Elevate To The Next Level: "Living In Faith”

Elevate to the Next Level

“Living in Faith”

Hebrews 11

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As we enter this series “Elevate to the Next Level,” which we began the other week with “Living in the Holy Spirit,” I want to move into a mini-series within this series, and it’s based upon how Paul ends his section on love in 1 Corinthians 13. And I consider these to be the top three attributes of being a Christian.

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NKJV)

And so, today I want to start with the first attribute by asking the question, “What Pleases God?”

What does it take to please God? Some people think the way we please God is through rituals. Like chanting certain prayers, light incense or candles, or the like. But that’s not what the Bible says.

Others think we please God through following rules and regulations. We make a list of what we’re supposed to do and not to do, and if we do all the “to Do’s” and don’t do any of the “Do Not’s,” then God says we’re okay. But also, that’s not what the Bible says.

Then there are those who think that we please God through religious observances. That we observe certain holy days, or attend certain religious events, then we’ll be religious enough so we can hear God says we’re okay. But again, that’s not what the Bible says.

So, what does the Bible say?

“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.” (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)

The Bible says God isn’t interested in rituals, rules, regulations, or religion. Instead, God’s interested in relationships, and that it’s impossible to please God unless we possess one thing, and that is faith.

Today I’d like to look at how we can build a life of faith, so God is pleased.

In Jude 1:20, we are told to build our lives on a foundation of faith. And the reason is because the Bible is truth. Therefore, we come to the question, “What is faith?”

To take a practical look at what faith is all about, the best place to start is the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, also known as God’s Hall of Faith. It is there that we find a list of those men and women that God says had great faith. But what was it about their lives that singled them out for this great honor? This is what I’d like to look at, as we look at the different aspects of how we can build a life of faith.

Faith is Believing When We Don’t See It

Now, the first verse in Hebrews 11 is what many describe as the quintessential definition of faith, but it really isn’t a definition of what faith is, as much as it is a description of what faith is, and the rest of the chapter is the example.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)

The New Living Translation says it this way, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”

We often say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” But God says, “Nope, that’s backwards. You have to believe it to see it.” That’s faith.

It’s like an architect planning a building, or an artist creating a sculpture, or even an athlete trying to break a record. They must believe and envision it before they can accomplish it. They must believe it’s possible long before it will ever be possible.

Now, Warner von Braun, builder of the Atlas and Saturn rockets, said, “There has never been any significant achievement in human history that was not accompanied by faith.”

While we may not see God, it doesn’t’ mean He doesn’t exist. A Russian cosmonaut who didn’t see God in outer space reportedly said, “Since I can’t see God he must not exist.”

While we may not see the face of God, we do see Him in creation and in the changed lives of those who by faith have come to believe.

In juxtaposition to the Russian cosmonaut, American astronaut John Glenn said, “To look out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is to me impossible. It just strengthens my faith.”

Faith then believes before seeing, but there’s more

Faith is Obeying When We Don’t Understand It

Consider Noah. Can you imagine what he thought and the doubts he must have had when God said, “I’m going to wipe every living thing off the face of the earth and start all over with you.” I don’t know about you, but I’d wonder what I just ate for dinner. But not Noah!