I want to emphasize this as I share with you the record of Abraham in Romans 4:16-21 (NIV). I would like you to read the whole passage, and note in particular verse 17b, "... God, in whom he believed -- the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." Abraham is set before us as an example of a person who lived a life of faith, and made things happen by using the faith resident within him. In Genesis 12:2 God first promised him that his seed (children) would develop into a great nation.
Many years later, in Genesis 15:5, God "took him outside and said, 'Look up at the heavens and count the stars -- if indeed you can count them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be'." That is, the extended family that would develop from his children would in time be a tremendous multitude of people.
Then God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, meaning "the father of a multitude". Now Abraham is 99, and Sarah is long past the age of child-bearing, today known to be between 15 and 45. (Sarah was 90, Genesis 17:17.) Abraham did not have any children from his marriage with Sarah. What an age to think about having children! I'm sure when I get past 99, having children will be the last thing on my mind.
The incredible promise
I wonder what you would think if you were given a promise like that. It almost sounds impossible. It really is an incredible situation -- God promises children to an old couple, very much senior citizens. Yet Abraham is set forth as an example of faith to us, and I'm sure you'll agree it's a tremendous example.
Notice in Romans 4:16, "But also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all." In verse 11 we read that he "is the father of all who believe". Abraham is the ancestor of all those who exercise the faith resident in them. So if we want to know how it works, it would be right to go back and see how our ancestor made it work. Since it worked for him, it should work for you and for me. Yet, when you think about it, faith is the one aspect of Christianity that most Christians find the hardest to put into practice. It can only be because our minds get in the way.
Romans 4:17 states: "As it is written: 'I have made you...' " Did you notice the tense? It is not, "I'm going to make it possible for you to be..." As far as God is concerned, it is already done. "As it is written: 'I have made you a father of many nations.' He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed -- the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." Our God is "the God who... calls things that are not as though they were". I want to keep repeating that last phrase until you believe it -- "as though they were", "as though they were". That is an incredible phrase! Underline it in your Bible, so that it jumps out of the page next time you open it.
The God kind of faith
The God kind of faith "calls things that are not as though they were". God's example is Abraham, to whom He said, "I have already made you a father of a great multitude". Abraham was 99 and Sarah was past the age of child-bearing, but God called "things that are not as though they were". The operation of faith that makes the Christian life productive is based on that one principle: calling "things that are not as though they were". The Living Bible says that God "speaks of future events with as much certainty as though they were already past". That is how we must operate our faith in God. That is how we will shape our future.
Now I doubt if anyone reading this has a challenge like that of Abraham and Sarah. But perhaps you are looking at "impossibilities" at this time. Some of you have problems in your business, or with your health. Some of you find it hard to get sufficient support for everyday things. How can you break out of it, forge ahead, and enjoy the very best that God has for you? Simply follow in the footsteps of our father Abraham, the ancestor of those who believe. Start calling "things that are not as though they were".
Now somebody is sure to say, "Well, I just can't do it. I just can't say that something exists when I'm not sure." Others might be thinking, "But I can't do that; that would be telling a lie." But I want to remind you, I am talking about what God says. Is God a liar?
Titus 1:2 speaks of "a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time..." It is impossible for God to lie. Yet God "calls things that are not as though they were". So if God does not lie, then surely you can follow His example. When in faith you call "things that are not as though they were", you are not lying; you are speaking the word of faith. You are saying what God says, and until you do, it will be hard for you to enjoy what God has made available.
God's faith in action
In Hebrews 11:3 it states, "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." How did God create the universe? He called "things that are not as though they were" -- and they became the universe. When God spoke, it became a material reality. God said, "Let there be light" and there was light (Genesis 1:3). God said, "Let there be a moon in the sky for the night, and a sun for the day", and there was a moon and there was a sun (Genesis 1:16). They are there because God called "things that are not as though they were". God was not lying; He was creating. God was bringing into evidence that which was necessary for our enjoyment of life.
Ephesians 1:4 states that God "chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." We were not born. We were not even a gleam in our father's eye (to use a cliché), yet God chose us in Him before the creation of the world. How could God do it? He called "things that are not as though they were". He spoke the word of faith. Are you beginning to understand that phrase? It's powerful and tremendous!
The necessity of faith
Let me now quote Hebrews 11:6, a powerful verse, and show how it fits in with this concept from Romans. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
For the purpose of teaching, let me replace the word "faith" with the phrase that I've emphasized from Romans, and it reads: "And without calling things that are not as though they were it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists..." No one can see God. Yet millions of people spend every Sunday morning in church listening to someone talking about a person they cannot see. How do they do it? By faith. It is said that wherever you are, God is. How can this be? Because He is in you and we are calling things that are not, as far as our natural eyes are concerned, as though they were -- and they are.
Faith is always a leap into the dark in some respects. If you are on the end of a limb and do not know where to go next, faith is taking that next step. Do you realize that when you take even one step in walking that you put the whole body off balance? You will never go anywhere unless you take a step of faith. It was faith this morning for you to swing your legs out of bed and touch the floor. You had to believe that the law of gravity would keep you in the right position. Everything you do in life is an application of the principle of faith, and in the spiritual life the object of faith is God; it is faith in the God Who calls "things that are not as though they were".
I'll use another verse to illustrate how this statement about faith is so effective. James 5:15 says, "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up." The prayer of calling "things that are not as though they were" will save, deliver, and bring wholeness to the sick. It is not praying, "Lord, we trust that our dear brother or sister hangs in there and endures this sickness." That's not the prayer of faith; that's the prayer of futility. The prayer of faith is to say, "Father, we thank you for the perfect health of our brother or sister." This is a prayer that they might manifest the perfect health which they have already resident within. "Call things that are not as though they were", and you will have them.
Abraham and the promise
I can just imagine that Abraham, having received the promise, would have said that statement time after time during the many years that passed since the promise was first made and then also during the nine months of pregnancy. Perhaps he mentioned it to others, but right until Sarah's pregnancy started to show, I think Abraham had to keep saying: "I'm going to be the father of a great multitude. I'm going to call things that are not as though they were." A verse that sums up the truth is this one: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (II Corinthians 4:18).
Make a quality commitment today to call "things that are not as though they were". God has not only planned the very best for your life, He has provided the very best for your life. Yet the provision is in a spiritual form, and you need it in a material form. The only way to bridge that gap is to affirm your faith and call things that are not in the material as though they were, and they will be. That was Abraham's first step of faith.
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