Text: Hebrews 11:1-3 NIV
Heb 11:1-3
11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
(King James Version)
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (v. 2) For by it the elders obtained a good report, (v. 3) Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."
Topic: Faith Is!
The story is told of a tourist who came too close to the edge of the Grand Canyon, lost his footing and plunged over the side, clawing and scratching to save himself. After he disappeared out of sight; and, just before he fell into an open space, he stumbled upon a scrubby bush which he desperately grabbed with both hands. Filled with terror, he called out toward Heaven, "Is there anyone up there?"
A calm, powerful voice came out of the sky, "Yes, there is." The tourist pleaded, "Can you help me?" The calm voice replied, "Yes, I probably can. What is your problem?" "I fell over the cliff and am dangling in space holding on to a bush that is about to let go," he replied. "Please help me!" The voice from above said, "I’ll try. Do you believe?" "Yes, yes, I believe," came the response. The voice from above said, "Do you have faith?" "Yes, yes, I have strong faith," came the reply. The calm voice said, "Well, in that case, simply let loose of the bush and everything will turn out fine." There was a tense pause, followed by the tourist yelling, "Is there anyone else up there?"
It is one thing to talk about faith; but, it is quite another thing to act on faith! This morning, the Lord would have us discover what faith really is; and, how faith can help us in our struggle to be everything that we can be in Christ Jesus! What is faith? Well, there just isn’t any easy way to define faith! This morning as we engage our Holy Scripture text, we are going to look at six different statements that are derived from that text:
(1) Faith is believing when we don’t see it;
(2) Faith is obeying when we don’t understand it;
(3) Faith is giving when we don’t have it;
(4) Faith is persisting when we don’t feel like it;
(5) Faith is thanking Almighty God before we receive it; and,
(6) Faith is trusting Almighty God if we don’t get it!
(1) Faith is believing when we don’t see it
In the first verse of our text, Hebrews 11:1 (NLT), we read: "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see." That sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? However, the Holy Bible – the written Word of Almighty God – teaches us that faith is visualizing the future in the present! It is being sure of what we do not see – it is seeing it in advance! Mankind says, "Seeing is believing," while Almighty God says: "Believing is seeing!"
In 1960, the late great 35th President of the United States of America, John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 – 1963), said, "Let’s put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade." When he made that statement, the technology for putting a man on the Moon had not yet been invented; however, some things have to be believed before we can see them! Just nine (9) years later, in 1969, American astronaut Neil Alden Armstrong (Born: 1930), became the first man ever to step foot upon the surface of the Moon.
We have got to believe things in advance – everything that has ever happened in our lives was an impossibility before it became a reality; and, someone had to believe in it first! Faith is nothing more than trusting Almighty God to turn our dreams into reality! We have to have faith that it is going to happen in order for it to happen – we have to be certain that Almighty God can and will do these things in our lives!
(2) Faith is obeying when we don’t understand it;
The writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews 11:8 (NLT), tells us: "It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going." We all know the story, don’t we? How Abraham, living in the land of Ur, 75-years-of-age, is told by Almighty God that He is going to send him on a journey - not telling him the name of the place he was going – not telling him how far away the place is! The question becomes, "Would we go? Would you and I go?" Faith is obeying God when we don’t understand!
There are many of us who want a guarantee of success before we try anything; however, Almighty God says: "NO!" Because faith always involves risks – Almighty God wants to force us to trust Him! When God says: "NO," faith is doing the right thing even when it seems absurd!
(3) Faith is giving when we don’t have it;
Did you know that giving and faith go hand in hand? They are "Inseparable Twins" – they simply go together! Almighty God uses finances to test our faith all the time! Tell me, "Have you ever made a decision whether to pay a bill or to tithe?" This is only a test – Almighty God is testing us to see how much we trust Him! We can either give by faith or we can give by fear!
Giving by fear is when we say, "How much can I afford to give?" Giving by faith is when we say, "How much does Almighty God want me to give, whether I have got it to give or not?" It is one thing to give when we have money to spare – it is quite another to give when we don’t know where the money is going to come from when to pay the bills!
(4) Faith is persisting when we don’t feel like it;
Our modern-day culture says, "Base everything that you do on how you feel about it!" In other words, if you feel like doing it – do it; if you don’t feel like doing it – don’t do it! That, my brothers and sisters, is a guaranteed formula for immaturity – why? Because immature people build their lives on feelings rather than on commitments!
When we live our lives based upon how we feel, we end up being manipulated by our moods - we flip-flop around because we feel different from moment to moment – from day to day – from month to month – from year to year! One of the marks of maturity is when we live our lives by commitments; and, not by feelings! If the truth be told, I don’t always feel like doing what is right – do you?
I don’t always feel like being nice to people – I don’t always feel like spending time with my family – I don’t always feel like praying and reading Almighty God’s Word. The issue, however, is not what do we feel; but, do we do the right thing?
The real key to success is that "successful people do what most people do not feel like doing! – successful people simply develop habits that unsuccessful people do not feel like developing – successful people utilize their time wisely, being persistent; and, sharpening their skills and "stuff" like that!
The writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews 11:27 (NLT), tells us: "It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, He was not afraid of the king, Moses kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the One who is invisible." Note that we can only accomplish the impossible when we see the invisible! If we keep our eyes upon Almighty God, He will give us the power to "keep on keeping on!"
We need to use the Holy Bible to rediscover the faith of the Holy Bible! Faith under girds hope – hope is the promise that allows us to live in expectation of Eternal Life and all the blessings of Almighty God – purpose allows us to remain focused toward Eternal Life and all the blessings of Almighty God – perseverance teaches us to remain constant so that we can experience Eternal Life and all the blessings of Almighty God – and, prosperity is the reaping of the harvest! That, my brothers and sisters, is the blessing!
(5) Faith is thanking Almighty God before we receive it; and,
We need to thank Almighty God for receiving our blessing – even before we receive it – that is faith! If we wait to thank Him until we receive it – that is merely gratitude! Thank you Almighty God for answered prayer – before the answer comes!
6) Faith is trusting Almighty God if we don’t get it!
Finally, as I begin to close, faith is trusting Almighty God even if we do not get what we want! Almighty God always hears and answers every prayer – He does not always answer prayers the way that we want Him to answer! Sometimes His answer is "YES" – sometimes His answer is "NO" – and, sometimes, His answer is "WAIT!" Almighty God answers prayer in many, many different ways! He tells us "NO" because He loves us! Almighty God is not a vending machine – put a prayer in and get out whatever we want! Sometimes vending machines will give us "stuff" that will kill us! Almighty God only gives us what is for our benefit!
In Hebrews, Chapter 11, in the "Faith Hall of Fame, we find a list of people who suffered for their faith – some of them got their heads cut off – some of them were burned at the stake – some of them had their eyes plucked out – some of them were drowned – and, my brothers and sisters all kinds of gruesome "stuff" happened to these people; yet, the Holy Bible – the written Word of God – tells us that they were "Heroes of Faith!"
The point here, is that living by faith does not exempt us from problems! I know by experience that as a Christian true believer, I have the same problems that I had before I got saved! As Christian true believers, we have the same problems that sinners have – it is just that we now have a new power to help us deal with them! We now have a Comforter to help us cope – to handle the stress – as we deal with everyday living!
Finally, as I sit down, this morning, know that we gain character when we go through tough times – they are the experiences that Almighty God allows to transform us into a person of integrity, a person of stability; and, a person of values! We only realize that Almighty God is all that we need when we discover that He is all that we have! Let’s start this New Year off with a bang – let’s establish a relationship with Jesus, the Christ – let’s be all that we can be in Christ Jesus – shall we?
Faith Is!
May Almighty God richly and abundantly bless each and every one of you!
Warmest Regards ,
James W. Thomas
In His Grip, My Faith Is Secure
