Faithfulness

What/Who is Our Faith in?

A simple term, but one that for sure needs to be discussed and reminded of.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Faith

FAITH (πίστις, pistis). Reliance upon and trust in God; a central emphasis of Christianity.

As we go through tonight this reliance and trust in God will grow more clear in meaning.

Just start with we see faith is part of the fruit of the Spirit. So remember we grow deeper in our faith by the work of the Holy Spirit.

So we are going to look primarily at one passage tonight and that is the first seven verses of Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11:1-3 says:

Hebrews 11:1–3 ESV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Biblical Points

Our faith is in God. Let us begin with the question of:

Who is God?

What are some things you all think of when you think of this?

God is triune- define trinity

God is Holy- Isaiah 6:3.

God is transcendent and perfect in all good qualities

God is not bound by time and space

What is faith?

We all believe in God, but not all have faith in God. I think about a trust fall. In a trust fall we all know someone is standing behind us, but not all of us will exercise faith in that person. James 2:19

James 2:19 ESV

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Demons don’t exercise faith in God, they know of his existence but they want nothing to do with him besides to attempt to destroy him. They are more of don’t touch me and leave me alone.

Application

Study who God is.

Don’t just take my word or your parents or the worlds word on who God is. I can be wrong and your parents can be wrong. The world is gonna give you a thousand alternatives. Then also if you study the word for yourself you will have a deeper understanding. A stronger understanding. You will be better prepared to defend what you believe. Don’t just go with what feels right or what sounds good. You don’t want to base your eternity on just a hunch.

Faith is a heart surrendered to God with a desire to live according to His Word.

When we choose to put faith in God we fall into God and he transforms us. This transformation gives us a desire to proclaim Christ as savior and to worship him through following His word.

How Does a Life of Faith Look Like?

Hebrews 11:4-6 says:

Hebrews 11:4–6 ESV

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Really we could look at the rest of chapter 11 and discuss this, but for time sake we are going to look at only 4 through 6.

Biblical Points

The heart behind an offering matters.

God knows all hearts in detail. God knows rather your faith is genuine or if you are going through the motions.

Faith amplifies your impact for good.

God will use you in ways you never imagined as you faithfully pursue him. You will be amazed at what God will do. Do you think when Abel made his offering of fruit he would have the impact he has? Abel was living a simple life in gratitude of God and God has used it to literally impact millions of people.

Death no longer has power over those who walk in faith.

Life is limited by death. Death is when life ceases. As a lost person this limits you. When you are redeemed in Christ Jesus the limits of death no longer have control over you.

Faith in Christ makes us acceptable to God.

We can try a million different ways, but only one way will work. that is through Christ.

Application

Worship is more than action, it is also about the heart.

Abel and Cain both came before God with an offering, but only one was accepted. God knew their hearts. When you look closely at the offerings you see the hearts. Abel gave sacrificially, Cain did not. God knows if you are going through the motions or truly worshiping. In other words God knows if you are playing church.

Make the most of life, realizing with every moment you got potential to reach thousands positively or negatively.

Live fearless (2 Timothy 1:7).

We no longer have to live with the fear of death. Its power over us has been stripped. No longer is it an end to life, but a transition to even greater life. Now as people were we originally created to experience death? No, death did not enter into creation until the fall of Adam and Eve. So in a sense death is unnatural. Something unnatural is going to make you uncomfortable. To an extent fear of death is going to bother you, but its control over you will become more distant the more you grow in Christ. I am not necessarily afraid of death, but the when and how and leaving behind people hits me.

Lastly do you have faith in Christ? How are you doing in the ultimate trust fall?

I’m gonna use parts of a Lifebook for this last portion here.

Who do you say Jesus is?

Do you know him historically? literary? through your grandma? Or do you know him personally? Have you fallen into Him whole heartedly?

Also you got to ask yourself “Who are you?” as you contemplate who Jesus is. You must come to a realization you need Jesus as your savior. You got to realize you are not capable of saving yourself. Realizing you are unworthy of God’s grace.

As you answer these two questions you now need to ask yourself, “So, what will you do?”

If Jesus is your savior already, the answer should be you will be dedicated to spreading the gospel this school year.

If your answer did not include Jesus being your savior and you realize yur need for a savior you need to pray for salvation right now.

60 Second Gospel

Do you have a relationship with Jesus? YES or NO