On May 12, 2019 by Nicole Cade
We have been in a series that comes out of a challenge God has been giving me in the area of faith… centered on 2 questions.
Does what I say I believe to be true about God actually line up with Scripture?
Alignment SCRIPTURE = BELIEF
Am I seeing in my life what I say I believe to be true about God?
Alignment SCRIPTURE = BELIEF = MY LIFE
For instance…I believe
Hebrews 13:8, 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And I believe John 14:12-14, 12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you [c]ask anything in My name, I will do it.
But there is a gap between what I am believing and what I am seeing; and that gap makes me feel like a fake, I am uncomfortable in that gap, and the temptation is to close the gap by shifting my belief system to line of with what I am seeing and experiencing….and as I was discussing this gap with the Lord…He spoke to me heart
The gap is not necessarily the problem…it is the awareness of that gap that drives you forward into experiencing the truth of who I am. If you are unaware of the gap, you will stay right where you are. That gap is bridged through faith, believing who God says He is, and believing God will do what He says He will do.
So we are going after the belief systems surrounding our gaps, and permission to not only close the gap we are currently in by believing for the more, but permission for new gaps in our lives as we continually allow the Lord to challenge and transform our thinking about who He is and what He is doing in our lives. And we are doing that by 1) inviting God to shift our mindsets, our understanding of who He is through the Word of God, so that our belief system lines up with Scripture. And 2) as we choose to push through the gap, continuing to believe the promises of God, even if we are not necessarily seeing a physical manifestation of those promises yet.
So far we have looked at the
- biblical concept of faith (as seen in the Old and New Testament), in that it is a conviction of truth, belief regarding who God is, and humankind’s relationship to Him, that relationship being that He is real, and that there is an absolute reality of His words.
- We also saw that our faith is personal, it is God’s story within us, and that He sees our faith story much differently than we do!
And then we looked at Hebrews 11:1-3 and saw that faith is…
- waiting on Him for the solution (salvation) with joy and full confidence in Him.
- the tested and proven conviction (evidence) of what Jesus has done and accomplished (things) (finished work of Christ) for each of us…even when we do not see (not seen) it yet
- the good testimony, the story of the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen what God is doing in my life
- believing that all that we see (the worlds) was rendered (framed) by the rhema, spoken the word of God
We then looked through Hebrews 11:4-7…looking at acts of faith, specifically by Abel, Enoch, and Noah.
- By Faith, are we offering God a more excellent sacrifice. Is what we give Him from a heart to follow Him, obey Him, and be in relationship with Him? The key = our heart + offering
- By faith, are we coming to God, believing that He is who He says He is, and that He will do what He says He will do, and that He rewards us as we diligently seek Him? The key = to diligently seek Him.
- By faith, does God have our ear, do we respond (obedience) to what we hear based on who He is, with reverence and an awe of who He is? The key = ear + hear + obedience
Simple acts of faith are coming to Him with the right heart, diligently seeking Him, and giving Him your ear to hear what He is inviting you into.
Today we will look at Hebrews 11:8-12
8 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. 9 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; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Can you imagine what this may have been like for Abraham. To leave his family, to go to a place that was unknown to him, unfamiliar to him. Looking at this passage we see Abraham obeyed God in 3 distinct ways.
- He obeyed as he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance
Abraham was called to go out. First of all, the word phrase “to call” comes with the understanding that it is an “invitation” that someone “calls aloud, or utters in a loud voice.” Abraham was responding the voice of God, giving Abraham an invitation to go to a place in which he would receive an inheritance. The word “place” not only represents a “space marked off,” a physical location, but it also has an understanding of being an “opportunity, power, occasion for acting.” So Abraham was responding to God’s invitation to not only go to a physical location, but go to a place where there would be an opportunity to respond to God’s power.
These are our faith journeys. When we say yes to God, not knowing fulling where we are going, but knowing that if we go, we will experience more of Him.
Where is God “calling” you to go? Where is He inviting you into the more with Him, and more of Him? Are you prepared to say yes?
9 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;
- He obeyed as he dwelt in the land of promise
This word “dwelt” is defined as “to dwell beside (one); to be or dwell in a place as a stranger.” Anyone ever been the stranger in a room, where everyone knows everyone else, but no one knows you? It can be a very uncomfortable place. There is something about being willing to stay in that uncomfortable place, in order to receive what God has for you in your “land of promise.” How many of you know when God gives you a promise, they typically do not show up like Amazon Prime? There is typically not a two day delivery on promises of God. Now we may experience that from time to time, but my experience has been when God gives me a promise, there is actually a process I go through personally that grows and develops me so that I cannot only receive that promise, but keep that promise in my possession. We have to be willing to stay in the “uncomfortable” “unfamiliar” space with God where He challenges us, grows us, transforms us along the way into our “land of promise.”
What uncomfortable space is God asking you to “dwell” in? Is there an uncomfortable place in your life that God is asking you to sit in?
9 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;
Notice Abraham is “dwelling” within a family, within community. We are not lone rangers out on the prairie. God created us to run the race alongside others who are like minded, “heirs” of the same promise.
And who is He asking you to “dwell” alongside of?
10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
- He obeyed as he waited (whose builder and maker is God)
This word “waited” is defined as “to look for, expect, wait for.” Abraham is “looking for” “expecting” “waiting for” the city which has foundations, so he is looking for and waiting for a specific place, but look at who He gives credit to the building of that place… whose builder and maker is God. There is this idea that Abraham is waiting and expecting for this promise to be fulfilled, but that He knows it is God who is the builder and maker of the city, the builder and maker of promise.
There is something powerful when we live from a place of expectance, anticipation, looking for what God is doing and wants to do in our lives, knowing that He is the one who “builds” and “creates.” We do not have to do it on our own. We are in partnership with Him, and when we live in a place of partnership with God, we have the joy of seeing God’s promises be built and formed right before our eyes.
Where is God inviting you to “wait” to look for and anticipate with expectancy to see God build and create? This could be in situations, relationships, physical health, emotional health…
Now let’s shift to Sarah…
11 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. 12 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.
Here the text says, Sarah received strength to conceive seed because she judged Him faithful who had promised. How did she judge Him faithful who had promised? Let’s look back to Genesis 18 and read the original story.
Genesis 18:1-3,6,8-15
Then the Lord appeared to him (Abraham) by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.”
Abraham and Sarah prepared the meal, verse 8 and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”
So he said, “Here, in the tent.”
10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid.
And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
Hebrews 11 says she (Sarah) judged Him faithful who had promised, yet Genesis 18 says Sarah laughed at God, Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh, meaning she lied to God; and then it says for she was afraid. So Sarah didn’t believe God, then she lied about not believing Him, because she was full of fear. So which is it…did she trust Him to be faithful as Hebrews 11 says, or did she not trust Him and allow fear to direct her actions as in Genesis 28. I believe the answer is yes to both!
How many of you have ever started down a faith journey by first falling flat on your face? But by the end…you recognize not only God’s hand in the entire process, but you can see how He transformed you during that process? I believe this was Sarah’s journey…as God gives her a key to move from fear to faith!
God addresses Sarah’s fear in verse 14, before it is even exposed in in verse 15 when God says, 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? God follows that question up by repeating His promise to Abraham and Sarah. At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
God’s question to you and to me this morning is …. Is there anything too hard for me? Is that sickness, relational issue, financial struggle, emotional concern too hard for me? And I love how God demonstrates to Sarah and to us how to battle those fears….He could have just answered His own question of 14 Is anything too hard for (Me) the Lord? with a booming “NO” ….but He chose to answer that question with His Truth, the promise, the Kingdom reality. God said, even though you are old Sarah, you will have a child a year from now. That is the truth, that is My promise, that is My kingdom reality.
Back to Hebrews 11…
11 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.
Sarah didn’t start out judging God as faithful. This verse is translated in other texts various ways…
”she regarded the One who promised to be trustworthy”
“for she realized that God, who gave her His promise, would certainly do what He said”
“Since she considered Him faithful who had promised”
The point is by the time we get to Hebrews 11, Sarah is remembered for trusting God and His promise to her, but that is not where she started. This should be extremely encouraging to us all!
So here is our FAITH invitation this morning….
First, through the life of Abraham as he was willing to obey God in 3 distinct ways…. Hebrews 11:8-10
- He obeyed as he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance
Where is God “calling” you to go? Where is He inviting you into the more with Him, and more of Him? Are you prepared to say yes?
- He obeyed as he dwelt in the land of promise
What uncomfortable space is God asking you to “dwell” in? Is there uncomfortable place in your life that God is asking you to sit in?
And who is He asking you to “dwell” alongside of?
- He obeyed as he waited (whose builder and maker is God)
Where is God inviting you to “wait” to look for and anticipate with expectancy to see God build and create? This could be in situations, relationships, physical health, emotional health…
Secondly, through the life of Sarah…Hebrews 11:10-12
God is asking each one of us….14 Is anything too hard for (Me) the Lord? And He is inviting us to answer those “hard things” those “fears” with His truth, His promises, His Kingdom realities.