tonight in our Bibles to Hebrews
chapter 11. We're looking this evening at verses
8 through 12, Hebrews chapter 11. By faith Abraham, when he was
called to go out into a place which he should after receive
for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing
whether he went. By faith he sojourned in the
land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder
and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself
received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child
when she was past age. because she judged him faithful
who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of
one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky
in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. The writer of Hebrews quoted
the Old Testament text, the just shall live by faith, in verse
38 of chapter 10. The just shall live by faith. Now this text is found in the
book of Habakkuk, but it is also quoted by the apostle Paul in
the letters of Romans and Galatians. In Romans it follows, after he
wrote, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it
is the power of God unto salvation unto every one that believeth. For the just shall live by faith. And in Galatians, it follows
the truth that no one, no person can be justified by his attempt
to keep the law. For no man is justified by the
law in the sight of God, for the just shall live by faith. Here in Hebrews, the verse is
followed by a definition of faith, verse one. Now faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And then
by examples of Old Testament saints, who by faith, we are
told, received a good report in verse two. For by it, the
elders, that is Old Testament believers, obtained a good report. And then he begins to name or
to list through this chapter in chronological order several
of these Old Testament elders who received a good report by
faith. Each one, each one that he names,
each one that he mentions, they all, by believing in the promised
seed, the promised seed of the woman, by their faith in Christ
who was promised to come, they all received or obtained a good
report. Now we are looking at the list
and truths which are associated with faith. We have seen with
Abel, by faith Abel, what is associated with the faith of
Abel? It is righteousness. By faith
Abel obtained or offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice
than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.
Righteous being justified, declared righteous before God. By faith,
the scripture says, we are justified by faith. And then, of course,
follows Enoch. And what is associated with his
faith, he pleased God. And we saw that was synonymous
with walking with God. He walked with God. He pleased
God. How did he do that? By faith. And then Noah follows Enoch,
and we see what is associated with the faith of Enoch, with
Noah rather, and it was fear, godly fear. And all of these
truths, and we're going to see three tonight, associated with
the faith of Abraham and Sarah, but all of these truths A person
who has faith will manifest in his life, that is, righteousness,
fear of God, that godly fear of God, and will walk with God.
Abraham comes next, and Paul called him the father of all
believers. In Romans chapter 4 and verse
16, the apostle said, therefore it is a faith. And I looked this
verse up today to see what John Gill had to say about it. Therefore,
it is a faith. What does that stand for, it?
Well, in the context there, I know he's speaking about justification. Justification is by faith. That, in order that, now listen,
it is by faith in order that, It might be by grace. Any other
way of being saved other than by faith, by believing in Christ,
would not be by grace. It would be by some work, some
merit on the part of an individual. But faith is a grace that receives. It's just the empty hand that
receives. Therefore it is of faith that
it might be by grace to the end that the promise might be sure,
the promise might be sure to all, A-L-L, all the seed, not
to that only which is of the law, in other words Jews who
were given the law of Moses, the The promise is sure to all
the seed, not just to the Jews, but to that also which is of
the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, that is
of both Jews and Gentiles. The promise of a seed that would
be as innumerable as the stars in the heavens and as the sand
by the seashore, the promise is sure to all the spiritual
seed, of Abraham. Tonight, I'd like for us to think
of three things associated here with the faith in the case of
Abraham and Sarah. First, obedience. Obedience. If you notice in verse
8, by faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place
which he should after receive for an inheritance Obeyed. Obeyed. That's what we should
associate and see when we think about Abraham's faith. His obedience. As far as Abraham is concerned,
his experience all started with God. If you're saved here tonight,
your experience also started with God. It didn't start with
you. We love him because he first
loved us. Men seek him because he first
sought us. As to Abraham's experience, it
all began with God. I want you to turn back to Joshua
with me just a moment. Joshua chapter 24. This is almost
at the end of the book of Joshua. It's near the end of the life
of Joshua. who led the children of Israel
into the land of promise. But in Joshua chapter 24, verses
1 through 3, we read, And Joshua gathered
all the tribes of Israel to seek Him, and called for the elders
of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for
their officers, and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua
said unto all the people, thus saith the Lord God of Israel,
your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time. In other words, they were in
the land of promise. Remember, they had crossed over
the Jordan. That's what he means by the other
side of the flood. All of their fathers had lived
on the other side of Jordan. Even Terah, the father of Abraham,
and the father of Nacor, And now notice, and they served other
gods. Now, they would have continued
there, serving other gods, had not God done something for them. Abraham, the father of all believers,
What we see of Him is true of us all who come to know Christ
as our Lord and Savior. Our salvation, our coming to
know God, began with Him, with God. Notice the next verse. They served other gods, and I
took your father Abraham. If God had not come to Abraham,
He would have continued there in that land serving other gods. There was nothing different about
Abraham. He didn't have a gene. You remember
a few years ago when they started really researching into genes
and things like that. They said some people just have
a gene to be religious. No, men have a gene to be wicked. That's what we have. Abraham
wasn't any different from his father or from anyone else there
in that land. He didn't have a special gene
that made him religious. They served other gods and I
took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood.
God took him. What I'm saying is that When
we think about Abraham, as far as his experience is concerned,
and as far as your experience is concerned, if you're one of
his children, it all begins with God. The same way that he takes
his sheep today, he took Abraham. He called him. He called him. The Lord Jesus Christ said, my
sheep, hear my voice, and I know them. How does God call His sheep? By His Word, by His written Word. Now, He spoke to Abraham, if
you turn back to Genesis chapter 12, He called Abraham. He took
Abraham by His, calling him by His Word. You say, well, the
Bible wasn't written then. No, it surely wasn't. But the words which were given
to Abraham are recorded in the Bible. They became part of the
Bible, the scripture. And so what I'm saying is that
God calls his sheep with the word, by the preaching of the
word. He doesn't call his sheep by
dreams. That doesn't mean that he hasn't
used dreams, but he doesn't call his sheep by dreams. Jacob, we
know, God appeared to him in a dream where he saw that ladder
that was set up upon the earth reaching into heaven, a picture
of Christ. But that's part of the word of
God. That's part of the word of God.
God calls his people with the word, not by dreams, not by some
sign up in the clouds. You ever heard anyone say that?
They were out laying on the ground, looking up into the sky, and
they saw this sign up in the clouds, and that's the way the
Lord called them. No, no, no. That's not the way
God calls His people. He calls His people just like
He did Abraham, using the Word of God. Here in Genesis 12, now
the Lord had said unto Abraham, He spoke to Abraham. Get thee
out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's
house unto a land that I will show thee and I will make of
thee a great nation. The word has two parts. The word by which Abraham was
called. First, there's a command. Get
thee out of thy country. And then there is the promise. I will make of thee. The Lord
called Abraham by his word, that which would later become scripture. And this is the most important,
this is most important, I should say, because we know that the
foundation of saving faith is the word of God. The foundation
of saving faith is the word of God. If your faith is based upon
something else, some experience, some feeling, anything like that,
you do not have a good foundation. The faith of God's people is
built upon the Word, the written Word of God. You know, you've
heard this many times before, it's still true. Luther, he's
the one who said faith, or feelings come and feelings go, and feelings
are deceiving. And that's certainly true. Look
with me in Luke chapter 5. I think we have one of the greatest
examples of this truth here in Luke chapter 5 with the Apostle Peter, the Lord
Jesus and the Apostle Peter. Faith is based on the word of
God. God called Abraham, God called
him through his word. In Luke chapter five, verse four
and six, four through six, our Lord had been preaching from
Simon's boat. Now when he had left speaking,
he said unto Simon, launch out into the deep and let down your
nets for a drought. And Simon answering said unto
him, master, We have toiled all the night and have taken nothing.
Now notice this, nevertheless at thy word I will let down the
net. Everything that Peter knew told
him, this is useless. This is useless. What he's told
me to do, let him down the net. This is useless. We've worked
all night. I've worked on this sea of Galilee. I've fished this sea for many
years. I know we are not going to catch
any fish. Nevertheless, at thy word. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's God's word. And thou shalt
be saved. Think of all the examples in
the gospels where the people who could not do what the Lord
commanded them to do, and yet they did it. The man with the
withered hand, he couldn't stretch out his hand, could he? He would
have already done that. But when the Lord spoke, stretch
forth a hand. Along with that command, that
word, came the power. And he did stretch forth his
hand. That woman who'd been bowed down
for 18 years, that's a long time, isn't it? 18 years, bowed over. And yet when the Lord spoke to
her, she was able to straighten up. Nevertheless, at thy word. If you turn back here to Hebrews
11, now with me, Verse 8, so the thing we see, first of all,
about the faith of Abraham, that which is associated with his
faith, is obedience. Obedience. One writer pointed
these four things out about faith here in verse 8. The scripture
here says, By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out
into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance,
obeyed. And he went out not knowing whether
he went. Number one, faith hears God's
call. Faith hears God's call. Number two, faith obeys God's
command. Number three, faith trusts God's
providence. And number four, faith inherits
the promise. Keep your places here, but let
me read a few verses here in Romans chapter 8. Very familiar verses to all of
us here tonight, but Romans chapter 8, beginning in verse 28. And
we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his son. that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
them he also called. God called Abraham, them he did
predestinate, he also called, and whom he called, them he also
justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. We see here in this passage that
those that God has predestined, to be conformed to the image
of his son, and has justified by faith, are called according
to his purpose. It all began for Abraham when
God called him, God took him, and God called him with the word,
and that's the way God speaks to us and calls his people today,
with the word. And as far as our experience
is concerned, I know before there ever was a star in the sky, as
far as God's purpose is concerned, it was purposed in eternity. I know that, but as far as our
experience is concerned, experience in salvation, it begins with
us When God calls us, when he calls us, and God calls his people,
he said, my sheep hear my voice and I know them. They hear his
voice and we hear his voice in the word of God. It's amazing
to me, it's still amazing to me that as a man stands and preaches
the word of God, God's sheep hear His voice. They hear the
voice of the man. There's no doubt about that.
But in hearing His voice, the man's voice, the preacher's voice,
they hear His voice. And they follow Him. It begins
with God. God calling. God justifying. And we see here in the case of
Abraham that faith trust God's providence. Abraham went out
not knowing whether he went. His faith obedience is manifested
in these ways. Don't you think that Abraham
maybe thought, where am I going? Now there was a certain amount
of safety for Abraham and his family to live there where they
were living. And you know, just to go out,
just a family to go out, not knowing where you're going. Where
am I going? What will happen to me in a strange
land? What's going to take place? How
are my needs going to be met? How will I be taken care of? And we know in the word of God,
God's answer is always the same. Trust me. Trust me. How are my needs going to be
met? Trust me. We're given that in
Romans 8 in verse 28, which we just read. But Paul didn't stop
there when he said, For we know that all things work together
for good to them who love God, to those who are called according
to his purpose. He didn't just stop there. Yes,
we know that all things work together for good, but he goes
on to say, and to remind us, if God spared not His Son, shall
He not also with Him freely give us all things? He will. So that's the first thing we
see associated with Abraham's faith, and that is obedience. Secondly, patience. Patience. Notice that. By faith, he sojourned. Patience. Patience of Abraham's
faith was mentioned before in chapter 6 of Hebrews, if you
want to turn back to Hebrews chapter 6. This is what we see associated
with his faith, obedience and patience. In Hebrews 6 and verse
13, we read, for when God made promise to Abraham, because he
could swear by no greater, he swore by himself. saying, surely
blessing I will bless thee and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so after he had patiently
endured, he received the promise. God promised Abraham a son. He promised him a son in whom
or through whom his seed would come in which all the families
of the earth would be blessed. Now the promise wasn't fulfilled
immediately. You know how old Abraham was
when God called him? He was 75 years old. Do you know
how old he was when the promise was fulfilled? He was 100 years
old. The promise wasn't fulfilled
immediately. But the Lord Jesus said this
about Abraham. He said, he rejoiced to see my
day and he saw it. He rejoiced to see my day, the
Lord Jesus Christ said. And he saw it. How did he see
it? He saw it by faith, by faith. Now in this place, the patience
of his faith is seen in his waiting back in chapter 11, his waiting
for the earthly inheritance, the land of promise. God promised
him, I will give you the land, all the land of Canaan. But notice
he, Abraham, along with his son Isaac and his son Jacob, they
lived in the land. Yes, they lived in tents in the
land. The promise wasn't fulfilled
until several centuries later. When his posterity was brought
into the land, the promise was fulfilled. They were pilgrims,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The land was theirs, it was promised
to them, but they patiently, patiently endured. This relates
to us because we too are pilgrims and strangers while we are in
this world, but our citizenship is in heaven. In this, Abraham pictures our
hope of heaven But we see that he shared in this hope. He shared
in this hope because the writer tells us here, he looked for
a city. Notice that in the text. By faith, he sojourned in the
land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.
That is, they were promised that land. For he looked for a city which
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Abraham, yes,
he was promised that land, the land of Canaan, and that promise
was fulfilled, was 400 years later when God brought Israel
out of Egypt into the land of promise. But he was looking for
a city. A city, a city that has foundations
whose builder and maker is God. What city is that? That's heaven.
That's a heavenly city. So the second thing that we associate
with Abraham's faith is patience. Patience, sojourning, waiting,
patiently enduring. And the third thing is strength. Notice in verse 11, they received
strength. Through faith also Sarah herself
received strength to conceive seed. Now, most of the writers
believe that this is not really speaking of Sarah, it's speaking
of the faith of Abraham. But John Gill, he said, why may
not Sarah be joined with Abraham in the commendation of faith,
as well as Isaac and Jacob? One writer translated this verse,
by faith he also together with Sarah received power to beget
a child. Another commented, either way
the significant thing is that strength was received. We associate strength also with
the faith of Abraham. This is important. that the strength
associated with faith is the strength of Christ. The strength
of Christ is imparted to believers by the Holy Spirit dwelling in
us. Why is it that God's people persevere? Is it because they just have
a greater willpower or anything like that? Of course not. It's
not human willpower. The strength is Christ living
in us, the hope of glory. The Lord told Paul, ìMy grace
is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.î
When Paul heard this, it caused him to say, ìMost gladly, therefore,
will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me.î gave strength to Abraham and Sarah, enabling
them to do what was impossible. For a man 100 years old and his
wife 90 years old, to have a child is an impossibility. But they did. They did. Why? Because God gave them strength. And for you to continue, for
me to continue, As we go through this life, the strength that
we need, it's not possible that we have the strength in ourselves,
but the strength that we have is God, the Holy Spirit, who
lives in us. He is our strength. Well, I pray
that we would keep this in mind. The Lord would bless these words
to us tonight, associated with Abram's faith. is, of course, obedience and
patience and strength. May God give us faith like the
faith of these men that received a good report through faith.
We're going to sing a verse or two of a hymn before we're dismissed.