Topic : Hebrews

Warnings

One great and fatal offense under the O.T. was apostasy from the worship of Jehovah. This was punishable by death. It admitted of no repentance. The author strives to impress upon his readers that their danger was the same, their crime if they forsook Christ would be greater, and their punishment far more severe. It was greater, as much as Christ was greater than Moses, and His blood more sacred than that of bulls and goats. We need this caution and exhortation.

Source unknown

Secure and Careless

A ship sailing rapidly in a smooth sea, among hidden reefs and shoals, is often in more danger than when tossed about by a hurricane in mid-ocean. In the one case all on board are secure and careless, in the other all are watchful and alert. Our danger from within is an evil heart, not to be despised, not to be neglected, but strenuously watched. Our danger also comes from the influence of the world, its avocations, its amusements, its spirit, its opinions leading to indifference, tolerance of unbelief, and unfaithfulness.

Charles Hodge

In Hebrews Christ is …

1. Superior to the prophets, 1:1-3

2. Superior to the angels, 1:4, 2:18

3. Superior to Moses, 3:1-19

4. Superior to Joshua, 4:1-16

5. Superior to Aaron, 5:1, 10:18

Dr. James M. Gray, D.D.

Resource

• Psalm 8 and Hebrews 2: A Case Study in Biblical Hermeneutics and Biblical Theology, Walvoord: A Tribute, Donald Campbell, ed., Moody, 1982, p. 39.

Procrastination

The devil and his cohorts were devising plans to get people to reject the Gospel. “Let’s go to them and say there is no God,” proposed one. Silence prevailed. Every devil knew that most people believe in a supreme being. “Let’s tell them there is no hell, no future punishment for the wicked.” offered another. That was turned down, because men obviously have consciences which tell them that sin must be punished. The concave was going to end in failure when there came a voice from the rear: “Tell them there is a God, there is a hell and that the Bible is the Word of God. But tell them there is plenty of time to decide the question. Let them ‘neglect’ the Gospel, until it is too late.” All hell erupted with ghoulish glee, for they knew that if a person procrastinated on Christ, they usually never accept Him.

Resource, July/August, 1990

Resource

• Immortality, the Other Side of Death, G. R. Habermas, J. P. Moreland, Nelson, 1992, pp. 199ff

Resource

• Ask Him Anything, L. J. Ogilvie, Word, 1981, pp. 125ff

Biggest Blunder

D. L. Moody called it the biggest blunder of his life. It happened on October 8, 1871, during a preaching series in Farwell Hall, Chicago. His text was “What then shall I do with Jesus which is called Christ.” At the conclusion of the sermon Moody said he would give the people one week to make up their minds about Jesus. He then turned to Ira Sankey for a solo, and Sankey sang “Today the Saviour Calls.” But by the third verse Sankey’s voice was drowned out by the noise outside the hall. The great Chicago fire had begun, and the flames were even then sweeping toward the Hall. The clanging of the fire bells and the noise of the engines made it impossible to continue the meeting. In the years that followed, Moody wished that he had called for an immediate decision for Christ.

The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 198

Faith and Unbelief

Important lessons are given by this alternation of the two ideas of faith and unbelief, obedience and disobedience. Disobedience is the root of unbelief. Unbelief is the mother of further disobedience. Faith is voluntary submission within a person’s own power. If faith is not exercised, the true cause lies deeper than all intellectual reasons. It lies in the moral aversion of human will and in the pride of independence, which says, “who is Lord over us? Why should we have to depend on Jesus Christ?” As faith is obedience and submission, so faith breeds obedience, but unbelief leads on to higher-handed rebellion. With dreadful reciprocity of influence, the less one trusts, the more he disobeys; the more he disobeys, the less he trusts.

Alexander Maclaren

Old Testament Gospel

Israel in ancient days
Not only had a view
Of Sinai in a blaze,
But learn’d the Gospel too;

The types and figures were a glass,
In which they saw a Saviour’s face.
The paschal sacrifice
And blood-besprinkled door,

Seen with enlighten’d eyes,
And once applied with power,
Would teach the need of other blood,
To reconcile an angry God.

The Lamb, the Dove, set forth
His perfect innocence,
Whose blood of matchless worth
Should be the soul’s defense;

For He who can for sin atone,
Must have no failings of His own.
The scape-goat on his head
The people’s trespass bore,

And to the desert led,
Was to be seen no more:
In him our Surety seem’d to say,
“Behold, I bear your sins away.”

Dipt in his fellow’s blood,
The living bird went free;
The type, well understood,
Express’d the sinner’s plea;

Described a guilty soul enlarged,
And by a Saviour’s death discharged.
Jesus, I love to trace,
Throughout the sacred page,

The footsteps of Thy grace,
The same in every age!
Oh grant that I may faithful be
To clearer light vouchsafed to me!

Olney Hymns, by William Cowper, from Cowper’s Poems, Sheldon & Company, New York

Sigmund Freud

Few thinkers in recent times have exerted so pervasive an influence as Sigmund Freud. Although he claimed to be an atheist, he continually speculated about religious issues as if subconsciously haunted by the God whom he denied.

When Freud turned 35, his father sent him a copy of the Hebrew Scriptures he had given to him when he was a boy. Sigmund had read and studied that book, at least for a while. Enclosed in that worn copy of the Scriptures was a note from the elder Freud reminding his son that “the Spirit of the Lord began to move you and spoke within you: ‘Go read in My Book that I’ve written and there will burst open for you the wellsprings of understanding, knowledge, and wisdom.’”

His father expressed the hope that Sigmund might, as a mature man, once again read and obey God’s law. We have no evidence, however, that Freud took to heart his father’s exhortation. How different his life and influence might have been if he had!

Our Daily Bread, March 22, 1995

The Robber

When evangelist John Wesley (1703-1791) was returning home from a service one night, he was robbed. The thief, however, found his victim to have only a little money and some Christian literature.

As the bandit was leaving, Wesley called out, “Stop! I have something more to give you.” The surprised robber paused. “My friend,” said Wesley, “you may live to regret this sort of life. If you ever do, here’s something to remember: ‘The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin!’” The thief hurried away, and Wesley prayed that his words might bear fruit.

Years later, Wesley was greeting people after a Sunday service when he was approached by a stranger. What a surprise to learn that this visitor, now a believer in Christ as a successful businessman, was the one who had robbed him years before! “I owe it all to you,” said the transformed man. “Oh no, my friend,” Wesley exclaimed, “not to me, but to the precious blood of Christ that cleanses us from all sin!”

Our Daily Bread, October 1, 1994

Competitive Advantage

Somewhere in the history of organized sports, a coaching staff tried out a new theory. These coaches reasoned that taking their teams away the night before a big game and putting the athletes up in a hotel gave them a competitive advantage. They felt that this cloistering would remove the athletes from the distractions of everyday life and allow the team to focus more thoroughly on the game ahead. For decades, this has been a common practice among both college and professional teams.

Jesus knew the value of concentrating on the task at hand, and He prepared for His contest with Satan as no person has ever prepared before or since. Forty days alone in the desert not only removed Jesus from every human contact or since. Forty days alone in the desert not only removed Jesus from every human contact that would demand His attention; by fasting, Jesus even said “no” to normal human needs in order to prepare Himself for the devil’s looming temptations.

The temptation of our Lord allows us a glimpse at a level of spiritual warfare we would otherwise know nothing about. The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in the same ways we are tempted (Heb. 4:15), but we will never experience the intensity of the trial Jesus faced.

Today in the Word, November 3, 1997

The Puppy

A man put up a sign in his yard that read: “Puppies for Sale.” Among those who came to inquire was a young boy. “Please, Mister,” he said, “I’d like to buy one of your puppies if they don’t cost too much.” “Well, son, they’re $25.” The boy looked crushed. “I’ve only got two dollars and five cents. Could I see them anyway?” “Of course. Maybe we can work something out,” said the man. The lad’s eyes danced at the sight of those five little balls of fur. “I heard that one has a bad leg,” he said. “Yes, I’m afraid she’ll be crippled for life.” “Well, that’s the puppy I want. Could I pay for her a little at a time?” The man responded, “But she’ll always have a limp.” Smiling bravely, the boy pulled up one pant leg, revealing a brace. “I don’t walk good either.” Then, looking at the puppy sympathetically, he continued, “I guess she’ll need a lot of love and help. I sure did. It’s not so easy being crippled.” “Here, take her,” said the man. “I know you’ll give her a good home. And just forget the money.”

Our Daily Bread

He Died Singing

John Hus was sentenced to burn at the stake. The night before his execution, he sat peering at a candle, meditating on the candle that would burn him the next day. Hus reached out and placed his hand over the candle, and suddenly flinched back in pain. His haggard face betrayed his heart: “If I can’t withstand the fire of a candle, how the stake?” But the next day Hus not only bore the flames, he died singing.

Source unknown

Resource

• A. T. Robertson, Minister. , p. 91

Immature Inefinitely

You are young only once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.

Source unknown

Trampling Underfoot

Today’s text speaks of trampling underfoot the precious Son of God. This warning, along with Hebrews 6:1-8, has caused untold agony to many sensitive Christians. It’s as if Satan uses Hebrews 6:4 and 10:26 to create hopelessness and despair. But what do these passages teach? F. F. Bruce points out that they refer to people who have deliberately abandoned reliance on the perfect sacrifice of Christ. Raymond Brown said that theirs is not a single act of falling away, but a state of willful, determined renunciation of all dependence on Christ’s atoning work. God has no other plan for saving those who regard Christ’s sacrifice as useless. - D.J.D.

Our Daily Bread, December 20

Resource

• Difficult Passages in the Epistles, R. Stein, Baker, 1988, p. 136

The Forerunner

“Prodomos,” used to describe Jesus, is usually translated “forerunner” and would have had a picturesque meaning for the people of Jesus’ day. The harbor of Alexandria was very difficult to approach. When the great corn ships came into it, a little pilot boat was sent out to guide them in. It went before them, and they followed it as it led them along the channel to safe waters. That pilot boat was called the prodomos. In the Roman army the prodomoi were the reconnaissance troops. They went ahead of the main body of the army to blaze the trail and ensure that it was safe for the rest of the troops to follow.

These two things illustrate what Jesus is saying about himself in this passage. He goes first, to make it safe for those who follow. He blazed the way to heaven and to God that we might follow in his steps.

William Barclay on John’s Gospel

A Priest

One who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. (NIV)

Source unknown

Satan Cannot Hurt You

Satan cannot hurt you until your task for Christ is completed. Until that time comes you are truly immortal. He may roar. He may threaten. But he is powerless. When your earthly task is completed (and it may be completed when you are young), it is possible that he may kill you. But you will achieve by your death as much and more than by your life. Satan is powerless to stop the advance of the gospel through your life.

The brethren overcame Satan in three ways. They overcame him as the Accuser by the blood of the Lamb. They overcame him as the deceiving serpent by the word of their testimony. And they overcame him as the devouring dragon because they loved not their lives unto the death. Such people are invincible. Nothing can stop them, and nothing ever will.

John White, The Fight, IVP, pp. 94-5

Resource

• Ask Him Anything, L. J. Ogilvie, Word, 1981, pp. 184ff

Access

During the Civil War, there was a young Union soldier who had lost his father and older brother in the war. He went to Washington, D.C., to see if he could get an exemption from military service so that he could go back home and help his mother and sister with the spring planting. When he approached the White House and asked to see the president, he was turned away.

Totally disheartened, the soldier sat down on a park bench nearby. A little boy approached him and said, “You look unhappy, soldier. What’s wrong?”

After the soldier shared his story, the little boy took him by the hand. He led him through the back door of the White House, past the guards, and into the president’s office itself. President Lincoln looked up and asked, “What can I do for you, Tad?”

Tad said, “Daddy, this soldier needs to talk to you”—and the soldier was not turned away.

When Jesus completed the work of salvation, He opened up the way so that we could have access to God. Those who have placed their trust in Christ may come directly to the Heavenly Father with their petitions. And the Son sits on the Father’s right hand and says, “Daddy, this is someone who needs to talk to You.” He is the only intercessor we need. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Progress Magazine, December 12/13, 1992

Praying for Us

Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843), pioneer missionary to America, testified, “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me!”

Our Daily Bread, May 28, 1995

With or By'

Equally sincere students of the Bible have disagreed on the interpretation of this passage. It reads,

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, but a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:11, 12).

I personally do not believe that Christ went into Heaven with His blood. Note that verse 12 does not say that He entered Heaven with His own blood, but by (or through) His own blood. The preposition dia may be translated “through” “by reason of,” or “by virtue of.” Christ is now seated in Heaven as the High Priest by virtue of His sacrificial death.

The idea of carrying actual blood into Heaven is not justified by the passage. Remember, this “more perfect tabernacle” in Heaven was “made without hands.” The context does not allow for the admission of this literal material of earth. Besides Christ’s blood was efficacious the moment it was shed, as evidenced by the torn veil in the temple.

Source unknown

His Will Is Valid

A street evangelist in Edinburgh by the name of Robby Flockheart often spoke about Jesus as the Savior who died but who also lives. He would illustrate from personal experience the necessity of stressing both of these truths. He said that when he was called to serve in the army, he became friends with a man who was later condemned to die. The prisoner called for Robby and in his presence made out his will, leaving him what little money ye had. But on the day of his scheduled execution, the man was pardoned. Recounting the circumstances, Robby said, “He lived, but I lost my legacy. A testament is not in force while the testator lives. Well, another time a person left me a small legacy, and I did not get it either, because some rogue of a lawyer came along and I never saw a penny of it. I used to say, “If the man who left the will had been alive, he would have made sure his old friend Robby got his money.’ But being dead, he had no power to see his will carried out.”

Jesus, the great testator of the new covenant, did die; there is no question about that. Therefore, the will, certified by His precious blood, is valid. He has secured eternal redemption for us through His atoning death. But the Savior did not remain in the grave. After 3 days He arose, and today He lives to make sure that His will is fully carried out. His life ensures that every blessing promised by the New Testament will be given to everyone who trusts the Savior.

Thank God, the will is valid and our priceless inheritance is guaranteed! - P.R.V.

Our Daily Bread, May 9

Winchester’s Widow

Sarah Winchester’s husband had acquired a fortune by manufacturing and selling rifles. After he died of influenza in 1918, she moved to San Jose, California.

Because of her grief and her long time interest in spiritism, Sarah sought out a medium to contact her dead husband. The medium told her, “As long as you keep building your home, you will never face death.”

Sarah believed the spiritist, so she bought an unfinished 17-room mansion and started to expand it. The project continued until she died at the age of 85. It cost 5 million dollars at a time when workmen earned 50 cents a day. The mansion had 150 rooms, 13 bathrooms, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, and 10,000 windows. And Mrs. Winchester left enough materials so that they could have continued building for another 80 years.

Today that house stands as more than a tourist attraction. It is a silent witness to the dread of death that holds millions of people in bondage (Heb. 2:15).

Our Daily Bread, April 2, 1994

Taking Risks

Many accidental deaths result from taking risks. That’s the conclusion of an organization in Canada that is seeking to decrease accidents between cars and trains. Roger Cyr, national director of Operation Lifesaver, puts most of the blame for fatalities on drivers who are risk-takers. “Studies have shown that when people hear a train whistle their minds tell them to accelerate their speed,” says Cyr. About 43 percent of the accidents occur at crossings equipped with flashing lights and bells or gates. Cyr also said that many drivers “even have the audacity to drive around or under gates.” They take the risk, thinking they can beat the train and somehow miss the collision—but with tragic consequences!

Our Daily Bread, 4-6-91

The Hell Club

In the 18th century, Archibald Boyle was the leading member of an association of wild and wicked men known as “The Hell Club” in Glasgow, Scotland. After one night of carousing at the Club’s notorious annual meeting, Boyle dreamed he was riding home on his black horse. In the darkness, someone seized the reins, shouting, “You must go with me!” As Boyle desperately tried to force the reins from the hands of the unknown guide, the horse reared. Boyle fell down, down, down with increasing speed. “Where are you taking me?” The cold voice replied, “To hell!” The echoes of the groans and yells of frantic revelry assaulted their ears. At the entrance to hell, Boyle saw the inmates chasing the same pleasures they had pursued in life. There was a lady he’d known playing her favorite vulgar game. Boyle relaxed, thinking hell must be a pleasurable place after all. When he asked her to rest a moment and show him through the pleasures of hell, she shrieked. “There is no rest in hell!” She unclasped the vest of her robe and displayed a coil of living snakes writhing about her midsection. Others revealed different forms of pain in their hearts.

“Take me from this place!” Boyle demanded. “By the living God whose name I have so often outraged, I beg you, let me go!” His guide replied, “Go then—but in a year and a day we meet to part no more.” At this, Boyle awoke, feeling that these last words were as letters of fire burned into his heart. Despite a resolution never to attend the Hell Club again, he soon was drawn back. He found no comfort there. He grew haggard and gray under the weight of his conscience and fear of the future. He dreaded attending the Club’s annual meeting, but his companions forced him to attend. Every nerve of his body writhed in agony at the first sentence of the president’s opening address: “Gentlemen, this is leap year; therefore it is a year and a day since our last annual meeting.”

After the meeting, he mounted his house to ride home. Next morning, his horse was found grazing quietly by the roadside. A few yards away lay the corpse of Archibald Boyle. The strange guide had claimed him at the appointed time.

Paul Lee Tan

God’s Promises are Dated

It has been said that God’s promises are dated in heaven. And since we know only “in part,” as the Bible says (I Cor. 13:12), we don’t always know then they will be fulfilled. But that shouldn’t matter, for we do have the confidence that God will keep them.

Suppose a wealthy man were to give you a note saying, “Sometime in the future, a time I’ve decided upon, you will receive $50,000 that I have set aside for you.” Although you might become impatient as you wait for the money, you confidently expect to get it. But if that same man were to say, “If everything works out, I might give you $50,000,” you’d expect the money only if he didn’t go bankrupt, change his mind, forget his promise, or die. Of course, the first situation carries the greatest certainty. And that’s the way it is in God’s economy. He dates, as it were, many of His promises according to His sovereign will and in keeping with His perfect knowledge of what is best for us. This in no way diminishes the value of God’s promises, for He backs them all with the infinite riches of His character. He never changes His mind. He never forgets His word. He never dies. God may seem to delay the fulfillment of a promise, but we can be encouraged that every promise is as good as His word.

Most of us have come to the end of our resources and then have discovered that at the right time and in the right way God imparted His strength. He was neither slow nor tardy. So don’t be discouraged, Christian. Keep on claiming the promises. God is the faithful promiser. - P.R.V.

Our Daily Bread, October 27

Encouragement

• Leadership IV, 3, 60-1
• Loving Across Our Differences, Gerald L. Sittser, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), p. 1

Perseverance

Josef Gabor grew up in Czechoslovakia when it was dominated by communism, and religion was despised as weakness. His father taught communist doctrine classes. But Josef’s mother, who believed in Jesus Christ, took Josef and his brother with her to church.

They got up early each Sunday morning and took a 3-hour train ride to Prague. Then they walked to the church and sat through a 2 1/2-hour service. After eating lunch in a nearby park, they returned to church for another 2 1/2-hour meeting. Then they took the 3-hour ride home.

Today Josef Gabor is a missionary to his own people in Czechoslovakia. When he tells about going to church as a child, his eyes fill with tears of gratitude for a mother who cared enough about his spiritual welfare to help him come to know and serve Christ.

Daily Walk, July 11, 1993

The Ultimate House Church

“If there are any ‘churches’ which are scriptural in their membership, in their maintenance of discipline, in their preaching, and in all that concerns their public services, we do not know where to find them. We have traveled completely around the world but there is no church known to us where we could hold membership.” So he and his wife remained at home on Sundays for the last three decades of his life—the ultimate house church!

A.W. Pink, in The Open Church, J.H. Rutz, p. 105

Power of Encouragement

It wasn’t like Scott Kregel to give up. He was a battler, a dedicated athlete who spent hour after hour perfecting his three throw and jump shot during the hot summer months of 1987. But just before fall practice everything changed. A serious car accident left Scott in a coma for several days. When he awoke, a long rehabilitation process lay ahead. Like most patients with closed head injuries, Scott balked at doing the slow, tedious work that was required to get him back to normal—things such as stringing beads. What high school junior would enjoy that'

Tom Martin, Scott’s basketball coach at the Christian school he attended, had an idea. Coach Martin told Scott that he would reserve a spot on the varsity for him—if he would cooperate with his therapist and show progress in the tasks he was asked to do. And Tom’s wife Cindy spent many hours with Scott, encouraging him to keep going. Within 2 months, Scott was riding off the basketball court on his teammates’ shoulders. He had made nine straight free throws to clinch a triple-overtime league victory. It was a remarkable testimony of the power of encouragement.

Our Daily Bread, April 9

Psalm of Summer

Now it came to pass that spring turned to summer again.
God’s people raised their voices and said:
“Recreation is my shepherd, I shall not stay at home;
He maketh me to lie down in a sleeping bag;
He leadeth me down the Interstate each weekend.
He restoreth my suntan; He leadeth me to State Parks for comfort’s sake.

Even though I stray on the Lord’s Day,
I will fear no reprimand, for Thou art with me;
my rod and reel they comfort me.
I anointest my skin with oil, my gas tank runneth dry;
Surely my trailer shall follow me all the weekends this summer,
and I shall return to the House of the Lord this fall.”

But then it is hunting season and that’s another psalm.

Source unknown

Church Attendance

Some people don’t need much of an excuse to stay home from church. If it even looks like it might rain, they don’t want to risk getting a little wet.

The hymn writer Frances Havergal gave several reasons for attending church—especially on rainy days.

1. God has blessed the Lord’s Day, making no exceptions for stormy days.

2. I expect my minister to be there. I would be surprised if he stayed at home because of the weather.

3. I might lose out on the prayers and the sermon that would have done me great good.

4. For important business, rain doesn’t keep me home; and church is, in God’s sight, very important.

5. Bad weather will prove how much I love Christ. True love rarely fails to keep an appointment.

6. Those who stay home from church because it’s rainy frequently miss on fair Sundays, too. I mustn’t take one step in that direction.

7. Christ said that “where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

8. I don’t know how many more Sundays God may give me. It would be poor preparation for my first Sunday in heaven to have slighted my last one on earth.

Enough said! P.R.V.

Our Daily Bread

Resource

• Wake Up Calls, Ron Hutchcraft, Moody, 1990, p. 80

The Man Who Refused to Attend Church

A book in my library includes a humorous tale about a man who refused to attend church. When a pastor asked him why, he answered, “I don’t go to church because every time I do they throw something at me.” “What do you mean?” the preacher inquired. The man went on to explain. “When I was just a baby and my parents took me to church, the minister threw water on me. When I got married, the wedding ceremony took place in a church, and they threw rice at me.”

Hearing this the pastor quickly responded, “And if you don’t start going to church soon, the next time you do I’m afraid they’ll throw DIRT on you!”

Sadly, this describes the situation for many people. As far as church attendance is concerned, it’s “three times and out.” They go to church to be baptized, married, and buried—and that’s about all. For an obedient child of God, however, that will never do. He does not forsake “the assembling together commanded in Hebrews 10:25. Rather, thanking God for the church, the dedicated believer takes advantage of the opportunities his local assembly offers for fellowship, for the ministry of God’s Word, for the observance of the ordinances, and for service. The church is a special blessing that God Himself has provided for believers. - R.W.D.

Our Daily Bread, October 28

Willful, Determined Renunciation

Today’s text speaks of trampling underfoot the precious Son of God. This warning, along with Hebrews 6:1-8, has caused untold agony to many sensitive Christians. It’s as if Satan uses Hebrews 6:4 and 10:26 to create hopelessness and despair. But what do these passages teach? F. F. Bruce points out that they refer to people who have deliberately abandoned reliance on the perfect sacrifice of Christ. Raymond Brown said that theirs is not a single act of falling away, but a state of willful, determined renunciation of all dependence on Christ’s atoning work. God has no other plan for saving those who regard Christ’s sacrifice as useless. - D.J.D.

Our Daily Bread, December 20

Faith Is the Victory

Scripture Background: Hebrews 11:1-40; Text: Heb. 11:1-6

What is faith?

(1) Saying "Amen? to God.

(2) Forsaking All I Take Him. Acrostic: F-A-I-T-H.

(3) Famous definitions:

• "Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."?AUGUSTINE.
• "If the blind put their hand in God's, they find their way more surely than those who see but have not faith or purpose.? "HELEN KELLER. II Cor. 5:7.
• "Faith is the title'deed of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.? Heb. 11:1?HARRY RIMMER.

(4) The snowflake said to the mountain below, "Can you hold me up"? 1 John 5:4-5, "and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.'

(5) This great "Faith? chapter emphasizes what faith does, with only v. 1, telling what faith is, and the other 39 verses demonstrating what real faith accomplishes.

Source unknown

Faith

I. FAITH BELIEVES THE INCREDIBLE. The Vindication of Faith.

Faith believes:

1. In Creation. v. 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,? Psalm 33:9, II Peter 3:5.

2. The Resurrection of Christ and the dead, Hebrews 11:17-19.

3. The Miracles, John 20:30-31. 'signs.'

4. That God could love and save sinful man, John 3:16.

5. The Trinity of the Godhead, Colossians 2:9; Matthew 28:19; Genesis 1:26-27.

6. The Incarnation of Christ, John 1:14; II Timothy 3:16.

II. FAITH SEES THE INVISIBLE. The Vision of Faith. Hebrews 11:1, 3, 7, 13, 27.

"For he (Moses) endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible,? 11:27.

Faith sees:

1. The Invisible God, verse 27.

2. The Unseen and Unknown Future'the Flood, Noah verse 7.

3. The Promises of God, The Old Testament Saints, verse 13.

4. Moses saw Jesus and His Riches, verses 26, 27.

5. Abraham saw Jesus? Day and Rejoiced, John 8:56.

"For we walk by faith, not by sight,? 2 Corinthians 5:7.

III. FAITH ACHIEVES THE IMPOSSIBLE. The Victory of Faith, verses 4, 6.

1. The Dead Speak, Abel, verse 4.

2. Pleases God, Enoch, verses 5, 6.

3. Defy God's natural law of gravitation. Peter, Matthew 14:30-31. Walked on water.

4. Move Mountains, Matthew 17:10; Luke 17:6.

5. Abraham and Sarah become parents of Isaac in Old Age, verses 8-11.

6. Stopped the mouths of lions, verse 33.

Christ: "All things are possible to him that believeth,? Mark 9:23.

Paul: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,? Philippians 4:13.

Chapmond Davis, Reprinted by permission from book, "We Preach Jesus? copyright 1971, Baptist Publ. Committee

Last Yak

Next time you’re walking past a cemetery on a dark, eerie night and think you hear voices from the past, well. . . you may be right.

Graveyard ghosts? No, talking tombstones. This newfangled graveyard gizmo, known officially by its U. S. patent number 4169970, enables the departed to leave (prior to their departure, of course) up to a two-hour statement for posterity.

Developed by Stan Zelazny and Mike Opiela and marketed by a firm in Sunnyvale, California, the audio epitaph is embedded in the tombstone and is solar-powered. Cemetery survivors can therefore listen to the cadaver’s palaver again and again and again, providing it’s a sunny day.

Graveyard gabbers will find, however, that getting the last yak does not come cheap. The 10,000 price tag is rather stiff, but it will enable the entombment entrepreneurs to rest in peace . . . and prosperity.

C. L. , September 1981

Resource

• Kingdom Conflict, J. Stowell, Victor, 1985, p. 87.

Resource

• The Fight, J. White, IVP, p. 105ff

Run with Endurance

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “run with endurance” the race set before us. George Matheson wrote, “We commonly associate patience with lying down. We think of it as the angel that guards the couch of the invalid. Yet there is a patience that I believe to be harder—the patience that can run. To lie down in the time of grief, to be quiet under the stroke of adverse fortune, implies a great strength; but I know of something that implies a strength greater still: it is the power to work under stress; to have a great weight at your heart and still run; to have a deep anguish in your spirit and still perform the daily tasks. It is a Christlike thing! The hardest thing is that most of us are called to exercise our patience, not in the sickbed but in the street.” To wait is hard, to do it with “good courage” is harder!

Our Daily Bread, April 8

Weighted Down by Plunder

The army of Alexander the Great was advancing on Persia. At one critical point, it appeared that his troops might be defeated. The soldiers had taken so much plunder from their previous campaigns that they had become weighted down and were losing their effectiveness in combat. Alexander immediately commanded that all the spoils be thrown into a heap and burned.

The men complained bitterly but soon came to see the wisdom of the order. Someone wrote, “It was as if wings had been given to them—they walked lightly again.” Victory was assured.

Our Daily Bread, July 3, 1992

Trifles

It is a most lamentable thing to see how most people spend their time and their energy for trifles, while God is cast aside. He who is all seems to them as nothing, and that which is nothing seems to them as good as all. It is lamentable indeed, knowing that God has set mankind in such a race where heaven or hell is their certain end, that they should sit down and loiter, or run after the childish toys of the world, forgetting the prize they should run for. Were it but possible for one of us to see this business as the all-seeing God does, and see what most men and women in the world are interested in and what they are doing every day, it would be the saddest sight imaginable. Oh, how we should marvel at their madness and lament their self-delusion!

If God had never told them what they were sent into the world to do, or what was before them in another world, then there would have been some excuse. But it is His sealed word, and they profess to believe it.

Richard Baxter

Walt Disney

Film maker Walt Disney was ruthless in cutting anything that got in the way of a story’s pacing. Ward Kimball, one of the animators for SNOW WHITE, recalls working 240 days on a 4-1/2- minute sequence in which the dwarfs made soup for Snow White and almost destroyed the kitchen in the process. Disney thought it was funny, but he decided the scene stopped the flow of the picture, so out it went.

When the film of our lives is shown, will it be as great as it might be? A lot will depend on the multitude of “good” things we need to eliminate to make way for the great things God wants to do through us.

Kenneth Langley

A Bit Off Course

Bill, his wife Kathleen, and their daughter Carolyn had been looking forward to spending some time at Big Bear, a family mountain resort. There was not a cloud in the sky when they got into their airplane at the small California airport and started on their way. Bill was a busy executive as well as a good and careful pilot. He no doubt had many things on his mind as he began to maneuver the airplane toward the resort. He was no doubt talking with his family, thinking about important decisions at work, and flying the airplane, of course. He was busy doing good things, important and appropriate things. But in his busyness, he neglected an essential thing; he strayed a bit off course. It happened at 12:05 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon on a Labor Day weekend. Their small plane hit a Mexican airliner over a residential area in Cerritos, California, killing everyone on both planes and several people on the ground.

Heaven Bound Living, Knofel Stanton, Standard, 1989, p. 63

Resource

• “Evangelical Preaching,” Charles Simeon, p. 217

When or What'

A woman who’d endured much suffering asked her pastor, “When am I going to get out of these troubles?”

He wisely responded, “You should have asked, ‘What am I going to get out of these troubles.”

Welcome Cross

“Tis my happiness below
Not to live without the cross,
But the Saviour’s power to know,
Sanctifying every loss:

Trials must and will befall;
But with humble faith to see
Love inscribed upon them all,
This is happiness to me.

God in Israel sows the seeds
Of affliction, pain, and toil;
These spring up and choke the weeds
Which would else o’er spread the soil:

Trials make the promise sweet,
Trials give new life to prayer;
Trials bring me to His feet,
Lay me low, and keep me there.

Did I meet no trials here,
No chastisement by the way,
Might I not with reason fear
I should prove a castaway'

Bastards may escape the rod,
Sunk in earthly vain delight;
But the true-born child of God
Must not—would not, if he might.

Olney Hymns, William Cowper, from Cowper’s Poems, Sheldon & Company, New York

Resource

• J.O. Sanders, Enjoying Intimacy with God, Moody, pp. 107-116

Resource

• Divine Healing Today, Richard Mayhue, Moody Press, p. 66