Listen to those words. There's a beautiful song right there. Open your Bibles with me to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11. Hope everybody had a good afternoon. Also, I forgot to make an announcement real quick. If you're a man in here and you're able to help bring in Christmas decorations so that Miss Jan can decorate the auditorium for this upcoming Christmas season to make a look more Christmassy. I need several men to help me bring, we moved all the stuff from the attic. Brother Vroon, Brother Vishal and myself moved the stuff from the attic over to the red barn. Now from the red barn into here. So I need a lot of men to bring a lot of stuff into here so that Miss Jan can decorate these next couple days. So if you're willing to spend a couple minutes afterwards, much appreciation. to you I don't think I said that right the right way I'm very grateful for you because if not it'll be a very long week guess if anybody would like to help decorate as well miss Jan would love it so much because her time is precious as well so that means the ladies right because they're better decorators and then the guys Maddie said Guys too? Okay. Never mind, I can't do that right now. I'm behind the pulpit. Alright. Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. We'll be reading in verse number 8. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse number 8. Stand with me for the reading of God's Word. Hebrews chapter number 11 and verse number 8. Known as the Hall of Faith, I asked about a month ago to We're playing some trivia games. We're killing time because pastor goes really long. Especially in your junior church, I mean you teach a lesson, but you can't teach them too long because you lose their attention span. The AHA knows what I'm talking about. Anybody who's taught kids, you can't teach. And so you got to keep their attention by having a trivia game, by they get the trivia right, they get to shoot. a ball into the trash can, gotta do a lot of different things. Another one, we did like, the only thing they do is like a guy on, a girl on this side, a guy on the other side, give them the answer and they slap the pulpit and I'm like, what is Hebrews chapter 11 known as? I was asking kids, I don't know if they knew the answer or not. They're like, what? what, yeah, what book the Hall of Faith was in. And they had no idea and I felt, I felt like a really bad teacher there and so I scolded them. No, not really. No, I just thought it's Hebrews chapter 11, so hopefully they remember. If they're a kid in junior church, hopefully they remember that. So Hebrews 11, verse 8, begins saying, By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing whether he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, joining 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. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had an opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country that is, and heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promise offered up, his only begotten Son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called, accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, for whence also he received him in a figure. Tonight's message is entitled, Living by Faith. Living by Faith. Let's open up in a word of prayer. Thank you so much for this wonderful day, day that we set aside to come and worship you, Lord. A day that we get to have fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ, Lord. Thank you so much for a wonderful service we had this morning. Thank you for all who are here, Lord. And just thank you so much for everybody who's willing to sing praises and honor to you, Lord. And Lord, just be with myself, calm my nerves, give me the words that you want me to say, and have me behind your cross. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. You may be seated. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1 says, the evidence of things not seen. We've heard that verse many times throughout however long you've been alive. I've heard that verse countless times. Now, faith is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Now, faith is believing that God will keep his promises despite circumstances that seem to be to the contrary. True Bible faith is confident obedience to God's word in spite of circumstances and consequences. Now, a lot of people have placed their faith in a lot of different things. They have placed their faith in maybe a person, they have placed their faith in religion, or whatever. They have placed their faith in stuff or things. And so, I mean, people have placed their faith in their boss, that their boss would not fire them because they messed up on the spreadsheet for the second time in the last three weeks, and they're just hoping to have faith in their boss, they don't have evidence yet, that he won't fire them, right? I mean, they have faith and they don't know, they hope for something, that he doesn't fire them, right? I mean, people have faith in different religions. I mean, we go across different nations. We go to Iran, we go to Bolivia, if we go to China, we go around, all around the world, people, or they also have faith and atheism they don't believe. I mean, which is kind of makes no sense to me. nothing, then you go back to nothing. So that's what they believe. They have faith in that. But I mean, people have faith that they are going to go into a better, after this life, go into the afterlife, go into heaven, or even worse, go into purgatory. They have all these different things they have faith in. But also, people have some faith in some weird things. So you find yourself at 1.16 in the morning and you turn on the TV and it's miraculously already on History Channel. And the title of the broadcast, the title of the TV show is finding Bigfoot. I mean, I mean, these people are so confident. They have faith that there is such a thing as Bigfoot. Well, unknown to us as viewers, behind the cameras, there's some dude eating Twinkie and it's the first skin outfit with the hat off. I mean, and that's, that's their Bigfoot, right? They, they, I mean, people who watch that TV show either want to laugh or they're like, Now, I'm hoping that this thing is real, and I don't really have evidence of this thing not being seen, but I have faith in it, right? I mean, people have faith in a lot of different things. I mean, hopefully nobody here believes in Bigfoot or Sasquatch. If you do, that's your opinion, and everybody's entitled to their own opinion. But I mean, I would, never mind, I'm gonna get myself in trouble. So people have a lot of faith in different things, but the thing is, How did Abraham live by faith? Now, he obeyed when he didn't know where he was going. And so, I mean, we know, I mean, Abraham is a man that I love to hear about. I mean, when I was in the youth group back at Lighthouse, Pastor Ellis was going through a series about the life of Abraham. I don't remember everything. I mean, sometimes people don't remember the message I was preaching on Sunday. I'll attest that I've done that myself. And so, I mean, but Abraham's life is something that is quite amazing. I mean, his life is a picture of living by faith. I mean, God called him out of the land of the Chaldees. And the thing is that when Abraham got called out, join with me in Genesis chapter 12, Genesis chapter number 12. We'll be, if you mark your place in Hebrews chapter 11, Sorry, I should have mentioned that. Hebrews chapter 11. We'll go over to Genesis chapter number 12. We'll be in Genesis for three different spots, so you just can keep your spot here in Genesis right now. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, if anybody didn't know that. Genesis chapter number 12 and verse number 1 says, "'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, "'and from thy father's house, "'unto the land that I will show thee. "'And I'll make thee a great nation, "'and I'll bless thee, and make thy name great, "'and thou shalt be a blessing. "'And I'll bless him that blessed thee, "'and I'll curse him that curses thee, "'and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.'" Verse four, so Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him. So we see here that Abraham, simply as in Hebrews 11, he was called out. He was told to go somewhere. I mean, talking about faith, when Abraham was called out by God, He didn't tell him where. He didn't say, this is where I want you to go. Look back at the end of verse number one, until I land that I will show thee, or shoo thee, or however you want to pronounce it. I mean, it doesn't say, hey, you're going to be going to this coordinates exactly. So imagine me with this. So at the chief joint of... No. So our military, they have several different ways to receive an order. But the thing is sometimes those men on the battlefield don't know where they're going next until they receive an order from their command. They're told to keep on going this direction or to stay here in this town until they receive further instructions, right? I mean that's how Abraham lived his life on the move. He was obeying, living by faith by listening to God. And so now Abraham's faith was something that was seen immediately here. And when he begins packing his belongings, I'm sure people have asked him, Abraham, why are you leaving? Abraham said, because God has told me so. Abraham, are you willing to leave everything that is comfortable? And Abraham decides, because God has promised me a land for my inheritance. Abraham, do you know where you are going? No, I do not know where I'm going, but I have faith in God directing my journey to the land he has promised me. And it says again, I will show thee. So talk about faith right there. He's willing to let God direct his physical moves, his way that he's going. And God had promised Abraham a land. We know that's the land of promise, the land of Canaan. That is still the rightful claim of the Israelites, the rightful claim of the Jews. I mean, don't let the news or don't let some hippie-looking, blue-haired on CNN tell you that it's the land of the Hamas or a Jihad or whatever they want to say. No, it's the land of the Israelites. And it's all the way back here in Genesis chapter 12. So several thousand years ago that this was the land promised by God for His people, for the Israelites, for the Jews, for the Hebrews. And so if you were ever wondering about that, there's the answer. And so Abraham did not know where God was going to direct him, but he had faith in God to move out of his comfort zone in Ur and in Haran. And Abraham had faith in God by literally allowing God to direct his way for him. Now Charles Spurgeon said, on not knowing, that it is surely the very masterpiece of faith. God bade Abraham to go forth from his native land. He believed that God knew where he was to go, though he did not himself know. He left the directions of his wanderings entirely in the Lord's hands and obeyed and went out, not knowing where he was going. And we are not to ask for a full knowledge before we will be obedient to the will of the Lord, but we are to obey God in the dark, even as Abraham did. He was a self-exiled from his home, a wanderer upon the face of the earth, yet when called of God, it mattered not to him where he was. he was bidden to go. He seemed to say, appoint my way, great God, it is for me not to ask the reason why, but to obey your command. So Abraham had faith in God, but he also obeyed God. Go back to Hebrews chapter 11, Hebrews chapter number 11, Hebrews chapter 11, as it says in verse number eight, By faith Abraham, when he was called out to go into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed. He was told to do something, and instead of neglecting or delaying it, this command, this duty of him, was directly done then and there. He obeyed immediately when God told him to. This obedience wasn't just a quick yes to God, but rather we saw how he stayed obedient to God most of his time after hearing God say, go. This obedience led him to having faith in God, even though he did not know where he was going to be going. He obeyed when he didn't know where he was going. And he came to the land of promise, this land of promise as a stranger. And as a stranger he was dwelling in tabernacles because he was ready to move whenever God told him to move. I mean he moved all around the land of Israel. And he not only lived by faith coming to the land of promise, but also as he was in the land of promise he obeyed and ultimately had faith in God in every direction that he moved physically. He was looking for something not of this world, though, in verse number 10. And he knew that this life had limitations. He knew that there was something more than this life. He knew that God had promised him a place whose builder and maker was God. He knew that there was going to be a city. He knew that there was going to be a place where he was going to spend eternity with God. And he was looking forward to that place. I mean, yes, he didn't have a city he dwelt in at this time on earth. I mean, he traveled a lot all the time. He went down to Egypt. He was all around the land of Canaan. But he had faith in God. whose builder and maker is God, and he knew that there was something more than just this land that God had promised him and his heirs. So how did Abraham live by faith? Well, he also obeyed when he did not know how God's will would be accomplished. As we come down to verse 11, Sarah was having faith had faith and struggled at times to have faith in God when they were told that they were going to have a child. So when they were in the land of Ur, Abraham was 75 and Sarai, so Abraham and Sarai before they became Abraham and Sarah, they were, Abraham was 75 and she was 65. And I preached a message out of Genesis chapter 18, which you're going to turn there, Genesis chapter number 18, entitled, Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord? So go join with me in Genesis chapter number 18. Now things may have been different back then, but Sarah had been childless up to this point. She had no children ever recorded in the Bible. And when they were in the land of her, she was barren for the amount of times she was married to Abraham. And so when they were told in Genesis chapter 12 that they would have a child and that this child, that their seed and their nation would be blessed and all the people of the world would be blessed, they're wondering, how is this even possible? Join with me in verse number one. And the Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre. And he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him. And when he saw them, He ran to meet them from the tent door and bowed himself to the ground and said, my Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass on away, I pray thee, from thy servant. Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched and wash your feet and rest yourself under the tree. And I'll fetch a morsel of bread and comfort ye your hearts after that ye shall pass on, for therefore are ye come to your servant And they said, So do as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened unto Sarah and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes under the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd and fetched a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the young man. and he hastened to dress it. And he took butter and milk and the calf, which he had dressed, and set it before them." This is the first time they ever have barbecue in the Bible, right there. So, "...and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. And they said unto him, Where Turn the page. Now this time... They have been traveling from the land of birth. She was at the age of 65. And at this point she was either 89 or 90. And so 25 years. 25 years she had received this promise. Abraham had received this promise that they were going to have a child. That they were going to have a boy and eventually know him as Isaac. They received this promise all that long years ago. 25 years ago. I mean, when somebody promises you something, right? You want the promise to be fulfilled right then and right there, right? I mean, sometimes people only fulfill their promises. But the thing is that God always fulfills His promises and it's always in His time and plan. And we see that here. Join me back with verse number 11. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age. And it ceased to be with Sarah after a man or a woman. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am wax old, shall I pleasure my Lord, being old also? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I surely bear a child which am old? Verse number 14. Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed, I will return to thee according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. So after 25 years, after this whole entire time, these three men come from God, came to meet Abraham and Sarah. Eventually, they went down to Sodom and Gomorrah. That's a whole different message right there. And these men came down and they said, all right, where's Sarah, your wife, after the meal or during the meal? She's back in the tent. And as we know, they said, all right, you and your wife are going to have a child. At this time, also Abraham, if you do the math, he is 100 years old. I've never known a 100-year-old man in today's existence to have a child with a 90-year-old woman. I mean, if that ever happened, that's, I mean, like, a Guinness World Record at that point, right? I mean, no way. And that verse number 14, is anything too hard for the Lord? I mean, during that message I preached, is anything too hard for the Lord? Like, during those times of, like, those times, like, the obvious answer is capital N, capital O, exclamation point. No, of course there's nothing too hard. But sometimes during those moments you're like, lowercase and lowercase o, no, question mark. No? Is there anything too hard for the Lord? No? I mean, one answer is obviously no, then there's no. But the thing is that, is there anything too hard for the Lord? And we know that there is nothing too hard for the Lord. And that God always fulfills His promises. After they waited for five years, for ten years, maybe Sarah started to give up. Sarah told Abraham to have a child with their handmaid, Hagar. And we know that was a mistake, which was not what God wanted for Abraham and Sarah. And now, still to this day, The people of Israel are still regretting from that decision that Sarah made with Abraham and with Hagar. But the thing is that for 15 years, for 20 years, for 24 years came around and nothing. But until this point in time, three men came 25 years later and told that Abraham and Sarah that you are going to have a child. unbelief asks, how can this be? But faith asks, how shall this be? Now the thing is that we eventually know that Abraham and Sarah had a child named Isaac, had a son named Jacob, and so on and so forth. And through their seed, the whole entire earth, don't go back there, but Genesis chapter 12, verse number 3, saying that all the nations of the earth will be blessed and And we know that to be Jesus Christ who would come from the seed of Abraham. And because of that we all can rejoice with this promise that God fulfilled during this time. But in verse number 12 of our chapter... number 11, chapter number 11, verse 12, it says, therefore sprang there even one. I have no idea what that meant. I'll be honest, I had to study that a little bit. So from a single individual, what is observed here by the apostle is a worthy of remark, is that the whole Jewish people sprang from one man. And that one man As the reward of his strong faith, he was made the father and founder of a nation. So this birth was a supernatural birth, we would all have to agree. I mean, a 100-year-old man, a 90-year-old woman having a child, you never hear that. It's supernatural. I mean, the only birth that was even more miraculous than that is the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born of a virgin. And that's unbelievable right there. I mean, no words can describe how that's even possible. a hundred-year-old man, a nine-year-old woman, is anything too hard for the Lord? No, it's not. And we see that. And God was faithful and He would promise. And the thing is that Abraham was living by faith even when things like this, he had no idea how that God was going to control it. And their seed would be innumerable and they would, this one was the promise that God had gave to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15 verse 5. Genesis chapter 22 verse 17. So again the question is, how did Abraham live by faith? Abraham believed and obeyed God when he did not know when God would fulfill his promises. So verse number 13, these all died in the faith. These all died not receiving the promise. And we know that promise is the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. They didn't know how or who this would be coming through. I mean, later we know that kind of King David and so on and so forth knew of an exact idea. They didn't know the name of Jesus Christ, but they knew that there was going to be a Savior who's going to come. The king of kings will come down to die on the cross for their sins. They knew that this king would come. But the thing is, this promise was coming to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would die on the cross, who would take away their sins. They had faith in what they believed, that they would die believing it to be theirs. I mean, they were persuaded, they believed in their promise. And they had no doubt in their faith and whom they had placed their faith in. They embraced it. With open arms, they knew that whatever God had promised, whatever God had in place, that they had faith, that God was an accountant worthy of it. And they, with open arms, joyful and great rejoicing. and they confess also that they were pilgrims and that they're strangers in a foreign land, right? These strangers would truly not be their final resting, they cannot find their, they were trying finding their residence permanently. Hold on, let me start back. This stranger would truly not be finding residence permanently where they were at. A pilgrim Abraham was just here for a while. I mean, the pilgrim does not have a citizenship but is going to a place where their citizenship will be eternal." And he knew that this world was not his home. He's just a passing through. He knew that there was something laid out for him somewhere beyond the blue, right? I mean, we know as Christians today that this place is just, I mean, yes, most of us were born here in America. If not, become American citizens. If not, you should become American citizens because it's still the greatest nation on the earth. But the thing is, I mean, I was born American first, but the thing is, once I got saved on August 2nd of 2015, as a 13 year old boy, my citizenship, I mean, I became a dual citizenship, but my citizenship going to heaven is more important than my American citizenship. And I know that, I mean, yeah, I mean, I like driving my car. I like, No, I don't like my apartment. I mean, I like living in nice places, right? I like having things. But the thing is, this world is not my home. And Abraham knew this. Jacob knew this. Isaac knew this. I mean, King David knew this. Moses knew this. I mean, Peter knew this. Paul knew this. I mean, people in the Bible knew that this was, they were just a passing through. They were pilgrims. They were strangers in this land. And Paul, not Paul, but Abraham knew this. And these patriarchs were sojourners, travelers, and pilgrims. They lived in tents and always looking for a place to stay. Yet they still knew that they would find that city, that city in heaven, one day. So they desired a far better city in verse number 16. They desired a far better city that is an heavenly city. Let me tell you, I'm excited one day, if I die right now, I'm sorry for my parents, at least they're here, right? Should I tell that joke of what she said about if mom were to die? about the funeral, with the flowers, you know what I'm talking about? No, okay, never mind. But if my parents are here, then you'll all be here, and then we'll have the funeral right here, right now, right? But if I were to die, or one day if I die in my old age, I'm looking forward to that day, that, I mean, I'm glad that I'm going to see a country, a city whose builder-maker is God, who I get to see my Savior's face. And now when Abraham and Sarah left Ur, they were looking for a new land for their seed. They were looking for a land, a far better country out of this world that was heavenly. They were looking They knew that wasn't in this life. They knew that God promised a physical land for their kids For going on for generations, but the thing is they had Physical eyes, but they were also looking for that eternal city they were looking forward to spending the rest of their lives with God after they would pass away and and when they as again when the time comes we were We will all one day be called up in the sky. And yes, I'm looking forward to seeing that city, but more than that city, we're getting to see our Savior face to face. So none of these patriarchs saw the full picture, the complete fulfillment of God's promises, but they saw from afar off what God was doing. Dr. George Morrison, who was a great Scotch preacher, once said, The important thing is not what we live in, but what we look for. And these men and women of faith lived in tents, but they knew a heavenly city away in them. And God always fulfills his promises to his believing people, either immediately or ultimately. So how did Abraham live by faith? Finally, Abraham obeyed God by faith when he did not know why God was so working. Verses 17-19. And that's where we see in Genesis chapter number 22. Join me in Genesis chapter number 22. where God had requested, not requested, had commanded Abraham to offer up his only begotten son, his son that God had promised him, said, it's time, I want you to offer up your son, Isaac. In Genesis chapter number 22, reading in verse number one, and it came to pass after these things that God did tempt or test Abraham and said unto him, Abraham, and he said, behold, here I am. And he said, take now thy son, thy only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of those mountains where I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clad the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. I don't know if you noticed there, but there's kind of a statement of faith right there. He's saying, I have faith in God that if I am to kill him that he will raise him up, that we will come back to you again.' And Abraham took, verse number 6, and Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it up upon Isaac his son, and took the fire in his hand and a knife, and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father and said, My father, he said, here I am, son, here am I, my son. And he said, behold, the fire and the wood, but where's the lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb. for a burnt offering, so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of. And Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, "'Here I am.' And he said, "'Lay not thine hand upon the lad, "'neither do thou anything unto him. "'For now I know that thou fearest God, "'seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, "'thy only son from me.' "'And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for the burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh, as it is said to this day, in the mouth of the Lord it shall be seen. So we see here that those verses in Hebrews 11 and 17 verse 19 It's the same account recorded back here in Genesis chapter 22. I mean, talk about faith. Abraham obeyed God. by faith when he did not know why God was so working. By faith, Abraham obeyed God. By faith, Abraham was walking up that mountain, walking up Mount Moriah. By faith, he was willing to bound his son and lay him upon the altar. By faith, he was willing to sacrifice his own son because he had faith in God that he would raise up his son, because that God had promised in his son, this son Isaac, that, and he had faith that God would raise him up. from the grave. And he offered up his only begotten son that God promised him. And Abraham had faith in God to raise his son up even after he would have slayed him. And what faith Abraham had. I mean, I don't know if any parent in the solitary or even in the world, maybe in the world, would offer up their child for an offering or for a sacrifice for their God. But the thing is that God commanded Abraham to do so. And the thing is that Abraham was willing to do so. He was living by faith. And the thing is, why would God want Abraham to sacrifice his son when it was the Lord who gave him that son? All of a future nation's promises were wrapped up in Isaac. The test of faith became more difficult as we walk with God. yet the rewards are more wonderful. And we see that with Abraham's life. I mean, walking by faith, living in his country, having a child, fulfilling a promise, going to having faith in God, the promises of eternity, having faith in God to deliver his son. I mean, Jehovah child, God will provide. It's all about having faith. So how did Abraham live by faith? Hopefully you guys have gotten that question in your mind. How did Abraham live by faith? Abraham lived by faith through having obedient faith in God. Abraham didn't know where he was going. Abraham didn't know how God's will was going to be accomplished. Abraham believed and obeyed God would fulfill his promises, but Abraham lived by faith by having obedient faith in God. I see how you're saying, I see how Abraham lived by faith. I can read it, I can see it. But the thing is, how can I walk by faith? Is it even possible to have obedient faith? Well, let me tell you, it is possible. But the thing is that Abraham lived a life, he lived for 175 years. And it wasn't just immediately he started having a fully endowed walk with God. I mean, it took time. time and time again. But the thing is, when he was tested, when he was faced with those promises, faced with those difficulties, he was living by faith because he was obedient to God. He had an obedient faith in God. And believers should obey God when God tells you to move, right? I mean, if God tells you to physically move, God works in all ways, right? I mean, God has called some of you to Houston. I mean, some of y'all were born and raised here, but some of us, including myself, I've come here because God has called us to come here. And you don't even know why. I mean, possibly the reason why God has called you to come here by faith, God has called you and you obey by faith is because maybe there's only one person that God wants you to reach. And maybe that's the reason why he has called you to Houston. And by faith, you have answered God's call to physically move here. And the thing is that you're walking by faith when you're being obedient in faith to God. I mean, you don't even know why God is moving you here, but you know and you've seen that God is always faithful. And the only way to follow where He leads is by having obedient faith. This faith is just not a one and done commitment, but it is a commitment that keeps on being made. I mean, we see the life of Abraham, I took you to three key texts. I mean, these texts, he wasn't just committing one time, I'm gonna have faith just right now in this instance, but rather he lived a life that was obedient, he had obedient faith in God. but it is a commitment that keeps on being made. Believers should have obedient faith even when you don't know how God's will will be accomplished. Now God's will is different for each person, right? We have a general will of God, that is for all to be saved and for us to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we all agree to that. We all have a general will, but we also have a specific will. And the thing is, my will is different than your will. The specific will. And God has called me to preach. And that's what, and I hope over the years, I become a well-rounded preacher, which I have a long time to do that. And so I've only begun my journey. And so that's what I know God has called me to do. And by faith, I have answers called. And by faith, I'm doing this every single week. And yes, it is scary every single week looking at your eyes, because you all are scary to me. And by faith, I'm getting behind this pulpit, right? By faith, God has called you. God has specifically called you to something in your will. He has specifically placed you at your job. God has specifically placed you in that family. God has a specific will for your life. God's will is specific to each person, but we have to have faith in God and what he wants, but not just faith, but obedient faith in God, trusting in his will and not your own. Believers also should believe and obey God because God has already fulfilled his promises and will. One of the promises that He has fulfilled was the coming of the Messiah. I mean, we preached this morning about the reason for the season, right? The reason that we celebrate Christmas is ultimately because we celebrate the coming of our Savior, the coming of the Light, the coming of our great Jehovah God, right? Coming down in human form through His Son, Jesus Christ. We celebrate that and we And we do that every single year for many years at this point. And that's a promise that God has fulfilled. And there's things, there's promises that are yet to come. The future is something that can cause many people to worry. But the thing is, we don't have to. I mean, look at Abraham's life. He didn't know how his future was being played out, right? He didn't know how God was going to fulfill his promises with having a child with his wife, Sarah. I mean, it took him 25 years fully to see God's promise fulfilled, right? It takes time. to see God's promises, God's purposes in our life to be fulfilled. I mean, there's promises that God has given to us that we will not see fulfilled maybe in our time. There's promises that God will fulfill during our lifetime, but we don't know. We just have to have faith in God that he will fulfill his promises. And we can have obedient faith in God to fulfill his promises that he has promised us. And believers should obey God by faith when they do not know why God is working in their life. I said that right? So, let me read that. Believers shall obey God by faith when they do not know why God is working in their life. And the thing is that it is easy, I say this a lot, it's easy to say one thing and actually do it. It's easy to say, I want to live by faith. I want to walk by faith. I want to have an obedient faith. But it's hard to actually to do what you say, right? I mean, we're coming up on January 1st, and we're coming up to the time where people, the gyms will be full. And like, I want to go on a diet, right? And then people will say that, right? They say a lot of things, but it's actually harder to do what they say, right? People say, oh, I want to start doing this, or I want to start doing that. But I think it's harder to do something that you say, right? promise, you can tell yourself that all day long, but until you put actions to those words, it's just words. It will be a battle to live a life of faith by having obedient faith. Abraham, as I mentioned, lived 175 years. 175 years that he was still working on how to live by faith, living in faith by obedient faith in God. So everybody has a hymnal, right? Take your hymnals out and turn to hymn number 34, hymn number 34. The song that we sing a couple times a year, hymn number 34, Living by Faith. Verse number one, it says, I care not today what the morrow may bring, as shatter or sunshine or rain, the Lord I know ruleth over everything, and all my worry is vain. And it goes to the chorus, living by faith, and Jesus above, trusting, confiding in his great love. From all harm's safe and his sheltering arm, I'm living by faith and feel no alarm. Though tempests may blow and storms cloud arise, obscuring the brightness of life, I may never alarm at the overcast skies the master looks on at the strifer's three. I know that he'll safely carry me through no matter what evils be tied what should I then care though the tempest may blow if Jesus walks close to my side living by faith and Jesus above trusting confiding in his great love from all harm safe and a sheltering arm I'm living by faith and feel no alarm. Another song, living by faith. The beautiful song right there. But living by faith is a hard thing to do. I mean, many Christians say that they do, but many Christians actually don't. And I had to look at my life this week as I was studying, because faith is something We can place, I mentioned before, we can place the ultimate faith in Jesus Christ for keeping us our eternal security in His hands, right? We have placed our faith in Him in that area of life. But when it comes to time like, Lord, you want me to move? You want me to move to Houston where it's so humid? And that makes no sense. There's no snow during wintertime. There's no fall. I mean, the leaves are still on the trees. I mean, they're somewhat brown, but they're mostly green. I mean, talking about living by faith right there, right? I mean, That's something silly, right? I mean, how could you live by faith by just moving, right? Well, you can live by faith by being obedient and faith in God. I mean, God has said, I will, I have this promise, I have this fulfillment of eternity. And you know that and you're for certain, maybe you're here tonight, you don't know that you're, if you're even living by faith and you don't have the faith that I'm referring to tonight, and that comes through the only one, Jesus Christ. Maybe you're saying there's a, There's something going on in my life that I'm asking, is anything too hard for the Lord? And I know the answer is no, but during this time, I know it's no. And I'm struggling right now. I don't know how to live by faith. And Abraham could have been asking the same question when he was up, when he was hearing those men say, you and your wife will have a child. And he's like, I've been promised this so many years ago, and I don't know how, but I'm going to live by faith. I'm going to trust in God. I'm going to trust in Jesus Christ. I'm going to have obedient faith in God. And maybe God is saying, I have a fulfillment. I have a will for your life. And I think, I don't know. I don't understand how I can live by faith. I don't know. I mean, Abraham lived by faith by being obedient in faith towards God. And we can live by faith by being obedient, having obedient faith in God. And the word faith is something that kind of gets thrown around a lot today. But we go back to Genesis, not Genesis, Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11, verse number 1. Hebrews chapter 11, verse number 1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is believing that God will keep his promises despite circumstances that seem to be to the contrary. True Bible faith is confident obedience to God's word in spite of circumstances and consequences. Faith is something that we have to live by. Living by faith, through having obedient faith in God. And that's how Abraham lived a life. That's how Abraham lived by faith, by being obedient.