F.A.I.T.H. pt. 3, “Faith as a Virtue of Heart.” For the past two sermons I have been saying, “Faith is where the action is!” Heb. 11:6 (NASB) “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.” • Hebrews 11:6 clearly states two things: • It is impossible to please God without faith. • It is impossible to receive from God without faith. But what is faith? It seems there are at least five various aspects of faith in the Bible: • Faith involves FACTS. There is a content to faith. The facts are the bedrock of faith. Faith involves hearing and knowledge of God’s Word and God’s work history. • Faith involves AGREEMENT. Many people know the truth, but they don’t like it – they suppress the truth instead. But true faith welcomes and agrees with what God says in His Word. • Faith TRUSTS. Trust is the essence of saving faith. Trust is that commitment, when we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ and rely 100% on Him. • Faith is also an INTEGRATION. Once we step out of darkness and step and into the light of Christ – we begin to see the world differently. Faith is wisdom, a worldview integrating all of life. • Faith is not to be compartmentalized – like a hobby for an hour or two on Sundays. • Faith involves the whole person and the whole of life. • Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB), “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Today, I want to discuss the 5th and final aspect of faith… Title: Faith as a Virtue of the Heart Text: Hebrews 12:1-3 Outline: Faith untangles the heart. Faith gives the heart endurance. Faith focuses the heart on Christ alone. • By virtue, I mean faith as a habit/courage of heart that is faithful and true in all circumstances. • By heart I mean your inner person - your living, thinking, choosing, and longings. • Faith in this sense is that virtue that builds character. • In other words, true faith leads to the virtue of faithfulness. Ill. Gimli the Dwarf said at the council of Elrond, “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” • The real test of faith is proven not when the path is easy, but when it becomes difficult and dark. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NASB) Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves (1st) of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance (2nd) the race that is set before us, 2 looking only at Jesus (3rd), the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. The passage contains three commands: rid, run, and look. 1. Faith untangles the heart. • V. 1 “… let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us.” • Faith untangles your heart from two things: obstacles and sin. • Obstacles – are not sinful things. • Obstacles – can be good/fun things we love to do – but they become weights that crowd out our love for God. • Sin – is any activity that misses the will of God. • An obstacle slows you down. • Sin knocks you down and keeps you down. Faith untangles the heart and sets it free. • John Calvin, “The human heart is an idol factory.” • The heart will take almost anything and manufacture an idol out of it. • When faith rises in our hearts, we rid ourselves of these hindrances. Ill. The best example of a tangled heart is Solomon. Solomon was a great and wise King, but his heart was entangled with many foreign wives. God warned the people of Israel not to intermarry with foreigners. NOT because God is racist, but because God is realist! 1 Kings 11, “surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” That’s what happened. Solomon ignored God’s Word and clung to his foreign lovers and their idols. His divided heart divided the whole kingdom. Ill. The image in this passage is of a runner. • When a runner enters a race, they don’t push a wheelbarrow. • Faith, in the sense I am talking about here, is a deliberate elimination of things and activity and sin that leads one away from God. • You will find this to be true when you come to Christ. • Things you once loved, you now hate. • Things you once hated, you now love. • Faith in Christ gives us a new heart with new priorities. • Faith untangles the heart and sets it free. 2. Faith gives the heart endurance. • The second command at the end of v1, “...let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us.” • Endurance means “to bear up under trial, to continue when the going is tough.” • The race before you – is your life! – the trials you face, the hills you must climb and the valleys to go through. • Faith in this sense is that holy determination that never gives up, that never quits, that keeps on keeping on. • Christian living is not a playground; it is a battle ground. • Faith, in the sense of endurance of heart is the major concern in the book of Hebrews. • Back in Heb. 10 it says when the Hebrews first became Christians (they were Jewish believers), they “endured great conflict, sufferings, insults, prison and the seizure of property – but they hung in there with joy! ... knowing they had a better and lasting rewards in Christ.” • Many were tempted to go back to Judaism – and reject Christ as the Messiah. • Thomas Schreiner, “The main point of Hebrews is… “don’t fall away from Jesus.” • Do not throw away your confidence. • Don’t lose the reward. • Do not grow weary and lose heart (the end of v3). God never promises an easy road to heaven. • Isaiah 50 is the third Servant Song. Isaiah 50:10 (NLT), “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God.” • This song teaches us that even the most obedient and faithful Christian will find themselves in the dark. • We don’t always know what God is doing. • God doesn’t always tell us. • What do we do? Trust in the Lord and endure. • Just as Jesus did when He endured the cross and the shame. **3. Faith focuses the heart on Christ alone. ** • The 3rd and final command in this passage in v2, “looking only at Jesus.” • Christ alone must always be the focus of our faith. • Like Ian Hamilton said, Faith is extraspective. • Faith always looks out and away from self. • Faith looks only to the Lord Jesus Christ. • Faith does not look to the world’s wisdom. • Faith does not look to our own understanding. • As Christians, we must be careful not to rest our faith on any hero of faith, or even on the church, or other Christians. • The only faith that does not grow weary or discouraged – is the faith that focuses on Christ alone. Why does faith look only to Jesus? • Jesus is the originator of the Christian faith. • Jesus is the perfecter/finisher of the Christian faith. • Jesus is the joy of the Christian faith. • Jesus sets the expectations for the Christian faith. • And that expectation is this… faith is not perfected in us without trial and suffering! • V3 tells us to consider Him who endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that we will not grow weary and lose heart. • Faith looks to Jesus, and considers, “Jesus never gave up on me, by God’s grace I will not give up on Jesus. • Faith as a virtue is a faithful heart to Christ. One of the ways we strengthen our faith is by reading great stories of faith. In The Pilgrim’s Progress, Greatheart is the protector assigned to guide Christiana (Christian’s wife), her children, and other pilgrims on their dangerous journey. Greatheart leads the pilgrims up the hill of difficulty, and the boys led the way from there, until lions appeared on the road ahead (the boys ran and hid behind Greatheart). That’s when Greatheart smiled and said, “Tell me boys, how is it that you love to take the lead when there’s no danger approaching, and yet love to hurry behind as soon as the lions appear?” • The story teaches that we don’t know if there is fear or faith in our hearts until trouble comes in our path. • It also teaches us, that we need a Greatheart in our lives. • Someone full of faith. • Someone who will fight for us, pray for us, when we have lost faith. • The spiritual war around us great, but by faith, our hearts will be greater still. “Faith relies on God’s promises, believing what he says even if it can’t see how they will be fulfilled. Faith trusts God in danger and distress, knowing he will reward his own.” - Thomas Schreiner