My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church, and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.
A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're following Jesus together as one community.
And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced that there's no one so good, they don't need God's grace, and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in his word.
This morning, we're continuing our series in the book of Genesis. Genesis is the very first book in the Bible, so it's easy to find.
And it tells the story of the origin of the world and also the origin of Israel, God's people, beginning with Abraham.
We're actually not going to cover the entire book of Genesis. We are just focusing on the story of Abraham in Genesis 11 through 25.
And the reason we're focusing in on that is to prepare us to return to our series in the book of Romans.
We're going to jump back in in the fall in Romans chapter 4, which talks about Abraham.
So this is all prep right now.
Not only does it prepare us for Romans, Abraham's story also helps us ask the question,
what does it look like to follow God in faith?
Last week, we saw that Abraham and his nephew Lot had to separate.
This is chapter 13.
They had both become so wealthy that the land could not support both of them.
They didn't have enough water, enough grass.
And so they have to go to different pieces of land.
Lot picks first.
And you'll remember he picks the very best piece of land with one exception.
He picks apart a parcel of land right next to Sodom, a place of great sin.
And so we saw Lot is willing to cozy up to wickedness for the sake of comfort.
He gives in to the temptation to put the good life as first and more important than the kingdom.
This week, we're going to see very quickly Lot suffering because of his poor choice.
And so it allows us to see how God responds to his people in their foolishness.
How God responds to his people in their foolishness.
That's with that that I invite you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 14.
You can turn in your Bible.
You can turn on your phone.
You can turn in your worship guide.
No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word.
Proverbs chapter 30 verse 5 tells us every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
And so that's why we read now Genesis 14 starting at verse 1.
Verse 4.
12 years they had served Chederleomer, but in the 13th year they rebelled.
In the 14th year, Chederleomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim and Ashtaroth Karnam,
the Zuzim and Ham, the Emim and Shave Kiriathim,
and the Horites and their hill country of Seir as far as El Perrin on the border of the wilderness.
Then they turned back and came to An-Mishpat, that is Kadesh,
and defeated all the country of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon Tamar.
Verse 8.
Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Adma, the king of Zebuam,
and the king of Bela, that is Zoar, went out,
and they joined battle in the valley of Siddam with Chederleomer king of Elam,
Tidal king of Goyim, Amraphel king of Shinar,
and Ariok king of Elessar, four kings against five.
Now the valley of Siddam was full of bitumen pits,
and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled.
Some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country.
So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah
and all their provisions and went their way.
They also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother,
who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.
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.
When Abram heard that his kinsmen had been taken captive,
he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them,
and he went in pursuit as far as Dan.
And he divided his forces against them by night,
he and his servants, and defeated them,
and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.
Then he brought back all the possessions,
and also brought back his kinsmen Lot with his possessions,
and the women and the people.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.
Our Father in Heaven, we do thank you for your Word
that you've given to us as a great gift,
that we would know and learn how to walk in this world,
and most of all, we would know about your mercy,
and your salvation, and grace in Jesus Christ.
We ask that you would help us,
that you would help us to see, and understand,
and believe in your Word,
that you would use it to grow our love, and affection,
and reverence, and awe, and obedience to Jesus Christ.
And we ask all of these things in his mighty name.
Amen.
In December of 2003,
a man named Nick Berg decided to leave his hometown
of Westchester, Pennsylvania,
which is right outside of Philly,
and he left it for the country of Iraq.
He made this decision.
It had taken Nick a while to figure out
what he wanted to do with his life,
but he settled on starting a company
that would install and repair radio towers.
He decided that was going to be his life's work.
And you may remember,
December of 2003 was right after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
And so he sees this incredible business opportunity.
Guess what?
Their infrastructure's been destroyed,
and I'm going to be the one to come in
and save the day and make all the money.
I'll repair radio towers that have been hurt, injured.
I'll install new ones.
Everything will be great.
Nick's friends and family were appalled,
and they warned him, urged him not to go.
Nick, however, saw only the benefits
and none of the dangers.
And so seeing only benefits,
he separates himself from the land
and the protection of the United States.
Nick Burke's family then is left wondering
what is going to happen to Nick.
That's similar to the situation
we find ourselves here in this passage this morning.
You might see where I'm headed with this.
Lot has separated himself
from the land and the protection of God.
Lot sees all the benefits,
comes to terms with none of the dangers.
Remember, chapter 13,
he and Abraham have to split.
They head in different ways.
He looks out, he sees the Jordan Valley,
and for him it is only beautiful and alluring.
It's this place of wealth and prosperity,
somewhere where he's confident he's going to thrive,
and yet we have the hint of coming tragedy,
not once but twice.
As he's picking it,
remember, we're told,
this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
And then in verse 13, it says,
now the men of Sodom were wicked,
great sinners against the Lord.
So like Nick Burke's friends,
the careful listener here is wondering
what is going to happen to Lot.
We know it will not end well.
There's a lot going on in the first,
say, 13 verses, 12 verses,
so I'm just going to summarize it for you very briefly.
In verses 1 through 9,
there is a geopolitical conflict
that involves a lot of kings.
We might even say it's not a geopolitical conflict,
but geopolitical conflicts,
because there's so much going on.
Why do we care about this conflict?
We care, we first find out,
in verse 2 and verse 8,
because Sodom is involved.
And if Sodom is involved,
then Lot is involved.
That helps us understand why,
in the midst of the story of Abraham,
we suddenly are told about these 10 plus kings
who are fighting with each other.
Last week, we were told that Lot moved right next to Sodom.
Did you notice what we find out in verse 12 of this week?
He's not right next to Sodom.
He is dwelling in Sodom.
The danger of him setting up camp so close
to these sinful people is coming true.
So they have the conflict.
Sodom's involved.
Verses 10 and 11,
Sodom is defeated,
which means, verse 12,
there is a lot of collateral damage,
including Lot.
Lot and all of his things are taken.
That is the point of verses 1 through 13.
Big conflict, lots of kings,
Sodom's involved,
because Sodom's involved,
things don't end well for Lot.
Which takes us back to our question,
what does God do with the foolishness of his people?
Lot, this is not an accident.
He's not merely a victim of circumstance.
He has made a foolish choice to move to a sinful place.
Now, I want to note at this point,
Lot is a very complicated figure.
If we just had chapter 13,
you might think,
you know, Lot has no relationship with God.
But actually, the New Testament
only speaks positively of Lot.
2 Peter chapter 2 tells us he is a righteous man.
It speaks well of Lot
that of all the people who did not go with Abraham,
he actually goes with him, right,
when he leaves his father's land.
And Lot is deeply flawed and wildly foolish.
So what is God going to do?
Especially when Lot's predicament
is because of Lot's decisions.
Well, we find out right away.
Verse 13,
God shows Lot tremendous grace.
And he shows Lot tremendous grace
in the way I mentioned in our confession of faith,
by his providence.
It just so happens that one man escapes.
And this doesn't have to happen,
but not only does that man escape,
he runs and he tells Abraham.
In God's providential care,
Lot's story is not over.
What is God's response
to the foolishness of his people?
His response is one of great grace
and undeserved mercy.
Brothers and sisters,
that is God's response
to our foolishness as well.
Outside of that,
we really don't have much hope.
As we've been looking at Abraham and Lot's story
over the last few weeks,
you might have been thinking,
man, maybe some of my priorities
are out of order.
Maybe there are things
that I have valued above God
and his kingdom and his mission.
Chapter 14 reminds us
there is still so much grace.
God is still protecting
and pursuing his people.
God is still watching out for you.
If you belong to him,
God is still watching out for you.
Christian.
In the midst of your foolishness,
our foolishness,
stupidity,
short-sightedness.
And so in Lot's story here,
we see two things.
We see an encouragement
and a warning.
Encouragement, I've already told you.
God shows great grace to his people
even when they are deeply flawed
and sinful.
If you belong to him,
God has not given up on you
no matter where you are.
And if you do not belong to him,
it is not too late.
It's not too late to repent
and follow after him.
That's the encouragement.
Lot also gives us a sober warning.
Yes, Lot's life is saved.
Yes, Lot escapes a future of slavery
and so much is lost.
Lot will not experience
the intimacy and fellowship with God
that Abraham does.
Lot will not be a blessing to the nations
in the way that Abraham will.
And Lot's descendants
are going to suffer
from his unfaithfulness.
As we watch the story
of the Old Testament play out,
there is a tragedy
for those who are born from Lot.
They are going to have
one foot in
and one foot out
of God's people.
They will be half-hearted at best
and apostate at worst.
So there's an encouragement.
God's grace is always there
for his people.
And there's a warning.
Actions have consequences.
There are real things
to be missed
and lost
if we forsake
God's people
and God's land.
Now as people
in the New Testament,
we don't look
to a specific land.
We cling fast
to God's promises
and his protection.
And where are those promises
acted out?
Where does God promise
that his protection
will happen?
It is here
with his people
in his church.
Remember what I told you
last week.
Never
leave the promised land.
I tell you the same thing
this week
but in a different way.
Never
leave
God's
people.
No matter how good
it looks
over there.
Cling
to his church.
Cling
to his word.
I've been telling you
the last number
of weeks
about this quote
from David Gibson
where he says,
hey,
we can't enjoy
created things
that we worship.
The only way
to enjoy them
is to worship God.
C.S. Lewis
puts it a different way.
This is on page 7
of your worship guide.
Put first things
first
and we get
second things
thrown in.
Put second things
first
and we lose
both first
and second
things.
What does Lot
do here
in chapters 13
and 14
but put
second things
first?
The good land
is more important
to him
than anything else.
What does he end up
losing?
Chapter 19,
he doesn't have
any good land.
Put first things
first
and we get
second things
thrown in.
Now we left off
here in our story
on verse 13.
That's not going
to finish it though.
Abraham needs
more than
a messenger.
We see in the messenger
God's grace
to his people,
his grace
to Lot.
we're also going
to need God's grace
through
his people.
13,
we meet Abraham.
He is sitting
with his connections,
his allies.
We find out
Abraham is in fact
not a loner.
He's been making
connections
and shaking hands.
He's been getting
on the ancient
Near Eastern
linked in
and friending people.
He's been attending
the desert block
parties.
You know,
if you have something
wrong with your cart,
he has a torque wrench,
he'll help you
put the wheel
back on.
And with all that,
that's when he
receives the news,
right?
He is there,
he's connected.
It's not just
that he has allies
though,
14.
He in fact
has 318
of his own men,
trained men,
which I'm guessing,
you know,
most of you all
when you think
about your trained men,
doesn't reach
the number
of 318.
Abraham's really
wealthy.
He's wealthy,
that's why
they had to separate.
He's not just wealthy,
verse 15,
he comes up
with a creative plan.
Look,
we're going to split
into two forces
and pursue them
to the north.
We're going to
attack at night.
So Abraham's not
just been making
connections,
Abraham knows
what he's doing.
He is not a newcomer
here to ancient
Near Eastern warfare.
Then,
verse 15,
he gives up
his time.
He's going
to pursue them,
we're told,
Hobah north of Damascus,
which is 125 miles
north of where
Abraham is currently.
So Abraham loses
at least a weekend,
right?
He might even have
missed a big game
to go and rescue Lot.
Abraham gives up
his resources,
he uses his creativity,
he sacrifices his time,
and he takes
bold and risky action
for his stupid nephew.
And he does
all of those things
because he believes
God's promises.
Remember the end
of chapter 13,
God repeats
what he's already
told him,
this land
will be yours.
God's grace
to his people,
God's grace
through
his people.
God uses us
in his rescue mission.
God uses our time,
uses our creativity,
community,
he uses our resources,
if and when
we believe
he will keep
his promises.
God shows his grace
to his people
through his people.
So we use
whatever God's given us
to rescue
and restore
others.
Remember I told you
we're in the story
of Abraham
for two reasons.
One,
to prepare for Romans.
Two,
to see what it looks like
to follow God
in faith.
And part of what
it looks like
to follow God
in faith
is to rescue
stupid nephews
with our 318
trained men,
with our time,
with our resources,
creativity.
Abraham does it
because of
God's promises,
his promise
in chapter 12,
his promise
in chapter 13,
and he knows
whatever happens,
he will never
lose his ultimate
security.
Whatever happens,
God has given him
the promised land
and said
it will
be his.
Brothers and sisters,
the same
is true
for us.
When and where
we believe
God's promises,
we will be willing
to sacrifice
much
to save
others.
Even when it's
because
they've made
their own
bed.
things did
not end
as well
for Nick
Berg
as they
did
for Lot.
It's a long
and gruesome
story that I
will spare
you most
of the
details.
But Nick
ends up
being captured
by a
terrorist
organization
that later
becomes known
as ISIS,
the Islamic
state,
and he is
beheaded
on video
as a piece
of revenge
against
America
and American
torture
in Abu
Graib.
Videos of
Nick's
beheading
go viral.
The power
and the
might of
the United
States
is not
enough
to protect
him.
Nick
left the
land
and the
protection
of the
U.S.
He loses
his life.
Lot
leaves
the land
of
protection
of God
and is
saved
because
God's
promise
is that
he will
never
leave us
or forsake
us.
So he
saves
his people,
he saves
you and
me
in the
midst
of our
foolishness
and our
stupidity.
We do
the same
for others.
God
shows his
grace to
us
and he
shows his
grace
through us.
Let's
pray.
Our
Father in
heaven,
we do
praise you
and thank
you again
for your
word,
which shows
us your
great mercy
and grace
to us
in Jesus
Christ.
We ask
that you
would be
at work
in our
hearts
and our
minds
and our
lives,
that we
would
believe
your
promises
more
and more,
that we
would risk
more and
more for
you and
your
kingdom,
that we
would
follow
you in
faith.
We ask
all of
these
things in
the mighty
name of
Jesus
Christ.
Amen.
I invite
you to
stand for
our
closing
hymn.
Bum,
Thank you.