The Benefits of Abraham - 8/5/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

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Meadows Baptist Church of Walnut Cove,

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Charlie Branch with a word from God.

Genesis tonight. The book of Genesis,

chapter number 14.

Chapter 15. Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

Get wired up here. Genesis chapter 15.

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

We'll read one verse tonight. We took a

break uh last week from our study and

going to pick up again uh tonight here

in Genesis 15. And I know uh for those

of you that's paying attention, some of

you remember that we did skip over some

verses in chapter 14. And I hope all of

you are paying attention. Amen. But some

of you might notice that. And so we're

going to look at those verses tonight.

Um but verse number one of chapter 15 is

the subject matter that is at hand. And

so

we'll deal with that. Did I tie this up,

brother?

That thing is in an evermore knot.

All right.

Holy cow. Okay. Gen, let's just do that.

Genesis 15

verse number one. The Bible says, "After

these things, the word of the Lord came

unto Abram in a vision.

saying, "Fear not, Abram. I am thy

shield and thy exceeding great reward."

Probably some of my favorite scripture,

probably one of my favorite verses in

all the word of God. And uh if you

hadn't noticed by now, I really like

Abraham. And the reason being is is we

know Genesis is that book of beginnings.

Abram's life introduces us to a lot of

principles and a lot of practices that

were not before him in the word of God.

And I want to look at one of those

tonight out of this text in chapter 15

and verse number one. And tonight the

subject matter following along with uh

the outline of the life of Abraham.

We're going to talk about the benefits

the benefits of Abraham. And uh let's

pray and ask God to help us tonight.

Father, thank you so much for allowing

us to be in the house of God, for the

privilege that we have to pray. And God,

I thank you for these precious people.

Lord, I love them tonight and thank you

for them. And God, I pray you'd bless

them for being here. Lord, I pray God

that you allow me to be a blessing to

them tonight from this text. I pray that

you would speak to us. Help us, give us

wisdom, discernment as we navigate the

scriptures tonight. And Lord, keep us

from saying anything that should not be

said and help us to say everything that

should be said. get glory and honor unto

yourself for what you do. We'll thank

you for it because we ask it in Jesus

name. Amen. Genesis 15 begins with the

phrase verse number one. Your Bible says

after these things, now I I love the way

the King James Bible is written. It's

written the way it is for reason. We

ought to stay with it. Somebody say amen

right there. And uh we'll preach

sometime along those lines here in the

near near future. praying that God would

give me the liberty to do so on far as

why we use the King James Bible. But

this text, he begins with the phrase

after these things. Now, we look back to

chapter number 15 and to uh refresh our

memory, Abram uh has won the battle

against Chador Le, the king there of

Elum in the text. And he's won the

battle. He's brought back Lot. He's

brought back the goods of the uh of the

I I say sodomites, that's what they are.

Amen. Uh he's brought back the goods of

the people of Sodom uh in the text. And

the Bible tells us that when he comes

back um he meets up with Melzdc. We

talked about him on the last study

there, verses 18 down through verse

number 20. And he also meets up with

another individual in this text. Verse

number uh verse number 17. The Bible

says, "And the king of Sodom went out to

meet him after his return from the

slaughter of Chad Leommer and of the

kings that were with him at the valley

of Shava, which is the king's dale."

Verse 21. And the king of Sodom said

unto Abram, "Give me the persons and

take the goods to thyself." And so just

for information's sake tonight, what has

happened here is Abram has won this

victory. He's brought back the goods uh

of the people of Sodom and also spoiled

Chader Leh the king of Edom and took

some of their goods as well. Um there's

no doubt in my mind that he did. The

king of Sodom tells to Abram tells

Abram, "Look, you just give me back the

people uh the children." uh he says the

persons in verse number 21, the people

of my kingship and you can take the

goods to yourself, you can have the

possessions. And we find Abram's

response in verse number 22. And Abram

said to the king of Sodom, I have lift

up mine hand unto the Lord, the most

high God, the possessor of heaven and

earth. Now, if you've noticed a theme

throughout the life of Abraham, there's

a lot of there's a lot of talk about

goods, about possessions, about uh

means, and and uh you notice in this

text, there's there's some thoughts

here. I want to give you by way of

introduction, chapter 15, verse number

one says after these things. Well,

number one, I want to say it was after

Abram's faithful tithe. You say, what do

you mean? Well, the Bible said in verse

20 that uh blessed be the most high God

Melzdc says which hath delivered thine

enemies into thy hand and he that's

Abram gave him tithes of all. Abram has

won this victory has wrought this great

battle and uh defeated uh cher these

kings he's brought back Lot and that was

really his desire was just to rescue Lot

and he gives him tithes of the spo that

he has gotten out of this w out of this

battle that he has fought and this tithe

was a representation of his faithfulness

and he was speaking here it speaks here

of his desire to bless the priest here

in the text in verse according to verse

number 18 that he was the priest priest

of the most high God. And so Abram was

faithful in his tithe. And in and you

see this statement in verse number 19,

you see it again in verse number 22 that

the the high priest Melzdc says to

Abram, "Blessed be Abram of the most

high God." Notice this, possessor of

heaven and earth. And then you see Abram

says this again in verse 22, to the king

of Sodom. Look at this. And Abram said

to the king of Sodom, "I have lift up

mine hand unto the Lord, the most high

God." Notice your Bible, the possessor

of heaven and earth. And so Abram has

given his tithe. But you notice in this

text, what is the king of Sodom wanting

to talk to Abram about when he comes

back? It's his possessions. Notice it

again, verse 21. Give me the persons and

take the goods to thyself. Well, Melzdc

meets him first. And what does Abram do?

tithes out of that because it's a

representation of the Holy Ghost of God

or really of Christ coming to him and he

gives him that tithe in the text. But

isn't it interesting that after he gives

his tithe and faith to Melzdc, there's

his flesh is immediately tempted. Isn't

that interesting? Notice verse 21. Sodom

said, the king of Sodom said to Abram,

"Give me the persons and take the goods

to thyself." So all the goods that Abram

got back from the people of Sodom in

this text, the king of Sodom says, "All

right, look, you can have that. You can

have that if you want it." But in spite

of the fact that they were in Abram's

possession, let me say this. Just

because something is in your possession

at this moment mean does not mean that

it's yours.

>> All right? You say, "What do you mean?"

Well, some of us have automobiles and

banks on them.

Let's just be real, okay? You have homes

and do you really own your home?

>> Let's let's get it to a spiritual sense.

You have children. You have a husband.

You have a wife. Do they belong to you?

Who do they belong to first?

>> And so this question of possessions, you

say, "What does that have to do with the

king of Sodom?" Well, the king of Sodom

looked at those people and those

possessions as his.

That's how the devil does. You see, he

thinks you belong to him. All right? And

if you give him the opportunity, he'll

sell your goods.

>> There's a message in that, but I'm not

going to preach it tonight. Abram was

tempted. His flesh was tempted after he

was faithful to tithe. Now, I want to

say this before I go any further

tonight. This is after after these

things. It's all under that heading. I

want to say this tonight. When you give

what God tells you to, you just better

watch out because he's going to come

around and say, you know, you got this

bill that's coming up this week. You

know, you've got, you know, you've got

that thing you've been wanting to buy

that you'd saved up for, and you know

that you was going to do that this week,

and here you have give your money away.

That's when your flesh is going to be

tempted. But you see, it's that's when

you've got to decide. You hopefully you

already decided, but hopefully you have

a response to that temptation. Notice

this. After his faithful tithe, his

flesh was tempted. But I want to say

this, he trusted the father. Notice this

in verse 22. And Abram said to the king

of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto

the Lord. Do you know what that is

representation of?

You know what he was doing? He was

vowing.

>> Notice this. I have lift up mine hand

unto the Lord, the most high God. Notice

it again. The possessor of heaven and

earth. He looks at the king of Sodom and

says, "What you're trying to give me

really ain't yours anyway."

>> Amen. Let me just say this to you. What

the devil's trying to offer you, you

just look back at him and say, "Well, it

don't really belong to you anyway."

>> Amen. It belongs to God. Just because

he's got his fingers in it don't mean

that God's not going to get glory out of

it somewhere down the road. Amen. That's

right, friend. Notice this. Verse 23, he

said, "I've lifted up mine hand." verse

22 verse 23 that I will not take from a

thread even to a shoe latchet and that I

will not take anything that is thine

lest thou should have say I have made

Abram rich. Now some some would say

tonight that this is the pride of Abram.

No, I think it's the position of Abram.

I tell you this, the world looks at the

position we take upon the word of God

and they say we're prideful. They say

we're arrogant. They say this. They say

we're narrowminded. That's right.

>> And let me say this to the world that

looks in a carnal sense with a broad

spectrum, a broad view in mind, that is

that does seem prideful. Let's just be

real. What did when Jesus come to this

world? Let me ask you something. Did

Jesus ever apologize for anything?

>> Why? Why are we so ready and willing to

apologize to this world for our

standards? That's

>> right.

>> Jesus never apologized.

Abram said, "Look, I don't want nothing

you got. because it ain't yours anyway.

Notice this. Lest thou should have say,

I have made Abram rich. You see, Abram

was not willing to compromise his

righteousness. Why? Lot was down there,

and he knew that if Lot was going to get

out, him getting in going to help Lot

get out.

>> That's right, friend. Hey, you going and

yoking up with the world and throwing

yourself out there and giving yourself

away, getting caught up with them hook,

line, and sinker, hoping that you might

deliver them out. That's that's that's

>> dumb,

>> right?

>> Amen.

>> They're out there because they chose to

be out there. And if you're going to

bring them out, you're going to have to

stay out

>> to raise somebody up, you got to be

above them.

>> Notice this. He said, I will not take

anything that is thine, lest thou should

have say, I have made Abram rich. Verse

24, save only that which the young men

have eaten, and the portion of the men

which went with me, Aner, Esko, and

Mamry, let them take their portion. And

he says only what we have gotten to

survive through this is the only thing

we're going to take. I want to say this.

All you need from this world is what is

just enough to survive.

>> You know what Paul said? He said,

"Having food and rainignment,

let us therewith be content." I think

that every one of us fall short of that.

Let's just be real, okay? He says,

"Look, just what we've eaten, just what

we needed for the battle is all we're

going to take. And that's really all you

need in this life. Any more than that,

it's a burden. But you say, "What does

that have to do with chapter 15 and

verse number one?" Well, Abram was

faithful to tithe. He was tempted by the

flesh, the representation of the flesh,

the king of Sodom. But he trusted the

father. He responds to that king. And

just the way that you have to respond to

your flesh every day. I do not want what

you have to offer. I have not come to

purchase what you have to give. And I'm

not giving myself to you today. That's

why Paul said, "I die daily." And so he

dies to the king of Sodom. There's no

desire to take what he has to offer. And

notice what happens. Verse number one.

After these things, I want to give you

just a few things tonight. We we see the

after here in the tithe, the temptation,

and the trust. But you see, out of the

trust, there comes the first truth. You

say, "What do you mean?" Well, notice

the verse. After these things, I don't

want you to miss this. All right, I want

you to be enamored by this just the way

that I was. After these things, the word

of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision.

So, we see the after here is mentioned,

but now we notice Abram in this text.

Now, what does this have to do with

Abram? Now, he he's done all this. He's

handled all these situations correctly.

He he is he's tithed the way he should

have. He was tempted and he passed. He

trusted in the Lord. Amen. And he was

obedient. And so God comes to him in

verse number one. And then this

statement is made. The word of the Lord

came. You know, this is the first place

in your Bible where that appears.

The word of the Lord came. You say,

"What does that mean?" Well, it's a

specific thing. The word of the Lord

came, notice this, unto Abram. It's

specific. I want to say this. This was

not a generic blanket statement. You

say, "Preacher, but God spoke to him

while he was in the Caldes." Well,

here's the thing about it. This is the

first time it said in this way. Why is

that? Because it it's it signifies a

relationship.

You see, when God called unto him and

the Caldes, what was it? What was it? It

was a call to get out.

But you see here in the text, it's not a

call to get out. It's a call to come

near.

>> Because you say, "What is that?" Well,

he's in the place where he's supposed to

be.

But it's not just it's not enough to

just be in the place where he's supposed

to be. We've learned that through this

study, haven't we? Abram failed while he

was in Canaan. We know that he got out

of the will of God there for a little

while and then he came back. And yet,

even still, there was some thing there's

some struggles that Abram has in this

text. But I want to say this, God comes

to him in this way because he was

faithful to obey. He tithed to Melzdc.

He was faithful in the temptation of his

flesh. He trusted the father. He said,

"I've lift up mine hand unto the Lord."

And then the Bible says after these

things, the word of the Lord came unto

Abram. It's specific. It's direct. I

want you to notice about this this uh

Abram about Abram here in the text.

Number one, you'll see that there's a

voice. Look what the Bible says. The

word of the Lord came unto Abram in a

vision saying there's a voice that

speaks to him. You say, "Preacher, but

but God had spoken to him prior, but not

like it was this time."

You see, the thing about our

relationship with Christ is is that the

further we go, his voice ought to get

more clear.

The further that we live our Christian

life, things ought to become more

defined in our life. It's just like, you

know, the Bible says now we see through

a glass darkly. And so, in reference to

that, one of these days we'll see him

face to face, but from here until there

things ought to get more clear. Amen. We

all our our vision should not be getting

dimmer but it should be getting

brighter. And this voice here is is

speaking to Abram directly. Now you

notice not only the voice but you notice

the vision. The word of the Lord came

unto Abram in a vision. Let me ask you

something. What do you think he saw? Say

what do you mean preacher? Well I think

he saw the Lord. You say how is that?

Well it says the word of the Lord came.

Notice that the word of the Lord came

unto Abram in a vision. All right. So,

who's the word?

>> Jesus is right. The vision is not

described to us. He has a vision of the

Lord in this text. He has a vision of

the Lord Jesus. It's the voice of the

Lord Jesus in this text saying, and then

notice this. And Abram experiences the

voice. He hears the voice. He sees the

vision. But notice the vitality in verse

number one. The word of the Lord came

unto Abram in a vision, saying,"Fear

not, Abram." Now, all right, let's step

back for a minute. What was the first

three words of verse one after these

things? So, what has happened? All

right, up to this point, Abram has

fought with the king of Elim. He's waged

a war against him. 300 and some men,

they go up against him. They take them

out. They bring they spoil them. They

bring the goods back. All right. Now,

who are the people that Abram has met up

with in chapter 14? He's met up with

Melzdc, which is a representation of the

Holy Spirit of God, of righteousness.

He's met up with um the king of Sodom,

which is a type of the flesh. Who's he

not met up with yet? Cheddar Leon. You

know what he is? He's a type of the

world.

More definitely a type of the devil

himself. You say, "What does it mean,

fear not Abram?" Well, let me just let

me just say this. He's met up with all

of these other kings and he's done all

right to this point, but you know what?

He's not fought against them.

You see, the flesh, he won the battle

for them. All right, man. I ain't got

time to preach all this tonight, but

he he won the battle for them to deliver

Lot. Or let me say this. He won the

battle in spite of them to deliver Lot.

All right? In spite of the king of

Sodom, in spite that they did nothing to

help him win. He won the battle and

delivered Lot. Amen. Because it was his

desire to deliver them. He wins the

battle. Melzdc greets him. Amen. That

that righteous king greets him. But

who's not come back yet? It's the king

he fought against. The one that you deal

with every day

after he does everything right. He

pushes the flesh aside. He says, "Look,

I don't want nothing you have to offer."

He responds to Melzdc. And what is he

waiting for? Well, let's just picture it

in a logical sense. Abram's one man. He

doesn't have a city around him. He's not

a king. He has an army of 300 and some

chosen men. That's all he has. Well,

he's know he knows that he has no

defense city to live in. He doesn't have

a battalion that's going to defend him

when the king comes back. And so, you

know what he's doing now? He's thinking

about everything that he did while he

was fighting for Lot. Now, it's going to

come back and get him.

Boy, isn't that how we are sometimes? We

fight the good fight of faith. We do

what we're we know we're supposed to do

and we walk away from that thing and our

mind immediately begins to attack us.

>> Man, look what's going to happen now.

>> Man, wonder what could happen next.

>> You know what my problem is? I'm already

playing out scenarios that's never

happened yet.

>> You know what that is? That's

depression.

>> That's anxiety.

I'm playing out things in my mind that's

not happened yet. and really, if we're

honest, are not going to happen. That's

>> right.

>> Somebody said one time, "Don't preach

what you ain't lived." I've lived this

one. I can preach it.

>> DON'T DON'T PLAY OUT in your mind what

ain't happened yet. God comes to him

after these things. He's done right. He

did WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO. And and

God shows up. Boy, aren't you thankful

he shows up right when you need him

most.

>> And what's his first words? The first

thing that he says to Abram is, "Fear

not."

>> Fear not.

Look, you don't have to be afraid. You

know what that is? That that that is

vitalizing.

You say, you say, "What do you mean by

that?" I'm saying you can't live without

it.

Just as you got to have water and air to

live, that's what this is. You've heard

it said, it's nothing new, 365 times in

the King James Bible. Fear not.

It's it's a truth that we need to get a

hold of because that is God's answer to

OUR OUR SITUATIONS ALL OF THEM.

What what Peter say for God hath not

given us a spirit of fear but of power

and of love and of a sound mind. Fear

does not come from God. Perfect love

John said it cast out fear because fear

hath torment.

He says to Abram, "Fear not." I want you

to notice this. We we've considered

tonight and and this will be short and

I'll be done. We we've considered

tonight the the the after. We've

considered Abram. Now, let's consider

the answer in the text. Notice this. He

speaks to him and says, "Fear not." This

voice, this vision gives him vitality.

And and it and it begins, "Fear not,

Abram." I don't know about you, but that

soothes my spirit because let's just be

real tonight. doing right. Tony Hudson

said this way. You You can like him or

not, but he's right about this. Amen. I

like him a whole lot. I like to hear him

preach, okay? Don't catch me out for

that, but if you do, it'll be okay. But

I like him anyway. He said this. He

said, "You can't do wrong and get by."

He said, "But you can't do right and get

by."

>> I'm telling you that king will be after

you.

Abram, in the back of his mind, he's

already playing out how it's going to

happen. He's already seeing what what

ridge they're going to come from. He's

already seeing how many of them going to

be coming for him. There's going to be

twice as many of them that come against

me this time. They're going to wipe me

out. Look what God says to him. The word

of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision,

saying, "Fear not Abram. I am thy

shield."

>> You say, "Preacher, you don't know

that's what in what was in Abram's

mind." Well, God did.

Why would God be telling him that? Why

would God tell him to fear not? Why

would God say, "I am thy shield." You

say, "What does that mean?" Well, that

word shield, when you look up its

translation, it it's not a big shield.

Now, I was thinking when I was thinking

shield, I'm thinking, man, you know,

God's my shield. This is a fortress.

He's a wall, you know, and he is. Amen.

That's that's who he is. He's a fortress

about us. He's a buckler. Amen. He's

he's a wall around us. My high tower,

David said. He's all of that. But you

know what this shield means? It it

literally translates to the word buckler

and and you look up the word in its in

its etmology and it goes back to the

translation of a small shield.

Something just small. And I was thinking

about that those small shield that's a

handheld shield.

God told Abram, he said, "Look," he

said, "I'm your shield." He said, "What

do you mean by that?" Well, I'd say

this. Number one, when when we think

about the shield, it means that look,

Abram, you're carrying me with you.

You say, "What do you mean?" Well, it

was the word of God that got Abram out

of the Caldes. You know what he carried

out of? He left his family.

He left his friends. He left his fortune

there and went and started life. But you

know what he carried out of there? It

was his faith and the word of God.

When he says it's my it's he he says I'm

your shield. He's saying you carry me.

You say what is it? What do you mean?

Well, you think about us. Our body is

the temple of the Holy Ghost.

>> We know we talk about the armor of God.

Ephesians talks about the shield of

faith.

>> But God himself literally says, "I am

your shield. You carry me with you." You

say, "Preacher, what does that mean?"

Well, remember Abram don't have a city.

He don't have an army. He's got some men

that are trained and they do their job

well. We already saw that in the last

chapter. But he don't have a big army.

He don't have a defense city. He don't

have everything that these other kings

and kingdoms has. But you know what God

says? You don't need it.

>> Is anybody in the building tonight?

>> He says, "I am thy shield.

God is my shield. I carry him." But I

thought about this that small shield.

But I couldn't get past that in my

studies, brother Leon. You know, a big

shield, we think about a wall or

something like that. We can't be too

close to it, can we? Because we, you

know, it inhibits our function to war.

But you think about a shield. A shield

is carried with you. And so, what is a

shield? It's not just carried with you,

but it's close to you.

>> God said, Abram, I'm your shield.

>> You carry me, but I I'm close to you.

He's a wall about him. And thank God he

is. But you see that wall only does so

much. You got to be inside of it. Now I

know God's everywhere. Get the image

what I'm trying to say. Abram's in

Canaan land with no city, with no

defense wall, with none of that. He

says, "I'm your shield.

We carry him. He's close." But I thought

about this. You think about a shield. A

shield is controlled by the one carrying

that. And you know what? I thought about

this. God in our life will be as

effective as we want him to be.

>> Amen.

>> Said, "What do you mean?" Well, if you

let the shield down.

>> God says, "Abram, look, I am your

shield." Why did he say that? He said

that because Abram, you've done right to

this point. You've obeyed me. YOU HAVE

NOT FALTERED UNDER TEMPTATION. YOU DID

WHAT I TOLD YOU TO DO. You You've worked

righteousness. And what is that? As long

as to them that work righteousness,

amen, there is the promise of

protection. Not not physical for us, but

I'm talking about spiritual. You

understand there's no weapon formed

against us can prosper. You realize that

none. How is that? YOU SAY, "PREACHER,

WHAT ABOUT ALL the people who are saved

that fall out? They let the shield down.

>> NO WEAPON THAT IS FORMED AGAINST THEE

SHALL PROSPER. SO IF the enemy prospers,

it's because of you.

So So I thought about this. I carry him.

He's close to me. But you see this

shield, I think about a shield. A shield

is for the the enemy's attacks that you

can't see coming.

>> So what do you mean? Well, you think

about Roman soldiers. Their shield, they

would they would stick that thing up in

the ground and get behind it. But I

thought about this. That shield is

effective when it's put in the right

place. I was thinking about this. All

right. God only works when you put him

in the place where he belongs.

>> You can't put him in a box.

>> You can't make him fit your mold. All

right. And God tells Abram, "Look, look

son, I'm your shield." Man, there's so

much in that.

>> He controls. You think about this. He

controls what I cannot see coming. You

think about this. Does that shield ever

fail?

Can't nothing penetrate it, can it?

>> When that those fiery darts come at you.

Amen. They cannot get through that.

>> God tells Abram, "I'm your shield." He

doesn't say, "I'm your walled city." He

doesn't say any of that. I couldn't get

past that in my study. All right? He

doesn't say any of that. He says, "I'm

your shield." He said, "Because you have

chosen to walk with me, you've put me in

my rightful place. I will protect you.

>> You know what we can expect tonight? And

I like this. You know what we can

expect? Furthermore, you know what we

can count on tonight? When we put God in

his rightful place,

>> we're protected.

>> Right?

>> You say, "Preacher, but what about

cancer?" It it's not it's not the

physical side. What about what about all

the problems of life, relationships, and

all of that? It's not It's not physical,

and it's not mortal.

It's spiritual.

>> You say, "What do you mean?" Well, the

devil can't can't take your soul. Amen.

That shield is never coming down.

Somebody say, "Amen." But he also can't

take your joy.

>> There is no Listen to me, church. There

is no situation, there is no

circumstance that can take your joy

unless you allow it to.

>> Here's the thing about it. All right.

Abram is told in this text and it's

obvious. He's got things going in his

mind. He says, "Look, fear not, Abram. I

am thy shield." We carry him. He's close

to us and he controls what we cannot see

coming. But I notice this. You say,

"Preacher, what about those possessions

you were talking about?" Well, notice it

again. Verse one. He says, "Fear not,

Abram. I am thy shield and thy exceeding

great

reward." What has Abram done after these

things? First of all, he tithed, didn't

he? He give of his spoil. But you know

what he also did? He turned down the

spoil that was offered to him. He turned

down that hand that was stuck out from

the world said, "Abram, you take all

those goods. You deserve them." But you

know what? Abram because of his

righteousness and and was completely

unwilling to identify with this world

rightfully. He could have took all of

that. Nobody could have said a thing.

But you know what? Because he wanted to

be completely separated from this world.

You know what he did? I'm not going to

take that. And so, you know what God

says? He says, I am thy exceeding great

reward. Now,

you say, "What is that?" Well, God says,

"I am your shield." But he also says, "I

am your satisfaction."

You see, the truth that Abram learned

out of this is that when you just do

what God says, God will do to you what

he said he will do.

He promised Abram, promised him in

chapter 14, promised him that that he

would protect him, that he would provide

for him. And he says, Abram, I am thy

shield and thy exceeding great reward.

But here's what we miss in this. I we

think about everything that God has done

in this four apron.

But you notice what's said and I and I I

put this to last. It's not last in the

in the verse, but it's last for sermon

purposes tonight. The Bible says, "Fear

not Abram." And what's those next two

words? I am.

You see, God says, "Look, I'm your

shield. I'm your exceeding great reward.

But the miracle of this is not in the

shield. It's not even in the

satisfaction. Here's what the miracle

is. That the sovereign is allowing

himself to be possessed

by Abram.

Notice it again in the verse.

I am thy

thy. You know what that is? That's him

giving

himself

>> to Abram.

Say what is that? Well, it's like the

vows of the marriage. I do, I will.

>> Turning over

themselves to the will of another.

You think about this. We know you say,

"Preacher, well, God doesn't compromise

his holiness." And you're exactly right.

But here's the thing about that, okay?

When you operate in the realm of God's

righteousness and his holiness, you know

what you have? I don't want to say you

have control of God, but here's what you

have. All right. God has control of

control of you. And so here's what

happens. You know what you're doing? You

are operating as the arm of God.

We're hands and feet. We're ambassadors

to this world. And so you know what

happens? He allows us to possess him.

You say, "How is that?" Well, what's

salvation?

Whosoever shall call upon the name of

the Lord shall be saved. How? How are we

saved? by the word of God taking up

residence in our heart. Salvation, the

spirit of God lives on the inside. You

know what? We possess him.

Y'all looking at me all glassy eyed.

You say, "What's the miracle of that?"

Well, this is only the God of heaven.

He tells Abram, "I AM ONLY MAN IN THE

WORLD trying to do right." As far as we

know, one

He looks at Abram says, "Son,

I'm thy shield."

Personal.

I am. GOD SAYS, "I AM thy shield and thy

exceeding great reward." You know

what'll change your life? When you

realize like the song says, "He is

mine."

>> That's right.

>> You say, "Preacher, I believe that."

Well, if you grasp that,

you know what? Why we don't live the

Christian life the way we should? It's

because we forget number one, who we

belong to.

>> But you think about this, you forget the

fact that he has given himself

to us.

He belongs to us. Oh my friend,

I am thy shield and thy exceeding great

reward. I'll say this and I'll be done

tonight. You see when the holy had

visited him, Melzdc came and then the

fleshly visited him when that king of

Sodom came, he was expecting the world

and the devil to come very soon.

And God says to him,

and I love this, God showed up before

the devil ever got there and said, "Fear

not."

Before Chad Lemer could ever get all of

his army together, before anybody could

ever come to him and try to destroy him,

God says, "Look, Abram, it's going to be

all right."

Let's be real tonight. The people, the

things that you think are going to

destroy you probably haven't even

thought about you.

Can I get a witness tonight?

the people that you think are against

you and you think that every waking hour

of the day that they are just out to get

you. They probably haven't even thought

about you.

You say, "What do you mean? I know the

devil's after me." And he might be,

but let's just take it back a minute and

remember God said, "Fear not. I am thy

shield." You know, we have protection

promised to us when he's in his rightful

place.

>> Yeah.

>> We carry him. He is close to us and he

controls what we cannot see. You see,

God's working on the other end of the

story and doing things that you don't

even know about. Why would you waste

time worrying?

>> That's right.

>> About something that he's going to take

care of.

>> If it comes to you, here's what you have

to do. You have to make sure you're

right with him. Cuz you know what? When

it comes to you, he says, "I'll take

care of it if you'll let me."

This is what I'm found. I've found in my

own life, learned this by experience,

particularly this year, last couple

years. I found out that I cannot

physically prepare for anything that's

coming my way without first

submitting myself to his authority and

recognizing the fact that I belong to

him and he belongs to me.

>> And until I prepare myself with him,

there's nothing else I can do.

Let me say this to you tonight. Your job

will never work out until you are right

with him. Abram was blessed in the land

of Canaan because he was in the place

where God spoke God put him. He was in

the place where he's supposed to be. He

was doing what God told him to do. And

and I tell you this, all right, Abram

could have done all of that. He could

have left uh of the Caldes. He could

have went to the Canyon land. He could

have done every bit of that. But if his

personal relationship with God hadn't

been right, let me say this. You can be

in the job that God wanted you to be in.

You can be in the marriage that God

wanted you, God wanted you to be in. Let

me say this, uh, tonight, this evening,

um, the marriage you're in now is the

one God wants you to be in.

>> All right? But you can be where God

wants you to be, but if you're not

living the way that you're supposed to

live, God will not bless even when

you're supposed in the right place,

>> right?

>> But if you will be in the right place

and be the right person for him, here's

what what'll happen. You'll find that

God will prepare you for things before

you even know they're coming.

>> God will be putting things into your

heart. You say, "How is that?" Well,

your your devotion time through the

week, God will be interjecting scripture

in your life, in in your heart. And who

knows, it may be a couple weeks, months

down the road before you're going to

need every bit of that scripture he's

been putting in your heart

>> to live, to get through something. You

may not need it right now, but friend,

you better know it's all there for a

reason. And he's orchestrating your life

in a certain way. And this is what he

says. Fear not.

Fear not. I am your shield. He said,

"Preacher, that was said to Abram."

Well, the writer of Hebrews said it this

way. He said, "So that we may boldly

say, the Lord is my helper. I will not

fear what man can do unto me." That is a

personal promise. Jesus said, "I will

never leave thee, nor forsake thee." We

have that promise tonight. Father, thank

you for the truth of your word tonight.

And Lord, these truly are the benefits

of Abram. It wasn't the land of Canaan.

It wasn't Isaac.

Lord, it had nothing to do with anything

that you gave him. But Lord, it was all

in the fact that he had a relationship

with you. And Lord, you are the greatest

thing that's ever happened to any of us.

Lord, you're the greatest thing that's

ever happened to me. And Lord, I thank

you that Lord, before I was in the womb,

you knew me. And Lord, long after I'm

gone, Lord, you'll still know who I am.

And Lord, I thank you. You've never lost

a one. And God, I pray you'd help us to

trust you. Lord, help us to be vitalized

in this day and time. Lord, by the fact

that we don't have to be afraid of what

man can do to us, but Lord, we can trust

in faith, knowing, God, that what you've

done in us, Father, will far succeed

anything man could ever do to us. Lord,

I sure love you. Thank you for loving

us. Bless our church. And uh I pray God

you'd keep your hand on this place. I

pray for every question on the hearts of

your children tonight, Lord. Burden

about their jobs, burden about their

families and relationships. I pray God

tonight, Father, that you would give

them an answer according to your will.

And Lord, I pray, Father, tonight, Lord,

if there's if there's strengthening

needed, Lord, if there's change needed,

I pray you'd help them to make that and

do right by you and trust you because

Lord, you alone are worthy. And Lord,

you alone can handle these situations.

And God, if we'll let you handle it,

Father, you'll do what we could never

imagine. Lord, I sure love you. Thank

you for loving us in Jesus name. Amen.

>> Thank you for joining [music] our

service today. We'd love it if you'd

join us in person the next time you

[music] are able at Meadows Baptist

Church. Our physical address is 2988

Stewart [music] Road in Walnut Cove,

North Carolina. Our service times are

Sunday school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday

morning worship [music] at 11:00 a.m.,

Sunday evening worship at 6:00 p.m., and

Wednesday evening Bible study at 700

[music] p.m. For more information, visit

us at meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.