A RESPONSE Of SAVING FAITH-V—Hebrews 11:3-40
Attention:
Faith’s response to life’s challenges
We indeed bring something of value to the table when we are saved!
Need:
The Hebrews writer sought to encourage & exhort his readers(hearers) by recounting the very practical responses which faith had wrought in their forebears/ancestors.
Saving faith yields practical responses to life, which encourage others.
What are some practical responses to life by saving faith?
How does saving faith respond to life?
Previously in Hebrews, we found 5(6) responses to life’s challenge afforded by saving faith.
Saving faith meets life’s challenge with...
1. A Particular WORLDVIEW(:3)—Concept presented 05/20/2012 with 10:39—11:3 as FELLOWSHIP
2. OFFERINGs Of PECULIAR QUALITY(:4)
3. DESIRE For GOD’s PLEASURE(:5-6)
4. CONDEMNING TRUST(:7)
5. A Particular PLACE(:8-10)
6. A Particular OUTLOOK(:11-12)
7. A Particular VISION(:13-16)
8. A Particular CONCLUSION(:17-19)
9—Saving faith meets life’s challenge with...
A Particular BLESSING(:20-21)
Explanation:(:20-21)
:20—“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob & Esau concerning things to come.
The incident spoken of here is from Gen. 25 & 27.
Isaac did something specific which marked it as having been done “by faith.”
Isaac “blessed”(Gen. 27:26-29; Gen. 27:33-41) his twin sons(Gen. 25:21-26) “by faith.”
Gen. 25:21-24—“Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; & the LORD granted his plea, & Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; & she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.”
Gen. 27:26-29—“Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now & kiss me, my son.” And he came near & kissed him; & he smelled the smell of his clothing, & blessed him & said: “Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed. Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain & wine. Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!””
Gen. 27:33-41—“Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, & said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game & brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, & I have blessed him--& indeed he shall be blessed.” When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great & bitter cry, & said to his father, “Bless me--me also, O my father!” But he said, “Your brother came with deceit & has taken away your blessing.” And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, & now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” Then Isaac answered & said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, & all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain & wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?” And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me--me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice & wept. Then Isaac his father answered & said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.” So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, & Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.””
*The “blessing” reflected the providential favor of God upon Jacob.
The nature of blessing was different for both Jacob & Esau. Jacob received all the actual “blessing” of God, while Esau was made party to the blessing thru Jacob.
“Blessed”(See :21)—eulogew—1) To praise, celebrate with praises; 2) To invoke blessings; 3) To consecrate a thing with solemn prayers—3a) To ask God’s blessing on a thing, 3b) pray God to bless it to one’s use, 3c) Pronounce a consecratory blessing on; 4) of God—4a) To cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on, 4b) Favored of God, blessed. Strong—To speak well of, i.e. religiously--To bless(thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper).
“Concerning/Regarding”(See :22)—peri—Prep.—1) About, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near. Strong—properly--Through(all over), i.e. Around; figuratively--With respect to; used in various applications, of place, cause or time (with the genitive case denoting the subject or occasion or superlative point; with the accusative case the locality, circuit, matter, circumstance or general period).
“Things to come/Their future”—mellw—V.—1) To be about—1a) To be on the point of doing or suffering something, 1b) To intend, have in mind, think to. Strong—To attend, i.e. Be about to be, do, or suffer something (of persons or things, especially events; in the sense of purpose, duty, necessity, probability, possibility, or hesitation).
:21—“By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, & worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.”
Likewise, Jacob blessed his son Joseph’s sons(Ephraim & Manasseh) by faith, bestowing the blessing to them as it had been revealed to him by God(Gen. 48:21-22).
Gen. 48:21-22—“Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you & bring you back to the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword & my bow.””
Jacob blessed them as he leaned on the top of his staff.
Why is Jacob’s “leaning on the top of his staff” so important? It is a testimony to the physical failings of his flesh by virtue of his age. It signifies that due to his age, Jacob could not possibly experience/see the promises.
Gen. 47:31—“Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.”
*“The quotation here is from the LXX, the Hebrew having "the head of the bed," but the Hebrew word allows either meaning with different vowel points.”—RWP
Argumentation:
Mat. 10:34-38—““Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, & a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; “& ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross & follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
The blessing of God comes by means of Christ Jesus alone!
Acts 13:32-42—““And we[Paul, Barnabas et al.] declare to you glad tidings--that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’ “And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’ “Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’ “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, & saw corruption; but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man[Jesus] is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; & by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you: “Behold, you despisers, Marvel & perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you.’” So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.”
*Rom. 15:25-29—“But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia & Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, & they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. Therefore, when I have performed this & have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain. But I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.”
*Eph. 1:3-6—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy & without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.”
*Eph 3:14-19—“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
*Eph. 4:11-13—“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;”
Illustration:
It takes conviction with tenacity to so firmly believe the truth of God, that you make strides to arrange your household around the truths of His design by faith!/We may have children who fight it all the way, but the Blessing of God is for those who accept it!/A Particular BLESSING
Application:
?Does your life speak of A Particular BLESSING in God?
?How do you Respond to life’s challenge?
?Is yours a Response of Saving Faith?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
Saving faith meets life’s challenge with...
9. A Particular BLESSING(:20-21)
1. A Particular WORLDVIEW(:3)—Concept presented 05/20/2012 with 10:39—11:3 as FELLOWSHIP
2. OFFERINGs Of PECULIAR QUALITY(:4)
3. DESIRE For GOD’s PLEASURE(:5-6)
4. CONDEMNING TRUST(:7)
5. A Particular PLACE(:8-10)
6. A Particular OUTLOOK(:11-12)
7. A Particular VISION(:13-16)
8. A Particular CONCLUSION(:17-19)
Presented 09/16/2012pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
