Hebrews 11:8-10

We’re going to see three actions from Abraham’s faith.

Abraham stepped into an unknown promise.

Hebrews 11:8–10 ESV

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

When I was growing up, my parents enjoyed going to Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. We would load up the station wagon and head to the zoo. My dad would drive and my mom was the navigator. Literally, she had this huge map spread out over her lap in the passenger seat. I remember times my parents knew exactly where they were. I remember clearly the times when my parents didn’t know where they were. In some of the situations, all the maps available would not have gotten us out of areas of Chicago that we ended up in.

If we took a trip to Brookfield Zoo today, I would type the location into apple maps and it tell me where to go. We would know exactly where to turn. We would know if there was too much traffic. We would know if there was a faster route. We would see signs that helped us along our way. We would even see signs for the zoo telling us that we were getting close.

Abraham and Sarah were on a trip full of promise but with an unknown destination. How would they know if they were approaching a camel jam? Where were the rest areas? Was McDonalds around the next corner? How would they answer Lot’s question: “Are we there yet?” Fortunately for them, the Lord was their navigator. Let’s look at Genesis 12.

Genesis 12:1–9 ESV

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Try to picture this. Abraham and Sarah packed up everything they owned, gathered all the people in their family (including hired servants), made sure the cooler was ready and they started on a journey.

PUT UP THE MAP

Look how far they travelled. They ended up close to Beer-Sheba, a place of spiritual significance throughout the Old Testament. Now, look at verse 7. The Lord didn’t reveal the promise until Abraham and Sarah arrived at the Lord’s destination. I think it’s important to our spiritual growth that we don’t look for the promise without the hard work and endurance of the journey. What happened next? Look at verse 8. He set up his tent, but he built an altar. His residency was temporary, but his worship was permanent. His circumstances could change, but his commitment to the Lord would not.

We don’t know the extent of his belief when he packed up his family and left. Maybe we assume he was a superstar for Jesus because he was Abraham. Joshua 24:2 says, “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.”

Abraham didn’t grow up in a Christian home. God chose Abraham because God chose Abraham. One commentator said, “God cannot lead us into new ways of living until he leads us out of the old ways.” Sometimes, we need to step into an unknown promise so we can firm up our faith in the Lord.

Abraham believed that tomorrow’s blessings were better than yesterday’s comforts.

Hebrews 11:8–10 ESV

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

We read in Genesis 12 that Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran. Genesis 25 says, “the years of Abraham’s life were 175 years.” For the last 100 years of his life, he lived knowing the promise was coming, but never received the promise. Isaac didn’t receive it. Jacob didn’t receive the promise. Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River 468 years later.

PUT UP THE TIMELINE

In order for Abraham to believe tomorrow’s promises are better than yesterday’s comforts, he had to keep his eyes on the promise. He had to trust the promise. Abraham lived in tents as somebody who was not planting roots and sticking around. The only property he owned, that we know of, was the tomb for Sarah. But, he never lost sight of the promise. He never stopped believing the promise. He remained patient with the promise fragments the Lord chose to hand him. For Abraham, the full promise could have been delivered tomorrow. Abraham believed that living in a blessed portion of God’s promise was far greater than living in the unfruitful permanency of his old life.

Abraham anticipated a stability built by the Lord.

Hebrews 11:8–10 ESV

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Years ago, I called into a radio station for their weekly trivia question and I won a family photo session. We lived in Indiana and the radio station was in West Michigan. By the time I was able to receive the prize, it was no longer valid. It had expired. I was pretty disappointed because we missed out on something that could have been special for our family.

The promised inheritance never expired for Abraham and it will never expire for us. The promise might look different for you and me. Abraham packed up his family and moved to a different part of the world. Verse 9 says that he lived in the land of promise as a foreigner because he knew there was more to the promise. Look at verse 10.

He was looking forward to the city. I feel Abraham’s longing. There are weeks in our life when Bridget asks me want I would like to do on Saturday. Sometimes, my response is “Can I have some sidewalks and skyscrapers this weekend?” In my life, there is an anticipation of the calmness that comes when I’m in suburban settings.

In the same way, Abraham looked forward to a city with walls. To live in a city with walls meant he was home. He no longer lived in a tent. For a person in the Old Testament, there was security inside those walls and inside a home. Living in a city with walls represented the good life.

Maybe you think that would be a horrible life. Maybe you think living in the middle of 10 ten acres with your own private lake and no neighbors would be the best place. Abraham wasn’t looking for the BEST location; he was looking for the BLESSED location. Look back at verse 10. Abraham wanted to be the place the Lord had designed. The Lord was the architect and the contractor. Abraham longed for the stability that came with the Lord designing his destination.

Abraham understood the blessed location was the best location for him and his family.

How many times do we get in the way of the Lord being the architect and the contractor?

Are there times in our life that we seek our own stability rather than the Lord’s stability? I believe micro-managing is a sin. I believe perfectionism is a sin. I believe self-dependence in a sin. Because, we will struggle to schedule time with the architect when we seek our own stability.