Abraham's life is used to illustrate how to navigate a significant division, stemming from his nephew Lot's greed and short-sightedness. The sermon highlights Abraham's love and consideration for Lot, contrasting it with Lot's worldly focus on the fertile plains of Jordan, which led him to pitch his tent toward Sodom. Abraham, having learned from past mistakes, chose God's provision and pitched his tent toward Bethel, demonstrating that true wisdom lies in looking to God rather than worldly possessions. The message concludes by emphasizing that God's provision is abundant for those who trust Him, while choosing the world leads to judgment, as Lot ultimately experienced.
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to work and all together obligations of the year. But since I've been in the Lord's work, I always rejoice at Labor Day because the Christians settle down to getting about the Lord's business. We travel around to conferences and we're out to summer cottages and so forth. But after Labor Day, they get down to Sunday schools, build up again. It's always a joy to see children come in. So there's always a blessing. Now you have some chorus sheets. We're going to get to those in just a moment. But first, if you'll turn your Bibles with me for our scripture reading this morning, to Genesis the thirteenth chapter continuing on our study of Abraham Abraham the friend of God and we've been discussing four milestones in Abraham's life the friend of God that faced a decision the friend of God that faced a deception and this morning we're going to consider the friend of God that faced a division and then tonight Lord willing we'll consider a friend of God that faced a dedication But shall we read, beginning at verse five, and as we've been doing, we'll read responsibly, we'll read verses five through seventeen in this portion of Scripture, six through sixteen, I'm sorry.
And beginning at verse five, and Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. And the land was not ready for the earth, and he might grow out of the earth. We will grow out of the earth, and he will not grow out of the earth. And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot's cattle, and the Canaanites and the Perzites dwelt in the land. Is not the whole land before thee?
I pray thee, I pray thee from thee. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right. And if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan. And Lot journeyed east. and they separated themselves one from the other. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinned before the Lord exceedingly.
for all the land which thou sayest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. I think I will make thy seed in the dead of the earth, so that you will mine can number the dead of the earth, then shall I receive it, and to thy seed forever. I think I will make thy seed in the dead of the earth, so that your mind can number the dead of the earth. Then shall I be the one who shall be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it, and in the breadth of it, and I will give it unto thee. May God bless the reading of this word. All right, we'll turn us to our song sheets now, if you will.
This is a song sheet that I've developed for crusade work, really, for our gospel crusades, and we use these little choruses to kind of get acquainted with the audience. You know, so oftentimes, especially when you have gospel meetings, you have many folks come in that know not the Savior, and they feel uncomfortable, and they feel strange, and you can see them kind of huddled up. And I found if you can get an audience smiling, you can get them listening. And if you can get them listening, many times God does wonderful things. And so I thought you all sing so wonderful down here at Park of the Palms that maybe we'd try out our new chorus sheet that Mr. Bill McCartney printed up for me over at Christian Missions Press. We'll start off by singing number five. Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.
Every day with Jesus, I love him more and more. Jesus saves and keeps me, and he's the one I'm waiting for. Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Isn't that right? This is going to be a sweeter day than yesterday. And yesterday was a wonderful day. See, you're smiling already. That's what I like to sing. All together now. Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Every day with Jesus, I love him so much more. He's the same than he. You know, I'd like to hear the ladies sing that.
When I think of sweetness, I always think of the gals. I say when my daughter got married, I'll never forget it. I have two sons and a daughter. I said, the Lord blessed me much. He gave me two sons to carry on my name, and he gave me a girl to add some sweetness to it. And so when I think of gals, I always think of sweetness. Now girls, ladies, how about just the ladies, please? Every day we'll get out and out and go.
Every day we'll see you. And we'll pray for you. Every day we'll do. Very good. How about number seven? Every promise in the book is mine. Oh, I love this course because every promise in the book is mine. From Genesis to Revelation, isn't that wonderful? Every one of God's great promises. And that's what's so thrilling to me about the Bible. The Bible isn't just a history book, but it's the Word of God. And God says, I'm going to do this, and he does it. And that's what's so thrilling about it. Let's all sing together number seven. Come on, you can turn the volume up. Why, you're staying wonderful for Andy, but you're a little timid with me.
Come on, let's sing out real loud, shall we? Every promise is a book in mind. Every night is a book in mind. Every night is a book in mind. All the very colors are divine. Every promise is a book in mind. Well, now I'll tell you what, fellas. The gal's rep sang the sweeter number. Now, you fellas, sing the one-on about the book, shall we? Only the men. Now, fellas, let's turn up the volume, and it's a wonderful testimony because every promise in the book is ours. All together. Very good. How many believe every promise of the book is mine?
Let me show you a hint. Oh, great. Praise the Lord. All right. Let's sing number ten. I don't know how many of you know this, Taurus. I was surprised some audiences with it. I started off, I thought everyone knew it, and they looked at me kind of strange. Oh, I love to hear his voice saying, You belong to me. You love to hear his voice. Let's have the instruments play a few more, will you please? Music Thank you.
You know, I have a lot of gospel meetings over in the state of Georgia and North Carolina, and the folks in Georgia, my, how they love to sing this chorus. Oh, I love to hear his voice. I can just hear that little chapel in Waynesboro, Georgia, kind of lift the roof. The roof kind of flutters a little bit when they sing out. All right, all together. Oh, I want to hear his Lord.
Thank you, give unto me. You have to go with the mighty Lord. Grant your mind eternally. Ask the Lord to live his way. I have been. Oh wonderful, you're really doing fine. All right, let's turn over to number sixteen. This is a challenge to those in our audience who may not know Christ. If there is anyone in the audience, would you be free from your burden of sin? Oh friend, this is another one of precious parts for me because it wasn't too long ago when I knew what that burden of sin was. You know, so oftentimes we Christians forget there's a whole world full of people out there that are walking around with a terrible burden on their shoulders this morning.
The burden of sin, wondering if life is worth it all. And we have the answer, yes, there is power in the blood. Number ten. Number sixteen, I'm sorry. Let's hear some real power this morning. There's power in the blood, power in the blood.
There's power in the blood. There's power in the blood of the blood. There is power, power, won't be working hard. It's the blood of the land. Now we're going to sing it through one more time. We come to power. There's power. Let's put a couple extra powers in there. Like an old steam engine going up the grave. Power, power, power in the blood. We had a man who was not called Brother Woods up in Chicago. He's home in glory now. But Brother Woods is only about so tall. But he was a wonderful song leader. And he'd get so excited in this chorus, leading men, that he'd pull over a chair and jump up in that chair to get up so he could get maximum power from the audience.
Well, let's sing it out, and let's put the extra powers there where it says, there is power, power, power, wonderful working power in the precious blood of the land. All right, once more. The new beginning of the journey of the King is faring above, faring above. The new areing of King's glory to be, there's wonder so faring to love. There is power, power, power, power, what you recognize in the power of the land. There is power, power, power, what you recognize in the gracious love of the land.
Very good. My, you're doing wonderful. Number seventeen, the chorus of Stanford brought over to America. I've used it exclusively in my crusade. It's kind of a theme chorus and also an invitation. We've used it many times. We've seen people come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through a simple little chorus. Let the Lord have his way. Number seventeen. All together. Let the Lord have his way. Let the Lord, let the Lord, let the Lord give you away.
I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'll make preachers out of all you did not this morning. I'm going to ask this side to sing first, and you're going to be preaching to that side. Tell them to let the Lord have his way, will you? I'll see. Just the folks on this side. All together. Why, did you hear all those Billy Grains over here?
Well, I wouldn't let you folks out. We have to have the preachers this side, too. Now, you preach over to them. You know, they were singing. They didn't hear what they were singing. So you folks tell the mother of the Lord that we're going to please. Lord, we'll hear the answers from one. You know what will happen. We're all going to walk out of this place rejoicing. He said we've been in the presence of the Lord. All together. Well, you've done a wonderful job.
I hope you've enjoyed the little chorus time together. And you know, it's just amazing to watch an audience. When we sing those little choruses, all of a sudden we start smiling and kind of the troubles go away and we can communicate with one another, can't we? I'd like to tell you a little story for a moment. Every time I think of smiling and tears, I don't think I shared this with you before. But as I said last night, my dad passed away a year ago, last May, down in Hollywood, Florida. And he was in a hospital that was almost a hundred percent Jewish. and there was much grief around and I was surprised that compassion and love the Jewish people show for one another.
And even for us as Gentiles, they just showered us with compassion. I remember one little Jewish girl came over, her grandmother was in the hospital and wasn't too well. And she came over to my mother and she put her arm around her and she says, you know, she's, I'm praying for grandma and I'm going to pray for you too. A little Jewish girl. And so oftentimes, you know, the Gentiles scoff and laugh at the Jews. But as I was passing through the corner, I noticed a lady of, oh, she must have been in her early forties. And she was sitting there and she was so dejected, so downhearted, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. And so I went over and tried to share a word of comfort with her. And I asked her, I said, oh, things couldn't be quite that bad. As you know, we have a little grandson at home, and his name is Jason. And every time that Jason bumps his finger or hurts himself and starts to cry, my wife goes, she says, oh, Jason, come on, turn the corners up, smile a little bit.
Now, you know, when Jason turns the corners up, the tears stop. I said, you know, I said, if you'll smile a little bit, you'll find the tears will stop. And sure enough, she smiled, and through those tears, all of a sudden, the smile came out, the tears stopped. And I had the wonderful privilege of being able to witness this, dear lady. I told her, I said, you know, I realize you're Jewish, and I'm a Gentile, but really, there's only one God. Would you mind if we had a word of prayer? And so once she smiled a little bit, once we got over the hurdle of the tears, then we went over in the corner, we had a word of prayer. And that dear lady, for five days after that, every time I'd come by her, she touched me in the arm. She says, I still got the corners turned up. She was still smiling. Oh, yes, it's so important that we turn up the corners and smile.
As I mentioned, we were considering the life of Abraham, a friend of God, the great man of faith. But in my ministry, after thirty years in the business world, I like to look into the practical side of the scriptures, not the theoretical side. The theoretical side is necessary and a deep theology and so forth. But I didn't have the privilege of attending a Bible school. I found Jesus Christ as my Savior at the age of thirty-five. And so as a businessman, I had to dig and I dug deep because all of a sudden I was engulfed with the riches of God. And I'd learned in my lifetime the effort to waste anything when I found something good. And so I dug and I studied. And it's always been a thrill and a challenge to my heart to look at the practical side of these men.
And as I've mentioned, Abraham was a man like any person in this room. He was a man that had problems. He had a man that developed headaches and he got colds and he had running noses and he had sore throats. And I imagine he stubbed his toes and his Sarah disappointed him a few times and they probably had a few words. He had all the problems and all the heartaches that we have. But you know, he was a little bit different than some of us. He knew God in a very intimate and wonderful way. One of the things that bothers me in the world today, we have young men and we have these Bible schools and I praise and thank God for Bible schools. I think they're wonderful. And I praise and thank God for the faithful faculties that are working.
But I'm very, very fearful because we're cranking out a generation of young men that are coming up from a Christian home. They're going to a Christian grammar school. They're going to a Christian high school. They're going to a Christian college. And then all of a sudden they're going in the ministry. And they're trying to teach the wonderful truths of this book. And this book is not a book of theory, but this book is a testimony of the living God. Of real men that live real lives. And every time I think of some of our young men in the ministry today that haven't lived life, I shake because it's almost like a Catholic priest trying to counsel a married couple how to get along together. A man has never been married himself.
In the construction business, We say the best engineers that we can possibly find are men that had been out in the field and had worked in the field. We used to do a lot of work with an architectural firm in Chicago. It was the Epstein Company. And oh, Mr. Epstein, when he was alive, he used to insist that his engineers would go out and work in the field for a practical training basis before they came into his office to practice. Practical training. A doctor, he goes to school for eight years and then he has to serve an internship. He has to go through a time of practical application of his knowledge before he's licensed as a registered doctor to carry on his duties as a physician.
And by the same token, I think this is very important in our lives today and I think it's something we should think very seriously about. That young men get out into the world and live life and find out what life is all about. What made the assembly so great? The assembly is the thing that I remember my grandfather and I remember great men of the meeting. They were men that worked hard all day, and that burned the midnight oil. They labored. They were tired. But they dug into the riches of God, and they applied the scriptures in a very practical way. This is real teaching. This is the real Bible. This is the real lessons that God has learned. And these are the lessons that we can glean from the life of Abraham.
And just kind of a resume, again, if I'm not repeating myself, but to bring us up to date, and for those that are new in the audience, We considered yesterday morning Abraham as he was faced with a great decision. He heard God call. He heard God call and say, Abraham, come out. Come out from the land of Heron. And he says, move on. I'm going to lead you to a promised land. He didn't tell them where. He said, follow me. And then we found that Abraham obeyed God. And then we found when he followed God, when he obeyed God, then he worshipped God. He went up into a mountain. And he worshiped the living God. Oh, yes, it's so important that we learn to worship God in the wonderful way.
And then last night, we talked about the great deception he was faced with. Remember when he traveled down to Egypt? Why did he get into the position he did? Why was he faced with the compromise, the deception? He was faced with, first of all, because he doubted God. There was a family in the land. He was faced with a crisis. He said, God can't supply. God forgot me. I'll go down to Egypt, and I have plenty down there. Friends, I wouldn't kid you a little bit. The world has plenty to offer. I tell this to young people. I've tasted and I say it to my shame almost everything the world has to offer. And it's got a lot to offer. And the Bible says that sin is good for a season. But after that you face judgment.
It's just like anything else. When you first take a bite of some things, it tastes good. But the aftermath of it is terrible. And this is what sin is. And so Abram, he traveled down to Egypt and what did he do? He doubted. He sinned. And he lost his testimony. But praise God. And remember, we closed in a high note. Abraham always goes back up into a mountain. Because he realized the error of his way. He realized he was wrong. He realized he sinned against God. He realized he lost his testimony with Pharaoh. And what did he do? He turned around and he went back to Bethel. And when he got back to Bethel, where did he go? Just to sit up in the mountain and say, well, now, wait a minute.
The other sight I had wasn't too good. I think I'll pick a better sight. No, he went back where he pitched his tent to start with. He went back to the beginning. And when he went back to the beginning, what did he do? He pitched his tent where it was before, and he went over to the altar that he built before. And he called upon the name of the Lord. Oh, friends, this is so important. That we learn moment by moment to call upon the name of the Lord. Every one of us this day are going to sin time and time again. Someone's going to cross our path and we're going to dislike it. We're going to have all of a sudden a little flare in God's eyes at sin. But all praise and thank God. We can say, Lord, forgive me. Something else will come across our life.
Something will flash in our mind. Satan is ever there. But praise God. We can keep short accounts with God. We can go back and we can call upon the name of the Lord. Lord, forgive me. And our sins will be washed away. And so this morning now we want to continue on with the life of Abraham. The life of Abraham now faced with a great division. I said last night that when we have doubt, we're going to have division. When we have deception, we're going to have division. It just can't help it happen that way. Because there's always got to be a dividing, a cutting away. A doctor when a person comes in with a very serious disease, he can't put a little patch on it, a little mature, come and say, fine, go away.
He has to cut. and cut it clean. And by the same token, this is what God has to do. Sometimes God has to take that great scaffold of his and he has to cut and cut deep. But you know, I told you that Abraham came out of Egypt a better man than he went in. He came out of Egypt a stronger man. And this is so important for us to learn. And I'm sure many of you folks in the audience here have learned that lesson time and time again. There is nothing wrong with a mistake the first time, but the second time It's a serious error. We can learn by errors. We can learn by mistakes. And this is what happened to Abram. He learned by mistake, but he learned that you can't play games with God.
We're told in Galatians the sixth chapter, the seventh verse, Be not deceived, God is not mocked. You remember Paul writing to the Galatians? The Galatians were a group of people that he went to and he ministered to and they found Christ as their savior. And a little assembly was formed. But then that little assembly got involved with the world and they didn't get into the word. They weren't digging into the word. They had a very superficial ministry. They didn't look into the glories and the riches that God has in heaven store for them. And they became a very carnal group of people. And the apostle Paul, he admonished them. He says, God is not to be mocked. Only a fool will mock God.
You remember at Calvary? Two men died with the Savior. One was a fool. One was a wise man. The one laughed and scorned God. He looked at the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, if you be the son of God, if you be so great, he says, save yourself and save us. Let's see you do it now. Scorning, mocking God. The other man, his partner, looked over and he says, oh, he says, you fool. Don't you realize we're getting what we deserve. We have sinned. We have broken the law. He says, we're being punished for our crimes. But this man has done nothing. And what did he do? He looked at the Lord Jesus and he said, oh, Lord, he says, remember me.
The shortest prayer in the Bible. A prayer of repentance. People talk about trusting Christ as Savior. They say, oh, I have to go to a Billy Graham crusade or I have to be in a church or go down to an altar. The thief on the cross, he couldn't kneel. He couldn't stand. He couldn't even bow his head because his shoulders, his chest was right up under his chin. But he could look. He looked unto the Savior and he said, Lord, remember me. And what did Jesus Christ say? Did Jesus Christ say, go out and do some penance? Or did Jesus Christ say, well, great, you go join the Park of the Palms Fellowship over there. And after you're in there for about six or seven months, then I'll consider you. Is that what he said? Oh, no, friends. He said, this day thou shalt be with me eternally.
A promise of God. a great and wonderful promise. A promise that most of us have claimed, and we can rejoice in it. Oh yes, be not deceived, for God is not mocked. But as I said, wherever you see deception, you can rest assured that division isn't very far off. But again, we can claim that wonderful promise that we talked about yesterday morning, Romans eight, twenty eight, that all things work together for good, for those that love the Lord. Do you believe that? Do you believe it when you're going to a trial when all of a sudden your world seems to tumble in on top of you? Say, well, Lord, I know that there's going to be some good out of it. If we do, then we're going to be victorious. And this is the lesson that Abraham had been learning.
This is the school of training that God had Abraham learn as he walked. Israel didn't learn it. He was the father of Israel. But do you remember Israel in the wilderness? And the scriptures tell us that they wanted in the wilderness for forty years. Why? Because they needed some exercise. No. Simply because of their disobedience. Because they didn't believe God. What happened to Israel? They went out in the wilderness. They were faced with the Red Sea in an impossible situation. The Egyptians were behind them. The cliffs were beside them. The Red Sea was in front of them. An impossible situation. And they cried out. And Moses prayed. He says, Father, he says, what are we going to do?
And God opened the Red Sea and they passed through. The scriptures say, on dry land. And the very passage that passed them through in dry land was also the condemnation of the Egyptians. Because the Egyptians, as they came thundering through in pursuit of Israel, as they got in the middle of the sea, what happened? The Lord had the wheels come off the chariots. He stopped them, cold in their tracks. Then the water came in and engulfed them. And friends, the very same Calvary that is salvation for us is going to be condemnation for those that reject Jesus Christ. Because that day at the great white throne of judgment as men and women stand before the great white throne, I believe behind that throne there's going to be a shadow of the cross.
And every person that stands before God and is judged, they're going to look under that shadow and they're going to see the cross of Jesus Christ. And they're going to realize that one time they did have an opportunity to accept him. And that very same cross that was a sign of life to you and to me will be a sign of death and judgment to them as it was to our sake. Oh yes. We're living in tremendous times. And we know that all things do work together for good. But what have I learned this summer? Abraham learned lessons down there in Egypt and he came out. He learned that he had to worship God. He learned that he had to meet God in a high spot up in the mountain. Have I learned these things this summer?
Am I learning these things this weekend? This is what's so important. I find when I minister, if I can't minister to Jack Alley, then I know I'm not ministering to you. But God has to minister to my heart. And when I ask you a question, I'm asking myself the same. Have I learned these lessons? Because you see, I'm only human. Mr. William, Brother Anderson, and all of us are the same. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But for God's grace, we continue on in Him. I said, my brother-in-law, I witness to my brother-in-law, he doesn't know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. And he's a man that's as ignorant to the scriptures as any person I've ever met.
And every time I bring up the scriptures, he turns away. And I was speaking to him the other day, and I told him, I said, Bill, that one day Jesus Christ is going to return. And those of us that know him are going to be with him. And he says, See, there you go. You're judging me. There's no, Bill, I'm not trying to judge you. I'm not trying to condemn you. I'm trying to share with you that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. And that no man can come unto the Father, but by him. But this is what the world says. We're being judged. Well, they're not being judged yet, but one day they will be judged. The Lord Jesus Christ said in John three, seventeen, he says, I have come into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
Just think of that for a moment. He didn't come to condemn anybody. He come to save people. He says, I am the way, the truth, the life, and no man can come unto the Father but by me. Praise God. I rejoice in the knowledge that there is no other way. As I've traveled all over the world, as I've seen people of all races and of all creeds and of all religions, I'm just astonished how people will work and how they'll labor. You saw the pictures the other night. You saw the holy man with the hooks in his flesh. Do you know what those hooks were attached to? I've seen it. Those hooks were attached to big stones that were attached to the strings. And these men hooked on their backs and they would walk down the street dragging these stones and those hooks pulling at their flesh, paying penance.
Oh, yes, my friends, count yourself very, very fortunate that you know the living God. That Jesus Christ, He paid those penance. He went through that suffering for you and for me so that we don't have to. As I mentioned also the shrine of Guadalupe down in Mexico City. I've seen people, I've seen people sixty-seven and even close to eighty years old on their knees coming down the cobblestone streets and across the cobblestone corridors. And up the two flights of stairs up to the shrine of Guadalupe, paying penance for their sins, trying to have their sins forgiven. And when they get to the end of the road, what have they got? They've got no peace. They've got no hope.
I've talked to them. And I've talked to them. I stood up there and I said, now do you feel that you've made it with God? Now do you feel when you die, you'll go in the presence of the Lord? They said, no. We'll have to do it again. And we could share with them all. Jesus Christ did it once. Once and for all, and it was complete, the payment of Calvary. But now, let's continue on. We've digressed too long. We want to consider this great division that Abraham was facing. As I said, Abraham was a very practical man. He learned his lessons well. He was called to serve God when? At the age of seventy-five. And this is what I mean. We scoff at older people today, and I say it's a sin.
It's a shame. We have talent that's sitting on the sidelines that could be used by industry as a consulting basis in a fantastic way. Yet we haven't got time with the young man's world. And who's ruining the world? And I'm not trying to condemn or criticize anybody. But I'm trying to speak practical facts. We praise and thank God for the vigor and the strength of you. But I praise and thank God for the maturity and the wisdom of the elderly. And my dad used to say, if we could take an old head and put it on young shoulders, we'd have a fantastic man going. But Abraham, God knows what he's doing. You see, God doesn't call a novice. God doesn't call an amateur.
God called Abraham and Abraham, they're seventy-five. Well, wait a minute, Lord, I've got my social security coming and, you know, I'm retired. Why should I be going now? But he believed God. God says, Abraham, he says, I've got some wonderful things in store for you. I've got some fantastic victories in store for you. Follow me. And I believe that God's saying that to you today. I believe that God is calling all of His people in these closing days for a final in-gathering. The battle lines, my friends, are drawn up. All you have to do is open your newspaper and read it. The immorality, the dope, the sin, everything that's abounding today, the battle lines are drawn up tight. And God is saying, who's on the Lord's side?
Oh, friends, I trust that you're going to join in because there's never enough in. It was my privilege last fall to be over in Britain to take part in the great OM Conference in Birmingham, England. We had five hundred young people that were sold out for Jesus Christ gathered together for eight days of ministry. And you know what our ministry consisted of? We started at eight thirty in the morning. We finished at nine o'clock at night. hammering away pounding principles of discipleship principles of warfare that there's no compromise and there was no compromise i hear some some of our bible schools today they say well you know we can't set the mode of dress for our young people i've questioned i was i've been on school boards and i've questioned the dress of some of the young ladies and they said well after all that's the styles today we we can't do anything about it oh m says if you want to serve the living god there's a price to pay and he says and that they have a standard of dressing.
Young ladies, this is the way you're going to wear your skirts. And young men, this is the way you're going to dress. You're not going to go around in sloppy blue jeans and dirty toes to hang up. When you go out, you're going out to serve the living God. And I found a tremendous group of young people that said, picked up the challenge and said, yes, we want to serve the living God. Well, how about you? You want to pick up the challenge? I believe that God's got an area that right now is almost void. God is looking for dedicated, committed prayer warriors. I don't mean these kind of prayer warriors that come and sit down in the chapel and their prayers don't go any higher than the ceiling. I mean God's looking for a group of prayer warriors, people that are willing to get their need and receive.
Just as Paul said, he says, oh, Father, he says, he says, I would sooner die and go to hell if it could save Israel. I couldn't pray that prayer, but he did. And those are the type of prayers that go right up to the throne of grace. We need men and women that will get on their knees and grab hold of God and cry out and not let go. For the warriors are on the front lines. Every army, every battle that's ever been fought, you have divisions. You have first the battleships that will pull off and bombard the shores. And then you have the invasion troops that come and they hit the beaches and they establish a beachhead. And then you have the infantry that follows them and marches on and pushes ahead. And then you have the supply groups.
And you have the intelligence groups. And you have the spy groups. All working together. And this is the way God works. And God's looking for people in all of these areas. We've got foot soldiers. We've got a lot of foot soldiers. But oh, we need prayer warnings. And praying. Tell something. And not too many people can do it. Not too many people have the very knack of knowing how to grab hold of God. And holding on. And praying in a wonderful way. You know why Mr. Graham said. Crusade succeed. And Mr. Graham told me this person. There's a dear lady that prays for him constantly. She's getting along in years and she has a hard time getting around. But when she comes to a city where Mr. Graham is going to hold a crusade, she doesn't go in a great big car for the office.
Well, here I am. I'm your little old prayer warrior and I'm going to be praying for you, fellas. No, she doesn't. They don't even know where she's at. She takes up a room in some little small hotel someplace. Never contact Mr. Graham. Never contact the team. but she's always there, laying hold of God. A year ago, last April, I had the privilege of being in Charlotte, North Carolina when Billy held his crusade there in Charlotte. And we were sitting in the box with the Graham family, and Mrs. Graham was there. Now, never forget this dear lady. I was anxious to say, I've never seen her in one of the meetings with her son. And as she sat there, I was wondering, well, now when Mr. Graham steps up to speak, my she's going to be a proud lady. I thought she's going to be smiling from ear to ear.
There's my son up there. That's my son. Oh, I'm so proud of him. And she'd have every right to be, wouldn't she? But you know the moment Mr. Graham stepped up that rostum to preach? You know what that dear lady did? Her head went down and she prayed. She didn't look up once until Mr. Graham finished. Oh, friends, what I'm trying to say, not for the glory of people, but there's power in prayer. And I believe there's going to be anything accomplished in this world today. If we're going to do the things that God has promised that's going to happen, we're going to have to lay hold of God in prayer. and see great things happen. Abraham prayed. And Abraham was faced now, and he was prepared for this division. He realized that you can't walk along with the flesh.
Lot was the flesh. And Abraham realized he made a mistake. When he left Heron, remember, in chapter twelve, verse one, God told Abraham, he says, Abraham, he says, leave the land, he says, and leave thy kindred, and leave thy household. He says, you come, you and your wife. He took Lot along with him. He took a little of the world along with him. And oh, friends, so oftentimes this happens. And then we wonder why we miss God's blessing. Why aren't I seeing the full blessing of God? I don't see the full blessing of God because sometimes I can't. I hear people talking about being filled with the Spirit. This is a big thing today. The charismatic movement. Everybody wants to be filled with the Spirit. And the best explanation I've heard of being filled with the Spirit is in the vessels that are holding the Spirit.
Sometimes there's little vessels the size of thimbles, and sometimes there's great big buckets. And we ourselves will develop the size of the vessel. The person that has never really gotten into the depths of the scriptures that have never dug for God, that have never said, well, I want to serve the living God in a mighty way. I want to see God do great things for me. They're not willing to pay a price. They're not willing to develop that vessel so it's bigger to hold more. Every one of our vessels are full and running on. the Spirit of God has come in every one of our hearts and we trust Christ as Savior. But it takes time, it takes development, and it takes work. But now Abram, he's all prepared. He's learned his lessons well.
And now he's launching out now on some great things for God. God says, Abraham, you're ready now. Now you're going to be faced with a division. And the division was with his friend Lot. Lot was a greedy man. Lot always knew all the answers as far as it came to the world. And we're told in verse ten, and Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even the gardens of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest in the Zorrah, as the land of Egypt. Remember who was with Abraham when he went down to Egypt? Lot was with him. He went down there.
He went down to the world, and he saw all the things of the world. And he never forgot. What did Abraham remember? Abraham remembered that lie. Abraham remembered that sin. He wasn't worried about the water. He wasn't worried about the plains. He was worried about one thing of getting back to the mountain with God. Oh, yes. Lot had greed. He was cunning. Abraham, he had love, and he was considerate. God has provisions for us, and he also has a counsel. And so as we consider in these closing moments these three points, Lot's greed or his cunning, Abraham's love and his consideration, God's provision or his counsel.
This is what Abraham learned. And this is what gave Abraham that great wisdom that he served a living God. Well, first of all, Abraham realized that he brought this trouble upon himself. As I said, he was a practical man. Lot come to him and he said, now, wait a minute, Abraham. We can't exist any longer together. Why, he says, you've got your herds, your flocks and so forth, and I've got mine. You've got all your riches piled up, and they're overlapping, and my cattle should have all that nice pasture land on your side. And I believe that Lot, for Abraham, was a very considerable. I believe that Abraham would have said, well, fine, Brother Lot, you move over to my side, and I'll take to your side. Anything you want. But Lot has a greedy man.
And Abram challenged Lot in the eighth verse. And Abram said unto Lot, let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we be brethren. What a wonderful counsel. What a wonderful thought. Here's a man of greed. He says, we can't live together any longer. The world. I want more, and you won't give me more. Abraham says, oh, he says, why should we fight? Why should we fight? We're brethren. We should live together. And I'm sorry to say in some of my travels, this has been part of the problems I've seen in the Church of Jesus Christ. Brethren with strife. One brother saying, well, I should be up there making the announcements this morning instead of him.
Or one brother saying, well, I should be up there singing instead of her. Oh, yes. Strife amongst the brethren. And where there's strife and where there's division, God cannot bless. It's absolutely impossible. The men also were told in verse ten that Lot was short-sighted and lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plains of Jordan that it was well watered everywhere. Yes, he looked up his eyes. Abraham and all of his wisdom and all of his love, his Christian love. He says, well, he says, well, not all right. He says, no, Lot, no, wait a minute. Well, that's not all right. He says, look out there. He says, take your choice. Whatever you want, you go ahead and take. I'll take second best.
I'll take whatever God has. But you know, Abraham was no fool either, was he? Because Abraham realized when he took God's choice, he wasn't getting second best, he was going to get the very best. And Lot says, looked out into the fields, and what did he see? A vision of Egypt began. The world. The flesh. How? He says, my, look at those, look at the prongs out there. My livestock will never thirst again. Why, look at the meadows out there. Why, my sheep will develop wonderful coats of wool and my cattle. Why, they'll get fat and we'll have wonderful meat for the table. We'll have beautiful steaks with the marbled fat in them and everything. Why, he says, that's the place for me. His greed and his cunning.
He says, Abraham, you're a fool. Boy, you're the older. You could have pulled rank of me and said, now, wait a minute. I'm the elder. I'm the leader. I'll take first choice and you take second. But he says, Abraham, you're a fool. Oh, Francis, wonderful to be a fool for Jesus Christ, isn't it? You've probably heard the story of the man at the racetrack that walked around. He used to be a toter, whatever they call him, when a fellow went on around, gave ideas or tips on a racetrack. And he got wonderfully saved one day. And so he went and he got a sandwich board and he put a sandwich board on himself. And the front he says, Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. And people all laughed. And everybody would see it. They'd say, he's a fool. And on the back he had a sign, I'm a fool for Christ.
Who are you a fool for? Oh, yes. Abraham rejoiced. He knew he wasn't going to be left out. He knew that God would provide all of his needs. And so Lot and his short-sightedness, had Lot raised his eyes up, had he looked under glory. The story would have been all together different. And friends, this happens so many times with us. We're told in Isaiah the forty-fifth chapter, the twenty-second verse, look unto me and be ye saved, said the Lord. Look unto me and be ye saved. Don't look unto a church. Don't look unto a man. Don't look unto Jack Lawley. But the Lord says, look unto me and be ye saved. Oh, the looks in the Bible are thrilling. But as I said, lots.
He looked out of the plains. He looked at the horizon instead of looking up into glory. Abraham looked up into glory and he saw God's blessing. Yes, Lot chose the world and God left him take his choice. Yes, Abram learned his lesson well. And you know, the thing that thrills my heart, we're told in verse twelve here, Abram dwells in the land of Canaan and Lot dwells in the cities of the plains and pitched his tent towards Sodom. He pitched his tent toward Sodom. Where did Abram pitch his tent? Abram pitched his tent toward Bethel, towards the place of blessing. And Lot, being a man of the world, oh, I wouldn't doubt that he wasn't a man of God.
The scriptures aren't quite clear enough. But in Lot, he looked and he saw the world. He says, that's for me. And he pitched his tent toward Sodom, the city of sin. The city was going to be destroyed. But Abram always looked under Bethel and pitched his tent toward Bethel. And what a thrilling lesson we see there again, that Abraham, the man of God, the friend of God, made the wiser of the decision. But then as we continue on, Abram, he had love. He had consideration for Lot. He says, Lot, he says, let's not have all this problem. Let's rejoice in the Lord. Do you remember what Joshua said? He said, as for me and my house, we will serve in the Lord. We will serve the Lord. Oh, what a challenge for us today.
as the world is engulfing us, as we see all the problems of the world, we see all the gimmicks of the world trying to attract us. What a challenge that we can look on the living God. He says, who's on the Lord's side? You know, the world doesn't have a lot to offer today. We can't kid ourselves. Some of these great, big, fancy automobiles with all their luxuries and their push-button gadgets and everything, they're nice to roll down the highway. My brother-in-law has one. He has one of these great, big Lincoln's, and it's a Mark something. Boy, you name it, he's got it on it. The thing does everything but fly, I guess. And oh, he's so proud of that Lincoln. And I tell you truth, I like to write in it once in a while. But then I think, oh, I may have something much better than this. I've got the living God. And one day in glory, I'm not going to be worried about Lincoln's and all these trinkets.
These are going to be like little junk wagons when we get to glory. And we see all the wonderful riches that God has for us. Yes. Joshua said, who's on the Lord's side? Abraham, as I said, had learned his lesson well. When he was down in Egypt, he saw the folly of riches. He saw the folly of the world. And he says, I'm going back to Bethel. But Lot said, oh, no, I'm going to hang on. Do you remember in Mark the eighth chapter, the thirty-six verse, the Lord Jesus Christ? He challenged us. He said, what shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his soul? Why do you think Mark wrote that? Because Mark read this account. Mark read this account of Lot. He was thinking of Lot. He says, why that fool?
He says, what shall it profit a man? Shall he gain the whole world but lose his own soul? Then Lot lost everything. He went and followed his own desires, his desires of the flesh, his own wisdom, and he lost his family. He lost his riches. He almost lost his life, and he lost his testimony. Because finally the day of decision was forced upon. One of the angels of the Lord said, Lot flee out of the city. And again, why was the angel of the Lord there? Because someone had prayed for him. Because Abraham had prayed for a city. Because Abraham, as I told you, prayed without ceasing. Because he interceded for a lot. He was concerned for his nephew down there.
And he grabbed hold of God. He cried out to God. He says, God, please spare the city. Spare the city, Lord, if there's ten. Lord, says, I'll spare it if there's ten. He says, Lord, spare it if there's five. He says, oh, spare it if there's five. He says, Lord, spare it if there's one. The Lord says, I'll spare the one, but not the same. Because God's judgment has to fall. And I praise and thank God that I'm only here this morning, I believe, with all of my heart because of a praying grandfather. I had a grandfather that knew how to lay hold of God, that knew how to claim God's promises. Because my aunt, his daughter, when I trusted Christ the Savior, and we launched out for God, she came up and put her arm around me. She says, you know, she says, Dad, your grandfather always said that one day God would reach you and use you for his honor and glory.
Why? Not because of me. I'm only a sinner saved by grace. If I got what I deserved, I'd go to hell. I wouldn't have the privilege of walking in this dorm. But a praying grandfather, one that was concerned. Yes, Abraham was concerned. He prayed for Lot. He prayed for Sodom and Gomorrah. Judgment had to fall on Sodom and Gomorrah. But Lot escaped. He escaped almost by the skin of his teeth and expression of the world. He lost all. He lost his family. He went to his children. He says, come on. He says, God's going to bring destruction upon this city. Let's flee. Then what did the children say? Huh. Dad, who are you trying to kid? Huh. You're trying to kid somebody? Boy, look, you're living like the rest of us.
You used to sit down at the gate with the boys down at the council, the city council. You sat down with all of them. And you're trying to tell us what we should do. You've been living in the city of Gomorrah. You brought us. You raised us in this area. And you're telling us now that God's going to bring judgment? What makes you a holy Jew? Doesn't that sound familiar, friends? We condemn and criticize young people today. We're condemning them from all their problems, but I'm convinced that no child has ever been born back. I looked at our little granddaughter that was born three weeks ago, and I looked at little Amy and I held her in my arms, and I said, now how can there be anything evil in this little thing? Oh, I realize that we're all conceived in sin.
But how can this little thing be a murder, have murder developed in the back of her mind? It's ridiculous. It's the way they're raised. It's the examples that they see is what changes. I've had young person after young person. I've been on college campuses and I had a young lady come up and trust Christ as her Savior one day. A very attractive young girl, a college co-ed at the University of Illinois. And she came up and she says, Mr. Gawley, she says, I've gone to church all my life. And she says, my daddy's an elder in the Presbyterian church. But he doesn't preach like you do. And he didn't tell me the things that you told me. And I didn't find Jesus Christ because of his teaching. She says, daddy's out of cocktailing.
Daddy's out of gambling. Daddy's out this and daddy's out that. Oh, yes, the examples that we live. Lots pay the terrible consequences. We could go on for hours of a great faith. problems of sin, the examples that we show that are so important that we live a godly life. But Abraham lived a godly life. He had love and he had consideration for Lot. He says, Lot, take your choice. And my friends, this is one of the things that challenges me in the ministry of the gospel, being an evangelist. I face audiences after audience and I have to tell them, take your choice. Here is the kingdom of God. You can get on the road and head for glory. There's the road to hell.
You must choose one or the other. You can't walk on both roads because these roads don't run peril. They run opposite one another. If you chose to not accept the road to Jesus Christ, then you're choosing the road to hell. And one day like Lot, you'll pay the consequences. But God's provision, and then we're through. In verse fourteen, and the Lord said unto Abraham, After the lot was separated from, lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward, southward, eastward, and westward. Oh, friends, you cannot give God. Lot suffered the consequences. Lot took the choice. He had to pay the consequences. Abraham said, Lord, he says, I'm satisfied with what have you given me?
Lord, did you give me just a little dirt, mud watering hole over here? And he says, I'll be satisfied with you. But what did God do? He says, Abraham, he says, you've learned your lessons well. You've treated your brother with love. You've treated him with kindness. And he says, now he says, Abraham, come over here and look. And he says, look to the north and look to the south and look to the east and look to the west. He says, all these things are yours. They're my provision for you. Yes. God has two provisions for us. God's provision or God's counsel. God has two provisions. The one provision is love. He wants to extend his love. God so loved the world that he gave, his only begotten son. The other is judgment. Oh, friends, we're going to face one of the other.
Abraham followed God. He believed God. Now, he didn't doubt God any longer. He learned his lesson. No more. He faced a crisis. He knew how to handle it. He said, Lord, he says, I know you'll provide. Then God provided us with love. God provided him blessings and riches far beyond his fondest dreams. But a lot. He lacked and scorned me. And he chose judgment. He chose God's judgment. Friend, there's no neutral part in this. There's no neutral area. My God is a great God. And God is not a milk toast God like some people would have us believe. Some people believe that God is a great God of love. And you know, he's going to take everybody and put them in a box and send them all to heaven and it's going to be fine. Well, I'll tell you, there's a lot of people I wouldn't want to be in heaven with.
A lot of people I've seen with are, unless they know Christ is our Savior. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Oh, things pass away. Behold, all things become men. And Abraham found out once again, that his God shall supply all his riches according to his son, Jesus Christ, in his life. God will provide your riches if you'll only trust him. Yes, Abraham was faced with a great division. Lot had greed. Abraham had love. And God had the results. Oh, friends, it's so important today that we look unto the Lord and realize we're living in a tremendous day. A day of challenge. A challenge that's second and not.
I believe that we're in the closing moments. None of us know the days. None of us know the hour. But the coming of the Lord draws very nice. Our time is gone. We've run a little bit over. So we're not going to have a hymn in closing. Shall we just close in prayer, please? Oh, God and Father, how we do praise and thank you once again for your love. Thank you again for the wonderful illustrations that we have from the Scriptures. Father, we thank you for the testimony of Abraham. We thank you for the time that he was faced with that great decision that he decided to follow you. Father, I praise and thank you for each one of us that have been faced with a decision and have decided to follow Jesus.
We would pray for those that have not decided to follow thee, if there's anyone in this audience, a young person or an older person, that has never decided to follow Christ, we pray that right now, that they will be like the thief in the cross, say, Lord, remember me. then father we thank you that we can look into the deception of Abraham and realize that he was a man just like any of us here and yet thou art God and you're a forgiving God and he came back to the altar and he called upon you and asked thy forgiveness and father we praise him thank you for the divisions none of us like divisions they're not they're not too good but father when you're in them we know that the end results is for for good and we know that Abraham was prepared for this division that he had to face.
We thank you for his love that he showed toward Lot. But Father, our hearts are grieved as we think of Lot. And many, many more people just like Lot that don't look unto glory, that are looking on things of the world. And oh, Father, tonight as we come together, I pray that you'll bless us as we look unto Abraham, as he makes that great dedication, as he's willing to pay the supreme price to put all on the altar for them. And so, Father, we thank you so much for this morning. Be with us this day, this afternoon. Bless us as we continue the fellowship. In our Savior's name we pray. Amen.