"Looking for a Better Place"

Hebrews 11:13-16

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Introduction: The Declaration of Independence starts out: “When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..”

When many of the people came to America, they came to seek out a better place to live; a place that would allow them to worship God in freedom, and to live life the way God created us to live. These people didn’t believe they could find this in Europe, under the oppression of their king and government.

As we look further at Hebrews, chapter 11, we see how the text recalls a number of stories of the Old Testament saints, and their experiences with faith. I want to focus on the story of Abraham and Sarah, and God’s call on them to “Go to the land I will show you…” God was going to take them to a better place.

I. Looking for Something More- (Matthew 6:19-21, 13:44-45;

Hebrews 11:13-16)

a. Treasures of heaven- One aspect of the story of Abraham and

Sarah that we need to understand is that God’s ways are not our ways. You see, the life of faith makes us long for that which we do not have. Remember last week how we talked about having a faith that leads us to hope for what we don’t have and what we cannot see. But this longing needs to be for that which this world cannot offer. Meaning, that we have longings in us: a longing to be happy; a longing to be safe; a longing to be secure; a longing to have provisions; a longing for peace.

But these longings will only be fully satisfied by the things of heaven, not the things of earth. That is why Jesus told us in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The treasures in heaven opens our hearts to the possibilities of beauty and connectedness and love that relationships in this physical world will never be able to supply.

In speaking of the saints, Hebrews 11 talks about Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And then we read in Hebrews 11:13-16, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. ¹⁴People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

These saints understood that this life on earth was temporary, and that the ultimate promise of God would not be fulfilled until they were in heaven. So, from a distance, the distance of earth to heaven, they longed for this better place, knowing that they were aliens on this earth.

b. Ultimate fulfillment- The writer of Hebrews wants to put the

whole concept of death in perspective. God made many promises to Abraham and Sarah, and some of them (like the birth of Isaac) were realized. But they died before many of them came to be. Not all the promises were fulfilled. So we wonder, why didn’t God fulfill them all? Did God give up on Abraham and Sarah? I will talk about some of these unfulfilled promises in a minute.

Example- Have you ever thought about how we can call “Good Friday” good? I mean, Good Friday is the day that Jesus Christ was killed; crucified on the cross. How could the death of Jesus be a good day? It is a good day because without Jesus’ death, we would not be able to have freedom from our sinful nature here on this earth. But even more, we would not be able to have eternal life in heaven with God. So Jesus’ death is good because it makes our death good. When we die, we can know that we will go to heaven; that place where all God’s promises are fulfilled.

In Matthew 13:44-45 we read these words from Jesus: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. ⁴⁵"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Or Jesus telling the rich man that his riches were keeping him from heaven, and that he needed to sell them and give to the poor. Jesus is telling us here that heaven is worth more than anything we have on this earth; it is worth selling all that we have to attain it.

The author of Hebrews wants us to understand that death is actually a doorway that leads us to the great gifts life can’t provide. When we have faith, we become aware of a myriad of possibilities. And the further we venture into our understanding of God and the things of God, the more we realize that our longings can’t be fully fulfilled in this life here on earth. But in heaven, they can be fulfilled.

Did you catch that? We will have ultimate fulfillment in heaven!

It comes down to understanding that God has more for us than just what we experience here on earth. I don’t know about you, but I am glad for this.

II. No Turning Back- (Hebrews 11:13; Matthew 14:13-21; John 6:68)

a. Don’t give in- I believe Alpha to be a wonderful study. We have

been doing it now for almost 8 years, and I have seen so many people come to a fuller understanding of their faith and the teachings of the Bible. But it also has led people to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to become more secure in their faith, and excited about their faith.

But unfortunately, I have also seen a number of people who come seeking, and yet go away to fade back into their old way of living. Even though their old way of living is not satisfying, it is familiar and comfortable. Somehow, the teaching of Jesus, and the Bible, seems too challenging for them; too overwhelming to implement in their lives.

One of the great lessons we learn from Abraham and Sarah (and the other saints here in Hebrews 11), is that they refuse to go back. They could have done so. Abraham and Sarah could have chosen to go back to Ur. It would have been tempting. Ur was a fertile region with an advanced culture. They could have left their journey and gone back to the kind of life they had before. But they rejected this option.

If we are going to be a Christian, then we need to refuse to go back as well. When the Christian journey gets hard and confusing, we can’t give up. We can’t stop and say: “I’m done with this. Following Jesus doesn’t seem to work. I’m getting off this narrow road and back onto the broad road. I’m going to go back to being selfish, and focus more on myself than on God!”

It is interesting to me to see how people seem to forget that there are struggles apart from Jesus as well. Life without Jesus isn’t a life free of hardship. In fact, in many ways, the hardships are greater. And what’s more, the hardships, the struggles, the trials have to be faced without Jesus being there for you. Why would anyone think that it is better to go back to a life without Jesus?

The writer of Hebrews tells us in 11:13- “All of these people were still living by faith…” The saints were faithful to live by faith; to stay true to their call from God; to not give up when things got hard; to not give up believing in God’s promises.

b. It’s about relationship- There’s a reason that the saints didn’t give

up. It is because going back wasn’t so much an issue of geography, but of the breaking of a relationship. They couldn’t just go back to the land where they started. They had been called by God. And when they agreed to this call, they were entering into a relationship with God. Going back would have meant losing intimacy with the One who called them on the journey.

The reason Abraham was in the Promised Land was because when God said to go there, God promised to be Abraham’s companion along the way. To go back would have meant that Abraham would have had to leave the presence of God. And even though life was chaotic on this journey with God’s presence, imagine what life would be like without God’s presence.

This truth is true for us as well. God calls you and me on a journey just like God called Abraham and Sarah. It may not require us physically leaving the place that we live, but it does require for us to step out in ways that God leads us. As we seek to live out this call, God walks with us. And as the journey goes forward, our relationship with God gets deeper. So, for us to turn back, means that we would have to leave this relationship with God; we would be choosing to live our life without God’s intimate presence.

One story that is included in all four of the gospels is that of the feeding of the 5,000. This story is one of the great miracles of the New Testament. Let’s read it from the Matthew passage (Matthew 14:13-21)- “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.’ ¹⁶Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’ ¹⁷‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,’ they answered. ^18‘Bring them here to me,’ he said. ¹⁹And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

Of course, people are astonished at this miracle, and when Jesus leaves, a great many people follow Him. As they follow Him, He begins to teach them, and challenge them. But after hearing Jesus’ teaching, most of them depart, because they hadn’t entered into a relationship with Jesus; they were just caught up with His miracles. Jesus then turns to the disciples in John 6:68 and says: “You do not want to go away also, do you?” To which Peter says: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”

In faith, we have to believe this, that Jesus has words of eternal life; that Jesus is God in the flesh come to be in relationship with us; that Jesus will walk with us in all of life.

III. A Place For Us- (Hebrews 11:16; John 14:2-3)

a. The City of God- And so, as we walk on the journey with God, we

have to understand that the ultimate destination is not here on earth, but in heaven. Hebrews 11:16 talks of the “city of God.” This city is the “one” city that will be lasting, since its architect and builder is God.

Think about this, as Abraham and Sarah traveled around, they had to live in tents; they had to live in cities that were not theirs. And yet, these cities are no more. These cities have long passed. There is only one city that is eternal; the city that is in heaven.

At the end of verse 16 we come across the phrase “for them.” What a wonderful phrase that is. God has prepared this city with His children in mind.

Example- If you have ever built something for yourself, or done any remodeling in your house, you know that you take great care and time to make it perfect. And yet, in time, you might want to make more changes. You never can seem to get it just right. There is no such thing as perfect in this world.

In the dwelling made for us by God, it will be perfect, because it is made by a perfect God. As Jesus said in John 14:2-3, “In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” In these words we should have great excitement, because Jesus is going to prepare a place for you, and for me!! It is going to be the best possible place for us, and it will last forever. All the things we have hoped for, all the things we have longed for are being prepared for us.

And in all of this, we can know that God believes in us. Listen again to these words in Hebrews 11:16- “Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God…” God is not ashamed to be our God. God loves us; God delights in us; God welcomes us into His holy eternal city, and wants us to live in His presence.

b. Going home- Illus. There’s an old story about Franklin Delano

Roosevelt, who was returning to the United States by ship. He was surrounded by a great many people (security and other political figures). When the ship docked in New York City, there was great fanfare with military guards, reporters taking pictures, a band playing “Hail to the Chief.” On this same ship was a missionary couple who had retired, and were returning home after many years of giving their lives serving God overseas. They were the last ones off the ship. As they came down the gangway and onto the dock, they noticed that everyone had left. The husband turned to his wife, and with sadness in his voice said: “We have given our lives to God, and there is not one person here to welcome us home. No one even knows we are home!” But his wife turned to him and said: “There is a welcoming waiting for us. We just aren’t home yet.”

As Christians, we live in an interesting balance; a balance between what we are called to do here on earth, and the life we will experience when we get to heaven. In many ways, this life here on earth is a preparation for our lives in heaven. We are called to serve God and give praise to God through our lives here. We will serve God and give praise to God in heaven as well.

We need to realize that there is no way that God can give us everything He has prepared for us here. There is another place, another world, where things are different. And the longer we live, the more we long for this place, this city, where the foundations and all that are in it are built by God. It is built to last; to last for eternity. And it is prepared for all who believe in Jesus Christ as their savior.

This does not mean that our lives here on earth is meaningless. They are very meaningful. And the more we follow God’s call to “love our neighbors as ourselves,” the more meaningful it will be. LAST WEEK we gave a picnic for the women and children from the WomenShelter of Long Beach. It was a magnificent time of giving to those who had needs. One little girl, age 9, expressed how it was the first picnic she had ever been to!! The happiness and love shown on the faces of these mothers and children were priceless.

Conclusion: So how will we live now? Will we live as faithful sojourners, enjoying this world God has placed us in, and anticipating the world to come?

Going back to Matthew 6:19, we remember that Jesus knew it was important for our minds to be on heaven, even though our bodies are on this earth. The apostle Paul challenged us with similar words in Colossians 3:1-2, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” The better place for us to live is in the thoughts of God. If we set our minds on the things of God, then we will live a much better life here, and we will be much more prepared for the life that is to come. Let us commit to do this today and always. Amen.