October 5, 2025 • 29 mins
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What if the next brave thing isn’t a giant leap, but a single obedient step without the address? We walk through Hebrews 11:8–10 and trace Abraham’s path in three movements—taking the step of faith, living the stay of faith, and fixing our hope on the site of faith, the city God builds. Along the way, we explore how a man pulled from an idolatrous city learned to move on God’s word, pitch tents where others would pour concrete, and wait with desire for a better country.
We talk through the Genesis backstory and why leaving Ur mattered, then linger on what it means to go “not knowing where” you’re going. From Philip on a desert road to Peter on a rooftop, Scripture shows how God often gives direction in small, clear pieces—go south, go with them—and how big stories turn on simple obedience. Abraham models a pilgrim posture even in a promised land, a loose grip that challenges our instinct to make comfort the mission. Hebrews calls them strangers and pilgrims, and that language reframes work, money, place, and plans when heaven is home.
Finally, we point our hearts toward the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. That eternal perspective clarifies what actually lasts. You can take two things into eternity: your relationship with God and people. So we get practical about reordering our days—deepening prayer and Scripture, inviting someone to a meal, writing the overdue note, forgiving fast, and practicing generous presence. If you’re ready to trade certainty for trust, weight your life toward what endures, and travel lighter through a beautiful but temporary world, this conversation will help you take the next faithful step.
If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs courage for a next step, and leave a review with the one practice you’re starting this week.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:11):
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 8 to 10 will be our
portion for today.
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 8through 10.
It's the hall of faith, as it'sknown in our circles.
The hall of faith.
And uh the last few weeks wehave seen the antediluvians.
(00:32):
I really just wanted to saythat.
The antediluvians, that's thepre-flood world.
Um, Abel, Enoch, Noah, uh,normal people who in their world
walked by faith.
Uh, today we carry on to ournext character in this book of
Genesis, really, but here inHebrews, he's listed Abraham.
(00:55):
Romans chapter 4, verse 11.
We're in Hebrews 11, but Romans4, 11 says he's the father of
those who believe, a spiritualfather of all believers.
Uh, in the hall of faith, thehall of faith doesn't honor some
people more than others, uh, butthere's no denying his name is
(01:16):
great in the game of faith.
Uh, he's a legend in three worldreligions.
Um, he has his own legendarysong in children's ministry,
Father Abraham.
And I thought about singing it,but we're not gonna do it.
Um I know later, later, overlunch.
Um uh we read a story in Genesis11 through 25, and we see uh
(01:42):
really a hundred years of hislife, of his 175-year life, and
we'll spend about three weekslooking at him and his wife.
Um, but let's jump into whatHebrews has to say, since that's
our springboard for this study.
Uh, Hebrews 11, verse 8.
By faith, Abraham obeyed when hewas called to go out to the
(02:05):
place which he would receive asan inheritance, and he went out,
not knowing where he was going.
By faith, he dwelt in the landof promise, as in a foreign
country, dwelling in tents withIsaac and Jacob, the heirs with
him of the same promise.
For he waited for the city whichhas foundations, whose builder
(02:30):
and maker is God.
So, three points we're gonna seehere, and they're easy to find
because it each verse has apoint.
Uh, number one, in verse eight,we'll see Abraham's initial step
of faith.
Verse nine, we'll see hislifelong stay of faith.
Then in verse 10, uh, theultimate site of his faith
(02:52):
that'll be heaven, right?
So, verse eight, we see uh thestep of faith.
Now, uh here it says in verseeight that Abraham obeyed.
He called out, he went to aplace which he'd receive, and he
went out not knowing where hewas going.
This is the step of faith.
Well, a step of faith is kind ofa Christian cliche, right?
(03:13):
I'm taking a step of faith,right?
And um it's a good one, but itgoes along with maybe what uh
Chinese philosopher, I don'tquote Chinese philosophers much,
but Lao Tzu, which is also funto say, uh, he said, or is said
to have said, that the journeyof a lifetime begins with a
(03:34):
first step.
And that's really what we seehere.
Abraham's account starts with afirst step.
Um, life is full of first steps,right?
We're at that wonderful age withour grandson Gunner, where he
has taken his first steps andfinally he's he's done it.
He's worked hard at it, he'sdone a lot of crawling, but he
(03:56):
takes his first step and nowhe's stepping all over the
place.
And every time he takes a couplesteps, because we've been so
proud of him, he he starts toclap, like, okay, I did it.
You know, I did it again.
It's my first step all overagain.
And he gets the applause, andwe're good with that.
Uh, metaphorically andliterally, life is filled with
uh first steps.
(04:17):
In Christian circles, we mightcall these ventures of faith or
again, steps of faith.
Uh, we see this in Abraham'slife by turning back to Genesis
chapter 10.
Now you know you hold your placehere in 11.
We'll be back, but Genesischapter 10 is where we find
Abraham's account.
(04:38):
In Genesis chapter 10, uh, wereally see the in-between from
the flood to Abraham's time.
And there's uh another familytree here.
A lot of names that are hard tosay, uh, but in chapter 10, we
see really Abraham's familytree.
Notice verse 21.
(05:03):
Uh we read, and children wereborn also to Shem, the father of
all the children of Eber.
So here we read Shem.
Now you'll remember that Shemwas one of Noah's sons, uh, one
of his three sons, uh, Shem, anduh that's where we get the idea
that Abraham's people areShemetic, Semitic people, the
(05:27):
Semitic people.
If you're anti-Semitic, thenyou're against uh Shem's
descendants, uh, and that's whatthat word means.
Verse 24, somebody else of notein Abraham's family tree is not
Arfaxad, uh, but Arfaxad begotSalah, and Selah begot Eber.
(05:48):
Eber is another big name inAbraham's family tree.
The people of that weredescendant from Eber would
eventually be known as theHebrews.
Uh well, the Hebrews, right?
Uh, and that's where we get thatidea from.
Um, now, verse 25, we read thatit was during his days that the
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world was divided.
And perhaps this is mentioningsomething that happens later,
uh, in the in, I think inchapter 10 or chapter 11, uh,
the Tower of Babel.
You remember how the world wasdivided.
As they were building thistower, God frustrated their
languages and they split up allover, just as God said, Um, be
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fruitful, multiply, and fill theearth.
So the world was divided.
And now, verse chapter 11,verses 10 through 32 fills some
of the gaps here.
And in verse 27 of chapter 11,this is the genealogy of Terah.
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Terah begot Abram.
We see his name there before itwas changed to Abraham.
That's a different story.
Nahor and Haran.
Haran begot Lot, and Haran diedbefore his father Terah in his
native land, in Ur of theChaldes.
Then Abraham and Nahor tookwives.
The name of Abraham's wife wasSarai, and the name of Nahor's
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wife was Milkah, the daughter ofHaran, the father of Milkah, and
the father of Iscah.
But Sarah was barren.
We'll see that next week.
And she had no child.
And Terah took his son Abram,his grandson Lot, and the son of
Haran, and his daughter-in-lawSarai, uh, his son Abram's wife,
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and they went out with them fromUr of the Chaldes to go to the
land of Canaan, and they came toHaran and dwelt there.
So the days of Terah were 205years, and Terah died in Haran.
So here, verse 31 of chapter 11,Terah took Abram and Lot and
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went out of Ur.
Well, why did they do that?
Well, we see the answer inchapter 12, and that's when we
get into Abraham's story proper,right?
Chapter 12, verse 1.
Now the Lord had said to Abram,Get out of your country from
your family, from your father'shouse, to a land that I will
show you, and I will make you agreat nation.
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I will bless you and make yourname great, and you shall be a
blessing.
I will bless those who blessyou, and I will curse him who
curses you, and in you all thefamilies of earth shall be
blessed.
So Abraham sets out at God'scommand there in verse one.
(08:43):
Now, in what we just read inchapter 12, there's a lot to
that promise, right?
I will bless those that blessyou, I'll curse those that curse
you.
In you, all the families ofearth will be blessed.
This is a reference to Jesus.
Abraham, through you, theMessiah will come.
And that's a huge promise.
Now, all of these promises werethings for the future, but it
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started with that first step inverse one.
Uh notice he says, get out fromyour country.
Uh, leave.
Leave Ur, right?
We find there that Abraham'splace of origin was a place
called Ur, a major Babyloniancity, Chaldean city.
(09:27):
It was a place of idolatry.
Joshua uh chapter 24, verse 2through 3 says that Abraham was
an idol worshiper in Ur.
Kind of the dirty truth there,right?
When God found Abraham, he wasworshiping idols.
He was worshiping literallydemons connected to those idols.
(09:48):
Now that's good background forus because again, it shows us
God can use an idol worshiper tobecome father of the faithful.
He can use us.
Uh, God's choices don't reallymake sense to us.
Abraham was a full-blown sinner,right?
An unlikely candidate for God towork through.
(10:11):
And that's what God does.
1 Corinthians 1:27, he choosesthe foolish things of the world
to confound the wise.
He does things that we justdon't understand.
And here he takes an idolworshiper who has no idea, as
far as we can tell, who this Godis, and he calls him out.
Uh, now we want to notice thathe's 75 at this point, just in
(10:35):
case some of us start to feellike we're getting a little too
old for God to work in ourlives.
Um, well, it's never too late,right?
As long as you have breath isalways an opportunity for a new
step of faith.
Um, so this is where God callshim, and God calls him out.
Now turn back to Hebrews chapter11.
(10:55):
I don't think we'll be back inGenesis today, but you can read,
just start going throughAbraham's account there in
Genesis.
Uh, it'll be worth your time forsure.
But chapter 11, verse 8.
By faith Abraham obeyed when hewas called out to a place which
he would receive as aninheritance, and he went out not
knowing where he was going.
(11:17):
This is huge, isn't it?
Uh, as far as even a road tripgoes, right?
Uh uh, the couples here.
We all know, families here, weall know when you go on a trip,
you want to know where you'regoing.
Well, Abraham's called out, andhe has no idea where he's going.
God didn't tell him that.
But it took a first step, afirst step out of Ur, uh, a
(11:40):
first step out of his comfortzone.
And we picture that first step.
I picture it like a movie,right?
We go slow motion as Abrahamtakes that first step, and it's
like thunderous, you know, thatfirst step.
And the dust just kind of, youknow, billows out there from
that first step.
And it's huge.
(12:02):
Now, I think this also hassomething to say about Sarah's
faith.
Uh, she trusted God, and inthat, she trusted her husband.
But just think about it, that'sa big deal to leave your house
not having any clue where you'regoing.
Um, and and that is the step offaith.
The step of faith is to anunknown destination.
(12:24):
He's moved not by sight orinsight, but by a simple leading
of God.
What was it like?
Was it audible?
The clouds parted.
Abraham, leave your country andthe place and go to a place that
I will show you.
Was it just an impression on hisheart?
Like he just felt like, man, Ineed to get out of here.
(12:45):
Uh uh was what was it?
It was, I don't know, but it wasa leading to a first step, and
boom, he's working, he's walkingby faith.
Um, sometimes we understandGod's leading, and usually we
don't.
Think about that.
Sometimes we understand God'sleading in our life, but usually
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we don't.
Acts chapter 8, we read about aguy named Philip, and all God
tells Philip there in the bookof Acts is go to the south.
This is desert.
Just go to the south.
And and when he gets that call,he has no idea what comes next.
(13:26):
But as he goes, God continues tolead him.
He meets a guy from Ethiopia, heshares the truth from the book
of Isaiah with him.
The man believes and isbaptized, and the church in
Samaria is started through thatsimple step of faith.
Go down to the south.
Peter in Acts chapter 10 ispraying on the roof.
(13:47):
He has this weird vision of asheet and these unclean animals,
and God saying, Peter, kill andeat, you know, and and he
doesn't get it, he doesn'tunderstand it.
And then God says, somebody'sknocking at your door.
When they do, go with them.
That's all he gets.
That's all he knows about thisstep of faith is go with this
(14:08):
person.
And he goes to the house ofCornelius the Centurion and the
church to the Gentiles.
The gospel goes to the Gentilesthrough that step of faith.
Um, I see that in my own life.
And bear with me with somepersonal testimony, but I wanted
to share a couple of thesebecause they're just things that
happen in your heart.
(14:29):
In September of 1991, I was in achapel service uh there at a
Bible college I was going to,and through a course of events,
just found myself spending timewith God.
And he just said, just thatmoment, I'm a year out of high
school, and God really speaks tomy heart.
Are you gonna do this?
Or are you just gonna kind of gothrough the motions?
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You want to walk with me or not?
And for whatever reason, in myheart, I said, Yeah, God, we'll
do it.
And it was in that moment hegave me a heart for youth
ministry and ministry and justteaching.
It's not anything that feltnatural to me, but it's what he
led me to.
In 1992, 93.
I thought about this one thismorning.
(15:11):
Um, I had a leading on my heartto write letters to people that
I hadn't talked to in a while.
Who writes letters?
Well, in 1992, we put it off onthe Pony Express and it would go
to its destination, you know.
Uh no, not quite.
But and I just felt like writingletters to people that I hadn't
talked to in a while.
A couple friends and one friend,Leela Hofchee.
(15:34):
I decided I hadn't talked to herin about a year.
I just wanted to write her.
And so I did.
And the rest is history, right?
Uh, because of that, just weirdleading, man, just write some
letters to people.
Um a little later, we had anopportunity to go to uh East
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County, San Diego, a placecalled Santee.
And you know, I just was ready.
I was ready to go out and be ayouth pastor, and I felt like,
and I went there and it was areally rough time.
It felt like a mistake from thevery get-go.
My wife saw it first, like thisis a mistake.
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This is like a week into it, andand we really had a hard time in
that place, but we had gone.
I felt like it was a thing todo.
And I've told the story to manyof you.
If it wasn't for that time inSantee, California, all four of
my kids would not have been inour family.
And and I can explain that toyou over lunch if you want, but
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if it wasn't for that, my lifewould be so much different.
Well, in 2005, and I don't havetoo many more, I promise.
Um, 2005, I got a call from myfriend Jason Duff.
I remember driving on the CoastFreeway there, and and he said,
Hey, I don't know.
I just want you to pray aboutit.
Would you pray about coming toTexas?
And all in an instant, in oneinstant, I said, I know I the
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spiritual answer is I'll prayabout it, but I just really feel
like that's what I want to do.
I didn't ask Leela, that's notthe way it should go down, by
the way.
I just said, you know, I thinkI'm gonna say yes.
He's like, we'll pray about it.
I said, yeah, but I'm gonna sayyes.
And I did, and I have zeroregrets.
I am so glad I did.
Last one, 2014, for variousreasons.
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I knew it was time to step downfrom youth ministry.
I look back at my pictures, itwas July 6, 2014, and I stepped
down and I thought, you knowwhat?
I'm doing this, but I may neverteach the Bible again.
I mean, I don't know what Godwants.
And and that was 11 years ago inNovember, and we just started
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teaching a little Bible studyhere.
And I have absolutely loved it.
I love it every time.
Uh, and and I just wanted to putall those things out.
Those things just happen as Godmoves in your heart.
Just little things.
Write a letter.
Uh move your family.
That's not a little thing, butyou know, move your family.
But whatever it is that Godleads, whether it makes sense,
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whether we have all theinformation or not, that's what
uh you want to do.
So even this week, the littlethings, maybe God will move you
to do something simple likethat.
Maybe it's to move your family,maybe it's to stay where you
are.
That can be a calling too, tostay right where you're at.
Whatever it is, it's that byfaith we trust God.
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Um, now in that, we always wantto trust God with a loose grip.
God, if you want to change mydirection now that I've moved,
you go ahead and do it.
But uh, it is that step offaith.
Now look at verse 9.
Back to Hebrews 11, verse 9.
It's a stay of faith.
By faith, he dwelt in the land,he lived in the land, he stayed
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right there in the land.
Um, God promised Abraham theland, and and the promise still
stands for Abraham'sdescendants.
But God promised him the land,and by faith he dwelt in it.
Now, I think in this story, asGod has given Abraham the land,
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I think a better way to look atthis would be Abraham going into
the land.
He takes a flag with the bigAbraham on it, or something, I
don't know what, and and he justputs it on the land and says,
This land is for me and mydescendants forever.
And he claims it and he builds ahouse and he establishes a
fortress there, you know.
That's the way I would see it.
(19:39):
But what do we read here?
That Abraham dwelt in the landas in a foreign country, he
dwelt in tents, they werestrangers.
We read a little later.
They were sojourners.
He was a nomad, right?
And wandered through the land.
Um, he had a loose grip on thepromised land, even though it
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was in fact his.
Uh Genesis 12, Genesis 15, bothtimes where God specifically
promises him the land, but hehad a loose grip on it.
Now, he stayed in the land, butbut it was a loose grip.
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And that's a good picture forus, the grip that we have on
even this world, right?
It's a little different story,but it's a loose grip on the
world.
We're supposed to live the sameway that Abraham did as
pilgrims, we're told, assojourners.
This world is not our home.
We'll consider that in our nextpoint as well.
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But but look, look at verse 13there in Hebrews chapter 11.
Summing up kind of Abraham'sgeneration, it says this these
all died in faith, not havingreceived the promises, but
having seen them afar off, wereassured of them, embraced them,
and confess that they werestrangers and pilgrims on the
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earth.
For those who say such thingsdeclare plainly that they seek a
homeland.
And truly, if they are called,if they called to mind the
country from which they had comeout, they would have had
opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better,that is a heavenly country.
Therefore, God is not ashamed tobe called their God, for He has
prepared a city for them.
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So living in light of eternity,which is what we'll talk about
in our next point, but living inlight of eternity influenced the
way that they lived here andnow.
They were pilgrims and strangersand foreigners.
The world was not their home.
Now, that is especially for us.
This is a wonderful world thatwe're put in here.
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I mean, we look around just tobe outside and go, man, God, why
did you make it so good?
And by the way, this is thefallen world, right?
In Genesis chapter three,creation fell.
And we look around and we go,this is so beautiful, God.
The things that you made,they're so wonderful.
And why?
Well, we get to enjoy them.
And there's so much to enjoy inthis world.
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The benefits of this life, somany ways we can enjoy the
benefits of this life that Godhas given us.
Um, but we cannot consider itour home.
Uh, this is the mentality ofstaying that Abraham had.
Um, he lived as a stranger inthat land, and this world ought
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to seem a little strange to usat the same time.
We'll never be at home until weget to heaven.
And that leads us to verse 10.
Chap uh Hebrews 11, verse 10.
He waited for a city which hasfoundations, whose builder and
maker is God.
He waited.
That word wait there is to waitwith expectation, right?
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He waited knowing somethingbetter was coming.
Um, he waited for the city thathas foundations, whose builder,
designer, architect, um, andmaker, the fabricator is God.
We're talking about heaven,right?
Heaven is the ultimate reality.
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Heaven is in so many ways morereal than even Earth.
One of my favorite books, C.
S.
Lewis, The Great Divorce.
Um, he presents Earth comparedto heaven as almost like a ghost
town, literally, like a ghostlykind of just shadowy kind of
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town, not even real compared tothe reality of heaven.
Uh, Keith Green, uh a Christianartist from I think the 70s,
80s, he said that going toheaven will be like waking up
from the longest dream.
How real it seemed.
And I really do think that whenwe look at heaven, when we
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finally get there, we'll go,man, what was that earth stuff
all about?
70 years, 80 years, 90 years?
What was that all about,anyways?
It's almost like a dream.
And here's the reality ofheaven.
So, in light of that, thereality is heaven.
If we're gonna put stockanywhere, it ought to be heaven,
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not here.
Again, enjoy this life, youknow, investing, not bad, but
investing in heaven is what weought to do.
Invest in the things that we cantake to heaven.
Now, listen, the things that youcan take to heaven, what can you
take to heaven?
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The only things you can take toheaven are one, your
relationship with God.
You can take that to heaven,it'll continue on like it never
stopped.
Relationship with God startedhere, it goes right on through
into heaven.
It's wonderful.
No change.
Invest in your relationship withGod, spend time with him, trust
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him daily in prayer.
Uh, what else can you take toheaven?
Only one other thing that I canthink of that you can take to
heaven, souls, people.
People are the only things youcan take to heaven.
Paul said, I think it was aboutthe Corinthians, you're my
treasure, you're my crown.
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And the crown that I really haveis you in the presence of God
one day.
And Paul looked at it and went,You're really my treasure, and I
want to see there.
That's a great way to look atpeople.
The only thing we can take toheaven, our relationship with
God and people and our family,our neighbors, our work,
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wherever we're at, our friends,people we don't even know.
Bring them along, invest and layup treasure in heaven.
Um, Jesus said that.
And and and so Abraham did that.
You know, he had this step offaith.
He had this stay of faith wherehe lived in this land, but it
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wasn't his home.
And his ultimate investment washeaven.
Now, check it out.
That's a choice.
To live that way is a choice.
Abraham, he was an idolworshiper from Ur.
Not a whole lot going for him,right?
An idol worshiper from Ur.
He was a sinner just like youand me.
You and I, us, he was a sinnerlike we are.
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Um, and and and yet he had thisopportunity to live by faith.
And this week, of course, I sayit every time.
This week, we have theopportunity to live by these
things.
Think of ways that you can liveby faith this week.
Stepping out, maybe honestly,maybe it's something just
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totally random.
God tugs on your heart.
Hey, invite that person tolunch, you know, tugs on your
heart, you know, write a letter,text, an email.
You know, maybe it's a sin thatwe need to deal with.
And God just says, you knowwhat, deal with it this week.
Step out in faith and let go ofthat sin.
Um, stepping by faith issomething we ought to look to
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do.
And I encourage you, don't beafraid to do it.
Continue to stay in this worldas long as God has you here.
But a loose grip is what we needon the things of this world, a
loose grip.
But the ultimate site is heaven.
We would say it's living inlight of eternity, it's an
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eternal perspective.
God, the things that matter,it's my relationship with you
and it's people.
God help me to invest in thethings that matter.
Uh, the life of faith.
God, thank you so much.
God, just thank you for usingnormal people like us.
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We look at Abraham and we'll seehis flaws and his failures uh
next time.
But but God, he was just anaverage person the way we are,
flesh and blood.
He had concerns and and dreamsand desires and all these
things, and yet, God, youstepped into his life and you
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said, Go, go where I'm showingyou.
I'll tell you.
God, you encouraged him to areal step of faith.
And and uh, although it was onestep, the consequences of that
step of faith were huge.
God, we have no idea what thelittle things can do in our
lives and in the lives ofothers.
God, help us this week to liveby faith, to just step out and
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see what you might do.
As we open our mouth or as we uhwrite a letter, whatever it is
you call us to do, help us tohave the faith to do those
things.
God, I also pray that we wouldhave a right grip on the things
of this world.
We'd enjoy them.
Enjoy this wonderful, beautifullife that you've given us.
But God, it's not the end, andit's not the main thing.
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But being with you one day is.
So, God, help us to live with aneternal perspective.
God, I pray that you would workthese things into our heart even
today.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 8 to 10 will be our
portion for today.
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 8through 10.
It's the hall of faith, as it'sknown in our circles.
The hall of faith.
And uh the last few weeks wehave seen the antediluvians.
(00:32):
I really just wanted to saythat.
The antediluvians, that's thepre-flood world.
Um, Abel, Enoch, Noah, uh,normal people who in their world
walked by faith.
Uh, today we carry on to ournext character in this book of
Genesis, really, but here inHebrews, he's listed Abraham.
(00:55):
Romans chapter 4, verse 11.
We're in Hebrews 11, but Romans4, 11 says he's the father of
those who believe, a spiritualfather of all believers.
Uh, in the hall of faith, thehall of faith doesn't honor some
people more than others, uh, butthere's no denying his name is
(01:16):
great in the game of faith.
Uh, he's a legend in three worldreligions.
Um, he has his own legendarysong in children's ministry,
Father Abraham.
And I thought about singing it,but we're not gonna do it.
Um I know later, later, overlunch.
Um uh we read a story in Genesis11 through 25, and we see uh
(01:42):
really a hundred years of hislife, of his 175-year life, and
we'll spend about three weekslooking at him and his wife.
Um, but let's jump into whatHebrews has to say, since that's
our springboard for this study.
Uh, Hebrews 11, verse 8.
By faith, Abraham obeyed when hewas called to go out to the
(02:05):
place which he would receive asan inheritance, and he went out,
not knowing where he was going.
By faith, he dwelt in the landof promise, as in a foreign
country, dwelling in tents withIsaac and Jacob, the heirs with
him of the same promise.
For he waited for the city whichhas foundations, whose builder
(02:30):
and maker is God.
So, three points we're gonna seehere, and they're easy to find
because it each verse has apoint.
Uh, number one, in verse eight,we'll see Abraham's initial step
of faith.
Verse nine, we'll see hislifelong stay of faith.
Then in verse 10, uh, theultimate site of his faith
(02:52):
that'll be heaven, right?
So, verse eight, we see uh thestep of faith.
Now, uh here it says in verseeight that Abraham obeyed.
He called out, he went to aplace which he'd receive, and he
went out not knowing where hewas going.
This is the step of faith.
Well, a step of faith is kind ofa Christian cliche, right?
(03:13):
I'm taking a step of faith,right?
And um it's a good one, but itgoes along with maybe what uh
Chinese philosopher, I don'tquote Chinese philosophers much,
but Lao Tzu, which is also funto say, uh, he said, or is said
to have said, that the journeyof a lifetime begins with a
(03:34):
first step.
And that's really what we seehere.
Abraham's account starts with afirst step.
Um, life is full of first steps,right?
We're at that wonderful age withour grandson Gunner, where he
has taken his first steps andfinally he's he's done it.
He's worked hard at it, he'sdone a lot of crawling, but he
(03:56):
takes his first step and nowhe's stepping all over the
place.
And every time he takes a couplesteps, because we've been so
proud of him, he he starts toclap, like, okay, I did it.
You know, I did it again.
It's my first step all overagain.
And he gets the applause, andwe're good with that.
Uh, metaphorically andliterally, life is filled with
uh first steps.
(04:17):
In Christian circles, we mightcall these ventures of faith or
again, steps of faith.
Uh, we see this in Abraham'slife by turning back to Genesis
chapter 10.
Now you know you hold your placehere in 11.
We'll be back, but Genesischapter 10 is where we find
Abraham's account.
(04:38):
In Genesis chapter 10, uh, wereally see the in-between from
the flood to Abraham's time.
And there's uh another familytree here.
A lot of names that are hard tosay, uh, but in chapter 10, we
see really Abraham's familytree.
Notice verse 21.
(05:03):
Uh we read, and children wereborn also to Shem, the father of
all the children of Eber.
So here we read Shem.
Now you'll remember that Shemwas one of Noah's sons, uh, one
of his three sons, uh, Shem, anduh that's where we get the idea
that Abraham's people areShemetic, Semitic people, the
(05:27):
Semitic people.
If you're anti-Semitic, thenyou're against uh Shem's
descendants, uh, and that's whatthat word means.
Verse 24, somebody else of notein Abraham's family tree is not
Arfaxad, uh, but Arfaxad begotSalah, and Selah begot Eber.
(05:48):
Eber is another big name inAbraham's family tree.
The people of that weredescendant from Eber would
eventually be known as theHebrews.
Uh well, the Hebrews, right?
Uh, and that's where we get thatidea from.
Um, now, verse 25, we read thatit was during his days that the
(06:10):
world was divided.
And perhaps this is mentioningsomething that happens later,
uh, in the in, I think inchapter 10 or chapter 11, uh,
the Tower of Babel.
You remember how the world wasdivided.
As they were building thistower, God frustrated their
languages and they split up allover, just as God said, Um, be
(06:30):
fruitful, multiply, and fill theearth.
So the world was divided.
And now, verse chapter 11,verses 10 through 32 fills some
of the gaps here.
And in verse 27 of chapter 11,this is the genealogy of Terah.
(06:53):
Terah begot Abram.
We see his name there before itwas changed to Abraham.
That's a different story.
Nahor and Haran.
Haran begot Lot, and Haran diedbefore his father Terah in his
native land, in Ur of theChaldes.
Then Abraham and Nahor tookwives.
The name of Abraham's wife wasSarai, and the name of Nahor's
(07:16):
wife was Milkah, the daughter ofHaran, the father of Milkah, and
the father of Iscah.
But Sarah was barren.
We'll see that next week.
And she had no child.
And Terah took his son Abram,his grandson Lot, and the son of
Haran, and his daughter-in-lawSarai, uh, his son Abram's wife,
(07:37):
and they went out with them fromUr of the Chaldes to go to the
land of Canaan, and they came toHaran and dwelt there.
So the days of Terah were 205years, and Terah died in Haran.
So here, verse 31 of chapter 11,Terah took Abram and Lot and
(08:00):
went out of Ur.
Well, why did they do that?
Well, we see the answer inchapter 12, and that's when we
get into Abraham's story proper,right?
Chapter 12, verse 1.
Now the Lord had said to Abram,Get out of your country from
your family, from your father'shouse, to a land that I will
show you, and I will make you agreat nation.
(08:22):
I will bless you and make yourname great, and you shall be a
blessing.
I will bless those who blessyou, and I will curse him who
curses you, and in you all thefamilies of earth shall be
blessed.
So Abraham sets out at God'scommand there in verse one.
(08:43):
Now, in what we just read inchapter 12, there's a lot to
that promise, right?
I will bless those that blessyou, I'll curse those that curse
you.
In you, all the families ofearth will be blessed.
This is a reference to Jesus.
Abraham, through you, theMessiah will come.
And that's a huge promise.
Now, all of these promises werethings for the future, but it
(09:06):
started with that first step inverse one.
Uh notice he says, get out fromyour country.
Uh, leave.
Leave Ur, right?
We find there that Abraham'splace of origin was a place
called Ur, a major Babyloniancity, Chaldean city.
(09:27):
It was a place of idolatry.
Joshua uh chapter 24, verse 2through 3 says that Abraham was
an idol worshiper in Ur.
Kind of the dirty truth there,right?
When God found Abraham, he wasworshiping idols.
He was worshiping literallydemons connected to those idols.
(09:48):
Now that's good background forus because again, it shows us
God can use an idol worshiper tobecome father of the faithful.
He can use us.
Uh, God's choices don't reallymake sense to us.
Abraham was a full-blown sinner,right?
An unlikely candidate for God towork through.
(10:11):
And that's what God does.
1 Corinthians 1:27, he choosesthe foolish things of the world
to confound the wise.
He does things that we justdon't understand.
And here he takes an idolworshiper who has no idea, as
far as we can tell, who this Godis, and he calls him out.
Uh, now we want to notice thathe's 75 at this point, just in
(10:35):
case some of us start to feellike we're getting a little too
old for God to work in ourlives.
Um, well, it's never too late,right?
As long as you have breath isalways an opportunity for a new
step of faith.
Um, so this is where God callshim, and God calls him out.
Now turn back to Hebrews chapter11.
(10:55):
I don't think we'll be back inGenesis today, but you can read,
just start going throughAbraham's account there in
Genesis.
Uh, it'll be worth your time forsure.
But chapter 11, verse 8.
By faith Abraham obeyed when hewas called out to a place which
he would receive as aninheritance, and he went out not
knowing where he was going.
(11:17):
This is huge, isn't it?
Uh, as far as even a road tripgoes, right?
Uh uh, the couples here.
We all know, families here, weall know when you go on a trip,
you want to know where you'regoing.
Well, Abraham's called out, andhe has no idea where he's going.
God didn't tell him that.
But it took a first step, afirst step out of Ur, uh, a
(11:40):
first step out of his comfortzone.
And we picture that first step.
I picture it like a movie,right?
We go slow motion as Abrahamtakes that first step, and it's
like thunderous, you know, thatfirst step.
And the dust just kind of, youknow, billows out there from
that first step.
And it's huge.
(12:02):
Now, I think this also hassomething to say about Sarah's
faith.
Uh, she trusted God, and inthat, she trusted her husband.
But just think about it, that'sa big deal to leave your house
not having any clue where you'regoing.
Um, and and that is the step offaith.
The step of faith is to anunknown destination.
(12:24):
He's moved not by sight orinsight, but by a simple leading
of God.
What was it like?
Was it audible?
The clouds parted.
Abraham, leave your country andthe place and go to a place that
I will show you.
Was it just an impression on hisheart?
Like he just felt like, man, Ineed to get out of here.
(12:45):
Uh uh was what was it?
It was, I don't know, but it wasa leading to a first step, and
boom, he's working, he's walkingby faith.
Um, sometimes we understandGod's leading, and usually we
don't.
Think about that.
Sometimes we understand God'sleading in our life, but usually
(13:06):
we don't.
Acts chapter 8, we read about aguy named Philip, and all God
tells Philip there in the bookof Acts is go to the south.
This is desert.
Just go to the south.
And and when he gets that call,he has no idea what comes next.
(13:26):
But as he goes, God continues tolead him.
He meets a guy from Ethiopia, heshares the truth from the book
of Isaiah with him.
The man believes and isbaptized, and the church in
Samaria is started through thatsimple step of faith.
Go down to the south.
Peter in Acts chapter 10 ispraying on the roof.
(13:47):
He has this weird vision of asheet and these unclean animals,
and God saying, Peter, kill andeat, you know, and and he
doesn't get it, he doesn'tunderstand it.
And then God says, somebody'sknocking at your door.
When they do, go with them.
That's all he gets.
That's all he knows about thisstep of faith is go with this
(14:08):
person.
And he goes to the house ofCornelius the Centurion and the
church to the Gentiles.
The gospel goes to the Gentilesthrough that step of faith.
Um, I see that in my own life.
And bear with me with somepersonal testimony, but I wanted
to share a couple of thesebecause they're just things that
happen in your heart.
(14:29):
In September of 1991, I was in achapel service uh there at a
Bible college I was going to,and through a course of events,
just found myself spending timewith God.
And he just said, just thatmoment, I'm a year out of high
school, and God really speaks tomy heart.
Are you gonna do this?
Or are you just gonna kind of gothrough the motions?
(14:50):
You want to walk with me or not?
And for whatever reason, in myheart, I said, Yeah, God, we'll
do it.
And it was in that moment hegave me a heart for youth
ministry and ministry and justteaching.
It's not anything that feltnatural to me, but it's what he
led me to.
In 1992, 93.
I thought about this one thismorning.
(15:11):
Um, I had a leading on my heartto write letters to people that
I hadn't talked to in a while.
Who writes letters?
Well, in 1992, we put it off onthe Pony Express and it would go
to its destination, you know.
Uh no, not quite.
But and I just felt like writingletters to people that I hadn't
talked to in a while.
A couple friends and one friend,Leela Hofchee.
(15:34):
I decided I hadn't talked to herin about a year.
I just wanted to write her.
And so I did.
And the rest is history, right?
Uh, because of that, just weirdleading, man, just write some
letters to people.
Um a little later, we had anopportunity to go to uh East
(15:55):
County, San Diego, a placecalled Santee.
And you know, I just was ready.
I was ready to go out and be ayouth pastor, and I felt like,
and I went there and it was areally rough time.
It felt like a mistake from thevery get-go.
My wife saw it first, like thisis a mistake.
(16:15):
This is like a week into it, andand we really had a hard time in
that place, but we had gone.
I felt like it was a thing todo.
And I've told the story to manyof you.
If it wasn't for that time inSantee, California, all four of
my kids would not have been inour family.
And and I can explain that toyou over lunch if you want, but
(16:37):
if it wasn't for that, my lifewould be so much different.
Well, in 2005, and I don't havetoo many more, I promise.
Um, 2005, I got a call from myfriend Jason Duff.
I remember driving on the CoastFreeway there, and and he said,
Hey, I don't know.
I just want you to pray aboutit.
Would you pray about coming toTexas?
And all in an instant, in oneinstant, I said, I know I the
(17:02):
spiritual answer is I'll prayabout it, but I just really feel
like that's what I want to do.
I didn't ask Leela, that's notthe way it should go down, by
the way.
I just said, you know, I thinkI'm gonna say yes.
He's like, we'll pray about it.
I said, yeah, but I'm gonna sayyes.
And I did, and I have zeroregrets.
I am so glad I did.
Last one, 2014, for variousreasons.
(17:24):
I knew it was time to step downfrom youth ministry.
I look back at my pictures, itwas July 6, 2014, and I stepped
down and I thought, you knowwhat?
I'm doing this, but I may neverteach the Bible again.
I mean, I don't know what Godwants.
And and that was 11 years ago inNovember, and we just started
(17:47):
teaching a little Bible studyhere.
And I have absolutely loved it.
I love it every time.
Uh, and and I just wanted to putall those things out.
Those things just happen as Godmoves in your heart.
Just little things.
Write a letter.
Uh move your family.
That's not a little thing, butyou know, move your family.
But whatever it is that Godleads, whether it makes sense,
(18:08):
whether we have all theinformation or not, that's what
uh you want to do.
So even this week, the littlethings, maybe God will move you
to do something simple likethat.
Maybe it's to move your family,maybe it's to stay where you
are.
That can be a calling too, tostay right where you're at.
Whatever it is, it's that byfaith we trust God.
(18:33):
Um, now in that, we always wantto trust God with a loose grip.
God, if you want to change mydirection now that I've moved,
you go ahead and do it.
But uh, it is that step offaith.
Now look at verse 9.
Back to Hebrews 11, verse 9.
It's a stay of faith.
By faith, he dwelt in the land,he lived in the land, he stayed
(18:58):
right there in the land.
Um, God promised Abraham theland, and and the promise still
stands for Abraham'sdescendants.
But God promised him the land,and by faith he dwelt in it.
Now, I think in this story, asGod has given Abraham the land,
(19:19):
I think a better way to look atthis would be Abraham going into
the land.
He takes a flag with the bigAbraham on it, or something, I
don't know what, and and he justputs it on the land and says,
This land is for me and mydescendants forever.
And he claims it and he builds ahouse and he establishes a
fortress there, you know.
That's the way I would see it.
(19:39):
But what do we read here?
That Abraham dwelt in the landas in a foreign country, he
dwelt in tents, they werestrangers.
We read a little later.
They were sojourners.
He was a nomad, right?
And wandered through the land.
Um, he had a loose grip on thepromised land, even though it
(20:02):
was in fact his.
Uh Genesis 12, Genesis 15, bothtimes where God specifically
promises him the land, but hehad a loose grip on it.
Now, he stayed in the land, butbut it was a loose grip.
(20:23):
And that's a good picture forus, the grip that we have on
even this world, right?
It's a little different story,but it's a loose grip on the
world.
We're supposed to live the sameway that Abraham did as
pilgrims, we're told, assojourners.
This world is not our home.
We'll consider that in our nextpoint as well.
(20:44):
But but look, look at verse 13there in Hebrews chapter 11.
Summing up kind of Abraham'sgeneration, it says this these
all died in faith, not havingreceived the promises, but
having seen them afar off, wereassured of them, embraced them,
and confess that they werestrangers and pilgrims on the
(21:05):
earth.
For those who say such thingsdeclare plainly that they seek a
homeland.
And truly, if they are called,if they called to mind the
country from which they had comeout, they would have had
opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better,that is a heavenly country.
Therefore, God is not ashamed tobe called their God, for He has
prepared a city for them.
(21:28):
So living in light of eternity,which is what we'll talk about
in our next point, but living inlight of eternity influenced the
way that they lived here andnow.
They were pilgrims and strangersand foreigners.
The world was not their home.
Now, that is especially for us.
This is a wonderful world thatwe're put in here.
(21:51):
I mean, we look around just tobe outside and go, man, God, why
did you make it so good?
And by the way, this is thefallen world, right?
In Genesis chapter three,creation fell.
And we look around and we go,this is so beautiful, God.
The things that you made,they're so wonderful.
And why?
Well, we get to enjoy them.
And there's so much to enjoy inthis world.
(22:14):
The benefits of this life, somany ways we can enjoy the
benefits of this life that Godhas given us.
Um, but we cannot consider itour home.
Uh, this is the mentality ofstaying that Abraham had.
Um, he lived as a stranger inthat land, and this world ought
(22:41):
to seem a little strange to usat the same time.
We'll never be at home until weget to heaven.
And that leads us to verse 10.
Chap uh Hebrews 11, verse 10.
He waited for a city which hasfoundations, whose builder and
maker is God.
He waited.
That word wait there is to waitwith expectation, right?
(23:03):
He waited knowing somethingbetter was coming.
Um, he waited for the city thathas foundations, whose builder,
designer, architect, um, andmaker, the fabricator is God.
We're talking about heaven,right?
Heaven is the ultimate reality.
(23:24):
Heaven is in so many ways morereal than even Earth.
One of my favorite books, C.
S.
Lewis, The Great Divorce.
Um, he presents Earth comparedto heaven as almost like a ghost
town, literally, like a ghostlykind of just shadowy kind of
(23:46):
town, not even real compared tothe reality of heaven.
Uh, Keith Green, uh a Christianartist from I think the 70s,
80s, he said that going toheaven will be like waking up
from the longest dream.
How real it seemed.
And I really do think that whenwe look at heaven, when we
(24:07):
finally get there, we'll go,man, what was that earth stuff
all about?
70 years, 80 years, 90 years?
What was that all about,anyways?
It's almost like a dream.
And here's the reality ofheaven.
So, in light of that, thereality is heaven.
If we're gonna put stockanywhere, it ought to be heaven,
(24:32):
not here.
Again, enjoy this life, youknow, investing, not bad, but
investing in heaven is what weought to do.
Invest in the things that we cantake to heaven.
Now, listen, the things that youcan take to heaven, what can you
take to heaven?
(24:52):
The only things you can take toheaven are one, your
relationship with God.
You can take that to heaven,it'll continue on like it never
stopped.
Relationship with God startedhere, it goes right on through
into heaven.
It's wonderful.
No change.
Invest in your relationship withGod, spend time with him, trust
(25:12):
him daily in prayer.
Uh, what else can you take toheaven?
Only one other thing that I canthink of that you can take to
heaven, souls, people.
People are the only things youcan take to heaven.
Paul said, I think it was aboutthe Corinthians, you're my
treasure, you're my crown.
(25:34):
And the crown that I really haveis you in the presence of God
one day.
And Paul looked at it and went,You're really my treasure, and I
want to see there.
That's a great way to look atpeople.
The only thing we can take toheaven, our relationship with
God and people and our family,our neighbors, our work,
(25:54):
wherever we're at, our friends,people we don't even know.
Bring them along, invest and layup treasure in heaven.
Um, Jesus said that.
And and and so Abraham did that.
You know, he had this step offaith.
He had this stay of faith wherehe lived in this land, but it
(26:16):
wasn't his home.
And his ultimate investment washeaven.
Now, check it out.
That's a choice.
To live that way is a choice.
Abraham, he was an idolworshiper from Ur.
Not a whole lot going for him,right?
An idol worshiper from Ur.
He was a sinner just like youand me.
You and I, us, he was a sinnerlike we are.
(26:36):
Um, and and and yet he had thisopportunity to live by faith.
And this week, of course, I sayit every time.
This week, we have theopportunity to live by these
things.
Think of ways that you can liveby faith this week.
Stepping out, maybe honestly,maybe it's something just
(26:57):
totally random.
God tugs on your heart.
Hey, invite that person tolunch, you know, tugs on your
heart, you know, write a letter,text, an email.
You know, maybe it's a sin thatwe need to deal with.
And God just says, you knowwhat, deal with it this week.
Step out in faith and let go ofthat sin.
Um, stepping by faith issomething we ought to look to
(27:19):
do.
And I encourage you, don't beafraid to do it.
Continue to stay in this worldas long as God has you here.
But a loose grip is what we needon the things of this world, a
loose grip.
But the ultimate site is heaven.
We would say it's living inlight of eternity, it's an
(27:39):
eternal perspective.
God, the things that matter,it's my relationship with you
and it's people.
God help me to invest in thethings that matter.
Uh, the life of faith.
God, thank you so much.
God, just thank you for usingnormal people like us.
(28:00):
We look at Abraham and we'll seehis flaws and his failures uh
next time.
But but God, he was just anaverage person the way we are,
flesh and blood.
He had concerns and and dreamsand desires and all these
things, and yet, God, youstepped into his life and you
(28:20):
said, Go, go where I'm showingyou.
I'll tell you.
God, you encouraged him to areal step of faith.
And and uh, although it was onestep, the consequences of that
step of faith were huge.
God, we have no idea what thelittle things can do in our
lives and in the lives ofothers.
God, help us this week to liveby faith, to just step out and
(28:44):
see what you might do.
As we open our mouth or as we uhwrite a letter, whatever it is
you call us to do, help us tohave the faith to do those
things.
God, I also pray that we wouldhave a right grip on the things
of this world.
We'd enjoy them.
Enjoy this wonderful, beautifullife that you've given us.
But God, it's not the end, andit's not the main thing.
(29:08):
But being with you one day is.
So, God, help us to live with aneternal perspective.
God, I pray that you would workthese things into our heart even
today.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
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