Others With No Name

[0:00] We're going to get started on our Sunday school hour here this morning as Hebrews chapter 11.! Hebrews chapter 11 this morning as we continue here with our series of those in Scripture with no name, you know, more than a name, but the impact they had is critical in our lives.

[0:21] And we're going to see here this morning as we begin looking here at this, and others with no name is going to be this morning, Hebrews chapter 11.

[0:33] But I'll know if anyone has ever counted all the names listed in the Bible, you know, listed with the genealogies. You know, it's quite a list of individuals that the Bible speaks specifically of.

[0:46] You know, we find names on that list, you know, of Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses and Rahab and Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah and David and Samuel.

[1:03] And the prophets like Elijah and Elisha and Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel. You know, you know, in Hebrews chapter 11, all those are listed specifically. Listed and spoken about within the Scripture.

[1:16] And why? Because of their faith. You know, their faith made the list. And we're going to look here this morning at these because as we look down through here, look at verse 33 in chapter 11.

[1:34] And it says, And so, And what you'll see here today is we're going to be looking at these others that were not mentioned but had great faith.

[2:42] Let's pray. Heavenly Fathers, we come before you this morning, Lord, as we take a look at the reality that they, people that not even mentioned by name but stood fast in trusting you in their life.

[2:56] Lord, not only for salvation but just for who you are, Lord, holding on to you in the midst of the storms of life. And Lord, we pray just have your hand upon each heart, each life here today.

[3:07] Lord, you just work in our hearts and lives in a mighty way. Lord, we might understand the importance of these untold individuals and their faith that has impacted so many.

[3:24] And Lord, we ask it all in your precious name. Amen. You know, as we see here that the Bible speaks of those, the others, you know, the understanding of these different ones that were mentioned and understanding the importance of it, the other ones who did these things.

[3:45] In verse 36, And others had trials of cruel mockings and scourging, yea, moreover, bonds and imprisonment. You know, others and their faith. You know, that covers a lot of territory because it doesn't just list, it doesn't stop with the list of people mentioned in the Bible.

[4:02] That list, you could extend that list today. That Hebrews chapter 11, the hall of faith, I believe that list continued. And I think that's the reason God had it do, the others.

[4:17] Because if that was to be added to, I think throughout history, you'll find many others that could be put on that list. Others whose faith impacted people.

[4:29] Impacted not only their relationship with God, but impacted others. Have you stopped to consider whose faith has impacted your life? Because as a believer, there's always somebody who impacts your life.

[4:41] That impacts those things. And I know what I'm going to do quick here before I go any farther. Because I don't want to stumble around up here. Better tie my shoe.

[4:54] Just stepped on my shoelace. And we don't need any good acts this morning. But you know, have you ever thought about those who have impacted your faith? You know, I was working through this. I was thinking, you know, a lot of people, you know, it doesn't take a great name.

[5:07] You know, oftentimes people list maybe some famous evangelist or other people who may have impacted. But you know, some of the most influential people are those that others might not know.

[5:19] Because it's just their faithfulness made a difference in your life. You know, I was thinking about individuals that have made an impact in my life, you know, by examples of faith.

[5:32] I mean, I remember my pastor as a kid, Dean Button. Very few in here even know who that is. But he was a man that made an impact on my faith because of his.

[5:44] You think about individuals of, like, some of you may know who Eldon Stevens is. I mean, he was another one. Great influence, you know. You have individuals by a friend of mine, Ron Moxon, and pastors down Tucson.

[5:59] And you had a chance to meet him. He's one that's impacted my faith. Or even Dan Inman. You know, many remember Pastor Inman. You know. His faithfulness made a difference.

[6:12] You could have, I could add names on the list like men like Eli Haru or Cecil Tolbert or even Tom Schulte. I mean, you could add a list when you start thinking about all the people who made an impact in your life because of their faith.

[6:30] These others without a name are here at the end of Hebrews 11 represent the many who have been persecuted, in some cases been martyred for their faith. But there's much more we can learn from their lives that have come through the fire rather than having been destroyed in their faith, have become pure and noble.

[6:51] You know. Think about who are some of the others who have influenced your life. They might not have faced devastating consequences of their faith like these, but you'll see faith is impacted in your life.

[7:06] And you see God working through trials in their life. You know, will we exercise faith when times get difficult? Will we exercise those things?

[7:17] If we will, we like Job can come out better on the other side. Job 23.10 says, But he knoweth the way that I take, and when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

[7:29] You know, what an impact. It had all the struggles, all the things that happened, but he remained faithful and had the blessing. And as we look here this morning, we see first here a persecution template because, you know, no generation has ever prayed for persecution.

[7:48] You know, if somebody said, I want to be persecuted, you would look at them and say, what's wrong with you? Because it's not natural for us to want to have problems. It's not natural for us to be persecuted and be tested for our faith.

[8:02] You know, many of us here today really aren't, in America, we're really not put to a hard test on our faith oftentimes. Oftentimes, it's pretty minuscule compared to other places.

[8:13] I mean, there's many things that we do not face that others in history of faith have faced for their faith. And we have to learn, even from these, to trust God in those moments.

[8:26] But it's because whenever we find people in the Bible or in history being persecuted, there's always growth as a result. You know, every time Satan tries to stomp out the revival fires in the book of Acts, a spark would fly up and land in another city or region and a great work would result.

[8:47] You know, Acts chapter 8 talks about this in verse 1. And at that time, there was a great persecution against the church, which was at Jerusalem. And they scattered abroad them, all the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

[9:01] And we see that they, it goes on, it says, therefore, they were scattered abroad, went everywhere preaching the word. You know, in other words, persecution had a positive impact overall.

[9:15] God used it. What others meant for evil, God used for good. When we understand it was not comfortable, it wasn't chosen, but what God worked through those things.

[9:30] But these individuals here, we have a notable past. There's a common thread that runs through every child of God. It's the thread of trials and temptations. You know, the Bible says it doesn't matter what generation you are, you're going to have them.

[9:44] It puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 10. It says, there hath no temptation taken you, but such is what? Common to man. In other words, if it's common, means it happens what?

[9:59] All the time. You know, things that are common is something that takes place very regularly. Every person that's used of God has to overcome difficulties.

[10:10] No Christian arrives at the destination in the will of God, traveling on what you might call easy street. But God uses problems and situations in our life to grow us.

[10:24] You know, oftentimes we don't like to grow because there's pain involved. There's something that causes us to be challenged.

[10:36] You know, even we talked earlier this morning about Paul's battle with the thorn in the flesh there in 2 Corinthians. You know, we realize he asked the Lord three times to deliver him, and God's response was exactly what he needed, but not what he wanted.

[10:54] Why did Paul desire to get rid of it? He said, this is uncomfortable. This is a problem. This is difficult. Lord, deal with the problem. And you know, remember, what did God tell him?

[11:04] He says, my grace is what? Sufficient. You know, struggle makes us stronger. You know, we understand that reality. I mean, that's the reason people go to the gym to get stronger.

[11:16] They don't go there because it's easy. They go there because they do something that causes resistance. Because resistance does what? Makes you stronger.

[11:29] Actually, oftentimes makes you more fit. You know, that's a problem they have. You know, when they, you see the astronauts come down from space, what's the big problem they've had? They've been in an environment lacking resistance.

[11:42] And it had a negative impact on their life physically. They have difficulties. And that's the reason they, they put things to have resistance.

[11:54] Why they're up there to help them adjust when they come back. Because that's, it's needful. Resistance isn't always a problem. It's not easy.

[12:05] But it's something that's needful. You know, think about Isaiah 48 and verse 10 tells us this. It says, behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

[12:19] You know, a notable past. You know, think about a negative promise here. You know, notice this. The Bible is filled with promises. And most of them we like. But, you know, think about, turn to 2 Timothy chapter 3 for a moment.

[12:33] 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 12. Here's a promise for you. The Bible says this. Yea, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall not have any problems.

[12:45] Is that what it says? What's it say? Shall suffer what? Persecution. This persecution that definitely comes to godly Christians is not without reason.

[13:02] You know, we are persecuted because we bear the name of Jesus who was perfect yet was persecuted above anyone who has ever lived. Jesus was without sin.

[13:14] He never wronged anyone in any way, but yet he was hated. You know, the Bible tells us in John 15, it says that the world hates you. Know that it hated him before it hated you.

[13:24] You know, we understand that we're no longer of the world. The persecution template has been in place for centuries and we're not going to be the exception to the rule.

[13:36] We can, you know, wherever it can be the exception is how we handle the persecution. You know, Jesus was our example. Think about 1 Peter chapter 2. Verse 23 says this, You know, we need to let God be the final judge of those who make it tough to live for Christ.

[14:03] You know, our job is to be faithful to the Lord and let God work out the details. Because we understand that not everything that happens we enjoy. You know, we often speak about Joseph because, I mean, Joseph had an understanding or at least came in maturity to understand the problems that he had and why those things came to pass.

[14:27] Because if you think about all the history of Joseph and his family, notice he says God did this for a purpose. I went through these trials and struggles and rejection, false accusations, all the things that he faced.

[14:45] And he said all that came because God had a reason. Genesis 50 says this, Joseph said unto them, Fear not, for I am in the place of God. But as for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it to good to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

[15:03] I mean, you think about that. God took the very evil his brothers put upon him, the choices brothers made to do evil, and God turned it around and saved the very ones who did it.

[15:17] Joseph kept his eyes on God through the trial. You know, he was able to see God's perspective rather than focusing on what he had to endure.

[15:28] To understand that the things we go through are for better and greater things that God has. God allows those things for a purpose. When your trial comes, ask God to give you the right perspective and the right spirit about dealing with it.

[15:46] You know, I think we've seen a shift in our nation. The comfort zone for Christians is not going to be present much longer. You see a major shift. It's okay to be religious.

[15:58] Just don't follow Jesus. You can talk about Jesus. You can talk about, you know, being kind to each other. You can talk about all those things. But don't talk about the fact that you're going to be held to account, personal responsibility that Jesus puts forth.

[16:14] You know, Jesus is... God tells us very clearly that we have a personal responsibility. That's the reason he came and paid the price for our sin as individuals is because we have a personal accountability to God.

[16:27] You're not judged for what somebody else did. You're going to stand in God's judgment for what you did. Help us have the right perspective. But notice here, probable temptation. You know, in all this persecution and trials of those in Hebrews 11 faced, they had to endure temptation.

[16:43] Temptation, verse 37, look here, it says, it talks about when they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted. You know?

[16:55] Temptation comes in many different forms and it's common to us and certainly to the others here in Hebrews 11. You know, because you know what? One of the most frequent temptations that we face is quitting.

[17:11] You've ever been tempted to quit. You know, the reality is the easiest thing to do when conflict comes is to run the other direction. It's easy to begin with. You know, it's easy to run away from the battle, but it takes an extra measure of God's strength and grace to stay faithful in the battle.

[17:28] But God commands faithfulness. You know, take a look. Look over to 1 Corinthians chapter 4. 1 Corinthians chapter 4. And you see over here this very simple principle that you find in God's word.

[17:40] He says this in verse 2. He says, Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found what? Faithful. I want you to understand, it's not optional.

[17:56] It's a requirement. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 58 tells us this. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

[18:13] You know, steadfast, unmovable, abounding in the work of the Lord. And you know what it tells us? It says your labor. When you labor, it means automatically it's not easy. You know, labor involves effort.

[18:24] It involves intention. It doesn't just happen. It's intentional. You know, 2 Peter 3, verse 17 says, You know, the interesting thing, if you start studying history and you study, read a little bit about the martyrs throughout the generations, You know, one of the things that almost all of them were given was a chance to deny Christ.

[18:57] Just deny Him and we'll spare your life. Just deny Him and do this and everything will be okay. You know, many times they were faced with torture.

[19:09] You know, when you read through different accounts, many of their experiences were brutal and inhumane. Some of them endured it for months and years. You know, I guarantee you that every one of them had a temptation to quit.

[19:22] You say, how do you know that, preacher? Because there were people. When difficulty comes, our first inclination is, how do I get out? The question is, what do we do when that temptation comes? Because it's not the fact that temptation is there.

[19:34] It's how we respond to the temptation that makes the difference. There's nothing that we shouldn't be upset that temptation comes. The question is, how do we respond to it?

[19:46] Do we throw in the towel or do you stick with it? You know, what we enjoy even today. You know, we're talking about Memorial Day tomorrow. You know, what the liberties we enjoy is because somebody had the fortitude to stick through difficulties.

[19:59] Even to the price of their life, they were steadfast and unmovable. It had been easy to quit, but to see things through is not easy.

[20:10] The reality is great to quit. You know, we're challenged with that, but we need to understand that we need to have the fortitude to continue.

[20:21] Because the quenching is essential. You know, one of the keys to remaining faithful in battle is being diligent to quench the fiery darts of the devil's temptations.

[20:33] You know, think about Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 15 says this, Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. You know, darts come in all sizes and shapes.

[20:47] And when your fear is bigger than your faith is when you'll quit. Because really, when challenges come, we have fear on one side that says self-preservation. And you have faith on the other side that says this is the right thing.

[21:02] This is the direction. This is how and what we must do. This is what's going to be beneficial. Beneficial. To take the shield of faith, every one of those darts can be quenched.

[21:14] You know, 1 John chapter 5 says this, For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. For this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. You know, the faith to trust God and to obey God even when it's not easy.

[21:32] You know, by faith we focus on Christ rather than the crisis, rather than the circumstance, rather than the chaos, rather than the catastrophe that happens.

[21:44] We keep our eyes upon the Lord. You know, think about Hebrews 12. What's it tell us? Looking unto Jesus, what the author and finisher of what? Our faith.

[21:55] The author and finisher. In other words, from the beginning of your faith to the end of your faith, it must be Christ. Christ is the essential. Our faith is not to be in ourselves, but rather it has to be in God and the power of His Word.

[22:11] You know, people are tempted to quit. You'll see a lot of things today. Churches are folding to popular opinion. You know, you see it taking place with people.

[22:24] You know, I've talked to some different individuals and they talk about their churches. You know, as a pastor, it's easy to get in church conversations. But here at the elections, one of the co-workers that I was with and she was talking about her church.

[22:38] She says, I just don't understand. The more inclusive we become, the smaller congregation we get. Now the preacher's in a quandary because you're not supposed to discuss that stuff at the election table. But what I'm thinking in my mind is, is that you're, when you get away from God's Word, how do you expect God's blessing?

[22:53] And then she goes on. Well, our, well, our, I'm trying to remember how she phrased it now. She talked, she made a reference to her female preacher and how even fewer people came when she showed up.

[23:04] Now I want you to understand that what's the problem? The farther they move from the truth of God's Word, the farther they are. They've compromised truth.

[23:17] They're not willing to remain faithful because their eyes are on what other people think. Rather than the Word of God. If you're going to stand with the Word of God, it's sometimes going to make other people uncomfortable.

[23:31] Because it goes against the grain of the world. It goes against the grain that they would want. We see here that Jesus, though, gives us an example of how do we endure temptation?

[23:42] How does our faith keep focused upon Him? Well, very simply, when you think about it, when Jesus was tempted in Matthew chapter 4, Jesus gives us a template to deal with temptation.

[23:55] Because the Bible says He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. You know what He said? I'm going to show you how to be faithful. And faithfulness in Matthew chapter 4, when it talks about the temptation of the devil tempting Jesus, you know, there's something interesting about that passage is the fact that Jesus did the same thing to face every temptation.

[24:16] The exact same thing He did each time. What was that? He quoted Scripture. Every time He went back to Scripture. You know, Matthew 4, 4 says, Matthew 4, 7, Matthew 4, verse 10, How do we endure temptation?

[24:51] By knowing what God says of the direction we need to take with it. To know what God says. You know, the Word of God ought to be our foundation. Not opinion, or not what people desire, or not what's comfortable, but what does God say?

[25:06] It's not always going to be easy, but it's going to be the best. It's what's going to be a blessing. It's what's going to be beneficial. We might not always see it working the way we think it ought to.

[25:20] You know, think about even in Ephesians 6, what's it talk about? He has all these defensive things, and the only offensive weapon we have is the Word of God. The defense is built on the things of God, from the truth of God's Word, and our only offense is the Word of God.

[25:35] You know, it talks about Ephesians 6, 17, the sword of the Spirit, which is what? The Word of God. Knowing your Bible is important. What is God's perspective on it?

[25:46] You know, the devil will sneak up and attack when we least expect it. We have to have our understanding of God's Word set in our mind.

[25:57] What does God have to say about it? You know, that's the reason things, not only memorizing God's Word or reading God's Word, but actually studying God's Word. Because study is where we say, how does this apply?

[26:14] How does it interact with one another? Because, you know, today, you know, soundbite theology is a major issue. People take a passage, and then this becomes their filter.

[26:26] They filter the rest of the Word of God through. I want you to understand the Word of God is perfectly connected. Sometimes it's difficult.

[26:38] How do I balance this principle with this principle? What does that look like in real life of how do you stand for truth but yet have grace? That's sometimes difficult, isn't it?

[26:51] Because oftentimes we say truth is hard and harsh. It's fixed. You know, the Bible talks about His Word being the rock, but yet He says we ought to have grace just as He gave to us.

[27:02] The Bible says to speak truth in what? Love. In other words, God says both are true, but it's how you do it. How you employ those things that make a difference.

[27:15] Because can we employ things wrongly? You know? You know, that's the reason the Bible tells dads not to provoke their children to wrath. Is it right for a dad to correct his kids?

[27:26] Very important, isn't it? But the how it's done is also important. See? The Bible gives us that balance that you have to understand.

[27:38] It's not just a harsh punishment. It's also bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. How do those two interact? And sometimes that's a challenge because when it comes to kids, you know what?

[27:49] Every kid's different. Then the kids start getting involved. You didn't do that with them. Well, they're different. That's sometimes a hard balance to work through, isn't it? But God gives us those balances. And the Bible tells us in Psalm 119, verse 9, it says, Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereunto according to thy word?

[28:08] With thy whole heart I have sought thee. Oh, let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. You know?

[28:19] The reality is this. Satan studies us and knows your weakness. You know? Those darts of the devil are at the weakness.

[28:31] As in several times, he'll do that throughout the day. He'll go to the spot. He'll look to what he considers a weakness in the shield of faith. You know, where are you struggling?

[28:42] Where are those things? He's going to throw a dart there. That's the reason we need to have those things ready. And have things to not only deflect or to absorb them, but to be able to be offensive with them in that sense of not offending somebody, but having an offense.

[28:59] What should I do when this happens? You know, what does God's word say about it? How should I respond to this? Because we need to understand that the devil is always trying to trick.

[29:09] He's trying to deceive. The Bible tells us he was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.

[29:23] Now, I want you to understand, because we understand this dynamic in real life. When we get caught up in a lie, it's not because the lie was obvious. We get caught up in a lie because it seems to make sense.

[29:34] It seems to be something that, well, that sounds right, but that's the reason we need the word of God to be able to say, is it right? Because we usually don't get caught by lies that are obvious.

[29:48] You know, if you were to walk outside and we're standing looking up at the sky and I'm telling you, it's green. The sky is green. What would you do? You'd look at me and say, preacher, you don't have a clue what color it is.

[30:00] You need to go get your eyes checked. How do you know that's not true? Because you have something, an understanding of what is true. The same works in the word of God. The devil loves to deceive, but we need to know what the truth is in order to identify a lie because the problem is, is a lie gets caught up very simply because it sounds good.

[30:22] Our culture manipulates with lies all the time. This will be beneficial for you. I mean, you think, well, let's use a big one in society. How about abortion? Abortion is a lot of people buying a big lie.

[30:34] It's there because they believe the lie, this is beneficial for me. But we know from God's word, it's not. It's killing of a person. It's selfishness. It's seeking what I want because it's comfortable or convenient.

[30:47] I mean, there's a lot of elements. It's more than just killing a child, but how many lies and layers of lies do they believe to get there? It's lies that they believe that are counter to the word of God. How do you counteract them in your mind to say, what does God say?

[30:59] What does God say? How does that fit? How does that put together? Because there's no truth. We need to understand that you counteract a lie with it is written.

[31:10] You know, if you were to be named with these others, these unnamed people here in Hebrews chapter 11, who live by faith, it is essential to learn how to quench the darts of the devil.

[31:22] You know, because we see here they had a purpose tenacity. There was a tenacity there that stuck with a faithfulness that these others displayed didn't happen by accident.

[31:35] It was purposeful. It was fervent because they deemed him more worthy than the immediate relief or satisfaction. You know, oftentimes people give up or give in because it's convenient for the moment.

[31:48] It's easy to give up when it's convenient. But we forget to look and see what's the long-term impact. You know, they had a heavenly fame. Look here in verse 38.

[31:59] It says this, I mean, these people had some issues. They had problems.

[32:12] Notice what happened to them back in verse 37. They were stoned. They were sawn asunder. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They wandered in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented.

[32:24] You know, these others lived apart from the world that the world wanted nothing to do with them. And these others were renowned in the earth. Their names were never in the limelight, but they were known in heaven.

[32:35] You know what? Sometimes we worry more about what the world thinks about our name than what God thinks. Because what we ought to say is, what does God see when he looks at me? Where would we be placed? You know, we understand that we ought to worry about what God's perspective is.

[32:49] This is why the scripture reminds us over and over to live separate from the world and its influences. You know, Micah 2.10 says, Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest.

[33:00] Because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. You know, sometimes we have to just avoid the things of the world. You have to make a choice that's counter.

[33:13] And the things we do, the places we go, the decisions we make, the priorities we place. We need to understand Romans 12.2 says this, Colossians says, You know, when we understand this heavenly fame of what God would have, what is God's perspective on it?

[33:45] And we see here this hall of faith. And as we read down the list of names here in Hebrews chapter 11, the words by faith and through faith precede each of those that are named.

[33:58] You know, likewise the others are characterized with the words through faith. Look at verse 39. And all these having obtained a good report through faith.

[34:12] Who was given the report? God. They have obtained a good report through what? Faith. Trusting in what God said.

[34:25] You know, to be full of faith is to be faithful. You know, consider what Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 verse 21. He makes it clear, Well done thou what good and faithful servant.

[34:40] You know, today we look for a lot of heroes all over. You know, people we get all sorts of heroes promoted. I mean, you see sports heroes. I mean, it's amazing how many people will follow heroes of sports.

[34:52] You know, people who did great things. And they'll be able to give you stats all the way down through from when they first did their first little league or whatever it was. I mean, it's amazing how people follow somebody.

[35:03] And they look up to them. Or you have individuals in music. I mean, it's amazing how many people are influenced by musicians.

[35:14] You know, your music impacts you. It creates a way you think. Now, we can look at certain musicians and say, Oh, yeah, they're ungodly individuals. But you know what the problem is?

[35:25] Those aren't really the problem. The problem are those that promote lies that sound good. There's a lot of music under a Christian label that promote lies contrary to the Word of God.

[35:36] When you hear a song, don't listen to it because somebody you like sang it. We ought to take a little discernment and look at it and say, is it speaking truth? Because if it's not speaking truth by you repeating that into your mind, you know what it's doing?

[35:50] It's planting seeds of lies in your head. I know a preacher's stepping on toes today, right? But it's important to stop and think the things we watch, you know?

[36:01] I hate watching shows about the Bible. It's funny. You'll read these reviews. Oh, this is going great. And I'm looking at it going, I'm five minutes in and this whole thing.

[36:12] It's messed up. But you know what the problem is? You have a whole world that believes the lie. Because they think what's being shown to them is truth. That's the danger.

[36:24] You know, I'm going to step on toes. I guess we're almost done. We'll just stomp here a little bit. A lot of people watch shows like The Chosen. Chosen is so contrary to the Word of God.

[36:36] It promotes Jesus in a light contrary to the Word of God. By watching it, you're saying that's okay, not only for you, but it's promoting and endorsing things that are counter to the Word of God.

[36:50] Like I said, the problem is, isn't the big things that are different? The danger is when you have a lie that's so close that people believe it to be true. You know, I look at it this way.

[37:02] If God wanted us to see God in a video form, He would have waited to send Jesus till today. But the Bible says it was at the appointed time. Because we don't, the Word of God doesn't give us extra perceptions that are added to try to twist Jesus to who they want Him to be.

[37:20] You can kick another one around about idols. Idol is an image that represents God. You can chew on that one a while of how that one works out. When you try to humanize Jesus in a picture, people have a picture in their mind, that's what Jesus is.

[37:34] I think there's a very important reason we have no pictures of Jesus. Because He's so much more than a picture. It becomes an idol that people would worship. So I want you to see here, the hall of fame here is those who had faith.

[37:47] You know, those that impact your life. You know, you need to understand the impact that you have is important and the impact that others have upon you is important. And the one we ought to look to is not only those that have been faithful to God that impact our life, but we ought to be looking and keeping our eyes on the author and finisher of our faith.

[38:08] Because nobody becomes a child of God without faith. And God expects us to keep faith as we move through.

[38:19] You know, Romans 5.1 says, Therefore being justified by what? Faith. Faith in what? Not just faith that there's a God, but faith that Jesus Christ came and died for your sin.

[38:32] That it wasn't just generic, but it was personal. Faith that what He did redeemed you. And that you're born again. You're new in Christ. That's the faith that saves.

[38:43] No one reaches the finish line without faith. We'll conclude here. Think about 2 Timothy 4.7, where the Apostle Paul says this, I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course.

[38:55] I have kept the faith. What about you? What can we learn from the others in the hall of fame of faith? The others that made a difference.

[39:07] Because the reality is, is you could be listed when you choose to follow Christ by faith. That list can include you here when God gives an order of this.

[39:19] I think one day we're going to see that in heaven. God's going to finish the list, you might say. When we receive our reward. But what about you? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we just come before you here once again.