Episode 2

The Journey of Faith - Watch Where You Are Looking (North OC)

In this sermon, Daniel Sumoge shares a compelling message as part of the series 'The Journey of Faith.' Focusing on the life of Abram before he became Abraham, Daniel explores themes of faith, trust in God's promises, and the consequences of our choices. He delves into Genesis 13, highlighting the story of Abram and his nephew Lot, and emphasizes the importance of watching where we are looking in both physical and spiritual contexts. The sermon encourages believers to focus on God's promises and maintain faith even when immediate results are not visible.

00:00 Introduction and Ministry Background

00:24 The Journey of Faith: Abraham's Call

02:05 Watch Where You Are Looking

02:44 Abram and Lot: Choices and Consequences

05:13 Faith and Trust in God's Promises

13:24 Abram's Generosity and Trust

17:29 Lot's Decision and Its Implications

27:02 God's Reassurance to Abram

29:19 Conclusion: Keeping Eyes on God's Promises

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OC Church of Christ

Transcript
Speaker:

My name is, uh, Daniel Samogyi.

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Uh, I have the honor and privilege of

serving here in Orange County as a part

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time youth minister along with my wife,

Savannah, and we have Jessica Stephan.

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We help lead the high school ministry

specifically, and it's been truly

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a blessing just seeing some of

these teens just grow before us.

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I mean, all of us, I mean, Jess and

Savannah, we, we grew up in the church,

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we grew up in the teen ministry.

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So we see a lot of ourselves

in the teens today.

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Um, but with that being said, you know,

last week, I don't know if you guys

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know, but we started a new sermon series.

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Called, The Journey of Faith.

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And, you know, we go

through the life of Abraham.

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And, um, we also have, sorry, real

quick, we also have a handout.

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Um, we passed that last week,

but it's also on the church app.

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But we're going through

the life of Abraham.

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But this is way before

he's called Abraham.

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We know Abraham as, you know,

the man who has many sons, right?

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Father Abraham.

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But we're going through the life of Abram.

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So this is before all the

promises that God gave him.

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Delivered that came true.

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So we're going through the book of

Genesis and last week Marcel preached on

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Genesis chapter 12 and we talked about

the call and we see that in Genesis 12

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in the beginning, God called Abram to

leave his land, you know, because he

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promised him a new land and he promised

him a nation made of his descendants.

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He promised blessings on blessings

on blessings and we see and we

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see Abram answering that call, but

later we see we didn't go over,

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but hopefully in our family group.

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Uh, we see later in Genesis in

that chapter that he left that

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land out of fear of famines.

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We went to Egypt.

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And when he leaves Egypt, or he goes

to Egypt, he says, you know, Oh,

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my wife Sarah, that's, that's my

sister, cause he was scared, whatever.

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And, uh, next you know, he gets,

you know, the Pharaoh rebukes him.

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And he leaves the land

of Egypt even more rich.

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Which doesn't make any sense.

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But, you know what, I'm like, alright.

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Like, when I get in trouble,

I Don't get rich at all.

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So it doesn't encourage me to,

to, uh, you know, get in trouble,

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but we see, we're going to pick

up here in Genesis chapter 13.

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We're going to see him as he leaves

Egypt and goes back to the promised land.

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So the title of my lesson

today is called, uh,

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I don't know.

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It says when God's called, doesn't it?

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But it's called watch

where you are looking.

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That's the title of my certain state.

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Watch where you are looking.

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And this is a phrase we've heard

many times in our life, right?

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Watch where you are looking.

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You know, when I, uh, When I started

driving, you know, my mom always

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told me she was training me, man, you

better watch where you're looking.

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You don't want to hit anyone.

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You don't want to run over a

pedestrian and go to jail for that

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or go to prison when you're cooking.

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You have to watch when you're cooking.

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I remember when Savannah told me,

Hey, watch this crock pot because

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I have some chicken in there.

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I didn't watch it.

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And then we had to eat dry chicken.

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So, you know, I have to watch it.

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Something I've also learned is you got

to watch when you spend, you got to

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watch what you're spending your money on.

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You know, so in Genesis 13 here, we're

gonna see a powerful story about Abram

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and his nephew Lot, two men who made

choices based on where they were looking.

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And I want to explore the consequences of

those choices and what they mean for us.

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Amen.

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So we're gonna get into

Genesis chapter 13.

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So please open up your Bibles,

and if you don't have one, please

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ask the person next to you.

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If not, it's gonna be on the screen here.

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I'm gonna pick up in Genesis

chapter 13, verses 1 through 4.

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We'll start here.

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And it says, So Abram went up from

Egypt to the Negev with his wife and

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everything he had, and Lot went with them.

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Abram had become very wealthy in

livestock and silver and gold.

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From the Negev he went from place

to place until he came to Bethel,

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to the place between Bethel and Ai,

where his tent had been earlier and

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where he had first built an altar.

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There Abram called on

the name of the Lord.

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So, like I said, going back, he

went to Egypt, or he was called, the

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promise, you know, that God gave him.

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He built a tent and an altar there,

obviously he left, went to Egypt,

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left Egypt, and then came back.

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So now we see that he returned to

where he first built his altar there,

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where his tent had been earlier.

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And we see that he'd become very wealthy

in livestock and silver and gold,

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and it says here that he went between

Bethel and Ai, where his tent had been

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earlier, where he first built the altar.

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So we see here that Abram

veering away from God's promise.

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And now we are witnessing Abram returning

to the promise that God had for him.

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You know, Abram went to where his

tent was earlier, to where he first

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built the altar to worship God.

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And I think that's an

incredible gesture right there.

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You know what I mean?

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That he built an altar based on a promise.

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And the promise hasn't

even been fulfilled yet.

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You know, think about

it for us in our life.

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You know, I remember when I

was younger, my parents would

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be like, Oh, guess what, Jay?

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We're gonna go to Disneyland.

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You know, I was like, okay, cool.

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But like, I'm not gonna get

excited over that, right?

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Like, I need to see it happen.

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I will get excited when I see

my parents show me the tickets,

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and we're actually going in the

car, driving to Orange County.

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We're going inside,

and I see Mickey Mouse.

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You know, that's when I would get excited.

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But Abram was getting

excited over a promise.

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You know, what was the promise?

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God promised him land.

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He promised him a nation.

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He promised him being blessed by God.

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Blessings from others.

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You know, all the promises

has not happened yet.

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But yet we see Abram here rejoicing in

the fact like, Man, God is promising me.

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That is so awesome.

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Let me go build an altar.

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You know, this reminds us that faith

is not based on what we can see in

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our own hands physically, right?

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You know, trusting God's

Word and His character.

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Just as Abram worshipped over the promise

that wasn't to be fulfilled yet, we too

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are called to trust in God's promises,

even when we don't see immediate results.

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You'll write me of this scripture in

Hebrews 11, verse 1, says, Now faith

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is confidence in what we hope for and

assurance about what we do not see.

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And that's important for us to

remember as we're going, you know,

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as we continue reading in Genesis,

but also just for us, is man, faith

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is confidence in what we do not see.

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And we're gonna continue reading here,

we're gonna see how Abram was clinging

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on to God, how he really had the faith

in God that he will deliver the promise.

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We'll As we continue here in Genesis

13 verses 5 through 7 it says, Now

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Lot, who was moving about with Abram,

also had flocks and herds and tents,

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but the land could not support them

while they stayed together, for

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their possessions were so great that

they were not able to stay together.

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And quarreling arose between

Abram's herders and Lot.

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The Canaanites and the Perizzites were

also living in the land at the time.

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So, now we're introduced to Lot, as I

mentioned earlier, that's his nephew.

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And, you know, Lot, uh, went with Abram

everywhere, when you think about it.

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You know, Lot went with Abram

from, uh, Ur to the Chaldeans.

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He went with Abram to Haran.

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He went with Abram to, to Canaan,

which the, the land God promised Abram.

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He went with, uh, Abram

out of Canaan into Egypt.

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And he went with him out of Egypt

back into where we are right now

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here in this verse, back into Canaan.

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So Lot here was a

constant companion of his.

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And as we read here, we'll see

an argument about to take place.

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You know, it says in verse 7

here, In quarreling arose between

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Abram's herders and Lot's.

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The Canaanites and the Perizzites

were also living in land at the time.

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You know, something had to be done here.

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You know, Canaan was predominantly

a land that was dominated by

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people who worship other gods.

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You know, they practiced

polytheistic belief here.

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And the Canaanites and the Perizzites,

they're watching Abram and Lot, people

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who are, oh, like They claim to know God.

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You know what I mean?

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There's a different God on the

block type of thing for them.

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And they're seeing these two

men and their herders argue

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with one another over resources.

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And it wasn't just a

private family matter.

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Obviously we see that it was

made public about the dispute.

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And this brings me to

my first point today.

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Is we have to watch who is looking.

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We have to watch who is looking.

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It's important to watch who is looking

because the people who watch us influence

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our actions, attitudes, and decisions.

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It's You know, we tend to have, uh,

different, act differently when we,

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uh, know we're being observed, right?

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It's just like when we're driving on the

freeway, and usually the speed limit's

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65, but we go 80, 85, and we see that

cop car, we, we hit the brakes, right?

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We slow it down, we're like, oh, ooh,

okay, we gotta go back and, you know, I

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don't wanna be in trouble, you know, I'm

getting observed by the cop right now.

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You know, the same applies

when it comes to our faith.

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You know, we have to watch who is

looking because the people around us

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are observing our actions and how we

handle conflict reflects our faith.

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So if we're gonna get into a

disagreement with one another, which

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is common here, alright, we can get

into disagreements and that's okay.

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But it's the way we deal with it is how

it all matters when people watch us.

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You know, so if I get in a disagreement

with Michael Morris over here, and our

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way of disagreeing and to talk about it

is by never talking to each other again.

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Alright.

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Giving each other a dirty look and

talking bad about one another to everyone.

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What does that say about

our faith right there?

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Does it reflect us truly

obeying God's word there?

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Are we really seeking the

peace that God wants for us?

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You know, I imagine that the

Canaanites and the Perizzites, you

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know, they were, they were watching

Abram and Mot just argue, right?

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And like I said, they probably

just thought to themselves, wow.

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You see, they're, they're just like us.

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They say they worship another God.

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They say their God is the one true

God, but they argue just like us.

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You know, this is probably how

other people who do not know God see

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us when we argue with one another

and don't resolve in a godly way.

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You know, it reminds me when I grew

up, I grew up in the metro LA region of

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the church and I was part of the teen

ministry there, uh, and I think I was like

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a junior or a sophomore in high school.

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So, yeah.

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But I remember I was a disciple

at the time, and I was inviting my

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friend, Nehemiah, from high school.

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I was like, bro, you gotta

come out to my church.

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Bro, you will love it.

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The teens there, they're awesome.

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My church is, man, it's totally different.

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And he was like, yeah, I'll come on out.

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And I was like, cool.

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So it was a Friday Diva, and I just

remember I was introducing the people.

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I was like, guys, this is my friend.

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Oh, he's awesome, man.

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This person's awesome in the ministry.

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This person's awesome in the ministry.

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And then there was a teen there who I had

a conflict with that was not resolved.

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And I remember telling

Nehemiah, everyone's queer.

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But I remember, I pointed to that teen.

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I was like, that teen, oh,

you gotta stay away from her.

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And I remember, yeah, I know.

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I remember that teen.

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That teen saw me point at her and she

pretty much, I mean, I didn't really care.

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She knew I didn't like

her and type of thing.

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She didn't like me.

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But she saw it and then she came

and she was like, Hey, if you have a

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problem with me, say it to my face.

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And I was like, okay, like, let's

do it right here, right now.

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So we were arguing.

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All right.

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I was like, man, I don't

like when you do this.

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And then she was going back and forth.

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My friend, Nehemiah is just kind

of, well, what's going on here?

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Like, whoa, parents had to split us up.

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And I was like, all right, whatever.

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You know, the event was over.

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We were waiting for my mom to

pick, pick us up from the event.

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And we're sitting in

the church parking lot.

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And I put my arm around

my friend, Nehemiah.

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I just looked at him and was like,

So, you want to study the Bible?

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You want to know God?

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And he just looked at me

like, Are you serious?

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No.

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I don't.

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And I'm going to be honest, at

the time I was really surprised.

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I was like, Why not?

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Why don't you want to know about God?

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You told me you want to know about Him.

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And then he told me something.

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He was like, Well Danny, I don't

want to know, I don't want to study

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the Bible with you because you told

me that your church is different.

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You told me something was different there.

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But man, you're just like all the

churches I've visited with my family.

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And I was like, wow.

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You know, it really took, you know, the

scripture in 2 Corinthians, by, you know,

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being Christ's ambassador, you know,

it really had a new meaning for myself.

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Thinking about, wow, okay, where

I go, what I do in my life, man, I

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really represent, not only Christ,

but the church I attend as well.

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You know what I mean?

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I really have to, uh, think about that.

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And I was like, okay.

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Alright, so if I'm really gonna say I'm

a disciple and claim to be set apart,

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I can indulge in things like that.

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I can't be in arguments like that.

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And if I am in arguments, I gotta settle.

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I gotta really, you know, try

hard to, to make amends with them.

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To be at peace with them.

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So it's important that we

have to watch who is looking.

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Because people are watching us.

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Neighbors, coworkers, students,

friends, and even unbelievers.

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The way we navigate conflicts

and even blessings and challenges

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speaks volumes about our faith.

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Now we're going to read here

that Abram knew he had to end the

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argument between him and his nephew.

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People were looking at them.

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And like I said, just as important

it is to handle conflict, we also

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know we gotta, we have to understand

how to handle blessings, too, right?

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Think about it, you know, when I get

showered in blessings, man, I start

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to believe that I'm the hot stuff.

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Like, man, yo, I, my life is the

way it is because I did this.

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You know what I mean?

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I start to become self righteous.

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I start to look down on others.

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And we see here that the strife

between Abram and Lot happened because

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their possessions were so great.

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You know, God really blessed

Abram and his family.

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Their possessions were so great that

they couldn't live off of each other.

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And although they had great

possessions, we're going to see

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something different with the

possessions that Abram had and Lot had.

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You know, we'll see later in

future chapters of Genesis, just a

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spoiler, Lot's wealth possessed him.

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We'll But Abram, he had great possessions,

but his wealth didn't possess him.

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And because of this, because of

possessions and wealth, and the land,

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they could no longer live off each other.

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So Abram made this generous offer to Lot.

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Now before we look at the next verse, I

want to remind you guys, I want to, you

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know, this is back then, this is near,

you know, Eastern tradition here, but the

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elder was really valued above the youth.

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He had more honor.

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So what the elder said, it went.

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All right.

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So this is what Abram said here next.

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So Abram said to Lot, Let's not have

any quarreling between you and me,

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or between your herders and mine.

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For we are close relatives.

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It's not the whole land before you.

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Let's part company.

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Here it is.

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He says, If you, Lot, go to

the left, I'll go to the right.

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And if you go to the right,

then I'll go to the left.

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What a remarkable gesture right there.

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I mean, just remember.

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God promised Abram the land.

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He didn't promise Lot anything.

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But yet we still see here, Abram

would be like, You know what?

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I gotta be at peace.

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You know what I mean?

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I gotta be at peace with my nephew here.

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You know what?

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Hey Lot, I'm gonna let you choose first.

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You decide which one you want to go with.

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I want to point out that, you know, Abram

didn't yield to Lot there out of weakness.

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He didn't yield to Lot because he was

afraid of him, or because of fear.

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He yielded to Lot because he had

trust and he knew God loved him.

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By allowing Lot to choose

first, Abram trusted God's plan.

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You know, Abram believed that

God's promise to give him and his

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descendants the land would be fulfilled,

regardless of which way Lot chose.

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Abram's choice to let Lot decide showed

his willingness to release control.

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Think about that.

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Abram released control.

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That's something that we as humans, man,

it's so hard for us to release control.

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But yeah, Abram did that, and he

trusted God would take care of him.

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And he didn't grasp the best part of the

land, you know, he trusted in his plan.

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You know, he knew that God's plan is

greater than his own understanding.

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You know, to a man of faith

like Abram, a few acres of land

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was not worth fighting for.

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He had an internal perspective.

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You know, I like to think he

fulfilled this new principle, the

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New Testament principle of love.

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You know, Philippians chapter 2 here,

verse 3 4 says, Do nothing out of

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selfish ambition or vain conceit.

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Rather, in humility, value

others above yourself.

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Not looking to your own interests,

but each of you, each of you

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to the interests of others.

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You know, if Abram were the type of person

to look for his own interests, he would

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have dictated the terms to Lot, right?

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He would have said, all right,

well, I'll take the right side.

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You're going to take the

left side and settle it.

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That's what he would have done.

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But Abram had the right, and he had

the right to do that, but he didn't.

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Abram was not only going to

look out for his interests, but

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also the interests of others.

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Once again, Abram having

this deep trust in God.

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You know, that's why he said,

if you go left, I'll go right.

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If you go right, I'll go left.

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Right or left, Abram knew

God was going to be with him.

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He learned God can provide for his

needs and not worry about being

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too generous to someone, right?

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You know, it's like when we give for a

weekly offer, you know, we don't have

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to worry about being too generous,

you know, out of a generous heart.

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And when we give, we're demonstrating

generosity and selflessness.

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And we're trusting that, man, God,

what you're gonna do with our finances,

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with our money that we're tithing to

you, man, you're gonna take it far.

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And we've seen God do that, right?

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We've seen many church plantings, not only

here in the United States, but outside.

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And it's like, wow, we have

brothers and sisters in Christ.

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Ah, the generosity of our

heart right there, right?

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You know, Abram knew that

whatever lot chose, God would make

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sure that Abram would prosper.

363

:

You know, going back to chapter 12,

right, to the last chapter, when he

364

:

went to Egypt, You know, Abram thought

he had to take matters in his own hand.

365

:

He thought he had to take fate in his

own hands by lying to the Pharaoh,

366

:

saying, uh, his wife was his sister.

367

:

But we see here, in Genesis

13, that Abram is wiser, right?

368

:

That he learned from his bad experience

in Egypt, and now, willing to have

369

:

God look out for his best interests.

370

:

Again, right or left, it didn't

matter, but God was gonna be there.

371

:

Now, with that in mind, what

did Lot end up choosing?

372

:

Which part of the land?

373

:

We'll pick up in verse 10 here.

374

:

It says, Lot looked around and saw

the whole plain of the Jordan toward

375

:

Zoar was well watered, like the garden

of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.

376

:

This was before the Lord

destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

377

:

So Lot chose for himself the whole plain

of the Jordan and set out toward the east.

378

:

The two men parted company.

379

:

Abram lived in the land of Canaan

while Lot lived among the cities

380

:

and plain, uh, cities of the plain

and pitched his tent near Sodom.

381

:

Now, the people of Sodom were wicked and

were sinning greatly against the Lord.

382

:

This brings me to my second point today.

383

:

And that is, where are you looking?

384

:

You know, the direction of our gaze often

determines the path we choose, right?

385

:

Meaning, whatever has our

attention or focus, we tend to

386

:

make decisions based off that.

387

:

And it says that, you know, Lot

looked over and saw the whole

388

:

plain of the Jordan towards Zoar.

389

:

You know, Lot looked toward

the well watered plains.

390

:

An area that appeared more fruitful and

prosperous, however in choosing what

391

:

looked best on the surface, Lot moved

closer to a morally corrupt city of Sodom.

392

:

And he prioritized, uh, material

gain over spiritual gain.

393

:

Making a decision that would bring

future troubles, as you'll see later on.

394

:

You know, Lot's decision was driven

by what looked best on the surface.

395

:

You know, it says we can, you know, we

can be guilty of that at times, right?

396

:

We can make decisions that

is best on the surface.

397

:

You know, when I was, uh, in college,

back in community college, I was 18 at

398

:

the time, I was working, I had money.

399

:

And, but the only way I could get to

school or work was either through the

400

:

bus or my parents dropping me off.

401

:

And, you know, having your parents drop

you off at, you know, college or work,

402

:

it's not really a pleasant feeling.

403

:

You're kind of like, ooh, like,

I'm a little too old for this.

404

:

Especially my dad, when he dropped

me off, he would always make a

405

:

scene and be like, I love you, son,

out loud, and I'm like, oh gosh, I

406

:

just put my head down and walked.

407

:

But, so I was like, you know what?

408

:

I need to get a car.

409

:

I need to get a car ASAP.

410

:

So I, you know, I went home one

day, and I went on a off road.

411

:

And I was like, alright,

I just need to find a car.

412

:

I need four wheels, and that

drives, and I'm good to go.

413

:

I had a budget.

414

:

It was about a thousand dollars.

415

:

I found a car.

416

:

It was a 1994 Honda Civic EX Hatchback.

417

:

Alright?

418

:

It didn't look pretty, but it just

reminded me of the car Paul Walker

419

:

drove back in Fast and Furious.

420

:

So I was like, alright, I'm about

to be like a low budget black

421

:

Paul Walker from Fast and Furious.

422

:

You know what I mean?

423

:

So I go to the, the, the owner of the car.

424

:

You know, what are you supposed

to do when you go check out a car?

425

:

What, what are you guys supposed to do?

426

:

Test drive it?

427

:

Ask questions?

428

:

Hey, let me see the engine real quick.

429

:

I didn't ask any of that.

430

:

All I did, I started the car.

431

:

I drove it around the block.

432

:

Yeah this is it!

433

:

Gave him the money That's it, alright,

drive home Man, I'm awesome, know what

434

:

I mean Five days later, alright I have,

I planned a big group date We were going

435

:

to Magic Mountain I had, uh, two couples

in my car We're driving, we're on the 5

436

:

See smoke I was like, what the heck is

going on here I pull over, man, it, it

437

:

overheated But, when the me uh I got it

towed to my mechanic You And the mechanic

438

:

was like, Alright, so, the mileage is a

lot higher than what the owner told you.

439

:

Uh, the timing belt broke,

and you need a new engine.

440

:

Yeah, exactly.

441

:

Five days that I had that car.

442

:

Yeah, I was furious.

443

:

Yeah, I was furious.

444

:

I wasn't, I was fast and

very furious right after.

445

:

But man, as you see, I made

a short term, immediate,

446

:

gratifying decision right there.

447

:

To purchase an old car.

448

:

You know, I didn't think about

the issues of the car, I just

449

:

saw the car and said, yes.

450

:

You know, I don't know why, but

I told Savannah earlier, I was

451

:

like, yeah, the hood was broken.

452

:

It was held down by two bolts.

453

:

I should have known that was a

red flag, but I still got it.

454

:

I still bought it.

455

:

But why do I share this with you?

456

:

Because when we make short term decisions,

we miss out on the long term effect.

457

:

And Lott, he prioritized

material gain over consideration.

458

:

His choice reflected a preference for

immediate benefits rather than long

459

:

term consequences or spiritual values.

460

:

That's why we have to ask

ourselves, you know, where are

461

:

we looking at today, Church?

462

:

Where are you looking

when you make decisions?

463

:

You know, are your eyes

focused on what looks good now?

464

:

Maybe it was a 94 Civic.

465

:

Maybe it's comfort.

466

:

Maybe it's wealth.

467

:

Maybe it's, you know, status

in school or in your job.

468

:

I don't know.

469

:

Or are you seeking God's guidance,

even if his path seems less obvious?

470

:

Like Lot, we can be easily led

astray by what looks appealing on

471

:

the surface, but God calls us to

a deeper trust in his direction.

472

:

You know, Abram was looking at either land

knowing that God was going to be with him

473

:

and bless him regardless where he went.

474

:

You know, Lot decided to take

the land by Sodom based on what

475

:

he could see with his own eyes.

476

:

And he only cared about the

material abundance of the land.

477

:

He was not concerned about the culture

of the land or how it would spiritually

478

:

impact him or his family later on.

479

:

But where Abram had faith,

Lot did not have faith.

480

:

You know, faith means that we, uh,

we do not walk, faith means that

481

:

we do not walk by what we see but

what we know to be true in God.

482

:

You know, in 2nd For we

walk by faith, not by sight.

483

:

And we see Abram was walking by faith.

484

:

A lot with only walking by sight.

485

:

You know, are we church today?

486

:

Are we walking by faith?

487

:

Or are we only walking by sight?

488

:

You know, it can be very

easy to walk by sight.

489

:

You know what I mean?

490

:

You just look around and you're like,

Man, our church is this and that.

491

:

It's like, man, you can

get consumed with it.

492

:

And it's, it's very tempting to be.

493

:

You know, it's easy for us to walk by

sight when the world offers quick rewards.

494

:

Walking by sight usually

promises immediate results.

495

:

Like Lot who saw the well

watered plains, he, he chose that

496

:

because it looked prosperous.

497

:

We too are often, you know, drawn to

the things that look prosperous to us.

498

:

Something that's quick, quick success,

some comfort, some, some pleasure.

499

:

You know, in verse 12, you know,

it explained that while Lot lived

500

:

among the cities of the plain and

pitched his tent near Sodom, now the

501

:

people of Sodom were wicked and were

sinning greatly against the Lord.

502

:

We again see a, you know,

a tent being pitched.

503

:

And we're going to see

this, uh, we saw this last.

504

:

Uh, chapter in Genesis where

Abram pitched his tent.

505

:

We see it earlier here in this

chapter, Abram pitched his tent.

506

:

But here we're going to see,

uh, Lot pitched his tent.

507

:

But he didn't build an altar right after.

508

:

He also pitched his tent closer

to the wicked city of Sodom.

509

:

And we'll see later in Genesis that he

becomes a future leader of that city.

510

:

You know, Lot's choice to pitch his tent

near Sodom, despite its moral corruption,

511

:

shows living close to corruption or sin

can expose us to greater temptation.

512

:

He may not have intended to participate

in the Sin City initially, but

513

:

proximity made it easier, and it was

shown through his lifestyle over time.

514

:

I want to speak to that reality sometimes.

515

:

You know, like Lot, our hearts can drift.

516

:

You know, maybe we can, you know, we don't

even notice it at first, but the decisions

517

:

we make reflects what we've been seeing.

518

:

You know, that our eyes have

shifted away from God's guidance

519

:

and toward the things of this world.

520

:

But here's the good news, though, alright?

521

:

No matter how far we've

wandered, God's promises remains.

522

:

His love never fails, and His arms are

always open, ready to bring us back.

523

:

You know, I love the song we just

sang, you know, Come to the altar.

524

:

The Father's arms are open wide.

525

:

God is waiting for us to return.

526

:

God is faithful to us.

527

:

He calls us to turn our focus

back to Him, to trust in His

528

:

direction, to rely on His provision.

529

:

Amen.

530

:

So if you feel like today, you

know, your heart has drifted, know

531

:

that it's never too late to return.

532

:

You know, God's promises are still true.

533

:

Church, where are you looking today?

534

:

Are we prioritizing professional growth

and accolades over spiritual growth?

535

:

Are we trading the kingdom of

God for a luxurious lifestyle?

536

:

Are we looking for, for popularity

or people pleasing rather than

537

:

pleasing the one who created us, God?

538

:

For Lot, it made sense to him

where he was looking, right?

539

:

He saw this lush land, and he was like,

Man, I can make a quick buck here.

540

:

I can make a profit.

541

:

But he disregarded the culture that

would affect him and his family later on.

542

:

You know, Lot probably thought this.

543

:

I can serve God as well in

Sodom as I can anywhere.

544

:

Lot deceived himself, just like

many of us have done since.

545

:

You know, it's common for

us to trust our heart.

546

:

But what I love here in 9 says the

heart is deceitful above all things

547

:

and beyond who can understand it.

548

:

You know, the heart is

incredibly deceptive.

549

:

The heart often seeks what feels good or

beneficial for them in the moment, but

550

:

when our hearts are driven by emotions

such as fear, envy, lust, grief, they can

551

:

cloud our judgment and make it difficult

to see what God has for us clearly.

552

:

You know, a lot will eventually

end up losing everything.

553

:

But Abram endured a legacy that

he got to pass on to his family.

554

:

Now after Lot and Abram, they

separate, we're gonna see what

555

:

the Lord has to say to Abram here.

556

:

Because I hear in Genesis 13, verse 14

through 18, it says, The Lord said to

557

:

Abram after Lot had parted from him,

Look around from where you are, to the

558

:

north and south, to the east and the

west, all the land that you see, I will

559

:

give to you, and your offsprings forever.

560

:

I will make your offsprings like

the dust of years, so that if anyone

561

:

who could count the dust, then

your offspring could be counted.

562

:

Go walk through the length and breadth

of the land, for I am giving it to you.

563

:

So Abram went to live, uh, near

the great trees of Mamre at, uh,

564

:

Ebron, where he pitched his tent.

565

:

There he built an altar to the Lord.

566

:

You know, after Lot separates

from Abram, God speaks to Abram.

567

:

I believe that was very intentional

because, once again, God promised

568

:

everything to Abram and not to Lot.

569

:

And here, God reassures to Abram,

Man, look what you're seeing, man.

570

:

Like, man, all this is yours.

571

:

The land is yours.

572

:

Your nation is coming.

573

:

You know what I mean?

574

:

You know, the promise has not

yet been, uh, fulfilled, but

575

:

yet he, uh, reminds Abram.

576

:

Just like how we need reminders.

577

:

Like, man, God's promised.

578

:

Man, it's gonna happen.

579

:

Again, God repeated the promise to him.

580

:

Which brings me to my last point,

is what are you looking at?

581

:

You know, we see that fixing

our eyes on God's promises

582

:

leads to faith and contentment.

583

:

And Abram was looking at God's

promise, not at what seemed

584

:

advantageous at the moment.

585

:

Even though the land lot left him

might have seemed less, you know,

586

:

fruitful, less likely to make a profit

really, Abram trusted in the Lord.

587

:

His eyes was fixed on a bigger picture.

588

:

You know, when God tells Abram,

lift his eyes, I believe it was

589

:

really telling him like, hey man,

get your human eyes out of here and

590

:

look at the promise I have for you.

591

:

Look in the lens that I see for you.

592

:

You know, are we fixing

our eyes on God's promises?

593

:

In our own lives, we can be caught up

in temporary concerns, but this passage

594

:

reminds us to look beyond the things and

focus on God's promise for our future.

595

:

You know, as we focus on what looks good

now, God's Are we lifting our eyes to

596

:

God's promises, trusting that He will

provide in His perfect time, not our

597

:

perfect time, but His perfect time.

598

:

Like Abram, we are called to worship

and trust God's faithfulness, even

599

:

when the fulfillment is on the horizon.

600

:

So what does that mean for

you and I today, Church?

601

:

As we look at, you know, Abram's

journey here in Genesis 13, we see the

602

:

importance of not just making choices,

but we need to watch what we're looking

603

:

at, both physically and spiritually.

604

:

Abram kept his eyes on God's

promises, even when he didn't

605

:

know what would unfold.

606

:

In the same way, we are called

to hold on to God's promises.

607

:

No matter what circumstance we face,

when life gets hard, when the road

608

:

ahead looks uncertain and we're tempted

to take matters into our own hands.

609

:

You know, I want you guys

to, to remember this.

610

:

These are just the, the surface levels of

just some of the promises God has for us.

611

:

You know, that He will, God promises

to be with us even when we feel alone.

612

:

His promise is to provide for

us even when we're in need.

613

:

His promise is to guide us even

when we don't know the way forward.

614

:

You know, His promise is to give

us peace even when life is chaotic.

615

:

Like I said, these are just the tip

of the iceberg of, you know, some

616

:

of the promises God has for us.

617

:

But to experience these promises, Church,

we must watch where you are looking.

618

:

You know, we focus on the world's

solutions, like Lot who chose what

619

:

looked good to him in the moment,

but led to spiritual danger.

620

:

Or are we going to be like Abram, trusting

God even when we step into the unknown?

621

:

You know, where we look

shapes where we go.

622

:

So we need to keep our eyes on God.

623

:

When the world tries to pull your

focus away with distraction, fears or

624

:

temptations, remember that the path God

is leading you on is filled with promises

625

:

and God is faithful to fulfill them.

626

:

So as I close out today, church, I really

want to urge you and encourage you to hold

627

:

on to God's promises with all your heart.

628

:

Watch where you are looking and

keep your eyes fixed on him.

629

:

And you'll see his promises

unfold in his perfect timing.

630

:

Amen church?

631

:

Amen.

632

:

Love you guys.

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