## Faith is… (part two)

## Hebrews 11:1-6

Last week we looked at several descriptions of what 'faith' is. We said that faith is

1. Believing When I Don't See It…
2. Obeying When I Don't Understand It…
3. Giving When I Don't Have It…

Tonight I would like to explore a few more descriptions of faith is.

I. Faith is ... persisting when I don't feel like it.

A. Faith and Feeling.

1. Our culture says, "Base everything you do on how you feel."

2. In other words, if you feel like doing it, do it.

3. If you don't feel like doing it, don't do it.

4. This is a guaranteed formula for an immature faith...because immature people build their lives on feelings rather than on commitments.

5. When we live our lives based on how we feel we end up being manipulated by moods.

B. Faith is Function (doing)

1. Successful people do what most people don't FEEL like doing.

2. They develop habits that unsuccessful people don't feel like developing like using their time wisely or being persistent.

3. Ask an Olympic Gold medalist, if they felt like getting up and practicing hour after hour; day after day.

4. They would likely say, "No, but you don't get to the Olympics by doing what you feel like doing."

5. Illustrate: Ben and Brandon and the piano lessons.

C. Faithful example of Moses

1. Note: Heb. 11:24-27

2. Godly men and women don't get that way just by feeling like it.

3. They become godly by persisting at doing God's will even when they DON'T feel like it.

(Heb 11:27b) "… for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible."

4. What made Moses persistent? It's that last phrase.

5. He saw Him who is invisible.

6. Moses had his eyes on God.

7. This is the key to persistence.

a. If we keep your eyes on God, He will give us the strength to persevere.

b. We keep our eyes on God by spending time studying His word and talking with Him through prayer by BEING WITH HIM!

c. Looking at our invisible God will give us the strength to keep on going when we feel like quitting!

(Gal 6:9) "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

II. Faith Is …Thanking Before I Receive It

(Heb 11:30) "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days."

A. The example of Jericho. Cf Joshua 6:2-5

1. God's people had come to conquer the land that He had given them and they found this fortified city.

2. Understand, they have been slaves for four hundred years.

3. They have almost no training as an army.

4. They have few weapons.

5. Now they face the fortified city of Jericho, and God said, "Here is the plan."

6. Notice they were to put the priests and the music of praise first in the procession.

7. They were to praise God for the city's destruction BEFORE it happened.

B. The example of Jehoshaphat. Cf 2 Chr. 20:17-21

1. The people asked for God's help in dealing with the invading armies of the Moabites and the Ammonites.

2. God instructed them to form a choir and put the choir in front of the army as it marched into battle.

3. As they marched, the choir sang, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever."

4. When they arrived at the battlefield all they saw was the dead soldiers of the enemy. V22-24

5. They had embraced a genuine faith characterized by thanking God even before He answered their prayer.

C. The principle is that we are to praise God before He blesses us.

1. We thank Him before it happens.

2. One preacher put it this way, "If God tells you to go after Moby Dick in a rowboat, you better go, and don't forget to take along the tartar sauce."

3. Faith is thanking God before I receive it.

III. Faith Is … Trusting If I Don't Get It Cf Heb. 11:39-40

A. Examples of the Faithful

1. They were all commended for their faith yet none of them received what had been promised.

2. God had planned something better.

3. All these godly men and women had faith in something they never benefited from in this life.

4. All of these people were great people of faith because they believed that God would give them what He had promised even though they never lived to see it.

B. God is not like a vending machine.

1. In the gym there is a soda machine.

2. Put in 40 cents and push a button and you get a soda (most of the time).

3. God calls upon us to invest our lives by faith…even if we do not see the immediate return on our investment.

4. Some give up on God when He doesn't answer when and how they want Him to.

5. That isn't faith…that is foolishness!

C. We are eternal beings.

1. God did not create us for just a time.

2. He created us for eternity.

3. If we just live for time, we will miss the ultimate purpose of creation.

4. God uses our present time to mold and shape our future usefulness here on earth and in eternity.

5. We need to make sure we are investing our life, time, and resources in things that are lasting.

(Mat 6:20) "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:"

What is the kind of faith that pleases God? It is a faith that:

- ...Believes when we don't see it....
- …Obeys when we don't understand it....
- ...Gives when we don't have it....
- …Persists when we don't feel like it...
- …Thanks God before we receive it...
- …Trusts Him even if we don't receive it right away…