The Who's WHO of Faith

You may be seated, kiddos.

You are excused to your King's Kids class.

! And if you would open up your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

!

Pastoral position at a church, Parkview Church in Iowa City, Iowa.

And so this morning is their last time with us.

We will pray for the Valentines after the service.

And so if you know them or you want to be part of that, we will close the service and then we'll just gather down here at the front.

Caleb, we love you guys.

And we will miss you.

Now, back to God's Word.

We, Hebrews 11 is the hall of faith, the who's who of the faith.

And I'm going to read the whole thing.

But I need your help.

So here's the cue.

When I am reading through Hebrews chapter 11, I'm going to point to you.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Either it's a double point or a single point.

But when I point to you, I need you to say two words.

By faith.

Let's practice.

By faith.

By faith.

By faith.

All right.

Yeah.

All right.

You ready?

May God bless the reading of His Word.

Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

For by it, the people of old received their commendation.

We understand that the universe was created by the Word of God so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous.

God commending him by accepting his gifts.

And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death.

And he was not found because God had taken him.

Now, before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God.

And without faith, it is impossible to please him.

For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

By faith, Noah, being warned by God concerning events, as yet unseen and reverent fear, constructed an ark for the saving of his household.

By this, he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.

And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

By faith, he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land.

Living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.

Therefore, from one man and him as good as dead were born descendants, as many as the stars of heaven, as many as the innumerable grains of the sand by the seashore.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have an opportunity to return.

But as it is, they desire a better country that is a heavenly one.

Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God.

For he has prepared for them a city.

By faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac.

And he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said,

Through Isaac, shall your offspring be now?

He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead.

From which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

By faith, Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.

By faith, Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph bowing in worship over the head of his staff.

By faith, Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents.

Because they saw that the child was beautiful.

And they were not afraid of the king's edict.

By faith, Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

Choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt.

For he was looking to the reward.

By faith, he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king.

For he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

By faith, he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

By faith, the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land.

But the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.

By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

And by faith, Rahab, the prostitute, did not perish with those who were disobedient.

Because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

What more shall I say?

For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel, and the prophets.

Who, through faith, conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

Women received back their dead by resurrection.

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.

Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains in imprisonment.

They were stoned.

They were sawn in two.

They were killed with a sword.

They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy.

Wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth.

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised.

Since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us, they should not be made perfect.

May God bless the hearing of his word.

There are many things I am so grateful for as a citizen of the United States.

A friend of mine, we were together on July 4th, and he prayed when we were together.

He was so thankful for the freedoms we have to gather in our nation.

But not everybody around the world has freedoms to gather.

There are many Christians who experience this kind of idea of being marginalized,

of being social outcasts, of being social exiles because of their faith.

We're just not citizens of the United States of America.

We are citizens of the ultimate promised land.

We are citizens of heaven.

We are birthright citizens.

Second birthright.

Citizens of heaven.

Hebrews describes this city whose designer and builder is God.

And if by faith you are living out your heavenly citizenship in this fallen world,

you know what's going to happen to you?

You will be marginalized.

To be marginalized.

To be marginalized is to be made an outsider.

To become a social outcast.

To be exiled.

Maybe you've been marginalized before.

Maybe you've been marginalized for being a woman.

Maybe you've been marginalized for being a man.

Maybe you've been marginalized for being young.

Or for being old.

Or for the color of your skin.

Or for your native tongue.

Or for your marital status.

Or you've served time in your past.

Or maybe it's because of your mental health you've been marginalized.

There are all sorts of reasons why people are marginalized today in the United States of America.

Here's one more.

If you live with Jesus Christ as the controlling center of your life, you will be marginalized by those who don't.

Maybe it's because you'll be seen as morally intolerant.

Because you're committed to a biblical sexual ethic.

Maybe it's because you'll be seen as intellectually naive.

Because you hold to God speaking through this book.

Maybe you'll be seen as politically dangerous or religiously arrogant.

Because you actually believe that people will not go to heaven apart from Christ.

Maybe it's you being branded just being spiritually too excited.

Taking things too seriously.

Have you been marginalized for being a follower of Jesus?

If not, you will be.

It's just a matter of time.

That's what the original audience of Hebrews was experiencing.

They were suffering for Jesus.

They were being marginalized.

And so the question is,

what do we do when we experience being marginalized on account of Jesus?

What do we do?

Hebrews 11 answers that question.

Hebrews 11,

two things.

The first is this.

By faith we endure.

Let's spend some time talking about faith is.

And then secondly,

we'll look at the faith of those who endured.

So,

the faith that endures,

and the faith of those

who did endure.

The hall of faith.

The who's who of the faith.

So,

point one.

Let's look at the faith that endures.

In chapter 10,

at the end of chapter 10,

I preached this a couple weeks ago.

By the way,

it sounds like Phil Smith served you well.

In verse 35,

chapter 10,

we read this.

Therefore,

do not throw away your confidence,

your assurance,

which has a great reward.

Salvation.

36,

for you have need of endurance.

A long obedience in the same direction.

You have need to build up your endurance faith muscles.

So that when you have done the will of God,

you may receive what is promised.

So when you endure to the end,

you will hear your king say,

well done,

good and faithful servant.

Verse 39,

but we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed.

We don't drift away.

We don't fall away.

No,

we have faith

and preserve our souls.

We endure.

And what chapter 11 is,

is an elaboration of faith.

What's interesting,

you picked this up

when we were reading through it

just moments ago,

the word faith shows up 24 times

in chapter 11.

And so whenever you have

a word like that

repeated in one chapter

of your Bible,

it is being emphatic.

But it's not just,

it's repeated.

There's a phrase that's repeated

by faith

over and over and over and over again.

By faith,

by faith,

by faith.

And that little,

that little phrase

is getting at

how we endure.

When we're marginalized,

when things get tough,

we endure

by faith.

But there's even one more thing

I want you to notice.

It has to do with the position

of that phrase.

Did you notice

where it shows up

in 19 sentences?

It's in pole position.

By faith,

Abel.

By faith,

Enoch.

By faith,

Noah.

By faith,

Abraham.

By faith,

Isaac and Sarah.

By faith.

faith.

What is faith?

What is faith?

Let's get a definition working.

And the good news is

the author gives us a definition.

In chapter 11,

verse 1,

he gives us a definition,

a working definition of faith,

and it has two dimensions to it,

two aspects.

They're related,

but let's just unpack it a little bit.

First,

now faith

is the assurance of things hoped for.

That word assurance

simply means

an act of confidence.

An act of confidence in what?

Of things hoped for.

And in the context of the book of Hebrews,

the things hoped for

are God's promises.

What he has promised.

What he said he will do,

and yet it hasn't been realized yet.

Kind of living in a gap.

The assurance of things hoped for

is standing on the promises of God.

It's a future-oriented faith.

I am looking forward to what God has promised,

and I am banking on it.

Standing on those promises.

In the book of Hebrews,

we have all sorts of different kinds of promises.

A promise that Christ remains.

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

We have another kind of promise.

Christ's return in 928.

But in Hebrews 11,

the promise that gets repeated

is Christ's reward.

A city.

A future place.

With God's people.

This hope

is a forward-looking faith

in what the Lord has promised.

And you know what that does?

It fuels endurance.

When you're marginalized,

when you're catching heat for Jesus,

you're like,

oh,

I'm one day closer to the city.

It fuels endurance.

The second aspect of faith

is not only is assurance of things hoped for,

it's the conviction of things unseen.

Remember,

we walk by faith,

not by sight.

And that word conviction of things unseen,

that word conviction means

it's kind of a settled trust.

It's a confidence in someone's provenness.

Provenness.

Have you ever delegated

a responsibility to somebody

and then they don't follow through on it?

The next time you have an opportunity to do that,

you're not going to be as quick

to entrust it to them

because you're not convinced

that they're going to follow through on it.

But when you entrust something to someone

and time and time again,

they follow through on it,

they do it.

It creates this conviction.

I'm convinced that this person

will follow through on what they say.

God always follows through on what he says.

He always follows through.

He is faithful to his promises.

Now we're talking about God's character.

If the first aspect of faith

is the assurance of things hoped for,

it's trusting God's promises.

When we're talking about

this conviction of things unseen,

we're talking about ultimately God's character.

There is a whole unseen spiritual world.

And the greatest of all things,

whether seen or unseen,

is God.

He is unseen.

He is invisible.

And so we are to exercise

a conviction

in the character of God.

And in this passage,

we have some things

that were pointed to specifically.

If you look at 11.6,

we read,

and without faith,

it is impossible to please him,

for whoever would draw near to God

must believe that God exists.

That's where it all starts.

To believe and trust God

to exercise faith

means believing he exists.

Did you know God is self-existent?

He's always been.

He's the great I am.

He is dependent on no one or no thing.

All things created are dependent on him.

God is the self-existent one.

And if you are thinking,

I'm not sure if God even exists,

Google design argument.

God's not just a God who exists,

and we are to be convinced of that.

God is the creator of all.

If you look at 11.3,

we read this,

by faith we understand

that the universe was created

by the word of God,

so that what is seen

was not made out of things

that are visible.

It's the Latin phrase,

ex nihilo.

It means out of nothing.

God created everything

out of nothing with his words.

And to have a biblical faith

is to believe that.

It's to be convinced of that.

And not only that,

we read that God

is a powerful God.

Those creative words

are powerful words.

But if you look at 11.11,

we see by faith Sarah herself

received power to conceive.

So Sarah was 99 years old

when she heard the promise

that they're going to be given

a son, Isaac,

which means laughter.

And she believed it,

that God was able to do that.

Any 99-year-olds in the room?

Any 99-year-old women

in the room?

Are you going to conceive?

Probably not.

God is powerful.

But we also see God's power

trusted in 11,

excuse me,

in discussing Abraham

in 11.19.

Abraham considered

that God was able

even to raise Isaac

from the dead.

by faith Abraham

was going to sacrifice

his only son,

the son,

whom God said,

I am going to carry out

all of the blessings

to the nations through.

And Abraham decided,

he considered that God

was able to raise him

from the dead

if he were to sacrifice him.

God is powerful.

And we know that God

is able to raise people

from the dead

because Jesus has been

raised from the dead.

all these aspects

of God's nature

is things that we trust in,

we're convinced of.

And of course,

in 11.11,

we go back to Sarah

and we read,

even when she was past the age

since she considered him

faithful who had promised.

Faithful.

God always follows through.

He's completely reliable.

Completely trustworthy.

And so this second aspect

of faith

is an active trust

in God's revealed character.

And so you put them together

and here's what you got.

We are able

to trust in God's promises

because we know God's character.

We exercise faith.

We trust him that way.

And so what faith is

is actively standing

on God's promises

because we are convinced

of God's character.

Faith of the Bible

is not some kind of vague thing.

Yeah, I believe in God.

There is a God.

That's not biblical faith.

Biblical faith

is a trusting

in the concrete character

of God

and his promises.

Let's take a minute

just to assess

ourselves.

Let me ask you

to be honest

with yourself

here.

Do you see

this kind of faith

actively trusting

in God's character

and his promises?

Do you see

this kind of faith

operating in your life

right now?

Not five years ago.

Not one year

in high school.

Today.

Is this

functional faith

in you?

All of us

have room to grow.

We can all trust God

and his promises more.

So be honest

with yourself

and be storing up

truth.

Truth about

God's character.

There are just

wonderful places

all throughout

the Bible

that God reveals

his character

to us.

Great is thy

faithfulness.

Lamentations chapter 3.

Lamentations 3 · chapter mention

There are just

beautiful passages

that God reveals

who he is

and how we can

trust him.

And if you have

a book like

Knowledge of the Holy

by A.W. Tozer

that will help too.

First chapter

first paragraph

first sentence

what comes into

your mind

when you think

about God

is the most

important thing

about you.

What you believe

about God

matters.

So store up

truth about God.

Here's another book.

It's incomparable.

It's written by

Andrew Wilson.

I'm going through

it right now.

It is just

fueling my faith.

Just great things

he's unpacking

about the nature

of God.

God.

So be storing up

God's truth

about God's

character

and be storing up

truths of God's

promises.

Hebrews 13.5

I will never

leave you nor

forsake you.

Revelation 22.20

Behold I'm coming

soon.

We have a kind

of promise in

Matthew 25

in the parable

of the talents

where Jesus is

going to come

back and he's

going to hold

us all to

account.

And for those

who've been

faithful to the

end he will

say well done

good and faithful

servant enter the

joy of your

master.

So be storing

these up.

Because you'll

need to be

exercising faith.

You see when

you get marginalized

when you get put

into situations

where you start

feeling heat for

being a Christian

you will need to

exercise faith in

those moments.

Faith is like a

muscle.

And if you

don't exercise

your muscle it

will atrophy.

But if you

exercise your

muscles not only

will there be

health you'll get

stronger.

And you will

endure.

So we need to

be actively

standing on God's

promises as we

trust in God's

character.

That's the nature

of faith.

It's an act of

trust in God's

character and his

promises and it

pleases him.

And that is what

has marked the

saints of old in

the hall of faith.

This is the faith

that is commended

by God.

Actively trusting in

his promises and in

his character.

So for the balance

of our time let's

look at the faith of

those who endured.

Hebrews 11 is the

hall of faith.

The who's who of

the faith.

It's being

pointed.

The author's

pointing us to

Old Testament

example after

example of those

who were trusting

in God's promises

because they trusted

in his character

even when those

promises didn't

come to fruition in

their lifetimes.

And that's why he's

talking to these

Christians in the

book of Hebrews.

Be like them.

There are examples

to us.

This is the heritage

of faith we have

been brought into

when we were saved.

There are over 20

individuals and

groups referenced

in the hall of

faith.

And they are laid

out historically.

So bear with me

for a second.

Let me just help you

see what's going on

before you in

Hebrews 11.

In chapter 3 we

have a reference to

the creation of the

world by the word

of God.

And God said and

it came to be and

it was good.

That's Genesis 1.

The reference to

Abel.

Cain and Abel.

Abel presenting a

better sacrifice than

Cain and that act

of faith being

commended by God.

And then Cain

murdered him.

And now even in

his death he still

speaks.

Abel does.

We'll see in a

couple weeks there

is even another

death that speaks a

better word.

But that took place

in Genesis 4.

Enoch Genesis 5.

Noah Genesis 6.

Abraham Genesis 12.

And then we start

making our way down.

Verse 11.

Sarah.

That's Genesis 18 and

22.

21 excuse me.

Back to Abraham

verse 17.

Now we're in Genesis

Genesis 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22.

Jacob.

We see that in

verse 20.

Excuse me.

21.

That's Genesis 48.

Joseph in 22 is

Genesis 50.

Moses.

Actually his parents.

Exodus 2.

And then Moses in

verse 24 through

28.

We're talking about

Exodus 2.

3 and 12.

We get to Israel in

verse 29.

That's Exodus 14 and

15.

And then we get into

verse 30 talking about

Jericho.

That's Joshua 6.

And then we start

talking about Rahab

who was like doubly

marginalized because she

was a Canaanite

prostitute.

That's Joshua 2 and 6.

And then the author of

Hebrews is like, hey, if

I had more time, I would

point you to the book of

Judges.

Gideon, Barak, Samson,

Jephthah.

And then I would point you

to 1 and 2 Samuel to

talk about David and

Samuel.

And then I'd bring you

into all sorts of

different narratives and

prophets to talk about

the prophets because

they're all examples of

faith.

All examples of men and

women who stood on God's

promises because they

trusted in God's

character.

Now we've got to ask a

question.

What's going on with

this?

In the book of Hebrews,

we have what's called

discontinuity and

continuity.

discontinuity between the

Old Testament saints and

New Testament saints as

well as continuity between

the Old Testament saints and

the New Testament saints.

And here, we're being

reminded of the

discontinuity in this

sense.

Up until this point, the

book of Hebrews has been

saying, hey, don't go

back.

Don't go back to the

sacrificial system of the

Old Covenant because

that animal blood, that

can't do anything for you.

Because of the once for all

sacrifice of Christ.

That's old news now.

The New Covenant has come.

And so there's

discontinuity there.

But here, what the author

of Hebrews is doing is

bringing up a continuity.

Because what commended the

faith, what commended the

Old Testament saints was their

faith.

faith as with us now.

What we have in common,

what unites us, what makes

us perfect in the city of

God together, is faith in

God and His promises,

ultimately realized in Jesus

Christ.

He's getting a lot done here.

And for the balance of the

time, I just want you to

point you to four ways their

faith made a difference in

their lives.

Number one, their faith

marginalized them.

In 11.7, Noah, being warned

by God of things yet unseen,

of a coming judgment, of a

flood, he started building an

ark.

It probably took him 55 to 75

years to build the ark.

Could you imagine what his

unbelieving neighbors would be

saying to him?

What are you doing, Noah?

Why are you wasting all this

time?

Oh, I'm going to be swept away

in a big flood.

Ooh.

He would have been

marginalized.

Abraham, 11.8, called by God

to leave Haran and go into the

promised land.

Could you imagine what his

fellow Haranians would have

said?

Well, we're not good for you.

God called you to something,

and then he gets to Canaan,

and then the Canaanites are,

what are you doing here?

You're not one of us.

Marginalized.

Moses,

purposefully denied being

called the son of Pharaoh's

daughter.

Verse 24.

I don't think that went over well.

He incurred the wrath of the

Pharaoh.

Marginalized.

Rahab, double outcast.

She was a Canaanite in Jericho,

but she was a prostitute.

Talk about being marginalized.

And then, in the eyes of the

Israelites, she would have been

seen as a Canaanite, which

would have been further

marginalization.

But boy, did she exercise a

faith.

And then, when we get down to

this list of these people whom

the world was not worthy,

we're brought to verse 38,

and we're shown they were

wandering about in deserts and

mountains and dens and caves on

the earth.

They were marginalized.

Abraham living in tents.

Here's the point I want you to

see.

If they were marginalized for

exercising a faith in God and

his promises, and without the

kind of promises we've been given

in Jesus, if they were

marginalized for that, certainly we

will be marginalized for putting

faith in God, trusting in the

promises that are ours in the new

covenant.

We will be marginalized too.

You've got to realize, even

though we live in a wonderful

country, we will suffer for being

serious about Jesus.

We'll be marginalized.

You'll need to endure.

Their faith marginalized them.

Second, their faith sustained them.

What do you think sustained Noah for

those 55 to 75 years he was

building the ark and catching heat

from those people around him?

I'm guessing he's rehearsing in his

mind something like this.

God spoke this to me.

God revealed himself to me.

I can trust him, and I'm going to

faithful, and I'm going to do it.

And in his faithfulness, God

delivered his household and brought

judgment on all of the naysayers.

What do you think sustained Abraham

as he entered into the land of

promise?

What do you think sustained Rahab as

she's waiting for Israel to walk

around Jericho to be brought to

nothing?

Their faith.

Their trust.

In fact, when it comes to Abraham,

I just want you to notice this.

Verse 10, for he was looking forward

to the city that has foundations,

whose designer and builder is God.

Even then, he had the sense that there

is a greater promised land.

And then in verse 13 through 16, we

read this.

These all died by faith, not having

received the things promised, but

having seen them and greeted them

from afar.

Having acknowledged that they were

strangers and exiles on earth.

For people speak thus, make it clear

that they are seeking a homeland.

If they had been thinking of that

land from which they had gone out,

they would have had opportunity to

return.

But as it is, they desire a better

country.

A heavenly one.

For God has prepared for them a city.

What is sustaining Abraham is the

promise of the reward.

That there's something better coming

prepared by God.

And then when we look at the life of

Moses, what was sustaining him as he

let go of all the wealth promised to

him in Egypt?

All of those treasures and fleeting

pleasures.

Pleasures.

He let them go.

He gave them up.

He released them.

Why?

By faith he left Egypt, verse 27, not

being afraid of the anger of the king,

for he endured as seeing him who is

invisible.

He knew God's character.

Seeing him who is invisible is a way

of talking about faith.

Trusting in God's character.

And so Abraham was trusting in God's

promised reward.

We see Moses trusting in God's

character.

This is faith.

This is sustaining them.

And it must sustain you.

What's sustaining you, Christian?

How are you getting by?

We have this greater revelation in the

person of Jesus.

We have these better promises of the

new covenant.

Blood bought, spirit indwelt.

God writing his law on our hearts.

What is getting you through?

What will sustain you when you experience

marginalization is God's character and

his promise.

You got to be storing it up.

The third thing I want you to notice,

the difference that their faith made is

this.

Their faith defined them.

And here's what I mean by that.

They saw themselves differently because

of their faith.

They viewed themselves a certain way in

relationship to the rest of the world,

rest of the earth.

Let me try to help you see that.

In 11.9, we read this.

By faith, Abraham went to live in the

land of promise as in a foreign land.

I'm sure you saw this in verse 13.

These all died in faith, having

acknowledged that they were strangers

and exiles on the earth.

They were wanderers.

They were instigators.

They viewed themselves as strangers and exiles

as this is not my home.

Abraham.

Abraham.

Haran was no longer his home.

Moses.

Egypt was no longer his home.

Rahab.

Jericho was no longer her home.

Brothers and sisters, we need to understand

something.

That the USA, no matter how wonderful of a

country it is, it's not our ultimate home.

It's not our homeland.

Our true home is the city whose designer and builder is God.

And that heavenly place is unshakable.

God preparing it.

Eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love him.

So let me ask you this, Christian.

Have you acknowledged recently that you are a stranger in exile in this world?

Have you acknowledged that?

Do you see yourself that way?

Are you seeking your heavenly homeland?

If you're saying, no, it's been a while.

Just open up Revelation 21 and 22 this afternoon.

Get a big dose of the new Jerusalem which will descend upon the new earth.

And what it will mean is this.

As you tighten your grip by faith on God and his promises, it will loosen your grip on this world.

And it will loosen the world's grip on you.

That's what happened with Moses.

It will change the way that you look at your finances.

It will change the way you steward your time.

It will change the way that you use your talents that God has given you.

You will start thinking more and more about how can I use these things for God's glory.

The sanctuary right now is full of people living in the United States.

But this sanctuary is full of people who are citizens, birthright citizens, second birth, blood-bought citizens of heaven.

We're all heaven-bound.

We're all making our way through as strangers and exiles together following Jesus.

The fourth difference that this makes is that their faith commended them.

God commended their faith.

In 11.16, by faith, God, their faith made God say, I'm not ashamed to be called their God.

It's God calling them as his own.

They're mine.

Noah was an heir of righteousness that comes by faith.

He's been justified by his faith in the work that Christ would do on the Christ.

These are people of faith whom the world was not worthy.

This is God commending them.

In verse 2, we see this commendation for it.

By the people of old received their commendation.

Abel was commended.

Enoch was commended.

And if you look at verse 39,

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised.

Faith pleases God.

In fact, it's impossible to please God, verse 6, without this kind of faith.

Trusting God's character and his promises.

So here's what that means for us.

We've been justified by our faith in Christ's finished work.

But we must endure by faith all the way to the end.

Until our last breath.

And so what this should do is, it should aim you at attuning your ear to a certain commendation from the Lord Jesus Christ.

When you stand before him and you hear him say,

Well done, good and faithful servant.

Enter the joy of your master.

Come into the city that I have prepared for you.

The commendation of faith.

It's what unites us to these Old Testament saints.

Christian, we've looked at what a faith that endures looked like.

We've looked at the faith of those who endured.

And if you're a follower of Jesus and you're taking Jesus seriously, you will be marginalized.

But like the saints of old, we must endure by faith.

Till our last breath.

Would you repeat after me?

Christ is my.

Risen and reigning.

Priest and king.

The anchor of my soul.

The object of my faith.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we do want to be faithful to the end.

We thank you that you have given yourself for us so that we would remain faithful.

You are so worthy.

Would you, Lord Jesus, sustain us as we experience different kinds of marginalization from the world that we're in.

That we're in the world.

You've called us out of this world.

That we would bear witness to you in the world.

God, would you use us?

God, would you strengthen us?

Lord, would you cause your word to bubble up into our hearts?

That we would, by faith, stand upon your promises.

Because by faith, we are convinced of your character.

In the name of Jesus we pray.

Amen.