Dare to ask?....Dare to beleieve

Many times I hear Ps 2:8 - 'Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,' often pronounced by "prophetic preachers" as a prophecy to a church or to a believer who comes for prayer. Such utterances are often accompanied by a series of verbal unknowns that makes one believe its coming from God. And sadly the gullible believer goes away thinking something great is coming his way without realizing what is implied in such a powerful promise.

I have no qualms about such prophecies and I myself am a firm believer that such gifting are still relevant in today's cessationist environment.

Romans 4 tells of a man who received a promise that he will be the father of many nations. Abraham. But for the promise to be fulfilled there was a very clear response from Abraham. An almost impossible  response from any human being. 

Rom 4:  18-19 - Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.

Imagine Abraham' situation. Against all hope. The doctors have told him that it would be impossible for him and his wife at that age to conceive a child. His reproductive systems were dead and so was Sarah's. "Try some other alternative" would be the advise given by any sensible doctor today. "You still may be a father of many nations if you follow the alternatives". If you remember Abraham, in his early days, tried an alternative but it was a disaster. The consequences are with us even till today.

But the Bible says that in spite of the impossible situation, Abraham believed God. He was "being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." verse 21. What a faith!, what a belief!. 

Three important elements of Abraham faith as seen in Romans 4:20:
  • He did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God (He knew God)
  • He was strengthened in his faith (faith comes by hearing the Word of God)
  • He gave glory to God, ( Worship in anticipation) 
Abarham was happy with the promise but more than that he dared to trust God to fulfill the promise.

"Asking for the nations...dare to trust Him to fulfill. The nations will be yours.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"It is finished" - Jesus Christ

Image
John 19:30 - When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. It's Good Friday again. The world pauses and recollects the events that changed the course of history. For me it was a time to reflect on the finished work of our Lord on the cross. He paid the price for my redemption. But it dawned on me that Jesus, himself, had a task to do while on this earth, He was on a mission. There was a time frame. There was a script to follow. In military terms , there was an objective he had to capture. Anything short would have been a disaster. But towards the end, in spite of the agony at Gethsemane, the unfair trail, humiliating and torturous journey via Dalarosa, Jesus cried, "It is finished". What an achievement. What a fitting eulogy.  Jesus was faithful to His mission - Hebrew 3:2 Jesus was focused on His mission - Luke 9:51 Jesus finished His mission - John 19:30  Judas towards th
Read more

What a trip to Nepal

Image
I am sitting at the airport restaurant in Kathmandu, checked in and waiting for my departure to New Delhi and from there, onward to Singapore.  Just sipping and enjoying the Americano coffee and a slice of cheese cake as I reminiscent my last nine days in Nepal. It has been a incredibly tough trip but one filled with joy, great satisfaction and challenges. Tough because of the bad roads, tracks and mountain trekking that really tested my endurance and my back was sore.  Couple of knocks on the head as the vehicle danced to the tune of the undulating terrain. Days when I had terrible diarrhoea, running from one mountain toilet to another. Thank God I had Dr Mike Ong on this trip who is a medical doctor from Singapore, who attended to my condition. Times when we had to sleep on the cold floor with thin sheets of cloth, with rodents in the vicinity. Temperatures dropped to a low of 10-12 degrees centigrde in the nights. Eating the food offered by the villagers as we were up in the mounta
Read more

Devotion - Psalms 44: 6-7 - Its God who gives the victory

Image
Psalms 44:6-7 - I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. Any soldier will know that the basic weapon of warfare, in those days, were the bow and sword. Without which no soldier will not venture into the battle field. Even the famed Goliath was geared in full battle order when he faced David with the stones and the sling. Isn't it a paradox then that David, one of the finest soldiers Israel had ever produced, proclaims that its not the bow and the sword that gives the victory. Its is the Lord, Jehovah, that gives the victory. I don't think David is trying to say that we should not prepare ourselves for warfare. His concern is that we recognize that ultimately its the Lord that gives the victory. A few things we need to remember: Human efforts are necessary in the God-man partnership Human efforts alone does not guarantee God intended results Recognize that its God that always gives u
Read more