Hebrews 11 Faith that Triumphs

Hebrews 10:35-11:6

Hebrew people… people of God… Do not turn back! Keep going!

Christ is better. Christ fulfills. Christ is superior. Christ is the substance. The Old is going and about to be gone (for us today, it is gone), the New has come.

There is a New and Living Way… through Christ Jesus.

We have confidence in Him. Therefore, draw near to God and hold fast the confession of our hope.

Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

10:37-38 - “He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him...”

We are not of those who shrink back, or turn back to destruction… Like Lots wife (Gen. 19:26).

We are those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.

11:1 - Now faith… is the assurance… of things… hoped for… the conviction… of things… not seen.

Faith is not mere belief… It is not just knowing about something...

Within our faith… there is confidence that leads us to endurance. There is a trust that draws us near. There is a conviction that keeps us firm. There is a hope that keeps us moving.

2 Corinthians 5:7 - We walk by faith and not by sight.

Where does faith, living, saving, and enduring faith begin? Not dead/demon faith (James 2)… But saving faith?

Faith is no greater that it’s object. The substance of an individual’s faith is connected to the object...

Our faith begins with God. He is the Object, the Person, the Reality and Reason for our faith.

He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He initiates our faith, and then calls us to live by faith in Him.

And failure to trust God keeps us in sin. Failure to have confidence, conviction, and hope in God… leads us and keeps us in sin...

It is impossible to please God without faith.

We come to God, Whom we cannot see, and we do what we believe He has spoken… by faith.

WE come to Him and we believe that He is God and that He is… and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

We believe that He is… that He is Who He is… and that He does and will do, that He has promised and will keep His promises… and we live this out.

John 6:29 - This is the work of God… that you believe in Him whom He has sent. Ephesians 2:8-9 - It is by faith alone in Christ alone; it is a gift.

How do I know that I have it, that I possess it?

You will know a tree by its fruits. James 2:14 - Actions will follow faith. What we believe will come out in our lives and lifestyle.

We are not saved by works, but good work will follow saving faith. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone… But our faith is not alone… You will see faith by her actions and or results.

Abel - Cain did not offer sacrifices with faith, but Abel did and he was rewarded.

Enoch - Enoch dedicated his life to please God… and not man, and he was rewarded.

Noah - Never saw rain before… but he believed God, and built a boat… and the Lord saved him and his family, and used Noah to start over.

Abraham - This is the “father of the faithful/believing.” He followed God when he did not know where he was going; he did not know how, and did not know when, or why...

He left his home and family to live like a stranger in a land of unfaithful men. By faith, he believed God to have a child… even though their bodies were as good as dead...

Sarah - Her insides were dried up and rusty… to the point she busted a gut when the Lord said she would have a child.

But they both moved forward with God, to God. They heard that they would have descendants as numerous as the stars of the heavens and as numerous as the sand on the seashore...

And they never saw it happen in their lifetime… But they believed that God would do it. They looked for a city that was made by God, a place and a country that God would give them...

And they died looking forward, moving forward, with that faith and hope.

By faith… Abraham offered up his only son...

Now remember, Genesis 21:12, God promised that the descendants would come through Issac… and then God told Abe to offer up Issac as a sacrifice in Genesis 22.

What did Abraham believe? Verse 19 - Abe considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead...

And this serves as a type for us today… (Christ, resurrection).

What do we believe? God has called me out of my sin and has called me into His marvelous light to walk in this land of darkness with our eyes on Him and the place in which He has for us, to obey Him, and to believe that God has raised Christ from the dead, and He will also raise us from the dead as well...

Are we not all looking forward to the New Heavens and the New Earth? Are we not all looking for Zion, the City of God, the Jerusalem of God? Do we not seek the Kingdom of God in all its glory…?

It is not here yet… But we see it coming. WE see Christ coming, and we live accordingly by the faith that we have in these convictions.

Issac - Blessed Jacob, and Esau.

Jacob - Blessed the younger son over the older.

Joseph - Believed that God would bring the people out.

Moses parents - Hid Moses and obeyed God rather than men.

Moses - Chose ill-treatment over the riches of Egypt. He left Egypt, came came in obedience, kept Passover, and led the people through the Red Sea.

11:30 - Joshua and the People - Believed the promises of God, even though the battle strategy was very unusual. And the walls came down.

Rahab - She believed that these were the people of God and that God was with them. By faith she saved the spies and was saved from death. Her faith saved her and her family.

Verse 32-40 - Gideon, Samson, Jephthah (Judges 11, David, Samuel, and the prophets...

Barak (Judges 4)??? And not Deborah??? Barak believed that Deborah was God’s woman, and was delivered by faith

These were all to be considered as examples of faithful people. Some were delivered and some suffered unto death. Some had to bear suffering. Some were killed, stones, sawn in two, put to death by sword, fed to wild beasts...

Some of them has to live in the mountains, in deserts, caves, and holes in the ground… for being faithful people.

The world looked at them as garbage and pests. 1 Cor. 4:11-13 - We have become the scum of the world, the dregs of all things until now...

Hebrews 11:38 - And the Bible says… “The world is not worthy of them.”

Acts 7:54-60 - And as the world was stoning Stephen… in rage… Jesus was standing for Him in delight.

Sometimes we see the world coming to faith, to Jesus, coming to Peter to be baptized… 3000 one day… Faith leads to happy and joyous days and the people around us rejoice...

And sometimes… They hate you, slander you, and will kill you… For following God, for following God’s Word and doing life His way.

It seems, all of them had this reality inside of them: “To live is Christ and to die is gain… To live is the Lord and to die is gain...”

Listen: Faithfulness to men is not faithfulness to God. Faithfulness to God is not faithfulness to men.

We will be judged by our faithfulness to God and His Word… not by how many people like us and get along with us...

The people that we have mentioned… how many people like them. (Noah only had 8 people on board with him… lol…)

Some questions I must ask myself: Is it enough for God to love me? Is it enough for God to approve me?

Our faith will lead us to blessed and joyous times and through painful times. This is the way it has always been. There is nothing new under the sun.

What is able to get us through? What will take our eyes, our minds and our hearts forward? If it is not our faith in our God and His promises… I do not know what will get us through.

What will get us to heaven? What will take us to that heavenly city? What will keep us hopeful, what will keep us obedient, what will keep us praying, singing and worshipping, helping one another along the way…?

Without faith… this is impossible. But, faith in God makes all things possible.

God works through faith. He starts our faith and finished our faith, and rewards the faithful. Exercising faith is the only way to please the Lord… and through faith, we will be blessed.

Faith will be tested… and at times we will be considered foolish...

But in the end… we will stand with Christ. We will be with Him. Our rewards will be with Him. And all our present struggles will not be worthy to be compared to the riches and the glory that we will have with Him on that day...

God will reward you. He is coming.

Don’t turn back...

Keep going...

Pray.