01 - Now Faith Is By Pastor Jeff Wickwire Notes

Heb. 11:1-3 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

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Now this is the famous Bible verse that defines faith—“Now faith is...”

Here’s another version,

“What is faith?—It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen, the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.“

Let me unpack this today...

First, this powerful passage teaches us that:

I. Faith believes what your eyes can’t see

It says, “Faith is the substance (guarantee) of things you’re hoping for, it is the evidence (confidence) of things you can’t see.”

This verse informs us that just because something is invisible doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

People who claim that martians landed and visited them in their living room are talking about something not just invisible, but non-existent.

But that’s not true of the God of the Bible! He is invisible, yet He exists!

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There are many in our day who say, “You’re a fool for believing in a God you cannot see.

One professing atheist left a Facebook comment to a Christian lady who had thanked God for getting her through a tough day, to which he mockingly replied:

“Yeah, go and pray to your magic, invisible friend in the sky.”

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Well yes Mr. Atheist, God is invisible to our natural eye, but that hardly makes Him non-existent.

Our atheist friend should know that many things are invisible that aren’t non-existent.

The WIND is invisible, but irrefutably exists.

We can’t see the ATOMS that make up all matter, yet they certainly DO exist.

You can’t see HEAT OR COLD, yet they exist.

There are endless things that are invisible, yet aren’t non-existent.

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In verse 3 we’re told that everything we CAN see (the world around us and everything in it) was created by things we CANNOT see (Almighty God).

It says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

The INVISIBLE God created all VISIBLE things by the power of His Word!

By the way, the word “framed” here not only refers to the act of creating the planets in our universe, but also of "arranging" them in the beautiful order they’re in now.

Verse 3 is telling us that the things we CAN see were not made out of existing matter, out of something that was already there, like you would make a snowman out of existing snow.

But the entire universe came from nothing by the Rhema word of God!

So a God we cannot see, Who lives in a heaven we cannot see, surrounded by angels we cannot see, SPOKE....and something appeared out of nothing!

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Listen—Paul said that Jesus "is the image of the invisible God” (Col.1:15).

We’re told in Hebrews that “By faith he (Moses) forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27).

How did Moses see something that is invisible? By faith!

Paul told the Colossians, “For by Him (Jesus) all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers” (Col. 1:16).

So God, says Paul, created some things that are visible, and some that are invisible, but they all exist!

To young Timothy Paul writes, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible...” (1 Tim. 1:17).

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The Bible informs us that we are surrounded by an invisible spiritual world we can’t see with the naked eye, but is VERY REAL.

When Elisha and his servant Gehazi were surrounded by the Syrian army, Gehazi panicked...

But Elisha said, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16).

Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (6:17).

Just because Gehazi couldn’t SEE them didn’t mean the invisible angels of God weren’t all around them!

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I’m reading all these verses to show that walking by faith is NOT the practice of simple, gullible, backwoods, non-intellectual hayseeds who don’t know any better...

Bible faith is all about believing God (who you can’t see) to, by faith, bring into your world things you can’t yet see but that exist in Jesus Christ!

And until what is ‘over there’ arrives ‘over here’, our faith is the guarantee that it’s on the way!

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For instance, FAITH told Abraham that he would HOLD his own son, but for 25 years he HELD nothing but God’s promise.

Faith told David he would one day sit as king of Israel when for 10 years he sat huddled in caves and open fields, stalked by a madman.

Faith told Elijah it was going to rain though 6 times his servant reported nothing but blue skies...

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So....Bible Faith brings a “confident assurance” that something we want is going to be provided by a prayer answering God.

It is the certainty that what we hope for is coming, even though we cannot see it up ahead.

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Well then, you ask, if I can’t see it then where is it?

It’s in Jesus! Listen to this:

“Jesus says yes to all of God’s many promises. It is through Jesus that we say, “Let it be so,” when we give thanks to God” (2 Cor. 1:20).

“He (Jesus) carries out and fulfills all of God’s promises, no matter how many of them there are; and we have told everyone how faithful he is, giving glory to his name” (LB).

“In Him lie hidden all the mighty, untapped treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).

So those things you need and are believing God for, based on the promises in His word, though invisible to your eye, exist in heaven in the Person of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

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For instance, You look at your bank account and what you need isn’t there—but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist....the provision you need is in Him!

Or you look at the loneliness of your life and see only emptiness—but the provision you need is in Jesus...

Or you wonder if anything can bring peace to your troubled soul, you don’t see a visible answer—but the PEACE you need is found in Jesus Christ!

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ILLUS: When you’re hungry and you get a pizza craving, just because it’s not on your table doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

You’ve got to call Dominoes and put in an order!

Listen: You don’t SEE the Dominoes man, or the oven, or the ingredients for your pizza, or the car he’s going to drive to get your pizza to you.

Yet when you hang up you are convinced your pizza is on the way!

You get your table ready, you get your money ready to pay the delivery man,

you PREPARE for the answer to your request because DOMINOES gave their word!

And within 20 minutes what you couldn’t see when you first requested it, comes knocking on your door!

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Now....If you can trust DOMINOES, managed by sinful, flawed people like you...

how can you not trust the God of the universe to get to you what He promised, though for a season you don’t see it!

Jesus told Thomas, “Thomas, because you have seen me, therefore you believe. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe!” (John 20:29)

Let’s stand and read together, “Faith is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen, the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.”

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Summary: 1. Faith believes what your eyes can’t see, 2. Just because something isn’t visible doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, 3. Faith is the assurance that what we hope for is coming.

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