Your Story

Intro:

You’ll notice, those of you who have been following along in The Story, we are nearing the close of our sermon series. We have journeyed through Scripture now for the better part of a year and like all good things, it must come to an end. We have discovered the storied past of our faith; revealing God’s faithfulness to his people, connecting promises and prophecy to historic events; observed the institution of traditions, and found significance in the instruction given through the judges and the prophets, and by Jesus and his Disciples.

The Canon is closed, but God is not done. Next week we look at just what the fulfillment of prophecy looks like. We recap the high story, the overarching Kingdom story, the application and terminal objective of all existence, and the tapestry of faith woven throughout history.

Before we finish, however, we would be remised to pass up the opportunity to reflect; not to interject ourselves onto the pages of Scripture, but to see our struggle on the mountain, our time in the desert, all our times of trial and triumph as holy events. Your story. This morning I invite you to find a connection from your life, a personal experience that helped you relate to a story from our series.

At a time that saw persecution on the rise and distinction being drawn between Jews and Christians, we see the same thing being done for our forefathers. In our Scripture, the author of Hebrews is doing just that, linking Israel’s heroes of history to that of their story of faith in a sort of patriotic eulogy. It served as continuity, describing their connection, a pre-new testament version of The Story Sermon Series. The early followers of Christ felt the need to defend themselves from accusations that their way was something new.

Of course, you and I know this, indeed it wasn’t new at all but the fulfillment of Scripture, that which had been a part of God’s story, the high story, since the beginning. In their time, much of our high story was revelation, they lived it. Our story too connects, it’s hard to see how it connects, but if we live a life of faithfulness, we are included into God’s will, THE high story which will in time be fulfilled.

Some of the heroes we look back at in Hebrews chapter 11 predate the commandments that were given to Moses; that the Israelites be set apart as a holy people. Some predate the covenant with Abraham that he would inherit the Holy Land and become the father of nations. All of them predate Jesus and the covenant we have with him, but ALL acknowledge that grace is channeled through faith.

The logical question then, is, what is faith? Well, in v1, the author tells us that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” The rest of the chapter goes on to illustrate its implications for the heroes of Israel. Without this context, the definition alone is lacking.

The fear that many Biblical scholars share is that the bold assertiveness in this celebration of faith has been largely lost to the modern reader. Not only do some secularists cast doubt on accounts of antiquity, but we also have different cultural identities and a celebrated national identity of our own.

Transition:

Our job and my invitation to you today is to take from the context we’re given and apply it, faithfully to our lives in the present. Verse 6 says without faith it is impossible to please God. This has not changed. From Adam to Abraham, from Noah to Moses, and the time of Jesus to today, it is impossible to please God without faith, but he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

So, what does it mean to earnestly seek him? The author spends virtually no time defining that. Instead, he describes it through the stories that would have been so central to the identity of the Hebrews. Their faith history and their national history, as you can see throughout their hall of heroes recorded here in chapter 11, were the same. Because we’re not first century Hebrews and approaching this letter, likely, in a very different manner and spirit than it was received by its original audience, I want to work in reverse order. I want to propose a definition and then describe how those qualities were embodied by some of Israel’s heroes. Someone who earnestly seeks God believes in Him, trusts in Him, and obeys Him.

(Point 1: Someone who earnestly seeks God believes in Him)

The first quality I want to look at is embodied by the first martyr.

Scripture:

Our Scripture says in verse 4, “By faith, Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith, he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of his offerings.”

When we read the account from Genesis 4, Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions, no indication is given of the reason why his offering proved more acceptable. The only hint is that Cain is told that if he did well, he too would be accepted (Gen. 4:7). This suggests that it had to do with Abel’s attitude and manner of life; his belief.

Illustration:

The first thing we’re told in this passage in verse 1 is that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, that’s a belief. It’s not the hope which looks forward with wistful longing; it is the hope that looks forward with utter conviction. Biblical belief requires that one stake his or her life on the truth of the promise.

It sounds hard, but it’s not; in fact, we do it every day. For example, you go to a doctor whose name you cannot pronounce and whose degrees you have never verified. He gives you a prescription you cannot read. You take it to a pharmacist you have never seen before. He gives you a chemical compound you do not understand. Then you go home and take the pill according to the instructions on the bottle, all the while believing that it will help you—that’s sincere faith!

Application:

One of the ways God speaks to us is through conviction, but it’s completely dependent on how you respond. Jesus is the object of our belief. Where faith is resisted or rejected it leads to condemnation. You can be resentful, or you can be repentant. God convicted Abel to bring his sacrifice—no instructions were given. It was a good sacrifice and he was rewarded. Cain’s wasn’t looked on with favor and he resisted conviction. He felt it, otherwise, he wouldn’t have felt passionately, so much so that God consoles him, according to the account in Gen 4 it says he was very angry, his face was downcast. But he was condemned by his rejection of God’s calling and killed his brother for his belief.

Transition:

We’re told in verse 6 whoever would draw near to God must first believe that he exists. If you take a pill believing you will be healed, you have faith in that treatment. The same belief towards God means that you are ready to act based on that faith. We’re told in verses 13-16 that, “God’s people admitted that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. (v14) People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. (v15) If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. (v16) Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

Not only does someone who earnestly seeks God believe in Him, but someone who earnestly seeks God trusts in Him.

(Point 2: Someone who earnestly seeks God trusts in Him)

Scripture:

We’re told each of these heroes died in faith, not having received the things promised. We do not know much about the next individual I want to focus on, our embodiment of trust, but we are told simply that Enoch walked with God; he stood so far above the corruption of his age—and that can’t be easy, but we know he pleased God because the only other thing we’re told in verse 5, is that “he could not be found, because God had taken him away.”

Illustration:

There’s a story that has been told of a man who was crossing a desert in the days of the pioneers. He ran into trouble and was dying of thirst when he spotted a pump near an abandoned shack. He had no water to prime the pump, just then he noticed a jug of water near the shack with a note attached. It read: “There is just enough water in this jug to prime the pump, but not if you drink some first. This well has never gone dry, even in the worst of times. Pour the water in the top of the pump and pump the handle quickly. After you have had a drink, refill this jug for the next man who comes along.”

What would the man dying of thirst do? Following the instructions by priming the pump without first taking a drink would be an exercise of the kind of trust the Bible speaks of. Trusting God requires that one stake his or her life on the truth of the promise. If the man follows the instructions, he takes the chance of pouring out all the water and getting none to drink if the pump fails. So, he must trust that the message is right. He must act in belief, without first receiving, and must trust in the truth of the promise.

Application:

You don’t leave something good unless you trust you’re going to find something better. That’s why the heroes never looked back. When many were turning away from Jesus after he gave them a difficult teaching, he asked his disciples whether they would leave him too? They replied with, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!”

The corruption in the time of Enoch was very real. But he knew that trust is cutting the safety net, not looking back; even if it seems like you haven’t received the thing promised. We live in a corrupt time too, and it’s hard to trust the words of someone we’ve never met, especially when it means pouring out what we think is good for us.

But, “without faith, it is impossible to please him” (v6).

Transition:

Not only is it not enough that someone who earnestly seeks God believes in Him. And that it’s not enough that someone who earnestly seeks God trust in Him. But someone who earnestly seeks God is also obedient to Him.

(Point 3: Someone who earnestly seeks God is obedient to Him)

Scripture:

The final characteristic is obedience, it’s illustrated in Hebrews 11 through Noah and again, his achievements are attributed to faith.

We’re told in verse 7, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.”

His faith developed in response to a specific warning from God. Such godly fear formed an important element in Noah’s faith. It was embodied by immediate obedience to God’s specific commands regarding the ark.

The people failed to accept his message of repentance and for it, they were condemned. The very sight of the ark being constructed was a challenge to their lifestyle and forced on them their own condemnation. And in verse 7 they were, in fact, rejecting the divine warning by their unbelief.

Illustration:

Obedience is a dutiful response born out of conviction. For someone earnestly seeking God, obedience, though not necessarily the easiest, is the clearest. To be convicted of something, you’ve already bought in: you believe, you trust. God is speaking to you. But just like belief and trust, where obedience is opposed or defied it only ever results in pain and suffering.

Jim Holm, a Mennonite pastor said that when he was in third grade, he was condemned to live under the law of nearsightedness. His eyes went bad, and today he’s legally blind. He’s not free, he shares; but that he is in bondage to this law. He hates it, but that doesn’t matter, there is no escape.

One day he discovered there was a greater law that can overcome the law of nearsightedness. It was the law of glasses. When he submitted himself to the law of corrective lenses, the law of nearsightedness was overcome. The law of nearsightedness is still there, but it was overpowered by a greater law that enabled him to see.

Through his point of view, you would think if he wanted to be free, he should throw the glasses away. But that’s not freedom. Only by submitting to the law of glasses does he become free.

Application:

You can’t buy or barter your way into heaven, it sounds simple, but in practice, that’s what many of us are doing. See, adhering to the law doesn’t make you right with God. The law is simply a means to prevent you from slipping further from him. If you keep our civil law, you don’t kill your neighbor, you don’t get a cookie. You just get to stay out here and play with the rest of us.

We have been saved from the penalty of sin, this is called justification, and it came once and for all on a cross at Calvary. We are being saved from the power of sin through sanctification, which is the act of the Holy Spirit within us which creates faith, manifest through obedience. And we will be saved from the presence of sin, called glorification, when we enter the presence of God.

The Spirit’s work in us produces obedience; let me be clear, we should follow the law. But understand this isn’t a quid-pro-quo relationship. For a believer, the law shows us our sin and points us to the Gospel. It doesn’t create sin, Paul told us in Rom 14:23 that’s already everything that doesn’t proceed from faith.

Transition:

If we are indeed corrupt and have no good inside us, being obedient is evidence of salvation, good requires the Spirit. The psalmist says, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you” (16:2). But we can do what looks good. We can be nice to one another, participate in society for the good of mankind because it’s beneficial. You see, that’s still selfish, it’s nothing more than a tower of Babel. That’s not faith, that’s pride.

Egypt learned that distinction the hard way in verse 29. In contrast to the Israelites’ crossing of the Red Sea, the Egyptians who attempted to replicate their trust were met with failure and they were drowned. Although their faithlessness is not explicitly mentioned, it’s clear they lacked obedience and belief.

Conclusion:

At the beginning of our text, Israel’s heroes are commended because of their faith, and in verse 2 they won God’s approval; staking their lives on the truth of his promise, cutting their safety nets; not looking back, and through their dutiful response born out of conviction.

So, what does it mean to earnestly seek God in your life? How is it exemplified through your story as it’s connected to God’s story?

Do you apply the same standard of faithfulness to your life that you expect from the characters of the Bible? You don’t need to be a hero for Jesus to be the object of your belief. How do you respond when you’re convicted of something?

Do you trust that he has the words of eternal life, to the point that you would rather please God over succeeding in a corrupt system to get ahead and even prosper in this life?

Do you love the law, not because you’re inclined to obey, but because you know that obedience is the Holy Spirit within you, perfecting and purifying you?

Faith is not obedience, faith is not trust, and faith is not belief. Faith is belief, which gives birth to trust, which then results in obedience.

Jesus says whoever loves me will obey my commands; he says whoever believes in me will have eternal life.

Challenge:

If your car starts once every three tries, would you say it’s reliable?

If your paperboy skips delivery every Monday and Thursday, is he trustworthy?

If you don’t go to work once or twice a month, are you a loyal employee?

If your refrigerator stops working for a day or two every now and then, do you say, “Oh, well, it works most of the time”?

If your water heater provides an ice-cold shower every now and then, is it dependable?

If you miss a couple of loan payments every year, does the bank say, “Ten out of twelve isn’t that bad”?

If you fail to worship God one or two Sundays a month, would you expect to be called a faithful Christian?

We expect faithfulness and obedience from things and other people. Does not God expect the same from us? The problem is that in our religious activities we see ourselves as volunteers rather than duty-bound. For a volunteer, almost anything seems acceptable, but for a bondservant who is duty-bound, faithfulness is expected.

I want to encourage all of you today, if you feel hung up on this teaching, don’t abandon it. If you watched to the end of this video or you tuned in here on Sunday morning, you’ve got some of these qualities going for you. But where is God convicting you? More importantly, what’s at stake if it’s ignored? Remember, both Cain and Abel were convicted, Noah and his countrymen were called, but they, like Enoch responded with belief, trust, and obedience; whereas everyone who resisted, rejected, opposed, and defied God’s call were met with condemnation. Grace is channeled through faith in Jesus and he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Where is God convicting you in your life? How is God calling you? Are you waiting for churches to open back up or are you finding a way to love your neighbors? Have you participated in a virtual group or taken the opportunity to reacquaint yourself with Scripture? Do you consider yourself a bondservant or a volunteer?

I invite you to pray with me now; wherever you are physically, wherever you are spiritually, know that God is with you. Know that God goes before you and stays behind, there is nowhere you can be that he is not. And he hears your prayer.

Close:

Dear heavenly Father, because we now, in response to you, and in the name of your Son, call on you, do not let us remain indifferent to your Word—to your story. We ask that you awaken within us obedience that makes us useful proclaimers and hearers of your Word; Make us earnest seekers of you. Because we believe in you, we want to trust you, we want to obey you; bring an end to everything that is too weak and too hard in us, that we may do so without struggle; cast out all the competing desires of our hearts, that we may wholly and happily trust you!

And grant that this does not happen without you, but in your holy presence, in the power of your Spirit, and to your glory! We ask the same for all congregations that have gathered at this hour and on this day, both here and elsewhere, for the same purpose; that what we do here, with our praying, singing, preaching, and hearing, may not be in vain but would be to your honor, and the awakening, enlightenment, and elevation of us all, for the sake of Jesus Christ, amen.

Benediction:

Praise God for his faithfulness;

Praise God for the faithfulness of our forefathers;

May we too, faithfully preserve His story for the generations to follow.

And may the Peace of God, which transcends all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

And may the Holy Spirit, sent in his name teach and convict us of what is good;

to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.