The text is taken from Gen 15.
Gen 15:1-6 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." (2) But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" (3) And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir." (4) And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir." (5) And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." (6) And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Pastor Dr Ling reminded everyone that the service starts at 1000 and we should all be on time. According to her, we need to be early to receive the blessings of God.
We sometimes have to face trials of faith, difficulties and time. Abram faced a test of his faith through time. When we don’t see something happening after a long time, do we still have faith?
Thomas Edition found a suitable material for a light bulb after many failures. He never gave up. Our faith should not be like a blaze which fizzles out after awhile. Our faith should like a slow fire for making stew. The fire is small but it last a long time.
Gen 15 recorded a conversation between God and Abram. Most of the time, Abram just listened and obeyed.
“These things” referred to Abram saving Lot. Two significant things happened – Abram fought a might enemy with only 300 men. He also refused to take the spoils of war. Perhaps Abram worried retaliations from Chedorlaomer or even and the King of Sodom. That is probably why God told Abram not to worry.
Many times, we like Elijah may have fear right after exercising our faith. We may have doubt. This can be made more challenging when we hear negative remarks. When we choose to obey God boldly, God is with us.
God Protects us When We Obey Him
After the great feats by Abram, God appeared to him to assure him he was with Abram.Paul was captured and put on trial when he was caught sharing the Gospel. He was put in prison.Jesus appeared and told him he would bear witness for Jesus in Rome just like what he did in Jerusalem.
Psa 121:1-8 A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? (2) My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. (3) He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. (4) Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (5) The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. (6) The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. (7) The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. (8) The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
when in doubt, pray
Upon hearing God’s promise to reward him greatly, Abram reacted by mentioning he had no son to inherit his possessions. In Gen 13, God told Abram his descendants would be like the dust of the earth. It indicated Abram’s faith was shaken compared to the time he left Ur. New Christians may face similar situations. What do we do when our faith is challenged? Abram did not hide his doubt from God. He revealed it to God.It is normal for one to have doubt. Don’t give up on our faith. In the Gospel, we read about a father who confessed to Jesus he didn’t have enough faith to believe. Jesus helped him and healed his son.
when in doubt, seek confirmation
In v4, God told Abram Eliezer would not be his heir. God reminded Abram he would have his own son. He told Abram to look and the stars in the sky and told him his descendants would be like the stars. God reiterated his promise to Abram. Abram believed and God counted it to him as his righteousness.The mind of a person with doubt is filled with negative thoughts, lies and wrong information. We can get confirmation from God, the Word we hear and even from other people. We need to have devotion time and come to weekly service. When we constantly confirm our faith, it is not easily shaken. A person without faith is very negative. We need to counter such negative thoughts with positive words of encouragement.
We often magnify the shortcomings of a person and neglect his / her strengths. We should edify without our words, instead of tearing down.
We need to first confirm ourselves before we can help others. How would we confirm ourselves? We often condemn ourselves more than encouraging ourselves.
A doubtful person cannot see any good things. He / she cannot find anything to be grateful about. He / she see himself / herself as a person who lacks money, opportunity, ability, etc.
Thomas Edison did not have a lot of formal education and yet he invented a lot of things because he didn’t not give up.
There are three brick layers. When asked what they were doing. The first one said he was laying bricks. The second said he was construction an building. The last one said he was building a beautiful city. Years later, the first person is still laying bricks. The 2nd one became a civil engineer. The third one became their boss.
Walt Disney did not get to see the opening of Disneyland. However, his wife Lillian, said he already saw it and that was how it came to be. (citation needed.)
Abram knew / believed his descendants would be like the starts in the sky and the dust of the earth. However, he could only see Isaac. In Gen 15:12vv, God told Abram his descendants would claim Canaan after they suffer as sojourners for 400 years.
During the WWII, the king (king? not queen?) of UK decreed all the children to leave London by train. A little girl cried because she didn’t know where she was going. Her brother comforted her saying even thought they didn’t know where they were going but he was sure their king knew/
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