Dear Seng ,
Faith နဲ႔ ပတ္သက္တဲ့ Sermon ေလးပို႔ထားပါတယ္.. တရားေဟာခ်က္ကတစ္ခု Bible Study Lesson ကေတာ့ႏွစ္ခုေပါ့ေနာ္ ... ဆိုင္း သေဘာက်တဲ့ အခ်က္ေတြကို ထုတ္ယူေပ့ါ ဟုတ္လား... ေနာင္းေနာင္က ကူညီခ်င္တာဘဲသိတယ္ အဂၤလိပ္စာ မဖတ္သတ္ဘူး... ဒါေပမဲ့ ဒီတရားေဟာခ်က္က ေကာင္းမယ္ထင္လို႔ (မွန္းၿပီး) ပို႔ေပးလိုက္တာပါ.... အမွားပါရင္ခြင့္လြတ္ေနာ္... ႏွလံုးသားရဲ႕ တိတ္ဆိတ္ၿငိမ္သက္မႈထဲကေန မင္းအတြက္ ကိုယ္ ဆုေတာင္းေပးေနပါတယ္... အစစအရာရာ အဆင္ေျပဖို႔အတြက္ေပ့ါ။ ၿပီးေတာ့ တို႔ႏွစ္ေယာက္စလံုးအတြက္လည္း ကိုယ္ဆုေတာင္းေပးေနပါတယ္။
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Faith is also expressed in the spiritual realm. Each of us regardless of our backgrounds or educations, our social status or our talents can express faith. The difference between the faith we exercise in our daily routine and our religious faith is the object of that faith. Again everyone places their faith in something or someone. The Moslem puts his faith in the Koran and in Mohammed. The humanist put his faith in himself. The follower of religion, in his own good works. None of these can save, because in each case the object of faith is wrong. Your faith is only as good as the object in which you place your faith. The Bible insists that we personally put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 says, �Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.�
This morning I want us to begin a study of the greatest teaching in the Bible on the subject of faith found in eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews. Today I want us to see two things; �What faith is and what faith does.�
I. WHAT FAITH IS (11:1-3)
To understand what faith is we must get past certain misconceptions about faith.
First, that faith is the ability to manipulate God. This is the approach of the �health and wealth� prosperity gospel. This approach only sees faith as having one aim � one fruit � a life of ease and blessing.
Second, that faith is adherence to a set of beliefs . You must believe the right doctrine. But Paul says in 2 Tim. 1:12, � I know whom I have believed.� If your beliefs are not founded on the right person it does not matter what else you believe.
Third, that faith is a blind leap into the dark. To many unbelievers faith is the anti-thesis of science. To these saying �you just have to have faith� is the same as saying �just have to act contrary to everything you know and trust that it will all work out for the best.�
Finally, that faith is simply devotion to whatever god one happens to follow. It can be said, �He is a person of deep faith� about a follower of Mohammed or the Ayatollah or of a Christian. What matters is that they are sincere.
But unfortunately none of these is true faith. Hebrews chapter eleven portrays what real biblical faith looks like.
�Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (2) For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.(3) By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.�
True faith is confident obedience to God�s word in spite of circumstances or consequences. Faith is described in a two-fold way. It is the �substance of things hoped for,� and �the evidence of things not seen.�
First, the word translated �substance� (hupostasis) in the Greek, means literally �to stand under or to support.� Faith is the foundation that gives the believer the confidence to stand. The verse could be translated �faith is the confidence of things hoped for.�
This is illustrated in the life of the missionary Hudson Taylor. �When Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary, first went to China, it was in a sailing vessel. Very close to the shore of cannibal islands the ship was caught in a calm., and it was slowly drifting toward the shore �and the savages were eagerly anticipating a feast.
The captain came to Mr. Taylor and sought him to pray for the help of God. �I will,� said Taylor, �provided you set your sails to catch the breeze.� The Captain declined to make himself a laughing stock by unfurling the sails in a dead calm. Taylor said, �I will not undertake to pray for the vessel unless you will prepare the sails.� And it was done.
While engaged in prayer, there was a knock at the door of his stateroom. �Who is there?� The captains voice responded, �Are your still praying for wind?� �Yes.� �Well,� said the captain �you better stop praying for we have more wind than we can manage.�� [Paul Lee Tan. Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations. (Rockville, Maryland: Assurance Publishers, 1979). # 1493]
Second, word describing what faith is, is translated �evidence� and means �conviction.� This inward conviction enables the believer to believe things not yet seen, that God perform what he has promised.
Another story of a captain of a ship illustrates this point. �The story is told by the captain of a ship on which George Mueller of Bristol was traveling. (Mueller was a man who had several children�s homes and depended on God alone to provide for them.) During his lifetime he received more than 1,000,000 pounds from the Lord without advertising � every penny came as an answer to prayer.
We had George Mueller of Bristol aboard, said the captain. �I had been on the bridge for twenty-four hours and never left it and George Mueller came to me and said, �Captain, I have come to tell you that you must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.� �It is impossible.� I said. �Then very well, if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way. I have never broken an engagement in fifty-seven years; let us go down into the chart room and pray.�
�I looked at that man of God and thought to myself. What lunatic asylum can that man have come from, for I never heard of such a thing as this?� �Mr. Mueller,� I said, �do you know how dense this fog is?� No he replied, �my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life.� He knelt down and he prayed one of the simplest prayers. When he had finished I was going to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray. �As you do not believe He will answer, and as I believe He has, there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.�
�I looked at him and George Mueller said, �Captain, I have known the Lord for fifty-seven years and there has never been a single day when I have failed to get an audience with the King. Get up, Captain and open the door and you will find the fog has gone.�
�I got up and the fog indeed was gone and on that Saturday afternoon George Mueller kept his promised engagement.� [Paul Lee Tan. Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations. (Rockville, Maryland: Assurance Publishers, 1979). # 1494] That my friends is the conviction that only faith can bring.
II. WHAT FAITH DOES (11:4-7)
Faith Caused Abel to Worship God (v. 4)
(Gen. 4:1-10)
�By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.�
We do not know the details of Abel faith. We do not just how much had been revealed to Abel about how he was to worship. But his father Adam had walked with God. We do know that his faith caused him to worship God. This verse tells us, �Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice. � He chose the choicest lamb as an offering and he brought it to the place of sacrifice.
I am no one�s final judge, but I find it extremely hard to believe that a person whose faith never compels them to come into the Lord�s house to worship is truly saved. True faith looks for an opportunity to worship!!
Faith Caused Enoch to Walk with God (vv. 5-6)
�By faith Enoch was taken away so that 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. (6) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.�
Enoch is a fascinating biblical character. Enoch lived in one of the darkest period of the history of the world. Enoch lived just before God had to destroy the earth because of man�s evil, yet Enoch managed to keep himself pure. Enoch walked with God. Yet the Genesis record indicates that this was not always the case in Enoch�s life (Gen 5:21-24). For the first 65 years of his life, Enoch did not walk with God. Presumably he was a man of his times. But from the birth of his son, Methuselah, throughout the remaining 300 years of his life he �walked with God.� The Hebrew form of the verb means he walked closely and continually with God. The walk that Enoch experienced was on of deepening intimacy with God. He lived every day in the presence of the Lord and in constant communion with Him. His faith and his obedience, as well as his worship, were outstanding.
The hallmark of Enoch�s life was that �he pleased God.� What a wonderful description of a believer�s life. Can that be said of your life? Is God pleased with how you use your time? Is God pleased with what you read? Is God pleased with the words you speak? Is God pleased with your plans for the future? Have you even bothered to consult God with your plans?
Enoch walk of faith delivered him from the consequence of death. Will yours? This verse does not say that faith is simply one way to please God: it is the only way.
Faith Caused Noah to Work for God (v. 7)
�By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.�
The story of Noah�s generation is the story of the degeneration of humanity into sin. (Gen 6:5-7). �The wickedness of man was great� every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually� The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.� (Gen 6: 5, 11) It is also the story of the marvelous grace of God, in saving believing Noah and his family. Noah stood alone against the whole world. Jesus used the �days of Noah� as representative of the condition of the world before his own second coming (Matt. 24:37-39). And indicated that his followers should be prepared to face the same kind of scornful hostility that Noah met day after day.
Noah built an Ark because he believed God. Every tree he felled shouted, faith. Every board he sawed, shouted faith. Every swing of his hammer, shouted faith. Every seam to which he applied the pitch shouted, faith. Do your works reflect your faith? Faith will make us work. Only his steadfast belief in God kept Noah faithful for the 120 years cutting the trees and planning the construction of the Ark.
The ark was 450 feet long, 75 ft wide and 45 ft. high, that means that it was nearly one and a half times the length of a football field and more than four stories high, it could hardly be hide from the ridicule of the scoffers. Can you imagine the mockery and jeering that Noah must have faced on a daily basis as he built this huge ship? It was a hundred miles from the nearest ocean and far to big to move.
The majority of the people simply refused to believe Noah�s witness concerning the coming flood. Yet, he in faith went right on working and witnessing, building the ark and warning of the coming judgement. Then as a final act of faith, he and his family stepped into the ark and closed the door.
Noah was a man of faith and his life continually showed his faith. Does yours? Noah worshiped God faithfully as Abel had, and he walked with God faithfully as Enoch had and he worked for God faithfully.
Conclusion
�The three year old felt secure in his father�s arms as dad stood in the middle of the pool. But dad, for fun, began waling slowly toward the deep end, gently chanting, �Deeper and deeper and deeper,� as the water rose higher and higher on the child. The lad�s face registered increasing degrees of panic, and held all the more tightly to his father, who of course, easily touched the bottom.
Had the little boy been able to analyze his situation, he�d have realized there was no reason for increased anxiety. The water�s depth in any part of the pool was over his head. Even in the shallowest part, had he not been held up, he would have drowned. His safety anywhere in the pool depended on Dad.
At various points in our lives, all of us feel we are getting out of our depth � problems abound, a job lost, someone dies. Our temptation is to panic, for we fell � we�ve lost control. Yet, as with the child in the pool, the truth is we�ve never been in control over the most valuable things of life. We�ve always been held up by the grace of God, our Father, that does not change. God is never out of His depth and therefore we�re as safe when we�re �going deeper� as we have ever been.� [Craig Larson. Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993) p. 214.]
Perhaps God wants to move you �deeper� than ever before. It is faith that will give you confidence and conviction to worshiped God faithfully as Abel had, walked with God faithfully as Enoch and to work for God faithfully as Noah did.
Faith နဲ႔ ပတ္သက္တဲ့ Sermon ေလးပို႔ထားပါတယ္.. တရားေဟာခ်က္ကတစ္ခု Bible Study Lesson ကေတာ့ႏွစ္ခုေပါ့ေနာ္ ... ဆိုင္း သေဘာက်တဲ့ အခ်က္ေတြကို ထုတ္ယူေပ့ါ ဟုတ္လား... ေနာင္းေနာင္က ကူညီခ်င္တာဘဲသိတယ္ အဂၤလိပ္စာ မဖတ္သတ္ဘူး... ဒါေပမဲ့ ဒီတရားေဟာခ်က္က ေကာင္းမယ္ထင္လို႔ (မွန္းၿပီး) ပို႔ေပးလိုက္တာပါ.... အမွားပါရင္ခြင့္လြတ္ေနာ္... ႏွလံုးသားရဲ႕ တိတ္ဆိတ္ၿငိမ္သက္မႈထဲကေန မင္းအတြက္ ကိုယ္ ဆုေတာင္းေပးေနပါတယ္... အစစအရာရာ အဆင္ေျပဖို႔အတြက္ေပ့ါ။ ၿပီးေတာ့ တို႔ႏွစ္ေယာက္စလံုးအတြက္လည္း ကိုယ္ဆုေတာင္းေပးေနပါတယ္။
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Walking In Faith & Victory
Faith Works By Love
Pastor Ken Birks
I. Introductory Remarks.
The Christian life is to be a life of victory in all things that pertain unto life and godliness. Even though there are many obstacles and trials that come our way that try to prevent us from walking in victory, we can experience the victory that God has ordained for us.
Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
John 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
This is where faith comes in. We must walk by faith to experience the fullness of victory in all of the areas that pertain unto our life.
1 John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world; our faith.
Through faith we have access to the spiritual inheritance God wants us to walk in for our marriages, our families, our job and everything else that pertains to our lives.
§ Through faith we have rest in our souls in the midst of trials and tribulations.
§ Through faith we have the power to overcome sinful bondages and run the race with endurance.
§ Through faith we are able to release our gifting in God and pursue the ministry He has ordained for our lives.
§ Through faith we release God provision for our lives and families.
§ Through faith we are able to receive the healing and health that is necessary for our bodies.
§ Through faith we receive the answers to our many prayers.
No wonder it says in Hebrews that without faith we cannot please God.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
II. Faith Works Through Love.
In this message I want to talk about one of the most important principles in the release of our faith. Without this principle or quality working in our lives we will never know what it is to have our faith released effectively. This quality is found in the Book of Galatians and is called love. Faith works and operates by love.
Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
1. The Relationship Between Faith & Love.
For Paul, the controlling principle of life is faith expressed in love, as in the life of Christ. The essence of Christianity is not legalism, but a personal relationship to Jesus Christ which is characterized by faith and love. We see this time and time again in the Writings of Paul.
Ephesians 1:15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints...
Ephesians 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love...
Colossians 1:4....since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;
1 Thessalonians 1:3...remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father...
1 Thessalonians 5:8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
1 Corinthians 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
When you think of love, What comes to your mind? The marks of love are found here in 1 Corinthians 13. These are the characteristics that release the faith in our lives so that we are able to receive what God has for us. Some of the things mentioned here are as follows:
§ longsuffering
§ kindness
§ lack of envy
§ is not provoked
§ self sacrifice
§ humility
§ Self abasement
§ kindness
§ good behavior
§ unselfishness
§ hope
§ believes all things
§ patience
§ rejoicing
§ forgiveness
§ endurance
These are the qualities that faith must pass through if it is to be released effectively in our lives.
2. The Example of Jesus Feeding the 5000 - John 14:1-21.
Jesus performed many miracles while He ministered in the fullness of Christ on earth for 3 1/2 years. He always exhibited a perfect faith that was motivated by a genuine love for the people He had been sent to minister to. In the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5000 we see how perfectly love was the motivation behind the miracle. This was a great victory for Jesus and for the people. In fact they were ready to make Him king following this miracle.
§ Background - The pressure of circumstances over the death of John the Baptist -- a foreshadow of His own death in the following year -- forced Him to retire privately for rest, not only for Himself, but for His disciples, who had returned from their first mission.
With them were the disciples of John the Baptist who had brought the bad news of the murder. All needed a season of bodily and spiritual refreshment.
§ He was not annoyed at being thwarted.
Matthew 14:13-14 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. {14} And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.
Though He was denied the rest he needed and sought, He was moved with compassion and embraced the opportunity of teaching the multitude and healing the sick. His faith was being released through the love He was exhibiting to these people.
The heart of Jesus was always ready to melt over the manifold needs of men. Sympathy prevailed over the quest for solitude. Even though others showed very little consideration to Him, He was ready to show full consideration to them. This is faith working through love.
We see kindness, self sacrifice, humility, unselfishness, a lack of provocation and longsuffering -- all marks of love being exhibited by Jesus as His faith was released for this great miracle.
III. Practical Expressions Of Faith & Love In Our Lives.
How does this apply to us in a practical way from day to day??
§ Are you praying in faith for your marriage? Do acts of kindness and unselfish deeds even when your mate is unworthy of your love. This will release your faith and God's hand in their life.
§ What about the grumpy boss you're praying for to get saved? Do you respond in love when you feel you are being taken advantage of?
§ Are you praying in faith for financial provision? What's your motivation? Is it for your own selfish gain or is it to better meet your families needs, etc.
§ What about your gifting in God? What's your motive? Is it to build others up or is it to puff yourself up?
When the phone rings at an inconvenient time do you get all bent out of shape or do you respond in love? Even though others may be inconsiderate, you can respond in love by being considerate to them. Take the time to listen and draw them out, even when you are not feeling like it. Your gifting will come out as you take the time to respond in love.
IV. Concluding Remarks.
Remember faith and love are inseparable. Practicing love from day to day in all of these areas keeps you in a place where your faith is being released in a positive way from day to day.
Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
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Dare To Believe
The Path to Restored Faith & Belief
I. Introductory Remarks.
Luke 24:1-6 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? "He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee....
· Easter is the day we as Christians celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
· This is the most significant event that ever took place in the history of our faith.
· It is an event that has given to us the measurement of time as we know it.
· Time as we know it was divided by this great and momentous event.
· So let us celebrate this day and give glory to the one who has conquered death for every man, because it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that our faith is based on.
In this message, I want you to see the hope that we as Christians have in Jesus Christ. The message of the resurrection of Christ has something for everyone, believer and unbeliever alike.
The resurrection of Jesus...
· is a message of salvation to all of those who are lost and without hope in this life.
· is a message of hope to all who have failed God in one way or another.
· is a message of restored faith and belief to those who have given up.
· is a message of joy and peace to those who are sinking in the mire of self pity and despair.
· is a message of purpose and destiny to those who are without direction and meaning in this life.
· is a message of Christ's compassion and mercy in His dealings with mankind.
· is a message of who Christ is. As the disciples failed to perceive the true nature of Christ prior to His resurrection, He uses the power of His resurrection to reveal His full nature.
The disciples and followers of Jesus who had been with Him prior to His crucifixion experienced all of these feelings and emotions that were just mentioned because of His death and the events leading up to it.
These are also common emotions that each one of us deals with from time to time.
Interactive Question
What kind of extreme emotions have you experienced?
A. Total despair and bitterness from a sense of loss or failure.
B. A sense of hopelessness and loss of faith
C. Depression and despair due to loss of purpose & destiny
D. All of the above
My desire it that you would allow the message of Christ's resurrection minister and heal the area in your life that is in need of attention.
Through the power of His resurrection He is able to touch you today because He is alive forevermore!
My prayer is that through this message, you will be able to grasp the significance of what took place on this momentous day in the history of our planet – so momentous that time as we know it has been divided by this historical event.
· The week of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection was a week that began with tremendous excitement and great expectations for these early followers of Christ.
· The followers of Jesus were ready to crown Him as their King, only to have all of their hopes and expectations crushed because of His death.
· They were unable to grasp the significance of what was taking place. Their belief in Christ was so shattered that even after His resurrection they were slow to believe.
All of Jesus' disciples and other followers forsook Him, one betrayed Him and one denied Him. Matthew 26:56 says they all forsook Him.
They had lost hope in the One who came to redeem them from the curse of the law.
Peter was mired in self-pity and despair. Matthew 26:75 says he went out and wept bitterly.
They had given up all to follow Christ and now they were filled with bitterness and total disillusionment.
They no longer had the direction or meaning to life that they had experienced during the 3 1/2 years they had been with Jesus.
They were now lost and without hope. They were in need of a Savior.
But all of this was about to change because of the resurrection of Christ – if only they would dare to believe once again.
The Title of this message is Dare to Believe, The Path to Restored Faith and Belief.
The beautiful thing about the resurrection of Christ is that Jesus understood and sympathized with their weakened condition. His immediate purpose following His resurrection was to restore their belief in Him.
II. The Path to Restored Faith and Belief.
As we begin to look at how Jesus went about restoring their faith and trust in Him I want you to see the compassion and understanding that Christ exercised in mending their fragile souls.
1. He began to plant and replant the seeds of truth.
The empty tomb speaks and plants the seeds of faith and belief. They are reminded of what Jesus had told them concerning rising from the dead.
Luke 24:5-8 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? "He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, "saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' "And they remembered His words.
Mark 16:7 "But go and tell His disciples – and Peter that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."
The women go on to share with the disciples, but their words seemed like idle tales. They still did not believe, but enough of a seed was planted for them to begin to investigate the truth concerning the resurrection of Jesus.
Luke 24:9-11 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.
Luke 24:12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.
Whenever the truth of God's Word comes into our hearing, whether it is for the first time or for a particular situation in our life, we have the choice of listening to the voice of doubt and unbelief or beginning an investigation of looking into the source of what we have heard. Peter could have listened to his doubts, but he chose to investigate further. eg. the Bereans.
· We must dare to believe even in the midst of the most intense and severe circumstances and bitter disillusionment.
What would have happened to Peter if he dared not to believe? His life would have ended in intense bitterness and resentment. But he resisted his doubts and dared to believe just as you and I must do at times.
When we do, God is faithful to reward us by opening the scriptures once again to our understanding so that we can see through the eyes of faith where we are going.
· Jesus began to open their Understanding to the Scriptures.
We see this with the two men on the road to Emmaus who have the scriptures opened to them by Jesus – Luke 24:13-27.
Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
These men were with the disciples when the women came to them with the report that Jesus had risen from the dead. The seeds of restored belief and faith had been planted in their hearts and now Jesus is opening their understanding to the word.
When we have an openness in our heart that puts us on an investigative course, God is faithful to open our understanding to His Word.
In order to see and believe in Jesus or in a fuller revelation of Him and His will for our lives, we must first have our understanding opened to it in the Word. This is what sustains our faith more than any personal experience. Experiences have a way of fading, but the word of God never fades or dims in our understanding.
3. Jesus Becomes Real - We See Him as the Living Resurrected Christ.
The more we experience the reality of Jesus Christ through His written Word the more we experience His manifested presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit.
Luke 24:36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."
4. We Receive the Complete Picture and Revelation of Who Christ Is.
Luke 24:45-46 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day...
God's desire is to open our understanding so that we can see and experience His fullness, so that we will be fully equipped with every good thing to fulfill all that He has called us to in this life.
When we are able to see the full revelation of all God's attributes, we are not only healed from the despair and hopelessness, we are now able to fulfill the divine purpose and destiny He has laid out for our lives.
There is nothing more fulfilling than this! The disciples went forth in the power of the Holy Spirit in a conquering attitude after their belief was restored. We can do the same.
Ephesians 1:17-23 ...eyes of our understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling...the exceeding greatness of His power...and the fullness of His body.
III. Concluding Remarks.
In conclusion, I want to encourage you to dare to believe God for what is needed the most in your life. It doesn't matter how much you have sinned, how many times you have failed God or how many times you have closed your heart to Him. Open your heart to Him today and dare to believe, because He has risen from the dead and is alive forevermore.
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�The Pathway of Faith�
Hebrews 11:1-7
Hebrews 11:1-7
Faith is a common denominator. Every one alive daily expressed faith in something. No one can live a single day without exercising faith � faith in the physical world. When you awoke and went into the bathroom this morning you flipped a light switch and you had faith that it would work. When you get in your car you have faith that it will start. When you mail a letter you have faith the postal system will get it to the right address. When you go to the pharmacy you have faith that the pharmacist will give you the right drugs. Every time you walk into this building or any building you are expressing faith in the architect and the workmen.
Faith is also expressed in the spiritual realm. Each of us regardless of our backgrounds or educations, our social status or our talents can express faith. The difference between the faith we exercise in our daily routine and our religious faith is the object of that faith. Again everyone places their faith in something or someone. The Moslem puts his faith in the Koran and in Mohammed. The humanist put his faith in himself. The follower of religion, in his own good works. None of these can save, because in each case the object of faith is wrong. Your faith is only as good as the object in which you place your faith. The Bible insists that we personally put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 says, �Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.�
This morning I want us to begin a study of the greatest teaching in the Bible on the subject of faith found in eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews. Today I want us to see two things; �What faith is and what faith does.�
I. WHAT FAITH IS (11:1-3)
To understand what faith is we must get past certain misconceptions about faith.
First, that faith is the ability to manipulate God. This is the approach of the �health and wealth� prosperity gospel. This approach only sees faith as having one aim � one fruit � a life of ease and blessing.
Second, that faith is adherence to a set of beliefs . You must believe the right doctrine. But Paul says in 2 Tim. 1:12, � I know whom I have believed.� If your beliefs are not founded on the right person it does not matter what else you believe.
Third, that faith is a blind leap into the dark. To many unbelievers faith is the anti-thesis of science. To these saying �you just have to have faith� is the same as saying �just have to act contrary to everything you know and trust that it will all work out for the best.�
Finally, that faith is simply devotion to whatever god one happens to follow. It can be said, �He is a person of deep faith� about a follower of Mohammed or the Ayatollah or of a Christian. What matters is that they are sincere.
But unfortunately none of these is true faith. Hebrews chapter eleven portrays what real biblical faith looks like.
�Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (2) For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.(3) By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.�
True faith is confident obedience to God�s word in spite of circumstances or consequences. Faith is described in a two-fold way. It is the �substance of things hoped for,� and �the evidence of things not seen.�
First, the word translated �substance� (hupostasis) in the Greek, means literally �to stand under or to support.� Faith is the foundation that gives the believer the confidence to stand. The verse could be translated �faith is the confidence of things hoped for.�
This is illustrated in the life of the missionary Hudson Taylor. �When Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary, first went to China, it was in a sailing vessel. Very close to the shore of cannibal islands the ship was caught in a calm., and it was slowly drifting toward the shore �and the savages were eagerly anticipating a feast.
The captain came to Mr. Taylor and sought him to pray for the help of God. �I will,� said Taylor, �provided you set your sails to catch the breeze.� The Captain declined to make himself a laughing stock by unfurling the sails in a dead calm. Taylor said, �I will not undertake to pray for the vessel unless you will prepare the sails.� And it was done.
While engaged in prayer, there was a knock at the door of his stateroom. �Who is there?� The captains voice responded, �Are your still praying for wind?� �Yes.� �Well,� said the captain �you better stop praying for we have more wind than we can manage.�� [Paul Lee Tan. Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations. (Rockville, Maryland: Assurance Publishers, 1979). # 1493]
Second, word describing what faith is, is translated �evidence� and means �conviction.� This inward conviction enables the believer to believe things not yet seen, that God perform what he has promised.
Another story of a captain of a ship illustrates this point. �The story is told by the captain of a ship on which George Mueller of Bristol was traveling. (Mueller was a man who had several children�s homes and depended on God alone to provide for them.) During his lifetime he received more than 1,000,000 pounds from the Lord without advertising � every penny came as an answer to prayer.
We had George Mueller of Bristol aboard, said the captain. �I had been on the bridge for twenty-four hours and never left it and George Mueller came to me and said, �Captain, I have come to tell you that you must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.� �It is impossible.� I said. �Then very well, if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way. I have never broken an engagement in fifty-seven years; let us go down into the chart room and pray.�
�I looked at that man of God and thought to myself. What lunatic asylum can that man have come from, for I never heard of such a thing as this?� �Mr. Mueller,� I said, �do you know how dense this fog is?� No he replied, �my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life.� He knelt down and he prayed one of the simplest prayers. When he had finished I was going to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray. �As you do not believe He will answer, and as I believe He has, there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.�
�I looked at him and George Mueller said, �Captain, I have known the Lord for fifty-seven years and there has never been a single day when I have failed to get an audience with the King. Get up, Captain and open the door and you will find the fog has gone.�
�I got up and the fog indeed was gone and on that Saturday afternoon George Mueller kept his promised engagement.� [Paul Lee Tan. Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations. (Rockville, Maryland: Assurance Publishers, 1979). # 1494] That my friends is the conviction that only faith can bring.
II. WHAT FAITH DOES (11:4-7)
Faith Caused Abel to Worship God (v. 4)
(Gen. 4:1-10)
�By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.�
We do not know the details of Abel faith. We do not just how much had been revealed to Abel about how he was to worship. But his father Adam had walked with God. We do know that his faith caused him to worship God. This verse tells us, �Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice. � He chose the choicest lamb as an offering and he brought it to the place of sacrifice.
I am no one�s final judge, but I find it extremely hard to believe that a person whose faith never compels them to come into the Lord�s house to worship is truly saved. True faith looks for an opportunity to worship!!
Faith Caused Enoch to Walk with God (vv. 5-6)
�By faith Enoch was taken away so that 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. (6) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.�
Enoch is a fascinating biblical character. Enoch lived in one of the darkest period of the history of the world. Enoch lived just before God had to destroy the earth because of man�s evil, yet Enoch managed to keep himself pure. Enoch walked with God. Yet the Genesis record indicates that this was not always the case in Enoch�s life (Gen 5:21-24). For the first 65 years of his life, Enoch did not walk with God. Presumably he was a man of his times. But from the birth of his son, Methuselah, throughout the remaining 300 years of his life he �walked with God.� The Hebrew form of the verb means he walked closely and continually with God. The walk that Enoch experienced was on of deepening intimacy with God. He lived every day in the presence of the Lord and in constant communion with Him. His faith and his obedience, as well as his worship, were outstanding.
The hallmark of Enoch�s life was that �he pleased God.� What a wonderful description of a believer�s life. Can that be said of your life? Is God pleased with how you use your time? Is God pleased with what you read? Is God pleased with the words you speak? Is God pleased with your plans for the future? Have you even bothered to consult God with your plans?
Enoch walk of faith delivered him from the consequence of death. Will yours? This verse does not say that faith is simply one way to please God: it is the only way.
Faith Caused Noah to Work for God (v. 7)
�By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.�
The story of Noah�s generation is the story of the degeneration of humanity into sin. (Gen 6:5-7). �The wickedness of man was great� every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually� The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.� (Gen 6: 5, 11) It is also the story of the marvelous grace of God, in saving believing Noah and his family. Noah stood alone against the whole world. Jesus used the �days of Noah� as representative of the condition of the world before his own second coming (Matt. 24:37-39). And indicated that his followers should be prepared to face the same kind of scornful hostility that Noah met day after day.
Noah built an Ark because he believed God. Every tree he felled shouted, faith. Every board he sawed, shouted faith. Every swing of his hammer, shouted faith. Every seam to which he applied the pitch shouted, faith. Do your works reflect your faith? Faith will make us work. Only his steadfast belief in God kept Noah faithful for the 120 years cutting the trees and planning the construction of the Ark.
The ark was 450 feet long, 75 ft wide and 45 ft. high, that means that it was nearly one and a half times the length of a football field and more than four stories high, it could hardly be hide from the ridicule of the scoffers. Can you imagine the mockery and jeering that Noah must have faced on a daily basis as he built this huge ship? It was a hundred miles from the nearest ocean and far to big to move.
The majority of the people simply refused to believe Noah�s witness concerning the coming flood. Yet, he in faith went right on working and witnessing, building the ark and warning of the coming judgement. Then as a final act of faith, he and his family stepped into the ark and closed the door.
Noah was a man of faith and his life continually showed his faith. Does yours? Noah worshiped God faithfully as Abel had, and he walked with God faithfully as Enoch had and he worked for God faithfully.
Conclusion
�The three year old felt secure in his father�s arms as dad stood in the middle of the pool. But dad, for fun, began waling slowly toward the deep end, gently chanting, �Deeper and deeper and deeper,� as the water rose higher and higher on the child. The lad�s face registered increasing degrees of panic, and held all the more tightly to his father, who of course, easily touched the bottom.
Had the little boy been able to analyze his situation, he�d have realized there was no reason for increased anxiety. The water�s depth in any part of the pool was over his head. Even in the shallowest part, had he not been held up, he would have drowned. His safety anywhere in the pool depended on Dad.
At various points in our lives, all of us feel we are getting out of our depth � problems abound, a job lost, someone dies. Our temptation is to panic, for we fell � we�ve lost control. Yet, as with the child in the pool, the truth is we�ve never been in control over the most valuable things of life. We�ve always been held up by the grace of God, our Father, that does not change. God is never out of His depth and therefore we�re as safe when we�re �going deeper� as we have ever been.� [Craig Larson. Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993) p. 214.]
Perhaps God wants to move you �deeper� than ever before. It is faith that will give you confidence and conviction to worshiped God faithfully as Abel had, walked with God faithfully as Enoch and to work for God faithfully as Noah did.
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