Sunday Night Bible Study Hebrews 11:8-16 September 4, 1994 Hebrews 11:8-16 Introduction The importance of faith The Jewish believers who were reading the original letter had been going through a great deal of persecution since they started believing in Jesus as their Messiah. Some of them had even been tempted to just give up in trusting in Jesus and go back to Judaism like they were before they were saved. But the writer has over and over again stressed the importance of faith, of trusting and continuing to trust in Jesus. Then the writer defined faith: :1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It's the "title-deed" or the assurance of things that are promised by God, and it's having a conviction about the unseen world. It's that ability God gives us to trust in something our eyes don't see. We'll see over and over how faith was used in the lives of the old testament saints, how they learned to trust in things they didn't see. Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. :8 Abraham considered the father of the faithful, just look at why... :8 he went out, not knowing whither he went. Ge 12:1-5 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 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 the one who curses 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 Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother's son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. God didn't give Abram a map. He didn't describe the place. He just said, "Go". How about that for having a conviction of things not seen? The definition of faith. Unknown things are scary Taking the boys to Disneyland, going on new rides, it's scary, they need some persuading, taking Brock on Splash Mountain. How could Abram do such a thing? Was he crazy? He did it because God spoke to him, God told him to go. It's dangerous to do crazy things without God's leading. But if God is leading, it's perfectly safe! Gulp! Calvary Chapel of Fullerton God's call on my life for 20 years. Occasional stirrings, very strong during vacation, reading Spurgeon April 27, Song: "I'm calling" - originally intended for those in the body who were getting lazy and comfortable, but not aggressively following Jesus. Family Camp message: The window may not be open forever Worship Conference: Bob Coy - just look at your gifts; Oden - God can use me with all my faults, even my pride Confirmations from Mark, Oden, the Elders We're going! Lord willing, in two months. Our vision is that of Calvary Chapel Anaheim planting a new church in Fullerton. Our vision includes room for others. We know that God is going to call some to go with us to start this grand work in Fullerton. We encourage your prayers. Maybe God might be having you join us, going to a place we know not. Maybe God would have you stay behind and be praying for us. Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as [in] a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker [is] God. :9 tabernacles Tents Heb 11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Heb 11:12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, [so many] as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. :11 because she judged him faithful who had promised Here's how she received strength to get pregnant, even though she was way past menopause. Some of the other translations have it that Abraham received the ability to conceive through faith (NIV, NRSV), but KJV & NASB say it was Sarah. Is God faithful? Sarah took what had been promised to her, and judged it by the strength of character of the one who was speaking to her. Can you trust God's character? Note: She didn't receive the ability to get pregnant because she had this magic quantity of 20 pounds of "faith". Her faith wasn't in her own faith. Copeland tells us to "have faith in faith". Her faith was in God, who had given her a specific promise. She wasn't being presumptuous, saying to herself, "I want a baby, so I'll twist God's arm with my faith until He gives me one" Wrong. God promised, then she trusted. Genesis 18:9-15 It appears that Sarah had a "lapse of faith" She seems to be laughing at the incredible possibility of getting pregnant. But Hebrews tells us that she still came to a point of believing. Maybe it came after she saw Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed according to God's promise. Maybe it came after she saw God's protection when Abraham fudged a bit to Abimelech about Sarah being his sister. However it happened, it happened. Lesson: God isn't looking for instantly, perfect faith. Sometimes our faith has to mature and grow a little bit. Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of [them], and embraced [them], and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Heb 11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. Heb 11:15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that [country] from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. Heb 11:16 But now they desire a better [country], that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. :13 not having received the promises The promises of ownership of the land - the only land Abraham ever owned was his wife Sarah's burial plot. The promises of the Messiah - Jesus didn't come for 2000 years after Abraham. Multitudes of descendants Ge 15:5-6 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. Did Abraham see all these descendants? No! The over-riding vision of Abraham, wasn't fulfilled in his lifetime. We might look at Abraham and say, "What a waste of a good man!" "What a useless dreamer!" But it didn't stop Abraham from believing and letting God lead his life. :13 were persuaded ... and embraced them It didn't matter to Abraham and Sarah is they saw all the fulfillments or not, they knew they still needed to obey God. :13 strangers and pilgrims Here's the irony: God says to Abraham Ge 13:15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And yet this guy acts as a foreigner. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob never really settled down. They were always moving from one place to another. They never built themselves mansions, they lived in tents. They kept a light touch on the world. Abraham even turned down a great opportunity to become even wealthier than he was by turning down the reward from the King of Sodom for rescuing the cities from the invading kings. Ge 14:22-23 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' He didn't want the wealth of the world, but the wealth of walking with God. Lesson: We too need to be careful that if we're going to learn to walk by faith, that we learn to put more trust in things we don't see than in things we see, like houses, money, worldly things. Are we too comfortable in the world? If Jesus took us in the rapture tonight, would we be bummed because we would miss our favorite TV show? If we went out to our car tonight and found a big scratch in the paint, how bad would we feel? :15 mindful of that [country] from whence they came out NIV: Heb 11:15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. In other words, they didn't bother looking back. They didn't keep thinking of what they had given up. They kept looking forward. Php 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. It's keeping your eyes on the goal that keeps you on track. Navigating the fjords in Norway at night. They used to do it by stationing light posts at strategic locations. To avoid the rocks, you just kept your eyes on the light ahead of you, until the next light came into view. Heading towards the lights kept you in the safe place, moving in the right direction. :16 God is not ashamed to be called their God Here's where I want to keep my eyes, on pleasing Jesus! On looking for Him saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" How can I have more faith? We can identify with the man who brought his son to Jesus for healing: Mr 9:23-24 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. It's great to see all these champions of faith believing in God. But for me it gets kind of tough sometimes. How to gain more faith: 1. Soak in God's Word Ro 10:17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Get into God's Word, look at His great deeds Psalm 77 - a real depressing Psalm! Ps 77:10-12 And I said, This [is] my infirmity: [but I will remember] the years of the right hand of the most High. 11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. 12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. As you continue to spend time in God's Word, you also get a better glimpse at God's heart of love for you. 2. Stick out the trials 1Pe 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: The trials we face are the heat under the smelting pot of our faith. God needs to keep the heat on us from time to time to refine our faith. As the heat continues, the impurities come to the surface, where God as the master goldsmith can remove them from our lives. Baby giraffes...birth of a giraffe... In a View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond tells about the birth of a giraffe: "The first thing to emerge are the baby giraffe's front hooves and head. A few minutes later the plucky newborn calf is hurled forth, falls ten feed, and lands on its back. Within seconds, he rolls to an upright position with his legs tucked under his body. From this position he considers the world for the first time and shakes off the last vestiges of the birthing fluid from his eyes and ears. The mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she positions herself directly over her calf. She waits for about a minute, and then she does the most unreasonable thing. She swings her long, pendulous leg outward and kicks her baby, so that it is sent sprawling head over heals. When it doesn't get up, the violent process is repeated over and over again. The struggle to rise is momentous. As the baby calf grows tired, the mother kicks it again to stimulate its efforts...Finally, the calf stands for the first time on its wobbly legs. Then the mother giraffe does the most remarkable thing. She kicks it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up. In the wild, baby giraffes must be able to get up as quickly as possible in order to stay with the herd, where there is safety. Lions, hyenas, leopards, and wild hunting dogs all enjoy young giraffes, and they'd get it too, if the mother didn't teach her calf to get up quickly and get with it... I've thought about the birth of the giraffe many times. I can see its parallel in my own life. There have been many times when it seemed that I had just stood up after a trial, only to be knocked down again by the next. It was God helping me to remember how it was that I got up, urging me always to walk with him, in his shadow, under his care." Heb 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son], :17 offered up Isaac Here's an element of faith. Faith is not a passive thing. It usually results in action. James 2:14-24 Faith without works is dead. Extra 1Pe 2:11-12 Dearly beloved, I beseech [you] as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by [your] good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.