Faith: Advent 4 (2025)

The movements and actions of faith

Often in our culture the definition of faith we would use is more about blind faith or believing in something strongly.

But biblically speaking - faith starts with belief, moves to trust, and generates an action.

Blind faith is like the entry point if you will… then it moves to trusting in what you believe… followed by an action.

Let me dial it in to a very small level…

You see a chair - you believe that the chair is a good place to sit. You make the decision to trust the chair for sitting… you act by sitting in the chair.

This is what FAITH looks like. Yet, that’s very low-level.

Let’s take it up another notch.

Say you need to fix your roof and someone gives you a number of a great roofer.

It starts with belief in the person that gave you the number. If they trust him, so should I.

So you call, the roofer gives you a quote and tells you a timeline. You start to believe in this roofer yourself.

And trust that this company will do the job and do it well. You trust them by scheduling a time for them to fix your roof.

And your action…is writing the deposit check and then letting them work on your roof.

And everyone has faith in something. But faith is only as good as what it is built upon. Or in the object it is placed in. If the chair doesn’t look like a chair and breaks, it was misguided faith. If the roofer does a terrible job, it was misguided faith. As one famous preacher once said, “You could have tremendous faith in very thin ice and drown or very little faith in very thick ice and be perfectly secure”

So ultimately, what we PUT our FAITH in MATTERS. for it will lead to the ACTIONS of our VERY LIFE.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

This definition comes on the back of “By faith” each of these great saints of the old testament did this or that. ACTION.

OR

2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we live by faith, not by sight.” —- some translations have it translated with even more ACTION — “Walk by…”

So let’s take it beyond the chair and the roofer and into something bigger.

What does faith in Jesus look like?

Faith is believing Jesus loves you - like cognitively. Then finding a way to trust him and his advice and his way. BUT FINALLY — LIVING INTO IT.

Walking it out. Living it out. Day in and day out.

At a practical level that’s… with your regular decisions.

“Faith is not that human illusion and dream that some people think it is… Faith is living, unshakeable confidence in God’s grace; it is so certain, that someone would die a thousand times for it. This kind of trust in and knowledge of God’s grace makes a person joyful, confident, and happy with regard to God and all creatures. This is what the Holy Spirit does by faith. Through faith, a person will do good to everyone without coercion, willingly and happily; he will serve everyone, suffer everything for the love and praise of God, who has shown him such grace.” -Martin Luther

You can say you have faith but when you don’t live it, it’s not actually faith. To say you have faith in a chair but never sit in it is not faith, at best it’s knowledge at worst it’s deception.

The man that believes will obey; failure to obey is convincing proof that there is not true faith present. To attempt the impossible God must give faith or there will be none, and He gives faith to the obedient heart only.30

A. W. Tozer

So when we turn to the Christmas Story… think about the faith exercised. Joseph, Mary, Wise men, shepherds. Let’s look at each of those before we turn to Christmas ourselves and pick up a measure of their faith.

Who’s faith can you be reminded of today in this Christmas story, pick it up, put it in your pocket, and carry it with you?

So today - I’m gonna preach it a little different. I’m going to take the definition of faith that we just heard. Look at 4 of the main characters of the Christmas story. And what I need from you is to collect the faith from these stories and stuff them into your heart.

The faith of others is one of the main ways our own faith grows.

Why? Because once again - faith starts with this - okay it works for them, it must work for me (remember the roofer)…

However, since faith is all worked out uniquely and in different ways through different trials and circumstances… we need LOTS of examples but also “walking by faith not sight”

Why do you think the writer of Hebrews wrote Hebrews 11 — with the HALL OF FAITH… he actually tells us in Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,”

To inspire our OWN FAITH.

Joseph

Matthew 1:18–25 NIV

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Where is faith opportunity?

The rocky moment where his fiancee says she’s pregnant… and he needs to decide what to do and how to do it with honor. Following God in the midst of the problem.

Where is the trust?

In the dream, the angel asked him to take Mary home as his wife and name the baby… But his trust comes when he woke up. He decided to do what the angel said.

What is the action step?

He decided to trust and then did it. Following through on his trust.

Where can we learn from Joseph?

Some would say that it’s having good dreams and then trusting them. But that’s actually not it.

Mary had told him that an angel came to her and this was the Messiah. — 1 source (a woman he trusts) An angel came to him — 2nd source Angel uses scripture to validate what is happening — 3rd source

One thing we can learn from Joseph is that it’s okay to wrestle with the complexity of the situation. Lay it before God, get confirmations that God is moving in a specific direction and then step into it.

There is way more there, and maybe something else spoke to you from Joseph’s ability to take his trust into action.

Let’s look at Mary.

Mary

Luke 1:26–38 NIV

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Where is faith opportunity?

You see it very early… “Mary was greatly troubled at his words” and then “How will this be?”

She’s being asked to be the mother of the Messiah. This is daunting and scary and really outlandish because it’s never been done before. This feels like crazy-town in many ways.

Where is the trust?

“I am the Lord’s servant”

“May your word to me be fulfilled.”

What is the action step?

This one is interesting but also helpful for us because the action step was more surrender than anything. After this, it just sort of happened. She just said - I trust you God, make it happen. And then it did.

Where can we learn from Mary?

This is what we can learn from God… to trust the plans of the Lord. But I want you to embrace her entire posture.

-Don’t be scared to question but with a humble heart. God… this is scary, I’m gonna need you. I don’t understand. This is too much for me. I’m not sure how this will work. God, why did this happen, why will this happen.

-I am the Lord’s servant. and May your word to me be fulfilled.

The posture of surrender and complete trust.

At some point we have to move from questions to trust. There’s no way Mary understood fully what the angel was telling her. But she did understand that God was going to do something remarkable and she just had to trust that God wouldn’t leave her or forsake her. That he would do what he said, that he has always been the WORD FULFILLER and so let it be DONE TO ME.

What does this mean for you in your faith journey? When do you move from questions to trust? When do you go from “Maybe God is real” to “I’m yours, God.” or “Maybe I can trust God in this?” to “Let’s go, God!”

2 more…

Wise Men

Matthew 2:1–12 NIV

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Where is faith opportunity?

This is one of my favorite stories because these are outsiders. These men are coming from faraway and are not Jewish. Yet, the signs in the heavens pointed them to something big, historic, even that they didn’t want to miss. So they pack up their gifts, and travel following the location of the star. They find out it’s in the land of Judah, in Bethlehem and they figure, this must be the king of the Jews.

So the faith opportunity came from them searching. Looking. Literally, searching the heavens for a sign. These are seekers, looking for signs from God in the sky and so God gives them one, draws them in.

Where is the trust?

The trust came when they began to look. Following the star. Asking for directions. There were plenty of places to doubt and turn around or give up. Or even give the gifts to Herod. But they knew the God that they didn’t even really know was drawing them to a baby. To a newborn KING.

What is the action step?

They bowed down and worshipped him.

This is huge actually, for they are not even quite sure who they are worshipping but they figured he was worthy of worship because of the signs they saw in the sky.

They brought him gifts.

Where can we learn from Wise Men?

The journey of faith is for anyone willing to look. If you search for truth it will always lead you to the same place. A King. Jesus.

The journey of faith isn’t just for the elite, the perfect, the close up, the ones raised in church, the ones that even already believe. It’s for those willing to look, to trust, and to respond.

Shepherds

Luke 2:8–20 NIV

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Where is faith opportunity?

The angels literally appeared to them. Said - HEY! LISTEN!

You gotta love it when a faith opportunity smacks you in the face. Unlike the wisemen, this one came to them.

Where is the trust?

It was between the moment of “they were terrified” and the end of the angel’s first sentence of “Do not be afraid.” For at some point they began to realize, this is a good thing. This is a cool thing. This is an amazing thing!

What is the action step?

Right here — “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

But then again here —- “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”

This is where the song “Go tell it on the mountain” comes from.

Where can we learn from Shepherds?

Be startled by what the Lord is doing.

Then go see it. Check it out, Enjoy it. Delight in it.

Then wherever you go, live it. Share it. Glorify and praise God for all the things.

I hope you see how faith works in the Bible and in your life. Let me end where we started.

Everyone has faith in something. But faith is only as good as what it is built upon. Or in the object it is placed in. If the chair doesn’t look like a chair and breaks, it was misguided faith.

There’s no firmer foundation than Jesus. There’s no greater way to build your faith than on the rock of Christ. This Christmas, stepping into your faith, and learning from the faith of those in the Christmas story, will be the most important thing for you this season.

Where are you seeing faith modeled this Christmas? Who around you is living out faith in a beautiful way and what does that mean for you?

Where can you step into faith?

Let’s pray.

How does your understanding of faith as belief, trust, and action impact your daily decisions?

What are some practical ways you can turn your belief in God into action this Christmas?

In moments of doubt, how can you remind yourself of the faith exhibited by figures in the Christmas story?

Can you identify a time when your faith helped you take a difficult step; how did that reflect the actions of Joseph or Mary?

Reflect on the quote by Martin Luther. How does living with 'unshakeable confidence in God’s grace' manifest in your life?