By Faith

A monastic Hebrews, maybe in the whole Bible, is called the Hall of Faith. Here in Hebrews chapter 11, we often gather to follow along as we study this great topic of faith. Would you stand with me, please, and open your Bibles to the book of Hebrews? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. Hebrews is right near the end of your Bible. Open to the very last book and turn to the left; you'll find the 13 chapters of Hebrews. We happen to be in Hebrews chapter 11 today.

Hebrews 11, and there, when you find it, we'll pick it up at verse 1. Speaking about the issue of faith, Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1, states, "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 that are visible.

By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. Through it, being dead, he still speaks. By faith, Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death and was not found because God had taken him. For before he was taken, he had this testimony that he pleased God.

But without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Father, as we stand here this morning, I think it's the desire of many people's hearts here today to diligently seek You. That's why we come here, and we open Your Word. We study it, we read it together, and we think on these things. We observe and interpret it so that we may apply it to our lives. It is our desire, my desire, that we would be those who are seeking and following after You, as the psalmist said, "My soul seeks after You, seeks hard after You."

Your right hand upholds us. We pray, God, that there would be that dual thing going on: that we are seeking You and You are upholding us in that work. So, God, teach us, speak to us, and grow our faith as we consider the topic of faith here in this passage. I pray that You would strengthen our confidence and our trust in You, and that our confidence and trust in You would be evident by our faithfulness and devotion to You. So, God, be working in us by the power of Your Spirit and by the working of Your Word. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

Before us today is one of the great chapters of the Bible. That's not to say that all the other chapters in the Bible are not great; it's just that this one stands out among all the others. It's like maybe First Corinthians chapter 13, which is often referred to as the love chapter. It's a very well-known and famous passage, or Isaiah 53, that great passage written 700 years before Jesus came to the earth that describes His crucifixion for our salvation to deal with our sin. Then there is Psalm 119, the longest of the Psalms, that speaks so beautifully about the Word of God and its importance in our lives.

There are these famous standout passages of Scripture, and Hebrews chapter 11 is one of those passages. It's commonly referred to as the Hall of Faith because here in this passage of Scripture, there are sixteen names of sixteen men and women who were faithful to God, who had trust in God, and faith in God. Not only does it refer directly to those sixteen individuals, but there are many others that are given kind of a passing reference to who were men and women of faith. As a result of their faith, their trust, and their confidence in God, they are listed in this chapter.

Not only are they listed in this chapter, but they are with the Lord in eternity in heaven, and they are given this great reward of being listed here because of their trust in God. It is this great passage dealing with this important topic of faith.

Now, I could honestly spend several weeks going through this chapter. I've kind of wrestled with it over the last few weeks, coming up to Hebrews chapter 11, knowing that we were going to be in this passage. I could take quite a bit of time going into each of the characters, talking about Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Barak, Jephthah, David, and Samuel. I could discuss every single one of the individuals and the stories of their lives, the stories of their faith.

There's a part of me, kind of a Bible college teacher side of me, that would love to do that. However, the problem with doing that is that sometimes, when we get stuck in a passage of Scripture, we can fail to realize the main point of the passage. Now, don't misunderstand; I'm not saying that deep Bible study is not important. I think deep Bible study is very, very important, and I believe that every faithful Christian should be one who is seeking to study God's Word, especially on their own throughout the week.

You cannot only rely upon the teaching of a pastor or a preacher to take you through the Scriptures. We need to be those who are faithful students of the Scriptures. I would echo Paul's exhortation to Timothy in the last book that Paul wrote, 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 15. He said to Timothy, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who is not ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." That would be my exhortation as your pastor: you should be diligent as a faithful worker of God who is rightly dividing the word of truth and studying through the Scriptures on your own.

But I do fear that sometimes, when we gather together in a setting like this and study through the Scriptures, if we get stuck on every little particular syntax of the sentence, we can miss, if you will, the forest for the trees. We can miss the main point of what is being said. This is why, over the last several years, I've endeavored to give more of the sense of a passage than the specific syntax of every little thing that's happening in a sentence in the passage.

That's why we sometimes move through the material a little more quickly. All this to say, we're not going to spend five weeks in Hebrews chapter 11. I'm going to endeavor today, in the 41 minutes and 19 seconds that I now have, to get through the entire 40 verses of Hebrews chapter 11. You'll notice, if you look at your sermon guide, there are 11 points on there, which is way beyond my own rule.

It's like twice my rule plus one. I try to not have more than five points on these things, but we're going to consider eleven things about faith from Hebrews chapter 11. However, before we get into it, we need to understand the context of why this is even in this passage of Scripture.

The context is given if we step back a few verses to Hebrews chapter 10 and look at Hebrews 10:35. This will be familiar to you if you were here with us last week. Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition or waste, but we are of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

After reading those words in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 35 through 39, it might seem like a perfect point to make the step right into Hebrews chapter 12 and the exhortation that the author of this letter gives in Hebrews 12:1. You can skip down to Hebrews 12:1; it's just one page over to the right. There, you will see the exhortation in the middle of verse 1, where the author says, "Let us lay aside every weight and sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race set before us."

That would seem like a logical progression from Hebrews chapter 10, verses 35 through 39. In Hebrews chapter 10, he told us that we have need of endurance so that after we have done the will of God, we may receive the promise. Then, Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1 says, "Let us run this race with endurance; let us lay aside every weight and sin that does so easily entangle us." It would seem like a perfect transition to go from Hebrews chapter 10, verse 39 to Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1.

But instead, the author takes a detour and spends 40 verses talking about these men and women of faith in the Hall of Faith here in this passage. Why does he do that? Well, again, notice the last words in verses 38 and 39.

In Hebrews chapter 10, it says, "Now the just shall live by faith." That is our life as Christians here and now. The just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, God says, "My soul has no pleasure in him." However, we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe, who have faith to the saving of the soul.

What the author of the book of Hebrews is going to do in Hebrews chapter 11, verses 1 through 40, is talk about men and women who had every opportunity to draw back, to give up, to throw in the towel, and to quit this whole thing called the walk of faith and following God by faith. They had every opportunity to give up, and yet they remained faithful in the face of difficult circumstances, persecution, and all kinds of opposition. They had every reason in this life, day by day, to want to throw in the towel and give up, and yet they persisted in faith.

It is important to remember the context of why this letter was written in the first place. Timothy is writing to Christians who came out of Judaism, and he references a scripture from the Old Testament. It is in the book of Habakkuk, chapter 2. This little book has four chapters and is written by the minor prophet Habakkuk. Habakkuk 2:4 says, "The just shall live by faith," and it is quoted three times in the New Testament: once in Romans, once in Galatians, and once here in Hebrews chapter 10. The just shall live by faith, which means that those who are righteous are righteous by faith.

The originally intended audience of this letter, Christians who came out of Judaism, knew nothing of righteousness by faith. They lived a life that exemplified righteousness by works, specifically the works of individuals before priests, offering sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem. That was their day-to-day life: seeking to be righteous with God by going to the Temple in Jerusalem, appearing before a priest, and confessing their sins over an animal that would be sacrificed for their sins to deal with their unrighteousness and make them right with a holy God. That was religion, and that is what they had come out of—their day-to-day religious experience. The world is full of such experiences.

Religion is a fundamental aspect of human experience. Most every person you meet is religious, even those who profess to be non-religious. They are still religiously devoted to their non-religion. In my experience, and perhaps in yours as well, I've met a number of people who claim, "I'm not very religious," yet they are very devoted to their non-religion.

For some, their religion can be fitness, and they worship at the church called CrossFit. For others, it may be a devotion to nature and Mother Earth, with their religious practices found in hiking. Whatever it may be, people are religiously devoted to whatever they choose to follow. We are religious because it has so much to do with the hardwiring of how God made us. Whether you believe in God or not, God created every single person. The Bible is very clear on this, and we know it experientially as well as theologically.

God created us with a conscience, which the Bible says either excuses or accuses us. It tells us whether our behavior is right or wrong. The fact is, none of us live up to the conscience that God gave us, and as a result, we are convicted by our conscience.

There are some people who seem to lack a conscience, and that is often because they have ignored it so frequently that it has become callous. When a person reaches that point, they are generally considered a sociopath, which is not a good place to be. However, God hardwired us with a conscience, and we convict ourselves through our thoughts, words, and deeds. Therefore, we feel a sense of guilt and shame because we have gone against our conscience.

To alleviate this guilt and shame, we often turn to religion. Engaging in some sort of religious practice makes us feel better, as if we are living up to our potential and fulfilling our purpose. This is why religion is so prevalent; everywhere we turn, there is a form of it. The author of the book of Hebrews references this wonderful statement, though...

Habakkuk states that the just shall live by faith. Righteousness, or having a right standing with God, is not based upon my actions, deeds, or works, but rather on faith in God and His finished work. We can have a right standing before a holy God on the basis of faith.

If all you've ever known is a life before God based on your good works or your sacrifices to deal with your bad works, this concept of righteousness by faith is awesomely liberating. It brings rest. This is the kind of thing that the author of the Book of Hebrews spoke about back in Chapter 3, where we are encouraged to strive to enter into this rest—the joy of having perfect righteousness before a righteous God because of our trust in Him, His sacrifice, and His finished work in His grace given to us. That is a glorious and freeing prospect.

However, it begs a few questions. What exactly is faith? Even in a culture where there is a growing sense of irreligiousness, there is still an understanding of the importance of faith. What is faith, and why is it important? For the Jewish reader 2,000 years ago, they might object and ask, "How come we don't see this under the Old Covenant? How come we don't see this in Genesis through Malachi, this idea of righteousness by faith?"

To answer the third question first, Hebrews Chapter 11 shows that this was and is present in the first covenant. The chapter lists 16 individuals by name and alludes to many others who lived under the first covenant and lived before God on the basis of faith. That is why they are included in the Hall of Faith. The author points back to these individuals and emphasizes that they lived by faith, and we are also called to live by faith.

But what exactly is faith, and why is it important? Hebrews Chapter 11, verse 1 begins to answer that first question: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Another translation, the New Living Translation, renders it as: "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." I love that.

Translation faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen. It is the steadfast conviction that those things we hope for, such as being with God on a journey, are actually going to happen.

Point number one on your outline is the beginning of Hebrews 11. Get ready; buckle your seatbelts. Point number one: By faith, we have confident hope in the invisible God.

Now, on this point, I think it's really important to acknowledge that we are living in a culture that is increasingly antagonistic towards those who have a confident hope in the invisible God. More and more in Western culture—be it the United States, Canada, or Western Europe—there is a growing antagonism against people who believe and have a confident hope in an invisible God. There is a growing group of people who say that belief is absurd and foolish. They mock that view, and maybe you've been on the receiving end of that mockery from neighbors, co-workers, or friends. You understand the kind of embarrassment that comes with that mockery, and it is growing. It will continue to grow in our culture.

In the 21st century, Western culture is increasingly pitting reason against faith, as if reason and faith are incompatible and cannot coexist. This is what we are told by the thinkers within this group that is antagonistic towards religion, particularly Christianity. They assert that reason and faith are incompatible, claiming, "I believe in reason," while simultaneously robbing the word "belief" of its meaning. They hold to reason, asserting that it stands alone, as if reason and faith were in opposition.

They fail to recognize that it takes faith to believe in the theories of evolution and their stories of origins, just as it takes faith to believe in the biblical explanation that God spoke these things into existence. Reason and faith are not in opposition; they are not in conflict. We are told here in the opening words of Hebrews chapter 11 that it takes faith—this confidence.

Invisible God, to be pleasing to God, to gain a testimony with God. Look at verse 2, Hebrews chapter 11, verse 2: "For by it, by faith, the elders, those of old, obtained a good testimony."

Point number two: by faith, we build an enduring reputation. By faith, we obtain or build an enduring reputation. I think this is a really important point because, again, in the Western culture we live in here in the 21st century, there is a growing desire among a very large populace for celebrity, for recognition, for reputation. Research done just in the last six months shows that the generation that's coming up right now—those in high school, junior high, and just getting into college—has placed fame, celebrity, and recognition in the number two or number three spot of their greatest ambitions in life. When they are asked, "What is your goal for life?" number two or number three is fame or celebrity.

This marks a huge change in the last 50 years of American culture. We live in a culture now where anyone can try to build some level of celebrity, recognition, or reputation merely by having a smartphone. A lot of times, people establish their recognition and reputation based on their likes, their subscribers, and whatever it is on social media. We now have YouTubers and social media celebrities, and there are people who are striving to get into that sphere where they can be the big person at VidCon.

Now, you may not have any idea what VidCon is, but it is the convention for all the YouTubers out there, and it’s a big deal. People are striving for and seeking recognition, reputation, and fame. Just this last month, a couple of YouTubers—a young couple, boyfriend and girlfriend—had one of them sentenced to 10 years to life for murder. They were filming a video where they were trying to stop a bullet with a book. He held a book in front of him, and she shot, resulting in his death. This tragic incident highlights the lengths to which people will go for celebrity in this new culture.

However, when you start to look at it, it’s very clear that this pursuit is about as temporary as you can get. Likes, subscribers, and here we are...

Told about an enduring reputation and how that came about by faith, we build an enduring reputation. The men and women mentioned in this passage have an enduring reputation not just because their names are written in the best-selling book of all eternity, but because their names are written in heaven. That's an enduring reputation. When all of these paper books that we have are gone, because this whole creation has been renewed and remade, and we're with God in eternity, and this isn't there maybe in this form any longer, their names are still written with God in heaven.

If you're going to seek to build a reputation, it is far better to build that enduring reputation than one that is absolutely temporary and lasts only as long as the next picture you post on Instagram. He goes on in verse three: "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."

Point number three: by faith we understand mysteries. Of course, I just spoke about those in our culture that are trying to pit reason against faith, as if these two are incompatible. Most of those who say that they believe in reason over faith are essentially saying they are atheistic or agnostic. They don't believe in God or don't know if there is a God, but they believe in evolutionary theory to go from nothing to what we now have.

Even within the realm of science and evolutionary theory, it's pretty much held by all within that community that the universe, everything that we see, had an immediate origin, a birth at some point back in the past. Generally, they'll use the words or the number 15 billion years ago. Everything that we see came into sudden existence. Physicists have been telling us this for some time, and many within the scientific community now agree that everything we see came into existence at a sudden point in time in times past, in what they call the Big Bang.

Now, understand that that story, that narrative about origins, takes faith to believe. Because although there are some pretty old people in the world, that's just this room in the world.

Nobody is 15 billion years old, and we don't have a Wayback Machine yet. We can't go back and check it out, nor can we go 88 miles per hour in a DeLorean to see what happened then. We take it on faith. It might be a reasonable faith to those who hold to reason, but it takes the same level of faith to believe in that narrative of origins as it does to believe the biblical explanation of origins.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. The Spirit of God hovered, and God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. Excuse me, out of nothing came something. Where did it come from? The biblical explanation is that God spoke it into existence. The non-biblical explanation is that at some point, 15 billion years ago, it suddenly came into existence. Everything that wasn't there before that moment was there after a big bang. Over the last 15 billion years, through random chance and new mutations of the evolutionary process, everything went from chaos to order, which goes against the second law of thermodynamics and other scientific laws. It all assembled itself. This takes faith to believe.

By faith, we understand mysteries. We understand the mystery of origins by faith, and Christians do. But here's the awesome thing: Christians understand not only the mystery of origins by faith, but they also understand the mystery of identity, the mystery of purpose, the mystery of destiny, and the mystery of morality. All of these things that scientific evolutionary theory cannot answer do not speak to.

What do I mean? The Christian faith understands the mystery of the origin of the universe, saying God created it, and therefore understands that God created it for a purpose. You ask the evolutionist why we are here, and they say, "I don't know." They don't know what the purpose is. You ask the evolutionist where we go after this, and they say, "You should die and go into the ground." The mystery of destiny is understood by faith. After death, God, who created us for a purpose, has an eternal purpose.

The issue of morality—what is right and what is wrong—cannot be answered by evolutionists. We see the chaos of not knowing what is right and wrong in the 21st century.

In the twenty-first century, Western culture is filled with chaos that we see every single day around us. However, the Christian, by faith, understands mysteries—the mystery of morality, the mystery of identity. Who am I? What is my purpose? What is my destiny? Evolutionary faith has insufficient answers for those mysteries, but the Christian faith provides good answers.

The author continues in Hebrews 11:4, stating, "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Who is Cain? Who is Abel? You need to do some study on your own and read Genesis to learn about Cain and Abel. Specifically, you should read Genesis chapter 4 to understand their story. It says that by faith, Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than his brother Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous.

Now, understand what the author is saying here. Point number four: by faith, we obtain righteousness. You could read Genesis 4 and wrongly conclude that Abel became right before God by his sacrifice. That's not what happened. Abel's sacrifice showed that he was righteous, and he was righteous how? By faith. We obtain righteousness not only through Abel but also in verse 7, where we talk about Noah. Hebrews 11:7 states, "By faith Noah became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."

Even under the Old Covenant, men and women in the Old Testament were made right with a holy God not on the basis of their works or their obedience, but on the basis of their trust in God for salvation. This principle goes all the way back to Genesis, thousands of years ago. By faith, we obtain righteousness; we do not obtain righteousness by our works but by our trust in the Living God.

The author continues in verse 5, Hebrews 11:5, stating, "By faith Enoch." Who is Enoch? Well, go read Genesis chapter 5 to learn about him. By faith, Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and he was not found because God had taken him. Now, that's far out! What in the world is going on here? The explanation generally given about Enoch is that he was a man of God who lived thousands of years ago, walked with God, and trusted in God. One day, God just said, "Alright, I'm going to take you to heaven," and boom, he was gone.

He didn't die; he just was gone. What is that? I guess it's like a rapture. I don't know; God did it, and so he was not found because God took him. But before he was taken, he had this testimony that he pleased God.

Point number five: by faith, we please God. Now, I'm assuming that you came to church today because it's a desire of your life to be pleasing to God. That's one of my desires in life: to be pleasing to God. I want to fulfill the purpose for which He made me and be pleasing to Him.

Well, how can I be pleasing to God? Look at verse 6: "Without faith, it is impossible to please Him; for he who comes to God must believe." Underline those words: "must believe." What must he believe? This is the lowest level of faith. He must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

What's the lowest level of faith that is pleasing to God? That God exists and that He's gracious. That's what we see in those words: God exists, and He's the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He's gracious.

Many today are seeking, by their religious observance and by keeping of rites and rituals, to be pleasing to God. But if you do not have trust in God, there is no pleasing God. We must believe in His existence, and we must believe in His grace.

Now, one of the first people to receive grace, in fact, the first person to receive grace as we see it written in the scriptural story, is found in Genesis chapter 6. It's the story of a man named Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Look at verse 7 of Hebrews chapter 11: "By faith Noah," the first recipient of grace, "being divinely warned of things not yet seen." He was warned by the invisible God of a coming global flood that had never happened before. Some people think that rain had never happened before. So God comes to him and says, "Listen, Noah, it's going to rain," which to him was like, "What? Snarf lat? I don't know."

And then there's going to be a flood. "What's that?" Well, you just have to take it on faith. So God tells him, "I want you to build a boat." "What's a boat?" Well, here, I'm going to tell you how to build it. He built a boat, and it took him 100 years to build it.

He did this every single day. Do you think some people who lived around him knew what he was doing? They must have thought, "What the heck are you doing? You're building a boat? Why?" Because it's going to rain. Yes, it's going to rain because I'm building a boat. A big rain, a big flood is coming. They called him an idiot; that's what they said. He prepared an ark by faith for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of righteousness, which is according to faith.

Moving on, we go to another figure, Abraham. His story is mentioned in Genesis chapter 11, beginning at the end of the chapter and continuing throughout the book of Genesis. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. He went out not knowing where he was going.

What do we see as a similarity between these two men, Noah and Abraham? Well, Noah did something that, in spite of all other indicators, seemed foolish. He built a boat to save himself and his family from a flood that had never happened before. He acted on what the invisible God was telling him to do, even though it seemed kind of crazy. Abraham, on the other hand, followed God despite not knowing where he was going. By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise as a foreigner in a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of the same promise. He waited for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Noah and Abraham teach us point number six: by faith, we obey and work righteousness. Obedience and good works are the product of saving faith. Religion causes us to think that salvation is produced by obedience and good works. If you obey God and do good works, you get salvation. However, the Bible teaches us that obedience and good works are the response of saving faith. They are produced by faith towards God that brings salvation and stirs in us the response of good works and obedience out of gratitude.

That's what the Bible teaches. Religion teaches that you have to do this and do that, and don't do this and don't do that, and then you might get salvation. But there's never any real confidence there because you don't know if you did enough or if you didn't do the things you weren't supposed to do. In Christ, we have absolute certainty.

Because of His finished work, not only that, but verse 11 of Hebrews 11 states, "By faith, Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised." Therefore, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, innumerable as the sand which is on the seashore.

Point number seven: by faith, we are strengthened to do the impossible. The first book of the Bible tells the story about Abraham and his wife, Sarah. God spoke a promise to Abraham that he would have descendants as many as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. However, God spoke this to him when he was 75 years old and his wife was 65. They had no children, and she was barren.

God spoke this promise, and you know what? Another 15 years went by as God continued to speak this promise, and nothing happened. Abraham began to wonder, "What's going on? It seems like nothing's happening. Maybe I have to help You out." So, he tried to help God and do things his own way, which turned into a total mess. Don't try to help God out.

Another 10 years went by, making it 25 years in total. Abraham was now 100 years old, and his wife was 90. God came back and said, "Listen, your wife Sarah, the 90-year-old who is barren and has never had a child, is going to have a child." When she heard this, she laughed. It's incredible to think about having a child at 90! Good gracious!

By faith, we are strengthened to do the impossible. God made good on His promise in spite of the apparent impossibility. He continues in verse 13 of Hebrews 11: "These all died in faith." This is a significant point. They had not received the promises. They looked forward to the promise of God and followed Him by faith their entire lives. They died without seeing the fulfillment of that promise in this life. It might seem like that was worthless, but the passage goes on to say they were assured of them, having seen them afar off, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Earth, he said, this isn't our home. The promises of a better home in a better place are not here. So, we're going to follow God by faith for that promise. We may never receive it in this life, but we will keep following Him.

For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. They are looking for the fulfillment of this promise. Truly, if they had called to mind the country from which they had come out, they would have had the opportunity to return. If their focus was here, they would have every reason to give up, throw in the towel, and quit.

But remember the end of chapter 10; it says, "But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul." Now, the author is giving us the story of these men and women of faith who continued to persist in faith against all odds, trusting in the invisible God for the invisible promise that would never come in this life. If they were totally focused on this life, they would have just enough reason to say, "Forget it, I give up," and fall away. This is the concern of the author of this book for his readers—that they would give up and fall away.

But these ones persisted. Why? Verse 16 states, "But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country." Therefore, this is awesome: God is not ashamed to be called their God. This implies there are some who say, "I know God," but God is not ashamed to be called their God.

He has prepared for them a city. By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. The story is told in Genesis 22; you can read it later. He who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it is said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," concluding that God is able to raise him up from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

Abraham was willing, when tested by God in Genesis 22, to sacrifice his only begotten son, although God told him in the end not to do it. He knew this God; if Isaac dies, He'll raise him from the dead. He believed in the resurrection.

By faith, Isaac blessed his sons Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith, Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped, leaning upon his staff. By faith, Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave instructions concerning his remains, his bones.

By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents because they saw that he was a beautiful child.

We are not afraid of the king's command. By faith, Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. He esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked for the reward. By faith, he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. He was looking towards the invisible God.

By faith, he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith, the entire nation, the children of Israel, passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians attempting to do so were drowned. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days, as told in Joshua chapters six and seven. By faith, the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she received the spies with peace.

What more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, and also David and Samuel and all the prophets. Through faith, they subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, and escaped the edge of the sword. Out of weakness, they were made strong, became valiant in battle, and turned to flight the armies of the foreigners.

Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, and they were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, and tormented. Of whom the world was not worthy, they wandered in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth.

Considering the lives and stories of these named and unnamed individuals—names like Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, Samuel, and David—we see point number eight: by faith, we endure the suffering.

Affliction and reproach. By faith, we endure the suffering of affliction and reproach. It is by faith that we walk through these trials. The men and women of faith in times past found that the walk of faith was not easy, and it is not going to be easy now.

We have lived for most of our time in a nation that has been predominantly Christian, predominantly Christian in its view of the world. Therefore, there has not been huge opposition to men and women of faith. That is slowly changing, and maybe it will pick up speed. History shows us that those who have followed the invisible God by faith, in spite of all the odds, have been mocked. They have sometimes been beaten, tortured, and tormented. They have been put to death, sawn in half, and thrown to lions. All kinds of insane things have happened to them, but they have endured those things.

Why? They looked for the promise of the invisible God, and their focus was not in this world. By faith, they looked at the unseen instead of living by sight. We live in a culture that constantly tells us that all there is, is sight. This is it—by sight only. You can see what you can tangibly touch, but there is more to it than that. There is more than meets the eye, and it is beyond this life.

They endured suffering, affliction, and reproach. They endured trials, mockings, beatings, imprisonment, torment, and death. Maybe you are getting to the point where you have endured a little bit of mocking because you believe in the invisible God. People may ask, "Really? You go on Sunday mornings? You give what you give? You take vacation time to do what? Vacation Bible School? What is that? Are you a fool?"

But point number nine: by faith, we see miracles. We are told that the children of Israel crossed over on dry ground; that is, they crossed the Red Sea. Later on, they crossed the Jordan River. We hear stories and read of those who stopped the mouths of lions. I think of Daniel in the Lions' Den. If you don't know that story, you should probably teach in children's ministry; you'll get there. We read of those who were raised from the dead.

Those who subdued entire kingdoms, 150,000 Midianites coming against the children of Israel, and Gideon, a man of God, stood there with 300 individuals. But the greatest miracle of all is the resurrection.

In Hebrews 11:39, it states, "All of these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise." Read that again: "All of these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise." The promise is not here, but we are clued into verse 40.

By faith, we become good witnesses. They obtained a good testimony with God and with man. We live in a culture where many people want their names to be known. However, there is only one person with whom you want your name to be known: God. If no one else knows who you are and you die in obscurity, but God knows your name, you win. If you've got one person on the "like" list and it's Jesus, that's awesome. If He’s not on there, it’s not good.

By faith, we become good witnesses. Verse 40 states that God has provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. They are going to receive the promise just as we, who believe in God, will also receive the promise.

Point number 11: By faith, we receive the promised inheritance of eternity. Therefore, in chapter 12, verse 1, it says, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses." Who are they? They are those who lived back then. We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses—those who lived by faith faithfully until the end.

Let us lay aside every weight and every sin that so easily entangles us. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher, or perfecter, of our faith. Who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Having considered those of old who walked by faith faithfully, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. We must lay aside anything that might trip us up because Jesus is at the other end of the finish line, and we are looking unto Him. Amen.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer?

Dear God, thank you for your grace. Thank you for your Word, which is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. God, strengthen us in our resolve to trust You and to follow faithfully after You. The psalmist said, "My soul follows hard after Thee, and Your right hand upholds me."

There it is again: the responsibility of man and the sovereign grace of God. As our soul follows hard after You by faith, would You uphold us and strengthen our faith this week? In spite of opposition, in spite of mockery, and in spite of any other thing that might come against our resolve of faith, strengthen our faith, we pray.