Sermons & Sunday Schools

The Honor Roll of Faith: Abraham (Part 3)

Full Transcript:

In looking at the Honor Roll of Faith, we will come to Abraham. Already, I have mentioned and want to stress that faith is trust in the unseen, not in the unknown, which is very important. Biblical faith is a faith that is certain that what it believes is true and what it expects will come to pass. Reason being that what we believe is based on objective, historical truth, and it is founded in the very character of God, who cannot and will not lie. Therefore, Biblical faith is grounded in what we cannot see, but know is true.

The faith that lays hold of what is promised and hoped for is real and solid. You can die with this faith knowing that even though you have not seen completely everything that God is doing, you know His promises will be true. These Old Testament examples lived with trust in the unseen, and they lived by faith. Faith is the ultimate assurance and evidence of things not seen being actual realities.

If we didn’t know what God said was true, then we could not persevere or go another step, and we live in a pluralistic society where one person’s truth is as equal as another’s person truth, which is not true. God’s word is true, and it cannot be changed by anyone of us.

Now, we come to the Honor Roll of Faith, and so far, each example of what it means to have and live by faith has their peculiar corner on showing us in looking for help in understanding faith and what it means to live by faith. When we looked at Abel, living by faith was worshipping God in an acceptable manner. When we looked at Enoch, living by faith is walking with God in a pleasing manner. When we looked at Noah, living by faith is obeying God’s word in an unquestionable manner.

Already, we have seen that what makes any person well pleasing to God is faith. Without it, there is no possibility of pleasing God. Of course, Abraham is no different, and his example highlights some part of the meaning and essence of faith, which is helpful for us to gain a clearer understanding on how we may live by faith to please God.

For Abraham, living by faith is obeying God in a patient manner. In Hebrews 11:8-10, Abraham plays a significant role in God’s plan of redemption, and he is given more attention than the other characters. From Noah to Abraham, ten generations had passed. In that whole time, you don’t see much going on except people rebelling against God.

The only display that we see of the character of God is God’s long suffering with people. God bares along with people so that they may come to repentance, and he is still doing that today. Up until Abraham, all the generations provoked the Lord and they closed their ears to God’s truth, which may be why Abraham is highlighted.

There are two essentials to Abraham’s faith that are brought out in Scripture. First, his faith was a patient trust that carefully listened to God. Hebrews 11:8:

By faith 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.

The root word obeyed in Greek is akouo, which means “I hear” or to listen. We get the word acoustic from it, and acoustic relates to hearing sounds. For example, this room has good acoustics, and it was built like that since it had no amplification. The wall behind me is designed that way so that the voice would proceed out. Anywhere you stand in this building, people can hear you since it is designed that way.

Nonetheless, the word in this passage for obey means to hear. When it comes to hearing the word of God, for some it sounds just to be words, and no real understanding, meaning, or personal application comes to them.

In a passage of Scripture, Jesus is talking with those who thought they were children, descendants, and related to Abraham, and who knew all about Abraham. However, when Jesus brings them to the truth, he pinpoints a characteristic in them that shows that they were not Abrahams children at all but had another father. John 8:39-40:

They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40“But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.

In other words, Abraham did not kill God’s messenger, but listened to God’s messenger. If you are going to do the works of Abraham, then listen to what God says. Let’s continue in John 8:41-43:

“You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” 42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. 43“Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.

There, the word saying is the word lalia. In other words, why can’t people understand the way Jesus speaks, who speaks on behalf of God. Then notice in John 8:43, He says that they cannot hear His words, or logos. In other words, they had no power or ability to hear God’s word and believe it. The only desire they had was to listen to the lies of their father, who spins them to sound like truth. However, they have no power to discern whether they are truth or not. John 8:44-47:

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45“But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46“Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47“He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

 

 

Meaning, to hear utterances in which God, through someone, declares the mind of God, which means the prophets. In this case, Jesus declares the mind and will of the Heavenly Father. Therefore, the key about Abraham is that he listens to the way God speaks and hears him.

It becomes a unique characteristic of Abraham. In fact, it is the characteristic of all descendants of Abraham, who follow God spiritually. Abraham listens to God, and when God called, Abraham harkened to His command. In other words, Abraham went out obediently. John 10:3:

To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Before his listeners stoned him to death, Stephen said to the religious leaders in Acts 7:2:

And he said, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran

In other words, he is saying to them, “Here me, a representative of God’s word, since you didn’t hear them nor listen to Abraham, so you better listen to me.” Rather than listening to Stephen, they stoned him to death.

People have a spiritual hearing problem, and even in this passage of Acts, we see that the whole Gospel message starts with the glory of God. The God, who causes things to happen and is involved in the acts of men, is the God of history. When we read the word of God, it is God’s story.

Remember, man started out with knowledge of the true and living God right in the beginning with Adam. However, man fell from that knowledge, which is the history of man. Constantly, they stopped listening to God all the way up into Abraham; then, Abraham listens.

In a very real sense, God sought out a man by appearing to a pagan idolater named Abram. God moved forward, spoke to him, and he listened. Back in Hebrews 11:8, God called Abraham, and by faith, Abraham obeyed. From Scripture, we glean several things that point to the relationship Abraham had with the Lord, God.

In each one of those points, the relationship of his physical descendants shows that they didn’t have much relationship since they did not listen to what God said. When God said to leave, Abraham left. In fact, it was said again in Acts 7:3:

and said to him, ‘LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.’

When Abraham lived in Mesopotamia, some considered him to be a moon-worshiper. It was Joshua who informed us about Abraham’s family idolatry. Joshua 24:2:

Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods.

The Scripture is saying that all of Abraham’s family were idolaters. By that time, the people in the generations after Noah were making their gods up. They were carving gods, molding gods out of metal, and they didn’t want to listen to God. When people don’t listen to the true and living God, they find some idol to form and create in their mind to worship.

However, Abraham seemed to be dissatisfied with the idolatry of his people. He was searching, wandering in his heart, and when God came along, he was somewhat ready to go out into the unknown. God told him to go west and leave the security of his home and family. At that point, his faith was tested with a huge amount of uncertainty.

Faith never tells us everything that is going to happen next. In some real way, that is why we don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. God didn’t give us that information, and no one is privy to that kind of information. However, God did give us his overall program and to know the end goal and where it’s heading. Until you get there, there is going to be rough waters, uncertainty, and insecurity.

Yet, in Hebrews 11:8, it says that Abraham went out not knowing where he was going, and God told him to go out and be a wanderer in the world. Also, it tells us that when God said go, he went and was sent by God to the country preached in the book of Acts, which is the very promise land that Abraham didn’t see when he had his faith. Also, God promised, and Abraham trusted.

In the mindset of the people then, an inheritance meant you had to have children or a family. Abraham didn’t have any children, so it was a huge amount of faith to simply listen carefully to God’s word and do exactly what He said, which is what makes Abraham so different.

While people remain stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears by resisting everything God says, then people are doing the same thing as before when God spoke through prophets, who were persecuted and killed for their message from God. Acts 7:51-52:

“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52“Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?

Meaning, God raises up people to speak through them His message. On the other side of the message, it must be the person who listens. If they don’t listen and resist it, then they are on their own. When people hear a message from God and do not listen, they are doing the same thing by persecuting the visible representative of God and killing its message, and sometimes they kill the messenger too. Now, how can you be like Abraham?

When you are a person who truly listens, you will become familiar with God’s voice as He speaks through the word. You will recognize His voice from all other voices, and you will follow Him along. There are a lot of voices buying for your attention.

When you truly listen to God’s voice, you will regularly trust Him, which goes next. When you truly listen to God’s voice and regularly trust Him, your faith will be strengthened, and your hope will increase. When you truly listen to God’s word, you will understand what He is saying, and your belief in Him will become more definite. God made a covenant with Abraham, gave a sign of that covenant, and reminded Him that God keeps His promises.

When you are not like Abraham, you are not listening. It is like when a parent says to their kid, “you’re not listening to what I’m saying.” When you stop listening, you become ignorant of what is good and evil, and you stop acting like Jesus. When you stop listening, you lose hope in God’s promises and take too much security in this present, temporal world, and you stop looking forward in faith. When you stop listening, you lose sight of God’s glory and shrink God down to a manageable size, which is idolatry. Psalm 115:8:

Those who make them will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.

They become like their idol since that is what they desire. Bottomline, if you don’t listen to God’s word anymore, you won’t look like Jesus, you won’t act like Him, neither will you know what He wants you to do. You will not live by faith, and the consequence of that is that you will not please God. The cure for that is to be like Abraham and listen. The proof of faith lies in perseverance. To refresh your memory, in Hebrews 10:36 it says:

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.

In the present, we have a great essential need, which is to continue in endurance. Remember, endurance means perseverance. Absolutely and emphatically persevering to hold fast to one’s faith in Christ, which means under misfortunes and trials. Trials force us to depend on God, mature us spiritually, develop in us a proven character, and cause us to long for heaven.

All these things are preparing us to run the Christian race, to reach the goal, to finish, and to receive our reward. Bottomline, the key to successful endurance is faith. Now, there is a kind of faith that does run well but is soon hindered and doesn’t obey the truth anymore or listen to God. That is not the faith to which the promise is given, nor the faith of Abraham. The faith of God’s elect continues and abides forever. What God started in you, He will complete.

Secondly, Abraham’s faith is displayed as a patient trust that carefully listens and perseveres. Once you listen to God’s word, you need to do God’s word and continue to do God’s word, which is exactly what happens with Abraham. However, notice the circumstances in which that happens. In Hebrews 11:9 is says:

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 promise

In other words, he had a patient trust that carefully persevered through difficult situations. The difficult situation is that God promised Abraham the promise land, an inheritance, and to make Abraham a great nation. All these promises are in Abraham’s heart, yet when he gets to the promise land, he finds something that he didn’t expect there. He finds that he would have to live there in that land of promise as an alien.

Two things come to mind when we think of that. One, he had no citizenship, and an alien in the land has no citizenship. In fact, an alien means to dwell beside someone else in one’s neighborhood. In other words, to dwell besides people, who are citizens of that land, but you are not.

When he arrived in the land of promise, he found that it was still in the hands of others. All his life long, by means of faith, he dwelled as an outsider in the land of promise. Abraham never owned the land but was only permitted to remain there as an alien. As far as we’re concerned, what was God doing to Abraham?

Secondly, in Hebrews 11:9, he would have no permanent settlement in the land. The KJV uses the word sojourner to describe an alien. Though, this term helps us to understand the non-permanent status one experiences in a foreign land. The word sojourn means a day. Meaning, to stay in a place day by day.

In fact, a tent is something that has no foundation and it is not meant to be permanent. It is designed to be taken down, and only to be put up on another day somewhere else. When he went to the land of promise, he was called to pitch tents there, break the tents down when God said to move somewhere else, and put them up somewhere else. Therefore, he was just there day by day, and his faith learns to live in the temporary with patient boldness and trust in God.

Secondly, his patient trust that carefully perseveres was not only through difficult circumstances, but for long periods of time. In Hebrews 11:9, he is saying that Abraham didn’t receive it, Isaac didn’t receive it, and Jacob didn’t receive it. They were all tent dwellers. In fact, Joseph didn’t receive it and Moses didn’t receive it.

Moses went as far as Mount Nebo, and God allowed him to see the promise land, but not enter the promise land. Only Joshua was able to go and take the people in there. Why did God do that? In Acts 7:5 it says:

But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, even when he had no child, He promised that HE WOULD GIVE IT TO HIM AS A POSSESSION, AND TO HIS DESCENDANTS AFTER HIM.

Abraham dwelt in the land of Palestine, did not possess the land, but held it only as a promise from God to him and his descendants. God blessed Abraham when he had no land, no children, no citizenships, no place to worship, but only had God and His word. Abraham was fulfilled and had a full life. They all lived a long time as foreigners and died having nothing but faith in the promise. Hebrews 11:13:

All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Have you confessed that yet? Have you come to the place in your life, as a believer, with this understanding: confess to God that you are only a stranger and exile on this earth. That is all you will be, which becomes important for us.

Once we become Christians and followers of Christ, we quickly sense that we are nonresidents in this world. We are tent dwellers and sojourners. 1 Peter 2:11:

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.

Our stay on earth is a short time. We are living in a foreign land, which we are not citizens. We don’t have citizen’s status or rights. 1 Peter 1:17:

If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth.

Have we considered that we only have tents and that they are temporary? We have no permanent residence here on earth. We are not citizens of this earth. If you really want to be, it will show where your desires really are. If you really want to be citizens here and stay here because you like it so much, then maybe you are not a believer at all.

We are not citizens of earth, which is what Abraham understood. He understood that he was a citizen of heaven, and citizen of the city of God. We don’t need to think that we are going to receive all God promised here on this earth. That is not even a biblical truth. We are to look beyond what we cannot see. We are to look beyond the uncertainties, insecurities, and hazards of life to the city in which God built. That is where our hope and promises of God are fulfilled.

As citizens, we are under the government of heaven with Christ, our King, who reigns in our hearts. As citizens, our names are written in heaven, giving us full assurance of access to the city of God. As citizens, we have a common right of all the property of heaven because we are joint heirs with Christ. In other words, everything in heaven belongs to us. As citizens, we enjoy all the delights of heaven and of Gods presence. Philippians 3:20 concisely says:

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

Do we realize that we are pilgrims and sojourners on this earth? At the same time, we have this longing for being with Christ. It is in our heart, and it happens when you become a believer. If it does, and it is happening to you, then you have much in common with Abraham. In this sense, we should also share the longing he had for his permanent dwelling place.

His tent life is now in the word of God, and that non-permanent characteristic of tent life is contrasted with the stable settled existence in the city, but not any city. His patient trust that carefully persevered, and first listened, created in him an inward longing for home. This is what gets Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and even the people of the promise land through when they realize that there was much more than the land. Hebrews 11:10:

for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Abraham looked far beyond earthly things and displayed a longing for the heavenly city. Architect is the word we get technician from, so this word architect or technicians means God’s plan. God is the desire of the higher and eternal course of all things, especially the city. Then, the second word is the word that has to do with the execution of the plan, and that God is the framer or builder of the higher and eternal city.

Believe me, brethren, it is faith alone that can make the prospect of an eternal city built by God real, so we fix our eyes upon it just like Abraham did. Meaning, the city God builds has a foundation. Those who dwell in it have permanent dwelling places. They are permanent citizens, and find themselves to be truly safe, secure, and fulfilled in the city of God. This is one thing that must be noticed by us, and that the Holy Spirit of God is doing this in us.

We desire something better and beyond this world. If you haven’t learned that yet, I pray that you would learn that this world and what it offers can never truly satisfy you in a long-lasting way.

Thus, why God had Abraham dwell in tents, and that’s why God had Abraham stay in the land of promise as an alien, especially since he had to learn that. If he didn’t learn that, then he would find all his security in the promise land or in the things that were around him.

Faith must go beyond that and to the One who is the very architect and builder of the city, the one who dwells in the city. When you were dead in sin, a dead world may have satisfied your dead heart with the husks and empty vanities, but no longer.

By God’s grace, you have received nobler desires. When you become a Christian, your desires become way stronger, sharper, and passionate than they were before. You want more than what this world could ever offer you. Hebrews 11:16:

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

In that passage, the word desire had incredible, rich meaning to it, and it means to stretch oneself out to touch what you desire. That is a perfect example of the Christian race, or a runner. A runner starts leaning forward for the goal and reach out because he sees it. He is not there yet, he must do everything he can to reach it, but that’s what he does.

The desire is that we desire a better country, a heavenly one, and we’re reaching out for it the rest of our Christian walk. God gives us desires that draw us toward heaven and desires that keep us stretching out for heaven and His presence. At the same time, he draws us away from the world and its glitter. We begin to see that the world has nothing to offer us. I’m talking to those who have truly come to Christ and have known something of better things and brighter realities.

In this world, we have no home. We have no home for our spirits. Our home is yet beyond. We are looking for our home among the unseen things. We are strangers and sojourners as those believers who have gone before us. We are dwellers in the wilderness just passing through into our reach of our perpetual inheritance in the city of God. I hope that these Scriptures begin to stir your heart a little bit to make you homesick beyond this earth.

As a pilgrim, you will never feel quite at home here on earth. As a Christian, you will never feel quite comfortable here on earth. You will groan in your soul for your heavenly dwelling. As you grow more and more like Christ, your desire will be to be with Him in the city of God.

For the Christian, our final home is not this world, but in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God. The Bible is telling us that such a place is only given to those who are true believers in Jesus Christ, and those who have believed in His sacrificial death on their behalf and his glorious resurrection, and He has given them life. Revelation 21:10 gives us a glimpse concerning the city:

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God

This says several things to us about the city. Number one, the city of God is secure because the source of the city is God himself. The city, coming down out of heaven from God, is not at all tainted with the old world or anything of its remanence. It is new, and that’s why Hebrews says to desire a better country, which is a heavenly country. Of course, that country’s builder and architect is God himself, and God is preparing a city for us.

Secondly, the city of God is secure because the city permeates with God’s presence. Could you imagine a place where God permeates everything and everyone? The city has been prepared by the Father, which comes to the new earth, filled with people in resurrected bodies, and made ready and able to dwell in the glory of God for all eternity. Then, the city of God is secured because the city walls allow only Gods own to enter. Revelation 21:12-13:

It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west.

The gates promise protection and free access. Its walls stand as a visible reminder that all people do not have access to God. The walls are described here as great and high, and it is obvious that high walls will not be needed to defend it because the city has no enemies. The walls will be symbolic of God’s protection and security and exclusion of all that is evil. In fact, in Revelation 21:8, it says:

“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

In other words, they don’t have access to the eternal city. Christians are the only ones who have a win-win situation. Christians have the best of both worlds: we can have fellowship with God here and fellowship with God there. That’s the city of God, so do you call it home? Are you anticipating your heavenly dwelling? As a pilgrim, do you ever sense that there is more to life than meets the eye? Do you ever experience a sense of inner-groaning in your soul? A groaning focused on your real home, for your heavenly dwelling. As one person said:

In heaven, my affections are there. In heaven, my Father is there. In heaven, my Savior is there. In heaven, my inheritance is there. In heaven, my name is there. In heaven, my citizenship is there. In heaven, my heart is there. In heaven, my life is there. In heaven, my treasure is there. In heaven, my brethren are there. In heaven, my God is there.

Therefore, according to God’s word to His children, our permanent dwelling place is not the earth, and it was never meant to be. If you feel a little bit uncomfortable here, a little bit like you don’t fit, or a lot like you don’t fit, then good. That is exactly what is supposed to happen as a Christian because we are made for heaven. We’re going to leave our tents here and all the stuff that goes with having a tent, and we’re going to go to our permanent dwelling place where we will spend that with God forever.

Consequently, we must go, we must prepare to go, and we must want to go. That is what made Abraham persevere to the goal. He desired it, reached out for it, and he wanted it because he knew that was exactly what he was created for. Him, as a creature created by the Creator, was to live with his creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, for all eternity.

All of this is a test of faith. All our trials are a test of faith. All the uncertainties we go through is a test of faith. It is to show you where you are with God, what you really desire, and what you long for. Everyday, Christians have an opportunity to go back to the world. In fact, you are tempted everyday to sinful pleasures and idolatrous practices, and you would go there quickly as you came to Christ if it was not for God keeping your feet.

If it wasn’t for God holding to you and keeping His promise of what He began in you, He will finish, then we would surely return to the passing pleasures and sinfulness of sin in a minute. These opportunities to return and leave the faith only prove to us whether we are a follower and soldier of Jesus Christ. By these, you will know whether you are Christ’s or not Christ’s.

If you do not return, you shall prove to yourself and everyone who looks on your life who you belong to. You will show, and you will prove what you desire. You will show your faith on what you understand. You will tell me who you are listening to. That is what you will tell yourself and everyone else, and that is what is going to increase your faith. Here’s a short antidote:

Two men are going along the road. There is a dog following behind them. I don’t know to which one of them the dog belongs, but I shall be able to tell directly. They are coming to a crossroad. One goes to the right and the other goes to the left. Now, which man does the dog follow?

The one the dog follows are his master and owner. When Christ and the world are mixed together, you cannot tell which you are following. If you can part with the world, its enticements, its pleasures, its promises, and keep with Christ, then you are one of His and we know where your desires are. The opportunities to go back try our faith to see whether we are indeed the Lords or not.

Mark this down, faith that is never tried is never true faith. If you are a Christian and you have never been tried by God, then your faith will be tried, and it will be tried more than once. Your loyalties will be tried, and your desires will be tried by God. You need to know as much as I and the church needs to know that you are following Christ.

We must live by faith. You must have this patient faith that endures through tribulation for a long time longing for our eternal city, which is what it means to be a Christian. That’s what it means to persevere. Abraham looked out and saw, in a distance, the city of God, and he kept going. It is the same for us. We look out and we see the city of God.

In fact, he didn’t have the book of Revelation 21 to read, or anything to read. He just had to listen to the words of God. We have a whole lot of evidence for us to continue to press-on than Abraham did. For Abraham, living by faith is obeying God in a patient manner, a patient trust that carefully listens, a patient trust that carefully perseveres, and he does that through difficult situations and feelings that he doesn’t belong where he is at.

He feels like an alien, yet he does it for long periods of time. All the way along, he has an inward, growing desire to leave it all and go to be with the Lord. That is what it means to be a Christian, and I pray that is happening in you and that is your desire. Are you experiencing some of these things?

If you are, then thank the Lord. Those very things are going to grow you to be stronger and stronger in your faith. You are the ones who are going to take the baton and pass it to the next generation, the next person sitting next to you, and the next person in your family. Let’s pray:

Lord, Thank You, for these very things that were before us in Scripture. Lord, I praise You, that we are also looking for a city, which has foundations. No longer will we need tents. No longer will we feel as aliens and sojourners but will be in a permanent place. We will be in a place that cannot be destroyed, broken down, or broken into because it is built by You, Father. You are the architect, You are the technician that planned it, You are the one who executes the plan, You are the one preparing the place for us, and where You go, You will come and take us with You. Thank You for those promises. We need them, Lord. Please increase our faith. Lord, if our faith has been shaky and cold, please revive us today. Make us, in our heart, desirous to what You have given us and promised us. I pray, Lord, that we would live our life with great gusto. For we know, Lord, that You have promised us a full life here, and a life of promise and fulfillment in the next. We give you glory and praise, Lord, for all that You have done and accomplished in our life. I ask you, Lord, to build us in our faith. Whether trials come, that we would depend on You, mature spiritually, and that You would develop our character. When trials come, You would make us long for heaven, and we will praise You, Lord, and Thank You for what You will do. In Christ, I Pray, Amen.