me?
   • What if I don’t get time to relax?
   • What if I don’t get time for myself?
3. Which 4Gs speak to your what ifs?
   • Even if that person doesn’t like me, God is glorious so I don’t have to fear others.
   • Even if I don’t get that raise, God is great so I don’t have to be in control.

One of the best ways we can witness to Jesus is by being generous to each other and to those who don’t know Jesus. Jesus said finding him and his kingdom is like finding a treasure of incomparable value. Ephesians 1 says for those who trust in Jesus, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing.

Most everyone you meet is stressed, worried, and anxious. They are placing their hope in worldly security. That makes them greedy, always wanting more. How did Abram respond to the greedy king of Sodom? He was generous toward him and blessed him! That’s one of the best ways to help a greedy person. You meet their greed with generosity. But you may say, “They don’t deserve that!” Exactly! And neither did you when God came into your life. Abram not only blessed him, but told him why he blessed him. He told him it’s because of his faith in God. When we bless others and are generous toward them, we can give them the “gospel why.”

Last week, I was in the Aldi parking lot and a woman walking across asked for some money because her car broke down and she was trying to get home to Madison, WI. I looked in my wallet and had $1 or $20 so I gave her $20. She said, “Are you sure?” and was super grateful. Katie afterwards suggested that when we have people ask us for money randomly and we help that we tell them why we are helping: because God has been generous to us so we are generous to others.

Conclusion
Abram shows us what it looks like to place our hope in God even in the midst of situations that could create stress, worry, and anxiety. He holds tight to God and his promises and that enables him to open his hand on worldly security.