OPEN: In college, Ken Davis (a popular youth speaker) was asked to prepare a lesson to teach his speech class. They were to be graded on their creativity and ability to drive home a point in a memorable way. The title of his talk was, "The Law of the Pendulum." He spent 20 minutes carefully teaching the physical principle that governs a swinging pendulum. The law of the pendulum is: A pendulum can never return to a point higher than the point from which it was released. Because of friction and gravity, when the pendulum returns, it will fall short of its original release point. Each time it swings it makes less and less of an arc, until finally it is at rest. This point of rest is called the state of equilibrium, where all forces acting on the pendulum are equal.
He attached a 3-foot string to a child’s toy top and secured it to the top of the blackboard with a thumbtack. He pulled the top to one side and made a mark on the blackboard where he let it go. Each time it swung back he made a new mark. It took less than a minute for the top to complete its swinging and come to rest. When he finished the demonstration, the markings on the blackboard proved his thesis. He then asked how many people in the room BELIEVED the law of the pendulum was true. All of my classmates raised their hands, so did the teacher. He started to walk to the front of the room thinking the class was over. In reality it had just begun. Hanging from the steel ceiling beams in the middle of the room was a large, crude but functional pendulum (250 pounds of metal weights tied to four strands of 500-pound test parachute cord).
Davis invited the instructor to climb up on a table and sit in a chair with the back of his head against a cement wall. Then he brought the 250 pounds of metal up to his nose. Holding the huge pendulum just a fraction of an inch from his face, Davis once again explained the law of the pendulum the teacher had applauded only moments before, "If the law of the pendulum is true, then when I release this mass of metal, it will swing across the room and return short of the release point. Your nose will be in no danger." After that final restatement of this law, Davis looked the teacher in the eye and asked, "Sir, do you believe this law is true?" There was a long pause. Huge beads of sweat formed on his upper lip and then weakly he nodded and whispered, "Yes." Davis released the pendulum. It made a swishing sound as it arced across the room. At the far end of its swing, it paused momentarily and started back. Davis said: “I never saw a man move so fast in my life. He literally dived from the table.”
Deftly stepping around the still-swinging pendulum, Davis asked the class, "Does the teacher believe in the law of the pendulum?"
The students unanimously answered, "NO!"
APPLY: Faith is not a complicated doctrine. As the above illustration points out: It’s easy to understand… but sometimes its difficult to do. Even when we know we can trust something (intellectually) actually DOING our faith can be scary. I believe that’s why God dedicated an entire chapter of Hebrews to show what REAL faith looks like.
I. What I thought was interesting was WHO God chose for His 1st examples of faith. Who did He use? (Abel & Enoch).
Able and Enoch?
Now, I mean no disrespect here, but as you read thru Old Testament, these are not the type of men that would ordinarily catch your attention.
* Abel made one sacrifice and then was beaten to death by his brother.
* Enoch walked with God then he was no more, because God took him away. (Genesis 5:24)
In the book of Genesis these 2 men take up a grand total of less than 10 verses.
By contrast, Noah (the next person mentioned in Hebrews 11) gets 4 chapters, Abraham gets 14 chapters, and Moses gets 4 whole books.
So, why would God choose these 2 men to kick off His parade of the faith? Why not just jump to the better known heroes and forget about these obscure footnotes in Bible history?
WHY would God do that?
Because most of us think of ourselves as ordinary people, nowhere near as impressive as Noah and Abraham and Moses. Those were great men. They did great deeds that changed the course of human history. I’ll never be like them!!!
I believe God used Abel and Enoch as His 1st examples precisely because they were ordinary men who were not known for great deeds. Instead, what made them distinctive was that - in everything they did – they focused on pleasing God.
Consider this question: Why was Abel’s sacrifice acceptable to God? It wasn’t because it was a BIG impressive sacrifice. No, it was acceptable to God because Abel gave from the best of his flock. He offered that kind of sacrifice because he hoped it would please God.
Why was Enoch acceptable to God? NOT because he had done a dramatic deed, but because he made a deliberate effort to walk with God all of his life. He lived that kind of life because he wanted to please God.
In other words I believe the lesson here is this: God is not necessarily impressed by mighty deeds of faith… He’s impressed by common men and women who (every day) have only one thought in their minds: "I want to please God in all that I do and say."
The faith of Enoch and Abel’s was the kind which sought to please God in everything that they did.
II. But there’s something more to faith than even that…
Hebrews 1:1 says that faith “…is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we DO NOT SEE.” What does that mean?
ILLUS: One of the women at the Bible Book Store was telling me about a Christmas toy that she once bought for her older daughter. (At this point, I pulled out the "Tickle Me Elmo" style toy -it was actually a yellow smiley faced that would giggle and laugh and say "that’s funny") When the mom brought it home, the youngest daughter fell in love with the toy as well and asked if she could wrap it. The mom let her, but the finished product was just what you’d expect from a small child: the paper covered the toy, but it was obvious what was beneath. The toy was then placed beneath the tree to await Christmas.
But the kids weren’t open to waiting. They’d head to the tree every chance they got and (knowing where the button was to push and make it do its laugh) would activate the toy and laugh as they watched the bundle of paper jiggle and around and heard the voice giggle and say its phrase. The kids would laugh and laugh and laugh… and the dog would growl. He never got used to this strange toy.
Now consider: The kids were “sure” of what was in the package – even though they couldn’t see it. The excitement was still there, even tho’ the unwrapping of the present was several days away. They were sure of what they hoped for and certain of what they could not see.
The kind of Faith Hebrews is describing – the kind of faith God desires - is a faith that not only believes "that He exists (but) that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
It’s a faith that anticipates that if we do what He desires we will please Him AND He will reward us.
III. Once you’ve gotten used to seeing God at work, you develop a kind of “excited anticipation” – you begin to look forward to seeing His hand in your life
ILLUS: A grandmother took her three-year-old granddaughter into her lap and began reading to her from Genesis. After a while, noticing that the little girl was unusually quiet, the grandmother asked, "Well, what did you think of what I read, honey?"
"Oh Grandma, said the child, “I love it. You never know what God is going to do next."
That’s the kind of faith Hebrews is talking about here.
It’s “being SURE of what we hope for and CERTAIN of what we do not see.”
It’s living in excited anticipation of what God is going to do next!!!
IV. Now, we do need to be clear on something here.
As exciting as Living a Life of Faith can be it is not like chanting some magical incantation. Faith is not some magical pill that you take and Presto Chango life becomes painless and trouble-free. no problems, no difficulties, no struggles. Scripture doesn’t teach that.
ILLUS: For example: Here in Hebrews 11, who is the 1st person God uses as example of faith? (Abel) That’s right. Abel offered a better sacrifice than his brother Cain, because he had the right kind of faith – and what happens to him? (He gets killed by his brother).
Now correct me if I’m wrong – but that NOT generally considered a good outcome is it?
(pause…) Chapter 11 of Hebrews IS a catalogue of some of the greatest men and women of faith in Scripture. And it ends with this powerful statement: (beginning with vs.32)
“And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.” (Hebrews 11:32-35).
You want to almost shout out: “Alright! Preach it brother! That’s the kind of faith I WANT”
But then the writer continues:
“Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated — the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.” (vss. 36-38)
What Hebrews is telling us that Faith is not like some child’s toy. This is real life. And while there are exciting possibilities in our walk with God there’s also real danger in this world … ESPECIALLY danger for people of faith!
So, why would I want to do this? Why would I want to expose myself to such possibilities of danger and loss?
BECAUSE, you don’t become a Christian to avoid the hardships of life. Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble…” (John 16:33)
Do not be mistaken, we as Christians will encounter difficulties
But, what Hebrews is telling us is this: when you become a Christian you’ve entered into one of the most exciting lifestyles known to man. Not just a life of adventure and danger, but also a life where we actually can make a difference in this world.
CLOSE: You may not think that you are of the same caliber of Noah, & Abraham & Moses – or women like Esther & Mary & Martha… but when you live a life of faith, God can make you as valuable to Himself as those men & women were in their day.
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
Excited Anticipation - Hebrews 11:1-11:6
Flood Faith - Hebrews 11:7-11:7
Believing God - Hebrews 11:8-11:19
