When God has a destination that He wants to take you to, are you willing to leave the world you know to move on to better things? Abraham didn’t have all the details but still left behind everything familiar to him to pursue the destiny God had in store for him. In this look at the life of Abraham, Tony Evans introduces three important concepts for your walk of faith: Leaving, Living, and Looking.
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hello everyone this is dr tony evans
with the urban alternative
and i’m excited to welcome you to join
us on a journey
a journey through hebrews 11
it’s known as the hall of faith
where men and women
discovered what god can do
when
god’s people learn
to live walk and act
by faith
the beautiful thing is it’s not just
about them
it’s about us
as the author of hebrews writes to new
testament believers
that’s who we are
about how
the lives of old testament saints who
learn to live by faith should challenge
and affect
our lives as we live by faith
so we’re excited to welcome you on this
journey it’s going to be an exciting
trip we’re going to learn a lot
most importantly we’re going to be
transformed by the truth
what it means to be a kingdom hero
who lives by faith
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today we’re going to talk about
the leading candidate of faith in the
bible
if i were to use football language you
would call this guy a beast
because when it came to faith he is the
creme de la creme he is the
he is the superstar he is the most
valuable
faith person
in fact when the bible wants to talk
about faith he is a constant
illustration of it
hebrews chapter 4 and
the book of galatians chapter 3 keeps
talking about this guy
in fact
this guy is such a beast he is such an
illustration of faith
and his name is abraham abraham is
called the father of the faith
in
galatians chapter 3 verses 6 to 9
it says and when you learn to live by
faith you become one of his children
you become an heir to abraham
who was the superstar of faith
and if you learn what we go over these
next three weeks for this one
personality and his wife
you will enter into a realm that perhaps
will be brand new to you and to an
experience with god that will
uh be fresh
not stale
because you have learned to live
like abraham lived
in hebrews chapter 11 we read in verse 8
by faith
abraham when he was called obeyed by
going out to a place
which he was to receive for an
inheritance
and he went out not knowing where he was
going
by faith he lived in an alien as an
alien in the land of promise
as in a foreign land dwelling in tents
with isaac and jacob fellow heirs of the
same promise
for he was looking for the city
which has foundations
whose architect and builder is god
we’re going to learn three things
about abraham today
and his walk of
faith that if you want to experience god
at a whole new level by faith it will
involve
a leaving a living and a looking if you
want to experience god
as you’ve never experienced him before
as you move by faith it will involve a
leaving a living
and a looking
let’s start with believing
because verse 8 tells us
by faith when he was called he obeyed by
going out
to a place
now this is described for us in genesis
chapter 12 chapter 13
when god told abraham
i want you to leave
your city your community your house
and even your people
and i want you to go
to a place
that i’m not going to tell you about yet
said he didn’t know where he was going
all he knew is god told him to leave
without knowing where god was taking him
why is god telling him to leave er of
the chaldees why is god telling him to
to move away from family and friends and
the things he grew up with
well to understand that you have to
understand chapter 11 the chapter that
precedes god calling him
in chapter 11
the whole world has rebelled against god
a man named nimrod
uh an african that you shouldn’t be
proud of
led the whole world in rebellion against
god
the tower of babel
established the religion of humanism
man-centered religion
it says that they gather together as one
people
to build a civilization
and right in the center of the city they
built a tower that is a ziggurat that is
a worship steeple
and they said we will build our tower to
the heavens
we don’t need god we’ve got
intelligence brains reason science
technology we can build this thing
ourselves we don’t need god
we don’t need god to help us in fact
we’re going to build this thing so high
we’re going to show god we can get to
him
of course
genesis 11 says and when god looked down
and saw what men were doing he came down
so i don’t care how high you get
how much money you make how much
notoriety you a mass
god’s got to come down because you ain’t
getting but so high
god came down and said now look look at
them fools look look at what they’re
trying to do
it says
they are seeking god said to build a
name for themselves
why because they don’t want to carry my
name god says i have a i have something
for you to do
i’ve got a plan for you abraham
but in order for me to fill my plan
you’ve got to leave here
in other words stay with me
if you want to see where i want you to
go i’m not going to show you where i’m
taking you till you leave where you are
you cannot stay here and have me
you cannot stay around paganism and have
me you cannot stay
around humanism and have me
so you’ve got to leave
and you got to trust me that i know
where i’m taking you even though i’m not
telling you
see a lot of us are like this okay god
show me where you’ve taken me
and then i’ll let you know if i’m going
god says in first john 2 and john 15
he says if you are friends with the
world you are an enemy of god
and he tells that to his disciples
if you if you hang out with the world
you can’t have me
god has called every christian to leave
worldliness he’s not called us to leave
the world that is to to not live in
society not work in society not not not
have responsibility in society
no but worldliness is different
worldliness
are attitudes and actions that leave god
out you’re worldly when there are
attitudes and actions
where god is dismissed from
god has saved us out of this world
the world is not as we’ve said many
times a place
the world is a philosophy it’s like
the world of finance the world of
fashion the world of politics the world
of sports while they involve places
they’re really an orientation centered
around a certain thing world of finance
is about money
well worthiness is about the exclusion
of god
the enemy wants you to exclude god and
god says leave there
that is
your life and my life cannot be defined
by leaving god out or just putting him
in piecemeal when we like it as a spare
tire taking him out the trunk when life
goes flat putting him back when we can
roll on her by ourselves again
you will never know where god is taking
you unless you leave where you are
the world
you will never find out he will he will
never show you
what motivated him to leave
god said i have an inheritance for you
says he left
to get his inheritance
and inheritance is like a will it’s
something bequeathed to you
god has something for every believer
here if you are a christian he has a
purpose that he wants you to fulfill
but he will not show you your destiny if
he can’t leave get you to leave the
world
as long as you’re hanging on to the
world you’re at enmity against god god
cannot communicate with you
so you won’t hear heaven talk you won’t
get answered prayers you won’t get
direction you’ll be aimless
because your affections are not with him
they are elsewhere
you visit him on occasion
but you live
with
affections and actions that leave him
out
in fact
one of the ways you know you’re growing
as a christian
is when your passion for the world is
dying and your passion for him is
growing
if you’re loving the world more than him
that’s because
the world has your affections it has
your passions
it has grabbed you so he says you must
leave this paganism that doesn’t include
me
without me giving you all the details
you have to walk by faith and believe i
know where i’m taking you
the problem was
or is
that that’s where he was born
that’s where he grew up
that’s where all his people are that’s
where his businesses were bible says he
was a filthy rich guy that’s where all
of it his activities were so it’s hard
to leave something you’ve grown up in
because that’s that informs your frame
of thinking
but it says when he heard the voice of
god
he obeyed and left
because his inheritance was more
important than his current location
so here’s the decision we have to make
that is if you really want to experience
god is what god has for you more
important than where you are
do you love the world so much you’re
willing to lose your destiny
because god knows where he wants to take
you
but you must be willing to leave
say goodbye
because god knows where he wants to take
you
but you must be willing to leave
say goodbye
some of you are going to battle because
you’re going to have to say goodbye to
that worldly relationship
that’s keeping you from your destiny you
may have to say goodbye to that that
worldly scenario
where the guys are going out after work
and
they they talk in smut you find yourself
comfortable there and you don’t want to
lose a friendship and we’re not talking
about being anti-social we are talking
about saying that that does not fit
where i’m trying to go and so because
that doesn’t fit where i’m trying to go
and i want to get to where god’s taking
me i’m willing to make i’m willing to
leave it’s going to be hard to leave but
but i’m willing to leave
because you can keep yourself
from ever hearing the voice of god
if you stay in the world
there that system that leaves god out
hebrews 13 13 says
you must go outside of the camp where
jesus is
jesus died outside of jerusalem
jerusalem was where judaism was he went
outside the camp and died it says you
can’t stay in just a religious
environment
and not be willing to be identified with
jesus christ
and bear his reproach and expect to hear
from god
you have to go outside the camp
that is you you you can’t be just part
of the system
he based his life on a promise
unless you leave the old you will never
discover what god has for you in the new
so the question is what do you want
do you want him or you want to hang out
where you are and not have him
because he will never coalesce with the
world
james 4. he won’t do that
so the first thing you need to know
is that your life of faith will require
a leaving
of worldliness
desires and actions that are in conflict
with god
secondly
your life of faith from the superstar of
faith will involve a living a leaving
and then a living notice this verse nine
by faith he lived see that by faith he
lived
as an alien in the land of promise as in
a foreign land
dwelling in tents with isaac and jacob
fellow heirs of the same promise
wow
he left
and then he lived now watch this
it says
he lived
in the land
of promise
as a foreigner and an alien
wait a minute now
wait a minute watch this that
he left
he left earl the chaldee’s paganism
he is now in the land god is promising
him
okay god promised him a land
but in the land
that he’s now in and living in
he’s living as an alien and a foreigner
in the middle of a promise
some of us are in god’s waiting room
and there’s probably no greater
discipline in the christian life
no harder discipline than waiting
god how long is this going to take
when you’re going to come through for me
how come i take two steps forward three
steps back how come every time i look
like you’re getting ready to do
something you flip on me and the thing
doesn’t work out
god is always doing two things at one
time related to your life and mine here
are the two things
he’s preparing the promise for you
and he’s preparing you for the promise
okay
he whatever your inheritance is whatever
your destiny is in time
and eternity but but this is time
whatever he has planned for you in time
is being made ready
but he’s also got to get you ready
so that when the promise and the plan
and the destiny is realized
you don’t mess it up cause you weren’t
ready
now watch this
you have no control
over the promised part
over the part that that’s not you god is
doing that over here you can’t control
that you have a control over the person
part
so on my side and your side we could be
delaying the promise
while waiting for the promise
and that’s exactly what happened with
abraham watch this john says chapter 12
chapter 13.
abraham is 75 years old
75 years old
his breakthrough doesn’t come for 25
years
it’s going to take him
25 years for god to break this thing
through
that’s when isaac appears
so one of your major reasons to want to
leave er the counties the world and want
to live in god’s presence and move
quickly in obedience is so you can get
what he has as soon as he can give it
because you’re ready for it
god why is that such a big deal
because god doesn’t want to give you a
destiny that will cause you to forget
him he says as a foreigner as an alien
the bible says that you and i are
foreigners and aliens here so watch this
now
god does not want you to be too attached
a foreigner somebody that they they’re
there they’re not fully attached say he
was in the tent
that’s not a permanent location
god is moving him from this place to
this place to this place or this place
or this place
god says if i’m going to take you to
your inheritance i’ve got to develop you
for your inheritance and when i develop
you for your inheritance keep your shoes
on light because i’m going to send you
through some stuff i’m going to take you
through some things they’re going to be
some mountains they’re going to be some
valleys but they’re all divine designed
to develop you i got my piece out here
i’m gonna take care of i just gotta get
you right
some of us are working on 50 years of
things that should have been solved in
three years
but god but but we’ve been pitch that
tent and built us up a house that we
ain’t gonna move out of and so god does
not have flexibility with our lives and
so he can’t grow us like he wants to
grow us because we’re not available
for him to do his thing but it says by
faith abraham was willing
to live as an alien to live as a as a
foreigner not become too attached
looking for god
to change his scenario
and then the third one
is the looking verse 10.
for he was looking it says he was
looking
for the city
which has foundations whose architect
and builder is god
wow
if if you if you miss everything else
don’t miss this
because it will change everything
for the rest of your life
he left the world
he no longer
associated with that which leaves god
which left god out
he lived in the arena of the promise but
stayed fluid
because he had to grow in that situation
because before god gives you destiny he
always deals with development after
having provided deliverance so it’s
deliverance development destiny
and then it says the way he survived
and the way you and i survived
was where he looked
while he was living on earth while he
was waiting for the promise that was
going to come on earth namely a son born
out of his old age
while he waiting for this and
it says he kept his eyes on heaven
he looked for a city whose builder and
architect was god that’s that’s the
heavenly city
okay watch this
he wasn’t going to heaven yet he still
had a lot of years to live on earth
but even though he wasn’t going to
heaven he was looking at heaven
because here’s the secret
if you learn to look at heaven you’ll
live better on earth
if you stop looking at heaven and only
look at earth
you will be looking through
bad glasses
because you’ll be living like this is
all there is
and this is not all there is in fact
this is so small
a piece of the pie
god wants you and me to have an eternal
perspective he says i want you to look
to heaven
while living on earth
there are two extremes as a christian
one is to be so heavenly minded you’re
no earthly good
the other is to be so earthly minded
you’re no heavenly good
like santana holmes in super bowl 43
when he won the super bowl for the uh
pittsburgh steelers and he went to the
edge of the end zone and he leaned up
and he caught the ball in the air with
his feet firmly planted on the ground
the winning touchdown
if he would have missed the ball with
his feet planted incomplete
if he would have caught the ball but his
feet not planted in bounds incomplete he
had to reach high and touch low
god wants you to look up
while touching down
your feet firmly planted on the ground
but you’re looking up to heaven as you
make your move so that heaven is
informing earth
and when heaven informs earth you can
make it on earth because now you’re
getting supercharged
you’re getting from up there joining you
down here so you can make it from 10 to
10.
until your change comes until god brings
the breakthrough until god shifts the
situation
that’s why the bible says in first john
2 this world is passing away watch this
now
don’t hang on to this world too tight
see that’s why things get boring because
this world is passing away
that’s why the drug addict has got to
get more that’s why satan offers more he
always ups the dosage because he knows
this thing is passing away so he got up
the dosage to keep you going and craving
it
god says this world is passing away so
don’t hinge your whole life onto this
wagon
because it’s passing away and guess what
we’re passing away
so since this world is temporary look
eternally and it’ll change your
temporary movement
when you lose sight of heaven
your perspective will be ruined on earth
if your mind leaves heaven and you only
live for earth
earth is all you’ll get
but if you are heavenly minded
colossians chapter 3 seeking the things
that are above if you have a heavenly
perspective driving you you’ll be ready
for heaven and you’ll be okay till you
get there
because he kept looking
eternally although he was living
physically it has to do with your
perspective there needs to be a shift in
your perspective there’s got to be a
shift in our perspective that you wake
up in the morning thinking eternally
that is thinking god’s perspective that
a spiritual worldview this has got to be
how you live this is how he lived by
faith thinking heaven while functioning
in history genesis chapter 12 and 13
guess what you find
over and over and over again when it
tells the story of abraham in genesis 12
and 13 it says everywhere he went he
built an altar
a altar is a worship place he just go to
church he carried an altar with him so
every time he was in a new situation he
built himself a worship place so he
could keep his eyes on heaven in the
middle of earth while waiting for
promise as he was trying to develop he
said god is you and me now he can’t pick
up his altar go to another place hey
worship he picked him his altar so if
the only time you worship is on sunday
you leaving your altar at church the
idea is to keep a spiritual perspective
until god joins you in destiny having
left her of the chaldees
god says if you will leave where you are
if you will
move and you will move toward me keeping
your eyes on king jesus the author and
finisher of your faith he will know how
to get you home and take you to where
you ought to be if you will leave the
world
live under me and look toward me i will
deliver you home
so the question is
you want to keep hanging out in the
world
or do you want to discover your destiny
but the only way to get there
is by faith
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life is not an event
it’s a journey
it doesn’t start and end in a day
it’s experienced
over days months and years
we call a lifetime
in this journey of life a lot of
decisions have to be made
and a lot of them
have to be made by faith
because we don’t know where things will
result we don’t know in advance how
everything’s going to work out
abraham made a pilgrimage of faith
he was looking for a city
whose builder and maker was god
since we have to go on this journey
anyway
we need to make the pilgrimage of our
life and our life’s journey
one of trusting god
because he alone
knows where things are going to wind up
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so
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you