Faith

Each year, thousands of people go to the Grand Canyon to see this mighty wonder. If you have never been there, you should plan on going the first chance you get. It is so big, so stupendous, that your senses cannot grasp its enormity, and you have no words to describe it to others.

But, there are always those people who push things to the limit. And each year, at least one tourist will get himself into trouble by not respecting the danger of the canyon, too.

Such was the case a few years ago. A man got too close to the edge, trying to look straight down, and he slipped and went over the side. Knowing he had a several thousand foot fall ahead of him, he began clawing at anything he could get a hold of to stop the fall. He grabbed hold of a tiny little bush growing out of the side of the cliff wall and there he hung, motionless, but not for long.

And he did what most people do when they get in over their heads; he called out to heaven for help. He said, “Is there anybody up there who can help me?” He heard a voice saying there was. He cried, “Tell me what to do!” The voice knew there was a ledge about two feet below the man, but that he could not see it, so the voice said, “Let go of the bush.” And he did what we do most of the time, too. He said, “Get me somebody else to talk to!”

We say we have faith, but it is one thing to say we have, and quite another to show we have it. We need to learn how to act in faith – every time a problem shows up in our life. We need to have others see our faith through our actions, and not just our empty words.

I will attempt to show what that faith is really like, so that we might be able to tap into it and walk stronger with the Lord.

The first thing we need to do is …

1. BELIEVE, EVEN WHEN I DON’T SEE IT

It would be easier if there were one way to define faith, but there isn’t. It is a multi-faceted belief. Today, we are going to talk about six different statements that are taken from HEBREWS 11, which is known as the ‘Faith Chapter; of the Bible.

A pastor’s wife told her 5-year old son to wash his hands before he ate, because germs lived in the dirt. He got mad and said, “Jesus and germs! That’s all I ever hear about in this house, and I can’t see either one!”

HEBREWS 11:1 – (New Century Version)

‘Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.’

Faith is planted by the Holy Spirit. It will enable us to receive the truth of God’s design for us. It is a confident expectation of those things that are hoped for, but cannot be seen. It is a deep-seated knowledge that comes from within our hearts that those things we desire WILL come about in God’s time.

Faith was the principle of holy obedience for many in the Bible. The Bible gives us the complete and exact account of origin. We are to believe it, not wrestle with it or try to change it so that we can understand it in human terms.

HEBREWS 11:4-7 – (New International Version)

‘By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists - and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.’

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.”

That may sound impossible, or like a contradiction of senses, but the Bible teaches that faith is actually visualizing your desire of the future, but doing it in the current time. How can you do that? There is only one way to accomplish that and it is through the Holy Spirit, which lives in every Christian.