Title: Faith of Abraham (Hebrews 11:8)
Abraham's three major blessings are descendants, land, and reign. And it cannot be denied that Abraham's commitment to positive thinking toward this has been proclaimed as faith and has been proclaimed as a message of hope to us who were in despair and suffering.
By working the Old Testament literally, the faith of Abraham will be a hope and an escape for those who seek ups and downs, and it will be more than a driving force to serve God.
Let's listen again to the sermon we heard in the past. The problems of our children today, the pain we suffer because we don't have money, and the sorrow we have to go through because we don't have authority. We live in the world with the meaning of life lost because we are not able to solve it even though we constantly suffer for them. How can we comfort and give hope to those who are suffering from children's problems, money problems, and power struggles? The person who appeared like the Savior at that time was Abraham of the Old Testament. Finally, under the title of Abraham's Faith and Blessing, I declare to the people a ray of hope with full confidence in an attitude like going to the temple in secret words. Although Abraham received the three generations of blessings of descendants, land, and rule, he was in a fearful, absurd, and difficult situation because he did not know where he was going, but Abraham succeeded in his faith by holding fast to the promises of others. But God has promised to give us the same blessing that Abraham had.
Galatians 3:14 "The blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus may come upon the Gentiles."
Then, what is the true meaning of Abraham's blessing and faith? May you receive the grace to find this answer today.
First, we will check what the three great blessings of Abraham are and when and where to receive them. Now let's take a look at what God said directly to Abraham.
Genesis 12:1-2 "Then the LORD said to Abram, "Leave your land, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, and you will be a blessing."
Everyone, please answer. Is the land of Canaan blessed with the descendants, land, and reign that God promised to give to Abraham? Is it the land of Urna Haran in the Chaldeans? It is clearly the land of Canaan. Deep spiritual truth is hidden here. Canaan is a place of symbolism for cloth. Therefore, Abraham's three great blessings are not our goals on this earth, but the blessings we enjoy in heaven. The example of the descendants will only meet God, the Father, in heaven, and we will dwell with God as children forever. The blessings of the earth are as follows. This earthly earth of this world is the land of the curse due to the fall of Adam and the land ruled by the devil. Now, when the Lord comes again and puts the devil into a world without a hitch, and transforms the whole world into a truly stranger's land, we will receive the blessing of inheriting this land as the Lord's children. We have that hope.
What are the blessings of authority? When the kingdom of God arrives on this earth, we will have the authority to reign with the Lord.
In this way, please believe that our three great blessings will be realized in heaven just as Abraham's three great blessings will be realized in the land of Canaan. So, our hope is heaven, the destination of our life is heaven, and the end of our faith is eternal heaven.
This time, it is the identity of Abraham's faith. Abraham's faith is not the all-round key to solving all the problems of this world as we think. It is not a spell of success for all to fulfill one's potential desires in an uncertain future.
Our beliefs, which have vaguely positive expectations for the world's wealth, power, and honor, which humans instinctively seek, are completely different from Abraham's faith. So see how it's different
Everyone! It is not a blind faith. According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is the substance of things hoped for, and faith is possible when things hoped for. Faith is seeing the reality.
It is not faith that catches the floating clouds. It is not belief to make an aleatory expectation without being based on facts. It is not faith to say that we do not serve God, and we do not have the passion to serve, so we pay holy water on Sundays in the chapel and donate a few pennies to the chapel just because we serve as insurance. Like shamanism, it is not a true belief if it is because of unreasonable religious shunning or simply because it is a tradition.
Abraham, too, did not leave his homeland blindly. Abraham already had Canaan built up in his heart, and he looked forward to going there.
Genesis 11:13 "Terah took Abram his son, Lot his son, Haran's son, and Sarai, his wife Abram's wife, and they left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to Haran, they dwelt there."
How is it? Here we find the reality of faith. Abraham had never been to Canaan, but he had Canaan in his heart. He saw the reality of his heart without any doubt and set out for the real Canaan. What is Abraham's faith for us today? Abraham had never been to Canaan, nor had he seen it, but as he believed in his heart, we, too, have never been to Heaven and have never seen it. But we do believe in Heaven as our hometown. And the reality of the kingdom of heaven is confirmed as the kingdom of heaven in our hearts like Abraham.
Luke 17:20-21 "When the Pharisees asked when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus answered and said to them, "The kingdom of God does not come with sight, nor can it be said that it is here or there. The kingdom of God is within you." there is"
Faith does not mean that there is no heaven. Not that there might be. Those who do not have heaven in their hearts do not have true faith.
Romans 14:17 "The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Have you become righteous? Is there the joy of restoring peace with God and going to heaven? Those who do not have heaven, those who are dim, and those who cannot see the future are those who do not have faith.
Abraham's faith is his belief in the existence of the kingdom of heaven. Do you have faith? Even if you haven't seen it, do you have any evidence in your heart? It is the evidence of the Word. I hope you will receive the three great blessings of Abraham in heaven.