Faith On Display, Continued - Hebrews 11:8–22

This sermon is a continuation of last week, looking at faith in the promises of God. The previous verses of Hebrews 11 led us to consider how our trust in God’s promises is displayed in how we give to Him, walk with Him, and live for Him.

The quality of our trust is sometimes high, sometimes low. At times we rely on faith; other times we walk by sight. Sometimes we want to trust God; sometimes we would prefer to trust in other things. Our sinful nature is bent on luring our hearts away from God.

But one promise of the gospel is that God gives a new heart to those whom He saves. This was foretold by OT prophets. Jesus calls it being “born again.” When you are born again, you are able to live by faith more and more and say “no” to sinful desires.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus describes how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit accomplish this. In John 3, Jesus says we must be born again through the working of the Holy Spirit within us. In John 6, Jesus says that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws them, no doubt by the Spirit’s power.

And then in John 14, Jesus tells us that no one can come to the Father except through Him, through Jesus the Son, trusting in Him. All three persons within the one true God working together to produce true faith, love, trust within us. The centerpiece of this is the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This morning we have spoken of and sung about this. We do this on purpose. Why? Because while it is necessary to examine the quality of our faith, we must fix the eyes of our hearts on the object of our faith, on Jesus Christ himself. We need to clearly see Him who possessed both a human nature and a divine nature, Him who was truly and fully both man and God, and who, in His human nature, perfectly displayed trust in the ways and plans of God.

Pastor and author Mark Jones put this well in an article which he titled, “Did Jesus Possess Faith and Hope?” He writes, “Jesus is distinguished as the pioneer of our faith since he himself had unwavering faith during the course of his life on earth...Christ had to have trust in his Father, hope in his Father’s promises, and love for his Father in order to bestow on us those graces that are first in him.”

Jesus alone had no sin to interfere with His trust, love, and obedience; and He suffered once for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. Jesus is the object of our faith. He is the confirmation of all God’s promises. Jesus sealed them.

But though the standing of believers is secure in Jesus, along the way in our lives, our faith will be challenged in many ways. Many things will attempt to block our line of sight to Jesus as we try to look to him. Many things will attempt to sabotage our faith in God’s promises and the display of that faith.

This section of Hebrews 11 addresses three things in particular that we will face: questions, delays, and death. But we can be confident of this, that God's elect will demonstrate trust, even in the face of these things. So let’s look at each one together.

Now, I use the term “God’s elect” first of all because it is clear as we look at Abraham’s family tree in these verses that God chose them for this. Abraham’s receiving of the promises, and the passing of those promises from generation to generation happened according to God’s plan.

In Ephesians 1, Paul says that God the Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Peter told the churches to be “diligent to confirm your calling and election,” to demonstrate that you are born again. How? By rejecting sin and walking by faith.

By God’s grace, Abraham and these others did that, and they did so long before the Son of God came into the world. They did not know of the name of Jesus or of the cross, but they believed that “Salvation is of the Lord” and their lives reflected that.

However, make no mistake that it was the Lord God Almighty who accomplished this in them. He chose them for this purpose in His redemptive plans, and we’ve seen already in Hebrews that God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants were ultimately fulfilled in and through Jesus.

Like all of those saved by grace, God began a good work in them and He guaranteed the completion of that work, even though they would face, first of all, many questions. Notice verse 8 again, “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.” Have you ever asked God something like this: “God, where does this road lead?” But you must trust God.

Look at verse [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.” They were strangers in the land that would one day belong to their descendants. Have you ever asked God something like this: “God, how long will this be?” Abraham did not see the complete fulfillment of all God had promised to do. He never saw his family take possession of that land.

How did Abraham deal with his questions? See verse [10], “he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” By faith, Abraham looked beyond a temporary place on earth to an eternal place with God.

Only God knows what we will face on the way and how long the journey will be. God’s people must trust Him in the face of questions. God promised a child to Abraham and his wife Sarah, and both famously responded by asking God how it would be possible. Verse [11] By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Genesis 18 tells us that when Sarah heard God’s promise of a child, she thought, “I am worn out and my husband is old.” God responded by saying, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?”

Have you ever asked God: “What are you accomplishing here?” or “How God?” God would certainly accomplish His plans for Abraham and Sarah, although a whole nation could not come from Abraham in his own lifetime. Look at verse [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.”

From a seemingly impossible situation, God glorified His holy name. From an old man and a worn out woman, God would fulfill plans made before He even created the world. Galatians 3 in the NT says the descendants promised to Abraham are ultimately Jesus Christ and all those born again in Him.

What questions do you face right now? How? Why? When? Where? Who? What? We all face these questions. But there is a question sitting there for each of us to answer: “Will you trust God’s promises?” He promises never to leave or neglect His people. He promises to work all things together for the good of those He calls. He promises that He has overcome the world; He promises grace and strength in our time of need.

Even with questions, we can display trust in Him. Even with delays as well. Look at verse 13.

“These all died in faith,” “these” meaning Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob. “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” Not only were there questions, but there was waiting.

The fulfillment of God’s promises were far off in the future. Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for the conception and birth of Isaac. Abraham would see more descendants after him, but not the masses who were to come. He died still waiting for that promise of God to be fulfilled. The fulfillment was delayed.

It took faith, peering into the future. When it came to the land promised by God, none of these listed saw that promise fulfilled. Proverbs 13 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” It is difficult when waiting is drawn out.

How did they continue to trust God? Verse [14] For people who speak thus” (people who acknowledge that they are exiles on earth, that earth is a temporary home), “people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland,” in other words, desiring a home, longing for it. Verse [15], If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. [16] But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

Yes, there are delays in the fulfillment of some of God’s promises, but how good that fulfillment is! The waiting is long, yet temporary; but the fulfillment is forever.

What have you been waiting for? Where are you waiting for God to move? You must set your mind on what He has promised: that He will be with you, that He is transforming you, that He has prepared good works for you, and that He will preserve you until the end.

You must rest in the goodness of His plans, knowing that when you reach your eternal home with Him, you will look back on all of His decisions for your life and the life of those you love, and you will say, “It is good,” and you will worship and adore Him.

You will even reflect on the waiting, on the delays, and your heart will say, “It is good.” But don’t wait until then. By faith, say right now in your heart, “All Your ways are good, Lord. Your plans for me are good. And I will trust You.” God’s elect face delays, we face questions, and ultimately, we will face death. But even confronted by death, we can trust His promises.

Look at verse [17] By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac.” Genesis 22 says that God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his long-awaited son to death as worship. As Abraham attempted to continue trusting God’s promises, he wasn’t faced here with his own death, but rather, the death of what he had waited for.

How could this be? This was the child of the promise! The rest of the verse says, “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.” Abraham was going through with it. Why? Verse [19], “He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” This is a display of the grace of God in this man’s life, that he could trust God in this way. This is a demonstration of the power of God at work in him, that he could obey by faith to this extent.

I think it’s important to point out here that we all pray for things and long for things that God has not promised. That does not mean God will not do those things. We have to understand what it is that God has promised us. What things are certain.

For instance, we know that God promises to hear the prayers of His people. He promises that He has defeated sin and death. He promises that He will bring in all who are elected to salvation. There are more promises I could list.

You must understand: Abraham’s obedience is rooted in the certainty that what God promises He will do. God promised Abraham that the nation would come through Isaac. Isaac’s potential death seemed to cast doubt on the fulfillment. And yet Abraham surrendered Isaac.

In a similar way, we must surrender to the will of God even as death seems to jeopardize the fulfillment of God’s promises. Surrender is a kind of dying. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Paul said that to follow Jesus, “I die daily.” This is a figurative “dying” but God’s elect must face literal death as well.

So many who have followed Jesus and waited for His promised return waited until death. Abraham waited until his death trusting God, not seeing all the promises fulfilled. The same was true for his son and grandson. Notice verse [20] “By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.” Isaac passed on the promises of God to the next generation.

The Scripture says that Isaac was an old man. There’s quite a story behind verse 20. Remember that the book of Hebrews was written to a congregation largely composed of former Jews, so they knew the backstory of Jacob and Esau. They were twin brothers, but technically Esau was the first born. However, God chose Jacob as the one to inherit the promise.

We see repeatedly that the blessing of God is not by birthright but by God’s undeserving love, by God’s grace, by His election. God clearly chose Jacob as the one to carry forward the promise. Isaac died still waiting, as would Jacob. Notice verse [21], “By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.” Jacob passed on the promise to Joseph, and Joseph to his son Ephraim.

Verse [22] “By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.” This is significant. Before His death, Joseph made the sons of Israel swear that his remains would be taken into the promised land when God fulfilled the promise. You see, each of these men trusted God’s promises even to death.

As you wait on God to fulfill His promises to you, you may find that you wait your whole life.

What will carry you through? Not the quality of your faith, the object of your faith. Like Abraham and those others, we must look to the God who saves. And at this time in history, we know the name of the Savior. He is Jesus our Lord.

As we go to this table today, we remember Him. We treasure the risen Jesus. We admit that in the face of questions, and delays, and even death, our faith is often weak, but our faithful Savior is strong. Jesus faced questions, delays, and death for us, in our place. And it is only for us to trust in Him.

Will you trust Him? Will you turn from sin and surrender to Him? Will you make it your aim to meditate on who He is and what He’s done? Will you make Him primary not only in your public worship, but in your home, and in your private life? Will you make it your mission to contemplate daily His love, His compassion, His kindness, His forgiveness, His endurance, and His sacrifice on your behalf? Let’s pray together.