Separated unto Fulfillment

The Making of God

God is a maker. He brings about change by making the individual what he wants, as revealed to that individual. In the call of Abram, God’s promise to him was, first and foremost, “I will make of you a great nation.” In every encounter of God with man that initiates a process for the future, God makes the person what will achieve the promised purpose of God for that individual. The process of making will invariably involve a process or processes that have certain elements in common. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”

When Jesus called his disciples after praying on the mountain for the night, his instruction to the called was, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus’ desire was to make these disciples fishers of men, to enable them to step into his shoes or the assignment that each had after he had gone. Matthew 4:19 says, “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

What is involved in the process of making by God? These are enumerated in Mark 3:13–15, “And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils.”

The disciples of Jesus were called to achieve three main purposes from this passage: to send them forth to preach; to have power to heal sicknesses; and to cast out devils. However, there was one paramount training requirement, and that was to be with him.

This requirement for the disciples was also pertinent to the call of Abram. In order to make him great, he needed to spend time with God. This calls for separation. Abram embarked on a journey with God from the time he was called to the time that God said of him, “I know him.” What are some elements of the intimacy between Abram and God that made him a friend of God? Notable among these are faith, sacrificial living, covenant relationship, and change of name.

Faith

Abram’s journey began as a journey of faith. When he left his father’s house and country, he was on his way to a country that God would tell him, which he did not know. From that moment onward, it was a journey whose success depended on hearing from God every step of the way, leading to the end.

Faith has been defined as the currency of heaven that could be used to obtain whatever is desired from God. The Bible has an appropriate definition for faith as, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

Intimacy with God or being with Him requires faith, without which is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Faith places a responsibility on the individual in believing God in the face of seemingly impossibility. Whatever is believed and desired to bring to pass must be confessed as a demonstration of faith in God. This will move the hand of God. Mark 11:22–24 says, And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

When Abram as yet had no son, the Lord told him that his children would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. Abram’s faith in what God told him in this vision elevated him to the level of righteousness with God. Genesis 15:2–6 says, And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Being with God and deriving the benefits thereon is impossible without faith. This does not mean that you start from the mountaintop with the faith of God’s generals. However, it implies that you are ready to grow with God and trust him to be whom he says he is and do what he has promised in his Word to do.