We continue our study this week on the faith of Abraham, who was called the father of us all, according to Paul. Because Abraham believed God, it was credited to him as righteousness. But that wasn’t for Abraham only, it is credited to us also who believe the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
Join us on this week’s blog/podcast
God called Abram’s father, Terah from Ur of the Chaldees to the land of Canaan, but they only came as far as Haran and dwelt there. After the death of Terah, God called Abram to leave Haran and to go to Canaan. Abram left as God instructed, except he took some of his family with him. The first promise God gave Abram was, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”
The promise of Abram and Sarai’s seed, or offspring, was the first promise from the mouth of God. Yet Abram was about 75 years old and Sarai was about 65 when they received the promise. She had been barren and was now past age, as was Abram. Yet the Word of God and the promise of God had been given.
In Genesis 15, when Abram asked God, “where is my promise seeing I go childless?” God responded for Abram to look at the stars. He told Abram to number the stars, if he was able, and to say, “So shall my seed be,” numberless shall Abram’s descendants be.
When Abram was about 99 years old, God spoke to him again and changed his name. No longer shall your name be Abram, meaning highly exalted father, but you shall be called Abraham, meaning father of many nations, “for the father of many nations have I made you.”
God had made Abraham the father of many nations, long before Abraham saw it. When God gave him the promise, he bacame the father of manyh nations. When Abraham began to call himself what God had already made him, it was only a matter of months before Isaac was born.
Can you imagine what you would be if you called yourself what God has already called and made you. When God says it, it is so. When you mix your faith with God’s promises, you will become what He has already made you. Selah!
Join us on the broadcast/podcast for this weeks radio teaching.
Jesus told the disciples (and us) to have the faith of God. The faith that God is offering us is His faith. We have been given the faith of God. This is no mamby-pamby faith! The Bible also refers to Abraham in Romans 4:16 as the father of us all, if we share the faith of Abraham. Abraham walked in this faith, the faith of God – which came from the Word (or mouth) of God. The Bible is God speaking to us.
God took Abraham out of his tent one night and told him to count the stars if he was able to do so. And then God said, so shall your seed be! Abraham could only see with the naked eye about 6500 stars, but there are over a billion stars in our Galaxy, the Milky Way. However, there are over a billion star clusters or galaxies. According to that rationale, Abraham’s seed is well over a billion billions!
When Abraham believed God, God counted that to him for righteousness. But that wasn’t written for his sake alone, righteousness is counted to us also who believe in God, who raised Jesus from the dead, who was put to death because of our sin and was raised again to solidify our justification, balancing our account and clearing us from all guilt before God. It is as if we had never sinned. When we believe God, He counts that to us as righteousness – the same righteousness Jesus has! Jesus became sin for us, who knew no sin, that we may be made the righteousness of God in Christ.
We have the righteousness of Jesus by faith. Meditate on that! It will change your self image as you see yourself as the righteousness of God, in Christ.
That is why we can come boldly to God’s throne, seeking Him if faith knowing He will perform His Word in our life.
Join us this week on the broadcast/podcast as we continue to study the faith of Abraham.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. God’s Words are vehicles for faith. When we receive God’s Word as truth, when we believe that the Word of God is truly His Word, then our hearts are receptive to His faith. If we question the Word of God, then our hearts are closed to His truths. We must first decide to believe God’s Word and that it is inspired by Him. If we open our hearts to his truth, then the spirit and life that are in His Word takes root in our hearts. His Spirit living in our spirits. Faith comes by receiving into our spirit man the Word of God as truth. When we do this, things in our spirit man will change.
God has given us His faith. It’s His faith and His faith works. If we use His faith like He does, we will get the same results. Jesus said so in Mark 11:22-26. Jesus said have the faith of God (and if He said to do so, we can). If we do, then we can say to the mountain (obstacle, problem, sickness, curse) be removed and cast into the sea. If we don’t doubt in our hearts, but believe what we say will come to pass, we would have what we say. He said we can have what we say, if we say what we have in our hearts.
This is the same faith that Abraham developed. For 24 years Abram has a promise from God, but when Abraham began to call himself what God had called him everything changed. When Abraham said what God said, it was a matter of months before he inherited the promise of a child from God. When he got his mouth and his words right the promises came to pass.
Join us on this week’s broadcast/podcast for the teaching on “The Faith of Abraham.”
The Word of God is so good that it has given us an escape from any trouble that may ever come our way, as believers. We are believers and that means we believe the Word of God. For any situation we face in life, God has a promise for us for victory. If He has a way of escape for us in His Word, then it is a promise of God.
Inheriting the promise of God is the outcome of faith and depends entirely on faith in order that it (the promise) may be given as an act of grace (Amplified paraphrased). That means we must exercise faith in His Word. The good news (Gospel) is that as we go to God’s Word with an open and receptive heart, faith comes. He has even given us His Faith. The Word of God is our hope (expectation). Faith is the substance (manifestation) of that hope and expectation. We should expect God’s Word to come to pass. Faith is evidence of things we can not yet see. Faith believes as real fact that which has yet to be seen or perceived by our sense realm. Faith is believing and acting on the Word of God.
He has given us HIS faith, and His faith works.
Now work it!
Join us for this week’s radio broadcast & podcast.
Jesus said in Mark 11:22, “Have faith in God” or as the margin reference in the King James says, “have the faith of God.” Jesus is telling us that we can, and should have the faith of God – God’s faith has been given to us. God’s faith works and if you receive His faith, then His faith will work for you. His faith in you will bring to pass His will for your life.
Abraham understood this principle, but it took some time. When he began to say what God said, when he began to call himself what God called him, his life began to change. When God changed his name from Abram (highly exalted father) to Abraham (the father of a multitude) he began to see himself as God saw him – the father of many nations.
When we say what God says about us, it begins to get in our spirit. We begin to develop faith for what God has said in His Word concerning us – and if we don’t quit, it will come to pass.
It only took Abraham about 3 months to see results. After he changed his name and began to call himself what God had called him, his son Isaac was born, within one year.
That’s the faith of Abraham, which is the faith of God.
Join us on this week’s broadcast for the study of “The Faith of Abraham.”
This week on the broadcast we continue our study on “The Faith of Abraham” who is considered to be the father of us all, because we share the same faith (see Romans 4:17). The faith of Abraham came from God’s Word, the Words God spoke to Abraham. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God – by receiving into your spirit man the Word of God, as truth. This means you make a decision to believe the Word of God as the source of truth, regardless of what your situation looks like. When Abraham believed God, God counted it him as righteousness. But that wasn’t for Abraham’s sake alone, it was written for us too. When we believe God, He counts our faith as righteousness. When we truly believe God, we have the same righteousness as Jesus. This is not by our works, but by our faith in what He has said and done.
Imagine that, when we believe God, he counts it to us as righteousness. Our slate is clean. We are free from sin. We can receive the fullness of God by faith. All the promises of God are the outcome of faith and depend entirely on faith (see Romans 4:16, Amplified).
In Mark 11, Jesus and His disciples were on the road from Bethany to Jerusalem for the festival. The disciples heard Jesus curse a fig tree and Peter noticed the fig tree dying as they passed by on next day. Jesus’ response was “Have the faith of God.” Then He gave His best recorded teaching on faith in the Gospels.
According to Jesus, If we speak to a mountain (or any problem, fill in the blank) and tell it to be removed and cast into the sea, and if we don’t doubt in our heart, but believe what we say would come to pass, what we say will come to pass. Furthermore, what things soever we desire when we pray, if we believe we receive them when we pray, we will have them. Again, according to Jesus’ own words, the things we pray and the things we say will all come to pass if we believe it is done at the time we pray or say.
Jesus said that if we believe, all things are possible. But if we believe when we speak or pray, then the impossible things will come to pass in our lives. The impossible becomes not only possible, but guaranteed when we get our words involved in faith.
Join us this week on the broadcast as we continue to study “The Faith of Abraham.”
(Broadcast from 11/29/09)
According to Jesus we have the ability to speak to mountains in faith and to pray in faith and then to expect for changes to take place. Miraculous changes. Jesus spoke to the fig tree, spoke to demons, spoke to the wind from a boat, spoke to sickness & disease and created change that was in line with God’s Word. He did these things by speaking in faith and by praying in faith. Faith is believing and acting on the Word of God.
He told us that if we believed on Him, the works (miraculous signs & wonders) that He did, we would do, and even greater things than His would we do. If we believed. Believing God’s Word is a choice we make. We have to decide above all that we are going to believe His Word and then act upon it. It is a choice we must make. Are you willing to make that choice? Are you willing God and His Word, and then just step out on it?
He is waiting on you and I to do just that.
Join us this week on the broadcast as we continue to study “The Faith of Abraham.”
(Broadcast from 11/22/09)
If we are commanded to live by faith, then we can do it. God will not command us anything that we do not have the ability to do with His help. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. If our hearts are open and receptive to the Word of God, then we can receive the truth that Jesus said would make us free. But we have to decide to believe. We have to know in our hearts that the thread of truth, that runs through His Word, is true. If we settle that before we get into His Word, then the battle is over. We are then ready to receive the truth.
When we hear the Word, faith is available for us to receive, faith just comes. We don’t have to worry whether or not it will work, it just does. God’s Word guarantees that it will.
When Abraham heard God’s Word, that was his “title deed” and his proof. Every time he looked up at the stars, Abraham was reminded of what God said, “so numberless shall your descendants be.” When human reason for hope was gone, Abraham hoped in faith that he would become the father of many nations. He didn’t consider the obvious circumstances, like the utter impotence of his body or the barrenness of Sarah’s deadened womb, but he was fully satisfied that God was able and mighty to keep His Word and to do what He had promised. That is why his faith was credited to him for righteousness.
That is what we need to do. Trust the Word of God to be true, believe His Word to change our situation.
Join us on this week’s broadcast of “The Voice of Healing Faith.”