Unlike many people I grew up in a Christian home by parents who had a strong faith in God. However, that doesn't guarantee that my own life will be filled with faith. We are all are given a measure of faith and it then up to us to grow faith in our lives.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, (Jude 1:20 ESV)
The foundation of a great life is faith. If God says "It's impossible to please Me unless you live by faith" it's pretty important to know about. So what is faith?
Faith is like a multi-faceted diamond. There are many different aspects to faith. I would like to give you just a few from a sermon by Rick Warren.
SIX DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF FAITH
Hebrews 11. This chapter is God's Hall of Fame -- actually God's Hall of Faith. It's the list of all the great men and women in the Bible who God says, "These people, they done good!" They had faith. They did it right. They were men and women of faith.
1. Faith Is First Believing When I Don't See It.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 ESV)
Faith is visualizing the future in the present, it's seeing it in advance, it's being certain of what we do not see.
As human beings we often say things like, "I'll believe it when I see it." And God says, "No, you've got it all backwards. Some things you have to believe it, in order to see it."
2. Faith Is Obeying When I Don't Understand It.
God gives us a couple exhibits. Exhibit A is a man named Noah.
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. (Hebrews 11:7 ESV)
Just think of the doubts that Noah might have had. Can you imagine if God came to you one day and said, "I'm going to wipe out the whole world and start over with you?" How many would wonder if God had the right person? Noah had faith and he obeyed.
Exhibit number two is about a guy named Abraham.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8 ESV) Here's Abraham, 75 years old and he lived in a place in modern day Iraq that is called Ur of the Chaldees.
Just about the time he's ready to do social security, hang it up, retire, God says, "Oh, no. I don't want you to hang it up and retire. I want you to get it down, dust it off. You're getting ready to go on the adventure of your life at age 75. You're getting ready for social insecurity. I'm going to take you and turn you into the father of a brand new nation, so we're going to go to a new country."
I'm sure Abraham had all of his doubts and all kinds of questions - but yet he obeyed.
If you learn to do whatever God tells you to do even when it seems absurd, then God can bless your life. It is then that you will build a life of faith and that's the foundation of building a great life.
3. Faith Is Giving When I Don't Have It.
Giving and faith go together. God uses finances to test our faith. Have you ever had to decide between tithing and paying a bill? This is a test! God's saying, "Who are you going to trust? My promises to take care of you if you put Me first or yourself?"
In Hebrews 11, this Hall of Fame of Faith, the first guy who gets listed is a man named Abel. Abel gets listed not because he did something great. He didn't. He had no great accomplishment. No great achievement to his name. The only thing he did was he gave an offering. And God put him in the Hall of Fame. Why? It wasn't how much he gave, it wasn't what he gave, It was how he gave.
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. (Hebrews 11:4 ESV)
He said it wasn't what he gave that pleased God but how he gave it. It wasn't the amount, but the attitude. God doesn't care about the amount. He cares about the attitude by which you give.
You need to understand that there are two ways to give. You can give by faith or you can give by fear. You can give by reason or you can give by revelation. One of these ways you don't get any credit for. The other way pleases God. When I give by reason I look at my bank account and my check stubs and how much I've got and I figure out what can I afford.
I then give a reasonable amount based on what I can afford. That doesn't require any faith. An atheist can give by reason. You don't have to believe in God for that.
The other way to give is to give by revelation. Revelation is when you pray, and you ask God and you say, "God, what do You want me to give? God, how much do You want me to trust You for this time?" It's giving by faith. That's the kind of giving that God blesses.
4. Faith Is Persisting When I Don't Feel Like It.
That's the opposite of our culture. Our culture says, "Do everything based on your feelings." If it feels good, do it. If it doesn't feel good, don't do it. Do whatever feels good. Live by your emotions.” As a result, we end up being manipulated by our moods. Mature people live by their commitments, not their emotions. Emotions come and go. Sometimes we just have to persist in what we’re doing.
When we step out for God – Satan gets mad and tries to throw things in our midst. He loves to hassle God’s kids. We have to just keep being persistent. Keep doing the right thing, even when you don't feel like it.
Faith is being persistent. Faith is refusing to give up. Faith is doing the right thing, even when you're tired, even when you're moody.
How do you develop persistence?
By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. (Hebrews 11:27 ESV)
You know the story of Moses. He led an entire nation that had been in slavery for four hundred years out across the wilderness, through the Red Sea, out on to the Sinai Peninsula and they traveled around in circles for forty years, waiting for God to get the people ready to go into the Promised Land.
A forty-year wait is a long time to wait in a desert. How many know how true that is? How do you be that persistent? The Bible tells us -- the last phrase. It says, Moses kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible." The key is, Keep your eyes on God. That's what Moses did. When you keep your eyes on God, it keeps you persistent.
5. Faith Is Thanking God Before I Receive It.
A good example of this is the story of Joshua.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. (Hebrews 11:30 ESV)
After Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt from Pharaoh, into the Promised Land, they went to take over the country and the capital was Jericho. It was the most fortified city in the world. There was no chance a bunch of ex-slaves were going to take it over. It was considered impenetrable.
But the people of God marched around the city parameter -- the walls of it -- for seven days. First in silence, then later thanking God in praise. The whole time they were thanking God in advance that God had already delivered the city in to their hands. On the seventh day, after thanking God in advance in faith, the walls came tumbling down.
That's what the Bible says faith is. Faith is not believing God can do something. Why? Because God can do it whether you believe it or not.
His ability is not dependent upon your thinking He can do it. Faith is believing God is doing something right now, even though I don't see it, that He's working behind the scenes, that the answer is already on its way, that He's moving the pieces into place even as we speak.
It's thanking God in advance.
6. FAITH IS TRUSTING IF I DON'T GET IT.
Some people try to make God like a vending machine that God automatically will give you anything you want, but that's not true. God is not a vending machine. Vending machines will give you things that you don't need. Vending machines will give you things that will kill you.
God will never give you something that's bad for you. Does a parent give a child everything the child asks for? Of course not. Not if the parent is sensible and loving. And God's not going to give you everything you ask for. He said, "I will meet all your needs". He doesn't say, "I'll meet all your greeds." Big difference.
The Bible says that faith is trusting if I don't get it.
Here's the truth: God hears and answers every prayer you pray... He just doesn't answer always the way you want Him to. In fact, sometimes when you pray, God says, Yes. And sometimes when you pray, God says, No. And sometimes when you pray, God says, not yet. And sometimes God says, "I've got a better idea. I've got something different. I know you're going to like this better."
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:39-40 ESV)
Living by faith does not exempt you from problems. Sometimes we pray for God to remove a problem and instead He keeps the problem there and gives you the strength to go through it. And you end up being stronger.
If He took all the problems out of your way, you'd be a brat! Spoiled! You'd be weak. But God wants you to have character and strength and maturity so He lets you go through some problems instead of removing them and He gives you the ability to handle it.
Anybody can trust God when things are going great. Anybody can give when they've got extra money. Anybody could persist when they see the deadline is only a couple inches away. Anybody can believe when it's right there in front of them.
But real faith is built in the valleys of life. Sometimes its trusting God when I don't get it.
Which of these aspects do you need to work on? How much faith do you have? How do you rate your faith?
If you're going to be pleasing to God, you need to work on these. Which one do you need to work on?
Do you need to work on believing when you don't see it?
Do you need to work on obeying when you don't understand it?
Do you need to work on giving when you don't have it?
Or persisting when you don't feel like it?
Some of you may need to work on thanking before you receive it.
And you may need to work on trusting if you don't get it.
No comments:
Post a Comment