Abraham - Warring by Faith

Be trained in spiritual warfare. Use your spiritual weapons and never forget that whosoever is born of God is an overcomer.

And now let’s pray together. Father, we do pray that many people will be burdened by Your Spirit to share in the worldwide ministry of Back to the Bible. Thank You for raising up this ministry. And we pray, Father, that You will bless this ministry as it reaches around the world even today. And bless us now as we study the Word and grant to us by Your Spirit the grace that we need not just to understand the Word, but to apply it. I ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and for His sake, Amen.

The Christian life is a journey and we must learn how to walk by faith. That is the emphasis in Genesis 12 and Genesis 13. You must walk before you can stand and face the enemy. Now you find the walk of faith illustrated specifically in the life of Abraham and in particular in Genesis 12 and Genesis 13. Faith brings us out, we read in Genesis 12:1-4. The Lord said to Abram, "Get out, get out of your country, and I’m going to bless you and make you a great nation." Faith brings us out. That’s salvation. And then faith brings us in, Genesis 12:5-9. Abraham arrived at his inheritance.

But the Christian life is also a battle, and you and I must learn how to war by faith. And we find this in Genesis 14 and Genesis 15. We see Abraham before the battle and during the battle and after the battle, and he teaches us how to war by faith. Now notice the sequence here: first you learn how to walk by faith, then you learn how to war by faith. This is the same sequence you find in the book of Ephesians. In Ephesians 4 and Ephesians 5, the emphasis is on walk. Walk in love and walk as children of light and so forth. But then in Ephesians 6, he talks about battling. He talks about warfare, how to stand and how to withstand. So in Ephesians 1, Ephesians 2, and Ephesians 3, we're told about our wealth in Christ. Ephesians 4 and Ephesians 5, our walk in Christ. And then Ephesians 6, our warfare.

If Abraham did not know how to walk with God, he could not do a very good job of warring for God. They go together. He’d faced a famine; he failed in that test, didn't he? Then he had the problem of Lot and the disagreement among the herdsmen there in Genesis 13. Abraham won that test by faith. Faith brought him through that test in victory. But you know, if Abraham had not learned how to walk with his brother, he could never have learned how to war for God. They go together.

And by the way, I’ve noticed in Scripture that so often a battle follows a great blessing. We read in Genesis 13:14-18 that Abraham was in fellowship with God. God had said, "Lift up your eyes and look, I’m going to give you all of this land. Lift up your feet and walk, claim it by faith." And then Abraham lifted up his heart in worship and praise as he moved his tent and built his altar. Here he is living at Mamre, which means fatness, and in Hebron, which means fellowship. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all we had to do was enjoy fellowship and fatness? To be living in the fellowship of the Lord and never carry any burdens, never get any bruises, never fight any battles? But that’s not the way it is.

No sooner had Israel been delivered from Egypt than they had to fight a battle against the Amalekites, Exodus 17. Here they are triumphantly marching, and along comes a battle. Why would God permit this? Because we grow through battles just as much as we grow through burdens. We grow in our Christian life by learning to trust God for the victory.

When Jesus was baptized, what an experience that was. The Father spoke from heaven, "This is My beloved Son in whom I’m well pleased." The Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove and lighted upon Him. What a tremendous experience it was, and then immediately the Holy Spirit of God led our Savior into the wilderness and there Jesus was tempted for forty days. He fought a battle. You see, first the blessing, then the battle. First the walk, then the warfare.

This was true of the early church. In Acts 1, the church is meeting together and making decisions and praying. Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes in power; three thousand are saved. Acts 3, a beggar is converted and healed. Acts 4, the church people, the leaders, are arrested. They're put into prison and then they're arrested again and they're beaten and then James is killed. You see, first the blessing, then the battle. And that's the way it's going to be. God balances our lives. He knows just how much we can take.

Well, in Genesis 14:1-10 we are told about nine kings and a war that was fought. We will not read those verses; they're filled with a lot of difficult names. The essence is simply this: that the four kings from the outside had kept the five kings in the land under their subjection. Now don't think of kings who have great countries. These are kings of little city-states and these cities are named here. Well, these five kings in the land protested and finally broke off the yoke of the four kings. And so the four kings put their armies together and came down. They did not want to lose the income and the obedience of these other kings. So we have four kings from the outside coming to battle five kings on the inside.

Now you’d think that five against four, the five kings would have won: the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, and the five cities of the plain. Five against four, they should have won. Furthermore, they were fighting on their own terrain. It's like a football team; they usually do the best job of playing right on their own field. Now you would think that five kings on their own terrain could have defeated four outsiders who were in strange land. But that’s not what happened. They lost. The king of Sodom lost, the king of Gomorrah lost, and the people were taken captive, including Lot.

Well, we read that now in Genesis 14:11. "Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. So he brought back all the goods, and he also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people." That’s quite a story. The first war recorded anywhere in the Bible.

Let’s start with the personal victory, Genesis 14:14. "Now when Abram heard that his brother," not his nephew, "his brother was taken captive," then he armed his servants and off he went to recover him. Lot apparently is on a tragic course and he’s really moving in the wrong direction. First he lifted up his eyes and looked towards Sodom, and then he pitched his tent towards Sodom. You find that in Genesis 13:12. And now he’s moved into Sodom, Genesis 14:12. "They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom."

We always move into the world and into sin gradually. Oh, sometimes there’s a tumble and we fall into sin, but usually it’s gradual. Lot was sort of a spiritual hitchhiker. He came along with Abram when Abram left Haran and Ur of the Chaldees, Genesis 12:4. Lot went with him, but Lot was not like him. Lot was not a spiritually minded man. We don't read that Lot ever built an altar. We don't read that Lot ever heard the word of the Lord speak to him. He was going along with Abram. When Lot went down to Egypt, he got a taste of the world. He said, "That’s the way I want to live." And so he looked toward Sodom, which was the closest thing to Egypt. Look at Genesis 13:10: "like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar." His standards were from Egypt, his desires were from Egypt. He was a worldly man. We have people like this today. It’s always tragic when a worldly-minded person gets into leadership in a church. Doesn't know the Word of God, doesn't understand the will of God, measures everything by the world and not by the standards of the Lord.

Well, what would you have done if you were Abraham? A man came running into Abraham’s camp and says, "There's been a war and Lot has been taken captive." Now Abraham did not get involved in the war. We do not find that he was running around getting communiques, but when he got the word there in his separated camp off by his tents and his altar, when he got the word, he got involved. You see, Lot in Sodom could not protect himself. He was not a separated man. Abraham outside of Sodom knew what was going on and knew exactly what to do.

Now sometimes God does want His children in places like this. He put Joseph into Egypt; Joseph had a specific job to do. He put Nehemiah into the court because he had a job for him to do. Esther in Persia, Daniel, Ezekiel the prophet. God sometimes picks up His children and puts them in pagan places to accomplish His will. But by and large, most of us had better keep ourselves separated from those places. We just are not able to tackle them and do the thing that is right.

Why did Abraham get involved? Because of his brother. Galatians 6:1: "Brethren, if anyone is overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." That’s a good point, isn't it? For Lot’s sake, he went out and got involved. To what extent should we as Christians get involved with legislation, get involved with international affairs? Only as they touch the work of the Lord. This even includes our praying. When Paul tells us in Timothy to pray for those who are in places of leadership, what is the motivation behind this praying? Is it that we might be important people? No, the motivation behind this praying is that people might be saved. "Therefore," he says in 1 Timothy 2, "I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, for all who are in authority." Why? "That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence." Because God desires all men to be saved.

Why did Abraham get involved? Not to become an important person. He got involved for the sake of his brother. Now what was he doing? He was practicing Romans 12:17-21. He was overcoming evil with good. Lot had created problems for Abraham. Abraham had to separate from Lot, but Abraham did not say, "Well, Lot has made a mistake, Lot made the wrong choice, he moved to the wrong city, let him just suffer for what he’s doing." He didn't say that at all. Romans 12:17-21, beginning in verse 17: "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men." Sometimes it isn't possible. "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." He could have said, "Well, let Lot have his own way," but he didn't do that. In love, he went and rescued Lot. Now we need to do that today. Not criticize, not condemn, but to do our best to rescue.

Secondly, he overcame the enemy by faith. That’s what we read in 1 John 5:4. "This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith." Listen to 1 John 5:4. "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—even our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"

I notice that Abram got his army together and this was a very special army. Number one, they were born in his own house. Your birth determines your ability. Now John tells us in 1 John 5:4-5 that those of us who are born of God are overcomers. What is it that gives us this overcoming power? The Holy Spirit within. "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." 1 John 4:4 tells us that. "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." So we're born of God; that makes us overcomers.

Secondly, they were trained. That's a great word. The Hebrew word really means to catechize, to instruct. It’s used in Proverbs 22:6. "Train up a child in the way he should go." Abraham had instructed his servants in the things of the Lord. Now how do you and I win the victory? Well, we have to be instructed. It’s amazing how many saints do not even know who the enemy is, how the enemy works. Abraham instructed his servants in spiritual victory.

He also armed them. He armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants. Now you and I must be armed. We must wear the armor of God and we must be armed and ready for battle. But our weapons are not physical, material; they are spiritual. 2 Corinthians 10:3: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh." You don't fight spiritual battles the way you fight physical battles. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God."

You see, the weapons of our warfare are spiritual: the Word of God and prayer. I wonder how many of God’s people today, born in His family, are trained to fight spiritual battles, armed, taking by faith the armor. Every morning I put on the armor of God by faith. We sing in one of our songs, "Put on the gospel armor, each piece put on by prayer," and that’s true. By faith, I put on from head to foot the gospel armor of Ephesians 6. It’s the only way to fight the battle and win.

I notice that they were united. They followed him. When he did divide the forces, they were divided not against each other, but against the enemy. They knew who the enemy was. They believed that Abraham would lead them to victory and they were not disappointed. He won a complete victory. He brought back all the people and all the goods and he rescued Lot. And you’d think Lot would have learned his lesson. You’d think Lot would have said, "Boy, the Lord really chastened me. I’ve learned a lesson. I’m getting out of Sodom." No. The next thing in Genesis 19, you’re going to find Lot sitting in the gate of Sodom. He was one of the leaders of the city.

Today you and I can war by faith and we can overcome evil with good. There are those who have hurt you and you may be tempted to pay them back. Don't do it. Overcome evil with good and overcome the enemy by faith. Be trained in spiritual warfare. Use your spiritual weapons and never forget that whosoever is born of God is an overcomer.

[Interview]

Thanks for joining us. Now let’s drop in on a conversation with Back to the Bible CEO Arnie Cole and Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe.

So Warren, when it comes to faith, I remember myself as a new believer, something bad happened and I wanted God to tell me why. Why did He let this happen? And it really started to trip me up. What about these circumstances where people just demand of God to tell them why?

Well, I think most of us have been through that and one of the joys of victory over it is the peace that comes to your heart. The normal Christian life is a series of new beginnings. God does not owe me any explanation for anything. I saw an article in the newspaper one day, it says "Don't debate with a three-year-old." I thought, that’s very wise. I wish I’d known that when we had some three-year-olds. But you see, God doesn't owe me an explanation. And if He did give me an explanation, I probably couldn't really understand it. We live not on explanations but on promises. And so if God isn't working the way I think He should, I just get a hold of one of His promises. When God tells us in the Psalms or in the Epistles who He is, what He does, He doesn't have to tell us how He does it or when He’s going to do it. I still have things on my prayer list that I occasionally say, "Lord, do You hear me say this? I’ve been saying this for quite a long time." But eventually the answer comes. In one of the churches there was a particular situation that had been around for a long time and I didn't touch it, I didn't attack it, I didn't preach about it, I didn't do anything like that. I just prayed. Five years it took to get that situation straightened out because more important than straightening out the situation was straightening out the preacher. I needed to learn to wait.