Abraham--The Journey of Faith

ABRAHAM-THE JOURNEY OF FAITH Spring Valley Mennonite; March 22, 2020; Hebrews 11:8-19 When I began preparing this sermon, whether we would meet at the church building was undecided, but as the number of the corona virus have increased in Kansas, we made the decision to suspend services. While the danger of spreading infection would be low among our congregation, many of us fall into the “at risk” category of “over 60”. It would be a poor witness to our community if we inadvertently contributed to spreading contamination. I miss getting together, but hopefully you are listening to this sermon on Sunday morning and we can join together in spirit. I urge you to pray for one another and pray for those undergoing severe hardship as they have lost their income. In the face of this crisis, we must make prudent decisions, but we must not panic or give way to anxiety. We must continue to “be the church” and demonstrate faith and trust in our God Who remains firmly in control. We must pray that God will bring glory to Himself and that people will turn to Him for salvation and comfort. I would like to propose that Isaiah 41:10 would be our shared verse during these days: “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” We know that we can cast our cares upon Him, for He cares for us. We are continuing our study this morning in Hebrews 11, a most encouraging chapter on faith. One way to look at this chapter is to see it as “Faith in Action.” The people presented are, not only believing God, but are doing something. Their faith has “feet.” Faith is a confidence, assurance, and conviction which leads to action. These examples of faith fall in line with what we find in the New Testament book of James that faith necessarily produces works or action. Faith which remains a mental exercise alone, without motivating us to action, is not true faith. Today we will concentrate primarily on Abraham and his walk of faith, but before the author turns to Abraham, he speaks of the faith of Noah. Read v. 7. Noah lived in the most challenging of times. He alone, out of the multitude of humanity, found favor with God. God gave Noah the unique privilege of restarting the human race. The flood gave humanity a “reboot.” Everyone except Noah and his family would die, and the rampant wickedness of society would be cleansed. Consider that Noah believed God when He commissioned the building of the Ark and continued to believe during the more than 100 years it took to build. Speak about the perseverance of his faith! Think of the mocking of the people he endured and the opposition to his task. He was building a huge boat on dry land, we assume the building site was nowhere near any body of water, and many believe that rain was unknown. Noah also preached for 120 years with never seeing any results, but he continued calling the people to repentance. He did this out of reverential fear of God. The Ark was clearly a type of Christ as our sole source of salvation. Those outside the Ark, like those outside faith in Christ, perished. There was only one Ark; there is only salvation in Christ. Now we will turn our attention to Abraham. Read vv. 8-10. In these verses we see: I. FAITH IN ACTION: OBEDIENCE TO THE CALL OF GOD Abraham was part of a pagan culture where YHWH was unknown. Ur of the Chaldeans was a sophisticated, wealthy and populous area, the site is within present day Iraq. There is no indication that Abraham was any different or morally superior than any of his contemporaries. God simply chose him. But when God spoke to Abraham, he listened and then obeyed. Imagine your life being interrupted by the sudden and glorious appearance of a being Who told Abraham to leave his home in Ur and set out to an unknown destination. It as if God told him, “Pack up and leave your home in this place, for I am going to change the world through your numerous descendants. I will bless you and protect you and make you a blessing to all people.” And Abraham obeyed, having no idea where he was going! Abraham was led to the land of Canaan, but he and his family never owned any land, leading the wandering and nomadic life of a shepherd, continuously moving to find grazing for his flocks. God blessed him, but he never lived in a permanent house as he had in Ur, living instead in tents. His faith led to obedience to God’s leading. He responded to God’s call. Abraham had a heavenly perspective which caused him to focus on the future promise of a city, not like the city of Ur, but a city built by God. His faith would not allow him to settle for anything less. He set his sights on a city built on a solid foundation, a city designed and built by God. A question might be suggested: does God need a city in which to dwell? God doesn’t “need” anything; God is the self-existent One. The city is for us! This solid city was promised to Abraham and those who are of the faith of Abraham—those who respond to God’s call and believe His promise of eternal life in an eternal dwelling. This will be a city unlike anything man can conceive, a city Ezekiel characterized simply as “The Lord is there.” Abraham’s example speaks to us who have responded to God’s call to leave the ways of this culture and world and focus on our heavenly inheritance. As Abraham was called to leave all and follow God’s leading wherever it might go, so in faith we follow Jesus. “Where He leads me, I will follow.” Read vv. 11-12. In these verses we learn of: II. THE PATIENCE FAITH REQUIRES As we continue to look at how Abraham lived by faith, we see how he had to be patient and wait for the promises of God to come true. From the beginning of his faith journey, God promised he would have many descendants. I am sure Abraham first thought that meant he would have a large family. But as the years passed, his wife Sarah had no children. Sarah grew impatient and encouraged Abraham to have a child with Hagar, her handmaiden. Ishmael was the son born of their impatience, who himself proved to be a trial to the family. Everyone knows of the continuing conflict between the descendants of Ishmael, who are the Arab nations, as they have continued for Millennia to be enemies of the Jews. Over 20 years passed after the promise was made to Abraham of a large family, and Sarah passed beyond the years of child-bearing. But God assured Abraham that He would keep His promise, and that Abraham and Sarah would have a child together. When Abraham was 100 years old, and Sarah 90, the miracle child Isaac was born. He was the child of the promise who was the reward of believing God. Read verse 11: “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper tine of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.” This seems to say that Sarah had faith, but a careful examination of the original text makes it plain that it was the faith of Abraham that enabled Sarah to conceive. We remember when the Angel said that within a year they would have a child, Sarah laughed at the very thought of it. The NIV version gives a better sense of this as is says, “By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered Him faithful who had made the promise.” It again was the faith of Abraham. When God fulfills a promise, it comes in His timing. He required Abraham to wait for 25 years for the fulfillment! Often, we pray for years for God to answer a prayer, but as we continue to pray, we are showing faith. William Carey labored for 35 years in India but saw few converts. While there, Carey translated the Bible into many Indian dialects enabling future missionaries a foundation on which to build. The success of Christianity in India is largely because William Carey did not “grow weary in well-doing” and lived by faith. His faith continues to bear fruit today. It was not in God’s timing for Carey to see the harvest from the seeds he planted, but those seeds germinated and bore fruit. As we wait upon the Lord, He rewards our faith whether we see it or not. Read vv. 13-16. Observe: III. FAITH IN ACTION: THE FOCUS OF FAITH The focus of faith, as verse 1 of this chapter tells us, is on things hoped for and things unseen. While we believe God for things we need in the present time, and for things which will bring God glory in our present world, the true focus of our faith is in the future Kingdom of God. As the Lord’s prayer begins, “Thy Kingdom Come…” God’s plan of redeeming mankind and the earth will have a completion point in the future. History as we know it will come to an end and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. The Lord Jesus will reign over all the earth. The faithful ones of old died without seeing that future Kingdom. Unless the Lord returns all of us will die before the Kingdom of Christ is established on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, not of this world; we are to live as strangers and exiles on the earth, as did Abraham. We seek a heavenly country, far better than anything the earth can offer. As Abraham lived as a temporary resident of Canaan, never putting down roots and living in tents, never desiring to return to the land of the Chaldeans, so we should not grow too firmly attached to this world. God is pleased when we live in such a way that demonstrates that our true home is heaven. He has prepared a permanent place for us. We should not be terribly shaken when things around us change. Read vv. 17-19. IV. FAITH IN ACTION: THE TEST OF FAITH Abraham’s faith was severely tested when he was told to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Isaac was the son of the promise, the fulfillment of 25 years of waiting. But instead of questioning God, Abraham obeyed. He loaded the donkey with wood, took fire and set out for Mt. Moriah, the place God had designated. Moriah was the area which later became the site of Jerusalem, perhaps the very mount on which Solomon later built the Temple. Abraham’s faith was based on God’s promises. He believed that if Isaac was slaughtered as a sacrifice, God would bring him back to life. When Abraham and Isaac reached the place of sacrifice, he told his servants, “Stay here with the donkey and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship and return to you.” The proof of our faith will be affirmed and rewarded when God asks us to sacrifice something and we submit to his will. God taught me this lesson as I was finishing up my undergraduate degree. He was calling me to something infinitely more rewarding than I could imagine. As I was finishing my senior year of the University of Missouri, about to graduate with a degree in Forestry, God was leading me to change my life dream of working in the woods and being in a place where I could hunt and fish for the rest of my life. In my last one and a half years, God had dramatically changed the direction of my life. Through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, I had rededicated my life to the Lord Jesus. I had seen God use me to lead others to Christ and be involved in discipling them in their faith. The challenge God presented to me was to put my forestry training behind me and join the staff of CRU, as the organization is known now. That decision was very difficult and was a true struggle for me. I fought it for many long months, but finally yielded to God’s call. I passed that initial test and did join the staff of CRU. The tests have continued throughout my life, but God has demonstrated His faithfulness at meeting every need of me and my family. I can testify that God knows best, for He made me and knows what will best use the talents and gifts and abilities He has given. There is great reward when we yield to God’s call to sacrifice, for as we come through the test, we find that what we held so dear was holding us back from God’s best. The faith of each one of us will continually be tested. Will we continue to believe that God knows best and that we can trust Him? This week has been difficult for each of us as we face the uncertainty created by the corona virus. Our lives have been put on hold as we have curtailed our regular activities and have been practicing “social distancing.” Some listening to this sermon might have been laid off, or our hours of work limited. Our income may have been reduced. Schools and Colleges have been closed to regular classes and schooling at home is now required. Many businesses we frequent have closed. Stress over whether future activities will even be allowed is growing. The future is unknown. But my friends, these things are God’s test of our faith. We need to keep our focus on the future and on the character of God. As people of faith, we will weather this storm. The life of faith demonstrated by Abraham certainly had its “ups and downs”; Abraham wasn’t a perfect man, but God used him mightily as the Father of those who walk by faith. We are in a period of time requiring us to trust God and to walk by faith, not by sight.