I. Our Lord the Giver of Life 00:03
Today is a really important and special feast day in our church, specifically in our denomination. We were founded on the principles of the sanctity of life. For a lot of people who maybe aren’t familiar with our history: that was always central at our church. God made man imbued with worth, made man in his image: men, women, babies, unborn babies, all the way until the moment you pass away and become eternally united with him. That is the plan for humanity, and there is no break in value between people.
In fact, if you look around the world, the greatest gift Jesus gave us, I believe, philosophically, intellectually, theologically, is that every one of you is valuable; that you cannot look at anyone in the entire world and take away their human dignity, their sanctity, and all that that entails. And so when we talk about the Feast of Our Lord the Giver of Life, we recognize that. And how fitting is it, how awesome is it, that on this day we get to have a baptism, where we acknowledge the dignity of that baby and we welcome them into the kingdom of our God. It’s just such a blessed day to be a part of this church, and I’m so happy to see all of you coming, especially those who are coming specifically to celebrate that moment.
I think it’s a witness to a world that is obsessed with measuring value by every other standard: whether you have money, or you’re efficient, or you’re contributing to society, or you’re smart. There are so many ways the world values people. Instead, when you walk in this door, no matter who you are, you are valuable, because you are human, made in the image of God. And that baby has just as much value as Einstein or any number of great people, because that baby is made in the image of God.
And so when we talk about this message this morning, I’m going to be speaking about faith, and I just want you to know that every single one of you is invited into that. There is no distinction in Christ. You are all invited to participate. Because what faith does, and what faith calls us to do, is to live in God’s kingdom and to see things from his perspective, and not get caught in the world that is telling you how much you cannot do and how much you are not worthy of. Instead we’re living today in God’s kingdom, and faith is what unlocks that for us.
II. The Enemies Within 02:38
So we’re going to start with a passage in Hebrews as we talk about faith. And today we’re talking about the enemies of our faith particularly. Maybe in your mind you’ve actually heard that phrase. In fact, I’ve seen it written. I’ve heard people talk about the enemies of the faith: “those wicked and evil atheists,” oh no, or “those wicked and evil Muslims,” or “those wicked and evil people who are different than us,” the enemies of our faith. But I just got finished telling you how, on the Feast of Our Lord the Giver of Life, we talk about the value of every human being.
And just to tell you: the enemies of your faith are a lot closer than you think. The enemies of our faith are in our own hearts: our fears, our doubts, our misplaced desires, the things that hold us back from everything God wants to give us. If you’re finding all your enemies out there, you need to stop and take a look in the mirror, because that’s not the world Jesus invites us into. Jesus says, “Pray for your enemies and bless those who persecute you” (Matt 5.44). You can only do that if you’re really good at defeating the enemies in your own heart, the ones that build up cases against the people who make you angry, the ones that have this whole list of reasons why you’re a victim and those people are bad. It’s like, no, actually everyone is invited into God’s kingdom, because he came.
I mean, just think about how opposite the mindset is. Jesus came and he smote all the enemies of God, yes. But who were the enemies of God? Doubt, fear, unbelief, envy, strife. And he took all those things and he accepted the cross. You might have argued that the Roman Empire was one of the greatest enemies of the church, the enemies of the faith, ever. And yet when they crucified Jesus our Lord, he said, “Forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing” (Luke 23.34). That’s faith. That’s seeing the world God’s way. Because if you see the world my way, it’s, “God, smite those evil people.” And yet Jesus invites us into something better.
III. The Hall of Faith 04:51
So as we read this paragraph, it just was stirring in me. It’s like the great movies, like Remember the Titans or Rudy or all these sports films, where there’s that great moment where the coach comes out and just gives this speech, and it just rouses their souls. Now, maybe I’m exposing how much of a nerd I am, but this passage in Scripture does that for me. And I hope this morning you open your ears and eyes and see this passage and are inspired, because this is what it means to live by faith. We’re actually in the chapter that’s titled “the Hall of Faith,” and the writer of Hebrews has gone through a catalog of all these great heroes who lived by faith, and he ends this passage with Hebrews 11:32:
32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. Heb 11.32–38
There is a lot in there. But I want to be like those people. I want to be conquering for the kingdom of God. I want to be stopping the mouths of lions. I want to be walking around… This sounds like a superhero list. I want to be a superhero.
The crazy part is that the writer of Hebrews gives us this list to invite you to be like them, not to say, “Those are the really important people in the faith. You guys, as long as you hold on, you’ll be okay.” No, it’s to say, “Come be like these people.” And in fact, the writer of Hebrews is speaking to people who themselves were being chained and imprisoned for their faith. He’s reminding them that if you hold on, if you trust, if you see through the lens of faith, there’s nothing you cannot face.
IV. Hear and Obey 07:23
So what is faith? Maybe you’re sitting there and you’ve heard that phrase thrown around quite a bit, and you’re wondering what it is. Well, last week we talked about the equation of faith: hear and obey. It’s really not about being charismatic or winsome, or the hero everybody says, “Man, look at him preach, so good,” or “Look at him do all those things for Jesus. He must be a hero of faith.” It’s so simple. It’s when God tells you to do something, you do it. When you see something in the Scripture that speaks to your heart, you follow the Spirit as he leads you. That’s what hearing and obeying is.
And in the beginning of that chapter that ended with that great rousing speech, the writer of Hebrews tells us:
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Heb 11.1
And as he concludes the Hall of Faith, he gives us the greatest example of faith in action that we’ve ever had, and we jump in, in Hebrews chapter 12. So if you’re wondering how this looks, what “hear and obey” is, versus this whole “assurance of things hoped for, the substance of things unseen,” what this all means, well, there’s a great example right here in Hebrews 12, verses 1 and 2. He’s just ended talking about all the great heroes of our faith, and he says:
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb 12.1–2
Looking to Jesus. Who is he? He’s the founder and perfecter of our faith. So what did he do? He’s a really intelligent writer. He’s like, “He’s the founder and perfecter of our faith. Now here’s what it means to be that: who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.”
V. For the Joy Set Before Him 09:48
So let’s make it really simple. What faith looks like is trusting God enough to endure the cross. It’s that Jesus, even though God told him (and we see it in the garden), he says, “God, I know you told me your plan is for me to be betrayed by all my friends and crucified by the Romans and condemned by the religious people I came to save. Is there any other way? That doesn’t sound so good, God.” And God didn’t let him off the hook. Because he said, “Nevertheless, not my will but thy will be done” (Luke 22.42). That is faith. It’s doing the thing even though it doesn’t look good, doesn’t feel good, doesn’t sound good.
But why did he do it? Because he trusted that God would raise him from the dead, save the world, and exalt him to the highest place: “for the joy that was set before him.” Let me clarify that a little bit more. He did it because he had joy at the end of that cross. What was the joy at the end of the cross? It’s all of us. Why did Jesus die for us? For the joy of inviting you into eternal fellowship with him. Why are we baptizing this baby? Because this baby is Christ’s joy, and we’re inviting this baby into that salvation, that kingdom that was purchased on the cross.
So when we look at Jesus’ faith: he heard God, he obeyed. It didn’t feel good. It wasn’t a pleasant experience; in fact, the torture is hard to imagine. And yet he did it because he had assurance of the thing he hoped for. He had assurance, he had hope, he had faith that God would raise him up.
VI. Fear and Doubt 10:59
Okay, so I told you we would be talking about the enemies of our faith. How do you have faith like Jesus? How do you have faith like the heroes of our faith? How do we do that? How do we hear and obey? Well, there are a couple of people who don’t want you… let me say it this way. There are a couple of things warring against that in you.
The enemy of our faith, the devil, the tempter, the accuser, wants you to experience destruction and death. That’s the goal. The opposite of that is the Feast of Our Lord the Giver of Life. And so the war that’s happening inside each of us is between the pull toward death and destruction and the invitation to life and life everlasting.
And so when we look at this, there are at least two things I want to mention this morning. I mean, if you wanted a list of all the reasons why I haven’t had faith, we could be here for hours, and we’re just not going to do that. But we are going to talk about a couple of things that I know impact me, impact you, impact us. We’re going to look at fear and doubt. Those are the simple ones, the straightforward ones.
VII. Peter on the Water 13:22
And we’re going to look at a quick story, and I will tell you what comes out of this. In Matthew chapter 14, beginning in verse 28, it says:
28 And Peter answered him… Matt 14.28
Oh, you might need a little context. They’re on a boat. It’s going to sink. The winds and the waves are tossing them to and fro, and they see what looks like a ghost walking on the water. They find out it’s Jesus. You may have heard of this: Jesus walks on water. But the best part of the story is Peter’s response. So he realizes it’s Jesus, and he says:
28 “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Matt 14.28
What faith! He sees a man walking on water, and his first thought is, “I want to do that.” When two seconds before, they’re all scared they’re going to die. They’re in the middle of a storm. It’s not like Lake Placid, just simple and calm. There’s a storm they thought was going to kill them, and he says, “I want to go out there.” So first of all, I love that about Peter. And Jesus says:
29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. Matt 14.29
He did a miracle that hasn’t been recorded outside of Jesus. So there are two people in the history of the world that we know of who have walked on water, and Peter’s there. And so you think he’s at the top of his faith game. This guy is crushing it. Look at what he’s doing: he’s walking on water with Jesus. But just like we always get in the Scripture, he is more like us than we tend to think. Because immediately, what happens?
30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Matt 14.30
He’s walking on water, actively experiencing a miracle, and he still loses faith, because fear comes in, because his eyes go away from Jesus to the circumstances, to his surroundings. And of course:
31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matt 14.31
I’ll give you the answer, and Jesus knew the answer; this is a rhetorical question. Because he was afraid of the waves, the ones that were going to destroy the boat, the wind, the chaos. What faith does is keep our eyes on Jesus. What fear does is pull our perspective to the problem, to the crisis, to the mountain, to the wind and the waves. Faith keeps us focused on Jesus.
VIII. The Glass Elevator 15:35
I’ve got one story about this. Growing up, I struggled a lot with fear. I had some vivid nightmares that I remember to this day. Man, kids have active imaginations, let me tell you. And I was afraid of elevators. I was claustrophobic, let’s say that, because any enclosed space was terrifying to me. I mean, I would sob in front of an elevator while my family was going to Ruby’s to have a birthday party: “I can’t do it. I just can’t do it.” I found the stairs worked out, but there was a thing in me that could not enter an elevator. Fear, not faith.
I’ll tell you: one day my grandfather (I’ll call him Papo during the story) decided he had had enough of my fear of elevators, and he was going to help out by taking me to the Mission Viejo mall. If you’ve been there, you know they’ve got a giant glass elevator, so you can kind of see out. And the reward for me riding the elevator was getting to the Wetzel’s Pretzels on the second floor and getting a cinnamon pretzel dipped in caramel sauce. Oh, just delightful. This was a goal. For the joy that was set before me, I was going to endure the elevator.
But what Papo did that was so smart is that he knew two things about fear. First of all, fear is about your perspective. In an enclosed space, in an elevator, all I could see was the problem: the walls, the door shutting, the people, the air getting closer. I need to stop talking about it. No, what he did is he took me to this glass elevator, because I could see. I could see past the problem. I could see the gears working, and the second floor coming closer and closer. I could do that. And secondly, he was with me. He knew he had to be with me on that elevator, because he was like a father figure, my grandfather, whom I trusted.
And that’s the secret to overcoming fear. God will give you insight to see, if you hear and obey. What often happens is that you have this giant problem, and God says, “Take one step.” You have this giant problem, but God says, “Here, why don’t you just do this? Why don’t you reach out to your home group leader and get him to pray with you for it?” “What’s that going to do, God?” Well, it’s going to build your faith, because you’re hearing and you’re obeying. And what the home group leader is going to do is help you to see. Or your brother, or your friend, or that pastor you met at that church one time. Maybe that’s the step.
But maybe the step is something different. It’s like, “God, I just never have enough money.” And God says, “Why don’t you stop buying beer?” And you’re like, “But God, I’ve done the math. The beer is not the problem.” And God says, “No, just obey. I have it all for you. Have faith that it’s my provision and not yours that counts.” And so you do this little simple thing, and your perspective changes. You enter the glass elevator, and you’re able to see beyond your problem.
And secondly, to overcome fear, we have to know that God is with us. In fact, the most repeated commandment in the entire Bible is “Do not be afraid,” and the second part of that almost always is “for I am with you” (Isa 41.10). God is with you in the elevator. He’s not on the outside going, “Ha ha, look at him.” No, he’s right there with you. And the open elevator allowed me to see.
IX. Doubt and Disordered Desires 18:51
Now, just for the sake of time, we’re going to come right back to doubt, because I think doubt is the other thing we struggle with the most. And I’m just going to point out one thing about doubt that I want you to take from here. If you take anything today, I want you to take, number one: the problem with fear is that it takes your perspective away, so that you see the problem and not God’s future. Faith opens your eyes to see not only past the problem, but to see God standing with you.
The second thing I want you to take away is about doubt. There’s this great story at the beginning of the Bible, probably the most formative story in the history of the world, talking about why the world is the way it is. It’s about God creating Adam and Eve and their rejecting his paradise. And there’s one verse I want to point out today, Genesis 3:6. The devil told her, in the form of a serpent, “Eat that apple,” or pomegranate, or whatever fruit (people have disagreements), “eat that fruit,” the forbidden fruit, the thing God told you not to eat.
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Gen 3.6
Let’s go back to the first part of this verse. There’s one thing I want you to know about doubt: doubt finds the door to your heart when you act on disordered affections, unruly desires, when you do the thing you know you shouldn’t do. Every one of us wants a million things in this world. In fact, if you go on your phone, you can make it a million and one today, I promise. You can stir up desires for all the things: the Amazon thing, that extra drink of alcohol, that nice car, the recognition at work that I want. But when we put our actions to serve those desires outside of God’s will, it allows doubt to come in. Because Eve knew the word of the Lord: “If you eat of the tree, you’ll die.” And yet, because she saw that the tree looked good, she talked herself out of that. She lost her faith. She lost her perspective.
Once again, faith is about hearing and obeying, but it’s also about seeing, seeing what’s real in the midst of a world that has so many lies and so many temptations. And so if you walk away this morning and you think, “Okay, what did I learn today?” (I know all of you will be taking notes on the ride home. No.) But really, I want to encourage you that there’s a secret in this: when you encounter things you know you shouldn’t do or shouldn’t have, the secret is to ask God what he has for you. Because if Eve could remember the goodness of God, that tree doesn’t look so good anymore. Because of her misplaced desire, doubt crept in, and she lost her faith in the goodness of God.
Okay, like I said, we have no more time to do anything else today, except for me to say this last little paragraph for you: Some people sin because they are afraid to do the right thing. Some people sin because they desire the wrong thing. All who live righteously do so by faith. Their faith in God shapes their desires and conquers their fear. Amen.