Four Things Produced By a Living Faith
Following Jesus: The Letter to the Hebrews • Sermon • Submitted
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13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.
14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.
15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.
16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
INTRODUCTION:
I. A PROPER OUTLOOK ON THIS EARTHLY LIFE (Hebrews 11:13).
I. A PROPER OUTLOOK ON THIS EARTHLY LIFE (Hebrews 11:13).
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.
A. It is an outlook that refuses to give up. (Hebrews 11:13a).
A. It is an outlook that refuses to give up. (Hebrews 11:13a).
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.
1. God’s timetable is not ours.
a. Delay does not mean that He has failed in His promise.
b. Abraham and Sarah thought God needed help in giving an heir and brought heartache for themselves and their descendants.
B. It is an outlook that “sees” the promise being fulfilled (Hebrews 11:13b).
B. It is an outlook that “sees” the promise being fulfilled (Hebrews 11:13b).
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.
1. God will not fail to fulfill His promises; even death will not stop Him.
2. We must move in faith as though we can “see” (ἰδόντες=to see, sight, seeing.) the promise fulfilled.
a. Being “persuaded of” (πίστιν= ‘to believe in, to have confidence in, to have faith in, to trust, faith, trust.) God’s faithfulness we can embrace his promises.
C. It is an outlook that understands the reality that this world is not our home (Hebrews 11:13c)
C. It is an outlook that understands the reality that this world is not our home (Hebrews 11:13c)
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.
(“welcome” - ἀσπασάμενοι =to be happy about, to anticipate with pleasure.’)
(Psalms 119:19)
19 I am only a foreigner in the land. Don’t hide your commands from me!
(1 Peter 2:11).
11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.
1. We are strangers. (ξένοι = a foreigner, a stranger)
2. We are pilgrims. (παρεπίδημοί= one who comes from a foreign country into a city or land to reside there by the side of the natives)
II. A PLANNED SEEKING OF A HOMELAND (Hebrews 11:14).
II. A PLANNED SEEKING OF A HOMELAND (Hebrews 11:14).
14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.
A. Seeking the true homeland begins with the open confession that this world is not home.
A. Seeking the true homeland begins with the open confession that this world is not home.
1. Open confession is a powerful thing. It is also a Biblical thing.
a. There are 44 Bible references that contain the word “confess” (ὁμολογήσαντες=to acknowledge a fact publicly, to admit, to confess.)
1.) Note Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 19:18; Luke 12:8
9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
18 Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices.
8 “I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels.
B. Seeking the homeland is an unending process.
B. Seeking the homeland is an unending process.
1. As long as we are living on this earth we are to seek (ἐπιζητοῦσιν) it.
2. Even though it is already sealed for us (Rom. 8:38-39), we are to keep our eyes fixed on it (Heb. 12:2).
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
III. A PURPOSEFUL DECISION TO LEAVE THE OLD LIFE (Hebrews 11:15).
III. A PURPOSEFUL DECISION TO LEAVE THE OLD LIFE (Hebrews 11:15).
15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.
A. Part of this purposeful decision involves a refusal to camp in the past.
A. Part of this purposeful decision involves a refusal to camp in the past.
1. We are not to focus on the past, but upon what lies ahead (Phil. 3:13-14).
13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
B. It is possible to go back, but things will never be the same.
B. It is possible to go back, but things will never be the same.
1. Going back to our old way of life will be a miserable experience, because it does not fit with who we are (2 Corinthians 5:17).
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
2. Drawing back from commitment to Christ brings sorrow.
a. Note the apostles’ response to this issue (John 6:68).
68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.
b. Example of personal experience.
C. It is time to decide to leave the old and pursue what God has in store.
C. It is time to decide to leave the old and pursue what God has in store.
1. God has greater things in store for us than we can imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9).
9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
IV. A PREPARED PLACE BUILT BY A PROUD FATHER (Hebrews 11:16).
IV. A PREPARED PLACE BUILT BY A PROUD FATHER (Hebrews 11:16).
16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
A. Our desire must be for that prepared place (Hebrews 11:16a).
A. Our desire must be for that prepared place (Hebrews 11:16a).
16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
1. Jesus is preparing a place for us (John 14:1-3; 16c).
1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.
2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.
2. We must allow the Lord to develop a desire in us for that homeland (Philippians 1:23).
23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.
B. God is not ashamed of us; we must not be ashamed of Him. (Hebrews 11:16b).
B. God is not ashamed of us; we must not be ashamed of Him. (Hebrews 11:16b).
16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
1. Real faith develops a boldness in us.
(Romans 10:11)
11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
(2 Timothy 1:7).
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
CONCLUSION: