Unshakeable Faith

Introduction

Good morning. If you will, please open your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. I appreciate every single one who is here this morning and gathering together to worship God on the day that we lost an extra hour of sleep. On top of that, I have the unenviable task of following Brother Bronger’s excellent series of lessons. If you were not here, please see Mike Meneer and get a copy. Wonderful lessons from the Word of God, applicable in nature and true to the scriptures that they were applied from. Of course, with that task, I am now against two strikes already. That is one, everyone lost an hour of sleep, and two, we’re used to the preaching of Brother Bronger, who brought his excellent passion and such.

And so I’m going to steal from Brother Bob’s playbook and go from the book of Hebrews this morning. Not going to be following his series. But in Hebrews chapter 11, of course, the word that shines through, the word that we all know is there is faith. And of course, there is perhaps no greater Bible example of faith than that of Abraham. And so knowing the situation this morning, knowing the context of where we all are, sleep-wise or where we wished we were, and knowing that we want to learn from the Word of God, we have a simple lesson on faith this morning at this hour. And you see in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 8, the beginning of how Abraham is introduced into this chapter. It says, By faith, Abraham obeyed.

When he was called to go to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was going. 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. Verse 10 stands out. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. Verse 11 continues, by faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man in 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.

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. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 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. By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in fact the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.

He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. And the next several verses note how Isaac and Jacob, and yes, even Joseph would continue to be men of faith that trusted in the received promise that God had made to Abraham and had reached them in the successive generations in which they were born. When we think about Abraham, we think he went out to that land not knowing where he was going. We think about Abraham and Sarah, while yes, they did laugh at the idea of having the promised son Isaac, they were able to have a child at an age, as the Hebrew writer describes, when Abraham was as good as dead in his old age.

And then, of course, we know the great story in Genesis chapter 22 about how Abraham would take that promised son Isaac and be willing to offer him up, as the scriptures say in verse 19, considering that God was able even to raise him from the dead. Because Abraham believed the promises of God. Abraham had a faith that was sustained. It was an unshakable faith that Abraham possessed. I wonder this morning in a generation where things are generally speaking easier for us than in times past. Certainly, our quality of life is up from various factors. We joke here in our air-conditioned cars. We now sit in an air-conditioned building. I wonder if our faith is as unshakable as that of Abraham. And yes, while Abraham is the pinnacle example of faith, perhaps in the scriptures.

1. What Abraham’s Faith Withstood

He also, as we know, was a man, a man who was caught in, at least you would have to admit, a half-li. A man who, with his wife, laughed at the idea that God would be able to give him a promised son from the from his very lineage at the age that he was. So, yes, he was a man who had his problems. He had his way of having to overcome basic faith obstacles. But we know that overall Abraham’s faith was great because it was able to withstand venturing out to unknown lands. Look in Genesis chapter 12. This is the historical record of what we already read in the book of Hebrews. But turn in your Bibles to Genesis and we’ll see as Abram, or Abraham obeys God no matter the task, no matter the ask from God.

In Genesis chapter 12, now the Lord said to Abraham, Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you, and I’ll make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

And in you all families of the earth shall be blessed. So Abraham went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abraham was seventy-five years old when he departed from Aaron. Now, when you think about that, that’s pretty easy to take. We know the story of Abraham so well that this is almost like wrote memory for us. We know, yes, Abraham went out, God said, Go, and he said yes. But as the Hebrew letter said, what was it about where he went? He went out not knowing where he was going. I wonder how many of us would be willing to go out somewhere where we have no idea where we’re going. I’m a planning person. Is anyone else here a planner? Okay, a couple people.

Either we’ve got a lot of people who aren’t listening, or we have no planners, so we’re going to have to work on that, I think, at the 11 o’clock hour. But as a planner, what do you want to do? You want to know where you’re going. You want to know how you’re going to get there. You want to know all the details. You want all your I’s dotted and your T’s crossed so that you can enjoy what comes before you, so that you can perhaps maximize your enjoyment if you’re planning a vacation, let’s say, or as you’re moving, or as you’re doing any of life’s big obstacles, you want to investigate little details to know for certain that this is a good choice, that this is a good fit.

Most of us, whether planners or not, do not like going and trying something brand new that we can absolutely fail at. Because it’s risky, it’s dangerous, it’s hard. And yet we know from Abraham that when God said, Go to the land that I will show you, the very land that the Hebrew writer describes as a land that he did not know. He did not know exactly where he was going. What did Abraham do in verse 4? He simply went. And so it’s no surprise that this was the man, Abraham, that God would promise that there would be of him a great nation. That he would have, yes, a promised land for that nation. And then as we continue on down, that there would be a seed through which all families of the earth will be blessed.

When you think about these promises that were made in verse 7, then, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said, To your offspring I will give this land. We know that Abraham showed his faith to God, even when he was asked to do something that he might not have understood, or that he may not have wanted to do. So the only question left is, how was Abraham’s faith able to withstand this? And the obvious answer is because he trusted in God. Because Abraham, or Abram, in the case of Genesis chapter 12, knew something that we know, but perhaps don’t have lodged in our hearts as he did. And that is that whatever God says is for the best. Whatever God has in mind for me, this is the plan I will trust, not my own created idea of how my life should be.

But consider a second idea. This was a blessing outside of his timetable, that Abram was able to enjoy, yes, but of course he had a challenge. In Genesis chapter 15, as we see, to get to that great promised nation of Genesis chapter 12, to get to that nation that would be able to inherit the land that would one day allow for the seed which would bless all families of the earth, there had to be an offspring. Of course, we know that as Isaac. But in Genesis chapter 15, consider in verse 1. 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. But Abram said, Oh Lord God, what will you give me?

For I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus. And Abram said, Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, this man shall not be your heir.

And he brought him outside and he 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. And while we remembered that Abraham and Sarah had a problem with this, certainly as they got older in age, and as you can perhaps look over in the same page of your Bible and see that Abraham and Sarah kind of tried to change God’s plan, and that’s when Abram was with Hagar and that produced Ishmael, which was not God’s promised seed, not God’s promised offspring. Verse 6 is important. Abram said what? He believed the Lord. And the Lord counted it to him as righteousness. So again, yes, is Abraham a normal man? Yes. Was Sarah a normal woman?

Yes. And of course, we could study those scriptures and see their reaction to God in the comical way that they said, at our age, this is going to happen. And yet, what do we know is true? That when Abraham was a hundred and Sarah was ninety, the child Isaac was born, just as God had promised. But when you think about this, you consider that at the time, this is a very reasonable promise, you might say, if God’s promised that if you go to this land, you can inherit it, your descendants will have it.

You can look to the stars. As many as there are, that is going to be your family. That’s a powerful blessing. But to get there, you have to have, as we know, Isaac first. But at this point in verse 6, it’s critical to see where was Abram’s mind. He believed in the Lord. And the Lord counted it to him as righteousness. The thing about the way the story unfolded, though, is yes, they laughed. Yes, the child came. But this was not at all on what Abraham and Sarah’s expected timetable would have been. I think that’s a feeling we can kind of relate to sometimes, isn’t it? We look back at our life and we see any number of blessings, but if we’re honest with ourselves and we think about where we were a couple years ago in our mind’s eye, we thought we’re not going to make it.

We’re not going to be able to get to this point in life that allows us to be happy. We’re not going to be at this point, and we think, God, why is it not falling into place the way and in the order and in the time that I expect and think that it should. Of course, you see that this is a doubling down of the first idea. We don’t like doing that which is unknown. And we don’t like when that which is known doesn’t come immediately into fruition. And yet, of course, Abraham’s faith withstood, venturing out to a land not knowing where he was going, and waiting for the promised seed of Isaac. Consider thirdly, one final point about Abraham and what his faith withstood. In Genesis chapter 22, I just labeled it as, in quotes, the unthinkable, and that’s because you finally get the promised seed.

Isaac is finally born to Abraham after all the stress, all the problems that came with waiting and having his faith and belief counted to him as righteousness, yes. But all the time, Isaac is finally come. He is the chosen seed. He is going to allow for this nation to be innumerable as the sand of the sea and of the stars in the heavens. And then God has what command for Abraham in Genesis chapter 22. Read with me in verse 1. After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham. And he said, Here I am. 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.

And you have to pause here, and we’ve heard the story so many times that the kind of the awe factor of this sometimes might get a little bit lost as we just know the story. But think about who Isaac was. And all the time that it passed to lead to Isaac, the promised seed that God said, through him, through you, it’s going to be this great nation. And he’s finally here. And God defines him properly in verse 2 as your only son Isaac, whom you love. And offer him as a burnt offering. It’s kind of hard to think exactly about what Abraham thought in that moment. But we know what we know is what he did in verse 3. Immediately recorded after God speaks to him in verse 2.

And verse 3, so Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac, and cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 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? Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. So they went both of them together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here I am. 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.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, the Lord will provide, as it is said to this day. On the mount of the Lord, it shall be provided. We don’t do the story justice other than to re talk through that and see, as Abraham and Isaac are going up as he has the fire and the knife together, and as they were going, Isaac undoubtedly knew what a burnt offering consisted of. And just imagine Abraham, regardless of his faith that’s mentioned and honored in Hebrews chapter 11, regardless of the fact that Abraham decided and knew that God was so faithful and powerful that if he were to have to slay Isaac at God’s command, if there was no intervention that God could raise Isaac from the dead.

Abraham knows exactly who that offering was to be. It was to be his son. Abraham’s faith is strong and great, but I have no doubt that there were some considerations as he’s tying up Isaac and placing him on top of the altar. That it was painful, that it was hard. But the truth of the matter is he went through with it because he had faith in God. He knew that God would provide, just as he answered Isaac. That wasn’t a cliche line just to avoid the top picture. Abraham’s faith was unshakable because he trusted in God. And God cannot be shaken. God cannot be moved. And if we are with God like Abraham was, our faith will not either. Abraham’s faith withstood venturing out to a place not knowing where he was going.

God provided for Abraham in such a way his faith was not shaken by the unknown. His faith was not shaken by the fact that the blessings and the promises that God had offered to him were not happening on his exact time schedule. And Abraham’s faith was not shaken even when God asked him to do something that any of us would consider unthinkable, unimaginable, unfathomable. And yet his faith was not shaken. I wonder if our faith’s like that on much smaller degrees. God certainly doesn’t call us to sacrifice our children, although he does ask us to sacrifice our lives. I wonder what our faith is able to withstand. When we think about faith, sometimes we cheapen it to belief. And while I do think Ephesians 3 and 4 is an interesting idea here, that we need to be grounded in the truth so that we’re not tossed to and fro according to various doctrines of men.

2. Will My Faith Withstand When I Feel Mistreated?

When we think about our faith, we think about our trust in God, our belief that God will provide like Abraham had. So as we think about Abraham as the background for what is true faith, sticking with God no matter what, let’s answer a few questions this morning, and the lesson will be yours. Will my faith withstand when I feel mistreated? Of course, Genesis chapter 39, let’s turn there and look. Perhaps the best example in the Bible outside of Jesus himself of being mistreated is Joseph. Joseph, the very one who is spoken of in Hebrews chapter 11. Joseph, the very one in the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph, the one who, as we know, would rise to be towards the top of Egypt and provide for his people.

But all throughout his life, it was not like that. Joseph had to withstand great highs, followed pretty much immediately by great lows. And then there would be a rise, and then perhaps even a deeper falling or low. But considering Genesis chapter 39, you know the story well in verse 6. He was left everything in charge of Potiphar’s home. But at the end of verse 6, now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, Lie with me. But he refused and said to his master’s wife, Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except to you, because you are his wife.

How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. But we know how the story continues, don’t we? There was a time when Joseph was in, and he was close enough to where she could catch him, and she said, Lie with me. And he ran, leaving the cloak in her hand. Joseph had done the right thing. Joseph had fleeing, had fled from temptation, fleed from fornication. He had done everything that God would expect him to do in that case, she might say.

A false accusation. A lie that placed him not only in jeopardy and his job standing, but placed in where? In prison. He was in prison because he would not fornicate, because he would not not only sin against Potiphar and laying with his wife, but he would sin against God. I wonder if my faith would withstand when I feel mistreated. Of course, in Philippians chapter 1, verses 12 to 14, we have Paul in his optimistic example of all the good that’s been done, where he’s writing this letter from a jail cell, from an imprisonment state. And Paul sees all that was done to the glory of God. I wonder if my faith will withstand when I feel mistreated, because when I feel mistreated, generally what I start thinking is I deserve better.

I think it should go this way. And now you’re getting back to kind of that timetable idea, aren’t we? That very idea that Abraham and Sarah struggle with. How is God going to make this happen? That’s not right. That’s not fair. In this country, often I don’t feel good, and if I don’t feel good, it’s because someone’s violating my right, my ability, and all of a sudden the problem is my faith shakes with it. If you don’t think that affects your faith, think about how do you act when that happens. When you feel mistreated, does that push you on to holiness or away from God as you lash out? I think if we’re honest, I myself, and perhaps others like me would realize that it is undoubtedly the latter, that we move away from God because we’re focused on what we should have rather than who we should serve.

3. When I Don’t Get What I Want

And who should we trust? And that’s God. Consider, secondly, will my faith withstand when I don’t get what I want? I think this is a real hard problem. In Hebrews chapter 12, we learn about the discipline of the Lord and the purpose. But as you’re turning there to Hebrews chapter 12, beginning in verse 5 and 6, consider, first of all, this idea of not getting what I want. That could be any number of things, frankly. It could be the respect I deserve, it could be the job I think that I am entitled to. It could be the home I want to live in, the car I deserve to drive. It could be the way I fit in with a group of people, it could be way the way that the church progresses.

It could be the way that the preacher teaches, the way the elder is shepherd, the way the way the deacons serve. There’s any number of things this could be, but the truth is, when we don’t get what we want, again we have what feeling? Is it one that pushes us to holiness? Or one of selfishness and reflection that pushes us away from God. In Hebrews chapter 12, considering discipline in verse 6, for the Lord disciplines the one whom he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good. Do you see at the end of this verse? That we may share in what? His holiness. For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant. But later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Well, not all cases, discipline is an applicable idea of something we don’t want. And I don’t think God’s constantly punishing us any time we feel mistreated or slighted. Consider that God’s ways are vastly superior to ours.

And that when God is punishes, and even when an earthly father punishes, the very point the Hebrew writer makes in this twelfth chapter. What are we to take from that? Training for our good. At the end of verse 10, God would punish us that we may share in his holiness. In verse 11, that by the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it, we may enjoy the blessings of God. Discipline does not feel good. In verse 11, for the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant. Certainly the best example of having a focused mind, of having a true, unshakable faith is Jesus the Christ. And of course, it’s in the garden in Matthew chapter 26 that three times before his crucifixion, Jesus prays what?

Not my will, but thine. If it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as God wills. Before being crucified, Jesus is sharing his soul. And in our inspired scripture, we have an insight into the Son of God, knowing what lies before him, knowing the agony that lay there, about to take on the sins of the world. And he prays three times that God’s will be done. The difference in a shakable faith and a true belief that is unshakable, a faith that sustains us through any storm, trial, or temptation, is a true, trusted God, that his will is best. And so no matter what it means for me in my life, whether like Paul it puts me in a jail cell, whether like Joseph has me fleeing a position that otherwise I could have continued to grow great in, I will trust that God’s will will be done, and that we will all benefit from our great God’s plan.

That sounds good, but the truth is we don’t think of it that way. We just think about what we could do, how we think it could be. But God sees the grand plan. And again, I put before you Joseph. And if you think about Joseph when he was in prison, or perhaps even before that, when he was thrown into the pit by his brothers. Do you think Joseph was thinking, this is going really well for me? I’m really happy to be here. One day I’m going to be second in the land of Egypt. But we know that. When we study Genesis, we know that yes, Joseph gets thrown in a pit. Yes, Joseph gets put in prison. Yes, he gets left in prison and not consulted and not remembered as he asked to be.

4. Will My Faith Withstand When Life Is Just Plain Hard?

But we know if Joseph will just hang on, God will bless him richly. But we have the same promises. In fact, we have better promises. Because we have a better Savior. We have Jesus the Christ. We have the best sacrifice. And we can be with God forever. Consider thirdly, as we have just two more points. Well, my faith was stand when life was just plain hard. In Acts chapter 5. Running into Peter and John. Acts chapter 5, turn in there with me in your Bibles. And you see, they were simply teaching. They were doing many signs and wonders. They were confirming that they were from God, that Jesus is the Christ, that the message they had was from God. And in verse 17, the high priest rose up, and all were who were with him.

That is the party of the Sadducees. Note their motivation in verse 17. And filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. If anyone was treated unfairly, if anyone’s life was hard, it was that of the apostles. Why was it that they were jailed? Because they were teaching Christ. Why were they facing opposition? Because their opposition was filled with jealousy. That is not fair. That is not right. And yet, what did they do?

They kept on preaching Christ. And then they got called back for round two. In verse 27, they were put before the council, and the high priest questioned them, saying, We strictly charge you not to teach in this name. Yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. As Peter famously answered, we must obey God rather than men. But consider as we moved down, Gamaliel is stepping up and speaking about them. And in verse 38, he says, So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.

You might even be found opposing God. So they took his advice. Now this is interesting. Gamaliel is sparing them. He’s saying, if this is just a man-made doctrine, it’s going to fall to nothing. We shouldn’t worry about it. If it’s from God, though, it’s going to withstand. We don’t want to be found opposing God. And so they agreed to this. They took his advice, and on their advice that they should be careful with these men, because they might happen to be from God. What do they do? In verse 40, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them. And they charged them not to speak to the name of Jesus and let them go. The difference in unshakable faith is found in verse 41 and 42.

Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. Their faith was unmoved. Even though they were unfairly beaten, unfairly imprisoned, that they were beaten even at this time they thought mercy was coming. They agreed with Gamaliel the council did, and yet they were beaten. They were told again, do not teach that Jesus is the Christ. And when they left, not only did they go teach, but in the middle, what was their disposition? What was their mindset? They rejoiced that they were worthy to suffer for Christ. And my faith sometimes is shaken when things don’t go the way I think they should.

When life’s hard, when I don’t understand why it’s sorting out the way that it is.

5. Will My Faith Withstand When Life Is Good?

Not just because it sounds good, but because my soul needs that faith. But I have a question to conclude the lesson on. Will my faith withstand when life is good? That sounds kind of odd because the other three are more negative, and generally our faith is thrown by negative events. But when you consider Demas in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10, this demons, who is noted in other chapters in the New Testament, like Colossians, as being a servant with Paul, a true devoted disciple, at least from the outskirts of our reading. In 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10, what does Paul write about Demas? He deserted him because he was in love with the present world. Of course, 1 John chapter 2, we don’t need to love anything that is in the world.

I’m not saying that Demos’ life was easy as a disciple in the first century. The truth is he was in love with this present world. He was more focused on the temporal than the eternal. And that’s why his faith did not stand. And if you notice, that is the tie that binds each and every one of the assaults that Satan makes on our faith. He wants you to say, this is not good for you now. This is not good for your voice to not be heard. This is not good the way your life is coming together. This is not the way that God wants for you. And he’ll give us any number of answers that will take us away from God. We cannot be shaken. And the only way we won’t be moved is if we trust in God.

Conclusion

If we look to heaven, rather than focusing on the here and now. To conclude the lesson, look at Hebrews chapter 11. As we already read, there was a great chapter, a great section of the chapter on Abraham. But in verse 13, there was a digression, you might say, a side note that was not just about Abraham, or not even just about Abraham and Sarah. But there was a key. There’s something that Abraham and Abel and Enoch and Noah and the great men of faith had. They had a focus, a trust, a faith in God that would not be shaken. And let’s see what that secret was. In verse 13 of Hebrews chapter 11, these all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, having knowledge that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 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. How did Abraham’s faith make it? When we think about those verses, look at verse 10. In the middle of that section about Abraham and Sarah. In verse 10, Abraham was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. How was Abraham’s faith not shaken despite all that came his way? Because he was focused on getting to heaven.

How was it that Abraham was not shaken when Isaac didn’t come on his timetable? Because his focus was on being with God. How is it that Noah was able to have faith to build an ark when the rest of the world would undoubtedly have mocked, ridiculed, and scorned him? Because his eye was on God. He was working towards the city that God has prepared for us. The difference in a faith that stands and a faith that falls is really the difference between having faith or no faith at all. Because when you consider what it means to have a strong faith, it means to have a connection and understanding that God is supreme and his ways are best. If we don’t believe that God’s ways are best, moreover, if we don’t show with our actions and our lives that God’s ways are best, can we say that we are the disciples that he calls us to be?

In Genesis chapter 22, there’s that great chapter of where Abraham is called to offer up Isaac. And in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 19, it said, He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which figuratively speaking he did receive him back. And we think, what a challenge that Abraham would have had. But we’re called to a sacrifice of a different kind. We’re called to sacrifice our own life each and every day. That means sacrificing my selfish desires, my present worries, my current concerns, and focusing on a heavenly purpose, setting my mind on things above, focusing on my holy God as I strive to be holy as he is holy. Let’s have roots in an unshakable God so that we can have an unshakable faith.

Will you go to God in prayer with me? Our dear God and most wonderful Heavenly Father, we’re so thankful to you that you are so powerful, mighty, and yet wonderful, loving, accepting, and calling out to us. We are eternally grateful for you allowing us to be with you for that period of time, to be with you forever, that you offer us salvation. We ask that you forgive us of when we sin, forgive us of when we get preoccupied with the things of this life, when we focus on ourselves rather than you. Help us to shine our lights in this world to not only glorify you as you deserve, but that others may see our good works and glorify you as well. Thank you so much for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.

And yet, even in his life, we’re thankful for his example of a life that was dedicated to serving you. That he didn’t seek for his own betterment. He didn’t seek for his own popularity, but that he might lead as many as possible to your kingdom, to his ways, to partake of his sacrifice. May we always have his disposition that says, your will be done, not ours. Help us to work together. Help us to work alone to serve you to the best of our ability. Help us to be stewards over what you have blessed us with. Help us in all things and all ways to glorify and give you the thanks, praise, and honor that is due you and you alone as the one creator as the I am.

Thank you for this wonderful day you’ve blessed us with. Be with those who are unable to be here. Help us to trust in you fully. Help us to lean on you always. It’s in your Son’s name we do pray. Amen.