The Book of Hebrews Class 9

hello everyone and welcome to class number nine of the book of hebrews let's pray and get started with our class father we thank you for your word we thank you for who you are we thank you for the great teacher your holy spirit who lives within us to cause us to understand to comprehend and walk in accordance with your word we thank you that he also empowers us to live that word that which you have spoken to each one of us in our hearts in our minds and through the written word that you've given us we thank you for all of this in jesus name amen and amen all right so we're picking it up in chapter 11. all right chapter 11 a lot of things said about chapter 11 in the book of hebrews the book of the heroes uh those people who went before us in faith the witnesses and it talks about a lot of people again familiar to the hearts and minds of the jewish believers the hebrews at the time they would know all of these names they would know all of these people know of what they did know of their faith in god knowing that they were vessels of god and used by him mightily and still by their testimony as we'll talk about speaking to all the people even of this day at the writing of the book and this day for us to hear and talk about and all the days in between so these are some really impactful testimonies of people who really trusted god who had their faults had their human side made their mistakes but in the long run when it came to the important things that god needed from them they did what god asked them to do and remember god the word doesn't tell us that you know jesus himself says in this world you will have tribulation things are going to happen but remember as jesus says to us in the new testament church i have overcome the world i am with you i can take you through the situation that you're in just stay with me stick with me all right so i think these are important things for us to remember in our every day these individuals remind us that even without that infilling of the holy spirit these people look to god how much more we should be able to with the holy spirit living within us knowing what we know having a bible seeing and having experienced what we've experienced in god all right so let's pick it up at chapter 11 verse 1. through faith excuse me verse 1. now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen for by it the elders obtained a good report so faith is real it is both substance and evidence now this word substance that you see in your notes is the same as in chapter one verse three okay and you can go back and look at that it is the ground upon which one builds it is the foundation so faith is the foundation of things hoped for it's what it's made out of in a sense if i could say it that way the substance the things that we hope for come into being because they are reached out for by faith and brought into reality it is the evidence or the proof of what things of what things we may not see right now but things we will see it's the proof and it's interesting i think about it this way our faith is is proof to those around us and to ourselves or it's a and it's a demonstration of the reality of what we believe that we could believe so strongly there's nothing more impressive than someone who believes wholeheartedly listen people can convince you of things that aren't even true because they believe it and you could walk away going i mean for real you know but it because they believe it so thoroughly it almost you almost feel like you have proof of it how much more with the word of god which we see god being faithful in our lives and in the community of believers that we abide in okay that we see things coming to pass the proof is there each and every day and our faith is a testimony to that it is proof of it that keeps producing producing also just a thought you know the bible says faith is the substance of things hoped for well what does the bible also tell us how does faith come faith comes by what hearing and hearing by what the word of god it tells us that in romans 10 17 so faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god faith comes when the word of god we read we hear we take in we perceive becomes a part of us and we respond to it in that way you know when we were kids we used to play a game called simon says let me say simon says do this someone says to this someone says to this and you would and then you go do this and then you're out if you do it because only do it when simon says well in a sense faith comes we hear things do this jesus says do this jesus says do this jesus says and we keep acting on what we hear and as we act on what we hear it becomes the substance of what we're moving toward whatever it is that we are believing for whatever it is that we are hoping for that is anchoring our soul in the situation that we're in because we know some we know something is coming we don't just think something's coming we know something's coming so our faith is the substance of things hoped for and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god and that's not just coming in my ears that is coming in and being received in my heart in my mind and being embraced in me holding on to it like we've talked about already in hebrews not letting it slip away when a circumstance comes okay but let's also say this if faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god what does it tell us in john chapter one in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god down to verse 14 that says and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us speaking of who you're right jesus okay so just another little take on this faith comes by hearing jesus word who he is who he was who he always has been faith comes when we experience jesus and let him in read about him pray talk to him talk to other people about him the more we experience jesus the greater and the stronger our faith is okay so the more jesus is involved in my life the more about him that i know the more about him that i am what experiencing epignosis that experiential knowledge not just the knowing about something but the knowing something that comes that that only comes when you have a first hand experience somebody's not telling me about this i'm knowing about it because i experienced it myself and you can't tell me it didn't happen and you can't tell me i didn't meet him and you can't tell me i don't know him right that's that's what we're talking about so faith is that foundation that comes from the word that comes from understanding that person of jesus okay remember i've talked to you in other classes about this it's almost like a mathematical equation this equals this equals this equals this and they all run along a line making a complete thought for us in terms of that understanding all right so back to verse one again now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen evidence it proves something for by the elders obtained a good report through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of god so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear we could stop for a minute and let's talk about this okay god did not go to home depot or the local hardware store to get the materials to build and create all that we see he spoke it he spoke it these are all you know i sometimes i say you know what we need to believe what we believe or what we speak about right as believers we talk these things and we read these things and we say it's great but now let's really dig down double down and say what does this really mean to me god spoke and the worlds were created he didn't need any materials he didn't need anybody else to help him plan it god father son and holy spirit in the beginning was the word the word was with god he spoke the words the holy spirit was there as it says in genesis hovering over so they're all involved in creation they're all there and a part of it but other than them he no one else was ever necessary so by him or we believe by faith did you see it i didn't see it did you see it none of us saw it but we know it's true here's the thing either we believe i've said this to you before either we believe this or we don't believe it because what we believe builds on what we will be excuse me what we will believe is built on what we do believe so we believe that in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth we believe those things that the bible tells us from genesis to revelation and on upon what we believe is built what we will continue to believe grow in and extend our faith toward so it is by faith and through faith that we understand the worlds were framed by the word of god so that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear there was nothing here to speak of that he spoke and it became by faith abel offered unto god a more excellent sacrifice than cain by which he obtained witness that he was righteous god testifying of his gifts and by it being dead he yet speaks you know i think something that that troubles me sometimes is the need that people seem to have for um it's called it's called legacy i don't have a problem with legacy but this need to be remembered forever and ever hey listen people are not going to remember me forever and ever and ever they don't need to this focus on creating something that everyone will remember people remember what is important and you can't tell them what's important people determine for themselves what is important but i will tell you something what is important to god will always be remembered so what we see here abel is still speaking people know who cain and abel are whether they know all the nuances of what happened there whether they are christians or nothings atheists whatever they are not believing anything that is it doesn't matter people know who cain and abel were and they know who abel was yet still speaking because of what he did okay verse 5 there by faith enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because god had translated him but because his translation he had this testimony that he pleased god i know we all want to have that testimony about us but without faith it is impossible to please him or he that comes to god must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him hold put on the brakes for one second here as you see in your notes believe he is that he actually exists okay you must believe that he actually is it exists he becomes real he becomes real to the individual and israel and god rewards us for believing that he is real one must believe that he is good and that he takes care of his people by rewarding the diligent that's what the bible says here those who diligently seek him not those who diligently do works but those who diligently seek him and again not a thing of works not because you read so many chapters every week or you pray so many hours every week but to pee is the rewarder of those who are always looking to know him better those who desire him above all things when you desire him above all things the bible tells us seeking the kingdom first all things will be added to you you know at one point in time um just because of of who i was the issue of reward and blessings you know sometimes i'd be like yeah well you know that's okay i don't really you know maybe i'm not maybe it was more religious like well i'm not worthy of it but when i saw this verse he's a rewarder of those those to those those to whom he is real are rewarded and he takes pleasure in that so if god is trying to reward me i don't need to let him because he takes pleasure in that he takes pleasure in rewarding those who diligently seek him all right so i think that's important just a little side note there if you struggle with that at all don't struggle with it it's something he wants for us to bless us and to reward us with him himself the to believe that he is to have that relationship and that personal understanding to seek him out to demand to know him in his sense that's the way we needed to be okay so verse 7 here by faith noah being warned of god of things not seen as yet moved with fear and prepared an ark to the saving of his house by the which he condemned the world and became the heir of the righteousness which is by faith okay again let's put the breaks on him for a second god speaks to noah and tells him to build an ark all right and you just think about the scenario come on like how would you respond to somebody you heard a voice telling you build an ark but see noah was a diligent seeker of god in that he was searching obviously for god diligent seekers do make mistakes by the way as diligent seekers we can make a mistake here we can make a mistake there but if we're diligently seeking him god gets it god gets us and we've talked about that already but he understands us and he takes us where we are at so he he speaks to noah and noah goes ahead and builds the ark and it says he became um excuse me he condemns by the which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith and you look at that and go oh my what does that mean well in if you look at what took place there i mean it was catastrophic event uh from which only those in the ark as per the bible survived okay so we have a situation that is catastrophic but it also shows that when you do the right thing it actually reflects on everything around you okay if you listen to god why can't everyone listen to god he's not making a demand now he asked noah something particular he doesn't ask everybody to build an ark but he will speak to anyone who will listen so the listening is on our part what he says to each one of us is on his part he doesn't have to say the same thing to everyone in terms of what he would want from us but noah heard and noah listened and showed that in demonstration that a man could hear from god and follow and do what he was asked to do but we see what happens to the world around him because of his obedience he became that remnant he and his family preserved for the furtherance of the remnant that was going to come by faith abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he should have to receive for an inheritance obeyed and he went out not knowing whether he went it's a great book by oswald chambers called not knowing where about the life of abraham and think about all right so you know god speaks to says well i want you to move well where i'll tell you get in the truck get your stuff and let's go or leave everything behind let's go but where i'll show you i mean really think about it that's like mind-boggling and yet abraham follows him abram follows becomes abraham but abraham abram is a man what did he know he was a moon worshiper and he comes to know god and gets involved in that relationship and god brings him into that covenant with him and abraham follows god again remember the hebrew hearer understands this and and knows this by faith he speaking of abraham sojourned in the land of promise as an estranged country traveling in tabernacles with isaac and jacob the heirs with him of the same promise he looks for a city which has foundations whose builder and maker is god he's looking for a place to live where the influence of god himself directs and guides everything you know we are to live get a little ahead of myself here though but we are to live i i come from new york as you know if you go into one of the first really um physically appearing ethnic neighborhoods that i saw was chinatown now there's like there was an italian neighborhood and there were certain things about it that were a little different but the most starkly different neighborhood that i experienced as a young person was in what is called chinatown all the chinese restaurants chinese writing lanterns all kinds of things and the culture being very different from what i knew at that point in my life it spoke something to me these people lived in an area and they all spoke in chinese to each other and the decorations and the way the signs were were created looked chinese they looked like where they came from you saw a lot of pagodis or a lot of symbols that come from that culture so they were surrounding themselves with familiar things that helped them live in a land that was not their own you'll find the same thing in other parts of this country in california you'll find that in san francisco the same thing where you had settlements of chinese people they created an environment to feel comfortable in in a place that was very different culturally from where they came from so here we are people whose culture now is a heavenly culture a culture based on the word of god and we need to create an environment within ourselves that then permeates to that which is around us and live in a city whose builder and maker is god himself i don't just follow the laws of the land i follow the laws of god which say not just follow the laws of the land but don't find the loopholes really follow those laws be an example of a law-abiding citizen be an example the the the law of my land okay of the united states or by the state in which i live the city or township doesn't require me to love each other it to love other people it does require me to behave appropriately toward them but it doesn't actually require me to love them but because i live like a person who lives in a city whose builder and maker is god himself i love people because that's my culture my culture becomes that which the word tells me it is i live according to the culture of god's word does that make sense so this this is what abraham did he moved out and began to move into a place in his life where all that he knew was going to revolve around god and what he knew about god and what god was going to reveal to him so he would begin to set up his life and structure his life according to the influence of god in his life that's how we're to live what would a city look like man has tried to do it over and over again and it just never works because we try to design something on the outside that exists on the inside and we are to follow from the inside that which god has put in us we are to live it out not have it imposed on us it never works that way that's the law that's the old testament where the law said you must live this way you must do this this and this and what do we move into in the new covenant the law is written on our hearts and in our minds all right so we live it out we are not bounded by the laws i hope that makes sense to you all right so he looks for a city who's who would have which has foundations but the very foundation the basis of which is god and his word through faith also sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she was judged because she judged him faithful who had promised she was she just received it she didn't she didn't drum up enough face she wasn't like you know lord i want this child and i'm just going to believe no she just she received it and that's easier said than done sometimes because we do have a bit of a mentality of what we have to do to receive something but what we need to learn like we've talked about already is that rest where we simply receive if god's promised it i'm going to wait for it until it appears because it will appear because he said it would he promised it would i can't make it happen anyway sarah wasn't at the point where she could make this happen totally god could and totally he did therefore sprang there even if one and him as good as dead so many is the stars of the sky in multitude and as the sandwiches by the seashore innumerable these all died in faith not having received the promises but having seen them afar off and they will persuaded of them so even though these things were nowhere near them abraham was nowhere near seeing what was going to come but he received them believing that they would happen and we'll see another example of that in just a moment so they were persuaded of them and they embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth for they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country and truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out they might have had opportunity to have returned but now they desire a better country that is a heavenly wherefore god is not ashamed to be called their god for he has prepared for them a city again speaking to that they declare plainly that they seek a country we just don't fit in here and that's not you know that that's not a negative thing well you know i just don't fit in here and i feel like i belong like we're not babies okay we're mature and we are adults to be able to say yeah i don't fit in with that lifestyle because i have chosen a different lifestyle i'm not missing anything i'm moving in what i have chosen and this is a very important mindset i think i want to just kind of touch on for a moment with you the fact that the that it if we pursue something our mindset is to move towards something okay we're not going to be worried about what's behind us or what's beside us that's not to be my concern my concern is getting to that destination if i want to get their bed enough i will push aside anything else that's between me and that destination i will get there if it's important enough to me and if i choose to be a particular kind of person i know in my family growing up there were certain things that we were taught and what we were told was we don't care my parents told us clearly it doesn't matter what anybody else does this is the way you are going to live if everybody else jumps off the cliff you're going to jump off with them and some of you may have heard that when you were growing up as well but my parents were very adamant about who we were to be our family name and how we represented our family in our community and we were brought up with that belief very strongly this is no different this is even more so who are we in our community and we are to live like those people who live in a country or a city whose builder and maker is god himself that he sets up the laws that he sets up the interactions and the structures and the and the cooperation that works between father son and holy spirit should be the cooperation supernatural cooperation that we see among ourselves where there is no vying for who is more important than another person who stands out the most who's the kingpin around here that we don't see that in the godhead why should we be striving toward that in the church it's unseemly it's not what the bible tells us the bible tells us that we work in a beautiful concert together accomplishing the purpose and the will of god just like he does all right so they desire a better country um verse verse 17 by faith abraham when he was tried offered up isaac and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son and here we have something important too it's all important excuse me so abraham receives a promise and now he's told to offer up this son okay wait a minute you gave this to me now you're going to take it away god never takes away what he gives to you though that which he gives to you but as we look we'll see that god not only gives but enhances them what is given to us of whom it was said that in isaac shall thy seed be called accounting that god was able to raise him up even from the dead from the winds also he received him in a figure in an image speaking this was type and shadow of jesus that that resurrection from the dead that god himself offering his son again how he did something all that time before to point out a truth that was to come and now again these people knew exactly what had happened with abraham that abraham was ready to offer his child to god not just say yeah you could take him and use him the way you want but to physically kill him believing that he would raise him from the dead believing that he told me that this was the child of promise he told me that this was going to be the beginning of me being the father of many nations my seed my seed this seed so if he was dead he would have to raise him from the dead that's because abraham said the promise you gave me you will fulfill he was so focused on the promise that the steps to get there became irrelevant wow okay that's something that we need to think about so focused on the promise of god and believing that he is bringing to pass what he had said he would that the steps to get there become irrelevant we don't even we don't even have to deal with them because we know and listen i'm not saying that lightly because we know that at times we go through situations that are challenging and trying and hard but remember you're they're taking you someplace and when you get to the other side you will say now i understand and i would do it again to get where i am now with god he received him in a figure verse 20 by faith isaac blessed jacob and esau concerning the things to come by faith jacob when he was dying blessed both the sons of joseph joseph excuse me and worship leaning upon the top of his stab by faith joseph when he died i love this when he died made mention of the of the departing of the children of israel all right right now at this point in time when joseph is dying okay everything is good everything is good for these people to have choice land everything is as good as it gets but he knew that one day people would leave and he gave commandment concerning his bones his faith was so that he knew that god was going to take him out of that take his people out of this place and he didn't want to be left behind take my bones with you when you go because it had been prophesied we already we talked about that in the covenant with abraham it had already been talked about that one day they would leave this place they would go into captivity did he fully comprehend all of it i don't know i don't know what joseph personally and completely understood but what he clearly understood that at a point in time these people were going to leave this land and he said you need to take my bones with you a statement of faith based on something god spoke a long time ago and that would happen quite some time in the future but that he trusted god concerning by faith moses when he was born hid three months of his parents because they saw he was a proper child and they were not afraid of the king's commandment they weren't afraid of they were more they trusted more in god than they feared the commandment of the king interesting they had more attention they had more belief their faith in god was strong enough to overcome a very real situation that was occurring literally right in front of them and that was that these children were being killed and they feared god more than the king's commandment knowing that they had to do right by what god was telling them to do and follow through on that and if they did god would follow through with them by faith moses when he was come when he was come to years refused to be called the son of pharaoh's daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of god than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season sometimes it's easy when things are easy it's easy to stay there and sometimes it's a little harder to leave that comfort behind in order to pursue what god is calling you to you know it's one thing if what if what is before you looks better than where you're coming out of very easy to follow that not as easy to leave behind something that at this point in my life i think is pretty good and i really don't see how it could be better other than the fact that god has promised and is directing and therefore it has to be better so i follow him out of obedience not because it's a bigger house or because it's more money but because it's the better place for me to be that is right smack dab in the middle of his will verse 26 esteeming the reproach of christ greater riches than the treasures of egypt for he had respect unto the recompense of reward by faith he forsook egypt not fearing the wrath of the king for he endured as seeing him who is invisible through faith he kept the passover and the sprinkling of the blood lest he that destroyed the first born should touch them by faith they pass through the red sea as by dry land which the egyptians trying to do the same actually wound up getting drowned in there and you can read that in exodus 14 god knocks the wheels off their chariots they get stuck the waters come back together you know the world would like to explain this as well you know it was low tide and they all kind of went through yeah no no this was a super natural occurrence something that god it was a miraculous occurrence something that god did and that only god could do by faith the walls of jericho fell down after they were composed about seven days by faith the harlot rahab perished not with them that believed not when she had received the spies with peace here's rahab a prostitute and yet here she is we're reading about her still today and everyone that has a bible reads about rahab why because she followed what god told her to do she was obedient and she's kind of in and out she doesn't she's it's not like then she has a whole ministry after this or anything like that she does what she does at a pivotal moment in time let me say this to you as well there may come points in your life when you are a part of something pivotal enjoy it follow it it may not last forever but doesn't mean god isn't pleased with what you did or are doing it may not last forever but that's okay it lasts as long as god needs it to last but let me also say this look where she is remember forever all right spoken a few minutes ago about legacy you can't pay for this kind of advertisement all right but she forever has that place of appreciation in god's heart for what she did and her obedience she's a happy lady in heaven all right and sometimes we need to just look at stuff like that and realize that even the rahabs even the me's and the yous maybe who may nobody may know us or whatever god knows us and we are pivotal to the plan of salvation in ways that we have no idea did she know what she was doing no i'm sure she didn't but it didn't matter that she knew what she was doing she knew she was doing what needed to be done she was obedient she was obedient even if she didn't know how obedient she was being she was she followed and she is dear like all of us to the heart of god and what shall i say more for the time would fail me to tell a gideon and a barack of samson of jephthah of david also of samuel and of the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms wrought righteousness obtained promises stop the mouths of lions quench the violence of fires escape the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong waxed valiant and fight turned to flight the armies of the aliens and now now that's all great okay they did this they subdued but there's also another side to this so let's take a look women received their dead rays from the dead and others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings yay moreover of bonds and imprisonment they were stoned they would tent they were tempt they were stoned they were sown asunder they were tempted and slain with the sword they wandered about in sheepskins and goat skins being destitute now but this is the part we don't like okay being destitute afflicted tortured of whom the world was not worthy of whom the what up what an amazing statement to make about people who put it all on the table put it all out there for god and paid a price that i will never have to pay and they paid that price as a part of what god was asking them to do and the world was not worthy of them they wandered in deserts and in mountains in dens and in caves of the earth and these all having obtained a good report through faith didn't even receive the promise they didn't even receive the promise they were not partakers of all that was going to happen they didn't live to see messiah come they didn't live to see the plan of salvation rolled out they didn't live to see any of it but they sure were an important part of it god having provided some better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect or complete so it wasn't good enough for god that these people came to a point of perfection and completion and received it all because if they did and what about us that were to come but god ordained that we also would be included as we already said in the in in what we now call the the church age where we are coming in as the gentiles people who had no right to any of this okay we are now coming in and then we will all be together in heaven they didn't even receive the promise but they obtained that good report through faith because they believed all right that what god has had promised he was able also to perform as it says in romans about abraham that what god promised he would bring it to pass i don't need to understand how he's going to bring it to pass because you know when i came to the understanding of i don't know how he certain things you know you pretty much you could understand but there are things i don't know how god will bring them to pass there are things that i have seen god do that i still say okay i see that it's done i could see the steps that you took to get there but man that's a mind blower i could have never anticipated that happening or even looking back and saying i still don't know how you did that lord but you did because he is faithful so what is this chapter 11 about this chapter 11 is about people who put out their faith who said i'm going to believe god or just did you know sometimes it isn't even so much a statement that is made as much as it is just a follow-through like a like a nehemiah lord help me and off we go that they do we don't they don't even stop to make that plan of like well now we're going to do this now they just follow what god is telling them to do and they get where he asks them to be by faith how did abraham know he didn't said joseph how did joseph joseph had you know did he know by the dreams maybe i don't know he certainly didn't know that it was going to go down the way it did i i really don't believe he could have seen the full picture or understood that full picture comprehending that completely it's irrelevant see because faith is accepting what we have not seen it's believing what we have no basis in a sense for our belief for in other words the evidence isn't right here in front of me or hear all the parts okay so i believe it no he said i said it and we need to believe it and in that believing like joseph he said one of these days all of you in those to come will leave here take my bones with you don't leave me here take me with you it's like it's like it's a little overwhelming to think about something like that that seeing that moment take me with you you see this old man those fingers take me with you take don't leave me here take me with you what what a figure that cuts what a thought that cuts this is a man who in the face of adversity on every turn just followed god best he could just did what he had to do to stay true to god and we see what god was able to do with him not just that he got the crown the makeup the riches and everything what he was able to accomplish and for somebody like him i'm sure that meant a lot he knew he pleased god so this is what we can take away from chapter 11 looking at these they're people okay like you like me just people who allow god to work through them and use them we have the holy spirit within us we we have the same spirit that raised christ from the dead dwelling in us we have the power of the living god living and residing within us we can do all things through christ who strengthens us we have it all it doesn't he doesn't just come upon us at a time of need and then he's gone or what here we are there no he lives within us he's always with us so he will take us through all of these things that's what the word says we just have to believe it by faith the just shall live by faith the faith being i trust you i believe you you said it that's that settles it settles it for me if god said it that's the end of discussion you said it that's it that's the way it's going to be go back over chapter 11 now and look at him look at it with a little bit different eyes at these people who had moments like we have times like we had but yet they chose to believe god and we're still talking about them talk about legacy talk about being remembered and they would have had no idea that they would be remembered this way okay think about something to think about well that's the end of this we'll pick it up in chapter 12 in our next class god bless you be well and be safe until we see you again