061001 Faith Is ... Hebrews 11 1 7 Dale Wells

Scripture Reading

Hebrews 11:1-7 NIV 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. (4) By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

Hebrews 11:1-7 NIV (5) By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that

he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. (6) And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (7) By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Faith Is …

Dale WellsPalm Desert Church of Christ

October 1, 2006

Faith is misunderstood & misrepresented

Friedrich W. Nietzsche (1844-1900) “Faith means the

will to avoid knowing what is true.”

“A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.”

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) “It is thought

virtuous to have faith – that is to have a conviction which cannot be shaken by contrary evidence.”

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) “Faith may be

defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable.”

Dan Barker (1949-) “Faith is a cop-out.

If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can’t be taken on its own merits.”

Faith & reason are not opposed in scripture Faith and sight are

2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV We live by faith, not by sight.

Faith is not set against reason because faith is reasonable.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones “There is nothing

more important in the Christian life than to know how to reason, to argue and to deduce from Biblical teaching. It is an essential and vital part of faith.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones What is faith? Faith

is an activity of the mind. Faith means reasoning and arguing on the basis of divine revelation. Faith means drawing out the inevitable deductions from what God has said.”

Hebrews 11:1 NIV Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

We find our hope & security in present, not future, & in seen, not unseen

Unsure about future & skeptical of unseen Future & unseen are beyond our reach These are areas where faith specializes Function of faith is to apprehend both the unseen

present & the unrealized future

Hebrews 11:1 NIV Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Abel Hebrews 11:4 NIV By

faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

Enoch Hebrews 11:5 NIV By

faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

Noah

Hebrews 11:7 NIV By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Abraham

Hebrews 11:8 NIV By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

In each case faith responded to a revelation of God

Scripture as the word of God is full of the promises of God Wise Christians

store them up – like storeroom – so we can find a promise of God in whatever situation we find ourselves.

Faith lays hold of the promises of God.

Our contemporaries ridicule promises like the 2nd Coming

Matthew 24:37-39 NIV As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (38) For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; (39) and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Patience of faith

1 Chronicles 4:10 NIV Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.

C.S. Lewis on “magic wand” faith "There are, no doubt,

passages in the New Testament which may seem at first sight to promise an invariable granting of our prayers. But that cannot be what they really mean. For in the very heart of the story we meet a glaring instance to the contrary. In Gethsemane the holiest of all petitioners prayed three times that a certain cup might pass from Him. It did not. After that the idea that prayer is recommended to us as a sort of infallible gimmick may be dismissed."

Sarah received power to conceive – relatively short fulfillment Hebrews 11:11 NIV

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.

Abraham was promised the land, but never received it

Hebrews 11:9 NIV By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.

Remarkable – but overlooked – verses Hebrews 11:13-16 NIV All

these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth… (16) Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

A list of conquerors Hebrews 11:32-34 NIV

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, (33) who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised …

A list of conquerors … who shut the

mouths of lions, (34) quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Hebrews 11:32-34 NIV

A list of martyrs Hebrews 11:35-38 NIV

... Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. (36) Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.

A list of martyrs (37) They were

stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- (38) the world was not worthy of them... Hebrews 11:35-38 NIV

Holiness: God is transforming us, but will not finish the job till eternity

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

1 John 3:2 NIV Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Healing: God promises to heal us, but will not finish the job till eternity

Psalms 103:2-3 NIV Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- (3) who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases …

Revelation 21:4 NIV He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Faith is patient Hebrews 6:12 NIV We

do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Three lessons about

Faith is being sure about unseen reality & the unknown future.

Faith rests on the promises of God – it is always a response to revelation.

Faith is patient, leaving the when & how of the fulfillment to him.

Fellow picked up $5 – after that he kept his eyes on the pavement

What did he gain? During lifetime

collected: 29,516 buttons 54,172 pins 12 cents a bent back & a miserly

disposition

Fellow picked up $5 – after that he kept his eyes on the pavement

What did he miss? glory of sunlight beauty of

mountains sheen of stars blossoms on trees smiles of friends

Hebrews 11:1 NIV Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.