God, we need you to speak to us this morning by your word.
We need your spirit, Lord, to open our eyes and to soften our hearts
so that we might hear from you today your word to us this morning.
God, I pray that you might use my words, Lord, to speak for you.
And that you would point us together towards you this morning.
God, we pray we would be strengthened and encouraged.
We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
So I'm wondering if you've ever woken up in the morning
for those of you who are here and have professed faith in Christ,
maybe you've grown up in the church,
if you've woken up in the morning and just thought,
is any of this really real?
You know, your kids wake you up out of a deep sleep.
You stumble out of bed, drag a comb across my head,
get dressed, eat a bowl of Cheerios,
manage a few fights,
get off to work.
And you just think,
is the Christian faith real?
Does it make a difference?
Maybe you're here this morning
and you're exploring that question.
And you're looking around and you're thinking,
all of these people believe something
and I don't understand why.
And I don't get it.
We live in a world
that doesn't tell us that God exists.
Most of your neighbors won't say,
hey, isn't it great
that there's a spiritual world
where God lives?
And is it work among us today?
In fact, we may even live in a world,
depending on your particular circumstances,
where faith is opposed.
Faith is seen as a crutch for the weak.
For people who can't make it on their own,
they need something else.
Maybe faith is seen as an escape into unreality.
So when you say things like,
I believe in the Bible
and I want to follow it,
you're looked at like you have two heads
without a single brain between the two of them.
Not always,
but often.
I think we live in a world like that.
Or we live in a world where
you'll be encouraged to have faith and believe.
But not to believe in something in particular.
Faith is the power of positive thinking.
Just believe
and the world will become a better place.
Just believe
and you can achieve all of your dreams.
Just believe.
Be optimistic
because it's better
somehow.
In the midst of all of this,
the Christian faith presents its...
The Christian world,
the Christian belief system
holds, I can't even say it without saying,
it is a system of faith.
It is about believing something.
And it is hard for us
to keep going
when both the mundane realities
of our lives
and the world that we live in
every day
seem to tell us
that it's not very real
or it's not very important.
And we grow weary
of believing.
We grow weary
of feeling like the odd man out.
We grow weary
of feeling like
we're committed to something
that other people think
is foolish.
We wonder if it's worth it.
We wonder how we can keep going.
Well, friends,
our passage this morning
is about that.
Hebrews chapter 11.
It's listed in your bulletin.
I think it's page 1009
or something like that.
Somewhere around that area.
I forgot to get the number.
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1.
And as you turn there,
I just want to remind you
about the context
of what we heard.
Last week,
we looked at the end
of chapter 10.
And after 10 chapters
of this glorious exposition
about how Jesus is greater
than anything else
in the whole world,
Jesus has done everything
we could ever want,
then there is
in the section
right before this,
if you remember,
Pastor Nick preached on this,
a solemn warning
and a great encouragement.
And in the midst of it,
what we saw
was that the stakes
are really high.
To keep going in faith
for Christians
makes all the difference
in the world.
And to keep going
means that there's
a great reward.
And there are promises
that will be kept.
And there is a better
and an abiding possession
that we have with God
and in God himself
that is greater
than anything else.
Oh, but if we lose that,
but if we let go of that,
if we turn away from that,
what a grievous thing it is.
And the writer is writing
these letters
to encourage us
to keep going,
to persevere,
to press on
in faith.
And if you remember,
that's how he ends it.
We are not of those
who shrink back
and are destroyed,
but we are those
who have faith
and, therefore,
preserve our souls.
And that leads us
to our section
this morning.
Please pray,
or please read with me
Hebrews chapter 11,
verse 1 through 7.
Now, faith is the assurance
of things hoped for,
the conviction of things
not seen.
For by it,
the people of old
receive 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.
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.
By faith,
Noah,
being warned by God
concerning events
as yet unseen,
in reverent fear,
constructed an ark
for the saving
of his household.
By this,
he condemned the world
and became an heir
of the righteousness
that comes
by faith.
How do we keep going?
The writer of the Hebrews
wants us to see
that the answer is
by faith.
It is by faith
that we keep going
in this Christian life.
But what does that mean?
That's what our passage
is going to help us see
this morning.
And what we're going to see
is that faith
is the organ,
it is the instrument,
it is the lens
that God has given us
to see the world
and the reality of the world
as he sees it,
as he defines it,
as he says
that it truly is.
Faith is the gift
of God
by which our eyes
are opened
to see
the world
as it really is.
And as we do that,
we are strengthened
to persevere.
This is what I hope
you will get
from this message
this morning.
is that persevering
is dependent
on faith.
And faith
is God's gift
so that we can see
what is really real.
And when we see
what is really real,
it makes it worth
continuing on.
The passage breakdown
very simply.
Verses 1-3
tell us about
the essence
of faith.
Verses 4-7
give us a picture
of the exercise
of faith.
So let's look
at it together.
First,
the essence
of faith.
Faith has been
described as,
well,
it's been described
in the world
by many things.
I talked about
some of them earlier.
Faith is described
as believing
in something
you know
that can't
possibly be true.
Or faith is hoping
that something
you wish might be true
would be true,
but you don't
really know.
But biblical faith
is different than that.
If you look at me
with me in verse 1,
you will see,
it says,
now faith is the assurance
of things hoped for
and the conviction
of things not seen.
When we talk about faith
in our modern culture,
we often talk about it
as subjective experience.
I have faith.
faith.
And,
unfortunately,
the language
of this translation
seems to reinforce that.
Faith is assurance
or conviction.
So,
so my faith
is about how strongly
I hold
to the things
that I think.
But,
you know,
a hundred years ago,
if someone read
this passage
in the authorized version
or the King James version,
it would read,
faith is the substance
of things hoped for
and the evidence
of things unseen.
We could get into
a whole discussion
about why the translation
has shifted.
But what I want you to see
is that behind this verse,
the definition of faith
is not a subjective experience
of believing something.
But faith is
the ability to see
an objective reality.
And particularly,
do you see what he says?
It is the objective reality
of things hoped for.
And the evidence,
the signs
that something is true
even though it cannot be seen.
It is an incredible thing
that God has given us faith
so that we can
look at the world
and know
what is true about it
by faith.
The promises of God
are one of the things
that the writer of the Hebrews
wants us to remember
that we can see.
He's talked for
ten chapters
and if you've been here,
we've talked for
six or seven months now
about the promises of God,
about what God
has accomplished
in Christ
for us.
And that when we
are in Christ,
we are sheltered
from the storm
of God's righteous
wrath against sin.
We are given
a future promise
of life
eternal
with God
that can never
be taken away
from us.
We are promised
a cleansed
heart
that will one day
be made new
so that the stain
of sin
will be completely
removed from it
and we will no longer
know
the evil,
selfish desires
that spring up
in our heart.
Friends,
these aren't things
you can see.
they aren't things
that you can
pull out
a Geiger counter
or a microphone
or a camera
and record.
They're not
something that
our five senses
can ascertain.
But they are real.
They are as real,
in fact,
I might argue
they are more real
than the material
world
that we live in.
This is why
the writer of Hebrews
in verse 3
goes right to creation
to lay a foundation
stone
for us.
Friends,
there's a lot
of discussion today
about where the world
came from
and how it came
into being.
But to believe
in the God
of the Bible
is to believe
what verse 3
says.
That matter
is not eternal.
That the physical
world is not
all that there is.
And there's
great value
in science
and exploring it
and understanding it.
But we must
not confuse
that with
knowledge
of all things.
For it says
that we know
that the world
came from God
because He spoke
and in the power
of His Word,
the physical world
that we live in,
the universe
that we live in,
came into existence.
It did not
create itself.
It does not
sustain itself.
But an unseen
God
is the source
of it all.
And the writer
of Hebrews
goes there
to say,
look,
the very fabric
of the world
we live in
shows us
that there is
more than
what we can see
with our physical
eyes and measure
and test
with a scientific
hypothesis.
There has always
been more
than that
in this world
that we live in.
And so faith
is the eyes
to see
that the world
is more.
That there is
a reality
that God
exists
and that God
shapes the world
that we live in.
There are
future things
that are certain.
There are unseen
things
that are real
right now.
Do you remember
the story
we just read?
If you followed
Elizabeth
as she read
that story
in great
vigor.
Elisha prayed
that God
would open
the eyes
of his servant
to see
the reality
of his situation.
And as his eyes
were opened
by God
with faith,
he suddenly
saw a reality
that he couldn't
see otherwise.
He saw
God's power.
He saw
God's forces
at work
in the situation.
But friends,
it's not simply
enough to know
something by faith.
That's only
the very beginning.
In fact,
classically,
faith has been
defined as
knowledge,
knowing something,
assent,
agreeing that it's
true,
and then finally
trust.
Trust to live
in light of it.
For God,
as he calls
in us
into faith,
calls us
into a
relationship
with him.
So verse 6
says,
whoever must
draw near
to God,
that is,
come to God
in relationship
and find him
to be the
great treasure
and reward
of life,
those who
draw near
to God
must believe
that he exists.
Now that sounds
sort of silly.
Of course
you'd have to
believe he exists
to draw near.
But you must
also believe
that he is
the rewarder
of those
who seek
him.
Not just
that he is
there,
but that he's
trustworthy,
that he's
worth pursuing,
that he's
faithful,
that the things
he says
are true
about you
and about
himself
and about
the world.
Trusting
means
living in
this relationship
in a way
that changes
how we act.
You probably
have heard
the great,
the story,
this is a
classic illustration
of what faith
is.
The great
blondin
walked in
the 1940s
across Niagara
Falls on a
rope.
In researching
I realized
he didn't
just do it
once,
he did it
like for
weeks.
And he
did different
things.
He cooked
an omelet.
Over Niagara
Falls on a
rope.
There's a
story,
I think it's
true,
I don't know
if it's
true.
There's a
story about
one time
he took
a wheelbarrow
and he
walked the
wheelbarrow
on the
rope,
across the
rope,
and then
he turned
around and
he came
back and
some wag
from the
audience
made a
comment and
blondin
looked at
him and
said,
do you
think I
can do
this again?
He
said,
yes.
He said,
do you
think I
can carry
you in
this
wheelbarrow?
Yes.
We'll get
in.
Friends,
that's a
picture of
what biblical
faith is.
It's not
just knowing,
it's not
just a
sensing,
yeah,
I think
you can
do it.
It's
taking your
whole life
and putting
it into
the hands
of the
thing that
you are
saying is
true.
And here
is putting
our hands,
our lives,
in the hands
of the
living God
life.
You might
be thinking,
isn't this
just wishful
thinking?
Have we
escaped from
just like
Matt and
a bunch of
people thinking,
oh,
this is a
great idea?
Maybe,
maybe,
if only this
were true,
then I would
believe it,
but I don't
know how to
believe it.
On what
basis do we
know that
this is true?
On what
basis do we
understand
God?
Well,
friends,
that's another
sermon,
but briefly.
It's because
God has made
himself known.
He's made
himself known
through this
book,
the Bible,
which tells
us who he
is and what
he's done
in the
world.
But even
more importantly
than that,
he's made
himself known
by sending
his son
into the
world.
I remember
when I
was 16,
exploring
Christianity
for the
first time.
I didn't
come to
faith because
I was
convinced
that God
had created
the world.
I didn't
come to
faith because
I knew
that the
Bible was
absolutely
true.
I came
to faith
because I
became
convinced
that Jesus
was real,
that he
really came
and he
really lived
and he
really died
and he
really rose
again from
the dead.
faith.
And if
God
entered the
world like
that and
did what
he did
for us,
well,
that made
me go
back and
suddenly this
book made
more sense
and suddenly
believing that
God created
the world
fit a lot
better.
It's not all
the answer to
that question.
There's a lot
of good
reasons to
believe,
but if
you're here
looking for
proof,
I don't
know if
you're going
to find
it because
God has
designed us
to persevere
by faith,
by believing
in him,
by putting
on these
lenses so
that we
see reality
as he
defines it,
as he
tells us
that it
is.
One of
the fun
things is
that we're
going to
spend the
next five
weeks,
four weeks,
exploring what
this looks
like because
the rest of
the book,
the rest of
the chapter,
Hebrews chapter
11, is all
of these
pictures of
what does it
actually look
like to
believe.
What
particularly
did people
believe about
God?
How did it
change their
lives?
How did they
exhibit both
knowledge and
trust in
God as
they lived
by faith?
And it
is this
catalog of
people to
give us
examples so
that we
would be
encouraged to
not lose
heart but
to persevere
in faith
by putting
on that
lens and
seeing the
world as
God defines
it and
living according
to it.
So what
does it
look like?
What does
the exercise
of faith
look like?
Let's look
at verses
four through
seven with
me.
You'll see
that each
of these
stories there
are three
main characters
here Abel
and then
Enoch and
then Noah
in verses
four,
five,
and seven
and there's
this pattern
by faith
Enoch Abel
by faith
Enoch by
faith Noah
and this
goes on for
the rest of
the chapter
it happens
in verse
four,
five,
seven,
eight,
nine,
eleven,
seventeen,
twenty-one,
twenty-two,
twenty-three,
twenty-four,
et cetera,
et cetera.
He does it
over and
over again to
say this
is what it
looks like
to live
by faith.
And we
get these
three examples
and the
first two
are very
quick.
Abel,
his story
is recorded
in Genesis
four.
He offered
up a
sacrifice
that was
more pleasing
to God
than the
one that
his brother
offered.
friends,
this is
not
because
Abel's
sacrifice
was
categorically,
quantitatively
better
than
Cain's.
It
seems
very
clear
both
in the
Genesis
four
passage
and
here
that
the
thing
that
was
the
difference
between
Abel
and
Cain's
sacrifice
was the
state
of their
heart
and their
faith.
Abel
came
and he
offered
this
sacrifice
to
God
believing
that he
existed
seeking
to please
him
and to
honor
him
looking
to him
to be
a
rewarder
for his
faithful
offering
giving
the
first
fruits
from
the
work
that
he
had.
Whatever
Cain
did
it was
not
that
for
when
God
did
not
accept
Cain's
sacrifice
there
was
no
repentance
there
was
no
broken
heartedness
there
was
no
grief
there
was
anger
there
was
resentment
and
ultimately
there
was
a
rejection
of
God
and
a
denial
and
so
Abel
is held
up as
this
brief
example
of
a
man
who
wanted
to
please
God
with
his
offering
and
was
declared
righteous
that
is
he
did
the
right
thing
before
God
by
exercising
his
faith
and
then
Enoch
is
mentioned
in the
middle
of a
genealogy
in
Genesis
5
22
through
24
and
it
says
that
he
walked
with
God
and
that
he
was
taken
up
he
was
rewarded
by
being
spared
the
judgment
of
death
by
being
taken
up
into
heaven
because
he
had
walked
because
he
had
lived
a
life
seeking
to
please
God
what I
want
you to
see is
the writer
of
Hebrews
throws
out
these
two
examples
really
quickly
not
because
we're
supposed
to
dig
into
the
details
of
it
but
simply
to
say
look
these
are
two
men
they
sought
to
please
God
because
by
faith
they
believed
that
God
was
there
and
that
he
was
a
rewarder
of
those
who
diligently
seek
him
and
that
is
what
Abel
did
and
that
is
what
Enoch
did
and
that's
why
verse
six
is
in
the
middle
of
this
section
and
not
in
the
definition
in
verses
one
through
three
because
he's
just
saying
do
you
see
what's
going
on
here
these
guys
believed
that
God
was
there
and
they
sought
him
diligently
they
sought
his
reward
his
commendation
his
witness
of their
faith
that
they
believed
in
him
and
lived
for
him
in
the
world
and
then
we
come
to
the
last
example
in
verse
seven
the
story
of
Noah
Genesis
six
through
nine
he
was
described
in
Genesis
six
as
having
someone
who
had
found
favor
with
God
who
walked
with
God
who
was
righteous
in
all
his
ways
and
he
stood
out
like
a
sore
thumb
in
fact
it
says
that
the
world
had
gotten
so
bad
that
God
had
repented
of
making
it
that
God
saw
that
men
did
all
evil
everywhere
all
the
time
you
couldn't
get
more
superlatives
to say
how
bad
the
world
was
how
dark
it
had
become
I
haven't
seen
the
movie
Noah
but
I
hear
that
one
of
its
strengths
is
that
it
depicts
the
darkness
of
the
world
not
even
recommending
it
I'm
just
saying
if
you've
seen
it
and in
the middle
of that
darkness
God
repented
of making
the world
God
wished
that he
could
destroy
the evil
because it
was so
terrible
and yet
this one
man
Noah
stood out
and God
came to
him
and God
told him
of an
unseen
future
thing
that was
going to
happen
he
said
Noah
the
day
is
coming
where
there
will
be
deliverance
and
there
will
be
judgment
and I
want
you
to
build
an
ark
so
that
this
deliverance
will
happen
I
want
you
to
obey
and
says
that
Noah
did
all
that
God
told
him
to
he
built
a
four
story
boat
in
the
middle
of
the
arid
high
plains
of
upper
Mesopotamia
there
is
probably
no
boat
that
size
ever
built
anywhere
in
that
millennia
it
was
so
large
and
it
was
not
built
near
any
body
of
water
large
enough
to
hold
it
I
don't
know
if
you're
Keith
Green
fans
do
you
guys
know
Keith
Green
you
just
think
about
Noah
toting
his
umbrella
when
there
wasn't
a
cloud
in
the
sky
all
his
neighbors
would
laugh
when
he
would
pass
by
and
they
snickered
when
he
passed
by
and
God
said
don't
worry
Noah
you
know
just
keep
building
that
boat
just
a
matter
of
time
till
we
see
who's
going
to
float
so
anyway
but
when
you
think
about
it
Noah
stood
out
completely
from
the
world
around
him
he
must
have
looked
like
an
absolute
fool
he
must
have
looked
like
an
idiot
he
must
have
looked
like
he
was
crazy
and yet
the writer
of
Hebrews
tells
us
that by
faith
he did
this
he put
on
the lens
of faith
and he
saw that
what God
had said
about the
world
was true
and he
changed
his life
in accordance
to it
he
believed
he
believed
that God
would
deliver
his
family
by
this
boat
and
by
his
faithfulness
he
condemned
the world
around
him
as it
says
in
verse
seven
Charles
Spurgeon
says
the way
you know
a crooked
stick
is by
placing
a straight
one
next
to it
you
can
tell
how
crooked
it
is
doesn't
mean
Noah
preached
condemnation
to his
neighbors
it
simply
meant
that
by
his
righteous
faithful
obedience
to
God
he
demonstrated
the
unrighteousness
and the
evil
of all
around
him
the
writer of
the
Hebrews
brings up
Noah
to say
this is a
man who
lived
by
faith
because
he
saw
the
world
the
way
God
defined
it
not
the
way
his
neighbors
would
have
seen
it
and so
he
was
declared
righteous
not because
he was
morally
perfect
but as
it says
in verse
seven
in fact
he became
an heir
of the
righteousness
that comes
by
faith
friends
we have
to get
this
right
faith
isn't
another
work
that we
have
to do
so that
God
will be
pleased
with
us
because
we
do
it
so
well
or
because
we
do
it
so
rightly
faith
is a
gift
that
God
gives
us
so
that
we
can
see
him
and
see
his
faithfulness
and
see
his
power
and
see
his
reality
and
see
his
salvation
and
see
his
deliverance
more
clearly
because
when
that
is
true
then
we
will
be
saved
not
because
we
believed
but
because
of
what
God
has
done
and
the
thing
that
we
have
put
our
faith
in
this
is
why
at
the
end
of
chapter
10
the
writer
of
Hebrews
quotes
Habakkuk
2
form
the
righteous
shall
live
by
faith
this
is
why
the
context
of
the
whole
book
is
so
important
because
we
could
read
this
chapter
and
just
think
you
should
believe
harder
or
believe
more
but
he's
given
you
10
chapters
of
what
you
are
to
believe
in
so
that
you
may
be
saved
that
Jesus
offered
the
sacrifice
necessary
that
Jesus
died
on
the
cross
for
the
salvation
of
wicked
selfish
self
important
people
like
you
and
me
and
that
when
we
put
our
faith
in
what
he
has
done
when
we
trust
in
that
when
we
acknowledge
it's
true
when
we
assent
that
we
agree
with
it
and
then
when
we
trust
in
it
when
we
forsake
all
of
our
other
self
salvation
projects
to put
all
of our
eggs
in one
basket
and to
say
this
is my
only
hope
of
drawing
near
to
God
this
is how
we are
saved
and
this
is
meant
to be
an
encouragement
to the
Hebrews
who are
facing
persecution
who are
losing
their
possessions
and
possibly
even
their
lives
the
writer
of
Hebrews
saying
hang
in
there
hold
on
to
faith
because
faith
will
hold
on
to
God
and
his
reality
and
as you
hold
on
God
will
preserve
you
and
the
promises
will
come
true
though
they
take
your
life
they
cannot
take
you
out
of
the
hands
of
God
though
they
take
your
career
they
cannot
take
your
identity
in
Christ
though
they
take
your
children
they
cannot
take
you
out
of
the
family
of
God
whatever
it
might
be
you
have
by
faith
all
that
you
need
and
it's
meant
to mean
encouragement
to us
too
meant
to be
an
encouragement
to us
when
we
keep
a
Sabbath
and
draw
a line
and say
I won't
work
on
Sundays
it
helps
us
when we
draw
a line
to say
I won't
stay
over
with you
tonight
to your
girlfriend
or boyfriend
because I'm
committed
to purity
it
helps
make sense
when you
say
I'm
going to
give
away
80%
of what
I
earn
because I
can
live
on
20%
of it
it
makes
sense
when
you
say
this
is
the
book
by
which
I
live
this
is
the
book
that
defines
reality
and
when
I
don't
understand
how
this
relates
to
something
else
I'm
going to
keep
seeking
understanding
but
I'm
going to
start
here
and
let
this
be
my
guide
when
like
Noah
you
may
be
viewed
as
crazy
by
your
neighbors
or
when
like
me
when
I
wake
up
in
the
morning
I
wonder
is
it
real
I
go
back
I
go
back
to
the
very
beginning
the
most
important
reality
is
that
Christ
is
real
that
he
lived
that
he
died
that
he
rose
again
that
now
he
is
ever
interceding
for
me
that
he
has
saved
me
that
he
has
made
me
his
that
he
will
one
day
bring
all
the
promises
home
that
I
will
be
his
he
will
be
my
treasure
friends
this
is
a
life
of
faith
this
is
what
it
can
look
like
for
us
to
believe
let's
pray
Lord
we
think
of
the
man
who
said
Lord
I
believe
help
my
unbelief
God
with him
we cry
out
this
morning
Lord
will
you
help
us
Lord
in
our
unbelief
Lord
we need
you
to
remind
us
we
need
you
to
strengthen
us
we
need
you
Lord
to
again
help
us
see
clearly
the
world
as
you
have
defined
it
and
to
see
you
most
importantly
in
the
world
and
over
the
world
Lord
that
you
are
the
most
important
reality
of
all
and
Lord
in
seeing
that
Lord
you
will
help
us
to
make
sense
of
our
everyday
lives
both
the
hard
things
and
the
mundane
things
God
we
pray
you
would
help
us
in
Jesus
name
Amen