A Faith That Pleases God (Pt. 2) 5-24-26 PM
I. Faith demonstrated (Heb. 11:4-5, 7).
A. Faith is not merely something a person claims to have.
i. Faith is lived out every day.
ii. These verses show us three men who pleased God because their faith moved them to act.
iii. Abel worshiped by faith; Enoch walked by faith; Noah worked by faith.
iv. Again, none of them were perfect, but they all trusted God enough to obey Him.
B. Abel shows us that faith worships God on God’s terms.
i. The word translated offered means to bring near, present, or offer.
1. Abel did not merely have faith in his heart.
2. Abel’s faith moved Him to worship God.
ii. But just worshiping God is not enough.
iii. Abel offered a more excellent, or acceptable sacrifice, than Cain.
1. More excellent means better, greater, or superior.
2. It was not better or greater because it was superior to Cain’s.
iv. In Genesis 4 we are told that Cain brought from the fruit of the ground while Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock (Gen. 4:3-4).
1. To understand why Abel’s was superior to Cain’s, we need to understand the source of faith.
2. Romans 10:17 – faith comes by hearing God’s word.
3. At some point, we aren’t told when, God revealed what type of sacrifice was approved.
4. This is what Abel offered and why his sacrifice was approved of by God and Cain’s was not.
v. The difference between the two offerings was not just the gift itself, but the heart of faith behind the gift.
vi. God testifies, or commends, Abel’s gift still today, because it was offered by faith.
vii. Abel’s faith cost him his life (1 John 3:12).
viii. Abel’s faith still speaks: telling us worship matters, faith obeys even when others may resent it, and that pleasing God may cost us and God never forgets that cost.
C. Enoch shows us that faith walks with God.
i. Enoch was translated – to transfer, remove, or change from one place to another.
1. Gen. 5:24 – Enoch did not experience death in the ordinary way: God took him.
2. The reason God took him is because Enoch walked with God every day – it was not in an isolated moment, but every day.
3. God bore witness to his life as a life that pleased Him.
ii. Enoch was not perfect or sinless – it just means he was faithful.
1. Enoch lived in a time and place when that was extremely rare.
2. Jude 1:14-15 connects Enoch with a message of judgment against the unfaithful of his day.
3. His life was not private or hidden from others.
4. His life stood out against the ungodliness that surrounded him.
iii. This probably came with a cost.
1. We are not told the details, but anyone who walks with God in this way will stand out.
2. Those who live this way in an ungodly culture always do.
iv. Enoch teaches us that it is better to please God than to blend in with the world.
D. Noah shows us that faith obeys God before it sees the outcome.
i. Noah was warned by God about things to come that had never been seen on earth.
1. His faith began with God’s word – he was warned of, or by, God.
2. The phrase warned of God means divinely instructed, warned or directed.
3. Noah did not act because he saw dark clouds on the horizon.
4. He acted because God spoke.
ii. Noah had never seen a flood, and probably never seen rain.
1. He also had never seen God’s judgment.
2. Faith does not wait until it sees everything.
3. Faith acts because God speaks.
iii. Noah took God seriously, which is the idea of “moved with fear.”
1. Noah had a deep reverence for God.
2. This deep reverence caused him to take God’s words seriously.
iv. Noah’s faith caused him to pick up his tools.
1. His faith measured the wood.
2. His faith followed instructions.
3. His faith kept building.
4. His faith prepared for judgment while the rest of the world continued as usual.
v. We never read specifically that the people mocked Noah, so we can’t preach that as fact.
1. We do read that, by his obedient faith, Noah condemned the world.
2. His life and work stood as a witness against the ungodliness around him.
vi. Noah’s obedience would have made him stand out from everyone else.
1. His faith affected his reputation.
2. He was preparing for something no one else could see because he trusted in the God who had warned him.
vii. His faith caused him to become heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
viii. Noah didn’t earn righteousness by building a boat.
ix. His building a boat revealed the faith by which he received God’s approval.
x. Faith obeys God’s warning before it sees God’s judgment.
E. Think of these three men and their demonstrations of faith.
i. Abel shows faith in worship.
ii. Enoch shows us faith in our daily walk.
iii. Noah shows us faith in our obedient work.
iv. Each man pleased God because each man trusted God enough to act.
F. This is what real faith does.
i. It does not remain hidden in the heart.
ii. It comes out in worship, in conduct, in obedience, and in endurance.
iii. Faith that pleases God is faith that moves us to obey God.
II. Faith demanded (Heb. 11:6).
A. This verse brings the whole discussion to a clear point: faith is not optional but it is demanded.
B. The word translated “impossible” means unable, powerless, or impossible – there is no path to pleasing God without faith.
i. God is not pleased by religious routine.
ii. God is not pleased by outward obedience without inward trust.
iii. God is not pleased by human pride, self-righteousness, or mere tradition.
iv. God is pleased by faith – one that believes, seeks, and obeys Him.
C. Faith believes that God is.
i. The phrase “he that comes” comes from a word often used in Hebrews for approaching God in worship, prayer, and fellowship.
1. It is not casual interest in God.
2. It is coming near to Him in trust.
ii. You cannot truly come to God while denying that God exists.
iii. The first demand is that we believe God is.
1. This means more than believing in some vague higher power.
2. It means believing in the living God – the God who created all things by the word of His power.
3. We have to believe in the God revealed in scripture.
iv. It is interesting that scripture does not begin with trying to prove the existence of God – it just says “In the beginning God…”
1. This does not mean belief in God is unreasonable.
2. Ps. 19:1.
3. Rom. 1:20.
4. Heb. 3:4.
v. Creation points beyond itself.
1. Order points to intelligence.
2. Design points to a Designer.
3. Moral law points to a moral Lawgiver.
4. Human life, conscience, beauty, and purpose all point to far beyond blind chance to the God who made us.
vi. Faith does not close its eyes to the evidence.
vii. Faith opens its eyes and says, “The word did not make itself. I did not make myself. There is a God, and I am accountable to Him.”
viii. Saving faith goes even further.
1. It does not merely believe God exists.
2. It trusts the God who exists.
ix. James 2:19.
1. The faith that pleases God is more than admitting God is real.
2. It is trusting Him enough to come to Him, surrender to Him, and obey Him.
x. Faith begins by trusting that God is who He says He is.
D. Faith believes that God rewards.
i. The word translated “rewarder” means one who pays back, gives wages, or rewards.
1. This does not mean that God owes us salvation as though we have done something to make Him indebted to us.
2. Salvation will always be by grace.
3. But, God graciously promises to bless those who have faith in Him that leads them to seek Him.
ii. God wants us to believe that seeking Him is never wasted.
iii. This would have mattered very much to the original audience of this letter.
1. Some, if not many, were suffering for Christ.
2. Some had lost possession.
3. Some had been placed in prison.
4. They needed to know that their faith was worth it all.
iv. This verse says yes it is worth it.
v. God sees, remembers, and rewards (Heb. 6:10).
1. Sometimes the reward is peace in the midst of the storm.
2. Sometimes it is strength to endure.
3. Sometimes it is answered prayer.
4. Sometimes it is spiritual growth.
5. Sometimes it is restored fellowship after repentance.
6. Sometimes it is death that results in eternity with God.
vi. Faith believes God’s reward is better than the pleasures of sin.
vii. The life of faith is sustained by the conviction that God is worth more than anything we give up to follow Him.
viii. Faith keeps seeking God because God keeps rewarding.
E. Faith diligently seeks God.
i. The word for “seek” means to seek out, search for, pursue, seek diligently.
1. It is not a lazy word.
2. It is not a halfhearted glance in the direction of God.
3. This is a pursuit that says, “I need God. I want God. I will not live without God.”
ii. To diligently seek God means we do so on His terms.
1. We seek by listening to His word.
2. We seek Him through prayer.
3. We seek Him through worship.
4. We seek Him through repentance.
5. We seek Him by obeying what He has commanded.
6. We seek Him by continuing when obedience becomes costly.
7. Jer. 29:13; Matt. 6:33.
iii. This is not a once-a-week interest.
1. This is not faith that only appears in the church building.
2. This is a life pointed towards God.
iv. A person who diligently seeks God does not ask, “What is the least I can get by with and still get to heaven?”
v. The faith that pleases God asks, “How can I get even closer to God?”
vi. This is the kind of faith that pleases God.
F. Faith is demanded because God cannot be pleased without trust.
G. Hopefully we can see why Hebrews 11:6 is so strong.
i. Without faith, worship becomes empty.
ii. Without faith, obedience becomes out of habit.
iii. Without faith, suffering becomes meaningless.
iv. Without faith, repentance becomes words, not actions.
v. Without faith, religion becomes self-centered.
H. With faith, life becomes an offering to God.
i. Faith believes God exists.
ii. Faith believes God speaks.
iii. Faith believes God rewards.
iv. Faith believes God forgives.
v. Faith believes God is worth seeking.
vi. Faith believes that God is worth obeying.
I. This is why Abel offered.
J. This is why Enoch walked.
K. This is why Noah built.
L. This is why we obey.
M. Faith pleases God by trusting Him enough to seek Him.