Hebrews 11, the Faith chapter.
Reading: Hebrews 11:1-40.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen” Hebrews
11:1.
Hebrews 11 is called the Faith chapter.
Because it is full of men and women of faith!
In Matthew 29:27-31, two blind men came to
Jesus to be healed, Jesus there told them their healing was according to their
faith. Verse 29 says “Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”
These
are fantastic words spoken by Jesus to these two blind men. They were greatly
rewarded by their faith because their eyes were opened. Someone pointed out
that Jesus did not say to them:
According to your “fate” or;
According to your “fortune” or;
According to your “fame” or;
According to your “friends” or;
According to your “feelings.”
No, Jesus said; “According to your faith let it be to you.”
1ST POINT: WHAT
IS FAITH?
The Bible says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen” Hebrews
11:1.
2ND POINT: WHERE
DO WE GET FAITH?
The Bible says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God” Romans 10:17.
The more a person reads the Bible and
mediates in the Word of God, the more faith he/she will have. Faith comes
by hearing the Word of God spoken into our hearts and lives.
3RD POINT: WHAT
DOES FAITH DO FOR A SINNER?
Faith brings salvation to the sinner. “For by grace you are saved through faith”
Ephesians 2:8. The thief on the cross is an example of this. He
had no opportunity to make amends for his sin or even to be baptized. He
simply trusted in Christ and that
day he was with God in Paradise.
4TH POINT: WHAT
DOES FAITH DO FOR THE BELIEVER?
For the Christian,
faith is the overcoming factor. The bible
says, “And this is the victory
that overcomes the world, even our faith” I John 5:4. Christians of
great faith do great works by accomplishing great things for God.
5TH POINT: WHAT
CAN WE DO BY FAITH?
In the Scriptures we read that it is possible
to:
“Walk by faith.”
“Pray in faith.”
“Add to your faith.”
“Contend for the faith.”
“Continue in the faith.”
And many other such phrases. We should
pray as the disciples should pray “Lord, I believe; help my
unbelief!” Lord, help us
to believe!
There are FIVE different kinds of FAITH
that we have knowledge from and that affects our lives.
1.
NATURAL
FAITH.
This
is faith in a bank where we believe our money will be safe, faith in a chair
that will hold us up, faith in an employer that we will be paid at the end of
the week, etc.
2.
INTELLECTUAL
FAITH.
A cook baking a cake and following a
recipe is exercising intellectual faith. They believe that the cake will
result from pouring in certain ingredients.
Scientific facts led us to accept by faith
that the eclipse would come at a certain time and none of us were disappointed,
as it came right on schedule.
3.
HISTORICAL
FAITH.
We believe that Napoleon actually lived
and led a great army. We believe that Henry the 8th had six
wives. We believe that Churchill was the right leader in world war 2. Etc. This
is historical faith.
4.
SAVING
FAITH.
This is Bible faith that God will keep His
promise and save us by grace, through faith.
5.
VICTORIOUS
FAITH.
We read in the Scriptures, “And this is the victory that overcomes the
world, even our faith” I John 5:4.
CONCLUSION:
The Bible is filled with stories of people
of faith!
