Hebrews and chapter 11. The epistle to the Hebrews in chapter 11. And at verse 8 we read, By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receiving an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Well, we have been looking at the subject of justification by faith. How can you be right with God? How can you be accepted with God? And we have seen that Abraham is the example of this justification by faith alone in Christ alone. He looked to the coming Savior and trusted in Him. for forgiveness and for acceptance. And he was accepted. And God declared this man to be righteous and pleasing to him on the basis of that righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now when the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 4 deals with Abraham He does not merely deal with him as the example of justification by faith. He was certainly that. But he also deals with him as the example of the life of faith. When we are saved through faith in Christ, there is a whole new life that follows that, a transformed life, a changed life. So in Romans chapter 4 there and at verse 12 he says that Abraham was the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham which he had being yet uncircumcised. We all end up as examples in one way or another, good or bad. We are examples as parents. Our children are watching us all the while. And it is a bit disturbing for the parent to realise that children follow bad habits as well as good habits. It is so in the workplace. Our work colleagues watch us. They see our behaviour. Are we late in arriving at our workplace for our duties? Are we lax about getting on with the job? Do they see in us an example of diligence? and hard work. It's the same in the church as well. We set an example there. What a solemn thing it is for the pastor, because others see his behavior and they expect that that behavior will be becoming of someone who not only professes the name of Christ, but is called to this high service in his church, to preach Christ. It's so with your neighbours too. They see somewhat of how you live, more than most, in your immediate community. And what do they see? We each of us have to acknowledge that our best examples are mixed, and that people will see a degree of ambiguity. We are not everything that we ought to be. Only the Lord Jesus Christ was perfect. What a beautiful life it was that He lived, who was holy, harmless and undefiled, separate from sinners. He passed through this world mixing with sinners, but uncontaminated by their sin. And when we look at the life of the Lord Jesus, we see a radiant beauty and we are challenged to follow him in that life of holiness. Well, Abraham and his wife, Sarah, faced up to this challenge. And as they had been called by God, loved God, believed in God, rested in his provision of salvation, so they wanted to live and to serve God. And so though they were not perfect, they are nevertheless an example to us of how sinners saved by grace alone should be passing through this world of sin, serving the Lord. So I trust you will expect to be challenged by these words this morning. Well, what can we say with respect to Abraham and his wife? The first thing that I want to draw your attention to is that they were separated from their former ways. We just read that in verse 8, by faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out not knowing whither he went. The call of God came to him. It involved a change of geographical location. But more importantly than the change in geographical location was the fact that this involved a separation from everything that he had been involved with. in his previous location there in Mesopotamia, the land between the two rivers, between the Tigris and the Euphrates, that country that we now know as Iraq. That is where Abraham and Sarah came from. And they were separated from everything that was there, all of the idolatry that was there. and the way of life that they had known. And this came about as a result of the call of God. Now most of us are the same in finding what is familiar a source of comfort and security. When you go away from home, even if it is just a holiday, for a relatively short period of time, ordinarily people are glad to be back home after their time away. We know where we belong and we know our way around. Perhaps on holiday you got lost several times because you did not know the location so well. It was not so familiar to you. You come back home And when you are back at home, everything is familiar. And it's a source of comfort and security. We might think even of children. The transition, for example, from their junior school to secondary school is a very big step. They've grown familiar with that situation where they were and then they find themselves in 1D plunged into something which is in many ways completely different and it's necessary to adjust to that and it's no easy thing I'm sure you will agree well this separation came about as the result of the call of God many people never move from their natural spiritual surroundings. They never move out of that sinful bondage in which we all are by nature. They hear the gospel call, but it does not move them. And they remain in their sins and their bondage to Satan and to this world. When we do our open air work, whether it is the open air preaching or whether it's a book stall there in Stockton, we see so much of that. People in the broad road that leads to destruction, faced with the gospel, the good news of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are not interested. And they just carry on. in that way which is natural to them, with all of its sinfulness and alienation and separation from God. How different Abraham was. The call of God came to him. And even though it required this separation from everything with which he had been familiar, he was ready for that. God meant more to him than all of these other things. Let me just remind you of that call. We do have the record of it in Genesis chapter 12. It is in the book of Genesis, you know, that we read about the life of Abraham and Sarah. It's dealt with quite fully, quite a number of chapters on this subject. And there we have the record of the fact that God had called Abraham, or Abram, as his name was before God changed it. Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee. and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing." God held out to Abraham this wonderful change of status, condition, and prospect, that instead of everything that he had known in the ways of sin, he would walk in a way of blessing. He would experience God's goodness, His kindness, His strengthening, and in every way, His provision. And this meant more to Abraham than everything else. And he went out. He went out in this obedience of faith. God told him what he had to do Abraham listened to what he had to do and he responded. He responded in obedience to do what he was told to do. Now we've emphasized again and again that this is not meritorious obedience. This is not some kind of deed or series of deeds that Abraham did seeking that God would be pleased with him, seeking that God would justify him and accept him, seeking that God would give to him salvation. This obedience resulted from the experience of this so great salvation. He was saved. He was justified by faith. And we've emphasized this again and again. His obedience did not save him. He was already a saved man. And as a saved man, he obeyed God. That's why this obedience that we read about in connection with Abraham is a real obedience. We might think before we are converted, before we are saved, that we are obeying God. I would certainly have thought that before I was converted. I was religious and in the Church of England, and I believed that certain things that I was doing would be pleasing to God, like going to church and putting in my offering, and so on. But there was no real obedience there, because there was no deep and real love for God there. I did not know God in any personal way until I believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham obeyed because a higher authority had laid claim to his devotion. God himself had called him and he responded to the call of Almighty God. When Stephen the martyr recounts the call of Abraham, he describes it as coming from the God of Glory. Who was this God? who called Abraham out of his previous environment of idolatry and his being in this world and called him to this way of faith and to this obedience of faith and to this life of holiness. Stephen says, the God of glory. The God who is so great and majestic and magnificent and glorious. He called him. And the Apostle Paul too, he emphasizes how glorious the Christ is who we are to follow. Think about it. The eternal Son of God come in the flesh into this world The Saviour who, though He was crucified and died in the place and stared at sinners, on the third day He was raised again from the dead. The disciples saw Him ascend into heaven. He is there now, ruling at the right hand of Almighty God, reigning till all His enemies be made His footstool. How glorious is the Christ that we are called to follow. The Gospel call is a wonderful invitation from God Himself to unworthy sinners. You have it beautifully expressed there in the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 1 and verse 18, where God says, Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. through that cleansing of the blood of the Lord Jesus. One of the men of the open air just the other week was handing out one of our tracts. The heading is, Are your sins red or white today? Based on that particular text in Isaiah chapter 1. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as as white as snow. This lady, she took the tract, she looked at the words and she said, Oh, mine, she said, mine are red. She obviously knew that she was a sinner. Well, we trust she'll read the tract and learn what is necessary in order to be cleansed of sins, that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom there is a fountain open for sin and for uncleanness. The Gospel comes to you as a wonderful invitation to come to Christ. trust in Christ, to rest upon Christ, to know Christ, to love Christ. But it also comes to you as an authoritative command of God. It's the God of glory who is speaking to you in His Word. The Apostle Paul, when he was preaching on one occasion there, he said, God commands all men everywhere to repent Do not imagine that the Saviour is, as it were, some weak person pleading with sinners and that there is nothing more authoritative to the gospel call than that. This is the God of glory. He calls to we sinners. He commands us to leave our evil ways and to seek the Lord while He may be found. And so it was with Abraham. He heard the command of God and he responded in faith. When he was called, says the apostle, he obeyed. He obeyed because he looked for this inheritance. He was called to go into a place which he should have to receive for an inheritance. And faith, true faith, fixes upon God and His promises. You lose nothing by following Christ. How frequently Satan would have us to think that we will lose by following Christ. Just think what will happen if you follow Christ in a devoted way. You will lose your friends. They will not want to go that way with you. Members of your own family might be hostile to it. They do not want you to put Christ first in your life. That was the biggest challenge, I think, to my own father in connection with my conversion. Not that he ever expressed any hostility, but it was always a great trouble to him that I should be prepared to put Christ first. He wanted me to put other things first, put your career first, and you can still follow Christ, as though the gospel could be some kind of add-on to our lives. And it was always painful to him that I should put Christ first, and express that I must put Christ But you see, nothing else in life is of ultimate value. However great a reputation you might have in this world, whatever wealth you might accumulate, whatever pleasures of sin you might enjoy, none of these things is of ultimate value. And Abraham realized that. And he saw that in the rich treasures that are in Christ, There is an inheritance to be possessed, an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, as the Apostle Peter puts it in his first epistle. Are you separated from your former ways? Have you left the bondage of sin and the ways of sin? that you might follow Christ and live for Christ. There's the first challenge to us from this example of Abraham and indeed his wife Sarah. Well, the second thing is we find them sojourning in a foreign land. They are dwelling for a time in a foreign land. In verse 9 we read, By faith he sojourned, or dwelled, in the land of promise, as in a strange country dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. This was the manner of their life. The original Greek word translated sojourn here is literally reside in a foreign land. to be in a strange land, a different land, a land which is not your own. Perhaps even a land with a different language. And these things are true with respect to every Christian. In one sense, every Christian becomes a foreigner in their own land. because we have passed from what we have been into this new realm of the kingdom of heaven. We have learnt a new language, things which the natural mind does not understand. We really and truly understand what it is to be saved, to be converted, to have this spiritual knowledge, And with respect to the things that we read in the Bible, they are no longer just words that communicate to us a certain historical knowledge of the gospel. But no, we have come to know Christ. and the power of His resurrection. We have a deep personal relationship with the Saviour. And these things, these spiritual things, have become a reality to us. And you must ask yourself, is this my Christianity? Is this how it is with me? I am no longer of this world. It makes a tremendous difference. in that man or woman that previously was a blasphemer, who couldn't get through a sentence without taking the name of God in vain, or taking the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in vain. Oh, I know they might struggle with that habitual sin that they had, and perhaps it takes some time, but gradually that iniquity is eradicated by the fact that they love God and they love the Lord Jesus Christ and they do not want to abuse the name of God or abuse the name of Jesus Christ. It affects the way in which people dress. Think about those who before they were saved were in the dance halls. and the manner of their dress and their behavior there with all of its licentiousness and so on. And when they are saved they want nothing more to do with that. They do not want to be encouraged in the ways of lust. And the change is seen by the people who have known them, known them at the dance floor and they see this transformation. Those who have been addicted to drink or to gluttony and food They are changed with respect to their attitude to these things. Formerly, you would never see them without a pint of beer in their hands. And they are amazingly transformed. They are no longer in bondage to that. For those who have been cruel persecutors of Christians, wild and ferocious men like wild beasts. Saul of Tarsus had been like that himself, persecuting the church. Amazingly transformed. Now preaching the gospel that he persecuted. You've got a beautiful picture there of it in that man called Legion who was demon-possessed. And the Lord Jesus Christ cast out those demons from that man. Previously, he was a wild man. He was living in the graveyard among the tombs, you remember. And people couldn't pass by that way. He couldn't be bound by ropes or chains. He would break them asunder. When the people of the community came out and saw this man, he was sitting And in his right mind, Jesus Christ had changed him. He was a new man. And so Abraham was living in a foreign land. That presents many different challenges, I'm sure you will agree. But this idea of sojourning in a foreign land also has the idea of passing through. They were living in tents, says the Apostle, dwelling in tabernacles, not fine houses. Just think what Abraham, what impression he would have if you invited him back to lunch to your home today. how substantial these things would look to a man who had lived all of his life in tents. But by that manner of life, God was pleased to emphasize to this man that believers are but passing through this world. We are not for settling here, spiritually speaking, We are dwelling in tents. Is this your life? We do it on our holidays. But you would not be wanting to endure the autumn and winter months, I'm sure, howsoever enthusiastic you might be for company. You would not be wanting to endure that during the winter months. It brings many challenges to live in temporary accommodation. But we are to understand that all the time of our life is temporary here. That's true in one sense of every person. Nobody can lay a permanent claim upon the things of this life because we all know that we must die. But the Christian is such a person as has faced up to this and does not want to live a permanent life here. We are passing through. We are going somewhere that is even better. So in his second letter, Peter, chapter 1 there, and verse 13 says, Yea, I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle in this tent, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ assured me." He's speaking about his own body. It's just a tent in which I am living for the present time, he says, until I go among the spirits of just men, near perfect. He's emphasising that aspect not because he doesn't believe in the resurrection of the body, he knew that these mortal bodies will be raised again, incorruptible as far as believers are concerned, but he wants to emphasize the temporary nature of the believer's stay in this world. We have a city, but our city is not here. He looked for a city which had foundations whose builder and maker is God. What is London, or Glasgow, or New York in comparison, where the terrorists have brought destruction and fear? Dates that are impressed upon our minds, 9-11 and so on. They remind us that no man-made city, however great, is ultimately secure. The city of Babylon, ancient Babylon, it had walls so wide that two chariots could pass one another going in opposite directions. This city was huge, it was magnificent, and yet it fell. because nothing of this world has that permanence that can give to you or me that ultimate security. So here was Abraham, and he was living in tents, but he was relying upon God's provision. Faith never becomes expendable. It's not that you believe in Jesus Christ, are converted, know God, and then in some way you can put faith on the shelf, as it were. When the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to His disciples saying, O ye of little faith, He was speaking about their reliance upon God in the daily situations of life. Each day. each circumstance requires a humble dependence upon God in Christ and a firm persuasion of His provision. Now I trust you will take the trouble to read those chapters in Genesis from chapter 12 and onwards that deal with the life of Abraham. That's something you could be doing this afternoon. And you will see as you do so that this man and his wife Sarah faced various different challenges as they went through this nomadic life, this passing through in this world. And they had to learn to depend upon God and to look to His promises and His provision. And sometimes we see Abraham failing. Even though he was a godly man, he sinned. He did not do what he ought to have done. At other times we see him wonderfully victorious by the grace of God, resting upon the promises of God in circumstances of great difficulty and danger. So here is a man and his wife who are an example to us, an example to keep on looking forward, to keep on going forward. This epistle to the Hebrews, one of the main reasons that it was written was to urge these Jewish Christians not to go back, not to turn back. They were beginning to drift back into the Judaism that they had known from their childhood. It was familiar. It was a more secure environment to them. It would probably save them from a degree of persecution. And so they were in danger of drifting back where they had been. Every Christian is conscious of that. from time to time in life. Satan wants us to go back. He wants us to drift back where we were. He wants us to stop pressing on toward the mark, but there must be no going back. And so the Apostle says with respect to these patriarchs, these men of ancient time, these fathers of the faithful, verse 15, And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. Are you going forward or are you going back? You see, what you set your mind upon governs how you act. They desired a better country. Their hearts were set upon heaven and they kept going forward. They didn't go back. But remember Lot's wife. When she had been rescued out of Sodom, from that great destruction of that evil city, but her heart was still there. And she looked back and she became a pillar of Saul. Keep on looking forward. It's a great challenge in that. Well, the final consideration here that stands out in the life of Abraham is sacrificing all for the Father. God the Father in heaven. There was this incident in the life of Abraham when he was called by God to offer up Isaac, his son, this seed, this son, for whom they had waited so long. And here in verse 17, we read of this challenge to sacrifice his son. by faith Abraham when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be caught, accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure. We can imagine how our newspapers would deal with such an event as this. They would say, what child abuse, what cruelty on the part of this man Abraham. He was prepared to take his son and to sacrifice him there upon that mountain. And how the whole thing would be misinterpreted. When you read about it in Genesis, in chapter 22, The whole thing is set in proportion. God who knows the heart. The man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. He knew what was in this man, Abraham. Look at how it's put there in Genesis 22 and verse 2. And he said, that is God, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest. and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him therefore a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest." God knew the truth of the matter with respect to Abraham. This was no brutality. This was something which arose from that greater love that Abraham had for God than even his son, and from that faith that he had that God would raise up Isaac from the dead and restore him. This man had a wonderful faith. We can tell in advance what sacrifices we will be called upon to make. If someone were to suggest to you, oh, God has called me, like Abraham, to sacrifice my son, I think you and I would have to say to them, you are gravely mistaken and you need to go back and read your Bible. But this is not something that is required of us in the same way today. But we cannot tell what sacrifices we will be called upon to make. God's purpose unfolds as we go along. We might think of Christian men, for example, who were not able to pursue their sporting achievements, doing well at running on the racetrack and so on. But if the major events are set on the Lord's Day, then that's a sacrifice that they have to make. Their place to be on the Lord's Day is the Lord's house, not the race track. And we may think of great sportsmen who have made that stand, made that sacrifice. Or the prospect of a beautiful bride. But if she is unconverted, the Christian man cannot pursue that relationship. It's a sacrifice to be made. He may marry who he will, but only in the Lord. All that is familiar. The missionary is called to go to a foreign land, to leave behind everything that he has known in his life up to that point in time. It's a great sacrifice. I've known a Christian man who have found themselves having to give up a good job if a firm or organisation is being run in a dishonest way. How can they continue in that? How can they be involved in that? I remember a Christian man who became greatly uncomfortable in the firm in which he was He put it like this, the attitude to the marketing. We're having a closing down sale and if it goes well we'll have another one next month too. Well it was dishonest and he knew he couldn't continue in that employment because of that dishonesty. There are sacrifices that have to be made. Now this was the supreme sacrifice. It affected his son, whom he loved. so intensely. There was such a bond of paternal affection there. But this was the sacrifice that God required. It was intended to be, and it is to us, a pattern of God himself in his action towards sinners. How could you look at what Abraham was doing there and was prepared to do there? Although you know he didn't go through with that because God cut it short right at the last moment. But Abraham, he was prepared to go through with what God required. He believed that God would raise up Isaac again from the dead. But as you see that, you see that beautiful pattern of God Himself, God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Thy Son, thine only Son, whom thou lovest. So it was with the Father in giving his Son that sinners such as we might have forgiveness, life, and salvation. So Abraham trusted God, though he must give all. He had a heart to do it. He had a faith to do it. Think of those three godly men in Turkey. that were martyred for their faith because they were Christians. They had a heart to do it, to give all for Christ, for Christ had given all for them. If there is any disparity between the example of Abraham and ourselves, it is this. that we today have so much more light than Abraham had. He did not even have the Old Testament Scriptures. They were not even written at his time. He was looking through those revelations that God gave to him of his coming son. He was looking to Christ. He was trusting in Christ. Dear friends, we have so much more light As we look back upon that coming of Christ and all that He did for sinners there at Calvary, His glorious resurrection, we have the record of these things prophesied in the Old Testament, fulfilled in the view. You can say, how much more, how much more we should be living that life than Abraham was. May these things be a challenge to us to go forth and serve the Lord in our day. Amen.