EVEN MORE ABRAHAM
Thursday – April 25, 2019, Nisan 20, 5779
Greetings my precious and treasured brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, I am so honored that you are friends and partners of this ministry. Thank you. The pictures this week will be of wildlife in various natural and stunning settings. If you are viewing this on Facebook please take a moment to hit the “like” and “share” buttons to expand the reach and impact of this ministry. After all, your friends are going to give this a higher place because it comes from you and will not be seen as junk mail on receipt. Now let’s turn our attention to our Bible Study of the Book of John by reading our primary text aloud.
John 8:56-59 (KJV)
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
It is absolutely wonderful to watch the will of God unfold in spite of having to deal with freewill people (herding cats). Back in Genesis chapter twelve Abram is seventy-five and he is one hundred when Isaac is born (Genesis twenty-one). How many of us have delayed the wonderful promises of God in our lives because we would not rest in God? Remember, I am working my way towards Abram becoming the father of us all and his rejoicing to see the day of Christ Jesus some two-thousand years before Christ Jesus actually walks the earth. Abram is now ninety-nine years old and the Lord appears to him and basically tells Abram to walk with Him and grow up. In Genesis chapter seventeen Abram’s name is changed to Abraham by the Lord. Abram means ‘exalted father’ and Abraham means ‘father of many nations (ethnic groups)’. Abraham is the father of the natural Jews and he is the father of the Church which has many ethnic groups by the Seed (a Jew) Christ Jesus. It is here in the seventeenth chapter of Genesis that we find the command, the covenant of circumcision. That circumcision was a sign of the covenant (old) with the Jews and now in Christ Jesus we have a circumcision of the heart. That is to get the ungodly thoughts out of the heart and replace them with the Godly. Circumcision was of the males however that is not to say the females were excluded for the covenant, they were included through their fathers. It is here in Genesis chapter seventeen that we find that Abraham finally does not waver or stagger at the promise of God for a son, for a nation, and for a Messiah who would bring many sons to God.
Romans 4:17-20 (KJV)
17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
This passage is clearly linked to Genesis chapter seventeen and we know that by the use of the phrase, father of many nations. Up until this point Abram (Abraham) did a fair amount of wavering, staggering, but his heart changed in this encounter with God, the God with whom he had made Blood Covenant, a Covenant which can only be broken by death. In this same chapter God also changes Sarah’s name to Sarai.
Genesis 17:15-16 (KJV)
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
Abraham is the father of many nations and Sarah is the mother of nations. From this lineage, by unwavering faith, will come the Seed Christ Jesus. The kings of people are you and me dear saints of God. When Abraham heard all of this from the Lord, he utters the faith statement that allowed God to perform His will which was to start the lineage leading to Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.
Genesis 17:17 (KJV)
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Remember that the Bible was not written with punctuation and in sentence form. The other telling thing about this verse is that Abraham is not looking for an answer from the Lord for he goes directly to a question about Ishmael (the son by Hagar). The Lord goes ahead and confirms the faith statement and reassures Abraham about Ishmael. The Lord also makes it abundantly clear that by far the overriding covenant is with Isaac. One more reminder as we look back at verse seventeen. In the King James Version, anything in italics is not in the original manuscript. The verse reads as a statement of faith with no question mark, if anything there should be an exclamation mark. It says; ‘shall be born unto him that is a hundred years old! And shall Sarah, that is ninety years old bear! How wonderful! Without the faith statement, agreement with God this child of promise could not come and ultimately the desperately needed Seed would have been delayed.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it by faith in Jesus name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
PRAYERS AND QUESTIONS – please, anytime you have an issue that you want me, this ministry to pray for you, a person you love or a situation contact me. Accordingly, if you should have a question about the Bible, please do not hesitate to ask it.
PARTNERSHIP AND GIVING – Those of you who are not Partners of this Ministry and you find this ministry to be of value to you and perhaps others with whom you share it, we ask you to consider becoming Partners. A Partner is one who prays for the Ministry on a regular basis and contributes to the Ministry on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, annually). Thank you and may the Lord be pleased with your decision.
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
BLOG: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/awakearisetriumphministries
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/PastorDavidWood
MAILING ADDRESS: 10 Village Green Circle, Oakland, Maine 04963
MY BOOKS: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org/shop/
