Obedience By Faith

Hurry up and wait! We experience this in so many facets of our life. Maybe it’s that a10 AM doctor’s appointment. You’re ushered into a little room and sit there for 45 minutes before someone comes in to see you. Or it’s heading to your work and you rush out the door just a bit behind schedule. You’re on your way and suddenly you see this long line of cars stopped on the roadway. Guess what? This is when that slow-moving freight train normally comes through town. And you sit there and wait. Or you’ve been shopping and you’ve conquered your list in record time. You head to the front to pay for your items. What? There’s only two people on register and 30 people waiting in line.

Waiting on God requires obedience by faith to what He’s told us to do in the meantime. If we keep busy doing what God wants us to do, then waiting becomes a whole lot easier. This is especially true when you are waiting on His promises, knowing that He has always stayed true to His promises and will continue to do so.

Today, as we walk through the Hall of Faith, we’ll learn about another flawed individual who lived out his faith in God by walking in obedience.

Entering A Journey By Faith - 11.8-10

God’s call upon Abraham’s life was the birth of the nation of Israel. Where the location was going to be was unknown to Abraham, but God knew. And Abraham obeyed by faith.

Hebrews 11:8–10 (NASB95)

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

We have no indication that Abraham was looking to travel. However, God had called him to leave where he was and go to . . . That’s right, God chose not to reveal where he was to go. Could it be that God is calling you to leave where you are or what you are doing, while not giving specific directions? It is entirely possible, though for many of us, it would be incredibly uncomfortable.

The phrase when he was called, could be more accurately translated when he was being called. This gives more of the idea of the immediacy of Abraham’s obedience. Interestingly, Abraham wasn’t raised in a godly home, nor does he even have a godly background. In fact, Joshua, in his farewell speech, referred to Abraham’s ancestry as having served other gods.

What an amazing picture of the incredible love God has in that he reaches down and rescues us from our old lives, if we will but let Him. Notice that God doesn’t expect us to stay in the old places to which we’re accustomed. He wants us to live a brand new life, as a result of being rescued and saved. We may not know all the details of our future, but God knows. Before I could accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, God enabled me to understand that I needed to be willing to leave my past and my previous love of the things of this world, and choose to live for Him where and how He wanted me to live. My heart could not stay where it had been, for it was about to experience a brand new set of desires and values.

But even with all the promises of God, the Christian journey is not simple and sometimes less than comfortable. We are reminded of this in verse 9, as we read that Abraham and those with him on this journey were dwelling in tents. And this continued on through his grandchildren.

Wait a second! You mean that there wasn’t a permanent home or at least a weather-proof house that Abraham got to experience? That’s correct. Even though, they did arrive in the land of Canaan, they couldn’t actually settle it. Now that’s what we would call patience; which can only happen because Abraham entered this journey by faith in God.

My friends, most all of us find that waiting on the Lord can be one of the most difficult times in our lives. Our faith often begins to waver and we feel as though we’ve got to do something. However, we must remember that God is faithful and will act according to His will and in His perfect time. All of us who are believers are waiting patiently for that day when the trumpet will sound and we will meet the Lord in the air, to live forever with Him. Many of you are waiting on God right now for a variety of things--a family member to come back to the Lord; a job that would hire you where you believe God has called you; a baby to be added to your family; a spouse to spend the rest of your life with; maybe even for people to understand that your singleness is right where God wants you; a health issue to be resolved; and the list can go on forever. Whatever your journey is, enter it by faith that God is navigating perfectly for you. It has been suggested that the hard part of this journey for Abraham was that he knew what God had promised, yet he never experienced the opportunity to possess it.

Experiencing a Birth By Faith - 11.11-12

Now, in order to build a nation, there needs to be people. And if they were going to be descendants of Abraham, there needed to be children. Again, Abraham had no idea how God would accomplish this, but God knew. And Abraham obeyed by faith.

Hebrews 11:11–12 (NASB95)

By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

Some have the idea that faith is passive. However, as we page through the Bible, we discover that true faith is extremely active. Humanly speaking, for Abraham and Sarah to have a baby seemed absolutely impossible. In fact, from a medical or biological perspective, with Sarah having been barren all those years, it was not even probable. Yet, when she was around 90 years of age, she conceived and delivered baby Isaac.

Sadly, Sarah didn’t seem like she had a very strong faith. In fact, she did what many do, in trying to accomplish God’s purposes using human means. In fact, by her impatience and lack of faith, Israel has been at odds with the offspring of her badly hatched idea, which resulted in Ishmael. So, based upon the wording of verse 11, we can recognize that the faith is not referring to Sarah’s faith, but to Abraham’s faith. The phrase is By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive . . . Abraham is the understood subject of this sentence, of which Sarah was associated, allowing her the blessing of being able to conceive.

It seems to me that one of the most obvious signs of not living by faith is when we try to accomplish things in our own strength and according to our own wisdom. That was what Sarah did as she attempted to rewrite God’s recipe for developing Abraham’s family into a great nation. Abraham went along with this, though it seems from reading the account that he was not exactly thrilled with the idea. Another sign is our impatience. Waiting upon the Lord for His perfect timing and His perfect ways is difficult to do, but always the right way to go.

Expecting a Better Country By Faith - 11.13-16

Abraham had heard God’s promises and commitment to Him for this glorious nation that was to be established. But he did not know when God would cause all this to take place; when would the promise be fulfilled? Yet God knew. And Abraham obeyed by faith.

Hebrews 11:13–16 (NASB95)

All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 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 a city for them.

A Scottish preacher stated, The important thing is not what we live in, but what we look for. When you read the Old Testament, we don’t really grasp the fact that none of the first three patriarchs ever was allowed to actually possess the Promised Land of Canaan. That’s right; not even Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, got to put down roots in Canaan. In fact, history shows us that it was nearly 500 years after the death of Jacob that the nation of Israel actually began to settle Canaan on a permanent basis. However, all of them lived in light of the fulfillment of God’s promises that would take place in the future.

My friends, what a challenge for each of us. That we would live a life of faith in such a way that we’re willing to completely and lovingly obey by faith, even if we don’t get to see the fulfillment of God’s promises while on this earth. Was living like this a negative thing in the Old Testament time? I don’t believe so, based on the sentence, All these died in faith, without receiving the promises. It is not a negative thing for us either.

Just like Abraham, we’re not privy to exact details and information on how and when everything is going to take place in our lives. But we have been given, just like Abraham, God’s promises. Should that not be enough for us to live in obedient faith? Just like in Abraham’s time, we’re given tidbits and samples of what things will be like. But our focus should not be on receiving the promises in our lifetime, but rather our future receiving of those promises. Like Abraham, we ought to desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.

How is this possible? Let’s go back to verse 13 and understand their mindset. Their focus was so heaven-minded that having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. They understood that this earth is not what it’s all about for our lives. This life we live here on earth is not designed only for our pleasure; rather, for us to impact as many people as possible for Jesus Christ. And our energy and focus needs to be, not on what we experience on this earth, but on the reality that one day we shall live forever in the presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

If our focus is on seeing our Redeemer in glory, then we look like the people that the author of Hebrews described in verse 16, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

Encountering a Predicament By Faith - 11.17-19

Abraham was able to see some of the beginnings of the promises come into place, with his son, Isaac. Now God wants Abraham to sacrifice his only son, that special gift, that fulfillment of one of God’s promises. Abraham had no idea why God would ask such a thing, but God knew. And Abraham obeyed by faith.

Hebrews 11:17–19 (NASB95)

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

When we experience God’s rich blessings here on this earth, it’s so tempting to latch onto them with a death grip, not wanting to let them go. Parents probably understand this more than most. However, even after all the waiting for their child, plus the waiting to settle in a permanent location, Abraham was still living a life of obedience by faith.

Then, when Isaac is just a teenager, God tells Abraham that He wants Isaac back. Abraham is told to give up his only son, with Abraham being the active participant in offering Isaac up as a sacrifice. But folks, remember that we’re talking about the covenant-keeping, promise-keeping God. All of that is completely unconditional. Abraham knew that and by faith trusted God to do whatever was necessary to keep His promise. In fact, you have to love verse 19, He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

Talk about the incredible depths of faith; complete trust in God with no physical proof of this ever being done before. You see, Abraham knew God intimately. My friends, I consider that any fear we have or any unnecessary concerns that we have or any ideas of doing things differently, comes from the reality that many do not have an intimate understanding and knowledge of our great God. We’ve been too inundated with the world and its thinking that we sometimes forget just Who God really is and what He is able to accomplish. Without previous proof or knowledge, Abraham was a believer in the resurrection from the dead. That is the kind of faith I want to be living.

The evidence of Abraham’s faith here seems to be the fact that he was willing to do what God had required.

Conclusion

Let me share a story of a famous missionary. William Carey spent thirty-five years in India and saw only a handful of converts. Yet every Christian missionary who has gone to India since that time owes a debt to Carey. He planted so that they could harvest. He translated the Word of God into Indian dialects, so that virtually all missionary effort in India has been based to some extent on his pioneer work. Most of the fruits of his labor he saw only by faith. He had faith’s patience and did not “grow weary in well-doing.”

In yet, another illustration, we are given the wonderful lesson on the willingness to keep our eyes focused on the future fulfillment of God’s promises. When John Bunyan was in jail for preaching the gospel, he was deeply concerned about his family. He was particularly grieved about his little blind daughter, for whom he had a special love. He wrote, “I saw in this condition I was a man who was pulling down his house upon the head of his wife and children. Yet, thought I, I must do it; I must do it. The dearest idol I have known, what err that idol be, help me to tear it from Thy throne and worship only Thee.”

Waiting on God requires obedience by faith to what He’s told us to do in the meantime.