When you look back on the last decade or so you will no doubt see highs in lows in your spiritual life. Trials come and go and when we look back, we should see the hand of God in our lives helping us grow. Sometimes our trials are a result of our own weaknesses while other times you cannot pinpoint a reason for a particular trial. What we need to get to is a place where our faith will guide and comfort us through the trials of life. Now sometimes we can get down about our current place in life and then, along comes someone who is suffering much more than us but they are doing so with grace and it brings us back from that dark place to a better place again. When you see someone like that you ask, how do they do that? We ask ourselves “how can they be so strong when times are so tough?” What you see when you look at someone like that is the Character of Faith. That is the title of the message today The Character of Faith This is what gets people through tough times. Knowing that God is the wind in your sails and that you are not going through this for nothing. That God is leading and directing you to some place better is a huge motivating force in your life if you are able to tap into it. To understand how this works in your life, let’s turn over to Hebrews 11 and read about those that had the Character of Faith and see how they developed it. We are going to start today by reading the preamble to this rather long list of the Patriarchs of Faith. Then we will take a closer look into some of the events that help shape them into the examples they became. NKJ Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. So we start off with our working definition of Faith. It is the Substance of things hoped for, the basis of our hope. Now, think about your last trial when you have fears and doubts. You tell yourself you have faith, and that all would work out. But still you worry that the outcome could be much worse. It is faith that makes up the things you hope for and becomes your focus when you have hard times. The “evidence of things not seen” is very important because when you have doubts you need evidence that you are going to be ok. Think about feeling bad and going to the doctor. He examines you and has some possible causes, some not so bad, some, much worse. How will you have peace of mind not knowing what is causing your poor health? The doctor prescribes some tests to help find the underlying cause of it. You have tests and eagerly await the results. Will they be good or not? Anxiety can be the worst companion we can have. Then the results come in and it was not a bad outcome. You still feel the same as you did the moment before but your whole demeanor changes and your hope increases. Why you have evidence all will be well. Evidence is powerful. Faith becomes that evidence that give you confidence about your future. How important is that? You have doubts and your faith becomes evidence that God is working out His purpose in your life. So let’s take a look at some of the people listed in this chapter and see what we can learn about the Character of Faith. So it starts off in chronological order speaking of Able and his offering to God and Enoch and how he walked with God. The next example mentioned Noah who built an ark in the middle of nowhere and faced the abuse of everyone as he built this ark that was not near any water. Have you ever considered how much easier it would have been if God had chosen someone who lived by the sea to build the ark? If people asked, Hey, what are you building? You could say, the largest ship ever constructed and some might doubt your business sense but not your sanity. Noah preached to the world that a flood was coming and everyone laughed at Him and made fun of this giant ship he was building and this went on for years. All the while He had to have the faith that what God was having him do what would lead to the destruction of mankind. What kind of pressure was that? He tried to preach the truth about what was coming. Peter wrote about it in 2 Peter 2: NKJ 2 Peter 2:4-5 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; They persecuted his family, they persecuted him and yet he tried to tell them what was coming knowing in his heart that God was going to destroy them all. We all know human nature. I am sure there were times that Noah said, “What am I doing?”, because doubt has a way of creeping in. Still he never let doubts stop him. Could you sustain that level of persecution and handle that kind of pressure? Hebrews 11 next goes onto talk about Abraham. Picking up the story in verse 8 of Hebrews 11 NKJ Hebrews 11:8-10 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. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Now, put yourself in his shoes for a moment. He leaves his homeland with his father, wife and nephew. No reason is given why they leave and travel over 600 miles to the place his father will call home. The City of Ur, where they started, was in what is today southern Iraq near the Persian Gulf. They then traveled 600 miles to Haran which is today in southern Turkey north of the Syrian Border. Now that would be like you leaving Bend and walking south and going until you reach Fresno. Wagon trains traveled between 10-20 miles a day and they had wagons. How long did it take them to walk 600 miles? Probably a couple of months or more unless they traveled constantly. Now we don’t know how long they were in Haran before God called him at age 75. But God clearly did not want him to be influenced by family. We know this because God tells Abram to leave his homeland and his people. We get a clue about why he was to leave in Joshua 24:2 NKJ Joshua 24:2-3 And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel:`Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. So you can see that God wanted Abram out of that environment. 3 `Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. (Jos. 24:1-3 NKJ) So God lead him around and directed his steps. Have you ever noticed that God involved in your life? Directing your steps? We have been called out of our country, our of this world. To live, not according to the way everyone else does. Abraham was fortunate in one sense that God took him away from those elements of his past that would constantly get in the way. We have to look at those elements of our lives that get in the way and remove ourselves from them. We must open our eyes and ears to the direction that God is pointing to us and walk the path. In this way, we have the same decision that Abraham had to make. However, the story does not end there, not for him, and not for us. God calls us and we answer, but then we have to walk by faith and weather the trials of life. How did Abraham do? Let’s turn over to Genesis 12 for a closer look. Remember that he is still called Abram at this point. God had not yet changed his name. NKJ Genesis 12:7 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South. So Abraham traveled through what today is Israel. His future homeland promised by God. He had these moments where God actually spoke to him and told him his future and what God would do through him. He believed God and that was good. We too have the words of God telling us what we need to do and leading us forward. In good times our faith is strong too. Think of all the times that you gave advice and encouragement to someone going through a tough time in their life. You were telling them that God is large and in charge. That He won’t let them down. This is when we are strong. This is a time that Abraham was strong. But like us, hard times hit and he was tested. Continuing on we see that things were not always rosy. Abraham was a rich man by all accounts but when there is a famine, even the rich go hungry eventually. His flocks needed food and there was none for as far as eyes could see. 10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12 "Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say,`This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 "Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you." Even though he had this incredible experience with God, hard times ensued. There wasn’t enough to eat, they might die, he had to go and leave this land he was promised and then when he thought he might die he even gave up his wife to save his own life. All of us have moments in our spiritual life we are not proud of. We are faced with a test and we don’t make the right choice. What if that were it? What if God said to Abraham, well, it was good run but you lost faith and I have to cut you lose. If He had done that then where would we be? 17 But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 "Why did you say,`She is my sister '? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way." 20 So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had. So God stepped in when Abraham was weak and rescued Him. Have you ever been rescued? I have had my life saved on more than one occasion. I had long discussions with people where God has rescued them from a trial. Does that mean that bad things will never happen? Certainly not, it just means that God is merciful and steps in when we get ourselves into a pickle. We get another chance to perfect our faith. We need to take that chance and do better. Abraham did many, many things that showed why he was the father of the faithful. Take the situation with Lot. Remember that Abraham’s Father looked after Lot when Lots father died. When Terah died, Abraham took over that role. Even though Lot tried his patience at times, Abraham never seemed to show it. Do you remember when the size of Lots flocks and Abrahams became so numerous that their shepherds started to fight over space to graze? What did Abraham do? He told Lot to choose the land ahead and Abraham would go the other way. Now, Abraham was the Uncle and looked after Lot for all these years and its only right that he would get the better land but he gave that to Lot. Lot looked at the land ahead and found the best of the best and Abraham gave it without hesitation. Later Abraham would find out that Lot was kidnapped. Abraham risked life and limb and went after him. He took his 318 trained servants and armed them and went after the captors. He split his forces and attacked. Again not the actions of a coward. Even when he was victorious and is offered riches galore by the king of Sodom and he takes nothing. Abraham was a man of great Character. Each of us can point to times in our lives when we resisted greed or some other temptation and did what was right. We didn’t lash out when we were attacked. We give a soft answer when someone gives us a harsh one. We do selfless things to serve others. Each of these things are character builders and as an extra dividend of that building we also build faith. When we do things God’s way He notices. He wants us to succeed and when we do He makes the blessings pour out. When we have those times in our lives we need to take note because God does and these form the foundations of our growth. God has called us to live by His way of life and build that same type of character. To stand tall in tough times and do what is right when everything inside tells us to run. Abraham had that in spades. But there is one more lesson we need to learn. God is Patient. God was so patient with Abraham. He was 75 years old when God promised to make him a great nation. It would not be for another 25 years before God would give his wife a son. Was Abraham as patient as God? We know that if we need something we ask God for it. After the incident where Abraham rescues Lot he asks God. Genesis 15:3 NKJ Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" And God answers him in verse 4. 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." (Gen. 15:3-4 NKJ) So he has the promise and given the fact that it will be from His own body. So time passes and Abraham waits for the promised heir to arrive. Looking to chapter 16 we get more of the story. NKJ Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. 3 Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. One thing I had thought about this time when He let Sarah talk him into having a son with Hagar. I thought that he gave up on God but actually, all God told him was that he would have a child of his own body. God did not mention Sarah at this time. It was his wife’s lack of patience that aided in this error. Abraham would have to wait more than double the time that he and his wife thought was enough time to fulfill his promises. God waited 25 years to give them Isaac but they only waited 10. Has this ever happened to us? We know it has happened to others. How many have given up on the promises of the Kingdom of God. It did not happen in the 70s it did not happen in the 80s. Along the way we lost people in each decade where they were not a patient as God. Why does God wait so long? Turn to 2 Peter 3. Here Peter reminds us why God is so patient. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. We are waiting to give people the time to really choose the right path. We had many more numbers long ago but how convicted were they? God has to know. Just as God would test Abraham one last time before he knew if he had his whole heart. God is waiting to see if He has our whole heart. Each of the trials we endure should strengthen us to be ready for the next. You might wonder why there are so many trials in life. Would you rather have these smaller trials, or be thrown into the arena and burned alive, or eaten by lions for the amusement of others. Personally, I would rather have the trials I have now than to trade places with Paul, or Peter, or James. For one thing, it gives me time to build the faith I need to get through what God gives me. It also gives me time to serve His people and I can think of no better use of my time than that. The character of faith is built on hardships but bolstered by hope and is the evidence we need to be assured that His promises will come true.