When the name Abraham is mentioned, the Abraham of the bible that is, one thing that comes to mind immediately is the word faith, he was the one God started a whole new generation with, all because he dared to believe, in fact he is called “The father of Faith”, I have often studied his story from the old testament and its one of the most remarkable stories ever written, for a man that old to completely trust in God even when everything around him contradicted what God said is awesome. The question I have often found myself asking is this, is it that this guy was just a special being and his kind of faith cant be found around here anymore or is it possible to take a critical look at his life and glean a few working principles that could work for anybody who is as determined to take Gods word literarily? I have come to realize that getting things done by faith isn’t the exclusive reserve of anybody, Abraham inclusive, but we as Christians can all make use of the principles he put into operation and get the exact same results he did, that for me was very comforting and it reminded me that its never about a human, its always about God, all He requires is believing Him to the letter and when He finds a man or a woman who satisfies this simple requirement, there’s no telling what He can do with such a person.
I find the principles Abraham employed to great effect outlined so eloquently by the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul in Rom 4:19 -22, this verses are filled with divine wisdom and we’ll outline them one after the other, it says, And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: 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: And therefore it was imputed to Him for righteousness.
What a scripture, only the Spirit of God could have compressed the lifetime of a man into these few verses and still not miss out on the significant details which anybody can utilize in order to walk with God and get the same results as Abraham did, vs. 19 gives us an insight into Abrahams lifestyle and how he deal with his thought life, it says, he considered not, these three words carry the key to whether we win or lose in the affairs of life, I often say that success isn’t just about knowing what to do, it also involves first and foremost knowing what not to do, it says here that he wasn’t mindful or to put it in modern terms, he didn’t even think about it, what was it that he didn’t consider, his dead body and the deadness of his wife's womb, the very things that were critical to him having the son God promised, these things stared at him in the face every single day and night and yet he didn’t think they were big deals, never in recorded history at this time had anybody his age who had been barren ever given birth, the odds were stacked against him and even at that, he didn’t give it much thought, is it any surprise the bible said he showed no weakness in faith No wonder Rom 8: 5,6 says, For they that are after the flesh do mind (consider) the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit: For to be carnally minded is death and to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Emphasis mine. And its so easy to determine the things of the flesh and the things of the spirit, Jesus said in Jn 6:63, It is the spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.
My question is what had God told you about your life and destiny, and what are the things of the flesh that negate His spoken word? It doesn’t matter who has said it, do not give them a second thought, don’t let your mind be full of them, they will only lead you to doubt the fact that God is able to do it, so that’s the first thing we learn from his life, what you think about, or in this case don’t think about goes a long way in determining your strength or weakness as far as faith is concerned.
In vs. 20 we find another attitude he showed in obtaining Gods promise for his life, he staggered not, once you focus on the promise unbelief has no place in your heart, the promise thus becomes the sure foundation upon which you build your very life, some people say they find it hard to get rid of unbelief, that’s because they have spent their entire lives focusing on something else but the promise, thereby building on a shaky foundation, no wonder they are being tossed here and there and have little or no stability, having talked about what he didn’t do in , in the latter part of this verse, we find something he did which characterizes the life of everybody that’s strong in faith, giving glory to God, someone asks, how is it possible to give glory and worship God when I haven’t seen any manifestation? If what you claim to possess is the real faith that’s birthed by Gods word, you will rejoice even when you haven’t seen anything in the physical, 1 Pet 1:8 says, Whom having not seen, ye love, in whom though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. That’s what real belief does, there’s a joy in you that cant be explained and doesn’t have any bearing with what's going on in the outside, it comes from the depths of your heart and a knowing that if He has said it, He will surely bring it to pass.
Finally in vs. 21 he reaches appoint where he is fully persuaded, as far as he was concerned he had reached a place in God where it really didn’t matter anymore if all permutations in the physical realm didn’t gel, God will still do what He said He would, it’s the point of saying what Rom 3:4a says, God forbid, yea, let God be true but every man a liar. It’s the point Paul talked about in 2 Tim 1:12, For the which cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. The Holy Spirit told me that’s the point where most Christians don’t get to before they give up and say may be its not meant to be, that’s the proverbial point of no return when absolute trust in God isn’t in doubt.
There is a progression here, it starts with the thought and now there’s an action to back the thought and an attitude to go with it, then comes vs. 22 where God imputed righteousness, here’s God saying these fellow has right standing with me and I have no choice but to confirm the spoken word with signs following, if it worked for Abraham it will work for any child of God in this new covenant, where we don even have to labor for righteousness, all we need do is believe and accept the price that Christ paid for us on the cross, that’s why it says in vs. 23,24, Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him: But also for us, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. God bless you