Faith Roots with Pastor Willie George

The appearance of the Word of the Lord to Abram in Genesis 15 is the first time that God clearly makes a covenant with him. The covenant is hinted at in every encounter Abram had with God up to this point, but this story is the first open declaration of God’s covenant with Abram.

The following verse is one of the most intriguing verses in the Old Testament. It is an example of the Law of First Mention, the first occurrence of an idea or expression. 

Genesis 15:1 NKJV

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

Not long after Lot’s removal to Sodom, there was a confederation of kings that invaded the region and carried away much of its population. Lot was among those who were taken prisoner.

When Abram learned of Lot’s capture, he sprang into action. This story gives us a more complete picture of Abram’s situation in Canaan.

When Abram left his father’s family and followed God’s instruction to go to Canaan, he was accompanied by his nephew, Lot. Like Abram, Lot also had herds of sheep and goats, and in time, their shepherds began to fight at the waterholes. Abram had the honor of seniority in their relationship, but Lot was not careful to impress this sense of honor into his herdsmen. Abram could foresee the probability of great bitterness between him and his nephew, so he initiated a separation with Lot, giving him first pick of Canaan’s grazing lands.

Shortly after Abram arrived in the land of Canaan, there was a life-threatening famine that altered his plans. He had to take his family and possessions of flocks and herds to Egypt. It was during this time that he discovered the unconditional nature of the covenant God had made with him.

The Lord appeared to Abram and called him to leave his family, his father’s house, and the land of the Chaldees on the Euphrates River. Abram did nothing to merit this call and was not chosen for his works. He was not looking for God—God went looking for him.

Most people today have little or no understanding of how covenants impacted our ancestors in the ages past. Covenants, almost all of which were constructed around a blood sacrifice, gave order to a world in chaos. They enabled neighbors to live in peace and restrained local despots from running roughshod over peaceful people.

Paul experienced amazing miracles whenever he went, but especially so when he ministered among the Gentiles. But Paul’s first action was always the preaching of the Gospel. The miracles followed the preaching, just as they did with the ministry of Jesus.

So, the preaching of the Gospel came first… or did it?

Faith in God’s Word permits us to see glimpses of the spiritual world where God’s power comes from. We learn not the limit Him to the restraints of natural circumstances. And most importantly, we realize that our destinies are tied to that spiritual world where He can be seen and known. We are pilgrims on this earth.

God has always revealed His plans carefully, and in bits and pieces. The prophecies about the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus are scattered throughout the Old Testament. God’s plan of salvation was a mystery that only came to light after it was finished.

God uses the foolish things in the world to confound the wise. Goliath could never have believed he would die by the hand of a teenage Israeli shepherd boy who had never been in a fight. The shock of seeing a red-haired, freckled kid standing over the unbeatable Philistine champion sent thousands of soldiers fleeing to their cities. God loves to use the unexpected thing to accomplish His purpose.

Only truly spiritual people can discern the plans and purposes of God. One of the greatest hindrances to true spirituality is human pride. Pride blinds us to the greatest opportunities. It almost kept me from discovering the purpose of God for my life. 

Learning from past mistakes is only one aspect of looking backward. We can see the good that God wants to do for us in the present by considering the good that He did in bygone days. By observing prophetic patterns in the conquest of Canaan, David was able to understand how God would deliver him from Goliath.

The ten unbelieving spies who went to search the land of Canaan did not realize that God had given them a step-by-step plan to conquer the land. God’s plan reveals that every negative element of the conquest was actually a positive in disguise.

Without the eye-opening help of the Holy Spirit, we cannot imagine the things that God wants to do for us. The Holy Spirit works inwardly, convincing us of God’s willingness to bless, and coaching us as to how the blessing will come. The “how” of God’s blessing is not our concern until God gives us the first step in obtaining what He has promised. We take small steps of faith to cooperate with God, but seldom do we see the whole plan until it is consummated.

Faith enables us to receive things from God that are not yet manifested to us in this physical, material world. If I were to give you a $100 bill, you would not need faith for it. You do not need faith for things that are already in your hands. Faith enables you to grasp the things that you cannot see, touch, feel, taste, or smell.

The Old Testament Bible stories have been given to us as symbols for the spiritual struggles we face daily in our walk with God. We do not fight spiritual battles with natural weapons, but we do face intense spiritual struggles nonetheless. The natural battles that Israel fought can help us understand our own battles more perfectly.

I have found that you can accomplish anything if you are willing to take steps. You might not get to your destination as quickly as you would like, but you will get there with honor and integrity, and in good condition. God delights in the steps that He sets out for us.

The Holy Spirit does not speak to us of His own accord. He speaks only what He hears the Father say, or only what Jesus says. Fortunately, the words of both the Father and the Son that we need to hear are written down. We call those writings, “The Bible.”

God reveals His will to us through spiritual communication channels. When we hear the teaching of God’s Word, the Holy Spirit works it so as to enlighten our minds. Christ taught that there is a powerful spiritual component to His teaching.

David could never have overcome Goliath without the power of the covenant that God made with Abraham 800 years before. The entire purpose of the Covenant was to create a supernatural people through which the Savior of the world would come.

David was just a teenager when he faced Goliath, but he had to become a SPIRITUAL man. The spiritual person does not limit himself or herself by the natural circumstances that are set against him. The spiritual person does not deny the existence of negative circumstances, but focuses on the higher truth of God’s Word, knowing that He can change the circumstances. God’s Word reveals His will for us while circumstances are often set against God’s will for us.

The challenges to God’s promises come in the form of giants. We face problems that appear to be insurmountable and beyond our abilities to solve them. Instead of grieving over the fight, we must remind ourselves of what God has promised.

We have a particular saying in our culture—“Seeing is believing!” I have to admit that I myself rest easier when I see one of God’s promises fully manifested before my eyes; but, my seeing the answer has nothing to do with the giving of that answer. The scripture says, “For with the heart man believes.” Faith is a force of the heart—not of the natural mind. Since faith comes by hearing the Word of God, Jesus taught them the Word to give them the capacity for faith. Seeing, then, is not believing!

God created you in His image and in His likeness, therefore, you are first and foremost a spirit. You possess a soul, and both spirit and soul live in a body. Your physical body was never intended to dominate your decisions and priorities. Your body was created to serve your spirit and soul, not to dominate them.

In our first lesson, we learned that we are more than flesh and blood beings. We were created in the image and likeness of God, so we are spiritual as well as natural. If God is a Spirit, we, too, must be a spirit in order to communicate with Him. When we receive Christ,  He comes to reside in our spirits—the innermost part of our beings.

Our five physical senses are wonderful teachers, but they can only transmit knowledge from the natural, physical world. For this reason, they cannot reveal God to us because he exists outside this natural, physical world. Jesus declared, “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)