"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." (Hebrews 11:8–10).
Abraham was the hero of Israel, so his inclusion in the Hebrews 11 chapter on faith was vital to the original Hebrew readers. By the time of Christ, many thought God chose Abraham because he was a righteous man in a godless world. But the Bible affirms time and time again that Abraham was justified by faith (Romans 4:1-3). He evidenced this justification by living by faith, and it was this walk of faith the author of Hebrews sought to hone in on in two distinct episodes of Abraham's life. The first episode had to do with Abraham's calling, while the second happened years later on Mount Moriah.
It is the first we draw our attention to today. "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance."
The idea is that Abraham heard the call of God and started packing. He immediately obeyed.
Now, we know Abraham's faith was far from perfect. God told him to leave his family, but he took his father and nephew. God promised him a child, but he sought to get a child through his maidservant. God said He'd protect him, but he twice risked his wife's life to defend himself from foreign powers. But though all this occurred, God's commentary on Abraham's life is simple: "By faith Abraham obeyed."
When Abraham obeyed, he stepped out into an adventurous life with God. We look back in admiration of this man and the faith he exhibited. He left it all to follow God into the unknown. He stepped out into a journey with God.
But, after the waters of admiration recede, the only thing left is our terror. What if God called us onto an adventure? What if? Um, He has. It is guaranteed. He has massive and micro-adventures for us. But, to go further into His plans, we must have the kind of faith Abraham displayed because faith goes on adventures with God.
How, though, was Abraham's faith activated? How can we emulate this brand of faith?
God's Inheritance Is Best
First, you must believe God's inheritance is best. It says, "Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance" (Hebrews 11:8). God gave him a promise, and the dude listened. He heard what God said -- "there's an inheritance for you if you leave" -- and he left. Abraham became convinced that when God made a promise, even if he couldn't see it clearly, it was better than what he had. His life today was nothing in comparison to God's tomorrow.
The life of faith must believe that God's inheritance, promises and ways are better than anything else. Our hearts are often enslaved to manipulative masters who tell us they have our best interests in mind. But they have skin in the game, and their best interests do not align with ours. These masters take advantage of us. They numb us with a false sense of security. They drug us so we'll be quiet. "Don't cause a stir," they say, "The life you're living is the best life there is."
But then God comes along and offers a world-rejecting life that resists the spirit of the age. He rescues us from our servitude and authors a narrow path for us to walk on. Though difficult, its promises and ways are better. The life of faith believes this, but others do not. Like trying to convince a child a dime is worth more than a nickel, they have their doubts. But the life of faith says yes to God and his promises, knowing they are the best there is.
Go Into the Unknown
Second, you must go into the unknown. It says, "He went out, not knowing where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8). You see, Abraham had a promise, but not the full picture of what he'd receive and how he'd receive it. He had to go out into the unknown. God told him to depart, but not too much else.
Abraham knew it was better in the unknown with God than the known without him. This is the life of faith, but we chafe against it. We like to know what's around the bend. We want to choose our own way. We crave a sense of security. But our sense of control is a mirage.
James said, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit'— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'"(James 4:13–15). We must submit our every plan to God because we don't know what a new day will bring.
God loves to bring His people into the unknown. Here's the catch: the unknown isn't unknown when you know God. You won't know what tomorrow brings, but God wants to bring you into reliance upon Him rather than reliance upon tomorrow. God will often give you a step, a call, and then wait. He isn't one to give a 100 point plan, just the next move. Then He waits. We are called to submit and obey, trusting Him as we move out into the void.
Think of Philip, the deacon who became an evangelist. At one point in Acts, he presided over a revival in Samaria, but God told him to go into Gaza, a wilderness desert. He went, not knowing why. He didn't know he'd meet an Ethiopian official there and lead him to Christ, gaining gospel entrance into Africa. But, without knowing step two or ten, Philip took step one. The rest is history.
It is precisely this brand of childlike faith that God wants to stir up within us. He longs for our trust and allegiance. Childish behavior is always asking, "Are we there yet?" But to follow God with childlike faith, means we must learn to trust Him even when we don't know where we are going.
Leave Comfort
Third, you must leave comfort, especially of sin. It says, "He went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents" (Hebrews 11:9). Abraham left the comfort of his home when he went out with God into the unknown. God had said, "Go out from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you" (Genesis 12:1). He was comfortable at home, but God called him out into discomfort, just as Christ calls us today.
But Abraham was also leaving the comforts of sin, not just the comforts of home when he departed from Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia. A culturally advanced society, especially compared to Canaan, it was also a land filled with idolatry (Joshua 24:2). When Abraham left home, he was leaving an unbelieving, idolatrous, and advanced society. In a sense, he left the world system that blinds the hearts and minds of many.
Believers today, if we're to go on adventures with God, must learn to do the same. John wrote, "Do not love the world or the things in the world" (1 John 2:15). This was not John's way of telling us not to love people, nor was it his way of introducing a rigid legalism into our Christian environment. Instead, John meant there is a world-system deluding the minds of humanity. It must be resisted. We must not love the way of the world.
Years ago, someone introduced me to a filter that can be applied to much of life. Some things in this world are to be REJECTED. Other things are to be REDEEMED. And others are to be RECEIVED. Think of it like this: one can receive Mozart, redeem an iPhone, and must reject a strip club. This paradigm has often helped me ascertain whether something is wise for me to enter into, without introducing a complicated legalistic framework that makes me more of an alien than Christ asks me to be. But we must ready ourselves to give up habits and sins which are at odds with Christ and His kingdom.
Abraham's faith wasn't flawless. God told him to leave his family, and he took some of them with him. God promised him a child, and he tried to fulfill the promise through a maidservant. God promised to protect him, and he twice risked his wife's life protecting his own. He struggled in his faith, but God's commentary is straightforward: "By faith Abraham obeyed."
