Oakbrook Evangelical Free Church

“This is my Bible. It is the truth. It is living and active.  It judges          my thoughts and actions. Following it I will never walk in
darkness.
I am who it says I am. I have what it says I have.
Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess that my mind is alert and my heart is open to hear God’s Word.
In Jesus name, Amen.”

Hebrews 12:14–15 (NAS)
“Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled”

Introduction:
1,         Broadsided – the story of a car accident!
This last section is about living life in a hostile world where everything does not go as we had hoped for or planned

2,         Review
Setting
Running with endurance the race marked out for you – The race is our lives!  We are in a race and It is a struggle!

The race marked out for us
You are called to run your race – not someone else’!

First, remove things that hinder
Second, remove sin that so easily distracts / entangles!
Third, stay focus on Christ
Hebrews 12:2 “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus
Hebrews 2:9 “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Hebrews 3:1 “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.”

II.         Be responsive to your trainer!
How God Trains Us – Through Discipline, Hebrews 12:4-11

God’s discipline comes to train us!
He allows difficulty and hardship to come. He uses it for good.
Who can on his/her own deal with hindrances and sins?
God must help us!  He is the loving Father that sends the reproofs of life!

~ Do not take lightly! Don’t ignor what he says!
~ Do not lose heart! – You are His son / daughter!
Endure hardship as a discipline!
Submit to the Father of your spirit!
Physical father – father of your flesh
Spiritual father – father of your spirit

“When all kinds of trials and temptations come into your life, do not reject them as enemies but welcome them as friends realizing that they come to produce in you the qualities of godliness!”  James 1:5-9

III.        Deal With Your Issues!, Hebrews 12:12-17
A.  General: Deal with your issues:
~ Strengthen (lift up – plural) feeble arms and weak knees
Deal first with yourselves!
Get your own heart right toward your troubles!

~ Watch your influence on others!
the self-made potholes and mountains for your feet

So that you can bring healing to the lame (disjointed) in your life!

The Greek word ektrepo, translated “be put out of joint” (v. 13), has the technical medical sense of a foot turning so as to become dislocated. This power comes as we draw upon our resources for strength, namely, the Word of God and the ministry of our great High Priest (4:12-16).

Watch your influence on others!
Take care that you are not a stumbling block to those who travel with you.  Their faith is fragile!

B.        Specific Issues!
1.         Pursue peace with everyone!
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (NASV)

Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

2.         Pursue holiness
Hebrews 10:14
“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (ESV)

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he (God the Father) made him (Jesus Christ) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Christ we might become the righteousness of God.” (ESV)

It is a mistake to view holiness as righteous behavior we accomplish in our own lives.  The kind of righteousness that will allow us to see God is a gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ.  We are to continually see ourselves as already righteous in His eyes through the gracious act of God on the basis of the death and resurrection of Christ.

Through our righteous standing before God we have peace with God.
This is a strong motivation for us to live righteously before God.
And, when we don’t we experience an inward distress that is designed by God to bring us again and again back to the throne of grace to receive His mercy and find His grace to help in time of need!

And as we do we are being progressively transformed into Christ’s likeness with ever increasing glory! (2 Corinthians 3:18).

3.         Deal with any Root of Bitterness
Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled” (ESV)

Hebrews 3:12 “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” (ESV)

Hurt…anger (almost always a secondary emotion)…
resentment…bitterness

Bitterness & Resentment
When you are offended or disappointed by others and allow the hurt to germinate in your heart, bitterness and resentment will take root. Characterized by an unforgiving spirit and generally negative, critical attitudes, bitterness and resentment are sinful and self-defeating.  They will color your conscious and unconscious thoughts and actions. Allowed to fester,  they will destroy and kill (Galatians 5:19-21). However, they can be dispelled with love.

Job 3:20 “Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul,”

Proverbs 14:10 “The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.” (ESV)

Lamentations 3:15-26

“He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me with wormwood…      But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Like depression and other forms of emotional stress, bitterness and resentment causes trouble to ourselves and others.
Your relationships will always suffer.

Trouble: “In a fixed state of ” plus “trouble”
A primary preposition denoting (fixed) position in place, time or state
1 to excite
2 to disturb, the push others away.
3 to trouble, ashalt and molest.
4 to always be in confusion, in an uproar.
5 to be vexed, molested, troubled

But for the called out ones, God injects his awesome grace!
We allow ourselves to get hung up on the past or hang onto the past.
We can only solve our problems in the future!
If we allow ourselves to focus on them all of us have a parade of the horribles in life.

Some of us have become profession “big dumps”.
We know God is good.  We know of His promises but we are filled with “yes buts” and “poor me”.

How do you want your future to look?
How do you want your children’s future to look?  At their graduation? At their wedding?
~ The healing power of God’s awesome presence!

What Scripture Says “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”  Hebrews 12:14

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,  even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you”(Ephesians 4:31,32).

“Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23).

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…. ” (Luke 23:34).

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt 6:14,15).

“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice,  and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.  Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay,  saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:14-21).

C.        The Mountain of Doom and Gloom vs the Mountain God, v18 Pray in this manner: Father,  I acknowledge that I’ve held resentment and bitterness against ______________.  I confess this as sin and ask you to forgive me. I forgive _____________. Remind me, Lord, to not hold any more resentments, but rather to love this person. Father, I ask you to also forgive __________________. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name,

Suggested Reading Bitterness Acts 8:23; Romans 3:14; Ephesians 4:31; Hebrews 12:15; James 3:14.

Hatred  Leviticus 19:17; Proverbs 10:12; Proverbs 15:17; 1 John 2:9; 1 John 4:20.

Envy  Psalms 37:1; Proverbs 3:31; Proverbs 23:17; Galatians 5:26; Genesis 26:14;  Matthew 27:18.

Malice  1 Corinthians 5:8; 14:20; Colossians 3:8; 1 Peter 2:1; Esther 3:6; Psalms 140:3; Isaiah 59:4,5; Matthew 27:23; John 12:10; Acts 7:54.

Article: Updated: October 23, 2006, 8:42 AM ET

Father, paralyzed son ready for final Ironman race

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — When Rick Hoyt developed cerebral palsy at birth in 1962 after his umbilical cord became wrapped around his neck, cutting off oxygen to his brain, doctors suggested to his parents that he be institutionalized. But Dick Hoyt and his wife refused, insisting that their son have as normal a life as possible.

AP Photo/Jeff ChiuRick Hoyt (left) and his father, Dick, have competed in nearly 1,000 marathons and triathlons over 27 years.

Although some might question whether running nearly 1,000 marathons and triathlons over 27 years is normal, the Hoyts think it is. On Saturday, Dick and Rick will attempt their fifth Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship.

The normal life saw Rick, who cannot talk or walk, graduating from a public high school and going on to Boston College, where he earned a degree in special education. After teaching for one year, Rick turned to his interest in computers, and helped Boston College develop the “Eagle Eyes” computer system that uses eye and head movements to help him communicate. While attending a college basketball game, he heard an announcement about a benefit run for a cross-country runner who had become paralyzed in an accident.

Dick remembers his son coming home and saying, “Dad, we have to do something for him. I want to show him that life goes on even though he is paralyzed.”

“It was Rick who was the motivation,” for their racing career, Hoyt said. “He asked me to race.”  That first race, in 1979, was a five-mile run with Dick pushing Rick in a two-wheel running chair.

“We started building up to marathons, and entered our first marathon in 1981,” Hoyt said. Their list of racing accomplishments includes 64 marathons, a distance of 26.2 miles, including 24 consecutive Boston Marathons.  “We did our first triathlon in 1985 — a one-mile swim, 40-mile bike ride and a 10-mile run,” Hoyt said.

In 1988, they attempted their first Ironman race, featuring a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a full marathon. They had to drop out when Dick became nauseated during the swim and failed to make the cutoff time. They returned the next year and finished the race. In 2003, they crashed at the 85-mile mark of the bicycle ride and spent five hours in a hospital emergency room. But they finished again in 2004.

They also completed a triathlon over the Ironman distance that was not sanctioned by Ironman. That race, in 1986 at Cape Cod, Mass., gave them their best finish time of 13½ hours.

“Rick loves sports,” his father said. “He really looks forward to the Ironman and gets very excited. He is getting the same benefits I get. His adrenelin really gets going.”

During the swim, Hoyt tows his son in a 5-foot-long rubber inflatable boat, with a tow line attached to a belt around his waist. Rick sits in a seat in front of the specially built bike, and in a three-wheel chair for the run. “The chair has been updated to make it lighter,” Hoyt said.

The long bicycle ride takes athletes from the pier in a seaside village over barren lava fields to the rolling ranch lands at the northern end of Hawaii Island.  “I don’t mind the hills, but the winds can be brutal,” said Hoyt, who pushes a total of 365 pounds during the bike ride.

“I don’t know how much longer I can do this,” said Hoyt, 66, adding that this will be their last Ironman-distance race. “But we’re not giving up on triathlons.”  He said he and his son, now 44, plan to compete in the new Ironman 70.3 series of races, which cover a distance half that of the regular Ironman course.

Now retired from the Massachusetts Air National Guard after 37 years, Hoyt spends much of his time traveling extensively as a motivational speaker. He also promotes the book he wrote during the first six months of his retirement. The book, “It’s Only A Mountain,” book chronicles how Rick’s parents “went about raising him,” and “is selling all over the world,” the father said. “It was recently translated into Korean and is in the process of being translated into Japanese.”

The Hoyts also are featured in two DVDs, including one called “Team Hoyt Ironman” with “My Redeemer Lives” as background music that Hoyt said is “very powerful.”

Their impact is evident when they walk down the street here and are constantly stopped by fans who wish them well, thank them for their inspiration and ask to pose for pictures.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

http://www2.godtube.com/featured/video/my-redeemer-lives-team-hoyt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUPadKgtYHw

Hebrews 12:1–3 (ESV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Setting
The scene shifts from The Hall of Faith to a sports stadium
where distance runners are running the race of their lifetime.  The stands are filled to capacity with witnesses among whom are numbered those listed in Chapter 11.  Everyone is cheering on those running their race.

I.          The Race of Your Life!, Hebrews 12:1-3

A.        The Audience
The cloud of witnesses – In what sense are they witnesses?
Probably not in the sense of being spectators watching their successors as we run our race.

Rather, by their life of faith, their loyalty to Christ and their perseverance in their race their lives are a witness to us!

It is not so much that they look at us in the race but that we look to them who ran their race. There they are.  The record of their lives speaks volumes to us to encourage us to run our race well.

The Audience of One
Story: When the great British leader, Winston Churchill was asked why he was not stung by a vicious attach from a fellow member of the Parliament he replied, “If I respected him, I would care about his opinion.  But I don’t, so I don’t.”

We are among those who live before an Audience of One.  We should constantly remind ourselves and say to the world, “I have only one audience. Before you I have nothing to prove, nothing to gain, nothing to lose.”

Churchill went on to say in a speech to the Hose of Commons on September 30, 1941, “I hear it said that leaders should keep their ears to the ground.  All I can say is that the British nation will find it very hard to look up to the leaders who are detected in that ungainly pose.  Nothing is more dangerous than to live in the temperamental atmosphere of a Gallup Poll – always feeling one’s pulse and taking one’s temperature.”

Can you imagine how Moses would have lived if he were to have taken a poll in Egypt?

The very fact that we are among “the called out ones” means that we have an Audience of One!  As you have a growing awareness of this “Audience of One” in your life you will be better able to find meaning and satisfaction.

One of the great missionaries to China, General Charles Gordon, said,  “The more one sees of life, the more one feels, in order to keep from shipwreck, the necessity of steering by the Polar Star, i.e. in a word leave to God alone, and never pay attention to the favors or smiles of man; if God smiles on you, neither the smile or frown of men can affect you.”

B.        The race marked out for you – The race is our lives!
The Christian is in a contest!  It is a struggle!

1 Corinthians 9:24–27 “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

The race marked out for us
You are called to run your race – not someone else’!

Martin Luther’s parents wanted him to be a lawyer.
He felt called to be a monk!
One of the great reformers in Western history was William Wilberforce
a lawyer and English politician.  He was an ugly little man with a long nose and a weak constitution.  In 1785 at the age of 25 he experienced conversion to faith in Christ.  His first reaction to the great change in his life was to leave politics and become a minister.  The slave trader, John Newton persuaded Wilberforce that God wanted him to stay in politics saying, “The Lord has raised you up for the good of the nation.”  After much prayer Wilberforce came to the conclusion that “God was calling him to champion the liberty of the oppressed as a Parliamentarian.  My walk is a public one.  My business is in the world; and I must mix in the assemblies of men, or quit the post which God in his providence seems to have assigned me.”

Calling for you and I is the truth that God in Christ calls us to himself!
This is not a casual suggestion but an authoritative urging from God himself!

As we personally answer the inner call of God’s Spirit to turn to Christ in faith, he not only saves us from sin and judgment.  He also leads us into a life of faith and he marks out a race just for us.

We are called to Him!
And in a secondary sense, we are called into our own personal race of homemaking, teaching, parenting, art, music, politics, vocational ministry, nursing, healing, accounting, constructing, public service, farming, exploring, inventing, leading, shepherding people, animal care, serving, showing hospitality, etc.

In the race you have the Audience of One
It is a life that is to be lived by faith!
It is a race, a contest, a struggle in which you will find yourself wrestling with the opposition of none other than the hosts of your flesh, the unbelieving world around you, and Satan.

C.        Remove things that hinder
Maybe perfectly good in their own way.  Maybe ok for other runners.
But in your race of faith they hinder your race and slow you down.
Runners must discipline themselves.
They must remove clothing and shoes that hinder and put on ones that help.  They must remove excess weight.
You must examine your own life and learn for yourself what hinders

D.        Remove the sin that so easy distracts / entangles!
Other things that a runner must take out of his/her life are the things that are clearly wrong!

Sin itself! Things that are wrong – Prone to wonder
The things that entangle – “so easily distract”  the specific sin(s) that snare you.  They trap you and enslave you.  You must in that brief You have only a nano second turn away.  “Constricting environment”

If you are to run your best race you must deal with both the hindrances and sins or live with the reality of “what might have been” or what might be!

Philippians 3:12–14 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

E.         Fix Your Eyes on the Goal
Hebrews 12:2 “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus
Hebrews 2:9 “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Hebrews 3:1 “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.”

Author and Perfecter =
Pathfinder / pioneer / leader who blazed the trail
He, himself ran the race of faith to a triumphal finish!
In Him, the race of faith has reached its perfection.
The triumph of God’s purpose in the universe is the “joy” set
before him.

Deuteronomy 31:8 “It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

He has gone ahead of us.
He has blazed the trail but he has also made a way for us.

John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

John 16:20–22 “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

John 16:24 “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Psalm 30:11–12 “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.”

II.         Realize That Your Struggles Are Training for the Race, Hebrews 12:4-11

God’s discipline comes to train us!
Who can on his/her own deal with hindrances and sins?
God must help us!  He is the loving Father that sends the reproofs of life!

Do not take lightly!
Do not lose heart!
Endure hardship as a discipline!
Submit to the Father of your spirit!

“When all kinds of trials and temptations come into your life, do not reject them as enemies but welcome them as friends realizing that they come to produce in you the qualities of godliness!”  James 1:5-9

III.        Help Others By Dealing With Your Issues!, Hebrews 12:12-17

A.  Deal with your issues:
~ Feeble arms
~ Weak knees
~ the self-made potholes for your feet
So that you can bring healing to the lame in your life!

B.        Deal with the Root of Bitterness
The Process: Hurt…anger…resentment…bitterness

BITTERNESS
Bitter fruit, Deuteronomy 32:32.
Bitterness of soul, Job 3:20; Proverbs 14:10.
Forsaking the Lord, Jeremiah 2:19.
Punished conscience, Jeremiah 4:18.
Gall of bitterness, Lamentations 3:15.
Filled with bitterness, Acts 8:23.
“Cursing and bitterness,” Romans 3:14
Bitterness overcome, Ephesians 4:31.
Bitter roots, Hebrews 12:15.
Bitterness harbored in heart, James 3:14.

See Animosity, Hatred, Jealousy.

Trouble: “In a fixed state of ” plus “trouble”
A primary preposition denoting (fixed) position in place, time or state
1 to excite a mob against one. 2 to disturb, roll away. 3 to trouble, molest. 4 be in confusion, in an uproar. 5 to be vexed, molested, troubled: by demons.

But for the called out ones, God injects his awesome grace!

~ The healing power of God’s awesome presence!

Hebrews 11:1–7
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

“This is my Bible. It is the truth. It is living and active.  It judges          my thoughts and actions. Following it I will never walk in
darkness.   I am who it says I am. I have what it says I have.
Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess that my mind is alert and my heart is open to hear God’s Word.
In Jesus name, Amen.”

Introduction:

Giant drop:

Vertical Velocity by the numbers

Superman: Ultimate Flight by the numbers

The Raging Bull is a hyper-twister steel roller coaster. It was built in 1999, and features a 208-foot (63 m) first drop and top speed of 73 miles per hour and is currently one of the most popular rides at Six Flags Great America.^{[citation needed]} In addition, it is one of the best rides in terms of operation, with a history of being very reliable.^{[citation needed]} At 5,057 feet (1,541 m) in length, it is the longest ride at Six Flags Great America. Raging Bull is the world’s first “hyper-twister” roller coaster.

Faith is the confident belief or trust in the truth or trustworthiness of a person.  Faith is about future events or outcomes

Faith isn’t the ability to believe long and far into the misty future. It’s  simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step. – Joni Erickson Tada

Childlike faith focuses on our Heavenly Father – not on our fears.
Faith is a bird that feels dawn breaking and sings while it is still dark.  -
When the heart weeps for what is lost, the spirit laughs for what faith sees.
Wash your face every morning in a bath of praise.   – Charles Spurgeon

I.          The Nature of Faith, 11:1-3
Faith or belief is used 27 X in this chapter
Faith is always two things:
1.         A sense of inner assurance “the substance of things hoped for” KJV

Hebrews 11:1–7
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

Physical eyes enable us to “see” the substance of our material world>
The spiritual eyes of faith enable us to “see” the substance of the invisible world.  Faith extends beyond the physical world.  Sight gives us the conviction of the physical world.  Faith gives us the conviction of the invisible world.

Faith does not contradict reason.
Faith goes beyond reason!

2.         A certainty of the reality of things we can’t see.
Faith is needed for what we can’t see or touch.

11:3  An example of faith’s ability to see invisible realities.
The words “God said” occur 9 x in Genesis 1.
1:3  Let there be light
1:6  Let there be an expanse between the waters
1:9  Let the waters be gathered in once place
1:11 Let the land produce vegetation
1:14 Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night
1:20 Let the water team with living creatures
1:24 Let the land produce living creatures according to their kind
1:26 Let us make man in our image
1:28  “Then God said, “Be fruitful and multiply”
1:30 “Then God said, “I give you ever seed-bearing plant

Faith gives understanding to the invisible world! It understands that behind everything visible is the invisible command of God

Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush aflame with God.
But only those who see take off their shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries!

“what is seen was not made out of what was visible” =
behind everything visible is invisible energy.  Faith in God’s revelation is a way of grasping reality – what actually took place without understanding all the steps that were involved.

Faith does not contradict reason, though it may go beyond reason.
One of the dominate themes of our day is “naturalism” – the belief that only what can be found and measured is real.  Some view God as a fairytale.

Faith allows you to march to the beat of a different reality only understood by faith.  “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it si because he hears a different drummer.”  Henry David Thoreau – not a believer.

Those who live by faith often act or react in ways contrary to normal reactions / actions.  They are counter-intuitive to human nature because they have faith in what God says.

3.         Commended for it!
Hall of faith.  Heroes of the faith.  Ordinary people.  Knows no gender or chronological age or race or nationality or period of history.  Wildly different personalities.  But they all had one thing in common – their personal faith!

The author is writing to those who are discouraged and are thinking about giving up on Jesus and their Christian faith.  They needed to be reminded of the good examples of ordinary people who trusted in an extraordinary God!

The way to be commended: 11:1, 4, 5-6, 16, 39
Taking God at his word pleases him.  W/o faith it is impossible to…

The first 3 examples of Abel, Enoch and Noah demonstrate the nature of faith.

II.         Qualities of Faith, 11:4-7
1.         Abel
The father of faith is Abraham.  “He believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness”  But faith goes all the way back to the beginning before the flood.

Cain and Abel enjoyed the simple life.
Cain was a farmer and brought an offering of grain.
Abel was a shepherd and brought fat from the firstborn of his flock.

Cain’s offering was not pleasing to God.  Abel’s was.
Why?  It appears that Cain’s offering was not given out of a heart of devotion.
This is revealed by his stubborn rejection of the opportunity God gave him to repent and make a new offering.

Principle: “Sacrifice is acceptable to God not because of its substance but because it is an outward expression of a heart of devotion and worship.”

Philippians 4:10-19
“I rejoice that you have renewed your concern for me…
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances
I have learned the secret of being content
It was good for you to share in my troubles.
Not one church shared with me in the matter of giving
I have received full payment and more
I am amply supplied now that I’ve received the gifts you sent
“They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, please to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

Do you see it?  Abel’s brief life of faith allows him to still speak to us!
In order to offer pleasing sacrifices from the heart you must trust the promise of God for your own sufficiency!

His faith teaches us that we must often wait for God to redress the injustices that we experience.  Abel’s blood cries out for justice to be done.  And it will be but in God’s time.  Not his!

2.         Enoch
“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.”

Genesis 6:5 (NAS)
“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Genesis 5:21–24 (NAS) “Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

Two lessons:
First, he pleased God by turning away from the godlessness of the world around him.

The text seems to indicate that the event that turned Enoch’s life around was the birth of a son whom he named “Methuselah” which means “death” and is translated “His death shall bring it”.  The chronology of Genesis 5 indicates that the flood took place in the year that Methuselah died.  Jude 14-15 mentions that he had received a word from God about this.

Faith always requires a word from God on which to rest.

Second, he maintained a daily walk with God which grew so close that he was taken to heaven without experiencing death.

Walked with God = a journey of faith!
“A steady daily growth in his relationship with God in which he took God as his word and acted in faith.”

A principle the author allies to all of us
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Faith means turning from human wisdom to God’s revelation
And walking in a growing relationship with God so that even death can’t interrupt it.

3.            Noah
a.            Being warned = Genesis 6:13-22  “So God said to Noah, ‘I’m going to put an end to all people”
b.            Prepared an ark = Real faith will always do something!
c.             He condemned the world
Noah was not necessarily a man who took time to preach a sermon to the gathering, jeering crowd.  The mere conduct of building ark without preaching a word felt like condemnation to the lost around him.

III.           Faith in the Lives of Believers Throughout History
A.            Abraham
He did step out in faith leaving his homeland to go to the land God promised.  But his faith was not perfect.  He was to take his family but leave his country, his people and his father’s household but he took his father.

He lived in the promised land as a resident alien!
That is, he lived there but didn’t take up permanent status!
He always have another “homeland” in his mind and heart!

B.            Sarah
Her faith was not perfect.  She laughed in unbelief but learned to laugh in faith.  Abraham and Sarah considered the One who promised to be faithful to his word.

God gave strength but they had to receive it by faith!

What do they teach us?  11:13-16
They believed the promises from God but they died never having fulfillmt
~ They saw them faroff
~ They were reassured by them
~ They embraced them – how many times a day do you think they had to remind themselves of God’s promises?
~ In faith they did not embrace their present circumstances as “home” but confessed their pilgrim status!
~ Their faith enabled them to endure difficulty

Truths about faith:
~ Faith is the way to see the invisible world
~ Biblical faith is always based on a word from God (Natural and Special Revelation)
~ Faith does not contradict science.  It complements it and goes beyond it.
~ Personal faith is the only way to please God
~ The personal faith of those in the hall of faith was seldom if ever perfect.
~Faith and doubt do not seem to be mutually exclusive but its development seem s to be a process of growing in trust and confidence in God and His word!
~ Faith operates in and impacts the here and now but is always looking into the future!
~ Faith is an action word: (note the underlined words in my text)
Indeed, 11:8-38 = The activities of faith

The punch line?  Hebrews 12:1-3

“This is my Bible. It is the truth. It is living and active.  It judges          my thoughts and actions. Following it I will never walk in
darkness.   I am who it says I am. I have what it says I have.
Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess that my mind is alert and my heart is open to hear God’s Word.
In Jesus name, Amen.”

Hebrews 10:26–39 (NIV)

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, “He who is coming will come and will not delay.  But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”  But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”

Introduction:
In view of all that Christ has accomplished for us on the cross
1.         Let us confidently draw near to God  – 10:22

2.         Let us hold onto our confession of faith – 10:23

3.    Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds! – 10:24

I.          A Fourth Warning, 10:26-31
Hebrews 10:26-27 “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God”

Do you know of anyone who does not struggle with deliberate sin?
Do you?  “Probably!”

1 John 1:8–2:2  “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Romans 7:14–15 “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

(The struggle of every believer: 1 Corinthians 3:1-4; Ephesians 4:15 – 5:20)

Galatians 6  “If anyone is caught in any trespass”  – not about that!

I agree with Pastor Ray Stedman
“It is not a sin one can stumble into suddenly.  It is not normal falterings of a Christian still learning how to walk in the Spirit.  It is not continual sinning from ignorance (as all of us do). It has been well termed “the leukemia of non-commitment.”

It is the renunciation of Christ and Christianity!
It occurs after someone has a full knowledge of Christ – that He is God in the flesh, that He is worthy to be worshipped, that He died voluntarily and his death is totally sufficient to pay for all their sins and that he rose from the dead and now intercedes for them at the right hand of God.

Hebrews 3:12 – falling away from the living God
6:4-8 – rejecting the truth once fully informed.

He goes on to say, “It is choosing to live for self behind a Christian veneer and refusing to be delivered from sin’s reign by the past sacrifice and present high priestly ministry of Jesus.”

And I add to this, “It is standing at the threshold of commitment to Christ without actually embracing him with a personal commitment of faith.  It is standing marriage alter and forever being a “runaway bride”.

1.         They have trampled the Son of God under foot.
Spurned the Son of God – contempt for Christ!

John 1:11–12

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Revelation 3:20 “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Story:  John 6:53–54, 60, 66-69 (NIV)

“Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day…On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”…From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Please hear me: it is not about leaving the church.  Christian’s often let each other down.  Yes, we need each other.  Yes, we are the called out ones who are not to forsake assembling ourselves together for worship and prayer and teaching and fellowship.

But the church and Christ are not the same!  The issue in this passive of “keep on sinning” means keep in living sin by standing at the door of inner, personal faith in Jesus Christ as your only hope for acceptance before God.

1 Peter 1:8–9 “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

2.         They have treated the blood of the New Covenant as common and trivial

1 Peter 1:18–19 “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

1 Peter 1:21–23 “Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

3.         They have insulted the Spirit of grace
It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.

John 3:3  “In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again….Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.!
Terrifying and awesome.

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 10:22 “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.”

It is fearful thing…
but it is also a blessed thing!

Exodus 3
Isaiah 6:1-5
Revelation 1:10-18

II.         Encouragement to Persevere
Encouraged to hang in there!

1.    Stood your ground

2.    Publically exposed to insult

3.    Stood side by side with those abused

With joy we watched a video Love shared with us
Turkmenistan – pastor arrested!

4.    Joyfully accepted confiscation of your property because you knew of the eternal city and lasting possessions.

“All the modern gods are sick and dying.  The nations that long lusted after power are now terrified by it. Sex has played itself out for many who thought an infinity of it would be heaven on earth.  The almighty dollar is falling like a burned-out star. It is a day made-to-order for sons of the prophets, for sons of the apostles, for Protestant Reformers, and for evangelical giants.”  Carl Henry

He is coming.
You are true believers!