The Letter to the Hebrews
How To Obey When It Feels Impossible
Hebrews 11:17-22
Let’s turn to Hebrews 11:17. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Hebrews 11:17 is on page 1008 in the Bibles we are passing out.
All through the Bible we read that it’s important to obey God. We are not saved by our obedience, but our obedience shows that we have the faith by which we are saved. So obedience is important.
Not only that, our obedience brings more of Jesus’ heart-satisfying presence to us, our obedience brings great good to others, and our obedience displays God’s glory. So obedience is important.
But many times we find ourselves in situations where obedience seems impossible –
· Maybe God is calling you to singleness – or to marriage – or to stay in a marriage – and for various reasons it feels impossible.
· Maybe God is calling you to talk to someone about the Lord – but you know how tongue-tied you get, and you don’t know the Bible very well – so it feels impossible.
· Maybe God is calling you to love someone who is stretching you beyond your ability to love – so it feels impossible.
· Maybe God is calling you to be patient while a trial goes on and on and on and on – and it’s starting to feel impossible.
· Maybe God is calling you to move to a dangerous country and devote your life to bringing the Gospel to an unreached Muslim people group – but for dozens of reasons that seems impossible.
· Maybe God is calling you to quit a sinful habit, or to stop a certain relationship – but it’s been going on so long, and has such a strong hold on you, that it seems impossible.
Every follower of Jesus Christ will have times when obedience feels impossible. So what can we do? The author tells us by describing a time when God called Abraham to do something that seemed impossible. So what did God call Abraham to do?
Look at v.17 –
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac …
God called Abraham to offer up Isaac. To see what that meant, keep your finger here in ch.11, but turn back to the book of Genesis, ch. 22.
Here’s the background. Years ago God had promised Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son. This was remarkable, because Abraham and Sarah had been married a long time and had never gotten pregnant. But God promised not only that they would get pregnant and have a son – God promised that through this son Abraham would become the father of an entire nation.
So God promised Abraham and Sarah a son. But years went by. Then more years. And more years. And now both of them were over ninety years old, and obviously past the time of childbearing.
But one day God said – next year Sarah will have a son (ch.18). And sure enough, a few months later Abraham and Sarah got pregnant, and a year later she had a son, whom they named Isaac. Imagine – the son promised decades ago, the son they had been longing for, the son they had been waiting for, the son through whom Abraham would become the father of a nation. And now – this son was born.
But then a few years later God called Abraham to do something that would have felt impossible. Look at vv.1-2 of Genesis 22 --
1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I."
2 He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."
So God was calling Abraham to take his only son Isaac, whom Abraham loved, and travel with him to a mountain in the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering, which would have meant killing him and burning his body on an altar.
Now with that in mind, turn back to Hebrews 11 and let’s read the beginning of v.17 again –
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac …
And in the rest of v.17 and v.18 the author emphasizes just why this would have seemed impossible for Abraham to do.
Why would this have seemed impossible? Read all of vv.17-18 –
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,
18 of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named."
He mentions two reasons this would have felt impossible. One is because “he was in the act of offering up his only son.” This was his only son, the son whom he had waited for, for decades, the son whom he dearly loved.
And the second reason was because God had told him that “through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” In other words, God had promised to give Abraham offspring through Isaac, but God was calling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.
So this would have felt impossible. Isaac is my only son, whom I love -- how can I sacrifice him? That’s impossible. And -- God has promised to give us descendants through Isaac – so how can I sacrifice Isaac? There’s no way I can sacrifice Isaac, and have God fulfill His promise to give me descendants through Isaac. That seems impossible.
So God was calling Abraham to obey in a way that would have felt impossible. So what did Abraham do?
Look again at the beginning of v.17 –
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac …
Abraham set out to obey God. He travelled with Isaac and their servants to the land of Moriah. He found the mountain on which God wanted him to sacrifice Isaac. He tied up his son Isaac and put him on the altar. And just as he was about to sacrifice Isaac, God stopped him. God said – “Now I know that you fear me.” And God provided a ram which Abraham offered instead of Isaac.
But the point is – Abraham obeyed a command that would have felt impossible – that would have seemed impossible. And some of you today are struggling to obey a command that feels impossible – that seems impossible.
So how did Abraham obey when it felt impossible? The author tells us in v.19 --
19 He considered that God was able even to raise him [Isaac] from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
So Abraham knew that if he sacrificed Isaac, God would raise him from the dead.
Let me show you back in Genesis 22 how we know that’s what Abraham was thinking. Turn back to Genesis 22 vs.5. Abraham and Isaac and their servants have arrived at the mountain on which he is going to sacrifice Isaac. And Abraham wants the servants to stay there, while just he and Isaac go climb the mountain alone. So notice what Abraham says to the young men who had traveled with him and Isaac –
5 Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you."
He does not say “I and the boy will go over there and worship and I will come again to you.” No. The Hebrew verb translated “come again” is plural. So what Abraham is saying to his servants is “I and the boy will go over there, and I and the boy will worship, and I and the boy will come again to you.”
So here we see what’s going on in Abraham’s mind. He’s going to take Isaac up to the top of the mountain and sacrifice him there. But he tells his servants – “I and the boy will come again to you,” which means Abraham knows that after he sacrifices Isaac – God will raise Isaac from the dead!
See, Abraham knew three things: One -- God had promised him offspring through Isaac. Two -- God wanted him to sacrifice Isaac. And three -- God keeps his promises. So he knew – if he sacrificed Isaac, God would still be faithful to His promise. God would still give him offspring through Isaac. How? By raising Isaac from the dead.
That’s how Abraham obeyed when it seemed impossible. He obeyed by faith. By trusting God’s promises. It’s because he knew that if God had made a promise – God would fulfill it. He knew that no matter how impossible obedience seems, God will always be faithful to His promises.
And that’s what the author emphasizes in vv.20-22. In these verses he answers the question – Was God faithful to His promise? Answer – Yes. In v.18 we read God’s promise to Abraham that “through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”
And look at what we read in v.20 --
20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.
So here’s Abraham’s son, Isaac. And at the end of his life Isaac speaks future blessings on his sons Jacob and Esau. So here we see that just as God promised, he is bringing Abraham offspring through Isaac.
Then read v.21 --
21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.
Abraham fathered Isaac. Isaac fathered Jacob. Jacob fathered 12 sons one of whom was Joseph. And here as Jacob is dying he blessed the sons of Joseph and worships God. So again we see that just as God has promised, he is bringing offspring to Abraham through Isaac.
Then look at v.22 --
22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.
Abraham fathered Isaac. Isaac fathered Jacob. Jacob fathered 12 sons who made up the Israelites – the nation of Israel. And at the end of Joseph’s life Israel was in Egypt. But here Joseph speaks of how God will take them out of Egypt and return them to the promise land. So just as God promised, he is bringing Abraham offspring through Isaac.
So was God faithful to His promises? Yes, yes, yes. God was – and always will be – faithful to His promises.
So how can we obey when it feels impossible? The answer is in the first two words of v.17. We obey “by faith.” Not by will-power. Not by duty. But by faith. This is the key to the Christian life. Everything is by faith. Everything comes as we trust all that God promises to be to us in Christ Jesus.
Here are some examples.
So let’s say obedience feels impossible because you can’t see how your obedience will turn out well. Let’s say you’ve looked at it from every angle, and from all you can see, obedience has no good outcomes. Which means that obedience feels impossible. So -- how can you obey? The answer – by faith.
Faith needs a promise. So you might want to pray over a promise like John 13:17 – If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. The word “blessed” here is the word happy, joyful. So Jesus promises, even if you can’t see how your obedience will turn out well, it will turn out for your greatest joy. So pray over this promise. Trust this promise. Understand that God will be faithful to this promise – and you will be able to obey.
Or let’s say your obedience feels impossible because you don’t have the strength to obey. Let’s say you feel so weak that obedience feels impossible. How can you obey? The answer is – by faith.
Pray over Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through him who strengthens me. As you pray over that promise, and trust that promise, and look to Jesus Christ to fulfill this promise – you will feel Him strengthening you. And as you step out in obedience – you will be amazed at the strength Jesus will give you.
Or let’s say your obedience feels impossible because you don’t have the ability to do what God’s asking you to do. Let’s say you don’t have the ability to love that person, or share the Gospel with that person. How can you obey? The answer is – by faith.
Pray over 2 Corinthians 9:8 – And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As you pray over that promise, and trust that promise, the Holy Spirit will change your heart. Your faith will grow. You will believe that God will give you all the grace you need – and you will step out in obedience to Him.
But there’s one last possibility. Some of you might be saying – well that’s all fine and good that it’s by faith. But what if you don’t have the faith to believe God’s promises? What if you don’t have any faith? What can you do? I’ve got good news. God has a promise for that as well.
It’s Romans 10:17 – So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. As you hear the word of Christ, as you read what Jesus Christ has done for you on the Cross, as you read about His love for you, as you read about His promises to you – and ask Him to forgive you for your unbelief, and ask Him to give you faith – He will. He promises.
You will feel faith in Jesus Christ growing in your heart. You will find that you are trusting Him. And then with that trust you will be able to step out and obey – even when it feels impossible.
So how can we obey when it feels impossible? By faith. By faith in all that God promises to be to us in Jesus Christ. Trust Him – and watch how He strengthens your faith, and enables you to obey.