When He Was Called, Obeyed

In one paragraph

Ray stayed in Hebrews 11 this third Sunday of Advent, working through the hall of faith and the specific examples the author gives of men and women who lived by faith. The sermon covered Abel, Enoch, and Noah briefly as review, then moved carefully through Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. The thread running through all of them is the same question Ray asked at the close: do you believe...

Read together

1. Hebrews 11:1 definition of faith as assurance of things hoped for and conviction of things not seen
2. Hebrews 11:3 general statement that by faith we believe God created everything from nothing
3. Hebrews 11:6 without faith it is impossible to please God; He rewards those who seek Him
4. Ephesians 2:8-9 saved by grace through faith, cited when introducing the hall of faith
5. Ephesians 6:10 finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power, mentioned as the men's alliance study point
6. Genesis 15:6 Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness
7. Romans 4:3 Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness
8. Galatians 3:6 Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness
9. James 2:23 scripture fulfilled: Abraham believed God, reckoned as righteousness, called friend of God
10. Acts 7:2-3 Stephen's speech: God of glory appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia, told him to leave his country
11. Hebrews 11:8 by faith Abraham when he was called obeyed, going out not knowing where he was going
12. Hebrews 11:11 by faith Sarah received ability to conceive beyond proper time since she considered Him faithful who had promised
13. Genesis 18 Sarah laughed when told she would conceive
14. Hebrews 11:12 from one man as good as dead came descendants as stars of heaven and sand by the seashore
15. Genesis 21:12 God told Abraham through Isaac your descendants shall be named
16. Hebrews 11:17-19 Abraham by faith offered Isaac, considering God able to raise people from the dead, receiving him back as a type
17. Hebrews 11:20 by faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau regarding things to come
18. Hebrews 11:21 by faith Jacob as he was dying blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped leaning on his staff
19. Hebrews 11:22 by faith Joseph gave instructions for his bones to be carried out of Egypt
20. Genesis 50 Joseph told his brothers God would take care of them and they must carry his bones from Egypt
21. Exodus God led Israel by way of wilderness to Red Sea; Moses took the bones of Joseph with him
22. Joshua 24 choose this day whom you will serve; as for me and my house we will serve the Lord; also records burial of Joseph's bones at Shechem
23. Luke 2:8-11 Advent reading: angel appeared to shepherds announcing good news of great joy, a Savior born in the city of David
24. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 benediction: may the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and into Christ's perseverance

Talk about it

1. Ray pointed out that Abel's faithful act of giving the firstlings of his flock led not to earthly blessing but to his murder. What does that tell us about what we should realistically expect when we act in faith?
2. Ray described Abraham and Sarah as living their whole lives as aliens in the land of promise, never owning a fixed house, always looking forward to the city whose architect and builder was God. What does it look like in your own life to hold earthly things loosely like that?
3. Ray said that our subjective faith and God's faithfulness are the same word in Greek, and that our faith must be placed in God's faithfulness to be the faith the Bible speaks of. Where have you found yourself placing faith in something other than God's faithfulness, and what happened?
4. Ray noted that Abraham considered God able to raise people even from the dead, and he did this without any resurrection accounts to look back on. What promises of God are you being asked to trust right now without much evidence to lean on?
5. Ray closed by asking the same question he asked the week before: do you believe that God is, and are you seeking Him? What is one concrete way you are seeking Him right now, and is there something He has called you to obey that you have not yet acted on?