Heroes Of The Faith Part 5 | Pastor Henri Dennis May 31st 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Packing Up Before the Path is Clear

Abraham didn’t wait for a five-year plan. When God said “go,” he gathered his belongings, severed ties with familiarity, and stepped into the unknown. Obedience isn’t about understanding the full journey but trusting the One who maps it. Delayed obedience often masks disobedience—faith requires movement before clarity arrives. Like Abraham, we’re called to leave comfort zones, even when the destination feels hazy. What feels like reckless abandon to others is radical trust in God’s character. [01:36:22]

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. 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. (Hebrews 11:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: What step has God clearly asked you to take that you’ve delayed because you want more details? How might immediate obedience deepen your trust in His guidance?

Day 2: When Sacrifice Masks Disobedience

Saul kept the best livestock to “worship God,” but God demanded obedience, not bargaining. We often justify half-hearted compliance with spiritual excuses—giving financially while ignoring a call to serve, singing worship songs while nursing bitterness. True faith aligns actions with God’s specific instructions, not our curated compromises. Disobedience dressed as piety still breaks fellowship with Him. [01:44:20]

Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you substituted religious activity for full surrender? What specific instruction is God asking you to stop rationalizing and start obeying?

Day 3: Laughing at Impossibility, Birthing in Faith

Sarah’s wrinkled hands cradled a promise she once mocked. Faith transformed her doubt into strength to conceive and deliver. God’s promises often defy logic—calling the infertile to parent, the broken to heal, the weary to lead. What seems biologically, emotionally, or circumstantially impossible becomes possible when we judge God faithful over our limitations. [02:00:39]

By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven. (Hebrews 11:11-12, ESV)

Reflection: What “impossible” promise have you stopped believing God for? How might shifting your focus from your incapacity to His faithfulness change your perspective?

Day 4: Flawed People, Unflinching Call

Paul murdered Christians. Abraham dragged Lot into God’s promise. Sarah laughed at divine timing. Yet God used them. His call isn’t contingent on our perfection but on His power to transform our willingness. Our past failures, present weaknesses, or future fears don’t disqualify us—they become platforms for His grace. [01:37:23]

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:15-16, ESV)

Reflection: What inadequacy have you allowed to silence God’s call on your life? How might His choice of flawed biblical heroes affirm His desire to use you?

Day 5: Building for the Unseen City

Abraham lived in tents but fixed his eyes on a permanent city built by God. We exhaust ourselves chasing earthly stability—bigger homes, safer investments, cushier retirements. Yet faith invests in eternal foundations: nurturing souls, storing up treasure in heaven, loving sacrificially. Our obedience today constructs tomorrow’s legacy. [01:53:44]

For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (Hebrews 11:10, ESV)

Reflection: What earthly security have you prioritized over eternal investments? How could reorienting your daily choices around God’s kingdom shift your life’s blueprint?

Sermon Summary

Hebrews 11 sets Abraham and Sarah in view, not because they were flawless, but because faith taught them to obey God when He spoke. God called Abraham in Genesis 12 to leave country, kin, and his father’s house. Abraham heard and moved the next day. The call exposes a person’s control habits and breaks them of the need to see the whole plan. God does not hand over a map, only the next step. Faith acts, then sees. Disobedience stalls spiritual growth, and delayed obedience is still disobedience.

Paul’s story warns that passion by itself is not holiness. A person can be zealous and still be zealously wrong until God confronts and redirects that fire. Saul’s story sharpens the same point. God sent Saul to execute judgment on Amalek, and Saul spared what looked valuable, blamed the people, and tried to hide behind worship. The word stands. Obedience is better than sacrifice, and worship without obedience is rubbish. Titles, crowds, and noise cannot cover a disobedient heart.

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out.” He moved “not knowing where he was going.” The place matters. A person who is not where God called is already walking out of order. God calls people out of draining friendships, misaligned jobs, and comfort-driven moves. The most dangerous place to be is the place God did not appoint. The call also carries households with it. Isaac and Jacob became co-heirs because Abraham dwelt where God said. Underneath his tents stood a deeper aim. Abraham sought “the city with foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heaven sat on his mind, so the measure he cared about was “well done, good and faithful servant,” not status, beauty, or stuff. Obedience and how people were handled along the way will be reviewed. Jealousy has no place when the same God supplies each saint as He wills. Casual faith cannot expect the fruit reserved for diligent pursuit.

Sarah’s story answers despair. Her body said no, her culture shamed barrenness, and her situation looked impossible. Yet “by faith” she received strength to conceive and strength to deliver. Faith judged God, not the circumstances. She “judged Him faithful who had promised.” That judgment is the backbone of assurance in life and in death, the confidence of forgiven sin, the Spirit’s witness within, and the courage to take the next step when sight is thin. God is faithful, so faith walks.

Key Takeaways

1. Obedience outruns sacrifice every time Obedience is the currency of the kingdom, not impressive religious activity. Saul’s partial compliance and religious spin unmasked a heart more afraid of people than of God, and the verdict was final. Where obedience is missing, worship turns hollow no matter how loud the song. The way forward is costly listening and prompt yielding to God’s clear word. [104:20]
2. Faith moves before it can see Faith works on God’s timeline, which often arrives as one next step, not a full itinerary. Abraham stepped out without knowing where he was going, trading control for trust. The kingdom pattern is act on God’s word and then watch His provision meet the step. Waiting to see everything first is a quiet strategy for never moving at all. [106:59]
3. The call locates and reorders life The call puts a person in a particular place with a particular assignment, and being out of place unravels everything else. Comfort, economics, and familiarity cannot overrule God’s address for a life. Families are caught up in these obediences and inherit grace when a leader stands in the appointed ground. The dangerous choice is to wander where God never sent. [108:22]
4. God births promises beyond limits Sarah’s body, age, and culture said impossible, yet grace gave strength to conceive and strength to deliver. Faith did not deny the facts, it judged God faithful above them. When God appoints a birth, age and history do not carry the final word. The question is not the body’s capacity but the promiser’s reliability. [118:07]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[91:57] - Heroes of the Faith continued
[95:26] - Abraham and Sarah named
[100:14] - Saul as warning on obedience
[104:20] - Obedience is better than sacrifice
[105:28] - Abraham obeyed by faith
[106:59] - Do first, then see
[108:22] - Find the place of the call
[111:41] - Has He called you there
[113:44] - Seeking the city with foundations
[114:58] - Jealousy and diligence examined
[116:02] - Sarah beyond natural limits
[118:07] - Strength to conceive and deliver
[120:01] - She judged Him faithful
[124:22] - Final prayer and sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Hebrews 11:8-11 (ESV)
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. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.

Observation questions

What three things did God ask Abraham to leave in Genesis 12, and how did Abraham respond? (See Genesis 12:1, referenced in the sermon [01:35:52])
What did Saul spare when he was commanded to destroy the Amalekites, and how did he try to justify his disobedience? (Referenced in the sermon [01:40:58])
According to Hebrews 11:10, what was Abraham ultimately seeking as he lived in tents in the promised land?
What two specific things did Sarah receive “by faith” despite her circumstances? (Hebrews 11:11)

Interpretation questions

Why does the sermon emphasize that “obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22) in the story of Saul? What does this reveal about God’s priorities versus human priorities?
Hebrews 11:8 says Abraham went out “not knowing where he was going.” How might this kind of faith challenge modern ideas of planning, security, or control?
Sarah “judged Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11). What does it mean to “judge God faithful” when circumstances seem impossible? How does this differ from denying reality?

Application questions

Abraham left his comfort zone immediately when God called him ([01:36:22]). Is there an area in your life (a relationship, job, or habit) where God is clearly asking you to “go out” but you’ve delayed obedience? What makes this hard to act on?
Saul blamed others for his disobedience ([01:43:25]). When have you rationalized or shifted blame for choices that didn’t align with God’s Word? How can you take ownership today?
The sermon warns that “the most dangerous place to be is where God did not appoint” ([01:51:41]). How might you discern whether your current commitments (geographic, relational, vocational) align with God’s calling?
Sarah trusted God’s promise over her body’s limitations ([02:00:01]). What “impossible” situation in your life (relational, financial, emotional) requires you to focus on God’s faithfulness rather than the facts?
Abraham’s obedience impacted his family’s legacy ([01:53:09]). What daily choices could you make to create a spiritual inheritance for those who follow you?
The sermon says, “Casual faith cannot expect the fruit reserved for diligent pursuit” ([01:55:29]). What practical step could you take this week to move from “casual” to “diligent” faith?

Sermon Clips

47s

“Sarah had no business having a child at this age. No business. Her body was weak. Her body had no strength. By this time, she's probably in her nineties. And God has the audacity in the late part of her life to even suggest that I will give you a son in your old age. You see, you and I don't understand this. But in the culture of back then, it was a shameful thing if a woman couldn't give birth.”

30s

“The first thing we learn about he Abraham is is is in verse eight. He says by faith. Lift your head one minute. Look at me. Everything you do in the kingdom of god will have to be done by faith. What do we mean by that? That means before you see it, you're gonna have to do it. You say, well, I'll wait to see god do something, and then I'll no. If you wait, you'll never receive it.”

41s

“And god speaks to Samuel and says, Samuel, I regret that I made Saul king. Imagine when god says, I regret. He said, I regretted making Saul king because he has disobeyed my commandment, and I no longer want him to be king. And all night long, Samuel is weeping and crying for Saul because surely he felt this was God's anointed. But even God's anointed started to turn around and disobey God. Listen to me carefully, Christian.”

37s

“Paul the apostle should never have been called to ministry. He was a murderer. He destroyed people's families. But on the road to Damascus, god saw his heart and see and he said what? And he said, you know what? If I if this man gets saved, the same passion he has to destroy the church will be the same passion he will have to build the church. Listen to me carefully. Just because you know someone on the outside doesn't mean you know them.”

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Heroes Of The Faith Part 5 | Pastor Henri Dennis May 31st 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Packing Up Before the Path is Clear

Day 2: When Sacrifice Masks Disobedience

Day 3: Laughing at Impossibility, Birthing in Faith

Day 4: Flawed People, Unflinching Call

Day 5: Building for the Unseen City

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Heroes Of The Faith Part 5 | Pastor Henri Dennis May 31st 2026

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