Acts 7:1-8 

¹ Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?” ² 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 Harran. ³ ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’

⁴ “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. ⁵ He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. ⁶ God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. ⁷ 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.’ ⁸ Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

Catch a Fish!

Stephen was standing before the Sanhedrin and the high priest asked if the charges against him were true?

Stephen responded by reminding his listeners about God’s call on Abraham.

Why did Stephen need to begin his defense from the time Abraham obeyed God? What is the connection of the glory and promise of God to Abraham in relation to Stephen’s life and responses to his listeners? What can we learn from Abraham’s experiences when he decided to follow God?

A story was told about a widow who was very depressed after her husband died.

Few years has passed by, she still cannot find a meaningful life for herself as a widow.

Her friends tried to cheer her up, they planned and went fishing in the river. Her friend gave her a fishing rod to hold onto and keep watch. Suddenly, a fish bit and pulled the line and her facial expression brighten. As she did her best to bring the fish up to shore, there was excitement on her face.

She thanked her friends for their effort to make her life more meaningful again.

The promised thrill of catching fish cannot be experienced and hardly imagined not until the actual struggle of bringing a catch up to the shore. Christ’s promise of abundant life is hard to conceptualize and never be experienced until one would actually respond and obey God.

Not a few people would claim that God does not lie and that’s true! God does not lie. But to obey God and see the actualization of His promises is not readily accepted, why?

If God has really spoken to a person, this part is difficult for many to acknowledge. Identifying the promises of God from the Scripture can be easily done while there is uncertainty to approximate if God has given His promises to the reader. And that makes believers hesitate to obey God because they have no idea if God is giving them those promises or those promises are just some kind of information to know.

Not to mention the rebellious nature factor, hearing God’s voice clearly is also a problem.

How do you know and distinguish when God is revealing Himself to you? Can you positively identify the voice of God when He speaks to you? How do you support your claim that God has spoken to you without any hint of doubt?

1. Glory

¹ Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?” ² 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 Harran. ³ ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ ⁴ “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 

Let’s leave Stephen for a while and just focus our studies in the obedience of Abraham.

The “Father of faith” [Romans 4:12], Abraham had seen the glory of God previously. God continued to reveal Himself to Abraham as Abraham made each step to obey. God did not give all at once His instruction to Abraham but He promised Abraham about what the Lord will do in the future for him.

God has promised to give Abraham a piece of land, but have you thought why land? Why not riches, fame, power, exciting life, good friends, or servants, why land?

Scholars researched that during Abraham’s time there was on-going Mesopotamian war that forced Abraham and his family to evacuate their home land. They have no more land they can call their own because their nation was in chaos. Perhaps, Abraham longed to have a piece of land for his household to live peacefully.

When God promises something to an individual, He would work also with the longing of our heart or anything that we are in need of.

Initially, God reveals His glory and gives us hope even before we start trusting in Him.

Do you still remember why you decided to give your full trust to God? What practical thing has triggered your decision to really trust God with all your life?

Colombiana

The movie “Colombiana” featured an orphaned young girl from Colombia who went to her uncle’s home to ask for help.

Her kind and caring uncle did the best thing he knew and helped her enrol in school.

The young girl rejected the idea saying, “I have nothing to learn from school!”

Her uncle explained to her that for her to have a better life and wiser decision-making in the future she needed to study in school as other children do.

Eventually, the orphan girl was convinced to study hard for brighter future.

More than a few young people cannot visualize the benefits of finishing their studies. Non-thinking people consider studying as waste of time or disturbance of their leisure time.

More and more church-goers have similar concern about God and His promises. It is difficult for them to conceptualize the great benefits of being a faithful believer. Only by God’s grace at work, that we will be able to see the benefits of obedience to God.

The person who has seen and experienced the glory of God continues and desires to search more about God and to wait and see the promises of God come to fulfillment.

2. Promise

⁵ … God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. ⁶ God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. ⁷ 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.’ ⁸ Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

God told Abraham to possess a land he had never seen before. When Abraham, finally, set foot in Canaan, God told him that he and his descendants after him will posses the land.

Abraham was about 75 years old when God told him to go to Canaan. Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five [175] years. That’s100 years more added to his life.

Abraham personally experienced and saw the fulfillment of God’s promises to him. He was 100 when his son Isaac was born to his wife Sarah.

In Genesis 25:26 it says that his grandchildren Esau and Jacob were born. ²⁶After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

If Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old and Isaac was 60 when his children were born, this means, Abraham was 160 years old when Rebekah gave birth to Esau and Jacob.

Yet, even before Abraham had children and grand children, God told Abraham that his descendants will become strangers and eventually be enslaved in a foreign land.

In Genesis 17:11 God required Abraham and his male descendants to be circumcised. ¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 

The circumcision was a reminder for the Israelites about God’s promise to Abraham.

Does God normally give a sign or reminder that He will surely make His promise come true?

In Genesis 9:13, God told Noah that the rainbow will be a sign that God will never destroy this earth again with flood. ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

Samson’s long hair was also a significant sign that the Spirit of God was with him. This was why when Samson’s hair was cut short by his enemies he became weak like others.

There are many circumstances where a prophet would give God’s word and also give sign when would things happen according to God’s word.

Has God given you a promised and a mark of covenant to remind you of His promise?

How does God give His promises to believers these days?

How sure are you that your prayer requests are what God wants you to ask Him?

God uses the Scripture to speak to each believer individually and personally. God also speaks through different means like, sermons, Christian articles, prayer, through church leaders and members, and even in different circumstances.

Read the Scripture very prayerfully and ask God to speak to you very personally. Do not just pick a beautiful verse but be sure that God gives you an assurance in your heart that it’s Him who is speaking through the Scriptures.

Your Life Verse should contain God’s personal promise to you so that you would experience more of His glory.

The promise of God to Abraham was a piece of land he has never seen before. What is God’s promise to you? Have you heard God’s voice personally? What has God promised you that you faithfully come to Him in prayer?

Pray and ask God to help you recognize His voice very clearly.

Seek His help to help you obey Him and to trust all His promises He wanted you to claim.

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