Acts 3: 22-26

(Acts 3: 22-26)

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.  And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.  Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.  Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.  Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

 

It conveys new hope by telling them how to do it concretely. “Repent, and turn, and be made without your sins.” Then Peter continued the story of Moses. 『For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Peter says that we must open our heart and receive the grace of salvation on the day when God gives us opportunities and shows us grace.

『 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 』

Romans 4:2-3, 『For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 』What is the faith that gains justification? If we are justified, our relationship with God cannot be shaken, and our regenerated inner world does not change. I believed well yesterday, but today, if my faith is shaken, it is still an old person. Abraham did so for 25 years. At the age of 75, when he was called by God, he said, "Leave your relatives from your hometown." Leaving puts you in a situation where you cannot get help from people. There is only God's help.

Abram leaves his hometown Ur of Chaldeans and goes to Haran. However, he takes his relative Lot out. This scene shows that you cannot obey unless you repent. But as much as you obey, you discern. Abram's shepherd and Lot's shepherd quarrel. The sheep were growing, but they quarreled because of the lack of water. or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. 』God made his possessions lost through Lot.

At that time, God is with Abram, and Abram becomes the person who prays for Lot. He gave him an opportunity to save Lot during the war, and had a spiritual experience of meeting Melchizedek. This is like the experience of Peter meeting Moses and Elijah with Jesus. Then Abram gives birth to Ishmael. Abram did not believe the word of God and listened to Sarai. God has said many times that He gives children. However, even after waiting, they did not see any children, so they listened to Sarai.

Abram is the owner of himself. When we are the masters, even listening to God's voice is useless. Abram and Sarai were those who could not wait for God's promise. They are not ready. When we can't wait for the Lord, we use a human way. This is Ishmael. Abram gave birth to Ishmael through Hagar at the age of 86. From then on, for 13 years, God did not appear to Abram. Many churches today may be in this situation. They worship and go to meetings, but others receive grace, but they don't seem to receive it. The thirteen years from Abram corresponded to the wilderness of the Hebrews who had been exodus and were given an opportunity to repent.

We are not waiting for God, God is waiting for us. We wait until we don't trust ourselves. This is repentance. Repentance is not believing in my judgments, my plans, before the Word of God. In Romans 4:19, it says, ``And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:'' Abram. It took a period of 25 years to be justified as a hundred years old.

 

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