Have you ever found yourself chuckling over the chaos of coordinating celebrations in a dynamic family, or found joy in the camaraderie of supporting loved ones through wellness milestones? That's the heart of our latest Pure Faith Podcast, where my brother Mitchell and I, Michele, intertwine the amusing trials of family life with the deeper currents of faith and healing. As we update you on our personal health journeys and discuss the humor found in our overlapping birthday bashes, we also delve into the powerful message of Hebrews 11, reflecting on how faith acts as our guidepost in both the visible and invisible aspects of life.
This episode is a blend of light-hearted anecdotes and profound insights, where we compare the assurance found in quality control to the assurance we seek through faith. We share stirring stories close to our hearts, including the use of the word "hope" during a loved one's battle with cancer, and unpack the significance of conviction—demonstrating that the objects of our faith are indeed worthy of that confidence. So, prepare to be both entertained and enlightened as we invite you to join our community at purefaithliving.com, and journey with us in understanding how the essence of the Word of God shapes our everyday lives and anchors us in hope.
Support our ministry
Check us out at purefaithliving.com
Contact us at purefaithliving.com/contact
Follow us on twitter @purefaithliving
Follow us on Facebook at Pure Faith Podcast
Have you ever found yourself chuckling over the chaos of coordinating celebrations in a dynamic family, or found joy in the camaraderie of supporting loved ones through wellness milestones? That's the heart of our latest Pure Faith Podcast, where my brother Mitchell and I, Michele, intertwine the amusing trials of family life with the deeper currents of faith and healing. As we update you on our personal health journeys and discuss the humor found in our overlapping birthday bashes, we also delve into the powerful message of Hebrews 11, reflecting on how faith acts as our guidepost in both the visible and invisible aspects of life.
This episode is a blend of light-hearted anecdotes and profound insights, where we compare the assurance found in quality control to the assurance we seek through faith. We share stirring stories close to our hearts, including the use of the word "hope" during a loved one's battle with cancer, and unpack the significance of conviction—demonstrating that the objects of our faith are indeed worthy of that confidence. So, prepare to be both entertained and enlightened as we invite you to join our community at purefaithliving.com, and journey with us in understanding how the essence of the Word of God shapes our everyday lives and anchors us in hope.
Support our ministry
Check us out at purefaithliving.com
Contact us at purefaithliving.com/contact
Follow us on twitter @purefaithliving
Follow us on Facebook at Pure Faith Podcast
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Pure Faith Podcast, a podcast we discuss all things Bible. I am your co-host, michelle, and this is the host of this podcast, mitchell, my brother. We ask that you subscribe to our YouTube channel and, you know, hit the notification icon and do all that stuff so you know when new episodes are released. Yeah, like this video too.
Speaker 2:Yeah right into it. I wasn't even sitting back upright from hitting the start record, and you were. You were already started.
Speaker 1:Got my coffee.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Got my coffee tonight Okay. Yeah, well, we got started a little bit earlier and then I'm like okay, well, if we're starting earlier, we actually should start earlier and the way it looks, we're really not starting earlier. We are Well our schedule is way off, like we. I don't know when we're doing, anything Like next week. You tell me that we're going to be going at a different time also, and that was my fault.
Speaker 2:There's confusion on my schedule.
Speaker 1:There's always confusion on your schedule.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I set the alarm. Okay, yeah, I mean we literally are trying to figure out time for a birthday party and we are, and because we've got three birthdays coming up We've got Sadie Rose, we got Zeke and we have Eliza, all within like a week's time or something.
Speaker 2:Right, you know his birthday will have already happened by the time this is released. This is the 15th.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Today is the 11th, so four days, oh my gosh, this is his birthday.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 2:But then, yeah, zeke and Sadie, until the end of the month.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we have these birthdays and you try and lump them all together in one, but we've got such an active family. So, you know, Matt and Kendra have two in basketball. So it's like, well, we got to figure out this and, mind you, I'm a nobody in all of this. But I sent a message today because it seemed like we all needed to figure out when we were going to do this birthday party. So I sent a message and Kendra sends a message saying how about this day and page like that seems good for us. And I was like I've got drill, Because we're never on the same page.
Speaker 2:Nope.
Speaker 1:Greg's me up, so then. So then Kendra sends another date and page is like I don't think we got much going on and I'm like wait, wait for it, Wait for it. Oh so funny, yeah. But busy times, Busy people.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So anything else going on. You had an appointment.
Speaker 2:I did.
Speaker 1:How'd your appointment go?
Speaker 2:It was very uneventful. Okay, he pretty much just looked at my incisions.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they look fine, good, then he proceeded to tell you the things that you shouldn't be doing, that you're already doing.
Speaker 2:Pretty much.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:You said that really fast, so I think you said it right. He told me some of the things to avoid and already avoid them.
Speaker 1:Oh, if that's what you want to say.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I have to. That's blood pressure, which I'm already on medication. I've already changed my diet and I have a lot of stuff under control.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So I was like, okay, and then I have to avoid physical sports.
Speaker 1:Yes, so no flag football.
Speaker 2:Flag football when we consider it a physical sport.
Speaker 1:Regular football With your boys, it would be. Oh shoot.
Speaker 2:We go full pads Right.
Speaker 1:But you can run. Yeah, okay, because that's what this is. We are joining forces. The high camp and the siblings I have you know.
Speaker 2:I won't be behind the power curve Because I don't think I'm physically ready to start exercising yet.
Speaker 1:But you don't have to because it's not until June. It's true. You only need eight weeks to prepare Right.
Speaker 2:I'll probably do like two.
Speaker 1:Okay, well again. So it's June. I think you'll be all right. No, but Matt is on this kick. This year, we are putting our health in the forefront of everything. So I've scheduled my wellness visit. I think Matt is going to be scheduling his wellness visit, but he is already looking at losing some weight, getting back on track, and one of the things that he asked us to do is run the 5K with them.
Speaker 2:So just something. He's already losing quite a bit of weight.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh well. When you take your portions from three to one, you're going to lose weight.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Love him. He's just like dad, though. Anybody that knows our dad you look at Matt and he is dad all over again. He really is. He's people friendly, he loves to have a good time, he laughs and carries on and he likes to eat at the weirdest times.
Speaker 2:Well, he also works weird hours.
Speaker 1:He does, and that's got to be hard because anybody's on a regular schedule. You have your breakfast, you have your lunch hour, you have your dinner hour. Like you, you're on a routine. But when you go in the middle of the night and you're not with anybody for those meals, I'm sure you could probably eat all day long. I have no idea. But yeah, so we are. But we have. We will update you on how this goes.
Speaker 2:I'm not too worried about it. I used to run 5Ks, like 3.2 miles. I'd run like three and a half miles weekly whenever I was overseas, but that was a few years ago.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah. Well, when you hit 40, things change.
Speaker 2:I'm just going to let you know, I also had an extra kidney back then, so I don't know if I'm going to be able to run faster or slower you should be able to run much faster or if I'm just going to keep bearing off to one side the amount of balance. I don't know how it's going to work.
Speaker 1:Well, I've only ran. I've only ran 3, 5ks in my life, and they were all one of the years I turned 40, I gave myself a goal that I was going to run 3, 5ks, and I did. You know I did what? In March and I did one in June and I did another one in October. So I did run my three and I can honestly say that I finished all three of them, but I have not ran since then. So this is going to be interesting.
Speaker 1:I've never actually ran a quote unquote like 5K, you mean like a one that's organized.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, Like I've never got a shirt for running with 5K. It's just me going out and running.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you'll get a shirt this time. Yeah, you're very excited, aren't you?
Speaker 2:Sure, they probably won't have my size.
Speaker 1:Oh, they'll have your size.
Speaker 2:Although I do have a shirt for running at 5K. But I wasn't even in this. I don't even know if I was in the state when it happened.
Speaker 1:Oh, really, somebody signed you up and they just had an extra shirt. Oh gotcha.
Speaker 2:So they were selling the extra shirt for like five bucks.
Speaker 1:Well, I really don't know if you could wear that thing, could you? I wear it all the time. Oh shoot, anything. Anyhow, enough about us, let's talk about God.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about Jesus.
Speaker 2:There is one more thing I want to announce. Oh boy, so on February 11th and 18th I will be giving services here at church. Oh yay, so anybody who is close by if you want to come and listen. And I think I'm going to do a study on the Word of God.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:We're going to touch on it a little bit. I don't know if we'll get to it this week or next, it's probably next, I don't know what sale goes. Okay, we touch you on it slightly and I Can only touch on a slightly, because that is such a huge thing, mm-hmm. Well, I think I'm gonna take those two weeks and Break it down break it down and A more in-depth study on the word of God okay.
Speaker 1:So, at least you know now, because last time we, last time you did this, it was the day before you're like I'm just going with it. I swear that's what it was like.
Speaker 2:That's common for me. Oh shoot, just wing things just wing it. Yeah, that's fine, but okay, so I am. I'm ready to get another vibe.
Speaker 1:Let's go for it, I'm ready.
Speaker 2:I am actually really excited about this because we're gonna be starting Hebrews 11.
Speaker 1:He bruised 11.
Speaker 2:Yes okay and this chapter is Known as a lot of things, but it is known as the faith chapter. A lot of people will say it's the, the Hall of Fame, the Hall of Faith. Okay, because in this chapter we don't know who the actual author is of Hebrews. So whoever the author is in this chapter, they kind of do a and I kind of mentioned this in past episodes a a quick overview of some of the big characters in the Old Testament okay and a brief highlight of their faithfulness, and A word that we'll see a lot is Commendation, or commended that's just a fancy word.
Speaker 2:That means they were given special praise. Okay typically by God. So God is giving them special praise and and for their faith, for what they have done. But, like I said, it's just like a verse, maybe two verses, covering this character's story. So what I would like to do is go back and start looking at these actual Old Testament references and show their faithfulness more explicitly.
Speaker 2:So that's where we're going to get into this week. And so how I'm going to break this down is by the object of the verses. Verse one and two is more or less kind of setting things up, and then verse three is it's not even. I mean the object is the creation, the creation story. So there's no actual individual mentioned in that. So we're going to do verses one through three first, and Then we're gonna keep rolling in.
Speaker 2:I know after that, verse four is gonna be by itself, where that's talking about came, enable and, more specifically, about the faith of able. So, but it's gonna be like that, going throughout this chapter. So that's how we're gonna break it down and with each story and unless we're getting really far behind and this is taking too long, but I would like to go back and at least look at a Huge majority of these characters mentioned in this chapter. So let's go ahead and get into it and I'm going to read Hebrews 11, 1 through 3 first, and then we'll break those down before we go on okay so this reads now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, for by it the people of old receive their commendation.
Speaker 2:By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Speaker 2:Okay so the wording of this it's kind of no. Using a lot of bigger words like assurance, commendation, and just the way it's worded it can be kind of hard to understand. So we're going to break this down and look at this in all the different aspects. The way we normally do things. I'm going to take each verse and just break it down and look at the different parts of it. So this first part we want to look at is now.
Speaker 2:Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. So first it's define assurance, and assurance is just simply having the confidence in something and the way we can view assurance, or the way assurance is typically used in our modern day society, is quality assurance, also known as quality control. So a lot of companies, especially in a manufacturing type company, they have either a quality assurance department or a quality control department, depending on where it's at. It might depend on what they call it. So basically, what they do in the QA or QC shop is making sure that the product that this company is putting out is meeting the requirements set forth by the company. So it is giving the company that ability to say confidently that what we are sending out to the stores. What we are sending out to the public to sell. It meets the standards that we set forth. So it is giving that company that confidence in their product. But at the same time it's also giving the consumer that confidence in that product, because now they know if they go out and buy something from that company there was that checks and balances this product is to the standard, so when you get it you have that confidence. So that's how that is kind of used today.
Speaker 2:So assurance is just simply that confidence, having that confidence in something. So now what you're saying, faith is the confidence of things to hope for. Okay, well, what is hope now? Hope is wanting something to be true, or you're wanting something to happen. So, like you hope for something. So you want something, you desire something, and that's the other way you can view. It is as desire, so it's just having. I don't know if I can even say it any more clearer than that.
Speaker 2:It's having that hope and desire and want.
Speaker 1:I can use hope as what we did for women's high cancer. We had shirts made with hope that she would beat cervical cancer. It was a desire that we wanted here on earth for her to survive her cancer and we wore it on a shirt and you'll see us still around now and it's got big block letters on it of the word hope. But it was a desire that we wanted was for her to be cured.
Speaker 2:That's very true. I kind of forgot about those shirts, but I do still wear mine often.
Speaker 1:No, I wear mine all the time.
Speaker 2:So, then, what are the things to hope for, now that we know what hope?
Speaker 2:is we know what assurance is. We have a confidence in something that we are wanting, something we're desiring. So what is it that we are wanting and desiring? Well, according to Matthew Henry, which is an author of a biblical commentary, one of the ones that I use, he says that the object of our hope is also the same object of our faith. And now, this is looking at it from the biblical point of view. So whenever I mean because that doesn't really apply to I hope that I have pizza for supper tonight I'm not having pizza for supper.
Speaker 1:No, but I made you chicken and noodles. I totally forgot them because we're off. We were off too early so you have to swing by the house and get them because usually on Thursdays you make your own dinner night. So I'm just letting you know that I got those so you can hope to travel over there after this.
Speaker 2:I hope I'm going to get chicken and noodles, because Michele is good chicken and noodles.
Speaker 1:I like my mom.
Speaker 2:It's very yummy, so now I really do have it.
Speaker 1:He hopes he has enough fuel to get back to my house and home.
Speaker 2:No, no, I'm just thinking about chicken and noodles. Anyways, I don't know where was I.
Speaker 1:The biblical hope.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, so this is from this point of view we're reading this, looking at it in context, this would be applying to more of a biblical point of view. So these objects of our hope would be the same objects of our faith. So these objects would be that Jesus was the Son of God.
Speaker 1:That heaven is real.
Speaker 2:That heaven is real, yeah, that whenever Jesus died on the cross, he died for all of our sins, and he is that path for our forgiveness of sins. And we go on and on yes, right, exactly.
Speaker 2:These are the objects, these are the things hoped for. So let's remember the correlations between hope and faith. So hope is that desire and, like we said, that biblical desire, but that comes from the knowledge that we get from reading and studying the Bible. So we're studying the Bible, we are learning that about Jesus and his life, his ministry and about all this other stuff related around Jesus. So that knowledge, you know, is kind of the same thing as what hope is. It's having that desire that those are true.
Speaker 2:Well then again, that faith is Making that correlation between your mind and your heart and saying, yes, I've read that these things are in the Bible, mm-hmm, that's where that hopes really coming in, like I want that to be true, mm-hmm. And then faith is taking that next step and being like I do believe in the street, oh, and you believe it in your heart and your soul that that is true. So Moving on to the next part of this, and then the next part is the conviction of things not seen. So now we have to look at conviction. So Conviction, looking at it in modern-day views, the most common or the first thing that came to my mind whenever I thought of conviction was criminal trial right so Whenever somebody is convicted of a crime.
Speaker 2:Well, what does that mean? To be convicted, that means they were Proven to be guilty right. So the actual definition of conviction is a firmly held belief. So that doesn't really the way we use conviction as far as somebody is convicted of a crime, until you start looking at it and Some of the other Translations and the way it is used other places because some of the translations, depending on what translation you use. I typically use the English standard version. Okay yes, v mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:But some of the other versions, instead of using conviction, will use proof. Okay, well, if you put proof and conviction together, now you're getting a better idea of what this actually means.
Speaker 2:Because in our court system, you know, if somebody goes to trial, they the prosecuting attorney will put forth proof. They will bring forth evidence and Trying to prove that this person did or didn't do or whatever the Chance, or whatever the case, what happens to be. They're trying to prove to the jury that Whatever they're trying to prove is what what actually happened. Well, the jury has to look at that proof and develop that belief that what's this prosecutor is presenting to them mm-hmm is Actuals true.
Speaker 2:So that is where this is kind of All coming together.
Speaker 1:So, coming back to to our verse, so Taking this idea of proof, this idea of conviction, putting it back into this verse, so because you would read that then now, if we, if we put in the words that we've discussed Now faith is the confidence of things hoped for, the proof of things not seen.
Speaker 2:Yes, so then we move on to. Well, what are the things not seen?
Speaker 1:what are the things not seen?
Speaker 2:And, looking at this in context, it would be the this whole correlation between okay, the things we hope for are the same things that we have faith in, but the thing about faith is, if you see it, then it's no longer faith right.
Speaker 2:Right, because the your faith is for something that's not seen the actual definition of faith is believing without saying right so if you see it, Right so this whole idea of these things not seen mm-hmm well, let's be honest here. The Bible, I mean well, the Bible was written a Long time ago a long time ago. Yeah, almost 2000 years ago, the New Testament, old Testament, a lot longer than that. Well, let's be honest, we weren't there. We and I kind of talked about this last week. Whenever we're talking about historical faith, Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:We have to trust that the Bible is. It's true that it is trustworthy that what it says is what actually happened. The Bible is typically viewed as a historical document.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:Well, the thing is, like I said last week, we weren't there. No, we can't go back and look and view these things that happen. So these things that we hope for the fact that Jesus died on the cross, the fact that Jesus was the Son of God, mm-hmm, all these stories revolved around Jesus and his ministry. We can't go back and view that. So we really have to have that faith, mm-hmm. And that's what this is talking about. It's that things not seen. Those are the things not seen right, we cannot see.
Speaker 2:That is where and that is where the faith is really coming in. So we don't have any physical, personal proof of what we believe in. All we have is a book of stories, a book of books.
Speaker 1:Really.
Speaker 2:Really it is. It's a book of books With the stories in them that we have to have that trust and confidence that it is true, it is accurate, it is historical. So that's really what this is coming down to. This is really just setting up this whole upcoming chapter between this verse. This is just really trying to put you in the right mindset for what is to come. This, along with the next verse, but to finish up, this one.
Speaker 2:So faith is the confidence, is us having the confidence in the things that we hope for, the things that the biblical stories that we read about in the Bible. Those are the things we hope for and the proof, the conviction. So we're reading these stories and the conviction is that change of heart that we have. So we may not have physical proof. We do have some physical proof of some of the things that happen, but we can't say that for everything.
Speaker 2:We have proof that Jesus was an actual person that lived in this world and who was crucified, like that. We have proof, physical proof, of that happening, but we can't have that proof that, okay, yes, he was crucified, but was he crucified for all of our sins, like you can't have proof for that. So that is where this conviction comes in. It is that feeling in your heart that saying okay, I may not have physical proof, but I see the Lord working, I trust in the Lord. And so if the Bible says that's what happened, I have the conviction in my heart to say yes, that is what I believe. That is Even though I can't see it.
Speaker 2:Even though I can't see it, I believe it. I believe it, and that is what faith is. So let's move on. Which time do I got?
Speaker 1:Two minutes.
Speaker 2:Okay, verse two is going to be quick, for by it, the people of old receive their commendation. So for by it this it is referring to faith.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And then the proof of the people of old. I mean, I can't read. I think I need-.
Speaker 1:You need bifocals I need trifocals. Bifocals. You're 40 now. You only have to have bifocals.
Speaker 2:Oh, I got to be 15. When I get trifocals, I hope it's not 45. So the people of old. So this is just referring to the Hebrew people. Who this is is. Let me say it this way it's to the ancestors, okay. So the people of old. So it's to the people in the line before them the ancestors. That's the simplest way of putting it. I'm trying to talk myself in circles.
Speaker 1:I know you are.
Speaker 2:Accommodation. I already talked about this. This is just a way of saying a special praise, a special type of praise typically coming from God. So, to summarize by faith, the ancestors, so those people of old, the ancestors of the Hebrew people, the Israelite people, received their special praise from God and this is really setting up what we're going to see. Like I said, these verse, two verses, are just setting up what we're going to see throughout the rest of chapters the rest of the chapter 11, the rest of Hebrews 11.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, I'm struggling tonight. You are struggling. So when reading Hebrews 11, starting off with the way that you've described this, it's now going to read now faith is the confidence of things hoped for, the proof of the things not seen For by faith. The ancestors of old received their special praise from God.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, very good the way that you do it.
Speaker 1:To break it down like that is so much easier, though, to understand, because when we first looked at this, I was that person who said, boy, this just doesn't make a lot of sense. But when you change these words, when you change assurance to confidence, when you change conviction to proof, when you even change accommodation to special praise from God, I mean it makes more sense when you change all of that. I know that you said that you have this written out somewhere, but I'll let you know that I went ahead and ended my paper that you handed me before you before we started, because I didn't see, I didn't see this anywhere.
Speaker 2:Probably still coming.
Speaker 1:So oh shoot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I still don't know where it's at.
Speaker 1:It is what it is.
Speaker 2:Maybe I just wrote it in my mind.
Speaker 1:I bet you did.
Speaker 2:So next week, when we come back, we'll finish up verse three.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And that is where we want to start talking about the word of God, and that is what I'm going to try to highlight. And my, I don't want to call them sermons and everyone to call them sermons. I don't really give sermons.
Speaker 1:No, you don't.
Speaker 2:So the Bible studies I do Sunday morning on the 11th and the 18th will be about the word of God.
Speaker 1:Oh, fantastic, all right, so we thank you for joining us. Please leave a comment on this video or go to our contact page at purefaithlivingcom to send us a message and, as always, if you like what you hear, then we ask that you share this show with others so we can all work together and spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Don't forget to subscribe, and we will talk to you again next time.
Speaker 2:Have a blessed day everybody.