Walking In Faith
April 7, 2002
Hebrews 11:1-2
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old received divine approval." (Hebrews 11:1-2, RSV)
[The main points and the majority of the intro and body come from Rick Warren. The Faith Factor In Ministry. Http:www.pastors.com ministry toolbox Issue#45, 3/27/2002.]
Introduction: Faith = Vision
"The only lasting motivation for ministry is because we want to please Jesus Christ, out of a deep heart of gratitude.
I know that your heart is like my heart, and my life goal is to one day stand before Jesus Christ and have Him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
At that point He says that it will be worth it all. You won’t be in heaven five seconds and you’ll say, "Why didn’t I serve more? Why didn’t I give more? Why didn’t I love more? Why didn’t I obey more?"
Hebrews 11 is the classic chapter on faith. Verse 6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." If I’m not ministering in faith, I’m not pleasing God. The Bible is even more specific than that. It says, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." (Romans 14:23, KJV) If I’m not ministering in faith, I’m ministering in sin. That’s strong stuff!"
"for we walk by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7, RSV)
"Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4, NKJV)
"Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." (Psalms 127:1, RSV)
Six Characteristic Of What It Means To Walk By Faith
I. Walking In Faith Is Believing When I Don’t See It
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1, RSV)
Ill- Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
3 tests of a righteous man
1. Humility
2. Prayer, calls on the name of God
3. Faith
Ill-Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God, p.134
Budget $74,000
New: $164,000
Raised: $172,000
"Faith is visualizing the future in advance. It is seeing the future in the present. Every great achievement began when somebody saw it in advance. We didn’t put a man on the moon until one day JFK stood up and said, "Let’s put a man on the moon." When he said that, the technology had not even been invented.
Faith is believing when I don’t see it. Some things have to be believed before they can be seen. The world says, "Seeing is believing." God says, "Believing is seeing." You have to see it in advance."
II. Walking In Faith Is Obeying When I Don’t Understand It
"By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not being afraid of the king" (Hebrews 11:27, RSV)
Exodus 14, Moses & the Hebrews trapped. Told to cross the Red Sea
All the saints mentioned in Hebrews 11 stepped out in faith when they didn’t understand.
"(Hebrews 11:8) Abraham is a classic example of obeying when he didn’t understand. He was about 75 years old, and God asked him to give up all his security – right at an age when Abraham should have been getting Social Security!
God said, I want you to leave. Pick up everything and get ready for the greatest adventure of your life.
The scary part of it is God gave Abraham no details. Abraham says, "Where are we going?"
God says, You’ve never heard of it.
"How long is it going to take?"
You’ll find out.
"How will I know when I get there?"
I’ll let you know!
Sometimes God will tell you to do something in your ministry, and you’ll think, "There’s no way this is going to work!" Yet, God says, Do it!
And guess what? It works!"
When we fail to plan, we’re planning to fail!
III. Walking In Faith Is Giving When I Don’t Have It
"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" (Hebrews 11:4, NIV)
"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts" (Hebrews 11:4, KJV)
"Isn’t that interesting? Giving and faith go together. God uses money to test our faithfulness. God watches the giving of a Christian. The Bible says:
"if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? (Luke 16:11, The New Living Translation)
"give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back." (Luke 6:38, RSV)
"Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing." (Malachi 3:10, RSV)
"Honor the LORD with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine." (Proverb 3:9-10, RSV)
"There is a direct relationship between how I use my money and how much of God’s power I experience in my life. It influences how much God can bless my life. I think God expects leaders to take the lead in giving. You cannot out give God."
IV. Walking In Faith Is Persisting When I Don’t Feel Like It
"How do you develop persistence? How do you develop the kind of persistence that keeps you in a position when God has put you there, when every bone in your body says, "Quit!" Where do you get that kind of persistence?"
Let’s look at Moses:
"By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible." (Hebrews 11:27, KJV)
"Notice the key to persistence is that last phrase – he could see the invisible. Only as we see the invisible can we accomplish the impossible. The key to persistence is to keep your eyes on God. Keep your eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ.
[A certain boss was talking to his employee about selling their products and he said,
"The main thing to remember is that repetition is the key. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. If you have a product to sell, keeping harping on it in every possible way and at every possible chance. Cram it down people’s throats if you have to...make yourself sickening, if need be...but don’t forget to repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. It’s the only way to get results."
The employee said, "Yes, sir!"
Boss: "And now, what was it that you came in to see me about?" The employee replied, "A raise in salary! A raise! A raise! A raise! A raise!"]
Corrie Ten Boom says, "If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest." It all depends on where you’ve got your eyes."
V. Walking In Faith Is Thanking Before I Receive It
"Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.42 "And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." (John 11:41-42, NKJV)
"A good illustration for this is Joshua. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell after the people had marched around them for seven days. Jericho was the most fortified city in the world at that time. God said, "There’s no way a bunch of slaves are going to take this thing, but here’s what I want you to do: March around the city seven times a day for seven days and then I’ll cause a miracle."
What were they doing seven times a day for seven days? Thanking God in advance. Praising God in advance.
Faith doesn’t mean you believe God can do something. He can do it whether you believe it or not.
Faith doesn’t mean believing He will do something. That’s hope. You hope He will.
Faith is believing He’s doing it! That He’s already doing it. That the answer is already on the way.
(Mark 11:24) "When you pray believe that you have received it and then you’ll be given what you’ve asked for."
Don’t beg. Just thank God in advance. Make your request and then be continually thanking. If I were to write out a check for $1000 and give it to you, would you wait until you’ve cashed it to thank me? (You might!) No, you’d thank me the moment you made the request and the check was offered."
VI. Walking In Faith Is Trusting If I Don’t Get It
"Walking in faith does not exempt you from problems. We all know that from personal experience.’
"And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:39-40, RSV)
"Anybody can trust God in ministry when things are going great. Big deal!
Real faith is developed in the valleys of ministry, when the situation looks impossible, when the people look hopeless, when the tide has turned against you, and when you’re tempted to ask yourself, "Why is this happening to me?" This is a test!
Faith is trusting that if you don’t get it, God has a better idea -- a far, far better idea. In Abraham’s case, it took God five more years to reveal the better idea, but He did. And don’t you think there were some real questions during those five years?
Faith is trusting even if you don’t get it.
Conclusion:
"Without faith it is impossible to please God."
Am I walking by faith?
Am I believing when I don’t see it?
obeying when I don’t understand it?
giving when I don’t have it?
persisting when I don’t feel like it?
thanking before I receive it?
trusting if I don’t get it?
Or, am I allowing the pressures of life, work, and the world to hinder my obedience and thus not walking by faith?
["Faith isn’t making a good guess based on the best human estimate of what will happen... Faith is believing the promises of God, even when there is nothing to show for it." (Darryl Dash. "Building A Life Of Faith" Http://www.sermoncentral.com.)]
