Hebrews 11:6—19 faith in action

11:6. So you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him most believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

all God really wants from you is faith

11:6. So you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

all God really wants from you is faith• to count on the fact that he’s there

• supernatural outlook

11:6. So you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him most believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

all God really wants from you is faith• to count on the fact that he’s there

• supernatural outlook• to trust in his goodness to you

11:6. So you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him most believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

all God really wants from you is faith• to count on the fact that he’s there

• supernatural outlook• to trust in his goodness to you

growing in faith means experiencing, in increasing measure, the reality of God’s presence and goodness to you

11:8. It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.

faith in action is obedience

Gen. 12:1. The Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land I will show you. 2. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. 3. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

Gen. 12:1. The Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land I will show you. 2. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. 3. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

faith in action is obedience• concrete steps are necessary

• confirms faith in experience• position to be led

Gen. 12:1. The Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land I will show you. 2. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. 3. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

faith in action is obedience• from known to unknown

• faith vs. lifestyle that’s predictable & in our control

Gen. 12:1. The Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land I will show you. 2. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. 3. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

faith in action is obedience• from known to unknown

• faith is the “conviction of things not seen”

Gen. 12:1. The Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land I will show you. 2. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. 3. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

faith in action is obedience• from known to unknown

• “do you trust me?”

Gen. 12:1. The Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land I will show you. 2. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. 3. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

Gen. 12:1. The Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land I will show you. 2. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others. 3. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

faith in action is obedience• God’s purpose for your life

• tied to God’s plan for humanity• what’s God got for you?

• sovereignty over your life• he made you to be a blessing

11:9. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in a tent. And so did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the same promise. 10. Abraham did this because he was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

11:9. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in a tent. And so did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the same promise. 10. Abraham did this because he was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

faith in action is living like an foreigner• detached yet engaged

“I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world… As you have sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” John 17:15,16,18

11:9. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in a tent. And so did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the same promise. 10. Abraham did this because he was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

faith in action is living like an foreigner• detached yet engaged

•“foreigner”: sojourner and host• what kind of grip does the world have on us?

• how will we who are blessed with so much learn to be a blessing to those in need?• what will be the legacy of this generation?

11:11. It was by faith that Sarah together with Abraham was able to have a child, even though they were too old and Sarah was barren. Abraham believed that God would keep his promise. 12. And so a whole nation came from this one man, Abraham, who was too old to have any children—a nation with so many people, that like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

11:11. It was by faith that Sarah together with Abraham was able to have a child, even though they were too old and Sarah was barren. Abraham believed that God would keep his promise. 12. And so a whole nation came from this one man, Abraham, who was too old to have any children—a nation with so many people, that like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

faith in action is walking in grace• trusting God in what he promises

• over 25 years Abraham and Sarah had to wait• Abraham learned through failure• acting against their feelings of futility and disappointment because God is true to his word

11:11. It was by faith that Sarah together with Abraham was able to have a child, even though they were too old and Sarah was barren. Abraham believed that God would keep his promise. 12. And so a whole nation came from this one man, Abraham, who was too old to have any children—a nation with so many people, that like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

faith in action is walking in grace• trusting God in what he promises

• how do you know when you’re trusting God for his promises?

• peace v. preoccupation• gratitude v. pessimism, fatalism• others- v. self-centered focus

11:17. It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18. though God had promised him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19. Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

11:17. It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18. though God had promised him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19. Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

faith in action is putting it all on the line• God will test your faith

• you can not possess what is not yours• what’s at stake:

• Abraham’s greatest love• Abraham’s future• proof of God’s faithfulness

11:17. It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18. though God had promised him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19. Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

faith in action is putting it all on the line• Abraham knew God would act because he is true to his word

11:17. It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18. though God had promised him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19. Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

faith in action is putting it all on the line• Abraham did not know the significance of this event

• “type”• Mount Moriah = site of the temple (2 Chronicles 3:1)

God will do with his son what he would ask no man to do!