Real Life / Real Faith #1
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You Must Have Real Faith
You Must Have Real Faith
Text: Hebrews 11:6 “6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Text: Hebrews 11:6 “6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Introduction
Introduction
Something that each and every one of you MUST KNOW, is that it is only in this life where God has required that He be pleased with your faith. The scripture states very clearly that “…it is impossible to please him...” without faith.
For the unbeliever, without a believing faith on Christ, God the Father will not deem you good, forgiven, or freed from sin’s bondage. You will remain guilty and spend eternity in hell.
For the believer, without a believing faith in Christ, God will not be pleased with your worship or service to Him. He will not heed to your prayers nor provide blessings.
We are often times all guilty of throwing our faith around as if God simply understands when we don’t live by faith. To be honest, He understands that you are going through life thinking very little about His character, ability, love for you, etc.. It would be one thing to validate that trusting God is a 50/50 chance of being worth it. However, the voices of many from the past would declare otherwise.
These next several weeks we will be on a journey through scripture to discover real people, living real life, facing real circumstance while also having a real faith that carried them through to real victory for the glory of the one true living God. However, let it be said very clearly, it will not be the people who are lifted up and worshiped, but rather God Himself!
The Father in heaven has provided the greatest object for your faith to forever rest upon. This object is alive, has a name above all names, has been given all power, will come back for His people, judge all, and declare the final sentencing upon all. His name is Jesus Christ!!!
1) God Must Be Pleased By Faith
1) God Must Be Pleased By Faith
Some might initiate a response like, “Why do I have to please some kind of divine tyrant?!”
Remember friend, YOU are the CREATION and God is the CREATOR!
We must go back to where it all began; CREATION
All things began with God’s concluding thought; IT WAS GOOD!
LISTEN, it is God’s perspective that matters at the end of the day.
All things perfect, right, moral and righteous are OBJECTIVE; they originate in the person of God Himself.
God mad man in HIS IMAGE!!!
God also wrote into humanity a FREE WILL.
Everything when from GOOD to BAD!
This transition of position was brought about by man’s miss use of his free will.
Man’s heart shifted into darkness; sin left its power stain!!!
Jeremiah 17:9 “9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Isaiah 64:6 “6 But we are all as an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; And we all do fade as a leaf; And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
TURN TO — Romans 3:10-12 “10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
However, God did not change! Therefore, man was in serious trouble!
Quote: God cannot sin, cannot take pleasure in sin, and cannot have fellowship with sin — Paul Washer
Isaiah 6:3 “3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: The whole earth is full of his glory.”
Psalm 5:4 “4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: Neither shall evil dwell with thee.”
Habakkuk 1:3 “3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me: And there are that raise up strife and contention.”
If man was ever going to PLEASE GOD once again in such a way to be declared GOOD, it would take a sovereign act of the CREATOR to bring the CREATION back to Himself.
What is amazing is this, God had already prepared this MEANS before our universe was created!!!
1 Peter 1:19-20 “19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,”
Talk about a God who loves YOU!!!
1 John 4:8 “8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
God pre-planned the means and mode for the recovery of our dead souls; BY GRACE ALONE, THROUGH FAITH ALONE, IN CHRIST ALONE.
2) There Is A Savior You Must Receive By Faith
2) There Is A Savior You Must Receive By Faith
Isaiah gives the prophecy — Isaiah 53:11-12 “11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; For he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong; Because he hath poured out his soul unto death: And he was numbered with the transgressors; And he bare the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”
John 1:29 “29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
A Few Stories of faith:
A woman touches his garment.
Lowered a paralyzed man through the roof
There was a leper who needed healing
A blind Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus
God’s desire is that NONE should perish!!!
God desires your faith more than anything else.
Is faith in Jesus a part of your story???
Let me step you through how the hinge of faith opens the Christ door of salvation.....
Self examination
Self examination
Have you ever repented from sin?
Do you desire to seek God and know Him?
Do you think differently about sin?
Are you sorrowful for your rebellion to God?
Do you fully believe you can’t merit your own salvation?
Repentance much be reached
Repentance much be reached
God INITIATES this necessary journey — Romans 2:4 “4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”
Mark 1:15 “15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Involves a change of mind
Acts 9:18-22 “18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. 19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. 20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. 21 But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? 22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.”
Involves a change of emotion toward sin
Genuine recognition of sin and repentance from sin will bring about a GODLY SORROW within you.
You will have a HATRED for what you have become and done.
Belief & Confession
Belief & Confession
Galatians 2:16 “16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
Romans 4:4-5 “4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
John 3:16 “16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 1:12 “12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
3) You Must Live Through Faith
3) You Must Live Through Faith
The major theme of Hebrews is “God has spoken—how are you responding to His Word?” Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 316.
Notice 11:32-34, 36-40
Our conversion was a surrender of faith to Jesus claiming we truly hate our sin and trust his gospel work (death, burial, resurrection) as our only means of salvation.
We now come to the aspect of our faith where we understand through REAL LIFE examples that faith in Christ is a faith where one lives THROUGH CHRIST!
Notice all the ACTION VERBS in verses 33-34.
Hebrews 10:35-39 “35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. 38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”
Verse 38 — quote from Habakkuk 2:4 “4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: But the just shall live by his faith.”
Can also be found in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11
The context here is dealing more with “transcendent life” lived by the believer while on earth.
“Just” = righteous person
“Live” = live in a transcendent manner
The secret of victory was in their faith and patience (courageous endurance)
(v39) “Perdition” in context speaks to going back into the old ways of life and therefore wasting one’s life.
We have a multitude of scriptures that continually reminds us that our faith in Christ has become a WORKING FAITH through Christ.
James 1:23-25 “23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
TURN TO: James 2:14-22
Matthew 7:7 “7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”
Matthew 14:31 “31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
TURN TO: Matthew 17:14-21
Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.
TALKING POINT: Missionary Baptist Church (mission minded???)
4) You Are Judged According To Your Faith
4) You Are Judged According To Your Faith
The door of which you attach your (hinge) faith on in this life, will determine which door of eternity you walk through after this life is over.
Just because you are a church member does not mean your faith is attached to the Jesus door.
Matthew 7:22 “22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”
Hebrews 9:27-28 “27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
Matthew 25:21-23 “21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
Conclusion
Is God pleased with your faith?