LIVING BY FAITH
Heb. 11:4-7
INTRODUCTION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. A guide was conducting a group of tourists around the Empire State Building. On the elevator ride to the 102nd floor, a nervous woman asked, “What if these elevator cables should break? Would we go up or down?”
2. “That,” the guide said, “depends entirely on the kind of life you’ve been living.”
3. Church, when you ride an elevator, do you worry that the cables might break? If you don’t, it’s a matter of faith. It’s a matter of faith in something or someone.
B. ILLUSTRATION 2
1. An airplane flew into a violent storm and was soon swaying and bouncing around. One very nervous lady happened to be sitting next to a preacher and turned to him for comfort.
2. She said, “Can’t you do something about this?” He replied, “Sorry, ma’am, I’m in sales, not management.”
3. Have you flown anywhere lately? Does it make you nervous? If not, it’s because you have faith in the plane, the pilot, or the greater Pilot.
C. ILLUSTRATION 3
1. When they wheeled a man into the operating room and raised his gown, the surgeon found a piece of tape pasted across his stomach, which read, “Think.”
2. Have you ever had surgery in which you were knocked out for a period of time? Did you wonder if you would make it?
3. I’m sure that some people worry when they think about being “put under” for surgery and others don’t sweat it at all. WHY IT IS THAT SOME PEOPLE DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT?
4. I think it’s a matter of faith. For some, it’s a matter of faith in the doctor. They trust their doctor and of course, some have faith in the Great Physician.
D. EVERYONE HAS FAITH
1. Someone asked a stranger, “Do you believe in survival of the fittest?” The man replied, “No, I don’t believe in the survival of anybody. I’M THE UNDERTAKER.”
2. People die every day, but most people don’t worry about dying. Why? IT’S CALLED FAITH. It’s either faith in their age, their health or faith in the Creator that He will allow them to live longer.
3. Paul said, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor. 5:7. We are encouraged in Scripture to walk by faith, to live by faith. Many people of the world scoff at this faith business, but in reality, ALL PEOPLE LIVE BY FAITH! They live by faith in something or someone, whether they want to admit it or not.
4. So when some person says to you that they don’t believe in this “faith business,” just remind them they, too, live by faith. I have faith that my car will get me where I’m going, but I have an even greater faith in my God who will get me to heaven! This is the kind of faith by which we live!
5. Heb. 11:6 “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.”
To please God, we must live by faith. Faith in Him and His promises. Our text in Hebrews 11 speaks of this living faith.
C. THESIS
I want to speak about three veterans of faith who teach us about living by faith.
1- Abel – faith worshipping
2- Enoch – faith walking
3- Noah – faith working
I. ABEL – FAITH WORSHIPPING
Heb. 11:4 “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.”
A. TRUE FAITH ALWAYS WORSHIPS
Faith must worship and worship with the right attitude.
1. ILLUSTRATION
a. Three pastors got together for coffee one day and found all their churches had bat-infestation problems. "I got so mad," said one, "I took a shotgun and fired at them. It made holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the bats."
b. "I tried trapping them alive," said the second. "Then I drove 50 miles before releasing them, but they beat me back to the church." "I haven’t had any more problems," said the third. "What did you do?" asked the others, amazed. "I simply baptized them and made them members and I haven’t seen them since."
2. Church, if we know anything, we know that faith worships or it isn’t faith at all. Some people join a church, then you never seen them again. That’s not faith or much faith at all.
3. Heb. 10:22 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith…” LET US DRAW NEAR TO GOD. What is that? Worship! True faith in Christ always worships!
4. Faith worships privately, silently, when alone and with others. In church and out of church. Any time and all the time.
5. Faith worships by whispering prayers continually - “Thank you, Lord. Bless you. Thank you for my turkey sandwich, my sleep last night…”
6. ILLUSTRATION
a. Two men were out fishing one Sunday morning. One of them was feeling guilty about not going to church. He said, “I guess I should have stayed home and gone to church.”
b. The other guy said, “I couldn’t have gone to church anyway…my wife is sick in bed.”
7. Faith doesn’t forsake the assembly on the Lord’s Day to go fishing. Faith, however, could stay home and take care of a sick family member.
B. BAD ATTITUDES MAR OUR WORSHIP
1. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did.
Righteous Abel brought the firstborn of his flock. God looked with favor on Abel. Cain brought his offering but was rejected. IT’S POSSIBLE IT WAS HIS BAD ATTITUDE THAT CAUSED GOD TO REJECT IT.
2. ILLUSTRATION
People let bitterness and hatred in their hearts. A will was written in 1935 by a Mr. Donohoe. It reads, "To my two daughters, Frances Marie and Denise Victoria, by reason of their unfilial attitude toward a doting father, . . . I leave the sum of $1.00 to each and a father’s curse. May their lives be fraught with misery, unhappiness, and poignant sorrow. May their deaths be soon and of a lingering malignant and torturous nature. May their souls rest in hell and suffer the torments of the condemned for eternity.”
3. It’s hard to understand how anyone could have such hatred for another person, especially toward their own children. Hatred will keep a person’s worship from being accepted by God.
4. ILLUSTRATION. Preacher Wayne Smith said one time, “Lord, I know it’s wrong to hate, but if it ever becomes right, I got the guy picked out.” Hatred is never right. Hatred keeps us from worshipping God properly.
5. James 1:19-20 “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
C. SUMMARY
1. Abel – faith worshipping. When you come to worship get your heart right. Pray before you come. Confess, ask for mercy, come with the attitude of praise.
2. Ps. 100:2, 4 “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”
II. ENOCH – FAITH WALKING
Heb. 11:5 “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.” Gen. 5:22 “Enoch walked with God 300 years.”
Faith walks with God. Faith talks with God. Faith spends time with God. Much time with God.
A. RELATIONSHIP
1. ILLUS. The English professor emphasized in his class the importance of developing an extensive vocabulary. He said, “You have my assurance if you will repeat a word eight or ten times, it will be yours for life.”
2. In the back of the class, an attractive young woman sighed, closed her eyes, and whispered softly to herself, “Steve, Steve, Steve….”
3. Have you ever been so absorbed with a person that you wanted to be with them ALL the time? Like a couple in love? That may be rare, but it’s very similar to what it means to walk with God.
B. NOT SEGMENTED
1. ILLUS. Buddhists have a saying, “Life is divided into three parts. The first part is for pleasure. The second part is for the accumulation of money and goods and the third part is for religion.” Many people live their lives like that.
2. BUT ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD CONTINUALLY, DAY IN AND DAY OUT! There was no such thing as sacred and secular. Everything was sacred to him because of His walk with God! God was with him in everything; everywhere he went and everything he did.
3. For most of us, it’s pretty easy to walk with God on Sunday. We sing the songs, give an offering – and we’re done. BUT ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD!
4. Enoch walked with God on Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, Monday morning and all week long. Faith walks with God.
5. Only “alive” people can walk. The dead can be forced to sit up of even stand, but not walk.
Ps. 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
III. NOAH – FAITH WORKING
Heb. 11:7 “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen (a flood or rain), 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.”
A. A TIME OF WICKEDNESS
1. Gen. 6:5-14. Noah, like Enoch, also walked with God. Noah lived in a time when wickedness was everywhere. The people of earth were so corrupt that God just couldn’t stand them any longer. They had to be very evil since God is so compassionate and gracious.
2. In the midst that sinful world Noah found favor in God’s eyes. Noah was a righteous man. He was a faith man. Noah built an ark even though rain had never been seen.
B. FAITH WORKS
1. Noah is an example of faith working and faith obeying. Noah obeyed and Noah worked. A natural result of faith in the Lord is work or Christian service.
2. ILLUSTRATION
a. General Booth, of the Salvation Army, was losing his sight, and it appeared that his days of usefulness were over. This Christian hero, past 80 years, had one eye removed and limited vision in the other.
b. To an audience of over 4,000 in London, he spoke for an hour and a half. “I want to do more for humanity,” he said, “and I want to do a great deal more for Jesus. There are thousands of poor, wretched, suffering and sinning people crying out to us for help, and I want to do something for them.”
c. General Booth was a man of faith. His faith worked. He wanted to work for the Lord until he could work no more.
C. FAITH’S WORK OF GIVING
1. ILLUSTRATION
a. There is a movie out entitled, “Radio.” It’s based on the true story about a mentally challenged young man (Radio - Cuba Gooding, Jr.) in 1976 in South Carolina. Radio was given a chance by a kind high school football coach (Ed Harris).
b. Naturally some began as prejudiced against Radio’s handicap. Slowly, Harris showed that Radio is the one who’s really educating the community with his natural enthusiasm, good heart, fine morals and undeniable human spirit.
c. To me, it’s a story of human kindness and love: one human being demonstrating love to someone whom the world considered unlovely, different, strange, weird, etc. And it shows what can happen when a person shows true love for another person. Radio comes out of his shell and his spirit begins infect all around him.
2. Church, do you realize that true love gives? Giving is the nature of love. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave…”
When we love others we will give to them. We will give them time, attention, affection, devotion, material things, etc.
D.SERVING GOD BY SERVING OTHERS
1. And just as love gives, so faith works. When a person comes to know the Lord that person can’t help but serve, work, labor, etc. He or she will want to serve the Lord by serving others.
2. James 2:26 “Faith without works is dead.” There is someone wrong with a person who claims to have faith in the Lord and doesn’t work or serve.
CONCLUSION
1. Heb. 11:6 “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.”
2. ILLUS. Someone said, “There are thousands of ways of pleasing God, but not one without faith.” And the faith that pleases God most of all is a faith that worships Him, a faith that walks with Him and a faith that works for Him.
3. Close in prayer.
[This is a rewrite of Steve Shepherd’s message of the same title.]
