George
Muller once said, “The beginning of anxiety is the
end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the
end of anxiety.”
Hebrews 11:6 tells us that “without faith we can
never make God happy.” Scripture also adds, “We are
saved by faith. We walk by faith. We are of the
household of faith.” Faith seems to be a major
ingredient in our walk with Christ.
What does faith look like? In Hebrews
11, God answers that by a series of pictures of
people like a chain of polaroids or a photo album;
one right after another. God holds each up and says,
“Here is what faith looks like.” You eagerly step
closer and focus in. Be surprised to see
people—imperfect people! Common people with an
uncommon faith. Ordinary people who trusted an
extraordinary God. People who failed and yet are
mentioned for their faith. Curious, right?
Hebrews 11 is sometimes called the
Hall of Faith. It illustrates for us how people have
done this since the beginning of humanity. While
many refuse to trust in God, there have always been
those who have faith in God even in the midst of
life’s difficulties. These men and women of
antiquity were far from perfect. They had flaws like
you and I do, but they also had faith. If you want
to understand what faith looks like in action, read
the stories of these people in Hebrews 11, and learn
from their lives of faith.
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Why would we want to do that? Because
faith is the key that unlocks the supernatural for
us. Where we are in our spiritual growth is a direct
result of the depth of our faith. It’s a journey!
I feel sorry for Moses. He spent 40
years wandering in the desert eating nothing, but
bread off the ground and an occasional bird, and
everyday a million people would ask, “Are we there
yet?” Would 40 years shake your faith? Mine might.
But it didn’t shake Moses’ faith. He’s listed there
too in Hebrews 11.
Our summer series will look closely
at each character in Hebrews 11 so we can discover
what true faith really is. God brings all these
stories together to encourage our generation to live
by faith like they did. Now it’s our turn!
Current Sermon Series:
6/05 Abel Hebrews 11:4
6/12 Noah Hebrews 11:7
6/19 Father Abraham Hebrews 11:8-10
6/26 Sarah Hebrews 11:11-12
Ron Otto, preaching minister at
Lincoln Christian Church |
