Summary: Abram was a worshipper! Genesis 13:1-4 NIV 1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. 3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord. Genesis 12:7 NIV The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him Worship is a choice that we make and not a feeling that overpowers us! Worship establishes the right relationship between God and man. Romans 1:21 NIV For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. When we neglect worship, our thinking becomes futile. Became Futile - Greek (MATAIOŌ) = To make vain, or foolish. Worshippers are problem-solvers! Those who do not give God glory cannot find answers! Worship in faith before you get answers! Abram was a warrior. Genesis 14:12 NIV They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. Any true worshipper of God knows that on-going strife in a family results in devastating consequences. Genesis 14:13-16 NIV 13 A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkoland Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. The people of God are not called to be weak and helpless! Abram was a witness. Genesis 14:17 NIV After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). Matthew 5:45 NIV He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Genesis 14:18-20 NIV 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Genesis 14:21-23 NIV 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ Genesis 14:24 NIV "I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share." Let our critics crawl over a pile of good works, brotherly love, and acts of compassion to cast their stones at us.
