HEBREWS 11:1\u20134<\/b><\/p>\n
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see<\/i><\/p>\n
(Heb. 11:1).<\/i><\/p>\n
Today we return to our survey of Hebrews. At the end of Hebrews 10, we have yet another of the author\u2019s dire warnings. He calls upon us to keep going on our spiritual pilgrimage and not to fall back into the old ways of the old world. But as always, he ends on a note of encouragement, writing, \u201cbut we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved\u201d (Heb. 10:39). By using the word believe,<\/i> he introduces a discussion of the relationship of persevering faith to our journey.<\/p>\n
Hebrews 11 is the great roll call of the faithful\u2014those who stand as examples for us as a result of their perseverance. But before considering these great men and women, the author provides a short definition of faith.<\/p>\n
He says that faith involves a sure and certain hope. Specifically, we lay hold by faith of the fact that Jesus has finished the course for us and thus enables us to finish the paths God has for us. We don\u2019t see Jesus, but we know that He is in heaven and is helping us.<\/p>\n
Faith is not simply believing in<\/i> God. Faith is believing<\/i> God. Faith is trusting God. Faith says, \u201cI believe what You say. I trust You, and I will follow You wherever You lead me.\u201d Thus, faith carries us on our journey.<\/p>\n
Is faith blind? Some would say so. After all, Hebrews 11:1 says that it involves being \u201ccertain of what we do not see.\u201d But no, faith is not blind. When God revealed Himself to Abram, He appeared to him. God certainly appeared to Moses, and gave repeated manifestations of His presence and glory to Israel in the plagues and the dividing of the Red Sea. God appeared in the pillar of cloudy fire on Mount Sinai and visibly led Israel for 40 years. Finally God appeared in Jesus Christ. Moreover, Romans 1:20 says that God\u2019s power and divinity are clearly seen in His creation. No, faith is not blind.<\/p>\n
What the author of Hebrews means is that we cannot see the future. We see what God has done in the past, and we trust Him for what He has promised to do in the future. The future glories are the unseen things of which we are certain by faith.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Malachi<\/p>\n
Think back over your life and the lives of those you know. Can you see things God has done for you? If nothing comes to mind immediately, ask God to show you some of those things. Now considering His promises, take a few minutes and write down your remembrances of His goodness to you.<\/p>\n
For further study: Psalm 136 \u2022 Isaiah 41:8\u201310 \u2022 Lam. 3:19\u201327<\/i><\/p>\n
thursday<\/p>\n
august<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HEBREWS 11:1\u20134 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Heb. 11:1). Today we return to our survey of Hebrews. At the end of Hebrews 10, we have yet another of the author\u2019s dire warnings. He calls upon us to keep going on our spiritual … Continue reading “WHAT IS FAITH?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12053\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}