First Baptist Church
Fairbanks, Alaska
805 Sixth Avenue
(907) 456-4923
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Fairbanks, Alaska 805 Sixth Avenue (907) 456-4923 |
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“Faith Hall of Fame “ (The Him-Possible) A Study of the Book of Hebrews (Part 14) Hebrews 11 Mark Howdeshell (July 27, 2008) Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Introduction 1. A man and his son were on a tour of an atomic power plant. In the control room, the boy asked if he could see the controls for the reactor core. The head physicist said yes, and explained how the controls worked. After the boy left, the head physicist turned to an assistant and said, "That was my son." How could that be? The head physicist was the boy’s mother 2. Three kids from Bristol went for a walk. About a mile into the walk, they came to a deep, wide river. There was no bridge. They didn’t have a boat or raft, or any materials to make one. None of them could swim. How did they get across? It was winter. The river was frozen and they walked across. 3. Lisa walked out the back door of the farmhouse on a Thursday afternoon and found a man’s pipe, a scarf and three lumps of coal lying on the wet grass near the barn. The nearest neighbors lived a mile away, and no-one had visited that day. Where did the objects come from? The weather had got a lot warmer and Lisa’s snowman had melted. 4. A true story: a white horse jumped over a castle and landed on a bishop, who immediately disappeared from the landscape. Where did this take place? On a chessboard. The seemingly impossible. What truly makes something impossible in our lives? What is our biggest limiting factor in our own day-to-day activities? YOU ARE! We are the ones that puts limits on ourselves and on God. We look at a situation and automatically think that its bigger than we are or we aren’t good enough. I will submit that there are some impossible things. #1 It is impossible to please God without faith. #2 It is impossible to enter into the New Jerusalem without the saving grace of Jesus Christ. #3 It is impossible for me to do anything to get you into Heaven. These are truly impossible things. Let’s look at a few other impossibilities….. The Meat of the Message Heb 11:29-40 29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched 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. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
i. 600,000 men + women, children, livestock and more trapped at the shore of the Red Sea as more than 600 of Pharaoh’s chariots and all of his soldiers and officers bore down on them ii. Taking the 9-acre city of Jericho, well fortified, with a huge wall and possibly thousands of individuals inside, without raising a finger to topple the wall iii. A single prostitute, and her family, surviving and even protected in the fall of Jericho when EVERY other living thing in it iv. A group of 301 men against the whole Midiannite Army v. Facing giants with a sling and a stone vi. Thrown into a fire hot enough to instantly kill those outside of it vii. Thrown into a lion’s den
i. God parted the Red Sea and instantly made the land dry for these million people to cross over in one night ii. Joshua marched around Jericho for 7 days and with a shout, all of the walls crumbled down iii. Rahab did the right thing and hid the spies as they scoped out Jericho. Her life was spared along with her whole families. iv. Gideon faced the Midannites with only 300 other men, after God told him to get rid of the vast majority of his Army. They were delivered into his hands. v. David faced Goliath vi. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego all survived being thrown into the furnace vii. Daniel survived the lions
i. Drugs ii. Alcohol iii. Pornography iv. Gambling
i. Admit you’re wrong ii. Ask for forgiveness iii. Accept Christ into your heart iv. Come to the front of the church during invitation v. Getting baptized
i. Each person was focused on the goal of pleasing God ii. Looked forward to the New Jerusalem iii. None of them received what had been promised iv. God has planned something better for us.
i. Your personal relationship with Him ii. Prayer iii. Study of the Word iv. Fellowship of Believers v. Testing of God vi. Stepping out of the Status Quo
The Bottom Line We’ve taken an in depth look at faith over the last several weeks. As we explore the direction that our lives, our families, our church, our state, or our nation should follow, it all boils down to our faith. Do we believe in Him, trust Him, want to please Him, yearn for Him, and look forward to spending time with Him? Those individuals that have made the biggest impact for Him through history have done just that. If we want to touch our world for Christ, it will come through our faith and nothing else. Faith—being sure of what we hope for and CERTAIN of what we do not see. Invitation Have you been living out your faith? Do you know what you have faith in? Is it time to give up the pride that’s kept you from coming forward to accept Christ, ask to baptized, or to join our church? Glorify God this morning by responding to the Holy Spirit. Have faith, and live it! |
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