Believe God
(Romans 4:3; 13-22)
(Romans 4:3; 13-22)
Mark 9:23 (NKJV)
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
Mark 9:23 (NLT)
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
Faith sets no limits on God’s power and submits itself to His will. (BKComm.)
Believe – to place confidence in, to trust,” signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon, (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words)
The New Testament calls Christians – “BELIEVERS”. Acts 5:14 & 1 Timothy 4:12.
The job of BELIEVERS IS TO BELIEVE!
“You’ve got to believe and THEN you become.”—Pastor Billy Johnson
Dr. Mike Murdock
“God’s Greatest Pleasure…Is To Be Believed. God’s Greatest Pain…Is To Be Doubted.”
Genesis 12 records God’s promise to Abram. The promise was tremendous – it was more than Abram could have dreamed. The one glaring problem is Abram was 75 years old and childless! Somehow Abram believed God!
Romans 4:3 (NKJV)
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Imputed (logizomai)(lo-geez-zo-my) – to take an inventory, put to one’s account both debits and credits, keep a record of – COUNT, CREDIT, RECKON
v3 – accounted
v4- counted
v5 – accounted
v6 – imputes
v9 – accounted
v10 – accounted
v11 – imputed
v22 – accounted
v23 – imputed
v24 – imputing
God said – “I have made you a father of many nations”
Abraham believed
Isaiah 46:10 (NKJV)
10Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
c) Examples – God called a man who was weak and hiding a mighty man of valour
Gideon – Judges 6:12
12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
Mary – Luke 1:38 –
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
You are the righteousness of God in Christ / You are loved / You are not condemned / You are more than a conqueror / You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you / You have the mind of Christ
God declared – “I have made you a father of many nations”. V. 17
What you HEAR from God can override what you SEE in your circumstances!
(NKJV)
Contrary to hope, in hope believed (NLT)
18 Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping
(The Message)
When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do.
How do you continue believing in the face of adverse circumstances?
a) Do not consider the circumstances – v. 19
b) Do not waver – v. 20
c) Strengthened in faith
d) Give glory to God
How do you become fully convinced?
Abraham could look back at the initial 7-fold promise that God made and check off what had already been done.
Genesis 12:2–3 (NKJV)
Ishmael would be a great nation – Genesis 17:20
Abraham was very rich – Genesis 13:2
Abraham had servants – Genesis 14:14
Lot was blessed, the land could not hold the possessions – Genesis 14:6
Genesis 12:17 (NKJV)
17 But the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
Fulfilled in Christ – Galatians 3:29
God not only made a promise, but He made a covenant.
A covenant is an unbreakable oath.
Hebrews 6:13–19 (NLT)
13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:
14 “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.”* 15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.
16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.