Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God
It’s easy to follow rules in life.......that is if you can stick to them.....the do’s and don’t’s.....do it this way or don’t do that. Humans like it when they have a road map to follow.
I believe that’s the reason a lot of Christians are being taught to follow the rules of the Sermon on the Mount in order to keep their salvation......but what they don’t realize is the ones who teachs that theory can’t keep all those rules any more than they can....
I also believe that’s the reason many Christians go ship wrecked and walk away from church and are very disappointed and discouraged in their walk with Christ.
Folks, its about grace...it’s about forgiveness that last eternal....it’s about having faith that the promises of God are for sure and true....not like human promises with maybe’s and if’s.
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***I have a question for every Christian....how can you live a life that Jesus called more abundant if we were over shadowed by Gods promises of maybes or if”s?...(let me say that again)
The Old Testament was all about rules and regulations....the dos and don’ts for a relationship with God.....but, every man that God used throughout the scriptures failed at some point and time except Jesus.....Even in the Old Testament God shed His grace on a select few.
But now ...its For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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Now that I have your attention....that’s what the book of Hebrews is all about...the book of Hebrews was written to the new Jewish Christians that were taught all their life that you had to follow Moses and the laws to have a relationship with God.
Those laws were upheld by Pharisees ...keepers of the laws. The Pharisees wore long black robes and punished those who got out of line or broke one of those commandments.
They made a lot of rules as they went that God didn’t intend for mankind.
Jesus did away with the rules and regulations on the cross of Calvary. He paid the price of sin for you and me... not only that but, all that would believe upon Him.
The new Jewish Christians would gather and form the early churches, but, the Pharisees and other followers of Moses and the Old Testament would go in and disrupt those gatherings and discourage those new Christians and some were turning from their new faith in Jesus.
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We can easily say that we would never turn from our faith if put in that position but, we don’t know that....I’d dare say if Christians were persecuted today like they were then ....there would be a lot of empty church buildings around.
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Again ...that’s who Hebrews was written too. The new believers. You will hear more controversy over the book of Hebrews than any other book of the Bible....the reason it’s misunderstood...there is no controversy in God’s word...there are no mistakes....just need to know who it was written to at the time it was written
Chapter 11 of Hebrews is a example of how the writer is explaining in detail the very foundation of Christianity to the new believers....and this is for us today no matter how long you have known Christ.....the book of Hebrews pounds it into the heads of every Christian that once you except Jesus as your Saviour that grace defeated all the rules and regulations...the dos and donts.........why?.......because if you are truly saved you will want to do as Jesus did.....
Paul said it like this to identify a Christian 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
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Here in our scripture today explains faith in the Old Testament using some of the champions of faith like Abraham, Noah, Jacob and so on.
These examples of faith would be carried right on through to every Christian that believed in Jesus from the day of Pentecost to today’s believers.
The Old Testament is not out dated...we can depend on its truth as much as we can the New.
ILLU:I heard a story about a 90-year-old granddad was complaining to his grandson about getting old. He said, "The worst part is the diapers." He said, "I don’t mind wearin’ them, it’s just the name I hate.....Depends!
If I have to wear a diaper, I don’t want there to be any ’depends’ about it. I want for sure!"
It would be good if everything was "for sure," but it’s not.
When it comes to most human things, it depends.....but, Gods promises are true and faithful.
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Verse 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I think there are many thoughts about this verse but it is saying..
***“Faith enables the believer to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.”
****************It’s that simple....
There is no need to add anything else to salvation....it’s faith in believing all the promises of God in which we have not seen yet.....from the forgiveness of sins by repentance to our heavily home that waiting for us.........................I would hate to know that this is all there is to life.......
Some folks try to add works to faith to be saved...but wouldn’t that contradict John 3:16?....remember there are no contradictions in the word of God.
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Verse 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,
Here is faith again........we as true Christians know that Darwin’s theory on evolution is a joke..that man come from monkeys or walk out of the ocean and there was a great blast to create the planets ..the non-believer studies and teaches that to their children.
But, the Holy Spirit teaches us the truth.....that God created everything that we can see and those things we can’t see and I don’t question that .....because He is the first and the last and we must have faith that every word in the Bible and every promise God instructed to be written and inspired by Him will be carried out to ....the crossing of every T and the dotting every I.
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It’s the hope that motivates us to keep going and not give up. Without hope we wouldn’t want to do anything.
Saw a Peanut’s cartoon: Lucy and Linus were sitting in front of the television set when Lucy said to Linus, "Go get me a glass of water." Linus looked surprised, "Why should I do anything for you? You never do anything for me." OK, Lucy said, "On your 75th birthday," "I’’ll bake you a cake." Linus got up, headed to the kitchen and said, "Life is more pleasant when you have something to look forward to."
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Look what Gods people has to look forward to.....life on this earth is not about how much we can accomplish or how much money we can make or how many toys we can accumulate.
***************Life on earth is about mending the relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.....having faith that God did just that by becoming a man and paying the price of our sins on the cross .... accept that and believe it...ask Him into your heart and forgive you of your sins.....and stand on those promises.... because He is faithful and just to forgive us and He is faithful and just and true to keep those promises from now through out eternity!.....because He is the first and the last and there is no other!
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We are like most people when we go on vacation; we get to the hotel room and unpack everything. They take it all out of the suitcase and put it into those dressers or closets.
But if I’m only going to be around for a few days, I don’t even bother to unpack.
I just leave everything in the suitcase and when I need it, I just take it out.
No use to get everything settled, because I know that soon, I’m going to have to pack it all up again.
We must have this way of thinking when it comes to life. Now we may be here 80 or some even 100 years, but compared with eternity, that’s just a weekend trip.
If we spend our time focused on this life and this world, then we have wasted our life.
Most spend our energy trying to build a comfortable or successful life here.
Most of the time we forget that we’re just passing through that we not only unpack our suitcase, but we try to decorate the hotel room too. We want to paint the walls, put in a new carpet, refinish the furniture, hang a few pictures on the wall. It took me a while but, life is too short.
We’re just staying for a short time. There was really no need to unpack.
We are not home yet........we have that promise....we have that hope.....we have faith that this is not all there is to life.....we have Gods promise of a heavenly home waiting for us.
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When we get to heaven, there will be no contest to see who was the most deserving of God’s grace because no one deserves it.
There will only be one contest in heaven.
When we look back and see what we were before, when we see that fiery pit that He saved us from.
When we remember how God pulled us from that miry clay and set our feet upon a rock.
When we remember that hog pen that some of us were in like myself.
When we see Jesus who loved us and gave himself for us and when we see Him and see Him as He is and we shall be like Him.
The only contest will be to see which of us will sing the loudest:
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.”
Love in Christ Jesus, Ronnie Miller www.themillersbiblestudy.com
