WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.879 I'm going to read scripture for us now. I've got two readings, one from the Old Testament, 00:00:07.600 --> 00:00:14.960 ! Genesis chapter 11, into chapter 12. And then we're going to read from Hebrews chapter 11, 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:20.559 ! Which David is going to come and preach from in just a little while. So first of all, I'm going to read 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:30.159 Genesis chapter 11, verse 27, to chapter 12, verse 8. So the first part, which introduces us 00:00:30.159 --> 00:00:37.039 to Abraham, or Abram as he was then, and some of his family. And then we're going to read about 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:42.640 Abram being called by God. The words are going to be on the screen. There's Bibles at the back. 00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:49.439 It's also in the printed handout if you have one. And if you'd like to get up and grab a Bible at any 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:59.459 point, please do so. So this is Genesis chapter 11, verse 27. Now these are the generations of Terah. 00:00:59.879 --> 00:01:07.079 Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran fathered Lot. Haran died in the presence of his 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:13.379 father, Terah, in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. And Abram and Nahor took wives. 00:01:13.379 --> 00:01:19.839 The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, 00:01:20.039 --> 00:01:27.140 the father of Milcah, and Ishca. Now, Sarai was barren. She had no child. Terah took Abram, 00:01:27.179 --> 00:01:34.259 his son, and Lot, the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, his son, Abram's wife. 00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:39.319 And they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan. 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:45.599 But when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were 205 years, 00:01:46.139 --> 00:01:52.739 and Terah died in Haran. Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country and your kindred 00:01:52.739 --> 00:01:57.599 and your father's house to the land that I will show you, and I will make of you a great nation, 00:01:57.839 --> 00:02:02.780 and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. 00:02:02.780 --> 00:02:09.259 And then we're going to turn to Hebrews chapter 11. No, we're not. Not yet. Sorry. 00:02:10.539 --> 00:02:15.879 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you, I will curse. And in you, 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:20.759 all the families of the earth shall be blessed. So Abram went as the Lord had told him, and Lot 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:27.719 went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai, his wife, 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:31.560 and Lot, his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:36.280 and the people that they had acquired in Haran. And they set out to go to the land of Canaan. 00:02:36.860 --> 00:02:42.180 When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:48.319 to the oak of Moray. At that time, the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abraham 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:54.520 and said, To your offspring, I will give this land. So he built there an altar to the Lord who had 00:02:54.520 --> 00:03:00.439 appeared to him. From there, he moved to a hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:06.939 with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called 00:03:06.939 --> 00:03:15.859 upon the name of the Lord. And in Hebrews chapter 11, just a short reading, verses 8 to 12. 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:22.680 By faith, Abram obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:28.640 And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith, he went to live in the land of promise, 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:34.840 as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:40.659 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 00:03:41.600 --> 00:03:46.879 By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:56.900 since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man and him as good as dead 00:03:56.900 --> 00:04:03.439 were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:08.639 by the seashore. Amen. This is God's holy word. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:18.019 We come this evening to Hebrews 11 and once again, and to the figure of Abraham. 00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:28.019 Come to the next verses of chapter 11. Really verses 8 through 19 are the verses in which the 00:04:28.019 --> 00:04:34.379 writer zooms in on the person of Abraham. We're not going to look at all those verses. Just going 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:46.759 to look at verses 8 through 12 this evening. And Abraham is focused upon here as, of course, a man 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:57.219 of faith. He was an individual whose life and existence really was shaped by his faith in God. And time 00:04:57.219 --> 00:05:04.360 and time again in the Bible, when faith is to be illustrated, then Abraham's example is 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:11.220 often highlighted. And we see this in other passages in the New Testament, James chapter 2, 00:05:11.420 --> 00:05:18.199 Romans chapter 4. And that's exactly what we see happening here in Hebrews chapter 11. Abraham 00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:26.180 is seen as a great archetype of faith. And I suppose one of the things that we, many of us, take for 00:05:26.180 --> 00:05:34.000 granted, I suppose, today is a belief in one God, monotheism. But that was not the case. 00:05:34.360 --> 00:05:42.240 In Abraham's day and generation, that was not the norm. It was a day of polytheism, many gods. 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:51.800 And in that culture, society, generation, Abraham stood out in his conviction and belief in one creator, 00:05:51.800 --> 00:06:02.439 God. And that's why the great monotheistic religions of today, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:12.240 all look and call themselves children in different ways, children of Abraham. The word Abram, and then 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:20.560 Abraham. Abram means father. Abraham, father of many. And these Christians to whom the letter of Hebrews 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:28.939 was written, as we remind ourselves, were a group of believers trying to stand for Jesus Christ in a very 00:06:28.939 --> 00:06:36.279 difficult and hostile environment. And they were in need of encouragement to keep on persevering in the 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:45.300 way of faith. And so the writer turns in these verses to Abraham and holds him up to the light so 00:06:45.300 --> 00:06:52.579 that his readers can just, so they can see more clearly how the life of faith is to be lived out, 00:06:52.579 --> 00:06:59.539 even in a hostile world. And so we look this evening at the first part of this section, 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:07.979 running from verse 8 through 12. And in time-honored tradition, I want to pull out three things here 00:07:07.979 --> 00:07:18.159 about Abraham and his faith. And the first thing I want you to notice with me is the obedience of faith, 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:29.180 the obedience of faith. And we have that in verse 9. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go 00:07:29.180 --> 00:07:36.140 to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. 00:07:36.860 --> 00:07:42.600 This reference, of course, is to Genesis 12, to that passage that Chris read for us, 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:48.180 to Abraham's response to Abraham's response to God's call on his life. We read there, 00:07:48.520 --> 00:07:54.580 leave your country, your people, your father's household. Go to the land I will show you. 00:07:55.420 --> 00:08:02.240 I like the King James Version. It's a little more emphatic. Get thee out of thy country. 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:12.580 And so, out of the blue, God's voice comes. Go from your country to the land I will show you. 00:08:12.579 --> 00:08:20.399 Abraham is not given a map. He's not given some kind of travel brochure. He's not given coordinates. 00:08:21.139 --> 00:08:27.240 He's not given directions. He's not given an itinerary. He's not given any guarantees. 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:36.439 He's given a command, and he's given a promise. Go to the land I will show you. 00:08:36.440 --> 00:08:45.920 And Abraham is called to surrender his plans, his will, his life completely to God. 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:54.840 And we're told that by faith, or through faith, Abraham obeyed God. He's called to leave everything. 00:08:55.900 --> 00:09:01.820 His culture, his security, his identity, and really to step into the unknown. 00:09:01.820 --> 00:09:08.980 And Abraham, as we read the text, doesn't negotiate. He doesn't, you know, demand a five-year plan. He 00:09:08.980 --> 00:09:18.300 doesn't engage in a comprehensive risk assessment. He obeys because he trusts the one who calls him. 00:09:20.060 --> 00:09:27.100 As we said before in this series, Abraham's faith, like others' faith, is not faith in faith itself. 00:09:27.100 --> 00:09:37.820 It's not some nebulous leap into the dark. His is faith in the living God who speaks, who promises, 00:09:38.540 --> 00:09:46.200 the God who cannot lie. It's one of the great features of Abraham's life. All through his story, 00:09:46.820 --> 00:09:53.080 God says, go. Abraham says, where? God says, I'll show you later. God says, I'm going to make you a 00:09:53.080 --> 00:10:00.460 great nation. Abraham says, how? God says, I'll show you later. God says to Abraham, take your son to 00:10:00.460 --> 00:10:08.259 Mount Moriah. Sacrifice him. Abraham says, why? God says, I'll show you later. Because in the way of 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:14.560 faith, everything is not revealed up front. Like Abraham, we do not know what lies ahead of us, 00:10:14.560 --> 00:10:21.520 what job, what country, what future. So many things are unknown. And yet, biblical faith steps 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:31.059 into the unknown with the God who has made himself known. Martin Luther wrote these words, 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:39.539 this is the glory of faith, simply not to know, not to know where you are going, not to know what you 00:10:39.539 --> 00:10:45.939 are doing, not to know what you must suffer. And with sense and intellect, virtue and will, 00:10:45.940 --> 00:10:57.560 all alike made captive to follow the naked voice of God. He goes on to say, Abraham with his obedience 00:10:57.560 --> 00:11:05.260 of faith shows the highest example of the evangelical life, because he left all and followed the Lord, 00:11:05.780 --> 00:11:12.160 preferring the Word of God to everything else and loving it above all things. Of his own free will, 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:20.899 a pilgrim subject to the perils of life and death every hour of the day and night. And so the call of 00:11:20.899 --> 00:11:28.879 the gospel, the call of Christ, the call of God is a call to the obedience that comes through faith. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:37.199 We think of Jesus speaking in Luke 14, if anyone comes to me, he doesn't hate his own father and 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:43.080 mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters. Yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:50.700 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. What is that? It's a call, 00:11:50.800 --> 00:11:57.620 isn't it, to put Jesus first in everything. It's a call to love him, to trust him, to obey him. 00:11:57.620 --> 00:12:09.259 It's a very important point, I think, to grasp about being a Christian. Lots of people, when perhaps 00:12:09.259 --> 00:12:15.500 they're thinking about the Christian faith, wondering whether to commit themselves or not, 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:21.960 ask things like this. You know, if I was to become a Christian, does that mean I will have to 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:28.180 give up sleeping with my boyfriend or my girlfriend? Does that mean I will have to spend my money 00:12:28.180 --> 00:12:34.400 differently? Does that mean I have to forgive that person I absolutely hate? Does that mean I'm going 00:12:34.400 --> 00:12:41.480 to have to change my job? And what they're really asking is this, give me directions. Tell me where I'm 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:49.900 going. Show me the land, God, that you're taking me to. And often what those questions express really is a 00:12:49.899 --> 00:12:57.659 desire to stay in charge and to stay in control, to remain in the driving seat, to have our hands on 00:12:57.659 --> 00:13:03.759 the reins of our lives. I'll go, God, but only if you show me where, only if you tell me exactly where 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:12.539 we're going. But really to become a Christian means that we hand those reins over to God and we hand 00:13:12.539 --> 00:13:17.779 control to him and he takes the driving seat. And that is scary. 00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:28.019 Christianity means submitting to Jesus as Lord. And yes, it is about loving him and trusting him 00:13:28.019 --> 00:13:35.139 and following him and obeying him. If you love me, says Jesus, you will keep my commands. 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:45.019 In the opening verse of his first letter, the apostle Peter talks to those who are elect exiles of the 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:52.980 dispersion. According to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit for 00:13:52.980 --> 00:14:01.980 obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood. And the point Peter is making there is that 00:14:01.980 --> 00:14:11.720 we are chosen and called for obedience to Jesus Christ. And we don't know what may lie ahead. We may not 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:19.639 even know where we're going. But nonetheless, like Abraham of old, we're called to put God first and 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:25.240 to travel the way of faith and obedience. That's what we were hearing in part about this morning with 00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:33.899 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. There's that old hymn, isn't there? Trust and obey, for there's no other way 00:14:33.899 --> 00:14:41.699 to be happy to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. The obedience of faith. That's the first thing 00:14:41.699 --> 00:14:48.699 we see here with Abraham. And then the second thing, what I've called the endurance of faith. 00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:57.340 The following verses, we find them there by faith. Verse 10, he went to live in the land of promise as 00:14:57.340 --> 00:15:02.620 in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise, 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:11.820 for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 00:15:12.899 --> 00:15:21.900 Verses 9 and 10. Abraham arrives, of course, in Canaan, the land of promise, but he doesn't possess 00:15:21.900 --> 00:15:27.180 that land. This was the land that had been promised to him and his descendants, but there's a sense 00:15:27.179 --> 00:15:33.459 in which Abraham never really settled there. He was always a pilgrim. He had no permanent dwelling 00:15:33.459 --> 00:15:37.839 because he and his family lived in tents as strangers in a foreign land. 00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:52.179 He's a stranger pitching tents in a land that is only his by promise, not by sight. He's a man without 00:15:52.179 --> 00:16:01.219 permanence. A man who must look to a future that he cannot yet grasp. It's interesting. Have you 00:16:01.219 --> 00:16:08.199 wondered what kept Abraham going during those early years in the land of promise? After all, he was 00:16:08.199 --> 00:16:16.699 25 years in the land before Isaac was ever born. For those 25 years, all he had to hold on to 00:16:16.700 --> 00:16:24.740 was God's promise. There was no tangible sign of fulfillment. And of course, verse 10 gives us the 00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:31.620 answer, tells us how and why he endured, for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, 00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:42.520 whose designer and builder is God. Abraham was a pilgrim, rootless in this world, because his heart, 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:51.939 in some sense was anchored in another. He was not seduced by the cities of men, our Sodom, Babylon, 00:16:52.460 --> 00:17:00.699 because he saw by faith the city of God. He was looking for something more permanent and real, 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:11.139 beyond his temporary tents to an eternal city with foundations. Abraham saw and understood that this world 00:17:11.140 --> 00:17:19.320 was not his ultimate home. And friends, that is the mark, is it not, of the Christian life. We are not 00:17:19.320 --> 00:17:33.100 at home here. This world offers much comfort, success, security, but faith says, no, I'm bound for a better 00:17:33.099 --> 00:17:45.599 country. I was visiting an elderly lady this past week. She's over 100 years old. And she's in a care 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:59.059 home. And her own home that she's lived in from before World War II. And it's up for sale. And she's quite 00:17:59.059 --> 00:18:10.879 upset. And as we spoke, and I reminded her, yeah, but that's not your ultimate home. That's not your real 00:18:10.879 --> 00:18:20.579 home. That's yet to come. I agree. You know, Abraham, he enjoyed the many material blessings that God 00:18:20.579 --> 00:18:27.319 showered upon him and his family in the land of promise. And all of that was good. But it wasn't his 00:18:27.319 --> 00:18:34.079 ultimate goal. This world was not the foundation of his life. It was not the be-all and end-all. 00:18:35.259 --> 00:18:41.659 And one of the things that marked Abraham out from his contemporaries was the fact that he lived his 00:18:41.659 --> 00:18:48.299 life as a stranger and alien in this world. He understood that he was passing through. 00:18:49.379 --> 00:18:56.919 And this world, with its pleasures and comforts, was not his ultimate goal. Because that goal lay beyond. 00:18:57.319 --> 00:19:05.339 His heart was set on the eternal city of God. And it's this eternal reality that fed his soul and 00:19:05.339 --> 00:19:14.299 nourished him when things were hard and difficult. The Christian believer is a man or woman who has a 00:19:14.299 --> 00:19:23.700 longing for the eternal, a hunger for the glory that is to come. I wonder, what are we living for? 00:19:23.700 --> 00:19:30.380 Are we living for that city? Or have we pitched our tent too firmly in this passing world? 00:19:31.620 --> 00:19:39.440 Life is short. And as you get older, you realize that more and more. Eternity is long. 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:47.740 And we often struggle with that. The extensive, expansive nature of eternity. 00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:56.240 The immense dimensions of the world to come in relation to this world and this brief life. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:05.200 I love those concluding words of the Narnia Chronicles of C.S. Lewis. And he captures something of this, 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:10.160 I think, the last words really of the book, The Last Battle. He writes, 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:17.960 For us, it is the end of all the stories. We can most fully say that they all lived happily ever after. 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:25.400 But for them, it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:32.279 had only been the cover and title page. Now at last, they were beginning chapter one 00:20:32.279 --> 00:20:41.960 of the great story that no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, and in which every chapter 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:52.139 is better than the one before. I spent, I think, almost 25 years as a parish minister in the Church 00:20:52.139 --> 00:21:00.139 of Scotland. And as a result, I conducted many, many funeral services. In those days, there were, 00:21:00.140 --> 00:21:06.840 back in the day, there were no humanist celebrants. People died, they came to the parish minister. 00:21:07.340 --> 00:21:15.160 I don't know how many funerals I've done. 750, 800, something like that. And I tell you this, 00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:25.860 there's a striking, striking difference between those in which the deceased lived as if this world 00:21:25.859 --> 00:21:32.879 was all that there is. And those where the deceased has been looking forward to that city with foundations, 00:21:32.879 --> 00:21:35.059 whose architect and builder is God. 00:21:38.179 --> 00:21:43.919 What difference between those who've been living as if this world was everything, 00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:48.659 and those who've been living here as strangers and aliens. 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:55.660 It's not without reason that Peter, in his first epistle, describes his readers just with those 00:21:55.660 --> 00:22:01.700 words, sojourners and exiles. Again, we were thinking about that this morning. 00:22:03.180 --> 00:22:08.440 Because as Christians, we are to live as aliens and strangers in this world. 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:14.860 In the world, but not of the world. Yes, it's good to enjoy the many material blessings, 00:22:14.859 --> 00:22:21.779 but we must not allow those things to loom so large that they become everything to us. 00:22:23.379 --> 00:22:32.419 Idols. We need to fix our eyes on that which is infinitely more valuable and precious. 00:22:33.639 --> 00:22:39.799 I came across some words of J.C. Ryle this week. He writes this, 00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:48.559 The time is short. The fashion of this world, our caitland, passeth away. A few more sicknesses, 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:53.139 and all will be over. A few more funerals, and our own funeral will be taking place. A few more 00:22:53.139 --> 00:23:00.240 storms and tossings, and we shall be safe in harbor. We travel towards a world where there is no more 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:06.460 sickness. Where parting and pain and crying and mourning are done with forever. 00:23:06.460 --> 00:23:13.340 Then he says, In the meantime, let us live the life of faith in the Son of God. 00:23:14.840 --> 00:23:22.680 Let us lean all our weight on Christ, and rejoice in the thought that He lives forevermore. Yes, 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:29.860 blessed be God. Christ lives though we may die. Christ lives though friends and families are carried 00:23:29.859 --> 00:23:35.579 to the grave. He lives through the grave. He lives through abolish death and brought life and immortality 00:23:35.579 --> 00:23:46.479 to light by the gospel. Paul in Romans 8 says, I consider our present sufferings not worth comparing 00:23:46.479 --> 00:23:56.019 with the glory that will be revealed in us. These Hebrew Christians who first received this letter, 00:23:56.019 --> 00:24:02.240 some were losing their material possessions. Some had lost their freedom. Perhaps some were in danger 00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:07.579 of even losing their lives. And the writer is saying to them, as he says to us, look at Abraham. 00:24:08.039 --> 00:24:15.119 Look at how he kept going. Look at how he lived and sojourned in this life. He lived as one looking 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:25.940 forward. He lived in this world as one who belonged to another. How are you living? What are you looking 00:24:25.940 --> 00:24:32.620 forward to? Yes, things may be hard and difficult. There may be family problems and relationship 00:24:32.620 --> 00:24:38.500 difficulties and employment worries and health concerns and really all manner of stresses and 00:24:38.500 --> 00:24:47.660 strains. But are you in Christ walking in the faith of Abraham? Are you pressing on? Are you keeping on? 00:24:47.660 --> 00:24:54.960 Are you enduring? Are you looking to that city with foundations whose architect and builder is God? 00:24:55.940 --> 00:24:59.340 God's sake. The obedience of faith. The obedience of faith. The endurance of faith. Finally, 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:09.519 quickly, what I've called the dynamic of faith in verses 11 through 12. By faith, Sarah herself received 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:15.340 power to conceive even when she was past the age since she considered him faithful who had promised. 00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:21.160 Therefore, from one man and him as good as dead were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven 00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:28.480 and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. There's a bit of a debate on how 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:37.240 verse 11 should be translated. I tend to think that the NIV translation really to be preferred to the ESV 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:45.100 here. It reads, by faith Abraham, even though he was past age and Sarah herself was barren, was unable to 00:25:45.100 --> 00:25:50.920 become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. I think the verbs refer to 00:25:50.920 --> 00:25:56.940 Abraham rather than Sarah. But it doesn't really matter because whatever translation we use, the 00:25:56.940 --> 00:26:03.759 meaning is clear. What is depicted really is an impossible situation. Sarah is old. She has gone 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:09.519 through the change. Abraham is also old. He's beyond the years of likely being able to father a child. 00:26:11.140 --> 00:26:16.140 And the promise of a son, a seed through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed, seems 00:26:16.140 --> 00:26:22.680 absolutely laughable. In fact, Sarah does laugh when she first hears it in Genesis 18-12. 00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:29.500 What it is, is a picture of utter hopelessness. And that's why we're told right at the beginning of 00:26:29.500 --> 00:26:36.560 the Abraham story that Sarah, Abraham's wife, is barren, Genesis 11-30. What the writer is 00:26:36.560 --> 00:26:42.480 communicating there is this is a dead end. There's no hope. There's no way forward. There's no future. 00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:50.440 It's a picture. It's a picture of abject human inability. A situation where there is no prospect 00:26:50.440 --> 00:27:01.660 of a happy ending. And friends, this is precisely where Christian life and faith begins. It begins with 00:27:01.660 --> 00:27:11.700 human inability. It begins with human helplessness. It begins when we realize that we are without hope 00:27:11.700 --> 00:27:19.380 on our own. When we're driven beyond our own resources and we're cast entirely upon God. 00:27:21.000 --> 00:27:25.799 When we realize we can do nothing to make ourselves acceptable to Him. 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:31.480 It begins when we realize our own moral and spiritual bankruptcy. 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:38.140 It begins when we realize our own moral and spiritual bankruptcy begins when we give up on ourselves 00:27:38.140 --> 00:27:45.740 and look to the living God. And even as Christians, how often God brings us back to that place 00:27:45.740 --> 00:27:52.440 where we once again have to admit and confess our own weakness and inability. 00:27:52.440 --> 00:28:03.160 when we have to cast ourselves on God. Because there is no other thing we can do. 00:28:04.779 --> 00:28:11.400 And yet in Genesis 11 and 12, we read, of course, of how that situation of despair, 00:28:12.360 --> 00:28:18.620 into that situation comes God. God speaks. God calls. God acts. God promises. 00:28:18.619 --> 00:28:27.919 Faith and hope are born. And a future begins to emerge. God promises a son, descendants, a future. 00:28:28.239 --> 00:28:33.439 From one man, him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven 00:28:33.439 --> 00:28:41.519 and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. Now, of course, Abraham and Sarah's faith 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:51.139 was not flawless. But God's promise does not depend on the perfection of our faith. Only on the perfection 00:28:51.139 --> 00:29:00.059 of His faithfulness. In time, Sarah's laughter of disbelief becomes the laughter of joy. 00:29:00.920 --> 00:29:06.819 Because God is true to His Word. Through her son Isaac, the line of promise continues 00:29:06.819 --> 00:29:15.359 until it reaches its climax in Jesus Christ, the true seed. The one in whom all the promises of God 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:25.019 are yes and amen. In the face of a helpless and apparently hopeless situation, Abraham considered 00:29:25.019 --> 00:29:36.559 him faithful who had made the promise. He saw things through the lens of God's promise. He knew who it was 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:44.579 who had made the promise. And that promise would never and could never be broken. And so, through God's 00:29:44.579 --> 00:29:51.659 promise out of a situation of death, there comes life. And there comes fruit. And there comes hope. 00:29:51.879 --> 00:29:59.240 And there comes a nation. And ultimately, there comes a Savior. Paul says of Abraham, Romans 4.20, 00:29:59.240 --> 00:30:06.359 no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God. But he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory 00:30:06.359 --> 00:30:15.980 to God. Friends, Abraham's life confronts us with the nature of faith, that it's not passive. It involves 00:30:15.980 --> 00:30:26.859 active obedience. It is the willingness to leave our haran, our comfort zone, our idols, our self-reliance, 00:30:26.859 --> 00:30:35.219 and to follow where God himself leads, even when we can't see the way. And Abraham's life assures us 00:30:35.219 --> 00:30:43.119 of the faithfulness of God. Abraham and Sarah were not superheroes of faith, frail, flawed, faltering 00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:49.740 human beings just like us. And yet, God's promise held firm. He did not abandon them, and he will not 00:30:49.740 --> 00:31:02.980 abandon us. He will never abandon his people. And just like the pre, like Noah and Abel and Enoch, 00:31:04.339 --> 00:31:13.359 Abraham's life points us to Jesus Christ. He is the true son of Abraham. We're reminded of that in the 00:31:13.359 --> 00:31:22.159 very opening verse of the New Testament, Matthew 1.1. The great and wonderful promises made to Abraham 00:31:22.159 --> 00:31:30.619 have been fulfilled and extended and enlarged by Jesus Christ. That promise given to Abraham that 00:31:30.619 --> 00:31:36.939 through his offspring, all the nations would be blessed has found its fulfillment in the person and 00:31:36.940 --> 00:31:43.680 the work of Jesus Christ. It's found its climax at the cross, where Jesus broke the power of cancelled 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:50.400 sin and set the prisoners free, and where he is gathering the nations of this world into the very 00:31:50.400 --> 00:32:00.000 family of God. And this Jesus is the one who has promised never to leave us or abandon us. He's one in whom 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:08.160 we enjoy forgiveness of sins and a right standing before God. He's the one who promises eternal life to 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:15.500 all who will believe in him. He's the one who has promised resurrection life in the face of death. 00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:21.779 He's the one who's able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. He's the one who will build his 00:32:21.779 --> 00:32:28.839 church and against which even the gates of hell shall not prevail. He's the one who has promised to be 00:32:28.839 --> 00:32:39.679 with us, with his people, even to the very end of the age. You may be beset by feelings of helplessness 00:32:39.679 --> 00:32:47.639 and fear, may have no sense of acceptance with God, fearful of death, anxious and troubled about the future. 00:32:48.839 --> 00:32:57.839 And yet Jesus Christ calls you to himself, and he says, trust me and follow me and believe me. 00:32:58.839 --> 00:33:04.399 Friends, where is your faith today? Are you walking in the way of Christian obedience, 00:33:04.819 --> 00:33:09.319 even though the future is unknown? You're clinging to the promises of God, 00:33:09.679 --> 00:33:15.919 even when the way is dark. Are you living as a pilgrim with your eyes fixed on the city that is 00:33:15.919 --> 00:33:23.000 yet to come? And as the hymn writers say, when I'm faced with anguished choice, I will listen for 00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:33.940 your voice and I'll stand on every promise of your word. Let Abraham and Sarah teach you tonight. 00:33:35.180 --> 00:33:42.640 Let their faith inspire you. Above all, let their God, the God who calls, the God who promises, 00:33:42.859 --> 00:33:49.359 the God who fulfills, be your hope and your strength. Let them lead you to Jesus Christ, 00:33:49.359 --> 00:33:53.240 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 00:33:55.019 --> 00:34:01.519 The obedience of faith. Are you putting God first in your life? The endurance of faith. Are you 00:34:01.519 --> 00:34:07.039 looking forward to that city with foundations? The dynamic of faith. Are you standing on the 00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:16.420 life-giving promises of God? May God in his grace enable us so to do. Let's pray. 00:34:16.420 --> 00:34:27.340 God our Father, we come to you in our weakness and frailty and inability. 00:34:28.200 --> 00:34:35.159 And we look away from ourselves. And to you, the living God, we thank you that you're a God who speaks. 00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:45.000 You're a God who reveals himself. And you're a God who invites us to trust you and to stand on your 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:54.179 promises. Oh Lord, we need your help. Meet with us, we pray. And lead us and guide us as we pray these 00:34:54.179 --> 00:34:56.199 things. In Jesus' name. Amen.