"Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own
body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the
deadness of Sarah's womb" (Romans 4:19).
Hey
Gang: Wait, stop, re-read the above verse. Can you imagine how
Abraham and Sarah felt when they received the message from the throne room that
they were going to be with bambino? The essence of true faith is found in this
single statement from God - Abraham was going to be a daddy and he would have
a son, one who would become the seed of many nations.
Remarkably,
Abraham didn't flinch at this promise, even though he was well past the age of
siring children. But remember this was Abram, the one who received
a message from the Lord to "Go forth from
your country and from your relatives and from your father's house, to a land
which I will show you" (Gen 12:1). Hey,gang,
how would you have handled this command from God?
Does
God send out challenges like this today? In 1967 I received a similar
command from God: Sell your house, quit your jobs, pack up your family, and
move to a place that I will show you. And, after we did that, for the
next two plus years God did a heap of preparation in my life for the tremendous
challenge that was to come.
When
Abraham received this word from the Lord, we're told, he "considered his own body now, good as dead
and the deadness of Sarah's womb”.
Paul
now goes on and challenges our heart with trusting God in the face of
impossibilities: "Being fully
persuaded that what God has promised He was able also to perform" (Rom.4:21). To the natural mind there
was no way this promise could be fulfilled. But Abraham did not cry out
"You got to be kidding". Why, because he had tested God and his
life actions were based on experience.
Abraham
was anchored on the words of the writers of Hebrews, who gave us the foundation
key to all those listed in the Faith Hall of Fame: "Without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a
rewarder of those who seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). James built on that irrevocable premise
of God when he wrote, "Consider it all
joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of
your faith produces endurance" (James 1?2-3). And if there is anything in this day of
darkness and evilness that surrounds us, we need endurance.
Soooo,
young warriors, let me end this message by saying the fact is, when God is at
work producing a faith that is tried and better than gold, He first puts a
sentence of death on all human resources, Keep in mind Paul's formula for
chance found in Colossians three, We must first die to self, then put off
all those things that offend the Holy Spirit, then fill that void with the
fruits of the spirit and all those things that bring honor and glory to God and
lastly the most difficult part - we must let God be our pilot - not our
co-pilot. Also remember, the Lord gives strength a day at a time.
We have no guarantees for tomorrow!
Blessings,
Gramps
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