True Values: Faith
Text: Heb. 11:1-6
Introduction
1. Illustration: Once two little girls, playmates, were counting over their pennies. One said, "I have five pennies. "The other said, "I have ten." "No," said the first little girl, "You have just five cents, the same as I. ""But," the second child quickly replied, "my father said that when he came home tonight, he would give me five cents, and so I have ten cents." The child’s faith gave her proof of that which she did not as yet see, and she counted it as being already hers, because it had been already promised by her father (Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations).
2. One of the great principles of the Christian faith, and one of our core values, is faith. However, what exactly is faith?
3. As we explore the Biblical concept of faith we learn:
a. The definition of faith.
b. The Legacy of faith.
c. The expectation of faith
d. The voice of faith
e. The reward of faith
4. Read Heb. 11:1-6
Proposition: True faith is believing everything God is and says, and then acting upon it.
Transition: First, there is...
I. The Definition of Faith (1)
A. Faith Is
1. This chapter is by far the greatest treatise on faith in the entire Bible. It begins with a clear definition: "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."
2. There are three key words to this definition, and the first one is the topic at hand - faith.
a. The word translated faith "refers to confidence that something is real, with the strong implication that action will ensue from this belief" (NLT Study Bible, 2225).
b. The word is unique in that although it is a noun it functions like a verb and requires action.
c. Faith is a present and continuing reality. It is not simply a virtue sometimes practiced in antiquity.
d. It is a living thing, a way of life the writer wishes to see continued in the practice of his readers (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM).
3. The second key word in this definition is confidence.
a. This word means "the foundation, assurance, title-deed, and guarantee of things hoped for" (Practical Word Studies in The New Testament).
b. Faith starts with believing in God’s character, that he is who he says he is.
c. Faith culminates with believing in God’s promises, that he will do what he says he will do.
d. We often think of the word hope in terms of uncertain desire—”I hope it doesn’t rain on Saturday.” For believers, however, “hope” is a desire based on assurance, and the assurance is based on God’s character (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
4. The third key to this definition of faith is the word assurance.
a. The basic meaning here is "the evidence...as to the truth or reality of something - ’proof, verification (Louw and Nidda, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains).
b. Anyone that has ever watch a CSI show knows that what we are looking for is the evidence, that thing which proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that someone is guilty or innocent.
c. Here it refers to proof of things we cannot yet see.
d. The deceased Bible scholar F.F. Bruce said, "Physical eyesight produces conviction or evidence of visible things; faith is the organ which enables people to see the invisible order" (Bruce, NICNT: The Epistle to the Hebrews, 277).
e. In other words, it is for us, the tangible proof of things we cannot see, taste, or touch. Even though we cannot touch them we possess them just the same.
B. Living By Faith
1. Illustration: Living by faith in Jesus above,
Trusting, confiding in His great love;
From all harm safe in His sheltering arm,
I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.
2. Romans 1:17 (NIV)
For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
3. Faith is having confidence in God.
a. Confidence in God based on His character.
b. Confidence in God based on His power.
c. Confidence in God based on His reputation.
4. Faith is having expectation about God.
a. Faith means believing in things we cannot feel, smell, or taste, and yet we know they exist.
b. Faith means expecting that God will do what He said He will do.
c. Faith means expecting God to make a way where there is no way.
d. Faith means expecting God to come through every time.
e. Faith means expecting the impossible.
5. Faith is anchored in the faithfulness of God.
a. 2 Timothy 2:13 (NLT)
If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
b. We can believe by faith because God cannot be unfaithful.
c. We can believe by faith because God cannot fail us.
d. We can believe by faith because God cannot lie.
Transition: There is also...
II. The Legacy of Faith (2)
A. Through Their Faith
1. This entire chapter deals with the legacy of faith.
a. It goes through a list of people that would certainly qualify for a book on "who’s who" in the Old Testament.
b. It talks about Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Moses.
c. All of these people and what they did are lifted up as an example to follow.
2. However, notice how verse 2 sets up everything that will follow. It says, "Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation."
a. The legacy that these people left had nothing to do with their good deeds, ingenuity, intelligence, or even their zeal.
b. Rather what these people are commended and remembered for is their faith.
c. They are held as an example of someone to emulate because they had confidence in God and assurance of His promises.
3. They earned a good reputation and left a legacy that has lasted thousands of years because of their faith.
a. Noah was willing to build a huge ship, facing ridicule and financial ruin because he believed God.
b. Abraham, at the age of 75, was willing to leave everything he had ever known even though he had no idea where he was going because he believed God.
c. Sarah was able to give birth to the son of promise at the tender age of 99 because she believed God.
d. Moses was willing to give up all of the riches and comforts of Egypt to lead God’s people through the desert because he believed God.
4. Down in verse 13, it says, "All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth."
a. They never saw it, touched it, or tasted it, but they believed it anyway.
b. They saw it from a distance and welcomed.
c. How could they see something that couldn’t be seen? Because they saw it through the eyes of faith.
B. Living Legacy
1. Illustration: Louis Pasteur, the pioneer of immunology, lived at a time when thousands of people died each year of rabies. Pasteur had worked for years on a vaccine. Just as he was about to begin experimenting on himself, a 9-year-old, Joseph Meister, was bitten by a rabid dog. The boy’s mother begged Pasteur to experiment on her son. Pasteur injected Joseph for ten days--and the boy lived. Decades later, of all the things Pasteur could have had etched on his headstone, he asked for three words: JOSEPH MEISTER LIVED. However, who’s legacy was it really, Pasteur or the mother who believed that he could make her son well.
2. Everyone wants to leave a legacy.
a. We want to be remembered in years to come for something significant.
b. We want to know that our life has counted for something.
c. We want to be able to leave something behind that verifies our existence.
3. The early Pentecostals left a legacy.
a. They left a legacy for being willing to stand against popular opinion.
b. They left a legacy of believing that God still does the things that we read about in the NT.
c. However, most of all they left a legacy of faith.
d. They were willing to face ridicule, being ostracized, and even physical violence because they believed God.
4. If we want to leave behind something that matters, let us leave behind a legacy of faith.
a. After we have left this earth, let other see that we not only talked about faith, but that we lived it.
b. Let us leave a legacy for our children and grandchildren a life that believed in the promises of God.
c. Let us leave a legacy of faith!
Transition: We also have...
III. The Expectation of Faith (3)
A. What We Now See
1. One of the basic concepts that our faith assists us with is the idea of creation.
a. We live in a society that has bought into a theory known as evolution.
b. Although it is still a "theory" because it has never been proven, it is believed by much of our culture to be fact.
c. This theory revolves around the idea that all life evolved from lower forms of life, which started from either a "big bang" or a "primordial pool."
d. If you ask me, that takes more faith than I can muster!
2. However, "By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command..."
a. This belief is based on the very beginning chapter of the Bible.
b. Genesis 1:1-3 (NLT)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
c. We believe that there was nothing except God himself, and God spoke everything into being.
3. We also believe "that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen."
a. As Christians we believe that God created Ex Nihilo, which is a Latin term meaning "from nothing."
b. We don’t believe that God started with something and made it better, but that He started from nothing and made it "very good."
4. You might ask, what does this have to do with expectation?
a. If God can speak all of creation into existence, then anything that God speaks will come to pass.
b. Romans 4:17 (NKJV)
in the presence of Him whom he believed--God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
c. If God created the universe by just the power of His word, then he can meet all of your needs according to His riches in glory.
d. If God created the universe by just the power of His word, then He can bring peace where there is chaos.
e. If God created the universe by just the power of His word, then He can reach that wayward son or daughter.
f. If God created the universe by just the power of His word, then He can provide land for a church building in spite of deed restrictions and zoning laws.
B. What Cannot Be Seen
1. Illustration: The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall. The animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will fall. Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see, and with faith we are freed from the flimsy enclosures of life that only fear allows to entrap us.
2. 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV)
For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
3. Expectant faith means trusting when our backs are against the wall.
a. Trusting God when there is no money.
b. Trusting God when there is no answer.
c. Trusting God when there is no way out.
4. Expectant faith means believing God for what we cannot see.
a. Believing that God is going to move.
b. Believing that loved ones will be saved.
c. Believing that God will make a way where there is no way.
d. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NLT)
For we live by believing and not by seeing.
Transition: We need to stop looking through physical eyes and start looking through the eyes of faith.
IV. The Voice of Faith (4)
A. More Acceptable Offering
1. The writer of Hebrews also tells us that we are to worship by faith.
2. In v. 4, it says, "It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did..."
a. The basis for this statement comes from Gen. 4, which tells us that Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable to God and his brother Cain’s was not.
b. The question is why was Abel’s more acceptable? They both came at the appropriate time and brought a sacrifice in keeping with what they did for a living. So why was Abel’s better?
c. Although there are a number of theories regarding this question, the one that makes the most sense is that Abel’s heart was right and Cain’s was not. It’s all about attitude.
d. 1 Samuel 15:22 (NLT)
But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
3. Able’s offering of praise and thanksgiving came from his heart by faith, and as a result, "...Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts."
a. Able’s offering was truly a sacrifice, and he gave to God the best of what he had to give.
b. It cost him dearly, but God rewarded him for it.
4. Therefore, "Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith."
a. Despite the fact he has been dead for thousands of years, his faith and obedience still speaks to us.
b. He speaks to us that we are to bring God our best even though it may cost us, because God rewards those who sincerely seek him.
c. We refer to our worship as a sacrifice of praise because it costs us, and if it doesn’t cost us we cannot truly call it praise.
B. Sacrifice of Praise
1. Illustration: The Butterball Turkey company set up a hotline to answer consumer questions about preparing holiday turkeys. One woman called to inquire about cooking a turkey that had been in her freezer for 23 years. The operator told her it might be safe if the freezer had been kept below 0 degrees the entire time. But the operator warned the woman that, even if it were safe, the flavor had probably deteriorated, and she wouldn’t recommend eating it. The caller replied, “That’s what we thought. We’ll just give it to the church.” -A sacrifice isn’t a sacrifice unless it costs you something.
2. Matthew 22:37-38 (NLT)
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.
3. Half-hearted praise is no praise at all.
a. Some people are afraid to let go and praise God openly because they are fearful of what people might think of them.
b. They are uncomfortable raising their hands in worship.
c. They are uncomfortable clapping their hands in worship.
d. Jesus was uncomfortable when He went to the cross for you, but He did it anyway!
4. True worship is a matter of faith.
a. By faith, we believe that God is worthy to be praised.
b. By faith, we believe that we need to praise Him.
c. By faith, we believe that God rewards those who worship Him whole-heartedly.
Transition: If it did not cost us we wouldn’t call it a sacrifice of praise.
V. The Reward of Faith (5-6)
A. Without Faith It Is Impossible
1. While it is true that real faith is costly, it also brings a high rate of return.
2. The next hero of faith that our text talks about is Enoch, who was "taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God."
a. This passage states that God took him away from earthly life to heavenly life.
b. Enoch is one of two Old Testament characters who never died (the other being Elijah, 2 Kings 2:11-12).
c. He was there one minute and then he wasn’t.
d. God chose to take Enoch without dying because Enoch lived by faith (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
3. However, what the writer of Hebrews tells us next is the key to this entire passage. He says, "And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him."
a. In other words, the life of faith may be said to have at least three components. (1) It involves a life of coming to God and seeking him earnestly.
i. This point is in keeping with the author’s challenge to approach or draw near to God (4:16; 10:22).
ii. Thus God’s people are called to live lives of radical openness to and in conversation with God.
b. (2) This life of faith involves believing that God exists.
i. It is absurd to think that a person can sincerely come to God in prayer without a firm confidence in his existence.
ii. A foundational belief in God supports further acts of faith in which the believer comes to God for help.
c. (3) This life of faith involves confidence that God will reward those who exercise such faith.
i. The acts of persons expressing confidence in the living God do not go unnoticed or unrewarded.
ii. God, by his nature and in accordance with his promises, rewards those who act in faith toward him (Guthrie, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Hebrews, 376-377).
B. Pleasing God
1. Illustration: Dr. Andrew Bonar wrote, "Enoch took a long walk one day, and has not got back yet. With one bound he leaped the river of death, and walked the crystal pavement of heaven — in the wilderness yesterday, in the Promised Land today." All because he lived by faith.
2. Without faith you cannot please God.
a. It doesn’t say it is improbable.
b. It doesn’t say it’s difficult.
c. It says it is impossible!
d. Heb 4:2 — For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.
3. With faith you will always please God.
a. He is looking for people who believe and obey.
b. He is looking for people who take Him at His word.
c. He is looking for people who expect Him to do the impossible.
4. By faith, you will be able to do the impossible.
a. Mk 16:17 — These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages.
b. By faith you will do the impossible.
c. By faith you will receive the impossible.
d. By faith see the impossible.
Transition: Faith is telling a mountain to move and being surprised only if it doesn’t!
Conclusion
1. We value faith because its focus is on God’s character.
2. We value faith because it is a lasting legacy that we can pass down to future generations.
3. We value faith because when we expect the miraculous God acts.
4. We value faith because faith speaks to others about God’s faithfulness.
5. We value faith because it is richly rewarded by God.
6. In the future, will a book be written about your faith?
7. In what areas of your life do you need more faith?
