Hebrews 11:8-16

Please take your copy of God's Word this morning and join me in Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Amen.

This morning, after an extended break, we will take back up our study of the book of Hebrews.

Recall with me that this letter was written to a church of Greek-speaking Jewish converts

that had suffered much and that would likely suffer much more.

The text gives us evidence that some of them had already abandoned the faith

and that this remnant being written to was being tempted to do the same.

The author of Hebrews takes great pains throughout this letter to show his readers

that Jesus as the Christ is more excellent than any faith system the world can offer

with a particular backdrop of Judaism.

Today, we find ourselves just eight verses into the famous faith chapter of Hebrews

in which its author is making the case that it is those who persevere by faith

who save their souls.

He wrote in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 35 and following,

Hebrews 10:35

Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God,

you may receive what is promised.

For yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay.

But my righteous one shall live by faith.

And if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,

but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Chapter 11, he goes on, contains a biographical description

of this soul-preserving, persevering faith.

He begins in chapter 11, verse 1 and 2.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,

the conviction of things not seen.

For by it the people of old receive their commendation or approval.

And he proceeds with many examples,

beginning with Genesis 4, the example of Abel.

Then he speaks of the faith of Enoch,

which can be discovered in Genesis chapter 5,

Genesis 5 · chapter mention

and the faith of Noah, found in Genesis chapter 6.

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

You see, he has his original Jewish listeners in mind

as he is walking through the history of their patriarchs

to make his point.

Their history is also our history.

So this point is not lost on us.

This weekend, next, Lord willing,

we will consider the paramount faith of Abraham and his family.

So join me as we read today's text,

Hebrews chapter 11, verses 8 through 16.

Hebrews 11:8–16

Before I read it, let me remind you, beloved,

that this is God's word to us.

It's written for his glory and our good.

We would all do well to listen to it

in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place

that he was to receive an inheritance.

And he went out not knowing where he was going.

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.

For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations,

whose designer and builder is God.

By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive,

even when she was past the age,

since she considered him faithful who had promised.

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.

These all died in faith,

not having received the things promised,

but having seen them and greeted them from afar

and having acknowledged that they were strangers

and exiles on the earth.

For people who speak thus make it clear

that they are seeking a homeland.

If they had been thinking of that land

from which they had gone 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 for them a city.

Remember that the book of Hebrews is written

in the finest Greek in all the New Testament.

So as we labor together to work out its meaning,

we will do so in the following outline,

which I hope is not overly simplistic,

but helpful to us

as we consider the faith of Abraham and his family.

Number one, faith in the promised land.

And we will talk about faith obeying,

faith costing,

and faith tearing under that initial point.

Secondly, faith in the promised son.

We will also discuss faith is certain

and faith is rewarded.

And then finally, faith perseveres to the end.

So first, faith in the promised land.

We can see in verse 8 that faith obeys.

Faith obeys.

By faith, Abraham obeyed

when he was called to go out to a place,

that he was to receive an inheritance,

and he went out.

We can read of this in Genesis chapter 12,

Genesis 12:1–3

verses 1 through 3,

which says,

Now the Lord said to Abraham,

Go from your country and your kindred

and your father's house

to the land I will show you.

And 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.

I will bless those who bless you

and him who dishonors you.

I will curse.

And in you,

all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

And then Genesis 12 and verse 4 says,

So Abram went as the Lord had told him.

He went.

And he went,

the Greek suggests immediately.

In fact,

the particular tense of the Greek

in Hebrews 11, 8

suggests that even as God was speaking,

he went.

Abraham did not act and gain faith.

Abraham acted because he had faith.

He believed that what God said was true,

and therefore he acted.

It is this faith that the author of Hebrews tells us

what gave Abraham his commendation

in verse 2 of chapter 11.

Similarly,

our activity does not

and could never save us,

but saving faith acts.

Saving faith is evidenced by activity.

It is this very point that James makes

when he asks the rhetorical question

of James chapter 2 verse 14.

James 2:14

What good is it, my brothers,

if someone says he has faith

but does not have works?

Can that faith save him?

Saving faith is evidenced by obedience

to God's commands.

Not perfect obedience,

as we'll see soon.

None of us can claim that.

But a saving faith does in fact work.

Desires to follow God

and to be sent by him

wherever he would have us go.

Faith also,

and most often,

costs.

Faith costs.

It costs us something.

The last part of verse 8 says,

And he went out,

not knowing where he was going.

It wasn't until later

that Abraham's destination

was revealed to him

as he stood and overlooked

the land of Canaan.

He had no real idea

where he was going,

and yet he went.

Abraham was willing

to abandon his home

for the sake

of a better promise.

Martin Luther wrote

of Abraham's faith.

It was hard to leave

his native land,

which it is natural

for us to love.

Indeed,

love for the fatherland

is numbered among

the greatest virtues

of the heathen.

Furthermore,

it is hard to leave friends

and their companionship,

but most of all,

to leave relatives.

And then it is clear

that with his obedience of faith,

Abraham gave a supreme example

of an evangelical life

because he loved everything

and followed the Lord,

preferring the word of God

to everything

and loving it

above everything.

We do not get

to negotiate

the terms

of following God.

We must come to him

on his terms,

by faith

in Jesus Christ.

But to do so

without counting

the costs

is foolish.

Faith requires

our everything.

If you would have God,

you will have him

by following

the way of Jesus.

And the way of Jesus

was to give

everything

that he would

please the father.

Jesus says

in Mark chapter 8,

Mark 8:34

verse 34 and 35,

If anyone would come

after me,

follow him,

be his disciple.

If anyone would come

after me,

let him deny himself

and take up his cross

and follow me.

You need to read there

that this idea

of cross

is not a momentary

and light thing,

but a place of death.

This is the call

to follow Christ,

that we would die

to ourselves

in order that we may

gain him.

And then in verse 35

of Mark 8,

For whoever would save

his life

will lose it.

Whoever loses his life

for my sake

and the gospels

will save it.

So faith costs.

And do you find yourself

trying to negotiate

the terms with God?

Well, God,

I will give you

this and such,

but not

this and such.

I'm willing to go

this far,

but only this far.

We must come to God

on his terms.

Faith also tarries.

Verse 9 and 10

say,

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.

Abraham

never took possession

of the land

that was promised

to him.

Neither did his son

or his grandson.

The only land

that Abraham ever owned

was a tomb

for his wife

that he purchased

near Hebron.

You can see that

in Genesis chapter 23.

Genesis 23 · chapter mention

He owned

a small bit

of alcove

and a rock.

But that was it.

He didn't take

any other possession

of this promised land.

Stephen in his

wonderful sermon

in Acts chapter 7

Acts 7 · chapter mention

in verse 4

and part of verse 5

stated,

Then Abraham

went out

from the land

of the Chaldeans

and lived in Haran.

And after his father died,

God removed him

from there

into this land

in which you are now living.

Yet he gave him

no inheritance in it,

not even a foot's length.

Abraham

was a sojourner.

He and his family

lived in tents.

Just imagine

that God made a promise

to you

to give you

the land of

California.

Trying to think

of a strange place

for us to go.

So you pack up

your whole family,

you leave behind

all that you know

and many that you love.

You take a nephew

with you.

And you go

and live

amongst a strange

people.

This analogy

is working out

great now

in my mind.

I couldn't have

written a better one.

Who do not worship

God

that you worship,

right?

Who will not grant

you the rights

of citizenship

and you dwell there

until the day

that you die

in a tent.

This is the faith

of Abraham

practiced.

I think we look

over the fact

that he had

no permanent

dwelling place.

In fact,

in our reading

of Genesis,

he is constantly

moving and being

moved

by others.

God is faithful

to him all along

but never completes

the promise

that was made.

Would you stay?

Would you at some

point say,

God has not

been faithful to me.

He said he would

do a thing.

He's not doing it.

I'm packing up

and I'm headed

back to Georgia.

I think many of us

would.

Would you believe

in the promise

of God

even when you

could not see

it with your

own eyes?

How was Abraham

able to do

such a thing?

Our text tells us.

He was looking

forward,

this is verse 10,

to the city

that has

foundations,

right?

His tents had

no foundations,

dirt or grass

floors.

He was looking

forward to the

city that has

foundations,

whose designer

and builder

is God.

He was looking

to a permanent

dwelling place,

a place beyond

this world.

Beloved,

our experience

is not as

unlike Abraham's

as we may

think.

It seems that

we make many

efforts to keep

our experience

from being at

all like Abraham's.

We're doing

lots of things

to try to show

our permanency

here.

But the truth

is simply

this.

We are

sojourners

and we are

exiles

and our

faith must

tarry.

There's many

promises that

God has made

for us

that are going

to be past

this life.

The greatest

promises that

God has made

for us are

past this

life.

Our faith

must

tarry.

It must

endure.

We are

sustained

here in

temporal

dwellings

by faith

in a future

city.

A city

that has

foundations.

A city

that is

built

and designed

by God.

Paul writes

in Philippians

Philippians 3:20

chapter 3

verse 20

Our citizenship

is in heaven

and from it

we await

a Savior

the Lord

Jesus Christ.

This place

is not

our home.

And in a few

months we will

study Hebrews

Hebrews 13:14

chapter 13

verse 14

which states

for here

we have

no lasting

city

but we

seek

the city

that is

to come.

So Abraham

and his

family

express for

us this

wonderful

paramount

faith

in the

promised

land.

And we

can see

that it

means so

much more

than just

the promise

of Canaan.

It means a

permanent

place

that we

will dwell

with God

forever.

Secondly

Abraham and

his family

had faith

in the

promised

son.

Faith

in the

promised

son.

In verse

11 we

can see

that by

faith

Sarah

herself

received

power

to conceive

even

when she

was past

the age

since she

considered

him faithful

who had

promised.

So faith

is

certain.

There is

a

certitude

to

faith.

Sarah

was most

likely

91

years

old

when she

gave

birth

to

Isaac.

His

conception

full-term

gestation

and

healthy

delivery

let me

remind you

in a

tent

were not

only

improbable

but

impossible

in human

terms.

However

Abraham and

Sarah

weighed

the human

impossibility

of having

a son

against

the divine

impossibility

that God

would not

be true

to his

word

and they

believed

him.

We put

those two

things on

a scale

together

and God

not being

a liar

highly

outweighs

any of

our

conception

of what

he has

promised

to accomplish.

Thomas

Watson

Puritan

once wrote

this is on

your bulletin

where reason

cannot

wade

their

faith

may

swim.

The author

of Hebrews

tells us

in chapter

11

verse

6

without

faith

it is

impossible

to

please

him

for

whoever

would

draw

near

to

God

must

believe

that

he

exists

and

that

he

rewards

those

who

seek

him.

Abraham

and

Sarah

believed

in the

promise

of God

and

they

had

a

son.

But

allow

me

to be

of

encouragement

to

you

this

morning.

The

faith

of

Abraham

and

Sarah

was

not

a

perfect

faith.

We

read

of

the

birth

of

Isaac

in

Genesis

Genesis 21 · chapter mention

chapter

21

but

before

that

in

Genesis

Genesis 16:1

chapter

16

verse

1

and

following

we

read

now

Sarah

Abraham's

wife

excuse me

Abram's

wife

they're

getting

new

names

soon

had

born

him

no

children

she's

not

believing

the

promise

she

had

born

him

no

children

she

had

a

female

Egyptian

servant

whose

name

was

Hagar

and

Sarah

said

to

Abram

behold

me

from

bearing

children

go

into

my

servant

it

may

be

that

I

shall

obtain

children

by

her

and

Abram

listened

to the

voice

of

Sarah

so

after

Abram

had

lived

in

ten

years

in

the

land

of

Canaan

Sarah

Abram's

wife

took

Hagar

the

Egyptian

her

servant

and

gave

her

to

Abram

her

husband

as

a

wife

I'll

encourage

you to

read

that

chapter

all

kinds

of

things

happen

that

are

not

favorable

because

of

the

unfaithfulness

of

Sarah

and

Abraham

later

we can

read

in

Genesis

Genesis 18:11

chapter

18

verse

11

and

following

now

Abraham

and

Sarah

were

old

advanced

in

years

the

way

of

women

had

ceased

to be

with

Sarah

this

is

this

is

a

funny

episode

in

the

book

of

Genesis

so

Sarah

laughed

to

herself

saying

after

I

am

worn

out

and

my

Lord

is

old

shall

I

have

pleasure

that's

funny

maybe

when you

get

older

you'll

get

it

the

Lord

said

to

Abraham

why

did

Sarah

laugh

and

say

shall

I

indeed

bear

a

child

now

that

I

am

old

is

anything

too

hard

for

the

Lord

at

the

point

in

time

I

will

return

to

you

about

this

time

next

year

and

Sarah

shall

have

a

son

those

chapters

are

riddled

with

doubt

as a

side

note

some

people

use

this

little

bit

of

Sarah

laughing

as a

context

for

something

called

holy

laughter

you

need

to

ignore

that

this

was

not

holy

at

all

right

this

was

Sarah

doubting

fully

doubting

that

God

would

do

what

he

had

said

that

he

would

do

and

can

we

blame

them

they

they've

been

in

the

land

quite

some

time

now

the

promise

doesn't

seem

like

it's

coming

to

pass

right

they're

waiting

and

they

are

waiting

I'm

astounded

in my

reading

of the

Old Testament

at how

impatient

I am

as God

works out

his

faithfulness

with

his

people

I

kind of

snap

my

fingers

and see

things

happen

I

don't

want

to

wait

10

years

40

years

to see

promises

come

to

pass

I

don't

really

want

to

wait

for

promises

to

come

to

pass

after

I

pass

the

faith

of

Abraham

and

Sarah

was

not

perfect

faith

but

it

was

sufficient

faith

this

text

reminds

me

of

the

father

of

the

demon

possessed

son

who

says

to

Jesus

in

Mark

Mark 9 · chapter mention

chapter

9

and

verse

22

and

following

if

you

can

do

anything

have

compassion

on

us

and

help

us

and

in

verse

23

Jesus

said

to

him

if

you

can

all

things

are

possible

for

one

who

believes

and

then

in

verse

24

immediately

the

father

of

the

child

cried

out

and

said

I

believe

help

my

unbelief

I

feel

that

way

often

you

may

find

yourself

with

faltering

faith

this

morning

find

solidarity

in the

life

of

Abraham

and

Sarah

find

solidarity

with

every

Christ

follower

in

my

hearing

and

know

that

God

is

abundantly

merciful

and

a

steadfast

love

endures

forever

be

comforted

this

morning

with a

text

like

Isaiah

Isaiah 42:3

chapter

42

verse

3

a

bruised

reed

he

will

not

break

and

a

faintly

!

burning

wick

he

will

not

quench

!

do

do

you

feel

like

your

flame

is

just

about

to

go

out

this

morning

if

you

are

God's

in

Christ

what

I

can

promise

you

is

that

he

will

fan

it

back

into

flame

be

encouraged

God

does not

expect of

us

a

perfect

faith

but a

sufficient

faith

so

faith is

certain

or

maybe one

should say

in time

finds

certitude

and

faith

is

rewarded

verse 12

therefore

from one

man

and him

as good

as dead

I like

that

interjection

there

Abraham

was quite

old

at the time

they conceived

were born

descendants

as many

as the

stars

of heaven

and as

many

as the

innumerable

grains

of sand

by the

seashore

beloved

that's

us

in part

we are

counted

amongst

those

many

that by

faith

are

grafted

in

to the

family

of God

I want to

read to you

just briefly

Kent Hughes

commentary

on this

he wrote

this

I just

thought

this was

a

great

insertion

here

he wrote

George

Sweeting

a past

president

of Moody

Bible

Institute

once gave

this

memorable

definition

of

optimism

he said

optimism

is when

an 85

year old

man

marries

a 35

year old

woman

and moves

into a

12 room

house

next to

an

elementary

school

inappropriate

but you

get his

point

but I

have a

better

definition

for him

optimism

is when

a 90

year old

man

and his

90

year old

bride

hear God

say

they're going

to be

parents

and believe

their offspring

will fill

not a

schoolhouse

but the

whole

earth

that they

will be

as many

as the

stars

of heaven

and as

many

as the

innumerable

grains

of sand

by the

seashore

praise God

that now

Abraham and

Sarah

in glory

with God

can see the

promise

fulfilled

and being

fulfilled

and it

started by

their faith

in the

promised

son

faith

and

faith

perseveres

to the

end

faith

perseveres

to the

end

verse 13

these

all died

in

faith

not having

received the

things promised

but having

seen them

and greeted

them from

afar

and having

acknowledged

that they

were strangers

and exiles

on the

earth

that is to

say

these all

died

in faith

Abraham

Sarah

Isaac

and Jacob

all

finished

well

they

persevered

in faith

to the

end

and not

only did

they finish

well

but they

lived

well

how

how did

they live

and finish

by

faith

the text

tells us

verse 14

for people

who speak

thus

acknowledging

is what he's

talking about

acknowledging

that they're

strangers

and exiles

acknowledging

that this

place is

not our

home

acknowledging

that there

are

promises

for us

that are

beyond

this

place

people

who speak

like

that

make it

clear

that they

are seeking

a homeland

beloved

this world

is not

our home

we

persevere

by faith

in recognizing

that

in knowing

this is not

where we

belong

there's a

new place

being made

for us

to dwell

with God

forever

verse 15

if they had

been thinking

of that land

from which

they had

gone 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 for

them

a city

they looked

to the

promise

they looked

to the

future

reward

they knew

that the

promised

inheritance

was sure

and they

ran

with endurance

the race

that was set

before them

we are asked

to do the

very same

thing

as we

live

in a

place

that is

uncomfortable

and growing

in discomfort

right

this is not

our home

beloved

right

we are

strangers

and we

are

exiles

and God

is preparing

for us

a city

and so in

these few

verses this

morning we

see faith

in the

promised

land

and that

faith

obeys

that it

costs

something

that it

tarries

faith in

the promised

son

that faith

finds its

certitude

and that

is rewarded

and that

faith

saving

faith

perseveres

to the

end

the author

of Hebrews

was charging

his original

readers

and the

Lord is

using his

pen to

charge us

today to

take up

the example

of Abraham

and his

family

in closing

listen to the

remarks of

Hebrews

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

and verse

1

therefore

since we

are surrounded

by so great

a cloud

of witnesses

let us also

lay aside

every weight

and sin

which clings

so closely

and let us

run with

endurance

the race

that is set

before us

let's pray

together