Lookout Valley Presbyterian Church

          Last Lord’s Day, we saw here in chapter 12 how God the Father disciplines us in love.  We saw that His discipline although painful, is also purposeful, because He is shaping us to be more like Jesus in righteousness, holiness and peace. 

          Today, before we “sign off” on Hebrews for about two months, we look at just a few more verses in chapter 12 (vv. 12 – 17).  The thought I want to share with you from this short text is that Christians don’t walk alone.  The first couple of verses of this chapter call us to run the marathon of faith. We are cast off the sin that entangles our feet, and fix our eyes on Jesus – the champion and perfecter of faith.  But as we run a while, and then press on, catching breath and walking awhile, and then climb the rock facing of the next mountain, only to run again, forward, forward, forward to Jesus… we journey together. 

          I divide these verses up into 3 sections.  First of all, vv. 12 – 13 (review).  In v. 12 we have a picture of a thoroughly discouraged, disheartened, exhausted Christian.  Perhaps this is a Christian who has experienced the Heavenly Father’s hand of discipline, and (v. 5) he’s “lost heart.” 

          It might be easy to read these verses individualistically – as if it’s teaching that I as an individual follower of Jesus need to “buck up” and “get with the program” and run the race of faith.  However, I think that reading misses the main point.  I believe that these verses fit in with those other places in Hebrews where we’re called to watch out for one another.  When you see one of your brothers or sisters in Christ, not running the race of faith very well because she’s nursing a twisted ankle or an injured ACL in the knee – then we are to come alongside and help that brother or sister.  Sometimes just a couple of questions – “What’s the Lord doing in your life these days?” Or, “Is there any particular way I can be praying for you?”  Or a pair of questions:  “What’s good in your life right now,” along with, “What’s difficult in your life right now?”  Often with just a few questions and a hug and a prayer, the Lord can use you to strengthen someone’s weak faith. 

          I remember an occasion years ago that I knew half a dozen people who trained to run a marathon together.  They were running to raise money for a charity that I was involved with.  I was more than glad to pay money for someone to run in my place! 

          In that group there were two men, one who was easily 30 years younger than the other, and by all expectations should have finished 30 minutes ahead of the older man.  But the younger runner, while deep in the race experienced an awful leg cramp.  It was so painful that he almost dropped out of the race.  But along came the older man from behind.  They prayed together, and then they took off again with the older man adjusting his pace to that of the injured runner at his side. Together an hour and a half later they crossed the finish line. 

          Look again at v. 13 (review).  This is our responsibility to watch out for pot holes and loose gravel and bumpy pavement and other hazards on the track which might injure another runner!  If a runner already has a leg cramp, and then stumbles on a bumpy place on the track, he’s going to severely injure himself (the idea in the second half of v. 13).  Likewise, as we run the race of faith, we are called to watch out for sin in one another’s lives.  We value privacy. We live in a part of the country where many of us were taught from childhood that faith is a private matter.  Let me tell you, there may be some false religions where faith is a strictly private matter.  But the Christian faith is not.  We’re a family, and as family we love each other.  And if we see that someone is hurting themselves through sin, then for their own sake and for the sake of the spiritual health of the family, we address it and we love them through it!

          Then we look at the second part of our text, verse 14 (review).  We see here the two great Christian virtues which we must strive for – peace and holiness.  These words set the boundaries for how we relate to the world around us as we run the race of faith following Jesus Christ.   First of all we’re called to pursue peace with all men, as much as it is possible to do so (see Romans 12:18).  We are not to be angry, vindictive, cantankerous Christians who just hate the world and are mad at everybody!  But our pursuit of peace and getting along with the world is tempered by the other side of verse 14, which is God’s call to holiness.  “Holiness” means being set apart unto God, separated from the world.  This verse is one of the most interesting statements on the Christian life that you’ll find anywhere in the Bible, and it’s worth your taking it home and meditating on it all afternoon.   We relentlessly pursue peace in all of our relationships, but not a peace at the expense of holiness.   So for goodness sake, pursue peace in all your relationships.  Don’t be a cantankerous, hateful, argumentative Christian who discredits the name of the Lord Jesus!  But in your pursuit of peace with the world, and peace with people who live in this world, you must never do anything to compromise your allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ.  So we pursue peace with all men, but never in such a way that we compromise holiness. 

          I’m sure that many of you read the newspaper stories about the Mosaic Church that met downtown, and which the city government closed down after years of violence and drug sales and so forth.  I never visited the Mosaic Church or any of their evenings of dance and music and so forth; so I hasten to say that my opinion is formed solely by the articles I read in the paper, both pro and con regarding the Mosaic Church. 

          Having made that disclaimer, and forming an opinion based solely on what I read in the paper, I conclude that the pastor of Mosaic Church had structured a ministry which was really big on the first half of verse 14 (he just wanted a place where anybody could come and talk about Jesus!); but he did so at the expense of holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.  (Stabbings and shootings and gang violence were fairly commonplace.)

          So brothers and sisters, as we run this race together, we pursue peace with one another and with the world… but never at the expense of holiness. 

          Then we look at this 3^rd section, verses 15 – 17. 

          (v. 15, review) – As we run the race together, we make sure no one in our company is missing God’s grace.  It is entirely possible to run in the pack of God’s people, and yet never know the grace of God and the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ alone.  We are to watch out for one another in that regard.  We’re also to watch out for that “root of bitterness.”  This is about someone who hates God, someone who rejects God (see Deuteronomy 29:18).  Let’s watch out for that in the company of the faithful. 

          Verse 16 is very pointed and direct (review).  “See to it that no one is sexually immoral…” Our model and example is the holy, patient, sacrificial love of Jesus Christ for his bride, the Church.  And we see that great romance of Christ and the Church reflected in the human relationship of husband and wife.  From the opening pages of scripture, before sin ever entered the world, we read the story of how God created Adam… and God brought to Adam all the wildlife of the earth for him to name them.  And in seeing “male” and “female” in the animal world, Adam realized that there was no suitable companion for himself. 

          And feeling that emptiness and loneliness, God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and from Adam’s side God took a rib from which He fashioned woman.  Upon waking, Adam declared, “This is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.”  She was called “woman” because she was taken from man.  God has given to us this glorious and beautiful institution of Christian marriage of man and woman – even before the Fall! 

          Let us see to it brothers and sisters, that there is no immoral person in the family of believers who “misses the grace of God.” 

Then there’s another warning in verse 15, that we make sure there is no godless person like Esau.  Esau was a son of Isaac, and grandson of Abraham.  He was raised in a family that had received God’s promises.  He was the firstborn of twin brothers, so by birthright he should have inherited all of the blessings due to the firstborn.  And Esau was a great guy!  That’s often missed.  He was an outdoorsman, a hunter. I think that just to compare Esau and brother Jacob, that Esau was definitely the more likeable of the two men.  But great guy that he was, Esau had no genuine interest in the things of God (“godless”).   He squandered the birthright for a bowl of soup, and missed God’s promises and God’s blessings in his life. 

The point is this – Christians don’t walk alone!  That’s one reason that church membership is so important, as we have Jean & Clifford taking vows of membership in a few minutes.  We belong to Christ, and we belong to each other.  And we love each other, as we pursue both peace and holiness together.  Amen. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert. Barnes on the New Testament: Hebrews. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1966. Print.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews: the English Text with Introd., Exposition, and Notes. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1978. Print.

Calvin, John. Calvin's Commentaries. Trans. John Owen. Vol. XXII. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989. Print.

Guthrie, George H. Hebrews: the NIV Application Commentary ; from Biblical Text ... to Contemporary Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999. Print.

Hughes, Philip Edgcumbe. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids (Mich.): W.B. Eerdmans, 1990. Print.

Lane, William L. Hebrews: a Call to Commitment. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988. Print.

Moody, Dwight Lyman. Moody's Stories: Being a Second Volume of Anecdotes, Incidents, and Illustrations. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1899. Print.

By way of personal testimony, I want to mention that this text has been a wonderfully refreshing and encouraging passage for me as I’ve meditated on it throughout this week.  The Lord has spoken deeply to me through these verses, and I hope and trust that He will do the same for each one of you as well.  So let’s read the text together.  (Read scripture text.)

          The subject of our passage is corrective discipline.  Verses 4 – 11 looks at discipline from the angle of our Heavenly Father disciplining His own beloved children.  That’s our focus for this morning.  Then verses 12 – 17 looks at discipline from the aspect of our disciplining ourselves (self-discipline) and the way that we gently discipline one another in the Lord (the subject for next week). 

            The first thing that needs to be said about corrective discipline is this: the kind of discipline taught in this text is a good thing.  It’s an indication of God’s love.  It’s a discipline that is born out of relationship with a desire to train and guide and correct.  Yes, it’s painful & unpleasant (v. 11), but it’s the good kind of pain, like an athlete’s sore muscles after a hard workout—the pain that leads to superior performance on the field or on the court. It’s the kind of pain that stimulates healthy growth.  It’s like what the great Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys once said, “The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do, in order to achieve what they've always wanted to be.” That means discipline!

Unfortunately, in this day and age, the word “discipline” is considered a negative word.  Some parents might say that they don’t “discipline” their children; rather, they just “reward good behavior.”  So for various reasons, many folk have such a negative gut response to the word “discipline” that they will have a hard time reading these verses from Hebrews 12 in the spirit in which they’re intended. 

So let’s deal with that up front.  Just for a few minutes will you consider that the scriptural discipline spoken of in these verses is a good thing.  Painful, yes, but good.

          We’re now 17 weeks into the Epistle to the Hebrews.  Throughout the letter we’ve been gathering clues about the situation which the Hebrew Christians faced.  

Within memory they had gone through a season of severe persecution.  Later on, things had quieted down; but now at the time of this letter the heat is being turned up on them once again.  The storm clouds of persecution are gathering on the horizon.

Understandably, many of the Hebrew Christians are fretful and anxious.  They are feeling pressure to down-play their faith in Jesus.  We learned in chapter 10 that some had quit attending Christian meetings all together, because it was no longer safe to be identified with other Christians as a follower of Jesus.  So in verse 4, the author acknowledges what’s going on (review v. 4).   

This verse truly speaks to us as well.  It is hard to be a follower of Jesus in our day.  We live in a culture that snubs and ridicules Christians.  We are the laughingstock of Hollywood and the scorn of many media outlets.  But to date, God hasn’t asked any of us to shed blood for the sake of Jesus Christ.

          Then we come to verse 5a (review v. 5a).  Here we find the key to unlock the passage, and the key to understanding our Heavenly Father’s discipline:  He speaks to us, He deals with us, He relates to us as His sons and daughters! 

The Hebrew Christians are experiencing pain in their lives; their worries and concerns and fears abound.  The author rebukes them that they have forgotten that God is their Father!  And the hardships that they’re currently going through, and the additional sufferings which appear imminent—those things are the Heavenly Father’s discipline in their lives, for their eternal good. 

Brothers and sisters, listen to me:  the presence of hardship in your life is a sign and evidence that you belong to God!

When we go through difficult, painful, stressful times of life, we’re tempted to think that God has abandoned us.  The author to the Hebrews says that we have it backwards!  It shows that he loves us, that he accepts us as His own children; and in fact, that He’s treating us with the perfect love of a Father who is working within us to produce holiness and peace and righteousness (vv. 10, 11, 14). 

          Now when it comes to corrective discipline, there are 2 parties involved. There’s the party which gives out the discipline; and there’s the other one receiving the discipline. 

          Our Father in Heaven, for his part, can discipline us in so many different ways.  He can use sickness to discipline us.  He can use financial stresses.  He can use the natural consequences of our own poor choices.  He can use natural disasters for our discipline – tornadoes and floods and tsunamis.  He can even use the scourge of persecution from unbelievers!  He can use loss in our lives (loss of a loved one, loss of a job, loss of a dream).  Perhaps the most common way that He disciplines us is through hearing the preaching of His Word, in which sin is uncovered in our lives and we’re reminded of the dreadfulness of sin and our desperate need to be in close fellowship with our Savior.   

          For our part, we receive the Lord’s discipline.  The author mentions two wrong responses to the Lord’s discipline – two ways in which we should NOT respond when we realize that our Father’s hand of discipline is against us. Look at the quote from Proverbs in the end of verse 5. 

          “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline.”  Have you ever seen a child, when he was spanked firmly and appropriately by his parent; and the child turned around and laughed at mom or dad after the spanking?  “I don’t care if you spank me!  You can’t hurt me!”  That’s exactly what the author has in mind, “making light” of the Lord’s discipline.  He says, oh, don’t do that.  Of course with this passage, each one of us thinks about discipline we received from our own parents.  One thing I can say for certain, is that in my childhood, I did NOT make light of my parents’ discipline!  As best as I can remember, Mom and Dad never disciplined in anger; nor were they ever out of control.  Yet it was serious stuff for Dad to take my brothers and me to the bedroom, line us up 1-2-3, and to see him remove his belt!  Likewise, brothers and sisters, let us never make light of the Lord’s discipline.

          Then the text shows us another incorrect response to the Lord’s discipline:  “Do not lose heart when he rebukes you.” 

          Listen to me:  it may be that the discipline you remember receiving as a child had nothing to do with love.  In your memory, discipline might have been random, and vindictive, and pointless.  Mom had a bad day at work, so all the kids got a spanking when mom got home.  Or Dad lay around drunk or high all weekend; and when he was personally out of control in that way, everybody suffered.  The result is that mom and dad’s discipline left you despondent and broken and empty—what verse 5 calls “losing heart.”  The Bible says, that’s another wrong response to God’s discipline!  Don’t lose heart!  Why?

          (Review verse 6). 

          Repeat after me…

God disciplines me, because He loves me.

God disciplines me, because He accepts me as His child.

          God has one, only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is God’s Son (with a capital “S”).  God’s Son Jesus relinquished all of his rights and privileges as God’s Son, living the humble life as a Man amongst Men. By Jesus’ life, death & resurrection, He has opened the door for you and for me to become the sons and daughters of God.  In Christ, God accepts us the same way he accepts Jesus. 

          Because we are God’s children, we don’t take His discipline lightly; that is, we don’t laugh it away like silliness.  Nor do we lose heart.  Rather we take heart, because He loves us so very much.  We take heart, because we’re not illegitimate – we’re God’s family, true sons and daughters (v. 8).

          Our Confession of Faith puts it this way:  “God guarantees the adoption of all those who are justified in and for the sake of his only son, Jesus Christ.  Those adopted enjoy the liberties and privileges of God’s children, have his name put on them, receive the Spirit of adoption, have access to the throne of grace with boldness, and are enabled to cry, Abba, Father.  They are pitied, protected, provided for, and disciplined by him as a father.  They are never cast off, however, and are sealed until the day of redemption and inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation.” (WCF 12)

          In v. 10 there’s a word here especially about dads (and, I believe, especially for dads) – our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best . 

One time Bill Cosby said this:

My father would not have been particularly interested in a book about fathering, although he did like to read. One day when he was reading in the living room, my brother and I decided we could play basketball without breaking anything. When I took a shot that redesigned the glass table, my mother came in with a stick and said, "So help me, I'll bust you in half." Without lifting his head from his book, my father said, "Why would you want twice as many?"

We dads try hard; we want to do the right thing.  Sometimes as dads we do pretty well, and then there are other times.  Sometimes we allow our emotions to get the best of us. We want to be firm disciplinarians and we end up wounding our kids’ spirits.  Other times we’re just lax, and we don’t intervene with discipline when we should. 

          But (v 10) God knows exactly the right way to discipline us.  He knows exactly how much and what kind of discipline each situation calls for.  He’s never reckless or vindictive or out of control.  He never disciplines out of anger, because God is not angry with us.  All of his anger was poured out on His Son, our big brother Jesus.   God’s discipline is always just right to shape us and to grow us into the mature sons and daughters of God that He envisions for us. 

          (Review 10b & 14)  The end game, the end result that the Heavenly Father is growing in you… is HOLINESS.  Please don’t think that “Holiness” means something weird or other-worldly.  “Holiness” of life means living like Jesus.  God wants to grow us up to be like our big brother Jesus; and He uses discipline for that purpose.  But holiness isn’t the only thing to be gained by God’s discipline in our lives.  Look also at verse 11 (review verse; accent on “righteousness” and “peace.”)  Aren’t those two of the most beautiful words in the English language?  Righteousness, and peace. 

          If I can speak to parents for a minute – this is what we as parents want the most for our kids:  Righteousness, that good things will come from their lives that will count forever; and Peace, that they will be at peace with God through Jesus Christ, at peace with themselves and at peace with others. 

          What the text is saying is that the hardships (v 7) of this life are God’s appointed way of growing his children into men and women who are holy, righteous, and peaceful. 

          The current trend in parenting is sometimes called “helicopter parenting,” basically the parent is always hovering just over the child, micro-managing every detail of the child’s life. It’s certainly good to be involved, and to know what’s going on.  However, what I see in helicopter-parenting is that sometimes it’s really about being there to rescue your child,  so that your child never has to experience hardship as discipline. 

*The kid blows a test, but it’s mom calling the teacher, inquiring about extra credit, or complaining about the content of the test. 

*The teenager loses her job at the fast food restaurant for on the job performance issues, but instead of looking at the firing as an opportunity for growth, dad tells his son that he really didn’t want him working in fast food anyway. 

In cases like these, you’re not helping your child.  Quite possibly,  you’re coming between your child and your child’s Heavenly Father… who uses hardship as discipline unto holiness, righteousness, and peace. 

As parents we have an instinct to rush in and rescue our children from pain.  Often we would serve them better by helping them think through and process the pain they’re experiencing, and to see the hand of God involved, and learn and grow in the experience. 

          Next Lord’s Day we’ll pick up with verse 12, and go at least through verse 17. Until then, I close with a story told by Dwight Lyman Moody, founder of Moody Bible College.  (BTW, before I read it, I point out that the word translated “punish” in the end of verse 6, literally means, “whip.”  “The LORD WHIPS everyone he accepts as a son.”

          When I was a boy my mother used to send me outdoors to get a birch stick to spank me with, when I had to be punished.  At first I used to stand off from the rod as far as I could.  But I soon found that the whipping hurt me more that way than any other; and so I went as near to my mother as I could, and found she could not strike me so hard.  And so when God chastens us let us kiss the rod and draw as near to Him as we can.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert. Barnes on the New Testament: Hebrews. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1966. Print.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews: the English Text with Introd., Exposition, and Notes. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1978. Print.

Calvin, John. Calvin's Commentaries. Trans. John Owen. Vol. XXII. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989. Print.

Guthrie, George H. Hebrews: the NIV Application Commentary ; from Biblical Text ... to Contemporary Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999. Print.

Hughes, Philip Edgcumbe. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids (Mich.): W.B. Eerdmans, 1990. Print.

Lane, William L. Hebrews: a Call to Commitment. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988. Print.

Moody, Dwight Lyman. Moody's Stories: Being a Second Volume of Anecdotes, Incidents, and Illustrations. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1899. Print.

          This morning we spend a third week in Hebrews chapter 11, the “faith chapter” of the Bible.   The subject of today’s message is, “When faith looks like defeat.” 

          Some years ago I had an unusual opportunity to assist another pastor in a marital counseling situation, as he was counseling a woman who attended his church. (Call her “Joan”.) 

Joan’s marriage was in a crisis; she had made an appointment to meet with her pastor.  As it happened I knew both the minister and the estranged husband and estranged wife, so I was invited by both parties to sit in and participate in the marital counseling. 

          The other minister is a fantastic guy whose life and ministry I truly admire.  But in working with this lady whose marriage was in an awful mess, the admonition I was hearing from sounded a lot like this:  “Joan, you’ve got to pray.  You’ve got to get on your knees and give this to the Lord.  God raised Jesus back to life, and Joan, it’s a small thing for Him to bring your marriage back from the dead.  You’ve got to pray for your husband and believe that God’s going to turn his heart around and restore this marriage.   Joan, you’ve got to go home and take out your Bible, and start claiming God’s promises and just have faith that God’s going to work a miracle in your life.” 

          And I’ve got to tell you, church, it was an encouraging, uplifting counseling session.  It was like watching 30 minutes of Joel Osteen.  Our faith was bolstered.  We were all “standing on the promises of Christ our King.”  I think we all walked out of that office expecting a miracle by Thursday afternoon. 

          But here’s the thing – Joan did what her pastor told her to do.  She prayed earnestly.  She gave the situation to the Lord as best she could.  She tried to take some of the practical little steps which her pastor told her to take, to reach out to her husband for reconciliation.  Yet, in spite of all the faith and prayer at work, their marriage continued its free fall and soon thereafter hit the tarmac with an ugly crash. 

          Here’s the question we have to wrestle with (the issue our text at some level is dealing with):  Did Joan’s faith fail?  Was it that Joan didn’t fast and pray enough?  Was it that she didn’t believe strongly enough?  Did her faith fail her?  Was her faith just not good enough?  Was she just not good enough of a Christian – is that why her marriage crashed and burned? 

          Similarly, I can tell you personal stories of people lying at death’s door for whom I’ve prayed, and seen God bring them back from the brink of death and restore them to a good quality of life.  On the other hand, I’ve prayed fervently for others for God to heal them, only to watch them slip away in death.  Was my faith better in the first instance, and weaker in the latter instance? 

          With that introduction, let’s talk about victory and defeat.  Hebrews chapter 11:1-35A  gives example after example of times when faith looks like victory. 

          (v. 5) Enoch, whose faith was so rich that he didn’t even die a natural death – God took him straight to heaven! 

          (v. 17) Abraham who laid his own son on the altar, and was ready to give him to the Lord in a bloody offering – but God came rushing in at the last second and said “Abraham, don’t harm the boy – you’ve passed the test.” 

          (v. 29) Moses in today’s passage, who led the people through the Red Sea as the waters parted, and they walked through on dry land.  (And the destruction of Pharaoh’s army!)

          Joshua (v. 30) who led the people marching around the walls of Jericho, and they sounded the trumpets, and the walls crumbled to the ground!

          Then the author names in rapid-fire fashion other champions of faith:  Gideon (the Midianites), Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets –  (v. 33-34, review)

          Being tossed into a den of ravenous lions and coming out 12 later unscathed – that kind of faith looks like victory! 

Being tossed into a fiery furnace, and walking back out without even the smell of smoke on your garment!  That kind of faith looks a lot like victory!

There’s a reference (v. 35) to the widow of Zarephath, whose son God raised from the dead through the faith of Elijah (1 Kings 17); and the Shunammite whose son God raised from the dead by the prayer of Elisha (2 Kings 4).  That kind of faith looks like victory!  It’s the kind of faith that legends are made of!  One Bible scholar who is also a teacher in a ministerial college wrote about this text.  He said that in his college they listen to student testimonies every Tuesday.  Invariably, his students’ testimonies go something like this:  “Last week I was flat broke, and the rent was due on Friday.  My wife and I prayed together on Wednesday, and a mysterious check arrived in the mail on Thursday.  Hallelujah!” 

          We love stories of victorious faith.  We delight in miracles and deliverances and mighty answers to prayer!  And we conclude that, “yes,” faith often looks a lot like victory. 

However, the author to the Hebrews would have us know that at other times faith looks a lot like defeat. 

Look closely at your text, and I want to point out that there’s a change in the middle of verse 35 – a transition that really demands a brand new paragraph. 

“Women received back their dead, raised to life again….”

“Others were tortured...”

(v. 36) “Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.”

(v. 37) Others who died awful deaths by faith – stoned, sawed in half (Isaiah), put to death by the sword.  (37b) “They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated.”

(v. 38) “They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground.”

          In Hebrews, we are presented with shining examples of people for whom their dreams came true and their fervent prayers were answered. So yes, sometimes, faith looks like victory.

          And yet, in Hebrews we are also reminded of others for whom their lives were absolute nightmares.  Think of Isaiah (alluded to in v. 37) – from chapters 40 to 66 of his prophecy, Isaiah paints a beautiful portrait for God’s people of a glorious time when they would come back from exile and be comforted and shepherded and loved by their God.  A time when the servant of the Lord (Jesus Christ) would come and like a lamb, die for their sins. 

The vision of hope was so real for Isaiah that he could reach out and touch it!  And he desperately longed for God’s people to accept this glorious vision of a wonderful future that God had planned for them!  What’s wrong with that?  Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that!  And yet Isaiah held on to that vision, even as God’s wayward children were strapping him down on a log, and as he felt the teeth of the crosscut saw tear his flesh and scratch millimeter by millimeter through his ribs.   

          Let’s be honest: from one angle, faith sometimes looks like defeat.  From one angle, it looks like God frequently hangs his people out to dry.  Look at what’s been happening to the humble Christians of South Sudan for many years.  Look at what’s been happening to Christians in Egypt in this season of “Arab spring.” 

          Hebrews 11 is telling us something that if we don’t accept it and grasp it, then we will give up on the Lord, and we’ll find ourselves among those (10:39) who “shrink back and are destroyed”. 

          This is a one-point sermon, and here it is:  (direct quote from Larry Crabb, Shattered Dreams)  Apparently God is pleased with people who suffer terribly, whose lives never straighten out, but who keep on trusting.   

I think this is what Joan’s pastor didn’t “get.”  It’s also what Joel Osteen will never tell you.  Joan’s pastor gave her great encouragement to have faith and to act in faith, but after it was all said and done, what I desperately wanted to hear him say was, “Joan, you might lose your husband and your home and your family… but even if that happens, Joan, keep trusting the Lord, because He still loves you, and as you trust Him, he will commend your faith.”  Apparently God is pleased with people who suffer terribly, whose lives never straighten out, but who keep on trusting. 

          Let’s look at ourselves for a moment.  When God answers our urgent prayers and gives us a great deliverance, we thank Him and we praise Him and we worship Him, but thanksgiving on those occasions tends to be the same kind of “thanks” that we offer to a decent waiter at Olive Garden after a good dinner.  “Thanks, that was great!  Really appreciate it!”

          But when God doesn’t work the miracle and doesn’t bring about deliverance, either one of two things will happen. Either (1) we’ll give up and walk away from Him; or (2) we’ll hang on and our faith will deepen and turn into something precious and beautiful (what 12:2 calls “joy”). 

          So let me guide you back through the text, and show some clues about how to keep your faith intact, even when faith looks like defeat.

          (35b) “So that they might gain a better resurrection.”  Faith is always looking to the future.  Faith always takes the long view.  Remember Desert Pete and the well? (See part 14 of this series.) Isaiah could face a few minutes of agony because he knew that God would raise that body up again – and he knew by faith that somehow his resurrection would be even more glorious because he departed this world with his faith shining!  William Lane:  “For the Christian, it is the future, not the past, that molds the present.” 

          (37-38a) “The world was not worthy of them.”  The world looks at God’s faithful people and declares them worthless; God looks on them and says “come on home to me, you are too good for that world.”

          (v. 39) “These were all commended for their faith…” By whom? God commended them.  Apparently God is pleased with people who suffer terribly, whose lives never straighten out, but who keep on trusting.  This is powerful encouragement to keep your faith intact, even when your faith looks like defeat – that despite appearances, God commends your faith!

          I don’t have time today to develop 12:1-3 as it deserves.  But let me just make the observation that 12:1-3 really belongs with chapter 11.  Chapter 11 reminds us of all the great Bible heroes of faith; culminating with those courageous faithful men and women who held onto faith even when faith looked like defeat.  Let me ask you:  Who is the supreme example of faith when faith looks like defeat?! (Jesus!)  In verse 2, He is the “champion” or “hero” of our faith (“author” is the wrong word here).  He was jeered at, scoffed at, flogged, had his beard pulled out and a mocking crown of thorns pressed on his head, nailed naked to cross timbers and left to suffer and die. 

          He didn’t have to do any of it!

          But Jesus took the long view.  And he could see a joy ahead (v. 2) that would be his only if he suffered the shame and indignity of the cross. 

          What was the joy set before Jesus Christ?  It’s the joy of a husband who delights in his bride.  Of you, and me!  Jesus could look ahead and see a greater joy, a joy of having his own people… to love us… and to have us with Him forever. 

          In the same way, when faith looks like defeat, there’s a joy that is set before you. It’s the joy of having Christ and knowing Christ and being with Jesus Christ forever and ever. 

          When faith looks like victory, great!  Enjoy it!  Praise the Lord!  Savor the moment.  But when faith looks like defeat, hang on.  God is giving you the chance to discover a joy that most Christians will never know.  Apparently God is pleased with people who suffer terribly, whose lives never straighten out, but who keep on trusting. 

Amen

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert. Barnes on the New Testament: Hebrews. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1966. Print.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews: the English Text with Introd., Exposition, and Notes. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1978. Print.

Calvin, John. Calvin's Commentaries. Trans. John Owen. Vol. XXII. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989. Print.

Crabb, Larry. Shattered Dreams. Colorado Springs: Waterbrook, 2001. Print.

Guthrie, George H. Hebrews: the NIV Application Commentary ; from Biblical Text ... to Contemporary Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999. Print.

Hughes, Philip Edgcumbe. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids (Mich.): W.B. Eerdmans, 1990. Print.

Lane, William L. Hebrews: a Call to Commitment. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988. Print.

O'Brien, Peter Thomas. The Letter to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2010. Print.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Confident : Live by Faith, Not Be Sight : NT Commentary, Hebrews. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2009. Print.

          On the occasion of ordaining and installing officers in the church, it’s always appropriate to give a charge from God’s Word to those who are taking on the mantle of ordained service.  So this message in a special way is for the six who have been installed into the offices of Ruling Elder and Deacon this morning.  But the message certainly isn’t for these 6 only.  It’s for every single person among us who takes seriously your calling to follow Jesus Christ. 

          The subject in our text is “maximizing effectiveness in ministry.”  In this epistle, the Apostle Paul is writing to Pastor Timothy in Ephesus, giving some words of instruction and encouragement about his service in the Ephesian church.  This morning I want to take these same words, inspired by the Holy Spirit and speak them as encouraging words to the congregation concerning maximizing your effectiveness in your ministry, whatever shape or form that ministry may take. 

Outline of the message…

v. 11-12: Be confident

v. 13-14 : Be focused

v. 15: Be diligent

v. 16: Be attentive

1.  BE CONFIDENT (review vv. 11-12)

          Not just here, but in several places in the epistle of 1^st Timothy, the issue of age is mentioned.  Over in chapter 5, the subject of how Timothy should relate to older men and older women in the church comes up.  There were apparently a significant number of widows in the congregation as well.  The picture we get is that Timothy was a relatively young man in a congregation with many older people.  Just maybe, Timothy was dealing with a little verbal abuse or emotional bullying from the older crowd; because the Apostle says, “Don’t let ‘em do it!  Don’t let them define you in terms of your age. You are God’s appointed pastor in that place.  Do your ministry; don’t be intimidated; be confident!” 

          I’m reminded of a story that S. Brown tells; I can’t recall for sure, but I think it was in regard to the Miami Dolphins some years ago.  A rookie player fresh out of college was bumped up to the NFL, and discovered as many athletes do that it’s a whole new game at that level.  On the line, one of his opponents would always reach over and pull his helmet down over his eyes.  The rookie went back to his coach whining: “That guy keeps face-masking me!  Coach, help me!”  The coach looked him in the eye and responded with 5 words:  “Don’t let him do it!” 

          Our Lord Jesus went through the same thing.  We read in Mark chapter 6,

² When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

   “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

It always happens.  As you seek to fulfill your calling, somebody’s going to look down on you for one reason or another.  You can’t let it stop you.  This congregation has called you to office.  Hang onto that calling; and ask the Lord to give you the heart of a child, but the hide of a rhinoceros!  Be confident – not “self-confident,” mind you – but confident that you have been called, nominated, ordained and installed into office in the church of Jesus Christ.  As long as you are serving Him, He will back you up and in fact work through you.  Be confident.

2.  BE FOCUSED (review v. 13)  “Timothy – be focused on the gospel ministry, the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Do not be distracted from that number one priority for your ministry!” 

          I imagine most everyone here this morning has taken a swim once or twice in the ocean, perhaps down on the Gulf Shore or the Grand Strand of South Carolina.  If you’ve spent much time in the water, you’ve had the experience of drifting in the surf.  Perhaps you set up an umbrella on the beach, and you went out to splash in chest-deep water just 10 yards out.  A few minutes later you realize you’re still 10 yards out, but you’ve washed 25 yards to the left or right; you’re shocked to see your umbrella way back “up there!”  Under those conditions you have to be aware of the tug and the pull of the surf; and you have to consciously steel yourself against it or you’ll end up a long way from home!

          It’s the very same thing in the Christian ministry, and that’s what Paul is writing about in v. 13.  The anchor, the center of ministry must always be the gospel of Jesus Christ.  But once you’re out in the current of church ministry, and dealing with all the day-to-day and week-to-week “busyness” of the church, you might look up and find that there’s no “gospeling” (to coin a word) going on!  Not that the church has rejected the gospel; but rather that the preaching and the study and relishing in the gospel has ceased to be the primary focus of the church!  Other work and duties and responsibilities have tugged you away from the gospel. 

          Again, we see the issue come up immediately in the ministry of the Lord Jesus. Within the first couple of days of his public ministry, he was in a village where things were going great.  Everyone was excited and happy. There was a huge spirit of celebration at work!  Peter comes and finds Jesus praying and says, “Everyone is looking for you!” (Mark 1:37).  (In other words, we’re staying here, right?) Jesus replies, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”  Jesus was always looking for new places, new faces, and new opportunities to preach the gospel of the kingdom! 

          This is the reason that we’re doing the Gospel of Mark and Christianity Explored downstairs at 11:00 a.m. for the first half of the year.  And that’s why henceforth every new person the Lord leads to LVPC will be strongly encouraged to do this foundational study of the Gospel! 

          To those who were installed into office this morning – I charge you to keep us focused upon the gospel.  Be ruthless about it!  Permit nothing to drag us away at LVPC from the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

          But notice also v. 14 (review).  Timothy had some spiritual gift which the Holy Spirit imparted to him on the occasion of his ordination as Pastor of the Ephesian Church.  Funny thing is, we don’t know what it was! But it was something unique in Timothy; something in his way of doing ministry that was glorifying to Jesus and faithful to the gospel and edifying to the church, but uniquely and wonderfully “Timothy”.

          Likewise, for each of you installed this day, your ministry as you grow into it will have some sort of leading edge.  (Examples: hospitality, intercessory prayer, healing prayer, visitation of shut-ins, counseling others, teaching, serving, organizing.)  In the days and weeks to come, I’m going to be praying for you, that the Lord will help you to identify that leading edge for your ministry, so that you’ll not only be confident in your ministry but also focused in your ministry. 

3.  BE DILIGENT!  (v. 15)  It occurs to me that there are twin leeches which will latch onto you and sap you of all the life and energy you need to be diligent in your ministry.  Those are the leeches of laziness and discouragement. 

          Let’s talk about laziness first.  Once you are focused in your ministry, and you have a pretty good feel for the specific tasks which the Lord is calling you to do for Him, you put that in front of you and you keep it in front of you at all times.  The Lord’s work comes first.  I make no apology for saying that and expecting it of myself and each one of you. 

          So you take your knife and scrape off the leech of laziness, only to look on the other arm and see the leech of discouragement.  The results aren’t what you hoped for or expected; every time you try to accomplish a specific task, you notice that weird things happen which bring additional pain or stress into your life. Last week I was praying for one of our WO missionary families in which every member of the family was simultaneously experiencing severe back pain!  (Hello! Can anyone say, “Spiritual warfare”?)

          So to those ordained this morning: you have set yourselves on the crosshairs of the enemy.  He is real, and he does not want you to serve the Lord Jesus with any kind of confidence or enthusiasm or vigor.  The best thing you can do is to expect some spiritual opposition to come, so that you are ready to raise up the shield of faith when it hits!  Along with praying for you that you’ll identify your own focus in ministry, I’ll be praying that you’ll learn to discern spiritual warfare when it’s happening to you…. So that you will be encouraged and diligent in every task set before you.  When your work is done, may you be able to say along with the Lord Jesus (John 17:4) “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.”  May you resonate with his words on Calvary’s cross, “It is finished.” May you be able to say along with the Apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

          Be confident, focused, diligent…

4.  BE ATTENTIVE (review v. 16)

          What are the two major areas to which we must always pay careful attention according to verse 16? (Life, and Doctrine) 

          Life: Who you are, really on the inside.  It’s what you do when no one else is watching.  It’s looking for integrity in the little things. It’s making sure that there’s no area of life that goes unexamined; and that there’s no one area of life which isn’t coming more and more under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Are there areas of your life in which you struggle?  Of course!  But minimally are you persevering in baby steps of growth even in those difficult areas?  “Watch your life, and your doctrine, closely.”

          Doctrine:  What you believe about God and the world.  Doctrine is more than “Bible knowledge.” Doctrine is how the whole message of the Bible fits together!  Those installed:  You affirmed this morning that you believe that the WCF contains the system of doctrine taught in scripture.  By that you’re affirming that the Bible is more than a hodge podge collection of religious stories; that there is one over-arching message in the Bible, and in fact that the 35 chapters of the Confession of Faith contain that system of doctrine that is taught in Scripture.  That’s a serious vow!  Watch your life and doctrine closely!

          When Jesus came to trial, he had lived such a thoroughly self-examined life that no one could say anything against Him!  False witnesses came forward, but their comments were so patently silly that they gained no traction at all.  

          I close with this. One day, each of us will stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ.  God has appointed Jesus as Judge of all the earth on that final day.  To those who have rejected Him, Jesus will declare them guilty – and justly so – and drive them away into eternal damnation.  To all who have received Jesus Christ  by faith and repentance, God credits to us the righteousness of Jesus Christ Himself.  That’s good news!  We stand on his goodness!  His goodness saves us, and not our own. 

          And yet, even for Christians, we will each stand before the judgment seat of Christ… and there he will bestow awards to us based upon the quality of our lives lived for Him! 

          On that day may Jesus say to you.. and you… “Come and enjoy your great reward, for you have watched your life and your doctrine closely.”

Amen.

This week we continue in the “faith chapter” of Scripture, Hebrews the Eleventh.  I believe that this is as good a time as any to address a common misconception about Christian faith.  Many Christians have the idea that the faith that is being taught and celebrated in Hebrews 11 is somehow different from saving faith.  Many Christians have the idea that “saving faith” is comprised of a one-time act of believing in Christ and “asking Jesus into your heart.”  Then they read Hebrews 11 which describes people who lived spectacular lives of stunning faith, and they conclude, “Well, that must be something different.”  I want to assure you that it is NOT different.  I want to assure you that the faith by which you believe in Christ and are saved is one and the same with the faith of Hebrews 11.  Saving faith receives Jesus Christ in order to go on trusting and obeying him in all of life and throughout all of life.  Saving faith is a life of faith.  The Bible nowhere teaches, the Bible nowhere conceives, of the possibility of someone exercising saving faith in Christ, and then continuing on with a life which is essentially the very same as any ordinary unbeliever. 

The point of Hebrews chapter 11 is that the faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and on down the chapter is in fact the faith of the ordinary Christian life!  This is what faith looks like in truly saved people! 

          This morning I’m going to make 4 summary statements about Abraham’s life of faith, and apply them to our Christian experience.  So let’s dig in to the text.

          (review 8-10)

1.  ABRAHAM BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD,  NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS GOING.  At the age of 75, God spoke to Abraham and called him to abandon his homeland, the City of Ur of the Chaldeans, and to go to a land which God would show him.  In the ancient world, Ur was a center of wealth and commerce and education and urban sophistication.  I read of a Bible scholar who has four framed photographs on the wall of his office, four views of a desolate wasteland. Someone asked him, “What are those photographs of?” He replied that he had visited the ruins of ancient Ur, and those four photographs were images to the north, south, east and west of Ur.  The visible prospects for Abraham beyond Ur were bleak and unpromising, as far as the eye could see. 

          God’s call to Abraham meant that he would abandon all that was comfortable and secure and familiar, trusting only the Word of God, and journey to a land where he would live out his days not as a member of the ruling class in a great city, but as a Bedouin shepherd living in tents. 

          The text emphasizes (9, 13) that Abraham lived out his days as a foreigner.  The word translated “stranger” in v. 9 means “a temporary sojourner without native or civil rights.”  Everything about Abraham – his accent, his clothes, his faith in God – marked him as someone different from the Canaanites, someone who didn’t really belong there, someone who really didn’t fit in.   

          There are several lessons we need to learn from this.  a) The life of faith is a life of constantly venturing further and further in obedient trust, even when you can’t see where the Lord is taking you. 

If you’ve ever been to a zoo, you may have seen an African impala, a small member of the antelope family (2 ½ to 3 feet tall, 110 lbs).  The impala can jump 10 feet vertically and 30 feet horizontally.  Yet a zoo can contain an impala behind a mere 3-foot wall, because the impala will not jump if they can’t see where their feet will fall.  Faith is so different.  Faith is obeying the Lord, even when you’re not sure where your feet are going to land.

b) The story of Abraham’s sojourn in Canaan teaches us that the life of faith is a life in which we never feel quite at home.  (That’s the reason for today’s hymn selections.)  The true Christian is never quite at home in this world.  I think of a teenage girl I know who is the daughter of missionaries.  She spent the first 7 or 8 years of her life here in America; then the next 6 or 7 years in Berlin, Germany.  Now she’s back in the States.  Her Dad calls her a “culturally green kid.”  (Green comes from mixing blue and yellow.) In other words, she’s a little of this and a little of that, but not exactly either one.  Kids like that make great international businessmen, and terrific ambassadors – but they never feel quite “at home” anywhere. 

As faithful followers of Jesus, we should know what that kid feels like.  We’re born into this world; we’re reborn into the Kingdom of God… and until the Lord returns we find ourselves “in between the two.”  (Refer to hymn, “Sweet Beulah Land.”)  ABRAHAM BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD,  NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS GOING. 

2.  ABRAHAM BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD, NOT KNOWING HOW GOD’S PROMISE WOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED. (review vv. 11-12)  I need to make a brief Bible study note here.  In the NIV, from which I’m reading, v. 11 is translated so that it’s Abraham’s faith that is being celebrated.  But in the original language, there’s some ambiguity, so that other translations think it’s referring to Sarah’s faith.  Personally, I think the NIV is correct on this one; but it really doesn’t matter because Abraham and Sarah both faced the problem that God had promised to make Abraham into a great nation (which begins with having children!), and yet they were both far beyond the age for having children.  He was “past age” (v. 11), in fact as far as fathering children was concerned, Abraham was (v. 12) “as good as dead.”  Sarah (v. 11), also a very old woman had never conceived. 

          Then one night, Abraham was praying about this, and the Lord took him outside: “Look up into that desert sky and count the stars… So shall your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5).  The next verse says that Abraham “believed the Lord, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  How did he express that faith?  Abraham, old man that he was went back into the tent, and together he and Sarah miraculously conceived a child. 

          From the outset did Abraham know how God’s promise would be accomplished? No, and Abraham stumbled along the way.  That’s the story of the birth of Ishmael.  But in Genesis 15, Abraham believed God’s promise, and claimed God’s promise, and God worked a miracle.  (End of verse 11 – it’s all about the faithfulness of the One who makes the promises.

          In the early 19^th century, the missionary Adoniram Judson found himself in Burma, lying in a foul jail cell with 32 pounds of chains tied to his ankles, and his feet bound to a bamboo pole.  A fellow prisoner asked Judson in a scoffing tone, “Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heathen?” Judson: “The prospects are just as bright as the promises of God.” 

1.  ABRAHAM BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD,  NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS GOING. 

2.  ABRAHAM BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD, NOT KNOWING HOW GOD’S PROMISE WOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED.

3.  ABRAHAM BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD, NOT KNOWING WHEN GOD WOULD FULFILL HIS PROMISES

(vv. 13-16, note, “all these people” refers to Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob)

The patriarchs were able to see the fulfillment of God’s promises in the future; the patriarchs welcomed the coming fulfillment of God’s promises; and yet they all died before seeing their fulfillment. 

          My childhood best friend lived in a very remote, very rural area of a very sparsely populated county.  To get to his place, you had to drive out the state highway known as the Wilderness Road, then you turned left at Pumpkin Center and continued on till you arrived at No Business.  The total population of No Business at any given time might have been 25 people.  I remember when I’d spend the night at his place, that at the first sound of an approaching car that the whole family would run to the window to see who it was!  Who’s coming out our way? 

          I think that’s a great picture for the way men and women of faith relate to God’s promises.  We’re always watching off in the distance, listening for any sound, any hint that the Lord is coming… we’re always to be vigilant, watching the horizon and expecting his return at any moment. 

1.  ABRAHAM BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD,  NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS GOING. 

2.  ABRAHAM BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD, NOT KNOWING HOW GOD’S PROMISE WOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED.

3.  ABRAHAM BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD, NOT KNOWING WHEN GOD WOULD FULFILL HIS PROMISES

4.  ABRAHAM BELIEVED AND OBEYED GOD, NOT KNOWING WHY GOD WAS DOING WHAT HE WAS DOING (17-19). 

          The verses refer to the story of the Binding of Isaac.  God promised to give Abraham a son, and God finally fulfilled the promise.  Then God told Abraham to take his precious son and offer him as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah.  This morning we do not have time to go into the theology of that story (and that’s regrettable, because I don’t want anyone thinking that there’s anything sadistic or cruel about God… if you’re not familiar with the passage, then call me and we’ll talk about it).  The one thing I need to point out from today’s text is that this event was a test of Abraham’s faith (v. 17).  Abraham could not possibly grasp why God was asking him to do this; Abraham could not understand why God was doing what he was doing. But v. 19 gives us some insight into Abraham’s reasoning and thoughts about the situation.  “If worst comes to worst, and I have to offer this child to the Lord, then I still have hope because I know that the Lord can yet raise him from the dead.”  That’s faith! 

          Last week in Christianity Explored downstairs the discussion question was tossed out, “If you could ask God one question, and you knew he would answer it, what would your question be?”  As we went around, probably 75% of the questions that people would like to ask God were “why?” questions. 

God, why do bad things happen to weak and powerless people? 

God, why is my life the way it is?

God, why do you make the decisions that you make and do the things that you do?  And friends, those are all excellent questions!

          What I want to say to you this morning is that to live with unanswered questions, and unexplained situations, and unresolved tensions—and yet to trust the Lord with unflinching obedience – that is biblical faith. 

          If you have unanswered questions and unexplained situations and unresolved tensions, and in response you say, “God, I’ve given you enough time to make sense of all this, so now I’m going to pack up my marbles and go play in my own backyard… well, that’s the response of 10:39, “those who shrink back and are destroyed.” 

          Real faith acknowledges, “God, I don’t understand everything, and in fact I never will… But God, I have come to trust your heart… and even when I can’t make sense of what you’re doing, I still believe that you are motivated by love… So I going to believe you and obey you.”

          We’re now about half way through the Faith Chapter.  I want to conclude where I began last week.  Look at the text again, and see the repetition of that phrase, “by faith… Abel… Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac…”

          As we begin a new week, put your name in the blank!  How does the story which God is writing in your life read? 

“By faith, Linda loved her enemy and blessed the one who persecuted her.” 

“By faith, Charles wrote his first tithe check today.” 

“By faith, Allison invited her neighbor over for dinner, and then invited her to church.” 

“By faith, Joe took steps to change an inappropriate relationship.” 

Fill in the blank for yourself. What will you do by faith, this week? 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Albert. Barnes on the New Testament: Hebrews. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1966. Print.

Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews: the English Text with Introd., Exposition, and Notes. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1978. Print.

Calvin, John. Calvin's Commentaries. Trans. John Owen. Vol. XXII. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989. Print.

Guthrie, George H. Hebrews: the NIV Application Commentary ; from Biblical Text ... to Contemporary Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999. Print.

Hughes, Philip Edgcumbe. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids (Mich.): W.B. Eerdmans, 1990. Print.

Lane, William L. Hebrews: a Call to Commitment. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988. Print.

O'Brien, Peter Thomas. The Letter to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2010. Print.

Sermon Illustrations. Web. 19 Jan. 2012. <http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/f/faith.htm>.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Confident : Live by Faith, Not Be Sight : NT Commentary, Hebrews. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2009. Print.