Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: Jesus said if we know the truth, the truth will make us free. On this edition of Messianic Perspectives, Dr. Gary Hedrick shows us one truth in particular that enables us to walk in real freedom. Stay with us as we discuss the Christian's greatest discovery.

Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the Scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Aiello. Today Dr. Gary Hedrick is discussing the Christian's greatest discovery. I'll be back at the close of the program to tell you about our special offer. And now, with today's installment, here's Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: Thank you, and we welcome you, listening friend. It's good to have you with us today as we begin this very interesting series of studies from the life of Abraham, a series we've entitled, "The Christian's Greatest Discovery." And by the way, what would you consider the greatest discovery any Christian could make? Have you ever thought about it?

Well, I think the answer is pretty simple. The greatest discovery any believer can make is the assurance of his salvation. Now, you might say, "Come on, Gary, that's elementary stuff. That's the kind of thing we learned when we were kids in Sunday School. Of course, we have the assurance of our salvation." But wait a minute, my friend. Let me ask you a question. Do you really? Do you really have full assurance of your salvation? Do you really know who you are in Christ?

Let me tell you something, my friend. It's one thing to know you're saved. It's another thing to really know you're saved and to be able to say with the Apostle Paul, "I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Second Timothy 1:12. So that's what we're going to be talking about today and for the next week or so in this series of studies from the life of Father Abraham, the Christian's greatest discovery, the full assurance of salvation and all that that means.

Now, as we begin, let me invite you to turn with us, if you have a Bible handy, to an Old Testament passage of Scripture. It's in Genesis 15:7. And while you're turning to it, let me give you the setting. In this chapter, and we've discussed this many times before, God had promised Abraham a son. The problem was that so many years had gone by. Abraham and Sarah were both far beyond the normal childbearing years.

At this point in the book of Genesis, and this was prior to the birth of Ishmael, by the way, Abraham was about 85 or 86 years old, and Sarah was 10 years younger or about 75 years old. So from a physiological standpoint or a biological standpoint, the birth of a child was pretty much out of the question at this point. But Abraham knew that God had promised him a son.

He believed God when He said, "Abraham, look up toward the heaven and see if you can count the stars." And He said, "Abraham, so shall your seed be. Like the stars of the heaven, so shall your seed be." And it says here in Genesis 15:6, "And Abraham believed in the Lord, and the Lord counted it to him for righteousness." You see, God had made a covenant with Abraham, an unconditional promise, and Abraham took God at His word.

And in the next verse, verse seven, the Lord ratified that covenant. By the way, the covenant was announced back in Genesis chapter 12, and it was confirmed in chapters 13 and 15. And so now it's being ratified in chapter 15, and here's what it says: "And the Lord said unto Abraham, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees to give thee this land to inherit it."

Now watch this in verse eight. And Abraham said, "Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" I'm glad that's in there, aren't you? The Bible lets just enough of Abraham's humanity show through to let us know that he's just like us. I mean, God had told him, "Abraham, I'm the one who made the covenant with you, and I will give you this land." And Abraham says, "Lord, it's been a long time since you first made that promise, and I'm still waiting. And my wife is still waiting. And every year that passes, it gets harder and harder and harder."

Lord, how can we know for sure that you're going to keep your word? You know, that's the hardest thing God ever asks any of us to do—to wait. We're so impatient. We want it done now. And with every tick of the clock, our faith erodes just a little bit more. And what we need to remember is that when God makes a promise, He will fulfill that promise if it takes 10,000 years, if it takes 10 million years. God always keeps His word. But Abraham had been waiting for a long time, and he says, "Lord, how can I know for sure that you're going to do it?"

Now, I don't know what Abraham had in mind here. I don't know if he was looking for some sort of a vision or a dream or an emotional experience of some kind or a sign or whatever it may have been. But one thing is clear, and that is that Abraham, in this moment of weakness, wasn't willing to rest on the word of God. He reminds me of some believers today because God's promise just isn't enough for some people. They're out there looking for feelings and emotions and sensations and dreams and visions and all sorts of other things rather than simply trusting the Lord and taking Him at His word.

Now listen, there's nothing wrong with emotion. We are emotional creatures. That's the way God made us. And I wouldn't give you a plugged nickel for an emotionless church or an emotionless worship service or an emotionless Christian. But you've got to be very careful because your emotions can be very deceptive, especially when they tell you one thing and God's word tells you something else.

Certainly, there's nothing wrong with emotionalism per se, but those warm fuzzies can only take you so far, my friend. Sooner or later, you've got to get both feet planted firmly on the ground and get down to the nitty-gritty business of living for the Lord. And most of the time, it's not easy. It takes guts. It takes determination. It takes commitment. That's what discipleship is all about.

So I don't know what Abraham was looking for here—a sign from heaven or an emotional rush of some kind. But he said, "Lord, what can you offer me in the way of proof that you're really going to do what you've promised to do? Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" he says. Now, here's the mistake Abraham made. He wanted tangible evidence that God was going to fulfill His promise. But what does God's word say?

It says the evidence—now watch this—the evidence that God will fulfill His promise is our faith. Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." And we talked not long ago about the fact that our faith is the title deed to all of the promises of God. Those promises are things not seen yet, but we hold the title deed to those promises by faith.

You see, when God makes a promise, all we have to do is believe it and accept it by faith. How I feel is immaterial. Circumstances are immaterial. Obstacles are immaterial. All that matters is that God said it, I believe it, and that settles it. A few years ago, an evangelist friend of mine used this little motto on the masthead of the paper he published. It said, "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it." And that was his sort of credo.

But later, someone talked him into changing it, and they said it should be, "God said it, and that settles it," because it doesn't matter whether or not I believe it. And this guy changed it on his masthead. It just said, "God said it, and that settles it." And you know, I always thought it was unfortunate that he changed it. I mean, it's true that when God says something, that settles it as far as God is concerned. But let me tell you something, my friend. Whether or not you believe it makes all the difference in the world as far as we are concerned.

Did you hear what I said? Listen. God gives us His promises in His word. Then when we believe Him, we are taking hold of those promises by faith. Now, faith is the hypostasis in the Greek, literally the foundation or the substance. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the foundation of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So whether or not we believe it makes all the difference in the world. Faith is the means by which God has chosen to make all of His resources available to us.

But for Abraham, it had been a long, long time, and he was having trouble sustaining his faith over the long haul. And we're all like that, I think. It's like the passage of long periods of time tends to dilute our faith. You know what I'm talking about. But what we need to remember is that the passage of time never dilutes God's ability to keep His promises. If God made a promise 50 million years ago, it would be just as valid today as it was the day He said it. Do you see what I mean?

So here in Genesis chapter 15, Abraham said, "Lord, how can I know that I will inherit your promise?" And the Lord answers Abraham's question in a most amazing way. And we'll get to that on the next program.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. It's always good to have you with us as we look into God's word together.

Now let me tell you about our special offer. It's the compact disc which includes all of the programs in this current series of studies on the Christian's greatest discovery. Of course, the discovery we're talking about is the truth of the believer's security. When we understand that salvation depends on Christ and His merits rather than on ourselves and our merits, then we've taken the first step toward walking in true freedom.

It's unfortunate that so many of us don't fully appreciate our security in Christ. We get bogged down in our spiritual lives because we never know from one minute to the next how we stand with God. That's why this teaching is so important. We need to know that our standing before God doesn't fluctuate depending on how well we perform. All of our sins—past, present, and future—have been forgiven through the shed blood of the Messiah. His righteousness has been imputed to us, so we can know that we're saved.

And that's what this series is all about. The title once again is "The Christian's Greatest Discovery," and it can be yours for a gift of just six dollars or more to Messianic Perspectives. Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, P.O. Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397.

And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on "The Christian's Greatest Discovery," right here on Messianic Perspectives.