Hebrews CH 11

The Hall Of Faith

So tonight Here for discipleship We are going to do something a little different

we are going to be peeling apart Hebrews CH 11 because man is it awesome

So Hebrews CH 11 Gives us some really great examples of Men and women here on Earth that were the ultimate examples of Faith

Faith that was unshakeable and faith that we can look at and try to emulate

Now Hebrews 11 Gives us 16 different Names of Men and women that had supernatural faith that God used for His Kingdom

For discipleship we have a total of 15 for the year so that means as we go through Hebrews 11 we are going to examine the life of each faithful servant

So tonight we are going to go through the first part of Hebrews and we are also going to look at the first Faithful Man the Author uses as an example for His readers

But before we get started I wanted to give you guys an outline or summary of the book of Hebrews since we are starting in CH 11

So the Book of Hebrews, No one officially knows who wrote it , and no one officially knows who it is addressed to

It is believed that it was written to the Jewish Christians that were facing persecution based on the context in which the book was written

Now when we look at each chapter we see an outline that leads us into CH 11

In chapters 1+2 Jesus is compared and contrasted to the angels and the torah

The torah being the first five books of the Bible , So Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy

So again when we look at the context in which the book was written its safe to assume its to Jewish christians

Only Jewish Christians would be so familiar with the Torah

In chapters 3+4 Jesus is compared to Moses and the Promised Land

In chapters 5+6 Jesus is compared and contrasted to Priests and Melchizedek

And Last But on Least

CH 8-10 Jesus is Compared to Sacrifices and the covenant

And out of All of these chapters the author is showing them 2 main Goals

1) the first is Jesus is superior , He is worthy of their trust

He is not a Fraud !

2) The Author challenges readers to remain faithful Despite being persecuted for believing in Jesus

So to Sum up, In all of these Chapters the Author is painting a picture for us that Jesus is Superior to all that came before Him, he is greater than Moses , he is greater than the Priests, and He is greater than any sacrifice, he is greater than any Angelic being, leaving Him superior to all!

So if Jesus is superior than all that came before Him than he is without a doubt worthy of our trust and worthy to be believed

Again keep in Mind the whole Point of this Book was to show these people they could place their faith In Jesus

after all He is God of the flesh

So lets look at a few verses

Hebrews 1:1–4 NKJV

1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

God spoke and used Men before Jesus , “the prophets”

Now He speaks through His Son Jesus who is before all things and through him made the worlds

Vs 3 this is the one that i Love

the NLT says

3 “The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command”

If you guys were to Look at the Actual Sun that gives our Planet day light you would notice actual rays of light that are omitted from it

now you cant have rays of Sun without the actual sun

So the author again is painting this picture for us that Jesus is in Fact God of the flesh

it is through His son that we have communion with God !

Jesus is Superior to all the things that they were taught as Jews

So to summarize this even further so we can dive into chapter 11

Jesus is in fact Gods word, Jesus is our Hope for new creation, Jesus is the eternal priest , and Jesus is the Ultimate/Perfect Sacrifice

Jesus is worthy again of being followed and worthy of not turning our backs on

regardless of what they were going through the Author wanted them to have faith that Jesus was greater than the persecution they were going through

So lets get into CH 11 where we will be going over 16 different examples of faithful men and women

Right before we start i wanna read a verse further down that describes Just how faithful all of these faithful people were

Its not the Hall of fame its the Hall of Faith

Hebrews 11:36–38 NKJV

36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

These faithful men and women did not give on on their Lord Jesus because of the circumstance they found themselves in

They were beat up, tortured, and killed for being faithful

the world itself was not worthy of the example that was set before them

men and women so faithful that not even we can compete ! we are undeserving of their faith that has allowed us to have a life that we live

now were not taking away from what Jesus has done on the cross but we are going to look at the abilities that faith can give us

CH 11.

Hebrews 11:1 “1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

faith is not something that can be physically seen yet it gives us the ability to see evidence of the spiritual world

it is a complete trust or confidence in someone or something

its is the complete trust in God, his perfect loyalty, his consistency in being true to His name, his character and his word.

so we can look at who Jesus is and reflect on the things he has done not only in scripture but in our own personal lives and realize that he deserves our trust!

He deserves our faith

Hebrews 11:2 “2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.”

through faith the older people like the prophets developed a reputation that was good

faith causes us to believe which causes us to develop a heart for God which is lived out

Hebrews 11:3 “3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

Faith is what we have to understand that the world was created

it was created by things we can not see

so for example the ocean, we know its there, we know it was created but how was it created ?

So the world is created by things we can not see which gives us the ability to have faith in the one who created it !

now vs 4 this is what im going to brake down a little bit tonight and this is our first character we are going to look at

Hebrews 11:4 “4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”

Lets look at Genesis ch 4

Genesis 4:1–7 NKJV

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

okay , Adam and Eve have two sons Cain and Abel

Im sure you have all heard this story before

Cain was a farmer and his Job was to till the ground and grow fruit

Abel was a Shepard , so he took care of the live stock and bred the live stock for food

Both Jobs equally difficult and equally played a role in providing for their families

now during the season when the fruit started to grow cain gave an offering to the Lord

Now some may question wether or not that God rejected Cains offering because it was not the first fruit but that is not the case

Cains offering was legitimate it had nothing to do with one being an animal and the other being fruit

In Leviticus ch 2 and ch 6 grain offering was an acceptable offering to the Lord

So it had nothing to do with one being better than the other

so thats where we read the real reason behind Gods rejection of Cains offering and thats found in

Hebrews 11:4 “4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”

It was by faith that Abels offering was accepted

and it was because of Sin in Cains life that His offering was rejected, He didn’t believe !!

now when we look at Genesis 4:6 it says

Genesis 4:6 “6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?”

so in this verse we can see that as a result of sin in His life He becomes angry which Leads to him Killing His brother

But the whole idea here is that faith that is not pure in heart is not faith

fake faith has fake motives

and its clear that Cains motive was out of Sin in his life

He didn’t really believe !

It wasn’t because he truly wanted to offer something to the Lord out of the goodness of His heart

He had bad Motives and the Lord saw right through it !

Abel truly believed and Cain did not

So the main difference here is one believed and had faith and the other did not

Sacrifices made without faith are worthless, they mean nothing

Its not even a sacrifice without faith !

- What does it look like to Have faith Like Abel ? To have faith that doesn’t turn its back on Jesus like we summarized through the book of Hebrews ?

Abels Faith was a saving faith , it was a faith that allowed him to receive salvation

right after His offering to the Lord His faith had allowed him to be saved, all he did was believe and trust in the lord

Cains disbelief meant that His offering meant nothing

His heart was wrong

How often do we offer something to the Lord but with a Half heart ?

How often do we limit Gods ability to use us for His Ministry ?

How often do you see people limit what God can do because they only offer up some of their so called faith ?

or their faith only goes so far ?

How often is something offered up that is offered with ill intentions, Hey i want to Give but i want everyone to see

Is that really to bless the lord or to make you look good ?

You see it in Ministry often

people put limitations on how God can use them

How does that offering look to the Lord when you sit back and say, Oh i can help in this ministry but i will not do this , this , and this ?

Is that really an offering to the Lord that is a blessing to Him ?

Now i’m not trying to convict anyone but its true , we all do it

we all Have sin in our life that puts limitations on our faith

It limits our offering to the Lord

Abel had this right and he had real faith his faith allowed him to Give everything to the Lord !

Matthew 23:35 “35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.”

Abels faith made Him a righteous man

Faith Comes by Prayer and Belief:

Proverbs 3:5–6 “5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

Matthew 21:22 “22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.””

2 Corinthians 5:7 “7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Faith is not seen

Hebrews 11:6 “6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Joshua 1:8–9 “8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

when you read Gods word it builds your faith , you can trust what you can not see .