Visits from God

By Kirsy Lorena Carrion de Baez

Visits from God is a deep study about God's calling to jewish Patriarch Abraham, and how he got to grow in his faith through every encounter with the Lord. The author shares the revelation behind every visit and how we can understand better our own calling and, like Abraham, grow spiritually in order to reach God's purpose for us.

 

At the same time, the author testifies her own experiences and trials that helped her understand better Abraham's journey with God. This detailed study will definitely help you see diferently the circumstances we face as believers in our daily walk with God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kirsy Lorena Carrion de Baez
• Release date: Mar 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393928157

Book preview

Words of Gratitude:

To the God of my life, whose visits sustain, me whatever the circumstance I face. Your faithfulness is my delight. Your grace is enough for me.

To my husband and best friend: Next to you I´ve learned what I share in this book. Thank you for your steadfast faith that inspires me to look to Christ when the waves intimidate me.

To my children: Abiel, Abigaíl, Angela, and especially to Abraham. They have been my school of faith. My joy and continuous reason for prayer. May the Lord be glorified in your lives. You are His.

To all those who have supported me in prayer in my trials and joys. If I am standing today is because the prayers of righteous people are powerful and effective. Thank you!

Introduction

THE STORY OF GOD'S dealings with Abraham is one of my favorites. For centuries it has been considered a rich source of teachings that contribute to the growth of the faith of all who stop to search for it.

For many years I have listened to preaching and Bible studies based on chapters 12 to 25 of the book of Genesis, where we find details of the unique experience of Abraham being called by God and formed by Him to be the father of all believers through faith (Romans 4:16). What is certain is that the patriarch Abraham did not prove himself the father of faith from the beginning.

He certainly believed and accepted God's challenge by going out into an unknown land, which God promised He would deliver to him. But this was only the first part of his assignment. His real challenge was to believe in the promise that God would bring a great nation out of him, when he didn't even have a son.

Sarah, Abraham's wife, was barren. Added to this, when God revealed himself to them they were already elderly, which made Sarah's chances of conceiving even more difficult. Precisely here arises the challenge of faith that lasted for about twenty-five years. If something is clear to us it´s that the wait wasn’t due to any limitation on the part of God to grant the couple a child. We know that the almighty God, creator of heaven and earth, of everything that exists, visible and invisible, knows no impossibilities. He does whatever pleases Him (Psalm 115: 3).

Then the question arises: Why wait for it? What prevented Abraham from seeing the fulfillment of the promise received? What was God waiting for? What was missing? What prevents the fulfillment of God's promises in your life and in mine? What does God expect to manifest them? What are we missing?

In this book we will analyze God's visits to Abraham prior to the birth of his son Isaac. The purpose is for us to review seven encounters related from Genesis 12 to Genesis 18. In each one we will see God's commands to Abraham, His fidelity in keeping the same promise from the first meeting until its glorious fulfillment. We will also analyze Abraham's reaction over the years and the learning he acquired at each stage of his waiting.

Abraham's experience gave him insights into God's plan, His character of goodness, faithfulness, and justice. He also equipped Abraham to face adverse situations that threatened his safety and that of his family. Abraham developed full trust in the God who called him, gave him direction, defended him from enemies and gave him a son at 100 years old; that God who still remains faithful to the promises made to him thousands of years ago.

Recognizing the specific instructions Abraham received with each encounter can help us to be ready to receive the fulfillment of our promises. These experiences help to clarify concerns regarding God's dealings with us today.

In each chapter I will share the revelation that God placed in my heart for the edification of my life, and I know it will be a blessing for yours. Each reader will undoubtedly feel identified in some way and will be able to apply this teaching to their context, as called by God that we have been to see His promises fulfilled in our passage through earth.

By identifying strengths and weaknesses in Abraham's response to God, we will be able to associate his story with our personal reality, and work in the light of the Word those areas of our lives that may not yet be ready to see the manifestation of the long-awaited fulfillment.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring; not only for those who are of the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

Romans 4:16

Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him.

Psalm 115: 3

First visit

GENESIS 12: 1-5

1  The Lord had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

3  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

4  So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.

5  He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

Mandate: God asks Abraham to leave his land and his relatives, and go to a land that he had not yet specified.

Promise: Great Offspring / Nation. Be a blessing.

Abraham's reaction:

a) Half obedience: He leaves his land, but does not completely detach himself from his father's family.

Analysis:

Abraham obeyed God's command to leave the place he knew, where he lived among his father's family, and he believed God's promise to give him a land and a seed. Yet he still needed to learn to fully obey God's instructions and fully trust Him.

The story does not offer very clear details of how the relationship between God and Abraham began, however when Abraham was commanded by God to leave the territory where he lived, and his father's family, Abraham left the land