Title: A Pleasing Faith

Date: 2008-08-24

Reference: Hebrews 11: 8-12

A drought was threatening the crop in a village of Crete. The Parish Priest told his flock: “There is only one thing that will save us, prayer. God to your homes, fast during the week, believe and come on Sunday for the special prayer service for rain.” The villagers did as their priest suggested showing up the next Sunday for the litany for rain. The Priest surprised them when he said.”Go away. I will not do the litany, you do not believe.” “We fasted, we prayed” the protested, “we believe.” “Then” said the Priest, “where are your umbrellas?”

If we truly desire to live faithful lives there comes a time, when in faith, we step out and get our feet wet. A time when we tote our umbrellas to prayer meeting. The Bible records the lives of many men and women who lived faithful lives. When it comes to modeling a life of faith pleasing to God, Abraham was maybe greatest of them all.

Abraham lived four thousand years ago but his life is one we still admire. Look at the place where Abraham is buried. Hebron is owned by the Jews, maintained by the Moslems and visited by the Christians. That’s influence, especially from a guy whose been dead 4k years.

Abraham’s life was a faithful life. His example teaches us without faith it is impossible to please God. Our faith, like Abraham’s faith is in God. Think about it? To whom else can we go? God alone has words of eternal life. God alone gives us strength for this life and hope for the life to come. God alone has called us to be His sons and daughters, to share His life and His Spirit.

God has called us to be partners in healing a broken world. To whom else can we go? Whom else is worthy of our faith? The answer is simple. No one else and nothing else is worthy of our faith.

Abraham received the two highest compliments paid to any human being in the Word of God. In Romans 4, Paul said Abraham is “the father of all who believe.” And in the Book of James we read how Abraham was “friend of God.” Abraham walked so closely with God, his life exemplified what it meant to be a friend of God. Abraham’s faith was pleasing to God.

Today’s reading describes for us the faith of Father Abraham. His was a faith that enabled him to go even though he did not know where he was going. Abraham knew it takes faith to obey God but god always rewards obedient faith.

Abraham was called to go even though he didn’t know where. The faith that pleases God enables us to simply walk with God even though we do not know where that walk will ultimately take us. This is very difficult for a control person like myself. There are times when God calls us to follow without giving us a complete itinerary. In those times God says to us: “I know exactly where you need to be, trust me to get you there.”

Faith that pleases God not only goes, but follows immediately. The striking fact about the faith of Abraham is that even as the voice of God was ringing in the ears of that 75 year old Mesopotamia man, even as God spoke, Abraham was going. I would never compare any calling I have received, any move I have made to the move made by Abraham.

But there have been at least a couple of times in life when I heard God’s call to move, to go and I went. And it made no sense other than God was calling. I have faith enough in God’s plan to trust Him. More than that my family trusts me to listen and to follow when the time is right. It’s not always easy but a faithful life is not easy. When we moved here to First Church we left a very comfortable, happy life in a very beautiful place. I had this nagging sense that this was where the next chapter of my life was to unfold. There was something I could uniquely do for God in this place. And so we came. I trust this was pleasing to God. God has certainly honored us here.

The Bible doesn’t tell us how Abraham heard God’s call. Maybe Abraham heard a voice, received a vision, had a dream. However God communicated, the moment Abraham heard God’s voice Abraham was on the move. Today we most often hear the call of God through the leading of The Holy Spirit. Abraham obeyed immediately. Philo, who wrote a biography of Abraham about the time of Jesus said: “Abraham left home so quickly to go to a foreign place that you would think God had asked him to leave a foreign place in order to go home.”

A faith that pleases God is a faith that follows not knowing the destination and a faith that follows immediately. It’s also the faith that goes without offering excuses. This account in the life of Abraham is without excuses Abraham might have offered. Who would blame Abraham for arguing at least a bit with God. This made no sense whatever.

Something like this had never happened before. Yet even though there was no precedent, Abraham simply started walking West with God because God said “go.”

Had I been Abraham I would have at least mentioned my age to God.

Abraham was 75, the age most persons are retired enjoying life. Abraham could have said: “I’ve worked hard, my family is here, I own my home. My friends are all here. I don’t want to move let alone to an unknown place.”

Abraham simply walked West into the desert with God. Faith in God allows us to go even when we don’t know don’t know where. God may be calling anyone of us at this moment to follow to an unknown destination. God’s call may or may not involve a physical move. God’s call may be something like: “join this group, share your faith with your neighbor, go back to school, change jobs, go to Africa with the Mission team. Begin tithing, teach a Sunday School Class.” In answering God’s call we are always short on specifics. We have no guarantees as to how things will turn out. We simply go. We go because we want to make an eternal difference.

Sometimes it’s an inconvenience to follow. Ur, the city Abraham left was the most beautiful metropolitan area of it’s day. Everything Abraham could have wanted or needed was surely in the confines of that city. And yet when God’s voice called Abraham saying: “Go West with me, Abraham got up and went West with God.”

Faith that pleases God also trusts the timing of God. If I had been in Abraham’s shoes each and every prayer I offered up would have begun and ended with “when?” Imagine Abraham asking: “When Lord? When will you give me this promised land? I’ve been out here in the desert a very long time now. As a matter of fact I’ve been out here 25 years. My wife Sarah died the other day and the only piece of land I own is the grave where I buried her. When Lord?

We sometimes demand to know when. When will things get better?

When will I get a new job? When will I meet someone to share my life? When will we have children? When will I be able to retire? When will I be happy and satisfied? When will I finally have enough? When are things going to get better in my family? When will our finances be better? When am I going to get well? Faith allows us to follow God, to trust God without knowing when.

We read by faith Abraham made his home like a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents as did his sons who were heirs with him of the same promise. Faith allowed Abraham to live for a century as a stranger, a resident alien, a refugee.

Archeologists tell us that for 100 years Abraham had to pay a heavy tax just to be able to live in Canna. For 100 years he lived there without knowing when God was going to give him this land. Abraham was on a pilgrimage. We too are on a pilgrimage toward heaven.

I think Abraham learned the joy is in the journey and not in the destination. His example teaches us to live faithful lives, always on the move, always following God, trusting God. In life the joy is in the journey and the journey is the joy.

The biggest test around Abraham’s life centered around how. Abraham and Sarah were older persons, past the age of child bearing. He asked God how in the world he was to become the father a great nation when he was as good as dead.

Remember how the angels came to Abraham’s camp to tell him they would finally have a child. Abraham laughed and so did his wife Sarah. And when they had their little boy they named him Isaac which means laughter. God got the last laugh because God know the how of it.

Faith believes God for the how. When we agree to follow God, God will tell us how. What God is calling us to may seem impossible but our task is not to understand but to follow. May we as a church, as families, as individuals give God our best faith in the coming week.

Faith means to trust in God’s timing. To claim God’s promises and to rest in God’s love. Faith knows God is the master of every situation. God will make a way. When we walk by faith we do so in spite of what we see or feel may happen. Trust faith is obeying God in spite of feelings, circumstances, consequences or emotions. Faith looks up to a God who can be trusted.