Hebrews 11:1-11
Listen here: https://www.lcepc.org/Sermons
You may remember the Army’s catch phrase from a few years ago that replaced, “Be all that you can be.” The new one was, “Army of One.” Remember that? I did learn that it was really supposed to be an acronym. O is for officers, N is for Non-commissioned Officers and E is for Enlisted. Get it? The whole army acts as one unit. And a single trooper is fully equipped.
But most people, myself included, took it to be an overstatement about the confidence and supposed ability of one soldier to get the job done. Their commercial even showed one lone soldier running through some kind of field, under enemy fire. My thought was, “He’s crazy to be out there alone!”
And yet, there are times in our history in which it was just one man that had a dramatic impact on the course of human history. Today I want to talk about three of them that come from the pages of our readings in the book of Genesis, and then, one more. This week in the Bible we read Genesis 1 through Genesis 21:1-7, the birth of Isaac. We read Hebrews 11 as a sort of brief recap of the early chapters of Genesis.
The three historically significant men whose lives changed the world, as shown in those pages, were Adam, Noah and Abram. Their lives teach us important lessons about what kind of life is worth living, how to listen to and obey the Lord, and how the Lord uses us to fulfill his plans, even though we don’t always get it right.
Let’s start with Adam. That’s where God started right? So, we may as well do that too. Certainly, here was one man who changed the world, mostly because he was the first one in it. And we must not forget Eve, his wife. She also played a significant role in changing the world. But think of what could have been. When Eve tasted the forbidden fruit, Adam could have been the Savior. He could have said, “Wait a second Eve. That’s wrong. Let’s talk with God about what we should do now.”
But he failed that test. He ate too. And the world was changed forever, in the worst way. Please note that although Eve played a role, God says, in 1 Cor. 15:22, “in Adam all die.” And in Romans 5:17, “By the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man.” Eve’s not getting any of the blame for this! So, Adam, representing all humanity, changed the world. That’s the power of one. It’s not always a good thing.
The Bible teaches that when Adam sinned, he broke the world! The cosmos became disordered and Adam couldn't fix it. Adam knew that he had not just "made a mistake." He had acted in defiance of God. But God, in his infinite mercy, determined to fix it himself, on our behalf. That is why God descended from heaven in the form of a man, even born as a baby.
God wants his creatures to understand the gravity and horror of sin and its consequences too, so he didn't just start over. He let the world continue on its downward course and also preserved it in his grace from total destruction. When Adam knew that Cain had killed Abel, Adam grieved again over his own rebellious act of disobedience that had such an impact on his children. From this, Adam learned just how terrible it was when he disobeyed God.
And as the world's population grew, God continued to interact with it. So, the world goes along, and just about everybody takes after Adam. All bad, mostly. Abel was an exception, but he didn’t get to change the world. He got to be the first murder victim. You might also remember Enoch, who walked with God, and lived a shorter life on this earth because God took him. He graduated early. It was a mercy.
But for the most part, the world was full of bad people. Genesis 6:5-8 says, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
One man, Noah, was about to change the world. He listened to God, believed what he said, and acted in faithful obedience. Imagine what it was like for him during the time he was working in the ark. “What are you doing Noah?” And he’d tell them, “God told me to build this huge ark to float on top of the flood waters that are coming. Water is going to be everywhere, up to the mountain tops. This ark will be the only way to survive. Come with me or you’ll drown!”
And I’m sure he got to tell them all about it, over and over again for decades. That makes Noah a preacher who didn’t ever get a single convert. Not his fault, not his problem. He was living by faith and obeying God no matter what. He couldn’t convince anyone to join him, but they couldn’t convince him to give it up either.
He got to be a type of savior. This one man stands out as faithful and righteous because he believed in God and worshiped him. Noah saved the world from utter destruction! Not really. God did the saving. Noah was just the one man who would believe God's word and build the boat. But God used that one man to preserve the human race.
Noah was the savior of the world! Because of his role in history, the builder of the ark and the leader of the family and animals that boarded the ark, Noah was a lot like Jesus. We call him, a type of Christ. Noah, who had faith to hear and obey the one true God, was saved by his faith in God's grace and by his actions that resulted from that faith.
But Noah could not have saved himself, even if he had thought up a boat all by himself and built it before the flood came, if God hadn't planned to save him, he was sunk! Noah was not God. So, he was not the ultimate Savior that Jesus would be. But he was a good example of obedience, and suffering for it, that allowed him, and all of us, to live again after the deadly flood.
The power of one with God does the world a whole lot of good. It is such a contrast to Adam, who acted without God and against God and ended up doing the world a whole lot of bad.
Then there’s Abram. God chose this one man, through whom the whole world would be blessed. That’s like Jesus too. Abraham is another type of Christ, because he walked with God. Abraham left his home in Ur, to go where God sent him, down to Canaan to take possession of the land. Jesus also left his home in Heaven to go where God sent him, down to earth to take possession of his bride. Abraham was willing to give up his own son for the sake of God’s glory. But God ended the test before the end of Isaac’s life. God was willing too, and he actually did it. The test of Jesus’ life ended after he died. Praise God, he rose again from the dead!
Abraham’s life was small. He walked around in the land, but he only ever bought enough land for a family cemetery. His mission was simple; walk with God and be a good dad. But through him God started something big. The nation of Israel was on the rise. And today that one nation still plays a major role in world events. Abraham couldn’t have done it without God. But because he walked with God in good faith, most of the time, even though he wasn’t perfect, Abraham changed the world.
Jesus’ life also started out small: small as a baby; small as a carpenter; small as an itinerant preacher; small as having only a band of twelve really devoted followers, and one of them betrayed him, all of them deserted him when he died a cruel criminal’s death. But through him God started something big! The Church was born! The Kingdom of God is on the rise! Jesus couldn’t have done that if he was just a man. But because he was God, he even conquered death itself to begin to undo all the damage Adam had done at the beginning.
Jesus’ one life is so significant we call him the second Adam. That’s an indication of a true restart, not a do over, but a full turn around. Romans 5:15-17 speaks of the life of Jesus Christ as God’s gift to the world, and it really was! Listen:
“The gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”
Through that power, the Church is now a world-wide organization, with branches in every nation. With educational programs, health and welfare programs, family support and leadership training, basically we take care of people from birth to death, and help them live a meaningful life along the way. But it doesn’t end there because our end result is eternal life for all who believe!
The power of one is real. Your life is a powerful life, walk away from God, as Adam did, and all you do is add to the sin problem and the world’s despair. But walk with God, in faithful obedience, and only God knows what a difference your life could make as you do the works he has prepared in advance for you to do. When you walk with God, your life will be a powerful force for good, even if you can’t see it for yourself this side of heaven. It only took one humble, faithful, almost unknown Sunday School teacher to make an impact on the life of Billy Graham. We know Billy Graham changed the world, but so did that Sunday School teacher!
All the history of the world that has played out, up to this day, but especially in the pages of Scripture, is the story of just how much God loves the world and what he intends to do about the sin problem, because we can't. Only God can fix it. And God has the right to choose the method he deems best. Ultimately, He chose to humble himself, and walk as a man, and die on the cross and then be raised again to life, to prove that he is God, to show that there is life after death, and to make it possible for his beloved creatures to be with him in heaven, now so aware of the terrible consequences of sin, that we would never want to ever do it again.
That way, in heaven there will be no sin even though we will still possess free will. Adam, the first man, would say, “If I knew then what you know now, I never would have disobeyed.” God doesn't just forgive us and leave us the same. He transforms us by the power of His spirit into better people, People who can change the world for good! So, let us walk with God, in good faith, and faithful obedience, and we will change the world.
Maybe even this coming week God will open our eyes to opportunities to love our neighbors, and inspire us with new ways to do that, and lead them closer to Jesus. That will surely change their world, and only God knows what other positive results will ripple out into their families and into the future. I’m looking forward to hearing your stories as you move out in faith and watch God do his work in partnership with you. Just remember he’s the senior partner. His will is top priority. Amen.
Listen here: https://www.lcepc.org/Sermons
You may remember the Army’s catch phrase from a few years ago that replaced, “Be all that you can be.” The new one was, “Army of One.” Remember that? I did learn that it was really supposed to be an acronym. O is for officers, N is for Non-commissioned Officers and E is for Enlisted. Get it? The whole army acts as one unit. And a single trooper is fully equipped.
But most people, myself included, took it to be an overstatement about the confidence and supposed ability of one soldier to get the job done. Their commercial even showed one lone soldier running through some kind of field, under enemy fire. My thought was, “He’s crazy to be out there alone!”
And yet, there are times in our history in which it was just one man that had a dramatic impact on the course of human history. Today I want to talk about three of them that come from the pages of our readings in the book of Genesis, and then, one more. This week in the Bible we read Genesis 1 through Genesis 21:1-7, the birth of Isaac. We read Hebrews 11 as a sort of brief recap of the early chapters of Genesis.
The three historically significant men whose lives changed the world, as shown in those pages, were Adam, Noah and Abram. Their lives teach us important lessons about what kind of life is worth living, how to listen to and obey the Lord, and how the Lord uses us to fulfill his plans, even though we don’t always get it right.
Let’s start with Adam. That’s where God started right? So, we may as well do that too. Certainly, here was one man who changed the world, mostly because he was the first one in it. And we must not forget Eve, his wife. She also played a significant role in changing the world. But think of what could have been. When Eve tasted the forbidden fruit, Adam could have been the Savior. He could have said, “Wait a second Eve. That’s wrong. Let’s talk with God about what we should do now.”
But he failed that test. He ate too. And the world was changed forever, in the worst way. Please note that although Eve played a role, God says, in 1 Cor. 15:22, “in Adam all die.” And in Romans 5:17, “By the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man.” Eve’s not getting any of the blame for this! So, Adam, representing all humanity, changed the world. That’s the power of one. It’s not always a good thing.
The Bible teaches that when Adam sinned, he broke the world! The cosmos became disordered and Adam couldn't fix it. Adam knew that he had not just "made a mistake." He had acted in defiance of God. But God, in his infinite mercy, determined to fix it himself, on our behalf. That is why God descended from heaven in the form of a man, even born as a baby.
God wants his creatures to understand the gravity and horror of sin and its consequences too, so he didn't just start over. He let the world continue on its downward course and also preserved it in his grace from total destruction. When Adam knew that Cain had killed Abel, Adam grieved again over his own rebellious act of disobedience that had such an impact on his children. From this, Adam learned just how terrible it was when he disobeyed God.
And as the world's population grew, God continued to interact with it. So, the world goes along, and just about everybody takes after Adam. All bad, mostly. Abel was an exception, but he didn’t get to change the world. He got to be the first murder victim. You might also remember Enoch, who walked with God, and lived a shorter life on this earth because God took him. He graduated early. It was a mercy.
But for the most part, the world was full of bad people. Genesis 6:5-8 says, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
One man, Noah, was about to change the world. He listened to God, believed what he said, and acted in faithful obedience. Imagine what it was like for him during the time he was working in the ark. “What are you doing Noah?” And he’d tell them, “God told me to build this huge ark to float on top of the flood waters that are coming. Water is going to be everywhere, up to the mountain tops. This ark will be the only way to survive. Come with me or you’ll drown!”
And I’m sure he got to tell them all about it, over and over again for decades. That makes Noah a preacher who didn’t ever get a single convert. Not his fault, not his problem. He was living by faith and obeying God no matter what. He couldn’t convince anyone to join him, but they couldn’t convince him to give it up either.
He got to be a type of savior. This one man stands out as faithful and righteous because he believed in God and worshiped him. Noah saved the world from utter destruction! Not really. God did the saving. Noah was just the one man who would believe God's word and build the boat. But God used that one man to preserve the human race.
Noah was the savior of the world! Because of his role in history, the builder of the ark and the leader of the family and animals that boarded the ark, Noah was a lot like Jesus. We call him, a type of Christ. Noah, who had faith to hear and obey the one true God, was saved by his faith in God's grace and by his actions that resulted from that faith.
But Noah could not have saved himself, even if he had thought up a boat all by himself and built it before the flood came, if God hadn't planned to save him, he was sunk! Noah was not God. So, he was not the ultimate Savior that Jesus would be. But he was a good example of obedience, and suffering for it, that allowed him, and all of us, to live again after the deadly flood.
The power of one with God does the world a whole lot of good. It is such a contrast to Adam, who acted without God and against God and ended up doing the world a whole lot of bad.
Then there’s Abram. God chose this one man, through whom the whole world would be blessed. That’s like Jesus too. Abraham is another type of Christ, because he walked with God. Abraham left his home in Ur, to go where God sent him, down to Canaan to take possession of the land. Jesus also left his home in Heaven to go where God sent him, down to earth to take possession of his bride. Abraham was willing to give up his own son for the sake of God’s glory. But God ended the test before the end of Isaac’s life. God was willing too, and he actually did it. The test of Jesus’ life ended after he died. Praise God, he rose again from the dead!
Abraham’s life was small. He walked around in the land, but he only ever bought enough land for a family cemetery. His mission was simple; walk with God and be a good dad. But through him God started something big. The nation of Israel was on the rise. And today that one nation still plays a major role in world events. Abraham couldn’t have done it without God. But because he walked with God in good faith, most of the time, even though he wasn’t perfect, Abraham changed the world.
Jesus’ life also started out small: small as a baby; small as a carpenter; small as an itinerant preacher; small as having only a band of twelve really devoted followers, and one of them betrayed him, all of them deserted him when he died a cruel criminal’s death. But through him God started something big! The Church was born! The Kingdom of God is on the rise! Jesus couldn’t have done that if he was just a man. But because he was God, he even conquered death itself to begin to undo all the damage Adam had done at the beginning.
Jesus’ one life is so significant we call him the second Adam. That’s an indication of a true restart, not a do over, but a full turn around. Romans 5:15-17 speaks of the life of Jesus Christ as God’s gift to the world, and it really was! Listen:
“The gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”
Through that power, the Church is now a world-wide organization, with branches in every nation. With educational programs, health and welfare programs, family support and leadership training, basically we take care of people from birth to death, and help them live a meaningful life along the way. But it doesn’t end there because our end result is eternal life for all who believe!
The power of one is real. Your life is a powerful life, walk away from God, as Adam did, and all you do is add to the sin problem and the world’s despair. But walk with God, in faithful obedience, and only God knows what a difference your life could make as you do the works he has prepared in advance for you to do. When you walk with God, your life will be a powerful force for good, even if you can’t see it for yourself this side of heaven. It only took one humble, faithful, almost unknown Sunday School teacher to make an impact on the life of Billy Graham. We know Billy Graham changed the world, but so did that Sunday School teacher!
All the history of the world that has played out, up to this day, but especially in the pages of Scripture, is the story of just how much God loves the world and what he intends to do about the sin problem, because we can't. Only God can fix it. And God has the right to choose the method he deems best. Ultimately, He chose to humble himself, and walk as a man, and die on the cross and then be raised again to life, to prove that he is God, to show that there is life after death, and to make it possible for his beloved creatures to be with him in heaven, now so aware of the terrible consequences of sin, that we would never want to ever do it again.
That way, in heaven there will be no sin even though we will still possess free will. Adam, the first man, would say, “If I knew then what you know now, I never would have disobeyed.” God doesn't just forgive us and leave us the same. He transforms us by the power of His spirit into better people, People who can change the world for good! So, let us walk with God, in good faith, and faithful obedience, and we will change the world.
Maybe even this coming week God will open our eyes to opportunities to love our neighbors, and inspire us with new ways to do that, and lead them closer to Jesus. That will surely change their world, and only God knows what other positive results will ripple out into their families and into the future. I’m looking forward to hearing your stories as you move out in faith and watch God do his work in partnership with you. Just remember he’s the senior partner. His will is top priority. Amen.
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