August 11, 2019 Text: Hebrews 11:1-16
Dear Friends in Christ,
You probably have never thought how many different ways the word nothing can be used grammatically. It can be a pronoun, a noun, an adverb and an adjective. Using it those four ways you get definitions ranging from “no value” to “worthless” to “not at all” to “does not exist.” It all adds up to a bunch of nothing.
We have a bunch of nothing in our text today or more accurately a “bunch of nothings.” Our Lord can work with that and give reason and purpose to what seems like nothing. God calls us to trust His promises and follow Him to the Promised Land . . .
“OUT OF NOTHING”
God finds us in nothingness. The Book of Hebrews tells us that the world was not created of things that are seen. It was created out of nothing. That is who we are apart from God. In our nothing and fallen condition we cannot please God. We cannot do what is righteous. We cannot prevent our own death.
These Old Testament saints mentioned this morning were great big nothings. Abel was not a strong hero; his brother murdered him. Enoch was not complimented for what he had done he was commended because God took him. Noah inherited his righteousness; it was not his own. Abraham was a wanderer in a land not his own. He owned nothing himself. Sarah was a nothing because she could not bear a child.
Out of this nothingness God calls us to faith in Him. There was nothing and then God spoke and the world came into being. This Word of God made something out of nothing.
This is how you and I came to faith. God has called us by His Word. We do nothing except hear and take that Word. Christ proclaims to us that He has died for our sins and given us the gift of salvation. From the nothing of sin to new life.
God calls us to follow him to the promised land. Each of these saints – Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah followed God and were commended for their faith. Noah had to prepare for a rain and the reaction of others when his ark building looked downright silly. Abraham went on a trip that had no destination. Turn around! Turn around! In our Old Testament for today he had to have faith that he would have an heir. Sarah had the strength of faith to believe that even as a longtime member of AARP she was going to be a mother.
All of them died in the faith. They didn’t tie their existence to the tent pegs of this world. They were just passing through on the way to a greater place. An eternal homeland. A better country known as heaven.
Their journey is our journey. We have nothing to show God. We have no righteousness to shove in his face and say look at me, wonderful me doing wonderful things. Yet the Lord sees us wandering in our weakness and calls us by the Gospel and gives us new life. The Holy Spirit leads that new life of ours as He sanctifies and keeps us on the narrow path. We follow that path to the promised land of heaven. As strangers and exiles aren’t you looking forward to that day when you can say: “I’m home.” Home in the eternal presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who guided us through this life.
No one wants to be in a nothing place. Having nothing is not a comfort zone. Being a nothing can be devastating. Thankfully we have a God who out of nothing has created a better place for us. He has a city waiting for you and me that has no traffic, no headaches, no pollution, no taxes, no sickness, no crime. All the residents are joyful – Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah and many others. We can hardly wait to take residence in the sight of God who is not ashamed to call us out of nothing to His glorious presence.
Amen.