Acts 7:1-7
...To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. 'Leave your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.' "So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. God spoke to him in this way: 'Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.'
When Stephen was preaching the gospel he was entrusted with to those in the Sanhedrin and the priests, he especially mentioned that the gospel didn't just begin with Jesus Christ, but rather can be traced back to the promise that God made to Abraham. In the promise that God gave to Abraham concerning his offspring, God was just talking about his physical offspring, but He was actually referring to Jesus Christ. Therefore, God's promise to Abraham was very important, and since Abraham was a man of faith and not of sight, he boldly moved forward as soon as he received God's promise.
When Abraham was still in Ur, God revealed Himself to Abraham and clearly told him: "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." Notice that when God revealed Himself, He didn't clearly tell Abraham where to go, but only asked Abraham to leave and go where God wanted him to go. It's hard to imagine how Abraham was supposed to explain his decision to his wife, but he still believed God's promise, and the promise became the foundation of the faith inside him.
God also promised Abraham that his offspring will be as numerous as the stars and as much as the sand by the sea. Therefore, Abraham changed his name from Abram after receiving God's promise, because Abraham means father of many nations. Abraham changed his name by faith at that time, and today we also need to learn to live by faith and not by sight. Trust in God's word, obey Him courageously, and be ready to experience the tremendous abundance of God.
Pray with Pastor Tong
Lord, we thank you for giving us the example of Abraham. Please help us, Lord, to trust and obey your word, so that we may experience your truthfulness and abundance in our daily life again and again. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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