Faith that lives on
2. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. Williams translates, Now Faith is the assurance of things we hope for, the proof of the reality of the things we cannot see. Faith is the proof that something is going to come to pass. Because of our faith and because it is the proof of something that will come to pass, we act as if it were so. When Noah entered the ark, there was the same conviction of the fact that the coming flood as he had during the years of building the ark. Noah had never seen a raindrop, a cloudburst, a flash of lightning, but God had spoken. That was all that was before his mind. There was no need to look at the sky. It was going to come to pass. Faith is a conviction of things when they are not seen! A giving-substance-to things hoped for the conviction or proof that something is going to come to pass. It was the proof-of-faith that urged Adoniram Judson to labor in Burma for seven years before one man was won to Christ. It was the proof-of-faith-that something would happen that encouraged him to stand daily in his Burmese Zayat preaching to people who walked by, ignored him, intimidated him. It was proof-of faith-that something would happen that led him to translate the Scriptures for a people who had no interest in them . It was proof-of faith that sometime would happen that lead him to remain in Burma even when he had lost two wives, and a number children. 3. Now without Faith, it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that seek after Him. God has made faith the condition of relation with Himself, and being the very God of truth, can be pleased with nothing else than faith. In this verse faith is resolved into its two great primary elements, or characteristics: 1) There must be belief that the living God exists. And 2) that He is a rewarder of them that seek after Him. These two elements seem most simple, but how many Christians act as if God were not living; and how many others though seeking after Him are not expecting from Him as Rewarder! 4. I was contemplating on the problem of the prayer meeting the other night. I‘ve come to the conclusion it is not the problem of having too much farm work to do; it is other than that. The real problem is that we do not have faith. We do not believe that God is a rewarder of them that seek after Him. I asked myself, why do not more people come to prayer meeting? I answer the question by this::Nothing happens!” We come, we’re expected to pray, not because we really want to but we’re put on the spot. We utter things we don’t really have much heart in it.” Now if a few were to begin praying together, saw the results of praying, it would take a straight-jacket to keep a person away from prayer meeting. It would have eternal significance, it would have personal spiritual growth, and the contagion of it would spread. But we do not really believe that God is a rewarder of those that seek after Him. Faith is the proof that something is going to happen. By the exercise of their faith, the people of old pleased God. 5. The entire chapter points out situation in which this faith has lived on in a way which is relevant to contemporary servants of God today. I. Faith has lived on in different ages. 1. The time span covered by the eleventh chapter of Hebrews is at least 4000 years long, probably longer. Yet God is able to dip down at will into almost any age and find some illustration of faith through which He has wrought mighty deeds. It was true in the days of Abel when men did not have the annals of history behind them to experience by. This faith was a live faith in the days of Enoch when men were wicked and even more so in the days of Noah when wickedness and corruption came to the saturation point. This faith was lived by in the days of Isaiah when a nation was bent upon destroying itself. It has never been easy to live by faith in any age. Yet there have been those who found that faith in God was proof to them of his concern. Certainly we can expect this faith to live on even though powerful forces may be arrayed against it. 2. This faith will live on in any century because man is no different than he was in ancient times. He may move a little faster, eat a little faster, live a little faster but morally and spiritually he has the same needs. II. Faith has lived on in different people. There are sixteen individuals mentioned by name in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. They include some of the greatest saints of all time. When one looks into the O.T. narratives to find some point of similarity in their lives that accounts for being listed together in this sacred collection, he looks in vain. They were utterly different from one another-by personality, by temperament, by custom, by habit, and by likes and dislikes. Some of them were diametrically opposite. The chapter reveals that God has no mold into which He pours His saints so they all come out alike. The kind of faith that releases the power of God can exist in people who are very unlike one another but who are wholly yielded to Him. No matter how different we may be from one another today faith can still endure. 2. 35 years ago in a state prison in the Midwest, the prison psychiatrist, a relatively new innovation then, announced to a prisoner, F.M. Smith, that he is about to begin a series of mental tests to determine the extent of criminal tendencies. "Now, Smith," the first question I want you to answer is this: “If you were walkingthru the woods and you came upon a man hanging from a limb by the neck what would you do?" "I'd go thru his pocket, then make my get-away” Smith answered with no emotion.” At 17 he had his first alcoholic baptism. And he committed his first crime, then soon went into gambling. Drink soon brought him to the home of the underworld and a career in crime. He went in and out of prison gates across the land until the judge who sentenced him to this third state prison spoke an empty truth: "I know you're basically a sick man, Smith. I wish I could help you. But we are helpless to more than sentence you again, and you're hopeless. He was 43 when he got out of prison and returned to the old life. One night F.M. Smith huddled under a platform in the Illinois Central railroad yards, trying to keep dry as the rain poured down. Suddenly someone stumbled under the same shelter then collapsed. And quite in character, F.M. Smith went thru the man's pockets and made his get-away. He forged his name to a paycheck belonging to the victim but before he got out of Chicago, police had him in jail. It was there that he found Christ. Becoming a new creature in Christ and the next 35 years made him a successful man living for Him for by many standards- he headed a large business at the time of his death--but the most important things: he used to say, I‘m happy, really happy. 3. This faith has lived on in different people. There was old Jacob in the O.T. who had the possibilities of being a scoundrel if there ever was one. He cheated his brother, deceived his father, and played the game hard, yet the turn of faith in his life made him a prince of the patriarchs. There was Rahab who was nothing more than a prostitute. Yet at the coming of the Israelites to Jericho, fear of God brought forth faith in her heart to change her into a woman of purity. There are many more, but the important thing is that this faith is workable in every life. III. Faith has lived on in different circumstances. 1. When one sees how God allowed these saints to be scourged, to be imprisoned, to be stoned, to be sawn asunder, and to wander destitute, afflicted and tormented, he can't help but ask, "Why did God allow this to happen to the best people on earth? 2. Take the case of Charles Simeon of Cambridge, England, when he was the victim of bricks and epithets from college windows, as he strolled forth with his little Testament in his hand. He prayed earnestly for some promise from God's word to comfort his distressed soul. The first text to catch his eye was: "They found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear His cross." what a strange word of comfort. His own name Simeon-the same as Simon. He found himself able to leap and sing for joy, to have the cross laid upon him-to bear his own cross after the Lord Jesus. Having embraced his cross, Simeon bound persecution around his brow as a wreath of victory. Soon life blossomed from the ground where he laid down his life. He began to see abounding fruit. In those days God have him Henry Martyn, that missionary who prayed upon his arrival in India, "NOW to burn out for God." Henry Martyn was a burning and shining light, who died at the early age of 31 and has inspired many young people to shoulder the cross and go forth to lay down their lives in far-off lands. But where did Henry Martyn learn such discipleship? It was after Simeon beheld his "own cross" and said "Lord, lay it on me, lay it on me; I will gladly bear the cross for Thy sake. 3. Another example of this faith living on under different circumstances is found in the life of Sir Walter Scott. This gifted writer's life was one of struggle. He had infantile paralysis as a baby leaving him crippled for life. Despite this he went on to become one of the most famous and beloved men of his time. According to English law Scott could have declared bankruptcy and let his creditors take heavy losses. With a fresh start and with his brilliant ability and great popularity, he could have made a pleasant living. But Scott refused to take advantage of the bankruptcy laws. He toiled day and night, writing furiously against time. He was getting older, and his health was failing under the pressure of unremitting toil. Tortured by rheumatism, partially paralyzed by a stroke, he kept on. He did not live to see his victory, but after his death the books he had written paid off the entire debt of himself and his associates. He was a living example of how worship of God can make a man keenly conscious of his moral and spiritual responsibilities. He is an example of a man in whom this faith lived on in trying circumstances. Concl.: l. This faith has lived on in different ages, in different people and in different circumstances. It has stood the test of time. It has proven invaluable to the experience of followers of Jesus 2. Do you have faith? Do you have the kind of faith that reaches forth and grasps the promises of God as if they were a sure thing? Is your faith sure that God is living and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him? Would you like to see your faith grow and be active? Then pick out some member of our community and pray daily for him. Pray diligently and earnestly for him. Set a time limit and tell the Lord, you want to see him work so that the name of Christ will be glorified in this community and so that your faith will be increased. Be very specific with the Lord. Ask Him to reveal his power and glory. 3. Would you seek to build up your faith? 1957 |