A Faith That Endures

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Introduction

Main Text

Hebrews 11:1–10 ESV

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. 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. 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. 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. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:11–16 ESV

By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 11:17–31 ESV

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

I want to focus our efforts today on the first two verses of this passage, but I want to lightly draw in the examples listed in the rest of what we just read.

Let me first connect the previous chapter to what we are reading now, because this chapter is often preached completely out of it’s context. Now, in most instances, that’s not a great idea, but this passage does have the legs to stand on its own for the most part, so I’m not upset that people do that with this passage, but since we are going through this book as a whole, I want to focus our time on looking at this as a complete letter.

With that said, we finished up last week with the fourth warning found in the book of Hebrews, where the Author warned his readers that rejecting Jesus results in hell. So the author says, don’t turn away from the one that can save you, instead you need to persevere in your faith.

And he ends in Chapter 10, verse 39 with an encouragement that he doesn’t believe that those who are receiving this letter are those that will turn back, but instead they are those that do have faith and truly do possess salvation.

Now in Chapter 11, he is going to give them examples of what this type of faith, this enduring faith, this persevering faith, looks like. So he lists out the heroes of the faith - Noah, Abraham, Moses, etc. And he’s essentially saying, hey if you need encouragement, if you need to a model or example of what this enduring faith looks like, look to them! They did it!

What do we learn about a faith that endures from this chapter?

An Enduring Faith…

Hebrews 11:1–2 “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.”

1. An Enduring Faith Looks Forward

The definition of faith is the confident assurance of things hopes for…this is looking forward, not backward. We hope for things that haven’t yet come to pass.

Example - If you are married, you can hope for a better marriage, but you can’t hope for a better wedding…the wedding has already happened. It was what it was. But a better marriage is still off in the future.

Faith looks forward, it hopes for things that haven’t happened, it hopes for things you haven’t received. It’s forward facing.

Too Often We Spend Our Time Looking At Our Faults - Now, I want to be clear, if you sin, you most certainly should repent and turn back toward God, but if you are spending your time obsessing over your faults, that’s harmful to your spiritual life as well.

God wants us to look toward him and the hope that we have in him. The author of Hebrews has spent the majority of this letter exhorting us to keep our eyes on our Great High Priest, Jesus.

2. An Enduring Faith Is Stands Firm

Faith Is The Assurance… Notice that an enduring faith is confident. Confident in the face of persecution and death. This is the author’s point in this passage. He’s essentially saying, “Even though you are being persecuted, don’t abandon your faith, your faith is what will get you through these difficulties.

Faith Is The Substance - It’s the firm foundation of a reality that you do not have yet, but it’s so firm, so real, that there is no doubt that it is true. It’s solid ground.

Faith Shouldn’t Waver In Hard Times. Just because you hit the wall doesn’t mean you need to lose your faith. Hard things will happen to you. And listen, I’m not saying you won’t struggle through them yourself. You likely will! But your faith is not based on situations, but on God. Even if all you can do is stand, stand! Hold firm.

It’s Not About The Size Of Your Faith, It’s About The Object Of Your Faith! Often, our faith wavers because we’ve placed our faith in the wrong thing. We get confused and think our faith is too small, but in reality, it’s just misplaced.

You can put a lot of faith in thin ice, but that doesn’t mean it will hold you up! Where you place your faith matters. Put your faith in God and not in your circumstances.

Example - I had a situation years ago where I lost my job. I had bills to pay. I obviously became very worried about my future. Now in that moment, I thought to myself, Lord what are you doing to me? I questioned Him, but I didn’t stop believing in Him. I didn’t stop believing that he was good and as it turned out, I ended up with a new job the next day. My faith didn’t waver, but I did feel confused, hurt, and a bit lost. But my faith remained in Him.

No matter where you might find yourself today, just know that God is still good. He is still with you. In spite of your circumstances, you can trust God. Keep your faith in Him.

3. An Enduring Faith Sees The Unseen

“…the conviction of things not seen” - When you are exercising your faith, you can’t go by what can be seen. When it comes to salvation, think about it this way, you can’t physically see heaven. Heaven is the unseen realm. It’s invisible to our eyes. But a person with faith believes and sees heaven as their home, even though they can’t see it with their eyes.

Faith Sees God Working In Our Circumstances - Somewhere in the unseen areas of our circumstances, God is working. It may not be visible to the naked eye, but look closely. God is at work. Even in our hardest of moments. What is he doing? Sometimes if you ask him, he will tell you. Other times, he is silent on his intentions, but don’t mistake his silence for lack of caring. He cares for you, which is why He is with you in the midst of these storms.

Jesus can be trusted in the storms of life. Many people have the idea that storms come to their lives only when they have disobeyed God, but this is not always the case. Jonah ended up in a storm because of his disobedience, but the disciples got into a storm because of their obedience to the Lord. - Warren W. Wiersbe

What you can’t see in the Storm is often Jesus walking towards you. If you remember the story, the disciples thought they saw a ghost. Never judge your circumstances by what your eyes tell, look for Jesus in those circumstances and let him speak peace to your storm.

Our Faith Endures When We Trust God Fully - Many people try to give God a small portion of their heart. They give him a room. But they refuse to give the whole thing. They refuse to fully surrender.

And here's why this matters. This kind of faith doesn't just change what happens inside of you. It changes the story of your life. Look at verse 2..."

Faith Fuels Our Testimony

Hebrews 11:2 ESV

For by it the people of old received their commendation.

Commendation Means Good Report. It’s conveying the idea that they received their good testimony because of their faith.

Our testimonies are marked by our faith. Look at what it says about the saints of old in this passage:

By Faith Abel Offered A More Acceptable Sacrifice

By Faith Enoch Was Taken Up To Heaven And Pleased God

By Faith Noah Constructed An Ark Saving His Household

By Faith Abraham Obeyed God When He was Called To Go To A Land I’ll Show You

By Faith Sarah Received The Power To Conceive

By Faith Abraham Offer Up Isaac

By Faith Isaac Invoked Future Blessings

By Faith Jacob Blessed His Sons

By Faith Joseph Gave Directions Concerning His Bones

By Faith Moses Chose To Be Mistreated. By Faith, He Kept The Passover.

And the list goes on. Faith does something! It’s active and when you exercise it, you will have a testimony of what God does through your faith to follow you into eternity!

But before we go any further, let me share with you a general principle we find in the Scriptures.

The Scriptures Are Honest About Our Shortcomings

The Scriptures clearly show the sins and shortcomings of all of the “heroes of the faith”. If you read through the narratives, you will find that David, Samuel, Jacob and so on all had faults. The people mentioned in our passage had faults as well.

Noah - Yes, he built the ark, but after it was all said and done, he planted a vineyard to get naked and drunk. It was scandalous. One of his sons ended up cursed because of this incident. It was a mess.

Abraham - the father of our faith. He shacked up with the slave girl, Hagar, in order to try and bring about God’s promises on his own. He then sends them away in disgrace. He also lied to people about his wife being his sister. A real role model right?

Moses - Yes, Moses was used by God to deliver his people out of slavery in Egypt, but do you remember what Moses did about 40 years before that? Yeah, he murdered an Egyptian in cold blood.

The Bible Doesn’t Hide Sinfulness - Throughout the Scriptures, the great leaders of Israel and the prophets and apostles and everyone in between are shown to be completely human. Their lives are marked by failures.

What Does Hebrews Show Us?

In the retelling of theses stories, we see one important fact…their failures are not mentioned! Nowhere in this passage is Noah’s failures mentioned, only his faith and this leads me to my last point…

We Aren’t Defined By Our Failures, But By Our Faith!

Our Faith In Christ Is What Defines Our Life. Even if you were a murderer like Moses, your life isn’t going to be defined by your mistakes and failures, but by your faith.

Faith Is What Pleases God - In verse 6 we find out that without faith, it is impossible to please God. God is pleased when we exercise our faith in Him. He loves it and He then tells our story based on faith.

Look again at what he does. It’s Noah’s faith that defines him. It’s the faith of Abraham that defines him. It’s the faith of Moses that defines Him.

Their identity is not in what they failed to do, but what they did by faith!

Your Failures Are Forgiven And Forgotten - Some of us have a long list of failures in our lives. We can look back and see failure after failure. Failed relationships, failed careers, failed marriages, failed parenting choices, failure in morality, failures in sin. We all have failures.

We talked a few weeks back about the difference between guilt and shame. We feel guilt because we have done something wrong and we feel shame when we think something is wrong with us. We move from I have sinned, to I am my sin. It becomes our identity.

Don’t Make Your Sin Your Identity. Your identity is found through faith in Christ.

If our failures are going to hinder us forever, we might just as well never have taken the first step. But God knew all about us and He still loved us and desired His eternal best for us. - A. W. Tozer

Some of you have let your failures define you. God gives you a new identity through faith in Christ.

Your Failures Will Not Determine Your Destiny!

Your Faith In Christ Will Determine Your Destiny!

Do you want to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus? Put your faith in Him! He will wash your failures, your sin, your shame away from you. He will cleanse you by the power of your blood. Make Him your great High Priest and boldly draw near to the throne of grace where you will find mercy in your time of need.

Let’s stand.