If you are also participating in our group study on Hebrews, you can download your Chapter 11 Study Materials.

This is Pastor Bart Wilkins speaking on Hebrews, Chapter 11 entitled “Faith In God’s Masterplan”.

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Hebrews 11:1-7

¹What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. ²God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith.

³By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

⁴It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. God accepted Abel’s offering to show that he was a righteous man. And although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us because of his faith.

⁵It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying–”suddenly he disappeared because God took him.” But before he was taken up, he was approved as pleasing to God. ⁶So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

⁷It was by faith that Noah built an ark to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about something that had never happened before. By his faith he condemned the rest of the world and was made right in God’s sight.

Reflect

Remember the movie, The Karate Kid? The city kid who always got picked on met an old karate teacher. The kid wanted to learn karate and the old man agreed to teach him. One of the first things the old man taught the boy was how to polish his car. Remember the “wax on - wax off” scene? The boy thought the old man was crazy but did it anyway because he had faith in the old man.

Imagine then what Noah must have felt like when God told him to build an ark! Noah obeyed because he had faith that God knew what He was doing! We should all strive to live our lives like Noah! Just remember, wax on - wax off!

Respond

The NIV version says that Noah acted “in Holy fear” when he built the ark. Do you have a “Holy” fear of God?

How can examples of faith help you in your Christian life today?

When was the last time you acted on your faith? How did it turn out?

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