Pastor Troy Murphy examined Hebrews 11 as he continued his series about faith called “More Than A Feeling” on Sunday, January 31. Here are some of the highlights followed by questions (teaching takeaways) to ponder:
*A father promises his 5-year-old daughter that he will build her a dollhouse. As a result his daughter begins taking dishes and plates and dress-up clothes out of her room in preparation for the dollhouse before it gets built. She didn’t see the dollhouse but because of her father’s promise is getting ready for it. Her actions are a living response to her father’s promise. In the same way the faith of Christ followers should be a living response to God’s promises. Too often we wait for things to play out before we take action when in fact we should take action even if God’s promises can’t be seen yet.
*There are numerous examples in Hebrews 11 -- some call it the faith Hall of Fame -- of people in the Old Testament that displayed faith and were commended for it:
-Abel brought God a better offering than Cain (Hebrews 11:4). It’s not about competing to be better than others. Instead, it's about your heart. Abel’s offering was commended as righteous because he brought God his best. Do you bring God your best, whether it’s your energy, time, resources, money or talent?
-Enoch was so faithful that God spared him from death and took him directly to heaven (Hebrews 11:5). How did he please God? Enoch was faithful but didn’t just do it when he felt like it or sporadically. He kept earnestly seeking God. Some of us are energetic for a while but our passion for seeking God wanes.
-Noah built an ark (Hebrews 11:7) because God told him to, not because he was an experienced weatherman. The world misunderstood Noah’s project and ridiculed him, yet he wasn’t swayed. Have you been called to build an ark in your life? It may take a long time to build. You may not even see the fruit of what you are building. For example, when we invest in children, we may not see the results of that investment right away, or at all during our lifetime. The picture we get from Noah is a man of great faith who trusted in something he didn’t fully understand.
-Abraham was told by God to go to a place he had never been (Hebrews 11: 8-12). He didn’t even know how to get there. This is an example of radical living in response to faith. Do we base our faith around security, the next thing, or the next paycheck? Or do we stop worrying about security and having all our ducks in a row and base our faith on where God is calling us to go?
-Moses (Hebrews 11:23) refused to enjoy the spoils of royalty and instead chose to be mistreated with the other Israelites. He modeled how we have to exercise our faith by choosing God over the world. It's not to earn merit with God by following rules and religious rituals, but it's about living out our love for our Father. Moses exercised his faith by regarding disgrace for the sake of God as a greater value than the treasures of Egypt.
-Joshua threw out military strategy (Hebrews 11:30) and obeyed God. He exercised his faith by walking around the city and waiting for the walls to fall down.
-Rahab was a prostitute used by God because she had faith and trusted Him (Hebrews 11:31). Our morality doesn't make us righteous, it's our faith. We receive salvation through faith -- it's grace given by God through Jesus.
TEACHING TAKEAWAYS
1-Give an example when you took action based on one of God’s promises.
2-Give an example when you failed to take action because you were unsure God would come through or you wanted more tangible evidence before stepping out in faith.
3-Give an example when you gave God your best. What prevents you from doing that all the time?
4-How can you develop consistency in seeking after God as Enoch did?
5-Noah was called to build an ark, which didn't seem to make a lot of sense and drew criticism from the world. What is something God has called you to do that didn't make sense?
6-What's the hardest part of following Moses' example when he chose to follow God rather than chase after the treasures of this world?
