Speaker 1: You have likely read the Bible many times. You have
Speaker 1: heard the stories of great heroes and massive miracles. But
Speaker 1: there is one chapter that stands above the rest, often
Speaker 1: called the Hall of Faith. It is Hebrews eleven. Why
Speaker 1: is this specific chapter considered by so many to be
Speaker 1: the most important chapter in the entire Bible. It is
Speaker 1: because this chapter does not just tell us what to do,
Speaker 1: It tells us how to access the power of God.
Speaker 1: It reveals the heartbeat that sustains the Christian life. Without
Speaker 1: the truth found in this chapter, religion is just a
Speaker 1: list of empty rules. But with the truth found here,
Speaker 1: ordinary people become unstoppable forces for the Kingdom of God.
Speaker 1: To understand why this chapter changes everything, we must look
Speaker 1: at how it begins. The writer does not start with
Speaker 1: a suggestion. He starts with a definition. He tells us
Speaker 1: exactly what this mysterious force called faith actually is. Now,
Speaker 1: faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance
Speaker 1: about what we do not see. This is not wishful thinking.
Speaker 1: The world tells you that faith is closing your eyes
Speaker 1: and hoping for the best. The Bible says the exact opposite.
Speaker 1: Biblical faith is confidence. It is a solid, knowing It
Speaker 1: is the ability to treat things that have not happened
Speaker 1: yet as if they already have. It is looking at
Speaker 1: a promise from God and believing it is more real
Speaker 1: than the ground you are standing on. The writer takes
Speaker 1: us back to the very beginning of time to prove
Speaker 1: this point. Before there were humans, before there were stars,
Speaker 1: there was only God. By faith, we understand that the
Speaker 1: universe was formed at God's command, so that what is
Speaker 1: seen was not made out of what was visible. Everything
Speaker 1: you can touch and see was made from nothing. It
Speaker 1: was made by the invisible word of God. This sets
Speaker 1: the stage for the rest of the chapter. If God
Speaker 1: can create a universe from nothing, surely he can create
Speaker 1: a miracle in your life when you have nothing left.
Speaker 1: The rest of this chapter is a list of witnesses.
Speaker 1: These are people who proved that this invisible power works
Speaker 1: in the real world. The History of faith begins with
Speaker 1: two brothers. One was named Cain and the other was
Speaker 1: named Abel. They both grew up in the same world
Speaker 1: outside of Eden. They both knew who God was. They
Speaker 1: both brought gifts to the Lord, but only one was accepted.
Speaker 1: This story teaches us that religious activity is not the
Speaker 1: same as faith. You can go to church, sing songs
Speaker 1: and give money, but if your heart does not have faith,
Speaker 1: it means nothing. Cain brought some of the fruits of
Speaker 1: the soil. It was a casual offering, but Abel brought
Speaker 1: the very best he had. He brought the fat portions
Speaker 1: from some of the first born of his flock. He
Speaker 1: did not give God his leftovers. He gave God his
Speaker 1: best because he trusted that God was worth it. By faith,
Speaker 1: Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith,
Speaker 1: he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of
Speaker 1: his offerings, and by faith, Abel still speaks even though
Speaker 1: he is dead. Abel died young, his brother murdered him,
Speaker 1: but because of his faith, his voice still echoes. Thousands
Speaker 1: of years later. He teaches us that God looks at
Speaker 1: the heart, not just the hands. Then the timeline moves
Speaker 1: forward to a man named Enoch. Enoch is one of
Speaker 1: the most mysterious figures in the Bible. He lived in
Speaker 1: a time when the world was becoming incredibly evil. People
Speaker 1: were forgetting God. Violence was spreading everywhere, but Enoch made
Speaker 1: a different choice. He decided to walk with God. This
Speaker 1: does not mean he just prayed occasionally. It means he
Speaker 1: lived his life in constant conversation with his creator. He
Speaker 1: was so close to God that he pleased the Lord completely,
Speaker 1: and then something supernatural happened. He skipped death entirely by faith.
Speaker 1: Enoch was taken from this life so that he did
Speaker 1: not experience death. He could not be found because God
Speaker 1: had taken him away, for before he was taken he
Speaker 1: was commended as one who pleased God. This story establishes
Speaker 1: a rule that every believer must memorize. It is the
Speaker 1: golden rule of a relationship with God. And without faith,
Speaker 1: it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes
Speaker 1: to him must believe that he exists and that he
Speaker 1: rewards those who earnestly seek him. You cannot please God
Speaker 1: just by being a nice person. You cannot please him
Speaker 1: just by following laws. You must believe he is real,
Speaker 1: and you must believe he is good. You must believe
Speaker 1: he is a rewarder. If you do not believe God
Speaker 1: wants to bless you when you seek him, you will
Speaker 1: eventually stop seeking him. As the generations passed, the darkness
Speaker 1: on earth grew thicker. It reached a point where God
Speaker 1: decided to wash the world clean and start over, he
Speaker 1: spoke to a man named Noah. God told Noah to
Speaker 1: build a massive boat because rain was coming. But you
Speaker 1: must understand the context. It had likely never rained like
Speaker 1: that before. There was no ocean near by. Noah was
Speaker 1: not a professional builder. He was just a man who
Speaker 1: heard God's voice. Imagine the ridicule he faced for decades,
Speaker 1: possibly up to one hundred and twenty years. He cut wood,
Speaker 1: he hammered nails, he gathered pitch to seal the wood.
Speaker 1: His neighbors must have laughed at him every single day.
Speaker 1: They probably called him crazy. They asked him why he
Speaker 1: was building a giant boat on dry land. But Noah
Speaker 1: did not listen to the crowd. He listened to God.
Speaker 1: He cared more about God's warning than his neighbour's opinions.
Speaker 1: By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen
Speaker 1: in holy fear, built an ark to save his family.
Speaker 1: By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir
Speaker 1: of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. Noah's
Speaker 1: faith saved his family. This is a powerful lesson for
Speaker 1: every parent and every leader. Your faith protects those under
Speaker 1: your care. Because Noah believed his children survived the flood.
Speaker 1: When the rain finally started falling, the laughing stopped. The
Speaker 1: doors of the ark were shut by God himself. Noah's
Speaker 1: faith was vindicated. He proved that it is better to
Speaker 1: look foolish to the world and be right with God
Speaker 1: than to be popular with the world and wrong with God.
Speaker 1: The chapter then shifts to the man who would become
Speaker 1: the father of many nations. Abraham lived a comfortable life
Speaker 1: in a wealthy city called Er. He had security, he
Speaker 1: had family, he had a home. But God came to
Speaker 1: him with a radical command. God told him to leave
Speaker 1: everything behind and go to a land that God would
Speaker 1: show him later. God did not give him a map,
Speaker 1: He did not give him a schedule. He just said go.
Speaker 1: This is the essence of faith. Faith is obeying God
Speaker 1: even when you do not know the details. By faith, Abraham,
Speaker 1: when called to go to a place he would later
Speaker 1: receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he
Speaker 1: did not know where he was going. Abraham packed up
Speaker 1: his tents, he gathered his flocks. He took his wife Sarah,
Speaker 1: and his nephew Lot. They began to walk into the desert.
Speaker 1: He lived in tents like a stranger in a foreign country.
Speaker 1: He never built a permanent city for himself because he
Speaker 1: knew this world was not his final home. For he
Speaker 1: was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect
Speaker 1: and builder is God. But the journey was not just
Speaker 1: about land. It was about a promise. God promised Abraham
Speaker 1: that he would have a son. He promised that his
Speaker 1: descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.
Speaker 1: There was just one massive problem. Abraham was old and
Speaker 1: his wife, Sarah was old. In fact, Sarah was barren.
Speaker 1: She had never been able to have children, and now
Speaker 1: she was far past the age of child bearing. From
Speaker 1: a human perspective, the promise was impossible. Biology said no,
Speaker 1: medicine said no. Logic said no, but faith said yes.
Speaker 1: Sarah herself had a moment of struggle. She laughed when
Speaker 1: she first heard she would have a baby, But ultimately
Speaker 1: she came to a place of deep belief, stopped looking
Speaker 1: at her own body and started looking at God's character.
Speaker 1: And by faith, even Sarah, who was past child bearing age,
Speaker 1: was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful
Speaker 1: who had made the promise. She considered him faithful. That
Speaker 1: is the key. She judged God to be reliable and
Speaker 1: exactly as God said, Isaac was born. The impossible child arrived,
Speaker 1: a dead womb brought forth life. This teaches us that
Speaker 1: our limitations are just opportunities for God to show his power.
Speaker 1: If this message is clear to you, hit subscribe. May
Speaker 1: the Lord draw us closer to him. God bless you.
Speaker 1: But Abraham's story did not end with the birth of Isaac.
Speaker 1: The greatest test was yet to come. After years of
Speaker 1: watching Isaac grow, God asked Abraham to do something unthinkable.
Speaker 1: He asked him to sacrifice his son, the son of
Speaker 1: the promise, the son he loved. Any other person would
Speaker 1: have argued with God. They would have said that this
Speaker 1: contradicts the promise. How can Isaac be the start of
Speaker 1: a great nation if he is dead? But Abraham had
Speaker 1: walked with God for so long that he knew something
Speaker 1: about God's power that no one else knew. He reasoned
Speaker 1: that God was so powerful that he could raise the
Speaker 1: dead by faith. Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac
Speaker 1: as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises, was
Speaker 1: about to sacrifice his one and only son. Abraham raised
Speaker 1: the knife. He was fully prepared to obey. He trusted
Speaker 1: God with the outcome completely, and at the last second
Speaker 1: God stopped him. God provided a ram in the thicket.
Speaker 1: Abraham proved that he loved the giver more than the gift.
Speaker 1: He proved that real faith holds on to things loosely,
Speaker 1: always ready to give them back to God. The faith
Speaker 1: of Abraham was down to his son, Isaac. Isaac grew
Speaker 1: old and his eyes became weak. He could no longer
Speaker 1: see the world around him, but his spiritual sight was sharp.
Speaker 1: When he was dying, he called his sons, Jacob and Esau.
Speaker 1: He spoke blessings over them that would define their futures.
Speaker 1: He spoke about things that had not happened yet, as
Speaker 1: if they were facts. By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and
Speaker 1: Esau in regard to their future. Then came Jacob. Jacob's
Speaker 1: life was full of struggle. He wrestled with men, and
Speaker 1: he wrestled with God. But at the end of his life,
Speaker 1: while living in Egypt, he demonstrated profound faith. He was
Speaker 1: dying in a foreign land, but he knew his family
Speaker 1: would not stay there forever. He leaned on the top
Speaker 1: of his staff, his body weak but his spirit strong,
Speaker 1: and he blessed Joseph's sons by faith. Jacob, when he
Speaker 1: was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons and worship ypt
Speaker 1: as he leaned on the top of his staff. Then
Speaker 1: there was Joseph. Joseph had been sold into slavery by
Speaker 1: his brothers. He had been thrown into prison for a
Speaker 1: crime he did not commit. He had risen to become
Speaker 1: the prince of Egypt. He had saved the world from starvation.
Speaker 1: He had every reason to be comfortable in Egypt. He
Speaker 1: was rich and powerful. But Joseph knew Egypt was not home.
Speaker 1: He knew God had promised the land of Canaan to
Speaker 1: his great grandfather Abraham. As Joseph lay on his deathbed,
Speaker 1: he made his brothers promise something strange. He told them
Speaker 1: that one day God would visit them and bring them
Speaker 1: out of Egypt, and when that day came, they were
Speaker 1: to take his bones with them. By faith. Joseph, when
Speaker 1: his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the
Speaker 1: Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of
Speaker 1: his bones. Imagine that a dead man's bones waited in
Speaker 1: a coffin for hundreds of years. Every time the Israelites
Speaker 1: looked at Joseph's coffin, it was a sermon. It said
Speaker 1: that God keeps his promises. It said that we are
Speaker 1: leaving this place someday. Joseph's faith reached beyond his own lifetime.
Speaker 1: Centuries passed, the Israelites became slaves. The Egyptians treated them brutally.
Speaker 1: The king of Egypt, Pharaoh, commanded that every baby boy
Speaker 1: born to the Hebrews must be thrown into the Nile
Speaker 1: River and killed. It was a time of terror, but
Speaker 1: one couple, Amram and Jocobed refused to surrender to fear.
Speaker 1: When their son Moses was born, they saw he was
Speaker 1: a special child. They hid him for three months. They
Speaker 1: defied the most powerful king on earth because they feared
Speaker 1: God more than man. By faith, moses parents hid him
Speaker 1: for three months after he was born because they saw
Speaker 1: he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid
Speaker 1: of the king's edict. Moses was eventually adopted by Pharaoh's daughter.
Speaker 1: He grew up in the palace. He ate the best food,
Speaker 1: he wore the finest clothes, He had the best education.
Speaker 1: He could have been a prince of Egypt forever. He
Speaker 1: could have had all the pleasures of sin, but as
Speaker 1: he grew up, he realized who he really was. He
Speaker 1: was a Hebrew. He belonged to the people of God.
Speaker 1: Moses faced a choice that every believer faces. You can
Speaker 1: have the world and its temporary pleasures, or you can
Speaker 1: have God and his eternal rewards. You cannot have both.
Speaker 1: Moses looked at the suffering slaves, and he looked at
Speaker 1: the rich Egyptians, and he made a shocking decision by faith. Moses,
Speaker 1: when he had grown up, refused to be known as
Speaker 1: the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated
Speaker 1: along with the people of God, rather than to enjoy
Speaker 1: the fleeting pleasures of sin. Walked away from the palace.
Speaker 1: He walked away from the power. Why because he was
Speaker 1: looking ahead to his reward. He saw him who is invisible.
Speaker 1: Moses knew that the treasures of Egypt would rust and fade,
Speaker 1: but the treasures of God would last forever. He led
Speaker 1: the people out of Egypt, but soon they were trapped.
Speaker 1: The Red Sea was in front of them, the Egyptian
Speaker 1: army was behind them. It was a death trap. The
Speaker 1: people panicked, but Moses commanded the people to trust God.
Speaker 1: By faith. The people passed through the Red Sea as
Speaker 1: on dry land, but when the Egyptians tried to do so,
Speaker 1: they were drowned. Faith opens away where there is no way.
Speaker 1: The water stood up like walls. The ground was dry.
Speaker 1: God made a path through the impossible because his people
Speaker 1: trusted him. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years.
Speaker 1: Finally they came to the promised land, but there was problem.
Speaker 1: A massive city called Jericho stood in their way. Its
Speaker 1: walls were thick and high. No army could break through them.
Speaker 1: God gave the new leader, Joshua, a battle plan that
Speaker 1: sounded ridiculous. He told them to march around the city
Speaker 1: silently for six days. On the seventh day, they were
Speaker 1: to march seven times and shout. No battering rams, no catapults,
Speaker 1: just walking and shouting. This required immense faith. They looked
Speaker 1: foolish to the soldiers watching from the walls, but they
Speaker 1: obeyed by faith. The walls of Jericho fell after the
Speaker 1: army had marched around them for seven days. God's methods
Speaker 1: often do not make sense to our logical minds, but
Speaker 1: when we obey his strange commands, we see his supernatural power.
Speaker 1: The walls collapsed instantly. Inside that city, there was a
Speaker 1: woman named Rahab. She was not a jew who She
Speaker 1: was a prostitute. She was a sinner, but when the
Speaker 1: Israelite spies came to the city, she hid them. She
Speaker 1: had heard about their God. She believed that their God
Speaker 1: was the true God. Because of her faith, she was saved.
Speaker 1: While the rest of the city was destroyed. Raehab and
Speaker 1: her family were spared by faith. The prostitute Raehab, because
Speaker 1: she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who
Speaker 1: were disobedient. This shows us that faith is not just
Speaker 1: for the religious elite. It is not just for people
Speaker 1: with a clean past. Rahab had a messy past, but
Speaker 1: her faith grafted her into the family of God. In fact,
Speaker 1: she became one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ. God
Speaker 1: took an outcast and made her a hero because she
Speaker 1: dared to believe. The writer of Hebrews then realizes he
Speaker 1: has too many stories to tell. He does not have
Speaker 1: enough time to go into detail about everyone, so he
Speaker 1: begins to list names rapidly. These names are surprising because
Speaker 1: these men were not perfect. They were deeply flawed, but
Speaker 1: their faith made them useful to God. And what more
Speaker 1: shall I say? I do not have time to tell
Speaker 1: about Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephtha, about David and Samuel
Speaker 1: and the prophets. Think about Gideon. He was a coward
Speaker 1: hiding in a wine press when God called him. He
Speaker 1: asked God for sign after sign because he was so unsure,
Speaker 1: but eventually he trusted God. With only three hundred men
Speaker 1: holding trumpets and torches, he defeated a massive army of thousands.
Speaker 1: His faith turned his weakness into strength. Think about Samson.
Speaker 1: He was strong physically, but often weak morally. He made
Speaker 1: terrible choices with women. He was prideful. Eventually he was captured, blinded,
Speaker 1: and humiliated by his enemies, but in his final moments
Speaker 1: he cried out to God one last time. His faith returned.
Speaker 1: He pushed against the pillars of the temple and defeated
Speaker 1: more enemies in his death than he did in his life.
Speaker 1: God can use a broken vessel if it is offered
Speaker 1: to him in faith. Think about David. He was a
Speaker 1: shepherd boy who was ignored by his own father, but
Speaker 1: he believed God could help him defeat a giant named Goliath. Later,
Speaker 1: he became king and committed terrible sins, including adultery and murder,
Speaker 1: but he knew how to repent. He knew how to
Speaker 1: run back to God. He is remembered as a man
Speaker 1: after God's own heart, not because he never sinned, but
Speaker 1: because he never stopped trusting in God's mercy. The writer
Speaker 1: tells us what these people accomplished through faith. It is
Speaker 1: a list of victories that defies explanation. Who through faith
Speaker 1: conquered kingdoms, ad minister justice and gained what was promised?
Speaker 1: Who shut the mouths of lions? This refers to Daniel,
Speaker 1: who was thrown into a den of hungry lions because
Speaker 1: he refused to stop praying. He sat there all night,
Speaker 1: but the lions could not touch him. His faith was
Speaker 1: a shield that even wild beasts could not break. Quenched
Speaker 1: the fury of the flames and escaped the edge of
Speaker 1: the sword. Whose weakness was turned to strength, and who
Speaker 1: became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. This refers
Speaker 1: to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were thrown into a
Speaker 1: fiery furnace because they refused to bow to a gold statue.
Speaker 1: They told the king that their God was able to
Speaker 1: save them. But even if he did not, they still
Speaker 1: would not bow. That is the highest level of faith.
Speaker 1: It is saying I trust God's ability and I trust
Speaker 1: God's will no matter what happens. They walked out of
Speaker 1: that fire without even the smell of smoke on their clothes.
Speaker 1: At this point in the chapter, the tone changes up
Speaker 1: until now we have heard about victories. We have heard
Speaker 1: about escaping swords, stopping lions, and receiving babies. This is
Speaker 1: the kind of faith we all want. We want the
Speaker 1: faith that gets us the promotion, the healing, and the miracle.
Speaker 1: But Hebrews eleven is the most important chapter because it
Speaker 1: tells the whole truth. It does not sell us a
Speaker 1: fake version of Christianity where everything is always easy. It
Speaker 1: introduces us to a group of heroes whose faith did
Speaker 1: not lead to escape. It led to endurance. Women received
Speaker 1: back their dead, raised to life again. There were others
Speaker 1: who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they
Speaker 1: might gain an eternal resurrection. Some believers were arrested and
Speaker 1: told they could go free if they just denied God.
Speaker 1: They were tortured, but they refused to be released. Why
Speaker 1: because they wanted a better resurrection. They valued the future
Speaker 1: glory more than their present pain. Some faced jeers and flogging,
Speaker 1: and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death
Speaker 1: by stoning. They were sword in two. They were killed
Speaker 1: by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goat skins, destitute, persecuted,
Speaker 1: and mistreated. Tradition tells us that the prophet Isaiah was
Speaker 1: the one who was sword in two. Imagine the agony,
Speaker 1: Imagine the fear. Yet he did not deny his lord.
Speaker 1: These people lost their homes. They wandered in deserts and mountains.
Speaker 1: They lived in caves and holes in the ground. They
Speaker 1: had no money, no comfort, and no safety to the world.
Speaker 1: They looked like losers. They looked like outcasts. But the
Speaker 1: Bible gives us God's opinion of them in a parenthetical
Speaker 1: statement that is breathtaking. The world was not worthy of them.
Speaker 1: The world thought these people were not good enough for society.
Speaker 1: God says the world was not good enough for these people.
Speaker 1: Their faith was too precious for this corrupt planet. This
Speaker 1: section is crucial because it teaches us that faith does
Speaker 1: not guarantee a trouble free life. Sometimes faith delivers you
Speaker 1: from the fire, and sometimes faith walks with you through
Speaker 1: the fire. Both require the same power. It takes faith
Speaker 1: to be healed, but it also takes faith to endure
Speaker 1: sickness with joy. It takes faith to be promoted, but
Speaker 1: it takes faith to remain faithful when you are fired.
Speaker 1: As the chapter draws to a close, the writer reveals
Speaker 1: a mystery. He looks back at all these heroes, Abraham, Moses, David,
Speaker 1: the martyrs, and he notes something tragic yet beautiful. These
Speaker 1: were all commended for their faith, yet none of them
Speaker 1: received what had been promised. They saw the promises from
Speaker 1: a distance. They knew a messiah was coming. They knew
Speaker 1: a savior would redeem the world, but they died before
Speaker 1: Jesus was born. They had the shadow, but they did
Speaker 1: not have the substance. They trusted in a payment that
Speaker 1: had not yet been made. So why did God make
Speaker 1: them wait? Why is their story incomplete? Since God had
Speaker 1: planned something better for us, so that only together with
Speaker 1: us would they be made perfect. This is the stunning conclusion.
Speaker 1: We are connected to them. They were the runners in
Speaker 1: the first part of the relay race. They ran with endurance.
Speaker 1: They passed the baton through the centuries, and now the
Speaker 1: baton is in our hands. They cannot cross the finish
Speaker 1: line without us. The work of God is a single,
Speaker 1: unified story that spans all of history. Abraham is waiting
Speaker 1: for you, Moses is waiting for you. The martyrs are
Speaker 1: waiting for you. They are waiting for the Church of
Speaker 1: to day to finish the race, so that we can
Speaker 1: all celebrate the victory together. This leads directly into the
Speaker 1: first verse of chapter twelve, because Hebrews eleven is not
Speaker 1: just a history lesson, It is a set up for
Speaker 1: a command. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a
Speaker 1: great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that
Speaker 1: hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let
Speaker 1: us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Speaker 1: Picture a massive stadium. The seats are filled with millions
Speaker 1: of people. There is Noah, there is Rahab, there is
Speaker 1: Peter and Paul. They are all cheering and down on
Speaker 1: the track. It is your turn to run, they are
Speaker 1: shouting to you. Don't give up. We made it and
Speaker 1: you can too. God is faithful. This implies that we
Speaker 1: are not alone. When you feel discouraged, remember the cloud
Speaker 1: of witnesses. When you feel like your sin is too great,
Speaker 1: remember David. When you feel like you are too weak,
Speaker 1: Remember Gideon. When you feel like the task is impossible,
Speaker 1: Remember Noah. When you feel like you have lost everything,
Speaker 1: Remember the martyrs. They are testifying that faith works. It
Speaker 1: worked in the desert, it worked in the lion's den,
Speaker 1: it worked in the prison cell, and it will work
Speaker 1: in your living room. It will work in your office,
Speaker 1: it will work in your hospital room. So why is
Speaker 1: Hebrews eleven the most important chapter because it answers the
Speaker 1: question of how human beings can relate to a holy God.
Speaker 1: It removes the pressure of perfection and replaces it with
Speaker 1: the requirement of trust. It teaches us that faith is
Speaker 1: not a feeling, It is an action. It is building
Speaker 1: an arc when it is sunny. It is marching around
Speaker 1: walls when you should be hiding. It is offering you
Speaker 1: your son when you want to keep him. It is
Speaker 1: choosing mistreatment over pleasure. It is refusing to bow when
Speaker 1: the fire is hot. It teaches us that God rewards
Speaker 1: those who seek him. It teaches us that our past
Speaker 1: does not disqualify us. It teaches us that death is
Speaker 1: not the end. But most importantly, Hebrews eleven points us
Speaker 1: to Jesus. All these heroes were looking forward to him.
Speaker 1: We look backward at him, fixing our eyes on Jesus,
Speaker 1: the pioneer and perfector of faith. He is the author
Speaker 1: of this story. He is the one who gave Abraham
Speaker 1: the courage to go. He is the one who stood
Speaker 1: in the fire with Shadrak, Mishak and Abetnago. And he
Speaker 1: is the one who is with you right now. This
Speaker 1: chapter invites you to add your name to the list.
Speaker 1: The Hall of Faith is not full yet, there are
Speaker 1: empty spaces on the wall. God is looking for people
Speaker 1: in this generation who will trust him completely. He is
Speaker 1: looking for someone who will believe him for the impossible.
Speaker 1: He is looking for someone who will stand firm when
Speaker 1: the culture demands compromise. Will you be that person? Will
Speaker 1: you be the one who steps out in faith. The
Speaker 1: world tells you to trust your money, It tells you
Speaker 1: to trust your government. It tells you to trust your
Speaker 1: own intelligence. But money can be stolen, governments can fail,
Speaker 1: intelligence can be wrong. Only the word of God stands forever.
Speaker 1: Hebrews eleven. Is the invitation to anchor your life in
Speaker 1: something that cannot be shaken. It is the call to
Speaker 1: live a life that makes no sense without God. If
Speaker 1: your life can be explained entirely by your own effort,
Speaker 1: you're not living by faith. But if you are taking risks,
Speaker 1: trusting promises, and holding on to hope when the world
Speaker 1: says give up, then you are walking in the footstep
Speaker 1: of the giants. You are walking with Abel, you are
Speaker 1: walking with Enoch, you are walking with Moses. You are
Speaker 1: part of the greatest story ever told. And one day,
Speaker 1: because of your faith in Jesus Christ, you will stand
Speaker 1: in that city with foundations, the heavenly country that all
Speaker 1: these heroes were longing for. You will meet them, and
Speaker 1: together you will see the face of the God who
Speaker 1: kept every single one of his promises. This is why
Speaker 1: we read Hebrews eleven, not just to learn about the past,
Speaker 1: but to find the strength to face our future. The
Speaker 1: same God who was with them is with you. Be confident,
Speaker 1: be assured, and live by faith.