“A Better Country”
[Hebrews 11:13-16]
September 15, 2013 Second Reformed Church
As we continue, let us remember that
when we talk about faith, we are not talking about something we do, but a gift
God gives us to receive from Him. It is
through faith – like gutters and leaders catching the rain and moving it to the
place we would have it go – that we have complete assurance that the things God
has promised will come to pass, and we are convicted beyond doubt that beings
that are invisible exist, and events we have not seen – because they happened
before we existed or will happen sometime in the future – are absolutely real
and true.
This morning we
see:
God calls us to patiently look
forward to the fulfillment of His promises.
God
sends His people as strangers and exiles.
We
ought to hold loosely to the things of this fallen world and “hug” tightly the
eternal Kingdom.
Our
desire is to be received into that better country – that heavenly Kingdom.
God
is not ashamed to be called our God.
God
has prepared a new city for His people.
We remember that God called Abraham
out of Ur of the Chaldees and told him to go to a place where God would show
him that he would receive as an inheritance.
And he obeyed and went. He went
with his wife Sarah, who was barren.
After they arrived in Canaan, God
promised that Abraham, who was seventy-five, and Sarah, who was sixty-five, they
would bear a child, and that their descendants would be as numerous as the
stars in the sky and the sand on the shore.
And twenty-five years later, Sarah bore Isaac.
Sometime later, Isaac’s wife, Rebekah,
bore Jacob.
“These all died in faith, not having
received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar,”
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah,
Jacob, Rachel, Leah, and all their families, died without receiving the
promises. God gave the ancestors a taste
of the promises, but they died without receiving it. In fact, as we noted before, no significant
part of Canaan was held by Abraham’s descendants until Israel’s return under
the leadership of Joshua after their captivity in Egypt.
But
– through faith, they received the promises and could see what God had promised
and they “greeted” them from their position in history. The translation of the word as “greeted” may
be a little weak – the word can also be translated, “hugged.” We can see someone in the distance we know
and say, “hi” – we can greet them – and we can also see someone in the distance
and reach out and greet them by “hugging” them.
The image of hugging is a stronger one, is it not? Abraham and his descendants could see through
faith the promises of God, and they “hugged” them – greeting them – relishing
them – longing for them – desiring them – looking forward to them with great
joy, knowing that since they are the promises of God, they will come to pass in
God’s time.
And
so we understand, first, this morning, God calls us to patiently look forward
to the fulfillment of His promises.
Still
– we want to be clear – what are the promises – notice it is plural – what
promises did God make to Abraham and his descendants? What were they looking forward to in faith?
Yes,
they were looking forward to the Promised Land – even though that was a
conditional promise – God said He would take the land away if the people sinned
and did not obey God. Was there anything
else?
Jesus
said to His disciples, “For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous
people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you
hear, and did not hear it” (Matthew 13:17, ESV).
What
were the disciples seeing and hearing that the prophets and righteous people
longed for? Jesus was revealing to the disciples
that the Savior – the Messiah – had come – that He was the fulfillment of the
prophecies and the promises of God to send a Savior to make all those who
believe in Him right with God.
Yes,
they looked forward to the land in this fallen and sinful world, but they also
looked forward to the promise of the Savior who would make God’s people right
with Him.
Jesus
outraged the Pharisees by pointing this out:
“Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and
was glad” (John 8:56, ESV).
Abraham
and his descendants had the promise of the Savior to come, and through faith,
they saw Him, and “hugged” Him from afar!
Did they see the physical face of Jesus the Incarnate God? Probably not.
But they saw the promise and they took hold of it with great joy,
believing that He would come – even if He didn’t come in their day. They lived and died believing the promise,
and, thus, were brought into the kingdom, and rejoiced when Jesus was born.
We
live in an unparalleled time in history – these ancestors – Abraham and his descendants
– only had the promises of God, yet by faith, they believed and held fast to
the promises with great assurance.
Beginning with Moses, the people of God had the promises of God and the
types – those things which pointed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ – they had the
Temple and the priestly system and the holidays and the Law – all of which in
their own way uphold the promises and point to Jesus as the Messiah as their assurance. But we – we, brothers and sisters – we have
the promises of God, we have the record of the types which point to the Savior,
and we have Jesus revealed and made known to us in the Scripture! We have the whole Gospel revealed to us! What great assurance is that to us? God had made salvation for all those who
believe in Jesus the Savior – and that salvation is all of God and all by God –
we do nothing – we contribute nothing – to our salvation. Wonderful news, is it not?
With
all of this, surely, we can patiently look forward to the fulfillment of God’s
promises – looking forward in faith, knowing and seeing what is coming, and
hugging the promise until that day that it all fully arrives.
“and
having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”
Second, God sends His people as
strangers and exiles.
Abraham and his descendants came from
another land – they were not born in Canaan – they were strangers and exiles in
the land. They were also strangers and
exiles to the belief systems of the Canaanites – they were believers in the One
Sovereign God, the Creator. They were
also strangers and exiles because they did not want to be or live like the
people of the land.
Two accounts:
“And
Jacob said to Pharaoh, ‘The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years.
Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not
attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of
their sojourning’” (Genesis 47:9, ESV).
“For we are strangers before you and
sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow,
and there is no abiding” (1 Chronicles 29:15, ESV).
Although the land had been promised
to them, they were not attached to it.
Even though God has made many wonderful and beautiful things in this
world – they were not attached to them.
Why?
“For
people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.”
The ancestors could live and die as
strangers and exiles because they were looking for an eternal home. They knew
that everything here is temporary – they couldn’t take it with them. And, everything in this world, as it is – a
sinful, fallen world – is broken, corrupt.
They understood that what they were looking for – what they were waiting
for – what they were “hugging” – was an eternal homeland – the Kingdom of God.
In the same way, Peter refers to all
believers – all Christians – as exiles:
“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the
passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11, ESV).
And Paul writes, “So then you are no
longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and
members of the household of God,” (Ephesians 2:19, ESV).
So, thirdly, we ought to hold
loosely to the things of this fallen world and “hug” tightly the eternal
Kingdom.
What does that mean? Well, two things:
First, we are not to be obsessed
with our stuff. We are not to be
obsessed with acquiring stuff. We are to
use our stuff and our gifts rightly.
God has given us this world to care
for and to enjoy, but this world will be changed and restored, and we can’t
take our stuff with us.
Jesus was called upon to decide a
dispute:
“Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher,
tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Man,
who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care,
and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist
in the abundance of his possessions.’ And he told them a parable, saying, ‘The
land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, “What shall
I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?” And he said, “I will do this: I
will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my
grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid
up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, “Fool!
This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared,
whose will they be?” So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not
rich toward God” (Luke 12:13-21, ESV).
Understand, Jesus is not saying it
is wrong to be rich or to have lots of things.
What He is saying is it is wrong to be greedy and covetous – to want
what other people have, thinking yourself more worthy.
If God has blessed us with wealth
and things, He has done so for us to use those things to glorify Him and to
spread His Gospel. If you have money or
talents or things that the Church could use, you should use them for the good
of the Church – and don’t be fooled – you do have things – God has given us all
that we have primarily for the good of the Church.
God has told all of us that we are
to bring ten percent of our gross income and give it to the Church. And, as we have joy in doing so, we are to
give more. If God has given you
abilities in music, hospitality, cleaning, administration, baking – whatever
God has gifted you in, you are to use for the good of the Church, and,
ultimately, to the glory of God and the spreading of the Gospel.
One way we become “rich in God” is
by using what He has given us for the Church.
We become “rich in God” not by being
careless, but by not being undone by being generous for God’s sake, and by not
being undone when our stuff is taken away from us.
Another way we become “rich in God”
is by being satisfied with what God has given us – we each have what we need
from God, and it is sin to covet what God has given someone else.
“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that
now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned
for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need,
for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be
brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have
learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do
all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:10-13, ESV).
Paul explains that he has learned
how to be content – how to be satisfied – it is not natural for us to say, as
Job did, “And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I
return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the
LORD’” (Job 1:21, ESV). But God will help
us – in fact, Paul says, as believers we can be content – satisfied with our
condition – “through Christ Who strengthens me.” We often quote that verse out of context –
Paul is saying that through the strength that Christ gives us as believers, we
can be content “in any and every circumstance.”
So, second, we are to seek Christ
and His strength that we would be content in any and every circumstance. That does not mean that we don’t care what
circumstance we are in, it means that we can be content because we rely not on
our circumstance to be content, but on Jesus Christ.
We “hug” tightly to the eternal
Kingdom by leaving behind anything that stands in the way of God’s work, by
having hope through faith, as through faith we most assuredly see the promises
of our God and Savior as real.
We might need to leave a girlfriend
or boyfriend behind, or a job, or a promotion, or a fancy new car, or money, or
health, or family, or an education, or – whatever, to “hug” tightly the eternal
Kingdom. And we must leave our sin
behind and seek to obey Christ in all things.
As we do, we will wean ourselves from this fallen world and look forward
to the eternal Kingdom with Jesus.
The author of Hebrews now turns to
an objection: “Wait a minute, their
being exiles and strangers doesn’t prove that they were looking for a homeland
– an eternal Kingdom – they were only exiles and strangers because they left
their homeland.”
The
author of Hebrews responds: “If they had
been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had
opportunity to return.”
No
– they were truly exiles and strangers.
They could have returned to the land from which they came, but they
didn’t. Instead, they chose to follow
God to a new place and seek after God’s promises there. Their being exiles and strangers was
self-imposed, because they believe by faith in the promises of God.
“But as it is, they desire a better
country, that is, a heavenly one.”
The ancestors didn’t return because
they desired a better country – a heavenly home – an eternal Kingdom. By faith, the ancestors saw the promise of salvation
through Jesus being fulfilled and their being received into the heavenly
Kingdom. That’s why they left – that’s
why they continued as strangers and exiles, because they had the Glorious
Kingdom of Jesus Christ before them – and that’s where they wanted to be – that
was their hope.
Fourth, our desire is to be received
into that better country – that heavenly Kingdom.
The
word “desire” in our text indicates “stretching yourself out for or towards.”
Have you ever spent time with a very
young child? (We can practice this with
Zerubbabel Hastey when he is born.) When
a child wants to be picked up, he doesn’t say, “Excuse me, if it would be
alright, I would prefer to be carried right now.” No, the child stretches out towards the
parent – or other persons that he knows well – indicating, “I want you – pick
me up!”
That is why the ancestors were able
to live as strangers and exiles – they weren’t looking to live forever in
Canaan or anywhere else on this fallen earth – they desired a better country
than Canaan – a better country than the United States – the country of the Lamb
of God. And though they were content
through faith to live their lives and die here – they longed for that better
country and stretched out the arms of their minds and hearts, seeking to know
God and obey Him, having received the promised Savior by faith. “Father!
Savior! Pick me up! Take me home to that better country which You
promised and are preparing for us!”
That is how believers – how
Christians – how we ought to be – desiring God in our hearts and minds –
stretching up, reaching out – longing with everything that we are to be with
our God and Savior in His Kingdom – while we contentedly live here as exiles
and strangers proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Only Savior, to the
glory of the Father.
Do you long for the better country
like that?
Paul put it this way as he wrote to
the Philippians from prison, “Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through
your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for
my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at
all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in
my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die
is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet
which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My
desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain
in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that
I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the
faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because
of my coming to you again” (Philippians 1:18b-26, ESV).
“To live is Christ, to die is
gain.” That’s another verse that is
quoted out of context – Paul is saying that if he had the choice, he would be
put to death now, because he so longed to be with Jesus, but, if he was spared
and lived, he desired to proclaim that Gospel with all of his heart and soul,
and mind, and strength. Paul said it was
hard for him to choose between the two – certainly it would be preferable to be
in the better country – and that would come – and it will come for all of us
who believe – sooner or later – but it is also a glorious work to show Christ
and His Gospel to the world.
“Therefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God,”
“Therefore.” OK?
What does the “therefore” point to?
Why is God not ashamed to be their God?
Is it because the ancestors desired a better country or is it because
God gave them – in the promise of salvation – a better country? We can read it either way.
We
can quickly dispense of the opinion that God is not ashamed to be called their
God because of who they are. A quick
look at the like of Abraham and of Israel shows that they were a sinful
embarrassment – just like us. No, God is
not ashamed to be their God – and our God – because God has given us a gift beyond all conceivable
greatness in salvation through Jesus – which guarantees our home in the better
country – the eternal Kingdom. God is
not ashamed because God is God and God has done great things for us.
Fifth,
God is not ashamed to be called my God and your God and the God of all those
who believe in the Savior, because God’s gift of the Savior is
unparalleled. God could not do anything
greater to save all those who will believe, and, thus, God is not ashamed to be
called our God, because He is great.
God is not ashamed of His people
because of the greatness of His gift.
Thus, fifth, God is not ashamed to
be called our God.
“for
he has prepared for them a city.”
Sixth,
God has prepared a new city for His people.
God is preparing an eternal city for
those who truly desire Him and His Promise – for all those who believe in
salvation through Jesus Alone.
Jesus comforted His disciples with
this very promise:
“Then the King will say to those on
his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world’” (Matthew 25:34, ESV).
“In my Father's house are many
rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place
for you?” (John 14:2, ESV).
Hear a description of the city:
“Then came one of the seven angels
who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying,
‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away
in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like
a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall,
with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names
of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—on the east three
gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west
three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were
the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
“And the one who spoke with me had a
measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city
lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city
with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also
measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's
measurement. The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like
clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every
kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the
fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the
eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the
twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates
made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like
transparent glass.
“And I saw no temple in the city,
for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no
need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and
its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the
earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by
day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the
honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who
does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's
book of life” (Revelation 21:9-27, ESV).
Today, all we who believe are
strangers and exiles, learning how to hold loosely to the things of the world,
while “hugging” tightly to the eternal Kingdom, finding our satisfaction in
Christ, witnessing through our lives and desires that we are His and the Gospel
is true, as we patiently wait to be received into the eternal Kingdom, that
glorious city, the better country.
Thus:
God
calls us to patiently look forward to the fulfillment of His promises.
God
sends His people as strangers and exiles.
We
ought to hold loosely to the things of this fallen world and “hug” tightly the
eternal Kingdom.
Our
desire is to be received into that better country – that heavenly Kingdom.
God
is not ashamed to be called our God.
God
has prepared a new city for His people.
Let
us pray:
Almighty
God, we rejoice and give thanks that You Alone have made salvation for us and
give us the hope and the promises which we embrace by faith. Help us to follow after You and to be
obedient in all ways, not sinning, but weaning ourselves from the world, and
desiring You all the more vigorously.
For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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