THE WORKS OF ABRAHAM
Hallelujah to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We praise and bless his name for his goodness toward us! May this message bring you into a new dimension of faith!
John 8:39–40 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Many times people are so quick to identify themselves with their natural family lineage. When the Jews are telling Jesus that Abraham is their father, they are only looking at him in the natural. Indeed in the previous verses (37), Jesus seems to contradict himself by saying “I know ye are Abraham’s seed”. Our Lord also knew and acknowledged that the Israelites were natural descendants of Abraham and hence had a right to call him their father. Jesus, however, is looking at the bigger picture. Are the Israelites children of Abraham in the spirit? It’s a blunt no. Your natural lineage does not necessarily guarantee your spiritual lineage. That is why I get amused when someone tells me “I was born a Catholic or a Muslim”. Recently I was interacting with an eight-year-old boy who happens to be a pastor’s son. He told me “Uncle Rogers, for me I was born a born-again”. It was quite amusing but I easily excused him because he is a little boy. There is no such thing as being born Catholic or Anglican or Born-again. We are born into natural lineages but spiritual lineages are a matter of choice. When Jesus considers this, he comes to the conclusion that “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham”. In another place (verse 44), Jesus is more blunt saying to them “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do”. Why does Jesus say this to them? It is because they had taken things for granted thinking that their natural lineage guaranteed their spiritual lineage. In reality, though, these people were far from Abraham; spiritually, they were submitted to the devil and he had become their father.
Beloved, those of us who have accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour have been born into the spiritual lineage of Abraham. We are not children of Abraham in the flesh and indeed, we don’t need to be. Of the flesh the scripture says, it profiteth nothing, it is the spirit that quickenneth (John 6:63). Speaking of the flesh, even the Arabs are children of Abraham by his eldest son Ishmael and they have indeed been blessed by God for Abraham’s sake even as he has blessed the Israelites. It is not enough for them to say that they are his children when the only evidence to that is their fingers, nails and skin complexion. That doesn’t move God. One day, all flesh will be dead and gone and after that, there will be no more link between Abraham and his natural descendants. God is looking at a much deeper thing. He is looking at that which resonates through eternity; that which is of substance to his divine purpose. He is looking at those who are children of Abraham by faith because even after the flesh is gone, the heavens will observe that our spirits and Abraham’s are alike. Once again, the flesh profits nothing. It is here today and gone tomorrow. Jesus has made us heirs to Abraham. Jesus is the means by which every blessing spoken of Abraham is transferred to us.
Galatians 3: 13–14 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Having said that, there are many people that have been wise enough to receive Jesus and with him, the blessing of Abraham. However, when Jesus looks at them, he says, “If ye were children of Abraham, ye would do the works of Abraham”. Many Christians live their lives as though they have no relationship with Abraham. Indeed the relationship does exist but they don’t seem to understand the advantage of having it. They are like people who have a pair of trousers but only use one of the legs. Let me ask you dear Saint; if indeed you are a child of Abraham, why aren’t you doing the works of Abraham? When Abraham received a promise from God regarding Isaac, what did he do? The scripture says, he staggered not at the promise through unbelief; but was strong in faith giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform (Rom 4:20–21). Child of God, those were the works of Abraham. Remember that Abraham received the promise of Isaac when he was 75years but actually received the fulfilment when he was 100years. Every single year that would pass, Abraham would give glory to God and for 25years, all that Abraham did when he thought upon the promise was to give glory to God. Many believers would write off such a promise after the third year. Abraham kept giving glory to God; one year, two years, five years, ten years, fifteen years, twenty five years. If there was a song, he kept singing “Things are already better” for twenty five years. The scripture does not say he kept reminding God as though he had forgotten. He just kept thanking God for twenty five years. Just to tickle your mind a little bit, Abraham did not know it was going to take twenty five years. Every year, he kept saying, “This is my year of breakthrough”. That year passed. The following year, he said “Surely this year, the promise will be fulfilled”. That year also passed. Then the following year he said, “Glory to God for my year to arise and shine has come”. That year also passed. My brother, my sister, Faith does not lie. As surely as the Lord lives, one good day, Sarah received strength to conceive and she brought forth Isaac. Those are the works of Abraham.
When Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice this very Son that he had waited for twenty five years, there was no debate. We don’t see Abraham bargaining with God to change his mind. By faith, Abraham knew that if God was able to give him a child when him and his wife were past child bearing age, then he was able to raise Isaac from the dead. When a man abounds in faith, it affects his reasoning. It totally makes sense; my body and that of my wife were dead in regard to child bearing, God resurrected them to be able to produce Isaac. This same God is able to raise Isaac from the dead after I have sacrificed him. By faith, we see that Abraham was the first person recorded in scripture to believe in the power of resurrection. Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac. Dear Saint, those are the works of Abraham.
I want to admonish you to look unto the rock from which ye were hewn and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. That is Abraham and Sarah. Study their lives and learn from them. When you begin to do the works of Abraham, you will begin to see the results of Abraham. The works of Abraham are works of faith.
FOR FURTHER REFERENCE: Isaiah 51:1–2, Phil 4:6
LET’S PRAY!
I blossom in faith. I don’t stagger at the promise in unbelief. God, I give you glory because your Spirit works in me to establish faith in every area of my life. The works of Abraham are my works as well. Thank you Holy Spirit because from today on, whatever blessing was on Abraham manifests in me. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Hope this message has blessed you. Kindly share it with all your friends and loved ones.
For a free download, Click Here, The Works Of Abraham
Please take some time off and visit our website www.rogerskisambira.com so you can access all the digests you could have missed.
Consider partnering with us so we can reach and touch more lives through these messages.
For more information on how you can partner with us, click here
ROGERS SOLOMON KISAMBIRA
