Sermon Tone Analysis

Prayer

Lens of a Conspiracy

If you believe a conspiracy to be true - I mean, really believe.

You’re a true believer, then it will absolutely color the way you see world and everyone else around.

For instance, if you’d bought wholesale to McCarthyism, Red Scare, that there were Communists who had infiltrated every level of government and all the major institutions of American society - it would affect the way you’d look at all those things.

You’d have to be careful which movies you watched…looking to see if you could catch coded language woven into plot (after all, if a Commie is making this movie, sure to be propaganda).

Same thing with newspapers - could you really trust them?

Better find an alternate source of news, a reliable source (sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it?!)

Government officials would have to be worst.

Scrutinize what they say in speeches or what legislation they’re trying to pass.

Impact the way you saw your neighbors, eye them with a little more suspicion, especially if they had telltale signs…hair’s too long…don’t fly their American flag on all the appropriate holidays…university they went to, drive foreign car.

Change how you acted based on what you believe to be true

True for us as well, if we believe - true believers - in what Dallas Willard calls, the divine conspiracy.

That God is working out his great plot to rule world, but all largely behind the scenes, almost in the dark, unnoticed by most.

This is great conspiracy.

Bible talks about it in terms of the coming of the Kingdom of God - that Jesus is the true king, that he is Lord of heaven and earth, and he will one day reign absolutely over everything and everyone - in the heavens and on the earth and under the earth.

And that it’s happening, right now, here, in our midst.

Conspiracy because most people are completely unaware.

Have no clue it’s happening.

Reason we’re calling it The Christmas Conspiracy is because it really begins here at Christmas, with the birth of Jesus.

We talked a couple of weeks ago that even though heaven was paying huge attention - they were locked in - to his birth, most of the world was asleep (literally and figuratively), had no idea that the True King of all world was being born that night.

That’s not even the whole conspiracy - as we talked about last week, he’s coming back!

He’s going to fulfill his reign, everything under his will, everyone having to give account to God, who is Judge of all.

And for those who’ve been eagerly awaiting his return, who are true believers in this great divine conspiracy, they (we, I hope and pray) are going to share in his divine life and power and glory and reign with him forever in his kingdom.

That’s it.

That’s the divine conspiracy.

This morning I want to dig in more about what it looks like to believe the Christmas Conspiracy.

Message about faith.

Really, faith in action - because what you believe, truly believe, will be revealed in your actions.

Just like those true blue McCarthyites, and idea that Communists were everywhere colored way they saw the world and how they acted, that’s true for us as well.

This is our main point this morning, that faith - by faith, I mean trusting, relying is always proved by our actions.

Faith in Jesus means embracing Divine Conspiracy.

It’s demonstrated by our actions.

Does the reality of Kingdom of God and its coming color the way we see everything and how we live our lives.

Let’s talk a little bit about faith.

A great way to do that is by looking at Hebrews 11, great faith chapter of the Bible.

As we look at first part of Hebrews 11, we’re going to see three things.

One, a definition of what faith is.

Two, examples of people who lived by faith, and three, what their faith was in, what these people were trusting to be true.

First, what faith is - right in beginning, Hebrews 11:1-2 -Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

This is what the ancients were commended for.

Confidence in what we hope for, assurance, certainty of what we do not see

To be clear, this is not talking about blind faith.

I believe it just because I believe it.

This is not faith without reason or evidence.

Faith in things that are unseen, things that are beyond the physical.

Things that cannot be tested, not subject scientific method.

All of us believe - are certain of - things we can’t see or touch or taste or hear.

If you believe that love is true thing.

Justice is real (actions and decisions are truly just or unjust).

Beauty.

Truth itself (the truth).

Faith is being certain that these unseen things exist.

Faith is always demonstrated by action, so the writer of Hebrews then takes us through a list of people who demonstrated their faith by what they did, Faith Hall of Fame.

Let me give you three of those examples.

Hebrews 11:4, By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did.

By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.

Two brothers, both of whom made offerings to God, but somehow Abel’s offering was better, pleasing to God.

Because he made his offering in faith - even though he couldn’t see God, trusted God was there, offered it with a heart believing that and wanting to please God.

Rather than just going through the motions, it’s simply a ritual you’re supposed to perform (clearly more of Abel’s heart).

You can see how same thing might be true of how we come to worship and offer all we do in worship…(sing songs - to God, more worried about others around me, listening right now…)

vs. 7, Noah - 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 is in keeping with faith.

When you’re on this side of the story, it’s clear that Noah should have built the ark.

But can you imagine building a 300 foot boat in the miles from the ocean when there wasn’t a cloud in the sky?!?

It would have taken him years!

Can you even begin to imagine the ridicule and mockery he had to endure from this neighbors?

They would have thought he was biggest fool ever (Captain Conspiracy himself)

When warned about things not yet seen, by faith Noah...

v. 8, 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.

God said to Abraham, Just go.

Leave your homeland.

Leave all your family.

Go.

Where am I going?

I’ll let you know when you get there.

Just go.

Abraham didn’t know where he was going.

Couldn’t see it.

But he packed up his stuff and got his family together and they went.

Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

None of these people saw what God was promising.

They trusted God would be good to his word.

And they acted on that faith.

Abel made his sacrifice.

Noah built one heck of a big boat.

And Abraham just went, didn’t even know where to, he just went.

And this is just the beginning of the list, the chapter goes on for 32 more verses.

Here’s critical part.

Not just that they had faith, trust, that was demonstrated by their actions - but who they trusted.

What did they hope for?

What was it that they couldn’t see, but were so certain of?

Because the question isn’t just, do you have faith (we all do) but what or who do you believe in?

Most of us trust ourselves a lot - we trust our judgment, what we think is right, or that we know what is best for ourselves.

We’re told that all the time…follow your heart, as if it were most reliable indicator of what is best for you.

As a culture, we have tremendous amount of trust in science.

The science says.

We always want the science on our side, because what are you supposed to trust?

The science.

Problem is, we think science can answer questions far beyond its scope - who we are as humans?