Living by Faith

 Faith isn't optimism. The difference? Optimism is an 85 yo man marrying a 35 yo woman & moving into a 12-room house next to an elementary school!"1 Faith is a childless 99 yo man & his 90 yo bride hearing God say they'll be parents & then believing their offspring will fill the whole earth, not just a schoolhouse. How can that happen? Learning to live by faith. What does that even mean? Let's look at Heb 11:1-3, 8-16. The starting point? Just what is faith? 1Faith is being sure of what we hope for. Certain of what we don't see. God values that faith. 2The ancients were commended for it. 3aBy faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command. Science says it was a big bang. All matter was condensed into a point. Then it exploded to create the universe(s). And it's still expanding. Scripture says God spoke all that is into existence. 3bWhat's seen, all that is, wasn't made out of what was visible. God created all that is out of nothing. No big bang. Everything we can see & understand says it happened naturally in some way. How could we believe God created it from nothing? It takes the faith God values. 8aGod told Abraham to go someplace he'd receive later as his inheritance. Imagine the conversation. God: "Go." Abe: "Where?" God: "Go. I'll make it worth your while." Abe: "OK, what direction?" God: "Go. I'll tell you later." What would you do? 8bBy faith Abe obeyed & went. He left brothers, sisters, family, friends, & all he knew. Only his wife, dad, & nephew came along. That's faith. 8cHe didn't even know where he was going. Faith. 9aBy faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country. God promised the land. Someday. So, Abe made it his home. But he was a foreigner. So, 9bhe lived in tents all His life. Why stay? Faith that God would do what He promised. 9cSo did Isaac & Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. None of them received it. None saw anything happen in their lifetimes. They all hoped. Despite all the facts, they were sure of what they hoped for. Why / how? Because of Who promised it. 10He was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect & builder is God. Not just Jerusalem. Abe saw God's KoG, on earth. The new Jerusalem. And guess what? God gave him his inheritance. He's there waiting for us. When God promised a child, 11bAbraham was past age. Who sires a child at 100yo? 40's? Probably. 50's? Maybe 60's & on? Rarely. (And for most, God forbid!) And that's just Abe's problem. His wife? Her condition made it impossible. 11cSarah was barren. For all her 99 years. What woman gets pregnant at 99yo? As far as I know, only one. Sarah. Humanly, for them to have a child was impossible. But that's where God starts. For God, all things are possible. He delights in proving it & did so for Abe. 11aBy faith, he 11dwas enabled to become a father. Why? 11bHe who made the promise considered him faithful. God honors the faith (trust) that God will do what He said, even it's impossible. Abe had that faith. And so? 12aThis one man was as good as dead. And God did the impossible. 12bFrom this one man came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. As countless as the sand on the seashore. God is faithful. God did the impossible, just as He promised. Even so, during His lifetime Abe got only a small down-payment on God's promises. God promised all Canaan. Abe owned only a field with a burial cave. God promised a host of descendants. Abe only had one, Isaac. That's how it worked for all in God's hall of faith-heroes. All lived their lives with the faith that God would do what He said. In their lifetime, or beyond. And so 13aAll these faith-heroes were still living by faith when they died. They may have gotten a down payment. But 13bthey didn't receive all the things God promised. David foresaw the descendant that was His Lord. But like all of them, 13che only saw the fulfilled promises & welcomed them from a distance. Like Abe, 13d the faith-heroes all admitted they were aliens & strangers on earth. Pilgrims headed home to their land. 14Such people show they're looking for a country of their own. Seeking God's KoG on earth. After all, God promised. And we all have a down payment (the Holy Spirit). But compared to total fulfillment of all God promises, even the Holy Spirit is a small down payment. (Think about that!) Waiting may be the hardest thing for us to do. But because of the hope they had, these faith-heroes could endure even waiting. 15If all these faith-heroes had been thinking of the country they left, they could've returned. But looking backward isn't faith. Faith looks forward. 16aSo instead, they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one. The New Jerusalem. Heaven coming down to earth. God's KoG. Longing for it, they kept looking forward to it. They kept on looking forward, not back. They believed & trusted: God would make good His promises-however impossible. By doing so, they honored God. 16bTherefore God isn't ashamed to be called their God. The result? 16cHe's prepared a city for them. New Jerusalem. Heaven on earth. The KoG. What's impossible for us? Perfectly obey God? Wait without evidence that God is working? Not knowing when God will do what God promised? Not even how He'll do it? Remember. God always fulfills His promises to His people. Maybe immediately. For sure, ultimately. Not receiving? Check Scripture. Did God promise? What if we're praying for relief from suffering? For a family member to accept Christ? What if we've waited & waited? Years. Once again, don't forget. We walk by faith. Not sight. So, wait with hope. How? Remember that God is faithful. Trust that God will answer, in His time. He may give us what we ask for. He may give us something better. But if we keep insisting, He may let us have it even though He knows won't be good for us. So, choose His will. Pray, but leave the answer to Him. Pray. Then add, "nevertheless, Your will be done in my life." Even if we suffer while we wait, we can still hope. Our surety? If now isn't His time, God is preparing us for a greater blessing. We have to wait until He's prepared us for it. What does it look like to have the faith God honors? Look at Jas 2:17, 20b, 26b. 17Faith, if not accompanied by action, is dead. Worse than dead. 20Faith without deeds is useless. Yes, 26bFaith without the deeds of faith is dead. If we have the faith (trust) God honors, our works will also honor God. True faith = Trust + obey. Now look at Dan 3:13, 15-18. Their faith? Hope that God would save them, either in this life or into the next. Either way, they'll obey God. No worshiping idols. Lastly, hope is based on eternity. How so? What's really important in life? What we do? What we have? What we live in? Where we live? No. What's really important? What we look for. We orient our lives around whatever we look for. Look for eternity. As we trust God, our trust becomes so sure it'll bring into our now Christ's return, resurrection, glorification, a place in Heaven, & our coming reign. We'll be resurrected into new life now. We're sure He'll glorify us. Sure we'll reign with Him. As we keep trusting Him, we bring the future present. Feeling short on the faith God wants us to have? I know I do. Here's the Good News. Jesus Christ has that faith. Know what that means? When His Spirit is in us, we have it, too. We don't have to hope & trust with that kind of surety all by ourselves. We have help. Let's pray. 1 George Sweeting, a past president of Moody Bible Institute, cited in Preaching the Word, Hebrews, in loc. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ Living by Faith - Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Page 1 of 1