Life of Faith

When life begins to get me down and the devil does all he can to discourage me, I have learned to retreat to the book of Hebrews and take a walk down the corridors of that hall of faith and immerse myself in the examples of those men and women of whom the world was not worthy. We will be in Hebrews chapter 11, friends. You can turn in your Bibles there now.

This message is on faith and the title of my message today, friends, is Life of Faith. In Hebrews 11, we have example after example of how to walk by faith, how to live for God through faith, and how to be satisfied in God with faith. My Bible declares in verse 5, uh, by faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him for before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God.

Do you know how to please God, friends? You please God with your faith because the next verse says so. But without faith, it is impossible to please him. Faith, friends, is seeing him who is invisible.

We see this in the life of Moses, esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of his reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured, seeing him who is invisible. Faith, friends, is trusting in the promises of God to such a degree that even the devil can't shake you off your foundation that is built upon faith.

Listen to me, friends. I believe if you truly have a deep desire to be more of a person of faith, and if you go to God in prayer and ask him to develop in you a life of faith, that he will be faithful to that desire and prayer. I've got serious with God years ago and asked him to make me a man of faith.

He has answered that prayer. But your new life of faith may not come to you on a silver platter beneath sunny skies. All I can speak of is my own personal experience of how God has made me a man of faith.

Faith is not built beneath clear sunny skies, but faith is forged on the anvil of affliction, and it is strengthened through storms of adversity. Faith is realized when all our self-reliance is gone, when hope hangs on a tattered thread and all human resources are exhausted, when all that remains are the promises of God that you desperately cling to as if all eternity depended upon it, that you come to the place in your walk with God, friends, to where self is emptied and reputation is buried. I like the quote by F.J. Hegel in regard to the faith of Moses.

Hegel said, for 40 years on the lonely slopes of Midian, the fiery Moses is schooled. There were graves, if I may so speak, scattered all over the mountainside, where hope after hope was buried until at last a self went down in utter annihilation. Listen to me, friend.

Faith will not be developed in the person who sits on the throne of their life and rules there. You must come off the throne and enthrone the Lord of glory in every single area of your life. If you truly desire a deeper life of faith, God will bring it to the end of yourself, and he will teach you that his promises are true and that he is true to his promises.

Oh, the great suffering that at times has to take place before we can embrace the life of faith. But friends, you will receive such a deeper revelation of the attributes of God that this world will lose all its luster to you. And all you want to do is be an empty channel that grace can flow through as a means of blessing to others.

Self has to go the way of the cross, friend, if you want power with God and a deep life of faith. J. Sidlo Baxter used to say, how can a man full of himself preach the Christ to empty himself? The best way I can describe the life of faith is the example of Peter when he fastened his faith on Jesus and stepped out of the safety of the boat and walked on the water. Listen, friends, once you've experienced the supernatural, you don't want to get back in the boat.

Rather, you want more Christ and his power. The life of faith is best summed up by the following verses of scripture from Hebrews 11. Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouth of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in flight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Let me ask you, friend, what kingdoms are you subduing by your faith? What promises have you obtained through faith? What armies are you turning to flight by your faith? I believe a holy and righteous God looks for faith. When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? God can work wonders through a person of faith. When Jesus was here in his earthly ministry, he often rebuked his disciples for their little faith, but when he was taken from them, he built faith in them by his spirit to such a degree, they each were willing to lay down their lives for him and die for the sake of the gospel because of their unshakable faith.

I believe some hard times are coming to this country, friends, and I believe that if you don't have a close walk with God now and are accustomed to live in a life of faith, that when the unspeakable troubles come to this nation, that many who claim to know Christ will fall into apostasy because they lack faith. God will always have a remnant of faithful followers who can pass through any trial or adversity and come out stronger on the other side, all for the glory of God. And others had trial accrual mockings and scorchings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment.

They were stoned. They were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy.

Let us go to God, friends, and ask him to make us better men and women of faith for the sake of the spread of the gospel and the glory due the Father. Let us pray.