It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God had promised to give him. He left his own country without knowing where he was going …….It was faith that made Abraham able to become a father, even though he was too old and Sarah herself could not have children. He trusted God to keep his promise. (Hebrews 11:8)
Our journey through life can be difficult, with twists and turns we didn’t expect, take on paths that we had never planned to take, these and many others s might cause us to despair and wonder where on earth this will take us, we make decisions that are not easy to make and when we do decide we wonder if things might have turned out differently if we had chosen differently.
Abraham’s life was a bit like that. He was very settled and had done very well for himself in Ur – he had considerable livestock, servants and wealth. He and his wife Sarah were comfortable. Then out of the blue God came to Abraham and told him to pack up everything and move. Where they were to go, God doesn’t say.
So Abraham at 75 years of age, packs up and heads off to an unknown destination. I don’t know about you but when I move from one place to another a good deal of research takes place, a listing of the pros and cons, and a lot of wondering whether this is the right decision or not.
But none of this for Abraham. We are simply told, "He left his own country without knowing where he was going" (Heb 11:8). And what happened when Abraham got there – "there" being the land of Canaan.
There was no place for him to live – no house for Abraham and Sarah to live in, no farm where Abraham could put his sheep and cattle, nowhere he could grow crops and have a garden to grow potatoes, onions and tomatoes.
This aging couple had to live in a tent. The land God had brought them to belonged to other people – the Canaanites and they weren’t always friendly toward squatters. Abraham and Sarah had to keep on moving, finding new pastures for their sheep and cattle. They never settled down.
God had promised that he would give them a land. But it never happened. Abraham was had to buy a small piece of ground so that he could bury his wife Sarah. That’s the only land Abraham ever owned. Abraham’s life took twists and turns that he would never have dreamt of. What was it that enabled Abraham to take off to an unknown place? What was it that prevented him from returning to Ur where life had been so good?
Faith. We are told, "It was faith that made Abraham obey when God" when he was called to pack up and leave. "By faith he lived as a foreigner" in that strange land, always on the move. "He trusted God to keep his promise" to make him a father. When our life takes all kinds of unexpected twists and turns, it is this same kind of faith that enables us to view everything differently. What is meant by faith?
Faith is trusting in the promises of God. When God makes a promise and it doesn’t matter how weird that promise might be, God intends to keep it. A promise is a promise. When God promised Abraham, "Do not be afraid, I will protect you" (Gen 15:1) he trusted God to keep his word.
When God promised that he would give Abraham a new home land, Abraham trusted him, even though he never saw this happen in his lifetime. When God promised that Abraham would have many descendants, the old man believed him even though he couldn’t see how this was possible since, Abraham was 100 yrs. and Sarah was 90 yrs. Isaac was born, the child of the promise. (you may read the rest of the story in Genesis chapters 17,18, and 21).
Faith simply takes God at his word. Faith believes the promise that we are his dear children and that he will always be watching over us as we travel the ups and downs of life’s journey.
*** During the days of the bombing of London, a father, holding his small son by the hand, ran through really thick smoke from their burning house. In the front yard was a deep hole made by a bomb. Seeking shelter as quickly as possible, the father jumped into the dark hole and held up his arms for his son to follow.
The smoke was so thick he couldn’t see his father. The little boy was terrified and when his father called out "Jump son", the boy replied, "But I can't see you!" The father, looking up saw his son through the smoke of the burning buildings, called out, "But I can see you. Jump!" The boy jumped, because he trusted his father.
Faith trusts God to help, not because we can see, but because we are seen; not because we know all the answers, but because we are known. That illustration then leads to the idea that faith responds to the Word of God with obedience. The little boy, even though he was terrified and couldn’t see his father, he trusted his father and jumped in obedience to his call.
Abraham trusted God and so happily packed everything and headed for an unknown place. God’s command didn’t make any sense. Without question, he obeyed even though he didn’t understand. We are told, "It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God had promised to give him."
Faith in the Bible is not something you simply believe. It isn’t a set of statements about Christianity that we recite.
We might be able to recall with precision the stories of the Bible – but that’s not faith. We might be very good at understanding the teachings of the church – but that’s not faith. We might be an avid reader of Christian books, and even read the Bible cover to cover– but that’s not faith.
Faith is an unshakeable trust in God and willing obedience to his Word. Faith is not sitting still but it’s motion and active as it responds to God’s Word. Abraham trusted God and so when he was told to go to another country, Abraham responded by immediately starting to pack.
Someone once called faith a muscle given to us by the Holy Spirit. It’s a gift from God. And like any muscle it must be exercised otherwise it becomes weak and useless. And the more it is exercised the stronger it becomes.
Faith responds to God’s Word with action. (Many of you drove in a vehicle to church this morning? Did you the pew to make sure it would hold you up?) Friends, we all have faith in something. (let this be read in Danish: Hebrews 11:1, 6)
*** The famous Danish theologian Søren Kirkegaard tells a little parable about a place called "Duckland": It was Sunday morning in Duckland, and all the ducks dutifully came to church, waddling through the doors and down the aisle into their pews where they comfortably squatted.
When all were well-settled, and the hymns were sung, the duck minister waddled to his pulpit, opened the Duck Bible and read: "Ducks! You have wings, and with wings you can fly like eagles. You can soar into the sky! Use your wings!"
It was a marvelous reading from the Duck Bible, and thus all the ducks quacked their assent with an "Amen!" . . . and then they plopped down from their pews and waddled home.
Every Sunday we come here and hear God’s Word and during the week we read our Bible and have a quiet time with God. The question that this story about "Duckland" presents is – how have we responded to that God’s Word? Has our faith been challenged, because of what God has said to us? Has any thing changed in our life? Or it is business as usual.
Faith: the thing we hope for:
Why would people give up a safe, secure life and go to a hostile country to work and share the Gospel of Jesus? Following God’s call to this country where they will probably work for decades without seeing much fruit – no church building, no big worship services, just time-consuming, one-on-one sharing of their faith when the opportunity arises. They may never see any results of their work.
So why are they doing this? It’s seems so pointless and illogical. To answer we could use the words of our text, "It was faith that made these people obey when God called them to go out to another country." Faith believes and trusts God, even when it seems foolish to do so. Faith responds to God’s call with obedience.
Mother Teresa once said: Serving is 99% heart and 1% work.
In Jesus, we see the perfect example of what it means to have faith. He was faithful to the point of death. He faithfully carried out his work as Saviour of the world, opening the path for each of us to have eternal life. When our hands droop, our knees are weak, and we are weighed down with worry and we feel like giving up, we have a Saviour.
We believe firmly that Jesus has not let go of his grip on us. Life may not be easy but Jesus’ love for us and his forgiveness is as strong as ever. In fact, faith looks forward to a time when we will be welcomed into the promised land of heaven.
What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot see (Heb 11:1)
Amen
Rev. Samuel King-Kabu
August 8, 2004