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