"In God's Strength" Kathryn Kuhlman How Abraham Waited

At the disposal of the consecrated child of God, there's been placed the resources of a faith, of a strength, which God alone can provide. Always know that. He's made provision for you. He's made provision for me. For a faith. And remember something. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. I have no faith of myself. Neither do you have faith of yourself. It's something that you cannot manufacture of yourself. He has made possible. He has placed the resources of a strength for each one of us that only he alone can provide. you and i are dependent upon jesus for everything absolutely everything and the more i grow spiritually the more i realize the truth of this fact and he gives freely and whether or not you and i avail ourselves of these opportunities which his presence offers is dependent entirely upon whether or not you and I have learned the lesson of drawing on the Master's strength, his faith, these wonderful resources that he has made provision for. Go back in the pages of the sacred word. Get a glimpse of the stupendous revelation in God's dealing with Abraham the faithful. The first verse The 17th chapter of Genesis brings us into an understanding of the faithful purpose of the divine heart in a lesson so beautiful, so marvelous, so absolutely magnificent that men must stand in awe and angels must wonder. Now, the faith of Abraham was being tested. And is there... One of us. But what will I have to admit that sometime or another all faith has been tested? If the faith of Abraham was being tested, surely we are no exception. God had made a promise. Never in all of time or eternity did he ever make one promise that he was unable to fulfill. whether it was to abraham whether it was to you god has never made a covenant god never made a promise that he was unable to fulfill and from the loins of that glorious ancient patriarch was to come the seed through whose life and service all of the nations of the world to be blessed he'd been promised a son And upon that child was to be placed the hand of the Lord in benediction and in power. And night after night the dear old man dreamed of the happy day when that promise would be fulfilled. Oh, he thrilled to the promise that God had given him. But days passed, months passed. the sands and the hour -glass on the mantel measured the passing of time and the boy did not come abraham was ninety but still no fulfilment of the promise to buy ninety -five and still sarah and her husband waited in vain then came the year in which he looked forward to the turning of the century. He was 99, and yet there was no boy. If you thought that your faith has been tested, look at the faith of Abraham. Look how that dear saint's faith was tested. 99, and yet there was no boy, and all that he had was God's promise. That's all that he had to stand on. Reason commenced to whisper things of fear in his ear. The ground began to tremble beneath the old man's feet. His faith began to slip. Up to this time, his walk had been perfect, not in self, but in his Lord. But now he was getting miserable. His faith was beginning to shake a little bit. i presume that more than once he had looked up at those same stars which he had seen on the night in which god had given him the promise and the misty eyes spread themselves like a fume across his vision until the stars seemed to dissolve in a sea of sorrow and disappointment reason said Abraham, this thing is absolutely impossible. Reason has said the same thing to me. Reason has said the same thing to you over and over again. It's impossible. Under the circumstance, this thing is absolutely impossible. and reason stood right there and stared Abraham in the face at ninety -nine and said, Look, this thing is absolutely impossible. He thought of Sarah's age. He pondered over his own advanced years. How could this thing be? And yet, there was that promise. long and fierce raged the battle in the old man's heart and mind and only god knows what a battle he had within himself but there was the promise from god himself have you ever been in that position i have over and over again oh abraham i know Play how you felt. Then one night, a voice spoke to Abraham's heart. And he knew that voice. It wasn't a strange voice. He knew that voice. And he lifted up his eyes in weakness and listened with his failing ears to the awesome intonation of the voice which had spoken to him years before. And God spoke. and said to Abraham, I am the Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect. That's all you have to do, Abraham. Just walk before me. Be thou perfect. I'll take care of the rest. I'll take care of the fulfilling of the promise, the covenant. I am almighty God. God almighty, all -powerful. You don't have to worry about that. You don't have to be concerned about that. You don't have to lose sleep over that. All that you have to do is to just walk before me. just a steady gait and be thou perfect o hot words hot words the strong one god was saying i am the strong one abraham might be weak Men might be moved with the power of circumstances and the falseness of life. But never God, never. He's the strong one. Oh, what does that do to us? Suppose God is strong while we are so weak. To sit in our weakness, our misery, our failure, and look at His strength only aggravates our lost condition. god is strong no doubt about that but what about our poor weakness and need then god spoke to abraham he said the glorious and wonderful words that like a rainbow of glory bridged the chasm between the helpless man and the strong one god almighty i don't know what that does to you But it thrills me from the top of my head to the soles of my feet because he is my strong one. In spite of my weaknesses, in spite of my failures, in spite of my lack of confidence, he still remains the strong one. And I'd never go down in defeat, never, as long as I continued to follow him and remain the perfect one in Christ Jesus. What God meant was, draw from me, Abraham. I am your strength. I am your sustenance. I am the strong one. there's no need for you to falter abraham there's no need for you to tremble and shake your faith draw for your weakness from the fountain of my strength no need to stumble over unbelief abraham but walk before me and be thou perfect thus saith the lord that's the lesson is the lesson. God is the source. The unfailing source of the supply that is more than sufficient for all of our need. A grace to cover all of our sin. Love that pardons all our iniquity. Sufficient for our healing. Strength for all of our weakness. We believe that. but herein we have failed we believe that god gives it but we have not learned how to receive it the mother gives the milk to her babe but the little one must receive it the infusion of the divine strength and nature is dependent upon two things first your knowledge that god is willing to give and then your learning how to receive those are the two things you must learn as untailing as the law of the seed -tine and the harvest as irrevocable as the marching of the days and nights in their order is the great truth that god is always ready to meet your need if only you are ready to receive doesn't that part admonish us to become partakers of the divine nature So why be discouraged? Why be defeated? Back yonder we see Elijah sitting in defeat and spiritual disgrace. He'd quit. Oh, Elijah. He has quit. He of the lion heart has been beaten on the battlefield of the soul. And that after he had faced an army. after such great and glorious victory one minute so strong the great spiritual giant and then something happens and we watch him he goes for forty days and nights without food in whose strength did he go who told david to advance in his natural weakness against the giant Who guided the stone which sped unerringly on its way? Who gave his arm the strength and his heart the courage? Who pushed down the walls of Jericho? Who? Who delivered Israel and who led them into the Exodus? who opened the prison doors for peter and who pulled back the curtains of glory for step who gave him grace to pray for his murders who dried the tears of martha and poured oil into the broken heart of mary who God Almighty. Strength for thy labor the Lord will provide. Then draw upon his life. Take the grace that he so freely and gladly imparts. He's more than sufficient for your need. And it is possible to walk before him and be perfect, not in self, but in Christ. i know whereof i speak hear it christ can be your all in all he admonishes you to test him why be empty when you can be full to overflowing why be hungry when you can be fed why wander like a lost child on the desert wastes of life crying because you know not the way of your tomorrows better by far it is that you put your hand in his and hear the whisper of his divine voice follow me follow me i am Almighty God, I am your strength. I am your victory. And if his eye is upon that little falling sparrow, how much greater is his concern of you. There's no defeat in him.