Enduring Faith - Part 1
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[00:00:00] If you open your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11, and we are going to read, uh, up through verse 23. So Hebrews chapter 11, we'll start in verse one, we'll read to verse 23. If you're able, please stand for the reading of God's Word and hear it for what it is, the true, the living Word of God God could have preserved a lot more than he did, but he chose to preserve these books.
So hear this for what it is, his word given to you. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the ages were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which [00:01:00] he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts. And through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance.
And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an [00:02:00] alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise. For he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.
Therefore there was born even to one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of the heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. All of these died in faith without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles upon the earth.
And those who say such things-- For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed, if they had been thinking of that country from which [00:03:00] they went out, they would have had 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 a city for them. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promise was offering up his only begotten son. It was he to whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called." He considered that God is able to raise even from the dead, from which he also received back as a type.
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for [00:04:00] three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
May God add a blessing to the reading, the hearing, and most importantly, obedience to His Word. Please be seated.
Chapter 11 in the book of Hebrews is a difficult chapter. Not because it's hard to understand, not because it's, uh, you know, difficult. There, there are some oddities, we'll talk about them. Uh, it's difficult because it's fun. It's difficult because it names so many Old Testament saints, and I've literally seen pastors take weeks, even months, to work through Hebrews 11.
I'm hoping to do it in two or three Sundays. Uh, that means we're not gonna be able to cover each individual in detail. Uh, but what I do want to cover, [00:05:00] and I'll get into this a little bit more momentarily, is I wanna cover what I consider to be oddities or things that might leave you with questions. Uh, I do wanna remind you that back in March, uh, I, I believe it, I was visiting my son and, uh, Roland Sanchez filled the far- pulpit and he preached.
He did a, a, an overview, a summary of Hebrews 11. You can find that on our YouTube page, you can find it on our website, but it was March 1st, 2026, and I just wanted to review his outline with you because without even going back and looking, I actually, uh, named my sermon Enduring Faith. Now, I didn't go back, I didn't...
I mean, I did listen, but I didn't go back before I wrote this sermon. And his, not really title, but main theme for the sermon he preached was, the kind of faith that pleases God is persevering faith. So it's just a synonym of enduring. And he gave us four principles, and I just wanna re-share [00:06:00] those four principles with you, and I would encourage you, if you haven't heard that sermon, go back and listen to it.
It was really good. But his first, uh, principle was that persevering fai- faith is built on a foundation, and he identified that foundation as the Word of God. His second principle was persevering faith is fruitful, and he identified that fruitfulness as obedient. If you have true saving faith, if you have true persevering enduring faith, you will be obedient children, and when you're disobedient, you will fall to your knees and confess your sins and ask for forgiveness.
You will seek accountability. His third principle was preserving faith appears foolish. In terms of worldly wisdom, we will at times look like fools. Are you willing to look like a fool for Christ Jesus? Preserving faith, this is his last principle, preserving faith was focused, and he, uh, referred to, uh, Hebrews 12.
We'll get [00:07:00] there eventually, but it's focused on Jesus. Consider Jesus Preserving faith is focused. In your bulletin, there's a couple of things. There's a, uh, fill-in-the-blank sermon outline, and on the back of that half-page sheet, there's some other notes, and on those notes, I've given you an outline of, uh, chapter 11.
It begins with a definition, a kind of a definition. We'll, we'll get to that. It, it talks about creation, and then it starts talking about the saints of old. It speaks of the antedivu- diluvian saints, those before the flood. It speaks of the patriarchs proper. It speaks of the Exodus generation, and then it names some people from judges to prophets.
And then at the very end, it comes back and talks about how they finally received the promise. But what's interesting, and when we get there, I'll try to, try to bring it out, even at death, I believe the Book of Hebrews teaches they waited. Because at the very end, [00:08:00] uh, the writer makes it very clear that they waited for us.
They waited for the sacrifice of Christ, and they didn't receive that ultimate promise until we received it Number one on your outline, faith, a definition. Faith, a definition. And it's a definition of sorts because it's not a full definition of faith. In fact, most of the time when we think of faith, we think of faith as having an object, and that object being Jesus Christ, but that's not really how faith is defined here, okay?
And one way of looking at it is it's probably more of a definition, more of a description of what faith does in the life of a believer. So look at chapter 11 verse 1. And kids, this is on your outline. I believe there's a fill in the blank. There's a question and a fill in the blank on your outline, so...
But the writer begins, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." And this word [00:09:00] translated assurance, it's an interesting word because literally it means the nature or the substance of something. So when he says, "Faith is the assurance of things not seen," it's the substance of things not seen.
Uh, or another way of maybe understanding this or, or making it make sense is it's the underlying reality of what is not seen. Faith makes future events and future promises a reality in the life of a believer. And so I want to give you one example so I can help you understand what he's saying here. So here's one example of what faith does, and I think, I think it fits the definition of the assurance of things not seen, and that is assurance of salvation.
You've all probably heard the question, if you died today, and nobody wants to think about that, but if you died today, where would you go? And most Christians are confident enough to say heaven, but I know of Christians who they don't even want to [00:10:00] say that. It, it seems arrogant to them or that maybe they have doubts.
But how would you answer that question? You see, because if you're living by faith, that's an easy answer. If you're in Christ Jesus, if your faith is in Christ Jesus and you died today, you should with confidence say, "I'm going to heaven," because that's faith, and faith is the assurance, the substance, the reality of things not seen.
Faith makes that which is not seen a reality in our lives. So if I were to die today, I'd go to heaven. I say that confidently, not because I'm arrogant, not because I think I've got my act together. Trust me, I do not I have a lot of growth left. I cry out at times, "God, why am I still struggling with that one?"
But I know Jesus took my sins to the cross, and I know Jesus rose from the dead, and I know He's ascended and seated at the right hand of God, and I know [00:11:00] that I believe in Him, and I am striving to obey Him and love Him. And therefore, by faith, I have confidence that if I were to die today, I would go to heaven.
Do you have that confidence? That's true saving faith. That's not arrogance. Listen to the words of maybe the most popular verse in the Bible. And I'm gonna-- This is my translation For in this way God loved the world, that He gave His one and only unique Son, in order that all those believing in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Do you believe those words? Because oftentimes we think this is talking about the ability to believe, or this is, this is almost a gospel proclamation. John three sixteen is a promise to believers. If you believe, know that you have eternal life, and that's what the author means. Faith is the [00:12:00] assurance of things hoped for, the conviction, the evidence.
Faith functions as evidence, the evidence of things not seen
I thought it would be a good idea to, uh, since this is a partial definition, I thought it would be a good idea to review what the Reformers and what various theologians, uh, how they would define saving faith, and I think this is important. And kids, this is, uh, moms and dads, this is in your bulletin. Kids, this is in your outline to fill in the blank.
But saving faith throughout the scriptures consists of at least three things, and I think it's important that we understand this. First of all, there's knowledge, okay? You have to understand the story. You have to know the, the components of the story. You have to know that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, that He died around the age of 30.
Again, you may not need to know all those details, but you need to know He went to the cross, and He went to the cross for the, for a reason, to die for our sins. So we have to have a certain [00:13:00] amount of knowledge or the what of the story, kids. You have to believe the story, and I can't tell you how many people, including family members, know the story, they believe the story, but they're missing that last component, and the last component of saving faith is trust.
Do you trust in the story? And trust is illustrated, trust is proven by obedience, and that's what we're gonna see throughout chapter 11. These people believed God against all odds. They believed God when they knew it would cost them. What are you willing to sacrifice to demonstrate true faith in Christ Jesus?
Do you trust Him? Have you bowed the knee to Him? Look at verse two, "For by it men of old gained approval." Now, literally what it says, "Men of old gained a testimony." It's the word [00:14:00] martyr that's used in the original, and basically they gained a testimony. They gained a favorable testimony Their life, just like James says, "Faith without works is dead," the lives of these Old Testament saints that the author is going to bring to our attention, they did something, their lives became memorable, and they did it for Christ Jesus, and they did it for that coming seed.
They did it not to be remembered, even though they are remembered, but they did it because they believed in that promise. It was as real to them as the dirt they lived on, because faith is the assurance of things not seen, the conviction of things hoped for. And just so you know, just so there's no mistake, uh, when it, when it uses the phrase men of old, it would include women as well.
In fact, if you, if you go through the list of names, there are two ladies named, specifically named Sarah and Rahab, but then there are women [00:15:00] named in, in other ways as well. For instance, Moses' parents are named, and that would have included his mother. Uh, in verse 29, it uses the expression they, referring to the first generation that left Egypt.
That would have included women. In verse 30, the second generation as they marched around Jericho, it would have included women. In verse 32, Barak is mentioned, and you can't think of Barak without thinking of Deborah. And then finally in verse 39, it mentions women in general. So when it says for the men of old, it's men and women of old that lived lives that gained a testimony.
They ended up making it into the scriptures. Not a lot of people made it into the scriptures, but these folks lived lives in such a way that they made it. Number two on your outline, creation. And I just want to point out, and I think this is important, a chapter on faith begins with creation, and yet in our day and age, we tend to downplay creation.
We tend to allow [00:16:00] for all kinds of different theories and, and ideas on creation. We tend to think that it's not all that important, but the Bible treats Genesis chapters 1 through 11, the creation account up to the flood, as true history
And we can go back and we can read Genesis chapter 1, and it's not difficult, and it's not poetry. It's historical prose. And we shouldn't be arguing about creation. Now, we're not gonna, you know, win any awards in science when we say, "Hey, I believe that God made the world in six days, and I believe that the language used in Genesis chapter 1 is common everyday language, and it meant a 24-hour day."
But that's what the Bible teaches. And this chapter begins with creation. Listen to verse 3, "By faith." Now, before I go any further, I want to explain that expression because that expression is used 18 times in this chapter, and literally [00:17:00] you could translate it out of faith. And the idea here is whatever they're gonna talk about, it originates because of faith.
Faith is the ground or the foundation of whatever comes next. It is the cause of what these people did or what we ought to believe or trust in. So out of faith, we understand, we intellectually comprehend that the worlds were prepared by the word of God so that what is seen was made out of things which are visible Hold on.
So that what is seen was not made... I knew I, I missed something there. So what is seen was not made by things which are visible. Okay, and couple of things that I wanna talk about here. First of all, um, this is a clear reference to creation. This is a clear reference to Genesis 1 and the creation account.
Number two, the word translated in most of your translations, by faith we understand that the [00:18:00] worlds were prepared. Literally, in the Greek, it's the word ages. And clearly, it, it makes a reference to Genesis 1, so it's talking about the world, the universe. But the writer of Hebrews seems to use this word to refer to the affairs of men as well.
And what he's trying to communicate here is not only is God sovereign over the creation proper, but God is sovereign over the affairs of men. And not only is God sovereign over the affairs of men, but there were ages of redemption. There were different covenant administrations found in redemption, and one of the things that the writer is talking about and trying to emphasize is the old covenant era, the covenant of Moses ended with Jesus.
It ended with Jesus, and there's gonna be a day where the temple's gonna be taken out of the way, and that old sacrificial system is gonna be completely done away with because that age is over. Jesus brought that age that God is sovereign over, that God created, [00:19:00] that God designed, He brought it to an end, and we're entering a new age, a new world, so to speak, the world of the new covenant
Listen to the words of Genesis 1:1-2. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters." And I think this is important because the writer of Hebrews brings it up, but often we read that verse, and when we read the words formless and void, we have been taught to think chaos, that somehow God created some substance and it was chaotic, and it wasn't orderly, and then God orders it.
When God first created, and the Bible describes it as formless and void, it wasn't chaotic, and we need to stop thinking that the creation was ever chaotic. [00:20:00] That's not what those words communicate, and trust me, I'm not gonna take the time to get into it, but when people look at those words that way, it leads to all kinds of weird things that aren't spoken of in the Bible.
Creation was never chaotic. Creation was always orderly, and God created the way He did to teach us something, to teach us that He was an orderly God, to teach us how our week should look, to teach us to work six days and rest one, to teach us that He ordered things and He prepared this planet for our home because we were supposed to rule and subdue under God.
In addition to that, when you really study the creation account, and again, I believe it's historical, but when you study it and you start making some word comparisons, God's building a temple. You see, the earth was God's temple, and the Garden of Eden was the Holy of Holies, and that's where man was placed in the Garden of Eden because man was supposed to have this intimate relationship with God.
And when Adam and Eve sinned, [00:21:00] he was cast out of that garden, and this had to be in the mind of the author here because the author has been arguing and talking and teaching that the Holy of Holies has been reopened. We're welcome back into that garden. When you get to the end of the Book of Revelation, what are the new heavens and the new earth described as?
A garden with multiple trees of life on both sides of the river. You see, salvation is a return to the garden And God's original creation account was never chaotic. It was always orderly. And compare the, the first half of the verse and the second half. "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God."
And now you compare that to the second thing, uh, "So that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible." And if you do that comparison, basically what the author is trying to communicate is that which is not visible is the word of God. God created the world by His [00:22:00] breath, by simply commanding it into existence, and it ought to blow our minds.
And the author of Hebrews is simply, again, emphasizing the sovereignty and the clear evidence that God is Creator. You see, he talks about faith, and he talks about it being assurance, but what we need to understand is he is not talking about a blind faith. And so often Christians think that we're supposed to somehow have a blind faith, or as one author put it, we're supposed to believe in things we know ain't true.
That is not what faith is. Faith is a rational endeavor. You cannot understand this world, and I think most of you homeschool moms, the ones that I've talked to, the ones that have asked me, "Will you look at my curriculum? What, what do you think of this?" Most of you homeschool moms, you know that you cannot understand this world apart from the Christian worldview.
Do you believe that? You cannot [00:23:00] understand this world apart from faith, and you cannot understand this world apart from the Christian worldview And all men do it. Either we do it intentionally because we love Christ Jesus, or we do it sinfully by borrowing the Christian worldview. Listen to Paul's words in Romans chapter 1.
In Romans chapter 1, beginning in verse 18, "For the wrath of God is continually revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." All men have the truth, but the unbeliever tries to hold it down, tries to suppress it, tries to convince himself that he doesn't have the truth.
Verse 19 of Romans 1, "Because that which is known about God is evident within them." All men know God. "For God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal [00:24:00] power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."
Literally in the Greek, they are without apologetic. They are without an argument. All men know God. Verse 21, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." And literally what the text says is they know the God, which is the Greek way of, of making it very clear.
They know the triune God. All men know God. There is no such thing as a true atheist, only disobedient people. Faith is rational. Your faith is rational. This world makes no sense apart from Jesus Christ. One plus one equals two, and it always equals two because Jesus rules. And if God didn't exist, and if God didn't instill order into this universe, there is no reason to believe that one [00:25:00] plus one equals two all the time.
It's as simple as that, but I could also lay it out in a very profound, philosophical, confusing way. But this world makes sense because of God and God alone. Number three on your outline, persevering faith. Persevering faith, faith. And what I want to do in this section is I want to look at some of the oddities, some of the peculiarities, some of the things that cause me to, uh, to ask questions, all right?
Some of the things that were interesting to me, and I don't know why, but whenever I start asking these questions, I think of that old TV show, I Love Lucy. And some of you are probably too young to remember that show, but Lucy was married to Ricky, and Ricky was a Cuban, and he didn't speak English very well.
And Lucy would always get herself into trouble, and I remember Ricky would come home, and often he would say, "Lucy, you have some splaining to do." That's what I wanna look at. I wanna do some [00:26:00] 'splainin' for you, okay? 'Cause I find some things that are odd, and it begins with Abel. So if you look at, uh, number three on your outline, preserving faith, and this is gonna cover verses four through seven.
So we'll, we'll look at Abel up close, and we'll just briefly look at Enoch and Noah. But look at verse four By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts. And through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
So this is what I have always found interesting about this particular verse. Why did God accept Abel's sacrifice and not Cain's? And I've heard all kinds of answers to that question, but let me just give you a principle right now based on this, this verse. Out of faith or by faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice.[00:27:00]
So first of all, Abel's faith made the sacrifice better. It was the faith of Abel that made his sacrifice better, and clearly what the text is implying is Cain did not come with faith. Cain just went through the motions. All right? If you'd like to turn there, you can, but in Genesis chapter 4, we're gonna look at verses three and five real quick.
Genesis 4:3-5. And this is the story of Cain and Abel coming and offering sacrifice to God. "So it came about in the course of time, that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions." Now, did you catch something in that?
Because there are no coincidences in the Bible. So listen to it again. Cain brought an offering. That's all the text says. He brought an offering from the fruit of the ground, [00:28:00] okay? And we, we read later in, uh, Genesis-- uh, or actually it's early in verse two, we read that Cain was a tiller of the ground, okay?
So let me just dispel one idea. There was nothing wrong with the fact that Cain brought fruits and vegetables and grain, okay? That was not the problem with his sacrifice. He was a tiller of the ground, and the, the Hebrew word translated tiller is the same word used when God commands Abraham to tend to the garden.
So he was doing exactly what God had commanded Abraham. He was tending to the ground. He was growing crops and vegetables and grains and things like that, and that's what he brought to God, okay? And later, when we get to the Mosaic sacrificial system, those types of sacrifices were called for, okay? But notice it just says he brought of the fruit of the ground.
But two different times it emphasizes something about Abel's sacrifice. He brought of the firstlings, and the idea there is he brought the [00:29:00] firstborn. He brought the best of his flock, the firstborn, and of their fat portions, which is another way of saying he, he, he found the best animal, the one you would've wanted to hang onto, and that's the animal that he took to sacrifice to God by faith because he knew God would take care of him.
He knew that he wasn't gonna lose anything by sacrificing this prize animal. He brought his best. "And Yahweh had regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell." So some people would argue that Cain's sacrifice had a blood sacrifice, so that's what made it better.
But according to our text, that's not what made it better. His faith made it better. The fact that he brought the best of the best made it better. Cain just brought the leftovers. It's clearly implied in the text, [00:30:00] okay? And because Abel acted by faith, God referred to Abel as righteous. Listen to the words of 1 John chapter 3.
1 John 3:12, speaking of Cain, "Cain was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil and his brother's were righteous." You see, Abel came in faith, Cain didn't, and that was the problem with the sacrifice, and that is why God accepted Abel's sacrifice and not Cain's.
We just studied Hebrews chapter 10. Remember the words of Hebrews chapter 10 at the very end of the verse, and remember, in the original letter, there wouldn't have been chapter or verse divisions. So these words should be ringing in your ear as we, we get to the faith chapter. Hebrews 10:38, "But my righteous one shall live by faith."
Abel lived by faith. But here's [00:31:00] the important part. What did it cost him? Abel brings the best of the best. So he loses his best whatever it was. It doesn't identify the animal. But what else did it cost him? His life So let me just take a step back, and I want you to think about this. Abel died. Abel was murdered Because he worshiped God properly
Are you willing to worship God properly? Are you willing to, to worship God in a way that might look y- ma-make you look odd? Are you willing to worship God in a way if, and I said this at the beginning of service, and I wanna be really careful because we are far from a perfect church, and I know that we don't do everything correctly.
But if we're on the right track, there's [00:32:00] a good chance in the day and age that we live in that we will always be small Because proper worship repels people And that's a problem even in the evangelical world. I mean, how many church-- Look at all the megachurches that are out there. Smoke machines and concerts and...
Guys, I think worship should be beautiful. I would love to have more instrumentation. I would love to have a brass section. I would love to have some drums played rightly, a cajon or something. I want music to be beautiful. I want you to-- weeping as we're singing to God. But it shouldn't be entertainment
Are you willing to look foolish? Are you willing to give up your life for the worship of God? Abel died. It just, it seems so simple, but [00:33:00] have you really meditated upon it? Abel died for one reason and one reason only. He worshiped God properly. Do we worship God properly? And if you don't think we do, it is incumbent upon you to come talk to me or Matt.
Come talk to the elders. If you think we're doing something wrong, come talk to us. If you think we need to add something, come talk to us. Listen, you know, I, I preached, I think it was four or five sermons on why we do what we do in worship But are you willing to die for worship? How important is coming to church on a Sunday morning?
And I know, and, and with all due respect, if you're sick, we don't want you here, okay? Because it seems to spread like wildfire, okay? But Think this through. What would cause you to me-miss church? Have you ever thought about [00:34:00] that and made a list? Some of you may not have to, but what would cause you to miss?
You see, part of proper worship is this seven-day cycle. From the very beginning of creation, before the law of Moses, there was this seven-day cycle that we were sh-supposed to worship God. What would cause you to miss it? Are you willing to die for proper worship? Are you willing to take time out of your day and dig into the scriptures to make sure we're worshiping properly?
Are you willing to maybe look foolish? for proper worship
And it says, "Through faith, though Abel is dead, he still speaks." And I would argue, and there's all kinds of, uh, debate here, but I would argue that he speaks through the scriptures. But I would also argue that I think the writer of Hebrews had something else in his mind, and I think that Abel's [00:35:00] blood, maybe not today, I'm not sure about today, but back then, prior to the destruction of the old covenant system, I think Abel's blood was still calling for vengeance.
Listen to some of these passages, and it may still be doing it today, but listen to some of these passages. All the way back in Genesis 4:10, God has encountered Cain, and He asked Cain, "What have you done?"
And I pause there because I think God paused there. God knew what Cain had done. He wanted Cain to think about it. "What have you done?" And listen to God's words, "The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground," crying for vengeance. Listen to Matthew chapter 23, beginning in verse 35.
Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, and these are the Pharisees that had rejected Him, and only a couple chapters later, these are the Pharisees that are gonna condemn Him to death and send Him to the [00:36:00] cross. And this is what Jesus says about these Pharisees. He says, "So that upon you," the, this generation, the generation that was alive when Jesus was on the earth, "So that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation." The blood of Abel was crying out for justice. Listen to the words of Revelation chapter 9. I'm sorry, chapter 6. Revelation chapter 6, beginning in verse 9, "When the Lamb," Jesus Christ, "When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained.
And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, [00:37:00] 'How long'" "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will you refrain from judging and avenging our blood upon those who dwell on the earth?" You see, the blood of the martyrs cry out for vengeance, and God will avenge His people. And it should do two things for you. It should scare you.
It should scare you into sharing the gospel, but it should also comfort you. It should give you courage, and it would have given these Old Testament saints courage because this world is nothing compared to eternity. The suffering that we deal with in this life, and I know some of us get up in the morning and, and we're hurting because we're getting older or because we're dealing with a, a sickness.
Some of us get up in the morning and we're hurting because we're dealing with relationship issues. Some of us get up in the [00:38:00] morning and we're hurting because we're dealing with job issues or I-don't-know-where-I'm-gonna-live issues. You name the issue, it pales in comparison to the glory and the joy and the eternality that awaits you.
It pales. And God will avenge you. He will avenge His church. And why is that? Because you represent Christ, because you are the body of Christ, and God will avenge His Son. And that is good news. It's not bad news. It is good news. We cannot lose Problem is, so often we think we're losers. But let me read you what Hebrews 12:24 says Into Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, into the sprinkled blood, His [00:39:00] sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel, better than the blood of Abel.
What does that, what does that communicate to us? It says we ought to get busy and start sharing the gospel. That Abel's cry for vengeance, even Abel's cry for vengeance, and all the promises that God will avenge His people, the blood of Christ speaks louder. So what is your prayer? Is your prayer, "Avenge those who mock me"?
And there are imprecatory psalms and, and there is a reason to pray those kinds of prayer. Or is your prayer, "Kill them by the gospel"? Those that are mocking me, the neighbor that I'm not getting along with, that doesn't respect my boundaries, kill him with the gospel. Bring him to Christ Jesus. That's what changes people.
That's what changes a community. That's what changes the world. Yes. The blood of Jesus cries [00:40:00] and is so much more effective. But do we believe it? Do we believe it? 'Cause the test is really simple. Did you talk to anyone about Christ this week? And just so you know, because we're all at different times in life that anyone could be your child Have you been discipling your kids this week?
Have you talked to your neighbor this week? Have you and your wife shared what you've been reading in scripture this week? Do you help one another learn the scriptures? Ladies, is your husband the first person you go to with a Bible question? Single ladies, is your father possibly or a pastor, an elder at your church, the first person you go to with Bible questions?
Are you humble enough to ask the question
Verse six. Before we get to verse [00:41:00] six, verse five mentions Enoch, and I'm not gonna say a whole lot about Enoch. He was taken up. I will say this though, because it seems to be a problem that I am noticing more and more and more. Okay? There's a book out there, and it's called The Book of Enoch. All right?
And we have several different strands of it, and, uh, a lot of scholars today are attributing it to this Enoch. All right? And we know that Enoch at least said some things because the writer of Jude refers to some things Enoch said. Okay? But we have no evidence, not scriptural evidence or even external evidence, that the book we have that is typically called The Book of Enochs is true.
W- we know that it was written in the 200s BC, and the reason I bring this up is it is causing a lot of people to embrace some really odd theology [00:42:00] I wish I knew more about angels and all the category, and there's all this stuff spelled out in this Book of Enoch. It is not scriptural And I know of scholars, and I know especially of young men that are embracing doctrines based on this book as if it were equal to scripture.
It is not. I could say a whole lot more. That's all I'm gonna say about Enoch. Enoch was a righteous man, so righteous that God did not allow him to experience death, but he took him up instead, took him to paradise. Verse six: And without faith it is impossible. And, and the Greek word here is, it is-- it's an ability term.
Apart from faith, it is impossible to please God, which again helps us understand Cain and Abel. Cain was displeasing to God. Why? Because he didn't have any faith. He didn't come in faith. He didn't come in true reverence. [00:43:00] Abel did. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Yes, God can be pleased by our actions We don't gain anything by it.
We don't gain a, a, a more love from God by our actions. Our actions should be motivated by obedience. Our actions should be motivated by worship. Our actions should be motivated by thanksgiving. I live the way I live, I live-- I strive to live as scripture, and this is the general I, not me, although I hope it applies to me, but I do the things that I do because the scriptures teach me to do it, because it is what my Lord desires, and I am so thankful that He went to the cross, that I wanna live in a way that pleases Him.
And the Bible teaches you can please God. Your works can be pleasing, and that should motivate you. That is the amazing thing about God, is we are nothing but slaves. We owe [00:44:00] Him perfect obedience, and yet He constantly rewards us. And I don't know about you, but I can remember when I was a little boy, and I probably have to think back longer than most of you.
But when I knew my dad was pleased, it gave me the best feeling. This, this week, my, my wife-- I didn't even realize I had it, but apparently my mom saved a baby book and, and she gave me, uh, the book, and she doesn't even know I did this, but I started thumbing through it this week in my office and, uh, there must have been a dust storm 'cause my eyes got all teary and stuff like that.
But I was just reading letters that my dad wrote me as a child
And it ju- it brought tears to my eyes because my father was pleased with me. And I didn't deserve it. He was pleased with me because when he was in Vietnam, I got control of my em- emotions, and I didn't cry as much[00:45:00]
And that's about what our works are to God. We don't cry as much, but it pleases your Father. Do you want to please your Father? Does that motivate you? Because it ought to. Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. For he who comes to God must believe, number one, that He is, that God exists. And we've already looked at the scriptures.
There is no atheist in this world. Do you believe in the triune God? That He is a, here it is again, that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Again, I mean, in all honesty, we are unworthy servants. In the word that is used in both Testaments, we are unworthy slaves, and we owe God our obedience, period, and yet He rewards us.
And I would argue here in context, this is a fascinating word, [00:46:00] by the way. Literally, it, this word means paymaster. God pays us wages is, is what the word is saying here. And I would argue that in context, it's salvation. It's Jesus. He rewards us with those relationships. But we're gonna end with these words, and no, I did not get as far as I was hoping to get, and that's okay.
Without faith, is it impossible... It is impossible to please Him. For he who comes to God must believe that He is, that He exists, that He is a rewarder, He is gracious and kind, and He rewards us. But who does He reward? Those who seek Him. And so I wanna leave you with these words. Do you seek God? And I really want you to think about this because this, this word translated seek, it's those who exert effort to find Him, to learn about Him.
It's an [00:47:00] ongoing seeking. And if you went home today and you were gonna make a list, and I would, I would encourage you to do this, all of you
And tell me if you do. You don't have to show me the list, but go home and make a list today. In what ways do I seek God? Because if you're truly seeking Him based on what these words are communicating, it'll be an easy list. And if you have a hard time creating that list or if it's a very short list, you've got some work to do.
God rewards those who seek Him. How do you seek God? How do you seek Him? How do you seek to learn more about Him? How do you seek to get to know Him better? How do you seek to better your relationship with Him? Because these are the people that God rewards. Or do you fall back into the sin of Adam and Eve?
You see, Adam and Eve rebelled [00:48:00] against God's authority because they lacked faith, and they stopped seeking God, and they started seeking their own pleasures. And that sin has not left us Are you willing to die simply because you worship God the right way? Are you willing to suffer simply because you worship God the right way?
Are you willing to be mocked simply because you worship God the right way? Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for these words. I pray, Lord, that you will use these in our lives. I pray, Lord, that we will go home and we will study these words. We will try to make sense out of these words
Father, I pray for the kind of faith that Abel had [00:49:00] And I don't think Abel expected he was gonna die for it, Lord, but I don't think he cared either. I think Abel was-- The text is pretty clear, Father. He was willing to give his best to you. Give me the kind of faith that desires to give my best to you
that's not worried about what it costs, what it costs me financially, emotionally, whatever, God, that I would give you my best. Father, help us this day that we would take creation seriously And m-maybe we need to ask some questions. Maybe we need to dive into it and study it more. But it seems to me you begin this chapter with the creation account.
It's pretty important, and it's real, and it really happened. Help us understand it correctly and not be afraid or ashamed of it Father, thank you that everyone here in Christ, you've [00:50:00] given them faith, and now, Spirit of God, I ask that you would strengthen that faith
Cause us to love you more. Cause us to serve you more. Cause us to do it out of gratitude because we understand the gospel, because we believe the gospel, because we trust in the gospel. For I ask all of this in your Son's name, and all of God's people said, amen. Please stand and take-
