Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Introduction: Who am I… Name, born in Bremerton, moved and lived in VA & NM, graduated CK in ‘94 and then OC in ‘96… moved to CA then Europe and back to here in 2001 and been here ever since … family, church where I pastor,… how long I’ve been connected to Thrive (5-7yrs).

Tell me your name and then any instances where you had to put your faith in someone or some thing?

How did that make you feel?

What was the outcome?

onw of the main intents of the book is to encourage those who are Hebrews, following Jesus… that He is the great and better covenant… that all of what we read in chp 11 were looking forward to.

You all have been in chapter 11 for a little bit… what is faith?

What are some of the takeaways you have been getting from your time in Hebrews 11?

Hebrews 11:1-2 “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.

For by this our ancestors were approved.”

They were approved...

It starts with God creating the universe

Abel

Enoch (Hebrews 11:6- super special verse to me)

Noah

Abraham (in leaving Ur… offering up Isaac)

Sarah

Jacob

Joseph

Moses

Children of Israel and Rahab (this is us tonight!)

I want to suggest that faith is NOT ONLY belief… but it would be something closer to our word of allegiance.

It is a belief mixed with a loyalty, faithfulness, and an obedience.

It is not just an intellectual comprehension but there is a value of action and obedience associated with it.

Let’s read our text this evening- Hebrews 11:29-31 “By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land.

When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being marched around by the Israelites for seven days.

By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.”

Abrahamic Righteousness

In Gen 12:1-3 “The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Gen 15:1-6 “After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield; your reward will be very great.

But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.”

Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”

He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.”

Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

Abrahamic righteousness

“But now apart from the law (Moses) the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets (Abraham/Torah) testify.”

-Romans 3:21

Dimensions of Abrahamic Righteousness

1) Loyalty (Hesed) to the LORD (Josh.

24:2; Gen. 12:1-8)

2) Trust (Amen) the LORD even when it makes no sense (Gen.

15:1-6)

3) Keep (Shama) the LORD's way of righteousness (Tsedekah) and justice (Mishpat) Job 31

4) Look to the LORD’s provision (Yireh) in Messiah (Gen.

22:1-14)

The sin pattern is “see—take”.

The blessing pattern is “hear—follow” (also the pattern of faith)

This is the pattern of faith that we see the Pastor of Hebrews talking to us about.

Israelites and the Red Sea

It’s a powerful story: you may or may not be familiar with what happened… but what we see in our text in Hebrews is that they walked through the sea on dry ground!

Exodus 14:10–31 (CSB)

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians coming after them!

The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help.

They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?

What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians?

It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid.

Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”

The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to break camp.

As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

As for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen.

The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

Then the angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them.

The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them.

It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces.

There was cloud and darkness, it lit up the night, and neither group came near the other all night long.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea.

The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land.

So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.

The Egyptians set out in pursuit—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen—and went into the sea after them.

During the morning watch, the Lord looked down at the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian forces into confusion.

He caused their chariot wheels to swerve and made them drive with difficulty.

“Let’s get away from Israel,” the Egyptians said, “because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.”

So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth.

While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the Lord threw them into the sea.

The water came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, plus the entire army of Pharaoh that had gone after them into the sea.

Not even one of them survived.

But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.

That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses.

Waters in the Bible are more often than not communicate chaos.

Gen 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”

The Hebrew people were not a seafaring people… it speaks to chaos, disorder, disaster…

They had an army on one end that was going to crush them and the waters on the other side where they would be swallowed up… and God does the impossible.

He parts the water and they move in-between chaos, disorder, and disaster on DRY GROUND.

The LORD fights for you.

They weren’t just fleeing Egypt… but they were moving from captivity, oppression, and inevitable destruction to a land of promise.

A land that God speaks through Moses and says in Deut 11:10-12 “For the land you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated by hand as in a vegetable garden.

But the land you are entering to possess is a land of mountains and valleys, watered by rain from the sky.

It is a land the Lord your God cares for.

He is always watching over it from the beginning to the end of the year.”

It’s a place where God’s provision is abundant and His excess overflows… what was the call… obedience, move through the chaos waters on dry ground.

Isaiah 43:1-5 “Now this is what the Lord says— the one who created you, Jacob, and the one who formed you, Israel— “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine.