Focus: Sure-footed Faith

Text: Rom.4:21

"And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform."

Abraham believed completely in the incredible capability of God to keep His word. He had confidence and conviction. His faith was sure-footed. He was fully assured of what God could do.

In the King James Version, the word 'fully persuaded' is translated as "full proof" and "fully known" in 2Tim.4:4,7). In Lk.1:1, it is translated as "surely believed." Abraham had a certain conviction about God's omnipotence. He didn't read it in a book. It was not a theory he was coerced to accept or give assent to, mentally. He knew it by encountering God. The power of God was an indwelling reality in his life, and as Smith Wigglesworth had noted, "There is a place where God, through the power of the Holy Ghost, reigns supreme in our lives." Abraham assuredly believed in the adequacy and sufficiency of God's power. David Platt wrote, "Nothing is impossible for the people of God who trust in the power of God to accomplish the will of God."

The writer of Hebrews says, "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (FOR HE IS FAITHFUL THAT PROMISED" (Heb.10:23). He tells us that Sarah "judged him faithful who had promised" (Heb.11:11). Abraham's faith was built on the firm and indestructible foundation of the:

*Fidelity or faithfulness of God

*Ability of God

*Integrity of God

*Trustworthiness of God

*Honor of God

God is capable of being believed and depended upon. His power is invincible. He is a keeper of His word. The word of God carries the power of God everywhere. All of God's power is inside all of God's word.

We need a fresh encounter with God and His power. To know God is to know power. To have God is to have power. To live with God is to live with power. Consider the words of Vance Havner, who wrote, "It is not that God is stingy and must be coaxed, for He "giveth liberally and upbraideth not." It is that we ourselves are so shallow and sinful that we need to tarry before Him until our restless natures can be stilled and the clamor of outside voices be deadened so that we can hear His voice. Such a state is not easily reached, and the men God uses have paid a price in wrestlings and prevailing prayer. But it is such men who rise from their knees confident of His power and go forth to speak with authority." I pray your life changes by these words of spiritual power. We all in dire need of sure-footed faith - faith that stands on the sure and settled ground of divine power and integrity.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter