Hebrews Chapter 11 Verse 1

•This word substance can also be translated “foundation.” And with that…it implies a reality of firmness. The hope we now have because of Jesus is solid! It is firm because He has paid the debt. And therefore, I’m all paid up! The lien has been released! I have the title! Think of it this way…the charges have been dropped! The sentence has been fulfilled! Done deal…It is finished. And so that hope, as it matures in my heart-gears, manifests itself in faith.

•Faith, at its simplest definition, is this…love. You might have thought that what we just read is the definition of faith. Not so much. This is the declaration of faith. Faith being declared in the open air! And what does it look like? Hope. And what does hope, when fully deployed give us….love! The fear fades, the noise settles, the worry decolors…and all that is left…the sure foundation…faith, hope and love.

•Paul wrote those three things in 1 Corinthians 13:13, in that order, faith…hope…and love and they all are working together in the heart of the follower of Christ synergetically! The root of love is hope, the root of hope is faith and the root of faith is Jesus Christ! Now flip that on its head…and this is exactly what April talked about Monday night at the women’s study…All that Jesus root, faith root, and hope root…what’s the fruit on the vine with that root system? LOVE! I love this! It’s so practical and simple and clear…that love is the evidence, (know them by their love), love is the evidence that there is hope in your heart. Rooted in your soul and spirit. Hope is the evidence that there is faith in your heart. Rooted in your soul and spirit! And faith is the evidence of Jesus’ presence in your heart and His Lordship in your life…the evidence of things unseen!

•Does that make sense? Love is liberty! Love is capacity! Love is ultimate purpose and capability to be eternally powerful, way beyond your limited human amplitude!! For one of your children in danger you will move heaven and earth won’t you? You will face the most ferocious and formidable of perils (Link’s morning breath!) and you will know victory won’t you? What transforms you from weakness and rest to superior stremffff and intense action? Love!

•Love is literally other. It is all by itself in terms of greatness and yet know this…it is a result…not an origination point and not even an action…it is a weapon of righteousness formed only by the nuts and bolts of faith and hope! So dig this…if you have not resolved to make God the Lord of your life, you lack faith…and we all say, “duh,” but you know what else? You also, by default, lack hope and therefore by default, you lack love…and that’s fruit that we can all see…especially God.

•Want love? Want hope? Be doers of the Word. It’s the not so secret secret…because talking heads like me say it all the time…Hope and love…stability, diligence, excellence and strength…hope and love, the substance of those things are nothing but faith…and when you get there, you yourself are evidence of the power of the cross of Christ!

Hebrews Chapter 11 Verse 2

•For by this faith, not just a testimony, but a good one! Makes a difference! A huge difference…to whom? To a very dark and blink and sick world! I know plenty of folks that have a testimony of salvation. Of how God has saved them and sometimes repeatedly pulled their lives out of catastrophic circumstances…but where they are today? Sometimes way outside of faith…lacking horribly in humility…hopeless often…and slacking monumentally in love…their testimony ain’t good! The world isn’t impressed! But a good testimony comes…by faith. Let’s look at some…

Hebrews Chapter 11 Verse 3

•A profound statement just in the first four words! Man I have found this to be SO true! “By faith we understand!” That is so essential to a love relationship with your Creator. So much higher than me. My circumstance perplexing me, yet by faith, just trusting Him and following Him, forsaking all of the senses that have failed me so far…all my sensual impulses and emotional needs…I arrive at perception. (Jesus never once taught us to meet our emotional, sensual needs) Understanding that passes right by the rest stop of knowledge and cruises on down to peace!

•This is awesome! In the hall of faith, if you understand that the worlds were formed, spoken into existence by the Word of God, then you are at the lead! The first in the hall of faith…is you! I love this! If you are a Bible believing, faith walking self-denying Christian soldier then you LEAD the hall of faith! If you take God at His Word and do it…then you lead even folks like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah and Moses! So cool!

•And this phrase at the end of verse 3…is so amazing! Wholly inspired by the Holy Spirit and thousands of years ahead of its time! The thought of energy, something unseen that literally makes up all that we see, electrically charged particles, was first theorized around 600BC by Thales of Miletus. He discovered that if you rub a piece of fur on an amber stone then the stone will attract small bits of hair and dust particles. He suggested a mysterious energy but made no connection of this force with atomic particles.

•140 years later, around 460BC, Democritus the Greek philosopher developed the idea of the atom. He asked the question, if you break a piece of matter in half, and then break it in half again, how many breaks will you have to do until you can break it no further? Democritus thought it ended at some point…at the smallest possible bit of matter, and so he called these basic matter particles, atoms. What an awesome theory…only problem…he had no way to prove it…

•His idea came to Aristotle. Aristotle the great. The wise. The trusted of all Greek philosophers and his reaction and conclusion? No merit! Worthless! He completely dismissed the idea and with that so did the entire thinking world!

•2,000 years go by! Not until the early 1800s did people begin again to question the subject of matter. Finally, 1897 English physicist JJ Thompson discovered the electron and proposed a model for the structure of the atom. Uh you may say…now we can see them…sooooooo….just hold up…. Simmer down, take a chill pill, hold your horses, relax, cool your jets, easy tonto, take it easy….

•It was later discovered that protons and neutrons are actually composite particles and that they themselves are made up of even smaller particles called quarks. There are two types of these quarks each having a fractional electric charge. Protons are comprised of two up quarks and one down quark while Neutrons are comprised of one up quark and two down quarks.

•Boooooooring! Look I know! I was even getting bored writing out these notes! Here’s the point! And it’s a doozey! The Bible says that the things which are seen were not made of or from or by or out of the things which are visible. Well atoms we can see but look…to “make” something you must combine…Wood a house does not make. It’s bringing together wood and nails and glass and skills….Cheese a pizza does not make! It’s bringing together cheese and wheat and flour and anchovies! MMMMM

•And so to make…things are combined! Do you know what combines the quarks in the protons and neutrons? Do you know what combines the nucleus of the atom where protons just sit peacefully next to each other? NO! No one does! Positively charged particles, protons, should hate to be near each other! They should repel!!!

•Up charged quarks should be nowhere near each other! But it’s an elemental force called “gluon” (I can’t make this stuff up) that holds it all together! Gluon, or more controversially known as the “God particle” causes the stability! Causes the structure! Causes the MAKE! And guess what…that is utterly invisible!

•Eat your heart out Aristotle! The Logos is in the building! The fin…thousands of years ahead…you’re thousands of years ahead by FAITH! This is what faith does…By trusting God, taking Him at His word, you learn more in a moment, in a 45 minute Bible study…than you would with thousands of years of human knowledge and calculations…you learn hope! You soar to love! Which is the highest form of brilliance and intelligence! God IS love!

•You learn, or you go atomic! Atomic bomb explosions gives the atoms what they want…to destroy themselves…God has come that you may have life…and have it abundantly…