Hebrews 11:1-16 Marked by Faith
Notes
Transcript
Intro: Marked by Psoriasis
Intro: Marked by Psoriasis
Remodeled bathrooms
Today we are going to talk about being marked by faith
A mark is something that people can see without you saying a word
NFL Hall oil Fame
Marked by their gold jackets
God wants us to be marked by faith
The people we are going to look at today were marked by faith
The next two weeks we are going to look at the legends of faith
Read Hebrews 11:1-4
Read Hebrews 11:1-4
Transition
“The Saints’ Hall of Fame,”
“The Heroes of Faith,”
“The Honor Roll of the Old Testament Saints,”
“The Faith Chapter” are but a few of the titles that have been given to Hebrews 11.
This chapter deals with the primacy and the excellency of faith, and fits perfectly into the flow of the epistle, that the new is better than the old.
First-century Jews saw everything as a matter of works.
Even after being shown the basic truths of the New Covenant, the tendency was for them to try to fit these new principles into the mold of works righteousness.
By the time of Christ, Judaism was no longer the supernatural system God had originally given.
It had been twisted into a works system, with all kinds of legalistic requirements.
It was a system of self-effort, self-salvation, and self-glorification.
It was far from the faith system that God had given.
What are the marks of faith?
We are going to look at some of them today
Evidence of Hope & Confidence vs. 1-3
Evidence of Hope & Confidence vs. 1-3
A person marked by faith has the evidence of Hope & Confidence
Their hope is in Jesus and His eventual return
Their confidence is in His sovereignty and that He has everything under control
The ESV uses assurance of things hoped for
I learned the the NKJ version which uses substance
Assurance/ Substance = Realization
Faith is realization of our hope in Jesus
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
Just as our physical eyesight is the sense that gives us evidence of the material world, faith is the “sense” that gives us evidence of the invisible, spiritual world.
If you have the substance before you or if you can see it, there is no use for faith.
Faith is needed for what we can’t see and can’t touch.
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Only faith can prove that the Bible is the Word of God.
Conviction/Evidence = Confidence
Faith isn’t baseless w/o reason
It is a willingness to trust in, to rely on, and to cling to.
Obtained a good testimony:
These Jewish Christians were discouraged and thought of giving up on Jesus and a distinctive Christianity.
They needed a good testimony, and so they needed these examples of faith to break them out of discouragement.
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
By faith we understand:
We did not see this act of creation; we only know of it by faith.
We also know this by reason, because we know the world was created and created by an intelligent Designer.
Most scientists believe the universe was created out of existing matter, not out of nothing.
They believed the world was made out of things which are visible.
But the Bible corrects this misunderstanding, clearly saying that the world was not made of things which are visible.
It Pleases God vs. 4-7
It Pleases God vs. 4-7
A Person marked by faith pleases God
Hall of Famers are set apart
If you have ever watched a hall of fame induction ceremony you get to see athletes that are set apart
They are the greatest to play the game
NFL did a great video series of surprising its players who were chosen
One year the CEO of the Hall of Fame showed up to their hotel rooms at the Super Bowl
During Covid he flew to their houses
Last year the players idol showed up in his Gold jacket
Hebrews 11 is the hall of fame for Biblical characters
It starts with Adam and Eve’s son Abel
He offered the correct sacrifice to God unlike his brother Cain
God accepted the sacrifice and praised him as righteous
The difference between the sacrifice of Cain and the sacrifice of Abel (Genesis 4:3-5) was not between animal and vegetable.
The difference was that Abel’s sacrifice was made by faith.
With his example of Abel, the writer reminds us that faith is not necessarily rewarded on earth.
But God Himself testifies to the righteousness of the faithful.
Abel’s blood still speaks to us, reminding us of the value of eternity.
Next we see Enoch who walked with God on the earth for 365 years and then was not found, God took him
Enoch is one of the mystery men of the Old Testament being mentioned only in Genesis 5:21-24 as the man who walked with God and he was not, for God took him.
Noah constructed an Ark even though he didn’t know what rain was
because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.
The point the author is trying to make is that it is impossible to the please God without faith
Impossible to please Him
Two marks of faith that pleases God
You Must Believe
We must believe that God is there, and that He will reveal Himself to the seeking heart.
Rewarder of Diligent Seekers
The writer to the Hebrews didn’t say that it is difficult to please God without faith. He said that it is impossible.
Desire Your Heavenly Home vs. 8-16
Desire Your Heavenly Home vs. 8-16
A Person marked by faith desires their Heavenly Home
All of these hall of famers died without seeing the promise
That didn’t stop them from desiring to see their heavenly home
By Faith Abraham obeyed
He was called to go out to another place
Abraham did step out in faith, going to the place God promised him; but his faith was less than perfect.
Abraham first went half way to where God called him, and only eventually obeyed completely.
Yet thousands of years later, God did not “remember” the delayed obedience, only the faith.
Abraham lived as a “sojourner” in the land God promised, never owning any of it except the plots that he and Sarah were buried on.
Dwelt translates the ancient Greek word paroikos, describing a “resident alien” – one who lives at a certain place, but doesn’t have permanent status there.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
These all died in faith, not having received the promises:
The promise of the Messiah was made to Abraham and Sarah, and they believed the promise.
Yet they died having never received it, only seeing it in faith.
They saw the promises afar off, willing to look at and consider the promise of God, even though the fulfillment seemed so far away.
They were assured of them, carefully considering the promise, assured that the promise was valid because God made the promise.
They embraced them, taking the promise and embracing it in faith.
They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims:
Abraham and Sarah always took the promise with the understanding that this world was not their home. They knew God had a better and more enduring home for them in heaven.
If these examples of faith endured through difficulty and discouragement without having received the promises, then we who have received the promises have even more reason for endurance.
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
They desired their heavenly home
Living by faith is easier when we remember that this world is not our home.
It is easier when we remember that on this side of eternity, not everything is settled and not every wrong is righted.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God:
For those courageous enough to believe in God, and to believe in Him as real, and heaven and eternal life as real, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.