Get Beyond the Chair
Griffith Baptist Church – 10/12/08
A.M. Service
Text: Hebrews 11:1-3
Key verse: Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Premise: We as believers must live our lives every moment on the basis of faith in what God will do solely because He has said it.
The Introduction
A man was lost in the desert and was near death for lack of water. Soon he came across a pump with a canteen hung on the handle and a note. The note read as follows: "Below you is all the fresh water you could ever need, and the canteen contains exactly enough water to prime the pump."
It takes GREAT FAITH to pour out the whole contents of the canteen for a promise of unlimited water. What would you do?
Faith has often been illustrated in trusting in a chair. (elaborate)
But faith is more than that.
The faith in the chair illustration is inadequate.
• Because, you see, my faith in the chair is based, in part, on previous experience.
• I’ve sat in a chair before, so there is no reason to doubt that it will hold me again.
• I have seen others sit in a chair and it held them so I can assume that it will hold me as well.
Now, if the chair breaks, it will mean one of two things; either the chair was faulty or I need to lose weight. But it does not ruin my trust in sitting in a chair ever again.
With God, if it were possible for Him to do something untrustworthy, than I cannot trust Him as much as I did before, if at all.
• The fact is, God does not fail and is always faithful.
• God is a responder to faith; the chair is not.
We have to get beyond the chair.
There is faith that is saving faith
There is faith that is living faith – that is what we are dealing with here in this text.
Transition Statement: First, faith is confidence in the unproved.
Body
1. Faith Is Confidence in the Unproved – 1a (the substance of things hoped for)
A. Confidence in God’s faithfulness
i. Missionary statesman Hudson Taylor had complete trust in God’s faithfulness. In his journal he wrote: Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning … He sustained 3 million Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. We do not expect He will send 3 million missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all … Depend on it, God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. Our Daily Bread, May 16, 1992
ii. Hebrews 10:23 - Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (1st Thes. 5:24; 2nd Thes. 3:3; 2nd Tim. 2:13; Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18)
B. Confidence in God’s purpose
i. God has created you with a purpose, both in your first birth and especially in your second.
ii. Romans 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.
a. To be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29)
b. To bring glory and honor to God - 1 Peter 2:9 - But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
Transition Statement: Second, faith is conviction in the unseen.
2. Faith is Conviction in the Unseen – 1b (evidence of things not seen)
A. Conviction leaves no room for doubt
i. A defendant was on trial for murder in Oklahoma. There was strong evidence indicating guilt, but there was no corpse. In the defense’s closing statement the lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, resorted to a trick. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all," the lawyer said as he looked at his watch. "Within one minute, the person presumed dead in this case will walk into this courtroom." He looked toward the courtroom door. The jurors, somewhat stunned, all looked on eagerly. A minute passed. Nothing happened. Finally the lawyer said, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all looked on with anticipation. I, therefore, put it to you that there is reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you return a verdict of not guilty." The jury, clearly confused, retired to deliberate. A few minutes later, the jury returned and pronounced a verdict of guilty. "But how?" inquired the lawyer. "You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door." Answered the jury foreman: "Oh, we did look. But your client didn’t."
ii. James 1:6 - But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
B. Conviction is seated in the heart
i. The heart is the source from where our real beliefs emerge into action
ii. Mark 11:22-23 - 22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
C. Conviction acts on the basis of the non-existent evidence
i. It is our solid hope - Romans 8:24-25 – 24For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
ii. What is most important is the eternal - 2 Corinthians 4:18 – While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Transition Statement: Third, faith is centered in the Word of God.
3. Faith Is Centered in the Word of God – 3 (Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God)
A. It is narrow and focused
i. God is the object of faith – He is the giver and recipient of faith (11:6)
ii. God’s Word is the basis of faith – Romans 10:17 - So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (saving faith that continues on into living faith) (see also Heb. 4:2
iii. Psalms 33:6 - By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
B. It is how we are born (spiritually)
i. Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
ii. The avenue of saving grace is faith
C. It is how we are to walk
i. 2 Corinthians 5:7 - (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
ii. This is a constant state of living
iii. This is how we are to operate
D. It is how we are to live
i. Hebrews 10:38 - Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
ii. This is what powers us to move forward
iii. This is the only way a true believer can truly live and function
Conclusion:
How is your faith in God?
Do you trust Him no matter what or do you find yourself doubting?
We must get to the point of unquestioning trust and that can only come with an ongoing and thriving relationship with Him.
