Download Sermon #1-A Small Act of Faith with Profound

Sermon #1-A Small Act of Faith with Profound Implications!
Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by
which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being
dead yet speaketh.
Abel came to do what all of us come to do, worship. But, his act was by God’s definition heroic.
“God had revealed to Adam and his descendants the true way of worship, and Abel obeyed God
by faith. In fact, his obedience cost him his life. Cain was not a child of God because he did not
have faith. He was religious but not righteous. Abel speaks to us today as the first martyr of the
faith.”
Warren Wiersbe
I. There is the demonstration that reiterated Abel’s faith.
A. Abel’s faith was demonstrated by following God’s will.
Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain . . .
Abel came in faith, Cain came with human ingenuity:
Genesis 4:3
. . . Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
God’s response to Cain’s disobedience:
Genesis 4:6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance
fallen? (V.7) If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth
at the door.
B. Abel’s faith was demonstrated by following God’s word.
Genesis 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.
And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Cain wanted to worship his way instead of God’s way. Abel’s goal in worship was to please the
Lord.
II. There is the designation resulting from Abel’s faith.
1 John 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love
one another. (V.12) Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And
wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. [This
passage reveals motive, intent, and transparency concerning Cain’s gift.]
A. He achieved an enviable designation.
Hebrews 11:4
. . . by which he obtained witness
Abel was close to the first Sin!
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and
so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
The most notable heroic act that is designated by God concerning Abel, is that he chose to be
obedient in the atmosphere of his parents’ and Cain’s disobedience.
“Jesus called Abel a prophet because his actions foretold the blood sacrifice our Lord Himself
would make (Luke 11:49). Abel’s story is among the first in the Bible’s flowing red river of
redemption.”
Adrian Rogers
B. He achieved an essential designation.
Hebrews 11:4
1 John 3:12
. . . that he was righteous,
Not as Cain, . . . Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
III. There is the determination that resounds from Abel’s faith.
In the historical context of Abel’s life the Bible only records what he did and not what he said.
A. It was determined that his faith received a notable recommendation.
Hebrews 11:4
. . . God testifying of his gifts:
Luke 21:3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more
than they all:
B. It was determined that his faith received an unending remembrance.
Hebrews 11:4
. . . and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
Hebrews 12:24
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that
speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Sermon #2-An Unlikely Hero Who Was Known For His Walk
Genesis 5:21-24 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: (V.22) And
Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and
daughters: (V.23) And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: (V.24)
And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
“Walking with God communicates to us a life which had as its ambition to synchronize and to
calibrate his life to function in harmony and in unison with God. His motivation for such a life is
born from an intense admiration for God and His character.”
Hampton Drum
I. Enoch’s walk with God was a pleasing walk.
A. From the evidence of the scripture it was a walk of belief.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God
must believe that he is,
B. From the evidence of the scripture it was a walk of bonding.
Amos 3:3
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
Hebrews 11:5
. . . for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
“What sweet hours of holy and happy interaction God and Enoch must have had as they
communed with each other. There was never a cloud between their fellowship. God was a
pleasure to Enoch, and Enoch pleased God.”
Hebert Lockyer
II. Enoch’s walk with God was a persistent walk.
A. The lapse of time proved the persistence of his walk.
Genesis 5:21-22 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: (V.22) And
Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah. . .
His persistence was in the pre-flood Era:
Genesis 6:5-6 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (V.6) And it repented
the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
B. The longevity of trust proved the persistence of his walk.
Genesis 5:23
And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
III. Enoch’s walk with God was a perpetual walk.
A. Enoch’s walk with God was filled with the concerns of eternity.
Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: (A level of trust developed between Enoch and
God that had never been known before.)
Hebrews 11:6
. . . and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Matthew 6:10
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Enoch’s walk with God revealed that he didn’t need death to bring about incorruption and
immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:53
put on immortality.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must
B. Enoch’s walk with God was forwarded into the corridors of eternity.
Genesis 5:24
. . . and he was not; for God took him.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Hebrews 11:5 . . . because God had translated him: (Translations are made when what was
said in one language will be beneficial to another language and people. Could it be that Enoch
was translated because his testimony in heaven would enrich the environment of heaven? Could
it be that Enoch’s desire to know God and walk with God so revealed the value of God that He
would take him to heaven?)
Hebrews 11:5
. . . that he pleased God.
“The Scripture testifies that Enoch walked with God so closely that his move from time into
eternity required that his body simply change its form. One breath on earth, the next in eternity.”
Jennifer Dean Kennedy
Sermon #3-A Leap of Faith From An Uncommon Place!
Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about
seven days. (V.31) By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when
she had received the spies with peace.
“She was a moral bottom-feeder. She made her living off the culture’s insatiable appetite for
unbridled debauchery, catering to the most debased appetites of the very dregs of society. It is
hard to imagine a more unlikely candidate for divine honor than Rahab.”
John MacArthur
Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
The Lord gives us the power to rise above our circumstances.
Matthew 1:5
begat Jesse;
And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed
I. Rahab was presented with an opportunity of faith. (V.31)
Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when
she had received the spies with peace.
(Sometimes we forget the rare opportunity of faith!)
A. The opportunity came by way of a promise given to Joshua.
Joshua 6:2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and
the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
B. The opportunity came by way of a purpose give to Joshua.
Joshua 1:11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals;
for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the
Lord your God giveth you to possess it.
II. Rahab was perceptive of the obligation of faith. (V.31)
A. Rahab supported the reputation of their faith.
Joshua 2:9 She said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that
your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
(V.9) For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye
came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other
side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
B. Rahab surrendered to the reality of their faith.
Joshua 2:11
And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did
there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God
in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
III. Rahab was productive in her obedience of faith. (V.31)
Her faith was not flourishing in the atmosphere of belief but in an atmosphere of evil.
“Victory is God’s gift to every Christian. The Bible admits the possibility of defeat, but never
assumes the necessity of it.”
Adrian Rogers
A. It was productive in that it preserved the lives of the faithful.
Joshua 2:14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business.
And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with
thee.
“The word kindly in Hebrew is hesed. The word hesed means covenantal love. The word hesed
means a legal agreement that God makes with people to cover them.”
Tony Evans
Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not,
B. It was productive in that it provided life for her family.
Joshua 2:18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread
in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy
mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee.
“Her whole life had been devoted to the profane pursuit of carnal self-gratification. Her
livelihood was totally dependent on consensual evil. She was enslaved to the most diabolical
kinds of passions, in bondage to her own sin, held captive by a monstrous society that was itself
already under God’s sentence of condemnation – indeed, marked out for eternal destruction. But
divine grace redeemed her and liberated her from all of that, plucking her as a brand from the
fire.”
John MacArthur
Sermon #4-A Hero Who Hitchhiked On Another’s Faith
Judges 4:6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and
said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward
mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the
children of Zebulun?
Hebrews 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and
of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
I. The woman God chose to prompt the faith of a warrior.
A. She was a woman of great wisdom in the perception of godly things.
Judges 4:4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
(V.5) And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in mount
Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
“Deborah, the Jewish prophetess, is the only judge of Israel that the text says people came to her
for judgement.”
David Jeremiah
B. She was a woman of great wisdom in the persistence of godly things.
Judges 5:7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I
Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
“Hers was a fearless and unsolicited devotion to the emancipation of God’s people, and she
awoke in them a determination to free themselves from their wretched bondage and
degradation.”
Hebert Lockyer
II. The warrior God called to perform the feat of warfare.
A. Barak was great in faith because of the source he learned from.
Where did Barak Get His Faith?
 The Word of God was the origin of his faith.
Judges 4:6 . . . Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward
mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the
children of Zebulun? (V.7) And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of
Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.
Romans 10:17
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Faith is hearing God and believing God. That’s the origin of his faith.
B. Barak was great in faith because of the source he looked to.
Who was the object of His faith?
 His faith was in the Lord God of Israel.
Judges 4:6
Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded,
“What is faith? It’s not positive thinking—that’s faith in faith. It’s not believe you can do it—
that’s faith in yourself. Have faith in God. The Operation of His Faith; Hearing from God,
Trusting in God, and Obeying God.”
Adrian Rogers
III. The wonders God caused to prevail the fight of war.
A. The wonder of God caused Barak to seize the moment.
Judges 4:14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath
delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down
from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. (V.15) And the LORD discomfited Sisera,
and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera
lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
Some of you are thinking about going over to the enemy. Some of you are thinking about giving
up. There’s doubt in your mind.
Doubt sees the obstacles, but faith sees the way.
Doubt sees the darkest night, but faith sees the day.
Doubt dreads to take a step, but faith soars on high.
Doubt says, “Who believes?” Faith answers, “I!”
(Author Unknown)
B. The wonder of God caused Barak to see sin cannot win.
He knew that his chariots were superior. He knew that his army was better and he knew that his
record was untarnished. The king of Canaan was having his way and Sisera was riding high,
wide, and handsome. But, here’s where Sisera failed: His trust was in the wrong place.
Herbert Lockyer
Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of
the LORD our God.
Judges 5:4 . . . the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
(V.5) The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God
of Israel.
Josephus, the historian tells about it:
There came a blinding rainstorm, and it was moving in the direction from which the army
Sisera—Sisera’s army—was coming. And, the rain was right in the face of his charioteers. And,
he said, it was a cold rain. And, their clothes got soaked, and their arms got numb. And, the
chariot wheels bogged down, and God gave the victory.
Judges 5:20 They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
(V.21) The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul,
thou hast trodden down strength.
“Do you know what God did? God lined the stars up behind Barak. God lined the whole universe
behind him. The whole universe is against the man who is against God. The whole universe is
behind the man who’s for God. Never forget it. Satan sails a sinking ship; Satan rules a doomed
domain. Sin can’t win. Faith can’t fail.
Adrian Rogers
Judges 4:18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in
to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a
mantle. (V.19) And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am
thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
Judges 4:21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand,
and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the
ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
Sermon#5-An Unlikely Hero Who Kept a Hard Promise
I. An unlikely hero with an unlikely past.
A. His illegitimate birth made him an unlikely candidate.
Judges 11:2 And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust
out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the
son of a strange woman.
B. His isolation from his birth right made him an unlikely candidate.
Judges 11:3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there
were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
“God will often humble those He chooses to exalt. Your abasement may be God’s plan for your
advancement.”
Adrian Rogers
II. An unlikely hero with an uncommon potential.
A. He had the uncommon quality of great valor.
Judges 11:1
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour,
B. He had the uncommon quality to be a guide in victory.
Judges 11:3
. . . and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
“Here the word vain means "to be reckless." Jephthah was already known as "a mighty man of
valor". Thus he had no trouble forming a band of bandits.”
Warren Wiersbe
“The rejection Jephthah experienced during times of peace prepared him to be a leader when war
was threatening. Neither bad choices nor the injustices done to a person must ever keep a child of
God from completing God’s Call.”
David Jeremiah
Judges 11:6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with
the children of Ammon. (V.7) And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate
me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in
distress?
Judges 11:11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head
and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
III. An unlikely hero with an uncomfortable promise.
“The selfish part of us has an allergic reaction to the word deny. It’s tough to do when we live in
the lap of luxury. We don’t just tolerate indulgence in our culture. We celebrate it. But the
fundamental problem with indulgence is that enough is never enough.”
Mark Batterson
A. He was in the uncomfortable position of making a rash vow.
Judges 11:31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to
meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD 's, and
I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
B. He was an uncommon person who maintained his vow.
Judges 11:34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter
came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he
had neither son nor daughter. (V.35) And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his
clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them
that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD , and I cannot go back.
Judges 11:36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the
LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the
LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.
Judges 11:39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her
father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man.
And it was a custom in Israel,