I recently started a new series at Life Church called “Heroes”. This series is actually the beginning of a quest to discover the attributes of the heroes of faith to see what we can learn from them and then apply to our lives. I received enough requests for my notes from the last few weeks of messages to go ahead and post them here on my blog.
Hero:
Somebody who commits an act of remarkable bravery or who has shown an admirable quality such as great courage or strength of character
We love Heroes! Our movies are saturated with them, and bookshelves are loaded with them. As I started thinking about this theme of Heroes, I actually found a group in Japan that is basically a ‘Hero Fan Club”.
The Yamagato Fellowship:
“For as long as history has been recorded, it has recorded the story of heroes. Whether it be the myths of those possessing supernatural abilities or the legends of the ordinary finding the extraordinary inside themselves, common strings can be found through all of these tales. The Yamagato Fellowship is dedicated to the study of these heroes - to highlight their courage, their passion and their intellect. By looking into the past, it is our hope that we will all be better equipped to identify and inspire the heroes walking among us today.”
Life Church is becoming like a “Yamagato Fellowship” for “Heroes of Faith”.
“We will highlight their courage, their passion, and their faith. By looking into the past, it is our hope that we will all be better equipped to identify and inspire the Heroes of Faith walking among us today.”
The Bible is packed full of Heroes! As we read it’s pages we see Kings & Queens, Shepherds & Fishermen, Lawyers & Tax Collectors, Priests & Peasants, Slaves & Soldiers, all who lived Heroic lives.
We’ve been looking at a list of Heroes found in Hebrews 11.
Heb. 11:1-3 NKJV
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
1. Heroes = Live by Faith
“Faith is believing that God is who He says that He is,
and that He will do what He says he will do.”
Heb. 11:4a NKJV
“By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous…”
2. Heroes = Willing to Sacrifice
Abel not only gave a sacrifice, but he gave an “Excellent Sacrifice”…
“Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible.”
When you think of Military Heroes, Search & Rescue Heroes, or Revolutionary Heroes, they all had this in common, they were “Willing to Sacrifice” for the greater good.
Heb. 11:4 NKJV
By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
3. Heroes = Leave a Legacy
Heroes live for something greater than themselves, and therefore their impact outlives them.
“When you came into this world you cried and people rejoiced…
live in such a way that when you die people cry and you rejoice.”
Hebrews 11:5 NKJV
By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
4. Heroes = Please God
I think it’s amazing that we have the potential to “Please God”!
We don’t “Please God” out of “Duty”, but out of “Delight”.
Whenever I hear the phrase “Please God”, I get a little nervous, because there can be so much religious duty tied up in these two words. It doesn’t say Enoch was a “Legalistically Religious Man”… It says that he “Pleased God”. How do we “Please God”? The next verse clearly tells how…
Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
How do we “Please God”?
= “Faith in God” = “Diligently Seek Him”
What would it look like for us to begin to “Live by Faith”, and “Diligently Seek Him” more in our daily lives?
Hebrews 11:7 NKJV
By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
5. Heroes = Move with Godly Fear
The Fear of the Lord is to “Revere” or “Worship” God. It’s to acknowledge that He is God, and that we are not God! It’s really about living our lives as an Expression of Worship. Many people struggle with this term because they think of “Terror”, but real Godly Fear is really simply putting God in His rightful place in our lives.
Noah was moved with Godly Fear. He chose to obey God no matter what his circumstances, friends, or even family said! He lived in a generation of Horrible Sin, Rebellion, and Godlessness, but H echoes to follow God rather than his generation. Noah is certainly a Hero in my book! Heroes save people, and every one of us can thank Noah for our very existence! Because Noah was close to God, he became a Hero!
Ungodly Fear will paralyze you, but Godly Fear Moves you!
Hebrews 11:7a NKJV
“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark…”
6. Heroes = Prepare for the Future
Noah “Prepared for the Future” by Faith! He diligently did what God told him to do even when he saw no signs of a flood. He did this for more than a lifetime! Imagine the temptations to quit that he must have faced. Yet, he simply did the right thing, and prepared for the future. We can certainly learn a lot from Noah!
As I was preparing for this message, I went back & read through the accounts of both Enoch & Noah’s lives in Genesis, and as I did this, I noticed a statement that was made about both of them.
Gen 5:24 NKJV
And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Gen 6:9 NKJV
This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
7. Heroes = Walk with God
My family got me an I-Pod for my 40th birthday, It’s been a while since my “Walkman” days, and walking around with earphones on has almost been like a new experience for me. As I walked around our hotel & the streets of Manila, listening to Chris Tomlin, or sat in the airplane listening to Daniel Groves, or worked out listening to Jared Scholz I realized the power of walking with God to change our perspective. It’s like I’d invited God into those steps with me. Let’s do that! Let’s Walk with God!!!
Heroes =
1. Live by Faith
2. Willing to Sacrifice
3. Leave a Legacy
4. Please God
5. Move with Godly Fear
6. Prepare for the Future
7. Walk with God
Hero:
Somebody who commits an act of remarkable bravery or who has shown an admirable quality such as great courage or strength of character
We love Heroes! Our movies are saturated with them, and bookshelves are loaded with them. As I started thinking about this theme of Heroes, I actually found a group in Japan that is basically a ‘Hero Fan Club”.
The Yamagato Fellowship:
“For as long as history has been recorded, it has recorded the story of heroes. Whether it be the myths of those possessing supernatural abilities or the legends of the ordinary finding the extraordinary inside themselves, common strings can be found through all of these tales. The Yamagato Fellowship is dedicated to the study of these heroes - to highlight their courage, their passion and their intellect. By looking into the past, it is our hope that we will all be better equipped to identify and inspire the heroes walking among us today.”
Life Church is becoming like a “Yamagato Fellowship” for “Heroes of Faith”.
“We will highlight their courage, their passion, and their faith. By looking into the past, it is our hope that we will all be better equipped to identify and inspire the Heroes of Faith walking among us today.”
The Bible is packed full of Heroes! As we read it’s pages we see Kings & Queens, Shepherds & Fishermen, Lawyers & Tax Collectors, Priests & Peasants, Slaves & Soldiers, all who lived Heroic lives.
We’ve been looking at a list of Heroes found in Hebrews 11.
Heb. 11:1-3 NKJV
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
1. Heroes = Live by Faith
“Faith is believing that God is who He says that He is,
and that He will do what He says he will do.”
Heb. 11:4a NKJV
“By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous…”
2. Heroes = Willing to Sacrifice
Abel not only gave a sacrifice, but he gave an “Excellent Sacrifice”…
“Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible.”
When you think of Military Heroes, Search & Rescue Heroes, or Revolutionary Heroes, they all had this in common, they were “Willing to Sacrifice” for the greater good.
Heb. 11:4 NKJV
By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
3. Heroes = Leave a Legacy
Heroes live for something greater than themselves, and therefore their impact outlives them.
“When you came into this world you cried and people rejoiced…
live in such a way that when you die people cry and you rejoice.”
Hebrews 11:5 NKJV
By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
4. Heroes = Please God
I think it’s amazing that we have the potential to “Please God”!
We don’t “Please God” out of “Duty”, but out of “Delight”.
Whenever I hear the phrase “Please God”, I get a little nervous, because there can be so much religious duty tied up in these two words. It doesn’t say Enoch was a “Legalistically Religious Man”… It says that he “Pleased God”. How do we “Please God”? The next verse clearly tells how…
Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
How do we “Please God”?
= “Faith in God” = “Diligently Seek Him”
What would it look like for us to begin to “Live by Faith”, and “Diligently Seek Him” more in our daily lives?
Hebrews 11:7 NKJV
By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
5. Heroes = Move with Godly Fear
The Fear of the Lord is to “Revere” or “Worship” God. It’s to acknowledge that He is God, and that we are not God! It’s really about living our lives as an Expression of Worship. Many people struggle with this term because they think of “Terror”, but real Godly Fear is really simply putting God in His rightful place in our lives.
Noah was moved with Godly Fear. He chose to obey God no matter what his circumstances, friends, or even family said! He lived in a generation of Horrible Sin, Rebellion, and Godlessness, but H echoes to follow God rather than his generation. Noah is certainly a Hero in my book! Heroes save people, and every one of us can thank Noah for our very existence! Because Noah was close to God, he became a Hero!
Ungodly Fear will paralyze you, but Godly Fear Moves you!
Hebrews 11:7a NKJV
“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark…”
6. Heroes = Prepare for the Future
Noah “Prepared for the Future” by Faith! He diligently did what God told him to do even when he saw no signs of a flood. He did this for more than a lifetime! Imagine the temptations to quit that he must have faced. Yet, he simply did the right thing, and prepared for the future. We can certainly learn a lot from Noah!
As I was preparing for this message, I went back & read through the accounts of both Enoch & Noah’s lives in Genesis, and as I did this, I noticed a statement that was made about both of them.
Gen 5:24 NKJV
And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Gen 6:9 NKJV
This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.
7. Heroes = Walk with God
My family got me an I-Pod for my 40th birthday, It’s been a while since my “Walkman” days, and walking around with earphones on has almost been like a new experience for me. As I walked around our hotel & the streets of Manila, listening to Chris Tomlin, or sat in the airplane listening to Daniel Groves, or worked out listening to Jared Scholz I realized the power of walking with God to change our perspective. It’s like I’d invited God into those steps with me. Let’s do that! Let’s Walk with God!!!
Heroes =
1. Live by Faith
2. Willing to Sacrifice
3. Leave a Legacy
4. Please God
5. Move with Godly Fear
6. Prepare for the Future
7. Walk with God
In a world of selfishness and empty promises, let's step up and live Heroic Lives of Faith!
My friend "Buko Pie", I mean Mark. :-) 
