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 (Part 2)” A Study of the Book of Hebrews (Part 7) Hebrews 11 Mark Howdeshell (June 8, 2008) Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Introduction
An Inspirational Message - This an eye opener; probably we never thought nor looked at this Psalm in this way, even though we say it over and over again.
The
Lord is my Shepherd
I
shall not want
He
maketh me to lie down in green pastures
He
leadeth me beside the still waters
He
restoreth my soul
He
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
For
His name sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I
will fear no evil
For
Thou art with me
Thy
rod and Thy staff they comfort me
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies
Thou annointest my head with oil
My
cup runneth over
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
And
I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever
What is most valuable is not what we have in our lives, but WHO we have in our lives! Faith………being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. As we continue our series on the Faith Hall of Fame, I want you to examine your own faith. What is your faith centered on? Money? Power? Fame? Maybe not these though there are plenty that do. How about Family? Serving the church? Yourself? I submit to you that though these may be better than the Big 3 of money, power, and fame, they can lead to the same destructive conclusion. Ephesians 3:12 12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. For the next few weeks, I want to continue our look at the Faith Hall of Fame. Some call the people we’re going to study as the “Heroes of the Faith.” If we want to learn more about how our faith in God should be, then we should want to learn from the best. Hebrews chapter 11 contains the names of those listed in our Faith Hall of Fame. Last week as I looked at the definition of faith, what faith does for us, and how we obtain faith, I taught that faith determines our actions. What our faith is centered upon will determine how we act and react in every situation. Today we’re going to look at a life centered on the faith of God, not the ways of man or of the church. The Meat of the Message Hebrews 11:4 4 By 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. Most of us are familiar with the story of Cain and Abel, and how Cain killed his brother Abel in a fit of jealousy. Genesis 4:1-8 1 Adam [a] lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. [b] She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth [c] a man." 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." 8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." [d] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 1. Why was Abel’s offering better? a. Cain brought “some of the fruits of the soil” vs. Abel’s fat portions from the firstborn of his flock i. Cain didn’t worship God first 1. Who do you give to first, yourself or God? (Priorities) 2. Who do you give to first, the job or God? (Time) 3. Who do you give to first, the bills or God? (Tithes) 4. If your life was a teeter totter a. And God was the fulcrum, is your balance off? b. And God was the handles, are you holding on to Him? c. And God was the seat, do you rest in Him? d. And God was the base, are you confident in Him? e. God is the fulcrum, the handles, the seat, and the base of your life. We should worship Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. In Him is Life… ii. Cain didn’t bring the best to God 1. Do you give God your best or do you give Him what is left over? 2. If someone invites you to a free buffet feast that had every type of food in the world, and they ask you to fix them a plate, do you bring them a bowl of potato chips or do fix them up with the best food available? How do we treat our Lord that gives us all of our blessings? iii. We cannot come to God in worship any way we please. Cain went through the actions of coming before Him in worship with a sacrifice to Him, but didn’t do it with the right heart. 1. God wants us to come to Him with faith and trust in Him alone, reverently from the heart. 2. If we do not do it in the way that God wants, God will reject it. 3. But worship places God above all and submits to Him by faith which effects our hearts towards godliness in following Him according to His ways. Jesus spoke of this very thing in MAT 15:8 "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." 4. How do you try to worship God? b. Blood Theory ????? i. We know that sacrificial blood must cover for our sins ii. Adam and Eve made coverings for their naked bodies after they sinned out of figs, but God was not happy with it. iii. God made coverings for their bodies out of the skins of animals, thus blood was shed to cover for their sins. iv. Cain did not shed any blood for his offering to God, but Abel did. Could this have been the reason Cain’s offering was rejected by God? 2. Why was Abel determined to be righteous? a. In all fairness, there was no precedent set before Cain and Abel. They were the first. There was no “Law”, it didn’t come until Moses. b. Their actions were a DIRECT reflection of their relationship with God. Abel wanted to give God his best. It reflected the priority that Abel had placed on God in his life. i. It reflected the FAITH that Abel had in God. This faith led to his actions. His actions led to God calling Him righteous. Hebrews 11:6 states that it is impossible to please God without faith. Abel pleased God. ii. Cain’s lack of faith and obedience, even after God’s will was revealed to him, led to his murdering of Abel. Cain let his anger, jealousy, and pride rob him of the blessings that God wanted to provide him with. c. We have the benefit of a set precedent. Jesus has paid the price by His sacrificial giving and tells us that all we need to do is accept Him through faith. Will you show the faith of Abel or the faithlessness of Cain? 3. How can he speak though dead? a. By his faith, he is eternally with the Father in Heaven! He speaks to God because he had a relationship and complete and total faith in Him. b. Abel’s life of faith, though tragically ended early, has taught every generation born on the face of the planet i. We are learning today about his faith and how we should exhibit that same faith in our daily lives ii. He was inducted into the Faith Hall of Fame! The Bottom Line Cain and Abel, by faith we know that the Word of the Lord is true. Abel has been commended by God as righteous because He placed God FIRST in his life, though it ultimately cost him his life. We must give Him our best and trust that He will provide all that we need. Without faith, it is impossible to please God!!! Invitation Have you placed your faith in the One that has faith in you? Jesus has enough faith in you to have already shed His blood for you, to die for you, and to set you free, if you accept it. Trust in Him and have just the faith of a mustard seed…….you’ll be able to move mountains.
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