The efficacy of the Word of God that we heard, meditated and received will not come into fruition until it is being acted in obedience.  Truly, faith without works is dead.  (James 2:17)

“Put the word into action. If you think hearing is what matters most, you are going to find you have been deceived.”  (James 1:22 Voice)

Abraham is the father of all who BELIEVE and demonstrated what it means to believe.

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (Genesis 12:1-4)

Hmmmm …. when the Lord spoke to Abraham, he hesitated not.  He departed just as the Lord has spoken.  He believed that even at his age, God has something greater in store for him.  What a powerful lesson to ponder indeed.

Not just this, but the Lord told Abraham to offer his only beloved son, Isaac, and once again he obeyed without hesitation.

“Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.  Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off.  And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” (Genesis 22:1-5)

Oh what kind of faith did Abraham have?  It was a God-kind of faith!  Mind you, he took Isaac with him to be offered and yet he told his companions to stay and wait while he and his son will worship and said, “we will come back to you”.  He fully and absolutely trusted God’s promise to him that he will be a father of many nations.  He was fully persuaded that even if Isaac will be offered, God has the power and ability to raise him from the dead to fulfill His covenant with him.

“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.  No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.”  (Genesis 17:4-5)

Yes, God made a covenant with Abraham to be the father of many nations, but many may have thought that … “oh well if God can bear Abraham and Sarah a son, Isaac, at their old age, He can do it again if Abraham made Isaac as an offering.”  Hmmm … but no, no!  Our God is a God of specific purpose.  God said to Abraham, “Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.”  (Genesis 17:19)  I believe this was the reason why Abraham confidently told his companions to wait while he and Isaac worship and said, “we will come back to you.”   No wonder he is called to be our father of faith.

“Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.  And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”  He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.”  (James 2:21-24)

Is there anything that God has told you to do that is way beyond your wildest thoughts, dreams and imaginations?  Hmmm … After all, NOTHING is impossible with God and ALL things are possible to those who believe that there is NOTHING impossible with our God.

Is our age hindering us to fulfill what the Lord has deposited in our hearts?  Hmmm … look at Abraham!  Oh well, we may say … “but that was then?”  Hmmm … we need to be reminded that God is the same yesterday, today and forever! (Hebrews 13:8)  “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

One of the secrets to having faith with works is when we come to know Who our God, our Lord and Savior is and what He is willing and able to do.  Divine revelation of who we are before His very eyes as His precious sons and daughters all because we received Jesus in our hearts is a vitality and necessity.  “To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His Hame, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

It is our divine identity that postures us to have divine ability.  Our identity is given by grace when we make Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and our ability as the same way given by grace to fulfill what God has called us to do.  Left on our own, we can do nothing, but the indwelling of Christ in us Who is the Hope of glory makes us unstoppable.

When Abraham was told to be father of many nations, I believe he did not struggle to do it because he knew he could not fulfill those words in and of his own.  He needed to nurture those words spoken, persuading himself to “a father of many nations” as his NEW IDENTITY and that God even changed his name from Abram to Abraham (Genesis 17:5).

I believe he also kept reminding himself of the promise and purposed himself to go out and look at the stars in the sky every night because of what the Lord has shown and spoken to him.  “Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” (Genesis 15:5)

Truly when God tells us to do something, He makes sure that there are more than enough provision for us to fulfill it when we yield ourselves to His lordship and leading.

Look at what the Lord’s promise to Abraham has done to today?

“For you are all sons of God through FAITH in Christ Jesus.  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  (Galatians 3:26-29)

 

The promise ….

“I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  Genesis 12:2-3)

 

 

The question is, “What is the Lord telling you to do?”

 

“God the Father is the giver of all things and is looking for every opportunity to bless us. But many people have difficulty trusting and receiving good things, even when those things come from God. The problem is that we not only have trouble trusting God’s work in our lives, but we also don’t always respond to God’s voice. People often hear the Scriptures but don’t really listen. People store truths in their brains but never put them to use. For James, the only good religion is religion lived out every day.”  (James 1:22 Voice)