Unshrinkable

SUMMARY

In this sermon, Karl Ihfe continues a series on endurance, focusing on Hebrews 11 and 12. He begins by reminding the congregation of the letter's context – written to a weary, persecuted church. Ihfe emphasizes the importance of holding onto faith and not losing confidence, quoting Hebrews 10:35-39 and referencing the prophet Habakkuk's words, "The righteous person will live by faith" (Hab. 2:4).

Ihfe then explores Hebrews 11, often called the "Hall of Faith," highlighting examples of faithful people who endured despite challenges. He compares the Christian life to a marathon, acknowledging that we all hit walls in our faith journey. However, he encourages believers to persevere, drawing strength from the stories of those who have gone before us. Ihfe concludes by urging the church to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, the ultimate example of endurance, and to continue meeting together for mutual encouragement and support.

TRANSCRIPTION:

Well, if you have your Bible open over to Hebrews, chapter 11, we're going to spend the bulk of our time together there. This morning. We're in a series, and in fact, it's week number six, Palm Sunday, a day that we celebrate Jesus resolutely going into Jerusalem, knowing that what lay before him was a really difficult, challenging road. And yet with courage and hope and what we'll see this morning, joy, he was willing to take on and to endure and to suffer. And so from that, we've been thinking together about what does it mean to be God's people in our day?

So we began in week one looking at this letter written to a weary and tired church, a burdened church, a church that was struggling and being persecuted. Like, how do we endure as God's people? And so we listen to that challenge of this preacher giving us the Word. It keeps swimming, just keep going, keep enduring, hang in there, don't give up, don't give in. That we're part of this great story we looked at in week two, that God's great stories culminated in and through Christ.

And so being a part of his family, we're now grafted into that same story. And because of that, then a word is worth a thousand pictures. We looked at in week three how this amazing living word has come to us and shown us in Jesus Christ how to live a truly human life. And we thought together about the power that Jesus was made fully human, just like you and me, who experienced temptations and challenges and trials just like we did, and yet did it without sinning. And so he opens us a way to see how to live a truly human life.

And that's so important because we're all on this journey together, aren't we? Says week four. We looked at how we are all together on this journey, trying to pursue who God is wanting us to be his people, that not only are we on it individually, we're on it together. We need each other. And so you hear this commitment and this challenge to community, to lean into community.

In fact, the words that Karen read just a few moments ago, this call to say, don't stop meeting together, don't give up this community, this family that we need one another. We need to encourage and challenge and exhort and uphold one another. Last week we looked at and heard from Rodney talk about how Jesus is this great high priest, that not only did he show us the way, that he has gone ahead of us. He is that pioneer, he is s that forerunner who's now in heaven at the Right hand of the Father, interceding for us every day, interceding on our behalf. And so that challenge comes to so where are we going to put our hope then?

We're going to put it in the things around us are. We're going to put it in the one who has given his life for us and who daily intercedes to the Father on our behalf. Will we hang in there this morning? We're going to continue with that same thought. In fact, I want us to jump into the passage just after the one Karen read for us because it leads us to this question you heard early on.

We're going to hold on to that hope unswervingly because he who promised us is faithful. Here is what the preacher continues on as he challenges them to remember who they are. He says, remember those earlier days. Do you remember those days at the beginning, after you had received the light, when you endured a great conflict full of suffering? Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution that other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.

You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property because you knew that you yourselves had a better and a lasting possessions. He says, remember how it all began. Remember when you first came to the awareness of this amazing God who loves you and has given everything for you, who wants to be in relationship to you. Remember how it changed your life. And in doing so, you were willing to put up with a lot.

You dealt with a lot of persecution and you stood side by side with those who were also going through really difficult times because you knew you had something better. So they could take our stuff, right? They may even take our life, but they can't take away what we have in Christ. They can't take away the life that we have with him. And he says, so do not throw away your confidence.

It will be richly rewarded. And then in four words right here, you need to persevere. You need to hang in there so that when you've done the will of God, you'll receive what he has promised. And then he quotes this prophet Habakkuk. I don't know how many of you know the story or of the prophet Habakkuk.

I invite you to go back and read his name, Habk. It's really easy to say several, say three times in a row, Ro. It just flows off the tongue. But if you haven't read his story, you need to go back and read his story. Habakkuk was a prophet of God.

Who was warning the people to turn away from their evil deeds, to turn back to the living God. He was hoping that one day they would hear the message and they would do it. Only day after day, they wouldn't. And so Habakkuk moves to a front row seat to see Babylon coming into Israel and just taking them all off into captivity. And he gets a front row seat to this judgment that God calls down on his people for turning away and chasing after other gods.

And his ministry changes from one that was warning Israel. Now it's the one that encouraged her to hold on, to wait on God, that even though he has carried you off into captivity, even though he is punishing for your sins, he will redeem you. He will restore you. And so we hear these words that the Hebrew preacher keeps pointing back to because he sees them in the same story. In fact, we'll hear Paul will refer to the same passage two times in his letters to the church in Rome and to the church in Galatia at the same promise that the New Testament writers had.

This scene, had this picture in their heads that, that what had started when Babylon came in and carried the people off into captivity. That promise that God would restore them back, he saw them still in that same story, as if that promise was continuing on even unto today. And so he would point them back to this promise. Though he lingers, wait for him. He will certainly come and will not delay.

See, the enemy is puffed up. His desires are not upright. But the righteous person will live by faith. The righteous person will live by faith. It becomes this motto, like this rallying cry for the early church, especially the early New Testament Church.

The righteous will live by faith. Why? Because he who promised is faithful. And if he promised to return and to take us to glory, he will come back and do what he said he would do. So the righteous, we live by faith.

We live by faith. And we don't shrink back. The preacher says we're not those who belong to those that shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. The righteous will live by faith. How?

How, some might have been asking, in the midst of so much chaos, in the midst of so much turmoil and pain and challenge and trials, how well in Hebrews, faith and endurance are. There's a thin line between him. In fact, the preacher will define what faith is, and it's going to sound a lot like endurance. He begins chapter 11, a verse that maybe many of you have memorized. I certainly did as a kid.

Now, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. You see, faith is the confidence in the ultimate victory of God. He says, so don't throw away your confidence. Don't throw it away.

He who promised is faithful. You may remember back in chapter two, as he's challenging them to see things in a different light. We talked about history and how we don't want to give into amnesia, just forgetting about it. But we also don't want to fall into atavism where we idolize it. Instead, we look at it differently.

He says, I'm putting everything under him. Jesus. God left nothing that's not under him. Because of who Jesus was and is. God places everything under his feet.

And yet. And I love how scripture here he. It's unvarnished truth, right? He just tells it like it is. He says, but at present, we don't see everything subject to him.

And he reminds the church, everything has been made subject to Christ. And yet I have eyes just like you do. I see the news just like you do. I listen to the conversations happening in the workplaces and in the school settings, in the neighborhoods just like you do. I see the wars happening around the world.

I can see it doesn't look like everything is under control to him. And yet he says, but we do see Jesus. We do see the example of the Risen one, of the one who lived faithfully to the promise to be a true human. And. And so we follow his example.

And so faith is based on something. It's being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don't see. But it's not some Pollyanna type of thing. Faith is based on something. Don't throw your confidence away.

Remember, he pointed us Back to Psalm 110 a couple of weeks ago. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies that footstool. Right, there's that word again. Until recognizing even the preacher at the time was writing this story, knowing it's already and not yet right, that this salvation that is coming, it's already and it's not yet. We can see, even though we know everything is subject to Christ, we can't see it right now, but we can see Jesus.

And so we continue to pursue him. Enduring faith. It's a response. Hope. It's a response.

Confidence is a response, not because somebody else said so, but because we've seen it. Remember those early days when you first believed, when you first encountered the Gospel, and it made that change in your life, you remember how you were just willing to give up anything. It didn't matter. Do you remember those days? That faith is still there.

That faith is still there. Throw your confidence away. Instead, go back to the story. Go back to Our Story, chapter 11. Then he points to this incredible story of men and women, just like you and me, who endured, who persevered in their faith.

And it's this incredible outpouring. Why? Because one of the huge themes that runs through the Book of Hebrews is imitating, imitating those who came before you. Watch what they do, listen to what they say, see how they live, and follow their example. So the preacher takes us back into the stories.

Now, what's really cool is the reason we know these stories is because these people endured. They hung in there. They didn't shrink back. Chapter 1039. Instead, they hung in there.

And that's why we have their stories. These stories remind us that the race of life is not a sprint. It's not even a 5k or a 10k. It's a marathon. But any of us who've ever tried to run a marathon.

I haven't tried to run a marathon. I've run a half. But I know a few of you have tried to run and have completed one. Matt Palmer, I'm looking at you. A marathon, it's a huge accomplishment.

But anybody who runs for a race knows eventually you're going to hit a wall. That's just part of the race. They've gone and done incredible studies on this. In fact, they say it's typically somewhere between mile 18 and 22. Matt can give us an affirm of that, if that's really true.

But it's this incredible moment where it feels like all of a sudden your legs turn to jello, and yet they also weigh 8 tons. And so trying to move is just next to impossible. I remember that I hit the wall. I trained for a half marathon, and I was running it and I was doing great. And I hit mile 11 and I ran smack into the wall.

I mean, right into the wall. And I was ready to stop. I was ready to quit. I already was having this conversation in my head about what I would tell Kaylee about why I had to quit and how my family would understand how courageous I was for hitting the wall but keeping on going, right? And I was ready to quit.

I mean, I was a step and a half away. And all of a sudden, my body just huge, one cramp. It's never happened to me before in my life. My entire body just Cramped. You would have thought someone had zapped me with a taser, you know.

And I almost fell down and I kind of catch myself and I'm ready to stop. And then the moment happened. Then it happened. All of a sudden, this flash right past me. Shook my head and kind of looking, and it's these two mall walkers.

Well, you would not believe the sail that was only there. And in this thought penetrated my mind. I said, I will not go out like this. This is not my story. I'm going to live a different story.

So I gutted myself to the next water station and I got a couple of cups of water and I chugged them. And something revived in me. And as I was leaving that water state, it was like a whole new man. In fact, what's crazy is that somehow Kaylee was at Mile 11 Water Station. And I didn't know it, but she caught some footage of me.

This is this. Check it out. See if you can see the moment when I endure.

I don't know how she found that footage. I don't know where she was hiding, but it was amazed. Did you see the perseverance on my face when I put my hat on? I step, why? Why do we respond that way?

Because the stories when you're running for your life, when it feels like you're running for your life, that's the stories of the people who have persevered, who've made it through, that matter so much to us, right? When we've hit a wall and we don't know where to go, having someone come alongside us. And I know, I know how it feels, some of us have run smack dab into a financial wall, right? If you've looked at your 401k this week, or maybe it's the 401, not okay, but it's not just this week. Years in the past, bad decisions, poor choices, reckless spending, you've hit this financial wall and you go, it worth.

Is it worth trying to get my financial life in order? Is it really worth that? And then out have this cloud of witnesses. Moses comes down. He says, hey, you know, I was offered all the riches of Egypt.

I was offered the opportunity to be the pharaoh's grandson. He talk about a position of wealth and influence and power. But you know what? I turned it down. And I haven't regretted it one moment.

Because in doing so, it allowed me to step into the call that Go had put on my life to say, what if today could be a different day? What if I have a bigger purpose for you than just Being another rich guy. What if there's a greater story? Some of us have run into a sin wall, a morality wall, a failure wall, right? We've just smacked dab into it.

As we encounter this, we wonder, is there any way that God could use someone like me who's made the choices and the mistakes that I have made? Could anybody really could. Could that be a part of the story?

Then out the stands comes Rahab and David who go, look, we know what it's like to make some bad choices. We know what it's like to use our body in some ways that weren't intended. We know what it's like to take advantage of folks. We know what it's like to make some. Some failures in life.

And listen, God could use a. He can use you. Hold on. Don't give up. Don't give in.

Your story is not over.

Or maybe some of us have run into this wall of unanswered prayer. We've asked God over and over and over again for a miracle, for a healing, for an opportunity. And it just feels like we're running into a brick wall.

You know, as you start out chapter 11, you're just reading hit after hit, like, man, this was awesome. And he had faith. And look what happened to him. Amazing happen to him. And then you get to verse 35, just remind, you know, there were some others.

There are some others who hit a brick wall. And the prayers weren't answered the way that they had hoped. In fact, they were tortured, but they refused to be released so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and some flogging and even chains and imprisonment. Some were put to death by stoning.

Some were saw in two. Some were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins and destitute, persecuted, mistreated. The world wasn't worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the ground, unanswered prayers after unanswered prayers.

It is one of my favorite things about scripture and about the Hebrew preachers. He doesn't varnish things over and say it’ll all okay. He says, no, no. Some people had some really hard things happen to them. They hit a wall and the prayer wasn't answered the way.

But there was this hope that kept them going. And so out of the stands come these stories of people who have hit walls and said, hold on, don't give up. See, chapter 11. It is not just the great heroes of faith. It's the stories that help us Keep going.

When we're struggling to hold on to ours, these heroes of faith, they point us back to that great story of faith, the ultimate story.

Broadway has our own stories, don't we? These heroes of faith that were a part of us who've gone on to glory and who are in the cloud cheering us on. At the Norvill and Helen Youngs who had a hand in. In helping this church thrive and grow.

They have the John and Vera Whites and my friend Bob Barnhill used to sit right over here.

The John Horns and the Sage Massey and the Tommy Jones, the Frank and Doris Mullicans, the Frank and Judy Butlers, the Floyd Stumbos, the Philip Wishcampers, the Danny Wrens at the Kern Stuttlers, these great men and women heroes of faith. The preacher says, they're your cloud of witnesses. They're the ones cheering you on, saying, hold on, I know it's tough, but hang in there, stay together, keep pursuing, keep chasing. They keep pointing us back to what the Hebrew preacher points us back to. Chapter 12 opens up the incredible story, the story that is the story of all stories.

Therefore, since we're surrounded by these great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders in the sin that so easily entangles. And let's run with perseverance, the race Marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, that forerunner, that perfecter of faith for the joy set before him. He endured the cross scorning its shame, and he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

See how do we survive with a faith that's unshrinkable. The preacher says, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. Keep following him. Keep listening for that great cloud of witnesses who cries out on behalf of the great gospel story. Don't quit.

Don't give up. Don't give him. Keep our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, the forerunner, the first one who went through it all, who showed us the way. He's still advocating for us. He saying, church, don't give up, mean meeting together.

It's too important. You matter too much to us to not be here.

Keep our eyes fixed on Christ, God. May that be our prayer this week, as I know many of us, many of us are facing some uphill battles, challenges, struggles. There are these moments in our faith journey where we just wonder. We hit a wall, and it may be a relational wall or a financial wall, or maybe it's a work wall. Maybe it's an unanswered prayer, a faith we and we're going to be tempted to give up and to give in.

God, would you help us to find that water station where we can get refreshed? God, would you help us as your church to be those folks giving out cups of cold water everywhere and every time we can? God, would you help us not to give up meeting together? It's too important. It matters too much that we're here for one another.

Yed, thank you for the faithful cloud of witnesses who lived before us this wonderful example of a faith filled life who themselves got echo the stories of Those in verses 35 and after, who life didn't go the way they thought it might go, but yet still they persevered, they endured and they call us to do the same. God, would you give us courage to live with an unshrinkable faith? This week as we head into Easter Sunday, as we look forward to all that we celebrate the life that we get to have because that tomb is empty. Yeah, but you help us to walk with Jesus during this week to see the truth, just like the Hebrew preacher is that even though everything is under your feet, Jesus, sometimes it doesn't look like it. So would you help us to see you, to keep seeing you and to be faithful to that God?

We love you. We're so thankful for Jesus for his example. Would you help us to live in light of it? I pray in Jesus name. Amen.