06-12-22 “Welcome to the ‘All In’ Hall of Faith”

Scripture                                              Hebrews 11:1-12:3
          They all were all in for Jesus who would be crucified and risen from the dead for their sakes as well as ours! They were all in for Jesus who would be the truth of God revealed to the world! They were all in for Jesus Christ who would hold on to their promise so that they might receive it with us as a means to encourage us to be all in for Jesus and receive the promise together with those already in the “ALL IN” Hall of Faith!

          What is faith? There are two realities – a physical world and a spiritual world. Just as we have the sense of sight (how we predominantly interact with the world) faith is how we predominantly interact with the spiritual world. It is having a certain belief that something exist that you cannot know with the senses of the physical world (sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste). Faith can manifest itself in the physical world (Meshach, Shadrach & Abednego – not burned by fire – by faith they believed the unseen God would save them, but if God did not save them would not change the reality of His existence). Faith is manifested physically but is not a product of the physical world, its entire existence is in the spiritual/unseen world. Let me prove it. Does love exist? Of course but it too does not exist in the physical world. A hug or kiss is not love. Love manifests itself through those physical acts or by feeding the hungry but love itself is a reality in the unseen spiritual world that merely manifests itself in the physical world – just like faith. In fact, Paul said – all aspects of the physical world are finite – they will disappear but there are 3 things (in the eternal-unseen-spiritual world that will remain: FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE).                                                       

          There are things in the physical world that are unseen but still exist– like GRAVITY. So being unseen isn’t enough to prove that there is a spiritual world. Gravity is a good example to show us the reality of faith in a spiritual world. If you step off a 10-story building, what will happen to you? FALL – how do you know? Have you ever stepped off a 10-story building? NO! You have had experiences stepping off smaller things that cause you to “be sure of what you hope for and certain of what we do not see”. That is faith – it is real and though it can manifest itself in the physical world it exists in the spiritual world which is the same place you experience God who is unseen and who also manifests Himself in the physical world even though He is not a part of the physical world that will one day pass away.  

Hebrews 11:1-12:3

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
ABLE
4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
 
 
ENOCH
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Genesis 5:21-24     Jared (father of Enoch) lived 962 years, and then he died.
When Enoch was 65, he became the father of Methuselah [who ended up living 969 years–7 more than grandpa Jared and the longest of any human]. After Enoch became the father of Methuselah, he walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
          1/3 time of father and son and God said – well done – just come on up to heaven early. Apparently, compared to others, Enoch must have been living well – how? BY FAITH!
 
NOAH
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
ABRAHAM
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age — and Sarah herself was barren — was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
 
COMMENTARY INTERLUDE
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
ABRAHAM continued
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."  19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
FAITH WAS CREDITED AS RIGHTEOUSNESS = 1x in Genesis, 4xs in Romans, 1x in Galatians and also 1x in James - James 2:21-23  Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.
ISAAC
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
JACOB
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
JOSEPH
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
MOSES’S PARENTS (Amram & Jochebed)
Jochebed was Amram’s Aunt – his father’s sister
23 By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
MOSES
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
PRE-PROMISED LAND JEWS
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
FIRST PROMISED LAND JEWS
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
RAHAB
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
James 2:25-26     In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
 
 
MANY OTHERS
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.                  CLOUD OF WITNESSES
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
 
CONCLUSION
One afternoon author Patsy Clairmont found herself on an airplane, sitting next to a young man. She writes, "I had already observed something about this young man when I was being seated. He called me "Ma'am." At the time I thought, 'Either he thinks I'm ancient, or he's from the South where they still teach manners, or he's in the service.' I decided the latter was the most likely, so I asked, "You in the service?" "Yes, Ma'am, I am." "What branch?" "Marines." 
"Hey, Marine, where are you coming from?" "Operation Desert Storm, Ma'am." 
"No kidding? Desert Storm! How long were you there?" I asked. "A year and a half. I'm on my way home. My family will be at the airport." I then commented that he must have thought about returning to his family and home many times while he was in the Middle East. "Oh, no, Ma'am," he replied. "We were taught never to think of what might never be, but to be fully available right where we were." 
 
          That is a great philosophy for this world. But for a person to live by faith in the spiritual world that will affect this physical world til the return of Christ, it is the exact opposite. You should look ahead to what will be when Jesus does return and calls us home to glory. That will allow you to live a righteous productive life by faith in this world till that day you join…
Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses' parents, Moses,
Pre-Promised Land Jews, First Promised land Jews, Rahab, Many others…and
Add your name to the cloud of witnesses for those who would follow after you.
And you hear Jesus say, Welcome to the “ALL IN” Hall of Faith!