READ: Genesis 15:1
CHALLENGE: Don’t Stop Believing
A. FAITH HEARS FROM GOD
V1 – After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram.I am your shield, your very great reward.
I assume that the word of LORD is coming to Abraham in response to concerns in Abraham’s own heart or questions about the future. God knows Abraham’s heart and He reaches out in his time of need to give him comforting words. God will tell us what we need to hear, comfort to conviction!
Here, God communicates in a vision. It’s divine revelation in a dream or spirit-filled state. And it’s the word of the LORD directly to Abraham. Let’s not forget that the Bible is “The word of the Lord” directly to us. It’s beyond opinion as it’s reality.
To hear God speak directly is so powerful. Whether a voice like the thundering of many waters or the still small voice. The word of God is so strong that at a word, God made the world. Whose voice is more powerful than God’s? Whose voice would you rather listen to? There’s no voice more important! There are many voices that call to us, but we need to tune into the right voices. God’s is the right voice.
And remember – the devil masquerades as an angel of light so don’t be fooled. Stick to the word!
(trans.) So what does God say?
1. Don’t Be Afraid
Don’t fear. Don’t shake with fear. Don’t be overwhelmed with fear. Don’t allow fear to lead you to bad decisions. One of the great dangers of fear, is that you jump onto a wrong path. Any emotion that is flooding can lead us to poor decisions. The is true of love, anger, or fear. You may run when you should stay put. If fear is flooding over we may jump into a decision that we will regret.
Whatever Abraham is facing, fear accompanies it. He doesn’t have a son and perhaps he’s concerned about his future. He just defeated an army, maybe they’ll reload and come back. There can be many things that plague our thinking. God whispers loudly, do not be afraid.
Who has not awakened in the middle of the night concerned and deeply troubled about something scary whether real or imagined? No wonder the encouragement, “Do not be afraid”.
Often people were told this before making big moves or stepping into God’s will. Joshua was told to not be afraid of taking leadership. Joseph was told not to fear taking Mary as his wife. And why don’t we have to be afraid? Because God is with us! And if God is with us, who can be against us.
Don’t exist in a state of fear. Don’t live in fear. Don’t be worried about the past. Don’t worry about the present or the future. What are you afraid of right now? He is saying, don’t be. Fear is the opposite of faith because our confidence needs to be in God above.
So, two things about fear. What I was afraid of never materialized so it was over nothing. I felt it was completely on me to fix it! I’m alone in this struggle. However, we’re not alone. We have God and here’s the thing about God. God has it under control. God has it figured out already.
Whatever you’re going through, it’s not ALL on you! This is why we don’t have to fear, it’s never solely on us. If you’re going through something scary, lean on God. Take his advice and fear not because he is with you.
2. God Protects
The word “shield” refers to an object which provides covering and protection to the body during warfare. “In view of the fact that God is always the one who protects his people, it is no surprise that he is so often called the shield of Israel. He is the shield about his servants (Genesis 15:1) … an all who walk uprightly and put their trust in him (Proverbs 2:7; 30:5)
God’s a shield. It’s protection from the harm that outside forces try to bring to you. I like God being a shield because he can protect us against harm we cannot foresee or control. Like when Jesus prays for Peter saying that Satan desired to sift him like wheat. Jesus prayed for our protection in John 17. David often referred to God as a shield. It didn’t mean everything was easy but he saw how God protected his life.
Sometimes he may shield us from the vicious words of others and perhaps sometimes he’s protecting us from ourselves, protecting us from overwhelming sorrows, or protecting us from our own bad decisions. We may never ever know how many times God protected us in this lifetime.
When Joseph’s brothers wanted to kill him, God protected him. And raised him to nearly as powerful as Pharoah. God protect Daniel in the Lion’s den. God is protecting us all the time. God even gives us the shield of faith by which we can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one.
3. God is Our Very Great Reward
The word reward comes from a word that means to pay someone their wages. God is Abraham’s pay. A reward for his faithfulness to God. He lived for the Lord. Trusted the Lord. And what was the benefit – blessing. And this is beyond prosperity. You can have all the prosperity in the world and be miserable. Tough to have God in your life and be miserable. There’s a fulfillment there.
He took nothing from Sodom because God was enough! Is that our attitude? I don’t need what’s in the world because God is enough. He’s a great reward. Our Heavenly Father is the biggest jackpot that we can hit.
And before you think little of that. In later years when Israel conquers the land of Canaan. The Levites don’t get a big piece of land because God is their inheritance. And seeing what God is doing and living in his will is the best place you can be.
Romans 12:2 – Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
God’s will is pleasing and perfect. That’s where you want to be. Work on your spiritual life and never think it’s the least important part of your life. And remember this, we all have an equal share in God. You can be as poor as the proverbial church mouse but have the same amount of God, the same stake in God as anyone else. You can have a bad past but you have the same share in God!
And God is not just a reward, a very great reward. I wonder how often we chase the lesser of things when a walk with God is the greatest thing. God is his greatest asset that you have.
I could argue that among our greatest assets are our family and friends and church family. These relationships make life worth living. God is constantly there and can do things beyond our imagination. Never dismiss the walk with have with God. Later on in Abraham’s life, God calls him a friend.
B. FAITH ASKS QUESTIONS
Vv2-3 – But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
1. Ask with Respect
Look at how he addressed God. Sovereign LORD. Master / LORD. The first word is a word commonly referring to your master. It’s the first time in the Bible the term is used for God. “It denotes one who has authority; and, therefore, when applied to God, the Supreme Lord. Abram hereby acknowledges Yahweh as Supreme Judge and Governor, and therefore entitled to dispose of all matters concerning his present or prospective welfare.“
The NLT and NIV translate it as “sovereign”. And sovereign means, a. supreme power especially over a body politic. b: freedom from external control : AUTONOMYc: controlling influence.
God has absolute power free from external control. He does exercise influence in our world. He has the ultimate free will. What do you believe about God’s sovereign control in this world?
This subject of God’s authority over our lives, of how God is governing in such a mixed up world is something for us to wrestle through in faith. I believe that God’s sovereignty means that He is absolutely in control. In control as opposed to our world being hapless, directionless, and chance driven. And in control including him permitting us to make decisions.
God’s sovereignty does not nullify your free will. Your choices are your choices and we are responsible for the decisions that we make. When you look at a system such as evolution. It’s a system of random chance happenings and God is not needed if everything is by luck, chance, or a roll of the dice. We do not believe that. God is directing our steps as it says in the Proverbs.
We believe there is cause and effect in this world beyond what we’re doing. Yes, God allows me to orchestrate and plant blueberries and gardens if I like. But I believe that there are other areas where God is pulling the strings and directing. It’s deeper than any thoughts or plans I have. God is moving in situations beyond our knowledge and in ways we may not yet detect or understand and that’s something we trust him for.
There were times when you would lose a person and God had someone right ready and it’s beyond my understanding but it all works out. I’ve seen God move in areas and I don’t need to do a thing because God already took care of all of it. I stand back in amazement. He’s working!
God doesn’t decree everything that we do but when he does, it’s going to happen and you won’t stop it. God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah got on a boat and ran in the opposite direction. That’s free will. God brought about a storm. The lots pointed to Jonah and he was thrown overboard. God sovereignly appointed a great fish to swallow him and spit him up near where he would go.
I’m sure he was extra convincing when he got there being a bleached preach spit up on the beach! It’s an amazing story actually. He did what God wanted as God corralled and funneled him in the direction that he wanted to go. He even used poor decisions.
In Abraham’s life, his wife will have a baby in her older years when you would expect that she would never have a child. This is God’s sovereign control in the world. That’s sovereignty! Way beyond human ability.
God can take the bad turns and make something beautiful out of it. So when people break things on us, it’s OK. God can replace and fix and guide and help and strengthen. As Solomon noted, God makes all things beautiful in his own time. That’s sovereignty. The way that God can make all things beautiful! He can bring beauty out of the ashes – that’s sovereignty.
If God is not sovereign over events and happenings then what’s the point in praying? We pray because we believe God has involvement in this world.
Look at Joseph in the Bible. His brothers sold him into slavery. God raised him up to save countless lives. They intended it for evil and God intended it for good. Jesus was cruelly nailed to a cross and God used those evil actions to save the world. I’m glad that God can take our messes and make something beautiful out of it.
2. Stick to the Facts
I always took comfort in knowing that it’s OK to ask questions. He’s not shaking his fist at God. It’s not doubting. You just don’t understand how it’s going to work. He’s not all emotional about it. He says I have no children and my heir is a servant in my house.
You say I’ll be a great nation but I have no children. You have given my no children. Abraham had done everything he could do. How can this promise be fulfilled if I have no children of my own. It’s a logical question and we’re allowed to ask questions.
There’s nothing wrong with stating your situation. It’s not a surprise to God at all. And we’re not putting our Lord to the test – we’re just wondering. There’s nothing wrong with asking God what we should do.
C. FAITH BELIEVES BEFORE IT SEES
Vv4-6 – Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspringbe.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
1. We Believe in God’s Power
I love God using nature. Can you imagine seeing the stars without light pollution. It would have been an awesome sight. Stars beyond counting. God, can you really come through on this promise you’ve made? Look up at the sky and start counting stars – if you can. Which you can’t. How many stars are there anyway? There are 200 Billion Trillion stars! Can you count to a billion trillion? Another source said this, “Our universe contains at least 70 septillion stars, 7 followed by 23 zeros. Astronomers estimate there exist roughly ”.
Makes me feel puny in light of such a vast galaxy. Wow! Like David said, who is man that you are mindful of us? We’re like nothing, yet God is working. Next time you start to doubt. When you start to wonder if God can do it. Go count stars and consider how vast and great God is. He’s so powerful. You will have a son. Your family will become so big that it’s beyond counting.
Abraham simply believed God. Faith is trust and reliance. The word carries the idea of being certain. You need to have confidence in it. It’s sure footing. He had no doubt in his mind.
What are you truly confident in? Sometimes I’ll get into a swing and I’ll wonder, will it hold me? What if the straps are getting worn and I can’t see it. There’s some hesitation that I have about it. I’m not sure.
When you’re confident, you’ll be certain. I’m confident my tripod will hold my camera up. If I fasten it on there, it’s not moving. My friend bumped his tripod legs on a rock and his camera popped off and took a 40 foot fall. He got a new camera. Mine, it’s not coming out, no way!
I’m confident that my boots won’t leak if I’m walking around in squishy, muddy terrain. I can be pretty certain because of the dependability of things.
We can be certain about God because of the dependability of God. God is true to His word and true to His promises. He does what He says he’s going to do. He answers prayer.
2. Faith Believes Before It Happens
Faith is believing it before it happens. Did he have a son yet? No, he just trusted God! Believe it before it happens. You believe you have it when you don’t have it yet. Thus the power and comfort of faith.
If I have to have it in hand before I believe in it, then what’s the point of faith? Faith believes it before I have it. As Jesus said, believe that you have already received it.The peace that comes from simple faith is so amazing. You just rest in God and in his promise. You can sleep knowing that all will be well.
3. We Are Credited with Righteousness Through Faith
Then belief counts as righteousness. I would say that this is one of the most important verses in the Old Testament. So many believe that God treats believers differently in the OT than in the NT. Or there’s a different path to God but there’s not a different path. The path has always been faith.
Romans 4:3 – What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Romans 4:18-22 – Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[d] 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Abraham’s faith was credited as righteousness. It was put into his account as righteousness.
We aren’t perfect. We have our flaws. But we can come to God is simple belief. And have a relationship with God!
There can be no righteousness apart from belief. I can’t have a right standing with God apart from faith. You’re saved through faith!
Ephesians 2:8-9
Don’t stop believing!
HEAR – ASK QUESTIONS – BELIEVE STRONGLY!