Untitled Sermon
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
What is Faith?
What is Faith?
What does it mean to have Faith?
[Illustration] The Cliff
A man fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree limb on the way down.
The following conversation ensued:
“Is anyone up there?”
“I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe me?”
“Yes, Lord, I believe. I really believe, but I can’t hang on much longer.”
“That’s all right, if you really believe you have nothing to worry about. I
will save you. Just let go of the branch.”
A moment of pause, then: “Is anyone else up there?”
[Explanation] That’s what a faithless life looks like. You’re hanging by a tree branch, about to fall to your eternal separation from God and God reaches out and tells us how we can be saved, we just have to trust, trusting an immaterial being you cannot see can seem extremely scary but when we first let go of being in control and allowing God to be in control that shows our first step in faith.
today we are going to answer the question, [sermon point] what does it mean to have faith because without faith we can know there is a creator, but we must have faith that the creator is the triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).
So, if you can turn with me to Hebrews chapter 11, we are going to answer what it means to have faith so turn with me to and while you’re doing that I’ll give you an overview of the book of Hebrews.
[historical background] Hebrews is an interesting book because it gives no author and people would like to claim that Paul wrote it, maybe one of Paul’s closest colleagues Barnabas is the author. we are not for sure but we are sure it is God’s Word.
In order to know what we are reading we have to look at the context of when it was written and to whom it was written. So, the book of Hebrews is a letter written to a group of Hebrew Christians who have in their generation not yet experienced persecution but can look back in the past and remember the persecution that had happened to Christians, these Christians had a high risk of persecution to come which means that this letter was written in the middle of two great times of persecution. The first was in the time of Nero approximately AD 64 and then next was in the reign of Domitian about AD 85. The letter was written to a church that had great teachers and leaders, a church that previously suffered persecution, a church that was not directly founded by any Apostle. When we sum it all up, we can say that Hebrews is a letter written by a great teacher to a little group of Hebrew Christians in Rome. He was their teacher; at the time he was separated from them and was afraid that they were drifting away from the faith; and so, he wrote this letter to them insuring that the Christians stayed the course even though there was possible persecution.
So, we pick up in .
Passage: NASB
“1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2 For by it the men of old gained approval.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
[Explanation] Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. before we can understand what faith is, we must first define the word hope here that is used. the word hope when used in the bible is different from what us as westerners would think of hope as. [Illustration] when we use the word hope we are usually hoping for something like a Duke to lose every time to UNC regardless of the sport, it’s not something that we know will happen we just hope it happens. when hope is used in the NT it refers to a desire for a future outcome that is absolutely sure based on our trust in the promises of God, we can be fully confident about the outcome.
[Quote] R.C. Sproul said in his book What is Faith? “when God gives His people a promise for the future, and the church grasps it, this hope is said to be the “anchor of the soul” (). An anchor is that which gives a ship protection against aimless drifting in the sea. the promise of God for tomorrow are the anchor for believers today.”
so, since faith is the substance of things hoped for, faith is of such significant value and the implication is that faith communicates the essence of hope.
Point 1: Hope is Faith looking forward.
I can have hope because I have faith in the one true God.
verse 2 is connected with the proceeding verses from verse 4 and onward where the author shows why the men and women of old through their faith in God gained approval.
Verse 3, 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
as I said before you have to put faith in the one true God that created all of this, He designed this world out of nothing (so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.) Contradicts evolution when looking through the lenses of the Bible.
[Illustration] A group of distinguished scientists and theologians gathered in Washington, DC, to participate in the Cosmic Questions Conference. They discussed issues such as these: "Is there a God?" and "Can we believe that there is purpose and design in the universe?"
Some of the participants answered those questions emphatically, "No!" No God, no design, no purpose. But others, like John Polkinghorne, a British scholar and former president of Queens College at Cambridge, held staunchly to the opposite opinion. A noted physicist, Polkinghorne argued that the answers lie "beyond physics."
[Explanation] You see without the Bible, scientists are baffled by the universe. They can guess and come up with theories all they want but they have no authoritative answers to the cosmic questions. The Bible alone tells us where everything came from, why everything exists, and what lies ahead. In , Job learned that it was God who “laid the foundation of the earth”.
When scientists and the general public cannot find the answers, it becomes more prevalent that the Bible the Word of God is the ultimate authority and through having faith that God is the creator of everything there we will find rest for our mind and peace for our soul.
verse 4
[Passage] 4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
[Explanation] This is a part of history that we all remember, the first killing of man. Cain killing Abel. within this passage the author is conveying that there is two people giving offerings. A Godly man and a carnal man. Abel is the Godly man and Cain is the carnal man. how can we tell between a Godly person giving in faith and a carnal person giving in church?
[Illustration] I’ll explain one way, to glorify God and to enjoy God; the children of God not only work for God but enjoy working. A child of God will live a life that shows a response towards God that will be distinct from the outside world. A life that will gain approval. In contrast a carnal man is content with giving what they can instead of giving everything and work only what they feel they need to and there is no true back and forth relationship between God and the soul. Cain was content with only giving of the fruit of the ground he believed would be sufficient for God and that showed he had no relationship between God and his soul when he sacrificed while Abel gave his firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions, Abel gave and more. A Godly man or woman will give and give more out of the generosity of their heart. remember it’s not about what Cain and Abel scarified it’s about how each of them gave, an identity of their hearts that showed who had faith in God and who did not.
Point 2: Faith is the means by which we live in response to the commands of God.
verse 5
[Passage] 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up, he was pleasing to God.
[Explanation] We cannot come to God if we don’t believe there is a God. we cannot seek to please God if we don’t believe that God exists and rewards those who seek Him. Enoch demonstrated his faith by seeking to please God.
[Illustration] You know, people want to feel better, reduce stress, and shed pounds. There’s an exercising company in Japan with a fitness philosophy of walking 10,000 steps a day, experts advise starting slowly and working toward a higher goal, realizing each day that every step counts.
Isn’t that how Enoch was? He stayed spiritually fit by “walking with God”, which the Bible describes as an intimate, growing relationship with the Lord. “Enoch walked with God three hundred years” ()
To walk with God, we need to keep in step without running ahead or lagging behind. Along the way, we talk with the Lord, listen to Him, and enjoy His presence. We trust His guidance when we cannot see what lies ahead. It is not just the destination that is important, but the journey of faith that we take.
The important part here is not that Enoch got taken up and did not die but that Enoch had such great faith that he walked with God every step of his three hundred years on earth.
And because Enoch had such great faith, verse 6.
[Passage] 6 And 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 seek Him.
Enoch pleased God because he believed and had faith, Enoch was rewarded and we can be too if we continue to walk with God.
[Explanation] We can have all the knowledge in the world yet still are incapable of knowing God on His level so we have to have faith to connect our knowledge of God with our belief and from there we begin to serve Him with a heart of motivation to please Him and receive the rewards.
Point 3: Faith is central to the motivation of the human heart to live in a way that honors God.
Lets go on…
[Passage] 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Noah’s faith is demonstrated in the remarkable building project he undertook solely on the fear that God will destroy everything and Noah was pretty confident in God’s promise. Noah’s faith was justified while the world that did not heed God’s warning were destroyed.
[Illustration] Let’s compare what this means today, how many of us have been warned of something and didn’t prepare or know someone who didn’t prepare? There are often times where we are all warned of something, we all hear the warning yet not everyone listens. Take hurricane warnings for instance, we can track a hurricane about 2 weeks before it hits yet how many people every year get the warning and still do not listen, they say I can ride it out and then they’re drowning in their own house because they don’t want to put in the effort for preparing.
[Explanation] The people that heeded the warnings from God have faith that God is keeping them from destruction. Don’t be a fool and not heed the warnings from God. Do as Noah did, everyone thought he was a fool for thinking that it was going to rain and that a flood was coming but what did he do? “Noah walked with God” () and Noah was commended for his faith because he “became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith”
If you’re going to be a fool, be a “fool for Christ” ()
Point 4: Faith is putting your confidence not in the judgments of this world but in the judgement of God.
Now we finally get to Abraham, the man, the myth, the legend. Abraham was called in the NT “the Father of the faithful”.
Lets read verses 8-12…
[Passage] 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE.”
[Explanation] Abraham, one of the best men of God in our history, a man who as the Scripture says, “obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans. Our lives will take turns and flips that we never expected.
[Illustration] Abraham and Sarah could testify to this. This couple was in the stage of planning for retirement when life “happened” to them. God adjusted their agenda. He told Abraham to leave his family, friends, country, everything.
When Alexander the Great had completed his conquest of Persia, he headed east. Author Halford Luccock said the general “marched off his maps.” This is exactly what happened to Abraham and Sarah, God gave them marching orders without a map. They needed only enough faith to begin the journey, and they headed out to unknown areas and unimagined adventures.
As a Christian make your plans but write them on paper and not in concrete because God has a way of disrupting your normal everyday plan and lead you on a journey that will require tremendous faith. The author of Hebrews conjoins the word obey and faith together. Abraham demonstrated that living in submission to what God commands is the essence of faith.
Paul pointed out that Abraham represents the great example of a person who is justified by faith and not by works. when a person embraces the promises of God that are found in Christ, that person is instantly justified.
Abraham was counted righteous by God because he trusted the promise of God, then demonstrated his faith through obedience over time. and overtime is obvious because the interesting thing about Abraham and Sarah is that they do mess up a few times. Abraham decided during the famine in to go down to Egypt and took his wife Sarai and told her to say that she was his sister not wife because he needed medicine so ideally the ends justify the means, lying was his way to receive treatment yet it was not a faithful move by Abraham to do so as we see , “But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plaques because of Sarai, Abraham’s wife.” because Pharaoh wanted to marry her and didn’t realize that Sarai was Abraham’s wife.
Sarah and Abraham are promised a son even at the uninhabitable stage of 90+ years old but hey that's why its called a miracle not science. They didn’t have their full trust in the Lord yet after their confession of what they had done, God forgives them and keeps his promise to them.
[Conclusion] So, to end my time,
The bottom line is Faith is defined as the unshakeable confidence in the reality of the yet unseen and the certainty of God’s yet unfulfilled promises. in every person here has different stories, different experiences with God but they all had faith in God, they never quite because life got difficult. They all found favor from God because of the strong faith they displayed which can be an example for all of us to follow. Abraham shows us that having faith is difficult in so many circumstances, whether its leaving for an unknown future that God knows He will use you for something great, you still have to trust in Him that where He’s taking you on this journey of life through every struggle, and every battle that there is one promise He has given to us believers. all our tears will be wiped away, those who obey His commands will be rewarded, and those who ultimately believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be saved from eternal separation from God.