Anchors and Explorers

This is my sermon text from a few weeks ago (February 20-21) as part of our "Faith Examples" part of Hebrews 11, specifically Hebrews 11.1-7, the story of Noah.

Have you ever climbed a mountain? I watched a program on TV recently where they were showing people climbing a surface that had actually gone beyond 90° parallel; they were climbing on overhangs that were actually beyond vertical.

Now as someone who doesn’t have a fear of heights; I’m just not fond of them, and avoid them when possible, I don’t have any true expertise in this, but I paid attention to this program. Plus, we’ve all seen rock or mountain climbing on TV or in the movies, so we’re somewhat familiar with it, while having not done it ourselves.

For their safety, they will put anchors into the face of the rock, and run rope through those anchors. The anchors, hopefully, will secure and stop their fall. The anchors allow them to go farther into their climb.

During our mid-week services, our Scripture texts will come from the 11^th (and a little bit of the 12^th) chapter of the letter to the Hebrews. This letter was written to those early believers in Christ who had come from the Jewish tradition. In this part of the letter, the writer attempts to encourage these new converts, who are being pulled in multiple directions to have faith.

This chapter begins with the writer giving a definition of faith. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

This is a two-part statement.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. Faith is something we can count on, something we have been waiting for. It is a guarantee. We can rely upon it. It is a base from which we can build. It is an anchor for us.

Our faith is something that can support us in the tough times. Like the anchors that climbers use on a mountain, an anchor will support and save you when things go wrong.

We’ve had times like that. When life is getting the much better of us, our faith, our trust in God and God’s promises, can catch us when we’ve fallen.

The other part of this definition of faith is that faith is the conviction of things not seen. It is being sure something will be there, even though we cannot see it. It is trusting in tomorrow’s sunrise. It is believing the mortgage will get paid off. It is sending out graduation party announcements before St. Patrick’s Day.

This part of faith is trusting, relying that what has been promised will be there, despite there being no proof. It is willing to act on a promise. It is climbing a mountain because you’ve heard the view is amazing.

The two go together. Your confidence on what HAS happened allows you to trust in what WILL happen. You are willing to scale the heights of a mountain because you are anchored.

The writer of this letter is encouraging the new followers of Christ to continue to live lives shaped by the Gospel, sharing the Good News, venturing up that mountain BECAUSE of all of the great things God has done. Beginning here in chapter 11, those great things God has done for others is shared.

Today, we hear about 3 of the faithful, and their stories may not be that familiar to us.

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks.

We don’t know much about Abel; his time in the Bible is all of 9 verses. He is the 2^nd born of Adam and Eve. He kept the sheep, while Cain tilled the soil. When it was time to give an offering to God, Cain gave of the fruit of the ground; Abel gave some of the fattest first-born of his flock. God was more pleased with Abel’s offering than Cain’s offering. So in jealousy, Cain killed Abel. It is understood that Abel gave freely, while Cain gave grudgingly, and that is why God was more pleased with Abel’s offering.

Of Enoch, here is what the writer of this letter tells us, By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and ‘he was not found, because God had taken him.’ For it was attested before he was taken away that ‘he had pleased God.’ This is what we know from the 5^th Chapter of Genesis:

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared because God took him away.

If you walk with God for 300 years, it appears God will bring you directly to heaven, and you will not die.

But we know more about Noah. By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household.

God told Noah a storm was coming, and told him to get ready. Noah had lived a godly life, he also was described as walking with God. When God wanted to punish humanity for turning away from him, it was through Noah and his family, that God restored the world.

The writer is giving us examples of faith filled people who trusted God to faithful to them. Abel, Enoch and Noah followed what God wanted them to do. They are examples of those who trusted God’s word to them. They had the assurance of things hoped for. Over the next four weeks, we will hear about more examples of faith filled people.

But if you are worried that your faith isn’t strong enough; afraid that your anchors aren’t secure enough to catch you when you fall, relax.

Jesus told his disciples that if their faith was the size of a mustard seed, one of the smallest seeds we know of; if our faith was just that small, we could command a tree to uproot itself (Luke 17.6) or a mountain to move on its own (Matthew 17.20), and they would. Even a tiny amount of faith on our part will enable us to do great things.

But it is not because of our faith, however big or tiny – or however secure or shaky, that great things can be done; it is because of the faithfulness of God’s only Son, Our Savior, Emmanuel, Jesus Christ, who was faithful to the Creator’s commands, who trusted in God’s grand design. He faithfully gave his all for us; becoming one of us, living, teaching, healing, dying and being raised to fulfill God’s promise. He came that we will be saved, that death will be defeated and we will live eternally righteous in God’s presence forever.

Christ is the anchor that gives us security to live out and share his Good News. Thanks be to God. AMEN!

P    (following the reflection) Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,

C     and the conviction of things not seen.