Finding Faith in the Foundation

Introduction

I have three sons and my youngest is in kindergarten a grade in which my older two have experienced. Many of us had a program called hooked on phonics in which it would break words down phonetically in effort that you build primary reading fundamentals in hopes that you can build off of those fundamentals to help you become a well rounded student. Now these students have “Fundations” which serves as a foundational prevention program to help reduce reading and spelling failure.

Fundations is a foundational approach to education from a preventative lens. The preventative measures are done intentionally before a child reaches the third grade, typically by the third grade a child’s ability to read or inability to read determines their life long success. The number of prisons America builds is typically dependent on literacy rates for children in the 3rd grade. Similar to preventative, foundational strategies for reading faith works in a similar fashion, when we preach faith from a reactive space it is not as effective as if we would teach people what the foundations of faith look, sound and feel like. Walking by faith is a way of life.

Hebrews 11 is the highlight reel of faith. We see the great facets of faith exercised by some of the most familiar stories we read about biblically. Understand that faith is not a luxury, it’s not something we pick up when our situations seem bleak. Faith is truly a necessity. Faith is not just reserved for the hero, it’s paramount for everyone. We need faith to worship, we need faith for service we need faith for tough times as well as jubilant times. The challenge is when we ignore faith we typically end up sinning.

On Sight

One of the first ways individuals learn to read is through understanding the sound of each letter before understanding how those sounds work together to create words. In elementary school once a child understands the sound they learn these words called sight words. Easy words like cat, bat, hat, be, see and he. Nonetheless if I don’t know what sounds the letters make I can’t conceptualize how those words work together to make these words. If I have no idea of how faith works there’s no way I can understand God’s true purpose in my life.

Hebrews 11:6 “But 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 diligently seek Him.”

This verse almost serves as a public service announcement in the midst of reminding us of what faith looks like. We have to be careful when we are looking at these stories that we don’t become enamored by the word and miss the fact that without faith none of this would even be possible. Yes Abel was a martyr and gave a more excellent sacrifice but without faith that’s not possible. Yes Enoch did not see death, Yes Noah built and ark and saved his entire household but without faith none of this would be possible. We have to be careful that we do not become so enthralled by the work that we believe that can we work our way into righteousness rather than understanding that all of this took faith in God.

Ask yourself the question, what did these people see! Faith shows me that they saw God! They saw what it took to please God, they saw that they needed to believe in God. The reward from faith was the faith that these individuals diligently sought God!

Pleasing God Requires Faith

A fundamental tenet of pleasing God is obedience. In effort to remain obedient no matter the circumstance comes from the fact that they had faith.

A foundational principle of faith is seeking God. What does it mean to seek God? Seeking God means to exert considerable effort and care in learning something.

Acts 15:17 “So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who does all these things.’”

We seek so many things in effort to make our life better. We have to ask ourselves who are we trying to please? We look for ways to make more money, live a healthier life, we look for ways to strengthen our family. The reason why we aren’t building better is because our foundations aren’t properly manufactured. If we think we can build anything without properly exercising faith we are sadly mistaken. If we are looking for deliverance we must turn from human wisdom to total reliance on God’s revelation. When we walk by faith it leads to fellowship with God that even death cannot interrupt!

Faith and love work hand in hand. Romans 8:38–39 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Faith can’t only be used as a reactionary tool to mishaps, faith has to be a preventative tool of deliverance!

Faith is Required

The first requirement of faith is to believe that God exist. We witness this from the beginning of this pericope.

What is seen arises from what is not seen! The message version of Hebrews 11:1 states “the fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.

We see God as a rewarder, we ask Him for blessings but in order to experience God as the all powerful creator we first have be faithful enough to seek him regardless of the circumstance.

Understand that faith is what set our ancestors apart from the crowd! In order to approach God we must both believe that God exists and he cares enough to respond to those who seek him! Even when life seems dark and dreary I’m diligently seeking him.

Do I have confidence in God when life doesn’t look like I thought it would. Do I have confidence to trust in God when ministry is looking like I thought it would? Do I have the trust in God to keep going when everyone around me keeps telling me that what I’m working on will never work! Righteousness and faith work hand in hand. Romans 4:3 “For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”” Your belief in God is a direct reflection of how obedient you’ll be when storms show up!

Let’s Celebrate Faith

Faith ought to be celebrated! Faith says that even though I have never seen it done, I trust God like it’s been done before. Faith allowed Jesus to sacrifice His life because He knew God controlled the outcome. When I know that true faith won’t separate me from God even in death I don’t care what I have to go through because I know God controls the outcome. The cross was doable, the persecution was withstood, the grave had no power because I know who controls the outcome! It’s interesting that we exercise faith in many facets of life but when it comes to God we start being skeptical!

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Faith, Example Of

Faith is central to all of life. For example, you go to a doctor whose name you cannot pronounce and whose degrees you have never verified. He gives you a prescription you cannot read. You take it to a pharmacist you have never seen before. He gives you a chemical compound you do not understand. Then you go home and take the pill according to the instructions on the bottle. All in trusting, sincere faith!

If we can do that, we ought to be able to trust in God regardless of the circumstance! Faith is going to sustain ministries when people doubt! Faith is going to sustain your marriage when nothing seems like it’s working!