Ep. 128 | Rescued | Genesis

Listen in as Pastor Eddie Blalock shares today’s daily devotional featuring Genesis 14:1-16. Let’s be Formed by The Word together!

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:02

Every one of us eventually reaches a place where we have to decide. Will I trust God even when I can't see where He's leading? That's not a new question. It's one of the oldest questions in the Bible. No one illustrates that journey better than Abraham. Welcome to Forms by the Word, where we open God's Word not just to study it, but to let it shape our hearts and transform our lives. Sometimes our journey of faith leads through familiar places. Other times it leads into the unknown. There are seasons of joy and seasons of waiting, moments of great faith and moments of painful failure. Genesis 11 through 25 tells the story of an ordinary man called to an extraordinary walk of faith, and in the process helps us discover that God still leads ordinary people, like us, into an extraordinary walk of faith. So whether you're driving, working, exercising, or simply enjoying a quiet moment with the Lord, I invite you to open your heart and let's learn to trust the God who always keeps his promises one step of faith at a time.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Have you ever noticed that when someone's in trouble, people usually react in one of three ways. Some people run away, and some stand back and watch, but a few courageous people run toward the danger. On July twenty fifth, the nation was enthralled by the story of a sixteen-year-old rookie lifeguard named Ryder Williams. Perhaps you heard his story. Well, Ryder is a lifeguard at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz, California. On that memorable day, ten-year-old Nathaniel Rice lost his footing in ankle deep water, but because of a severe surf and a riptide, he was dragged out into deeper water. The powerful pounding surf along with the strong current threatened to take the young boy's life. Well, Ryder saw the young boy in trouble. He sprinted into the water, grabbed the limp child, and fought against the punishing waves, holding his position and refusing to let go until backup arrived. Another Lyguard Aaron Bonin arrived to help them and bring them safely to the shore. You know, some people stand back and watch, but a few courageous people run toward the danger. Now, I'm old enough to recall watching that happen again. In 2001, what's now referred to as simply 9-11, the same thing occurred. The World Trade Center in New York City was a fiery blaze, and many firefighters ran into the fiery buildings never to return. Perhaps the most famous story is that of firefighter Gary Box or firefighter Stephen Siller, both of whom famously abandoned vehicles trapped in the gridlock Brooklyn battery tunnel and ran on foot toward the World Trade Center. Realizing they couldn't wait for the traffic to clear, Box grabbed roughly 75 pounds of heavy rescue gear and sprinted through the tunnel on foot toward Manhattan. When he arrived at the scene, Box entered the fiery tower and perished when it collapsed. His remains were never recovered. Firefighters run into burning buildings. Police officers, deputies, troopers run toward gunfire. Lifeguards swim toward drowning victims. Well, today we're going to see Abram's faith cause him to run toward danger. He's going to run toward his nephew's crisis. We'll learn that faith doesn't just believe God's promise, it courageously serves people in need while on our faith journey. Our text is Genesis chapter 14, verses 1 through 16. Now to summarize the chapter, Abram became aware of a great need in his nephew Lot's life. Lot had been taken captive by the fighters who were employed by an alliance of kings. He and his family were being held captive. When Abraham heard what happened, he gathered his men and hurried off to his side. I won't read the entire narrative. It would take too much time, but let's look at the story and learn about courageous faith. I'd like to focus our attention on four thoughts. The first thing, let's observe that faith notices the needs of others. In the opening part of this chapter, verses one through twelve, we see four powerful Eastern kings who come to the Negev to crush a local alliance of five kings near the Dead Sea. In the process, they capture Abram's nephew, Lot, who, by the way, had chosen to live near Sodom and all of his household and goods. Cities were plundered, and Lot and his family were captured and carried away. Someone escaped and went to Abram, gave him a report. In verse 12, they finished the report with, They also took Abram's nephew Lot. Now, many people today are prisoners. Many are taken prison. Some, like Lot, are prisoners physically, but others are prisoners spiritually, emotionally, and even relationally. So how do we respond when we learn about the needs of others? When our faith notices the need in someone else, do we ignore the needs or do we run toward them? Faith doesn't ignore broken promises or broken people. But the second thing I observe is that faith courageously steps toward danger. Let me read now beginning in verses 13 through 15. Listen to the story. It says one of the survivors came and told Abram, the Hebrew, who lived near the oaks, belonging to Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eschol and the brother of Anir. They were bound by a treaty with Abram. When Abram heard that his relative had been taken prisoner, he assembled his three hundred and eighteen trained men, born in his household, and they went in pursuit as far as Dan. In other words, they ran toward the danger. Verse 15. And he and his servants deployed against them by night, defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah to the north of Damascus. Now, this is the part of the story where Abram shines. He had every reason not to get involved, right? After all, Lot had made poor choices. Lot had chosen Sodom of his own accord, no pressure from Abram. Lot totally ignored Abram's wisdom. He had every excuse not to get involved. Abram could have said, Well, he made his bed, he can lie in it. Have you ever said that before? Instead, Abram saddles up. Now remember, Abram is around 75 to 80 years old. Yet he gathers only 318 trained men to go to attack a coalition of victorious kings. Humanly speaking, the odds are terrible. But he runs toward the danger. Why? Because love moves us toward people in need. We can't ignore them. Faith doesn't ask do they deserve help, it asks, how can I help? And finally, the third thing I observe here is that faith acts with confidence in God. Listen to verses fifteen and sixteen. And his servants, that is, and Abram and his servants, deployed against them by night, defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobot to the north of Damascus. He brought back all the goods and also his relative Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the other people. Well, surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, Abram wins the battle. Not because he's stronger, but because God is with him. Do you see the very clear gospel connection here, by the way? Abram's rescue gives us a very good early glance in Genesis at Jesus, who is the greater Abram. Abram was prompted by a real need. Jesus was prompted by our real need. Abraham left the safety of his place by the tree to rescue Lot. Jesus, the scripture tells us, left the comfort of heaven to come down to earth to rescue us. Abram risked his life. Jesus gave his life. Abram rescued one family. Jesus rescues everyone who trusts him and comes to him. Just couldn't let that gospel in Genesis moment pass. So before we close, though, let's pause to think about some things. Who is your lot right now? Who is your lot? Maybe it's someone trapped by addiction. Maybe it's someone who's a prisoner of sin. Maybe someone is a prisoner of loneliness or discouragement. Maybe someone's trapped by poor decisions or by grief. The question is, how can you help? What fear do you need to entrust to our Lord in order to help this person in need? Faith doesn't merely pray from a distance. Faith moves toward hurting people. We tend to want to pray from a distance, but the call is to run toward hurting people. So my takeaway today is simply this. Faith is willing to risk comfort to serve others. That's an important thing for us to remember on this journey of faith. As we're learning to trust God and live by faith step by step with Abraham, we learn here today that faith is willing to risk comfort in order to serve others. That's why some of you serve in children's church on Sunday rather than the comfort of the adult service. That's why some will serve in a place of need at a time of crisis in our town and our community. That's why some people will take up a chainsaw after a storm and cut away a tree from a complete stranger's house. You see, God's people are called to rescue, not merely observe. Courage grows where faith is rooted. Let's pray. Lord, lead us to run toward those in need. Give us courage and boldness in our service to others. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

Thanks for joining us today on Formed by the Word. As we journey through the life of Abraham, we're learning together what it means to walk by faith and trust God one step at a time. Wherever you are on your own journey today, remember, the same God who called Abraham is still calling, leading, and faithfully keeping his promises to his people. Pastor Eddie would love to hear how God is using these devotions in your life. Your thoughts and comments are always welcome. Until next time, remember, God rarely shows us the whole journey, he simply asks us to trust him with the next step.