Faith Exemplified - Abraham Lived the Life of Faith

Well if you would take your Bible, turn to Hebrews chapter 11. I did say earlier we'll be in verses eight to 12. Although I will get you to turn back to Genesis 12 a little later on in the message. I'll let you know when it's time to do that. But we will be in verses eight to 12, Hebrews chapter 11. Now we are moving along in our study of the supremacy of the life of faith, which is explained and exemplified beautifully, wonderfully right here in chapter 11. And we're moving along in these great examples of the life of faith, in the unique ways they lived the life of faith. First we studied Abel who worshiped God by faith.

Then we studied Enoch who walked with God by faith. And last week we studied Noah who obeyed God by faith. Now this morning we will begin to study the greatest of all who are in the Hall of Fame of the Saints of God. And that is Abraham, Abraham. And not only will we study Abraham, but we will study his wife as well. And she is the first woman listed here in the great examples of faith. Now in introducing Abraham and his life of faith, we need to understand two facts about Abraham and his example. And this will help us in how we respond to his life and his example.

First and foremost, we need to see that Abraham is the greatest example of the life of faith. Abraham is the greatest example of the life of faith, even greater than Moses. Starting in Genesis 12 and on throughout the Old Testament and even the New Testament, it is clear to see that the Jews saw Abraham as the father of the Jewish faith and the Jewish people. And he certainly was. And both the Old Testament and New Testament clearly lift up Abraham with the highest of admiration. The New Testament esteems Abraham as the first true man of faith.

And that is because since Abraham, all who believe and trust in God by faith are truly spiritual children of Abraham. Listen to a couple of verses in Galatians. Galatians 3, 6 to 7 says, "Just as Abraham believed God and it was counted "or credited to him as righteousness, "know then that it is those of faith "who are the sons of Abraham." And Galatians 3, 28 to 29, Paul says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, "there is neither slave nor free, "there is neither male nor female, "for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

"And if you are Christ's then, "you are Abraham's offspring, heirs, "according to the promise." And because Abraham is the greatest example of the life of faith, he is the classic example of the life of faith. Abraham is the classic example of the life of faith. Now think about this word classic and the meaning of this word classic. If someone writes a book that is considered a literary classic, that work is highly regarded for its significant cultural impact, its literary merit and enduring and valuable themes. So much so that that work or that book is recommended, it's read, it's studied even worldwide. I give you an example.

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by the American author Harper Lee is considered a literary classic. To Kill a Mockingbird is a highly esteemed work because of its significant cultural impact, its literary quality, and the many ageless themes contained in the work. For decades, it has been recommended, read, studied, and not just in America, but worldwide. And I got to thinking about it like this. I don't know if the council culture woke crowd and canceled it or not. But when I was growing up, there was a sign reading in school. Well, that is what we have here with Abraham.

In both the Old Testament and New Testament, we see that Abraham's example in life of faith is highly regarded for its great spiritual impact in merit, for the many enduring and valuable spiritual themes seen in his life, and through the author of Hebrews now, God is calling us to study Abraham and his life of faith, and also to allow his life, an example, to impact us. Of course, we should study all of the examples of the life of faith seen here in chapter 11, and we should learn from all of their examples. But of all of these examples, Abraham should be at the top of our list.

Now, we have seen with each of these examples a specific area of life in which they excelled and are exalted. We saw that Abel worshiped God by faith. We saw that Enoch walked with God by faith, and Noah, he obeyed God by faith. And this morning, we will see how the author emphasizes Abraham's entire life of faith. Although the author points out specific areas of Abraham's life where he did excel, it was for the purpose of highlighting and showing us his entire life of faith. Now, that leads me to the title of our message. It's rather simple. Faith exemplified, Abraham lived the life of faith.

This is all about faith exemplified, Abraham lived the life of faith. And this will be a part one, because the author covers so much starting at verse eight, and he picks back up with Abraham in verse 17. Now, before we get into our verses, who was Abraham? Who was Abraham? Just like with Noah, I'm sure most of us know quite a lot about Abraham, but if I had to bet, I would guess that you probably know more about Noah than Abraham. But Abraham was originally named Abram. I covered that earlier in our scripture reading. God changed his name from Abram to Abraham.

And he is considered to be the father of the Jewish people and the Jewish religion. Many scholars and commentators start off by simply saying that he was the father of a multitude. We're gonna see that this morning. He truly was a father of a multitude. But Abraham was called by God to leave his home in Ur and to journey to the land of Canaan, a land promised by God to his descendants. We read of that in Genesis 12 earlier. And he is famously known for many, many things, both good and bad. He obviously made some grievous mistakes in his journey of faith. I will mention just three. Abraham is known for demonstrating his great faith in God.

We see this expressed in the fact that he was willing to sacrifice his one and only son, Isaac. In Genesis 22, verses one to 18, we see that God called Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son. And Abraham was willing to do so. He believed that God could even raise him up from the dead, according to the author of Hebrews in chapter 11, verse 19. Abraham is known for the covenant that God made with him. In Genesis chapter 12 and 17, God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and that through him, God would bless all of the peoples and families of the earth.

That is why he is often called father to a multitude. And God promised Abraham that he would give his descendants the land of Canaan. And this covenant known as the Abrahamic covenant was the foundational covenant that made Abraham the patriarch from whom the religion of Judaism and Christianity would spring forth. And also Abraham is known for not always walking in obedience to God by faith. Sometimes Abraham acted out of fear and made decisions out of fear. He sometimes tried to fulfill God's plan in his own way. Simply at times, he just struggled to trust God in the live by faith.

We see this when because of famine, he went down into Egypt in Genesis 12, 10 to 20. We see this when he was in Egypt, he lied to Pharaoh because he was afraid Pharaoh would kill him and take his wife because of her great beauty. We see this when he took a second wife in Genesis 16. Because he was unable to have children with his wife Sarah, he took Sarah's Egyptian maid servant Hagar as a wife so as to have a child and so as to try and fulfill God's promises in their own way. Of course, there is much more we can learn about Abraham starting from Genesis 12 and on. And even on into the New Testament.

And I would encourage you, go do some reading some study on your own about Abraham. There's plenty of material for you this week. Now, let's read our verses in Hebrews and then I will explain to you how I will approach the message. Verses eight to 12. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith, he went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land living in tents with Isaac and Jacob heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations whose designer and builder is God.

By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive even when she was past the age. Since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man and him as good as dead were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. Now, I want us to see four details about Abraham's life of faith. First, I want us to see his journey of faith. This comes right out of verse eight. Next, I want us to see the land of faith that he was promised right there in verse nine. Third, the city of faith that he was promised. We see that in verse 10.

And then last, I want us to see Abraham's children that he received are acquired by faith in verses 11 to 12. And remember folks, the author is highlighting the fact that Abraham truly lived the life of faith. And that is because Abraham knew that faith is the way to life and faith is the way to live. And I will come back to that at the conclusion of our message. So number one, I want us to look at Abraham and the journey of faith. Abraham and the journey of faith. Now, before we get into Abraham's journey of faith, we must see who Abraham was before he obeyed God and took up this journey. This is more biographical information.

Before Abraham responded to the call of God, he was a sinful pagan living in a pagan country and in a pagan society. He was from Ur, which was in Chaldea, which was in the region of Mesopotamia. And scholars tell us that at this time, Mesopotamia was a very fertile region and an advanced culture. But the people and the culture in the region was thoroughly sinful and pagan. Abraham also came from a sinful and pagan family. Joshua described Abraham's family saying, "Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Tara, "the father of Abraham and of Nohr, "and they served other gods." You see that?

Joshua pointed out that they served other gods and that's in Joshua 24 too. Now, this is my point. Abraham was a pagan who worshiped many pagan gods, living in a pagan land, a pagan culture, and pagan society, having come from a sinful and pagan family, yet God appeared to him and called him to himself. And here in verse eight, we see that God called Abraham to take a journey of faith. And I want us to see two details about Abraham's obedience to this call. First, we see immediate obedience. And remember, this was all by faith.

The English Standard says, "When he was called out to go." The New American says, "When he was called." And this speaks of being called, even being called by name. Language scholars tell us that this phrase, "When called," indicates a very prompt obedience to the call. One scholar described it this way, saying, "He obeyed the call wild, so to say, "it was still sounding in his ears." I like that, it's true. "He obeyed this call all while the call to leave "and follow God by faith was still ringing "and sounding in his ears." So we see Abraham's immediate obedience to God's call. And remember, he did this by faith.

Second, we see a blind obedience. We see a blind obedience. Now, this blind obedience is clearly seen in the first half of the verse. The English Standard version divides the verse using two sentences, which makes this easier for us to see. Now, look at verse eight and take note of the second part of the verse. This is where the blind obedience is. "By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called out "to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance." And here it is. "And he went out not knowing where he was going." Now, right here, scholars tell us this is arguably the greatest statement of obedience in faith.

Even though Abraham had no idea where he was going, he went out, he obeyed God by faith. Now, if we go back to Genesis 12.1, we can see that God told him to go to the land that he would show him. But it was sometime after he reached Canaan that God told him that Canaan was the land that he would give to his descendants. And we see that in verse seven. So this is my point. Abraham obeyed God by going. And he did not know where he was going. And he did not know for quite some time. That is why I call this a blind obedience. So look at what we have here in verse eight. Abraham's immediate obedience in this journey of faith.

And as he was being called, he was obeying this call. And this call was ringing in his ear as soon as he began to obey this call. And we can call this a preposterous faith in that it was preposterous for Abraham to leave his home, culture, country, and go to a strange land. And on top of that, he had no idea where he was going. I like Kenneth Wu's translation of the verse. He said, "He was being called, obeyed, and he went out, not troubling his mind as to where he was going." That's good. "Not troubling his mind as to where he was going." And that was because God had not told him. But look at the depth of Abraham's journey of faith.

He was not alone. He took others with him. So he was responsible for others. Others were looking to him and following him as he took his seeming preposterous journey of faith. If we look at the end of Genesis chapter 11, and at the beginning of chapter 12, we see that Abraham took his wife, Sarah, his nephew, Lot, and Tara, his father. The original call of God was given to Abraham as seen in Genesis 12.1, and also over in Acts 7.2-3. But it is obvious that he took his wife, his father, and his nephew along with him. So my point right here is this.

Abraham was not only responsible for himself in the seeming preposterous journey of faith, but he was responsible for his family as well. You see that? And get this church. Abraham made this journey of faith by faith. And remember, faith is not hoping in or believing in thin air. Faith has a nail to hang its hat on. Faith has a nail to hang its hat on. And Abraham's faith rested in God, and it rested in God's call on his life. Now, me and my fathers, I have something I wanna share with you here. You are responsible to God for your journey of faith. Me and fathers, you are responsible to God for your journey of faith.

By faith, you are to live a life of faith all of the days of your life like Abraham. And you are responsible for your wife and children. You are responsible for your wife and children. And the manner in which you obey will affect your wife and your children. The manner in which you obey will affect your wife and children. Some of you know the story of Abraham, so these questions will ring in your ear. Did any of Abraham's failures in the life of faith affect his wife? Oh, yeah. Did any of Abraham's failures in the life of faith affect his wife? They certainly did. Did any of his failures affect his children? They certainly did.

So men, fathers, the manner and the consistency in which you obey God and live the life of faith has this profound effect on your wife, on your children, for the good, for the bad, or maybe for the mediocre. Some of you need that more than you know. So the journey of faith or Abraham's seeming preposterous faith in his journey of faith. And Abraham, number two, I want us to see the land of faith. Abraham and, number two, the land of faith. We see this in verse nine. Look at the verse. By faith, he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

Now, we really need to see what the author is showing us here. We must understand that we have a great paradox before us. You may say, Pastor Chris, what is a paradox? Well, a paradox is a seeming contradiction. A paradox is someone, something, or some circumstance, or circumstances which seem like a contradiction. Now, I'll come back to that at the end and you'll see what I mean. But notice, first Abraham lived in the land of promise by faith. He lived in the land of promise. Here we see that Abraham went to live in the land of Canaan, that land that God promised, which he clearly promised to give Abraham and to his descendants.

Verse nine says that Isaac and Jacob were heirs of the same promise. Now, this is where I want us to turn back to Genesis chapter 12. It will be good for us to put our eyes back on these verses. It's a lengthy passage, but it's worth the time. Verses one to seven. Now, the Lord said to Abram, I'll go ahead and tell you, I'll call him Abraham, go from your country in your kindred, that would be your family, in your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you, I will curse. And in you, all of the families of the earth shall be blessed. So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarah, his wife, and Lot, his brother's son, that would be his nephew, and all their possessions that they had gathered and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem to the oak of Moray. And at that time, the Canaanites were in the land.

And then verse seven, then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, to your offspring I will give this land. So he built there an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him. Now what we have here is simple. Abraham had made it to the land of promise, and he lived in the land of promise. And this promise was made to him several times. So we read of it earlier in Genesis 12.7, and we see it over in chapter 13 verse 15, and also in Genesis 17.8. So Abram made it to the land of promise, and he lived in that land of promise all by faith. But then second, Abram lived as a foreigner and nomad in the land.

Abraham lived as a foreigner and a nomad in the land by faith. Now to see this, we need to read the verse in the New American Standard. I'll read it, you can listen. That verse says, by faith he lived as an alien, as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents. The legacy Standard Bible helps. It says, by faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents. Here we see that Abraham lived as an alien, not as a permanent resident, but as a stranger, and he lived in tents, not in a city, not in buildings.

And he lived in tents as an alien and a stranger in a foreign land, wandering around this land as a nomad. And get this, he was living in the land that God had promised. But the land was not his possession and he never did possess the land. He had no rights as he lived in the land. He had no permanent home as he lived in the land. He lived in tents roaming the land like a stranger, an alien. And get this, right up to the end of his life, the only piece of land that he actually and truly owned was the field that he purchased to bury his wife, Sarah. We'll see that in Genesis chapter 23.

In his sermon before the Jewish religious leaders in Acts seven, Stephen spoke of Abraham's situation. Stephen said in verse five, "Yet he gave him no inheritance in it." Talking about the land. Not even a foot's length, "but promised to give it to him as a possession "and to his offspring after him, "though he had no children." So Abraham lived as a foreigner and a nomad in his own promised land. And he did this by faith. And then third, Isaac and Jacob lived as Abraham did, by faith. Now this is simple and short. Things were just the same for Isaac and Jacob.

They possessed the same promise and promises from God because they were made heirs of the same promise and promises. Yet they lived as Abraham and they did not actually possess the land. So Abraham's son and grandson lived just like Abraham and they lived by faith. So look at what we have here in verse nine. "By faith Abraham lived in God's promised land, "but he did not have possession of it. "He lived as an alien foreigner in the land of promise "as a stranger living as a nomad in tents. "He only possessed the promised land in his heart, "never with his hands.

"And his son and grandson lived the very same way, "by faith." But take a look at how we can view what we have here. "By faith Abraham lived with pilgrim faith "in the promised land, "possessing the land in his heart, "but never in his hands. "He lived in the promised land as a pilgrim. "And his pilgrim faith was also a patient faith "because he patiently lived as a pilgrim to the very end, "believing God to the very end. "And this pilgrim faith and patient faith "was a paradoxical faith. "Because although he owned the land by God's promise, "he was a stranger his entire life, "never possessing the land.

"He possessed the land in his heart, "but never in his hands." And get this church. "He lived this patient pilgrim life of faith by faith, "believing in God in his promise, His patient pilgrim faith rested on the solid rock, the solid foundation of God's promise and promises and God Himself. Now there are two lessons I believe we need to learn here from Abraham. First, God's promises are sure, God's promises are true, God's promises are sure, God's promises are trustworthy, they never fail. And second, God's promises are worth the wait. God's promises are worth the wait.

And we need a patient faith so as to wait on God and to wait on God to fulfill His promises in His timing for His purpose, for His glory, for our lives. You see how it all comes together? God's promises are true and God's promises are worth the wait. How are you at waiting on God's promises? So the land of faith, or we could say it like this, Abraham's patient faith. And then we see number three, Abraham and the city of faith. Number three, Abraham and the city of faith. Look at verse 10. For he was looking forward to the city that housed foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Now here the author moves from God's promise of the physical land of faith, the land of Canaan, to God's promise of the heavenly city of faith, the Jerusalem of heaven. But as we will see, this is all connected. As a matter of fact, some scholars, some authors keep verse nine and 10 together. I felt it was better to separate the two. But I want us to make two observations here. First, I want us to see the motivation behind Abraham's patient pilgrim faith. I want us to see the motivation behind Abraham's patient pilgrim faith. Right off in verse 10, we see the reason, the motivation, the drive behind Abraham's patient pilgrim faith.

He looked over and beyond being a pilgrim in the promised land that he never possessed, looking forward to the city of God in heaven that was promised. William McDonald captures this beautifully, perfectly. He asks the question and I'm quoting, "Why did Abraham hold such a light grip on real estate?" Why did Abraham hold such a light grip on real estate? And he enters by saying, because he waited for the city, which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. He did not have his heart set on present material things, but on the eternal. So the motivation and drive behind Abraham's patient pilgrim faith was this.

By faith, he had his eyes, his heart, and his mind set on the city of faith. And how was Abraham able to do this? He believed these things by faith. He believed God by faith. He believed God's word by faith. He believed God's promises by faith. That's how he was able to do this. Then second, I want us to see the master and the mastermind behind this city. The master and the mastermind behind this city. We can say it like this, here we see the master behind the city and the master's mind behind the city. This was no ordinary city. This is no ordinary city. And this is more than a city in heaven, but this was and is a city built by God.

And the author shows us two sides here. First, that God was the designer or architect of the city. This word translated designer in the English standard. The numerator can use the word architect. It means craftsman or artisan or workman. And then second, that God was the builder, both the English standard and new American standard. Use this word builder. In this word translated builder, it means workman or builder. So we have two very similar words that tell us that God designed and built this heavenly city or the heavenly Jerusalem. He designed it. He built it. He is the master. He is the mastermind.

And he was and is the master craftsman behind the heavenly Jerusalem. So look at what we have here in verse 10. Abraham's motivation behind his patient pilgrim faith, wandering as an alien in the land of promise was simple. He was looking beyond the fact that he was living as an alien and a nomad in the land of promise. He was looking to heaven and he was looking to the heavenly Jerusalem and get this church. Abraham was able to do so because he was heavenly minded. He was able to do so because he was heavenly minded, all while keeping his focus on earth by faith. By faith, he believed all that God said and all that God promised. God said it.

He believed it. He lived it and he lived it out by faith. And again, he hung his hat on faith and on the nail of God, the nail of the word of God and the nail of the promises of God. And church, saints, brothers and sisters, I am afraid that we, I'm included, we all have our eyes, hearts and minds too attached to the physical world that we live in. I'm afraid that we all have our hearts and minds and our eyes too attached to the physical world that we live in. Yes, our houses are a blessing from God. Yes, our cars are a blessing from God. Our job is a blessing from God. Our money is a blessing from God.

All our possessions are blessings from God. But I am not sure if any of us hold these things as loosely as we should. I am not sure if we hold these things loosely like Abraham did so that we can and do look to and forward to our heavenly Jerusalem that is waiting for us. And honestly, I think we need a great work of God here. We all need a great work of God here to reorient us or orient us to be as heavenly minded as we should. So the city of faith or Abraham's persevering faith. And then number four, Abraham and the children of faith. Number four, Abraham and the children of faith. We see this in verses 11 to 12. Let's read those verses.

By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive even when she was past the age, that would be childbearing age. Since she considered him faithful who had promised, therefore from one man and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. Now here we see Sarah introduced as a woman of faith. But notice something that is obviously missing here. The author of Hebrews totally leaves out what Moses tells us about Sarah. Actually, Moses never gives us any indication that Sarah was a woman of faith at all.

But the author of Hebrews presents Sarah as a woman of faith just like Abraham. Of course, both Abraham and Sarah struggled at times to exhibit faith. At different times, both of them literally laughed at God when he promised them a son in their old age. We see that in Genesis 17, 17, Genesis 18, 12. But Sarah's lack of faith was much worse, much, much worse. As a matter of fact, she tried to fulfill the promises of God the world's way. She talked Abraham into having a son of their Egyptian maidservant in Genesis 16. She did not trust in God nor his promise at all.

And she was bound and determined to do the work of God her way, the world's way. So my point right here is simple. Moses hardly gives us any indication that Sarah was a woman of faith. But the writer of Hebrews never mentions this and he presents her as an example of faith just like Abraham. So what do we make of this issue? Evidently, although Sarah struggled horribly to believe God by faith, and although she even tried to live the life of faith by and through her own works, Sarah obviously came through her faithlessness becoming a woman of faith even listed in Hebrews 11 in the Great Hall of Fame of the saints of God. Do you see?

And look at the great encouraging lesson here, church. Some of us are like Sarah. Our faith in God is weak, very weak. And some struggle with taking matters into their own hands. But if God can enable Sarah to persevere from a almost non-existent faith, definitely a weak faith to becoming a woman of faith in the Hall of Fame of the saints of God, then there is hope for us. You see? If God could enable Sarah to persevere and grow from a weak faith and almost non-existent faith to becoming a woman of faith, faith in God so as so that she's listed here in the Hall of Fame of the saints of God, then there is hope for us.

Some of you are praying for the salvation of your children and you're just about as weak as Sarah in your faith. Some of you are praying for the salvation of a spouse and you're just about to the place of being like Sarah, almost totally faithless. Some of you are praying for the salvation of family and friends and you're almost about like Sarah. It is easy for us to get to the place where we look at our children, a spouse, others in our family and we think the Lord never will save them and we get just about like Sarah. Almost totally faithless. I think about some of the things we're praying for in the life of our church.

We want our church to grow. We wanna reach lost people. We wanna see lost people come to salvation and be in the life of our church and grow. We wanna reach the saints of God that God puts in our community. We want our church to grow with more worshipers. We want our ministries to grow to be more effective. We don't wanna just do ministry. We want our church to grow and sometimes I can get to the place where I'm just about like Sarah and I think it's really never gonna happen. Oh, I'm thankful for where we are but I think we're never gonna get over the hump. We're never gonna turn the corner. We can all be a lot more like Sarah than we know.

But back to Sarah and Abraham and their children of faith and I want us to see two details here. First, they trusted God by faith. First, they trusted God by faith. We see this in verse 11. Now if you do any study at all, you will see that there are some difficulties with the original language here in verse 11. Now we do not have time to get into the language struggles but what the author is saying here is simple once we wade through the confusion. By faith, Sarah along with Abraham because it takes two to conceive. But by faith, Sarah received power from God to conceive even though she was well past the age of conceiving a child.

Now I question, how was she able to conceive? Along with Abraham, how was she able to conceive? You may say, Pastor Chris, God opened up her womb. God enabled Abraham to impregnate Sarah, his wife. It is miraculous, yes, because of their age but it's simple biology. Well, the answer to that is right and wrong. She was able to conceive because the verse says she considered him faithful who had promised. The amplified says because she considered him who had given her the promise to be reliable and true to his word. So the point right here is this. Abraham and Sarah believed and they trusted in God and they trusted in his promise.

They trusted in God to keep his word and he kept his word. So they trusted in God by faith. They trusted in God in his promise by faith. Therefore, they were able to conceive. And then second, they received from God by faith. They received from God by faith. And we see this in verse 12 which is a result of verse 11. Look back at the verses. You'll see the result. By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive along with Abraham. Even when she was past the age, how? Since she considered him, that's God, faithful who had promised.

Therefore, or as a result of from one man and him as good as dead were born descendants as many as the stars of the heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore because God had promised Abraham and Sarah. The results were certainly to follow. They received children from God. But notice the depth and the breadth of these things. First, though Abraham and Sarah were as good as dead, they conceived meaning though it was impossible for them to have children, therefore their family line, their ancestry was as good as dead.

Second, though Abraham and Sarah were as good as dead as far as children were concerned, descendants as numerous as the stars in the heaven and the sand on the seashore were born to them. And that leads us to a question. Who were, who are these stars and these grains of sand? Of course, this is proverbial language from uncountable multitude of descendants. But who were these descendants? Who are these descendants? Specifically and broadly, two groups, all the Jews and all Christians. In John chapter eight, the Jews claimed to be children of Abraham before Jesus.

Although he rebuked them and told them that they were not true children of Abraham and that they did not believe in him, Jesus did not deny that they were physical children of Abraham or children of Abraham by blood, by heredity, by family line. So these descendants included the Jews of the Jewish people. And our verses that I read earlier in our introduction, Galatians three, 28 to 29, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is nor male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring heirs according to the promise.

So the descendants here include all born again Christians, past, present, and future. So look what we have here in verses 11 and 12. Sarah and Abraham trusted in God, therefore they received descendants as many as the stars in the sky and as many as the grains of the sand along the seashores. And what we see here is this, the power of faith and the potential of faith. Because Abraham and Sarah persevered in their faith, the power of God was displayed by and through their faith. You see? And we see the potential of faith, by faith they received descendants, too numerous to count, too numerous to count. And the lesson for us here is simple.

This is profound but simple. God can do great and amazing things through us. God can do great and amazing things through us. Now, Grace Life Church, we may be a small church, but God can and I believe will do great and amazing things through us. Church, if we have opportunities to do things that are bigger than us, will we tackle them by faith and in faith? And I wanna say something else that applies to us here. Abraham and Sarah received the children of faith by faith and through faith and we are beneficiaries of two things. First, we are beneficiaries of God's promises to Abraham. Second, we are beneficiaries of Abraham and Sarah's faith.

Do you see that? We are beneficiaries of God's promises and their obedience by faith. And look, I don't know about you, but this causes me to come before God in great wonder, in great amazement, in great praise, in great worship. We are a part of this promise. So the children of faith are their powerful faith and the potential in their faith. Now, I wanna step back from the verses and I wanna begin to close the message and I wanna give us a summary of all of this teaching and I want us to see these things certainly do relate to us and apply to us.

But here in verses eight to 12, the author shows us Abraham's journey of faith to the land of faith and he lived in the land of faith all while looking forward to the city of faith and in God's time, by faith, Abraham and Sarah were able to conceive the children of faith, ultimately having more descendants that can be counted. And here in verses eight to 12, the author shows us that Abraham and Sarah did all of these things because they possess faith and they live by faith. Remember now, the nail that they hung their hat on was God and the word of God and the promises of God.

Abraham possessed what seemed to be a preposterous faith from man's perspective because he left his homeland, followed the call of God all while, while not knowing where he was going. And he had this patient pilgrim faith as he wondered his entire life in the land that was promised by God, but he never possessed the land with his hands, only with his heart, so he had this paradoxical faith. But Abraham's faith was a persevering faith in that he lived in the promised land of God all while looking forward to the promised city of God in heaven. And he demonstrated a powerful faith in that he believed in God and his promise.

He and Sarah were able to bear children even though they were as good as dead. And this was a potential faith in that the great potential for their faith is seen in the fact that their descendants were and are more numerous to count. And this potential faith is seen in the fact that God has fulfilled his great plans to redeem men and man through Abraham who lived the life of faith. And get this church, Abraham was able to live the life of faith because he understood that faith is the way to life. Paul says of Abraham saving faith that led to this life in Romans three. For what does the scripture say?

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Abraham was able to live the life of faith because he understood that faith is the way to life. Let me pause here. Some of you here will never be able to live the life of faith until you come to Christ in saving faith. Some of you may be good cultural Christians. Some of you may serve in the life of the church. You may do everything right externally. But what you must see is this. You will never be able to truly live the life of faith until you come savingly to Christ by faith. And get this church, Abraham proved that he knew faith is the way to live.

He proved that he knew faith is the way to live. And the writer of Hebrews sums up Abraham's entire life in these verses, verses eight to 12, which proves that he knew that faith was the way to live. Verse eight, "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations whose designer and builder is God.

By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive even when she was past the age. Since she considered him faithful who had promise. Therefore from one man and him as good as dead were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the sea shore." And look at how this applies to us church. Our goal in life, our number one goal and ambition in life, our all consuming purpose in life must be, should be that we live the life of faith. Yes, our goal should be to worship God by faith as able. Yes, our goal should be to walk with God just like Enoch did.

Yes, our goal should be to obey God by faith just like Noah. But the overarching, the greatest goal and desire in all of our life must be that we live the life of faith just like Abraham. As I was finishing up this morning, I thought about it like this. When we get to the end of our life and we die and our family purchases a tombstone, our family and our church family should be able to say, he, she, live the life of faith. Our family and church family should be able to put that on our tombstone without lying now saying, he or she simply live the life of faith. That's the goal. That's all before us.