Our scripture reading is from the book of Hebrews. We'll begin in chapter 10 and read part of chapter 11 as well. Hebrews chapter 10. We'll begin the reading at verse 25. Hebrews 10 verse 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment, supposed ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing? and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But call to remembrance the former days in which after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions, partly whilst ye were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods. knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report, Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 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." By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him. For before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God. But without faith, it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. by faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. So far we read God's holy word. The text for the sermon of the first three verses of chapter 11, Hebrews 11, one through three, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, for by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. We love it in the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapter 11 is a chapter very well known to us. Many, if not most of us have memorized the chapter at one time, in catechism, in school, or at home. And it recounts stories of men and women that are right at the core of the Old Testament history. It's exciting to recount their triumphs of faith and to see how pertinent the lives of the Old Testament saints are even to us today, though we are living thousands of years later and though we live in a very different culture and time. As we look at these three verses in Hebrews chapter 11, it is important for us to see the context because These verses are very closely connected to the verses in chapter 10. In chapter 10, as we read, first of all, he warns the people who receive this epistle not to forsake the truth, not to forsake the truth. And you have to understand he's writing to Hebrew Christians. That's why it's called the book of Hebrews. And he's writing to Hebrew Christians who had Converted, they confessed that Jesus Christ was very God, their savior. And then they had all kinds of opposition. Their families ostracized them. They tormented them. They persecuted them. And some of them were thinking, maybe we've made a mistake. Maybe we ought not persevere in the confession of Jesus. Maybe we should go back to the religion of our parents, which was the Old Testament. way of worshiping God. And so he warns them, do not, do not give up the truth that you have been given. In verse 36, he says, for ye have need of patience. And that word patience is patient endurance. You need to have patient endurance as you're facing persecution, troubles, and hardship in your life, you need to endure by the power of God. And it teaches that the power of endurance is faith. That's verse 38. Now the just shall live by faith. And as soon as we hear that, we think of Romans and we think the just shall live by faith. Yes, they are justified by faith. They are righteous because they have faith in Jesus Christ. But the just shall live by faith, while it means that, it also means that's how they live. They live out of their faith. That's the power by which they persevere in the trials and the difficulties of this life. And so that brings us to verse 39, the last verse of chapter 10. We are not of them that draw back unto perdition. You draw back, you give up the truth, you stop confessing Jesus Christ. That's the way of perdition. That's the way of hell. He said, we're not of that. You, he says that to the people to whom he's writing, we are not of those who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. And that brings in chapter 11, those who believe. The power of perseverance is faith. And so immediately chapter 11 says, now faith is the substance of things hoped for. Because if you have a hope, you persevere in that. You don't give up the faith because you know where you're headed. You're headed to heaven. That's your hope. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. And that's the point then of really these verses, and then the chapter as it goes forward, that it will show that faith is what enabled all these Old Testament saints to persevere patiently to the end. No matter what trouble they had, no matter what sorrows or hardships, they had faith. And faith is the power by which they lived. So all the rest of the chapter will demonstrate that power of faith in their lives. Faith is obviously something that cannot be overstated as far as its importance is concerned. Over 700 times, the Bible speaks explicitly of faith or believing or trusting in God. It is a very important thing. What exactly is that faith and why is it so important? That's what we look at in these verses. We'll consider them then under the theme, our amazing faith. Our amazing faith. Notice in the first place, solid proof. And that comes from verse one. It's the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is solid proof. Secondly, faith is spiritual understanding. By faith we understand, verse three says. And then thirdly, faith is sure salvation. And that's verse two, the good report that the elders had. So we consider this under the theme, our amazing faith. And first of all, faith is solid proof. As I said, this, These verses do not really give us a definition of faith, but we need to understand what is faith. What does the Bible teach us about what faith is? And let's start with this. Faith is a gift from God. Now, God gives us many gifts. We have homes, we have food, we have clothes, we have a wonderful place to worship in here. God gives us many things, but faith is a spiritual gift. A spiritual gift, unlike all the earthly material things God gives us, faith is spiritual. You cannot earn faith. You cannot give faith to someone else. You cannot work faith yourself. It is a gift that God gives. The Holy Spirit works faith in the hearts of an elect sinner. Faith is God's gift. Faith is not something passed down from parents to children. Faith is not something that automatically is given to everyone who is baptized. Faith is not something that's given to anyone who sits in church week after week and listens, not necessarily given to every person or to anyone who sits in catechism and memorizes all the questions or goes to a Christian school and passes all the Bible tests That's not how you get faith. Faith is a gift from God. And faith is the Bible, and as our confessions explain it, is a spiritual gift that connects the believer to Jesus Christ. It is a spiritual bond that connects the believer to Jesus Christ. And at the same time, that wonderful work of faith in the heart of a believer gives him a spiritual knowledge and an absolute confidence so that he can say, whatever is written in this book, is true. That's what faith says. I have the absolute certainty that whatever is in the Bible is true. Without faith, without that spiritual work, that action, that bond of faith, a man is completely of the earth. That means that all that he knows is of the earth. That's all he loves. That's all he cares about. That's all he seeks. All his heart, his interest, his life is wrapped up in earthly things. You know that. Houses and food and drink and clothes and money and possessions of every kind. Cars and trucks and cell phones. That's what his life consists in. All material, earthly things. He knows there is a God. He does know there is a God because the creation clearly testifies that there is a God. The Godhead and the power of God are clearly revealed in the creation around us. So even the unbeliever knows there is a God, but he refuses to acknowledge it. He holds it down under his consciousness and lives as though there is no God. There is nothing other than the earthly things, this material world. He can sing America the Beautiful and the Purple Mountains' Majesty and even sing God Sheds His Grace on Thee, but he doesn't believe in God for all that. Faith changes everything. Faith is the substance, the foundation for things hoped for. Faith is the proof the proof which gives to that believer a conviction of things that have been done or things that exist, things that you cannot see with your eyes. Let's delve into that a moment. Faith is the substance of things, the proof of things that cannot be seen. What kinds of things cannot be seen? Well, God, even though the testimony of God is clear, you cannot see God, you cannot see angels, you cannot see heaven, you cannot see Jesus. And all the things that the Bible says about Jesus, you cannot see that with your earthly eyes, that Jesus is truly a man, but he's also very God, that he was born of a virgin, that he went about in this world doing good, healing the sick, casting out demons, raising Lazarus from the dead. We've not seen any of that. We did not see Jesus take five loaves and two fish and feed 5,000 men plus women and children. that he was nailed on a cross outside of Jerusalem. We did not see that. That he was there suffering the wrath of God. Actually, no one could actually see that he was suffering the wrath of God, not with their eyes. That God raised him from the dead and brought him to heaven. That Jesus is sitting down at the right hand of God. We cannot see any of this. We have never seen Jesus. We did not see the empty tomb. We did not see him rising up as the disciples saw him ascending up into heaven. So, is it true? All those things that the Bible testifies, are they true? The unbeliever says, well, that's a nice story. Can you prove it? Can you prove it? What's your answer to that? Can you prove that all these things happen? Can you prove that there is a God? Can you prove that heaven is real? Can you prove that Jesus was a real man living in this life, but he was also very God, that he died and rose again and ascended into heaven? Can you prove those things? And we would say, no, but I have faith. I have faith, and I believe these things, and I'm absolutely certain about these things. Faith gives conviction because it is proof, it is evidence. Well, what is proof exactly? If a man dressed in rags met you and said, You know I'm a millionaire many times over? And you would say, well, you're gonna have to prove that to me. Let me see your house, let me see your mansions, let me see your fancy cars. Let's go into the bank and have the manager show me that you are in fact a millionaire many times over. That's what we think of as proof, don't we? Let me see it and then I'll believe it. But there are things that are beyond proof. We're saying that faith is evidence. It is proof that gives conviction concerning all that the scripture teaches. Faith is not a mere feeling about something. Faith is certainly not this, that, well, I can't really prove it, so I just believe it. But faith is something that gives such a conviction that it is really beyond proving. It's so absolutely certain to you. Let me give you an example of that. A woman goes, takes her four-year-old, they go shopping. And while they're shopping, the four-year-old wanders off and he's lost. And he's obviously in distress and someone takes him and brings him to the manager of the store and the announcement, we have a lost child here, such and such an office, please come and pick up your child. And so the mother comes rushing over there to get her child. And the manager says, wait a minute, wait a minute. I'm not just gonna hand this child over to anybody. Prove to me that you're this child's mother. Prove it. And then to the child, is this your mother? Can you prove that this is your mother? And the child says, well, that's my mom. That's the one who gets me up in the morning. That's the one who makes me meals. That's the one who took me here. This is my mother. I can't prove that, but I know that with absolute certainty, this is my mom. So you see, there are things that are beyond proof that you can have absolute conviction of, and that's what faith gives you. Proving that God is? Proving that Jesus is real? And that he is very God and very man who accomplished salvation? Proving that heaven is real and that there are angels there and saints who have died in heaven? Proving that? Not the ordinary way that we think of proof, but faith is The evidence, it is the proof that gives absolute conviction. The believer is more sure that God is and that Jesus is savior and that there is a place heaven where he is going. He's more sure of that than he is that there is a place that exists called Moscow, Russia. He is more sure of all that the Bible teaches than he is that there is a planet out there named Saturn with rings around it. That's what faith gives, that kind of absolute conviction. It's solid proof. And anyone who does not have faith cannot know that conviction, will never have it. only someone with faith. Because of that, because faith is that solid, that much of a proof of spiritual things in the heart and mind of a believer, it is also the substance of things hoped for. The things hoped for. What does a believer hope for? A believer hopes that someday he will be delivered from this life with all its sin. with all its sorrow, with all the pain and the suffering delivered from death itself and all that this life has, and that he will enter into a new life where all of that is past and where he can enjoy peace and pleasure forevermore, more than anything that this life has to offer, which eye has not seen nor ear heard, eternal life. That's the believer's hope. And on his deathbed, the believer, confidently confesses, that's where I'm going. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. I'm going to heaven to be with Christ. And the unbeliever in the bed next door says, how do you know that? Have you ever been there? Has anyone ever come back from heaven and told you that it's real and what it's really like? How do you know that heaven is not a hoax? And the believer's answer is faith. Faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. The word substance can be broken down into two parts, and it's very much like the Greek word that is behind it in the text, and sub means under, right? Submarine goes under the water, so sub, and then stance is the material. And what it's saying is what lies underneath your hope is faith. Faith is what lies underneath. It's the substance, the foundation on which your hope rests. The substance of things hoped for is faith. It's what lies underneath your hope. Hope is not empty. Hope is not mere wishful thinking. It is resting on the solid foundation. I am going home, the believer says. I'm going home. I know that by faith. And that faith, of the believer is so rock solid. First of all, because it says it here. This is the word of God. This is not an ordinary word. Now that by itself takes faith, doesn't it? You have to believe this is the word of God. This is not merely a compilation of a lot of different writers, human writers who gave their opinions. This is the word of God. So when the word of God says it, I believe it. But secondly, faith is experiential. It's part of your experience of life. I know that Jesus died for my sins because God forgives me I'm forgiven. I know that. I know that heaven is real because I already experienced some of the joys of eternal life. Knowing God, living with Him, I already experienced some of that. So I know heaven is real. I know God is real. He cares for me. I experience God's love and mercy in my life. I know. I know it. That's what faith gives me. Faith is solid proof. It's the evidence of things you cannot see with your eyes, so that even though you can't see it, you have conviction, absolute conviction. And it's the substance, the foundation of our hope. So that, first of all, faith is solid proof. Secondly, faith also blesses with spiritual understanding. That's verse three, by faith we understand, understand. And understand is similar to substance in a way. Think of the word understand, break it apart, under and stand. What stands under? what you see, what explains life, what explains what you're experiencing in your life. That's understanding what stands under the things that are part of your life. Man has been searching for answers to questions like that for many centuries. What is life? Where did life come from? Why do we exist? How did all things come into existence and what's the purpose? Philosophical questions like, why is there evil? What is death? Or as Pilate asked Jesus, what is truth? Now, apart from faith, man, can gain quite a bit of understanding. He can understand material things. Foolish in many ways, he sends a rocket off into space to try to find out where life originated. but he can seek answers in this world and come up with a lot of understanding. He's able to understand relationships, how an oak tree is related to a maple and how the fern is related to the flower. He's able to understand molecules and figure out how electricity works and how to produce light and heat and air conditioning. He has a lot of understanding But true knowledge and understanding eludes him. He never gets it because he has excluded from all his studies the creator of all things. The one by whom and for whom all things were made. All things were created for God and his purposes. And of course, all things in this life are related to their creator. And only faith gives that understanding. The believer grasps what faith, what rather, what unbelief cannot. The believer looks at life and he says, I get it. I understand. I may not understand how rockets go into space and they go right where they're told. I cannot understand maybe how all the things in a computer works. I may not understand that, but I can understand life. I know what underlies all of life around me through faith. Through faith, we understand. Now, what verse 3 says, first of all, is, through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God. That's our starting point. The Belgic Confession, Article 12, has a marvelous summary of God's creating work. I'd like to read just a little part of that article, page 41 in the back of this altar, if you want to follow along. Article 41 of the Belgic Confession says, we believe, and notice how it starts out, we believe that the Father, by the word that is His Son, hath created of nothing the heaven, the earth, and all creatures in it, as it seemed good unto Him, giving unto every creature its being, shape and form and several offices to serve its creator." So it's created in the way that it was in order that it might serve the creator and that he doth also still uphold and govern them. by his eternal providence and infinite power for the service of mankind to the end that man may serve his God." That's a marvelous little paragraph that describes the creating work of God and why he created all things. Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. Now, let's look at some of those words carefully because they have some interesting elements that need to be brought out. It's not really talking about the creation of the world as in Genesis 1, though it is, especially in the second half of verse 3, but it says, by faith we understand that literally the ages were framed by the Word of God, the ages. Now that word age, more than we realize, is translated world in the King James, and I fully agree with the translation. But there's something about it that has to do with time, that it's not merely the physical world that is in mind here, but that there's an age, there is a development of this creation through time. And that's easy to see when one considers the world that God formed and put Adam and Eve there in that world. And then that same world, there is a bit of change and development and consider then that Noah lived in that same world and he's building the ark surrounded with millions of people, same world. And then an age later, there's Nimrod who built Babel Babel and the diversity of the races and the cultures, and the world was formed for that too. God formed the world with all of that in mind. And then when it says that they were framed, that's not the ordinary word for created, made, but framed means equipped or equipped. completed or prepared. God prepared the ages. And now continuing in that verse, it says, by faith we understand that by the word of God, the word of God. So let's concentrate on that for a moment. The word of God is the spoken word. It's the powerful word of God that is able to call those things that be not as though they were. God spoke. and he called into existence the material world. God's word also determined, as the Belgic Confession puts it, the place and the function of each creature that he made. There's a purpose for the elephant. There is a purpose for the lion. There is a purpose for the whale. God created them to have a place and a function in his world. The word does that. Whether it's the apple tree or the coal in the ground or the water in the ocean, God made them to fit into His plan. He framed it. He formed it perfectly. Now, when you remember that the Word The powerful word of God is Jesus Christ. Now this takes on even more significance because Jesus is the wisdom of God and everything now fits together in Jesus. All of God's plan rotates around him. You can see that from the fact that in the Old Testament, Everything was leading up to the first coming of Jesus and the cross. And now everything is leading up to the second coming of Jesus, his return on the clouds of heaven. Everything revolves around Jesus. And so that's the point. When God formed everything, he formed it perfectly. With all of that history in mind, with every creature that would ever be on the face of the earth or in the heavens, every creature would have purpose and function. It was perfect when God formed it for Adam and Eve. It was perfect when Jesus was born. It was perfect in the year 1517 when Luther nailed the theses on the chapel door, and it's perfect for us today. God framed the world. Now you see, faith understands that. Faith does not have to struggle with the questions that unbelievers pose and cannot give a good answer to. Faith says, I know where life came from. It came from God. I know why life exists. It exists for God's glory. That's true of everything. Death is not natural. Death is a punishment for sin. The whole creation exists for the purpose of giving God the glory in the way of the salvation of His church. That's what this world exists for, the salvation of His church and the glory of God's name. The creation that we're living in now is not the end of all things. It's not the goal. the new heavens and the new earth. This is but a picture of what's coming. And faith understands that man is not the center of all things. He's not the important thing. God is. All things are for God's glory and for his purposes. That's the understanding faith gives us. Through faith, We understand that the ages, yes, the material world, but the whole of history was framed by the Word of God, by Jesus for God's glory. We also understand that God created everything outside of himself. That's the second half of the verse. that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. That is such an important phrase. That little phrase condemns so many errors that man wants to uphold. Man says material things always existed, whether it was in a gas form or whatever, material things always existed. And this verse says, no, no, God only is eternal. God called into existence any material thing that now exists. This little phrase rejects all of the foolishness, the wicked foolishness of evolution. That one kind of animal produce a totally different kind of animal. The foolish notion that non-living material somehow became living, and then that little one-celled organism developed into multi-celled organisms and became a plant, and then a bush, and then a tree, so that over billions of years, all these things evolved, one kind, becoming another kind or that in the animal world, that one celled animal became a multi-cell animal and developed into all the millions of different kinds of animals in the sky and the earth and in the sea until man comes into existence at the top of the evolutionary ladder. And this verse says that all is a lie. Because all of that theory says that this animal produced something a little higher and this one produced something a little higher until we finally get up to man. And this says, no, no. Man did not come from something else that you can see. The monkey did not come from something else that you could see. The things that are seen came from something which does not appear. God out of nothing called into existence the heavens and the earth. That's what this verse tells us. By faith, we understand that. Faith gives you knowledge and understanding that God created all things. He spoke, And it was. He commanded and it stood fast. He formed all things by his powerful word. And that word, as John 1 says, that word is Jesus. And so everything now has meaning. Everything is held together by Jesus, who is still the word of God, upholding and preserving all things and directing all of history from his throne. Faith gives you that understanding. Without faith, man will never understand life. He'll never understand death. He'll never understand evil. He'll never understand the creation. He'll never understand the meaning of life or its purpose. He will not understand where things came from. Unbelief is a darkening of the understanding. It's a darkening, it's a willful rejection of the truth. And without faith, the most brilliant scientists who may be way smarter than anyone in this room, that's fine. But without faith, he will never understand what the children here can understand. By the word of God, we're the heavens made. Thank God for your faith. This is an amazing gift. By faith, you live with understanding. You know why things exist, namely for God's glory. You know where things are headed, to the second coming of Jesus Christ, the destruction of this whole world, it's burning, and then a new creation from the ashes, a new heaven and earth that will be a glorious place that will never end. You know your eternal destiny. It's heaven living with God. You know all of this is true because of Jesus, by whom and for whom all things were made and the one who redeemed his people so that they have the hope of eternal life. Faith is the essential difference in a man's understanding. of life and eternity. By faith, we understand." So faith is solid proof. Faith is spiritual understanding. But thirdly, faith is the believer's sure salvation. And that we got from verse 2. For by it, the elders obtained a good report." Notice the connection there. For, for. So it says, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, but it's really harking back to persevering. For, for by it, the elders persevered and they obtained a good report. So who are these elders? We know the word elder in the Bible often can refer to an older person. The word elder can refer to the elders of the church, but here that's not the idea. Here it refers simply to all the Old Testament saints, Adam and Eve, their sons and daughters Abel and Seth and Enoch, Abraham and Sarah, David and Bathsheba, these are the elders. And they obtained a good report." What does that mean? Interesting, the literal meaning, the literal word is simply, they were witnessed. They were witnessed. It doesn't say anything about a good report. Again, I don't disagree with the translation, but let me show you how they got there. They were witnessed. That is to say, a witness was given concerning these elders, the Old Testament saints. As John 1.7 speaks of John the Baptist who came for a witness to bear witness to the light. He bore witness to it. He testified concerning the light. Well, these Old Testament saints had a witness given. Now it's used in Acts chapter 16 too, where concerning Timothy, Paul came into town and somebody said, there's a Timothy here and he was well-reported of, well-reported of. Literally, it simply says he was witnessed. Somebody gave a witness concerning Timothy. And that witness obviously was not an evil witness. He's an evil young man, watch out for him. But it was a good witness, a positive witness, a commendation. So the text says, the elders had a witness given to them. It's used in the same chapter in Hebrews 11, a little later on. In chapter 11, verse 39, these all having obtained a good report, literally, these all were witnessed. Someone gave a good witness concerning them. So that raises a question, how could these Old Testament saints receive a good report? witness? How could Adam and Eve, who plunged the entire race into depravity, have a good witness given concerning them? How is that possible? How could Noah, after he built the ark, and then lived many years longer and planted a vineyard and made wine and became drunk and did evil things. How could there be a good witness of Noah? How could Abraham who doubted God's word and providence and lied twice about Sarah being his wife and then took another wife thinking maybe I can get a child that way. How could Abraham have a good witness given of him? How could Jacob, who lied to his father and tricked him into giving him the birthright, or Moses, who struck the rock in anger and called Israel, ye rebels? How could Samson, a judge from God, who lived in terrible fornication with the Philistines he was supposed to kill, how could these people obtain a good report? What does the text say? by faith, by faith, faith in Jesus. The just shall live by faith. They were declared righteous in and through the blood of Jesus Christ alone. All their lives had to be covered with that blood. Yes, even the things that are written about here in Hebrews chapter 11, they're mighty works. Even they had to be covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. They were tainted with sin. The just shall live by faith. But remember, the whole point here is not only that they believed and are justified in Jesus, that's first, but then they persevered in that faith. That's the power by which they lived through trial and trouble, through pain and sorrow. Noah, just think of Noah for a moment. Millions of people railing on him, opposing him at the point of putting him to death. How did he persevere to the end and keep building the ark, gather the food and walk into that ark? How? And the answer is by faith. And that takes us back to chapter 10. We are those, remember, who do not draw back. We are not those who draw back unto perdition. Why? We believe. We believe the promises of God. We have a sure hope. And in the power of that, we persevere. We endure patiently. That's the point of all of these Old Testament saints here, the elders. The witness is they endured to the end to the preservation of their souls. And how did they do that? Not in their own strength. We must not look at these saints in Hebrews chapter 11 as though they're some kind of super saint and they had a power that you and I just do not have. They have some mighty power here. No, they endured by faith alone. United to Jesus Christ, they lived out of his power and they endured patiently to the end. That's the only explanation. You know that. The older ones here surely have been through trials and troubles. And when you look back, you say the only way that I could go through that is by faith. And when you look ahead, you know things are going to get bad. And the world is turning on the church and will unite and turn on the church in ways it never has been able to do before. And how will you persevere to the end? And the answer is by faith. By faith. That's God's Amazing gift. We are saved by faith. Amen. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank Thee for that glorious gift, the gift that gives us absolute certainty and confidence of the hope that is ours, the faith that gives us understanding so that we can live before Thy face in that power and in that knowledge but the faith that unites us to our Savior so that we cannot be lost, and we are saved by that, by that marvelous gift. Lord, we pray, continue to strengthen our faith and make us to live out of it consciously, daily, in all of our life. We ask all this for Jesus' sake, amen.