The Hall of Faith

Hebrews 11

Today I would like to try to open our view of what a good Christian is. I’m afraid that
we’ve still so far to go. I must say what God has laid on my heart—that God has more in
mind for us than where we are. When I examine my own life in comparison to the
standard that Jesus set for us, I cannot be content with anything less than the fullness of
what God has planned for my life. I believe God has called everyone in this church to a
life that is wholly for Him, with no compromise.

God loves everyone in this room so much. Each of us have sinned against God and
deserve punishment. But God saved us. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty
for our sin. He bought us back from death. We have a new life in Him. How then shall we
live?

I am convinced that the status quo is not what God has in mind. I am sad to say that we
need to examine ourselves and repent. What are we excited about? Are we caught up in
this life here on earth? “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. A man’s
life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Who said that? Consider this
parable of Jesus in Luke 12:
16And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a
good crop. 17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my
crops.'
18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger
ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself,
"You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink
and be merry." '
20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded
from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not
rich toward God."
I believe that we American Christians are too often like this rich man whose ground
produced a good crop. We’ve been so blessed by God, and we’ve made arrangements to
enjoy our prosperity and protect our future and that of our family. But God is not pleased
with this type of attitude. I tell you that our consumer culture in America is not
sustainable. We’ve been consuming for the last 50 years, benefiting from the exploitation
of workers in the third world and the environment, spending trillions to defend our
interests abroad but giving only a small fraction of that to alleviate suffering worldwide. I
am truly afraid of the wrath we are storing up for ourselves.

The American church cannot go along with this. I believe this is a situation where we
cannot be both friends of consumerism and of God. Either we will either hate one or the
other. By hate I mean discount or disregard. I know you guys are going to absolutely hate
me for this, but the next time you’re shopping for that big-ticket discretionary purchase
(bigger, better flat screen), think about how many children you could sponsor through
Dorothy’s Three Loaves charity.

Don’t be bought off by the devil’s schemes. Satan would love for us to be so consumed
with ourselves that we aren’t thinking about the lost world.

Whenever I think about these things, about how I am guilty of compromising God’s call,
I admit there are so many excuses that come up in my mind.
• I am afraid for my family’s future, for my daughter’s college.
• I worry about over-committing myself and promising to do things I can’t finish.
• I tell myself that I need to work hard at my career now so I’ll have more time and
resources to serve Him in the future.
• I feel pain every time I get home too late to say goodnight to my daughter.
• I worry about the pressure of ministry on my family.
There really are so many good reasons to protect the way things have been. Each of you
probably has your own reasons for compromising the call of God in your own life. I tell
you, the devil is the master of practicality and reasonableness. “Hey, look. This fruit is
good. It looks good. If you eat it, you won’t die, but you’ll gain wisdom.” Nobody can
give a slicker story than Satan.

The antidote to the status quo and Satan’s lies is faith. And that’s what I want to talk
about today. I want to take a look at men and women of God who lived and died by faith.
Let’s turn to Hebrews 11. If you have a Bible and your neighbor doesn’t, please share.
There are also Bibles available in the box in the back entrance—please return those after
you are finished—unless you don’t have one at home, in which case please keep it and
read it.

1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
2This is what the ancients were commended for.

This chapter is known as the Hall of Faith because it honors the heroes of the Old
Testament and showing the results of their faith in God. What is faith? Faith is certainty
about what you can’t see with your eyes and touch with your hands. God created us to
have a relationship with Him, so I believe that every human being has a sense that there is
something more to life than what we see here on earth. Faith is knowing that is true, and
knowing our true purpose in life.

This type of faith should be a reality, a certainty that drives our actions. I’m not talking
about optimism. I’m talking about cold, hard calculation that if God is real, then what
effect is that reality going to have on my life. I have a limited number of years to live
here and eternity on the other side—if God is real, how does that affect how I spend my
time, what my goals are, and what type of person I am.

I don’t expect you to respond much to my sermon if you don’t have your own faith. You
won’t get far on someone else’s faith. I’m asking you to read about these people’s faith
and see if it doesn’t stir your own heart. I want you to grab hold of that faith that rises up
in your heart, that tells you it is possible for you to take a new direction in your life or to
consider wild dreams for God.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that
what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
I just want to add here that I personally believe this is where the debate about creationism
should start and end. God created the universe, and nothing was made apart from His
intent. Whether that happened 6,000 years ago or 6 trillion years ago, it changes nothing.
I find it very ironic that people who say science and faith are contrary depend on the
other to support their claims. People who say they only trust science actually have quite a
bit of faith to say so. People who say the only thing that matters is faith in God’s word
invariably come up with all sorts of scientific arguments to prove their faith is true. For
me, I think we should limit ourselves to this one verse and think everything beyond that
is really foolish controversy of the type that Paul warned about.
4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was
commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by
faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he
could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken,
he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible
to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and
that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
We need to guard against having faith in what we can do instead of what God can do.
Many times we get caught up in ways we can improve our ministry or the church,
strategies and tactics we can employ … but unless we understand that God can do
whatever He wants and doesn’t need us to help Him, He will not be pleased. If you look
throughout the Old Testament, God was always led His people to victory through
unconventional means. Think about the Israelites at Jericho, the shrinking army of
Gideon, David versus Goliath, Jehoshaphat and the army of Judah against a vast enemy
alliance … in all these cases, God worked in a way contrary to human reason.
Whenever I think about this verse, I always remember that scene in Star Wars: A New
Hope where the admiral in charge of the operations of the Death Star is boasting about
the power of that man-made weapon.
MOTTI: Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would be a useless gesture, no matter what
technical data they've obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe. I suggest we use it!
VADER: Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet
is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
MOTTI: Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient
religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the
Rebel's hidden fort...
VADER: I find your lack of faith disturbing.
Honestly, God has convicted me about this in the last year. He showed me that I was
spending more time in planning meetings than in prayer. How can we expect to please
God if we act as if He doesn’t exist? Listen, if God exists, then we ought to be earnestly
seeking Him in prayer for all our needs and not just charging ahead so sure that we’ve
cooked up the right answer ourselves.
 7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark
to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the
righteousness that comes by faith.
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign
country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the
same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose
architect and builder is God.
These people believed God and obeyed, even though they didn’t see results for quite a
long time. Noah spent many decades building the ark while his neighbors ridiculed him.
If we are going to live by faith and see the results of faith, we need to set our sights on the
right target.
11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was
barren—was enabled to become a father because he[a]considered him faithful who
had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead,
came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the
sand on the seashore.
13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive
the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And
they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say
such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had
been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to
return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city
for them.
Can we say this about ourselves? Are we more citizens of this world or citizens of
heaven? Are we of the world or simply in the world temporarily?
I'm a poor wayfaring stranger
While traveling thru this world of woe
Yet there's no sickness, toil, or danger
In that bright world to which I go
I'm going there to see my Father
I'm going there no more to roam
I'm only going over Jordan
I'm only going over home
17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who
had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even
though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring[b] will be
reckoned."[c] 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively
speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Are we willing to give our families up to God? It’s one thing to make sacrifices yourself
—oftentimes we do so with faith in ourselves that we can withstand the trouble and trial.
But when God asks your family to make sacrifices—that is a true test of faith because it’s
regarding your loved ones.
I talked this over with Peishih and we agreed that it is far more important for Cora to
grow up knowing God, loving people, and having the right character than for her to get a
good education and a successful career. I thought, “What good is it if she is successful
from a worldly standpoint but is selfish, unloving, uncharitable, and puffed up with
pride?” In fact, I named her Cora because I felt it was a warm, simple, and sincere name.
You cannot buy the things that God can give your family. But you do have to pay a price,
though it’s not with money. We have to demonstrate with our lives and involve our
families in sacrifices of faith for His kingdom.
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and
worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the
Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
23By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because
they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of
Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God
rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace
for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he
was looking ahead to his reward.
Are we willing to separate ourselves from the pleasures of sin and instead choose
something that’s uncomfortable and contemptible in the eyes of this world? Do you see
the value in identifying yourself with Christ? And how can you identify yourself with
Christ if you are lusting after the same things as everyone else?
27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he
saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of
blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of
Israel.
29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea[d] as on dry land; but when the
Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them
for seven days.
31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed
with those who were disobedient.[e]
32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak,
Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith
conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who
shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge
of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful
in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to
life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might
gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others
were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned[f]; they were sawed in two;
they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins,
 destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They
wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
Brothers and sisters, in our struggle against sin, we have not yet resisted to the point of
shedding our blood. Next time someone gives me a lame excuse about not being
interested in Bible study, I’m going to ask to see their bandages, cause they better be
bleeding. As MaryJo said to me, “We are such babies in this church.” Really. And this
totally includes me.
I know this sounds like your mom getting you to eat your veggies, but there are
Christians in Africa and Asia who are living the verses we just read. They have next to
nothing, but they are willing to give up even that for the sake of God.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had
been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together
with us would they be made perfect.
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