Faith For The Promise
Let’s dig some more in Romans 4. In verse 16 we read: “Therefore [inheriting] the promise is the outcome of faith and depends [entirely] on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants—not only to the devotees and adherents of the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is [thus] the father of us all.”
Inheriting the promise to be heir of the world depends entirely on faith. I am so thankful that I don’t have to work up this faith. Jesus is the author and finisher of my faith which comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Hebrews 12:2 and Romans 10:17). The more I stay close to the Word of God, the more my faith in God will grow. It will come to a point where I rest in Him and am totally at peace when “all hell is breaking loose,” as the old saying goes.
How can I rest? Because I trust Him. I trust Him to take care of me. That is His responsibility and His delight. He lives to take care of His people. It is the very heartbeat of His being. We are His children, and He delights in us and in lavishly providing for us. He loves to see us thrive. It gives Him great pleasure. In fact, the Word of God says that He takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servant (Psalm 35:27). We are to say continually: “Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.” We are to let the Lord be the largest person in our lives. We are to enlarge Him, rather than make the problem bigger by our thinking on it constantly.
Let’s continue with our study of Romans 4 on Abraham and the promise received by faith. In verse 17 we read: “As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations, [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed” (Amplified Bible).
We are to be like God. We are His children and are to imitate Him. We are to be imitators of God. Earthly children love to imitate their fathers. God wants us to do the same things with Him. We are to focus on being like Him in everything we think, speak, and do. It is definitely a worthwhile endeavor in life. It produces great rewards.
Since we are to be like our Father, we are to call things that be not as though they were. God does that. He gives life to the dead with His words. As we take His Word from our Bibles and speak it over situations in our lives, He injects His life into our dead situations. There are times when we know that there is absolutely nothing that we can do to make anything better. It is all God. It is up to Him. He speaks and thinks of things that are not yet, as though they already exist. They do in His mind. When we take on the mind of Christ, we begin to think exactly like Him. We speak and think of things that are not yet manifested here in this earth, as if they already have been manifested. Why can we do that? They do already exist in God’s spiritual realm. Faith brings them here into our natural realm. What a glorious plan God has provided for us to live here on this earth. It is certainly a good plan.
Speaking of plans, Abraham had no reason to hope that he and Sarah would have the child that God promised to them. Verse 18 tells us: “[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be” (Amplified Bible).
Abraham had no earthly hope to cling to. He had only God’s Word. He didn’t even have the written word like we do. He had the spoken promise from God. That is what builds hope. Hope comes from the Word of God. And hope is the foundation of faith. Without Bible hope, there is no faith. God’s Word says you are healed, and that builds hope in you that it is true. As you meditate on that word, faith develops and you stand firm that it is an accomplished fact. I tell you that you shall receive when you stand firm in faith. Faith receives every time.
Verses 19-21 tell us how Abraham received by faith. He did not consider his negative circumstances. He deliberately chose not to look at them. Rather, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” Abraham was fully persuaded, fully satisfied, fully assured, and firmly believed that God would keep His Word to Him and do what He had promised. Abraham made a decision. The decision was this: He would believe God. He would praise God and glorify Him as if it were already a settled fact. And indeed it was a settled fact. When God says something, that settles it forever. The problem comes from our not believing that God will do it, because we look more at the circumstances screaming in our face than the Word of God speaking in peace.
We can have faith for the promise. God’s Word is always true for whosoever will believe it is true for them. His Word is true for you today as much as it was true for Abraham. Believe and receive.
Inheriting the promise to be heir of the world depends entirely on faith. I am so thankful that I don’t have to work up this faith. Jesus is the author and finisher of my faith which comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Hebrews 12:2 and Romans 10:17). The more I stay close to the Word of God, the more my faith in God will grow. It will come to a point where I rest in Him and am totally at peace when “all hell is breaking loose,” as the old saying goes.
How can I rest? Because I trust Him. I trust Him to take care of me. That is His responsibility and His delight. He lives to take care of His people. It is the very heartbeat of His being. We are His children, and He delights in us and in lavishly providing for us. He loves to see us thrive. It gives Him great pleasure. In fact, the Word of God says that He takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servant (Psalm 35:27). We are to say continually: “Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.” We are to let the Lord be the largest person in our lives. We are to enlarge Him, rather than make the problem bigger by our thinking on it constantly.
Let’s continue with our study of Romans 4 on Abraham and the promise received by faith. In verse 17 we read: “As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations, [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed” (Amplified Bible).
We are to be like God. We are His children and are to imitate Him. We are to be imitators of God. Earthly children love to imitate their fathers. God wants us to do the same things with Him. We are to focus on being like Him in everything we think, speak, and do. It is definitely a worthwhile endeavor in life. It produces great rewards.
Since we are to be like our Father, we are to call things that be not as though they were. God does that. He gives life to the dead with His words. As we take His Word from our Bibles and speak it over situations in our lives, He injects His life into our dead situations. There are times when we know that there is absolutely nothing that we can do to make anything better. It is all God. It is up to Him. He speaks and thinks of things that are not yet, as though they already exist. They do in His mind. When we take on the mind of Christ, we begin to think exactly like Him. We speak and think of things that are not yet manifested here in this earth, as if they already have been manifested. Why can we do that? They do already exist in God’s spiritual realm. Faith brings them here into our natural realm. What a glorious plan God has provided for us to live here on this earth. It is certainly a good plan.
Speaking of plans, Abraham had no reason to hope that he and Sarah would have the child that God promised to them. Verse 18 tells us: “[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, So [numberless] shall your descendants be” (Amplified Bible).
Abraham had no earthly hope to cling to. He had only God’s Word. He didn’t even have the written word like we do. He had the spoken promise from God. That is what builds hope. Hope comes from the Word of God. And hope is the foundation of faith. Without Bible hope, there is no faith. God’s Word says you are healed, and that builds hope in you that it is true. As you meditate on that word, faith develops and you stand firm that it is an accomplished fact. I tell you that you shall receive when you stand firm in faith. Faith receives every time.
Verses 19-21 tell us how Abraham received by faith. He did not consider his negative circumstances. He deliberately chose not to look at them. Rather, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” Abraham was fully persuaded, fully satisfied, fully assured, and firmly believed that God would keep His Word to Him and do what He had promised. Abraham made a decision. The decision was this: He would believe God. He would praise God and glorify Him as if it were already a settled fact. And indeed it was a settled fact. When God says something, that settles it forever. The problem comes from our not believing that God will do it, because we look more at the circumstances screaming in our face than the Word of God speaking in peace.
We can have faith for the promise. God’s Word is always true for whosoever will believe it is true for them. His Word is true for you today as much as it was true for Abraham. Believe and receive.
posted by Rev. Kialeen Potterton @ 8:32 AM
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