Hebrews: It’s All About Jesus
Part 13 “The Faith Hall of Fame”
Hebrews 10:32-11:16
Intro – today we arrive at one of the great chapters of the book of Hebrews, ch. 11, which is known as the “faith hall of fame.” -we’re walking into some powerful territory here as we not only learn about faith, but are inspired to grow in our own faith life through the stories of a number of heroes of the Bible, whose lives God holds up as living demonstrations of faith in action.
We all have faith. Every day you exercise faith of some kind: when you close your eyes at night you believe that the sun will rise the next day: you have faith that morning will come…
-when you get on a bus you have faith that it will take you to the destination you have in mind…
-when you sit on your favorite chair at home you have faith that it will hold you and not fall apart…
-when you see Pastor John pick up his accordion you have faith to know that cats and dogs will go scurrying in every direction…
-but the kind of faith that is in view here in Heb. 11 is faith in God…a faith in God that has full confidence in Him that He will keep His promises…that He will take care of us…that He will fulfill His purposes for our lives…that we can take a bold risk for God when He tells us to and we will be taken care of…that we will be rewarded for faithful obedience to Him even when things get tough…That’s the kind of faith that God wants to grow in us, to increase in us, to strengthen in us so that we can live lives of faith that bring honor and glory to Him…
So, with all that said, let’s turn to Heb. 11 and prepare to take a walk together through the faith hall of fame…
…prayer…
Now we have to start reading at 10:32 because the verses at the end of ch. 10, put ch. 11 in context: in other words, the end of chapter 10 gives us the main point the writer of Hebrews is trying to make…and ch. 11 is an illustration of the main point…
…take at look for yourself as we begin reading in 10:32-39…
Now these verses are important for a couple of reasons:
1. they give us the clearest insight into what the early Christians to whom the book of Heb was written were going through…and why they were being tempted to give up their Christian commitment…life was tough!
2. they clearly speak to the reality of the persecuted church around the world that we have heard about and prayed for today…
-when we here in Canada read these verses we can feel a detached gladness that we’re not suffering the kind of persecution mentioned in this text…But we need to take the further step of being willing to stand side by side, like v.33 says, with those who are being mistreated, if not physically, then emotionally and spiritually…
These verses call us to be much more than passive observers; rather to identify with our brothers and sisters who are undergoing suffering for their faith…and to support them in whatever way we can, through our prayers and our gifts and help where possible…
That’s why we love Voice of the Martyrs and why we put weekly prayer updates for the persecuted church in our bulletin…
These verses also beg the question, “How prepared are we for this kind of persecution right here at home in Canada?” I believe it is coming…how prepared are we for the confiscation of our property? of prison?
…how prepared are we to stand side by side with our brothers and sisters that may go through this? I’m not trying to be overly dramatic…I’m just giving you the sense I have from the Lord about where things are going for His people in the days to come…
* persecution may be the way God brings about the spiritual awakening the church in Canada so badly needs…we need revival…and persecution has a way of waking up God’s people and focusing us on what really matters…
-we need to be prepared…
The Writer’s Main Point
So, what’s the main point the writer of Hebrews is trying to make in this section? Warning: this may be difficult to hear…
-the call of God is to a life of persevering, sacrificial love that joyfully embraces loss and suffering as part of obedience and faithfulness to Christ.
-the life of faith is the willingness to let go of this world’s temporary rewards and place our hope in God’s eternal rewards…
It takes faith to see our future, heavenly reward as so valuable, that we no longer consider the comfort, security and possessions of this life as our great reward…because we know that we have better and lasting possessions…v.34
That’s what the writer of Hebrews is saying to us…and that’s why he now gives us ch. 11, the faith hall of fame…so that we will see real life examples of people in scripture who lived this kind of life and can serve as inspiring examples to us all…that’s how ch. 11 is an illustration of ch. 10…So let’s take a walk through the first half of ch. 11:1-16…read
Faith Facts
-here’s some things we learn about faith from ch.11:
1. faith is belief in things that are invisible, unseen, spiritual realities…v.1 - eg. God, heaven, eternal rewards, etc.
2. faith starts with believing in God’s character, that He is who He says He is… v.6 “…must believe that He exists…”
3. faith grows by believing in God’s promises, that He will do what He says He will do…v.6 “…that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
4. faith detaches us from the things of this life and gives us a longing for eternal things vv. 14-16…
-that’s why we can handle persecution…
-faith helps us see a future, invisible, heavenly reality in which to place our hope…
5. the reason faith pleases God is because it honors Him… declares Him to be our only hope…enables us to depend on Him, surrender to Him vs. resist Him…it leads to loving obedience and produces a righteous life…
6. faith is only as good as its object.
-pointless to try and have more faith, as if we generate it ourselves…instead of telling people to have more faith, best to focus more on our faithful God…
eg have all the faith you want in a broken chair…it will do you no good…
7. faith is almost always developed through challenge, difficulty, risk-taking, suffering, etc.
8. we can be flawed, broken humans and still be commended by God for our faith…
-faith is not only for the great heroes of the Bible…
9. faith has a variety of outcomes: sometimes results are quick, more often they’re delayed…eg. Abraham and Sarah…
10. faith doesn’t guarantee we will get what we hope for…vv.13 ff…
11. faith enables us to make God-honoring decisions based on unknowable results.
12. faith is child-like belief that God can and wants to provide what we hope for…
-faith affects our prayer life more than anything…how we pray and what we pray for…we are limited in what we ask God for only by our faith. God is calling us here at Northgate to believe Him for big things, God-sized things, impossible looking things…for more and greater miracles…to remove doubt and skepticism from us so that we are free and bold to believe God for mighty things…things that only He can do and wants to do among us and through us…eg. Raymond and Banyk…prayer for a child…
We must let faith in God rule our life and our church instead of fear…do not make decisions based on fear, on visible, human limitations…on what is safe and familiar…on what we can pull off on our own without God…
-must not make decisions as a church based on things like finances alone, fear of the future, numbers alone, the pro and con list alone, whether it’s worked before in the past or not…
-God wants us to make decisions as a church based on faith in Him, who promises to provide if we are following His will and if we step out in trust and obedience…
The Challenge of Faith
As I bring this to a close, let me make emphasize the specific challenge of faith that God is calling us to here in chapters 10 and 11…
God is calling us to a radical journey of faith while we’re on this earth…something that really sets us apart as the people of God and marks us in a distinctive way…
-He wants us to live lives of persevering, sacrificial love…lives that are radically free from the love of this world…from placing our hope in accumulations and earthly things as our great reward…
-He wants us to be detached from those things so that our hope, values and our investments can be in His unseen, heavenly rewards…
-He wants us see past this world’s rewards and see the invisible, heavenly rewards that are yet to come…”knowing that we have better and lasting possessions…”
-that’s the kind of faith He wants to grow in us…and that’s going to enable us to persevere through any upcoming persecution we may have to face…
Spiritual Refugees
To put it another way, God wants us to be spiritual refugees…to see ourselves as spiritual refugees…like v. 13-16: says, “admitting that we are foreigners and strangers here on earth…looking for a country of our own…not thinking of returning to our old country; instead, longing for a better country – a heavenly one…”
The plight of refugees has been in the forefront of the media these past few months…especially those from Syria…we’ve witnessed their journey, often perilous, from their homeland, marching their way through several countries to try to reach a safe and welcoming destination…you’re aware of how difficult that has been for many of them…
But that’s how God wants us to think about our relationship to this world in which we live…that we no longer belong here…we can’t become completely settled and rooted and comfortable in this place…that we don’t need this place…
…we’re on the move toward a better country, which we’ll never find in this lifetime…and it’s our longing for that heavenly country that keeps us from loving this world so much that we can’t give it up…that we depend on it…that we place our hope in it and it’s rewards to give us joy and satisfaction…
1Tim. 6:17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Why does He want us to live lives like this? why would anyone choose to live a life of faith like this?
I’ll give you three reasons that are found in the text:
1. because it pleases God v.6
2. because shrinking back displeases God 10:38
“…I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back…”
3. because this is how a righteous person lives 10:38
“…my righteous one will live by faith…”
So, will you join the ranks of the faithful? Those who are willing to let their faith in God take you on a journey which ends in heaven…that is at times perilous… that is full of unknowns… that requires stepping out of our comfort zone time and time again…
But that pleases God…and has the wonderful promise of God’s presence going with you…His protection…His guidance…His provision…and ultimately the opportunity for you to make a difference in other people’s lives by your bold example of living by faith…living for something bigger than this life…living for Someone greater…our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…
Prayer and Response
-who would like God to increase their faith in Him today? …by a raised hand…
-prayer for an impartation of faith…