THE BOOK OF HEBREWS CHAPTER 11 Part 2 Faith That Soars If you have a chance to go to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, there is a building there called the Vehicle Assembly Building, that is classified as the largest building in the world. This building is where the Space Shuttles are lifted and loaded onto the Rocket propelled Delivery system that send the Shuttle into space. At 52 Stories, or 525 feet tall, it is 716 feet long, and 518 feet wide. It has over 129 million Cubic feet of space inside. To give you an idea of the immense size of the Vehicle Assembly building, You could put the volume of nearly 4 Empire State Buildings inside it. There is an American Flag on the front of the building, that is the same size as a Football field, it took 6,000 gallons of paint to create this flag. Just one of the stripes on the flag is the size of a Greyhound bus. It took 89,421 Metric Tons of steel, and 65,000 cubic yards of Concrete with 4,225 Pilings driven 160 feet into the bedrock below to build this structure. A 10,000 ton Air conditioning system is what it takes to cool the massive building, nearly 5,000 times the size of the air conditioning system of the average house. The building is so large that it creates it s own clouds inside that form near the roof, that actually produce rain inside the structure. Yet, Most people that approach the building are at first disappointed because they expected the building to be much larger. The problem is that there are no other normal sized buildings nearby to compare it to, so you really don t get a proper perspective of just how huge it really is. Faith, is very much like this. When we first Approach Faith and consider what it really is, at first, it is very much like the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA. Faith doesn t seem to be that big of a deal, it does not seem to be that important at first glance. Page 1 of 11 Pages
Yet, just as the Building on the Grounds of the Kennedy Space Center has the Capacity to produce a vehicle that can leave earth s atmosphere and enter space, so also is this thing called Faith. Faith allows us to leave the boundaries of Earth and soar into Heaven, touching the Face, heart and Will of the God of the Universe. With Faith, Like the Assembly Building at NASA, we have the Capacity to believe the Lord for anything. When you consider that the Universe was created by just Words, when we speak to the Lord Words of Faith that We believe Him and all that He says, It unleashes His power in our life to Sustain us, Provide for us, Protect us, and Deliver us. On the opposite side, of Faith, when we cannot believe the Lord, when we don t have faith and trust in Him, it greatly limits His ability to work in our life. Did you know that you can limit God s work in your life? Matthew 13:54-58 54 When Jesus had come to Nazareth, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things? 57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house. 58 Now Jesus did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Jesus can do anything, except in those places where people will not believe Him. There is a Word that we use sometimes to describe Stagnation, Inactivity, or even Boredom, it is called The Doldrums. Actually The Doldrums is a place. It is a section of the Equator where the winds do not blow, where Sailing Ships on the Sea get stranded. Any ship that has sails and makes it s way into the Doldrums of the Equator, could be stuck there for weeks, before a wind will come up again. For us, The Doldrums is the place where the Wind of the Holy Spirit doesn t blow in our lives, because we don t have enough Faith to see the present situation through the eyes of the Lord, instead of our own eyes. Page 2 of 11 Pages
The Faith that moves mountains begins by moving little hills Such is the case of Chapter 11 of the Book of Hebrews It is called The Halls of Faith The Baseball Hall of Fame is in Cooperstown, New York. The Football Hall of Fame is in Canton Ohio, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland Ohio The Faith Hall of Fame is in chapter 11 of the Book of Hebrews. In chapter 11, are the list of the men and women from the Old Testament, that the Lord says Had Great Faith. Hebrews 11 7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By the time Noah was living on the earth, things were getting pretty bad. Genesis 5:32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:8-14 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9 This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. Now, you talk about faith The Lord asked Noah to construct something that had never been built, for something that had never happened! Made of Gopherwood, Today called Cypress. 450 Feet Long, 75 Feet Wide, 45 Feet High. With 3 Decks inside, it had the capacity of 522 Page 3 of 11 Pages
Railroad Cars, approximately 1.4 Million cubic Feet. Only 188 Railroad cars are necessary to hold a pair of the Earth s known 17,600 different species. It was not built as a ship, but more like a Barge, with the perfect dimensions to handle the rough seas that would come with the flood. Now imagine this whole scene from Noah s point of view. Genesis 7:4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made. OK Lord, it is going to rain for 40 days and 40 nights, Lord I have just one question: What is Rain? You see, It had never rained on the earth before this time, so neither Noah, nor any one else on the earth had any idea what Rain Was. Genesis 2:5 For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth In fact, just rain on the earth for 40 days and nights could not flood the whole earth. Genesis 8:2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. The waters for the flood came from two sources, 1. The huge volume of water that exists under the surface of the earth. 2. The water vapor Canopy that existed in the atmosphere, before the flood. One of the things that we have always wondered about the Book of Genesis, is why people lived over 900 years before the flood. Shortly after the flood, the life span of human beings rapidly began to decrease to where it is today, a maximum of 120 years. What was there in existence before the flood that could have extended the life expectancy of human beings? Page 4 of 11 Pages
The answer, a Water Vapor Canopy over the earth. In a great degree, the aging process is quickened by the bombardment of certain types of the Sun s Rays. A large water canopy over the earth would shied us from many of these harmful, life shortening rays. Genesis 1:6-7 (NLT) 6 And God said, Let there be space between the waters, to separate water from water. 7 And so it was. God made this space to separate the waters above from the waters below. There was also a constant tropical climate over the earth before the flood. A water Vapor canopy covering the earth, would cause the entire earth to maintain a constant tropical temperature of about 75 80 degrees, year around. Genesis 6:17 And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die Genesis 6:22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did. For 120 years, Noah continues to build the Ark. Now most of us get tired of a building project around the house that takes a few months to complete. Noah stayed with this building of the Ark, even in the midst of the laughter and ridicule of the people of the earth, FOR 120 YEARS! Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. Noah had never seen Rain. Noah had never seen a Flood All the People of the Earth were laughing and mocking him. Noah continued this building for 120 years, imagine that! All that Noah had was God s Promise that He was going to cover the earth with water and kill everything human being that lived upon the earth because they were so evil. So Noah is listed here in the Halls of Faith in Hebrews chapter 11 as an example for us to follow. 1. Trust the Lord for things you have never seen before. 2. Trust the Lord for things that seem impossible. 3. Trust the Lord even if people laugh at you and mock your trust. Page 5 of 11 Pages
4. Continue that trust all the days of your life, and you will also obtain all of the Lords promises that He has made to you. Faith doesn t come before following, it doesn t even come after following, it come while following Oh and by the way, lest you think that Noah was so perfect that you could never measure up to him. Just a few years after this great victory with the Lord, Noah failed miserably. Genesis 9:20-21 20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent But Noah recovered from his failures, just as you also recover when you fail, and Noah continued to follow the Lord another 350 years, before he went home to be with the Lord Genesis 9:28-29 28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died Continuing on in The Halls of Faith of Hebrews 11: Hebrews 11 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Now remember, when the Lord called Abraham to leave the country he lived in and follow Him, Abraham was a Pagan. So never think that you have done things in your life that can exclude you from being a Great Man or Woman of Faith also, beginning today! You are not the person you were yesterday or a few years ago, or even decades ago, you are the person that you want to be TODAY. Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, Now Paul had lots to regret in his past, even as most of us do Before Paul came to know and accept Jesus into his life, he had seen to it that Christians were arrested and killed, just because they loved Jesus. Page 6 of 11 Pages
When Stephen was being stoned to death by a mob, Paul was standing there watching it all happen, holding the coats of the people who were stoning Stephen to death. Acts 6:5 And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Acts 6:9 Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue disputing with Stephen. Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Acts 7:58 and they cast Stephen out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul (Paul). Imagine how much Paul regretted his former life, but what did he say? forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead Abraham, went out of his Country, and he didn t even know where he was going yet, because the Lord didn t tell him yet. This verse has always been very meaningful to me, because when the Lord told us to leave Northern Arizona, when I asked Him where we were going, he told me the same thing: Just Go. Faith is doing what the Lord is telling you to do RIGHT NOW, even though you don t know what step 2 is yet, you are willing to take step 1 and trust the Lord. The Lord puts us into tests our faith, so that we can try His Faithfulness. You will never know just how much the Lord can really do in your life, until you just do what He is telling you right now. If you are in a trial, or the next time you are in a trial, stay put, hang on, and see what the Lord is going to do. The test of your faith where you have the opportunity to see yourself for how you truly are, will give you the awesome opportunity to see JUST HOW FAITHFUL THE LORD REALLY IS. Hebrews 11 11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceives seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. Ladies, can I see a show of hands, how many of you would like to live to be 100 years old? Page 7 of 11 Pages
Ladies, How about it, if the Lord, in addition to keeping you alive till you are 100 years old, also tells you that at about 90, you are going to have a Baby! Sarah lived her whole life, without being able to have a child, when she was so old that by all human efforts it was totally impossible, that was when the Lord came to her and said, You will have Isaac. No Lord, that is not what I had in mind Often, the Lord will wait on you, till you are sick and tired of trying to do everything your way. The Lord will wait till we surrender our life to Him, before He can begin to pour out on us, all that He wants to do. Hebrews 11 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. Reinhold Niebuhr, Writer of the 1928 Book Leaves From the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic. Nothing worth doing is completed in one lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful make complete sense in all of history, therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, no matter how virtuous can be accomplished by our self, therefore we are saved by love. Many of the people in the Old Testament that are listed here in Hebrews 11 as People of Great Faith, never obtained in their life time, all that God had promised them. but having seen (Those Promises) afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. They saw Gods promises being far away from where they were at that time, but they EMBRACED THEM Aspazomai (as-pad -zom-ahee), in the Greek Language. Often Translated Salute, The idea here is a Military soldier, Saluting their Commander, accepting his orders, carrying them out with enthusiasm and obedience Page 8 of 11 Pages
Lord Jesus, you promised that you would finish this work in me that You started, in me. You said that you would use all of the good and bad that happens to me in my life and make it turn out for good, So Lord, I Salute you, accept you promises, take your orders and live in your promises with enthusiasm and obedience! You remember when the Lord told Abraham to go to Mount Moriah, the very same place where 2,000 years later Jesus would walk up with His Cross, Abraham took His only son, Isaac. Lord you want me to take Isaac up the hill and sacrifice him to you? Well Lord you told me that from this boy Isaac, I was going to have so many descendents that I could t count them Lord, how are you going to do this if I kill Isaac, Oh I get it Lord, you will raise him from the dead Abraham believed in the resurrection of an Only Son, as the way that God would keep His promises to Him Hmmm, sounds very familiar Hebrews 11 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, In Isaac your seed shall be called, 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. This is the way that we are called to live. Those things that are dear to us, things we love and treasure, take them and put them on the Altar of the Lord. Let Him take them and consume them, or whatever he wants to do with them. Abraham took His son Isaac that he probably loved more than anything else in the world, and brought him to Mt Moriah Genesis 22:10-12 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! So he said, Here I am. 12 And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that I am first in your life, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me. We don t really know what is First in our life, did you know that Page 9 of 11 Pages
When they took Elise into the operating room a couple years ago, having told me that she most likely would not live through the surgery, the Lord asked me if I WOULD GIVE ELSIE TO HIM, IF HE WANTED TO TAKE HERE HOME.. My first answer was No Lord, I need her, I don t think I can live without her But then I picked Elsie up and carried her up to the altar, and laid her there before the Lord and said, She is yours Jesus, If you want to take her, it is OK with me I thought the Lord was first in my life then, I discovered that Elsie was first in my life, so I needed to lay her on the altar and let the Lord take her That was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but I have discovered that nothing in my life can truly live and be used by the Lord until I Lay it on the Altar and count is as Dead Philippians 3:7-11 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. The person that has lost all self confidence has nothing more to loose. I have discovered the Loss is what life is all about. It is not until we have lost all that we can gain all. It is not until we have surrendered all, that all comes under control. It is not until we believe all that the Lord has said, that all becomes possible. John 20:29 Jesus said Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Everything that is going to happen to you next week, has but one purpose by the Lord. To bring you the end of yourself, so that Jesus can truly be Master and Ruler of every part of your life. Trials show you yourself for who you really are. Difficulties bring us to the place of complete dependence upon Jesus. Page 10 of 11 Pages
Suffering empties us of all our own strength, drains away pride, purifies us and makes us ready to really serve Jesus. At the end of the Korean war, in November 1950, the North Koreans were being pushed North, taking with them the American and European soldiers they had captured. Being forced to march more than 20 miles a day, they were Literally Starving to Death, suffering tremendously. The soldiers that couldn t keep up and that fell behind were shot on the spot. Phil Crosby in his book March Till they die, wrote that he and his friends, as they passed close to those Soldiers having a hard time keeping up, said to them in a slow whisper: God is near us in this dark hour, His Love is Real, His Mercy is Real, His Forgiveness is Real, His Reward is Waiting for us Page 11 of 11 Pages