July 2/23 Faith: A Way of Life Hebrews 11

Today we continue our series based on the book of Hebrews. We will be focusing on Hebrews 11 Faith – A Way of Life. Hebrews is all about faith; what it means and what it looks like in the lives of actual people in the Old Testament. Faith is the foundation for the hope we have in God’s promises and what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. Faith helps us to live sacrificially for the generations after us and not for our own wants and desires 

Transcript

Faith – A Way of Life

Hebrews 11:1-12:3

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been given a deeper picture of who Jesus is and now the writer of the letter encourages us to place our faith in Jesus. He reminds us of what faith is, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance of what we do not see.” Paul, in his letter to Rome, taught that “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Yet faith doesn’t always come easily, as John shows in Thomas’ doubts that Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus even tells Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” In encouraging us to place our faith in Jesus, the writer to the Hebrews doesn’t take a theological approach this time, instead he tells us stories of faithful men and women in the past. 

Jesus teaches us that even faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains, his way of calling us to an active faith. Faith acknowledges that everything is in God’s hands, beginning with the creation of the universe itself. As we saw a few weeks back, universe encompasses all of space and time. Since no one was there to witness creation, it’s a matter of faith that God directed it all through and in Jesus. Faith places great value on all creation and on the gift of life, especially human life. Value comes from the creator so creation and life are precious. In the stories that follow, there are many stories where faith is small; it doesn’t have to be great; it simply needs to be directed towards God. We live in a sceptical age where trust and faith are limited, leading to a culture too often shaped by fear and anger instead of fullness and joy.

The writer reminds us of Abel, Enoch, and Noah, people who lived by faith even when it wasn’t easy. Jesus talked more about crosses and suffering than about easy. Abel’s killed by his brother, Enoch’s taken straight to heaven without dying, while Noah builds a huge boat in the middle of nowhere because God told him to. It took faith to trust that what God had told him to do wasn’t craziness. 

God comes to Abraham and tells him to go to a different country; he goes even though he has no idea where to. That’s faith. He lives the rest of his life in tents like a stranger in a foreign country. Abraham’s a vagabond, a nomad in the Promised Land. It takes faith in God, who’s just beginning to reveal to Abraham who he was; looking to the future with confidence that God will do what he has said he will, even if Abraham himself never benefits from it, “For Abraham was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”

Faith helps us to look forward with trust and hope because we know that God’s the one doing the building. When there are setbacks, and even failures, we still trust God and keep looking forward, knowing that God’s in control and he’ll use us, though maybe not in the ways we’ve planned. Abraham’s story continues. He tries to second guess God’s plan by having a child with Hagar, but God comes and says, “No, Sarah is going to have the baby of the covenant even though she’s barren, showing that it’s all about me, not about you.” Sure enough, a year later, when Abraham’s 100 years old, Isaac is born. Then, years later, God tests Abraham’s faith by telling him to sacrifice Isaac. “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God has said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned,’ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead. And figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from the dead.” Abraham does as God says, showing his faith. 

Faith creates a willingness to take some risks to do what God calls us to do. We cannot see every step of the way that lies before us, but faith gives us the courage to take at least the next step and work at listening and figuring out where God is calling us next, even if we don’t yet know what the full costs of following him will be yet. Mark Buchanan describes these stories of faith as calling us to “live boldly, joyfully, dangerously, dying to self yet fully alive. Each of those lived for something that nothing on earth could provide. For all of them, the world was not enough. Only heaven held out that prospect.” James says, “I will show you my faith by what I do” and points to Abraham as an example of how faith and action work together; our actions make our faith complete. 

Moses chooses Israel over Egypt; to be identified with slaves. Faith aligns ourselves with God, trusting that God’s rewards and blessings are greater than what the temporary blessings the world offers. The writer remembers the Passover; how it took faith for the Israelites to believe that blood on their door frames will save them from God’s anger, to be ready to leave their masters and follow Moses. It takes faith to walk between walls of water through the Red Sea while being chased by Pharaoh’s armies, trusting that God will protect them. When Israel finally makes it into the Promised Land, their first battle is fought with faith, trusting in the Lord to defeat Jericho using trumpets instead of weapons. 

Faith is a community thing, something we practice together. This offers us greater strength and more abilities to draw on as we encourage each other and build each other up. God usually works with “his people,” not “his person.” In the lists of people and stories, we see people who mess up, people who even fail sometimes; people who have times of weaknesses and doubt and yet always remember to turn back to God and move forward. These are stories that talk about going through pain and suffering and sacrifice and yet their faith and trust in God remain. They trust that God has a long-term plan in place and they have a role to play in it, even if they never see the fruits of what they’re called to do. 

We’ve gotten out of the habit of remembering and telling the stories of the heroes of faith. Because of that, we often find it difficult to make the sacrifices Jesus calls us to make. We miss out on a great source of strength, of being reassured that even though what the Lord may be calling us to may be difficult, the Lord is with us. Many of us no longer remember people like Rev. Albertus van Raalte, Johanna Veenstra, William Carey, and others in church history who stepped out in faith, trusting completely in God. Faith is something you live and we learn by hearing the stories of others who lived by faith. 

I’ve often been asked by those who doubt Christianity how I can believe in God. I tell them stories of some of the great thinkers in history and today, and how they were willing to suffer for what they believed. Many of these great thinkers and doers never sought their own good, but taught and fought to build strong communities based on the foundation of Jesus’ teaching and life. I share how the teachings of Jesus compare to other faiths, including the faiths rooted in science, rationality, philosophy, humanism and show how Jesus’ way builds stronger and healthier lives, even though following Jesus’ way often come with suffering. Yet even in the suffering, we find meaning and hope as we’re working for our children and grandchildren, not ourselves. This means studying the culture with a mind open to learning, and a heart open to loving our neighbours and our enemies. 

Erik Heen gives us a picture of what a lived out faith might look like today, “What if God’s way of speaking in Christ crucified and risen does not lead to the stoning of animals (and people) who are a threat to God holy purity, but is rather “proof” (11:1) of the legitimate faith  in a God of justice who hears the long suffering cries of innocent blood shed (11:4), in a God of tender-hearted compassion toward mothers whose children who die too young (11:35),  in a God of hospitality to homeless wanderers in search of hope and consolation (11:9), in a God of favor to those bound to a life of humiliating shame (11:31)? What if the Word that God speaks from the cross is such that it is truly heard only when it responds to human need? What if God’s Word simply falls silent when all it is perceived to contain is the threat of holy, transcendent judgment upon all that is impure, unholy, and profane?” Hebrews 11 is all about people living in hope, living forward in trust in the promises of God over the promises of the world around them if they would only give up their faith.

As we read the stories of the biblical heroes of faith and the heroes of faith from our own time, we hear and see God working in and through those who believe in Jesus to bring the message of hope, acceptance, and love that Jesus brings. We hear the stories of faith and our own faith is strengthened. The good news of Jesus is best shared as the great story of the world, speaking into the stories of the people we are sharing the gospel story with.

Are you willing to take hard steps of faith, willing to trust God when it’s not always completely clear on what exactly God is calling us to do or be? Are you willing to live sacrificially for Jesus? We can trust that wherever the Spirit leads us, God’s there with us. Faith is a way of life. We’re part of the cloud of witnesses through space and time, walking Jesus’ path in faith, and even if it leads to sacrifice or suffering; let’s embrace that life.