LIVING BY FAITH

SERIES: JESUS IS GREATER AND BETTER THAN ANYTHING

TEXT: HEBREWS 11:1-7

Dear young people of first Baptist Church Athi-river. Before we were disturbed and interrupted by the coronavirus (Covid-19) almost 5 Sundays ago, we were on a series of messages in Hebrews. Today let us resumes our studies online as we also invite those across the street and those around the world. My prayers is that soon and very soon we will congregate again at church. Let us encourage ourselves in the Lord. Let us believe that God is still in total control of the situation. He will bring it to pass. We also welcome the rest of the world to our church online. Please welcome our youth church and worship service online.

Faith is a common denominator, everyone alive daily expresses faith in something, no one can live a single moment without exercising faith. The fact that you are sitting on your chair, shows that you had faith in the chair to hold you.

Faith is also expressed in the spiritual realm. The difference between the faith we exercise in our daily life and our religions faith is the object of that faith.

Everyone places their faith in something or someone.

The Muslims put their faith in the Koran and in Mohammed. The Hindus put their faith in reincarnation and Nirvana. Some other people place their faith in themselves and their goodness – None of these can save the soul because their object of faith is wrong. Your faith is just as good as your object.

The Bible in Acts 4:12 insists that we personally put our faith and trust on the Lord Jesus Christ. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”

Today let us see what faith is and what faith does:-

I.  WHAT IS FAITH? (HEBREWS 11:1-3)

• First we must clear some misconceptions about faith.

1. The first misconception is that faith is the ability to manipulate God. The proponents of the “health and wealth” prosperity gospel.

• This approach sees faith as the ability to get from God what will make life easier and more satisfying for ourselves.

2. The second misconception about faith is that faith is merely holding to the right set of beliefs

• This position holds that a belief in the right doctrine is faith.
• But Paul says in (2Timothy 1:12) “I know whom I have believed.”
• Paul says “I know whom I have believed not what I have believed.
• If your beliefs are not founded on the right person it does not matter what else you believe.

3. The third misconception about faith is that faith is a blind leap into the dark. To many unbelievers faith is the opposite of science.

• Science believes that which can be ascertained through the 5 senses; seeing, tasting, hearing, touching, smelling.
• A leap into darkness is not biblical faith

4. The fourth misconception about faith is that faith is simply devotion to whatever god one happens to follow.

• What matter is that you are sincere, unfortunately it is possible to be sincerely wrong.
• So what does real faith look like? The book of Hebrews chapter 11, shows us what real faith is like. (Hebrew 11:1-3)
• Faith is the “Substance of things hoped for”
• Faith is the “Evidence of things not seen”
• “Substance” (hupostasic) in Greek means “to stand under or to support.
• Faith is the foundation that gives the believer the confidence to stand (under-standing)
• True faith stands on a foundation.
• J Oswald Sanders said “faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as soon”
• Secondly faith is the “evidence” the “conviction”
• Evidence is something you take into the court of laws to prove your case.
• This inward conviction enables the believer to believe things not yet seen, that God will perform what He has promised.
• Faith is a substance and evidence, substance is for the scientific mind, while evidence is for the legal mind.
• If you want to believe you can believe.
• The only thing that can keep you from coming to God is the sin of unbelieve in the heart.
• The problem of unbelief is always in the heart.

II.  WHAT FAITH DOES (HEBREWS 11:4-7)

• These verses reveals three characteristics of real faith.

1. True faith worships God – Abel (V.4) Gen. 4:3-7

• Both brothers, Cain and Abel sought to worship God by bringing their gifts before Him
• Man is a worshipper by nature, everybody worship either God, self or Satan.
• Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by God but Cain was not.
• “Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain”
• Cain held back from God in his heart, because true worship is when “All that you are, All that you have worships God for all that He is.”
• Abel chose the choicest lamb as an offering and he brought it to the place of sacrifice.
• Abel worshipped God in the “Truth and in the Spirit” (John 4:24)
• True faith worships God, in Truth means “revelation of God in His word. God has revealed Himself to both Cain and Abel.
• True faith looks for an opportunity to worship.
• True faith brings somebody to the house of God the place of worship. The true place of worship is called Jesus”
• True worship must come to the cross or the place of the cross of Jesus
• Cain made his own religion, all bloodless, crossless religions are humanistic and they fall short of the glory of God.
• Abel came to the place of blood, the fountain flowing on the blood of Emmanuel.

2. Second, true faith walks with God – Enoch (Heb. 11:5-6)

• The story of Enoch is found in (Gen 5)
• Enoch lived in one of the darkest period of the history of the world.
• Enoch lived just before God had to destroy the earth because of man’s evil.
• Enoch managed to keep himself pure. He walked with God.
• Enoch had not always walked with God (Gen 5:21-24)
• For the first 65years of his life, Enoch did not walk with God.
• But when his son Methuselah was born. He walked with God for 300years. When Methuselah was born, God spoke.
• Enoch walked with God through thick and thin.
• Through coronavirus and through curfews, job losses, financial and economic melt downs.
• He had sons and daughters in evil days – but he walked by faith.
• Enoch brought up his family in an evil age.
• Enoch pleased God (Heb.11:5) Enoch walk of faith delivered him from the consequences of death.
• God took him without having to die first.

3. True faith works for God – Noah (Heb. 11:7)

• The story of Noah’s generation is pathetic, the degeneration of humanity into sin (Gen.6:5-7)
• It was a time of wickedness, corruption and violence
• Noah’s story is one of the marvelous grace of God in saving Noah and his family.
• Noah stood alone against the whole world (Matt 24:37-39)
• Noah built an ark because he believed God.
• Do your works reflect your faith? Faith will make us work for God.
• Noah worked for God 120years, how long have you?
• Noah was a man of faith and conviction. He heard God speak and believed His word.

CONCLUSION

• It is faith that will give confidence and conviction that the coronavirus has been defeated and that your life is safe and secure under the blood of Jesus Christ.
• It is faith that will give hope in the midst of social economic and spiritual trials of the coronavirus pandemic.
• It is faith that will give the confidence and conviction for you to worship God, walk with Him and work for Him faithfully as Noah did.
• Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
• Our faith is built on the man Jesus Christ, the one who was once dead but now He is alive forever more.