Title: Faith is reality (Hebrews 11:1-6).
Contents
Title Belief is real. / Scripture Hebrews 11:1-6 / Space Daebok Church
***Introduction
In the world, not everyone who thinks they are rational is the truth. Nevertheless, people believe that their thoughts and lives are the best. God refers to this as ‘pride’.
Many people today like the word “faith”. In particular, good self-proclaimed proponents of positive thinking, healers, super salesman types, politicians, psychologists, and preachers all have good things to say about faith. They shout as if ‘faith’ is theirs. “Just believe me. Then you will win. Just have faith. You will be saved.” If you do as they say, it makes you think of ‘faith’ as a mysterious idea that keeps everything going. These types of beliefs believe that belief itself has some mysterious power that will produce the desired results. Or, if you believe enough, I think that the Absolute God will make that dream come true. But they do not know for sure what the object of that belief is. In other words, there are many people who are not too appropriate for the object of faith.
Jesus was not vaguely speaking about belief in some false belief. Jesus specifically taught ‘what is faith?’ or at least ‘what must it be?’ in order for it to have any value. In this time, we would like to examine the Word about the correct faith that Christians should have.
First, let's define what belief is.
The text defines ‘faith’ as “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen”. What does “the reality of things hoped for” mean? Let's look at Matthew 8:5-10. A centurion in Capernaum pleaded with Jesus to heal his paralyzed servant. Jesus said, “I will go and heal you.” Then the centurion said, “Lord! I am not worthy to have you come into my house, but speak the word! Then my servant will be healed. I am also a man under the control of others, and there are soldiers under me, so if you say to one go, you go, and to another, you say, ‘Come,’ and they come.
The Lord highly valued this faith. This centurion's faith is "the reality of what is hoped for." In other words, the centurion believed in the power of Jesus that transcends time and space. The reality of the centurion's faith was 'Jesus Christ', the source of his power. This kind of belief is hard to find even in this generation. Most people look for other aids they can trust. In other words, if you put your hands on your hands, anoint them with oil, or at least come close and pray, I think you will be cured more easily. These thoughts are people's self-beliefs. People who pray to idols are also a product of this self-belief.
Faith is never a man's belief. Faith comes from God, and of course God is the object of faith. The centurion knew this very principle of faith. That is why we believed that the words of Jesus Christ, who became faith itself, transcend time and space. This is ‘the faith that God speaks’. Faith is definitely a great thing. But for that belief to be beneficial, it must be a belief based on truth.
Here, the object of faith must be made clear.
Humans need their own beliefs and worldly beliefs to live. Whether riding a bus, driving a car, walking, or even eating, you need to have faith and belief. If I ever suspect that the bus I'm going to get into is going to have an accident, I probably won't get on it. Also, if you suspect you may have poisoned your food, you won't eat it. Everything in the world is based on our own beliefs and beliefs. But this belief is worldly in its object. Christian faith is different in its object.
A missionary working in Australia needed about 20 million won to plan a job. He wrote about 50 letters for a week, made international calls, and tried all sorts of things to calculate it, but it didn't seem like it would come out to only 3 million won. Of course I prayed. However, I was inclined to cancel the plan because I was not confident. As a result, the state of spiritual low pressure continued with feelings of frustration and defeat.
But his wife, who saw it, asked: “Are you sure it is God’s will for you to do it?” The missionary said, “Yes.” “Then are you sure that if you ask according to God’s will, He will hear you?” To this question, there was a rebuke of the Lord that flashed like lightning, “Do you really believe in me?” It is said that the missionary actually repented of believing in more supporters than God and received answers through the prayer of faith again.
Like this missionary, we often have faith toward the wrong object. The difference between true faith and false faith lies in the object of faith. The Christian faith is Jesus Christ, as I briefly mentioned earlier. If you look at the healing process of many sick people in the New Testament, you can see that the confession of faith toward Jesus Christ is always included. In Mark 9:23, Jesus said to the man who had come to heal his demon-possessed son, “If you can, what do you mean? Nothing is impossible for those who believe.” “Those who believe” here means to believe in the power of Jesus Christ.
If the prayers you are doing now seem unanswered, you need to look at whether the object of your faith is clearly directed to Jesus Christ.
True Christian faith is life.
Faith is the Christian life itself, not the Christian ornaments, the lubricant that makes life more shiny, or the magic wand needed for one's own wishes. He said, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things hoped for”. Verses 2-5 of the main text and chapter 11 testify to that fact.
If the object of our faith is definitely toward Jesus Christ, and even if the measure of faith is large, it is an abstract thing that cannot be used in real life, then that faith is nothing. Christian faith is action in life. That is why the book of James says that faith without works is itself dead.
Jesus didn't stop at just making general statements about the importance of faith. He explained in detail the great blessings that can be experienced through faith in life. Among them, the most important and fundamental blessing from faith is 'spiritual life'. That is the promise in John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” . In addition, ‘spiritual life’ leads to ‘more abundant life’. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.” Not only this. In Mark 11:22,23, “Believe in God! Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and he does not doubt in his heart, believing that what he says is happening, it will be done for him!” It speaks of the power manifested in the Christian life of faith. This is the reality of true Christian faith.
The problem is to get rid of fears and doubts, worldly beliefs and beliefs. When these things accumulate in our minds, our lives become chaotic. The mixture of worldly and spiritual values confuses life and makes life painful.
This is the life scenario of a believer.
I knelt down and prayed busily. I have too much to say. Because I had to hurry, and I had to go to work. So I said a hasty prayer and got up with my knees straight. My religious duty was done, and this alone put my soul at ease. All day I did not have time to say words of praise. I didn't tell my friends about Jesus because I was afraid they would laugh at me.
'There is no time. There is no time. There is so much to do.’ That was my constant excuse. There was no time to show kindness to the needy. Finally, the moment of death has come. And when I went before the Lord, I stood with my eyes closed. The Lord was holding a book in his hand, which was the 'Book of Life'. God looked up the book and said, “Your name is not there. I once tried to write your name down, but I didn't have time.” And it was over.
Even if you are busy, stop for a moment and review your beliefs. Wouldn't it be better to get a new tire fixed and run with a new tire even after a short delay than to go slow and uncomfortable with a flat tire?
Neither procrastination, worldly busyness, excuses, laziness, resentment, and quarrels are of any help in the face of death and for eternal spiritual life. Now, let's rearrange our beliefs and move on to a life of joy that leaves no regrets.