If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right. Or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left. And the Lord lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered, everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zohar. This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So the Lord chose for himself both the Jordan valley and the Lord journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while the Lord settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord. The Lord said to Abraham, after the Lord had separated from him, lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward. For all the land that you see, I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make "'I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, "'so that if one can count the dust of the earth, "'your offspring also can be counted. "'Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, "'for I will give it to you.' "'So Abram moved his tent and came to the scepter "'by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, "'and there he built an altar to the Lord. Let's seek the Lord's face once again. Let's pray. Father, we now bow before you in this moment and ask that you will be with us as we open up your word. We pray that you speak to us through this familiar account right before us. We pray that the lessons you want us to draw from this passage will be applicable to all of us and that we'll indeed learn from this account in our walk with you. We also ask that you'll be with those that are watching us via live streaming. We ask, O God, that the streaming will be well sustained and that there will be no disconnection so that our friends who are not here physically may not miss that which you want them to hear. But also ask that you will be with me, O God. Speak to me as well and use me in your own hands for your glory, for Jesus' sake. Amen. We have been going through the life of Abraham, basically calling it a journey in obedience, lessons, from the life of Abraham. And I keep on saying that he is the first person in the Bible to be called the friend of God. And at least three of the world's religions, religion, that's Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, respect Abraham. And when you go to the book of Hebrews in chapter 11, the writer says more about Abraham than any two other people combined. The history of redemption begins with God's call to Abraham, and so he is an important figure. But also through his life, we see him in the heights and the low valleys of his walk with God, and therefore we can learn something from him. But also what we see in his life is his journey in obedience, how that he trusted God. Even in those moments when he failed God, he still went back to God, called upon him and took God at his word. And therefore, all of us must take time once in a while to just look at the characters of the Bible. These are real individuals who lived in a real world like ours, faced the real challenges that you and I face. And therefore, what we learn from them, we see either their faith in God or how they failed to trust God. And therefore, we learn for ourselves. In our last lesson, we discovered that the way to obedience is faith, faith in God. Abraham had moved from Ur to Haran to Canaan, and then from there there was a famine in the land, and then he moved from there into Egypt. And while in Egypt, there was this humiliating experience that he had to go through, being caught by Pharaoh when Elia Oni had lied that Sarah was his sister. And therefore, he was deported from Egypt. And we saw that God used even a pagan king to remind his servant of what he was doing and to get back to God. Chapter 13 opens with Abraham somehow back to his senses. He's back to a place where God wants him to be. He's back to the place where his trust is not in his schemes or his plans, but to take God at his word. And we can learn a lot from the men and the women in the Bible, as I've already said. And in this case, we can learn a lot from these two men who are the characters of this passage. Of course, God is a primary character, but we can learn something from Abraham and Lot, from their choices that they made. And you just need to read the following chapters to see the consequences of their choices. And the Apostle Paul, writing in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 11, he writes and says that the accounts in the Bible were written to us as examples for our instructions. So even here, it was written and recorded for our instructions. as we see the choices or the decisions that these two men make in this particular passage. So in Genesis 13, we see Lot and Abram making choices, but these choices have their own consequences, especially for Lot. They have travelled together. From the time God called Abraham from the land of the Chaldeans, Lot is mentioned as having been with Abraham. We don't know because the Bible doesn't clearly state, but we like to assume and conclude that even when Abraham journeyed into Egypt, Lord must have been with him. And so Genesis chapter 12 recounts the beginning of Abraham's journey, how he bravely left the great city of Uru of the land of the Chaldeans even facing obstacles along the way, trusting solely God's word. Genesis chapter 13 records how Abraham recovered from those setbacks, these setbacks that he suffered in Egypt. And once again, he's calling upon the name of the Lord. Now, as Christians, We all have embarked on a journey, a journey of faith. And this journey will take us through challenging circumstances. And those challenging circumstances will either enable us to be better Christians, to grow in our work with God, or they may take us far away from God, just wandering in disappointment or despair. And in this journey, there will be times that we will fail God. And there will be countless times we will fail God. But when we come to Him in faith and in repentance, in asking for forgiveness of sin, He will forgive us. And when He forgives us, He expects us to continue in this journey of obedience, trusting in Him, serving Him, and following Him. God, who is sovereign, has mapped out our Christian journey. And therefore, faith in God is not a confidence in our knowledge of God, but our willingness to obey God. That's what faith is. It's not just confidence in our knowledge of God, but in our willingness to obey this great God. So let's quickly open up this chapter and begin to see and draw lessons for ourselves. The first thing we see there is recovering from bad decisions. Recovering from bad decisions or bad choices. That's what we see when we read verse 1 through to verse 4. So Abraham So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and lot with him into the Negev. Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. And he journeyed on from the Negev as far as Bethel to the place where he where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abraham called upon the name of the Lord. Genesis 13 surprisingly opens, showing us that Abraham is returning to the land of promise, the very land that God visited him and said, this land, I will give it to you. And when you read Genesis 13, you actually see that something went drastically wrong at some point in Abraham's life. He took a detour, went into Egypt, and now he's going back to the very land that God had promised that he will give to his descendants. At some point, as we noticed the last time, that he believed that there were better prospects for him in Egypt. He forgot that this very God who appeared to him in the land of the Chaldeans and called him to the land that will show him was still with him even in those moments of famine. And he journeyed on into Egypt. But when you notice verse three and verse four, it shows us that he is now retracing his steps. He goes back to the very place he was when he entered the promised land. And maybe he's returning to the very same altar that he had built earlier on. And he's able to see the pile of stones that were there. He's able to see this altar that he had built and called on the name of the Lord. This land reminds him once again of the commitment he had made to God, of the worship that he had offered to this great God. It reminds him of this unwavering faith he once upon a time had in this great God. And we're told in verse 4, there he called upon the name of the Lord. And so you see in chapter 13, it begins with him calling upon the name of the Lord. It ends with him calling upon the name of the Lord. And this is something we learn here. That you know, in our walk of faith, there will be times, countless times should I say, when we will make bad choices. And these choices will have their own consequences. But God doesn't want us to remain wallowing in our choices, drowning in the consequences of our sins. He wants us to get back to Him. He wants us to take those sins before him and call upon the name of God once again. And this is something we see in Abraham's example. This is what God wants for all of us. Oftentimes the mistake we make as Christians is, yes, we fail our God, though we make a bad choice, and now the consequences of our choices are right facing before us. And we think that the way to get rid of them is to continue in that path. Continue drawing ourselves away from God. Continue to accumulate more and more of the things that in the first place brought us in that state. When our Father, who loves us, is waiting for us to return home. Like the father of the prodigal son, looking in the highway and seeing if the son has returned. Guilt is a gift from God. Because when we feel guilty of the choices we made and the consequences, God wants us to return to Him. But in that moment, the evil one also comes in and wants to use that guilt to cause us to move further away from God. And whispering to us, what do your friends think or your brothers and sisters whom you offended? God is saying, don't make the mistake of falling into the trap of the evil one and therefore continue in the state of your guilt. Repent, return to God. He's a merciful God. And He wants you to return to a place where you can call on Him, to a place where you can relate with Him, to a place where you can once again live in the full assurance of this great God. And this is what we see in the example of Abraham. He returns to a place where his tent had been at the beginning. and decode upon the name of the Lord. That's how we recover from bad choices. That's how we recover from our state of sin and backsliding, is to go back to the Father's love and worship him and call upon his name. But the second thing we see is the circumstance of bad decisions. Recovering from bad decision, the circumstance of bad decision. But what are the circumstances that would lead us to making bad decisions or bad choices? Verse five through to verse nine. And Lot who went with Abram also had flocks. and heads and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. And there was strife between the headsmen of Ebram's livestock and the headsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time, the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land. Then the Lord said to Lot, let there be no strife between you and me, and between your headsmen and my headsmen, for we are kingsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I'll go to the right. Or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left. And we see there that the circumstance of the bad decision that Lot made was brought about by the blessings of God in the lives of these two men, especially in the life of Lot. And, Claude, we see that sometimes the circumstance that leads us to make those bad choices could be the very blessings that God gives us, the very things that we desire and want, and if they possess us, We can, they can cause us rather to begin to make bad choices. And here we see that God was again to test Abraham. And only this time it was with a family member. In the first instance, it was, this was famine in the land. And in this case, it's a family member, his own nephew lot, And you see that it appears that Lord was also being blessed by God, or was blessed by God. He was a wealthy man. But I like to believe he was not quite as rich as Abraham. Because you notice that in verse 2 it tells us, Abraham was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in God. But we are told in verse 5 that Lot who went with Abraham also had flocks and heads and tents. There's no mention of silver and gold there. So I'd like to believe that he was wealthy but not as wealthy as Abraham. But at least he had flocks, he had heads, he had tents. He had acquired wealth as they were journeying from place to place. And so both men, Abraham and Lord, were wealth. And because of that, the very blessings of God, strife between the two was the result. And Abraham was left with a choice. To find a solution to this, should he continue with Lot in his quest to follow God's promise? Or should he separate himself from Lot so that there is no more strife between the two? And we see that Abraham had to make a choice. There was a relational conflict here, a family member. And this relational conflict was as a result of God's blessings, the riches that God was bringing into their lives. These were the immediate challenge to the situation, to this family conflict. And therefore, They are workers. We are batting heads. And I want you to notice something in verse 7, that the mention of the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Perizzites is not just their statistics or telling us the other people group. But the author, Moses, wants us to note that in the land where Abraham and Lot were using for pasture, there were also other people groups who were using it for pasture. And these other people groups that were mentioned were using the same fields and they were not ready to easily accommodate these foreigners. But also you need to note that these pagans were probably observing the conflict between Abraham and Lot and they were wondering how will these two resolve this conflict. The Perizzites and the Canaanites were not going to easily share their resources, but they wanted to see that these people who worship this new God, as far as they're concerned, this God called Yahweh, who called this man to a land that you will show him, they wanted to know how will they resolve this issue. And so this circumstance that led to the bad decision of Lot was the blessings of God, but it was in full view of the watching world. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were watching. Now, brethren, we need to always remember that the world is watching us. The world is watching us. When there is friction and dispute in the church, the world always knows about it. Our conduct, our reaction must honor God, even in the midst of a conflict. Even in the midst of strife, we must see to it that God is honored. The devil will see to it that the world hears about the conflicts and the strifes among God's people. The world knows that we disagree. It's watching. to see how that will turn out. It's not an issue of the world seeing whether watching us to see if we would disagree, but it's how we disagree. To what extent are we willing to go in promoting whatever it is we feel is ours? Whatever it is we feel is we must secure the blessings of the Lord. To what extent are we willing to go our separate ways with our brothers and sisters all for the sake of our names or personality? We see here in Abraham's examples that yes, there was this strife, it was real. And it was causing tension between the two. And Abraham appeals to Lord. And he appeals to him as a king's man. Basically saying, look, let's not fight, we are relatives. And when you see that verse, actually verse seven and eight, you actually see that in the original, it's actually using the same word to highlight that there's no need to fight. We are brothers, but also we are kingsmen. We are from the same family, same clan, same people. Let's not fight. Let's find a way to deal with these things. And in the midst of this miserable conflict with Lot and Abraham, we see Abraham setting an example to all of us on how to resolve conflict among ourselves as God's people. Whatever circumstance arise in our midst, Let's remember we are brothers and sisters in the Lord. Let's appeal as we seek to resolve. We go to the same church. As if that's not enough, we are brothers and sisters in the Lord. Let's deal with this issue. for the glory of God, so that when the world watches us, they'll see Christ in us, just as we see in the example of Abraham. But even in the midst of this conflict, Abraham's total trust in God can only be likened or can only point us to the Lord Jesus Christ, the ultimate seed and heir of Abraham. As we are told in Philippians chapter 2, he did not put himself first, but others, the interest of others, that he came and died so that in him we may have salvation. And this is what ought to be a desire for all of us. And even when circumstance arise that will either cause us to make a bad choice or circumstance arise that causes us to have strife among ourselves, let the name of Christ be honored. The world is watching. We don't need to broadcast, the world is watching. And as they're watching, it's not just, they're not watching to see if we just disagree, but how we disagree. So we see the circumstance that led to this bad choice in God's life. God's blessings became the means of his bad decision. But thirdly, I want us to see the cause of this bad decision. The root or the source or the cause of this bad decision has introduced itself in the decision of Lord. Verse 10 to 13. And Lord lifted up his eyes and saw the Jordan Valley, and saw the Jordan Valley was well watered. everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt in the direction of Zohar. This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So the Lord chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and the Lord journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord." And you can see the path or the source of this bad decision in Lot. The stand clearly tells us that He and Lord lifted up his eyes and saw the Jordan. And the word there, he lifted up and saw. It's giving us this picture that there was this intense surveying of the land. It wasn't just a casual look. It was intentional. There was this intense surveying of the land. looking right, left, and seeing what is it that is going to suit his desires. There was this meditation, this thinking through. It was not a random decision that was made. Now imagine, put yourself for a minute in Lord's shoes. You've just gone through famine. in the land of Canaan and the survival was because of Egypt, the river Nile. And now you are back in the land where you had suffered famine. Which place would you choose? You've accumulated animals. and you are thinking of where to settle. You understand what was at the center of his decision, saying to himself, look, I need to navigate what went through, I don't need to go back. But as the scripture shows us that When he did that, there are certain details that he did not put into consideration. The Bible tells us that the direction he chose was going to be near Sodom. And this was before God destroyed Sodom. And then that's in verse 10, and in verse 13 again we're told, the men of Sodom were wicked. There are these details that must have been news at the time. Everyone knew. Lot must have knew. Abraham must have known. But as far as he was concerned, those were small details, small issues that time is going to sort out. I want land for my animals. It doesn't matter if it's near Sodom and Gomorrah. It doesn't matter if the men are wicked. For now, my interest is animals. We will sort out the rest at some point. But also the mentions of the direction of Zohar, Sodom and Gomorrah. It is believed that it was sitting right along the trade routes of the day. So he was thinking, as the caravans are coming to Zohar or Sodoma and Gomorrah, there will be business, there will be market for my animals. And there will be wealth that I accumulate, there will be more wealth I will accumulate. He forgot those details that God mentions there. The men of Sodom were wicked. Sodom and Gomorrah was not yet destroyed. Lot followed his eyes and in doing so he chose plenty in an evil land at the expense of trusting God in the land of uncertainty, but with God on his side. He looked for a good place to make money. And when the plans of Jordan were appealing to him, he chose or should I say the choice was easy for him to make. And you also need to take note that this is the first time the mentions of riches and wealth appears in our passage. Earlier on we were just simply told in chapter 12, the last time we looked at it, Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him and said, send him away with all that he had. But in chapter 13, there's a mention of riches and wealth. That's the first time it's being mentioned. And there's nothing wrong with being rich. There's nothing wrong with accumulating wealth. As the Bible says in James, those of you who desire riches easily find themselves in countless trials. There is warning about wealth and riches. And the warning is not that you should not have it, but that you must watch against it, guard yourself against riches and wealth. Let it not possess you, rather you possess it and use it for the glory of God. Accumulate as much as you want, but don't allow your heart to find contentment in the things you accumulate. Because the tendency of wealth and riches is for you to wanting to have more and more and more, especially if God is not in the picture. Probably for a lot. He never intended to get into the pagan territory. But that was not what was in his mind. But he moved near. The next time we hear of him, he was right in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. When you read Genesis and chapter 19. And we don't know when he moved from the plains of the Jordan. We don't know what made him to finally decide to move into the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. And he continued to live in Sodom and in Gomorrah. And when you read 2 Peter 2, verse 7 and 8, the Bible tells us that he was a righteous man. Living in Sodom, being vexed by the wickedness he was beholding every day. And you're saying to yourself, why can't you move away? We don't know why, but one thing we know, he continued to live in that wicked city. And when God destroyed Sodom, Lord lost everything. He lost everything. And as if that's not enough, the moral slime of Sodom and Gomorrah had so great an influence on his family that in the cave, as we read Genesis 19, his daughter made him drunk and fathered children with him. Lot never dreamed that what looked so good, the plan of Jordan, could turn out to be so badly for him and his family. He never thought for a moment that this which looks attractive will ruin his life. But that's the way of sin, brethren. It always seems good at the start. It always seems fun and rewarding. It always looks good for a season. And no one would be tempted to sin. If sin made people misery, immediately they get into it. The misery comes with time. But that's the sin in us. We need to watch and guard against this sin. We need to watch and guard against those small decisions that causes us to fail to seek counsel from those godly men and women God has brought into our lives. We must seek the face of God before we make a decision. We must not overlook those details that are right in our eyes. Lot knew that the men of Sodom were wicked, and he did not think he would have any dealings with them. But he kept on moving. near and near the city of Sodor. The cause for Lord's bad decision was his desire for material gain at the expense of his own soul. The sinful plan of Jordan looked good. seemed good, he wanted to have it, he desired to have it, and it ruined him. This is something that we need to guard against, especially as young people. As you are at a time in your life wanting to make decisions, what path to take, what career, what job, What spouse, what marriage partner are you looking for? Seek the counsel of those godly men and women God brings in your life. Some of them draw lessons from their own bitter experience. Others, they've seen their friends go that path. Don't let the blessings of God be the means of ruining your walk with him. Guard against material prosperity at the expense of your soul. Bad company ruins good morals. Watch and pray. And fourthly and quickly, we see the contrast to bad decision. The contrast to bad decision. And this is what we see verse 14 all the way to verse 18. I will not read that for the sake of time, but in verse 14 to 18, we actually see the contrast to Lord's bad decision with Abraham's good decision. After Lord leaves, the Lord in verse 14 appears to Abraham. And I don't know if Abraham was complaining or he was downcast with the departure of Lot. We don't know. We don't know what was going through his mind. But the Lord appears to Abraham and the Lord reassures him that I will keep my promise. Lord chose by looking at the good land, but here we see we are told that the Lord said to Abraham after Lord had separated for him, lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are. Earlier on, Lord looked, but here Abraham is being taught by God to look Abraham waited for God. And the Lord says, you can now look, I will give you all this land. Earlier on, for Lot, he looked himself without waiting for God. He looked, he chose, he wanted the land. But here we see Abraham, God says, lift up your eyes. The land you see, east, west, south, north, will be yours. I will give it to you and to your descendants. And here we see a contrast to the bad decision that Lord made. And this is something we must learn. That with God's mathematics, in God's economy, gaining is not about how much you accumulate, but how much you let go of as you trust and pursue God. And we must look to Him, wait for Him. There's always that moment in our lives that God Himself says, I will reward your faithfulness. Wait upon Me. Look to me. I am a God who pays my debt. I will not demand any debt. I will reward your faithfulness. It may take time, but be assured, I will reward you. Your faithfulness will not be missed or forgotten. And ultimately, I will usher you into my presence. In 2 Chronicles 16, verse 9 says, For the eyes of the Lord run to and from throughout the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless towards Him. for the eyes of the Lord unto and from throughout the earth to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless towards him. That's what the scriptures are telling us. God does reward faithfulness. But also it's a challenge to all of us. And let me say it's a challenge to those of us who are in the eve of our lives. May we be that example of a contrast to the younger. That as I look at your life, let your life be a vindication of God's faithfulness. As I see you serving God, loving God, let them follow your example. Let them not be swayed by the examples of the people of the world, with their pomp and splendor. Let them see that, yes, while the world is championing for this, I can follow the examples of those godly men and women God has brought in my life. They are a contrast to the popular notions that are out there. The notions of first book, which is not real, but God has brought real individuals in my life, godly men and women. I see their lives. I can trace to an extent their walk with God, and I can see God's faithfulness in their lives. Don't be the reason why the next generation must be swept in worldliness and pursuits of material gain. Be that contrast like Abraham, following God, trusting God, and showing the next generation of the faithfulness of God. Jesse Rau, as I draw to a close, Jesse Rao in his excellent book on the holiness of God. There's a sermon in that book about Lot. And the sermon title there is Beware of Lot's Choice. Beware of Lot's Choice. Jesse Rao says, he picked what looked good. what seemed prosperous, what seemed beautiful. He goes on to say, beware of Lord's choice when you have to choose a place to live in. Don't just think about, is this going to be beautiful and a lavish neighborhood? Don't just think about material prosperity in choosing a profession. Or don't just think about outward appearance in choosing a spouse. Beware of Lord's choice. He chose by sight and it was a poor choice. End of quote. This is a warning to all of us and to those who are younger. Beware of Lord's choice. Some decisions have lasting consequences. Beware of Lord's choice. And as I was preparing this message, the Lord brought to my mind names after names of people that I know, who once upon a time, in their early 20s, early 30s, made a bad decision. And some of them are a shadow of themselves. And in my work, I've been a Christian now for almost 30 years, the Lord It reminded me this evening of individuals that sat in these pews, some of them, or in the church where I got saved on the copper belt, who failed to guard their hearts against God's choice. Watch your life. Watch the life of your friends. Avoid choosing by sight. Seek counsel from people around you. That's a benefit that we have as God's people, being in God's church. We can seek counsel from godly men and women. And at times the counsel might not be pleasing. in the sense that that's not the counsel you want. But those godly men and women, they mean well for you. They have your good and the honor and glory of God. There was a time a few years ago, maybe 20 now, as a young person, I'm still young, just in my 40s now, full of zeal. And I kept on telling Uncle George, when are you going to start allowing us to preach here? And I remember one time Uncle George came, so let's go for a ride. And as we were going around the streets of Lusaka, he gave me counsel that today I still remember. He said, if God has called you to preaching, he will give you opportunities to preach. Don't go looking for these opportunities. Save God outside the view of everyone. And when the time is right, he will open that door. I remember the time he, again, Uncle George, being my elder, the first time I stood here to preach when I was a pastoral intern, When he says, no, the elders want you to preach. I told him, no, I'm not ready. He said, but just a few years you wanted to preach. What has happened? I said, as you are saying, I remember your words. I'm not sure if I'm ready. This is now 20 years, 21, still remember his counsel. And there have been many other times He's counseled me and I've benefited from many other godly men and women in this church. And my point is this, especially for you young people, God bring these men into your life to be a contrast to what you see in the world. Follow their advice, treasure them, seek their counsel, sit with them, Ask questions and you'll see the faithfulness of God in their lives. Avoid making bad decisions, for you may live with the consequences for the rest of your life. Vow and pray that as the Lord gives me breath, I will seek to glorify him and to follow the example of the ultimate seed of Abraham, the Lord Jesus Christ, who left the splendor of heaven, came into this world, and lived a life of an honorary person, trusting his Father to vindicate him. And when the moment came, as he hung on the cross, he said, it is finished. And God raised him up from the dead, and has given him a name above every name. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess. Christ did not think of his own interest, but the interest of others, and the glory of God. Let this be your goal, that in those moments of pursuing your careers, your desires, Let the honor and glory of God be at the center of it all. And if there is strife between yourselves, seek God's glory, seek counsel, and let God use everything about you for his honor and glory. As the hymn writer says, take my heart and let it be. Consecrated, Lord, for thee. Take my moments and my days. Let them flow with ceaseless praise. Amen.