God is the great peace-maker: when we make peace we are walking with Him. " It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom ." He will save all that come to Him in faith. It did for three men: Abel, Enoch, and Noah. 48:51. We don't trust our government officials, we don't trust our bosses, we don't trust our neighbors, we don't trust our doctors, we don't trust our pastors. If the story of Abel is about our quest for acceptance, then the story of Enoch is the familiar metaphor of the journey. You are calling God a liar if you do not trust Him, and you cannot be close to a liar. This is confirmed by a prophecy given by Enoch, that is quoted and preserved for us in the New Testament. the word for substance is the Greek word hypostasis which is hard for us to directly define. Obviously sibling rivalry was present from the beginning. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. This sermon is yet another feeble attempt to do so. All we need is the courage to do what Noah did and to believe what God has said. Sermon on Hebrews 11:1-6 | Faith Facts Faith Facts (Hebrews 11:1-6) "Faith is the victory! So, Adam was still living when Enoch was born. Take that faith away and we have nothing left. To save items to a SermonFolder, please sign in to your account. Here we see another side of the life of faith. All of us know about the great flood, the massive ark, and the gathering of the animals. 2335 Presidential Drive, Suite 114 . Enoch's journey led him to God, and when he found God, he walked with him. C. H. Spurgeon at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens. When you walk, you see things you dont notice from a car. What is the faith that pleases God. It is the first murder in human history. Colin S. Smith. Sermon: Living By Faith in God - Hebrews 11. 2:4). b. As it is difficult to directly translate into English because it has many meanings, we must look at the context here. The world often ridicules or despises the person who lives by faith. Their answer (Dan. "Hebrews 11 tells us what it means to have faith and obtain life. God teaches us by pointing to real-life examples of faith in action. Ha! In ancient times the Jews considered Abraham to be almost worthy of their worship. And Enoch walked beyond space and time into eternity. According to Hebrews 11, faith is believing that God exists, that he rewards those who seek him and that we can hope in him because his promises will always be true. Again, this is clear from the numbers in Genesis 5. 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. Permissions: You have permission and are encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format you choose, as long as you do not alter or change the wording in any way and do not charge a fee (beyond the cost of reproducing these materials). It has even entered our language as a synonym for troublemaking - Raising Cain. Every time the boy became sick you would think This is it. They were not to cast away their confidence which brought such great reward. Dont go looking for a God of your own imagination. 4:15). There is more to life than that. Ha! Scot and Janet escaped the blaze with burns, but they couldn't save their children: Ben, 13, Joe, 11, Sam, 9, Hank, 6, Elizabeth, 3, and Peter, six weeks old. One day Enoch and God had walked so far that God said, "Why don't you come home with me?" Enoch was taken soon after Adam had died. A life was laid down for him. And that promise was fulfilled when Jesus laid down His life for us on the cross. Website:UnlockingtheBible.org. Bible Study & Sermon Videos; hebrews-11:2; Hebrews-11:2. But when Methuselah was born, Enoch knew that he needed help and he began to walk with God. By Faith the Invisible is Made Visible (Hebrews 11:1-2) Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. The text says it is the substance of things hoped for. Today we come to the story of Enoch, where we learn that faith walks with God. Let's stop complaining about the evil of the present day. Matter is not eternal. We think it's easy to believe and easy to keep believing, but it's not - not for most of us. He uses the aorist tense in the infinitive "to please". And I will let you in on the secret of when it will happen: When your son dies, the judgment will come., Pink asks this question: What effect would such a revelation have on you? Enoch knew that the judgment of God was coming soon. What exactly had Adam taught his sons about the proper way to approach God? By faith they saw the unseen God as more real than the enraged king standing in front of them, threatening to roast them alive. Without faith it is impossible to please God (11:6). Would you? 2:10; James 2:14-26). For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened (Matt 7:7-8). By faith he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen (11:27). To that end, he devotes chapter 11 to an explanation and illustration of genuine faith that endures. He wants them to become imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises (6:12). Since God created all things from nothing, then everything owes its existence to God who spoke creation into existence. 2. It's the faith. Has it occurred to you that God may have done this so that you will seek Him and walk with Him in a way that you were not doing before? That is, God has placed in us a hunger to know who we are and where we fit in the universe. Then he adds, "That's a lot to believe." It's easy to look at Enoch or Noah or Joseph or Moses or David and say, "I could never do that." Down deep in our hearts, we have believed a lie that the life of faith is restricted to a few "special" people. When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. There is much we don't know that we wish we knew. Hebrews 11:1-3, Hebrews 11:8-16, Hebrews 11:1-16, Denomination: God gives us the faith required to please Him. As we saw last week, there is a type of faith that does not endure trials and temptations. Pastor Colin Smith preached this sermon on the faith of Abraham from Hebrews 11:8-16 as part of the series "Living By Faith." These verses are not so much a definition of faith but they show us the attributes of faith. And that's why we've got to take it seriously. You become a father, or a mother, and you find yourself saying, God has given me this wonderful gift and if I am to raise this child in this ungodly world, I need strength. For example, God confronts our unbelief and sin. Listen as Old Testament giants of faith still speak to us through their lives. Nine generations were all living at the same time! (2) Faith enabled people in the past to overcome. Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found because God had taken him (Heb 11:5). 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 The French philosopher Pascal said that there is a "God-shaped vacuum" inside every human heart. There is also the realm of the spirit, the invisible spiritual kingdom of God. God gives you a new assignment, and you know that you are out of your depth. 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). Rather, his emphasis is more on the operation and outworking of justifying faith in the face of trials (John Owen, An Exposition of Hebrews [The National Foundation for Christian Education], VII:5, 7). 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. Some of the things that God says are not easy to accept. That's as fine a tribute as you are likely to find, and not just about a public figure. Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Put Your Hand in the Hand of God The Rev. Their faith needed to be strengthened to meet this challenge. Let me apply verse 2 in two ways. If what we believe makes any difference, then it has to change the way we live. That would conflict with the entire teaching of the New Testament, that faith is simply the channel through which Gods blessings flow. What does it mean to walk with God? Hebrews 11:1 has always been a difficult verse for me to get a handle on. If two people come to a crossroads and they want to take different paths, they cannot walk together. Hebrews: All About Faith. The seed sown on the rocky ground sprang up quickly, but it also quickly withered and died when trials hit. Without faith it is impossible to please Him (11:6). Our calling is to seek Him. To walk with God is to live in a constant, conscious enjoyment of the presence of God. Enoch walked with God and went straight to heaven. 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. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. When Noah entered the ark, his wife went with him. Faith says, "I believe God. No wonder we jump from one job to another and from one relationship to another. Yet, God passionately pursues us at great cost. Although I am not an example of great faith, I can share a personal example. Enoch was given a prophetic glimpse of the day when our Lord Jesus Christ will come with His holy angels. Death is like a river that separates us from the presence of God in heaven. Whoever would draw near to God must believe that He is! You can only understand that by faith, because no one was there to observe it. You hear, touch and smell things that you miss in the car. Some think that faith is believing something . Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him (Jude 14-15). v. 24. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. See More Details. Faith does allow us to overcome the struggles we face in life. And in the light of that Enoch walked with God. But if you will starve the flesh and feed your faith, it will grow. If you want to get some place fast, get in a car. We've heard and read that in the Bible's creation story innumerable times. 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 We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:9). Before we look at these three aspects of faith, it may be helpful to explain something about the nature of faith with reference to relationships. By exercising this kind of faith the ancients gained the warm commendation of God. Adam and Eve chose a different vision. Faith believes God regardless of the circumstances. The judgment of the world is about to come!. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. I suggest this expanded paraphrase of 11:1, Faith makes real in our experience the promises that God has given about the future. Scripture: [2] For by it the people of old received their commendation. We couldn't. And if you live out your faith every day, it's natural and normal to expect your family to follow in your steps. It understands the origins of all that is. Hebrews 11:1-16 NASB. Hebrews 11 New International Version Faith in Action 11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. By Faith (Sermons on Hebrews 11) Hardcover - May 1, 2000 by Thomas Manton (Author) 10 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $2.99 Read with Our Free App Hardcover from $28.50 2 Used from $28.99 1 New from $28.50 Paperback $19.99 1 New from $19.99 Last week we looked at Abel and saw from his story that faith listens to God. By faith, he factored in eternity and looked to the reward. Before we leave verse 1, lets apply it by illustrating how faith worked in the lives of three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (Daniel 3). This is a constant theme of Scripture. You are at peace in the presence of God, because you have nothing to hide from Him. How can you live in a constant, conscious enjoyment of the presence of God? For the believer in Jesus, death is a transition from this life to the next. The author refers to them, although not by name, in 11:34 (quenched the power of fire). God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden, but when they sinned, they hid from Him. As John Stott remarked, death is a "trivial episode" to the believer. Abel trusted in God and offered the best that he had; Cain lacked faith and apparently just went through the motions. He saw thousands of specific answers to prayer, which he carefully recorded and later published. But if you want to savor a place and enjoy it, get out of the car and go for a walk. 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. 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. Lesson 32: By Faith (Hebrews 11:1-3) Related Media It is essential for every believer to understand the nature of enduring faith. 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). Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition The Lockman Foundation, Steve served as the pastor of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship from May, 1992 through his retirement in December, 2018. Hebrews 11 demonstrates that the life of faith is not a rarity. Single men, take notice. Jesus: The Truer and Better Object of Faith: Hebrews 11:1-6. The author mentions Moses (11:24-26), who refused to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God. He considered the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; . 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