And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33
who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,34
quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35
Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36
Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.37
They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38
of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40
since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
As we begin our day this morning, I trust that without the knowledge of the unseen world, without the knowledge that faith gives, which is what chapter 11 is all about,
our knowledge of this world becomes ignorance, our good becomes evil, our happiness becomes woe. That is how unreal this world is if that is all a person knows or all that they pursue.
But that makes it all the more inexcusable, horrible really, is that we Christians…you and I…live so much of the time and in so many ways, as if this world
were all there is, as if all the reality that God has revealed to us were no reality at all.
And make no mistake: that is what we do every day and it is a sin; a sin of unbelief that we do not repent of nearly as often, as bitterly, or as furiously as we ought.
Why do you think we make so many of our decisions based on pragmatics, what will work, instead of basing our decisions on principle, what God’s Word says and leads
us to?
We want the benefit of living in this world, now, instead of answering the way we would if the unseen world were actually the seen world. This is – this knowledge
of the unseen world and the world to come – this is the whole of what separates us from the unbelievers around us.
We
know things – know, not just think, not just believe in the sense of thinking it’s true – we
know things they do not know, things that change everything.
We
know we live our lives in the very presence of God and that Christ truly is
with us.
We
know that each soul we pass is going to heaven or hell.
We
know that our lives will be judged and that we will receive what is due us for the deeds done in the body, whether good or evil.
We
know that he who is in us is stronger than he who is in the world.
We
know that all things work together for good to those who love God.
We
know that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.
And this is knowledge that should change us and everything we think, desire and do. We should look out on that world and everything in that world with a radically
different viewpoint than that of those who don’t have faith and don’t know all of these things.
The fact that so often we do not is our monumental failing. It is sin of the first magnitude; sin that leads to so many other sins and wreaks such spiritual havoc
in our lives and the life of Christ’s church.
Do you doubt the enormity of our failure in this way?
The best way to put to death our chronic unbelief and the resulting “irreality” of our lives is to build into our hearts and lives the thoughts and actions of true
faith, of the knowledge of unseen things that Christ has revealed to us.
We are commanded over and over again in the Bible to “set our minds on things above, where Christ is seated at the Right Hand of God.”We are charged innumerable
times to “remember” what the Lord has promised, what he has done and what he does. And wise Christians have always known that the Christian life is to be lived by living according to what we know is true.
This is what makes worship so vital to us and twice on a Sunday. It is in worship above all, that you see the unseen and practice the knowledge of the unseen that
God has given you.
It is easier to do well on a Lord’s Day with the Lord’s people, than it is ‘out there’. This is why you so often feel yourself to be your truest self when you are
at worship in God’s house.
In worship you feel yourself to be…true, authentic. You often wish you could think and feel always as you do here at worship. Why? It is because the reality of the
unseen crowds is upon you and proves itself to you here.
Do you want to know the first and most important thing about how to live the Christian life? Do you want to know what is the most important thing of all things to
do? Well, this is it: to remind yourself constantly of what is true and real that you cannot see.
Remind yourself, take it to heart, preach it to your mind, and act accordingly every minute of every hour of every day. Refuse to give way to practical unbelief by
practicing your faith, which is to say, living out the knowledge of unseen things that has been revealed to you by God your Savior.
Prayer: Father, Your presence is my assurance, Your Word my trust and Your promises my hope. May I live in the joy of these Your gifts and walk in the light as
You are in the light. Nourish my soul and life that I might do Your will and show forth Your life in mine, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Song: The Song of Jeremiah
