Scripture reading: Hebrews 11:1
Today, I want to talk to you a little bit about faith, what it really is and how to walk in it, because sometimes you know a thing but you don’t know how to do it. That is a real problem. We will look at Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is the substance of things that we hope for and when you have the substance, you have the evidence. In other words, when you go to court, the first thing they ask you is, “Where are your evidences?” You have to have different people come and say, “I saw so-and-so,” and then the judge believes it. But God is saying that faith is not only a substance, but it is also evidence.
Now, let us consider what kind of a substance this is. Let me give you an example: if you want to make a podium here, you have to go and get wood. After you get the wood and get it all cut into the right place, you have to get a cover for it, maybe something laminated. You had to get the substance for this particular thing. But when you have the substance, you don’t have the podium as yet, do you? But you have to use the substance to produce the podium with some labor. It does not take just one BAM and the whole thing comes at one time, but you have to walk it out. You have to get the nails, the fasteners, whatever it is, and you have to walk it out.
One day in the service, many, many years ago, before some of you were born, the Lord spoke and said, “Faith is an unseen light that shines more and more every step of the way you venture to take!” Now, that’s not in the Bible but the Lord said it. Faith is an unseen light. If you can see it, it’s not faith. If you make a plan to get so much and to do so much, it is not faith. It is a plan. But God is talking about raw faith.
God said that faith is the substance. Brethren, I am going to ask you a very serious question. Do you walk by faith? Come, let’s get back to this morning. You got up, you had so and so to do, so and so to look after breakfast, clean house, do this, do that. Do you really walk by faith? God is challenging you. Walk by faith! Do you know what it is to walk? Let me show you how people walk; maybe you forgot. You go right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot; that is how you walk. But what if I jump forward? Did I walk? No, I jumped! Some of you believe that, because you have faith, you must jump from one place to another. God says, “Walk by faith.” Do you understand what that means? It means that you must make little steps, step by step, step by step, step by step. You are not going to be all good the same day, but you must walk by faith.
(Excerpt from Keeping in Touch, September 8, 2002, pg. 4-6)
Thought for today: Do you really walk by faith? God is challenging you. Walk by faith!
Leave a Reply