A Declaration of Faith

Genesis 12:6–9 AV

And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

Abram heard the word of God, Abram believes and responds to God’s word in faith by packing up his family and his belongings, leaves his father’s family, and his father’s dwellings, and begins travelling.

By packing up and leaving his country and his father’s house he forfeited his father’s inheritance. He gave this up so that he could receive what God had for him.

What are you willing to give up to be blessed by God? Abram had to let his family go, he had to let his inheritance go.....but God blessed him over and beyond what he would have received from his father’s house.

This reminds me of the rich ruler, who asked Jesus “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother.” and the rich ruler said “All these have I kept from my youth up.” But then Jesus replies “Yet lakest thou one thing: sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” But the rich ruler was sorrowful when he heard this saying because he did not want to give up his riches and follow Jesus. You ought to be willing to give up anything that is going to impede your relationship with Jesus. It takes faith.....to let go.

Hebrews declares in chapter 11:8-10 “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Issac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

Abram travels as far as Shechem and then sets up camp beside the oak of Moreh. Trees were usually an object of worship or were sometimes considered to be worship centers for heathen nations.

The scriptures declare that while Abram is camped out by the oak of Moreh, that the LORD (Elohim) APPEARED to Abram.

The LORD first spoke to Abram, Abram obeys and moves out from his kindred, he moves from a place of comfortability, he moves from familiarity, to a place in which he now has to depend on God. Abram obeys in faith and is now sojourning and comes to the oak of Moreh, and now the LORD doesn’t just talk, now The LORD himself appears to Abram. I said God/Elohim appears!

Abram hears God, Abram believes God, Abram acts upon his faith and obeys God, now God shows up. That is the recipe for being blessed of God. When you hear the word and apply the word, when you hear the word and obey God’s word......God will show up!!!! He might not visibly appear like he did with Abram, but God will show up wherever you are. He’ll show up in your home, he’ll show up on your job, he’ll show up in your school.

The LORD appears to Abram and reaffirms what He told Abram initially. (Verse 7) “Unto thy seed will I give this land.” God tells Abram. When God says something, He just won’t say one time and that’s it. He’ll reconfirm to you his promises. Why? Because sometimes we forget. Other times, we are so fixated on the experience or what is in front of us, or what we are feeling, or what we are seeing, that we forget what God promised us. A little time has elapsed and God shows up to remind Abram what he promised. What did God promise? Unto your seed, will I give this land.

Now here is the problem, Chapter 11:30 says “But Sarai was barren; she had no child.”

Also, remember that Abram was 75 years old and his wife Sarai is just a few years younger than Abram and they had been trying to have children earlier in their marriage but because of Sarai’s infertility they were unable to produce off-spring. Number two, they are past the age of child-bearing so to say.

But when God says something is going to happen......it’s going to happen, it’s going to come to pass. Doesn’t matter what obstacles are in the way, doesn’t matter what the situation looks like, doesn’t matter what someone else has said.......GOD IS ABLE TO MAKE GOOD ON HIS WORD!

The Lord shows up personally, to deliver a message to Abram and that message, that promise is that “I’m going to give this land to your seed.”

Now after the LORD appeared to Abram, the scriptures state that “Abram builds an altar unto the LORD who appeared unto him.”

Notice Abram’s reaction. He doesn’t try to figure out how this God is going to do this thing......even do he has no children, even though he and Sarai is past the age of child-bearing. Abram, immediately begins to gather stone and he builds an altar and dedicates it to God and there he worships God.

Here is the amazing thing, God hasn’t did anything yet.....but Abram offers a pre-emptive worship to God. God hasn’t did it yet, but Abram starts showing forth appreciation for what God was getting ready to do. We ought to learn from what Abraham has done.

God may have told you what he was going to do for you. He’s going to do something that defies logic, He’s going to do something that seems impossible and although he might not have done it yet, I believe what his word says, and I’m going to praise Him for doing it. I’m not going to wait until it’s done, I’m not going to wait for it to start materializing, I’m going to build an altar and I’m going to worship the LORD right here....RIGHT NOW!

Abram builds an altar not to sacrifice upon, but he builds an altar to show forth appreciation for what God is getting ready to do. He builds an altar as a reminder of what God promised him.

But Abram also builds an altar as declaration to those who worshipped idols that The LORD, He is God.

The Bible now states that Abram travelled south and set up camp in the hill country east of Bethel, having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.

Now after establishing camp, he builds another altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

To “call upon the name of The LORD” is more than just saying his name or praying. It is an outward declaration that “The God I serve.....he is God.” And it is so fitting that Abram does this in what is perceived to be the epicenter of Canaanite worship. He builds this altar not just for his own benefit, he builds this altar just not for his own personal devotion, but he builds this altar to let the inhabitants know, that the God that he now serves, the God that he now believes, he is God!

If you want God to move in an unprecedented way, start “calling on the name of the LORD”! Start opening your mouths and declaring it out loud. Start telling everybody about the God you serve, start telling people what you believe God is going to do. Abram showed outwardly that God was going to bless him with this land, and because he is, I’m going to put my stake in and build this altar right here, right now!

Abram exhibits a repeated act of worship unto God. One time was not good enough for Abram, he had to continue to worship God, not because God told him to do so. But he worships God repeatedly because of what God has done, because of what God is going to do. This is what we should do, we should worship God for what He has done and for what He is doing, and for what He is going to do.

Abram makes an open declaration of God. He wanted the world to know that his God is God.

Abram was beginning to have a true relationship with God. He was going to find out that God is a promise-keeper. He was going to find out that God can’t lie. He was going to find out that God will make a way out of no way. He was going to find out that God will fight your battles for you. God will bless those who bless you and God will curse those who curse you.

Who do you serve? Every believer, look at your neighbor and tell your neighbor “I serve the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob!” The God that can’t fail, the God that is faithful, the God that is merciful.