WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.120 Well, as we continue in worship, let me invite you to join me in Hebrews chapter 11. 00:00:05.179 --> 00:00:10.419 ! And as you turn there, let me say thank you to Pastor Brett. We were texting overnight on his 00:00:10.419 --> 00:00:15.519 ! Canadian vacation, and he sends his greeting to you. We had a chance to talk on the phone a few weeks 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:21.080 ago and talk about this opportunity. So thank you to him. Also, just to echo what Pastor Jason said, 00:00:21.140 --> 00:00:26.300 thank you to you. Realize that not every church does this or is able to do this, to allow their 00:00:26.300 --> 00:00:31.440 pastor to go on a sabbatical like this. So thank you, First Baptist, for allowing your pastor to get 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:36.060 some rest and to be productive. I know you've seen a lot of his pictures as they've been traveling. 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:41.039 I hope that he's able to come back next week refreshed and recharged. And finally, thank you to 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:45.640 you, Pastor Jason. Thank you for your friendship. As Jason mentioned, he was my pastor in middle 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:51.299 school and high school. So it's been a joy to see you, to see these different opportunities as you 00:00:51.299 --> 00:00:56.140 serve the churches in this area. Although, as he just mentioned, Brett texted us a couple weeks 00:00:56.140 --> 00:01:02.179 ago and said that he was going to finish up Hebrews chapter 10. That left all of Hebrews 11 for Jason 00:01:02.179 --> 00:01:06.400 and I. And being the nice guy that I try to be, I said, Jason, you're going first. You choose what 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:14.480 you want. 40 verses. Jason chose six of those last week. So I have the other 34 today in the next 30 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:23.120 minutes or so. So if you can listen fast, I'll try to talk fast. Hebrews chapter 11. Well, this theme 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:27.359 in Hebrews of faith you've seen the last couple weeks. With Brett two weeks ago, you heard this 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:32.719 at the end of Hebrews chapter 10. Quoting from the Old Testament, verse 38, but my righteous one will 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:38.400 live by faith. And then last week, again, in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1, you heard this in verse 1. 00:01:38.660 --> 00:01:46.240 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, for the proof of what is not seen. What is not seen. 00:01:46.260 --> 00:01:51.560 I want you to make a note of that. Underline that or take a note there. That theme of faith in what is 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:56.960 not seen or faith in the unseen is what we're going to trace through Hebrews 11 this morning 00:01:56.960 --> 00:02:04.000 as we look at all these different examples of men and women who had faith in the unseen. Now realize 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:09.080 that this morning, as we sit here in Toccoa, Georgia, you have already shown faith in the unseen this 00:02:09.080 --> 00:02:15.159 morning. As you got out of bed and as you began to walk around your house, I'm imagining that you did 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:21.620 not hold on to things for fear that gravity was going to float you up into the air. Or as you walked 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:27.259 to your car, I'm betting that you did not hold on to some sort of rail afraid that gravity was going 00:02:27.259 --> 00:02:32.579 to take you into the sky and nobody would ever see you again. Why? Well, you had faith that gravity, 00:02:33.019 --> 00:02:39.740 though it is unseen, would continue to operate as it always has. You had faith this morning. You also had 00:02:39.740 --> 00:02:44.319 faith as you got into your car. Now imagine that for most of you this morning, you probably did not 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:50.060 pop the hood on your car and look at every part of your engine to make sure it was working right before 00:02:50.060 --> 00:02:56.259 you put the key in the ignition or press start on your car and drove here this morning. You had faith 00:02:56.259 --> 00:03:02.280 in some unseen elements in your car that it would get you here to worship this morning. Now depending on 00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:06.719 who was driving, you may have had differing levels of faith. Maybe it was your spouse or maybe you were 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:12.620 driven by a teenager this morning and maybe you had a little bit of lack of faith. That's okay. But you and I 00:03:12.620 --> 00:03:20.960 show faith in the unseen all the time. But friends, when it comes to God, when it comes to placing faith 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:30.219 in our God who is unseen, we often struggle, don't we? Our God is spirit. He holds the worlds in his hands. 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:39.879 He operates in the unseen realm. And yet even as you heard last week, we have a tendency to want to place 00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:46.620 our faith in things that we can see, to place our faith in things that are tangible. And yet even that 00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:52.199 can deceive us. Even when we put our faith in things we can see, we can be deceived. And that's not just 00:03:52.199 --> 00:03:59.500 true in an age of artificial intelligence. That's been true since the beginning of the Bible. Genesis 3, 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:08.300 Eve saw and then she was deceived. So as we go through Hebrews 11, let me invite you to have faith in the 00:04:08.300 --> 00:04:15.800 unseen this morning. Faith in our God who works for your good and for his glory, even when you cannot 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:22.139 see. In fact, that's the main idea of this passage this morning. Because of God's past faithfulness to 00:04:22.139 --> 00:04:30.259 his people, we can have faith in the unseen by seeking Jesus. Because of God's past faithfulness 00:04:30.259 --> 00:04:38.420 to his people, as recorded for us here in Hebrews 11, we can have faith in the unseen by seeking Jesus. 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:43.819 Let me read a couple of verses that we will end with today at the end of Hebrews 11 and then pray 00:04:43.819 --> 00:04:48.879 and ask for the Lord's help. Hebrews chapter 11, starting in verse 39. 00:04:51.379 --> 00:04:52.899 And God's word says this, 00:04:52.899 --> 00:05:18.500 Father, I pray that you would grant us this better faith in the unseen this morning. And we trust your 00:05:18.500 --> 00:05:25.279 promise even now that your word does not return empty. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. 00:05:26.899 --> 00:05:31.139 You know, when you have unseen moments in your life, when you're planning for the future and you 00:05:31.139 --> 00:05:36.259 can't see it, or are you going through suffering and you can't really see the end, when you and I have 00:05:36.259 --> 00:05:43.000 moments like that in our life, we often look to the past for faith in the present. We do this with God. 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:46.819 We do this just in normal everyday life. For example, if you have a surgery coming up 00:05:46.819 --> 00:05:51.579 and you're laying there on the operating table and the last thing you hear before the doctor begins 00:05:51.579 --> 00:05:59.040 to operate on you is, hello, this is my first time doing this surgery, that's probably not going to 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:05.740 give you much faith. No, what you want to hear is that this person giving you surgery has reviews. 00:06:06.259 --> 00:06:12.480 He's had successful operations. You want to hear testimonials. You want to hear how in the past 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:18.420 he's been faithful to his craft. No one wants heart surgery from a doctor whose first time it is 00:06:18.420 --> 00:06:25.439 seeing an open heart. No, you want somebody who has been there before. Hebrews 11, then friends, 00:06:25.700 --> 00:06:31.300 is not a museum in this hall of faith. No, the point is not for you to walk around and see these great 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:37.540 statues of Abraham, of Noah, of others, and to say, wow, what great faith they had. No, the point of this 00:06:37.540 --> 00:06:45.000 chapter is this is a resume, a legacy of God's faithfulness. How the Lord has been faithful from 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:52.160 generation to generation to generation and how he continues to be faithful in your life even now. 00:06:52.920 --> 00:07:00.259 This is God's great legacy of faithfulness. Hebrews 11 looks to the past. Almost 30 times in this chapter, 00:07:00.320 --> 00:07:06.300 you're going to hear this phrase of faith. Almost 30 times in these 40 verses, this idea of faith 00:07:06.300 --> 00:07:11.680 resonates throughout the passage. So what we're going to do is walk through this passage rather quickly, 00:07:11.840 --> 00:07:17.540 and then I want to close with four applications regarding our faith. Sound good? That's what we're 00:07:17.540 --> 00:07:24.519 going to do anyways. All right, so verse 4, where you left off last week. By faith, Abel offered to God 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:31.040 a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith, he was approved as a righteous man because God approved his 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:37.800 gifts. And even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith. Verse 5, by faith, Enoch was taken away, 00:07:38.080 --> 00:07:44.800 and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:51.720 taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. So notice the repetition of the word approved there. 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:57.500 It just means to be a good witness or to give a report. We just read it in verse 39 as well. All these were 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:03.680 approved by their faith. They were good witnesses. They gave witness to the fact that God was faithful. 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:10.319 Again, we'll see that language throughout. Notice that Abel is an example of someone who is an innocent 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:16.279 sacrifice. If you remember the story back in Genesis 4, Cain and Abel go out. They both offer certain 00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:23.839 things, but as the text says here, Abel has a better sacrifice for Cain. And Cain kills his brother 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:29.939 Abel, the first family feud in the Bible, if you will. Abel is presented as someone who is innocent. 00:08:30.239 --> 00:08:36.579 The Bible here refers to him as a righteous man. Keep that in mind. An innocent man, a righteous man, 00:08:36.699 --> 00:08:43.559 who will die on behalf of others. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? And what Abel and Enoch shows us here, 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:51.179 friends, is that our reward for faith may not be in this lifetime. You see, when you place faith in God, 00:08:51.179 --> 00:08:56.839 you receive a reward that outlasts you. I see here in the text, verse 6. Now, without faith, 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:01.919 it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists, 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:07.199 and he rewards those who seek him. So there's going to be these summary statements throughout 00:09:07.199 --> 00:09:12.699 Hebrews 11. So the author here reflects on Abel and Enoch. And you say, Kenneth, what in the world? 00:09:13.199 --> 00:09:18.979 How are these rewarded right here? How is Abel rewarded? He dies. How is Enoch rewarded? He's not 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:27.720 given these lavish gifts. He's just simply taken away. Friends, it's because our faith in God earns a 00:09:27.720 --> 00:09:34.779 reward that outlasts this lifetime. You and I, when we place faith in Christ Jesus, receive a faith that 00:09:34.779 --> 00:09:45.820 escapes death. Abel and Enoch are alive even right now, experiencing the reward of faith. It's why we can 00:09:45.820 --> 00:09:51.860 say about martyrs who give their life for the cause of Christ have experienced the reward of faith. 00:09:52.560 --> 00:09:58.940 Is that you? Are you willing to place your faith in Jesus to not receive reward here on this earth or 00:09:58.940 --> 00:10:06.500 even in this lifetime, but to receive it for eternity, to receive the reward for faith even in the next life? 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:12.460 What about if God is calling you to do something radical or something crazy? Verse 7. 00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:19.180 By faith, Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:25.400 built an ark to deliver his family. By faith, he condemned the world and became an heir of the 00:10:25.400 --> 00:10:30.660 righteousness that comes by faith. Again, notice that phrase in verse 7, this theme we're seeing. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:38.360 After he was warned about what was not yet seen. Not yet seen. So what was Noah, how did he have faith? 00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:44.519 How did he have faith in what was not seen? My family and I, we listened to Arky, Arky several 00:10:44.519 --> 00:10:50.740 times in the car on the way down. So we love the story of Noah. And Genesis tells us that at the time 00:10:50.740 --> 00:10:56.560 when Noah was told to build this ark, it had not rained on the earth and water had never come from 00:10:56.560 --> 00:11:01.940 the sky before. It came up from the ground in the Garden of Eden. You can read this in Genesis chapter 2. 00:11:02.500 --> 00:11:06.700 So when God told Noah this was going to happen, what do you think Noah's conversation was like with 00:11:06.700 --> 00:11:11.500 the others around him? Yeah, I'm going to build this thing and there's going to be water falling from 00:11:11.500 --> 00:11:17.300 the sky. And these people looked at him like he had a six finger or something like, Noah, this is crazy. 00:11:17.420 --> 00:11:22.400 That's never happened before. And Noah said, I'm going to build a boat. And Noah lived in a place 00:11:22.400 --> 00:11:28.000 out in the plains of Mesopotamia, not near any ocean or lake or anything like that. So Noah said, 00:11:28.100 --> 00:11:35.080 what's rain, God? What's a boat, God? These things were unseen. And yet Noah stepped out in faith. 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:43.060 What is God calling you to do that is unseen even now? What is he calling you to do that might even 00:11:43.060 --> 00:11:50.560 seem radical? This is what you heard from Abraham last week. He stepped out in faith, not knowing any 00:11:50.560 --> 00:11:56.480 of those details. Again, you heard this in verses 8 through 10. What is God calling you to do to step 00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:04.080 out into the unseen future? Parents in here, it's Father's Day. What is unseen in terms of the life of 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:10.780 your kids? Are you willing to trust God with your kids and their future? Moms in here, future moms. 00:12:11.920 --> 00:12:20.360 Are you willing to trust God even with your womb? Verse 11, by faith, even Sarah herself, when she was 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:27.500 unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age. That's 00:12:27.500 --> 00:12:33.840 just a nice way of saying she was really old. She was 90. Since she considered the one God who had 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:42.580 promised was faithful. Do you see what Sarah trusted in? The one who had promised was faithful. God's past 00:12:42.580 --> 00:12:48.419 faithfulness, his resume. Now notice this is an impossible situation that the Bible is describing 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:56.240 here. Sarah is 90 years old. Abraham is 100 years old. And yet they are promised to go to a land, 00:12:56.240 --> 00:13:01.399 not knowing where they're going, but also to have a son. Verse 12, therefore from one man, in fact, 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:07.100 from one as good as dead, again, just another nice way of saying it, he's old here, came offspring as 00:13:07.100 --> 00:13:14.740 numerous as the stars of the sky and as innumerable as the grains of sand along the seashore. Now imagine 00:13:14.740 --> 00:13:20.240 being 100 years old. Imagine being 90 years old. You've never had a child before and you're told to go to 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:24.940 a land, not knowing where you're going, but you're also told you're going to have enough offspring that if 00:13:24.940 --> 00:13:31.200 you were to go to the beach, you're going to have more offspring than sand on the seashore. An 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:38.000 impossible situation. Now as the dad of two little ones, I find it fascinating that they would even 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:43.960 have the energy to keep up with two little or a little one, a toddler running around at 100 years 00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:49.860 old, at 90 years old. So I wonder, saints in this room, maybe you feel like you are too old for the Lord 00:13:49.860 --> 00:13:53.620 to use. I'm not saying you're going to have a child like this. Please don't hear me saying that. 00:13:54.899 --> 00:13:59.720 But I wonder what is unseen in your life. What is God calling you to do in your future? 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:09.180 Would you place your yes on the table to follow him? Now Abraham got glimpses. The author here is 00:14:09.180 --> 00:14:14.200 going to provide another summary in verses 13 through 16. Let me read a couple parts for you. Verse 13, 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:21.520 they all died in faith. But see at the end of verse 13 there, but they saw from a distance. They saw from 00:14:21.520 --> 00:14:27.120 a distance. This is similar to what the author has already said in Hebrews 10. These Old Testament saints 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:34.060 saw shadows. Do you remember this from a few weeks ago? They saw shadows of that which the substance is 00:14:34.060 --> 00:14:42.980 who? Christ. They saw from a distance. Or even now in verse 16, but now they desire a better place, 00:14:42.980 --> 00:14:48.960 a heavenly one. Now these Old Testament saints, they are to be commended for their faith. But again, 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:56.460 this is not a museum of saints here. It is God's resume. It is his legacy of faithfulness. We look to 00:14:56.460 --> 00:15:04.240 him. Well, that son of promise that was promised to Abraham and Sarah would eventually come. Verse 17, 00:15:04.759 --> 00:15:11.560 by faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises, and yet he was offering his 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:18.579 one and only son. His one and only son, to whom it had been said, your offspring will be called through 00:15:18.579 --> 00:15:24.559 Isaac. And he considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead. Therefore, he received 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:33.119 him back, figuratively speaking. Now Genesis 22 covers this story where Abraham and Sarah are finally given 00:15:33.119 --> 00:15:39.459 Isaac in chapter 21. And in the very next chapter, Abraham takes Isaac on a father-son camping trip. 00:15:39.460 --> 00:15:47.660 And yet he has Isaac carry this wood up a mountain, lays Isaac on the wood, holds up a knife to kill 00:15:47.660 --> 00:15:54.800 his son. And then the Lord calls out, Abraham, Abraham. Now I know that your faith is great. 00:15:55.660 --> 00:16:00.759 Now I've always wondered, what was the conversation with Sarah like after this camping trip? Did Abraham 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:05.160 explain what happened? Or did Isaac say, yeah, dad raised a knife to my throat. But then the Lord 00:16:05.159 --> 00:16:12.779 provided the ram. They probably didn't go camping too much after that. But the ethical issue of killing 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:17.079 one's son is not what the author of Hebrews mentions. Now instead, the author of Hebrews 00:16:17.079 --> 00:16:23.959 mentioned in verse 19, there's this tension. You see, if God promised that this line of faithfulness 00:16:23.959 --> 00:16:31.240 would come through Isaac, this one son, and then that one son was killed, then would God be considered 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:37.720 faithful to his promise? If God finally provided this son, but then took this son away, what would 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:46.320 people then think about God? And the answer, verse 19, is that Abraham even considered God to be able to 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:57.100 raise someone from the dead. A one and only son raised from the dead to keep the promises of God. 00:16:57.100 --> 00:17:03.720 God. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Now here we come to the audience participation portion of our 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:08.680 message. Look, I know this is still early. It's around 9.15, you know, the second service. They get 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:13.680 to sleep in right now. But I need you to do this, and I did this with my four-year-old, so I know that 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:18.460 you can do this as well. We're going to read through verses 20 through 31. Ten times you're going to see 00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:24.140 this phrase, by faith. So I'm going to say by, and I want you to say faith. All right, let's practice. 00:17:24.140 --> 00:17:29.460 By faith. Okay, that was okay. We'll see if it gets better throughout, okay? Ten times. Ready? 00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:35.640 Follow along in your Bible. Verse 20, by faith. There we go. Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning 00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:42.160 things to come. By faith. Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:47.740 leaning on the top of his staff. By faith. Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the 00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:53.720 exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones. By faith. All right, more energy, 00:17:53.720 --> 00:17:57.740 more energy. We're almost done. Moses, after he was born, was hidden by his parents for three months 00:17:57.740 --> 00:18:02.880 because they saw the child was beautiful. They didn't fear the king's edict. By faith. There we go. 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:07.460 Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter and chose to suffer 00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:12.940 with the people of God rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. For he considered reproach for the 00:18:12.940 --> 00:18:17.360 sake of Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt since he was looking forward 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:23.619 ahead to the reward. By faith. He left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king's anger. For Moses 00:18:23.619 --> 00:18:30.419 persevered as one who sees him who is invisible. By faith. He instituted the Passover and the sprinkling 00:18:30.419 --> 00:18:36.740 of the blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites. By faith. They crossed 00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:41.759 the Red Sea as though it were on dry ground. And when the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned. 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:48.000 By faith. The walls of Jericho fell down. After being marched around by the Israelites for seven days. 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:57.480 By faith. Rahab, the prostitute, welcomed the spies in peace and didn't perish with those who disobeyed. 00:18:58.140 --> 00:19:06.160 Do you hear the repetition here? Throughout generations of God's people, by faith, by faith, 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:14.580 by faith, they trusted in the unseen. God said, I'm going to knock these walls down. They trusted in faith. 00:19:14.900 --> 00:19:21.360 God said, you're going to cross through a sea on dry ground. By faith, they crossed over. 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:28.160 And again, this is not a museum that we admire. Even the last one there, Rahab, the prostitute, 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:34.779 even in the New Testament, her occupation is still referred to. These are people who were sinners, 00:19:34.779 --> 00:19:40.399 who messed up. And it continues in verse 32. And what more can I say? Time is too short. 00:19:40.779 --> 00:19:46.079 Pastor Jason, I feel this this morning. Time's a little too short for me. To tell about Gideon, 00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:51.639 Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets who, by faith, conquered kingdoms, 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:58.579 administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, 00:19:58.579 --> 00:20:03.139 escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength and weakness, became mighty in battle, 00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:09.040 and put foreign armies to flight. I mean, these often are not the ones that we would read through 00:20:09.040 --> 00:20:13.680 the Old Testament and put into a hall of faith. I mean, walk through some of these names here. Again, 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:19.160 you see Rahab, the prostitute, Gideon, and Barak. Read through the book of Judges. Both these guys 00:20:19.160 --> 00:20:25.320 were scared to lead God's people into battle. Samson as well. Samson broke his covenant with God because 00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:33.339 he couldn't keep his hair cut. Jephthah foolishly sacrificed his own daughter. David had an affair, 00:20:33.460 --> 00:20:40.559 and it led to ruin in his kingdom. Friends, as we look at this list, this should give you and I hope 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:48.019 and courage that we too can place faith in God. Because we too, sitting here this morning, are sinners 00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:56.900 in need of the grace and mercy that only our Lord Jesus can provide. Now, these men and these women had 00:20:56.900 --> 00:21:02.819 faith, and yet they were still sinners. Their faith was not made perfect because of themselves. 00:21:03.980 --> 00:21:10.339 This should give you and I hope this morning. When you struggle with faith, when you struggle with doubt, 00:21:10.339 --> 00:21:18.720 I love what the honesty of the Father in Mark chapter 9, when Jesus asked, do you believe? And he says, 00:21:18.819 --> 00:21:27.459 I do believe. Help my unbelief. Don't you feel that in your life? Don't you feel the mixture of belief 00:21:27.459 --> 00:21:36.139 and unbelief in your own life? Lord, I do believe. Help my unbelief. The author brings it to the present 00:21:36.140 --> 00:21:44.660 day. Verse 35. Women received their dead, raised to life again. Other people were tortured, not accepting 00:21:44.660 --> 00:21:49.700 release so that they might gain a better resurrection. Others experienced mocking and scourgings as well as 00:21:49.700 --> 00:21:54.259 bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawed in two. They died by the sword. They wandered around 00:21:54.259 --> 00:22:00.420 in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. I love the double mention of the others 00:22:00.420 --> 00:22:07.620 here in verse 35 and 36. Men and women who throughout the history of the church, we don't even know their 00:22:07.620 --> 00:22:13.700 name and yet we have been passed down this faith legacy from them. And I'm encouraged because most 00:22:13.700 --> 00:22:18.340 of us, if not all of us in this room, are not going to be included on a list of hall of faith like this. 00:22:18.340 --> 00:22:28.160 Instead, we are the others. You are an other this week as you serve kids here at VBS. You are an other 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:32.420 as you change diapers in the nursery so that other parents can get a break and come in here 00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:39.720 and worship. You are an other as you teach Sunday school. Your name, my name, is not written on any 00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:45.180 list like this, but friends, we are the others. Aren't you thankful for the others in your life? 00:22:46.259 --> 00:22:51.920 I think of those who taught me Sunday school at Poplar Springs or those who took me to youth camp 00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:59.400 when I was young and obnoxious. Think of the others in your life. Would you dare to be an other for those 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:05.759 in your life as well? And yet these others had an other worldly kind of faith. Verse 38, 00:23:06.360 --> 00:23:12.180 this world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and 00:23:12.180 --> 00:23:17.460 holes in the ground. The world was not worthy of them because they had faith worthy of another world. 00:23:17.460 --> 00:23:23.720 And we end where we began. Verse 39, all these were approved. Again, they gave a good report 00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:32.120 through their faith. But they did not receive what was promised since God had provided something 00:23:32.120 --> 00:23:40.480 better, something better, someone better for us so that they would not be made perfect without us. 00:23:41.259 --> 00:23:47.279 Something better. You know, as I read through this story, especially as a kid, I always imagine 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:51.399 what would it be like to be a part of these Old Testament stories. Have you ever thought about 00:23:51.399 --> 00:23:56.680 that? What would it be like to be on Noah's ark and to see all the animals come in? What would it 00:23:56.680 --> 00:24:02.259 be like here in chapter 11 to walk through the Red Sea on dry ground? What would it be like to 00:24:02.259 --> 00:24:08.119 experience the walls of Jericho just come tumbling down? And yet the author says here that as great as 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:13.059 those stories are, when you and I get to heaven and we're talking to Noah, we're talking to Abraham, 00:24:13.059 --> 00:24:19.740 they're talking to Joshua, that they're not going to want to talk about any of that. Why? Because we 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:27.220 have been given something better. We have been giving someone better. All these Old Testament saints had 00:24:27.220 --> 00:24:34.879 faith in someone better. A messenger, a Messiah, a seed from the line of Abraham, promised from the very 00:24:34.879 --> 00:24:41.279 beginning of the Bible. Someone better than the blood, innocent sacrifice of Abel in the field. 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:48.599 Someone better who would taste death unlike Enoch. Someone better who went on a journey in faith from 00:24:48.599 --> 00:24:54.940 heaven to earth. Someone better than Isaac, a true one and only son brought back from the dead. 00:24:55.399 --> 00:25:01.339 Someone better than Moses, a greater prophet. Someone better than the Red Sea who liberates all from 00:25:01.339 --> 00:25:07.259 captivity. Someone better than Joshua. Someone better than David. A better prophet, a better priest, 00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:16.000 a better king, a better sacrifice, a better tabernacle. And his name is Jesus. Jesus, friends, is better. 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:24.960 He is better. Why? Why is Jesus better? You'll be here next week, but let me read just a portion. 00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:33.000 Hebrews 12. Therefore, in light of chapter 11, all these saints, since we have such a large cloud of 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:37.940 witnesses, that is everybody that we've seen here surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:43.759 and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:53.799 keeping our eyes on Jesus. See it here. Who is the source? Who is the foundation and the perfecter of our what? 00:25:54.460 --> 00:26:02.339 Our faith. How do you have faith in the unseen? You have faith in the unseen by keeping your eyes on Jesus. 00:26:02.339 --> 00:26:07.959 Jesus. Friends, Jesus, especially if you're here this morning and you've never placed faith in the Lord 00:26:07.959 --> 00:26:14.559 before, this is totally different from any other religion or worldview. There is no other religion 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:21.279 or worldview that has a list like this of people who look forward to them. There is not a list of people 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:27.019 who look forward to Muhammad or since then. There is not a list of people who look forward to Buddha 00:26:27.019 --> 00:26:36.539 before or since then. Krishna, go through the line. Jesus Christ, Jesus alone. He who was, who is, and is to 00:26:36.539 --> 00:26:45.460 come. Jesus Christ is the reason that you and I can have faith in the unseen. So let me close with four 00:26:45.460 --> 00:26:53.960 applications here. Number one, have faith in the unseen reward. Have faith in the unseen reward. 00:26:53.960 --> 00:27:01.039 Just like Abel and Enoch did not experience a reward for faith in this lifetime, they experienced 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:08.920 after death or in light of death. And friends, it's often tempting for us to live for the here and now, 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:18.960 isn't it? To live for the temporary reward. So will you trust in Jesus and take a delayed payment 00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:28.039 for your reward of faith? Students in here, young people in here. It can be so tempting to live for 00:27:28.039 --> 00:27:33.360 the here and now. It can be tempting to want the boyfriend or the girlfriend because that's what 00:27:33.360 --> 00:27:38.079 everybody else has. It can be tempting to give into the substance because that's what's cool. It can be 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:42.240 tempting to live for the here and now. And yet what Jesus offers you is better. 00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:49.880 And it is not just better for eternity. He says that your life will be better now. Your life will 00:27:49.880 --> 00:27:54.960 be better now if you will trust in him. Have faith in the unseen reward. Number two, have faith in the 00:27:54.960 --> 00:28:05.019 unseen future. Have faith in the unseen future. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, this line of promise to where 00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:10.099 they could not see right away, but they trusted. Even going to a place where they didn't know they were 00:28:10.099 --> 00:28:18.339 going. Even being old in age and having a child, they trusted in the future that God was planning for 00:28:18.339 --> 00:28:23.679 them. I know we're still in graduation season here. Maybe some of you in this room have graduated even 00:28:23.679 --> 00:28:30.259 over the last couple months from high school, from college, maybe from another degree. Will you place 00:28:30.259 --> 00:28:37.359 your faith in God as you enter the workforce, as you pursue more school? Perhaps you would even pursue 00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:43.319 a spouse and a family. Maybe some of you are pursuing your career even now and you look forward 00:28:43.319 --> 00:28:50.439 to that new job. Or maybe you're in the day-to-day. Maybe you left home this morning with bills on your 00:28:50.439 --> 00:28:56.059 kitchen table, left on your countertop, and you came here this morning not quite knowing how you're going 00:28:56.059 --> 00:29:02.399 to pay those this week. Will you trust in God for your daily bread, the one who provides and meets 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:08.200 your needs? Will you trust in the unseen future? When you can't see a way out, will you trust in the 00:29:08.200 --> 00:29:15.019 God who does? Number three, have faith in the unseen suffering. Have faith in the unseen suffering. 00:29:16.180 --> 00:29:20.980 Again, you look at this list of what the others endured here at the end of chapter 11. They were 00:29:20.980 --> 00:29:26.460 tortured. They were mocked. They were scourged. They were imprisoned. They were stoned. They were sawed in two. 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:32.480 None of these saw suffering coming. And the thing about suffering is when you're in the midst of 00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:38.960 suffering, you don't know when it's going to end either. Will you trust in the Lord who sees the 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:45.519 unseen suffering, who gives us faith to endure, who gives us faith that one day our faith will be made 00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:53.100 sight? And number four, have faith in the better Savior for he has been seen. Praise God. 00:29:53.099 --> 00:29:59.279 The reason that you and I can have faith in the unseen reward, in the unseen future, and in the 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:07.839 unseen suffering is because Jesus Christ left the unseen in order to be seen. He left the throne room 00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:15.019 of heaven, John 3, and was sent, like you and I are now sent, to tell others of the good news. And when 00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:20.619 Jesus Christ comes on the scene, he comes saying, repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Why? 00:30:20.619 --> 00:30:28.199 Because the kingdom of God has now been made flesh. Jesus Christ came, John says, and he tabernacled 00:30:28.199 --> 00:30:34.719 among us. The word of God from eternity past made incarnate for you and I. And now you and I have his 00:30:34.719 --> 00:30:41.619 words. You and I have these witnesses, these reports, these eyewitness accounts. Jesus Christ has been seen. 00:30:42.379 --> 00:30:49.799 Therefore, you and I can have faith. Father's Day causes you to reflect on the past. I was thinking this 00:30:49.799 --> 00:30:54.480 morning, my four-year-old and my one-year-old. I remember being in the hospital for both of their 00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:59.879 births. I remember holding them for the first time. And I remember becoming a dad and then being a dad 00:30:59.879 --> 00:31:06.819 for the second time. And I remember both of those times being amazed at how our kids could recognize 00:31:06.819 --> 00:31:13.519 our voice, even though we had never seen them before and they had never seen us. It's precious holding 00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:19.339 your child and speaking to them and seeing them calm down because they recognize your voice. And they 00:31:19.339 --> 00:31:23.639 look to the past. Even though their past is only nine months in the womb, that's all they have to 00:31:23.639 --> 00:31:33.420 look back on. They recognized a voice. It calmed them. It soothed them. It does it even now when our 00:31:33.420 --> 00:31:37.519 toddler is running around in the park and she scrapes her knee. She looks to the past. She runs to mom 00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:42.400 and dad because she knows that we've always held her. We've always provided band-aids for her boo-boos. 00:31:42.460 --> 00:31:47.619 We've always kissed her. She looks to the past and she does that because she knows that mom and dad 00:31:47.619 --> 00:31:55.559 will care for her. That's our resume as parents and we always will. Friends, does your relationship 00:31:55.559 --> 00:32:01.940 with God look anything like that? Does it look like running to the arms of a heavenly father like we just 00:32:01.940 --> 00:32:08.779 sang about? This is what he desires for you so that when you can't see and that when you don't know 00:32:08.779 --> 00:32:16.299 what's going on, he is waiting there for you to run to his arms, to trust in him so that you can have 00:32:16.299 --> 00:32:24.120 faith when you don't see what's going on. That's his legacy. That's his resume. Trust him even for the 00:32:24.119 --> 00:32:32.279 first time today. Father, thank you for this passage. Father, I thank you that you have chosen to include 00:32:32.279 --> 00:32:39.919 people in this text even who did not live perfect earthly lives. Father, it is an encouragement to us 00:32:39.919 --> 00:32:47.219 in this room because we are not perfect. Father, we are sinners in need of a better savior, better faith. 00:32:47.220 --> 00:32:56.480 Father, as we reflect on the lives of Abraham, Noah, Isaac, and others. Father, we are thankful for the 00:32:56.480 --> 00:33:03.839 cross. We are thankful that you as a one and only son did come back to life and therefore you have been 00:33:03.839 --> 00:33:09.779 seen and we can have faith. I pray for my brothers and sisters here this morning who are going through 00:33:09.779 --> 00:33:17.180 suffering, who have stress and anxiety about the unseen future in their lives. Father, 00:33:17.220 --> 00:33:24.200 even now would you have a chance for us to respond in faith, in faith, perhaps even for the very first 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:28.200 time. It's in Christ's name that we pray. Amen.