By Faith
Notes
Transcript
I’ve done quite a bit of preaching on Jesus and his teachings, and rightfully so
Jesus is our Lord, and our Savior, and his teachings are the best things we can learn from
But there is a whole lot in the Bible that talks about more than just Jesus’s teachings
and what I want to do is I want to take the next several weeks to Explore what it means to follow Jesus in a world that is so distnant from him.
the best way to do this is to look back at the Bible at some of the poeple who are commended for following God long before Jesus ever appeared on the scene.
Then we try to follow their example
and one of the best places to find examples in is Hebrews Chapter 11, the Hall of Faith.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.
So before we even look into examples of what Living by faith looks like, we are given a definition
It is not hope, it is not simple belief, it is the assurance of hope, and the conviction of belief
In other words Faith is more than just saying “I believe in God” it is a deep seated conviction of that belief that it shapes how you live your life.
It is like a child who knows deep down that their mother or father can help them, and that shapes how they live.
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. 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.
The first person that the Author of Hebrews mentions is Abel
Abel’s faith meant he gave God a more acceptabale sacrifice than cain,
What does that mean
Lets look back at Genesis at the story of Cain and Abel to find out
In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 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.” Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.
Abel Brought the firstborn of his flock and the fat portions - the best portions
Cain brought an offering of some of the fruit
Not the First, and Not the best
Abel still speaks, his blood cries out to God from the ground
His example speaks to us
If you have faith, you bring to God your first and your best.
Now we dont offer sacrifices any more so how do we give God our first and our best?
We put the things of God first in our priorities.
Church vs sports. Post
When you worship God you put forth your best effort.
Lets go back to hebrews
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. 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.
Enoch, By faith he avoids death, but instead God takes him out of the world.
Why did God do that?
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Enoch walked with God, his faith was such that he did everything he could to draw closer to God, and so God spares him death.
Everyone else in this passage has these three words at the end of their account “and he Died”
Enoch did not die, he was taken by God.
Church how do we walk with God?
Well first according to hebrews we must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him
So how can we seek God
Start by digging into his word, and by praying.
then find other people seeking to walk with God and walk with them.
So Now that we have had a little practice at looking at some quick examples of Living By Faith, lets dive into one of the bigger stories here:
Noah
Noah
Most of us know the story of Noah, Its one of the biggest stoires that kids are told, mostly because it looks cute with the little ark and all the animals, but Noah’s story is a lot deeper than, old guy on boat with animals while it rains.
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.
this is interesting church, we are told that Noah built the ark out of reverant fear.
Usually I see slogans that say “Faith over fear” or “There is no fear in God” but the reality is that the bible says Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Noah feared what God said he was going to do, and so he prepared by building the ark.
In doing so he condemned the world,
It is possible that God warned everyone about the flood, but noah was the only one who had faith, or fear, enough to listen.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
We sometimes take this saying as God speaking to himself, but what if this was a warning he proclaimed to the entire world, a last call for repentance, and only Noah listened?
and so it is Noah who finds favor.
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.
Noah has heard God’s warning, and believing in God, having Fear of God’s judgment, having Faith, is what leads God to want to spare noah, so God commands him to build the ark, and then take his family and the animals with him and when the rain start to come, God himself closes them in.
And then it rains and floods for 40 days and 40 nights,
But that is just the beginning, the kids stories would have you think that Noah left the ark 40 years later, but no hes on the ark for almost a year.
In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. Then God said to Noah, “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.
It is litterally one year to thee day when Noah finally leaves the ark, and everything is made new, and it is a new beginning for everyone. And God makes a covenant with them
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
Everything seems it is going well, but it doesn’t last, Noah was blameless in his generation, but when he was alone on the earth he still fell, and his children still sinned. Its not really a happy ending for noah.
But Noah had faith, and because he had faith, he found favor in God’s eyes, and what did Noah’s faith look like?
Fear.
And because Noah feared the Lord, he became the heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
So Church, as we continue through this series, I want you to keep in mind the various ways we can live by Faith
Whether its giving your best to God Like Abel, which allows his example to shine through the ages,
whether it is by walking with God, trying to get close to God like enoch, who got so close to God that God had to take him away
Or whether it is having a healthy fear of the judgement God could bring, like Noah, and being willing to do whatever it takes despite what everyone else is doing to follow God’s will, and how he escapes God’s judgement, because he knows how fierce that Judgement can be.
