Conversations of Action in the Bible

Conversations are a part of our lives as humans. It’s almost impossible to live through a day without uttering a word. According to an article by Language Log in 2013, women speak about 20,000 words every day, while the male folks speak about 7,000 words daily. Much of the words we speak are often in conversation with those around us –co-workers, friends, family member, etc. Through conversations, we are able to start and conclude business transactions, strengthen our relational bond with people, solve problems, and of course, say a prayer to God.

Conversations and actions need not be separate things.

A lot of people believe the saying that, “Talk is cheap.” And by so doing, they exalt the place of taking action – doing things. While this is valid, conversations can also be the tool that pushes people to take a desired action. Conversations and actions need not be separate things. There is a reason why a salesman will speak to a prospective customer for five minutes and afterwards, the customer will be willing to part with their money to get whatever product or service is being sold. It is all about persuasion.

Conversations can lead to a desired action if used properly. From the very beginning in the Bible, we see that God made the heaven and earth and everything it contains. When he was to make man, He had a conversation with Himself. From the book of 1 John, the scripture makes us know that there are three people who bear witness in heaven, namely; the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. God, having a conversation with Himself, moved into action to create man. Man became a living soul. Man was built with the capacity for fellowshipping with God. Throughout the scriptures, we see how this fellowship went on. Moses spoke to God face-to-face, men like Isaiah saw the glory of God. Daniel spoke with heavenly beings. All these were conversations. The books of the Bible are products of actions taken by these great men of old as they received instructions and conversed with God.

Conversations can lead to a desired action if used properly. From the very beginning in the Bible, we see that God made the heaven and earth and everything it contains.

Conversations can come in the form of requests, promises, offers, declaration of completion, declaration of satisfaction. In the scriptures, there are several examples that prove conversations for actions to be true. When Adam was created and stationed in the Garden of Eden, the instructions given expressly from God were, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat. but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Gen. 2:16, KJV). God was giving out an instruction to Adam here on what was expected of him in the Garden. God’s word moves things into existence. God’s word has creative power. Even if something was not previously in existence, once God says it, the very word goes out to create what it says. This was why the Prophet Isaiah wrote that, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa. 55:11, KJV). This is exactly how God’s word works.

Conversations can come in the form of requests, promises, offers, declaration of completion, declaration of satisfaction. In the scriptures, there are several examples that prove conversations for actions to be true.

 

When we take a look at the book of Hebrews, there are several stories of great men and women that clearly illustrate how they took actions. These men had conversations with God and they took action as a result. The book of Hebrews opens up with how God created the worlds through the instrument of faith. Abel was referenced. Perhaps through the teaching of Abel’s parents, he came to understand the significance of the rams and the shedding of its blood. God had respect to the offering of Abel. The offering of the sacrifice was a symbol of the promise of God to man. After Adam and Eve fell in the Bible, God expressly said, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between they seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15, KJV). The promise of God here was Jesus.

Abraham is referred to as the Father of Faith. His life story reflects a conversation for action. While residing in his father’s house, the Word of the Lord came to him saying,

“Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

He [Abraham] died despite the fact that he never physically stepped into the Promised Land. He trusted God enough to bring His promise to pass.

 

Immediately after the instruction was given, it was recorded that Abraham (or Abram as he was first called) left his own people with his wife and Lot. They traveled as God led them sojourning in tents. Abraham desired to have a better place and a better country than the ones he saw. He died despite the fact that he never physically stepped into the Promised Land. He trusted God enough to bring His promise to pass.

Looking at the life of Abraham, what really were the promises God gave to him? They can be summed up in three (3) distinct headings; namely:

  1. I will make you a great nation;
  2. Depart… to a land that I will show you;
  3. In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

We know that God doesn’t make empty promises. He has the capacity to bring anything to pass. He speaks according to the level of his strength and capacity. When God said this to Abraham, it was only left for him to believe what was said. God is not a man that He should lie or change His words when faced with difficulty. He declares the end right from the very beginning. One scripture in the bible helps us know that God honors his word more than his name.

We know that God doesn’t make empty promises. He has the capacity to bring anything to pass.

The intention of God for Abraham was to make him a great nation. To accomplish this, God changed his name from Abram to Abraham. He was called the Father of Many Nations when he hadn’t even had the promised child. When God speaks, He does so according to the level of His own might and power, and not according to our estimation of the severity of our predicament.

When God was talking to Abraham about making him a great nation, He was referring to the nation Israel. To date, the Jews occupy key leadership positions all over the world. When you look at the men and women who are currently dominating in various spheres of human endeavor, you will find Jews being prominent. God indeed has made his promise good concerning Abraham. The nation Israel occupies a land surrounded by hostile nations who are out to delete the country from the map in the Middle East. But over the years, Israel has remained strong and fought its way into global relevance.

One thing we can see about God throughout the scripture is that He does as He pleases, and His power is unlimited.

 

One thing we can see about God throughout the scripture is that He does as He pleases, and His power is unlimited. When men, for instance, want to make a promise, they first check if they have the wherewithal to make good their word. Of course, man is not unlimited or omnipotent, only God is. So, when God makes a promise like the one He made to Abraham, it is a proof of His own divine ability and power to accomplish anything. This is why the scripture says,

“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:3-4, KJV)

This proves that God’s ability can accomplish anything for us. When God reassured Abraham that he would father a child through his own wife, Sarah, God wasn’t looking at the condition they were in. Even Abraham also had to start thinking like God. The Bible makes us understand that he also decided to take his eyes off his physical condition and his age. He also decided not to focus on the deadness of the womb of Sarah –apparently, it was practically impossible for her to conceive due to her age. Rather than focusing on the impossibilities, he chose to focus on God and kept on rejoicing all through while he waited for the promise.

Our righteousness is not in our works or self-motivated efforts; our righteousness is in Christ Jesus.

This is the kind of attitude, perspective, and disposition the believer today must also have. We cannot afford to get lost in what our eyes see, or what our ears hear, or the way and manner others behave. We must only be moved by what we believe. Abraham chose not to be moved by what he saw, but by what he believed. This very disposition of Abraham earned him the caption of being a righteous man. Righteousness comes from accepting and believing what God has said and made available to us. Our righteousness is not in our works or self-motivated efforts; our righteousness is in Christ Jesus.

The arm of flesh will certainly fail, but the sword of the spirit (the Word of God) endures forever.

The next phase of Abraham’s life was where God told him to leave his father’s house. This tells us something. For us to reach forth the great and mighty things God has ordained for us in the future, we have to leave the things, places, and people we have been used to. We cannot get to the other side if we are unwilling to leave the shores of the comfortable present. Abram (as he then was called) must have been comfortable where he was. He had a family, a considerable number of servants and resources at his disposal. Yet, he chose to believe a God that he had not seen or heard of before. This faith was counted to him for righteousness.

One thing we must come to understand about the journey of faith is that there are always battles and giants to confront.

There is one thing about God, He has a way of making a promise that only He can fulfill. In the case of Abraham, He promised that He would give them a land that He will show him. At this point, Abraham never had an idea of what awaited him in his future. Amazingly, Abraham being a man of faith followed through everything God told him.

One thing we must come to understand about the journey of faith is that there are always battles and giants to confront. At one time, Abraham mobilized his army of over 300 men to confront an enemy who seized his nephew, Lot. Rest assured that when God speaks, He makes all the provision in his capacity to bring whatever He says to pass.

 

Experience the Power of Prophecy as a gift to open your mind to receive the Mind of Christ.