Part 6: “Yes” Is the Only Acceptable Response to God
The argument of ‘you’re not perfect’ is one many believers have experienced whenever they stand on the side of what God says is right or wrong. People can be quite arrogant and obstinate in their views. When their particular view is accepted and believed by the masses or even a small group, they feel embolden to stand by it. Whether that view or opinion is sanctioned by God as true or false, right or wrong, is irrelevant to them. Cults, conspiracies, and ridiculousness all have their roots in wrong believing. People lose themselves completely in these dark plots of satan because they are not walking in God’s Spirit. Jesus Christ said in John 16:13(NLT), “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.”
The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, Guide, Friend, and Teacher. He lives inside the body temple of those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit, and he cannot make a mistake. The Spirit is perfect, and we can walk perfectly in Christ to the extent that we are led and guided by God’s precious Holy Spirit. Philippians 1:6 affirms that God began this good work within us through Jesus Christ, and He will continue His work in us until it is finally finished when Christ returns. It is impossible for God to begin a work that isn’t perfect, because HE is perfect, and everything He does is perfect. As followers of Christ, we are being perfected daily, and our surrender to the promptings and leading of the Spirit allows Jesus Christ to do his perfect work in us.
Abraham was not a son of God; he was a servant of God. Sonship wasn’t available during the time in which Abraham lived because Jesus Christ had not yet come to the earth to make the Holy Spirit available. Understanding this allows us a window in understanding and appreciating Abraham’s walk of faith. God did not force Abraham to be obedient. Abraham chose to follow God, and this choice was awarded the stamp of “RIGHTEOUS” by Heavenly Father. Abraham, like those in the Great Cloud of Witnesses, received God’s righteousness because of his faith in God.
Genesis 17:1(NLT), tells us, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.” Our Heavenly Father’s direction and instruction to Abraham is clear, concise, and uncompromising. Abraham was called to serve God and to do it faithfully. Although he didn’t have the standing that we do today as sons and daughters of the Most High, God’s expectation was unmistakable. Abraham was required to live a blameless life before God, and God’s standard for a blameless life isn’t up for debate or personal interpretation. God says what He means and means what He says. He would not have told Abraham to do something that he was incapable of getting done. God gave him a directive, and He expected Abraham to follow it.
Abraham wasn’t in this alone. God was with Him, and Romans 8:31 (NLT) declares, “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” With God all things are possible, and there isn’t anything that He can’t do. He was committed to walk with Abraham, to teach, strengthen, and guide him so that God’s purpose and promise could be fulfilled. In Genesis 17:2(NLT), God told him, “I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”
Obedience was absolutely necessary. Even though he wasn’t Spirit filled, Abraham understood that ‘yes’ is the only acceptable response to our Heavenly Father. This is what God cares about. He blesses His Word, and our obedience to His Word causes us to be blessed. But most people living today are pushing and promoting everything but the truth of God’s Word. They believe they represent the truth, but the truth is not in them. The Spirit of the Living God is not in them. How can they know the truth, and the Spirit of Truth is not living in their hearts?
Evil is not a simple social or political cause to rail against. It is utter darkness, and no one can stand against it without the Spirit of Truth. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we’re not wrestling against flesh and blood. Our enemy is a spiritual one, and the way to fight evil is to stand on God’s truth. Can’t do that if it’s not in your heart. Evil is a lie from the father of lies. Evil is not the truth, because it uses fear as its main weapon. 1John 4:18 tells us that love has no fear, because God’s perfect love expels all fear. This is the truth, but there are those so convinced that fear is more powerful than faith, that they place all their energies in trying to fight the devil, when Jesus Christ has already won that battle. It’s like boxing blindfolded. It’s a trick of the devil to keep folks fighting him when they should be building their faith in God by living according to the example of love that Jesus Christ set.
Genesis 17:3 tells us that when Abraham heard the promise of God, he fell face down on the ground. This was a show of extreme reverence, respect, and appreciation for what God had done. Abraham bowed his face to the ground as a sign of his “YES!”, and it was a demonstration of giving honor to God for coming into covenant with him. Abraham was not perfect. He had to stretch to believe in his heart that he was going to impregnate his wife at the ripe old age of 100, but he was willing to do it. This is the question we must ask ourselves. Are we willing to do and perform whatever the Lord requires and asks us to do? Will we have faith in His ability working in us through the Spirit of Christ to achieve what seems to us to be the impossible?
Many of us are praying to receive blessings in certain areas of our lives, and some of us have been praying the same prayer for a very long time. We want God to bless us, but we don’t want to meet His standards and requirements. We give Him a “NO”, but we expect Him to give us a “YES”. That’s not going to work. God doesn’t need us to be perfect by human standards in order to make us all that He created us to be, He requires our surrender. He’s the One who perfects us to be perfectly suited for His purpose. Know that whatever it is that God requires from you requires a “YES”. It’s the only response that is acceptable to the One that created us, blesses us, and has destined us for His glory. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Faith of Abraham, Part 6: “Yes” Is the Only Acceptable Response to God”, written for SMS Member Services.com Copyright© 2023.