 Let's pick up here in verse 8 in Hebrews chapter 11. I'll read to verse 16. We're looking at Abraham and Sarah, but especially we'll be looking at the faith of Abraham and building on that as we look at the chapter. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would afterward receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country dwelling intense with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he waited for the city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God. By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed and she bore a child when she was past the age because she called him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man and him as good as dead were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. These all died in faith not having received the promises. But having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers in pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland and truly if they had called to mind that a country from which they had come out they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better that is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared a city for them. Abraham. Abraham when you look at the Bible is the greatest example of faith that you will find from the old to the New Testament. Even here in chapter 11 as we begin to look at the hall of faith as being men like Abel and Enoch and Noah, even though they are great testimonies of trusting God, Abraham is referred to in Scripture as being even greater. He's used as an example of faith. You see this in both the Old Testament as well as the New. An example in the Old Testament is found in the book of Nehemiah in chapter 9 verses 7 and 8 when the priests were praying during the time of national repentance and as they were said, they said you are the Lord God who chose Abraham and brought him out of the caldians and named him Abraham, you found his heart faithful to you. In the Old Testament he is regarded as a man of faith in the New Testament is an example of how one receives relationship with God. Various places refer to the faith that Abraham exhibited in the New Testament. Romans chapter 4 for example 3 says what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God it was accounted to him for righteousness. Galatians chapter 3 verse 6 says just as Abraham believed God it was accounted to him for righteousness. James says in chapter 2 verse 23 the Scripture was fulfilled which says Abraham believed God it was accounted to him for righteousness he was called the friend of God. And so you see him as a greatest example of faith in the New Testament. This is a man who lived some 2000 years before Jesus Christ but is also a picture not only of faith but also of the grace of God because this is a man who lived in southern Iraq in a place called Ur of the Caldees on the Euphrates River. During the days of Abraham Ur of the Caldees was a sophisticated pagan city. Sometimes we will consider cities in terms of the modern cities and we may be thinking well these people are a bunch of you know unsophisticated individuals and that's just not true. You can see some incredible ruins of cities that existed you know 1000, 2000, 3000 years ago that will make any of the modern cities that we have look really poor in comparison. Ur of the Caldees was such a city. Ur had a system of writing, advanced mathematics, it had religious, a paganly religious city because they worshiped the moon god who was called Namu and they also have on earth the royal cemetery and they find that they had ritual burials that were sealed with human sacrifice. So it was a sophisticated city but it was a very pagan city and this is a place that he lived. Now before God called Abraham he had a family, a history of idolatry. Jewish tradition and I hasten to say that the Jewish tradition holds that his father Terra was an idol maker and one thing is certain concerning him he was an idolater. Now how do we know that? Well we know that he was an idolater because it's stated in Joshua in the Old Testament book of Joshua 24 verses 2 and 3 because there it says thus says the Lord God of Israel your father's dwelt in the other side of the flood in Israel they served other gods and I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood and led him throughout all the land of Canaan and multiplied his seed and gave him Isaac. So he says they served other gods and so tradition holds that Terra was an idol maker we don't know that for sure but the Bible does state that he was an idolater and that Abraham came from a family of idolaters. Now in the midst of this sophisticated city God begins a work of grace and by God's grace Abraham is called. In Acts 7, 2 and 3 Stephen says brothers and fathers listen to me the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia before he lived in Heran. Leave your country and your people God said and go to the land I will show you. And so God showed him grace and God called him out of the midst of idolatry and took him by the grace of God he left his country to follow the Lord. And so we're looking at a man by the name of Abraham and that's what we see here in verse 8 when he begins to explain to us the life of this man. He says in Hebrews 11, 8 by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place he would afterward receive as an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going. And so by faith Abraham obeyed. Once again we see concerning faith in God it will always be tied together with obedience. So God spoke and he moved. That gives us the insight that faith obeys God's commands. Genesis 12, 1 which is in reference to this call says the Lord said to Abraham get out of your country from your family from your father's house to a land that I will show you and Genesis 12, 4 says Abraham departed as the Lord spoke to him and Lot went with him. And he obeyed God at his word. The Bible says he went to a place he would afterward receive as an inheritance and so his obedience was an outward evidence of an inward faith. Obedience, faith are always coupled together producing something called works. A person says I have faith in God. Their faith in God is always evidenced by a consistency in their walk. Our faith, my faith is always going to be demonstrated by activity, not just intellectual theoretical, not just something philosophical. It's going to be beyond that. It's going to be something that is active, something that is real. And I have a book. I forget the title it's okay. Please take my word for it. I do have a book. And this book speaks concerning the giving habits of Americans. It was done by an individual who was raised with a religious background but who had from a political perspective what we would today call liberal bent. So he was from a liberal perspective politically but he was from a religious background in terms of the Christian faith. And so he did some research in this particular book to write it to discover who are the most generous people, the liberals. This is his words by the way liberals or conservatives. Who are the most generous people? Now I know that we as Americans get sold by the liberal, you are also very generous. I mean don't we see our actors and actresses marching for the cause of baby seals and daughter snails and various other little things? I mean don't they really care about these things? They're worried about the spotted owl. Most certainly they must be concerned about human beings also. He said he did his initial research and had such a problem with it. Because he had a bias and the bias was that liberalism is more generous than conservativeism. I mean that's what he had been hearing all his life. He did his initial research and then he did it a second time because when he found the first time that conservative people, especially religious people are much more generous than liberals, he had a real problem with that. Because philosophically he believed that if you were liberal that meant generosity. The word liberal speaks concerning generosity and therefore he thought that they were generous not only in mentality but also with their money and it turns out they're not. It turns out that they had a, as an experiment they put a man out of Salvation Army guy with his little bucket and his little bell and they put him in San Francisco and they also put one in I believe it was Des Moines, Iowa, the heart of conservativeism. In cities that were similar in population in terms of size and all of that he put one in San Francisco the other in this conservative city and they just saw how much was collected and it turns out that the people in the conservative city outgave those in the liberal city by so much that it was ridiculous. It was ridiculous and so he came to realize that part of the reason why people are not generous with liberal persuasion is because they believe that their money is already going to good causes. That's why they're so behind bureaucracies. That's why they're so behind using our taxes for good and all. But it turns out the religious people are actually the more generous people because religious people have a graciousness about them. Religious people understand pain and many of them are not wealthy. As a matter of fact the average religious person is anything but wealthy. But what he is generous or she is generous in his faith and they are generous in their giving. They are generous people because they have seen what the Lord has done and what that means is that we have an understanding we who are believers in Christ we have an understanding that we have received and therefore we ought to give because Jesus said unto us didn't he say it is more blessed to give than to receive? Well this is part of our heart. This is how we are as people whereas those who have no faith or fear in God of God don't have the same kind of motivation and therefore they get upset when they say I already give, I give through my taxes I don't have to give to somebody in a charitable situation whatsoever. That's why I find it amazing and amusing that sometimes people make a big deal out of a multimillionaire who gives $100,000 gift because that's not even touching his revenue. That's not even touching anything that that person has. I mean that's a tax write off. I was amazed a few years ago when I forget what the fellow's name is but he's from Atlanta and he's a billionaire. His first name is Ted but I can't remember his last name, Turner. Ted Turner, that he challenged other billionaires to give $100 million I think it was something like that to give $100 million to charity and he chose to do something like that. I forget it was a billionaire of $100 million. It's a great sum of money but what he chose to do is give it over a course of 10 years and so he divided it up over 10 year increments and he gave his money and people were applauding his generosity but me I realize that you get tax write offs when you do things like that. I don't see that as an act of generosity so much as money management and I didn't see him give the amount of money in one lump sum I saw him give it over the course of 10 years which taken into consideration over 10 years it reduces the initial amount that he promised over 10 years of inflation and so I thought of that and I thought that's not a generous thing to do at all but the world did the world said how generous is that well you know what I wouldn't mind if he would have given it to me I'd use it for the Lord but the bottom line is Christians are by far more generous. Why? Because we know that faith and action works together. How do we know that? The Bible tells us that in James chapter 2 verse 18 someone will say you have faith I have works but he goes on to say show me your faith without works I will show you my faith by my works and so faith and works are hand in hand and so obedience demonstrates that you have faith and that's what's taking place in the life of Abraham the Bible tells us that he left home by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would afterward receive as an inheritance he went out not knowing where he was going he left home leaving home is one of the hardest things a person can do my kids haven't discovered that yet but they will one day leaving home is one of the more difficult things that an individual can do this is a person who left his home this is a person who left his country you don't realize how much you love your country until you leave it for a while when you go into a foreign land you may have these vague ideas of how romantic it would be to live in such a beautiful country we'll say Italy and to live in Tuscany because there's so many movies that show us Tuscany or perhaps you see a movie that shows London and you think man I'd like to live in London and you see a movie that is shot in New York City and you think all the action and romance of New York City but man if you pack up your bags and you go to Tuscany and you're sitting there and trying to get along with the natives you're going to discover I'm an American in a foreign land that's what you're going to discover when you go into New York you're going to say I'm a Californian man dude these guys are off the wall you'll just have a different different response it's true because when you leave your home for another home when you leave your land for another land when you give up your experience as he did to go some place that's a major thing that's a sacrificial thing he left his friends, he left his neighbors that means he sacrificed the fellowship that he had with these people he even left his extended family but he did that because he had been called to do that following the Lord and as he follows the Lord we know that God demands complete surrender we know that God doesn't negotiate when he says follow me we don't go and negotiate with him I will follow you 8 to 5 I will follow you just when I wake up and when I get home from work or we don't negotiate our hours we follow him because that's a basic basic part of being a follower of the Lord especially in the New Testament in the Christian Jesus and Matthew in chapter 10 verses 37 through 39 said it like this anyone who loves his father or mother more than me isn't worthy of me anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me whoever finds his life will lose it whoever loses his life for my sake will find it when I gave my heart to the Lord I knew that when I came home at the age of 20 that I was taking the chance of losing a relationship with my mom and my dad I knew that I knew that I was taking the chance of losing a relationship with my brother Frank and I knew that I was taking the chance of losing a relationship with my two sisters I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the people I used to hang with my friends were going to either come to Christ or abandon me I knew all of that I counted the cost I made a decision for me to be with Christ and nobody else was the most important thing and if other people would come that would be wonderful but I made the decision at the age of 20 that I would follow the Lord and that meant if I had to be by myself so be it well that's what Abraham did and notice with me he went out not knowing where he was going all he initially knows but then afterward as it says here in verse 8 receive an inheritance it's going to be something that will happen later on he just knew what he was supposed to do and he did that oh I don't know how many times I don't think I've shared this with this church more than a couple of times over the last 25 years or more some of you know this perhaps before I became a Calvary Chapel pastor I was invited to become a youth pastor in a Pentecostal church the pastor who had performed my wedding ceremony Noel Weiss very nice man was from Melody Land a church that was in Anaheim he was an assistant there and Marie and I had gotten to know him through my mom and my dad and so when we got married we asked if he would perform our ceremony for us and he had performed my brother's wedding ceremony the week before when my brother got married I turned to Marie and I said to her we might as well let's just get married next week and we did I mean as I look back now over all of these years I think how stupid was that I mean I do I look back at it now thinking why did I do that but my brother got married I was his best man Noel was doing the wedding and and I had broken up with Marie I had taken the engagement ring back from her I had broken our engagement and I had said to her I'll give it back to you if you want it if you want it when we get married because we had been engaged for a long time and I was dragging my heels didn't know if I wanted to get married and it was starting to hurt her and I was starting to feel like a real jerk and so one day I remember saying you know Marie I am not ready to get married may I have my ring back did you know that you girls love me huh I'm the kind of guy you dream about right so she hands me the ring back and I said I'll give it back to you when we get married it's putting too much pressure on me and I don't know I'm not ready I don't want to get married but anyway my brother gets married and I'm there in the wedding the best man and after the wedding I talked to Marie the next day actually I talked to Marie and I said let's just get married next week no fanfare people who want to come can come they want to come within a week they're not our friends anyway who cares isn't that terrible but I give them a warning if they're my friend they'll show up but they're not send the check so we got married well Noel Weiss was the guy who did the wedding for us and so we got married in my parents backyard and off we went and the rest is history but Noel started a church and he called me up and he said David I need a youth pastor would you be the youth pastor in my church I had just been told by the senior pastor of the Calvary Chapel I was assisting in that he was going to ordain me into ministry as a Calvary pastor that was back in 1979 and so I told Noel Noel you know what I appreciate your confidence in me I'm flattered that you would ask me to be your youth pastor now I've been asked by Calvary Chapel to go as an assistant pastor with them and that's what I'm going to do all of that had taken place within like a week the pastor had said we're going to ordain you and I had formally said this is where I'm supposed to be you see Noel I started that church and then within a year he left it in the hands of his assistant it's very possible that I could have been the senior pastor over a Pentecostal church in Hacienda Heights if the Lord hadn't orchestrated my steps in a different direction all I knew is that the Lord was leading me to a place that I wasn't aware of I didn't know where I was going I didn't know the journey in other words that we had before us before Marie and me all I knew is afterward I'd receive whatever it was that God wanted so I understand in a very small way what's going on in the heart of Abraham being called out and taken to a place that he's not even aware of and so he didn't know where he was going but what he did is he simply took God at his word the Psalmist in Psalm 37 verse 23 said God's entire plan what you need is to know what you're to do right now if you know what you're to do right now then the rest is given to you piecemeal over a lifetime and that's what took place with him so notice verse 9 by faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country dwelling intense with Isaac and Jacob the heirs with him of the same promise he waited for the city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God and so notice it says there in verse 9 he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country the word sojourned means to dwell in a place as a stranger to sojourn is a temporary state it's a brief period of residence the thought is Abraham lived in the land that God promised him but never settled in permanently when you look at his life in the book of Genesis you'll discover that he never owned personal property other than a cave he bought in order to bury his wife Sarah in it you see that in Genesis 23 you also know that he sojourned that means he never adopted the ways of those around him he didn't adopt their morals their religion, their worldview he didn't try to fit in I'm no fan of Madonna to be honest with you but I get really intrigued when I hear her try to speak like a British person because she has this weird accent and she trips me out I go boy that girl something else because she's an American living in England trying to sound a British he never did that he didn't try to adopt their accents he didn't adopt their morals or religion he didn't adopt their worldview he never settled in permanently he as a matter of fact he was always at war with their way of life because he knew God had called him to be something else and so as Christians we are to be careful not to adopt the worldview of unbelievers we are in this world that's true but we are not of this world there's a difference being in the world and of the world we live here of course but we don't take our cues from the world in John 15 verse 19 Jesus said if you were of the world the world would love its own yet because you are not of the world but I chose you out of the world therefore the world hates you you see we too have a promised land and we are called to follow the steps of Jesus Christ to that place and as we follow him we are not to be settled in comfortably here why because we look for another city you can use something or you can abuse something you can own something or it can own you as believers we know there's something better so I can use this world but I will not misuse it I will use this world but I'm not going to adopt its morals in other words there are styles and things that are up to date to some degree there are styles you know I don't come up here dressed like a 1960s hippie anymore though I am comfortable in that way and I do see what goes around comes around and trips me out sometimes to see the new patterns and things that are coming out that they are calling you and Marie will say yes yesterday Marie was saying this is the stuff that we used to wear in 1970 yeah it was ugly then it's ugly now but you know that's the way it is I read the book of Matthew verses 15 through 17 John said it this way do not love the world or anything in the world if anyone loves the world the love of the father is not in him for everything in the world the cravings of sinful men the lust of his eyes the boasting of what he has and does does not come from the father but from the world the world and it's desires pass away But the one who does the will of God lives forever. So we have a promised land. We are waiting for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. We are looking for heaven. We are just passing through. We're not to be firmly attached to this place here. We can't take anything with us. The only thing that we have that goes before us is what we lay up in heaven as treasures. And so we know that. And so he had a greater promise than what the world had to offer him. And that's the example that God has given to us in Abraham, a man who didn't get attached to the world, a man who was a very wealthy man, but who made decisions that were based on, and what is best for me in eternity, not for the right now and the here. Now he had a wife, verse 11, her name was Sarah. It says, by faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed. She bore a child when she was past the age because she judged him faithful who had promised. She was 90 years old. Imagine that, ladies. Imagine your husband looking at you romantically and he's a hundred. Hey, baby. I mean, think about that. They were old. Now when she heard the Lord speaking, Lord God speaking to her husband Abraham, God had said this time next year your wife is gonna have a baby. The Bible says that Sarah heard and laughed. And that God overhearing her laugh said to her, why did you laugh? She's in a tent and God is outside speaking to her husband. He says, this time next year your wife is gonna give birth and she laughs within herself. God hearing her laugh. Why did you laugh? Actually, when you read that account, God speaks to Abraham and asks, why did she laugh? Because he was her covering and so the Lord went straight to the husband, oh man poor Abraham. But then he says to her, why did you laugh? And she says, and this is a conversation taking place between the Lord, a tent separating him from her. And so she's talking to God through this tent. Now that's so unusual for someone to overhear conversation with somebody else in another room and actually to be speaking. I know that would never happen today. No woman would ever overhear a conversation and laugh within herself. I realize this is just Sarah. He's a real simple person. But she starts speaking to the Lord and she says, I didn't laugh. Yes, you did laugh. Can you lie to God? Can you lie to God? I didn't lie, if you did laugh. I heard you laugh. And the Lord spoke to her in such a way and said, you know, and you've heard me say this many times so that you'll see that I am true to my word and all, you're gonna have a son. His name is gonna be Isaac. Isaac means laughter. Every time she called her son, she would remember her laughter of unbelief. But the fact is, and I want you to see this in verse 11, by faith, Sarah herself received strength to conceive, seed, and bore a child when she was past the age because she judged and faithful who had promised. 90 years old, so far beyond the ability and normal to have a child. And God said, you are gonna conceive in a natural fashion. And the Bible says she received strength. Now the strength that you received, do you think it was physical strength alone? I mean, just think about it, ladies. How'd you like to be 90 years old walking around a supermarket pregnant? Can you imagine that for a moment? We won't go there, but what happened to you? Anyway, my husband is 100 years old. Think about that for a minute. But was it physical? Was it physical strength? She received strength that was spiritual. She was persuaded by the faith of her husband. And as a result of that, judges him faithful who gave the promise. And she willingly went through whatever was necessary to help this child. And so she's a model of faith, a woman who cooperated with God and bore a child when she was 90 years old. So he says in verse 12, therefore from one man and him as good as dead were born as many as the stars of the sky and multitude innumerable as the sand, which is by the seashore. And so when he says that he was as good as dead, he was long past the ability to procreate. He was past that. But God gave him a promise. And when God gave him a promise, he acted on the promise and was capable of impregnating his wife and they received that promise. What a model of faith. Faith is optimistic. This is a man who took God it as word. God had said it, that settled it and God blessed him as a result of that. Faith is optimistic. When Abraham is referred to in the book of Romans, if you take notes, it's found in chapter four verses 17 through 21. Paul says, as it is written, I have made you a father of many nations. He is our father in the sight of God in whom he believed. The God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are, that are not as though they were. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations. Just as it had been said to him, so shall your offspring be. Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead since he was about 100 years old and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God. Being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. That's faith. I know that my body's not capable of doing this. I know that my wife's womb is dead. She's incapable of having a child. I know that she's long past her menopausal and yet God did an incredible miracle. Oh, by the way, God still does miracles. Wasn't that long ago that I dedicated a baby born to one of the women in our fellowship. And she gave me permission when I dedicated this baby to share her story. I don't believe she'd have a problem with me doing it tonight. We called her Sarah because she was 40 years old when she became pregnant with this baby. And so this is what happened. She had had her tubes tied and yet at the age of 40 had conceived. And it was like, oh my, the operation wasn't successful. We thought that it was. And so when she was in the process of giving birth and after she gave birth to her son, she told the doctor, after I give birth, please go in and once again tie my tubes. And so after she came out of the operation and was able to talk to the doctor, the doctor said to her, I need to tell you something. He said, when I went in to redo the tubal, he says, when I went in, I discovered that your tubes were separated by two inches. It is impossible for you to have had a child. You didn't need to have your tubes redone because they were far enough away that it is impossible for you to conceive. And he said, this is a baby. That was just, it was just gonna be born. It's a miracle baby, a miracle baby. I dedicated a baby of a woman who was incapable of having a child and her husband who had had a vasectomy 10 years before. And there they are standing getting their baby dedicated like how that happened. It's a miracle, you know, it was one of those things. And so now this is something that people say, oh, I don't believe that. You know, the Lord has a way of doing things. He does. And what they did is they trusted the Lord Abraham and Sarah and he trusted him and God blessed. Notice in verse 12, it says, therefore from one man and him as good as dead were born as many as the stars. Now that would include not just his offspring, it wouldn't include simply Israel, the nation of Israel, because Abraham is a father of Israel. But that includes those who have the faith of Abraham. According to Galatians chapter three verse seven, those who believe our children of Abraham, according to Galatians three, 13 and 14, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who has hung on a tree. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus so that by faith we might receive the promise of the spirit. And so when he says from one man and him as good as dead were born as many as the stars of heaven, that includes all who would come to faith in Christ, who have faith like Abraham, who believes God and it's counted as righteousness. Verse 13, these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them, confessed that there were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland and truly, if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. So these all died in faith. When he says these, he's speaking of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, those who are of his lineage, they all died with faith in God intact. They never received those promises. They saw them afar off. God had promised innumerable offspring. The most they ever saw were children and grandchildren. They didn't see the immensity of the promise come to pass in their lifetime. And yet by faith, they received the promises, not only of children, but also the promise that Messiah would be brought. They did not visibly see their Messiah's ministry, but they embraced the reality of it. How do we know that? Well, Jesus spoke that way in John chapter eight. In verses 56 through 59, he said, your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day. He saw it and was glad. You're not yet 50 years old, the Jews said to him, you've seen Abraham? I tell you the truth, Jesus answered. Before Abraham was, I am. At this they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself slipping away from the temple grounds. He saw afar off the promise of God that would be fulfilled in Messiah who would come from him. So what is the fruit of this faith? It's a life. It's a life detached from concern for the world. Notice they're referred to as strangers, which is foreigners or aliens. They're spoken of as pilgrims. That's one who comes from a foreign country into a city or a land or a side there by the side of natives. And we look at heaven as being our native country. You see, before we're saved, we're strangers and foreigners. That's what Ephesians 2.19 says, Now you are no more strangers and foreigners. You are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God. Before we get saved, we're actually outside of the promises of God and the people of God. But when we commit ourselves to the Lord, we become part of his family. And what we're doing according to verse 14 is declaring plainly that we have a homeland that we're seeking. The world's not our home. We are longing for something better. Belonging for heaven. Sometimes, just, this just happened just a couple of days ago, sometimes I will see something that will touch my heart. I'll read something that takes place in another country often where a child is starving to death or something terrible happens to that baby and sometimes in the news, you'll see these things. And then when I see those things, I get a hopeless feeling sometimes, the helpless feeling, not so much hopeless, helpless feeling. And I think, Lord, how long? You know, sometimes I'll see children who are starving to death. I mean, there are kids who have, if they had some vitamins, they'd be able to survive their childhood, but they don't because they don't have some simple vitamins. Some children are dying of malaria. People die of malaria, something that they don't have to die of. But because the United States years ago banned the use of DDT and told people that it isn't any good, then whole nations have mosquitoes that are carrying malaria and various other kinds of disease, mosquitoes that could be wiped out with the use of DDT. But because people have said that it's bad and it causes certain harmful responses, when it's used, it was banned for many years and whole nations that could have wiped out malaria and various things that are carried by mosquitoes and that kind of past have suffered because of that. I can remember growing up in the 50s where they would come through neighborhoods and they would spray through the neighborhood. Some of you are old enough to remember that. Some of you are so old you forget. Let me remind you. But they used to come to the neighborhoods and they used to spray. They'd spray this, it was like smoke. And people would be eating their picnic lunches and they'd be covered in the smoke and children would run in the smoke. That was DDT and didn't harm anybody. But some people began to say, well, it does. And so it was banned and whole nations are now losing babies because of those kinds of things. And now some nations are beginning to use it again because they see that it is effective. But I see the news and I watch these things and I think, my goodness, Lord. You know, when you have somebody worried about behind the latest shoes, the latest pants, the latest top, the latest shirt, the latest sweater, the latest. And they're more generous for themselves than they are towards those in need. That is discouraging. It can be discouraging to be honest with you. And I wonder about that sometimes. When I went to India for the first time, when I went to Manila, Philippines, when I've been into enormous cities like Mexico City, I've walked through these cities and I've seen the incredible poverty. And then you come back to the United States and you see people are upset because they don't have enough money to buy the latest Game Boy or PlayStation. The people stay up all night in order to be first in line to buy that PlayStation 3 in order that they can put it on eBay and make some money without having to work. They simply stand in line for a couple of days and then they sell it for an extraordinary amount of money. America is that way. And in many ways, very greedy. And part of the reason is, is because we're not thinking of heaven. Because earth is so attractive to us, heaven doesn't matter. I mean, I wanna enjoy as much as I can today and if I die and go to heaven, that's fine. But if there's not a heaven, well, at least I enjoyed myself now and that's the way a lot of people are. Even church people, even Christians. Abraham wasn't that way. Abraham was nothing like that. You see, he saw a city whose builder and maker was God and he knew he was just passing through. That's why he and his nephew Lot could be standing on the plane and he could be looking on one side, he looks and it's all dry and barren, it's like wilderness. On the other hand, on the other side, he looks and it's green, lush and beautiful. So he tells his nephew Lot because their herdsmen are getting into some problems together. He says, look, you choose the left, I'll go to the right. You choose the right, I'll go to the left. And Lot is looking and what does he see? You know the story, he looks at the plane of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot says, oh, that's beautiful, that's lush, it's gorgeous, I wanna go there. So where did Abraham go? He went out into the wilderness. It was okay with him. He didn't need the luxuries of the world because he looked for a city whose maker is God. When we have that mentality, God will use us in tremendous ways. Philippians chapter three, verse 20 says, our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. You see in verse 15 he says, truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. They didn't long for what they left behind. When it says call to mind, he didn't mull over, man, what did I leave behind? Man, I wish I wouldn't have left that behind. Boy, did I end up the rotten end of the deal here. He didn't think that way because he had a greater vision, something better. It says in verse 16, they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. His longing was for something permanent and that's why God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared a city for them. One of these days, I wanna hear Matthew 25, 23 spoken to me where it says, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. That is the only thing that ultimately is going to matter. That's the only thing that's going to matter. If we can get that in our hearts when we're younger, it changes the course of our entire life. But if we wait until we're older, until we finally get that, we will look over a life and regret all the opportunities that we never took advantage of because we're so busy trying to get something for ourselves right now. Abraham wasn't that way. Abraham said, I want something that endures and it was by faith that he embraced the promises of God and by faith he entered into the promised land of God. He lived on the earth as a sojourner, as a foreigner, as a pilgrim because he looked for a city that was heavenly and that is what motivated his entire course of his life. If I have heavenly vision, if I have a goal to be there, then everything else fades by comparison and I have a singleness of vision and this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, I can press towards those things that are before. And that's what God has called us to do, to actually know there's a heaven and live as if that is our destination.