F-A-l-T-H spells Forsaking All I Trust Him to go beyond what is seen and secure and to trust in the Lord with all your heart, not leaning on your own understanding but following God in every part of your life. That doesn't mean we undervalue the mind and understanding; it means we do not base our life on what we can figure out or feel strongly it means God is at the centre -- and that is not always easy as Abraham knew but it can be exhilarating!

Genesis 13-14 tell us at least four things about faith

1. Faith goes back to God after failure

In c 12 Ab had mucked it up. Fear in Egypt had replaced faith. It was no credit to him that Pharaoh threw him out. What does Ab do? He goes back to where he had first built an altar 13.4 No altars in Egypt, and no mention of the Lord; now Ab approaches God again. Now we see his 'desire to return from disgrace to grace, to be quit of life's compromises and breathe again the clean air of the place where faith had once been fresh and strong' (JCL Gibson) Faith does not give up after failure; it gets up after falling to find God again. When you fail, don't give up. Get back to the 'altars' to where you find God close: prayer, bible, fellowship regular worship get in touch again with God: you may have failed him - he still loves you.

And once we are restored in relationship with God it is much easier to sort out difficulties with other people

2 Faith is willing to give way to others Faith works through love

The new wealth of Ab and Lot has created problems, room for all their herds. Ab's faith, restored by contact with the Lord makes him a man at ease with himself and able to deal graciously. He doesn't pull rank as head of the tribe, he doesn't fight for first place For Ab God is in control. Lot by contrast chooses for himself (v 11) He takes the valley which is fertile but also full of moral & spiritual danger "the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. Ab instead may be said to take the high ground, morally as well as literally; willing to defer, to have to work harder but remaining close to the Lord. Was Ab a wimp, a doormat, wanting a quiet life, not standing up for himself? C 14 shows that Ab was no wimp, a skilled military operator defeating a far targer army, rescuing Lot from the trouble he's got into. Ab in deferring to Lot is an OT example of Philippians 2 where Paul urges Christians to imitate the meekness and servanthood of Christ The meekness of Christ is not weakness, none stronger than Jesus And faith can strengthen us so that we are able to serve others joyfully"

3 Faith brings God's approval and assurance -- afterwards

in 13 14-17 the Lord repeats and extends his promise to Ab: not simply a great nation (as in c 12) but his offspring will be as numerous as the dust of the earth. Choices made for God may mean an immediate material loss e g. obedience to God means we pay our tax even when others save money and think us stupid, but our financial 'loss' more than compensated spiritually We may not feel it so at the time, but afterwards as with Ab God confirms it. I know a minister who was asked to consider applying for a new congregation; tempting, he was not so happy where he was, the other grass seemed greener, but he simply could not find any peace from God in going ahead to apply. He decided to remain where he was and not long after he made that known, he felt the blessing of God in his spirit for that decision, approval and assurance, after faith was exercised

4 Faith produces generosity & wisdom

In c 14 Ab meets 2 kings, Melchizedek king of Salem, & the King of Sodom. Melchizedek who is also a priest feeds Ab and gives him a blessing. Ab responds with a gift of a tenth of all that he has captured. The King of Sodom doesn't bother to bring God into it at all and makes an abrupt but businesslike offer to Ab.

"Give me the people but keep the goods for yourself"

Ab declines that offer; he only takes his expenses and the share belonging to the men who fought with him What is going on here? Why does he give one tenth to one and refuse to take advantage of the other? In the one case Ab responds to the blessing and gives without looking for return which can only be done with faith in a generous God: all our other financial deals are done with an eye to our own good. In the other case, Ab's faith makes him shrewd & wise enough not to be beholden to the King of Sodom. I have raised my hand to the Lord, God most high, creator of heaven end earth and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you so that you will never be able to say 'I made Abram rich' 14.22-23

Faith made Ab generous to those who honour God and cautious in his dealings with those far from God lest they would boast that Ab was in some way in their debt. I knew a minister in the North who had a lot of grass to cut but he had good reasons for not wanting to buy a lawn mower. Nearby was a Presbyterian who did not go to church much Why not ask to borrow his lawnmower? No, my minister friend said. I don't want him to get the impression that he has done his bit for God by doing me a favour with the loan of his mower.' That man's spiritual needs were more important than the minister's grass. I marvelled at the wisdom that arose from a lively deep faith and a concern to honour God in bringing people to a true faith in him. Doe the Church sometimes ask outsiders for too many favours? That's why people are cynical about us: the word goes round: 'They're always begging, always looking for our money A faith like Ab's will seek to be generous and to serve the outsider not to let it even seem to be the other way round.

1.Faith goes back to God after failure

2.Faith is willing to give way to others Faith works through love

3.Faith brings God's approval and assurance afterwards

4.Faith produces generosity & wisdom

Our faith must be very strong if we feel we have nothing to learn from any of these aspects of Ab's faith: Have you let God down? Faith gets up and goes back to him. Have you problems in the family? Faith works through love. Have you a difficult decision? Find out what God wants and do that in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. And that applies to how we use our wealth. May a living faith make you both generous and wise

May God keep you in perfect peace as you stay your minds on him as you trust in him.