1. ICEL Faith That Does Not Grow Old

2. ICEL Hebrews 11:1; 12:1-2 “Now, faith IS…. Therefore, … let us run with the endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

3. ICEL INTRODUCTION A.Faith is in the NOW. Our text says, “Now, faith IS …” B.Paul put faith in the present tense, “We live by faith not by sight.” - 2Cor. 5:7 C.Jesus put faith in the present tense, “Have faith in God” – Mark 11:22 “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me!” – John 14:1

4. ICEL I.THE RELATIONSHIP OF OUR FAITH TO OUR PAST IS CALLED EXPERIENCES

5. ICEL A.Experiences define our identity Heb. 11:2 For by it (faith) the men of old gained approval. Heb. 11:39 “And all these having gained approval through their faith…”

6. ICEL A.Experiences define our identity Heb. 11:2 For by it (faith) the men of old gained approval. Heb. 11:39 “And all these having gained approval through their faith…” B.Faith has to do with experiences, not experiments.

7. ICEL A.Experiences define our identity Heb. 11:2 For by it (faith) the men of old gained approval. Heb. 11:39 “And all these having gained approval through their faith…” B.Faith has to do with experiences, not experiments. C.Truth divorced from experience dwells in doubt.

8. ICEL II.THE RELATIONSHIP OF OUR FAITH TO OUR PRESENT IS CALLED PERSEVERANCE Heb. 12:1, “Therefore … let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

9. ICEL A.The heroes of faith rejected the rejection of the world.

10. ICEL A.The heroes of faith rejected the rejection of the world. B. The heroes of faith gave priority to the objective security and discovered how vulnerable the subjective security was.

11. ICEL A.The heroes of faith rejected the rejection of the world. B. The heroes of faith gave priority to the objective security and discovered how vulnerable the subjective security was. C.The apostle Paul rejected what was rejected by the world.

12. ICEL 1.First, Paul spoke about the irrelevance of the Christian message. a. There was a Jewish variety of rejecting the cross “Jews demand miraculous signs” (1Cor. 1:22).The cross did not provide this and then it becamea “stumbling block” (1:23) The Messiah died in weakness (2Cor. 13:4 – “He was crucified in weakness…”) b. There was a Greek variety of rejecting the cross “Greeks look for wisdom” (1Cor. 1:22). The cross did not provide this and it became “foolishness” for them (1:23).

13. ICEL 2. Paul spoke about the irrelevance of the speaker. 1Cor 2:1, 3, 4 “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God… I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words…”

14. ICEL 3. Paul spoke about the irrelevance of the listeners. 1Cor. 1: 26, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.”

15. ICEL We come to the conclusion that the message, the hearers and the preacher matched each other for folly and feebleness.

16. ICEL III.THE RELATIONSHIP OF OUR FAITH TO OUR FUTURE IS CALLED HOPE Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

17. ICEL A.Faith fixed on Jesus today results in great hope for tomorrow. B.It is good to have things settled by faith before they are unsettled by feeling. Elijah “went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die and said, “It is enough... and behold, the LORD passed by … and a great and strong wind … an earthquake … a fire … and after the fire a still small voice … And the LORD said to him. “Go, return on your way” (1Kings 19:4, 11, 12, 15).

18. ICEL “Now faith IS... therefore … let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”