Faith Towards God

What does faith look like in your life? Do you even have faith? What is faith? It can be a very deep and involved question, but to begin with today I'd like to turn to Hebrews 11 and take a look at a scripture that gives us a basic definition as we start here today. Hebrews 11 and verse 1 simply says, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. If faith is the substance of things not seen, then how do we develop that kind of faith?

The perspective in the world around us is to believe only what can be determined empirically. We like to be able to quantify things, to feel it, to hear it, to touch it, and so forth. We want to measure it, but the problem with spiritual matters, and that word problem can be in quotes, is that God cannot be determined to exist.

He cannot be measured by a scientific method. Physical, by definition, doesn't exist on the spirit level. We have here in Hebrews 11 many stories of the faithful, not all of them by any stretch of the imagination, and we're familiar with quite a few of them, the examples of Moses and Abraham, Sarah, and many others.

I'd like to highlight just a couple here that we don't normally pay attention to in this regard, but to sort of set the stage here this morning. In verse 4, we have here the account of Abel, offering, as it says, to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous. When you think of Abel, the family, if you will, of mankind was extremely small at this time, probably only just the family of Adam and Eve.

How many individuals would that have been? We don't know. Some have speculated Adam and Eve had 25, 27 children. Whether that's the case or not is not really relevant, but even within that small group, Abel's example stood out to God. So much so that it convicted his brother in quite the wrong way, but nonetheless convicted him. In the next verse, verse 5, we have the example of Enoch. It says, He was taken away, so he did not see death, and was not found because God had taken him, for before he was taken he had this testimony that he pleased God.

If you look at the time in which Enoch lived, it was a desperately evil time. This was the precursor to the time of Noah. He was one of the very few righteous during this time. He died roughly 65 years before Noah was born. The only record we have of him at this point is what Jude records in verses 14 and 15 of that book, where he simply talks about the second return of Christ.

I've often wondered with that verse as some backup that those men and women, pre-flood even, understood God's plan of salvation. Because to understand Christ's second coming, you have to understand his first coming, don't you? You have to understand why he's coming, even to the point of Abel and his sacrifices. But nonetheless, he stood out. So much so, many have speculated, Enoch's life was short compared to those of his era, that God took Enoch rather than let him die at the hands of these evil men.

In verse 31, to move down quite a bit in this chapter, we have the example of Rahab. It says, "...did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received the spies with peace. She was the only one. As the fledgling nation of Israel was moving into Canaan, she did not see an invading force.

She saw a life she wanted. She saw value in what the God of Israel was trying to teach them. And she stood with them. That was not a thing done lightly, because it could have cost her her life. If they had found out she'd harbored these spies, she became, through her faith, part of the very lineage of Jesus Christ." Verse 32, then we have sort of a summation of many others.

Paul writes, "...what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah. We think of men of faith. We don't often think of Barak and Jephthah, do we?" Go read their stories sometime. David we're familiar with. Samuel, to a degree, we're familiar with as well. The prophets are lumped there together, but it says they received a good testimony. Let's move down to verse 38 where that's expounded on. It says, "...of whom," meaning everyone in this chapter that he's highlighted, "...in many others, of whom the world was not worthy.

They wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth. They did not have a life of ease in most cases." Verse 39, "...and all of these have obtained a good testimony through faith, but did not receive the promise. God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us." A good testimony. Their example was noteworthy.

What is faith as we explore this topic here? Dictionary definition is simply the first example of confidence or trust in a person or a thing. I have faith that you will do a certain task. Second definition is a belief that is not based on proof. I have faith that such and such a thing will happen. The third definition is a belief in God, which we're exploring more here today. Fourth is belief in anything as a code of ethics, the standards of merit. They are a faithful individual with the tasks that they are given. But faith is not just a spiritual thing, as the dictionary shows. We on a physical level still do many things through faith. We don't like to think of it that way, but we do. For instance, how many know what Bernoulli's principle is? Ooh, got a couple! That was better than Oshkosh. We had zero up there. Bernoulli's principle is simply the action of lift on an airplane wing.

Now, the interesting thing about that is while scientists understand most of what's happening there, they don't understand all of it because they can violate the principle in ways that then make them question the principle as a whole. But if you've ever flown, you're counting on Bernoulli's principle, aren't you? If it ever stopped working, it would not be a good thing. The displacement principle. You ever been on a large boat and ever wonder how it ever manages to stay above water? That's the principle of displacement. You can have a concrete chip, and if it's shaped right, it will float. It's a very curious thing. Anesthesia. We know it works, we don't know how it works. If you've ever gone through surgery, you're counting on it working.

Because there's nothing more horrifying than to hear the stories of the person who is incapacitated but awake during a surgery. It's just one of those things that they don't understand, but they know there are certain ways they can use it. We have many other things along this line that we can talk about in terms of trust that we put in things, whether it's bridges or whether it's elevators or whether it's all kinds of things in the modern world around us. We trust and even have confidence that those things will work, and more importantly, that they will perform the way they're supposed to when we want them to. Today we're going to continue our review of those fundamentals that we started a few weeks back and becoming perfect before God. If you'll turn with me back a few pages to Hebrews chapter 6, I want to just reread that so this is in our mind as we move forward here. Hebrews 6 and verse 1, Paul's writing this book of Hebrews to an audience who was familiar with the Old Testament teachings. They had been given an instruction all their life. They were familiar with it. They rehearsed it on a regular basis. They had not only a familiarity, but a sense, if you will, of ownership in these things. But they missed a lot of what God was trying to teach on a spiritual level, and that's what Paul is addressing in this book. And so even though they understood many aspects of the law, then he's showing them that there's fundamentals that you have to have in place. Chapter 6, verse 1, Therefore, leading the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith towards God, of the doctrine of baptism, of laying on of hands, of the resurrection of dead, and of eternal judgment. Each of these are a topic that we're exploring here, and in verses 1 and 2, we have an understanding of what our spiritual foundation should look like, that everything else about our calling builds from these things. This is the understanding we should have once we're baptized so that we can go on to perfection. And so today's topic is the last item there in verse 1, faith towards God. So the title of my sermon today is going on to perfection, faith towards God. Now, in discussing this topic of faith, we need to consider various aspects in order to get a bigger picture, a more fuller understanding of this. And we start with whose faith? That might seem to be an odd place to start, but godly faith is simply defined as what God believes, what he thinks, what he does. Human faith is what we believe, what we think, what we do.

Let's look at Jeremiah 10 verse 23 to set this stage.

The difficulty, if you will, that you and I have when God calls us is the disconnect between our human nature and the spirit nature that God wants us to take on. They're incompatible, and without God's spirit, as we talked about on Pentecost, you're not even going to understand them. In Jeremiah 10.23, we have a reminder here from Jeremiah. He says, Oh, eternal, I know the way of man is not in himself. What does Jeremiah mean by that? Well, mankind says they want peace, but look at how much violence and war is in the world around us. We decry greed, and yet anybody that gets into power then wants more power. We see these inequities, and we bristle at them, unless we're at the top of that and the receiving end. It's not in man to know the way to direct himself. The end of the verse, it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. So we have this difficulty then to understand faith. Is it our faith that we're looking at? Well, let's take a look at Galatians 2 verse 20. The reference up there of Proverbs 3 is very similar to what we read in Jeremiah 10. But in Galatians 2.20, Paul writes about this aspect as well, this disconnect, and gives us a clear understanding of really whose faith it is. Galatians 2 and verse 20 simply says here, I have been crucified with Christ. You and I, anyone that comes to the point of baptism, has to come to that acknowledgement. We cannot do on our own, in our own life, what is necessary to have eternal life. And so we surrender our life through Christ's payment for that sin so that we can have the life that God desires for us.

So, since we've been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

And so then he says, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live, notice, by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. To answer the question, whose faith it is Christ's faith, that does not mean we do not play a role. We'll flesh that thought out as we go along here. But it starts with Christ. If we do not know the way to direct our steps, Jeremiah 10, then we need someone to show us, and that's the role of Christ. And so then we follow that question with the next question, and that is, what is faith? Now, we've looked at the dictionary definition, but I want to look more and consider from God's perspective what we're talking about, because it's not something abstract and unknowable. Just like mankind can figure out Bernoulli's principle, and we can figure out the displacement principle, and we can figure out many, many other things, faith as well is knowable. First of all, we're considering that we have absolute confidence in God. If our faith is built through Jesus Christ, then by extension we have to have confidence in God. What do I mean by that? Well, let's go back to the verse there, Matthew 4 and verse 4. In Matthew 4, we have recorded for us the conversation, if you will, at least the high points, of when Satan was tempting Christ when he was fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. What I find interesting in this story was the way Satan presented himself. He knew Scripture, and he was trying to convince Christ to do something according to Scripture. But we know, of course, that he was twisting Scripture, and Christ answered, I don't want to say truthfully, that's not right, he answered the best way possible. So in Matthew 4 and verse 4, after Satan tempted him to turn stones into bread, Christ answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone. That is, physical substance is temporary. Right? We had breakfast yesterday, we want breakfast again today.

It doesn't last very long. He says, it is written that you shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Spiritual nourishment is just as important for our eternal existence as physical food is for our physical existence. Believing God, in other words, not just believing in God. That might seem like a subtle difference, but it's not. For instance, to simply ask the question, do I believe in God? Most Christians would answer yes, but by their actions, does it show that to be a yes? Do I truly believe in God?

I don't think it was the current pope. I think it was one or two previous, where they finally acknowledged and accepted the theory of evolution, which just dumbfounded me. How can you, as one who purports to believe that God is the creator of all, then say, well then it's evolution.

Do you believe in God? You can look at the vastness of the universe, and I'm always astounded when the astronomers will point their telescopes to a different area, and a year or so ago, those that take care of the Hubble telescope, you know you have to buy time for that telescope? It's very expensive to operate, so if you want to explore a certain area of the universe, you have to sign up for it. There's a window. If you miss your window, tough luck. The next guy's in line. So there were a group of scientists that wanted to look at this area of the universe. It just looked black. They were never able to see anything out there, and they just wanted to know if it was truly empty. Well, they point the telescope out there, and the way these things work is they left it parked on that spot for like a week or so, and then you sort of... they don't develop it, but you know what I'm talking about. They developed the film, you know, they processed the images, and they were just flabbergasted at what they found. There were thousands of galaxies out there. This is an area of space they thought was just empty, nothingness, and they found more than they could ever imagine.

Scientists, as much as they want to talk about evolution and many other things, are astounded at the complexity and what many call the... I'm blanking on the term now... basically a razor's edge of life. How finely tuned. That's the phrase I was looking for. How finely tuned life is. Small differences one way or the other, and life as you and I know it would not exist in the universe. That's just the universe. If we bring it down to a very, very small level and look at microbiology, they have another problem when they look at what's called irreducible complexity within the cells. How do those cells know what to do? And to be so amazingly designed to do a particular purpose. We have in Romans 1, even Paul talks about the aspect of that even if you question God, that you should be able to look at the world around you and see evidence all around.

You know, I look at a year like this year and I think Wisconsin's weather is passive-aggressive. You know, we had that amazing warm spell back in March and everybody's thinking, winter's done with, you know, and then we get dumped with snow in April. And then we begin to wonder if we're ever going to get warm. And then it gets blazingly hot. And then yesterday, as we were driving back north, come past Springfield and then Bloomington, and I'm watching the temperature gauge, the numbers start going down real quickly. And it went from the mid-80s. By the time we pulled into our house, it was 56 degrees. You know, in spite of that, everything's out, isn't it? How do those trees know when to bloom? Flowers know when to come up? How do the animals know when to do the things? You know, at the end of the book of Job, God's asking all these questions. Do you know the ways of these animals? When they know to mate and have their offspring and so forth? All of this complexity, all of this complexity, all of this design in the world around us, do we have confidence in God to continue this thought then? In Mark 11, the reference there, Christ talks about that if we had faith as of a grain of mustard seed, so that's my lapel pen today, that little mustard seed in there, not much bigger than the end of a ballpoint pen, if we had just that amount of faith, Christ said, you could move a mountain. Now, I'm not asking for a show of hands, but anybody move a mountain lately?

It's humbling, isn't it, to think that that's really as small as God defines it, and yet how much we limit ourselves at times. Do you believe, to go back to this absolute confidence in God, do you believe God exists? And more importantly, can you prove that He exists? The seven proofs of God went through these in college to a great degree. I'd encourage you to do so as well, to consider these things, that God is a lawgiver. You know, you don't have anything in existence without certain parameters by which they exist. Even in our day-to-day dealings with one another, we need organization, or there's just chaos. To me, one of the great disproves of evolution is, no matter where you go in the universe, the laws of physics are the same. If evolution is true, that should not be the case. You should find different laws of physics, different laws across the universe. The second proof of God is life-giver. As much as evolution wants to talk about that being the way life generated, it violates one of the primary principles of science. Life only comes from life, that God is a creator, a designer, a sustainer. And for the purposes of us, more specifically, that we can see fulfilled prophecy. There's a reason why the Jews don't put the book of Daniel in the prophetic book listings. They put Daniel in the writings, because they can't explain those prophecies. They don't like how they rolled out, because it shows a Messiah that came in the early part of the first century AD. And they still want to claim that He has not come. And then also, last but not least, answered prayer. One of my prayers for God's people is that everyone, at some point in their life, sees that in their life from God. Answered prayer. And it runs running the spectrum from quote-unquote simple things to huge miracles. Do you believe that we're all created in God's image?

See, again, with evolution, we're just advanced animals. We're the most complex, the most developed of the animal kingdom. They want to look at our brains and try to determine what's different. What gives us the capability of speech? There's nothing unique in our vocal box, nothing unique in our brain that they can pinpoint. And yet, we have the ability to speak, to form languages. We have the ability to reason, abstract ideas. We have the ability to create. We feel and express emotions on a much deeper and broader level than any other creature in nature.

Do you see God involved in your life? See, faith is not abstract. God shows himself to people. The question is whether we're paying attention. To continue this thought, then, of what faith is, do you understand that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him? Let's go back to Hebrews 11 and let's read that verse. Hebrews 11 and verse 6. Again, this is what is called the faith chapter. Paul is talking about the example of this short list of various faithful men and women of God down through time. In verse 6, then, he says, but without faith it is impossible to please him, meaning God, for he who comes to God must believe that he is. Because if I don't believe that it is, then why would I pay attention to it? People get into trouble all the time because they want to believe that things aren't the way they are. So we push the boundaries of whether it's personal interaction, whether it's character attributes, or whether it's laws of physics. And then when we get in trouble, we're surprised. This is no different on a spiritual level. If I reject God, then I set in motion different choices, different consequences. We must believe that he is, and that he is, a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

Now, we can struggle with that at times because we're looking for that reward in a certain way. Right? We want to win the powerball. It's a pretty high number right now. It'd be nice to have that kind of money, but on the other hand, it would create a whole lot of problems. We want to see certain blessings in our lives, and that's not on its own necessarily wrong, but is that the primary focus of where we need to be? Let me fine-tune this for you a little bit. What is the reward that God is seeking for us? Not that we are seeking from God. What is the reward that God is seeking for us to be in his family? To be rewarded with being in his family? Do you understand that reward? There are a lot of people who don't, and actually there are some who see what we teach as a church from Scripture, and they consider it heresy because we're they, according to them, we're putting ourselves on equal footing with God. But in spite of that, along with that understanding, though, do you embrace it? It can be challenging. I remember as a young man, you know, I dreaded starting school in the fall, not just because summer was over, but because I knew that within a few short weeks, I'd have to tell everybody at school, my teachers and all my friends, I was going to be leaving for whatever it happened to be, a week and a half, two weeks, to go to the feast. What is this feast? You know, why didn't you take this in the summer? You know, why are you doing it now? All these things, it made me stand out. We don't want to stand out, do we? But we should, to embrace that. Are we diligently seeking Him? For those of you that are not baptized or beginning this process, are you continuing to demonstrate the actions? Scripture calls that fruit. Are you demonstrating the fruit in your life as a result of your faith in God? Is there evidence of it?

Let's look at the next point, then. Number two, that faith is confidence in God's Word, not just in who He is, but what He says.

Do you believe and can you prove to yourself the Bible is God speaking His law to you personally?

The really amazing thing about the Bible is the complexity of it. We have history in there. We have politics. We have drama. We have instruction. We have all kinds of things on that level. But then we also can look at this as a personal conversation God is having with each of us. Because whether you understand it or not, if I read it, I should get something out of it. When we read it, if the world understands it or not, God is still telling us something in His Word. Do we see that? Let's look at 2 Timothy 3. 2 Timothy 3 and in verse 16, we read this, All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, which is God's instruction to us, teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete. And this is what we're talking about. Perfection in God in our calling, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. That word, equipped, I'm sorry, the word complete in the Greek has the meaning of being whole. That we have everything we need. We're not missing anything. But more importantly, to go back up to the first part of verse 16, where it talks about the inspiration of God, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. That Greek phrase has the meaning of God breathed, that God spoke it. Now, He didn't literally speak every word, but He inspired and directed the words that we have to be recorded for us. It's an amazing thing to consider. The Bible was written roughly over about 15, 14 to 1500 years, depending on the dates. It was written by dozens and dozens and dozens of different authors of different backgrounds, from very uneducated, simple people to the most educated, possible at the time, covering all these different topics, all these different eras, and it all fits together. The reference there to 1 Thessalonians 5, 21 speaks to proving all things. God has never asked us to accept without any evidence what He says to do. In fact, we have the other instruction, 1 Thessalonians 5, 21, and several other verses say very pointedly, prove. Malachi 3, 10, I believe, is another one. Prove Me now in this. He was speaking specifically there regarding tithing and a few other items. God's not afraid of our questions. He's a big enough God to take those.

But will we listen? Will we take that evidence and move with it?

John 10, verse 35 there talks about Scripture cannot be broken. It is God's Word. It is true to the point of John 17, 17 there talks about your Word is truth. It is the absolute standard to continue this thought here of having confidence in God. Are you convinced this is God's true church? Now, why would I ask that question? What kind of faith do you have if you're not in the right church? It's a thin faith at best, isn't it? Let's look at Isaiah 8, 20 there.

This goes back to the diligence on our part and the proving aspects. In Isaiah 8, verse 20, Isaiah here records, he says, "...to the law and the testimony, if they do not speak," meaning those who would stand before the congregation, before the nation, and say, here's what God is saying. He says, "...if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." So to go back to what we've touched on earlier, if they're not speaking truth from God's Word, then they're not part of the true church. Now we can temper that a little bit. In Matthew 23 there, verses 1-2, we have the instruction about the Pharisees. And Christ was saying that when they sit in Moses' seat, listen to what they're saying. And there's been some discussion over the years as to what that means. And some have speculated, and there is some archaeological evidence, that in many of the synagogues they would have a station, if you will, in the synagogue, a place towards the front, whether it was a chair, whether it was behind a short sort of wall, that when they read from the Scriptures, that is where they stood. And the whole congregation listened to them. And I tend to agree with that, because then that makes sense with what Christ is saying. When they're speaking from God's Word, He says, even if their actions are incompatible with the Word, when they're speaking from the Word, listen, because it's the Word that's the truth. It's not the individual.

Exodus 31.13 talks about the Sabbath being a sign. Does the church keep the Sabbath? It's one of those fundamental things. Do they teach tithing? Do they teach following the food laws? Do they teach the holy days and the understanding from those holy days? Do they teach the right aspect of the nature of the Godhead? We can go down the list. If they're not, then it's not God's church, which then also goes to the corollary, have you proved and accepted the authority of the Bible. It goes back to some of the earlier points. We're basing our eternal life on this. We better be pretty sure about it. But it's not an unknowable. Let's look at the next aspect of this conversation here about faith, and that is obedience. Let's go to James chapter 2.

One of the shortcomings of Christianity and the world around us is the aspect that Christ has fulfilled all, and so we have nothing that we have to do. So some denominations will say, come as you are, and they mean that in a variety of ways. It can be in terms of dress, it can be in terms of approach to God, it can just mean that you don't have to do anything, that Christ will do it all for you, which is a false theology because it's laziness, and it goes against everything that God says about doing. In James 2 and verse 19, we have this here. It says, you believe that there is one God. So he's telling them, look, you've gone through at least that part of the process. You know there's a God. He says to continue here, but you do well, but even the demons believe and tremble. See, the demons don't doubt that there's a God. They know firsthand there's a God. They've just rejected his authority. Verse 20, but do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead. Faith has to be coupled with doing, and the doing specifically has to be following God's instruction. Otherwise, as James says, it's dead. It's worthless.

Belief is not enough. As I said, the demons, as James writes here, even the demons believe. It has to be obedience coupled with obedience, which means we act on it.

Let's go to Acts 5, the next one there on the list. The thing about God's instruction, no matter what the topic is, no matter what we're discussing here, is that obedience comes before understanding with whatever we're talking about. So if we discount off the bat that I have to obey and do anything, then I've automatically limited what I could possibly understand. In Acts 5, verse 32, there's another component that comes into this. Breaking into the thought here, this is Peter continuing after Acts 2. There were other discourses that were done with the large group that was there in Jerusalem, ongoing conversations and things that were beginning to happen. So to break into thought here, he says, we are his witnesses to these things, meaning all that had happened to Christ. And so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. So now we go back to Jeremiah 10, and we have coupled with the fact that we don't have it within ourselves, innately, to direct ourselves, that God will give us his Holy Spirit as we obey him, which now then helps us as this begins to multiply. See, it's not just about Christ being in us. We have to obey and then act.

This is what James talked about. Faith without works is dead. If I only say I believe something, or if I only say I'm going to do something, you need a favor from me. And I say, yes, absolutely. I'll be there on Wednesday. I'll take care of it. Wednesday comes and goes. I'm nowhere to be seen. Do you have a lot of faith that I'll come back and do it? Probably not.

If we have that on a human level, why don't we understand that on a spiritual level? Matthew 7 there talks about that good deeds is not enough. There needs to be action coupled with it.

Let's look at the next aspect of faith here in our conversation, and that is that faith is a relationship. Do you believe that God is deeply interested in you? There are a lot of people who would answer that question, no. And honestly, there are even people within God's church who would answer, no. There can be a variety of reasons as to why they would answer that way.

But God is interested in us. He is interested in all of mankind. This is something I'm trying to wrap my head around more and more. The carnality of what you and I have innately in us. We want our pound of flesh, don't we? When we see someone do something really horrible, it could be a school shootings, it could be these conflicts in the Middle East where just thousands of people are dying on a regular basis. It can be all kinds of things. We want that fixed, don't we? But when we look at that from God's perspective, people will say, well, why is God not changing that? Well, we don't know what God is doing, though, do we? What is He working in that person's life to bring them to His family? That changes the whole conversation now, doesn't it? We want that mercy for us.

God wants that mercy for everybody. It's a relationship that He's interested in. Let's go back to Matthew 10 and put a really fine point on this. God knows us better than we know ourselves. We don't like to admit that. We want to think that we're masters of our own domain, that we have everything figured out, everything happening in our lives is exactly the way it needs to be. And even if something goes a little sideways, we can fix it. Matthew 10 and verse 30. Christ here says, in a greater context, He's talking about fearing God. He's talking about some other things and sort of break into it here. He says, but the very heads of your head are all numbered. Don't fear, He's talking about earlier. Don't fear if mankind can kill you. Don't fear these things that are coming. Don't let that fear consume you and immobilize you, because God knows the number of hairs on your head. Now, as we get older, especially for some people, that's an easier job.

But here's my question to you. No matter what the state of your hair is on your head, do you know the number of your hairs? You know, sometimes we can pull a brush through it and we can say, well, it's at least a couple of dozen shorter, because they're on the brush now.

He knows us to that level. So what is it He doesn't know about us?

And probably the closest explanation I can get to this is that a parent knowing their child.

And I told this story this morning. One year in elementary school, I forget which year, probably second or third grade, somewhere in there. It was in the springtime. My mom wanted me to wear my jacket. She was worried about me catching a cold or some such thing, you know, as mothers worry about. And so she told me, make sure you wear your jacket today. And so, recess comes. I had my jacket, but you know, running around playing, you're getting warm. I don't need this jacket. So I take it off, end up stuffing it in my lunchbox. It was there the rest of the day. I'm riding the bus home. I get close to home. I remember, mom told me I had to wear my jacket. So I pulled my jacket out. I put my jacket on. I walk down the lane to the house. I get in. Mom says, you didn't wear your jacket today, did you? I'm thinking, how in the world does she know that? Probably because it was so wrinkled for being stuffed in my lunchbox. But she knew I wouldn't wear it, even though she'd told me to wear it. God says, I know the very hairs on your head.

And then he goes on to talk, well, earlier, I should say, he talked about knowing the sparrows. He takes care of those birds. You know, talking about the passive aggressive spring we had, I felt so bad for the first robins that showed up pecking at that ground, trying to find the worms. And it still got snow on it, or it's frozen. And yet, God still took care of them, didn't He?

So He mentions in verse 31, you know, don't fear then. You're more valuable than all of those sparrows.

John 15, 15 there is talking about the aspects of a friendship. Second Peter 3, 9 is talking about that God doesn't want any to perish. He wants all to have eternal life. And again, we can have a hard time with that one as we see people do some really horrible things to each other. But God's looking for the best. He'll work with them. In the meantime, are we developing a relationship with God through prayer, Bible study, fasting, meditation? Meditation simply means reflection, pondering, thinking about. Are we developing a relationship? See, to go back to the previous point, even in obedience, you and I are performing works today, aren't we? What works are we performing?

We're here. God says, assemble on my Sabbath day, assemble in the place that I choose, come before me, and we're here. But it's not just obedience. Through that obedience, then we develop a relationship. It goes beyond just mere compliance. We begin to have this back and forth in your prayers. Do you talk to God as you would talk to a friend?

Let's move to the next point, then. Number five is that faith involves a conviction that sin always brings its own penalty. I am firmly convinced that most of the trials, I say most, because there are times that God will direct, I think, specific things in order to more finely tune us. But I think most of our problems, most of our trials in life, are of our own doing. We made a bad choice, and it's the natural consequence. Let's look at Galatians chapter 6.

Galatians 6 and verse 7, Paul writes here, he says, Do not be deceived. God is not mocked for whatever a man sows that he will also read. If you plant bean seeds, you're going to get beans. Don't think you're going to get corn.

If we do certain actions in life, if I'm promiscuous, I should not be surprised if I develop an STD. If I drink for decades and decades and decades, I should not be surprised that I have cirrhosis of the liver. So he says here, don't be deceived. Verse 8, For he who sows to his flesh, if it's only about this life, and there are a lot of people out there that this is their viewpoint, but it's only because they don't know anything more. You and I do. And if we sow to the flesh, we will, of the flesh, reap corruption. We will only have this life. But he who sows to the spirit will, of the spirit, reap everlasting life. Faith is action. Faith is obedience. Faith is confidence in God. Faith is trust in his word. Faith is developing that relationship. And faith is understanding the consequences of sin. So it only seems reasonable, then, that if we know what the consequence is, that we stay away from it. That's what God desires for us. He will work with us through those sins. But we have to come to an understanding that we will not get eternal life apart from following his instruction. It's counterintuitive. I will not get corn from a bean seed. Hebrews 11, 25 there, talks about sin's pleasure only lasting a season. You know, I often wonder about Moses. Now, he was sort of kicked out of Egypt, but he was at the very pinnacle of the royal court. He had everything life could offer at that time. But then God drew him out of that. Had him lead sheep, be a shepherd for 40 years so that he could do greater things with him. What if Moses had said no? We probably would never have heard of Moses.

We can go back to some of the examples of lifestyles that we could get involved with, what people follow through on. You know, you can see it in various political figures or entertainment figures. You know, look at Harvey Weinstein. He almost ruled Hollywood for decades. He was the man. If you wanted a movie made, he was the man to get it done. And he thought he could do anything he wanted with impunity. And his whole world, literally his whole world is now crashing down around him, which leads to Numbers 32.23. That verse simply says that our sins will find us out. And as a young boy, that verse was terrifying to me. That God was recording everything that I did wrong and was just waiting for the opportunity to expose it all. That's not what that verse is talking about. What that verse is talking about is an unrepented, unchanged lifestyle of sin. It will come home to roost.

The next point, then, number six, is that faith is seeing everything from God's point of view. And this is where faith becomes difficult for us. Because, again, we're human beings. We want that empirical scientific method. We want to be able to feel and touch and hear and taste and all of these different things. And we can't do that with God. So how do we see God's point of view? Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 2. It requires a convergence of many of the things that we've covered here today, of putting it together. In 1 Corinthians 2, excuse me if I said second, 1 Corinthians 2, and in verse 9, it says, but it is written, I has not seen nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. What does it mean to be eternal?

We have no idea. When we're young, we think we're immortal. It's not the same.

You know, how many of you wish you could go back to when you were 20, and that stupid thing that you did that now creates so much pain in your life, you could undo it.

But from a spiritual perspective, how do we understand what God is promising us? Verse 10, that God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. It is, again, going back to that aspect of it, it is only through God's Spirit that we can begin to see things spiritually. You and I view the world differently. We can forget that. If we have our eye, if you will, focused on God, we can easily forget what the world sees, what the world values, what they're pursuing, because that's not our life. You know, when I was at Ambassador College, which was the first two years in big Sandy, Texas, you know, come Saturday night, the kids would want to go into towns. They want to go dancing. Those that were old enough could drink at the bars. On more than one occasion, some of the various teachers, instructors, and whatnot, their Ambassador College would say, you know, it's not that that's wrong, but just know that when you show up, they know who you are.

Because you're not talking the same. You're not dressing the same. You're not behaving the same. Just know that they know who you are. We stand out because we're different, because God has revealed things to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what? Man knows the things of man, except the Spirit of man, which is in him. So we go to school. We study engineering. We study art. We study politics. We study languages. Those are things that man knows. God has to reveal His truth to us because it's not there, naturally.

Even so, no one knows the things of God except through the Spirit of God. Now, we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is or what is, which is from God, that we might know the things which have been freely given to us. Do we then see things from God's perspective? To the point of the reference there in James 1. Well, let's just turn there. James 1, verse 2.

James, again, is talking to an audience that had an understanding of God's expectations. In verse 1, he's talking to the 12 tribes that were scattered. They had this as part of their history. So in verse 2, then he says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.

So without a show of hands, how many of you, the last time you fell into a deep trial, said, Yay, another trial! And as I've said this morning in my, oh, what's it been now? Almost 40 years of being in God's church baptized. I have never, ever heard anybody say that.

But that's a physical approach, isn't it? So what is James talking about here? Joy because we know what God is accomplishing. God reveals to us through His Spirit what He is doing. So then we don't look at trials the same way, do we?

They become, some of the physical things become inconveniences.

But they're not important because we know they're temporary. And the things that are of a more deep nature, why is God allowing this trial to go on for so long?

That He is wanting us to see things more and more from His point of view.

This life is not important to Him the way we think it is. This life is the training for the real life. The last point in this first part, then, number seven, is that faith should be a consuming desire to live to give. What do I mean by that? Well, in Hebrews 11, where we started out, if you've just flipped back a page or two, it's been on your Bible. I mean, look at those lives. Look at those examples. At the end of it all, what is the commonality of every one of those stories? They did not withhold anything from what God asked them to do, which is a pretty amazing thing. Because if we look down to verse 34 of Hebrews 11, it talks about those who quench the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, women received their dead, raised to life, others were tortured. Could you endure torture and remain true to God's calling? I don't know that I could. Pain is a powerful motivator to do things you wouldn't normally do.

Notice not accepting deliverance. That is, that as the world presses on us, if they say, if you will just recant, if you will just stop going to church, if you will just say it's not true, I will stop. Would you?

Notice how they got through that, because they had a vision, as it says there, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

What is your vision of the future? I've read studies, articles, various things about individuals that have been POWs, whether it was in World War II, more recently and dramatically during the Vietnam War, and one of the primary things between those who survived and those who simply made it through, the difference was whether they had a vision of something afterwards that was worth living for. If they did not have that vision, then in most cases they either died there, or they capitulated, that is, collaborated with the enemy, or in some way compromised who they were. This is the same, in my estimation. Do we have that vision of a better future? Do we have a desire to give God everything and not withhold anything?

We have the example in Philippians 2 there that Christ gave everything. Where would we be if he had not? If he had held back any part of what he had done, we would not be able to stand before God. We would not have God's Spirit the way we do now. We might not even have a future. So with all that in mind, let's ask some questions here in the balance of the sermon. Where is faith found? We can't go to the store and buy it. It's found in our relationship with God to go back to the earlier point. 1 John 5. Let's turn there. Not too far from that. 1 John 5, in verse 14, simply says here, Now this is the confidence that we have in him. This is the faith. This is the trust. This is the assurance that we can have in God that if we ask anything, notice, according to his will, he hears us.

So it can be easy for us to say, God, please take away this trial. But the trial is there. Isn't it? So he's allowed it for some reason. Maybe the better conversation with God to have with God is, God, show me what you want me to learn. He will not withhold that from you.

Because if God is going to give us eternal life, he needs to know what we will do with it. Verse 15, and we know that he hears us, he hears our prayers. We can have confidence in that. That whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of him. It might be, though, that it will take some time because God wants to make sure or that he needs to work out other circumstances. Maybe you're praying for that job that will finally allow you to keep the Sabbath without a perpetual hassle. Well, it might take time for God to work all the particulars out for everybody that he's working with so that you can be there. But know that it will be there. I've seen it, and my life I've seen it. I've seen it in others.

1 John 3 verse 22 is very similar to this. Whatever we ask, we receive of him because we keep his commandments, which goes back to the obedience that we talked about. It goes back to knowing with confidence that God is, that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him, and to do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

Even back to verse 20 of that chapter, chapter 3, that if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart. That even if we look at ourselves and we say, I don't understand what God sees in me. That's not the point. He does see in you, and he is working with you, that even if we limit ourselves, that God is greater than that.

So then why is faith important?

I'm sorry, I skipped one. What is true faith? When is faith true faith?

Let's go to John 20 there. John 20 and in verse 26.

This is after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, and not all the disciples had seen the resurrected Christ, Thomas being the primary one. And so in verse 26, after eight days, the disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Previously he was not. Jesus came, the doors being shut and stood in the midst and said, peace to you.

Now to go back to the earlier discussion about God knowing us better than we know ourselves, he knew what was in Thomas's heart. What was in Thomas's heart? The desire to believe. Thomas was not convinced by the stories. It's not that he didn't believe them, but he needed something for himself. And God Christ not only knew that, but he didn't condemn him for it. Because notice, he says to Thomas, reach your finger here and look at my hands and reach your hand here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving but believing. He's basically telling Thomas if that is what it takes, then so be it.

We're not all going to come to these things in the same way, in the same process. We're all different. And you can go to God and you can say, this is what I need to know. This is what I need to see in order to have this confidence in you. Remember what we read earlier? God hears those prayers. He will not withhold something of that value if you're asking in the right way.

Show me your hand. I have said those prayers. So Thomas did, verse 28, and he said, my Lord and my God. And he says, Thomas, because you have seen me and believed, blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed. You and I don't have the opportunity that Thomas had. But we have other things now that Thomas didn't have. We have recorded Scripture. We have the example of other faithful members. Since then, we have our own opportunity now with God's Spirit to see that directly in our lives.

2 Corinthians 5, verse 7 there, talks about walking by faith, not by sight.

It's hard to walk by faith, isn't it? Especially when your mom changes all the furniture in the room.

And you think you know where everything is. You end up knocking chins and toes and hurting things. The point being that we are not always going to see everything. What's going to happen in five years? What's going to happen next week? I don't know. I didn't know what was going to happen when I started out on this back in 1982. Daniel 3 is the example of the friends of Daniel thrown into the fire. And you remember that story? Nebuchadnezzar told them, upon pain of death, you bow before that idol and worship. And they said, no, we will not. We will serve only the true God. So he says, well, if you don't, we're going to throw you in there. And they said, God will deliver us, but if He doesn't, doesn't change anything. We're not going to worship that idol. That's faith and trust, isn't it? Will we commit our foot to this path, even if it doesn't play out the way we think it will play out? Because what's on the end? What's on the back side? So then we come to why is faith important? Revelation 14 there talks about the virgins who followed the Lamb faithfully. The virgin in scriptural symbolic language is talking about one who is undefiled, unpolluted, pure, chaste. Do you want to be in the family of God?

God wants faithful family members. Nobody likes to be lied to. Nobody likes to be cheated. Nobody likes to be taken advantage of.

Revelation 19 there talks about a faithful wife who has made herself ready, leading up to a wedding.

God has set us aside. He has a special future in mind. We touched on it earlier. I didn't elaborate on it, but those faithful who died, as it said there in Hebrews 11, they did it because they wanted a better resurrection, which is the first resurrection. It's much harder now to go through this process than it's going to be in the millennium and it's going to be in the last great day. Right? Because everything is going to be primed to assist people then. Right now, this is Satan's world and everything is primed against God's people. As my grandfather used to say, any dead fish can go downstream. It's harder to go against the flow. You've seen that in school, in your jobs, in your neighborhoods, maybe even in your extended families. Why do you have to do that? Why don't you just do it this once? It's not that critical, whatever the thing is.

We read Hebrews 11.6 earlier and I just wanted to re-emphasize it here, that it's impossible to please God if we don't trust Him. So then, how is faith created?

We know again from Jeremiah 10, we can't do this on our own. We know that it requires God's Spirit. Let's go to Romans 10.

It ties in with everything that we've talked about. It ties in with what we've covered in the book of James in terms of works. Romans 10 and verse 17 simply says, So then faith comes by hearing. We have to first receive the knowledge. And obedience always comes before knowledge, though. You have to be willing to hear. And then once you hear, as it says here, then hearing comes by the Word of God. We have to hear the right instruction. So we can build any structure on a foundation. But what is the foundation?

You know, it always surprised me out in Southern California that the houses that are built along the beach, none of those have a foundation like houses here in the Midwest. They're built on pilings. They pound down into the sand until they get enough resistance and they're deep enough the water action is not going to undermine it. And that's what they build on. But circumstances can change anytime water is involved. It's not a very strong foundation. There's an awful lot of faith being put that that sand is going to stay where it is. Faith comes through that relationship to go back to the earlier point. Faith comes through spending time with God. And again, that's what we do on the Sabbath days, what we do on the Holy days, is what we do when we're praying, when we're fasting, when we're reading His Word, we're spending time with Him. And that's the hearing. That's the receiving part of it so that we know what to do moving forward. And so then to go back to Pentecost, this begins this reciprocal process that God does for us. Then as we obey Him, we give Him honor back. And it's just this building process that moves forward. Because faith is a foundational and fundamental biblical doctrine. It is absolutely required for salvation. None may obtain eternal life without it. Because as Hebrews 11.1 says, it's the substance or the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The fact that God had promised it at all is all the evidence the faithful of Scripture needed.

We act on it from there. Because you do not need faith for something you already possess.

We have it. We don't need faith anymore. It's there. Faith involves acting or believing something not seen yet. Let's go to the last of that verse as we conclude here today. Romans 8 and verse 24. Just to back up a little bit. Romans 8 verse 24.

For we are saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For why does one still hope for what he sees? Right? I had hoped to go to college. I had hoped to marry. I had hoped to have kids. I have all those things now. I don't need to hope for those anymore. But I still hope for eternal life. I don't have that yet.

Verse 25. But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. God's not going to drop it in our lap. We have to be part of the process. We have to be engaged. Faith comes with patience. Faith comes with trust and confidence, belief in God, and practice in his way of life. So may we all go on to perfection in faith towards God.