“I Give It To You” (Gen 13:17)

And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are––northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 "for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants {Literally seed, and so throughout the book} forever. 16 "And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 "Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you."

The Promised Land is a promise given to us by God and revealed by obedience. God comes to us freely, unsought, in the gospel, and He delivers us from sin. And, God comes in response to faith, even as Abraham loved Lot, and for his love, he saw more of God.

As you and I do God's will, we see the beauty of Christ even more. As we love, we're loved experientially. Jesus said, “If a man love me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). Living that OTHERS know God...for their good... is the ONLY way to bring good to you.

First, the promise is a gift. God gave Abraham the promise BEFORE Abraham had obedience. When he was idolatrous in Ur of the Chaldees, God called him, as He called you, dead in sin.

We didn't do, seek, or knock. He came to us in grace, and He gave the grace to seek and knock, so He could be revealed. We have RECEIVED the gift of God through election; it is BECAUSE OF Him, “so then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy” (Rom 9:16).

Secondly, He comes as we obey. As Abram loved Lot, giving him the best of the land, God gave Abraham everything. As we love others, doing them good that they might live, helping them see Christ, we maximize happiness for ourselves.

There is no other way to live than serving others, if you'll experience promises yourself. The life of self-service is fool's gold. As you need God to save others, He'll be with you. He says, “Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified” (Haggai 1:8). As you do His will, you'll know by it's power that it is of God.

He rewards us in this life and eternally.

Thirdly, don't think there is a third way. Don't think that you can live for yourself and see God's beauty. Don't think that you can have this world and Christ. We must choose what kingdom we're in, and choosing wisely is rewarded.

Abraham loved Lot. Let us love each other as proof that we are saved, so the elect may be saved through us.