Well, let me add my welcome. My name is Sam, I'm one of the pastors here, and it is good to get to open God's Word with you tonight.
Keep that passage open in front of you.
Just recently I had the chance to be at a conference, and something they did as part of the conference was pay tribute to someone who had achieved something significant.
His name is Professor Graham Clark, so he's an Australian professor, and he is the man who invented the bionic ear.
And as impressive as his achievement is, what I love about his story, and many stories of people who have done significant things, is where those stories begin.
It's to think that to get to the point where he actually achieved his goal, there was a moment where that dream was birthed.
And what you may not know about him is Graham Clark grew up with a father who was deaf.
I actually found out this morning that one of our morning parishioners, Marie Farley, went to university with Graham and actually knows him.
And she was giving me all sorts of extra details.
So Graham Clark, growing up, had a father who was a pharmacist and had a chemist, and he was completely deaf.
And the incredible challenges that his dad faced were what birthed a dream for Graham Clark to ultimately be able to deal with that issue and fix it.
And it's a really exciting thing, I think, to not just see the finish line, but to see the journey that was taken to that greatness, to that significance.
And I wonder if when you hear stories like that, or stories like we just read in Hebrews 11, if there's a part of you that thinks,
I wish I had a vision like that.
I wish I had a dream for significance.
I wish I had something that I was just going to achieve.
I wish I could somehow imagine me being the one achieving something great.
What if it's there and you just haven't seen it yet?
What if the path to greatness is right in front of you, but you just haven't taken the steps to walk down it yet?
Throughout Scripture, there are many, many people who have achieved great things for God.
And in every single one of them, there is a common ingredient.
Faith.
The passage we just read in Hebrews 11 is sometimes known as the Faith Hall of Fame.
We think it's this list of kind of faith superheroes, people who just had incredibly massive and impressive faith.
But actually, Hebrews 11 is not about them.
It's about faith.
And faith is about God.
The superhero, if you like, in Hebrews 11 is God himself.
The powerful one in Hebrews 11 is God himself.
Faith is the thing that achieves significance for everyone in Hebrews 11.
The same faith that all Christians have in the same God.
See, faith isn't just about getting a ticket to heaven.
Faith is a foundation.
Faith is a power that God wants to unleash in your life.
Not just an end point power or an end point destination.
It's a foundation and a power that can be unleashed in us to achieve something significant in our lives now.
This is week three of Activate.
If this is your first week here or you've been away for a couple of weeks,
all the excitement that you walked past on your way in is Activate.
It's that time twice a year where we stop and have a chance to connect and serve in church.
So there's a chance for joining small groups.
There's a chance for committing to doing ministry.
And one of the questions we've been asking over the last three weeks is,
how can you invest yourself in the work that God is doing here at St. Paul's Chatswood?
So how can you be a part of caring for people who are in need?
How can you be a part of bringing hope to people who don't have it?
What part can you play?
And really the question behind that question is the one we're looking at tonight.
The question is, what would your life and my life and our life together look like
if we genuinely shared the faith of those who have gone before us?
I mean, as we begin to dream about that possibility,
dream about the possibility of God's power achieving something significant in us,
we need to be clear on what we mean when we say faith.
It's not a blank check.
But what do we mean?
First off, let's be clear on a few things that faith isn't.
Firstly, faith is not blind and it's not baseless.
I think I've said to you guys before,
faith is a word that sometimes gets substituted for belief.
And they're close, but they're not exactly the same thing.
If I was to climb onto the roof of the church and decide that I wanted to fly,
it doesn't matter how hard I flap my arms,
if I jump off, I'm going to fall and I'm going to fall quickly.
Because there's no basis for the belief that I can fly.
Faith is actually about the thing that you believe,
more than how much belief you have.
See, desire is not a sufficient basis for faith.
It doesn't matter how much I want to fly or how much I believe it,
there's no basis for either of those things.
The thing that I'm trusting in, the object, is what defines faith.
So every time I'm driving in my car and I press on the brake,
I'm placing my faith in the brakes to work and to stop me before I have a crash.
But it's not my belief in the brakes that makes them work and helps me stop.
It's the functionality of the brakes.
It's actually their ability to stop the wheels in such a way that I don't hit another car.
My belief in the brakes, if they're not functional, is irrelevant.
I'm still going to crash.
It's the functionality of the thing that I'm trusting,
that I'm believing in, that I'm depending on.
What matters when we talk about faith in any sphere of life is not so much the faith itself,
but it's what we're placing our faith in.
It's the object that's being trusted and depended on.
And so for Christians, faith is not some vague, ethereal idea
that gets kind of new content depending on what situation we're facing.
You know, I have faith to fly, I have faith to jump high, whatever it is.
Christian faith has specific content.
It has a specific object.
Faith, if it's Christian, is necessarily and firmly founded on the promise of God.
Have a look in Hebrews 11 at verse 7.
It says that,
So Noah had faith in what?
His desire to see the world flooded?
His hope that God would judge the sinful people all around him?
No.
His faith is based on the fact that God warned him.
God's word was there.
God promised something and Noah believed that God would follow through.
Now you've got to remember,
this is just a snapshot of a whole story back in Genesis 6.
Noah was ridiculed when he did this.
He was building the biggest boat that the world has ever seen in the middle of nowhere
with no means of getting it anywhere near water.
Probably in the middle of a drought.
And so people said,
You've lost your mind, Noah.
You are in all sorts.
But he stood firm.
He kept his faith because he was trusting something that was immovable.
He was trusting the words of God who doesn't change.
Faith is not a blind step in the dark full of optimistic hope.
It's confidence based on the sure promise of God.
So faith is not blind or baseless.
The second thing faith is not is it's not seen.
Hebrews 11 and verse 13 says,
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.
Or verse 39 of chapter 11.
All of these people, these heroes apparently of the faith,
were still living by faith when they died.
So they hadn't yet been given the things they were promised.
The things that were shaping their whole life.
The things that were motivating them to sacrifice,
to suffer for following God with unwavering commitment.
They didn't receive them.
And that's because faith is by its nature forward looking.
Faith is future oriented.
It's about something that you don't yet have.
Something that's just that little bit beyond your reach.
And that's important.
Because it reminds us as Christians,
that stepping out in faith,
is not just a way of kind of having a transaction
to get something we want from God.
Faith's not necessarily going to be about getting immediate gratification back
because we've done something bold for God.
The definition that Hebrews gives us is quite clear.
In verse 1 of chapter 11.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see.
Now I have a slightly adjusted definition.
Faith is a certain future hope
that changes your uncertain present.
Faith is a certain future hope
that changes your uncertain present.
See, faith brings perspective into situations
that would otherwise be overwhelming.
Faith has the power to take something that could be hopeless
and give you a firm footing.
Even though faith is future directed,
we must understand that it has power now.
It is about something we look forward to,
something we haven't yet received,
but it has power now.
And so the question remains,
what does it look like to live by faith?
And I guess maybe more specifically,
what would your life and my life and our life look like
if the defining reality of our existence
was the death and resurrection of Jesus?
What if that was the looking glass
through which we perceived every circumstance that we faced,
every relationship, every job,
every engagement, every challenge,
every obstacle?
Because this chapter in Hebrews
is called the Faith Hall of Fame
because it's clearly a picture of significant life.
These people did significant things.
And it doesn't matter whether you're three or 23 or 103.
Faith is the ingredient in this chapter.
It's the thing common to every single person who's mentioned.
And today, we need to lift our eyes
and begin to dream.
Begin to imagine just how incredible it might be
for God to work through us in a similar kind of way.
because I can guarantee that God's plan for you
is bigger and better than your plan for you.
So as you begin to visualize that,
let's unpack what the path might look like to get there.
Four things that faith looks like from Hebrews 12.
Therefore, since we are surrounded
by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles,
and let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him,
endured the cross, scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The first thing that faith looks like is surrounded.
Faith is not a personal or isolated reality.
Our Christian faith is a communal activity.
One of the things that seeds our faith,
or that strengthens our faith,
or even gives birth to our faith,
is actually seeing faith in the lives of other people.
And not even necessarily the superheroes,
like in chapter 11 here,
but surrounded by brothers and sisters
here in this community,
who are living out faith in their jobs,
in their families.
People like the Fitzroy family
in our 930 congregation,
who dealt with a really difficult
and challenging situation
with the health of their second born son,
and yet continued to trust God
in spite of the uncertainty.
Or living out faith like the Fitzpatricks,
who moved to a suburb further away from us
and less convenient,
but convinced and convicted
that this is where they wanted to serve.
That this was the ministry
that God was calling them to.
We are surrounded by witnesses
who are living out their faith
in the day-to-day.
And faith is a shared journey
towards a future hope.
You're not required to hold on to hope
in the difficult circumstances by yourself.
That's what was so great
watching the Fitzroy family.
It's what's so great watching
in so many of our lives and situations
is that when we are struggling,
God provides the encouragement and support,
not within ourselves,
but within the cloud of witnesses.
He gives us models
of what it looks like to persevere.
He gives us brothers and sisters
who bear with us.
This is the point of chapter 11.
All of these witnesses
are on the same journey of faith.
That's why they can be an encouragement for us.
And so faith lived out
demands that we surround ourselves
with the people of God,
with witnesses to faith.
It demands that we gather,
that we invest relationally in one another,
that we benefit from this community,
but also that we seek to be a benefit
to this community.
Because faith has one goal,
heaven.
So it's uncompromising
and undivided
in its commitment to getting there.
And in our quest for heaven,
faith recognizes
that we are stronger together.
Faith is surrounded.
The second thing
is faith is unhindered.
We must throw off
anything that gets in the way.
As a younger man,
I used to go on Christian camps
for one reason
and one reason only.
Girls.
From the moment
that I arrived at registration,
I would begin to prowl
the other campers
looking for pretty girls.
I would then proceed
to place myself
in the proximity
of pretty girls.
I would then proceed
to do whatever I could
to make said pretty girls
notice me.
And you know,
there was a lot of girls
in the youth ministry
that I went to,
so sometimes this was quite
a big task.
But one camp,
I got particularly ambitious.
Now,
you guys might know
that I'm not somebody
who has really ever
in my life struggled
particularly with self-confidence.
But,
unfortunately,
my self-perception
and reality
have not always lined up.
And so,
from where I was standing,
I would strut around
registration thinking
that, you know,
Brad Pitt
is gracing the halls
of camp registration
and that any girl
with functional eyes
is struggling
to control herself.
In reality,
I was a little chubby.
I had a bold haircut
and a goofy smile.
In my perception,
I was very smooth.
I was irresistible
to the opposite sex.
I had all the lines
ready to go.
But in reality,
if any of these girls
actually talked to me,
all I could manage was,
hi.
Hi.
But,
in spite of reality,
one year,
I got particularly bold.
I spotted
a gorgeous girl
at registration.
I found out her name,
Alicia.
She was in year 10.
I was in year 8.
To make matters worse,
my older brother
was in year 8
and he was actually
all the things
that I thought I was.
He was attractive
and he was smooth
with the ladies.
But,
remember,
I hadn't realised
that there was barriers
like that.
I was Brad Pitt.
So,
eyes on the prize
I dedicated myself
for the seven days
of that camp
to pursuing
this older woman.
I was so committed
that at mealtimes
I sat with her
and her friends
instead of my friends.
When it came
to picking activities,
I chose what she was doing
instead of what
I wanted to do.
Craft was much more exciting
than abseiling.
In fact,
for that week,
I pretended to learn
how to whistle
because she couldn't whistle
and that gave us
something to do together.
I mean,
come on,
who can't whistle?
I even wrote
her little love notes
and no self-respecting
14-year-old
writes any notes,
let alone love notes,
that other people
might find out about.
But I was single-minded
in my commitment
to the goal
of getting this older woman
to like me
and be my girlfriend.
Now,
unfortunately,
that was my only goal.
So after I succeeded,
and I did succeed,
we started dating
for a whopping
three weeks
and then broke up
because I hadn't figured out
what happened after
I managed to convince her
to go out with me.
Now,
a quick caveat
on this story.
I'm not endorsing
going on camps
to pick up girls.
The moral of the story
is not try harder
when you're trying
to get a boyfriend
or girlfriend
or husband or wife.
That's not what I'm saying.
The point is,
when you really
want something,
when it is first
priority for you,
you need to forego
anything
that could slow you down
from achieving
your goal.
For us as Christians,
faith defines
our goal.
Heaven is the destination.
That is what we are
being prepared for
and every step
between now and then
exists as an opportunity
to serve God.
Every step
is an opportunity
to be satisfied
in God,
to enjoy Him
and to point
other people
to see
how satisfying
He is.
And so,
we've got to
throw off
anything
that gets
in the way
of that.
Anything
that gets
in the way
of us serving
or enjoying
our God.
Anything
that steals
our affection
from Him.
One of the questions
we need to be asking
about everything
we do is,
does this thing
help me love God
or does it
hinder my love
for God?
Does it grow
my affection
for Jesus
or does it steal
my affection
from Jesus?
There is no
neutral category
when it comes
to the way
that we spend
our time
and our energy
and our money.
It either
drives us forward
in our love
for God
and our enjoyment
of Him
or it holds us
back.
By definition
if it's not
helping
it's hindering.
And so we need
to let go
of sins
that we're
holding on to.
Maybe secret
sins
that we've
kind of
conceded on.
You know
the ones
that we've
kind of
gone
oh look
I'm a sinful
person
I'm not
perfect yet
so it's
just part
of the deal.
Throwing
those things
off means
confessing
them to God
and trusting
Him
when He says
that Jesus
has died
and risen
and that's
enough
to wash
you clean
and to
transform
your heart.
This isn't
about being
perfect
but it's
about being
on a journey
an ongoing
process of
trusting God
to keep
washing you
and keep
forgiving you
by His grace.
Plus
all this
throwing off
as well as
wrestling with
sin and things
that are a waste
of our time
includes letting
go of the
fear and
insecurity
that sometimes
holds us
back from
serving God
in the ways
that He wants.
Now I know
that we don't
actually have
the ability
to switch
off that
part of
the brain
that freaks
out sometimes
but what
we do
have
is the
opportunity
to take
that fear
or that
anxiety
or that
uncertainty
and take
it to
the cross.
What we
do have
is a
cloud of
witnesses
who are
maybe going
through the
same
processes
but have
learnt
how to
swap
that fear
and uncertainty
for the
confidence
in what
God has
done
and in
His
power
instead of
in our
own
power.
We can
trade our
fear for
the confidence
that comes
from knowing
that we
have a
Saviour
who has
proved
that He's
more powerful
than anything
we will ever
face.
And when
we're free
from that
hindrance
the third
thing that
our faith
will do
is release
us to
run.
Again
Hebrews
12
end of
verse 1
let us
throw off
everything
that hinders
and the
sin that
so easily
entangles
and let
us run
with
perseverance
the race
marked out
for us.
Run the
race.
Faith is
not half
hearted or
apathetic or
lethargic.
Faith is
undivided and
committed and
energetic and
enthusiastic but
it's really
important that
you run
your race.
when I was
growing up
I grew up
with a
group of
guys getting
discipled as
a teenager
and some
of those
guys were
clearly
impressive
people.
I had a
friend who
happened to
be into
comics but
that masked
an ability
that he had
to basically
inhale books.
He's now a
minister and
the time in
his life has
come where
he's starting
to output
some of the
books that
he has been
inhaling for
the first
half of
his life.
He's just
recently published
his first book
on leadership.
If you're a
Christian leader
in any capacity
I recommend it
but that's not
the point of
what I'm saying.
He has published
this book and
it's a significant
work and he's a
significant guy and
he will be known
in church and
ministry and
Christian circles
going forward as
somebody who will
do something
significant for
God by faith.
But what I
wanted to read
to you was the
second page.
It says
this,
for Stu
and Tim,
the two men
God used to
bring me to
Jesus,
build me up in
him and send
me out for
him.
At a stretch
the ministry
nerds amongst
you might have
some idea who
Tim is.
He's a kind
of fairly
significant youth
pastor but if
not that's fine
too.
But no one
here will know
who Stu is.
No one here
will know that
Stu spent week
after week
after week while
we were in
high school
sewing into
Craig and
explaining who
Jesus was and
what it meant
to follow him.
No one here
will know that
Stu still calls
Craig and
me and a
bunch of the
other guys that
he discipled when
we were teenagers
to encourage us
to continue to
trust God and
live by faith.
faith.
But the key here is
Stu has still done
something significant
by faith.
It's a different
path to the one
that Craig who
wrote the book
is running but
he's still running
his race.
He still
sacrificed hours
when he was at
university and in
his early marriage
and during his
family to sow into
ungrateful teenage
boys like me and
like Craig and like
a few others.
faith doesn't turn
Christians into
clones.
It doesn't take
away everything
about you that's
unique and say we
all have to do the
same things.
Sure there's some
stuff that we're all
called to like loving
people who don't know
Jesus, being humble,
being generous but in
terms of the
specifics of the
race that God has
designed for you,
it's your race.
just like in chapter
11, Noah had a
race, Abraham had a
race, Enoch had a
race.
Did you notice that
Moses' parents got a
mention in chapter
11?
They're not big
players in the Bible
other than getting a
mention here but they
did the thing that was
required.
They were bold at a
time that boldness was
required, they protected
their son and then God
went on to use Moses
significantly.
Some of us might be
called to by faith live
in singleness in a way
that honors God.
Some of us might be
called by faith to work
significantly in caring
for those who are
desperate and in need in
our society.
Some of us might be
called by faith to honor
God in the corporate
world or in artistic
expression or even in
ministry.
But the key is wherever
God has placed you,
whatever he has put in
your life, get rid of
what is slowing you
down so that you can
run.
Confess the sin that
you're holding on to
and being distracted by.
Trust Jesus to forgive
you and run with the
energy and freedom that
he has won for you.
I wonder where in your
life tonight God is
asking you to trust his
promises more fully.
I mean are there any
areas of your life,
maybe it's your job,
maybe it's home,
maybe it's social,
whatever it is, are
there any areas where
trusting Jesus makes no
difference right now?
And if so, just think for
a minute, what difference
would it make if you did
trust him there?
Faith is about stepping out
of your comfort zone.
It's about dreaming beyond
what you're capable of
within yourself and
chasing that dream because
you believe and trust the
promises that God has
made.
Lastly and most
importantly, faith is
eyes on Jesus.
Do you ever wish that you
knew the future?
I mean wouldn't life be
easier if you knew how it
was going to end up, take
stress out of those
decisions, out of those
uncertainties?
Well you do.
Listen to Hebrews 12
again, verse 2.
Let us fix our eyes on
Jesus, the author and
perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before
him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and
sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured
such opposition from sinful
men, so that you will not
grow weary and lose heart.
See, not only does Jesus
make it possible for us to
get to heaven, he actually
walks the path in front of
us to show us what the
path is, to show us what it
looks like.
When it says he's the
perfecter of our faith, that
means he has walked in it, he
has lived by faith.
He trusted his heavenly
father.
He knows the joy, the hope
that we hold on to.
And so he obeys
unconditionally everything that
his father asks of him.
And now he sits at the
right hand of God in heaven,
exalted with all authority in
heaven and on earth.
I mean, can you imagine what
it would have been like to be
Jesus?
Facing torture, being mocked,
ultimately being crucified.
How does he keep walking that
path willingly, by choice?
The answer is, he knew his
future.
He knew what God had
promised.
He knew that on the other
side of his suffering, he would
be exalted to the right hand.
Hebrews chapter 6, a few
chapters earlier, talks about the
certainty of God's promises,
about the absolute confidence we
can have that God will deliver on
everything that he has said he
will do.
And it describes that hope,
that trust in his promises,
that faith, as an anchor for the
soul.
It's an anchor because it
guarantees the finish line.
No matter how dark the
circumstance gets, the anchor
makes those circumstances
bearable.
It doesn't make life easy,
but it gives you confidence to
keep going.
It gives you a rock to stand on
when the ground is getting
uncertain.
It gives you security in the
storms to step out and live in
light of the power of God.
And it empowers you to live a
significant life for Jesus, to do
more than you're capable of in your
own strength.
Faith is a certain future hope that
transforms your uncertain present.
It's a certain future anchor which
makes a difference and has power for
everything in your life now.
And so the question for us tonight is,
what are our eyes focused on?
Are you focused on the things that are
in your way?
The things you can't do, whether it's
your own limitations or external
factors?
What would it look like if you fixed
your eyes on Jesus, the all-powerful
king, instead of all the reasons you
can't?
What would it look like if you fixed
your eyes on Jesus and the unmatchable
joy that's in him instead of the good
but inferior things that he's given you?
This round of activate, what ministry is
God calling you to have a go at?
Where is he calling you to step out of
your comfort zone and trust him and his
power instead of your ability or your
experience?
What would God do in your life and in
this church if we completely surrendered
to him in faith?
If like Jesus, we fixed our eyes on the
uncertain future hope and we're able to
give up our own ambition and serve no
matter the cost because that's faith.
It's a certain future hope that transforms
our uncertain present, that has power in
our uncertain present.
Faith is security in God.
It's confidence that he will look after us
because he has said he will and so we can
stop chasing our own agenda.
We can stop spending our lives trying to
look after ourselves because God has
promised to do that for us.
Paul expresses faith in Philippians 1 when
he says,
Paul can say that because he is secure and
confident that when he finishes the race,
whenever that is, his finish line is heaven.
He's confident that no matter what happens,
he will be welcomed into the warm embrace of
his heavenly father.
God is faithful.
He has a path for you, a faith-filled journey for
his purposes and his kingdom.
So throw off sin.
Throw off anything that entangles and fix your
eyes on Jesus.
Dream.
Imagine.
And watch what God will do.
Amen.
And watch what life is.
Amen.
So that's how I see it.
Amen.