First, Go. Then Grow | How God Uses Your Movement to Bring Heaven to Earth

Hebrews 11 gives a very different recipe for extraordinary impact than pop culture gives. Pop culture says ordinary people make a dent when they find out they have extraordinary power. Hebrews says ordinary people make an extraordinary impact when they choose extraordinary faith. The hall of faith is not full of polished superheroes. It is full of shepherds, boat builders, wandering nomads, moms, outsiders, and people who simply trusted God enough to move.

Faith, in Hebrews 11, is not a brain-only belief or a religious quiz with the right boxes checked. Faith is confidence based on evidence. The load bearing wall picture makes the point plain: confidence is not proven while the temporary supports are still standing. Faith shows up when the supports get cut out, when control gets released, when grace gets given to the person who does not deserve it, and when feet actually go where Jesus says to go.

Joseph’s life looks like it should be remembered for the flashy stuff. Genesis shows the dreams, the betrayal, the pit, the slavery, the prison, the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, and the Warren Buffet economic touch that saves Egypt and his family. But Hebrews does not put Joseph in the hall of faith because of his power, smarts, leadership, or dream skills. Hebrews points to the end of his life, when Joseph gives directions about his bones.

Joseph’s bones carry the real lesson. Joseph believes God will take his people to the promised land even though his family is farther away from it than ever. Joseph has seen enough evidence of God’s faithfulness to greet the promise from far away and tell his people to carry his bones when God finally brings them home. His present work is driven by a future vision beyond his own life.

The promised land vision does not stop with Israel entering Canaan. Revelation shows the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. The earth is not a rental house to trash while waiting to leave. The earth is the place where God will crash his kingdom in one day, so faith works with the tide of God now.

The dirty jersey image lands the call. A person clothed with Christ is not meant to sit in the stands with a clean shirt. Faith grows when it gets in the game, serves the Maria in front of it, starts somewhere, sweats, risks, and works for God’s kingdom even when the finish line may sit beyond one lifetime.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Faith cuts out false supports Faith becomes visible when control stops pretending to be trust. The load bearing wall image exposes the difference between saying there is confidence and actually removing the temporary supports. Real faith does not live in the safety of theory, but in the costly place where obedience proves what the mouth has claimed. [36:58]
• 2. Bones can preach beyond death Joseph’s most remembered act in Hebrews is not his rise to power, but his instructions about his bones. That detail shows a faith aimed past personal success, past one lifetime, and past visible results. A life can be shaped by promises that the eyes may only “greet from afar.” [45:13]
• 3. Heaven is coming to earth The kingdom hope is not escape from a doomed planet. Revelation pictures the holy city coming down, with God dwelling among his people. That future changes stewardship now, because the earth is not a disposable rental but the place God intends to fill with heaven’s life. [50:21]
• 4. Childlike faith starts somewhere Gracie’s answer about helping one Maria refuses the adult excuse that a problem is too big to touch. Childlike faith does not deny the scale of suffering, but it also does not let scale become permission to do nothing. Thousands can become hundreds only when one person becomes worth helping today. [60:02]
• 5. Dirty jerseys belong in the game Galatians says those baptized into Christ are clothed with Christ, like wearing the jersey. The point of that jersey is not to stay clean in the stands, but to get stained by work that matters. Faith grows through sweat, service, risk, and the kind of obedience that comes home marked by love.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [28:48] - Do It for the Plot
• [30:23] - Two Recipes for Impact
• [34:23] - Faith Is Confidence from Evidence
• [35:19] - Cutting Out the Supports
• [41:26] - Joseph’s Origin Story
• [44:55] - Joseph’s Bones and the Promise
• [47:17] - Future Vision Drives Present Work
• [49:19] - The Kingdom Is Coming Here
• [53:15] - Building for God’s Kingdom
• [57:27] - Gracie and Maria in Puerto Rico
• [63:11] - Get Your Jersey Dirty
• [66:06] - Asking God for the Next Step

Bible Reading

Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” [34:20]

Hebrews 11:22
“By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.” [45:11]

Revelation 21:2-3
“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’”

Galatians 3:26-27
“For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” [01:03:33]

James 2:18
“But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” [37:51]

Observation questions

1. In Hebrews 11:22, what detail from Joseph’s life is singled out as an example of faith, and what famous parts of his story are not emphasized there? [44:55]
2. In the load-bearing wall picture, what was the one step that revealed whether the work could really hold, and how did that connect to faith? [36:58]
3. According to James 2:18 and the examples given, what kinds of actions make faith visible instead of just talked about? [37:00]
4. In Revelation 21:2-3, where is the holy city moving, and what does that show about where God plans to dwell with his people? [50:21]

Interpretation questions

1. Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as assurance and conviction. How does that push back against the idea that faith is just guessing, wishing, or turning off the brain? [34:28]
2. Joseph gave instructions about his bones because he believed God would still keep his promise long after Joseph died. What does that show about the kind of future vision that can shape a person’s present work? [47:17]
3. Revelation 21 pictures the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. How should that change the way believers think about this world, their work, and their responsibility in it? [51:12]
4. Galatians says believers have been clothed with Christ. How does the jersey image help explain the difference between admiring faith from the stands and living faith on the field? [01:03:05]

Application questions

1. Faith becomes visible when false supports get cut out. What is one “temporary support” in life that is hardest to let go of right now—control, money, comfort, image, resentment, or something else? What might trusting God look like in that exact area this week? [37:05]
2. Joseph lived with a vision beyond his own lifetime. What long-term work for God’s kingdom feels worth giving energy to even if the full result may never be seen personally? [47:28]
3. Childlike faith starts somewhere instead of doing nothing. Who is one “Maria” nearby—one person, family, or need that has become visible? What would be a real first step toward helping instead of just feeling bad about it? [59:33]
4. The earth is not a disposable rental; it is the place where God intends to dwell with his people. How would daily choices change if home, work, neighborhood, and city were seen as places to prepare for God’s coming kingdom? [51:42]
5. A clean jersey may mean a person stayed in the stands. Where has it been easier to watch, critique, or cheer from a distance instead of stepping into service personally? [01:03:05]
6. Faith often grows after obedience, not before. Can the group name a time when taking a risky step with God led to stronger confidence afterward? What was learned through doing, not just thinking? [01:04:48]
7. God is not stingy about showing the next step. If each person honestly asked God what step of faith is next, what answer seems most likely to come up right now? [01:06:06]