Into Being In Faith
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SEEKING CHANGE IN MY ATTITUDES |
Into Being In Faith
Hebrews 11:1-3, 6 (ESV)
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
One night a house caught fire, and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump, I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump, I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters."
If you were the boy, would you have the courage to jump? Perhaps, the correct answer is: If you know your father enough, you would definitely jump. The same can be said about faith in God. Sometimes in our lives, God allows us to go through tough times. During those times, we need to decide whether we will doubt God and hesitate to jump into His arms or totally trust Him and jump without hesitation. I believe many go through life with a lot of fear, anxiety, and even insecurity because we are not so sure whether or not our Heavenly Father can sufficiently take care of us. Therefore, we often waver between doubt and faith all the time.
Last Sunday, we studied the attitude of doubt. This morning, my topic is faith. The Gospel Banner has this short poem that can help you think about the difference between doubt and faith.
Doubt sees the obstacles. Faith sees the way.
Doubt sees the darkest night. Faith sees the way.
Doubt dreads to take a step. Faith soars on high.
Doubt questions, "Who believes?" Faith answers, "I."
Believe it or not, doubt and faith could be considered attitudes. Why? It is because it’s a pattern of thinking that is formed over a long period of time. Every decision we make comes from the pattern of thinking we have developed over a long period of time. That's why doubt or faith is considered an attitude. For example, if you study the nation of Israel during their wilderness wanderings, they often responded with an attitude of doubt. When the Lord gave them the promise that they would inherit the Promised Land, they doubted God's ability to help them conquer the land, so they had to wander for 40 years in the wilderness.
You know, we, too, can be stuck in the wilderness, unable to overcome all the obstacles of life, if we continue with the attitude of doubt. We need to replace this attitude of doubt with the attitude of faith. Here are three essential elements of faith we need to understand fully:
I FAITH IS GROUNDED IN THE EXISTENCE OF GOD (v.1)
Both the Old and New Testaments declare, "The just shall live by faith" (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17). Meaning if a Christian wants to experience the amazing life that God has prepared for Him even while they are still here on earth, they need to live by faith. Therefore, faith is absolutely significant in our lives today.
If this statement is true, we need to understand it according to how the Bible teaches it and not how our popular culture portrays it. Nowadays, when people talk about faith, they often refer to a religious feeling. These people would say, "Well, I just have a strong feeling that what I want to see happen will happen." Also, others equate faith with the attitude of optimism. They say, "Just keep believing, and it's going to happen." When you evaluate these ideas, it's more of a feeling we have to produce faith ourselves. So, when motivational speakers come along and tell people they can do it on their own, as long as they maintain a positive mental attitude, people would buy it.
Unfortunately, this definition of faith is not Biblical. When you examine our text, it is clear that faith is grounded in the existence of an all-powerful God who created the universe. He is the object of our faith. Examine verse 1- Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Out of these verses, we first want to highlight the descriptions of faith found in this statement – "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" If you read this sentence from the King James Version, the word "assurance" is translated as "substance;" while the word "conviction" is translated as "evidence." So, we must understand that "substance" and "evidence" mean the same thing. You see, the things we are hoping for (like living an amazing here on earth or living in heaven for eternity after we die) will definitely happen in the future. However, the substance or the evidence that they will happen comes from the faith you have. So, let's put it this way, this coming Tuesday, Tess and I will go to Orlando, Florida, to help out in the wedding of Aiko, one of our members in BCI. So, when I booked our flights with Delta Airlines, they gave me a confirmation email with a confirmation number as a receipt to give me the assurance that I could fly to Orlando. So, that's my evidence for my booked flight.
The same is true with my relationship with God. Although I have not seen Him, the assurance and the conviction that He exists comes from my faith. Here is an excellent example of this faith:
John 20:29 (ESV)
29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Pastor Jeru used this verse last Sunday about Thomas, who insisted that he must see Jesus to believe. However, as per Jesus' statement, it is far more blessed to believe even without seeing. Indeed, faith assures us that Jesus is the true Savior even when we have not seen Him personally.
II FAITH GAINS IN EMBRACING GOD'S REVELATIONS IN THE BIBLE (vs. 2-3)
Reading verses 2-3, we find these words – "For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible." Hebrews 11 is considered the Hall of Faith. Here, you would find how these Bible heroes exercised their faith and how the Lord manifested His presence and power in their lives. As to verse 2, these Bible heroes were commended because of their faith.
Then, moving to verse 3, you would find one of the essential things we must believe about God: He is the powerful creator of the universe. Let me ask, "Do you believe that God created this universe we live in?" Many people will struggle to believe this truth simply because no one was present when God created everything. All we have is the testimony of Genesis 1-2, narrating how God created everything and all other Biblical references that He is the creator.
This truth is central to our faith – Our deep confidence in God is based on the Word of God. The apostle Paul reinforced this truth by saying in Romans 10:17 (ESV):
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
With this clear verse, we must realize that faith and the Bible always go together. We cannot have faith without believing that what the Bible says about God is true and reliable. Of course, this truth applies not only to what the Bible says about the person of God but also about the promises of God. What are some of the precious promises in the Bible that you have believed?
Philippians 4:19 (ESV)
19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
God gave this promise that He would always meet my needs. He never promised that I would get all I want, but He guarantees that if I trust Him, He will supply all my needs.
Psalm 46:1 (ESV)
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
It's always comforting to know that when I'm facing troubles in life, He will always be there, helping me and giving me the strength and protection I need.
Psalm 84:11 (ESV)
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
I also cling to this promise that the God who cares for me will grant me favor and honor and that He will not withhold any good thing from me as long as I do my best to honor Him in my life.
These are not the only promises you will find in the Bible. In fact, there are thousands and thousands of promises that God gave in the Bible that we can claim as believers. I trust that we are familiar with them and will never doubt them. Therefore, let me encourage you to be familiar with some of them and allow them to bring greater confidence in God.
There's another truth we will find in the Bible about faith. This truth is found in Ephesians 2:8 (ESV):
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
If you carefully analyze this verse, it is noticeable that faith is God's gift to us. In other words, we cannot produce faith in ourselves. God imparts this faith to us whenever we embrace the truths we learned from the Bible. So, if we want to grow in our faith, we must grow in our knowledge of the Bible. We must never be complacent in studying the Bible because whenever you are learning the Bible, we are allowing God to increase our faith in Him.
III FAITH GROWS IN ENDURING GOD'S TESTS
Speaking of increasing our faith, God is also actively involved in testing our faith so that He can grow and purify our faith. Listen to verse 6 of our text – "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." The first part is significant – It is impossible to please God if you don't have faith. Why? Why would you even obey Him and do what He is asking you to do if you don't believe that He exists and He will reward your unwavering efforts to please Him? Unfortunately, many people, even Christians, fail to live for God because of their lack of faith.
Go back to Hebrews 11; you would find so many Bible characters who were willing to risk it all because of their faith in God. From Abel to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others in the chapter, they were willing to believe that God is good and loving, faithful and true even in their most difficult times. Let me give you some good examples in the Bible:
Job 13:15 (Job)
15 Though he slay me, I will hope in him.
Job lived a godly life and honored the Lord consistently. Then one day, he lost everything he had, all his possessions, ten children, and good health. Yet, despite what he went through, he could declare that even if he dies, he will continue to hope in the Lord.
Daniel 3:16-18 (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
These friends of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were all willing to defy the most powerful king, King Nebuchadnezzar, when he demanded everyone in Babylon to worship his image. Notice that these three friends believed that God would save them. But they also said they would remain loyal to Him even if He did not deliver them.
This truth reminds me of what Warren Wiersbe said about faith:
True Bible faith is confident obedience to God's Word in spite of circumstances and consequences.
Indeed, despite dire circumstances and dangerous consequences, Job and Daniel's friends continued to believe. But please know that when we do the same, we won't regret putting our confidence in Him. Why? It is because God is a rewarder for those who are willing to trust Him continually. Perhaps, some of you are in very difficult situations – health problems, financial crises, relational problems, or problems at work. Let me challenge you this morning to continually believe that God is sovereign. He is totally in control. You may not understand right now why God is allowing these circumstances to be in your life. But I pray that you will have the resolve to believe and not lose heart in obeying the Lord continually. I know in God's perfect time, He will let you understand why He allowed you to go through what you are going through right now. Let me close with these words of A. W. Tozer:
For each of us, the time is surely coming when we shall have nothing but God. Health and wealth and friends and hiding places will all be swept away, and we shall have only God. To the man of pseudo faith, that is a terrifying thought, but to real faith, it is one of the most comforting thoughts the heart can entertain.
-Bishop Jeremiah Lepasana