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am man we’re going to be looking at the this morning uh the book of Hebrews so you can turn there chapter 11 this time of year usually people are um broke they’re full from eating all the food and they’re tired um so uh bear with me this morning I’m a little bit under the weather today uh I want to look at this this subject really it’s a subject this morning and that’s the subject of Faith um I didn’t think that a subject like faith is so would be so difficult but it is so uh let’s look at it this morning and let me have a word of prayer Lord this morning I pray for your help as we look at your word because your word is um the very thing you give us to booler our faith so if we stay away from it then we’ll have little faith and we’ll be looking at the world and we’ll be looking at ourselves and we’ll be mostly depressed but Lord I pray that our eyes would be upon you and I pray Lord that every day of our life we would learn to hold up the shield of faith that Wards off all the Flaming missiles of Satan so we can do what you want us to do so we can live within your will so we can give honor and Glory To Your Great Name that’s what we want but Lord we know that you call every single one of us who are believers to walk by faith and I pray that we would do that and I ask this in Christ’s name amen so God uh God can’t be known in personal experience at least in the same degree of immediacy as we know any other person or thing in the Physical Realm the spiritual faculties of the unregenerate man really a lie asleep in his nature and for every purpose is dead uh and that stroke which has fallen upon us is by sin but when the saving work is done in the heart and a person is quickened to active Life by the operation of the holy spirit in regeneration at that point Faith enables our spiritual sense to function and not until then the Eternal world will come alive to us at the moment we begin to reckon upon the reality that with our five senses we can Engage The Real World we can stand upon the Earth and feel the wind and the rain on our faces and know that they are real we see the Sun by day and the stars by night and we know that they are real we hear the sounds of nature and the cries of human Joy and Pain and conclude that they are real the Christian is also equipped by God who created him and placed him in this world to know God is real Faith enables our spiritual senses to function it does not merely visualize or imagine God imagination projects unreal images out of the mind and seeks to attach reality to them Faith creates nothing it simply relies upon that which is already there God and the spiritual world are real and why are they real because they are already there and the Christian knows that more than anyone else we can rely upon them with as much Assurance as we rely upon the familiar world world around us the spiritual is real and we must break the evil habit of ignoring the spiritual we must shift our interest from the seen to the Unseen from the great unseen reality which is God himself if you look at verse number six of Hebrews 11 which is a key verse in this chapter it says and 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 seek him he is real he is a rewarder of those who genuinely seek him that means he is a God who can be known the soul has eyes with which to see ears in which to hear and as we begin to focus upon God the things of the spirit will take shape before our inner eyes and our perception of God will become clearer and clearer as we live that way that our spiritual senses will come alive like when you read in the Psalms where it says oh taste and see that the Lord is good well how do you know that how do you know the Lord is good how do you know the Lord has blessed you how do you know the Lord is real so when my son Joshua came back from deployment in Afghanistan before he handed over his combat equipment I got a chance to try out his night vision monocular monoc monoculars right that means it’s only got one thing that attaches to the helmet and flips down over one eye and one night when the moon was not out and the clouds covered the night sky we pulled it out this night vision Generation 3 pvs14 that featured a manual gain control which allowed the user to increase or decrease image to brightness for Greater Image contrast in varying light conditions when I flipped it over my eye my one eye I could not believe what I could see it was like I was standing at noon day on a clear bright sunny day and yet I was standing in Pitch darkness and I could see everything clearly and to my surprise I began to see clearly in both eyes I was amazed by it when I turned off the night vision it was completely dark the night vision scope is designed to flood the visual range with light so you could see more clearly that’s exactly what faith is Faith floods our mind and our sight our inner sight our spiritual sight with light so we can see more clearly in fact one bible translated Ephesians 1:18 just like this it says I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope that has been given to those he called his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance so it should be our constant daily prayer for our eyes to be open more and more to spiritual knowledge so that our faith would increase and we would develop a clear visioned Faith you see all of us require ongoing illumination from the word of God so that we can see the glories and the beauties of God and all that we have and all that awaits us because we are now in Christ so what does living by faith and being faithful to God look like to answer that question there are several things to examine concerning Faith the subject of faith is not always an easy thing to get a good handle on it is good to know what faith is before it could be reflected towards God the truth is everyone lives by faith the only difference between biblical faith and non-Christian faith is the object of our faith the critical issue is what you believe or who you believe in see telling people to live by faith is invalid if they have no understanding of the object of their faith you can’t have faith in faith faith has no validity without an object some of our faith objects are valid and others are are not valid for instance suppose you are driving a car and you see a green light you would probably drive through the intersection without giving any action to a or a second thought to what you just did by faith what do I mean by that well first you believe that the light was red on the in the other direction even though you could not see it and you also believe that the driver coming from the other direction saw the red light and would stop if you did not believe that you wouldn’t go through many intersections you would avoid them but just you can’t avoid intersections they’re all over the place so you see we tend to trust people or things that are proven to be reliable or over a long period of time for example most people accept by faith the fixed order of the universe primarily the solar system we set our watch by it we plan our calendar by it we schedule our day believing that the Earth will continue to rotate on its AIS and revolve around the Sun at its current speed so far the laws governing the physical Universe have been among the most trustworthy faith objects we have but what happens when the object of your faith Pro proves to be unreliable you you know what you do you give up on it you would be foolish to trust someone or something that has proven to be unreliable and the ultimate Faith object of course is Jesus Christ himself and why is that because right in Hebrews it says this about about him it says Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever you know that means that means he is reliable all the time he is reliable see God cannot change nor can his word change the fact that God is immutable makes him eminently trustworthy as it says in I uh Isaiah the M Withers and the flower Fades but the word of our god what stands forever amen this is the Eternal consistency this eternal consistency is exactly why God is faithful and why we can put our trust in him now again if you look at Hebrews 11 look at verses 1 through3 it says now Faith is the Assurance of things hoped for the conviction of Things Not Seen for by it the men of old gain approval by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God so that what is seen was not made was not made out of things which are visible so you know what that means that when we’re talking about biblical Faith we’re talking about something that we cannot see in fact if you well we that’s always a key right here in Hebrews chapter 11 it is important to understand that the concept of Faith because faith is that which links us to Christ and links to our Salvation links us to our Salvation we are justified by faith and we are to be people who live by faith it is no mistake that the writer of the New Testament refers three times to this uh statement in the Old Testament by the prophet habach responsible for the well-known passage of scripture but the righteous will live by faith that means the righteous person is a person of Faith that’s how they operate now so then so then what is Faith and a question that would be next in line would be do I have faith so scripture gives us a concise definition of Faith but I want to look at it in this way that there are three observations about faith as reflected toward God and it’s this and here’s the first one Clear Vision Faith as reflected toward God is f functional in other words this is the way the believer functions in life all right because we have an object of our faith so it says in verse number one it ISS now of Hebrews 11 now Faith is the Assurance or the substance of things hoped for now let me just stop there that means faith is divine defined here functionally not philosophically that is it is is a statement of what faith is in its operation it assumes the the presence of faith and it shows that it results in it shows that what it results in rather than what is uh what it is in other words Faith as it may be ex ex exercised by the believing person and what is the difference between Faith and Hope hope is looking to the promises that will take place in the future future which have not yet taken place that’s what hope is but of course will take place as We Know by faith with absolute certainty Jesus said that he will return but we don’t sit around saying as Believers well I hope Jesus is coming back no we we say I know he’s coming back we just don’t know when he is coming why he said he would and why do we believe that because we trust who he is and what he says he has proven reliability and that’s how the believer is to live so that that means that biblical hope is what keeps us anchored so that we will not be knocked around by every wind of Doctrine being flung around in the world at any given time that the certainty of Hope in the future Promises of God will be hope hope is merely Faith looking forward and Faith Looking Backward in what has already taken place hope looking forward to the future Faith Looking Backward that’s how we understand really what faith is it has a backward look and has a it has a forward look and because we have a backward look we can trust in what is not yet what is unseen see these two terms Faith and Hope are very closely linked that faith is what gives substance to Our Hope how do we know most certainly that the promises of God will come to pass because people who have faith are people who have learned to trust God it is because I have trust in God that I have Assurance for the future so without fa Faith there is no hope in the New Testament the New Testament actually says that if a person is without Christ that he is without hope so people are putting their human hopes in things that have no substance no Assurance so that if they put their hope in something that has no Assurance they really have no hope because there’s no Foundation now Clear Vision in faith as reflected toward God is functional meaning it is functional in that it has confidence in what is hoped for the future things that we have not seen yet and then also it’s functional functional in the fact that it has a conviction in notice what it says in verse number one what we do not see now Faith is the conviction of Things Not Seen now just that very statement we would have to say that doesn’t make sense here faith is linked to that which is invisible how did the apostles know that Jesus was the savior because God raised him from the dead and 500 people saw him after the resurrection in other words we have eyewitness testimony so when we have faith we have to look back and say okay we have eyewitness testimoni where it even says in the Gospel of Luke and just as they handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and Servants of the word that means we have eyewitnesses that were reliable who saw what we didn’t see but wrote it down for us to know that it is true and that we trust that see that’s Faith too that is Faith I didn’t meet the apostles I didn’t see them I didn’t see Jesus rise from the dead and uh witnessed that but they did and so see faith is made as an appeal to sight and the Bible asks you to believe at least what someone somewhere has seen and the basis of faith is eyewitness testimony that’s part of it eyewitness testimony that means the Bible is not asking us to take a leap in the dark the Bible is saying no you have eyewitness testimony and you have empirical evidence that God actually has done something Jesus performs Miracles and says to his audience Believe Me based on what you see in fact Jesus says this in John 10 he says if you do not do the works of my father do not believe me but if you do them if I do them though you do not believe me believe the works see Jesus is saying there listen if you don’t believe what I’m saying believe the works believe what you can actually see that is empirical evidence it doesn’t mean you’re going to believe genuinely anyway but see God gives that to us as Believers Abraham and Moses had plenty of evidence to have faith in God in fact it’s amazing when Jesus says in in John the Gospel of John 20: number 29 Jesus said to them because you have seen me you believe blessed are those who did not see and what yet believe so so that’s somebody exercising Faith to believe something they have not actually seen with their visible eyes but they see it by faith because they TR have a object that they can trust in and that’s God himself so faith is generated empirically by the acts of God in human history that God the word of God gives us the record of the tangible acts of God the activities of God on the stage of human history so we don’t think of Faith as being opposite of evidence no it includes it it’s given to us to bolster our faith to to stand on something that is sure and has substance to it so God has always given us evidence in the word of God and he’s always given it to his people the whole chapter 11 of Hebrews it says 14 times by faith this person did this by faith this group did this by Faith by Faith by Faith by faith when they didn’t even see the end result and they didn’t even obtain what they had faith in on this side of Eternity but they believed God would accomplish it they believed God would accomplish it Moses how visible was his his strong was his faith when he saw the plagues the drown the drowning of the army of pharaoh The Parting of the Red Sea the pillar of cloud by day and Fire by Night the Mana that was given by God from Heaven The Ten Commandments written with the Finger of God all all those things there were evidence for not only Moses but for us to look back and say these are the things God has done he has been faithful in all these things that all these things you have already seen happen yesterday that’s Faith now this is what happens is going to happen tomorrow that’s hope they both to go together with the evidence with this evidence they were of course and we are by faith able to go Caleb and Joshua are able to go into the promised land and Conquer it so is tomorrow is tomorrow tomorrow visible to you and I no you don’t see the future the future is not visible to us because it is not here yet but there is a future for the people of God and God’s purpose promis us God promises us that certain things will take place and so we have confident confidence in that we are confident that those things we have not seen will one day come to pass as God moves in history and accomplishes all that he said he would do so faith is trust in the Unseen if you look at verse number seven of in verse number three again look at the end part of the verse it says so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible and then in verse number seven by faith Noah being warned by God about things not yet seen verse number eight by faith Abraham when he was called obeyed by going out to a place which he was going to receive for an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going that’s what faith is Faith is believing God’s word and going out not knowing all the details not knowing what will happen but knowing it’s God’s will for you to do that see biblical faith is grounded in what we can’t see but what we know is true so see faith is trust in the Unseen but it is not trust in the unknown biblical faith is a faith that is absolutely certain what it believes it is true and what it expects hopes it will come to pass so then Faith lays hold of what is promised and therefore hoped for as something real and solid though yet unseen for we may know by faith what we cannot see with the eye Enoch AB Abel Noah Abraham Moses These Old Testament examples lived with a trust in the Unseen or better way to put that they lived by faith which is the same thing so faith is the ultimate assurance and the ultimate evidence that Things Not Seen are realities the things that are unseen are more real than the things you can say so trusting God for your future trusting him for your life shall trials shake you faith says we are more than conquerors to him who loved us shall Sorrows move us fate tells us of a land where Sorrows are unknown shall the death of saints move us Faith tells us not to sorrow as those who have no hope for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again them also that sleep in Jesus God will bring with him shall the pain and weariness of the frailness of our body move us Faith tells us of a time when the corruptible shall put on incorruption and death will be swallowed up in Victory shall the troubling commotion of Life Annoy Us fate tells us of a rest that remains for the people of God there will be no rough Seas there there will be no storm there will be no shipwrecks shall the fleeting the or shall the feeling that you do not belong here and have no home shake you Faith tells us that we have a home with many rooms a Dwelling Place himself that God has prepared for us and that where he is we may be also see that’s all faith I don’t see that dwelling place yet but it’s going it’s there and God’s there with it and we will be there with him see that is Faith that’s I don’t see that with my eyes but I I see it with faith because I can trust God and what he does the thought of death does that alarm us well the Bible says faith tells us that to die is gain now none of these things in the human Realm alone make any sense but they sure make sense by faith however believing in a promise that is still yet future is hard especially during times of difficulty and trial so there is a fundamental question that needs to be raised and wrestled with and it is this in this world what is better Faith or sight now Mouse would answer that question and says I think sight is better because I would be able to see with my own eyes and then I would be convinced but just believing your senses alone have some serious weaknesses with it sight is limited it can only see in One Direction site looks at evidence forms opinions draws conclusions but just observable realities no nothing further no more importantly I believe that sight cannot make sense of the world and the reason why it cannot make sense of the world is because it must excludes exclude an invisible God from the picture God’s not if you don’t have God in the picture you can’t make sense of anything so yes Faith as reflected toward God is functional it really has a functional value in our life every day but a second observation is this and I mentioned it already that Clear Vision Faith as reflected toward God is better than sight it is better than sight so to answer the question from a Biblical perspective faith is better than sight and why is that because faith can look around corners faith can look backwards to the evidence to the reliability of God to all the things he’s did historically it can look backwards and it could see that it could look further than sight Faith sees the invisible power of God where it says in verse number three by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God we understand that God spoke and the world happened yes that’s what happened and how do I obtain that how do I hold to that that by faith I know that and when I look at the the stars and when I look at the heavens somebody had to make them because there is intelligence there’s design there’s order there’s reliability all that has to come from somebody who knows and who has the power to keep it all together and that someone is our God see Faith sees the invisible God faith sees beyond the difficult IES and counts on God faith does not operate just on what is perceived good or evil but on but on really it it it’s based on their faith is based on who God is and what God has done and what God is doing and what God says he will do so while we are in this world if it is true that the things that are unseen are more permanent than the things that are seen then in the end if we rely solely on sight our sight would be discouraged over and over again faith will instead hope in God faith looks beyond the observable reality and counts on God’s promise and there’s probably no better illustration in scripture to prove that than by the prophet habach so let’s take our Bibles there turn to habach now you say well where’s that uh well that’s probably a good question if you go to Zachariah and then go go forward towards Genesis you’ll find eventually find habach but I want you to notice here when we look at this what habach learned which we need to learn also because what did habach learn look at chapter 1 verse 1-4 and this is what I want you to think about habc in the first four verses I can it’s this goes throughout the whole uh prophecy but he’s seeing the world just through human eyes and this is how he responds look at chapter 1 habach chapter 1 verse one it says the Oracle which habach the prophet saw how long oh Lord will I call for help and you will not hear I cry out to you violence yet you do not save why do you make me see iniquity and cause me to look on wickedness yes destruction and violence are before me Strife exists and contention arises therefore the law is ignoring and Justice is never upheld for the wicked surround the righteous therefore Justice comes out perverted now I can read on but just to give you the point of what’s going on here that habach is actually lamenting over what he is seeing in Jerusalem he is seeing that everything there’s no justice wickedness is prevailing I’m crying out to you God and you don’t seem to be answering me so what happened is that his lamenting actually turns to worship habach went from lamenting about evil and saw all around that he saw all around him to questioning God based on only what he his sight could gather but after learning what God was doing moved him to Faith so I want you to look at habach chapter 3 verse 17 because the prophet asked the question and God gives him the promise and what is the promise habach is called to Faith In God’s promise in verse number chapter 3:1 17 he says though the fig trees should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines though the yield of Olives should fail and the Fields produce no food though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the Stalls but notice in verse number 18 yet I will exalt in the Lord I will rejoice in the god of my salvation what happened you know what happened he saw what God was doing by faith that’s what happened that’s Clear Vision faith and here is what is meant the just shall live by faith because it was habach who said that and it’s used three times in the word of God if everything goes wrong and all hell breaks loose habach said this that I will operate on the basis of faith not sight I will trust in the Lord’s character I will trust in the Lord’s work I will trust in the Lord’s promise I will do and I’ll do it with a worshiping and a rejoicing heart because obviously he learned that yes habach things are going on like this in Jerusalem now but I will promise you someday it will not so 600 years later Jerusalem the same city habc had once lamented over over the evil around him had been rebuilt just as God promised and by the time of jesus’ birth Jerusalem was a bustling City now under the thumb of the Roman Empire the only difference the timing was ripe for God’s plan to burst on the scene so when Faith looks at the cross it sees more than terrible evil Faith Sees God at work and believes his promise Faith sees that is why Christ came into the world faith reckons that if God had said Christ will save his people from their sins then that is exactly what he will do he will accomplish it by means of the perfect life the death the burial the resurrection and the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ that God’s plan of the greater Exodus is focused on the cross and centered in on the person of Jesus Christ now did habach see Christ did he see God’s plan work out like that no but God said he would do that and he trusted in that by faith and so his whole perspective changed so we have to be very careful as Believers that we just don’t look around us with our eyes and then conclude things we have to look with faith and see what is God doing in this situation what is God doing right now how am I honoring him right now how am I making my decisions for him right now so that means when we think of that that not only is Faith functional not only is Faith better than sight but there’s one last thing I want to look at in back to Hebrews and it’s this that Clear Vision Faith as reflected toward God is operational that means it operates in our life but you have to operate it you have to operate it if you look at Hebrews CH 11 and then verse number 24 so there are are actually the life of Moses is coming up here in in Hebrews and so Faith may be exercised by a believing person illustrated by the life of modes Moses operational faith we see here is reflected toward God in three ways and here it is that Clear Vision faith is reflected in what a believing person refuses so that now it’s operational it says in verse number 24 by faith Moses when he was growing up notice what the word here refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter now you you say well that is a OPP operational Faith decision look at verse 25 choosing rather to endure ill treatment with the people of God that enjoy the passing pleasures of sin see a people of faith will refuse what they once accepted we we have Moses here pictured he’s all growing up he’s 40 years old who’s making choices now based on experience based on wisdom based on empirical data and that information which can be uh approved or disapproved uh possibly by centuary experience but beyond all that Moses is operating based on faith based on what God is teaching him so in other words Moses at the point of greatness saw that that saw something happening around him and he knew he needed to make a choice he could no longer stay neutral he had to pick he had to pick what people he was going to side with either the Egyptians or Israel there could be no fence straddling on this one see he must be flat out a flat out denial of one or the other the very word refuse brings to our attention a decisive choice and faith will always bring you to a place where you have to make a clear choice choice I cannot do this I cannot go here I cannot be with that PE that person because I have to honor God so his choice to refuse to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter it would mean a break with his family it would mean that he was the person that schooled him and raised him for 39 years and N months as it says Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and Nur Ed him as her own MOS would Moses would have to refuse that his high position his power the honor that he had the wealth that he had the privilege that he had and of course the prerogative of being in the royal family of pharaoh Egypt was the most powerful nation in the world at that time you can see that this was a heart-wrenching choice in which Moses his will his mind and focus would need to be radically changed and that’s what happens because if you notice in verse uh number 25 it says rather to endure ill treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin so living by faith moved his will he chose a people who had a God who was serious about about Sin about relationships with his people about the worship how they worshiped him so he left the people who disregarded the Creator God his laws to live as they pleased according to their own passions and desires instead he chose to turn his back on all of it and he chose sacrifice and self renunciation renunciation of wealth renunciation of pleasure having everything at your finger tips and saying I don’t I’m not going to take it I’m going to exchange that for something worse ill treatment with the people of God he wasn’t used to that so that this is this is a a move in which God used pharaoh to to step out in Faith so the pleasures set before Moses were not only fleeting but they were also sinful and he didn’t want a part of that anymore so we end up most of the time we end up most of the time giving our uh pursuing things that we we we shouldn’t we pursue physical blessing instead of giving our time over to pursue spiritual blessing like developing a character that pursues godliness and honoring Christ see the problem that we often run into is pursuing materialism becomes an an aberant desire to want comfort and pleasure and wealth and these become our higher highest goals for life and then you find out very quickly that they are not reliable helpful goals at all but to live for Christ no matter what situation the Lord brings you into will always be beneficial will always be profitable if we live then in the I idolatrous Society of our our culture because Egypt and our country is probably not very far apart as far what was going on uh if we live according to the culture then we’ll live according to our human desires and passions and we also know that sin has twisted our vision inward where it’s all about me me me me and what happens is that our life becomes self-regarding and it has no object of faith and that’s what we usually choose to live for the moment to live for pleasure to buy the next thing and then when we get it does it really fulfill our needs does it really satisfy us no it doesn’t and as you the older you get you realize I bought this thing and I just keep moving around my house until I put it on the curb or give it to some somebody right that’s what happens that that just proves it has no Eternal value not considering the pleasure of sin is only temporary and always comes with consequences both temporal consequences and eternal consequences because a Christian as they live by faith they know to die is gain but after death is what judgment both for the believer too when they stand before the be a seed of God and are judged on how they live their life see only fools live lives of pleasure while denying or ignoring the reality of death and judgment I mentioned this before but I did hear someone years ago who say uh that sin will keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to to pay and that is very true so by faith Moses as well as you and I can make choices we must make choices not on the things that please ourselves but on on the things which please God which exalts Christ and helps our Brethren and strengthens God’s church we exchange the pursuit of seeking and living for the pleasure of this world for living for Christ and for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ called the church so we decide to make a choice I’m going to be with God’s people just like Moses did I’m going to be with God’s people because that’s where God blesses so see faith that is given to us by God is a faith that moves our will to make choices either hopefully the choice will be if it’s by faith to honor God and do to do the right thing a second thing is that Clear Vision faith is reflected in what the believing person considers notice in verse 26 of Hebrews 11 it says this considering considering that means thinking about pondering it mulling it over in their mind considering the reproach of Christ greater riches Than The Treasure of Egypt for he was looking to the reward well he didn’t see the reward not with his eyes he he looked past the pleasure of Egypt he looked past all the wealth that he had all the power that he had and he saw Christ now did Moses meet Christ no but that’s what it says here he saw Christ by faith he knew God would deliver it would be a greater Deliverance than Deliverance of the people out of Egypt it would be the Deliverance of God through Christ rescuing us from the bondage of sin that’s what it means here it’s greater riches than he could ever have received on this Earth by the greatest nation on the planet at that time that he said that I would rather have the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he was looking to the reward and what’s the reward the reward is God himself the W reward is eternal Deliverance the salvation of the Soul then there’s one last thing if you notice in verse number 27 Clear Vision faith is reflected in what a believing person endures it says in verse 27 by faith he left Egypt not fearing the Wrath of the king for he endured notice what he endured as seeing him who is unseen that’s Faith that’s Faith he saw what he could not see with his eyes that’s the only way we are to live as Christians the righteous shall live by faith not by we we see around us going on not by all the turmoil and the evil all around the world that’s going on we know what happening Christians know what’s happening if you’re reading the word of God no we live by faith God has you here at this particular time to do something to use your spiritual gifts to build up the body he has you here right now by and he’s he’s put you there so you live by faith you trust whatever is happening around you I’m trusting God is doing something in my life so we have kind kind of come full circle in what I was doing this morning Faith enables our spiritual senses to function and the spiritual eyes to see and give us Clear Vision a Clear Vision Faith to be operational in our life that we are making decisions based on faith we’re enduring hardships based on faith we are considering things to make give God the glory based on faith so everything is based on faith and what is our reward our reward is the great unseen reality which is God himself in Hebrews 11 verse number 6 it says that without faith it is impossible to please him for he who comes to God must believe that he what is and that he’s a rewarder of those who seek Him amen so how are we able to sustain this race called the Christian Life to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and then our eyes of Faith see more and more clearly each and every day and we will develop a Clear Vision faith and when we live there we won’t want to won’t want to live any other way because we see something that nobody else sees we have the eyes of faith let’s pray Lord thank you for even Lord being able to delve into the subject of Faith a greater subject than maybe even we think and Lord must confess that I don’t always live by faith I look around me and I see what’s going on I look at people and see how people often fail you and I get discouraged and I want to throw on the towel and say forget it but Lord then I get into your word and I see something I I don’t see around me with my eyes I see something by faith I see your greater plan and we’re we’re in it we’re smack in it right now and Lord we know the promises that you’ve given us in the word of God will take place you’re coming back again there will be the Rapture of the church there will be the man of sin there will be the Great Tribulation there will be um the beacy Judgment in heaven there’ll be us coming back with you in the end for the millennial reign of Christ on Earth there will be the great why Throne judgment there will be the new Heaven and the new Earth where righteousness dwells that’s all ahead of us and we hold to that that is unseen by faith but our faith is in you who is the object of our faith who is reliable and trustworthy and faithful and tells us nothing but the truth so thank you Lord I pray this next coming year you would make us people of faith help us to see beyond what’s going on and I pray our eyes would be fixed on Jesus and I pray in Christ’s name amen let’s Stand Together