Acts 7:2-5
And Stephen said:
“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.
Tag: Faith is still believing in the promises of God even if you don’t get to see the fruition of those promises.
A complimentary passage to the above portion of Stephen’s sermon is from Romans and Hebrews. Note:
Romans 4:20-21
No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
Hebrews 11:8-10
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
Abraham was a man of faith who never really got to see the object of his faith: The land. He simply looked for the place God would have him go “next” and was trusting God that the “land” would, someday be the land of his children and children’s children. Faith is believing in the promises of God as though you are experiencing the very thing the promises promise. Abraham staggered not in unbelief. He trusted in the character of God that God does not lie. God, Alone, is the reason to believe in the promises of God.
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