The Faith of Abraham (SUNDAY, FEB 9 2025)

Brother M.K. Shivakumar

In Gen 12, God called Abraham and said thus:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

When God called Abraham, Abraham was 75 years old, but he did not have any children.

Even after the promise that he will have a child was given to Abraham, still nothing happened. He still did not have a child. So Abraham‘s wife Sarah made a plan. She thought OK, since nothing happened so far. So let’s try and help God. She asked Abraham to have a child with Hagar, her maid servant. Abraham listens to Sarah and Ismail is born.

In Chapter 15, God made a covenant with Abraham. God appears to him in a vision and said:

“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”  Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

Now 24 years after God made the covenant with Abraham, he is 99 years old. In Genesis 17, God appears to Abraham and makes a covenant with him again saying you shall be the father of Nations, no longer your name would be Abraham, but Abraham. Likewise Sarai will have her name changed to Sarah.

“I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.  No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.  I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.  And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

We read about Abraham’s faith in Romans, 4:17: “in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;”

Abraham believed against hope that he will surely become the father of nations. He was not weak in his faith, but gave glory to God.

After waiting for 25 years, he got a child at the age of 100. Imagine Abraham’s joy after getting Isaac after 25 years of waiting. Imagine how much Abraham and Sarah would’ve loved him. Those of us who are parents and grandparents can imagine the amount of love and affection that we shower upon our children and how long we have for them. We take care of them, we feed them, we bathe them, and do all kinds of things for them.

Let’s remember that it is in such a situation that God tests Abraham.

Gen 22:1 “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham”

How many of us like to write tests or examinations? Nowadays children have plenty of tests, class tests, monthly tests, midterms, half yearly and annual exams. When I was studying in school and college, I always feared tests. One day before the exam, my dad would ask me questions about the things that I had studied. After completing the test and when I return home, my dad will be waiting for me. Even before I removed my uniform, he will take the question paper from me and ask me the answers. If I got anything wrong, he would yell and beat me with a cane. The next fear I had was about the results whether I would pass or fail.

In Genesis 22:3, 5 we read:

“So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.”

Such great faith that Abraham had that he was confident that he would return with Isaac! When Isaac asked Abraham, “father, we have the wood and the fire, where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said “God will provide, Jehovah Jireh.” Our God is a provider. God has asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac. That means he was going to kill Isaac. How can both Abraham and Isaac come back again? How great his faith was!

Let’s now consider Isaac. When Abraham took Isaac for sacrificing, scholars said that he must have been at least 20 years old.

“Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.”

Genesis 22:9

Abraham must have been around the 120 years. It wouldn’t be possible for a person at that age to lift Isaac and make him lie down on the altar or force this young man to lie down on the altar to give us life. He himself accepted, and obeyed his father’s word and laid down on the altar.

Genesis 22:12

God says to Abraham,

“And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

I know you fear God now. Why did God say this to Abraham? Did he not fear God earlier. Let us take a look at some earlier portions of scripture.

In Gen 12, God calls Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia. Abraham obeys God and goes to a place called Bethel and sets up a tent and stays there. Then there was a famine in that land and Abraham went to Egypt. God did not ask him to go to Egypt asked him to go to Canaan, but he left after reaching Egypt. He says to his wife Sarai, “You are so beautiful. When the Egyptian’s see you, will kill me and let you live. So say that you are, my sister.” Now what Abraham is saying a lie.

What he should’ve told is, “Don’t worry. God called us. He will be with us and protect us.” We read that God took care of the situation and saved both of them. At least at this time, Abraham should’ve realized God‘s power and calling.

However, yet again, in Gen 20:2, Abraham and Sarah go to a place called Gerar, where the king was Abimelech. Even here, Abraham says to the king, “Sarah is my sister.” Again God intervenes speaking to Abimelech in a dream. The king immediately set her free. Children of God, Abraham did not realize his calling and forgot what God had promised him.

Even after he was chosen by God to be the father of many nations, he had a fall in his faith. He stumbled many times in faith. Even when we will fall in faith, in our difficult times, when it seems there is nothing going in favor of us, even after doctors are not able to do anything, we lose our jobs or we are still in the same position, even after we are saved for many years feeling stuck, we need to realize our purpose and calling. What is our ultimate purpose?

We read the answer to that question in Acts 1:8:
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Our purpose is to be His witnesses to the end of the earth. Let us realize our purpose and calling and stand firm, knowing that our God gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that do not exist.

Let Us Run The Race With Perseverance (SUNDAY FEB 2, 2025)

Pastor Sam Peter

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Heb 12:1

The Lord laid in my hear to speak about the race that each of us are in. It is so important that we realize that we are in a race. Often there are many hindrances that prevent us from running the race effectively. Remember that our salvation is eternal. We did not get our salvation by our works. It was finished right at the cross, when Jesus died for our sins. But since we live in our flesh, we will have challenges that try to pull us down.

If I drop a pen, it immediately falls down. However, if I throw it up, it goes up for a while and then falls again. It depends on the force that is always trying to bring a body down. So it is with the race. The sin that entangles and the burden that is heavy can hinder us from running the race that is set before us.

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, (2 Cor 10:5)

My nephew recently told me about LeBron James. How he is so focused at the final stages of the tournament that he keeps himself completely away from media and other distractions, from food that is unhealthy. We know that athletes wear the lightest clothes possible. If one can be so focused for attaining worldly success, how much more careful we should be in running this spiritual race!

Cast Aside Burdens

Up to the time I was in my twenties, I needed to often go to a parsonage and collect the produce consisting of coconuts, pineapple, jackfruit  and bring it. It involved a walk of about 1 mile to the bus stop. The load of the produce was so heavy and it used to be a very difficult walk. Without the load, it was a pleasant walk. I wish I did not have to carry the burdens, because it was very difficult! In our life, we need to lay aside our burdens. Our burdens could be related to our health, our finances, our emotional situations, things related to our job, something related to our children or even our grandchildren. The Bible reminds us to cast our burdens on to the Lord for He cares for us.

We all know that Paul had to deal with a thorn in the flesh.

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!  Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” 2 Cor 12:7

Do remember that the mighty apostle Paul whose falling shadow and handkerchiefs touched by him were able to heal sick people, but when he had a thorn in the flesh, he had to endure it. He prayed three times for it to be removed, but God did not do that. Sometimes things happen in our life to shape us, to discipline us. Let us depend on the grace of God which strengthens us and helps us to bear the burdens.

Lay Aside The Temptations

In running this race, we also need to lay aside the sin that easily entangles us by overcoming temptations.

Let’s look at the temptation of Adam and Eve in Gen 3.

 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Gen 3:6

When Eve saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she just ate it. God does not want us to be defeated by temptation as Adam and Eve were. God has given us many resources to succeed in this fight against temptation, but I want to focus on two of them:

1. Word of God: The word of God is very important when you are trying to deal with sin. When Jesus was tempted after 40 days of fasting and became hungry, Satan confronted him. Satan asked him to convert the stone to bread. But Jesus refused stating that “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Each time He was tempted, Jesus responded with the word of God. When the right word of God comes to our mind, we can overcome the temptations. For God to remind us with the word of God, we need to fill our mind with the word of God. Let us spend more time to fill our minds with God’s word.

2. Fellowship: Fellowship is also a very powerful factor that helps us gain victory over temptations that we face. Small close-knit relationships in the body of Christ are so important. In some places of worship, people go join the worship, pay tithes, and go home. That’s not God’s plan for fellowship. We ought to bear one another’s burdens and encourage one another. We ought to encourage and support the weaker brother. Sometimes in prayer, sometimes in finances or with other means, by giving a call or visiting with a word of encouragement.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Tim 4:7

Towards the end of his life, Paul was able to say that he finished the race and kept the faith. We need to run the race with perseverance and faith so that we can finish our course successfully.

Going back to Heb 12, let us remember the writer’s admonition about growing weary.

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Heb 12:3

Sometimes we try to do many things but become discouraged in our own minds. “I am doing so many things to encourage our church, to encourage myself, but nothing is working out.” That’s why we need to remember always that God who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion.

 …being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil 1:6

May God enable us to complete the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

The New Covenant Commandment (SUNDAY JAN 26, 2025)

This is God's new covenant commandment for us.

God's new covenant commandment is that our life will be filled with love for our brothers and sisters. We ought to love like Jesus loved us… with true selfless, sacrificial love. That is how all people will know that we are His disciples.

All of us know the Bible is divided into two parts: the Old and the New Testaments. We know that the Old Testament captures the interactions that God had with mankind, before the time of Jesus. The New Testament covers the life of Christ and following. The word testament can mean either a will or a covenant, an agreement. There are multiple covenants that God made with saints in the Old Testament and they were all inadequate. Therefore in the careful study of prophecy, people of old knew that God promised a new covenant, one that we know was inaugurated as a result of the sacrificial death of Jesus.

9 of the 10 commandments recorded in Exodus 20 are repeated in the New Testament. The only one that is not repeated is the 4th commandment that speaks about honoring the Sabbath. We can interpret that the Lord is instituting that everyday is holy unto the Lord, not just a Saturday or a Sunday. Instead of a weekly worship day, even though most believers gather together for worship at least once a week, every day is holy unto the Lord.

I grew up understanding that God gave Ten Commandments to Moses at Sinai. And that in the New Testament, Jesus gave two commandments instead.

“But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭34‬-‭40‬ ‭

After many years as a Christian, I was surprised to find out that these were not new covenant commandments, but old covenant commandments itself. ‬‬We read them in the books of the Law as follows:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬ ‭‬‬

“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19‬:‭18‬ ‭‬

Also Jesus' rule called the Golden Rule in popular culture is also supposed to be a summary of the old covenant requirements as opposed to a new requirement.

““In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭12‬ ‭‬‬

These were not new commandments. These were instead the essence of the old covenant requirements from God's people.

However, God wants us to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law in us, according to apostle Paul's exhortation in Romans 8.

“He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭4‭‬‬

The righteous requirement of the law is love and when we love, the law is fulfilled.

“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬,10‬ ‭

A few days before His death, Jesus gave a new commandment to His disciples. It was so important that it is recorded twice; in John 13 and 15.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.””

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭‬‬

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭

This is God's new covenant commandment that He wants us to follow. That our life will be filled with love for our brothers and sisters. We ought to love like Jesus loved us… with true selfless, sacrificial love. That is how all people will know that we are His disciples. It is not through our programs, our teachings, our miracles, our blessings, our worldly success, our material wealth, our spiritual gifts or our holiness. It is through our love for one another. Can the world tell that we are Christians if they see our love?

There is sometimes confusion about whether faith requires works or not. We will never be justified by our works. God sees us as righteous because of our faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. Our works are never going to please Him. However true faith works through love. And that is pleasing to God.

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬ ‭‬‬

“But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭

The goal of all preaching and teaching should be love. That is how we are measured. That is what the world really needs to see. How much love do we have for the people in the body of Christ? Not just ones we like, but all the saints. When Paul heard of the Ephesian church, he heard of their faith toward God and their love towards all the saints, he never stopped praising God for them (Eph 1:15). How is our love towards all the saints? Not just the ones we are close to, not just the ones we get along with, not just the ones who are like us, part of our family, part of our small groups, but ALL the saints?

This is the desired end result of all preaching and teaching: how much do the hearers exhibit the love of God to the people around them. Remember, the Goal of the instruction is not Doctrinal Accuracy, Healing and miracles, material wealth, spiritual gifts, large numbers in churches, or even holiness. It is whether we are able to love the people in the body as Christ loved us.

Jesus himself warned us saying in the last days, the love of many shall grow cold. Let the love in our heart not grow cold and let it ever burn bright with the love of God.

May God's Spirit shed abroad His love in our hearts so that we may love like Jesus loved us.