Abraham: The Pilgrimage of Faith, Part 1

See you then.

I'll let you know what Dr. Tony Evans is the power to approach life.

The other way around that in 122 will not show me if you can't get you believe celebrating 40 years of fullness.

This is the alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas Texas and president of the urban alternative. One of the toughest things to do in the Christian life is nothing to wait patiently on God and trust him.

While we do today.

Dr. Evan says we can learn that skill by taking a look at the life of Abraham. Let's join him as he begins with like God is telling the truth acting like it is.

So it is not so in order that it might be something because God said so that you measure your faith by your feet not by your feelings, we worship walk by faith Noah worked by faith today we going to talk about the leading candidate of faith in the Bible name of Abraham in Hebrews chapter 11 we read in verse eight 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 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 problems, for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Three things about Abraham today and his walk of faith that if you want to experience God in a whole new level. By faith, it will involve a leaving a living looking let's start with believing because verse eight tells us what 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 believe your city, your community, your house and even your people and I want you to go to a place that I'm not tell you about city where he was going. All he knew was God told him to leave without knowing where God was speaking why God telling him to leave the counties where I've got to move away from family and friends and the things he grew up with the context of world paganism. Joshua 24 two that he was raised in a family violence play worship idols worship false gods. God God says something for you to do.

I got a plan for you. Abraham but it will not plant you got to leave or stay with me if you want to see where I want you to go show you where I'm taking you to leave when you cannot stay and have me. You cannot have me you cannot around and have me.

So you got only you got me nowhere. I'm taking you even one like this okay.shortly when you think of me and I'll let you know if I'm going to live in Ur of the county's account represents worldliness that is change of mass tools and actions that leave God out. God has saved this world. The world is not as we said many times the place the world have a philosophy. It's like world of finance the world the fashion world of politics world of sports while they involve places that really an orientation centered around certain thing world of finances about what worldly mass is about the exclusion of God want you to exclude God, and God says leave that is your life in my life cannot be by leaving God out or just putting them in piecemeal. When we like it as a spare tire taking about the trunk when Michael's flat putting it back when we can roll on about. You will never know where God is taking you unless you leave the way you are the world you will never find out people he will never show you what motivated him to leave. God said, I have an inheritance for you since you left to get his inheritance and will something bequeath to you. Every head of the household on him will will secret you and I do that uncomfortable.not having will likely keep you alive long limited households and never will. But I have it into something bequeath to you.

God says I am a will for you. I have an intelligence for you. I have a plan for you.

As we said in our series yesterday for you. God has something for every believer here. If you are a Christian has a purpose that he wants you to fulfill what he will not show you your destiny. If you can't get you to leave as long as you're on your enmity against God.

God cannot communicate with you so you will here have been talking about the answer print, you won't get direction because your actions are not with him on occasion, but you live with affections and actions that leave him out that one of the ways you know he'll growing of the Christian is when your passion for the world is dying in your passion for him is growing. If you love the world more than him. After affections.

It has your passion is grabbing so he said you must leave this. That doesn't include me without me giving you all the details walk by faith and believe that no one taken you. The problem was is that that's where he was born. That's where he grew up as long as people as were his businesses were boxes in the filthy rich guy that's where all of his activities work and believe something you grown up in that frame of thinking, but it says when he heard the voice of God, obeying and because was more important than his current location to have the decision we have to make. If you really want to experience God is what God has for you. More importantly way when I was a boy growing up in Baltimore as a young kid I spent hours playing marbles marbles was the thing I spent hours playing what was I got pretty good at marbles. You know you put the marbles in this encirclement and you can pop a lot of the circle got pretty good. I can getting further away you get my name down for the wake one, doing about it like 6 feet away from the circle and nothing I got my bottom line put it down came up but will I not only hit it. The modeling you could say nothing to me because I had gotten good and low but then one day a guy from the neighborhood brought over football I got introduced to football because she bite his nose out passion for black I discovered football. I started to fall in love with. I started to get passionate about football and I noticed something I noticed I was playing marbles less compliance with after a while I would plan marbles at all because every day after school was football on Saturday was football. It was for pump up up up up up up football because my love grew in the new direction and I had to say goodbye to old plaything unless you believe God's got a football you keep plan.

Marbles, unless you believe that God has a destiny for you that is so spectacular so so so proud principal P playing mommy to be set aside circle herein and think you're doing something just say a prayer once a day to go to church once a week. Abraham said I don't want details, I know you gave me this general meeting details. But even though I don't where I'm going. I believe you know where you taken me so I'm gonna risk leaving the things I know best and most is the question do you love the world so much you would lose your destiny because God knows what he wants to take you but you must be willing to leave say goodbye some of you go to battle because you got to say goodbye to that worldly relationship that's keeping you from your destiny after think about it at that worldly scenario with the guise of going out after work in a talking smut and llama.

You may not use all the words they use and make all the analogies they use, but you find yourself comfortable, then you will lose the friendship and when I talk about being antisocial, we are talking about saying that that does not fit where I'm trying to go so because that doesn't fit when I'm trying to go and I want to get to where God speaking with unwilling to leave. This will be hard to leave but willingly, because you can keep yourself from ever hearing the voice of God.

If you stay in the world that system that leaves God so once we decide to leave. Where do we go next.

Dr. Evans will have the answer when he comes back in a moment. Stay with us. Words cannot express my gratitude to God for his faithfulness would've thought it would have taken this urban kid out of Baltimore, Maryland given him the opportunity, allowing me to earn a doctorate degree the church ministry that would model what we've been doing nationally and internationally through this ministry that he would build up and give us a staff who are committed to getting this truth out, reaching hundreds of hundreds of thousands of people with the truth of God. All manner of ways to impact individuals and families and churches and even communities with the worldview of the kingdom agenda visible manifestation of the comprehensive God of every area of life and I'm certainly grateful for all the friends he's given us to keep us being able to get God's truth into a needy world. I praise God for 40 years of his favor on us. The Bible tells us without faith it's impossible to please God, but with faith.

There's no limit to what God can do through us. That's why Tony's just written a brand-new book examining the powerful faith journeys of the men and women mentioned in Hebrews 11. It's called kingdom heroes. These heroes were ordinary people who became some of the most familiar characters in the Bible simply by believing God and staking their lives on the fact that he was telling the truth by studying their lives. We see what it looks like to walk in the assurance of God's love and can be inspired to embrace and demonstrate that same confidence in our lives. Faith didn't go out of style.

In the Old Testament, it still is powerful today as ever and God still honors those who trust him. We'd love for you to be one of the first to receive this new book from Dr. Evans so if you contact us and make a contribution to the ministry right away will send you as our thank you gift Tony's book kingdom heroes. Also, the companion Bible study and all 13 messages from the two-volume audio series we been hearing from today called heroes of the faith. Just visit us@tonyevans.org to make your online donation and request but don't wait this special faith package is only available for a limited time again that's Tony Evans.org or call our resource Center, day or night at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you. That's 1-800-800-3222. Dr. Evans will be back with more of today's lesson right after this. How do you share the gospel with confidence. Once God's plan for our communities. Why does the Old Testament matter to your faith today. Those are just a few of the questions you get answered when you enrolled in the Tony Evans training center and interactive online study experience with Dr. Tony Evans you can grow in your knowledge of God's word and learn to advance his kingdom agenda in your life. Visit Tony Evans training.org to get started today. That's Tony Evans training.org Hebrews 1313 says you must go outside of the camp where Jesus is.

Jesus died outside of Jerusalem through the woods with Judaism was he went outside the camp and dive it says you can't stay in just a religious environment and not be willing to be identified with Jesus Christ and his reproach and expect to hear from God.

You have to go outside the camp. That is, you can't be just part of the system.

So the first thing you need to know is that your life faith will require 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 leaving in the living notice this verse not by faith he lived see that by faith. You as an alien in the land of promise in a foreign land dwelling in tents with an Jacob fellow heirs of the same promise while admitting their wife says he'll live promise and an alien women women at once is he laughed. He left the county's paganism.

He is now in the land God is promising God promised Himalayan land that is now in living in his living as an some of God's waiting room only, no discipline in the Christian life, no discipline been waiting God.

How long is this going to come through for me, take two steps forward, three steps back, look like you get ready for make things work out and I don't want him in his little plane coming into the city. Pilot said there is bad weather around the city and so we going to have to enter a holding plans to not speak somewhere to meet some people. I am not playing we got permission to land. I took a deep breath plane touches down later and I'm sorry to report that the plane sitting at our gate.

That is the delay because the weather been him take off right through the town and stuff on the play and says in the tents as a questions you might be thinking that is a long way off when you actually might be in the middle and just not be made manifest, so I don't know what you want to know when is this thing on land for God answer my prayer. Deliver me.

Whatever it is that he has done for me to hear this, God is always doing two things at one time related to your life and mine to things.

He's preparing the promise for you and he's preparing you for the promise is in time is being made ready but he also got to get you ready so that we promise and the plan is realized you were ready waiting for you to show but looking over your shoulder and asked we could be delaying the promise waiting for the promise is a brand-new 75 years old.

Breakthrough income for 25 years is going take him God to break this thing through. That's what Isaac appears.

It took him 20 years between Wendy, do something and when he didn't want to take 25 years. It took 21 ready Abraham was lying.

She had an affair with his handmade baby out of wedlock. Abraham needed some development, and God will not about to give them a miracle without a development. He was not about to give him until he came cruel and is good news and hope you and me when we tell we get the message.

I feel the neighborhood of the land because we grow so you want to leave the world want to live in God's move quickly and obedient, so you can get it because you ready for the big deal because God to give you a deafening that will cause you to forget the problem by one God, if you do it for me this if you get me out of this.

If you help me this house serve you for the rest of my life delivered you went back to your life. God no not fully committed the promise.

Dr. Evans will be back.

To illustrate that idea with a story from his own life. So stay with us for so today's lesson is part of Tony's current series called heroes of the faith. Don't forget, for a limited time we are offering the full-length version of all 13 lessons in this two-volume series on CD and digital download along with Tony's brand-new book in Bible study guide kingdom heroes there. Yours is our way of saying thank you for your contribution to this ministry. Just visit Tony Evans.org to get the details.

And while you're there, be sure to sign up for Tony's free weekly email devotional that's Tony Evans.org or you can call our resource Center at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our friendly team members, assist with your request. Again, that's 1-800-800-3222. Following God's direction may take us into unfamiliar territory. But on Monday Dr. Evans talks about keeping something familiar insight, no matter how much the scenery around us may change right now he's back with a final story for today when I go to a hotel. I live out of my bank will pick stuff up and put in the hotel drawers and organize stuff to got me can put the toothpaste all lined up and do a little suitcase get what I need and the reason I do that is because I'm passing through. So I don't get too comfortable, because I know I'm not staying God says if I'm going to take you to your inheritance. I'm gotta develop you for your inheritance and when I developed your inheritance.

Keep your shoes on, like, thing you do some stuff, take you through some things that will be from now will be some balance but they're all designed to develop you, take care, I just got to get you right some of also working on 50 years of thing that should be installed in three years, but we can pitch content in the house that we will move out and so God does not have flexibility with our last chance we can grow it was like he wants to grow us because were not of for him to do his thing. But says by faith Abraham was willing to live is alien to live as a foreigner, not become too attached. Looking for God to change the scenario finding alternative celebrating Thanksgiving generous listeners