Ancient Faith for Modern Times

Alright, we are starting a new series this week called / / Ancient Faith for Modern Times.

There are two different approaches to looking at ancient things in today’s world. The first is to adapt the ancient thing for today’s world, you try and make what was work for today. And the second is to allow the ancient thing to inform, dictate or change our world view of today.

I mean, I guess a third option would be to just ignore it altogether, which many people try to do with history.

But within the worldwide church you will see both. Those who take what is old and try to change it for what is new, and those who take what is old and try to force it on what is new. And I would say that neither of those is the solution, and yet both of those is the solution.

There are unchanging truths of God, which can be a difficult thing to wrestle with because there are a couple things about that word truth that we need to hold in a balance.

First, sometimes, / / truth can be subjective. What does That mean? It means what is true for me isn’t always true for you. That’s not me saying everyone can make up their own truth. Let me explain with this simple statement:

/ / Insurance has become unbearable and unaffordable.

This is 100% true for some people. In fact, we know a family who has recently sold their house because the cost of living there simply became too much. They can’t afford it any longer.

BUT, as many of you know, Kelley works in the insurance industry, and she still has people calling adding their 16 Year olds to brand new BMW’s and Mercedes. So, clearly, insurance isn’t too expensive for some people.

So, what are the truths?

It is true that insurance has become more expensive.

It is true that we don’t see any immediate relief in that area.

And it is true that some people can no longer afford their insurance, whatever that insurance policy is for, house, car etc…

But it is also true that there are plenty of people who can afford it, aren’t bothered by the current situation, and are still making enough money that it has not changed their way of living.

That is an example of a truth that is subjective, meaning, the truth is subject to your story, or your scenario. And based on your scenario there is something that is true or not. If you said to a rich person, “Man, insurance has just simply become unaffordable.” He would look at you and say, “Well that’s not true.”

There is also / / perceived truth, which often times isn’t true at all. And in those cases we may say, “This seems true to you, but is not the truth and you are believing a lie.”

We’ve talked about this in the past in regards to things we believe about ourselves. Am I worthy? Am I loved? Does God love me? Do I deserve grace, mercy, love, friendship etc…?

And we sometimes live our lives under a lie, but we believe it to be true. I’ve shared my own story on this. I 100% believed that I was unlovable from the perspective of a romantic relationship. I did not have the capacity to believe that someone would love me in the way that someone needs to love someone to become my wife. So I had no hope of a future that included marriage. That’s why Kelley and I being married is such a miracle, because it involved what I perceived to be true being broken down so that I could take on the actual truth that I am both lovable and deserving of a happy and healthy marriage.

Then there is the / / unchanging, or what we might call immutable truths we have.

Gravity will always pull you back down to earth. So don’t jump out of a plane without a parachute.

Water is wet, so don’t jump into the pool unless you want to be wet.

Coffee is necessary for humanity to function. Don’t bother arguing with that fact. And mushroom coffee, albeit healthier and more expensive is not and will never been a substitute for the coffee beans God has created.

All kidding aside, when we look at the Bible we have to read it in the right context with the right interpretation. / / Reading the bible as truth must include context! This is why I’m always mentioning this. Context is King. You have to know who it was being said to so that you don’t walk away adopting something to your life that was never meant for you, under the believe that, “Well, the Bible says it, so we have to adhere to it.”

/ / There are things in scripture that are not meant for us to adopt for our own lives.

And that might sound obvious, but it is important because we have to know the difference of what is and what is not for us. This might sound ridiculous, and I’m using it for that very reason. We know that Jesus says to the disciples when he leaves the earth, “Wait in Jerusalem until you receive the Holy Spirit.” That is scripture. But we don’t read that and say, “Wait, do I need to go to Jerusalem and wait to receive the Holy Spirit there?”

Of course not, that’s ridiculous. But, sometimes we take scripture that was directed at an individual, or a people group, or the people of that time and we adopt it for ourselves when we were not intended to.

I’ll also make this point. / / There are things in scripture that were not intended for us, but that reveal the heart and nature of God, so we don’t necessarily believe it for ourselves based on the fact that it was said to a particular person, but that in the life of that person God proved his very character.

A great example. Something my Old Testament professor, Derrick Larkin brought up this past week. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of our favorite verses as Christians. / / “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Well, remember what we read last week? Ezra 1:1 says, / / In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah.

Want to guess which prophecy that’s speaking about? Ya, Jeremiah 29!

Jeremiah 29:10, which is a part off a greater prophetic word from Jeremiah that starts in vs 4 and goes to 23, says this, / / This is what the Lord says, “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans….

And he goes into the promise we LOVE in vs 11. But none of us want to take on the first part of that prophecy, do we? Being in exile and captivity for 70 years?

This is a specific word given by the prophet Jeremiah to the exiled people of Judah.

So, can we take that for ourselves? Well, we aren’t them. We aren’t in exile. We aren’t being held captive. BUT, let’s look at that verse and see how it may just pertain to us.

/ / “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.

Ok, what does scripture say elsewhere that might bring this into our lives?

Proverbs 16:9, / / “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”

Proverbs 19:21, / / “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”

Ephesians 2:10, / / “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

Philippians 1:6, / / “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Ok, so it seems that God is both concerned for our plans and has His own plans for us. Right? We can establish that pretty well.

Next thing Jeremiah says to the exiled people of Judah. / / “They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

hmmm…can we take that too? Can we say to people today, “God not only has plans for you, but they are good, they are to bring you a hope and future!”

Well, this is what Jesus taught:

Matthew 6:25-34 / / “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of …”

Alright, Jesus is saying God looks after nature, He’ll certainly look after you and me, right?

Romans 8:28, / / And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

John 10:10, / / “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

Ok, looks like not only does God have plans for us, but they are good, and his purpose for us is good. He knows what we need and wants to provide for us. He wants to look after us.

So, is Jeremiah 29:11 written to us? No. Is it written for us? No. But is it the truth of God’s character that we can say, “You know what, just as Jeremiah prophesied over the people of Judah to give them hope as they were entering a time of unrest and exile, God would say and has said to us that his plans for us are good and his purpose is to give us life and hope.”

We most certainly can.

Context is so important.

And knowing the truth of God’s word and character is so important.

So, talking about Ancient Faith for Modern Times, we’ll be looking at stories from the Bible that show a faith that can last thousands of years and give us strength and hope in our faith today.

We are going to start today with reading a big chunk of scripture and then looking at the concept or the idea of faith, and then in the next weeks we’ll look at some of the great stories of faith from scripture that like the story of Jeremiah show something of the character of both God and the person in the story that we can relate to. Our story may not be their story. But stories show truths to be learned. Truths about God, truths about humanity, truths about faith. And faith is a journey. And it’s no different a journey now than it was 5,000+ years ago - the landscape just looks different.

So, I want to start by reading Hebrews 11. It’s a foundational chapter in the Bible about faith. And we’re going to hear a lot of the stories we’ll be looking at, and then today we’ll talk through the first few verses to lay some foundation and framework for this series.

If you have your bible with you, you can turn to Hebrews 11 and read along, or you can read it up on the screen:

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.

By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed by God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.

It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying - “he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.

It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith - for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead - a nation with so many people, that like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.

It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.

It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.

It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command.

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.

It was by faith that the people of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all drowned.

It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.

It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. Women received their loved ones back again from death.

But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.

Now, I know that was a big chunk of scripture. And we’re going to keep coming back to it throughout our series because a lot of the stories we will be looking at are mentioned in here. But within this scripture I want to pull a few things this morning that will give us a foundation for this conversation on faith.

The first thing I want to establish in this series is that we will be going back and forth between two concepts of faith.

And they are both found in the first sentence of Hebrews 11, vs 1 says, / / Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

The word faith is the greek word / / pistis, and it means both faith and faithfulness. And this is where we will be going back and forth between faith and faithfulness. And of course this means there is going to be a tension and a balance we need to live in. I said this a few weeks ago. That is something we need to become comfortable with in following God. The tension of duality. Both faith and faithfulness, belief and action! Knowing when we are to stand in our belief, and knowing when we are to take action!

So, let’s look at the concept of faith first.

This word, pistis, means to trust, to have a strong confidence in, and a reliance upon, someone or something; often with the object of trust understood. So, it’s pointed trust. We have trust in something or someone in particular. Not just blind trust in whatever. And so this also refers to trust in the gospel, or trust in Jesus as the content of the Gospel message. Galatians 3:2 says, and I’m reading this from the ESV, / / Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

Hearing with faith. It’s something you have.

You have come to believe something. You trust in something.

This is why faith and hope are so closely connected in scripture because you trust in Jesus Christ FOR something. What’s the definition of hope? A confident expectation in a positive outcome. How is our expectation confident? Because we trust in Jesus Christ, we have faith in him. Who is more trustworthy than Christ?

So that definition makes sense. To have a strong confidence in someone or something. Let’s say you’ve got a friend that doesn’t want to cross a bridge, but you know the bridge is 100% safe. What do you say? The bridge is trust worthy. You can trust in the strength of the bridge. You can trust that bridge.

So what do we say of Jesus Christ as our savior? We can trust in him. Why? Because it is only through him that we can be saved. And he does not lie, and his promise is if you believe in him, he will bring you to eternal life.

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:15, / / This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”

Another word that is going to come up is a a variation of this word and that is / / pisteuo, and it is a verb, and means to believe or to commit to, to be committed to.

In John 3:16, this is the word that Jesus uses when he says, / / “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes [pisteuo] in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Same kind of thing as pistis, where faith and faithfulness me. Belief and Commitment. Those are two different things. Belief happens in your head and heart, commitment happens in your actions. This is this balance in scripture of both our faith IN Christ and our faithfulness TO Christ.

We see it over and over again. Paul says it’s only by faith that we are saved because of the Grace of God. Then he asks, So, should we keep sinning, so that we can experience more of God’s grace? Of course not. / / Experiencing the salvation of God should compel us to live for God. I’m not saved by good works, but being saved should produce in me good works.

Faith in Jesus should produce faithfulness to Jesus. And if it isn’t doing that, then faith, in my opinion, is not complete in me, because it has not produced in me a life of righteousness.

Again, I am not made righteous by any act of good. I can not make myself righteous, meaning, right with God. But when Jesus made me right with God through his sacrifice on the cross, that should produce in me the desire and the commitment to live righteously before God, to the best of my ability - which includes relying on him in the midst of my struggles.

Faith comes first, and it has to, because we don’t want to come to rely on our own faithfulness for salvation.

Faith has to come first.

Romans chapter 7 is a master class on this thought. Paul says very pointedly, “I have two parts of me at war. The part that wants to do what is right, and the part of me that wants to do what is wrong. And I don’t know why I fight with this so much. I wish I didn’t.” And he defines the problem in Romans 7:14, he says, / / The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. And then he defines the answer in vs 25, / / Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

And he starts chapter 8 by saying a very well known popular verse, / / So now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (6) …letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. (11) The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. (12) Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.

This is simply just expanding on what Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, / / “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”

There is action to faith. It’s not just simply believing that Jesus is worth following, or believing that by following Jesus you will find life, but it is actually following Jesus.

So, there’s this duality.

I am saved by the grace of God through faith, my belief in Jesus Christ as the savior of the world. But I am called to a place of faithfulness in that faith.

The writer of Hebrews does something very fascinating here in this chapter. He plays both sides of the word.

In the first 6 verses he gives a groundwork for a faith we can do nothing about. Having a belief in God for God to do what we cannot do, and then in the rest of the chapter tells these incredible stories of people’s faith in action.

So, for this morning let’s look at the first three things he says in the first 6 verses:

/ / 1. God is Supreme

vs 3. / / By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

Ok, this is the account of creation. Genesis 1, the story of God creating the world and everything in it by the very word he spoke.

This is the very first and primary belief we have to have as Christians. Nothing else matters or makes sense if we don’t believe this.

/ / God created everything out of nothing!

There are other religious that have creation stories, but they always involve there being something to create humanity out of, but the bible says, and we believe that God existed before anything existed.

God is not made of matter, or substance, but as scripture says, God is Spirit.

Psalm 90:2 says, / / Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.

Colossians 1:15-17, / / Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

If you don’t believe that God is before everything, then God is not God. The thing that makes God God is that there is nothing before, or above Him. This is foundational christian belief and there’s nothing we can do about that. We have to simply just believe it to be true. But it’s unseen, so it is believed by faith.

Now, let me just say this as a side note because this has been a struggle for me in the past, and a struggle for many believers before me and will be a struggle for believers to come. / / You don’t need to know how God did it, to know that He did it.

Genesis 1 is an incredible chapter of the bible, but there are so many questions that come out of it that can leave people wanting to simply not bother believing it.

What do I mean by that? Well, one for instance would be, what do we do with the age of the world? How old is the world? Is it 7,000 years old, 10,0000 years old, 5 million hears old, 60 billion years old? Did God create the world in literal 24 hour days? and on the 7th literal 24 hour day he rested for 24 hours?

Well, we judge time by our journey around the sun, that’s a year, and by the rotation of the earth, that’s a day.

God didn’t create the sun and the moon until day four. That’s what Genesis 1:14-19 says. / / Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night...” …the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night… …and evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.

We’re not going to get into big theological discussions about this - it would probably be too boring for some people, but there’s reason for question, which puts us in the perfect position for faith.

That’s what the writer of Hebrews is tackling first. Do you believe God is the supreme and ultimate creator of the universe who didn’t step into a pre-existent time and space, but literally created time and space out of nothing, and it didn’t even drain him of any of his power. His very word created time, space and matter!

/ / 2. God decides what is right and wrong

vs 4 / / It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.

Man, this is a HUGE thing here.

What’s the argument? Ok, Read Genesis 4:1-16 on your own time. But basically the story is this. Adam and Eve have children, and two sons, Cain and Abel. Scripture says Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. And it says that when it was harvest time Cain decided to bring a gift to the Lord from the crops he had harvested.

There’s nothing in scripture that says they were supposed to. There is no law. There is no requirement. There is nothing that says Cain needs to bring God anything. Just that he did.

And it also says that Abel decided to bring a gift as well. So he brought the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. And Genesis 4:4-5 says, / / The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift.

Why? There is zero explanation in scripture as to why God accepted Abel and his gift and not Cain.

Some scholars believe that because it says that Cain just brought some of the produce while Abel brought the “very best portion of the firstborn”, that’s the distinction. And could very well be. But I want you to see what God says to Cain, because Cain get super upset and Genesis 4:6 (ESV) says, / / The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

The sin wasn’t the sacrifice of vegetables, although this probably proves that God just likes BBQ better and isn’t a vegetarian. But that’s beside the point. The sin wasn’t the problem.

God simply said, “I like the meat.” Or if the scholars are right, “I want the very best of the first of your harvest.” Either way, it doesn’t matter. The point is this - God is the one who says what is right and wrong. God is the one who decides what God wants. If God wants meat, and you bring veggie burgers he will not eat them. In this me and God are alike.

And so God warns Cain - if you do not do well THAT is when sin is going to try and get you. Why? Because when we do something that isn’t accepted as good, even if it doesn’t mean we did bad - satan is just waiting to heap shame on us.

I’ve been noticing this with Kaylee. As she is learning to live life, growing up and all the things she has to learn to be a functioning person in society. She does things that just aren’t done well. She’s not doing bad. She’s not malicious. She’s not acting out. She just doesn’t know how to do better. So it’s my job to teach her. And one of the things I’ve started saying to her is. “You aren’t bad. You’re not in trouble. I’m not upset with you. I just need you to hear what is the right (acceptable) thing to do here.”

Because that’s when sin is crouching at the door. When we don’t fully understand that right and wrong are not dictated by us, but by God. “Well that’s not fair.” sure, but it is what it is. “God wouldn’t do that.” He sure would, and he has.

And so the question then becomes - How do we handle being told what is right and wrong and what we need to do to correct it?

The world is big on that right now. The further we move away from God and a moral foundation, we end up thinking, “You can’t tell me what is right and wrong.” Well, I can’t, but God can. And God has. And we use scripture to identify that.

Cain hadn’t sinned bringing vegetables. It’s just not what God wanted - he wanted lamb chops instead. But in his anger, Cain sinned. He goes and kills his brother in a rage.

So, the writer of Hebrews is settling these foundations of faith. First, God is God, Supreme, and we have to settle that.

Second, God makes the rules. God is the one who decides what is acceptable living or not. I don’t get to choose that. And so for everyone these days deciding for themselves what is right or wrong, what is good or evil, they are falling into a trap that the bible has actually warned about. God makes these decisions, not us. And the more you look into that, the more you see it’s a really good thing that He does, because left up to our own devices we end up burning it all down.

/ / 3. God decides matters of time

vs 5, / / It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying - “he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God.

Ok, there’s 2 people in the bible who disappear without dying. Enoch and Elijah. They never die. They are simply drawn up into heaven by God.

We get the briefest little comment on Enoch in the Bible. It’s in the midst of a genealogy and it says in Genesis 5:21-24, / / When Enoch was 65years old, he became the father of Methuselah. After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

And so the writer of Hebrews is making this final thought on faith that we can’t do anything about. God is the master of time. God decided when it is time. God determines our days, our weeks, our years, and there is nothing we can do about it.

You know how every once and a while I say that one of my pet peeves is the thought that “God is in control” because I don’t believe God controls US. Well, here is where that statement IS true. God is control of himself. God is in control when it comes to this earth and it’s time. God is in control of His decision to return when He will.

Enoch being caught up by God in a moment where he just simply disappears is akin to Jesus saying in Matthew 24:36, talking about the end of time, / / “…no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.”

God is the God of time, and there’s nothing we can do about that. It is what it is. Jesus will come again when the Father says, “Alright my Son, get on that white horse and ride!”

And listen, this is just something we don’t decide. And so we need to have a foundation of faith for it. That God knows what he is doing when it comes to time.

Ok, so the first 5 verses of Hebrews 11 are dealing with what we can’t control and where we just simply must believe, have faith.

/ / God is supreme

God decides what is right and wrong

God decides matters of time

THEN we get to Hebrews 11:6 which says, / / And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

This is the transition, or connection verse between 1-5 and 7 and the rest of the chapter which is story after story after story.

/ / It is impossible to please God without faith.

Pleasing God. Paul spends a lot of time on that, doesn’t he? Not by our works, but by the work of Christ. So what does this mean?

Eddie Piorek has this great little book called “The Central Event” and it’s about the moment Jesus is baptized and comes up out of the water. Eddie says this is the central event of Jesus Christ, for one reason - what the Father says of him.

See, at this point Jesus hasn’t done any miracles, hasn’t saved anyone, hasn’t done anything except be faithful and believe… Jesus believes He is the Son of God. Jesus believes he has a mission. When John asks him why he’s getting baptized, Jesus says, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So, John relents and baptizes Jesus and Matthew 3:17 (ESV) says, / / …and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Nothing required here but that you believe.

Without faith it’s impossible to please God. But in our faith, in our believing, we hear these words, “You are my son / daughter, in whom I am well pleased.”

That’s vs 1-5, you can’t do anything about these things, but believe… Jesus is the savior of the world, there is no one but him. You can NOT get to the Father, You can NOT get to heaven except through faith in Jesus Christ. Done deal.

But vs 7 - 40 is going to give us a LOT of evidence about faith being more than just believing, because it is also about being FAITHFUL.

The second half of vs 6 says, / / Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Believe he exists. Faith in what we cannot change, but then sincerely seek him - So, not just HAVE faith, but BE Faithful - sincerely seek Him..

Over the next few weeks we’re going to look at the great stories of biblical faith. But today I want to lay this foundation and ask you this one thing.

Do you believe?

As we’ve read these first 6 verses today, primarily, where do you land on these three things?

/ / God is supreme

Do you believe that? Do you believe there are no other gods? Do you believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who came to this world in the bodily form of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for your life, and who was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven and sent his Holy Spirit to fill you when you chose to believe in Him?

If you don’t. Can I encourage you that today is the day for that. Listen, Jesus made it very simple, there are two options. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. That’s what’s on the table. perishing or eternal life. Can I recommend choosing life. Choose to believe in a God that loved you enough to give all of himself so you could have all of him.

/ / God decides what is right or wrong

Do you believe this? Do you believe that morality is not something we can change based on the time? Oh, it’s 2023, so let’s make more room for people and accept this as normal.

Listen, if humanity has proved one thing really well, it’s that we don’t do well making the rules. As hard as it is some days, I am grateful that God made the rules.

What I think a lot of people don’t understand is that struggling with the rules doesn’t throw you out of his grace. If anything it continues to show us that we need his grace. If you accept that you need God, if you believe in Jesus Christ, even though you struggle with sin, you are alive in Him!

But Paul encourages us, just because we receive God’s grace in our imperfection, doesn’t mean we should go on sinning. Romans 6:12 says, / / Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.

Recognizing that what we want isn’t what God wants is recognizing that we have “sinful desires”. Paul calls it our human nature, or sinful nature. And it’s simply recognizing that humanity isn’t always right. And that we often think that if we could just choose how we want to live then there would be no need for redemption, and there would be no right or wrong. And that’s simply not the case.

/ / God decides matters of time

Do you believe that time is in God’s hands?

You don’t have to know exactly how it will all happen. You don’t have to choose today whether you believe in one of the various explanations people have come up with on how the bible says the end will come.

But do you believe the words of Jesus from Matthew 24:42, 44, / / “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. You also must be ready at all time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

Settle these things in your heart. Of course, as all things when preaching, this is not an exhaustive list.

But if you can settle / / these things in your heart when it comes to faith, then you’ll be in a great position to learn what it means to be faithful!