Why Abraham's Faith?
“It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.” Hebrews 11:8-10 NLT
The Bible teaches us that Abraham's God is our God
1. Source of faith
• Faith comes from God's choice… Even if your environment doesn't seem
to favor it - Abraham was born into a household who served other gods -
“Joshua said to the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and
Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other
gods.”Joshua 24:2 NLT
• Faith comes from activation by God - In all things, begin with glorious God
appearing to you… As was with Abraham - God first loved and chose us -
“This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious
God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled
in Haran. God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and
come into the land that I will show you.’” Acts of the Apostles 7:2-3 NLT
• Faith comes from following God's instruction - God advised Abraham
(Abram at the time) to go according to His instruction… Without providing
any prerequisite information or preparation - “The LORD had said to Abram,
“Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go
to the land that I will show you.” Genesis 12:1 NLT
• Faith comes from hearing - “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing
the Good News about Christ.” Romans 10:17 NLT
2. Act of Faith
•Abraham's obedience blessed him - “I will do this because Abraham
listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and
instructions.”” Genesis 26:5 NLT
•God called Abraham to leave his homeland and his relatives and his people
and go to the land that God will show - “God told him, ‘Leave your native
land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’” Acts
of the Apostles 7:3 NLT
•Why did God say to leave his relatives? It's not to take away but to provide
a bigger and better outcome than meets the eye when you trust Him. He's
trying to allow you to show your devotion to God above all things in this life
•Obedience is precious - when Abraham was lacking in full obedience in an
effort to not leave his relatives, he ran into tribulations and challenges -
“One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son
Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved
away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but
they stopped at Haran and settled there.” Genesis 11:31 NLT
•When we aren't fully obedient to God, we are wasting time away and
keeping ourselves from the blessing God is ready to provide us
•You cannot separate faith and obedience - “Through Christ, God has given
us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what
God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing
glory to his name.” Romans 1:5 NLT
3. Life of faith
•Even after entering the promised land of Canaan, Abraham lived his life
looking to a vision provided God, as he knew the ultimate destination God
wanted to lead him to was NOT Canaan. “And even when he reached the
land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner,
living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same
promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal
foundations, a city designed and built by God.” Hebrews 11:9-10 NLT
•Abraham knew that the land God prepared is heaven and the eternal
journey to reach that promised land - “All these people died still believing
what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised,
but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they
were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say
such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they
had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.”
Hebrews 11:13-15 NLT
•Abraham lived in obedience and faith in hope for the homeland in Kingdom
of Heaven - “But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly
homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he
has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:16 NLT
•Abraham's life in this world was as a wanderer, a transient, an alien to this
world… As this world was not his final destination… He was a traveler on a
journey
•Likewise, life of a Christian is as a traveler… Our ultimate destination is
God's Kingdom where He is preparing and waiting for our homecoming
•Abraham lived a “tent"life ~ not looking to this world as his permanent home
•no matter how rich Abraham was, he never invested into his own
permanent home, always ready to go wherever God wanted him to go
•Abraham's final destination is in Heaven
Please reflect on where your focus and priority is in your life right now… Are you being obedient to God in faith and ready to leave everything to follow God when He tells you to go? Are you focusing on God's Kingdom as your final destination, not being fixated on worldly possessions and wrongfully seeking permanent residency in this world? Remember that your sole purpose in this life is to serve God and that God has prepared a permanent home for you in the Kingdom of God, waiting for your homecoming
““Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”” John 14:1-4 NLT
OUR CITIZENSHIP IS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD
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TCCK, San Gabriel, CA, United States
