MOVING TOWARD MATURITY

Introduction: Hopefully, we as a whole understand what confidence is. As per the Bible it is what? "Presently confidence is the substance of things expected, the proof of things not seen.", Heb. 11:1. Yet, did you had any idea about that confidence is something truly evolving? On the off chance that you are developing in the Lord as you ought to be, the confidence you have tonight is far more noteworthy than the confidence you had the second you accepted. Obviously, the capacity to practice confidence, as well as the confidence to work out, are as of now in you. You may not see it, you may not trust it, however it is there regardless. Confidence resembles a muscle, the more you practice it, the bigger and more grounded it becomes. For that reason the Lord leads us through troublesome spots in our lives. He is assisting us with filling in our confidence.

In this entry, we are as yet following the existence of Abraham. In the event that you will recollect that, he is a man who left his home, his family and the nation of his introduction to the world to follow God. With an otherworldly conviction he has ventured and with conviction he has lived. He followed God in light of a straightforward commitment. That commitment was that he would get a land and that he would create main beneficiaries. As I would like to think, he has practiced extraordinary confidence. In god's eyes, this has been profound kindergarten. The Lord has a few much more noteworthy tests coming up for Abram's confidence. The section we are seeing tonight manages the issue of Abram's confidence. Here, we see him Moving Toward Maturity. As we consider what the Lord is doing in the existence of Abram in this section, let us consider that the Lord needs to develop us as well. He needs to push us toward development, step by step. Permit me to share a couple of considerations that current themselves in this entry. I. V. 7-8 THE CONCERN OF ABRAM'S FAITH A. V. 7 God's Reminder - God opens this part with an indication of what His identity is and what He is doing. His update is three-crease. 1. Of His Person - God alludes to Himself as "Jehovah", "The Self-Existent One." God is simply reminding Abram Who he is managing. (Note: We tend to fail to remember exactly who is in charge of the occasions of life. It would do us great to recall that we serve "Jehovah God" He was here prior to anything and He will be here after everything. Also, He controls everything that in the middle between. He is a strong God, Job 42:2; Luke 1:37. He is a current God, Heb. 13:5; Matt. 20:28. He is an insightful God, Heb. 4:13; Pro. 15:3. He is in charge of all of life. In the event that we might at any point get our spirits around that reality, it would alter our lives!) 2. Of His Power - God reminds Abram that Abram is where he is today a result of the force of God. Abram never really got where he was, it was all God. (Note: may we likewise recall that what we have, what we are and where we are, are every one of the a result of the Lord's work in our lives, 1 Cor. 15:10. You name the aspect of your life and you can rely on the way that it is all God and not you!) 3. Of His Plan - God reminds Abram that He brought him out so He could give Abram another land. God's motivation was to take this childless traveler and change him into father of an incredible country. (Note: I simply need to advise you that God has a magnificent arrangement for your life, Rom. 8:28. You and I should be cautious in case we block that arrangement and bring torment and difficulty upon ourselves. Allow me just to advise you that God's arrangement is generally a decent arrangement, it is dependably the best arrangement, it is consistently the right and well thought out plan! In this way, track down God's arrangement for your life and stroll in it!) B. V. 8 Abram's Response - Some have taken this inquiry by Abram to be a declaration of uncertainty. His inquiry isn't question however interest. He is simply asking the Lord for more data. God doesn't care about His kin requesting more data. Question irritates Him, James 1:5-8. (Note: The differentiation is plainly found in the two reactions given by Zacharias, Luke 1:18; and Mary, Luke 1:34. When you hear from the Lord, do you answer by requesting more data, or do you promptly start to scrutinize the reality of what you have heard?) II. V. 9-11 THE CHALLENGE TO ABRAM'S FAITH (Sick. In light of Abram's inquiry, the Lord makes an unusual interest. This request filled in as a test to the confidence of this man. Incidentally, confidence that isn't tried isn't actually confidence by any means.) A. V. 9-10 The Challenge Of Preparation - God's solicitation is for Abram to set up a penance. This entire occasion was the means by which men in old times made a contract with each other. They would slice creatures down the middle and orchestrate the pieces a few feet separated and stroll between the pieces together. It represented the holiness of a man's statement. It said, "May I be like one of these creatures on the off chance that I break my piece of the contract." For Abram, it took a ton of expensive, hard, horrendous work to plan things like the Lord believed that them should be. (Note: Friend, we want to recall that when the Lord makes a prerequisite of your life or mine, it will frequently expect us to focus on some difficult work on our part. The extraordinary things of God don't come simple, they don't come modest, nor do they come to the sluggish. God's best is saved for the people who are will to address the cost. What is that cost? Implore, heavenliness, partition, submission, and so forth. Sick. Wood, feed, stubble, gold, silver, valuable stones, 1 Cor. 3:12.) B. V. 11 The Challenge Of Protection - As Abram trusted that the Lord will stop by and meet with him, the flying predators started to plunge on the creature cadavers. Abram needed to shoo them away to safeguard the penance from being eaten up. (Note: When the Lord starts to move in your confidence life, you can rely on the way that each vulture on the planet will come against you to eat up the thing the Lord is attempting to do in your life. In the event that we permit them, numerous vultures will attempt to remove our time, our fixation, or obligation to the Lord and His work. We should be careful to safeguard what the Lord maintains that should do in our lives and permit nothing to upset it or keep us from seeing it happen.) C. V. 11 The Challenge Of Patience - I get the feeling that this movement took Abram the greater part of the day. He is in a brief delay. He has the penance prepared, he is monitoring it and the Lord doesn't appear until after obscurity has fallen. It was a period that expected persistence with respect to Abraham. (Note: God never runs on our timetable! We attempt to prepare for Himself and line up with what He is doing in our lives. We hang tight and we hang tight for Him to appear and move in us and through us. He will, however just when He is prepared! Consequently, assuming the Lord is working in your life, be patient and look out for His timing. Try not to rush in as we tend to do, simply look out quietly for Him and He will carry it to pass, Isa. 40:31. God knows the timing, we don't!) III. V. 12-21 THE CONFIRMATION OF ABRAM'S FAITH A. V. 12 The Darkness - When the Lord did at long last appear, Abram was wrapped in an extraordinary murkiness. Some portion of the obscurity was because of the hour of day, it was evening all things considered! The rest was because of crafted by the Lord in his life. God brought Abram into a dull time so God could increment and mature his confidence. (Note: God actually does this in the existences of His kin. He sends us into the dim seasons of life with the goal that we could figure out how to trust Him more. He permits our confidence to be developed in the obscurity. Sick. 3 Hebrews, the devotees, Daniel, Noah, and so on undeniably needed to confront their dimness to discover that the Lord could deal with their circumstance. Consequently, don't fear your murkiness, for on the off chance that you are saved, the Lord is sorting out His ideal will in your life and He is developing you into more amazing development. Nobody said it would be fun, however it sure is gainful!) B. V. 13-16 The Details - During this season of Darkness, the Lord comes to Abram to tell him of God's arrangements for the offspring of Abram, who still can't seem to be conceived. God meticulously describes the situation to tell Abram that which He was going to do. The subtleties probably been as terrifying. (Note: The birds have a prophetic importance in that they picture the countries that would endeavor to overcome Israel.) (Note: The finesse of God in postponing the gift on His kin to give the Amorites space to apologize, v. 16) (Note: Just in case it wasn't already obvious, God doesn't as a rule stop by with every one of the subtleties of that which He is doing. He believes that His youngsters should figure out how to live with conviction and by focusing on subtle realities. We are helped to remember this reality multiple times in the Bible, Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38. God just needs to talk one time regarding any matter for us to understand His opinion on it. In any case, when He lets us know exactly the same thing multiple times in the Bible, it should imply that He believes us should make sense of it! As such, don't go to God to attempt to cause Him to demonstrate something, simply trust Him and let Him iron out the subtleties in His Own manner!) C. V. 17-21 The Documentation - As I have referenced this function was essential for an old contract service. Here, the Lord descends in His greatness, whenever it first has been seen on earth since man trespassed in Eden, and He passes between the penance. He is affirming His agreement with Abram. Normally the two players needed to go through together. In any case, this agreement is uneven. Irregardless of what Abram, or his relatives do, this contract is comparable to the Name of God. It will be satisfied! (Note: The change from "I will", Gen. 12:1; 12:7; 13:15; 13:17; to "I have", Gen. 15:18. This is settled and it can't be changed!) (Note: This pledge solidified the confidence of Abram set up and gave him a definite guarantee to hang his cap on. Express gratitude toward God for the commitments of God that make confidence conceivable! A large number of His commitments are "On the off chance that you will, I will" in nature, Rom. 10:13; Acts 16:31; Matt. 6:33; Phil. 4:19. Be that as it may, His most noteworthy commitments are cut in stone and they are uneven. Despite what we might do, His commitments actually stand and will stand, Heb. 13:15; Acts 1:8; John 10:28; John 14:1-3; 1 Thes. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; and so on) (Note: The commitments and contracts of the Lord are given to support and affirm our confidence in Him. As we acknowledge Him at His promise and request our lives after His