Weekly Reflection 1/29/24

Hebrews 11 part 3: “Flip the Switch”

Faith is a lifestyle.

• “But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” Hebrews‬ 10‬:38‬ ESV‬‬

Faith starts with discontentment.

• Until you are discontent with what this world has to offer you will not live a lifestyle of faith.

Faith is rational.

• Faith involves thinking, it is reasonable, there is evidence. Our faith is based on something true, something reliable, something with evidence.

Faith is personal.

• Faith must move from just rational belief in God to a personal encounter with God. It’s not enough just to believe in a kind of general way. There has to be a call, there has to be a sense that God is coming into your life and personally saying I want you. I want you to follow me, I want you to serve in this way, I want you to repent in this area and live a holy life.

Faith changes the foundation you build on. 

“For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” Hebrews‬ 11‬:10‬ ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬  Abraham came to see that this world has no foundations.  He was looking for a city with foundations. This world has no foundations, you know that. Even the physicists will tell you that, second Law of Thermodynamics, everything is winding down, everything is unraveling, everything is burning out. Too often we build our lives on our cultural consensus. We build our lives on public opinion. We build our lives on family; we build our lives on economic security. But all of that is like building on a foundation of sand.

God was saying obey me and leave that behind. Abraham was answering the call away from temporary security over and over and over again to build his life on an eternal foundation. And God is over and over again in our life saying don’t build your life where there’s no foundation, that’s sand, don’t put the center of gravity of your life on that. Shift the center of gravity of your life from anything in this world, shift your foundations to Me to My word, to My future. He is continuously showing you that the city to come, the eternal Kingdom of God has a solid foundation. God is inviting us to build our lives now, by faith, on that solid eternal foundation that He has built. (Matthew 7:24-27)

Faith is active obedience. 

• “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew‬ 7‬:24‬ ESV‬‬
• Faith is not only based on real, solid, tangible, evidence; but it is also real, solid, tangible active obedience. 
• “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.” Hebrews‬ 11‬:8‬ ESV‬‬
• James 2:14-26
• Now we need to be careful that we don’t preach obedience as a human work that earns something, obedient works do not earn salvation or the favor of God.
• Obedience is a posture of submission. It is a position of humility and submission to God. Obedience is evidence that we trust God.

Faith is the channel for grace.

• Obedience is the position of submission and trust in which we receive grace.
• “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— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 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.” Hebrews‬ 11‬:32‬-34‬ ESV‬‬
• Faith is not works based it is grace based.
• When James says, faith without works is dead, he is saying that works are the evidence that you have received grace.
• So, all of these men and women we will look at, when we talk about their faith, we are talking about the evidence that they received grace.
• “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians‬ 2‬:8‬-9‬ ESV‬‬
• Paul is describing the instrumentality of our faith. The idea is “by means of” faith. Faith is the “channel” through which salvation flows to sinners. It is the instrument or means.
• Faith is the channel or instrument through which we receive grace. That is by obedience. We trust God and obey what He says, and through that faithful obedience we receive grace.