Impossible to Please God without Faith

Impossible to Please God without Faith

Pastor Jerry

February 23, 2020

Hebrews 11:1-6, 8-10, 17-19

 

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Let me ask you a personal question: “How is your relationship with God?” Are you living a life of faith? A life filled with God? Do you know how you get God’s approval in your life? Do you gain God’s approval by being religious? No! Do you gain God’s approval by going to church? No! Do you gain God’s approval by reading the Bible? No! There is only one way that we can please God. In Hebrew 11:6 we learn that it’s faith, “… without faith it is impossible to please Him.”  There are only two ways to live. One way, by far the most common, is to live by sight….to base everything on what you can see, what you can make happen. The other way, far less commonly taken, is to live by faith, to base your life primarily and ultimately on what you cannot see, what God is preparing. The way of faith is the Christian way, the Bible way, which is the way that the people of God have always lived. Today I want us to see three specific ingredients necessary for a life of faith, drawn from the life of Abraham as recorded in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. (1) Faith Involves a Willingness to Obey The life of faith begins with the willingness to heed the call of God to leave sin behind and come follow God. In v8 we are told, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” The life of faith begins with a willingness to hear God calling you to a different kind of life. God calls for faith is a call for action.  True faith always leads to decisive action. (2) Faith Involves a Willingness to Wait The life of faith did not end for Abraham when he obeyed God’s call and left his hometown behind, nor when he finally set foot on the territory to which God directed his steps.  V9 continues the story, “By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; (10) for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”  (3) Faith Involves a Willingness to Sacrifice The final demonstration of faith, its ultimate proof, is the willingness to sacrifice. V17 says, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, (18) of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” (19) concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.”  Conclusion One crucial question demands an answer. “ If faith is so great why do so few people live it?” An important reason is that most people would rather do anything than take a risk. “Taking risks, means being vulnerable. And that may affect our finances, our friends, our future, our feelings, our occupation, where we live, and a host of other considerations. Our tendency is to want to be safe and secure, to see the future, to insure ourselves against loss. Basically, we fail at faith because we fear to risk.” Hebrew 11:6 “… without faith it is impossible to please Him.” True Faith Involves a Willingness to (1) Obey …(2) to Wait …(3) to Sacrifice