The Heavenly Hope Hebrews 11:13-16 NKJV

Transcription

1 Message for WEDNESDAY NIGHT, May 31, 2017 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Message 7 in Mountain Moving Faith sermon series The Heavenly Hope Hebrews 11:13-16 NKJV Tonight as we continue with our Mountain Moving Faith series, I would ask you to please open your Bibles once again to the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. And let's pick up right where we left off last week. Reading from verses Hebrews 11:13-16 (NKJV) 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is,a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. **************************** INTRODUCTION When you go back to the dawn of American history you find the names of great pioneers who came to this new country with the hope of finding something far better than the countries they left behind. Men such as Christopher Columbus...Francisco Vasquez de Coronado...Ponce de Leon...Sir Walter Raleigh...Jacques Cartier...Henry Hudson...Hernando de Soto...and John Cabot.

2 As each of these men journeyed to the new world as it was known back then, they encountered severe trials and hardships along the way. They, and the people who traveled with them battled starvation, and sickness, and disease, and death. They endured brutally cold winters and blistering hot summers. And I'm sure there were times when each and everyone of these early pioneers was tempted to give up and return to their homeland, if it weren't for one thing...hope. None of these men got to see their hopes realized in their lifetime. They didn't live to see the birth of America's great cities and towns. They didn't live to see the establishment of America's great colleges and Universities. They didn't live to see the rise of America's great industries, and her schools, and Churches. They never heard the playing of the National anthem or saw an American flag or recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The didn't live to see the Statue of Liberty... or the Liberty Bell...or The Declaration of Independence. But despite the fact none of those early pioneers lived long enough to visibly see America's greatness, BY FAITH and HOPE they could see it in their dreams. ************************ Thus far in our Mountain Moving Faith series we have looked at the lives of five people in The Hall of Faith...Abel...Enoch...Noah... Abraham...and Sarah. In tonight's message we come to a brief pause in the roll call of the Heroes of The Faith. In this momentary pause the Hebrew writer focuses on the one hope that motivated each and everyone of the Heroes of the Faith; and it is the same hope that should motivate us to live by faith, and that is The Heavenly Hope.

3 In this passage of scripture we see two very important truths we need to learn about people of faith. TRUTH #1: People of Faith PERSEVERE Unto DEATH (v.13) Look once again at verse These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 1. Far more people begin the journey of faith than finish it. Church roll books are filled with names of people who at one time walked down the aisle to make their great confession of faith and were baptized; but then dropped out of the race. They didn't persevere unto death. The apostle John wrote about this in his first letter: I John 2:19 (NKJV) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. 2. People of faith never quit...never give up...never drop out of the race. People of faith persevere no matter how many times they stumble and fall along the way...no matter how many times they fail...no matter how many disappointments and heartaches they experience along the way. People of faith persevere unto death.

4 3. We see this truth demonstrated in the lives of these great heroes of the faith we are looking at here in Hebrews Notice verse 13 begins... These all died in faith, not having received the promises Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV) says, And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, Everyone has an appointment with death regardless of whether one is a saint or a sinner, a believer or a non-believer. 6. Living a life of faith does not grant anyone immunity from death. The only exception to that being Enoch and Elijah who never tasted death. 7. With the exception of those two men, everyone else who has ever lived died...including including these great heroes and heroines of the FAITH that we read about here in Hebrews 11. By faith ABEL lived...and in faith Abel died. By faith NOAH lived...and in faith Noah died. By faith ABRAHAM lived...and in faith Abraham died. By faith SARAH lived...and in faith Sarah died. These ALL died in FAITH.

5 8. To die in faith one must live by faith. To die in faith one must leave this world with his or her faith still in tact. That is what each of these great heroes of the faith did. They died in the same manner they lived and that is BY FAITH. 9. But when we read that statement These all died in faith, not having received the promises we need to zoom in on three heroes of the faith in particular; and those three men are ABRAHAM...his son ISAAC...and his grandson JACOB. These are the three blood relatives of The Abrahamic Covenant. 10. The Covenant Promises that God first gave to Abraham in Genesis 12, was repeated to Abraham's son Isaac in Genesis 26, and then to Abraham's grandson Jacob in Genesis Now we know according to verses 11, 12 that Abraham did live long enough to see one of God's promises fulfilled and that was when God blessed Abraham with a son at the ripe old age of But remember, God also promised Abraham and his descendants LAND.. And He promised to make Abraham's seed into a great NATION.. And He promised to make Abraham's descendants as numerous as the sands of the sea. And He promised Abraham that one day the whole world would be blessed because of him.

6 13. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all died in faith, not having received any of those promises. - None of them lived to see the day when the Israelites would cross over the Jordan River and take possession of that land God had led Abraham to many, many years earlier. - None of them would live to see the day when their descendants would rise up and become a great nation, the nation of Israel. - None of them would ever live long enough to see Abraham's descendants become as numerous as the sands of the sea and the stars of the sky. - And none of them would ever live long enough to see the day when Jesus Christ would be born through the bloodline of Abraham to bring the blessing of God's salvation to the whole world. 14. These all died in faith, not having received the promises. But then listen carefully to the latter part of verse but having seen them afar were assured of them, and embraced them... Now what does that mean? It means that even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob died in faith without receiving the fulfillment of these promises, they left this world with the confident hope and assurance that God would indeed be faithful to keep His promises.

7 15. Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said, What long arms faith has! The promises are afar off, and yet faith embraces them to-night. 16. When years and years went by and God had not yet fulfilled the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they very easily could have become disillusioned and abandoned their faith in GOD, but none of them did. People of faith PERSEVERE unto DEATH. 17. And this is the challenge to each and everyone of us. There may be many things we pray for and not live to see the day when God answers that prayer. -We may pray for God to heal our sick or dying loved one and He not restore them. But by faith we embrace God's promise that we will one day see that loved one again, and God will have removed all their sickness, pain, and disease. -We may pray for God to right an injustice or to bring judgment upon someone who wronged us, and we may leave this world without receiving justice. But by faith we embrace God's promise to one day right all wrongs and to bring judgment upon all ungodly people who did ungodly things. (Jude 14,15) 18. We must not let God's delays in keeping His promises deter us or discourage us. As people of faith we must PERSEVERE unto DEATH.

8 Secondly, let's consider... TRUTH #2: People of Faith PURSUE A Better HOME (v.13b-16) Let's start with the second part of verse 13 and read through verse Hebrews 11:13b - 16 (NKJV) 13b but having seen them afar off were assured them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. 1. No doubt the Hebrew writer is recalling the words that Abraham spoke to the Hittites when he was looking for a plot of ground to bury his beloved Sarah. Genesis 23:4 (NKJV) I am a foreigner and a visitor among you. Give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. 2. That is how Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all of the other great heroes of the faith lived their lives here on earth. They lived their lives as strangers and pilgrims while on the earth.

9 3. If they had thought of themselves as permanent residents of this world they could have very easily have chosen to go back to their old home in Ur of the Chaldees. There was nothing physically stopping them from doing that, but their attitude of FAITH would not let them do that. -When Sarah died Abraham buried her in Canaan's land, not back in Mesopotamia. -When Abraham died he was buried in Canaan's land along with Sarah, not back in Mesopotamia. -When Isaac died he was buried in Canaan's land and so was his son Jacob. 4. By faith they had their sights set on home that was far better than anything they would ever know in this world. They were seeking a home far greater than the land of Chaldees or even the land of Canaan. v. 14 they seek a homeland. v. 16a But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. v.16b for He has prepared a city for them.

10 5. Also notice in verse 16 the Hebrew writers says... Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God. Now what does that mean? It means God is greatly honored by those who choose to live as strangers and pilgrims for a few short years on earth so they may inherit a far better home in heaven for all eternity. God has already prepared that heavenly city. 6. A third century writer once said this about Christians... They live in their own homelands, but as foreigners. They share in everything as citizens, but endure everything as aliens. Every foreign country is their homeland, but every homeland is a strange country to them. They spend their time on the earth, but their citizenship is really in heaven. 7. As Christians that is how we are supposed to feel about living in this evil world. We ought to feel as though we don't fit in...like we don't really belong here. We ought to feel as out of place in this world as a lion in a zoo or an eagle in a birdcage. We should see ourselves as strangers...or pilgrims...or visitors in this world, not as permanent residents.

11 8. When we started our Christian journey many, many years ago, our heavenly home seemed far, far away didn't it? But as the years have quickly gone by, our heavenly home seems a whole lot closer now doesn't it. And before we know it, our journey here on earth will have ended and our faith will be made sight. 9. As people of faith we should not put down deep roots in this world. We shouldn't concern ourselves with laying up treasures here on earth but rather we should be laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. ***********************************************************************

12 CONCLUSION Illustration: The late Ray Stedman once traveled across the country for to preach a revival meeting. The only problem was, his baggage didn t make it. He needed a couple of suits so he went down to the local thrift shop. When he told the salesman, "I d like to get a couple of suits," the man smiled, led him to a whole rack of them and said, "Good, we ve got several. But you need to know they came from the local mortuary. They ve all been cleaned and pressed, but they were used on deceased bodies. Not a thing wrong with em. I just didn t want that to bother you." Stedman said, "No, that s fine." He tried a few of the suits on and finally bought two of them for about $25 dollars each. When he got back to this his room, he began to get dressed for the evening s Revival meeting. As he put one on, he tried to put his hands in the pockets, but couldn t. Both sides were all sewn up! The suits looked as if they had pockets, but they were just flaps on the coat. He thought about that for a second and then it dawned on him, Of course these suits don't have pockets; dead people don't carry stuff with them when they die.

13 Those suits were a sobering reminder to Ray Stedman of the biblical truth that this world is just our temporary home and when we leave here we won't be taking anything of this world with us. As people of faith let us PERSEVERE UNTO DEATH...and let us PURSUE A FAR BETTER HOME. May we always keep before us OUR HEAVENLY HOPE!