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Genesis chapter 14. The title
of our message this morning is Rescue the Perishing. There is a hymn after those words
in our hymn book Rescue the Perishing. Let's just unite our hearts together
as we come to the preaching of God's word that we might seek
the Lord's help. Father in heaven we thank thee for thy presence.
Thank the Lord for thy speaking voice. Thank the Lord our God
who does speak. Lord, we bless Thee for the reading
of Thy Word. We bless Thee, Lord, for the
tithes and offerings that have been gathered in. And O God,
we praise Thee, Lord, that Thou dost enable us, Lord, to finance
Thy work when we do Thy will. We pray, Lord, that we might
be good stewards of the monies gathered in. We ask, Lord, you
bless us now as we turn to thy truth. Lord, in a chapter where
we've read many difficult names and places, yet, Lord, we are
conscious it is thy word. Lord, there's lessons here that
we need to learn. We ask, Lord, that thou would close us in with
thyself, shut out every distraction. We ask, Lord, that thou might
fill us with the Spirit of God and with power that we might
preach as thus. And thus saith the Lord. And
there might be a word to every heart. Lord, we would pray over
the words of who have just been singing. Revive, restore. For
this we plead. O God, do that, Lord, save, regenerate,
even in our church this morning. Hear our cry, abide with us,
give me words that must and shall prevail. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. We left Abram at the close
of chapter 13 in the plains of Mamre. That was near Hebron. And we left him at the altar
worshipping the Lord God. Where we left Lot, of course,
is somewhat different, because his decision was to cause him
to pitch his tent towards Sodom. And to all intents and purposes,
he is one who's prospering down in the valley, in the cities
of the plain. But you see, the verses before
us bring before us a discovery that we make about Lot. For the
record in verse 12 of this chapter is that he's now dwelling in
Sodom. This is the man who no doubt
said to himself, and maybe even said to his wife and to his family,
I could never live in that place. I could never dwell in Sodom.
I'm just going toward this place in order to use it for the purpose
of my business. You see men and women of the
devil, Once he has got a believer off the right path, once the
devil has encouraged you away from fellowship with God's people,
he's not going to stop until there is another spiritual shipwreck
in your life. And the means whereby Lot was
to end up dwelling in Sodom was because of the threat of warfare
that was to break out in the region. Prior to this time, if
I can give you the background, Sodom and the cities thereof
in the plain were under the control of a foreign power by the name
of Kidlamar. And that was so for a period
of twelve years. We learn that from the opening
words of this chapter. His base was in the territory
of Babylon. And even before Abram had entered
Canaan, this dreaded king had swept across the southern part
of the land, taking all in his path and causing those cities
to pay tribute or to pay a taxation to him as the monarch. However,
in more recent times, we're told in the thirteenth year, there
had been a rebellion by these cities. They had had enough of
paying the taxes to Kittilammar, and so much so that Kittilammar,
joined by other kings, he could not sit back and do nothing,
but he came in order to chastise the rebellion, to put an end
to it. And Lot begins to realize that
he's no safety outside the city. He's no safety with his tent
towards Sodom. And so what does he do? He flees
and he gets himself into the city of Sodom. And he's found
now having settled in it with the foreign, when the foreign
kings came to subdue the revolt and to regain their power over
them. Four kings came against the five kings in the cities
of Sodom. And while they were encouraged,
that is the kings in Sodom, while they were encouraged to open
conflict against their oppressor because they knew the nature
of the soil, it was soft. It was soft, particularly in
the valley of Sidon. Yet that day went against them,
so that the kings they fled, and the troops they were to fall
in battle. And what followed was the capture
of the city and its goods, and those who were unable to escape. They were to be taken as captive,
and they were to be slaves, and that included Lot. And they're
carried off by this victorious army. You see, men and women,
there's always, there's always the consequences to being out
of the will of God. And Lot was learning that hard
lesson right now at this time in his life's juncture. And all
the time, Abram is living in the tent by Mamre. The armies of Kittel Ammar have
not affected him. He's living up there in the hills.
He's unaffected by the opposing forces, but that all is about
to change as we consider how he rescues the parishioners.
I want you to notice first of all here the separation. There's
nothing that takes God by surprise. God is sovereign. There may have
been things that took you by surprise on me last week, or
maybe the week before, or some other time. Nothing takes God
by surprise. And that includes even the wars
and the conflicts that arise. And so, we see that during this
battle, we see the good providence of God here. For we read in the
words of verse 13, And there came one that had escaped, and
told Abram the Hebrew, There so happened to be one who was
able to get free from the bondage and from the captivity that had
come upon the inhabitants of Solomon. We're not given his
name, and it's not important, but there is one that was to
escape. But in the good providence of
God, he just didn't go anywhere. but rather he was to come to
tell Abram about what had happened. And therein lies a great truth
that each of us would do well to lay hold upon, for it is not
to everyone that we could go with another's burdens and with
another's troubles. You understand what I'm saying?
There are people and you couldn't tell them about another one who
has fallen. You couldn't tell them about
another Christian who is in a spot of trouble or bother or who is
walking far off from the Lord. You know why? Because they would
delight in that and they would just use it as a piece of gossip
and they would tell it to other people. Do you know what I heard
today? Do you know about so-and-so?
And they spread it to all in summary. And you know people
like that, and I know people like that, and I wouldn't tell
them a thing of that nature. I know colleagues, and I don't
tell them anything because I know they'll be on the phone to somebody
else. It's not an awful thing to have to say. But you see, there's some people
like that, and they're just lapping in the gossip. And if we consider
the words of Galatians chapter 6 and the words of verse 1, You
know, the Lord defines those who can be of help in such a
state. For let me read that verse to
you. It says, brethren, if any man be overtaken in a fault,
ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit
of meekness. Ye which are spiritual, And you
see, dear people, Lot was the one that was overtaken in a fault.
He had gone in the wrong way. He was out of the will of God.
He was, we might say, undeserving of any attention. It would have
been the most natural reaction to say, hearing the news of what
had happened to Lot, it serves him right. He went in the wrong way. He
lifted up his eyes and he looked toward the valley of Sodom, and
he thought it was just like Egypt. It serves him right. But you see here's the difference,
Abram is not a natural man, Abram is a spiritual man. And the providence
of God saw to it that the terrible misfortune and the terrible captivity
that Lot found himself in was to be conveyed to none other
than to his uncle Abram and a man who truly cared. The messenger
who had come to one who was sympathetic to the plight of Lot for Abram
was different from the rest. And that can be further noted
when you consider the place where he is described to be in, in
verse 13. And there came one that had escaped
and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre. We already have briefly mentioned
that this is the first time in the scriptures that the title
Hebrew is ever mentioned. And the sense of it is that he
belonged to the other side. He wasn't one of the Canaanites
in the land. He was just passing through as
a sojourner. And Abram lived up to his name,
for he was separated unto God. And that is borne out even in
this verse. For while Lot compromised, and
while Lot ended up living in Sodom, he now is in captivity. But for Abraham, he stayed by
the tents. He stayed by the altar of the
Lord. And the place he is said to dwell was in the plain of
Mamre. He was amidst the Canaanites.
But he wasn't one of them, and they knew he was different. You
see, his separation, it wasn't just some theological truth that
he aspired to or ascribed to, but it was something that he
lived out in practice. He lived it out in his life.
And there surely is a word for us even in that thought, for
it was Abram the man separated who was to be of use in this
situation as opposed to Lot who had compromised. I want you to
follow me on this. Lot being in Sodom could not
affect the standards of Sodom for good. They were exceedingly wicked
before God, and by him living there, it didn't lift up the
standards of Solomon and Iota. And neither could he prevent
Solomon from being attacked, or neither could he prevent them
from being taken captive. But we shall see that it was
Abram who lived as a Hebrew. who lived in the hills, who was
one, who lived that separated life, who was to be of use and
who could affect things for the better. And men and women, I take time
on that because it answers the call of many today in Christendom
who will say that the church must get down to the level of
ungodly men in order to see them saved. And so our worship, it
cannot be regular. It cannot have a reverence about
it. You need to bring in the music of the world and you need
to encourage the dress code of the world if you're ever going
to reach the ungodly and the unchurched. Isn't that the argument
that we hear today? If you have a desire to lift
someone up from the gutter of this world, then you must stand
above them. You must see And they must see that you're
separate, you're different. They can see that Christ-likeness
in you, in the heart of Christ who cares for them who are perishing. You see, the person whom the messenger
came on to hear was Abram. One who was in the right place
with God. One who knew the Lord's direction in his life. One who
happened to be the uncle of Lot who had fallen into difficult
times, and he had fallen into the hands of his captors. His
nephew was in real danger of perishing amongst the most wicked
and godly men. And Abram, you see, is a type
of Christ therein, for he couldn't hear this message and do nothing
about it. He couldn't sit back. And so
it was with Christ. For that's why He came into this
world. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. His
love for sinful lost mankind meant Him leaving the glories
He had with His Father to pursue a path that would bring Him into
the greatest battle ever to be fought, even against Satan and
the forces of evil at the place called Calvary. And there He
was to purchase His salvation. And there He was to purchase
eternal deliverance for those who were undeserving. and he had gone away from God, for we all fell in Adam in his
transgression. Dear child of God, If Christ
did that for us, think of this, if Christ did that for us, then
can you and I really sit back and show no interest toward those
who are perishing and in danger of being destroyed because of
their sin? Can we sit back and turn a blind
ear to it, a deaf ear? Can you and I as God's people
really afford not to pray? Especially when some of those
perishing are our own loved ones. Especially when some of those
who are walking afar off and are backslidden today are our
own kith and kin. And maybe they come home one
Sunday or some other night and they told mommy or daddy, I've
got to see you. That little girl or that little
boy are no longer little, they're now adults and they're not walking
with the Lord. And parent, can you afford not
to be in the prayer meeting? Can you just sit back and do
nothing? You see, that's the message that Abram heard. And Abram was a separated man.
And as a separated man, he could do something. He could affect
a cause. You see, that's why I don't buy
into the argument of the evangelical so-called who sits in the apostasy
to this day and say, I want to change it for good. I heard that argument 35 years
ago before I left. Still no better. We must be in the place where
God would want us to be. But not only do you see the separation
here, but you'll see the preparation here. Abram, in hearing the news,
didn't shrug his shoulders and do nothing. The very opposite
is the case when we cast our eyes upon the words of verse
14. What a verse. And when Abram
heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained
servants, born in his own house, 318, and pursued them on to Dan. Oh, there's so much there we've
got to get through. I like the manner in which Lot
is described in this verse. We know of course that he was
the son of Abram's brother. We've read that already, even
in this chapter. Verse 12, they took Lot, Abram's
brother's son. That means he's a nephew. But
you see here is a verse where it changes, verse 14, where he's
spoken of as his brother. And when Abram heard that his
brother was taken captive, And I want to say to you, it
doesn't mean that he was a member of the same Masonic lodge. It
doesn't mean that he was the same secret organization as Abram
and so they were duty bound to help one another stick together
as some would let on today. He was a brother in the Lord. He was a brother in trouble,
and Abraham believed that he had opportunity to do good unto
all men, especially unto those of the household of faith. And we know from the New Testament,
of course, that Lot was a justified man. He was a saved man in the
wrong place, of course, out of the will of God. And so his preparation, it meant
in our mind, and you look at Abraham in verse 14, you'll see
he's no pacifist. He was expecting a battle and
he was one who knew what he ought to do. He was able to give leadership
when it was needed. And you know that reminds me
as I read that verse, it reminds me of the men of Issachar that
we read about in 1 Chronicles chapter 12 and the words of verse
32. And of the children of Issachar
which were men that had understanding of the times to know what Israel
ought to do. The men of Issachar. Oh, we need
men of Issachar today in our land. Men who have understanding
of the times and know what Israel ought to do. And child of God,
it's a blessed thing to be able to discern what's going on and
the work of the devil that is around us. And we ought to realize
that we are in a battle every day of our Christian lives. That's
why God has given us the record of the heavenly armor. That heavenly
armor that we are to put on by prayer as we find it in Ephesians
chapter 6. For there will be the fight,
and there will be the battle, if we are seeking to recover,
especially one who has fallen, and one who is out of the way
with God. For the devil wants to hold on, and he wants to utterly
destroy that testimony if he can. You consider the word armed,
as it is found in verse 14. You look at your margin, if you
have a good margin, it says this, as led forth. And when Abram heard that his
brother was taken captive, he led forth. He armed his trained
servants. You get the idea. He was to give
the lead. He went before them. And how
again, like Christ who is described as the captain of our salvation,
and Joshua knew the Lord going before him even as he sought
to overcome the city of Jericho. And every believer, every child
of God knows the same, for he went before us in the atoning
work of the cross. And having rose again from the
dead, he's the firstfruits of them that slept. And because
he rose, then all who are in Christ, they shall rise. He has
gone before that his people might follow on, depicted for us, of
course, in the great shepherd of the sheep. He goes before
them, and they know him, and they know his voice, and they
follow him. You'll see that the preparation meant an army, but
then you'll notice also the arithmetic here. Whom did Abraham arm for
this battle? Well, the verse 14 tells us,
gives us the arithmetic, there were 318. And one quick calculation
would inform us that the numbers were against Abraham. He was
badly outnumbered when it came to facing an army of four kings. But the difference was, you see,
that God was with him. And one with God is a majority.
But did you note who were the 318 armed men? When it came to recovering his
nephew who had fallen, when it came to rescuing the one who
was in danger of perishing in a far off part of that land,
Abram doesn't turn to the Canaanites for help. He doesn't even seek the help
of those who were in the confederacy. As we look at the end of verse
13, the brother of Enar and they were confederate with Abram.
He doesn't even turn to them. he instead went to his own people. He went to his own household.
Verse 14, he armed his trained servants born in his own house. See that? And if we are to rescue the And
if you do go after and rescue that fallen backslidden brother
or sister in the Lord, I tell you something, it will not be
by the world's means. For the world doesn't care about
the souls of men. But it will be by the help of
God's people. Those who are in the family of
God. It will be by depending upon the Lord. It will be by
taking a battle to the Lord in the place of prayer. For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they're mighty through
God to the pulling down of the strongholds. And if you look
at the opening part of verse 20 ahead of time, I want you
to see it here that we realize the Lord was on the side. For
verse 20 says, And blessed be the Most High God, which hath
delivered thine enemies into thine hand. God was on the side
of Abram. And realize that God enabled
him to be victorious in this battle. And he used his own men. He used
his own household for those with the 318 that he armed. And don't
miss the thought behind the word trained in verse 14. Again, look at your margin and
you'll find it. It says instructed. Isn't that
lovely? Abraham had already instructed
his own men. He had already instructed him
in the art of war. No point going to battle if you
don't know how to use the gun. No point going onto the battlefield
if you don't know what to do. And Abraham had already trained,
he had already instructed his people, his servants, in the
art of going to battle. And they knew what to do in holding
the weapons, if you like. And there's no minimum when we
can bring it across in our little verse. They that do know their
God shall be strong and shall do exploits. Do you know what
it is to be instructed of the Lord? We need to be well trained for
the battle in how to use the sword of the Spirit right, the
sword of the Spirit being the Word of God. We need to be trained
well in how to hold the shield of faith and able to quench all
the fiery darts of the wicked one. They were trained. They were
armed servants. And you'll note also the attack
in these preparations for having armed and having instructed his
men, Abraham was to pursue the enemy onto Dan. And that might
be to most just a place name on a map. It's another place,
it's just like Hebron, it's just like Mamre. But for Abraham,
it meant pursuing the length of the land. You see, take your
time when you go home to open the back of your Bible where
there's a map and you'll find that Dan is in the most northerly
place in Israel. And Abram, in memory, is way
down here. And it shows to us, does it not,
the determination of Abram to help this brother in the Lord
who had fallen. And when the attack was engaged
and having gone north, he then, verse 18 indicates to us, he
was to pursue another distance to the east. There was a persistence
on the part of Abram to see the battle through and by God's help
to conquer and to return victorious. He traversed the length of the
land in order to rescue Lot who had fallen. And that determination was ultimately
seen in Christ. For did he not set his face as
a flint toward Jerusalem, turning not to the left hand nor to the
right hand, but going through with the work that the Father
gave him to do, so that he might conquer the last great enemy,
and that he might return victorious. The separation. Then there's
the preparation. And you know we also see here
the celebration. For Abram to be able to return
victorious there must needs be the winning of the battle. And
that was to be achieved not least because of the strategy that
is in display in these verses. It's the first time that the
pincer movement is seen to be employed, a movement that is
employed by armies ever since, a strategy that Gideon was to
employ in his day. What do we mean by that? We simply
mean whereby although Abram had only a small number of armed
men, 318, yet his plan was to divide them. You look at the
words of verse 15 when he goes to battle. He divided himself
against them, he and his servants, by night. and smote them and
pursued them unto Hobah which is in the left hand of Damascus.
In the recovery of Lot, it needed every man to be doing something. It needed his entire household
to be bearing each other's burdens. And so it ought to be with the
church of Jesus Christ, the Lord who has purchased his church
with his own blood, has given to every man different gifts. You turn with me to 1 Corinthians
chapter 12. It just emphasizes that truth to
you. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, in
the words of verse 4, we'll just pick out some of these verses.
It says now, and here's Paul of course writing to the church
at Corinth, the believers there. He says, now there are diversities
of gifts, but the same spirit. Remember verse 11, that all these
worketh that one and the selfsame spirit, dividing to every man
severally as he will. For as the body is one and has
many members, and all the members of that one body being many are
one body, so also is Christ. And Paul uses the analogy or
the imagery of the body and your body and my body as many members
today. You have the head and you have
the arms and the hands and fingers and so forth. And so the apostle
here, under the inspiration of God, the Holy Spirit is teaching
these believers that that's just what the church is like. It's
the body of Christ. There's one head to the church,
that's Christ. But with many members. And those members are
of all different gifts. look at the words of verse 26
and whether one member suffer all the members suffer with it.
Are one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular. And
verse 28 and 29 and so forth will not read, but if you read
them when you go home, you'll see that God has given to his
church different gifts. Some as apostles, some secondarily,
teachers and so forth, and different gifts of the spirit. And you might say, well, preacher,
I'm not able to teach. No, maybe you're not. But then
you have another gift that you can go and speak to one-on-one. And God has given to His church
different gifts. Just as it was for every servant
of Abraham, so there is a work for every blood-bought child
of God to do. And I would urge you this morning,
don't neglect what God would have you to do in His work. Don't
neglect that gift. Don't take that talent that,
if we could use the illustration of the parable, and place it
under a cloth or put it away and hide it away so that it's
not used. But employ the gifts and talents
that God has given to you even in His service. There's a strategy
here. But you see also the success
that is noted here in verse 16, and He brought back all the goods
The persistence of Abraham was to be rewarded for having pursued
the armies of the kings. They were to be defeated by the
power of God, so much so that Abraham brought back all the
goods and also his brother Lot. The mission was a success for
Lot had not only been found but he had been rescued and he was
able to be brought back with Abram and the objective of Abraham
it was realized. His fallen brother had been delivered.
His fallen brother had been saved from destruction and alongside
him was the recovery of all his goods. I can't read that verse but it
reminds me of the message that David received from the Lord
when he inquired of God whether or not to pursue after the Amalekites. Remember the time when the Amalekites
had come in against David and they had plundered the city of
Ziklag and they had taken their wives and they had taken their
children and David gets the ephod, that garment of the high priest
and he seeks the Lord as to what to do. Do I pursue? And the message
that God gave to him was, Pursue, for thou shalt overtake them,
and without fail recover all. And David, in obedience to the
word of the Lord, he was to recover all. And so it was here with
Abram. There was cause for celebration,
for a great victory had been won. 318 men overcame the armies of the
four kings by night and subdued them. and Lot the fallen brother was
recovered. And dear loved ones, so there
is cause for the greatest of celebration if your souls should
be sought and found of the Lord. You're not saved this morning,
you're still in your sin. If this morning would be the
morning of your salvation and God would step into your life
as never before and turn you to behold the Lamb of God, I
tell you there'd be great rejoicing. It'll be a great celebration
if you, the fallen saint of God, and walking in Bypath Meadow,
should be restored again unto your first love, and walking
again with your Savior, and in the right place with Him. I'll
tell you, this preacher will rejoice with you. The back slider has been restored.
Thank God the Lord is ever married to you. You might have forgotten
about God, but God hasn't forgotten about you. You might have forgot about the
prayer place. But there's a Savior in the glory.
He continually maketh intercession for his people. He hasn't forgotten
to pray for you. What a powerful thought. You see, there was a celebration
here because of the recovery of souls. For not only is Lot
mentioned by name in verse 16, but you read the rest of it,
it says, And he brought back all the goods, and also brought
again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and
the people. In other words, all that had
been taken captive by the opposing forces were recovered and rescued.
Now don't forget where they came from. They're all recovered. You see, men and women, when
we go over to 1 Corinthians 6, we have to confess we read some
uncomfortable words there. Because there we read that God
is able to save and rescue even the vilest offender, and even the most wicked sinner.
For the apostle Paul reminds the believers in the church of
Corinth that such were some of you. What were they? They were the fornicators, the
immoral people. They were the adulterers, broken
their vows with their life's partner, entered into relationships with
those they shouldn't have done. They were the effeminate, the sodomites, The abusers of
themselves, the drunkards, the thieves, and so on. And Paul
says, now you're washed. Understand that? Now you're washed. Now you are justified. Now you're sanctified. Only the
gospel can do that. For it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth." Only the gospel can save the
vilest offender. Only the gospel can recover the
vilest sinner and wicked most sinner. As it was with Abram,
all were recovered. My friend, Christ came into this
world to save sinners. to deliver sinners and rescue
them from the fall. And he did so by giving himself
on that cruel cross of Calvary. And Isaiah 53 reminds us that
he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. And there's cause for rejoicing,
there's cause for celebration when another soul is redeemed.
And Christ rejoices when another soul is brought home. to be with
himself where he is. It's my prayer that God by his
grace would cause his people to rejoice in this congregation and in this
day to that end. They will be rejoicing over souls
that have been won, sought and found of Christ, rescued from
recovered from the fall of sin. Will you pray with me? I trust
the Lord will bless his word to reach our hearts this morning
for his own namesake. Let's bow our heads in a word
of prayer. Father in heaven, we do thank thee for thy word.
We thank the Lord for this passage that we've looked at, for this
battle that we've engaged in, as it were, with Abram. And O
God, we see, Lord, how the separated man was effectual. And Lord, how he was a means
of recovering his fallen brother. And Lord, we would pray, I would
pray, Lord, that our lives might be effectual. And O God, we might
be used as God's instrument to recover a fallen brother or sister. It may take, Lord, going alongside
them and throwing their arm around them and encouraging them. whatever
the discouragement or hurt that has been in their lives that
has caused them to go into by-path matter, we pray Lord that thou
would overrule. I pray Lord in the coming weeks that we might
see backsliders restored. We might see Lord wandering ones
back in the place of prayer. For Lord, how can we hear such
a message and yet do nothing? How can we sit back, While we know, we know that souls
are perishing. I pray, Lord, that thy grace
would reach down to such this morning that are not saved. This
day might be a day of God's deliverance. They might be born again of thy
spirit. Oh, Lord, hear our cry. Part us with thy blessing. Bless
us throughout this day. For we ask these things in our
Savior's precious and all worthy name. Amen.
Rescue the Perishing
Series Life of Abraham
| Sermon ID | 4231781073 |
| Duration | 1:02:00 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - AM |
| Bible Text | Genesis 14:13-16 |
| Language | English |
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