Hebrews 11: 7 & 8
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
So, today, I would like to combine Hebrews 11 verses 7 and 8 ( Noah and Abraham as men of faith who ‘went where they did not where they were going’ ) with a reflection inspired by a Tim Keller story—
Tim, in the 1990’s, did night ( and day ) Bible studies around NYC. I went to one when he was going through ‘people of faith’ from Hebrews 11: 7 on Noah building an ark boat though it had never rained before. ( he was sailing ⛵️ into the unknown )
Tim always did Q & A after his speaking so toward the end I asked : Dr Keller how did you know coming to NYC to plant a church ( NYC was at that time a graveyard for church planters: a hard place ) you had 3 young boys – children- a tenured College teaching job & no NY building or City networks- how did decide this was God’s will for you and your family?
Tim: ( as best I can recall what he said & and I am OK in this arena )
Well, I did followed the usual steps:
Kathy and I visited the city together
we sought prayer counsel with friends and advisors
and we moved
Me: but how did you know these were the right steps? Supposed you and Redeemer had failed… would that still have been God’s will for you all?
Tim: yes —we had to trust Romans 8: 28 ‘all’ things work for good for those who love God and are following his steps… if we would have failed, even that would have been part of the Lord’s sovereign plan for us
today, this is a Tim Keller thought I hold to
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