The Focus of Faith – Part 1 (Observing God’s Promise)
Hebrews 11:8-22 (8-10, 17-19)
December 13, 2015
As you know we are currently studying through
What is commonly called “The Faith Chapter”
It is a rapid fire listing of people who exhibited great faith throughout the Old Testament.
And honestly, just from a historical point it is a fascinating chapter.
The people here represent some of the greatest stories from the Bible.
They represent many of the stories we grew up learning as children
When our parents and teachers sought to give a foundation to our faith.
Certainly we can have a wonderful time of remembering
As we walk through this chapter.
It is however important to realize that
This chapter is not just a sentimental walk down memory lane.
This chapter serves a very important purpose.
• It is a chapter meant to encourage the downhearted.
• It is a chapter meant to inspire the fearful.
• It is a chapter meant to challenge the sluggish.
• It is a chapter meant to enlighten the confused.
That’s really who this letter was written to.
These Hebrews were downhearted, they were afraid,
They were sluggish, they were confused.
They had SUFFERED GREATLY and they SUFFERED CONTINUALLY
And it is just about to do them in.
In order to encourage them the writer wants to remind them of
The great “cloud of witnesses” that have run this race before them.
Not long ago I visited with a young man who told me a couple of days prior he had reached a real low point and had contemplated suicide.
Thankfully he came to his senses and realized what such a decision
Would do to his kids and decided against such a drastic measure.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still confused.
He felt like his life was just way off course…this couldn’t be normal.
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A PERSON LIKE THAT?
I walked him through stories of people that endured hardship just like him.
• I showed him how Daniel was falsely accused
• I showed him how Joseph was sold
• I showed him how David was betrayed
• I showed him how Moses was talked about
• We talked about how Moses, Elijah, Jonah, and Job all asked to die.
• We talked about how even Paul said that he had the sentence of death within him.
And we talked about how in each of this instances God had a purpose.
And how each of these overcame through faith.
The point was, you aren’t alone.
Follow the course of those who have gone before you.
And that is precisely what the writer is doing here.
These Hebrews needed to exercise faith.
The writer had told them:
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.”
They needed faith, and so the writer sets out
To show them what that looks like.
As I told you, the chapter easily divides into four main points.
• THE REWARD OF FAITH
• THE FOCUS OF FAITH
• THE COURAGE OF FAITH
• THE ENDURANCE OF FAITH
We have already looked at “The Reward of Faith”
It was the writer’s first three examples.
Abel, Enoch, & Noah
All three of these “gained approval” because of their faith.
All three of these “obtained….righteousness” because of their faith.
The writer wanted us to understand that if we have any notions of ever pleasing God at all, then we must offer God faith.
For “without faith it is impossible to please Him”
But when we offer God faith, He rewards it with righteousness.
This morning we are going to move on to the next major point:
“The Focus of Faith”
The writer told us early on:
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
And throughout the chapter he is going to remind us that
We are not always going to “see” the things we hope for.
If we are to be people of faith
We are going to have to be people who are focused.
We can’t be those who grow easily discouraged
Because things take longer than expected
Or because things get more difficult than expected.
During those dark and difficult moments when things don’t “look” good,
That is when we must focus all the more on the things that can’t be seen.
And that is clearly the point of this next segment.
Here the writer gives us 5 examples to contemplate.
• Abraham & Sarah
• Isaac & Jacob & Joseph
You know them as the patriarchs.
Certainly we’ll learn quite a bit from them about faith,
The writer uses them as his golden example as to what focus looks like.
All of these had 1 thing in common that the writer wishes to highlight.
(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 point is listed right off the bat.
“All these died in faith without receiving the promises…”
That sure seems like a strange way to illustrate the importance of faith.
You would think the writer would only be interested in stories of people
Who DID receive the promises.
• Stories how like Daniel was delivered from the lion’s den
• Stories about how his friends were delivered from the furnace
• Stories about how David conquered Goliath
You know, stories of great victory.
After all, if I can tell you about all these great accomplishments
And then tell you that faith was the reason behind it,
Surely then you’d be more likely to give faith a try.
And that is commonly how faith is marketed today.
People treat faith like a magic potion. (similar to rubbing a genie’s bottle)
God has to do whatever you want if you just believe it enough.
And then story after story of victory after victory is listed.
And certainly there are times where people’s faith
Does result in immediate and positive results.
But that isn’t at all how this writer tells the story.
He picked 5 people out here and the one thing they all have in common is
That NOT ONE OF THEM received what was promised.
Specifically he was talking about “The Promised Land”
• The only portion of the Promised Land Abraham ever owned was the tomb where he buried Sarah
• Isaac never owned any of the land either
• Jacob spent a good deal of his life outside of the land living with his uncle Laban
• Jacob then left the land once again late in life and actually died in Egypt.
• Joseph was deported from the land at age 14 and never returned.
They seem to be the opposite of what you’d want to use as examples.
That would be true IF the purpose of faith
Was to help you achieve what you want.
But that’s not the purpose of faith.
The purpose of faith is to please God.
And all 5 of these people did this extremely well.
Notice how the writer will say, (16b) “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God;”
These people pleased God.
These people did so because they believed without ever seeing.
They were focused.
(15) “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.”
FOCUS
And it’s important that you understand faith that focuses on the unseen
It was important that these Hebrews understand the type of faith
That continues to believe
Even when the circumstances don’t seem to get any better.
So that is the point here.
What we are going to do is first look at the 5 people listed, and then come back and examine the point. It’s obviously going to take us a few weeks to do that.
For those of you who were able to walk through our study of Genesis recently,
You already have a leg up. After all, Hebrews 11:1-22 is the book of Genesis.
For those who weren’t able to walk through Genesis with us, I hope to be able to give you the high points and help you see what the focus of faith looks like.
So the first point is simple:
#1 THE PEOPLE
Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-22
And the first person we are going to look at is:
ABRAHAM (8-10, 17-29)
Abraham is clearly the preeminent example of this group
As the writer uses three different instances from his life.
He deals with:
• Where He Settled
• Why He Stayed
• What He Sacrificed
So let’s look at them.
1) WHERE HE SETTLED (8)
“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.”
Here the writer references really the first act of faith
That Abraham every demonstrated.
The writer speaks of the decision Abraham made
To obey God to go to a new land that God promised to give him.
“when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance”
And the writer throws in a very important piece of information.
“he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
Now I do want to turn and look at the life of Abraham in a minute, but first just consider the simple facts included in what the writer mentioned.
• God called Abraham
• God commanded Abraham to leave saying He would give him the land
• And Abraham didn’t even know where the land was (let alone what it was like)
Today, we’d call it a gamble to say the least.
You’re just going to up and leave what you know
Because you think God is going to give you something.
Imagine the conversation with one of his friends.
Abraham – “Well, guys I’m leaving, I’m going to collect my land.”
Friend – “Really, I didn’t know you had land, where is it?”
Abraham – “I don’t know”
Friend – “What you mean, you need a map to find it?”
Abraham – “Nope, wouldn’t know where to look.”
Friend – “Who is giving it to you?”
Abraham – “God told me He would”
I mean let the conversation play out.
This borders on the crazy doesn’t it?
Right up there with Noah building a boat
Because God told him a flood was coming.
But the writer of Hebrews says, “Abraham…obeyed by going out”
Now, that is one thing.
Many a man heard the cry of “Eureka!” in 1848 and took off for California to pick up all the gold off the ground.
For all we know Abraham might have been a bit of a fortune hunter.
More than one man has chased his dreams into uncharted waters.
You do remember Abraham right?
TURN TO: GENESIS 12
READ: 12:1-5
So Abram is going, but he’s taking his wealth, his nephew,
And even his slaves with him.
This is important because in a few years when a famine hits and things aren’t panning out too well for him, what does Abram do?
He leaves.
(10) “Now there was a famine in the land; so Abraham went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.”
That incident does give us a little insight into Abraham’s faith.
It is obvious that at least at some level
Abraham was initially looking for an immediate payoff.
We talked about this in our study of Genesis.
Abraham had his first crisis of faith, and he failed.
He abandoned the land of promise and in Egypt we read that
He passed Sarai off as his sister and she became the wife of Pharaoh.
So Abraham did exercise faith in God by initially leaving,
But it is evident that at least initially
He was only looking for the immediate payoff.
When that seemed impossible, Abraham was quitting.
But you’ll remember that God intervened.
• He protected Sarai from Pharaoh
• And He sent Abram back to the land of promise.
• In fact (12:10) “Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.”
So at this point we do see Abraham’s faith,
But we confess that his motive for using it was more about gaining wealth and comfort than it was about pleasing God.
Well, maybe it started that way, but the book of Genesis makes it clear that Abram learned his lesson. And his faith began to grow.
After that hiccup, Abram decided to trust God again.
And that is the second point of the writer. Where He Settled
2) WHY HE STAYED (9-10)
(put your finger in Genesis and turn back to Hebrews 11)
“By faith he lives 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.”
Abraham didn’t initially seem to have much staying power,
But it is obvious he developed it.
Because after that little hiccup with the famine and the trip to Egypt Abraham decided to stick it out in the land of promise.
And this is huge because the writer says that he had to live “as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land”
Do you remember this from our Genesis study?
(flip back to Genesis 13)
Abram came out of Egypt, but he was still a little disobedient.
He had Lot with him.
• God explicitly told him to leave his family, but Abram took his nephew.
(It is clear that Abram viewed Lot as a sort “son”
and definitely thought Lot to be his heir.)
• So the first manner of business is for God to separate Abram from Lot.
• God did that in chapter 13 by making them too rich to dwell together.
• Now, during this separation Lot settled near Sodom
• And ended up getting kidnapped in a raiding party.
I want you to pay special attention to how they broke the news to Abram.
(14:13) “Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew.”
The word “Hebrew” means “one who crosses over”
(as in the river)
He was considered an alien a foreigner a “wet back”
What a title for Abram.
God had promised him this land and yet many years later
All he was considered was a foreigner who crossed the river.
“he lived as an alien”
Not only that the writer of Hebrews reminds us that he was “dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob”
The focus there being on LONGEVITY.
It is one thing to go to this land, it is quite another to stay there.
You have a son, you have a grandson,
And still you are nothing more than an alien in this land.
THE POINT?
Abraham has decided to stay.
WHY? (it’s obviously no longer about that quick payoff)
(10) for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
(Turn back to Genesis)
Abram separated from Lot and God promised Abram again
That this whole land would be his.
(13:14-15) “The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever.”
And it is apparent that Abram is starting to believe this for after he rescues Lot,
The king of Sodom offers all the spoil to Abram, but Abram won’t take it.
Abram has decided to let God be his reward.
Abraham chooses to let God be his reward, & God reiterates the promise.
(READ GENESIS 15:1-6)
So there Abraham gets saved, and at this point he is all in.
He is staying in the land.
And it is evident that Abraham NEVER GAVE UP this faith
Even though he raised his son and his grandson as aliens there.
He never received the land, but he never stopped believing.
That is huge.
But if you think that is big, it is really the third incident the writer gives
That really blows our mind.
Where He Settled Why He Stayed
3) WHAT HE SACRIFICED (17-19)
(17-19) “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”
The Bible says that God “tested” Abraham.
You remember the test
Genesis 22:1-2 “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”
This seems absolutely absurd. WHY?
• For one reason Isaac was his “only begotten son”
• For another Isaac was really important since “it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.”
God had made two basic promises to Abraham.
I’ll give you all the land that you can see.
I’ll give you descendants like the stars to fill it up.
Well thus far Abraham owned none of the land,
And now God was asking him to kill the son
That all those descendants were going to come through.
Wow!
But what does Abraham do?
He “offered up Isaac”
And the writer gives you a little insight into
What was going on in Abraham’s mind as he did this.
(19) “He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.”
Why would Abraham think that?
Because he was convinced that his descendants
Were coming through Isaac.
(back to Genesis 15)
• You will remember that God had sort of forced Abraham to split ways with Lot.
• This left Abraham confused regarding how he was going to get descendants.
• He was old, Sarah was barren, this just didn’t seem possible.
• In fact Abraham asked God that very thing.
(READ GENESIS 15:3-4)
So God promised that an heir was coming from his own body.
Now, if you remember the Abraham story very well, Abraham figured out a way to make this happen.
• In Genesis 16 Abraham sleeps with Hagar
• Ishmael is born.
• Genesis 16 tells us that Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born.
15 years later in Genesis 17 God tells Abraham
To be circumcised as a sign of the covenant.
And it was then that God told Abraham that Sarah would have a son.
(READ GENESIS 17:15-19)
• God says Sarah will have Isaac and Abraham thinks it’s funny.
• Abraham even asks if God would just be willing to accept Ishmael.
• God says no.
So God is promising Isaac, Abraham is clinging to Ishmael.
(Do you see that?)
In Genesis 18 some angelic messengers arrive at Abraham’s tent
On their way to destroy Sodom.
There they promise again that Sarah will have a son.
In Genesis 21 God keeps His promise.
(READ GENESIS 21:1-3)
So now Abraham has Ishmael and Isaac.
Then something happens.
• Ishmael starts making fun of Isaac.
• Sarah hears about it, and she won’t have it.
But it’s not just motherly jealousy,
Sarah understands the promise even better than Abraham does.
(READ GENESIS 21:8-14)
Now please pay special attention to what just happened.
For the first time Abraham agrees that
His descendants are coming through Isaac.
So much so that Abraham even sends Ishmael away.
It is as though Abraham looked up at God and said, “Oh, now I get it, the promise is coming through Isaac.”
And God says, “Do you believe Me now that I will bless you through Isaac?”
Abraham, “Absolutely God, it’s Isaac all the way.”
God says, “Really? You believe Me?”
Abraham, “Oh, yeah, You will bless me through Isaac.”
And God basically says, “We’ll see”
See, if you read Genesis 22 by itself it really makes God sound strange.
But God has been grooming Abraham for this test for about 20 years.
God was about to put Abraham’s faith on display.
See most of the time when people study Genesis 22
They go through this “what must Abraham have been feeling?” moment.
And people generally say:
“I’m sure he was heartbroken…”
“I’m sure he was distraught…”
NO HE WASN’T
At this point in the game, God had so convinced him
That Isaac was the means of the promise,
That Abraham just figured God would raise him from the dead.
Had Abraham ever seen God raise people from the dead? No
But he’d never seen a 90 year old barren woman get pregnant either.
What is faith again?
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Remember how that word “conviction” means “to prove with a test”?
Abraham had already run that test.
He had become convinced that
God was able to do whatever He promised.
And because of that “conviction” Abraham now walked in “assurance”
That somehow, someway God would make it happen.
Romans 4:18-21 “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.”
Abraham was not looking at the immediate.
Abraham was looking to the future promise.
Abraham was focused.
Granted it took him a while to get there,
But once God poured faith into him, Abraham never wavered.
• He went to a land he didn’t know
• He lived in a land he didn’t own
• He offered the only son who gave him a chance of obtaining it
Abraham believed God.
And this is the point of the writer.
He believed, even when he didn’t receive.
(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.”
Now let’s make a little application here.
If we are going to be people of faith,
We cannot be people who get discouraged and quit
Just because things aren’t working out like we expected.
These Hebrews the writer is dealing with
• Are also aliens and strangers in the land.
• They are hated and forsaken for following Christ.
• Things aren’t working out like they had hoped.
• They decided to follow a King who isn’t on the throne.
• They are looking for a kingdom that they cannot see.
• They are trusting a Savior who they can’t see.
The writer says – THEN BE LIKE ABRAHAM
Continue to trust even when you don’t see the promise fulfilled.
No, I’m not saying if you will,
Then magically God will come and change your circumstances
For the better.
(He might, and He might not)
What I am saying is that if you will trust even without seeing,
You will be pleasing to God.
Do you remember what God said to Abraham when he was about to sacrifice Isaac?
Genesis 22:10-12 “Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
ABRAHAM’S FAITH PLEASED GOD.
Hebrews 11:13-16 “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.”
