Rev. Ernest V. George
Genesis 12:2,3 – “2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Dearly beloved in Christ,
One of the greatest examples of faith in the Word of God is Abraham – the friend of God and the father of faith. Abraham’s life was marked by his explicit trust in God. Let me first define belief and faith before moving into the message. Belief is the intellectual analysis of assimilated information and it has to do with the mind. However, faith has to do with the heart, an emotional dependency and trust in the information received. As Christians, we are called to follow in the steps of Abraham – to walk by faith and not by sight. The faith journey that Abraham ventured into can be divided into four phases.
1. Abraham was Called of God Genesis 12:1 – “Now the LORD had said to Abram:’ “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.”
Abraham was called out of his old life into a new way of living, in a new place. There are three aspects to this call a. Separation: He was called to be separated from his position into a future designed by God. Similarly we are called to be separated from the world into the will of God. We are His children and set apart to be holy [Leviticus 20:26] b. Service: God called Abraham into His service and we as His children are also called to serve Him no matter where we are placed – schools, colleges, companies, churches or even in our families. c. Security: God promised Abraham security! God was going to take care of him! We too can claim security and safety in God when we respond to the call of faith.
2. Abraham was Committed to God Genesis 12:4–5 – “4So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.”
Without commitment, there is no accomplishment! Abraham was committed to God – when God asked him to move, he did. There are three areas in our lives that our affected when we venture out into our faith-walk. Our personality, our possessions and the people that we are associated with will be affected when we move forward with faith in God. Abram became Abraham, as he walked with commitment to God. There was a change in his personality as he left his past at the age of 75 to walk by faith in God into a future of great blessing! All of our possessions belong to God; we acknowledge this by our tithes that we give of our blessings. Sarah, his wife and Lot, his nephew too were affected by Abraham’s decision to follow God, not knowing where this was taking them. Your faith-walk bears consequences to those around you.
3. Abraham was Confused by circumstances Genesis 12:7-10 – “7The 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. 8From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. 10Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
Abraham reached a stage in his faith-walk, where everything seemed to go wrong. He had reached the land that God had directed him to, but then famine came on the land! How many times have we felt ‘led by God’ only to face adverse situations? However, the altar-builder, Abraham did not consult God before making his move to Egypt. This further complicated matters that changed the face of the earth forever! It was here that the Bible says that Abraham became afraid, he lied about his relationship with Sarah fearing the Egyptians, hired an Egyptian maid Hagar [through whom Abraham begat Ishmael] and both Sarah and Abraham experienced much pain. Two things that we must do when we are confused by our circumstances: 1. Worship God 2. Wait on God. If only Abraham had waited for God to direct him, I am sure God would have made provision for him right through the famine!
4. Abraham Completed his faith-walk Genesis 22:12 – “12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
In this chapter, we see that God finally tested Abraham’s love for Him by asking him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. And this time Abraham did not fail HIM! His trust in God was constant and his obedience to God was consistent! That is what we must do too in order to complete our faith-walk with God.
God’s love for us is so intense that He demands our complete allegiance to Him. If God is not LORD of all in your life, He is not LORD at all! Trust Him and walk in obedience and see your life transformed by His mighty power!
Because of He lives!
Website: www.gardencityag.org
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