The Faith Of Abraham - Hebrews 11:8-10

verses 8 through 10, Hebrews chapter 11. By faith,

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

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. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Father, we come to you this Lord's Day. We thank

you for your word. Father, we thank you for Christ.

Father, we ask today that you would be with us.

Lord, we ask that you would bless the ministry

of your word abundantly. Lord, accompany the

ministry of your word in great power. Lord, work

in the hearts and minds of your people mightily.

Draw unrepentant men to yourself. Be in our midst,

Lord. Be among us. We ask these things in Jesus'

name. Amen. You may be seated. In 1 Corinthians

15, Paul is writing about the resurrection that

is to come. And he makes this statement to the

church at Corinth. He says, If from human motives

I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does

it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let

us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. What is

Paul, what is his point in that statement? He's

saying that if there's no resurrection, then

men ought to just simply live fully. for this

life here and now. If there's no resurrection,

set your heart on the things of this world, the

satisfaction and the pleasures of this life.

But Paul is saying that there is, in fact, a

resurrection. There is a greater, more ultimate

reality that is to come. And that affects and

governs how Christians live in this life here

and now. The basis for his whole argument is

this. He says, I labor, I work, I serve the Lord

Jesus Christ, not because I'm reveling in this

life, but because I know there's a resurrection

to come. There's more which follows. There's

further, greater realities which are still to

come. The world lives for this life. The culture

lives for this life. Pleasure, food, success,

money. Get whatever you can here and now. Because

we will die. I don't get a second chance to enjoy

all the pleasures of this life. Soak it up. Absorb

it. Get the most out of this life that I possibly

can. But the reality is, the Christian ought

to be distinctly different from the culture and

the world. Why? Because the believer in Jesus

Christ does not live fully for this life. The

believer in Jesus Christ lives fully for Christ

in this life. Knowing that there are greater

realities which they are to partake in. That

the resurrection is coming. That the new heavens

and the new earth, will come, that Christ will

return, that all men will stand before the judgment

seat of Christ, either in Him, in union with

Christ, or they will stand as their own representative

and their own righteousness and give an account

of their life and why they have lived and the

way they have lived and the reason for... their

way of life. In Hebrews chapter 11, we come to

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Abraham. We've considered Abel, Enoch, and Noah.

Today, we come to Abraham and his faith in verses

8 through 10. We find that Abraham's faith enables

him to live as a stranger or a pilgrim in this

world because he has a hope of more eternal,

grand, glorious, and more ultimate realities

which are to come. We're going to consider Abraham's

faith -filled obedience to God's call in his

life. We're going to consider Abraham's faith

-filled life as a sojourner or a pilgrim throughout

his life. And then lastly, we will consider Abraham's

faith -filled heart, that which carried him throughout

life and enabled him to obey God's call and to

live as a sojourner or a pilgrim. Throughout

the entirety of his life. Beginning with the

first. His faith filled obedience to God's call.

We read this in verse 8. By faith Abraham. When

he was called. Obeyed by going out to a place

which he was to receive an inheritance. And he

went out not knowing where. He was going. This

is referring to Genesis chapter 12. And before

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

where Abraham leaves with his father, we get

a summary statement of Abraham's obedience to

this call and the nature of God's call in Abraham's

life. In Acts chapter 7, we read this. The high

Acts 7 · chapter mention

priest said, Are these things so? And Stephen

responds, and he begins to preach to the Jews.

And he said, Hear me, brethren and fathers. The

God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when

he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

and said to him, Leave your country and your

relatives and come into the land that I will

show you. Then he left. the land of the Chaldeans

and settled in Haran. From there, after his father

died, God had him move to this country in which

you are now living. In this call of God that

is given to Abraham, notice that God comes to

this man, the forefather of faith, Abram. early

on, and Abraham later on after his name was changed.

God appears to him. God gives him a command to

leave everything behind. To leave his family,

to leave his friends, to leave his father's household,

to forsake it all, and to follow God into a future

that is uncertain. He doesn't know where he's

going. He doesn't know what it's going to be

like. God gives him a command, and he obeys that

command. But God also gives him a promise. We

see this in Genesis 12 in particular. God promises

a lineage, blessings, a nation, and ultimately

that the Messiah would come forth from his own

lineage. It's the word of God coming to Abraham.

The authoritative, infallible, powerful word

of God coming to this man. And what does he do?

He obeys God and his word. What did this call

require of Father Abraham? Was it a cheap or

easy or inexpensive call that God gives to this

man? No, brothers and sisters. It was a very

costly call and command that God gives to our

forefather in the faith. He had to leave everything

he'd ever known. Many in this room today. have

lived in Edwards County the entirety of their

life. They've lived around their family, their

friends. They've built their career, their job,

their reputations, their wealth, their livelihood.

It all stems from this place. They see their

family, their immediate and their extended family,

regularly and often. They have great relationships.

They would never... leave this place. The same

is true of Abraham. God came to him and he said,

leave everything that you've ever known. Leave

it all and follow me into an uncertain future.

It was a costly call that God placed upon his

life. It was expensive. It required that he give

up things that he loved. It required that he

sacrifice things that were close to his heart.

It required that he leave that which he was comfortable

with and that which was known to him. Yet he

obeys. Despite the cost, he submits to the will

of God. And he goes into a future that he doesn't

know anything about. He has no certain knowledge

of what is to come in the future of his life

with regards to his circumstances or his situation

or his wealth, his finances, his home, his land,

whatever it might be. He did not know what was

going to happen. Yet, he... obeyed. Following

God by faith regardless of whether it was in

Abraham's day, in Moses' day, whether it be in

the apostles' day, whether it was in the early

church. Whether it was in the medieval period

of the church, whether it was in the period of

the Reformation, or following the Reformation,

or whether it be today, following God is always

costly, brethren. It always requires sacrifice.

Personal obedience to the living God Requires

personal sacrifice from God's people. We see

in Abraham's example that following God requires

discomfort, uncertainty, self -denial, and sacrifice.

We read in Matthew and Luke chapter 14. The Lord

Luke 14 · chapter mention

Jesus is teaching his disciples, and we read

this, Now large crowds were going along with

him, and he turned and said to them, If anyone

comes to me and does not hate his own father,

and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers,

and sisters, yes, and even His own life, He cannot

be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own

cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

It sounds costly, doesn't it? There's nothing

easy, there's nothing cheap about following Christ

as He puts it forward. It's hard. It's difficult.

It requires a great deal of the person to come

after the Lord Jesus and to continue following

the Lord Jesus. And then the Lord Jesus goes

on and says, for which one of you, when he wants

to build a tower, does not first sit down and

calculate the cost to see if he has enough to

complete it. Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation

and is not able to finish, All who observe it

begin to ridicule him, saying, This man began

to build and was not able to finish. An essential

element in the Christian life, in following Christ

and Christian discipleship, brothers and sisters,

is counting the cost and self -denial in our

own lives. Actually, if we want to grow as believers

in Jesus Christ, this is the starting place.

Self -denial and forsaking ourselves. It costs

a great deal to follow the Lord Jesus. As the

culture continues to degenerate and decline,

In our world, as the church continues to be faithful

to serve Christ and the risen Lord, do you know

what's going to come to the forefront even more

and more and more? Counting the cost of following

Jesus Christ. There are, in fact, in our day,

in our culture, certain benefits. To following

Christ. Or claiming to follow Christ. There are

certain benefits. To claiming I am a Christian.

But brothers and sisters. As the world grows

darker. And the church continues to be faithful.

the church and believers will begin counting

the cost even more and more. Our obedience, brothers

and sisters, does not depend on what we know

about the future. It does not depend on what

our life will or won't be like in this world.

It depends on what God has said in His Word.

If God requires it and commands it, then brothers

and sisters, we obey it as His people. And that

requires counting the cost of following Christ.

Has your Christianity cost you anything? In the

last week. It's a serious question. Has your

faith. Cost you anything. In the last month.

Has it required you to repent. Have you had to

give up desires. Have you had to push your pride

aside and humble yourself? Have you had to serve

somebody else? Have you had to do something you

didn't want to do or say something you didn't

want to say because the Word of God required

it? Have you had to stop doing something and

start doing something? Or have you just accepted

the old adage, I am who I am? This is what you

get. you counted the cost of your faith recently

Christian? Has it cost you anything? Christianity

that costs nothing is worthless with regards

to the faith of your eternal soul. If your Christianity

doesn't cost you anything, it will not save your

soul from damnation or hell. It will not pardon

your sins. It will not bring you into a saving

union with the Lord Jesus Christ. It will only

add to your condemnation. So ask yourself, and

I'm serious, Has my Christianity cost me anything

recently? Because there are serious outcomes

for your soul, whether it has or whether it hasn't.

The Christianity that follows the real Christ,

the real Savior, which really redeems sinners,

which really applies the blood of Christ, which

really forgives sins, which really redeems men

and gives them a future and a real hope, that

Christianity is always costly. Christianity always.

We learn this from Abraham's faith. But we also

see Abraham's faith -filled life as a sojourner.

We saw his initial act of faith in obeying God's

call. But we see in verse 9 his faith -filled

life in living as a pilgrim or a sojourner throughout

the duration of his life. We read in verse 9,

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. Now notice in this text. His identity.

In the land of promise. He lived as an alien.

A foreigner. A sojourner. In the land of promise.

Meaning he didn't have. Native citizenship. By

birthright in the country in which he went. He

had no rights from that country or rooted in

that country. He was a foreigner. He was an alien.

In a sense we could say he was an oddball to

that land. And Abraham actually recognizes this

in Genesis. We read in Genesis. We read in Psalm

105, in verse 12, referring to the patriarchs,

the psalmist says this, When they were only a

few in number, meaning the patriarchs, very few,

and strangers in it. They were strangers. Abraham

was a stranger in the land that God promised

to him. He didn't belong there, naturally, we

could say. But then we read in Genesis chapter

Genesis 23:4

23, verse 4. Listen to what Abraham says. From

his own mouth. I am a stranger. and a sojourner

among you. Give me a burial site among you that

I may bury my dead out of my sight. He confesses

with his own mouth that he doesn't belong, that

he's not native to the land or the country or

the people, but that he is an alien and a foreigner,

a pilgrim in their midst. And then we see the

character of his residence in the land of promise.

Notice that Hebrews 11 emphasizes the fact that

he was dwelling in tents. Now, what's the difference

between a tent and a home today? One is a permanent

structure. One is a temporary structure that

can be put up and taken down. The same is true

in Abraham's day. He lived a transient, nomadic

life where he was constantly on the move. I want

to read through a couple passages. in Genesis,

which emphasize his journey, his nomadic lifestyle.

Just to demonstrate how often he would plant

and stay, he would up and move. He would pop

up his tent, and then he'd take it down, and

then they'd move. They'd journey. Constantly.

It was a regular part of his life. In Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12, after already moving everything he

owns and everything he knows to the land of Canaan,

we read this, starting in verse 5. Abraham took

Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew and all their

possessions which they had accumulated and the

persons which they had acquired in Haran. and

they set out for the land of Canaan. Thus they

came to the land of Canaan. He's traveling. He's

moving. Then we read in verse 6, Abraham passed

through the land as far as the site of Shechem

to the oak of Morah. Now the Canaanite was then

in the land. He's moving. He's traveling. Then

we read in verse 8, Then, He proceeded from there

to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched

his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the

east. And there he built an altar to the Lord

and called upon the name of the Lord. Then we

read in verse 9, Abram journeyed on, continuing

toward the Negev. Again, he's moving. He's not

settling in one place. We read in chapter 13,

verse 1. So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev,

he and his wife and all that belonged to him,

and Lot with him. We read in chapter 20, verse

1. Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the

land of Negev and settled between Kadesh and

Shur. Then he sojourned to Gerar. We read in

chapter 21, verses 33 through 34. Abraham planted

a tamarisk tree at Beersheba. And there he called

on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.

And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines

for many days. He's a wanderer. He's a nomad.

He doesn't have a place that he calls home. Psalm

105 says that he was wandering around the land.

Now, he was being led by God. But the character

of his residence was not one of permanence, meaning

he didn't find a place and permanently settle

there. No, he lived in tents. He lived a transient,

mobile life, going from one place to another.

There's a tension that's tied up with his identity

and the character of his residence. Think about

this tension in the life of Abraham. God calls

him forth from his homeland. And he goes and

he arrives in the land. And God has promised

to give him this land. But he gets there and

he lives in it as a stranger. God has promised

him something, yet he's not in possession of

that thing within his lifetime. God has promised

him something, yet he never fully grasps it.

And it's never fully realized in his life. Why?

Because the promise that God made to him regarding

the land was never fully realized in his lifetime.

It stood for something much greater. It represented

something much more glorious. Much more grand.

The new heavens. The new earth. An eternal city.

An eternal dwelling place with God. There's a

tension in Abraham's life. Where he's been given

a promise, yet he's not fully in possession of

that promise, and he's living in this middle

period. This in -between. From the time the promise

is given and the time the promise is fully and

finally realized. That's important for us, brothers

and sisters. Faith doesn't simply have to do

with the reception of the promises initially.

And faith doesn't just have to do with the enjoyment

of the promises. and their culminated and fullest

state at the end of all things when Christ returns.

Faith has to do with the middle. Faith has to

do with the in -between of the Christian's life.

We live and we breathe that tension, don't we?

If you're here today as a believer in Jesus Christ,

You know what I'm talking about. Because you

long for more in your heart. You are grieved

by the things that take place around you. You

hope for perfect holiness and purity. You look

and you long for the return of Christ and perfect

justice and vindication and holiness and righteousness.

to be administered in all the earth, and for

righteousness to flourish in all the world. You

long for Christ to be recognized as He ought

to be recognized, and you long to appear with

Him, to be vindicated by the slander of the unbelieving

world. Brothers and sisters, you know the tension

that Abraham knew. We walk it, we walk in it,

and we... Breathe it every single day. Why? Because

just as Abraham lived in that middle period,

brothers and sisters, we live in that middle

period. Christ has in fact secured promises and

realities and redemption for believers in Jesus

Christ. Christ has died to save sinners. Christ

has died for the pardon of sinners, for the justification

of the unrighteous. He has died to make you new

creatures that sin would no longer have dominion

in your life, brothers and sisters, but there

is still further and greater realities to come.

We live in the middle from the time that Christ

has secured and given us promises. In the time,

those promises will be fully and finally realized

at his return. We live in a time before the ultimate

has arrived with Christ and his glory. In 1 Peter

1, we are called aliens. We are referred to as

sojourners or pilgrims, just as Abraham was a

pilgrim in this world. We as New Covenant Christians

are pilgrims in this world. We can't really settle

because of indwelling sin. We can't really be

at home. Why? Because the moment we settle and

we get at home, that thing that we so long for

slips through our grasp. The things that we're

tempted to set our hearts upon in this world,

they're fleeting. They're here one moment and

then they're gone. In a very real way, everything

in this life is very, very... Tent -like. Transient.

Temporary. Not permanent. The fact that we live

in the middle is clear to every single one of

us who knows the Lord Jesus. Because it requires

waiting. It requires endurance. It requires perseverance

of faith in this life. This is why in Hebrews

Hebrews 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6 we are told this. And we desire that

each one of you show the same diligence so as

to realize the full assurance of hope until the

end so that you will not be sluggish but imitators

of those who Through faith and patience, inherit

the promises. The author of Hebrews is writing

to encourage patience, waiting, endurance, and

perseverance in the life of his recipients. That's

what we ought to be strengthened in as we learn

about these realities. Now, this brings us to

the last thing we have to consider. Abraham's

faith -filled heart. How was Abraham able to

be obedient when it was so costly? What enabled

him to forsake? Everything he'd ever known. What

enabled him to give up things which were so close

to his heart? And how is it that he was able

to live as a nomad, never settling down, as a

sojourner in this world, yet being content and

resigned and submissive? to God's perfect, holy,

costly purposes in his life. How can anybody

live like that? How can anybody be so different

from the unbelieving world which so clearly sets

their hearts upon the things of this world? How

is it possible? to continue to give yourself

to costly obedience and ongoing faithful living

in a fallen world? Well, we find the answer in

verse 10. For he was looking for the city which

has foundations, whose architect and builder

is God. Abraham's heart was full of faith, brothers

and sisters. This is how he was able to obey.

This is how he was able to deny himself and take

up his cross because of faith in his heart. This

is how he was content and resigned with living

as a nomad, never settling down in one place.

Because in his heart, Is the assurance of things

hoped for. The conviction of things not seen.

The promises of God were what his heart was set

upon. He lived by faith. And his heart was full

of faith. He obeyed and lived as he did. Because

he was actively looking forward to. Future, eternal,

unchanging, permanent, divine realities. He was

looking to the city. Which has foundations. Now

in the Nazby. Which is the Bible that we use

and we preach out of. Listen to what it says.

For he was looking for. The NIV, the ESV, the

NET, and many other translations, I think, get

this significantly better. It says this, for

he was looking forward to. That helps us understand

better how he obeyed and how he lived as he did.

He had forward -looking faith. And the promises

of God which are unchanging and immovable. He

was looking beyond the land. He was looking beyond

the symbols and the signs. He was looking to

that which only God could give. He had a heavenly

and an eternal hope that was lodged in his heart.

That was strongly influencing him in his life.

He obeyed because his heart was set on divine,

eternal, unchangeable, ultimate realities, brothers

and sisters. That's what his heart rested on.

That's what his heart was settled on. The things

of God. That's how he lived as he did. Brothers

and sisters, if you are to live faithfully in

this world, in the middle, the in -between stage,

which we all live in, if you are to live faithfully

in the middle, You must set your heart on that

which is ultimate. Not that which is less than

ultimate. Set your heart on that which cannot

change. Set your heart on that which God gives

and God alone gives. Set your heart on that which

is unseen and invisible. That which is eternal

and everlasting. Set your heart on things to

come. Things which the world can't take from

you. Set your heart on things which can't burn

up and be destroyed or crumble or fall apart.

Things which you cannot take from this world.

Set your heart on the glorious realities that

are still to be fulfilled in Christ at His return.

Do you have a heavenly hope, brothers and sisters?

Do you have a heavenly hope that goes beyond

the walls and the corridor of this earth and

this world? If you do, set your heart upon it.

And that will give you stability and perseverance

and obedience and faithfulness in this life.

As we live, In a tent -like world. I want to

read one passage as we conclude. We read this

in Colossians chapter 3. And it's fitting as

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

we conclude this study on Abraham. Listen to

what the Apostle Paul says. Therefore, if you

have been raised up with Christ, keep... Seeking

the things above where Christ is. Seated at the

right hand of God. Set your mind on the things

above. Not on the things that are on earth. And

then listen to this. For you have died and your

life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ,

who is our life, is revealed. then you also will

be revealed with him in glory. While we live

in the middle, we have to set our minds on the

things above, on Christ, on heaven, on eternal

realities. But brothers and sisters, the day

is coming when the middle will end. The in -between

period comes to a hard stop. All the discrepancies

and the discontinuities, And the incongruities

with regards to what has been promised and what

we actually possess one day will be fully resolved.

Completely. Because notice in the text that Paul

says this. For you have died and your life is

hidden with Christ in God. It's hidden in heaven

with Christ. The world does not see the church.

As she really is. The world does not see you.

As you really are. Your life is hidden with Christ.

But. When Christ is revealed. We will be revealed

with him in glory. It will be made known. What

the Christian really is. As Christ. Is manifested

in the sky in glory. With thousands and thousands

of his glorious angels. The truth will be revealed.

All the discontinuities between promises and

possession. Will be fully resolved. The day is

approaching. The day is coming. Do you have a

heavenly. that guides your heart, that strengthens

your heart today? Is your life hid with Christ

in God? Or are you as you really are? Do you

know the Lord Jesus by faith and repentance?

Are you trusting in Him?