We are in Hebrews 11, the great hall of faith, and we'll be looking at the first three verses if you would stand for the reading of God's Word. Hebrews 11, the Word of the Lord. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for. the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old receive their commendation. 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. Our great and heavenly Father, we come to you in Jesus' name. And in His righteousness alone, the solid rock. And Father, we are thankful that You've given us, those who are Your children, an assurance of these things that are unseen. An assurance of what is real. Lord, I pray that You would give us more faith. A true faith. Lord, that endures. A faith that trusts. A faith that suffers even in the midst of losing property, yet joyfully looking to the future as the writer exhorts. So Lord, I pray for those as well who do not know you, who are outside of a relationship with you. Would you, in your sovereign grace, save them. Give them eyes to see these truths. I pray that you would strengthen your church and revive your church. Help us, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You can be seated. Well, we are embarking on a very popular chapter. It's a very important chapter. A very comforting chapter. Many people of old have let their smoldering wick on the flaming torch of Hebrews chapter 11. It was their great need, and it is a great need for us today. After exhorting them to continue on and not shrink back, He gives them really a case study on faith, and what it means to have faith, and what it means to go on. And this is one of those scenarios where chapter divisions are really a disservice in some ways, because this is clearly a continuation of chapter 10. In fact, I draw your eyes to verse 39 of chapter 10, which says, we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. And it's at this point the writer is going to give some exhortation and examples of what it means to have faith. And what it means to go on. And what it means to, like Luther said, let goods and kindred go. This mortal life also. And what it means to look forward to a better possession. And an abiding one. As he says in verse 34. So this tells us what faith looks like and how to get to the finish line. I've labeled the title of this message, Faith 101. You see, these Israelites, or these Hebrews, as the writer is writing to, is constantly comparing these Hebrews to the Israelites in the Old Testament. And they were on their way to the Promised Land, and most of them Nearly all of them didn't make it. And the comparison is clear all throughout the book of Hebrews. That you Christians are on your way to the celestial city. And there will be difficult times. There will be suffering. Your house may get robbed, as it says in verse 34. But you have a better possession. And an abiding one. So endure. And by the way, here are some examples of great people of old. Men and women who have endured. Who had an enduring faith. You see, many people have faith, but it's not saving faith. It's a faith like the demons, who just believe in truth, but don't commit to truth. So we'll look at, really, six propositions of what faith is, starting in verse 1. First of all, number 1, faith is the assurance and conviction of an unseen reality. Look at verse 1. Now, faith is the assurance of things hoped for. the conviction of things not seen. The assurance of things hoped for. Now, assurance means, and this is one way you could translate it, it can mean reality. In fact, if you have a pen, I would encourage you to write the word reality right next to Hebrews 11, verse 1. Because it is a wonderful way to understand what the writer is saying. In fact, the Holman Christian Standard Bible, which by the way is an excellent translation, very similar to the ESV, it actually translates this verse this way. It says faith is the reality of what is hoped for. And the reason this is important to know, it's assurance, and yes a conviction as we'll see, but it's a reality. It's not something we're concocting, or wishing, or making up, or really hoping, and really hoping is true. It's a reality. It's already happened. It is. Of course, faith would not be faith if you could see it, but the world defines faith in a number of ways. D.A. Carson has said this, that the world oftentimes defines faith in one of two ways. They'll say faith is really a synonym for religion. Have you heard this? In fact, the Huffington Post has a column, the Faith Dialogue or something like that, where they'll get together and have people of different faiths. But we'll see this all across the news or in our world today. It's synonymous with religion. Oh, you're religious. You're a person of faith. Another way it's defined is faith is a personal, subjective commitment. Something that you believe despite really any evidence. Oh, you have faith. That's nice. Isn't that great? But here we see there is a reality or an assurance in various unseen truths. Truths like Christ's return or in the resurrection as 1 Peter 1.3 says. It is our living hope. In glorification, 1 John 3, in our reign with Him, the Christian has an assurance that these things are true. It's a subjective assurance. I know that I know that these things are true. And it is objective, and we'll get there in a bit. But it's also the conviction of things not seen. This could be also translated proof or confidence. Remember the story in church history It records a story of the early days of persecution about a humble Christian who was brought before the judges and he told them that nothing they could do could shake him because he believed that if he were true to God, God would be true to him. Do you really think, asked the judge, that the likes of you will go to God in His glory? I do not think, said the man. I know. There is an assurance that the Christian has. There is a conviction that the Christian has. So it is an inner conviction, and it is subjective. It is a I know that I know, and it isn't hype. Of course, faith rests on historical facts, and this is true, but it's also an inner conviction of reality. In the conclusion of his newest book, Reasonable Faith, the great defender of the Christian faith, William Lane Craig, says these words. He's debated by the way in places like Harvard or Stanford or UC Berkeley defending the Christian faith. He says this. I thought it was interesting. I read it this week. He said in the conclusion of his book, I have argued that we can know that Christianity is true because of the self-authenticating witness of God's Holy Spirit. and that we can show it to be true by means of rational argumentation and evidence. But there are both of those. There is an objective reality, but there is an inner witness of the Holy Spirit. Again, a sort of, I just know that I know. I know that it's true. Faith is not the assurance, by the way, of whatever you want to be true. Faith in God is different than faith in a desired outcome. Someone might say, At a hospital, well, we have faith that she's going to get better. She's going to come through this cancer. That isn't necessarily faith. We cannot dictate to God what He will and will not do. A curious passage is Mark 11, 20. And Jesus said to them, have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be taken up and thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. I'm not going to get into an exegetical treatise on what this passage means, but I'll tell you this. What everybody agrees that it doesn't mean is that God is some magic genie you can commandeer for your own good pleasure. I want this car in Jesus' name. I want that house in Jesus' name. It's like the humorous story about the man who fell off a cliff but managed to grab a tree limb on his way down. And the following conversation ensued. Is anyone up there? I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe me? Yes, Lord, I believe. I really believe, but I can't hang on much longer. That's all right. If you really believe, you have nothing to worry about. I'll save you. Just let go of the branch. A moment of pause. Is anybody else up there? See, faith doesn't dictate to God what He will do and what He will not do. Oftentimes, this is how the word faith is used. But I think a great shining example in scripture is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. They answered the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. And he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. Listen to what they say, though, and learn from their example. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. Faith is an assurance that God is who He is, that God is capable, God is able, and God may in His glory choose to heal or choose to deliver. But if not, He's still the Lord, and He's still good. And he's still trustworthy. Paul had a thorn in his flesh. He asked God to take it away from him three times. And then he resigned himself to the sovereignty and the goodness and the wisdom of God. In fact, I even think of verse 13 of this very chapter, which says, These all died in faith. I mean, Moses, Abraham, Noah. It says, These all died in faith, not having received the things promised. but having seen them and greeted them from afar." Isn't that interesting? They didn't receive the fulfillment of the things promised, but they were sure, they had a deep, abiding conviction that these things were real. I give you two more illustrations. Jacob in Genesis 28, of course getting this vision of this dream of a ladder and angels ascending and descending and He says these words, then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it. You see there is a reality going on even in our midst and it's real and it's there. And Jacob gets the revelation, the Lord is in this place and I didn't even know it. He saw what had been around him all the time. Stephen is another good example after being stoned and nearly murdered. Right after this he was. In Acts 7 it says, Now when they heard these things, they were enraged, and they grounded their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens open, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. And after that, they stoned him to death. But he saw what was real. This is faith. Let me give you an analogy at the physical level. This is not original with me, but maybe you remember a few years ago. Those popular books, I don't know if this is popular here in Colorado, but in Minnesota, they were all the rage in the 80s and 90s. But those 3D books where you would look at a picture and you couldn't tell what it is, but if you looked at it long enough, there would be a picture that would pop out, sort of a 3D picture of a mountain or Elvis or a globe or whatever it was. Do you remember those? Those things were wildly popular. But a lot of times people, you know, you'd be around people, you'd be on a coffee table, and someone would inevitably look at it and, you know, spend 2, 3, 4, 20 minutes looking at it and say, I don't see it. And then you'd pick it up and maybe just, you know, let your eyes go out of focus or adjust for a little bit. And then you'd say, no, there it is. I see it. I mean, it's there. Now here's the illustration. If someone were to say, no, that isn't true. God isn't like that, or God doesn't exist. The Christian has an inner conviction, no, I see him, he's there, I know it to be true. And just because someone else doesn't see it doesn't mean it isn't true. The second point is this. Faith looks to the future but rests in the present. You see, faith is the assurance of things hoped for. It's not yet. We enjoy the blessings of our hope now. There's a sense in which we enjoy it now, but it is not fully consummated. William Lane, not to be confused with William Lane Craig, who I just quoted, this great Bible commentator has said, faith celebrates now the reality of future blessings which make up the objective content of the Christian hope. It says, faith gives to the objects of hope the force of present realities. And it enables the person of faith to enjoy the full certainty that in the future these realities will be experienced. There is a sense in which the Christian has joy and peace and rest now. The woman who is to be engaged, or the man who is to be engaged, knows something of the pleasures of marriage, even though the full consummation is not yet. John Piper has said, faith is a kind of spiritual tasting of what God has promised. So that we feel a deep, substantial assurance of things hoped for. And so he says, I say with Psalm 34 8, oh taste and see that the Lord is good. How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. So even though faith waits for a future hope, There is a reality now that can be enjoyed and celebrated and tasted. There is a genuine, sincere, authentic, bona fide experience of joy now for the Christian by faith. Number three, faith wins God's approval. Look at verse two. For by it the people of old received their commendation. In other words, they gained approval or a good report, some of your translations say. As one writer said, not only did they bear witness to God, but he bore witness to them affirming their lives of faith. Their lives of faith were pleasing to God. Look at verse six. And without faith, it's impossible to please him. But these ancients of old pleased God by their faith. There is a great satisfaction for the Christian in knowing that God is pleased. Isn't there? Isn't there a quiet and pleasant delight in knowing that what you're doing is pleasing to God? I mean, this is the Christian life in some sense. We live to please God. If it doesn't please God, we don't do it. If it pleases God, we do it. Let's not make it more complicated than it is. We live to honor Him and please Him and bring glory to Him. But faith pleases God because it proclaims to the world His excellencies and His trustworthiness. Think of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And it wins God's approval by trusting in His infinite mercy and wisdom. It's a sermon to people. It's a declaration. It's a sermon saying, He's more than enough. Again, let goods and kindred go, even this mortal life. He is more than enough. It speaks accurately of Him. Again, verse 36 I think is the key verse in chapter 10. They joyfully accepted the plundering of their property because they knew they had a better possession and an abiding one. I mean, just imagine non-believers saying, do you mean to tell me that Christ is better than earthly pleasures? Even than having a home? And the men and women of faith of old have said, yes, yes, yes. He's infinitely sufficient. He's infinitely satisfying. I would much rather be with Him. We live by faith, not by sight. We're waiting, but yet we have. Number four, faith as understanding. Faith as understanding. Look at verse 3. By faith we understand. Okay, this is important because this is not the modern definition of faith. But the writer here says, 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. God spoke and mountains came to be. I mean, ex nihilo, out of nothing He created it. This is impressive, to say the least. But he says, by faith we understand. Now what does he mean? Now listen closely here. I want to offer you three stages of faith. And I think they're more like layers, really. In fact, Martin Luther gave them Latin names, Notitia, Ascensis, and Fiducia. We'll look at more of the English explanation of it. But stage one is this. There are three stages most would agree with. First of all, there is a rational process or understanding. Understanding is stage one of faith. Again, the Greek word for understanding here means to think with your mind, to reason, to perceive, to use rational understanding. This is true of every major decision we make. That could be true of every decision we make. For instance, if you're trying to decide who you'll marry, or what surgeon you're going to choose, or finding the right school for your kids, or the right college to attend. I mean, everybody does this. You've sipped through the evidence. This week I was doing this, listing the pros and cons of a specific decision. You think about it. You reason it. Scientists do this, by the way. There's a book, The Philosophy of Science. In it, it says this, scientific theories are not established by induction strictly. But as you'll see here, scientists, all scientists even use faith. When scientists notice that particles act in a certain way, What scientists do is they posit a theory. In other words, they throw forward a premise. They say, let's start assuming this is the case. Does that explain the phenomenon? And then let's test the theory out. Again, they start with faith. We don't know that this is true, but we're assuming that this is true. We're weighing the evidence. They take something that hasn't been proven, and then they ask, does this account for what we see? And this is how all scientific theories began. You start with the premise, you test it, and the theory that best explains what's out there becomes the reigning theory. It's been said this verse could be translated, by faith we conclude the evidence. By faith we conclude the evidence. The Christian looks at the world and says, does the premise that there is no God really make sense? No! I mean, is everything an accident? Did I, you know, evolve from primordial slime? No, that doesn't seem, what are the odds of that? That's what the Christian says. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God. By faith, and by faith scientists make the premise that we've just evolved over billions and billions of years. This is also true, by the way, with biblical evidence as well. I mean, there needs to be, for any Christian, at least an approval of the historical facts and claims of who Jesus is and his resurrection. The Apostle Paul reasoned this out in 1 Corinthians 15. He said, if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. I mean, if Christ wasn't raised from the dead, as again, D.A. Carson has said, your life is a joke. What are we doing here? The Bishop of Perth in Western Australia was interviewed during Easter a few years ago. And someone asked him, interviewer, suppose they found the tomb of Jesus and he was identified without any reasonable doubt that this was in fact Jesus of Nazareth. You know, somehow they could prove that. You know, the crown of thorns, scars, somehow that this was him. What would that do to your faith? And his answer was pathetic. He said, it wouldn't do anything to my faith. I believe Jesus rose in my heart. I believe Jesus rose in my heart. Paul says, if Jesus hasn't been physically raised from the dead, we are to be pitied. This is a big joke, big hoax. See, faith is not just optimism. It's not positive thinking. It isn't brainless. It's not like the song, "'Cause you gotta have faith to faith to faith." It's not a flying leap. It's grounded on truths. Stage two. So stage one is understanding. Stage two, there is a conviction. This is the right doctor for me. He has a resume of being capable. This is the right spouse for me. You know, he or she is a good fit for my personality and lifestyle and meets the biblical qualifications of a godly spouse. But stage two, by the way, is still based on probability. We don't know all things. Maybe it would be a bad doctor. There's an emotional element to this. We have to be convicted or convinced of the truth. And stage three, stage three is a commitment. It's a commitment. This is where you make yourself vulnerable. You live out of your decision. There's a follow-through. There's a trust. By the way, this is why many people, or some people at least, don't get married. They believe that this is the right person. They may even be convinced about it, but they're not willing to put themselves on the line. Unless you have all three of these things, you don't have saving faith. I've told this illustration before, so forgive me, but It seems to be a potent illustration, at least in my own mind and my own experience. There was a tightrope walker in Paris, France many years ago who was famous for doing all sorts of amazing feats. And there was a promoter in Canada who had heard about this great tightrope walker and wanted him to come all the way to Canada and perform there. And so this man decided to do that. And he was there and they set up this extravagant rope across Niagara Falls. And this man, believe it or not, walked across and to everybody's surprise, walked back. And people were amazed and clapping and thunderously applausing this man. And then he said, who thinks I can do it blindfolded? And people were skeptical. And he sure enough does it blindfolded, all the way there, all the way back. The crowd is roaring. And then he pulls out a wheelbarrow. And says to the promoter, or no, he says to the crowd, who thinks I can do this? And at this point, everybody is just thrilled. And they say, of course you can do it. This guy can do anything. And then he says to the promoter who called him there, how about you? Will you get in? That is faith. It's laying yourself on the line. It's making a commitment. It's being vulnerable and living out of that decision. A trust in Christ for salvation. An altering of behavior in line with that. It's not a demonic kind of faith as James says. You believe that God is one, you do well, even the demons believe and shudder. It's a kind of faith that endures in chapters 10 and 11. It goes on. It doesn't shrink back. Puts your money where your mouth is. As Mark Twain has humorously said, you put all your eggs in one basket and you watch that basket. Faith doesn't shrink back. It goes on. It moves forward. It invests everything. Number five, faith takes action. Faith takes action. Again, faith is what you bet your life on. And this is true of everybody in this room and everybody in the world. We all believe certain premises and truths, and we live out of those decisions. It's true to say that everything we do, in a sense, is based on faith. So what are you wagering your life on? And again, remember, faith is not a talent. I was sitting on a plane next to a person, and she said to me, I wish I could believe like you. How nice that would be. That's just not me. But my friends, faith isn't like golfing or singing. I wish I could sing like the heirs. I wish I could do this or that. It's not a talent. It's living out of a decision, living out of what you know to be real or perceive to be real. It changes the way we live. And again, James taught this, that faith is manifested in action. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? I mean, is such a faith legitimate? No, it's not legitimate. In other words, if you say you believe God, that God will judge you one day, but live like He doesn't exist, you're lying. You don't really believe it. And all throughout chapter 11, we see examples of those who, based on their perception of reality and God, did certain things. By faith, Noah built an ark, even though he was 300 miles away from the ocean. Everyone thought he was crazy. He perceived a different reality. By faith, Abraham left the city of Ur and everything familiar to him for a better promise and a better land. By faith, Moses chose to be mistreated with the Israelites, not enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin, though he could have easily done that. By faith, he saw something different. The righteous shall live by faith. And number six, lastly, faith has an object. Faith is not faith in faith. It's not an attitude or a feeling. It's based on reality. Again, I've told this, but I remember being in Fort Collins, dating my now wife, in a Rastafarian. Got in a nice conversation with a Rastafarian and was asking him about his religion and had a wonderful conversation. I said, how can I be saved? He said, just believe. Believe what? You got it, man. Just believe. I don't know what I'm supposed to believe. It's not faith in faith. It's not just faith in a desired outcome. It has substance. I came across this story in 1988. The Evening News reported on a photographer who was a skydiver. He had jumped from a plane along with a number of other skydivers and filmed the group as they fell and opened their parachutes. And on the film shown in the telecast, as the final skydiver opened his chute, The picture went berserk, and the announcer reported that the cameraman had fallen to his death, having jumped out of the plane without his parachute. It wasn't until he reached for the absent ripcord that he finally realized he was free-falling without a parachute. I think that's a parable of the modern man. Life is fun. Life is enjoyable. Nothing to worry about. Life is good. Have fun. Enjoy. Eat, drink and be merry. But then at the end of the day realizing there's no substance in what they're believing in. Faith has an object. You don't have to struggle and strive, but you rest and relax in the riches of Christ and live out of that reality. Again, faith is the instrument. It's not the object. We mustn't fall into the subtle trap of the devil in believing that our faith saves us. Our faith oftentimes is as fickle as our emotions. It is the object of our faith that saves us. Again, as the great Eric Alexander has said, faith is the instrument, the channel through which salvation flows to us. The beggar on the street with an empty stomach and a hand sees a full hand coming to him, does not say, oh, it was my hand that saved me. No, it was the riches poured into it that saved me. You don't have to have a strong faith. You just have to have a true faith. A little bit of a true faith. It can be small, like a mustard seed. But is it hanging and trusting on the right thing, on the object of Christ? If it's not, it is sinking sand. But if it is, even if it's feeble, if it's true, it is as solid as the rock himself. Now I realize that many people come to church and say to themselves, I'm in pain. I have a hard life. I came to church to know how to deal with the hard things in my life. I have hard choices to make. difficult relationships I'm in. I need some strength. I need some practical application, not just some arguments for the existence of God. But the book of Hebrews says, how on earth will you survive and go on or even thrive in this life unless you first realize whether or not you're some cosmic accident or a person who is skillfully created in the image of God. You may say, I don't want to even think about these things. But there are implications to what you believe. Whether or not you go out and get drunk tonight or sleep with this guy or cheat on your income taxes comes back to this. Where is your faith? You can't make a single move without presuming certain things. I mean, if God doesn't exist, then who cares about your income taxes? Who cares about, you know, what people think about wanton pleasure in whatever form you prefer? As Fyodor Dostoevsky said, if God does not exist, then all things are permissible. You see, and I borrow here from Tim Keller, by faith we train ourselves to think in line with the gospel. I'm depressed. Is that in line with the gospel? I'm struggling with lust and pornography. Is that in line with the gospel? I'm proud. I look down my nose at other people. Is that in line with the gospel? Is racism wrong? Yes, but not because it's some abstract truth or teaching. It's wrong because it's not in line with the gospel. Faith says, if he is the king, then I can no longer live like I'm the king. If Christ died to deliver me from these sins, how can I continue to live in them? If this is how Christ loved me, then how should I treat my wife? If this is not my permanent home, then why get so hung up about homes and home shopping and home prices? If money is just a means to an end, then why not use as much as I can to magnify God and promote His work? If Christ is my righteousness, then why try to earn His favor day in and day out? Why not rest in it and live out of the fullness of His riches? By faith we do that. By faith we joyfully endure suffering, whether it be a difficult marriage, situation, or job, friendship. Listen to the words, wise words of George Muller. When he says, God delights to increase the faith of his children, I say, and say it deliberately, trials, difficulties, and sometimes defeat are the very food of faith. We should take them out of His hands as evidences of His love and care for us in developing more and more of that faith which He is seeking to strengthen in us. During an especially trying time in the China Inland Mission, Hudson Taylor wrote to his wife, we have 25 cents. and all the promises of God. If I have a better possession and an abiding one, do the math, there is joy no matter what happens. By faith we not only endure, but by faith we sacrifice. This is why and how missionaries go out and why they stay there. This is how Hudson Taylor started. They know they have a better possession and an abiding one. This is how we share the gospel with our friends and relatives and family. This is why we even opt to look like fools in front of the world. This is what the Lord promises. I mean, the church rightly performed in the scriptures is just weird to the world. Are you willing to be weird or uncool? By faith we endure. By faith we sacrifice, by faith we give. I mean, why on earth would anybody sacrifice hard-earned money and time, potentially get nothing in return? Because by faith it's a better investment. It makes sense. And in Scripture we see a couple different ways to increase our faith. If you're here like me, this week, being convicted about a lack of faith. And let me say this, I think 10,000 of our problems would dissolve if we but had a little more faith. We are to ask God and pray. I believe, Lord, help my unbelief. And listen to the words of John Owen, the great Puritan, in his work on the mortification of sin. He says, there is not anything In our communion with Him, the Lord is more troubled with us for, if I may say so, than our unbelieving fears that keep us off from receiving that strong consolation which He is so willing to give to us. I believe, Lord, help my unbelief. And there's also a remedy in Romans 10, 17. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ. All true faith rests on the words, thus says the Lord. And so I ask you, I implore you to listen to the words of Jesus and by faith receive them and by faith commit to them when he says, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls." Do you believe that? He says, no I tell you but unless you repent you shall all likewise perish. Where is your faith? Where is your commitment to Christ? It is only by His grace. Let's pray. Our Father, we recognize this morning that if there is anybody saved, if there is anybody who is a Christian, it is only because of Your doing. It is only because You have opened up the eyes of our hearts to see You as glorious. If there is anybody who is left home to go share the gospel, the only explanation, Lord, is You have moved in their hearts. And I pray today that there would be a mighty movement of faith. May You rid us of our sick unbelief. And may You, by Your grace, give us saving faith, a faith that moves, a faith that acts, a faith that gives. A faith that sacrifices but has joy because we have a better possession and an abiding one. Help us to see these things with the eyes of faith. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.