Unwavering Faith (part 1)
Romans 4:18-25
Introduction
If God says He will do something for you, He will do it!
He always keeps his promises, but there are some things that you have to do in order to receive from Him.
The best example of this is seen in the life of Abraham.
When God promised Abraham that Sarah would give birth to a son, Abraham had to ignore his natural circumstances, have faith in God’s promise, and believe that God was powerful enough to do what He said he would do.
Romans 4:18-25 reveals the steps that Abraham followed to receive the fulfillment of the promise God made to him.
If we’re going to receive from God, we’re going to have to do the same things Abraham did: 1. Against All Hope – Believe; 2. Waver Not; 3. Give Glory to God, and 4. Be Fully Persuaded.
Read / Pray
1. Against All Hope - Believe
“Against All hope, Abraham in hope believed…”
The word “hope” here that Abraham uses is “elpes” (L peace) in the Greek and it means “that in which one confides or to which he flees for refuge”
He “believed” – that word in Greek means “place confidence in”
He did not let those circumstances influence his faith.
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not telling you to ignore the natural circumstances and do something crazy.
But I am telling you that when you’re believing to receive the fulfillment of a promise from God, you can’t concentrate on your natural circumstances.
If you start thinking about all the natural conditions or what So-and-so said, you will become weak in faith…you will become hopeless
Vs 19 “Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead…”
He didn’t take into account the natural circumstances that told him it was impossible for him and Sarah to have a child.
Abraham’s faith was not weak.
The word “weak” means, “to be feeble to be diseased, powerless, sick, without strength”
A lot of people have diseased faith. Abraham’s faith was not sick but well.
Abraham’s faith was so strong that he didn’t consider the fact that both he and Sarah were beyond the age of having children.
God promised him that they would have a son, and Abraham didn’t even blink an eye!
He did not allow the obstacles that were in front of him stop him from believing God even when circumstances would say this was against all hope
2. Waver Not
Vs. 20 “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God…”
The word “waver” is the same as “stagger” in the KJV and it means “to hesitate, doubt, oppose or contend”
If you’ll go back and read the story in Genesis 18:1-15, you’ll see that Sarah laughed at the whole idea of bearing a child at her age.
Think about it, common sense tells us that a 100-year-old man and a 90-year-old woman are not going to be able to have children.
Abraham even questioned it at first…but when God said it was so…Abraham didn’t question it anymore…it was a promise from God.
He didn’t waver.
The Contemporary English Version says: “But Abraham never doubted or questioned God’s promise.”
A person who staggers or wavers in faith will not receive anything from God.
James 1:6-8 – “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
The enemy will always try to get you to focus on your circumstances.
When you make a statement of faith declaring what you’re believing God for, the first thing he’ll do is start asking you questions and sowing seeds of doubt, saying “Have you considered this?
Have you thought about that?
The enemy may ask, “Why hasn’t God answered you yet? If God were going to answer you He would have already done it.”
Actually, the tactics of the enemy are no different today than they were in the Garden of Eden.
The enemy came to Eve and said, “Well, did God really say?”
You see, if the enemy can get you to consider everything around you, he can get you to waver and forfeit the promises of God.
So don’t consider the situation or the circumstances!
Now that doesn’t mean the circumstances don’t exist.
Some people think that when you don’t consider the circumstances, you’re denying that the situation exists.
But this is not what we are saying, of course it exists.
You would have to acknowledge that first before you could even do something about it.
You had to acknowledge you were a sinner in need of a Savior before you could ever be saved, didn’t you?
Well, in the same way, you have to acknowledge that you need a Healer before you can ever be healed, and so forth.
In other words, you have to acknowledge the facts—but you don’t have to dwell on them.
Abraham acknowledged the fact that he was almost a hundred years old.
He knew the condition of his body.
But he refused to consider those things and chose instead to consider what God said.
Conclusion
There are too many Christians who don’t really believe the promises in the Bible—they’re just mouthing words.
But if God said it, that settles it – I believe it!
What is it that you need from God today?
Where is your faith in trusting Him in the midst of the storm?
Don’t waver at the promises of God through unbelief
In all of my circumstances, trials, and tribulations, I shall come forth.
In the midst of it all, I will hope against all hope and will not waver.
Next week we will see two more things about Abraham’s unwavering faith.
Pray
