By Faith: A Better Country (Hebrews 11:11-40)

Intro:

Vacation Recap:

Deacon Introduction/Explanation:

Brian Lewis

Skip Walker

Bill Stross

Travis Duff

Alison Hillard

Shandon Walker

Beth Newman

Brook Walker

Today, we are going to be looking at a large chunk of scripture (11-40). This section of scripture reads almost like a sermon by itself, and this morning, I really just want you to receive it as such, that you might be encouraged to persevere in the midst of whatever God is asking of you right now. Whether you’re in a season of waiting, or a season of change, God has a word for you in Hebrews 11.

In this chapter the author of Hebrews shares an inspiring list of God’s people who persevered in the midst of all forms of trials, tragedies and tribulations.

And while their triumphs are certainly inspiring, the power of this passage is found in the source of their steadfastness.

In verses 11-12 we consider the faith of Sarah.

Hebrews 11:11–12 “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

God gave Sarah and Abraham an incredible promise. He told Sarah that she would give birth to a son and that through him, she would become "a mother of nations" (Genesis 17:16). This was a breathtaking promise: God was going to give them a son, and through their son, He would redeem His covenant people. This sounds wonderful, right? How could anyone not be excited about such a glorious promise?

But then, nothing happened for 90 years. The greatest enemy of enthusiasm is time. God's promises tend to evoke excitement in the moment, but excitement isn’t faith. Faith is proven over time because time reveals the measure of our faith in the One who promises.

Abraham and Sarah longed for that promise, as they should. We should rejoice in the promises of God. Yet, time tested their trust in Him, and it wasn’t always pretty. After a decade of waiting, they decided to rush ahead of God to fulfill the promise themselves. So, Abraham slept with his maidservant, and the child born became the head of a people who are in conflict with Israel to this very day. The cost of Abraham running ahead of God still points people away from Jesus.

But God showed them incredible mercy in the midst of their doubt, and His mercy reveals His glory. In Genesis 18, Sarah laughs when God declares He is about to fulfill His promise—she’s an old woman now. But by Genesis 21, Sarah laughs in delight at God’s goodness and provision. Sarah’s trials, heartbreaks, and hidden griefs all served to open her eyes to the source of real hope and to create in her a faith that produced strength to be faithful.

Their failure didn’t forsake His promise, and He didn’t forsake them. It would take 90 years, but God kept His promise. Sarah remained faithful, not because of what she could accomplish, but because she considered Him faithful who had promised.

And she did this, without having seen that which we have.

[13] These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. [14] For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. [15] If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. [16] But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

God promised Abraham and Sarah the gospel, that He would send a Redeemer to restore His people through their line. They didn’t receive this promise, they saw it in the mercy of God, and greeted it from afar.

They often thought about His promise, and they longed for it, and they embraced it and found hope in it because they trusted the one who assured it.

People who live lives of faith, who do bold things because God tells them to, these people all have one thing in common. They are people who are eagerly, and expectingly, awaiting a better country. In other words, when we consider God’s faithfulness in all that He has done, we find hope in the midst of all that is broken here.

This world, does not reflect our ultimate reality, and that statement, is absolutely crazy apart from Christ. This world, is but a sliver of that which God has created, He is the Lord of the earth, and of the unseen realms. This place, and it’s curse, are temporary, and because of the gospel promise fulfilled, we belong to a better country, and WE KNOW IT! But we need power to believe it, we need assurance, and we too find that in the gaze of the One who assures.

The point here is that Sarah found that assurance having not seen nearly what we have seen. She knew of God’s faithfulness, but not His triumph over sin and death, she knew nothing of the glory of Christ and His death and resurrection. So as faithful as she was, how much more faithful should we be, for we have seen the fulfilment of the promise that was made to her.

Abraham and Sarah could have turned back anytime they wanted, and the truth is…you can do the same. All throughout Hebrews there are warnings of those who seek the Lord but then choose to reject Him, they are those who catch a glimpse of the glory before them, and they choose to return to the safety of the world…they choose to make this place their home, because time proves they don’t trust the One has promised a better one.

But if you have seen the glory of Christ, if you have received His mercy, have had your heart healed through His power…then you will never turn back…you will endure! Because the regenerate heart can only be satisfied in a better country, a promised land that God has prepared and promised for His beloved.

[17] By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, [18] of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” [19] He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

So Sarah and Abraham receive this promised son, and then at the request of the Lord, they offer this son of promise back to God. Abraham was willing to be perfectly and completely obedient to the Father, because He too knew Him, and thus…by faith, He trusted His promise.

I want you to understand the point of God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on the mountain. This was not a “loyalty test”…God isn’t a mob boss. The point wasn’t ultimately whether or not Abraham would sacrifice his son…the point was to test whether or not Abraham, and also Isaac, still believed in God’s promise. (Genesis 22 tells us Issac carried the wood up the hill, he wasn’t a young boy, he could have resisted his ancient father, but God was testing him as well).

You see, God already promised Abraham that his descendants would come from Isaac. So the real test was…do you still believe I will do what I said? Do you believe that I can accomplish my purpose despite the circumstances (as I did with a barren old woman)?

The answer from Abraham was a resounding YES! In Abraham’s mind, his son was going to die on the alter, but Abraham knew God was fully capable of bringing him back to life, and that he would, because of the promise He had made!

Abraham didn’t see this as the end of his son, because He knew God and he knew His promises were true. He knew that whatever he might lose, whatever damage might be done…God would undo it one day, in His timing.

Do you believe this? When you read of the country of heaven…the promise that God will one day restore all things and reunite us to Himself, do you believe that?

The other reason God asked this of Abraham and Isaac, was to demonstrate the means through which He would save His people. The Lord rescued Isaac, bringing him back from death figuratively, by providing a lamb. That lamb, provided by Christ, testified of the great lamb that would come to take our place. You and I had a destiny that would end on the mountain, and the Lord provided His own Son, the better Isaac, to take our place. So that we might join Him as citizens of a better country.

Christian, what lies do you believe that keep you from fully trusting God…what is preventing faith?

To do anything for God, to have any joy in this world, is to do so by faith. However, faith is learned…often the most faithful are those who have failed over and over again. Yet, these stories remind us that our race is not over because our faith has faltered. God continually invites us to repent and to turn back to the country of life.

God teaches His people faith through grace, drawing us back to Himself over and over again, despite our failures, because He has promised not to forsake us.

Consider these examples from each generation, let’s start with the rescued boy from the mountain:

[20] By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

Isaac was the son through whom God would fulfill His promise to Abraham and Sarah, but the building of the nation would ultimately take place through Isaac's sons, Jacob and Esau. Isaac passed the promises he had received from his father to his sons (Genesis 27:27-29, 39-40), the promise that Abraham’s heir would have descendants as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:1-6; Galatians 3:29). Isaac looked to the future and believed that God would fulfill His covenant promise to Abraham.

Similarly, Jacob trusted God to keep His promise.

[21] By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.

As he neared death, Jacob blessed his sons and anticipated what God would do in the future (Genesis 48:1-22). His faith was oriented towards the future and firmly fixed on God’s faithfulness.

And like his father and great grandfather, this faith was learned through both triumph and trial.

Notice that Jacob had to lean on the top of his staff. This is because God had intentionally given him a limp many years before when he straight up tried to fight God (can you relate to that? Men’s Night).

As he leaned on his staff he remembered that God was great and held his future and the future of his descendants, and from that posture of learned faith, he worshiped, demonstrating his faith and dependence on God.

Friend, don’t overlook the blessing of your limp. Like Jacob, your limp feels like an inconvenience, it feels like abandonment, but one day you will know it as grace, whether on this side of eternity of the next. Our limps serve to remind us of who we are, they remind us that we are not saviors, but are those dependent on a Savior. This is the posture that positions us to long for Him, to long for God’s promise to be fulfilled at His return, to live as a people who leave behind a legacy of trusting in the Promise!

Consider this kind of legacy in the death of Joseph:

[22] By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

When Joseph died he was never buried. His coffin laid above ground for roughly 400 years until it was taken back to Canaan. When God gave Joseph these instructions, they probably seemed strange, but his bones served for all those years to remind Israel that they were going back to the Promised Land, just as God had said. Joseph wouldn’t live to see this promise fulfilled, but he died believing it, and his life testified of it long after he was gone.

And as a result, every time a young child asked their mother about the strange coffin that wasn’t buried…they got to hear that Joseph didn’t want to be buried in Egypt, he wanted to wait and be buried in the land of promise, and that one day God would lead them to that promised land, because He keeps His promises.

By faith, the bones of Jospeh continued to testify of God’s greatness to a weary people long after he died.

[23] By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

[24] By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, [25] choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. [26] He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

By faith, Moses looked out upon the promise of God, and instead of embracing power and influence in the world (and all the comforts they brought) He chose to give his life to the people of God. He perceived that suffering in the Messiah’s camp was far greater than boasting in Egypt’s wealth.

How could he have such faith? Because He believed the promises of God, and He knew that God would rescue His people.

Temporarily from Egypt…and permanently from Sin.

27] By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

[28] By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

[29] By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.

By faith he defied an angry king.

By faith he called God’s people to depend on the blood of Passover.

By faith he led people into the midst of certain death. Like Abraham on the mountain, death seemed inevitable, yet somehow he knew death would not win. Not because he could see the solution, but because he trusted the One who made the promise.

30] By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

At Jericho, there was no turning back, they had already crossed the river Jordan at flood stage, so retreat was not an option. For six days they marched around the city (which was a weird tactic) and nothing happened….until on day 7 it did. They marched, because they considered Him faithful.

[31] By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Rahab was willing to turn her back on the false God’s of Canan, one of the evil counterfeit gods the world created, by harboring two spies sent by the Lord (remarkable story in Joshua 2).

Now, Rahab was not a perfect women, she didn’t lead the women’s bible study at church, and though many bashful and legalistic teachers have done a lot of language gymnastics over the years to try to portray Rahab as something other than what she was, scripture is clear…she was a Prostitute.

Her faith was certainly not a perfect one, she was not living in accordance with God’s law. Yet, when she heard the truth of what God had done in rescuing His people at the red sea, her response was FAITH, her heart changed, she trusted the God of promise, and in Joshua 2:11 she describes this change beautifully:

[11] And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.

Rahab lived a disobedient life in the midst of disobedient people…until she heard the good news of what God had done to rescue His people.

In this good news, she saw the glory of God, and her life would never be the same.

Closing

As we close this morning, let me read the remaining verses of Hebrews 11:32–39

[32] And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—[33] who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, [34] quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. [35] Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. [36] Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. [37] They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—[38] of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

39] And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, [40] since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

I want you to feel those last two verses Christian (let’s read them again).

Even though all of those people lived out their faith in AMAZING ways…not one of them got to witness that which we have seen.

They believed a Redeemer would come, but we live knowing He came!

Thus, how much more are we justified in trusting God’s promises than they!

Abraham laid his son on the alter,

Moses led people to a dead end with an army behind him,

Rahab risked execution and,

All of this without having seen the glory of the Cross, without having known the gifts of God’s spirit residing within.

Friend, you’ve been given everything in Jesus Christ. You have witnessed the glorious promise of God fulfilled. How much more opportunity do you have to live out a bold, unfaltering faith, as one who lives in the midst of the empty tomb. DO NOT BE AFRAID!

In Christ, you have seen the ultimate glory of the One who is faithful to do what He says, and so, I want to leave you this morning with some of His promises for you!

(Posture yourself to receive these…which do you need to believe fully today?)

He has Promised Eternal Life:

1 John 2:25: "And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life."

He has Promised the Holy Spirit:

Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

He has Promised you Peace:

John 14:27: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."

He Promises you Rest:

Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

He Promises you His Presence:

Matthew 28:20: "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

He Promises you Wisdom:

James 1:5: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."

He Promises you Victory over Sin:

1 Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

He Promises Provision:

Philippians 4:19: "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

He Promises you Unfailing Love:

Romans 8:38-39: "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

He Promises to Comfort you:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

He Promises that He is Coming For You!

John 14:3: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also."

Pray - ask God for help to believe

Communion - none of these had this gift