Series: Great Faith Adventure

Title: You Must Believe

Faith is Believing that God can make the invisible, visible

Hebrews 11:1-4

(ESV) ¹ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 

(NKJV) ¹ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Substance - confidence, firm trust, assurance

Faith is having confidence in something that is hoped for. 

The question arises, “What are we hoping for?”

How do we have confidence in something that is not yet seen?

The 11^th chapter of Hebrews is often called the Hall of Faith.  Just as the Hall of Fame recognizes gifted athletes who have made a major impact in professional sports, the Hall of Faith recognizes those heroes of the Old Testament who have demonstrated a tremendous amount of faith. These men and women understood what it meant to have confidence in something that they had not yet seen.  It can be done, it has been done.

A big part of faith is taking God at His word, believing that what He said will come to pass.  He is God and He does not lie.  He is true to His promises.  Therefore, we can trust that what He has said will come about.

There have been countless promises of God’s that have been fulfilled, and there are still countless more yet to be fulfilled.  We know that He has fulfilled His promises of sending His Son to die for our sins and giving us the Holy Spirit as our comforter and yet we await His greatest promise which includes the second comingof Christ Jesus our Lord and living forever with Him. 

But we have confidence that this will be so, for He is God and He cannot lie. Because He has proven Himself to be faithful, even when we have been faithless, we can have absolute (substance, assurance, confidence) that it will be so.

Faith is taking the evidence of creation and the fulfillment of His promises to further believe in the unseen.

Faith is also said to be the “evidence of things not seen.”

Evidence - a proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested that by which invisible things are proved (and we are convinced of their reality)

Meaning there were things not seen. Now we know and are convinced that these things are so. Take the creation of the world for example. 

Genesis 1:2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. 

Before God created the earth there was nothing.  But living in 2023 over 6,000 years from the dawn of creation, none of us would dare say that there is no earth, or there is no moon, sun, stars, trees, birds, animals.   For we can see plainly with our eyes that it is so.  There is evidence that speaks for itself and proves that there is an earth, created by God.

There was nothing, but now there is something.  It does not take faith to look around and see that there is something.  But it takes faith to believe that there was once nothing and that God created all the somethings that we see just by speaking it into existence.

The evidence of creation, should strengthen our faith to believe Him for even more things that are currently unseen.

Faith is how God honors the men of old. 

¹ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ² For by it (faith) the people of old received their commendation. 

The men and women who made the Hall of Faith did so not because of how much money they made, or how many degrees they had obtained in life or any such thing.  No, they were known by God for their incredible faith. So much so that God thought it fitting that their names should be etched into the fabric of the bible as a commemoration for their faith.

If we are to be known for anything, let us be known for our faith in God. For we came from nothing and are nothing apart from Him.  He made us into the person we are today. 

They were willing to believe in the promises of God even when it could not be seen. Therefore, it became evidence which they could see.  

³ By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 

When we create something, we must first have something to work with.  (wood, metal, clay etc...) Only Godcan take nothing and make something.  He can call those things that are not as though they are. 

ex ni·hi·lo - out of nothing

That’s what He did with all creation.  He took the invisible and made visible.  He took the unseen and made it seeable.  He is in a league of His own, He sees things that we do not.   He creates things that we cannot. 

It is by faith, that firm persuasion of the soul, which causes us to believe in the unseen.

The Bible gives us the truest and most exact account of the origin of all things, and we are to believe it.

Therefore, since we were once nothing, and now we are something, we were once invisible made visible, we were once the unseen now we are seen, since we are the creation and He is the Creator, we have no reason to boast in and of ourselves, if we are to boast let it be in Christ.

            1 Corinthians 1:29-31

²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— ³¹ that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

Now we will look at just two of the seventeen names mentioned in the heroes of the faith.  Our hope is to discover why were these names were mentioned.

Faith like Abel believes in the sacrifice of Christ to be all sufficient for our sins.

⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts.

This is the first time the bible mentions mankind bringing a sacrifice to God.  This came after the fall of man. This was a way for man to return to God through worship.  It is only by the Grace of God that his sacrifice was accepted, and by God’s grace that He had not cut off man completely.  But it took faith on Abel’s part to believe that God would accept the sacrifice. 

Abel is named here because he offered a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.  Though they were both brothers, both had the same upbringing both went to worship God, God accepted Abel’s gift and not Cain’s

• Abel acted out of faith; Cain offered out of a formality. 
• Abel brought a sacrifice of atonement, brought of first of the flock, acknowledging himself to be a sinner who deserved to die, as he hoped for mercy through his great sacrifice; 
• Cain brought only a sacrifice of acknowledgment, a mere thank-offering, the fruit of the ground, which might have been offered in innocence; here was no confession of sin, no regard to the ransom

And through his (Abel’s) faith, though he died, he still speaks.

It is Abel who is celebrated today and not Cain.  We must come to God with this same type of faith that Abel had.  We must realize like Abel that we are in dire need of a savior.

Hebrews 9:22

²² And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

Abel brought a blood sacrifice, which was the proper sacrifice for sinners.  Because he did so Godconsidered Abel righteous, justified, sanctified, and accepted.

Our efforts cannot produce a sacrifice that would atone for our sins. It is by faith that we are justified not by works.  We stand in complete confidence believing that the blood of Jesus makes atonement for our sins. His sacrifice was enough to appease the wrath of God on our behalf.

Therefore, we can have faith like Abel as we trust in God’s plan of redemption through Jesus’s sacrifice.  But keep in mind that those who obtain God’s favor through Jesus, must expect the envy and malice of the world just as Abel was killed by his brother Cain.

Abel’s faith in God would pave the way for others to follow.

Faith like Enoch is steadfast and true for years to come. 

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 

Not a whole lot is said about Enoch. He lived, had children, he walked with God, God took him.

Genesis 5:21-24

²¹ Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. ²² After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. ²³ So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. ²⁴ And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

1. He was taken up – Enoch did not experience death nor was his body found. Death was the cursebrought upon all mankind for the sin of Adam. Yet Enoch escapes

Enoch was transfigured into his glorified body. Through this God gives us an example in the Old Testament of something that is foretold of in the New Testament.  It will be the same for those who remain on the earth when the Lord returns, they will not experience death but will be transfigured into their heavenly bodies. 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words.

They too, like Enoch, will be caught up in the clouds to meet with the Lord.

2. What led to this spectacular event? Enoch pleased God. Enoch walked with God for at least 300 years.  He was steadfast in his faith.  He was a husband and a father, yet he pleased  In all matters concerning his household, He pleased God.  In all other matters concerning everyday living, Enoch pleased God.

What will ensure that you will be with the Lord when He returns? By being like Enoch and remaining steadfast in the faith till the Lord calls you home.

            We are to live our lives to please God.  How do we please God?  By Faith.

Faith Pleases God

⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 

Notice, we do not read of mighty acts or great exploits done by Enoch as we do with Moses or some of the other heroes of the faith.  Nor do we read about him disobeying God as Moses also did.  Yet we find a man, a family man doing what God had called him to do, and living a life that is pleasing to God by walking in steadfast faith.

• Faith is Believing that God can make the invisible, visible (unseen seeable)

(ex ni·hi·lo - out of nothing)

• Faith is taking the evidence of creation and the fulfillment of His promises to further believe in the unseen.

• Faith is how God honors the men of old.

• Faith like Abel believes in the sacrifice of Christ to be all sufficient for our sins.

• Faith like Enoch is steadfast and true for years to come.

• Faith Pleases God

Perhaps there are some unseen things in your life that you are still awaiting the answers for.

What has God done for you in the past that helps you to believe Him for your future?

How will you be remembered when you die? As a person of faith?

Do you have the faith like Abel to believe in Jesus’s sacrifice for your sins?

Do you have the faith of Enoch, that continues to trust in God year after year. 

If faith pleases God, would you say that your life is pleasing to God?