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Fully Persuaded – patient in our faith
Pregnant lady I went to church with years ago, dr. told her she was going to lose her baby; but God said otherwise
Romans 4:18-21New King James Version (NKJV)
who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”[a] 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
1. Against hope- believed
“Abraham considered not his own dead body”
There were numerous natural and biological reasons for Abraham NOT to believe that he would have a son according to promise:
“his own body now dead”- suggesting that Abraham at this point in his life was impotent and incapable off fathering a son
“the deadness of Sarah’s womb”- for two reasons:
she had always been barren
she was now past child bearing years
YET, Abraham decided to believe God IN SPITE OF his impossible circumstances.
First of all, Are you believing God?
Let me make this distinction- the Israelites who fell in the wilderness believed IN GOD, they just didn’t BELIEVE GOD.
They knew He existed. They knew who He was and what He could do; they just didn’t BELIEVE HIM- they didn’t trust and rely on His Word and in His ability to take care of them
Hebrews 3:14-19New King James Version (NKJV)
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”[a]
16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Secondly, do you believe God for the impossible?? IN SPITE OF IMPOSSIBLE CIRCUMSTANCES-
Do you believe God???
Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
Years ago I lost my wedding ring, by all reasonable appearances it is at the bottom of the trash fill
BUT, I still believe He will return it to me one day! Because I KNOW He can.
If Jesus can get money from a fish’s mouth, He can do anything.
He made the world with His Word, He made man from the dust of the earth, He made the sun stand still and not go down, He opened the Red Sea and made them walk through on DRY LAND–
Is there ANYTHING to hard for HIM???
When will you believe He is the God of the impossible and when will your prayers reflect your believing?
Doubt is one of the biggest destroyers of faith.
What we hear/listen to from others introduces doubt—
Who are you allowing to speak into your life?
Sometimes you will even have to shut your ears to your family, maybe even your spouse at times–
After all, it was Sarah who persuaded Abraham to have sex with Hagar and the middle east is still experiencing war from that bad decision.
You have got to guard your ears and your heart, specifically when it comes to something God has spoken to you-
We have told you of all the people who tried to dissuade us from planting this church.
What words are you speaking?
We say things like, “flu season is upon us” EXPECTING to get sick-
why can’t we EXPECT the GOOD THINGS of God and SPEAK THAT??
2. Wait for it.
wait as defined as patient endurance.
Romans 8:24-25New King James Version (NKJV)
For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Notice two things here:
hope is NOT SEEN
wait for it with PERSEVERANCE
Psalm 130:5-6New King James Version (NKJV)
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
Listen, will you please stop jumping ahead of God and WAIT!!
People act like the world is coming to an abrupt halt when they have to wait for anything longer than 24 hours.
Abraham waited 25 YEARS for Isaac
JESUS WAITED UNTIL AFTER LAZARUS WAS DEAD)
JOB (HAD TO WAIT FOR GOD TO HEAL & DELIVER HIM)
ABRAHAM (WAITED 25 YEARS FOR GOD’S PROMISE OF A SON)
JOSEPH (13 YEARS OF TRIALS, JAIL,…)
MOSES (40 YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS)
DAVID (WAITED 15 YEARS TO BECOME KING over Judah plus another 10 to become over all of Israel
Single people, WAIT ON GOD.
I went 4 years without dating anyone because I knew I would get myself in trouble.
Wait on God to provide- don’t jump ahead of the promise. Remember Ishmeal?
Wait on God for your ministry.
Romans 12:6-7King James Version (KJV)
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teaches, on teaching;
Some people are not mature enough to handle ministry obligations and if you have not been healed before you go trying to heal others, you are going to cause more damage.
God knows the right time for you to step out into ministry- I’ve seen far too many pastors who were not ready for the weight of the ministry and they fell.
Wait on God-
Wait on Him to build your character
Wait on Him to build your faith
Wait on Him to pierce your flesh
He knows what He is doing! Trust is timing. His timing is perfect and then HE gets the glory, not you.
3. Fully persuaded.
to persuade is to cause someone to believe something esp. after a sustained effort- to INDUCE to believe
Paul is writing hundreds of years after Abraham, the HS testifying to Abraham’s heart-
I love this. Abraham was fully persuaded.
A few things stick out:
1. Abraham was a friend of God, such a close friend that He knew God’s character.
James 2:23 [Full Chapter]
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
This means Abraham spent a copious amount of time with the Lord.
Talking with Him and listening
Finding out God’s character, what the Lord loves and what He hates
I have had to explain a friend vs. an acquaintance to my kids, especially my son
To him, every kid was a friend, and I would ask him questions like:
Do they ever ask how you are doing? No, well then they are not a friend
Do they care if they hurt your feelings? No, well then they are not a friend
An acquaintance is someone you know casually,
An acquaintance might know where you live, or what sport you play
An acquaintance might know what church you attend or if you like Star Wars
An acquaintance knows things about you…….
But a friend knows your heart.
A friend knows how you think and what your dreams and desire are
A friend knows how you feel and they know when you are happy or when you are sad
Friendship takes time and intimacy to develop.
This is a serious and thought provoking question that ONLY YOU can answer
Does God call you friend or are you His acquaintance?
If your story was written in the Bible, would it say, “______ was a friend of God”
This was not said about anyone else in the Bible- there were great people of faith, but they were not referred to as a friend of God.
Would God say of you, “Matthew is my friend”??
or are you an acquaintance? You know about God, but can’t say you really KNOW GOD.
2. God had done enough in his life that he believed every word that God spoke to him.
You have to remember what God has done for you!
If you are having trouble, make a list:
remember when God did this? He will do it again.
Wendy Jean shared this testimony at Bible study yesterday-