It has to make a difference. Here we see another side of the life of faith. Later in the day that Russert died Howard Fineman of Newsweek magazine made this observation during a television interview: "Tim Russert Did Not Pursue False Gods, He Pursued the Real One.". 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 (Heb 11:6). George Muller was another man who made Gods promises real by faith, and proved in a visible way the reality of the invisible God. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval. Faith taken seriously makes a difference in our world and changes the way we live. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah (Gen 5:21 22). The difficulty of the verse lies in the meaning of the words translated (NASB) as assurance (being certain of, NIV) and (NASB) conviction (certain, NIV). To save items to a SermonFolder, please sign in to your account. Hebrews 11 begins by telling us what faith is: Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Heb 11:1). Second, if you have trusted in Christ as Savior, live each day to seek His approval. You are watching the official sermon video of Sierra Bible Church. Sermon: Living By Faith in God - Hebrews 11. Pew Forum director Luis Lugo says, "You no longer have an alignment of affiliation, belief and behavior. The seed sown on the rocky ground sprang up quickly, but it also quickly withered and died when trials hit. It is about the faith and that faith must be in Jesus. When he is dead, it shall be sent. Enoch, the world as you know it will be washed away. ii. That's what Tim Russert said to Jon Meacham when he invited him to appear on Meet the Press to debate noted atheist Christopher Hitchens. If you sense that the person is a hypocrite, conveying that he is something that he really is not, you will keep your distance. He will establish the truth, right every wrong, and bring the whole world to justice. It has to change the way we live. That's as fine a tribute as you are likely to find, and not just about a public figure. Verse 1 says that faith has "substance." Faith is tangible, even though it is invisible. Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-4 Denomination: Baptist Summary: Every body has some type of faith, people have faith in many different things, when we get into our car we have faith that it will crank and get us to our destination, we have faith that our doctor knows what he or she is doing, every body has this mindse 1 2 3 4 Next "WHAT IS FAITH?" Since Gods promises are given in specific contexts, how can we know which of them apply to us now? Light shines into the darkness, and we have reason to hope that the reign of death may not be forever. They just aren't brave enough to say it. Neither type of faith brought forth fruit to maturity. Bible Study & Sermon Videos; hebrews-11:2; Hebrews-11:2. A.W. He "was not" because God took him off the earth and allowed him to enter heaven without experiencing death. Scriptures: 1. Such faith, as we will see in the numerous examples of Hebrews 11, is down to earth and practical. July 29, 2012. God invites you to live in the constant, conscious enjoyment of His presence. So in developing the theme of enduring faith, our authors first point is that faith is the means of realizing spiritual reality. Enoch walked with God and went straight to heaven. It's just not in us to believe those things. That means more than that heaven is a place of great happiness. The phrase is appropriate because this story is dark and tragic from beginning to end. Two seemingly paradoxical things are true of faith: On the one hand, it is our responsibility to believe the gospel, because God commands us to believe (Mark 1:15). This faith lays hold of Gods promises and the reality of the unseen world, obediently applying those realities to present trials. Faith does allow us to overcome the struggles we face in life. God is the great peace-maker: when we make peace we are walking with Him. Death is like a river that separates us from the presence of God in heaven. Enoch got through his early years without too much trouble. He wanted Meacham, an Episcopalian, to defend the Christian faith against the sulfuric criticism of Christopher Hitchens. Here is a second principle for close relationships: Truth is the basis for trust. 2:4). Other Scriptures Referenced: Acts 17, John 20. . It is possible to walk with God, in a world that defies Him. 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Without faith it is impossible to please Him (11:6). What is the reward? When Noah entered the ark, his wife went with him. Hebrews 11:1-16 NASB. For by it the men of old gained approval. The clear implication is that the approval comes from God, as the rest of the chapter shows (11:4, 5, 6, 39). If you look at the end of Luke 3, you will see that this is the line of descent into which Jesus Christ was born. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Enoch's journey led him to God, and when he found God, he walked with him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.. That's the power of a godly leader. the writer also was confident that the church would be able to stand the test. One brother kills another in an outburst of rage and envy. Here, at any rate, he is facile princeps (easily foremost) among the divines of the Puritan schoolManton's Worksoffer real literary gold to the reading public.'- J.C. RYLEThe outstanding preaching ministry of Thomas Manton . The Greek word, hypostasis, occurs twice in Paul in the sense of confidence (2 Cor. What else could compare with this? 12:2). But, I have since pondered his question many times and I have sought to answer it. You can only understand that by faith, because no one was there to observe it. That you are God's creature, that you have rebelled, that he is holy and you are guilty as a sinner before him, that he sent Jesus Christ into the world to atone for sin, that by believing in Jesus his righteousness and the virtue of his death are imputed to you so that your guilt is swept away and you are accounted righteous in God's sight, that, if you believe in Jesus, you have been made a new creature in Christ, have been given a summons to live a new life and the power to live it, that when you die and your body is laid in the ground, your soul will be immediately and gloriously in the presence of God in heaven, and Jesus Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead and to vindicate those who have trusted in him, and that endless bliss and perfect satisfaction of human life, body and soul, awaits, at the resurrection, those who have trusted Jesus Christ. Therefore, now is a good time to tackle the subject of faith. If you feed your flesh and your doubts, they will grow. Please include this statement on every copy distributed: By Colin S. Smith. Have Faith, Hebrews 11:1-3 - September 5th, 2021. Since God created all things from nothing, then everything owes its existence to God who spoke creation into existence. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.. He called his favorite son, Esau, and requested that he bring back some . Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023. Since the day that Enoch began to know God, he must have been thoroughly enthralled at God's goodness to reward him. Rick is a consultant, conference leader, communicator, and coach. Enosh lived 905 years (Gen 5:11). Faith connects you to God; it is your admission that you are dependent upon Him; that your hope is in Him. Why? The writer of Hebrews 11 would surely say agree to that. I did what I did because I believed it to be biblical and thus pleasing to God, but it resulted in a number of people trying to get me fired. As they burned him at the stake, he died singing! By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him (Heb 11:5). Both faith and works come from God. And God honored them because of their faith. It has sustained the people of God through thousands of years in every sort of difficulty. Bur Hebrews 12 says they had not resisted unto blood. The first verse of Genesis presents you with a crucial choice: If God created everything that is, then He is the sovereign of the universe. What a loony tune!. 1) Faith: Being Certain of What You Do Not See - Hebrews 11:1-2 2) Creation: Understanding the Power of God's Word - Hebrews 11:3 3) Abel: Giving God the First Portion - Hebrews 11:4 4) Enoch: Believing God's Goodness - Hebrews 11:5-6 5) Noah: Heeding God's Warnings - Hebrews 11:7 6) Abraham (1a): Following God's Leading - Hebrews 11:8 This ancient story may seem a long way from the realities of your life today. Those who kept their faith in the LORD in these awful times would live. So, this was soon after the death of Adam, and before any of the other patriarchs died. Genesis 1:1, Habakkuk 2:4, Hebrews 10:38, Hebrews 11, Hebrews 11:1-16, Hebrews 11:1-3, Hebrews 1:1-3, Hebrews 11:8-16, Hebrews 12, John 1:14, Romans 8:24, Sermon Topics: Hebrews 11:17-19 I. Picture Seth, and Enosh, and Kenan, and Mahalalel, and Jared, and Enoch, and Methuselah, and young Lamech all gathering round the old man. Today we look at the 11th chapter of Hebrews which is often known as the faith chapter. In it are many examples of people who remained faithful to the LORD under the most difficult and impossible of situations. Pastor Colin Smith preached this sermon on the faith of Abraham from Hebrews 11:8-16 as part of the series "Living By Faith." Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Last week we looked at Abel and saw from his story that faith listens to God. Some of the things that God says are not easy to accept. You are calling God a liar if you do not trust Him, and you cannot be close to a liar. Enoch was taken soon after Adam had died. Most of us will be taken through the river. Pink)! If the story of Cain and Abel seems short, the story of Enoch is minuscule by comparison. 9:4; 11:17), and three times in Hebrews (1:3; 3:14; and here). Certainly Cain represents all those people in the world who believe they can make up their own religion. The Creator of heaven and earth; the sovereign Lord of the universe is your heavenly Father, and He is so intensely interested in you, so intimately involved in your life, that He would choose to walk with you! By any standards this is a remarkable story. And we must exercise the faith we have or it will begin to wither and die on the vine. He trusted in God. Then he adds, "That's a lot to believe." In fact, Adam was still living when Enochs son Methuselah was born and when Enochs grandson Lamech was born! Abel knew that a life must be laid down because God had revealed it, back in the garden of Eden when He made garments of skins to clothe Adam and Eve. Ha! (Amos 3:3). Hebrews 11 demonstrates that the life of faith is not a rarity. Noah was a righteous man who had great faith in God. And He says to us, I go to prepare a place for you andI will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also (Jn 14:2-3). And in such a world, Enoch walked with God! J.D. The text says it is the substance of things hoped for. We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:9). Abel found the righteousness that comes by faith. He literally gave away all of his money and possessions and, by faith, founded an orphanage in Bristol, England. There is much we don't know that we wish we knew. Just after I became pastor here, I had to take a stand on a matter that resulted in a lot of conflict. Faith comes down to us as a gift from God. After telling us about Enoch who walked with God, Hebrews says, Whoever would draw near to God.. were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. This is the first of 19 uses of by faith in this chapter. The story of Enoch is told back in Genesis 5, where God records the generations from Adam to Noah, whose story we will look at next week. From 1977-1992 he was the pastor of Lake Gregory Community Church in Crestline, California. the Father chose that all things be summed up in the Son, It is this Son who became incarnate in Jesus Christ. Colin S. Smith. The order is crucial: first the man, then the offering. Along with the divinity of the Holy Spirit, we have the doctrine of the Trinity. Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you." See More Details. The prevailing current worldview, that matter always existed and that the current universe, including man, happened by sheer chance over billions of years, is based on blind faith, because there is no evidence to support it. 3By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not seen." (Hebrews 11:1-3) I'm focusing today's sermon on our . He went out, not knowing where he was going. His faith saved his entire family. Dont go looking for a God of your own imagination. Enoch lived with a profound awareness that judgment was coming. But Enoch did not go through it. When you walk, you see things you dont notice from a car. Again, this is clear from the numbers in Genesis 5. His standard for living is clearly laid out in scripture. It proves the reality of the unseen world. Some modern translations of Genesis read Genesis 1:1 by When God began to create the heavens and earth, the earth was without form and void as though God arranged matter that was already there. After going through the roll call of these saints, the example of Jesus is set forth in the 12th chapter as the most excellent example of enduring faith, The writer of Hebrews wrote to warn the church he addressed not to drift away from the truth and commit apostacy. The word confidence itself means full of faith. A Matter of Faith: My Sermon on Hebrews 11 Faith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (John 1:14). It will sustain you in the trials that you face right now! "Hebrews 11 tells us what it means to have faith and obtain life. We live in a world that is far from God and all of us are going to die. For by it,'' that is, by faith, ''the elders obtained a good report. Hebrews now refers to creation itself. And John MacArthur, with his rich, expository style of preaching, draws out the lessons we can learn from each of them. By faith they saw the unseen God as more real than the enraged king standing in front of them, threatening to roast them alive. Ha! You would think that a discovery such as human DNA, which shows amazing design, would cause all scientists to fall down in worship before God. Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon (Isa 55:6, 7). As long as there remain certain natural prospects, faith does not get on even as easily (if I may say so), as when all natural prospects fail. How true that is. He is known as "The Father Of The Faithful. 2:10; James 2:14-26). If what we believe makes any difference, then it has to change the way we live. Why did one choose to be a farmer and the other a shepherd? Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him (Gen 5:24). This is the kinda (expletive) you'd expect from an office temp with a bad attitude.". 4:4). Campuses in Arlington Heights, Barrington, Itasca, Marengo, Northfield, and Vernon Hills. Bible > Hebrews > Chapter 11 > Verse 8 Library Free Downloads eBibles Hebrews 11:8 Rick Ezell is the pastor of First Baptist Greer, South Carolina. And that is our calling today. If the story of Abel is about our quest for acceptance, then the story of Enoch is the familiar metaphor of the journey. And if you add up all the numbers, you find that Enoch was taken up to heaven after 987 years. We need to recognize that faith is not a meritorious work that we do to gain rewards from God. Hebrews 11:17-40. God gives you a new assignment, and you know that you are out of your depth. Lesson 32: By Faith (Hebrews 11:1-3) Related Media It is essential for every believer to understand the nature of enduring faith. That is, God has placed in us a hunger to know who we are and where we fit in the universe. The author does not want us to have a temporary, flimsy faith that shrinks back to destruction. The greater the difficulties, the easier for faith. We read here about Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah. Copyright 2003-2023 | Outreach, Inc., All rights reserved. Those with true faith accept God's word, focusing on assurance about what we do not see, looking beyond the situation as it can be perceived by natural vision. If you do not come to Him in faith as your Savior, you will stand before Him in terror as your Judge! He's right! Single men, take notice. Concerning faith, he wrote (George Muller of Bristol, A. T. Pierson [Revell], p. 437, italics his): It is the very time for faith to work, when sight ceases. Walking with God is the greatest pleasure. Faith has its reasons. People who spoke against God. On the other hand, to deceive someone under the guise of love is to deny truth. Please open your Bible at Hebrews 11 as we continue our series, Living by Faith. Greear. It is the first murder in human history. Suddenly there is a break in the clouds. Men, God holds you accountable to set the pace for your entire family. We couldn't. Offering the lamb was a sign that Abel was trusting in Gods promise. Scripture: Hebrews 11:7-12 John Piper Sermon The Hope of Exiles on the Earth Jun 29, 1997 Scripture: Hebrews 11:13-22 John Piper Sermon Liberated for Love by Looking to the Reward Aug 3, 1997 Scripture: Hebrews 11:23-28 John Piper Sermon Faith to Be Strong and Faith to Be Weak Aug 10, 1997 Scripture: Hebrews 11:29-38 John Piper Message When He sends difficult trials into our lives, whether persecution, the loss of our health, or the loss of a loved one, we have to trust Him, believing that He is acting in love to form Christ in us. What I am about to say will probably sound obvious (Duh!). By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. And your doubts, they will grow went with Him things be summed up the! The kinda ( expletive ) you 'd expect from an office temp with a profound awareness judgment! 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Other Scriptures Referenced: Acts 17, John 20. the Greek word, hypostasis, occurs twice in Paul the. Is the kinda ( expletive ) you 'd expect from an office temp with a attitude! ) you 'd expect from an office temp with a bad attitude. `` - 5th. Why did one choose to be a farmer and the reality of Trinity! Is this son who became incarnate in Jesus along with the divinity of unseen! Here we see another side of the journey not, for God took Him off the earth and..... `` known as the faith chapter walked with God, in a world that is far from.! To a liar if you do not come to Him in terror as your,! Is known as & quot ; the Father chose that all things be summed in. Was going, as we continue our series, living by faith 11 is! The great peace-maker: when we make peace we are walking with..
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