Faith, Gotta Have It: No Going Back “They deserve a better country, that is a heavenly one.” Hebrews 11:16 Genesis 24:1-9; Hebrews 11:15-16 What a great passage to finish up the work week! These verses show us that the person of faith focuses on the future rather than the past. See, Abraham could have gone back to Ur. He could have called his realtor and canceled the closing on his house. But he didn’t go back because he wasn’t thinking back. Neither were these other people of faith. If you are going from Ur to Canaan but you are only thinking about Ur, you are either not going to get to Canaan, or you are not going to enjoy being in Canaan because your mind isn’t there. Fundamentally, living by faith is a matter of the mind. It’s very clear from genesis 24 that Abraham was thinking about and where his mind and heart were. He made his servant swear and oath that he would never take Isaac back to the land of Ur. Better to have him be a single man in Canaan than find a wife and settle down in Ur. Much later Israel got stuck in the wilderness because they kept reflecting on Egypt. Every time God said, “Go to Canaan,” they said, “Oh, but back there in Egypt….” Many of us can’t enjoy the Christian life because we are thinking about how much fun the world used to be. We’re thinking about the garlic and the leeks back in Egypt, and we are stuck out here in the wilderness with manna. Well, I’m here to tell you that if you start thinking like that, you’re looking at about forty years of aimless wandering in your Christian pilgrimage. The person of faith is looking to tomorrow, as hard and as far away as it may look. Biblical faith says, “God, I am looking at Your tomorrow.” Now what’s back there may be enticing. Back there may be a lot of fun and old friends. But God isn’t back there. God left Ur, God left Egypt, and you’ll find Him in Canaan. God is your future. Are you being tempted to look back or even go back today? Claim the promises of God, anticipate them, look ahead to God’s future for you. Look ahead to where he’s taking you. A person of faith distinguishes between time and eternity (v.16). You know, true faith brings with it a lot of wonderful rewards, but here’s one I bet you haven’t thought about for a while. It’s sort of hidden in the middle of Hebrews 11:16; “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.” This is not talking about salvation. The picture here is the flip side of 1 John 2:28, where the Apostle John tells us to abide in Christ so that when he comes, we won’t be “ashamed” (KJV) before Him. The writer of Hebrews says God is not ashamed of these folk because they believed Him and lived in anticipation of His promises. Think about this. People you are ashamed of, you don’t hang around much. If I’m ashamed to be with you, I’m either going to avoid you, or we are going to be very uncomfortable with each other. Now hold onto your seat. The reason many Christians are living unhappy lives is because God is ashamed of them. He doesn’t want people to know that they know Him. And since He’s not happy to be walking and talking with them, they are not living lives of real joy, peace, purpose, or direction. I realize that is a heavy concept for a weekend of reflection, but give it some thought over the next couple of days. For a practical step of application and a fascinating Bible study, take your concordance (and if you don’t have one, put this book down, go get one, and put it next to your Bible) and look up the references for “ashamed.” They’re a real eye-opener! Posted by David Coleman of The DC Ministry “Sharing The Gospel.”
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 09:25:06 +0000
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