A LITTLE LONGER THAN NORMAL SERMON - HANG IN THERE WITH ME! HEBREWS 11: THE HALL OF FAITH // INTRO Every sport has a Hall of Fame for the greatest and best down through the ages Now, if you’re a football aficionado, you would likely go to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame located in Canton, Ohio It opened on September 7, 1963 This Hall of Fame obviously enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coaches, officials, franchise owners, and front-office personnel The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum in Cooperstown, New York, which is operated by a private foundation It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United States It displays baseball-related artifacts and exhibits, honoring those who have excelled in playing, managing, and serving the sport The Hall's motto is "Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations" In addition to those, we also have The Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan, the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in Kentucky, The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The American Theater Hall of Fame, and a Radio Hall of Fame And I didn’t even come close to completing the list It is a somewhat peculiar situation whereby human beings raise up those other superlative humans in their fields of endeavor I can see the good in it, to draw others to good works and to achieve feats otherwise left undone But, because we are fallen, there is a shadow side, as some boast to the skies, “My “fill-in-the-blank achievement will never be broken!” And He who sits in the Heavens laughs Achievement and notoriety are not bad or evil things, but they can go to our heads I finished my music degree and some of my post-grad work, but my motive was what made me stumble I was going to be the next Michael W Smith or Steven Curtis Chapman (and some of you are wondering who those people are and why he would even mention them) which leads me to the main idea of this sermon Fame and notoriety come and go like the tides God didn’t make Man to be the center of all things, because God was already the center of all things God made us in His image and likeness to work and to prosper for the glory of God, in this world and the next If I remember correctly, it was Russel Crowe’s character who made this statement in the movie Gladiator : he said What we do in life echoes in eternity! This is absolutely true for the Believer in Jesus AND for those who do not believe You can be a movie star, a great athlete, and famous musician, but rest assured, neither you nor I are the center Only the Lord Jesus Christ is, and He alone is worthy of receiving all honor, glory, and praise So this morning, we come to Hebrews Chapter 11, which celebrates the power of faith It showcases individuals from the Old Testament who serve as exemplary models of trust and obedience to the Lord These stood in unwavering belief despite facing great difficulties and even death But they all had one thing in common: They all believed God through faith They did not look through the lens of the world’s system, but instead they looked through the lens of their trust in God’s and His promises So what is faith? Many of us can recite the definition of faith from this chapter we’re going to be walking through this morning “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” But what does that mean? Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things that we cannot see Those who were of old, who came before us, obtained a good testimony through faith By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, and that there is a difference between what is visible and what it invisible Faith obviously involves assurance, but not just a general kind of assurance that you can skip along merrily, bee-bopping along and nothing hard or bad will ever happen to you I’ve seen many a sceptic, and even a few atheists in my time, who thought that belief in Jesus was their “Golden Ticket” from Willy Wonka, waiting for the last moment of life But is that commensurate with faith according to the Bible? At the most basic level, faith is a response to trust… To be more specific, it is an invitation to trust Jesus more and more And the longer we hang in that search, via doing what Jesus has called us to, and utilizing the tools He has given us, the more our faith grows in the Lord But don’t enter into it naively, as some do, thinking it’s the doorway to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, and all the fun one person could possibly have In this life, we need faith so as to interact with God, since we cannot see Him (though we believe and faith faith in Him) And this is why we need to consistently be in His Word to learn of Him We walk by faith, not by sight, but one day very soon, that faith WILL BE SIGHT! This is God’s promise to us! Someone put forth the definition of faith as “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove” The Hebrew word for faith is Emunah which means “support” And that’s perfect because faith is like “the Lord’s support” to us because He is working in every situation for our good and his glory Regardless of what we think, He always knows best, and there are many times we have to see by faith, and not by our own eyes So why is this definition of faith so important? The reason is because “without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6) Without faith, we cannot be saved (John 3:16) because it is by grace alone through faith alone, and neither of those things can be seen by human eyes We can only see the impact of the results of them Without faith, the Christian life cannot be what God intends for us According to Jesus in John 10:10 - The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; But I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Ephesians 2:8-9 plainly tells us "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." Faith can only come from a new heart, and can only be regenerated by God Therefore, faith is a gift from God Again it cannot be earned at all It is the unique way that God brings salvation to his people, while all other religions take the approach of works and man-made effort to come to their “gods and deities” It is important that we read and study our Bibles regularly, because by it, we strengthen our faith The more we immerse ourselves in True Truth (which was Frances Schaeffer’s term), the more our confidence in the Lord grows Additionally, it is very important that we understand that everyone who is saved has been given at least one spiritual gift to use in this world (though some have more) We need to put them to use in faith, trusting the Lord to bring about the results So faith is believing that God is who He says He is, and that He does what He says He’ll do Our part is to trust Him for all things Faith helps to combat unbelief Faith motivates us to do what God desires us to do Faith gives us courage Praise be to our good and glorious God! Let’s dive into the text… // TEXT & EXPOSITION Hebrews 11 [1] Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. [2] For by it the people of old received their commendation. [3] By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Assurance is freedom from doubt It is holding to certainty about something Hope, however is to want or wish for a particular thing or event that one considers possible It is to trust, or to have confidence (Con - with / Fide - faith) Confidence is literally, “To have or hold onto faith” This is why the Lord calls us in His Word to strong convictions about Himself and His great and precious promises These things are Unseen But as we believe on what is in the Word, not seeing it yet, we are storing up commendation from the Lord Here’s an example: The Universe was created, but not not billions and billions of years ago God made ALL things out of what was and still largely IS invisible to our eyes Such is HOPE But what about FAITH? Faith without works is dead The apostle James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, uses the example of Abraham, who had both faith and works because he believed God and he obeyed what God commanded him to do. “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” (James 2:21-22). Real faith is more than just believing in God alone It includes acting on that faith in one’s life by serving God and obeying His commandments Faith is increased by drawing closer to God through prayer and the study of His Word, the Bible. Some may argue that James’ teaching that we should obey the commandments of God, and that is tantamount to teaching that we are saved by works But that is not the case The apostle Paul makes this clear when he says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9) Paul clearly understood and wrote that no one could earn salvation and that faith itself is a gift from God Yet in the very next verse he went on to say that we are God’s “workmanship” created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” Good works don’t save you, but are an overflow of God’s working in us [4] By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. Abel was Cain’s younger brother, whom he killed, and the text tells us why Abel’s sacrifice was more acceptable than Cain’s, but why? The better question is, “What was the prescription, according to God? And the answer was, even back then, BLOOD! Blood was (and is) the KAPHAR - the covering - that which covers over sin So did Cain bring an animal to sacrifice? No. He brought the fruits of the ground, which were not what god required And the Lord accepted Abel’s gift because he did what God said to do - what god prescribed And even now, though he’s dead, His faith still speaks to us So Abel’s offering showed more faith than Cain’s offering [5] By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. Enoch was a prototype of the Rapture of the Church insomuch as “he was no more” We find a parallel to this time in the Bible, just prior to the judgment of God upon Earth through the Great Flood (the pouring out of God's indignation upon sin) Enoch was a man who walked with God prior to this judgment, and it was he who gave us a model for how to live a godly life in an ungodly world Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God He is an example of how to live as a last days believer By faith Enoch was taken away, and did not see death That’s a picture of the HARPAZO, or what we call the Rapture of the Church Over all, Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God Then one day he disappeared, because God took him I believe the same thing is going to happen to us, soon and very soon! So Enoch is a prototype, if you will, of an entire generation of people who will not see death but will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air At the appointed hour, Jesus will come again, and the Trumpet will sound, but until that time, we should continue to walk with Him [6] And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. It may seem old-fashioned to take the Bible seriously, especially in our modern age of scientific discoveries and multicultural madness But wildly enough, it has become politically correct to deny the existence of absolutes And then culture has taken the next step, which was to deny the involvement of our Creator in our affairs And yet there are many intellectual and well-informed people who take the Bible very seriously, who even regard its origin as supernatural So why would that be the case? The answer is one of the plainest, easiest and most apprehensible truths in the Bible To see it and apprehend it requires faith, but not just blind faith in some “Sky Daddy” It requires faith (intentional belief) in the one true and Living God So the only way we can apprehend that is by the Word of God The 66 books which we call the Bible which constitute a highly integrated message system What makes this so astonishing is the fact that they were penned by more than forty different people over a period of thousands of years! Yet we now discover that virtually every detail of the Biblical text evidences a highly skillful integrated message system from cover to cover In fact, every word, every place name, every detail was apparently placed there (in the original) deliberately as part of an overall intricate plan What is even more astounding is that it can be demonstrated that the origin of this intricate design is from outside of our dimension of space and time There’s something to ponder! But getting back to our examples… [7] By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Many who study Genesis show intense curiosity about the pre-Flood world But “the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water,” so very little physical evidence remains, except that which the receding water washed away or carved out *like the Grand Canyon* Reconstructing the pre-Flood world is like building a puzzle after all its pieces were run through a blender But more the point, God was in the process of saving humanity The antediluvian world had come under the Curse of sin, and Mankind with it In Noah’s day, things had gotten really bad In fact, things were so bad that God only saved ONE family on earth There were a total of eight people on the Ark when when God closed the door They were saved by the Word of God [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. Abraham is sometimes called the great father of Faith Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all claim him as their own In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the covenantal relationship between the Jewish people and God In truth, God was the initiator But when you dig into Abraham’s story, he was not special He was an idolater before God revealed Himself to him But after that revelation, he obeyed and went to a land far from his extended family, based on the promise that God would establish him there He believed that God would bless him with a son in his old age Abraham’s true faith in God marked him as the next link in the line of God’s promises, and made him the father of all those who have faith Abraham believed the revelation that he had received and responded with obedience That’s all anyone that anyone can do Abraham was not a perfect man In fact, instead of trusting God, he lied twice about his relationship with Sarah, putting her at risk both times When they became impatient about how long it was taking to have their son, Abraham took matters into his own hands and had Ishmael He was brazen and impatient, but rather than criticizing Abraham, this should encourage us because, like Abraham, our faith is imperfect at the best of times So take that to heart! [11] By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. [12] Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. Her barrenness was something she disdained, but God knew what He was doing, and He had a timetable of His own We must always wait upon the Lord - I’ve had a solid year of waiting for my children to return, and the only anchor for my soul is my faith in Jesus and His Word And you know what? That’s enough! So when I read v12, it makes my heart sing, knowing what God CAN do, and that He has mercy and compassion over all that He has made! [13] These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. [14] For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. [15] If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. [16] 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. They all died in faith, which means we will be together with them forever! That’s going to be exciting! But that also means that they didn’t see it or apprehend it fully at that time They were still waiting for the fulfillment of it They, like you and me, had to acknowledge that only in Heaven will we have the fullness of these things We may die and see Jesus, or we may go up in the Rapture - I don’t know - God hasn’t sent me that email! But while we are here, we are simply strangers and exiles on earth This is not our home - we’re just stopping through Honestly, do you ever feel that way? I know I do, and the longer that I live in this body of flesh and bone, the more I yearn for mortality to take on immortality, and that which is perishable to become imperishable One day soon, Saints of God! One day soon! [17] By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, [18] of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” [19] He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. And Abram feared the Lord, and was willing to give to God that which was MOST precious to him - his one and only son - obviously a foreshadowing of the Cross The text of Scripture explicitly states that God was testing Abram (not yet Abraham - the HEH in Hebrew is the symbol “to breath”) Abram meant "exalted father" but Abraham meant "father of a multitude" The name change signifies God's covenant with him, promising that he would be the ancestor of many nations So when Abram walked through this test, that’s when God changed his name In fact, one could say that GOD “BREATHED INTO HIM” at that time, bringing him to life spiritually God put Him through a test “I’ve made promises to you (and your barren wife) about raising up multitudes and nations from out of you” And of course, Abraham asks the question that every single one of us would ask: “How can this be??” Sarah was barren But God keeps His promises, and His promises never fail In probably a dozen places in the Bible, the Lord is referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob This name of God emphasizes the covenant that God made with Israel and the Israelites’ special land-grant as God’s Chosen People And this, by the way, is at the root of the Middle East conflict, even until today! God repeated the Abrahamic Covenant to three different generations: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob They were all given the promise of land, many descendants, and God’s blessing The Lord had first called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees, to go to the land of Canaan And the Lord God established a covenant with him (Genesis 12:1–3) God reaffirms the same covenant with Abraham’s son, Isaac (Genesis 21:12; 26:3–4) and then again years later with Isaac’s son, Jacob (Genesis 28:14–15) And this is why the Lord God who established and ratified this covenant is rightly called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob [20] By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. [21] By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. Isaac inherited as the firstborn, and when the boys came of age, those blessings came to them as a birthright (including that Land grant from the Lord!) But many Christians don’t like to talk about that…but it has been at the heart of the situation in the Middle East ever since those days, and even now!! Isaac spoke blessing over his sons, knowing that he was going to die, and he entrusted those promises that he had stewarded to his sons, and those who would come after! And he did all of this in faith! [22] By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. The genealogy goes on… Jacob begat Joseph (Genesis 47:28-48:1-22) Jacob, as he was about to die, He blessed Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim The blessing that Jacob gave to Joseph was that Joseph’s two sons would become his sons (Sons of Jacob, so that they could inherit the land and the promises This is why they are considered as part of the twelve sons of Jacob (or his God-given name Israel) Jacob put Ephraim the younger ahead of Manasseh, who was the firstborn And then He said “the younger will become greater than the older” This repeats often in the Bible, where God put the younger in front of the firstborn God was steadily working to make that nation of people ready for the Exodus, which leads us to Moses [23] By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. [24] By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, [25] choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. [26] He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. The significance of Moses’ concealment was essential, urgent, crucial, and absolutely necessary Around the time of Moses’ birth, Egypt was under the oppressive rule of Pharaoh, who issued a decree to kill all Hebrew male infants in Exodus 1:15-22 This decree was a manifestation of Pharaoh’s fear of the rapidly-growing Hebrew population He considered it as posing a existential threat to his reign But in faith, and in defiance of Pharaoh’s decree, Jochebed, Moses’ mother, concealed him for three months Her defiance against an unjust authority underscores her courage and faith, as well as her determination to protect her son at any cost Later Moses emerges as a central figure chosen by the Lord God to deliver the Hebrew people from bondage in Egypt And this is why she made it into the Fall of Faith [27] By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. [28] By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. Moses was not afraid of the Pharaoh because He put His faith in God, not men In our culture, it is antithetical to put one’s trust and faith in something or someone that cannot be seen That is because we rely heavily on our senses to navigate life But it is by faith that we walk with the Lord It is by faith that we believe and obey His Word, just like so many who have come before us [29] By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. [30] By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. [31] By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. The nation of Israel, led by Moses, did not know in advance what or how God was going to do to deliver them from the Egyptian army They couldn’t make a stand in their own strength or cunning But that’s the great thing about our God - He loves to step in and rescue us in a show of His strength Why, you ask? Because it is the means by which we see His gloriousness, and we need that from time to time [32] And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—[33] who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, [34] quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. [35] Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. [36] Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. [37] They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—[38] of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. [39] And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, [40] since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. // APPLICATION All of these that have been mentioned this morning, though dead, still speak of faith to us today The expression “just have faith, it will work out” is used by many people trying to encourage and comfort someone facing serious problems or even stressful situations But just what is faith as described in the Bible, and does it really work? Well, in the New Testament English the word FAITH is the Greek word PISTIS The New Strong’s Expanded Dictionary says, “Pistis is used of belief with the predominant idea of trust (or confidence) in God So faith is a mash-up of trust, confidence, assurance, and belief The Bible also defines PISTIS in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” So faith is the substance or assurance of the things we hope for, but have not yet received from God Faith comes before a prayer is answered, or before an individual has received what he or she has requested from God An example of this definition is found in Matthew 9:27-30 where two blind men came to Jesus and asked Him to heal them Jesus first asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” and their reply was, “Yes, Lord.” “Then He touched their eyes saying, ‘According to your faith let it be to you.’ And their eyes were opened.” Their faith and assurance that Jesus could give them sight was the substance or reality they had been hoping for It also gave them the evidence or trust that they could and would receive what they asked for They believed! They had faith in advance that it would be done They believed it would be done on the basis of God’s character The Bible is full of examples of faith Daniel’s three friends refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s image of gold Those who refused to bow to the image were threatened with being thrown into a fiery furnace alive But the three young Jewish men (Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego) refused to bow to the image told King Nebuchadnezzar, and instead chose to be burned alive They said, “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18) THAT IS FAITH! They did not know in advance how God would deliver them from the fiery furnace They didn’t know whether God would deliver them by saving their physical lives, or sometime later in the resurrection of the dead Their faith was the substance of what they hoped for, and it was the evidence of that which was not yet seen or received Their faith was built on serving God and obeying His commandments, and leaving the work to the Lord Thus they believed God would deliver them because they obeyed His commandments and did not bow down to worship any other gods All of this to say that faith without works is dead The apostle James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, points to the example of Abraham, who had both faith and works because he believed God and he obeyed what God commanded him to do! James 2:21-22 tells us, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” Real saving faith is more than just believing in God alone It includes acting on that faith in your life by serving God and obeying His commandments Our faith is increased by drawing closer to God through prayer and the study of His Word, the Bible, but mostly through action as we DO what God has called us to do! Paul clearly understood and wrote that no one could earn salvation and that faith itself is a gift from God, yet in the very next verse he went on to say that we are God’s “...workmanship His POIEMA / Masterpiece,” created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” Living faith will always be accompanied by service and obedience to God and His ways As Christians (literally “little christs”), we must strive for living faith And by that, I mean a belief in God demonstrated by good works according to His laws and commandments If we simply believe in Jesus Christ, believe that God exists and believe that He is the Creator God, we’re on the same level of belief as the demons! But if our belief in these things inspires us to be obedient to God and changes the way we live our life, then we truly have faith and will be considered faithful if we consistently increase and grow in our relationship with God And that’s what God calls us to He gives faith to those who seek it And that faith is increased by drawing closer to God through prayer and the study of His Word Today, our world is crumbling around us quickly, and that is a function of Jesus’ return being near, even at the door And then Philippians reminds our souls to “be anxious for nothing [don’t worry], but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7) The longer we continue this faith journey, seeking Him with all our hearts, the more our faith in the Lord will grow But one day soon, I think, our faith will become sight! And we will find ourselves in the Presence of our long-awaited King! And won’t that be a beautiful day!! May it come quickly, Lord Jesus! AMEN // BENEDICTION May the grace of Jesus be with you, and may the Holy Spirit fill you so that He might use you for His purposes in the world! And may the Father be pleased with all that we do and say as we align with Him and His agenda! Come quickly, Lord Jesus! AMEN! Emmaus Road Church, You are sent!!