Bartlesville First United August 16, 2026 "Journey - Faith in Training (1)

The journey of faith is rarely a straight line. The map often has squiggles, curves, twists, turns, and even those moments where a traveler feels like he has seen his own taillights. The unwelcome parables of life become reminders that weak faith is not failed faith. The hard road can expose doubt, weariness, fear, and even the suspicion that “there’s no such place” as the promised place ahead, but God can still use that road.

Abraham’s journey begins, not with Abraham searching for God, but with God speaking first. God initiates the call. God says, “Go to the land that I will show you,” and Abraham goes without getting the whole road map up front. Hebrews picks up that old Genesis story and says Abraham went “not knowing where he was going.” Faith is therefore not the invention of a path to God. Faith is the response to the invitation of God to take the next visible step.

God’s call does not require every question to be answered before obedience begins. The faith journey includes questions, doubts, ambiguities, baggage, and worn-out places. God does not say, “Check that stuff at the door.” God says, “Bring it all.” The Bible itself tells the truth this way, because Scripture is not full of flawless faithful people doing extraordinary things. Scripture is full of flawed people who, by the grace of an extraordinary God, somehow get used for holy purposes.

Abraham’s obedience also requires leaving comfort behind. Hebrews notes that if Abraham and the others had kept thinking about what they left, they could have turned back. The promise draws them forward toward “a better country,” not because they can see every mile, but because God’s character can be trusted. Faith acts on the character of God, not the certainty in the human heart.

The blessing given to Abraham is never only about Abraham. God says, “I will bless you,” and then promises that all the families of the earth will be blessed through him. The call of God always moves outward into classrooms, workplaces, neighborhoods, churches, and the wider world.

The hiking boots and walking stick make the point plain. Boots are not bought to sit clean in a box on a closet shelf. Boots belong on the trail, where they get scratched, dusty, and worn. The walking stick says the journey will need help, community, and the guiding hand of God. Unlike Odysseus, who longs only to get back home by wit and cunning, Abraham is called forward into something new by a faithful God whose grace provides what the road requires.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Faith takes the next step Faith does not wait until step ten becomes clear before step one is taken. Abraham’s obedience rests on God’s character rather than on a full itinerary or a settled feeling inside himself. The next visible step becomes holy ground when God is the one guiding the road. [57:28]
• 2. God starts the journey first The call to Abraham begins with God speaking, not Abraham figuring out a spiritual route on his own. Provenient grace means God has already been reaching before the believer reaches back. Confirmation, obedience, and discipleship become responses to a God who has been moving first all along. [54:58]
• 3. Bring all the baggage Faith does not require questions, doubts, and ambiguities to be hidden outside the door. God already knows the whole load, and the journey becomes honest when the whole self is carried into God’s presence. The Bible’s flawed people make room for believers who are tired, uncertain, and still being led. [51:43]
• 4. Blessing moves beyond the self God’s promise to Abraham is personal, but it never stays private. The blessing turns outward so that families, neighbors, classrooms, workplaces, and communities can receive life through the one God calls. A church grows in faith so that Christ-centered relationships can change lives one neighbor at a time. [60:54]
• 5. The trail wears faith strong Hiking boots prove their purpose only when they touch the trail and get scuffed by the road. Faith is strengthened by the grind, the blisters, the uncertainty, and the need for help along the way. The walking stick becomes a quiet confession that the journey cannot be done alone.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [38:08] - Hebrews and Unwelcome Parables
• [42:47] - Life Lessons Not Always Welcomed
• [43:36] - Heading to Kentucky Without GPS
• [47:00] - Squiggly Roads and Worn-Out Faith
• [49:22] - A Parable of Weak Faith
• [51:11] - Bring the Questions and Baggage
• [52:32] - Scripture’s Honest Flawed People
• [54:13] - Abraham Went Not Knowing
• [54:58] - God Initiates the Call
• [57:28] - Faith Trusts God’s Character
• [58:34] - Leaving Comfort for Promise
• [60:54] - Blessed to Be a Blessing
• [62:12] - Boots Belong on the Trail
• [65:04] - The Odyssey and Abraham’s Journey

Bible Reading

Genesis 12:1-4
“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” [54:58]

Hebrews 11:8
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” [54:20]

Hebrews 11:15-16
“If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” [58:34]

Observation questions

1. In Genesis 12:1-4, what specific things does God ask Abram to leave, and what promises does God attach to that call?
2. According to Hebrews 11:8, what two actions are tied together in Abraham’s faith: being called and going? [54:20]
3. What details in Hebrews 11:15-16 show that Abraham and the others could have turned back, but chose to keep moving toward something better? [58:19]
4. What images are used to describe the faith journey—squiggly roads, hiking boots, and a walking stick—and what does each image show about the road of faith? [01:02:12]

Interpretation questions

1. If God tells Abram, “Go to the land that I will show you,” what does that suggest about how God usually gives guidance—full explanation first, or enough light for the next step? [57:19]
2. Hebrews says Abraham went “not knowing where he was going.” How can that still be called obedience and not recklessness? What makes the difference? [57:28]
3. Hebrews 11:15-16 says they could have turned back if they kept thinking about what they left behind. Why does looking back too much make it harder to walk toward God’s future? [58:47]
4. God blesses Abraham so that “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” What does that reveal about the purpose of God’s blessing in a person’s life? [01:00:54]

Application questions

1. Where does life feel especially squiggly right now—work, family, health, faith, or some other area? Where is the temptation to say, “There’s no such place” as the good thing God has ahead? [48:22]
2. Faith does not require every question to be settled before obedience begins. What questions, doubts, or worries are being carried right now, and what would it look like to bring all of that honestly before God instead of hiding it? [51:43]
3. God’s guidance is often for the next visible step, not step ten. What is one next step that seems clear right now, even if the whole road is not? [58:01]
4. It is hard to walk toward God’s future while clinging to the past. Is there a comfort, habit, fear, or old certainty that is making it harder to move forward? [58:47]
5. Faith acts on the character of God, not the certainty inside the human heart. When inner confidence is low, what helps trust stay rooted in who God is? [57:28]
6. God’s blessing never stays private. In what setting—home, neighborhood, classroom, workplace, or church—might God be calling someone to become a channel of blessing right now? [01:01:04]
7. Hiking boots belong on the trail, and a walking stick admits the need for help. What would it look like this week to stop trying to do the faith journey alone and let other believers walk alongside? [01:03:35]