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You.

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Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons podcast.

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This is where you can find audio from Sunday morning messages and more.

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Make sure you're subscribed so that you don't miss future episodes, and thanks for listening.

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Well, good morning.

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Let's give these kids another round of applause and thank our students as well.

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It is good to be back with you guys this morning.

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We missed you.

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Last week.

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My family and I got an opportunity to get away and go on vacation.

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And so we suffered for the Lord Sunday morning out on the beach, and it was wonderful and it was nice, but it is good to be back here.

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Last week at Kids Camp was just a wonderful time.

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We had about 38 of our elementary kids participated for the week.

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This was something new for us.

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What was cool is how God worked throughout the week in the lives of the members of our church.

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And so where this was a little bit different maybe than some of the things we've done recently, like, every single lesson, every single small group, every single activity was written and led by someone in our church.

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And so it just was really awesome to see the Lord use so many gifts and talents of our students and our adults to pour into the lives of these kids.

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And it was just a blessing to have them lead us in worship.

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And so thank you for allowing us to do that.

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Well, unfortunately, as the summer winds down, right, I know it feels like it's 150 degrees outside and we're stuck in the middle of it, but as our summer season winds down, as school looks to be getting started, we're wrapping up some of the things that are going on.

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Next Sunday, our middle school and high school students will be leaving to go to Black Mountain for our Youth missions trip.

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And so I want to encourage you to pray for them.

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And then also, I want to point out we have some special visitors here with us today.

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I don't know if you know this, but Willow Ridge, I found out this morning we're an international church now.

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Y'all know that.

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So we got Darryl Cheeks and his wife Christina with us.

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And I'll tell you a little bit about them in just a second.

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But Darryl told me this morning when he came in, darryl is a missionary.

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Darren, his wife, are missionaries in the Philippines.

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And I didn't realize this, but he told me this morning, he said, I just want you to know, he said, it's good to see you in person, because every Sunday night at 10:00, we worship with Willow Ridge Church online.

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So I was like, well, man, that's awesome.

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We're international now, right?

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We got our campus in the Philippines and our campus here in Lexington.

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But it was a blessing to have have you guys with us, darryl and his wife Christina right here.

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And so Darryl has been serving as a missionary in the Philippines.

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He told me this morning, here's how he worded it.

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And so extend me some grace if I mess this up.

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He said twelve years ago, he gave the Lord a two year commitment.

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All right?

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And so I don't know if you know how that works.

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Tell the Lord your plans.

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And so God has been using him and his wife and his family in a powerful way to share the gospel there.

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We, as a church, we come alongside them and partner with them through some finances to help support their ministry.

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And so just a blessing and wonderful opportunity to have you here on our youth mission trip.

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My wife and I are going to go and work in the kitchen.

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We love to do that and provide the meals and come alongside some other adults and do that, but we'll cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for 60 people.

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And so I asked Darryl, because of so much of his ministry, is based in a food ministry, of what they do there in the Philippines.

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And so I was thinking, like, 60 people, we can probably relate.

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And I asked Darryl, I said, man, how many meals do you cook?

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And he's like, well, we plan and prepare about 10,000 meals a month.

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I was like, okay, so you're playing Major League baseball, and I'm playing upward.

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That's what we learned from this, of what's taking place.

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But Darryl is here.

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He's going to be here for an extended period of time.

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Darryl has had some accidents and things over there.

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And so Darryl's going through a process right now to be able to have a surgery on his back, and it's going to be a pretty intense surgery.

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And so what I'd like for us to do before we get into our message this morning, if we could just go to the Lord in prayer and lift him up.

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There's a lot of unknowns of what's going to happen and take place, but as he told me today, it feels a little cold outside for him here, and they're ready to get back to the Philippines.

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And I know it's not the temperature, brother.

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It's not the climate.

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It's the work that God has you doing there.

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And so I want to say on behalf of all of Willow Ridge Church, thank you guys so much for the ministry that you're doing to share in the gospel to boys and girls and men and women who have not heard and have not had the opportunity to.

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Submit their lives to Jesus Christ as.

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Their Lord and Savior.

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And so we thank you so much for your work.

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All right, would you guys join us in going Lord in prayer?

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God, I thank you for today.

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Today is your day, Lord, and we celebrate you.

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Lord, I thank you for this past week at Kids Camp.

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Thank you, Lord, that you reminded us that worship is not just what we.

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Come to do, but it is who we are.

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And so Lord, may Sunday not just be the day that we worship, but may it be filled with every day in our life.

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God, we thank you for Darryl and Christina and their family.

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We thank you for the calling that.

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You placed on a man over twelve years ago.

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And Lord, he said yes to you.

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He thought he knew what that would.

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Look like, but he didn't know and he said yes to you.

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And he took step of faith after step of faith after step of faith.

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And Lord, you were using him and his family and his ministry so that many will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

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God, we praise you and thank you above all else for that god, as.

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Darryl goes to these appointments to meet with doctors to get surgeries and procedures scheduled, lord, we know that you've gone before.

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Lord, we pray for peace and healing on his life.

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Lord, we pray for that you would use the doctors in a miraculous way to fix, Lord, what is broken, what is wrong.

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But Lord, we thank you above all of what we know, that one day, what was long ago, what was broken in Darryl was his relationship with you.

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And through the power of Jesus Christ, you healed him and made him eternally yours.

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And so Lord, I pray for all of us that are gathered here this morning.

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Lord, we thank you for those of.

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Us who were found in Christ, we.

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Thank you for that.

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And Lord, if there's anyone here who.

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Does not know Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior.

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Lord, you pray that today would be.

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The day of their salvation.

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And it's in Jesus name we pray.

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Amen.

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Amen.

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Like I said, if you've got your Bibles, I hope you'll join us in Genesis, chapter 13.

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But as we get there, I want to start this morning, I'm sorry with one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible.

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We'll start there and then we're going to jump there.

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So if you'll just hold off in Genesis 13, we're going to get there, but we're going to start in one.

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Timothy, chapter six, verse ten.

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It says this for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.

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It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pangs.

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Here's why I say it's the most misquoted verse in Scripture.

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One of them.

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Because oftentimes when we hear this verse quoted, I've heard it from people I know that, I've said it myself.

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I've even heard people on TV talk about this.

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And they'll leave out love.

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And they'll say, for money is the root of all kinds of evil.

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And that's just not true.

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That's not what Paul writes to Timothy.

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He says, for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

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What Paul's trying to address here with Timothy to help him understand, as Timothy pastors, this church.

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And what we're going to see here in just a little bit with the words of Jesus as well, is Paul's like, look, that money is this inanimate object.

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It's like blaming a chair for you falling, right?

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Money is this inanimate object.

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Money doesn't corrupt you, but it's the condition of the heart that we need to address.

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It's the condition of who you are.

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And we talked to the kids about this week to love the Lord your God, with all your mind, all your heart and all your soul.

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The issue is not an inanimate object.

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The issue is your heart.

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Jesus says in Matthew 624, no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.

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You cannot serve God and money.

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Jesus uses some strong words here.

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He says, you can't serve two masters.

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So it's not like you're kind of devoted to one and kind of devoted to the other.

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He says, you'll hate one or love the other.

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You'll be devoted to one or to despise the other.

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So Jesus says in this moment that the issue is not the object.

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The issue is you and I.

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He says, you cannot serve God with money.

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So why am I starting our passage in Genesis by looking at two New Testament passages that deal with a subject of money and our response to it?

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Well, first is this in understanding Genesis 13, we're going to see some conflict.

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And in Genesis 13, there's a connection point as far as the object goes in the conflict.

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And so we're going to see that possessions and wealth are in both of the passages.

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But more importantly, what we're going to see in Genesis 13 is the condition of two men's hearts.

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One man with a heart for the Lord and one man with a heart for himself.

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And so as we deal with this, as we walk through, we see that there's this condition in scripture that we have to acknowledge.

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It's not about simply checking some behaviors and moving on past that.

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It's dealing with the core of who we are in Christ.

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So Genesis 13, we're going to read verses one through seven.

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So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had and Lot with him into the NAGEB.

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Now, Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold, and he journeyed on from the NAGEB as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning between Bethel and Ae, to the place where he had made an altar at the first.

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And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord.

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And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents so that land could not support both of them dwelling together for their possessions.

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Were so great that they could not dwell together.

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And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abrams livestock and the herdsmen of Lott's livestock.

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At that time, the canaanites and the parasites were dwelling in the land.

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So here's what we've got that's going on.

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Abram and Lot.

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They're related.

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So if you're new with us this week, weeks and weeks ago, we started walking through the Book of Genesis, and so we're continuing on with that.

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And there's some background that's here as God called Abram away, and he went and took some people from his family with him.

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And Lott is one of these that goes with them.

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And so Abram is the uncle and Lott is the nephew, but they come from a family of wealth.

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So where they find themselves is not those who have been poor, who've come across wealth, but they come from a family of wealth, of notoriety.

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And while they've been on this journey, particularly from a couple of weeks ago, their time in Egypt, their wealth has increased.

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It's grown, it's become more and more.

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So you've got Abram, who's wealthy, and you've got Lot, who's wealthy.

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So these two men have been given and accumulated so much wealth, particularly where we see the conflict in here, in livestock, that it made traveling together impossible.

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You ever traveled with your family?

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Like, maybe not those that are with you today, but other family?

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It complicates things, right?

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It just complicates it a little bit.

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And that's what we've seen here.

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And the land where they go could not support this many animals.

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And so particularly it says that there's this verbal altercation that happens and takes place.

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There's conflict, there's strife based on a real reason the land cannot support the livestock that is there.

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So let's see what happens.

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Verse eight.

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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.

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It is not the whole land.

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Before you separate yourself from me, if you take the left hand, then I will go to the right.

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Or if you take the right, then I will go to the left.

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So Abram, the uncle, comes to Lot, the nephew, and says, let's not fight about this.

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This is silly.

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Look out around us with all that is there.

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Here's what we need to do.

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We just need to separate.

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Remember God's call to Abram.

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You'll leave your home, your family and your country.

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Lot was the one he brought.

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Abrams says we'll go.

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And he gives Lott the choice of where he wants to go.

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We mean verse ten.

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And Lott lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well.

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Watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt in the direction of Zoar.

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And this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

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So Lott chose for himself all the Jordan Valley.

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And lott journeyed east.

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Thus they separated from each other.

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Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lott settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.

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Now, the men of Sodom were wicked.

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Great sinners against the Lord.

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So Lot sees the Jordan Valley.

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The description that we get from Scripture is that it's like the reminder of the garden, right, that God created with Adam and Eve, but that also it reminded him of Egypt now from a couple of weeks ago.

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Remember, this is where Abram had gone and this is where a lot of disobedience had happened and take place.

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And so what Abram decided to do was repent and journey back to where they were before.

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But what we see from Lot is the description of it.

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It's like, hey, this is where all of this sin happened.

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But it kind of reminds me of this.

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And the beauty of the land distracts Lot from the wickedness that is there.

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What he sees, what he feels, what entices him, is not the sinfulness that's there, but it's the appeal to his.

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Flesh that he finds.

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I thought this was interesting, what Scripture just taught us.

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Abram is going to settle in the.

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Land, but Lot is going to settle.

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Scripture tells us in the cities two distinctive differences.

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Abram will journey and push for what.

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God wants, and Lot will journey toward the culture that is there.

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Verse 14.

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And the Lord said to Abram after Lott had separated from him lift up.

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Your eyes and look from the place.

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Where you are northward and southward and eastward and westward.

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For all the land that you see.

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I will give to you and to your offspring forever.

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I will make your offspring as the.

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Dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.

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Arise.

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Walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.

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And so the Lord God responds to abram.

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Back in verse ten, Lott lifted his eyes and saw what he wanted.

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Verse 14 teaches us that Abram lifts his eyes and saw what the Lord had for him.

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The difference in two hearts, the difference in two men.

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Both looked.

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One looked for what he wanted and one looked for what the Lord had for him.

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Law at saw in one direction and he took it.

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Abram looked to God and God gave him north, south, east and west.

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I think it's important before we even dive into some of the things we.

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Want to look at, but I know this rings truth for my life.

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When we settle for the simple gifts of this world, we oftentimes miss the blessings of the Lord.

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When we settle for the instant gratification that oftentimes this world can provide, oftentimes we miss the blessings of this world.

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When we seek the gratifications of our flesh.

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When we seek these instant moments of what we feel.

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We miss the calling, we miss the promises, we miss the blessings of the Lord.

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Why?

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Because we look as Lot looked.

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Instead of looking as the Lord would have us look.

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So, verse 18.

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So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mammary, which are at Hebron.

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And there he built an altar to the Lord.

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So two hearts that we see here.

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Heart number one is Lot's heart.

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What can I get?

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What can I take?

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What looks good to me?

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Cool.

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I'll take that.

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Right.

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What can I get?

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What can I obtain?

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Let me get as much as I can.

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That appeals to me.

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I'll take that.

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I feel like that's me at a seafood buffet, right?

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What can I get?

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Where are they at?

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How many crab legs can I have, please and thank you respite of what I'm going to feel like afterwards.

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Right?

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It's where we find lot has the heart of instant earthly gratification.

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This is what I can obtain.

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This is what this reminds me of.

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This takes me back to the glory days of Egypt, where we acquired and we acquired and we acquired.

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I'll take that.

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Not a heart for the Lord, not a heart for seeking Him, but a heart of what makes sense for Him.

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But abram's heart.

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Abram chooses god.

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Now, please hear me on this.

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I feel like sometimes we paint biblical characters in these superhero manners, that these.

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Were men and women who never did anything wrong.

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And we know that's not true.

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Abram will not always choose God.

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And God's plan, he isn't perfect.

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We have seen that.

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But while he lacks in perfect obedience, his heart seeks to follow a God.

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That is perfectly faithful.

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That's the difference.

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I do not put my hope in my perfected faithfulness, because it's not there.

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And if you're trying to put your hope in your own perceived perfected faithfulness, you will come short.

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That's not what Abram does.

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He follows a God who is perfectly faithful.

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That's his heartbeat.

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That's what we see.

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That's what we see from men and women of scripture.

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They are not perfect, but they follow a God who is.

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So what do we see in Abrams heart?

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What do we find in this passage that we can cling to, that we.

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Can begin to understand that the Holy.

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Spirit in these moments can use to evaluate within us?

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Lord, who am I?

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Am I seeking like Lot, or am.

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I seeking like Abram?

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So let's look at the heart we give.

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The first thing that we see with Abram is abram embraced repentance.

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Abram embraced repentance.

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Now, when Abram was faced with his sin in Egypt, what did he do?

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What did he do?

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Did he make excuses?

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Well, Lord, I'm here.

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And it was these people, and it was culture, and it was all these things that were going on.

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Did he become angry with God?

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God?

303
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How dare you?

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Why would you, Lord, it's your fault.

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Did he blame others?

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We know if it weren't for my nephew and my wife and all of these people, if I didn't have to take care of everything else that's going on or there was a famine, that's where we came here, and I was willing to endure.

307
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But person after person after person complained and complained and complained.

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No.

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What did Abram do when his sin became before him?

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He returned to the Lord.

311
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He embraced repentance.

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Here's what I found time and time again, when people go through crisis, a crisis of faith, they're going to embrace something, and they're going to embrace their shame and run from God until they feel like they've earned this right fellowship with Him.

313
00:25:42.110 --> 00:25:43.420
I know I'm wrong.

314
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My sin is before me, but I'm ashamed.

315
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And I'm going to run from Him until this faith formula works out, that I can come back, that I can return to the Church, that I can return to right fellowship, that I can return to prayer.

316
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And the problem with that is this it's impossible.

317
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It's impossible.

318
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No matter how hard we try, we're never going to earn the right fellowship with God.

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So the only response for Him in Egypt, for us, in your Egypt, in your famine, in your situation, in your season is repentance.

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Repentance.

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Not running from God, but running to God and recognizing that we don't earn our fellowship with Him.

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We're given fellowship with Him, which makes possible because of Christ.

323
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And that's the heart of repentance.

324
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I can fall at his feet, and he is here.

325
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I don't run from God.

326
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I run to God.

327
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It's what we saw from Abram in the very beginning.

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He went to Egypt, and when his sin was before him, he ran back to the Lord.

329
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Number two, abram embraced humility.

330
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He embraced humility.

331
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Now, in this conflict that we see.

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In Genesis 13, between Abram and Lat.

333
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There are rules to this conflict.

334
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There's legal and cultural standards that can be upheld.

335
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And guess who has all the rights?

336
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Abram.

337
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Abram has all the rights.

338
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He has more of the wealth.

339
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He has seniority.

340
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He is the uncle, but he is the one following God.

341
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So what does he do in this moment?

342
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What does he set his heart for?

343
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He seeks peace.

344
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This is his desire.

345
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He comes to Lot and says, Brother, let's work this out.

346
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There's got to be a plan.

347
00:28:14.768 --> 00:28:18.330
We don't want our herdsmen fighting, but more so.

348
00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:22.080
We don't want to fight one another.

349
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He surrenders his rights.

350
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He could have come to Lot.

351
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And so, look, as your uncle who brought you here, I have right to everything, right?

352
00:28:42.390 --> 00:28:48.360
A few years ago, we were talking about ownership in my house.

353
00:28:48.890 --> 00:28:52.630
I believe it was Easter candy that started the discussion.

354
00:28:55.050 --> 00:28:57.670
I want to say my kids were in first or second grade.

355
00:28:58.350 --> 00:29:00.700
And I said, I want you to understand something.

356
00:29:02.430 --> 00:29:04.860
As you live in my house.

357
00:29:05.950 --> 00:29:10.890
That candy you have, it's mine.

358
00:29:12.510 --> 00:29:14.286
Through the grace and mercy that's in.

359
00:29:14.308 --> 00:29:17.840
My heart, I'll let you have it right.

360
00:29:18.450 --> 00:29:19.934
And still to this day, my kids.

361
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Now hide their candy, right.

362
00:29:21.492 --> 00:29:23.150
It's what I've created.

363
00:29:23.730 --> 00:29:26.290
But Abrams surrenders his rights.

364
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He doesn't come to Lot and say, by right, this is what I do.

365
00:29:33.368 --> 00:29:35.502
By right, this is what I take.

366
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By right, this is what I claim.

367
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And instead, he extends grace and he allows Lot to choose.

368
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The man who the world knows of his name today shows the humility for the heart, for the Lord that says, no, you choose.

369
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You choose.

370
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And then abram embraced faith.

371
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Abram embraced faith.

372
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But this journey is building in the heart of Abram, of what God is going to do.

373
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And there's going to be moment after moment that we see this in scripture.

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What Abram knows that I forget way too often is that in spite what Lot chooses, god is in control.

375
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I don't know that you need to.

376
00:30:42.384 --> 00:30:46.460
Be reminded of that today, but I know I do.

377
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In spite of what others choose, in spite of what others do, in spite of the circumstances that surrounds you, god did not step off of his throne and release it to that situation.

378
00:31:01.090 --> 00:31:07.922
God is in control and we can cling to that.

379
00:31:07.976 --> 00:31:09.826
This is what faith is.

380
00:31:09.928 --> 00:31:14.462
God's already taken Abram through very difficult seasons.

381
00:31:14.526 --> 00:31:20.598
And this is where we can journey in life and praise the Lord for what he is doing.

382
00:31:20.684 --> 00:31:28.054
On our last night at kids camp, kareem did a wonderful job of teaching our students and talking about what it means to worship God with all of your soul.

383
00:31:28.102 --> 00:31:38.406
And she talks about when David lost his son, his baby boy died go through season after season.

384
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And in that moment, what strengthened the faith is David and Abram knew who God was.

385
00:31:47.412 --> 00:31:48.974
God is in control.

386
00:31:49.092 --> 00:31:53.774
And I put my faith and my hope in him, in him alone.

387
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And so Abram faced famine, he faced persecution, he faced his own sin.

388
00:31:59.630 --> 00:32:09.830
And through it all, what he saw was in spite of his faithfulness and faithfulness and the unfaithfulness of others, that God was faithful.

389
00:32:12.410 --> 00:32:18.620
Abram embraced trust by letting Lot choose.

390
00:32:19.790 --> 00:32:24.380
Abram trusted for God to choose for him.

391
00:32:26.350 --> 00:32:29.226
One took what the world had to.

392
00:32:29.248 --> 00:32:36.560
Offer, and the other one took what the Creator of the world would give.

393
00:32:39.090 --> 00:32:42.910
Lot lost.

394
00:32:44.870 --> 00:32:52.690
Chose the world, and in doing so, left his family trusting in himself.

395
00:32:53.750 --> 00:33:04.680
But Abram, in trusting the Lord, was reminded of the family of eternity that he was blessed with.

396
00:33:06.010 --> 00:33:10.650
And lastly, Abram embraced worship.

397
00:33:11.310 --> 00:33:13.078
Abram embraced worship.

398
00:33:13.254 --> 00:33:14.746
Now, Abram is going to settle in.

399
00:33:14.768 --> 00:33:18.186
This area between hebron and Mamri, which.

400
00:33:18.208 --> 00:33:19.706
Is going to be a significant place.

401
00:33:19.808 --> 00:33:21.866
In scripture, if you know, and I.

402
00:33:21.888 --> 00:33:23.690
Promise, man, one day we're going to get there.

403
00:33:23.760 --> 00:33:31.646
As we work through this with Abraham, it's going to be where the settlement of Abraham and his son Isaac, where most of the story is going to.

404
00:33:31.668 --> 00:33:32.960
Happen and take place.

405
00:33:33.810 --> 00:33:42.770
And so Abram settles where God leads and establishes his home on worship.

406
00:33:44.710 --> 00:33:46.200
I'll ask you this.

407
00:33:48.330 --> 00:33:51.560
What is your home built on?

408
00:33:53.050 --> 00:33:55.720
What is your home built on.

409
00:33:57.710 --> 00:33:58.810
In August?

410
00:34:00.190 --> 00:34:02.380
Share some future things with you guys.

411
00:34:03.230 --> 00:34:11.770
In August, we're going to take a pause for four weeks in working through Genesis and we're going to talk about discipleship.

412
00:34:12.910 --> 00:34:16.590
We do that most August, but this August is going to be a little bit different.

413
00:34:16.660 --> 00:34:33.790
For the last 18 months, our staff has been working together and sharing with our elders and our leadership about where we feel like the church is taking us I'm sorry where we feel like God is taking the church as we seek to grow in the areas of discipleship.

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And so what we're going to do over the course of four Sundays in August is we're going to share this plan of where we feel like God is leading us, but also we're going to look at what the scripture teach us about discipleship and begin to see how God is moving us in a wonderful, wonderful direction.

415
00:34:50.578 --> 00:34:54.518
And what we're going to encourage all right, so the plan will go through in August.

416
00:34:54.534 --> 00:35:00.934
Want to encourage you all to be here for that each and every week I'm excited about what God is doing and what this is going to look like.

417
00:35:00.992 --> 00:35:17.410
But what we're going to ask you to do as we go through this plan, we feel like God has laid out before us is to take a step, to take a step of obedience with Jesus.

418
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What we see from Abram of what he is doing time after time is he's taken step after step after step in following what God has for him.

419
00:35:29.948 --> 00:35:44.954
And what I want us to do is to look at where we are as individuals in our walk with the Lord and then say we together as we walk in this world.

420
00:35:45.152 --> 00:35:50.022
Want to take a bold next step with Jesus.

421
00:35:50.166 --> 00:35:52.080
And here's what that looks like.

422
00:35:52.690 --> 00:35:55.294
My step may be different than your step.

423
00:35:55.492 --> 00:35:59.662
Your step may be different than your spouse's step, than your friend's step.

424
00:35:59.716 --> 00:36:07.780
But to look and to see and evaluate where we are in our walk with the Lord and take a step.

425
00:36:12.110 --> 00:36:31.490
In Genesis 1317, God tells Abram, arise and walk, arise and walk in two.

426
00:36:31.560 --> 00:36:32.370
Timothy.

427
00:36:34.070 --> 00:36:36.642
Paul says as his life is.

428
00:36:36.696 --> 00:36:38.020
Preparing to end.

429
00:36:40.390 --> 00:36:41.602
Not because of old.

430
00:36:41.656 --> 00:36:45.590
Age, but because of persecution.

431
00:36:46.730 --> 00:36:51.000
Paul says to Timothy, I fought the good fight.

432
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I finished the race.

433
00:36:56.990 --> 00:36:58.700
Want to ask you this question.

434
00:37:00.910 --> 00:37:02.700
What'S your race look like?

435
00:37:04.830 --> 00:37:06.620
What does your race look like?

436
00:37:08.130 --> 00:37:19.070
Are you taking a step with Jesus or or are you on a treadmill?

437
00:37:21.030 --> 00:37:22.610
Are you on a treadmill?

438
00:37:24.150 --> 00:37:27.300
We have a treadmill at our house.

439
00:37:28.390 --> 00:37:30.740
I like to hang up wet clothes on it.

440
00:37:33.130 --> 00:37:34.150
Occasionally.

441
00:37:34.970 --> 00:37:40.662
Occasionally it'll be raining too hard outside for Grayson to go outside and.

442
00:37:40.716 --> 00:37:41.320
Run.

443
00:37:41.770 --> 00:37:46.200
So he'll have to go upstairs to the treadmill to run.

444
00:37:46.810 --> 00:37:49.130
He hates it every time he has to do it.

445
00:37:49.280 --> 00:37:54.954
And I'll be honest with you, when he's running on that treadmill, 4567 8.

446
00:37:54.992 --> 00:37:57.420
Miles, I hate it, too.

447
00:37:58.850 --> 00:38:05.070
Number one, while I'm sitting on the couch eating popcorn and watching TV, it inconveniences me to hear him exercise.

448
00:38:06.610 --> 00:38:08.400
But what you hear is this.

449
00:38:13.190 --> 00:38:15.730
And I'll ask him a funny question.

450
00:38:15.800 --> 00:38:19.300
When he gets done, how far did you go?

451
00:38:20.550 --> 00:38:24.550
He'll say, I mean, it's a treadmill.

452
00:38:25.210 --> 00:38:27.030
I ran, like 6 miles.

453
00:38:28.490 --> 00:38:33.030
But the truth is, he didn't go anywhere.

454
00:38:35.070 --> 00:38:43.580
He went upstairs to a room and closed the doors, and he did running like things.

455
00:38:45.070 --> 00:38:49.310
He pumped his arms, he moved his knees.

456
00:38:50.050 --> 00:38:58.670
Oh, he was dripping sweat, but he didn't go anywhere.

457
00:39:01.030 --> 00:39:08.562
Here's my fear, here's my prayer for you, that there's some of us here.

458
00:39:08.616 --> 00:39:09.220
Today.

459
00:39:12.570 --> 00:39:14.550
And we're not running a race.

460
00:39:16.250 --> 00:39:29.370
We're not even walking a path with the Lord, but we're trying to fool ourselves and those around us, and all we're doing is running on a treadmill.

461
00:39:30.350 --> 00:39:34.970
We're making a lot of noise, but we're not gaining a lot of ground.

462
00:39:35.790 --> 00:39:41.120
We're sweating and it's painful, and we want to let everybody know how far we've gone.

463
00:39:42.610 --> 00:39:53.570
But the truth is, when we evaluate our life, we're right where we were before in our walk with the Lord.

464
00:39:55.910 --> 00:39:59.780
God said to abram, go and walk.

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Get up and walk.

466
00:40:02.630 --> 00:40:04.020
You're going to move.

467
00:40:04.970 --> 00:40:10.120
You got to go, and you've got to chase after me if this is going to happen.

468
00:40:11.210 --> 00:40:20.300
Jesus tells us to go and make disciples among all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them all I have commanded to you.

469
00:40:20.830 --> 00:40:25.402
And then he sends his Holy Spirit to indwell in our lives.

470
00:40:25.536 --> 00:40:26.922
The spirit of God.

471
00:40:26.976 --> 00:40:30.990
If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, it isn't hovering around you.

472
00:40:31.060 --> 00:40:33.038
It's not sitting beside you.

473
00:40:33.124 --> 00:40:34.974
It's not a thought for your mind.

474
00:40:35.092 --> 00:40:36.960
He lives in you.

475
00:40:42.470 --> 00:40:47.330
And we just want to get on the treadmill and not go anywhere.

476
00:40:48.550 --> 00:40:50.020
But God says, go.

477
00:40:54.250 --> 00:40:58.390
I want to invite you we got a couple more Sundays.

478
00:40:59.770 --> 00:41:03.400
I want to invite you to join me.

479
00:41:04.490 --> 00:41:06.120
I need to take a step.

480
00:41:07.130 --> 00:41:10.538
I need to take a lot of steps, man.

481
00:41:10.624 --> 00:41:11.814
I want to be a lot farther.

482
00:41:11.862 --> 00:41:14.620
On the race that I am now.

483
00:41:15.790 --> 00:41:20.240
And what I want to invite you to do is take a step with me.

484
00:41:21.090 --> 00:41:23.390
Some of us are going to run faster.

485
00:41:24.210 --> 00:41:29.630
Some of us are not going to run as fast, but I want us all in the race.

486
00:41:30.470 --> 00:41:32.020
Would you pray with me?

487
00:41:38.270 --> 00:41:38.730
God?

488
00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:46.240
I come to you this morning, Lord, thanking you for who you are or for what you've done.

489
00:41:47.490 --> 00:41:58.980
Lord, you did not save us so that we could sit on the sidelines and pretend to be in the game.

490
00:42:03.590 --> 00:42:17.510
Lord, I thank you so much for the story of the life of Abram, lord, he is not a man who was simply called by you and then walked in perfection.

491
00:42:19.530 --> 00:42:24.250
He fell, he got the bumps, he got the bruises.

492
00:42:26.750 --> 00:42:32.810
But, Lord, he got up, he embraced repentance.

493
00:42:34.110 --> 00:42:36.270
He lived in a life of humility.

494
00:42:37.490 --> 00:42:52.340
He lived a life of faith, he lived a life of trust, and he lived a life of worshiping you so that, Lord, he could take the next step and the next step and the next step.

495
00:42:53.830 --> 00:42:55.666
And God, I pray for us.

496
00:42:55.768 --> 00:42:58.820
Lord, I was this person.

497
00:43:03.530 --> 00:43:11.000
I knew the words to say, I knew the external behaviors to show.

498
00:43:12.570 --> 00:43:23.142
But when I was sitting there just running on treadmill, keeping up a facade of someone who loves you or but my heart was far from Yours.

499
00:43:23.286 --> 00:43:26.400
I saw the world the way Lot saw the world.

500
00:43:27.570 --> 00:43:30.830
I pursued the things that Lot pursued.

501
00:43:33.970 --> 00:43:37.534
And Lord, in Your kindness and Your.

502
00:43:37.572 --> 00:43:46.340
Goodness and Your faithfulness, Lord, you opened my eyes, you drew me to Yourself.

503
00:43:48.150 --> 00:43:50.210
You brought me to my knees.

504
00:43:51.770 --> 00:43:54.040
Lord, I repented before you.

505
00:43:54.970 --> 00:43:58.600
Your Holy Spirit filled me up.

506
00:43:59.930 --> 00:44:00.546
And Lord.

507
00:44:00.578 --> 00:44:06.262
I thank you, Lord, with every step of obedience.

508
00:44:06.326 --> 00:44:13.020
And, Lord, I know I'm not walking as fast as you want me to.

509
00:44:14.350 --> 00:44:25.680
Lord, I know that all too often, Lord, I wander off the path and I begin to pick up some of the things that I left behind in the past.

510
00:44:26.930 --> 00:44:28.974
And Lord, I know through Your kindness.

511
00:44:29.022 --> 00:44:34.660
And Your goodness, Lord, you just draw me back and bring me back.

512
00:44:37.270 --> 00:44:41.160
And Lord, I know that's the story of so many of us here today.

513
00:44:42.570 --> 00:44:54.220
And, God, so I pray through the power of Your Holy Spirit, lord, use this time to show us who we are.

514
00:44:56.590 --> 00:44:59.020
Show us the direction that we're going.

515
00:45:00.990 --> 00:45:04.730
Reveal to us, are we in the race?

516
00:45:06.130 --> 00:45:07.630
We on the treadmill.

517
00:45:10.370 --> 00:45:31.670
And Lord, if there's anyone here who does not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, lord, may today may the truth of the gospel that Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary for their sin.

518
00:45:33.770 --> 00:45:35.080
He paid it.

519
00:45:35.530 --> 00:45:42.710
He paid it in full and he laid dead in a tomb.

520
00:45:44.490 --> 00:46:06.030
But on the third day, he rose again in that all who place their faith, hope and trust in Christ to save them, Lord, to walk in the newness of life in eternity.

521
00:46:06.770 --> 00:46:11.034
And in today it's in Jesus name we pray.

522
00:46:11.162 --> 00:46:12.110
Amen.

523
00:46:15.730 --> 00:46:20.258
Thanks again for listening and be sure to check back next week for another episode.

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00:46:20.394 --> 00:46:28.550
In the meantime, you can visit us@willeridgechurch.org or by searching for Willow Ridgechurch on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.