Culture Study
Hebrews 11:13 - How to Live by Faith
* The author defines faith - “…substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen.”
* Then he gives a list of people who show us what faith looks like.
* Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Samuel…
* Vs 13a - “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised…”
* How do you continue to live by faith if you don’t get what you’re promised?
* You have to change the lens through which you see.
* Three things you must see to keep the faith:
* 1) See
* 2) See your
* 3) See your
* Vs 13b - “…they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance…”
* They looked beyond the temporary to the eternal.
* An eternal perspective changes everything.
* How you see the future determines how you behave in the present.
* Vs 13c - “…admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.”
* They saw themselves temporary residents.
* How you see yourself determines how you behave yourself.
* Vs 9 - “By faith (Abe) made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.”
* Abe knew who he was - his identity was determined by God, not himself.
* Vs 10 - “For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
* The reward of looking forward is moving forward.
* All of these people experienced intense suffering and heartache, and they even did stupid stuff - but they didn’t give up their faith.
* Vs 26 - “(Moses) regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
* Vs 27 - “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.”
* Christmas song - “Do you see what I see?”
* God gives eyes to see in proportion to our willingness to surrender to Him.
* Vs 39-40 - “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
* The race isn’t “complete” until we run our lap!
James 2:1 - Discovering Who You Are
* The book of James is all about living the faith you profess.
* James is a man of action.
* “You say you believe? Then act like it!”
* Who you are is revealed by how you are.
* How you treat others shows the type of person you are.
* EX: How you treat the server at a restaurant.
* We tip based on the value of the person, not the quality of the service.
* If you want to know who someone is, just watch how they treat the “little” people.
* But the reverse is true as well.
* If you’re in awe of a famous person, then check yourself.
* We’re not to be people-pleasers or people-worshippers.
* People-worshipping leads to people-pleasing.
* Both become butt-kissers.
* Vs 1-4 - don’t remove God from the seat of the judge!
* Favoritism = Judgmental.
* Favoritism is about comparison.
* Comparison is a relationship killer.
* When you compare others to yourself it leads to:
*
*
* When you compare others to others it leads to:
*
* Why shouldn’t you do this?
* Vs 5 - Because God wants you to hang around those who are rich in faith!
* You become like the closest five people in your life.
* Vs 8-9 - How you treat others reveals what you think of yourself!
* You treat them bad because you don’t like yourself and you want to feel better than someone so you can feel better.
* Vs 9 - if you show favoritism you break the law.
* Treat everyone equal - both up and down - and you will keep the law!