Abraham had a calling to be the father of many nations. He heard the calling from the Lord personally. Abraham had to believe that God had called Him to be the father of many nations and that the promise would come through Sarah. It was an impossible situation because of their age therefore Abraham had to believe that God is truly the God Almighty.In fact, Abraham is one of the best examples that one can refer to what faith in God looks like! It doesn’t mean that there will be no obstacles when we are walking in our calling. Therefore, there is no other way except through faith and refusing to look at the circumstances. Abram’s name was changed to Abraham which means the father of many nations. Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah which means mother of nations. They were reminded of God’s covenant, their calling and the Almightiness of God whenever they called out the name of each other, and their faith was constantly strengthened. It helped them to be focused on God, His promises and the call upon their lives. They were reminded that the Almighty God who is omnipotent, self- sufficient, having power over everything and who holds the ruling power, would be able to bring to pass everything that He had promised. Therefore, Abraham was not moved by the deadness of Sarah’s womb and his age but was fully convinced by what God had promised to them. God was well able to bring it to pass. Abraham was convinced that He is Almighty God when he was asked to offer up Isaac. Abraham had faith and was convinced that God Almighty would be able to bring Isaac back to life even if he had to sacrifice Isaac at the altar. The Almighty God caused Sarah who was past the age of child bearing to have Isaac.
There might be several occasions in our lives where we feel like yelling out what the disciples said “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” The waves were beating against the boat and it was quickly filling up with water! They started to be gripped by fear and the potential of being drowned at sea for following Jesus’ instruction.
Surely, many of us are feeling the impact of COVID-19 in our businesses or work situations. Every business is affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
During times like these, we need to place our “Isaac”, which could be our jobs and businesses on the altar and believe that God is able to restore to us with whatever we have placed in His hands. We are declaring that our trust and faith is in the Lord. He is the Almighty God! It has to be a conviction in our heart!
Sermon Series: Experiencing God – Is Our Faith in God Still Relevant Today
信靠上帝
亚伯拉罕曾经有个成为万族之父的呼召。他本人从主那里听到了这个呼召。亚伯拉罕不得不相信神呼召了他成为万族之父，并且这个应许将通过撒拉实现。那是个不可能的情形因为他俩当时年纪已老迈，因此亚伯拉罕不得不相信神是真正的万能的神。
事实上，当谈到对神有信心时亚伯拉罕是最好的例子之一！这不是说当我们活在呼召中时就没有任何障碍。所以，除了凭着信心和拒绝定睛环境别无他法。亚伯兰的名字改成亚伯拉罕，意思是万族之父。撒莱的名字改作撒拉意思是万族之母。每当他们称呼彼此的名字时，就被提醒神的盟约，他们的呼召以及神的万能，他们的信心就这样不断得到增强。这帮助他们专注在神，祂的应许以及神对于他们生命的呼召。他们被提醒那万能的神是全能的，自有的，掌管万物，有统治权的，能够实现祂所有的应许。因此，亚伯拉罕没有被撒拉枯萎的子宫和他的老迈所动摇，而是完全相信神所应许他们的。神完全能够实现。亚伯拉罕被要求献以撒为祭时，他相信祂是万军之耶和华。亚伯拉罕有信心并且相信即使他把以撒当作牺牲献在祭坛上，万军之耶和华将能够把以撒从死里复活。万军之耶和华让过了生育年龄的撒拉怀孕生了以撒。
也许我们生活中有些场合我们感觉要喊出使徒曾经说过的话“夫子， 夫子，我们丧命你不管吗？”海浪击打着船，船很快就浸满了水！他们开始被恐惧抓住，被因为跟随耶稣的指示而葬身大海的可能性抓住。
确实我们很多人正在感受新冠病毒对我们生意和工作状况所造成的冲击。各行各业都因新冠病毒的爆发受到影响。
在这样的时期，我们需要把我们的“以撒” ，就是我们的工作或生意， 放在祭坛上，相信神能够恢复任何我们放在祂手中的。我们宣告我们的信任和信心在主里。祂是万军之耶和华！这必须是我们心里的一个坚定信仰！
讲章系列：经历神 – 我们对神的信心在今日是否仍然有意义