A question of Faith
Today’s message is titled “A question of Faith”.
Our key verse is Hebrews 11:6 and I’d like us to consider how our faith impacts our relationship with God, and the effectiveness in our discipleship.
Yesterday in our men’s breakfast a couple of guys lamented that they wanted to get the fire back that they once had for Jesus.
Pastor Jeff reminded us of Psalm 51:12 “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”
Y’all, David knew his wood was wet! He cried out to the Lord that the Joy of Salvation be restored.
I believe that David had FAITH that God was going to restore him in every way.
Do you have that faith?
Let me remind you that when I say “you”, I without a doubt am including “me”!
Just a quick review of some elements of discipleship that we have discussed in recent weeks:
We looked at serving others in the message “Washing Feet”.
The week after that message, I asked y’all “did you wash someone’s feet this past week”?
After the service someone came up and asked me “did you really want us to wash someone’s feet this last week?” After I gained my composure, I explained I was figuratively asking “did you serve someone this week, as a Christian”.
In a couple of other weeks we considered how spiritual growth is key in our discipleship.
In yet another couple of messages we examined how obedience is critical in our discipleship.
And most recently, we unboxed the subject of Being the Church.
Pleasing God
I don’t know if y’all have ever picked up on this, but quite often part of my prayer is something to the affect of “I pray what we do is pleasing in your sight”.
Have you ever wondered “what is pleasing in God’s sight”.
Let’s go to Hebrews chapter 11, as we take a look at that question.
Stand with me as we honor God while reading His word.
Hebrews 11:1-11 (read from my bible)
Please be seated
re-read Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Today, I’d like us to break that verse down just a little bit, as well as a few other verses around it.
-what does your bible say?-
re-read Hebrews 11:1–3 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”
Early in my adult Christian walk (by adult, I mean after college), a friend gave me a nice little simple plaque, with Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
That is one of my favorite verses. It helps put into perspective that I don’t have to see everything with my human eyes!
Let’s go to verse 4
Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”
In our bible study, we looked at Genesis 4:3-5 and discussed the meaning, of why God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but rejected Cain’s. Today, is not the day to dissect that, but I just want to look at the first two words of that verse.
I read 13 translations of that verse, and 12 of them started with “by faith”. The 13th one read “it was by faith”.
Obviously “by faith”, is the cornerstone of this verse, that the writer of Hebrews was trying to get across to us.
Look at verse 5. Hebrews 11:5 “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”
This verse also begins with “by faith”, but look at the ending of the verse “that he pleased God”!
“for before he was taken he had this testimony “that he pleased God”! By faith he pleased God. It that you?
It’s crazy, sometimes I get so jazzed up by reading God’s word, y’all!
verse 7 Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
Again with the “by faith” already!
Divinely warned “things not yet seen”. Hey, not only had it not been yet seen, but it had not yet been spoken!
Can you imagine Noah, yeah there’s this thing called rain that God mentioned, I don’t know. I guess I’ll build a boat.
Think about this, if there had not yet been rain, there hadn’t yet been a boat either.
Talk about faith!
verse 8 Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
Set it up- Abraham was called by God to leave the place of his father, Terah (tear-uh).
The people were doing things that weren’t pleasing to God, so He just scattered them all over the earth.
Then He made a promise to Abraham.
We see the fulfillment of that promise in Genesis 22-17.
But it is what happens right before that, is when Abraham displays his faith in God.
Genesis 22:1–2 “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.””
verse 3 “that night, Abraham slept like a baby.”
I mean who wouldn’t after being instructed by the Lord to sacrifice your only son?
There could have been some conversation between Abraham and God that night!
Let’s move down to verses 7 &8.
Genesis 22:7 “But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?””
At this point, Abraham didn’t know that the lamb wasn’t Isaac, but God knew the lamb to be slain was Jesus!
Genesis 22:8 “And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.”
Genesis 22:10–12 “And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.””
By faith Abraham was obedient.
Think about this church: Because of Abrahams obedience, everything else in the bible, is the fulfillment of God’s promises!
And we are still seeing that today!
There is a young man who “by faith” has accepted Christ as his savior and wants to make it public!
In my first closing, I’d like to examine a couple of other parts of verse 6.
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” NKJV
I’d like to read the AMP version again:
“but without faith, it is impossible to {walk with God and} please Him, for whoever comes {near} to God must {necessarily} believe that God exists, and that He rewards those who {earnestly and diligently} seek Him.”
-I love that... “we can’t come near to God without FIRST believing that He exists”! Makes sense to me.
Let’s look at another part of this verse:
He rewards those...
As I was preparing this message, that word just sort of jumped off the page for me. “rewards”
So I began digging a little bit. The first place my mind went was thinking about how part of the foundation of our country is based on free enterprise. Free enterprise is based on meritocracy, which is rewarding works, productivity, accomplishments, etc.
I looked up some definitions and transliterations, and I’ll save you all that today.
But I will tell you this, And per usual, sometimes challenging to take it from the Greek to the English, without getting lost in translation.
That exact meaning of this word rewards, is found only in this verse in the entire bible!
I believe this, if we don’t see the rewards while here on earth, we will see them in heaven.
In my second closing:
Hebrews 11:13–14 “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.”
Hebrews 11:15–16 “And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”
Hallelujah!
It’s a question of faith church!
Has your faith ever been tested? No, I mean REALLY tested?
Has it been tested as it was with Cain and Abel?
Are you offering God a more excellent sacrifice, by pursuing righteousness in God’s sight as Abel did, but Cain failed to do?
Has it been tested like it was with Enoch?
Are you desiring to please God and walk by faith as he did?
Has your faith been tested like it was with Noah?
Are you called to believe in things not yet seen, but have decided to step out and trust God?
Has it been tested like it was with Abraham?
Has God called on you to give up something you really love and be obedient to Him?
Maybe it has been something else?
So, in my final closing, I’ll ask again:
What does pleasing God by having faith, look like?
I came across this quote by Charles Spurgeon:
There are no good works except those that spring from a living, loving, lasting faith in God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
How To Please God, Volume 43, Sermon #2513 - Hebrews 11:6
Charles Spurgeon
There are so many passages about pleasing God, but today I will share only a few of them. (roll out the scroll)
I actually went home and changed this up a little bit, as a result of pastor Jeff’s devotional at our men’s breakfast yesterday.
Did I mention that was an awesome time of fellowship?
So here are the 4 passages.
James 2:26 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
I also believe that “the church” without the spirit (Holy Spirit) is dead.
By faith we:
Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””
Here’s the passage Jeff shared with us yesterday:
Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?”
God wants us to be a beacon for others by:
doing the right thing
to love mercy,
and by walking humbly with Him,
as we share the Good news to the world!
And we WILL be rewarded in heaven!!!
THIS is what our discipleship should look like, church!
Say goodbye to online viewers.
Remind everyone that we have a baptism today, and fellowship lunch to follow.
Ask Jeff to close us out.
