OMBS7 / Just Believe

Restrict Your Prayers To The Will Of God  God reminded Abram that He still planned to give Sarai a child, but Abram was emotionally attached to Ishmael. He told the LORD, "O that Ishmael might live before thee!" God consented to bless and multiply Ishmael's seed. But 3000 years later, most of Ishmael's descendants are Arab Muslims who call the Bible story a lie. We often breed treacherous outcomes by clinging to people that God wants us to let go of. Let God choose your friends.  Genesis 17:20-21 - "As for Ishmael, ...I have blessed him, ...and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac."  He Left Off Talking With Him  God permanently settled the matter with Abraham in two fundamental declarations. ONE, He would bless Ishmael and his descendants. TWO, the Abrahamic Covenant must be THROUGH ISAAC, Sarah's future son. If you have an issue with God, you may freely make your case as Abraham did in behalf of Ishmael. But after God answers, His verdict must stand. Put your arguments and excuses away. The conversation is over. Let God have His way. It is the only wise conclusion. God's ways are higher than yours.  Genesis 17:22 - "He left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham."  Turn Words Into Deeds  You can pray. You can negotiate with God. You can make your case and ask God to do whatever it is that you want or need. But after God answers and reveals to you the terms of His blessing, it is up to you to follow through and do the will of God. For Abraham, the Covenant blessing of God was predicated upon his circumcising every male in his household.  Genesis 17:23 - "Abraham took ...every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him."  Hagar's Exile  Islam viciously contradicts many Biblical truths concretely established for 2,000 years before Mohammed was ever born. The Bible says Ishmael still lived with Abraham and Sarah at THIRTEEN. The Koran says Angel Gabriel took Hagar and SUCKLING BABY Ishmael on a flying horse (Al-Buraq) to a well named ZamZam at Mecca, Saudi Arabia where they say ABRAHAM built the Kaaba (House of Allah) around a meteorite stone on a foundation built by ADAM and EVE! Loathsome lies. Genesis 17:25 - "Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin."  Angels On Assignment  Three angels visited Abraham. One was the Angel of the LORD speaking as the oracle of the invisible God. He declared that Sarah would bear a son within a year. The other two went to judge sinful Sodom. God blessed His favored (Abraham) and cursed His despised (Sodom). God visits those who sacrifice their lives to His purpose.  Genesis 18:2,17 - "...three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground. ...and the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?"  He Ran To Meet Them And Bowed Himself To The Ground  The angels of God came to visit Abraham. "When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground." Our generation is almost devoid of such reverence. When is the last time you saw someone bowing on their face or on their knees to pray? Be extremely careful not to be crass or irreverent in the Presence of the Lord. Don't miss your opportunity to make intercession. Run. Bow.  Genesis 18:3 - "My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant."  Dinner With God  When the Angel of the LORD showed up with two other angels at Abraham's door, Abraham showed them extreme hospitality. When Jesus comes to your house, will you welcome Him lavishly? "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me," Revelation 3:20.  Genesis 18:8 - "He took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat."  The Time Of Life  Sarah was ninety years old when the LORD told Abraham she would conceive. They both laughed. But God had the last laugh. He ordered them to call the baby Isaac - "laughter." God works on a schedule, but we do not always know His schedule unless He chooses to tell us what it is. If God says, "nine months from now," get ready!  Genesis 18:14 - "Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."  Is Any Thing To Hard For The LORD?  You simply cannot afford to forget that God created all of this from NOTHING! His infinite, invisible, eternal Spirit pre-dates everything in the universe. Stars. Galaxies. Planets. Plants. Animals. Humans. Fish. Water. Light. Flowers. Sights and sounds, tastes and smells. Miracles beyond our ability to even catalogue. So the next time you have a need that seems difficult-to-impossible, cast your doubts away. Jesus said, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son," John 14:13.  Genesis 18:14 - "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?"  God Exposed Sarah's Unbelief  The LORD asked Abraham where Sarah was, although He certainly already knew. "In the tent," which was behind him. The angel said, "Sarah thy wife shall have a son." Sarah heard it and laughed within herself. "After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" The LORD asked Abraham, "Wherefore did Sarah laugh?" God exposed her private doubts. It is better for God to expose your doubts than allow them to prevent a miracle.  Genesis 18:15 - "Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh."  Shall I Hide From Abraham That Thing Which I Do?  Abraham had great stature with God. That is a remarkable fact, especially when you consider that virtually no one else on earth had a relationship with God in those days. What does it take to rank so highly with God? Abraham had been responsive, obedient and exemplary in all his ways toward God. If you talk right, walk right, and do right, God is likely to open the lines of communication widely. Try it.  Genesis 18:17-18 - "The LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation?"  For I Know Him  God knew Abraham's heart, and what He knew obviously influenced Him to choose him. You may not even know yourself, but God knows your heart. You may not know how you would respond in a given situation, but God does. If you are driven by wrong motives, God knows. If you have an honest, pure, God-fearing heart, He knows that, too. Be sure that God knows even your thoughts and intentions. Pretenses and phony shows do not fool God.  Genesis 18:19 - "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him."

Plan of Salvation read acts 2:38