Good morning and welcome to February. February 1, 2019 to be exact. So far it’s been a very mild winter (the people of Chicago can’t say that) I hope the mildness extends on. I see that we’re entering a warming trend and we’re expecting a high of 80 on Tuesday. Oh, to be a poor plant in Texas. To bud or not bud? Some of our ornamental trees will put out buds only to be killed a few days later by frost, and then they start all over again! New growth stunted by the forces of this world. I think there’s a whole sermon right there!
Well, what a tremendous life moving chapter we have before us today. This is one of those chapters in God’s Word that you could, well, spend a lifetime on. You could read this chapter every day for a year and still be gleaning wisdom, knowledge and encouragement from it. God’s Word is amazing that way isn’t it? So, what is so special about Hebrews chapter 11? Well, it’s subject and the amazing stories of its effects on God’s people moves the soul. The topic? Faith.
Faith and life in this world are polar opposites. They just don’t go together. The usual recipe is the world offers trials and we rely on ourselves to “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” and put our lives back on track. It kinda reminds me of the GPS on my phone. If I need to get somewhere, I tell my phone the location and it spits out a nice little clear set of directions. Turn here, go 4.8 miles then turn right on so and so road. It’s very clear and very easy to follow. It’s a nice set of rules for me, I like that because it’s easy for me and I don’t have to think...at all, I just drive. We might not admit it, but as humans we really do love rules and order. We want someone to tell us whats coming next. We want our route in life to be clear and concise and easy. Many people see their lives as the GPS directions. They greatly desire a nice clean, clear set of directions for every turn, stop and detour. But you know, life doesn’t give us these directions. The detours come suddenly, we get lost, the trip takes much longer than expected. Our car breaks down, we run out of gas. So what happens when you're on the road of life and you find yourself lost? If you have God, faith happens.
Faith in our world today is very, very funny thing. Some have it and some don’t. Some think it is like fairy magic and some think it comes from God. Some see it as taking a blind step in the dark and some see that same blind step as guaranteed by God. We see all kinds of motivational signs and memes about Faith today, but I want to get right down to the nitty gritty. I want to cut to the chase and get right down where the tire hits the pavement. Where does faith come from?
Naturally if you want to follow a clear line of logic you will need to understand where faith comes from before you can understand it and eventually hope to possess it on some level. As usual there is a HUGE difference between what the world says faith is and what God’s Word says faith is. Our world will tell us to have faith is to ‘just believe.’ Just believe that everything is always going to come out roses and puffy clouds. But what is that based on? Where does that faith come from. If that faith is a bank loan, who is guaranteeing the loan?
Let’s look at our key verses for the day:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Heb 11:1-3
I’ve heard a lot of definitions of faith but THIS is THE definition of faith FROM God. My friends, it doesn’t get any better than this. Let’s break down verse one.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for.” The word substance there is very interesting. The Greek word for substance is “hupostasis”, it is a scientific term that is the opposite of hypothesis or theory, meaning that it rests on the pure scientific facts in the experiment stages. For example, if you were to conduct a science experiment to determine the make up of a chemical compound in a beaker, you would perform certain steps to allow the compound to “settle out” or slowly flow to the bottom. It would become a residue, that is where we get the word “residual.” You see in a science experiment, it’s what’s left behind for us to examine. It’s what we will look at to determine the outcome of our entire experiment. What a tremendous picture we have here of faith. Faith is not just an intangible experience that cannot be seen or witnessed, it will leave behind a residue that can be seen. And this residue is what “we hope for.” Hope is expectation. So therefore, faith is us expecting to see God leave the residue of His Work in our lives. Wow…what a beautiful interpretation of faith.
Let’s move on to the second part of God’s definition of faith. “The evidence of things not seen.” The Greek word for evidence is “elegchos”. It is a Greek legal term that means “evidence that is accepted for conviction.” We don’t have to stretch our imaginations too much to make dozens of correlations here. We love our courtroom dramas don’t we? (I think that is yet another clear example of our inherited sin nature…we love to judge others and even see others judged) Whether it’s an old rerun of Matlock, or one of the hundreds of classic courtroom movies like 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird or A Few Good Men, we know of the tremendous importance of good evidence. Without bulletproof evidence the entire case can fall apart in an instance (the OJ gloves?) Now the phrasing here is very odd so let’s move slowly. God tells us we are to look for “evidence” of things not seen. What? How in the world could I put someone on trial if the evidence I have cannot be seen? If I were a lawyer and my evidence could not be seen, not only would I lose the case horribly, but they would probably offer me some psychiatric counseling! But yet, this is a vital part of God’s definition of faith. When you have faith, you cannot see it, but it’s there, there is evidence from God.
So, we’ve looked much deeper at God’s definition of faith but remember that our foundational question today was “where does faith come from?” Does it come from our belief in God? No, even the demons "believe" in God and tremble (James 2:19) Belief that a God simply exists does nothing. Do you get faith by being saved by Jesus. No. In fact, you must first have faith to believe in Jesus. The faith must exist before you accept Jesus. You need faith to believe that Jesus' death on the Cross can save you from your sins. Do you get faith by asking God for it? Not so much. So you’re saying, “Dan, I give up just tell me!” It’s right there in our verse…and as usual in the 5MC you’d be right if you guessed the Word of God. Faith comes from the Word of God. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17 You are saved by first being exposed to the power of Go's Word. You believe by hearing the power of God's Word. You receive faith from the power of God's Word. There is indeed power in the Word.
Let’s finish looking at the rest of our verse.
“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Heb 11:3
The Word of God has power that the world today cannot fathom. I believe that even most Christians today completely underestimate what God’s Word is and what it is capable of. All of existence begins and ends with the Words of God…literally! Our verse tells us that “the worlds were framed by the Word of God.” My grandad was a home builder and a carpenter. After the foundation of a home was poured the next step in the building process was to frame it. This was to install the base plate on the foundation and then frame the walls with studs and eventually top it with the rafters and joists. It is the skeleton, the backbone of the house. Without this, the house cannot exist and stand the test of time. God spoke and the frame of “the worlds” were created. Merely by the sound of His voice God spoke the worlds into existence. “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.” (Gen 1:3) God spoke and the power in His Words created the universe. Wow. My brain doesn’t understand.
Today we think just because the Bible is written down in words and those words are made of black ink, that they have somehow lost that power. My friends, not even close. God’s Words hold the same power as if He were whispering them into our ear Himself…which is exactly what he’s doing with the Holy Spirit as you read His Word! My friends, think on this. As you go to a quiet place and study God’s Word today, you are hearing the SAME voice that spoke light into existence. You are hearing the same voice that created every universe, even the ones scientists have yet to find. You are hearing God speak.
You know, here I sit in front of this computer writing this this morning. The words are forming in my mind and I am typing them into my computer. Those of you who are reading this at some later point are reading my words. I am not there with you but my words are. This is a great example of God’s Word. You cannot see Him next to you as you read, but THOSE ARE HIS WORDS! Wow, what a thought for us the next time we read His Word.
My last thought for you. We’ve looked at the definition of faith and we’ve looked at where faith comes from but what about using and building faith? I had a man tell me this and I have never forgotten it. In fact, it changed me. I have personally seen this ring true in my own life, especially in the last 3 years. He said, “Dan, faith is like a muscle, if you don’t exercise it, it becomes very weak. But if you exercise your faith regularly, just like a muscle, it will grow to be stronger and stronger.” How true.
You see, God tells us that faith is expecting to see God leave the residue of His Work in our lives and we will do this while looking for the evidence of this in things unseen. This in itself my friends, is one of the oddest things to do in our natural lives. To trust in things unseen, to expect things we cannot guarantee, is against every human bone in our bodies. It just seems so, well, it just seems so...uncertain. Don’t we as humans love to be certain of things in our life? BUT, when your faith is in God and you trust that He will not harm you, forsake, you or leave you. That all He wants is the best for you. That all things work together for good for those that love Him, my friends that is all the guarantee you need.
Margie and I have lived in this faith the last several years and let me tell you, we have the scientific residue that proves the experiment. We have evidence that is unseen that can still win the case. We live on this faith everyday and just like a bodybuilder we are exercising it daily. As we do it grows stronger and as a result, it can do more. It’s not easy, it takes work but believe me, oh how it’s worth it. To be able to walk in faith with a glorious, caring and loving Heavenly Father…there is no other way to live this life.
Be blessed in Him.
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