Our passage describes a war between unbelieving factions.  Abraham becomes involved only because his nephew Lot, a believer, is in danger.  God moved Abraham to take action and go and rescue Lot, giving him a great victory and a blessing following.  The description of war and battle here reminds us that as believers we are in the midst of a spiritual war.  Abraham was ready to take up arms when the need arose.  In this spiritual war, we too need to be prepared, armed and ready to fight.  As we fight the good fight of faith we need to imitate the faith of Abraham who trusted a faithful God to deliver him. 

Genesis 13:1-18                                                                                                                                                     04/13/08

        When we last saw Abraham, he had been kicked out of Egypt for lying to Pharaoh about Sarah his wife.  It was due only to the mercy of God that he got out of there with his life and his wife.  And to demonstrate the abundant grace of God in his life, he also left Egypt with great riches.  Truly God is good to His people, in spite of their sins.  The Psalmist said, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.” (Psalm 103:10)  The prophet Jeremiah, in Lamentations 3:22 said, “Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.”  Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are no different than Abraham, and the men and women of the Old Testament.  God has shown us great mercy.  He has not punished us as our sins deserve. He continues to bless us and love us in spite of our failings. 

It has been said that “Faith that has not been tested, cannot be trusted!”

In our passage we see the testing of Abraham’s faith. He was a man of faith, and yet his faith was not perfect – it needed to be tested and tried in order to be strengthened and purified. In fact you can count on this truth — every believer will have his or her faith tested many times in this life. This testing usually involves some sort of trial or hardship. Verse 10 identifies the particular trial for Abraham at this time: “Now there was a famine in the land.”

Have you ever told God the following and meant it? “Lord, I’ll believe whatever you say, I’ll go wherever you want me to go and I’ll do whatever you want me to do?” That is the pilgrim way. Abraham was a faithful pilgrim. He believed what God told him, he went where God showed him and he did what God commanded him. Are you a pilgrim, like Abraham?

                 Last week we were blessed to hear the preaching and testimony of a converted Muslim.  For me, the most memorable quote from last week’s messages by Goeksan was when he said, “Being a Christian is hard!”  He said, “Being a Muslim is easy, but being a Christian is hard.”  In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis said that “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.”  It is usually true that those who are nominal Christians, people who don’t take their faith seriously, often think of themselves as moral or good.  It is also true that those who are the most committed Christians are the ones that are most aware of their remaining corruption and sin.  Has the problem of remaining sin in the Christian life become a grievous burden to your soul?  If not, then it is doubtful that you are really trying to follow Christ and keep His commandments.  But if you are burdened over the remaining sin in your life, then today’s message will have a lot of meaning for you.  The message is that Jesus Christ “always lives to make intercession” for you! 

The true and living God is the “God of Abraham”.  The God of Abraham is our God.   He is still the same.  You and I can trust Him and we will find Him faithful, just as Abraham did.  The first three verses of Genesis 12 explain the call of Abraham and God’s promises to him. 

Introduction to the patriarch Abraham and the God of Abraham.

Dr. Jack Whytock – Missionary with MT3 – Mobile Theological Training Team of World Witness (ARP Synod)

Micah 6:1-8

1 Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, And let the hills hear your voice.

2 Hear, O you mountains, the LORD’S complaint, And you strong foundations of the earth; For the LORD has a complaint against His people, And He will contend with Israel.

3 “O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me.

4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

5 O My people, remember now What Balak king of Moab counseled, And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, From Acacia Grove to Gilgal, That you may know the righteousness of the LORD.”

6 With what shall I come before the LORD, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old?

7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

Philippians 4:21-23 02/17/08

The first time I read these verses I was tempted to not preach on them. These familiar words read like Christian clichés or platitudes that have been strung together. But for the apostle Paul, these were no mere platitudes. In the space of two verses, Paul brought greetings to and from four different groups of believers. Paul does this in most all of his epistles. He uses the word “greet” 35 times! Greeting the saints was important to Paul. Is it important to us?

Philippians 4:20                                                                                                            02/10/08

Recently a number of books written by atheists have hit the bookshelves.  Some have even become bestsellers.  Here is a sample of a few recent titles:  The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins; God: the Failed Hypothesis by Victor Stenger; Atheism: the Case Against God by George H. Smith; and finally, God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens.  The atheists that are writing today are often what we would call “militant atheists”.  They engage in a “no holds barred” form of attack upon the Christian faith and the Christian God.  It used to be that atheists would argue mainly against the existence of God, but now they are directly attacking the character of God.  According to Christopher Hitchens, God is not great; He is a cruel, sadistic tyrant.

PHILIPPIANS 4:10-19 01/27/08

A number of years ago, two Christian businessmen were in Korea and witnessed a strange sight – they saw a man in a field with huge ropes around his shoulders pulling a plow. A young boy guided the plow about 15 feet behind the man. Later the businessmen were telling one of the local Christians about that peculiar sight, to which he replied, “Oh yes, that man and his son are members of our church. You see, when the Communists bombed our church and we needed to rebuild it, that man had no money to give. But he loved the Lord so much he sold his ox, and now he pulls the plow and his boy guides it.”

Such sacrificial giving is an offering of worship that pleases God. That is the kind of giving that we find coming from the Philippian church. In 2Corinthians chapter eight Paul mentions the Macedonian churches, which includes the church at Philippi. Paul said, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. …they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.” The Philippians were not rich. In fact they were poor. But Paul says that they were rich in generosity. They gave as much as they could. Why? Was it because Paul was such a good fund raiser? Was it because Paul promised to send a specially blessed handkerchief to each person who gave 1,000 denarii? No, they gave because they loved Paul and they loved the saints. They Loved God and gave as an act of worship.

PHILIPPIANS 4:8,9                                                                                                    01/12/08

             In verse 6 we are told not to worry or be anxious about anything.  That, of course, is easier said than done.  But Paul gives us a solution to worry – prayer.  The cure for care is prayer.  You can pray about anything and everything that you are tempted to be anxious about.  And if you pray earnestly in faith, with thanksgiving, you will experience God’s peace.  But prayer is not the only factor involved in experiencing peace as a believer.  In verses 8 and 9 Paul moves on to talk about two other very important ways in which we maintain the peace that God gives us.  We must think the right kind of thoughts and we must put into practice what we learn in Scripture.  If we do, verse 9 says, “The God of peace will be with you.” 

From Fear to Faith

Philippians 4:6-7                                                                                                                       01/06/08

You know the adage that the first step in overcoming a problem is to admit you have the problem.  I would say that the first step in overcoming worry is not only to admit that you are a worrier, but to also admit that this is a serious sin against the Lord.  Of course we feel justified in worrying about certain things.  All parents worry about their children don’t they?  Isn’t it only natural?  While it is right to be concerned about your child, it is wickedness to worry about him or her.  Paul says “Be anxious for nothing.”  That is a universal negative.  It includes not worrying about your children, your finances, your relationships, your health, your future, your circumstances, the threat of terrorism, or bodily harm. Take a sheet of paper and write at the top of that sheet – Top Three Things to Worry About.  For number one write nothing.  For number two write nothing, and for number three write nothing!

]]> http://unityarp.podbean.com/2008/01/06/from-fear-to-faith/feed/ From Fear to Faith Philippians 4:6-7                                                                                                          � From Fear to Faith Philippians 4:6-7                                                                                                                       01/06/08 You know the adage that the first step in overcoming a problem is to admit you have the problem.  I would say that the first step in overcoming worry is not only to admit that you are a worrier, but to also admit that this is a serious sin against the Lord.  Of course we feel justified in worrying about certain things.  All parents worry about their children don’t they?  Isn’t it only natural?  While it is right to be concerned about your child, it is wickedness to worry about him or her.  Paul says “Be anxious for nothing.”  That is a universal negative.  It includes not worrying about your children, your finances, your relationships, your health, your future, your circumstances, the threat of terrorism, or bodily harm. Take a sheet of paper and write at the top of that sheet – Top Three Things to Worry About.  For number one write nothing.  For number two write nothing, and for number three write nothing! fear, anxiety, faith, worry, trust, god, jesus No No 34:02 http://unityarp.podbean.com/2008/01/06/reasonable-relationships/ http://unityarp.podbean.com/2008/01/06/reasonable-relationships/#comments Sun, 06 Jan 2008 22:13:11 +0000 unityarp Uncategorized http://unityarp.podbean.com/2008/01/06/reasonable-relationships/ Reasonable Relationships

Philippians 4:2-5                                                                                                                       12/30/07

Apparently there had been some trouble and disharmony brewing in the church at Philippi.  It didn’t seem to be anything earth shattering, but it was enough of a problem to concern Paul.  All throughout this letter he hinted at the problem, but now in this section, he speaks directly to the situation he was thinking about.  In chapter 1 Paul had said, “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:27)  In chapter 2 he told them to be “like–minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” (Philippians 2:2)  Here in chapter 4 Paul gets specific about the disharmony that exists between two women in the church.  He urged them to “to be of the same mind in the Lord.”  Or, as the NASB puts it, “live in harmony in the Lord.”  I think we can safely say from all this, that God wants us to learn to get along with each other and be reasonable in our relationships.  Are you easy to get along with, or do you make things difficult in your relationships with other believers?

In this passage Paul is making a stark contrast with the sort of persons he mentioned in the previous two verses.  In verses 18-19 Paul warned about those who were enemies of the cross of Christ.  These people set their mind on earthly things and their end is destruction.  In contrast to them, Paul says, “our citizenship is in heaven.”  Is your citizenship in heaven this morning?  It would perhaps be easy to say yes to this question, but how are we to know where a person’s true citizenship is?  To know where your citizenship truly is, you must consider where your mind dwells.  In other words, is your mind set on earthly things or heavenly things?  Do you live for this world or the next?  If you live for this world only you aren’t going to heaven in the next.  Your end is destruction.  You don’t love and worship the true God.  Your god is your sinful desires.

Remembering is the key to thanksgiving and forgetfulness is the source of ingratitude.  How good is your memory?  If you are an old guy like me, you find it more and more difficult to remember things.  But here in our passage, God commands His people to remember!  There is no excuse not to remember God and all His blessings!  Yet all of us, young or old, are prone to forget God.  This is a very dangerous thing to do.  Scripture tells us in Romans chapter one that those who forget God will stop being thankful.  Those who stop being thankful become foolish and their hearts are darkened.  Those who become foolish God gives over to uncleanness and vile passions.  Those whom God gives over to uncleanness will be punished with God’s righteous judgment.  What an awful progression!  It all starts with forgetfulness.

Spiritual maturity is not a destination, it is a journey.  Where are you right now in your spiritual journey?  Are you growing in spiritual maturity?  Perhaps you think you’ve arrived and are already mature.  Or you could be still immature in your walk with God.  You might have been a Christian for many years now, but you haven’t really changed much.  On the other hand, you might feel that you haven’t changed much when others can see tremendous progress toward maturity.  In verse 15 Paul says, “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind.”  He had just finished admitting that he had not obtained perfection – he had not yet arrived, spiritually.  So he said, “I press on…I reach forward to those things which are ahead… I press toward the goal and the prize.”