This morning we're reading together again. We continue our study in Hebrews chapter 11, and we're going to be looking at verses eight to 19. Hebrews 11, verse eight to 19, with just a little bit of a gap in the middle. But first of all, let's read from Genesis chapter 12, from verse one to verse nine. Genesis 12 verse 1 to 9. Now the Lord said to Abram, go from your country, and your kindred, and your father's house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Morah. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, To your offspring I will give this land. So he built there an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him. From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on still going toward the Negev. Hebrews 11 from verse 8, By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. From verse 13, these all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises, was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, through Isaac shall your offspring be named. He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. Amen. And thanks be to God once more for his holy and inerrant and living word. A brief prayer before we come to study the word together this morning. Our Father in heaven, as we open up the pages of Holy Scripture, we do thank you for the freedom that we have to do so. We thank you for the privilege it is for us to be able to submit ourselves to the word of life and of truth. And we pray, our Father, that as we do so, we ask that what we do not know, you would teach us. That what we do not have, you would grant us. And we pray, oh Lord, that what we have not yet become, you would make us. And we ask all of this for the sake of and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. If there is one thing that Abraham embodied, maybe more than anyone else in the Bible, it is the idea or the notion of the Christian life as a pilgrimage. What Abraham was called to do in physical terms as he journeyed from Ur of the Chaldeans all the way on towards the land that was promised to him by God is in many ways like a picture of the spiritual journey that every Christian is called to make. As we transition throughout our lives from the temporary kingdom of this world to the eternal kingdom which is yet to come. And this is really the main thing that the writer to the Hebrews wants to draw our attention to as he describes Abraham's life in chapter 11 verses 8 to 10. It says, by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. and he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. And so whilst there are many, many important aspects of this man's life that we could otherwise consider which are recorded for us in Genesis chapter 12 through to 25, the big thing which according to Hebrews exemplified this man's faith was that he not only obeyed God by offering up his son Isaac as a sacrifice, which we'll come on to later on, but he obeyed God by embarking on one of the most significant journeys or pilgrimages ever recorded in our Bibles. Abraham was a bit like the pioneer who paved the way so that his descendants who came after him would later on be able to become established in the land that was promised to him, the land of Israel. And as we consider that pilgrimage of Abraham together, that way in which he responded to God's grace by obeying this command, go to the land that I will show you, I want us to think this morning about four features of this man's faith, four things that are equally important for all who are on the spiritual pilgrimage with the Lord Jesus Christ. for things that were evident in this man's life, which ought to be, needs to be cultivated and pursued by the grace of God in our own lives. First of all, for Abraham to obey God in this way, he had to be ready and willing to leave behind the old for the sake of the new. We read at the beginning of Genesis chapter 12 that the Lord said to Abram as he was known then, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And then in verse four, what do we read? So Abram went as the Lord had told him. Now you notice the detail there in the actual command that the Lord gave. He could have simply said, go to the land that I will show you. But instead he says, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house. As if to emphasize the fact that this calling involved leaving behind all that Abraham had no doubt become very comfortable and familiar with in order that he could then step forward and accomplish the purpose that God had for his life. Now at one level, this is something that applies to every true believer in Christ. When we come by God's grace to repentance and faith, part of what that always entails is a decision to break with the old and begin with the new. There is, for all Christians, a turning away from, a leaving behind the way of sin that leads to death, so that we can then pursue the way of righteousness that leads to life. But then more specifically, a big part of what that actually means in practice, particularly if we're going to be fruitful in God's hand, is a willingness to put to death the very natural tendency that we have of becoming unhealthily attached to the things of this world. It's often been said that no man ever achieved anything of any real significance for God's kingdom without there being a significant personal cost involved. a readiness to leave behind that which is familiar and comfortable and which may provide a sense of temporal physical security for that which is often unfamiliar, often very uncomfortable and may even lead to us feeling very insecure, at least in a temporal sense. In Luke's Gospel, chapter 9, we read that as Jesus and his disciples were walking along the road, someone said to him, I will follow you wherever you go. Jesus said to him, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. To another he said, follow me. But he said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. And Jesus said to him, leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Yet another said, I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home. Jesus said to him, no one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. I remember the year that my father was dying of cancer, just a few months before he actually died and I was due to begin my training for ministry just a few months later, and I remember going to speak to a good Christian brother, friend of mine, and was wondering, should I postpone things for another year before embarking on my training for ministry? Just give me a year to to deal with all of this, my dad's about to die and so on. And I remember he quoted these very words of Jesus, leave the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. And it really, it really stung at that particular time. It was hard to hear, but it was right. And so I pressed on. And so there is, first of all here, not only this turning away from sin, but this decisive resolve, a break with, a letting go of worldly attachments, even losing good things for the sake of God's thing, and for the sake of His calling upon our lives. Secondly though, and very much coupled with this, Abraham was able to leave behind the old because in his mind and in his heart he was focused on, he was fixated with the kingdom which is to come. In Hebrews 11 verse 10, just after being told of how he went out not knowing where he was going, it then says, as if to, in a sense, explain to us how that was possible, it says, for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. In other words, the reason that he was willing to leave behind the old and follow the call of God to this unknown, as yet unseen land, was on the basis that his eyes were not ultimately fixed on that physical land or some temporal city, but instead he was focused on the eternal city and the heavenly kingdom which is to come. Later on in verse 13, it says there of all of those people who've been mentioned so far in Hebrews 11, it says, these all acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. What is he saying? Well, he's saying that if Abraham had really wanted to, he could have returned at any time to his homeland, to all that was familiar and all that was comfortable and easy for him. But as it was, he was willing to spend the rest of his days living in tents like a nomad. Why? Because he knew that this world was not his home, that he was a stranger and an exile in this world, and because his mind was focused on the better country which lies ahead. Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. The Apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 3, remember as he compared in a sense, as he contrasted those who do not believe with those who do believe, he said, they, that is those who do not believe, they glory in their shame with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians chapter 3. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. Now it would be a mistake to think that this was purely a matter of the mind. It involves the mind, of course. We need to be disciplined in our thinking such that we would then be people who often do have in our minds the kingdom which is to come. But when you really think about this, all of that is only possible insofar as the heart is also actually desiring that same end. Verse 16 says that the reason these people were willing to do all that they did do was that they desire a better country that is the heavenly one. And so Abraham not only had his mind focused on the kingdom to come, But the reason that his mind was focused on the kingdom to come was ultimately that his heart's desire was for that kingdom and not the temporary comforts of this passing age. The third feature of Abraham's life is that he couldn't possibly embark upon and continue in this significant pilgrimage without a spirit of real patience and perseverance. When Abram was first called by God in Genesis chapter 12, he was 75 years old. In chapter 25, we read that when he died, he died at the age of 175 years old. In other words, Abraham spent a total of 100 years following the course that God had set down for him without ever getting to experience the fulfillment of God's promise in this world. He got to see the land that was promised, but he never got to settle down in it. The land, says John MacArthur, was in sight, but not in hand. Think about it, all those years journeying from one place to the next, living in a tent like a nomad in the wilderness, The distance from Haran in the north down to Canaan in the south was about 400 miles or so. And then when you consider that they then journeyed further south down into Egypt and then they doubled back north again to Canaan, the whole thing would have involved about 1,500 to 2,000 miles of travel in the no doubt baking heat of the Middle East without an Uber taxi in sight. And again, all of that without ever getting to fully realize or experience the blessing that was promised to the people of God in this life. Abraham had to keep on obeying and moving forward, as it were, according to God's call, without ever seeing the fulfillment of God's promises. And yet, friends, when you really stop and you think about all of this, this is actually the normal pattern of the Christian life, is it not? We're called to simply play our part, to do our bit for God's kingdom one year after the other, oftentimes without ever seeing or understanding the full ramifications of what we've done. One sows and another reaps. One man spends a hundred years living like a nomad so that an entire nation can one day become established after he dies and later still so that one day all the nations of the earth can be blessed through his seed. You think to yourself, what does that take What does it take to simply follow God's course without ever necessarily seeing the fruit, seeing the fulfilment, result of our labours. It takes a spirit of patience and perseverance, an attitude that refuses to become consumed by or preoccupied with immediate results or sudden moments of great euphoria. but instead one which is looking to the end game, focused on doing the will of God steadily and faithfully, day after day after day, and simply leaving the rest to him. William Gurnall said this. He said, the believer is to persevere in his Christian course to the end of his life. We have known many who have gone into the field and liked the work of a soldier for a battle or two, but soon have had enough and come running home. There are so many professors and so few Christians indeed. So many that run and so few obtain. Many go into the field against Satan, and so few come out conquerors. Few have the courage and resolution to grapple with the difficulties that meet them in the way. Israel came joyfully out of Egypt, but when their bellies were a little pinched with hunger, they were ready to fly from their colors and make a dishonorable retreat into Egypt. Many who profess the gospel fail to endure when trouble comes, and their hearts fail them. Oh, how many depart from Christ at this crossroads! Do not say you have royal blood running in your veins and you are born of God, except you can prove your pedigree by this heroic spirit, to dare to be holy in spite of men and devils. How uncomely a sight it is To see a bold sinner and a fearful saint One resolved to be wicked And a Christian wavering in his holy course To see hell keep the field While the saints hide their colours for shame Abraham left all that he knew because his heart and his mind were focused and fixed on the kingdom to come. And for that reason, he was able to finish his course, persevering with great patience and steadfastness over the course of 100 years. Finally, for Abraham to have embarked on this great pilgrimage, for him to have done all that he did do, he had to believe that God would be faithful to his promises. It's very interesting to just note the way that the writer to the Hebrews, how he recalls Abraham's offering of Isaac as a sacrifice in verses 17 to 19. He says, by faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, through Isaac shall your offspring be named. And so if we think about the sacrifice of Isaac as a kind of parable of Abraham's faithfulness to God, what is being said here is that the reason Abraham was willing to obey God, even in this most unthinkable way, was on the basis that God had already promised that it would be through Isaac that his offspring would be named. In other words, Abraham was in the act of offering up his only son because he knew that God had to in some way prolong Isaac's life if his own promise was to be fulfilled. and so confident was Abraham that God would not go back on that promise. He therefore proceeded with what God asked him to do. Earlier on in the book of Hebrews, back in chapter six, remember what it says there. It says, for when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, Surely I will bless you and multiply you. And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. for people swear by something greater than themselves and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. Abraham lived with patience and perseverance, spending the majority of his days as a pilgrim on this earth in obedience to God, even when called to sacrifice his own son. Why? How? because he was absolutely convinced that if God had promised to do something, then that promise must be fulfilled in the end. When God makes a promise, it always, every time, comes to pass. Abraham knew this. Abraham held onto this. And it was for that reason that nothing God asked of him seemed to be too much. Friends, what is the greatest example of that truth? The truth that when God makes a promise, it always comes to pass. The greatest example of that truth is that 42 generations and some 1,800 years later, the seed of Abraham was born into this world, the one in whom all the nations of the earth would be given the blessed hope of life in another land, a land which is not of this world. but a land in the new world of God's eternal kingdom. If ever you needed evidence of the fact that God is faithful to his promises, then just think about the incarnation, the life, the death, and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. promised to the world as early as Genesis 3 verse 15, prophesied and foretold in great detail throughout all the generations of the Old Testament, foreshadowed by the substitutionary sacrifice that was offered up in the place of Abraham's son, and then finally fulfilled in his appearing on the earth as a man 2,000 years ago. May we all look to him and trust in what he has done, in the promises of his gospel, that by his grace we too might persevere in this great pilgrimage of life, leaving behind the old, pressing on towards the new, living lives worthy of the name as we keep our focus on that great city whose designer and builder is God. namely the new Jerusalem and the kingdom of His own glory. Amen.