Hebrews 11:11-12 (NKJV) By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
The greatest challenge to having faith is to believe without seeing it with our physical eyes. There is always a process between getting a Word from God, working on the call, and staying in faith thereafter. This is the actual test of our faith because we will give up if our faith is only a mental assent, but we will hold onto the promise if it is a conviction in our hearts that God has given us.
Believing and having faith is possible because God has spoken to us personally. There will always be a fight between the Word of God you have received and the situation in front of you which seems contrary to the promise. The key to faith is always choosing to believe and anchoring your faith in your God-given promise rather than the circumstances. We need to see with the eyes of faith that it is done in the spirit realm, though it will take time to manifest itself in the natural realm.
Abraham and Sarah faced impossible situations when God spoke to them about their lives and calling. Abraham would become the father of many nations, and his descendants would be like the stars in the sky, but his body was an old man’s body, which in the natural was as good as dead, whereas Sarah had passed childbearing age. These were facts, and it would be foolish and presumptuous to believe that they could still reproduce at such an age if it were not a promise from God!
The key is that God has spoken, and Sarah considered God faithful to the promise. Eventually, God’s promise came to pass in Abraham’s life and calling. That is why, to be in faith, we must always receive a personal promise from God and not be foolish and presumptuous in launching into something if we have not been promised God’s blessing.
While we do not deny facts and figures, faith must not allow natural circumstances to affect us. Everything in Abraham and Sarah’s circumstances was feeding them doubts and unbelief, and they were faced with a choice to either believe God’s Word or give up on God’s promise and accept the facts.
Faith is anchored in the promised Word of God—The Word that God has spoken to you personally. God specialises in making the impossible situation possible, but the most important thing is that He has spoken to you. Thereafter, it is a walk of faith.
Sermon Series: Growing Your Faith in God (Part 2 )
选择相信,即使看似不可能
希伯来书11:11-12 因着信,连撒拉自己,虽然过了生育的岁数,还能怀孕,因她以为那应许她的是可信的。 所以从一个仿佛已死的人就生出子孙,如同天上的星那样众多,海边的沙那样无数。
拥有信心的最大挑战在于,我们需要在肉眼看不到的情况下依然选择相信。从领受神的应许,到回应祂的呼召,再到持续坚守信心,这之间总是有一个过程。这正是信心的考验所在:如果我们的信心只是头脑上的认同,我们很可能会放弃;但如果我们的信心是内心深处确信神的应许,那我们就会紧紧抓住祂的承诺,不轻易动摇。
相信和拥有信心之所以可能,是因为神亲自对我们说了话。然而,每当我们领受了神的话语,总会面临眼前的环境与应许看似矛盾的情况。信心的关键在于始终选择相信,将信心 扎根在神所赐的应许上,而不是被环境左右。我们需要用信心的眼睛看见事情在灵界中已经成就,尽管它在自然界中需要时间显现。
亚伯拉罕和撒拉就是在面对不可能的情况下,听见神对他们的应许。他们得到神的呼召:亚伯拉罕将成为多国之父,他的后裔会像天上的星那样多。然而,在自然的眼光中,亚伯拉罕的身体已如同死了一般,而撒拉也早已过了生育的年龄。这些都是无可否认的事实。如果没有神的应许,相信他们还能生养后代显然是愚昧和狂妄的。
关键在于,神已经说了话,而撒拉认定神是信实的,因此选择相信祂的应许。最终,神的应许在亚伯拉罕的生命中成就了。这也提醒我们,若要拥有真正的信心,我们必须先领受神个人对我们的应许,而不是凭着自己的想法冒进,做出未经神祝福的决定。
虽然我们不否认事实和数据,但信心不应让自然的环境限制我们。亚伯拉罕和撒拉的处境无时无刻不在向他们传递怀疑和不信的信息,他们也不得不面临一个选择:是相信神的话语,还是放弃神的应许,接受事实。
信心的根基是神亲自对我们所说的应许之话。神擅长将不可能的事变为可能,但最重要的是,祂必须亲自对我们说了话。在那之后,我们便踏上了一条信心之路。
讲章系列:在神里面让信心生发成长 (第二部份)
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