The Eyes of Faith, Hebrews 11:17-22

^{Hebrews 11:17-22}
 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,  ¹⁸ of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” ¹⁹ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

²² By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

A simple outline for those few verses might look like this:

1.    Faith is tested

2.    Faith trusts

3.    Faith blesses

4.    Faith looks beyond the grave

5.    Faith grows

6.    Faith worships

7.    Faith instructs

1.    Faith is tested

Abraham was promised a son, a whole nation of sons, but after nearly 25 years of trying, he and Sarah still had none (unless you count about 14 years prior when Abe slept with the maid and had Hagar’s boy, Ishmael).

But God said Ishmael was not the one, but Isaac, born of Sarah, was the son of the promise. (Gen. 17:20-21).

Abe was 100. Sarah was 90 years barren...

Until she wasn’t.

Wow!

How?

God said so.

And so did they.

God changed their names:

Abram to Abraham (exalted father to father of nations).

Sarai to Sarah (my princess to princess). From possession to position.

They started speaking faith, and nine months later...

Barren Sarah became bearing Sarah.

 Isaac came just as God had said.

Speak faith.

Speak God’s Word, not the world’s.

Bear God’s Word, birth God’s Word, through your mouth.

Call your self who God calls you. A child of the King. A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people. John 1:12, 1 Peter 2:9.     

Speak faith and watch it grow.

So, Isaac grew into a young man, perhaps around 25 years old.

All was well.

Until God sent a test.

God asked Abe to offer his son, his only beloved son called Isaac, as a burnt offering. Genesis 22:1-18.

2. Faith trusts

Would you do what Abe did?

Trust and obey, even if it meant killing your future, your hope, your God given promise... your son???  

 

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Amazing faith.

Even more amazing. Abe believed that God believed that Abe was worthy to receive.

He didn’t think, I messed up so bad, God’s kicking me to the curb. I knew it. He’s taking back the promise. I don’t blame Him for finding somebody better.

Do you sabotage yourself? 

God is able. Sure. Just not through me. I’m too much of a screw up.

Dear child of God, don’t doubt God’s ability to turn an old chunk of coal into a diamond.

Don’t disgrace His amazing grace to save a wretch like we.

When you are tested, receive the test for what it is. Proof that you’re loved and an opportunity for promotion.

Proof that you’re loved:

Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor detest His correction; ¹² For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

Opportunity for promotion:

James 1:2-4 Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

See with the eyes of faith that God has you in such a time and place to fulfill His exceedingly great and precious promises through you.

You are in the middle of a mission field, don’t hesitate and hide, be bold, stand up, lean in, speak faith and watch God arise and His enemies scatter.

3.    Faith blesses

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.

Isaac was blind, his sons were a mess, Jacob was a cheater, Esau was fleshly, led by his belly, a good hunter and cook and dad’s favorite. (Gen. 27-28).

But God revealed that Jacob was the one to carry the promise of Abraham.

By faith Isaac put aside his own plans, ideas, desires and looked beyond his blindness to the plan of God for his sons.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau by speaking the Truth, even though it angered Esau.

Many years later, by faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed Joseph’s sons.

By faith Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel, blessed each of his twelve sons, and additionally, Joseph’s two sons (Jacob’s grandsons).

To some of the sons, the blessing may have sounded more like a curse.

However, these blessings could only be given by faith, for they told of things to come, things only God would know.  

Tapping into the heart of God and then by faith, speaking His Truth, in love, even if it hurts, is always a blessing.

4.    Faith sees beyond the grave

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, looked beyond the grave as he blessed his grandchildren

By faith Joseph, when he was dying, looked beyond the grave hundreds of years, to the time they would return to the Promise Land.

5.    Faith grows

Faith, like a mustard seed, grows.

Notice we started with Abraham and one son, Isaac.  

Then, by faith Isaac blessed his two sons, Jacob and Esau.

Then, by faith Jacob blessed twelve sons and two grandsons.

Then, Joseph blessed the whole nation of Israel.

You want to have great faith? Mountain moving faith? Soul saving faith?

You have been given a measure of faith (Romans 12:3).

Now, what will you do with it?

Will you exercise your faith like a muscle getting stronger, by being obedient to what you know?

Whatever it is the Lord wants you to do, be faithful in that.

A few things all God’s children should do to exercise our faith:

Faithfully attend Church.

Faithfully read Bible.

Faithfully pray.

Do that. Your faith will grow.

Reject that. It won’t.

You’ll be stuck. Calling out to God when things go sideways. Unable to hear Him.

Two things to consider if you think God is not answering.

Ø Are you regularly responsibly reading His Word?

Ø Do you faithfully attend His Word being preached?

If you reject His form of communication, then, it’s not that He’s not answering, it’s that you’re not listening.

Romans 10:14, 17
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?... ¹⁷ Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of Christ.

6.    Faith worships

Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph, and worshipped leaning upon his staff.

One of Jacob’s greatest blessings was having the honor of seeing and blessing and worshipping in front of his grandsons.

Genesis 48:9-11
"Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.”

And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

He worshipped humbly, leaning upon his staff.

Grandpa, grandma, do your grandchildren see you faithfully, humbly, worship the Lord?

When they look in your eyes do they see eyes of faith?

Are you leaving for them a legacy of faith.

Have you noticed, all these men of faith were doing acts of faith, to their children, their family? And they were doing it when they were dying. 

These all died in faith.

Finished well.

Lord, may we do the same.

7.    Faith instructs

By faith, Joseph gave instructions for his bones to be carried back to the Promise Land. By faith he knew God would indeed come and deliver them to the Promise Land.

This morning, I received a text that read: “So it appears she will pass soon”

Since it was almost 9:00 a.m. I was about to head to the Clubhouse to set up for Bible Study.

Instead, I went to Mike and Ann’s.

Ann was in the hospice bed in the living room. Mike was by her side.

We talked about finishing well, this short life, and heaven.

Ann’s breathing was labored, her eyes closed, she didn’t respond.

But when we said, “We’re going to pray,” ever so slightly Ann nodded her head.

We prayed about making peace with Jesus and how Mike and family would be okay, “and so once you and Jesus talk it over, and you’re ready, just go ahead and go with God.”

I had to leave to get ready for Bible Study, so I didn’t see the text from Mike just minutes later that said, “She has passed.”

After Bible Study I went back over and Mike said her last acknowledgement was when she nodded her head to pray.

Ann died in faith, knowing God would indeed come and deliver her to the Promise Land.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, we know we’re just passing through. Help us pass the test of faith, to trust, to bless, to see beyond the grave, to grow, to worship and instruct all those You’ve given us, so we too, indeed will see Your face and hear You say, “Well done, welcome to the Promise Land.”

Thank You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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How to Crush God's Feelings, Ezekiel 6

God called Ezekiel to be a watchman.

He’s calling you to be one too.

A watchman, watches, wakes and warns.

The devil lusts to be worshipped and receives it by deceiving people into addictions of pleasure and power.

Only personally knowing the Only Lord God and Savior, can we find peace, joy, satisfaction and pleasures forever more. Psalm 16:11.  

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

Literally, “Word Yahweh came near saying”

The phrase is repeated often by the prophets.

Which helps paint the beautiful portrait of our Lord throughout Scripture.

God draws near and communicates with His creation.

From, in the beginning, in the Garden, to walk with the first couple, in the cool of the day.

To showing up one silent night and be called Immanuel, meaning God with us. 

To here and now, with and in, us who are His.

2 “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,

The Lord calls Ezekiel “son of man” around 90 times. A generic term simply meaning son of mankind. That means we can and should put ourselves in Zeke’s shoes.  

Ezekiel is a captive in Babylon some 500 miles east of the mountains of Israel.

No matter, for there is no distance with God and prayer and prophesying.

The mountains represent all Israel yet specifically point to the “high places” where Israel worshipped idols, committing spiritual adultery against God.

Now, let’s listen to the Lord speak through Zeke, without interruption.

3 and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: “Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 4 Then your altars shall be desolate, your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5 And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars. 6 In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 7 The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the LORD.

8 “Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries. 9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.”

11 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Pound your fists and stamp your feet, and say, ‘Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! For they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 12 He who is far off shall die by the pestilence, he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged shall die by the famine. Thus will I spend My fury upon them. 13 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when their slain are among their idols all around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every thick oak, wherever they offered sweet incense to all their idols. 14 So I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land desolate, yes, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblah, in all their dwelling places. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.’ ” ’ ”

 

Did you notice a theme? The phrase that all shall know that I AM the LORD is repeated over 60 times in the book of Ezekiel.

God is Patient.

Have you ever told a child to do something, or not do something, more than once?

Twice? Thrice? More than you’ll admit?

 Eventually, after counting to three...hundred, finally, you have enough “that’s it!”  You put your foot down.

If you have, you might just get that from your Father God.

That wouldn’t work so well in business, or in the military, or if you were the God Father, but with Father God, who is love, it’s how it goes. (1 John 4:8).

The first attribute of Love in the Love Chapter, 1 Cor. 13:4, is, Love is patient...

God gives us room to grow, to run, to fall, to get back up and come back home.

But not forever.

God called them (in Abraham) from a distant land, gave them room to grow, to run, to fall, to get back up, to come back home.

He multiplied Israel into a great nation and blessed them from sea to shining sea.

They were built by God, for God, on Godly principles.

When they were small in their own eyes, they depended on God, appealed to heaven, and claimed in God we trust.

God protected them and prospered them.

But then they became big in their own eyes and got fat and sassy.

Instead of remembering their Creator who blessed them and gave them the Promise Land, they rejected Him and worshipped the very idols God destroyed to make room for them in the land flowing with milk and honey.

Baal and Asherah: pleasure

They pursued pleasure over purity and turned to Baal and Asherah, false gods of sex and fertility.

They defiled themselves in open sex with temple prostitutes. They yielded to the lusts of their flesh and were overcome with every kind of sexual perversion and wickedness.

For to whom you yield yourself servants to obey, his servant you are. Romans 6:16.

Make no mistake, they were not worshipping gods named Baal and Asherah, they were worshipping demons.

And in so doing, crushed God’s feelings.

Molech: Power

They not only turned from the one and only God in pursuit of pleasure but also in pursuit of power.

How foolish!

They turned from the only Source of Power, the Almighty, All Powerful God, in pursuit of power.

The false god of Molech, was said to be the god of power, prosperity, self-preservation.

This was a deep dark demonic worship.

In their perverted passion for power, they sacrificed children to Molech.

By so doing, they crushed God’s feelings.

The Bible is not only history, but also HIStory, timeless, thus, ever timely. So, let’s bring it to the present and apply it to US.

America

The names change, but the demons remain the same. 

Our nation has followed in their footsteps.

God multiplied US into a great nation and blessed US from sea to shining sea.

We were built by God, for God, on Godly principles.

When we were small in our own eyes, we depended on God, “appealed to heaven,” the words on our first flags flown by George Washingtons fleet.

We really believed what was printed on our money, “IN GOD WE TRUST”.

God protected US and prospered US.

But when we became big in our own eyes, we got fat and sassy.

Instead of remembering our Creator who blessed US and gave US this Promise Land, we rejected Him.

Our nation has yielded to lusts of the flesh.

Addicted to pleasure and power.

Overcome with every kind of sexual perversion and wickedness.

Worse than, a hundred times, no, a thousand, a million times worse than they did back then.

Our previous White House aided and abetted sex trafficking of thousands upon thousands of innocent children.

That crushed the feelings of God.

They openly mocked God by promoting child mutilation.

They flaunted that vile perverted lifestyle out in the open, on the White House lawn, on Easter Sunday.

That crushed the heart of God.

They defended and funded and applauded the slaughtering of multiplied millions of the most innocent of all.

That crushed God’s heart and feelings and must’ve sorely tried His patience to not crush US then and there on the spot.

But that’s not all.

But first we must make one thing perfectly clear.

THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE.

THERE IS NO OTHER.

There is only one God, the Creator of everything.

He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as described in His Holy Word, His Holy Bible.

There is no other Holy Word.

There is no other God.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Colossians 1:16-17. “For by Him all things were created that are in the heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD. THE CREATOR OF EVERYTHING.

Elohim is Hebrew for God.

YHWH, is His name, breathed, not spoken by Jews, for His name, they say, is too Holy to utter.

We say, Yahweh.

Don’t yawn and think, I know all this already. Pay attention. This is the great deception sweeping our nation and world. We’ll see why in a moment. You need this Truth settled deep and unshakable in your soul. Or, you will be deceived.

THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD. THE CREATOR OF EVERYTHING.

Don’t take my word for it, take His:

Isaiah 45:5. I am the LORD (YHWH), and there is no other; There is no God (Elohim) besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me.

Deuteronomy 4:35 You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.

Deuteronomy 32:39 See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.

1 Kings 8:60 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God. There is no other!

1 Timothy 2:5. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.

James 2:19. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!

 

The Lord our God is One. There is no other.

Therefore, according to the Bible, there are no other Gods.

Matt. 25:5, Mark 13:6, Luke 21:8, Jesus says of the last days that many will come claiming to be Him, deceiving many.

So, any entity claiming to be God, is deceived or demonic.

Any person claiming some entity other than God to be God is demonically deceived.

So when, anti-constitution, Israel hating, congresswoman, Ilhan Omar says "Praise be to Allah" over Marxist Muslim Mayor Mamdani's win, and others...

She is not praising the one and only God.

Currently in America, Ilhan Omar, Zohran Mamdani, 42 Muslim Americans who just won historic elections from mayors to council members, and 4.5 million others, reject the God who built and blessed US and welcome and worship an entity that claims to be God.

That entity they worship is called by the same name that possessed the participants of October 7, and 911 slaughters. That entity is the enemy ever increasingly possessing people of power in our nation. That entity will possess one rising to power who the Bible calls the lawless one. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-10. 

Okay, back to our text. Israel turned from God, to worship foreign gods (idols), demons in disguise.

God eventually, after counting to three...for hundreds of years, finally, had enough, “that’s it!” He put His foot down.

He lifted His hand of protection and prosperity and peace.

Israel swiftly went from a powerful united state to a divided kingdom. 

Then, they were besieged by illegal aliens, foreign nations, first Assyria, then Babylon.

Foreigners who worshipped foreign “gods” invaded their land.

The invaders didn’t know it, but they were doing God’s disciplining by tearing down all the high places of idol worship in Israel.

After the exile was over and Israel returned to their land, they continued to sin, they still killed the prophets, they eventually rejected Jesus, but they learned their lesson about idols. They never again worshipped idols. That’s why during the quickly approaching Great Tribulation they won’t be fooled when the antichrist sets up an idol in the 3^rd temple.

Back when Israel was under siege, they ran to their idols to pray and there they were slain. Their dead bodies defiled the land and permeated the atmosphere with the stench of death.

That is where sin always leads.

To death.

However, there’s still some life and light left in this picture.

The Remnant.

Even though God’s patience has an end, His mercy endures forever.

God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham, so He made sure a remnant remained.

Look again at Ezekiel 6:8-9.

“Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries. 9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the LORD;

Somewhere during the fiery tribulation brought on by their own sin, the remnant remember their God.

The One who loved them and blessed them. 

The one whom they crushed.

They see their filthy lust next to His beautiful love, and they loathe their wretched selves.

A foreshadow of their descendants who after the great tribulation see Him whom they pierced and mourn as for their only beloved Son. Zech. 12:10. And all Israel will be saved. (Romans 11:26).

All of this, and all of that, so all shall know that I AM the LORD.

Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank You for drawing near and speaking. We pray that we are as the remnant that remembers You. Please forgive us for crushing Your heart. Help us loathe the vile wickedness of demonic idols. Open our eyes to see Your beauty and know You as our LORD.

Thank You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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Strangers & Pilgrims in Faith, Hebrews 11:13-16

The Hall of Faith is teed up at the end of chapter 10 by saying:

You have need of endurance so that after you've done the will of God you may receive the promise. For yet a little while and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.

Now, the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draw back My soul will have no pleasure in him. (Heb. 10:36-38).

Then, the first thing we see in Hebrews 11 is a powerful pillar:

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Then a second powerful pillar appears in Hebrews 11:6: “Without faith it's impossible to please Him.”

In between we read amazing feats of faith.

By faith the elders obtained a good testimony. (Hebrews 11:2)

By faith we understand the worlds were framed by the Word of God (Heb. 11:3).

By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice (Heb. 11:4).

By faith Enoch did not see death, for he had this testimony, that he please God (Heb. 11:5).

By faith Noah being Divinely warned, prepared an ark for the saving of his household (Heb. 11:7).

By faith Abraham went out and dwelt in the land of Promise with Isaac and Jacob, seeking a city whose Builder and Maker is God (Heb. 11:8-10).

By faith Sarah received strength and conceived life judging Him faithful who had promised. (Heb. 11:11-12).

On and on the Hall of Faith names heroes of faith by name.

Then, it closes in a climax of courage with the spotlight on unnamed faith heroes.

"Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 

Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—  of whom the world was not worthy.   They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 

And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise.

God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." Hebrews 11:33-40.

Tucked quietly in the midst of these powerful pillars and courageous feats of faith is a diamond in the rough.

With just a few verses the Lord graciously allows us to see as He sees, into the thoughts and intents of the hearts of these faith heroes.

And then, even better, He reveals His response.

That diamond in the rough is what we have the honor of examining today.

Hebrews 11:13-16
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced (greeted) them and confessed (admitted, acknowledged) that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

An outline of our text, and/or, a profile of the Hall of Faithers, may look like this:

1.    Endurance. Died in faith (13a)

2.    Selfless. Not having received the promises (13b)

3.    Patient. Saw and greeted them afar off (13c)

4.    Perspective. Understood they were strangers and pilgrims (13d)

5.    Committed. Seek a Homeland (14-15)

6.    Covenant. Desire a better, heavenly...(16a)

7.    Unashamed. The glorious response of our Lord. (16b)

1.    Endurance

These all died in faith.

Well, all but Enoch and Elijah. They walked with God, until one day they were taken, raptured, caught up, they did not die. Enoch, simply “was not” for God took him. Genesis 5:24.

Elijah was caught up in a chariot of fire. 2 Kings 2:11.

They didn’t need to find faith at the last minute. No death bed repentance needed.

These Hall of Faith Saints lived by faith and died in faith.

They endured to the end.

They crossed the finish line in faith.

This is important because how we finish matters.

All the good we’ve done before will be forgotten if we turn from Him to sin. 2 Peter 2:20-21, Ez. 3:20, 18:24, 33:12-20.

They lived with their eyes on the Prize, the Promise, their bags packed, ready to go at any moment.

Do you?

Do your loved ones?

Do those God’s given you?

Have you asked them?

If they say, “Maybe someday, not today.”  

Give them warning: To not live by faith, but to live by flesh may make it impossible to die in faith. And without faith, it’s impossible to please Him. Hebrews 11:6.

Saving faith takes more than lip service for fire insurance, it takes repentance of the heart. Matthew 3:2, 4:17, Mark 1:15.

It’s rare and hard for a person to change their mind and heart at the flip of a switch. Saying, “sorry” just because you’re in trouble, doesn’t count.

So, to be safe, be like the just, and just live by faith. Then, dying in faith will take care of itself.

They endured and died in faith.

2.    Selfless.

Not having received the promises

What promises?

Well, a few verses back Heb. 11:9, says, ^“By faith he (Abraham) dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.”

Specifically referring to God’s promise to Abraham beginning in Genesis 12:1-3, that He would make him a great nation with an abundance of prosperity and property, and people and that through him all nations of the earth would be blessed. Of course, that was referring to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  

Additionally, there was the first promise that pointed to the Seed of the woman that would crush the serpent’s head. Genesis 3:15. Of course, that too, was referring to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Now, since the Promised Messiah has come, He has given us even more promises.  

2 Corinthians 1:20. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

2 Peter 1:2-4. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Speaking of partaking of His Divine Nature, Jesus promises His Holy Spirit filled with exceedingly great and precious fruits and gifts. (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4).

According to Jesus His Holy Spirit is our, Helper, Teacher, Guide, and Spirit of Truth; He abides with us, reminds us, testifies through us, and tells us of things to come.  John 14:15-16, 15:26, 16:13.

And that, is just a small introduction.

He has a whole basket full of fruit, just waiting for you to taste and see that the Lord is Good.

The Holy Spirit is not only a fruit maker, but a gift giver:

All those are characteristics of folks filled with the Holy Spirit.

Do they describe you?

The Saints in the Hall of Faith, received not the promises, yet they selflessly endured looking not to themselves, but forward to the Promise.

3.    Patient.

They did not receive the promises, but having seen them afar off, embraced them

The faith heroes needed patience to embrace God’s promises when He revealed that His plan was a multigenerational marathon.

Through faith and patience they greeted, welcomed, embraced God’s big picture, even though it would be fulfilled after their life on this earth.

James 1:2-4. “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

Like the shot of energy produced in a marathon runner who presses through the pain of “the wall” by looking to the joy of the afar off finish line, so too, are you, when you press through the testing of your faith, by looking to Jesus.

Faith heroes know, tests of faith produce patience muscles needed to finish the race strong.

4.    Perspective

They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

They knew they were just passing through.

Having that Eternal Perspective makes all the difference in the world.

Faith heroes know they are just pilgrims in search of a city whose Builder and Maker is God.

This earth is not our home.  

5.    Committed

For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.

Faith heroes are not double-minded, not looking back like Lot’s wife, not calling to mind their old lifestyle, but seeking a Heavenly Homeland.

Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Luke 6:45.

Faith heroes are committed to keeping their words and thoughts set on their Homeland.

6.    Covenant

But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country.

Endurance, selflessness, patience, eternal perspective, commitment, leads to covenant.

Psalm 37:4. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Their heart’s desire is heavenly.

That comes from being in covenant with the Lord.

Being in covenant with God, releases the world’s gravitational pull.

When you have the Best, the world has nothing to offer.  

7.    Unashamed

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:1-3.

“Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6:17-18.

 

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, we know Your Word is True that says, “For yet a little while, He who is coming will come and will not tarry.”

Help us obey Your Word that says, “Now the just shall live by faith.”

And please keep us in remembrance that You also said, “But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

We pray that we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

Now Lord, will You make us to be soul winners and disciple makers, so we, and all those You’ve given us, will indeed be, Your sons and daughters.

Thank You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.

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