29/09/2022 - THE GATE OF YOUR ENEMIES

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Blessing, I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.  Genesis 22.17

The test that the Lord gave Abraham was the greatest test that a man can have in his life. He had no heir from his marriage to Sarah, but in his old age, when at 99 he was already weak and his wife at 89 was beyond any possibility of becoming a mother, the promise was fulfilled: Sarah became pregnant by her husband. The Almighty asked two things of His servant to honor His promise: Walk before me and be blameless (Genesis 17.1). And so, Isaac was born!

When the child of promise was already a little boy, the Lord asked Abraham to offer him as a sacrifice. This brings us to the act of God also offering His Son for the sake of mankind. The patriarch answered the Most High (Genesis 22:1-19). Let it be clear: God had never asked anyone to do this, and He will never do so after Abraham. If you feel that such a request has been made to you, reject it, because it did not come from the heavenly Father. He did this to show that He would give His only begotten Son on our behalf (John 3.16).

Since the patriarch was obedient, the reward came: the promise we are studying here. Today, God asks us to renounce our wills in order to use and bless us (Matthew 16.24). He told Abraham that He would bless him in a great way. The blessings purchased by Christ for mankind – therefore for you and me – are parts of His wonderful promise. Never let this revelation leave your heart. Embrace it!

The Lord used the term “indeed” so that we believe and expect Him to make His words real. What you have been told in the Scriptures, through the witness of the Holy Spirit in your heart, will be fulfilled as God has it all from you. Holiness is one of the first blessings to be bestowed upon man after his true salvation. The more the Father has of you, the more you will have of Him (Matthew 6.33). Give, and it will be given to you [...] (Luke 6.38).

These promises were aimed at the Lord Jesus, who, though He was God, left eternal glory, stripping Himself of divine prerogatives and being born here amongst us as a helpless child to save us. The Father promised that He would multiply His seed, proving that the saved will be like the stars in the sky and the seashore. Christ’s seed would be virtually uncountable. He is faithful, and it will happen in the right time. Believe and live!

Best of all is the seed of the Lord. The saved would possess the door of their enemies – they would control the entrance and exit of the inhabitants of Hell, using the power destined to trample on serpents, scorpions, and all the force of the evil one (Luke 10.19). Jesus gave us the example when He rebuked the wind and the sea, which threatened His disciples (Mark 4.39). This can happen when the threat is real against us. After giving the command, believe and it will be fulfilled.

What do we need most? Holiness! If we are in sin, God will not hear us. Then, we will be oppressed by those we should be watching for – at the door of our enemies (Matthew 16.18). If you want, you will be an overcomer over all things; but remember to be holy, for the Lord is holy!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares