Sermon – “The Substance”

11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; [a] for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”[d] 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

Immanuel Kant once said, “There are many things I believe that I shall never say, but I shall never say something I don’t believe.” Most of you here know me and know I don’t often subscribe to that theory. I test, I question. I defend things that I think might be true and things I hope aren’t. Its not for my benefit. I want you to think – about everything – but most of all about your faith. What it is, what it means. And know what it means to defend it. But the job of speaking from here requires me to say the things I believe. In some cases they are things I can defend and will. Yet others are still questions I’m working through. But because I say them here I want you to know that they are things I do believe. I’ve struggled to give this message for months, maybe parts of it for years, but these are the times for it – I believe – or I wouldn’t be here now. I believe firmly that not to speak is to speak so here goes – an act of faith: 11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. I have always found it interesting that whenever we talk of faith – what it is and how it works we almost always start with the definition. Its an easy quote. But then a funny thing happens – we start talking about it. We say its our “hope” in this or our “belief” in that. I have “faith” the sun will come up tomorrow. I have “faith” that God exists. But that’s not what the definition says. It says Faith is a SUBSTANCE and EVIDENCE. Faith is a physical manifestation. Its not something inside you that reassures you – its something that is real and tangible. When we speak of Evidence what are we talking about? If there’s a crime we reject the idea that simply believing that someone did something is enough to convict. We need hard evidence. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; [a] for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. Later 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”[d] 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. I could have read the whole chapter – by all means go and do it. In every case those men had evidence of their faith. By their actions they gave it substance. So what gives our actions substance? You might think that all these examples are men who knew just how great they would be. After all God told Abraham he would make a great nation out of him. But maybe Joseph. Maybe Joseph didn’t know just how great he would be. Although he was given dreams by God, he lived in one prison or another for most of his life. He was sold by has own family. It would have been enough for him to doubt. To sulk. To Quit. But look what his Faith wrought. Everywhere he went there was evidence that he was there. He was so faithful that he knew that sometime in the future – 400 years in fact – that he would leave Egypt so he left Evidence of what he wanted done with his bones. Think about that. There might be a whole message there. Imagine the dream God might have given him about the future of his people. Faith isn’t empty belief or hope – that things will turn out OK or that if I want something badly enough I’ll get it. We’ve all seen this kind of belief – that if we just imagine it hard enough that thing that we want will happen. And we all know that it won’t. If we think that this is faith we make a mistake. Real true faith is different from the imagined hope people have without reason. Our faith is based on the fundamental truth that God will be with you, guide you, and give you the tools you need to accomplish what he has desired for you to do. Faith isn’t the belief that the patriarchs had – faith is how they acted out the things they believed – the things they hoped for and didn’t yet see. And by it they obtained a good testimony, a witness of righteousness James says faith without works is dead. Or from a slightly different text “faith without works is undone” I don’t know about you but I don’t want my faith to be either dead or undone. If you’re to believe the definition given at the beginning of our passage faith is a SUBSTANCE. Does “hope” have a substance? Does “want” have a substance? Does “belief” have a substance? Not unless and until you act on it it doesn’t! So how do we act on it? Maybe the challenges of today provide an answer. I was going to make a proclamation today – and its something that I think I believe. America as you knew it is dead. That might make some of you uncomfortable. I’m sorry that’s just my way. But as I was writing this, though, I have had to amend that thought, We are at the crossroads where we get to decide whether its dead or alive. If we agree its dead then we can resurrect it (because its an idea and ideas can’t really die), but if we pretend its alive and go on acting like this is the case, then it truly is dead. In either case the conclusion that I came to is the same: The Church has lost its way. Its sold out to party politics believing the lie that if we just support the right people we could by force legislate good actions. We’ve believed the lie of the devil – that if we just worship him and give him POWER then he will give us everything we want. We’ll have a court that overturns Roe, we’ll have a congress that will make us more free, not less, and we’ll have a President that will be a roll model for our children We’ve put so much effort into getting the right people elected that we’ve forgotten our calling – to make disciples of Christ. That is to make Good and Faithful men and women. What I’m about to say may sound like a novel idea, but I think its the idea that this nation is founded on: Good men and women don’t need laws to be good. True freedom is the recognizing that everything is legal while also admitting not everything is good. I think this is an almost uniquely and fundamentally Christian idea. We have to learn to govern ourselves. There are things that are contrary to God’s law but people have to choose to let him be lord of their lives. Galatians gives us the list of the fruits of the spririt, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” These are the things to which we are called to, “against such there is no law” But we have a great many laws. So many, in fact, that most of us break many of them every day without so much as a second thought. Like a speed limit set too low we have begun as a society to see basic evils as a starting place. “Its just a little crude language – I didn’t hurt anyone,” “Its just adultery, not murder.” (isn’t it interesting that I skipped past the one where its said “I was just looking but I didn’t touch…) I could go on. This is our national culture now. What was accepted by the last generation the current one embraces. What will the next one embrace if we don’t stop the cycle now? I submit, here and now, much like our soul, if we seek to keep our country through natural means, we’ll loose it. But if we give it up and focus on God and building his Church – only in that way will we save it. Stop spending your energies on elections and government. Instead focus on making the people good – focus on making yourselves good and then (as now) we’ll get the government we deserve. How do we make ourselves good? We all have a part to play. I’ve been in services where people said “some of you are called to such and such,” but today “I call not upon a few, but upon all – lay your shoulders to this task, its better to have too much force that too little when so great an object is at stake” But what, really is at stake? Is it our Nation? Yes, but No. Our culture? Same Answer. Why have I taken so much time to figure out what Faith is? Lets not forget – By Grace, through Faith, you are Saved. So it is our very salvation that is at stake in this question. That is how important it is to understand Faith. Since we’re speaking of our nation and what’s happening now, a few weeks ago the Pastor quoted the last line from the Declaration of Independence. I’d like to remind you of it right now, and suggest that it provides an insight into salvation and the work of the church. “With firm reliance on the protection of divine providence” This is the conviction – the belief in God and that he will save us – God’s Grace. Its an individual commitment. This is the part that we need to work on most of all. What do we put our Firm Reliance in? Is it our car to get us back and forth to work? Obviously, no. Our Job which provides the funds from which we derive all our worldly needs? Our Bank accounts? Its easy to say no to those too – but be honest, how many of you have said, “I can’t loose my job, I’ll loose my insurance, my retirement, my Security. I can’t spend my savings – how will I live?” Whoever seeks to save his life shall loose it. Where ever you store up your treasures – that’s where your heart is. What about your family? (pause) That’s a little more complicated so lets continue: “We mutually pledge our lives our fortunes and our sacred honor” That’s the Faith part – but what’s interesting is its also the Church part – its the family. We can’t forget the WE MUTUALLY. This is the same pledge that all Christians make, or should be making, with their Statement of Faith. Remember Christ did not come to create a religion he came to found a church. As long as we’re in the church we’re all called, with firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, to give our lives, fortunes and sacred honor. If you remember the story from a few weeks ago original signers of the Declaration may have lost their lives and fortunes but not their honor. But what happens when we fail to give that full measure of our devotion? What do we loose? When we loose our honor we’ve lost our faith, we’ve broken the Covenant. What of our salvation? That one’s not for me to answer. But I can answer this: we must not break the Covenant, made with the blood of Christ. But we have to do it individually – I can’t force any of you. While we know that the gates of hell shall not prevail on His church the question remains will it only be a remnant who take this pledge or will you all. We also have to live with the “here and now” consequences of this decision. I say to you: “By perseverance and fortitude we have the prospect of a glorious future, by cowardice and submission, the sad choice of a variety of evils” Now that’s all very easy to say, and I feel the weight of the question: what am I actually supposed to do? Some speakers would tell you you have to figure that our for yourselves. That’s easy for them – it lets them off the hook. Its easy for you too because it means that you only have to hold yourself accountable. No one lets me off the hook easier than me. So here goes. This is what I expect from each of you. I’d love to be able to elaborate so seek me out if you have questions. To the Elders in the congregation, if I had more time I’d tell you a story about what your generation’s equivalent has done in the past. Its so moving that I considered spending half my time reading the whole thing. Let us suffice it to say that your generation’s call is that of Moses with his hands extended toward heaven, parting waters for his people. Give the rest of us confidence to stand up and do the right thing, regardless of the consequences. Those of you born in the 60s and 70s – do you know that you are the 13h American generation? Somehow it seems longer than that, at least to me. To you is committed this a simple thing: LEAD. Your reward for all your work over these last few decades is to come into total power and control at a time of great trail and crisis. You get to decide whether the current crisis in the world today ends in Apocalypse or glory. As Judith once reminded us ago heroes, and I’ll add, leaders, do whatever hard jobs are necessary. And to my generation – we millennials born during the 80s and 90s. I wish that there were more of you here today to hear this (maybe that’s part of the work to come.) Our job is to learn the lessons of the older generation, to be inspired by the Elders among us and to follow the leaders of the generation that came before. Not blindly, though, but in our own way. We should start by doing the small things we can do so that we can learn how to do the great things when the times require it – and the times will require it. We listen to the preaching of the older generations about traditional values – even if they themselves fell short of those goals and those values aren’t yet common to the world, and accept them because that too is a good thing. We should ignore the hypocrisy and heed the lesson. We have a small part in leadership in this way – by showing our selves worthy of great leadership. Its long been said we get the leaders and leadership we deserve. Deserve the best leadership you can. I ask that none of you shrink from this call. Maybe its because of my place in life now but I firmly believe in this statement: If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my children may have peace.” If we believe this and we act out our faith instead of just talking about it – instead of just preaching about it and singing about it, the world would be changed today. I know its easy to read the stories of the patriarchs and not honestly understanding them – because they’re just words on paper. And worse they’re just words on paper written about men who where obviously better men than we think we could ever be. But I tell you today they were no greater men than us. If they possessed greater faith than us its to their credit and our shame. Why are Christians and Christianity today seen as hypocritical and judgmental? Why is the church today seen as obsolete and unimportant? Its because, if our priorities are any indication IT IS. If we don’t act out on the things we “hope for and don’t see” we’re believing in magic and fairytales just like we’re accused of. Jesus was the walking embodiment of the power of faith. Jesus walked in POWER. So did the apostles and so did all the giants of the church after them. Even when we preach the word there’s a difference between those who preach well meaning words that we should believe and those who preach the word with POWER – that give it efficacy – that give the word substance. I’ve often asked and I think I’m not alone in asking why do we preach just in the church building. Peter and Paul preached in the streets. I think its because when you preach inside the church walls we’re not required to expect anything to happen. People come away feeling GOOD. They’re reminded that the faith their supposed to have included those who lived it in a mighty way and that somehow that connection means that their mighty faith covers us too. But when we go into the streets we have to go expecting. We have to go expecting that if we do out part – if we give substance to things we hope for and evidence for things that the world doesn’t see then that evidence convict the whole world and people will believe in it and God will give them his Grace We can’t forget that his grace isn’t for us. It isn’t for the church. Not to hold anyway, but to give. Its God’s free gift to the world. Salvation is not something we have to work for but it is something we have to work through Faith – with fear and trembling.