NEW TESTAMENT
BIBLE SYORY
Epistle to Hebrews #14
Chapter 11 - part one
THE GREAT FAITH CHAPTER Someone once said: * Faith is like muscle which grows stronger and stronger with use, rather than rubber, which weakens when it is stretched. J.O.Freaser, missionary to China * Faith is the Samsonian lock of the Christian; cut it off, and you may put out his eyes - and he can do nothing. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon * Not a great faith we need, but faith in a great God. - J.Hudson Tayor * Little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul. - Anonymous Definitions of Faith * The art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. - C.S.Lewis * Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. - St.Augustine * Faith is voluntary anticipation. - Clement of Alexandria Biblical Definition of Faith * Believing there will be a fulfilment of those things told us by the Lord - Luke 1:45 * Believing it will be just as we are told - Acts 27:25 * Not wavering at the promise of God, but being fully convinced that what He has promised He is able to perform - Romans 4:20-21 * Judging Him faithful who has promised - Hebrews 11:11 * The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen - Hebrews 11:1 Spurgeon on Faith Look at the faith of the master mariner! He looses his cable, he streams away from the land. For days, weeks, even months, he sees neither sail nor shore, yet on he goes day and night without fear, till one morning he finds himself exactly opposite the desired haven towards which he has been striving. How has he found his way over the trackless deep? He has trusted his compass, his nautical almanac, his glasses, and the heavenly bodies; and obeying their guidance, without sighting land, he has steered so accurately that he has not changed a point to enter port. It is a wonderful thing ... It is glorious to be so far out on the ocean of Divine love, believing in God, and steering for Heaven straight away, by the direction of the Word of God. Why God Responds to Faith A pastor describes a time when his daughter, age five, came to him and asked for a dolls house. The pastor promptly nodded and promised to build her one, then he went back to reading his book. Soon he glanced out the study window and saw her arms filled with dishes, toys, and dolls, making trip after trip until she had a great pile of playthings in the yard. He asked his wife what his little girl was doing. "Oh, you promised to build her a doll house, and she believes you. She's just getting ready for it." "You would have thought I'd been hit by a bomb," the pastor later said, "I threw aside that book, raced to the lumber yard for supplies, and quickly built that little girl a doll house. Now, why did I respond? Because I wanted to? No. Because she deserved it? No, Her daddy had given his word, and she believed it and acted upon it. When I saw her faith, nothing could keep me from carrying out my word." FAITHFULNESS Someone once said: * Faithfulness to principle is only proved by faithfulness in detail. - Francis Ridley Havergal * My dear Senator, I am not called to be successful, but faithful. - Mother Teresa, to Senator Mark Hatfield who, while touring her work in Calcutta, asked, "How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?" * Dependability: Fulfilling what I agreed to do even though it requires unexpected sacrifices. (Proverbs 15:4) - Bill Gothard * She Hath Done What She Could. - Inscription on the tombstone of the blind hymnist Fanny J. Crossby Old Faithful Old Faithful is not the largest geyser in Yellowstone National Park, nor does it reach the greatest height. But it is by far the most popular one. Why? It is regular and dependable, hence its name, "Old Faithful." Vance Havner on Faithfulness God is faithful, and He expects His people to be faithful. God's Word speaks of faithful servants, faithful in a few things, faithful in the least, faithful in the Lord, faithful ministers. And all points up that day when He will say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." ..... The only service that counts is faithful service. True faith shows up in faithfulness. Not everyone can sing or preach, but all can be faithful. The Influence of a Very Average Life In her little book, "Kept for the Master's Use" - hymn-writer Frances Ridley havergal says: Of ourselves we may have but little weight, no particular talents or position or anything else to put into the scale, but let us remember again and again God has shown that the influence of a very average life, when once really consecrated to Him, may outweigh that of almost any number of merely professing Christians. Such lives are like Gideon's three hundred, carrying not even the normal weapons of war, but only trumpets and lamps and empty pitchers, by whom the Lord wrought great deliverance, while He did not use the other at all. For He hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty. Keep Kicking Two frogs fell into a tub of cream. The one looked at the high sides of the tub which were too difficult to crawl over and said, "It is hopeless." So he resigned himself to death, relaxed, and sank to the bottom. The other one determined to keep swimming as long as he could. "Something might happen," he said. And it did. He kept kicking and churning, and finally he found himself on a solid platform of butter and jumped to safety. MORE QUOTES ON FAITH Faith like Job's cannot be shaken because it is the result of having been shaken - Abraham Heschel What else will do EXCEPT faith in such a cynical, corrupt time? When the country goes temporarily to the dogs, cats must learn to be circumspect, walk on fences, sleep in trees, and have faith that all this woofing is not the last word - Garrison Keillor A weak faith is weakened by predicaments and catastrophes whereas a strong faith is strengthened by them - Victor Frankl Faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse - Philip Yancey That you are sitting before me in this church is a fact. That I am standing and speaking to you from this pulpit is a fact. But it is only faith that makes me believe anyone is listening - Anonymous preacher True faith goes into operation when there are no answers - Elisabeth Elliot Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends - George Muller Hope is hearing the melody of the future. Faith is to dance to it - Ruben Alves I prayed for faith, and thought that some day faith would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, "Now faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." I had closed my Bible, and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since - D.L. Moody FROM CHARLES SWINDOLL'S BOOK "ULTIMATE BOOK OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND QUOTES Quote: Your FAITH ought to get you in trouble at times. If everybody thinks you are nuts, you may be. It's OK if some think you are. You're probably in trouble if no one thinks you are. TRADITION is the living faith of those now dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of those still living - Jaroslav Pelikan FAITH is speaking truth in love even at the cost of position of relationship - Palela Reeve What you gonna do when the river overflows? Faith answers, I'm gonna sit on the porch and watch her go. What you gonna do when the hogs all drown? I'm gonna wish I lived on higher ground. What you gonna do when the cow floats away? I'm gonna throw in after her a bale of hay. What you gonna do with the water in the room? I'm gonna sweep her out with a sedge-straw broom. What you gonna do when the cabin leaves? I'm gonna climb on the roof and straddle the eaves. What you gonna do when your hold gives way? I'm gonna say, "Howdy, Lord! It's judgment day." Ben Patterson (Waiting) I take the above as an illustration of DEAD faith (Keith Hunt) If I Had Only Known You, Lord, I crawled across the barrenness to You with my empty cup, uncertain in asking, any small drop of refreshment. If only I had known You better I'd have come RUNNING with a BUCKET. Nancy Spiegelberg and Dorothy Purdy (Fanfare: A Celebration of Belief) This last poem is an illustration of HOW MUCH God wants to give us, including a whole bucket full of real living faith (Keith Hunt) End quote from Swindoll's book HEBREWS CHAPTER 11 We have pretty well covered verses 1-2 in the above quotes, illustrations, examples, and poems. It is reading the Word of God that we have faith that the whole universe was created by the Word of God. Other passages in the epistles of Paul tell us that it was the member of the Godhead, who became Jesus the Christ, who created all things. All that is seen and is not seen ( e.g.like angels most of the time) in heaven and earth was created from NOTHING (see again Colossians 1:15-17). Even modern science says there was a beginning to the universe. Science may have different opinions as to how it all began, but today's science pretty well admits, the universe did have a beginning (verse 3). Abel was a righteous man. God gave witness to Abel being in right standing with Him. Faith was in the life of Abel. His life and offerings were acceptable to God. Not so with Cain, his life and his offerings, did not have the faith of God in them. Hence he was not accepted, nor were his outward signs of religion towards God (verse 4). Enoch had the faith in God and the faith from God. Enoch was pleasing in God's sight. He was removed (translated - the Greek word has nothing of itself to do with "going to heaven" per se). Enoch was removed from the wicked world and taken to safety, so he would not be killed by evil men. Enoch was NOT taken to heaven. On this subject of Enoch, Moses, and Elijah being in heaven, I have covered in a full in- depth study. I refer the reader to that study. Jesus, Paul wrote (Colossians 2:18) that Jesus has PREEMINENCE in all things. Jesus was the very first human born from the dead into the eternal glory of the Father. He was the first human to ever gain IMMORTALITY in glory. It was not Enoch, it was not Moses, it was not Elijah. It was Christ Jesus that was the FIRST human to gain eternal life in resurrected glory. Jesus has indeed preeminence in ALL THINGS.
By not reading the whole Bible people have developed all kinds bad theology; it seems they have horse blinkers on when reading the Bible, they see a certain verse, they miss-apply it, and read right over verses that blow their misconception to bits. Right here is an example; Paul mentions Enoch as one of many, then says they ALL died not having received the promise. Then if you care to move to the end of the chapter, ALL of God's children will receive the promise of eternal life in God's kingdom at the same time, which 1 Thes. 4: 13-18 also tells us, as does Matthew 24: 29-31 and 1 Cor. 15---- the resurrection chapter.
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