Jesus said, “my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me” (John 10:27).
God speaks to us. God’s sheep hear his voice. We all heard the voice of God when we were born again, and then we have probably heard God’s voice after that. We hear his voice so that we can follow him, and he will lead us to green pastures and still waters.
Abraham was a man who heard from God. Once Abraham heard God tell him to take some animals, kill them, divide them in half, and lay the pieces on the ground. God was about to make a covenant with Abraham, and these animal pieces were an important part of that covenant.
Abraham obeyed God and laid out the pieces. Then, vultures came down to try to take away these pieces. Abraham had to drive the vultures away (Genesis 15:12).
Jesus said that the word of God is like a seed that is sown in our hearts. Then Satan comes like birds to try to pluck the word of God away (Matthew 13:4, 19).
The vultures that came to attack the covenant that God was making with Abraham were about to block Abraham’s obedience to God and prevent this covenant from taking place.
The word vulture in Hebrew means “to scream, shriek, dart, swoop, and rush upon.”
Whenever God gives us a word, Satan wants to scream at us, scare us, and swoop in upon us to steal the word of God from us. He doesn’t want us to obey God. Satan hates obedience to God because whenever we obey God we unleash God’s kingdom into the world.
If Satan is successful in stealing God’s word, then he aborts the process that God wanted to accomplish through our obedience. He blocks the kingdom of God from being manifested through us.
After the vultures came in, then a horror came on Abraham. Great darkness engulfed him when he was trying to sleep.
Abraham had just obeyed God. Why wasn’t he able to rest easy after obeying God? Where was the peace and joy?
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you” (1 Peter 4:12).
God gives a word to his children, and as they begin to walk that word out, Satan comes in like a darting vulture to eat up that word. He swoops in and attacks. This produces a fiery trial.
It’s possible to avoid the fiery trial by disobeying God. We can avoid trouble by just going along with the world and getting along with the culture. We can just go with the flow and not rock the boat. We can turn back from the path God has called us to walk.But we’re not among those that turn back. We’re going to go forward into all God has for us.
We have nothing to fear, because “greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4)” Satan was already defeated on the cross. As we obey God, this eternal victory of Christ is revealed in our lives.
Abraham fought off the vultures, endured the horror, and passed through the great darkness. As a result, God made a covenant with him that is still releasing spiritual power into our lives today.
Overcoming Doubt and Fear
Satan is subtle and cunning. He wants us to doubt the word of God. “Did God really say that? Did God really lead you to do that?” These doubts can cause us to give up on the word of God and abandon it.
The first temptation in the Bible was to Eve. The devil said to her, “Did God really say to not eat of that tree?” He caused her to doubt God’s word. Because he was able to infect her with doubt, Eve abandoned the word of God. As a result, the entire creation fell into death and destruction. There are terrible consequences for abandoning God’s word.
“He who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-7).
A person who doubts God is driven by winds. One moment he is doing something because God told him to, but the next moment he doubts God’s word and then stops obeying God. He is driven by winds of circumstances, challenges, and other problems. He is unstable in all his ways.
Stability comes from holding onto the word of God. We don’t let opposition shake us. We stand firm. When we hold onto God’s word, we wield the sharp sword of the Spirit. Then Satan cowers down like a defeated dog under our feet. God’s kingdom breaks out into this world by stable people who hold onto God’s word.
God doesn’t ask us to live mundane, normal lives. He asks us to do things that are different. Often God’s will is hard and difficult. He will give us supernatural grace to do supernatural things. When we face opposition, let’s not give up. Keep moving forward. God’s word will empower you to get the victory.
Another way Satan comes to try to steal God’s word is through fear. “If I do this, then what if this happens?” “What will people say?” “What about my future?”
Satan is a master intimidator. He tries to make us afraid so that we will not obey God’s words.
We need to realize that victory does not depend on us. It depends on God. We’re not doing this in our own strength, but in God’s strength. We are living a supernatural life according to the Holy Spirit, and not a normal life according to the course of this world. As we obey God, the Holy Spirit will pour into us grace that will lead us from strength to strength. Through Christ we are truly more than conquerors.
Don’t Let the Sacrifice Escape
“God is the LORD, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar” (Psalm 118:27).
This verse is important. God has given us light through his word. “The entrance of your word gives light. It gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130). When the word of God comes to us, it gives us light. It tells us where to go and what to do. As we obey the word of God, we walk according to this spiritual light.
In order to obey the word of God, we must be willing to sacrifice. Obedience can be expensive. It can cost us money, time, energy, and other things. Sometimes the cost is great. But Jesus gave up his life for us. Should we not be willing to sacrifice for our Lord?
God tells us to tie the sacrifice with cords to the altar. Don’t let it escape. It might be expensive. It might seem like a big deal. There are Satanic forces at work to steal that sacrifice and block you from obeying God. Don’t let anyone take away your sacrifice. Fulfill the purpose that God has called you to. Don’t let that sacrifice run away. Plunge the knife into the sacrifice and give it totally to God, without reservation. As you do, he will bless you, he will bless others through you, and succeeding generations of God’s people will reap the fruits of your faithfulness to God.
Lincoln House Churches 