Building Faith.

Steve Gentry

[0:01] !

[0:05] Good morning, welcome to Village Church. [0:07] If this is your first time here, my name is Steve [0:09] and I’m a pastor at Village Church. [0:10] And as always, I’m thankful and grateful to see each [0:13] and every one of you. [0:15] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open to Hebrews chapter 11.

[0:19] By God’s grace, sometimes he makes these things fall [0:22] in line on the same dates. [0:25] This morning, the plan has been to talk about the vision [0:29] of our church for building faith. [0:32] I believe what Kirk is doing is going to fit perfectly [0:35] with points two and three this morning.

[0:39] But last week, we began a summer series discussing [0:42] the vision that we have for Village Church. [0:45] What do we want to be known for? [0:47] Is what a vision answers. [0:49] As I said last week, if in 10 years, [0:51] someone writes a retrospective about Village Church,

[0:54] what would we want them to say we are about? [0:57] The mission statement that we say every single Sunday [1:00] is the answer to how we will accomplish the vision. [1:04] So the vision then sets the direction and the destination [1:08] of what that work will be all about. [1:11] The future that we walk into starts with a passion,

[1:14] like we said last Sunday, of worshiping Jesus Christ. [1:18] He is God, he is Lord of all. [1:21] And in the gospel, Jesus has done everything necessary [1:24] to save us from our sin and restore us [1:27] to a rightly ordered worship of God [1:30] that sets us apart from an unbelieving culture around us.

[1:35] And as we continue to build this vision, [1:37] I wanna talk this morning about the second thing [1:40] we strive for. [1:42] At Village Church, we strive to build faith. [1:44] We wanna be known for that. [1:46] Building faith encapsulates so much

[1:49] of what it means to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus, [1:52] just like we talk about in our mission statement. [1:55] And if we understand what it means [1:57] to be a worshiper of Jesus, [1:59] we will realize that the living sacrifice [2:01] that Romans 12 calls us to be cultivates a lifestyle

[2:05] of building faith with every step we take [2:09] in obedience to God. [2:11] Faith then necessarily is the beginning point, [2:15] but it is also the end goal of this physical life [2:19] in following Jesus Christ. [2:21] Faith is the entry point of Christianity

[2:24] and sets us on a journey of discipleship [2:26] that builds on that faith [2:28] as we grow in our relationship with God. [2:31] You know, in the New Testament, [2:33] both the noun form and the verbal form for faith [2:36] are used over 240 times.

[2:40] It is very much the focal point of Christianity, [2:43] so much so that we call it the Christian faith. [2:47] So friends, I want you to understand [2:49] that our actions for building faith in Jesus Christ [2:52] are going to set the direction for our lives [2:55] and determine where we actually end up in the end.

[2:59] This crucial element of our vision [3:02] encapsulates what I like to call the point A [3:05] and the point B venture of following Jesus, [3:08] the point A being the point where you come to faith [3:10] in Jesus all the way to point B [3:13] where you can honestly say,

[3:14] I am a fully devoted follower of Christ. [3:18] And every environment that we establish [3:21] and affirm as a church is focused on building faith [3:25] and giving the vision for helping others [3:27] to build faith in Jesus Christ, [3:29] and that is a non-negotiable.

[3:32] This builds a life, [3:34] really where faith can be understood in three categories, [3:36] and I wanna talk about those this morning. [3:38] You need a life of saving faith, [3:40] you need a life of living faith, [3:43] and you need a life of risking faith.

[3:45] Number one this morning, [3:47] I want you to understand that saving faith [3:49] is about the trustworthiness of God. [3:52] Saving faith is about the trustworthiness of God. [3:55] In Hebrews chapter 11, the author of Hebrews writes, [3:58] he says, now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,

[4:02] the conviction of things not seen.

[4:06] And what he says there really challenges the concept [4:09] that many people have of faith, [4:11] even the definition that many of you may have of faith, [4:14] because what he is establishing [4:16] is that faith necessitates a trustworthy object [4:19] to believe in.

[4:21] Faith is a term that is often misused [4:23] even within the Christianity, [4:25] or rather the Christian faith. [4:28] Some people have the idea that faith is some kind of power [4:31] that you form within yourself to make things happen. [4:35] Some people think it’s like the force from Star Wars.

[4:39] You focus on something long enough and you can make it move. [4:42] That’s faith. [4:44] No friends, that’s not faith. [4:46] Faith is about God’s power, not your own. [4:50] For faith to have any value, [4:51] it requires a trustworthy God as the anchor of that faith.

[4:56] That’s the message that you read there [4:58] in Hebrews chapter 11, verse one. [5:00] When I was growing up, I would hear a saying frequently [5:04] that this verse actually contradicts, [5:06] and maybe you’ve heard it before, [5:08] faith is believing something that isn’t so is so,

[5:11] so that it becomes so.

[5:14] That’s not faith at all. [5:16] That is some type of mystical power that doesn’t exist. [5:19] You don’t make something exist, God does that. [5:24] The term for faith throughout the New Testament [5:26] is a term that actually means strong confidence or trust. [5:32] And so when he uses the term assurance in here,

[5:35] he says faith is the assurance. [5:38] That’s actually a legal term [5:40] that represents what would be in our age, [5:42] a title or a deed to something. [5:46] It’s a legal document that is backed up [5:48] by something of value.

[5:50] Therefore, faith is the confidence [5:54] that what we hope for is backed up by something of value. [5:58] It’s not a pie in the sky hope, [5:59] you just hope things work out [6:01] with nothing of value backing up your hope. [6:04] No, it’s something that you have a strong confidence in

[6:07] because there’s something of value behind your trust. [6:11] Further, if you go further in the text, [6:13] he says the conviction of things not seen, [6:15] the word for conviction there in the original language [6:18] literally means evidence or proof that is verifiable.

[6:24] Faith then looks to the future hope [6:26] that is promised in Christ, [6:29] that is anchored to the trustworthiness [6:32] of all that God has revealed, all that he has done, [6:36] even if you have not yet seen the outcome. [6:40] Looks at everything that God has done

[6:42] and says I can trust his promises. [6:44] He’s proven that he’s trustworthy, [6:46] he’s proven that he is powerful. [6:49] Therefore, any promise that he makes [6:52] because he’s so good, because he’s so trustworthy, [6:54] because he’s so powerful,

[6:56] I can trust that even if I haven’t seen it, [6:58] it’s going to happen. [7:00] And so understand that when the Bible tells us [7:02] to put our faith in Christ, it is calling us. [7:06] To weigh the evidence of all that God has revealed, [7:10] all that Jesus has done,

[7:12] and to trust with confidence [7:16] that he is who he claims to be, [7:18] he’s done what he claims to have done, [7:20] and he will do what he promises he’s going to do. [7:25] And so your faith is not some mystical power. [7:30] It’s not the secret where you just think positive thoughts

[7:33] and positive things return to you. [7:36] No. [7:38] Faith is a confident trust in God’s power in your life [7:43] through the work of Jesus Christ. [7:47] We need to be a people of faith who believes then [7:51] that God supernaturally saves people.

[7:55] And he started that with you. [7:57] In Mark chapter one, verses 14 through 15, [8:00] the message of Christ is really summarized. [8:04] Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee [8:07] proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, [8:10] the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand.

[8:13] Repent and believe in the gospel. [8:15] That term believe, same term would they use for faith.

[8:20] Through Christ, God was delivering his kingdom. [8:24] Therefore, since Christ was there, [8:27] it was time to repent and believe the gospel. [8:31] You see repentance and faith are two sides [8:33] of the same coin in the Bible. [8:35] You turn from giving your life over to one thing

[8:40] to give your life over to something else. [8:42] We talked about that last Sunday. [8:45] Because of sin, we disobey God. [8:48] Repentance then is turning away from that direction [8:52] to where Jesus is. [8:54] And so you cannot have faith without repentance

[8:56] and you cannot have repentance without faith [8:58] because repentance is turning away from the [9:00] what you’ve been trusting in to God and saying, [9:03] I wanna trust in you, that’s faith. [9:07] It’s not a leap into the dark. [9:10] Philosophically speaking, it is not some leap into credulity.

[9:14] No, there is something that is backing it up. [9:16] There is something that you are stepping on. [9:18] There is a seat that you are sitting in. [9:20] There is value to it. [9:22] There is an anchor that you can trust. [9:25] And the gospel according to John,

[9:28] he refers to faith close to 100 times throughout this book. [9:33] John 3, 16, maybe you know it. [9:36] For God so loved the world, [9:39] or in this way God loved the world, [9:41] he gave his only son that whoever believes, [9:44] that’s the word for faith,

[9:46] in him should not perish but have eternal life. [9:53] The entry point then of salvation [9:55] is to put your confidence in Jesus Christ for salvation. [10:01] Then all the way at the end of the gospel according to John, [10:04] in John 20, 31, John summarizes everything that he wrote. [10:08] He said, but these are written so that you may believe,

[10:13] have faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, [10:17] and that by believing you may have life in his name. [10:21] The same message as John 3, 16. [10:25] And so he’s saying that he wrote [10:27] all 21 chapters of the gospel according to John [10:30] so that you could put your confidence for salvation

[10:34] in Christ and Christ alone. [10:37] He’s the Christ, he’s the Son of God, [10:39] and through him and him alone is eternal life. [10:44] Do you believe this? [10:46] The Bible begs the question. [10:49] Faith is a confident trust that God worked through Christ

[10:56] to deliver salvation to sinners, [10:59] through the life, death, and resurrection [11:02] of his Son Jesus Christ. [11:04] That is what gospel faith is all about, [11:07] and there is not anything else [11:09] that you can put your trust in

[11:10] that is going to give you eternal life. [11:14] And so moving from condemned by sin [11:18] to forgiven and given eternal life happens, [11:22] according to the New Testament, only through faith. [11:28] Faith then is a supernatural work of God for you, [11:34] to save you from your sin.

[11:37] And here’s the wonderful thing about saving faith. [11:40] You are not the ends.

[11:44] Since God can save you, [11:45] if everything that I said so far, [11:47] you’re like, I’m tracking with you, [11:48] I believe everything you’ve said so far. [11:50] He sent Christ, I’ve put my trust in Christ, [11:52] I have the gift of eternal life.

[11:54] Well, here’s the great news of saving faith. [11:57] Saving faith is to be extended from you [12:00] to everyone around you. [12:03] I mean, think about this. [12:04] If God saved a sinner like you, [12:07] can he not save other sinners?

[12:10] If God saved you from your sin, [12:13] if he forgave you of your sin against him, [12:16] can he not forgive other people? [12:18] See, I think sometimes we forget who we were without Christ [12:20] and what it took to get us in Christ. [12:23] It took the death of God the Son.

[12:25] It took the death of the most valuable treasure [12:29] in the universe to save you. [12:32] And that’s what it takes to save anyone and everyone else. [12:37] It will amaze me when I get to heaven [12:39] and see some of the terrible human beings that made it. [12:43] Good night, what’s the admission policy?

[12:48] It’s because it is not based on me. [12:52] It’s based on the merit of Christ and Christ alone. [12:56] He alone is sufficient to save a sinner like me, [13:01] and if I can believe and be gifted eternal life [13:05] through Christ, that means even the worst of sinners [13:08] can be redeemed from sin through faith.

[13:12] And so who is it that the saving faith of Jesus Christ [13:17] needs to come from in your life and out of your life [13:20] and into their lives so that they can know [13:21] the same faith that you know? [13:24] That’s the point of the work of Christ. [13:28] If you have faith, friends, that is fantastic.

[13:30] I celebrate that, God celebrates that. [13:33] The scripture tells us that when one repentant sinner [13:36] comes to faith in Christ, the angels of heaven rejoice. [13:40] That’s great. [13:42] But I want you to understand that one of the reasons [13:45] building faith is a vision for our church

[13:48] is because I don’t believe God’s done with you. [13:52] I believe he wants to build saving faith [13:54] into the lives of others. [13:55] Think about this from Ephesians 2. [13:58] By grace, you have been saved through faith. [14:01] It’s not your own doing.

[14:04] It’s the gift of God, not a result of work [14:07] so that no one may boast. [14:09] It’s not about what I have done, [14:12] it is about what Christ has done. [14:15] Faith is a response to God’s offer of the gift [14:21] of salvation in Christ.

[14:23] That’s what he means, you’ve been saved, [14:25] excuse me, by grace you’ve been saved. [14:27] It’s a gift, you didn’t earn it. [14:30] It’s not a work that I do. [14:32] Faith is a response that I give [14:35] to the work that Christ has done.

[14:38] He saves through faith and he wants [14:40] to save everyone around you. [14:44] I believe that. [14:46] You may believe I am naive by thinking that, [14:49] but I believe it’s just the hope of scripture [14:53] that he wants to save everyone around me.

[14:57] And I believe that the faith [15:00] that comes through saving faith

[15:04] makes you live like that’s true. [15:05] That is the confidence of the Christian faith. [15:09] It can extend to anyone. [15:11] It’s a saving faith.

[15:14] But the second one is living faith. [15:19] Living faith defines your trajectory.

[15:25] I think there comes a point in everyone’s life [15:29] where your faith is either shown as real or fake. [15:34] And I think it is often at the point [15:35] of living faith that that is revealed. [15:38] Jesus warned us there would be false converts, [15:40] there would be people that would claim faith

[15:43] in Jesus Christ because let’s be honest, [15:44] it’s a great offer. [15:47] But then as it turns out, they didn’t really believe [15:49] in the trustworthiness of God. [15:51] They just believed in something else. [15:54] And so they leave.

[15:56] And I think it’s living faith that defines your trajectory [16:00] and living faith proves whether you have saving faith. [16:03] And so we want to be a church that does not take faith [16:06] lightly but teaches you how to actually live by faith [16:10] and yes, challenges you that if you do not live by faith, [16:15] you are not a genuine Christian.

[16:18] In verse two, in Hebrews chapter 11, [16:22] he says, for by it, by what? [16:24] Faith, the people of old received their commendation. [16:30] And so he’s not saying old people received their commendation. [16:36] What he’s saying is the people of old. [16:39] In other words, he’s pointing to the history

[16:41] of God working in this world and he’s saying, [16:43] consider the lives of people that have claimed faith in God. [16:50] And he’s saying the example that they set [16:54] proves that faith changes your life. [17:00] I don’t want to rehash last Sunday, but last Sunday, [17:02] we of course looked at worshiping Jesus

[17:04] and how that worship changes our lives. [17:06] We said that it is about renewal in your spirit. [17:10] The old man who sought satisfaction [17:12] in the things of the world is replaced by the new man [17:16] who finds what he was created for in Jesus Christ. [17:19] And this is all accomplished through faith.

[17:21] This is all connected. [17:23] And so verse two of Hebrews 11 continues [17:26] the explanation of faith by pointing to people [17:29] of great faith and saying the commendation, [17:33] or the word commendation simply means approval. [17:37] Their approval by God was seen

[17:41] through the life they actually lived. [17:45] God approved of them because of their faith. [17:47] It was not because they were the source of power [17:50] for what they accomplished in this world. [17:52] Instead, it was God in whom they trusted [17:55] for that power to accomplish his will.

[17:57] And so this simply further demonstrates [18:00] that if you want your life to be approved of by God, [18:03] it begins with faith and then every day [18:06] requires continued faith in God. [18:09] It’s not a one-time event. [18:11] God’s not done.

[18:14] For so many, they say, oh, I have saving faith. [18:16] I remember this one day.

[18:20] But that’s not the biblical narrative. [18:22] The biblical narrative is all your days. [18:25] Your life is either going to prove you [18:27] as a follower of Jesus Christ or your life will prove [18:30] that you are not a follower of Jesus Christ. [18:33] It is what sustains you.

[18:35] It is what builds you. [18:37] It is what endures the Christian life. [18:39] It impacts everything. [18:40] And if you read on through the rest of Hebrews, [18:42] what does he do? [18:43] Well, he gives what many people call

[18:44] the Faith Hall of Fame. [18:47] He gives a list of people who claimed faith in God [18:49] and he says, look at the impact [18:51] that their faith had on their lives. [18:54] He said it caused them to live differently.

[18:59] And they received what? [19:02] Commendation. [19:02] What was their commendation? [19:04] The reward of eternal life that was based on faith. [19:08] But many people don’t go back far enough [19:11] to see what the introduction

[19:13] to Hebrews chapter 11’s Faith Hall of Fame was. [19:16] And it’s not Hebrews 11, 1. [19:17] It’s actually Hebrews 10, 38. [19:20] He says, my righteous one shall live by faith. [19:23] And if he shrinks back,

[19:27] my soul has no pleasure in him. [19:29] But we are not of those who shrink back [19:33] and are destroyed, [19:35] but of those who have what? [19:38] Faith and preserve their souls. [19:43] So he says, the real work of faith in your life

[19:47] is seeing when the going gets tough, what happens to you? [19:51] Do you shrink back in fear?

[19:55] Does persecution, because of the word, [19:58] cause your faith to shrivel up [19:59] and you to quit and call it a day? [20:02] Do the pleasures of the world around you [20:04] cause you to be unfaithful to Christ [20:06] and give your life over to that which will never satisfy?

[20:11] To shrink back, it’s very simple. [20:15] It means to quit.

[20:17] He is talking about the endurance of living by faith. [20:24] Not that you lose your salvation. [20:26] Some people struggle with Hebrews, [20:27] because like, man, it sure seems like in Hebrews, [20:29] people are losing their salvation. [20:31] No, his whole point is, it was never genuine to begin with.

[20:35] You weren’t really anchoring your life to Jesus Christ. [20:38] You just thought it was some kind of academic equation. [20:41] Four plus four equals eight. [20:43] And so you just said, oh sure, I believe that’s true. [20:46] But you didn’t anchor your life to it. [20:49] Faith is not an academic assent.

[20:52] It is not just a simple agreement. [20:55] Sure, I believe there’s a heaven and a hell [20:57] and if Jesus can save me from hell, great. [20:58] That’s not faith. [21:01] Faith is looking at what Jesus Christ did [21:03] to save you from hell and saying,

[21:05] oh you are such a good God, you are such a good savior, [21:07] I give you my life.

[21:10] That is faith. [21:13] Discipleship then is about living by faith. [21:18] Jesus in Matthew chapter three, verse eight, [21:20] makes the connection. [21:21] He says, very simply, bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

[21:27] Remember, there’s two sides of the same coin.

[21:31] He says, if you have faith, [21:32] you’re going to live a repentant lifestyle. [21:34] You’re going to bear fruit.

[21:37] That says, this is a person who is turning from sin. [21:40] That one time event of placing your faith in Jesus Christ, [21:44] that saving faith in Christ, [21:47] ripples throughout the rest of your days on this earth. [21:50] You do not become perfect in a moment.

[21:55] Rather, God works through the rest of your life, [22:00] building more and more faith [22:02] that leads to more and more repentance [22:05] that leads to more and more faith. [22:09] That’s why, when I find out you guys are sinning,

[22:15] that’s the least surprising thing you can tell me about. [22:18] People come to me and they say, you will not believe it. [22:20] And I’ll say, I bet I will.

[22:24] You get a bunch of sinners together, [22:26] do you know what tends to happen? [22:27] Whole lot of sinning.

[22:31] That’s why you bring me sin. [22:33] I say, well, let’s talk about that. [22:35] I don’t say, oh, get out of my presence, you dirty bird.

[22:38] No, I say, let’s talk about it. [22:40] Because it’s not the sin when you identify the sin [22:44] that is good news. [22:47] It is your response to that sin [22:49] that tells the story of your life. [22:53] Do you cling to it tightly, refusing to let go,

[22:56] or do you say, Jesus is too much of a savior [23:00] for me to hold on to my sin the rest of my days, [23:04] and you let go of that sin and you cling to the cross, [23:08] begging a faithful savior for forgiveness [23:10] and then walking away from that sin. [23:13] That is gospel repentance.

[23:16] And that is what we seek here for you as a church, [23:19] because that is what faithfulness to the gospel [23:22] demands of us. [23:24] The only problem comes when you start [23:26] to kind of waffle on that and you’re like, [23:28] I don’t know, I really kind of like this sin.

[23:32] See, friends, that’s where the rubber of faith [23:34] meets the road of salvation, and the question is, [23:37] are you willing to move forward, [23:38] or do you want to sit in your sin?

[23:43] This is how you grow as a Christian. [23:46] You learn more of who God is. [23:50] You learn more about who you are, [23:53] and as those two things come together, [23:55] you turn from more of who you are [23:57] to more of who he is to cling to him more tightly.

[24:01] That’s the process of growth. [24:02] That’s how you put more and more confidence in Christ. [24:05] That’s how you cling to him more tightly. [24:08] That’s how he becomes more of an anchor for salvation. [24:11] Yes, that is the process of discipleship. [24:15] And so no, you are not all that God wants you to be.

[24:20] There is more growth available. [24:23] There’s more potential for you to have faith. [24:26] There’s more confidence that you can put in the gospel. [24:30] All of the environments that we offer here [24:33] at Village Carry the hope that as you enter, [24:36] you will build more faith in Jesus.

[24:39] From Sunday morning to community groups, [24:42] to discipleship groups, to serve teams, [24:44] to on and on, everything that we do, [24:46] the desired outcome is always more faith in Jesus. [24:52] And as you become more confident in him, [24:55] you will become more faithful to him.

[24:58] That is how it works. [25:00] You will become more repentant of sin. [25:03] Your life will become more defined by faith [25:06] rather than the sinful things of this world. [25:09] You will, to put it very simply, grow. [25:14] You will mature.

[25:16] You live in agreement with the trajectory [25:19] of what you believe God wants to do in your life. [25:22] That’s the Christian life every single day. [25:25] This is about submitting to the lordship of Jesus Christ. [25:28] You can’t follow him if he’s not your Lord. [25:31] Confidence in God requires an understanding

[25:34] that he is Lord of all. [25:36] But if you tell me that you don’t understand [25:39] all of his lordship the moment you become a Christian, [25:41] that’s not news to me. [25:44] You learn about that the rest of your days. [25:48] Confidence in God requires that as an understanding,

[25:51] but faith carries the confidence [25:53] that he first created life and designed it [25:58] to be lived in obedience to him. [26:00] And so it’s something that you’re always struggling for. [26:03] And you will find yourself disobedient. [26:05] Of course you will.

[26:07] But that is also the revelation of God [26:09] that there’s simply more of yourself [26:10] that you have to give to him. [26:13] It is a lifestyle. [26:14] That’s why James 2, 17 through 19 states it so well. [26:18] It says faith by itself.

[26:20] If it doesn’t have works, it’s dead. [26:22] It’s worthless, it’s not real. [26:24] But someone will say, you have faith and I have works. [26:28] Show me your faith apart from your works [26:29] and I will show you my faith by my works. [26:32] You believe that God is one, you do well.

[26:36] Even the demons believe and shudder. [26:40] That’s a very challenging text. [26:42] That’s where the half brother of James, [26:45] excuse me, the half brother of Jesus, James, [26:46] is telling you this is not just [26:48] some kind of intellectual venture.

[26:51] This is not an academic practice. [26:54] This is just not just you agreeing to a list of facts. [26:59] Satan himself knows that Jesus is God. [27:03] I don’t know if you know this or not. [27:04] Satan is not an atheist.

[27:08] Satan is a monotheist. [27:09] He’s met God. [27:12] And Satan says, oh yeah, Jesus died on the cross. [27:15] Oh yeah, stayed dead for three days. [27:18] Rose from the dead. [27:20] The demons of hell know all about that.

[27:22] They know there is an offer of salvation [27:25] through faith in Christ and Christ alone. [27:28] But here’s the key. [27:29] They have the academic agreement of the facts. [27:33] But what do they lack?

[27:36] They lack faith. [27:40] They do not anchor their lives to Christ as king. [27:46] Faith requires you to give your life therefore, [27:50] I need you to understand this, [27:51] your very lifestyle is a statement of faith.

[27:58] It’s one thing to say what you believe. [28:02] It’s another thing to live a life [28:04] that actually backs it up. [28:06] And living faith is what God approves of. [28:09] Living faith is what God commended [28:13] about the saints of old.

[28:17] You must go beyond agreement [28:21] to actually giving your life to them.

[28:26] I came to realize many, many years ago [28:29] that my faith is proven through my choices. [28:34] I truly believe that your life is very simple. [28:39] Your life is the sum total [28:41] of every choice you will ever make. [28:44] No one can beat that law.

[28:46] No one. [28:47] You make choices, you face consequences. [28:50] Good choices, good consequences. [28:52] Bad choices, bad consequences. [28:54] Sure, there’s this marginal thing [28:55] that all of you wanna throw in my face

[28:57] that’s like 0.01% and you think that’s the rule. [29:00] It’s not. [29:02] It’s not. [29:03] So every day I get up, I have choices. [29:07] Am I going to love my wife? [29:08] That’s a choice.

[29:09] I make that choice every day. [29:10] Some of you are like the romance is gone. [29:12] No, you’re just making dumb choices.

[29:15] If marriage was defined by romance, [29:17] it ended a long time ago, all right?

[29:21] It’s a choice. [29:23] I wake up every day and I say, [29:24] this woman and this woman alone has my love. [29:28] I love this woman. [29:29] It’s a choice. [29:31] And I wasn’t pointing, I should not have been pointing.

[29:34] Just see, there. [29:37] Up there, I don’t know why. [29:39] Homiletics, they teach you not to do that. [29:41] I just broke an iron rule of homiletics, all right? [29:44] Don’t always point, all right?

[29:49] But it’s a choice. [29:52] And there are consequences to that choice. [29:56] My choice works with her choice [29:58] and it goes back and forth. [30:00] Choices, well, every day I have a choice. [30:03] Will I be faithful to the faith I claim?

[30:08] Every day I have that choice and by God’s grace, [30:12] the Holy Spirit empowers me to choose Christ.

[30:18] But my lifestyle proves it or disproves it. [30:20] That’s the choice that I have to make. [30:25] That is why I always focus on, [30:29] are you entering environments that build faith?

[30:34] The Bible warns us of so many things. [30:36] The Bible warns us that if we do not enter environments [30:41] to build our faith, [30:42] we will begin to experience atrophy in our faith.

[30:47] I know some of you, you don’t wanna be here every week [30:50] and I know some of you, it’s pretty crazy out there [30:54] and you can’t make it to community group. [30:56] And I know some of you are like, [30:58] I’ve been meaning to get in a discipleship group [31:00] or start a discipleship group and my schedule’s been wild

[31:03] and you guys don’t have that time slot [31:06] that I need at 12, 30 a.m. at Waffle House yet. [31:10] Which by the way, you can start it. [31:13] I’m not coming.

[31:18] But here’s my question. [31:20] I know, I get into surf, [31:22] I can get into every environment we have as a church [31:24] and some of you are like, I just can’t do it. [31:26] Okay, you don’t like my plan. [31:29] I never said it was the perfect one.

[31:33] But here’s my question. [31:35] If you can’t align with my plan, [31:36] with the plan of the pastors at this church, [31:38] with the plan of the leaders of this church, [31:40] with the plan of the members of this church, [31:42] my question for you is what is your plan?

[31:49] And every single time, you don’t have one.

[31:55] Therefore, you are not going to build faith. [32:00] You are not going to grow. [32:02] You are not going to mature. [32:04] You are not going to develop [32:06] because it necessitates entering environments [32:09] specifically designed for your growth.

[32:13] It requires sacrifice, [32:15] but here’s the biggest thing it requires. [32:16] It requires a choice. [32:19] It requires a choice.

[32:22] Are you making choices that show you want a living faith?

[32:30] But living faith is just the beginning. [32:33] That’s why I love talking about faith. [32:35] I love it when I have this opportunity.

[32:39] Living faith leads to a risking faith.

[32:44] Number three this morning, [32:45] the world needs to see a faith that takes risks. [32:47] I believe that.

[32:52] In verse three, he gets very theological. [32:56] He goes back to the origin, the start. [32:58] He says, by faith, we understand that the universe [33:00] was created by the word of God [33:03] so that what is seen was not made [33:05] out of things that are visible.

[33:07] That’s what we call ex nihilo, out of nothing. [33:10] Out of nothing, God created everything. [33:12] That’s where we get that. [33:14] Why do I believe God spoke and the world existed? [33:17] I’ll tell you why I believe it [33:18] because he says that’s what it says.

[33:21] If Jesus rose from the dead, I want you to understand, [33:23] God spoke the world into existence. [33:26] I can do that math. [33:29] But origin stories are so important [33:33] to understanding the script for what is ahead. [33:38] Verse three there tells us where it all begins

[33:41] so that I can know two very important things. [33:46] First, I can know from verse three, [33:49] God is the source of life. [33:52] He’s the source of absolutely everything in existence. [33:55] And since I exist, God is the source of me. [33:59] But secondly, it’s not just that he’s the source.

[34:04] He is the power behind everything. [34:09] I mean, he’s so powerful, he said exist. [34:14] And it says the universe was made out of things [34:16] that aren’t even visible. [34:18] Of nothing, God made everything. [34:21] That is vital for your faith.

[34:23] Why is that vital? [34:25] It’s why we have confidence in God. [34:28] It’s also why we are obedient to him [34:30] because he’s the most powerful one. [34:32] He is Lord of all. [34:33] But it is why we build our lives based on his power

[34:37] to move the world towards his design for everything. [34:44] And that requires a lifestyle that says [34:48] if God calls me from here to there,

[34:55] I gotta go.

[34:58] If God calls me from standing right here [35:01] and the word of God says in obedience to his commands, [35:04] you better get over there, I’ve got a choice. [35:07] Do I believe that he’s the source of life? [35:10] Do I believe that he has the ultimate power in this world? [35:13] Because if I say I’m not moving over there,

[35:16] that basically says I don’t believe it.

[35:19] So if God says go over there, I’ve got two options. [35:22] One, deny him or if he’s real, I’m going. [35:27] Is that not what Abraham did? [35:28] Look at what Hebrews 11 says about Abraham. [35:31] Hebrews 11, eight. [35:32] By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called

[35:36] to go out to a place that he was to receive [35:38] as an inheritance and I love the way the text ends. [35:42] Because this is not how I start a trip. [35:45] And he went out not knowing where he was going. [35:49] That’s how some of you start trips. [35:50] Hoo boy, I’m not going with you.

[35:55] This is the word of God came to Abraham [35:57] and you can read Genesis and it said Abraham, I exist. [36:02] That was the gospel presentation [36:03] that the Lord gave Abraham was, hey Abraham, I’m here. [36:07] Abraham had never met God. [36:10] And he said, by the way, Abraham,

[36:11] I’ve got a land that’s really far away [36:14] and I wanna give it to you [36:15] and you need to take everything that you own, [36:17] everything that you have, everything that you are [36:19] and you need to get to that land. [36:21] And the text is telling me Abraham had never been there,

[36:23] Abraham had never heard of it, [36:24] Abraham didn’t even know where it was. [36:26] But by faith, Abraham packed.

[36:29] By faith, Abraham told everyone that he had, [36:32] all of his servants, all of his family, [36:34] by the way, it’s moving day.

[36:38] And God said, go from there to there. [36:40] And Abraham said, I don’t know where that is, [36:43] but I know who God is. [36:46] And he went.

[36:50] In the New Testament,

[36:54] the apostle Paul says this [36:57] in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 17. [37:00] He says, if Christ has not been raised, [37:02] your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. [37:07] Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ [37:11] have perished and here is the kicker.

[37:14] If in Christ we have hope in this life only, [37:22] we are above all people, most to be pitied. [37:29] That’s a strange verse. [37:31] Because he says, he doesn’t say, well, [37:34] if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, [37:36] the Christian life is still a good life

[37:38] and it leads to being very moral [37:40] and you’re an upstanding citizen [37:41] and everything will work out. [37:44] No, Paul puts rubber to the road and he says, [37:47] if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, [37:49] the whole world should pity us

[37:51] because our faith is futile and if our faith is futile, [37:53] then everything is meaningless, was his point.

[37:58] Friends, too many people claim faith in God,

[38:03] yet you order your life according to the standards [38:06] of this world rather than the calling of God [38:09] to live by what he would call a risky faith. [38:13] How am I connecting those two ideas? [38:15] What does that mean? [38:17] You gotta understand that in 1 Corinthians 15,

[38:19] the apostle Paul is giving what most people think [38:22] is the magnum opus on the resurrection. [38:26] The whole chapter is dedicated to the trustworthiness [38:28] of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. [38:30] And in it, he definitely says [38:32] that if the resurrection is not true,

[38:34] then Christians are in trouble. [38:36] We are to be pitied, why? [38:39] What are the implications of verse 19? [38:41] Why would I be pitied? [38:43] Because he is not questioning [38:45] the validity of the resurrection.

[38:47] What is he questioning? [38:49] He’s questioning the validity of your faith.

[38:53] He says your life should be so anchored [38:58] to the trustworthiness of the resurrection, [39:01] you should be investing so heavily into a living faith. [39:06] You should be walking every step saying, [39:09] God, where do you want me to go? [39:11] God, what do you want me to do?

[39:13] Because if Christ rose from the dead, [39:15] that changes absolutely everything. [39:19] That if, and it’s a hypothetical if [39:21] because Paul believes it, read 1 Corinthians 15.

[39:25] If there came a day that the resurrection [39:26] was proven untrue, then your whole life [39:29] would be in ruins because you’ve invested so much in it. [39:33] It is not just some intellectual agreement, [39:36] it is a life.

[39:39] So don’t tell me you believe.

[39:44] Show me.

[39:46] Show me. [39:49] Move from there to there like Abraham.

[39:56] I mean, Hebrews 11, eight challenges [39:58] every plan I’ve ever had in life. [40:01] Because it says I believe in a God [40:03] that might call me from here to there. [40:06] But see, the reason you can’t even think [40:09] about answering such a call is because

[40:11] you’re so anchored to this world.

[40:16] You can’t risk because you’ve not been investing [40:20] in the gospel, you’ve been investing in everything else.

[40:25] What do I have in my life that resembles [40:26] the kind of faith Abraham had? [40:28] We are often so placated by societal norms [40:33] to invest our life in things that seem reasonable.

[40:41] So many Christians live a life in which [40:43] you’ve never invested anything that an unbeliever [40:45] would look at and say, that’s unreasonable. [40:48] That’s an unreasonable level of faith. [40:50] That’s too extreme.

[40:53] I don’t wanna be one of those Christians. [40:56] What, like Abraham?

[41:02] John Ortberg didn’t age well, [41:06] but he wrote a book that I read when I was 19.

[41:11] And it challenged me. [41:14] And in that book, the title of the book, [41:15] the whole premise of the book was, [41:16] if you wanna walk on water, you gotta get out of the boat.

[41:20] Simple.

[41:22] He’s talking about Matthew 14, [41:25] where the disciples after Jesus had preached, [41:28] they got into a boat to go to the other side of the sea, [41:31] and while they were in the middle of the sea, [41:33] a storm came up, and well, boats back then [41:36] were made of wood, they were a little rickety.

[41:38] And the storm started to envelop them, [41:40] and it looked pretty wild, and they thought [41:42] they were going to die, and then one of the disciples [41:44] looks out into the water and says, I think there’s a ghost. [41:48] I think I’m losing my mind, [41:50] because I see someone on the water.

[41:53] And it was Jesus. [41:55] And Jesus is walking on the water in the middle of a storm [41:59] to the boat, because, you know, God can do that. [42:03] He’s the source of everything, [42:05] so he can bend the laws of physics to his will.

[42:11] And this is where Peter puts his foot in his mouth so much, [42:17] but Peter got to experience something [42:19] that no one else in the history of the world [42:20] has ever been recorded to have experienced.

[42:24] He calls out, and he says, Lord, is that you? [42:27] And Jesus is like, well, who else would it be? [42:31] Your mother-in-law ain’t walking on water, pal.

[42:36] And Peter, with such childlike faith, says, [42:39] if it’s you, command me, and I can walk to you. [42:46] And I love that he says, command me. [42:50] When was the last time you said, Lord, command me?

[42:54] And Peter steps out on that water. [42:59] And think about this. [43:01] Even if just for a moment,

[43:07] Peter stood on top of water.

[43:12] Now, so many people focus on the next part,

[43:17] and they lose the significance of that moment. [43:20] Yes, Peter looked at the waves around him. [43:24] Yes, Peter got scared, he got distracted. [43:27] Yes, Peter sank. [43:29] And what does he say as he’s going down? [43:32] He says, Lord, save me.

[43:35] And Jesus, David Hasselhoffs it, [43:38] and he pulls him up out of that water.

[43:42] Because Jesus saves, that’s what he does.

[43:48] I don’t think I’ll ever walk on water in this life.

[43:55] But Peter walked away from that moment with a story. [43:59] And I love telling stories. [44:00] Spending time with me, I love telling stories. [44:03] For the rest of his life, Peter could look [44:05] at a bunch of disciples who sat in the boat faithless. [44:09] Peter can say, hey, remember that time

[44:12] I got to walk on water with Jesus? [44:15] Oh, but you sank. [44:16] Yeah, but I stood.

[44:23] I don’t think I’ll ever walk on water, [44:25] but God has called me to spend my life looking [44:28] for where I can take risks for Jesus Christ [44:30] and the truth of his gospel.

[44:33] God has called me through his word, [44:35] and he’s already commanded that I step out on faith [44:38] and trust God because I have his word. [44:42] I have his command. [44:44] I have his spirit. [44:47] I just need to take steps of trusting him.

[44:51] I need to be willing to sink

[44:57] because I know he’s gonna save me. [45:00] I need to take a step of faith because the gospel is true. [45:05] We need to form a culture at Village Church [45:09] where we prepare people to live by that kind of faith.

[45:15] We need to take steps to be that type of church. [45:19] That’s what we need to strive to be.

[45:24] Friend, it doesn’t start

[45:28] with you stepping out of a literal boat. [45:32] No, it starts with you looking at your life [45:34] and you saying, Lord, where have you already commanded me [45:38] that I am not obeying you?

[45:41] And that living faith is what builds the risking faith. [45:48] Village Church must strive to build faith. [45:53] A few application points. [45:55] Put your confidence in the saving power of Jesus Christ. [45:57] Friend, if you’re in here [45:59] and you’ve not given your life to Christ, good news.

[46:01] We are a church that believes Jesus saves. [46:05] He saves sinners, and he does it [46:08] through faith in the work of his son, Jesus Christ. [46:11] Secondly, build a life of enduring faith.

[46:15] Are you pursuing obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ? [46:19] Third, enter environments that help you live by faith. [46:24] Make whatever sacrifice you have to. [46:27] Make the right choice. [46:30] Doesn’t matter if you like the environment. [46:33] Enter into it and just trust God that he’s gonna use it.

[46:37] And then finally, find areas that you need [46:41] to step out in faith and get out of the boat. [46:46] !