Believe It Or Not | Week 10 | Abraham
Hebrews 11:6 (JUB)
Without FAITH, it is impossible to please God. Because anyone who comes to Him, must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who diligently SEEK Him.
Hebrews 11:8-19 (NLT)
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
(The 1st) Pendulum Swing – of a MAJOR CHANGE.
Hebrew 11:8 (NLT)
It was by FAITH that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.
Hebrews 11:8 (SEB)
But Abraham, moved immediately, even though he didn’t know where he was going.
(The 2nd) Pendulum Swing – of a DELAYED PROMISE.
Hebrews 11:9 (NLT)
But by faith, Abraham, made his home in the promised land, like a stranger in a foreign country, and he lived in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him, of that same promise.
Hebrews 11:13 (NLT)
All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it…
Titus 1:2 (NLT)
God, who does not lie, promised us before the world began.
(The 3rd) Pendulum Swing – of an IMPOSSIBLE PROBLEM.
Hebrews 11:11-12 (NLT)
By faith, Abraham, even though he was past age, and Sarah herself was barren, was enabled to become a father, because he considered Him faithful who had made the promise.
Genesis 15:5-6 (NLT)
The Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have.” And Abram believed the Lord…
(The 4th) Pendulum Swing – of a SENSELESS TRAGEDY.
Hebrews 11:17 (NLT)
By faith, Abraham, when God tested him, he offered Isaac as the sacrifice. He who had received the promise, was about to sacrifice his one and only son. Even though God had said to him, “It’s through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
Matthew 10:37-39 (NLT)
Jesus said, “Anyone who loves his father or mother, more than Me, is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter, more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me, is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake, will find it.”