SERIES TOPIC: Reality

SERMON TITLE: Real Faith

SERMON TEXT: Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

In reading the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, one is impressed by the behavior of those motivated by faith.

• Noah built the ark.
• Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son when she was nearly 100 years old.
• Joseph made preparation for the transportation of his bones when the sons of Israel would leave Egypt.
• Moses chose affliction over affluence.

In the Gospels we are confronted with people like the woman with the issue of blood. She said in her heart, “If I can but touch the hem of His garment, I shall be made whole” (Mt. 9:21). Motivated by that belief, she “came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment” (9:20), and she was healed.

Many well intentioned people inspired by these faith based actions and the results they obtained, have rolled up their sleeves and attempted to get similar results by doing what faith might do in their situation.

• They remove and break their eye glasses as a perceived act of faith and fully expect to receive 20/20 vision.
• A mother and father withhold insulin from their diabetic child, believing that such action would prove their faith and force God to heal their son.
• Hobart Freeman, sought to prove his faith by refusing medical help for a severe case of blood poisoning. He died.
• Well meaning people in the mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky handle venomous rattle snakes in an attempt to prove their faith.

Faith does produce actions, but actions do now always prove faith and neither do they force the hand of God.

Charles Price declared, “…faith acts, but the act comes from the faith, rather than faith from the act.”

There is a difference between faith based actions and the foolish expressions of presumption.

According to the dictionary, presume means “to take or suppose to be true, or entitled to belief without examination or proof, or on the strength of probability, to take for granted, to infer, to suppose, to assume.”

Writing a $35,000 check for a new car when the money isn’t in the bank isn’t an act of faith, it’s a crime.

Flushing your insulin down the toilet and then eating a dozen glazed donuts is foolishness, not faith.

Refusing to buy automobile insurance isn’t a sign of faith it’s a foolish expression of presumption. You and I aren’t perfect and we drive on highways used by other imperfect people. Besides, I’ve seen some of you drive, so I think it’s wise for me to keep my car insured.

In Matthew 4:5, we are told that “…the devil took Him [Jesus] to the holy city, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple.” There, towering some 170 feet above the gorge of Kidron, Satan made this proposal to Jesus:

If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, “He shall give His angels charge of You” and “On their hands they will bear You up lest You strike Your foot against a stone.” (Mt. 4:6)

What a clever plan. Present Jesus with a shortcut to success and use scripture to do it. In essence he was saying:

“Jesus, you want to help people. You want to change things for the better. Here is a fast way to gain their allegiance, a shortcut to your cherished ambition. Let men see this great miracle, how God favors you, and you will win the world to the side of goodness and truth. Defy the laws of gravity, that is, if you really are the one you say you are, and God will take care of you. I can even prove it from the Bible: ‘He shall give His angels charge of you’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Simply put, “Just cast yourself down and trust God. Come on, how about a little faith action, Jesus!”

If he could get Jesus to leap from the pinnacle of the temple, even if Jesus survived, Satan would win.

In addition to using scripture, Satan bases his challenge on Jesus’ identity, “If you are the Son of God.” Most men will immediately rise to defend their own understanding of themselves and their mission.

Not Jesus! Jesus didn’t perform miracles to prove He was God, but because He was God. His refusal to jump wasn’t an act of unbelief, but an act of obedience. In response to Satan’s challenge, Jesus declared, “And it is also written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (Mt. 4:7).

In that statement, Jesus defined the difference between presumptuous action and faith obedience. Action that attempts to force God to perform cannot be justified by the misquoting of scripture and cannot be labeled as faith action.

Larry Parker withheld insulin from his son, Wesley, as an act of “faith.” What a struggle that must have been! To give Wesley medicine would be an act of unbelief. Faith, according to their view, meant withdrawing all medication. Tragically, their “faith,” the wrong kind of faith won out. Three days after withdrawing the insulin Wesley was dead.

Some months after Wesley’s death and the criminal trial that followed, Larry Parker observed, “To withhold medicine, especially life-giving medicine, was a very presumptuous act on our part.”

BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATION: Do you recall David’s act of bringing the Ark of the Covenant from Kirjath-jearim? All Israel gathered to honor the Ark and praise the Lord. Naturally they wanted the Ark to have the best, so they built a new cart upon which to carry it back to Jerusalem. What a celebration! The people danced, the musicians played and all Israel shouted and worshiped the Lord in route to Jerusalem.

Suddenly, without warning, tragedy struck. The cart hit a pothole and the Ark seemed destined to fall from its lofty height when a bystander reached to stabilize the Ark. As soon as the well-intentioned man accomplished his objective he was stuck dead. David, fearful, horrified and angry, abandoned the project and placed the Ark in the house of Obed-edom where it remained for three months. In the meantime David discovered that he had acted presumptuously. He found out that God’s will must be executed by God’s man in God’s way and in God’s time. David was the right man and his timing was right, but his method was wrong. The ark was to be carried, not on a cart, but on the shoulders of the Levites. (See 1Chron. 15:12-13; 1Chron 13.) David discovered that passion does not excuse presumptuous action.

David returned to Obed-edom’s house, retrieved the Ark, placed it on the shoulders of the priests, and led the triumphant march back to Jerusalem where he successfully restored the Ark to the Tabernacle.

Faith, real faith, is not something that you can generate, or manufacture or work up. It is not a force generated by willing a thing to be so or affirming that something is. Faith, real faith, is either a gift from God (1Cor. 12:9), a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) or that which comes by hearing the Word of the Lord (Rom. 10:17), or all three.

According to Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith deals with the invisible, things hoped for and things not seen.

• Hope suggests that the thing desired is not yet possessed. It is the well founded expectation of something yet to be. Our hope is founded on the integrity of God. What He has promised He will do. It is not, but will be!
• The writer’s reference to things not seen refers to all that is beyond the realm of our senses; what we can see, taste, touch, hear and smell. The invisible is made known to us by revelation.

I Cor. 2:9-10 – "…Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. For to us God revealed [or unveiled] them through the Spirit…"

John 1:18 – "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared [or unveiled] Him."

Ephesians 3:3-5 – "…by revelation there was made known to me the mystery…which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit."

Faith is dependent upon revelation or the unveiling of that which is beyond sensual or intellectual discovery.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, didn’t decide the events of Jesus’ birth and then faith them into existence. Her faith was a response to the Word of the Lord. She said, “Be it unto me according to Your word.”

Tests confirmed that one of the vessels leading to Ruth’s heart was blocked. It would be necessary for doctors to perform an angiogram to find the extent of the problem. She was warned that the procedure was very dangerous and could itself produce a heart attack and death.

Ruth was near panic when she reached her pastor’s wife by phone. As soon as his wife mentioned the problem to him, God dropped a word into his heart, “Ruth will be okay!” The thought had not even registered in his conscious mind when he heard himself say to his wife, “Honey, tell her she’s going to be okay!”

A visit followed and again the Pastor affirmed his earlier statement, “Ruth, there may have been something wrong, but it is now completely healed.” Again, the statement wasn’t formulated in an attempt to produce faith, but from Spirit produced faith.

The angiogram was performed and after checking in every way possible, the doctor informed Ruth’s family, “…I am glad to tell you there is absolutely no obstruction at all.” Later, he told Ruth, “You are perfectly healthy. There is no restriction on your diet, there is no restriction on your exercise habits. You are as good as new!”

Faith, real faith, is dependent upon a Word from God.

• It believes something unseen exists because God says it does.
• It believes some need will be met because God says it will.
• It believes the impossible will happen because God says He will perform it.
• It is the foundation upon which expectation rests.
• It is the heart taking possession of reality.

There is no need to play with faith or to pretend you have it. Make believe is not the same as believing. The life of faith is one of…

• hearing and heeding.
• It is one of peace and joy,
• It is one of purpose and direction.

God gives it as a gift, develops it as a fruit and imparts it through His word.

I don’t know what you’re facing today, but real faith is superior to make believe.

I can also tell you this, even when He is silent, you can trust Him.

I was hurting and so I went for a prayer walk. “God, I can’t live like this. Please come and give me the assurance that everything will be alright. Please!” I can tell you that within 30 minutes I went from darkness and pain, to joy and light.

What did I do?

First, I looked to God in prayer, believing He would hear me and that He cared for me.

Second, I expressed my dilemma to God honestly and openly.

Third, I released the things that were bothering me.

Fourth, I trusted God to do what I could not do.

What did God do?

First, He listened.

Second, He came near and loved on me.

Third, He asked me to trust Him unconditionally.

Fourth, He asked me to believe what He had already spoken to me.

God has a word for you. He is calling you to faith His word and trust Him unconditionally. Are you listening? Will you give it a place in your heart? Will you dare to believe and act on what He is saying?

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(C) 2004, by louis bartet