Abraham (Hebrews 11:8-10 Jeff Kliewer)

Cornerstone Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

13:11

Lord, we pray for wisdom for our church here, Cornerstone, and for the church throughout the country, throughout the world.

13:19

We are under attack under the social justice regime. Give us wisdom and let us hold strong and true to your word and to you and to you alone.

13:31

Let us be aware and diligent and watchful for those false doctrines that could come in and let us choose the better.

13:38

We choose you, Lord, you, you alone are to be exalted. So protect us and give us wisdom and then

13:45

Lord, as we're out in our neighborhoods, when we're with our families, there's a world that does need to hear that truth.

13:52

Give us a heart and a desire to speak your word to lives that desperately need to hear it.

14:00

This morning, Lord, as Pastor Jeff takes us back into Hebrews chapter 11, as we look at Abraham, Lord, as we learn about having our eyes focused on a promise, as we see the benefits of pursuing that eternal promise, let that change our lives.

14:20

We pray, Lord, you would speak through Pastor Jeff and open our hearts to hear. We pray these things in Jesus' name.

14:27

Amen. Let's all stand if we're able to. Who is like Him?

15:08

The Lion and the Lamb seated on the throne. Mountains bow down and every ocean roars to the

15:22

Lord of hosts. Who is like Him? Who is like Him?

15:29

The Lion and the Lamb seated on the throne. Mountains bow down and every ocean roars to the

15:44

Lord of hosts. Praise Him. Praise that O night from the rising of the sun to the end of every day.

15:58

Praise that O night, all the ancients of the earth, all the angels and the saints in praise.

16:33

Who is like Him? The Lion and the Lamb seated on the throne.

16:43

Mountains bow down and every ocean roars to the

16:50

Lord of hosts. Sing with me. Praise that O night from the rising of the sun to the end of every day.

17:04

Praise that O night, all the ancients of the earth, all the angels and the saints in praise.

17:15

Praise that O night from the rising of the sun to the end of every day.

17:27

Praise that O night, all the ancients of the earth, all the angels and the saints in praise.

17:40

Father, we do praise You today, Lord. We pray for all the fathers here as well,

17:47

Lord, that You will bless us, Lord, and lead us and guide us, Lord, and help us to seek

17:53

Your will for our lives and the lives of our children and our family and everybody that You place in our path,

18:00

Lord. Father, help us to set our mind on the things above, Lord, not on earthly things,

18:06

Lord, and to focus on You and to seek to strengthen our relationship with You, Lord, and to continually be in prayer and in Your word,

18:15

Lord. Father, we're so thankful for Your love, Lord, for Your guiding hand,

18:21

Lord, in Your word, Lord, and we praise You and we seek You, Lord, and we seek to love You, and come to know

18:28

You better every day, Lord. Thank You for this time and this place that You give us, Lord. We pray that You open our hearts and our minds to the message today,

18:35

Lord, and just continually help us to grow in You, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

18:42

Amen. Your righteousness is like a mighty mountain,

19:24

Your justice flows like the ocean's tide,

19:34

And I will lift my voice to worship

19:43

You, And I will find my strength in the shadow of Your way.

20:01

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,

20:11

Your faithfulness stretches to the sky.

20:24

Your righteousness is like a mighty mountain,

20:36

Your justice flows like the ocean's tide,

20:45

And I will lift my voice to worship

20:52

You, And I will find my strength in the shadow of Your way.

21:07

Your love,

21:15

O Lord, reaches to the heavens,

21:45

Your faithfulness stretches to the sky.

22:16

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

22:23

Your perfect love is casting out fear. And even when

22:29

I'm caught in the middle of the storms of this life,

22:35

I won't turn back, I know You are near. And I will fear no evil,

22:46

For my God is with me.

22:53

If my God is with me,

23:00

Whom then shall I fear? Whom then shall I fear?

23:09

Singing, Oh no, never let go, Through the calm and through the storm.

23:17

Oh no, never let go, Every high and every low.

23:23

Oh no, never let go, Lord, Never let go of me.

23:29

It's the light that's coming,

23:37

For the heart that holds on, A glorious light beyond all fear.

23:45

There will be an end to these troubles, But until that day comes,

23:52

We'll live to know You here on earth. And I will fear no evil,

24:03

For my God is with me.

24:09

If my God is with me,

24:15

Whom then shall I fear? Whom then shall I fear?

24:25

Singing, Oh no, never let go, Through the calm and through the storm.

24:32

Oh no, never let go, Every high and every low.

24:38

Oh no, never let go, Lord, Never let go of me.

24:50

It's the light that's coming, For the heart that holds on, And there will be an end to these troubles,

24:58

But until that day comes, Still I will praise

25:04

You, Still I will praise You. Yes, I can see a light that is coming,

25:16

For the heart that holds on, And there will be an end to these troubles,

25:22

But until that day comes, Still I will praise

25:28

You, Still I will praise You. Singing, Oh no, never let go,

25:41

Through the calm and through the storm. Oh no, never let go,

25:47

Every high and every low. Oh no, never let go,

25:53

Lord, Never let go of me. Singing, Oh no, never let go,

26:05

Through the calm and through the storm. Oh no, never let go,

26:12

Every high and every low. Oh no, never let go,

26:18

Lord, Never let go of me. Please have a seat.

26:30

Boy, isn't that good news that He never lets go of us? If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He will never disown

26:38

Himself. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. The precepts of the

26:46

Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

26:53

More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb.

27:01

Lord God, would You make Your Word sweet to us this morning. Let it be like honey to us.

27:08

Make it valuable to us, Lord God, that we would treasure it more than gold or silver or any of the things of this world.

27:16

God, we pray that You would show us that Your words are right, that You would correct our thinking by Your speech.

27:25

God, show us that Your words are pure. Enlighten our eyes. Help us to see

27:31

You. We need You, Lord God, and we ask that You would do this by Your Word through the preaching in Jesus' name.

27:39

Amen. So I was hanging out with some of the teens from our church yesterday at an event, and some of them said that they find some of my stories to be fantastical.

27:52

I'm not sure they believe me, telling especially the stories of my two grandfathers.

27:58

I have one grandfather who was in a Russian gulag and hid his Bible in a water canteen as he survived the gulag.

28:07

And my other grandfather was in World War II and was dodging bullets and heard a call from God and became a missionary to Guatemala where my mom grew up as a missionary kid.

28:17

And some of these teens were finding that a little bit unbelievable. But it's true! So believe me.

28:24

But, you know, as great as my grandparents and my grandfathers are and what a great example they were to their children, my hero is actually my father.

28:34

I'm going to open this morning by telling a little bit about my own dad. One of his earliest memories was seeing a lady.

28:45

At age four, my father saw Lady Liberty as he sailed into Ellis Island.

28:52

He was an immigrant from Germany, and so coming into Ellis Island, he remembers seeing the

28:59

Statue of Liberty there in the harbor. He then moved to Oklahoma where he began to help out on the farm, and that only lasted for less than a year because Oklahoma is very different from Germany.

29:13

Very dry, very sandy, very hot. So they decided to make their way north, and they tried to get into Canada, but thanks be to God, that border was closed to him because of my grandfather's tuberculosis history.

29:28

So they settled in Washington State, and that's where my dad grew up. My father was part of a

29:34

Mennonite church, and they preached the gospel. And so, as a young man, he went under the waters of baptism proclaiming his faith in the

29:43

Lord Jesus Christ. Now, how awesome was it last week to see ten young men give testimony to the

29:51

Lord Jesus Christ and proclaim that faith in the waters of baptism?

29:57

That was one of the most exciting days of my life as a pastor, and seeing that, it was just awesome.

30:03

So praise God for what he's doing here at the church. My dad was baptized as a young man and then continued in the church, grew up.

30:11

He was a hard worker even from his youth. He was an apple picker during the summers where they would go out and fill baskets all day long under the sun.

30:21

And then as he got a little older, he began to go up to Alaska during the summers and fish for salmon.

30:28

And that's some back -breaking work right there. You know, pulling in the nets on the boats off of the

30:35

Alaskan shore, he learned to work. That's why he's so thick and strong.

30:40

So he was a football player. I've got his height, but you can see I'm kind of long and gangly. My dad is thick and strong.

30:47

So he was a high school football player and then played basketball for George Fox University.

30:54

But something happened to George Fox. A young lady caught his eye, that missionary kid from Guatemala, Jan, and they decided to get married as sophomores in college.

31:07

Now, nowadays, not many people would even consider doing that. But what would that mean for a college basketball player?

31:14

If you're getting married, you probably need to work and raise a family.

31:20

So perish the thought. He put being a man and raising a family over sports.

31:29

Another gasp. John confessed that he watches TV and we all gasped.

31:35

But yeah, he decided to put away basketball and childish things for the sake of raising a family and being a man.

31:44

And so he did. And the first thing they did when they moved in together is they bought a mobile home.

31:50

Now, making a good economic decision, they took that home and moved it to a different park, which, you know, location, location, location, caused it to go up $20 ,000 in value.

32:03

So they sold that and they bought a duplex where they lived in one and rented the other. Then they sold that and took the profits from that and invested in a larger, maybe eight -unit complex.

32:14

And they sold that and bought a 16 -unit. All of this was in Seattle, Washington. They were working in real estate, working other jobs as well, and just working hard.

32:24

Until they realized that my younger brother was having pneumonia repeatedly.

32:31

So the Seattle rain. Anybody here from Seattle area, the

32:36

Pacific Northwest? It just rains all the time. So they decided they needed to move the family out.

32:41

And leaving that business behind, selling everything, they moved to Florida, which is where I grew up.

32:48

At maybe age five, we moved down there. He had to start fresh.

32:54

He had to start over. He didn't have any of his business contacts, but he was willing to leave the beautiful Pacific Northwest with the trees and the hills that he loved for the hot, humid

33:06

Florida flatness. But it was a sacrifice he was willing to make for the family because he's a genuine father.

33:13

So that's where I grew up. He was a bus driver. He delivered mail. He threw newspapers to the sidewalk.

33:22

He worked in every way that he could to provide for the family. And then an opportunity came along.

33:28

The apartment complex that he had sold was giving payments every month. But all of a sudden, they cashed out the apartment in Seattle.

33:36

And so he had this cash, which was going to be subject to capital gains tax. Some of you guys know about that.

33:41

Now they're trying to raise that again. But in any case, he decided to reinvest.

33:48

And the real estate market in Florida was at an all -time low. There was no takers on a 96 -unit apartment complex.

33:56

And basically, on all credit and that little down payment that he had, he was able to buy a 96 -unit apartment complex.

34:03

God blessed him. So here's how I grew up. Every Saturday, we were at Shades of Covington mowing lawns.

34:12

That's what we did. Can you imagine? We had to work, work for a living.

34:17

We had to paint because the units, when there'd be a turnover, we'd be in there to be the cleaners and the painters.

34:24

And that's how we grew up. Nowadays, people get paid for not working, which I don't know how that's going to work over the long term.

34:31

But my dad taught me to be a man by example and then by teaching me as I became a teenager to do the kind of things that he did.

34:39

He was always at our basketball games, always walking the walk. We were in church every

34:44

Sunday, and he lived the faith that my parents were teaching us at home.

34:52

Not everybody here has a father like that. Not everybody had an example of the faith.

34:59

Now, every father here should strive to live the faith that we're preaching to our kids, to make sacrifices, and to work by the sweat of our brow to provide and do whatever is necessary to raise a family.

35:14

Not everybody has a father like Walt Clewer, but all of us have a father of the faith.

35:21

What's his name? Abraham, the father of the faith. And whether or not you had an earthly father that gave you this example,

35:30

I think it not a coincidence that today, as we go through Hebrews 11, we just so happen to come upon verse 8.

35:38

Let's go there now. Hebrews 11, verse 8, we just so happen to come across the story of Abraham.

35:46

Do you know, in the Hebrew language, there is no word for coincidence, because the

35:53

Hebrews believe in providence. They believe in God orchestrating all things. Nothing's a coincidence. And so it is that we come to the father of the faith on Father's Day.

36:03

Before I read it, let's remember where we are in Hebrews chapter 11. The overall idea, beginning in chapter 10, verse 38, is that we must continue in the faith.

36:16

If we shrink back, God finds no pleasure in us. We must have an abiding, continuing faith, not just a prayer.

36:25

You don't just pray a sinner's prayer and think that your eternity is sealed. A genuine born -again experience will be an abiding faith, a continuing faith, not shrinking back from the faith you once confessed.

36:38

So in chapter 11, verse 1, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

36:46

Now, who is the first example of faith that we see in Hebrews 11?

36:55

You about to say Abel? You skipped a verse. Look at verse 3. By faith, we.

37:04

The first one is us, and us having a knowledge that there is a God based on the created things.

37:12

We can't see God, but we know there is an invisible God based on the things that have been made.

37:18

And so us who believe in God are the first example of faith.

37:24

Faith is not blind. Faith is taking God at His word. The next example is verse 4.

37:31

We come to Abel. And Abel is an example of one who took God at His word, offering an animal sacrifice, just like God did

37:41

Himself in the Garden of Eden to make the covering of skin for Adam and Eve.

37:47

In the same way, Abel offered a blood sacrifice, picturing substitutionary atonement, and it pleased

37:54

God. Likewise, verse 5, Enoch was pleasing to God.

38:01

We don't know much about what he did, but this we know. In a godless generation, he walked with God.

38:08

He walked the walk. He was a genuine believer, and his life reflected that.

38:15

Next, we come to Noah in verse 7, who condemned the world. How did Noah condemn the world?

38:21

By offering the Ark of Salvation, preaching righteousness, but no one came, except for his own family, into the

38:30

Ark. And so he condemned the world in that they rejected the offer of salvation, and God destroyed the earth with the flood, where they were carried away.

38:42

So let's read verses 8 to 10. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.

38:56

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.

39:11

For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is

39:20

God. So the big idea here is that Abraham walked by faith, because he was looking to a city, an eternal city, whose architect and builder is

39:37

God himself. He went to the promised land to build an inheritance.

39:45

And yet, in his lifetime, he only lived in tents. He never saw the city of God.

39:51

He only welcomed it from afar, looking to that and living by faith that God will fulfill the promise that was made to him.

39:59

In Genesis 12, verses 1 to 3, he's told that he would be blessed and all the world would be blessed through his seed.

40:08

But at the time he was given that promise, he had no son. Sarah was barren. And so for all of those years, as Abraham approached 100 years old, he did not have a son.

40:20

Turn with me to Genesis chapter 15, and notice the first thing about Abraham, about his faith and what an example it is to us.

40:38

Obedience is motivated by promises. So in Hebrews 11, 8, it said, by faith

40:43

Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.

40:50

He obeyed. Turn again to Genesis chapter 15, verses 1 to 6.

41:00

He had been promised not only a land, but a seed. A son. And yet his wife was barren.

41:09

And so we come to Genesis 15, 1 to 6. After these things, the word of the

41:14

Lord came to Abraham in a vision. Fear not, Abraham. I am your shield.

41:22

Your reward shall be very great. Now pause there for a moment.

41:27

Hebrews 11, verse 8, tells us that faith is motivated by a promise.

41:35

Abraham had been given a promise of a land and a people. We are not

41:40

Abraham. Abraham was given the promise of descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.

41:51

It referred to Israel, the nation that would come from him. He was promised this land.

41:59

That's not given to the church, and yet the faith of Abraham is taking hold of whatever it is that God said to him.

42:08

What did God say to us? He promised us eternal life, the forgiveness of sin, and a future city.

42:17

What did Jesus say before he departed? If I go, I go to prepare a place for you that where I am, there you may be also.

42:27

Jesus promises us eternal life with him. He promises us a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

42:36

He promises to come back again, to reign on earth, and that we would reign with him for a thousand years until a new heaven and new earth is prepared for us.

42:47

The city of God. These promises belong to us and to our children forever.

42:53

God has spoken these things, and to take him at his word, to believe the promise orients our entire life.

43:01

Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees to go to the promised land. And yet, in his waiting on the promise, he wasn't seeing it with his eyes.

43:12

Look at Genesis 15 verse 2. Abraham said, O Lord God, what will you give me?

43:20

For I continue childless, and the heir of my house is

43:25

Eliezer of Damascus. Now that always strikes me as a little funny because I wonder if Eliezer was kind of within the hearing of Abraham.

43:33

Like, what am I, chopped liver? Like, come on,

43:38

Abraham. It's a little insulting. This guy's gonna be my heir. Well, no. The promise was for a son, a seed, to come from Abraham.

43:49

So in verse 3, Abraham said, Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.

43:58

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him. This man shall not be your heir.

44:04

Your very own son shall be your heir. And he brought him outside and said,

44:09

Look toward the heaven, number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then he said to him,

44:16

So shall your offspring be. It's a promise.

44:24

It's a promise that Abraham couldn't see. He left everything for that promise.

44:30

Here's what you need to know about Ur of the Chaldees, where Abraham was from. It was, for that time, probably the most modern city in the world.

44:40

Ur of the Chaldees, in the time of Abraham, had writing, reading and writing to the point where most people living there were literate.

44:49

They have discovered those cuneiform writings. Archaeologists have discovered that this was a very literate society.

44:56

Beyond that, Ur of the Chaldees had trigonometry. Before the

45:04

Pythagorean theorem was named by Pythagoras, they had defined it in Ur of the

45:10

Chaldees. This was an advanced place. It was a city with buildings and the opportunity for wealth and trade and industry.

45:21

For Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldees as his father brought him out, Terah brought him out to Haran, for him not to go back but to go on to the promised land meant making a break with this world to take

45:33

God at his word. He believed God.

45:38

Look at verse 6. It is one of the most important verses in the Bible. Genesis 15 6.

45:46

And he, referring to Abraham, believed the Lord and he,

45:53

God, counted it to Abraham as righteousness.

46:01

This verse forms the argument of Romans chapter 4. The just shall live by faith.

46:08

Abraham was credited with righteousness from God not based on anything that Abraham did but based on faith.

46:21

Abraham had never laid eyes well, I'll take that back. I was going to say he never laid eyes on Jesus but I think he did see a pre -incarnate version an expression of Jesus appearing to him in Genesis 18 which we'll get to in a minute.

46:36

But Abraham didn't know the gospel. He didn't know that Christ would be crucified on a cross held up at Calvary for the sins of the world.

46:46

He didn't know Jesus would rise from the dead and yet the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the righteousness of Christ was credited to Abraham even ahead of time on the basis of faith.

47:04

Before Abraham offered Isaac or went to offer Isaac obeying

47:09

God and that great action that he did. Even before that he believed

47:15

God. Genesis 15 verse 6 and it was counted to him as righteousness. Brothers and sisters, the first thing you need to know about faith is faith alone justifies you before God.

47:29

Your faith placed in Jesus Christ is the only ground of your salvation.

47:35

If you came in here this morning thinking that you're a rather good person, I mean you look after the grandkids.

47:44

You help your neighbor and you don't do anything terribly bad. You're trusting that maybe you're good enough that on the day you die you're going to take your chances and you'll go before God to be judged.

47:56

If you stand before him with your works, good, bad, and ugly, you will be found guilty in his sight and cast off for all eternity.

48:07

But if you stand before the Father in a foreign, alien righteousness, a righteousness that's not your own, a righteousness that was lived and won by Jesus Christ, you will be declared righteous.

48:24

The righteousness of Christ is imputed. It's given to those who have faith like Abraham.

48:31

Genesis 15 verse 6, he believed God and that faith was credited, accounted to him as righteousness.

48:38

There is no other way. Salvation is by grace through faith. It's what unites you with Christ and the righteousness of Christ is credited to your account just as Abraham experienced.

48:52

It's the gospel. Romans chapter 4 expounds on that. Secondly, turn with me now to Hebrews 11 verse 9.

49:03

We left off in verse 8. As a matter of fact, it's the second part of verse 8 that I'd like to draw your attention to.

49:13

From the first, we learn that faith is taking God at his word, believing his promises, but secondly, it says, and he went out not knowing where he was going.

49:27

Some of you walk around your house not knowing where you're going. I've wound up in the laundry room a couple times looking around, trying to get a mental cue to remind myself why

49:39

I came in this room. Then I see the paper towels up there and I'm like, oh yeah, I came to get paper towels. This isn't the case with Abraham.

49:47

The issue here not knowing where he's going refers to a progressive revelation where he's only been shown so much at a time.

49:56

He was sent west. Abraham, go to the promised land where the Canaanites live. He didn't know the boundaries.

50:03

He didn't know the specifics of what would happen to him there. All he knew was that he was called to go.

50:11

His friends thought he was crazy. You're leaving Ur to go where? To where the

50:17

Canaanites live? What will you do there? Why are you going? All he could say is,

50:23

God told me. And so he went. He obeyed in faith. Now faith requires these steps of obedience into the unknown.

50:35

When you take those steps, God is there. We who've walked with Christ for some time know that this is true.

50:45

It's when you step out into the unknown because God has called you to something that you experience

50:50

God more than in any other way. When I went to the mission field as an inner city missionary,

50:58

I began to see God in new ways and experience His power in ways that never would have happened if I stayed on my couch.

51:07

We just sent Jonathan Leonard down to Charlotte and when he gets back he's going to teach us how to go to the

51:15

Cherry Hill Women's Center and plead with women not to murder their babies and to offer them life in Christ and hope in the gospel.

51:24

The crucified and risen Savior offered to them and help in their lives. We will adopt your baby.

51:32

We will help you in your life. We will do whatever is needed to come alongside you.

51:40

Those of you who in faith go into that unknown place, that terrifying place, and in faith stand and plead for the sake of the

51:52

Savior, Jesus Christ and the rescue of these unborn babies. You will encounter

51:58

Christ there in ways you will never experience Him on your couch.

52:05

We must step out in faith and not all of you will be called to go there. Others will step out as teachers in the youth ministry or the children's ministry.

52:17

We have a new men's Bible study starting tomorrow. Some of you guys should come to that.

52:22

It might be scary to do that because it could get a little bit personal. Some guy might pull you aside and just ask you, how is your walk with God?

52:32

How is your purity? Are you entangled in sin? But you need to step out in faith and go to a group like that because you will encounter

52:44

Christ there. Here is what I want to show you in the Old Testament. Go back to Genesis now. Abraham when he stepped out in faith he encountered

52:53

God. First of all, let's look at Genesis 14 verses 18 to 20.

53:00

He makes it out to Canaan and he discovers that the Canaanites are vicious and wicked people.

53:08

When the king of Sodom is the ally that you're rescuing you know things have gotten bad because we know what happens to that in Genesis 18 and 19.

53:18

But Lot is living in Sodom and there are opposing marauding bands of warriors that come through and wipe out the kings of the land and they take

53:29

Lot captive and all of these kings and warriors are heading back to their land and there is little

53:35

Abraham with his 300 men of his household and Eleazar of Damascus right by his side.

53:43

In faith he rallies his men and he believes God for the victory and he tracks down those warriors and he fights through the night and he kills them and he rescues

53:53

Lot. And coming back from that kind of faith filled victory where he stepped out and put his own neck on the line, risking his life for the sake of Lot and in the name of God who was his shield according to Genesis 15.

54:10

I am your shield, your reward. He believed, he walked in faith and so what did he experience?

54:16

Look at Genesis 14 verse 18, 19 and 20. Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine.

54:31

He was priest of God most high and he blessed him and said blessed be

54:36

Abram by God most high, possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be

54:42

God most high who has delivered your enemies into your hand and Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

54:52

After stepping into the unknown going where he did not know what would happen risking his life, trusting in God he came back and met a pre incarnate

55:04

Christ. This very well could have been Jesus himself. It's possible it was a picture of Christ a type of Christ or it's probably more likely that it was

55:14

Christ himself bringing out bread and wine picturing his broken body and spilled blood.

55:23

The priest from Salem from Jerusalem he is the king of righteousness

55:28

Melchizedek means king of righteousness. He's greater than Abraham for he blesses him.

55:34

Abraham is less than him for he tithes up to him but Abraham understood that he was in the presence of God and yet after this battle he continues on childless and now he's nearing a hundred years old.

55:56

A hundred years waiting on the promise to be fulfilled and yet it hasn't come true. Where is his son?

56:02

All he has is Eleazar of Damascus. So turn with me to Genesis 18 he continued to wait in the promised land, continued to hope in God, believing the promise and so look how

56:18

God rewards him. This is fascinating. Genesis 18 verses 1 and 2 and the

56:25

Lord appeared. Now before I read on, what does it mean from the

56:30

Hebrew when you see the capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D.

56:37

That's the tetragrammatron the four letters. It's YHWH. It is God's personal name.

56:44

It is God himself as he revealed himself in the burning bush to Moses.

56:49

Who am I? I am who I am. That's what when we see Lord capitalized in the

56:55

Old Testament that's YHWH, Jehovah. The Lord appeared to him.

57:01

Did you catch that? The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre and he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.

57:11

He lifted up his eyes and looked and behold three men were standing in front of him.

57:17

When he saw them he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth.

57:25

Now, Abraham welcomed them because they were strangers but there's something more going on here.

57:33

He recognized that he was in the presence of holiness. He bowed himself to the ground.

57:41

He recognized that these were no mere men. He was being visited by YHWH. And as the story unfolds we're told that two of the men go on to Sodom and Gomorrah to destroy the city.

57:57

These two angels go on to execute God's judgment but look at verse 22 of the 18th chapter.

58:06

After two of them leave there's still one man standing there.

58:14

So the men turned from there and went towards Sodom but Abraham stood still before the

58:22

Lord. YHWH. The third one is more than an angel, he's

58:30

YHWH. And there was Abraham standing in the presence of the pre -incarnate

58:37

Christ. Jesus himself appeared to Abraham, verse 23, then

58:43

Abraham drew near and said, will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? He begins to intercede.

58:48

He's speaking with God, pleading that God would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. But as it turns out there's not even ten righteous in the city.

59:00

Although Abraham pled if there were even ten, verse 32.

59:06

And YHWH says he would not destroy. And then in verse 33 the Lord went his way when he had finished speaking to Abraham and Abraham returned to his place.

59:16

Now I find that fascinating. Abraham was visited by Jesus Christ.

59:23

The Lord came to him. If he had remained in Ur of the

59:29

Chaldees, he would have had wealth. He would have prospered.

59:37

He would have had greater things of this world. Maybe they had carts and buggies.

59:43

Big and nice houses. Silver and gold. Honey dripping from the comb.

59:50

But Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees to believe the promise and going into the unknown he met

59:56

God. Christians, that is a trade -off we'll take all day long.

01:00:05

To leave behind the things of this earth. To go into a place of unknown consequence.

01:00:11

Knowing that when you step out in faith that way,

01:00:17

God will meet you there. He met Jesus face to face. Third out of four.

01:00:24

Hebrews 11 verse 9. Another thing about Abraham's faith it says he went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land living in tents with Isaac and Jacob.

01:00:50

Heirs with him of the same promise. Another thing about faith is that it builds what looks like an only temporary structure.

01:01:03

Tents. He lived in tents. Tents are what you pop up for a camp out.

01:01:10

That's not where you live forever. But Abraham and Isaac and Jacob never had brick and mortar.

01:01:20

They lived in tents. They built temporary things that actually had eternal value.

01:01:31

The tents they lived in represented something more. When Abraham went to the promised land, there came a time where there was a famine.

01:01:45

And he had to go south where he entered into the Philistine territory led by Abimelech.

01:01:54

And Abraham pretended that Sarah was not his wife. Why did he do that?

01:02:02

To spare his own neck he thought if they see her beauty they're going to kill me and take her.

01:02:09

But if she's just my sister then they'll give me gifts and care for me. See this was sinful lack of faith on Abraham's part.

01:02:18

Here's what's so great about Hebrews chapter 11. It never mentions the sins of the hall of faith.

01:02:26

It never mentions them. Because in Christ our sins are covered and forgiven and for all eternity they will never be remembered.

01:02:34

Isn't that good news? That is wonderful news. And yet in the

01:02:40

Old Testament we still have record of these things for our example. For our learning. In that territory

01:02:49

Abimelech began to give him gifts. Because God worked in Abimelech's heart to rescue him.

01:02:56

To rescue Abraham. And so they dwelt side by side. And Abraham built a well.

01:03:03

Right on the southern border of the current promised land. But before long

01:03:10

Abimelech's men and Abraham's men disputed over that well. They were trying to claim it for themselves.

01:03:15

So Abraham called Abimelech and said, listen we dug this well. This is ours. And he took seven ewe lambs and gave those lambs as a gift to Abimelech.

01:03:28

And he planted a tamarisk tree there in Beersheba. In Beersheba.

01:03:36

And what is the significance of all of this? Well it was a covenant of peace to say this well belongs to Israel.

01:03:44

To Abraham and his descendants. It was a marker to indicate a peace treaty between the two.

01:03:54

That was belonging to Abraham as part of his inheritance. And yet Abraham Isaac and Jacob, after the patriarchs died, their descendants were carried off to Egypt.

01:04:12

And the promised land for 400 years was overrun by Canaanites.

01:04:20

What he built there seemed unlasting. It seemed so temporary and pointless and meaningless because it was just swallowed up by the

01:04:29

Canaanites anyway. And there they were in slavery for 400 years in Egypt.

01:04:36

Until God parted the Red Sea and brought them back and through Joshua at the edge of the sword conquered the promised land and gave them back their land.

01:04:47

Until the Babylonians came and wrecked Judah and destroyed the land and sent them into captivity and everything seemed meaningless again.

01:04:59

The temporary structures didn't seem to last. But he brought them back.

01:05:06

After 70 years in captivity they came back into the promised land and they rebuilt the temple and regained the territory.

01:05:15

Until in 70 AD the Romans came and wiped them out again and scattered them to the ends of the earth and it seemed that all their building was for naught.

01:05:25

Meaningless, lost to the wind. Until in 1948 the promised land was given back to the

01:05:35

Jews. But Beersheba was designated to the Arabs, to the descendants of Abimelech and to the

01:05:43

Egyptians. The line was drawn farther north and that tamarisk tree and those wells in Beersheba were now held in Arab hands.

01:05:53

And dishonoring the treaty made between Abimelech and Abraham, the Arab people in that Philistine territory and the

01:06:02

Egyptians and all the surrounding countries gathered together at Beersheba to conquer

01:06:08

Israel. And there in 1948,

01:06:14

Israel that tiny nation won a massive victory over all the surrounding powers that gathered against them.

01:06:24

Because God is their shield. And Beersheba was reestablished as the southernmost point in Israel.

01:06:32

Israel runs from Beersheba to Dan, from south to north, the promised land. Here's what

01:06:37

I'm saying to you. The gift and call of God is irrevocable. What God has spoken is permanent, although we experience it on a temporary basis.

01:06:51

In Canada, Grace Life Church, preaching the gospel, built a glorious sanctuary seating 600 people.

01:06:58

And they gathered every Sunday morning. And just like that, the government came in and seized it from them.

01:07:06

And to this day, it's behind fences. In the 1990s, faithful men and women built this building by their tithes and offerings.

01:07:16

In a day, the government could come and snatch it away. And all the brick and mortar, the tent in which we currently gather, could be taken from us.

01:07:28

And certainly, in the tribulation after the rapture, this will not be a house of worship.

01:07:35

It will be owned by pagans again. And you've sewn into your family.

01:07:42

You've preached the gospel to your nephew. Maybe your own children. And you wonder, where has that seed gone?

01:07:48

Has it been scattered to the wind? Sometimes it feels like the church is losing, even though Christ said,

01:07:57

I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. What we learn from Abraham is that what

01:08:02

God has made permanent, though we experience it in tents, we experience this life in a tent.

01:08:10

Your body is a tent. We are building for eternal things.

01:08:17

When we gather here on Sunday morning, eternal consequence. When we gather here on Sunday morning, the word is preached and there are those who are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the beloved

01:08:35

Son. And they will dwell in eternal dwellings with God forever because of what happens here.

01:08:44

When we gather to worship the Lord, every praise rises to him and he will remember for all eternity.

01:08:52

There are rewards for the things that happen here. I want you to understand,

01:08:58

Abraham never saw the city. He lived in tents, but he did see it from afar.

01:09:10

Lastly, look at Hebrews 11, verse 10. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations whose designer and builder is

01:09:23

God. God is both the architect and the builder. He's building his church.

01:09:33

He designed it from before the foundation of the world. He's the architect and he doesn't entrust himself to man, to make his plan dependent on man.

01:09:44

He's the builder. Christ has built this church. We're merely tools in his hands, instruments that he wields as he does the building.

01:09:57

Abraham was looking forward to a city whose architect and builder is

01:10:03

God. In faith, we must envision the coming kingdom.

01:10:10

It's very easy for us to get caught up in the things of this world. Many people worship the

01:10:19

Philadelphia 76ers. Can you imagine? Or the

01:10:26

Phillies or the Eagles or their own sports or their houses or their jobs or that boat.

01:10:37

Ur of the Chaldeans is shiny and it's attractive, but we are looking for a city whose architect and builder is

01:10:44

God. Can you imagine what he'll build for us? We don't see it now.

01:10:50

We're intense, but we must set our minds not on things below, but on things above to make a break from this world, not to be ensnared by the deceitfulness of sin.

01:11:07

I mentioned in the opening part of the sermon that my father is an example to me of one who has broken with the world.

01:11:16

I'll tell you, having sold that apartment complex, he could spend his days on a boat in the

01:11:23

Gulf of Mexico or a golf cart in the villages or something.

01:11:29

But you know where my dad is this morning, like every day? I've told this before. At the crack of dawn, he rises and he goes to the memory care unit where he sits with my mom all day and he feeds her and cares for her because he is not living for this world.

01:11:48

He's living for another. He knows the architect and the builder.

01:11:58

That's the kingdom that we live for. Set your eyes not on the things below, but on the things that are above.

01:12:04

So in closing, this is kind of a Father's Day special, Father's Day message.

01:12:11

Listen. Men, we are to build. Work. Build things.

01:12:20

Not because we think those things are eternal, but because the people in our lives are eternal.

01:12:27

Your children are eternal souls. And they're watching everything you do.

01:12:34

Set that example for them. Work as unto the

01:12:41

Lord. Tomorrow evening at 7 o 'clock.

01:12:47

Men, we are going to begin a Bible study that much of the material comes from a guy named

01:12:54

Michael Foster. And he started a podcast called It's Good to Be a Man.

01:13:02

This culture needs to hear, it's good to be a man. We live in a feminized culture.

01:13:09

Women, it is good for you to be a woman. Equally. But those gender distinctions are made by God.

01:13:19

And so we're going to do this podcast and we'll listen to parts of it, take snippets and talk and work through some things.

01:13:25

As men, come to that, young men. Old men.

01:13:31

Middle aged men. We went to the beach a couple days ago.

01:13:39

And on the beach we made turtles out of sand.

01:13:45

And drew the lines on their back and tried to make it look like a turtle. You know where I learned that?

01:13:53

From my dad. He was the expert sand turtle maker. Nobody could make a sand turtle like, he would get the seaweed and make it look so real.

01:14:02

Thought that there was a turtle right there, but it's actually made of sand. We learn from our parents.

01:14:11

And today we're talking to fathers, as much by what they see you do and the time.

01:14:18

You know, I gave my kids at the beach a couple days ago, seashells that I pulled out.

01:14:24

And they were terrible. There was nothing good about those seashells. They were just cracked and fragmented. So I presented them as wholly uneventful and entirely uninspiring seashells.

01:14:35

And they loved them. Not because there was anything about the seashell itself that had value, lasting value, right?

01:14:42

It was because of the joke. Dad jokes. It was because of time.

01:14:48

We're just having fun. Dads, just have fun with your kids. Dad jokes are good.

01:14:56

Spend time with your children. That's what they need from you. Guys, let's close in prayer.

01:15:03

We've learned an example from the father of faith, Abraham. Not all of you have had good and godly fathers, but all of us have a good and godly father who is

01:15:15

God himself. We all have the father of lights who does not change like shifting shadows.

01:15:22

Every good and perfect gift comes from the father of lights. So whether you had a godly father on earth or not, you have a heavenly father.

01:15:32

Let's all give thanks for our fathers. Let's pray for our fathers. And let's try to live by the father of faith,

01:15:41

Abraham, by his example. Let's pray. So God, this morning it was a delight to open your word.

01:15:48

It did taste better to us than honey. It was more valuable to us than pure gold.

01:15:56

God, we thank you that you, our good and loving father, have not left us here as orphans, but you've given us your

01:16:02

Holy Spirit to live in us, and you've given us your word to direct us and teach us and train us in all righteousness.

01:16:10

Thank you, our good and loving father. You are a good, good father.

01:16:19

We also thank you for the fathers that we've had, for those that have disciplined us and trained us, have loved us.

01:16:27

We thank you for our fathers. And Lord, we pray for those fathers in this room and listening online and out in the field.

01:16:37

We pray for the fathers, Lord, that you would make us more like you, because we fall short, we stumble, and we are not in and of ourselves capable of raising a generation, of building anything that will last.

01:16:51

So we ask that you would do the building through us, Lord. Help us,

01:16:57

God, help us to be men, to act like men, to work like men. Strengthen the men of this church,

01:17:07

Lord, and turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children.

01:17:16

We pray for the fathers, Lord. Most of all,

01:17:21

Lord, we ask for those who have not yet come to saving faith, that they would believe the good news of Jesus Christ, and that you would credit that faith to them as righteousness.

01:17:32

Open their eyes. Give them the gift of faith. Help them,

01:17:40

Lord, to repent of their sin and to turn to the living

01:17:45

God through Jesus the Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and sing

01:17:51

Amazing Grace. Amazing Grace How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me

01:18:38

I once was lost but now

01:18:47

I'm found I once was blind but now

01:18:55

I see so clearly

01:19:03

Hallelujah Grace like rain falls down on me

01:19:15

Hallelujah Hallelujah all my sins are washed away they're washed away

01:19:46

Grace that's hard to bear and grace my fears relieved

01:20:08

Precious gift that grace appeared and now

01:20:20

I'm first relieved

01:20:30

Hallelujah Grace like rain falls down on me

01:20:49

Hallelujah Grace like rain falls down on me

01:21:01

Hallelujah all my sins are washed away they're washed away and we live there ten thousand years bright shining as the sun we've no less days to sing your praise than when we first begun

01:22:06

Hallelujah Hallelujah Grace like rain falls down on me

01:22:16

Hallelujah all my sins are washed away

01:22:24

Hallelujah Hallelujah Grace like rain falls down on me

01:22:37

Hallelujah all my sins are washed away they're washed away

01:22:53

Amen What then shall we say was gained by Abraham our forefather according to the flesh?

01:23:03

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.

01:23:09

For what does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.