Abraham: When God Says Go Series

We learned last week from Hebrews 11:1 that "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Last Sunday we talked about how difficult a life of faith can be because we continually try to take back control of our life.

When we talk about Faith…the question we are normally trying to answer is "CAN I TRUST GOD?" But this morning I want to ask an even more difficult question, "CAN GOD TRUST YOU?"

This morning we’re moving on to Hebrews 11:8-10, and over the next two Sundays we’ll dive into the story of Abraham and see How God used him in an extraordinary way when He chose to Follow God in faith.

Hebrews 11:8-10 - By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

LET’S PRAY AS WE MOVE FORWARD...

I’ve entitled this morning’s message "When God Says Go" based on the 8th verse of Hebrews 11. "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."

What does verse 8 tell us about Abraham’s story:

1. God Called Abraham to a place he had not yet seen

2. Abraham Obeyed by Faith

This morning, God is calling you to GO in some area of your life. It might be to do something helpful for a neighbor, it might be to be an encouragement to a co-worker, it might be to begin a ministry that you don’t really feel qualified for. God might even be calling you to go across the world to share the Gospel with those who have never heard.

Here’s the truth about Faith:

1. God sees things that you don’t see, and knows things you don’t know.

2. God has a plan for your life that is WAY beyond what you can imagine.

3. God doesn’t care about your qualifications, he cares about your heart.

Turn in your Bibles to Genesis Chapter 12.

Genesis 12:1 - The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. and I will bless you;

Leave Your Country and Father’s People - He didn’t really obey that. He left his country, but he took his people with him. In fact, most people believe that it was this very thing that caused Abram to delay. I don’t even think it’s a concidence that God does not make his covenant with Abraham until AFTER he and Lot separate in chapter 13.

God didn’t have anything personally against Abram’s family, but he had a plan for Abram and Sarah, and God knew that his family could hold him back…and in fact they did.

Here’s why that command was so important: The first 11 chapters of Genesis are story after story of people’s disobedience to God. And Abraham was living in a city called UR. (Actually Abraham and I have something in common, He’s from UR and I’m from GRUR). Inside the city of UR was a temple dedicated to Nannar the Moon God. It was a pagan city and in reality it was a pagan world.

God had a plan for a future for Abraham, but it would require his full obedience.

Go Where I’m Taking You. - "To a Land that I will Show You"

Now this is where me and God would have had to have a little talk. :) God…you want me to leave everything I’ve ever known. You want me to follow you to WHERE? To a land that you will Show me? I’m sorry God, but that’s just not good enough. I’m a planner, I want to know where we’re going. I want to get on hotels.com and find a nice place to stay once we get there. Otherwise God, do you realize that we’ll have to stay at some brokendown campground! You can’t just show up in a strange city without a reservation!

Look back at verse 9 of Hebrews 11 to see what God thought about that: "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise."

Abraham obeyed. Do you have the kind of faith that moves you to say: "Wherever I am, No matter what I must sacrifice, As long as God is Here with me, He’s all I need!"