A RESPONSE Of SAVING FAITH-XI—Hebrews 11:3-40
Attention:
People we recognize as spiritually standing above others.
Faith’s response to life’s challenges
We indeed bring something of value to the table when we are saved!
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?
In previous weeks we have observed 16 Responses to Life’s Challenge afforded by Saving Faith. These responses have focused upon the “elders”(:2)(patriarchs) but their application is for us.
We have found that Saving faith meets life’s challenge with...
1. A Particular WORLDVIEW(:3)—Concept presented 05/20/2012 with 10:39—11:3 as FELLOWSHIP
Regarding Abel
2. OFFERINGs Of Particular QUALITY(:4)
Regarding Enoch:
3. DESIRE For GOD’s PLEASURE(:5-6)
Regarding Noah:
4. CONDEMNING TRUST(:7)
Regarding Abraham & Sarah:
5. A Particular PLACE(:8-10)
6. A Particular OUTLOOK(:11-12)
7. A Particular VISION(:13-16)
8. A Particular CONCLUSION(:17-19)
Regarding Isaac & Jacob:
9. A Particular BLESSING(:20-21)
Regarding Joseph:
10. A Particular PREPARATION(:22)
Regarding Moses:
11. A Particular BOLDNESS(:23)
12. A Particular FEARLESSNESS(:24-27)
13. A Particular DISPLAY(:28)
14. A Particular PASSAGE(:29)
Regarding Jericho’s conquest:
15. A Particular CONQUEST(:30)
Regarding Rahab:
16. A Particular RELIANCE(:31)
17—Saving faith meets life’s challenge with...
A Particular IMPATIENCE(:32a)
Explanation:(:32a)
:32—“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of....”
“What more” can the author “say” in order to convince the readers of the power of faith than what has already been said? The readers should be convinced from the detailed examples already given.
“Time” is vital/of the essence for this author. The author is not writing a treatise upon each name listed here but is more concerned that his current audience grasp the significance of the faith by which each was used of God.
The author thereby lists six names intended to elicit an immediate & individual mental picture of the quality & power of a faith which is sought by & useful to God. These examples would have been familiar to his audience. Time being of the essence, their familiarity/notoriety must suffice as he cannot continue in detail about these listed.
*What more do you need, in order to be convinced of the goodness of God & your lack of its deservedness? There is abundant evidence of your sinful nature as well as God’s loving forgiveness in Christ!
Look at what makes TV profitable & listen to secular radio—What do people talk about? What is important to them? What is it that they are ignorant of? Do they ever acknowledge a distinctly Christian God if they acknowledge a god at all?
Rom. 3:23-24—“for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”
Isa. 59:2—“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”
The author can’t write reams & reams of informational stuff that has already been written & explained!
God has never & will never condone the self-determination of your flesh...of your self-proclaimed ‘goodness.’ The only ‘goodness’ a man possesses is the ‘declared’ goodness bestowed upon him by means of the Holy Spirit(directing his actions) & is had thru faith in the Son of God!
“Fail”—epileipw—1) To fail, not to suffer for (any purpose, for the attainment of an end). Strong—To leave upon, i.e. figuratively--To be insufficient for. Used 1X.
“Tell”—dihgeomai—1) To lead or carry a narration through to the end; 2) Set forth, recount, relate in full, describe. Strong—To relate fully. Used 8X.
Argumentation:
We must decide for Jesus NOW!
Heb. 4:1-2—“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”
The author of Hebrews argues for urgency in Chapt. 4 using Ps. 95:7-11 as his basis...
Ps. 95:7-11—“For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, When your fathers tested Me; They tried Me, though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, And they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’””
Heb. 3:12-14; 4:—“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,”.....“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”
Rev. 3:19-20—““As many as I love, I rebuke & chasten. Therefore be zealous & repent. Behold, I stand at the door & knock. If anyone hears My voice & opens the door, I will come in to him & dine with him, & he with Me.”
“Rebuke” & “chastening” both imply urgency!
Likewise, “Standing at the door” implies urgency of decision. for God’s sake alone, if nothing else, so He will not withdraw from you completely.
Rom. 11:25—“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”
There is a time-related aspect & ending to Today! Time is linear...God has made it so!
You are here today because God has ordained your presence. Whether you are here because your parents shoved or dragged you thru the door. Or because you just ‘feel better’ when you’ve gone to church. Or whether you’re here out of guilt to please someone else whether alive or dead(grandparents, parents, children, uncles, cousins, etc.)....
.....It is urgent that you are attentive to the message before you.
There is an Impatience on the part of those whom God is using to speak to you, because none of us knows when we will draw our last breath. There is an Impatience inherent to the Gospel of Christ. Not one of us knows our last day.
If you believe you can wait until that last day then you are sadly mistaken. You are claiming too much knowledge for yourself & too little trust in God who truly does know all things.
Illustration:
*Installing something that is time sensitive/In a home/Doors, windows, insulation prior to turning on the heat or air/A Particular IMPATIENCE
*Hauling & delivering time-sensitive materials/We do not use Sunday School material for the last quarter—We use that which is intended for this quarter/We get antsy if the mail gets it here at the last moment/A Particular IMPATIENCE
I will never forget the lady in Wake Forest, NC who, while sitting in her home & after hearing the Gospel, told me point blank that she c/would not commit to Christ now because she felt she would have to experience some sort of trauma or tragedy in her life to do so/How sad is that?—To be so at satisfied & comforted in life(temporal) without Christ, that we reject the permanent life with Christ who loves us so!/What if said ‘tragedy’ had mortal consequences? Then its too late!!/That’s why its important that Christians maintain A Particular IMPATIENCE
Application:
?Does your life evince A Particular IMPATIENCE in God?
?How do you Respond to life’s challenge?
?Is yours a Response of Saving Faith?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
People we recognize as spiritually standing above others.
Action:
Saving faith meets life’s challenge with...
17. A Particular IMPATIENCE(:32a)
1. A Particular WORLDVIEW(:3)—Concept presented 05/20/2012 with 10:39—11:3 as FELLOWSHIP
Regarding Abel
2. OFFERINGs Of Particular QUALITY(:4)
Regarding Enoch:
3. DESIRE For GOD’s PLEASURE(:5-6)
Regarding Noah:
4. CONDEMNING TRUST(:7)
Regarding Abraham & Sarah:
5. A Particular PLACE(:8-10)
6. A Particular OUTLOOK(:11-12)
7. A Particular VISION(:13-16)
8. A Particular CONCLUSION(:17-19)
Regarding Isaac & Jacob:
9. A Particular BLESSING(:20-21)
Regarding Joseph:
10. A Particular PREPARATION(:22)
Regarding Moses:
11. A Particular BOLDNESS(:23)
12. A Particular FEARLESSNESS(:24-27)
13. A Particular DISPLAY(:28)
14. A Particular PASSAGE(:29)
Regarding Jericho’s conquest:
15. A Particular CONQUEST(:30)
Regarding Rahab:
16. A Particular RELIANCE(:31)
Presented 02/17/2013am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
