Thursday, April 13, 2006
By Faith... Abraham - Part I, Part 19 of 56
TEXT: "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude--innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called, concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense" (Hebrews 11:8-19).
IDEA: Faith requires that we take risks.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that faith and risk go together.
Do you find security through your faith in Jesus Christ? How?
Do you feel insecurity because of your faith in Jesus Christ? Why?
The entire story of Abraham featured in Hebrews 11 and developed in Genesis is framed by security and insecurity. Read Hebrews 11:8-19 [see above].
I. At the beginning of Abraham's life story he had security and insecurity.
He had the security of having God actually speak to him. He actually heard the voice of God.
There was great insecurity about what God told him to do:
At age 75 he was to leave the place that was familiar to him and set out for a place he did not know.
He leaves his past out of simple trust in God's promise to guide him.
Have you ever experienced anything like that?
II. At the end of his life he had security and insecurity.
He had the security of being in the land to which God had called him and having a son which God had promised him.
But he has insecurity as he's called to abandon his future. He was to kill his only son, the hope that had reversed years of disappointment.
Can you sense in your own walk with God the forces of insecurity and security playing up against each other?
