By Faith Abraham (part 1)

Hebrews 11:8-16

Who really lives by faith?

Francis Chan, Crazy Love - Lukewarm Faith.

“Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens - they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them - they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live - they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis - their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God.

Managing our Expectations with God.

We believe only what we can see, only what we can imagine. We don’t want to be disappointed, so we don’t even ask, we don’t trust, we don’t live by faith, because we’re afraid it might let us down. We ask little because we believe little because God is little in our minds.

Hebrews 11, and especially our reading today, calls us to a faith that is beyond belief, and incredible faith that looks far beyond what we can see, and finds its reward in God alone.

Abraham’s Incredible Faith.

Abraham Went Out in Faith.

He was called by God. There is a certain missionary feel to this, but in reality, this is the story of Abraham’s salvation.

He was called from following other gods.

Jos 24:2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.

God’s glorious grace appeared, and called Abram out. Out of death, out of idolatry, and into the blessed fellowship with the living God.

This is the life of every believer.

We are called out by God’s sovereign grace unto salvation. Through the inward working of the Holy Spirit, in the outward preaching of the word of God

Rom 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Like Abraham - following the call to salvation often means a clean break

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Abraham and Sarah Believed Beyond Sight

Abram (his name meant father of many) had no kids

God promised land and family when Abraham was 75. After 25 years, at the age of 99, there was nothing to show for their faith.

He was as good as dead. Sarah was barren. Physically, there was nothing they could do. For Abraham and Sarah to have children it must be by God’s grace, as the fulfillment of God’s promise, not by their doing.

Heb 11:11 - One of the most marvelous definitions of faith: Sarah considered God faithful to keep his promises.

She considered God faithful. She didn’t look to her own ability, but to the strong hand of God. She didn’t look to her own faithfulness, but to the covenant keeping God. She wasn’t even looking to the promise, but to the one who made the promise; He is faithful.

This again is significant for every believer

We are saved by God’s faithfulness, not in the barren womb of our own works, but in the one who came from the virgin womb, by the power of the Spirit, to bring salvation and to make us children by faith in Christ.

He accomplished for us what we could never achieve for ourselves, because we were, like Sarah, barren of fruitfulness, like Abraham, as good as dead.

But by faith in Christ we are made alive, and heirs of the promise made Abraham. Rom 4:16

By faith, we exchange our debt for the gift of God’s righteousness in Christ.

It is not the strength of our faith that saves us, but the faithfulness of our mighty God.

They All Died in Faith, Looking to the Heavenly City.

He lived as a foreigner, in tents. They were looking to God’s city, the Kingdom of our Lord. They went through the kingdoms of Babylon, Canaan, and Egypt, never owning an acre, always looking to the eternal city.

He could have afforded to buy land, build homes, and establish himself, but he was looking to a better country, willing to have less here to have more there.

This kind of faith is the reason why the prosperity Gospel of health, wealth, and happiness, living your best life now, is such an offense to God. It misleads the heart.

The only land they owned was their burial plot.

A palace without the presence of God is empty, but a tent with the Lord is the fullness of Heaven.

They were looking for the city whose designer and builder is God, they were looking to a better country.

Everything made by man will fall, but the city whose foundations were laid by God will be eternal.

2 Cor 5:1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Because of this God is Not Ashamed to Be Called Their God

The commendation- “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

God was not ashamed, He was honored to be called their God. God is glorified in their faith.

They lived by faith, greeting this promise from a distance, acknowledging they were strangers and aliens

Matt 10:32 If you acknowledge me before men I will acknowledge you before the father

Having Incredible Faith Today

Do you believe what you cannot see?

J.C. Ryle, “In walking with God, a man will go just as far as he believes, and no further.”

Do you believe only what you can see? Then that is as far as your faith will take you. Or do you believe in that which, though it is beyond belief, God has promised and so you greet it from afar? That is where your faith will lead you.

Do you Have an Incredible Faith

That salvation is of no work of your own, but the free gift of grace in Jesus Christ.

That Christ came, born of a virgin, perfectly fulfilled the righteous demands of God’s law for us, willingly died on the cross taking God’s wrath for us, was raised from the dead to conquer death for us, was ascended to the throne of Heaven to intercede for us, and will come again to bring the Kingdom to us.

That though we may suffer and face trials in this life, these are but the means by which God is sanctifying us, making us more like Christ.

That the ordinary things like prayer, the word, and the regular worship of God are the means by which God reveals himself to us.

Are you living by faith as a pilgrim in this world

Traveling light, or are you bogged down with the weight of the world.

Does our daily walk show we have ceased looking on this world as our home, and its people as our people? Are we seeking to lay up treasure in heaven?

Col 3:2 - set your affections on things above

Jim Elliot - He is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Does your life require faith?

Do you plan every moment, calculate every step, making sure you don’t have any needs? Are you living in such a way that faith is essential, that God must show up? Are you stepping out into the unknown, trusting God with what will come?

Standing for what you believe even though everyone else mocks or leaves you?

What if you told your coaches, or your boss, I won’t practice or work on the Lord’s Day. You will get the best of me 6 days of the week, but this is a day of rest, and I will honor the Lord with my time

Praying to God before with your friends, sharing your faith

Would God be ashamed to be called your God?

Do you think of God so little, expect so little of God, that God is little in your eyes - shameful?

Do you trust God greatly, to do great things, even beyond your ability to see how it all comes together.