Title: Life of Victory / Hebrews 11:8-12
Contents
We can learn many good lessons from watching sports. The Apostle Paul often compared our lives to athletics, especially running races. When all the athletes come to the starting line, they all come out with the hope of winning first place. However, not all of them win. Some players win and some losers.
The same goes for our lives and our faith. Everyone wants to win and everyone wants to be successful, but not everyone can win and be successful. However, it is important to understand that success is not something that can be achieved by chance or gifted. For those who have lived a successful life, there is a cause and a way that led to victory and success in their life. Also, even those who fail have causes and reasons for failure.
Among the characters in the Bible, there are people who have succeeded, and there are people who have completely failed. If Abraham was a successful man, his nephew Lot was a failure. If David is a successful king, Saul is a failed king. If Peter is a victorious disciple, Judas Iscariot is a disciple who has completely failed. Among them, Abraham is a representative figure of victory.
This morning, I would like to tell you the secret of Abraham's successful life. Because we want our members to live a successful life like Abraham. It is also because we believe that we can live a successful life just like Abraham.
What enabled Abraham to lead a successful life
1. It was because he was a man of inspiration who knew how to distinguish and listen to God's words.
Abraham left the Chaldeans because he could hear the word of God. In Genesis 12:1~3, we hear, "The LORD said to Abraham, "Leave your country and your relatives and your father's house, and go to the land I will show you."
A person of God must be able to hear the voice of God. Because only then can we live according to the will of God. This very voice of God became the Word and was given to us as the Bible. You must have the inspiration to hear the voice of God from the words of the Bible. Abraham had a successful life because of his inspiration to understand the Word of God. Therefore, those who want to live a successful life must have the inspiration to understand the Word of God.
In the 2nd chapter of Kings, before Elijah ascended to heaven, Elisha risked her life for double inspiration. This double inspiration was what enabled Elisha to successfully fulfill the mission of the prophet. Only when we have the inspiration to understand and listen to this precious word of God, we can live a life of obedience, a life of hope, a holy life, and a life of success. Lot's sons-in-law...) Now, I hope that you will be inspired by this amazing inspiration and live a successful life in the word.
2. Because he lived a life of obedience following God's word.
Abraham left his hometown when God told him to leave his hometown. When I asked him to leave his father's house, he left when he told me to leave his relative's house. She took an Egyptian woman named Hagar as a concubine, and when he told her to leave her, she abandoned her. In the end, even his dear only son, Isaac, was going to offer a sacrifice on Mount Moriah. Abraham's life was truly a life of obedience. He thoroughly bowed down to his will, and if it was God's will, he followed God's word. It is not only through understanding and knowing the Word, but also through the process of obedience. We cannot receive the promised blessings without obedience. A life of faith is a life of obedience to the Word of God. A life without obedience is not a life of faith.
Abraham lived a successful life by living a life of obedience and Amen. There is no one who disobeys God's word and does not do well. Adam and Eve were also expelled from the Garden of Eden, King Saul disobeyed God's word and lost his position as king, and King Uzziah suffered leprosy while disobeying God's word and suffered from leprosy and died. Therefore, obedience is better than sacrifice, and more precious than the fat of sheep like ten million streams of water.
A successful life can only bear fruit from obedience. A victorious life is what comes from obedience. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will live a life of amazing success like Abraham, with the faith of obedience and the faith of Amen.
3. It is because we lived while looking at the promises of God that are revealed in the Word of God.
First, we remember that Abraham was a lonely 100-year-old man with no blemishes. However, God promised Abraham, "Look to the east, west, south, north, and south, and I will give you and your descendants all the land you see.
And Abraham had no country to protect him. But God promised him a shield and a reward. Abraham saw these promises of God as a dream, an ideal, and the purpose of his life. It is this faith that sees, the tenacious faith of sunflowers, which is the secret to Abraham's success. There is an old saying about digging a well after digging a well. When we look only at God, turn to God, believe in the promises he has made and move forward, there is a life of victory and success. There are no shortcuts or direct trains to true victory and success in life. Just like a runner who runs a marathon consistently, looking at one place thoroughly and moving forward is the way to victory. Here lies the secret of Abraham's victory and success.
Of course, Abraham is also a human being. It is not that Abraham was never without a glance. I went to Egypt, where I shouldn't have gone, and I was humiliated. There were times when he tricked his wife into begging for her life. But soon, he returned to God and lived only looking at God.
The Bible contains God's promises to many people. These promises are equally given to those who later have eternal life. He did not just promise Paul or Peter 2,000 years ago. It's not just the promise he made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 4000 years ago. These are the promises made to all of God's people who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and His cross. Looking at God's promises revealed in God's Word is the way to success and victory.
A person must be born, grow, and succeed on this earth. And each one has a different path to success. However, Abraham was able to live a successful life because he had the inspiration to listen to the word of God, the obedience to obey the word, and the dream to see the word of God as an ideal. Like this Abraham, I pray in the name of the Lord that you and I will be able to live a successful life by practicing the noble principle.
??Prayer
Lord, who is by our side, guide us on the right path of faith so that we may live according to your word. Give us the obedience of Abraham and the faith and hope that do not weaken, so that we can live a victorious life like Abraham. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.