Faith in Action: Pursuing Heaven with Obedient Hearts

Introduction

Last week, the author gave us a working definition of what faith is. This week, we move from definition to demonstration. The passage before us gives real, living examples of how faith operates and what it looks like in practice—so that you can recognize it in yourself and in others. Faith is not some abstract, philosophical, or idealistic concept. It’s visible. It’s tangible. It shows up in choices, actions, and endurance. Faith has depth. It has evidence. And it produces outcomes you can measure in real time when you study the lives of those who possess it.

As we examine this rich and lengthy passage, my hope and prayer is that you won’t just admire these examples—you’ll decide to walk by faith. Not faith in the things you want, but faith rooted in your allegiance to the One who calls things that are not as though they were. To this end we will be following 4 identifiable movements within the author’s writing:

I. Faith Walks with God Even When the World Does not Understand (vv. 5-6)

II. Faith Obeys When it Does not Make Sense (vv. 7-12)

III. Faith Lives for a Better Country (vv. 13-31)

IV. Faith Endures Even When the Outcome is not Seen in the Here and Now (vv. 32-40)

I. Faith Walks with God Even When the World Does not Understand (vv. 5-6)

In our first example today we are presented with the life of Enoch whose faith in God was so tightly weaved that God saw him as unsuitable for this world. The kind of faith that causes you to live in close inseparable communion with Him. That kind of faith sets you completely apart from the people around you.

God just felt compelled to take him. This kind of faith does not just believe that God exists, it shapes and molds everything you say and do. Think about what about your behavior and your speech would change if you physically, and tangibly had Jesus next to you 24/7. In order to sin, we have to momentarily forget that God is ever present. Meaning that for the moment of our sinning we must lack faith, which is easy to do because God is an unseen Spirit.

So Enoch had a kind of faith unseen on the earth. And before you brush that off as some fantastic ability or skill that someone else has but you don’t, you have other skills, the author doubles downs by saying.

Hebrews 11:6 LSB

6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

You cannot please Him without a measure of faith. Faith is knowing, and knowing makes you think, act, speak, feel, and live differently than not knowing.

If I think that someone may be sitting on the chair I want to sit in. I look to see, I check and see if someone is there. If I know that someone is sitting there, I automatically select another seat. You see, knowing makes you act differently.

“…for he who draws near to God must believe that He is” (v. 6)

You know that He is, you do not think that He might be. This even affects your mood, your motivations, your fears, etc. But your believe does not stop with His constant abiding existence but that…

“…He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (v.6)

What does it mean to seek Him? It is to actively pursue a relationship with God in a way that involves your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. It is an intentional ongoing effort to know Him.

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares Yahweh…” (Jeremiah 29:13-14)

If seek Him, I will find Him, He will not hide from me.

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” (James 4:8)

and the reward? The reward is God himself. I get His presence.

Psalm 16:11 LSB

11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 34:4 LSB

4 I inquired of Yahweh, and He answered me, And delivered me from all that I dread.

Isaiah 26:3 LSB

3 “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace Because he trusts in You.

The reward is peace, guidance, strength, companionship in the now and then eternal treasures for the life after now.

Application:

You don’t need the world’s applause to be found faithful. Faith walks humbly with God because of an ongoing acknowledgement of His being when everyone else is walking away. And though the world may not understand or notice, God sees. God approves. And God rewards.

II. Faith Obeys When it Does not Make Sense (vv. 7-12)

In these 6 verses we see extraordinary examples of faith

“By faith Noah, being warned about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark…” (v. 7)

“By faith Abraham, when he was called…went out, not knowing where he was going.” (v. 8)

What do these two have in common? There obedience seem irrational from a human standpoint.

Noah was building an oversized cruiseliner of the likes that had never been seen before. Nowhere near any large body of water, while talking about a phenomenon, rain, of the likes no one had ever seen before. His actions were irrational by that world standards.

In fact it was not until the 19th and 20th century, as engineering matured, scholars began comparing Noah’s ark dimensions to modern ratios. They discovered that the ark’s 6:1 length-to-width ratio was optimal for stability pretty much like modern cargo ships.

When men decided to build large ships they actually reinvented the wheel. Had they taken a closer look at Noah’s ark they would have found

A hydrodynamically stable structure

Efficient dimensions for cargo and endurance

A ratio (length:width:height) that balances strength, space, and flotation

They would have saved centuries of slow progress, countless failed sea voyages with sunken ships

They would have saved generations of trial-and-error and dangerous explorations might have been avoided by simply building upon God’s given blueprint

Oh and the money: shipwrecks, redesigns, and engineering failures cost lives and astronomical fortunes. Grounding ship design in divine principles early on could have reduced that. But Noah did not know any of that, he obeyed because he trusted God.

Noah faithfully followed the seemingly preposterous instructions from God and in so doing, saved his family. in obedience, in reverence, and in full view of a watching, mocking world. His obedience wasn’t based on what was visible but on what was said.

Abraham was told to get up and go. “Go where Lord” just start walking, I’ll let you know when you get there. And even when he eventually got there, Abraham lived as a stranger in the very land God promised him. No permanent home. No visible kingdom. Just tents. 

He left his brick and mortar permanent house, likely in a highly developed urban setting, to live in tents for the rest of his life. But he wasn’t just waiting on a plot of ground—he was looking beyond Canaan to something greater, more permanent, more heavenly. This is what Paul had to say about the man.

Romans 4:20–21 LSB

20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to do.

Oh but Sarah, thats my shero right there look at what is said about how she handled faith:

Hebrews 11:11 LSB

11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she regarded Him faithful who had promised.

Did you see that? In essence:

She considered HIM faithful WHO had made the promise

In other words, it was not even about the promise but about the faithfulness of the one who made it. The promise itself was ridiculous. She was old enough to be a great grand mother. Yet she would have a baby, and so she prepared for a baby.

No, none of these people had Enoch type faith but they had faith the size of a mustard seed. And their faith was not just belief, it was movement. It was not just quietly waiting. Their movement towards obedience was propelled by faith.

Faith isn’t about human logic or biological possibility—it’s about the God who makes promises and keeps them. Abraham was old. Sarah was barren. But faith said, “If God said it, then He will do it.” Even when the promise looks impossible, faith holds on.

Application:

Faith doesn’t need all the details—it just needs to hear God. If you wait until obedience makes sense, you’ll never move. Trust means saying “yes” before you see the how, when, or where. Faith isn’t about being in control; it’s about being convinced of the One who is.

And just to be clear, God speaks and tells you to move and obey through Scripture, not mystical voices in the night that cannot be collaborated with Scripture.

III. Faith Lives for a Better Country (vv. 13-31)

In verses 13-16 the author points out that people can be still living with faith when they die, even if by that time they do not receive the things promised. He says,

“All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance...” (v. 13)

They died never receiving the promise, but they did not die disappointed because they understood that nothing, absolutely nothing has the power to prevent God from fulfilling his promises.

So many nominal Christians live “faithfully” with the anticipation of a payoff in this life. That is the very premise of the prosperity gospel, “your best life now”. But real faith that is anchored in God holds on beyond the grave because there is better, so much better beyond what we can experience now. According to the author, these old saints,

“...confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” (v. 13)

They did not live as if this was it, or their final destination. They lived like visitors in a strange land regardless of the level of the accommodations. They did not settle themselves. Why? because according to verse 14 they were looking ahead to a better country, to a better place which is beyond this life.

They moved from where they were and became nomads until they could reach that better place. Remember that the author is writing to Christian Jews who are contemplating returning to their old ways of life. And so he makes his point:

Hebrews 11:15–16 LSB

15 And indeed if they had been remembering that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now, they aspire to a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He prepared a city for them.

They could have turned back, have it easier, but by faith they did not. Deciding instead to take the road less traveled, enduring all kinds of trials for what was ahead.

The disciples faced the same kind of decision making. After Jesus finished teaching some really hard things, like having to eat his flesh and drink his blood, and He ascending to to where he was before as indication of His deity, the multitudes and many of His disciples left Him permanently. Look what happened?

John 6:67–69 LSB

67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 “And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

They recognized that there was nothing to go back to, and to these Jews the writer is telling them, there is nothing to go back to, and to us he is saying, there is nothing to go back to.

And so God was not ashamed of being associated with these old saints as their God because they were looking forward to that city, the city that God has prepared for them. And not just for them but also for us.

Philippians 3:20 LSB

20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

And so the author goes down the list of faithful saints who had this kind of forward-looking, heaven rooted faith:

Abraham, willing to offer up Isaac, the very son though whom the promise was supposed to come. Why? Because God promised it would come through Isaac, so he reasoned, if the boy has to die then God will just have to raise him up from the grave. In fact, so to speak, that is what happened because the kid was as good as dead that knife was coming down.

God took the opportunity to show Abraham and us that a millennia later, another Father would have to offer up His One and only Son, the Son of promise. But this time, there will be no one there to stop it. And like Isaac he would live again, but unlike Isaac, He would truly die and truly be raised again and forevermore Amen.

Isaac, Jacob and Joseph all spoke prophetic blessings not based on what was and what they could see, they spoke of what would be based on the promises of God. God had promised that Israel would spend 400 hard years in Egypt but then He would bring them out:

Genesis 15:13–14 LSB

13 Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your seed will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 “But I will also judge the nation to whom they are enslaved, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.

When Joseph gave instructions about his bones being carried away, Israel was good and cool with Egypt. There was not even a thought or even reason to leave. Yet God had promised, so Joseph made preparations based on that promise.

Numbers 23:19 LSB

19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not establish it?

2 Corinthians 1:20 LSB

20 For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes. Therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

The Israelites at the Red Sea, crossed walls of water on either side. The Red Sea is more than 7200 feet deep in some places. Some sources say that the sea was approximately 650 feet where they crossed. Whatever it is, to one standing in the middle of these two walls, the water went on forever. If that is not traumatic, I do not know what is. And even at Jericho. Walk around the the city 7 times and the walls will fall? These people did not move because of military prowess or strength but faith in God.

How about Rahab the prostitute. The prostitute? how scandalous! yes a prostitute exercised great faith believing in the God of Israel even before meeting Him, how would God not reward her. She risked her life and the life of her family by hiding the spies. What do all of these have in common? Faith that made them move now believing in what will happen later.

Application:

Where is your true home? Where is your treasure? Do you live like that is here and now?

People of faith live like this world is just a layover. They don’t unpack. They make decisions that only make sense if heaven is there real true destination. Faith like this is willing to be misunderstood, mistreated, or abandoned by even loved ones because it is reaching for something better, something eternal.

Don’t get comfortable, you are not home yet.

IV. Faith Endures Even When the Outcome Is Not Seen in the Here and Now (vv. 32-40)

The author begins with:

“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about…” (vv. 32)

After listing name after name—Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab—the author suspends his exposition because the list is inexhaustible and admits that there is not enough time and space to examine the faithfulness of the countless people who have gone before. Faith that God honored.

He gives us a rapid-fire list of men and women who through faith conquered kingdoms, imparted justice, shut the mouth of lions (figuratively and literally), quenched fires (again figuratively and literally), escaped the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, experienced resurrections, etc.

The tone of the author here implies exhaustion at the very size of such a list that would take eons to enumerate adequately.

But look at the immediate result of this kind of faith. Contrary to popular belief, God honoring faith, faith that although the size of a mustard seed moves mountains, that kind of faith by which you are able to please the Lord does not have as its immediate result, houses and cars and wealth and health and prosperity:

• Torture (v. 35)

• Mockings and scourgings (v. 36)

• Chains and imprisonment (v. 36)

• Stoning, sawing, death by sword (v. 37)

• Wandering in deserts and caves (v. 38)

Hebrews 11:37–38 LSB

37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, mistreated 38 (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in desolate places and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

Brothers and sisters I want this world to not be worthy of me how about you? You see these are our examples

“As an example, brothers, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we count those blessed who persevere. You have heard of the perseverance of Job…” (James 5:10-11)

This should be our expectation of God honoring faith where that faith in motion causes suffering, afflictions, inconveniences, and discomforts. Lets be be of the same mind and disposition of the apostle Paul who said,

Romans 8:18 LSB

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

So even though faith feels like you are waiting for answers that elude you in this life, your waiting is not in vain. (Isa 40:31). Your faith, tears painful but joyful obedience–all of it is caught up in the larger eternal plan of the Most Hight.

Faith that endures is faith that sees beyond this life. It’s not looking for immediate outcomes—it’s trusting in ultimate promises. You may not see your reward now. You may suffer without rescue. But if your faith is in Christ, you are not forgotten. God sees. God remembers. And He is preparing something better.

Conclusion:

Faith is not just something you have—it’s something you live. It shows up in how you walk, in how you obey, in how you wait, and in how you keep going when it would be easier to just quit. The people in this passage weren’t perfect, but they were faithful. They believed God, and it shaped every part of their lives. And now, their stories speak to us—not to entertain us, but to move us. So the question is simple: What is your faith leading you to do? Where is your faith leading you to go?

Because if it’s real, it will show. You’ll make decisions that only make sense if heaven is real and God is trustworthy. Those decisions won’t be driven by comfort or applause but by the reality of eternity.

It will move you to preach the gospel, even when it’s inconvenient. It will make you give generously—not because you’re trying to earn anything, but because you’ve already been given everything. You’ll clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and comfort the afflicted, not just to relieve suffering, but to open hearts to the gospel that saves.

You might even use your vacation—not to bask in the sun on the beaches of Acapulco—but to serve on mission for the sake of souls.

Don’t just admire their faith—live it. Let your life say what theirs said: that God is enough, His Word is true, and this world is not your home.