Faith in the Promises of God

Introduction

How many of you all are directionally challenged? Some of you are not this way because I’ve heard the way that you talk with one another and how you give instructions on how to travel to to a specific destination. Many of you are familiar with places that would never show up on a map and you’re able to help people get to places out in the middle of nowhere. With that in mind, some of you all know how to get to a barn off the beaten path but y’all have no idea how to get to Chic-Fil-A on Glenstone in Springfield. As good as you know your way around Conway, you don’t know your way around Springfield just like someone who knows their way around Springfield would have no idea how to get to a farm in Morgan, Missouri. We have places that we are comfortable with and places that we travel to frequently.

They say that home is where the heart is and for many of you all your home is where you have deep family ties. This is a great thing! It’s interesting to look at how many people never leave their hometown. According to a study by Pew Research, nearly 40% of people never leave their hometown. They stay and live in the place where they grew up. I know some friends who fit this description to a tee and have never even left the state of Missouri their entire lives! I know friends who have moved away to other states and live many hours away from home. To some people this is sad but to others it’s simply a reality of life. Think of some of the missionaries that we know from church and from the history books. Aren’t you thankful that they were obedient to go where God was calling them to go and that they didn’t throw a fit and stay in their hometown? It would’ve been much easier for them to stay home where they were comfortable and near family, but God was calling them to go somewhere else and share the Gospel.

Can you think of a story in Scripture similar to this theme? In the book of Genesis we learn of a couple, Abram and Sarai who we know better as Abraham and Sarah. These people lived in what we know to be called Mesopotamia of the fertile crescent, southeast of what would later be known as Babylon in present day Iran near the Persian Gulf. There was civilization here. He had family there. There was safety in Ur - but God called him to move. As we will look at this morning in Hebrews 11, Abraham believed in the promises of God and responded to this call with faith. Even though this required him to leave behind everything in his past, he trusted in the plan of God. What would you do in such a situation? Would you be willing to go or would you stay where things are safe and comfortable? I pray that we would be convicted today to have faith in the promises of God and go wherever He calls us to go.

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.

Biblical Faith follows God (8-10)

Last week we looked at how Abel, Enoch and Noah had faith in God and lived out that faith. Our passage today looks specifically at Abraham and we initially see that Abraham obeyed God’s call. We see in verse 8 that Abraham was called by God and obeyed. Parents, aren’t you thankful whenever your child obeys the first time? First time obedience is a foreign concept to many students nowadays. In fact for many students you have to say something several times for a simple response. What we see in this opening verse is that Abraham was called by God and obeyed. Unlike the child who has to ask the “why” question a million times, Abraham was told to leave his homeland and go… Abraham didn’t even know where he was supposed to go but he left and followed God because of his faith in Him. To us this seems like incredible faith, doesn’t it? How on earth could he do this? We can’t even think about leaving home and traveling to another state like North Carolina in an air conditioned car. Abraham, though, had to travel from Mesopotamia to Canaan and this would have been a very dangerous journey because there would have been thieves along the way. See, the fact that Abraham followed God to a land that he had no idea about was a remarkable act of trust in God - to quote FF Bruce, “Faith and obedience are inseparable in one’s relation to God.” We are called to have faith in God and part of having true, Biblical faith means that we will obey what God calls us to do. It requires us to follow God!

In our world whenever we don’t know how to get somewhere, we can get stressed or at the very least we want to know the details and where to turn. Sometimes in life, though, we’re not given that much information. We are given the next step. We are given a simple call and we are responsible to obey and follow God’s call. Abraham would end up traveling over 400 miles to the West towards Canaan. Do you think that he would have signed up for this if God gave him every detail of the story? Maybe, but also maybe not. See, God gives us exactly what we need to know, nothing more and nothing less. He was called and he obeyed - we must do the same and follow God wherever He commands us to go regardless of what that looks like. He gives us 1 step at a time and we obey and we wait for the next step.

Not only did Abraham obey God’s call and go to Canaan, but he also lived as a foreigner while looking forward to the city of God. What do verses 9 and 10 mean exactly? God made a promise with Abraham that his descendants would be a great and mighty nation, but how did Abraham live? He lived as a foreigner in Canaan. He was the outcast. He was a nomad of sorts and Isaac and Jacob would be as well, yet they were coheirs of the same promise that their line would be a great and mighty nation.

Sometimes we will feel weird and we will look odd to other people because of our faith in God. Even if things don’t work out and go our way, we remain faithful because we are heirs of the promise of God - this requires a great deal of patience which is something that our world is lacking today. Yet, we see here in verse 10 that Abraham was patient and looking forward to the city of God.

This was a person who left behind a very populated area with towns and villages to go to a place that was significantly less populated. He was not looking for the bright lights of New York City, he was looking for a city with eternal foundations. He kept his eyes fixed on his eternal home. One commentator put it like this regarding Abraham’s perspective: “Abraham was faithful in the present because of his confidence in what God would do in the future.” The world around us and the towns and cities within it promise happiness and satisfaction, but we know tat they are fleeting. The best this world has to offer will never satisfy this and Abraham recognized this and instead lived with this expectation for his eternal home because he knew, just as we know, that the joys of heaven will always satisfy and will never pass away. If we live our earthly lives with the expectation that heaven awaits us then we will live and suffer for Christ here and now because we know that we have it made. We have faith and follow God wherever He calls us because we know that His plan for our lives is infinitely greater than our very best plan for ourselves.

Where will you go and who will you trust in today? Will you stay where you’re comfortable and trust solely in yourself or will you trust in Christ and go wherever He commands you to go? We place our hope in the city of God and in our ultimate hope - heaven.

Biblical Faith trusts in God even when things seem impossible (11-12)

Think about something that you believe to be impossible. Whether it be flying, having super strength or being able to turn invisible we know that there are some things that are simply impossible right now regardless of how hard we try or quote Philippians 4:13! There are some circumstances that seem to be impossible too. Perhaps someone with terminal stage 4 cancer would say that it’s impossible for them to be healed. Someone with a lot on their plate might say that it’s impossible for them to get everything done. In verses 11-12 we see an example of someone trusting in God even in an impossible situation. If you’re familiar with Genesis 15, you know the background of Sarah and Abraham. God promises to make Abraham into a great and mighty nation of which his descendants would be more numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand along the seashore. This is a great promise… Except for the fact that Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 90 and they didn’t have a kid. Do you see the issue with this situation?

As Christians we believe that life is sacred and that babies are a gift from God. We disagree with those who say that life is an accident because we believe that God has a plan for each person’s life. What we see in verse 11 is that this 90 year old woman had faith, even when she was unable to have children. I know that some of you all are in to some of the naturalistic methods of things… Nothing you do at 90 years old will allow you to get pregnant on your own. This is a miracle from God.

Think about how Abraham and Sarah handled the news that he would be the father to a great nation. They took matters into their own hands and Abraham fathered Ishmael with one of Sarah’s slaves. We see the complications that can arise whenever we take things into our own hands instead of trusting in God.

Think about a time in life where you knew what you were supposed to do and instead of trusting in God’s timing, you took things into your own hands. Friends, we must be people of faith just as Abraham and Sarah - see, even though they messed up, they still had faith that God would bring about a son to them. Even faith that is wavering can qualify as faithful - you don’t have to be this super Christian, you are simply called to be faithful and obey God.

How could they trust in this promise, though? Genesis 17:17 tells us that

Genesis 17:17 CSB

17 Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?”

They knew what the answer to this dilemma was based upon their human understanding. It was impossible. How can a 90 year old woman give birth? Yet, with God, even the impossible become possible. We trust in God’s sovereign plan just as Sarah considered the one who had promised was faithful. God is faithful, friends. Biblical faith looks like a 100 year old man and a 90 year old woman believing that God will fulfill His promise, even when doing so seems impossible based upon human understanding.

Biblical Faith looks ahead, not behind (13-16)

Not only does Biblical Faith trust in God, Biblical Faith presses on towards what is ahead rather than looking around at our current feelings and situations. What we see in verse 13 is that all of these people mentioned thus far died in faith. We know what it means to live by faith and let faith dictate our thoughts and actions, but what does it mean to die by faith? Think about that for a moment - you believe with every fiber in your being that God is for you and that He has a plan for you and that He is going to provide you with rest and make you into a great and mighty nation. This is great news and you live this out during your life, but what about on your death bed? What if you get to the end of your life and you look around and the promises of God haven’t come true yet… What will you do? Will you trust that God will fulfill His promises and die in faith or will you turn your back on God? To quote a former professor, “God makes promises and He expects us to trust Him even if those promises don’t come true in our lifetime.” That is the essence of true faith!

May we be people who know that God is faithful and never stop trusting in Him, even when it takes a long time for those plans to come true and even if we don’t see the breakthrough or the healing that we want.

Sometimes it is hard to look ahead when we’re stuck in neutral. Whenever you’re stuck and there are many things going on in your life it can be hard to see the bigger picture. In a year marked by changes in so many areas, will you allow circumstances to distract you to look around or even backwards instead of looking forward as we are called to do as Christians? I’m reminded of the quote by Billy Graham, “My home is in heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.” Is this true of you? Are you so wrapped up with all the things going on in our world and in our country or are you far more concerned with our heavenly home and the things that have eternal significance? Abraham and his descendents desired a heavenly home and they recognized that they were merely temporary residents on the earth. Think of what would change in our world if we, the church, would live with that mindset! What if we acted in such a way that everything was done to bring glory and honor to God rather than simply making it by day to day or hoping that our lives are more comfortable in our 1st world country. Don’t look around or behind, look ahead to our everlasting home - especially in the days that we are living in today.

This doesn’t mean that you don’t care about our country or what’s going on around you, it simply means that you care far more about pleasing your heavenly Father and living for Him than you do this world and those around you.

Biblical Faith passes the test (17-19)

On that same note, some Christians hold to the idea that every test comes from the devil. God would never test His children because He makes our lives easier. Truly, some people believe this! What does the Bible share with us? Look with me in James 1

James 1:2–3 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Having our faith tested isn’t a bad thing, rather it’s a very good thing as it serves as an evaluation time for us to see where we stand and where we need to grow. What types of tests do we think of often times? Maybe for you a test is simply being patient with your family in the morning! Perhaps for you a test is how you will react whenever someone wrongs you and you have the opportunity to either share the love of Jesus with them or chew them out! Some tests are more intense than others but in general our tests are somewhere in that realm more times than not. The test that we see in verses 17-19 is one of the hardest tests imaginable as Abraham is instructed to offer his son, Isaac, as an offering to God. Can you even think of what you would do in such a situation? You’ve waited 100 years to finally have a son and God calls you to sacrifice him. Genesis 22 is one of the most important chapters in all of Scripture as we see this situation play itself out. What is interesting to note is that other ancient cultures and religions practiced child sacrifice frequently whereas Judaism is unique in that region in not offering such sacrifices as life is sacred and a gift from God.

It is interesting to see how Abraham responded to God’s calling here. Look in Genesis 22

Genesis 22:5 CSB

5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.”

Abraham obeys God’s call and goes with Isaac to the offering location but tells his servant that he and the boy will return. Even though he was going to sacrifice his son, Abraham believed somehow that Isaac was coming down that mountain with him - that is the type of faith that Abraham had in Almighty God.

A couple of observations from these 3 verses. In verse 17 we see that Abraham was tested. Tested by who? God! What was the test? To offer his one and only son. Can you think of another place in Scripture where we hear “one and only Son?”

John 3:16 CSB

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

“One and only Son” in the Greek is the word “Monogenes” - Isaac was Abraham’s one and only son and maybe we’re a little confused about that because he had another son but Isaac was the one through whom the lineage of Israel would come from. He was unique and special in that regard as verse 18 tells us. So, how did Abraham pass this test? Because of verse 19 - Abraham trusted and had faith in God that allowed him to go through with this. Either God would provide another way or God would bring Isaac back to life. Obviously this was 2,000 years before Jesus Christ so it’s not like Abraham would have been a witness or had heard of that - yet, He had faith that God could do anything, even raise someone back from the dead.

Do you see some of the parallels between Isaac and Jesus in this passage? Look in Genesis 22:6

Genesis 22:6 ESV

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.

Isaac had to carry the wood for the offering to the mountain - Christ had to carry His cross to Golgotha. Both are crucial in the history books as Jews trace their genealogy to Isaac and Christians trace our hope back to Jesus.

Isaac serves as a type or prefigure of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Abraham considered God to be able even to raise someone back from the dead, therefore, he received him back - Abraham counted Isaac as good as dead but he had faith that Isaac was walking back down that mountain with him. That is the type of faith that Abraham possessed and that was the type of faith that pleases God - a faith that trusts in Him even when things seem impossible, a faith that passes even the hardest of tests, a faith that puts Him above all else.

Do you possess such a faith?

Would you be willing to do what Abraham did? Would you go into this situation with the faith that Abraham had that your child would die and come back to life? My goodness! What a faith!

Conclusion

Often times whenever we are in a test of sorts, we shrink back and we might be tempted to throw a pity party. We might be tempted to think that what we are facing is impossible to be overcome. We might be tempted to think that God doesn’t even care. Friend, when you are in the middle of the trial, storm or test, remember that Biblical faith doesn’t focus primarily on our circumstances and how bad things look, Biblical faith looks at our God and how big He is. Look to Him today and trust in His promises.

Think about the life of Abraham and the faith that he had in God. He left his home. He left everything that he knew including his family and his comfort zone. He journeyed over 400 miles to the west across a dangerous desert. He lived as a foreigner. He fell short and wavered in his faith many times, but he trusted in God’s plan. After his son finally was born, he was obedient to sacrifice him if that was what God truly wanted. This man had incredible faith in God and his faith led to action and obedience. Are you obeying God’s Word today? You’ll never go into the history books as the father of a great nation like Abraham. You’ll never heard God’s voice like Abraham did. Yet, we have the same call as Abraham did - to have faith in God’s promises, even when it’s hard.

What is God calling you to do today? Perhaps it’s talk to someone about the Gospel. Perhaps it’s praying for someone. Perhaps it’s doing something nice for a family member or friend. Whatever that is, however big or small, will you respond with faith and action or will you put it off and hope that someone else will do the job?

As one Christian songwriter put it, “It’s not enough to do nothing, it’s time for us to do something.”

Trust in God and live for Him just as these individuals did thousands of years ago so that you too can pass the test.