Crisis of Belief

He isn’t talking about a traumatic event that causes us to question our faith in God, but rather part of the ongoing process of us continually giving ourselves over to God’s plan for our lives by trusting Him.

Is it worth it to trust God, to embrace a kind of faith that pushes us beyond what we find comfortable, safe, and secure?

Faith really is at the root of the question isn’t it?

Faith is the fuel that drives our willingness to give ourselves over to the Lord’s plan and purposes for our life.

And one chapter of the bible where faith is explained most clearly and profoundly is Hebrews 11.

We get a definition of Faith in the first 2 verses.

Hebrews 11:1–2 CSB

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For by this our ancestors were approved.

Faith Defined

The author of Hebrews does a couple of things in this passage:

He first defines faith in a brief, yet profoundly helpful way.

And then he gives us examples of faith throughout the rest of the chapter, the Hall of Faith.

His definition is the clearest in all of scripture and it means much more than simply wishing something to be true.

Faith is the guaranteed certainty that what is EXPECTED will come to pass.

It give TEXTURE and SUBSTANCE to something we have not YET seen or experienced in reality.

And that faith can be seen in the real life stores of the heroes of the faith listed in Heb 11

Faithfulness in Ministry

This past weekend we got to celebrate the retirement of someone who is a hero of the faith for me, a pastor that has been a huge influence and encouragement to me in ministry for some time.

I met Pastor Dude 16 years ago on my very first trip to Fargo, ND.

He had been the pastor of Temple baptist church since the late 80’s, one of the oldest Southern Baptist Churches in the Dakotas and also one of the largest, even with a congregation somewhere around 60-70 on Sunday mornings.

We were on a scouting trip, praying about potentially coming to Fargo to start a church, and Pastor Dude was there to talk about Fargo.

In the first few minutes of getting to know him, he tried to talk us out of coming to Fargo (at least it seemed like it).

I have been reflecting quite a bit about those early years of being in Fargo, and about Pastor Dude’s ministry.

Until today, most of you have never heard of Durward Garrett (and those who have, only because I have shared about him before).

The church he pastored for over 30 years never grew much over 100 on Sunday, he didn’t speak at conferences, or write any books.

It might seem like his 30+ years in Fargo and 40 years in ministry didn’t really matter that much, that it might not have been WORTH IT.

But what struck me so profoundly about this weekend was how God blesses the faithfulness and the obedience of His people.

Pastor Dude has preached to 100s or 1000s of people over his ministry.

He helped start a christian counseling center that counsels people across the state of ND.

He has pastored baseball players, missionaries, families going through really tough trials, college students trying to figure out what to do with their lives, and pastors (like me) who needed someone to encourage them and believe in them.

When I think of a hall of fame of Godly servants and leaders in my life, Pastor Dude is definitely on the list.

And what makes Pastor Dude so influential is his faith in and obedience to God and His Word.

The author of Hebrews is describing biblical faith using the examples of the heroes of the Old Testament as examples of such faith.

And he does this in order to call us to such a faith.

Hebrews 12:1–2 CSB

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

An unhindered, unrestrained, unwavering, unashamed pursuit of joy IN and obedience TO Jesus.

Live by example brothers and sisters, look to the cloud of witnesses that have gone before us.

So looking back through the list, what do we see as the common threads that marked the faith journeys of those heroes?

Four Common Threads

1) Each EXPERIENCED God in a PERSONAL and TRANSFORMATIONAL way.

Hebrews 11:6 CSB

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

God speaks, God reveals and when He does it always leads to a crisis of faith…will we trust Him…will we follow Him?

Trace each story of those mentioned in Hebrews 11, and though we might not have the detailed stories of Enoch and some others, there is clear evidence that each of them encountered/experienced God in a real and personal way that confronted them with a decision.

Will they trust Him, listen to Him, believe Him, and will they obey and follow?

Abel’s faith led him to offer God the best from his flock, trusting that God would provide for him.

God told Noah to build an Ark, a crazy, unbelievable mission, but Noah’s faith led him to trust God and do something that made no worldly sense.

Abraham was told by God to pack up his family and move without knowing where he would go, with a promised that seemed incredibly unlikely to happen. But Abraham’s faith led him to believe God would do what He said He would do.

Each of these were given a choice (or choices) to trust God or to doubt His Word.

Though none were perfect (as we can see in the whole of their stories), each showed moments of profound faith in God and His Word that led them to obedience.

But it also led to struggle...

2) Their FAITH DECISION(s) led to STRUGGLE and SUFFERING.

Don’t get it in your head that the author of Hebrews is some how presenting the idea that biblical faith and obedience will steer us away from pain, struggle, suffering, and persecution.

Hebrews 11:36–38 CSB

Others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

Following God isn’t easy, it will often lead to people turning their back on you, financial struggles, moments and seasons of despair, loneliness, confusion, frustration, brokenness, and so many other things.

We run hard from these things as human beings, believing somehow we have earned the right to avoid hard things.

Believing that God would never lead us to a place of struggle or suffering.

But that is never a promise God gives.

The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt in order for God to save them.

Gideon was called to lead the people from the grasp of the Midianites.

David was hunted by Saul and his own son.

And these things happened BECAUSE they trusted God and followed His commands.

I think back to Pastor Dude who raised 5 kids on a meager salary, in a hard place for nearly 40 years.

There is a lie us pastors believe that is the reason it is hard to stay in ministry: We wrongly believe that our serving in ministry somehow cushions us from struggle and leads us to blessings.

So we get discouraged when struggles come, people leave, and ministry hurts.

It is true of all of us isn’t it.

But the reality of struggle and suffering is what often keeps us from faith and obedience.

And it keeps us from experiencing the grace, love, power, presence and provision of God in our lives.

In each of the examples given, the character of God was experienced in a real, person, and powerful way.

They saw God for who He really was and it changed them.

And they fixed their eyes on the promises He made them that were far greater than worldly comfort, security, and prosperity.

3) Each had to FIX their hope on HEAVENLY PROMISES.

Hebrews 11:13–16 ESV

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

They saw the PROMISES from a distance,

It took Noah upwards of 70 years to build the Ark before the rain even started.

It took 30+ years for God to begin to bring His promise to Abraham to fruition.

It took 40 for God to lead Moses out of Midian to bring the people out of Egypt.

They saw the promise from a distance...

LOOKED FORWARD to them with PLEASURE,

“Greeted them” means they longed for with pleasure those promises to be true.

They didn’t give in to doubt, give up on God (even though there were weak moments), they persisted because the deemed what was promised was WORTH the wait.

and acknowledged that the PROMISES weren’t EARTHLY blessings, but heavenly rewards (their home was not here).

They understood their lives from the perspective of the promises, not from the present situations.

They didn’t dwell on, or fix their hope in earthly treasures or fleshly pleasures, but fixed their hope in heavenly promises.

Colossians 3:1–4 ESV

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

This is the hope that anchors and fuels our faith.

It is the message of the great Hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”

O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.

His Word shall not fail you, He promised; Believe Him and all will be well; Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.

4) They all RECEIVED a GLORIOUS REWARD.

Hebrews 11:39–40 CSB

All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.

They didn’t get to meet Jesus on earth.

They didn’t get to experience the salvation He obtained through His blood in their life times.

But all of the promises God made to Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Gideon, Rahab, and everyone else mentioned became reality for them in Jesus.

Moses didn’t get to enter the promise land on earth, but he was welcomed into God presence in heaven.

David’s kingdom was divided and his sons were scattered, but he got to sit in the presence of the true king in glory.

Faith is hard, because we can’t alway hold it, taste it, or see it, but what we do have is the stories of those who have gone before us, who died, not just with a vague hope that maybe there would be something good on the other side, but with a CONFIDENT ASSURANCE that what they were promised would be there for them because they believed the one who told them.

Crisis of Belief

Do you believe it?

Is it worth pursuing? (the answer is yes, but you have to answer for yourself).

God wants us to take a step every day in His direction.

Through prayer, through praise, through pursuing Him in His Word.

Through submission, through surrender, and through obedience.

If your willing, I want to invite you to stand where your at and to simply open your hands in front of you pray a prayer of surrender.

For some that might mean surrendering your life to Jesus, asking Him to forgive your sins and change your heart.

For others it might mean surrendering your plans and priorities to Jesus. You believe in Him and want to follow Him, but your plans for you life are too important to you to listen to the Lord’s voice in your life.

For others it might be that you haven’t given God a chance to speak at all, and your step of surrender today is to commit today to pursuing God’s voice. begin reading the bible, find a group to help you, listen to sermons, read a book, and spend some intentional time in prayer.

Everyone of us in this room are faced with many crises of belief, but today is a great day for us to decide and to step… Will you do it?

Related Media

Related Sermons