The Focus of Faith – Part 2 (Observing God’s Promise)
Hebrews 11:8-22 (11-12)
December 20, 2015
As you know we are currently studying through the book of Hebrews
And are now in the middle of what is called “The Faith Chapter”
Certainly this is an important study
As we have already learned of the extreme importance of faith.
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
It really can’t get any more real than that.
If you don’t have faith, God won’t be pleased.
• Our objective then in this life is not to accomplish some great work for God.
• Our objective is not to reach some extreme level of suffering.
• Our objective is not to demonstrate some deep sacrifice.
Our objective is to give God faith.
He wants us to trust Him.
He wants us, as the writer said, to “believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
And to better understand what that means
We are working our way through this 11th chapter of Hebrews.
You can easily break this chapter down into four major points.
• The Reward of Faith
• The Focus of Faith
• The Courage of Faith
• The Endurance of Faith
We already looked at the reward.
We examined Abel, Enoch, and Noah.
Men, who because of their faith, all gained God’s approval
And were granted God’s righteousness.
We must never lose sight of that.
• The reward of faith is not temporary gain.
• The reward of faith is not monetary blessing.
• The reward of faith is and has always been righteousness.
God grants righteousness to those who give Him faith.
And that makes faith ever so worth it.
But now we have moved on to that second main point,
Which is The Focus Of Faith.
And here we are examining the next 5 illustrations of the chapter.
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
These 5 had two very important things in common.
1) They were all promised the land.
2) They never received it.
(13-16) “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”
The amazing reality is that despite having never received the land,
These 5 never stopped believing.
They never lost their focus.
To them, a life of following God was more important
Than a life of comfort and temporal reward.
They believed God even when it didn’t immediately pay off.
AND THERE IS SUCH A LESSON IN THIS.
Faith is not for the purpose of manipulating God
To grant your selfish desires.
I see it and hear about it all the time.
Some person declares that they are “believing God” for something…
• “I’m just believing God for a healing…”
• “I’m just believing God for a financial blessing…”
• “I’m just believing God for a promotion…”
• “I’m just believing God for a breakthrough in some area”
It is as though these people are seeking to use faith
As some means of strong arming God into granting their desires.
Now certainly you can ask God for those things,
And it is quite possible that He might grant them.
But we don’t write the check and then use faith to make God cash it.
That type of faith does not resemble the faith of those found in chapter 11.
You won’t find these people manipulating God for anything.
Instead, these people believed even when
The circumstances weren’t favorable, and didn’t change.
That doesn’t mean that these 5 never received anything from God.
Certainly they did.
• Abraham and Sarah did receive the son of promise.
• Isaac saw his barren wife Rebekah conceive twins.
• Jacob left Canaan and saw God faithfully bring him back.
• Joseph saw the fulfillment of the dreams he had as a youth.
These did receive some things from God.
But none of them ever received the main thing, which was the land.
Did they quit? No
Did they turn back? No
Instead they maintained their belief
That God had something better for them.
And with this understanding we are not surprised that
The writer of Hebrews would mention them to the Hebrews.
We already saw that these Hebrews
• Were being imprisoned,
• Were being mocked,
• Were having their property seized,
• Were being cut off from the temple.
They were losing everything in this life
And were not receiving anything here in return.
Jesus had promised an eternal kingdom
Jesus had promised an eternal inheritance
But none of them had yet to receive any of that.
If they were to stick with Jesus, they were going to have to believe what they couldn’t see.
If they were to stick with Jesus, they were going to have to hold out for a heavenly reward while they lost the earthly one.
This chapter was meant to be an encouragement to these Hebrews.
It is also an encouragement to us.
We should all be aware of the realities Jesus talked about.
Matthew 6:19-20 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;”
Matthew 10:39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
Matthew 16:24-25 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Matthew 19:27-29 “Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”
Over and over Jesus made it clear that if we were to follow Him
Then it might cost us this life and the things of this life.
The question was: Are you willing to trade your earthly riches for eternal ones?
The 5 people we are looking at here all said “Yes”
I told you last week that this section has two main points.
1) The People
2) The Point
We are still looking at #1 which is “The People”
Last week we looked at Abraham and three specific acts of faith.
• Where he settled
• Why he stayed
• What he sacrificed
Abraham went to a land he had never seen
He lived there even without ever owning it,
When God also asked for his son, Abraham was willing to give that too.
Abraham believed that the reward of God
Was better than any temporary gain.
“I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold; I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands. I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.
I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause; I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause; I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame. I’d rather be true to His holy name.
He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom; He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb; He’s all that my hungering spirit needs. I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.
Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held in sin’s dread sway. I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.”
That was the song these 5 were singing.
Having looked at Abraham, this morning we move on to Sarah.
And I don’t mind telling you that Sarah is
One of my most favorite people in the Bible.
LET’S TALK ABOUT SARAH FOR A SECOND
You and I know her as Sarah, but that isn’t how she started out.
• Sarah is the name God gave her. (It means “princess”)
• She started out as Sarai which means “argumentative”
That in itself is somewhat humorous to me because
If she was argumentative, we don’t really see it from her in Scripture.
All we ever really see from Sarah is submission.
Genesis 12:5 “Abram 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.”
No complaints or grumblings from Sarai.
• Not when she left
• Not when she moved to Egypt
• Not when she had to live in a tent
• Not when Abraham went to sacrifice her son
Consider this event:
Genesis 12:10-17 “Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. “Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.” It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels. But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.”
And that isn’t even the only time that would happen to her.
Sarah was an amazing woman of submission.
In fact, the New Testament uses her as a model woman.
1 Peter 3:1-6 “In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. Your adornment must not be merely external — braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.”
That’s quite a commendation isn’t it?
• Sarah was obviously a woman of “chaste and respectful behavior”
• She had a “gentle and quiet spirit” that is held up as a standard of godliness for all women.
Sarah was a fine woman.
Now that doesn’t mean that Sarah was without fault.
Sarah did have some hiccups in life.
1) HAGGAR
Genesis 16:1-6 “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me.” But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.”
Obviously Sarah had developed a bit of a bitter attitude toward God.
She actually blamed her barrenness on Him saying that
God had “prevented” her from getting pregnant.
She then had the “not-so-brilliant” idea of
Letting Abraham sleep with Hagar to give him a son.
Sarah quickly regretted the decision and grew angry about the situation.
It was a mistake, and a costly one.
The other hiccup in Sarah’s life was:
2) HER INITIAL LACK OF FAITH
When the angelic messengers came to visit Abraham.
Genesis 18:9-15 “Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?’ “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
Sarah did not INITIALLY believe God could or would do what He said.
But during that conversation Sarah was asked a very important question.
“Is anything too difficult for the LORD?”
I know that Sarah contemplated the answer to that question,
And I know how she answered.
She said, “No”
I know that because Sarah never waivered again.
• In fact even when Abraham was seeking to hold on to Ishmael and Isaac, it was Sarah who saw the promise of God and demanded that Ishmael be sent away.
Genesis 21:8-13 “The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac.” The matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named. “And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.”
Sarah made a poor decision, and even began with a lack of faith,
But Sarah didn’t stay there.
She grew strong in faith
And became an encouragement even to her husband.
SARAH WAS IMPORTANT
So important, in fact, that even when Abraham asked,
GOD REFUSED to fulfill the promise apart from her.
Genesis 17:15-19 “Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”
Sarah was so important that
Satan even attempted to destroy any chance of Sarah conceiving a son through Abraham. Satan sought to get her pregnant by another man.
After God promised to open her womb, remember what happened?
Genesis 20:1-7 “Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar. Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.” Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a nation, even though blameless? “Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. “Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
We don’t have time to address here,
But people almost unanimously miss the point of that passage.
• If I had a dollar for every time someone saw Abimelech as the good guy and
Abraham as the bad guy, I’d be rich.
• Read the chapter, God never says one word of rebuke to Abraham in that
chapter at all. He does however have a strong rebuke for Abimelech.
• Oh, I know Abimelech claims innocence, but what is clear is that it was God
who kept Abimelech from sinning, not Abimelech.
This was a scheme of the enemy to mess up
What God was doing through Abraham and Sarah.
I just want you to understand that Sarah was important to the promise.
AND THAT MEANS IT IS IMPORTANT THAT SARAH BELIEVE.
• What if she refuses to believe the promise?
• What if she refuses to try to get pregnant?
• What if she is content with Hagar?
• What if she doesn’t care if Ishmael hangs around?
Sarah’s faith was vitally important to what God was doing.
And that is why the writer of Hebrews
Obviously includes her as one of his examples.
The main thing the writer wants you to see about Sarah
Was the faith she exhibited after she laughed.
Remember, God asked her the question,
“Is anything too difficult for the LORD?”
Look at how Sarah responded.
(11) “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.”
So we see that Sarah offered faith.
She believed.
This is also where Sarah stands as a bit of a CONTRAST in the chapter.
I’ve told you on a couple of occasions that
There are some major themes that run through this chapter.
And one of those themes is the obvious relationship between faith and works.
• You see Noah building a boat
• You see Abraham leaving Ur
• You see Abraham living in Canaan
• You see Abraham sacrificing his son
• And so on…
But you don’t really see any real “action” listed here by Sarah.
All the writer points to is that
She “considered Him faithful who had promised.”
THAT IS INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT.
• What Noah did was crazy
• What Abraham did was crazy
• WHAT CRAZY THING DID SARAH DO?
(nothing really)
Sarah’s faith is not measured by her radical obedience,
But by her CONSISTENT PATIENCE.
You could even call that Sarah’s UNYIELDING FOCUS.
In this life, it is not always about
Doing wild and crazy things in the name of God.
Sometimes faith is just trusting God do to what He said
Even in the midst of discouraging situations.
Let me give you some examples:
Isaiah 40:31 “Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”
Psalms 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalms 27:13-14 “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.”
Psalms 62:5-8 “My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.”
Jeremiah watched the fall of Jerusalem (discouraging),
But listen to his faith.
Lamentations 3:22-26 “The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD.”
That is the type of faith Sarah had.
She wasn’t radical, she just believed God would do what He said,
And she continued to believe it,
Even when her circumstances seemed to dictate otherwise.
THIS IS NOT “NAME IT AND CLAIM IT” THEOLOGY.
THIS IS “READ IT AND BELIEVE IT” THEOLOGY.
Simply believe God will do what He says He will do.
Cling to His promises and never let them go.
Wait patiently on Him while He does what He said He will do.
That was the faith of Sarah.
The writer says that “she considered Him faithful who had promised.”
She knew God would do it
So she just went about life as normal until He did.
AND THE RESULT of that was that she “received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life”
Anyone remember how old she was when she got pregnant?
90
Are there any 90 year old women in here who are contemplating having a baby?
It was certainly faith just to believe it was possible.
She did and she conceived.
Now I do want to make sure and keep us all on the RIGHT PATH here.
See, the temptation is to read this verse and then give all the credit to Sarah.
I mean it even kind of reads like that.
“By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.”
It almost sounds like the reason Sarah became pregnant
Was because she believed.
That is a misunderstanding.
True, Sarah wouldn’t have gotten pregnant if she hadn’t had faith.
But her faith is not the reason she got pregnant…God is.
Genesis 21:1-3 “Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.”
I tell you that because it is important for you to understand that
FAITH IS NOT THE POWER, GOD IS THE POWER.
Many today miss that point and have put faith in faith.
No, put faith in God, He’s the One who accomplishes the impossible.
Sarah put faith in God and God did what He promised.
And incidentally, that worked out pretty well not only for Israel,
But even for the Hebrews who were reading this letter.
(12) “Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMBERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE.”
SARAH’S FAITH PAID OFF.
But can I point out the OBVIOUS to you again?
SARAH NEVER SAW ALL OF THAT.
Yes Sarah saw Isaac,
But she never saw descendants like the stars or like the sand.
Sarah never even met Isaac’s wife (Rebekah)
Let alone Jacob or any of his sons.
None of these mentioned here ever did.
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph
None of them ever owned the land
None of them ever saw descendants like the stars or the sand.
The first time that promise becomes reality is over 400 years later
When Moses is preaching to the Israelites.
Deuteronomy 10:22 “Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.”
SARAH BELIEVED WHAT SHE NEVER RECEIVED.
And that is the writer’s point.
(13-16) “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”
SO WHAT DO YOU LEARN FROM HER?
1) GOD’S PROMISES ARE HARD TO BELIEVE.
• Here was Sarah “beyond the proper time of life”
• Here was Abraham “as good as dead”
And yet God was promising a child.
It was so hard to believe that Sarah initially laughed at it
Until God assured her that nothing was beyond His ability.
• Sometimes it is hard to believe what God is promising.
• Sometimes the circumstances just don’t seem to add up.
• Sometimes it doesn’t look possible.
That is where faith comes in.
And that’s the second thing we learn from Sarah.
2) GOD’S PROMISES REQUIRE FAITH
They certainly don’t require effort.
It wasn’t like Sarah could work hard enough
To make God’s promises come about.
(They actually tried that with Hagar and that became a monumental mistake)
When God makes a promise He’s not asking you to make it work.
He’s asking you to believe that He’ll make it work.
Faith is required.
3) GOD’S PROMISES MAY TAKE A WHILE
That was certainly true in this instance wasn’t it?
Sarah did have a son, but it would take over 400 years for that son to become a nation and for that nation to inherit the land.
FAITH CAN’T OPERATE ON A TIMER
The writer of Hebrews is purposely giving you examples of people
Who believed promises that outlasted their physical lives.
And Christianity requires that.
Remember some of the promises in the Bible?
At Christmas time we generally focus on a few:
Isaiah 9:1-7 “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
• We saw the child who was born to us, but where is all that “reigning on David’s throne” stuff?
• Where is all that peace that was offered?
How many people died waiting for the fulfillment of that promise?
And yet the earth still hasn’t seen it.
It requires faith to follow Christ.
And that is precisely what the writer of Hebrews
Is trying to get through to these suffering believers.
I know it’s hard now…
I know you are struggling…
HAVE FAITH
And have faith that does not waver
Even in the midst of difficult and impossible circumstances.
Hebrews 10:36-39 “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”
That was certainly the faith of Abraham and Sarah.
Let it be your faith as well.
