Hebrews 11:8-12

[0:00] This morning I want to talk about, for us, I want to talk about, for you as a Christian, there's going to be moments where you're going to be faced with one direction that looks comfortable, one direction that looks right, that looks the way the world might direct you, and the other direction looks different, unconventional, radically, maybe dangerous.

[0:27] And those crossroads, those moments, those are gifts from God.

[0:39] Those are moments where, if we make the right choice, and we go that direction where this doesn't make any sense, that our faith will be strengthened, our joy will be made greater, our trust in Him, in Christ, will be larger, and our Christian life will be more vivid and have more flavor and more feel and more touch and will just be more alive because we trusted God in those moments.

[1:12] For example, Jamie and I have been moving to Memphis. It doesn't really make a lot of sense. My connection to Memphis is, well, my connection to Memphis is as thin as a string.

[1:29] It doesn't make a lot of sense. It's pretty loose. But God is, I believe God is leading us in that direction. Another example, me standing here before you preaching, not really not preaching, I have no perfect education, no seminary degree.

[1:52] In fact, I didn't even finish college. But God has directed my life to this point, to this place. Doesn't make a lot of sense.

[2:04] And you're going to have these moments. You're going to have these times. And I believe that Christ family church, and I believe that you guys and the personal devil are at those moments, and we'll be in those moments recently.

[2:16] Especially young people. It may seem to you right now that your life is just filled with tons of these problems. You haven't figured anything out. Well, let's talk about that this morning.

[2:28] Now, there are several examples in Scripture of these. Several men that God used that put them in these situations. For example, Noah. Noah was told to build an ark in a desert with no rain.

[2:44] And not just no rain because it was a desert. Rain didn't exist. Water didn't fall from the sky like we have today. But Noah was commanded to build a large ark, a crazy huge boat.

[2:56] We're going to put angels in there. We're going to close it up. It's going to rain. We're going to flood the earth. None of that makes any sense. But God directed Noah to do this, that.

[3:09] David. Shepherd boy. The king. Doesn't make a lot of sense in our eyes. It's a great story. We celebrate that story. The underdog. But in reality, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

[3:23] Paul. Hater and murderer of Christians. Persecurer. Now an apostle. A church player. An author of more than half of your destiny.

[3:36] Doesn't make a lot of sense. But as Scripture tells us, God's ways are not our ways. We just may not understand, at the moment, in those times, what he is doing.

[3:48] What he is. Working. So this morning, I want to look at one of those examples that kind of launch off of it. And it's just a coincidence.

[3:59] I have no idea. That will lead me away. But all the special guests. We'll be talking about Abraham. Abraham. No idea that Sunday school this morning was a kid who was talking about Abraham.

[4:12] So maybe God is doing something this morning. Let's pray to that. My father's off. Let's pray to that.

[4:26] Father, I ask you to work. To speak. To speak. I need you.

[4:40] I need you. I need you. To use you this morning. To say what you want me to say. To lay out my heart. All for your name.

[4:56] To the air that comes from my mouth. But drop from our hands. And we all can celebrate. What Christ has done.

[5:12] Give it up. I. Give it to the air. I need you. I need you. So we're going to be in Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews 11.

[5:26] We're going to read verses 8 through 12. We're just going to cut him out on just a couple of those verses. Hebrews chapter 11.

[5:43] Some would call the faithful thing. We want to celebrate these men. We lift them up. We've got to be careful when we do that. We are these men. Let's talk about Abraham.

[5:55] Verse 8. Hebrews 11. Verse 8. By faith Abraham obeyed. He was called to go out to a place. He was to receive as inheritance.

[6:07] 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. And he was full of the same promise.

[6:18] But he was looking forward to the city that has foundations. Whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power and conceived.

[6:29] Even though she was past the age. Which she considered him faithful with mother. Therefore for one man and him as good as him. For more descendants. As many as the star of the man.

[6:41] As many as the innumerable brain. Who say and buy the sea shore. Sorry. I want you to flip back.

[6:51] The beginning of the chapter really quick. Kind of see. I want you to think on this verse. As we talk. This morning. Hebrews 11. Verse 1. It says that. Now faith.

[7:02] Is the assurance of things hoped for. The convention of things not seen. Provided it that people of old. Receive their condemnation. By faith you understand that the universe.

[7:13] Was created by the word of God. So that what is seen. Is not made of things that are visible. Now here's what I want you to get. By faith is the assurance. From that faith is the assurance of things hoped for.

[7:25] Things to come. We're looking to the future. Things that we've been told will happen. But aren't happening yet. Things we just can't see. But we've been told about them.

[7:36] And the conviction of things not seen. Meaning. We believe in it. And we act upon it. Okay. That's faith. Abraham. What we're thinking of Abraham. We believe God.

[7:47] Romans 5 says that Abraham was fully convinced. That God was going to do what he said he was going to do. He was full assurance. That God was going to act. So as we read about Abraham.

[8:00] As we talk about in our lives. Crossroads. We can have this faith. We can be fully convinced. That if God is directing us. He's going to be faithful.

[8:11] That he's going to walk with us. So as we walk through this with Abraham. And we look at these verses. Keep that in mind. In the back of your head. This morning. Now the crossroads for Abraham.

[8:26] Genesis 12 tells us the story. Hebrews 11 touches on it. It was that God told him to go. Abraham had a choice. I'm going to go. I'm going to go in this direction.

[8:36] I'm going to follow what God said. Or. I'm going to stay. You know, we're comfortable. I'm going to stay. Where God has. Originally put me. And now he's going to be somewhere else.

[8:47] And I'm just going to stay here. Where I like it. Now think about. In Genesis 12. God. Tells Abraham.

[8:59] Go from your country. And your hindrance. And your father's house. Now when we read that. We may. Think it's a big deal. But listen. Abraham was told to leave his country.

[9:11] To leave what he knew. To leave his family. And to leave his inheritance. Three huge things. That he was told to leave. And what did he do? He got out when he left. Now.

[9:21] The pull. To stay. Would have been. Strong. But Abraham obeyed God. Abraham. Obeyed. For God. And told him. And he went. So as we.

[9:32] Kind of walk through these verses. Keep those two things. In line. Observation number one. From our text. God spoke. To Abraham. God spoke.

[9:45] To Abraham. Verse. 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. That's what I'm bringing to him.

[9:56] God called Abraham. And we need to be careful. To. When we walk through. Situation. When we are at crossroads. To know that God is speaking to us.

[10:08] We need to know. For sure. That he's speaking. For Abraham. It wasn't this feeling. It wasn't this emotional. Experience. It wasn't his gut.

[10:19] God spoke. And he went. Now most of us in here. Are not going to hear. A awful voice of God. Speaking from a cloud. That's probably not. Going to happen. So how does.

[10:30] How do we know. That God is speaking to us. Well God speaks to us. Through his word. He's speaking to us now. As you read. The Bible. On your phone. Or on your lap.

[10:42] God is speaking. This morning. We need to make sure. That we're listening. Making sure. That we are aware. That he. Is. Speaking. So.

[10:57] If God is speaking. This morning. And speaking through scripture. And speaking through. The Bible. In your lap. When we're faced with a crossroad. When we're faced with.

[11:07] Like Abraham. Through this direction. And this direction. Faced with. A moment. Where we may be called. To do something crazy. That doesn't make a lot of sense. How do we decide?

[11:18] How do we. Figure that out? When we ask the question. Is it line up the scripture? Is this line up. With what God has revealed. To us in his word. Do.

[11:28] Do people around us. Affirm. That call. Would I say. Yes. I think that's a great idea. For example.

[11:41] Guys. Do you want to get married? Are out of that crossroad. When I thought that getting married is down here. It's crazy. I won't say amen. Do you want to get married?

[11:51] and you know you've got to ask a question. You just don't get together and you're married. You have to ask her to marry you and plan a wedding and all that.

[12:03] But you have this time and you can search your scriptures and the Bible talks about marriage. It says how great it is. So I think I'm going to get married.

[12:14] Well, you can't just go on that sometimes. Maybe you need to talk to somebody. Maybe you need to go to Nathan or go to somebody else and say, hey, what do you think? What do you think? Are we healthy?

[12:24] Do you think it's going to be a good idea? What do you think? Go to the parents. You think I'm in a place where I can support her? Just getting married for sex is having a good reason to get married.

[12:36] Go support her. Go provide for her. Talk to somebody. Get counsel about that. Someone can affirm that in you. They need to help you down that road.

[12:49] But here's the thing. God speaks. And God spoke to Abraham. And it's really that simple. God speaks. We do. We go. So the observation number two is that Abraham went.

[13:04] He went out. Second part of verse eight says, and he went out, not knowing where he was going. God spoke. And Abraham obeyed.

[13:15] Now, simple. And as I said a few months ago, we have to be careful not to elevate these men of the Bible because they aren't just men. But Abraham obeyed God.

[13:28] You know the rest. You know some of those stories where he went down to Egypt and Abraham decided to take things in his own hands and say, you know, you were really, to Sarah, his wife, you're really attractive and then one of those people are going to see you and they might want you.

[13:44] So why don't you say, you're my sister. That way I don't get killed. And I, and they can have you, but you'll come back and you'll still be my husband or my wife. That was a great idea.

[13:57] That wasn't a great idea at all. But so, David, maybe I should figure it out. So, I say all that to say, don't elevate this guy. He's a pillar of Christianity. He's a father of our faith.

[14:09] However, he's still a man. He's not perfect. He's not cross. So, I can sort of say, well, Abraham is so great.

[14:19] Yeah, God spoke to him and he obeyed. Of course he did. He's a paper man. Well, that doesn't work. Because, you know, they pulled you and he makes really bad choices in the time. It's like you and I do.

[14:32] But Abraham, observation or two, Abraham obeyed. He went out. Noah, who stole the bill of Mark, and he did it, right? That's how the scripture kind of works. God speaks and he told man, I'm going to obey.

[14:47] Jesus says to love me and you love my commandments. Love me and you love your neighbor. That same idea. I speak, you do.

[15:01] Paul, in several of the books, communicates, this is who you are. This is what you do. This is what God has done. God speaks and what you do.

[15:12] One plus one equals two. It's fairly simple stuff. Now, I understand the outworking of this, outworking of getting married might be a little more complicated.

[15:25] The outworking of going somewhere dangerous might be a little more complicated. Being obedient is stripped down, simple fact. True.

[15:38] But it's really easy, though, for us to overcomplicate or even crazier to over-spiritualize these situations. Here's an example and we'll kind of go from there.

[15:52] Tell me about marriage again. Now, ladies, you guys want to get married, I'm sure. You're going to have to find a man first and they, the court, or how your conviction lies there.

[16:07] Now, I've heard a lot, not in my personal life, but around me that a lot of some of the things you say is, I mean, I'm sure this is bad, but, you know, God hasn't called me or hasn't wrecked me or has to date you, or the Spirit told me not to.

[16:24] I still listened to play last night. We had dinner, and you mentioned this. The Spirit told me not to date you. We say, I haven't seen a sign from God yet, but most likely you're not going to.

[16:43] That's probably not going to happen. But, you know, if you have the desire to get married, it's pretty simple. Find a guy who loves Jesus, who you're trying to do, and then let's see where it goes.

[16:54] Not that complicated. It isn't. Okay? Now, I'm a serious note. Another example, here at Christchampton Church, very active people, leadership here at Christchampton Church.

[17:10] Now, I'm leaving. Nathan is the only pastor ever here. Nathan is not your CEO. He's not your president. There's going to be a point and a place where you're going to have to help, where you're going to have to step up, where you're going to have to be there for him.

[17:28] He needs men around him to accomplish the work that is here put on Christchampton Church. I know what you're thinking.

[17:39] Well, you're leaving. You're full. Yeah, but God's thinking me, so argue with that. Over complicated saying, you know, I haven't had a sign from God, I'm supposed to help, it's simple.

[18:03] If you're qualified to leave as an elder, talk to Nathan, figure it out, work it out, if you have gifts, use them here at Christchampton Church.

[18:18] We have a real problem not to use Christchampton. We as Americans, we are consumers. We buy, we go to movies, we see how we have 15% for a decent service, and 20% for a good service at the table, we just have a mentality where, what am I going to get out of wherever I'm at?

[18:40] And we brought that into the church. We come on Sunday morning, and we sit down and we say, what am I going to receive? What am I going to get? Well, that's not church.

[18:51] That's a movie. That's a concert. Church is about sharing one another's burden, sharing life together, being with one another, encouraging one another, serving together.

[19:03] And I'm afraid that a lot of us, me included, have become consumers in a lot of our church life. And that doesn't need to be the case. Serve.

[19:16] Men, serve. Even if you can for only six weeks, serve. If you don't, and this, I don't need to scare you, and I don't need to, if you don't, think it's not going to be here in five years.

[19:33] This is the reality. One man can't carry the burdens of a congregation this size. That's what the history can do at all. That's just best to be out of the way.

[19:44] Men, get in his left pocket and right pocket. Walk with him, encourage him, don't over complicate him, be there for him with him.

[19:55] observation number three. You're off my football. Observation number three of our text, verse nine, says, by faith he went to live in the land of promise, as an afforded land, living in tent with Isaac and David, where he was able to save from.

[20:20] Now, this is a real quick little snippet here of this observation, but they lived in tents. Now, you say, well, they all lived in tents back then, but the point here in this language is that they lived in a temporary housing.

[20:35] Not that they had this very huge gigantic tent they put up on the estate. They lived in a temporary home because they were ready and willing at any moment for God to direct them to come around.

[20:50] So are you looking for these moments in your life, these crossroads, these times where God may direct you to someplace different, to someplace dangerous or uncomfortable?

[21:05] Are you looking for these intersections between status quo and this continuing down motions in life and something beyond that?

[21:19] observation number four, verse 10. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundation, whose designer and builder is God.

[21:31] Abraham was able to act and live in tent because he was looking forward to the city that was to come. He was able to live in temporary housing because he was looking forward to what was going to happen, the city to come that was being built by God, designed by him.

[21:50] For everything will be perfected, no pain, no suffering, the earth will be perfected again and be back to the way that was created to be. Abraham endured and looked forward to that.

[22:06] Are you looking forward? If we look forward, if we look to what God has brought us, if we look to the moments where we are going to be perfected, there's not going to be sin and pain anymore, if we look to that, then a simple decision of going someplace or doing something might be a little easier.

[22:23] Will be a little easier. In there it says, see that has foundations. Foundations are very important. Everybody in here kind of probably goes, duh, in the back of the night.

[22:37] Yeah, of course, foundations are really important. If they're not foundations, their things will crumble. A tent is blown away by the wind because it's a tent, not a aisle for a building built on foundation.

[22:50] A foundation holds things together, holds it in the ground, keeps it sturdy and stable. A city founded and built on Jesus, the chief floorstone, that lasts forever.

[23:05] Now, cities without foundations can disappear. There's tons of old ruins of cities that they can't find because their foundations were not strong. They didn't have foundations or whatever.

[23:18] No room and no structure to support it, it disappears. This world, our world, where we live in today, now, has no foundation.

[23:30] It has nothing that will sustain. For everything we gain, everything we have, will fade away.

[23:43] all our achievements, so everything we live for, faith, fortune, power, popularity, comfort, all, will fade away.

[23:56] It will not exist. The world offers nothing of its no value, no foundation, and yet, in these moments, in these crossroads, we get counsel from the world to decide which direction we're going to go.

[24:19] It will make a lot of sense. If we looked forward at these moments, if we looked to the city of comfort, if we were fully convinced that God was going to do, he says he was going to do, if our faith was sure of things not seen, then our happiness would be easier.

[24:49] Knowing our direction, the direction that just doesn't make any sense, might be, will be, easier. Some things just don't make sense.

[25:03] Sometimes we're faced with decisions that just don't make sense. We make those decisions, we'll say we're obedient, we go down that road, and in those times we just can't see why, we can't get what's going on.

[25:20] But eventually God reveals, this is why I had time, he revealed this to what happened, and this is why I called you here.

[25:32] I pray all of us are there at that moment, at that time. Look down at Hebrews chapter 12, don't chapter over, chapter 12, it would be a sermon if I didn't talk about Jesus, to be a man, a lecture maybe.

[25:58] chapter 12, starting verse 1. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, all these men and women that have been mentioned here in chapter 11, the ones that they couldn't even mention, the ones that don't even have names, let us also lay aside every weight and sin that's cleaned so closely, and let's run with endurance the race that is set before us.

[26:29] Looking to Jesus, looking forward to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

[26:43] Now there's a one-force sermon right there in those two verses, and I can't even stress the surface. I'm going to take out one phrase, and I'm going to kind of talk about it for a minute. The phrase towards the end of verse 2, it says, despising the shame.

[27:00] A little strange phrase. Looking at Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

[27:14] Now what does this mean, despising the shame? Now if somebody wants to be killed on a cross, there would be shame on him.

[27:28] He'd be shamed for doing something for having that done in him. He would have earned it, he would have been guilty, and there was a shame brought on him and his family and people around him.

[27:41] Jesus despised that shame. He earned from that shame. He didn't let it affect him. He went ahead through the crucifixion. He went ahead and finished the job.

[28:01] We don't turn the direction of different because of shame. We don't turn that direction because we're afraid of what somebody or people will say.

[28:15] We don't go that way because it doesn't make sense, and it doesn't make sense, and somebody else is thinking it doesn't make sense, and they're looking at you and you're looking at you and you're thinking, I don't want to do that.

[28:27] He said, I'm going to talk to them and tell them why I'm going down that road. Jesus endured a horrific death, despising the shame, the shame of a cross, dying on a cross, and because he did, we can go that direction, we can turn that way, and it's okay because he endured.

[28:50] Shame like we've never endured. He's endured a death, but we have never endured, and will never endure. Now the ultimate crossroads, it doesn't make any sense.

[29:07] This doesn't compute, it's Jesus. Jesus, God, 100% God, 100% God, comes down from heaven, leaves glory, to live on earth, with a bunch of sinners, to live here for 33 years.

[29:27] That in itself doesn't make a lot of sense. In fact, if you try to figure that out, it doesn't compute. Jesus, who is perfect and holy, lived perfect and holy, like here on earth.

[29:44] Jesus died a gruesome, horrible death for others, not even for him. The wrath of God was on him.

[30:00] His wrath, him being caught, was on him. You're all dead.

[30:11] That just doesn't make any sense. it's in Philip Ferguson. It says, look at the two trees that Adam and Jesus faced.

[30:27] Adam, our great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather, our first dad, faced a tree that represented everything desirable.

[30:42] he thought and he knew to have that. It was going to complete him. It was going to fulfill everything in him. He was going to be like God. And he believed it.

[30:53] And he faced it, and what did he do? He did he. And in doing so, he enslaved all mankind to sin.

[31:07] That tree was his due north. He couldn't think of anything else but that tree. His comfort was going to be found in that. His power was going to be found in that. His fame was going to be found in that.

[31:19] His fortune was going to be found in that. His name was found in that tree. And instead of finding fame, he enslaved himself all mankind.

[31:32] Now Jesus, the second Adam, the perfect Adam, the right Adam, faced the tree that represented everything undesirable, everything wretched, everything evil and dark and vile.

[31:50] No one would want that. No one could bear what that tree represented. And Jesus, obediently, as he was well of sin.

[32:05] It's for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. That tree he endured it. What did he do enduring that? He freed the captives.

[32:16] He freed you and he freed me from sin. The sin that Adam made. may this happen to you.

[32:28] What Adam jacked up, Jesus fixed. What Adam messed up, Jesus fixed forever. And because you have been set free, because Jesus died, you can live in the uncomfortable.

[32:42] You can live in the unknown. You can live in a situation that just doesn't seem made sense. because it is God calling you you cannot you cannot you cannot disobey.

[32:58] Because of Jesus, we can go that direction and it's okay. Because of Jesus, he can help us take those steps.

[33:11] Now this morning, I believe that you're at one of those crossroads this morning. And here in a few minutes, we're going to partake of the Lord's Supper here at the table that we've been invited to sit at.

[33:27] We've been invited by Jesus. If you're a Christian, you've been invited to eat of his body and drink of his blood some more.

[33:40] He's invited you to join him at the table. The crossroads is, the crossroads this morning is, his doing it.

[33:51] Eating crackers and breakers doesn't make a lot of sense. We're celebrating Jesus' blood. Another crossroads this morning is maybe you're not even a Christian. Maybe you don't know Jesus yet.

[34:02] Maybe he's calling you this morning for the first time. Maybe you realize this morning for the first time that your sin is great and his grace is greater.

[34:13] Maybe for the first time you realize, I can't do it on my own. Maybe for the first time you realize that that tree that I've been going after, that girl or that maid or that job or that money or whatever it is, is it going to fulfill, Jesus will fulfill.

[34:33] Maybe for the first time your eyes have been opened to the great salvation, the great grace of God. God, and so you're at a cross road.

[34:44] Do I follow? Do I follow a savior that I couldn't see? Do I follow somebody that just the Bible talks about? Or do I continue to know the road that is comfortable to me, that makes sense to me?

[35:00] That might be the cross road you're at. And let me plead! Let me plead with you. Make the right decision.

[35:11] follow Jesus this morning. Church family, celebrate what Jesus has done, but do it with joy, not out of religious duty.

[35:26] Or you think you're going to gain something out of it. Jesus has been invited you to this table, in this moment, for free to you.

[35:38] But it costs a great deal to you.종 night. Let's Thank you.