Hall of Faith (Part 2)

Introduction

There’s no place like home - does that phrase ring a bell? This might be the most wellknown line in the history of cinema. The reason that this line from Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz strikes a chord with us is not just because it’s from one of the most popular movies of all time, but because at a fundamental level, the sentence is true. There is no place like home. At home we’re with our family. We’re in a place where we’re safe. We know our surroundings. We have memories all around us. This isn’t to say that there are some who have difficult experiences in their homes, and I’m sure some of you here are in that boat as you’ve suffered in your home and maybe your home isn’t a great place… but the home is the place that God has ordained and designed for us to grow not only physically and mentally but also spiritually. The home is to be a safe place - and truly, a place unlike any other…

According to a poll by Pew Research, 40% of people never leave their hometown - sure, they’ll travel on vacation or through work to something, but they never truly leave home. We long for a place to call home and once we find that place, there’s nothing quite like it. I’m blessed to be able to call Salem home and I’m blessed to have a church home like this one at First Baptist, and I pray you feel the same way! But Salem has not been my only home. In fact, before a voicemail left on my phone 2 years ago by Joe Brand, I hadn’t even heard of First Baptist Salem and beyond the town of Salem scrolling by on the school closings list that would run on KY3 on a snowy morning, I knew nothing of this place. Sometimes our home changes - and that can be a difficult thing, but it can also be a beautiful thing as God provides for us and gives us a place to bloom where He plants us.

As we look in God’s Word, we see example after example of people who have a home and God calls on them to leave that home, trust in Him, and go somewhere else. At face value, this sounds a bit absurd, doesn’t it? Why would someone do that? The person who walks by sight would be hard pressed to do this… but the person who walks by faith trusts in God’s plan even when that plan might be hard to visibly see in the moment. As we continue walking through Hebrews 11, we’re going to be reminded that as a follower of Jesus Christ, our home is heaven… and until we arrive there, our God has the ability and authority to move us around a little bit. We are responsible to trust in Him and to obey His calling on our lives, regardless of what that looks like. As we get into the next portion of this chapter, we’ll see how Abraham and Sarah trusted in God’s call on their lives more than they trusted in the comforts and conveniences of their surroundings. Let’s read from God’s Word

Hebrews 11:8–19 CSB

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the one who had promised was faithful. 12 Therefore, from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and as innumerable as the grains of sand along the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. 14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. 16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son, 18 the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring will be traced through Isaac. 19 He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.

The faith that saves is the faith that follows God and trusts in Him and obey’s His commands. We see this in the life of Abraham as he was called by God and obeyed Him - not perfectly, but he walked after him in faith. This is what God calls on us to do each day as well. If you are a Christian, God has a plan for you and He calls on us to obey Him and walk after Him by faith. Which way are you walking today?

Biblical Faith Follows God (8-10)

Last week we began our study of Hebrews 11 by looking at what exactly Biblical faith looks like. It makes a difference in the life of the Christian and it is something that is demonstrated in the life of the Christian. We looked at several examples of Biblical faith in the life of Abel, Enoch, and Noah. This morning we continue looking at examples of Biblical faith, and in the life of Abraham we see that his faith in God led him to first follow after God and His plan. Following directions can be hard, as many of us know firsthand… and even when we know what to do, obeying can be hard too!

In our text, we see a remarkable sentence in verse 8. Abraham was called by God to go to a place that he didn’t even know… and he obeyed. He was given a simple task without many directions… just to get up and go to another place. Abraham was with his family in the Fertile Crescent and in the safety of what was known… God was calling on him to get up and move hundreds of miles to the west across the desert where thieves were notorious for stopping travelers and stealing what they had and leaving them left for dead. We’re not talking about you and I getting into our air conditioned cars and traveling for a long day trip… we’re talking about Abraham leaving his family behind and embarking on a months long journey with all that he owned to a place he had not seen. This, my friends, is faith! As he goes and does this, he leaves his homeland behind and goes to a new place and he doesn’t fit in. We see that he stayed as a foreigner in this land. The people living in this area were polytheists - they believed in many gods. Abraham was a monotheist - he believed in the One true God. Abraham trusted in the character of God and relied on God to help him make decisions… his neighbors did whatever felt right and they followed the gods they had created with their own hands. The faith that follows God leads God’s people to a counter-cultural life on this planet.

This is why it’s so important to remember that this world is not our home. What Abraham did is what we are called to do today - there’s a song that speaks of that truth, “Wherever HE leads, I’ll go… Wherever HE leads, I’ll go… I’ll follow my Christ who loves me so… Wherever HE leads, I’ll go!” This is what Biblical faith does! This is what our missionaries have done today - the Jim Elliots, Adoniram Judson’s, William Carey’s, Kyle and Katie Broussau’s, the list goes on. In fact, there was a story centuries ago of several missionaries aboard a ship bound for Africa and the captain of the boat laughed at them saying, “You’ll only die over there.” One of the missionaries replied, “Captain, we died long before we started.” If you are a Christian, your old self is gone and you are raised to walk in newness of life. This is true for all Christians as Philippians 3:20 tells us.

Philippians 3:20 CSB

20 Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

This world is not our home! We’re aliens here. We’re sojourners. Our citizenship, if you’re a Christian, is in heaven. That’s where you’re going. That’s your home! The comforts of this world can’t hold a candle to the glory of heaven! This is why Abraham obeyed God’s call to go to a far off place - he understood by faith that there is something more to this life than health, wealth, and happiness. As he understood this, he went to a far off place and we read that he lived there as a foreigner in tents.

How many of you like to go camping? Don’t lie - I’m facebook friends with most of you and it’s obvious that many of y’all enjoy camping and understandably so! Lindsey and I grew up in families that loved to camp… but we camped in different ways. Whenever my family moved to Ozark, I was in 3rd grade and lots of my friends enjoyed camping with their families and we were often invited to go but there was a small problem… My dad grew up in Oklahoma City, he’s a city boy, and the idea of tent camping didn’t sound that attractive in the blazing July and August heat next to Table Rock Lake in Branson. So what did we decide to do? My parents bought us a camper. Now, we caught some grief from other people because they believed that true camping was with a tent and this is the way that Lindsey was raised. Maybe this is how you were raised as well, that you camp in tents and that campers are for the weak. I’ll tell you this: Whenever a storm popped up over the hillside and there was a tornado watch issued, do you know where our friends in the tents ended up going? Inside our camper!

We know that tents don’t provide much by way of protection and security… and, for that matter, a camper won’t fare too well in a really bad storm either. Think about this, though. For so many people, they view this world as all that there is and that little tent is all the protection they think they can have in this life. For the one who has faith in Jesus, though, we are assured that though we live in tents today and though we face storms and difficult times, we know that there will come a day where we will enter the city of God and it will never be shaken as Hebrews 12:28 tells us! This is good news. As we follow God in this life, we know that things won’t always be easy… but our hope is secured and certain in the rock solid promise of almighty God! Because of this certainty, Abraham was faithful in the present wherever God called him to go, even if it meant living in tents… because he knew that one day, he’d graduate from the tent and step into something even better than a 5th wheel camper… one day he’d enter a heavenly mansion.

By what basis would Abraham look forward to this promise and hope? How did he know that he would make it into this city one day? Because he had faith. As one commentator put it: “Abraham was faithful in the present because of his confidence in what God would do in the future.” Biblical faith follows God and allows us to do this with confidence in His character.

Biblical Faith Waits For God (11-16)

Abraham not only obeyed God and went to Canaan, or modern day Israel, and not only did he trust in God’s plan as he lived as a foreigner in this new land, he also waited on the Lord’s time. Waiting is something that usually doesn’t come naturally for us - it’s hard to wait for something we really want for more than a few hours or a few days… can you imagine waiting on something that was promised to you for multiple decades? God made a promise to Abraham that he would have a son with his wife, Sarah.

Genesis 17:19 CSB

19 But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as a permanent covenant for his future offspring.

Abraham is 75 whenever God promises him that he’s going to have a son with his wife, Sarah. Who here is 75 or older? Are you ready to get back in the business of changing diapers? That sounds insane to think that a 75 year old man and a 65 year old woman will have a child together. Sarah was unable to have a child up to this point in her life, and it doesn’t make human sense that she’ll suddenly, at the age of 65, be able to do this! It’s impossible, isn’t it? Abraham has to ask himself this question: What is more impossible? Me to father a child with my wife who has a “dead” womb, or for God to break His direct promise?

Both seem impossible… but if we had to rank the impossibilities, we’d say that God cannot lie and break His promise has to come first, wouldn’t we? This means that Abraham now has to do something hard, not only does he have to believe in God’s promise… but he now has to wait for God’s promise to come to pass. Abraham and Sarah have faith that God will come through. They didn’t do so perfectly, if you know the story with the birth of Ishmael whenever Abraham and Sarah took matters into their own hands… but their belief was still that God would come through somehow, someway in God’s perfect timing… Even through someone who was “as good as dead” according to God’s Word. With each year that went on, it would have gotten more and more impossibly humanly speaking for a 90 year old woman and a 100 year old man to have a child… but we find this in Romans 4 concerning Abraham’s faith while he waited

Romans 4:19 CSB

19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body to be already dead (since he was about a hundred years old) and also the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

He was patient in life’s waiting room. Waiting rooms aren’t fun in the first place, especially whenever you’re there with a loved one who isn’t feeling well. Parents, you can likely remember vividly the first time that you had to take your child to the emergency room and after you check in with the nurse, what do you have to do? Wait… and wait… and wait some more… And you’re thinking that your child is sick and they need to be seen and it’s emergency after all and tensions run high in the waiting room. Tensions run high in the waiting room of life as well. We don’t always think the best in the waiting rooms of life, but we see example after example of people in the Bible who wait well. What is the secret to this? It’s nothing revolutionary, believe me. It’s simply this: Trusting in the sovereignty and providence of God. God will come through on His promises… It is impossible for Him not to. He always provides! He even opens up the wombs of 90 year old women. Where do the complications arise whenever we’re in the waiting room? Whenever we take matters into our own hands instead of trusting in God’s plan.

We’re all guilty there, aren’t we? We rush ahead or we lag behind. Our prayer must be like that of Abraham and Sarah as we simply trust in the Lord, we do the things He commands us to do, and we remember that the One who calls us is faithful! That doesn’t mean, though, that everything goes our way. Look at verse 13… all of these people mentioned thus far died in faith.

We see that these people continued forward with their eyes fixed on the things to come. They ran their race well. They had faith in God… our world might expect them to prosper in their comfy houses and fat 401k’s but the Bible shares that they died, and didn’t receive what was promised. They kept their eyes on Jesus - they remembered that their home is heaven. They lived as exiles in this world. This stands completely against the American Dream of getting all we can, canning all we get, and sitting on the can until we can’t anymore. That’s not the Gospel - the good news is that we can’t save ourselves and what we have isn’t ours to begin with… it’s God’s! Jim Elliot understood this well whenever he said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Our riches, our possessions, our cars, our dreams, our clothes, our shoes, our health, we can’t keep these things! They’re temporary blessings given to us for a purpose from our Father… but we can’t keep them. You can’t take them with you after you pass away. That is what Biblical faith understands - that we are aliens here. That there is false security here that we must avoid and check ourselves with often. That we continue with our eyes forward while we wait on Christ to call us home and we do the work that He has in store for us to do today.

So many worry about tomorrow while we wait today. Do you know what the cure for worrying is in Scripture? Matthew 6 tells us that we seek God’s kingdom first. The cure for worrying about tomorrow is to worship today. To remember that we’re strangers and exiles, just like Abraham, and that’s ok. God has prepared our city for us and until He calls us home, we wait for Him here and we do His work and His will.

Biblical Faith Trusts in God (17-19)

Biblical faith follows God even whenever we aren’t sure where we’re headed… Biblical faith waits for God, even when it seems like we’re waiting forever. Why do people follow God and wait for God? Because people who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ trust in God. Some people believe that trusting in God is for weak-minded people or those who have been indoctrinated from a young age… As we looked at last week, faith is not a blind shot in the dark. Biblical faith is reasonable faith that is based on the promises of God and we know that our God comes through on His promises each and every time. We can fully trust in Him!

Think of the things our world trusts in… friends, money, reputation, self, the list goes on. As Spurgeon once put it, “Trust in friends and they will die and leave you… Trust in money and you may have it taken from you… Trust in reputation and some slanderous tongue may blast it… Trust in self and you are lost… Trust in Jesus and you are saved.” The wonderful hope we have is that it is not up to our strength that keeps us saved, but it is the God in whom we trust who keeps us saved. We can trust in His character and goodness each step of the way.

This is what Abraham does in Genesis 22 as he does what he has done consistently through his whole life, while be it not perfectly, he trusts in God… Even when God calls him to do something that doesn’t entirely make sense. Look with me in verse 17 of our passage - Abraham was tested by God. Some people wrestle with that statement because they think that this makes God a bad person or an evil person. This couldn’t be further from the truth! We see in Scripture that God does in fact test us

James 1:2–3 CSB

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

James 1:13 reminds us that God does not tempt us because God is not tempted by sin, but God does test us in life and those tests are times where we demonstrate what our ultimate trust is placed in. Abraham didn’t try to bargain with God. He didn’t procrastinate with God. We are told again that God called Abraham to do something and that’s what Abraham did. His obedience was immediate. Before we look at the outcome of this situation in verse 19, lets consider together why this specific test was hard. Earlier we saw how God called Abraham to leave his country and go to a foreign land - that was a hard test, and we can say that it is hard because not many of us would be willing to do that because we love our homes! But this test seems completely impossible.

Reasons why this test was hard:

Isaac was his son

Isaac was the promised one

Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for Isaac

Every child is a gift from God, we affirm this wonderful truth, especially in a society of death. But not every family that wants to have a child, can. This was Abraham and Sarah’s reality for decades. This was the reality that my parents were walking through for nearly a decade as well. You wait, you trust in the Lord, you do what is right, but you cannot help but as the question deep in your soul, “Why, Lord?!” If you’ve known a couple in this situation or if you yourself have been in this situation, you know the joy that comes whenever God answers those years of prayers! Again, all lives are sacred and important and a gift, but if you’ve wanted for 5, 10, 25 years for it, there’s something different because God came through and the waiting was worth it.

So consider Abraham in this moment. He waited for years for Isaac. Isaac is born and God made a promise that through Isaac would come descendants as numerous as the grains of sand on the beach and the stars in the sky. The point is that there will be a massive number, too large for Abraham to add up. Now, God is telling Abraham to offer him up as a sacrifice. This is what the pagans around Abraham did… but this seems out of step. Abraham is left with 2 options here: Either God has changed His plan or this is God’s plan and I need to trust in Him and walk by faith and not by sight. Either God changes or He doesn’t - the Bible tells us that God doesn’t change and His plan doesn’t either. So Abraham trusts. He obeys. Why? Look in verse 19. He believed that God could raise the dead. Grant Osborne once shared that, “Death is no detriment for God’s faithful followers… for He is in control.”

Abraham told his servants that he and Isaac would go up the mountain and that he and Isaac would both come down the mountain. Why? Because he considered that the same God who was able to revive his wife’s dead womb was also able to revive his dead son. Y’all, this is faith… but it’s not blind, it’s reasonable. Abraham trusted and obeyed in God’s call and God’s plan because God had made a promise and it’s impossible for God to lie.

Let’s bring this home just a bit… I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the story of Abraham and Isaac and the pastor asks this question: Would you be able to offer your own son and trust in God? It’s an appropriate question, but I want to take it a different route this morning. Move past the outside situation and let’s move inside this morning. Why is it hard for you to trust in God?

That’s what this is ultimately boiling down to. Abraham trusted in God’s promises fully. Do you and I? Do we trust in God whenever He says that He will never leave nor forsake us? Some people think that you have to have 2 or 3 people for God to be present… but Hebrews 13:5 tells us that if you’re a Christian, He’s always with you through His Spirit. Do you trust that He’s with you, Christian? Do you trust that He has a plan for your life that is for your ultimate good even when you might not feel particularly good? Do you trust that God knows best, better than you ever could know? Do you trust that He is the only way to be saved? These are promises found in God’s Word that we must trust in.

Consider how this true story of Abraham and Isaac points us to something and someone even greater. The book of Hebrews was addressed to Jewish Christians who would have known the story of Abraham and Isaac very well. They knew that Isaac didn’t die and so he was not literally raised from the death, but he was raised in the sense that he escaped death. So, how did Isaac escape death? Through a ram being caught in the thicket

Genesis 22:13 CSB

13 Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

We could say this: Isaac lived because another died in his place. Abraham trusted that God would provide in one way or another because he had faith in Him! Do you see how this points us to Jesus Christ? Hebrews 9:22 told us that

Hebrews 9:22 CSB

22 According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

The book of Hebrews has been talking about the sacrificial system and how Jesus is a better priest, a better mediator, and a better sacrifice. With the inclusion of Abraham and Isaac here, the preacher of Hebrews shares how we as Christians, view this true story. Yes, it is a true story that mattered in the life of Abraham and Isaac, but it also points us to a greater sacrifice on another mountain that will happen thousands of years in the future. This points us to the Gospel message as God, like Abraham, would have to sacrifice His Son. Just as Isaac would carry the wood for the altar up the mountain, so would the Son of God carry His wooden cross up the road to Calvary. Jesus, as the greater Isaac, wouldn’t have a ram come to His rescue, though. The Son of God would be slain on the cross for sinners like you and me… and like Isaac, He would be received back from the dead after 3 days.

Jesus is true and better Abraham who obeyed the Father’s plan and He is the true and better Isaac who was laid on the altar to save sinners like you and me. This is what we hold on to during the good and bad days of this life… but the problem that we often have is this as Spurgeon said: we are prone to engrave our trials in marble and write our blessings in sand. Like Abraham, we all face trials in this life and we often shrink back during those difficult moments and we engrave them and remember them forever… yet, we so often miss and forget all the blessings that God gives to us each and every day. Friend, don’t forfeit your faith like this. Young people, you are living in a world that is beyond confused, you are living in a world that is deceived and a world that celebrates that deception. A world that idolizes self, sacrifices truth on the altar of feelings, and celebrates sin. In this world there are a million temptations to follow suit and to fall in line. Do this and you’ll be liked. Do this and you’ll be respected. Do this and you’ll be accepted. Do this and you’ll thrive. There was a reptile thousands of years ago who whispered the same lie… Don’t eat this world’s fruit. Don’t bend the knee. Follow God’s path. Wait for His timing. Trust in His plan. Do what the Word says, not what the world says. Even when everyone is telling you to do x, if God tells you to y, you stand with the Lord and you go where He calls you to go. This isn’t easy… but God never promised His followers a worry, suffering, and pain free life. In fact, He promised us that we’ll have troubles. To borrow from Kent Hughes, “The road to strong faith is never smooth.” But you’d better believe its worth it.

If you’re here today and you’re evaluating if you have this type of faith in the Lord to go where He calls you to go and do the things that He would have you do and you’re asking yourself if you’re really trusting in Him today, I want to simply encourage you to take a look at the promises found in God’s Word concerning what faith in the Lord provides for us. We see several in our text this morning

Biblical Faith Provides Us With A:

Better Hope

Our hope is not in this vanishing world that fails to come through on its promises… our hope is in our snake crushing Savior. While our life is not an easy one today, by faith we know that we have an eternal hope because we serve a living God who holds us fast. In good days and bad days, we have hope that is unshakeable unlike the fleeting hope of this world.

Better Home

We see that these people in the Bible died and didn’t receive the promises that God had given to them… Abraham was promised many descendants - but he only saw a few with his own eyes. Does this mean God failed? No. God always comes through and we see glimpses of this in our own lifetime. By faith we understand that we are promised a home that is far better than anything this world has to offer. A home with solid foundations that can’t be shaken by wind or rain. A home that isn’t in danger of falling into foreclosure if payments aren’t made. A home that isn’t marred by messy paint or carpet spills. We are promised a home in glory where there will be no more sin.

Better Heart

How are we assured of this home and of this hope? Only by being saved by grace through faith in Christ and by having Jesus give us a new heart. Undoubtedly some are here this morning and you’ve lived your life thinking that you are fine, good, or possibly a little bad, but the Bible shares with us that apart from faith in Jesus, we are dead in our sins and trespasses. We have a defective and decaying heart that will cause us problems for all eternity. Here’s the good news of the Gospel - there is a God who made all things, including you. This God loved sinners like you and me enough to send His Son, Jesus, to this world to live the life we could not live and to die the death that we deserved to die to win for us a victory that we could never earn ourselves. This God calls on us to repent of our sins and to trust in Him, to place our faith in His Son, and to live for Him as a new creation. There’s no place like home… and maybe today you’re here and you’re searching for a lasting home and community that is different from what this world has to offer. Friend, if that’s you, Jesus invites you to come home. We don’t do this by working really hard. By doing lots of nice things. By being a good person… we do this by repenting of our sins, asking Jesus to forgive us, and placing our faith in Him as Lord and Savior as we follow after His will and His plan each step of our life. If you’re here today and you don’t know Jesus as Savior, come home and let’s talk about how He can save you and give you an eternal home today

Let’s pray