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I Believe
When I Look into Your Holiness
Be Thou My Vision
Hebrews 11

Introduction
I hate running.

with a deep seeded passion, I hate running.

There are people who claim to enjoy running… I tend to think that they are liars.

So naturally… because I hate running so much, I thought it would be a great idea to join the Army.

You know what they do a LOT of in the Army…running.
I’m starting to think that maybe I don’t make the best choices.
The worst part about running is that it just takes forever. More than any other exercise

And if you run a little bit faster, you would think that it would make it go by faster. but it really doesn’t
Because if you have to run long distances, the difference in how long you have to suffer through running really isn’t worth it.

Instead of being misreable for 24 minutes, if you run faster you might be miserable for 23:30 .

But I had someone tell me once, and this has stuck with me ever since, “your mind will quit long before your body does”

And I don’t knkow why but it’s always helped. Because when I get to the point where I want to quit, and I think to myself, my lungs cant take it, my legs can’t take it, I remeber “hey, that’s my mind trying to quit.” And as long as I can keep my mind from quiting, my body will be just fine.

It’s about faith. It’s about trusting that as long as you can keep up hope, as long as your mind is in it, the rest follows.
Transition
As we’re getting toward the end of the book of Hebrews, We’re going to look at the famous “faith” chapter Hebrews 11.

But before we do, I think it’s important that we keep the entire argument of the message in mind.

Jesus Christ, the perfect representation of God, who made atonement for sins, who sits at the right hand of God
Is a priest forever. He is mediating a newer and better covenant. Making atonement for our sins as our high priest not just once, not just once a year.
But forever.

We contrast that with our audience. A group of Jewish Christians who had become sluggish in their faith.
A group of people who continually were wanting to go back to their old ways.

And the author of Hebrews builds the case that Christ’s covenant is perfect. And that the old covenant has faded away.

And he tells us, because of that, we ought to draw near to God, hold fast to our faith, and continue to work and live together as people of the new covenant community.

But then in chapter 10, we get a warning. We read it two weeks ago, but I really didn’t give it the treatment it deserves.

Hebrews 10:26–27 NET 2nd ed.
For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume God’s enemies.
Here he’s alluding to Zeph 1:18 .

He says
Hebrews 10:28–31 NET 2nd ed.
Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for the Son of God, and profanes the blood of the covenant that made him holy, and insults the Spirit of grace? For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
This is a difficult passage. This is one we’d probably like to skip over, but it’s important.
It’s important because it reminds us that as citizens of a new covenant community, we have a responsibility to keep that covenant relationship with God.
We should remember, this is not a message preached to new Christians. It’s not a message preached to non-believers, telling them how to enter into the covenant community.
This is a message preached at people who were already a part of the covenant community. People who had put their faith in Christ, but now they were in danger of throwing it all awyay.
Leaving it all behind, and going back to their old ways, going back to the old covenant system.

And they’re being warned, look, if you go back. If you go back to your old way of life, there is nothing left for you there except death and judgement.

In verses 32 and following he reminds them of the zeal they used to have. The ferver they had for God when they were new in their faith.

And he says in verse 37,
Hebrews 10:37–38 NET 2nd ed.
For just a little longer and he who is coming will arrive and not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him.
And as we get into our text today, we’re left with a Choice.
We can shrink back: we can withdrawl from God’s covenant, we can fall behind, and throw away the good thing that God has in store for us
Or we can run with endurance, and live by faith.

But here’s the encouragement.
Hebrews 10:39 NET 2nd ed.
But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls.
In the author’s mind, the decision has already been made. He’s telling them, he’s encouraging them: I know your character. I’ve seen your faith. You’re not like those who shrnk back.
You’re like those who hold firmly to their faith.

Hebrews 11:1–3 NET 2nd ed.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. For by it the people of old received God’s commendation. By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God’s command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible.
We look at Hebrews 11, this hall of faith passage, and a lot of times we read it and think, wow, look at how great those people were
Look at how great their faith was. Man I wish I could be like one of them.

And Hebrews here is encouraging his audience, and I think by extension, he’s encouraging us… you are. This is the company you keep. You are a part of the people who live by faith. So what are you going to do about it?

Roadmap
As we look at chapter 11, we’re going to see that people who live by faith seek after God. They’re willing to risk it all for God. They’re willing to suffer for God.

Point

People who live by faith Seek After God
Hebrews 11:4-6
Hebrews 11:4–6 NET 2nd ed.
By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith he still speaks, though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death, and he was not to be found because God took him up. For before his removal he had been commended as having pleased God. Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
This faith, the Bible says, is two fold
1) Believing that God exists
This is basic intellectual level faith
I believe God is who he says he is
I believe he created the universe
I believe he sent his son.
That faith is neccecary, as a baseline.
But James 2:19
James 2:19 NET 2nd ed.
You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that—and tremble with fear.
2) You have faith that he rewards those who seek him.
People of faith seek after God. And they trust that he makes good on his promises.
Abel and Enoch, in the book of genesis are both described as being righteous in God’s eyes
And if you read the original stories, you’ll notice you don’t really get an explanation as to why. Why was abel’s sacrifice better than cains?
What was it about Abel’s sacrifice that made it greater
Why was enoch so great that he got swept up and avoided death
And there’s all sorts of theories. Some people say well, Abel offered the better sacrifice. Or maybe, Cain’s sacrifice wasn’t the best of his flock
Maybe
But here in hebrews the author is saying, not it wasn’t any of that. It was his faith. Because he was seeking after God.
Enoch avoided death because he walked with God, he sought after God. He lived by faith.
Hebrews 11:7 NET 2nd ed.
By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Noah, had reverent regard for the Lord. He had “fear of the Lord”
He condemned the world. In other words, he was willing to throw everything to the side, and seek after what God wanted, not what the world wanted
Hebrews 11:8 NET 2nd ed.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.
Hebrews 11:9–10 NET 2nd ed.
By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
He sought after God.
He was looking forward to God’s promises.
Hebrews 11:11-16
Hebrews 11:11–16 NET 2nd ed.
By faith, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was too old, he received the ability to procreate, because he regarded the one who had given the promise to be trustworthy. So in fact children were fathered by one man—and this one as good as dead—like the number of stars in the sky and like the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore. These all died in faith without receiving the things promised, but they saw them in the distance and welcomed them and acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth. For those who speak in such a way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Application
Are we truly seeking after God?
Are we looking forward to the promises he’s made for us?
Noah, and Abraham, and Sarah, all of them lived by faith, because they were willing to seek God, and not the things of the world.
They didn’t let their wordly troubles distract them
And I think far too often what we do is we set God do the side
We treat God like a side-quest. Something that we’ll “get around to later”
I know I should be seeking god, but I really have work to focus on
I know I should be seeking God, but I just have other things to worry about.
What if noah would have said, you know, I’ve got other things to do, I think I’ll build the ark later
What if Abraham would have said, God I know I should be seeking you, but I’ve got so much here at home, I couldn’t possibly leave it all behind
What if Sarah, so convinced that she would never have children, would have put off seeking after God?
People of Faith Seek God
Point
Statement
People of Faith are willing to risk it all for God
Hebrews 11:17–19 NET 2nd ed.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He had received the promises, yet he was ready to offer up his only son. God had told him, “Through Isaac descendants will carry on your name,” and he reasoned that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a sense he received him back from there.
Because Abraham trusted God’s promise, he offered up his own son as a sacrifice
He knew that God had promised him decendants
He knew that those decendants would come from isaac
And so when God said “offer up your son as a sacrifice” abraham reasoned to himself
God has made a promise
And if my son dies, That promise won’t be fulfilled
Therefore, My son will be raised from the dead
That’s a risk, isn’t it?
Think about the logic, here, Abraham is risking the thing that is most dear to him, because he knows that God never breaks his promises.
He knows that God will somehow find a way to bring Isaac back to life, and so he lays it all out on the table
Hebrews 11:20–22 NET 2nd ed.
By faith also Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped as he leaned on his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave instructions about his burial.
In Genesis 50, Joseph buries his father in the land of Canan.
And as Joseph gets toward the end of his life, he makes his sons swear an oath
He says I want to be buried with my father. But, don’t do it now.
Wait until the Lord delivers you out of Egypt.
Think about the risk there.
For an israelite, in that culture to be burried in a foriegn land, to not be burried with your anscestors, that was a big deal
Joeph could have said, hey I’m about to die, I want you to go up and bury me with my father.
But he didn’t do that. He said, bury me here, and when God delivers our people, THEN, take my bones and bury me in the Land God is promising.
What if God would have never delivered them? Why take that risk?
Because he lived by faith. He had faith that God would deliver the people from egypt, and he was willing to risk his honor and burial place on it.
Hebrews 11:23-31
Hebrews 11:23–31 NET 2nd ed.
By faith, when Moses was born, his parents hid him for three Months because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith, when he grew up, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure. He regarded abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on the reward. By faith he left Egypt without fearing the king’s anger, for he persevered as though he could see the one who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry ground, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after the people marched around them for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of the disobedient, because she welcomed the spies in peace.
Every single one of t hese examples is a risk.
Moses’ parents could have been killed if they got caught. It would have put both them and the baby at risk
Moses himself, could have lived in safety and security in egypt, but he forsook that way of life
Knowing full well that he could be arrested or killed for treason

By faith, the israelites were told, “the angel of death is coming to kill the firstborn” but if you sprinkle blood on the doorpost, you will be spared

I don’t know about you, but if I’m told, “hey the angel of death” is coming…my first thought would probably be to take my family anywhere else besides wherethe “angel of death” was.

But God says, if you do these things, it won’t harm you.

They risked it all.

They went through the red sea…risking the fact that at any moment the wate could have crashed down on t hem
They marched around jericho…risking the fact that if the walls didn’t fall they were basically sitting ducks
Rahab, was willing to help the isralites, risking the fact that if she got caught as a traitor…or if the isralites lost the battle…the consequences for her would be devastating.

But people who live by faith are willing to risk it all
APPLICATION
I think a lot of times we take for granted just how safe it is to be a Christian in our country
Most of us have neve had to truly “risk” anything for our faith
Nobody is coming to our door shutting down worship, nobody is confiscating our bibles, nobody is sending us to jail for our faith

And my biggest fear, for the church in america, is that I think we are too risk averse.
Christians have been in the majority for so long, that we’ve forgotten what it truly means to risk it for our faith.
If you look at statistics, you’ll see, that majority is going down quickly
What are we going to do as a church when we no longer are the dominant force in the culture?
What are we going to do, God forbid, if it ever gets to the point where the Church becomes the persecuted church again?
My fear, unfortunately, is that the majority of Churches in the western world will just fold
We’ll comply with whatever comes, we’ll shut down houses of worship. We’ll stop meeting together. Because after all, is it reallly worth the risk?

I pray that doesn’t happen.

I pray that we live by faith instead.

Because People who live by faith are constantly seeking God, they’re willing to risk it all, and has history and the Bible tells us, people who live by faith are willing to suffer for their faith
Point
Statement
People who live by faith are willing to suffer for their faith.
Explanation
Hebrews 11:32-38
Hebrews 11:32–38 NET 2nd ed.
And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, and women received back their dead raised to life. But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. And others experienced mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, sawed apart, murdered with the sword; they went about in sheepskins and goatskins; they were destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth.
Blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.

I realize this is a hard teaching. Believe me, I don’t wish this on any of us.
This is not me having some sort of martyr complex.

This is simply the word of God telling us how far we’re expected to go for our faith.

There’s a story from the intertestamental period
The history in between when the old testament ends and the new testament begins
The Jewish people had been persecuted by the selucid empire
Antiochus Epiphenes the king of the selucid empire was rounding up the Jewish people, and forcing them to disavow their faith.

And in one particular event, the king had rounded up a mother and her seven sons.
The king told the young men to disavow their faith, or else suffer and die
And one by one the brothers, starting with the oldest, refused to obey the king
and one by one, each one of the brothers were tortured and killed.
And as he got to the last brother, the king pleaded with the son and the mother.
Don’t make me do this
You’ve lost 6 sons already, talk some sense in to your son.
Just convince him to bend the knee. Haven’t you and your family suffered enough already

6 After much urging on his part, she undertook to per-suade her son.
27 But, leaning close to him, she spoke in their ancestral language as follows, derid-ing the cruel tyrant: “My son, have pity on me. Icarried you nine months in my womb and nursedyou for three years and have reared you andbrought you up to this point in your life and havetaken care of you.
28 I implore you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see every-thing that is in them and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. And in the same way the human race came into being.
29 Do not fear this hangman, but prove worthy of your brothers and accept death so that in his mercy I may get you back again along with your broth-ers.”

All of these people… Jesus says from Abel to Zechariah lived by faith
They sought after God, they risked it all for God, they were persecuted, and put to the sword for God…by faith

GET KIDS
Conclusion
Hebrews 11:39 NET 2nd ed.
And these all were commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised.
Just imagine for a moment. All of the bloodshed, all of the tears, all of the homes left behind, all of the sacrifices made

And they did not receive what was promised. yet.

Hebrews 11:40 NET 2nd ed.
For God had provided something better for us, so that they would be made perfect together with us.
If they were willing to go through all of that, to not receive what was promised, how much more so should we live by faith, knowing that the promise has already been delivered

The good news of the Kingdom of God, the coming messiah, forgiveness of sins, the new covenant, the community of faith.
A royal kingdom of priests… it’s not something we’re waiting for. It’s here now.

The indwelling of the holy spirit, the fullness of God living directly within us, it’s not a hope off in the distance, it’s a down payment of the reward that God has promised right here and right now. We’ve already received it.
What excuse do we have not to live by faith. To seek after God, to risk it all, to suffer persecution for our faith?

And you can’t read chapter 11 without getting the beginning of chapter 12 in there with it, because it ties the plea all together

Hebrews 12:1 NET 2nd ed.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,
Since we are surrounded by sucha great cloud of witnesses…the witnesses are the ones described in chapter 11.
Abel is there, cheering you on. Noah is there, cheering you on, Abraham is there, cheering you on.
Sarah, and Moses, and the israelites who crossed the red sea.
And time would fail me if I were to tell of Gideon, barak, samson, jephthah, david, samuel, the prophets

Hebrews 10:39 NET 2nd ed.
But we are not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls.
They’re all there among us.

We must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely. And run with endurance the race set out for us

Hebrews 12:2 NET 2nd ed.
keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Those who live by faith seek God, with their eyes fixed on Christ
Those who live by faith, risk it all, throw away everything, becasue they have their eyes fixed on Christ
Those who live by faith are willing to die by faith…because they have their eyes fixed on Christ.
- - Hebrews 10:26–27GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 10:28–31GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 10:37–38GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 10:39GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 11:1–3GS-NETBIBLE
- - James 2:19GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 11:7GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 11:8GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 11:9–10GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 11:17–19GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 11:20–22GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 11:39GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 11:40GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 12:1GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 10:39GS-NETBIBLE
- - Hebrews 12:2GS-NETBIBLE
There is No God Like You
Run to the Father
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow!

Hebrews 11

Hebrews 10:26–27GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 10:28–31GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 10:37–38GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 10:39GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 11:1–3GS-NETBIBLE

James 2:19GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 11:7GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 11:8GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 11:9–10GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 11:17–19GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 11:20–22GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 11:39GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 11:40GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 12:1GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 10:39GS-NETBIBLE

Hebrews 12:2GS-NETBIBLE