In the last message we saw that the Triune God dealt with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as one complete corporate man. If we are going to get into the last section of the book of Genesis, the section on God’s calling, we need to remember that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not three separate and complete units but, under God’s dispensation, are one complete corporate man. God dealt with each of them as a part of a complete unit. Their experiences are not three separate individual experiences but the aspects of one complete experience.
In this message we need to see the first aspect of the complete experience of God’s called ones. This aspect is fully shown in Abraham’s life (11:10-25:18). This is quite basic. Abraham’s life is an illustration of the first aspect of the complete experience of God’s called ones. His experience goes from being called, through the living by faith in fellowship, to the knowing of grace.
In his experience Abraham firstly was called by God. As we have seen, God’s calling was not originated or initiated by the called one. It was initiated by the God who called. God was the originator of His calling.
As God’s calling did not originate with the called one but with the God who calls, so the motive and strength to receive God’s calling did not originate from the side of the called one but from the side of the calling One. The motive and the strength whereby Abraham could answer God’s calling came from God Himself. What was this motive and strength? If we look into the situation in a detailed way, we can see three things that motivated Abraham to accept God’s calling: God’s appearing, God’s calling, and God’s promise. Now we need to consider each of these items.
The first aspect of the motive and strength to accept God’s calling was God’s appearing. If I were to come to you, it would mean nothing because I am nothing. If the president of the United States were to pay you a personal visit, you would be very excited. Probably you would be unable to sleep for a whole night. But who came to visit Abraham? The God of glory (Acts 7:2). Outside of Stephen’s word in Acts 7:2, where Stephen told his persecutors that the God of glory appeared to their father Abraham, there is no other verse in the Bible that says that the God of glory appeared to Abraham. While Stephen was speaking, the Jesus of glory appeared to him (Acts 7:55-56). The heavens were opened and he saw Jesus in glory standing on the right hand of God. Stephen was bold to die for Jesus because, while they were opposing him, he saw the Lord Jesus. The people stoned him, but Jesus smiled at him. Because the Lord appeared to him, it was easy, even a great joy, for him to undergo persecution. There was no comparison between that persecution and the appearing of Jesus in glory. Because Stephen was in such a situation, the Jesus in glory appeared to him. Without such an appearing, his environment would have been too difficult for a human being to take.
In the same principle, the God of glory appeared to Abraham, paying him a visit with His personal appearance, because, at that time, Abraham was under the influence of a strong background in Chaldea. As we shall see in the next message, Chaldea in Hebrew means demonic. Chaldea was a demonic place, a place full of demons. Joshua 24:2 says that Abraham and his family served other gods. They worshipped idols, and behind the idols were demons.
Chaldea was in a land called Mesopotamia. The word Mesopotamia means “between rivers.” According to geography, the region of Mesopotamia was bound by two great rivers, the Euphrates (Perath in Hebrew) and the Tigris (Hiddekel in Hebrew). Between these two rivers was a great plain, the land of Mesopotamia. Chaldea was a part of Mesopotamia. This means that Abraham’s dwelling place was not only in a place full of demons but also in a place that was enclosed by two great rivers. It was very difficult for him or any other person to leave such a place, for the demons held him and the great rivers enclosed him. Since there was no modern transportation, the people had to walk. How was Abraham able to get out of Chaldea? Since his background was so strong, God appeared to him in order that he might come out of it.
This is a picture, an illustration, of our situation before we were saved. We all were in a Chaldea. All the young people need to realize that every junior high school is a Chaldea, a place filled with demons. So many of the students are little demons selling drugs and trying to hold you back, saying, “How can you be different from us? If you want to be different from us, where shall you go? There are two great rivers that keep you here. You must stay with us!” Sometimes the husbands are demons to the wives and the wives are demons to the husbands. As far as the worldly people are concerned, whenever a young man gets married he enters into a demonic region. The same is true for every young woman who marries. Consider the example of a young man who falls in love with a certain young lady. This young woman has a tremendous background composed of a great many relatives and friends, all of whom are demonic. If this young man were to marry her, he would fall into a demonic region. If he came to me, I would say, “Don’t think that this young lady is so pretty, nice, and kind. You must look into her background. You are not only marrying her-you are marrying her with her whole background. After you marry a girl with such a demonic background, you will find yourself in Chaldea. The demons there will hold you.” But God has chosen this young man. Do not think that it will be easy for him to believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved. It is not a matter of being saved and waiting to go to heaven. No, in the Bible, to be saved is to be called out of your background, region, and environment. You need to get yourself out.
As we have seen, God’s promise to Abraham was a preaching of the gospel (Gal. 3:8). As part of this preaching, God told Abraham to get out of his country. What would you have done if you had been Abraham? Behind Sarah there might have been many demons, and these demons would not agree with Abraham’s getting out of Chaldea. This was the reason that the God of glory appeared to Abraham. It was neither an angel nor a dignified person who appeared to Abraham but the God of glory Himself who appeared to him. That appearing was a great attraction, inciting Abraham to take God’s calling.
In Matthew we are told that as Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee He called Peter, Andrew, James, and John (Matt. 4:18-22). The Lord Jesus simply said to them, “Follow Me,” and they followed Him. For many years I was unable to understand this. The little Jesus of Nazareth spoke the words, “Follow Me,” and they followed Him. I did not understand this until one day I noticed that the Jesus who walked by the sea of Galilee was a great light (Matt. 4:16). Peter, Andrew, James, and John were all attracted by that great light. When Jesus looked at them and called them, they were attracted to Him. Apparently, the One who called them was a poor Nazarene; actually, He was the God of glory. Likewise, the God of glory appeared to Abraham in the land of demons, a land enclosed by great waters. I believe that, in principle, we all have experienced such an appearing. To be saved is not merely a matter of hearing the preaching of the gospel, nodding your head, and then confessing that you are a sinner and that you believe in the Lord Jesus. Although this is correct, I must say that a true saved one is one who has had the appearing of Jesus.
In our conversion many seemed to see “the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). This became a great stimulation to so many of us.
We, the saved ones, have all had the appearing of Jesus. This did not occur in an outward way, but in our spirit deep within. Although we might forget the day or even the year when we were saved, we can never forget the time that, deep within, we saw Jesus. Jesus appeared to us and we met with Him. This is the real experience of being saved. To be saved is simply to be called. Before the Lord Jesus appeared to you, you found it difficult to be a genuine Christian. Your background and surroundings did not allow you to be different from others. One day, however, He appeared to you. Oh, the living Jesus in glory appeared to you. That was your calling. It was also His separating and His saving. By appearing to you in this way, He called you, saved you, and separated you. Abraham had the same kind of experience. That appearing of God strongly attracted Abraham. This appearing was Abraham’s motive and strength to accept God’s calling. If you consider Abraham’s background and situation you will realize that without such an attraction and stimulation, it would have been impossible for him to accept God’s calling.
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