“‘ABRAHAM’ - A GREAT PIONEER”

Scripture Reading: Heb.11:13-16.

We return to ‘Abraham’ as one of ‘the representative Pioneers of the Heavenly Way’.

We begin by reiterating ‘one thing’ which was so true of ‘Abraham’, but which must be true, and always true, of every ‘Spiritual Pioneer’, of every one who is moving to explore and exploit ‘the heavenly Kingdom’: that is, ‘his sense’, ‘his deep, inborn sense’, of “destiny”. 

‘Stephen’, has told us, concerning ‘Abraham’, that “the God of Glory appeared unto our father Abraham” (Acts 7:2) when he was in ‘Ur of the Chaldees’.

We do not know how “the God of Glory” appeared to him.

It may have been in one of those ‘theophanies’ (a manifestation of ‘appearance of God’ or of ‘God to man’), common to ‘the Old Testament’ and common to ‘Abraham’s later life’ when ‘God’ came to him in a ‘Man-form’.  

We do not know.

But we do know from ‘his whole life’ that the effect of it was to bring to birth in him this ‘tremendous sense’ of “destiny” - ‘the sense’ of “destiny” which uprooted him from the whole of ‘his past life’, and which created in him a ‘deep unrest’, ‘unrest of a right kind’, a ‘deep and a holy discontent’.

‘Discontent’ may be all wrong, but there is a ‘right kind of discontent’. 
Would to ‘God’ many more ‘Christians’ had it!

There was started in ‘Abraham’ an ‘urge’ which grew and grew through the years and made it impossible for him to settle down and accept anything less than ‘the full meaning of God’.

He could not accept a ‘second-best’ in relation to ‘God’.

Of course, ‘the consciousness’ of that had to grow.

He had to come progressively to realize what it meant.   

It came in this way: that he arrived at a certain place, and perhaps thought that here was it, and then he found it was not, and he had to move; and then perhaps he thought, “now, this is it - but no, it is not.  

There is still - I do not know what it is, I cannot define, explain, but I know within me there is still something more that ‘God’ has”.

“Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on”. (Phil. 3:12) 

It was this ‘urge’ through ‘the ages’ - so very real in ‘the case of the man’ whose words I have just quoted.  

He was never able to accept ‘God’s second-best’. 

‘God’ has a ‘second-best’.  

Again and again in ‘history’ ‘God’ has found it impossible to realize ‘His first-best’, ‘His very best’.  

People just would not go on.  
‘He’ said, “alright, you shall have My second-best”, and they had it; but ‘pioneers’ never do that.  

‘Abraham’ could not do it.  

Now, do not misunderstand or misinterpret this.  

This was not ‘natural’ or ‘temperamental instability’.  

Do not think that, if you are a person who is never ‘contented’, that it is a ‘Divine discontent’.  

It may be ‘temperamental’. 

You know, there are those ‘people’ who can never stick at a thing for very long, who are always jumping from one thing to another.  

People like that are misfits, both in ‘the world’ and in ‘the Kingdom of God’.  

But it was not that sort of thing with ‘Abraham’.  

There was something of ‘heaven’ working in him, the proof of it being that he was always on ‘the up-ward move’; he was not on ‘the horizontal’, he was on ‘the up-ward move’.  

He was making ‘progress’, not only on ‘the earth-level’, but ‘spiritually’, all ‘the time’.  

Now you see, alongside of ‘Abraham’ there was ‘Lot’, and ‘Lot’ was a man who was always seeking ‘security’ here.  

He sought ‘the City’; he sought a ‘House’.  

He disliked this ‘Tent life’.  

He wanted to be settled in this ‘world’, and he sought to be settled.  

But ‘Lot’ was ‘the weak man’ with all that.

‘Abraham’ who was always moving in a ‘Tent’ was ‘the strong man’.

This was not ‘natural’ at all, it was ‘spiritual’.

This ‘urge from heaven’, this ‘mighty working’ of a ‘spiritual force’ in ‘Abraham’ brought him into ‘the very hard school’ of ‘the heavenly’.  

To ‘the natural’, to ‘the earthly’, to ‘the flesh’, ‘the heavenly’ is a ‘very hard school’, and ‘Abraham’ was brought into it by this ‘urge from heaven’.  

The Conflict between the Spiritual and Temporal:

In the first place, there was ‘the conflict’ between ‘the spiritual’ and ‘the temporal’, ‘the conflict’ between ‘the seen’ and ‘the unseen’ - and that is a ‘very fierce conflict’.  

In ‘Abraham’s life’ it was sometimes pressed to a ‘very fine issue’.  

You see, on the one hand, ‘Abraham’ was blessed of ‘the Lord’, he was prospered of ‘the Lord’, there were ‘the signs’ that ‘the Lord’ was with him. 

There was ‘increase’, ‘enlargement’, ‘great enlargement’, his flocks and his herds multiplied; he was a very ‘prince’ of ‘the land’ - and yet, that ‘very blessing of the Lord’ was at times brought to the point where ‘the whole thing’ could in a moment be wiped out - by ‘famine’, ‘acute, devastating famine’.  

Why had ‘God’ blessed and increased and enlarged, and then allowed something that could wipe it all out in no time?  

That is rather a ‘difficult problem’, is it not? 

Would it not have been better to have been kept ‘small’ and ‘limited’ then to see all this ‘threatened’? 

‘Abraham’ found ‘the problem’ very acute.  

It was that ‘very thing’ which brought about one of ‘his failures’.  

He went down to ‘Egypt’.  

It was a ‘hard school’! 

What does it ‘mean’? 

It seems that ‘God’ gives with ‘one hand’ and takes away with ‘the other’:  prospers and blesses - and then throws in something that threatens to destroy ‘the blessing’.  

Is ‘God’ a ‘contradiction’? 

Is ‘He’ denying ‘Himself’? 

You know, of course, ‘the temptations’ at such ‘times’ to try to ‘interpret’.  

Are we, after all, only ‘pawns’ in a game? 

Are we, after all, only ‘the children of chance’, of ‘fortune’ or ‘misfortune’?

After all, is ‘the Lord’ really in this? 

Can this really explain ‘the Lord’, a consistent ‘God’? 

Yes, it is a ‘hard school’! 

But, you see, it is wholly in keeping with what ‘God’ is doing.  

What is ‘He’ doing? 

Well, if ‘He’ blesses, there are ‘two things’ bound up with it.  

In the first place, ‘Abraham’s blessing’ and ‘prosperity’ and ‘increase’ and ‘enlargement’ had to find its support from ‘heaven’ and not from ‘earth’.  

‘God’ is introducing ‘the great heavenly principle’.  

Notice: ‘the Lord’ may bless and enlarge, but ‘God forbid that we should ever assume that now we can support ourselves, now we can carry on, now we have got going  and can maintain our going by ‘our own momentum’. 

‘He’ will see to it that, however ‘He’ may bless, if a thing is 
of ‘Himself’ - however great, however enlarged, however  increased it may be - it can perish at any moment if ‘heaven’ does not look after it.  

That is a ‘lesson’.   

Do not ‘presume’; do not ‘take anything for granted’.  

Learn to live every moment out from ‘heaven’.  

As truly in ‘the day of blessing’ as in ‘the day of adversity’, cling to ‘heaven’.  

And then there is this other ‘factor’.  

‘God’ was so training ‘Abraham’ that he could be safe for blessing, and that is something - to be safe for blessing.  

Such ‘discipline’, such ‘trial of faith’, such ‘testing’! 

And yet it does not matter to ‘Abraham’ how much ‘God’ blesses him, he does not allow his blessings to obscure ‘the Heavenly Vision’ and halt him on ‘the way’.  

Listen, that is a ‘tremendous triumph’.  

Oh, ‘the devastating perils of blessing’! 

Perhaps you may feel that you do not know much about those ‘perils’ as yet.

But ‘God’ wants to make us safe for ‘His Heavenly Kingdom’, safe for ‘Spiritual enlargement’, safe for being ‘used mightily’; and we are never safe if things less than ‘God’s ultimate’ can hold us up, never safe if ‘the good’ hinders us from going on to ‘the best’.

With ‘Abraham’ it is perfectly clear, that, whether in ‘prosperity’ or ‘adversity’, he was never allowed to ‘settle’ and never allowed to seem to have ‘arrived’.  

If at any time he did feel he had now ‘arrived’, that was very quickly ‘exploded’. 

“These all died in Faith, not having received...but having seen...and greeted...from afar”! 

Another thing about ‘Abraham’ is this: that he never allowed ‘the apparent difficulties’, however great they were, - ultimately to stay, to bring to a halt his ‘Spiritual onward and upward march’.  

We will come back to that again later on.  

But do you not ‘see’ how all that was taken up by ‘Joshua’ and ‘Caleb’? 

Let us think again about ‘Joshua’ and ‘Caleb’.

These were most certainly ‘men’ who had been in that ‘school’.  

If they had not been, they would never have taken ‘the next generation’ into ‘the land’.  

‘God’ only knows what those ‘men’ went through.  

You see, ‘the story’ is told in so ‘few verses’, about ‘the spies’ going out, and ‘the minority report’, and the taking up, or proposal to take up, stones, to stone these ‘men’ and kill them.  

But you have got to add to that the long, long ‘years’ while that ‘whole generation’ was dying out, with only ‘two men’ holding on to ‘the Heavenly Vision’. 

Listen, that is a ‘hard school’.  

They might easily have lost ‘heart’ and given up and said, ‘it is a ‘hopeless outlook’’; but they did not: ‘the Heavenly Vision’ had got a grip upon them in their ‘innermost being’ and held them.  

It held them, even in ‘the greatest adversity’, and they came through; they overcame ‘the world’. 

We shall stop here for tonight and take it up from here ‘next week’, looking at “the Conflict between the Spiritual and the Carnal, that is, the Fleshly”. 

“Abraham” - ‘A Pioneer of the Heavenly Way’.

We stated last week that ‘the one thing’ which was so true of ‘Abraham’, and which must be true, and always true, of every ‘Spiritual Pioneer’, of every one who is moving on to explore ‘the Heavenly Kingdom’: is, his sense, his deep, inborn sense of “destiny”. 

The urge from ‘heaven’, the mighty working of a ‘Spiritual force’ in ‘Abraham’ brought him into ‘the very hard school’ of ‘the heavenly’. 

To ‘the natural’, ‘the earthly’, to ‘the flesh’, ‘the heavenly’ is a ‘very hard school’, and ‘Abraham’ was brought into it by this ‘urge’, this ‘sense of destiny’.

Last Sunday we considered “the Conflict between the Spiritual and the Temporal”, ‘the conflict between the seen and the unseen’ - and that was a ‘fierce conflict’.

We now continue, and we shall see that with ‘Abraham’ there also was:

The Conflict between the Spiritual and the Carnal,(the 
Flesh):

Then, again, with ‘Abraham’ there was “the Conflict between the Spiritual and the Carnal, the Flesh”: not only between ‘the Spiritual and the Temporal’, but between ‘the Spiritual and the Carnal’, ‘the fleshly’, ‘the merely human’.

‘The conflict’ came right inside what we may call ‘the domestic circle’.

It was in ‘the family’, in ‘the blood’.

It was in ‘Lot’.

I am speaking ‘spiritually’.

I interpret ‘Lot’ as representing something that is not only ‘objectively’ in ‘the Christian family’ (which is of course quite true) but is in ‘our own natures’, subjectively, ‘the carnal’ setting up conflict with ‘the spiritual’, ‘the earthly’ with ‘the heavenly’.

Here, you see, is ‘Lot’, and he is of ‘the same blood’ as ‘Abraham’; but right in ‘the blood’, right in ‘the family’ - if you like, right in ‘the Christian family’, - there is this ‘streak of carnality’: ‘Lot’ and his ‘worldliness’, his ‘worldly-mindedness’, his ‘worldly vision’, his ‘worldly ambition’, his ‘worldly longings’.  

Somehow there is no ‘Heavenly Vision’ with ‘Lot’; and he is right alongside, so closely alongside, ‘Abraham’.  

‘Abraham’ finds this ‘menace of an argument’ against his ‘Spiritual Course’ right in his ‘blood’.  

It is there; it is in us, and it is in ‘the Christian family’. 

It is right alongside, very near all the time - this craving to settle down, to have things here and now - quick returns - things seen - ‘the gratification of the soul’; that ‘rest’ which is not ‘rest’, but which we think of as ‘rest’.  

Do you know what I am talking about? 

You know, how sometimes ‘naturally’ as we crave for ‘rest’, and we try to get it - and we do not get it until we get to ‘the Lord’.  

We find ‘our rest’ in ‘the things of heaven’, not in having ‘vacation’.  

But there it is, and it is always trying to draw us away, get us away, make us run away.  

Oh, to get out of it! - If only we could live on some island alone - how ‘restful’, how ‘peaceful’! - Just to get away from
it all! 

And it never happens. - Why not? 

Because ‘our rest’ is in ‘heavenly things’!  

We only find our real ‘satisfaction’ in ‘the things of the Lord’!  

But ‘the carnal influence’ is in ‘our blood’.  

And it is in ‘the whole Christian family’ - ‘the Lot side’, that wants to have a ‘Christianity’ of this ‘world’, always dragging and pulling downward and away from ‘the heavenly’.  

‘Abraham’ knew all about that.  

That constitutes ‘the very ground’ of this ‘pioneer work’, pioneering for ‘the things of the Spirit’.  

It is this warring against ‘the things of the flesh’, as though we were always carrying about a ‘corpse’, some ‘lifeless thing’ to be dragged about and ‘subdued’ every day.  

We have to say to ourselves, ‘come on, none of that!’ 

It is ‘the way of the Pioneer’.  

We can settle down, but we will lose our ‘heavenly inheritance’.  

‘The carnal’ has very, very ‘subtle ways’ - very ‘spiritual ways’.  

Is that a ‘contradiction’? 

It is a ‘spurious spirituality’, it is of ‘illigitimate birth’, it is falsely interpreted as ‘Spirituality’, it is not ‘genuine’, not ‘true’.  

You know, I think of ‘the great battle’ that ‘Paul’, ‘the heavenly man’, had with ‘the Corinthians’, ‘the earthly church’.  

And yet ‘the Corinthians’ were supposed to be ‘spiritual’.  

They had all ‘the spiritual gifts’; they had ‘the miracles’, ‘the healing’, ‘the tongues’.  

But ‘Paul’ said, “I...could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal.” (1.Cor.3:1) 

Notice: ‘the carnal’ can have very ‘spiritual ways’, apparently. 

The fact is that their ‘carnality’ was taking hold of ‘spirituals’, and making ‘the spirituals’ serve their ‘carnality’; giving them ‘soulish gratification’, in display, in show, in demonstrations; pulling ‘the heavenlies’ down to ‘earth’.  

And we must not blame ‘the Corinthians’.  

How we long to see, how we long for evidences and proofs! 

Let me ask, why do these things gather such a ‘following’? 

Because there is something in ‘human nature’ that is ‘gratified’, and it is so infinitely more difficult to walk ‘the heavenly way’ were you do not see and you do not know; but that is ‘the way’ of ‘the Spiritual Pioneer’ who is going to ‘inherit for others’. 

The Proof of the Reality of Heavenly Vision:  

Finally, the proof of ‘Abraham’s vision’: the proof of this ‘sense of destiny’ being real, true, genuine, being really of ‘God’, and not just his imagination: how is the proof given in his case? 

(a) ‘Faith’ in ‘the God of the Impossible’.  

First of all, ‘Abraham’s attitude’ toward ‘the impossible’.  

As we said earlier, ‘the New Testament’ gives us ‘the full story’.  

In ‘the Old Testament’ it looks as though he gave way, broke down in ‘the presence of the impossible’. 

We shall come to that in a moment or so.  

‘The New Testament’ tells us quite emphatically that ‘Abraham’ looked ‘the impossible’ squarely and straightly in the face and believed that it was ‘possible’.  

This ‘attitude’ to ‘the impossible’ over ‘Isaac’ proved that there was something more than just ‘imagination’; - there was something mighty in ‘his sense’ and ‘conciousness of destiny’.  

If we give up when a ‘situation’ begins to appear to be ‘impossible’ - that is ‘the ultimate test’ of whether we really have had registered in us a ‘sense’ of ‘Heavenly Vocation’.  

The fact is that, although you feel you want to give up, you are not ‘allowed’ to give up.  

You have been on the point of writing ‘your resignation’ a  ‘hundred times’.  

Again and again you have said, “I am going to get out of this; I cannot go on any longer or any farther; I am finished”; but you have gone on, and you are going on; and you know quite well that there is something in you stronger than all ‘your resolutions to resign’.  

Oh, how necessary is that ‘sense’ in us, and it is proved to be something, not of ‘ourselves’, but of ‘God’.

“According to the power that works in us.” (Eph.3:20)

It is that!

(b) Capacity for Adjustment when ‘mistakes’ are made.  

Then secondly, consider ‘Abraham’s capacity for adjustment’ when he made ‘mistakes’.  

This ‘man’, this ‘Pioneer’, made ‘mistakes’, and they were big ‘mistakes’.  

What is ‘the temptation’ of a ‘servant of God’ who makes a ‘glaring blunder’; of one carrying ‘responsibility’ who makes a ‘terrible mistake’? 

What is ‘his immediate reaction’? 

“Oh, I am obviously not fit for this, I am not called to this; ‘God’ has got hold of the wrong person, I was never meant for this; I had better find another job, I had better get out”.  

How do I know this? 

Let me just say, ‘you can take my word for it’.  

But although ‘Abraham’ made ‘the mistakes’ - and they were ‘very bad ones’, grievous lapses and failures not excused in ‘the Bible’, shown to be what they were, never rubbed out by ‘God’; there they are on record - and not only on record  in ‘the written Word’, but on record in history: look at ‘Ishmael’ today! - although they were seen for what they were, there was that in ‘Abraham’ which reacted to ‘adjust’.

“I have made a ‘mistake’ in going down to ‘Egypt’; but I will not give up in ‘self-despair’ and refuse to go back again; - I will get back. - I have made this ‘mistake’ over ‘Ishmael’ - I must get back and recover my ground. - I will not let ‘pride’ stand in the way”.  

‘Abraham’ was a ‘great man’ for ‘recovery’ and ‘adjustment’ in the presence of ‘heart-breaking disappointment’ with ‘himself’.   

(c) The working of a Heavenly Power within.

Now, in the third place, what does all this say? 

There is a working of a ‘heavenly power’ in this ‘man’.  

This is not ‘natural’, this is not ‘the way of nature’.  

If only we knew ‘the tension’ and ‘the stress’, if only we knew all ‘the hardness’ of that ‘school’ that ‘Abraham’ was in. 

You know, I never fail to marvel when I read ‘Paul’ on ‘Abraham’. 

“Without being weakened in faith he considered his own body now as good as dead (he being about a hundred years old)...Yes, looking unto the promise of God, he wavered not through unbelief, but grew strong through faith, giving Glory to God, and being fully assured that, what He had promised He was able also to perform.” (Rom.4:19-21)

“...The faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all...  before Him whom he believed, even God, who gives Life to the dead.” (Rom.4:17) 

He proved his faith by binding ‘his only son’ and taking the knife to slay him.  

In an instance more ‘the son’, in whom all ‘the promises’ were centered, would have been ‘dead’.  

Notice: it is one thing even for ‘God’ to do a thing like that - to take away; - it is another thing for us to have to do it, to give it up to ‘God’: but ‘Abraham’ did it.  

Listen, there is something not ‘natural’ here.  

This is not ‘the way of the world’, ‘the earth’.  

It is ‘the Heavenly Way’.  

‘Abraham’ is pioneering ‘the Heavenly Way’.  

And so he occupies that ‘tremendous place’, not only in ‘the old dispensation’, but in this, and forever.  

A ‘great pioneer of things heavenly’ - that is what it means.  

And that may explain a ‘great deal’ in ‘our own experience’.   

‘God’ needs people like that in this day of ‘terrible downward, down-grade ‘spiritual movement’ to ‘the world’ on the part of ‘the church’. 

With all its ‘good intentions’, and perhaps even its ‘pure motive’, it is nevertheless adopting ‘the framework and form’  of this ‘world’ in order to do ‘the work of Heaven’.  

There must be a ‘reaction’ to that, and there must be ‘vessels’ who can prove that it is not necessary to go to this ‘world’.  

‘Heaven’ is sufficient for all ‘things’.