Hebrews 11 – Faith Examples
This week study
is on FAITH. Like oxygen is air to
nourish to the body, faith nourishes the soul.
Some call
chapter 11 the “Hall of Faith”. What
is faith? Faith is to have a
confidence and assurance in something without having tangible proof. The word faith is used loosely today. Some people today think if you have enough
faith in something, it will happen. It’s
almost like they will it to happen. It’s
really just wishful thinking. Heb. 11:1 says “Now
faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Faith is belief, trust, loyalty to
God. Faith has action.
True faith is
belief in God and acting on that belief.
It’s having complete trust in God, His Word, and His promises. It’s knowing that He is in control. It’s trusting that He died on the cross for
us and was raised on the 3rd day.
Even demons have belief in God and tremble, but they are not saved. It’s believing God created the universe. It’s believing in God’s holiness and requires
sinners to accept Jesus’ sacrifice for their sins making Him their Savior.
Where does
faith come from? Faith comes from God. “For it is by grace
you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” – Eph. 2:8-9.
Saving faith is threefold:
1. Content – Believing in something
2. Warming of the heart – loving response to
God
3. Commitment – following after Christ.
Many in the Old
Testament had faith. This chapter gives
us examples of true faith.
·
By
faith Able offered God a better sacrifice.
God is holy and establishes a way man is to approaches Him.
·
By
Faith Enoch was taken by God and did not experience death. Enoch teaches us there is life after
death. He walked with God and was
personally rewarded.
·
By
faith Noah in holy fear built an ark to save his family. He teaches us about the judgment of God.
·
By
faith Abraham was called by God to leave his home and go to a foreign
land. By faith Abraham became a father
in his old age.
·
By
faith Abraham obeyed God when he was told to sacrifice his son. He trusted God’s word. He believed God when circumstances seemed
impossible. God called him to go into a
foreign land.
·
By
faith Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph lived and trusted God in His promises.
·
By
faith Moses identified with his suffering people and chose to be with them
instead of having the riches of the Egyptians.
He looked ahead to his reward.
·
By
faith the prostitute Rahab acted boldly.
She was an unlikely person to be in the Hall of Faith. She didn’t know much, but she believed and
acted. She was saved by her faith. She became the mother of Boaz who was an
ancestor of Jesus.
All these
examples given of Old Testament believers were not admired in their time
because of their faith, but were persecuted.
None received what God promised in their lifetime.
Principle: Jesus
is the superior object of our faith.
How is God
calling you to believe what is hoped for and certain of what you do not see?
Does it give
you hope that your faith could change the world like those in the Old Testament?
How would you
describe your faith?
How would
others describe your faith?
Hebrews 12 – Faith Tested
Chapter 12 tells
us how to live our faith while our faith is being developed.
God has
personally marked our race in the line of faith. Every race requires perseverance. There are four steps listed that urge us to
take to persevere in difficulties –
1. Fix your eyes on Jesus – That’s our actions
and our attitudes. Get rid of everything
that makes you doubt.
2. Welcome discipline – This is not
punishment, but acts of a loving parent training his child the way he should go. If we are believers, God considers us His
sons. As a father disciplines a son, God
disciplines us because He loves us. He
tells us to endure hardships as discipline.
It may be painful at the time, but it produces a beautiful harvest of
righteousness and peace. He is the King
Righteousness and King of Peace. His discipline
develops our character like Christ. Have
you seen God’s discipline? What
refining process is He developing in you?
3. Handle our relationships with others
right – Reacting with people is a BIG ole life test! Sanctification is not optional.
Trust in the
promises of God. Consider the Old and
New Covenant. “See
that you do not refuse him who speaks….” (Heb. 12:25). There will
come a time when the earth will be shaken.
This refers to the great earthquake that will occur to end the present
world and where God’s Great White Throne Judgment will occur. “Therefore, since we
are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so
worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.” (Heb. 25:28) Freedom and
peace come by trusting God completely without fear, because of He is unstoppable
and unshakable.
Is your life
shaky?
What do you
count on for security?
What is
hindering your faith?
What does it
take for you to further trust God?
Are you
wrapped up in anger or unforgiveness?
Principle: God
is pleased when we trust what He says.
Hebrews 13 – Faith Expressed
Hebrews 13 gives us ways our faith can be put into
action.
·
Be
loving – Keep on loving each others. Entertain
strangers.
·
Be
sympathetic– Remember those who are suffering, those in prison, and those who
are mistreated.
·
Be
pure – Guard your marriage and be faithful to your spouse.
·
Be
content – Keep your lives free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have.
·
Be
loyal – Don’t be persuaded by false teachings, but stand firm in your
faith.
·
Be
bold – Don’t be afraid to speak the truth and worry about what others may think
of you.
·
Be
worshipful – Praise God in all things.
·
Respect
your leaders who speak the truth – Imitate their faith, submit to their
authority, and be supportive. Remember
that Jesus is the real true leader and head of the church.
Principle: Faith
in Jesus equips us to do God’s will.
How can we
grow in faith?
Ask God to
increase your faith.
Focus on obeying
God.
Spend time
reading and hearing God’s Word.
Spend time with
other believers.
To sum up the
book of Hebrews: A life of faith
pleases God. Faith is reflected in
our choices.
Trust that He is
developing your faith. May we become a
cloud of witnesses for God.
Jesus’ example
of faithfulness is encouraging to us. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
– Heb 13:8.
Join me here
next week as we go back to the study of Acts
15. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
__________________________________________
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