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[0:00] Last week we saw that God had dealt with Abram and Lot in their separation.

[0:20] ! That Abram had given to Lot the choice of which direction to go in for him to settle. Verse 10-13 says, And then there's that last statement, And of course that's where Lot chose to settle down.

[1:17] And as we know, he becomes engaged with the people of the land as would normally take place. And then we pick up now tonight in verse 14.

[1:29] Abraham now, still in the land of Canaan, Lot going towards Sodom and Gomorrah, that God now begins to show again to Abram the fruitfulness of submission and obedience.

[1:47] All right? And so we pick up in verse number 14, if you will, 14-18. And here's what God says to Abram now that he has given Lot the choice and he remains himself in Canaan.

[2:02] By the way, remember, it's the land where the famine was. Don't know if it was still there at this time, but at some juncture it was. And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward and southward and eastward and westward.

[2:23] For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

[2:39] Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, came and dwelled in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.

[2:56] Now let me ask you a question here just a moment. Why did God wait until Lot was gone before he made these promises to Abram? Lot was not part of the covenant promise.

[3:09] All right? That was given to Abram and to his seed after him. Lot was his nephew. He was not a part of the covenant promise. So now that he's departed, then God gives this really a repetition to some degree of what he's promised to give Abram through that covenant of promise.

[3:30] So, God honors submission. Again, we saw last week, we see that Abram just simply trusted God.

[3:41] And working things out the way he wants it worked out by his giving Lot the choice of the territory in which to settle instead of taking that upon himself.

[3:55] And so now God honors that faith, that submission, if you will, and surrender to whatever the will of God is, even though it seems to be not quite as plush a place as the area of Sodom was that Lot went to.

[4:13] Now think about that just a moment. Honoring Abram's submission and surrender, if you will. Now we're going to see that again later on, not this time around, but whenever, probably two years from now.

[4:29] Now, go to Genesis chapter 22. Can we see the same principle in Abram's life here? All right. Remember now at this juncture in Genesis 22 that God had promised the covenant relationship.

[4:46] His seed would be numbered as the sands of the sea and the stars of the heavens. But yet now we see that God finally brings that to pass through the birth of his son Isaac.

[5:03] All right. Isaac has been born now. Now, in verse 1 of Genesis 22, It came to pass after these things that God did tempt or put Abram to test and said unto him, Abraham, and he said, behold, here I am.

[5:19] I love that. You know, God just simply speaks to Abraham somehow and says, Abraham, here I am, Lord. I'm right here. Okay. That's submission in itself.

[5:30] And he said, take now thy son, thy only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of.

[5:48] And Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his ass and took two of his young men with him and Isaac, his son, and claved the wood for the burnt offering and rose up and went unto the place of which God had told him.

[6:04] Again, just look, forget about Cecil B. DeMille and Turtle and Heston, whoever that was. No hesitation pictured here in Abraham.

[6:19] All right. So, verse 3. Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his ass, took two of his young men with him, and Isaac, his son, claved the wood for the burnt offering and rose up and went into the place of which God had told him.

[6:40] And then on the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you.

[6:57] Now, notice that. Isaac and I are going to go further here, but we'll be back. He and I will be back and join back up with you, and then we'll go home. Kind of the thing here.

[7:08] All right. Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac, his son. And he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and they went both of them together.

[7:21] And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father and said, My father, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

[7:31] Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went both of them together.

[7:42] And they came to the place which God had told him of. And Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac, his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

[7:55] And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son. Now, again, of course, we don't know if God gives us a clear picture of everything that transpired here.

[8:08] But he gave us what we need to know. But I don't see any resistance on the part of Isaac. Okay?

[8:21] I kind of believe that Isaac trusted his dad just as Abraham trusted God. Okay? Dad, you know what you're doing. Let's do it. Abraham stretched forth his hand, took the knife to slay his son.

[8:34] And the angel of Jehovah called unto him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am. Okay? And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him.

[8:50] For now I know that thou fairest God, seeing that thou hast withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked.

[9:04] And behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered him for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

[9:15] And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Yerah. As it is said to this day in the mount of the Lord or the mount of Jehovah, it or literally he shall be seen.

[9:26] Jehovah-Yerah means the Lord will see or the Lord will provide. Someone has said God's prevision always make way for his provision.

[9:39] Okay? Now, here's a good question for you. No doubt, God knew what was going to take place here.

[9:51] Knew what Abraham's response is going to be. So why did he do that? Why did he take Abraham through that experience?

[10:03] If Abraham wasn't following God completely, he wouldn't be there on the Mount Moriah with Isaac. But he was there. God knew he would come.

[10:15] And so just to show Abraham afresh the faithfulness of God to his promise. Now, remember what the writer of the Hebrews said.

[10:29] All right? Over in Hebrews chapter 11. Verse 17. By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, put to the test, offered up Isaac.

[10:45] And he that had received the promise, offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Now, again, the writer of the Hebrews said, it's as good as Abraham having already offered his son.

[11:05] All right? Now, we know he did not literally do that. But in the heart and mind of Abraham, he did. Or he was going to.

[11:17] All right? But look at the next verse. Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure.

[11:29] All right? Yeah. Now, my mind's trying to go through the file cabinet of information here. But I can't recall any account in Scripture where Abraham, even when he was Abram, as we've been studying, was acquainted with resurrection.

[11:56] But here, Hebrews 11 says, Abram, here's the picture.

[12:13] Abraham was going to offer his son, had the knife in his hand, his hand raised high, ready to bring it down on his son. Abraham was going to slay him as a sacrifice that God demanded because he knew that God had promised that all this covenant promise that I give to you is going to be fulfilled through this son of yours by your wife Sarai, whose name is Isaac.

[12:41] So Isaac's going to have to live. So that means if Abraham slays him, if I slay him as God tells me to, then it's God's responsibility to bring him back to life.

[12:54] Amen? That's what he felt. That's what he did. And God honored that by having that ram caught in the thicket for Abraham to offer instead of his son.

[13:09] What a picture of the death of Christ for us. Amen? Now, realize as well that not only do we see that in the life of Abraham, but again, go over to Philippians chapter 2.

[13:27] Philippians chapter 2. Paul, of course, starts out the passage in chapter 2. Since there's consolation in Christ, comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, bowels and mercies, fulfill my joy that you be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of the same mind.

[13:50] And then he goes on down in verse number 5. So, if we're going to have the same mind, what is that mind? Well, in verse 5, he says it's the mind of Christ. All right? Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus, as the commonality of the mind and of the thinking of the believers here should be, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

[14:22] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Okay.

[14:33] That's what Jesus did. Self-surrender, emptying of himself, of himself, to satisfy the will of the Father. Even that led to death on Calvary.

[14:43] So, verse 9. Wherefore, as a result of all of that, because of his submission and obedience, God hath also highly exalted him, and given him the name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every name, or literally, it's in the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, things in earth, things under the earth, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

[15:17] All right. The exaltation of the Son is pictured here as a result of his obedience to the Father. Now, so, it comes clear to us that the separation of Lot from Abraham, or Abram at this point, was in accordance to the will of God.

[15:41] That's what God's design was. Again, because Lot had no share in the promises of God through the covenant. Now, God does use Abram later to rescue Lot.

[15:53] But that was more for Abraham's sake than it was for Lot's sake. All right. Now, so at this point, God repeats, if you will, the promise that he would give him a land for his seed, its completeness, north, south, east, west, and so forth.

[16:14] And that he would as well make his seed innumerable as the dust of the earth. Now, notice again, here's a key for us, even in this day. The promise of the land is promised for how long?

[16:30] Forever. Forever. Yeah. Now, so the promise of God, recognize the promise of God here is unchangeable.

[16:41] All right. He will not recant that promise. So, just as the seed of Abram was to exist before God forever, so is the land of Canaan to be an everlasting possession for the people of Israel, the seed of Abraham.

[17:00] Now, remember what Romans chapter 11 says. I'm going to read this in the Amplified here. Romans chapter 11 and verse 29. Verse 29. Verse 29. King James renders that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance.

[17:24] Amplified says, For God's gifts and his calling are irrevocable. He never withdraws them once they are given, and he does not change his mind about those to whom he has given his grace or to whom he sends his call.

[17:43] Okay. That's the picture that it gives to us there. God never changes his mind about what he is doing. So, Abram removes his tent, comes and dwells in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebrew, in the scripture says, and built there an altar unto the Lord.

[18:08] Pay attention to the word dwelt. All right. He came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, both in the New Testament and the Old Testament. That word dwelt has the meaning of settling down and being at home.

[18:23] All right. We've seen that as it was in the book of Colossians, where it speaks of let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. And the idea there, let the word of God be at home in your heart.

[18:36] Let it do and accomplish what it wants to accomplish. So here, Abram settles down in Mamre, which is in Hebron. Becomes a very familiar and important spot here.

[18:50] So, that becomes the central dwelling place of Abraham and his family while they're in Canaan. So, notice something else here.

[19:02] Another altar is built. A third altar is erected by Abraham or Abram. And this altar again, no doubt, is in recognition of his continual dependence upon God for everything that he needs, as well as his direction and his instruction about how he's to go and where he's to go.

[19:29] So, his wandering, you know, again, all this after the experience in Egypt. His wandering now has needed a place for worship, a continual place of worship.

[19:43] And now he is settling here in Mamre. And so he erects an altar in that place where he's settling down. Now, good point for us to remember.

[19:55] Hebrews chapter 10, verses 24 and 25. Reading this out of the Amplified, he says, And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up, that is, stimulate and incite to love and helpful deeds and noble activities, not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together as believers, as is the habit of some people, but admonishing, that is, warning, urging, and encouraging one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching.

[20:39] Now, not neglecting the assembling of yourselves together in believers today. does the lack of continual worship of the Lord give to us an indication of a lack of acknowledging our total need for God in everything?

[21:05] Think about that. That's why Abram erected an altar after he left Egypt. Every place he stopped, he erected an altar. He knew that everything he needed, every step that he takes, every place that he goes, that he needs God for everything in that journey.

[21:30] Now, are we any less dependent upon God in our generation?

[21:40] Oh, wait a minute, Oscar. You say no. I've got a vehicle out there. I've got a vehicle out there I paid for.

[21:52] I worked hard to get the money to pay for that, or my wife worked hard to get it. And, you know, I've got food on the table.

[22:03] All we have to do is go to Aldi's and buy groceries with the money that we earn working hard. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah.

[22:14] Okay, I know. Every breath I take, God gives me. I know that. Yeah, I know that. And so, I can thank God for that and be dependent on God for that.

[22:28] But, boy, when something else comes up that I'd rather do instead of going to church on Sunday, what am I going to do? Amen? See, there's the meddling part.

[22:39] Yeah. We have become so careless in our yieldedness and surrender to God and our acknowledgement as well of our total dependence and need for Him.

[22:56] So, that all speaks of our walk with God, our dependence on Him and our walk with Him and our acknowledging not just who He is, but what He is to us.

[23:15] Amen? Yeah. So, another good question for us, and I cringe to say this. Are we in need of a personal Egyptian moment that will bring us to that point?

[23:31] now, consider this. Look at the condition of our country and of the world today, particularly our country.

[23:42] country. I don't know unless God actually does something tremendous. I don't see a whole lot of change going to be able to take place in the years ahead.

[23:56] Instead, things getting worse. Could this be the beginning of our Egyptian moment as a nation, as a people to say, hey, God, we've got to have you.

[24:14] Yeah. We've got to have you. This is getting bad. People getting shot everywhere. Innocent people. Yeah. Just for stupidity's sake.

[24:27] So, that's a good question for us to ask and for us to consider. What does our faithfulness to God or lack thereof in our worship of Him say about our heart and mind about God?

[24:46] Amen? So, Abraham at this point has had a number of occasions where God has encountered him and it has brought him back to a place of, we will, a place of restoration to restore his inward peace and security and the liberty he has to go and commune with God to have access to him.

[25:20] All that, of course, was disturbed by the mess in Egypt that he got himself into with all the temptations that had overcome him in that journey.

[25:33] security. So, now, he's been restored in that security, peace, and experience with God. So, look with me in 1 Peter chapter 3 real quick.

[25:45] 1 Peter chapter 3. Look what God says to the believers here. Begin in verse 8. Finally, be all of you of one mind, having compassion, so that one mind again, in the mind of Christ.

[26:02] Finally, be of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, that doesn't mean be pitiful, but the idea here is show pity toward one another, be courteous, not rendering evil for evil or railing for railing, but contrary wise blessing, knowing that you are thereto called, that you should inherit a blessing.

[26:26] For he that will love life and see good deeds, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile, let him eschew evil and do good, let him seek peace and ensue it, for the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

[26:52] Then who is he that will harm you if he be followers of that which is good? And that word followers here literally means the word zealots. Be zealots, be zeal, be zealous toward the idea of doing good.

[27:09] But, and if you suffer for righteousness sake, happy are you, literally prosperous are you, and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled, but sanctify that is set apart the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

[27:36] Having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil of you as evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation or behavior in Christ.

[27:48] For it is better if the will of God be so that you suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing. for Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit.

[28:09] Alright? Always using Christ Jesus as our pattern of behavior and pattern for living. that will keep us recognizing our total need for him and keep our minds and hearts straight as we walk through such an ungodly and perverse world.

[28:35] Father, again, thank you for your loving kindness today and for the time that you've offered us together today. We always thank you and enjoy the time together in your word.

[28:45] And so, Father, I pray again your continued enlightenment upon our hearts and minds enable us to see more and more the reality of our walk with you and our dependence upon you for what you provide for us.

[28:59] So now we thank you for that. Look forward to the time next week that you provide for us. We ask it all now in Jesus' name. Amen.

[29:16] Thank you.