Walking by Faith

Hebrews chapter 11, Hebrews chapter 11, before I get started, this week's a pretty big week,

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

ain't it? Some of you too old to know, but school starts back. If you are working administration

or faculty or staff at a school, do me a favor and stand for just a moment. Go ahead, don't

be shy, don't be ashamed. Stand here for just a moment. Amen. Heroes that are put under fire often

have the opportunity to make wonderful impacts on young people. I'm thankful for what you do,

and go into what feels like the war zone. I am speaking at YLA this week, and I told her middle

school is like a school of terrorists, you know? I mean, it's just part of it, but it's just that age

in life, you know? Did I say that out loud? I guess I did, but anyway, but it's just that age in life,

but I appreciate what you do, and I want to begin this morning by just praying for you and for our

students, okay? Let's pray together. Lord Jesus, thank you for those who have dedicated their lives

to leading, to teaching, and to staffing, feeding, cleaning after, doing whatever needs to be done

for students, dear God. I'm thankful for Christians that do it. When we live in a spiritual war zone

that so often focuses upon the schools, I'm thankful for those who stand for their faith,

and Lord, who in the midst of their circumstances continue to be a testimony for the Lord Jesus,

just in the way they live, allowing folks to see Christ through them. And so, God, I pray

that you'll give endurance for the race. I pray, dear God, that you'll give strength

for the times of trials. I pray, dear God, that you will do a work not only in those that lead,

but God, I pray for our students. I pray, Lord, that they will live out their Christian example

before others. They'll live out their faith. They won't fall into the traps that so many fall into

during school age that sometimes can war on their life for a lifetime. God, I pray that you will

watch over them. Help them to achieve great things, dear God, and help them, Lord, to keep their eyes

upon you through it all. I love you and thank you that every time I've dropped a young'un off in my life,

I can entrust that child to you and ask you, dear God, to guide her. So, God, today, I pray that you'll do

that for our schools as they start this week, dear Father. Thank you for the opportunity to lean upon you.

Thank you for the opportunity to worship. In Jesus' name, amen.

This morning, I'm going to finish up talking about Abraham. We've spent a lot of time talking about

Abraham, but I want to begin by telling you what we're going to talk about next week.

I'm going to begin a series called The Reality of Eternity, and I believe it is a very important series.

I'm going to talk about the reality of heaven, and I'm going to talk about the reality of hell,

and most of what I talk about about heaven will be the first part of that series, and the second part

will be about hell. I want to encourage you to pray with me about that because it's pivotal.

A lot of people are so fascinated with heaven that they'll come and listen to a sermon about heaven

when they may not come other times because they want to know about the unknown.

And then there's others who need to hear the truth, the reality of hell, and some people that God has laid upon your heart,

and you've wanted the opportunity to invite and can't figure out why.

Listen, next Sunday, I'll be preaching on one minute after you die.

One minute after you die. It's pivotal.

And so I encourage you to pray that God will allow you to invite somebody to come.

You'll be here yourself, and that we'll start August the right way, studying the Word of God.

There's a lot of thoughts about eternity, and a lot of them are not biblical.

We're going to deal with the biblical basis of what happens when we leave this life.

And so I'm looking forward to that, but we ain't there yet because we're finishing up with Abraham today.

You know, there's an old woodsman's proverb that says,

a tree is best measured when it's down.

In other words, don't admire somebody too much too early

because the proof is when it's all said and done.

A few years ago, Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth,

one of our six Southern Baptist seminaries that we support through the co-op program,

at that school, the president and his wife wanted to honor those who had accompanied them

in helping to save the Southern Baptist Convention from liberalism.

And they wanted to do that by decorating their new chapel and performing arts center

with stained glass windows of modern leaders of the conservative resurgence of the Southern Baptist Convention.

And they began to put these stained glass windows up.

And halfway through the nearly $2 million, six dozen window, 20 year commission,

the project was stopped.

The installed windows were taken down.

New leadership came into that seminary

and changed what they wanted to focus on.

And many of the living legends that had already been put in stained glass

have now been defamed by moral failure.

Don't immortalize people until they're mortally gone.

There's still time for them to mess up.

However, when the tree does come down,

you can judge it with confidence.

And as we walk through the life of Abraham,

we walk through the life of Abraham together.

Now we can see the whole story.

There were rough years along the way.

There were disappointments along the way.

There were bold, soul-stirring, life-changing years

and eternity-influenced decisions that were made along the way

that God truly blessed in.

And Hebrews 11 is what I call the, and I'm not the only one,

the hall of fame of faith.

It focuses on those heroes of faith that we look to

and then follows that up by saying,

with such a great cloud of witnesses,

that's a little hint about what's coming

in the coming service series.

But what a great cloud of witnesses that we're surrounded by.

Run on.

Keep running in the midst of that.

But of all the folks that are mentioned in Hebrews 11,

probably the one that's most focused on more than anybody else

is Abraham because of his faith.

And he kind of sums up his life.

I want us to look at that today.

It's in Hebrews 11, verse 8 through 12, and it says this.

Hebrews 11:8–12

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.

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 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 in 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.

The faithfulness of Abraham's walk of faith

can teach us a lot about how to live.

And I want to simplify it as much as I can this morning

by giving you four simple principles

to live by in your spiritual walk.

The first is this.

When called, go.

When called, go.

He went when God told him to go,

and he was determined to be where God wanted him to be.

And let me be clear,

he did not have a God-given agenda

that was placed in front of him

so that he knew where he was going and what he was doing.

He had no future family picture to know what was ahead.

No printout of the future.

He went by faith.

And when you go by faith,

you trade your plan for God's plan.

You set aside what you can see

for what God will show you.

You exchange what you know

for that that you do not know.

And he went without knowing where he was going.

Now this is not some pitiful little man

looking for a handout

or a man who didn't have anything going on at all.

When God called Abraham,

Abraham was 75 years old

and he was well-established.

He was a rich man.

He had every reason to stay exactly where he was

except the fact that God told him to go.

And for a person of faith, that is enough.

And on faith, he picked up and went.

It is sweet to listen to somebody else do such.

It's wonderful to hear that story.

But let me ask you a question.

If God led me and I knew that God was leading me,

would I go if I didn't know where I was going?

Think about that, folks.

If I could not at least anticipate

what to expect with any kind of accuracy,

do you step out and go?

I mean, that's tough.

But that's faith.

And Christians have a tendency to have a tough time

to walk across the street to share their faith

with a neighbor that they speak to often,

let alone go to an unnamed destination.

And I want to be clear,

he didn't have a prayer team

that met after church down at the altar

and prayed over him to go.

No, not at all.

He was surrounded by idol worshipers,

worshiping Canaanite gods.

He didn't have that kind of support.

Now, whether you have that kind of support

or whether you feel like you don't have that kind of support,

be clear, a walk of faith in the Lord

comes without a clear roadmap.

Man, I wish you'd make it clear.

But you have to take it a day at a time.

You walk daily with the Lord

and trust him for that day

because you don't know what tomorrow holds,

but thank God you know who holds tomorrow.

So you rest in that.

And God cultivates our faith

by holding those details back.

He knows what they are,

but he holds those details back

so he can cultivate our faith.

And that's where our blessing comes in.

Now, when I say when called, go,

I want to be clear about something.

God didn't call Abraham

to go into vocational Christian ministry.

That's not what he did.

Don't you dare think

that's the only calling of God upon somebody.

It is not.

Now, having said that,

let me tell you,

it is very real.

To me, it's a pretty special one.

For me, it was a very clear one.

I didn't know what I was going to do,

but I knew what I was supposed to do.

And God made that clear.

And I knew when he spoke what I was to do.

However, it does not stop there.

He has called me in many ways

at many times to do many things.

And I want to be clear.

I have a relationship with the Lord.

Some people don't feel comfortable with this,

but he speaks to me.

He does.

We have a relationship.

He does.

Now, I realize people can say

all kinds of quacky things

when they say that,

but I'm telling you,

I believe the Holy Spirit of God

indwells a believer

and leads them

to do what they do.

For instance,

I had a man I was praying for one time,

and I was burdened for him.

And God laid that on my heart one night,

and I picked up the phone

and called this man at 10 p.m.

I don't call folks at 10 p.m.

You can call me if you need to,

but I don't call folks at 10 p.m.

I don't do that,

but God led me to do it.

I've been trying to reach him for Christ.

He was stubborn.

I had had the opportunity

to baptize his wife.

I knew she had a burden for him.

I knew he needed to change his life,

and I knew only Christ could do that,

and so I called him.

God wouldn't let me sleep

because I was burdened

for this man's salvation.

I didn't know why it was pertinent

at 10 p.m. at night,

but I don't know those things.

And so I did what I felt led to do,

and I called him.

And I said,

Chuck,

God has laid you on my heart tonight,

and if you'll surrender your life

to the Lord tonight,

I will ride over your house

and meet you in your front yard

and lead you to Christ.

But if you tell me no,

the blood's on your head,

not mine.

I've done what I was supposed to do tonight.

So what do you think?

He said,

Preacher, come on.

We stood out in our nightlight

in front of his house,

the whole house asleep,

except me and him,

standing out in the yard.

He gave his heart and life

to the Lord Jesus Christ,

and I said,

Walk back in there

and wake up your wife.

She won't be mad at you

for telling her you got saved.

Go with God

and trust him

for the rest

because God blesses such as that

if you'll just lean upon him.

Faith grows

through that.

Faith builds on faith

in your life

and establishes legacies of faith.

A seed of faith

will grow into something

that's blossoming in your life

in faith.

And if you don't venture

on the uncertain path of faith,

you will never enjoy

the joys that come

with the uncertainties

that come in your life

due to your walk of faith.

And watching God

show up and show out

at the right time,

but you have to have the faith

to step out

and acknowledge him.

You have to do that

to come to Christ.

And a relationship

with the Lord

starts by your surrender

to the Lord Jesus Christ.

When you sense

that God is stirring

in your heart,

that something needs

to change in your life,

that you can't change yourself,

I want you to know

that Christ came

and died for your sins,

for your wrongdoing

that separates you

from the Lord.

And God,

His Holy Spirit

will come to us

and will speak

to our hearts and lives.

No, it's not audible.

It's louder than that.

And you know

it's Him speaking to you.

And you know

you need to come

and surrender your life

and give it

to the Lord Jesus Christ.

That begins

that relationship.

And then you have

the faith to continue

to please God,

to continue

to grow in God.

Abraham shows us this,

that even in extreme

circumstances,

you ought to trust

the Lord.

You ought to go with God

even when you're standing

on the foot of Mount Moriah,

not knowing

what's coming ahead,

but trusting that

whatever's coming,

God's there.

You'll be surprised

where life will take you.

If you let the Lord

lead you

and as you look back,

you'll see His hand

upon you the whole time.

You don't always

see it at the time,

but you can look back

and see God's hand

upon you the whole time

that you never sensed

at the time,

but God in fact

was leading you

all the way.

It is rarely easy,

often challenging,

but so is growth

and God wants us to grow.

And so when He calls,

whatever He calls you

to do,

go.

Second thing I learned

from Abraham's life,

and I ain't focused

on this a whole lot

during this series,

so I'm going to do it

right now.

When married,

stay.

When married,

stay.

Now I want to be clear

about something.

The devil has a wonderful

time making us feel guilty,

are shamed over sin

that is in our past

that is under the blood

of Christ.

You've had sin in your life,

you put that under

the blood of Christ,

and He cleans the slate,

and you need to let it go.

Period.

Period.

I'm not talking about

yesterday.

Whatever happened

yesterday

needs to be confessed,

forgiven,

and moved past.

Don't hold it against

yourself,

because God don't hold

it against you

if you ask Him

to forgive you

and to cleanse you.

So I'm speaking

to the current,

not the past.

And if you're married

today,

stay married.

Abraham and Sarah

did

for over

a hundred years.

They put them

in the Greenville News

and celebrated them.

Match that.

Now that ain't

no piece of cake.

What do you think?

He was called

to pick up everything

in the midst

of a very settled state.

And to go on

direction by God

to a new place.

And his wife said,

where are we going?

And he said,

I don't know.

I'm looking for a city

that has foundations

whose designer

and builder is God.

And I can just see

Sarah kind of going,

oh my.

And where is that?

And he said,

honey,

come on.

Now that's Daniel's

paraphrase,

but that's what

was happening.

When they wanted

a child,

but they couldn't

have one,

Sarah,

as she was called

then,

said,

have one with

my maidservant.

He did.

That didn't go well.

You know that story

if you've been here

a few weeks.

Hagar resented her

and Sarah was then

mean to her

and sin never works out.

It never works out.

Just because Scripture

points out

that those things happen

does not mean

that God justified it

or that it was okay.

It's a big misunderstanding

about that today

that things that happened

in yesteryear

that God gives direction

and guidance through

in the midst of that

is somehow justified

by us.

Not at all.

But God speaks

to where we live

and what our circumstances

are and how we are

to respond to that.

And Hagar resented her

and Sarah was mean to her

and sin didn't work out

and it never does

so don't go that route.

Twice as they traveled,

Abraham told his wife

to tell others

that she was his sister

which was a half truth

and a half truth

is always a whole lie

but it was to be

but she was to tell people that

to make sure

that Abraham was not killed

because his wife

was beautiful.

Such a philosophy

led to some kind

of difficulty along the way

because sin always

leads to difficulty.

So don't go that route.

When she did have eyes

Abraham took him away

to sacrifice him

because God told him

to do that.

And I guarantee you

that made for tense days

as well.

But somehow they hung around

for a hundred years together.

And the closest example

that I've seen

of anybody of that

is a couple

named Herbert

and Zelmyra Fisher.

Herbert and Zelmyra

was married 86 years.

How many have been married

86 years?

86 years.

They married

when Calvin Coolidge

was president.

They reared five children.

They survived

the Great Depression

off a nickel a day.

They reared five children

through the World War II

on ration supplies.

They witnessed

the Korean War together.

They witnessed

the Vietnam War.

They witnessed

the Civil Rights Movement.

They witnessed

the passing

of 15 presidents.

The world changed

a little bit

over their time.

And a year

before Herbert died,

he was interviewed

on Valentine's Day

2010.

And they asked him,

they said,

Herbert,

what's your secret?

What's your secret

for being married

86 years?

And Herbert said,

there isn't a secret.

It was only God

that kept us together.

And the next year,

he went on to be

with the Lord.

Folks,

when married,

stay.

Stay.

Third thing is this.

When commanded,

obey.

When commanded,

obey.

I've tried to share

the powerful message

of Genesis chapter 22

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

when God asked Abraham

to sacrifice his son

of promise.

We spent two weeks

evaluating the sacrifice

of Isaac.

We have examined

how God told him

to go and do it

and he went

and we talked about

that place,

that dreaded place,

how he looked

to the top of that mountain

and dreaded going

to that place

as he started

that journey,

as he made that climb

and as he arrived.

It is amazing to me

how he told his servants

that he and the boy

would return

after they went

to worship.

He knew something

was up,

didn't know how

it was all going

to shake out,

knew God

was going

to take care of it.

If he took his boy

from him,

he was going

to bring him back.

He knew it was

all going to work

out somehow

and he bound

his teenage

or young adult son.

Somebody asked me

about that.

Man, I don't know.

How he placed him

on the altar

and then watched

God provide.

You want to talk

about sweet worship?

Think about that.

Can you imagine

what it was like

going back down

that mountain?

It is the most

challenging times

that we go through

that sometimes

lead to the greatest

worship experience

because the provisional

hand of God

is seen in the clearest

and is seen

the clearest

in the most

difficult circumstances

that we face

in our life.

You need to trust God.

When God asks

the most of you,

he gives his best.

When God leads you

to do something,

do it.

When God commands,

obey.

Because he has

your ram

waiting in a bush

for the opportune time.

Trust him.

You won't know

it's there

until it's time.

Honor God

with your obedience

and he'll honor you.

When commanded,

obey.

And lastly,

when knocked down,

get up.

When life

knocks you down,

get up.

The marriage

that lasted

over a hundred years

ends in the death

of Sarah.

Abraham

mourned

the death

of his wife

and buried her

the best way

he could.

But God

wasn't finished

with Abraham.

That loss

in his life

did not finish

his life.

He turned

his attention

to his son,

finding his son

a lifelong companion.

And in order

for the promise

of God

to be carried out,

Isaac needed

at least one heir.

Abraham,

after Sarah's death,

would live

another 38 years.

He eventually

found another woman.

They had

more children.

As

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3,

1,

2 through 4

says,

for everything

there is a season

and a time

for every matter

under heaven.

A time

to be born,

a time

to die,

a time

to plant

and a time

to pluck up

what is planted,

a time

to weep

and a time

to laugh,

a time

to mourn

and a time

to dance.

I mention

that scripture

for two reasons.

One is this,

if you've suffered

great loss

in your life,

I pray

that you heal

and the balm

of the Lord

will provide you

a comfort

and a peace

that is unlike

anything this world

can offer.

because the only

one that can

feel the voyage

in our life

is the Holy

Spirit of God.

I am thankful

that when I stand

behind any casket

I can promise

a family

that if they'll

look to the Lord

and commit their

lives to Him

that He'll be

faithful even

in the hardest

time.

That He will

not leave us

alone.

He will not

forsake us.

He'll come

to us.

That the peace

that He gives

us is unlike

anything this world

can offer to us.

And I want to

encourage you

today to attempt

to live again.

If you're here

this morning

God hasn't

taken you home

when He took

your loved one

home.

Although it may

have felt like it.

But God has

more for you.

We need you

to serve Him

right alongside

us.

Don't stop

living until

you die.

The other

reason I say

that is this.

I'm going to

mingle into

your business

here.

If you have

a parent who

has lost his

or her spouse

let them live.

Let them live.

Don't try to

ascertain how

long they need

to wait to

find a maid

or don't try

to find them

one.

Let them

live.

Marriage

should only end

in death and

when it does

it's over.

God wants us

to live and

honor and serve

Him for all

of our days.

Be faithful to

your spouse

until the end.

Be faithful to

God until the

end.

When life knocks

you down by

loss and pain

and setback

get up!

Get up!

God wants you to

live.

He wants you to

live.

Beat you like a

yard dog.

God's still on the

throne folks.

And He still wants

you to live

wholeheartedly for

Him.

God gave us the

account of the

life of Abraham

for us to

learn from.

Not just to get

some historical

knowledge but to

learn from.

And so let's

learn from it.

And when God

calls, go.

And when you're

married, stay.

And when God

commands, obey.

And when you get

knocked down, get

up!

Because that's

what walking by

faith is.

With every head

bowed and every

eye closed, it is

my prayer that

through the life of

Abraham, I'm

you'll see

yourself.

Not because you've

been through the

same experiences

that He has, but

because the same

God that led Him is

the same God that

leads you.

And if you're not

being led by the

Lord because you

don't have a

personal relationship

with Him, the

sin and the

wrongdoing that is

in your life will

separate you from

Him.

If you'll ask Him

today to forgive

you and to

cleanse you and to

come into your

life and save you,

He'll do exactly

that.

God's working in

your heart in a

way like that.

Will you let me

know?

We're going to

stand in just a

moment.

We're going to

sing.

You come down

this aisle and

say, Pastor, I'd

love to give my

heart and life to

the Lord Jesus

Christ.

Pastor, I've

given my heart and

life to the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Maybe you've done

that privately, but

you've never done it

publicly.

You've never

acknowledged Him

through baptism

publicly.

We have a cool

experience happening

in two weeks.

An outdoor

baptism at Camp

McCall, dinner on

the grounds.

man, does it get

any better?

If you need to

settle those

matters in your

life, let's do

that.

We've got time to

deal with that.

Make it right.

Deal with it.

Let's make what's

private public.

Let's let folks

know with biblical

baptism what it

means to live for

the Lord.

Maybe God's drawing

you to be a part of

this church.

You're kind of in

between.

Hadn't found your

place, but you know

God's leading you to

be here.

I encourage you to

come.

We'd love to guide

you in that process.

We'll stand in just

a moment.

We'll sing, and as

we sing, as soon as

we begin to sing, you

come.

Maybe you're here and

you just got stuff.

You've been knocked

down.

Or God's calling you,

or God's commanding

you something.

Or you're struggling

with whether to stay

or not.

I have no idea what's

going on in your

life, but I know the

Holy Spirit does.

I truly believe he

led me to be here

today, to say what I

said today, so he can

work in your hearts

and lives, and I

encourage you to just

be obedient to him.

I'd love to pray with

you.

You can pray at this

altar as God leads.

Just don't ever be

satisfied with doing

anything less than what

God would have you to

do.

Just trust him today.

Heavenly Father, I

love you.

Thank you, Lord, for

your love that you

have for us.

Guide us today,

oh God, I pray to live

out our faith for you.

In Jesus' precious name,

amen.

Amen.

Amen.