Our Faith is in the Following not the Outcome

We didn’t do that much this past week.

Put up Christmas. Cleaned. Went to a pelicans game.

Family. Thanksgiving. Catan. More Catan.

And Movies. Bible. Reading through Ezekiel Hebrews and James.

The matrix. I don’t know why just watched the first one the whole idea of the matrix is this world that you can’t see, that exist and the rules don’t apply. You can bend the rules…

If you believe. You ever had a God moment within a movie?

Conviction hits.

You realize you are preaching a series on faith and you haven’t truly been living in faith. You have been living according to circumstances. According to what you see. With hurt and pain that have carried over from living in this life and not seeing the fruition of the very thing you are hoping for.

Ever been there. Believing for something but it doesn’t happen.

Trusting in God but the problem hasn’t moved out of the way.

You haven’t seen an answer yet and so you give up.

There is a story of the famous evangelist Smith Wigglesworth, who brought people back from the dead and he wasn’t a believer and his wife was. You have been there. And he’s nasty and locks her out of the house and when he lets her back in the Holy Spirit tells her to cook breakfast for him. WHAT? That’s faith!!

And eventually he turns his life to the Lord, but what if he doesn’t?

There is another famous missionary Jim Elliot who gets speared to death without anyone turning to Jesus. And his wife decides to return to the very tribe that killed her husband, her name was Elizabeth Elliot. And they turn to the Lord. But what if they didn’t.

She writes about it in her book “Through Gates of Splendor” and she writes about how our mindset wants the happy ending, it’s what we be programed for, but God doesn’t owe us that. Either way if those natives know Jesus or not our Faith is in the following!

But it is better to live in Faith.

Believing God until our last possible breath.

Having a conviction of things not seen.

Believing that just because we haven’t seen it doesn’t mean we won’t!!

Catching glimpses of our heavenly home here on this side of earth.

Hebrews 11

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 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.

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. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 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. 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. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,[a] they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

1. The Goal is to Die in Faith

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10

Not every promise is coming on this side of heaven.

But we should be able to see them.

And greet them from afar!

(Heaven Glasses) (Faith)

2. While always acknowledging you are strangers and exiles

This gets us from point one to point three.

It reminds us that faith is in the following not the outcome.

That’s different than an outcome based culture that we live in.

Now it about fitting in, being a part.

Living in Comfort and Happiness.

And while there is nothing wrong with comfort or happiness…

Having people like us…

It’s not where we live in the here and now.

Now we live as strangers.

Now we live as exiles.

You ever met a stranger. (Not stranger danger but someone who is in a strange land)

You ever met a exile. (There is a longing to go back to home they came from)

They will talk about it. They will mention it. There heart is there.

They live with us but there heart is ALWAYS there.

If we are to be people of faith then now we are strangers and exiles because people of faith are different than people of the world. We live differently. We act differently.

Our faith makes us different.

3. As you Seek Heaven!

14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

This world is not it. This is not the end.

That is not just a saying, it’s the way we are to live.

We are seeking a homeland, A heavenly one!

It is the ambition of our lives.

Not success as the world sees it, but FAITH as God sees it.

Our faith is in the following not in the outcome.