I'd like you, please, to turn with me this meeting to the book of Hebrews. And as you're well aware, we have been dealing with this book for quite a while, but we are getting to one of the most beautiful chapters, chapter 11. And the 11th chapter really deals with the necessity for faith. Not only faith in theory, but faith that acts. Faith that is more than merely intellectual faith, but faithfulness that is necessary for those that believe in Yeshua, the Messiah. And of course, we know that the writer who wrote to Jewish believers, to Hebrews in the first century, brought before them a whole chapter, I'm amazed when I think about that, without mentioning even one time New Testament individual.

And most of those individuals are actually Hebrews, the vast majority of them, some of them prior to the Hebrew Abraham. And some of them are non-Hebrews, even later on, after, like Rahab is mentioned here. But today, I would like to deal with the verses that have to do with Abraham and Sarah, his wife. So please turn with me to Hebrews, chapter 11, and we are going to read today from verse 8, all the way to verse 19. Hebrews, chapter 11, and verses 8 to 19. And I'm going to read those verses now. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed.

And he went out not knowing whither he went. By faith he is sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city. For he looked for a city, which hath a foundation, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore, sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and they were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, and heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God. For he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises, offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

According that God, or accounting, I should say, that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from whence also he had received him in a figure. And I stop here. Verses 8 to 19 is the passage that we are going to speak about this meeting. Now, this passage is very interesting because we are finding ourselves today in Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, between those two seasons for our nation Israel, for the Hebrew people. And we know very well how solemn and how serious the time between Rosh Hashanah, the first month of Tishrei, and Yom Kippur, the tenth of the month of Tishrei. We know how our own people are literally longing and praying and beseeching God that God will forgive their sins and that their name will be inscribed in the Book of Life.

And here we are reading this chapter that was written to early century Jewish Hebrew Israeli believers that they come to faith in the Messiah and they have been challenged by the writer. They have been going through pressure. They have been going through persecution. They have been going through suffering. They have been going through internal emotional feeling because they have been held between whether they should continue to follow after the Messiah and forsake everything that is behind or whether they should believe in the Messiah but go back and offer sacrifices and maintain their life in association with the temple and it's all what belonged to the law and always belonged to that which God had given in the past.

And they were struggling. Beloved, I am telling you, if you would have been there, one of these Hebrews individuals, you would have struggled in the same way as they have been. And the writer does not condemn them. The writer does not tell them, if you will think of them in a bad way, but he tried to appeal to them, to explain to them, to help them to be drawn after the Messiah, Yeshua, that have already come and died for them. And you know like how you and I need the same encouragement from the Lord. You know how you and I sometimes feel so discouraged, so dismayed.

Things are not going the way we want them to go. People have disappointed us. And we have disappointed people. And we get sometimes discouraged. And how we long for some word of encouragement from another brother and another sister. And how we need that. And I am speaking for myself. How we need that every time as believers in our life. And here come the apostle, the writer. And he, if you will, opened before them their history. Unfold before them their history. As if it were taking a spreadsheet and spreading before those Hebrew believers the whole history of their people. And you notice this is very precious.

It's always precious to the hearts of believers in every generation. To hear of others that have gone before. Of others that have been faithful to the Lord. That have not been a perfect individual. They have made mistakes. They have sinned at times. They have gone wrong away from the things of the Lord. You never read of perfection except one by the name of Yeshua. But, beloved. He is presenting before them. That in spite of their failure. In spite of their unfaithfulness. In spite of what they have done that they were wrong. God looks at that which they have done right. And that God is honoring them.

God is honoring them. And as we said often in our Bible classes. And in our meetings together. That we never catch God by surprise when we go astray. We never give God some sort of unexpected situation when we deviate and fail. God knows that. God knows that. But what God does. He draws us. He pulls us closer to Him. He encourages us to follow after Him. In spite of ourselves. In spite of what's going on around us. And that's the encouragement that you and I need as believers today. And those Hebrews needed at that time. So, we have already covered the first seven verses of Hebrews 11.

What is faith? It is the confidence. It is the assurance of things hoped for. And it is the conviction of things that we are not seeing. That is faith. Faith is the substance of things that we hope for. And it is the evidence of things that you and I do not see. That's what faith is. We trust God for what He say. We believe God for what He promised. And we have confidence that what He had said is going to come to pass. That's what faith is. It's not what we often hear of people that we have to have faith in faith. No. We don't have faith in faith.

We have faith in a person. We have faith in God. We have faith in Yeshua the Messiah. That's what faith is. It's in a person. In God the Son. In the Messiah himself. And so, by faith, many others have gone before those Hebrews. Many others continue to trust God in spite of situations that were against them. And so, we talked about Abel. It is interesting that the first man that he mentioned in the book of faith, in the chapter of faith, is not Adam and Eve, but Abel. Why? Because Abel was the first one, we're reading in the scriptures, that offered a sacrifice which in accordance with the will of God.

And so, the first man that is mentioned in the scripture is Abel, he offered the sacrifice of faith. And then we see Hanok, Enoch, as we have him in verse 5. We have covered him as well. And he, we see him how he walked by faith. And by the way, I did not mention this in our last meeting together. Because Enoch was the father of the oldest man that ever lived by the name of Methuselah. We find him in Genesis chapter 5. And you know what happened? We never read of Enoch, that he walked with God before Methuselah. But we read of him that he walked with God after he gave life to Methuselah.

Which tells us a lot. Because in the name Methuselah, you say it in English, Methuselah. Methuselah. In the name Methuselah, we have two Hebrew words which mean Methu and Shalach. Methu means when he will die. Shalach means I will send or it will be sent. What will be sent? The judgment of the flood was going to come after Methuselah was going to die. It was like a message from God. I am going to judge the world. And I am going to send the flood upon the face of this earth. And it seems like that through the name Methuselah, Chanoh Ino got the message from the Lord.

And it changed his whole life. Instead of not walking with God, we read that he walked with God. Now, I do not know if he walked with God before. We don't read it in the Bible. But what we do read in Genesis 5, that Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah. And you know, sometimes we need warnings from God. Warnings that will warn us, that will change our conduct and our behavior. That when we get warning from God, it motivates us to walk with God. And so with Enoch, we see the walk of faith. And then we had Noah, the last one in verse 7. And Noah gave us the illustration of the works of faith.

He was a man who built an ark, preparing for the flood while it was never drop of rain have come down ever as yet. He had never seen rain. How could you build an ark so far away from the water and show you building an ark? Noah must have been the kind of a man that everybody mocked and laughed at them. And Noah, every nail he put into the ark was a message to the world. Judgment is coming. The flood is coming. Are you ready? Will you come into the ark? Are you ready? Are you ready? And you know, unfortunately, only Noah, his wife, his three sons, and his three daughters-in-law entered into the ark from among the human race.

And the rest were judged by God. And what we see in Noah, the works of faith. He carried on to build the ark. He carried on to work and to do things for God in the midst of an age where everybody laughed at him and mocked at him. And Noah trusted God. And so, we saw the three men. And now, beloved, we are moving now to verses 8 to 19, and we see actually the first Hebrew in the Bible. We have a lot of misunderstanding about who is Hebrew, who is Israeli, who is Jewish. And we have a lot of misunderstanding. But let me tell you, as far as the Bible teaches, the first Hebrew, we call him Eivrid, HaEivri HaRishon.

The first Hebrew was Abraham, the father of all the nation of Israel. The father of Isaac, the grandfather of Jacob, the great-grandfather of the children of Jacob, who are the children of Israel. And here, the writer who writes to the Hebrew believers of the first century, bring before them the first Hebrew. And his name is Abraham. And so, notice, I want to tell you four things here in verses 8 to 19 about Abraham and Sarah. Now, look at this for a moment. You know, promises that people receive are very easy to receive but very hard to wait for. God made promises. And God made promises to Abraham and through Abraham to a nation, namely the nation of Israel, of which those Hebrews, to whom their writer write, were part of.

And God made promises, and he is going to keep those promises. But the problem that men have, the problem that you and I have, is to wait for those promises to come to pass. Waiting is not easy. Waiting is not easy. Waiting and trusting is not something very simple. It's something that demands much from all of us. But God made promises. He made promises to Abraham. He made promises to Isaac. He made promises to Jacob. He made promises. And he promised that those promises which he had made, he is going to keep. But it's very hard to wait on promises. And so, what we find out in the history of Abraham is that just like Abraham, you and I might ask the same questions.

And those are four questions that we often say. And the questions are like that. Where? Or? How? Or? When? Or? Why? This is exactly what you and I would say many times when people say, promise us things, is where? How? When? And why? Those are the things that you and I may very well, or those are the words that we would mention every time when we wait on a promise. And I would like you to see here that Abraham, in spite of those four things or four words, well, how, when, and why, he still obeyed God and waited on those promises of God. Notice, by the way, that the word promise is mentioned five times in the text in which we read today, from verse 8 to verse 19.

Let me read you those words. Verse 9. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise. Verse 9 at the end. With Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. Go down to verse 11. The last part of verse 11. Because she judged him faithful who had promised. Go a little bit further down to verse 13 in the first part of verse 13. These all died in faith, not having received their promises. Look at verse 17. Look at verse 17. Look at verse 17. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, when he that had received, and he that had received the promises, offered up his only begotten son.

You notice that? Five times. Five times. The word promise, or promises, are written here in this text from verse 8 to verse 19 of Hebrews 11. Which tells us volumes. It tells us so much because he was a man that did receive promises from God. He received promises from the God of the universe. And he wanted those promises so much for his life. And so, beloved, look at this. Now as we got those five times we read about the promises of God, I would like to show you that Abraham was faithful in spite of the fact that he didn't receive all the promises yet in his life. Number one is found in verse 8 to 10.

And in verses 8 to 10, we read, we see that Abraham's obedience to God, while not knowing where, and here's the word, where he is going, he continued to obey God, and even he did not know where he's going to, He obeyed God's word, and went to where God had told him to go. Look at this. Verse 8, 9, and 10. By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing where he went, by faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.

And look at this last verse, verse 10. "For he looked for a city which hath foundation, whose builder and maker is God." Look at the man, Abraham. The first Hebrew that is actually found in Genesis chapter 14. The first Hebrew individual, he is called Abraham the Hebrew in Genesis 14 and verse 13. The first man that is called the Hebrew, he trusted God to such an extent, beloved brothers and sisters, that when God called him, in Genesis chapter 12, to leave his family, to leave his country, to leave all that which is surrounded him, and to go to a place which God told him of, you know, he obeyed. He obeyed and he went out not knowing whither he went.

Here we see the preciousness of this man, the trust of this man. He obeyed God. And by the way, if you read in other passages, if you read in the book of Acts chapter 7, you will notice that he stopped somewhere on the way. He actually did not continue all the way to Canaan. He stopped somewhere in the place called Haran. We actually read it today in Genesis 11. And you know what happened here? Instead of continuing all the way to the Promised Land because of relative, because of his father, his father, he stopped in Haran and he waited in Haran for a while before he continued to the land of Canaan.

And you know, it teaches us many things here. You know what happened with us as believers sometimes? Sometimes because of family ties, because of parents or children or brothers and sisters and relatives. Sometimes because of our relative, we don't continue on in spiritual progress because our natural tie is very important for us. You know, the expression, blood is thicker than water. And you know, this is a true expression because many times believers and those Hebrews needed to hear it. And you and I need to hear it. That a time because of natural ties, because we love our parents and because we love our family. We don't continue to progress spiritually because we do not want to separate from our blood relation.

We do not want to hurt them. We do not want to hurt them. We do not want to lose them. And therefore, sometimes we neglect our spiritual progress because of our own family ties. And you know, Abraham, we read, by the way, that Abraham did not leave Haran before his father died. It says, by the way, I'm reading verse 31 of Genesis chapter 11, And Terach took Abraham his son and Lot, the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, his son Abraham's wife. And they went forth with them from Ur, listen, from Ur the Caledines, to go into the land of Canaan. But look what happened.

And they came unto Haran, and they dwelled in Haran. They stopped there. They didn't continue. And then we read, And the days of Terach was 205 years, and Terach died in Haran. And then chapter 12 comes. Now the Lord said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and of thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land which I will show thee. You see, beloved, God had to repeat the call of Abraham in Haran, because Abraham stopped there because of family ties. And that's what happened with us. And that's what the apostle is telling the Hebrews. But you notice the interesting part here. In Hebrews 11, he does not mention at all the pause in Abraham's life.

He only say, in Hebrews 11, where we just read, he says, By faith, verse 8, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, he obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went. Interesting. God doesn't mention the stop in Haran at all. You know why? Because God does not look at the negative and the failure and elaborate upon our failure because we didn't catch him by surprise. He knows this about us. He knows this about us. But in Hebrews chapter 11, he wanted to show the Hebrews and you and I that Abraham did obey God in spite of the fact that there was a time of weakness in his life.

And by the way, how do we know that God already called Abraham before he came to Haran? You know how we know it? It was Stephen, the first martyr, who died in the land. Stephen says in Acts chapter 7, men and brethren, verse 1, And fathers, how can the God of glory appear unto our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he dwelt in Haran? And he said unto him, Get thee out of your country from thy kindred and come into the land which I will show you. He already called him before. But you see, his family ties, like you and I, family ties, are very important.

But many times they hinder us from faithfulness to the Lord to move forward and to trust him in spite of the fact that our families might not go with us. And so he continued, and he's saying, By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place that he should receive as an inheritance, he obeyed. And he obeyed, and he went out, and he did not know where he went. I mean, this is fascinating. God said to Abraham, Go! He might have had any lapse in his time, he stopped because of his father, until his father died, but he went! But you notice, he went not knowing where he went, where he is going.

He trusted the Lord. You know, sometimes, I don't know if you feel like this, but in faith in the Messiah, sometimes you do not know what is going on. So many voices around us. So many people to draw us and to tell us, come this way, and come that way, and come this way, and look, go to this leader, and go follow after this leader. And you don't know what to do. But if we set our affection on the Lord Yeshua, and we trust him, and we wait on him, even if we don't know what's next, we just continue on, like Abraham. Not knowing whither he went, and by faith, it says, he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.

You see what he did? He trusted God, and he moved forward. He dwelt in tabernacles, it says here, which means tents. And he was like a badwill, like a nomad. He was moving from place to place, even in the land of promise that God had given to him. He trusted God, and he moved about, as God had led him. But we see here, even more, in verse 10 about Abraham, he did not know where he was going, but he went to trust God. But what we see here, in verse 10, that he looked for a city, which has a foundation, whose builder and maker is God. You know what that tells us?

You know what that tells us? That even though God had promised to Abraham to come into the promised land, to the land of Canaan, Abraham was looking, you see, he looked for a city. He looked for a city which has foundation, and he wanted that the builder of this city is none else but God himself will be. And so, beloved, that thing tells us that Abraham looked for much more than just here and now, even much more than just a piece of lot in the land of Canaan. You see, yes, that will be given to Abraham, and that will be given to his descendants, Isaac, and Jacob, and Israel, and the whole nation.

That will be, but he looked for a city which the builder and the one that the maker is none else but God himself. It really tells us that he's looking beyond what's going on here on earth. And that tells us what you and I should look for. We are not only to look for here and now, but to look beyond what is going on here and now in this earth. The temporary time in which we live here on earth, we should look for more than what is going on here and now in this world. Turn with me to chapter 12 of Hebrew. Look at this verse.

In verse 22, it says, Ye are come unto a mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the innumerable company of angels. You know, it takes us to the new Jerusalem, take us to the eternal order that is found in Revelation. Chapter 21. The heavenly Jerusalem that comes out of God. The heavenly Jerusalem that comes out of God. And actually coming out and coming out. The land will be given to the land will be given to the people of Israel. The land will be given to the people of Israel. But you see, you have come to a city, as it says here, unto the heavenly Jerusalem.

And to the innumerable company of angels. You know, it takes us to the new Jerusalem. Take us to the eternal order that is found in Revelation chapter 21. The heavenly Jerusalem that comes out of God. And actually coming out and coming down to this earth. And that heavenly Jerusalem is the city of God. The city where God is the one that is the maker and the founder. Look at chapter 13 here of the same book of Hebrews in verse 14. For here we have no continuing city. But we seek one to come. There is a city that Abraham was looking for. Which has foundation whose builder and maker is God.

And this is the heavenly Jerusalem. And we, as it says here in verse 14 of chapter 13 in Hebrews. We have here no continuing city. But we seek one that will come. And that's the heavenly Jerusalem that will come. And there will be communication between the heavenly Jerusalem. And the earthly Jerusalem in the eternal order. But the point that we're trying to learn here from Father Abraham. That he looked for a city. That the builder and the maker is none else but God himself. So he went out not knowing where he's going to. He just trusted God. And he just obeyed God. And that's what those Hebrews were challenged to do.

To trust the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. To obey his word. And to move on into the present day dispensation of what is known the body of Messiah. The body of Christ. And so now notice. Not only that the word where is found in verse 8, 9, and 10. But in the next verses. And here is the second thing that we learn of Abraham and Sarah. Is the second word how. Look. Verses 11 and 12. We read. Then in these verses we learn. Abraham and Sarah obeyed God even when they did not know how God will accomplish those promises. Look. We read in verse 11 and 12. Through faith Sarah herself conceived or received strength to conceive seed.

And she was delivered. Of a child when she was past age. Because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore, verse 12, sprang there even of one. This is Abraham. And him as good as dead. So many as the stars of the sky in multitude. And as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. In those two verses there are two statements to highlight in your Bibles. The first statement is past age. Verse 11. And the second statement is good as dead. In verse 12. You see what is the writer telling to those Hebrews? He's telling them look back. Not only did God answer Abraham. And Abraham obeyed God even when he did not know where he was going.

But Abraham and Sarah obeyed God even if they did not really grasp how God was going to fulfill his promises. Look he says that even when Sarah was past age. And when Abraham was good as dead. God had brought about his promises to this couple. This expression past age. We know very well that Sarah by the time if you read Genesis chapter 21. Finally when she was pushing 90. Can you imagine a woman at the age of 90. Giving birth to a child. I mean no wonder she left. How could I ever have been a child when I am so old. It says here that she was past age.

What about that? She looked at her husband. And she looked at him. And she knows. Wow. He is good as dead. Good as dead. In other words he is unable humanly speaking. To be the one that will be used to give a seed to his wife. To bring forth a child. And so humanly speaking. By the way. Not only did she left. Abraham himself left. And Abraham himself. In spite of his laughter. In spite of that which seemed to be unimaginable. He trusted God. And it says here in those verses 11 and 12. That through faith. Sarah herself received strength. It is God who give the strength.

It is God who give the ability to bear a child. At any age. And she conceived seed. And she delivered a child. When she was past age. You know why? It says here. Because she judged him faithful. Who had made the promise. You see. She said. Listen. God I don't understand. I'm laughing. Because it's not possible humanly. And I'm laughing. Because I look at myself. And I know myself. And I'm past age. God. But God. He said. According to this passage. I judge you faithful. I declare you faithful. You are able. You are promised. And you are going to keep it. And again beloved. Look at those Hebrews.

To whom. The writer. Is writing. And they look around. And they see everything seems to be falling apart. They believe in Yeshua the Messiah. But they look at their own brethren. They don't believe in the Messiah. They believe that he finished the work on the tree. And he is the promised one. But he looked back. And they look back. And they see their people. Their brethren. Still offering sacrifices. They tell them. That he is the Messiah. They are being persecuted. What shall I do? What shall we do? Here is the writer telling them. In spite of the impossibility. God made a promise. And even if you ask the question.

How? Or like before. They asked the question. Where? God is able to fulfill. The promises. That he had promised. God. Sarah received strength from God. And Abraham. Good as dead. Was able. To do what he needed to do. And God. As a faithful God. It brought. About. The promises. That he promised them. And the promise. By the way. Is more than just. To have a child. Isaac. But the promise. Is that. Through this child. A nation. Will be born. Namely. The nation. Of Israel. And blessings. Going to be dispensed. To the rest. Of the nations. Of the world. So precious. This beloved. Brothers and sisters.

And this is really. Challenging. Us. You sometimes. Ask. Where should I go? God says. You trust me. And I tell you. Trust me. Stay close to me. And I'll show you. The way. To go. And where to go. How. Is it possible. God. Everything looks. So difficult. And so gloomy. Around me. And God says. Listen. I promise you. I promise you. Doesn't matter. How. I will deal with the how. You just stay close to me. And I will lead you. And I will bless you. And I will give you. A fruitful. A life. Here. Until the time. That I'm going to take you. To be with me.

In heaven. Now. Let's move down. To the third. Question. That may be asked. When. And here we are. In verses 13. 14. 15. And 16. Look. We continue to talk about. Abraham's obedience. Abraham's obedience. Even when. He. Did not know. When. God. Will. Fulfill. The promises. And here we read. Verses 13. 14. 15. And 16. These all died in faith. Not having received the promises. But having seen them afar off. And they were persuaded of them. And embraced them. And confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. And they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly if they had been mindful of that country from when they came out.

They might have had opportunity to have returned. But. Now. They desire a better country. That is a heavenly. Where God is not ashamed to be called their God. For he has prepared for them a city. Now. I want. Us to look at this for a moment. You see. In those. Verses of 13. 14. 15. And 16. We see. Abraham obedience. Even if he did not know when. God. Will accomplish. The promises. To them. And so. First of all. In verse 13. We see that expression. A far off. 13. These all died in faith. Not having received the promises. Having seen them afar off. Faith. You see. What we learn here. From this verse.

Is that. By the way. It says that now. They have all died. They didn't receive the promises. That God had given to them. They didn't have seen them. But you know how. He received them. But by faith. They have seen them afar off. You remember. What was the expression. What is faith. Faith. As we have here. In chapter 11. Faith. Is the substance. Of things hoped for. And the evidence. Of things not seen. And you see. They didn't receive them. And they died already. But they have seen them afar off. You know. You see. Sometimes. When we. Talk about. The things of the Lord. We talked about.

The messianic age. We talked about. The eternal order. We have never received. Those promises. Because we are still. Waiting for those days. But by faith. We look at them. Afar off. We see them. In the coming day. We imagine. What is. We're going to be like. We. Muse. Over that. We're looking forward. And we see. What will it be. When we are going to be. With the Lord. What will it be. When the messianic age. Is going to come. What will it be. When the heavenly. The eternal order. Were we all going to be around. Yeshua. The messiah. With no sin. Any longer. No hurt.

Any longer. No death. No tears. No sorrow. Looked at them. Looked at them. Far off. They look at them. It says here. They. Have seen. Them. Far off. And then. It says. They were persuaded. Of them. And they embraced. Them. And they confessed. That they were strangers. And pilgrims. On earth. Do you know. Do you know. What happening. When a person. Trusts God. In any dispensation. In any dispensation. When a person. Believe. And trust. God. He. Or she. Become like. A stranger. And a pilgrim. No wonder. Those early Hebrew. Believers. Became strangers. To their own brethren. No wonder. You and I. Many times. Find ourselves.

Around the people. Which we work with. As strangers. We have no common goal. We have no common hope. We have nothing in common. We want to speak about the Lord. And they want to speak about the world. We want to talk about the Bible. And they want to talk about. Something else. Something else. We want to talk about Yeshua. The Messiah. And they don't want to hear about Him. And you feel like a stranger. And a pilgrim. What a pilgrim. We are on a journey. Actually beloved. This place is not our home. We might have beautiful homes. Here. We might have many good things. We might have all kind of beautiful cars.

And beautiful clothes. And all kind of things we may have. Actually beloved brothers and sisters. Everything is temporary. We are surging. We are heading. We have a home. That we are going to go soon. We are going to be in a place. That nothing going to get rusted. And corroded. And decay. We are heading towards the father's house. And you know. That is exactly. What Abraham. And his children have been in. Isaac and Jacob. And so on. Even though. They were promised a land. And yes. They eventually. He did. Gave them the land. But they didn't get all the land. Because it is awaiting the future day.

But even that. The land itself. Without God. Without the Messiah. Something was missing. But even beyond that. To go. And to look into the eternal order. In which. Ultimately. No sin. And no wrong. And no harm. And no sorrow. Going to be here in this world. You see. We are longing for this day. And here we see. Of Abraham. And his descendants. They became strangers. And pilgrims. In this world. You know why? Because this earth. And this world. Rejected. The son of God. The Messiah himself. Look. If you turn with me please. To the book. Of Peter. The first epistle. Of Peter. First. Peter. Chapter one.

Look. I'm going to read. Of first Peter. By the way. Peter. Also. Wrote. To Jewish. Believers. To Hebrews. And they became believers. And they suffered. And they were. Rejected. And they became. Like strangers. Scattered around. Notice it says. First Peter one. Verse one. Peter. An apostle of Yeshua. The Messiah. To the strangers. Scattered. Throughout Pontius. Galatia. Galatia. Cappadocia. Asia. And Bithynia. Verse two. Elect. According. To the foreknowledge. Of God. Through sanctification. Of the spirit. Unto obedience. And sprinkling. Of the blood. Of Jesus. The Messiah. Grace. Unto you. And peace. Be multiplied. You see. He called them. Strangers. And scattered. But those. People. Who were strangers.

And scattered. Are actually. Are Hebrew believers. Who were scattered abroad. Look at chapter two. Of first Peter. First Peter. Two. Verse eleven. And look what he telling them. In verse eleven. First Peter two eleven. He says to them. Dearly beloved. I beseech you. As strangers. And pilgrims. To abstain. From fleshly lust. Which war. Against. The soul. But you notice. He called them. Beloved. He called them. Strangers. And pilgrims. You see. What happened. They became. Strangers. And pilgrims. By virtue. Of their faith. In the Messiah. The faith. In God. Abroad. And they became strangers. Wherever they have gone. They really did not have. A place. To be.

Called. As their home. Because they have been. All scattered. All. As pilgrims. Moving from place. To place. Because of persecution. And rejection. That they have experienced. And really. What we learn here. From this passage. And now. Back to Hebrews. Chapter eleven. In verse fourteen. Is they. Became. Strangers. And pilgrims. On the earth. Misunderstood. Misunderstood. By the people. Around them. They were moving. From place. To place. Anticipating. The time. Where God. Is going. To give them. What he had promised them. And he says. Listen. In verse fourteen. They. They. That say. Such things. Declared plainly. That they seek. A country. See. When you call yourself. A stranger.

And a pilgrim. And you declare. That you. Are a stranger. Here in this world. That this is not. Your home. You're actually saying. I'm waiting. For another city. I'm waiting. For another country. And that city. And that country. Is the city. Of God. The city. Where God. Have. His. Rightful. Place. In the midst. Of his own. So you and I. Can say. Definitely. That we are strangers. And pilgrims. Listen. Doesn't matter. Who you're going to vote for. Today. Whether it is here. Or whether it is in Israel. Or whether it is in Canada. Whether it is in the USA. Whoever you're going to vote for.

It's still not going to be. A home. For the people of God. The one that we are waiting for. The one that we have voted for. Is waiting. To come. Very soon. And those. Abraham. And Sarah. And his descendants. Were strangers. And pilgrims. They were moving about. They declare. That they are looking for a country. And the country that they are looking for. The city that they are looking for. Is the city. That God. Is the one. That is the builder. And the maker. Where he has his rights. Where he has authority. Where he is the one. That filling the soul. Of his own people.

And with joy. And with blessing. And so it says. In verses 15 and 16. Look. God is not. A shame. To be called. Those people's God. It says in verse 13. And 15 and 16. And truly. If they had been mindful. Of that country. For whence they came out. They might have had an opportunity. To have returned. You see. They were not mindful. To go back. To where they came from. But if. They might want to go back. But they didn't want to go back. They could have gone back. Abraham. Could have gone back. Abraham. Could have gone back. But he did not go back. He looked forward. And that's why.

Look at this. It says in verse 16. But now. They desire. A better country. That is a heavenly. And you see. Even though. Abraham was looking. For the city. In the land of Canaan. Looking to be. In a promised land. But he looked. Beyond it. He looked. For the heavenly city. The heavenly place. The heavenly country. And you see. Look what it says. He looked for a heavenly. And then. Look. Because of this. It says. God. Is not. A shame. To be called. Their God. You notice this. How many times. We read. Or at least. We are. A shame. Of God. And a shame. Of the Lord.

How many times. To our own. Shame. How many times. We are ashamed. You know. There is a song. That I. Love to hear. And it's been sung. By a Hebrew. Believers. Jews for Jesus. Wrote that song. It's called. I am ashamed. Of my sins. And the sins. Of my people. But I am not ashamed. Of the gospel. And you see. Abraham. Isaac. Abraham and Sarah. They were not ashamed. Of God. They were not ashamed. Of the God. Who called them out. And that's why. He is not ashamed. To be called. Their God. He is not ashamed. To be called. Their God. He is not ashamed.

To be called. Their God. Because he. Has prepared. For them. A city. 16. He is not ashamed. To be called. Their God. Because they have. Trusted him. They have. For the instruction. They were moving on. In spite of difficult. And those questions. They have asked. And they obeyed him. Even if they did not know. Where they are going. They obeyed him. Even though. They did not know. How he is going. To accomplish. What they have promised. And they obeyed him. Even if. They did not know. When he is going. To give them. What he promised. To them. And that's why. It's not a shame. To be called.

Their God. What a wonderful. Statement. To come. In the Bible. God called Abraham. The friend. Of God. What a precious. Truth. To get a hold of. When you sometimes. Feel. Discouraged. When you sometimes. Feel. Disappointed. In yourself. Just look away. From yourself. And look at. Jesus. The Messiah. And see. How much. He loved you. And how much. He cared for you. And what he has done. For you. And how he wanted. Draw you. To follow after him. And to obey him. How much. You want to see. Obedience. In our lives. That's the most. Difficult thing. In our lives. Is to obey. You know. That sin.

Came by disobedience. That's how sin. Came into this world. And so. We see. God. Is not. Ashamed. To be called. Their God. He's not ashamed. Precious. Isn't it? Amazing. How wonderful. The writer. Encouraging. The Hebrew believers here. And now. Look at this. And I'm going to move. To the last. Verses here. Verses. Eight. Nine. And ten. Abraham. Obeyed God. Even if he didn't know. Where. He was going to. Verses. Thirteen. To sixteen. Abraham. Obeyed God. Even if he didn't know. When. God. Would fulfill. His promises. Verses. Eleven. And twelve. Know. How. God. Is going to. Do that. And now. Let's look at. The last verses.

And verses. Seventeen. Eighteen. And nineteen. Abraham. Obeyed God. What he does. And look at this. Verse seventeen. By faith. Abraham. When he was tried. Offered up. Isaac. And he. That. Had received. The promises. Offered up. His only begotten. Son. Of whom. It is said. That. In Isaac. Shall thy seed. Be called. Accounting. That. God. Was. Able. To. Raise. Him. Up. Even. From. The dead. From. Whence. He also. Received him. In a figure. Two things here. That are very. Precious. You remember. The other day. Genesis. Chapter 22. Really. Those verses. Connect us. With Genesis. Chapter 22. And when God. Asked Abraham. To offer up. His son. His only.

Begotten son. And God says. Take now. Thy son. Thine only son. Whom you love. Isaac. And offer him. Up on one of the mountains. Which I will tell thee of. Genesis 22. And verse 1. And can you imagine. The thought. That God. After he had. Finally fulfilled. The promise. Of giving him a son. And finally. The son. Has come. Now. God. Is asking. Abraham. To offer him. Up. As a sacrifice. On one of the mountains. Now. It is immediately. Gives a dilemma. To a person. Such as Abraham. Would give to anyone. A dilemma. And on one hand. You finally give him a son. And my old age.

Hundred years of age. On the other hand. You asking me now. To offer him. And to kill him. Well. What's the point. How is it possible. God. Why is it. That it is. Directed from me. And why are you asking me. Such a difficult question. And you and I. And perhaps those Hebrews. That the apostle write to. They ask. God why. Why are people. Are not all believers. Right now. In Yeshua. The Messiah. Why should we leave them. And why should we not continue. With certain things. And he. Had to explain to them. But. They still needed to obey. The word of God. And here we see Abraham.

It says here in verses 17. And 18. That by faith. Abraham. When he was tested. He offered up Isaac his son. He that he received the promise. Offered up his only begotten son. And listen verse 18. Of whom. It was said that in Isaac. Shall thy sin be called. If in Isaac. Shall thy sin be called. Why do I need. To go and offer him. Abraham. Had. The only solution. That he had. To this problem. Is to trust God. That if God. Said. That he's going to give. Through Isaac. Thy sin be called. And blessing a nation. Gonna come. And if God. Expect him. For me now. To slay my son.

I'm going. To trust. God. Is going. To do. The best. That he knows how. And he's going to fulfill. The promises. That he had promised. And that's. Where the trust in God. That was needed. By Abraham. And that's why it says. In verse. 18 and 19. It says. Accounting. That God. Was able. To raise. Him up. What Abraham. Really said. Is simply this. If God. Asked me. To offer up. The very son. Whom he had. Given to me. And promised me. That in Isaac. Shall thy sin be called. Then I believe. That God. Is able. To raise him up. From the dead. God. So he. The seed Isaac.

Will bring forth. The seed. Jacob. And the nation of Israel. Will be born. As a nation. He trusted God. And you see the point here. In verse 19. He accounting. God. That God. Was able. To raise. Isaac. From. The dead. He is the God. Of the impossible. He is the God. Who can do. All things. And the lessons. Beloved. Brothers and sisters. That the Hebrews. Of all. That you and I. Learning. From this. Is that in Abraham. We see. The life. Of faith. Waiting. On God. In every situation. Of the life. Of the believer. Of the child. Of God. Many things. I am sure. You ask.

In your life. And asking. About your family. Your friend. Your job. Your health. Situation. And you ask. Well. How. When. Why. And you and I. Ask that. But in every situation. Really. The answer here. Is simply. Trust God. Obey. His word. And he going to answer. Every question. That you have. In his time. Sometimes. We sing. In his time. He makes. All things. Beautiful. In his time. And that's. The lesson. That we learn. From Abraham. And Sarah. Faith. Waits. On God. At all times. And when we fail. We fail. And when we have. Laps. On our lives. The thing to do. Is to confess it.

Before the Lord. And say. Lord. I fail you. To brush up. To brush up. If you will. Ourself. And to get up. And to continue. To go. Don't look within. Because within. You'll see disappointment. Don't look without. Because without. You'll see a lot of discouragement. But to look upwards. Where the person of Yeshua is. And to see. Delightness. He is such a delight. To look at. A man. That loved us. Gave himself for us. A man. That have done everything for us. To give us hope. To give us a future. To give us a reason for living. And so. We can live our life. Like.

In some small measure. Like Abraham. The life. Of faith. Living. For our blessed Lord. Jesus. The Messiah. Can we say amen to that? Amen.