INTRODUCTION – Map of Abraham’s journey from Ur to Egypt to Canaan – 600 miles from Ur to Haran – 500 miles from Haran to Canaan – 250 miles from Canaan to Egypt – 10 to 20 miles per day
Hebrews 11:10(NLT) Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
1. The decision to be a risk taker
Hebrews 11:8(NLT) It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.
Christopher Columbus first went to King John of Portugal with his idea to find a westward sea passage to Asia but after months of waiting, the answer was no thank you. – Queen Isabella’s response to Columbus’s idea was that his price was to high and that he wanted too many ships. – It took Queen Isabella six years to agree. Christopher Columbus, having given up, was four miles out of town when the Queen’s courier caught up with him and shared the news. – It wasn’t easy to get the money or the ships, but it was even harder to find a crew. Many people still believed that the earth was flat and that at some point a ship would hit a waterfall and fall off of the side of the earth.
Believing what God said – Confident in God’s provision – Going without knowing
2. The tenacity required for the journey
Hebrews 11:9(NLT) And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.
From Ur to Haran – leaving father and family there – Ur to Canaan – Canaan to Egypt – split with Lot – encounter with Melchizedek – rescue of Lot from Sodom – Hagar and Ishmael – entertained visitors from heaven – Isaac on Mount Moriah
Living in tents
3. The power of daring faith
Hebrews 11:11-12(NLT) 11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
In 1922, Aimee Semple McPherson had $5,000 to begin building a church . She asked the contractor, “What will this $5,000 do?” He replied, “Lady, that money will dig a hole.” She said, “Dig the hole. God will fill it.” On January 1, 1923, Angelus Temple was opened (with a seating capacity in the sanctuary of 5,000) debt free
Barren made fruitful
God keeps His promise
A whole nation – from one man who believed
4. The promise is in the source
Hebrews 11:17-19(NLT) 17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s pro mises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
In the movie The Blind Side – Michael Orr tells the NCAA rep – you haven’t asked my why I want to go to Ole Miss – it because that’s where our family always goes – it wasn’t about playing football – it was about connection to the source
Relationship – connected to the source produces the product – not the product itself