REALIZE IN EVERY PROMISE OF GOD IS THE SEED FOR YOUR BREAKTHROUGH! (2)

Today, in continuation of   our discussions on the efficacy of the spoken Word of God, we are going to look at the second part of – “REALIZE THAT IN EVERY PROMISE OF GOD IS THE SEED FOR YOUR BREAKTHROUGH!”

Within every one of these promises is the power for its own fulfillment. The same creative power that made the heavens and the earth is contained in every promise God has given to you in His Word. This is what makes the Word of God the most powerful force upon the face of the earth. Its power cannot be limited by anything.

The power that makes God to be God is contained in His Word. (1) This power is GREAT (Acts 4:33); (2) This power is MIGHTY (Eph. 1:19); (3) This power is EXCEEDING GREAT (Eph. 1:19); (4) This power is EXCELLENT (2 Cor. 4:7); (5) This power is ETERNAL (Rom. 1:20); (6) This power is GLORIOUS (Col. 1:11); (7) This power is DIVINE (2 Pet. 1:3), and (8) This power is UNLIMITED (Lk. 1:37).

God’s Word is the only thing in the entire universe that is not subject to change. Your circumstances are subject to change. But God does not change (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8). God’s Word has no margin for error. It is “infallible.”

A typical example of the efficacy of the Word is seen in the problem of childlessness that Abraham faced. He is an example of a person who acted according to that which was spoken:

Knowing that the Word of God does not change, that there is no margin for error, and that God has promised you that His Word will never fail, you can totally agree with that Word and receive it into your spirit-man and God will bring His promise to you into effect. This was the attitude of Abraham.

Against hope Abraham believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; ACCORDING TO THAT WHICH WAS SPOKEN… (Rom. 4:18). And being not weak in faith, Abraham CONSIDERED NOT his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He STAGGERED NOT at the promise of God 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. 4:19-21).

Against all human reasoning, Abraham and Sarah had a baby boy at the age of 100 and 90 respectively. This is practically impossible in the natural realm, but with God nothing shall be impossible (Lk. 1:37; Jer. 32:27).

In Genesis 12, God made a promise to Abram when he was 75 years old. God promised him saying, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:2-3).

And Abram received in his spirit this promise that he would become the father of a great nation even when there were no signs of any such blessing in his life. Ten long years passed and the promise was not fulfilled. Abram was still childless.

At 85 years of age Abram had not given up hope but he apparently began to wonder how God was going to bring this promise to come to pass seeing that both himself and the wife were well advanced in age, being 85 and 75 years old respectively.

In Genesis 15, God spoke to Abram in a vision to reassure him that He had not forgotten His promise to him.

Genesis 15:1-5 says, “After these things the Word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? [a Philistine]

3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 4 And, behold, the Word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 5 And He brought him (Abram) forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be.”

Abram believed this promise from God. He had a loyalty to God. If God said it, that settled it! Genesis 15:6 says, “And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness.”

Abram’s wife, Sarah, was 75 years old at that time and it has ceased to be with her after the manner of women. She was tired of waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promise, especially after 10 years has elapsed. So, she decided to take matters into her hands. She persuaded Abram to have a child by her maid, Hagar.

Sarah acknowledged the promise of God, but when she failed to see the expected result when she wanted it, she resorted to helping God by taking matters into her own hands.

Unfortunately, this is the attitude of many Christians today. Their eyes are fixed upon a manifestation, instead of the unchanging infallible promise of God (Heb. 12:2).

Abram himself was so confused that he quickly bought Sarah’s idea and a year later, a son was born to him by Hagar.

You know, God did not specify the very woman through which this promise was going to be fulfilled. What is clear from the Scriptures is that the child was going to come forth out of Abram’s bowels. I believe that God expected Abram to know that the promise would be fulfilled through his rightful wife, Sarah, and not through his house maid, Hagar.

Now because of what Abram did, God allowed another 14 years to go by before He once again reconfirmed His promise to Abram. He allowed them to become older. Abram was now 99 years and Sarah was 89 years old.

What happens when you take matters into your hands? When you take matters into your hands, you delay the manifestation of your breakthrough.

Again, God revealed to Abram that Sarah was going to become the mother of nations. God told him that Sarah was going to bear him a son, and through this son His promise was going to be fulfilled. Seeing that Abram was confused about the very woman through whom the promise would be fulfilled, God now specified to him that it was Sarah.

Abram thought that since he and Sarah were beyond the age of having children, the fulfillment of God’s promise would come through his son, Ishmael. So Abram laughed to himself and said, “How is it going to be possible for a man who is 100 years old and a woman who is 90 to give birth to a child?” (Gen. 17:17).

Remember that the fulfillment of God’s promise is not dependent on man’s ability. God’s promise (His Word) had within it the power for its own fulfillment. The power to bring to pass that which God has promised is resident in that Word.

Again, in Genesis 18, God gave a third confirmation of His promise to Abraham that His promise cannot be changed. So, Angels appeared unto Abram and delivered a Word from the Lord. They told him that Sarah would bear a son.

Sarah overheard the conversation and also laughed to herself saying, “How is it possible for me to conceive and bear a child? I have passed the age of childbearing and Abraham is quite an old man now. It’s impossible.”

In Genesis 18:9-14 the three angels said unto Abraham, “Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 THEREFORE SARAH LAUGHED within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

13 And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Abram and Sarah, both laughed at the promise of God, but that did not render the Word of God ineffective. God had spoken a Word and it must surely come to pass, no matter what.

In Genesis 21:1-2 God visited Sarah as He promised, and the Lord did unto Sarah as He had spoken. Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. I believe that because both of them laughed at the promise of God, God put it in their heart to name that child “laughter,” which is the meaning of Isaac.

Is there any promise of God to you that you are laughing at today? Get ready because the Lord is about to fill your mouth with laughter; that promise must come to pass.

Psalm 126:1-3 says, “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. 3 The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”

Twenty-five years after Abraham received and believed God’s promise, he received the fulfillment of that promise. A miracle took place.

From this miracle story, we can see that (1) You must never give up on the promise of God because it will surely come to pass at the very time God has appointed for it; (2) Don’t ever take matters into your own hands – don’t help God.

Before the Word of God can produce a breakthrough in your life, you must first receive it into your spirit. The natural mind cannot accept the fact that it is possible for a 90 year old woman to conceive and give birth to a child; that it is possible for a person born blind to see again; that exactly the right amount of money to meet to a certain financial need will come from unexpected sources precisely at the very moment it is needed. And, because the natural mind is not capable of understanding miracles, God’s promises to you must bypass your natural mind.

When the Word of God takes root within your spirit-man, the faith and power are released and the promise of God is fulfilled in your life.

Therefore, no matter what your need may be, just stand firm on God’s promise to you and you will see the Word come to pass right before your very eyes.

 

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!

• Your friend, I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor, HOG).