Believing When You Don't See It

Introduction

I want to share with you today from the topic of “Believing When You Don’t See It.”

“Believing When You Don’t See It.”

Timothy Jackson, Memphis, Tennessee told a story about a Page Intentionally Left Blank.

One day while printing a report for work he noticed a blank page. He initially thought that the printer was malfunctioning. He thought this until He looked near the bottom of the black page and saw this note, “Page intentionally left blank.” After a sigh of relief, a different section of the report began to spout from the printer. When that section finished another blank page followed with the same note, “Page intentionally left blank.” A few seconds later a new section began to print. As he thought about it he realized that the blank page that came at the end of each section served two purposes.

First, it informed him that the previous section had ended.

Second, it informed him that a new section was about to begin.

Sometimes, God will seem silent. You will wonder what’s going on, or where is God. But it’s possible that the current page in your life may have been intentionally left blank by God to let you know that a new chapter is coming.

Hebrews 11:1 KJV 1900

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

But, did you know that faith is something that is ever changing?

If you are maturing in the Lord as you should be, then the faith you have this evening is far greater than the faith you had the moment you believed.

Of course, the ability to exercise faith, as well as the faith to exercise, are already in you.

You may not see it, you may not believe it, but it is there nonetheless.

You see, faith is like a muscle, the more you exercise it, the larger and stronger it becomes.

That is why the Lord leads us through difficult places in our lives. He is helping us to grow in our faith.

Our Text today speaks of the life of Abraham. If you will remember,

he is a man who left his home, his family and the country of his birth to follow God.

By faith he has journeyed and by faith he has lived. He followed God based on a simple promise.

That promise was that he would receive a land and that he would produce heirs.

The passage we are looking at today deals with the matter of Abram's faith. Here, we see him "Believing Even Though He Can’t See It.”

As we consider what the Lord is doing in the life of Abram in this passage, let us consider that the Lord wants to grow us too.

He wants to move us toward maturity, day by day.

Genesis 15:7 KJV 1900

7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

In V. 7 God's Reminder - God opens this section with a reminder of who He is and what He is doing. His reminder is three-fold.

Of His Person - God refers to Himself as "Jehovah", "The Self-Existent One." God is merely reminding Abram Who he is dealing with.

(Note: We have a tendency to forget just who is in control of the events of life. It would do us good to remember that we serve "Jehovah God" He was here before anything and He will be here after everything.

He controls all things that happen in between.

He is a powerful God, Job 42:2; Luke 1:37.

He is a present God, Heb. 13:5; Matt. 20:28.

He is a perceptive God, Heb. 4:13; Pro. 15:3.

He is in control of all of life. If we could ever get our souls around that truth, it would revolutionize our lives!)

Of His Power - God reminds Abram that Abram is where he is today because of the power of God.

Abram did nothing to get where he was, it was all God. (Note: may we also remember that what we have, what we are and where we are, are all a product of the Lord's work in our lives, 1 Cor. 15:10. You name the area of your life and you can count on the fact that it is all God and not you!)

Of His Plan - God reminds Abram that He brought him out so that He might give Abram a new land.

God's purpose was to take this childless pilgrim and transform him into father of a great nation.

Note: I just want to remind you that God has a wonderful plan for your life, Rom. 8:28. You and I need to be careful lest we hinder that plan and bring pain and hardship upon ourselves.

Let me just remind you that God's plan is always a good plan, it is always the best plan, it is always the right and perfect plan! Therefore, find God's plan for your life and walk in it!

Genesis 15:8 KJV 1900

8 And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

B. V. 8 Abram's Response - Some have taken this question by Abram to be an expression of doubt. His question is not doubt but curiosity. He is merely asking the Lord for more information. When you hear from the Lord, do you respond by asking for more information, or do you immediately begin to question the truth of what you have heard?

In response to Abram's question, the Lord makes a demand. This demand served as a challenge to his faith.

By the way, faith that isn't tested isn't really faith at all.

Allow me to share a few thoughts that present themselves in the next few passages.

I. Even Though You Don’t See It, You Still Need To Prepare For It!

Genesis 15:9–10 KJV 1900

9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

God's request is for Abram to prepare a sacrifice.

This whole event was how men in ancient times made a covenant with one another.

They would cut animals in half and arrange the pieces several feet apart and walk between the pieces together.

It symbolized the sacredness of a man's word. It said, "May I be like one of these animals if I break my part of the covenant."

For Abram, it took a lot of costly, hard, bloody work to prepare things like the Lord wanted them to be.

Note: Friend, we need to remember that when the Lord makes a requirement of your life or mine, it will often require us to commit to some hard work on our part.

The great things of God do not come easy, they do not come cheap, nor do they come to the lazy.

God's best is reserved for those who are willing to pay the price. What is that price? Pray, holiness, separation, obedience, etc. Ill. Wood, hay, stubble, gold, silver, precious stones.

II. Even Though You Don’t See It, You Have To Be Willing To Protect It!

Genesis 15:11 KJV 1900

11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

As Abram waited for the Lord to come by and meet with him, the birds of prey began to descend on the animal carcasses.

Abram had to shoo them away to protect the sacrifice from being devoured.

Note: When the Lord begins to move in your faith life, you can count on the fact that every vulture in the world will come against you to devour what the Lord is trying to do in your life.

If we allow them, many vultures will try to take away our time, our concentration, or commitment to the Lord and His work.

We need to be on guard to protect what the Lord wants to do in our lives and allow nothing to hinder it or prevent us from seeing it come to pass.

III. Even Though You Don’t See It, You Have To Learn To Be Patient!

Genesis 15:11–12 KJV 1900

11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. 12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

I get the impression that this activity took Abram most of the day.

He is in a holding pattern. He has the sacrifice ready, he is guarding it and the Lord doesn't show up until after darkness has fallen.

It was a time that required patience on the part of Abraham.

Note: God never runs on our schedule!

We try to get ready for Him and line up with what He is doing in our lives.

We wait and we wait for Him to show up and move in us and through us.

He will, but only when He is ready!

Therefore, if the Lord is working in your life, be patient and wait on His timing. Don't rush in as we have a tendency to do, just wait patiently on Him and He will bring it to pass,

Isaiah 40:28–31 KJV 1900

28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, That the everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; And to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.

Psalm 27:14 KJV 1900

14 Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say, on the Lord.

And when it shows up don’t miss it!