3
Does It Call You to Trust God?
Question 1:
When have you taken a big leap of faith?
THE POINT
Discerning and obeying God’s voice calls for faith in Him.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
I served as the president of the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary for thirteen years. In my second year, God orchestrated a series of events that led us to take a huge step of faith and build a new academic building. This was an enormous project that more than doubled our facilities. It would cost far more money than we had ever raised or spent before. We had no money available for the project, so it would all be by faith.
The Lord did not give us all that we needed at the beginning. Rather, as we took each step, God granted us enough funds for the next stage of building. At times, we couldn’t continue working unless additional funds were received. But then right on schedule, a check would arrive for just what we needed.
Some wondered why God would not give us all the money we required at the outset, but we learned a valuable lesson in that process: Everything God does in our life is designed to increase our faith in Him. We knew what God wanted, and we trusted Him to work.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Hebrews 11:1-3
1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For by this our ancestors were approved. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
We can’t see God with our physical eyes, but He is a real person who wants to have a close, personal fellowship with us. God is spirit and He resides in a heavenly world that is beyond our comprehension. In addition, God’s ways are entirely different and superior to our thoughts and ways (Isa. 55:8-9). This makes our interaction with God entirely different from any of our other relationships. Because of these factors, we must have faith if we are to relate properly to God.
Question 2:
How would you describe faith?
Faith is confidence and trust that something is true. “Faith is the reality of what is hoped for” (v. 1). Our faith gives us assurance that what we believe will become a reality. When we know the character and power of God, and we believe what God has promised, then we can be assured that God will do what He said.
In the Bible, faith is always God-centered. The writer of Hebrews doesn’t encourage us to have faith in ourselves, but in God. We can’t always make our own dreams successful, regardless of how hard we work to that end. It’s not the power of positive thinking, because we are limited in how much we can make our thoughts become a reality. God, though, can bring every one of His purposes to reality in our lives. When we place our faith in Him, we can be absolutely confident He will do what He has said.
Throughout history, it has been people’s faith that pleased God. Verse 2 points to “our ancestors,” God’s people throughout the Old Testament. These people were extremely diverse—men and women, young and old, powerful and weak—yet the one thing they all had in common was their faith in God.
It is by faith that we recognize and understand God’s work around us. Paul stated that the heavens reveal God’s handiwork (Rom. 1:20). Nevertheless, some people look at the heavens and fail to recognize God’s activity. Similarly, that’s why some people go to church and encounter God and others don’t. It’s our faith that opens our spiritual eyes to see the truth before us. It’s our faith that enables us to understand that the universe was created by the word of God. This refers to God speaking in Genesis chapter 1 (vv. 3-28). It also points to Christ who was active in creation (John 1:1-3).
To understand God’s words, you must have faith. With faith, you can hear God as you look at the stars, as you attend a worship service, or when you read the Bible. Faith opens your understanding to what God is saying.
Hebrews 11:4-6
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
We read earlier in verse 2 that it was the faith of our spiritual ancestors that received God’s approval, and verse 4 begins a summary of a few of these “heroes of the faith.” This, of course, is not an exhaustive list. Interestingly, this summary does not commence with Adam and Eve, but with their martyred son, Abel. Cain and Abel both gave an offering to God (Gen. 4:3-5). However, God approved of Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. Scripture doesn’t indicate why. Cain’s offering came from the produce of the land, while Abel’s was the firstborn of his flock. Some speculate that Abel’s offering involved the shedding of blood, while Cain’s did not. Even under the Mosaic law, grain offerings were welcomed. Hebrews tells us that it was faith that made Abel’s offering acceptable to God. It was also by his faith that God considered Abel to be righteous. As a result, even though Abel has long been dead, his faith continues to encourage believers today.
Engage
WHOM DO YOU TRUST?
As our culture has changed, people have changed the basis for choosing who to trust. With 1 being most trustworthy and 8 being least trustworthy, rank the following occupations:
Describe why you chose the most trustworthy:
Describe why you chose the least trustworthy:
On what basis do you trust God for daily guidance?
“Faith is like radar that sees through the fog—the reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see.”
Enoch is listed as another example of someone whose faith pleased God. Because God delighted in him, God brought Enoch to Himself in an unusual way, bypassing the normal death process (Gen. 5:24).
Verse 6 is one of the Bible’s most important statements about faith: “without faith it is impossible to please God.” It’s impossible! When God speaks to you, He will always seek to bring you to a greater level of faith. People tend to nestle themselves into a comfortable life that they can handle on their own. But that displeases God. If your life has become extremely safe, predictable, and comfortable, don’t be surprised if you hear God speaking to you about something that may rattle your world! Without faith, it is impossible to please God, so He will do whatever is necessary to move your life into a place where it requires faith in Him.
People often assume that a large donation, a huge undertaking, or serving as a missionary brings God most pleasure. But God looks for faith. Two people can do the same thing, yet for one, it requires far more faith than for the other. It is our faith that makes our service pleasing to God, not the costliness of our action.
Question 3:
When have you been encouraged by someone else’s faith?
Hebrews 11:13-16
13 These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. 14 Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. 16 But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Faith looks to the future. It trusts that God will do something that has not yet occurred. At times faith believes God for tomorrow. At other times it trusts God to do something years or even decades away. Our faith can be tested by how long we are prepared to wait for God’s answer.
Question 4:
What are some promises of God you hold tight to?
The heroes of the faith listed in Hebrews 11 believed what God had promised. God assured Abraham and Sarah that their descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, yet they never saw it in their lifetime. Some of God’s promises take much time before they are accomplished. Nevertheless, those mentioned in Hebrews 11 were certain it would happen one day, and they rejoiced in God as if it had already been achieved, so certain were they that it would be.
God had told Abraham he would become the father of a great nation, but it was twenty-five years before Isaac, the son of this promise, was born. During those years, Abraham could have lost hope and assumed God’s promise was impossible. But such was his faith that, even when God’s promise seemed humanly unattainable, he still believed that, with God, all things were possible. That is why God considered him to be righteous (Gen. 15:6). It was not what Abraham did, but what he believed that pleased God.
We live in an imperfect world, filled with suffering, pain, and evil. It can be extremely difficult, even dangerous, to be a Christian in many places in the world today. Yet, God has promised that He is preparing a far better place for believers to inhabit one day (John 14:2). Though we are not yet experiencing all that God has promised, we look forward to the future God has promised, and we wait confidently for it, knowing it is a certainty because God has said it will be so.
Question 5:
How does focusing on the future God has promised us change the way we live our daily lives?
LIVE IT OUT
Discerning and obeying God’s voice calls for faith in Him. What will you do in response to the truth that obedience to God calls for faith? Choose one of the following applications:
Pray. Consider the greatest challenge you are currently facing. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your faith? Pray each day, trusting God to help you with the challenging situation.
List. Make a list of as many promises of God in the Bible that you can think of. Identify any promises you may have difficulty believing for your own life. Pray and ask God to help you trust Him and claim those promises for your life.
Encourage. If you know others who are struggling with faith or with one of God’s promises, encourage their faith. Pray for them and with them. Remind them that God’s faithfulness in the past means He can be trusted with the future.
Whether you are waiting for God to come through for a project or for a person, faith will be required. Thankfully, we know that the One we wait upon is the Faithful One.
Teacher Notes:
Click Play to Watch
This letter is written to Jewish Christians who
are facing pressure, to recant their Christian beliefs and return to Judaism.
The author encourages them to hold the course
and look to the great faith people in Jewish history who have held to their
beliefs and trusted God through difficult trials.
Living by Faith
Hebrews 11:1-3
Now faith (trust & confidence) is the reality of
what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For by this our ancestors
were approved. By faith we understand that the universe was created
by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not
visible.
How would you define the concept of faith in
your own words?
· Faith in general requires an object. For some,
the object of faith is self, plans, relationships, resources, or even
faith itself. The object of biblical
faith is the Lord. Other objects of faith will fail; the Lord never fails.
Therefore, faith in God is a certainty, not just a possibility or a wish.
· Belief in God’s promises – He will do what He
says. When we believe that God will fulfill His promises even though we don’t see
those promises materializing yet, we demonstrate true faith.
Identify the key words in the writer’s
explanation of faith. To what does faith give substance or reality? To what
does faith provide evidence?
Two words describe faith: sure,
and certain
/ reality,
and proof
/ substance,
and evidence.
These two qualities need a secure beginning and ending point.
1. The beginning point of faith is believing in
God’s character – He is who He says.
2. The end point is believing in God’s promises –
He will do what He says. When we believe that God will fulfill His promises
even though we don’t see those promises materializing yet, we demonstrate true
faith.
Complete trust in God gives reality to what we
hope for in Him.
· By faith, we are assured of the existence of
what God has promised even though we cannot yet see it.
What was a benefit the faithful of ages past
received from the Lord?
· God gives His approval to those who live by
faith.
· They were approved, not on the basis of
performance but because they believed (had faith) in Him as the almighty,
dependable, trustworthy One.
What mighty act of God does the writer cite as
an example of responding in faith to God?
· Creation. God is Creator. Since no one was
present in the beginning but God, no one can give personal, eyewitness
testimony that God created. Even as science offers theories about what happened
at creation, the mystery of creation continues. Science cannot explain the who
and why of creation.
Why does believing God is Creator require faith
on our part?
· “Faith understands that behind everything
visible is the invisible command of God . . . . Faith in God’s revelation is a
way of grasping reality, without necessarily comprehending all the steps that
may be involved.” We are satisfied in knowing by faith that God did it.
· By faith, we affirm that God spoke the world
into existence.
· God called the universe into existence out of
nothing; He declared that it was to be, and it was. Our faith is in the God who
created the entire universe by His word.
Faith leads us to believe and rely on God.
Right now, amid a global pandemic, financial
crisis, and social unrest, as our world seems to be falling apart, we can stand
on the rock-solid, unshakeable promises of God’s security, rest, peace,
provision, mercy, grace, and salvation. His Word can be trusted. We can have
full confidence in the Lord’s promises because they are real and a firm
foundation for this life.
Hebrews 11:4-6
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith
he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even
though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.
By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience
death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was
taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God. Now without faith it is
impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that
he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
What does Abel illustrate about faith? How did God commend
him? How does Abel continue to influence us?
· He illustrates the truth that faith in God
leads to and is expressed in worship of Him.
· He was approved as a righteous man.
· Abel demonstrated genuine faith in God. His
faith was evidenced in his giving a proper sacrifice. “Abel was right with God,
but his righteousness, or right standing, didn’t result from Abel’s own ability
to give a better offering than Cain. It resulted from his complete faith in
God.” Abel’s sacrifice (an animal substitute) was more acceptable to God, both
because it was a blood sacrifice and most important, because of Abel’s attitude
when he offered it.
· Abel’s witness still lives even though he is
dead. His example of faith expressed in worship speaks in every generation. We
more than remember it; our own faith is stimulated by recalling it.
Furthermore, as we share his story and make his story of faith ours, we
continue to declare God’s message in the present. “The just shall live by faith”
(Rom. 1:17; see Hab. 2:4). Our influence as a people of faith will live long
past us and affect those who follow us.
What makes Enoch such an unusual faith hero of the bible? What
does he illustrate about faith? What proves he pleased God? What is required if
we are to please God? What is the greatest reward we receive from the Lord?
· Enoch - Enoch’s “story” is found in Genesis
5:19-24, not as a narrative but as a portion of a genealogical presentation
from the line of Seth, who was another son born to Adam and Eve
following the death of Abel (Gen. 4:25). Apart from the Genesis account and this
verse in Hebrews, the only other mention of Enoch is in Jude 14-15 where he is
designated as the source of a prophecy of judgment. However, Enoch is a popular
figure in apocalyptic literature – the book of Enoch. One other fact that gives
Enoch prominence is that he was the father of Methuselah, the oldest man in
recorded biblical history at 969 years (Gen. 5:27).
· He did not experience death.
· Enoch is an illustration of the blessing that
comes to those who walk with the Lord by faith. He lived in right relationship
with God. The character of his life brought pleasure to God. He lived the life
of true faith, which is always pleasing to the Lord. Enoch illustrates a
general truth. By faith, one can please God. But without faith, it is
impossible to please Him.
· Those who diligently seek Him can expect the
blessing of being in His presence. He is a rewarder of those who earnestly and
carefully crave to be with Him. Rewarder denotes “one who pays wages.” Of
course, as Enoch discovered, the great reward the Lord gives to those who walk
with Him is the joy of being in His presence. In that, He will be found to be
just and righteous. We please God when we live by faith in Him.
· Believing that God exists is only the
beginning; even demons believe that much (James 2:19, 20). God will not settle for
mere acknowledgement of His existence. He wants a personal, dynamic
relationship with you – that will transform your life. Those who seek God will
find that they are rewarded with His intimate presence. The believer desires to
know God and to draw near to Him.
· Sometimes we wonder about the fate of those who
haven’t heard of Christ and have not even had a bible to read. God assures us that
all who honestly seek Him – who act in faith on the knowledge of God that they possess
– will be rewarded. When you tell others the gospel, encourage them to be
honest and diligent in their search for truth. Those who hear the gospel are
responsible for what they have heard. (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)
Why is faith such a critical part of our
relationship to the Lord?
Faith responds with obedience that pleases God.
Hebrews 11:13-16
These all died in faith, although they had not
received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance,
greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents
on the earth. Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking
a homeland. If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had
an opportunity to return. But they now desire a better place — a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a
city for them.
These people of faith died without receiving
all that God had promised, but they never lost their vision of heaven (“a
better country – a heavenly one”). Many Christians become frustrated and
defeated because of their needs, wants, expectations, and demands are not
immediately met when they believe in Christ. They become impatient and want to
quit. Are you discouraged because the achievement of your goal seems far away?
Take courage from these heroes of faith who lived and died without seeing the
fruit of their faith on earth and yet continued to believe.
What evidence of faith is described in verse
13?
· They all died in their faith.
What is the relationship of the person of faith
to this world?
· If this world was not there home—and it
wasn’t—they were convinced such a place did exist.
What desire did the examples of faith have? How
would God honor that desire?
· A better place – a heavenly place. He has
prepared a city for them.
How does focusing on the future God has
promised us, change the way we live our daily lives?
· Living by faith is not dependent on possession
but on promise — promises that come from God who is dependable, reliable, and
trustworthy.
· Worship of God is an active expression of our
faith in Him.
· We are not permanent citizens of this world but
temporary residents awaiting our eternal home in heaven.
· Avoid the opportunity to return to the past;
reach out to claim the promises of the future.
· By faith we bring honor to God and He in turn
honors us with His blessing of eternity.
Faith stays focused on God’s Word and promises.
Conclusion
Do you remember how you felt when you were very
young, and your birthday approached? You were excited and anxious. You knew you
would certainly receive gifts and other special treats. But somethings would be
a surprise. Birthdays combine assurance and anticipation, and so does faith!
Faith is the conviction based on past experiences that God’s new and fresh
surprises will surely be ours.
Hebrews 11:1 is the closest the Bible comes to
providing a complete definition of faith. Faith gives reality to the hope we
have in the Lord and assurance that what He promises can be counted on. The
Scriptures are filled with story after story of men and women who demonstrated
that kind of faith. Their examples remind us how practical faith is even in the
most difficult of times. More important than memorizing a comprehensive,
well-worded, intellectual definition of faith is acting out faith in our relationship
to God and in the way we live.
