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. 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: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:8-10
Abraham is described in the scriptures as the father of the faithful. It follows therefore that true faith can be understood by examining the biblical life of Abraham. The evolution of faith within a person appears to go through three distinct phases. First there is saving faith. Here faith acts as a channel or conduit by which grace is applied to a person. We are saved by grace through faith. This saving faith causes us to believe in God and in the power of Jesus’ blood to wash away our sins. After we are saved, then there is overcoming faith. We learn to apply faith in situations that would otherwise overwhelm us. We are able to hold on because we know that Jesus promised to never leave us or forsake us. We are more than conquerors through Christ. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Finally, there is mature faith. Mature faith looks beyond circumstances and time and peeks into eternity. Mature faith continuously reminds us that everything in life must be taken in the context of eternity. True reward comes beyond this existence. Whatever comes in this existence, prosperity or poverty, health or sickness, friends or loneliness, cannot be compared to what is to come. Those that attain to the level of mature faith have transcended the world and it is said that the world is not worthy of them. How do we go through these three phases? The process of faith evolution is driven by the promises of God. However, the last step, mature faith, cannot be attained until one is willing to trade God’s promises for his presence. Let’s see how Abraham went through these three phases. There are three things that take place in our text today.
I. Acceptance: Accepting God’s Promises
A. Taking Baby Steps to Haran
B. Carrying the Family along for Company
II. Appraisal: Appraising Possessions
A. Recognizing God as the Giver
B. All that Glitters
C. Taking a Second Look (Being Thankful Anyway)
III. Aspiration: Desiring God’s Presence
A. Something is wrong with this World
B. We will never be totally Satisfied at all Times living in this World
C. In the City of God Everything is Right at all Times
It is dissatisfaction with trying to make an ideal life in a sin-sick world that leads one to long for the presence of God. It has been said that God uses his promises of earthly possessions to draw us towards his presence. Possessions are never to be considered an end in themselves but only a means by which God draws some. It has also been said that too often people seek God’s hand when he has called us to seek his face. God’s face is not to be found in things. In fact, things are a distraction from the real intent. How then are we as Christians to look at this? We are constantly bombarded by messages of prosperity. Sometimes, we are made to feel bad if we don’t have the proper things such as clothes, cars, houses, and money to present as evidence that we are “blessed and highly favored of God”. When we don’t have a lot of things, some say it is because we lack faith or the knowledge of God’s promises. I have lived long enough to know that as a people, we demonstrated more faith and knowledge of God’s promises when we possessed very few things. Today, we have so many things and we are so busy accumulating more that we lack sufficient time to enjoy what we already have. Spiritual maturity causes us to begin to see ourselves as sojourners. We realize that material things do not bring joy or lasting happiness. So we pass our time here desiring to do God’s will as we continue to look for a city whose architect is the moral Architect of the universe. We are destined for a city whose foundation was laid by the eternal Carpenter of all existence. We don’t need a GPS or a fold-up map. We keep our eye on the Star Post in Zion for we have a guide who is able to deliver us to our final destination. Abraham was promised a land but he traded it to seek God’s city. David was promised a kingdom but he traded it to be reunited with a son who was Solomon’s elder brother. He knew that his son could not come back to him but he would one day go to be with him. Solomon was promised wisdom and wealth above all others but he declared it all to be vanity and knew that one day all must stand in that Holy City before the eternal Judge. He knew that God’s presence is preferred above his promises. Jesus left the eternal city to come into a condemned world and seek out lost humanity. Jesus did not burden himself with things in this world but labored tirelessly to prepare people to seek his Father’s face. Jesus could have returned to that City at anytime but instead he chose to die in this world that he might set at liberty those that were slaves and captives to sin. If he had remained dead, then God’s promises would be all that we have. But on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead securing the greatest of the promises that he might offer mankind an opportunity to live eternally in God’s presence. Are you still chasing promises or have you begun to seek his presence? Are you standing on promises or walking in the direction of his presence?
Robert C. Hudson
August 30, 2009
Living in Faith
1 month ago