THE POWER OF FAITH
Hebrews 1:1-3
Man is quiet an amazing creature and stands at the zenith of all creation. Man has been given the marvelous ability to communicate with the world around him and with others. He has been given the five senses of taste, feel, smell, hearing and sight. He has also the most highly developed mind of all creation which has the ability to reason and make decisions.
Yet, as fascinating a creature that man is he still has tremendous limitations. He is limited in senses.
He can only taste that which is placed within his mouth.
He can only feel that which comes in contact with him.
He can only smell that which is in close proximately.
With hearing he can hear thunder that is miles away, but he still has limits.
His sight is his most fascinating sense as he can see the moon and the stars millions of miles awat, but cannot see microscopic germ on his glass.
As brilliant as man is in his thinking and rational, he is severely limited in his understanding of the vast amount of information in this world. What man would dare to claim he can understand even 25% of all the information in this universe, much less beyond.
Yet, God in His wisdom did not leave man powerless in his overwhelming limitations. No, he provided man with a remedy of this great defect. He provided faith to help bridge the great gulf...
between man’s limitations and his potential;
between the visible and invisible world
between the known and the unknown.
Listen again to how the Bible defines faith....
(Heb 11:1) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I. THE DEFINITION OF FAITH
Now let’s break this definition down...
A. Faith is the substance of things hoped for,.....
Substance (hupostasis) is a word from the earliest of Greek times which has transformed in meaning throughout the years
1) Early Greek included an idea “to stand under for support”.
–Faith has the idea of that which supports our position of belief
2) Early medical and scientific use of hupostasis included a reference of the “residue that remains which can be seen or takes concrete shape.
–therefore, I suggest that Faith is that which remains when all else is gone.
Illustration:
Ron Dunn a wonderful Baptist pastor who had to live through the tragedy of his son committing suicide explained it this way, “I have reached the bottom of my faith and found out it is on solid ground.
3) In general usage hupostasis came to mean a plan.
This was evidence for the idea for our structure. Not the original idea or the completed structure, but the plan.
Illustration: blueprint for our new church building
–Faith is God’s plan for the Christian life
4) Hupostasis always was used for a
“document for a tract of land or some property.”
–Faith is God’s deed assurance us of things to come.
Therefore, with the idea of faith is the substance of things hoped for, then
Faith is the
--support that assures us of our hope
–residue that proves the validity of our hope
–plan that shows the way to our hope
–deed or the guarantee of our hope
B. “Faith is ...the evidence of things not seen:
Evidence (elegchos) is a word which means: a proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested ; and also was used to mean: conviction
Illustration:
**If I awoke in the morning and I saw puddles
all over the yard, then the puddles are the
evidence that it rained although I did not
even see it rain.
**Rustling of the leaves is evidence of the
wind
C. Faith is the assurance and the proof of things we hope for even though we cannot see them.
II. THE POWER OF FAITH
As we discussed at the beginning we, as humans, are limited by our senses and our understanding and are handicapped by our limitations. But, due to the gift of faith, a gift we must accept and use, which gives us assurance, we can have the power to overcome our limitations...
A. Faith Gives Me Power to See the Unseen
When look through eyes of faith then first of all
I can see God. Although God is Spirit I have the assurance of the reality of God as I see him through his handiwork of creation and his work in changed lives.
I can see the future things Promised by God
Where there is no faith in the future
there is no power in the present
Heaven, Visions of His fulfilled work,
Prosperity
B. Faith gives me the power Hear the Unheard
Through faith one can hear the voice of God
I have never heard God speak to me in an audible voice, but I have heard him speak to me many times before. - God speaks in a still, small voice
- God speaks through circumstances
- God speaks through His word
- God speaks through Godly counsel
Through faith one can hear a hurting heart
C. Faith gives me the power to Understand the Ununderstandable
There will be times in our lives when things occur which absolutely cannot be explained or understood with human rational...
Examples....
**Terrible things happening to us......Joseph being sold by his brothers
(Rom 8:28) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose
**Unexplained Miracles
Hudson Taylor and his trip to China. A dangerous situation. The captain comes to Taylor’’s room. The captain reports that they have no wind and was drifting toward an island. An Island full of cannibals. The captain asks for Taylor to pray for God to send them some wind. Taylor agrees to pray but only if the captain will raise the sail. The captain resists claiming that there was no wind at all and that the sailors would think that he was crazy. The captain raises the sail and Taylor begins to pray and 45 minutes later the captain returns –– You can stop praying now. We have more wind than we can use.
D. Faith gives me power to Do the Undoable
(Phil 4:13) I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me.
E. Faith gives me the power to Believe the Unbelievable
Illustration: Prime the pump Man wandering in the desert – dying for a drink of water The man finds a small shack . Inside the shack there was an old pump. He tries the pump but nothing happens. Finding the jug. Frustrated he starts to leave and finds a jug of water. There was a note on the jug: You have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug. PS: Please fill the jug back up before you leave. The dilemma arises. If he drank the water, he would live. If he primed the pump, he could have all the water he wanted – If the pump still worked. The decision. He poured the water into the pump and began pumping the handle. Water began to drip, then dribble and finally gush from the pump. He added this to the note: Believe me it really works. You have to give it all away before you can get anything back.
F. Faith gives me Power to Attain the Unattainable
Man cannot cleanse himself from the penalty
Man cannot overcome the reality of death
Man cannot live a life pleasing to Christ
It is not what men eat, but what they digest that makes them strong Not what we gain, but what we save that makes us rich Not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned Not what we preach or pray, but what we practice and believe that makes us Christians – Francis Bacon Conclusion Little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul Where is your faith? Are you waiting to raise the sail? Are you debating on priming the pump? Do you want all, that God has waiting for you? Are you willing to give all you are to become all you were created to be?
