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.
!
Pastoral position at a church, Parkview Church in Iowa City, Iowa.
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.
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.
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.
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.
By faith.
All right.
Yeah.
All right.
You ready?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
He was so thankful for the freedoms we have to gather in our nation.
But not everybody around the world has freedoms to gather.
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.
We're just not citizens of the United States of America.
We are citizens of the ultimate promised land.
We are citizens of heaven.
We are birthright citizens.
Second birthright.
Citizens of heaven.
Hebrews describes this city whose designer and builder is God.
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.
To be marginalized.
To be marginalized is to be made an outsider.
To become a social outcast.
To be exiled.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Hebrews 11,
two things.
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.
So,
the faith that endures,
and the faith of those
who did endure.
The hall of faith.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
It's in pole position.
By faith,
Abel.
By faith,
Enoch.
By faith,
Noah.
By faith,
Abraham.
By faith,
Isaac and Sarah.
By faith.
faith.
What is faith?
Let's get a definition working.
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.
First,
now faith
is the assurance of things hoped for.
That word assurance
simply means
an act of confidence.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A city.
A future place.
With God's people.
This hope
is a forward-looking faith
in what the Lord has promised.
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.
It fuels endurance.
The second aspect of faith
is not only is assurance of things hoped for,
it's the conviction of things unseen.
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.
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.
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.
God always follows through on what he says.
He always follows through.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Probably not.
God is powerful.
But we also see God's power
trusted in 11,
excuse me,
in discussing Abraham
in 11.19.
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.
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.
all these aspects
of God's nature
is things that we trust in,
we're convinced of.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Do you see
this kind of faith
operating in your life
right now?
Not five years ago.
Not one year
in high school.
Today.
Is this
functional faith
in you?
All of us
have room to grow.
We can all trust God
and his promises more.
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.
Great is thy
faithfulness.
Lamentations chapter 3.
There are just
beautiful passages
that God reveals
who he is
and how we can
trust him.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And you will
endure.
So we need to
be actively
standing on God's
promises as we
trust in God's
character.
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.
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.
Hebrews 11 is the
hall of faith.
The who's who of
the faith.
It's being
pointed.
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.
And that's why he's
talking to these
Christians in the
book of Hebrews.
Be like them.
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.
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.
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.
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.
But that took place
in Genesis 4.
Enoch Genesis 5.
Noah Genesis 6.
Abraham Genesis 12.
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.
Jacob.
We see that in
verse 20.
Excuse me.
21.
That's Genesis 48.
Joseph in 22 is
Genesis 50.
Moses.
Actually his parents.
Exodus 2.
And then Moses in
verse 24 through
28.
We're talking about
Exodus 2.
3 and 12.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Because of the once for all
sacrifice of Christ.
That's old news now.
The New Covenant has come.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
You're not one of us.
Marginalized.
Moses,
purposefully denied being
called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter.
Verse 24.
I don't think that went over well.
He incurred the wrath of the
Pharaoh.
Marginalized.
Rahab, double outcast.
She was a Canaanite in Jericho,
but she was a prostitute.
Talk about being marginalized.
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.
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.
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.
We'll be marginalized.
You'll need to endure.
Their faith marginalized them.
Second, their faith sustained them.
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.
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.
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?
Their faith.
Their trust.
In fact, when it comes to Abraham,
I just want you to notice this.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
How are you getting by?
We have this greater revelation in the
person of Jesus.
We have these better promises of the
new covenant.
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.
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.
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.
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.
These all died in faith, having
acknowledged that they were strangers
and exiles on the earth.
They were wanderers.
They were instigators.
They viewed themselves as strangers and exiles
as this is not my home.
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.
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.
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.
So let me ask you this, Christian.
Have you acknowledged recently that you are a stranger in exile in this world?
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.
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.
As you tighten your grip by faith on God and his promises, it will loosen your grip on this world.
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.
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.
But this sanctuary is full of people who are citizens, birthright citizens, second birth, blood-bought citizens of heaven.
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.
God commended their faith.
In 11.16, by faith, God, their faith made God say, I'm not ashamed to be called their God.
It's God calling them as his own.
They're mine.
Noah was an heir of righteousness that comes by faith.
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.
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.
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.
In fact, it's impossible to please God, verse 6, without this kind of faith.
Trusting God's character and his promises.
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.
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.
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.
It's what unites us to these Old Testament saints.
Christian, we've looked at what a faith that endures looked like.
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.
Till our last breath.
Would you repeat after me?
Christ is my.
Risen and reigning.
Priest and king.
The anchor of my soul.
The object of my faith.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we do want to be faithful to the end.
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.
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?
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.
In the name of Jesus we pray.
Amen.