Called to Faithfulness
Hebrews 11:1-6 NKJV
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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
Message:
We are living at a time when people put more faith in technology than they do in common sense. Have you seen the folks playing “Pokémon Go”? It’s an interactive game people can play on their phones. The idea is to hunt down and capture these animated creatures.
I do not know if we have any Pokémon’s at New St. Andrews but you never know, you will have to have a phone with the app to find out. People are drawn into this animated world that is blended with our reality in a way that is unprecedented. The idea was to get kids to go outside but adults are taking this game to a whole new level.
The results are that people are trespassing on private property as they hunt Pokémon’s.
Another technology that people use and sometimes blindly is the GPS for driving. Some people still blindly follow the directions even though they can see that the directions are wrong.
And drivers who are taking directions from these GPS navigation systems literally are ending up at dead ends or in ponds or lost on back roads.
What I want to point out to you is that these people are using blind faith as they drive or as they hunt down Pokémon’s. I’m sure with the current trends we will see even more games and more people engaged in this half animated and half real world.
Which leaves me to wonder how are Christians exercising their faith these days?
We certainly have more technology at our disposal as well. I use the computer regularly for study and research and for preparing my Sunday messages. Some could argue that I am engaged in a world that is both real and imagined and they would be right in saying so.
But for me the difference is that many have gone on before me into both these worlds and what they have shared gives substance to the things I hope for and evidence of the things that I cannot now see.
For these reasons and others I can put trust and hope into my faith instead of being a blind follower.
I can look to people, places and things that support my faith in a way that makes my faith something very real instead of something only imagined. Christians who I have known during my lifetime but who are now with the Lord.
Looking at God’s word the Bible is one such place where I can meet people, real people not animated characters, but people who have lived by faith and who have demonstrated how their trust and hope in God proved real and built up their faith.
God tells us to take Him by faith even though we may not see things for ourselves to take His word for it.
God said He spoke and the world was created.
God created living things and then created man and woman as the highest of the living creatures made in God’s image.
God put human beings in a garden called Eden and provided for us.
God told us what we could eat and what we should not eat and God even told us what the consequences would be if we disobeyed.
God was faithful with us but we proved faithless as we sinned and disobeyed God.
God did not abandon us but rather faithfully provided a way back into a personal relationship with Him through His son Jesus Christ.
God gave people a second chance time and time again.
By faith these people who trusted God were saved and protected and came to know God’s favor.
One such person was Noah who built the Ark. It had never ever rained yet but God said it would and Noah and his sons began a long and difficult construction project and became the laughing stock of their community for decades. But then it rained and everyone stopped laughing.
Noah and his sons exercised faith. The flood was the evidence of the thing not seen and the Ark was the substance of the thing hoped for escape from a corrupt and broken world.
When the rain stopped Noah sent out a raven and then a dove. The dove returned with an olive branch, more evidence.
God placed His rainbow in the sky as an everlasting covenant. It continues to this day.
Hebrews Chapter 11 goes on to list many more people men and women who by faith learned to trust and obey God and to take Him at His word.
Many of these things happened long ago and so today many people wonder if God still uses faith today like He did back then.
Yes would be my answer. You see God gave us the best reasons to trust and obey Him when God sent His own son Jesus Christ to live amongst us and to teach us. Jesus became the means of increasing faith for multitudes of people and Jesus continues to draw people to God by His life, death and resurrection.
It has been nearly 2000 years since Jesus was among us physically and so today people’s memories are growing faint.
Many know a little about Jesus but many doubt that He came.
They are like the people of Noah’s time who laughed at the idea of rain falling from the sky.
Jesus told us some of the things that would happen when He comes to earth a second time. Many of the things seem to be general in nature like wars, and famines and pestilences. Jesus talked about them in Matthew Chapter 24 and in Luke Chapter 21 and Mark Chapter 13.
We call the things Jesus warned us about – “prophecies”. Jesus instructed us to watch and wait and occupy till He comes. We are to be occupied by proclaiming and living out our faith in order to draw others to Jesus.
Jesus asked a question about faith to His disciples and Luke wrote it down in Luke 18:8
“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Where is your faith today?
Is it in the technology of our times or is it in the Savior Jesus Christ?
People may laugh and ridicule you for your beliefs but remember how God washed their doubts away.
Stay faithful Saints, the time of His appearing is closer now than it has ever been. – Amen.
