The Who's WHO of Faith

[0:00] You may be seated, kiddos. You are excused to your King's Kids class.! And if you would open up your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11.

[0:11] ! Pastoral position at a church, Parkview Church in Iowa City, Iowa.

[0:34] And so this morning is their last time with us. We will pray for the Valentines after the service. And so if you know them or you want to be part of that, we will close the service and then we'll just gather down here at the front.

[0:49] Caleb, we love you guys. And we will miss you. Now, back to God's Word. We, Hebrews 11 is the hall of faith, the who's who of the faith.

[1:04] And I'm going to read the whole thing. But I need your help. So here's the cue. When I am reading through Hebrews chapter 11, I'm going to point to you.

[1:16] Either it's a double point or a single point. But when I point to you, I need you to say two words. By faith. Let's practice.

[1:27] By faith. By faith. By faith. All right. Yeah. All right. You ready?

[1:38] May God bless the reading of His Word. Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it, the people of old received their commendation.

[1:52] We understand that the universe was created by the Word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous.

[2:06] God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death.

[2:16] And he was not found because God had taken him. Now, before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God. 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.

[2:33] By faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events, as yet unseen and reverent fear, constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

[2:48] By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith, he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land.

[3:03] Living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

[3:14] By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one man and him as good as dead were born descendants, as many as the stars of heaven, as many as the innumerable grains of the sand by the seashore.

[3:31] These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

[3:42] For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have an opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country that is a heavenly one.

[3:56] Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God. For he has prepared for them a city. By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, Through Isaac, shall your offspring be now?

[4:14] He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead. From which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith, Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

[4:25] By faith, Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith, Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

[4:39] By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents. Because they saw that the child was beautiful. And they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith, Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

[4:55] Choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. For he was looking to the reward.

[5:07] By faith, he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king. For he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith, he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

[5:23] By faith, the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land. But the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

[5:35] And by faith, Rahab, the prostitute, did not perish with those who were disobedient. Because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. What more shall I say?

[5:46] For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel, and the prophets. Who, through faith, conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

[6:05] Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains in imprisonment.

[6:19] They were stoned. They were sawn in two. They were killed with a sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy. Wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth.

[6:34] And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised. Since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us, they should not be made perfect.

[6:46] May God bless the hearing of his word. There are many things I am so grateful for as a citizen of the United States. A friend of mine, we were together on July 4th, and he prayed when we were together.

[7:01] He was so thankful for the freedoms we have to gather in our nation. But not everybody around the world has freedoms to gather.

[7:14] There are many Christians who experience this kind of idea of being marginalized, of being social outcasts, of being social exiles because of their faith.

[7:27] We're just not citizens of the United States of America. We are citizens of the ultimate promised land. We are citizens of heaven.

[7:39] We are birthright citizens. Second birthright. Citizens of heaven. Hebrews describes this city whose designer and builder is God.

[7:58] And if by faith you are living out your heavenly citizenship in this fallen world, you know what's going to happen to you? You will be marginalized.

[8:09] To be marginalized. To be marginalized is to be made an outsider. To become a social outcast. To be exiled.

[8:21] Maybe you've been marginalized before. Maybe you've been marginalized for being a woman. Maybe you've been marginalized for being a man. Maybe you've been marginalized for being young.

[8:33] Or for being old. Or for the color of your skin. Or for your native tongue. Or for your marital status. Or you've served time in your past.

[8:45] Or maybe it's because of your mental health you've been marginalized. There are all sorts of reasons why people are marginalized today in the United States of America.

[8:59] Here's one more. If you live with Jesus Christ as the controlling center of your life, you will be marginalized by those who don't. Maybe it's because you'll be seen as morally intolerant.

[9:14] Because you're committed to a biblical sexual ethic. Maybe it's because you'll be seen as intellectually naive. Because you hold to God speaking through this book.

[9:25] Maybe you'll be seen as politically dangerous or religiously arrogant. Because you actually believe that people will not go to heaven apart from Christ.

[9:39] Maybe it's you being branded just being spiritually too excited. Taking things too seriously. Have you been marginalized for being a follower of Jesus?

[9:53] If not, you will be. It's just a matter of time. That's what the original audience of Hebrews was experiencing. They were suffering for Jesus.

[10:05] They were being marginalized. And so the question is, what do we do when we experience being marginalized on account of Jesus? What do we do? Hebrews 11 answers that question.

[10:16] Hebrews 11, two things.

[10:49] The first is this. By faith we endure. Let's spend some time talking about faith is. And then secondly, we'll look at the faith of those who endured.

[11:04] So, the faith that endures, and the faith of those who did endure. The hall of faith.

[11:14] The who's who of the faith. So, point one. Let's look at the faith that endures. In chapter 10, at the end of chapter 10, I preached this a couple weeks ago.

[11:30] By the way, it sounds like Phil Smith served you well. In verse 35, chapter 10, we read this. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, your assurance, which has a great reward.

[11:44] Salvation. 36, for you have need of endurance. A long obedience in the same direction. You have need to build up your endurance faith muscles.

[11:58] So that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. So when you endure to the end, you will hear your king say, well done, good and faithful servant. Verse 39, but we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed.

[12:11] We don't drift away. We don't fall away. No, we have faith and preserve our souls. We endure. And what chapter 11 is, is an elaboration of faith.

[12:24] What's interesting, you picked this up when we were reading through it just moments ago, the word faith shows up 24 times in chapter 11. And so whenever you have a word like that repeated in one chapter of your Bible, it is being emphatic.

[12:41] But it's not just, it's repeated. There's a phrase that's repeated by faith over and over and over and over again.

[12:52] By faith, by faith, by faith. And that little, that little phrase is getting at how we endure. When we're marginalized, when things get tough, we endure by faith.

[13:09] But there's even one more thing I want you to notice. It has to do with the position of that phrase. Did you notice where it shows up in 19 sentences?

[13:21] It's in pole position. By faith, Abel. By faith, Enoch. By faith, Noah. By faith, Abraham.

[13:33] By faith, Isaac and Sarah. By faith. faith. What is faith? What is faith? Let's get a definition working.

[13:48] And the good news is the author gives us a definition. In chapter 11, verse 1, he gives us a definition, a working definition of faith, and it has two dimensions to it, two aspects. They're related, but let's just unpack it a little bit.

[14:00] First, now faith is the assurance of things hoped for. That word assurance simply means an act of confidence.

[14:12] An act of confidence in what? Of things hoped for. And in the context of the book of Hebrews, the things hoped for are God's promises.

[14:24] What he has promised. What he said he will do, and yet it hasn't been realized yet. Kind of living in a gap. The assurance of things hoped for is standing on the promises of God.

[14:40] It's a future-oriented faith. I am looking forward to what God has promised, and I am banking on it. Standing on those promises. In the book of Hebrews, we have all sorts of different kinds of promises.

[14:55] A promise that Christ remains. I will never leave you nor forsake you. We have another kind of promise. Christ's return in 928. But in Hebrews 11, the promise that gets repeated is Christ's reward.

[15:12] A city. A future place. With God's people. This hope is a forward-looking faith in what the Lord has promised.

[15:33] And you know what that does? It fuels endurance. When you're marginalized, when you're catching heat for Jesus, you're like, oh, I'm one day closer to the city.

[15:46] It fuels endurance. The second aspect of faith is not only is assurance of things hoped for, it's the conviction of things unseen.

[16:01] Remember, we walk by faith, not by sight. And that word conviction of things unseen, that word conviction means it's kind of a settled trust.

[16:12] It's a confidence in someone's provenness. Provenness. Have you ever delegated a responsibility to somebody and then they don't follow through on it? The next time you have an opportunity to do that, you're not going to be as quick to entrust it to them because you're not convinced that they're going to follow through on it.

[16:30] But when you entrust something to someone and time and time again, they follow through on it, they do it. It creates this conviction. I'm convinced that this person will follow through on what they say.

[16:43] God always follows through on what he says. He always follows through.

[16:55] He is faithful to his promises. Now we're talking about God's character. If the first aspect of faith is the assurance of things hoped for, it's trusting God's promises.

[17:13] When we're talking about this conviction of things unseen, we're talking about ultimately God's character. There is a whole unseen spiritual world.

[17:24] And the greatest of all things, whether seen or unseen, is God. He is unseen. He is invisible. And so we are to exercise a conviction in the character of God.

[17:41] And in this passage, we have some things that were pointed to specifically. If you look at 11.6, we read, and without faith, it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that God exists.

[17:58] That's where it all starts. To believe and trust God to exercise faith means believing he exists. Did you know God is self-existent?

[18:12] He's always been. He's the great I am. He is dependent on no one or no thing. All things created are dependent on him. God is the self-existent one.

[18:27] And if you are thinking, I'm not sure if God even exists, Google design argument. God's not just a God who exists, and we are to be convinced of that.

[18:40] God is the creator of all. If you look at 11.3, we read this, by faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

[18:51] It's the Latin phrase, ex nihilo. It means out of nothing. God created everything out of nothing with his words. And to have a biblical faith is to believe that.

[19:04] It's to be convinced of that. And not only that, we read that God is a powerful God. Those creative words are powerful words.

[19:18] But if you look at 11.11, we see by faith Sarah herself received power to conceive. So Sarah was 99 years old when she heard the promise that they're going to be given a son, Isaac, which means laughter.

[19:37] And she believed it, that God was able to do that. Any 99-year-olds in the room? Any 99-year-old women in the room? Are you going to conceive?

[19:48] Probably not. God is powerful. But we also see God's power trusted in 11, excuse me, in discussing Abraham in 11.19.

[20:05] Abraham considered that God was able even to raise Isaac from the dead. by faith Abraham was going to sacrifice his only son, the son, whom God said, I am going to carry out all of the blessings to the nations through.

[20:21] And Abraham decided, he considered that God was able to raise him from the dead if he were to sacrifice him. God is powerful. And we know that God is able to raise people from the dead because Jesus has been raised from the dead.

[20:35] all these aspects of God's nature is things that we trust in, we're convinced of.

[20:47] And of course, in 11.11, we go back to Sarah and we read, even when she was past the age since she considered him faithful who had promised. Faithful.

[21:00] God always follows through. He's completely reliable. Completely trustworthy. And so this second aspect of faith is an active trust in God's revealed character.

[21:17] And so you put them together and here's what you got. We are able to trust in God's promises because we know God's character.

[21:29] We exercise faith. We trust him that way. And so what faith is is actively standing on God's promises because we are convinced of God's character.

[21:46] Faith of the Bible is not some kind of vague thing. Yeah, I believe in God. There is a God. That's not biblical faith. Biblical faith is a trusting in the concrete character of God and his promises.

[22:08] Let's take a minute just to assess ourselves. Let me ask you to be honest with yourself here. Do you see this kind of faith actively trusting in God's character and his promises?

[22:25] Do you see this kind of faith operating in your life right now? Not five years ago. Not one year in high school.

[22:39] Today. Is this functional faith in you? All of us have room to grow. We can all trust God and his promises more.

[22:50] So be honest with yourself and be storing up truth. Truth about God's character. There are just wonderful places all throughout the Bible that God reveals his character to us.

[23:06] Great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations chapter 3. There are just beautiful passages that God reveals who he is and how we can trust him.

[23:18] And if you have a book like Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer that will help too. First chapter first paragraph first sentence what comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.

[23:32] What you believe about God matters. So store up truth about God. Here's another book. It's incomparable. It's written by Andrew Wilson. I'm going through it right now.

[23:43] It is just fueling my faith. Just great things he's unpacking about the nature of God. God. So be storing up God's truth about God's character and be storing up truths of God's promises.

[23:58] Hebrews 13.5 I will never leave you nor forsake you. Revelation 22.20 Behold I'm coming soon. We have a kind of promise in Matthew 25 in the parable of the talents where Jesus is going to come back and he's going to hold us all to account.

[24:16] And for those who've been faithful to the end he will say well done good and faithful servant enter the joy of your master. So be storing these up.

[24:28] Because you'll need to be exercising faith. You see when you get marginalized when you get put into situations where you start feeling heat for being a Christian you will need to exercise faith in those moments.

[24:42] Faith is like a muscle. And if you don't exercise your muscle it will atrophy. But if you exercise your muscles not only will there be health you'll get stronger.

[24:58] And you will endure. So we need to be actively standing on God's promises as we trust in God's character.

[25:11] That's the nature of faith. It's an act of trust in God's character and his promises and it pleases him. And that is what has marked the saints of old in the hall of faith.

[25:27] This is the faith that is commended by God. Actively trusting in his promises and in his character. So for the balance of our time let's look at the faith of those who endured.

[25:39] Hebrews 11 is the hall of faith. The who's who of the faith. It's being pointed.

[25:50] The author's pointing us to Old Testament example after example of those who were trusting in God's promises because they trusted in his character even when those promises didn't come to fruition in their lifetimes.

[26:03] And that's why he's talking to these Christians in the book of Hebrews. Be like them.

[26:16] There are examples to us. This is the heritage of faith we have been brought into when we were saved. There are over 20 individuals and groups referenced in the hall of faith.

[26:32] And they are laid out historically. So bear with me for a second. Let me just help you see what's going on before you in Hebrews 11. In chapter 3 we have a reference to the creation of the world by the word of God.

[26:50] And God said and it came to be and it was good. That's Genesis 1. The reference to Abel. Cain and Abel. Abel presenting a better sacrifice than Cain and that act of faith being commended by God.

[27:06] And then Cain murdered him. And now even in his death he still speaks. Abel does. We'll see in a couple weeks there is even another death that speaks a better word.

[27:19] But that took place in Genesis 4. Enoch Genesis 5. Noah Genesis 6. Abraham Genesis 12.

[27:32] And then we start making our way down. Verse 11. Sarah. That's Genesis 18 and 22. 21 excuse me. Back to Abraham verse 17. Now we're in Genesis chapter 22.

[27:45] Jacob. We see that in verse 20. Excuse me. 21. That's Genesis 48. Joseph in 22 is Genesis 50.

[27:58] Moses. Actually his parents. Exodus 2. And then Moses in verse 24 through 28. We're talking about Exodus 2. 3 and 12.

[28:08] We get to Israel in verse 29. That's Exodus 14 and 15. And then we get into verse 30 talking about Jericho. That's Joshua 6. And then we start talking about Rahab who was like doubly marginalized because she was a Canaanite prostitute.

[28:26] That's Joshua 2 and 6. And then the author of Hebrews is like, hey, if I had more time, I would point you to the book of Judges.

[28:37] Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah. And then I would point you to 1 and 2 Samuel to talk about David and Samuel. And then I'd bring you into all sorts of different narratives and prophets to talk about the prophets because they're all examples of faith.

[28:51] All examples of men and women who stood on God's promises because they trusted in God's character. Now we've got to ask a question.

[29:04] What's going on with this? In the book of Hebrews, we have what's called discontinuity and continuity. discontinuity between the Old Testament saints and New Testament saints as well as continuity between the Old Testament saints and the New Testament saints.

[29:22] And here, we're being reminded of the discontinuity in this sense. Up until this point, the book of Hebrews has been saying, hey, don't go back. Don't go back to the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant because that animal blood, that can't do anything for you.

[29:39] Because of the once for all sacrifice of Christ. That's old news now. The New Covenant has come.

[29:50] And so there's discontinuity there. But here, what the author of Hebrews is doing is bringing up a continuity. Because what commended the faith, what commended the Old Testament saints was their faith.

[30:04] faith as with us now. What we have in common, what unites us, what makes us perfect in the city of God together, is faith in God and His promises, ultimately realized in Jesus Christ.

[30:22] He's getting a lot done here. And for the balance of the time, I just want you to point you to four ways their faith made a difference in their lives.

[30:35] Number one, their faith marginalized them. In 11.7, Noah, being warned by God of things yet unseen, of a coming judgment, of a flood, he started building an ark.

[30:53] It probably took him 55 to 75 years to build the ark. Could you imagine what his unbelieving neighbors would be saying to him? What are you doing, Noah?

[31:06] Why are you wasting all this time? Oh, I'm going to be swept away in a big flood. Ooh. He would have been marginalized.

[31:22] Abraham, 11.8, called by God to leave Haran and go into the promised land. Could you imagine what his fellow Haranians would have said? Well, we're not good for you. God called you to something, and then he gets to Canaan, and then the Canaanites are, what are you doing here?

[31:38] You're not one of us. Marginalized. Moses, purposefully denied being called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

[31:57] Verse 24. I don't think that went over well. He incurred the wrath of the Pharaoh. Marginalized.

[32:10] Rahab, double outcast. She was a Canaanite in Jericho, but she was a prostitute. Talk about being marginalized.

[32:21] And then, in the eyes of the Israelites, she would have been seen as a Canaanite, which would have been further marginalization. But boy, did she exercise a faith. And then, when we get down to this list of these people whom the world was not worthy, we're brought to verse 38, and we're shown they were wandering about in deserts and mountains and dens and caves on the earth.

[32:49] They were marginalized. Abraham living in tents. Here's the point I want you to see. If they were marginalized for exercising a faith in God and his promises, and without the kind of promises we've been given in Jesus, if they were marginalized for that, certainly we will be marginalized for putting faith in God, trusting in the promises that are ours in the new covenant.

[33:19] We will be marginalized too. You've got to realize, even though we live in a wonderful country, we will suffer for being serious about Jesus.

[33:30] We'll be marginalized. You'll need to endure. Their faith marginalized them. Second, their faith sustained them.

[33:42] What do you think sustained Noah for those 55 to 75 years he was building the ark and catching heat from those people around him? I'm guessing he's rehearsing in his mind something like this.

[33:55] God spoke this to me. God revealed himself to me. I can trust him, and I'm going to faithful, and I'm going to do it. And in his faithfulness, God delivered his household and brought judgment on all of the naysayers.

[34:12] What do you think sustained Abraham as he entered into the land of promise? What do you think sustained Rahab as she's waiting for Israel to walk around Jericho to be brought to nothing?

[34:33] Their faith. Their trust. In fact, when it comes to Abraham, I just want you to notice this.

[34:48] Verse 10, for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. Even then, he had the sense that there is a greater promised land.

[34:59] And then in verse 13 through 16, we read this. These all died by faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar. Having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on earth.

[35:12] For people speak thus, make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.

[35:23] But as it is, they desire a better country. A heavenly one. For God has prepared for them a city. What is sustaining Abraham is the promise of the reward.

[35:37] That there's something better coming prepared by God. And then when we look at the life of Moses, what was sustaining him as he let go of all the wealth promised to him in Egypt?

[35:54] All of those treasures and fleeting pleasures. Pleasures. He let them go. He gave them up. He released them. Why? By faith he left Egypt, verse 27, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

[36:15] He knew God's character. Seeing him who is invisible is a way of talking about faith. Trusting in God's character. And so Abraham was trusting in God's promised reward.

[36:27] We see Moses trusting in God's character. This is faith. This is sustaining them. And it must sustain you. What's sustaining you, Christian?

[36:43] How are you getting by? We have this greater revelation in the person of Jesus. We have these better promises of the new covenant.

[36:55] Blood bought, spirit indwelt. God writing his law on our hearts. What is getting you through? What will sustain you when you experience marginalization is God's character and his promise.

[37:11] You got to be storing it up. The third thing I want you to notice, the difference that their faith made is this. Their faith defined them.

[37:25] And here's what I mean by that. They saw themselves differently because of their faith. They viewed themselves a certain way in relationship to the rest of the world, rest of the earth.

[37:39] Let me try to help you see that. In 11.9, we read this. By faith, Abraham went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land. I'm sure you saw this in verse 13.

[37:54] These all died in faith, having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. They were wanderers.

[38:05] They were instigators. They viewed themselves as strangers and exiles as this is not my home.

[38:21] Abraham. Abraham. Haran was no longer his home. Moses. Egypt was no longer his home. Rahab. Jericho was no longer her home. Brothers and sisters, we need to understand something.

[38:37] That the USA, no matter how wonderful of a country it is, it's not our ultimate home. It's not our homeland. Our true home is the city whose designer and builder is God.

[38:50] And that heavenly place is unshakable. God preparing it. Eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love him.

[39:04] So let me ask you this, Christian. Have you acknowledged recently that you are a stranger in exile in this world?

[39:15] Have you acknowledged that? Do you see yourself that way? Are you seeking your heavenly homeland? If you're saying, no, it's been a while.

[39:31] Just open up Revelation 21 and 22 this afternoon. Get a big dose of the new Jerusalem which will descend upon the new earth. And what it will mean is this.

[39:44] As you tighten your grip by faith on God and his promises, it will loosen your grip on this world.

[39:55] And it will loosen the world's grip on you. That's what happened with Moses. It will change the way that you look at your finances. It will change the way you steward your time.

[40:07] It will change the way that you use your talents that God has given you. You will start thinking more and more about how can I use these things for God's glory. The sanctuary right now is full of people living in the United States.

[40:24] But this sanctuary is full of people who are citizens, birthright citizens, second birth, blood-bought citizens of heaven.

[40:36] We're all heaven-bound. We're all making our way through as strangers and exiles together following Jesus. The fourth difference that this makes is that their faith commended them.

[40:54] God commended their faith. In 11.16, by faith, God, their faith made God say, I'm not ashamed to be called their God.

[41:05] It's God calling them as his own. They're mine. Noah was an heir of righteousness that comes by faith.

[41:17] He's been justified by his faith in the work that Christ would do on the Christ. These are people of faith whom the world was not worthy.

[41:29] This is God commending them. In verse 2, we see this commendation for it. By the people of old received their commendation. Abel was commended.

[41:41] Enoch was commended. And if you look at verse 39, And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised. Faith pleases God.

[41:51] In fact, it's impossible to please God, verse 6, without this kind of faith. Trusting God's character and his promises.

[42:06] So here's what that means for us. We've been justified by our faith in Christ's finished work. But we must endure by faith all the way to the end.

[42:16] Until our last breath. And so what this should do is, it should aim you at attuning your ear to a certain commendation from the Lord Jesus Christ.

[42:27] When you stand before him and you hear him say, Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter the joy of your master. Come into the city that I have prepared for you. The commendation of faith.

[42:41] It's what unites us to these Old Testament saints. Christian, we've looked at what a faith that endures looked like.

[43:00] We've looked at the faith of those who endured. And if you're a follower of Jesus and you're taking Jesus seriously, you will be marginalized. But like the saints of old, we must endure by faith.

[43:17] Till our last breath. Would you repeat after me? Christ is my. Risen and reigning. Priest and king.

[43:28] The anchor of my soul. The object of my faith. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we do want to be faithful to the end.

[43:43] We thank you that you have given yourself for us so that we would remain faithful. You are so worthy. Would you, Lord Jesus, sustain us as we experience different kinds of marginalization from the world that we're in.

[44:01] That we're in the world. You've called us out of this world. That we would bear witness to you in the world. God, would you use us? God, would you strengthen us?

[44:14] Lord, would you cause your word to bubble up into our hearts? That we would, by faith, stand upon your promises. Because by faith, we are convinced of your character.

[44:29] In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.