The Life of Faith 03

Faith Works Grace

Genesis 13 Introduction: Grace Campollo tells the story of a day he was in the inner city of Philadelphia. He said, I noticed a bum walking toward me. He was covered with dirt and soot from head to toe. There was filthy stuff caked on his skin. But the most noticeable thing about him was his beard. It hung down almost to his waist and there was rotted food stuck in it. The man was holding a cup of McDonalds coffee and the lip of the cup was already smudged from his dirty mouth. As he staggered toward me, he seemed to be staring into his cup of coffee. Then, suddenly, he looked up and he yelled, Hey, mister! Ya want some of my coffee? Campolo said, I have to admit that I really didnt. But I knew that the right thing to do was to accept his generosity, and so I said, Ill take a sip. As I handed the cup back to him I said, Youre getting pretty generous, arent you, giving away your coffee? Whats gotten into you today thats made you so generous? The old derelict looked straight into my eyes and said, Well . . . the coffee was especially delicious today, and I figure if God gives you something good, you ought to share it with people! Campolo thought he was trying to weasel some money out of him for the sip of coffee. He said, I thought to myself, Oh, man. He has really set me up. This is going to cost me five dollars. I asked him, I suppose theres something I can do for you in return, isnt there? To Tony Campollos complete surprise the bum answered, Yeah! You can give me a hug! Campollo said, to tell the truth, I was hoping for the five dollars. He said, the bum put his arms around him and I put my arms around him. Then suddenly I realized something. He wasnt going to let me go! People were passing us on the sidewalk. They were staring at me. There I was, dressed in establishment garb, hugging this dirty, filthy bum! I was embarrassed. I didnt know what to do. Then, little by little, my embarrassment changed to awe and reverence. I heard a voice echoing down the corridors of time saying I was hungry; did you feed

me? I was naked; did your clothe Me? I was sick; did you care for me? I was the bum you met on Chestnut Street . . . did you hug Me? For if you did it to the least of these, you did it unto me. Powerful story of grace. Great reminder that one of the visible byproducts of Faith is an outpouring of Grace! FAITH WORKS GRACE!

Lets face it we live in a self-indulgent world. People everywhere are out for number one. And being in church doesnt make us immune to that. Even in church tenet seems to be, Come in and satisfy yourself. One writer complained, Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice. The problem of course is that self-promotion, or self-centeredness or selfishness is exactly opposite the mandates of scripture. Faith is a process of abandoning the self. Yielding to God. Offering grace to men. You can summarize the life of faith in the two great commandments: love god, love people. Thats it. Matthew 22:35-40. MT 22:35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, MT 22:36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" MT 22:37 And He said to him, "`YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' MT 22:38 "This is the great and foremost commandment. MT 22:39 "The second is like it, `YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' MT 22:40 "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." Real faith works grace into the daily life. We see this in the episode with Abram and Lot.

Background:
Genesis 13. Last saw Abrams faith falter. Fear took over and he lied to the Egyptians about Sarai. That experience was powerful for Abram. He was forced to re-think his priorities. Before going into Egypt he was still chasing the dream of prosperity. Fairly competitive. Still hanging on to his ego. Then everything came unraveled. Famine led to fear. Fear led to flight. Soon out of the promised land and Gods will.

Abraham moves into the intimidating environment of the splendor of Egypt. Large family clan. Beautiful wife. To protect himself he told Sarah to say she was his sister. Might have assumed they could then fend off suitors. Problem, Pharaoh took a shine to her. No telling him no. He took Sarah from Abram and put her in his Harem. To pour insult onto injury he then blessed Abraham. Made it more difficult to confess the lie and rescue Sarah. God had taken Sarah out of Abrahams reach and all he could do was wait and pray. And cower. Feared the worst. Never see her again. Situation like that will put the priorities in place. What is the wealth of the world if you dont have the one you love most? Then God gave grace. Sarah was returned and Abraham was able to leave alive. He left a changed man. When he arrived back in the promised land Genesis 13:1-4. He returned to his roots. Called on the name of the Lord is not prayer it is preaching. Remember the tent and the altar. Two traits of the life of faith. Tent and the altar. Abraham was back to the biblical way of life. Verse 6 interesting. Did this means only that the herds were two large or did it also imply that the famine was still lingering? Probably both. Gods blessings in Egypt became a strain in the promised land. The land was still not that fertile. Nothing had changed outwardly. The famine still raged. Who cared. Whats a famine when you have Sarai back. Abrahams servants didnt share his euphoria. They were trying to get a job done and the pressure of their flocks combined with Lots flock was more than the land could stand. Trouble with livestock. Money problems. How quick that can divide. Abram smelled it coming. Something had to be done. Abraham called Lot to his tent and offered a solution. Verses 8-9. Notice the spirit, Please. You pick the land and well go the other way. This morning I talked about how kids will call dubs on stuff and want everything to be equal. A lady came up and said at their house they made a rule, one would divide the other would pick. One gets the knife to cut the pie, the other picks the slice. Here Abram gave lot the knife and the choice. You slice it and then you pick.

First choice went to Lot. How could a fellow looking out for number one take that back seat? Abraham deserved the best. Why didnt he take it? Let me ask you, and you dont have to answer out loud, what would you have done? Would you give the best and settle for what was left? Do you put others first right now? I look at myself and say, No, I still tend to look out for number one. Im reluctant to let go. Pretty competitive. Way too selfish. And when you look at it close that is a lack of faith. Fear of not having as much. Fear of being replaced. All of those fears show you dont have faith. Result, dont give grace. Real faith works grace into the daily grind. Important note. Faith isnt done in a vacuum. It is done in life. Your faith will be seen in the way you treat people. The way you treat people shows how you believe in God.

I. Grace Flows From Security

Giving up your best to someone else starts with being secure in who you are. Abraham Maslow was a Humanistic psychologist who studied people to find what motivated them. His conclusions became known as Maslows hierarchy of needs. Pyramid. First needs must be met before you move on to the next. Physiological needs. Safety and security needs. Love and belonging. Self-esteem. Self-actualization. Self-actualization for Maslow is that point where you stop seeking your own needs and wants and you begin to serve the needs of others. Of course there is a great deal of wrong with maslow. Most notable is that he doesnt account for the fallen nature. Implies that give people enough and they will serve. No. Some of the poorest with the most danger and the greatest hunger are in fact the greatest servants. And some of those who have every whim met are themselves the most selfish. We could spend a great deal of time shredding Maslows ideas. Much there that doesnt work. But the one idea, the kernel behind the model is this, to reach back and give you have to be very secure! And he is absolutely right in that. But heres where he cant get it. Security like that which he describes is only found in God. Without God you are filled with the natural responses of man, all fear based.

Jealousy is the fear of being replaced. Envy is the fear of not having as much. Both of these will eat faith alive. How to let the other person have the best: trust Gods love.

Interesting insight. Abraham was back to the life of a tent and an altar. The life of dependency and devotion. When he offered the land Lot was attracted to the allure of the city. Verse 10. Isnt that interesting. His eye was drawn to the valley. Well watered. Before the destruction.

A. God would be his supply. Abraham offered the first choice to Lot because he learned a thing about dependency in Egypt. God would be his source. Not what Abraham thought would work. He was secure in Gods supply. Isnt that the essence of Christ. When talking to the woman at the well, I am the living water. When talking to the multitude the day after feeding them with five loaves and two fish, I am the bread of life. On the hill just over the sea of Galilee, Ask, knock seek. You will be answered, opened and find. God must be trusted. Ill. . . Several years ago I counseled a twenty something year old single mother named Rebecca. Rebecca was full of fear. She was dating the wrong guy. He was abusive. She wouldnt leave him because she was afraid. This woman was raised with a mother who introduced her to pot at 10. Drinking and wild parties were a way of life. When her little brother was 2 her real father had him kidnapped. Left the daughter. She always struggled with that. Why would her dad save her brother and leave her? It hurt so bad. So insecure for the rest of her life. Now she was a Christian and wanted to do the right thing but couldnt leave him. Trust God for the right fellow. I explained how she needed to trust God for the right man. God would take care of her. She just couldnt do it. Two years later Rebecca was killed in a collision with an 18-wheeler. About 10 oclock in the morning. Rebecca was so drunk that she drove under the truck from the side. The rear wheels of a Rock truck rolled over her car. She never could trust God fully. That night I went to her house to find her father. Her boyfriend was there. He was trying to clean the 12 packs out of the fridge. We must trust God. Abraham learned to trust God. B. God would be his vision. Notice though, Verse 12. Settled in the cities. Powerful symbol. Nothing wrong with city life today. But the symbol is so powerful. Lot was drawn from the tent and the altar to the city. Verse 13 says that the city was already wicked. This decision cost him dearly. Lot would lose his family and his faith in that wicked place. Become immune to sin. Accustomed to immorality. Forget the altar and the tent. Not Abraham. 13:14-18 reiterated his promise. God is saying, WAY TO GO ABRAM! Like some dad at little league watching his boy, WAY TO GO SON! He was right on. Secure in God. Grace flows from security.

II. Grace is Expressed in Sacrifice

Here is the key. Do you love people more than stuff? Accepting others can be a sacrifice. Thats what Campollo did. He sacrificed. Put himself on that mans level. Thats what Christ did for us. Forgiving Others with Grace is a Sacrifice Easy to get aggressive and be petty. Especially when money is at stake. I know men who have lost friendships for as little as $70. Grow bitter and stingy. Even when they had more than they could use. Ill. . . Ben and the money. Friends owed him $2000. He was growing bitter. Gave it to God. The people paid him. He sent to me. Said I gave it to God. Love for people is more important than love of things. God wants us to sacrifice for grace. So will you do it.

Conclusion:

I saw a commercial today. A VW micro van with save the environment stickers stopped at a country road. Black smoke pouring out. Jingle, You can talk about conservation. . . then a Honda electric hybrid car pulls up. Or you can live it. You can talk about grace. Or you can live it.