Hebrews 11:1-3, “1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3By 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.”
Have you ever just stopped to think about what this world is all about? About what faith is all about? Our present world is living in an illusion because it thinks that the present world is the world that we are supposed to expect, or to be experienced by the revelation of itself. Our secular world views faith as a childish impish thought that needs not to be. Yet it is this same world that we live in that views what it does at a fundamental level to be faith. Faith in reality is what drives the world. It is what motivates each and every single person everyday to crawl out of bed go to the coffee pot and brew a cup of coffee or just to get some breakfast. It is faith that dominates us drives us, causing us to do something with our lives.
Yet is it this same world further that denies the existence of faith. Its ironic truly, because it can say the word chance. It isn’t a far leap from the word chance to the word fate, and from fate to faith either. In fact, they are all really interconnected, yet the existence and the denial reveals much about the present condition of our society’s denial of the word. Yet why so much emphasis upon faith? The world we live in isn’t really the world that we are presently experiencing. The present world that we are living in is really dominated by the reality of faith, and faith is the invisible world.
Faith is what drives us and motivates us to wake up, but if this is so, as it is, then faith must be not just important in understanding our world, but the motivations for the present reality of our world. Faith is what is driving us is what motivates us to the present condition we find ourselves in today. This then is more than just experiencing faith, because what we must understand now is what faith is. The Patriarchs understood faith, because they obeyed God’s call. I’m sure that they grumbled as many of us do, yet like waking up in the morning yet they still obeyed, because they realized that the meaning of faith meant walking towards the invisible reality of faith.
Yet our world wants us to drag out faith and show its meaning? Its meaning is not known by the sense experience it is merely known by faith. As it is were merely hard to understand faith? Faith is a word that each one of us experience everyday in every single circumstance, of every single moment of every single day. It so dominates our present reality that to deny its existence is to deny your own existence. It is shown when you drive your car by the mere fact that you are driving you are having faith that the car will actually turn on, and the proper sequence of events will then cause the motor and the rest of the car as well to work. For example, for those of you frequent flyers, the airplane. Take for example the plane’s staff. Your hoping that they have had enough sleep, training, and all the variables that go into flying, and maintaining the plane not to mention the airport security. The reality is that we live in a world controlled by the presence of faith.
In fact faith, so dominates our present reality that if you want to deny it you can be my guest. Philosophers have been denying the existence of faith for centuries, yet I suppose they would have us believe that the car turning on and us not being injured in the process is merely a coincidence? The claim of the secular world is that faith is totally irrevocably unimportant is not only flat out wrong, it is also demonically inspired. The present world we live in while fleeting away is still here, but the reality is that it is still dominated by the war for faith that presents itself in the afflictions and establishment of each person’s heart. It is found in the allegiance for the battle of souls that exists today within the present confines of the spiritual reality of Christ’s presence within those who believe in Him, or those who don’t for that matter. It goes to show that the battle for faith is really the battle for the invisible world that cannot be seen, because it exists outside of the present reality of our presence experience.
Through faith then "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.” Then this shows us that faith is more than what we have known. It shows us that the world as we know it was formed by the Word of God, not by the traditions that we adopt and cherish. It also goes to show us that since the Word of God created the present reality that we now inhabit He must inhabit the reality that we can only then experience by the reality of His blood sacrifice on the Cross. The reality is that the things that were formed were formed by the reality of God the Father who created everything, for our pleasure that we might enjoy it since He Himself is the Word of God, so also the things which He created that being humanity were also to be framed by the Word of God. This then shows us that everything no matter its significance or insignificance was created for the enjoyment of those who would then bear His image.
The Elders or Patriarchs of our faith understood the reality of what faith meant. It means walking on a journey towards a destination that they otherwise wouldn’t have gone on apart from obeying God’s call. It was this call that they realized the purpose that they had. Read the rest of this very chapter (Hebrews 11)and you will see a people who not only responded to God’s call, but received God’s call and thus became people whom we try to model now. Yet it was first the willingness of their hearts that they realized that the invisible world of faith is the dominant reality that ought to affect every facet of our lives.
If experience is the greatest teacher, then surely we must follow our experience. Yet if we follow only our experiences then we will in turn miss out on the teaching that we otherwise could not yet experience as a direct result of not receiving the instruction that what our soul really needs is not more experience, but more understanding. Yet what we need more than more understanding or insight is the experience of the reality of Christ’s indwelling presence within our lives as believers in Messiah. Yet if we are to experience that powerful reality within our lives; what we must then understand is the invisible world of faith.
In our own experience we barely understand our present reality. We look to the stars to understand the cosmos; we look to biology to tell us more about the inner workings of our bodies. We look to philosophy for insight into the problems of our society among its other disciplines as well. We look to things, but we will not acknowledge the presence and reality of faith. Who would want us to not look towards the reality that we live in a world full of the reality of faith, and its essence foretells the destiny of our lives.
Yet this is the primary mission of Satan, to steal the treasure that is contained in the Word of God, because Satan’s hatred of God and His followers runs deep into the story of history, and into our lives. It is a story of the ages that has affected the ages, and our present reality. It is a battle for our existence a battle that Christ won for us on the Cross and all those who would come to the Cross. Today, believe upon the name of the Lord and thus as a direct result be saved through the blood atonement of Christ through repentance and belief upon His Work of salvation on that Cross-He hung, for you, and for me to have the gift of eternal life. Thus the result then is in that sacrifice Christ won for us the right to be justified by faith in Him, and engage in the journey which is found in walking the road of faith in Christ’s name, for Christ’s glory , so that as believers in Him we can walk by faith towards the invisible world that is found only through walking hand in hand with Christ in this present reality.
This is what the patriarchs understood well but not only the patriarchs but those who have answered the call to fulfill the ministry that the Lord has given to them. It was those who went before us, those who committed their lives, presented there lives to Christ that understood the reality of what is being told to you today. It was those who walked by obedience in Messiah who walked before you who gave of their lives, so that others could in turn model their own. It goes to show us that every person needs a model, and it is no different for us who believe in Christ. Those who believe in Christ must walk the road of obedience that is marked with thorns, suffering, tribulations, and in some cases the sacrifice of one’s life. Yet it was those who walked on this path before us that have given us a model, a model to remember and appreciate.
Those who have impacted our lives were those who risked the most who knew what the cost would be yet still did what they had to do, because they were driven by a force that consumed them. Those who believe in Messiah must be driven towards the holy calling of being called His Child. As a result of believing in His name we are not called children of the world adopted by its standards, but called as children of God to be victorious in this present age and time to engage in the reality and experience of knowing God, and revealing His Word to the world in the age we live in. It was those who walked before us that understood the truth that the present world that we live in is the invisible world of faith.
It is this reality that ought to motivate us not towards the nature of self, but towards running towards the open arms of Messiah. Ministry does not start with the recognition of a need it starts when one is willing to start doing as the Lord directs one to do. It starts when one realizes that faith costs something, and it is that something that motivates us towards intimacy in Christ. Passion is not driven by a desire to see but a desire to be. If what we know to be the case is the case then the case will be that we will then experience the reality of faith touching the inwards parts of our lives which as a result of knowing the case of Christ, and the reality of His presence in us, amongst us and around us.
If what we know is what we know then what we know in turn will be what it is. Yet if it is what it is then what it must be then is experienced. Passion cannot be passion unless passion mainly our own is then touched, known, felt and then in turn as a result others will want to experience what we in turn are experiencing. Yet if experience is our only tutor then intimacy must be our ambition. Since knowledge has to have a foundation the foundation for faith is the reality of Christ, and the reality of Christ rests upon the knowledge of the Word of God which formed the universe and the invisible world that we are drawn to and will spend all of eternity dwelling in the reality of, and worshipping then the Lamb of God who atoned for our sins on the Cross.
The world that we live in is fleeting away. Don’t base your experiences upon the reality of themselves, but have a basis for the outlook on the world that you live in. Philosophy offers some attempts at this, but it fails at a fundamental level along with other such disciplines, because it has at the nature of itself a false foundation. Yet faith is not built upon disciplines, but upon itself, and itself is God. God does not exist within the present framework of our existence, although we experience the reality of His presence, God exists outside of time, so that in turn we can experience the reality of the presence of faith in Christ.
If this is the case then that faith dominates our world so much that we cannot know anything apart from accepting the reality of faith, and its presence amongst us, then all philosophy would be merely child’s play. All attempts at understanding the world would also be faulty, as a direct result of the fact that knowledge must have a foundation from whence to grow itself upon. If what we know isn’t the case anymore then how can our lives be grown and how can we improve? Or perhaps the question is are we all really in a prison wearing blindfolds? Or perhaps we are all walking around the present reality sleeping walking? Perhaps what we experience is only what we think we then experience, but it then wouldn’t be what we are experiencing?
What Jesus offers us is not easy answers, but answers nonetheless. The answers to which Jesus offered those in His audience during His ministry here on earth were not answers that they expected, and perhaps its not the answers that we experience today. The words Jesus spoke were revolutionary and life changing. They were words that liberated the people that heard them because it drove them to realize that the world that they lived in was not the only world that they were experiencing. Jesus woke the people up whom heard Him speak, and offered to them a passion that only in their wildest dreams they could ever possibly experience. It was this passion to which once the Apostles understood and were empowered by God; it was this understanding that the patriarchs had when they walked by obedience in Messiah, and it is that same understanding that those who walk in obedience have today. It is the understanding that faith is not easy, but it is faith that drives our passions. It is faith in Christ that can change the world. It was faith in Christ that revolutionized an empire, a world and the course of the history of a world.
It is this passion which God offers to you. It is not a passion to seek the affairs of life, although what you do with your life is important. It is a passion to seek His face and in the process then discover the meaning of your present experience. It is the answer to the question of why we are here, what we are experiencing presently whether we are really dreaming or we are not. It is the answer to all the mathematical equations, and the fulfillment of prophecy. It is the reality that God created everything and from the foundations of His Word, He foresaw and foreknew whom would be His children, and who would hear His Words and then respond by acceptance of the reality of the invisible world.
Yet it is Satan who wishes to lead us astray into believing that the present reality is all that exists and has thus been successful in leading the world astray in believing a rumor of wars and other such treasons, so as to force the present world and age to believe in a lie, a false gospel. Yet it is this false gospel that is being propagated in our churches, in our society, because people fail at a fundamental level to understand that we are not saved by works, and works will not lead one to salvation, for only faith in Christ and His blood sacrifice will in turn lead one to the recognition of one’s needs, and if one then realizes and recognizes what they have done is wrong, they will in turn respond and make a mental decision to do something about the decision that they have made. If they make the correct decision then they would have chosen Christ, but it is still that decision that rest with them, and the reality of that decision answers for them the answer to the equation of faith being a transient reality that far eludes all the best explanations or words on the very subject. Its reality far suppresses our present understanding, because its foundation is not earthly, but heavenly.
What would then do? What should one do? If what drives us is what knows us, then the reality is that God’s Word ought to drive us. If God’s Word were to drive us then what would then be our mission, our goal, our vision? Preaching the Word of God in its entirety its what our world needs more than anything. It is the answer to the propagation of the false gospel that Satan and his agents are spreading around the world through cults, false prophets, through the use of wars, and other such means, Satan is trying to destroy those who call upon the name of the Lord so that they will not answer the call to obedience as their forefathers as their brothers and sisters in Christ have answered the call to obedience towards Christ and did not balk at that call, but stepped up too the plate. It was those who heard that call towards faith in Christ that understood the price of living for the invisible reality of faith that dominates the present reality of our physical world.
What is your response today to the word faith? Will you walk away from here and accept the false gospel that our world and cults want you to follow? Or will you today believe upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, repent of your sins and become a child of God? Faith is the reality that interjected itself through the personhood of God the Son, so that by faith in His sacrifice we could be made right, and thus the chasm that separated us from God the Father would be healed in direct proportion to that sacrifice, thus as a result of that sacrifice Jesus becoming our high Priest endured the judgment of God the Father, becoming sin so that we ourselves could experience freedom through His blood.
The reality of the invisible world of faith drives us to imagine that certain things might be if only we did them. If what we did instead what have as our basis a reality that surpasses everything then we would in turn have our lives changed. Yet at some level we are sacred. We are sacred of what might happen if faith was our guide in our lives. We are not only afraid but we cower if someone tells us that we are wrong, because who are they to tell us what is right or wrong, on the basis of themselves not necessarily knowing either? Yet if what we know is true, then what we have seen today must be the case without question, it is irrevocable, so true, that our world is driven by the reality of faith, that one has to respond in a way that is acceptable. The only acceptable response is to believe upon the name of the Lord Messiah, repent of your sins, and come into a relationship today and begin to walk by faith in Him, become His Child and walk victorious.
Thus you will begin as all those who have gone before you in repentance, acceptance and belief upon His name have, and will begin to start walking the invisible world of faith that is found only in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Won’t you dear reader begin the journey towards Christ today? Believe upon His name today, and you will begin your journey.
Pastor Jenkins
