What is your reality? (Hebrews pt.13)

What is your reality?

—Heb 11:1–3

Andrew Fountain – Mar 9, 2025

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Hebrews 11

Now trust in God gives us confidence in what we hope for, and assures us of the reality of things that are not seen.
It is because of this trust in God that the people of old received commendation
By trust in God we understand that the ages of the world were created
by the word of God

so that what is seen did not originate from what is seen…
Without trust it is impossible to please God
for it is necessary for the one who draws near to God to believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

Note that in English we have two words, faith and trust but in the Bible they are just one word
- Usually it is translated faith in our Bibles, but it has changed it’s meaning to “general spirituality”
Person of faith ?
Person of trust —in whom?
- Someone whose trust is in Jesus Christ
What is the most important thing we need to have to keep us following God in this World?
- Of course the most important thing is the Spirit
- But the second (linked to this) is an understanding that there’s a spiritual reality, that is more real than the physical reality we see around us.
Another word for that is trust in God
- Because it’s trust in God that enables us to lay hold of the unseen world and treat is as if we can see it.
- This is one of the threads running though Hebrews
- We’re going to trace those threads today.
Here is how today’s passage fits into the flow of the whole of Hebrews

Structure of Hebrews

✓✓ Jesus! his throne is forever and ever 1:5–14

Pay attention to what you hear, don’t drift away 2:1–4

Brothers & sisters of Jesus, living in his victory 2:5–18

Therefore: fix your thoughts on Jesus 3:1

O.T. warning—don’t follow negative examples 3:2–4:13

Approach God’s throne with confidence—find grace 4:14–16

New High Priest after order of Melchizedek 5–7:28

The point of what we’re saying: New Covenant 8

A New way to God and a New sacrifice 9:1-10-18

Draw near to God with sincere heart, full assurance 10:19–25

O.T. —be inspired by positive examples 10:26–39,11

Therefore: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus 12:1–2

God’s sons and daughters! live in New Covenant 12:3–24

Don’t refuse him who’s speaking and turn away 12:25

✓✓ Jesus! The same yesterday, today and forever 13:1–20

Last time:

Therefore, brothers and sisters,
since we have authorization for free access to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by the fresh and living way that he opened up for us, through the curtain—that is through his flesh,
and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings,
- because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from a burdened conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy.

Hebrews 11

Now trust in God gives us confidence in what we hope for, and assures us of the reality of things that are not seen.
It is because of this trust in God that the people of old received commendation
By trust in God we understand that the ages of the world were created
by the word of God

so that what is seen did not originate from what is seen…
Without trust it is impossible to please God
for it is necessary for the one who draws near to God to believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

Heros of faith/trust:

Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, …
Moses, Rahab, …
Mosty stories linked to their marginalization

Social environment
of the time

David DeSilva Perseverance in Gratitude: Commentary p.12–16

shame/honour culture
Pagan gods very visibly all around, penetrating every aspect of society.
“deviancy control”
A constant tug towards conforming to what everyone else believed

Goal:

I’m going to talk about the difference between living with your focus on
- the visible world
- vs. the invisible world of God’s promises
and how this will change your life
If you have a firm hold of the true reality (by means of faith)
it will do three things for you:

it will change what you value in this life
you will have a different attitude to your problems
you will have joy and hope for the future

Outline:

Realities
Reasons
Results
Route

1. The Two Realities

	The world around us	True reality
Wealth:	money, clothes, houses, cars, possessions	streets of gold, a lasting crown, treasure in heaven
Achievement:	academic success, respect, business success, artistic success	building the Kingdom of God, eternal honour, Jesus saying “Well done!”
Relationship:	romance friends a happy family	United to Christ as his bride The deepest love we could ever know The new family of his people
Security:	health, financial stability, lots of savings for retirement	chosen & loved by God, his presence & protection every moment of lives. He’s preparing a place for us for eternity
Peace:	can never reach perfection, guilty feelings, always making mistakes and messing up	forgiveness, perfect in Christ, given the gift of a spotless robe
Performance:	keep trying harder we are never good enough	rest in Jesus

2. Reasons

For setting our eyes on the true reality

Abraham

Hebrews 11: Abraham

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.
By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise.
For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

2: Reasons

For setting our eyes on the true reality

Abraham
Israel in the Wilderness

Mark 12: The poor widow

Then he sat down opposite the offering box, and watched the crowd putting coins into it. Many rich people were throwing in large amounts.
And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny.
He called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the offering box than all the others.
For they all gave out of their wealth. But she, out of her poverty, put in what she had to live on, everything she had.”

2: Reasons

For setting our eyes on the true reality

Abraham
Israel in the Wilderness
poor widow
George Müller
This earthly reality will end

“I hate to bother you, Mr. Muller,” began the matron, “but... the children are all ready for breakfast and there is not a thing in the house to eat. What shall I tell them?”

George stood up. “I’ll take care of it."... [He] reached down and took [a little girl’s hand] hand. “Come and see what God will do,” he said. Inside they found three hundred children standing in neat rows behind their chairs. Set on the table in front of each child were a plate, a mug... and spoon. But there was no food whatsoever to be seen....

“...where’s the food?” Abigail asked in a whisper.

“God will supply,” George told her quietly, before he turned to address the children. “There’s not much time. I don’t want any of you to be late for school, so let us pray,” he announced.

Which reality do you think he believed?

As the children bowed their heads, George simply prayed, “Dear God, we thank you for what you are going to give us to eat. Amen.”

George looked up and smiled at the children. “You may be seated,” he said. He had no idea at all where the food he had just prayed for would come from or how it would get to the orphanage. He just knew God would not fail the children. A thunderous din filled the room as three hundred chairs were scuffed across the wooden floor. Soon all three hundred children sat obediently in front of their empty plates.

No sooner had the noise in the dining room subsided than there was a knock at the door. George walked over and opened the door. In the doorway stood the baker, holding a huge tray of delicious-smelling bread.

“Mr. Muller,” began the baker, “I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept thinking that somehow you would need bread this morning and that I was supposed to get up and bake it for you. So I got up at two o’clock and made three batches for you. I hope you can use it.”

George smiled broadly. “God has blessed us through you this morning,” he said as he took the tray....

“There’s two more trays out in the cart,” said the baker. “I’ll fetch them.” Within minutes, the children were all eating freshly baked bread.

As they were enjoying it there was a second knock at the door. This time it was the milkman, who took off his hat and addressed George. "I’m needing a little help, of you could, sir. The wheel on my cart has been broken, right outside your establishment. I’ll have to lighten my load before I can fix it. There’s ten full cans of milk on it. Could you use them?" Then looking at the orphans sitting in neat rows, he added. "Free of charge, of course...."

His spiritual reality was that God had commissioned him to start an orphanage which would demonstrate answers to prayer.
- The spiritual reality became the physical reality through prayer and trust.

Hebrews 12:
This earthly reality will end

Then [the flood] his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.…’
So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe.

The Two Realities

	The world around us	True reality
Wealth:	money, clothes, houses, cars, possessions	streets of gold, a lasting crown, treasure in heaven
Achievement:	academic success, respect, business success, artistic success	building the Kingdom of God, eternal honour, Jesus saying “Well done!”
Relationships:	romance friends a happy family	United to Christ as his bride The deepest love we could ever know The new family of his people
Security:	health, financial stability, lots of savings for retirement	chosen & loved by God, his presence & protection every moment of lives. He’s preparing a place for us for eternity
Peace:	can never reach perfection, guilty feelings, always making mistakes and messing up	forgiveness, perfect in Christ, given the gift of a spotless robe
Performance:	keep trying harder we are never good enough	rest in Jesus

Outline:

Realities
Reasons
Results
Route

3. Results:

Motivates and empowers us
- Do not give up or become sluggish but endure joyfully
- (Hebrews 6:11–12; 10:23, 34–36; 12:1,3)
Love toward one another
inasmuch as you have done it —you have loved me!
- 13:2 “Do not neglect hospitality, because through it some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Confidence
- 11:1 Now faith is the confidence in what we hope for,
  and assures us of the reality of things that are not seen..

The Result

6:18. so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us…
10:35. So do not throw away your confidence, because it has great reward.
36. For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised.
13:14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

Outline:

Realities
Reasons
Results
Route

4. Route to this place

Jesus enables us—bring your doubts to him
Meeting together regularly
- 10:25 “…not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near.”
Consider the Evidence
Past: Stories of God’s trustworthiness (yours and others’)
Future: Sense of perspective

Jesus enables us
- Eyes fixed on him
- Jesus the pioneer
- rest in him [4:1–11] (another sermon)
- he is the compassionate High Priest [5:2–3]
  1. He is able to deal compassionately with those who are ignorant and erring, since he also is subject to weakness,
  2. and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.
- He understands our weakness!
What evidence do you have?
- Mark Twain defined faith as “believing what you know ain’t true.
  - “Evidence based community”
- There is so much evidence for Christianity—what is called apologetics (another sermon series)
- What evidence do we have already as a reason to believe God ?
  - see lives changed – Evident in the lives of other Christians
    - He is changing us
  - Video series on archeology (not made by Christians)
    - Isaiah in DSS —99.9% identical
  - supernatural events
  - answers to prayer
  - inner “knowing” that it is true
  - The Spirit
Humans are social beings
- One thing that makes it harder for us to have faith in the unseen is being surrounded by people who would laugh at that viewpoint
- We cannot help but be influenced by those around us, or in the media, no matter how much we think we are like a rock
- Hebrews has a remedy for that: meeting regularly with other believers
Meeting together regularly [10:25]
- example of coal from a fire
- another plug for homegroup
Douglas Adams, author of Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy (Atheist)

A sense of perspective

The Meaning of Lif Douglas Adams

Definition of Life
- Ok in places, but no substitute for the real thing!

Route to this place

Jesus enables us—bring your doubts to him
Meeting together regularly
- 10:25 “…not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near.”
Consider the Evidence
Past: Stories of God’s trustworthiness (yours and others’)
Future: Sense of perspective