Hebrews 11 - Faith Introduction

I care about you. I care about your faith. I wan for you to stay faithful and keep growing in faith. I know that doing so is the best thing in the world for you. I want the best for you.

This year, focus on Faith. I think we ought to reexamine what we mean by that word. What do you think of when you hear that word?

Strong feeling something is true, even without evidence? (If that feeling goes away, does it mean it’s not true and never was?)

“Have faith” - positive thinking towards something

Simply belief in God’s existence?

None of these fully capture what the NT means by faith.

What is it really?

Faith is more than something that happens in your head and your heart. It’s an Understanding and acceptance that Jesus is King. Then Because he is king I will be loyal to the King.

When you have faith you are loyal no matter what, you are someone that will “hold fast” as Hebrews says a lot.

The difficulty of the circumstance has tempted them to let go of faith in Jesus. So the writer of Hebrews reminds them that Jesus is greater than anyone or anything else they could turn to, and to not throw away faith in Him or else you’d be lost and away from God.

We will study how these great men and women of faith in Hebrews 11 did so, and how they did it even being people who had flaws and struggles. But before we see what they did “By Faith” we need to make sure we have the right understanding of what faith actually is.

Hebrews 10:32-39

V.32-33

Remember how in the past your loyalties were tested, but you endured and overcame it all? Do it again!

And you stood your ground next to those that were under fire, even though you could’ve pulled back and avoided any trouble. Instead you valued your brothers and sisters commitment in faith too, you were loyal to them because of your loyalty to God!

V.34

Whenever the Jews would turn away from Judaism, they were often “disinherited” by their parents. They would be stripped of their inheritance and treated as if they’d died. They would be told as we have maybe heard “You’re dead to me”…that’s no easy thing to lose your family one way or another, but then also lose what would have been rightfully yours to inherit. For many it put their future into uncertainty, no guarantees of anything.

You did great, you were what faithfulness in the face of adversity looks like! But that was a while ago…life hit you harder, harder than most...and now you’re tired…and thinking “It was OK to suffer for a short while, but I didn’t think it’d be this long. I didn’t know it’d be hard still. I didn’t think I’d still be facing these things…I didn’t know it’d hurt like this...”

But remember why you were willing to face it the right way, you had faith! Remember why you did it joyfully. You said “So what! I have something so much better from God, I know what God has prepared for me, I know God is a keeper of promises and He is faithful! This stuff was going to go away anyway but you can’t take away my real treasure and family because that last forever!” If you remember that you can be loyal and unshakable to King Jesus.

Can you joyfully accept losing things or people or anything in this life? Anyone can, but not everyone will. You have to want that to be you, because you know the future and understand what is lasting and important! The writer is saying you’ve done it before, now do it again!

(PPT) Remember what you have in Jesus is reliable in an unreliable world, it supersedes anything you could have here, and it’s not a gamble like most things you undertake in this world but instead, you can know that you have it! The reward can be counted on but that is only because Jesus can be counted on.

You might say that the fact that we can trust in Jesus to that degree is the real prize, and you’d be right.

V.35

No one who is saved “accidentally” becomes unsaved. People throw out trash, things that are worthless to them or things that disgust them. Satan can’t work on you to the point that it’s “too hard”, God doesn't ever ignore you, but these are the excuses we use because it helps us to “justify” our betrayal of Jesus. Unbelief is throwing away your confidence.

(PPT) “Reward” - it’s not something that you earn. And if we misunderstand faith, we would think that. Faith is NOT perfection. But there is something God offers for those that are striving to live by faith.

V.36

(PPT) Faith requires PATIENCE

Illustration: “Old growth 2x4s vs new ones. I saw pictures of 2x4s from trees that had a long time to grow mature VS ones at the store now. The grain on the older ones has so many more rings to it that are tightly bunched up, and it’s stronger because it grew slowly and endured years and many changes in weather. The newer ones are cut sooner, produced faster, and the rings are a lot more separated, seemingly leaving it weaker than the older. The weaker ones are rushed, the stronger ones took time and patient growth.

To live the life of a Christian means you must be committed to lifetime of patient endurance, and to hard work at times. Becoming a Christian isn’t a measly “get out of jail card”. Yes we get rescued from sin and hell. But we aren’t taken away out of this world yet. We remain here now as people of faith. The world is hard enough to live in at times, but for a Christian, it does come with other sets of hardship.

However, the reason that it’s a better life is because now it's a life with purpose! And to live a purposeful life you have to have the endurance to finish, you won’t accidentally do it.

V.37-39

The opposite of faith = shrinking back and going back to trust and pride in oneself; abandoning God to take care of it all yourself. Faithlessness is not just denying the existence of God, it’s also denying His way is the best way.

You CAN fall away, you can lose and throw away what you have in God. You’re not saved forever if you abandon who saved you.

They’re tempted to “shrink back” and go back to what they can see: temple worship, Law of Moses. Because it’s harder to trust in what isn’t seen, they might say what you and I think sometimes “it’s easier how it was before, why can’t it just be like that?” But Jesus would say in Luke 9:62 “…No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

In order to receive the reward, you must be courageous not cowardly; patient not double-minded and hypocritical; you have to be continually committed and loyal.

(PPT) Faith includes Unshakable commitment in response to God’s Grace.

The reward can be counted on --- CAN YOU?

Now, Chapter 11 can make an even greater impact on us. These men and women are brought up as a point to say “Don’t draw back in fear, look at what is possible BY FAITH with these great people. Look at what is possible BY FAITH from people with flaws and shortcomings! Look at what comes from the result of living BY FAITH!”

Hebrews 11:1-6

V.1

(PPT) Faith is evidence of expectation! When you see someone living by faith you know they confidently expect that Jesus is on the throne, that He blesses His people, and that He is coming back to bring us with Him into eternity!

The action of Faith, my loyalty and commitment to Jesus is me placing myself under His task and promises because that’s what I trust. It’s putting my full confidence in what God has built and is building - and when you have your faith in Him you’re saying that I don’t even have to see it all to have confidence in Him, I’ve know enough about what God has already done to be confident in what He has yet done.

You can’t see: Jesus on the throne, heaven, the future play-by-play — but you're confident in it as a Christian! Therefore, my actions will show my loyalty to Jesus. My actions will be evidence of my expectation.

Faith is living righteously here in the NOW with confidence in He who holds the future! Staying committed now because of full trust in God for the future.

V.2-3

There was a time when nothing we see here existed, and God made everything we see out of what is unseen! God isn’t restrained by what you can and can’t see. But sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking He is, especially when we see and focus on the painful things of this life.

(PPT) Here’s the point: since God isn’t constrained or limited by what you see with your eyes, then don’t focus all your attention on what you see! Look beyond what is right here and what you’re dealing with and whats going on in this world. Be more confident in the God you can’t see.

JESUS DID THAT TOO! Hebrews 12:1–2“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

V.4

Every time in this sequence people DID something by faith because faith ALWAYS includes action on the part of the faithful!

Even though Abel is dead, his faith still preaches: Do His will despite what others feel and despite what other things COULD happen.

V.5

Even though he couldn’t see God, he lived to please the one he couldn’t see. Then one day, he did see Him.

Live for God who you can’t see, live for the King who is on the throne you can’t see, and one day you’ll be in the throne room.

One day, everyone will see Him. So live your life in light of that reality RIGHT NOW.

V.6

“draw near” - To be in the presence of God, to be where safety is, where worship is, where goodness is, where God’s people are, I must:

(PPT) Seek, even when I can’t see.

Seek by hearing Him, obeying Him, fully loyal to the one without any faults.