Completing the Promise
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Playing Games
Playing Games
Some of you have already figured this out but our family has recently gotten into boardgames. I'm not talking about monopoly or battleship, the games that we have been getting into are known here in the United States as euro games since many of them originate from Europe. They are less based on luck and more on strategy and typically have more rules than American style games.
We like to invite people over to play these games. Incidentally if you're interested let us know. When we have people to come over and play a game for the first time my wife Kate and I have a pretty strong advantage that first time we play. That advantages that we have played before. It is one thing to have the rules explained but it is entirely something else to have played the game to completion, to begin to understand the dynamics of the game and develop a strategy.
This is the last message that we will have in Hebrews chapter 11. Throughout the chapter we have brought up that this is often referred to as the Faith Hall of Fame. The warning here is that by referring to the chapter this way we might see these heroes of the faith as being a people that are in some way better equipped for faithfulness. — Peyton Manning was inducted into the football Hall of Fame in 2021, this may surprise you but I wasn't in the running. Peyton has skills and natural born ability that I never have possessed. And I understand that we have all been taught the fairytale that you can be anything that you put your mind to but I am going to tell you this, my frame, my coordination, and my flat-footed-ness we're never going to allow me to participate in professional sports even if I put in the hard work. — but Hebrews 11 we are talking about advantage people. We're just talking about people. In fact I will make the argument this morning that we are the ones who are advantaged. — Because like someone who has played one of our games all the way through, we know exactly how the game is won, it isn’t an abstract concept — It is a reality we have witnessed.
If you have your Bibles please turn them to Hebrews 11:39-40 where we will get our passage for this mornings message but before we do I will want to read for you one last time our verse that gives us the context for the chapter
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Or as the commentator Gareth Lee Cockerill paraphrases:
Faith is living as if the things hoped for are true
And in keeping the context of a life lived faithfully in mind please read with me starting in v39
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Our message this morning is entitled Completing the Promise and is the final message in our series By Faith (Again).
Let’s Pray
Heroes
Heroes
I don't want to downplay it. The heroes of our faith are definitely heroes of our faith, and in fairness, Sampson had a physical advantage. But their heroism was heroism of the heart. Like pretty much everything else that we look at concerning our faith it all comes down to a heart issue. They believed God in their heart, to the core of their being, so that well they were given the opportunity to be obedient to God it wasn't even a choice for them. They acted according to their belief. It's a cause-and-effect thing.
That makes sense doesn't it, don't you tend to do based upon your belief. When I drive home from work I base the route I take upon my belief of the traffic conditions. I give Amazon my money based on a belief that they are going to ship me the stuff that I paid for. I mean really I only got in my car and drove it to church this morning because I believed that the gas pedal would make the car go to break pedal would make the car stop in the steering wheel would send the card whichever direction that I wanted it to go. Otherwise, I would have walked or taken the other car.
I have had cars that I didn't believe it. Car is it maybe work up to the level of repair that I expect out of my vehicles today. I will certainly keep tools in those cars, and some of them I had to make sure to keep extra oil. Did I think they would get me to work, probably. But I expect those cars to fail in any time. And so I acted with them according to my unbelief.
I am afraid that is how old too many of us approach our faith. We can tell everybody that we believe, and we might get inside our faith and drive around a little bit but at the end of the day we're gonna rely on our own wisdom to get us out of the bind that we believe that we would be in if we relied solely on our faith. — let me give you this question to consider: what things are you doing to prepare for those eventualities where you believe trusting God will let you down. — that's not real faith. What you are saying is, sure I believe but it's like my old beater car, not gonna trust it for any long trips.
But I guess that is what separates the Heroes, or to use a more theological and inclusive term, the saints from everybody else. Faith.
Our Great Advantage
Our Great Advantage
Here is the the thing. We don’t have an excuse to lack faith, we live in the time of promise, the the expectation of promise.
3 Positions of Faith
3 Positions of Faith
I want to give you three historical positions for faith in the promise.
1. The Old Testament Position
1. The Old Testament Position
The first is one that you are no doubt familiar with, it is what we find in Genesis 15:6 speaking of Abraham
6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
There was a promise to be fulfilled sometime in the future, and because he believed in the fidelity of God he believed the promise. And so he acted accordingly. — Abel, Noah, Moses, etc. — They didn’t know how things were going to turn out but they just trusted in God’s word and they did what God asked of them.
They believed in promises and understood some things. They understood that this life was not all that was to life.
We read Job’s expectations in Job 19:26
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, Yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Here we find Job believes that in his flesh he will see God, he believes in a resurrection.
Isaiah writes in Is 26:19
19 Thy dead men shall live, Together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: For thy dew is as the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead.
There was an expectation, a promise of an eternal resurrection. But it was a far-off promise.
2. The Thomas Position
2. The Thomas Position
We read about Thomas in John 20:24-29
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
There were a small number of people who believed because they saw the proof of the promise fulfilled with their own eyes. These are people like Thomas who saw the resurrected Messiah but also those who saw miracles performed by both Christ and the Disciples.
3. The Post-New Testament Position
3. The Post-New Testament Position
This is the position we are in today. We are the ones spoken of by Jesus in John 20:29
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
But so are the Old Testament saints. They came before Christ could be seen with the eye and we have come after.
No Wonder
No Wonder
The advantage we have is that we don’t have to wonder at the resurrection. We don’t have to wonder who will be the eternal King — We know of Jesus.
Consider the great advantage: In the Old Testament they could only wonder how the justice and mercy of God work out — But we see Christ.
We have the advantage in understanding that although we were a part of Romans 3:23
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
We also partake in Romans 3:24
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Only in the wrath of God the Father being meet out upon the Son can we see God’s justice being satisfied and his Mercy being demonstrated
This is what we the last verse in Hebrews 11 is getting at:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Those heroes may have had belief that informed their actions, but we see something better. That faith being realized through the resurection.
Another Advantage
Another Advantage
But we have another advantage as well. Turn your bible to John 14:16
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
This word comforter is παράκλητος (paraklētos) .. You could loosely define that as a helper. But I like the definition: An advocate. Someone who helps us and mediates for us. Like a lawyer would.
We find this word used in 1 Jn 2:1 speaking of Christ
1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
Jesus is our advocate our παράκλητος (paraklētos) but the Holy Spirit is the other advocate or helper that Christ sends to believers. — And to great advantage. Titus 3:5 reads
3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
The Holy Spirit renews us.
Use Your Advantage
Use Your Advantage
So with every head bowed and every eye closed I have this question to ask you. How are you using your advantage? By all accounts you are equipped to live a more faithful wife that even these heroes we read of. If the Holy Spirit dwells with then you are a new creature. You have new advantages. For the last time the book of Hebrews I want you to think of this question are you living like the things you say you believe are true. Does the word of God inform your life. Do you step out on faith even when it just doesn't make sense and you don’t understand how it is all going to work out.
I hope so. But if this morning you know that your faith isn’t what it ought to be. I invite you to come forward after we close, I would love to tell you more about our savior Jesus Christ. Maybe you are like the man who cried out, “I believe, help my unbelief” — Or maybe you know that you aren’t a follow of Christ and you have questions. — In either case, please come forward.
Let’s pray