Frank Friedman
When God impresses us with Who He is and What He has done... in our overwhelmingly impressed state, WE HAVE TO WORSHIP!
Let’s ponder the life of Abraham together, and be stunned by what God says!
God called Abraham out of a pagan life, promising to make a great nation from his seed, in which all the families of the earth would be blessed. God told him to pack his bags and to go to a land that he would show him, which Abraham did, living by faith.
THEN, a famine came and Abraham left the land God told him to dwell in. (Was that faith? I don’t think so.)
THEN, when he journeyed to Egypt, he was afraid because Sarai was beautiful. He told her to lie and say she was his sister, lest Pharaoh kill Abraham and take Sarai as his wife. (Was that faith? I don’t think so)
THEN, God promises Abraham at an advanced age that he will have a son. He looks at himself, then he looks at Sarai, and tells God, "How about this boy, my servant Eliezer, he can be my son." (Was that faith? I don’t think so.)
When Abraham reacted as he did to the promise of God, he was saying to God, “Are you kidding me? There is no way this is going to happen! We are too old to have a child!” But God affirms, “As I promised, you will have a son, through your seed, with your bride Sarai. Trust Me!”
MORE TIME PASSES...
THEN, at Sarai’s suggestion, Abraham has a son through Sarai's handmaid Hagar, and Ishmael is born. Abraham presents the boy to God and basically asks, "How about this one, Ishmael? He came through my loins, he can be my son!" (Was that faith? I don’t think so.)
God says, "No, this son, as promised, will come through your seed (Sarai included)"
Though Abraham began well in faith, let’s be honest. He had multiple occasions where faith was hard to find in this dear man.
MORE TIME PASSES...
God waited until Sarai was past the age of bearing children, to reiterate His promise that the dear couple would have a son. In our modern language, she had completely gone through menopause, and having a child was physically impossible for them. When she heard the promise, Sarai laughed at the prospect. Based on what we have seen, I wonder if Abraham laughed too, but knew better than to let that laughter leave his lips...
THEN, as God promised, against overwhelming circumstances, Sarai conceives, and the promised child, Isaac, is born!
PONDER WITH ME!
Do you think this man was stunned by what God had done? And do you think this “stunned man” worshipped like never before?
Yes, he did. He named the boy Isaac, which means “to rejoice.” Interestingly, the word can also mean, “to laugh.” Maybe in Abraham’s worship, he was saying, “God, you go the last laugh!” My conviction is that one of our best expressions of worship is to declare that we were wrong, and that God was right!
AH, BUT WE ARE NOT DONE YET!
The real glory comes to us in the fourth chapter of Romans, where Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares that Abraham NEVER "waivered" in faith!!!
WAIT A MINUTE!
God says Abraham NEVER WAIVERED?
When I read that, I want to ask, "God, have you ever read the Old Testament that you wrote?"
He “waivered” all over himself concerning the promises he had been given. How are we to explain that?
The glory,, as revealed in the New Testament that God also wrote, is that Jesus died for ALL our sins, and removed them from us so completely, that there is NO RECORD LEFT OF THEM!
THEY ARE GONE!!! COMPLETELY GONE!!!
So, when God boasts of His child Abraham, He can honestly say, “Look at this my son! He never waivered in faith.”
And when he boasts of you, He honestly says the same about you! “Look at this my son, my daughter, how righteous they have lived and never sinned!”
OH, MY GOODNESS! I AM STUNNED! ARE YOU STUNNED?
Then, let's worship Him, you and me together, who as the New Testament declares: “have NEVER waivered in faith!”
Worship Him, you "stunned ones of God"
WORSHIP HIM!!!
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