Hebrews 11
11The 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.G1161G4102G2076G5287G1679G1650G4229G3756G9912The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.G1063G1722G5026G4245G31403By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see.G4102G3539G165G2675G4487G2316G1519G3588G991G1096G3361G1096G1537G53164By 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.G4102G6G4374G2316G4119G2378G3844G2535G1223G3739G3140G1511G1342G2316G3140G1909G846G1435G2532G1223G846G599G2089G2980G29805By 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."G4102G1802G3346G1492G3361G1492G2288G2532G2147G3756G2147G1360G2316G3346G846G1063G4253G846G3331G3140G2100G23166It'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.G1161G5565G4102G102G2100G1063G4334G2316G1163G4100G3754G2076G2532G1096G3406G1567G8467By 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.G4102G3575G5537G4012G3369G991G3369G2125G2680G2787G1519G4991G846G3624G1223G3739G2632G2889G2532G1096G2818G1343G2596G41028By 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.G4102G11G2564G1831G1519G5117G3739G3195G2983G1519G2817G5219G2532G1831G3361G1987G4226G20649By 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.G4102G3939G1519G1093G1860G5613G245G2730G1722G4633G3326G2464G2532G2384G4789G846G186010Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God.G1063G1551G4172G2192G2310G3739G5079G2532G1217G231611By 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.G4102G2532G4564G846G2983G1411G1519G2602G4690G2532G5088G3844G2540G2244G1893G2233G4103G186112That's how it happened that from one man's dead and shriveled loins there are now people numbering into the millions.G1352G1080G2532G575G1520G2532G5023G3499G2531G798G3772G4128G2532G5616G285G3588G3844G2281G5491G38213Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world.G3778G3956G599G2596G4102G3361G2983G1860G235G1492G846G4207G2532G3982G2532G782G2532G3670G3754G1526G3581G2532G3927G1909G109314People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home.G1063G3004G5108G1718G3754G1934G396815If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted.G2532G3303G1487G3421G1565G575G3739G1831G302G2192G2540G34416But they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them.G1161G3570G3713G2909G5123G2032G1352G2316G1870G3756G1870G846G1941G846G2316G1063G2090G846G417217By faith, Abraham, at the time of testing, offered Isaac back to God. Acting in faith, he was as ready to return the promised son, his only son, as he had been to receive him—G4102G11G3985G4374G2464G2532G324G1860G4374G343918and this after he had already been told, "Your descendants shall come from Isaac."G4314G3739G2980G3754G1722G2464G2564G4671G4690G256419Abraham figured that if God wanted to, he could raise the dead. In a sense, that's what happened when he received Isaac back, alive from off the altar.G3049G3754G2316G1415G1453G2532G1537G3498G3606G2532G2865G846G1722G385020By an act of faith, Isaac reached into the future as he blessed Jacob and Esau.G4102G2464G2127G2384G2532G2269G4012G319521By an act of faith, Jacob on his deathbed blessed each of Joseph's sons in turn, blessing them with God's blessing, not his own—as he bowed worshipfully upon his staff.G4102G2384G599G2127G1538G5207G2501G2532G4352G1909G206G846G446422By an act of faith, Joseph, while dying, prophesied the exodus of Israel, and made arrangements for his own burial.G4102G2501G5053G3421G4012G1841G5207G2474G2532G1781G4012G846G374723By an act of faith, Moses' parents hid him away for three months after his birth. They saw the child's beauty, and they braved the king's decree.G4102G3475G1080G2928G5150G5259G846G3962G1360G1492G791G3813G2532G5399G3756G5399G935G129724By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house.G4102G3475G1096G3173G720G3004G5207G5328G236425He chose a hard life with God's people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors.G138G3123G4778G2992G2316G2228G2192G619G266G434026He valued suffering in the Messiah's camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff.G2233G3680G5547G3187G4149G2233G2344G1722G125G1063G578G1519G340527By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king's blind rage. He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and kept right on going.G4102G2641G125G3361G5399G2372G935G1063G2594G5613G3708G51728By an act of faith, he kept the Passover Feast and sprinkled Passover blood on each house so that the destroyer of the firstborn wouldn't touch them.G4102G4160G3957G2532G4378G129G3363G3645G4416G2345G84629By an act of faith, Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry ground. The Egyptians tried it and drowned.G4102G1224G2063G2281G5613G1223G3584G3739G124G3984G2983G266630By faith, the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, and the walls fell flat.G4102G5038G2410G4098G2944G1909G2033G225031By an act of faith, Rahab, the Jericho harlot, welcomed the spies and escaped the destruction that came on those who refused to trust God.G4102G4204G4460G4881G3756G544G1209G2685G3326G151532I could go on and on, but I've run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . .G2532G5101G3004G2089G3004G1063G5550G1952G3165G1334G4012G1066G5037G913G2532G4546G2532G2422G1138G2532G5037G4545G2532G439633Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions,G3739G1223G4102G2610G932G2038G1343G2013G1860G5420G4750G302334fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies.G4570G1411G4442G5343G4750G3162G575G769G1743G1096G2478G1722G4171G2827G3925G24535Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection.G1135G2983G846G3498G1537G386G1161G243G5178G3756G4327G629G2443G5177G2909G38636Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons.G1161G2087G2983G3984G1701G2532G3148G1161G2089G1199G2532G543837We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—G3034G4249G3985G599G1722G5408G3162G4022G1722G3374G1722G122G1192G5302G2346G255838the world didn't deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.G3739G2889G2258G3756G514G4105G1722G2047G2532G3735G2532G4693G2532G3692G109339Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised.G2532G3778G3956G3140G1223G4102G2865G3756G186040God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.G2316G4265G5100G2909G5100G4012G2257G3363G5048G5565G2257G5048G3363G5048
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