Involved With Our World

We need to have the appropriate reaction to injustice. 

Genesis 13:9-11 The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I'll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I'll go to the left."

10 Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the LORD or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram.

Genesis 14:11-12 The victorious invaders then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and headed for home, taking with them all the spoils of war and the food supplies. 12 They also captured Lot--Abram's nephew who lived in Sodom--and carried off everything he owned.

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Abram's faith has grown since he first began his journey, he has already learned some important lessons in the "School of Faith" that will help him deal with yet another difficult situation. Our faith should never get any rest, the challenges that come from circumstances, places and things will give it plenty of chances to grow if we choose to use it.

After separating from Lot, God renews his promise to give Abram the land, even after all of his mistakes in Egypt, God reaffirms his promise that all of the land would still belong to Abram and his descendants even after Abram gave away some of the land to Lot. (Genesis 13:14-18)

As their story continues to unfold we will see that there was more than just a physical separation between Abram and Lot, there was also a spiritual separation, you can see the difference in the choices that they make. Lot's choices will be a source of trouble for him and for Abram.

Lot was a friend of the world and he was enticed by it's pleasures when he was given a choice of real estate, perhaps the good times that he experienced back in Egypt was still on his mind when he chose the land next to Sodom.

Abram was living in the country minding his own business when he got the news about his nephew. Lot was enjoying his new home until he unwittingly became involved in a political situation that cost him everything.

1 John 2:15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.

We can't blame all of our trials on ourselves but for Lot it is very true that his choices brought him a bunch of trouble. Lot will continue to make bad choices even after Abram saved him from exile. (Genesis 19:1-38)

Abram's response to the situation that his nephew was in is a great lesson on how we should respond to the injustice that is all around us.

Isolation

It is so easy to look at the situation and wonder why the person thought things would go any better than they did. Sometimes we think they got exactly what they deserved, they were corrupt, they made bad choices, and they deserve whatever happens. Lot would have to suffer the consequences of his bad choices if Abram decided to not get involved.

Identification

Abram has identified himself as a man of God and there was no going back to his old ways. Abram couldn't identify himself with that old way of thinking and he couldn't adopt the immoral lifestyle of the people of Sodom.

Involvement

Abram struggled with how to be in the world but not of it, he couldn't isolate himself and ignore the problem, he needed to address the injustice in the world around him but he had to do so without being identified as a part of the world.

Involvement without compromise is not easy, this is the same problem that the church has had to deal with through the ages, the injustice around us begs for our compassion. Great people that do not share our values may work right by our side to make the world a better place but there has to be a distinct difference between God's children and the rest of the world.

Matthew 5:6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

God's children should have a longing deep inside to see everything made right. We should hunger and thirst to see the world come closer to it's original condition before sin. Injustice should bother us more than it does the rest of the world.

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Live In The Light

We need to be concerned about who we are making happy.

Ephesians 5:6-14  Don't be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey Him.  7  Don't participate in the things these people do.

8  For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!  9  For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.  10  Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.

11  Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.  12  It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.  13  But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them,  14  for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light."

John 8:12  Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."

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There are a lot more people in this world that are living to please themselves than there are that try to live to please God. It can be easy to be fooled into thinking that it really doesn't matter very much how I live but the entire Bible tells me that isn't correct. From cover to cover the message of the Bible to God's people is that he wants them to be different.

Ever since man was created, God has desired to have fellowship with us, but we cannot allow ourselves to be involved in the sins that the world gets wrapped up in and think that we will be able to maintain a close personal relationship with God.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13  "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases Him, and love Him and serve Him with all your heart and soul.  13  And you must always obey the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

Before we began following Jesus we were in the dark, intellectually we were ignorant and morally we were evil, we could not help but do what pleases ourselves. The devil has plenty of delightful tricks to get us to stay in the dark, that's where he wants to keep us, it is so much "fun" that we won't even realize that we are in the dark.

Living in light means living in truth and living in holiness, living to find out what pleases God, the light exposes the devils tricks and the lies that he tells you about how good life is in the dark. God's way is best, he has our best interest at heart, he wants to give us life more abundantly and he wants to change our eternal destination.

Before we became God's children we were living in a dark cave without any source of light. We couldn't know which way to go, we couldn't see to take care of ourselves, we were hopeless to do anything without the light.Then we get rescued from that hopeless environment and the next thing you know we go running back into the cave. It is amazing that we think that there is something better for us back in the dark.

Turn away from evil.

Titus 2:12-14  And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,  13  while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.  14  He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

Light and dark don't mix and so the the characteristics, if you're going to walk as a child of light, goodness, righteousness, truth cannot mix with the evil, unrighteous lies of the children of the dark. We are told not to do the things that they do and we are to shine our light so that it exposes the shameful things that they are doing.

I must be determined to shine my light in this dark world. It is a crime for a lighthouse to be out of service when the storms of life are raging and people desperately need the hope of Jesus.