The great hockey player Wayne Gretzky was once asked why he was so successful on the ice. He answered, “I skate to where the puck is going to be.” Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18—KJV) The problem with most congregations is that there are too many people who spend their time remembering the congregation’s past days of glory instead of envisioning it’s future. We need vision-casters (people who are listening for God’s vision) and people who will follow that vision. Without vision-casters and people willing to follow the vision, the church will stagnate and eventually die. Jesus was the ultimate vision caster. I want you to listen to some of the visionary statements made by Jesus. “Lift up your eyes! The fields are white unto harvest.” “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move this mountain.” “Go into all the world and make disciples.” All big jobs are dependent on following the vision. Vision is the outward proof of a deep faith in God. Faith is that trust in God that enables the believer to press on steadfastly whatever the future holds for him. This enables us to know that God can be relied on regardless of how a situation may look. Today I want us to look very closely at faith and how it relates to vision. When we are able to understand the true meaning of faith it will prompt us to take bold risks for the Kingdom. We need people in our church that are always looking to the future. Visionaries staying one step ahead and always moving toward the place where the church will be.
I. Gaining an understanding of what true Biblical faith is.
A. Our text does not offer a definition of faith but a description of what faith does and how it works.
1. True Bible faith is not, blind optimism or a manufactured “hope-so” feeling, nor is it an intellectual assent to a doctrine.
2. The writer is saying that there are realities for which we have no material evidence though they are not the less real for that.
3. Faith enables us to know that they exist and, while we have no certainty apart from faith, faith does give us genuine certainty.
4. True Bible faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences. Read that last sentence again and let it soak into your mind and heart.
5. The circumstances may be impossible, and the consequences frightening and unknown; but we obey God’s Word just the same and believe Him to do what is right and what is best.
B. When believers have faith, that is when they have an unwavering confidence in God, they receive God’s approval.
1. Faith is the basis, the substructure (the Greek word used here is hypostasis which means literally "that which stands under") of all that the Christian life means, all that the Christian hopes for.
2. Faith extends beyond what we learn from our senses, and the author is saying that it has its reasons. Its tests are not those of the senses, which yield uncertainty.
3. The unsaved world does not understand true Bible faith, probably because it sees so little faith in action in the church today.
4. The world fails to realize that faith is only as good as its object, and the object of our faith is God.
5. Faith is not some “feeling” that we manufacture. It is our total response to what God has revealed in His Word.
II. True biblical faith always requires courage.
A. Our faith is not biblical, authentic faith until we’re ready and willing to put it to the test.
1. Abraham’s faith accepted God’s promises and acted on them even though there was nothing to indicate that they would be fulfilled.
2. This faith is seen in his acceptance of the promise of a child when Sarah was old and even more in his readiness to sacrifice that child—the one through whom the promise was to be fulfilled—when God commanded.
3. Abraham believed God and acted on his faith. He obeyed God implicitly, though there was nothing tangible he could rely on.
4. Abraham was one who could go out, knowing that it was right to do so, but not knowing where it would all lead.
5. To leave the certainties one knows and go out into what is quite unknown—relying on nothing other than the Word of God—is the essence of faith, putting our belief to the test and having courage.
B. Catching the vision always requires us to have the courage to step out on faith to allow God to make it a reality.
1. “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.”—Eddie Rickenbacker
2. You cannot have a courageous congregation without courageous leaders.
3. The writer of Hebrews makes it clear that faith is a very practical thing, in spite of what unbelievers say. Faith enables us to understand what God does. Faith enables us to see what others cannot see this is why courage always needs to come into play.
4. Every God-begotten person conquers the world’s ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. (1 John 5:4—The Message)
5. In the country of Scotland there is a phrase: “he has a brass neck.” People with brass necks are capable of sticking their necks into places where they could get their heads chopped off.
6. We have to be risk takers who are willing to stick our necks out on the line for God.
III. Benefits of being a church that walks by faith.
A. Walking by faith generates enthusiasm.
1. Big goals create excitement; we need to be the type of people that get really excited anticipating what God can do.
2. Southeast Christian Church’s eldership has a slogan, “Let’s try something so big that if God isn’t in it, we will fail.”
3. When we fail to be a people of faith we hold the Lord’s church back from being what God has intended it to be.
4. When we take huge steps of faith we show the world that we believe that we serve a big God.
B. Walking by faith stimulates prayer.
1. “You didn’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” (Matthew 17:20—New Living)
2. If your goal is to move a molehill, you don’t have much incentive to pray. You can do that quite easily with human effort.
3. If your goals are mountainous in size, it will motivate you to get on your knees and seek an outpouring of God’s grace.
4. A bold faith produces big challenges; big challenges stimulate prayer; and prayer results in miracles.
C. Walking by faith motivates sacrifice.
1. People step up to the plate in response to inspiring challenges.
2. If you’re asking God to do something great, you’re going to do your best to see that it comes to pass.
3. When you walk by faith, you will give what is necessary and give up what is necessary to meet the goal.
4. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20—NIV)
D. Walking by faith produces harmony.
1. Soldiers in the barracks will bicker and fight with one another. But soldiers on the battlefield will stand united because they need each other.
2. One of the reasons Christians often bicker among themselves is that there is no challenging goal that binds them together.
3. A church that is arguing over tradition and fighting over things that are not essential has forgotten its vision.
4. A challenging purpose can help people put differences aside and join forces for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom.
5. “The world is yet to see what God can do through a few people who are totally sold out to him.”—Dwight L. Moody
6. Are we willing to place our complete trust in the God who loved us enough to send His Son so that we could see faithfulness in action and love beyond degree
Soren Kierkegaard in his classic "Duck Land" story imparts some very insightful wisdom: It was Sunday morning in Duckland, and all the ducks dutifully came to church, waddling through the doors and down the aisle into their pews where they comfortably squatted. When all were well-settled, and the hymns were sung, the duck minister waddled to his pulpit, opened the Duck Bible and read: "Ducks! You have wings, and with wings you can fly like eagles. You can soar into the sky! Use your wings!" It was a marvelous, elevating duck reading from the Duck Bible, and thus all the ducks quacked their assent with a hearty "Amen!" . . . and then they plopped down from their pews and waddled home.
Do you profess to have faith in Jesus Christ and in the power of His Spirit but your life is like those waddling, quacking ducks whose Amen meant nothing more than that they were ready to go home?
