Text: Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16
Faith is being sure about what we hope for, being convinced about things we do not see. 2 For by this faith the ancients were commended in Scripture.
3 By faith we know that the universe was created by God’s word, so that what is seen did not come from visible things.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go to a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance, and he left without knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he lived as a stranger in the Promised Land, as if it did not belong to him, dwelling in tents along with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith Abraham also received the ability to conceive children, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was past the normal age, because he considered him faithful who made the promise. 12 And so from one man, and he as good as dead, descendants were born as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand along the seashore.
13 One by one, all of these died in faith, without having received the things that were promised, but they saw and welcomed them from a distance. They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 Indeed, people who say things like that make it clear that they are looking for a land of their own. 15 And if they were remembering the land they had come from, they would have had an opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better land—a heavenly one. For that reason, God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he prepared a city for them.
Sermon
Faith is being sure about what we hope for, being convinced about things we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). Amen.
I pulled out my tent to go camping with our Water of Life members at Camp Oakridge this weekend. The tent was given to us as a wedding present 28 years ago. It’s still in excellent shape.
It was great weather for camping. A little wind. A little cool. A little rain. But if you’ve ever gone camping, you know how quickly everything can go badly. Rain, wind, too hot, too cold, mosquitoes biting you, bears eating your food.
Then you are very quickly excited to get back to your permanent home. A place with indoor plumbing, with air conditioning, a furnace, and walls to keep out the wind, rain, mosquitoes, and bears.
It’s great to go camping for a while. It reminds you that what you take with you is only temporary. Your permanent home is somewhere else.
The writer to the Hebrews talks about tenting – reminding us that everything here on earth is only temporary. God’s city in heaven is permanent.
The writer teaches us this lesson by talking about Abraham. God called Abraham to move from Haran to a place where he had probably never seen. God moved him to a place where Abraham didn’t know where he was going. At the age of 70, Abraham loaded up his U-Hauls and moved the 400 miles to Canaan.
Abraham would receive Canaan as an inheritance. It was a place he would never own. He was a foreigner and a stranger in this Promised Land. There in Canaan, Abraham lived in tents. God blessed him richly with a wife, servants, flocks, and herds. But he did not have any children. He would have to wait another 30 years - when Sarah was barren and Abraham’s body was as good as dead - before God blessed him with a son, Isaac.
Through Isaac, Abraham had descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand along the seashore. As one of God’s believers, as one of God’s blood-bought saints, you are one of those descendants. The greatest of Abraham’s descendants was Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Mary, the Messiah, the Savior.
The writer reminds us, “By faith he lived as a stranger in the Promised Land, as if it did not belong to him, dwelling in tents along with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
The writer is encouraging us to remember that we are just tenting here on earth, heaven is our real home. Everything we have, everything we own in this life, is only temporary. We have a greater and permanent inheritance waiting for us in eternal life.
The Gospel lesson paired with this epistle lesson is a good reminder that we are only tenting with God’s saints right now. Jesus teaches his disciples, “Stop worrying about your life, about what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Certainly life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. … Instead, continue to seek the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you” (Luke 12:22-23, 31).
What are you worried about right now? Rising gas and food prices, inflation, empty store shelves and supply chain issues, the decrease in your stocks and retirement portfolio, your aging body, your poor health. There is a lot to worry about, be anxious about, become frustrated about.
We become worried, anxious, and frustrated because we believe our homes, our jobs, our income, our portfolio, our families, and our bodies are all permanent. We believe that this life is what we’re working towards. We believe we’re building something that will last. We hold onto these things too tightly.
Jesus teaches us to repent of this worry, anxious, and frustration, The writer reminds us with the lesson of Abraham that we are just tenting here. Everything we own, everything we are working so hard to obtain, everything we are striving to hold onto will eventually be burned up on the Last Day in fire. Before then, we can lose everything to wind, cold, heat, rain, even mosquitoes and bears.
Let us be like the saints who have gone before us of whom the writer says, “One by one, all of these died in faith, without having received the things that were promised, but they saw and welcomed them from a distance. They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Indeed, people who say things like that make it clear that they are looking for a land of their own.”
We are tenting here on earth with these saints. Just as Jesus came and tented among us for a while.
“The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The word translated “dwelled” in the Greek literally means “tented.” The Son of God tented on earth with his people in his incarnation as God took on human flesh.
The Son of God, the King of the universe, left his permanent home in heaven to dwell, camp, tent among his people temporarily for 33 years. He became like the saints he came to save – he was a stranger and a pilgrim here on earth. Jesus tented among us living perfectly in our place so he could give that perfection of his righteousness to us. He suffered and was crucified so that by his death he could pay the price for our sins. He rose from the dead to give us the promise of eternal life. Through Jesus tenting with us with his life, death, and resurrection, he won a permanent place for us in heaven – a city whose foundations were planned and built by God.
Jesus then ascended into heaven to prepare this city for his saints who believe in him. The city’s name is Jerusalem the Golden. Racine has the Root River flowing through it. The River of Life flows through Jerusalem the Golden. Camp Oakridge and the Kettle Moraine Forest have plenty of trees. Jerusalem the Golden has the Tree of Life planted on either side of the River of Life. Its fruit allows God’s saints to eat and live and never have to worry about sickness, disease, or death. In God’s city we don’t have to worry about closing the gate or locking the doors, for no enemy can ever enter God’s city.
As citizens of Jerusalem the Golden you won’t worry about what you will eat, or about your body, or what you will wear. Jesus invites you to the King’s banquet feast where he is the Host and we are his honored guests. Jesus clothes you with your white baptismal gowns you get to wear for eternity.
When we have the faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all their countless descendants of saints, then this verse can be applied to us, “By faith they lived as strangers in a world that did not belong to them, dwelling in tents along with Isaac, and Jacob, who were heirs with Abraham of the same promise. For they were looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
The writer ends this epistle text with this powerful statement: “Instead, they were longing for a better land—a heavenly one. For that reason, God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he prepared a city for them.” How awesome is that?! God is not ashamed to be called our God!
Think about that. God has every reason to be ashamed of us, doesn’t he? God made Adam and Eve to be his special creatures and what was one of the first things they did? They listened to Satan and went to hang out with him. God created us in our mothers’ wombs and what was the first thing that happened to us? We were born with an old Adam, a sinful nature, that listened to Satan and went to hang out with him. After we were born, God brought us back to him through the waters of Baptism. We were reborn as children of God. What did we do? We listened to Satan and went to hang out with him. God called us back through repentance, we confessed our sins and received his words of forgiveness? What did we do? We forgot about that repentance and abused our forgiveness and went to hang out with Satan.
Jesus warns us of the dangers of worry, anxiety, and frustration saying, “Do not constantly chase after what you will eat or what you will drink. Do not be worried about it. To be sure, the nations of the world chase after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need them. Instead, continue to seek the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you” (Luke 12:29-31). What do we do? We worry about what we’ll eat and are anxious about what we’ll drink. We chase after all these things and don’t seek God’s kingdom.
God has every right to be ashamed of us, doesn’t he? Yet, he’s not! Why not? Because he sent his Son Jesus to tent among us. He reminds us that we are just tenting here. Heaven is our real home. A real home Jesus paid for with his perfect life, innocent death, and glorious resurrection. Jesus warns us, encourages us, leads us to repentance, forgives of our sins of worry, anxiousness, and chasing after all these temporary things. All so that he can give us something permanent. A place like we sang about in our hymn of the day that has a firm foundation. We were called to go to a place that we will receive as an inheritance. It is a place we are convinced of, though we have not seen it.
When we have this kind of faith that we are just tenting here with the saints, then this verse can be spoken of us: “Instead, they were longing for a better land—a heavenly one. For that reason, God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he prepared a city for them.” Amen.
Continue to seek the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you (Luke 12:24). Amen.