YouTube and Podcast teaching for….Abraham’s Faith Is Proven Through The Test. LIVING BY FAITH IN TRIALS AND SUFFERING study #8 (A Study in Hebrews 11)(Hebrews 11:17-19)

Abraham’s Faith Is Proven Through The Test. LIVING BY FAITH IN TRIALS AND SUFFERING study #8 (A Study in Hebrews 11)(Hebrews 11:17-19)

We come again to another study in this great chapter that will be on the faith that Abraham had. We have seen two other studies already with Abraham being the primary person that we were studying. We looked at Abraham’s faith as he initially obeyed God to leave his father’s house to follow God. We then looked at both Abraham and Sarah’s faith as they were told of the promise and received the promise of their son Isaac. In this study we will look at the faith of Abraham as he is tested concerning this promised son. We mentioned Abraham even in our last study in the fact that he had faith beyond the temporal promises and looked at the eternal promises that were given to him. This will be the reality of that faith that he had as he is tested by being told that he must take his son to be used as a sacrifice to God.

This must have been some terrible words to Abraham’s ears. He had already let his son Ishmael leave due to the fact that he was not the promised son that would be the heir to the promise and now he is being told that he must kill the promised son. As we look at this we must know that yes we see Abraham act in obedience but I am sure the thoughts that he had were that of wonder at how God would continue the promises that He made. In all of this we know that Abraham has faith in God. Let’s unpack this great look at what faith looks like in the toughest temptation. Let’s look now at our first point.

1.By faith Abraham offers Isaac as a sacrifice to God.
Look with me at Hebrews 11:17-18 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, ¹⁸ of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”

I’m sure that most people know the account that is spoken of here but as I do, we will look at this very account of what happened during this time. We have already in past studies spoken of the promises given to Abraham, concerning having a son of his own. Now we know that Sarah and Abraham jumped the gun on this because of their impatience and Abraham had a son from Hagar whose name was Ishmael. Even though he was technically the first born of Abraham, he was not the heir of the promises given from God. God told Abraham in Genesis 15:4 “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”

The Muslim people claim this son to be Ishmael because of the birthright of the firstborn but as we see in Scripture this is not the case. When God told Abraham that Sarah would get pregnant with Isaac in Genesis 17, Abraham could not believe it because of his and Sarah’s age. He was around 100 and Sarah was 90. So this seemed to be a little far fetched when first told. In fact Abraham says this in Genesis 17:18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”

Abraham thought the possibility of them having a baby was out of reach for them but then God replies to Abraham’s suggestion in the next verse. Look with me at Genesis 17:19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

The covenant and the promises would run through the line of Isaac not Ishmael. So the story goes that Ishmael was sent away and now Isaac is the only son of Abraham in the sense of family structure. Isaac is the promised son of the covenant and then we see God test Abraham. Now I want to say before we even get into the text that God already knew the outcome so this test is to show that Abraham truly has faith.

We pick up the story in Genesis 22:1-2 that says After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Now it was at this time that we see the Scripture say that Abraham did just what God commanded of him. I know that even though he trusted God that this still had to be a difficult task. But there is no doubt in the mind of Abraham of God fulfilling the promises given to him. Remember, Isaac is the child of the promise that will be in covenant with God as well and yet even though we see such a horrific act that needed to be performed, Abraham was up for the task. In fact during their journey to the place of sacrifice Isaac asks Abraham this from Genesis 22:7-8 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

Even these questions from his son would not detour him from being obedient to God. The account of this continues as we see Abraham build an altar and bind his son. I’m sure there was questioning at this point from Isaac at why his father was doing this even though the Bible does not record any conversation. The only thing we see is that Abraham raises his hand, with knife in hand to kill his son Isaac as commanded by God. Then at that very moment an angel called out to Abraham and stopped him from killing his son and instead provided a ram that was stuck in the bushes there. Now I know that a question may arise at why I said God didn’t do this so that God would know when Genesis 22:12 says He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

This seems to be the very reason why God did this but in reality what all of this points to is that Abraham was proving his faith and that this would be an example to us on what real faith is. In fact this will be what the focus of the remainder of this study will be as we look at our next point.

2.The proven faith of Abraham.
Look with me at Hebrews 11:19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Here the writer of Hebrews gives us insight from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that we do not see in the original story. We see here that Abraham’s faith in God fulfilling His promises was so strong that he knew that God was able to raise him from the dead.

We need to understand that Abraham had never seen a resurrection or any miracle like this but this is what he believed. He was not worried that God would not fulfill His promises. He knew that God had done everything that He said He would up to that point. Yes Abraham could not see his future offspring that was as many as the stars in the sky but he did see the miracle of the birth of his son Isaac. This proved to him that God would fulfill whatever he was told. This act of obedience did not save Abraham, nor did he find some special favor with God because of it. Abraham had been decaled righteous long before this act because of the faith he had in God’s promises back in Genesis 15. So this act of obedience proved or validated that he was a man of faith.

We need to remember that salvation does not come through works but from grace that is received by faith. Romans 4:13 says For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

So the actions we do now as believers does not save us or keep us saved but proves our faithfulness. Don’t get me wrong I am not promoting that all people that look good morally on the outside are true Christians because we know the hypocrite will do this well at times too. But what we see in the true believer is their faith not waver when the difficulties and sufferings of life come at them. James speaks of this very thing pointed towards Abraham in James 2:21-24 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Often we look at this passage of Scripture and nothing but confusion sets in because there seems to be a contradiction to the very thought of salvation being through faith. But we must understand that James is not speaking on how to be saved but rather on how being saved looks. Paul gives us the doctrine of salvation and James gives us the action that shows what true faith looks like. In fact James says this very thing just a few verses prior to this in James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 

To show faith is to exhibit that faith. This is done not through just normal living but is tested when we are faced with the sufferings and trials that we face. Was this a trial for Abraham? Of course it was. Like I said, even though he trusted God this had to be physically and emotionally difficult to deal with but yet his faith did not fail. Abraham’s faith was tested and we see that he passed the test. This reminds me so much of what Jesus says at the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:24-27 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Are living your life believing in what God’s Word has promised or are you believing man-made ideas or by the things that are going on around you? 2 Corinthians 5:7 says For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Just like Abraham we can not allow the reality of what we see with our eyes to persuade us. We must be ready for the test, the trial, the temptation, the persecution or some other type of suffering. We must decide now to live by faith not by sight.

YouTube and Podcast teaching for….Sarah And Abraham Receive Their Promised Son By Faith. LIVING BY FAITH IN TRIALS AND SUFFERING study #6 (A Study in Hebrews 11)(Hebrews 11:11-12)

Sarah And Abraham Receive Their Promised Son By Faith. LIVING BY FAITH IN TRIALS AND SUFFERING study #6 (A Study in Hebrews 11)(Hebrews 11:11-12)

As we begin this study we will really tie together what we learned about Abraham in our last study to the topic of his wife Sarah. Abraham and Sarah are the most known couple in the Old Testament by the fact that they received a child at such an old age. This will be what we see in this study but we will also look back briefly at a couple of verses from our previous study to tie all of this together so that we can get the entire picture of what was happening at this time. What we will see is that not only did Abraham have faith but his wife did as well. We will look at their disbelief of being able to conceive at an old age or the lack of understanding in how God would do all of this. This will show us many things as we dive into this portion of our study here in Hebrews 11. Let’s look now at our first point and our first verse for this study.

1.The faith of Sarah.
Look with me at Hebrews 11:11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 

This miraculous conception is not something that Sarah nor Abraham designed or planned. If they were to choose their way they would have had a child at an early age but this conception was God’s plan in the story of redemption. It was God that made Abraham righteous and it is God that makes Sarah righteous as well. How do we know that Sarah is righteous? Simply by the words we see at the beginning of verse 11 here: By faith Sarah.

As we have made clear, no one is righteous within themselves and no one has faith in God unless God draws that person to Himself. So along with her husband Abraham, Sarah is a person of faith. Here in our text we see that Sarah had faith in which she received power to conceive. At first it looks as if Sarah had faith and therefore she was given the power to be able to conceive. In other words it looks like this was something that was solely dependent on her faith but that is not what we see in the original account.

To see this account let’s look first at God’s covenant with Abraham as we looked at last time from Genesis 15:1-6 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” ² But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” ⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” ⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

This is the promise that Abraham would have an heir of his own. We do not know for certain at Abraham’s age here but we do know that he was already over 70 by the time he leaves from Haran. This places Sarah at around 60. It must have not been outside of their thinking at this point that they were to old to have a child because Abraham does not show any signs of wonder at this point. So if you move along in Abraham and Sarah’s life we see in Genesis 17 that God makes the covenant of circumcision with Abraham. We know that Abraham is 99 at this point by what is said in verse one of that chapter.

Then God gives to Abraham the promise of Isaac down a little further, God says this in Genesis 17:16-17 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

Some see Abraham’s reaction as a sign of disbelief but we know in Romans 4:18-21 that this was not the case, it says In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰ No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹ fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

So Abraham had faith but our Hebrews text speaks of Sarah’s faith so let’s look at her reaction to this promise. Look with me at Genesis 18:10-15 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. ¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” ¹³ The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁵ But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

It was at this time that God told Abraham that the time was here that his wife Sarah would conceive. Sarah’s reaction was just like Abraham’s reaction in that she laughed seeing that she knew she was beyond the age to carry a child naturally. Of course we know that all of this happened as God said but it was not ever dependent on whether they had personal faith or not. The faith they had was something they had because of the working of God inside of them. So it was by God’s power that Sarah conceived and in that she had faith in God. I want to look at another aspect of this story as we move now to our next point.

2.Having patience in our suffering produces faith.
Look with me at Hebrews 11:12 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.

In order to see God work things out the way He would want for us, we must have patience and contentment. We must not lose our focus and do as Sarah and Abraham did when Abraham had a child with Hagar. That was not God’s promised child and was not the promise given to Abraham. Sometimes people wonder at how God allowed this type of behavior by still allowing Ishmael to be born. God would still allow this child to be born but it would not be through Ishmael that the promise of being a blessed nation would be. This is the tension we know that exist to this vey day between the Jewish nation and the Islamic nations. Even though the Islamic nation is descendants through Ishmael the promise was given to Isaac as stated in Genesis 17:18-22 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” ¹⁹ God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. ²¹ But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”

So what we see is that both Ishmael and Isaac will be great nations but it would be only Isaac that would receive the promises of the land and the covenants in association to Messiah. This of course brought turmoil from the beginning between Abraham’s two sons. But as you move along in the life of Abraham and Sarah you will see Abraham tell Hagar to leave from them. I know this had to be hard on Abraham but it would be the obedience of both Sarah and Abraham that would prove their faith in God’s promises.

As they live their life they do not have a homeland but remain as foreigners in a land that was only promised to his offspring. That really takes us back to where I wanted to land in this study and that is what we see in Hebrews 11:9 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.

Even though both Abraham and Sarah thought that them having a child was something beyond what could happen, they both remained faithful. They may have seen what seemed impossible to them as something funny but this would continue to build their faith. I think we spiritualize the people in the Bible so much that we tend to think they were the same as they were the day they started following God, but just like us, they too would be growing more and more in their trust in God as they saw Him do the impossible in their life.

I know for me I often have seen God work in situations that I thought I would never get out of. I may not see a miraculous conception as we have studied on in this study but to see God work in my life, removing sin in my life and in the life of others, to see my mom nearly die a couple of times from her bout with cancer to living normal again, to seeing the worse person that you may think could never be saved start living for Christ is all that I need to build my faith more and more in God.

The key to each of these is the same thing we see in Abraham and Sarah’s lives which is to be patient. Even though they would never see the fulfillment of all of the promises they knew that God would do what He said He would do. This is what we see in Hebrews 11:12 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.

They did become the parents, if you will, of many descendants not just from an ancestral sense but also from a spiritual sense. Romans 4:16 says That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.

It was by faith that they both received the promises that went beyond any temporal blessing to a heavenly reward. We will see 2 studies from now the faith of Abraham tested once again but for our next study we will look at how we should be living our lives in obedience by faith for something beyond our hopes of seeing promises fulfilled in this lifetime.

YouTube and Podcast teaching for….Abraham’s Faith Is Seen In His Obedience. LIVING BY FAITH IN TRIALS AND SUFFERING study #5 (A Study in Hebrews 11)(Hebrews 11:8-10)

Abraham’s Faith Is Seen In His Obedience. LIVING BY FAITH IN TRIALS AND SUFFERING study #5 (A Study in Hebrews 11)(Hebrews 11:8-10)

We will look now at the faith of the biggest name in religion who is Abraham. I say this because Judaism, Christianity and Islam all have a connection to Abraham. I do want to point out that the connection that each of these religions have are different. For Judaism he is father Abraham, the patriarch of their religion. He received the promises of Israel’s right to the land and promises from God.

For the Islam faith he has a similar position with the claim of their descendant of Ishmael, who was Abraham’s son from Hagar Sarai’s handmaid that he has the right of the promises of the land and blessings of God.

For the Christian, Abraham is the model of one that possess faith in God. He is the example of what true faith looks like as he trusted God for the impossible. Christians do not claim ancestral rights to the promises made to Abraham but spiritual rights to salvation for those that have faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. Galatians 3:29 says And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

What we see is that Christianity is the only religion that gets it right when it comes to Abraham. Yes the Jews will receive promises made to Abraham concerning land and blessings, yes Abraham was promised that his son Ishmael would become a great nation as well but Christianity focuses on the eternal aspect of what Abraham’s faith did. This is what we will see here in this study and also as we look at Abraham again in another study when we get to Hebrews 11:17. So let’s look at our first point for this study.

1.Abraham’s obedience leads to the unknown.
Look with me at Hebrews 11:8-9 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. ⁹ 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.

The mark of a true follower of God or Jesus is always seen in faith. It is not a knowledge of faith, it is not a profession of faith but it is in the action that comes from faith. A person that has faith in Jesus for salvation does not simply believe the facts that happened but believe or has faith in the power of what happened in what Jesus did on the cross and resurrection. That faith transforms that person from living for self and sin to living for God. So the proof of salvation is seen in the obedience of the life of the one that has been saved. You are not saved by that obedience but that obedience is what shows the genuineness of that person.

This is what we will see in respect to Abraham. He did not simply believe in God, yes it must start there but he showed he had faith by living a life of obedience. He was not perfect but his life pointed to the fact that he lived by faith in God. We see this first in what we see here in Hebrews 11:8 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.

As we have been doing with the other people that we have been studying in this series, we will look at the original account of this calling. First I want to look at what Stephen says in Acts 7:2-4 Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, ³ and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ ⁴ Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.

I want to make clear as we see here that Abraham’s call to leave his land and his kindred was before he lived in Haran. I think we can definitely go back to see first in Genesis 11:31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.

This verse seems to show us that even Abraham’s father was on this journey to Canaan but settles in Haran and does not finish the journey. But according to Stephen, Abraham had already received the call to leave the land of where they were living which was Ur of the Chaldeans. So it seems that this move to Canaan pleased his father but somehow got caught up in Haran. Then in Genesis 12:1 the Bible says Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

Notice the added words from what we see as the original call that Stephen proclaimed to the call we see in Genesis 12:1. Stephen says that the call was to Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you, then we see in Genesis 12:1 that Abraham was told to Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

In other words don’t stop the journey that you started just because your father refuses to leave Haran. The call originally according to Stephen did not include leaving his father but now that his father has decided to stay in Haran, Abraham needed to remember the call to leave not only his land but his father’s house as well. This would have been a tough challenge for many people in those times as well as today. But Abraham did not sit around and wonder at what he must do, he moved on in obedience to the call that God had given him.

Abraham was going into the unknown. He had lived in a place that worshipped many gods before but now he was listening to the only true God yet this was something out of the ordinary. Most people stayed within the same area that they grew up. They would not move to a totally different land especially without most of their family. This was a call to leave pagan worship, idolatry, the comfort of family and friends to go to the unknown. But we know that Hebrews 11:8b says And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Genesis 12:4-5a says So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, 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.

Clearly he was going to an unknown place but he knew to go in the direction of the land of Canaan. This land was unknown to him and his family but he did know where he was going. I think people get confused thinking that he just packed up and went without knowing but clearly we see that verse 5 says they set out to go to the land of Canaan.

There was no wavering in his decision but only faith. Does this mean that Abraham did not ever sin or ever wonder how this would all work out? No but primarily we see that his life was pointed in living by faith. This is what Hebrews 11:9 says 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.

He knew the promise but he did not know what he would have to endure during this trip to get the fulfillment of these promises. In fact we see many struggles along the way in Abraham’s life. There were wars and troubles with nations, there were even problems between his men and Lot’s men and yet he went out and continued to be obedient to God in spite of the difficulties that he would and was facing along the way.

Now this really bring us now to our next point that really reveals the truth behind the faith he had. It is summed up in our last verse for this study.

2.Abraham was seeking God.
Look with me at Hebrews 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Abraham’s faith in God drove him to obedience to God. Why? Because he believed that the place that he was going would take him to God. Remember what we talked about when we looked at Hebrews 11:6 in our last study that says And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Abraham believed that the promises of God were not only true but that God would be in that city. He had faith in God who he can not see and he was going to a place he did not know but what he did know was that God would be wherever He led him. Abraham was not promised that he would see the fulfillment of the promises that God had given in his lifetime. In fact if you look at Genesis 15:18-20 we see that the covenant that God made with Abraham was for a future generation, it says there On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

Abraham was promised in Genesis 12:2-3 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Then again in Genesis 15:1-6 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” ² But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” ⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” ⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

There was no promise of earthly riches and prosperity, there was no promise of ruling the nations around him but only a promise that he would become a great nation, so great that a person could not count. This faith that Abraham possessed is what counted to him as righteousness. It was this faith that he had that moved him to look for a city where God was the designer and builder. He looked to an eternal kingdom that was not on Earth but in Heaven with God. This too is what we should be striving for in our every day life. Not focusing on the struggles and problems that we face, not falling into doubt that God is with us but trusting God and living that faith out in our life as obedient children that He has called us to be.

Do you live as if you are a citizen of Heaven? Philippians 3:20 says But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are already heavenly citizens and we wait for that redemption that we will have one day. Hebrews 13:4 says For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

2 Corinthians 5:1 says For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Do you live your life with Heaven in mind? I don’t mean the fact that there will be streets of gold or that you may have some type of family reunion, I am speaking of the fact that we will be in the presence of our Lord and our God. We will worship the Lord Jesus and be in His presence forever, out of the presence of sin and in the presence of holiness. This is what Abraham looked for and guess what, according to Jesus he saw it. This is what Jesus said in John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. Abraham may have faced difficulties throughout his life, he may have wondered at when God would bring to him an actual heir but it all paid off because the faith he had resulted in him seeing Jesus in His glory. We too must have faith and live out that faith in obedience.