And without faith it is impossible to please him.
For whoever would draw near to God must believe that
he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events
as yet unseen, took heed and constructed an ark for
the saving of his household; by this he condemned
the world and became an heir of the righteousness
which comes by faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out
to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance;
and he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By
faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a
foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob,
heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked
forward to the city which has foundations, whose
builder and maker is God. Hebrews 11:6-10
If we’re serious about drawing near to God we have to be
careful not to confuse having faith with being religious.
To be religious all you have to do is add a few religious
trappings to your life -
- go to church - once in a while,
- read the Bible - once in a while,
- repeat some prayers,
- say that you believe in God,
- and you’re religious.
To have faith is a very different thing. To have faith
you literally let go of your old life and take hold of
a new one.
Abraham let go of his homeland,
launched out into the unknown, and with his heart
took hold of a new land he couldn’t even see.
Peter let go of his fishing boat and every familiar
thing and took hold of Jesus, to sail with Him into un-
known waters and become a fisher of men.
“Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be
catching men,” said Jesus. And when they
had brought their boats to land, they left
everything and followed him.
Luke 5:10-11
Every man and woman who has ever walked with God has
taken this step. They joyfully abandoned the treasure
of this world to obtain the treasure of God.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure
hidden in a field, which a man found and
covered up; then in his joy he goes and
sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Matthew 13:44
Why does the man have to sell all he has and buy the
field? Why doesn’t he just pick up the treasure and
walk off with it?
- Because the treasure isn’t sitting
there in a neat little box to be
picked up and carried off in five
minutes.
The treasure is in the form of ore -- it’s going to take
time and trouble to dig it out. If the man wants the
treasure he’s going to buy the field. And to buy the
field it’s going to cost everything he’s got. Does this
throw him into a quandary? Does he go home to his wife
a nervous wreck?
“What’s wrong, honey. Why can’t you eat
your supper?”
“Well, I found this treasure today hidden
in a field worth more than you can imagine.
But to get it we have to buy the field and
it will cost us everything we’ve got. I’m
sick over it! I can’t make up my mind!”
There is no conflict in the man’s heart.
“...in his joy he goes and sells all that
he has and buys the field.”
In his joy he digs at that treasure day after day, year
after year, until he has it in the shape it needs to be,
until he really has it.
If we haven’t come to the place where we’re ready to joy-
fully abandon everything else to walk with God, then we
simply haven’t seen God’s treasure yet.
- We may be religious,
- but we haven’t tasted the
life of faith.
May God give us, today, a vision of the treasure He has
for us - so bright,
so clear, that we’ll gladly sell everything we
have to buy the field.
The treasure is the life of knowing God,
walking with Him,
talking with Him,
living in His will,
loving Him with all our hearts.
Jesus died on the cross to make that kind of life possible
to us.
“I am the Way - to God.
I am the Truth - of God.
I am the Life - of God.
Come to me and I will bring you to God.”
What do you think it was that caused Peter and the others
to forsake everything and follow Jesus? They knew in
their bones that this man would bring them into the
presence of the living God! They knew it! And when we
get a good glimpse of Jesus we know it too. This man,
Jesus, is the treasure for whom it’s worth forsaking
everything.
Moreover, Jesus not only opened the way to the Father
with His death so we could go to heaven some day, He
pours out the Holy Spirit upon us to quicken us,
enlighten us, so
we can walk the way of God on this earth. He pours out
the Holy Spirit on us afresh this hour!
Jesus opens the way.
Jesus gives the Spirit, but there is one thing we have
to do: we have to have faith. Not just be religious,
but have faith.
1. To have faith is to dare to believe that God is there.
"And without faith is impossible to
please him. For whoever would draw near
to God must believe that he exists and
that he rewards those who seek him."
Hebrews 11:6
Believe that He exists. Not that He exists theoreti-
cally, but that He exists concretely. That He is here
to help us, save us, and love us.
“Oh, how I wish I could believe that,”
people say. “I want to believe in God.
I envy people who do, but I can’t!
What can I do about this?”
Start looking at Jesus. That much you can do. Just look
at Him!
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away
the sin of the world.”
“Look unto him and be saved all the ends
of the earth!”
You want to know that God is there?
- Look at Jesus healing the sick,
- and see God.
- Look at Jesus forgiving the sinner,
- and see God.
- Look at Jesus feeding the hungry,
- and see God.
- Look at Jesus opening the eyes of the blind,
- and see God,
and draw near to this God who is nothing but good!
Before you know it you will begin to know that God is
there. You will know it. He’s there waiting for you
to draw near.
2. To have faith is to expect God to manifest Himself to
you as you search for Him.
..."For whoever would draw near to God
must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who seek him."
Jesus teaches this over and over -
- ask and you shall receive,
- seek and you shall find,
- knock and it shall be opened to you,
for everyone who asks receives,
he who seeks finds,
to him who knocks it shall be opened.
There is no such thing as pursuing God and finding
nothing.
Even if you’re way off the track,
if you have totally wrong ideas about God, if you
begin to seek Him you will absolutely find. He will
reveal Himself to you, He will speak to your heart, He
will touch your mind and
open your eyes.
But there has to be pursuit. We have to do some seeking.
Are you hungry enough for God -
- to get up early and pray?
- to follow any glimmer of light that comes?
- to seek out anyone who you think might
possibly be able to help you?
This goes not only for those outside the Kingdom, but
for those within. The pursuit of God never stops.
0 God, thou art my God; early will I seek
thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my
flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty
land, where no water is...
Psalm 63
Do you think Paul ever stopped pursuing God? Or Peter?
“When thou saidst, ‘Seek ye my face;’
my heart said unto thee, ‘Thy face,
Lord, will I seek.”’
The more you do this the more you will discover that
this is the only pursuit on earth worth the effort.
3. To have faith is to get rid of the distractions.
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your
Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give
alms; provide yourselves with purses that
do not grow old, with a treasure in the
heavens that does not fail, where no thief
approaches and no moth destroys. For
where your treasure is, there will your