Resolve to Live by Faith

Resolutions

Happy New Year!

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions.

They never seemed to make a huge difference in my life or the ppl I’d see at the gym every year when were members.

What I saw when we were members of a gym in LR resolutions don’t stick.

One of my least favorite times of year to be a gym member was resolution season; January.

All these new ppl would show up in their Xmas gift matching sweats. New shoes would match. Sweat bands. The whole deal.

They had made a resolution that this year they were going to lose the weight and get in shape.

You know, after all the sweets, snacks, and calorie-laden adult beverages they had consumed over the Xmas and New Year season.

This was they year they were going to get in shape, finally.

They would show up and occupy the machines that I’d been using for months, even years.

They’d be doing 1 of 2 things.

Either busting as hard as they could, thinking the way to lose weight and get in shape is by all out sprints from the get go and lifting as much weight as their puny arms could muster.

And, of course, they poop out quickly, minutes.

Then you’d see them doing the 2nd thing. Standing, or sitting, idle, on the machine checking their FB to see how many ppl liked the pic they had posted 5 minutes ago of them at the gym getting in shape.

That was the first day. Always the first week of Jan.

The 2nd day, they were moving a little slower. That burn out on the treadmill burned up whatever muscle they had and the soreness had settled in. Deep.

Then, they skipped the burn out and went straight to sitting on the machine and check FB for whoever liked the pic they had posted the day before.

The long-term members would wait patiently for them to give up and leave so we could all get back to what we’d been doing for a long time.

It would last 2 weeks, maybe. They’d give up. They’d be gone. When the realization sunk in that getting in shape hurts, takes time, and is hard work.

We would enjoy about 4 months of the gym to ourselves again. Then the 2nd least favorite season of the year would arrive.

Pre-bathing suit season. And the same routine.

They’d dust off that matching sweat suit. The shoes were still new. And here we’d go again.

Once we got thru that, then the gym was ours until the next January.

I understand what was going on all too well b/c that we me for years.

I was more patient w/ them than some others b/c I got it.

How many years at Xmas, did I get a brand new pair of shoes b/c this year was the year I was going to get back down to my college playing weight.

I’d show up to the gym, drop in, and immediately burn out.

I saw the looks on the long-term members who were frustrated that I had taken up their time while they waited for me to quit.

The next day I’d be so sore I could barely get out of bed. It was easy to talk myself out of going back.

Which is the worst thing you can do. When you’re sore like that a light work out to work the stiffness out is the best thing to do.

And, if you stick w/ it, the soreness only lasts about 2 or 3 weeks.

Long enough to weed out those who’d made resolutions w/out the resolve.

I’d quit. That was me.

I’d make a resolution, but didn’t have the resolve to do it.

It wasn’t until I had a doctor tell me I needed to get some numbers under control. These numbers were too high; BP, cholesterol, and weight.

Then, I was motivated and I resolved to get after it.

It wasn’t at Xmas, but it gave me the resolve to get serious and make it a lifestyle.

For most of us, most of the time, it takes going thru something hard to find the resolve to make the change.

The of the change has to be easier than the pain of staying the same.

We don’t know what we can do until we have to.

Living by faith is that way. Making your faith a lifestyle choice.

You may have faith. Everybody has faith in something. You may have faith in God, faith in the name of Jesus.

But you may not have the resolve to live by faith.

This morning we’re back in the book of Hebrews. Ch.11 is the best chapter in the entire bible about living by faith. Examples of ppl who faced difficult situations and made the choice to live by faith thru them.

This morning I don’t want you to make a New Year’s resolution.

I want you to resolve to live by faith, every day, following the examples of those who’ve gone before you.

Find out what you’re capable of when you surrender and let God work thru you.

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions

But I am a big fan of resolving to live every day by faith, not by sight.

Faith Defined

Hebrews 11:1–3 NIV

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. 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.

Tony Evans, preacher and author in Dallas, says, “Believe that God is good even when life isn’t. Keep the faith.”

My spin on that is, “Live as if your future is good even if your present isn’t.”

Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 5:7

2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV

For we live by faith, not by sight.

Everyone has faith b/c no one sees everything.

The questions are, what, or who, is your faith in? And, why?

No one alive today was there when Jesus spoke and God created everything. No one saw it. We see evidence today. There are facts that our faith is based on.

But our faith fills in the cracks between the facts.

Faith is the foundation that steadies our lives when life is tumultuous, out of control. But it has to be faith in a solid foundation that is in control.

Confidence in what we hope for in the future.

Our faith is in Jesus. It’s in the name of Jesus. All the names that describe the character of Jesus. He came at Christmas. He died and rose at Easter. He is coming again.

Our certain hope is in his return, and also in his help until he does.

The assurance of what we can’t see. God is at work in good ways that we just have to trust in.

It doesn’t mean life wont get hard, or things won’t hurt. But what it does mean is that the bad times will work out for our good in time.

We can’t see it while we’re in it. But we can look back and see how Jesus was in it and how it has worked out for our good.

Until we can see that in our life, we can see how it worked out for those who went before us and lived by their faith when their lives were hard.

1 Peter 1:6–7 NIV

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

While were in it, we can’t see it. Once we get thru it. We know it’s real.

The rest of ch.11 is examples of people that we can follow.

Hebrews was sermon to c.1 Xians who’s lives had gotten harder than they expected. Their temptation was to quit on God, quit on the church, and find another way that would reward them w/ an easier life.

And what the preacher is imploring them to do is lean into their faith, live by their faith in Jesus. B/C he offers the reward they’re after.

The first 4 examples of ppl who lived by faith in hard times are about being accepted and rewarded by God for doing so.

Rewarded & Accepted

vv.4-16.

I’m not going to read this to you. It’s too long. I’m going to skim across the top and hit the highlights from the lives of these saints that are given to us as examples to live by.

Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham

Abel

Adam and Eve’s first son. He and Cain, their 2nd son, brought their offering to God. Abel’s was accepted. Cain’s was rejected. Why?

There was nothing wrong w/ the content of Cain’s offering. But, he lacked faith.

Think about that. Cain lacked saving faith in God.

Mom and Dad, in the Garden, presence of God, kicked out b/c they messed up. Now, their son does not believe in God. Doesn’t believe he needs God. Resents having to sacrifice for Him.

Parents, if you have adult children who don’t believe, don’t be too hard on yourself for what you think you should have done differently.

What could A & E have done differently? The history was recent.

Abel and his offering were accepted by God and he was rewarded. Cain was not.

Accepted and rewarded by God, and still he was murdered by his brother.

So much here to consider. You’d think he’d live a long and happy life.

But, then, also think about this. When you get to heaven, eventually you will come across Abel.

He’s the longest living resident of heaven. The first to die on earth. Won’t that be an interesting convo w/ what it was like to be the only human to be in heaven until another joined him.

Enoch

Enoch lived in a time when very few other ppl believed in God. Yet, he earnestly sought God. He wanted to be close to God.

He wanted that relationship when no one else around him did.

It says that w/out faith it is impossible to please God. Just like Cain learned, it is impossible to be accepted by God and rewarded by God if you don’t believe in God.

Master the obvious. We have to believe that He exists AND believe that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

It’s not enough to only bel that He exists. Many ppl bel that.

Seek him and He will reward you.

The story in Genesis about Enoch says he was taken up to heaven w/out dying. It was like Jesus’s ascension and what the rapture will be like.

Imagine his family wondering what happened. He disappeared suddenly.

Noah

Noah built a big boat, by himself.

By this time, Noah was the only believer on earth.

It took him years to build this massive structure on his own. He faced merciless ridicule from his friends and neighbors.

He did b/c God told him there was going to be a flood b/c it was going to rain for 40 days.

No one had ever seen water fall from the sky before. It had never rained before the flood. The atmosphere changed after.

Faith is believing in what you’ve never seen. God is at work in ways you can’t see until it’s over.

I’m sure he got his feelin’s hurt more than once. But those who hurt him were hurt far worse once the rain began to fall.

Abraham

Abe’s father was a Pagan priest. There was no family support or legacy of faith in God.

Yet when God spoke to him and said get up and go, he got up and went.

No one did that. Extended family was everything. They were support and provision in the family bsns.

They were protection against raiders and marauders.

But God promised Abe land and descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. He just had to go and claim them.

No itinerary, reservations at the La Quinta, no GPS directions, just go. And he went.

And, Sarah had to go, too. She had to have her own faith.

Then, promised a son. When the Lord told them, she laughed.

Her laughter was born of her doubt. Faith is not the absence of doubt. It’s confidence in spite of doubt.

It says Abe was as good as dead. Some of us are kind of old. He was older and look what he was able to accomplish when God promised it thru him.

When he arrived, all he saw was wilderness. No Jerusalem, no wall no nation. Eventually, he had 1 son.

He never saw what they would become. But he had faith to go anyway.

All 4 of these never saw the ultimate promise when they were here. They never saw what their family would become.

They lived by faith while there were here, they were accepted by God and rewarded by God. But the grand prize came once they were gone.

They were able to stay faithful, not perfect, but steady even though they didn’t get to see the big prize until they were gone.

We can live by faith daily, knowing we’ve been accepted and are being rewarded even though we won’t see how it’s going to end until we get there.

The next examples of faith he list are so we can see that faithful lives look different.

Just b/c my experience isn’t like yours, we can both still live by faith. Likewise, it does not mean someone who is doing things differently than me does not have faith.

Free to be Different

We all have our own experiences w/ God and we are all tested in different ways. As a result, our lives will look different. It doesn’t mean one is living by faith and another not.

Just all different and all faithful.

Abraham

He started w/ Abraham again.

God tested him by asking him to give up Isaac. God knew how it would turn out. But Abraham needed to know he really did love God more than his son.

Abraham’s faith assured him that whatever he gave up for God, God would give him something greater.

In this case, he bel’d, if he took Isaac’s life, God could give it back.

No one has been raised from the dead at this point. No Elijah and Elisha, No Jesus, No Lazarus, nobody.

Abe hadn’t seen anyone raised from the dead but he bel’d.

Whatever you sac for God in faith, He will give back something even better.

Give up your life and get his. Give up your ID, and get his.

Isaac, Jacob, Esau, and Joseph

Isaac blessed Jacob, the deceiver, the liar, b/c he was the son thru whom the promise would be carried out.

That’s on God. Isaac’s responsibility was to obey his instructions from God.

Faith doesn’t make us perfect, nor expects perfection. Living by faith lets God deal w/ everyone’s imperfections, including our own.

By faith, Isaac blessed Esau, too. Esau wasn’t even a believer. God will bless our unbelieving children when we obey God and bless them.

By faith, Joseph bel’d his entire family would return to the PL. He was so sure, he asked them not to bury him in Egypt when he died but bring his bones back when they settle there again.

Living by faith is confidence God will keep his promises in our lives regardless of the imperfections in those around us.

Moses and his parents

Moses’s parents faced severe opposition as slaves in Egypt.

Living by faith does not guarantee an easy life. It sustains thru life.

They risked their lives by hiding their son when Pharaoh had commanded to kill all the male sons of the Hebrews. Their population was growing. The Egyptians had an adequate number of slaves. They feared the growing number would lead to a rebellion.

Moses’ parents broke the law of Egypt but kept the law of God by not killing their son.

Their faith was rewarded when Moses became the leader of the nation.

Moses lived by his own faith. He chose to join the suffering of the Hebrews and chose not to be involved in the pleasures of the sinful lifestyle of the Egyptians, though he had every right as the adopted son of Pharaoh.

Just b/c a door is open does not mean we should walk thru. We may have all kinds of opportunities for bad behavior.

Living by faith means we don’t do those things. It will cost us. But the rewards are far greater.

Moses persevered and led the ppl up to the land God promised them thru Abraham.

The People

Belief always prompts behavior.

The ppl had to believe that the blood of the lamb would save their lives. Why else would they paint their doorposts w/ something so gross?

But, b/c they believed and behaved, the angel of death passed over their houses and their firstborn lived.

Those that didn’t, didn’t.

The ppl believed in the miracle and the Messiah.

They bel’d the miracle of the sea parting would allow them to escape certain death and the Egyptian army.

They walked out by faith believing they would successfully arrive on the opposite shore.

Normally, it would be certain death to wade into the sea. But the sea parted allowing them to walk to the other side on dry land.

The Egyptians believed in the miracle, but not the Messiah. They too started across on dry land. But before they could reach the other side, the Messiah released the water and it trapped the entire army.

Joshua led them into the PL and around Jericho.

God promised they’d succeed and occupy the land.

The fortified walls of the city seemed impossible to penetrate.

But when they marched around it and yelled the walls fell down.

God promised victory over our enemies even w/ unconventional means when we surrender to his instructions and let him fight for us.

Rahab the prostitute survived the invasion by faith. She protected the spies and God rewarded her and her family.

Later, she married a man named Salmon. They had a son, Boaz. Boaz married Ruth. And they are King David’s grandparents, and in the lineage of Jesus.

By faith, no one’s past behavior cannot be redeemed and future cannot be blessed.

We get to v.32, and like any good preacher watching the clock he realizes he doesn’t have the time to get into everyone’s story.

He quickly mentions Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel. He implies the stories from Daniel and the lion’s den and his 3 friends in the furnace.

By faith they survived. Jesus didn’t put out the fire. He joined them in it.

The weak became strong. Women rec’d their dead back to life. Elijah and Elisha, Jesus, all raised sons, daughters and brothers back to life.

What seemed like losses, proved t/b victories.

You may feel like you’re losing right now. But, in time, b/c of what you cannot see, you will realize victory.

Live by Faith

None of us realize what we can do until we have to.

When we go to the gym, we don’t know how fast we can go or how long we can go until we do it.

We don’t know how strong our faith is until it’s tested.

In all of these people’s lives, none of them received the big promise until they left this life.

Confident of their hope. Assured of what they could not see. They forged ahead, one foot in front of the other and discovered what felt like a loss was in reality a victory.

Live by faith. Live as if your future is good even if your present isn’t.

My life of faith may look different that yours and that’s okay.

We can live by faith even when no one else is. We can earnestly seek God even when we’re the only on who is.

Our feelin’s might get hurt.

We may be called to go where we’ve never been before.

We may only see a wilderness where one day there will be a nation.

We can see that we can’t see what good will come.

Whatever we sac to God, He will give us back something greater.

We can see past our imperfections and bless those around us anyway.

We can face opposition and still keep God’s laws.

We can believe the blood of lamb will save us. We can believe in the Messiah and his miracles.

We can believe we will defeat our enemies when we surrender to God’s way of doing things.

We can believe no past behavior is beyond redemption.

This morning I don’t want you to make a New Year’s resolution.

I want you to resolve to live by faith, every day, following the examples of those who’ve gone before you.

Find out what you’re capable of when you surrender and let God work thru you.

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions

But I am a big fan of resolving to live every day by faith, not by sight.