Hebrews 11:1-2 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

Why is it that we seem to have so many problems with the issue of faith? In many cases it is because we no longer discriminate in our thinking. We have become a society of ideas and dreams but more than that we have become a society that has been fooled and lulled into false belief because of the entertainment media. What do I mean?
We now have movies and TV programs that make the impossible possible. You can have movies where people and things disappear or appear, where the strange and unusual is confronted every day or where magic, mysticism, religiosity and the like are made to seem real and factual. Cinderella, Dracula, Harry Potter, Superman (the list is quite endless) are all make believe things that have become realistic because of our media blue screen tricks. Even the likes of Star Trek and Stars Wars seem real.
What I find most interesting is how many of the modern day movies are really the old good versus evil genre. I think of the Matrix movies, all three of them (which I enjoyed) and I can tell you that if you didn't see the theme of salvation, saving and a Savior against evil you weren't paying attention. So in a sense, we have been, especially our children, we have been lulled into false beliefs because we today are more inclined to believe the fantastic because it is portrayed as so "normal" and real all around us.
Do we fail to see that all of this is make believe? Have we lost the ability to judge between what is fiction and what is real? Do we today grant more leeway and assume the possibility of reality to that which is pure fiction and the workings of man's imagination? I want you to think about that. Do you today assume the greater possibility for the impossible than you used to? Then I ask, "How does such thinking affect your faith?"
I believe it affects your faith in a couple of ways. First, people today are more inclined to believe that any thing you believe is okay. If you want to believe in Buddha, Allah, mysticism, magic or whatever we want to believe we think that is okay. If you want to say you are a Christian and yet reject a good portion of God's Word...we believe as individuals that such is okay. We have come to believe it is okay because we have accepted the possibility of reality for all beliefs.
The second way we are affected is that we simple stop believing that there is a real and knowable truth out there. We argue that since there is no way of knowing what is true and what isn't thus it doesn't matter. It's the old "how do you know you have the truth" ploy. Thus you end up believing that religion doesn't matter since it's all fake anyhow. And isn't that an interesting thought that you end up believing religion doesn't matter which is really a belief system in itself. The impact of all of this on us and our world is astounding. Thus we need to pay attention and really think about the issues of faith.
So what is faith? What does God say? The section before us is just one such set of passages that helps us to think about faith and its true nature. Our theme will be: THE TRUE NATURE OF FAITH. 1st. What we hope for. 2nd. Being sure and certain. 3rd. Based in fact.
I hope you noticed the very first part of our verse. It said, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for." Here is the issue of faith laid out clearly and purposefully. Here is faith defined by the Lord. First it is defined as "What we hope for."
Isn't that the truth? Faith is all about what we hope for, what we long for and desire as far as our spiritual nature goes. Now you can hope for wings or hope that someday you will have super powers to save the world, but that would be a false hope, a desire not based on reality and the truth of God. Yes, it is true faith is about hope. But that hope must be based in reality and truth or it is nothing more than pipe dreams, false hopes that don't have a chance of being fulfilled. In other words, faith is about hope but WHAT we hope for is really the clear issue.
The object of hope is important. If the object of your faith is in your own goodness or in the indelible spirit of man to overcome all things you will surely be disappointed. I think of all the people in history who have come up with plans to make the world a better place and how those plans have faltered and sometimes just made things worse. We've all had dreams of our happiness and the smooth life forever, only to see one difficulty after another arise to plague us and cause our hopes to feel shattered. But that's because the object of our hope has been us. What we want, what we think we can accomplish and achieve, what we deem important for our good and happiness. All too often our hopes are false hopes because of our false objects of hope. We have put our faith in the wrong thing.
How can we be sure of the right object of hope? Pay attention to what our text says. The very next line says, "certain of what we do not see." You do realize that those words are speaking of a whole realm that is beyond our world? That's so obvious but so many miss that fact. It speaks of things we do not see. We are given further information in God's Word about this realm in passages like Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Those words tell us that the realm of God, the realm of angels, devils, Satan, heaven and hell are all a reality that we cannot grasp and see but that is nonetheless true. It is these things we are up against, these forces that impact our lives. God and His Son Jesus have done all things necessary to bring us to Him but please note that Satan and his forces are also doing everything they can to pull you away from God and his redemptive truth.
Or we can consider 1 Corinthians 15:44 which says, "If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body." What a great verse! It lays out a simple truth about natural and spiritual bodies. They exist. We have a soul that is eternal just as sure and shootin as you have a physical body right now. If you grasp this truth combined with what Ephesians you realize your real battle isn't this life but rather is the life to come.
Being certain of what we do not see is all about making sure that our object of faith is the reality of God. You can believe in a nirvana or a happy hunting ground or even a purgatory but please note that those things are not the revelation of God. If you want to be sure and certain about your hopes and about what you do not see, then one thing becomes rather clear. You have to put your confidence in God.
That's the whole point of what is said in verse 2 and what then follows in the rest of chapter 11. Verse 2 said, "This is what the ancients were commended for." Look at the ancient fathers of our faith, look at what they believed and hoped. But most important look at what the object of their faith and belief was.
And so we look briefly at the facts of God. Verse 3, "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen is not made out of what was visible." Simply put, creation is true because God said so. No one ever saw creation but God revealed this truth, this fact and the early fathers believed: GOD! There is no reason not to believe God today but Satan has really pounded us here. Science says God is wrong. What is your faith going to be in: God or Science?
Verse 4, "By faith Able offered a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead." Able's offering was acceptable to God because he acted in faith and love toward God. Offerings were not commanded at that time but Able wanted to show God his love and thanks for the bounty he had received. Able acted in total love and thanks for God. The object of his faith was God. Cain on the other hand offered a sacrifice because Able did or rather because he was hoping God would bless his own wonderfulness in doing this act. Faith separated them. Able's faith in God and Cain's faith in Cain. A real lesson to learn.
Go to verse 7, "By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family." Noah acted in faith. He had never seen rain, never even seen a local flood yet alone one that would destroy the world. But God told him what was coming, God revealed his plans and Noah believed God. His object of faith was God and God's truth.
Or consider verses 8-16 and the history of Abraham. Here was Abraham who had been promised an heir, a son that would be from him and his wife Sarah. Abraham is now 99 and Sarah 89. We are told, if you pay attention to the words here, that the child bearing abilities of these two was not functional. Yet Abraham believed God!
When told to move, Abraham did and he wasn't concerned with where God was leading him because he trusted God. For that matter please note that even Abraham understood that his whole life was not about what was happening in this world but rather had spiritual ramifications and impacts for all eternity. What do you think is meant when our text said, "Instead, they were looking for a better country-a heavenly one."
Abraham grasped that his life was all about the Savior who was to come and the salvation that Savior would bring. He understood that the Savior was to be a descendant of his and that this Savior would be just that, someone who would deliver them from the forces of evil. Abraham's faith was in God and God's promises.
There's the whole key of faith, believing God. Believing in God's Son as our Savior, Jesus who suffered and died, and rose from the dead to give us eternal life and salvation. Not so we can do whatever we want but so we can be the children of God and be sure and certain of the eternal gift of heaven in Jesus. That's faith. That's the proper object of faith, Jesus and his redemption. That's what the ancient's were commended for, for believing the words and promises of God. That's what will be the measure of our faith too, believing the words and promises of God. Being sure of forgiven sins. Being sure of eternal life. Being certain that God and his promises are an absolute fact. That's the true nature of faith. True faith must be and can only be based on the wisdom, love and grace of God in Jesus. All of this is the gift and wonder of God.
One last thing. Please consider 1 Corinthians 2:14. "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." It really is about God. Amen.