One of our favorite family restaurants is Cracker Barrel. In fact we like it so much we keep a map in our glove compartment that tells where every Cracker Barrel is located and we often use it to plan our stops when going on vacation.Now, in my opinion there are lots of things to like about Cracker Barrel. First of all, the FOOD. It is GREAT. In fact, their vegetables are particularly good-sometimes that’s all we order! And secondly, even though you usually have to wait to get a table-that’s not a problem because they have a STORE full of interesting things to look at while you wait. And then, another “plus” about this restaurant is that, once you get a table, they bring you a big plate of piping hot country CORNBREAD and BISCUITS to munch on while your food is being prepared.
So there’s a lot to like about Cracker Barrel. But the thing I like most-other than the food of course-is they way they decorate. You see they hang all kinds of old farm tools and antique appliances and gadgets on the wall and I entertain myself while I wait for my food by trying to figure out WHAT THEY ARE and HOW THEY WORK. This always makes for some great conversation at the Adams table because even though we have eaten at every Cracker Barrel on the east coast, I still find myself stumped by something I see hanging on the wall and I go away wondering both what that “thingamagig” is and how it functions. I’ve decided that the next time I go, I’m going to take Lloyd Linn with me because Lloyd knows how everything works!
Now, most of the gadgets hanging on the wall at Cracker Barrel are not all that important, but this fall I want us as a church to learn about something that is VERY important-in fact it is absolutely vital in the Christian life. I am referring to “FAITH.” And we’ll study faith by looking at what I think of as the Bible’s “textbook of faith”-the book of James for, in this little New Testament book, James tells us a great deal about faith and how it is to manifest itself in the life of a Christian. In short, it tells us HOW FAITH WORKS.
Well, this morning, in order to build a good foundation for our study, I would like us to come to an understanding of what exactly FAITH is, and the best place to look for help in defining faith, is in the book that precedes the book of James-Hebrews. So take your Bibles and turn with me now to the 11th chapter of Hebrews and we’ll focus on verses 1-6.
1 – Now faith is…being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
2 – This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 – 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.
4 – By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 – By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
6 – And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Now-understanding faith can be difficult for us because we all struggle when it comes to defining concepts that our five senses do not allow us to perceive. For example it’s hard to define the concepts of happiness or love. You may remember that for a number of years one of the most popular comic strips in daily newspapers was sort of a running attempt to define these two emotions. Remember phrases like “Happiness is…a warm puppy?” Or “Love is…walking hand in hand in the rain?” There were hundreds of “ises” when it came to attempting to define happiness or love.Well, another concept that we find difficult to grasp is “FAITH.” In fact, attempts at defining FAITH have led to many misconceptions. Some people mistakenly think of faith as some kind of magical potion or power and that if we could just work up enough of this remarkable substance or feeling, or whatever it is, we could do anything. Other’s mistakenly think of faith as positive thinking-or as some sort of hunch.
But all of these feeble attempts at defining FAITH fall far short of an accurate definition. So, this morning I want us to dispel with misconceptions like these and set ourselves straight when it comes to understanding exactly what FAITH is-because FAITH is the most important concept any Christian or group of Christians will ever deal with. In fact there may be no more important word in the Christian life-than FAITH. It is found throughout Scripture-from Genesis to Revelation-because faith is the means by which we receive anything at all from God.
In fact our text for this morning tells us plainly that without faith, it is impossible to please God.
It is not difficult…it is impossible! It can’t be done. So it would be an understatement to say that an accurate comprehension of faith is important for any Christian or group of Christians for-above all things-we should aspire to please our Heavenly Father.
Well, the eleventh chapter of Hebrews is an excellent place to look in order to gain a proper understanding of Faith because it not only defines this concept. It goes on to cite dozens of examples of real live men and women who are known for their accurate understanding of faith.
Twice in this chapter it says that these people were COMMENDED for their genuine faith. Now, in his commentary on this text, Rick Warren cites six aspects of genuine faith and I want us to review them together this morning. So, take your outlines now, and lets define FAITH together. First of all this text says that Faith is:
1. ….BELIEVING when I don’t see it.
Look at the first verse: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Now, the phrases “being sure” and “do not see” seem to contradict each other but people who practice genuine faith know that they don’t because the Bible teaches that real faith ANTICIPATES. It visualizes the future in the present-It sees in advance, so it IS being sure even of what you don’t yet see.
Verse 7 reminds us that NOAH embraced this aspect of faith. Remember? He was warned about an impending flood. He had never even seen rain before, much less enough water to flood the world, but he was so sure of this future event that in faith He built the ark as instructed by God.
You see, true faith does not SEE and then BELIEVE….it BELIEVES and then it SEES. In short, it is believing in a future that you cannot see.
Now, you may wonder how it is possible for us to have THIS MUCH faith. Well, the secret lies in the OBJECT of our faith because, you see, when it comes to GENUINE faith, QUANTITY is not all that important. This is what Jesus meant when He said you only need have the faith as tiny as a mustard seed. No-it is the QUALITY of faith that really matters-and the quality of faith comes from that which faith is fastened to-the object of your faith. So, our faith can be strong if the object of our faith is strong-you can rely on your faith if the person you are putting your faith in is reliable.
The other night I was watching an old episode of The Andy Griffith Show and Opey was going through that stage of childhood in which he was enjoying his imagination. For example, he had an imaginary horse that he rode around the front yard and then tied up at the back porch when he came in for dinner. Well, one day, Opey came home taking about a new friend he had made in the forest, a man he called Mr. McBeevey. Opey told his dad that Mr. McBeevey had a silver hat and walked around in the tops of trees and had a special belt that made him jingle when he walked. Andy assumed this was just another manifestation of his son’s active imagination and let it go but when Opey continued to talk about this Mr. McBeevey and when he brought home gifts from this “imaginary” friend, well, Andy and Barney and Aunt Bea thought things had gone too far and that it was time to help Opey grow up and understand the difference between reality and imagination. So in one of those classic father/son talks Andy confronted Opey in his room and told him that he simply must confess that Mr. McBeevey was only imaginary otherwise he would be forced to give him a woopin. Well Opey got real quiet and then tears welled up in his eyes and he looked up at his dad and said, “I can’t say that Pa. That would be lying. There really is a Mr. McBeevey. You have to trust me Pa. You have to believe me.” Well, Andy looked deep in his son’s eyes and he knew him well enough to know he was telling the truth so he didn’t punish him. When he came downstairs, Barney and Aunt Bea asked him if he had “whoped” Opey and Andy said he had not. When they asked for an explanation he said something like this,
“I can’t understand how this Mr. McBeevey can exist. But I know my son and I trust him. Sometimes you simply have to trust in people even though you don’t understand why.” You see, old Andy could not see how this silver hatted jingling man who walked around in the tops of trees could exist-but he knew his son well enough to know that he was trustworthy. And so he decided to put his trust in Opey-even though he couldn’t see why. Later in the episode he discovered that Mr. McBeevey did exist. He was a telephone repairman who often climbed around in the tops of trees to repair down lines. He wore a silver safety helmet and thanks to all his tools he jingled when he walked! So, like Noah, Andy BELIEVED first and then he SAW.
And it is the same for you and me. Many times we will not SEE why we should trust in God. But in times like these people of authentic FAITH will put their trust in Him, even when they don’t see why because they know that God is absolutely trustworthy. Matthew Henry put it this way. “Faith demonstrates to the eye of the MIND the reality of these things which cannot be discerned by the eye of the BODY.”
And then a second characteristic of genuine faith is this. It is…
2. …OBEYING when I don’t understand it.
You see, faith is not only a way of SEEING-it is also a way of LIVING. Genuine FAITH is more of a VERB than it is a NOUN. Look at verse 8: “It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country God had promised to him. He left his own country without knowing where he was going.” Abraham’s faith motivated him to obey God even when it meant leaving his homeland and heading off for some unknown destination-a trip that must not have made much sense to him.
And the truth is many times God’s commands don’t make sense to you and me. Oswald Chambers said, “Common sense is not faith and faith is not common sense.” He is right for as it says in Proverbs 3, faith often requires us to “…lean not on our own understanding.” The fact that God’s instructions didn’t make sense to Abraham didn’t stop Him from acting on his faith. And his example teaches us that authentic faith is always characterized by action.
Look at the other men and women of faith listed later in this chapter. Their faith in the future made them ACT in the present because genuine faith is not passive. It is dynamic and forceful. Truly faithful people actively obey God day in and day out. Listen to the achievements of the lives of some of these heros of the faith recorded in this chapter, starting with verse 32: “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. (Hebrews 11:32-35) The faith-filled ACTIVITIES of these people have changed the course of history because their faith caused them to act in obedience to God!
I think that one of the first science fiction novels I read as a teenager was H. G. Wells’ “The Invisible Man.” If you read it or have seen movie adaptations of it, then you know that the only way you could tell if the invisible man was in the room, was if things were moving. There would be a teacup and a saucer going across thin air about this high. Or a hat would be hanging in thin air with nothing underneath it-or a door would slam. So, the only way you could tell the invisible man was there was by his ACTIONS-the effect that he had on the things around him.
And one way we see genuine faith in people who claim to be Christians is by their actions. As I reminded you last Sunday James 2:18 says, “Show me your faith without deeds…. I’ll show you my faith by what I do.” You see, the truth is people know what we BELIEVE by the way that we BEHAVE. So let’s ask ourselves this morning: What would people who know us and work with us-people who see us live our lives-what would they say we believe? This is an important question for us to consider because genuine faith is OBEYING, even when we don’t understand it and, one way we obey in faith is seen in the third aspect of genuine faith-as we…
3. ….GIVE when I don’t have it.
Now, have you ever wondered why God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s? Well, it wasn’t because God likes meat more than He does vegetables. No-the answer to God’s action in the book of Genesis is found here in Hebrews 11. Look at verse 4, “It was faith that made Abel’s offering to God a better sacrifice than Cain’s. Through his faith….God approved of his giving.” You see, Able’s offering was better because he gave the best from the first offspring of his flocks. He basically gave God his irreplaceable breeding stock. It took great faith to give this sacrificially. But Cain on the other hand gave so small an amount from his harvest that it required no real faith. Abel’s faith-FULL offering pleased God whereas Cain’s faith-LESS gift did not. And Abel’s example gives us a clear picture of this third aspect of genuine faith-for it is giving even when I don’t have it to give. It is giving when I cannot afford to do so-because when I give in this sacrificial way I force myself to trust-or have faith in-God.
Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth and told them of the faithful giving of other Christians in Macedonia. These givers were paupers-not knowing where their next meal would come from and yet Paul said that, “Out of their overflowing joy…they gave beyond their ability.”
Another great example of this is the widow of Zarephath. Do you remember that story from 1 Kings 17? During a time of great famine in the land, the prophet Elijah faithfully obeyed God’s command and went to this widow and asked her for bread to eat and a room to stay in. Well, she had no bread. In fact all she had was a little grain and some oil-enough for one more meal for herself and her small son but she took the grain and oil and made bread for Elijah. Now, for Elijah to ask for bread from this poor single mother may seem cruel but his challenging request was actually a service to her because it provided her with the opportunity to give in a way that would allow her to see God supply her needs. And God did, for during all the years of that famine, her flour bin was always full and her oil jar never ran dry-no matter how much she took from it to feed Elijah and her son. Giving all she had gave her access to God’s limitless supplies.
And you know, the purpose of giving of our tithes and offerings in the first place is to help us learn to trust God on a deeper level. Giving helps us learn that we CAN indeed rely on God when it comes to providing us with our needs-but for many Christians it is very hard to embrace this aspect of faith. It is hard for them to put their complete trust in God when it comes to their money! On his 75th birthday a man named Dudley was given a ride in an airplane. Dudley accepted the gift and so for about 30 minutes, they flew over his small town in West Virginia.
When they landed, one of the old man’s friends asked, “Were you scared, Dudley?” With some hesitation he said, “No…but then again, I never did actually put my full weight down on the seat.” Well, when we follow God’s leading and give beyond our ability to do so then our faith grows and we increasingly learn that we can put our whole weight down on Him. We discover that, as 1 Peter 5:7 says, we can “…throw the WHOLE weight of our concerns on God.” Real faith is giving in a way that teaches us to be more dependent on God..
This summer was so exciting for me. I still can’t believe it actually happened. I mean God invited us as a church to join Him in four mission trips-that’s four more than most churches do each year. Our youth built and repaired homes in Missouri. Some of our adults led a Vacation Bible School and helped renovate a church building in Puebla, Mexico. Others built a wall around a refugee ministry compound and led a VBS in an orphanage in Kenya and still others helped a new church start in New Hampshire. WOW! And, there was an incredible cost involved-tens of thousands of dollars-to finance these four mission trips. I can’t understand how we were able to shell out that much money and still be ahead of giving for this time last year. Then again, I do-GOD made this possible, because when we give to Him, He gives back. Giving when we don’t have it-gives us access to God’s resources and they are limitless. We must remember that-especially in the shadow of these mission trips-because we still have a lot to do in the last few months of this year, right here in Montgomery County. We must each give of our tithes and offerings just as sacrificially this fall if we are to meet this year’s budget and be able to do all that God has called us to do here in our own community.
Now, right now, pause and examine your own faith in giving. Ask yourself. Is your offering to God more like Cain’s or Abel’s? Remember, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 says, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but whoever sows generously will reap generously and God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” These and many other texts teach us that faith is giving when we don’t have it and then a fourth aspect of genuine faith is…
4. …PERSISTING when I don’t feel like it.
This is a difficult aspect for us to practice because our culture tends to say, “Base everything you do on how you feel.” In other words, if you feel like doing it, do it. If you don’t feel like doing it, don’t do it. Well, this is a guaranteed formula for an immature faith because immature people build their lives on feelings rather than on commitments. When you live your life based on how you feel you end up being manipulated by moods. You flip-flop around because you feel different from day to day. You know, I think a good way to define successful people is this: they do what most people don’t FEEL like doing. They develop habits that unsuccessful people don’t feel like developing, like using their time wisely and simply being persistent. Olympic athletes don’t get to the Olympics by doing what you feel like doing. Master musicians don’t become masters by practicing when they feel like it. Super salesmen don’t make calls just when they are in the mood. And godly men and women don’t get that way just by feeling like it. They become godly by persisting at doing God’s will even when they DON’T feel like it.
Now, how do you get that kind of persistence? Well look at Hebrews 1:27, “It was by faith that Moses left Egypt and was not afraid of the King’s anger. He held to his purpose like a man who could see the invisible.” What made Moses persistent? It’s that last phrase. He saw Him Who is invisible. Moses had his eyes on God. This is the key to persistence. Keep your eyes on God-not on your problems for, if you keep your eyes on God, He will give you the strength to persevere. And, we keep our eyes on God by spending time studying His word and talking with Him through prayer each and every day-in short by BEING WITH HIM!
I believe Steve took about 30 of our youth went on a retreat last weekend and while there they committed to give up some daily activity-like TV-for 40 days so that they could spend that time with God and that is wonderful! As adults we should learn from our teens in this because looking to our invisible God will give us the strength to keep on working on our marriage when we want to say, “It isn’t worth it. This is just too hard.” God gives us the strength to keep on working with our children when they don’t respond. He helps us to persist even in tough times.
And you know, when we persist-when we obey God-even when we don’t feel like it, our faith is tried it becomes stronger. Think of tough times in life as faith aerobics that push and pull and stretch and pound our faith and takes it to its limits so that its limits can expand. When we persist in our faith even when we don’t feel like it….it grows. For this reason Oswald Chambers said that “Faith by it’s very nature must be tried.”
And, then, a fifth aspect of genuine faith is this…
5. ….it is THANKING before I receive it.
A good example of this occurred under the leadership of Joshua. The incident is referred to in Hebrews 11:30 where it says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.” Remember this chapter from the history of the nation of Israel? God’s people had come to conquer the land He had given them and they found this fortified city.
Understand-they had been slaves for over four hundred years so they had almost no training as an army. They had few weapons. And yet they faced the heavily fortified city of Jericho. God says in essence, “Here is the plan. Walk around this city, once a day, for six days. Put the priests and the ark in front and have them blow the horns of worship as you walk in silence.
And then, on the seventh day, march around it seven times in this way. And on the seventh time give a great shout of praise and the walls will fall down.” Notice they were to put the priests and the music of praise first in the procession so they were to praise God for the city’s destruction BEFORE it actually happened.
Another example of this aspect of faith is seen again in 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Under the leadership of King Jehoshaphat the people asked for God’s help in dealing with the invading armies of the Moabites and the Ammonites. God instructed them to form a choir and put the choir in front of the army as it marched into battle, and as they marched toward the enemy hoards, the choir sang, “Give THANKS to the Lord, for His love endures forever.” When they arrived at the battlefield all they saw was the dead soldiers of the enemy.
The principle here is this. You praise God before He blesses you. You thank Him before it happens. Warren says, that “…if God tells you to go after Moby Dick in a rowboat, you better take along the tartar sauce.”…because, real faith is thanking God before I receive it.
And then finally FAITH is…
6. …TRUSTING even if I don’t get it.
Describing these heros of genuine faith, Hebrews 11:39-40 refers to this and says, “They were all commended for their faith yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better.” You see, all these godly men and women had faith in something they never benefitted from in this life. Abraham never saw the descendants God promised Him. Remember-they were to be as numerous as the stars in the sky and countless as the sand on the seashore? But He still had faith that this promise from God would be fulfilled. Joseph never saw the people of Israel leave Egypt to return to their promised land but he had faith in it and before he died, he basically said, “When you do leave-and I have faith that you will-take my bones with you!” Moses had a dream of going into the promised land but he died in the desert.
All of these people were truly great people of faith because they believed that God would give what He had promised even though they never lived to see it. Verses 35-40 contain a list of people, who risked their lives and even died faithfully working for dreams they never saw fulfilled.
Why would people do this? Look at verses 13-17 for an answer, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance…and they admitted they were aliens and strangers on earth. They were hoping for a better country…a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”
Now, what is the principle here? It is this. Faith is focusing on God’s kingdom. It is orienting our lives around things of eternal significance. It is living for the there and then instead of the here and now. Unfortunately most of the time we tend to focus our lives on temporary things. We take our eyes of the things that really matter-the things that really last. And this is a dangerous focus because it gets us off track and weakens our faith and can get us into all kinds of trouble.
When I was in high school I had a Honda Motorcycle. One afternoon while on the way home from church I got distracted by something or other. I’m not sure what but I looked away from where I was going for a moment. And that’s all it took because when I looked away the car in front of me stopped and I ran smack into it, denting their trunk with my chin and pretty much totaling my bike. For just a moment I lost my focus and I was hurt because I did. It is the same way in the Christian life. We will always get hurt if we focus too much on the things of this temporary fallen world. So, as Colossians 3:1-2 says, we must “…set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
In his classic work Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby writes to all Christians on this subject when he says, “God did not create you for time; He created you for eternity. If you just live for time, you will miss the ultimate purpose of creation. God uses your present time to mold and shape your future usefulness here on earth and in eternity. You need to orient your life to the purposes of God. Make sure you are investing your life, time, and resources in things that are lasting…..store up treasures in heaven.”
Well, where is your focus this morning? Are you living for the things of this world or are you faithfully living for the things of the Kingdom?
Would you like to have a faith that pleases God? Well then you must:*believe when you don’t see it,
- obey when you don’t understand it,
- give when you don’t have it,
- persist when you don’t feel like it,
- thank God before you receive it,
- and trust Him even if you don’t receive it in the here and now.
We always close our service by singing a hymn during which you have an opportunity to respond to God in faith. This morning God may be calling you to trust Him with your eternal destiny by deciding today to become a Christian. Or God may be calling you to follow Him to a deeper faith in some area of your life or to join this church. I welcome hearing your decision. Will you walk here to the front and share it with me now as we stand to sing?