Number 23:19 (NKJV) “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The Christian life is a walk of faith with God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). What gives substance to our faith is the Rhema Word that God has given to us in the particular situation that we are facing.
God and His Word are One. His Word represents Him; Jesus is the Word. The opening Scripture revealed to us that God will make good what He has spoken. He won’t change His mind or regret giving us His Word of promise.
Abraham is often referred to as “the father of faith”. We can emulate his walk with God. Abraham asked God for His Word—or a promise—when God told him he would be “the father of nations”, as he was childless with Sarai and beyond childbearing age. God then established a covenant with Abraham. In the covenant ritual, the partners would declare blessings and curses, whereby the covenant partners would be blessed when they honour their obligations, and curses would come upon them and their descendants when they fail to honour or break the covenant of promise. They would speak these blessings and curses over the animals which have been cut in half, symbolising that those who break the covenant would be cursed and hunted down.
Abraham was assured when God established a covenant with him, letting him know that God would never break His covenant obligations. Abraham understood covenants and their obligations. A covenant, even if it is a man’s covenant, cannot be annulled once it hsd been established. Therefore, we can be confident in God because God and His Word are One, and He honours His Word. God has fulfilled the Abrahamic Covenant, and we are beneficiaries of the blessing that all the families of the earth will receive through the covenant. We also read about how Jesus honours His Word with the people whom He has chosen, the Jews.
Today, just as Abraham asked God how the promise would be fulfilled, we can ask God for a Word about our situation or our calling. Our faith is anchored in the Word that God has given us personally (Rhema). We have faith that God will honour His Word of the covenant based on His character. It can be considered done once God gives us His Word, just like God gave Abraham the Word through the covenant.
Reflection: Which specific promise or Word of God is He asking you to “take His Word for it” right now?
Sermon Series： Agreeing with the Word of God
以神的话语为准
民数记 23:19 神非人，必不至说谎；也非人子，必不至后悔。他说话岂不照着行呢？他发言岂不要成就呢？
希伯来书 11:1 说：“信就是所望之事的实底，是未见之事的确据。”基督徒的生命就是与神同行的信心之旅。人非有信，就不能得神的喜悦（希伯来书 11:6）。使我们的信心拥有实质的，是神在我们所面对的特定处境中赐给我们的 Rhema 话语。
神与祂的话语是一。祂的话语代表祂自己；耶稣就是那道。开篇的经文向我们显明，神必成就祂所说的话。祂不会改变心意，也不会后悔赐给我们祂应许的话语。
亚伯拉罕常被称为“信心之父”。我们可以效法他与神同行的生命。当神告诉亚伯拉罕，他将成为“万国之父”时，亚伯拉罕向神求祂的话语——也就是一个应许，因为当时他与撒莱没有孩子，并且已经过了生育的年龄。于是，神与亚伯拉罕立约。在立约的仪式中，双方会宣告祝福和咒诅：当立约的一方履行自己的责任时，立约的双方就蒙福；但当他们没有履行责任或违背约的应许时，咒诅就会临到他们和他们的后代。他们会在被劈成两半的牲畜上宣告这些祝福和咒诅，象征着违背盟约的人将受到咒诅，并被追讨。
当神与亚伯拉罕立约时，亚伯拉罕得着确据，知道神永远不会违背祂在约中的责任。亚伯拉罕明白约以及约所带来的责任。一个约，即使是人与人之间所立的约，一旦建立，也不能被废除。因此，我们可以因神而有信心，因为神与祂的话语是一，并且祂尊重祂自己的话语。神已经成就了亚伯拉罕之约，而我们也成为这约中祝福的承受者，就是地上的万族都要因这约得福的应许。我们也看见，耶稣如何向祂所拣选的百姓——犹太人——持守祂的话语。
今天，就像亚伯拉罕曾询问神祂的应许将如何成就一样，我们也可以向神求祂针对我们所处环境或呼召所赐下的话语。我们的信心建立在神亲自赐给我们的话语（Rhema）之上。我们相信神会按照祂的本性，持守祂立约的话语。当神赐下祂的话语时，这件事就可以被视为已经成就，就如同神借着约将祂的话语赐给亚伯拉罕一样。
默想：此刻，神正在邀请你“相信祂的话语”——祂具体的哪一个应许或话语呢？
讲章系列：与神的话语一致