Reconciling Our Humanness To Our Being Made New In Christ

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).
IDEA: You’re not the person you used to be, therefore you can never handle life as you used to handle it.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that when God calls us to something, he also calls us away from something.
Did Abraham simply leave Ur of the Chaldees?
Did it ever seem strange to you that Jesus called his disciples to follow him and they did?

The Obedience Factor

Dewey VanderVelde refused to be baptized. He steadfastly resisted, even when his wife and daughters were baptized one Sunday afternoon.

Years later, his pastor preached on the baptism of Jesus. He pointed out that John the Baptist initially refused to baptize Jesus, but Jesus said, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). The pastor then added this comment: “If Jesus obeyed the will of the Father, so should we.”