What is Faith?
What does is mean to have faith?
What is a God Pleasing Faith?
What God pleasing Faith is (Hebrews 11:1, 6)
Believing in the Person of God
Means Knowing Him
Means Trusting Him
What a God Pleasing faith does.
A God Pleasing Faith…
…Believes without Seeing
…Sacrifices when it’s not Required
…Obeying without Understanding
…Perseveres when it’s not Easy
What is Faith Video
Slide 1
What is Faith?
That is a hard question for many to answer.
We seem to know what it is, but it is hard to put into words.
Then when we try to put it in words, we wonder if we really do have faith.
There is no doubt that everyone has faith in something.
As we saw, some had
faith in themselves
faith in the country
faith in God.
But what does it really mean to have faith?
We are going to explore that question today and take a look at the examples of faith the author of Hebrews gives in Hebrews 11. turn there
Slide
The author of Hebrews devotes a whole chapter to faith and people of faith.
Why does he talk about this here?
We have just finished talking about growing relationships.
A Growing relationship with God and with God’s people and how those things are essential for us to experience the life God has designed.
Now he starts talking about faith.
Hebrews 11
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 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.
5 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. 6 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.
7 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.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age-and Sarah herself was barren-was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated- 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
The first thing I want us to notice is what is said in
Hebrews 11:6 - “without faith it is impossible to please God”
What does the author mean by that?
He obviously doesn’t mean just a faith in anything will please Him.
I guess the real question for us then is not what is faith, but
What is God Pleasing Faith?
Slide
Notice at the end of Hebrews 10
38 But my righteous one will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."
39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Heb 10:38-39)
A righteous person will live by faith and believe with a saving belief.
Those who shrink back are not those who have faith.
In Hebrews 11:6, the author tells us a
A God pleasing faith believes…
Slide
God exists and that
God is good
Hebrews 11:6
6 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.
But this faith is not just in believing that there is some unknown good God out there.
Remember the context.
We just finished talking about growing relationships.
A God pleasing faith is one that
Knows HIM and grows in knowing Him
It knows He is real
It knows His character
It knows He is good
A God pleasing faith is one that believes in the person of God expressed in Jesus Christ.
This God we are to know is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ
Remember Hebrews 1
Hebrews 1:1-3
1:1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being,
Jesus is the complete expression of God and a God pleasing faith believes in Jesus Christ.
So that is what a God pleasing faith is.
But
What does a God pleasing faith do?
slide
We are a society that can talk a good game.
But how does a God pleasing faith look in reality?
That is what we want to really examine today.
And that is what the author of Hebrews has shown us in this chapter.
And the first thing we see here is that
A God Pleasing Faith
Believes without Seeing
Slide 4
Hebrews 11:1
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
This is the same thing Paul tells us in
2 Corinthians 5:7
We live by faith, not by sight.
This is so opposed to how we live our life.
We like to see.
We live by the motto, “Seeing is believing”
Believing when we can’t can be scary.
Illustration – The Blitz
During the bombing of London during WW2, the Nazis would nightly bomb buildings and homes of civilians.
A father, holding his small son by the hand ran from a building that had been struck by a bomb. In the front yard was a shell hole. Seeking shelter as quickly as possible, the father jumped into this deep dark hole and held up his arms for his son to follow.
It was dark in the hole and the boy couldn’t see his dad. Terrified, yet hearing his father’s voice telling him to jump, the boy replied, “I can’t see you!”
The father, looking up against the sky tinted red by the burning buildings, called to the silhouette of his son and said, “But I can see you. Jump!”
The boy jumped because he knew his dad and he had faith in him.
Accessed 7/25/2007 at http://www.bible.org/illus.php?topic_id=526
It did not require him to see his dad, only that his dad saw him.
In the Christian faith, A God pleasing faith trusts God’s goodness and reality even when we can’t see it, because
we know God,
we know His character and
we trust that He is good and guiding us.
When Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to the disciples, except for Thomas and Thomas didn’t believe them. But then it says this in
John 20:26-29
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
(from New International Version)
Those who believe without seeing physically, but see with the eyes of faith will receive the blessings of the Lord.
A Second thing we see is a God Pleasing Faith
Sacrifices When it’s not Required
Slide 5
Hebrews 11:4
4 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.
Why was Abel’s sacrifice better than Cain’s?
Because Abel’s sacrifice was one that was offered in faith, not out of requirement.
Genesis 4:3-5
3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.
Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil. Just any old part of what he reaped.
Abel brought the fat portions from the first born.
He brought the best of the best as an offering versus what ever Cain had on hand.
If we only sacrifice to God the leftovers, the remnants, any old thing, it is not really a sacrifice.
Sacrifice to God is for the purpose of declaring
our thanks for what He has provided and
our faith that He will continue to provide.
Illustration – pay a tithe for Blessings
I had a guy come into my office wanting to come in a pay a tithe of what he made.
I talked with him for a while and he was selling things at the flee market on the weekends and could not make it out to church here.
But he thought that the Lord would not bless him if he wasn’t giving a tithe of what he made.
I told him that it is good that he wanted to be obedient to the Lord and tithe, but he was treating the tithe as a pay for blessings system.
God’s blessings are not for sale. Actually they are free. They are found all along the path of obedience.
If we are tithing (giving 10%), and we don’t really want to, but are just giving out of obligation, or in return for some blessing from God, then we have the wrong motive and we are not sacrificing in faith, but as a requirement.
God does not need your money.
God desires your heart.
Our giving, our sacrifice, should be an expression of our heart toward God.
2 Corinthians 9:7
7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
When we can make a sacrifice to the Lord, one that is from the heart, we glorify the Lord.
Abel wanted to glorify the Lord and gave from his heart the best.
Cain wanted the best for himself and gave to the Lord out of what he didn’t need.
Where is your giving coming from?
Is your giving sacrifice or is it just what you have determined you can afford.
Is your giving an expression of your heart with gratefulness for what the Lord has provided for you, or can you only see what you don’t have and think that if I give any more to the Lord, there will still be more that I can’t afford.
Honoring God with your sacrifices, real sacrifices, is evidence of a God pleasing faith.
My challenge to you is to step out in faith and sacrifice for the Lord and building His kingdom.
Third,
A God pleasing faith
Obeys without Understanding
Slide 6
Hebrews 11:7-8
7 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.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
Two great men of faith show us how to obey without understanding it all.
We have Noah and Abraham.
Let’s take a look at Noah first.
Imagine you are told by God to begin building an Ark in the desert.
Lord, Shouldn’t I build this by the water?
No, I am going to bring a flood.
What is a flood?
That is when I bring so much rain that water will cover the earth.
What is rain?
Many commentators believe, along with myself, that it had never rained before this time. The earth’s atmosphere was more like a green house and things got watered from streams that came up through the ground. (Genesis 2:4b-6)
So Noah asks What is rain?
Rain is when water falls from the sky.
Imagine that. God is telling you to do something that will take you years to accomplish, and bring about things that have
never been seen before and
never happened before.
And Noah obeyed. And because Noah obeyed, God glorified Himself and Noah got to be used in a powerful way for all the earth.
Now I imagine that this was quite difficult.
“Hey Noah, still building that boat in the desert? How many years are you gonna work on that?”
Noah, When is the “rain” supposed to come?
Imagine that going on for years, but continuing on in obedience when you don’t understand it all.
Or take Abraham.
Called to pick up from the only place he had known and go hundreds of miles to a place he had never been to live among a people he did not know.
God said Go and He went.
Hebrews 11:8 says he obeyed and went.
He did it even in the midst of not understanding
why or
what was going to happen or
how he was going to make it.
These 2 men are great examples of faith, of obeying without having an understanding of the situation. But they knew God. They were in relationship with God.
God is faithful. When He tells us to do something, we can obey without worry. It may be hard at points, but He will bring us through, because He has a better plan than we have for our lives.
You may be in a position now of sensing God’s direction to do something, but your unsure of all the details. If you have
prayed and are convinced that God is directing you, and
it is in alignment with His word, and
you have sought counsel of mature Christians,
then follow in obedience even if you don’t understand.
Even when we don’t’ understand where it all will end, He usually makes clear what the next step is even if we can’t see where our foot will land.
Don’t fret about all the details. God will definitely work them out.
As we begin to move forward on stepping out in faith here at Hickory as we seek to add space to minister to people, it will be scary for many of us as we take steps of sacrifice and we don’t know all of the details yet.
But we can step out in confidence as we look at what He has been doing and trust that He will continue.
We glorify God when we obey even when we don’t understand.
Finally, a God pleasing Faith
Perseveres When it’s not Easy
Slide 7
Hebrews 11:24-27
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
There are times that things are going to be hard, maybe very hard.
It is then that we have to persevere.
Moses could have chosen the easier route.
But He kept His eyes on God and persevered.
Some of you may be going through very difficult times right now.
Maybe you just feel like quitting.
Quitting your job
Quitting your marriage
Quitting serving
Quitting life.
Don’t quit.
Now is the time to persevere.
Now is the time to keep your focus.
Just as these men of faith have done.
Just as Jesus Christ did when faced with the cross.
How are you going to persevere though.
Listen, this is one of the reasons that Christ left the church here.
So we could encourage one another in the Christian life.
Hebrews 10:25
25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
If you are going to persevere, you need to be part of a church.
And not just a name on a list.
You need to be involved.
Involved in serving
Involved in studying
Involved in fellowshipping
Involved in living
If you want to have any hope of persevering and having a God Pleasing faith you need to allow yourself to be in relationships with the people of God so you can receive encouragement to persevere and keep your focus on the Lord.
Conclusion
Do you have a God Pleasing Faith?
I am sure that everyone of us here are weak in some area of our faith and we need to allow the Lord to increase our faith.
But for that to happen, we need to follow his lead.
Perhaps he is showing you a step of faith he wants you to take, but you don’t know where it leads. Your faith will grow and please Him as you take it.
Perhaps there is a sacrifice that God wants you to make, but all that is in your mind is how this will affect you.
Make a sacrifice and trust that He will use it for your benefit.
I am not saying that it will be easy, but it will be best.
Perhaps you need to become a member of this church or get more involved so you will be able to persevere during those times it is not easy.
We want to help you.
Again, none of the things I have talked about will make life easier now. But they will make life better for the long term.
Let’s pray and ask God to increase our faith and strengthen us to take the steps that will make that happen.
Pray.
