(The audio recording of this sermon will be uploaded here after the Sunday service.)
Today, I want to talk with you about faith. From the moment we believe in Jesus, we are called people of faith. You are called a man of faith. You are called a woman of faith.
When faith suddenly comes into our hearts, something begins to change inside us. When we have faith in God, doubt changes into confidence. Anxiety changes into peace. Complaining changes into thankfulness. Worry changes into relief.
What else? Well, when we have faith in Jesus, criticism changes into encouragement. Blaming others changes into understanding. Negative thoughts change into positive thoughts. Fear changes into courage. Despair changes into hope. Discouragement changes into new strength. Anger changes into calmness. Jealousy changes into peace. Most of all, instead of giving up, we begin to challenge ourselves and move forward. When we have faith, such amazing changes can happen in our hearts. If that is true, then what exactly is faith?
Now, let us look at what God says about faith through Hebrews chapter 11, verses 1 to 6.
Let’s read Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
How does the writer of Hebrews define faith? First of all, faith is about what we hope for. It means that we have something we expect. It means that we have something we dream about. In other words, when we have faith, we begin to have something we want to do. Maybe before, you had no hope in life. But now you have hope. Maybe before, you had no dream. But now you have a dream. Especially, we begin to have dreams for God. We begin to have dreams for the kingdom of God. So, it is not too much to say that a person of faith is someone who lives with hope, expectations, and dreams. Therefore, faith is believing that what we hope for, what we expect, and even what we dream about will surely come to pass in God’s perfect timing.
Let’s read Psalm 37:4.
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
This does not simply mean that God will give us everything we want. When we delight in God and come close to Him, God begins to change the desires of our hearts. Instead of following our own desires, God gives us desires that match His will. In fact, God puts good and holy desires into our hearts.
Maybe before, we had no desire to do for God. Maybe before, we had no desire to do for the kingdom of God. But one day, a new desire begins to grow in our hearts. Suddenly, we begin to do something great for God. How about you? Is there a holy desire that God has put in your heart? Do you want to do something great for God?
Let’s read Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1 again. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
According to this verse, what else does the writer of Hebrews say faith is? Faith is assurance about what we do not see. It means believing even when we cannot see something with our eyes. For example, we cannot see God, but we believe that He is real and that He is with us. We cannot see heaven or the future, but we trust God’s promises. Faith is not simply saying, “Maybe it will happen.” It is having confidence because we trust God. In other words, faith is believing in what we cannot see because we trust God.
We do not know what will happen one year from now, five years from now, or ten years from now. It is so true that the future is something we cannot see.
But when we have faith, we can see what God will do in the future with the eyes of faith. When we have faith, we have 100 percent confidence in what God will do in the future.
Sometimes, all we can see is our difficult situation. Maybe we do not have enough money. Maybe we are not healthy. Maybe we feel worried about the future. But a person of faith does not only look at what they can see. They look at what God has promised, even though they cannot see it yet. So, we can say it like this: Faith is believing in what we cannot see because we trust God.
Now, let’s read Hebrews chapter 11 verse 2.
“This is what the ancients were commended for.”
And the words “were commended” mean that God recognized their faith. God accepted their faith. In other words, God recognized them. Brothers and sisters, how can we also be recognized by God? That is through faith. Through faith, we can be commended and recognized by God. As time passes, faith shows itself in our lives, and God recognizes it.
Now, let’s read verse 3.
“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”
Brothers and sisters, according to this verse, how can we know that the whole universe was made by the word of God? The answer is by faith. We can know it by faith. In other words, we need faith to understand it. More exactly, because we have faith, we can understand it. Without faith, it is impossible to understand that the whole universe was made by the word of God. Even if someone studies physics and astronomy for his whole life and wins a Nobel Prize, if God does not give him faith, he cannot understand that God created the universe by His word.
Hebrews chapter 11, verses 1 to 3 explain what faith is. Then, from verse 4 to verse 40, the Bible shows us how that faith appeared and was proven in the lives of real people. There are sixteen people whose names are mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11.
Today, we are going to take a look at only two of them. They are Abel and Enoch. Brothers and sisters, how can people know that you and I have faith? One way is by seeing us worship God. People of faith worship God. If someone says, “I have faith,” but has no desire to worship God, we may need to ask if that person really has faith. How can a person with faith not want to worship God?
Abel was a true worshiper. Worship was not just a religious habit for him. He truly wanted to worship God. He came to God with faith and gave God his best. So, we should follow Abel’s example of worship. There are four reasons why we should follow Abel’s example of worship.
Number one, Abel worshiped God by faith. For Abel, worship was not simply a religious habit. He came to God with a heart that believed in and trusted Him.
Second, Abel gave God his best. Abel gave God the firstborn of his flock and the best parts. A person of faith does not simply give God what is left over. They want to give God their best.
Third, God looks at our hearts, not only at the outside of our worship. Abel’s older brother, Cain, also brought an offering, but God accepted Abel’s offering. What matters is not only what we give to God, but also what kind of faith and heart we have when we give it.
Fourth, Abel was willing to make a sacrifice because of his worship. In the end, Abel lost his life because he faithfully worshiped and served God. As we all know, Cain killed Abel.
So Abel’s worship challenges us to ask ourselves this question: “How sincerely am I worshiping God?”
Now, the second person of faith we will look at today is Enoch. Brothers and sisters, how can we know if a person has faith? One way is to look at whether that person walks with God. If someone walks with God, we can say that person is a person of faith. A person of faith does not walk with God only on Sunday. A person of faith walks with God during the week too. If someone worships God on Sunday but does not walk with God during the rest of the week, we may need to ask, “Does this person really have faith?” What do you think?
Amos 3:3 says, “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?”
The Bible tells us that two people need to agree with each other if they want to walk together. Of course, if you are walking with someone for a short period of time, it would be nice to walk with a funny person. It would be nice to walk with a rich person, a handsome or beautiful person, or someone with a good personality. But if you want to walk with someone for your whole life, you need to have one heart and one purpose with him.
A person of faith is someone who always walks with God. This means that we need to have one heart and one purpose with God. More exactly, a person of faith lives not according to his own will, but according to God’s will. If someone is living like this, that person is truly a person of faith. Enoch was a man who walked with God. He knew God’s will and tried to live according to it. That is why the writer of Hebrews recognized Enoch as a man of faith and spoke highly of him.
Let me close today’s message here.
Brothers and sisters, what is faith? Faith is having hope. Especially, faith is hoping even when there seems to be no reason to hope. It is having hope for God and for His kingdom.
Faith is also believing that God is real even though we cannot see Him. Faith is believing in what God will do in the future, even though we cannot see it yet.
And a person of faith is someone who worships God like Abel. Finally, a person of faith is someone who walks with God every day like Enoch.
Let us pray.
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