Hebrews 11: 1-12 The Message
1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. 3 By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see. 4 By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice. 5-6 By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. 7 By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn’t see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God. 8-10 By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God. 11-12 By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant, old woman as she was at the time, because she believed the One who made a promise would do what he said.
A simple question often asked, Do you believe in God? Many people would quickly answer , “yes”. And then, when asked this follow up question…why do you believe in God? The answers don’t come quite so quickly. Deeper questioning leads to some of the following groups… Some believe there are no such things as gods. They believe that nothing really matters, whatever happens, just happens. Some believe life is just a game, some people seem to win and others seem to lose. Whatever your belief system, it is all the same game… a game in which “you bet your life” . Not just your life here, but your life eternal. A famous poet wrote…NO sadder words of tongue or pen, than are those words, what might have been. God is faithful. He says he won’t turn anyone away. He said if we asked for forgiveness, we would have it. But humankind never seems to be able to take or give, an absolute answer. If you ask someone about the sin in their life , they will generally respond with something akin to…well, nobody’s perfect.
And of course everyone knows you are just being smart or judgmental, when you remind them of the scripture ’’Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” Are you kidding me, everybody knows nobody is perfect. The question then arises, what is God saying to us? Is he holding some impossible challenge over our heads? How cruel must he be if He holds an unattainable goal in front of us, knowing we can never reach it. It's unobtainable. What a cruel joke. But we know all too well this is not the compassionate, loving God that we read of in scripture… So where is He? Isaiah the prophet wrote this if Him… Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought GOD’s saving power would look like this? 2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum. But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed. We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And GOD has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him. 7-9 He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn’t say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence. Justice miscarried, and he was led off—and did anyone really know what was happening? He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people. They buried him with the wicked, threw him in a grave with a rich man, Even though he’d never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn’t true. 10 Still, it’s what GOD had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he gave himself as an offering for sin so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And GOD’s plan will deeply prosper through him. 11-12 Out of that terrible travail of the soul, he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many “righteous ones,” as he himself carries the burden of their sins. Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly— the best of everything, the highest honors. Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
What does that mean to you?
If you will confess your sins, He will cleanse you
from your evil ways, and completely forgive you.
Why would He do it for you?
He did it for the whole world of which you are a part.
How could He do it?
All the sin of the world was laid on His back
What does it mean for you and me?
It means salvation.
Being a part of God’s plan.
Being pardoned for our own sins.
Here is the final question… Do you know Him?
It's one thing that Christ died for you, but are you living for Him?
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