Faith

Hebrews 11- “ Faith”

 

    I did not want to see the recent movie “ Argo” but got to anyway.  It is about some of the embassy ( about 6) being taken to the Canadian embassy in Iran during the hostage crisis.  Now how do they get out?  The story says that ( supposed to be true) they disguised themselves as working on a space fantasy movie .  The director played by Ben Affleck flies into Tehran gives them fake passports, stamped with the date he arrives and they proceed to try and get out Iran.  I was on the edge of my seat!  My heart was pounding . They are on the airplane after being severely questioned and are ready to take off.  But they Iranians figure out they are not really movie actors at all, and rush the plane .  They take off.  They are safe.  But it did not look like it would happen.

 

     Faith is like this.  But our passage is guaranteed!  Literally in Hebrews 11 we read this , “ Now is faith of (things) hoped for the assurance ( hupostasis= upo –under/ stasis= stand , so SUPPORT) of things the conviction not seen.” Another translation ( NEB) says. “ And what is faith? Faith gives substance to our hopes, and makes us certain of realities we do not see.”

 

      Our faith is guaranteed by unchangeable promises made by God before we ever get to faith.  If you were to read the Book of Hebrews from its beginning ---this is the message.  Christ is our Great High Priest and His blood sacrificed for us has made us an oath.  He according to Hebrews 6:17 made this promise to Abraham (6:13)---“ God made promise to Abraham , because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying, ‘ Surely blessing I will bless thee.”  When God says He will do it we do not have to worry.  We can rest in this promise.  It is a safe passage.  It will happen.  The deposit we have is our faith.  It gives substance to our hopes.

 

      As I prepared this message I thought about how much we value certainty.  I am not one who likes uncertainty.  It takes a lot of patience and should we say faith to realize that our plans are not always the best and that  God has one for us.  Uncertainty can give us feelings of hopelessness and the experience of great loss.  We can even feel angry or depressed because we do not think that this or that thing should be happening to us.  Of all the qualities of the Christian experience and life, there is none more important than faith.  By faith we live.  It carries us through our lives despite what we see.  Faith in a real way gives us hope that things happen, but God works out things “together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Ro. 8:28

 

    Faith is giving assent to the truths of the Christian faith, but it goes beyond that.  It takes faith to leave everything we know and be like Abraham going out “ not knowing whither he went.” Heb 11:8  He “ obeyed” to go out “ into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance”   It would have not been an act of faith for Abraham to stay in the city of Sodom like his nephew Lot tried to do. “ By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles (tents) “ 11:9  He, Abraham , was called with his wife Sarah to believe that she would have a child although she was 99 years old .  His children would be as many as the stars of the sky . “ These all died in faith”  11: 13  ….” not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

 

    None of us can say we have all the answers now.  One day as John says “ now we are the sons of  God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that , when he shall appear , we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” I John 3:2  So dear Christian friends whatever we are going through now or however we feel we should recollect these words from Hebrews, “ God is not ashamed to be called their God : for He hath prepared for them a city.” 11:16  We have our passports stamped.  We are boarding some day and this flight will not be stopped.  We will live in the presence of God and enjoy Him and glorify Him forevermore!