Why are you following Jesus in the first place?

FAITH AND BELIEVING IN THE LAST DAYS

Chapter 6

Why are You following Jesus in the First place?

Abraham in the Old Testament is known as The Father of Faith.

He earned this title simply by believing in faith that

God will do what God says He will do.

You believe that don’t you?

You believe that God will do what He says He will do, right?

And you live your life like you believe it, don’t you?

Ya, me neither.

I want to,

I try to,

I hope to believe,

but when it doesn’t happen,

I tend to blame myself for not understanding God, or for getting in Gods way and screwing things up. Admittingly, there was a time when I actually blamed God for things not working out. Mostly, I thought that He was punishing me or that I wasn’t worthy enough of His blessings.

As I struggled through out the years, searching for that secret formula that would give my life purpose and a sense of satisfaction in knowing that I was pleasing to God, I found that I was partaking in something unplanned by myself. I found that my relationship with God was changing. I was realizing how patient he was with me. Especially when I had those throw a fit, sit down and pout, pity parties for myself.

He never left me behind.

He was never to busy for me.

It seemed that God was allowing me as much time as it took for me to come to the place of faith in Him that would allow me to continue in our walk together down some deeper paths.

Imagine walking with God.

What big foot steps He has.

If you spend your life trying to walk in His footsteps I promise you, you will never succeed. His footsteps are just too big. They are just too big.

So what do I offer to you?

Take what faith you have right now and invest it in following after Jesus. And if in your daily activities He calls you out to do or say something to or for someone, then just do it. You had the faith to follow Him there didn’t you? You are not going to tell me that you spent all that time and prayer and frustration in following Jesus that closely that you don’t even have an ounce of faith to do Him a simple favor?

That’s like driving all the way out to the Grand Canyon and then never getting out of the vehicle. Why did you go there in the first place?

Why are you following Jesus in the first place?

Please believe me God is more patient that you are immature.

Tell ya what, let’s just take a break and go sightseeing with God.

Genesis 15:5 Then He (God)brought him (Abraham) 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."

6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Righteous is being in a state of vindication.

Vindicate means To clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting arguments or proof: To defend, maintain, or insist on the recognition of one's rights.

Now you may believe this to be true, but the proof as they say, is in the pudding. Do you think and live like you believe this to be true?

Decide right now, is God a liar or does trusting in Jesus, who is the truth, make you righteous?

Does your faith in Jesus clear you of accusation, blame, suspicion and doubt?

Can you just believe that Jesus isn’t lying to you and that’s it?

Doesn’t there need to be proof?

Doesn’t there need to be evidence?

Let’s take another look at Genesis 15:5.

This is the place where an amazing event takes place.

It is a place where God puts all His cards on the table before Abraham and gives him the deal of a lifetime.

Genesis 15:5 Then He brought him (Abraham) 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."

The first thing that God did was He took Abraham outside.

Interesting enough, the word “outside” in Hebrew is “chuts”, it means “street”. It kind of reminds you of the childhood game, “Chutes and Ladders.” In the game you go though life climbing ladders and sliding down chutes. Today we call that gaining ground and losing ground, one step forward, two steps back, and it seems that most people live their lives that way.

No purpose, no meaning, no real fulfillment. How wonderful it is to come to Christ and know that God has a purpose for your life!

God had a purpose for Abraham’s life too, even when most of us would have thought that Abraham was far to old for God to use him, or accomplish anything lasting or important through him. Think you are too old for God to use you? Think you missed your calling and now God has moved on to someone else? Think again. God is not through with you yet.

In Genesis 15:5 God took Abraham out from his dwelling place to the street of the world.

That’s the place where we all do business. That’s the place which we all enter to get from one location to another. It’s a path which we all travel on a daily basis.  It’s where we meet others of our kind, and those who are different. It’s the place where culture and tradition encounter one another.

Now imagine if you will God saying…

Abraham, I know you are a busy man. I know you have much to do and you have many responsibilities. I am aware that everyday you leave your home and enter the world. You till the soil, you tend your livestock and interact with friends, family and strangers. But tonight, while the air is cool, the sky is dark and the surroundings are quiet, I want you to pause and see some of my handiwork. As a matter of fact Abraham, I want to show you something that I have made for you myself. Consider it a gift, a reminder of my thoughts towards you and all the others that inhabit the earth with you. Abraham, look now towards heaven…

Can you imagine Abraham, standing still outside in the dark of the night, looking up into the starlit sky?

Can you see the thousands and thousands, even millions of brightly shining stars, planets and galaxies filling the dark sky with the twinkling sparkling fireworks of Gods beauty and creativity?

What do you suppose Abraham was thinking?

What would you be thinking? Do words like beautiful, majestic, dazzling, bright, awesome, vast, immense, endless and breathtaking come to mind? Wouldn’t it make you pause and think of Gods mighty power, His hugeness and creative genius? Wouldn’t you find yourself with your mouth wide open, just staring in wonder, filled with the overwhelmingly awesome beauty of Gods glorious majesty?

So there they stand, God and Abraham, and since we are using our imaginations here, imagine that you are Abraham. And then God begins to play a little game with you. He turns towards you and says, Child of mine, try and count the stars… and like counting gumballs in a big bowl to win a prize you start to count them off. 1, 2, 3, and after a short while you begin to group them together and you try to estimate their numbers, but soon you find even that gets confusing.

You estimate thousands, then tens of thousands then hundreds of thousands and then suddenly, you stop counting.

It hits you, there are too many to count, to many to estimate. God has given you an impossible task to do.

Realizing this, you turn to God and softly say, Father, there are too many of them.

I cannot imagine their numbers so how could I possibly count them. Father, your creation is far too vast and I am far too small. And then God, with a kind and loving look on His face, turns to you and says,

so shall your descendents be.

Immediately it hits you, the 2^nd impossible thing that God brings up.

First its count the stars, now its you are gonna have a bazillion offspring.

The impossibility of it all hits you, your mind stalls, and then quickly reengages and you find that your mouth is already speaking…

But God, you begin to say, and He responds by placing an upright finger over your lips as He softly says shhhhh.

And there you stand, stunned at the plan and promise that God has laid before you, and you find yourself turning your face upward in unison with God, looking back into the star strewn sky, and the two of you standing side by side, stare silently into space.

Here’s the problem.

You try to take it all in, but you can’t.

You find that it’s all to overwhelming.

It’s beyond your imagination.

It’s beyond your comprehension.

It’s impossible.

Yes, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!

Let me tell you something.

God already knew that it was impossible for Abraham to count the stars before He told Abraham to count the stars.

Did your brain kick in yet?

Can ya feel the sweet Holy Spirit of God nudging you?

The real question is,

Do you believe that when God tells you to do something,

that God already has the power to do that which He tells you to do?

And doesn’t that mean that what God is saying is that…

He has the plan.

He has the resources.

The only thing left is you.

And only you can provide that.

Listen up, here a big part of Satan’s plan for your demise.

Satan wants to break down that communication line that you have between you and God. Stop the communication means that Satan has infiltrated the ranks of your body, soul, heart, mind and spirit.

God has just given you two simple choices,

believe or not believe,

accept or reject,

be filled with wonder or just wander.