Faith Chasing The Future Lesson 3 Series

A. ABEL – THE BEGINNING OF FAITH

1. Abel – saving faith. “ 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” (Hebrews 11:4, NKJV).

a. All religions are not the same. “Cain offered … the fruit of the ground” (Genesis 4:3). “But the Lord did not respect … his offering” (Genesis 4:5). Works.

b. “Abel brought the firstborn of his flock. The Lord respected his offering” (Genesis 4:4). “Without shedding of blood ... no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).

c. Man’s religion – what he does for God. Christianity what God has done for us. “Jesus … the Lamb who has been slain” (Revelation 13:8).

2. Hebrew tradition. “A fire descended from heaven and consumed Abel’s sacrifice.”

a. God’s approval. “Obtained witness, that he was righteous” (v. 4).

b. No fire, angered Cain. He was the first murderer.

3. Sacrificial language. “Abel brought … first born … and the fat” (Genesis 4:4).

4. God spoke:

a. “God made tunic of skin and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).

b. “The Lord said to Cain, ‘why are you angry? … if you do well you will be accepted … sin (offering) lies at your door” (Genesis 4:6-7, NKJV).

B. ENOCH – THE WALK OF FAITH

1. Enoch – God pleasing faith. “By faith Enoch was taken away, so that he did not see death … God had taken him … he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).

a. The more/closer you walk with God, the more your faith pleases God.

b. Imperative. “without faith it is impossible to please God” (v. 6).

c. Enoch had deep faith that God would return to judge the world and take righteous people to be with Him. Translation faith. “Enoch … prophesied … the Lord is coming to execute judgement on the people … the ungodly things they have done … for all the insults ... spoken against Him” (Jude 14-15, NLT).

2. Ungodly. “Walked according to the course of this world … prince of the power of the air … sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1, NKJV).

C. NOAH – THE SERVICE OF FAITH

1. Noah – building faith. “It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7, NLT).

a. Faith obeys God’s warning. “Warned him about things that had never happened before” (v. 7). If Noah had not obeyed the warning of God, he would not have faith.

b. Faith’s patience. “Worked 120 years.”

c. Faith’s separation. “The days of Noah were … eating and drinking … marrying and giving in marriage. The flood took them away” (Matthew 24:37-39).

d. Faith’s condemnation. “Noah being warned … condemned the rest of the world” (v. 5).

2. Three convicting signs:

a. Huge dimensions.

b. Enormous time consumption.

c. Impractical – the sea was distant.

3. Noah’s faith-obedience, evidenced his “justification” (v. 5).

If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:

Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.

Dr. Towns’ email is eltowns@liberty.edu.

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