Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus. the founder and perfecter of our faith. When we pray for something, we hope for a quick response from God. But God has his own clock, not always in sync with ours. How do we handle prayers that are time critical for us when the answers seem to be anything but?
Today, Erwin Lutzer takes on the challenge. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, we have fast food. We live fast-paced lives, and we like fast answers to prayer in time of need.
How do we slow down our expectations when the answer is delayed? Dave, you have put this so perfectly. namely, that you and I oftentimes expect an answer right now, to use your words, time critical. But God has a different clock that's absolutely right. One of the things that we must understand is that sometimes the answer is delayed all the way to eternity.
Well, I want to thank the many of you who listened to the Ministry of Running to Win. And at the end of this broadcast, I'm going to be giving you an opportunity to join us. As we continue to expand this ministry, But for now, let us go to the pulpit of Moody Church and let us listen. Yeah. I'd like to begin today by two quotations from word of faith preachers.
One says, using Philippians chapter 2, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God, speaking of Christ.
Now, if I'm to take what is said here and put it on, then my whole attitude should be that I have equality with God.
Now somebody says, well, that's hard to think that way.
Well, keep saying it. Talk yourself into it. You have equality with God. Here's another. But it was not in Christ's mouth that God Bartimaeus healed.
The power was in Bartimaeus' mouth. He could have whatever he said. Jesus was saying, my hands are tied because I can't do anything for you other than what you say. And then he goes on to say, God now has your attention and he's looking at you saying, what do you want? What do you want?
Name it, baby. Name it. Declare it. Speak it. Confess it.
Get your list out. Millions of people. are buying into that. We need to rethink the whole business of what the Bible says about the promises of God and what can be claimed and what can't be claimed and why it can't be claimed. And today, I need to say that the faith healers and those who speak this way are not wrong in urging us to have faith.
Indeed, the purpose of this message is to increase your faith. They're not wrong in telling us to do that, but they're asking us to believe things that God hasn't promised. and to claim things that God doesn't want to give us. And we need to understand what's going on. Yes, indeed, the purpose of this message is to increase faith and to begin to help us to understand what God is up to in our prayer lives.
So that we pray more, so that we believe more, so that we trust more, and we honor more, and we submit more. That's the agenda for the next little while. Thank you for taking this trip with me. In order to do this, I want you to take your Bibles and turn to Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11.
Many of us have been in London and we have seen Westminster Abbey. Westminster Abbey basically. is a cemetery. filled with all the heroes of the past in England. The 11th chapter of Hebrews basically is the Westminster Abbey of the Bible.
Here are the heroes of faith. Not in the hall of fame, but the hall of faith. And this mighty chapter begins with these startling words.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Those two phrases, the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, basically are parallel expressions. And the word faith is the assurance, that's the word hupostasis. And it can be translated in many ways. Many of us who memorize the King James, we remember faith is the substance of things hoped for.
That's good. It can be assurance, it can be conviction, it can be essence. It is the firm conviction that what we have hoped for and what we believe for is true. and shall come to pass. He goes on to say, for by it, that is by faith, the people of old received their commendation.
We think of the fact that God gave a promise, didn't he, that Jesus was going to be born. Way back in the Garden of Eden, God promised that, and centuries went by. But people kept believing the promise, and eventually the promise happened. A good example of that is Noah. For example, in verse 7, it says, by faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed the ark.
Do you realize that when Noah built that ark, it had never rained yet on the earth. The earth was actually watered by a subterranean phenomenon. And so God says, I'm going to send rain, and he hasn't even seen the rain, and he begins to build the ark. You talk about a man. of faith.
And then you have various others, and the scripture also says, if we may go to verse 3, by faith we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God.
So, that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. In other words, we believe it by faith. Is it a rational faith? Of course it's a rational faith. Atheistic evolution cannot account for the world as it is.
If reason means anything, if 2 plus 2 is equal to 4, you cannot be an atheist and be rational. because you cannot account for the world as it is. You can't get from chemistry to biology. to human consciousness and to thought. All that because some molecules, some dumb molecules were messing around in some slime and they decided without any outside help to get together and become very complicated.
You can believe that. No wonder a French journal said many years ago that evolution is a fairy tale for adults. And it was Huxley who said, the reason that we believe in evolution without proof is because we don't want God to interfere with our sexual mores, he said many years ago. Of course we can't prove that the universe was made ex nahilo by the command of God. But that's reasonable, it's rational, and it accounts for what we have in the world today.
Psalm 33 verse 6, By the word of the Lord was the heavens made and the host of them by the breath of his mouth. I won't even tell you today about the stars. A number of years ago, some of us went to visit an astronomer, and he showed us pictures of the stars, absolutely mind-boggling, millions of light-years between them, and God says he calls them all by name. He's got that one named and that one named, and they're all different names. Why does the Bible tell us that?
Because God wants us on our faces. God wants to show that He is absolutely almighty, and by His word, the heavens were made out of something that did not exist, nothing. And He spoke, and it happened. Wow. By faith, we believe that.
Now, with that introduction, you'll notice though in verse 6, one of the most important verses in the Bible: Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him.
Now, we're not going to emphasize that today because that's going to be part of the message next time. But what I'd like to do today is to give you an example of someone who believed God and how he believed God and why he is known in the Bible as a man of faith and an example of faith. And his name is Abraham. And then we'll connect it with the promises of God. the word of faith movement, and the whole bit.
It's all going to come together. In the end, trust me. I know where I'm going, even though you don't know yet where you're going. And that's perfectly biblical. Abraham, the Bible says, went out not knowing whither he went.
Now, notice it says, verse 8. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing whither he went. You'll notice that in the life of Abraham, what he did is he believed. He believed in the future.
against the present. Abraham was living in Ur of Chaldees. It was a very culturally astute city for those times. And here God says, Abraham, leave Ur of Chaldees and go into a land that I will tell you about. He went from culture, high culture, to no culture.
Went from a city to an agricultural lifestyle. Wandered around, and the Bible says that when he left Ur, he knew not where he was going. Can you imagine? The discussions that he had with Sarah. Sarah is saying, Abraham, I love you, but I do have to ask you again: how do you know?
that that was the voice of God. How do you know where we are going?
Well, we really don't. All that we know is we're supposed to go, and maybe it'll get clear later. I'm reminded of when Rebecca and I came to America, this was 1970, we crossed the border with, I think, about $100. and an old nineteen sixty five Buick packed with stuff. That's everything that we own to fit into the back seat.
And we were on our way actually to the East Coast. I was supposed to do some graduate work there, and we got stopped in Chicago. We came, and we often thought we're going whither we do not know. had no idea what God had planned for us. And in the very same way, you and I sometimes have really no idea.
Now, when it comes to the land, Abraham learned the guidance of God. God guides you to the land. When it comes to the tents, you'll notice that the next verse says that he was in a tent. By faith, he went into the live in the land of promise as a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob.
Now he became a nomad. And he learned about the provision of God. And then if you look at the life of Abraham in the book of Genesis, you'll notice he often built an altar, and it was the altar that taught him the presence of God. But when God came to Abraham, Abraham believed in the future over against the present. He said to himself, The present is more rational, it is better for me, it is more comfortable.
But Abraham believed in a future, and he says, Belief in God and the future is more important than believing in what is best for you in the present. There are some of you to whom I'm speaking today, and God is leading you. And you're not sure exactly where you are going, but you're on your way. And when you get there, God will clarify the issues. And so Abraham believed, he believed in the future against the present.
Secondly, notice that he believed in the invisible. He believed in the invisible over against the visible. I'm looking now at verse 10. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder. is God.
Now remember that Abraham was a city dweller in Ur. God plucked him up and said, I'm bringing you to this land, and God gave him the dimensions of the land. God says, I'm giving this to you and to your descendants as an everlasting possession. Abraham wanders in the land. What does the text say as a foreigner?
He wanders there as an alien. He really doesn't belong even in the land that God gave him. But why was Abraham so motivated? Why was he so willing to do it? It's because he looked beyond the present.
He looked beyond that which you could see, and he could see a city. whose designer And builder was God That is amazing to me. Because Abraham did not have the benefit of Revelation chapter 21. And I saw the holy city descending from heaven, from God, as a bride adorned for her husband. And a great voice came saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will walk with them, and they shall be his people, and he shall be their God.
Then you go into that marvelous description of a heavenly city. Abraham didn't have as much revelation as we did, but he looked for the city. And there were two things about the city that he knew that he loved. First of all, that it was designed by God whom he had come to trust and to love, and secondly, He loved the fact that it was in the world to come and that the chief dwelling place of this city. The person who dwelt in it would be the God that Abraham loved.
And that's what makes the eternal city so beautiful. and so filled with anticipation in the heart of every single Christian. You look forward to the city. Built by God. By the way, it's this expression, you know, that gave birth to Augustine's title of that famous book.
Entitled the city of God. Because Augustine said that really in this world there are two cities. There's the city of man with its hopes and dreams and disappointments. And when Rome was sacked, the people who belonged to the city of man lost everything because this is all they live for. No wonder they feel so violated.
But to the people who belonged to the city of God, they lost nothing important because they belonged to that eternal city. And they have treasures in heaven where neither wroth nor dust doth corrupt, and where Alaric the Goth. Who sacked Rome cannot steal.
So, Augustine said, let's look forward to the heavenly. City.
So here's Abraham who believes in the future against the present. He believes in the invisible over against the present. Be visible. And he knew that the world, that world, was not his home. I don't want to be an obnoxious Christian, so you should pray for me that I not become too obnoxious at times.
I've done it on at least two occasions, maybe more. I prefer to forget some of them. But you know how it is you're at an airport, and the woman behind the counter says, well, Mr. Lutzer, is Dallas your final destination? Nope.
Dallas isn't my final destination. Heaven is my final destination, but for today, I'm stopping in Dallas. You're right. You got that right. Folks, we belong to another world.
We're headed to somewhere else. And Abraham is saying that he can believe in the invisible over against the visible, which is exactly what faith is. By faith, we believe in the unseen because we've heard a word from God. By faith, we believe that we're headed to heaven because God has birthed faith in our heart, and God has given us the confidence. that we belong to him.
Abraham also believed, he also believed, in the reward. over against the suffering, the reward over against the suffering. Because I can imagine that Abraham often thought about the decision that he made to leave Ur of Chaldez. He often thought about the discussions that he had with Sarah. and with other members of his family.
about his decision. And it seemed so silly. Why give up a good culture? And a safer environment with all of your friends, and go to a place where you don't know anybody and you're a nomad. And you're with a bunch of pagans.
Who all that they know really is violence. Why would you do that? It makes no sense. But Abraham knew something about the call of God. He knew about the reward.
It's the Old Testament version of the New Testament statement that the suffering of this present world is not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.
Now you look, for example, of Moses. It says in about Moses in verse 26, He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. What a sermon that is about Moses. For he was looking to the reward. And if you know anything about King Tut's tomb, you know something about the treasures of Egypt.
And Moses said that. He's willing to say no to all that. Why? Because he looks forward to an even greater reward. And so Moses and Abraham and all of the other saints listed.
In this hall of fame, the 11th chapter of Hebrews. They believed in the eternal reward over against present suffering, present questions, present hardship for them. There was this faith. that reminded them that this world was not their home. They were just a passing through, as the old song tells us.
Now I can imagine. That when Abraham was there in the land, there were discussions that took place from time to time. In fact, the Bible tells us about. all of the discussions with the Hittites and what have you. And the scripture is clear that Abraham interacted with the people of this world.
And I can imagine they'd say to him, Abraham, what do you own?
Well How is Abraham supposed to answer that? God had told him, as soon as he got there, walk the length and breadth of the land. All that you can see, I've given you from this river to this sea, from there. And God gives him the dimensions and says, This is yours and your seed. I'm giving it to you as an everlasting possession.
But now a Hittite says to Abraham, How much do you own? and Abraham has to say nothing. I own nothing. As a matter of fact, when Sarah dies, he buys McPhila. McPila, I think, is the correct pronunciation, depending on where you put the emphasis.
He buys this cave for Sarah. And he gives the Hittites. I read the story yesterday, it's near Hebron. He gives the Hittites four hundred shekels. They say, Abraham.
We like it. The fact you're a good guy, we'll give it to you. Please, Abraham says, no, I'm not going to take a dime from you. And he counts out 400 shekels, the Bible says that was weighed out. four hundred shekels of silver.
So he buys it. And then later on, when he dies, he gets put into the same cave. Because he bought the cave, he could be buried there too.
So that's the way in which Abraham dies.
Well, isn't that interesting?
Now, notice what the text says. I'm in verse 6. Yeah. These all died in faith. not having received what was promised.
Well, that's interesting, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. They died. Verse 16, but that 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 for them a city. Verse 39, and all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. The idea there is they did not receive.
The benefits, they did not receive the experience of the promise of the coming Messiah, for example. But they could not be perfected until Messiah came.
So they all died in faith. And Abraham dies not seeing the promise.
Now I can imagine if he had lived in our day. A word of faith preacher would have come to him and said, Abraham, what's the deal? Yeah. Um Yes, my friend, frequently there are preachers who expect what God has promised in the future. They tell us that we can have it now.
They say that we can have healing. That we don't even have to die, some have speculated, as long as we continue to get our healing from God.
Well, I have to tell you. God has not promised that in this life. I'm holding in my hands a letter that we received from a Russian listener. It blesses me to know that because of this ministry, And because of your support, we're able to go into various languages. This person writes, for me this program is like additional Christian education.
I listen every day. It's very inspiring and edifying. Thank you for such an amazing programme. And I say to this person, Thank you for encouraging us. Let me ask you this question to all who are listening right now.
Would you consider joining us and becoming an endurance partner? That's someone who stands with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts. Very quickly. I hope that you have a pen or pencil handy because I want you to write down this info. Go to rtwoffer.com.
That's rtwoffer dot com. Of course RTW offer's all one word. And when you're there, click on the Endurance Partner button. It'll give you all the info you need. Or you can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218.
9337. Thank you so much for helping us as we continue to spread the gospel around the world. Tell me. You can write to us at Running2Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Running to win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life.
A lot of us get antsy when waiting more than five minutes at McDonald's. Oh to be Abraham. God gave him promises that wouldn't come to pass for centuries. He died before any were fulfilled.
Next time on Running to Win, more from the book of Hebrews about long-delayed promises. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
