Maybe one of the most important chapters in
the Bible to be understood, to help us
in our walk with God, richest, you could
probably preach six months just from this chapter,
and people have done that, is Romans the
fourth chapter.
Because Paul, in the book of Romans, presents
a picture after his greetings to the church
in Rome.
He gives a personal reference about himself, that
he's not ashamed of the gospel, and then
he begins to describe humanity in its lostness.
Not only the Gentiles who were idolaters and
bowed down to images made of stone and
hideous practices that were going on then in
the Roman Empire, hideous practices.
Then he also says, but to the Jew
who feels more privileged because your children are
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and you have the
Bible, and you know your Bible, but how
can you look down on the Gentiles who
you call barbarians and Gentile dogs?
How can you look down on them?
Because although you have the law, can you
obey the law?
Not talk about it, but did you obey
it?
And then he concludes that all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God.
And he talks about the descent of humanity
away from God, way back before there was
scripture to study, that they were not thankful.
They wouldn't thank God.
That's something that draws us all away from
God when we stop being thankful.
Before idols came and all of that, they
were not thankful.
Although they saw his creation, although they saw
the sun, moon, stars, although he had blessed
them with life and joy, they would not
thank God.
And then the descent really speeds up, and
they turn to idols and to sin, and
then not only immorality in the classical sense,
but men burning in lust for other men,
women with other women for with other women.
And then he concludes, everyone with the law,
without the law, we're all lost, and we're
apart from God.
And the law can't help us because it
keeps telling us what to do, but it
doesn't help us to do it.
Amen?
I mean, it's there.
It just keeps talking to us.
Don't do this, do that.
And we keep disobeying one way or the
other.
So then he talks about how we gain
righteousness, not by obedience to the law, which
no one can have.
There's no meritocracy.
There's no way to be accepted by God
because of a good life that you live.
But everyone, Gentile and Jew, is saved by
faith, by putting their faith in Jesus Christ,
what he did on the cross, that he's
God's son.
So then he lays out the plan, and
he says, if we confess our sins, turn
from them, do a 180, and just look
to God and put our faith in him,
we shall be saved.
And God counts us acceptable with him, and
he counts us righteous, even though we're not
righteous, but he counts us righteous.
He imputes that to our record because of
the righteousness of Christ, which is the crux
of the gospel.
We're saved by someone else who died for
us and rose again from the dead.
How many say hallelujah to that?
All right.
He's breaking that all down.
And then he comes to Romans 4, and
he's going to bring up a name that
he wants both Jew and Gentile to know
about.
He says, you know, this is not something
new that I'm concocting.
All you people that are into Moses and
the law, and that by obeying it enough,
you'll get accepted by God.
He dismisses that as foolishness.
And he goes back, and he makes this
unique argument that the father of everyone who
believes is not Moses, but someone who lived
hundreds of years before Moses, and that's Abraham.
And he says, Abraham, the just shall live
by faith, and Abraham is the father of
everyone who believes, Gentile and Jew, because we're
going to learn he believed God, and God
counted it to his account as righteousness.
God transferred righteousness into his bank account, and
it wasn't his money.
But when you look at it, he's righteous.
You know, if you got a million in
the bank, you got a million in the
bank.
And if someone says, yeah, but someone else
put that in there for you.
Yeah, that's true, but it's still my million
dollars.
How many say amen?
It's his righteousness given to us.
And he says that even the Jews who
boasted about Abraham as my father and my
Jewishness.
He says, no, you're only really the sons
of Abraham if you have the faith of
an Abraham.
It's not calling yourself a Jew that makes
you a Jew.
It's a true Jew is the one who
has the faith like forefather Abraham.
So let's pick up these interesting verses.
I'm going to read for a while because
it's so important.
So the promise of eternal life is received
by faith.
It is given as a free gift, and
we are all certain to receive it whether
or not we live according to the law
of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham's.
For Abraham is the father of all who
believe.
So notice what he's established.
Salvation is a gift.
If it's a gift, you can't brag that
you did something because it's a gift.
Like I just gave you that analogy.
Hey, I had a million dollars in the
bank.
Look at me.
Someone would say, how can you boast?
Somebody put it in there for you.
It is yours, but it was a gift.
You didn't earn it.
So he said salvation is like that.
Everything God does for us, brothers and sisters,
is a gift.
He's not paying off anybody.
He doesn't pay wages.
You want to know about wages?
The wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life.
And many times we're trying to earn something
from God like a paycheck at the end
of the week because that's the world we
live in.
But God says, no, no, I'm not giving
anybody pay.
I give gifts to those who believe.
Abraham is the father of all who believe.
That is what the scriptures mean when God
told him, I have made you the father
of many nations.
This happened because Abraham believed in the God
who brings the dead back to life and
who creates new things out of nothing.
Abraham believed in the God who brings the
dead back to life and who creates new
things out of nothing.
Even when there was no reason for hope,
Abraham kept hoping, believing that he would become
the father of many nations.
For God had said to him, that's how
many descendants you will have.
And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though
at about a hundred years of age, he
figured his body was as good as dead
and so was Sarah's womb.
But Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise.
In fact, his faith grew stronger.
And in this, he brought glory to God.
He was fully convinced that God is able
to do whatever he promised him.
Come on, can we say amen to that?
So this happened because Abraham believed in the
God who brings the dead back to life
and creates new things out of nothing.
Notice, dead and nothing, dead back to life,
new things out of nothing.
Even when there was no reason for hope,
Abraham kept hoping, believing that he would become
the father of many nations, because God had
promised that.
For God had said to him, that's how
many descendants you will have, many nations.
And Abraham's faith did not weaken.
So notice, you can have faith and then
let it weaken.
But Abraham's faith did not weaken.
He not only grabbed ahold of the promise,
he held on to it.
And even though months and years are going
by, he's getting older, Saron is more barren
than ever before.
He somehow said, no, God will still do
it.
Yeah, but another year went by, nothing happened,
but God will still do it.
He did not weaken in faith and say,
I used to believe that, but now it's
not looking so good.
He didn't say that.
He got stronger in his faith.
And the Bible says, Abraham never wavered in
believing God's promise.
In fact, his faith grew stronger.
And in this, he brought glory to God.
How did he bring glory to God?
Because he had faith.
When you trust God and it looks terrible
and you keep trusting, that brings glory to
God.
That brings honor to God.
Listen, lifting our hands and singing, that's all
great.
Praise and worship has its place.
But I know a lot of people who
do praise and worship, and they don't have
the faith of that bottle of water.
And it's faith that honors God.
It's not working yourself up into a musical
mood or a spiritual frame of emotion.
What God was honored by was Abraham's faith.
Things were getting bleaker and worse, and he
kept believing.
Not only did he not waver, he got
stronger.
He said, now I'm more sure that God
is going to do it.
Praise God.
The Bible tells us, and in this, he
brought glory to God.
He was fully convinced that God is able
to do whatever he promises.
So now, Paul's argument in this whole thing
of Romans 4 is that the just shall
live by faith.
And he brings out one verse in Genesis,
which he says is the root of everything.
It says in Genesis, not the New Testament,
not in Moses and in Exodus.
It says in Genesis, and Abraham believed God,
and it was counted to him as righteousness.
His faith counted as if he had obeyed
every command of God perfectly.
That's how powerful faith is.
He believed God, and when he believed God's
word to him, God said, you believe me?
Then I take that faith, and I count
it as righteousness.
You are now acceptable in my sight, not
because you've done everything you should, but because
you believe in me.
Oh, how God is trying to get all
of us to believe in him, to believe
in him tonight.
That's what God's looking for, to trust him.
He loves that when we trust him.
And now we learn that Abraham's faith, although
things were looking bleak, because God gave these
promises, but nothing was happening.
He promised all these children, he couldn't even
get the first son.
And then remember, his wife got this crazy
idea that if he would sleep with a
servant woman, then have a child, that would
like help God along.
But when you help God along, you blow
up your life when you help God.
And that made for a mess that's still
going on today, many believe.
Ishmael and Isaac at each other.
So he hung on to God, and he
was getting older, and his wife is barren
plus old.
And he hangs on.
Not only did he not weaken, maybe some
of you, God want me to read this
to you, because you're weakening in your faith
for some word that God has given you,
some promise.
And the waiting is getting you mystified and
confused, like why am I waiting?
But Abraham waited for a long time.
And that's why he's treasured in the Bible.
In fact, all of us, we're called nobody
father, the Bible says.
But Paul says, no, Abraham, in one sense
is your father.
You never call a priest or a pope
or a minister, anybody father.
That's not allowed to us Christians.
We have only one father, which art in
heaven.
But Paul says here, Abraham is the father
of us all, because whatever your background is,
whether you're from Haiti or Israel, or if
Korea or Poland, if you're a believer in
Christ, Abraham is your father.
He's the first one that it's written about.
And Abraham believed God, and it was counted
to him for righteousness.
So Paul's argument is this, the law was
added hundreds of years later, but that never
nullifies God's original way of accepting people.
The law was just given to prove people
how hopeless they are, to try to get
them to trust God, to prepare their hearts
for faith.
And the law keeps making its demands.
But by the law, nobody will ever be
justified in God's sight.
Amen?
But by faith, we follow Abraham's example.
He believed God.
What did he believe about God?
He believed that a promise that God made
him.
And it was an astounding promise, not one
made to you and me.
You know, I will make out of you
a great nation.
And you're going to have so many descendants,
you won't be able to count them.
That's not something God has said to you
and I.
But it doesn't matter.
Whatever the word of God is to us,
Abraham is our example, because he held on
to that promise.
Let me close this.
The two things that he grew strong in
was this, that God can take something dead
and make it alive.
That was figuratively spoken about him and his
wife, because as to having children, they were
dead, muerte, no hope.
But he figured even though we're dead, God
can make everything alive.
That's what he believed.
That's an attribute of God.
He takes things that are dead, not only
physical resurrection.
He takes situations that people go, you know
what, I used to hope, I used to
have, maybe you're here tonight, I used to
hope, I used to think, oh God, one
day, but you know what, it's the thing
is dead.
The thing is dead.
It might have could have, should have, but
it didn't.
It's dead.
I missed the boat.
I made too many mistakes.
For a while it was looking good.
Now it's not looking good.
It's dead.
And Abraham is telling us, keep trusting, because
God takes dead things and makes them alive.
Come on, can we say amen to that?
The other thing that Abraham learned was God
takes things that are not and makes them
into something.
With what ingredients?
Nothing.
God doesn't need ingredients.
You know, my wife's going to make lasagna.
She sends me out and I got to
get all these things.
Then I get home, she said, I forgot
to tell you, you got to get this.
I got to go, ah, I go back
out.
How many husbands understand what I'm talking about?
Because why?
You can't make lasagna without the ingredients.
Someone said, where'd that lasagna come from?
What'd you use?
Nothing.
No, I know, nothing, but what'd you use?
Where'd you get the pasta?
Where'd you get the ricotta cheese?
Where'd you get the mozzarella?
Where'd you get the crushed tomatoes?
Lasagna has ingredients and you put them together
right, they make a lasagna.
God doesn't need ricotta cheese.
He doesn't need anything.
Right now in your life you can say,
but I have nothing.
That's fine with God.
He takes nothing and makes it into something.
Come on, can we say amen to that?
Dead back to life.
Nothing, something.
That's what Abraham was believing.
There's nothing, no hope.
In fact, there's less hope now than there
was last year, but he still believed.
Oh, God have mercy and help us because
we quit believing because things don't look good.
What would it matter how it looks to
God?
He made the universe out of nothing.
You and I think it owes and looks
this way.
It looks that way.
God isn't looking at anything.
God just speaks and it happens.
Dead becomes life.
Nothing becomes something.
He didn't weaken in his faith, but he
gave glory to God by hanging on and
trusting God.
So I want to pray about this because
we all have personal application of this.
Abraham had this word from God.
He wasn't believing nothing.
It's why you got to read your Bibles
every day.
And as God makes promises, the Holy Spirit
makes them alive.
Now you got to hold onto that promise.
He applies it to your heart.
Anyone ever had that happen?
You read the word of God and God
makes something alive to you.
And you know what?
This is for me.
God is speaking to my heart like he
spoke to Abraham.
And then what happens?
Nothing happens sometimes.
And time goes by.
And now we're going to either be like
Abraham and grow stronger in our faith, or
we're going to toss in the towel, give
up.
How many ministers must be tossing in the
towel when they're leaving now at more than
1,700 a month from the ministry?
Don't you think God ever spoke to them?
Look, some might have been bogus in their
call.
Then it's not from God.
But please don't tell me all of them.
They're as called as I am, as Pastor
Petrie is, as Pastor Johnson is.
They're called.
But they didn't see it happen, and they
gave up.
They lost the promise.
This was what happened to the people of
Israel.
God had a promise.
I'll take you into the land.
They couldn't hold onto that promise.
No, they're too strong.
Jericho got walls.
These people have weapons.
We have nothing.
And because of their unbelief, because they weren't
like Abraham, God said, now you're going to
wander in the wilderness.
I'm going to let you all die out,
and I'm going to bring in a new
generation that will trust me.
Look, brothers and sisters, what God wants from
us tonight is not screaming and yelling.
God wants more than anything.
There's a time to scream and yell.
He wants faith.
Prayers are not answered because you yell at
God, and because they're long, and you get
worked up.
That's not why God answers faith.
Jesus said, when you pray, believe.
Believe.
Some of the prayers of Jesus, where the
greatest things happen, are not even three sentences
long, or one sentence long.
Faith, the power of faith.
I know something of it, but then I
know nothing.
I'm in kindergarten.
I want to know more about this faith
that gives glory to God, that can see
God take dead and make alive.
Dead hope, dead situation, dead, dead, dead.
Nothing, nothing left.
I have nothing.
And God says, that's fine.
Just bring me your nothing.
But trust me, and out of nothing, I
can make something.
We're always looking for worthy ingredients.
I got to bring something to God.
Bring nothing.
Bring your nothing.
You have nothing tonight?
Bring it.
He loves to work with nothing.
That's how He created the heavens and the
earth, out of nothing.
He just spoke the Word, and the whole
thing happened.
Come on, how many believe our God is
a great, awesome God?
Praise God.
We praise you, God.
Come on, praise Him out loud.
We praise you, God.
Lift your voice up, and give God glory,
and praise, and honor.
You're awesome, God.
You're awesome in this place, mighty God.
You're awesome in this place, Abba Father.
We praise you.
We honor you.
We bless you, Lord.
We're not going to let the enemy rob
that Word that you gave us, Lord, that
promise that you gave us.
To this church, to me, to Carol, to
my brothers and sisters, to all of us
here, the pastors, the leaders, the deacons, deaconesses,
the congregation, Lord, the sound people, God, that
which you promised you're going to do, Lord,
and we're trusting you.
We don't care what it seems like, and
how hopeless it seems.
We believe against hopelessness.
We hope against nothing that we see with
our eyes.
We still hope because we believe in you,
God.
Praise God.
If you're here tonight, and you want to
just, you find, wow, Pastor Simla, that verse
was so good.
I needed that.
He did not grow weak in his faith.
Situation was getting more negative, but he got
stronger in his faith.
Thank you, Jesus.
The situation was getting worse.
His faith was getting better because he counted
on God.
He didn't look at what he saw.
He looked at God, and he held on
to that promise, and he judged that whatever
God says he will do, he will keep
that promise as we trust in him.
If you're here today, and you want to
just plant your flag now in the sands
of your life right now, and say, God,
I am believing in you for that word
that you gave me.
Maybe I haven't even prayed it in months
or even years, but now the Holy Spirit
is rekindling that in me.
That which you once gave me, I've kind
of let go.
I've gotten distracted, discouraged, but tonight I'm going
to follow Father Abraham, and I'm going to
believe in Jesus.
I'm going to believe in God.
Just get out of your seat and come
up here.
I want to stand with you because I'm
claiming some things God has given me.
Haven't seen them yet, but they're coming.
I'm going to tell God, God, I'm not
letting you go.
I will not let you go.
Join hands with the person next to you.
Lord, we believe.
We believe all things are possible.
Lord, we believe.
We believe.
We stand on your word.
Satan, you're a liar.
We believe.
Thank you, Jesus.
Lord, we leave this building with a touch
of heaven on our spirits, full of faith,
hoping against whatever the devil says.
He's a liar, whatever.
It seems like there's nothing.
You make something out of nothing.
Ah, no, it's too late.
It's dead.
You make from the dead.
You make alive, and we want to give
you honor and glory by trusting in you,
not just singing to you, but trusting you,
trusting you, living the life of faith like
our father Abraham.
So bless us now as we go in
Jesus name.
And everyone said, turn and give someone a
hug and a handshake.
God bless you.