"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1. If you read through Hebrews 11, you will find that the entire chapter is about faith, and that it goes into what's been called the Hall of Fame of faith, describing people famous for their faith. Looking through the chapter, however, I see four people that seem like odd choices. They are Sarah, Samson, Barak, and Jephthah. Consider-Sarah laughed at God's plan, Barak relied on a woman, Deborah, to fight his battles, Jephthah sacrificed his daughter-for no real reason, I might add-and Samson broke his Nazarite vow on all three counts-he touched the dead, he drank, and he got a haircut. How on Earth-or more accurately, how in Heaven-did these four get on this list? To answer this question, we must first ask another: what is faith?
To answer this question, we should look at some of the other heroes of the faith mentioned in Hebrews 11. Let's look at Moses. In Numbers 12:7, Moses is described as faithful in all God's house. This perhaps becomes more credible once you discover that in this passage God was yelling at Aaron and Miriam for complaining about Moses. But wait, didn't God yell at Moses for a lack of faith, way back in the burning bush scene? Well, sort of. Moses was yelled at for a lack of faith, but not in God-in himself. considering that Moses gets a rather lengthy mention in Hebrews 11, I would say that faith in oneself is not what is referred to there.
In Nehemiah 9:7-8, God is described as having chosen Abraham to be father to his people. It states of God that "You found his heart faithful before You," and describes that as a reason why God made a covenant with him. Consider Romans 4:1-5. In describing Abraham, it states that he trusted God. It goes on to describe that as faith.
Looking back at Hebrews 11, we see verse 13:"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." They had faith in God far greater than their faith in themselves. That is the faith that all of the people on this list share. This is the faith that we need.
Commitment
"I am committed to the church. I'm not committed to you."
"But what's the difference?"
These are the last two lines to the play "Commitment." In the play, one character leaves a church after arguing about the color of the carpet. While it seems far-fetched to leave a church over the color of the carpet, schisms and church splits have erupted over such small things. One church I've heard of lost a third of its members over the removal of the Organ. Is this the way that a church should behave? More importantly, is this the way God wants the Church to act?
Philippians 2:1-5 says "Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." Paul states in this passage that we should be united in the Church. He asks us to be of the same mindset as Christ-selfless, loving, cooperative. If we were all like this, I doubt that we would have even half the problems in the Church that we do now.
1 Corinthians 12:12 states that "as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ." we have been called to be one body. How do we do that? We come together-Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant. We become one Church-Christ's church. We stand united against the sins of the world. We need to pray for unity. Until we do so, we cannot fully reach the lost.
"But what's the difference?"
These are the last two lines to the play "Commitment." In the play, one character leaves a church after arguing about the color of the carpet. While it seems far-fetched to leave a church over the color of the carpet, schisms and church splits have erupted over such small things. One church I've heard of lost a third of its members over the removal of the Organ. Is this the way that a church should behave? More importantly, is this the way God wants the Church to act?
Philippians 2:1-5 says "Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." Paul states in this passage that we should be united in the Church. He asks us to be of the same mindset as Christ-selfless, loving, cooperative. If we were all like this, I doubt that we would have even half the problems in the Church that we do now.
1 Corinthians 12:12 states that "as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ." we have been called to be one body. How do we do that? We come together-Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant. We become one Church-Christ's church. We stand united against the sins of the world. We need to pray for unity. Until we do so, we cannot fully reach the lost.
The Holy Spirit
"We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets."
This is a portion of the Nicene Creed, and has been used as a statement of faith since the Sixth century, when the Phrase "and the Son" was added. But what does it mean? And is it true?
The Nicene Creed Claims 3 things about the Holy Spirit: first, that He is God; Second, that He comes from God; third, that He is the source of prophecies. Let's look at these claims, shall we?
First let's look at the question, is the Holy Spirit God? To answer this, we can look to scripture. 2 Corinthians 3:18 states "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." Now, as the Lord is God (According to Deuteronomy 6:4, as well as the rest of the Bible),
we can state that the Holy Spirit Is God.
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets."
This is a portion of the Nicene Creed, and has been used as a statement of faith since the Sixth century, when the Phrase "and the Son" was added. But what does it mean? And is it true?
The Nicene Creed Claims 3 things about the Holy Spirit: first, that He is God; Second, that He comes from God; third, that He is the source of prophecies. Let's look at these claims, shall we?
First let's look at the question, is the Holy Spirit God? To answer this, we can look to scripture. 2 Corinthians 3:18 states "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." Now, as the Lord is God (According to Deuteronomy 6:4, as well as the rest of the Bible),
we can state that the Holy Spirit Is God.
Next, we look at the claim that He comes from God, or "proceeds from the Father and the Son," as the Creed puts it. This is a bit harder to prove, as there are almost no scriptures to back it up. However, in John 14:26 Jesus says "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." In other words, God sends the Holy Spirit, or "He proceeds from the Father." As for the Son, Jesus states that He sends the Counselor from the Father in John 15:26.
Now, what about that last claim, "He has spoken through the Prophets?" Well, If we can assume that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, which seems an easy connection to make, we can see dozens of evidences that he speaks through the prophets. Each of the prophets in the "prophecy" books of the Old Testament say something along the lines of "Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon me, and he told me to say: 'This is what the LORD says.' " (Ezekiel 11:5) In Revelation 1:10 John states that he was "in the Spirit" when he was given his revelation. Given these facts, it seems safe to say that the Holy Spirit "has spoken through the Prophets," as the Nicene Creed states.
There is one more thing about the Holy Spirit that I want to mention, and that is the fact that He works in us. It is through Him that we can be saved. It is through Him that we are given courage to preach the gospel. It is through Him that I could write this sermon. It is through Him that are you can live a changed life. And so, I challenge you to let Him.
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