06.May.2009 Faith

Hebrews 11:1:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Before we dive into this new revelation, let’s recap what we have covered so far in the If You Build It… series. The church isn’t a building; it is the people. When Christ said “Upon this rock, I will build my church,” He meant He would build Peter, the person. Christ wants to build us. Three revelations are given to us in the course of the building process: 1) That Jesus is God; 2) We find out who we are; and 3) We gain a Revelation on Leadership–God has a structure and a plan that He aligns us with when He builds us. God accomplishes His building plans by bringing other people into our world who will mold us, sharp us, and craft us into what God wants us to be. Pride can often hinder that process if we let it, but, when we keep our hearts open, God moves in wonders!

Now, onto the next step: Faith. Faith starts as a seed (all things in the Kingdom of God start as a seed). This seed of faith is born from the revelation of and belief in the truth that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again as Messiah and Savior. When this seed is planted near the streams of living water, it grows into a mighty tree. And what do trees have? Fruit. God says we will be known by our fruit. He calls us to be fruitful–live a large life that will draw people to us. Sadly, some Christians’ trees are weak and feeble, and their lives are dull and gray do more to drive people away than draw them in. These trees are not planted by the river. They are lost in the dessert. Yet, the seed that grows by the river and bears fruit is a tree that gains understanding through faith of all that God has for him.

Hebrews 11:1 gives us six revelations about what faith is.

Faith is:

1) Substance: Faith is spiritual. You cannot see it. You cannot touch it. It is not tangible in the natural world. So, how can it have substance? Simple. It’s substance is in the spirit. We can touch it, feel it, smell it, and see it in the spirit. Faith, as a substance, is being able to grasp the supernatural. Christ made this possible when He died on the cross. God sent Him into the natural world to build a bridge (through His death) that would connect the natural with the spiritual.

2) Evidence: Faith is evidence of things unseen. You don’t need to see it to believe it. You just believe. As your faith grows, you see that you don’t need to see the out come or the ending. Faith sees it for you.

3) Something that gives us approval

4) Understanding: Your natural self cannot work it out, but your faith understands. You cannot rationalize God, Salvation, or Eternity, but your faith understands!

5) Something that helps us see

6)The underlying foundation for which we build our lives

One of the most powerful stories in the Bible about faith is found in Mark 10:46-52:

46) Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road.
47) When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48) “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.
But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49) When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”
So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!”
50) Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.
51) “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.
“My rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”
52) And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.

Bartimaeus was not the only beggar on the streets. He was one among hundreds, perhaps thousands, who lines the streets to Jericho wearing the beggar’s cloak issued to him by the Pharisees (this coat marked him as a beggar) and who knew about Jesus. What makes him unique is what he said when Jesus passed by. Where others were saying, “Jesus of Nazareth” or “Jesus, son of Joseph,” Bartimaeus was screaming, “Jesus, Son of David! Have mercy on me!” This, to the Hebrews, was like him yelling, “Jesus, Messiah! Have mercy on me!” He got the revelation. Somehow, he went from hearing of Jesus the Miracle Worker to Jesus, Son of David, Messiah!

Then the crowd turned on him. The people around us get indignant when we call out in faith for God. They tell us to “shut up!”

But he keeps yelling, “Jesus, Messiah!” And Jesus hears him.

You see, it is not about the shouting but about the faith inside. Jesus knew what was going on in Bartimaeus’s heart. He knew the revelation that Bartimaeus was gaining. That is what stopped Him and caused Him to turn and say, “Come here.”

Bartimaeus throws off his cloak and stumbles through the crowd. When we get a revelation, we need to throw off our cloak, our security and push through to find Jesus. We are shouting and screaming His name, desperately trying to find Him, but we are blind! We cannot see Him! We beg to know, “Where are you, Jesus?” And still, He beckons to us, “Come here. Come to me.” Bartimaeus knows the voice of the Sheppard and follows it to Jesus. We know our Savior’s voice, and we follow it to Him.

Then, the most remarkable thing happens. Jesus looks at him–a blind man–and asks, “What do you want?” After all the trials and struggles and the pushing, screaming, and searching, he reaches Jesus and Jesus asks him what he wants! Isn’t that so like Him? We as humans struggle through trials. We throw off our security; we stumble through times where we cannot see what is happening, and the voice of God is drowned out by all the voices around us; we scream out, “My Messiah, have mercy!”; and He beckons us to draw near…and then He asks, “What do you want?”

Bartimaeus says, “I want to see.”

God, show us what to do. Show us our dreams again. Give us clear vision again. Put our lives back together again!

And Jesus says, “Your faith has made you whole.”

You see? It is faith that gives us sight! Faith clears our vision! Faith makes us steady and excited in times of trouble and despair, when the world is saying doom and gloom! We are not living on the side of the road with dust blinding us. NO! Jesus is passing by! We hear Him! We have the revelation of who He is! He knows this. He calls to us! We won’t have everything put together and in perfect order. But we will have an encounter! We will get our vision back! We will be made whole! We will get our dreams back! We will see again!