We Believe Series A Life of Influence Hebrews 11:8-19
Intro: Day of Influence / Dad’s 30th Anniversary / No one has been more influential in my life than my father • The Life of Abraham • Father Abraham, had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham… • Top 5 figure in the Bible…above all…a man of influence • Turn with me to Hebrews 11
Three Events Shaped the Course of Abraham’s Life:
Leaving his Homeland
The Promise of a Child
The Sacrifice of Isaac
You could say one thing about Abraham’s life: Abraham’s life was a life of tests • God seemed to test him over and over again • Well I sure relate with that! • In Abraham’s life, it appears they came with increasing difficulty • Each time it was harder to believe God • I don’t know that this is the playbook that God always uses, but it definitely seems to be the pattern in Abraham’s life
Two Things We Learn about Tests: • Great tests build great faith o Abraham, as one of the earliest figures in the Bible, is mentioned in Hebrews 11 as a member of the Hall of Fame of faith o He had to believe God for big things in the midst of big tests o If God is testing you, God is building your faith o It’s not a negative…it’s a positive time of spiritual growth
• Tests are often turning points o Over and over again, when Abraham believed God, it was a turning point o Major transitions and major turning points happened on the back end of Abraham’s tests o If God is testing you, God is leading you towards your future
Four Tests to Become a Person of Influence Test #1 – Will you go where God leads? • READ HEBREWS 11:8-10 • By faith Abraham obeyed God – good point – faith is more than just belief, it is obedience (more than just agreement, but action!) o Packs he and his wife up and starts a journey of 600-800 miles • In my mind, the biggest shock about this story is that God told him to go, and he went out – NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS GOING • Illustration: Family meeting with my parents o We’re moving! o What if Dad sat us down and said, “We’re moving.” Where? I don’t know. • We would all think that’s crazy! • Illustration: Dad leaving his homeland o Leaving Texas…always willing to go • Those who go where God leads have great influence • For some of you, God is calling to go where He leads – SCARED TO DEATH! • God rarely, if ever, lays out the whole story for us beforehand • Faith looks like you taking the first step without knowing where the path leads • Faith looks like taking the first step even though you don’t see the end of the staircase • This passage tells us that Abraham and his family weren’t ever able to possess the land of Canaan during their lifetime, but lived in tents…temporary living because of the call of God
Test #2 – Will you believe what God says? • READ HEBREWS 11:11-12 • Turning point of the OT is Genesis 12/15 where God lays out this picture to Abraham that he will be the father of many nations and his descendants will be as numerous as the stars • ONE MAJOR PROBLEM – he has no kids! • Abraham thought this would come through adoption first? Then he thought it would come through having a child with a different woman named Hagar? • He wasn’t flawless in faith…yet God still used him! (Encouraging!) • When God tells him of the promise of a child…he is 75 years old, Sarah is 65 years old. They have been infertile their entire marriage • Illustration: Claudette Cook from Alabama just gave birth to twins last month at the age of 60! • So it’s possible…then God makes them wait 25 years • God is less concerned about time and the calendar than he is about your own transformation into the likeness of Christ o If God is making you wait, God is building your faith • Verse 12 – “him as good as dead…” – 100 years old • It’s easy to believe God when there’s nothing supernatural that needs to happen • When the odds are stacked against you and there’s nothing you can do in your human power…that’s where faith comes into play • Those who believe what God says have great influence • Illustration: Dad believing God again and again
Test #3 – Will you live for eternal things? • This is perhaps the hardest of all…because it strikes so much against what this world tells us to live for • READ VERSE 10 again, then 13-16 • Verse 10 – city whose designer and builder is God • Verse 13 – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob never possessed Canaan o Strangers and exiles on the earth o If you ever feel like you don’t fit and the world is against everything you hold dear – you’re not supposed to fit! • Verse 14 – Homeland • Verse 15 – Ur – if that was the motivation, they would’ve gone home • Verse 16 – Better country, heavenly one, a city • • Some things Dad did teach me and didn’t teach me • He did not: o Teach me how to fix one single thing with a tool § I can take you back to when my Dad screwed Josh’s science project into our kitchen table o Teach me how to build a campfire § In fact, I can’t picture my dad spending one night in a tent in a sleeping bag…and if you ever hear of that happening, someone has lied to you • He did: o Teach me to love Jesus, love the church, love my family, and love football o We honor you today for teaching our family and this church about things that really matter • Abraham lived radically because he had eyes fixed on eternity • He left all that was comfortable and all that was normal because he had his eyes set towards eternity • The distinguishing factor in people of great faith is that they shift the direction of their lives towards things that matter for eternity o At some point – something clicks and everything changes o Church service, discipleship relationship, something else • God is calling some of you need to make the shift this morning
Test #4 - Will you give your all for Jesus? • READ HEBREWS 11:17-19 • One of the most confusing tests that God has ever given someone in the Bible • Everything rested on this child (promise to become a great nation, waited 25 years) • He was the epitome of an only child – their hope! Their dream! • And God calls Abraham to kill Isaac as a sacrifice to God – just doesn’t make sense, right? • Genesis 22 lays out the story for us • READ GENESIS 22:6-10 • Abraham was willing to give God his all…his most treasured possession…his son • This was their EVERYTHING… • What happens? • READ GENESIS 22:11-13 • God does a miracle! • At the exact moment he raises his hand to kill his son, an angel stops him • Glimpse into the faith of Abraham – according to Hebrews 11 he was so sure of God’s promise about Isaac that he believed if he killed him, God would just raise him from the dead! • The angel tells him that now God knows you fear him because you wouldn’t withhold your son, your only son o In other words – you were willing to give God your all, your best, your everything!
Conclusion: Bigger Picture • Thousands of years before Jesus would ever die on the cross, we see God giving us that picture right here in the first book of the Bible • This picture is one of the greatest ways to understand what it is that Jesus did for us • Theologians call this picture “Substitutionary Atonement” which points to the fact that Jesus took our place and was our substitute and provided forgiveness of sins • BRUTAL TRUTH – all of us deserve death and hell for our sin against God • GLORIOUS TRUTH – Jesus did everything necessary to save us • The Gospel in Four Words – Jesus in my place • For those of you that have been saved…Genesis 22 is a reflection of what has taken place in your life o Ephesians 2:10 – God saved you to do good works, to be a person of influence • For those of you who are here but have never been changed by Jesus – He has already done everything needed for your salvation…but you must respond today in REPENTANCE and FAITH