There has been much reporting on the attempted assassination of former President Trump. There has been some information coming out regarding the shooter. His parents were both involved in social work. They are pagans. They raised their son in a spiritual vacuum. He proves again that God the Holy Spirit was working in his heart, seeking to show him his need of salvation. He was not satisfied in his soul. The news has reported that he was heavily involved in online video games. Not all video game players will go on to shoot at people. However, all those who are involved in that vain activity demonstrate their search for something they cannot find. As we read in our text, it is essential for man to believe that there is a God and to allow Him to draw them to Himself.
In verse 7 we read of Noah. We are introduced to Noah in Genesis 6-9. Noah was a man who walked with God and he found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah trusted God and he built an ark as instructed by God. He had never seen such a thing before. He spent a long time building that ark and he was also a preacher of righteousness. The people who watched him build it were likely quite curious about what was going on. They would have been shocked when the rains came and the fountains of the deep opened up. Noah and his family were safe inside that ark. Noah was moved by the fear of God. It is important to have that fear. That fear is not a debilitating fear. It is a reverence that acknowledges the authority and power of God. It is a fear that motivates the person to do as God says. That is what Noah did. His house was saved, while all the rest of mankind perished in the flood waters. All the animals outside of that ark also perished. Noah became an heir of righteousness by faith, not by works. He proved his righteousness in building that ark to the saving of his family.
In verse 8 we read of Abraham. Abraham was called to leave his homeland and go to a new land that he had never seen before. Abraham followed God’s lead and came to the land of Canaan, but he sojourned in that land. He never took possession of that land. He bought a parcel of ground to bury his wife, and later he was buried there as well.
He was also promised that he would be a great nation. In fact he was told that nations would come from him. He needed to wait many years to see the promise of a son fulfilled. God was faithful. Abraham needed to learn patience and that is part of what Biblical faith is all about. Salvation is an instantaneous event for the person who repents toward God and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. From that point on, the child of God needs to learn to trust God for his daily needs and for his direction in life.
Abraham never had a permanent dwelling place in Canaan, neither did Isaac or Jacob. Isaac lived and died in that land but never had the opportunity to build a house for himself. Jacob lived outside of Canaan for a time and then settled in the land, but he too lived in tents. Prior to his death, he moved his family to Egypt, under God’s direction. He learned to trust God to meet his needs. He saw his grandchildren and he saw the expansion of his family. He saw his son Joseph elevated to a high rank in Egypt. Joseph had dreams earlier in his life and Jacob saw those dreams come to fulfillment. He doubted the meaning of them when he first heard of them, but he saw God’s hand at work in Joseph’s life.
In verse 10 we see that Abraham was not content with what he saw on this earth. He knew there was a better place than Canaan. He was not ungrateful. He knew there was a city that has true foundations. A city that will never crumble and that will never have been occupied by ungodly people. He knew this city was built and made by God. Those who enter that city will all be children of God. There will be no lost person in that city. Abraham was looking for that city. He obviously knew more than we read about in the Old Testament. He had a hope that God gave him. He did not lose that hope. His life on this earth was just a short time. He knew there was an eternity beyond this life.
In verse 11 we are reminded that Sara also learned the importance of Biblical faith. She laughed when the angel came and told Abraham she was going to have a son in her old age. She had no other child. She never had any other child. However, she was privileged to give birth to one son who would have an important part in the development of the nation of Israel. She conceived when it was beyond the norm. She did not give up hope. She trusted God to keep His Word. We read that she judged Him faithful who promised. That is the key. The source of our faith is important. We cannot trust fully in man, but we certainly can trust fully in God.
Sara had the promised son and she also was told what to name him. In verse 12 we read further of Abraham’s faith. He was as good as dead when he was able to see his wife conceive. Under normal circumstances the normal process of reproduction was over for him and for Sara. However, God was in charge, and He can do what man cannot do. The secular world is involved in many experimental ways to try to cause a couple to have a child when they are not able to do so under normal circumstances. It is an interesting contradiction when we see the secular system murder many unborn children, and then try to help a couple that cannot have a child, to be able to have a child.
Abraham and Sara did not go beyond the will of God. They knew He had promised them a son. Sara counselled Abraham to commit adultery with her handmaid. Abraham foolishly listened to her and there was a child born, but that child could not be the promised heir. He did not come the way God said he should. That child would be a problem for the nation of Israel. His descendants are still a problem for Israel.
At the right moment, when both Abraham and Sara knew they could not have a child, God fulfilled His promise to them. They knew this was the work of God. They acted in faith and did their part but the conception and development of that child in Sara’s womb was the work of God. Those women who have had a child, know that there are strains put on your body during the pregnancy. It is quite amazing to think of the challenges that carrying a child puts on the woman. Yet God designed women to do this more than once. However, when a woman gets to be a certain age, that strain becomes even greater. There was never a risk to Sara’s health because God was in charge of the pregnancy. It worked out just fine. All they needed to do was trust in God and they did that.
We can look back at these examples that God gave and we can learn from them. They trusted in God to keep His Word. We read nothing of the excesses of the Charismatic movement. We read of the mighty hand of God Who worked out His promises with precision. His name was exalted in the fulfilment of those promises. All the individuals were required to do was to trust in the Lord and let Him do His Work.
Today, we too have been given promises. We have been given the promise of eternal life if we put our faith in God. We have been promised guidance after salvation that will see us be able to be a light in a dark world. We have not been promised great things according to the eyes of men. However, they are great in the eyes of the Lord. Let us learn to walk by faith, beginning with faith in the salvation that is provided in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Bartel