Faith That Steps Out (like Abraham and Sarah)
Pastor Chad A. Miller
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· 78 viewsWith little to go on except a word from God, Abraham (with Sarah) is one of the greatest examples of faith in the Bible. If Abraham lived by faith in the promises of God and in a coming Messiah, then the implication is that all Jews and Gentiles alike should do the same.
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REFLECTION: Romans 4:18-21
18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
SERMON TEXT: Hebrews 11:8-12
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.
11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.
12 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.
INTRO / TRANSITION
Some of us in this room will identify with Abraham this morning. We responded pretty quickly when the Lord began to deal with your soul. We tore out on a blaze of glory and you’ve rarely looked back.
Some of us, however, may identify with Sarah. Who was also commended for her faith and used mightily by God. We took awhile, we wondered if God could actually love or get pleasure from us! We tried to manipulate things in when they weren’t moving fast enough.
Series Catch up
- We are of the Faith!
- Now Faith Is...
- Faith Moves Us To Worship (like Noah)
- Walk By Faith (like Enoch)
- Faith That Believes/Works (like Noah)
- Faith That Steps Out (Like Abraham & Sarah)
BREAKDOWN OF TEXT
HE WAS CALLED
HE WAS CALLED
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.
We see faith and obedience intrinsically linked all throughout Hebrews 11.
He was called without much detail...
There is great faith here.
CONTRAST THAT WITH THE 21ST CENTURY WORKER: We demand to know all the nuances of details when “work” is involved.
Abraham said, “Here am I, send me.”
God said, “Go that way!”
It was turn-by-turn directions with no overview, no express lane, no ETA
He couldn’t go by feeling alone. He couldn’t go by council alone. He would have only had what was revealed to him verbally by God and others.
He had little detail - we have the complete, revealed, authoritative word of God!
We, on the other hand, know better where you’re going?
TO ALL NATIONS
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
TO ALL PEOPLE
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.”
AT ALL TIMES
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
2 For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
And even though this is prescriptive in Scripture, there are so many variables…so many unknowns. It takes FAITH in God, and FROM God to accomplish His work, His way!
HE WENT…By Faith
HE WENT…By Faith
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.
BY FAITH HE WENT even though he would never see that land...
away from a Pagan town of idols that he was steeped in deeply
a man of reputation in that very place too
Exalting Jesus in Hebrews The Hall of Faith 11:1-10
Abraham’s faith is seen in the fact that he left his home country of Haran in Mesopotamia in obedience to God, even though at the time he had no idea exactly where he was going. Of course, this may not strike us as a remarkable act of faith, but that simply proves how unfamiliar we are with the culture of the ancient Near East. The Mesopotamian world could be quite dangerous. Physical protection was often the result of being closely knit to one’s kin and community. Travel was particularly hazardous since it separated a person from his place of protection and exposed him to marauders and thieves. In this light, the fact that Abraham left Haran and traveled to a land that he did not know is indeed a remarkable act of trust in God.
BY FAITH HE LIVED his entire life as a foreigner in the land of Canaan - he was not a resident.
Yet he believed...
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
content of his faith - motivation for his obedience.
Exalting Jesus in Hebrews The Hall of Faith 11:1-10
The imagery of a “city” in contrast to Abraham’s nomadic experiences is quite powerful. Abraham lived in tents. Tents do not rest on “foundations.” Foundations imply permanence.
BY FAITH HE LOOKED FOR A HOLY CITY
Read Genesis 17.
The author of Hebrews sees a trajectory in this story.
Abraham was promised the land,
Moses led the people to it, and
Joshua took it.
David’s son Solomon then built God’s temple in the land.
The holiness of the temple, as well as the city and land in which it was built, are symbolic of God’s most holy place in heaven.
Hebrews 9:1–10:18 expounds upon this. According to the author of Hebrews, Abraham’s work was leading up to us entering God’s most holy place.
What beauty here. He isn’t looking for an earthly OR eternal solitude - it’s a city. A city is a city because people are there.
If you’ll allow me to state the obvious and move on - we’ll spend a few moments reflecting on Heaven next week.
Abraham was without the revealed Word of God like we have today, but what he had was enough to start him toward Heaven and keep him on the pathway!
The only thing between us and eternal separation from God and suffering is the blood of the old rugged cross.
THEY MULTIPLIED…by God’s power
THEY MULTIPLIED…by God’s power
11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.
12 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.
It’s not all about Abraham. Sarah, too received an incredible gift and learned to exercise her faith when God opened her womb to conceive at such a young age.
She was given the power to conceive by the Lord himself. We are reminded here that life is gift from the Lord. He is the author and the finisher of life itself.
Quick to respond?
Maybe you identify with Abraham - you’re ready to go! You believe God immediately and without delay you are ready to take on the world.
I’m confident though, that there are more of us that identify with Sarah than care to admit it. We struggle to believe what seems impossible...
What is that for you?
Could God actually love me? You don’t know what I’ve done…what I’m constantly struggling with…how easy it is for me to fail! God does. He knows all about it.
Could the LORD actually use me? He may love me, but I’m not much! WRONG: You are his craftsmanship / his masterpiece.
in 2004, Smokie Norful penned this Gospel song, I Understand
Sometimes I feel like giving up
It seems like my best just ain't good enough
Lord, if You hear me, I'm calling You
Do You see, do You care all about
What I'm goin' through?
And then He said, one more day
One more step
See, I'm preparing you for Myself
And when you can't hear My voice
Please, trust My plan
I'm the Lord, I see, and, yes, I understand
But sometimes I feel like I'm all alone
I'm just like a stranger so far from home
I feel like I've done all that I can do
Please, Lord, give me strength
I'm just tryin' to make it through
When God was moving too slow, Sarah acted. She got her handmaid involved because she wanted Abraham to have a son so badly, she was willing to take things into her own hands.
Be careful. Fixating on a promise might distract you from the person! Sometimes we can base our relationship with God, our temperature in the faith, on what we feel like God owes us. Whether its healing for us or for a loved one, provision, prosperity, ease and comfort, removing a difficult situation, relief from a burden - when this begins to consume your prayer and devotional life, watch out!
ONE OF THE KEY TRUTHS I WANT YOU TO REALIZE HERE IS THIS: When the team gets mentioned, multiplication starts happening.
Sarah focused on the way-maker, the promise-keeper, the light in the darkness…and life sprang forth!
Random thoughts for application:
God still speaks - He speaks authoritatively through the Bible!
You can always count on God to be faithful to His Word!
God still rewards those that diligently seek Him. With an intimate fellowship with the Creator; His Church; and His Commission. The fruit / reward now is souls for His kingdom.
You’re not too old (or been here too long) to step out!
As you see the new life in the church, the new families attending, new younger and older single women and men…all of you will be tempted to say, “good, I’m tapping out for a bit…I’m getting too old for this!” But we NEED you! Your church family NEEDS YOU!
Paul wrote to Titus about encouraging older and younger TOGETHER. ON-THE-JOB TRAINING, and discipling! (Titus 2)
Ladies, it’s time to host another luncheon to connect with one another. Talk about what’s been done…what is happening now…where there are opportunities to serve TOGETHER!
APPLICATION:
God has called each one of us today
We need to GO by faith!
We need to multiply…we need each other!
God has called each one of us today...
God has called each one of us today...
The call of Jesus and His disciples in Mark 8 reach through the annals of times to us this morning...
Called to stand before God...
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
Called to salvation...
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
37 For what can a man give in return for his soul?
Called to Follow Jesus’s work and way
19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Each of us needs to GO
Each of us needs to GO
Evidence that we are following Jesus is that He is making us into fishers of men!
Obedience is still required to put faith into action...
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
Like Abraham, we need to turn our back on the idols of this age. Embrace the dissonance that we will constantly experience in the clear and present darkness. And recognize that we are headed for a city...
This world is not my home
I’m just a passing through
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me
From heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home
In this world anymore
May I commend Kyle Idleman’s book, Gods At War to you to help keep you on guard and sensitive to just how easily those idols can creep in like a fog?
Each of us need to replicate / to multiply…TOGETHER
Each of us need to replicate / to multiply…TOGETHER
“Notice the third point…introduces the plural pronoun, “they””
I won’t speak to how this pronoun is being redefined in 2020 and wrecking simple journalism rules…I want to point to its settled, understood meaning - more than one.
God has not called YOU, individually to reach the whole world - how would you even do that?
No, Sarah is introduced for obvious reasons when it comes time to talk about the family growing.
We need each other to fulfill the great commission. That Great Commission and the Great Commandment were given to a group of listeners, not just one.
The best way to sense the Lord’s nearness is to BE ON MISSION.
The best way to do that is to do it TOGETHER.
Your love for Jesus and His Bride, the church…shows up as you prioritize gathering together with the body on Sundays.
It shows up as you recognize your need for more and our need for you and you plug in and gather with a smaller group of people regularly.
We can work together when everyone is generous with their time, the talent, and their treasures (faithfulness in your giving is also paramount to great commission work with our neighbors and the nations.)
Abraham and Sarah risked it all…but really, they were simply acknowledging the impossibility of God breaking His promise. Jesus has promised a fulfilled life when you are living for His purposes…will you step out?
What’s holding you back?
Who is holding you back?
I doubt your list or my list was longer than Abraham or Sarah’s.
God is calling you. It’s time to go! We’re in this together!