Abraham - Wandering By Faith
Part of The Roll Call Of Faith
April 17, 2024

ABRAHAM – WANDERING BY FAITH

Text: Hebrews 11:8-16

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

1. The Invited Live By Faith (Heb 11:8)

1) God invited Abram to fulfill His purpose by faith (Gen 12:1-3)

2) God invited Abram to receive His blessings (Gen 12:1-3)

1] The blessing of land (Gen 12:1)

2] The blessing of a nation (Gen 12:2)

3] The blessing of a great name (Gen 12:2)

  • How many blessings would Abram have forfeited if he did not answer the call? He would have forfeited all of them (the land, the nation, the great name, etc.)
  • When God calls us, invites us, to follow Him by faith, He calls us to receive blessings. But we will miss the blessing(s) if we fail to answer the call.

3) God invited Abram to move in His direction

  • Principle: It is more important that we

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    God’s directions than
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    our destination.

  • Abraham did not earn the right to live by faith. He was invited to do so.

2. The Obedient Live By Faith (Heb 11:8)

  • There is nothing mystical about living by faith. It is a matter of
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    .
  • Obedience means doing what is ordered, submissive (Webster).
  • To obey God is to trust His leadership and follow it (Heb 11:8b).

3. The Sojourner Lives By Faith (Heb 11:9)

  • The word “sojourned” means to dwell in a place as a stranger (paroikeo). “Strange” means foreign, not of one’s own family.
  • Living by faith is for
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    dwellers.
  • Following God’s will by faith requires that we not be so tied to this world that we can’t or won’t do what or go where He calls/invites.
  • One of the things that helps us not get too tied to the world is to know and walk out the truth that this is not our home.
  • Living by faith is to be a
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    in this world (Heb 11:13).

4. The
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Of The World Live By Faith (Heb 11:15)

  • The call of the world is strong (1 John 2:15-17).
  • Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob were not mindful of the country from which they came or the world in which they lived. If they had been, they could have gone back to Haran or Ur.
  • The life of faith is better than the life the world offers (Luke 9:62).

5. The Spiritually Sighted Live By Faith (Heb 11:10, 14, 16)

  • Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah - They saw the invisible of God.
  • They saw the invisible. Perhaps a better way to say it is this way. They believed in what they could not see with physical eyes. By faith they trusted what God was up to in the present moment of their lives.

  • They saw the future that God promised.

  • Even though Abraham was living in the land that God promised to one day give his descendants, Abraham knew that the land was not his or their ultimate

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    . He looked beyond an earthly future to a heavenly future.

  • He saw a better city whose maker and builder was God; a city with foundations in heaven, not on earth.

  • The Christian who lives by faith realizes this truth: we’re just

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    dwellers.

  • We are not too tied to this earth. Why? Because we are leaving this world.
  • The tent we dwell in is this earthly body. (cf. 2 Cor 5:1-8)

Conclusion: How do I live a life of faith?

  1. Accept God’s invitation to:
    1) salvation
    2) do life practically
    3) fulfill His purpose and be blessed

  2. Obey His Word

  3. See through spiritual eyes

    • The life that really counts is the one in which we accept the invitation of the Holy One to walk by faith. Abraham obediently followed the Lord even though the way was not clear. The faith life is the best life. Make it your choice.